First Day of School!

Well, we survived it, even with an alarm clock malfunction! We had a relatively relaxed morning until DN arrived and figured we could probably get up 15-20 minutes later and still have plenty of time.

The kids ran ahead of us into school and were already settled by the time we reached their classrooms. Madison's was a madhouse but she had already found a seat and followed the three-step directions on the board. I hugged her teacher who Matthew had for 2nd grade as well. So surreal being back in that classroom but with another child. Shew but the time do fly! I didn't really get a chance to talk with the teacher or take a picture of Madi with the teacher but we got a couple of shots.

Next we went down to the other end downstairs to Matthew's class. By comparison, his classroom was silent. There were about 8-10 kids and they all were sitting in their seats, hands folded in front and staring at the front board. The teacher was at her desk. The difference in the two classes was humorous to me. Even the third grade was full of parents, kids and commotion. What a difference a grade makes, eh?

I need to adjust pick up so I'm not sitting in the queue so long. DN cried almost the entire time. It'll get better as time goes on and people get used to the pick up and drop off routine. Matthew has 23 students with only one from last not that didn't return and no new students. Madison has a couple new students, perhaps three or four, and only one that she can remember that didn't return. Madison said she was a mean girl so it was okay LOL!

I can't believe our summer is over and it's time for a new academic year. I can't wait until Friday when they'll come home with homework packets, letters from the teacher and etc. School newsletters will be coming by email from now on and then we'll be in the thick of it. If I remember correctly, Sally Foster comes home this week or next as well. Jumping right in as they say!

Reading Update

So I recently read The Other Boleyn Girl. I really enjoyed it and read the entire book within a week. Then I wanted to see the movie. There seemed to be such a fuss going around about it. Didn't have the time.

In the meantime, I checked out the next two books by the same author; The Queen's Fool and The Virgin's Lover. I think the names are correct. I didn't get into the Queen's Fool as much but did enjoy the historical aspect of it all. I learned some things I didn't know before.

Now I'm about halfway through the last book about Queen Elizabeth. It's better than the middle book but not as good as the first, in my opinion. So much strategy in the queen's court in those days. My British history is rather shabby so I'm not sure where the story is going so it's still an interesting read.

Saturday night I watched the movie The Other Boleyn Girl and boy was I disappointed. Even though I can't remember all how the book went, the movie sure took it's poetic license with restructuring events. And if I had not read the book first I would have spent much of the movie trying to figure things out.

I feel that there was just too much in the book for the movie to even come close. The movie left out so much and just scratched the surface. It didn't delve into the relationships brother George had or the reflections of Mary. I didn't feel like I got a real sense of the conflict between the two sisters or the real scandal of Anne's first marriage. They left out the birth of children even.

I know it's hard for a movie to follow a book so I shouldn't have been too disappointed but I almost felt like I wasted my $5. I sewed and ate coffee cake while it was on after everyone fell asleep so that aspect was very pleasant. I do wonder if they'll make any other movies?

One one-hundredth of a second ...

I remember when I got married, just shy of 14 years ago. Which reminds me we should plan something special for 15, no?

We got engaged in November 93 and married in August 94. So we basically spent the better part of a year engrossed in the minute details of planning a medium-sized wedding. When the day dawned, it seemed we had the world ahead of us, an entire day to surround ourselves with family and friends. I put my gown on and faster than you can snap your fingers, it was all over. Such a strange feeling to be done with something so quickly that took so long to plan.

Well, that's what I thought of the other night when I watched Michael Phelps win his 7th gold medal and won by just that much -- 1/100th of a second. I mean, really, there isn't even a way to measure that in any practical every-day sense. I must have watched the replay 20 times and still couldn't fathom how they could tell who came in first. It was really amazing.

The next day I heard about the Jamacian runner who finished his run in less than ten seconds. Years and years of training, sweating, pouring out all your energy into something that is over in ten seconds! Mind boggling, don't you think? It's over before you even can wrap your mind around the fact that this is your moment in time. There's no time to relish the moment of being a contender in the Olympics. The starting fun fires and then it's over.

It's all so incredible. Some of the stories are so touching and amazing. I enjoy hearing as much about that as I do watching some of the events; swimming, diving, indoor volleyball, beach volleyball, gymnastics. I guess those are my favs right now. I watched some tennis, soccer, basketball, boxing and sabre as well. Not sure how they score the boxing. That was confusing, in deed. Seemed a little too subjective, if you ask me.

I haven't been able to watch as much as I wanted but try to keep tabs on the scores and such. Often I think back to the old times when Olympics were first organized and wonder about the atheletes, the spectators, which sports and what sorts of times and things they had. No fancy aerodynamic swimming costumes for ancient romans!

Gluteney in America

Tomorrow is the first day of school for my older two. Hard to believe! The summer has flown by and it just doesn't really seem that we did all that much. Was relaxing but perhaps too boring for my kids? I must say they didn't complain much about being bored. So that's a good thing, in my book.

I probably gained ten pounds just from eating this weekend. Friday for lunch I treated the kids to Chick-fil-a. Then Friday evening we went to a friend's to celebrate her dh's birthday. Saturday afternoon we went to a different friend's to participate in their fund-raising lemonade stand for child leukemia and stayed for bbq afterwards. More good food and treats!

Today we had a cookout with Mia's new preschool class. Lots of good food! I think we all ate off and on for three hours LOL!

To celebrate back to school we treat the kids to a dinner out the night before school begins. They chose Cheeburger Cheeburger because we see the commercials on TV a lot. Looks fun and entertaining and a friend said the fries and onion rings were good, as well as the milk shakes.

It's a fun 50's type of place with burgers, malts, shakes, soads, fries, etc. They have formica tales and a counter with round stools. Kind of reminded me of the show Happy Days.

As you come in the door they have a huge bulletin board with a lot of pictures on it. The sign proclaims that if you eat a pounder burger you can get your picture taken with a gigantic stuffed burger with the fixings and have it pasted on the board for all to see what a pig you are to eat all that food. For the record, it's actually 20 ounces of meat, a big more than a pound.

And if that's not bad enough, they even have a "junior" edition for those 12 and under -- a mere half-pound of meat. Oy! Is that something you really want your child to aspire to do? Just today I was heard a report on the radio talking about the children that are grossly overweight and how schools now need to buy new equipment to accommodate children that cannot use what they currently have.

How are we supposed to address these issues when everywhere we turn there are advertisements for food that command "bigger is better"? Extra large value meals, prizes for eating the largest burger, all you can eat buffets, super large frozen meals.

Just to summarize, I was not all that impressed with our dinner. There was a man who, in fact, ate the pound burger. Their waiter came over with said stuffed burger and digital camera, proudly and loudly proclaiming to the entire restaurant that this man did eat 20 ounces of beef while everyone clapped and cheered. We clapped too but now I'm not sure why.

Our service was exceptionally show due to a large party that probably took up half the restaurant. We were lucky to get the waitress that had the large party so we were there for 90 minutes and spent at least half that waiting. At least the kids were well-behaved, however, no one ate much. I felt the food was okay but not something I intend to race back for.

So I keep in the back of my mind when I hear the news reports commenting on the awful consequences of obesity and the realities of eating in America.

Welcome to My World

Today, August 1, marks the beginning of World Breastfeeding Week. Groups the world over are celebrating the beauty of breastfeeding this week through all sorts of activities.

I'm becoming more involved in a local La Leche League after having been a member for approx. seven years. I love the organization and its message of supporting breastfeeding mothers and their families is exceptional and close to home. I would not be where I am breastfeeding today without the support of the leaders and other mothers, nor would I be the mother I am.

I have learned so much from the leaders and other mothers over the years. I've learned so many other parenting and mothering concepts that I had never really even considered. I'm not perfect by any means, but I hope I'm at least better than I had been.

For some more information on international activities in celebration of World Breastfeeding Week, you can visit World Breastfeeding Week.

So my closest La Leche group is doing their annual celebration at a local children's farm in September. A bit past the formal timeframe, however, it can be cooler -- to be sure. I am involved in another group and we've planned our celebration for Sunday. We're having a picnic at a local fire station from 11-2 with food, music, and a cool silent auction. Personally, I hope to score some new cloth diapers. My moose is too big for even some large diaper covers! Maybe her rise is too long?

This is an inaugural event for the Eldersberg group and should be lots of fun. J&J have put in a lot of time and effort to have a successful event. It's the single-largest fundraiser of the year. The local newspaper is planning to do an article on the event. Gotta love small-town newspapers :) The reporter covering the story wanted to interview a member of the group and somehow I was chosen.

I spoke with the reporter today and hopefully answered the questions in a manner that sounds intelligent. She sounded really nice so I hope my words don't get twisted to sound judgemental or fanatical. I dodn't they they will. She asked about how I became involved in La Leche, how long I've been a member, my breastfeeding experience, breastfeeding in public and the like. I can't wait to read the article and see what it says. Maybe if it's good I'll post a link LOL!

I'm really passionate about breastfeeding. Not only are there myriad of benefits for mom and baby (both physical and emotional) but also for the environment and society as a whole. That statisics for moms breastfeeding when their babies are born is increasing, but so much more needs to be done to increase the numbers of moms breastfeeding 6+ months down the road. A key to successful breastfeeding is support and I truly look forward to continuing to support and help breastfeeding moms and their families.

So, check out the World Breastfeeding Week website or the La Leche website to see how you can get involved in supporting breastfeeding families or attending an event.