getting ready

School starts in exactly one week from this morning! Normally I am bursting with joy and excitement and gleefully joining in with the TV commercials that sing "It's the most wonderful time of the year." This year is different. Brayden will now be joining Kaitlynn at school which leaves me home alone all by myself. At first I was overjoyed at the prospect of showering for more than two minutes (and actually getting to take the time to shave my legs in said shower) and the the thoughts of grocery shopping all by myself made me almost giddy with anticipation, but now the time is near and I am starting to panic! My sense of self is defined as mommy. Sad I know- but somehow in the past 8 years, I lost a sense of who I am. Oprah always talks about finding your bliss, but I don't have any idea what my bliss is! I need to quickly figure out the answer to that question because I have been having a recurring nightmare where I am sitting home alone watching TV all day and eating- a lot! Needless to say, I need to "find my bliss," or I will end up gaining a hundred pounds and turning into a hermit! Any suggestions!?

So with school starting we have been busy getting the kids ready and organized. Last week I was tired of Kaitlynn's room looking as though a hurricane had blown through it, and fighting with her to clean it up. I sent her outside to play and then I got to work. I went through everything and just threw it all out! I bagged it up and took it straight down to the curb for the garbage man. She was horrified, but now has a spotlessly clean room with plenty of space for new school clothes. It's too bad that she and I can't agree on appropriate new school clothes so with one week to go she has only one new dress. Kaity wants halter tops with sparkles and I want plaid skirts and hair bows. It looks like we will have to do some major compromising this week or she will be headed to the third grade looking like an orphan in worn out clothes. Good thing that Brayden has zero fashion sense. He would go to school in just his boxers if I would let him. He proudly put on his backpack and new shoes this morning and told me he was "ready to go to my kindergarten!" He was quite disappointed when I told him it wasn't the right day and that next week he has to put clothes on before he puts on his backpack. To be continued...