Back At It

Yesterday was Back to School!  Mason is now an 11th grader, Ella in 3rd and Silas started Kindergarten.  I knew that Silas starting K would be sad but I cried all the way home from school.  I told Justin he'd better get snipped soon, before I start on a baby kick again!

Mason has some interesting classes this year.  He's taking German, a Marine biology class, personal finance, psychology, pre-calc...he started an Engineering course but wants to drop that (can't say that I blame him...).
His friend Kyle is supposed to drive him to school, giving him an extra 20 minutes of sleep in the morning.  Kyle picked him up yesterday but at the end of the day, his car wouldn't start, so it was back on the bus today!

Justin and I walked Ella and Si to school - Silas was very excited.  He met his teacher at an ice cream social last week and then also at open house on Monday evening.  It's the same teacher Ella had for K and we LOVE her!!  Justin has been teasing Silas about how mean she is and how she likes to pinch the kids.  Silas came home yesterday and told Justin that she only pinched him once :)

I'm used to having Silas walk home with me after dropping Ella off - now I drop them both off.  But a mere 2.5 hours later, I pick him up and take him to Kelly's so at least I get a mid-day hug and to see his rotten little smile :)

El looks like such a little grown-up here!

Holding Dad's hand on the walk :)

Silas posed with Mrs. Sherwood before getting into line with his class.  Such a big boy!  He was SO excited when I picked him up yesterday and said what an "awesome!" day he had :)

Monday, the last day of summer break, was absolutely beautiful out.  I decided to take Ella and Si to the zoo for a last outing.  It was perfect!!  And not very crowded as some of the schools had already started back.

Silas looks a little concerned about the polar bear coming up behind him!

Hard to believe another summer has flown by already!!

This, That and the Other

To continue with my updates from earlier in the week...

Last weekend I met up with some high school pals.  As I was getting ready to go, Ella asked me where I was going.
"I'm going to go hang out with some high school girls."
To which Ella exclaims  "oh, oh, I want to go too! I want to hang out with high school girls!"
I had to grudgingly admit - "honey, it's 40 year old high school girls...not girls in high school now."
"oh, never mind then" she said all bummed out.
Do you remember being young enough that you thought 40 was pretty much synonymous with the early bird special and hip fractures? 

What was fun about this group is that (with the exception of Sherry), I didn't hang out with these girls in school.  Our paths crossed in various activities and because of other friends but we wouldn't have just called each other up or gone to the mall together.  With the advent of Facebook, we all connected on there and keep in touch.  Rhea (bottom left), who I cheered with in middle school and some of high school, has had a lot of health issues since we graduated and she wanted to get together and see us - so here we are!  We had so much fun and it was so funny to get all our different perspectives on high school and who remembered what. I'd never want to go back to high school but the memories are fun :)

~

Last week, I attended Famous American Night in Ella's classroom.  All of the 2nd graders had written a report and designed a slide show (on a Mac none-the-less) and we got to view all of the slide shows, plus a few skits that involved the kids reading from scripts.  They all did a wonderful job.  God love these teachers, I don't see how they do it. Kids + other kids = chaos!!
Ella's famous person was Amelia Earhart and as she was doing her research, there was a lot of new information about her possibly having been found after all these years. Pretty cool.

~

We've had some funky weather here this winter.  Snow, rain, ice out the ying-yang, and then hail and terrible thunderstorms and tornado watches (in February!) last Sunday. They woke Justin and me up many times throughout the night - our bedroom has a skylight and it's like the Flashdance strobe light scene in there when the lightening gets bad.  Silas was the first to come in our room, about 5 minutes after we put him to bed. Ella came in around 2:30am. Zoe came upstairs at some point and peed in the floor, she was so scared. Even Cleo came  up and slept with us. I thought that Mason was being brave but when I asked him the next morning...he hadn't heard a thing all night. He slept right through the storms.

 ~

I plan to post an end of Feb YOSP update this weekend, but one related goal is my running. I can't remember ever feeling this happy and excited about physical activity. I've been one to make myself exercise but I've never been this excited about strapping on running shoes and my iPod and just go. It's been 2 months and 2 days and I feel SO much healthier and still in shock that I actually can run. I started logging my runs soon after I started and put a widget at the bottom of the blog - if you notice me slacking, call me on it :) So far, last week is the only week that I missed some running days. I was sick and only got 2 days in what should have been a 4 day running week.

Part of me wishes I had started running a long time ago but most of me is really just happy to have something new to get me motivated right now.  It's fun to start something new - especially something new that is good for you too. 

The Weekend that Wasn't

This will be a grumpy post - because this past weekend just blurred right into last week and makes it feel like I've just had a super, duper long week with no end in sight. My fun for the weekend included lots and lots of work and tons of laundry.  Justin worked all weekend too.  All I could envision is what it might be like to just go away someplace tropical, with a book in one hand and a big drink in the other. With or without kids but definitely without the computer and the washer/dryer. The most exciting thing this weekend is that Columbus (and most of Ohio) broke the February snowfall record with 30.1 inches.  I suppose that could be why I feel so cooped up and antsy - I'd just like to hibernate.

Silas even asked me on Sunday "can't I just sleep until summer gets here?" 

- my feelings exactly!! I don't think that in my 40 winters in Ohio, I've ever wanted spring to get here as much as this year!

 Even the snowmen have had enough...look how depressed he looks...

 

The leaning pile of snow. It stayed that way all night.

One thing that I've been trying hard to work on around here is some of our eating habits.  I've been reading some books on nutrition and preventing/fighting cancer.  There are a lot of things that I had no clue about. It's been very helpful.  I have switched our pasta to whole grain, trying to cut out as much refined sugar as possible and this week we've eaten apples, bananas, oranges, tons of blueberries, other berries (lots in smoothies), broccoli, carrots, brussel spouts, orange peppers, tomatoes and lots of avocados and salads.

I am having a hard time working more fish into our weekly menu though...maybe tomorrow we'll have fish tacos. And more beans...less meat. Yikes.

The animals continue to be loved...very loved to the point of suffocation.

 And they have claimed the kids' couches as their own...

Silas has been a good sport when I put his hat on...and he looks like a lump-head. He calmly reminds me that his mittens are still in his hat.

An Ella funny:

me: don't lick your sunglasses

Ella: I'm not licking them, I'm cleaning them (with her tongue...)

ick.

Silas has been his rotten self lately.  He is quickly learning the art of manipulation, especially if it involves the Wii or DS.  We really have to watch how much he plays because if we'd let him, he'd stay on it ALL day long!
I've been going into his classroom once or twice a month to help the kids do activities on the computer. It's fun to get to know the kids in his class and his teachers.  His teacher is pregnant and the kids all ask her a bunch of questions about the baby. One girl asked her to open her mouth so that she could see the baby in her belly :)

I am VERY proud of Mason right now.   He's done a good job of keeping his grades up all year, but for some reason, seemed to be slacking in the effort last semester.  When he brought home his interim grades this time he has all A's and today he got a postcard in the mail from his World Studies teacher:

Your student, Mason, has been recognized for...

turning it up this quarter! Mason has really applied himself and is performing at the level we all knew he could.  Great job!!

Yes, GREAT JOB!  I love my kids.  I'm not nearly as grumpy now :-)

Homecoming

Mr. Mason got all gussied up for his 9th grade Homecoming. NO date...apparently the thing is to just go with a group of friends. Fine by me! He looked very handsome, none the less.

Mason and Justin...no resemblance there at all...

All 3 of my boys

I tried to get him to take me as his date.
I probably still have my Homecoming dress...
I feel really short next to him!

Looking all GQ meets Pottery Barn

He said he had a great time - apparently he even danced :-) It's starting to sink in that my kid is in High School. Zoinks!! (yes, we watch Scooby Doo about 12 times a day around here).

Parent letter for a teacher

Mason's English teacher gave the parents an assignment - write her a letter about our kid...this was ours.

Mason J. parent letter…

Mason, Mason, Mason…hmm…he is the oldest of 3 children. He has a sister that is 6 years old and in 1^st grade at (DC) and a brother that is 3 years old and in preschool at (AD). We thought for a long time that he’d be an only child but we’re glad that he’s not because he’s a great big brother (though he appears to really love to annoy his younger siblings).

Mason is a kid with a good sense of humor and a good heart. Sometimes he will go overboard with the humor (at least at home!) but will go out of his way to help, to play with the neighbor kids, to tend to animals (ours and others) and he loves our dog, Zoe and kitten, Cleo.

We learned around 2^nd grade that Mason appears to be an auditory learner. He’d learn how to do his spelling words when we’d practice with him in the tub and ask him to spell it out verbally versus having him sit and write it out (which he hated and didn’t seem to learn as much from). He is a great reader and likes to read fiction books (though he will deny that he likes to “read” because he doesn’t think it is “cool”). He’s read all the Harry Potter books, the Twilight series and some Stephen King too. He tends to excel at science. English, on the other hand, is not his best subject - especially writing. He does have a creative mind and when he does write – creates some very interesting stories.

Mason is a POKEY child! When he was making the transition from his 2^nd year of preschool to Kindergarten, his teacher’s only concern was that he is “a pokey child”. He’s unorganized a great deal of the time (as are his parents…), but he is very bright and has done very well in school so far without much effort.

We want to encourage him to understand that high school is different, it takes effort…lots. We want to see that he is putting forth the effort and we want to encourage him to be involved in many different activities to discover his interests in life. Our goal this year is to help him do better with his organizational skills, and encourage him to put more effort into school and to commit to exploring different activities.

One last thing – as a kid, Mason LOVED Batman…to the point that he wouldn’t go out of the house without his mask and cape…

Her response: I LOVE the picture!!! It made my heart just melt.
(mine too...)

Back to School '09

The first day of a school was a hit. Everyone got out of bed without too much fuss, got ready and (to various degrees) were excited to go. Mason did fuss about me taking pictures, wanting to know "why is it so important that you get so many pictures?" And after he left, I cried.

The Freshman@7am

Silas was a little more hesitant about going to school, which is ironic because he is the one that has been asking since last spring "when do I start school?" He was starting to understand that Ella won't be with him, that she'll go to a different school all day, and that upsets him.

The 2 sillies as we head out the door

Si's school starts at 8:45, so we drop him off first. It's a madhouse at the preschool. I have to say, it was very difficult to walk him to his room and then leave. He asked me if Ella was going to stay, if we (Justin and I) were going to stay. Walking out of the room and the building, I cried.
Next stop was Ella's school. She was a little apprehensive and shy. We went to her classroom, her teacher showed her where to put her lunchbox, her seat and then put on her name tag. She was very quiet...how she gets when she gets nervous.

Daddy gave her a big hug and kiss.
and of course...I cried.

Silas will ride the bus to Kelly's after school 3 days a week. He was very excited to get ride on the same bus as Ryan. I went over to watch him get off the bus.

He looks so tiny!

Everyone had a good first day of school. Mason said they didn't do much but fill out papers. He has friends in all his classes, except English.
Ella is VERY excited to have 2 recesses and loved eating lunch at school. She saw many of her neighborhood friends and thinks her teacher is very nice.
Silas told me he ate a snack, played outside, talked to some kids and that his teachers are pretty :-)

Hopefully they will all have a great year and I'll be able to stop crying...

Some Random Updates

If tonight is any indication of how weepy I'm going to be about Mason starting high school in less than 2 weeks, then I am in big trouble! Tonight was the parent orientation night at Bradley. Not even 5 minutes into the principal's presentation, he said "raise your hand if this is your first child going into high school" - that was all I needed to get all teary-eyed for the rest of the night. I'm scared, excited, nervous...and I'm not even the one going to high school. I think it's going to be a great year...brand new school, loved the principal and the teachers that are part of Mason's Freshman teaching team, I am excited to see what types of activities he gets involved in, Friday night football games, dances, sports, maybe some student council...fun!

Ella has been funny this week - she made her bed by herself one day over the weekend, and now she refuses to get under the covers to sleep in it. She doesn't want to mess it up so she sleeps on top of her quilt and covers up with another blanket.
I was very proud of her this week. She has started riding her bike on the sidewalk. She learned how to ride with no training wheels last summer, but only when we go up to the school where there is more space. Last night I put her on the side walk and she was nervous and wobbly for the first 10 minutes and then she was screaming up and down the sidewalk, as fast as can be.



Silas still continues on his rotten, rotten, rotten streak. And we just can't seem to beat it out of him. I think it might be time for a new strategy...but no idea what that might be. Obstinate is definitely the word to describe him right now. We keep reminding ourselves that Ella was very stubborn and tough to deal with at this age, so hopefully Si will grow out of it too!

Cleo and Zoe are becoming best buddies. Well, not really buddies yet, but they are tolerating each other very well and manage to ignore each other mostly. This picture below is the first day that they were starting to get close to one another. Zoe was really wanting none of it but Cleo would come over and casually hang out by her and try to get noticed.

This video is cute - Cleo might have a Silas streak of rotten in her...

She loves to sleep in the baby doll stroller

Cleo has been a prefect fit for the family. She is so laid back, she just hangs out, plays, lets the kids carry her around...we're so happy to have her!

Justin has been VERY hard at work. JCS (his business) has started to take off and he's getting some great referrals. And a very sore back!

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Duh hanging out in the "family room" addition
Quite a significant project!

And I have been very busy with work, the kids, trying to get some photography practice in and just keeping up with all that needs to be done in life. I have discovered that I need 2/3rds caffeinated coffee to operate at maximum efficiency. Half-caf was not getting the job done, full-caf leaves me jittery and on edge.

Our garden is a shambles right now but the sunflowers are beautiful!

We're looking forward to a fun weekend of birthday parties and going to the new Clippers stadium for the first time! I've heard it is fantastic. We'll have to work some swimming in too - looks like temps in the 90's.

So there you have it - some random updates!

First Day of Summer Break!

Yesterday was the last day of school - wow this year went fast!

Ella had a fantastic year in kindergarten. I've forgotten how much they learn so quickly at that age. She also made a lot of friends this year and was invited to umpteen birthday parties for girls in her class. She is VERY excited about being a First grader!


They had a Clap Out for the 8th graders - the 7th graders, teachers and parents lined the hallways as the 8th graders toured the building one last time and we all clapped them out of the building (and they promptly locked the doors behind them). I can't even say "clap out" with out tearing up and getting mushy. They do it at our elementary school too for the 5th graders moving on to the 6th grade building. Seems like yesterday that we were clapping him out there...and now I have a HIGH SCHOOLER!

Lots of summer fun planned...the beach in June, zoo outings, camping...can't wait!!

20 Years - Seriously?!?

I have spent the last 2 evenings catching up with so many friends and classmates - and if I had a dime for every time someone asked - "can you believe it's been 20 years?" - well, these hardwood floors would be paid for! I was amazed at how easy it was to slip right back into the same friendships without missing a beat - felt like we'd been hanging out at each others' lockers the day before.

Of course, I wanted to look good for the reunion, so I asked for some help in taming my crazy-girl hair (as we call Ella's when it's going nuts).

Courtney was a doll and played hairdresser for me at Beth's

Me, Sherry and Gretchen - 2 of the reunion planners and my running around pals from the day.
Rob B - (one of my best pals from HHS) - and Me

It was a ton of fun both nights and I am sad that it will be another 5 to 10 years before I see most of them again...