We Used to SING “The Wheels on the Bus”

Today was a big day for the Fergie household.  Not only was Chatterbox entering First Grade, but she was going to…TAKE.THE.SCHOOLBUS.  There is just something so drastic about putting your first-born on the bus for the first time; maybe it’s the lack of control you have, or the degree of independence that your baby shows in marching up those steps without looking back; but this year, the first day of school was different.

We woke up an hour earlier than usual – this will be our new routine – and she got dressed in lightning speed in her new school outfit and sparkly shoes. She barely touched her breakfast for the anticipation of getting to the bus stop on time.  Armed with her new purple hearts backpack and her bus route sticker pasted to her chest, she marched out the front door without an ounce of trepidation.

I, on the other hand, was a Nervous Nelly, and mostly in disbelief at how fast these past 6 years have flown.  All 5 of us went to the bus stop, took loads of photos (much to Chatterbox’s dismay) and waited impatiently.  We met other families and students and, finally, the bus pulled up. She gave me a hug and a kiss and ran off to get in line, boarding the bus not even noticing Hubby saying: “Hey! You didn’t give me a hug or a kiss!” And off she went.

As the bus pulled off Hubby said: “That’s it! Next stop, 12th Grade.”

And that’s when my eyes welled up.

This post was inspired by the Yahoo! Motherboard (I’m a member!).  For tons of Back-to-School Bargains, Recipes, Activities and More, visit the Yahoo! Back to School site.

A Month Later! Photos from BlogHer ‘10!

First week of big kids school

The first week of school went very well!  I was nervous and anxious; princess was just fine.  She’s made a few friends already and loves her teacher.  And, we had a homework assignment this weekend.

Tomorrow is the first PTA meeting – so we’ll see how that goes!!!

BTW…I’ve been home for the past three days and it’s beautiful.  I’ve dropped her off and picked her up at 3:15. Oh, how I want this to be permanent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for all the encouragement … I needed it:)

Sunday Shopping

Every lady  has her obsession. Mine is handbags. Not just any handbags, but designer handbags.  The kind you may only buy for a big birthday or special occasion.  The kind that come in big beautiful storage boxes that look really nice in your closet.   Since the Great Repression (depression and recession),  I haven’t indulged in my obsession for probably a good two years. Maybe even three. 

Before the Repression got really bad I would stroll into one of my favorite handbag stores and glance at the new collection, secretly pick out my next bag, then decide that as soon as things picked up this purse would be my first treat to myself.  This of course, never happened.  Home sales in my neighborhood continued to drop and more and more homes were short sales or foreclosures. So sick of this horrible economy!

But this morning there was a glimmer of hope.  Governor Charlie Crist on  CNN this morning talk about home sales in Florida improving.  This was very promising news given the fact that we’re going to put the house on the market next week.

In the spirit of getting some cheap therapy, I decided to do some Sunday “window” shopping online this morning and found some great handbags that would make beautiful additions to my collection.  

No harm in a girl indulging in some eye candy….

Chatterbox’s Candyland Birthday

So Much for the Lazy Days of Summer

The last few weeks (months?) have been crazy! We’ve been uber-busy and traveling all around.  Since our family vacation to Myrtle Beach, Hubby and I traveled to Los Angeles for a wedding; I hosted a Summer Ladies’ Luncheon at my house; we celebrated Chatterbox’s 6th Birthday; the other Mamas and I went to BlogHer ‘10 in NYC; and my family just returned last night from a week-long trip to Montreal. We’ve got about 2 days to regroup and then it’s time for school! Ack! Chatterbox is starting at a new school next week and her Open House is on Friday.  So I’m knee-deep in school supply lists, schoolbus routes, cafeteria lunch pre-payment forms and school clothes shopping.

Look for some photos of our escapades from the last few weeks soon.

What are your last days of summer looking like?

Serenity

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

–Reinhold Niebuhr

I’m not freaking ready to start school

First of all, she’s 4 1/2 …. when did that happen? I feel like I blinked and my baby is almost 5 years old.

Second, she’s going to be doing this alone.  I’m tearing up as I write now because I’m scared for her, worried about her, excited and hopeful for what this means for her.  Did I make the right choice?  Is this school the right place for her? Will she be encouraged to sour and create and become herself?  Will she make friends? Will she like her teacher?  Will her teacher like her?  Will she be comfortable and feel safe?  There are just so many questions going through my head right now.  I may be more worried/sacred/nervous about this than she.  Actually, I know I am because she barely realizes what this means.  In fact while buying her uniforms over the weekend, I had a mini-meltdown (in the store) because the thoughts, fears, anxieties all came rushing at once.  How is she going to handle this?  How am I?

Third, I received a letter from her school tonight informing me that she will be starting school on Monday, 23rd – what????  I thought I had one more week, how, oh how did this creep up on me too?  Then, for some reason I only realized today that there will not be after school activities for the first week.  What does that mean – I have to pick her up at 3:15!!!!  OMG, 3:15, how in the world are working parents supposed to do this?

So much going on and only a few days for mommy to get it together and get a grip.  I’m wiping tears now and getting it together.

Fine & Fabulous at….

I spent this entire weekend attending various events for my dear aunt that turned the big 5-0 on Saturday.  As she likes to say, she planned a National Holiday Weekend.  When my invitation arrived in the mail, I was not at all surprised to see that it included a detailed itinerary that started off with a girls dinner on Friday and ended with brunch on Sunday (after the Sunday morning church service, of course). 

Although she had this huge celebration planned, you would probably be surprised to know that Aunt P. really had a hard time accepting the fact that she was officially a member of the AARP club.  In fact, when her AARP membership card came in the mail, its been said that she literally threw the envelop across the room when she realized what it was.  She even debated calling to find out just how they got her information. 

You see, Aunt P.  has not publicly acknowledged her real age since her 35th birthday.  Her friends and family have been teasing her about this  big milestone for months.  Rather than turn 50 feeling depressed about it, Aunt P. said she was going to fully embrace it and make it a national celebration.  This would be her weekend to celebrate herself, her family and friends, and all the many blessings in her life. 

The theme for the weekend? Fine and Fabulous @ Fifty.  Saturday morning was my favorite event.  It was a ladies only luncheon where 30-40 of Aunt P.’s closest friends/family/sorority sisters/college roommates, etc. had an opportunity to share a special story about Aunt P., or, offer her some pearls of wisdom.  

I think we all cried for about three hours as we listened to story after story about Aunt P.  Some were so funny you cried, others were so sad you cried.  But one by one, these women shared how/why Aunt P. was special to them. The words of  wisdom these women offered, priceless!  I looked around the room and women of all ages, from 22 to 87, and realized that they/we/you, are all fabulous regardless of your age and inspite of your age!  I was surrounded by so many  strong, accomplished, and positive women that I felt totally empowered and inspired by them. 

My hope is that I, too, can exude this level of fabulosity at some point in my life, especially by the time I turn 5-0 in 17 years.  And what a blessing for her to have grown up surrounded by so many fabulous woman!  Makes me really rethink the type of footprint I’m making on this planet– yikes! 

Happy Birthday Aunt P.!!

Guess which one is Aunt P!?

My BlogHer Catastroblessing

I just finally unpacked from the wonderfully amazing New York City for BlogHer’10.  I took princess up to New York with me to spend time with my family and to enable daddy to continue campaigning without interruption.  So, I’m not sure whether I went to New York City for the conference or for a mini-vacation – my lack of attendance at sessions would indicated that it was a personal trip though!

My mini-catastrophe occurred on Saturday afternoon while preparing for our party – I lost/misplaced/was subject to theft of my camera and my cell phone.  I thought I was smart to not take my purse to the ballroom in which we were setting up; I figured, I would grab my camera for before and after pictures and my phone.  Both items however did not make it back to the room with me.  I have no idea what happened.  One minute they were on the trolley and in a New York minute they disappeared into thin air.  I was really pissed about it – especially the camera because (1) it’s not mine, it was hubby’s Christmas present; (2) it’s was expensive; and (3) there are probably hundreds of photographs that haven’t been downloaded yet.  I was annoyed about the phone because I’ve become so reliant on it that I don’t memorize phone numbers so I’ve lost my entire directory of contact information.

My mini-blessing is the only way to describe what has ensued since Saturday.  Despite not knowing the time (ever) and not knowing what’s going on out there in the big bad world, I’ve found an extra 40-minutes of the day to r.e.l.a.x.  Without my blackberry, I can pray on my way to work, I can day-dream, I can observe the people around me and what’s actually going on in the city.  It’s like regaining something that was lost. So this has been my blessing this month. Hopefully I can stretch it out for as long as I can.