First Grade

Anyone that follows me on Facebook knows just how much I have been anticipating the start of school. I love my eldest child, but dear God, I can't take another full day of her attitude. My mom says it's normal...or at least it's normal in our family. I called my mom on Sunday after we made our SECOND attempt to buy Ryleigh new shoes for school. The second attempt, like the first, ended in me dragging her to the car because we could not agree on the type of shoes she was to get. She needs athletic shoes, plain and simple. And I don't want to spend more than $40 on them. Totally doable, except that on the first trip she would only look at the Lelli Kellys...an $84 pair of shoes. And why does she want the Lelli Kellys???...because they come with a play cell phone that has lipgloss in it. She knows this because she saw it on a commercial. The second trip to get shoes ended in the same manner because she only wanted the Twinkle Toes that lit up. I am not opposed to Twinkle Toes, which is obvious because she already had a pair of Twinkle Toes. They do not light up, but they do fit and so it is my firm belief that she does not need another pair. She disagrees, quite adamantly.


So, on the first day of school she got to wear her old Twinkle Toes, the ones with rhinestones missing on the toes. And to be honest, I don't think it bothered her as much as it bothered me. Mom says all kids are ungrateful and are never happy with what they get whether they get it all or they get very little. I don't know if I believe that but these arguments have left us lots of room to talk about gratefulness and the importance of it. I told her that if she shows me that she has learned how to be grateful this week we can go shoe shopping again this weekend and try again. Maybe this time at Academy where they have neither Lelli Kellys or Twinkle Toes.


At any rate, here are some great pics of her at a Girl Scout event last weekend and then first day of 1st grade.

Mexico in June

Last April my mother, in a moment of weakness, told me that she would be willing to watch my kids for three nights during the summer if Jeramy and I wanted to go somewhere alone. I immediately took to the Internet and booked two non-refundable plane tickets to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. This way, when she sobered up, she couldn't take it back. While my mother is a fantastic grandmother in so many ways, she generally only likes to be a fantastic grandmother in small doses, and preferably at my house where I am clearly in charge of changing all poopy diapers. Just to be fair, Jeramy's mom is the same way.

Of course, in order to take advantage of my parents' generous offer, we had to first drive our children 10 hours to their house and then fly out of Midland. Yes, my mom is still punishing me for being 17...for three years.

A trip to West Texas isn't all bad. First of all, I get to see my family. And then of course, there are the fried burritos from the gas station...best served at 2am after sitting under the heat lamp for minimum of 6 hours. Worth driving 10 hours for every time.

So, we headed west, Monahans bound with a one night stop in San Antonio so Jeramy and Ryleigh could ride a roller coaster at Sea World.

And then at last, Jeramy and I found ourselves sans children on an airplane, headed to Mexico. 8:30 in the morning?? Why that's bloody mary time. Layover in Houston? A couple of vodka tonics will get me through it just fine. Final leg to Mexico...white wine indeed.

Once we made it to Mexico we decided that it would just be way more fun to rent a car than to take a shuttle...and what else would two newly liberated parents do. And while were were at, we decided to ride in a style. Only a red convertible mini-cooper would do.

Once we were at the resort we had some dinner and commenced to behave like we didn't know better and imbibed an unknown amount of wine that night.

The next morning...oooooooo, the pain...what-was-I-thinking-I'm-never-drinking-again kind of pain. Room service was really the only option...room service and water....room service, water and Tylenol. And then finally, some relief. And then, we were off to the spa.

When we arrived at the hotel we booked a couple's massage and nothing, not even the hangover from hell, was going to keep us from our massage. And it was just really lovely. The best part was after the massage when my hubby and I just got to sit and stare out over the ocean and have a cup of tea together. The world sort of stopped and it was in that moment that I felt like I somewhere with my husband and only my husband.

Next on the agenda was to get two wicked sunburns. Isn't that what you're supposed to do when you go to Mexico? Mine wasn't really that bad...but only because I am a woman, which means that I am not too manly to wear sunblock. My deal husband on the other hand...burned to a crisp. However, he totally recognized his stupidity and kept his complaining to a bare minimum.

The second full day we spent driving our little red convertible to Tulum. Tulum is a group of ancient Mayan ruins that would have been sooo much fun to walk around and see, if it wasn't 251 degrees outside. But it was indeed 251 degrees outside so we took in the highlights and then went for a swim in the ocean. Once we arrived back at the hotel we took a nap and then got dressed for our final night in Mexico.

The next morning I woke up yearning for my children. We turned our little red car in, got on airplane and headed home.

I would like to thank my mom from the bottom of my heart for watching our kids, it was a much needed recharge for us. And thank you to my husband for all his hard work which made the trip possible.


And here are the pics...