Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Oh boy, Monday...

So we started the week with 3 out of 4 being sick. Fantastic!

Tyson came home from school and brought some lovely hand-me-down-back-to-school germs with him. I blame the yucky kids, not him. And Texas. I really blame Texas and all the stinkin' allergies that surround us and encroach on our lives causing Benadryl and Claritin and Nasonex and Flonase and Pseudoephedrine and Halls to be our best friends; but I digress.

Tyson come home from school on Thursday and woke up Friday morning with a fever, coughing, congestion; all signs that he could not go to class that day. I called his teacher and she confirmed that he needed to be fever free for 24 hours before returning to school. A little stay-cation was in order. Or sick-cation.

Saturday we packed our bags and headed out geocaching. Have I never mentioned geocaching? It's fabulous. Kind of like treasure hunting, but in a grown-up way and super fun for the whole family. Go check it out here. Anywho, last weekend we stumbled on a geocaching challenge put on by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept and totally jumped head first into it. Saturday concluded out Hill Country Passport and we all came home tired but happy and checked off swimming in a lake for the boys.

Sunday, Stuart awoke to some tingling in his throat. We all know what that means=grumpy husband whom requires round the clock servitude. Yeah, I said it. Tucker also spiked a fever of 102 Sunday afternoon confirming our fears that we all would get sick. Poor little guy did not feel good and even rested on me some that afternoon.

Monday. Why does Monday always have to start out on the wrong foot? Stuart still felt "dumpy", Tucker was coughing and constantly wiping the snot off his face (and I had to wake him up to get dressed and take Tyson to school-not fun!), Tyson no longer had a fever but was also coughing AND I woke up feeling awful.

Great.
Great.
Great.

Have I mentioned how wonderful it is to be sick?
My mom, bless her heart, brought us dinner Monday night because she's a mother and wife and gets it.

(Can I just take a moment to say thank you to all the mothers and wives that still have to perform all necessary acts to keep a household running and/or still working while also sick. Give yourselves a pat on the back. You deserve so much more but I know you'll settle for a pedicure or a margarita or just a full 8 hours of sleep.)

Yeah, so Monday started off rough. Tuesday began with me loosing my voice (something that happens EVERY time I get a sinus infection) and progressed to a fever, throat pain, difficulty swallowing, chest constriction, coughing and overall miserablness (I'm making that a word). And lucky for me, every person in San Antonio is also sick and also making appointments at my doctor's office so I couldn't be seen.

But there is hope! I successfully clenched a spot to see the good 'ole medicine woman today. Yay!

And that is all I have to say about Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. And Friday, Saturday and Sunday apparently.

Oh, except, today is last day of August?! For reals?!

A Mark

A mark for every breath you took, every blink, every sleepy yawn. One for every time you sucked your thumb, waved hello, closed your eyes and slept in the most perfect darkness. One for every time you had the hiccups. One for every dream you dreamed within me. It isn't very pretty anymore. Some may even think it ugly. That's OK. It was your home. It's where I first grew to love you, where I lay my hand as I dreamed about who you were and who you would be. It held you until my arms could, and for that, I will always find something beautiful in it. 

Cassie aka LeFoxy

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Happy Birthday George!

Today my youngest sister turns 22.

{that's her on the right}

She has one fantastic husband, 

two silly pugs, 

3 perfect nephews (wink, wink)

and one princess niece.

Happy Birthday Aunt George!

We love you!

I Love Them

Garner State Park

2011

**thank you all for your kind and encouraging words about Tyson starting kinder. today was a much better day for us both and I'm hoping we'll have much fewer tears from here on out!**

Growing up is hard to do

No one told me it was going to be this hard.
This growing up thing.
I mean, I knew this was going to happen.
But I didn't know how much it would affect me.

Yesterday was a tough day. I held it together all morning (partly because we were rushing to get ready-NOT recommended for the first day of school). Stuart stayed home a little longer so that we could all take Tyson to school together. We have been talking about school non-stop for the past month and Tyson was ready. We drove (along with everyone else) to school and stood in line with every other parent/child to sign in.

Again, I was ok.

As we got inside the school, a mother was coming down the hall bawling. Hiccuping, bawling. And that is when I lost it. I took Tucker's hand and walked in front of Stu and Tyson because I didn't want him to see me cry. We got to his door and he turned around and hugged, kissed and said "love-you-bye!"

And then I had to walk away.

Y'all, that was the hardest thing I have ever done. I had to walk away from my child. I know it sounds silly, but yesterday was the beginning of him leaving me. From here on out, Tyson is going to be growing and going to school and leaving me. One day he's going to go off to college and meet a girl (who WILL be wonderful) and marry her. So yesterday was the beginning of that leaving. I just couldn't suppress those feelings. They came out all day long.

As we walked back to the van.
As Tucker and I came home and played Legos by ourselves.
As I went to Walmart and realized I only had to buy one Lunchable instead of two.
As I started laundry and noted that soon school clothes would be in the mix.
Gah!

Oh, but it gets harder!

When I picked Tyson up from school, he didn't really say much. I chalked it up to his being upset that Tucker got to pick out a new Lego set (since Tyson has had so much attention due to school). As I was tucking him into bed, I started talking about what he was going to do the next day (something that we have to talk about every night at bedtime. I'm afraid I've passed some of my anxiety onto him). Tyson immediately starts crying and telling me that he doesn't want to go back to school. "Why?" "Because it's really long and hard and I really, really miss you mommy."

And then I lost it again.

My baby boy!

I loved on him and told him everything was going to be okay and mommy would be there to pick him up and he was going to have so much fun. That didn't really change his mind, but at least he let go of me and went to sleep.

This morning started nice and early but I thought it was good to allow Tyson to have to time to wake up and play before leaving for school. He did great but as we got to school and started walking down the hall, he grabbed my hand. Uh-oh.

When we got to his classroom, I helped him put his backpack on his hook and put his lunchbox away. Then he turned to me and wanted me to pick him up. Oh Tyson. And then he started crying-hard. The teacher was ready to bring the class in, so I tried to calm him down. Nope. He wasn't having it. His teacher had to literally take him off of me.

Oh, the pain!

I can not explain how much that hurt. I wish I could tell him that he's going to love school and make so many friends and learn so many things. But right now my heart is breaking. I don't want him to be scared. I don't want him to be sad. I don't want him to cry (because that makes me cry harder).

No one tells you how difficult this is!
No one tells you it feels like you're leaving a piece of yourself.
No one tells you that you feel as though your heart is being ripped out.

But I know it will get better.
And one day I'll look back on these days and wish for them again.
But man, growing up is hard to do.

K

Today this boy grew up

Overnight he changed from my (not so) baby boy

to a Kindergartner.

He got up and ate his breakfast

Brushed his teeth

and put on his new school clothes.

His backpack was next.

And don't forget (not so) baby brother!

You're a big school boy now.

And this mamma couldn't be happier for you!

(although I did cry a lot leaving you)

1,2,3,4

7

7 days
One week
168 hours
10,080 minutes

Until my baby starts Kindergarten.
Gulp.

Y'all, I know I may be freaking out a bit. Ok, a lot, but this is a huge thing for me. And Tyson. And Tucker. And what the heck, it's a huge thing for Stuart too. For him, this is the beginning of his son becoming the next _____ (fill in the blank with something really smart that takes a lot of schooling).

So, with the beginning of school looming over us, I desperately need to tackle that teacher's gift. What? I am not above kissing up! Since we still don't know who Tyson's teacher is going to be (she is supposed to call any minute to tell us who she is and set up a time for us to come up to school and meet her, bring Tyson's supplies and see what his classroom is like), I don't want to do anything personal. If I did know her name, I would love, love to do this:

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But, since I can't do that right now, I've narrowed down the field to a couple of easy, non-specific ideas:

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My fav right at this minute is the jar of mints. I also really like the "first aid" kit. But really, they're all cute.

It's just one of those days

for wearing pajamas

even if it's almost 3 pm

and even if they're wool and it's 100* outside

the real question is

should we take them off to put on fresh jammies tonight?

Don't let my husband see this

Although we love, love having a large home and space, Stuart is constantly talking about downsizing or getting rid of "stuff" or doing away with frivolous things. So, when I saw this video my first thought was, "Don't let Stuart see this because he WILL want to do it."

It's a bit lengthy (10+ mins) but oh so interesting.

Finally Gone

After almost a year, Tyson finally lost another tooth.

This makes tooth #3.

And I do mean finally.

There are three more very loose teeth inside this little boy's mouth.

One that we thought was going to fall out weeks ago.

But it's still hanging on (by a thread).

For now, we're all glad that Lego set number 1 was able to be opened and played with!

Albeit, slightly jealous of all the attention that big brother is getting.

Finally, it's gone!

May or May Not

I may or may not have prayed for a little extra time before Tyson starts school.
I may or may not have had a panic attack last night when I realized we are now under the 20-days-till-school mark and I have yet to buy Tyson's school supplies.
I may or may not have been collecting "Box Tops" since the beginning of summer so that Tyson starts the year off "right."
I may or may not have made the best darn Milky Way cake this weekend and am possibly going to make another one this week just so that I can have the extra icing.
I may or may not have had a temper tantrum when I looked in my dishwasher after a family member graciously did them for me, but did them very incorrectly.
I may or may not have been given a really funny look by my BIL during said tantrum.
I may or may not have gone crazy preparing for my first BIG family dinner.
I may or may not have cried when I opened the door to let the dogs out and was greeted by a man eating cockroach on the back step that flew away whilst I was having a nervous breakdown.
I may or may not have given the evil eye to the mother of the boys that were strangling themselves (and punching and kicking and putting each other into chock holds) in the Chick-fil-A playground.
I may or may not have uttered some bad things about those aforementioned kids.
I may or may not have dreamed of making my own playground and only nice kids can come.

Augusts

2006

 2007

 2008

 2009

 2010