Back to school

The kids going back to school is not an event I look forward to. It marks the end of our carefree summer days. It means another year has gone by and the kids are getting older. It's a difficult transition for everyone...mainly me!

I don't have the typical, new outfits, backpacks on, huge smile first day of school photo of my kids. Going from an eager kindergartner to a big shot first grader has catapulted my son into the "too cool for school" category. Don't get me wrong, he loves school. He just doesn't need any cheesy photos documenting it. Nor does he need me to walk him to the door. Gone are the days of wearing two straps of his backpack. Instead, he rocks the one strap carelessly thrown across his chest look!

Camryn was too busy hiding for a picture. She was so excited about the prospect of pre-school, until it was actually time to go. Similar to my post three years ago, Camryn's first day did not go so well. She was hysterical when I left her. Cried even harder when the teacher tried to console her. Finally they figured out it would be best to let her calm down on her own in a corner. In which she remained in for the better part of the day. Anxiously waiting at home, I received a phone call from the pre-school director to come pick her up early.

The good news is by the time I got there she was happily playing and I was able to sneak out before she saw me. So indeed she did make it through the entire first day....all three hours of it! Luckily, this isn't my first go around so I know drop-off will get better and that she will love school. And in two short years, she will be running for the door without so much as a glance over her shoulder too.

Summer Wrap-up

August seems to get shorter every year. I know it's a lame excuse for not posting in over a month but I'm sticking to it.

August started off with a trip to Boothbay Harbor Maine, where we had an amazing week. We rented a house right on the ocean with some lifelong friends of ours! We spent our days doing everything from beaching it, to working on a live lobster boat, ziplining, bike riding and fishing. At night the adults enjoyed fresh seafood dinners accompanied by some cold refreshments! We played cards and shared lots of laughs.

The next two weeks were spent at the beach or the lake. Swimming, water skiing and tubing. Dylan earned a train ride to a pizza party through the reading program at the library! We had playdates, went hiking and frequented the local playground.

My high school girlfriends and I fled to Newport for the weekend to celebrate our 30th birthdays....although we are all pushing 31! Sooo many laughs and too many drinks, I was sad to see it get cut short by the arrival of Hurricane Irene.

We evacuated Newport to all return home to our families and batten down the hatches before the storm hit. It was a good thing we did, she was nasty storm! We were out of power for 7 days, forcing the schools to delay their opening date. The kids enjoyed an extra week of summer, while I struggled to feed them nutritious meals (hell...even hot meals), scrounge up clean clothes for them to wear and keep them relatively clean!

Well a power outage certainly was not keeping me from my last adventure of the summer! Girls weekend #2!!!! (my hubby gets some major brownie points) This time it was with my college roommates who haven't all been together in seven years. I packed my last clean outfit, hid my greasy hair under a baseball cap and drove to Hoboken! It was a reunion for the books! Once we realized we couldn't party like we were still in college, we resorted to sitting on the couch in our pajamas re-telling stories of our glory days. How easy it was for all of us to come together and seem like we never skipped a beat. A fabulous weekend with tearfilled good-byes as we parted ways not sure of the next chance for such a reunion.

And finally, a Labor Day Pizza-Que at our house. Husbands and children included! It was a perfect way to end the summer!

A lunatic

is what I have become since reading Jaycee Dugard's "A Stolen Life." I am not in any way comparing these incidents to her horrific story or what her mom must have endured. But it did heighten my awareness of abduction and has me sticking like glue to my children.

Two weeks ago after falling asleep reading the book, I was startled awake by a loud noise. It sounded like a door shutting. I immediately ran into the kids room and turned on the light. Dylan's bed was empty. I started calling his name to see if he had gotten up and gone downstairs. Our blown hallway light bulb, left the downstairs pitch black. I was scared to go down alone so I started shaking John awake. Without any luck, I ran back into to Dylan's room to get his flashlight out of his nightstand. When I reached the other side of the bed, there was my son, safe, sound and fast asleep on his floor!!! I scooped him up and held him for a few minutes before tucking him back into bed.

Prior to reading this book, I would have recognized the sound as one of my kids falling out of bed and not thought it was a stranger exiting my home with kids in tow.

Flash forward to last night. Dylan wakes up needing my help in the bathroom. After I return him to his bed, naturally I go to check on Camryn. However, she is not in her bed. Recalling the previous incident, I calmly searched her room. She was not on either side of the bed, nor under it or in her tent or closet. I checked Dylan's bed and then my bed. At this point all the lights in the upstairs are on and I'm beginning to panic. John woke easily and double checked all the places I looked.

My heart started to race as I ran downstairs and searched their was well. At this point, I really thought someone was playing a joke on me. Together we opened every door, peered in every hiding spot, including places she couldn't even fit and scoured every inch of the house. Once I saw the urgency in my husband's actions, I knew it was scaring him too! He was about ready to start a grid search of the backyard when Dylan called down to us that he found her!

Bolting up the stairs I ran into his room, to find her safe, sound and fast asleep in her brother's closet!! It took a few minutes for my adrenaline to stop racing but I knew I wasn't go to fall back asleep anytime soon. With both my children snug in between me and my husband, I lay awake wondering how long it would take for me to return to my normal level of craziness.

One thing is for sure, my kindle is now filled with mindless chick lit for the rest of the summer!

Something New

The kids are claiming boredom at home after our fun infused week in Cleveland. So today I thought we would spice up our typical Monday at the lake house with a new activity. Dylan partakes in all the water sports behind the boat, except for water skiing. He tried it two summers ago and after not being a pro after three attempts, he gave up and has yet to revisit it. Soooo, I thought today would be the perfect day to try again.

Other than a lone jet ski, we were the only boat on the lake so it was like glass. No one else, including his summertime crush, was there to witness if he failed. We went to a marina and bought him his own pair of skis, rather than the rotten ones I learned on as a kid that didn't work out so good last time.

I have such fond memories of learning to water ski, I really wanted to make this fun for him. As I floated in the water getting his skis on him, I could hear my parents cheering me on as my Poppy pulled me behind the 12 horsepower fishing boat. I had high hopes that our experience would be the same.

I geared him up for success. Skis together, knees bent, arms out straight, don't lean back, don't lean forward. All we could do was try, so John start to pull and off he went...over the front of the skis. Getting him all situated again I gave his bottom an extra little boost this time and...he sat too far back. But the third time he managed to make it a few yards. As he kept making it further and further, I would swim to him and start the process over. I relished in the moment as he was smiling and laughing the whole time we were gearing back up and dodging the waves.

And then finally he just got it!!! As he left me in his wake, I cheered like crazy as he hung on tight. And with John as the driver and Camryn was the spotter, would you believe we don't have any pictures or video to document the monumental event. But I have a feeling this won't be the last time he water skis...so pics to follow!

Learning is fun

Today the rain kept us inside but there was plenty to see and do at the museum of natural history!

A play area for little builders:

Dylan gathering the materials

Thatcher getting them to the job site

Oliver operating the machineryCamryn...the interior designer!

The rest of the museum was filled with animals, artifacts, gems and.... DINOSAURS!!!

The T-REX was a fav

Snake encounter

Learning about the stars in the planetarium

After absorbing so much new information, we returned home for some down time. The rain had subsided so the kids played in the backyard while our steak and potato dinner cooked on the grill. After bedtime routine, the adults took a stroll down college memory lane while playing Rummikub and sipping on some Twisted Teas! Other than the absence of my hubby, it was a perfect day!!!

Cooling Off in Cleveland

Yesterday we hit the Splash Pad loaded with water slides, fountains, buckets and sprayers.

Science, mishaps and exhaustion

Excited for our first day together we packed the kids in the car and headed to the Science Museum. With all five kids loaded up and ready to go, I frantically searched for my keys. Not in my purse or bag, Tera searched the house and by this time the kids were roasting in the heat of the car. As I was unbuckling Camryn to give them some fresh air she told me that her and Oliver had been playing with my keys earlier. We took both the kids on a scavenger hunt through the house to find the keys, and wouldn't you know they lead me right to them!

The prospect of traveling in 2 cars all week long and cutting into our chatting time, led us to the decision to borrow Tera's sister car that could accommodate us all. Well it could only fit us all with a certain configuration of specific car seats. Tera and I both dripping with sweat, finally figured out a winning set up. NOW we were finally headed to the museum.



It was well worth the wait:

The outdoor water area was definitely a favorite of all the kids. Oliver tried to climb into the pools, Thatcher wanted to take his clothes off and I had to wring Camryn's dress out!

As a reward for their good behavior and in an effort to keep them awake in the car ride home, we bought the kids some skittles. Well, we bought them but couldn't retrieve them!!

Even though the Skittles were gone in a flash, we managed to occupy the kids until we pulled into the driveway. That is until we realized Tera's house keys and garage door openers were in her car. With us still in her sister's car, we had no way to get into her house! We buckled the now whining kids back into their car seats and tracked her sister down at Target to get the keys.

Luckily, I had delivered pizza all the way from home so dinner was ready as soon as we walked in the door. Parker loved his first taste of Naples!!!

Full bellies gave the kids their second wind so we let them run their energy off at a playground.



And a night would NOT be complete without ice cream for dessert.


Exhaustion set in and the kids and I were sleep before our heads hit the pillows! Day #1...success!!!