Girls night

Some friends and I went to the Jason Mraz concert last night and had a great time. A girls night out was much needed and we even had a limo rented for the event. A little more costly but it sure was nice not having to worry about traffic. We all enjoyed appy's and mojitos on the ride down.

These are my beautiful neighbors/friends Stephanie, (me), Janie and Jackie. Tanya had to cancel at the last minute so we quickly invited my lovely friend Mindy who pulled off getting ready and finding a place for her two kids in about ten minutes. We picked her up later so unfortunately she didn't make it into the photo.

The concert was fantastic and we had a lot of fun. Our tickets were on the floor, which gave us all a good laugh as the 'floor crowd' is a lot younger than those in the seats. We all felt very old but didn't let that damper our spirits. Being on the floor where everyone is pushing and shoving for space is a really great place to discover your mean streak, something I probably would have been much more afraid of when I was younger. The five of us held our ground well, even though it did take a bit of elbow jabbing.

While I was out grooving with the girls, life still goes on at home. Tony came home early to take care of things for me. He got the kids from school, got them their snacks, got Reagan to skipping, went to watch Cooper's cross country race (he beat his time by 20 seconds and moved up 20 places -wish I could have been there), went and picked up Hudson's buddy Duncan so Mindy (his Mom) could come with us, got them all dinner and happily put them to bed. Thanks Tony, I appreciate it.

FPOTM - September - coming later today.
Happy October!!

Today...

My mom is spending one week of respite in a home and today Taggart and I visited her. We cut a rose from the garden to take with us and Tag was excited to give it to her. I was hoping to take a photo of the two of them together but unfortunately, Mom wasn't very happy today about being where she was, so that didn't happen. Watching your parents age is a very tough thing.

On a happier note, Hudson had his first cross country race today. It was raining, windy and freezing cold but Hudson was really excited. He did great and came in 21st place. The first 20 get ribbons so he was a bit bummed out about that but not discouraged. He said that next week, all he has to do is pass one more person. I was proud of him. Not a great photo. I was trying to keep my camera dry by hiding it in my coat and then all of a sudden he was in front of me and I hardly had time to turn it on, never mind focus. I'll do better next week too.

Mr. Independence

He has been able to ride it for a while now but getting started always required some help. I think he was just a bit sick of the whole thing because when ever I asked him to go out and practice his answer was always 'no'.

Until today.

He just got it today and there was no stopping him. Riding all day long. His helmet became a fairly permanent fixture on his head, much like Reagan's goggles during pool season.

I think he was feeling some serious independence out there today.

Wait to go, little man!

Hot, tired, and proud

Cooper's first cross country race in middle school.


Grade 6, 7, and 8 all run together.

Cooper looked really, really little.

It was hot.

We had to wait a long time.

Tag and Hudosn were hot and bored.


Cooper did awesome.


#98 out of 200 kids.


Pretty good considering he was racing against kids who were literally almost twice his size.


I was proud.


So was he.

I've fallen....

...off the edge of the blogging world. I'm not really sure why. My camera has also not seen much action lately. I guess it's just all the September crazies of everything starting up again.

Reagan had her first art lesson today. Both Cooper and Hudson have joined their cross country teams and Cooper's first race is tomorrow. Reagan starts skipping tomorrow and Tag is full on into kindergarten. Everyone seems to be happy in their new places so I guess all is well.

As for me, I finally started the book club that I have wanted to be a part of for some time now. We held our first meeting last night here at our place. I'm really excited about it, I think that our group of girls is a good one and will provide some good conversations. Here are the party favors I made for my guests.

I'm climbing back up onto that edge, I can feel my grip getting stronger. See you all soon.

This gave me goosebumps

Do you ever hear a song that literally gives you shivers? I do ever so often. Usually it's the lyrics that hit home in some way or another that does it but with this one it's the passion in these two guys and, of course, the great music.

Reagan listens to this song by Taylor Swift daily and she knows all the words, she's becoming quite the luttle music fan, and I loved hearing the song done in a new way.

(scroll down to turn off my music before playing the video)

First day jitters

Lots of butterflies this week. They seemed to come at different times for different kids but they all had them (well, Tag, not really - his might come next week when he actually starts school).

Cooper was nervous about starting middle school - would he be in the class that he wanted, all that stuff. Once he got through yesterday and discovered that 'his school rocks', he was all good and actually wouldn't' stop talking about it.

Hudson was all good yesterday morning until after school when he was given his final class assignment and discovered he only had one friend and all the others were in the other class. "One is better than none", I said and he soon recovered. This morning he was feeling good and I even got a smile and a high five as he went to his new class.

Reagan - smiles and happy even when she discovered some of her friends weren't in her class. Her go-with-the-flow attitude makes her life (and mine) easier in times like this.

After school snack yesterday around the table was a good one with lots of conversations. About what was bad and what was good. Encouraging words going back and forth between the kids as they talked about their concerns. I provided the tasty treats and just tried to listen. Here's to a great year for all of us.

My traditional first day of school photos still haven't happened. With Cooper leaving half hour before everyone and Tag still not officially being at school we just didn't make it happen. It will though, even if it has to be staged on a Saturday afternoon.