So, So, Soooooo Behind!!

I've missed a lot. I know it. We lost our internet right before Grayson's fourth birthday (shortly after my last post) and it took almost two months to get it back. Then, our basement flooded right after Christmas, which was another mess to clean up. And as for the past few weeks, well, snow, snow, and more snow should've gotten me on here to post an update, but I didn't. So here I am, months and months later. I doubt anyone even still reads my updates, but just in case there are a few of you out there. Here goes...

Grayson's fourth birthday was a blast. This was the first time I planned his parties while working a full time job and it was definitely a challenge. This year the theme was drums - Grayson can't get enough of his drums - and he had a really great time. For both parties (the friend party and the family party), the kids made their own drums and then Dominic played the guitar and I lead the kids in songs while they "made music" and sang along. I think everyone had a great time!

As for Christmas, Grayson's big gift this year was a set of drums from my Mom and Dad. He's actually playing them right now. Dominic and I are amazed at how well he can actually keep a beat and play along with the music. He also plays with us on Rock Band. He was playing on his regular drums, but now that we have Lego Rock Band, he can play along on the game drums and he really does a great job. I'm still hoping he'll be interested in learning the guitar someday, but to watch him play the drums now is a lot of fun and he seems to have some talent. We'll see, I suppose.

Outside of major events, life has gone on as usual. I'm still enjoying my job and have settled into a good routine. I'm pretty exhausted when I get home each night, but I'm trying!! Grayson and I have started to work on sight words and he's not only recognizing them on flash cards, but also reading them when we read books together. We're starting to do a little math (very basic addition and subtraction), but numbers are definitely not his "thing." Otherwise, he's really enjoyed the snow, but now that he realizes it means he doesn't get to go to school, he's now praying for no more snow! I guess we all are!!

Halloween Fun

Halloween was interesting this year. Grayson couldn't make up his mind all month about what he wanted to be for Halloween, so we waited until the last minute to pick up his costume. Final decision - a skeleton with chains on it. And I have no idea where that came from, but we found the costume rather quickly and then purchased light-weight chains from Home Depot, which I then sewed to the costume. He really liked it.

Our first night of trick-or-treating was in our neighborhood on Thursday night. We only lasted a half-hour. Unfortunately, Willie had scared Grayson earlier in the day with a mask and Grayson was petrified that he was going to put it back on, so we only made it through Brownsville. As soon as we arrived in Rohrersville, Grayson was done. He got back in the truck, took off his mask and gloves, and strapped himself into his carseat. Of course after we got home he wanted to go back out, but that wasn't going to happen.

Friday night was a small party at the local firehouse and Grayson enjoyed playing with his friends from church. But the real treat was Saturday night! We went down to Montgomery County stay with friends in a really neat neightborhood called Washington Grove. Grayson had a blast!! He enjoyed playing all afternoon with their children and then loved trick-or-treating, although it rained on us the entire time. Since we spent the night down there, Grayson was able to hang out the rest of the night and he really enjoyed himself. I think we have a new tradition!!

Soccer Mom, Season One - Almost Over

It's been an interesting couple of weeks. Grayson started soccer after Labor Day and overall he's enjoyed it. As for me, it's been painful at times, starting with his first game when he had had no nap, insisted on only playing goalie (which he had never practiced), and the game lasted an hour and a half because of all the breaks we had to take for the children. The game is only supposed to be 32 minutes long, by the way. It was the longest 32 minutes of my life!!

At practices he usually does much better and he listens to his coach pretty well. He's doing a great job at dribbling the ball, but has problems staying inside the field lines. Of course it doesn't help that the field is only a fraction of the size of a regular soccer field.

Tomorrow is his last game. I'm hoping he'll enjoy it and so will we. I've survived my first season as a soccer mom and I'm guessing I'll have many, many more. This brief season was a good way to slowly ease myself into the world of children's sports. I'm definitely not ready for the all-day marathon of games, but they will most likely be in my future.

We Tried It Again

Last Friday I took off my first day of work since I started back in February. I got together with a couple friends and we went to Baltimore to try the pirate ship that sails out of Fell's Point. I had hoped Grayson would enjoy himself more this time than he did last year when we went to the one in Annapolis. Unfortunately, I was wrong. He was miserable for most of the trip and I actually was disappointed with the experience as a whole. We barely left the ports of the Inner Harbor, so we really didn't get out into the water much and the storyline was a little less organized than the one in Annapolis. I don't think I would have been as disappointed with it if it hadn't cost so much money. Truly, the cost was completely ridiculous for the length of time we were out and the activities involved. Essentially, I don't recommend it as something to try because it's not worth the money.

This picture pretty much sums up Grayson's attitude during the trip...

The good news is that we spent the afternoon visiting Maria and Jay. Grayson had a blast playing with Paul and it was a nice, relaxing afternoon. Definitely not a day wasted off work.

Grayson With Paul Singing "We Will Rock You" by Queen

I'm a Horrible Blogger

I don't even know what to say. I know I haven't kept up on the blog at all and I've been reminded by some family members and friends, so I promise to do better.

So much has happened since the last post and to try to do a complete update would be impossible. In a nutshell, I'm really enjoying my job, although it can be quite stressful at times and honestly is the most stressful job I've ever had. Grayson is no longer at Dandelion. My sister was able to start watching him each day, so we took advantage of that opportunity. He gets a little more one-on-one time, but I think he has some problems throughout the day because he misses being around all the other kids. Right now he's only with his cousins each day. Starting in September, he'll be going to the preschool at our church and I'm really looking forward to that. He and I will get to know some of the children he'll grow up with and I will hopefully get to know some new families.

He also is starting soccer in the fall. He seems excited about it, but we'll see how it goes. They are allowing him to play a year early since he'll be four in November. I'm hoping he'll learn a little structure and find a good way to release all his energy. He really wants to play baseball, which I'm dreading, but luckily I have a few more years before that begins!!

Otherwise, things are going well. We've been enjoying the summer, especially since the days have been on the cool side, and Grayson's favorite thing to do is ride his "truck" (aka Gator) around the yard. I'm amazed that something so simple can keep him occupied for so long, but I'm definitely not complaining!!

Where to Even Begin?

It's definitely been a while, but I'm finding my time to get on the computer limited nowadays and when I am home from work, I don't really feel like staring at my computer very much. As for updates, our family has really been enjoying the new life that my job has brought to us. I love going to work, Grayson loves going to school, and our time together is much more valuable. Now that the weather is getting nicer, it has been even better.

Easter was great for us. Grayson enjoyed his non-traditional Easter basket filled with a Wall-E toy, Mickey Mouse, and coloring books. He also had a good time hunting eggs and eating the candy he got from school and church.
He's still full of activity and non-stop action. Just before Easter, I took him to my friend's restaurant, Volt, for a story-time treat and he had so much sugar I thought he was going to explode. I've never seen him so hyped-up. At one point, I actually saw a literal interpretation of bouncing off the walls as he and his friends were jumping all around the room. After we left there, we decided to go to dinner with our friends and the meltdowns began as the sugar started to wear off. Overall, though, we had a blast and Grayson really enjoyed himself.

A Whole New World

We've had lots of new adventures these past few weeks. I've now been at my job for a little over a month and I'm starting to get comfortable with the place. The people are great, I'm beginning to feel confident in my HR skills again, and I'm now in a good routine.

Grayson is really enjoying being with the older kids at his school and his teacher noticed a difference in him immediately. The reports I'm getting each day seem to be a little more constructive, such as when they wrote in their journals one day, so I feel like he's starting to learn a little. I still don't think it's quite to the level he was experiencing at his previous school, but we'll see.

I'm also noticing that as a family, we're more productive. Since Dominic is often off work on a weekday, he's able to run errands and get things done around the house, so this is a great relief off me, especially since my workdays are extremely busy. We're also enjoying our time together on the weekends. Recently with the nice weather, we were outside on the play yard together. It was a really nice day.

I have also decided to explore a new business opportunity. Sadly, Learning is an Art went out of business, but they introduced me to another direct sales company called emagineGreen. If you get the chance, please take a look at my website. The company's goal is to educate individuals on simple ways each person can help preserve the environment. It's something that has always been important to me, so I felt it was a good fit. Please let me know if you're interested in getting more information!