Schools Back In Session

All the holiday decorations are down, the kids are finally back in school after winter break and my oldest is off to her first day of college. The morning started off a little ruff as the kids were having a hard time getting ready for their first day back after winter break, but the house is finally quiet and I feel like I can finally start the new year.

It just doesn't feel like the New Year until the kids are back in school, because everything feels the same. They have hit their tween years, so they don't like going to bed at night or getting up in the morning. It was a challenge to get them out of bed by 11:00 am. As I tried to get them out of bed, all I heard everyday is "It's Christmas break, why do I have to get out of bed early?" 11:00 am is early?

While the kids are were break, I decided it was time to clean out the closets and throw away anything I didn't need. There was too much stuff just building up that has no purpose. But, the task became complicated with the kids home. Who would have thought it would still be difficult to accomplish tasks when your children are 11 and 12 years old? They still make it difficult for me to complete something when they are home with the constant interruptions of I can't find anything to eat, the endless dishes and the messes on the kitchen counters every time you walk into the kitchen and lets not forget the constant mediating I have to do between the both of them. Something as simple as a phone call became a difficult task. Maybe I can finish what I started now the kids are finally back in school. Ahhhh..... I can finally breath and focus on the things I was trying to accomplish again.

Schools Back In Session

It is time for school to go back in session. When the end of the year is coming, it's funny how you can't wait for them to get out of school so you longer have to wake up so early in the morning. Then by the end of summer, you can't wait for them to go back to school, so you have some peace and quiet during the day. I still don't escape having a house full of kids. I am the only mom of my kids friends who works out of their home, so I have four extra kids by 7am. The bus stop is directly across the street from our house and on the way to the school. So, our house is where the kids are meeting.

Summer just seemed to fly by this summer with all the trips back and forth to North Carolina and the kids spending two weeks in North Carolina with their grandparents. But, I am so ready for them finally to go back to school. It's been a busy summer this year and the kids were at each others throats more than usual this past summer. I don't know if it is the hormones or they are both in middle school now or a little of both. They are both entering into puberty and their personalities are changing. They are only a year apart and one is a girl and one is boy, so they are both entering puberty around the same time.

It's funny to see how they are both so concerned with their appearance. My son wanted his hair dyed blond and my daughter wanted highlights. I was a little surprised he doesn't look too bad as a blond, considering his natural hair color is black. When he gets dressed, he leaves a trail of cologne behind him where ever he walks. This year he changed the style of clothing he wears slightly, he still wears the dreaded skinny jeans, but he no longer wears the goofy t-shirts and he wants to walk to school with his friends. God help me, he has two different girls he has been texting all summer and one of them he claims is his girlfriend.

Sammy changed her hairstyle slightly, she looks like a little teenager with her highlights and her bangs cut into a side swipe and pushed to the side. She now curls her hair and I find her down stairs exercising. Her and her step-father go back and forth over her clothes. I think she likes giving him a heart attack. Because, she laughs when he says something to her about her clothes. He's not ready for her to start looking like a young teen girl and says he' going to purchase a gun to chase away the boys with now that she is starting middle school this year.

It is amazing how fast they grow over the summer. It's like with all the sunshine they get running around outside, they grow with the plants and flowers. They always seem to have this big growth spurt over the summer. Adam can reach the second shelf in the cabinet to get the granola bars down. I can't reach the granola bars on the second shelf, he is taller than me now. I have to climb on the counter or get a stool to reach the second cabinet. Sammy now wears the same size shoe as me and goes into my closet to get into my high heals to walk around the house in them. Nothing ever fits them, except for shirts and their shorts by the end of summer. Their jeans get to short and too tight and they can no longer fit into the shoes they wore at the end of the school year. By the end of summer they need a complete new wardrobe to begin the school year with.