Summer recap

On this eve 

Before the first day of school

I thought 

Maybe I should let you in on what I have been up too 

Since I disappeared

From the blog

The summer of fun 

Is how the Kid refers to it

And 

I would have to agree

We took a road trip to D.C

It was great

We saw a lot of things

Walked many many steps

It was a trip I would do again

So many things we didn't see

But 

Tons of memories 

I dare not erase

The day after 

We returned from our trip

We had a wedding to attend/be in

The Kid's Aunt married her long time love

It was a simple backyard ceremony

I was so happy 

To be able to share in their special day

 Our last

Moment of summer 

Was spent with some great mother's I know

And my Kid

We went to see Kelly Clarkson & Maroon 5 in concert

It was a fun night

We sat in a sea of people and partied our buts off

That little colored area is where we sat

So that is my summer in a quick condensed version

Hope your summer was just as grand

Now to make sure the Kid 

Has all her stuff ready

For another school year

Bring on 7th grade!

The Day I was the Best Mom Ever!

A few months ago

I mentioned 

I bought tickets to a concert

To surprise the Kid

I ruined that surprise

By texting her the info 

Instead of her grandma

Whoops

Last Friday 

Was the day for that concert

The Kid

Was super excited

We were seeing her favorite band

(I am sure she might deny this years from now)

BIG TIME RUSH

 Honestly

I was looking forward to it as well

It was just going to be me and my girl

Taking this road trip to the show

Per her request

I had bought us lawn seats 

 The venue is beautiful at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts

bethelwoodscenter.org

The lawn lets you enjoy the show just as much

For nearly not as much cash

However 

At the last moment 

I upgraded our seats when we arrived

I will not lie 

I spent a little extra money

The ticket seller asked me if I knew about the seating under the Pavilion

And I did not 

He told me don't worry you will have really good seats

I figured that since we had lawn seating to start with

Anything had to be better

Our seats ended up being 

Third Row

 

The Kid was practically hyperventilating

In that moment

I was the best freaking mom ever!

 

It was a great magical night 

Filled with memories 

I am not ashamed to say I paid for

When did preteen drama become the norm?

My daughter has a friend

Or maybe 

I should  say had a friend

This is new territory to us

She had her elementary friends

That she still sees

Just not in the same frequency

She also has friends 

That she has known 

Since they were in diapers

But

Now that the diapers have been traded in for bras

Those close friends 

Are fading into the background

The hurt feelings 

And 

The inevitably drama

That just seems to come with girls 

It can be hard to take

What makes it harder 

Is figuring out

When to step in and when to take a step back 

I know 

It is part of growing up

And finding out who you are and want to be

Spread your wings Kid

I am OK with this

The sticky part of these 

Parting diaper friends

Is the fact 

Her Mother and I 

Are good friends

How do you keep that friendship 

From getting

Trampled by drama

That is not ours

I am told

If we are true friends

We will be able to look past it all

However 

We are both extremely protective of our children's feelings

Something is brewing

You can feel it in the air

I am just hopeful 

We all can weather out this storm

Urge To Purge

Had the urge

To purge 

Well to be honest

I have had the urge 

For awhile

But 

Just slow to actually to get to the purging 

That all changed this weekend

The Kid and I 

Tackled her room 

With enthusiasm 

From me

And eye rolls from her

Since it was about a million degrees outside 

Going through stuff

In her air conditioned room

Was fine with me

We did get through

Tons

Of stuff

In the end

Even the Kid 

Was proud of all the stuff she purged

Two huge bags of trash

Three boxes of toys and books given to those in need

 Some  tugs at hearts strings

With struggles of things not quite ready to let go

However

We just put those things away

And 

Maybe down the road 

She will be OK with letting the things go

I am happy 

With the all that she was able to let go

Early in the week 

I met up with some friends 

One was visiting from Arizona

So we grabbed some mango margaritas

And boy

Let's just say 

Tasty

It was nice catching up 

Sadly 

It was the only night we  could get together while she was in town

 

On the 4th of July

The Kid enjoyed

Some pool time 

It was hot 

But after literally days of rainfall 

We enjoyed every ray and degree that was offered

 Later

Once the sun began to set

We grabbed our spots for some fire works

The Kid danced

While I snapped this shot

And while blurry 

I love it

 

 Hope everyone else enjoyed their weekends!

 

Moments of time

I have been running 

Not literally

But 

Life has had me going 

In many different directions

The end of the school year

Seems to be super busy

Between tests,field trips,concerts,awards ceremonies

The Kid and I 

Are busy

The LAX season ended 

On a wet note

Our last game was canceled 

Due to a flooded field

The heavy rains made it so we had no true ending

It just ended

Kinda a bummer

The Kid loved playing LAX

And even with all the traveling 

I can't wait to let her do it again next year

The last game we got in.It was about 92 degrees out and the cicadas were deafening

.

 The Kid made it 

Through her first year of Middle school

Thank god!

I won't say it didn't have ups and downs

In the end the we left 6th grade with smiles

Proud of my girl

She made

High Honors 

For the entire school year

The Kid 

Also turned 12

During all the craziness of the end of the year

I felt like I failed as a mom

I didn't plan anything for her birthday really

Not for lack of trying

I started asking her in May 

What she wanted to do

She kept saying nothing

All she wanted

Was to spend time with the people she loved

So in the end that is what we did

No big party

No gifts really exchanged

Just some time with family 

And an ice cream cake

It was a great day

And

With smiles like this

I think the Kid was happy with her choice

 

So it is now the end of June 

All ready

Summer is in full swing

Our schedule is filling up

With fun things

So much lazy afternoons

Summer Sizzle Basket season is set to begin

Practices have been going on for about a month

What I love about this is I don't have to drive anywhere

The Kid can walk to practice and the games

WOO HOO

For my wallet

I also in the midst of planing a trip to DC

With my mother the Kid and myself

 I have never been

So if anyone has some suggestions  let me know

The Kid and I 

Also have a concert date 

Quickly approaching

Big Time Rush

(again)

We saw them last year with a group of friends

But this time around she wanted it to be just us

I'm going to enjoy this moment

Because I know soon enough

Going to a concert with your mom

Will not be the "cool" thing to do

I know I rambled a bit

But 

That is my life at the moment

Rambling around 

Living life

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer now that it has begun!

 

 

 

Lovely day

S
Sunny
I love waking up
Knowing that
It's going to be a beautiful day

U
Underlying
There are some underlying issues
Going on at work
A power struggle of sorts
One that I personally do not want to be part of
Things are changing
Possibly 
My hours
Whether that is good or bad
 I guess I will have to wait and see
At the end of the day
I just want to do my job
And
Then go home and enjoy my time with my family

N
Normal
Is
Overrated
I'll take my goofy
Kid and her friends
Any day

This is an old picture but makes me laugh every time

D
Dirty
My place is a mess
Maybe dirty
Is a bit harsh
But
Working on it
As usual
Helps that I can have the windows opens
A music blaring
Cleaning is no fun

A
Awesome
The Kid played Lacrosse for the first time this year
To say she had an awesome experience
Would be putting in mildly
Hope the love continues
Her last game is Thursday
I hope it is a great one

Y
Yielding
To temptation
Tomorrow starts a new look at the foods I eat
I am not going to walk away from the things I love
Just be better
About my choices and portion sizes
But
Today
I will enjoy a couple of these

Hope your weekend was enjoyable!

Middle schoolers,bus trip,Lincoln Center ..Oh my

I chaperoned a field trip

Last Thursday

2 busloads

Of middle school aged children

I even paid to go

I think any time

Middle school hormones are involved

The parents should be given a voucher for drinks afterwards

(along with the teachers)

The trip was my Kid’s

Band Culture trip

They try to pick something different each year

This trip was to see a performance

At the beautiful

Lincoln Center

Avery Hall to be exact

We were there to see/listen

To NY Philharmonic
Featuring a performance of Wynton Marsalis's
Swing Symphony (Symphony No.3)

It was a wonderful performance
And
A plus to be able to hear Wynton Marsalis play as well

It was a quick trip

But

A great one

And
Finally
A few of my favorite pictures
I took during the trip