Summer vacation as we know it has come to an end. Jay headed off to her 5th grade class yesterday, while Nas started his first day of 1st grade. The first day of school requires some planning, if you're like me, otherwise it will be a very chaotic morning - and chaos and I do not get along. So after I packed as much of their lunches as I could on Sunday night, it was time to iron their clothes for the big day! Oh, and showers, straighten Jay's hair, then off to bed by 7:30. Just preparing for the first morning back was a marathon. But we got it done.
That Monday morning was a breeze, thankfully, because I know that sending kids to school all discombobulated is unfair so I really try to keep craziness to a minimum. The kids were excited, looked awfully cute, and had their oversize grocery bags filled with school supplies. Babe and I got them to their lines - fifth grade already? First grade really? - and left the kids with their teachers.
Usually, it is this time that, for me, the tears begin to flow. But not this year! I was excited for the kids and excited for what is ahead for me as well!! Life is going to get fun and fancy free for this 7-year-veteran stay-at-home mom! At least for the first semester. Back at home I have plenty of household projects to take care of - the first day back consisted of, among other things, cleaning Nas's closet! It didn't take too long, but when I came across a sleeper he wore during his first week home I was reminded of just how quickly the kids grow. I couldn't believe that the same first grade boy I'd just dropped off at school fit that tiny blue outfit just six years before!
My favorite motherhood quote these days has been, "The days are long, but the years are short." It took me hours to prepare the kids for their first day back at school, but they'll be looking second grade and middle school in the eye in no time. Here's to a really great school year!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
A Child of God
When I discovered that there was a tiny human being growing inside of me, I quickly realized that he or she was a gift from God. From that moment on I have prayed for my firstborn daily, often times several times a day. Jay is 10 years old now and as her Mom I wonder what she'll be like when she's an adult: what she'll ultimately choose to do for a living, if we'll be close the way my Mom and I are, who she'll marry - if she so chooses, and if she'll have kids. Will she become an incredible adult version of the girl I am so accustomed to being around as a child?
Growing up the child and grandchild of pastors, God has always been a part of my life. This, of course, has been something I wanted to be true for my kids as well. On April 22, 2001, Jay was Christened by my Dad - a day I will never forget. Jay was picture-perfect in the white cap and gown my Aunt Marie made from a dress my Grandmother wore. Our family was there and Babe and I were proud to dedicate our little piece of heaven back to God. This was our choice for our child and it was a special day!
On May 15 of this year, Jay chose to give her own life to God through baptism. For Christian parents this is BIG! This was solely Jay's choice and I'm sure her proud Grandfather - my Dad - was happy to oblige!
Whatever Jay decides to do in this life: college, career, husband, children, travel, to be all she can be, none of it matters without a relationship with God. She is in the early stages of Christianity now, learning who God is and why a life without Him can be a hopeless one. My prayer for my daughter continues to be that she would learn and grow in her relationship with God. Just as I learned from my Grandmother - No one else can give you a relationship with God, not your pastor father or grandfather, nor your strong Christian mother or grandmother. I had to learn to trust and love God for myself, I pray Jay does the same throughout her life. I praise God she's on the right path!
Growing up the child and grandchild of pastors, God has always been a part of my life. This, of course, has been something I wanted to be true for my kids as well. On April 22, 2001, Jay was Christened by my Dad - a day I will never forget. Jay was picture-perfect in the white cap and gown my Aunt Marie made from a dress my Grandmother wore. Our family was there and Babe and I were proud to dedicate our little piece of heaven back to God. This was our choice for our child and it was a special day!
On May 15 of this year, Jay chose to give her own life to God through baptism. For Christian parents this is BIG! This was solely Jay's choice and I'm sure her proud Grandfather - my Dad - was happy to oblige!
Whatever Jay decides to do in this life: college, career, husband, children, travel, to be all she can be, none of it matters without a relationship with God. She is in the early stages of Christianity now, learning who God is and why a life without Him can be a hopeless one. My prayer for my daughter continues to be that she would learn and grow in her relationship with God. Just as I learned from my Grandmother - No one else can give you a relationship with God, not your pastor father or grandfather, nor your strong Christian mother or grandmother. I had to learn to trust and love God for myself, I pray Jay does the same throughout her life. I praise God she's on the right path!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Back to Germs...er, School
My kids have been home from school for summer break since early June. Since becoming an adult I have taken a great liking to summer time for many reasons, but since having school-age kids HEALTH have become one of them! 
During the school year Jay is pretty healthy, aside from allergy-induced illnesses. She's suffered from allergies since she was an infant, and the stress and rigors of her daily life tend to make her allergies exponentially worse. Jay tends to escape the cooties passed around at school, but when she does catch something, her allergy-related symptoms seem to make said bug even worse for her! She tends to do better with a "Mental Health" day here and there just to help take the edge off because she is a pretty intense kid anyway - where school is concerned, even more so.
As a kindergartner, Nas went to school two full days and a half, so I would venture to say he wasn't exposed to as many bugs as he will be this school year, but he was out of school once with a bug a bunch of other kids seemed to have. Aside from that he was pretty healthy. Hopefully the same will hold true for his first grade year.
I try hard to ensure the kids to their part in keeping healthy: washing their hands often (especially before snack and lunch times), keep them home when they are sick, free time to play/relax after school, bedtime no later than 7:45 p.m., and less sugar, more fruit and vegetables. Exercise and healthy foods help bugs pass through the system faster (read: POOP!), which is very important to me. Don't let the bugs linger in their gut and you're good money! I also use disinfectant wipes on common household items every week, even more when a bug is going around, and I leave the windows open for a little daily circulation.
Apparently I'm not the only one thinking "GERMS" as we near the last week of August, Native Remedies published a blog entry about ways to keep kids healthy this school year. Herbal supplements are advised along with many of the tips I've incorporated over the years - I found it funny that their blog also mentioned frequency of poop as a immunity booster.
No one likes to be sick, and as a parent I dislike it even more when my kids are sick, so do the best you can for your kids and I'll do the same...Read: Don't have your kid coughing on mine and I'll try to ensure the same!!
During the school year Jay is pretty healthy, aside from allergy-induced illnesses. She's suffered from allergies since she was an infant, and the stress and rigors of her daily life tend to make her allergies exponentially worse. Jay tends to escape the cooties passed around at school, but when she does catch something, her allergy-related symptoms seem to make said bug even worse for her! She tends to do better with a "Mental Health" day here and there just to help take the edge off because she is a pretty intense kid anyway - where school is concerned, even more so.
As a kindergartner, Nas went to school two full days and a half, so I would venture to say he wasn't exposed to as many bugs as he will be this school year, but he was out of school once with a bug a bunch of other kids seemed to have. Aside from that he was pretty healthy. Hopefully the same will hold true for his first grade year.
I try hard to ensure the kids to their part in keeping healthy: washing their hands often (especially before snack and lunch times), keep them home when they are sick, free time to play/relax after school, bedtime no later than 7:45 p.m., and less sugar, more fruit and vegetables. Exercise and healthy foods help bugs pass through the system faster (read: POOP!), which is very important to me. Don't let the bugs linger in their gut and you're good money! I also use disinfectant wipes on common household items every week, even more when a bug is going around, and I leave the windows open for a little daily circulation.
Apparently I'm not the only one thinking "GERMS" as we near the last week of August, Native Remedies published a blog entry about ways to keep kids healthy this school year. Herbal supplements are advised along with many of the tips I've incorporated over the years - I found it funny that their blog also mentioned frequency of poop as a immunity booster.
No one likes to be sick, and as a parent I dislike it even more when my kids are sick, so do the best you can for your kids and I'll do the same...Read: Don't have your kid coughing on mine and I'll try to ensure the same!!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
The Gift of Dance
When I was good and pregnant with Jay - maybe six or seven months along - Babe and I would get in bed to watch television and catch a glimpse of our unborn baby in action. It was always around 11 p.m. when I could lay on my back and Jay would start moving. She would move so much that it looked like she was just kicking here and there then she'd make a ripple across my belly. It was kind of creepy, but pretty cool at the same time.
Back then I said our baby was playing soccer. We didn't know our baby's gender before we met her in February, and we definitely didn't know her personality - but she got very lively when we listened to music and during her 11 p.m. show. Maybe she has been dancing since she was in the womb? What I dubbed Jay playing soccer was actually my baby girl practicing what would later become plies, jumps, and fluid poses at the barre.
I've said it time and time again: I danced around her nursery to the then-latest Jennifer Lopez CD when I was pregnant with her and prayed the baby growing inside me would dance. Today, we took her to Cleo Parker Robinson's dance studio for a ballet class and I was reminded of the days I carried her inside of me. I was reminded that the beautiful ballerina on the other side of the glass door separating us was blessed with the gift of dance. It is a gift I pray she makes full use of because it is when she dances that Jay is most alive.
If I can feel the joy in her every move, whether she's doing ballet or choreographing a dance to the newest Beyonce song, I wonder what the piece of heaven is like that Jay is transported to when she is utilizing the beautiful gift God gave her: the Gift of Dance.
Back then I said our baby was playing soccer. We didn't know our baby's gender before we met her in February, and we definitely didn't know her personality - but she got very lively when we listened to music and during her 11 p.m. show. Maybe she has been dancing since she was in the womb? What I dubbed Jay playing soccer was actually my baby girl practicing what would later become plies, jumps, and fluid poses at the barre.
I've said it time and time again: I danced around her nursery to the then-latest Jennifer Lopez CD when I was pregnant with her and prayed the baby growing inside me would dance. Today, we took her to Cleo Parker Robinson's dance studio for a ballet class and I was reminded of the days I carried her inside of me. I was reminded that the beautiful ballerina on the other side of the glass door separating us was blessed with the gift of dance. It is a gift I pray she makes full use of because it is when she dances that Jay is most alive.
If I can feel the joy in her every move, whether she's doing ballet or choreographing a dance to the newest Beyonce song, I wonder what the piece of heaven is like that Jay is transported to when she is utilizing the beautiful gift God gave her: the Gift of Dance.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Birthday Party Remix?
For me, birthdays are a very special time! I mean, heck, you only get ONE birthday a year - so my thinking is you have to do it up! But after planning, hosting, and paying for 16 parties as a mom of two, I'm beginning to think a slightly less "grand" birthday celebrating mentality might be a good idea to consider.
I've put together parties with themes from Tweety Bird to princesses to Transformers to costume parties for our pumpkin baby (October 30). So I feel Babe and I have done our share of celebrating with the kids plus their 5-10 best buddies. We've done our part as the host/hostess and now I'm ready to put my party planner hat in the back of a drawer.
This Mama has decided that because we'll be taking a trip around the same time as Nas' 7th birthday, we'll have a family celebration: it's cheaper, requires far less planning, and we'll make it special without all of the hoopla! Then, come February I will take another break from throwing parties for Jay's 11th and we'll do the same thing for her birthday. Every year the birthday baby gets to pick the menu for each meal that day, I usually make the dessert of choice, and they open their gifts. This will remain our family tradition - it's the PARTY part I want to take a break from.
My 8th birthday was one of my most memorable, so I deem it a special one for the kids. That means Nas gets a party next year. For 12, Jay can have a small party, maybe a good friend sleepover. It will simply have to do if that kid wants a bash for her 13th, which is a must in my opinion!
Parties are a pricey, time-consuming, energy-sucking, planning nightmare in many ways. So I hope I've taken enough pictures for the kids to truly appreciate the parties their parents have thrown for them in previous years because times they are a'changing.
How do you make birthdays special for your kids?
I've put together parties with themes from Tweety Bird to princesses to Transformers to costume parties for our pumpkin baby (October 30). So I feel Babe and I have done our share of celebrating with the kids plus their 5-10 best buddies. We've done our part as the host/hostess and now I'm ready to put my party planner hat in the back of a drawer.
This Mama has decided that because we'll be taking a trip around the same time as Nas' 7th birthday, we'll have a family celebration: it's cheaper, requires far less planning, and we'll make it special without all of the hoopla! Then, come February I will take another break from throwing parties for Jay's 11th and we'll do the same thing for her birthday. Every year the birthday baby gets to pick the menu for each meal that day, I usually make the dessert of choice, and they open their gifts. This will remain our family tradition - it's the PARTY part I want to take a break from.
My 8th birthday was one of my most memorable, so I deem it a special one for the kids. That means Nas gets a party next year. For 12, Jay can have a small party, maybe a good friend sleepover. It will simply have to do if that kid wants a bash for her 13th, which is a must in my opinion!
Parties are a pricey, time-consuming, energy-sucking, planning nightmare in many ways. So I hope I've taken enough pictures for the kids to truly appreciate the parties their parents have thrown for them in previous years because times they are a'changing.
How do you make birthdays special for your kids?
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Maybe I don't hate shopping
For as long as I can remember I have despised shopping for clothes for myself. Since I found out I was pregnant with Jay I have always loved shopping for kids' clothes. You may wonder why shopping for the little people is fun for me, when shopping for myself is, well, not so much. Well for a domestic chick like me, jeans and a t-shirt has been my go-to uniform, but if you've been shopping for jeans, like, ever, you may know just why I detest such an adventure.
Jeans are rarely cut right for a woman with curves, thighs, a little junk in the trunk (yep, the butt fairy skipped right over me), and an average waistline. Then you throw in the oh-so-Amazon-like height of 5 feet 7 inches and you are lucky if the jeans hit mid-ankle! But because jeans are part of my daily look, I've had to find a store that makes jeans that work for my body AND my budget (thanks GAP outlet!)
Well recently I decided that I deserve 30 minutes a day to work on ME. No, it's not a long relaxing bath or even a half hour of quiet time to enjoy a good book. No, I decided to exercise most days for 30 minutes a day. It is not always easy or my idea of fun, but it has changed the way I see myself in the mirror and I haven't even lost a lot of weight yet! Maybe it's the effect the endorphins have on me, but putting any kind of effort into improving my health through exercise, apparently, deserves to be appreciated outwardly as well! This is the only thing I can think of when I wonder why I like to shop for cute tops, skirts, summer dresses, even jeans that are a step above my norm. I actually care about the way I look because I don't feel so tired, slow, just blah.
That said, I went shopping with my Mom (a professional shopper for sure) and we hit a consignment store <3 that had an "Everything's $1" sale. I thought about the tips I'd learned from watching "What Not to Wear" with Jay and applied them to each item I pulled off the rack. Oddly enough most of the pieces I chose fit nicely and made me feel cute and pulled together! And at a dollar a piece I made out like a bandit!
So maybe shopping for the kids isn't the only kind of fun out there. Granted I prefer consignment shops or the outlet stores because I will not go broke over some clothes! This new outlook opens a world of possibilities for me, and although I'm not feeling Jay's or my Mom's shopping adoration, it's a huge improvement for me - one that suits me well if I do say so myself!
Jeans are rarely cut right for a woman with curves, thighs, a little junk in the trunk (yep, the butt fairy skipped right over me), and an average waistline. Then you throw in the oh-so-Amazon-like height of 5 feet 7 inches and you are lucky if the jeans hit mid-ankle! But because jeans are part of my daily look, I've had to find a store that makes jeans that work for my body AND my budget (thanks GAP outlet!)
Well recently I decided that I deserve 30 minutes a day to work on ME. No, it's not a long relaxing bath or even a half hour of quiet time to enjoy a good book. No, I decided to exercise most days for 30 minutes a day. It is not always easy or my idea of fun, but it has changed the way I see myself in the mirror and I haven't even lost a lot of weight yet! Maybe it's the effect the endorphins have on me, but putting any kind of effort into improving my health through exercise, apparently, deserves to be appreciated outwardly as well! This is the only thing I can think of when I wonder why I like to shop for cute tops, skirts, summer dresses, even jeans that are a step above my norm. I actually care about the way I look because I don't feel so tired, slow, just blah.
That said, I went shopping with my Mom (a professional shopper for sure) and we hit a consignment store <3 that had an "Everything's $1" sale. I thought about the tips I'd learned from watching "What Not to Wear" with Jay and applied them to each item I pulled off the rack. Oddly enough most of the pieces I chose fit nicely and made me feel cute and pulled together! And at a dollar a piece I made out like a bandit!
So maybe shopping for the kids isn't the only kind of fun out there. Granted I prefer consignment shops or the outlet stores because I will not go broke over some clothes! This new outlook opens a world of possibilities for me, and although I'm not feeling Jay's or my Mom's shopping adoration, it's a huge improvement for me - one that suits me well if I do say so myself!
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