On our own.

To stick with our fairly new Thanksgiving tradition, we started our turkey day at the Tallahassee Turkey Trot. All four of us "ran" the 5K this year, and it was so much fun. Carter and Hawthorne went off and left me and Ains, but the girls held their own. Even with Ainsley's sniffles, we managed to cross the finish line in just 46 minutes! I was very impressed with her. I gave her a couple short piggy back rides to give her lungs a break when she started coughing, but otherwise she did a great job of skipping, jogging, and speed walking right along with me.

We ate lunch downtown at Shula's, Carter and the kids played football in the yard, and now we're wrapping up the day with pecan pie and UT football.

There are many times throughout the year that I hate being so far away from family, but I love that we've carved out our own little Thanksgiving traditions so far from home. And even though our friends still make fun of us for eating out, there's something quite nice about not having to do the dishes!

Happy Halloween

Wow, October was crazy busy, and it ended with a bang and way too much candy.

Our PTO Boosters fundraiser wrapped up with us bringing in several thousand over our goal of $16,500. That was very exciting for our little school of 498 families! And I gained two good friends and walking partners out of all those joint hours of working together. Now we've moved on to our Box Tops campaign, which isn't nearly as involved and time intensive. I get to continue my guest appearances on WDTS (the kids morning TV show at school), so maybe I'll maintain my celebrity status even though my reign as volunteer of the month has come to an end.

Granna Di and Pappa John got to see all kinds of shows when they were in town last week: me throwing a fit about our principal, Hawthorne center stage as Nemo in the 4th grade play, and Ainsley playing soccer in her last game of the year. I'm thinking my performance was the most animated!

Ains is the one in the pink sweater, of course.

Look at that speed!

HF is the one inside the giant fish cutout!

So handsome!

Then we celebrated Halloween with lots of parties, trick-or-treating, and way too much candy. I've already polished off all the Reese's and put a significant dent in the Twix. Not a good start to the season of fattening holiday food. Ack!

The weather man and the Indian princess. Sounds like a good children's book.

Post trick-or-treating treats and candy trading.
(Why do they bother. Mommy is the one who ends up eating it!)

 

Now, baby, it's cold outside. Time to start the holiday shopping and plan the holiday traveling. It all sounds so normal and un-"[d]ramatic" (to quote Ainsley). When I was visiting with an ex-colleague at a birthday party last night he said, "We sure do miss you, but you seem very happy without us." He's so right. Life is good.

Prrrrr.

Glitter!

I've been spending an insane number of hours working on the kids' school's fall fundraiser. There are many days, like yesterday, when I spend six hours straight working on signs and flyers and counting money and going to the bank just so they can make faces at me when I bring them bags of coins. Then once homework is done and the kids are in the shower, I'm back at it. Figuring out which classrooms we need to do targeted marketing in and what awareness strategies we haven't considered, writing listserv messages, and posting to the PTO Facebook page. There are days I love it and days that really just suck all the energy out of me. I do it because I think that as an at-home mom it's kind of my responsibility to step up and take on the big stuff at school. But also, I get a big kick out of all the glitter. This past week, there has been lots of glitter. The really tiny gold kind that gets on everything. It's in my hair, my car, my purse, my kitchen drawers, the cat's bed, the bathroom towels... And I love it! It's happy and sparkly and pretty. It's leftover from me making stars for a poster. It drives Carter crazy, so I clean up what I think is necessary and leave a little laying around that I don't think he'll notice too much.

Then there's the figurative glitter, which is just as fun. Last week had lots of glitter: I was awarded volunteer of the month, Hawthorne's class clapped for me every time I visited, I actually knew how to work all the math problems that kids needed help with in the computer lab, lots of the cute little bitty kids said, "Hey, PTO, I saw you on the morning announcements. When are you going to draw my name for a prize?" whenever they passed me on the sidewalk, I kicked ass in my exercise classes and on my Saturday morning walk, and my mammogram follow-up came back clear this time. No biopsy! Sparkly glitter everywhere. I love it!

Go Ninjas!

Ainsley joined her first sports team this year. She's a Ninja with her friend Lauren, and the shirts are purple, so she's totally pumped. She had never played soccer in her life, but you never would have known that by watching her last Saturday. She did the usual following-the-ball-in-a-mass with the other 21 girls, but at some point she broke away from the pack, dribbled 10 yards, and scored. It was so exciting! She then turned and ran down the field with her fist in the air. I think she played the entire game with a smile on her face. At least until the last few minutes when she came over to get a drink and said she thought she was going to throw up. She headed right back out though. We're so proud of her. Of course I'm the noisy mom on the sidelines cheering while the other moms are chasing their youngest child around or sitting in the shade sipping coffee. But it's way more fun to cheer, and yelling "Go Ninjas!" just makes me laugh.

Our star soccer player!

Wakulla River manatee sighting!

A few weeks ago Carter and I packed up and headed to the Wakulla River while the kids were at school. It was my turn to be the paddleboard passenger!

We had a wonderful time. Me probably more so than Carter because I didn't have to paddle against the wind one direction and the crazy current the other direction. Relaxing on the river was fun, but the highlight of the trip was the manatees. We saw a whole family of them, and got a super up-close look at the baby when he came to check us out. He made me so nervous. (I don't know why. It's not like he's scary!) But he was kind enough not to tump us over into the freezing water as he swam under the paddle board. (The river is spring fed so it's clear and ice cold.)

The kids were seriously jealous. 

Ready to roll.

Mom and baby.

Ack!

That blob is the baby's head right next to the paddleboard.

Enjoying the ride.

Last trip of the season.

We hit the beach last weekend for the last trip of the season. Good timing. The weather was perfect, the water was beautiful, and the Longhorns' performance kept spirits high. We even saw dolphins for the first time in the Gulf since the oil spill. That was a special treat.

We have a routine for our quick trips to 30A. Lunch on the top floor of Bud and Alley's so we can enjoy the views in Seaside, lounging on the beach until late evening, dinner at the Mexican restaurant that makes Guacamole at the table, chocolate treats at the candy store, sleep and repeat with different restaurants the next day. And of course I manage to squeeze in a little shopping somewhere. Having such an extraordinary place to visit only two and a half hours away is one of the great perks of living in Florida. We can have breakfast under the moss covered oaks in the rolling hills of Tallahassee and have powdered sand between our toes just as the day starts heating up. So spoiled.

View from the deck at Bud and Alley's.

Enjoying the last rays of the day.

Hunting for jellyfish. Those two piles of sand are probably buried jellyfish!

Jellyfish. Double click the picture to see it up close.
 They were pretty harmless. (Though, I didn't test that out.)

Hot guy on the beach.

Waiting for waves.

The simple life.

Good grief life seems busy, but then I remember that I have a very simple life, and my version of busy includes a couple episodes of CSI: New York every day.

It does seem like we're flying through the weeks though. I'm spending lots of time coordinating PTO fundraising efforts and helping in the kids' classrooms. Then after school Ainsley has piano and dance and Hawthorne has tennis and art. On our free days, we usually try to meet up with friends to play and catch up. Then, of course, there's homework and dinner and board games, reading, and bedtime. It's busy, but it's not complicated. I'm thankful for that.

I quit my job almost two years ago so that we could live the simple life—which to me meant I wouldn't have to rush around like a crazy woman trying to have it all. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I chose this over the perks of having two incomes. I still miss the shopping and the extra vacations! But, I love that I spent my morning photocopying fliers with a friend and brainstorming promotion strategies with my great fundraising team. And I love that I saw both of my kids during their school day, and Hawthorne got to tell me about his great reading test while he was still basking in the glow of his success. I know these are moments I wouldn't trade for the Boden dress I've been lusting for for weeks.

But I feel like I'm failing a little in this life we've carved out. I feel like as an at-home mom I should have better abs, the house should be decorated for Halloween, the backyard should be beautifully landscaped, my kids clothes shouldn't be so wrinkled, and the fall vegetables should be sprouting in the garden. "Let me get through this fundraising campaign," I tell myself, "and then I'll turn into Martha Stewart/gym rat." But I know better. Because I'm not going to change my personality! However, though the holiday decorating may be out, I'm thinking there's still hope for a landscaped back yard and a new coat of paint in the study. And I do have the reputation as the mom who brings the best Friday treats. (Strawberries with homemade whipped cream last week!) And really that's what I want—to hear "Hi Ainsley's mom, hi Hawthorne's mom," as I walk through the halls of their school and feel like I belong. And I still have four more years of that to go! Oh my gosh—only four more years!

Hawthorne and Ainsley's first day of school this year.
Looks like Florida doesn't it! That's their school, not our yard!

This is a little Martha Stewarty. Corn cakes with black bean salsa.
I'll  post the recipe soon. It's a vegetarian dish that even my dad would eat!

Old tricks.

We're two weeks into the new school year, and Hawthorne is already up to his old tricks. I met with his teacher yesterday to assure her that he's not the space cadet that he appears to be, but she probably knows that assertion is really just wishful thinking. That boy's head is in the clouds—both in the figurative sense and in the way in which he's always thinking about the damn weather instead of what he's supposed to be thinking about. In his very short time in 4th grade he has already lost two library books, forgotten his homework at school twice, forgotten to do the homework he actually brought home, failed to turn in forms, and misplaced the check for his planner. His teacher—who is an awesome fit for him btw—laughs that all these things I find unbelievably annoying are just signs of genius. That makes me feel only slightly better. Mainly because I'm glad she's not annoyed. I think his excellent performance on the FCAT last year has earned him a few get-out-of-jail free cards at school. His serious classroom demeanor and the recognition he received for his perfect FCAT score at last week's awards ceremony has convinced his teacher that he's just an absent minded intellectual. I think that could work for us. He's also in the gifted and talented program now, and I'm a firm believer in the power of labels. Once a child is labeled the smart kid, the trouble maker, the class clown... he takes on that role in his mind and the mind of others. And I'm not just making that up— ask the criminologists about labeling theory. Labeled a felon, always a felon. I'm of course going for labeled the smart guy, always the smart guy. He seems to embrace this, though there are a couple other labels he wouldn't mind embracing. He loves being known as the fast kid and the one with a good arm. If people started calling him the weather man, he'd probably think that was the greatest compliment ever. Whatever his label, that's my boy.

Cool guy.

Sport.

Fashionista.

Class clown.

Summer Fun

Sorry I've been a total slacker this summer. I always vow to make weekly updates and then always fail horribly. I hope to be much better about it when we get into a schedule again in the fall.

We're eagerly anticipating meet-the-teacher this Thursday and the start of school next Monday. We've done all our back-to-school shopping and have the school supplies all labeled and ready to be put to good use. But for the first time ever, I'm not totally looking forward to my end-of-the-summer birthday. Forty seems significant somehow and not in the 16-get-to-drive, 21-get-to-drink, 30-finally-feel-like-an-adult sort of way. I'm anticipating a good year though. And I'm trying not to complain about the routine aches and pains and all the kinks that have to work their way out in the morning.

We've had a busy summer full of I Love Justin Beiber dance camp, tennis lessons, baseball camp, and art camp. We've spent hours at the pool, and enjoyed even more R&R in Sandestin, Naples, and Texas. It was a good summer. It feels over even though I'm typing this while sitting in a wet swimsuit. I imagine we have another beach trip in us, so we're not throwing in the towel—or putting it away for the season—just yet.

Here are some slideshows the very unslackerlike Carter put together. I hope they come through with the music. We're not very wizzy with technology. It's on my to do list though so the grandparents and far away friends get to share more in the experiences. I sure do miss all of you. Seeing you always just makes me miss you more.

Enjoy the last rays of summer. It's sad to see them go, but oh how I look forward to all the fun fall brings. You know it's my favorite time of year right. And all those uncreased folders, blank notebook pages, and freshly sharpened pencils are just the beginning.

Sarasota. Stunning water. Cool research aquarium. Neat bird rehab center. Funky botanical gardens. Good food from great heights.

Naples

First time for us in Naples, FL. Easy drive. Beautiful beach and water. Playful dolphins and water birds. Lots of cool shells.

Ainsley's Day

Last weekend was a big weekend, especially for Ains. She and Hawthorne celebrated their reading accomplishments at their school's "Night at the Library" event. Then Ainsley got to show off a little at her piano and ballet recitals on Saturday. We're so proud of her. She was so tiny and sweet and special up on those stages. I just wanted to gobble her up. Instead, I just clapped as loudly as I could and beamed with pride.

She had lots of fun, but she was especially thrilled about getting ribbons for each performance—her first big awards. I think she's still a little jealous of Hawthorne's trophy for the most reading points in his class, but she's probably comforted by the fact that she can actually wear her awards when she goes out to dinner.

Ainsley's the (tallest!) dancer on the right.

Sir Hawthorne

Here's a little laugh at Hawthorne's expense. I was laughing too damn hard to have the presence of mind to start videotaping the first time he did it. Sorry you don't get the whole side-splitting experience and that the light is really bad, but playing it a couple times should be good for at least a smile.

 

P.S. That's a tree branch he's using as a sword. I'm not sure he was envisioning slaying dragons, but I couldn't get Don Quixote out of my head.

Summer Reading

Carter and I are (were) reading the same book this week. I needed a page turner for the gym because I have to do at least two other things while I'm on a cardio machine or I'll die of boredom. So, I snagged his new Randy Wayne White book Deep Shadow. Consistent with our personalities, he's on page 138, and I'm done. I even did an extra cardio machine yesterday because I couldn't put it down. I like to know how things are going to end, even when it's something as boilerplate and predictable as Disney's Lemonade Mouth, which I had to watch with Ainsley when she was home with a cold earlier this week. Yes, had to, all the way to the very painful end.

Anyway, if you need a page turner for the beach, pool, lazy summer days around the corner, start the Randy Wayne White Doc Ford series. (I think it starts with Sanibel Flats.) Yep, it's a Florida thriller. It's entertaining—and not always predictable. And do me a solid and send me some recommendations too. I need something to get me through the next several weeks of cardio machines before I get over my boredom of the aerobics room and return there.

Oh, speaking of reading, Hawthorne and Ainsley both get to go to their school's reading awards "Night at the Library" next Friday for getting a crazy number of reading points this year. I didn't think there was any way in hell either of them would make it, but goes to show what I know. They were determined—and successful. Yea, free babysitting!

Awww.Couldn't resist.

Again.

There's a cardinal sitting on our bird feeder calling for his mate—who he won't find because Lucy killed her this afternoon. I think what bothers me the most—besides the sad and confused boy cardinal who has lost his mate—is that she does this for sport. The only wild thing I've ever seen her eat is a skink (which is so gross btw). I just needed you to share the sadness with me for a moment. Now, here's a picture of the snake that was curled up two yards from the bird when I walked in from running errands. She managed to bring in both during the hour between when Carter left the house and when I got home! The snake, fortunately, was alive and well and has been returned to the yard.

Don't worry, Lucy wasn't bothering him anymore. He was being still, and well, that's not any fun for her.

Happy Birthday, Ains.

Our baby girl is 7! She really is growing up way, way to quickly. I remember wanting so badly for her to be able to talk and tell me what's on her mind. Now, I just want to slow it all down.

She had a birthday party last week that was all Ainsley. Her dance teacher came over to teach her and her friends a new dance that they performed for the parents. We served black bean nachos and petit fours with a colorful "A" on each of them, and the girls made Mexican bead bracelets to take home as a reminder of all the fun. Even the decorations were Ainsleyish: giant orange and hot pink tissue paper flowers hanging everywhere. On her actual birthday, she had a mani/pedi and we all went out for Moes's nachos. What else?!

I love having a little girl to be all girly with, and boy is she girly. She's all about dancing and dresses, and drinking fizzy fruit drinks, and having pretty toenails to show off in her pretty shoes. She was even chosen to be a starfish in the 1st grade play because what else would she be; the starfish wore sparkly costumes and boas and pranced around on stage acting like divas. Sounds like Ainsley to me. She's definitely sugar and spice and everything nice, but don't let that fool you. That girl has fire—and that's really my favorite thing about her.

Love the cat. Hate the presents.

Lucy is an awesome cat. She's loving and loyal and amazingly tolerant of Gumbo chasing her and Ainsley carrying her around like a baby doll, but I hate, hate, hate her love of hunting. The long spring days and warm weather keep her busy hunting dawn to dusk. Just this afternoon I was scrubbing mole guts (as in real intestines) off the kitchen floor while Hawthorne was chasing a lizard through the room trying to herd it out the door. (He finally just pounced on it himself!) I'm glad she's so damn cute and unbelievably sweet and ridiculously charming because I'm damn tired of all the critters! I even jumped back and screamed when one of Hawthorne's make-shift sock balls rolled by me in the kitchen because I thought it was a frog running for its life. Though now I'm not sure why a frog is so scary.

See. How cute is that?!

Rescued Southern Leopard Frog. This is a tiny one. Lucy really likes bringing in ones that are big enough to totally freak me out. I sent Carter to rescue one in the living room that was upside down and stretched out and totally creepy, and by the time he got there, the frog had disappeared. Who knows how many frogs, snakes, and lizards are roaming our house!

Rescued tree frog. How can she torture such cute little guys! At least they can climb walls to get away. The snakes and moles don't stand a chance unless she just gets bored!

Ah, the beach!

Beach trips are probably our favorite thing in the world to do. We make as many trips as possible to the 30A stretch of beaches every summer. But this year, we just couldn't wait for summer, so we headed south for spring break: Sarasota. It was a great trip. We pet rays, saw a disgusting giant squid, and talked to sea turtles at a research aquarium; toured a bird rescue center where they had a dozen storks with wooden legs; marveled at all the odd and beautiful tropical plants at the botanical gardens; and, of course, played at the beach and enjoyed the lazy evenings of a beach town. It was a fun destination and a relaxing break from the day-to-day of school, work, and keeping a family on track. We're hoping the kids will decide to go to college there (New College of Florida!) so we'll have an excuse to visit all the time.

Play ball!

Hawthorne's favorite season is spring. He doesn't really care about the return of the birds and flowers and warm weather. Baseball is what he's pumped about. He L-O-V-E-S, loves going to the Seminole baseball games with his dad, and now that his own baseball season has started, it's all we can do to get him to stop miming pitches to sit down to dinner. The boy has passion.

His team on the other hand, doesn't have near the passion necessary to actually be good at the game. The silver lining of this is that Hawthorne gets to be the star. He has made some pretty outs from the infield, and his pitching was objectively impressive last week for his first time on the mound. His joy on the diamond fills me with joy—and pride, but of course his time on the mound fills me with fear. He is so much calmer than I am when he's out there. I pace and pray to the baseball spirits that he doesn't get hit and doesn't screw up and get upset. So far, so good.

First at bat of the season, on his way to 3rd.

First night on the mound. Walked three, struck out three. I still think the ump was calling that strike zone damn close!
Expert commentary from his dad: "He showed great poise and composure in overcoming shoddy defense behind him and an umpire that appeared to have vision problems."

Making an out at 3rd base.

Do you believe in magic?

On the way to piano yesterday Ainsley asked me if I believe in magic. And of course the answer was yes. Who doesn't want to believe in magic? I certainly want her to for as long as possible, so I'm not confessing.

Then she asked, "Mom, are you the Easter Bunny."

"No," I replied. "Why?"

"I don't know," she said thoughtfully. "All those things coming into our house is just weird."

She's right, and I imagine she'll be the first child to point out the crazy unbelievability of it all. She did mention that the Easter Bunny doesn't hide the eggs at her friend Sadie's house but he does hide them at our house and that seems strange.

My lame response: "Maybe he thinks that Sadie doesn't like hunting for eggs."

In some ways, I want to come clean. I want to quit lying. We're usually really honest with the kids. Probably too honest—except for the whole Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, Santa Claus thing. I didn't want to spoil the magic for the kids, so I have my fingers crossed that when they find out it's all just a big fat lie, they'll still trust that when I say they aren't getting a shot at the doctor, they really aren't getting a shot. And when I tell them that they are safe in our house, they'll believe me. And when they're teenagers and I tell them that I remember how hard it is to be a teenager, they'll know that I really do understand where they're coming from.

She's growing up quickly though. And these things are on her mind. She really doesn't believe in magic, so it's just a matter of time before she doesn't believe in mythical creatures. She mentioned a few days ago that it's weird how nature exists but everything else is created by people. And she has declared that she doesn't believe in God. (Don't ask me why I have to be so honest about my feelings on God but I'm still filling Easter baskets and Christmas stockings and trading teeth for gold coins sprinkled with glitter.)

It is all so very very weird, but fun while the faith holds.

 

Super Moon

On Sunday night—I think it was Sunday—me and the kids drove over to the lake to watch the super moon rise. It was impressive, but mainly it was fun seeing the kids' reaction. Ainsley leaped in circles through the field, singing that she was floating in space, dancing among the stars. Hawthorne talked about the shade of orange, the size of the craters, how quickly it was rising centimeter by centimeter (I keep telling him this is the United States and he's supposed to measure in inches, not centimeters!), and how the geese were probably nervous. Then they both bemoaned forgetting the camera since their dad wasn't there to see the moon.

I don't know where the time has gone lately. Hawthorne, Ains, and I were sitting at the computer yesterday looking at all their childhood pictures, and I just couldn't wrap my brain around it all. They change so quickly, but they are constantly such themselves. Hawthorne celebrated his 9th birthday a few weeks ago. We took donuts to his class for his big day. For his party, we took a few friends to a local wildlife rescue center to visit the animals they were taking care of and get a behind-the-scenes tour. We saw baby-baby squirrels and rabbits, hawks, owls, a huge stinky black pig, raccoons, deer, turtles, snakes, and possums. The kids' favorite was the resident red shoulder hawk that posed for a picture and talked to them before we left. He was pretty cool. Hawthorne was very into Legos for this birthday. He can't get enough of them. (I might have to let the Easter Bunny know that the passion hasn't died down.) He was especially excited to have his Granna Di and Pappa John here to ring in his new year. I wonder if it's as weird to them as it is to me to think about his entrance into this world nine years ago.

 

Ainsley is on the verge of her 7th birthday. Oh, my baby girl. She promises that she'll stay my baby girl forever. I'll remind her if she ever forgets! She's counting down the days until the pool opens and trying not to be too annoyed that Hawthorne wants to play baseball every waking second instead of playing with her. Maybe she just needs to learn how to throw a ball. I'm thinking that as coordinated as she is on the dance floor that the soccer field might be more her speed than the baseball field. There's still potential for the tennis court, but she'd probably get lonely playing singles!

Carter has big news. He has been selected to be the graduate director starting in the fall. It's a prestigious position and one he'll of course excel at and love. I'm proud, proud, proud. I love that he spends so much time being a devoted dad and husband and is still one of the top criminologists in the country and so respected by his colleagues. That's my man.

We're headed to Sarasota later this week for the kids' spring break. There's no doubt we're rushing a beach trip. It's still not hot here, but we just can't help ourselves. We all miss the beach! Even Ains who absolutely hated it the first several times she went. Thank goodness that didn't stick.

Oh, there's so much more to fill you in on. It has been too long. But I'm so, so tired. All these conditioning and Zumba classes are kicking by butt. At least it looks better though.