She wore her new uniform to school today. Light khaki pants, black belt, a light blue shirt and crocs. Surprisingly no one said a word to her about her sudden colorfulness. I wonder if it is because they didn't want to sound as if all black is negative or if no one other than her father and I noticed the difference.
She was so proud of herself when she put on the new clothes this morning. It was like the first day of school all over again. She got out of bed in record time, and even having to run to the car to get her new clothes didn't seem to phase her. We were late mostly because I wanted to change purses (and I hadn't packed lunches the night before).
It was exciting to see her in these new colorful clothes but tomorrow she will be wearing the same old black shirt and black shorts. Although I would have bought her a whole weeks worth of uniforms in the new colors Penny's only had one shirt and one pair of pants in her size. The uniform section was so picked over I felt really lucky to have found anything! I know the girls are out there that will fit into a size 0 or 1 but apparently they were not buying uniforms this year. It didn't appear that the size 17 girls were buying uniforms either. At 1/2 price the uniform pieces were a deal. If nothing else the items we buy from Penny's are well made. The uniforms we bought last year have lasted all the way to this year. We cut two of the pants down and made shorts from them.
I was so excited about the new pants that I called Mom this morning and asked her to check her Penny's when she went. She called me this afternoon and said that it looked as if their uniform section had been picked over too. She did find another 2 pairs of pants which we should see next weekend. YEAH MOM!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Two steps ahead
Another day, another doctor's office. I was able to get a good time so I picked her up after school and brought her lunch.
We walked out the door this morning on time. We made the school bus even though it came 5 minutes early. She says she had a good day at school in spite of having Italian. She was ravenous when she got in the car because even though she made it to school on time she did not have her lunch box. It was left on the counter.
We walked in to the doctor's office about 20 minutes before our appointment. I had her get her homework out and start. There was an accident on 175 that had the doctors 3:45 miss their appointment so we got in early. I was happy because I was hoping to go to Columbia Mall and pick up some new uniform items for MAC. She has chosen to have color in her wardrobe! AT LAST!
We went in smiling and came out smiling. It was noticed by other MSA staff that had worked with MAC during the IOP.
We did get to JC Penny’s but they only had one pair of pants in her size and only one shirt in the color that she wanted. I'll just have to go online and order more now that we know what size she is. She is so excited to wear it to school tomorrow: light khakis and a light blue shirt. Color at last. I only hope that someone at school says something. All last year all she wanted to wear was black shirts and black pants. Yeah therapy!
All those doctor's appointments have gotten us two steps ahead today!
We walked out the door this morning on time. We made the school bus even though it came 5 minutes early. She says she had a good day at school in spite of having Italian. She was ravenous when she got in the car because even though she made it to school on time she did not have her lunch box. It was left on the counter.
We walked in to the doctor's office about 20 minutes before our appointment. I had her get her homework out and start. There was an accident on 175 that had the doctors 3:45 miss their appointment so we got in early. I was happy because I was hoping to go to Columbia Mall and pick up some new uniform items for MAC. She has chosen to have color in her wardrobe! AT LAST!
We went in smiling and came out smiling. It was noticed by other MSA staff that had worked with MAC during the IOP.
We did get to JC Penny’s but they only had one pair of pants in her size and only one shirt in the color that she wanted. I'll just have to go online and order more now that we know what size she is. She is so excited to wear it to school tomorrow: light khakis and a light blue shirt. Color at last. I only hope that someone at school says something. All last year all she wanted to wear was black shirts and black pants. Yeah therapy!
All those doctor's appointments have gotten us two steps ahead today!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Home
There is nothing in the world like home. Even if the home is a mess and there are still dishes in the sink and laundry in the dryer. I usually don't get so nostalgic about leaving but coming home from camping is the best feeling in the whole world!
Let's just start by saying that I am not a camper. Hubby and MAC love camping so we usually go once a summer. We meet with my best friend from college and her family for a weekend of outdoor fun and camaraderie. She has two boys under two and MAC loves to make silly faces at them and play chase. This year we went to Knoebels in Pennsylvania.
Friday was a full day of school for her so we picked her up at the bus stop and then started the 3 and a half hour trip. We hit LOTS of traffic. Every time we thought we had gotten out of the congestion we hit another snag. We made amazingly good time and 4 and a half hours after leaving Crofton we arrived in Elysburg. The park was open until 10 so because we missed dinner we walked over and had pirogues and ice cream. (Yep, being a health conscious mom again.)
Friday night the temperature dropped from 84 degrees to 52. Oh, did I forget to tell you that we tent camp? My friend has a camper but we only camp once a year so a camper is out of the question. 52 degrees may not sound too bad when you're in a house with four solid walls but in a tent it is quite cold. Both Hubby and MAC said they slept pretty well and that they weren't cold, on the other hand I woke up several times during the night (three different times a car alarm went off) and added more clothing each time.
We spent Saturday at Knoebels amusement park. It is a free admission park, you pay only for the rides you go on. MAC enjoyed the roller coasters and I was able to go on a carousel that you can still catch brass rings on. We had so much fun that we didn't even go back and make s’mores, we closed out the park instead.
MAC had fun and had really great behavior all weekend. She even helped to break down the camp site this morning. Hubby seemed to enjoy himself and I had a great time but it really felt good to get home. (The shower felt really good too.)
Let's just start by saying that I am not a camper. Hubby and MAC love camping so we usually go once a summer. We meet with my best friend from college and her family for a weekend of outdoor fun and camaraderie. She has two boys under two and MAC loves to make silly faces at them and play chase. This year we went to Knoebels in Pennsylvania.
Friday was a full day of school for her so we picked her up at the bus stop and then started the 3 and a half hour trip. We hit LOTS of traffic. Every time we thought we had gotten out of the congestion we hit another snag. We made amazingly good time and 4 and a half hours after leaving Crofton we arrived in Elysburg. The park was open until 10 so because we missed dinner we walked over and had pirogues and ice cream. (Yep, being a health conscious mom again.)
Friday night the temperature dropped from 84 degrees to 52. Oh, did I forget to tell you that we tent camp? My friend has a camper but we only camp once a year so a camper is out of the question. 52 degrees may not sound too bad when you're in a house with four solid walls but in a tent it is quite cold. Both Hubby and MAC said they slept pretty well and that they weren't cold, on the other hand I woke up several times during the night (three different times a car alarm went off) and added more clothing each time.
We spent Saturday at Knoebels amusement park. It is a free admission park, you pay only for the rides you go on. MAC enjoyed the roller coasters and I was able to go on a carousel that you can still catch brass rings on. We had so much fun that we didn't even go back and make s’mores, we closed out the park instead.
MAC had fun and had really great behavior all weekend. She even helped to break down the camp site this morning. Hubby seemed to enjoy himself and I had a great time but it really felt good to get home. (The shower felt really good too.)
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Running up that hill...
The day started off really well. Ok, almost really well. I woke up to Hubby laying next to me, which would have been great if it was a Saturday or Sunday morning. Seeing as it was a Thursday at 4:00am I shook him awake and almost yelled, "Did you call your supervisor?" Hubby kind of groaned and replied that he had gone into work for a few hours and then came home not feeling well.
Other than that, MAC got out of bed on time, had eaten breakfast, and was ready to go at 7:10. We made it to the bus on time. The bus actually was almost 5 minutes early so I think it is a good thing that we leave at 7:10 and get to the school around 7:18.
She called me right on time today and had even completed all of her homework by the time I picked her up.
The day seemed to be rolling right along and I came home feeling pretty good. I pulled into the parking spot and the tree scratched my car. I have been meaning to cut that tree back and just have not had any time. I have done three loads of laundry a day for the last 4 days trying to make sure that MAC has a clean uniform for school. (I know that we have 7 days worth of uniforms but at this time I can only find 3.)
I have been making lunches and doing loads of dishes too. I started packing for the camping trip last night and finished it today. I finally had it this evening. Hubby started rice for dinner and then had a group meeting, so he didn't have time to finish making anything else. I finished dinner and then started the actual packing.
MAC went out to play after dinner and had a great time. This is the first time in the 8 years that we have lived here that she went out to play and I didn't have a child come knocking on our door to "tattle" on her. She took her skateboard out and I gave her some money to buy an ice-cream from the ice-cream man. She came back in on time and took a shower without being prompted.
Hubby was at his meeting and MAC was outside playing and I finished the packing. Then MAC came in and dropped items in the middle of the floor and said, "I want a sandwich like you made me yesterday for lunch". I said, "I'm done being your maid!" Hubby came down and helped finish the gathering of camping gear. MAC came back down and took her pills.
It is now 9:30pm. I think we are ready for camping tomorrow. I will stop and get the groceries we need after I leave work at noon. I am really looking forward to a weekend away!
PS. We will be out of computer wifi range until Sunday. Please pray for nice weather for us.
Other than that, MAC got out of bed on time, had eaten breakfast, and was ready to go at 7:10. We made it to the bus on time. The bus actually was almost 5 minutes early so I think it is a good thing that we leave at 7:10 and get to the school around 7:18.
She called me right on time today and had even completed all of her homework by the time I picked her up.
The day seemed to be rolling right along and I came home feeling pretty good. I pulled into the parking spot and the tree scratched my car. I have been meaning to cut that tree back and just have not had any time. I have done three loads of laundry a day for the last 4 days trying to make sure that MAC has a clean uniform for school. (I know that we have 7 days worth of uniforms but at this time I can only find 3.)
I have been making lunches and doing loads of dishes too. I started packing for the camping trip last night and finished it today. I finally had it this evening. Hubby started rice for dinner and then had a group meeting, so he didn't have time to finish making anything else. I finished dinner and then started the actual packing.
MAC went out to play after dinner and had a great time. This is the first time in the 8 years that we have lived here that she went out to play and I didn't have a child come knocking on our door to "tattle" on her. She took her skateboard out and I gave her some money to buy an ice-cream from the ice-cream man. She came back in on time and took a shower without being prompted.
Hubby was at his meeting and MAC was outside playing and I finished the packing. Then MAC came in and dropped items in the middle of the floor and said, "I want a sandwich like you made me yesterday for lunch". I said, "I'm done being your maid!" Hubby came down and helped finish the gathering of camping gear. MAC came back down and took her pills.
It is now 9:30pm. I think we are ready for camping tomorrow. I will stop and get the groceries we need after I leave work at noon. I am really looking forward to a weekend away!
PS. We will be out of computer wifi range until Sunday. Please pray for nice weather for us.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
...And somedays you're the bug
So the fight has begun. She had homework last night which she didn't do until this morning. She had to get up early this morning because she needed a shower. I woke her up at 6:15 and then ran downstairs to get her uniform. I found lots of laundry and folded some, by the time I got back upstairs at 6:30 she still wasn't up. I made her get up and she took her shower. She didn’t eat any breakfast but we did still make it to the bus on time.
She finished her homework in the car (in pen which I had to give her, because she forgot to get herself a pencil) and we were still able to be hung at the scratch off hang man game that we play each morning.
This afternoon she had homework from two classes, one of which she did in class and the other she did in the car on the way home. I was really happy that she didn't put up a fight about doing the homework. Of course this evening I went into her binders and found 2 total pages of notes. (2 days + 6 classes each day=more notes than that!) She said they were just playing games getting to know each other.
I had to buy a new lock from the school because the key lock she begged for is prohibited. I asked her for the lock this evening and she says she doesn't know where it is. It makes me a little mad. Finding that she has already "forgot" to get her signature paper signed, makes me a little mad. Trying to help her get organized and having her tell me that she can't remember which class the papers scrunched at the bottom of her bag are from, makes me mad.
As you can tell I'm a little mad right now. We just had a 5 minute battle of her ripping the living room apart and shoving things back willy nilly while she "looked" for her lock. Her father ended up coming from upstairs and joining the search. It is never a pretty thing for the three of us to be angry at the same time.
The afternoon started with my mechanic calling to tell me that my front brakes were shot and I needed to replace them or the car would not be safe. $340 later my car will make it to Pennsylvania safely. MAC was late again so I worried for 20 minutes while I waited for her phone call. this evening has ended with my making lunches for the family and trying to put the living room back together.
I was hoping for a wonderful post for my blog monthaversary but today I was "the bug". I still have to go pack for the family for our camping trip this weekend. I was going to explain the bamboo in the picture today but that will just have to wait for another day.
She finished her homework in the car (in pen which I had to give her, because she forgot to get herself a pencil) and we were still able to be hung at the scratch off hang man game that we play each morning.
This afternoon she had homework from two classes, one of which she did in class and the other she did in the car on the way home. I was really happy that she didn't put up a fight about doing the homework. Of course this evening I went into her binders and found 2 total pages of notes. (2 days + 6 classes each day=more notes than that!) She said they were just playing games getting to know each other.
I had to buy a new lock from the school because the key lock she begged for is prohibited. I asked her for the lock this evening and she says she doesn't know where it is. It makes me a little mad. Finding that she has already "forgot" to get her signature paper signed, makes me a little mad. Trying to help her get organized and having her tell me that she can't remember which class the papers scrunched at the bottom of her bag are from, makes me mad.
As you can tell I'm a little mad right now. We just had a 5 minute battle of her ripping the living room apart and shoving things back willy nilly while she "looked" for her lock. Her father ended up coming from upstairs and joining the search. It is never a pretty thing for the three of us to be angry at the same time.
The afternoon started with my mechanic calling to tell me that my front brakes were shot and I needed to replace them or the car would not be safe. $340 later my car will make it to Pennsylvania safely. MAC was late again so I worried for 20 minutes while I waited for her phone call. this evening has ended with my making lunches for the family and trying to put the living room back together.
I was hoping for a wonderful post for my blog monthaversary but today I was "the bug". I still have to go pack for the family for our camping trip this weekend. I was going to explain the bamboo in the picture today but that will just have to wait for another day.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
Yes, yes it is almost 11:30 at night but we had a really busy day! 6am came awfully early this morning and I know it will tomorrow too. When I went to wake her this morning she asked for her normal 5 extra minutes and I let her have them.
We were the first at the bus stop today. MAC said that there are about 20 people on her bus this year. This is amazing since last year there only appeared to be 8! It's a new bus driver and we are so happy, she seems to actually like kids.
MAC says she likes her science teacher (this does seem to be a theme for her). I will be very interested to meet all of her teachers at the Back to School Night next month. I am thankful for the fact that she doesn't have that many teachers. Because she is in the PVA on B days she has a double period of vocal (which for other students is 2 encore classes). This means that instead of 9 classes she only has 8, and 4 of them are the same everyday.
I love the beginning of the school year. Everyone is so hopeful for the coming school year and people are happy to be heading in (ok everyone except the teachers). Yes, my neighbor is a high school teacher and I don't know who is more excited about the end of the school year MAC or him.
Just to round out the day we had our first girl scout meeting tonight. It went really well. We only have 6 girls but they seem ready to start the year. We have begun the process of earning the Silver Award, it will take about 50 hours over the next two years. MAC wasn't sure if she wanted to continue this year but I was happy that she wanted me to sign her up at the end of last year anyway. She made it through the entire meeting and other than a few off center remarks she too did a GREAT job. I have to remind myself that some of the remarks are just the "teenage" thing setting in.
Yes it is definitely the most wonderful time of the year, school has started and everyone is excited for a fresh start.
We were the first at the bus stop today. MAC said that there are about 20 people on her bus this year. This is amazing since last year there only appeared to be 8! It's a new bus driver and we are so happy, she seems to actually like kids.
MAC says she likes her science teacher (this does seem to be a theme for her). I will be very interested to meet all of her teachers at the Back to School Night next month. I am thankful for the fact that she doesn't have that many teachers. Because she is in the PVA on B days she has a double period of vocal (which for other students is 2 encore classes). This means that instead of 9 classes she only has 8, and 4 of them are the same everyday.
I love the beginning of the school year. Everyone is so hopeful for the coming school year and people are happy to be heading in (ok everyone except the teachers). Yes, my neighbor is a high school teacher and I don't know who is more excited about the end of the school year MAC or him.
Just to round out the day we had our first girl scout meeting tonight. It went really well. We only have 6 girls but they seem ready to start the year. We have begun the process of earning the Silver Award, it will take about 50 hours over the next two years. MAC wasn't sure if she wanted to continue this year but I was happy that she wanted me to sign her up at the end of last year anyway. She made it through the entire meeting and other than a few off center remarks she too did a GREAT job. I have to remind myself that some of the remarks are just the "teenage" thing setting in.
Yes it is definitely the most wonderful time of the year, school has started and everyone is excited for a fresh start.
Monday, August 23, 2010
It's the final countdown!
Ok, so we are at the start of the school year count down. T minus 11 hours and 40 minutes until the first day of school for MAC. The back pack is packed. The lunch is in the fridge. The summer work is done. I have downloaded the bus schedule and have a clean uniform ready for her to wear tomorrow. I am hoping that this means that everything will go smoothly tomorrow morning when I walk into her room at 6:15 and wake her up.
If the fact that she had to come back down after her shower, twice, to finish something is any indication we may have some problems. She has told us twice that she has finished her summer work and twice I have found blank spots on the paper. She had also forgotten to take her pills.
She and I set up her two 1 inch binders. She has one binder for her morning classes and one binder for her afternoon classes. The binders are two different colors so she can tell them apart. I bought the reinforced three ring binder paper this year because last year her notes kept tearing out of her binder. She choose the pencils and pens that she is taking to use and decided on her own lock (a key one this year).
She has taken her cell phone to her bedroom to charge and will take it tomorrow so that she can call me when she gets to Mom and Dad's in the afternoon.
I think we are as ready as we can be. T minus 11 hours and 20 minutes!
If the fact that she had to come back down after her shower, twice, to finish something is any indication we may have some problems. She has told us twice that she has finished her summer work and twice I have found blank spots on the paper. She had also forgotten to take her pills.
She and I set up her two 1 inch binders. She has one binder for her morning classes and one binder for her afternoon classes. The binders are two different colors so she can tell them apart. I bought the reinforced three ring binder paper this year because last year her notes kept tearing out of her binder. She choose the pencils and pens that she is taking to use and decided on her own lock (a key one this year).
She has taken her cell phone to her bedroom to charge and will take it tomorrow so that she can call me when she gets to Mom and Dad's in the afternoon.
I think we are as ready as we can be. T minus 11 hours and 20 minutes!
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