the first day & my accent {or whatever you wanna call it}.

adam & i waved good-bye to the kids this morning around 7:25 as they boarded the school bus.

{not the greatest picture, but you get the idea}

first day at a new school.
first day riding the bus...again.
first day of malia's last year of elementary school.

adam buzzed aidan's head last night. clearly, he looks like a different boy from the one pictured in yesterday's blog post. {for the record: i prefer buzz cut aidan over crazy hair aidan. he just looks so much more mature.}

seeing the kids get on the bus this morning was bittersweet. they're growing up so fast. so, so fast.

okay, enough about me wah-wah-wah-ing about my kidlets & their first day of school, how about my first ever vlog. it's a good time. promise.

as promised...my accent vlog:




just to be fair, i'll post the "directions:"

say these words: aunt, route, wash, oil, theater, iron, salmon, caramel, fire, water, sure, data, ruin, crayon, toilet, new orleans, pecan, both, again, probably, spitting image, alabama, lawyer, coupon, mayonnaise, syrup, pajamas & caught

answer these questions:
what is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
what is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a pall?
what is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
what do you call gym shoes?
what do you say to address a group of people?
what do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
what do you call your grandparents?
what do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
what do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
what is the thing you use to change the tv channel?

what do you think? do i sound funny to you? the video quality isn't the greatest. the lighting was weird, it was blurry, and i say "and" and "um" and "so" a lot. ha ha!

but, there you have it. me & my voice.

oh, and the hair? good thing you can't see the grays. they are out of control. i'm seriously thinking of chopping it all off...soon.

i can't believe he turned this in.

this afternoon i was going through a small stack of papers that aidan brought home from school.  most of it was stuff done in class and old homework.  nothing too exciting.  but, then i saw it.  aidan had to conduct a travel interview & write a paragraph.  apparently, he interviewed himself.   

{written as aidan wrote it: grammar, punctuation & spelling errors included}

The longest trip I took is to Northern Virginia.  It was 4 hours my family saw a fawn and I farted.  We travled 240 mi.  We took this trip to get are 3 month old bosten tarier Buxton.  Buxton jumped on me and farted.

i am mortified. 

not only did he write about farting, but he also lied about how far he's traveled! apparently, his trip to mississippi wasn't memorable and i guess he already forgot about the time we spent in new hampshire last december.

i really hope he didn't have to share this with the class.

waiting for superman.

will you pledge to watch?

waiting for superman

Go, Speed Racer, go!

The kids had an Italian ice night sponsored by the PTA this week & as we sat there we listened to Malia talk about one of her friends from school:

"She's the fastest girl at afterschool, Mom & Dad {our kids attend an after-school program sponsored by Parks & Rec at their school}. She's so fast...she's faster than two fifth graders!"

A key to the house...

Malia asked me the other day when she would be allowed to:

1. Have a key to the house, so
2. She can ride the bus home {by herself}

Her request caught me off guard because it is a subject that I'm not ready to discuss nor am I even ready to allow it.

I was a 'latch-key kid' growing up. I was in the 4th grade, it was the late 1980s and my sister {who was in 2nd grade} & I were home alone for MAYBE an hour before my mother came home from work. Things were different back then...WAY different.

That was then...this is certainly now.

I'm not ready for my children to assume gain such a responsibility. I like knowing where they are once 3pm comes -- in the gym participating in the Parks & Rec sponsored after-school program! I, as a parent, am not ready to give up that "peace of mind."

So, what was my response to her? No way, Jose.

It Figures

Why is it that during the summer months 'good nights' and 'good mornings' are so much easier with the kidlets?? WHY?

So far during this summer vacation we haven't had any issues with bedtime {OK, so we're letting the kids go to bed a teeny, weeny bit later than normal}. We still deal with the occasional complaint about having to brush teeth {good dental hygiene is important}, but after that it's, "Are you going to come tuck me in?" And, in the mornings, I wake up sometimes to find both kids already dressed and on the couch eating cereal and watching TV. Mind you, this is before 7am.

Never, EVER would this happen during the school year.
Oh, no.
Bedtime is always a fight. Someone wants to stay up to watch something or they need to stay up because they didn't have enough time to play. And, don't even get me started about mornings...I guess getting up to get dressed & ready for school seems to be more of a hassle than it really is {of course, I do feel that way about work...sometimes}.

I do remember that it was always like this for me as a kid. However, I could never pinpoint why. It's not like we're off schedule because, well, I do work so the kids are still following a somewhat similar routine as the one during the school year. I just don't get it.

But,

I will enjoy every second of it and cherish these "easy" moments because September will sneak up on us and soon the kids will be headed back to school and the 'good nights' and 'good mornings' will cease to exist.

Holding on...

There's just over one week of school left. That's all. Soon it will be summer vacation and my children will not know what hit them - they'll be off until just after Labor Day. This will be their first full summer off. Up until earlier this year, their school was one of four elementary schools in our area that followed a year-round calendar. Well, the school board has done away with year-round schooling and, next year, we revert back to the standard school calendar.


Instead of beginning school at the end of July, they'll head back at the beginning of September. No longer will they get a three week long fall break. Say goodbye to a month off for the winter holidays. And, a three week long spring break? Forget it.


While I'm kind of sad to see the year-round school calendar come to an end, I am looking forward to being able to have more summer fun with my kids. Of course, I say this now...who knows what I'll be saying in a few weeks!

Nn is for...

My son's imagination & creativity amaze me all the time. It's no secret that both of my children are geniuses, but this is brilliant:

They were studying the letter "N" and, to Aidan, "N" stood for necklace, napkin, Noggin and no!

He drew Zee for Noggin and the big red circle with a line through it for no!

Monday, Monday

What I would like to know is WTF happened this morning?

I woke up late. We ALL woke up late. I'm rockin' the "no, I didn't wash my hair this morning" look. Ugh. I cannot stand NOT washing my hair.

The other half was running late this morning and had to move around cars because he decided to take the OTHER truck to work.

The kids -- ohhhh, don't even get me started on the kids. I swear I have never heard so much whining before. Well, maybe I have...but this morning was ridiculous! M did alright...she got dressed with minimal fussing, but A really tested my nerves. Tears were shed. There was pouting. There was even an incident involving a belt...no, I didn't lash my child, he just wanted me to put the belt on him...AND HE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE PANTS ON!

The kids were dressed and ready to go with only minutes to spare before the bus came. Breakfast was in the form of two granola bars and I nearly had a breakdown when I saw that both children were attempting to walk out of the door in just hoodies. Um, the windchill alone is about 22 degrees, GO BACK AND PUT ON YOUR WARM WINTER COATS!

Thank goodness today is Friday.

Snow Day! (Take 3)

There's snow on the ground today. Really. There is SNOW on the ground in Hampton Roads.

S-N-O-W

Of course, by the time I walked out of my house this morning to warm up the car, it was already melting and falling out of the pine trees. I was being pelted in the head by melting snow. Not fun.

But, anyway...

There's snow in southeastern Virginia and it's about damn time. Of course, it's nothing to warrant any closings in our area (which is a big surprise), but it's still exciting nonetheless considering this is the third time we've been told we would get some snow and, finally, the weather forecasters were right.

What I find to be most amusing is the fact that today is a school make-up day for my children. They are making up the snowless snow day from last month...and there's actually snow on the ground today. Go figure.

What to do?

The school board voted to end the year-round school option effective immediately at the end of this school year. My children attend one of the four elementary schools in Virginia Beach that operate on a year-round calendar, Corporate Landing Elementary. It is our daughter's third year at the school (she's been there since Kindergarten) and it's our son's first year there (he's only in Kindergarten). Our neighborhood is technically zoned for a different elementary school; however, we had the choice of "opting out" of our zoned school (which operates on a traditional calendar) for CLES since the year-round school was "super zoned" for our area.

We love the year-round calendar. Love it, love it, love it! I wouldn't change it for anything. But, budget cuts and all that jazz are forcing the program to come to an end. It's kind of sad to think about, really, but what weighs most on my mind is what happens now? Fortunately, the principal sent home a letter on Friday addressing a lot of my questions and concerns. My biggest concern was whether or not our children would be able to stay at CLES -- and the answer is NO. Not without a zone waiver approved by the principal of the school. Basically, this coming September, they would both be back at Ocean Lakes Elementary -- the school our neighborhood is truly zoned for.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking OLES, but I just don't like the idea of my kids switching schools. Maybe it's the change. Maybe it's the fact that we just love CLES. Maybe it's because the kids are already a bit upset about the prospect of changing schools....the way they look at it is that we're not moving so why do they have to move to a different school?? I know without a doubt that my children will thrive at OLES and they will receive the same superior education that they are receiving now. I am a bit biased in that respect only because I am a product of the Virginia Beach City Public School system having lived here since 1986 (I was in the 4th grade when we moved here).

Bottom line is this -- Adam and I have a lot of decisions to make. This isn't about pros & cons, but what works for our family and what would be best for the children. I'm sad that my son might not have the opportunity to have the same first grade teacher as Malia and I'm sad that Malia might not have a chance to be in a friend's third grade classroom (she's a teacher at CLES). But, I do know that they would be in good hands at OLES -- a close family friend is the guidance counselor at OLES.

Adam and I need to decide whether or not we want to pursue an attendance zone waiver to keep the kids at CLES -- then all transportation becomes our responsibility (no sweat, we would only need to drive them to school). Or, do we just want to go with the flow and keep things simple by sending them to OLES. Some of their friends might be there (there are a lot of children from our neighborhood & surrounding areas who are zoned for OLES but opted out to go to CLES). The only major change despite being at a different school would be the fact that school would start a half an hour earlier than what they are currently used to. (The way I see it is that it's a blessing in disguise and I would actually be a half an hour earlier to work...) The only issue with OLES is whether or not Parks & Recreation offers an after-school program at the school like Malia currently attends at CLES -- if not, then this raises even more issues for US as a family due to childcare issues.

So, as you can see, there is a lot to think about. A lot. And, I want to have a decision soon.

http://www.corporatelandinges.vbschools.com/Fact%20Sheet-Possible%20Changes%20to%20the%20Year-Round%20School%20Program_.pdf

http://hamptonroads.com/2009/02/major-cuts-proposed-va-beach-school-programs

http://hamptonroads.com/2009/02/end-beachs-yearround-schedule-may-affect-800

Snow?

Seriously? They are forecasting snow for our area? 1-3 inches of the white stuff? Really? I'll believe it when I see it. My children have already had one snowless snow day...what's another? Of course, watch, this time the sky will just dump on us and we'll get MORE than the forecasted amount. That would be my luck.

Well, I guess I should get the kids prepared for a possible day at the office. Oh, joy. (can you tell I'm thrilled??)

If you really think you're wearing those today --

-- then you've got it all wrong.


I said that today to my 7 year old. Well, not those exact words, but the point was still the same.


We were standing on the front porch this morning waiting on the school bus when I looked down at her feet and saw these:

Photo courtesy of Payless Shoes

Now, had it been, oh, I don't know in the 60s or 70s today I would have let her gotten away with wearing them to school. Or, if she had on tights today I would have let her wear them. BUT, none of that was the case this morning. In fact, we were outside, standing in the cold, 20 degree (with that wind chill factor) weather and it was drizzling rain. She was in jeans, a long-sleeved t-shirt, a hoodie AND had a 3-in-1 jacket on with the hood up and had gloves on...and she had those blasted open toe dress shoes on.

Seriously. I don't care that we live in Virginia Beach where people (including myself) wear flip-flops all year long. I made her go inside and change the shoes -- I mean, she had her sneakers and a pair of socks stashed in her bookbag anyway for P.E. She threw a fit. I think she even shed a tear or two. Big deal. I'm sorry, but you are not grown. You are seven. I realize that you want to be fashionable and look cute, but you're in the 2nd grade. It's also not summertime, picture day, dress up day, etc. You will abide by my rules and that includes what you will and will not wear on your feet when it's fuh-fuh-fuh-reezing outside. So there.

Today is just a cool day

A view of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. as thousands

upon thousands await the inauguration of our 44th President,

Barack Obama.

I can't take credit for the photo posted above. It's from MSNBC's website. I've got some live video streaming right now on the computer. Today is quite an exciting day! What makes today even more exciting is the fact that my children, who are only 5 and 7 years of age, know what is going on and know who Barack Obama is. In fact, during their school's mock election, both kidlets voted for Obama. My daughter's reasoning was pretty straight forward -- she just liked him better than McCain. I think it was maybe because Obama's name is just cooler sounding. My son, however, was very honest and said that the ONLY reason he voted for Obama is because his wife's name is Michelle and his daughter's name is Malia -- just like Aidan's mom and sister. :)

It's still not snowing...

...what a big surprise. It's funny how we get all pumped up for some snow and then nothing happens. Don't get me wrong, the forecasters are STILL calling for 1-3 inches of the white stuff, but the weather certainly hasn't panned out like they said it would yesterday.

But, in good ole Tidewater fashion, schools are closed today. It's quite amusing to think that we haven't even seen one flake of snow, but the schools (as well as courts, certain office, etc.) are closed. I suppose this shows proper planning and consideration for the children and employees. I remember all too well being in school and having to go home early due to inclement weather. I'm sure that it can turn into quite the cluster fuck when you are trying to coordinate the safe transfer of students in high school, middle school AND elementary school from school to home. That's not an easy task. And, I'm sure working parents, while school closings are inconvenient at times, are appreciative of the heads up on the closing rather than having to deal with childcare arrangements during the work day when their children are sent home early.

Thank goodness for VBCPS's new alert system. Our phone rang this morning just after 6am and the telephone recording notified us that Virginia Beach City schools and administrative offices were closed. Soon after, my cell phone rang and I got the same recording. Then, while checking my email this morning I noticed a similar message. Let me tell ya...their new notification system is a God send...it's a pain in the ass to try and read the list of closings at the bottom of the television screen on the different local news channels. I remember doing it as a kid growing up and I remember having to rely on that list on the news even as recently as last year! I sooooo prefer a phone call at 6am over having to squint my eyes and read fast that early in the morning...this chica doesn't function well at the crack of dawn especially if there is no caffeine involved.

Well, with that being said the kids are with me today at the office. My stress level is already through the roof and it's only just after 9am. God help me. If they keep bickering over the damn portable DVD player I'm going to, as Adam tells Aidan from time to time, "turn green and grow big muscles."

Please, please, please snow.....the weather needs to do something in order to justify this day off from school!

Snow day!

So I may be jumping the gun a bit, but from the looks of the weather forecast, I think it is safe to assume that tomorrow is going to be a snow day for the kids. Even the Weather Channel is talking about it!
Snow days are rare in our neck of Virginia. Very rare. I can probably count on one had how many times we've had a significant snowfall here in Virginia Beach and I've lived here since 1986.

Of course, as excited as I am for the kids and the prospect of missing school because of the snowy weather (because Lord knows that back in the day I used to watch Don Slater on Wavy TV 10 like a HAWK whenever he talked about snow during the school year).......I'm semi-disappointed that tomorrow just might not be the first day back to school after the long winter break. I know, I know...it's silly of me to feel that way, but if your kids had a month off for the holidays and had been coming to work with you for the last couple of weeks you would be feeling the same way as I do. Trust me.

Nonetheless, it's still exciting to know that tomorrow morning there just might be a blanket of the white stuff covering the ground...I guess I'll just send the kids out into the parking lot to play when I bring them to work with me tomorrow. :)

Ho Ho Ho-liday break

Today is a half-day for the kids (but, of course, each child will go to his/her respective after-school care program since I'm at the office)...the day is filled with parties, food, sugar, movies and fun. Both kids were so excited this morning to get up for school...if only every morning could be like that.

Yes, folks, today is the last day of school before the holiday break. My kids attend a year-round elementary school so, unlike their standard calendar counterparts who have a full day today, they get out early and start their break a bit earlier. Much to my dismay, they don't return to school for a full MONTH. Yes, a month. M & A head back to class on January 20th.

I can already tell you that by this time next week I'll be very ready for school to be back in session again. Very ready.

I need a holster for my Lysol can...

'Tis the season for viral illnesses and the most dependable of all the viral illnesses is the wretched stomach virus. At least it seems that way in our household. Without fail, one or two of us always come down with it this time of the year.

As soon as I pulled into the parking lot at work yesterday morning, my cell phone rings and it's Nurse Nancy at the kids' school. Sure enough, Malia is sick. She didn't even make it off of the school bus before she got sick. I show up at school and she gets sick again. Poor thing. She looked awful.

Once we get home she gets changed and snuggles in her bed to watch "Milo & Otis" and seems to do well throughout the rest of the day. She managed to eat lunch (gotta love Amy's Organics Mac & Cheese!) and drank water and nibbled on crackers throughout the day. Dinner didn't set too well with her...I think she just didn't like Adam's concoction...but she made it to bed without incident.

This morning was a different story, however. As I type this, her bed linens are in the wash and her mattress has been hosed down with Lysol (as has everything else in this house that will stay still long enough for me to spray it). She's snuggled up in my bed watching "Max & Ruby" and, hopefully, will be better by tomorrow so she can head back to school and I can head back to the office.

We're all in this together...

I just want to say that Facebook has gotten me back in touch with so many long, lost friends...over the last few months it's been like a mini high school reunion! It's been so neat to see what everyone has been up to and "ooh" and "aah" over their photos.

Senior year was just over 13 years ago, but Facebook makes it seem like it was only yesterday.