Get this costume!  It's so cute for halloween and had I seen it when I was pregnant, I would have snatched it up!

My son loved his first day of kindergarden, and couldn't wait to go back to day 2.  Morning came and we headed out to the bus stop about 6 minutes early from the time listed online and the time it came on the first day.  We sat out there for 15 minutes and realized it had already come.  I called the district bus people and they said it was there about 7 minutes early and that we should wait out there at least 10 minutes early from now on.  I frantically ran back to the house and loaded my son up with my husband to go to school.  I was so mad - late already on the second day! 

So, afternoon arrives and I head out about 15 minutes earlier than the time listed online and waited about 20 minutes in the 100 degree heat with my daughter who so conveniently had come down with a fever when they called me and said no one was at the bus stop so they were taking my son back to school.  Angry doesn't come close to how I was feeling.  I stormed back to the house and sent my husband (who had come home early) to pick him up so I could get my middle daughter ready for dance class.  I called the bus people again and explained the situation and that I felt it was ridiculous that the bus was 20 minutes early, even if they are trying to figure out the routes.

The rest of the day wasn't great - middle daughter was upset that she had a new dance teacher and the baby's asthma decided to flare up as she had a cold.  She was miserable and couldn't breathe.  And we still have to pack up the rest of our kitchen for the remodel that was scheduled to begin in two days - not easy with a sick baby.  Ugh.  Like they say, when it rains it pours.

I finally talked to the bus people on day 3, and it turned out that the online times were wrong.  I explained my disappointment, not to mention that my son was scared and didn't understand why I didn't come to get him at the bus.  The bus guy was nice and handled it well, but I felt like it was pretty bad that they couldn't get the proper times updated on their website. I guess this begins my career as a mother advocating for her children at school.  I can only imagine what lies ahead!

Day 3 and 4 went well and it seems the times are better.  My son is happy, and his only problem now is that he thinks the

Well, T had a great first day of Kindergarden!  I walked him into his classroom, and he was definitely excited!  I felt a little lump in my throat as we walked by all the little kiddos in their new outfits, and sporting new backpacks and lunchboxes, but thankfully I didn't shed a tear.  I think my son would have been a bit freaked out if I had :-)  We walked in, said hi to his teacher and then he found his seat.  I gave him a kiss, told him I would see him at the bus stop and then I walked out.  I'm proud of my big boy!!

Thursday was Kindergarden Meet and Greet!  I was excited to meet my son's teacher and see his classroom.  I'm not sure how he felt, but he seemed cautiously excited.  First we picked up his school supplies that I ordered online.  It's a pretty nice service, actually - the schools put together what the kids need and the company puts it all in a nice little box that is delivered right to the school.  I was a little sad not to shop for school supplies until I was at Target and saw all the families reading their supply lists and trying to figure out if what they had was the right item.  Plus, it looked like a small tornado had touched down in the middle of the school supply aisle, so I felt somewhat joyous that the only thing we picked out was a lunchbox and backpack.

After we got the supplies from the gym, we were able to head to a very busy hallway where all the class lists were posted.  We found our teacher, Mrs. G., and got directions to the kindergarden hallway.  We quickly found his classroom, and it was bustling with excitement.  Kids were playing in the centers, parents were talking to each other and the teacher, and each child's seat in the classroom was labeled with their name.  It looks like a fun classroom and I think T is going to do awesome!

Mrs. G. put a little gift for each student at their place - a small gem attached to a sheet of paper instructing the students to put the gem under their pillows and it will help them dream of a great first day of school, and that she looked forward to their dreams coming true on Monday.  That was where I got a bit teary.  My little boy is going to be a big boy, riding the bus, learning to read and going to gym class.  For the first time, I realized I might be a bit teary when I drop him off.  Hopefully, there will be Moms there is worse shape than me, and I can maintain my composure.

Overall, it was great!  The teacher seemed nice, the classroom looked fun, and I think he's going to have tons of fun.  I can't believe I have a kindergardener!!

It's been a week and a half since I started the nutrisystem plan, and I'm down four pounds already!  It has been so easy for me because i don't have to think about myself at all, leaving me to focus on making food for everyone else.  It's quite a bit easier to make food for the family when I"m not worrying about calories and fat content!  IThe plan is designed to be supplemented with fresh fruits and veggies from the store which is nice because I can make that work for the whole family.  The food is actually pretty good, and it can all be prepared in the microwave which is important because construction on our kitchen will begin next week and we will be without our kitchen for 6-8 weeks.

My clothes are getting baggier, and I've been trying to work out when I can.  I'll have more time next week when school starts.  So far so good, and I'm feeling great! 

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Baby weight sucks.  For some women, it falls right off and they look like they've never given birth.  Maybe they excercised or ate impeccably while pregnant, but I'll just blame that on lucky genes.  I do not fall into that category.  I excercised while pregnant, but less so during my second one.  I was working during pregnancy #2, so that counts as something, right?  Well, I have about 20 lbs that I'd like to lose that have been very, very stubborn.  I've tried a variety of things without much luck, mostly because it's hard to stick to certain things while feeding a very thin, hungry husband and 3 kids whose favorite food on the planet is pasta.  I worked out and did lose a little on P90X, but summer came and it's almost impossible to do anything when the kids are not in school.

So, I've decided to try nutrisystem.  They deliver the food and I supplement with fresh fruit and veggies.  That seems easy enough to me.  My main motivation (in addition to just wanting to lose it) is that we are going to re-model our kitchen in about a week and a half, and it will take 6-8 weeks.  During that time we will have nothing more than a toaster, coffee maker, fridge and microwave.  The kids can easily exist on mac-n-cheese and every kind of canned pasta there is, while the husband can eat his chicken pot pies and other things that I don't ever eat.  And, we are all fans of salads, fresh fruits and veggies (one of the only things my 1 yr old eats is broccoli!  seriously!), and they are easy enough to make in the microwave.

Today is day 1 of NS food.  So far so good.  The ceasar salad was surprisingly good, and I've been eating some good fruit.  I have a 28 day supply of meals - breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert, so we'll see how it goes.  Hopefully I won't get sick of it, but it doesn't seem too restrictive.  I'm just hoping to get in to some nice looking jeans in time for football season!

The ASPCA commercials are good.  I mean really good.  One came on while the kids were watching TV, causing much alarm as to why all the poor little doggies were in cages.  After all the oohs and ahs and 'oh, what a cute little doggie' and my brief explanation that sometimes people are mean to animals so they need new homes, my daughter angrily proclaimed that she was going to go there and rip all those cages apart with scissors.  She wanted the cute little doggies to be happy. 

The kids were then prompted to ask if our cat, Thunderball (who has been missing for about 3 weeks) could be there at which point I had to explain that it's just a commercial and was probably filmed somewhere else and yada, yada, yada.  At any rate, the poor, sad, puppy dog eyes of all those cute little furry poop machines even got the best of me.  I started to think that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to get a dog.  The kids want one, and the husband kind of wants one, and it couldn't be too much extra work to take care of . . .  And then I snapped out of it.  I couldn't help but wonder how many people didn't snap out of their daydream after a commercial like that.  Man, those commercials are good.  Really, really good.

Several minutes later, as I was doing the morning dishes, I realized that we have the equivelant of a dog - a 17 month old toddler.  They really aren't that much different if you think about it.  Nearly every time you call a dog or a toddler they run the other way unless they want something like food or water.  You have to clean their poop (although dogs are admittedly easier on this front unless they get diarrhea in the house).  You can tell them 'NO!' over and over and they choose to ignore you.  Often times toddler will stare you right in the eyes, laugh and run the other way.  Dogs do that too, and if you look close you can see them grinning slyly.  They get in the garbage, they make a bee-line for everything they shouldn't be touching, and they throw a fit if they don't get their way.

Of course, it's not all bad.  Both love you to the ends of the world and are loyal to no end.  They love to cuddle and be loved on.  Both bring lots of joy to the lives of their owners/parents, and both are able to use their super-cuteness to get out of trouble.  They also absolutely adore any older kids in the house.

I suppose soon enough the kids will be grow up and I will miss the days of having a toddler running around the house.  Maybe then we'll get a dog, but I suppose for now, we are set with the 2 older kids, the toddler, 1 cat, and 1 missing cat (come home Thunderball - we miss you!).

1.  A couple new toys - let the kids know a few days before the trip that they have a special surprise coming for the trip - they will love the anticipation and will be excited to get in the car and start driving

2. A DVD player - this is essential if you are doing really long trips because kids can only sit for so long.  We have to do an occasional 10-12 hour days on our trips and showing movies is a lifesaver!  A new movie or 2 helps as well.

3.  Snacks - I like to get the individual packets of things like goldfish and a few of snacks they don't usually get.  They should be dry, non-sticky and fairly colorless if possible - chocolate crumbs that have been worked into the carpet will probably leave a stain.  An individual thermos for each kid works better than juice boxes because there is less mess.  Stay away from really sugary stuff as well - kids on a sugar high with no where to expend the energy will drive you crazy.  Don't forget your wipes!

4.  A backpack or tote of toys/books - Each of my kids have a totebag that they are allowed to fill up with books and toys that they want to have during the trip.  The kids also have a V-Reader which they used alot while driving.  I also let them each have a backpack, but will probably only do one bag per kid next year if we do it again because there isn't enough room.  Stay away from crayons, especially if you are going to hot destinations.  No matter how careful you are, one or two will escape and melt somewhere you don't want it to, or the kids will write on everything but the paper.

5. Blanket/Bedding Stuff - I allow them to bring their sleepy toys (lovies, blankies, babies, or whatever you call them) in their seat.  It gets crowded with everything, but it makes them feel comfortable and will help them take naps easier.

6.  Don't stop unless you have to:  You'll never get there if you stop all the time.  Make each kid use the restroom while you are filling up with gas, and try to coordinate eating with gas stops.  Someone may need to pee in-between, but if you don't drink too much and force kids to take a potty break when you do, you can avoid unecessary stops every 30 minutes. 

7.  Positive Attitude! - It's important for Mom and Dad to have a positive attitude during the trip.  Point out interesting things along the way, make up games, and build up excitement for the little things along the way like staying in hotels and the kids will follow in your footsteps.  If you are cranky and negative, the kids will be too and that isn't fun for anyone.  Enjoy your opportunity to see the country in a new way - there's lots to see and enjoy, and make stops and interesting places along the way if you want to. 

Roadtrips can be really fun, educational, and adventurous family time - it's truly all in your attitude!  Use your phone to look up info about places along the way and take lots of pictures or video.  It may be the only economical way you can take vacations or visit family or friends since airfare is so expensive.  I encourage everyone to try it at least once!  Have a great time!