This year

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Jackie

It’s that much loved time of year again…. or dreaded depending on who you are and what you really think of the back to school season. Me, well I’m glad that the kids went back to school because it’s been a long summer (3 full months to be exact) and I think that they were ready to go back too.

The part where I make you jealous….

And because it’s that time of year I’m going to share my girls first day pictures with you just like the rest of the world! But you see, things are a little different over here because instead of the cute little girls in pretty skirts and dresses or little boys all cleaned up and in the fresh new clothes that will be covered in dirt by the end of the day, I have teens/tween.

Yes, I do not have a single child left in elementary school (I can only say that for a few more years and then Andrew will be off to school). So this means that in the first few weeks of school I will not see a single fund raiser brought home, no papers asking me to help out with school parties or to volunteer in the classroom, and I won’t see a HUGE list of all the things that my kids need in the classroom this year.

Are you jealous?

Well, don’t be.

Why you shouldn’t be jealous…

Because I have 3 teens/tweens… duh! All the money that I would have spent on those fundraisers and classroom supplies have just been diverted to other things like saxophone repairs, clarinet repairs, parking passes, AP class fees, art class fees, and the list goes on and on.

But you know what? It’s okay. They’re amazing kids and have always excelled and done well in school.

This year…

This year while your little one headed off to their first day of kindergarten or first grade I sent mine off to their first day of their senior year, and their first day of their freshman year, and lastly, their first day as a 6th grader in middle school. Lots of firsts this year, lots of memories to be made, and lots of tears to be shed (on my part really since the kids will be happy as all get out).

This year while you watch your little one with tears in your eyes walk down the aisle as they graduate kindergarten I’ll be doing the same thing. The only difference is that my little one will be 18 years old and moving on to a bright future at a school far away from home.

This year I will watch my middle daughter blossom in high school and meet new people, make new friends, and set out on a path towards her own goals in the art world.

This year I will watch my youngest daughter change as she finds her way around middle school and all too quickly changes from that little girl and into a tween that is different than before….she’ll be more cautious about the way she looks and dresses and become more of a social butterfly than she has in the past (as long as she doesn’t talk all through class again things will be just fine).

Regardless of the path that they choose they’re still my little girls that I dressed alike when they were little (they hated it… I loved it) and always will be. Time will never change that.

And you…

What about you? Did you send your child off to school this year? What grade are they in?

Mom Fail?

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Jackie

Lately conversations with my oldest have been strained…. tense… or whatever you want to call it. But today I feel like today was a total mom fail (again).

My beautiful Cait

My oldest, Caitlin, is an incredibly smart, talented, and beautiful child. And I’m not just saying this because I am her mom… it’s proven by the grades she gets (her current GPA is a 4.50), the awards she has gotten for band & choir competitions, and through conversations with teachers. She’s well behaved, doesn’t get into trouble at home or at school and does what she’s supposed to. Almost sounds like the perfect child, right?

This is what’s bothering me. She is very focused, very driven, and wants to excel academically. That’s good. But it seems to come at the expense of everything else. And by everything I mean that she doesn’t go out with her friends ever, she doesn’t go to school events (like the homecoming dance), she doesn’t take part in all the fun things that make high school a little more enjoyable and make it more than just education.

I feel that one day she is going to look back at her time in high school and regret not having enjoyed the time she had. The time when responsibility was next to nothing, the time when you can just have fun with friends.

Then I learned something. Something that shouldn’t really shock me since it happened when I was in school. Drinking… lots and lots of underage drinking.

She told me that all kids do is go out and party and drink. They’ve come to band camp practices still drunk or hung over this summer. Really? Is this all there is to do around here? What the hell!

I’ve been trying to push her to do things with her friends but she pushes back and doesn’t do anything with them. I get the normal excuses… there’s nothing to do, what are we supposed to do, and so on.

I thought about it for a minute and there isn’t a lot to do around here where I live for teens but you can still make your own fun. Go to the movies, rent a movie, hang out at each others houses, or go to the park and play (Yes, teens can play at the park too!). All of these ideas were scoffed at.

She’ll go to the movies with her boyfriend or watch movies at his house or ours. But other than that she is at home with us.

She’s to grown up. Having fun & being silly doesn’t seem to be part of who she is anymore.

This is where the mom fail part comes in. Is this my fault? Did I push to hard for her to do well in school when she was younger? Did I not give her enough opportunity to have fun, play, and do things with friends?

The answer is I simply don’t know.

What I do know is that I feel bad for pushing her to do things with friends. I want her to know that I love her and want the best for her but also that she needs to have fun, enjoy life, enjoy school, enjoy friends, and everything that goes along with that. I want her to do well in school and life after school. But most of all I don’t want her to look back with any sort of regret. I don’t want her to miss out on anything.

Do I let it go or do I try to get her to do things with her friends? I don’t know anymore.

Proud Mommy Moment ~ In the band

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Jackie

Today I’m linking up with Kmama, a good friend of mine that I got the privilege of meeting a couple weeks ago in Chicago at Bloggy Bootcamp, to tell you about one of my proud mommy moments.

Band is a big thing around here and they take it seriously. It’s so big that if you’re not in the band here you’re nobody!

Since the beginning of August my daughter has been at school along with over 200 students at band camp. They been marching and marching through the blazing heat, the rain, and oddly enough through thunder storms and funnel clouds. No worries…. they sent the kids inside and then home. But the kids are dedicated and have put in a lot of work to remain one of the number one high schools in their district.

This is the first year that my daughter is marching with the Trojan marching band (TMB). Freshman aren’t allowed to march and at the end of the year take a playing & marching test before they can get into TMB… see I told you they’re serious here. To say that I’m a proud mama is to say the least.

Caitlin has been in band since she was in the 5th grade and has been first chair & unchallenged since the day she started. She’s excelled in band, as well as other classes, and has won several ribbons for her achievements in various competitions. Honestly, she’s good enough to do something with her music after high school.

This past Friday was the first football game of the season which means that it was also the first performance of the TMB and I was that mom. You know the one in the stands fully dressed in the team colors with multiple camera’s and of course the iPhone in which to quickly share pictures of my kids out of the football field.

That's Caitlin... front & center.

That night I took 2 or 3 videos and over 100 pictures of my daughter, the band, and the football game. See… I told you that I was that mom! But in my defense I wasn’t the only parent that was doing it!

I was lucky and was able to get great seats right on the 35 yard line, 3 rows up right in front of where she was standing for many of the songs that they played. Notice the crooked hat… I asked about that and they’re not allowed to adjust it, brush hair out of their face, sweat off their brow, or anything like that. So she marched with her hat like that for that entire routine.

The majority of the band watching the game

When they’re not playing the band sits in the end zone in bleachers that are specifically for the band. They play when there’s a touch down & at other important moments in the game (yea, I don’t know all technical details just that they play).

So tonight (I know it’s a Thursday game because of the holiday weekend) I’ll be in the bleachers with my cameras in hand again taking pictures and video of the band and my daughter. Why? Because I’m a proud mom!

High School Jealousy

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Jackie

She went to school everyday but before she left she was up early to get ready. There was hair to curl & spray, make up to be put on, and the perfect outfit to be selected. Why? Because it was high school and no matter who you were you were judged.

Judged on the way you looked, the clothes you wore, the friends you hung out with, the activities you were involved in at school as well outside of school, the way you walk, talked, and carried yourself. There was nothing that was untouchable when it came to being judged in high school

How could she not be jealous of some of the other girls? How could she not want the long pretty straight hair, perfect skin, name brand clothes, been friends with the same people since the 1st grade, be as smart, or as athletic.

She wanted it. She wanted more. She wanted to be just like them.

But she had the friends, the right friends. The friends who were in the “popular” crowd. She was invited to the same parties as all the others, went to all the football games with the “in” crowd, and all the dances but she still felt like there was something missing.

What she didn’t know ore realize was that she was pretty too, had nice clothes, a car, the right friends, good grades, and more. What she didn’t see was that she had nothing to be jealous about.

What she didn’t see was that some of the others were jealous of her. And in her mind thoughts like that were ludicrous. Why would they be jealous of her? Why, when they already had everything and then some.

Many years passed and life carried on for everyone. Friendships faded and she soon realized many of them weren’t true friends. She learned that she really had no reason to be jealous. She learned to be happy with what she had and that what she had was enough.

And through modern technology she was able to reconnect with some of those friends. She was able to realize that their lives aren’t much different from hers now and that they’re really all the same.

What she realized was there is no reason to be jealous. Just be yourself and you’ll be happy.