Life

Life has gotten out of hand today.  I have been doing so good.  The last several weeks since Max started school have been pretty good.  I have been getting up each morning, feeding my kids, getting myself dressed, putting on make-up and getting everyone out of the house early everyday.  Early to the point that I have had to wait to even let Max go onto the playground.

Today I was not feeling well this morning.  So, while I still managed to do all of the things above, except get out of the house too early.  I planned it so that I could get there just in time for first bell and the kids could play.  Unfortunately, life did not go as planned today.

I pulled up to the side of the street on the other side of the elementary school, as I always do.  I got out, opened Max's door enough for him to get out and went around to the other side and get Ben.  Max was on the road side of the car.  Just as I went to get Ben and was undoing his seatbelt, I looked up and saw the car coming.  I yelled Max and he turned to look at me....still in the car.  THANK GOD!  Just as I got his attention this "domestic Danica Patrick" (thanks Jon for the reference) drove by and clipped my car door.  It was very unnerving to see pieces of my car flying from the door where my son was suppose to be getting out. Max is fine, a little worry about the car.

Standing there a bit stunned, I realized that everyone was fine and it was just the car.  The women who hit me, almost did not stop.  I got both of the kids out of the car and put them on the sidewalk.  The woman did stop and the first thing I did was write down her license plate.  I was trying to think through what was going on....I decided that since I had her plates, I would make sure Max got to school and then deal with the rest.  The teacher at the cross walk told me she would keep an eye on the other lady.  I thought that was odd, but was thankful.  I took Max to the front door of his school where his teacher was on duty.  He was upset about the car...it was so sad to see.  Ms. Marsh is awesome!!! She took him and got him calmed down so I could deal with the accident.  (Ben stayed calm through the whole thing.)

I got back to the car, swapped insurance information and called the police.  It took forever for the state trooper to show up.  I was able to call USAA, file the claim, and set up the body work before the cop showed up.  I really should not complain about him being late, he was super nice.  I have disabled vet plates on my car and I think that made things a bit easier on me.  I found out in the course of things that he was retired army.  Anyway, I had forgotten to print out the new insurance card (I have never had a reason to use it), but he did not write me a ticket for that.....Yeah.  I did over hear him writing the other woman a court summons for the same thing.  He did have to write me a ticket for opening my door into traffic.  Yep, you read it right.  This woman, who is not paying attention, hits my car, could have easily hit my kids and I got the ticket.  There was no loading zone there, so it was my fault.

When the cop started to write me that ticket, the woman decided that she did have damage to her (after insisting there was none).  She told the cop that there was something wrong with the gas tank.  She stated that when she went to look at her car that after she opened the gas door, the cap was loose and there was gas coming out.  The cop nearly laughed at her.  He told her that there was no way that could have happened from the damage done to my car.  But, he did tell her that her ex-boyfriend could have done something to her car.

We all know way too much about this woman.  She was parked, half in the road, when I pulled up.  She admitted she was not looking at the road, but was looking in her rear view mirror to make sure her kids were crossing the street safely (can you say irony?).  She decided that she needed to share with me that she is 24, just moved back in with her parents, has two kids (8 and 5) and she was not sure the insurance was good.  I was totally amazed by this woman....standing there in front of me, admitting she was not watching where she was going in a school zone, sharing all of her issues with me.  As I stared at the "thing" in sweats, no shoes, and a bathrobe, I just wanted to tear her hair out.  She could have easily killed my kid if I had not been paying attention and she is telling me all this crap about her sorry life.

Okay, maybe I am a little mad about it. At least I have got all the logistics figured out to get the car fixed.  I went by the body shop today and found out it will be almost $2000 to fix my car.  They are not going to get the part until later this week, so I am going to take it in next Tuesday.  The insurance company is going to pay for a rental while my car is getting fixed.

All in all, it has been a long day and I am thanking God that I still have my son and he is healthy and happy.

All of this and I am sick and Matt is out of town.  I am pretty happy with myself for how well I handled all of this.  Keeping it together has not been my forte lately, but I did it.

First Day

Today was Max's first day of kindergarten.  He was so excited when I woke him up this morning. (Normally he is up at 6, but I woke him up at 6:30.)  He ate his pancakes as quick as he could and hassled me about getting him dressed (I have to help because of his arm).  Everyone was ready to go out the door at 7 this morning.  Which is funny, because we do not have to leave until 7:30 or so.

We played out front a little and took bunches of pictures.  It was so much fun.  I got some great pictures...great pictures and funny pictures.  But, Max was ready to go.  He just wanted to leave, RIGHT NOW.  So, we left.

We got there early.  About 10 minutes before we are actually suppose to be there.  We got out of the car at 8:05.  That is the time that the teachers are out at the playground.  We went around back of the school and it was total chaos.  Both of the boys were off as soon as we told them they could go.  It was hard to keep track of them.  Ben blended in with all the other kids, even though he is so much smaller.  There is one big play thing in the center of the playground with ladders and slides and much more.  I think 80% of the kids were on that one piece.

Finally, we saw Katie and her parents come around the corner and Max was off.  He wanted to go and see his girlfriend.  We stood around with Katie and her family until the bell rang.  We got some great pics of the two of them together.  Then the bell rang.  We found Max's teacher and the line he was suppose to be in.  He was near the end of the line.  I gave him his snacks, hugged him and told him he was amazing and he would do great.  Matt gave him a hug and told him to have fun.  At that point, Max looked at me, so I gave him another hug and he just began balling his eyes out.  He was so upset.  I had told myself that I was not going to cry, but that just broke my heart.  I did not cry in front of him and tried not to let Ben see either.  Ben was upset too.  He wanted Max to come home.

Ben, Matt and I went around front and had the BooHoo  Ya-Hoo breakfast with other parents from the kindergarten class.  It was fun and most of us managed to not cry too much.  I met some of the other moms from Max's class.  Ben stopped being upset when the Bulldog mascot came around and hugged him.

Matt went to work and Ben and I played the rest of the day.  We had fun....Ben learned about a glue stick and  had a blast gluing everything he could.  I have some great collages.

We pick Max up at 3:00.  He was so happy and said he had a great time.  He actually told me that kindergarten is way more fun than preschool.  He was so hyped about it.  I tried to get him to tell me what happened, but he said he could not remember.  Poor guy did not even remember all that he ate for lunch.  As far as I know, all he ate was a salad and a yogurt.  I sure hope it was more than that.  He finally told me a bit about his day as I prodded him for information.  He had music school and sang songs there.  He got to color and did something with letters on the letter rugs.  Not sure what all of that means, but he loved it. He also told me that he met a girl named Olivia.  We will see how that goes.  Katie might get jealous, but she is not in his class and Olivia is.

Unfortunately for me, he was in tears again by bed time.  He wanted me to go to school and stay with him for the day.  I told him that he is a big boy and he can do this by himself.  Let's hope tomorrow is better than this morning.  It is a great new chapter in all of our lives, but I am still not sure how I feel about it.

Next Monday, I have to drop Max off and then go to the preschool to drop Ben off.  We will have to wait and see if I can handle that one.

Annoying

So, yesterday and today, I have been down with a sore back.  It is awful.  I have had to try to sit still and not do much.  Has not really happened.....I have done some laundry and such.  That was until Matt got onto me about it.

Now I am sitting here.  From my favorite chair, I watch the world go by.  Matt and the boys cleaned up the living room today.  Now they are out in the garage today.  I think they have already changed the oil in my car.  I know that Matt is putting shelves up now.  I can tell because of the noise.  I feel like I should be out there helping.  If I am not out there to help, then I cannot complain if they are not exactly what I want.  I have to just be thankful that my husband has put them up for me.

I am resting so I can go with the family to the Rockies game tomorrow.  There is no way I want to miss this.  It is going to be so much fun.  The kids are out of their minds excited.  Each of them have a hat and a huge purple finger.  They are ready to go now!  We are all looking forward to it.  It is going to be a great family time.  And, a fabulous end of the summer present.

Next week is Matt's last week at the AOG, Max's first day of school and Ben's meet the teacher.  It is the end of summer and it is happy and sad all at the same time.  Matt is starting his new job on the 23rd.  It is a big step for the whole family.  I know I have said it before and I will say it again.  WE are excited and life is going to be better for us all.  It is going to be a huge difference for all of us.  Matt is going to be working from home. While we are all excited about this....we are not sure how it is going to all work out.  He will have his own office in the back bedroom.  We are going to put the day bed in there, just in case we need to have an extra bed for guests.  He currently has two desks in there....both junkers, but I am hoping to come up with something better for him.  He has asked for a bookshelf, but that is it.

I am sad that my baby Max is starting to full day kindergarten.  That means that he is no longer my baby.  He is going to be a big boy next week.  I am not sure what my days will be like without him at my feet all the time.  It is going to be hard.  It has been 5 years of him right there.  I know that he has been to preschool, but the most he was gone was 3 hours 3 days a week.  Now it is going to be almost 8 hours 5 days a week.  If that was not bad enough, Ben starts preschool the following week.  He will only go 2 hours a day 2 days a week, but still.  My babies are all growing up.  I am not sure if my life will get simpler since they are not going to be under foot, or busier because I will want to do somethings with the classes?  What kind of a soccer mom am I going to be?  Before I was just a stay at home mom, but now it seems to be a transition for me.

I am going to have to reinvent myself again.  From a home mommy to a school mommy.  Is there a difference? I am hoping so....I feel like I have failed at the home mommy part.  Let's see how the changes go.

New Beginnings Part 2

So, Matt found out yesterday and signed a contract for a new job position.  I wanted to yell it from the mountain top yesterday, but he did not want me to tell anyone.  I think that maybe it had just not settled in with him yet.  Today he sent an email to all of the people at work and slowly started to tell friends and family.

Me, I am so stinking excited that I can hardly stand myself.  It is not totally what we were expecting, but it is still great for us.  Matt will be working from home for the most part, but will have to travel a bit.  He will be leaving for 2 weeks starting on the 30th of Aug.  I am glad that it got pushed out to that date.  He will be here for both of the boys first days of school.  He will also be here for Ben's and my birthdays.  It is awesome.

It is going to be a big adjustment for us.  I was looking forward to the boys both going to school this fall.  Max will go full time and Ben will be going 2 days a week for 2 hours a day.  I was looking forward to the couple hours a week of peace and quiet.  I am wondering if I will still get the down time with Matt home.  I know he is suppose to be working, but it would be quiet time for the two of us too.  Not sure how that will all work out.

It seems to be a beginning for all the boys in my family.  I am not sure exactly what I am feeling.  Left out might  explain it.  I am not going to be doing anything new for me.  My scrapbooking group has fallen apart.  So, I do not even have any place to go on Saturday nights.  It has been almost 5 weeks since I have gone out of the house by myself.  I have gotten quiet time in the house while Matt takes care of the boys, but for some reason it is just not the same.

Got to figure out what is going on in my head with all these new things happening here.  Please, don't misunderstand what I am saying.  I am so thrilled that all my boys are doing well (my husband is one of my boys).  I am just not sure where I fit in.  I fell like all I do is work for them, but that should be enough for me.  I love being home with the kids and would not trade it.  Maybe I will feel more useful after both of the kids go back to school and I can do things for the classrooms.

HAPPY DAY in our family.

new beginnings

never mind.

New things

Today is going to be all about trying some new things.  Okay, not some, but two.

I have found a new recipe for Chicken with Black Beans for the Crop pot.  I am really excited about it.  It starts with frozen chicken breasts.  I love that idea.  I can never remember to thaw chicken breasts the night before.

4 frozen chicken breasts
1 can black beans (drained)
1 can corn (drained)
1 jar salsa
1 pkg cream cheese.

Put all but the cream cheese in a crock pot on high for 4 hours.  Then put cream cheese in for last 1/2 hour.

I read all the reviews and they were all good.  Some people said they had to add some flavor with red pepper flakes.  They also said that the cream cheese cuts the spice some, but not the flavor.  We shall see.  I am pretty excited to test it out on the family tonight.  A real dinner with actual real effort from me.  Let's see how that goes.  LOL.

I am also going to work on toilet paper roll albums.  Sounds weird, but I am excited about it.  Cheap way to make something for others.  I think these might be fun little Christmas gifts.  They seem to be really easy.  I hope they turn out as good as I think they might.  If they turn out good, I will post pictures tomorrow.

My house is getting cleaned up and organized a little at a time.  I am really enjoying getting life in order.  Living room, part of the kitchen and one bathroom finished.  Scrap room is started, hopefully I will finish it today before starting on my project.  Oh, my bedroom is finished too.  That makes me exceedingly happy.  It is nice to lie down and be in the calm of my room.  As soon as my new body pillow comes, I cannot wait to sleep in there too.  It will be so nice to sleep in the same bed as my hubby, again.

Life is good....maybe I should look for some of those shirts so I can remember that every day.

priorities

What are my priorities in life?   Last week I was in a tremendous amount of pain.  I had spent two days in bed and then Max fell and broke his arm.  It is amazing what a bit of adrenalin can do for you.  I was not upright when we left for the hospital with him, but I was up and around.

It was amazing that for the several days after that I was not worried about my pain.  While it was there in the background.  I was not focused on it at all.  Max ended up needing surgery....that put the pain off a little longer.  Then we went out to Holyoke for the fair and I was so worried about Max getting hurt again that I just kept going.

By Sunday I was just so worn out that I actually spent the whole day in bed, literally the whole day.  It was great....I slept the whole time.  Not just lying there, but truly sleeping.  It was great.  I felt much better pain wise and emotionally after that.

Yesterday was another day of doctor appointments in Denver, but I just went through the motions.

This morning I woke up with a new focus.  Thinking about all that has happened in the last week, I realize that my pain needs to take the back seat to my children.  They are what is most important in my life.  I am here to take care of them and prepare them for the future. Who knows what they will be in the future.