Look at Me!

We've gone to a water feature 3 times since school let out a week ago. Each time, the kids have become braver with "swimming".

(In quotations because technically they don't swim yet, but they float and kick in their inflatable rings. So far, Connor is the only one who will go under)

I had to drag Kaya kicking and screaming into the pool. She was getting too hot sitting up on the deck (island). Her face was turning red! And it wasn't a sunburn!

Once in, it took less than 30 seconds for her to realize the ring would hold her up! Miss Jen was never far away and it was fun to splash Miss Jen! For the next 3 hours, she stayed in the pool. She took a quick 15 minute sandwich break (I made her use the bathroom before we even got onto the deck so she had no accidents in the pool) and at 3:30pm, she did not want to come out to go home. She asked Joel if she and her bruddahs could swim in his pool tomorrow too.

He said, Yes!

So guess where I'll be?

I have put on a bathing suit 3 times this summer! I haven't done that in 10 years! I'm still uncomfortable while wearing one, but what can I do? These kids need a toy (me!) to play with in the pool! I must say though, floating has done wonderful things to my back. My spine doesn't feel so compressed.

And I have a little color now.

Not too much, but a little.

Look at Me!

Really?

I'd love to hear back if this "problem puzzle" truly works.

Have Fun with It!

Think of a number from 1-10. (A real number, not a fraction! You wise guys out there!)

Now, multiply that number by 9.

Keep adding the digits of the new answer until you get a single digit. ( for example, if your answer was 38, then add 3+8=11 and then 1+1=2)

Next, subtract 5 from that newest answer.

Assign a letter to your new answer. (if your answer was 1, then it becomes an A, 2 to B, 3 to C etc.)

Think of a country that begins with that letter.

Name an animal using the 2nd letter in the country's name.

Now, picture the color of said animal.

Write your country, animal and color down before going any further with this puzzle.

By the way, there are no gray elephants in Denmark!

SNOO (sounds like "shoo")

For those of us now "in the know", SNOO is what the students and faculty informally call Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU).

B and I attended freshman Orientation Day with C. September 5th is freshman "move-in" day. Most of what we need to do to get ready is the same as when we sent T to Radford.

Newest thing? You can now RENT your text books rather than buy them. Not all books are available to rent... yet. We will buy used books and only get new ones if the used ones are gone.

This is the 1st time I viewed the school. New England style of buildings, brand new dining facility and the campus is WAAAAAAY off the beaten track. Closest civilization (Dunkin Donuts, Walgreens and an IMAX theater) is about 4 miles away. The town and county line runs through the middle of campus. Half the campus is in Manchester, the other half, Hooksett.

Since she'll need to continue working and most jobs are off campus, I'm going to have to pray about sending C with a car. She's a nice kid and a people person. I don't want her to be taken advantage of or get into awkward, perhaps dangerous situations. Accidents can happen.

B has more info on financial aid and continues to work hard, earning money to help his youngest enjoy her 1st year. He's still working hard to help his eldest with her loan.

Tomorrow, C signs up for her classes. We've been advised by the school to make her do as much of the registration, sign-up, financial aid papers as possible. After all, she is a legal adult whether we pay for her schooling or not. FERPA tells us we have no rights to our daughters schooling information. C can sign a waiver to allow us access, but she could also rescind that form with another. I'm just going to have to trust her.

She will keep us informed of her grades, health and activities, right C?

Nothing Going On Today

Yippee! Today was a RELAXING day!

Nothing to report, nothing going on, no news is good news!

Have a great day too!

Teeth

Well, it was going to happen eventually. I have begun to lose my teeth while my grandbaby, Carlotta is beginning to grow hers! T has felt a sharp little point on the little ones lower gums. That, combined with increased drooling and Voila!

Teeth!

Also received news today, Carlotta has enjoyed her first tablespoon of thinned rice cereal.

Man, I miss that little girl!

At The Movies

We saw Toy Story 3 in 3D on Friday afternoon in the IMAX theater. In my opinion, you can skip seeing the movie... in 3D!

BUT DO NOT SKIP SEEING THE MOVIE! I LOVED IT!

I have already sent 1 child off to college and will send off another child to college in a few weeks, so this movie MADE ME CRY. Well, at least the last 10 minutes of it.

Kaya, the 3 1/2 year old was GLUED to the screen. Typically when at a movie, she plays in the aisle or falls asleep or has to go to the bathroom every 10 minutes or needs to just leave the theater. She was on the edge of her seat for the whole movie, hardly budged. Then, when it was over, she told us to hurry home so she could see if her own toys had moved from where she had left them.

The boys were so into the movie, I think they were sad when it came to an end. There was action, drama, peril, comedy, mystery and more while the sound was nice and loud.

So, go see it. Or wait for the DVD and borrow it from a friend to save money, but see it.

Hi Mom!

Krista ALMOST was able to come with us to the lake today, but in the end, she could not. These pictures are more for her than anyone else.

Connor continues to be fearless in the water, even using B as a launching platform for a cannonball!

Colin & Kaya are wrapped up in their towels and sitting on their own child sized chairs in the photos.

However, they too, had a good time testing the boundaries of their fears about swimming.

Colin made it up to his shoulders several times and enjoyed kicking around in the floaty ring or noodle.

Kaya dares to go only as deep as her belly button before she prances back to shore every time!

Sorry Krista about the grouchies when we returned home. I guess the ride wasn't long enough for them to wake up from their naps in good moods. I think they had a good time nonetheless.

Water Fun

By the time I got my camera out, Kaya had changed back into "the dress"!

The boys, just before we had to go home! Go Colin!

Imagine, as you read this entry, those TV cartoons you watched as a child. A scene where one character ends up on top of another trying their best to get out of harms way, wrapping limbs around their friends head, holding on tightly, as their friend tries in vain to peel them off.

That was the scene today when I RE-introduced the kids to a real pool today. (Thanks to my brother, Joel, we were able to cool off . Thanks Joel & Beth! We loved swimming w/Mikey & TJ)

The oldest, Connor, jumped in with a huge cannonball. No fear at all. He was thrilled to discover that the above ground pool was shallow enough where he could stand. No floaty needed! Thanks Gram-Gram for the swimming lessons for Christmas!

His cannonball entry inspired TJ (Joel's 4 yr old) to try his 1st cannonball! Yea, TJ! TJ's little brother, Mikey found hidden courage to try new things when he saw Connor swimming around. Connor was an inspiration to all today!

The middle child, Colin, had to have me in the pool before he would venture in. I had to convince him it would be safe to get into the pool with me. He clung to me so tightly, it hurt.

At the same time, Kaya wanted to be brave. However, once she got in the pool, she tried to climb to the top of my head! Remember, I still had Colin clinging to me! I imagine this scene was funnier to watch than it felt to me at the time.

With much coaxing and several trips back to the "island" (they called the deck, the "island") Colin was able to finally go it alone in his inflatable ring and putter around. He really enjoyed playing w/TJ.

Now back to Kaya. I did get her back into the pool one more time, where again, she climbed back to the top of my head! "Please Miss Jen! Bring me back to the "island". I'll give you anything you want! Just bring me back!" I talked calmly to her and by the time I brought her back to the island several minutes later, she too was in a floaty ring and kicking around.

Tomorrow, B, C and I will be bringing them to the lake. We went to this lake 3 times last year (Pawtuckaway) and they all loved it! Now that they're more comfortable in water, I'm hoping tomorrow will be AWESOME! I'm praying the thunderstorms are over and done with in the morning hours as forecast!

T, I hope all goes well w/your gall bladder removal tomorrow! I'll keep you in my prayers & thoughts! Love You!

The Graduate!

So, this is what one does when one finally graduates from High School!

Actually, this is C after watching Carlotta for a bit while suffering the symptoms of allergies. C was very tired that day! Her day off today was spent keeping the house clean & making dinner for us. Tomorrow begins a summer of working so she will have spending money @ SNHU!

The Mullet!

I looked GOOOOD!

Also, I was 4 months pregnant w/T and had just spent 12 days in the hospital being RE-hydrated!

But I was still rocking that mullet! And my hair was still BLACK!

C Has Graduated!

C graduated from Epping High School last night. The weather, while too warm for me, was beautiful and offered great lighting for her photos. We were able to snap a few pictures of her with some family members before she hopped on a bus with her class to an all night party for Project Graduation. She's sleeping now as I post this. She has always been an "early to bed, early to rise" person and is not sure if she'll survive the late nights at SNHU.

We are proud of her!

It's a weird feeling though about having nothing to do (except pay taxes) with public school & children.

Youth

Recently, my brother gave me a large envelope of old pictures. Most of them were of family members from before I was even born. However, there were a few of me in there. I'll forgo showing you the one with me and my mullet hairdo (for now) and will show you instead a school picture of me in 1st grade.

I posted other pictures to see if I could see a resemblance between me, my daughters and granddaughter.

I don't.

Thank You Beth for Taking These Photos!

We visited my mother yesterday and my sister, Beth, snapped away with her camera! I think she got some great shots of Carlotta & T! Here are a few photos for you to enjoy!

And The Award Goes To...

Yippee! C got herself another scholarship! She was able to enjoy the moment w/her Grammy Lambert, her sister T, her dad B, her niece Carlotta, me and her boyfriend Jimmys mom, Cindy!

GO C!!

Congratulations Class of 2010!

Reading Time with Aunt C!

We got Carlotta this chewable, kid friendly, visually stimulating book which will eventually include photos of relatives in the hopes that she will recognize some of us on subsequent visits to NE. C is being a terrific aunt & reading to her niece, Carlotta! They both seem to be enjoying the story line.

Pictures Say It All!

Chugga-chugga Choo-choo!

T and Carlotta last checked in with me as they were going through Philadelphia! They will be here soon and I am sooo excited! The guest room is ready, the air conditioners are on Low to help keep the humidity at bay and we leave in 3 hours to pick them up from South Station! I wonder if T will let C and I sit in the back w/Carlotta for the car ride back to NH? Fingers crossed!

The Simple Life

Kids are funny. You can shell out dollars for admission to a museum or a movie. Take them on a long car trip & pay lots of money to show them a good time. Go to the toy store to buy the latest toy fad they just have to have, NOW. And they have no recollection of those events soon after returning home.

But go to your nanny's sister in-laws house and hold a chicken! Well, she hasn't stopped talking about that ALL DAY! She loved the "jumpaleen" too! That's 3 year old talk for a trampoline. And even though he tried his best NOT to have a good time w/o his brother there, Colin wants a trampoline for his house now! He had a great time! Thanks B's sister, Heaven! They want to come again soon. They don't think you really have 2 other kids.

Getting Close!

I am very excited for late Saturday night! T and Carlotta will be pulling into South Station and I can't wait! I'm sure I'll get text updates as the train moves along. Of course, the weather has been great THIS week (except for today) and the humidity is due to creep back in this weekend. Oh well! At least I'll be able to play with Carlotta!

Trying to Talk...

Look at her little mouth trying to form words! When she finally figures it out I believe she'll have much to say... just like her mother always did!

She Scares Easily!

This photo should make Carlotta's great-grandfather VERY HAPPY! One of his favorite things to do to T as a child (and even now... whenever he can) was to sneak up and scare her! This is what my grandbaby looked like after her daddy made a loud noise. Looks like GG Charlie will be able to continue his traditions!

Short, but Sweet!

Just arrived home from chaperoning 8, 3 yr old girls backstage during their dance recital. Other than the loud shrill of their voices and the lack of ME feeling the air conditioning, all went well. This group of girls were awesome, both on stage and backstage!

I'm sitting at my computer to catch up on emails & updating the blog. Or to be more correct, using the computer gives me an excuse to sit in front of a fan to allow my body to lose its sticky, sweaty feel.

ANYWAY...

I received my daily picture of Carlotta in the form of a video. It is a short one, she is being adorable in it, nothing out of the ordinary.

Here it is... ENJOY!

Who Doesn't LOVE the Ballet?

This is her Ballet routine!

She loves to practice the "shake" at home. She practiced all day today while looking at her reflection in the oven door or the fireplace screen, whichever was closest!

Go Kaya!

A Staah Is Born!

Here is the tap routine that Kaya and her class will be performing tomorrow night. Her class was AWESOME! Not a single whiner, crier or screamer. No one was too nervous to perform. And, yes, I, alone, did her make-up and hair!

Chaperoning

Tomorrow, it is DANCE RECITAL DRESS REHEARSAL!!

I"ll get my instructions about which room I will be watching the entire class of 3 year olds and get ideas on how best to handle the 2 plus hours I will have them during Saturday nights performance.

I was a selfish mother when my children were in recitals. I wanted to see the entire production, not just my girls, so I never volunteered to watch the kids backstage. Besides, with the price I paid for tickets... I was going to get my money's worth!

Now, I figure, let these "new" moms enjoy the show. As long as the moms come backstage to do the costume changes, I think I can keep all 10 of the 3 year old girls occupied, happy, fed, watered, pottied and clean for 2 hours in an enclosed space! They know me from the weekly classes as the lady who brings lots of stuff to do in her big, brown bag!

Am I crazy? I'm just her nanny!

A Video

It's not very long and the operator (ME), forgot to zoom in, so she's very tiny, but here is a video of C receiving her Certificate from SST (Seacoast School of Technology) tonight.

Too Soon!

Today we received, in the mail, the first pieces of C's college supply collection. She now has 2 sets of XL twin pink sheets w/pillowcases, a pink comforter, an ivory throw blanket, a mattress pad, a pillow and a set of 6 hot pink towels w/washcloths.
I've done this before w/T, but this is C! My baby! My last child! Her heading off to college (even if it is only 30 minutes away!) makes me happy, excited, scared and sad all at the same time!
C graduates from her Marketing class at SST tomorrow! which reminds me... I need to send directions to Ruth!
Meanwhile... enjoy todays picture of Carlotta! She's wearing the Fisher family logo today!