Learning to say NO!

I am a "yes girl" always have been, but I am trying to draw the line at "always will be". I find myself getting so frustrated with so many people lately. I am not one that "gives to get" by any means. I have always considered myself a pretty giving person. However, with that being said, being this way has sometimes caused me great emotional/mental and even physical pain. I have always just "chugged along" and not thought about myself.

Maybe it is because I am getting older, or because I have Children, I don't know, but here recently I have been trying to get better at saying NO. There are a few people in my life that, for whatever reason (probably because I have always been that Yes person), like to use, use, use me up, but when I need something in return? Well, it just never seems to be reciprocated. I am starting to become more and more annoyed with this. I am getting really tired of being taken advantage of. Of course it isn't easy to tell these people no. I have got to try though, I have got to start thinking about myself, my family, what is important. By doing this I won't get myself so stressed out...and I am sure I will be an even nicer person...well other than to the ones I say NO to because I am sure my name will be MUD with them.

Not cut out...

...to be a single parent. I have become very, very painfully aware that it is sooo not in my DNA to be a single parent. David is on week 2 of working out of town, he had a WAY TO SHORT fulough over the weekend, but is back in MD 6 hours away working. In the mean time so much has gone on that my head is pretty much spinning! Last week was a very emotional week for me, the day before David left my Granny ended up in the hospital after falling and breaking her hip and thumb...she required surgery and a hospital stay. I stayed with her on the 2nd night and let's just say there is a reason that I am not in the nursing field. I would do it again in a heartbeat for a loved one, but it is not something that I ever want to do for sure. I never quite got my mind wrapped around my emotions last week and even after several of my AWESOME friends helped me out with the kids I still had a very tough week. I think if I were not such an emotional person the week would have gone a lot better. There was just tooooo much to deal with and I am ashamed to say that I did not "deal" the best.
This week the kids are in VBS for 2.5 hours every night, this is really good for them and for ME! It gives me a break to look forward to and it gives them something to do. Summer is rapidly flying out of the window and before I know it school will be back in. I readily admit that I was ready for summer vacation and a break from all the schedules and constant running around, but I am all admitting that I am ready to get back to "normal"...normal wake up and go to sleep times, normal dinner times and nap times, scheduled activities etc. I am sort of "done" with flying by the seat of my pants.
I think I am going to SERIOUSLY consider making a schedule for next summer...I think the kids and I will both really benefit from it.
I know I have been a bad blogger, but I haven't found many "free" moments to have time enought to actually "think" about what I was going to write. I like to come here and write things that will at the very least entertain ME when I go back and read them weeks/months etc. later. I hope to be better at it, now that I have been "called" on it ;)
Until next time (and please don't hold your breath)

Crazed

I knew it would happen, I knew that before the kids had been home on Summer vacation for more than 3 weeks I would be wondering "Is it August 17 yet?" It has happened, I am officialy ready for my kids to go back to school. If you have kids, you know why, but if not I will enlighten you.Kids are NUTS...LOUD...DEMANDING...WHINEY...and there are more words to describe them, but I will try to keep this PG rated. We go to the beach the 1st full week of summer vacation, by doing this it seems we set ourselves up for the kids thinking they need to do something every freaking day of the week.

I have tried to give them fun things to do, they have spent time with their Maw-Maw, and their Aunt, gone swimming, gone to a baseball game, gone out to eat, but alas nothing is good enough (and GOD HELP YOU if one gets invited to do something the other one doesn't, but THAT is an entirely different post). They literally wake up and start planning out their day of what they HAVE to do, what they will totally BUST if they don't do etc. God forbid you mention to them that they will get to do something "one day" they automaticaly assume that means the minute they wake up the next day. This morning, for example, they were up and wearing skates and pulling out scooters because their Maw-Maw had told them she would take them to skate/scooter at the church ONE DAY...NOT today, or even tomorrow, but ONE day. Of course I already had plans for today...going to our best friends house to hang out in the pool all day. You would THINK this would have been a good enough alternative right? Nope, somehow they have to do both...swim all day and then go to skate in the evening when it cools down. Of course this was not really my plan, but does that matter??? NOPE & at this point I would rather just let them do what they want vs hearing about it the rest of the freaking day!

Every day that we don't have an actual planned activity, is instantly called "The most boringist day of my life", and I hear about it repeatedly throughout the rest of the day. Oh and I get to hear "We never do ANYTHING fun" I got this YESTERDAY after spending the entire day at the pool & going out to lunch THE DAY BEFORE. I get to hear how they never do anything fun, how they are so bored, how there is nothing to do etc. etc. I had to remind Mikayla yesterday that she should just be thankful I didn't make her go to summer school.

So, yeah, the countdown for the 1st day of school is ON...Until then I am thinking of investing in some really good ear plugs, if not I will most probably be deaf by the time school does start.

6

My Sunshine Boy is 6!! Wow, how time has flown by! It is so hard to believe that it has been 6 years since Dylan John came flying (literally) in to this world! In the beginning he was such a quiet, sweet, calm little baby. Everyone talked about how good he was, you could forget there was a newborn in the house! He was perfect when we would go places and rarely ever cried. He was by far my easiest baby, sleeping through the night by 4 weeks old, loving his swing and napping. Things got a lot more interesting as toddlerhood hit...this little guy kept us all on our toes. He was climbing and jumping before he could walk, which he did earlier than his sister (or later his brother) at 10 months. We often joked that he would be a pilot or astronaut one day because he always seemed to be trying to climb higher and loved to sneak in to small, confined spaces. As sweet as he was as a newborn he could (and still can, at times) throw a tantrum to rival any tantrum ever thrown. He has tried my patience until I thought I would BUST and scared me so many times I have lost count. His dare devil ways have taught me to be a more calm person. I used to freak out at the thought of a bump, bruise or cut, now I just roll with the punches. No matter how crazy he can be or what kind of a fit he can throw he remains my sweet one. The one who is so quick to say he is sorry, so quick to jump in my arms and give me hugs and kisses. He has had a year of growing up...many firsts. Kindergarten has come and gone and OH, how he surprised us all. He managed to make me proud so many times this year I lost count. David often jokes with me about what a Mama's boy Dylan is...how much he loves me and is connected to me. I just smile and say, "YEP", I love that Dylan has such a connection to me. I pray it stays that way FOREVER.

I love you my handsome blue eyed boy!!

Dylan and I on the Ferris Wheel at the carnival by the pier in Va Beach

Dylan on his actual birthday (June 5) at Maw-Maw & Pa's having his most favorite thing

Strawberries and Ice Cream!

Dylan at his birthday party on June 15 with his new fishing hat

Birthday Parties, Ball Games, Hair Cut, Graduation...

...all of the above are just a FEW of the things I have on my agenda for the week! Starting today the week is chocked full of all kinds of "Must Do" things! I don't know how I will get everything done, but I am in the running for "Super Mom of the Year" (CAN YOU FEEL THE SARCASM?) so it will happen. Here run down of my upcoming week:

Sunday May 31: Birthday Party at 2pm for one of Mikayla's friends

Monday June 1: Day: Prepare and start to pack for the beach & clean, HOPEFULLY a Hair cut before Mikayla's Ball Game @ 7:00pm

Tuesday June 2: Morning: Continue to clean house and pack for the beach, 12:30 Field Day @ Kid's school where I will be working the "Team Relay" station until 3pm, If I didn't make the Hair Cut on Mon. HOPEFULLY it will happen before Mikayla's Ball Game @ 6:00pm

Wednesday June 3: This is the only day I don't have any prior commitments so THIS will be the DAY I need to 100% finish packing for the beach and getting things in order. I have to go out shopping for last minute beach stuff and if I haven't managed to get my hair done by then it will HAVE to be done this day...hopefully it works out and will have already been cut earlier in the week! This is also the LAST FULL DAY of school

Thursday June 4: Day: CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN, because you know all the cleaning I did earlier in the week will be trashed by now. This is also 1/2 day of school, so the kids will be home by 12:45, 7:00pm Mikayla and I will go to our Niece's High School Graduation

Friday June 5: DYLAN'S 6th BIRTHDAY & THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL = 1/2 Day, I will be going to the school at Dylan's lunch time to take a cookie cake for his Birthday...Mikayla's last softball game of the regular season @ ? I don't have a time yet. All of the prep for the beach has to be DONE at some point (I already know I will probably be up til the wee hours of the morning, I always am) also the house HAS to be clean because all of us Mom's know that is the WORST thing to happen...a nice week of vacation only to come home to a crazy, messy house! Trust me...been there, done that, ain't repeating that!

Saturday June 6: LEAVE FOR THE BEACH!

Oh and at some point between Mon and Fri Mikayla will have her awards and promotion ceremony that I will also have to be at the school for. Don't ask me how it is that I don't know what day or what time that is yet?

So, as you can see it's gonna be a helluva busy week, at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel & the pay off is an ENTIRE WEEK OF VACATION!!! The only thing I am REALLY concerned about (as if you can't tell) is getting my hair cut! The rest will happen, the schedule is set, it's just going to be working out 30-45 min of "me time" to get that done. So, if I don't blog this week, you can see why!

Pomp & Circumstance

We have our 2nd Kindergarten Graduate! Dylan had his Graduation Ceremony yesterday and it was such a sweet, cute program I can't even put it into words! All of the kids looked so cute in their graduation caps and big smiles. Dylan received several awards as well as his diploma...he was the recipient of the 3rd Place Award in the Young Author's Contest for Dictated Fiction, also an excellence in SOL concepts award, and an award for his dedication with his reading logs. He made us all very proud! It's hard to believe we are on to 1st & 5th grades now!

Graduation Eve

Tomorrow my Sunshine Boy (Dylan) has his Kindergarten Graduation! WOW, how can it be that this school year has come and gone so fast??? It seems like just yesterday I was agonizing over the first day of school and posting pictures of him getting on the bus! Now, it is the day before Kindergarten Graduation! Dylan has had an AMAZING year and I could not be more proud of him! He has come a long way from that first day! He has been Student of the Month 3 times and he has learned how to READ! I would have never been able to guess 1 year ago that he would have not only done well in school, but totally excelled! He is reading at a beginning 1st grade level and to think, he wasn't even recognizing his alphabet on day one of school!! He has had such a wonderful year and has met almost every single day with a smile and an eagerness to go to school. He seems to be very well liked by the students and teachers alike. I hear so many nice things from various people around the school every time I go for a visit. I have enjoyed watching my baby grow up this last (almost) 10 months and have been so amazed at his progress.

Dylan is still a live wire, and he enjoys testing every physical limit known to Man, but somehow he has managed to end up being an excellent student. There were so many times in the last (almost) 6 years that I had SERIOUS concerns about Dylan being in school all day. Just the thought of what he might attempt to do at school worried me. I am so happy to be able to see all that worrying was for NOTHING. This boy has loved school and is already talking about how excited he is to go to 1st grade!

Time flies so quickly, enjoy the little moments! I have a feeling it will be way to quickly that I am back blogging about High School Graduation!