first week of first grade

does it make me a bad mom that i'm happy for my daughter to go back to school? i must not be the only person that feels this way because there is a commercial out right now that portrays this. it's the best commercial! the dad has a huge smile on his face and is skipping and gliding through the office supply store getting school supplies with "it's the most wonderful time of the year" playing in the background and the kids look ticked. it is so funny (and true)!

yes, i do now have to get up early (which i hate) and i'm already sick of making lunches everyday and i have no patience for doing homework with her at night and i feel like i'm always in the car (driving her to and from school, to gymnastics, etc.), but i was still happy for her to start back to school! for my own selfish reasons - it's much easier to get things done with only one kid, the first grader hates to shop and makes my life hell when i have to take her to stores, and i don't have to listen to the first grader fight with my little one, but i'm also happy for her to be back in school because she needs to read, write and do schoolwork and she does not take constructive criticism well from me at all. that is why i could never homeschool (well, one of the many reasons)! we did have many days this summer of reading and doing workbooks but it was so stressful because she can only handle being told what to do by someone other than her mother!

she was so excited on the first day of school (and no one cried). as we got out of the car, someone asked her what grade she was in and she said she was in 6th grade! i think she said this because she is 6 but i told her we don't need to rush her growing up anymore than she already is. she had a good first week of first grade and my little one made it 3 whole days before she broke down and started crying that she wanted to stay with her sister!

my little swimmers

both of my girls took swimming lessons this summer. my little one is usually the one that's not really scared of anything. she's never been frightened of the water so i didn't expect her to have any problems. on the first night of class, the instructor (read: 17 year old kid) called her name off the roll and she walked right up to him. he gathered his class and they all got in the water and then the tears began. she cried everyday for the first week! the second week she didn't cry and even seemed to have fun, but she's still wearing her floaties in the pool.

the first grader has always been afraid of the water, and getting water in her eyes and getting water in her ears (because of the tubes she had when she was little) so i really expected to have problems with her, but she was great! she is now swimming - i mean she's not going to be in the olympics or anything but she is holding her breath and sticking her face under water and moving for 15-20 feet across the water. i'm so happy - i just hope she doesn't forget it all over the winter and we have to start over from scratch again next year!

sometimes you just need to miss your kids

i have been dying to have a kid-free weekend for so long! now don't get me wrong, i love my kids but i am with them 24/7 and i needed a little time to miss them and truly appreciate them! i think the last time that the hubby and i went away without them was almost 2 years ago for our 10 year anniversary! i am due!! this weekend our neighbors (and good friends) planned to go to austin to "get away". we said "we need to do that" and they said "why don't you come along". so we did! we left friday night and drive down to the radisson in downtown austin. we woke up early the next morning to make it to a 10:00 tee time in san marcos (and we were only a few minutes late)! i didn't play (just drank, drove the cart and read a magazine) but it was fun. after golf we went to eat at a well-known bbq restaurant. it was a bit of a drive (to the middle of nowhere) but it was really good and we had fun. after that we floated the san marcos river - the water was cold but it only took about an hour! afterward, we went back to our hotel in austin and rested for a little bit and got cleaned up to go out. since we are not 20 anymore, we went to 4th street instead of 6th street! we found an irish pub called fado's and it was really fun. we ate a late dinner (at 10:00) and then drank (a lot). they had a band and some fun music. the hubby and our friends found their new favorite beer - hoegaarden. we left there about 1 a.m. and as we walked out onto the street we saw the car in front of us with a girl hanging out of the passenger window puking her guts up! we crossed the street and saw a trannie standing on the street corner. it was craziness - imagine what we would have seen on 6th street! this morning we slept in and after getting dressed and packing we checked out of the hotel and then had brunch at the restaurant in the hotel. it was good but i damn sure didn't eat $15 worth of bacon and eggs! we spent a good bit of money but i really needed this trip and to get away without the kids for a few days. i really did come back with a better attitude and can appreciate the girls more now! i think i can even make it to the first day of school without losing my mind!