Saturday, August 24, 2013
New Office Photos
I mentioned in at least one or two posts prior to our trip to Ohio that we moved my office again. It was a MASSIVE undertaking for Jon and I. It wore us flat us the two weeks prior to our trip north but it was worth it and at this point, we are still tweaking a few things but it is about 95% together and functional!!! We moved from the first floor to the third floor of my building and I pray to God we do not have to move again for many many years!!! The space is beautiful, it is a wonderful place to come and work each day and I am so thankful the business has grown and thrived to where it is today and we could set up such a nice space to run our business.
Jackson's First Day of Kindergarten
Jackson started Kindergarten this week at the local catholic school where we live. He had a noon dismissal on Monday August 19th, and after that he went all day each day from 7:55-2:30. We have to leave our house each morning by 7:30 to get him there on time. They are late if they are not there by 7:50, yikes!! That is an early morning, even for Jackson who is an early riser typically!! It was a good week, he loves school, and his two new teachers. He has 19 classmates, two sets of twins in his class, and it seems to be a good spread of kids as there are 11 boys and 8 girls. With only one class per grade and a small school this was something I was worried about...how the break in the sexes would end up but luckily this year there seems to be a good split. We got a class list towards the end of the week including birthdays and amazingly, more than half the class has fall or early winter birthdays, turning 6 before January 1!!! Then there was one lone February birthday and then 4 or so with April birthdays and 4 or so with May birthdays, NO summer birthdays, so Jackson is the youngest in the class with a May 28th birthday!! He does have some close to him though, his buddy Daniel is May 22, and another little girl is May 27th. He was more than ready this year so despite being the actual youngest...I doubt anyone will notice because he is well socialized, well spoken, and not a small kid.
I attended a breakfast at the school on Friday morning after dropping him off. The breakfast was given by the school's Home and School Association (I guess this is this school's version of the PTA)!!! The ladies were nice...very stay at home momish but very nice. It was surprising how many families were there with children in older grades as all of the families other than the kindergarten families had moved to our town from out of state. Interesting as there is NO industry here!! I sat there wondering what the heck all of these people were going to do in our little beach town!! The parents that I met from the kindergarten all seemed very nice. I knew a few of the moms already and it seemed to be a good spread of people from various walks of life which is good. There is another private school in our area (not a catholic school) that makes Ottawa Hills look poor so it was refreshing to see that we made a good choice at least in one aspect as THAT crowd is NOT here. I want Jackson and Sarabeth to grow up well rounded and not to think it is normal for people to drive Range Rovers at 16, geez!! One common trend in talking to the parents is that the kids all come home happy about school but EXHAUSTED. It has been a lot of changes for these little kids this week, lots more structure, and newness. Jack slept in past 8 am this morning and normally he is up on his own before 7 so I know this was a busy week for him. Another common trend is that these kids won't tell us what they do all day!! I got a few snipets out of Jackson...and then a few other moms filled in other details that their kids had talked about, etc. They go to school mass once a week, he goes to Gym class twice a week, music, computers, and library and from what I can get out of him, they start the day with the "talking box" (READ, THIS IS THE PA SYSTEM, LOL) talking to them, then he said they do the Pledge of Allegiance,and a Prayer (no idea what one but he said "mom, its a hard one, you would not know it"...bet he is wrong lol...12 years of Catholic school...I know them all!!! Then as best I can tell they sit in their desks and do math...when I asked him what they are doing he said "groups"...then his favorite time is "centers" which I think means they can play from center to center in the room and NOT be in their desks. After that, I;m not sure. He told me they eat lunch but that seems like something is missing in there!! I do know they eat early, at 11, outside under shaded picnic tables unless it is raining. One thing I think is odd is that they DO NOT get to go to the playground at least once a day, they don't have recess every single day...really seems odd to me. After lunch I'm not sure what they do, but I do know they then have snack time at 1:30, and school gets out at 2:30. Ann and Sissy pick him up each day so SB has been impacted this week as her nap had to move up!! We shall see what else I learn about his days in the coming weeks!!! Here are the pictures from his first day!! He did great, was a little nervous but there were no tears which is good. He is an old pro at school after going to the EEC for so many years so I was really proud of him. One of the pictures includes him with one of his teachers (two teachers for 19 kids is not bad)!!! The picture with the two other little boys are the two boys that came to this school with him from his pre-school...randomly Jack was seated right next to one of them as the kids are in alphabetical order! We will see how long that lasts!!!
I attended a breakfast at the school on Friday morning after dropping him off. The breakfast was given by the school's Home and School Association (I guess this is this school's version of the PTA)!!! The ladies were nice...very stay at home momish but very nice. It was surprising how many families were there with children in older grades as all of the families other than the kindergarten families had moved to our town from out of state. Interesting as there is NO industry here!! I sat there wondering what the heck all of these people were going to do in our little beach town!! The parents that I met from the kindergarten all seemed very nice. I knew a few of the moms already and it seemed to be a good spread of people from various walks of life which is good. There is another private school in our area (not a catholic school) that makes Ottawa Hills look poor so it was refreshing to see that we made a good choice at least in one aspect as THAT crowd is NOT here. I want Jackson and Sarabeth to grow up well rounded and not to think it is normal for people to drive Range Rovers at 16, geez!! One common trend in talking to the parents is that the kids all come home happy about school but EXHAUSTED. It has been a lot of changes for these little kids this week, lots more structure, and newness. Jack slept in past 8 am this morning and normally he is up on his own before 7 so I know this was a busy week for him. Another common trend is that these kids won't tell us what they do all day!! I got a few snipets out of Jackson...and then a few other moms filled in other details that their kids had talked about, etc. They go to school mass once a week, he goes to Gym class twice a week, music, computers, and library and from what I can get out of him, they start the day with the "talking box" (READ, THIS IS THE PA SYSTEM, LOL) talking to them, then he said they do the Pledge of Allegiance,and a Prayer (no idea what one but he said "mom, its a hard one, you would not know it"...bet he is wrong lol...12 years of Catholic school...I know them all!!! Then as best I can tell they sit in their desks and do math...when I asked him what they are doing he said "groups"...then his favorite time is "centers" which I think means they can play from center to center in the room and NOT be in their desks. After that, I;m not sure. He told me they eat lunch but that seems like something is missing in there!! I do know they eat early, at 11, outside under shaded picnic tables unless it is raining. One thing I think is odd is that they DO NOT get to go to the playground at least once a day, they don't have recess every single day...really seems odd to me. After lunch I'm not sure what they do, but I do know they then have snack time at 1:30, and school gets out at 2:30. Ann and Sissy pick him up each day so SB has been impacted this week as her nap had to move up!! We shall see what else I learn about his days in the coming weeks!!! Here are the pictures from his first day!! He did great, was a little nervous but there were no tears which is good. He is an old pro at school after going to the EEC for so many years so I was really proud of him. One of the pictures includes him with one of his teachers (two teachers for 19 kids is not bad)!!! The picture with the two other little boys are the two boys that came to this school with him from his pre-school...randomly Jack was seated right next to one of them as the kids are in alphabetical order! We will see how long that lasts!!!
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Jacksonisms and Sarabethisms at 5 and 2
Jackson and Sarabeth are at about the sweetest ages I can imagine right now. We are quickly rounding the corner and dropping more and more baby things each day. I wish I could bottle them at these ages as they are so sweet, genuine, and innocent. They say kids say the darndest things and they REALLY do! Here are some recent things heard around our house that I don't want to forget:
Sarabeth: She still loves her paci very much. Soon enough we will have to cut it out but I will let her have it for a few months longer at least. Right now she will say "do you have a pocket" and then hand me her paci if she is finished with it for the time being to put in my "pocket" for safe keeping!! It is so sweet how she says this!!
She will also just break out in song whenever she is happy, or bored, or whatever...favorites are "This old Man"..."Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and the ABC's....ABC's are particularly interesting to hear as she really does not know all of the letters and sings it exactly as she has heard it!! She is not embarrased at all and will sign sometimes at the top of her lungs...most recently it was on the airplane on the way home and in Target once!!
When she wakes up from either a nap, or in the morning she will always say" I had a good nap"
She loves Dora the Explorer very much right now and is very excited to talk about her "back pack" just like Dora. Often she will say "Just like Dora" in reference to many things she is doing
If anyone is hurt, or has a "boo boo" she will tell them "you have to have medicine" but it comes out like "medsin" and she says this in a very concerned tone. Most recently our kitten Ariel got spayed and had to have this cone thing around her head most of this weekend (thank God we could take that off of her today) and every time SB would see the cat like that she got visibly upset and made a point to tell me that "Kitty" has to have Medsin" She is very sweet and caring and compassionate.
Jackson: When visiting my new office this morning he said "Mom are you the boss of this place" Then when I said well, I guess so, he said are you like the "main boss lady"??? I said yes and he said that is SO COOL MOM, then when he saw the name of the firm on the front door he said...after the boss conversations..."Mom why is your name on the door"??!!
"Sissy" when referring to SB, or talking to SB in any way. He rarely calls her by her first name, to him she is just "Sissy". When they play and run around the house together he will hide from her and then say "oh sissy, oh sissy, come and find me" and they crack up in laughter running to find each other and then hiding again.
Before bed time Jackson will ask for his "five minutes"...five minutes rarely is just actually 5 minutes but it is his time after "Sissy" goes to bed and before he has to soon follow and go down as well. This is a phrase that Aunt Megan used to say when she was little so I think that as Jackson grew, I must have said it once or twice before bed time and it stuck!! So, we have another generation going to bed asking for "just 5 minutes" before bed time.
Jackson loves his "silky" which is his special blue and green blanket he has had since he was a baby. He has about 5 actual "silkies" that he sleeps with but the blue and green one is his "real silky" as he calls it. This is his main one and the one he cares about and wants to have each night. Everyone should have a "silky".
To most of us business is what we do for a living...to Jackson it is his private parts...he will often say when he is changing "hey don't look at my business" or some other rendition of that phrase about his "business". He very much cares about privacy at times, and then at other times he will strip down to nothing but his birthday suit and run all over the house and not care while trying to get dressed in the morning!!! He recently told Uncle Jay at the lake one day while Jack was changing that Uncle Jay could stay and did not have to leave and that he could "see his business because he was family", HAHAHAHA!" I am sure Uncle Jay was not quite sure what the heck to think about that one.
Jackson and Sarabeth both will say something I want to remember, or that is completely hilarious about once an hour...I CANNOT remember them all but these are the most recent.
Sarabeth: She still loves her paci very much. Soon enough we will have to cut it out but I will let her have it for a few months longer at least. Right now she will say "do you have a pocket" and then hand me her paci if she is finished with it for the time being to put in my "pocket" for safe keeping!! It is so sweet how she says this!!
She will also just break out in song whenever she is happy, or bored, or whatever...favorites are "This old Man"..."Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and the ABC's....ABC's are particularly interesting to hear as she really does not know all of the letters and sings it exactly as she has heard it!! She is not embarrased at all and will sign sometimes at the top of her lungs...most recently it was on the airplane on the way home and in Target once!!
When she wakes up from either a nap, or in the morning she will always say" I had a good nap"
She loves Dora the Explorer very much right now and is very excited to talk about her "back pack" just like Dora. Often she will say "Just like Dora" in reference to many things she is doing
If anyone is hurt, or has a "boo boo" she will tell them "you have to have medicine" but it comes out like "medsin" and she says this in a very concerned tone. Most recently our kitten Ariel got spayed and had to have this cone thing around her head most of this weekend (thank God we could take that off of her today) and every time SB would see the cat like that she got visibly upset and made a point to tell me that "Kitty" has to have Medsin" She is very sweet and caring and compassionate.
Jackson: When visiting my new office this morning he said "Mom are you the boss of this place" Then when I said well, I guess so, he said are you like the "main boss lady"??? I said yes and he said that is SO COOL MOM, then when he saw the name of the firm on the front door he said...after the boss conversations..."Mom why is your name on the door"??!!
"Sissy" when referring to SB, or talking to SB in any way. He rarely calls her by her first name, to him she is just "Sissy". When they play and run around the house together he will hide from her and then say "oh sissy, oh sissy, come and find me" and they crack up in laughter running to find each other and then hiding again.
Before bed time Jackson will ask for his "five minutes"...five minutes rarely is just actually 5 minutes but it is his time after "Sissy" goes to bed and before he has to soon follow and go down as well. This is a phrase that Aunt Megan used to say when she was little so I think that as Jackson grew, I must have said it once or twice before bed time and it stuck!! So, we have another generation going to bed asking for "just 5 minutes" before bed time.
Jackson loves his "silky" which is his special blue and green blanket he has had since he was a baby. He has about 5 actual "silkies" that he sleeps with but the blue and green one is his "real silky" as he calls it. This is his main one and the one he cares about and wants to have each night. Everyone should have a "silky".
To most of us business is what we do for a living...to Jackson it is his private parts...he will often say when he is changing "hey don't look at my business" or some other rendition of that phrase about his "business". He very much cares about privacy at times, and then at other times he will strip down to nothing but his birthday suit and run all over the house and not care while trying to get dressed in the morning!!! He recently told Uncle Jay at the lake one day while Jack was changing that Uncle Jay could stay and did not have to leave and that he could "see his business because he was family", HAHAHAHA!" I am sure Uncle Jay was not quite sure what the heck to think about that one.
Jackson and Sarabeth both will say something I want to remember, or that is completely hilarious about once an hour...I CANNOT remember them all but these are the most recent.
Vacation to the Midwest: Part 1!
We had a great time visiting family and friends in Michigan and Ohio this past week. We had been running really hard for the few weeks leading up to the trip with the move of my office and ALL that entailed so this was a great opportunity to relax and unwind for a week and a half. We had the BEST weather we have had in years up there and really enjoyed getting out of the 90 degree heat and humidity we have here in Florida for months on end this time of year and most of all, we enjoyed seeing our very large family on both sides while we were home. The kids REALLY enjoyed their time with everyone, thanks to everyone for welcoming us into their homes, for all of the wonderful meals, and fun experiences...from Baseline Lake to the Toledo Zoo and even Sauder's Village in Archibold...to the AMAZING MudHens Suite Party we threw for everyone to enjoy...it was a visit to remember!! I wish we could visit more often as we always have such a nice time and enjoy spending time with everyone so much. We hope to be able to work remotely and come for a more extended visit one of these coming summers!!!
Here are some pictures from all of the fun and family time we had this past week!! Thanks again to everyone that made this visit extra special for the four of us!! This is part one...I took so many photos and we did so many fun things...I have to do this in 2, maybe 3 posts, so stay tuned this week for the rest of our trip!!!
Here are some pictures from all of the fun and family time we had this past week!! Thanks again to everyone that made this visit extra special for the four of us!! This is part one...I took so many photos and we did so many fun things...I have to do this in 2, maybe 3 posts, so stay tuned this week for the rest of our trip!!!
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