Will There Be A Preschool?

At the end of May myself and my co-workers all found ourselves without a job.  You see the preschool that we all taught at was closed unexpectantly for reasons we still do not truly know.  We were given two days to have our belongings out of the school.  This is not a lot of time to pack up four classes, one office, two storage rooms, and one activity room.  We ended up losing most of the items because we could not get them out in two days.  What do we do now???  We had 70 families registered to attend the school, all five classes were full and some had waiting lists.  The families were in panic mode because now their children did not have a preschool to attend in the fall and most other preschools in the area had waiting lists.


We as a preschool staff knew that we needed to regroup and find another location for the school to operate in.  Could this be done in time for the upcoming school year?  Would our families stick with us during this transition and uncertain time?  Would any of the other churches in our own welcome a preschool?  So many questions to be answered and time is slowly ticking away.


The director of the preschool searched for a new location, which was not an easy task, and found one that she really liked.  Would the church and the city officials agree that this location would be ideal?  After months of negotiations, meetings, estimates for upgrades we were given the green light to open Grace Learning Academy of Oakwood.  Now the hard work begins, can we get it all pulled together and open on time in September?


In a month and a half we needed to get four classrooms, one storage room, one office and one activity room set up and organized.  Some of the classrooms needed to be painted and floors scrubbed and polished.  Yikes, that is not much time at all!  We were very lucky to have so many preschool parents willing to help get rooms painted, furniture moved, items built, toys washed, books organized, and to donate items to the preschool.  Without these parents i do not think we could have gotten it all done on time.


This experience really showed me what a wonderful preschool community we have.  the parents got to know the teachers even better, the teachers got to know the parents more and the teachers worked together and formed a stronger relationship.  I think that everyone who helped out in some capacity has more love and pride in the school because it just isn't a preschool that their children attend or where you teach.  It is a true testament to all the love, dedication and hard-work that went into making this preschool happen.


Here are some pictures of Grace Learning Academy during it's preparation phase.  Many laughs were had during this process.

The transformation begins

Oops wrong yellow paint

Completed Rooms

Artwork on the walls

Relay For Life

Each of us has a cause that is near and dear to our hearts.  For me that cause is the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life.  For those of you who don't know what Relay For Life (RFL) is, it is an 18 or 24 hour life changing event to raise money and awareness for cancer research, advocacy, education, etc.  Each team raises money through fundraisers and has at least one team member on the track at all times.  This event is an over night event symbolizing that cancer never sleeps.

I became involved with RFL in 2008 as a team member for the local mom's group.  Then in 2009 my son MJ, at the age of eight, started his own team.  I have been a member of his team which is made up of his friends and their parents.  MJ's team has raised over $7,000 in three years.

So you might be asking yourself why did I get involved with RFL?  I became involved with RFL because three of my four grandparents had cancer.  While only two of them passed away from cancer.  In 2000 my grandfather lost his battle with cancer.  His death has been bittersweet for me because he passed away just fourteen hours after MJ was born.  I honestly believe that he held on until MJ was born.  My mom, who was in the delivery room with us, called her parents to let them know that MJ was here and healthy.  My grandmother held the phone up to my grandfather's ear so he could hear MJ crying.

At my first RFL in 2008 I bought luminaries in memory of my grandparents.  It had rained during the event so the luminary bags were wet and many did not stay lit for long.  My first official shift was at one am, MJ was still awake so he joined me on the track.  As we were walking the track we noticed that my grandfather's luminary was still lit.  As we walked I told MJ about my grandfather and why he was so special to me. After walking the track for two hours we were nearing the end of our shift.  As we passed my grandfather's luminary one last time, the flame flickered and went out.  MJ stopped, bent down and said "Thank you for being here with us tonight.  It made my mom very happy."  I will never forget this simple act.

This year I agreed to chair the event.  This has got to be one of the hardest things I have ever done and at the same time one of the most rewarding.  There were so many details that needed to be taken care of.  While it took months to arrange for the tents, stage, DJ, food and get volunteers for the event.  The event day went off without a hitch.


The morning of the event was rainy, hmm this might be bad.  The tents and stage arrived early, that was a very good sign.  The rain ended around 11 am and the sun began to shine.  By 2pm the team campsites, registration, luminary, survivor area, and track signs were all in their places and ready for action.  


At 3pm the teams began to arrive to set up their campsites and the Cub Scouts arrived to fill and place luminary bags around the track (the scouts did over 200 bags in 3 hours).  By 6pm most people had gathered for the event.  This is when I got super nervous.  Mostly because I was on center stage, literally.  During the opening ceremony one of the hardest parts was to read a story that my Uncle Mike had written for a newspaper in Massachusetts.  Here is that story:

The Story of Chippie

We face many challenges.  The vast majority of these are positive.  They reflect growth and adventure as we journey throughout our days.

However, there are those few times that cause us to stop in our tracks and wonder why, in the large scheme of things, we must face a particularly difficult challenge.

For more years than any of us care to recall cancer has been the great equalizer.  Without rhyme or reason - regardless of our state of health or mind or anything else - we or someone we know and love may be diagnosed with cancer.

This was true for my family in the fall of 1992.  Our entire family gathered together to hear the mom had three to six months to live due to stage four cancer of the brain.  The tumor was midline and inoperable.  We were told that any treatment would only extend her life by a couple of months and it would not contribute to her quality of life.

You could have heard the proverbial pin drop.  Mom, strong as always made it clear that she wanted to go home and finish her days there.  After a brief discussion, Mom, got what she wanted - which is usually the case.  All seven of her children would pull together and make homecare happen.  Mom headed to rehab for a short visit, while we contacted a contractor to rehab the home to make it wheelchair accessible and take care of the details that would allow mom to come home quickly.

Our mom, Charlotte, lived for five more months.  She enjoyed one final Christmas with all of her grandchildren gathered around.  She rang in 1993, took down the Christmas decorations and celebrated Easter.  Then she was ready, if you are ever ready, to face life's final milestone in peace.  In March of 1993, Chippie, as she was known to her childhood friends, crossed over into the eternal tomorrow.  

In 1997, Chippie's daughter, Maryclaire, became involved in Relay For Life (RFL) in Connecticut.  Since then, she has been team captain, committee member, chaired the local RFL twice, been an Ambassador on the Hill in 2006, has volunteered for RFL New England Task force twice and the New England Training Team.

Chippie's daughter and name sake, Charlotte, began Chippie's Kids a RFL team in Massachusetts, that includes mom's children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Chippie's granddaughter, Tracy from Ohio is also a team member and the local RFL Chair.  Three years ago her son, MJ, Chippie's great-grandson began his own youth team that raises money through lemonade stands.

This year, Chippie's daughter-in-law, Robin, has formed her first team in Virginia.  And there is granddaughter Victoria who chaired her college's RFL and then went to Australia and helped get a RFL started there.  The cadets at West Point had a community service project to complete, so under the leadership of Major Riley, West Point became another RFL chapter.  Then Chippie's grandson Kevin and his two children joined RFL in Arizona.

Chippie made it very clear to her children that a cure must be found - that no family should have to go through what her family went through.  Getting help was the easy part.  Finding the cure is the hard part.  Be we all have a part to play.

From this courageous woman, people take part in Relay For Life from Hew Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Ohio, Virginia, Arizona, and Australia.  Chippie's brave battle with brain cancer has inspired four generations of Relay For Lifers in our family.  We are helping to raise countless dollars for cancer research.  Now we along with millions of others are waiting for the time when one more challenge is overcome and a cure for cancer is realized.  Chippie has taught us all that we can accomplish great things if we work together.

That was tough to read out loud to a ton of strangers.  After opening ceremony, I had so many people come up and tell me that they really liked hearing about our family's cancer story.  The rest of Relay was wonderful.  The weather held up and it wasn't too hot.  It took me several days to recover from months of hard work and from being up for 32 hrs straight.  My children and I are already looking forward to next year's Relay For Life event, which I plan to chair again.

Here are some pictures from the Luminary ceremony at this year's Relay For Life.

 

Play Ball

Baseball season has come and gone for my boys this year.  MJ played in the "Minor" league for the second year and AD played in Coach Pitch for the first time.  Both boys had a wonderful season.

It was wonderful to see MJ so excited about playing baseball again.  Last year he had a coach who only wanted to win.  Now, there is nothing wrong with winning except when you are nine and ten-year old boys, still learning to play the game and the coach only plays you in one spot all season.  What a way to boost a child's self-confidence on the field than when the coach tells you that you aren't good enough to play anything but left field.


MJ had a great coach this year and great boys on his team.  It was wonderful to see all the boys improve this year as the season went on.  Unlike last year MJ got to play all the positions on the field with the exception of Pitcher.  He looked forward to going to his games and practices and was really bummed out when the games and practices were cancelled due to weather.  There is nothing better than watching your child gain their love for a sport again.

Getting ready for the pitch

Waiting for the pitch

Swing batter

AD also really enjoyed this year's baseball season.  I remember taking him to his first practice and the coaches looking at him like he was in the wrong place.  When he told them his name the look of shock was so funny that I had a hard time keeping a straight face.  You see my children are small for their ages, but it does not stop them.  When they began batting practice, on the first pitch that the coach threw to AD, he hit it into the outfield.  The coaches were so excited they kept cheering.  See big things do come in small packages. 


 At the first baseball game of the season, AD's coach pitched the ball to him and hit him in the face with the ball.  the coach was very apologetic and went to AD right away.  He kept asking AD if he was OK.  AD kept saying he was fine, after reassuring the coach that he was fine.  AD looked at his coach and said "Could you pitch the ball already?"  After the game the Coach apologized to me for hitting him in the face.  I told him it was fine and not to worry about it, nobody was hurt.


As the season progressed AD learned so much about the game of baseball and where to go when the ball is hit to different locations.  His love for the sport grew every time he went to practice or a game.  I can't wait to see what next year's baseball season will bring for him.

AD and some teammates before the game

Getting some advice from the coach

Waiting for the pitch

Hitting it out of the ballpark

This season was an interesting one for myself and my husband.  While the boys were playing baseball we spent most of the season running between games.  The boys had games on the same day and on most days at the same time.  There were the occasional double-header games when the boys would have their games back to back. We had many picnic dinners at the ball field. Next year's baseball season should be a little easier since they will be playing baseball on opposite days.  Although we might as well camp out at the ball field since we will be there just about every night.

A Day At The Beach

Ok, so it has been a long time since I have written.  I promise to write other entries to get caught up with everything since my last post, but first.

What do you do to entertain your 10 and 7 year old boys when the temperature and heat index reaches 110 degrees and you live in Ohio?  Well, you pack up the car and head to the beach for the day.  When I told the boys that we were going to spend the day at the beach, the looks on their faces made me laugh.  MJ then told me that the beach was a two drive drive from our house.  I tried very hard to keep a straight face while telling him that, no it was only 40 minutes from the house.  The confused look on his face was precious!  I explained that Caesar's Creek State Park actually has a public beach.  MJ again said that Ohio doesn't have any beaches.  Why, yes they do, although we would be swimming in a lake instead of the ocean.  

The boys helped to get all the beach toys, towels, chairs and food gathered, all the while questioning my sanity.  At one point I overheard AD tell MJ "I think mom has lost her mind".  After the car was all packed up off we went.  When we arrived, the boys once again questioned if I had lost my mind because they couldn't see a beach in the woods.  After parking the car and getting the items we were taking with us down to the water, the boys noticed people in the water and the SAND.  "WOW, mom isn't crazy there really is a beach" that was the response from AD upon seeing the beach.

The boys couldn't put their stuff down fast enough to get in the water.  They were amazed at being able to swim in the lake and build sandcastles as well.  All three of us had the most amazing day at the beach.  AD and MJ worked together to buildsandcastles, swim and blow bubbles.  For me it was one of the most relaxing days of the summer I have had.  Nothing makes a parent happier than when their children play and get along for an entire day without a single argument.

Swimming

AD Boggy Boarding

MJ Boggy Boarding

AD Building A Sandcastle 

MJ Swimming

Working Together To Build A Sandcastle

Finished Sandcastle

On our way home from the beach both boys asked if we could go again.  you know you have found a fun summer activity when the kids ask to do it again.  What are some fun ways you have beaten the heat this summer?

Ohio Has Sea Gulls 

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is an annual holiday that pays tribute to mothers and motherhood.  While Mother's Day is officially a once a year holiday, I feel that everyday is truly Mother's Day for me.  I am blessed to be able to be home with my children and get to experience new things with them daily.

I am also blessed to have an amazing mother!  I decided that I should "interview" my mom about her experiences as a mom here is what she said.

How has motherhood changed you?
     Motherhood has opened my heart and eyes to loving people in a way that I never was as a child.

What ages were your favorite?
     Newborn to age five because everything changed so quickly and it was amazing to watch.  Adulthood is also a favorite because this is when your children truly become your friend.

Do you miss having kid in the house?
     No, I got married and had kids at such a young age that I am now able to do the things that most Newlyweds enjoy before having kids.

What was the most difficult part to being a mom?
     Definitely protecting our children so they aren't hurt by others.

What was the most rewarding part of being a mom?
     GRANDCHILDREN and knowing that you have raised two wonderful, caring, and upstanding citizens.

Do you have any advice for other mom's?
     New moms: Don't be afraid to ask for help and don't wait too long before asking for the help.
     Mom to teenagers: Patience, patience, patience
     Mom to an adult child: Enjoy your friendship

I hope that all Mother's and Mother's to be had a wonderful day.  I had an amazing day with my family.  It started off with my husband and sons trying so hard to organize gifts.  ADC (my youngest) went running upstairs, says in a loud voice "Oh, Dad what about the hat and shirts you got?"  MJC replies also in a loud voice "No, I am giving her the hat!"  My husband then replies "You don't have to give her everything."  I was trying so hard no to laugh or yell up the stairs "I can hear you."

As I am opening my gifts MJC is looking at something I am holding and says "Oh, so that's what it looks like. I never really looked at it."  I move onto another item and this time MJC says "That is a shirt to!?!"  I am so glad that he put the time and thought into the gifts he was giving me.  I have to say that my favorite gifts were the ones the boys made at school.

The Card MJC made

The recipe holder that ADC made

The broom ADC made

After a delicious breakfast, made by my husband, and a quick baseball practice the four of us plus the dog headed to John Bryant State Park for lunch and a hike.  This has turned into the best Mother's Day that I have ever had.

My favorite guys hiking

My little men

Small waterfall

MJC and ADC

Me, the dog and my boys

A Mother's Prayer

Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day, With little time to stop and pray,
For Life's been anything but calm, Since You called me to be a mom -
Running errands, matching socks, Building dreams with matching blocks,
Cooking, cleaning and finding shoes And other stuff that children lose,
Fitting lids on bottled bugs, Wiping tears and giving hugs,
A stack of last week's mail to read - So where's the quiet time I need?
Yet, when I steal a moment, Lord, Just at the sink or ironing board,
To ask the blessings of Your grace, I see then, in my small one's face, That You have blessed me all the while-
And I stoop to kiss... That precious smile. 

Author Unknown

Spring Break

Getting ready for spring break is always stressful, however it was more stressful than usual.  We all seemed to be going in different directions at different times.  MJC was the first one to leave for Spring Break, I left the day after MJC, JAC and ADC left 2 days later.

I was able to go to Massachuetts and Rhode Island to visit family for a couple of days.  While in Massachetts I went to a place called Ronnie's for dinner, they have some of the best fried whole clams around.  I ran into a cousin who didn't know I was in town (oops).  In Rhode Island I spent a day in Newport.  What a beautiful town.  I got to walk around the town and saw some boats and even got a picture of a Seal swimming around.  While these trips were brief they were good visits with the family.

Seal in Newport, Rhode Island

From Rhode Island I headed to virginia to meet up with JAC and ADC to spend the week with my parents.  We had a wonderful visits with them.  One of the days we were there we took ADC to Discovery Station in Hagerstown, Maryland.  The Discovery Station is a small yet fun museum with lots of hands on activities for children.  It is located in a former bank, one of the old vaults is still there.  It was really cool to see a bank vault up close (the door is HUGE).  After sometime there we went over to Antietam Battlefield.  ADC had so much fun running around the battlefield pretending he was a Union Soldier.  

                                                                      ADC running the path at Antietam

Standing in front of a look out tower

Another day we went to Manassas Battlefield with PopPop.  At this battlefield ADC was able to complete the Junior Ranger Program and get swarn in.  This is the battlefield were Thomas Jonathan Jackson got the name Stonewall Jackson.  There is so much history out in this part of the country that it takes many visits to see it all.

ADC Playing with the cannon at Manassas

ADC getting sworn in as a Junior Ranger

Stonewall Jackson statue

While we are having fun running around battelfields, MJC was having a blast at the beach with his best friend  and  his family.  This was the first time that MJC had been allowed to go on a trip with anyone outside of the family.  He was able to go go-kart racing, bumper boats one evening.  MJC learned how to boogie board.  He also apparenlty ate Shrimp everytime they went out to eat except for one evening.  We hardly heard from him, everytime I called him I got no answer.  When he called us the conversations would last maybe 10 minutes.  When he got home I could not believe how tan he got.

Yes, I made it to the beach

MJC and best friend boogie boarding

Best Friends

Now that Spring Break is over it is time to get back into the daily grind.

Air Travel

It has been almost a year since the last time I have flown.  Generally we drive to our vacation destinations.  Last year when I flew, you just had to walk through a simple metal detector.  This time I got the full body scan.  I am not sure what I was expecting, it takes a little longer than a simple metal detector which causes a slow down at the security checkpoint.  Once through security I arrived at my gate with five minutes to go before boarding began. The flight attendants were wonderful and very friendly.  When I arrived at my layover destination I learned that my flight to my final destination had been canceled due to maintenance issues.  No big deal they were able to get me on the next flight out.

My three hour layover had turned into a five hour layover.  What does one do when traveling alone with five hours to kill?  I watched a movie, read a book and my favorite people watching.  I am surprised at what some people will do or say in public when they do not think anyone is watching.  I had a man who was traveling with his family, stand up across the aisle from me and readjust himself by putting his hand down his pants.  Really pulling your t-shirt down to try and cover up what you are doing did not help.  Although his wife was mortified when she noticed what he was doing.  I was shocked to hear how some of the airport staff were talking after flights came in.  There was one employee who came walking up the gate way right after the passengers got off.  This employee was complaining a little too loudly about how messy the plane was and he didn't understand how people could be such pigs.  One of his fellow co-workers was standing at the top of the gate way trying so hard to get the other gentleman to stop complaining.

There was a mother, her three grown daughters and infant grandson that sat sown next to me.  I loved the way they laughed and joked around with one another and took turns entertaining the baby.  Watching them made me smile and hope that someday I would be able to go on vacation with my grown children and have as much fun as they were.  I saw groups of school children traveling with teachers and parents.  I do not recall getting to take a class trip that involved flying, driving in buses yes.  My wish is that these children remember this class trip.

The University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) Women's Lacrosse team was there getting ready to play a game in Boston.  The team all sat together, some studying, some texting, others joking around and laughing.  Ahh, what it must be like to be a young again.  I wish them good luck on their game (I may need to check out the score).  As they were getting on the plane one of the girls, who doesn't look very good, says to another girl "I am so nauseous, I hate planes".  I was so glad that she wasn't sitting near me in case she got sick.

Traveling by plane was not all bad or good.  I had moments where I wanted to yell at somebody.  Shortly before boarding the plane to get to my final destination, which by the way I had waited five hours for, I get called up to the gate desk.  At the desk I was informed that I had been accidentally deleted from the flight, I am given a new boarding pass for the flight with the same seat assignment as my original boarding pass.  Not five minutes later I get called up again and this time I am told "oh, so sorry we gave you the wrong seat".  I pull out all the boarding passes that I have from this trip to show them that the boarding pass they gave me was the correct one.  Sorry, but I do not sit in the middle seat no matter where it is on the plane.  I did feel bad for the gentlemen that the airline had given my seat to, because they had to take it back and seat him some place else.  Now we are on the plane and everything is going wonderfully until we land.  Once on the ground we have to sit on the runway for 30 minutes because there is another plane at our gate that had not started boarding.  I have never been so happy to get off a plane in my life.

The airline employees were absolutely wonderful during the whole day, the did their best to accommodate everyone.  They were polite and respectful, for the most part.  I can't imagine doing their jobs, I did see people speaking to them with such disrespect and disregard it was unbelievable.

Looking out the plane window.

Another picture out of the plane window

Spring Is In The Air....I Think

Mother Nature sure is confusing me.  The calendar says that it is spring, but the weather outside is anything but.  Several weeks ago we had some beautiful weather and I was seeing signs of Spring everywhere.  The kids were playing outside without jackets and the dog did not want to come in the house.  We went for walks as a family and had family basketball games in the backyard.  I have seen crocus' in bloom, people I have not seen all winter were outside again.  My neighbors tree is beginning to bloom.  Our dog has been having a field day digging holes in the backyard.  Baseball practices have started.  I have even made my first batch of sun tea as well.  Then when we are enjoying the warmer temperatures the weather turned colder. I am hoping that Spring comes back for good and real soon.