Weekend in Review 10/17/2014 - 10/19/2014

I think we can officially say that warmer weather has said its goodbyes.  This weekend was one of the first that was nice and cool and more in tune to what it should be for the middle of October.  While I am not a huge fan of the super cold weather, it was nice to have some of the cooler weather here reminding us of my favorite time of year-- Late fall into Early winter.(Beginning of October through Thanksgiving)

Earlier in the week, Madison auditioned for a role in her school's upcoming musical, Once Upon a Mattress.  I promised her that I would include in this post, that she did get a part. She will be playing Lady Beatrice.  I don't know anything about the musical other than that it is along the storyline of the Princess and the Pea.  Madison isn't sure what her part entails or much more, but as I find out dates of the performance, I will be sure to keep friends and family posted!

Myles has been suffering from a mild ear infection this week.  No antibiotics though, the Dr is confident that it is clearing up on its own.  Myles doesn't seem to be letting it get him down too much.  He truly only complained about his ear once all week.

Mayci, is well, Mayci.  Her potty training issues with going #2 are still very much present.  I am working on being more patient with her, although she may think that I am being mean when we have our little "discussions" about the importance of using the toilet for EVERYTHING!!

Friday was one of those days where everyone had plans. Well, everyone except Damian.  I find that whenever Damian doesn't have anything planned-which is rarely- I ALWAYS have things planned.  Ugghhh-- are schedules never seem to mesh, especially recently. 

Madison, of course, had dance and was then supposed to head to Six Flags for Fright Fest with Tara, Juliana, and Josh.  Unfortunately traffic had other plans in mind, so they ended up at the movie theater in Enfield.  And because I am such a lousy mom, I cannot for the life of me remember what movie they saw.
Myles and I attended his Movie Night at school.  We ate popcorn, had pink lemonade, watched the Winnie the Pooh Heffalump Halloween Movie, and looked at books that might interest him at next weeks Book Fair.  I dropped him off to Mama and Popup where Mayci already was(hmmm- why didn't I bring her to the movie night?) and was supposed to be heading out to Bethany CT to a Haunted House to meet up for a girls night with some co workers.  Traffic and timing were a little out of control, so I, like Madison, ended up not making it to my final destination and just headed home.  Damian was home working on some music, so because I had a 5K in the morning, I called it a pretty early night,

Saturday morning, the kids, Lisa, and I headed to South Windsor for the Witch Way 5k that I was running with Jen, her girls Angie and Emily wanted to show up early and ran the mile fun run as well.  Since I wasn't to always be honest, I hadn't run in like 2 weeks and was SOOOOOO NOT looking forward to this run.  It was cold and windy and I was tired with a headache.  I ended up finishing the run over a minute faster than my original best time.  It was still slow, but gosh darn it, I see it getting easier and I can see the improvements I am making, so I will take it. 


BEFORE the run
 

DURING the Run-- at about a mile and half-- and yes, my smile was forced because I knew Lisa was taking the picture!

AFTER the run-- and Myles was SO excited because he photobombed us!! haha-  Too bad running doesn't take pounds off of your arms immediately-- I am really going to have to start working on that area!

Myles and Mayci even ran that last .1 or so with me... it was so cute!  Lisa, the kids, and I headed to Foster Farm to pick up pumpkins and just enjoy the environment.  As I was getting out of the car, I realized that I had messed up my knee somehow and was pretty uncomfortable...but I pushed through!  It was quite chilly and of course I was still dressed for my run, but I had a good time.  The kids each picked out a pumpkin and went through the little kid corn maze with Lisa.  Lisa and I have tried to make a tradition out of going to the pumpkin patch with the kids, and while it was nice to go somewhere different, we decided that we definitely want to stick with Lyman Orchards here on out for our pumpkin patch needs!

Lisa, with her extra large head of cabbage from the little Farmer's Market at the Run!

Myles, Madison,and Mayci with their pumpkins-- Dear Mayci, please take the juice box out of your mouth for the picture!

In the corn maze with Lisa-- I still can't believe that I have NO babies left- and look how grown Madison looks!

Morlock School of Dance was hosting a movie night for the dancers so of course Madison wanted to go.  I had plans to go out to dinner for Tara's birthday, so Damian took the little ones to the mall and I headed to Agave in Hartford.  It was such a nice time and felt good to be able to relax a little bit and enjoy some time with adults.  Sometimes I feel like I am always around the kids or at least one of the them, that I miss the kid free interaction with adults.  because I am a sucker, I also ended up at the Revolutions bowling bar/lounge place as well.  Lots of laughter and silliness... but no bowling for me, since I wasn't originally planning on ending up there and had no socks  with me.

Birthday girl Nicole, Marilyn, Birthday girl Tara, Me, Cara, and Heather (Revolutions)  -- Picture courtesy of Joel, Nicole's hubby!

Sunday was a pretty laid back day for the kids and me.  Damian had a wedding to play at later in the day, but the whole family slept in.  I know, I made a plan to get us back to church (the kids and myself) on a regular basis, but we needed that sleep time.  ALL OF US!!  Today, the dance school was hosting a craft day, so I brought all 3 kids.  They made magic potion, slimy glow in the dark goo, and milk carton jack o lantern scary faces.  Oh my word, it was a small group of kids, but they had so much fun.  At then end all the little ones were running around in the dark with their glow sticks.  Thank goodness for such awesome dance teachers like Liz and Christine!

Making their magic potion:

Myles magic potion

Mayci's magic potion

Madison's magic potion

 

Making their glow in the dark slimy goo:

Making their milk carton "creations"- they were supposed to be Jack O Lanterns- okay... well I only have Mayci & Myles' before they were completed because I dropped my phone and couldn't get the camera to work lol:

Myles'

Mayci's

Hope you all had a GREAT cool weathered weekend!

Week in Review Sept 29, 2014 - October 5, 2014

I swear, these weeks keep getting weirder and weirder for me.  We are now a month and a half in to the school year, and honestly, I thought I would be in a better groove by  now.  For some strange reason, not known to me to me, I cannot seem to get my butt together.  I have been having a hard time getting up and at 'em in the morning and getting my time management skills in order.  This leaves me feeling extra stressed, irritable, and tired at the end of each day.  No melt downs for me this week, so I guess that means it was a pretty good one!

Madison had a pretty exciting week.  She was running for President of her Student Advisory class.  She had to give a speech on Monday and by Tuesday morning, she found out that she won!  She was so happy.  I think the position is only for a couple of months so that more of the kids have the opportunity to go through the election process.  I don't care how long it is for.  I am so proud of Madison for making goals and doing the necessary work to attain them.  She also got her first progress report this week.... All A's!!!!  Go her!



 The last exciting thing for her is that she is preparing for her audition to be a part of the musical at her school, Once Upon a Mattress.  Actual auditions are being held on October 15th  - she has been annoying me practicing in the car quite a bit!!  She also explained to me that while she is trying out for a lead role, she understands that she may not get it, but hopes to be in it in some kind of way regardless of the role.  Only time will tell.

Myles is well into his routine for school, but still having some difficulties with the fact that he doesn't see Damian as much as he used to.  Every day that we get to the house and Damian isn't home, Myles melts down and it takes him quite a while to calm down/relax.  Eventually this too shall pass -- he informed me last night that he can't live with just me :(  When I asked why, he said, " because you yell too much and I just like daddy more" :(  Broke my heart and I could feel my eyes start to water, but I quickly took a deep breath, regained my composure, and responded, "Well, it's a good thing that you live with both me and daddy then.  Sometimes Daddy's work makes him have to be out of the house at weird times, I know you miss him, just know that he misses you too and when he gets home, I will tell him to go cuddle with you if you are asleep."  Myles reminds me daily of my faults, and while I sometimes get angry with him because of it, maybe it is a good thing to get those little reminders.  Maybe I need to hear him say things that cut me just alittle so that I can see how my reactions affect the whole family. 
Myles also had a little trouble on the bus this past week with a girl and a little boy who he thinks is her brother.  It ended with me reminding Myles that sometimes, even when we aren't trying to, out words hurt people and their family members feel like they need to protect them.  I also reminded him that when he sees these specific children again that he needs to apologize and mean it.  Not sure yet if the apology has happened yet, but I haven't heard any more stories, so hopefully all is well on the bus again.

Mayci is, well she is Mayci.  No huge exciting things for her this week.  She has been having a lot of overnight accidents(peeing in the bed) but we are taking that just one day at a time.  I know it will get better.  She also really seems to be enjoying dance class every Monday.  It gives her the chane to wear "princess" clothes, so she gets very excited.  Her behavior isn't always the best, but we are working on that as well.

This weekend Damian was out of town.  Friday he was playing at a CD Release party in New York and on Saturday, if I understood correctly, he flew out to Pittsburgh for a gig Saturday night.  He didn't get home until about 830p Sunday night and Ted made sure to warn me about how exhausted and tired he would be, so I left him alone and let him do his thing.

Friday night, the little ones stayed with Ted and Abby Lisa picked Madison up from school, brought her to dance, and her spend the night at her house.  I attended a wedding for a friend/coworker, Janelle.  What a nice wedding and both Janelle and Chad looked amazing and so very happy.  It was nice to be able to keep my mind off of the things that have been bothering me.  I danced, laughed, and genuinely had a great time with friends and coworkers.  I got home to an empty house around 11:45p.

I mean who doesn't take at least 1 selfie at a wedding !!

The lovely couple's first dance



Saturday morning, I was running(ummm... honestly I mostly walked between the obstacles) in a Fitahlon with Jen, Katia, and Michele at Manchester Community College.  SO MUCH FUN!! I was still pretty tired from the night before, and didn't actually run as much as I should have, but managed to have a really good time.  I am actually still sore from it today as I write this.  This obstacle course sort of thing consisted of things like calisthenics, rope pulls, wall climbing, ruck sack carrying, tire flipping, over/unders; chain pulls, etc.  Needless to say- it was quite the workout.  Note my scarf in the pics... it is now designated as my workout scarf-- I wear it to every race!



Mama and PopUp ended up taking the little ones to New Haven for a going away party for one of Damian's cousins and then when they were bringing them home decided they wanted to keep Myles with them.  Madison was staying at Jen's house for the night and I hung out at Jen's for little while, cleaned, and ran some errands.  Mayci and I watched some movie that she picked out before calling it a night-- wu-wu-wubzy or something like that lol

Sunday, the little ones and I went to church, Madison had a Mindful Practice Dance Workshop, and then Abby took the little ones to a birthday party.  We all ended up meeting back up at the house just in time for the little ones to go to bed.

You may notice that I didn't have the little ones very often this weekend, and please don't judge me.  With Damian out of town, I think sometimes Ted and Abby feel they need to "help" me by taking the kids off my hands for a little while.  And while that is not entirely the case, sometimes I let it happen because I know the kids will have more fun with them and they don't really like hanging out with me much.... but don't worry-- I am trying to fix that. 

I hope you all had a fun filled weekend!!!  Here's to a great week!!

September 26-Sept. 28, 2014 Weekend in Review

This past week as been a little crazy, frustrating, and busy for us.

~~~~DISCLAIMER-- this one gets a wee bit more into my  mind as person, as a wife, and as a mom, not all smiles, rainbows, and sunshine~~~

On Thursday I received both an email and a telephone call that Mayci had been accepted into a magnet school for PK3.  It was the Ana Grace Academy of the Arts Elementary School in Avon, formerly know as Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Elementary School.  I was so happy, but that quickly faded as I got all the forms together to begin filling them out.  Unfortunately transportation is only provided from grades K- 12 with that school and they start at 8:30a and end at 3p.  Of course I looked into the after school program.  With that there is no guarantee that your child would get in because there is limited availability and the expense would have been one that just would not have been feasible.  So we declined the placement and hopefully made some family very happy for their child in PK3!!

Myles is still going through some adjustments with school and sleeping, but it seems to be getting better daily.  He has been working on reading and we have been trying to practice sight words regularly.  Poor thing gets frustrated while writing, but he always keeps trying.

Madison is back in the swing of things with school and dance.  This week she will be running for Student Advisory President and is also hoping to audition for a musical on the 15th. She is giving a speech for her "campaign" for the Student Advisory President-- I thought it sounded great, but I may be a little biased.

Damian and I have been super busy with our own little things.  Damian's gigs, lessons, and rehearsals occupy a lot of his time.  I have been trying to maintain my sanity by running, but this weekend, that proved to be quite the failed attempt.  I also think that sometimes just the stress of trying to fit running into my schedule adds to my "craziness"

Friday night after dance, Madison stopped at grocery store, picked up some ice cream/frozen yogurt(Madison is lactose intolerant) and pizzas, headed home and fell asleep watching movies.  the little ones, as per usual, think they are cooler than us and stayed with Mama and Popup.

Saturday I went for my, now routine, morning run with Jen and then headed home to get ready for Apple Picking with the kids, Lisa, and Lisa's friend M'elisa. 

 







We had some car trouble before we left that resulted in buying a new battery and having Grandpa Wayne take a look at some things... but thank goodness--- he was able to get us up and running.  Normally Lisa and I take the kids to Lyman Orchards for our apple picking and Pumpkin picking needs, but decided to switch it up this year.  We headed to the Bushy Hill Orchard on Clark Farms in Granby.  A much easier ride and the kids had a blast.  Madison sort of does her own thing, Mayci just needs 1 apple to eat, and Myles is extremely particular about the apples he picks.  Mind you, he doesn't even eat apples.  But-- if he is picking an apple and it falls on the ground, then, NOPE.. he can't have it,  If it looks the least but dirty, then NOPE, that's a no go as well.  It was pretty warm on Saturday so wen ended our time at the Orchard eating apple cider doughnuts and ice cream.



I was supposed to be meeting some friends at the track to do some practices for the Fitathlon that we have coming up, so I headed home with the kids to have them change into shorts and for me to get changed. Madison ended up staying over at Grandma Virginia and Grandpa Wayne's house.  Now, I am not exactly sure what happened between my mom's house and mine, but somewhere along the way, I became very overwhelmed.  Unfortunately this feeling does not normally end well for me.  I will spare you from all of the not so great embarrassing details, but I will share this:  I was unacceptable.  I behaved in a way towards Damian that was completely inappropriate.  Now let me be very clear- the majority of what I said about how I was feeling, was true, BUT the manner in which I said it and my actions during and immediately after are none that even deserve repeating. I also don't think that either one of was saying things in a loving way or in a way that would make the other want to listen, but as an adult I need to acknowledge MY faults and mine alone. 

I allowed my anger to control me and my actions, and I need to work on that.  It's becoming so common that my apologies are no longer valid in the hearts of those I hurt.  No one deserved to be subjected to what I was dishing out in those moments, even the ones that I was mad at.  Any other ladies out there feel that this happens to them as well??

Anyway-- no the real, raw, emotional stuff is out there on the table, let's move forward.

Sunday was a pretty blah day for me.  The little ones and Damian headed down to New London to hang out with Damian's cousins.  By the time they got home, Mayci was asleep for the night and Myles was so tired.  I'm guessing they had a great time.  In the morning I was running in a 5K... not my greatest run but still felt great all the same!  My time was a little slower than usual and I did stop and walk because of some pain in my shins that seems to be getting worse.  I picked Madison up later in the afternoon, we went to the grocery store, and then just hung out at home.  Just another laid back day in the Curtis household.   Enjoy another little photo shoot of Miss Jaida:



I'm hoping everyone had a slightly better weekend than I did.. and I am praying that no one allowed their emotions to get the best of them :)

****** in case there is even any one reading this, or if anyone even cares... things are okay in our world.  The kids are happy, Damian and I have a lot of work to do, and we are committed to continue to work towards the couple we need to be******