Bells will be Ringin

Summer is Over, where did it go?

School Officially started for us the week of Aug 15.  It has been a real adventure getting back into the grove of waking up early in the morning.  With my new job I am only able to run them to school in the morning and Daddy handles the rest of the running around while I am in my office hard at work.  The little girls are working on their 1st full week of school and since they are returning to the same school they attended last year they are all good.  My oldest has had a few issue here and there but mostly with scheduling or should I say over scheduling herself.  She decided to join the Volleyball team  this year on top of being on the Knowledge bowl team, house captain, and oh yes there is her academic schedule to deal with on top of looking for colleges.  Its been a really storm of paperwork and last minute supply runs but all in all so far so good.  My husband and I decided to keep the 4 year old home one last year and skip preschool, she has enough social skills already.  We have registered her and our 2 year old son for ABCMouse.com and they both love it.  I feel like we could save the money for her tuition this year and apply it to her tuition next year.  It also gives my husband some time to spend with her before she heads off to school next year.

This years biggest challenge is with my husband being home full time and me working full time.  He is going to have to deal with the wacky schedules and the never ending phone calls from teachers, coaches, and school nurses.  He will also be handing the doctors appointments for our ADHD child and its a little nerve racking but I am trying to let him handle things in his own way.  Working from home does allow me to assist in the housework every morning before i hit the phones and it also allows me to have lunch and dinner with them.  It has also allowed me to load and unload the washer/dryer while on break.  Also starting in September on top of working I will also be retuning to school full time to finally finish my BA, with my husband home I should not have any excuse as to why I can not finish.  So with another school year ahead of us we are prepared to handle what ever comes our way and hopefully this year things will run a little smother now that I finally have some help.

Leaving the Sticks

This could be the last weekend that I spend in the state of California and I hope to only come back to visit every so often. Don't get me wrong it’s not that I don't love this place, it’s become very evident that this place does not love me. Two years ago my family and I pack our house in a U-Haul and jumped in our minivan with loads of hope that the place we knew and loved would still be the same, full of opportunity and carefree as ever. It started off good, but ended bad. My husband’s big dream of becoming CHP was impossible to reach due to so many road blocks. My dream of reconnecting with old friends and family came to a halt when I realized too much had changed. My husband came back for family and soon learned sometimes loving your family from a far is better for all.


I was never really able to truly commit to looking for a job let alone taking one because too many kids and not enough babysitting opportunities in our area. In California's defense we did settle in a very small town, with limited resources and I think that is what really did us in. Living in the sticks was the first of many bad decisions that we made while living here. It’s been a long two years filled with doubt and regret and learning that you cannot really go home and even if you do it’s not what you remember.

As we get closer to leaving this place I will miss it believe it or not, in this small town I found a few kindred spirits who made it a little less boring. I loved the fact that there was only one school system and I could walk my kids to and from school every day. I will miss the feel of a small town, but not the drama that can go hand and hand.

We look forward to our future and hope that things work out better for us in Memphis then they did here, we have no illusions and know that times are hard everywhere, but we have hope that we can and will survive. I promised myself that this would be our last big move for a long time and our goal is to give our family the stability and security that so many strive for.

The first full week of having all the kids at home was overwhelming to say the very least.  Its not easy to juggle all the ball I had in the air and I have to admit that I am very tired. The baby is doing great he has even gained a few ounces while being at home.  We had two doctors appointments this week and we have a total of 4 next week.  My teen dd went to camp on Friday and will not return until Sunday, its a academic camp and I hope she learns something.  My son found out that college might not be in his future at least not the one he wanted to go to.  I think I can talk him into a local college at least for one year, but he keeps talking about the military.  My husband returned to work and learned that he can sleep while the children are screaming and playing during the day. 

The next few weeks I am sure will give me a chance to get into grove and be able to handle all the kids at one time.  I have to be stronger with the girls and their lack of patience when I am busy with the baby.  I have also learned the best think to do is involve the girls in the diaper changing process as much as I can.  I have also made an effort to give each girl their own time even if just a few minutes of snuggle and kissing to make sure that they know they are still important and still love. 

The only thing I am really having issue with beside the lack of sleep is finding time to do my homework with out 500 interruptions.  I guess I will have to go with my original ideal of only doing homework when someone else is at the house or when all the little kids are sleep.  It means that I get less sleep, didn't think that was possible.  Best strategy so far is to keep a week ahead in my classes so that when I have off days it wont impact my grade.

As of yesterday Logan is one month old and our life is so much different then it was 30 days ago.  I thank God everyday for all the blessing he has given us and for allowing my sweet little boy to come home. 

Jayde

Back on the horse

  Well its been a while since I last posted and I have to say not much has changed. We have been in our usually mode of chaos and craziness. I have been getting great checkups with my doctor my only issue is I have to gain some weight (never heard that before), only 3 pounds but its important for me and the baby. Our little boy is getting closer to being part of our loving little family here I am just a week away from the third trimester. We are about to celebrate yet another birthday on Saturday, our Laila will be 4 and she is ready for her birthday to get her. She asked when her birthday was the other day and I said "its right around the corner", note to self don't say that to a 3 year old because she was looking around corners for days. The weather is getting nicer the days are getting longer and its getting close to that wonderful thing called spring break here for us, and then of course summer vacation. I will be trying to post more often as soon as I find a rhythm with my homework and my house work and I have to admit still not having a laptop is not cool. I look forward to the day I can order my mac book and my life will be good again. Well back to the grind, gotta get ready to pick up Lily from preschool and head to the health fair at the kids school.

What will the New Year bring?

Well here we are again about to roll into yet another year. Am I excited, a little bit this year will bring another child to our family and my husband will begin his new job in January. It seems like this year is starting off a lot better then last. We are actually looking forward to all of the new things the new year will bring and we hope that it will be better then the last. Our holiday was much better this year, we were able to afford to get the kids most of what they wanted, my older kids were very understanding and asked for shorter if not just as expensive items. It was a thrill to see how excited everyone was and has been since Christmas and I am happy to say that we are all looking forward to our New Years Eve celebration, just a small family gathering with loads of food and music. My husband and did not purchase gifts for one another this year so we have decided to use a small amount from our tax return to both get something that we really want. With the new year come new hope that things will be calmer, and less complicated in our lives but who knows if that will really happen. There has been so many thing that we have dealt with in the last 12 months and I am happy to say that we came out stronger in the end. This next year will also bring the graduation of my son from high school, its both exciting and sad. I am very proud of all of my kids and especially my teens, they are very supportive and helpful when they want to be.
Its the year of the Tiger and we are very excited to see what it holds in store for our family. From our family to yours Happy New Year