A Very Merry Christmas

As always, the holidays just flew by this year.  I'd like to say that we packed as much holiday cheer into the last few weeks as possible, and maybe we did.  But the mom in me feels like we didn't do enough.




We watched all the Christmas movies...in between the kids' YouTube obsessions.  We went to the Tree Lighting Ceremony and took our annual "Picture with 5th Street Santa" photo.  We went out of our way each time we drove somewhere at night, just so we could see the "good" Christmas lights.  We drank hot chocolate and made gingerbread houses and made lists and saw Santa Claus.

And, before we knew it the kids were tearing into their presents on Christmas morning.

Christmas this year was ALL about technology for us.  Scott and I gave each other smart watches, Gerry got an iPod Touch (yes, they still make those), and Bailey got herself an iPhone {more on this in another post}.

I blinked a few times and the entire holiday was over.  Just like that.

Next up...Gerry's birthday.

Conferences

Bailey and Gerry had conferences last week, and they were amazing.

{Before I continue, I should probably catch us all up to speed since it's been so long since I regularly posted here.  Bailey is 9 years old and in 4th grade.  Gerry is almost 7 and in 1st grade.}

Honestly, I never have worries about conferences with either kid.  They're both intelligent hard workers, and are respectful in the classroom (they save their crazy for at home).  Their character is and always has been more important to me than their grades.  That being said, holy moly, do they impress me in the classroom!

Bailey's conference was first.  She's my independent worker.  She very rarely needs help with homework, and it frustrates her when she does need some help.  She's been reading at a mid-5th grade level since 3rd grade and she exceeded the 1,000 sight words that they need to know back in 2nd grade.  She's very smart when it comes to language arts and reading.  Math is her favorite subject, but not her strongest.  4th grade math is a whole different ball game and, while she does well, she's not quite as confident in that area as she is in language arts.  But she's still doing great and her teacher says she'll have no problem adjusting to academics in the middle school next year.  

Her teacher says that she's polite, respectful, and doesn't treat any of her peers differently.  She works well with others and she's helpful without being condescending.  They say that she's funny without even trying to be sometimes and that she actively participates in the classroom.

Gerry's conference was next.  He was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome over the summer so we've been adjusting to and navigating the different behaviors that go along with it.  Like Bailey, he's very smart.  He's reading at a mid-1st grade level and he knows 910 sight words, which is amazing.  To put it into perspective, first graders should know 50 sight words by the end of the year; Gerry knows 910 in the first marking period.  Math is his strong suit these days, and his area of confidence.  His teacher says that he's also respectful and a hard worker, and that he's kind to all of the kids in the class.  The only thing she'd like him to work on is advocating for himself more in the classroom.  She said that Gerry is very hesitant to ask for help and, more often than not, he waits for the teacher to catch his eye before signaling that he needs a hand.  She'd like for him to become more comfortable with raising his hand and letting her know that he's struggling.

All in all, two very awesome report cards and conferences.  I'm a proud mom!

That Time I Blogged

Remember that time that I blogged regularly?  Before I had 3 kids and ran a home daycare and literally had no time to myself?

{I think} I'M BACK!

For now.  For today.  Because here's the thing.  My kids are crazy, and they keep me busy 99% of every day.  And the 1% that I actually have to myself is typically spent either sleeping or thinking about sleeping.  So.  Not a whole lot of writing has been happening (unless you follow me on Facebook, in which case you know that I'm on there all the time), but I'm hoping to carve out a little bit of time each day to keep this space updated, because I really miss it.

That being said, have you noticed anything different?  I renamed and revamped a little bit.  Still the same old me, still blogging about my kids and life and whatnot, but things are a bit different around here and I feel like a new "look" will better reflect that.

For starters, I still love my kids, but ten years and three tiny (but adorable) derelicts will change a girl.  Motherhood isn't all sweet-smelling babies and smiley fall days at the pumpkin patch.  It sucks a lot of the time.  We're in a tough season right now.  I'm pretty sure that both of my boys can be considered feral.  I know that Lincoln broke me (along with 80% of the things in my house) and I'm fairly certain that his goal every day is to see what trouble he can get into.  Gerry is newly diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome, which presents its own set of challenges.  And Bailey is running headfirst into her tween years, and she's textbook "hormonal young girl".  There's no rest and, nothing stays clean or in one piece for very long, and, in the words of the illustrious Taylor Swift, 'this is why we can't have nice things'.

But we're fun, most of the time.  So there's that.  

So feel free to follow along on this new trajectory.  Catch up on old posts and look for new ones.  Because Lord knows I need an outlet!