Getting Ready for Back to School

The last few weeks have been very busy at our house.  We had three separate registrations days at two different schools.   All of the kids got their schedules, and I got to pay fees.   All three of the kids have a pretty good schedule this year.  Another big event that happened this month, was my now Senior, had a Senior photo session.  She did not want to have a full session, but she did have a yearbook session.  This is not her actual photo, it was just taken on my phone when she was done.  I did not realize it was a bit blurry until I got home.  We all love her final photo and I cant wait to get  copies.  

In addition to getting ready for back to school, Kara is getting ready to go back to dance.  We had a meet and greet the teacher party, we she meet the two new instructors at the studio. She has known one almost her whole life, because she used to dance at the studio.  Kara loved her whens he was little.  Now she is back after going to college and getting married.   Her new hip hop teacher seems really cool.  He has traveled as a professional dancer, and now that he is back home is teaching hip hop.  One the way to meeting with the studio owner to decide our final classes, we were caught in yet another really bad summer storm. This picture was taken in the middle of the afternoon!  By the time we got to the studio, the rain had started coming down, and the power was out.  We were able to still meet though, thanks to emergency lights.  By the time we were done, the rain had stopped.  While our town missed the worst of it, the counties to our east got even more flooding and toppled trees.  125,000 people were without power for like the 5th time this summer.  We were lucky enough to have only lost it once. (you can read about it here) 

We are now in the final weekend of the summer, and then it is back to school and all the craziness that comes with it.   

August on Overload

I don't know about you, but these last few weeks before the kids go back to school have felt like they are on overdrive.   We were enjoying a pretty relaxing summer, when boom overnight we had a very full schedule.  We have already had in the last week or so, a doctors appointment, two dentist  appointments, and shopping for some school  clothes and  supplies. Upcoming in the next two weeks there are three separate registration days, an orthodontist appointment,, dance open house, another dentist appointment, and a Senior photo session.   There is literally something going on almost every single day for the rest of the month. 

Luckily we do not need much in school supplies now that they are in older grades, mostly just binders, notebooks, pencils and pens.   All three of my kids still have backpacks that are in good shape.  Kara ended up with a bonus backpack, because she really thought her backpack from last school year had a rip in it.  I knew that she always carried a lot in it, and it was very heavy, so I thought maybe she was right.  Luckily the backpack she wanted was on sale, and had an additional Cartwheel discount.  Once we got home, I checked her old backpack.  It turns out she was half right.  Her backpack was ripped, but it was the one from the year before last.   There is a backpack that Kyle really likes as well. If I find it on clearance in the next few weeks, I will pick it up for later.    

The kids also do not need a lot in the way of school clothes.  They still have a lot of clothes that fit.  I did pick up a few new things, but not much.   

Today ended up being a good day. I got to spend it one on one with my oldest daughter who needed an outfit for her Senior pictures.  We spent some time at the mall, and had sushi for lunch. We both love sushi, and don't get to eat it very often.  We found an outfit at Forever 21 that we both really liked.  Now that we know what she is going to wear, we need to figure out the hair.  She is looking forward to getting a haircut after letting her hair grow out all summer. I can't wait to see how it turns out. 

Back to Normal

I am sorry to have been quite for so long. We have had a few quiet weeks.  It is the lull before the back to school craziness that will be happening in the next few weeks.  After 16 days without my car, I finally got it back today! In addition to the popped tire, there had been some under damage which we did not know about  until the car was towed. It is as good as new now. I have been driving not one, but two loaners in the last few weeks. We were originally told that our car would be finished last Thursday.  On Friday morning we found out that they needed just a little more time. We were also told that they would give us a free loaner car, since our insurance paid loaner needed to be turned in.  We dropped off one car, and went straight to the other car rental place for the other.  This past weekend, I had a high school reunion in another state.  I had not decided for sure if I was going to go, but when I did not get my car back I did not think it was a good idea to put 350 miles on the loaner car.  Thankfully with the magic of Facebook,  I have seen so many pictures that I feel like I was there.   

My daughter has gone out in public in cosplay a few more times. I have been trying to take  her picture, but every time she sees my phone she turns away.   I admit,  I had to laugh when she wore the wig when we went out to eat a new restaurant in town and she saw several people she knew.  One of those people used to be her reading teacher from elementary school.  She was shocked when she saw how my kids were  now.  She was so relieved to find out that  my daughter  was wearing  wig, and did not cut off her gorgeous hair. The other people we saw were our neighbors.  I am sure they were confused by the wig as well.  

Now that we are heading into August, we are starting back to school mode. We have bought a few clothes and school supplies.  Registration days are coming up fast and school will be here before we know it.  I am in no hurry though, summer is my favorite time of the year. 

It Is Only A Phase

It is only a phase...  Those words are said a lot when you have teenagers.  We are going through what I hope is a short phase right now.  My newly minted teenager is giving me a lot more gray hairs lately.  My daughter and her best friend have become fans of a web series that has quite the fandom. This web series has many characters that have become quite popular at anime conventions where kids (and adults) cosplay. While I understand dressing in character for special occasions,  my daughter and her friend pretty much dress in cosplay almost all the time.   Did I mention that these characters are alien trolls?!  My daughter's favorite character loves cats, and likes to dress like a cat.  She has  troll horns that are cat like, and has a blue tail. She also has short black hair.  My daughter has very long, gorgeous reddish brown hair, which she has been covering up with a short black wig.  She has been dressing all in black with a blue boa hanging behind her.  We get quite a few looks when we are out in public.  I have seen several little kids pointing out that she is wearing a tail.  I know she is just expressing herself, even though I think she looks crazy. Nothing she is doing is permanent.  I try not to say too much, because the more I would fight it  the more she would want to do it.   I am hoping that she will get tired of people giving her strange looks, and decides to be a human girl again.  Then I can say..  whew.. we survived that phase! 

The Week of Mishaps

This week is the reason why I named my blog Surviving the Crazy Life.  It was a week of mishaps, which has made life a little extra crazy..   This week I have been  trying to finish planning a party for my daughter's birthday.   As a party blogger on my other blog Pams Party & Practical Tips, I knew how much time I would need to get everything on my to do list done.   I also know that living with three teenagers, things rarely go as planned.   On Thursday, we went grocery shopping to get the food we needed for the party.  In the check out lane, a 2 liter of pop was accidentally  dropped.  It hit the ground so hard that the lid popped off, and we got a sticky shower.  A few minutes before there had been several people in line behind us.  Luckily they had just opened another lane, and there was only one person left in line and she was out of shower range.  Someone from customer service closed the land behind us so it could be cleaned up, and offered to ring the lady behind us up in another lane.  My flip flops are still sticky from the pop shower.  I think I need to take them outside,  and hose them off.  

As you know, I have two newly permitted drivers.   We have "survived" our first, and hopefully last accident.  I promised when taking pictures of the car, not to "share" who the person driving was.  It was an honest, but expensive mistake.    We were near our home picking up subs for dinner.  I  mentioned that since we were only a mile from home, maybe they would like to drive.   Since they are not really experienced in backing up, I parked in the  part of the parking lot where there was not a lot of traffic.   As they were backing up, I could tell they were nervous.  It did not help that another car had pulled into the parking lot and was impatiently waiting for us.  I told my driver to pull back into the spot to let the car get out of the way.  They did, but instead of hitting the brake, they  got flustered and hit the gas instead.  We hit the curb very hard, which popped the front left tire. We also went several feet into the grass.  Several people saw what happened, and came over to make sure we were okay.  We were, but we could not move the car.  A lot of phone calls had to be made, and it sat like this for several hours.   It had to be towed to a nearby collision shop, and hopefully I will get it back in a couple of days.,  

The party has been going on without any major mishaps, just a few minor ones..  A forgotten cell phone charger, and me missing a step and bruising my arm. One thing nice about having older kids is the parties we have are a lot less structured.   My daughter even told me that she did not want "planned" activities.  She said she just wanted to hang out with her friends, and maybe do activities if they felt like it.  While it is kind of a bummer not to plan any themed games etc,  it does take a lot of the pressure off.   We do have a few craft ideas if the girls feel like making them.  They did do one so far, but the party is not over yet so we will see what happens.     

What a Week!

We had another quite eventful week at our house.  On Monday we celebrated this girl's birthday dinner  a couple of days early. It would end up to be a wise decision. She is now officially a teenager! This may be the last picture you see of her for awhile.  

On the Road

Well the big day is here.  The day two of my kids have actually started driving.  They have almost completed the book course.  Now they have started driving in an actual car.  I took this picture right before Kyle's first drive ever.  Kristina had her first one a few days earlier. They will be driving several times in July with an instructor. Once they have completed the book class and six drives, they will be able to get their permit. Then they will be driving with mom.  At first I was nervous, now I am kind of excited.  Kyle has not been a lot of fun while taking the class. He now thinks he is the "driving police", and likes to correct every little thing I do in the car.  It started on the very first day of class.  As you can imagine, it is very annoying!  I am hoping he stops once he is behind the wheel, and no longer a back seat driver.  

Another  reason why I think I am now excited is how my day went a few days ago.  This was my view most of the day.   My older two had to go to Drivers Ed in the morning.  I ran them to class. passing a girl in a dancing hot dog suit at a nearby business.   My youngest had a yoga class with girls from her scout troop thirty minutes after Drivers Ed started. Since she was not ready when we had to leave, I had to go all the way back home and pick her up.  I drove her to another part of town for her class.  Since my mom friends could not stay that day, and I did not feel like waiting an hour, I ran home again  I got a few things done at home, but then just 40 minutes later had to go back and pick up Kara.  I passed the dancing hot dog for the fifth time in two hours.   I picked up Kara, and talked to one of the other moms for a few minutes.  It was then  time to go over to the school and pick up my other two kids who were now done with class.   During the afternoon I had to run out and run a quick errand at the store. I passed the dancing hot dog (who was now a different girl in the hot dog suit) for the 7th and 8th time. A few hours later, I had to run Kristina back to Driver's Ed for a make up class, because she had been too sick to go the day before.  This time I did not see the dancing hot dog. The business was closed for the day.  I got in and out of the car TEN TIMES that day. Having a kid or two with a drivers license would have it's advantages! 

Now to survive the next few weeks!