First day of school 2007

Yesterday was the first day of school. I'm too swamped to process what that means for me as an ITS, but as a mom I have been thinking about it so much for the past several weeks that I'm actually relieved that it has come and gone.

The kids were all eager to get up and get ready for school. I don't like to take the girls to extended day on the very first day of school so they get to sleep in an extra half hour in the morning. They had all picked out their clothes for the first day, so they sat down to pancakes (microwaved) and orange juice, grabbed their backpacks (except Brady- more on that later) and we hit the road.



I cannot believe how big they have all gotten!

The girls get dropped off first. We parked and walked up to the front doors. K.C. will be in the temporaries this year (all 5th graders are) and she couldn't be more excited. She is a bit worried about how loud it will be if a thunderstorm comes through during the day, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. LOL Her teachers seem great, and she is really looking forward to

Abby is in 3rd grade this year, and she is so excited to start the school year. We like her teacher, and are really hoping that this will be a good year for her.



Brady is in 7th grade this year and the first day the kids don't even have to bring their books or supplies - just a pen or pencil. He had already been back at band camp for a week, so he got to see his friends and band directors and was pretty much ready to go back. I knew he wouldn't pose for me, but I asked him to please just give me a smile before he walked in the building, and he did.



He's still a bit sensitive about the missing teeth, but he was definitely ready for his first day.

Now the big question - did I cry the first day?

I've always cried when I dropped off the kids on the first day of school, but in my defense, it's always been a new beginning. Starting with Brady it was his first day of kindergarten, then his first day of first grade, then KC's first day of kindergarten, then KC's first day of first grade, then Abby's first day of kindergarten and her first day of first grade . . . last year was the girls starting at Palmer and Brady's first day of middle school! So this year, no first graders, no sixth graders . . . did Mom cry? Just a little. LOL.

I think as parents we want everything to be so perfect for our kids. We want them to be loved and welcomed at school, and we want them to be safe and happy wherever they are. We want them to have the perfect school experience. And we forget that it is through challenges that they grow. They have to experience teasing to learn to be compassionate. They have to be thoroughly confused to really appreciate the joy of solving a problem. They have to experience diversity to appreciate what makes them special. They have to struggle so they can learn to persevere. And they have to stumble occasionally so they can learn to get back up again . . .

And they have to spend time in the real world so they can truly appreciate how wonderful it is to come home again. :-)

Number 5 retires . . .

Today we attended the ceremony for the Astros to retire Jeff Bagwell's number.



Anyone who knows me knows that Bagwell has been my favorite baseball player (not including Brady) since he first took the field in 1991. That was the year the Astros were, well, awful. But I watched just about every game anyway. Steve Finley and Luis Gonzales patrolled the outfield and Pete Harnish was our staff ace while Curt Shilling was a middle reliever. Ken Caminiti was our third baseman, we had an undersized catcher named Craig Biggio (wonder what ever happened to that guy . . . ) and a rookie first baseman out of Boston via Killingsworth, Connecticut named Jeff Bagwell. He wasn't terribly big or powerful looking, but he was a redhead and from New England, and that was good enough for me. My friends joked that I was the first Houston Jeff Bagwell fan. In June I told everyone he would win the rookie of the year award and no one believed me until August. And he did.

My dad had heart bypass surgery that year, followed a week later by surgery to relieve pressure on his brain caused by a benign pituitary tumor. Mom, Jill, and I spent many hours in hospital waiting rooms, and we spent quite a few of them watching the Astros on TV. With all the stuff going on that year, it was comforting to change the channels and find an Astros game going on. They were awful, but they never gave up, and it was nice to know they would be there through the first of October.

In 1994, Bill and I went to Spring training in Kissimmee and patiently waited to get autographs. Not only did we get Bagwell's autograph, but Bill got a picture of us:



OK, he was walking away after signing a ball for me, but you can see that we are both there. And how sweet that Bill kept me in focus. LOL. That August, I gave birth to Brady Joseph, the MLB players went on strike, and Bagwell won the NL MVP award.

Years later, the kids would have some opportunities to have their pictures taken with Mom's favorite player:

2004


2005


Poor Brady didn't get to go to his first Astros game until 1995 because of the strike, but the girls both went to their first game in the Dome before they were two months old. We all went to the very last game in the Astrodome and the very first game in Minute Maid park.

Today, we saw number 5 take the field to say goodbye. It's sad in many ways, because his career ended not because he was ready to walk away but because he was just no longer physically able to play anymore. It was sad for me in many ways because it reminds me that I'm a grownup, too, and the days of wondering what I'm going to be when I grow up are now firmly behind me. But cheering for Bagwell with my wonderful kids beside me was such a joy, and I'm happy that both Bagwell and I can look forward to many more years of watching our kids grow up and follow their own dreams.





We've been through a lot, Bags. I watched you win rookie of the year, I watched you win the NL MVP, watched you and Biggio in the playoffs in the Astrodome and Minute Maid, until we finally got to watch you both in the World Series in 2005. In 5 years, I plan to watch you inducted in Cooperstown. Thanks for the memories, number 5. It's been great watching you. :-)

Mother of a teenager

I am the mother of a teenager. Yikes.


Thirteen years ago today I was cuddling a tiny newborn, so worried about every breath he took, every move he made. Thirteen years later . . . well, I still worry about every move he makes. LOL. Thankfully, God has given me a very good boy and I don't need to worry quite as much as I do. But I still do . . .

We woke Brady up with the traditional singing of Happy Birthday to you, accompanied by Cookie the bunny:





Nana and Grampy took him shopping at the mall (quite a feat on the tax-free shopping holiday) followed by lunch and a cookie cake at Chick-fil-A:





Then we returned home where Brady hung out with his buddy, Brian, then we met Brian's family at Ci Ci's pizza for dinner:



It was a very nice day. Two very special things made it even better:

My dad has a baseball glove that he got from his dad when he was a little boy. It's a first baseman's glove and it's one of his greatest treasures. Brady has always loved that glove and wears it whenever he sees it. On Brady's 13th birthday, my dad gave him the glove. It was a moment I will never forget.



We got a case for the glove, and it now resides safely as Brady's most treasured possession.

The second, slighly less meaningful but still great moment was that our summer-long search for a Nintendo Wii finally ended. Best Buy had a new supply in, and the boy got to buy a Wii. With his own money he'd been saving since Christmas.

Grampy's glove and a brand-new Wii. Looks like 13 is going to be a really good year . . .

Retreat 2007

Retreat 2007 has ended, and although it was short (one day this year) I got a lot out of it! Usually Krystal, Gail, (the librarians) and I present a session on taking kids to the computer lab and library so I don't have an opportunity to attend many other sessions. This year, we will present on campus this Thursday so I sat in on a couple of really great sessions.

One was on creating a safe classroom environment and the focus was on language. Students today have a tendency to use derogatory terms in their every day language, often without even realizing it. "This assignment is gay." "You are so retarded." "She's off her meds today." I've heard all these phrases from kids and although they bother me, I didn't always take time to correct them. We talked about how important it is to keep these sort of expressions out of the classroom. You don't even have to make a big deal out of it - simply stating, "That's not appropriate" or even "Stop" can be enough." They ended with a nice video with some great quotes including one I love from Margaret Meade:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it's the only thing that ever has"

Every bit makes a difference.

The second session I attended had the same theme, that a small change in behavior can make a difference. They focused on three scenarios: picking up trash in the halls (taking responsibility for our school), being nice to a new student, and finding a nice way to correct a student who was sleeping in class. We (the teachers) acted out skits, and it was a hoot. We have some real hams among our faculty. LOL

Since I am thinking about change, I think I'll share one of my favorite stories, the starfish story (which I heard at retreat several years ago):

Once a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see a young boy going back and forth between the surf's edge and and the beach. Back and forth the boy went. As the man approached he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide.

The man was stuck by the the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he approached, the boy continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf.

As he came up to the boy he said, "It's nice what you are doing, but there are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. No matter how hard you try, you can't possibly make a difference."

The boy looked at the man. He then stooped down and pick up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the man and said, "It sure made a difference to that one!"

Keep throwing those starfish. If you make a difference to just one person, it's still making a difference. :-)

Life's a Beach . . .

Ahh . . . the beach. I love the smell of the salt air. I love the sound of the waves. I love the feel of the water as it rushes to the shore. I can't think of anywhere that can relax me as quickly as a trip to the beach.

Last weekend, Bill's mother rented a beach house for us, so my sister and neice joined us for a weekend on the water (OK, 2 houses from the water technically . . . )

We had such a nice time. I don't have the water camera pictures developed yet, but I have some digital ones.


KC and Abby made friends with a pelican:



Bill and the kids playing Blackjack (we also played Dominos and Texas Hold 'em):



The kids decided to turn KC into a sand mermaid (she really did look like one!):

And we walked all along the jetty. We saw dolphins, eels, fish . . . and a beautiful sunset.

All in all, a wonderful weekend. Why oh why must we return to work? Oh yes, the bills must be paid. Ah well . . .

What can I say . . . ?

What can I say about a co-worker with whom I worked so closely for so many years that it was hard to tell where I ended and she began? What can I say about a woman who encouraged and challenged me professionally to be better than I ever dreamed I could be? What words could possibly do justice to someone who inspired me daily to be a better person, to love and appreciate my family more deeply, and to use the gifts I have been given to serve Him the best way I can?

How can I thank someone who was there virtually every day at a job while I missed for sick kids, a sick husband, personal illness and every other reason under the sun? What words do I have for a woman who was there for me through the birth of my youngest, the death of my brother-in-law, and every personal crisis in between? What can I say about a woman who cried with me, laughed with me, and raged against every misguided district implementation with me? Someone with whom sentences only needed to be a word or two because we both could complete each other’s thoughts?

What can I possibly say to someone who spent years as the other (and better half) of my brain? Who worked so closely with me that teachers didn’t know (or care) which of us was which? Who taught me so much about the person I want to be? Who, despite being a thousand miles away, continues to inspire me every day with her grace and spirit?

Only this . . . Happy Birthday, Virginia. You are truly a gift from God.

Abby's birthday

At the end of July, my baby turned 8. I can hardly believe she's such a big girl!

She wanted to go to the beach for her birthday, so we went to Surfside in Brazoria. The water was so clear (compared to how it usually is) so we wandered along looking at the fish and the blue-legged crabs. Bill actually managed to catch a crab in a bucket so the kids could get a close look at him (we let him go afterwards). Bill did well showing him off until he managed to get a claw into him!

Here they are, before the crab pinched Bill . . .


Gotta love the patriotic swimsuit, there. LOL

When we let him go, he backed into the water, claws raised defiantly, as if to let us know that we'd better not follow him!



After the beach, we went to visit Pop and Grandma and had lunch at Ryan's Steakhouse. The waitresses all sang to the birthday girl and she LOVED that!



Afterward we went back to Pop and Grandma's house for cake (I actually baked and frosted a cake for her - summer is so great, isn't it?) and sang Happy Birthday to our big girl:

What a week . . .

Brady went to the dentist on Monday and had 6 baby teeth removed (to get him ready for braces in December). I went back and planned to stay with him just until they got him settled. The dentist was nice enough to let me stay through the whole procedure . . . yikes. I think I would rather have my own teeth pulled than watch while they do that to one of my kids, but Brady was a real trooper – very, very brave. Ouch . . .

Bill and the kids went to the Astros game last night and they were randomly selected to be the Sonic Slam players in the game. If an Astro had hit a grand slam in the 6th inning then they would have won $25,000. No such luck, though, although they did score 4 runs in the 6th inning so that was good (if they had just walked Jason Lane . . . sigh). Woody Williams pitched great and he's one of our favorite Astros, so we were really happy about that!

Here's the sign we made for the game:


Other than that, we have spent every day this week at work trying to get ready for the upcoming school year. The beginning is so hard – there's equipment to move, trainings to plan, and decisions to be made. Little by little I think we are making progress.

Now we are getting ready for a weekend at the beach!! My sister and neice are meeting us and we're hanging out at a beach house for the weekend. Trying to cram in all the fun we can before back to school!

Turning 40 . . .

Well, it was just a matter of time. 40 years to be exact. I don't know what I expected when I turned 40, but I woke up and felt exactly the same as I did the day before. Now, granted, I don't feel quite as good as I did when I turned 29, but I feel a heck of a lot better than I did when I turned 30.
To recap, on July 28, 1997 my middle child, KC, was 10 weeks old and we were finally settling into a routine with her and her older brother Brady who was almost 3. I started having severe abdominal pain in the middle of the night and could not get to sleep. I didn't want my little ones to spend the evening in the emergency room so I drove myself to the nearby hospital. The following day I had an emergency appendectomy. So on August 1, 1997, my 30th birthday, I was lying in a hospital room recovering. Needless to say, turning 40 was much better!

I spent my 40th birthday hanging out with my wonderful family. We went to Sea World and had Dinner with Shamu. It was a really nice meal, an all-you-can-eat buffet with turkey, mashed potatoes, chocolate cake, cherry cheesecake, and chocolate chip cookies. The kids had hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and mac and cheese.


After dinner, we got to see a special presentation by the Shamu trainers. The two full grown killer whales didn't feel like posing for pictures, so they brought in an adorable 20 month old baby! She did all her tricks and posed like a pro, and we loved seeing her!

We had such a nice evening - it was quiet and relaxing and the presentation was great. I think the best part was just being with Bill and the kids away from work and all the related stress. So nice with back to school looming so soon . . .

So now that I am 40, how does that change things? Well, my friend and favorite librarian Krystal reminded me that there are so many gifts that come with maturity. People start to give you the benefit of the doubt and presume you have wisdom to share. Maybe they listen a bit more, either to be polite or because they think you actually know something. And once you are mature enough to remind them of their moms, people tend to argue a bit less with you just out of respect. I don't know if I'm mature enough to remind the 22 year olds of their moms (Krystal says I'm not quite there yet) but if being 40 means someone may stop and listen for just a moment longer, then it may just be worth it.

On a completely unrelated note, we met the new principal of Dulles HS on Friday and it turns out that he used to be a student of Bill's at Clements! Of course Bill is MUCH older than I am. LOL

Sending hugs to Heather in Oregon for her also August birthday! Leos rule! Peeps out! :-)

The Texas Weasleys (aka our love of Harry Potter)

Our family has occasionally been called the Texas Weasleys, after the fictional ginger family made famous in the Harry Potter books. I enjoy the reference, because I see the Weasleys as such a warm, loving family. In the midst of all the sadness and chaos of Harry's world, the Weasleys represent stability (despite their eccentricities). JK Rowling said she almost killed off Arthur Weasley in the 5th book, but couldn't because he was the only good father she'd created in the whole series. For that he earned a reprieve.

Anyway, to celebrate the release of book 7 of the Harry Potter series, we had to make plans to attend a book party! Before the party, we decided to have a party of our own. Our first annual Hogwarts feast! The kids all had their own robes, so we pulled out the Halloween decorations and made our very own feast. We had roast turkey, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and pumpkin juice (orange soda).



We finished off the meal with "Treacle Tarts" (chocolate pudding in graham-cracker crusts and "Cauldron Cakes" (jumbo cupcakes).



After the feast, we played Harry Potter Scene It until it was time to head off to the bookstore.

So what did we think of the book? Jeannie and Bill both finished it and liked it (although it wasn't my favorite). Brady has to finish his summer GT reading before he can even start it, but he's hoping to get to it this week. I can't wait for JK Rowling to publish the definitive Encyclopedia of Harry Potter so we can learn more! I know, I now . . . I'm a major nerd. What did you expect? LOL

Getting Started

Greetings from Missouri City, Texas! I am creating this blog because I was inspired (as I have been so many times in the past) by my good friend Virginia. I love reading her husband's blog because it makes me feel like I am still part of her life. After several years, I feel like I owe it to her to share more of my life. And if anyone else jumps in and reads along, well that's OK, too.

Summer of 2007 has been outstanding for us. We have been blessed with more time than usual and we have tried to make the best of it. So far we have been to Six Flags Fiesta Texas three times . . .



We have been tubing on the Comal . . .


And spent a big part of the summer cheering on my 12-year old All Star Brady! Missouri City 12 year old All Stars finished second in District 16. With all the rain we've had, I'm surprised we even managed to squeeze in some games!



It's been a wonderful summer, and I am already sad at the thought of having so much less time to spend with the kids each day. It's so hard to think about going back to rushing around in the morning and trying to gather everyone together for a dinner between dance practice, baseball practice, and homework, homework, homework. Wow.

But for now they are here with me and we are going to try to enjoy every moment we have until they make us go back to school. :-)

I'll try to keep up with this blog as often as I can! Best wishes to all those near our house and near our hearts!