Whirlwind of a Day

Sunday started out a little hectic.  Sunshine had been complaining of an itchy eye for a couple days.  We'd been swimming after school on Friday & again on Saturday.  The pool had had problems with leveling out the chemicals earlier in the month and as a result, it smelled of chlorine.  Sunshine tends to let water accumulate in her goggles so I assumed it was the pool's fault.

On Saturday night when she went to bed, her eyelid was red & and eye was bloodshot.  I gave her some Benadryl & put some Visine in her eye to help with the redness & itching.

So, Sunday morning she woke up with a really, very, super red eye & eyelid.  Hunter generously offered to take her to the ER while I went through the house with Clorox wipes.  We were fearing pink eye & I don't do well with highly contagious illnesses.  

They returned with the diagnosis of a stye, as well as an antibiotic ointment & zyrtec.  The upshot was they did the grocery shopping for me too!  Since I was knee deep in Clorox wipes, I was very grateful!  Even though she wasn't contagious the doctor advised that she stay home on Monday.

Only my child would see a day off from school as a negative & bemoaned the fact that she wouldn't receive a perfect attendance award at the end of the school year.

The rest of the afternoon went well---Sunshine played, I did laundry & puttered around the house.  Around dinnertime, Hunter came in from the back yard complaining of pain in his right side.  Since he lives with chronic pain in his back, neck & wrists, this was a new ache.  And it didn't go away.  In face, nausea kicked in.   We decided to go to the ER.  

Sunshine & I waited while he was poked, prodded, gave blood, etc.  After 2 1/2 hours we left to get something to eat as neither one of us had eaten dinner.  We went back into the curtained area to wait for Hunter's CT scan results as well as the results of his blood test.   Both indicated appendicitis.  Finally the surgeon arrived & Hunter was brought upstairs.  

Several friends had called/texted and offered to bring Sunshine home as it was now after 11 pm.  She was scared & worried about Hunter so we decided to keep her with me.  She fell asleep shortly after we got to the surgical waiting room on the 2nd floor.  Since it was the early stages of appendicitis the surgeon felt it wouldn't be more than a 30 minute procedure.   It was after 1 when when came into the waiting room to fill us in.  Everything was textbook, went smoothly & we'd be able to see Hunter very soon.

We finally got home around 3 am & passed out.  Hunter was released that morning & is doing fine.  I think we've all caught up on our sleep & are back to life as we know it.

Still, I want a do over for Sunday.  It was way too crazy for my liking!

4th Grade & The One About The Microphone

Yesterday was back to school for Sunshine.  Fourth grade, people!  FOURTH!  This cannot be right.  Sunshine is a little girl, not a big kid.  I am so confused.  There is comfort in knowing she's in class with friends--several of them since 1st or 2nd grade.

Her teachers this year are awesome.  She'll be changing classes and will have her home room teacher as well as another teacher for Social Studies & I believe, English Language Arts.  But still, 4th grade.  So cliche, but they really do grow up SO fast!

So, the microphone.

Despite all the years of singing along to records, tapes & the radio in my room, hairbrush in hand--I hate speaking in front of large groups of people with a microphone.  I don't know if it's the actual mic or whether it's just that whole large group thing.  One on one, I'm fine.  I will sit & talk to people's pets.  But running a meeting?  UGH!

Pretty funny for the PTO President to not like speaking in public, huh?  

Tonight is our school's first orientation night.  PreK -2nd is tonight & then the upper grades are on Monday.  Our Principal does a presentation on school policy/procedures & then I'll get to speak.  I've got a fair amount of thing to cover (introduction of board members, recognizing new parents, PTA vs. PTO, volunteer challenge, our FB group, spirit shop, August calendar) so it's not like I'll be done in a few minutes.  

My sister in law is one of those clever people who has taken her special set of skills & turned it into a successful business.  She's a career coach.  Specifically, she helps professionals who are lacking in the presentation/public speaking arena.

Her blog post the other day?  Hit home.  Hit a homer as she'd say (she loves sports analogies).   When I speak to groups, I find that I tend to speak quickly.  I speak quickly anyway---I'm a Northerner & my family is French.  It's just what we do.

I've taken Barbara's advice & have spent the morning practicing my presentation.  BTW, that whole French thing?  Yeah, I also talk with my hands.  By practicing, I found better ways to segue into the next topic or to bump volunteering after talking about the spirit shop since I mention that volunteer forms can be found there. 

I'm not going to lie, I'm still nervous about speaking & it's 6 hours away.  I do feel better prepared & having watched myself in the mirror I've come to realize that my mouth doesn't do that Lovey Howell-Yankee lockjaw facial expression that I'm convinced I do when I speak.   

Now, if I could only figure out what to wear, I'll be fine.

Holy Chowder, People!

The start of the school year is five days away and I am already wiped out!   This week was Verification Day (registration and; the meet/greet, basically) on Thursday and Friday (today).   I spent 4 hours at school on Tuesday folding t shirts, cleaning out our closet and working on another to-do list.  Wednesday found me at school again for for 3 1/2 more hours, followed by another 4 hour shift on Thursday (Day 1 of Verification Day) and another 5 hours today.

Our school asks parents to commit to 10 hours of volunteer time throughout the year, either at school or in the community.  Suffice to say I've done my 10 hours.  Our Principal and Assistant Principal don't believe me when I say I'm done with volunteering for the year & won't be back--I wonder why?!!

Thursday night's registration was crazy busy which was good for the PTO.  The school year hasn't started yet and already I have teachers hitting us up for money!  We give grant money to all faculty members.  Teachers with full time classrooms receive a little more than those teachers who are specialists & visit different classrooms throughout the day.  Our Media Center (and the Super Bookatarian) receives more, as do our Art, Music and PE teachers and Guidance Counselor as they have all students in the school.  

I'm often amazed by the behavior of adults.  It was announced earlier that a friend of mine who taught 4th grade last year would be moving to 3rd grade, which would leave 3 sections (classes) in 4th grade.  As the Principal started to do the roster, he discovered that the 3 sections would be close to maxed out for that age group and a 4th section might be necessary.  This impacted the 3rd grade registrants as they can't meet their teacher if the roster can't be competed right now.  

People, let me tell you, grown adults lost their minds over this.  There was one mother who literally threw a hissy fit in the middle of the hallway after one of the teachers explained the situation.  Then she came to the cafeteria where she threw a mild fit to one of the PTO board members.  I was helping another parent so I didn't hear the entire exchange but Super Bookatarian came to the rescue and tried to diffuse the situation.  Nope, hissy mom threw another hissy fit.

THEN. . .

she got on our Facebook page and began another rant about how HARD it was for her kids not to be able to meet their teachers (they met ALL the teachers for the grade levels) and not see their classrooms (they had the opportunity to see ALL the classrooms).  My VP and  I both commented that our children were in the same situation, as was our Treasurer and oh, about 275 kids.  Do we wish we knew who our teacher was?  Of course.  Will we be okay finding out on Tuesday before school starts? Yes.  Hissy Mommy then went on to say how they toured all the elementary schools in our district before deciding on our school and  purchasing a home in our zone.

Silly girl, so did we.  And so did our VP.  And a host of other families.

If you ever have to wonder why there are so many uber fragile children with a sense of entitlement walking this earth, look no further than their parents.

Kids are more resilient than we give them credit for being.  Sunshine has taught me this in her young life.  

So, my year as PTO President begins.   I'm glad that I'm surrounded by friends on the Executive Board.  Women who are strong, smart, creative and hard workers.  And who have a great sense of humor.  Something tells me we're going to need it this year!

Because

A friend of mine posted the following as her status on FB.  Her son is 7 & daughter is 4.  Or 3.  I can't remember.

Take kids out for lunch after church...
*no snuggling is not for restaurants. It's for home.
*sit down we don't stand in booths.
*take smaller bites (food shouldn't be hanging out of your mouth.)
*get back in your seat
*do we play with knives? No.

Why do we go out to eat?

She's a really good mom---active with her children at school, fun to be around & I'm sad that she'll be leaving us mid-year when they PCS (military move) to Texas.   Now, I haven't been out with her & her children but I've been in the same restaurant with them when they've been out.  Her son's a nice little boy & her daughter is darling.  I haven't seen them act up but like most kids I'm sure they have. 

My reply to her was this:

So they will know how to behave when they are older.   Hunter deployed so often when Sunshine was a baby/toddler that I had no choice but to bring her with me whenever I went out.  The upshot is she knows how to act in a restaurant, how to order her meal, how to treat the staff, etc.  Now, we don't always have perfect manners, but she's getting there!

I can remember various times we've gone out to eat that weren't entirely pleasant due to a tired Sunshine.  They weren't fun, but we got over it.  And we kept going out to eat.  

Why do people feel that educating their children is limited to reading, writing & arithmetic?  What happened to teaching our children HOW to interact with other people ---people that aren't their peers?  When Sunshine started spending money she had earned or received, we taught her to actually HAND the money to the cashier, not to put it on the counter or to throw it at them.   If it's an item she wants to play with in the car, she'll politely say "I don't need a bag, thank you"  or more often "the *insert item name here*  not in a bag, please"  

So, why do we go out to eat? One of my friend's friends said "so we don't have to cook!" & while I agree with her, I also think it's so our children can learn how to BE when they're out and about.

And so mommy can have a drink with dinner!

Can't Even Come Up With a Title For This One

So, this past week I received an email from ancestry.com saying that this weekend, I can "Find Your (okay, my) American Story FREE"

Many years ago, my aunt & 2nd cousin once removed (or some such distant relative---his father & my grandfather were first cousins) had collaborated on our family tree.  They were able to go back to France in the late 1500s on my paternal great-great grandmother's side & that we are descended from Nicolas Audet dit Lapointe, who was a Soldat du Roi (King's soldier).  They settled Quebec in the name of France.  Very cool stuff----think Mayflower Society but of Canada without the religious zealots.

About 15 years ago, I started to get involved in trying to get past my great great great grandfather, Antoine Gilbert.  Aunt Barbara & cousin Wendell could only go back to the early 1820s with him.  We know that he was born around 1823 & that he was most likely born in France (at least according to the Civil War records) but that's it.  My hope was that, with the help of the internet, I could find out more on him.  No luck.

So, fast forward to this past week---I decide I'll give this Ancestry thing a shot & see what I can find.  Of course, Antoine doesn't really come up.  His son George (my great great grandfather) does as does his son Philip. (my great grandfather).   In fact, old Phil's name comes up on a few family trees so I click on one.  It says that the tree is private but if I "ask nicely"---seriously.  Ancestry says to ask nicely.  The member might share with me.

The name that comes up?  My ex husband.

I hit "back" & selected the same option.   Same user name comes up.   Pardon my language, but what the h-e-double hockey sticks???

We don't have children together so really, my family tree shouldn't concern him.  While I don't wish him ill, I just don't see the need for us to talk or to be friends.

So, why does he have my great grandfather's name on a family tree????

The One About Travelling With Sunshine

If you've ever met my child then you know that once she makes up her mind, there is no changing it.  I'm not sure where she gets that.  

This past week, we ventured to points North to take advantage of some family time----Hunter's dad's side of the family had their annual family reunion & my aunt and  uncle were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.  Of course, they fell on the same day so while we were able to attend both, we weren't together for a good bit of the week.

Sunshine learned about Abraham Lincoln in 1st grade & has been obsessed with him ever since.  We had been trying to figure out when we could get a trip to DC into one of our trips to see family.  Since she and I were driving to Baltimore, we decided to stop outside DC, park the car and take the Metro into DC.

As we were heading into DC, she told me all she wanted to see was the Lincoln Memorial & science.  Specifically the Air and Space Museum.  We got off the Metro @ the Smithsonian stop and started the trek to the Lincoln Memorial.  We're used to hot, humid weather since we live in Georgia, but UGH!  Touristy stuff in this weather?  Just no fun!  

As we were walking, she'd protest that she just didn't want to see the Washington Monument.  Guess what, Sunshine?  Can't really avoid it.  Well, not without closing your eyes and tripping on the National Mall.  While the World War II Memorial held no charm for her, she did stop to take a pic at one of the trees as well as at the John Paul Jones statue.   

We made it up the steps at the Lincoln Mem. , got the picture and that was it.  Didn't want to stop to see the Vietnam Wall, again nixed the WWII memorial.  She did stop to comment that it would be fun to tour the White House. . . next time.

When we got back up to the Smithsonian area, we were sweaty, irritable and ready for air conditioning.  I convinced her that while the Air & Space Museum was really cool, that she'd love the Museum of Natural History.   

And she did.  A lot.  However, after about an hour, she was done.  DONE.  We hadn't even seen the Hope Diamond (I have before) when she asked if we could get back on the Metro  and head up to Baltimore to our hotel.

If your idea of a good time in a museum is to take your time and see every exhibit, don't travel with my child.  

Savage Mill Antiques Mall   Savage, MD

And of course, no trip is complete without a trip to the American Girl store!  The Tyson's Corner store is 2 stories and larger than the Atlanta store.  Sunshine had been saving her money toward this year's Girl of The Year (Saige) and we had an agreement that when she hit a certain dollar amount, that I would match it and  she could get Saige.  While we were at the anniversary party, my Mom gave her $20 toward her doll.  My cousin, Billy asked how close she was to meeting her goal.  We told him she was $10 shy and next thing we knew, he handed her $10 and told her to enjoy her doll.  

Sunshine with her dolls Elizabeth & Saige in Saige's hot air balloon

As much as we are happy to be home, we feel bad that we didn't spend nearly enough time with Hunter's parents but are hoping that a trip around the holidays will happen.  Actually, we're conspiring with his aunt to get his family down to GA for Christmas.   We'll see!

All Shopped Out

Is it possible to be all shopped out?

I've mentioned one of my favorite antique/thrift stores before and the beautiful pieces we've found there.  Frequently, we'll receive flyers from local furniture stores and I'll imagine this piece or that piece in our house.   The truth of the matter is, we're all shopped out when it comes to furniture.

There are a couple things I'd like:  one more chair for the dining room,  a nightstand for Sunshine's room to replace the little shelves next to her bed, a different end table in the living room, but really?  Shopped out.

Our bedroom suite is a few years old and honestly, I don't see us replacing it anytime in the next 20 years or so.  I love it as much now as I did the day it was delivered.  It's been replaced by Basset already and looks nothing like their current Louis Philippe line, but that's okay---we love it.

We redid the living room (new sofa, love seat, coffee and end tables) a year after we moved and again---love it.   After several years of whining about wanting a chocolate brown leather sofa, I got it.

Our guest room fell together nicely with our old bed, an end table and small rocker from Hunter's grandparents & Hunter's old dresser.   Same thing with our dining room--our table & chairs magically coordinated with Hunter's grandparents' china cabinet.  And our sideboard came from Gina's here in town.  The artwork we had inherited, most likely because no one else wanted it, works in that room.


Which leads me to this past weekend. . .

We were in Atlanta while Sunshine went to a hair styling class at AG.  Hunter's aunt graciously put us up for the night & as always, a wonderful time was had at her home.  From the first time I met her, she was incredibly welcoming & kind.   I would go spend time with her during various deployments w/ Libby & then with Libby & Sunshine.

Anyway, we were shopping yesterday & I was able to find a new outfit for my aunt & uncle's 50th Wedding Anniversary party later this month.  After purchasing the outfit (along with a top & 2 pairs of shorts), I found myself shopped out.

I went into several other stores but just wasn't able to commit to anything.  My usuals:  Coach, Kate Spade, Le Creuset, etc---no money was spent!  

Strange thing, being shopped out!