This is Us

Sitting in an empty movie theatre...Well, empty except for us and one other over-punctual mom and her 2 daughters, to see the One Direction movie.

I never do this, but Peyton really wanted to see it on the first weekend AND in 3-D!!!
So, here we are.  She's on the stage in front of the stage doing cartwheels and Russians with the other early-arrivers!

Now they are all sitting in full splits doing the "cup song"...so cute!

30 minutes til show time!

School Year 2013-2014, Week ONE!

Thank goodness school started on a Tuesday this year...the weekend flew by and we needed that Monday to - well, buy shoes!  Peyton and I have had the most fun shopping for clothes, but we do not agree on shoes.  We found the first day of school shoes quite by accident and decided that we would tackle sneakers and pray for divine intervention to take care of the other shoes she is going to need.

Anyway - off to Academy - both kids in tow, cash in my purse, an Aleve in my system, practical shoes on my feet and a very positive attitude.

It was a blast!  We looked at dozens of pairs of shoes - we tried on dozens of pairs of shoes - we had that poor overworked only-guy-in-the-shoe-deparment staffer get dozens of boxes down from the top, top shelf.  And we had success!  Not the cheapest shoes, but not the most expensive, not plain white, but not so bizarre that they wouldn't work with lots of things and they were comfortable!  We spent way too much time there - but most fun times take time!

Then we went off to tackle the teacher wish list items and the red composition book that Peyton needed...at Wal-Mart????  Really?  I avoid Wal-Mart like the plague - in the middle of the week when everyone else is at work...why would I go there the day before school starts?  Let's just say that trip wasn't as much fun!

Luckily, the kids had cleaned out and organized their backpacks the week before and they both wanted to buy lunch on the first day.  Whew!

The last bit of BTS drama - hair and outfits.  Murph is not a new-clothes kid, but as Monday wore on, I realized he really wanted something new to wear on his first day of high school....so back to Academy we went.  No cash left, just a debit card, Aleve had worn off, no shoes are THAT practical but I still had my positive attitude (thanks to an ice cold Coke Zero!)  We made record time, found 2 shirts (one Nike, one Under Armour) and two pairs of shorts (one Nike, one Under Armour) - both matched his new sneaks and the giant smile he was now wearing.  Love that boy!

First day of school outfits...

Off they go...superhero 6th and 9th graders!

Sophie was exhausted at from all the hubbub in the morning!

Peyton's new way of testing out her outfits the night before...

Day two - not nearly as organized...notice she still has one shoe in her hand?  Ran out of time - have to put this one on in the car!

Such a big girl - beautiful without makeup, but mascara is a must in the 6th grade apparently!

Thursday was game day - first game as a Central Charger!

 

The kids like their teachers - Peyton is more wary than Murph, so she "officially" hasn't decided, but it seems to be going well with her new team.  Murph has had 3 nights of homework, Peyton has only had to bring home a couple of papers for us to complete.  I am guessing the hard work starts Tuesday! 

Fast Friday facts

#sharkrap cracked mom up - how is that possible?...but she laughed out loud!

Hair appointment baby step - I sat in the entry room and read while she got her hair done - felt almost like a vacation.  She was happy, I may actually finish the book I started in June!

When mom decides to get nasty - STOP!  any attempt to speak, act, smile, frown, change the subject is just asking for trouble.  Just look down, move slowly and wait for the storm to pass.

Mom prefers Peyton's school car-rider line to Central's - high schoolers require more explanation! 

If mom refuses to do her exercises/walking.  I just get up and move from room to room and she follows me - it's kind of cheating, but it gets her up and moving!

Had to buy scented body wash for TKP - when I use the unscented stuff I still smell like chlorine after I shower and it torments mom...what is that smell, you don't have a pool, are we at the motel?

Mom has zero memory of Bob, her second husband - even with pictures.  She still remembers daddy - but it's fading...so sad!

Mom likes Monk - it's the one thing she and Peyton can watch together.  If Peyton laughs, so does mom.  When mom laughs, so does Peyton.

AnnMarie, our hairstylist, loves to tease mom about finding a boyfriend.  If she only knew!

I am so glad my entire family is home tonight....I have faith that mom will go to bed without incident and we may get to spend a couple of hours together.

Motivated

Keaton is playing football again this year and in the great tradition of school athletics he is expected to fund raise.  For the past 3 years we have sold the Texas Ranger coupons and the Big Kahuna cards.  I have done the majority of the selling.  Both of them were a good deal for the people I know - 4 free Texas Ranger coupons on the one and 99 cent Route 44 Sonic drinks any time of day on the other.

This year - the big freshman year - he is selling Central Charger coupons - coupons for restaurants, oil changes, etc. for $20.  Every player was expected to sell 10 coupons.  And, in the great tradition of public school fundraisers - there were incentives for the number of coupons sold.

My son is motivated by incentives - stuff, to be more exact!  At 20 coupons sold, he could get a Charger football hoodie and at 30 a pair of headphones that are supposed to be cool...like I know cool - I am an ear bud fan!

My son, my kind of reserved son, my "if there is a way to get my mom to ask so I don't have to" son went door to door in our neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhoods and sold 30 coupons before the deadline.  He and his sis went out the first day - totally organized and then Patrick took him out when he ventured beyond where he could walk or ride his bike.  He was relentless - he went every evening that we had time, on his own, no reminders, no prompting from us.  It was awesome!

Patrick said he was polite, respectful, looked people in the eye, didn't take it personally when someone said no, said a genuine thank you when people said yes, stood tall, had a goal and HE ACHIEVED IT!

He earned his incentives, he made us so proud, he made himself proud and I think he learned a valuable skill that will serve him the rest of his life.  Love my boy!  Love that he is growing into such a wonderful young man!

Meet the Teacher

I swear this was the latest Meet The Teacher in the history of man.  The Friday before school?  The anticipation was killing Peyton!

She and Gracie got together early to guess their teachers and classmates and plan first day of school outfits.  They were vibrating in the backseat by the time we pulled into the parking lot.

Their only wish...PLEASE let us at least be on the same team, but wouldn't it be great if we were in the same class!  We got in line and waited.  It was a long 15 minutes and Paine is not Peyton's greatest strength!

Unfortunately, the wish wouldn't come true.  They aren't even in the same hall, much less on the same team. 

So off we went, just Peyton and I, to meet her new teachers.  Ms. Cotton, Ms. Toller and Mr Lane.  I am impressed!  We heard great things about them from former students and other parents. 

AND we know she has at least 2 friends in her home room - Eliza and Hailey.  I am sure there will be more.  No repeats from last year.  No Raegan, no Gracie, no Alexis.  I hate that, but you never know what the new school year will bring!  Maybe her lifelong best friend is in her class!

All in all, a great night.  She got her first choice for co-cur, we got to see friends, it's nice to get back in the halls before the actual first day.

I think she's ready!  I hope I am!  My first year in charge of homework!  Yikes!

Back to school

Peyton and her new BTS 'do

Creativity

Out for lunch with mom.  Busy restaurant.  Using mom's walker for a chair saving space and feeling special!

Ready for a new schoolyear to begin...

Every new school year is like a new beginning.  It actually seems more New Year than the actual January New Year!  Maybe that's a mom thing, but maybe not - I am sure I have felt this way since - well, forever!

Now that I am the stay-at-home parent, I want to keep track of things - in pictures, in stories and in funny quotes.  I want a record of the kids lives this year that will hopefully turn into every year.  Small snippets some days and long ramblings on others.  I want to have this to read when I am old and can't remember things and find it hard to find joy anymore.  I want this to be my version of the Notebook - my love story to my kids and my husband - a reminder of how blessed I am and how we may not be off on Tuscan vacations or winning Olympic events, but we live days full of accomplishments and silliness and marvelousness!

Marvelous Murphy Moments is a nod to the now-defunct "Marvelous Murphy Movie Mondays" - a phrase and an evening that always made me smile.  Back in the good ole days when Jack Bauer was saving the world and kicking some tail and the kids were too young to see the violence, Patrick and I created MMMM.  The kids would take turns choosing a movie to watch upstairs complete with popcorn, sodas and movie candy.  That would allow Patrick and I to drink a beer and watch 24 every week - 20+ weeks a year for 2 years - wish we would have thought of it sooner!

Anyway - school starts next Tuesday - ONE WEEK FROM TODAY! and I am optimistic about keeping up with this for at least one full school year.  One 6th grader.  One Freshman.  One dancer.  One football/baseball player.  One fashionista.  One "whatever they sell at Academy".  And one mom with a goal.