All posts tagged back to school

My Head Is Already Spinning

It’s that time of year again already. Back to school! I just got my scheduled adjusted to the Lazy Days of Summer!

My youngest daughter goes back to school in just under 2 weeks now. I have scheduled her a dental appointment for next week for a checkup and this weekend I have an eye exam scheduled. She had a sports physical done last Spring so we are good on that front. Then we have back to school shopping to do. Clothes, shoes, supplies, and the all important hair cut.

My daughter has decided to join the school volleyball team this Fall. Practices start tomorrow for that! I will have to adjust my work schedule a bit to arrange for her transportation. All I can say is thank God I work for an awesome company who will work with my schedule. When school starts practices will be after school and games on the weekend.

We are also still involved with Scouts. So throw in meetings once a week for that and weekend outings when we can get them in. Plus my daughter is working on her Silver Award which will involve about 50 hours of community service.

Homework! I almost forgot about homework!! 

Did I mention that within all this back to school adjustment my oldest daughter will be having her baby? Baby Big Bird is almost ready to hatch! Her doctor said it could be anyday now!

My poor head is already spinning! Is it summertime yet?

  

4 Comments
by Heather on July 31, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Life As I Know It
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Posted by Heather on July 31, 2012

https://purplecoloredglasses.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/my-head-is-already-spinning/

A Little Bit Of Everything

This post is going to be about a little bit of everything going on right now. Now, where to start, where to start?

High School = High Money

My oldest daughter is a Senior at or local public high school. She started back to school on August 23rd. She is taking English, Math, Government, Forensics (Science), P.E., Choir, and her Veterinary Technician class. I do not have a problem with a few fees here and there but this year has been the worse I have ever seen. I feel like I am being nickeled and dimed to death! I totally understand the Vet Tech class is a special program and has special fees but something has to give here! This is what I have shelled out to our local high school so far:

  • $25 General Vet Tech Fee (includes FFA membership)
  • $23 Scrubs for Vet Tech
  • $20 P.E. Gym Clothes
  • $20 General Choir Fee
  • Total out of Pocket so far: $88
  • $65 CVA (Certified Vet. Asst.) Test Fee due Oct 1
  • $47 SAT Test for College due in Nov.
  • $48 ACT Test for College due in Nov.
  • Total Upcoming Fees: $160

Grand total for Fees: $248!!! This does not even count for regular school supplies and classroom supplies! Don’t even mention Homecoming, Senior Pictures, Senior Cap & Gown, Yearbook, or Prom to me right now!!!

Concerts

Every summer we try to go to at least one concert. Last year due to financial reasons we did not get to do this. This year I am making up for it! When we go to concerts we choose ones that are at an outdoor arena called the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. We bring a big blanket and sit in the Lawn Area. It’s a great experience!

 

 

This weekend I am going to see John Mayer in concert with Owl City as the opening act. This concert started out as just a mother/oldest daughter concert. Then a few weeks ago when I kicked oldest daughter out of the house I offered to take the lady she stayed with as well as her daughter to the concert for all of their trouble. Then my youngest daughter piped up and wanted to go as well! So now our mother/daughter adventure has turned into a bit of a party! I am looking forward to this concert so much!

The following weekend I am taking my daughters and my youngest daughter’s friend to go see the Jonas Brothers with Demi Lovato/Camp Rock in concert. I am actually looking forward to this concert as well. I am getting a total kick out of the excitement my youngest daughter and her friend have! I am dragging my oldest daughter along as payback for the hell she has put me through in the past few weeks!

More Work Changes

Yesterday the owner of the company I work for called me into her office and asked me if I would be willing to work 2 more days a week. She would like to train me on some of her work so that she can semi-retire. I jumped at the opportunity! This puts me at 5 days a week at about 30 hours. I will still get off work in time to pick up my youngest daughter from school which is awesome!

This also puts me at a comfort level with my home-life issues. I am now in a position to make it on my own if I have to. The weight this lifts off my shoulders is immense! I now have the power!!!!!

9 Comments
by Heather on September 1, 2010  •  Permalink
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Posted by Heather on September 1, 2010

https://purplecoloredglasses.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/a-little-bit-of-everything/

Change Is Good

It’s that time of year again… Back to School Time! My youngest will be going into 6th grade. {Sigh} Junior High here we come! Her school had a bit of an uprising over the summer and this year we have basically all new teachers for 6th-8th grade. Personally I am looking forward to the new change. Some of the teachers have been there since my oldest went to school there and it wasn’t really a good thing.

My oldest daughter will be starting her Senior year this year. So now I have to start getting myself ready for her {again sigh} graduation. Right now she is having scheduling problems with her classes and I could jump in and fix them but I have decided since she is an adult I must let her fix them. I must also realise that if she doesn’t fix them it’s not my problem it’s hers! That sounds so good in writing now I just have to get my head and my heart to really believe it!

Another change I have made is my work schedule. Yes, it was great only working Monday and Tuesday from 8-5. But I have gone and changed it all up. I even did it without discussing it with my kids or my husband! I made a decision on my own to heck with everyone else! Boy did it feel awesome! OK so this is what I have gone and done, I will now work Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 8-2. It is the same amount of hours but this way I can be home in the afternoons with my kids.

Last year I had some major problems around my house when I went back to work. My husband had to pickup my youngest daughter from school and then he had to help both of the girls do homework. I would come home from work and there would be total chaos! My youngest daughter had concerns about her dad being sober when he picked her up from school. Well she doesn’t have to worry about that anymore. Then when it came time to do homework he would tell her to do it his way to hell with what the teachers wanted. Fights like that you take up with the teacher not the kids! Well now she doesn’t have to worry about that either!

Change is good, change is good….

David Bowie

Changes (2002)

2 Comments
by Heather on August 12, 2010  •  Permalink
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Posted by Heather on August 12, 2010

https://purplecoloredglasses.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/change-is-good/

Question Of The Week

Question of the week: Do you (or did you) ease your kids into the back to school schedule of waking up early in the morning or just let it come as a big shock come the first day of school? 

good-morning_33.gif image by dazzlejunction

My youngest daughter goes back to school next Thursday so here at my house we have started Back to School Boot-camp this week. This week I have started making my 10 year old go to bed 15 minutes earlier each night and waking up 15 minutes earlier. We are up to waking up at 7:30 right now and by next Thursday we need to be waking up at 6!

I can’t really control when the 17 year goes to bed anymore but I have invoked an “All is Quiet Upstairs” rule at 8:30pm. I have also started waking her up at the same time the younger one gets up. She goes back to school two weeks later than her little sister and she is pissed that I am waking her up so early.

I am finding it rather fun myself! This morning my youngest didn’t talk to me for an hour and the oldest one mumbled a few words under her breath and she better hope I don’t figure out what she said!

8 Comments
by Heather on August 5, 2009  •  Permalink
Posted in Just Wondering?
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Posted by Heather on August 5, 2009

https://purplecoloredglasses.wordpress.com/2009/08/05/question-of-the-week-44/

I’m A Survivor!

I need to have a t-shirt printed that says “I Survived Back To School Shopping With My Teen 2008!”

Yesterday I made the giant leap into the dark unknown called shopping with my teen-aged daughter! Usually we have an all out war when this time of year comes around. She wants a shirt that shows off her assets and I want a shirt that covers them up!

This year went very well, no fighting, no yelling, no grounding, no nothing. We actually agreed on quite a few outfits, had lunch and we even laughed together.

I have a theory that neither one of us was P.M.S.ing for a change or we have both grown up a little. Either way “I Survived Back To School Shopping With My Teen 2008!”

4 Comments
by Heather on August 19, 2008  •  Permalink
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Posted by Heather on August 19, 2008

https://purplecoloredglasses.wordpress.com/2008/08/19/im-a-survivor/

I Am Now The Mother Of A 4th Grader

Today my youngest daughter started 4th grade. This is a big milestone for her because in her school the 4th grade is in the “Big Kid” hall. I was told that I did not need to come into the school to drop her off this year, she would walk in by herself. She did let me give her a hug so I should be honored about that!

I found out that 4th graders also have a new outlook on lunch. No more ham sandwiches and chips for my little one. Oh, no! We had to go buy a hot food thermos so she could bring Spaghetti O’s, soup and plain noodles. I was also informed that every once in a while she would like to bring a salad for lunch as well.

The great thing about school starting is that I get a little alone time with her in the car. I get to find out all sorts of things on our little morning talks. Like this morning we heard a Bryan Adams song on the radio and seeing how we saw him in concert this summer my little one asks me how old he is. I told her he is about the same age as your dad. I figured I would get a “oh, he’s that old?!” response but I get “He is spicy hot looking!” Where in the world did that come from! I could not help myself from laughing and I told her that I agreed with her!

The last song we heard on the radio this morning was very appropriate for the first day of school. It was “I Don’t Want To Go To School” by The Naked Brothers Band.

3 Comments
by Heather on August 14, 2008  •  Permalink
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Posted by Heather on August 14, 2008

https://purplecoloredglasses.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/i-am-now-the-mother-of-a-4th-grader/

The Biggest Decisions In Life…At Least For A 4th Grader

Last week I took my youngest daughter to go school supply shopping. She goes to a Catholic School so we don’t have to worry about shopping for school clothes for her, everybody wears the same uniform. We got all her supplies in one stop which is a miracle in it’s own! I swear they always find one item that is no where on the planet to find!

The two biggest decisions that my little one had to make were picking out her backpack and her lunch box.

The backpack decision went very well. I told her it had to be a rolling backpack under $20 and other than that it was pretty much up to her what design she wanted. She picked this out:

Rolling Backpack - Blue

Sweet, simple and to the point! She did shock me because pink is her favorite color and she picked this blue one over the pink one they had. You never know with kids!

The lunch box decision took entirely too long to make! Apparently what lunch box you pick out is very important at her school. We looked at Hannah Montana boxes, nope “that is soo 3rd grade!” We looked at Camp Rock/Jonas Brothers boxes, nope “I don’t know is anyone else likes them!” We looked at good old solid color boxes, nope “it has to have something on it.” Finally she found one she liked, a High School Musical box.

Zip-Off Compartment - Global Design Concepts - Toys"R"Us

It has a bottom pouch which is very important because “Mom, I have to have a place to put my afternoon snacks we get to bring in 4th grade!”

I never knew there was so much pressure on 4th graders! Again, I am very lucky that she goes to a school that has uniforms!

2 Comments
by Heather on August 11, 2008  •  Permalink
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Posted by Heather on August 11, 2008

https://purplecoloredglasses.wordpress.com/2008/08/11/the-biggest-decisions-in-lifeat-least-for-a-4th-grader/

Poll of the Week

With the beginning of the school year fast approaching I will be out in the next few weeks doing what I hate most in life, shopping for school clothes! My youngest daughter goes to a private catholic school and has to wear a uniform thank goodness, no arguments there! My oldest daughter however attends a public high school and they have no uniforms. We always end up fighting over the clothing budget as well as my dress code!

 Poll: How much do you spend on back to school clothes per kid?

2 Comments
by Heather on August 1, 2008  •  Permalink
Posted in Just Wondering?
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Posted by Heather on August 1, 2008

https://purplecoloredglasses.wordpress.com/2008/08/01/poll-of-the-week-2/