Day 4: Blah...so far, anyway.

Kindergarten day 4 has been one of those days that, if my life were a reality show, the editors would be extremely thankful that they have a whole week's worth of footage to work with and not just today.  In other words, not a very exciting day.

I did manage to do yoga again this morning so at least I got a good start.  Another highlight of the morning was when I checked Facebook and had a friend request from some guy I went to high school with who I would swear can't possibly remember who I am.  I do realize that even though he requested my esteemed friendship does not mean he actually wants to be friends with me or even really does remember me.  I am on the high school list after all.  What does amaze me is how I still find myself occasionally catapulted back to those days in high school and all the feelings that went along with it.  It's crazy how those years are so crucial and can really stick with you for the rest of your life.  I hope that Veronica and Evan are able to have good experiences and remember it fondly one of these days, and anything that I can do to help that happen is going to be my top priority.

I'd have to say the high point of my day was when Evan and I went to meet Jon for lunch at his work.  One of the things I've noticed lately is that I really enjoy my children tremendously when I'm able to interact with them one at a time.  These past few mornings with Evan have been very pleasant.  At first, I thought he was going to be more high maintenance without Veronica around to keep him company, but overall, he's just been really cute and a lot of fun.  It's kind of a shame that I haven't really had the chance to enjoy either of my kids on an individual basis very much, but it's nice to see that the "separation" between them that we were all kind of dreading is going to have many high points as well.  Jon was very happy to have a midday distraction, and Evan was excited to welcome all the other children to the play area at Chik-fil-a.

I have been preparing all week for a visit from my parents and sister who should most likely be arriving very soon.  I hope all goes well.  Already I'm worried about the sleeping arrangements because, although we have plenty of space, we don't have plenty of air-conditioned sleeping space.  Being a family with a broken A/C system and only one window unit upstairs cooling one small section of a 2-story house all summer, I'm shocked at the number of visitors we've had come hang out at our house, and even a couple over-nighters.  But this is the first time we've had out-of-town guests come stay for any length of time.  Although my family knows the situation they are coming into, and what they can do about it if they don't like it, I am the ever pleasing hostess and hope everyone is able to be comfortable.  With that being said, I've at least planned a couple good meals--if I can't keep them cool I may as well keep them well fed-- starting with baked ziti and caesar salad tonight.  This baked ziti recipe I use is the best I've ever had.  If anyone wants it, definitely let me know.  It seems to be a hit with everyone I've ever made it for as well.  Then tomorrow, I think we're going to make pulled pork sandwiches by slow roasting a huge pork shoulder.  I've never cooked a pork shoulder before so this will be interesting.  I know that all my NC neighbors would probably have some choice words about my BBQ being cooked in the oven and not, well, BBQ'd or smoked.  But, since I'm not from NC anyway, I'm just gonna do it my way, and I'll let you know how it turns out.

So anyway, here's hoping this visit is enjoyable by all and drama free.  If not, I guess the good news is I might actually get my own reality show after all.

Day 3: Yoga, Breastfeeding, and Rachael Ray

Today is day 3 of Kindergarten, and it was another good day all around.  Veronica was complaining last night that she didn't get any stickers on her chart yesterday (a reward system for good deeds), and she was the only one who didn't.  I assured her that I doubted that to be true, but we talked about the things that she could do today to get some stickers.  She was very happy to report, right off the bus, that she had received 3 stickers today, but quickly followed that with a frown because someone else got a piece of candy already (5 stickers=1 piece of candy).  I just laughed to myself thinking, welcome to the rest of your life.

Backing up a little to the beginning of our day, I am happy to report that I was successful with my yoga this morning, and it really did make me feel good to start the day that way.  Evan did wake up about 15 minutes into a 35 minute session, but he sat down on the couch and decided to watch me, quickly pointing out when he thought I was making a wrong move--and sometimes showing me.  Maybe tomorrow I'll invite him to join me.

We got breakfast, and I sat down to my computer, turning the TV to Good Morning America.  Right away, GMA started in with a story about supermodel Gisele Bundchen and her latest statement that she thinks all women should be required to breastfeed their babies.  She even thinks we should make it a law.  I understand that she probably never had any intention of lobbying for a law mandating pro-boob nutrition for babies everywhere.  But seriously, why even say stupid things like that?  It's bad enough that women already hate their bodies and get smacked in the face around every corner with pictures of the likes of Gisele, but now she's telling us how to raise our children too?  And she further incensed pro-formula moms by referring to formula as giving your baby "chemical food."  Moms have a lot of pressure put on them by society to always make the most informed and perfect choices they can, and with today's standards coupled with the bad economy, it is tougher than ever to balance what is right and what is doable.  Basically, moms have enough guilt that we carry around on a daily basis as it is.  We don't need new mom, Gisele, who apparently has it all figured out already, to tell us what we are doing wrong.  In reality though, I promise I really don't care what she says.

After some mundane chores, and the addition of an extra child--childcare for my neighbor--I loaded everyone up to take my second trip of the week to Walmart.  I probably would have saved it for tomorrow when I only would have had to bring Evan with me, but when we were there on Monday, I forgot to get my prescription I refilled.  Since I had officially run out of pills yesterday morning, today it was.  I took the opportunity to check out the dog food since Bailey was just about out.  I normally buy dog food at Costco, but Jon and I had made the decision to switch her food to something more natural.  After reading some disturbing things online, I decided I wasn't doing her any favors by giving her food with all those additives in them.  After all, I wouldn't do something like that to my kids if I knew better, and she is just as important.  After thoroughly perusing the dog food section, I made the choice to buy Rachael Ray's expensive creation.  I hate the cost, but I feel good about what I'm doing.  The thought has already crossed my mind that the food we were feeding our other dogs may have played some part in them getting sick and dying, especially Dolly who died prematurely.  But, whatever.  I'm not going to beat myself up about something I really know nothing about.  So I bring the food home and immediately put some in her bowl thinking she's going to tear into it and devour the whole thing.  She walks over and sniffs it, taking some in her mouth and gingerly spitting it back out on the floor. She did this a few more times over the next 20 minutes or so before I concluded my good deed was going unappreciated.  Before I got too annoyed, I decided to walk away and do some other things.  In the background, I heard her finally start eating, and I was pleased with myself until I came back a while later and found a ton of kibble scattered all over the kitchen floor.  Dogs!

So as I'm taking a moment to wind down, I'm trying to think about what to make for dinner tonight and wishing I could just serve breast milk and not have to worry about it.  I'll probably throw something on a plate and then send them off to bed.  Somewhere in there Jon will get home to join us, but it's always tough to say exactly when that will be.  Then it's a little trashy TV for me and off to bed myself so we can get up and do the whole thing over again tomorrow. Certainly not very exciting, but it works for us.    I wonder what Gisele thinks about that?

Just plain life...

I have decided that I'm going to try AGAIN to write more regularly in my blog. But with our schedules about to go into overdrive, I figured there would be plenty to blog about just by talking about my day. So this time, I'm just going to simply chronicle my daily goings on as our family moves into some new, some similar, and some "same ole, same ole" territory.

Veronica has just started Kindergarten, and this has been very exciting for everyone involved. Today was her 2nd full day of school. It makes me wonder how long it's going to take before it gets old. Already, it seemed the vibe here at 6am was less abuzz than it had been yesterday morning. But even still, the morning went well, and she was happy to get up, happy to get ready, and happy to be on the bus leaving for her glorious world of school.

Rather than wake Evan like we did yesterday--yes, we were that cheesy family of four walking our daughter to the school bus on her first day of school--I decided to let him sleep. When I returned from dropping her off, the house was peacefully quiet. A week ago, I had made a pact with myself that, with the beginning of Kindergarten, there would be a new beginning for me as well as I was determined to do something about my apathetic attitude around the house. Beginning yesterday, the plan was to put Evan on his bike and leave for a 7am, 3-mile walk around my neighborhood every morning--well, most mornings, at least. The theory behind this is that it will definitely boost my energy level and, in turn, boost my mood. Well, yesterday I made the excuse that it looked like it might rain--it never did--and Evan might get wet. So, we didn't go. This morning he was just sleeping so well, and it seemed like such a shame to wake him. Of course by the time he woke and had breakfast, it was just too hot and humid to go then. So, the lack of energy and dispassionate attitude live on as my record goes 0 for 2 successful days on the new plan.

About half way through the morning, as I sat trying to think of what I wanted to do with my morning, or rather what seemed to be the least of the evils, I decided to give my friend and fellow stay at home mom, Theresa, a call to see what she had going on. She, who has always run a daycare since I've known her and always seems to have between 4-8 children in her house at all times, was alone doing chores in a peaceful house and thought it sounded like a great idea for us to chat and drink some coffee together. It seemed so wrong for me to arrive with even one child to shatter the peaceful zen she had going, but she convinced me it was fine, and off we went. I really enjoyed our visit, and although 3 of her daycare kids ended up showing up about an hour after we got there, everyone played well, and Evan really enjoyed himself. Through our chatter, we both concluded that we share the same complaint regarding lack of energy and inability to stick with any good exercise regime. This fact, paired with the realization that we were both about to find ourselves with no children on somewhat of a regular basis, led us to set our "firm" plan of walking together 2 days per week, starting in September with Evan's pre-K schedule. On my way home, I remembered that I owned a yoga DVD--another plan gone awry from a year ago--and realized that my major excuse for giving that up no longer applied. My yoga tapes seemed best implemented early in the morning--I HATE mornings--and somewhere quiet with no distractions--I could never wake up before my kids. Suddenly everything seemed perfect! I have no choice but to wake and get Veronica on the bus by 7am. Evan seems to be content to sleep until at least 7:30 or 8. This small window of opportunity gives me time to find my chi, boost my energy level, and possibly improve my muscle tone. So, starting tomorrow, of course, that yoga tape is going to get a work out.

Anyway, Veronica came home, and she has had another good day of school. She still enjoys riding the bus, and since I really like the bus driver, and I happened to get her a little "thank you" gift on the first day--a little bribery of the bus driver is definitely in order when it comes to making sure my kid has the best, non-bullied experience on the bus--I think the bus will not be anything I'll need to worry about. We've made it successfully through 2 days of the next thirteen years of my oldest daughter's grade-school career. Thankfully, we have 8 more school days left to adjust to our new routine before I start my school hell--I mean, days--again, and then 3 weeks later Evan starts his. Whew! I'm tired already. Maybe this isn't the best time to be starting a new blogging project. I guess I could always cut back on the yoga...