Cicadas !!!!

So we have these two beautiful old trees in front of our house and they are wonderful. They provide the house with so much shade and it is just one of the reasons that it takes so little to keep the house cool. This past month, we started hearing this loud noise. I can't even really explain the noise to you. Ironically, it was my son, Nathan, that told us what it was.

The noise is made by Cincadas and I got to see one up close. They are not very attractive looking insects and as far as insects go, damn are they HUGE. Apparently though, they are harmless. So that is what is making all that noise and I decided to do some research on them. We are going to have to tolerate this "singing" from June to October depending on the heat. I think that we actually started hearing it in May because it has been unusually hot here. The ones we have are dog day cicadas and they are green...much like a grasshopper. I wonder if I will ever be able to get a picture for you to see. I read somewhere that they are rarely seen so I feel privelaged to have seen one. It was on the screen door to my front porch. I was going to check the mail and it was attached to the screen. I checked the mail and went back quickly inside. It had crossed my mind to take a picture but just decided against it...of all times !

So if any of you come to visit and here a very loud noise coming from the front of my house, maybe you can open my door and be lucky enough to see one as well. I am very thankful that they are outside and not inside though !

FYI: The picture here was not mine. I got off the internet just so that you could see what they look like. The one that I saw was easily 3 inches long and I would say almost an inch think. It was a plump one for sure...lol.

Hip Hip Hooray !!!

It's official...we got the Kia Rio ! Here is a sneak peak at what it looks like !

I am losing my mind !!!!

Larissa is driving me crazy. My biggest fear at this point, after having a heated discussion (via text) with Larissa, is that she has not and will not learn her lesson. In all fairness to her, I have not allowed her enough time to let it sink in and react the way a person should and I won't know how she reacts until she starts school in Sept. I am really emotional now after our conversation. The girl is dilerious and she is really scaring me with how naive she is being. This was our converstation:

Me: r u ok?
Larissa: Yeah, why wouldn't I be?
Me: ur report card?
Larissa:My school's retarted and I don't understand how I failed but the thing that makes me mad is not only do I have to repeat the year but I have to do it at Concord High School.
Me: Well now you have three years with your new friends. We will have to talk when you get back cuz your grades were horrible, how did you not see it coming?
Larissa: Yeah, great I get to spend three years in a crapy school, the worst school in freakin north carolina ! I don't wanna be friends with people at concord high. And their performance they put on in theatre when we did beauty and the beast, they did guys and dolls and it was a laughing joke. I don't know who told you concord is a good school but it is certainly not.
Me: You know what pisses me off? You haven't even given this school a chance. You are too busy believing everyone else instead of forming an opinion of your own. You can spend your life complaining or you can make the most of your life. It's your choice. There is no choice of where you are going to school but you can choose how to handle it however you wish. If Robinson is such a good school then how come you failed? You certainly didn't take advantage of how wonderful you think it is. No point in arguing with you though cuz you already have your mind made up. It's going to make for a miserable three years but that is on you.
Larissa:it is a FACT that Concord High is a horrible school ! Believe what you wanna believe and think that I'm listening to my friends but it's a bad school. Might as well be sticking me back at Perry.
Me: So smarty pants...where are you getting your FACTS from? I would really like to know?
Larissa: Lets see, you can ask the teachers and students or the principals, go for it. And then it makes it especially horrible for me because their theatre program is a joke.
Me:Asking people? That is your FACTS? Do you know what a fact is? I have supported every decision and dram you have had and u repay me by failing. Honestly the only thing that I care about this coming year is your education and grades...theatre and the extra things you want you will have to earn back. If you prove yourself and really want to do theatre but not at concord then there are programs. You have to make the best of things if you expect to get anywhere. The world is yours. I will even help you attain your dreams but you have to be able to want it and go after it. Your grades tell me otherwise.
Larissa: Theatre may be an extra but hello this is high school. I need that credit. It's not like I can just not have a fourth class.
Me: Maybe so but that 4th class doesn't have to be theatre. Learn from Alex and take a language. I don't care what you take as long as you pass your classes!

Updates

Larissa...
Now that my initial shock has worn off about Larissa being held back, I can think clearly again. I still need to allow time for the dust to settle a little bit before I make any decisions about change. No doubt that changes need to be made all the way around. Gone are the days of just getting everything and coming and going all the time. That privelage has been abused. Larissa has made her bed, now she needs to lie in it.
Thankfully, it is now Day 3 for her in RI and at least no new drama on that front to report.

Nathan...
Last night was family night at Nathan's sleepover boyscout camp. The parents all drive up (its an hour away) to see our boys and we all have dinner together potluck style. This is a wonderful meal for the boys apart from their camping food. It was so good to see Nathan. He got good color too from being out in the sun all day long. Two of the boys got dehydrated the day before though, which worries me. They are ok thankfully. Of course I took pictures and as soon as I download them, I will post them here. Nathan was making remarks jokingly about coming back home with me but when it was time to leave he had tears in his eyes. He really wanted to come home. I talked to him and he was sad but ok. I can't wait to bring him home on Saturday. He was so brave and I am so proud of him.
I also picked up his report card and was very proud of how well he had done. I took it with me to show him and even he was pleasantly surprised at how well he did. He got an 85 in English, 81 in Math, 90 in Science, 72 in SS, 100 in Health and 97 in Band. Woo Hoo! What a great job ! 7th grade, here he comes !

CJ...
The new daycare is a blessing. He enjoys going and having a small group this summer seems to really be agreeing with him. Kirsten is wonderful with the kids and her daughter Eva has CJ eager to go each and every morning. He made his first Father's Day card this year. It was cute and I loved being surprised with it too. Yesterday they went on a field trip to the library and watched a Magic Show. CJ really enjoyed the show and hasn't stopped talking about it.
He is doing great with his potty training too !

Jose and I...
We are still waiting to hear if we are officially approved for the Kia. I never dreamed it would take this long but good things come to those who wait...lol.
We really need to get together to find out how we are going to approach this coming school year. There are many things that need to be ironed out and decided. Many changes coming, I hope.
We are settling in real nice to our new home. Enjoying the perks of saving a little money for things like a car, even if it means we will be broke again until we save more...lol.
We are anxiously awaiting our upcoming trip to Florida to see Vanessa ! I can't wait to actually have a vacation !

My night

My night turned out to be a whirlwind and I have escaped to the sanctuary of my room to write here. I always feel better after I write.

So tonight started to go bad when I got a call from Larissa (for the second night in a row) asking me to please speak to her father because he is being unreasonable. I just thought that she was over-reacting until I talked to him. He was just being crazy. Yesterday he didn't want Larissa to spend the night at her grandmother's at all, during her stay there. Tonight it was the opposite and he didn't want her to go anywhere but her grandmothers and she wanted to stay at her aunt's house. I just can't talk to him at all. I got loud and not nice at all. He told me that he didn't realize that having his daughter there was going to be so much work and he doesn't need this in his life. Really?! Wow. He said he was going to pay for a flight to send her back home. I told him that I would have someone else pick her up and he wouldn't have to worry about her. He said that he wouldn't allow that. He paid for her trip by himself and he wasn't going to allow anyone else to see her. What?! Did I hear that correctly? He said if anyone wants to see her, they can come to NC to get her. What did I ever really see in him at all?
So if that wasn't enough, I got Larissa's report card and guess what? She didn't pass. Yeah, you all heard me correctly. She is staying back. She has no idea either. i didn't have the energy to deal with this tonight. I know that you will all think that I am crazy but maybe this is what she needs. She really goofed off this year and slacked big time. She is used to doing this and then catching up and sliding by the skin of her teeth. She will finally realize that is not the way to go but that is another year of high school for her. I don't even know what to say. And damn Jose is so mild tempered that I can't play devils advocate with him. So I am here pouring my heart out to all my friends and strangers too in home of finding some sanity in all this.
Ok, I am going to take a shower and go unwind with a book to escape from the reality of my life. I will talk to you all tomorrow. Thank you for listening.

My Weekend and My Girls

So here it is Tuesday and I haven't even written about my past weekend.

Friday night I drove to the bus terminal at 12:30am to pick up ex-husband, John. He came to take Larissa to RI for the summer until our trip up there in August. She will be there for two months. God how I will miss her ! He spent the day with Nathan on Saturday since Nathan will be staying with me for the summer. Nathan chose to go to summer camp this summer and have some much needed fun. In addition to that, he also has boyscout overnight camp this week. So he decided to stay home for the summer. He will get a chance to see his friends and visit people when we go up.

Saturday afternoon (while John was out with Nathan), we headed to Karen's for her birthday BBQ. I don't think that I have written here about Karen before so maybe I will have take a little detour to enlighten you all. Karen and I met on meet-up. She signed up for my couples group and I joined her mom's group. We instantly clicked. After some time, we decided to merge our groups since most of our members were in both groups anyways. Karen and Hung have become great friends to us. God knows that our move would not have come together the way that it did if it was not for Hung. He is the one that rallied everyone together and deligated and worked from morning til dusk. We owe him big time ! Karen is amazing. She is quirky and over the top but that is just some of the crazy qualities that makes her wonderful. This weekend was her birthday and I wouldn't have chosen to be anywhere else. Happy Birthday again Karen ! While there I got to hang out with some incredible girlfriends...Genevieve and Dawn (who I really must talk about in another post ...they are just a few of my favorite girls) and finally got to meet Gigi after over a year of talking online and on the phone. And I actually did get to socialize because the kids played in the pool and Jose was hanging with the guys. It was a pretty amazing day.

Sunday I took Larissa and John to the bus terminal. She is getting so grown and seeing her off for the summer just brings me to tears. As if that wasn't bad enough, I had to see Nathan off too but only for a week. Ok, so it's not really a week since tomorrow we go up to visit for a parents night...but still. It is hard to see off one of my children, but two? Well it was just a day of heartbreak for me. I know that they will both be fine but a mother will always worry. And I miss them both terribly. Of course, I had to push all that aside to celebrate Father's Day with my amazing man and of course my littlest bundle of energy, CJ. We had a great time. We went to the movies to watch Toy Story 3, then had a bite to eat and then out for ice-cream. We finished off the night just cuddling on the couch. Not a bad way to end the weekend.

My Girls:
I mentioned "just a few of my favorite girls" above and feel the need to share more. I talk a lot on here about my friends and family back in RI. I am also blessed to have some amazing friendships here too. I mentioned my girls once before when I talked about my move but they deserve more recoginition than that. My girls are Kelly, Dawn, Genevieve, Karen and Amanda. Omg, I hope that I am not forgetting anyone..lol ! They are the ones that I can faithfully count on in any situation. That was the crew that helped me move (Dawn, get over the fact that you got there late !) and they are the ones that make me feel like I am never alone. My relationship with each one is different but all are very near and dear to my heart. I also need to mention Tracy. Tracy is not part of that circle of friends but she is definatley just as near and dear to my heart and always there for me too. She is the one who watched CJ when I had nobody else and she picks up Nathan when I am running late or need to do something. I really don't know what I would do without her but I guess I will find out. Tracy is moving back to MA as soon as she can sell her house and we will miss her very much. As all my friends from RI know though, distance means nothing. I wish Tracy nothing but the best...even though I wish she would stay...lol ! I am also hoping to bring Gigi into that circle of friends too. She is slowly becoming part of our gang. I am sure that it will just be a matter of time. Well that is it for now and those are my girls ! :o)

Happy Birthday Ma Mary !

Today is my godmother's birthday and I am sure that she is having a grand old party up in Heaven. She was always one to party and be the life of the party. How I remember laughing so hard that my sides hurt. Today is a day that I dedicate to her. I honor her wonderful memory. This is one of the many pictures that I have with my godparents when I was much younger. Nice carpet, huh?!

I am sure that you have heard me say it a million times before but I will say it again...my godparents were the most amazing people. I am convinced that they are the reason I turned out so great...lol. They were, and I am sure they continue to be, one of the most wonderful examples of unconditional love to each other and everyone around them. I am truly blessed to have had them be such a big influential part of my life.

Happy Birthday Ma ! I love you and miss you terribly !