Last Night and Tonight

Last night I went to Gina's. For those of you who don't know, Gina is who was taking care of CJ before he went to pre-school. Anyhoo, I went because I was taking Larissa to look at the clothes that Emily (Gina's middle daughter) was getting rid of and since they are almost the same size, I thought it would be a good idea. Larissa made out pretty good. She got a couple of bermuda shorts, a skirt, some leggings, a couple sweatshirts, some shirts and tank tops and even a pair of jeans. That was a good start to her back to school clothes that she needed. So when she was done trying on all the clothes, she went upstairs with Taylor (her BFF) and Gina poured us some wine and we chilled in her garage. It is nice to sit back and unwind sometimes. I felt guilty having been out that long but thank goodness I have the most amazing man. He was downloading new songs onto Sing Star and we got to hang and sing. Anyone who has heard us sing, knows that this is not necessarily a good thing but we have such a blast. Nathan and even CJ joined in. CJ did pretty good considering he was just babbling...lol.

Tonight Paula (Teresa) is coming to help me clean my carpets. They look like the tazmanian devil zipped through my house. I know if anyone can help me get them looking close to the way they were, it will be her. I guess maybe I am expecting a miracle of some sort and have already been told that she can't perform miracles but she did hint that she might be able to wave her magic wand and make something happen...lol. So we will probably be up pretty late cleaning the carpets and I will have to open a few beers or open a bottle of wine to get us through it...lol. What kind of host would I be if I didn't share. :o)

Hope that everyone had a good night and will have a good day. Talk to you all tomorrow.

Tuesday's Blog

Not much going on. Saturday we had the birthday party and we had a great time. I got some really cool pics of the kids but of course, I haven't uploaded them yet...lol. Sunday I went to brunch with the girls and it was awesome. It was really the first time since I moved that I had just plans with just the girls. Aside from the terrential downpour of rain and the flooding, we had an amazing time. My stomach actually hurt from laughing when I left. That was so needed.

I have decided to jump head first into Larissa's party plans. Not that I haven't been doing it all along but just realized how close it is and I need to have definate things going on. As I expected, there were many kids that didn't show up for the rehearsal and I am not playing games. So I am trying to finalize the court and zoning in on Larissa's dress because she still doesn't have one! You know, typical plans for a big party.

Jose's friend is coming to visit for the weekend. He is from Florida but he is in the military and stationed in VA right now so he is closer than he was. That will be good because Jose has really been missing his friends. We girls find ways to stay in touch but guys are different. Well anyways, I am excited for him.

So that is about it...will chat later.

School Bus Races Pictures...Just a few

The Cabarrus County School Principals compete in the school bus race in the 1st picture. Nathan's principal gets a little sideways in the second picture (green bus). And 3rd pic is one of the buses who didn't quite make it around the corner. These were the pics from the event but not the ones that I took. I will get around to it but wanted to be sure to get you guys something so you can see them!

...lol...the pictures were uploaded backwards so look from bottom to the top...sorry.

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.