While Daddys Away...

Cy and Mommy will play! Brad had to go to Philly for work for the night so Cy and I had a crazy night out:) We went shopping at Target, had a meeting at Collegiate, and went to the Ander's for dinner! We certainly miss Brad when he is not with us but it is nice to have some one on one time with my little man every now and again. We are practicing for our time together when Brad is in Turkey this summer:)

And...

We survived! Today was Cy's first full day at KinderCare University and he did great. It was the saddest thing ever when I was leaving today, his little chin started to quiver as I walked out the door. I have never seen that before from him and it crushed me. Sometimes, it makes me so sad to go through this whole daycare thing with him. It makes me jealous to think of my other mom friends whose kids have never had to be woken up and readily dressed and fed to get out the door by 7 so they can get to school in time. It would be so nice to not have to go through this every day with Cy but at the same time, he is learning... A LOT...each day and that, to me is worth it. The conversations that we have now and the things that he talks to me about (yesterday, it was bald eagles and volcanoes) make me believe that the uncomfortableness is worth it because he is growing, as a person and as my son. It's hard to leave him because I want to baby him forever but these are his moments, to grow and the figure out who he is learning to be. To learn how to make friends and relate to children his age and adults that are not his parents. At the end of the day, these moments are good for him and far more painful for me than for him.

Banner Elk, NC

Banner Elk, NC

We had a long weekend off of school for the Easter holiday and wanted to get out of town for a bit. Florida is just a bit too far for a 3 day get away so we asked Uncle Don if we could use his condo in Banner Elk. Brad has been going here for years, it's in such a beautiful spot in NC. Perfect for hiking, biking, running, swimming (in the summer), and just enjoyin the mountain air. We left after work on Thursday evening, arriving at about 1:00AM. Cy was a trooper in the car but he always gets irritated if he falls asleep and then wakes up still strapped into his seat. He's getting better but it's still difficult to ride with him into the night like that.

We unloaded the car and got settled in on Thursday night. I slept with Cy in the Master because I knew he would wake up a million times, not knowing where he was, and cry out for me. It was just easier this way. Brad slept in the guest room in a twin bed:)

Friday morning, we took our time getting up and ready. I found a great 6 mile loop that I ran three times over the weekend. It felt so good to enjoy running again. Richmond is not an ideal place for any kind of running/biking as it is SUCH a city. I have a hard time finding the motivation sometimes, not in NC though.

We decided to do a little hike on Saturday to get Cy out in the woods. We went to Table Rock, NC which is a hike we have both done a number of times, just never together:) It was a lovely hike and Cy did great. We hung out at the summit for a bit playing around before heading back down and into Boone for dinner at Mellow Mushroom (YUM!).

Saturday morning, Cy was feeling pooped. Brad went for a nice long mtn. bike ride while Cy and I hung out at the condo. We did the switch when Brad got home and I went for my run. When I returned we headed back into Boone to check out the town and grab some lunch. It was a great day:) Cy was a bit grumpy though because he was so tired but we survived:) Saturday afternoon we colored Easter eggs and talked about the Easter Bunny and Easter baskets. Cy was excited to say the least:) After Cy went to Bed, Brad hid the eggs around the condo for Cy to find in the morning:)

Sunday, Cy slept in until 9AM...sleepy head. I actually woke him up so we could get a move on:) We did the whole Easter basket and finding the eggs thing in the morning, which Cy loved. Brad went for a mtn. bike ride and I went for my run before packing up the car to head back to Richmond. None of us was ready to go but Brad had to work on Monday so we needed to get a move on.

What a wonderful wonderful weekend. We will be heading back there as soon as possible. We are actually contemplating buying a place in the area. It seems strange, and out of order, to buy a vacation home before buying a "forever" home but the price is right in that area for sure!!! We'll see what happens with this:)

Uncle Don's Condo

Table Rock, NC approach

Cy, in his pack and ready to go.

The views were amazing

We made it!!

Cheers to a good hike

Me and my boy!

Such a cool dude:)

 

Family photo opp

My guys:)

all tuckered out

Brad's New Ride...

Brad started, Outdoor Collegiate, this year which is an outdoor program involving weekly climbing at Peak Experiences and, as it evolves, weekend adventures.  Apparentlly, the school has desperately needed a program like this as one of the parents decided to buy Brad and the program this truck...just because. Wowzers!

The Big Day

Cyrus is starting KinderCare today! He is only going for a 1/2 day today and will start full time tomorrow but this is a big day...we'll see how this goes!!

New Day, New School

I have been increasingly irritated with Cyrus's school in these past few weeks for numerous reasons. First, they are doing a terrible job with the potty training.  I have specifically told them how he needs to sit on the potty (sideways) to be comfortable enough to pee. They have not done what I asked them to do and in return Cy is not peeing on the potty. He's not peeing in his pants either, so, he is holding his pee ALL day until I get there in the afternoon to go. I am furious!

Secondly, yet another teacher has resigned and he has a new teacher, Ms. Jennifer who I just don't like. She is disconnected and has a "can't be bothered" attitude which drives me crazy. I could go on and on but there is no point, the point is that I am done. I was going to try to stick it out for the remainder of the school year (9 weeks) but I'm just done. I called KinderCare today and they said they (luckily) have a space available for him now. I picked Cy up from Starling today and took him to KinderCare for an hour after school today to introduce him to his class and his new teacher. We are going to go back tomorrow for the same amount of time. Thursday afternoon we leave for Banner Elk for the weekend and on Monday he will go to KinderCare from 7:30 - 11:30. Tuesday morning I will drop him off for the full day and we'll be good to go from there hopefully.

I am concerned about taking him out of the only school he knows and away from his little friends, but, the school is changing and all the teachers (except Ms. Brittany) are new and I feel no connection to it anymore. His new teacher, Ms. Carla, seems great and interested in teaching the children rather than sitting on the sidelines.  I will say a little prayer that this is the right decision for Cy and that he will continue to grow. He is so smart and so interested in everything and I feel like we need to foster that at the moment.

NSTA, Indianapolis

The NSTA conference was in Indianapolis, IN this year. It has been a phenomenal conference. I have attended about 10 sessions and made numerous contacts with University Research scientists who are excited about pairing with high school students for scientific research. It's been a great experience, I can't wait to put these ideas into action.

Also, I just have to say that the time away has been great for my psyche. I love/miss my sweet boys more than I can say but there is something to be said about being able to step back and focus on myself and my work. I've enjoyed quiet time at the Omni, arrived here and will leave tomorrow in a limo (wowzers), have enjoyed some delicious meals and have had the opportunity to get some long workouts in, which I have missed. I am looking forward to heading home tomorrow but have really enjoyed my time away!!

                                                                    Work, work, work...

                                                Are those both for me? Yep, I think so:)

And more work...good stuff!

 My chariot awaits!!!

For those of you who really know me, you know how much I really LOVE hotel rooms. Excited to be here for the next 4 days:)