Christmas Wish

Dear Santa,

Please disregard all previous gifts requested.  You know what I want this year for Christmas....

Hey God?  It's me Michelle.....

          Think Santa is gonna need a hand with this one.

XO,

Michelle

 

Love you Mom!!

I Will Be Back....

All is fine with Mike, me and the kids....  I can't tell you the number of times something happens and I think, "I've got to write that down in my journal."  Yet, my mind and life is currently too cluttered to actually come here and do that.  

There was an explanation to that cluttered mind problem I'm experiencing, but tonight I decided to delete that part of the entry. 

::::It was here::::: 

First time I've ever done that....  For those who commented, thank you.   My Mom made mention of that part of the entry, and well, although I'm always happy to hear that someone is reading my journal, I began to feel funny about it.   Not because she read it, but because she made a few valid points and so......... that part of the entry is forever gone.  Wouldn't it be great to have a delete button in real life?  : )    

A few recent funnies....

Around Halloween we were in the car talking about bats.  Sammi pipes up from the backseat, "I know about bats, they are not turtles."  Mike & I paused and said, "Right Sam, they're not turtles."  Sammi again says, "Nooooo, they're not turtles!"  Again I answered "of course not, they're bats" Then a ::::big sigh:::: from Sammi.  And in an exasperated little voice she says...."No, you know animals that only come out at night.  They are not turtles."  ::::lightbulb goes on:::: "Oooooooooh, nocturnal"   : )  

We've been fighting colds around here since October.  Coughing and snotty noses have become a regular part of life lately.  As I was walking Mikey into preschool one morning.  I noticed a dry booger on his cheek.  When I stopped to try to flick it off, Mikey said, "Mom, don't worry about that.  It's just new skin growing."   

Now the ironic thing about that is.... Mikey believes that dried boogers on his cheek is new skin.  But already he is doubtingthe existence of Santa.  What?  Yup, it's true.  A few weeks ago, Mikey walked up to Mike and said, "Dad, does Santa really come in our house and bring us toys on Christmas?"   Mike says, "Of course Mikey.  Who do you think did?"   Mikey said very matter of factly, "I thought maybe it was you and Mom"  Before Mike could even reply, Mikey turned around and walked away.

Speaking of Christmas, can you believe it's only 25 days away?  Despite all that's on my mind, the Christmas spirit has hit me early this year.  I've been listening to Christmas carols for the past two weeks.... 

                Now if I could just get motivated and start shopping.    

Last Day Of Summer?

Sammi & Mikey fishing at the resevoir July 2006

 

I think the last day of summer this year was Monday, Oct. 9th, 2006.   Was an absolutely perfect day, in the 80's, not a cloud in the sky.  The sky was almost too blue, if that's possible.  The blue was so intense it actually hurt my eyes to stare at it too long.  Just gorgeous.  We went out for a cruise on the boat and packed a picnic lunch.  Something about the ocean just soothes my soul.  I love that I live only 5 minutes away from something that brings me such peace.  Some people go to church to find peace, some climb to the tops of mountains.  Me?  The ocean is my church, my place to go and clear my mind from the clutter of every day life.   After taking a cruise through the marshes and then out to the open ocean, we beached the boat so we could walk on the sand and soak our toes.   At that moment, the only tell-tale sign that summer was turning into autumn was the foliage that lined the shore.   As the sun was about to set, we climbed back in the boat and headed for home.  Maybe we'll get another nice day (one can always hope) but....

I think the last day of summer this year was Monday, Oct 9th, 2006. 

                                         ....I will miss you summer 

Still Here

Seriously, what was I thinking? 

Eating an entire can of baked beans aptly named "BM"?  

About 4 hours after consuming the whole can, I was in distress.  These beans may be 95% fat free, but I can tell ya, they definitely are NOT gas free, lol.....  Last night while at work, I felt like that girl who turns into a blueberry in "Willie Wonker and the Chocolate Factory".  

Only upside was that this happened while working at the nursing home.  Lucky for me, a nursing home is one of those places you can get away with having a bad case of flatulence if you time your toots right, lol. 

Fffwwwwiiiptttttt...............

Hey, that wasn't me!  Honest.

                                         ......It was the dog

 

 

Two Graduations

Spencer graduated from High School....

                                    Sammi from preschool....

 

I survived both while keeping the tears to a minimum.   I was doing very well at Spencer's graduation until he got up to sing a song with the chorus.   I knew I was doomed from the moment the song started.  Beautiful music always makes me cry...touches my soul.  While listening to the song, I suddenly realized that this was the last time I would be watching my son in a school concert.  The reality that he was graduating & grown up really hit me in that moment.  The tears began to quietly fall.... 

Although very few people probably notice when I'm crying at school functions and concerts, I still get very embarrassed.  Usually I have the dark of the theatre to hide my tears, but at graduation the lights were on and I felt like all could see.  I didn't want other's to think I was silly, so in an effort to stop the tears, I took a deep breath in to compose myself.   Seemed like a good idea.  But the result of that deep breath was a HUGE ::::snorting:::: sound.  If no one noticed me before, they no doubt did then, lol.  Ahhhh, way to cover, Michelle.  : ) 

Sammi's graduation was very cute.  A few weeks ago, all the kids were given a different country (Sammi's was Sweden); then parent's were asked to dress their kids in that country's style of clothing for graduation.  They marched into the gym to the tune of "Pomp Of Circumstance"  while waving the flag of their adopted country.  When they all reached the stage they sang "It's A Small World"   After that song, they did sign language & creative movement to the song "It's A Wonderful World".  As I watched my little girl, who apparently has not bonded with "even one classmate," she looked happy.  In fact, she looked happier than the majority of the children standing up there.  No tears for my little girl, (ok, well maybe just one), but after watching her at graduation I realized that she's going to be just fine....

In September Spencer will be heading off to college, Sammi will be going full-time to kindergarten and Mikey will be going to preschool two days a week.  Oh, what's a sometimes overwhelmed Mom to do with all that free time? 

        Somehow I don't think there will be any tears in September, lol.   

Preschool Comments...

Friday we received some forms from Sammi's preschool to send to her kindergarten.  These forms have information about what skills she has mastered this year, and what skills she still needs to work on.  Pretty boring stuff, nothing unexpected.  At the end of these forms was a letter attached from her teacher that said, "Preschool Comments". 

It starts off by saying that Sammi is a sweet little girl.  "You will love her smile and silly sense of humor.  Sammi is bright and creative.  She loves to paint and draw."  It goes on to say, that she pays attention at group time and is eager to share her experiences.  She even waits her turn well.  (Ok, so THAT is a bit of a shock, lol). 

All good, right?   But the teacher has one concern.  Her ability to socialize with her peers. 

"Sammi plays in groups of children, but she has not bonded with even one of her classmates.  Although Sammi enjoys playing by herself, she also often complains to me that no one will play with her."    My little girl went to this school two days a week for 9 months and didn't make one friend.  Not one.  I don't understand...

She always seemed excited to go to school and was always smiling when I picked her up.  She's not an annoying child, she's a gentle happy soul, although a bit shy at first.  She doesn't appear to have problems approaching other kids when we go to the park, yet, not one friend at school?

Tonight is her graduation and already I feel tears....  Just so sad for her.

The letter ends with, "My hope is that as all kindergartners have a fresh start in kindergarten, Sammi will be able to find a few good friends this fall.   She is a very sweet little girl."   

June 7th and still here....

June 6th, 06 came and went....

                         And the world didn't end.

So, today I went grocery shopping and did my laundry.  It appears I'll be needing clean underwear after all.  : )   

Things I've Learned

Spencer showing his school spirit at his High School basketballs state finals game, March 2006.

 

In the past 6 weeks I've learned....

 

That although I try to teach my children what is best, sometimes life experience is a better teacher....

A life experience taught my son a lesson about the consequences of being in the wrong place at the right time....

I can still ground my 18 year old son without having to pull out the "While you live under this roof,  you'll live by my rules...." speech.

That Sammi has asthma...  after a month of treatments, her lungs are clear for the first time in 5 months.

Sometimes the more you do for others, the less you are appreciated.... (This one goes out to my place of employment. )

Black face paint is very hard to remove from an old bathtub....

When a toilet is removed don't drop anything down that big exposed sewer pipe....

I love my new toilet....

Sometimes you can have pain, but Dr's can't figure out why.  Tests continue....

3 year old boys can't fly like Superman.  How do I know?  His 4 year old sister told him to jump off the top of the bunk bed.... and he did.

Don't forget to wash out the crockpot after cooking a roast.

But if you do forget and discover it three days later, DON'T open the cover to check if it smells.  Trust me on this one, it does!  

 

Quote Of The Day:  Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. ~~John Lennon

.

Knew It Was Bound To Happen....

Yup, I knew it was bound to happen....with these two it was only a matter of time.  For what, you ask?  For them to find a pair of scissors.  Well, that is what I imagined.... 

 Of course my dynamic duo thought scissors would be a bit boring, so...........

They used an electric hair clipper instead.   They were supposed to be in the bathroom going to the toilet, (they go together for moral support,) but I guess they decided on a haircut too.  Sammi apparently was the hairdresser (because her hair is intact) but Mikey now has shaved little patches on the front of his head.  Picture to follow....

When I asked him what happened he said, "I just wanted to look like a gentleman."  

They are SOOOO lucky they are cute, lol...

Finally, I clicked on "Add Entry"

Yup, still here.....  I know it's been over a month since I've last updated; just dealing with my seasonal funk.  I really have no reason to be in a funk, life is good for the most part.   But that doesn't matter, winter time comes and I become blue....  Never imagined myself living any place else other than New England, my roots are here.  But as the years pass, it seems my winter time blues are becoming stronger.  I might have to someday re-examine my feelings about living here in the winter.  Future Florida snow bird?  ....Ah well.  Lots of time to think about it before that phase of my life comes to be.  For now, I deal with the funk.  

January has been a month of extremes.  So far, we've had one week of bitter cold and two weeks of temps in the upper 40's, 50's and yesterday it hit 60 degrees!   I couldn't believe how beautiful it was.  Because these temps are so unusual for January, we headed to the beach.  The kids grabbed their buckets and Mike took his metal detector.  Although 3- year-old Mikey was sure we'd find "gold" no treasures were discovered, unless one considers a rusted fishing lure and a penny treasure.   The kids collected shells, built a sand castle and even took their shoes and socks off to dip their toes in the ocean.    Other than the horses and dogs running in the water, I had the only two humans that were crazy enough to venture in.  A few waves hit Mikey soaking him to his thighs, he didn't even flinch.  He said the water wasn't cold, but his little feet were red.  After 5 minutes of pretending it was still summer, I made them dry their feet and put their shoes and socks back on.  We stayed for 2 hours at the beach, had a great time.  The other day as we were riding in the car running errands, Mikey said....  "Mom, our world is wrong, it's broken."   ....I didn't answer him, but I think he may be right.

Let's see, what else is going on.... 

I picked up another shift at work, a 3-11 shift on Mondays.  Mike wasn't thrilled I decided to pick up another day, but it's made a tremendous difference in my paycheck. 

Spencer has decided against going to college for criminal justice and instead would like to become a fire fighter.   Instead of a 4 year college, we are now looking into a 2 year college for his associates degree in the fire service.   My Dad was a fire fighter, worked his way up to Deputy Chief.  I spent my childhood worrying about my Dad everytime I heard the fire alarms go off, and now I will worry about my son.   But that's ok.  It's a brave and noble job, a calling.  And just as my Dad made me proud, so will my son.  I think my Dad would have loved it, if his son's had followed him into fire fighting (one son did for a short while)....but it wasn't meant to be.   Now it appears one of his grandson's will.... 

Sammi got her haircut.  Long curly hair that was once almost waist long, is now not as curly & up off her shoulder's.  She wanted her hair "cut up to her ears like the blonde girls at school", we compromised and let her have it cut to her shoulders.   She's loving ballet & seems to have a talent for it.  My little girl, although still very tiny (she only weighs 36 lbs) is definitely growing up.   Speaking of growing up, it's already time to enroll Mikey for preschool in September.   He'll be the youngest in his class as he just made the cut off date of August 31st.  (His birthday is August 31st).  He'll only go for 2 days a week like Sammi, he's really looking forward to it.  And if the truth be known, so am I.  Ok, so I know that last comment will disqualify me for any "Mom Of The Year" awards, but my life with the mischievous duo is sometimes overwhelming, looking forward to a few hours of sanity.   

Well, today is another beautiful day.  Not as warm as yesterday....but certainly doesn't feel like January.  (Unfortunately, that's supposed to change tomorrow, possible snow is in the forcast).  A few hours ago Sammi asked me what we were doing today.  She said, "Mom, are we going to the beach, to the park, or will we just stay home and be boring watchingTV?"     Too nice to stay home and be boring, so we'll be going out.    We're going to the Arts and Science Center today to see an aeriel dance performance,  Sammi's ballet teacher is one of the performer's.   Yikes, it's after 1pm, showtime is at 2pm and all of us are still in pajama's.   Oh, did I tell you that "no more procrastinating" is one of my New Year's resolutions?  

                                   Not doing so well with that one....  : )