Zachary gets to work

Chris and I went back and forth, and while money wasn’t the issue (we had a generous benefactor the past two years), we decided we wanted Zachary to attend the school that was just down the street and has earned a great reputation over the past few years, instead of shuttling him 30-40 minutes each way, every day. We also want The Goose to start creating the kind of friendships that span elementary school, middle school, high school, and beyond. He would not be able to do that if we kept him at FLEC–once he hit high school we would either have to move to keep him in a high school with his friends, or we would have to pull him away from all of the friends he’d made over the years. We’d rather pull him away now.

Of course, that’s not to say that we won’t move before he’s out of school–in fact it would be really odd if we were still on Lake Alden for the next 10 years, but you never know. I like my home. We also have to consider Jonah. There’s no way to afford FLEC for both of them, when Jonah starts kindergarten in a few years, so he will likely start Apopka, where Zachary is now.

There are a few other, personal reasons, for the switch, but this post isn’t about me.

As for totally screwing Zachary up before he moves out on his own some day, only time will tell. I have plenty of other opportunities to mess him up major decisions to make on his behalf between now and then.

Sigh. Another rite of passage over. Next thing I know he’ll be asking for the car keys.

Viva Las Vegas! I know, really cliché, but really true! Chris and I spent 4 wonderful days in Sin City, celebrating our TENTH wedding anniversary. We planned it for a year, actually followed through, and had one of the best vacations ever. Maybe because the kids were back at home? For those of you interested in our fantastic trip, or if you just want to hear about a totally cool, new off-strip resort and see some fun photos, read on!

I will probably spend most of this post discussing a fabulous place called The M Resort. ((Of course it’s fabulous–it’s named after me )) I came across the resort while trolling the web looking for great Vegas deals. And a deal I got! We paid $74 a night (including Fri and Sat) and even though the resort tacks on a $25 resort fee per day, our deal actually gave us a $25-a-day hotel credit to be used anywhere in the hotel! Of course Chris and I had NO problem spending that!

The M is truly a beautiful place and we were thrilled to see $5 minimums at the craps table, and find that the six restaurants offered competitive pricing. I guess being 9 miles off the strip you have to make some concessions! We spent our first evening (Thursday) really just hanging out and enjoying being a) in Las Vegas and b) kidless! While Chris went to play in the 6:00 Hold ‘Em tourney, I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of two of my eFriends (who I am proud to call my friends now), Perpelina and Cajun Vegan.

We hung out at the Lobby Bar enjoying a pitcher of something very summer-ish and just chatting. I truly felt at ease with them both and was disappointed when the time came to say good-bye. ((I was on vacation, and they, unfortunately, were not.)) Believe it or not, our first night in Vegas ended pretty early (by Vegas standards). That 3-hour time difference is a bitch!

Good morning Friday and Happy 10^th Anniversary! Chris and I spent a leisurely morning reading in bed. Yes, reading in bed! No kids, no work, no nothing. We could do whatever the hell we wanted! After an über-delicious breakfast buffet we hit the pool. AND WHAT A POOL! I felt like I had just walked on to the set of a movie. Sweet cabanas in the middle of the pool, ivy-lined walls, gaming tables outside…it was pretty fantastic. We grabbed some chairs by the water, grabbed a few drinks ((Hey, we’re on vacation!)) and proceeded to do more of nothing!

Our anniversary dinner at Hugo’s Cellar in the Four Queens casino on Fremont street was amazing. Chris and I made our own surf ‘n turf. I ordered seafood, he ordered steak, and we chowed down. It was great enjoying a meal in a place where I’m not allowed to write on the table with my crayons.

We did make it to The Strip on Saturday thanks to The M’s free shuttle. Of course it dropped us at the Fashion Show mall and the Puma store was just calling my name. So was the iPod custom wrap cart and Sephora. It was definitely hot, but we certainly weren’t complaining. No humidity!

Chris also scored us a free dinner at The M’s Japanese steakhouse at the top of the resort by charming the pants off of the craps pit boss. We may not have come home with any money, but we certainly came home with some great memories!

Viva Las Vegas!!

I would love to know what goes through the mind of a strong-willed 2-year old. Jonah is that, and more. He’s crazy, smart, crafty and TWO. Here’s what you need to know about him right now:

Taking his cue from Zachary, he is now obsessed with Star Wars. (Or at least the GameCube Legos version of Star Wars.)

He looks so much like me when I was his age.

He loves daycare. Every morning has him climbing up the changing table to get dressed for school.

When told “I love you!” he will respond “ove you!” (Think “love” without the “L”)

His favorite things are butterflies and ladybugs.

He already looks up to his big brother for everything.

Daddy says, and I quote, “He’s a 2-year old terror!”

He loves music and dancing. (Hmm, I wonder where he gets that from?)

Above everything, he loves to color and write. The kid holds a pen with a perfect grip.

Books. The boy loves books. All books. I swear I read at least five books a day to him, and he sleeps with at least two books.

Jonah recognizes the colors red, blue, yellow, and green. He’s also been sorting shapes, correctly, for over 6 months.

And he’s finally a little talker. His vocabulary includes:

Mommy (of course!)
Daddy
Zachey
binky
No!
yes
Nana
Gigi
Uncle
butterfly (technically his first word)
bug
bottle
turtle
doggie
kitty
monkey
birdie
juice
please
thank you
eat
Star Wars (I’m not kidding on this one)
shoes
socks
mouse
pants
night night
moon (or “moot” as he actually calls it)
stars
birdy
plane
truck
cow
duck
two
empty
play
rocket (from Little Einsteins)
ball
football
burger
poopy
various animal noises
and more I’m sure I’m forgetting.

Finally, some of his phrases include:

“Help, mommy, now, please!”

“Ove you!” (translated as “Love you!”)

“No! No! No! No!”

“Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!”

“Da-ddy!”

“Funny!”

“All done.”

He’s saying more everyday. That’s our Little Bear right now. All the trials and tribulations of life with a 2-year old.

I know, totally lame and obvious title, but you know it’s true! I have always loved to read and from birth, both Zachary and Jonah have been surrounded by books. It seems to be working—Jonah drags books around like a security blanket, proclaiming “moose,” or “butterfly!” depending on what book he has latched on to.

Zachary was the same way—he’s always loved books and has been reading them with me from the age of 2. Now he’s in kindergarten and learning to really read, not just memorize the words. I’ll tell you this, there is nothing else quite like listening to your child read to you for the first time. Watching the reading process unfold in a child is amazing. Now I can’t find new books fast enough. Luckily, I have the internet to help in my search. If I wasn’t online, I wouldn’t have come across Frecklebox and their personalized books.

First, I don’t know who loves getting mail more, me or Zachary. When I told him he had a package in the mail he about ran me over in his attempt to get to the door. The surprise was unexpected—I didn’t tell him about the book. I think I picked a winner, because the book “Zachary Goes to the Zoo” was an instant hit. He thinks having a book with his name on every page is, and I quote, “awesome!“.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the book. It was a little more expensive than an average soft-bound book, however, being personalized on every page and not just the title page made it worth the extra expense. And I was able to add my own dedication.

The quality of the images is impressive. Very sharp and colorful. ((Even Chris mentioned this, which is surprising since he doesn’t usually notice things like this.)) There are just enough pages to hold Zachary’s interest, but not so many that he gets bored. Hiding his name within every picture for him to find just added to the fun.

I’m so happy with this book I’ve decided to get one of the Personalized coloring books for Jonah. ((Coloring is his favorite thing in the word right now.)) Maybe if I have enough of them, he’ll stop coloring on himself.

Yep, that’s right. Zachary started kindergarten today. While I’m really excited for him, I can’t help but be a little sad, too. Kindergarten actually means s-c-h-o-o-l. Which actually means he’s not a little boy anymore (sniff).

We are very fortunate that he has the opportunity to attend FLEC (Forest Lake Education Center). FLEC is a private, Christian school with an exceptional curriculum. Of course, in my biased opinion, any private curriculum has to be better than the FLA public school’s curriculum. Add to that the fact that Orange county cut $70 million from this year’s school budget, which means:

• fewer teachers;
• the non-reappointment of hundreds of annual contract teachers (translation: art, music and PE teachers);
• the cutting of programs like environmental education and united arts;

just to note a few of the highlights (or lowlights).

Then there’s the actual quality of the education public students receive. The school we are zoned for, Apopka Elementary, does not inspire much confidence in me—it is ranked #1287 out of #1818 for the state of Florida. Sure, that means there are 531 schools ranking worse—but that also means there are 1286 schools that rank better. While FLEC doesn’t list a ranking since it’s private, I’m going to make a bold assumption and assume it would be ranked MUCH higher than #1287.

Okay, I’m off my soapbox. This post is about Zachary, who is in big-kid school now. His teacher is Mrs. Schonert and he already has a friend in class—Mike and Angela’s daughter, Kai. I’m not sure exacly how many students are in his class, but it looks to be approximately 15. That’s a pretty good student/teacher equation. We’ve also heard nothing but great things about Mrs. Schonert, so we’re excited for Zachary. I can’t wait to pick him up this afternoon and hear all about his day.

If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers. -Edgar W. Howe

To read about Zachary’s week before kindergarten, check out “the Goose.”

Daycare
On Tuesday, July 1st, we sent Jonah out into the world—he started Daydreams (where Zachary has been since we moved here). There was a little fussing, however, since he’s been going with me to drop Zachary off every day, it wasn’t too bad. The nice thing is the fussing didn’t really start until after I was gone. His teacher, Miss Amber, said he cried when he realized I was gone and wasn’t coming right back in the door, but it only lasted a few minutes. On Thursday (he’s only going Tues. and Thurs. right now) he fussed when Chris left, but again only for a few minutes. All in all, I think he’s really enjoying being out of the house and having things to do. He even made brought home his first school project of finger paint and glitter
Haircut
You can’t send a kid out into the world with a mullet. This isn’t 1982. We may live in the south, but Jonah doesn’t need to look like a redneck baby. No offense to rednecks—I’m sure they don’t want a yank baby trying to carry off their fashion trademark. So, the family trotted off to the local Great Clips where we all had our hair cut.

At first, Jonah wanted nothing to do with it, but Corinne is a pro and in no time she had him perched on the ledge with a sharpie in one hand and a squirt bottle in the other. In between mirror painting and squirting himself in the face (to peals of laughter), Corinne worked her magic and transformed redneck baby into yank baby. And what a handsome guy he is! It really is amazing the difference. He went from baby to honest-to-goodness little boy in the span of 30 minutes. I can’t say that I’m sad. I think he looks more beautiful than ever!

Jonah

Jonah is getting bigger everyday. He started to do the Frankenstein walk–hands straight out and all stiff-legged. He gets about 5 or 6 steps then drops back down to his hands and knees. And why wouldn’t he? He moves like the speed of light on all fours! He’s sneaky, too. You’ve got to worry when you can’t hear him–he’s like a ninja. Much of his time is spent:

• trying to keep mommy from working;
• making his big brother laugh;
• climbing on, in, or over, anything in his path.

Right now his vocabulary consists of turtle, uh-oh, cracker, cookie, pretty and juice. These are the words I know he understands and speaks back. He definitely mimics and jabbers incessantly (he has to, to get a word in edgewise with this family.
Zachary

Zachary continues to be his wonderful 4-year-old self. His vocabulary never ceases to amaze me and we’re working on his “sight” words. He has twelve words he knows and can read (STAR WARS not included) and we’re adding more every week. It is the most amazing thing to see your child begin to read.

Zach has started at the pre-school program offered by the elementary school he might be attending in the fall. Of course I’m biased, but I think he’s way ahead of the other kids. We may be sending him to private school with his cousins Amanda and Megan–it’s sad that private school is one of the only alternatives to a good education in this country.

As you can see from the pictures, it’s not all schoolwork for Zach. He has become quite the little builder with daddy. Over the last month they’ve built a rocket and an “earth mover” from tinker toys, and a real birdhouse in the garage. Mom is even working in the garage, refinishing an old dresser.

Wildlife

With spring approaching it’s not unusual to see a variety of wildlife out my office window. The lizards are always in abundance and entertaining, but lately we’ve had some furry friends explore our yard as well. With the cat that chases birds on the roof of our garage, the raccoons that are out in the afternoon, the owl that hoots as loudly as possible at night, and a myriad of other wildlife, our yard has become quite the hot spot!

Chris’s Birthday

Chris celebrated his 38th birthday (I know, can you believe it’s 38 years??) over last weekend and this one. Last weekend Mary was in town and we had a great dinner at Vincent’s with Mary, Pam, Dave, Ivonne, Amanda, Megan, the boys and me. Tonight we’re going on a dinner cruise on the St. John’s River. I’m really looking forward to it. It should be a nice night. The weather’s cleared up nicely.
Heading into March

As we head into March, Zachary continues to love T-ball. We had opening ceremonies this morning, but they were shortened due to rain and his first game was postponed. That’s not a bad thing–the beginning teams need all the practice they can get!

Work is still keeping me and Chris busy. Thank you eCollege–I love my job!

That’s about it for the first two months of the year. Look for updates after Zachary’s first T-ball game.

Love to you all!

“Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete. If you’re alive, it isn’t.” – Richard Bach

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Can you believe a year has passed already? This time last year I was lying in a hospital bed, with my beautiful newborn by my side. Now that baby is a year old. Unbelievable! We spent a nice night at Nana’s house with all of Jonah’s local family in attendance. Jonah dove right in to his first cupcake like a pro!

He’s been putting himself to sleep at naptime and bedtime for weeks now, but until today has been sleeping in his Amby hammock or his playpen. Chris put the crib together last night and Jonah is peacefully sleeping in it right now. Of course, he had to roll over a couple of times, chat with Uniqua the turtle, and try to look out the window–but that’s just all in a day’s work when you’re 4-months old.

Maybe it’s the new tooth. That’s right   Jonah’s first tooth just poked through. You can barely feel it but it’s there. This little pokey thing through the bottom gums. Nana was the first one to feel it, which makes me feel foolish since I’m with him everyday. He’s just so darn good. No crying, no fussing, no fever. How can I worry about teething if you don’t give me any symptoms? Ok, I’m not  complaining. I’ll take the fabulous new-toothed-non-fussing infant over the alternative any day.

Right now he’s sleeping blissfully in his crib. Which is probably why I’m still awake.