The Final Countdown

So, summer vacation was wonderful.  We went to Longboat Key for a week as you know.  Contemplated moving to Sarasota only to be reminded that one of the reasons why we're looking to leave Columbus (besides being near family) is that we both miss winter.  And really, winter in Sarasota?  Not much.

We drove up North and spent time with Hunter's family before going to see mine.  Our time in Virginia was great---very relaxed, no stress and we enjoyed visiting with his nephew and his family who were visiting from out of town.  His sister also does a Friday Family Night dinner which was so fun.  They were celebrating his other nephew's dinner.  Sunshine was beyond thrilled to see her little cousin H & his new baby sister O.  The best part was getting to hold O.   She told O's mom that she would do better with her as opposed to the time she dropped Hunter's brother's son.  In her defense, she was only 4.  She also loved going to see Poplar Forest.

We enjoyed beautiful weather & a lovely time in VT.  Dinner on the lake with friends, boat rides at sunset, lots of day trips (Ft. Ticonderoga & Saratoga) with my mom.  We were about an hour away from home when I realized I'd left our passports behind so no Canada trip.  This time.  I have to remember to bring them from now on!

We spent the last couple weeks enjoying the pool before school started.

So, Sunshine is a 5th grader at SuperAwesomeSchool.  While part of me is excited that she's in her final year, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sad as well.  We've had a great experience at SuperAwesomeSchool.  She had a rough couple days when she first started but it's hard to start mid-year.  She's adapted beautifully & truly has thrived.

She and her friends were the first crew to start off on the morning announcements.  Another area where she has thrived!  Most kids love being the announcers and Sunshine is no different but she truly loved being the director!  And got high praise from SuperBookatarian for her work.

The first full week there was a monkey wrench thrown in.  Sunshine was with her BFF Haylee in Mrs. T's class.  We requested Mrs. T & while the girls were bummed that their 2 other pals were in Mr. W's class, at least they were together.

Long story short, there was a schedule conflict for several students needing extra help so 7 kids from Mrs. T's were pulled & exchanged with 7 kids from Mr. W's class.

The tears in the hallway, people!!  I thought Sunshine & Haylee were going to hit the ground crying.  It was awful.  The principal told them "but you're together with E & P again!"  Didn't matter.  They wouldn't be in Mrs. T's homeroom.

Things got easier over the weekend & I'm proud to say they have both adapted beautifully.  Somehow I knew they would.    Mr. W. told me his only problem was that the 4 girls wanted to sit together.  But if he let them, he'd have to let 4 boys who are known troublemakers sit together.  Apparently both groups were allowed to change desks.  Guess whose desks haven't been moved  #Sweetgirls

I'm a week out from my final 3 book fair.  I have a co-chair this year so that will be a good thing.  She's got great ideas, is a hard worker & is very creative.  And her OCD is on par with mine.  I feel good about her taking over when I'm gone.

Sunshine is back taking ballet & goes 3x a week.  We're still trying ot adjust to the schedule but she is loving it.  And I love hearing her say all these French terms as she practices.

Lovin' Summer

Is there nothing better than summer vacation?  I don't care if you're a kid or a grown up---summer vacation rocks.

Once we hit an  age where Sunshine started sleeping in on weekends life changed for us.  There was no worry about "what if she wakes up at 6 am?" Most days she's asleep until at least 8.  If not later.     Let me tell you, if I can sleep from 11:30 until 8 am, I'm a happy girl.

Summer is a time away from volunteering.  I love doing what I do at school and I count my blessings that I am able to stay home.  But, everyone needs down time.  This is mine.

We've settled into a wonderful non-schedule of days now that our trip to Florida and VBS are over.  We get up when we're ready, eat breakfast in a lazy fashion and plan our day as necessary.  This week has been pool week.  The first summer we were in our house we joined a neighboring subdivision's pool.  Five years later finds us enjoying the pool as much as ever and Hunter on the board of the pool.  "Voluntold" he calls it.
But, it's our home away from home.  There's rarely a day that friends aren't there.  I keep Hunter's old Nook in the pool bag so that I have something to read (my Kindle Fire HD isn't great for outdoor reading).  The water has been wonderfully refreshing in the summer heat.

Tonight we're having a relaxing evening---laundry is going, I made stuffed peppers (sausage, quinoa, onions, toma tomatoes & gouda) for dinner and we're watching a movie.  Tomorrow is more pool time.

Oh summer. . .how I love you!

Vacation Hangover

Two thumbs up after para sailing

Toes in the sand. . . 

I don't know what's worse. . .the waiting for vacation to come or after you get home and it's over.

I have such a bad vacation hangover right now, it's not funny.   We spent last week on Longboat Key.  A wonderful, wonderful week.  So wonderful in fact, that we started discussing the option of moving there instead of to VA.

In addition to the usual beach vacation type things, Sunshine and Hunter went para sailing over the Gulf of Mexico.  I got some great pics of them up 500 feet but sadly didn't get to see any dolphins while we were out on the boat.  We did see some while we were on Coquina Beach.  And Hunter & Sunshine were a few feet away from a manatee while they were swimming at the beach near our condo.  Me?  I had gotten out of the water & was sitting on the beach.  You know, so I could snap the picture!

We love the Anna Maria Island/Longboat Key/ Sarasota area----very little crime, the cost of living isn't horrible, great lifestyle and really just heaven.  But, living there would leave us even further away from family.  Which is the point of us moving from GA to VA.   Closer to Hunter's family and close enough to mine that going up for a long weekend would be feasible.

The other thing that deters us is that we both really miss winter. We miss having 4 real seasons.  It's something we don't have here and certainly something that we wouldn't have in FL.

Maybe one day my need for snow, woolen hand knits and chilly weather will lessen and we'll be on the beach.

I'm not holding my breath either but it could happen!

#4thGradeLikeABoss

Color us super proud of Sunshine!  Her 4th grade awards ceremony was today and she racked up!  She received Principal's List (highest academic honors plus good conduct), STEM Club (science, technology, engineering & math), Broadcasting Club (the school's morning announcements which are student run.  They write them, direct, run camera, produce & announce.  Sunshine has LOVED this!), Music Award (she really wanted this one for some reason!) & was the top AR point earner for 4th grade (#1 out of 100).  AR is a reading program where the kids read a book and then take a test online for the book.  They receive a certain number of points based on the reading level of the book.  There is also a word count for the book.  Sunshine read over 1.5 million words this school year.  The look on her face when our Super Bookatarian called out her name was priceless!  

This folder is really heavy!

Sunshine & our Super Bookatarian.  I don't know who was more proud of Sunshine---me or Kristine!

These girls?  The sweetest.  Three of them (Sunshine & the 2 in blue) have been together since 1st & 2nd grade.  They are all such great girls---smart as can be, kind hearted, fun, funny, responsible, considerate---the kind of kids you look at & think "wow!"  

And that one in the jean jacket?  She is ours!  

 #luckytobehermom

Mother's Day 2014

Happy Mother's Day, blogworld!  Whether you're a biological mom, adoptive mom, step mom, or  mom to 4 legged creatures, I hope you have a wonderful day.

These 2?  They've taught me more about motherhood than I could ever imagine and are loved more than they will probably ever know.

The Week That Was

You know how sometimes you have one of those days that leaves you throwing your hands up in the air and declaring that you want a "do over"?  For me, it's been one of those weeks.

It technically started the day after the PTO meeting.  I came home Book Fair and felt the need to have a rest.  It's not uncommon after a busy day.  The rest of our weekend was pretty uneventful and we launched into last week.

Monday started out like any day that I'd be spending at school.  Sunshine and I headed out to school.  She was back on the announcements after a week of being the camera girl, I picked up the teacher sign up sheet from the lounge, joked with some of the 4th grade teachers about how it must be book fair as I wasn't feeling well.

I went downhill pretty fast and by 10:00 was calling for reinforcements.  My new co-chair, Amanda, gladly came in, gave me some recommendations for a tea that was sure to help me and then sent me packing.   I ran by Winn Dixie to pick up some tea and a couple other things and headed home.  If I willingly went to Winn Dixie, you know I'm not feeling well.  Remember the Prosciutto Incident of '07??  Right.

I got home and immediately got in bed.  I spent the rest of the day there with my fever going up and up.  And coughing and coughing.

Monday night/Tuesday morning we were under the threat of the bad storms that hit the Mid-west the day prior.  So, at 5 am on Tuesday, our tornado warning siren went off.  Sunshine and I moved into the hallway (the only part of our house that is truly interior) and huddled with the dogs while Hunter puttered around the house driving me crazy with worry.

While no tornadoes hit our area, they did hit about 20 miles away from us.  Scary, scary stuff.  We lost part of our 30 foot Bradford pear tree in our back yard.  The funny thing was that we didn't hear it fall during the storm.  Luckily, it wasn't a lightning strike as I first thought---there was a section of it that had rotted.  Hopefully we don't lose the rest of the tree.  One of our friends came over to help Hunter get it off our fence and the top part out of our neighbor's yard.

Sunshine went to school so Hunter dragged me and my 102 degree fever having self to the ER on post.  A flu swab, chest x-ray and much listening of the lungs later it was decided that I had pneumonia and I was sent away with a z-pack, afrin and robitussin with codeine.  Purple drank/sizzurp jokes aside, I felt horrible.  Again, I got back into bed and didn't come out until dinner.  At least I think I got up for dinner.  Yes, I'm pretty sure I did.

I felt slightly better on Wednesday when my fever broke and was able to spend most of the day on the couch rather than in bed.  Same with Thursday. Friday, I finally left the house.  If you know me well, you know that I just don't do housebound well.  At all.

I'm still coughing a bit and am still incredibly tired but am feeling better.  It's hard for me to be so go-go-go-go all the time and to find myself being so limited.

So, that is why last week was so rough.   I'm lucky that my super sweet hubby has been so wonderful about helping me--getting up with Sunshine, getting her lunch ready, getting her to and from school, handling meals, etc.

The little ray of sunshine in my week?  My Sunshine in her Drama Kids Spring Performance.

Their play was called Storyland Idol and she played the part of Paula Paparazzi who was one of the judges.  We are SO proud of her performance.  She loved dancing on the chair.

And our PTO kids!  The boys were in the Upper Primary class (3-5th) with Sunshine and the little girl was in the k-2nd play.  They've all been friends since Kindergarten/1st grade and are just all around great kids.  They put in long hours at school with us and never complain.  The one in the pink?  She has my & Hunter's hearts.

Gluttony Is A Sin

seeing as how I'm a glutton for punishment, I must be a big ol' sinner. . .



The last four years, I've found myself becoming increasingly more involved at SuperAwesome School.  When she was in Kindergarten I volunteered for a 2 hour shift at a Book Fair & for a couple days during Faculty/Staff Appreciation Week.  Oh, and I helped out in Sunshine's classroom a few times.

First grade was the year it all went down hill.  It started innocently enough with being a Room Mom.  Our teacher lost her para pro so another mom and I would go in to help out in the classroom or to make copies.

Then it came.  The phone call where I was asked to help co-chair the two remaining book fairs for the rest of the year.

I'm going to tell you a secret----once you prove yourself doing something big.  Like a Book Fair, and you do it well, people realize that you're honest (important when handling money), capable, reliable and a glutton for punishment.

And it's at that point you find yourself saying yes to a position on an executive board for your school's parent/teacher group.

So after 2 years of Treasurer (truly the hardest of all of the positions) I thought I'd slide into Secretary for the next 2 years.  It wasn't to be and I find myself finishing up my first year as President.

Honestly, President isn't nearly as bad as it seems to be.  You need to be visible.  You need to be personable.  You need to enjoy people you've never met coming up to you to introduce themselves and to ask why are you so involved at the school and did your child receive special favors as a direct result.  (Yeah, got that one earlier this year).  You need to be able to delegate and manage without micromanaging.   Having been micromanaged by a PTA President as well as an old boss, I can honestly say that it's my least favorite part about dealing with people.

The downside of being President is well, the negative stuff.  Ticked off parents.  The parents who never get involved for whatever reason but love to do nothing but criticize how things are run.   Yet if you ask them to get involved (to shut them up), they're too busy.

Because none of us on the board are ever busy.  Real life doesn't exist for us.

So this year there was a sliver of hope that I would finally slide into the low key world of PTO Secretary.  You know, take some meeting notes, prepare the monthly calendar.  Let the big decisions fall on someone else's shoulders.

Yeah, no such luck.  I'll end Sunshine's time at SuperAwesome school as PTO President.  The plus side of this is that I'll have a major say in what happens at school and will be in a position to MAKE it happen.  School district say no to the 5th grade trip?  PTO President comes to rally the parents to make phone calls to the district.  And I'll get to be at school for her last year of elementary school.

I'll continue to be one of those people who make it happen.  Glutton for punishment or not.