Bye Bye Summer

Summer FLEW.  It does every year.  This summer was different for us though.  Bryan got a teaching job for this new school year (2012-1213) so he was HOME all summer!  I should interject that he got his DREAM job.  He is so excited about the future now.  No horrible husband on Sunday nights anymore!  No more dreading work on Monday for him!

So anyway, as I was saying...We got some stuff done around here!  My honey-do list was long, but it is amazing what you can get done when both family members are teachers (YAY!) and are FREE in June and July.  I have to say, it is going to be so cool for Lucy to have us home and be able to go and do with her in the summers.  Sorry about all of you who chose careers where you must work all year round.  YIKES.

I won't bore you with a ton of type (although my gift for writing is something quite amazing), but here are some pictures of our fun this summer:

Mimi and Papa visited for their vacation in June.  We went to the Aquarium and fishing.  Lucy, being the brilliant fisherwoman that she is, of course caught the only fish.

We introduced Lu to water balloons.  They were a huge hit.  Any excuse to pelt mom and dad with a flying object and she is in.

One of my favorite people of all times (and one of my roommates from college) Julie visited with her family on the way home from their vacation.  I love this family so much and wish we could see each other more.  Julie and I tend to be the same person-a lot.  My child thought she'd died and gone to heaven as having 2 other kids in the house is her DREAM.  Thanks Nate and Jules for sharing your kids with us!

                                         

One of my best friends of all time is getting married in September.  We had a fabulous time at her (and you to Jerry) wedding shower.  Thanks to Todd and Bobby it was a FABULOUS evening!  So good when John, Kara, and I are together.  It is like 6th grade comes rushing back :-)

Perhaps one of my favorite summer activities was the bachelorette trip to Destin, FL for Kara.  This was a KID free trip.  Yes, did you hear that?  KID FREE.  I missed Lucy like crazy, don't get me wrong.  But  do you know what it is like to just walk to the beach with your drink, towel and book?  ONLY THOSE 3 THINGS!!!!  I READ A BOOK PEOPLE~A WHOLE BOOK!  Mommy need the break.  All moms, DO THIS.  We had such a good time, and I loved spending time with all these great women from different parts of Kara's life.  We stayed in an incredible beach house, had wonderful views, much laugher, and a few adult beverages.  All prepping for September.   This wedding of hers is going to be epic.  She will be a beautiful bride!

I went from one wild and free mommy to MOMMY! in the matter of one afternoon.  My family headed down to Destin the day the other ladies were set to leave.  That means I got TWO weeks at the beach, which was a very bad thing.  No, not because I got so much sun.  We all know I was under the umbrella most of the time.  In fact, if you saw me on the street, you'd think I was stuck inside all summer.  Anyway, it was just so good for my soul to be at the beach for so long.  If you know me well, you know it is my favorite place on the planet.  (If you're thinking about a lovely Christmas or birthday gift, St. John, USVI is my most favorite beach spot-thank you Deb and Mark for getting married there a few years back and allowing me to come and enjoy paradise).  Two weeks spoiled me rotten.  I did not want to come home.  It was beautiful and perfect the whole time I was there.  UGH.  Reality bites.  

Lucy falls more and more in love with the beach each summer as well.  She was devastated when we had to come home.  I keep telling her when she grows up and becomes a doctor, she can buy Bryan and I a beach house.  We can have family time there.  Do you think brainwashing works?  I sure hope so!  

We had a blast though.  Lucy plays hard all day, then crashes at night.  Oh wait, we all do when we are at the beach.  Our last night there we took the obligatory "crazy family from TN that isn't so tan but is dressed like they are and all coordinate" pictures on the beach.  They are always my favorite.  Thanks dad for photoshopping out all the seaweed (which according to my mom is full of fish poop and icky stuff-all so Lu would stop playing with it).  Love my parents.  Love them for helping B with the kid while I had time away, love them for taking us on vacation when we are dirt poor, love them for their quirky ways.

I hope all of you had a great summer too.  I'm working on 3 weeks at the beach next summer...

Don't Do Drugs

Did you do the "Just Say No" program when you were in 5th grade?  I did.  I never did drugs either.  I thought it had worked!  Successful program!  Well, maybe not.

You know Lucy?  That kid of mine is sometimes rather sickly.  She has terrible allergies, but has had a relatively healthy year (knock knock) since we had her adenoids out.  However, in February, her nose always starts to run, she coughs, and sneezes all the time.  We put her on Singulair for this last spring and it really helped.  We were also doing Zyrtec at the same time.  Both managed to keep her dried up and sinus infection free.  HOORAY!  However, you may recall that at many times she seemed to be demon possessed.  We had been at our wits end with her.  Everyone had been telling us that 3 was worse than two, and by May, we were true believers.

One night, when I was sure I was going to be driven insane by my child's radical behavior (screaming, hitting, defiance, head butting-do I need to go on?) something hit me.  I was talking to my mom and connected a few dots.  Drugs were started about the same time she turned 3 and started acting like a little hell's angel  spirited toddler.  Hmm, could it be that the drugs had incredibly awful side effects?  I did what all good moms do-I went to WEB MD!  I have diagnosed myself and others with a lot thanks to this website :-)

According to the web, those two drugs Lucy was on can cause: emotional outbursts, aggressive behavior, sleeplessness, difficulty with concentration...THAT WAS IT!  So, we stopped the drugs, the allergies were at bay, and my sweet baby girl was BACK!  HOORAY!

So in the future, remember-JUST SAY NO.