Archive for August, 2005

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First Day of School (aka: Mommy gets the blues!)


2005
08.29

Posted in Family | 7 Comments »

Today was the first day of school. You know what that means: Meghan is officially a kindergartener. A bona fide “big kid”. Drat her. I swear, I just brought her home from the hospital yesterday. (She giggles when I say this. But it does feel like yesterday!!)
Meg I told her that she’d be able to hear my wailing sobs all the way in her classroom when I dropped her off this morning. She just rolled her eyes and told me not to cry.

I cannot believe how much detail goes into getting the children prepared for school. The endless school supply list to conquer. The uniforms that need to be purchased, tried on, returned, and repurchased!! The forms and paperwork and vaccination records. And then there’s the labelling of all 4,872 individual school supplies. And the shopping for breakfast food and snacks. And the haircuts. And a million other things. It’s no wonder I felt a little lost after I dropped them off at school today!!

Reilly was his usual calm self. And old professional at this first day of school schtick. He admitted to being a little nervous, but you sure wouldn’t have known by looking at him. Meg was excited — until we got to school and she had to wait in line with the other kids. Then she looked a little scared. (This is when I started tearing up!!) They both went along with the 30 minutes of photo shooting that I did prior to dropping them off!! Thank goodness Michael had already left for work . . . I’m sure I would have gotten scolded for “torturing” them with the dReb once again!!
kids

Today, the kindergarteners only had a half day of classes . . .but tomorrow, she’ll be staying all day, just like big bro. Should be interesting!! We enjoyed a few hours together this afternoon, talking about school and other important stuff. Then we went back to school to pick up Reilly, who was ecstatic about his new teacher and his classes. (Thank goodness!!)

So, the school year has begun. I pray we can stay organized and motivated — my intentions are always so good in the beginning!! Amen.

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Why?


2005
08.17

Posted in Random Musings | 4 Comments »

I’ll admit it — I’ve still got warm and fuzzy feelings over the lovely ladies I got to meet over the weekend. I love it when girls can play nice together. To be perfectly honest, it has only been recently that I have enjoyed having girl friends. Growing up, my best friend was a boy. I’ve always enjoyed being “one of the guys” because men don’t play stupid games. They aren’t catty. They don’t get defensive over nothing. I actually feared giving birth to a daughter, because I wasn’t sure if I could deal with the whole potential “drama queen” thing. Of course, as it turns out, I love being the mom to a girl . . . and I have come to appreciate having a gang of girlfriends to chat with, vent to, and share the ups and downs of life with.

That said, it saddens me to observe (or be victim of!) “girls behaving badly.” C’mon, you know what I’m talking about. If you’ve visited any message board, no doubt you’ve seen it in action. Why, why, why is it that some women feel the need to try to make another woman — one they perhaps even consider a friend — feel badly? Too bolster their own self-image? To feel like they have the upper-hand? Like they are in control? I guess I don’t understand why one person would want to make another person feel bad — in person or online. And would I really want that person as a friend?

I’ve witnessed a lot of sharing and kindness . . . but then there’s always one who has got to come in and spoil it. Kind of makes me want to crawl into my little cave and keep to myself for awhile. Hmph.

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Thoughts on the 2peas Sale and Crop


2005
08.15

Posted in Creativity | 3 Comments »

So, it’s Monday night — and I’m still high from the Two Peas in a Bucket Sale and Crop on Saturday!! Wow — what an amazingly good time. I seriously didn’t want it to end! I have so many things to say about the experience that I don’t even know where to start. My photos are HERE if you want to take a peek!

I knew the day was going to be awesome even before I set foot in the door. As we waited for the doors to open, Karen and I started talking to a bunch of the other waiting Peas. Already, the silliness and camaraderie had begun, and it was only 8:30am!! At 9, when Pea unlocked the doors, we filed in and began to register! In the minute I had to wait, I spotted my idol, my stalk-ee — Tara Whitney. I gave her a little wave as she passed, on the off chance she recognized me — and she did!! Whee!!

After we passed through the line, where Kristina and Jeffrey checked us in, gave us our shirts, and distributed our goodie bags, we found a spot in the crop room. In the front row. Right in front of the Garden Girl table. I am now in heaven. Soon, I am able to meet Tara in person, and I am like a tongue-tied doofus. I love her. She’s just as fabulous as I had anticipated. Warm and friendly, and so genuine!!

Right away, I poured my bowl of M&M’s to share — and got to meet a lot of people without leaving my chair!! Tee hee!! I was so impressed with the friendliness of the other Garden Girls! They were all so sweet!! Each and every one of them signed a card in the “Can of Peas” that I had made to remember the day. Joy was so awesome — she sat and talked with Karen and I for quite awhile! Margie was fabulous, too. Her laughter was contagious! Lisa McGarvey and Ali Edwards were both nutty and full of energy! Shannon was elegant and sweet! Terrie was spunky and a ton of fun! Stacey and Jen were both saintly — they carried around their baby boys all day!! (And those little guys were SO good!! I enjoyed watching them, and hearing them giggle and coo!!) Shelly Laming was so friendly — she went out of her way to embellish my card, even though none of the GGs had supplies with them! Carrie and Tracy were so great — they both circulated the room and I swear they talked to everyone there! Lisa Brown Caveney was so stinkin’ cute. She looked like she was about 12 years old!! LOL! And Kristina and Jeffrey were fabulous hosts who totally worked their butts off all day. I had the pleasure of talking to Kristina as the crop was winding down. You can tell that she’s very shy by nature, but was genuinely concerned about everyone in attendance.

The shopping: WOW!!! It was a little crowded the first time we shopped (yes, we shopped twice!!) but man, were there some good deals to be had!!! I didn’t break the budget, but came home with a ton of great new stuff!!

The prizes: There were tons and tons of prizes given away!! I didn’t win any of the biggies, but I can say that a lot of girls went home with some amazing things!! Boxes of new KI goodies. Quickutz. Strano ribbons. Fontwerks stamps. Handmade goodies from the talented Garden Girls. Some majorly cool stuff.

And despite the fact that I followed Tara around like a puppy (LOL!) I still managed to get 4 layouts of my own done, and a layout and tag to contribute to the 2peas circle journal and tag books. Those fabulous Garden Girls made me feel like I was talented — I had several of them comment on my layouts and photos! It felt so nice!! I’ve got a renewed energy to scrap, and I’m very excited to get more pages done!

The other peas in attendance were so fun! It was fun putting avatar pictures and screen names to faces!! I feel like I’ve added to my collection of online friends!! The energy and talent in the room was astounding!! You couldn’t help but feel good with all of that positive energy in one place!!

I was truly sad to have the evening end. I could have kept going!!! I didn’t want to part company of the Garden Girls who went out of their way to be warm and approachable to us all. It’s hard to go back to “online” when you have “in person”!! I was very glad that I got to be a part of such a special event. Thanks to Kristina and Jeffrey for letting us in on that 2peas mystique!!

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Pleasant Surprise!


2005
08.10

Posted in Life, in General | No Comments »

So, a few minutes ago, I’m sitting at my desk and my former boss (I switched departments a few years ago) comes into my office and says, “There’s a lady at the counter wanting to know if you still work here. I told her you did as of this morning . . . ” Good answer, considering there are some days I swear I will leave and never come back. Anyways, I walk up to the counter, and there stands my first grade teacher!!!!

I had Mrs. Ullrich during her very first year of teaching, and suffice it to say, we became very fond of each other. So, after 30 years (yikes!) we still keep in touch. Christmas cards, an occasional lunch date. She and her husband even came to my wedding!! So, it was a very pleasant surprise to have her show up at work for a chat!! (She was at Silly City Hall doing Kindergarten screenings. She teaches Kindergarten now — at the same school I attended way back when!!

It’s funny . . . as children and young adults we are taught by many, many teachers. But only a select few are the ones you remember. The ones who inspire you. Mrs. Ullrich was definitely one of those teachers! A beautiful, wonderful person!! My feelings of adoration for her, first felt at age 6, are still intact and strong today!!

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