Getting Older

Today is my birthday. I'm now the 'dirty thirty'. It's the begining of a new decade in my life. I've been dreading this day for years. I can't explain it and I have to legitimate reason for my 'fear' of being 30. I'm married, I have 3 beautiful children and I have a head of brunette hair sprinkled with grey. I SHOULD be at least 30.

I think maybe some of the issues I was having grasping this particular age is the fact that I'm the oldest of 4 children. I have a 27 year old brother who is also married and has two super adorable boys, I have a sister who's 16 juggling high school, marching band, a Jr. police academy course and college classes. My youngest sister is almost 7, being homeschooled in 1st grade.

Maybe having such young siblings has made it difficult to wrap my head around the idea of turning 30. Do you want to know something? Now that the day has arrived, it's really not as bad as I imagined it to be. I've come to terms with it and have accepted it.

I'm busy with my daily responsibilities as wife and mother to 3 kids. I have a nearly 9 yr old daughter in 3rd grade, a 3 yr old son now in preschool and a nearly 2 yr old daughter home with me all day on top of getting my daily housework done, running errands, cooking the meals, doing the laundry and so on. It only makes sense that I'd be 30.

Thinking of all the things I have in my life and the responsibilities I have has helped me realize how silly it's been to worry about turning 30. Now, I look forward to seeing what's in store for this new decade of my life.

Getting A Head Start

My son, John, turned 3 early in the summer. For a year now he's been working with a Speech Therapist, Ms. June. John's a very smart boy. He was evaluated by the state and is right on track with his development, cognitive and comprehension skills. The only issue is his speech. His very first evaluation he was 27 months old and his speech was evaluated to be at the level of a 19 month old. He had very few actual words in his vocabulary and everything else was baby babble. In his mind he was really talking to us, but we couldn't understand him and it was a major source of frustration and aggravation with him and everyone else who tried to communicate with him.

John's made amazing progress since he started working with Ms. June. Another great advantage of him getting help with his speech development through the state is that been the fact that he's now been accepted into the states "Head Start" program. It's a structured program for children to get them acclimated to a school setting.

Today was John's first official day of school. The bus came to the house and picked him up around 11:15am. He was excited to ride his very own school bus, just like big sister, Tabytha. I walked him to the bus and the bus assistant helped him in and got him buckled in. When he realized I wasn't getting on the bus with him he got upset and started fussing with the bus assistant. I blew him a kiss, told him I loved him and would see him when he was done with school and waved goodbye as the bus driver closed the door and drove down the road.

His class started at 12:15pm and went until 3:45pm. The bus arrived with John around 4:45pm and I signed the clipboard stating I got my child off the bus. He was tired and a little grumpy but seemed to have had a good first day of school. It's hard to know for sure how his day went because he is only 3 and it's still kind of hard to understand some of the things he says. But, no note came home with him saying he misbehaved or cried to come home, so I can only assume things went well.

I'm looking forward to the first parent/teacher conference to find out how he's adjusting to his new surroundings and how he's getting along with his new friends at school.

As American As Apple Pie . . . Bars

I receive "Family Fun" magazine each month. I usually cut out recipes of meals that look appealing and would probably be enjoyed by my family. I rarely cut out dessert type recipes, because, I'm not the best baker. Sure, I can bake a cake from a box and spread some store bought frosting on it and it's alright, but it's not 'homemade' in the sense that I gathered all the specific ingredients to make the cake batter and frosting.

My cousin once told me that it's still "homemade" even when it's from a box because I still took the time to add the final ingredients to bake the cake and open the top to the frosting and spread it over the cake myself. So, when you put it that way, I'm actually not bad at baking.

Reading through my "Family Fun" magazine the other day I came across a recipe that caught my eye. It was "Apple Pie Bars". I was intrigued. It called for me to make the pie crust from scratch, not just use a store bought crust. I also cored, peeled and thinly sliced the baking apples, not just buy apple pie filling. The final touch to the Apple Pie Bars was an icing drizzle, also made from scratch and not just thinned down store bought vanilla frosting.

It was all a little more time consuming then I anticipated, but, completely worth it. It took most of Jessi's nap time, but my day was going smoothly as far as housework and laundry, plus, John and Jessi didn't completely destroy the living room during play time before nap/quiet time. I was able to actually relax and enjoy the process of making and baking this yummy looking dessert.

As it was baking in the oven the warm comforting smell of apples and cinnamon began filling the house. When it was finished I placed the pan on the counter to cool and took a picture with my phone to send it to Charlie, teasingly telling him "If only this picture could tell you how good this smelled".

It cooled for an hour before I cut it and tried a small slice. It . . . was . . . Delicious! Everything I hoped for. Jessi and Tabytha both shared the slice I cut and really liked it. As soon as Charlie got home he tried it and said it was the best apple pie he'd ever had!

I guess I'm starting to get the hang of this baking thing after all!

A New School Year

Another school year has begun. Today Tabytha went off to her first day of 3rd grade. Sometimes it seems like time has flown by and other times it seems like it's going by in slow motion.

I got a postcard earlier this week stating Tabytha's new school bus pick up and drop off times for this school year. She would be picked up at 8:12am and dropped off at 4:10pm. This morning the pick up time was WAAAY off. Unless 8:58am is the new 8:12am. But, I didn't get that particular memo.

The first week or two of school is typically filled with a lot of waiting for the bus to show up at an undetermined time after they say the bus will be there. It's understandable. There's new students to be included in the bus route meaning new houses to drive to in order to pick up the new students. After a week or two when the bus routine has been established the bus driver is pretty consistent with the pick up and drop off times.

Long story shortened. Tabytha, Jessi and I (while John was still asleep) made our way outside about 5 minutes before the bus was scheduled to be there, so I could get some pictures of Tabby on her first day back to school. Charlie called to wish Tabby a good first day of school and then we sat and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Around 8:35am I started trying to call the Dept. Of Transportation to find out how much longer the bus might be. Busy signal. I waited a few minutes and tried again. Busy. Again. Called back again (now around 8:45am) and got through. The gentleman on the phone called the bus driver over the 2 way radio and the bus driver said he was about 7 minutes away. I thanked the guy on the phone and went back to waiting. But, now, with the knowledge that the bus was in fact on its way.

The bus finally made its way down our road and stopped in front of the house to pick Tabytha up. The clock read 8:58am. That's 2 minutes before school is scheduled to start for the day! No biggie, really. At least we didn't miss the bus completely ending with me packing all the kids up to drive her to school.

A little extra waiting (45 minutes) wasn't the end of the world and Tab is now at school as an official 3rd grader. I'm looking forward to hearing all about how her day went when she gets home tonight.

Beating The Heat

There's a term all Marylander's know well, and will gladly tell visitors from other states. "If you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes". This year our seasons have been just about as extreme as you could imagine. This past winter brought the most snow in a season we've ever seen. Cumulative accumulations of over 8 ft. We didn't have much of a 'Spring'. Things seemed to jump from being buried in several feet of snow to hot and humid very quickly. Watching the evening news last week the weatherman said we've already had about 35 days this summer over 95 degree's, which in itself is a record for Maryland.

I have never liked summer time for that reason alone. I hate being hot and sweaty. Last Saturday the weather topped off at 108 degrees. CRAZY HOT! The air conditioner can't keep up with that kind of heat. Inside the house the thermostat was reading 84 degrees. I had all the ceiling fans set on 'high' and all that did was blow the hot air around, which was better then nothing. So, Saturday night I told Charlie I wanted to go out and get an inflatable pool for the kids and I to splash around in and keep cool during the day.

After dinner I left the kids home with Charlie and went out in search of a small pool. Something small enough that wasn't too expensive and yet big enough that I could sit in there with the kiddies and cool down, too.

My first stop was Target. They had a pretty good selection of small inflatable pools. Big enough for my two little ones to play in, but not much room left for big sister or mommy. So, I left and went to the next store I thought might have something. Kmart. Literally had no pools of any kind. Left there and went to the next store down the road. Toys R Us. They were also out of any kind of pool. Now I'm getting a little bummed out. I leave and try my luck at Walmart. They also have nothing available. Not even little plastic baby pools (you know, the little tiny preformed plastic pool that's about 3 ft around and 6 inches deep). I'm getting disheartened now, but am still determined to come home with a pool for the kids. Last stop, Big Lots. The woman at the register was pretty sure they didn't have pools, but IF they did they would probably be in the kids toy section. I check. Nothing. Not even a water gun.

Totally bummed out I leave the store, empty handed. I decide to go back to Target, because at least there, they had small inflatable pools which would give the kids something to at least splash around in a little and have fun. I go back to the isle that has the baby and toddler pools. I found a decent sized baby pool that looked pretty good and it was only $9.99. I grab it and then see a Toy Story themed pool with Buzz Lightyear on it and it comes with 2 Buzz Lightyear water guns that attach to a hose for added fun in the pool. It was on Clearance!!! As if it was meant to be. With these 2 inflatable pools and water guns that come with one of the pools there's plenty of water fun to be had by all the kids in the backyard.

So, 2 hours after I began my hunt for a pool, ending at the store I started at, I made my way home with both the pools. Sunday afternoon Charlie used his air hose to inflate the pools and I filled them up. A storm passed through while the pools were filling up and we all got soaked, which wasn't so bad for the kids cuz they were already in their swim suits, but I was still fully dressed. When the lightening started we all went into the house to wait it out. It passed by quickly. I got my swim suit on and we all went back out to play. John LOVED the Buzz Lightyear pool and water guns. The 'baby' pool is actually bigger then the Toy Story pool and is big enough for the 5 of us to sit in, but isn't room for playing around. That's one of the reasons I got 2 pools. One for me to relax in and the other for the kids to play around in.

We've already had a lot of fun in the little pools and look forward to more fun the rest of the summer.

Summer Evening Fun

Yesterday was our nations birthday. The 4th of July. Traditionally celebrated with wearing red, white and blue, cookouts and fireworks. When I was a youngster I remember my parents taking my brother and I to a park in Glen Burnie to watch the fireworks. We always had a blast and were mesmerized by the fireworks show. I can still see the beautiful bursts of color in my mind.

I've never actually taken my kids to go see fireworks. Tabytha spends the 4th at her biological grandmother's house and I feel like John and Jessi are still a bit to young to take out late at night to watch fireworks. In the next couple of years I plan to take them, but for now, we stay home.

We had our own fun last night, however. Instead of fireworks, we had waterworks. After dinner I was in the backyard with John and Jessi holding the hose and spraying it into the yard while John and Jessi put their hands into the stream of water squealing and giggling. Jessi doesn't like to be sprayed by the hose, but enjoys playing in the spray on her own terms. She must be the one to approach the water, not the other way around. John wanted to spray the water, so I let him. I held on to the hose while he held down the nozzle to release the water.

All the while we're having fun, laughing and getting wet. I hear the back door open and Charlie was coming to see what we were up to. I gave him a smile and went back to playing with the kids. Suddenly my back is soaked with freezing cold water from the water bottle Charlie was drinking from. I pulled the hose out of John's hand real quick and turned it on Charlie to "get him back". He ducked back into the house and I thought that was the end. Little did I know this was going to spawn a 'water war'. Charlie got hold of John's big water gun and filled it up in the house, went out the front door and came around to the back gate where the kids and I were (still spraying the garden hose). My back gets soaked again, but I didn't know where it was coming from at first.

I found him and turned the hose on him, again, and he retreated out of range. John and Jessi thought this was hysterical. Charlie came back to spray us with the water gun again and I would spray him with the hose, again. Our buddy, Harold, was also at the house and came out to see what all the ruckus was and Charlie and I both turned on him. John and Jessi were running around the yard shrieking and laughing. We were all running around laughing and having a good time.

This went on for about 45 minutes. It was great. So, no, we didn't pack up in the car and go fight the crowds for a good seat to see a fireworks show somewhere, but, we had a lot of fun playing in our own backyard. John and Jessi aren't likely going to remember these times, but I will and I look forward to telling these stories to them when they're older.

Summer Begins

I've been 'absent' from blogging lately, so here I am to catch y'all up with the happenings in my zoo.

Summer break started with Tabytha finishing 2nd grade and John turning 3. Tabytha's last day of school was the 11th. She brought home her final report card and she did great. Next year she'll receive actual letter grades for her work and I can't wait. It's so much easier to read a report card with "A", "B", "C", etc. . . instead of "C" for consistently demonstrates skill, "P" for progressing, "O" often demonstrates skill, etc. . .

The week before school let out we celebrated John's 3rd birthday. It wasn't a big event. We kept it pretty low key. My parents, Charlie's parents, my sisters, Charlie's sister and family, Harold and my friend Drea and her family were our party guests. We would have loved to have all our friends with us to celebrate, but space in our home limited how many we could invite. Everyone had a nice time. I made slow cooked pulled bbq chicken, we grilled hot dogs and burgers, my mom made smokey Joe's, my MIL brought soda's and my SIL brought a watermelon. John got wonderful gifts from everyone and has enjoyed playing with all his new toys since he got them.

Last weekend was my niece, Shelby's, 3rd birthday. She's 9 days younger then John. Her party was at 2pm and we left our house just before 1pm. On our way to Charlie's sister's house we hit beach traffic. NOT fun. We FINALLY made it over the bridge and managed to get to Faye's house by 3:15pm. Yup, an hour and fifteen minutes after the party started. Aggravating traffic aside, we have a great time at Shelby's birthday party. She got a lot of very nice gifts and she was super excited when she opened our gift. At John's birthday party Faye told me she wanted a sunflower sprinkler and I got the last one at the store Faye suggested getting it at. When Shelby opened it she squealed in delight. That made my day knowing she was happy with her gift.

So far the summer has been relatively 'uneventful'. There's been playing in the sprinkler and in the backyard. We'd like to take a couple days later this summer and go to the Baltimore Aquarium and Port Discovery with the kids and my mom and sisters. We may even take a day trip or two to the beach.