Carissa is going to be a senior in high school this year. This summer she had senior pictures taken. We had to purchase a car for her because we are requiring that she do Dual Enrollment at Valencia and then realized she needed a way to get there. See, this is funny because we want to save money on college, yet buying a car clearly defeats that purpose, right? Have you seen that commercial where the father hands the keys to his daughter, a 5 year old in the driver's seat? That's what it feels like right now with Carissa. I know that's not surprising.
Everything seems to be going so fast. I know that's not surprising either. It's rather cliche, I guess
When someone first becomes a parent, everyone who has older kids tells the new parents "Don't blink! They'll grow up before you know it!" The new parents smile politely, promise to take pictures and videos and just wallow in the joy that is the new bundle. Then time starts to pass. The parents blink. The baby starts Kindergarten. The parents blink again. The baby is in middle school. Blink. The baby is graduating from high school, has had a boyfriend or two, and is asserting her independence.
That's where I am now. Why did I blink? We have only one child by choice. We allowed her to skip a grade, knowing back then that we'd be giving up a year with her. Now it's time to cash in on that given-up year as she is sending off college applications and somewhat trepidatiously looking forward to starting the rest of her life.
I'm stuck between wanting her to grow up and start her life and wanting her to stay home and be my baby a little longer. I know it's no different than the feelings of any other mother who is seeing the end of her child's time at home. I remember the sleepless first two weeks of her life, every birthday party, the toothless grins and the curly hair, and times when how she looked didn't matter to her. She was just happy to be Carissa.
She still is happy to be Carissa most days, but how she looks (and often how I look) does matter. She's learned how to be more assertive since she started high school and doesn't let people walk all over her most of the time. She has learned how to communicate with her teachers by herself and has been solely responsible for her grades since 10th grade - and they are almost always better than good. She is responsible, has great friends, and makes good choices for herself. She is a rule follower, but also knows how to have fun. She loves to laugh. She's a good girl.
As much as I'd love to lock her in the house and keep her all to myself, she's ready to face the world and learn to be an adult. She's ready . . . but I don't think I am. Are parents ever ready? I don't think so.
So I'm kind of dreading this next school year. She has already started naming "lasts." This was the last band camp. This will be the last first day of school. This will be the last season she's a cheerleader. I'm sure there will be a lot more of those to come. I am sure these events and declarations of "lasts" are just setting me up for a mental breakdown 10-12 months from now.
Then I got a little touch of perspective. Some very dear friends just dropped their daughter off at college about a week ago. I listened to my friend, the mom, tell about how they spent their last night with their daughter living at home. I teared up with her as she was telling the story. She felt like she needed to tell her daughter everything before she left to be on her own. This situation is a little different than mine as this family will be on the other side of the world from their daughter (UGa and Japan). But won't Tampa feel just as far when Carissa is there and I'm here?
So as we were talking about all of the "lasts" Carissa has been mentioning, our friends gave us some good advice: cherish this last year. Try to find joy in all of these events this last year because this time next year, we'll be wishing we still had it to do over one more time. So I did approach going to the last parent night at band camp with a little different attitude. And when I take her to the last first day of school, I'll try to find some happiness in it. I haven't decided what that will be yet, but I'll think on it.
As I drove home with her tonight from the store, after having annoyed her for reacting to her driving mistakes, I tried to apply this new perspective (it was difficult). I decided to be happy that at least she wanted to spend time with me for a little while tonight.
I'm afraid to blink again because I know the next time she will have moved out and will be a college student. I'm trying to slow down my blinking to make this year last as long as possible.
In the meantime, if you are the parent of a little one, please forgive me if I tell you not to blink.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
A Lot of Memories
This month has been full of memories and reflection for me. At the end of all of this reflection, I'm happy for many reasons. First, here is what happened:
Since I was a baby, my family had been friends with the Kellam family. My dad worked with who I came to call Uncle Roy. Uncle Roy and Aunt Margaret loved all things outdoorsy. Therefore, our families would go camping and boating together quite often. My dad was always the one who wanted to be out and about, so when he'd get bored, we'd drive from Winter Park to Conway (a trip that back then felt like an eternity) to visit Uncle Roy. They'd sit and talk and maybe have a few beers and I'd entertain myself by eating kumquats off of the tree in the backyard, helping Aunt Margaret, or playing with their daughters. But I was never very far from my dad.
Well, after my dad died, my family lost touch with the Kellams. They tried very hard to stay in touch, but Mom found the memories of being with them without my dad too hard to face. So we didn't see them much any more. After years of trying to find them online, it dawned on me recently to look for the Kellam girls on Facebook. I found them. Sadly, it also brought the discovery that my Uncle Roy had passed away. It brought back many memories of campfires, Uncle Roy singing and playing the guitar, him calling me "Kimmer," and how happy he and my dad were when they were together. The only thing that made me happy was thinking that they were together in heaven, probably popping open some beer and looking down on us. Uncle Roy would have a guitar, and my dad would be tapping his foot.
The happy part of this story is that I learned something. Stay in contact with those you love, let them know that they're important to you and that you love them. You really don't know how long you'll have with them and finding out too late is awful. I wish I'd been able to go to Uncle Roy's funeral and share with his family and community how much he meant to me. And now our families are back in touch again. Mom, Carissa, and I made a trip up to Astor over the winter holidays to see Aunt Margaret and one of their daughters, Debbie. We shared a lot of memories and stories, and just laughed and enjoyed each other. And I got my dad's spaghetti sauce recipe by surprise - we hadn't seen it in 25 years as my dad always had it in his head. We had no idea he'd written it down for them! I've now made it several times. They also gave me a CD of Uncle Roy singing. It has over 200 songs on it. I love it! So for reconnecting with them, I can't be happier. I know Uncle Roy lives on in each of them.
Since I was a baby, my family had been friends with the Kellam family. My dad worked with who I came to call Uncle Roy. Uncle Roy and Aunt Margaret loved all things outdoorsy. Therefore, our families would go camping and boating together quite often. My dad was always the one who wanted to be out and about, so when he'd get bored, we'd drive from Winter Park to Conway (a trip that back then felt like an eternity) to visit Uncle Roy. They'd sit and talk and maybe have a few beers and I'd entertain myself by eating kumquats off of the tree in the backyard, helping Aunt Margaret, or playing with their daughters. But I was never very far from my dad.
Well, after my dad died, my family lost touch with the Kellams. They tried very hard to stay in touch, but Mom found the memories of being with them without my dad too hard to face. So we didn't see them much any more. After years of trying to find them online, it dawned on me recently to look for the Kellam girls on Facebook. I found them. Sadly, it also brought the discovery that my Uncle Roy had passed away. It brought back many memories of campfires, Uncle Roy singing and playing the guitar, him calling me "Kimmer," and how happy he and my dad were when they were together. The only thing that made me happy was thinking that they were together in heaven, probably popping open some beer and looking down on us. Uncle Roy would have a guitar, and my dad would be tapping his foot.
The happy part of this story is that I learned something. Stay in contact with those you love, let them know that they're important to you and that you love them. You really don't know how long you'll have with them and finding out too late is awful. I wish I'd been able to go to Uncle Roy's funeral and share with his family and community how much he meant to me. And now our families are back in touch again. Mom, Carissa, and I made a trip up to Astor over the winter holidays to see Aunt Margaret and one of their daughters, Debbie. We shared a lot of memories and stories, and just laughed and enjoyed each other. And I got my dad's spaghetti sauce recipe by surprise - we hadn't seen it in 25 years as my dad always had it in his head. We had no idea he'd written it down for them! I've now made it several times. They also gave me a CD of Uncle Roy singing. It has over 200 songs on it. I love it! So for reconnecting with them, I can't be happier. I know Uncle Roy lives on in each of them.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The Air Force Story
After posting about the incident in Firehouse Subs, someone asked me about the Air Force story that I had mentioned in the blog entry. Considering I said I would tell the story later, I guess 3 years later is a good time. This is the long version, since it is a blog.
WELL . . . when I was 18, I had decided I would go into the Air Force. I had met with a recruiter multiple times was set to go to the medical processing facility in Tampa (by bus . . . by myself!) and pass a physical. "Okay, I'm healthy," I thought. "This should be easy." He asked me if I could lift 50 pounds over my head, as this is something I'd have to do to pass the physical. I had no idea if I could, had tried on a set of weights once, and wasn't sure if I'd be able to do it.
The recruiter gave me his best "I don't want to lose a recruit speech" that went kind of like this:
Kim, when you get there, the first thing you'll have to do is fill out a medical history form. They'll threaten you with huge fines if you lie. I don't want you to lie. However, if you had some minor ailment a long time ago that doesn't ever bother you anymore, DON'T write it on the form, okay?
I said, "Okay."
Ha. Starting to see where this is going?
I got to Tampa, went in to the facility, and the first thing they did was give me a medical form. And do you know what they did? They gave us a speech about huge fines if we lied on the form. It's a government form, you know. One of questions asked if the applicant had ever had problems with his or her feet. Well, that seemed like a relatively safe question to answer truthfully: I had fallen arches when I was in 7th grade. Did I even think about what the recruiter had told me? Of course I did! I just didn't think fallen arches in 7th grade was a big deal.
The next part of the physical required that I join a group of maybe 15 other girls, all in our bra and panties, to perform various agility exercises. We walked back and forth across the floor. We hopped. We duck walked. And then they looked at my medical form closer. "Kimberly Davis?" they called.
"Yes," I returned.
"You said you have fallen arches."
Uh-oh.
"Yes. My arches fell when I was in 7th grade."
"How did you treat it?"
"With arch supports we bought from the store," I apprehensively replied. WHY was this a big deal?
"We'd like to have you perform those exercises again for us, please." (GREAT!)
I had to do them by myself, still in my bra and panties, in front of all of those other girls while 4 people who I assume were doctors closely examined my feet as I performed them. They didn't have much to say, and I continued on throughout the physical thinking it was no longer a big deal. Last thing on the list? Lift 50 pounds over my head.
Then we were separated into groups. I was in a group with maybe 5 people and everyone else was in the other group. Did this set off any bells in my head? No. We were sent in different directions. When my name was called, I went into a small office where a man said, "Please sit down, Miss Davis."
I sat.
"You've been disqualified" were the next words out of his mouth.
"Excuse me?" I was shocked! It's only now, 20+ years later, that I realize that I should have seen the signs and expected this news. I honestly thought I was getting ready to go life some weights!
"You have abnormally low arches in your feet and have been disqualified," he responded.
The man told me that for every 1 man that wants to go in the Air Force, there are 5 women. So they're stricter with the qualifications for the women. (Isn't that discrimination?) I asked if a man with arches like mine would be allowed in, and was informed, "Yes." I was welcome to apply for a waiver, and if it was accepted, I could still go in the Air Force. Well, to make a long story a little shorter, I applied for the waiver, was declined, and applied again with xrays and a note from an orthopedic doctor saying I'd be fine. It was also declined. Therefore, there was no military career for me.
If I had gone in, I never would have met Steve and there never would have been a Carissa. I think it worked out just fine. =)
WELL . . . when I was 18, I had decided I would go into the Air Force. I had met with a recruiter multiple times was set to go to the medical processing facility in Tampa (by bus . . . by myself!) and pass a physical. "Okay, I'm healthy," I thought. "This should be easy." He asked me if I could lift 50 pounds over my head, as this is something I'd have to do to pass the physical. I had no idea if I could, had tried on a set of weights once, and wasn't sure if I'd be able to do it.
The recruiter gave me his best "I don't want to lose a recruit speech" that went kind of like this:
Kim, when you get there, the first thing you'll have to do is fill out a medical history form. They'll threaten you with huge fines if you lie. I don't want you to lie. However, if you had some minor ailment a long time ago that doesn't ever bother you anymore, DON'T write it on the form, okay?
I said, "Okay."
Ha. Starting to see where this is going?
I got to Tampa, went in to the facility, and the first thing they did was give me a medical form. And do you know what they did? They gave us a speech about huge fines if we lied on the form. It's a government form, you know. One of questions asked if the applicant had ever had problems with his or her feet. Well, that seemed like a relatively safe question to answer truthfully: I had fallen arches when I was in 7th grade. Did I even think about what the recruiter had told me? Of course I did! I just didn't think fallen arches in 7th grade was a big deal.
The next part of the physical required that I join a group of maybe 15 other girls, all in our bra and panties, to perform various agility exercises. We walked back and forth across the floor. We hopped. We duck walked. And then they looked at my medical form closer. "Kimberly Davis?" they called.
"Yes," I returned.
"You said you have fallen arches."
Uh-oh.
"Yes. My arches fell when I was in 7th grade."
"How did you treat it?"
"With arch supports we bought from the store," I apprehensively replied. WHY was this a big deal?
"We'd like to have you perform those exercises again for us, please." (GREAT!)
I had to do them by myself, still in my bra and panties, in front of all of those other girls while 4 people who I assume were doctors closely examined my feet as I performed them. They didn't have much to say, and I continued on throughout the physical thinking it was no longer a big deal. Last thing on the list? Lift 50 pounds over my head.
Then we were separated into groups. I was in a group with maybe 5 people and everyone else was in the other group. Did this set off any bells in my head? No. We were sent in different directions. When my name was called, I went into a small office where a man said, "Please sit down, Miss Davis."
I sat.
"You've been disqualified" were the next words out of his mouth.
"Excuse me?" I was shocked! It's only now, 20+ years later, that I realize that I should have seen the signs and expected this news. I honestly thought I was getting ready to go life some weights!
"You have abnormally low arches in your feet and have been disqualified," he responded.
The man told me that for every 1 man that wants to go in the Air Force, there are 5 women. So they're stricter with the qualifications for the women. (Isn't that discrimination?) I asked if a man with arches like mine would be allowed in, and was informed, "Yes." I was welcome to apply for a waiver, and if it was accepted, I could still go in the Air Force. Well, to make a long story a little shorter, I applied for the waiver, was declined, and applied again with xrays and a note from an orthopedic doctor saying I'd be fine. It was also declined. Therefore, there was no military career for me.
If I had gone in, I never would have met Steve and there never would have been a Carissa. I think it worked out just fine. =)
Some oldies but goodies
I know I haven't posted since God's 8th birthday. However, I am transferring stuff from my MySpace blog over to here, and my goal is to start blogging again. My cousin Darla and my friend Lisa, I think, are my inspiration. I will try not to only post about cheer! =)
Here is an old post about a guy who approached me in Firehouse that still cracks me up. This is from August 14, 2007:
Here is what happened to me tonight, in play form (just for Jenny):
[I enter Firehouse subs and order a sub - regular turkey, no onions or mustard. While waiting for above mentioned sub, an older black gentlemen sitting in a chair starts to speak to me]
Man: Excuse me, young lady. I am recruiting people for the army. If you're interested, I could have you signed up by the time we are done waiting here.
Me: Excuse me? [with a slight tone of disbelief] ME sign up for the ARMY?
Man: Yes, that's right. I could sign you up and take you away from all of this miserable heat.
Me: So I could go be in the heat "over there?" No, thank you.
Man: What if I raised my right hand a promised you wouldn't have to go "over there?"
Me: No, thank you. I have a family.
[Meanwhile I'm thinking, "ARE YOU NUTS?" Plus, "Am I not too old for the army?" I decided not to ask, as this would just prolong this bizarre conversation further]
[At this point, I start thinking about the conversation I had with my dad when I was about 8. He told me if I was ever going to go in the service, I shouldn't go in the Army because I'd have to crawl around in the jungle with bugs. I shouldn't go in the Marines, because that's just stupid. I shouldn't go in the Navy because I'd have to sleep with someone's feet in my face. He advised me to go into the Air Force (FYI - Something I did attempt later in life - but was rejected - I'll tell that story another time). I contemplated telling this gentleman that, but decided instead to smile politely and hope he dropped the subject. No such luck.]
Man: Well, I've been over there twice. And I've come back.
Me: That's good.
Counter person: Will? Your order is ready.
[older gentleman gets up, gets his sub and walks out without saying any more]
I certainly hope I wasn't rude. I didn't mean to be. It's just the very LAST thing I ever expected to be confronted with in Firehouse Subs. Then I started thinking what possessed him to talk to me and what I should have said. I certainly don't look 18 anymore, and I would like to think I don't look like I need a steady job. Then I started to think that I should have said, "At this point in my life, the last thing I need is to go in the Army. I have a loving family, my master's degree, and a full time job. That would have told him I wasn't interested AND that I was too old and gainfully employed.
Hmmm. I'll have to file this one under "Weird Occurences." What do you think?
Here is an old post about a guy who approached me in Firehouse that still cracks me up. This is from August 14, 2007:
Here is what happened to me tonight, in play form (just for Jenny):
[I enter Firehouse subs and order a sub - regular turkey, no onions or mustard. While waiting for above mentioned sub, an older black gentlemen sitting in a chair starts to speak to me]
Man: Excuse me, young lady. I am recruiting people for the army. If you're interested, I could have you signed up by the time we are done waiting here.
Me: Excuse me? [with a slight tone of disbelief] ME sign up for the ARMY?
Man: Yes, that's right. I could sign you up and take you away from all of this miserable heat.
Me: So I could go be in the heat "over there?" No, thank you.
Man: What if I raised my right hand a promised you wouldn't have to go "over there?"
Me: No, thank you. I have a family.
[Meanwhile I'm thinking, "ARE YOU NUTS?" Plus, "Am I not too old for the army?" I decided not to ask, as this would just prolong this bizarre conversation further]
[At this point, I start thinking about the conversation I had with my dad when I was about 8. He told me if I was ever going to go in the service, I shouldn't go in the Army because I'd have to crawl around in the jungle with bugs. I shouldn't go in the Marines, because that's just stupid. I shouldn't go in the Navy because I'd have to sleep with someone's feet in my face. He advised me to go into the Air Force (FYI - Something I did attempt later in life - but was rejected - I'll tell that story another time). I contemplated telling this gentleman that, but decided instead to smile politely and hope he dropped the subject. No such luck.]
Man: Well, I've been over there twice. And I've come back.
Me: That's good.
Counter person: Will? Your order is ready.
[older gentleman gets up, gets his sub and walks out without saying any more]
I certainly hope I wasn't rude. I didn't mean to be. It's just the very LAST thing I ever expected to be confronted with in Firehouse Subs. Then I started thinking what possessed him to talk to me and what I should have said. I certainly don't look 18 anymore, and I would like to think I don't look like I need a steady job. Then I started to think that I should have said, "At this point in my life, the last thing I need is to go in the Army. I have a loving family, my master's degree, and a full time job. That would have told him I wasn't interested AND that I was too old and gainfully employed.
Hmmm. I'll have to file this one under "Weird Occurences." What do you think?
Monday, March 09, 2009
Update!
Wow! Again it's been forever since I've posted. The updates are as follows:
1. We closed on the house on January 23! This was both exciting and scary, as we haven't had a mortgage in 4 years. However, this also entitles us to take advantage of Obama's stimulus plan for new homebuyers! Yay, us! Even though we've owned a home before, it is more than 3 years ago. That makes us eligible for the tax credit.
2. Carissa celebrated her 14th birthday on February 7. This was also the day that we moved into the house. She and several of her closest friends had dessert fondue at The Melting Pot and then a few of her friends came back to spend the night. It was an exhausting day, but I think she had fun. Next year she'll get her driver's permit! Yikes!
3. The house is coming along nicely. We still have some work to do at Ed/Carey's house, though. We have done a lot of the minor repairs that were needed at the new house, taken advantage of the home warranty the sellers included (enough that it has already paid for itself: septic pumping, fixing the stove top, and fixing the garage door!), painted, decorated, and starting placing pottery on plant shelves. Steve has also done a lot of landscaping and worked to get the lawn looking nice.
4. Cheer is moving right along. Carissa's team did amazing at nationals in Atlanta (3rd place) in a division with tough competition. They definitely made a name for themselves. This is the first time a team of Carissa's has been even close to getting a medal. She's quite proud and should be. Then last weekend in Tampa there was a competition that had some stiff competition, too. Her team pulled off a first place victory and were awarded medals and jackets. The jackets are pretty darn nice, too! There are two competitions left this year - both in Orlando. One is the weekend of 3/21 and the other is Easter weekend in April.
5. Band is also winding down. Carissa's concert band just had district assessments and got straight "excellent" ratings. The highest is superior, but they were more than thrilled with the excellent ratings because they were afraid they'd get "good." The pieces they played were difficult, I guess. Carissa had a short solo, which is pretty cool!
6. Steve will be having shoulder surgery on 3/26. He has a SLAP tear, which is basically a rotator cuff injury: A SLAP tear is an injury to a part of the shoulder joint called the labrum. The shoulder joint is a ball and socket joint, similar to the hip; however, the socket of the shoulder joint is extremely shallow, and thus inherently unstable. To compensate for the shallow socket, the shoulder joint has a cuff of cartilage called a labrum that forms a cup for the end of the arm bone (humerus) to move within. He is having this surgery over spring break to allow himself some time to heal. A friend of mine at work had this same surgery and also had to have follow-up physical therapy. We are expecting the same for Steve.
I think that's it for now. I've got to take some new pictures of the house to share. I have a few on my facebook, and so does Steve. If you have an account, go check them out!
1. We closed on the house on January 23! This was both exciting and scary, as we haven't had a mortgage in 4 years. However, this also entitles us to take advantage of Obama's stimulus plan for new homebuyers! Yay, us! Even though we've owned a home before, it is more than 3 years ago. That makes us eligible for the tax credit.
2. Carissa celebrated her 14th birthday on February 7. This was also the day that we moved into the house. She and several of her closest friends had dessert fondue at The Melting Pot and then a few of her friends came back to spend the night. It was an exhausting day, but I think she had fun. Next year she'll get her driver's permit! Yikes!
3. The house is coming along nicely. We still have some work to do at Ed/Carey's house, though. We have done a lot of the minor repairs that were needed at the new house, taken advantage of the home warranty the sellers included (enough that it has already paid for itself: septic pumping, fixing the stove top, and fixing the garage door!), painted, decorated, and starting placing pottery on plant shelves. Steve has also done a lot of landscaping and worked to get the lawn looking nice.
4. Cheer is moving right along. Carissa's team did amazing at nationals in Atlanta (3rd place) in a division with tough competition. They definitely made a name for themselves. This is the first time a team of Carissa's has been even close to getting a medal. She's quite proud and should be. Then last weekend in Tampa there was a competition that had some stiff competition, too. Her team pulled off a first place victory and were awarded medals and jackets. The jackets are pretty darn nice, too! There are two competitions left this year - both in Orlando. One is the weekend of 3/21 and the other is Easter weekend in April.
5. Band is also winding down. Carissa's concert band just had district assessments and got straight "excellent" ratings. The highest is superior, but they were more than thrilled with the excellent ratings because they were afraid they'd get "good." The pieces they played were difficult, I guess. Carissa had a short solo, which is pretty cool!
6. Steve will be having shoulder surgery on 3/26. He has a SLAP tear, which is basically a rotator cuff injury: A SLAP tear is an injury to a part of the shoulder joint called the labrum. The shoulder joint is a ball and socket joint, similar to the hip; however, the socket of the shoulder joint is extremely shallow, and thus inherently unstable. To compensate for the shallow socket, the shoulder joint has a cuff of cartilage called a labrum that forms a cup for the end of the arm bone (humerus) to move within. He is having this surgery over spring break to allow himself some time to heal. A friend of mine at work had this same surgery and also had to have follow-up physical therapy. We are expecting the same for Steve.
I think that's it for now. I've got to take some new pictures of the house to share. I have a few on my facebook, and so does Steve. If you have an account, go check them out!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
A New House
Well, I guess it all started this past summer when Ed said they'd officially be coming back to the states by July '09. He said for us to start looking for a house in November. So we did. I kind of half-heartedly started looking and was really only looking for short sale properties because those take longer to close. Then I was searching MLS and found a property that was really nice. It's smaller than we'd been looking for, but it looked very spacious. Plus it had all of the appliances, new roof, new a/c, new tiled floors, new cabinets and granite counters, new paint inside and out, and new sod. So I asked to look at it. I loved it. Steve also loved it and we made an offer. It was accepted this week! Yay! I had no idea we'd find something so fast. Here are some pictures:
Front of house:
Living room (taken from back of house toward front door):
Kitchen:
Living room from front of house toward back:
Front of house:
Living room (taken from back of house toward front door):
Kitchen:
Living room from front of house toward back:
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Hmmm. It's been a while.
Wow. I just realized tonight that it's been almost 3 months since I've posted anything! Well, a lot has happened.
Band: Carissa's first marching band season has ended. They went to two different competitions (1st place in division, 4th place overall in one and 6th place in division in the other) and district MPA assessments (where they got a superior). There were numerous football games on Friday nights (two of which were accompanied by a downpour - homecoming and senior night. We can analyze the hilarity of the homecoming queen/court and rain at a later date. The other development regarding band is the new boyfriend, Connor. I'll post his picture later, but if you can look at my myspace or facebook, it's on there in the band photos. He seems to be a nice kid, although neither Steve nor I have actually met the kid yet. Steve has appropriately threatened our kid with the fact that if he isn't introduced to Connor the next time we're all in the same vicinity, he will do whatever he can to embarrass her! haha! He's such a good dad!
Cheer: the competition season is just beginning on Dec 6. I'm sure there will be lots of news to post then. However, Carissa is on a team where she's not flying this year. She loves that she isn't and doesn't miss it at all. She's a side base and feels she's much better at that than at flying. She's also still working on the tumbling.
School: With band and cheer occupying most of her time after school, Carissa really had to work this grading period in school to keep her grades up. This is probably the first time in her life that she actually had to work for those straight As. Yes, that's right. Another grading period of straight As and all honors classes. Including Honors Geometry. She clearly does not take after her mother.
Steve: Steve just did a pottery show a few weeks ago. It was kind of in two parts - one part on Saturday at a small church, the other part the following Monday in his classroom. It was quite a successful sale. He has also been selling stuff online in his etsy website. That's pretty exciting. As for teaching, he's hoping this will be his last year at this school. He's pretty tired of this population of kids and is ready for something closer to home, too.
Kim: I am still at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and have been promoted to Senior Editor. I am still working on grade 2 Reading books and right now we're trying to meet deadlines for Texas. We have been told there will be layoffs in the next few weeks. This is very scary as my back-up plan has always been to go back to the classroom if I lost my job here. However, there really aren't any teaching positions that I could just walk back into right now either. Plus we have to buy a house soon. That brings me to . . .
The house update: The Storins are officially coming back this year. They've started looking for a job for Ed back in Florida. We are planning on starting to look for a house in Jan/Feb and hope to move around March. We'll see how that goes. We are planning on staying on the west side of town to keep Carissa in this high school district. Our plan had always been to move back to the east side of town, but that was back when we were thinking we'd only be in this house for 2 years. That wouldn't have been that long away from those school friends. However, we've been here almost 5 years now and she feels she knows these friends over here much better than the friends she had in 5th grade. So we're going to stay over here.
Well, that's it for now. Mom is coming over tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner. My brother and sister-in-law are in NY and Ryan and Casey are spending the day with their mother. I'll post some pictures soon.
Band: Carissa's first marching band season has ended. They went to two different competitions (1st place in division, 4th place overall in one and 6th place in division in the other) and district MPA assessments (where they got a superior). There were numerous football games on Friday nights (two of which were accompanied by a downpour - homecoming and senior night. We can analyze the hilarity of the homecoming queen/court and rain at a later date. The other development regarding band is the new boyfriend, Connor. I'll post his picture later, but if you can look at my myspace or facebook, it's on there in the band photos. He seems to be a nice kid, although neither Steve nor I have actually met the kid yet. Steve has appropriately threatened our kid with the fact that if he isn't introduced to Connor the next time we're all in the same vicinity, he will do whatever he can to embarrass her! haha! He's such a good dad!
Cheer: the competition season is just beginning on Dec 6. I'm sure there will be lots of news to post then. However, Carissa is on a team where she's not flying this year. She loves that she isn't and doesn't miss it at all. She's a side base and feels she's much better at that than at flying. She's also still working on the tumbling.
School: With band and cheer occupying most of her time after school, Carissa really had to work this grading period in school to keep her grades up. This is probably the first time in her life that she actually had to work for those straight As. Yes, that's right. Another grading period of straight As and all honors classes. Including Honors Geometry. She clearly does not take after her mother.
Steve: Steve just did a pottery show a few weeks ago. It was kind of in two parts - one part on Saturday at a small church, the other part the following Monday in his classroom. It was quite a successful sale. He has also been selling stuff online in his etsy website. That's pretty exciting. As for teaching, he's hoping this will be his last year at this school. He's pretty tired of this population of kids and is ready for something closer to home, too.
Kim: I am still at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and have been promoted to Senior Editor. I am still working on grade 2 Reading books and right now we're trying to meet deadlines for Texas. We have been told there will be layoffs in the next few weeks. This is very scary as my back-up plan has always been to go back to the classroom if I lost my job here. However, there really aren't any teaching positions that I could just walk back into right now either. Plus we have to buy a house soon. That brings me to . . .
The house update: The Storins are officially coming back this year. They've started looking for a job for Ed back in Florida. We are planning on starting to look for a house in Jan/Feb and hope to move around March. We'll see how that goes. We are planning on staying on the west side of town to keep Carissa in this high school district. Our plan had always been to move back to the east side of town, but that was back when we were thinking we'd only be in this house for 2 years. That wouldn't have been that long away from those school friends. However, we've been here almost 5 years now and she feels she knows these friends over here much better than the friends she had in 5th grade. So we're going to stay over here.
Well, that's it for now. Mom is coming over tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner. My brother and sister-in-law are in NY and Ryan and Casey are spending the day with their mother. I'll post some pictures soon.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Jonas Brothers!
Carissa and her friends went to the Jonas Brothers concert in Tampa last night! This was the concert they had won tickets and a meet-n-greet from the video contest they had entered. They were sooo excited! Sarah's mom drove the girls to be at Will Call by 5. They were nervous that they wouldn't make it up there in time, but they did. Carissa's favorite Jonas Brother is Joe, who is the one in the picture with his arm around her. I had found a live online blog and was following the concert from home. At one point, before the Jonas Brothers had come out, the blogger mentioned that everyone was doing the wave. I sent Carissa a text and asked if she was also doing the wave. She said she had been, and she was a little freaked out that I knew that. After the concert when she called, I also asked her about glow sticks and the foam they shot out. She said, "HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS STUFF??!!" So I told her. She also saw good friend Kellie at the concert, who was there with her dad. All in all a great night. They got home about 1 am and she had to go to school today. She woke herself up at 6:30 to finish homework and get ready for school today. It should be a VERY long day because she'll have a band rehearse-a-thon tonight from 5-9 pm!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Back to Brown
Well, I got tired of having my hair dyed red. I loved the red color and how it looked on me, I just got tired of the upkeep. So I went back to brown this weekend. It's MUCH darker than it is naturally, but I'm sure it will fade. Here's what it looks like now:
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Good God. High School.
So . . . Steve took Carissa to get her new ID for high school. She feels she looks "fake tan." Whatever. The next day I took her back to pick up her schedule and get her locker. Lockers aren't available to kids around here until they are in high school. They are a little different than the ones we had in school:
We had three rows of small lockers, of which I'd never have been able to reach the top. Ours were brown, too. Both at Tuskawilla Middle AND Lake Howell. Carissa's school has two rows of lockers that are a little larger. I think she could probably crawl into it. They are tan. They look like this (they don't even have writing or scratched paint like the ones I had):
Anyway . . . we picked up her schedule on Friday. This took all of about 30 seconds. I handed it to her and she ran off to compare with friends before I even got a chance to look at it. So I meandered over to the seemingly endless line for lockers. With no exaggeration, there were easily 1000 people in there waiting for lockers. Everyone brought their whole fam damily to pick up a schedule and get a locker! It wasn't "Meet the Teacher" or anything. Just pick up a piece of paper, get a locker, leave. Well, an HOUR later she got her locker. It's on the bottom (all freshman have lockers on the bottom) and right next to her good friend Allison. She got to pick which hall her locker was in so that it's close to her classes, etc. I thought that was a smart idea. We have also bought stuff to decorate the inside of her locker.
Her classes this year are: Honors English, Band, Honors World History, Honors Geometry, Spanish, and Honors Biology. She'll be a busy kid with marching band and all-star cheer! =)
She's still excited and a little less nervous. Meet the Teacher is on Thursday, school starts on the 18th. It all brings back a lot of memories and is quite surreal. At least she isn't going to Lake Howell. That would be WAY too bizarre!
We had three rows of small lockers, of which I'd never have been able to reach the top. Ours were brown, too. Both at Tuskawilla Middle AND Lake Howell. Carissa's school has two rows of lockers that are a little larger. I think she could probably crawl into it. They are tan. They look like this (they don't even have writing or scratched paint like the ones I had):
Anyway . . . we picked up her schedule on Friday. This took all of about 30 seconds. I handed it to her and she ran off to compare with friends before I even got a chance to look at it. So I meandered over to the seemingly endless line for lockers. With no exaggeration, there were easily 1000 people in there waiting for lockers. Everyone brought their whole fam damily to pick up a schedule and get a locker! It wasn't "Meet the Teacher" or anything. Just pick up a piece of paper, get a locker, leave. Well, an HOUR later she got her locker. It's on the bottom (all freshman have lockers on the bottom) and right next to her good friend Allison. She got to pick which hall her locker was in so that it's close to her classes, etc. I thought that was a smart idea. We have also bought stuff to decorate the inside of her locker.
Her classes this year are: Honors English, Band, Honors World History, Honors Geometry, Spanish, and Honors Biology. She'll be a busy kid with marching band and all-star cheer! =)
She's still excited and a little less nervous. Meet the Teacher is on Thursday, school starts on the 18th. It all brings back a lot of memories and is quite surreal. At least she isn't going to Lake Howell. That would be WAY too bizarre!
Friday, August 01, 2008
More summer stuff and . . . BAND CAMP!
Well, it's been a busy month! Carissa had a cheer camp and band camp over the past two weeks. Okay, go ahead and say it, "One time . . . in band camp . . ." Now we can move on:
Last week was pre-camp for band. She went to the high school each day for a few hours and learned all of the basics of marching. Two of those days, she went to cheer choreography instead. She is very happy with her new cheer routine. It's fun and she gets to be front and center for the dance.
Then this week she went away to Leesburg for band camp. She left on Monday at 6 am and we had to go pick her up Friday. It was the first time she'd been away that long without one of us. Unlike cheer trips, the band was pretty diligent about keeping the kids safe and out of trouble. Boys and girls were on separate floors, they did bed checks, taped doors, etc. She learned a lot this week. She had been sick with allergies all week, which affected how much fun she had. They were outside all morning and she said it was incredibly hot. They had indoor music practice all afternoon, then fun activities at night. She made many new friends and says now that it's over she realizes it was fun.
The most surreal moment was watching/hearing the band practicing and knowing it wasn't part of my activities, but part of my daughter's. Ugh. They did well and learned a lot. They have almost their whole show!
So, loyal blog readers, you'll have something new to read about other than cheer and new pictures to see this year! Yay!
Last week was pre-camp for band. She went to the high school each day for a few hours and learned all of the basics of marching. Two of those days, she went to cheer choreography instead. She is very happy with her new cheer routine. It's fun and she gets to be front and center for the dance.
Then this week she went away to Leesburg for band camp. She left on Monday at 6 am and we had to go pick her up Friday. It was the first time she'd been away that long without one of us. Unlike cheer trips, the band was pretty diligent about keeping the kids safe and out of trouble. Boys and girls were on separate floors, they did bed checks, taped doors, etc. She learned a lot this week. She had been sick with allergies all week, which affected how much fun she had. They were outside all morning and she said it was incredibly hot. They had indoor music practice all afternoon, then fun activities at night. She made many new friends and says now that it's over she realizes it was fun.
The most surreal moment was watching/hearing the band practicing and knowing it wasn't part of my activities, but part of my daughter's. Ugh. They did well and learned a lot. They have almost their whole show!
So, loyal blog readers, you'll have something new to read about other than cheer and new pictures to see this year! Yay!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Bye, Spalding!
You may or may not know that Steve has owned snakes in the past. It all started when I working at Rollins' summer camp and my friend Bill purchased a ball python for the class he was teaching. Our principal wouldn't let him keep it, so Steve took it. He named him Spalding (he IS a ball python after all) and then purchased two more snakes after that. Those other two snakes have since slinked off to the big snake pit in the sky, but Spalding has hung on. Recently Spalding decided a meal was a bit too large - but he didn't decide this until after he had already eaten it. Since he had already eaten it, we thought all was fine . . . until the once eaten meal suddenly started to stink up the garage. It was horrible. Horrible. Steve declared he was done with reptiles. He found a veterinarian that wanted to take him and this week Spalding went to a new home. I'm actually a little sad, but not too sad.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Video Contest Runner-Up!
Well, the exciting news for the summer is that Carissa and her friends entered an amazing video in a video contest! They submitted the video for Breakfast Breaks (kind of like Lunchables, but for breakfast) to win a chance to be in a video with the Jonas Brothers. Well, they didn't win, but they got one of 4 runner-up places! They get tickets to any concert and some other miscellaneous stuff. They will be going to a concert in Tampa on Sept 4 and get a meet-and-greet with the Jonas Brothers! They are VERY excited! Here is a link to the video, if you haven't seen it already . . .
Click here
Click here
Summer Update
I realized today that I haven't blogged anything in a while. Not much is going on, actually. Summer has come, along with the oppressive heat, and I'm slightly irritated and grumpy about the whole thing. Steve and Carissa are both off this summer. Steve usually travels over the summer which makes me feel better about having to work over the summer. When I was teaching, I still didn't take the summers off. I worked at Rollins College Summer Camp. It always seemed okay because he was working, too. Last year he only traveled (what he did for his summer job) twice, I think. Well, this year the lady he worked for decided not to do the summer institutes, so he isn't doing anything. It's killing me. Well, he IS working for a writing camp for two weeks. It's a half day program. While I'm glad it's something, it does not help me in the slightest get out of bed in the mornings. Plus, we always used his summer money as our "extra" money. Considering that we'll be buying a house soon, this would be a good year to have that extra money. Oh, well.
Carissa is busy staying up late and waking up late. What every teenager needs to do over the summer. She will have some babysitting opportunities in July and will be attending band camp and cheer camp in July, too. She is doing some summer reading. She will also be my maid on weeks that she doesn't have stuff going on and that we don't have company. She has a few random band practices in June and regular cheer practices on Mondays and Wednesdays. She's busy obsessing about the Jonas Brothers, too. She won a contest. I'll blog about that, too.
That's it from here.
Carissa is busy staying up late and waking up late. What every teenager needs to do over the summer. She will have some babysitting opportunities in July and will be attending band camp and cheer camp in July, too. She is doing some summer reading. She will also be my maid on weeks that she doesn't have stuff going on and that we don't have company. She has a few random band practices in June and regular cheer practices on Mondays and Wednesdays. She's busy obsessing about the Jonas Brothers, too. She won a contest. I'll blog about that, too.
That's it from here.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
8th Grade Dance
This past Friday was Carissa's 8th grade dance. This is a bit more of a spectacle than my 8th grade dance was. Nowadays, people treat the 8th grade dance as though it were prom. Limos, hairdos, etc. We didn't allow all of that to happen. No limo. She chose NOT to get her hair done, but I did let her get a mani/pedi. We found the dress on sale, but the shoes weren't. =) She looked great and had a good time. All of the girls met at Kelsey's house and Kelsey's mom took them to the dance at The Doubletree Hotel by Universal. Then they went to Citywalk afterwards for a little while. Here are the pics (you can click on them to make them larger):
Monday, May 26, 2008
What a BUSY time!
The end of a school year is always busy and crazy. This year seems more so! Carissa is getting ready for high school! I can't believe it. Lots of things are going on right now:
1. Orange County Public Schools has been faced with major budget cuts this year because the people of Florida voted for a property tax amendment that would save them, on average, $200 per year. These dolts that voted for it wouldn't listen to the people who were warning of education and public safety cuts because our "fabulous" governor, Charlie Crist, promised he wouldn't cut funds from these areas. Well, guess what? He did. So Orange County Schools had to cut $70 million this year. One of the ways they are saving money is to switch middle school and high school start times. The busing issues this switch will eliminate will save an estimated $6 million dollars. It is hotly contested in the community and there have been student walkouts from class at various high schools and parent protests. The next school board meeting is Tuesday the 27th. Hopefully it will come to the table for discussion again and will be either postponed for further study or eliminated altogether.
2. Carissa had to register for high school classes! She chose all honors classes for her core classes, and band and Spanish. It will be a rigorous schedule for her, considering that she'll also have marching band practice and all-star cheer.
3. Awards ceremonies and band performances galore! She had her end of the year concert last week, and will perform at the 8th grade awards ceremony on Tues. Since she is also an honoree at the awards ceremony, we'll see how that works. She made it through middle school with only 1 B on a report card. That was the first time she'd EVER gotten a B on a report card, and it didn't happen until this past report card. She was very disappointed because she was trying to get straight As throughout this year so she'd get honored as such at the awards ceremony.
4. Her 8th grade dance will be this coming Friday, the 30th. She is going with Wesley to the dance, but just as friends. There are several other friends going, too. We have the dress and shoes (I'll post pictures) and will be making an appt for her hair. The theme is "Hollywood." I'm not sure she'll look very Hollywood, but she's happy with her choices.
5. Field Day - Field Day for the 8th graders was an all-day outdoor event. Her team won. I'm not sure what that means or how it was determined. All she participated in was a very poorly organized Three Legged Race in which she didn't win. She said they ran out of rope and had to tie her shoelaces to her partner's shoelaces. She had fun, which is what is important I guess.
So the last day of school is June 4, I think. She'll be babysitting over the summer, attending cheer practices, band practices, band camp, cheer camp, and then hanging around. Steve isn't traveling this summer, so he'll be there to shuttle her around, I guess. I'll keep you posted!
1. Orange County Public Schools has been faced with major budget cuts this year because the people of Florida voted for a property tax amendment that would save them, on average, $200 per year. These dolts that voted for it wouldn't listen to the people who were warning of education and public safety cuts because our "fabulous" governor, Charlie Crist, promised he wouldn't cut funds from these areas. Well, guess what? He did. So Orange County Schools had to cut $70 million this year. One of the ways they are saving money is to switch middle school and high school start times. The busing issues this switch will eliminate will save an estimated $6 million dollars. It is hotly contested in the community and there have been student walkouts from class at various high schools and parent protests. The next school board meeting is Tuesday the 27th. Hopefully it will come to the table for discussion again and will be either postponed for further study or eliminated altogether.
2. Carissa had to register for high school classes! She chose all honors classes for her core classes, and band and Spanish. It will be a rigorous schedule for her, considering that she'll also have marching band practice and all-star cheer.
3. Awards ceremonies and band performances galore! She had her end of the year concert last week, and will perform at the 8th grade awards ceremony on Tues. Since she is also an honoree at the awards ceremony, we'll see how that works. She made it through middle school with only 1 B on a report card. That was the first time she'd EVER gotten a B on a report card, and it didn't happen until this past report card. She was very disappointed because she was trying to get straight As throughout this year so she'd get honored as such at the awards ceremony.
4. Her 8th grade dance will be this coming Friday, the 30th. She is going with Wesley to the dance, but just as friends. There are several other friends going, too. We have the dress and shoes (I'll post pictures) and will be making an appt for her hair. The theme is "Hollywood." I'm not sure she'll look very Hollywood, but she's happy with her choices.
5. Field Day - Field Day for the 8th graders was an all-day outdoor event. Her team won. I'm not sure what that means or how it was determined. All she participated in was a very poorly organized Three Legged Race in which she didn't win. She said they ran out of rope and had to tie her shoelaces to her partner's shoelaces. She had fun, which is what is important I guess.
So the last day of school is June 4, I think. She'll be babysitting over the summer, attending cheer practices, band practices, band camp, cheer camp, and then hanging around. Steve isn't traveling this summer, so he'll be there to shuttle her around, I guess. I'll keep you posted!
New Season, New Team, Same Gym
The 2007-08 cheer season came to a close and tryouts for the new 2008-09 season took place the first two weeks of May. Carissa did amazingly well! She landed her standing tuck (like a back flip from a standing position) and is doing well working on her full. I'll try to post video soon. The coaches asked her if she'd rather be on a level 5 team (the highest level) and be able to throw her advanced tumbling by NOT be a flyer, or if she'd rather be on a level 3 team and maybe fly, but not be able to throw her advanced tumbling. She thought about it for a while and decided that since they said "maybe fly" on a level 3 team, that she might end up on level 3 and not be able to fly AND not be able to throw advanced tumbling. So she chose the level 5 team. She is actually enjoying not being a flyer. She said all of her stress over the past two years has been from flying. So this year she'll be a side base on a junior 5 team. Her team name this year? The Devil Rays. Yes, I know. There is no such thing as the Devil Rays anymore. The gym did it on purpose to link them to the co-ed team, The Diamondbacks, the only other level 5 team in the gym. The link is because they call the co-ed team the D-Backs, and they'll call this team the D-Rays. They will still use all of the current gear for the Tampa Bay Rays, though. Her team is going to be focusing on tumbling this year and we're excited about the improvements Carissa will make in her tumbling. I'm proud of her for making this hard choice. I think she made the right one!
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