"Jen's Genuine Life" - 5 new articles
My Children Are Not Babies Anymore First Day of First GradeToday was BusyBoy and GigglyGirl’s first day of first grade. I cannot believe they are in grade school now. They are not babies or toddlers or preschoolers or even kindergartners. They are children. Last night they were so excited they could hardly go to sleep. They got up without any delay this morning. They were in and out of the shower and dressed so quickly. We drove them to school and got there a bit early. Instead of making chitchat trying to keep their nerves calm, we turned on our CD players to the Curious George soundtrack. We were dancing and laughing in the car. BusyBoy got the video camera and recorded us acting silly. It was a very fun way to start the day. On the way home from school, they told Lee and me that they the best first grade teacher. They read a lot and did lots of fun stuff. Somethings do stay the same. Their favorite part of the day is still recess. Did you enjoy this post? Why not share it with others:
Washing Machine and DryerOur washing machine and dryer are both broken. I really do not like to do laundry anyway. A broken washing machine and dryer make for a handy excuse for not doing the laundry. Unfortunately, at some point, that excuse no longer works. We have run through every towel in the house, even the guest bedroom towels. We were out of clean sheets. With school starting back in the morning, we need to have clean clothes ready to go for everyone in the family first thing. Today Lee and I schlepped the kids and all of our laundry to the laundromat. We have made the laundromat run once a week for the past month. When we were doing that we were only doing the clothes and not the sheets and towels. It must have been close to 500 - 600 pounds of laundry. If it was not actually that much laundry, it certainly felt like 500 - 600 pounds of laundry. We loaded up the washing machines that hold 5 times a normal load. Hey, I told you we had lots of laundry to do. 5 times a normal load! You have got to love that. 30 minutes later all the laundry was completely washed. Then it took about 45 minutes or so for all the laundry to dry. With all four of us working at one time on folding, we finished in no time flat. I know we will be hitting Craig’s List for a washer and dryer before long. While I love the convenience of doing laundry at home, I also love the fact that we can do so much laundry at one time in 2 - 3 hours start to finish. Did you enjoy this post? Why not share it with others:
First GradeDo you remember first grade? I went to elementary school for first grade at Montgomery Elementary School in DeKalb County, Georgia. My teacher was Mrs. Morrison. I thought she was the most wonderful teacher. For years, everytime I saw a Morrison’s Cafeteria, I thought of her. My children start first grade on Monday. We met their teacher yesterday. In the 90 seconds or so we talked to her, she seems nice. BusyBoy and GigglyGirl are going to be in the same class again this year. They will be at different tables and in different groups but in the same class. We took them to get new tennis shoes this week for PE. They got new backpacks and lunchboxes. BusyBoy got a new haircut. GigglyGirl got her ears pierced. It has been a busy week. I am going to miss them so much next week when they are not running around the house yelling, laughing, asking me a million questions. I cannot believe I do not have babies any longer and that they are big kids going to first grade. When do your children start back to school? Are you ready for it or not? Will you miss them or are you ready for them to be back at school? Did you enjoy this post? Why not share it with others:
How Do You Normally Spend the Fourth of July?How do you normally spend the Fourth of July? Being a Native Atlantan, I have celebrated the Fourth at almost every major fireworks extravaganza in the city at one time or another. As a very young child we would watch the fireworks at Lenox Mall and I believe also at Perimeter Mall. I do not remember much about these celebrations as we moved from there shortly before my 7th birthday. I do remember the noise bothering me one year and I am pretty sure I screamed my head off that year. Luckily for my younger siblings, my parents were patient with me and continued to take us to fireworks displays even when my younger siblings were born. In my family growing up, going to see the fireworks at Stone Mountain was a tradition as a child. This is before there was even a nightly Laser Show. We would trek out for the fireworks. Instead of actually going into the park with the younger children who would be frightened by the noise, we parked a few miles away. When the Laser Show started, the fireworks and Fourth of July celebration was awesome! There would be the 45 minute Laser Show and then a 15 - 20 minute firework show. Before the Laser Show, we would take a picnic dinner to have on the lawn. It turned into a day long celebration that is very hard to beat. When I lived in Rome, Georgia, there were fireworks on the levy with the Rome City Orchestra playing live music before the fireworks. It was a community event and the place to be in Rome. In addition to the fireworks in Rome, my parents took us back to Stone Mountain several years for the fireworks and Laser Show. So, we would have fireworks 2 or 3 days in a row for the Fourth of July. As a married adult, we have also done fireworks locally in our community. Those are usually a bust as there is no way our small town can compete with the extravaganza that is Stone Mountain or Lenox Mall. We have done Lenox Mall a couple of times. Lenox is fun but the music is hard to hear. Still, being around all those other Americans to celebrate the Fourth gives me such a sense of pride in our country and patriotism. Of course, Lee and I have done fireworks at Stone Mountain, which despite the huge crowd and long lines to get out of the park, is my absolute favorite. It reminds me of the fun times I had as a child celebrating with my family. It reminds me of the fun times I have had as an adult. It is as American to me as Apple Pie - well, actually Peach Pie, which we normally have on the Fourth in my house. This year, we will participate in Tea Party Patriots events on Friday and Saturday night. We will probably wind up seeing the fireworks from Downtown Atlanta. I think that might be the only major venue in the city I have not seen the fireworks from. It should be a fun Fourth. Maybe I’ll even convince Lee that we should make the trek to Stone Mountain 1 day to extend the holiday into a 3 day celebration. Regardless, my kids cannot wait for it! And, neither can their mom. Did you enjoy this post? Why not share it with others:
Surviving the Lien Years - Part 7 Our Growing Family and Lee’s Growing CompanyRebuilding after Financial Crisis and Bankruptcy in a Recession (Part 7) This is an ongoing post in the series Surviving the Lien Years - Rebuilding after Financial Crisis and Bankruptcy in a Recession. Our Growing Family and Lee’s Growing Company is part seven in the series about how my husband and I are surviving the lien years (financial crisis and bankruptcy). Eventually, after 10 cycles on Clomid and 5 rounds of IUI, we did become pregnant and had our precious children. During the nine months of pregnancy the only real complaint I had was the severe heartburn. Other than that, I relished every ache and pain and change in my body. I was so grateful for the opportunity to be pregnant and fully aware that I may never be pregnant again so I made sure I savored every single moment. In March of 2003, we celebrated the arrival of our twins, Tyler and Caroline (forever to be named this in the blog in addition to BusyBoy and GigglyGirl but not their real names). Oh, life was sweet in 2003! I was tired from the lack of sleep and taking care of two children but I was so grateful each night for having 2 children to take care of. Our prayers were answered. I pretty much withdrew from everything I had previously been involved with for several months to enjoy the time the twins were small. Even though we wanted more children, I knew that it might never happen again and was determined to cherish every moment that I possibly could. I do not think I have ever cherished those long, sleepless nights but the daytime hours were cherish-able. In 2005, Lee had the opportunity to expand his business to California. At least it seemed like an opportunity. In retrospect, he should have turned it down even if it meant losing a client but hindsight is always 20/20. The laws for small businesses to startup in California (especially businesses that will employ many people and need lots of workers’ comp insurance) are brutal and the government entities involved in allowing a company to startup in California are painfully slow and run by lifetime bureaucrats. The company used its meager savings and racked up new debt starting the branch in California. Did you enjoy this post? Why not share it with others:
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