The Great Adventure

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, Kayla and I will leave town to go on our great adventure! The field trip has arrived! We will be leaving to go to an Education Center for three days. We will be exploring ocean life, nightime animal habits, mud holes, squid, etc. I was slightly horrified when I first started thinking about all of this. My idea of camping is a very nice Hyatt Place or Hilton Garden Inn. I've done the tent camping and while it can be very relaxing, I'd much rather be at a real hotel! This is camping in a very glorified setting. There are no tents or blow up air beds that go flat on you in the night. There is a cinder block dorm with bunk beds! And get this, I really thought we would be eating at cement picnic tables, but instead we will be dining in a dining room with TABLE CLOTHS!!!! Whoohoo! The only things that freak me out a little are the mud hole that we will be exploring, the night time hike really creeps me out. A couple of the things that I read on the web site started off by saying, "get out of your comfort zone". Nice. I LIKE my comfort zone!

Anyway, my attitude is much improved from what it was. I am really getting excited about the fun that Kayla and I will have and all the memories that we will be making! We are driving down just the two of us instead of riding the bus, and I think that will provide some great mom and daughter time. Past that who knows what the next few days have in store for us. I will be sure to take lots of pictures to post when I get back.

What I'm Learning About Life

Well, well, it has been quite a while since I updated. I have thought about updating many times, does that count? I had a friend tell me that she doesn't check my blog much any more because I don't ever update. Ouch! :)

We have been trying desperately to settle in to our new routine of having two children in school and me working more than six hours a week! It has been an adjustment period for sure, but it gets a little easier every week. I have learned one very big thing... I used to think that my life was busy and what I have learned is that I was a big baby. I had no idea what busy was. Some days life is just overwhelming to me and I want to crawl in a hole and never come out again. Totally depressing, huh? Yea well, that's where I've been and if I'm being honest, I'm probably still there a little bit. I'm learning all about what a selfish individual I am. Not a pretty picture at all.

I'm also learning that my daughter is at age where I have to start letting go a little bit and start letting her make her own mistakes instead of trying to control her whole life. We have had more homework battles than I care to count. These usually end with me being angry and her crying and being frustrated. So, I have made up my mind that it is not a battle I wish to face anymore. I will help her if she asks and check her work if she asks, otherwise, she is on her own. She is sooo smart, but also very lazy when it comes to school work. We are in a very interesting state with Kayla. On one hand, it is so much fun because we can do lots together. We spent the whole afternoon out running errands yesterday, just her and I, and we had a blast. She is funny and wants to joke around with you. I see so much of Craig in her. She was telling me yesterday that her Sunday School teacher had told them to ask their parents what kind of people we thought they were. I could honestly say that she is one of the kindest, most compassionate children that I know. She is an awesome teacher and is so easy going for a girl. She has Craig's sense of humor and my Type B personality! hehehe! Okay, maybe Craig's Type B personality, because if you know me, you know I am an ANAL A! So, I say all of that to say, that we are in the midst of highs and lows with Kayla.

I have learned that Kindergarten and five year old boys make for some serious temper tantrums in the late afternoon. These can come in the form of jumping up and down over not getting the kind of fruit snacks that they want, or it can come in the form of crying over not getting to wear a certain shirt, or basically anything. He is doing so well in school and his teachers LOVE him, even his P.E. teachers told me they love him. We started out the year with him being so wild when he got home that it would just make us crazy. Now we have resorted to temper tantrums and fits of crying. But I am glad that he is being good at school. He has just started receiving homework every night so now we have two homework battles to engage in. Fun stuff! He was so excited to be getting homework though - how long will that last do you suppose?

I have also learned that I have the most amazing husband in the entire world. He has pitched in in so many ways. I hate to ask for help, but am quickly getting better at it! He has ironed, cooked, helped with homework, folded clothes, helped clean, whatever I need. Sometimes he just comes out to the kitchen and wants to know what he can do to help. He is wonderful! I love you babe! As a clarifying statement, he would have done any of this stuff before I starting working, but he never really had to and I never had to ask, so basically what I am saying is that he has always been amazing, not just in the last couple of months. I have even gotten flowers just because I'm doing a good job at handling things and not having a nervous breakdown! Hehehe! Enough bragging, but seriously, I love that man!

So, that is what I am learning! I have more to post about, but I need to close this and get back to work. Look for another post SOON! No, really, I mean soon! Maybe this afternoon!