What We've Been Up To

I have been neglecting this blog. I apologize to my readers - all three of them.

I can't believe summer is half over and the back to school ads are out. Each year goes by more quickly than the one before.

Since it has been awhile, I'm going to try to catch up in pictures.

Before school was out, Cassidy played Upward Soccer:

She was also part-time "coach:"

Whitney played 7th grade softball for the VW Cougars:

Then, regular season softball started. As usual, Whitney played for Convoy. Her team won the year-end tournament for four-county. They were also runners-up in their league for their season record. TWO tropheys!

Cassidy played for Ohio City. Don't ask me why my two kids play on opposite sides of the county, and not in the town we live in. It's a long story. Cassidy's Farmette team got a trophy for runners-up for season record. They lost in the first game of the tournament. I feel somewhat responsible since I let her swim TWICE that day. She was a little tired by the time she got to the game!

However, she was asked to step up to the Buckeye League OC team for their tournament. They had several girls on vacation and needed a few girls to fill in. They ended up coming in second in the tournament! Pretty good when you don't even have all of your players, and you are playing the #1 team!

The Farmette girls aren't allowed to slide. So, while she was in the Buckeye game, she took the opportunity to steal second and slide! No sliding shorts for this girl, so she had a pretty good strawberry on her "hip" when we got home!

Cassidy also made the Farmette All Star Team. They got to play at the Lambert Days Festival this past weekend.

Whitney was asked to play in a 13U tournament at Lambert Days as well. OC Green was undefeated and won the tournament! That makes three tropheys for Whitney for the softball year, and two for Cassidy.

Softball is finally over! (I think. Someone mentioned a fall league, but I'm pretending I didn't hear them.) However, no rest for the weary. Whitney has already started conditioning for Cross Country, competition dance tryouts are this week, and Cassidy's soccer coach called me yesterday to schedule practices. All we need now is homework... Ew!

Edge of Seventeen

I can't believe that my oldest daughter will be 17 in less than a month. How can that be? Where does the time go? For some reason, this is a tough one for me.


I struggled when she turned ten. That was rough. Her sisters were six and three at the time. I loved it when people would ask me, "How old are your kids?" and I could answer: "3, 6, and 9." For whatever reason, those seemed like the perfect ages. Cassidy was little enough to still be the baby, but was somewhat independent. Whitney was in Kindergarten - which is always fun. And Kaylee hadn't yet hit the double digits. So, once she turned ten, it felt like the end of an era.

I also struggled when she turned 13. Wow...a teenager. This was the beginning of something big. Everyone warns you of the tumultuous times that lie ahead, but nothing can really prepare you for it. Traditionally a "clingy" child, she slowly went from never wanting to be away from me to avoid all interaction with me. I try not to take it personally (most of the time), and tell myself she is right on schedule. She's testing boundaries and stretching her wings and learning some of life's lessons along the way. This is exactly what she is supposed to be doing to prepare us both for her eventual independence. I doubt if we are through the worst of this yet, but everyone also tells me that some day we will come out on the other side of this as friends. I am trusting them, while trying to be patient and wait it out.

Obviously, 16 was a big year, with the whole driving responsibility. But, I actually looked forward to that hurdle, since I had been shuttling three kids to a myriad of activities for many years at that point. In reality, I was more ready than she was at first, and had to nudge (push) her on more than once occasion to finally get that license in her hand.

So, you wouldn't think that 17 would be a big milestone. But, I feel like we are rapidly approaching the end of another era, and I am helpless to stop it from happening. Seventeen is only one year away from 18...the legal age of adulthood. I realize that doesn't signal the end of my parenting. We are parents forever, and the worry and stress will continue for many years to come. Also, since she started school when she was six, she will still have another year at home before she begins her journey to wherever life will lead her. But, I can't fathom being the mom of an 18-year old. I still remember leaving the hospital with her, and sitting in the back seat crying as she screamed for the entire car ride. I still remember bouncing a colicky infant for hours into the night, praying for three consecutive hours of uninterrupted sleep. I still remember pushing a stroller through department stores, eyeing the "back to school" clothes and becoming giddy at the thought of shopping for her first day of school.

First days of school, loose teeth, fights with friends, sleepovers, first dances, first boyfriends. It all happened just yesterday.

I can feel a mix of emotions well up within me. Fear that it is nearing an end. Regret over being a working mom. Anxiety that I have screwed her up for life. I should have been more/less strict. We should have taken more family vacations. I shouldn't have yelled so much.

Sigh.

At this point, I can't turn back time or un-ring that bell. So, my only choice is to look forward. Two years of high school down (almost) and two more to go. Ready or not, prom dress shopping, ACTs, and college visits are all in my near future. I resolve to make the most of these two years. They will be gone in the blink of an eye.

Trust me - I know.

Spring Has Sprung

Apparently, I'm down to posting once a month. Hopefully that will change, as the girls' schedules are picking up again.

Here are some random pictures to get us caught up to date.

Cassidy and Whitney playing in the snow. I didn't even know these were on the camera until I just now loaded them on the computer. Boy, I guess I am behind.

Kaylee had a banquet for diving.

Cassidy had a spring concert. She even landed a part in a quartet.

This is a "coil pot" that Kaylee made in ceramics class. The picture doesn't really do it justice. Ceramics was over before Christmas, but she just brought it home this week. When I asked her where it had been all this time, she said it was on display in the teacher's room. Cool.

Whitney got her braces off this week. Here is a "before" picture. I wanted to take an "after" picture on the same day. However, she was NOT in the mood. Not only did they take her braces off, but she also had some oral surgery done on her gums. They had to knock her out, and she does not get along well with the laughing gas. It has the opposite effect on her, and makes her quite grumpy. Luckily for her school was cancelled that day for fog, because she would not have been able to go to school that afternoon!

We finally got around to coloring eggs today. Just in time for the bunny.

We also woke up to a treat. Neighbors from our old house left us these cookies from Butler's on our door step. (There were more of them before we helped ourselves!) They always left something on our step for Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and the girls' birthdays. They haven't forgotten them, even though we moved! We sure miss some things about the old neighborhood!

Poor Jeff hasn't even seen them yet. He worked last weekend and this weekend. He even works tomorrow on Easter. The kids and I are going to my sister's for a cookout at the Lake. Hope the weather cooperates.

So,

So, I haven't posted for a month now. That went fast. Here is hoping March is just as quick. We've had enough of winter.

No photos with this post. I was a bad mom and didn't take the camera to Kaylee's first dance competition of the year. She did really well. She's in a duo this year, which is new. She and her partner did awesome, and placed 5th out of 14. I didn't think that was too bad for their first attempt. She was really nervous, but looked like she was in total control. I know I couldn't have done that at her age.

I had her parent-teacher conferences tonight also. As much as I complain and whine about the teenage years, she must be showing a different side to her teachers. I think among the comments I received were: "She is so fun." "She is such a sweetie." "She is really smart." and "What a great personality." All of these were from different teachers. Wow! It did me a lot of good to hear those remarks. Kind of puts my mind at ease....maybe I've done something right after all? I tend to stress over academics, but I have to be reminded that academic success doesn't necessarily lead to life success. Don't get me wrong - she is doing fine academically, but I still pressure for more. It takes more than just grades to achieve goals. More often than not, I've seen social skills beat out book learning in real life situations. I wish someone had given me the heads up on that a long time ago.

Whitney is starting softball conditioning, Kaylee claims to be going out for track (this is a new venture), and Cassidy has spring soccer coming up. Hopefully, more pictures will follow.

So Long, January!

I don't think I've ever been so relieved to see a month end! I just checked last year's posts, and had one very similar to this, so if I'm beginning to sound like a broken record....

I was called away from work on three consecutive weeks due to sick kids last month.

• January 13 - Whitney stayed home with a very sore throat. She called me at work crying in pain, so I quickly called the Dr. and got her in. I left work, picked her up, and we zipped right there. They tested for strep - which was negative. I was told it was "viral" and would have to run its course. No medicine!


• January 19 - I got a call from the school nurse saying Kaylee had passed out in Biology and hit her head pretty hard on the floor. Actually, I was in a meeting, and the nurse had to "zero" out of voice mail to get someone to find me. When I picked Kaylee up from school, her head hurt pretty bad. One call to the Dr., and they recommended she go to the ER. A couple of hours later, her CT scan came back negative.


• January 21 - The high school calls again. This time, Kaylee "almost" passed out, but laid down on the floor in time to avoid it. (Something she swore she'd never do.) I talked to her on the phone real quick, and she decided she felt better and wanted to stay the rest of the day. She was fine after that. (I didn't have to leave work this time.)


• January 27 - Cassidy's school called to say she had a stomach ache. Again, I was in a meeting and couldn't be reached. The school nurse (same one that called me the week prior) left two messages before I got back to her. I pick her up and take her home. She was fine the rest of the day. That Thursday she missed basketball practice for another stomach ache. However, she seems to have recovered now.

I'm pretty sure my kids have some kind of flag on their file that if there is one more incident and they can't reach anyone, Children's Services will be called in. I told Jeff that we really need to make some friends who don't work so we have a backup plan. The nurse commented that she noticed Jeff worked 1/2 hour away so just kept trying me. Yep - I'm it! Not good for my work record, needless to say.

On a positive note, January wasn't ALL bad. As promised, here are some pictures of Cassidy playing ball:

Notice how she runs so fast, everything around her is a blur? Yeah, she totally gets that from me. (hehe)

Also, the Middle School cheerleaders got to cheer with the High School cheerleaders at the halftime show last Friday. Here are some pics of Whit:

I have about 100 more like these, so I'll stop there.

Dive is over, and cheer is wrapping up. Before we know it, it will be softball season.

BRING ON SPRING!

Keeping it Real in 2010

Wow - I haven't posted for awhile. I guess I haven't felt that there has been anything newsworthy going on. Christmas was pretty quiet and relaxing. It was nice to have the kids off for two weeks...much less running around. We've been to some basketball games and dive meets. Plus, Cassidy has started Upward basketball. I'll try to get some decent pictures of her playing ball - she is a lot of fun to watch.

I felt kind of bad looking back at my last post. It wasn't very festive for being my last post before Christmas. But, now that I think about it, I was just keeping it real - being honest. Life isn't always perfect, and I don't pretend it is. I'm not perfect; my family isn't perfect; my marriage isn't perfect; my house isn't perfect; my job isn't perfect. So, why fake it? I've been called a lot of things, and some of it is probably true. However, if there is one thing I don't think anyone could call me, it would be "fake." I just can't do it. I've tried before. Oh, how I've tried. But, the real me always comes through. If I'm mad at you, you can tell....I just can't pull off that "fake nice" like some people can. I'm not sure if that is good or bad - it's just the way I am.

I enjoy reading a lot of other blogs. I like reading about people's kids, and their families - their triumphs and their pain. It helps us all put our lives in perspective when we see that other people also struggle and succeed. I especially like it when people share how they deal with those difficult times - be it with their faith or sense or humor.

So, I guess what I'm saying is - if you stop by my blog to visit - don't always expect glowing reports of how everything is always rosey here. I'll gladly share cute stories about my kids and occasionally brag about their accomplishments. However, I might also need to vent or even shed a few tears. After all, it's my blog, and I'm just keeping it real.

Bah Humbug...

I'm so not ready for Christmas. What did I say in my last post about it being easier now that none of my kids believe? What was I thinking? For some reason, it has been very hard to wrap up my shopping this year. I think the pressure is on because I can't blame Santa if everyone isn't pleased. My budget just isn't in line with my intentions. Ugh.

Plus, we lost a dear family member this past week. Our dog, Buddy, who we have had for over 12 years, was hit by a car on Friday, December 18....just one week before Christmas. We are still trying to come to grips with it.

We first got Buddy because Kaylee and Whitney were immensely afraid of dogs when they were little. I mean really afraid. Like, crawl-up-on-your-lap-and-dig-their-nails-in-your-back-if-a-dog-was-in-the-room kind of afraid. A friend was building a house and didn't want a dog in her new house, so was giving him away. He was about 1 year old at the time. He definitely cured the kids of their fear. For that, I am grateful to him.

However, I had my issues with Buddy - especially recently. He shed. A lot. Lately, it was in the form of very large tufts of fur left randomly around the house. Since he was housebroken when we got him, he never had any accidents. At least, not in the old house. For some reason, in the past month and a-half, he had at least six mishaps here at the new house. You have to understand - the carpet at the old house had been there at least 10 years before we moved in, so I was not overly concerned about it. However, all of the carpet here is fairly new and really nice. I had just about had it with him! Plus, did I mentioned that he followed me? Everywhere. I can't count the number of times I tripped over him. Oh, the guilt.

Also, we had a fenced in yard at the old house with two gates. Buddy had gotten to the point that, even if the gates were left open (which happened a lot), he would not venture out of the yard. It just didn't happen. He just understood that his spot was in the back yard, and could have cared less if he was free to venture out. On Wednesday of last week, one of the gates here was accidentally left open. He was let out at least four times after that and never wandered away. For whatever reason, Thursday afternoon, he left the yard. Jeff and I were at Whitney's basketball game when Kaylee called to say she couldn't find him. Jeff left to help her look. We had driven separatley, so I waited for Whit and came home. I wasn't too concerned, really. I mean, he never ventured out, so I was sure he wasn't far. We couldn't find him that night. We had to tell Whitney and Cassidy that he was lost. But, we reassured them that we would look again the next morning. I had the day off, and was going to have posters printed and passed out. I'd go door to door if I had to. Buddy would come home. Kaylee texted her friends. One person called to say they saw him crossing Walnut Street about 4:00. Jeff went back out to look with no luck.

On Friday morning, Jeff left for work. He was running a little late, but still decided to make a sweep of the neighborhood where Buddy had been spotted before he left town. He didn't get far before he saw him. Buddy was in the middle of the road. He could tell it had happpened recently. Right after he got there, a cop arrived because he had gotten a call that a dog had been hit. Jeff called me to let me know to come with a bag. The kids had heard the phone ring, so they knew something was up. Jeff came back home to give them the news. That is one moment I will never forget. There are so many things that could have gone differently, and the outcome could have been better. Those are the things I keep thinking about...the "what if's."

So, if the stockings aren't hung by the chimney with care. If the halls aren't all appropriately decked. If I can't manage to go out and get those last few gifts to make everything "even," I hope everyone understands. My heart just isn't in it right now.