January Lull or Jamaican Reward?

There's always a lull in January, right? Wrong. January is turning out to be a lot busier than I expected. I always think of January as being the slowest month of the year. It's usually cold and filled with boringness and recuperating from the holidays. It's the month we use to EASE into the new year and everything else we need to do. Instead of calm nothingness, when I glance at my calendar right now I am gripped with anxiety over details I might be missing or meetings and phone calls I might be forgetting. It's so full, and it's only January!

What happened? I'll tell you what happened - Life! Instead of just one child in school, I now have two. For some reason Tyler's science project (see past posts on how much I dread and hate this project) had an abbreviated due date schedule so the whole thing had to be approved, planned, written, executed and then made ready for presentation in less than 2 weeks. His REACH independent research project that is due in April and not normally assigned until late February or early March is already in mid-research stage and requiring some extra time. Tyler is playing basketball and the first game was Saturday so weekly games & practices are added to our once a week swimming lesson schedule.

There's more, of course. I won't go into all the details right now, but let's just say that the junior high selection/application/program application/pre-AP/everything under the sun information meeting & application process (they have to apply for like EVERYTHING) is more involved than I went through to get into college. Seriously. And it's all happening RIGHT NOW. There is even an interview process in here! The good news is I think there might be a short lull between all the acceptance (hopefully not denials) dates and the actual enrollment/schedule selection process in late spring during which he will take his STAARS (or STARS or STARRS or whatever) tests. For those of you not living in the great Lone Star State - this is our new standardized test which is replacing TEKS which replaced TAKS which replaced TASP and way back in the day when I went to school it was SRA??? I think it was TASP in high school, but we didn't have as many levels in elementary school so who knows.

Tyler is great at taking tests so new format/old format doesn't make much difference to him. Content doesn't make a big deal of difference either. He just lets it roll right off of his back - usually. Until the other day when he came home alarmed. Because his teachers and principal were alarmed. And rightly so. . .

. . .Once upon a time I had an absolute hissy fit when I realized that my fourth grader was never going to get further instruction on how to write in cursive than the 6 week session he got in 2nd grade. When I called the school to find out why this was being let go I was told that the state of Texas didn't require it because we live in the information age and these kids were not going to write anything anyway, they were only going to type. Ahem. Further research revealed that the TAKS or TEKS or whatever required only that the writing section be 'legible' and print/cursive didn't matter. I also learned from teachers in the family that how much emphasis got put on handwriting had to do with how important it was to the school's principal. Our principal didn't care. I could write an entire blog about my problems with all of this, but let me sum up: My son cannot sign his own name, my son cannot read my handwriting so I must still print for him and he turns 12 in a couple of months, we are raising an entire generation that will not be able to read a primary history source and will have to take handwriting as a foreign language in college, and if it's all about the keyboarding then why haven't they spent more than 20 minutes once every 6 days teaching my kid how to type (those are the tech days and they do all the tech then, not just typing) so that his only two options are printing and hunt-peck???? . . .

I decided I would teach him, but his interest level was below zero so it wasn't a successful venture. Now, though, word has come down that although printing will be 'accepted' on the STARS test - cursive is preferred once a child reaches a certain level and points may be deducted, etc. I don't know if it's true or not, but it has the teachers and the principal freaked out and more importantly it has Tyler freaked out. He doesn't want to lose points for something aesthetic. So now his interest level has peaked. Since I refuse to have children graduating from high school that can't write, I am very pleased. I am also frustrated because in his minimal spare time I have to help him master this skill by April. Seriously though - won't they want cursive in JH & HS? It will be much faster for taking notes, which is what I keep telling him.

I am totally freaked out that Tyler is going to Junior High next year, but it's NEXT YEAR, so where is my year to prepare myself mentally? It was only a whopping 2 months because all this info started coming home in late October. I am totally overwhelmed and so not ready for the next stage. The next stage is going to be crazy and hectic and I don't know what. It looks like I will have 3 kids at 3 different schools next year. That's 3 different drop offs and pick ups before anything else gets thrown in the mix. Can you say taxi mom?

Which brings me to the rest of the stuff filling up my calendar. I have Scooter's first parent-teacher conference on Thursday and he is supposed to be reevaluated on the Autism spectrum again next month (since that's the only scale the state has for him with Sensory issues). Tyler has another concert next week and on the 30th I get to spend an entire day as a chaperone for 'Enterprise City'. Tyler has decided to run for Mayor of Enterprise City and has to have a speech ready by Friday. I have 2 meetings this week to explore Pre-K options for Riley in the fall and somehow I have inherited the job of 'care group leader' at one of my moms groups (please pray for me that I will be better at passive listening and not such an agressive active listener, something I am always working on and struggling with!). Oh and there's a pre-AP information meeting next week. And I am working on filing my very first homeowners claim that just might lead to a new roof and possibly some paint on my very orange house.

In the midst of all of this chaos I took Riley for a speech evaluation with the district, but he is starting to correct some of his articulation issues on his own. We have a list of things to work on and then if it isn't better by April I should bring him back to get him enrolled in their 'small talk' program next fall. I've been working and running and trying to fit everything in, including the house. I painted the insides of doorways that currently have no trim, caulked a bunch of doorways and windows in my house, painted the mantle (still needs one last coat) and then slapped some shiny black paint on both my front and back doors for a contrast to all the white and very light grey. Wow, it looks different, but soooo cool. And it's January so I will be doing a lot more bookkeeping and tax prep work for the next couple of months.

Shew! I am tired and it's only half way through the month. Maybe February will be slower. Hopefully it will at least have a little more structure as I have finally implemented a chore chart system for the kids. I never could get my head around how this could work with such different levels of ability, but I solved it by making most of the little guys lists about personal responsibility (clothes, teeth, bed, toys) but each kid has a daily task. They are pumped about it right now because it's new, but I already had to make changes. I had feeding the dogs as a rotating chore, but when it was Scooter's turn we had to completely shift gears. Somehow I forgot that he can't stand the smell of dog food and does a really good job of avoiding it most of the time. Forcing him to dig into a barrel of the stuff 3 times per week could probably be considered torture in his case. I doubt things are going to slow down though now that the two little ones are asking about spring soccer leagues and maybe baseball this summer. I better find some energy fast because if the rest of the year is anything like January is turning out to be, I am going to need it. And some coffee. And some wine. And maybe a trip to Jamaica. Just sayin . . .

Happy New Year . . .

Another new year. Tyler was born in early April of 2000 so basically I have had pretty tame New Year's celebrations for this entire century. I think I made it to midnight that year, but I haven't made it every year since. I am totally okay with that since I had my share of stupid, crazy New Year's celebrations when I was young, single and well, stupid. There is something about the last night of the year that makes us think we are invincible and anything can happen, at least when we are in our twenties. I certainly had some fun and memorable times for the holiday, but I also had some weird and uncomfortable ones that even now make my stomach hurt to think about them. I am so glad that I don't ever have to go back to that stage of my life! Shew!

This year, Scott and I spent the evening grilling steaks for ourselves, sipping our drinks and watching the 'Bourne' trilogy on Blu-Ray. Tyler was with his dad and we let the two little ones play until they dropped, both no later than 10:30. We made it to midnight (although at 8:30, it was doubtful for me, but a good movie will often give me a second wind), but we also kind of missed it. At one point we said '5 more minutes' and then there must have been a good Matt Damon action sequence, because the next thing I knew it was 12:04 and we were going 'Oh - we missed it, Happy New Year Sweetie' and exchanging our kisses. Scott only made it about 20 minutes through the 3rd movie, but since I am still taking a med that has a time release at night, I was good to go for the whole thing and stumbled to bed around 2 a.m. Overall it was a great New Year and I was so glad that we weren't going anywhere.

Just like when we were younger and we thought that New Year's Eve held so much potential, there is something about being in your 30's and having a family that turns New Year's Day and those that follow into an opportunity to 'fix' or 'improve' so much about our lives. We aren't big on New Years Resolutions around here, but we do tend to get organized, clean out some of our 'baggage' and think about what needs improvement. We usually set a few goals for the year for our family financially and spiritually, but nothing firm or unchangeable since we know from experience that things change in an instant. I am pretty big on not making any big promises to myself that I am sure to break, but I do spend some serious time thinking about things I would like to do just a little bit better. So, after I did some coupon shopping on Sunday I implemented a new savings tracker I had found on-line and downloaded so that I could keep better track this year of both what I spend on essentials and food and also what I save. I saved a lot of money last year, but I don't know exactly how much (just a ballpark) and I want to do even better this year and KNOW it! We watched a lot of football, organized and cleaned up a few things and waited for Tyler to come home.

Tyler left on Christmas Day at noon for a week with his dad and we really missed him. Christmas, by the way, had been fabulous. And HECTIC! But, really really wonderful. We spent Christmas Eve day at my mothers with my brother and his family. We hadn't been there long when Jocelyn followed her Grandpa without his knowledge and pulled his coffee off of a ledge and all over her. Luckily it wasn't scalding and she wasn't hurt badly, but it was hot and she was not happy. Mom remembered that flour was supposed to take the sting out and keep burns from blistering so we just plopped that baby in some flour.





She was fine, obviously, and she turned the flour into an adventure that had us all giggling. When we opened presents, my kids were pretty pumped up about their gifts from their Grandparents and Uncle, but Tyler's reaction to his big gift took the cake.



He was pretty happy with the Kindle he got, but when I explained to him that he wasn't just holding a Kindle, but a Kindle Fire and that his Grandparents had just given him a Tablet of his own. This was the reaction we got:



That evening we went to the Hensel Christmas Eve get together and the next morning the kids were pretty excited about their gifts under the tree.



And after they had opened all the goodies they found in the living room, they found a note from Santa telling them to take a peek in the garage where we found 3 brand new (and in 2 cases, much bigger) bikes for 3 little boys. It wasn't long before we were all outside checking them out. Luckily, Santa had also given them each a new helmet which I insisted had to be for a good reason, so I better always see them on heads!






After Tyler left for the week we went to Scott's mothers house to celebrate with his family too. Overall, my kids were more than spoiled in their own eyes, but I felt like Christmas was at just the right level. Bargain hunting throughout the year had ensured that I could spend more time putting thought into a few really great things for the kids and that they still felt like they had 'tons' to open. And even though the play room is well stocked for the year, I didn't feel like they got so much from everyone that they couldn't wrap their heads around it or that something wouldn't get played with. Everything has been special to them and enjoyed so far.


Exhausted from the holiday, I hibernated most of the week. I cleaned and did laundry and let the kids play with their new things and didn't leave my house until Thursday. I ventured out briefly that day to get 2 or 3 coupon deals and buy dog food. And then on Friday I actually put makeup on again and loaded up the kids to go to the hospital to see new baby Caitlyn who was not even 24 hours old yet. This is one of my best friends, Mandy's second daughter. We are so glad that she is here and healthy. She is really, really petite and so adorable. Scooter talks about her a lot when we aren't around her, but won't go near her or speak when we are visiting. Riley, however, is fascinated and can't get close enough. We went to their house last night also so that Scott & Tyler could meet our new friend.








In the midst of taking down Christmas decorations and cleaning out last years files to prepare for the new year's documents I am so happy with the sounds filling my home. Tyler's return was met with excitement by the little ones and relief by his mamma. I always sleep better when everyone is under one roof. Scott left to watch his Cowboys at his cousins house just after Tyler got home, but the boys played well together for hours. After playing Transformers and Cars and who knows what else, Tyler got out a new lego set he had opened Christmas morning and let his brothers help him do the construction. This was a first as in the past this was Tyler's territory alone. Tyler built the plane and Scooter built the little maintenance vehicle that went with it. Riley helped find pieces and occasionally was still enough to help Tyler place a few pieces.








And then a little later, Scooter decided to show off his brand new Wii skills to his big brother. Tyler had tried teaching him Wii Sports before Christmas, but when Scooter got a little frustrated and wanted a break, Tyler had wondered if he was ready. I told him that there were 3 year olds I knew with better video gaming skills than me so he shouldn't worry. Last Friday night Scooter had insisted that he got to cash-in on a promised sleep over at Grandma and Grandpa's house all by himself. Riley was really stressed out about this because he didn't think his dad and I would play with him and he would be bored. Silly kid. Anyway, for something different we moved the Wii back out to the living room and taught Riley how to bowl, sort of. When Scooter came home we played with him as well and within 5 minutes of his second go-round, he was on his way to being a pro. Riley likes to play, but he gets distracted easily and doesn't often finish a game. Anyway, Scooter & Tyler played, then all 3 of them played, then I joined in and then I sent the little guys to bed and beat Tyler at Wii Sports golf a couple times. It was fun.




Tyler & Scooter go back to school tomorrow. Part of me is ready for the return to routine even while the sane part of my brain rebels at the thought of the alarm going off in the morning. The neighborhood kids have been here just about every day playing with my kids new stuff and making it impossible to keep things picked up. I am kind of ready for Riley and I to have some quiet time. I still have to take down Christmas and work on the files in the office before I can get back to work on the house, but I am ready. And even though my new 2012 calendar is already filling up with swimming and basketball and appointments, I have no BIG plans for the next couple of months. I am looking forward to some calm, some quiet and some normal before I have to start figuring out how to celebrate 2 kids birthdays and what we are doing for Easter this spring.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope yours began as pleasantly as ours did and that you find peace, contentment and satisfaction in 2012!

Thanks and God Bless!