Things That Only Happen On the First Day of School

The first day of school is a strange phenomenon for parents.  It is faced with a mix of excitement, relief, and dread as you realize that your children are embarking on another school year guaranteed to fly by as fast that those before it.  Regardless of one's feelings about the first day of school.  There are five things that occur this particular day that will not happen for the other 179 days of the school year.

1) Your children will be out of bed on time, and more surprisingly, so will you.  There is something unusually easy about getting up before dawn to get your kids dressed and out the door as soon as possible on the first day of school.  No need to hit the snooze button today.  No chance of accidentally over-sleeping.  It's back to school and you will be there at least 10 minutes before the bell rings.

2) Your child's clothes will be pressed and looking sharp.  If you're like me, this is a rare occurrence for anyone in the household, including yourself.  There are few things I detest as much as ironing and therefore, I purpose to do it as little as possible.  But I realized this morning as I pressed a miniature polo shirt and navy cargo shorts, that I was definitely going above and beyond.  Why?  It's the first day of school.

3) You will provide a healthy and substantial breakfast for your children.   On the first day of school, your child will partake of each of the four basic food groups from the veritable smorgasbord of food you will prepare.  After all, they cannot possibly function and be sustained throughout the day without the proper nutrients on the first day of school.  Every other day of the school year, a cold Pop Tart eaten in the car on the way to school is considered sufficient.

4) You will watch the clock religiously and wonder what your child is doing at each moment of the day.  This is perhaps the most puzzling ritual of the day.  This is largely due to the fact that, for most parents, it will be a matter of mere days before you lose track of time completely and nearly forget to pick up your children from school.

5) You will retire unusually early, exhausted from your extra efforts and knowing full well that the process will begin again in the morning.  The good news is, you can hit the snooze button tomorrow.  It's not the first day of school. :-)

Another School Year

I'm coming to terms with the fact that another school year is upon us.  Yes, only two days until we get back into the "swing of things".  It's a bittersweet time.  On one hand this mother is wishing to see ALL three of her children headed out the door with backpacks on Wednesday morning, after what seems like an eternity of whining, fighting, and sweating buckets.  But on the other hand, the perceived loss of freedom that comes with having to get up and out the door at what seems like an ungodly hour to start school, is disheartening.  At the moment it is 7:30.  My kids are happily munching on peanut butter toast, watching tv, and I am blogging in my pajamas while sipping my coffee.  Aaah, the lazy days of summer.  I'm not quite ready to let go...

Fourty-eight hours from now, I will be a giant ball of stress, throwing lunch and school supplies in a backpack, shouting orders for kids to get shoes on, and mercilessly brushing through a rat's nest of curls to get my three kids presentable enough to take just one to his first day of school.

How much enjoyment can I squeeze out of these two days before they're gone?

Santa's Birthday

We started a new tradition today and it's one that's going to stick!   In the aftermath of yesterday's holiday shopping extravaganza, I decided to do something special with the kids on July 25th.  They are still too young to understand the  "Christmas In July" concept (as are some adults, evidently.  I pity them)  A couple weeks ago, completely out of the blue, my oldest posed the question, "Mom, when is Santa's birthday?"  Please note that I am aware of the correlation between Santa and St. Nicholas, whose birthday is traditionally recognized on December 6th.  However, seeing an opportunity for something fun to break up the monotony of the summer months, I decided that our family would celebrate Santa's birthday on July 25th.

The morning started with green and red scrambled eggs, a piece of fruitcake,  and a knock on the door.

On the doorstep we found a gift and a letter from our mischievous Christmas elf, Alfie.  Alfie was with us the entire month of December, sending reports to Santa on good behavior and finding his way into all kinds of trouble!  Alfie's letter described Santa's birthday celebration at the North Pole and came attached to a wonderful gift the whole family could enjoy.

After breakfast, I lit my favorite Christmas candle and turned on the Christmas tunes.  As we listened to Bing, Dean, Frank, and Nat, we made ornaments for our trees and colored holiday pictures.  We also watched the first of our Christmas videos, which the kids were anxious to see- How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Lunch time was uneventful, something I think will change next year, and afterward my own little elves headed to bed.  D and I made some red and green popcorn and settled in on the couch for our Christmas movie- The Muppets Christmas Carol.  It was brand new for him and became an instant favorite, which is great news for this Muppet fan!

When our movie ended, we broke out our new gift, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer for Wii.  (Buying holiday items off of Amazon in the middle of the Summer can be very economical, by the way.  Paid less than $5 for this brand-new game)  It was a hit!

We're finishing supper and the kids are eagerly anticipating their reindeer cupcakes.  We'll end the night with baths and Christmas books before bedtime.

Who knows how long we'll be able to celebrate Santa's birthday.  Either way, July 25th will be a special day in our home.  I can hardly wait for next year!

Christmas In July

My mom and I celebrated our 5th annual Christmas In July over the weekend.  It has quickly become one of my favorite days of the year and is in danger of pulling ahead of the day after Thanksgiving.  What is Christmas in July you ask?  In our world it consists of two grown women, plastered to the television ogling everything Christmas from decor to gift ideas on QVC.  It includes wonderfully smelling candles, Christmas cookies, a pine cone (our family's favorite Christmas appetizer), pots of coffee, and piles of Christmas idea books.  It's our day to get a jump start on our holiday shopping and planning and we love it!

We've been told on more than one occasion that we're crazy, but I think the word "crazy" is highly relative.  To me, crazy are the people running around like headless chickens the month of December, stressed to the max and burning up their credit cards to buy gifts in a pinch. 

What was accomplished this year amid lots of laughing and even more eating?   Gifts for eight teachers and the school office staff, a present for my sister-in-law, and I managed to pick up a couple goodies for myself- all from the comfort of my parent's living room.  All in all, I'd say it was a successful day!

Birthday Boy!

Happy birthday to you!  Happy birthday to you!  Happy birthday dear Daniel...Happy birthday to you!

Today is our baby's birthday and the day can't pass without my thoughts turning to those events six years ago that brought him to us. I can scarcely believe that it has been so long.  So many milestones have been passed and so many memories have been made.  My baby is not a baby anymore. He looks more grown up.  He acts more grown up.  And more and more often, as I look at him, I see glimpses of the man he is going to be.  Somehow, it manages to make me so happy and so miserable all at the same time.

Daniel, you are an incredibly gifted, talented, witty, charming, tender, and loving boy.  You make us so proud!  We couldn't possibly love you any more!!!  Happy birthday, buddy. 

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Birthday Fails

There is a buzz in our home this week as we prepare for our final family birthday celebration of the year.  Our baby boy turns six on Thursday and he, more than anyone else, is giddy with excitement. 


I, on the other hand, am much more apprehensive this year.  Our poor kid has had some pretty rough birthdays in the past few years and I'm just hoping this year will end the curse of bummer birthdays for my sweet boy.


Birthday 2009, we celebrated early with a big party at Chuck E Cheese, which I think was more of a bummer for me, just 3 weeks out from giving birth to our youngest.  On Daniel's actual birthday, I arranged to take him to his very first movie.  I had planned to have a family celebration that evening, but when we got home from the theater, everything changed.  Isaiah, who was only 23 days old, had been having trouble keeping his formula down.  It had lasted for a good week and we were under the impression his sensitive stomach just needed a gentler kind.  But that day, I decided to call the doctor to ask a few questions and was told, under no uncertain circumstances, to immediately take him to the emergency room at Phoenix Children's Hospital.  Panic set in and we were in motion.  Hours into the process, I realized our poor birthday boy wasn't having his celebration that evening.  Isaiah was admitted, we spent a restless night at the hospital, and handed our newborn over for surgery the next day. 


Birthday 2010-  On the heals of the previous birthday debaucle, we wanted to avoid any disappointments (and medical emergencies, I might add).  Daniel was turning 5 and starting kindergarten shortly thereafter.  This birthday was a big deal!  For months we planned and made arrangements to surprise him with a trip to Disneyland.  When the day came, his grandparents came for cake and presents.  The next morning, we woke him up and told him we were going on a trip.  He had no idea where, but being alone with Mom and Dad kept him from caring.  We arrived at the hotel and showed him Disneyland through the window.  He was ecstatic!  This was going to be a birthday to remember!  Was it ever......
Moments, and I mean MOMENTS later, we found a couple of red spots on his arm and one on his cheek.  Thinking he had been bit by a mosquito, we continued on with our plans.  Dinner in Downtown Disney, shopping at the Disney Store, and endless hours of jumping on the bed.  But the morning light dawned on another birthday disaster.  Daniel's face, arms, and legs were covered with red welts.  Before breakfast we were headed to an Urgent Care to get hims some cream and an antibiotic for what I was convinced was Fifth disease.  To understand the level of misery of this particular occasion, one has to be familiar with Daniel's extreme phobia of doctors.  The mere mention of the phrase "doctor's office" had sent him into a sheer panic, not to mention the fact that the doctor visit was now in liew of Disneyland itself.  We arrived at the urgent care only to find out that he was having a serious allergic reaction and a shot of antihistamine was the only alternative.  We had officially entered the ninth circle of Daniel's own personal hell. We pinned a screaming, panic-stricken, 5 year old to the table, and the nurse administered the injection.  Ten minutes later we were in the car and headed to "The Happiest Place On Earth" in complete silence.


I face this week with trepidation and hope that we can manage to avoid illness and all contact with medical professionals. 

Dora Undies

I remember fondly a time in my life when I would get excited only when something out of the ordinary and truly delightful happened. Graduating from high school.  That was exciting!  I won a radio contest once.  That was exciting!  Landing my first job.  That was exciting!  Getting engaged. Exciting!!!  Buying our first house.  Do you get the point?


I'm a "little" older now and have come to realize that life is a little less exciting and yet, for the oddest reasons I find myself in moments of sheer and uncontrollable delight as if Ed McMahon just appeared on my doorstep with a sweepstakes check.  And seeing as he has been dead for quite some time, that would be extremely exciting...or disturbing. 

I digress.


I found myself in such a state last week and, in the midst of my celebration, realized just how much my perspective on excitement has changed.  What was I in jubilance over?  My 3 year old going to the bathroom on her own.

Now, in my own defense, this mother has been in a constant state of diaper changing for the past 6 years so the fact that this single event moved me one step closer to a diaperless existence was a very big deal.  I would be less than candid, however, if I didn't express that my joy was momentarily interrupted by a revelation of the fact that I have now been denigrated to celebrating basic bodily functions.  

Gone are the days of relishing in the traditionally "exciting".  New adventures, surprise gifts, world travel?  Nah.  I'm euphoric over Winnie the Pooh potty seats and Dora undies. 

Or perhaps, I'm just enraptured by the little girl who wears them.