Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Yes I know I continue to be a bad blogger. Shame on me for not writing more for here! However, I am not a WAHM nor have I ever claimed to be a blogger that forces the posts out of me. This is the real, messy life that most of us lead.

School is starting back up next week and I am very excited for my daughter. We were able to meet the teacher a few days ago along with some of the kids in her class. Her two best friends from last year are not in her class and honestly her new class is a nice mix of the three kindergarten classes that they had last year. She met several new children which whom she started to play with along with an old friend from one of her activities who has never been to her school before. I have high hopes this year for her in that the transition will be easier and she has a great teacher!

So the school year begins and the chaos gets worse. My day now becomes drop off at B&A school care, go to work, pick up from B&A school care, take to [tutoring, gymnastics, tutoring, swimming], come home, dinner, and get ready for the next day.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Monday-Friday.

I've started pinning some ideas for organizing our dinner menu and chores for the week so we are not wasting as much quality family time on the weekends. [thank goodness for Pinterest app on my phone] Once I start those I will post.

Back to School Check list by a First Grader

Some how the summer has flown by and there is only 1 week of summer vacation left.  I thought about a check list to help with getting back in the swing of things but then realized there are so many of them out there, plus we don't have to buy school supplies our PTO is the BOMB! and raised enough money last year that we don't have to.

I decided what better list then one from my big ol' first grader! The following is a list of 7 things that she thinks is important when starting 1st grade and the new school year  :-)

1.  Buy pencils.
2.  Take a bath and put on pjs.
3.  Make new friends.
4.  Be nice.
5.  Take my back pack.
6.  Get a princess haircut.
7.  Wear matching clothes.

The Birth of My Daughter

*some mild graphic descriptions*

Six years ago today I gave birth to the most beautiful daughter.  The love I felt when I held her the first time was incredible. I knew I'd do anything to protect her. The instant connection was amazing.

I was induced 2 weeks early. During my routine visit to the doctor at 37 weeks they found she wasn't moving as much and thought her stomach wasnt developing properly. I was immediately placed on bed rest for a week prior to induction . 

The day of induction was scary and exciting. I was about to meet my daughter. However she had other plans. 

The entire first day was spent in the L&D bed as I had to be monitored at all times. I was given pitocin so if something happend they could stop it if need be.  By 10 pm that night she was still not out. They decided to insert a ballon cath thing to help me dialate.

It worked and by the afternoon of day 2 she was born. They found that my placenta was already calcifying prematurely and that her stomach was fine. By the time we left the hospital we knew she had a very bad case of GERD. She was already on soy. 

Once home she had her formula switched several times, medications, as well as many specialist appointments as she was slow growing. She ate, threw up, screamed and didnt sleep.  It was heart breaking and scary as a first time Mom.

We're lucky in that a few years later the GERD was finally controlled. Although she has hearing issues now she developed typically.

She is the light in our lives. Our stubborn, outgoing, creative, beautiful princess.

Happy Birthday Baby! We love you to the moon and back.

The Princess' 6th Birthday Party...with a Frozen appearance

Frozen party update:

Yesterday was party day! It was a beautiful day and perfect for an outdoor party. The kids bounced, swam, swung, and ran.  We also had pizza, cake, snacks and drinks. I think they all had fun. So much in fact we forgot to do pin the nose on Olaf.  She ended up playing that with her cousin after everyone left :-)

I ended up not going too crazy like I thought I would since Pinterest had so many wonderful ideas. It felt good not to go overboard. A few decorations and a cake made by her Father.  That was one tasty cake! I love the fact he wanted to make it for her. It will be something special she will be able to store in her memory forever.

I think the kids did not even notice I didn't go all out. It felt like one of those birthday parties I grew up with. Not too structured but still fun. All of the kids got a long well even if they didn't know each other. It was wonderful. 

In her own words "I think it was just beautiful."

The Olaf balloon her Dad insisted we needed.

The beginning of the food table.

Playing with friends is always the best.

The delicious cake her Dad made.

Bouncing with friends.

Inside party table pre-cake.

5 Things to Help with The End of Vacation Blues

Alas, our staycation is finally ending.  It has been a good but busy week even with a sick kiddo and not so great weather. It's the day before we go back to work and summer camp and we're all feeling it. The end of vacation blues.

So today we are trying to make the transition back to the real world smoother for tomorrow. The following are 5 things that we think will help with the end of vacation blues.

1. Do something that is routinely done the day prior to going back to work etc. such as Sunday dinner.     
   
2. Make sure everything is set up for the next day. I like to have all our lunch bags, clothes, and things  that can be gathered the night before set out and ready to go.
   
3. Start putting together a photo album of sorts from your vacation. Do it together as a family let everyone have input. Enjoy the new memories you just made. 
   
4. Mentally prepare yourself and family by going over the coming days schedule. Make sure to emphasize the fun things coming up like a field trip or in our case a birthday party. 
   
5. Start researching and planning next year's vacation. Sounds odd but we like to plan and look at all possibilities. 
   

 

Edited to add the following: These 5 things may not seem like much help, however they seem to work for us. I know they're not the most earth shattering things to do but hey it works for us so I thought I'd share with everyone and just maybe it could help someone out :-)