The Home Stretch

Well I only have 9 days of school left. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. I will only see my seniors in first and second period 1 more time. So from now on it is pretty much smooth sailing and then a few exams and clean-up. This year was quite a roller coaster ride. Soccer went pretty smoothly in August and then my team had a pretty decent run. Then I started hitting the gym like a mad woman and finally have lost all of the baby weight. December was tough because we had to swallow Alex's diagnosis and our days became filled with endless doctors appointments and physical therapy. Dylan has done extremely well in preschool and loved karate and gymnastics which were all new activities this year. Mackie has also excelled at gymnastics and is looking forwrad to her dance camp this summer. mackenzie still loves her dresses and wants to be a princess, yet she was playing football and soccer with a bunch of older boys tonight. Luckily it is 2006 and a girl can be both a jock and a princess, so she can have the best of both worlds. Alex began walking and Dylan fractured his wrist, so it has been quite eventful. We will end this new year with Dylan graduating on Monday and getting his cast off. Makcenzie is getting ready to begin pre-school in the fall, and hopefully Alex will be running. I am looking forward to not have to get ready by 6am every morning. I will still have to wake up by 6am, because that is when the kids wake up, but I get to hang in my PJ's for a while before hitting the gym each day. I really can't wait for the much-deserved break. One of the most underrated aspect of teaching is that there is a beginning and end to each year. Every year is a new beginning, and there is a clearly defined end. All students and teachers need this, it provides a much needed break. The home stretch is just and end to this year but there are many new possibilities for the next one! Come August, I will be looking forward to my new beginning. All jobs should have beginnings and endings, I think people would be much happier.

Memorial Day

Well today we actually set up our lawn chairs and walked outside our house for the annual Memorial Day parade. Although we have lived here for the past 6 years, this is the first time we actually set up shop outside our home to watch the parade. The kids were very excited and had a good time. Alex was a bit out of sorts because of the noise from the fire trucks so his nap was cut short. It was a very nice day and the kids seemed to have a nice time. Since none of the napped I am hoping that they go to bed at 630pm. I know Alex will be in bed by 6 tonight, but the others, I am not sure. The school year is coming to a close so only a couple weeks left!! Thats it for now

I am only 13 months! Somebody forgot to tell me that!

So we are all downstairs watching little einsteins and I look over and say how's your brother and they say... Mommy Look at Alex! So I look and see him jumping on the couch with his big brother and sister. Somehow he scaled the little chair and climbed his way onto the couch. They are all jumping. So as I call his name in a panic he looks at me with the biggest smile. As if to say... Mommy I am having fun! Then Mackenzie and Dylan say in unison. Mommy do not worry we will be the mommy and daddy and Alex is just playing with us! So basically now I am sitting here writing turning my head every two seconds to see where the baby is. You know what?? He is just fine, smiling away with his brother and sister. I hope they always take good care of him and make sure he is having fun. They however do not realize that he only started to walk well within the last week. To them once a baby is walking he or she is one of them. So I have to go before the three of them start wrestling!!

My dinner date

So last night my friend and I had a couple of beers and some food( well I had some food, she did not eat much because her husband was off today and cooked her dinner, normally one might think that Basil's food has to be much better, but her husband is a chef at a very good restaurant in Red Bank, and I have had his food... and it is great-- Mom- he is the one that makes those portobello mushroom baguettes!). So of course the only thing we discussed all night was the babies, well the bar tender was involved in the conversation because he is married to a teacher, has a 10 month old and watches his son while his wife works. So he understands too. We discussed at length what is better a daycare center vs. home day care. She wants to have someone come to her house 4 days per week. It is the most expesive of the options but, she will ask the person to do light cleaning when the baby is sleeping. Now that sounds like a plan!! I then told her about all of the inappropriate comments that she is going to get at work. Like .. How do you leave the baby home all day, don't you miss her?. I could never do that I had to stay home, Are you going to keep coaching> How do you coach with three little ones? My comment to that is... ASK every single MALE teacher the same question and ask them how they do it. Why is it always just assumed that men can still coach and teach but women can't. That bothers me so much. There are a few mommy's out their that still coach and teach, but we are not very numerous. I really do get asked on a daily basis when will I give up coaching. I want to say to all of these people. I will give it up when I am good and ready. Right now I am not. I love working with the girls and coaching my school team. Plus the extra cash pays for Karate, gymnastics, gymboree and whatever else the kids want to do. So I do not know what caused that latest rant but it has been on my mind! I am looking forward to August and starting a new season. I know it will be hectic especially with physical therapy appointments, Karate and gymnastics, and yes Dylan and kenzie will be playing soccer on saturdays, but we will figure it out, we always do! So my dinner date with my girlfriend was fun, and she still is not ready to go back to work next week. She would not be ready next month or year either. A mom is never ready to leave her baby all day, but sometimes it is a necessity, so please do not make inappropriate comments, and make her feel worse than she already does.

A new favorite TV show

Well at 5:45 this morning, my kids were downstairs watching TV and I look up and see ESPN on. I then asked my son Dylan if he wanted me to change the channel so they could watch Winnie the Pooh . He promptly said no, that he wanted to watch the games. So here we are at 5:45 am and Dylan and Mackenzie are watching recaps of the MLB games last night. It was too funny. It dawned on me that Dylan was starting to turn into his father!! Dylan now can tell me most of the teams in MLB, and the NHL. He even noted that Barbaro was a race horse. How does a preschooler tell the difference between a race horse and a pony? He is growing up so fast. Mackenzie is asking for a Red Sox dress. I am going to search ebay and see if I can find one for her. She already has the back pack and hat and needs the dress. My son is growing up so fast. Today it is ESPN and tomorrow who knows what he is going to want to watch... the news, prime time shows, or worse. I would like to get a few more years out of Nickjr. but I get the feeling he is going to fight me every step of the way! So ESPN it is!

Why do I obsess so much?

Sometimes I wish I would just take the advice of my mother and stop googling. I find myself lately looking up various websites about children with Hypotonia. Of course all of it scares the hell out of me. Most recently I found a message board site on Parentsplace devoted to children with hypotonia. As I am reading each and every introduction and story about their little ones, it frightens me that maybe my son will come down with some other symptom that someone else has. I mean he already qualifies for 2 days a week of PT, 2 days develomental intervention, and 1 day a week speech. He just turned one and needs therapy almost every day of the week. I wonder though if I am simply looking through rosey colored glasses when I say to myself, well they just ranked him low so he could qualify for the help.( I know I never gave a kid a lower grade then he/she deserved because I wanted them to get extra help). So I really do wonder sometimes what the future holds. Someone told me that he is lucky to have me as a mom because I will do whatever it takes to assure that he has every opportunity available. That comment made me think... All parents worry and all parents want what is best for their kids but how much therapy can one take? I know that sometimes I cut sessions short if Alex is crying or I think he has had enough. Then again I keep questioning myself, what else should I be doing? Have I left any stone unturned? My mother keeps telling me to stop looking up information and to stop reading about every possible genetic or random disorder, but I can't help it. She is right, I have become obsessed... I am obsessed about finding out everything I can to help my son. I am obsessed about working out everyday. It is ironic that around the time I found out about Alex's conditioned, I became a gym rat again. I think having 2 obessions is good for me, it keeps me balanced! I guess I just answered my own question regading my obsessions!

3 weeks left!

I can't believe that yet another school year is coming to a close. Just knowing that there are a full 10 weeks vacation this year is quite exciting. Okay well not exactly 10 for me. I start soccer camp on July 23rd and am pretty much at work from that point on, but it is still a nice long break. I could not imagine having a regular job where there is not end and no beginning to each year. Each year I get to make a fresh start, and come September I am ready for my routine to change, even though I cry at the beginning of each school year and wonder how I am going to be able to leave my precious children with someone else for 8 hours a day. But this post is about the teacher me, not the parent( as if I could actually spearate the 2). This year was fantastic. I got to teach a new subject which I loved, and I had great kids. I mean I am lucky, the kids I am teaching are smart, considerate, and just a pleasure to be around. Which gets me thinking about next year. The kids I get next year can't possibly measure up to the ones I have this year( I say this every year and every year by May I say the same thing, the point is, the kids are always good!). This year was just a lot of fun. My students do not realize this but they made my hectic life a lot easier than it should be. They allowed me to enjoy my job tremendously and I hope that they found my class worthwhile. Well right now we are in major end of the year mode, we are watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which is perhaps one of the greatest movies of all time. The kids seem to be into the movie,( well except for the 3 girls in the back who were too busy chatting about prom weekend, but the rest seem to be enjoying it)or atleast humoring me. Hey what more can I ask for, I have classes with all juniors and seniors. What did you want to do in highschool on a nice summer day? Which brings me to my next point. These kids ( well the seniors) have 3 weeks left, thats it. I want to tell them to savor every last minute of it( they wont), because they have the rest of their lives to be an adult, so why not take advantage of being a kid while it is still socially acceptable to do so. The one thing that any educator realizes quick is that it does go by so fast. In a blink of an eye there are only 3 weeks left and a new school year begins with a new crop of seniors!

The Green Monster

Well my husband would have made John B. Watson proud. He has officially turned our kids into diehard Red Sox fans. I actually do not think that this was his original intent, I think if he had his choice it would be the Mets, but what happened in October 2004 stayed with my kids. Since Watson was convinced that he could make a child anything with the proper conditioning, my kids would be great study material. I mean it is 2006 and we all know that are children come into the world with their own set of DNA which makes them unique, I would think even Watson himself could not argue with the brain studies of the 1990's. However, parents can influence their kids in so many ways it is unthinkable. My daughter asks me to tell her the story about the friendly green monster every night, and my son proceeds to tell me that we do not like the Carolinas team because they beat the Devils. It is a riot. Today all 3 of them are proudly displaying their Red Sox hats. Mackenzie just got a new one from her daddy, along with a Red Sox back pack and thinks that it is the greatest thing ever. She now can wear it with the lovely dresses that momma had just bought her. You would never think a kid could get so much excitement from a hat! They are sponges and absorb everything we as parents do or say. the whole notion of do as I say and not as I do.... well that does not work. They see and mimic everything that we do. They have taken a liking to watching sports with my husband, and he has successfully implanted in them his thoughts and feelings about the various teams in the different professional sports. It is funny, I have finally just figured out the teams we like and do not like, and my kids figured it out in record time. Kids really do learn quicker than adults. I told the kids I was taking them to the park today and Mackenzie said.. "Mommy can we go to Fenway Park?" I told her that we could not go there today as Dylan interjected that it was in Boston which is way far away! I told her that maybe this summer or next year we will take a trip and she can meet the monster, and Dylan said that he wants to see the Red Sox beat those Yankees 11-0. I looked at him and said.. Dylan if that happens you will be going to that park every summer!

latest pictures from Alex's first Birthday Party and Dylan's pool party

Why is it so hard?

Mothers always feel so much guilt about everything. All moms have to agonize over every decision that they make while pregnant and after. For example when a woman is pregnant all of a sudden she has to have a cost/benefit analysis sheet to figure out if she should eat that chocolate chip cookie she is so desparately craving, and moms have to decide whether they should always kiss each boo-boo and make it all better or tell their children to tough it out on occassion. Perhaps the hardest decision for a mom to make is whether she will go back to work. For me and many of my friends, it is a no brainer. We have to go back to work. NO.. not because we want too( although adult company is a very nice perk), but because we have to, yes we have to. If we want to keep a roof over our precious children's heads then yes we have to work. I know many are saying, it can be done, living on one income is doable. Try coming to central jersey with your clan and buying a home. With the median price of a house currently at 380,000, and just try it on a teachers salary.If you want to live in a decent area, not one riddled with crime scene only tape, it is impossible!( If you have a large inheritance, this does not apply, or if your spouse makes well over 6 figures.) So why must we feel so guilty? I do not know but we do. A friend called me today for advice, you see she had her first child in November and she is going back to work June 1st. She is beginning to freak out. She has crunched the numbers, with a 330,000 mortgage for a 2 bedroom townhome( see I told you it was expensive to live here) she has to go back... She has stayed out as long as she could, she took out a home equity loan to pay for 6 months of COBRA so she is done. She will be officially entering the work force. Since I have been through this three times, I think she thought I would tell her that it is easy, but no self respecting mommy would lie like that to a friend. I told her it gets easier, but it is never easy. I told her that she would learn to get ready in record time, and that the 45 minutes of free time each day is underrated( Prep). The guilt however has a way of rearing it's ugly head just as you get into the swing of things. For example, school starts in September, so the teacher mom feels horrible those first few days in September after the full summer with the kids, then once everything starts flowing smoothly, flu season hits. Children get sick and average of 8-10 times per years while young. So do the math, it the sick season is October-April, you could be looking at every 3-4 weeks. Each time the children get sick someone has to take off. The dreaded decision( my kids vs. my students), ( my job vs my husbands), then the one that hurts the most, it tends to happen at the end of the year, when you have exhausted all of your sick leave( or should I say your childs sick leave, because moms know to never take off when they are sick because one cannot possibly waste a sick day on themselves), and the decision is my child seems like they are getting ill vs. I will get docked a days pay. That is the worst. So I probably scared my friend even more about going back to work. I told her though that she needs to ignore all well- meaning comments, such as I don't know how you do it, my daughter just had a baby and just had to quit her job because she could not leave her baby. ( that and her husband is the assistant to Bill Gates!) So now anytime I get these well-meaning comments, I simply say it is very hard to leave my children, but they do like to eat, so I have to work. Feeling guilty just goes with the territory of being a mother. Just think one day your children will be parents and they will understand.

Why is weight such a big deal?

Well this morning there was a note in my mailbox at school saying they needed me to bring my first period class to the health office. They needed to record the height and weight of the students. Now I have a class with all all girls and 2 boys. They are all juniors and seniors in HS and like many young( and middle aged etc) women they are very concerned about the stupid number on the scale. Now the girls in my class are beyond pretty and not one of them have a weight problem, but I know the anxiety that ensues when one is about to get on a scale. I told them that I felt bad because they did not know and could not prepare( ie: where the lightest outfit possible and save their 16oz of cofee until after the weight in). It is funny how even 17 and 18 year old girls understand this. The boys were not too bothered, they just saw it as a minor inconvience not an event that causes the arousal of ones autonmoic nervous system. The sad part is, I wish I could tell the girls that there would be a day that they would never think about that number on the scale, but that day probably will not come. I am still waiting for that day, I am probably more neurotic than the 17 and 18 year olds in the class. Why are we so obsessed with weight? Why cant women take a lesson from their male counterparts? I doubt we will ever be able to answer that question. I hope my daughter does not obsess, but she likely will, because all girls whether that number is too high or too low have their own reasons for not liking it.

9 hours of straight sleep

Yes, it is true... I slept for 9 hours last night. I went to bed at 815 and woke up at 515 this morning. It feels so good to be well-rested! Well Dylan got his cast on yesterday, he picked a very bright orange. The doctor told him that was bob the builders favorite color and Dylan was excited. More good news.. Only 3 more weeks to wear the hard cast, so if the weather continues to be poor their should not be much of a fight about not going into the pool! Alex continues to walk everywhere and is doing just great. He goes to Physical Therapy today and I can't wait for them to see how far he has come. Kenzie has her new yellow dress on and has informed me that she wants to go dress shopping so she can wear a new one each day. I then said to her that I do not have that much money, so she told me to go to the bank! Smart girl. Well thats the update!

Happy Mother's Day

Well I must say the mother's day gods were smiling upon my family this morning. First of all, I woke up at 7am. Yes you read that correctly 7am. My kids were still asleep! All 3 of them!!! I put on a pot of cofee and then did my daily weight check. The appointment with the scale was quite positive, a full 1 lb less than yesterday. Any female that is not genetically blessed knows where I am coming from. It was going to be a great day. The kids got up within 5 minutes of my wake up and we went downstairs to play. I woke my husband at 8am and left for the gym at 815. I did 20 minutes of hard cardio and then hit the weights for 60 minutes. I got home around 1015. I met my mom and sister at the mall, and picked out a very pretty shirt with the gift card from my husband. I kept trying to persuade my mother to buy me a pair of shoes but she was not budging. She was too busy spending thousands on my OTHER sister( yes the favorite!). I am just kidding, we are only talking hundreds here! I am in love with the shoes she bought for HER though! The next stop was Casa Comida. I suggested it and my suggestion was well- recieved. I had a marg and a burrito with a few nachos and it was great. I am now home with my kids. I am glad I got to spend mothers day with my mom. Mother's day should be a week long though. Moms work long and hard for very little thank you's and no money( Moms actually lose money, see I was trying to swindle my mom into buying me those red Steve Maddens). This goes on forever and at times seems like a long thankless job, but it never is. Being a mom is so rewarding. Having children that you would die for is amazing in itself. Most children do not ever realize the amount of time, energy, money, and love that their moms have given them. Many will never realize it, UNTIL you become a mom. Once you become a mom you suddenly empathize with your mom, and want to thank her for every hug and kiss etc. You also can see how your mother in law was over protective of her son, because moms only want the best for their kids and never want to see a sad face... ever. So Mom Thank you for everthing, and I guess I should get those red patent leather Steve Madden pumps for you.( By the way since we are the same size, can I borrow them?)

My little princess

When I had my second child, I was so excited to have a little girl. I love my sons dearly and think they are the best, but the clothes for a girl are just great. Once my daughter was born, I immediately think, mini-me. I know we are not suppossed to think like that but with dirty blonde hair and green eyes, she looks like a twin of my baby pictures at the same age. So I deck her out in pink adidas, and give her cute matching out fits containing shorts, jeans and skirts. I even find little shoes that resemble mine. I just assumed she would forgo the barbies, holly hobbie, and cinderella, for the soccer ball, base ball and basket ball. Well not her, she can run and throw with the boys, but wants to be in a princess dress while doing it. She even picks out the bathing suit with the frills. Today she put on a new dress that my mother got her( yes my mom is behind this 100%, because Mackenzie is her only princess out of 6 grand children), looked at me and said aren't I beautiful, I love my beautiful new purple dress and hat. She is so excited about her new dress it is not even funny. She had to put it on for a short trip to the mall with her father this afternoon. She looks at him with her big green eyes and said.." Daddy am I a princess?" and of course Daddy said yes you are. I then said to my husband make sure to get me that fancy shirt that I want so I can wear my high heals with it. At that moment I thought to myself, yes she gets it from me.... and momma!

One is up and running and the other sidelined!

Well all I can say is that I had a rough day yesterday. As I picked up Dylan and Mackenzie from gymnastics, I looked on the floor and spotted Mackenzie but not Dylan. So as I looked, I heard. Mrs. Haar... Come over here please. The last thing any mom wants to see is her son's armed wrapped in ice and the instructors saying he needs xrays. Well I immediately went into coach mode and asked my son to wiggle his fingers, he wiggled them, so I assumed( I am used to dealing with foot injuries), it is not broken, no need to spend 3-4 hours for some ER ped to tell me it is only a sprain and to apply the standard RICE treatment. So I said to the coaches( hey I have watched Gymnastics on TV alot so I must be the expert here.) that it is only a sprain and I think he will be fine. Then when they told me that 4 of the coaches saw it happen and they are familiar with this injury and they would be suprised if he did not break his wrist, then I started to calmly panic. I never alarm a parent, I thought, I always tell them I think it's a sprain and most go to the emergency room anyway for the MD to reveal that my assessment was right. Except for the time with Katie and her broken... wrist.( So maybe I am not an expert with the hand). So reluctantly I drop the Mackenzie and Alex off with John, and Dylan and I head to Monmouth Medical. We stop at Mc Donalds so he can have a happy meal, and continue. The entire time we are there I am still thinking, it can't be broken, he is too happy. Well it was confirmed, he fractured his wrist and will be in a cast for 6 weeks. This is terrible timing as my mother's pool opens tomorrow and Dylan swims like a fish. He will have to graduate pre-school in cast, and I elarned and importnat lesson when it comes to sports and injuries.. I am no expert. On another note, my other son who is 12 1/2 months old is off and walking. I mean walking across the room. Yes I am a proud parent, I can't help it. By developmental standards Alex, since he was born a month early, would be considered an early walker( 11 1/2 months adjusted). Alex has over-all hypotonia and children with this condition normally do not walk until 18-24 months. Again I would also question this diagnosis, but specialists have confirmed it, so he is my miracle baby. He works his little butt off every day. All of this physical therapy has paid off. Shore Rehabilitation in Eatontown, I can't thank enough. My baby is just like everyone else because of them.That is really what all parents want. Mackenzie loves her new book. "Winners never quit" by Mia Hamm. This is great, it is her favorite book! It also teaches a great lesson. Dylan has a baby root canal at 11:15( poor boy, he cant catch a break), I will try and write more tonight.

I couldn't do it alone

As I ponder the complexity of my daily existence, I wonder myself, as do many others as to how I manage teaching full time, caring for three children under 5, that are involved in Karate, Gymanastics, cyberventures, and gymboree. Alex also has physical therapy twice a week, and I train 2 soccer teams every weds from 415-715. Somehow I manage to get to the gym 6 days per week for atleast an hour. I know how I do it.... My husband! As much as I would love to be home everyday with my children, I know that if I ever decided to do that my husband would have to pick up an extra full time job. That simply would be unacceptable. My husband and I are both teachers which means we share vacations, weekends and yes.... summers! The most importnat thing though is time. Although we start work at 7am( yes 7am), we are finished by 3:05( His day is longer than mine!), that means we BOTH share the responsibility of shuttling the kids from activity to activity. He is often the lone father at gymnastics class or gymboree and never does he complain. He never calls it babysitting, he knows his job and does it with a smile. Weds are particularly hard on him, because I do not get home until 745, so he finishes a long day at work and is responsible for picking the kids up, taking the 3 of them to the park, making them dinner and getting them cleaned up and ready for bed. I know many women have to make a choice between staying at home or working full time, it is such a tough choice to make, and each has its own unique challenges. I feel that although on paper it looks like I am super-woman, I am not because I have superman to help! When I get home tonight, my husband will have the baby in bed and Dylan and Kenzie in their pajamas, we will sit and eat together and and talk about our days. He does not realize how much he does for me and our children. He simply does what feels right. He puts our needs before his own and never complains. So all of the things I do personally and we do as a family is made possible because we split all responsibilities 50/50

8 steps and a new belt, pretty good for a Monday!

Alex took 8 steps yesterday. Yes I am counting each and every one of them. After various professionals who told me that my goal of him walking by June, was not possible due to his condition. I would like to look at them now and say .... I told you so. My little son is the most determined little boy I have ever met. He constantly falls and gets right back up, it is as if he is saying. Look out world.. here I come, nothing is going to get in MY way! Dylan recieved his new belt with pride, although it was a week late he knows he earned it! Dyaln was the model student at Karate today. Mackenzie has really taken all of this I hate the Yankee stuff to heart. Everytime she sees someone wearing a yankee hat, she acts as though they are committing a crime, it is so funny. Since we live in New jersey it is quite common for the yankee hat to be worn, and she lets the wearers know that it will cause their hair to fall out! Her daddy is so proud of her. I am starting to get a little nervous because my psychology student's are taking their Advanced Placement exam on Weds. I really hope they all do well on the test. I have been very game seven about it and pester them about studying everday. I actually get a little jealous when I see them with their AP bio books out because they seem to be studying more for the other exams than mine. They then tell me that they feel well-prepared for my exam, well I have thought I have been well prepared for many an exam, a little extra studying could not hurt anyone. So we will spend the next two days re-learning all of the material. Hopefully a simple question and answer will be enough, I will let you know. I had a good workout at the gym and tacos for dinner, so for a Monday, it was a pretty good day.

Blog Help!

I thought I published a blog about Alexander's birthday party but it wont show up, only under May 2006. Any ideas how I can get the new blog to appear??

Alexander's first birthday Party!

I know it was almost 2 weeks late but Alex has his first birthday party at gymboree this morning. There were a total of 10 babies plus 4 siblings( two of which were Dylan and Kenzie, Mia and Erin kept them company and kept the fighting between brother and sister at bay!) The babies were so cute, they ranged in age from 6 months to almost 13 months. Baby Norah was the youngest and smallest while Jake was the oldest. I can't say the biggest though, especially if we are going by weight because I think at 10 months baby Michael had everyone beat in that category! Alex seemed to enjoy himself, although he could barely keep his eyes open on the drive home. All of the babies were very tired after 90 minutes. Realistically that is probably all any baby( or adult for that matter) can handle. I had to throw out the remainder of the cake though, sitting in my refrigerator it would have been much too tempting. Apparently all of the other moms felt the same way because nobody wanted to take it home. One of the Dad's took some of it home however and he got a look from his wife, because she does not want to be the one to eat it. Why is it that women always worry about what it is they are going to eat and men do not? That question has been raised for centuries now and still... no answer. Overall the party was great, and Alex received alot of nice toys and clothes. It is so hard to believe how fast my babies are growing up. I remember when I was pregnant with my first and women would tell me to enjoy every minute because it goes by so fast. I did not believe them, as I was eagerly waiting for my oldest to reach milestone after milestone. After having my last child, I want to savor every last minute, because any day now he is going to be running away from me.

Best Friends!

Mackenzie and I were driving in the car yesterday and she looked at me and said " Mommy you and I are best friends right?" I said yes, we will always be best friends. I then proceeded to put the song best friends on in the car as she and I happily sang it aloud together. As I thought about the statement, I smiled, I always want her to think of me as a mother and a best friend. Best friends are hard to come by. I am one of those lucky people who have a very close relationship with my mother. We talk on the phone a minimum of 5 times a day, every day. I have 2 sisters and 2 sisters in law whom I am also very close too. I feel the luckiest because I have a true best friend. We have been best friends since we have been 8 years old. She is like a true girlfriend soulmate. We share thoughts and always listen and empathize, and never judge each other. She respects me and I respect her. We offer each other support and encouragement and lend a hand when necessary, without ever thinking twice. My best friend took all of my kids over night so my husband and I could have a much needed night alone. We are not talking just one child but 3 of them, the oldest which just turned 5 and the youngest barely 1. This is a huge undertaking and she did it with a smile. I know she loves to have kids around and her kids love mine, but I know the true reason why she always helps out... She is my best friend and these are things that friends do for each other. Everytime I hear kids in school casually mention who their BFF is of the moment, I can only hope that they and my own children one day will hit the jack pot, by really finding their BFFL, because I found mine at 8 years old!

Put one foot in front of the other...

As I walked into school today, I realized just how tiring it really is to be a full-time working mom of three children. AS I look to my upcoming schedule, I see two classes of reviewing for the Advnaced placement exam, followed by three periods of discussing the impact of corporate crime, then finally with a meeting with Alex's service coordinator to discuss how much speech/feeding therapy he will get each month. Having a child that qualifies for special services just adds to the amount of time and energy one needs to get through each day. A very respected and wise English teacher, who herself has two children, both which were born premature and one who required massive physical therapy always looks at me and smiles and says... Kris, just put one foot in front of the other and you will get through your day. I look at her with admiration and the utmost respect because she made it. Her children are grown and are both doing extremely well. Looking at her.... I know it can be done. Alexander has been making excellent progress, thanks to his twice a week physical therapy sessions( Shore reahbilitation is the best rehab place ever!) He is trying to walk and has already taken a few steps on his own. So much for the early intervention evaluators who told me he would most likely not be walking by the summer. My boy is proving everyone wrong. If he could talk he would say loud and clear.... "There is nothing wrong with me... I will be fine" So it is apparent that Alex is putting one foot in front of the other.

My Three Kids

Dylan, who started it all

Me & Alex, who will always be my baby

Mackenzie hoping for a big win against the Yankees

What...Discipline MY kid???

Well it happened... it was a normal Karate Monday until my oldest( he turned 5 in March), received a time out for misbehaving. I was okay with the time out, but as the class went on it seemed as though everything was fine until the end. You see at the end of each Karate class all of the kids get a new stripe, after 10 stripes they get a brand new belt. Now there are many 4 and 5 year olds that do not know the difference between 9 and 10 stripes, but my son Dylan knew he needed 4 more stripes a month ago! So at the end of class, the instructor(big meanie) informs my son that he did not earn his stripe this week, and he would have to behave properly to earn it next week. The look on Dylan's face made me want to go up to the Karate coach and high kick him! But I sat back, bit my tongue and told Dylan that yes... his teacher is right and he has to earn his belt. I guess I can finally understand how parents just walk away and do not watch as I train their young soccer players. I work the young kids so hard, and I discipline when necessary. They realize that they can't interrupt practice and undermine my authority, just like I could not undermine Mr. Jay's. So I did what many parents have probably did because of me, told my kid to take the punishment and learn a lesson. I am the one who learned the biggest lesson though... Yes, parents have feelings too. They probably are more upset about the discipline instilled upon their children by others than the children are! Teachers and coaches dole out discipline everyday, but... can they take it?... that answer would be no, not if it is their kid!

Another crazy Monday

As I start another work week, I am astounded by how much I have to jam pack into each and every day. The alarm goes off at 5:18am and I race to get into the shower, after that it is a mad dash to get ready. Forget makeup these days, I am lucky enough to get my hair dried each morning. At around 5:35 I run downstairs and make Dylan's lunch and snack for pre-school and make sure everything is in his back pack. I then switch gears and get Mackenzie's breakfast and lunch together to bring to the sitters home. I make Alex's bottle and by that time it is now 5:50 and Alex is awake. I grab him, change his diaper and proceed to wake up Dylan and Mackenzie. I get Mackenzie dressed and we are out the door at 6:15 on the dot as usual. It is now 9:27 and I have already taught 2 periods of AP Psych, we discussed treatment for Psychological disorders and did my duty this morning. So it is now my prep period at school,A glorious 45 minutes to myself(although I have to prepare lessons and get stuff on the board and things photocopied), where I do not have to answer to anyone! After prep is over I teach 3 classes of Behavioral Science, then I spend 60 minutes on the elliptical machine at the gym(my second does of freedom for the day), then it is off to pick up Mackenize and Alex. I always arrive by 3:15( they are still taking their naps and I always wake them up) WE meet Dylan and John at Karate. Dylan's class starts at 4pm and Mr. Ganguly runs a tight ship. By 5pm we are all back at the gym for another 45 minutes. The kids always ask to go... I know I am lucky that they love the play room there! It is home by 6:00, The kids eat dinner, then bathe and are tucked in bed by 7:15. John and I normally eat by 7:30 and I pass out shortly afterwards! Mondays are the worst because there are still 4 more days of this before the weekend! How am I going to get through the week!!!!!