TGIF

There isn't much to say today. Nothing new since last night. Jose and I fell asleep watching CSI together...we are such dorks. Since I don't come on here on the weekends, I thought I would at least post on here what my plans are.
Tonight I have to go get my nails done and then go grocery shopping. So much fun !
Saturday I have a birthday party at 3pm. It should be a lot of fun. There will be a small animal exhibit with frogs, turtles, ect and the some water things to do outside so the kids will be busy and I can actually relax with the adults.
Sunday I am meeting friends for brunch at a cajun restaurant. I have never been there, actually I have never been to that part of town and am really looking forward to it. Can't wait to try the amazing food and of course, great company. What else could a girl ask for?
So that is it until Monday, unless something happens and I need to post. I am going to try to get the pics downloaded from the school bus races this weekend and I need to clean as usual. That is what sucks about a big house...there is more to clean and the cleaning is never done. So hope y'all have a great weekend and I will be back on Monday.

Larissa Is So Smart.

Every once in a while our kids do or say something that makes us realize that we did alright as a parent. One of those moments was today. I was texting with Larissa, as we do often, about anything and everything. I asked her about Todd. Todd is a boy that she has had some interest in because he was there for her when Liam broke up with her. So anyways, I asked what is going on with her and Todd because she had not really been talking about him lately. She said that they are just friends. She told me that Todd has an ex-girlfriend that he talks trash about and then runs to when he is lonely and tells her that he loves her. Larissa said that if he does it to his ex-girlfriend then he will do it to her too. She is so smart. I text her back, telling her that I think she is really smart beause other girls would think that he would change for them. She writes back that he won't change because everything is his way. She said that she is sure that when she walks into school, she can find 100 other boys that are just as cute but that will treat her way better.

How did she get so smart? It takes many woman years to figure that simple little truth out. It took me to get married, get divorced and live on my own with two kids to figure that out. We hear it all the time...there are plenty of fish in the sea but how many of us have spent hours crying over the one that broke our hearts and then moved on without looking back. To hear it come from my beautiful 14 year old makes me realize that I had to have done something right. I know that she will get her heart broken someday...maybe many times but I know that she can handle it too and it will make her stronger. Well, even stronger than she already is. I love that she isn't settling. I love the person that she is turning into. My baby is really growing up and I couldn't be prouder of her.

School Bus Races...what a BLAST !

Last night we went to the school bus races. How was it you ask? It was GREAT, LMAO, Hilarious and can't wait to see it again next year! Ok, so picture this. Seven school buses, each a different color that look like they came out of a junk yard because all the windows are busted out and they have no doors. The principals of the cabarrus county school dept are driving the buses, they got to "decorate" them with spray paint before the race with the school name and whatever else they wanted. I was thinking they were going to go slow...after all school buses aren't exactly designed to race but NO ! They were going really fast, well as fast as you can expect a school bus to go without tipping over on the bends. Which brings me to the next thing. So two school buses tipped over, completely, onto their sides. Everyone was ok, just part of the drama...lol. The race stopped, the ambulance comes out, checks out the driver, announces everyone is ok, and the crowd jumps to their feet screaming and yelling...lmao. Tractors come up and lift the school buses off of their sides and push them away(literally)...what a sight. Don't worry, I got tons of pics. You guys wouldn't expect anything less, right?! As soon as I get them downloaded, I will post them. By the way, Nathan's principal was the second one to tip so his school did not win and Larissa's principal didn't race. She is actually going to talk to them when she gets back to school about racing next year. We had the BEST time....only in the SOUTH !

Nathan and our battle with ADHD

Nathan, Nathan, Nathan. Obviously this is what is on my mind today and this is what I will be talking about today. Nathan was about 2 1/2 when he was diagnosed with ADHD. Our pediatrician recommended a doctor for us to go to and work with. He was wonderful with the exception that one of the first words out of his mouth was "do you want meds". With that being said, after I explained to him that I didn't, he taught me what I needed to know about his condition and ways to learn to control it without meds. I have to say that he was right about most of it. I was worried when he was going to start kindergarden because I thought he would always be in trouble but to my surprise, he was at his best in school. According to the doctor, that was because of the structure in the school. That has always saddened me that I can not create that same structure for him at home but then he wouldn't have much of a life at all. So Nathan has done great in school (honor roll student) but at home he has just been getting by. A couple of years ago though his behavior at home started to take a turn for the worst. The past couple of years have been a struggle and have led to this point where I am now waiting for his next dr's appointment to discuss meds.
I had never entirely ruled out meds. I just knew that he was too young when he was diagnosed and promised myself that as long as he was tolerable and I could handle it then there was no reason to put him on meds. So after realizing a few things, I have made the decision to try it. You see, I didn't want to put him on meds because I have seen too many children altered by medication from ADHD. They become withdrawn and lose their personality and their livelihood. I didn't want my son to miss out on his childhood or wonderful times because of medication. As it turns out, he missed out things because he wasn't on medication. All the things he has had to miss because he was punished from acting up wildly. All the things that I couldn't allow him to do because of my fear of his behavior. Every day has become a battle now and I don't want him to look back on his childhood and remember always being yelled at or always being punished. My son deserves to have his life back.
My hope is that Nathan will still be Nathan. He has a lively personalityand he is full of energy. He loves to laugh and joke. He loves to be silly and his creativity surpasses mine, hands down. He is a wonderful child and I want the rest of the world to see that about him too. So on August 21st, we will be heading to the doctor's office to discuss our options. I am ready to begin this journey with him, hand in hand. I am prepared for trial and error. I know that we might have to change medications or play with doses and I am will try to remain objective to the situation. Most importantly, I will communicate with the doctor what my concerns are and what my requests are. So wish me well on this upcoming appointment because I am hoping it will enhance our life as a family and enhance his life as a great kid.

CJ Starts Pre-School

Today was CJ's first day of pre-school. He was really happy the whole way there and when we drove up, he said.."mama, not miss gina's?" and I responded to him "no, not miss gina's, you are starting a big boy school today". He just laughed and said "big boy school!" He is talking so much more now. So we got out of the car and into the school and the first things he was told to do was hand over his pacifier and his sippy cup to me, which he did without hesitation. He ran over to play with the kids and the toys while I stayed to fill out some necessary paperwork. When I went to say good-bye to him though, he started to cry and reach out for me. I have to say that I have done this twice before with Nathan and Larissa. I am far from the new mom who doesn't know what can happen or that everything will be fine but it broke my heart. It just doesn't get an easier just because you have gone through it before. Jose will be the one picking him up tonight so I will be calling after naptime to see how his day was just because I want to know more than what they will put on his daily sheet or what Jose will remember to tell me. I love my baby but he can be forgetful at times. :o)
So I just wanted to share that little piece of news with you all and I will let you know when I know more. Til later....

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok...so I know that this is going to be really blunt but all of you know me really well so I am just going to come out and say it. Larissa finally got her period ! I am not going to sugar coat it and say that aunt flo is in town or her friend is visiting or all those other weird anologies that people use. It is what it is...lol. I was actually getting worried and was going to talk to the dr about it on the 21st when they have their appointments but now I don't have to...thank goodness. Wow, my little girl isn't so little anymore.

Our Newest Additions

We have two new additions to my family...lol. One of the mommies in the mommie group that I belong to had a dwarf hampster that had seven babies and they were ready to give away yesterday so I took two of them. I know that you think that I am crazy but I love animals. We already had the cage from Larissa's hampster that we had brought down, we had a huge bag of shavings for the cage and a huge box of food too so it litterally cost me nothing at all for them. They are so darn cute. They are only 23 days old and the mother already had another litter of nine...crazy! So Jose thinks that I am crazy too but the kids had such a great time with them last night. They are the size of Larissa's thumbs...so tiny. They won't get too big because they are dwarf anyways. We named them Rosie and Peanut. Larissa got to name one (rosie) and Nathan named the other (peanut). CJ just calls them babies. He says that he wants to hold the babies and he is so careful too. I can't wait to take pics and share them with you.