Progress Reports and Haircuts...

Yesterday, my kiddo brought home his very first progress report card. I really don't see much point in sending home report cards for kindergartners, but I guess it's just part of the whole "getting acquainted with school" process.

Smiley faces are 'good,' right?

I should probably clarify my meaning in what I just wrote:

I don't see much point in sending home kindergarten report cards because there are no grades! Instead of grades, there are a few of the concepts that they're working on and a note on whether your student is performing at a satisfactory/unsatisfactory caliber. Soooo...yeah...

Though, I'll admit that I'm a little bit concerned that my kiddo received 2's on a few of the check boxes at the bottom. He's not quite '3 material' when it comes to finishing tasks in a timely manner and listening to instructions the first go around...

I'm kind of at a loss on how to handle this sort of thing...

As a student, especially in elementary school, I was such a 'people pleaser' of a child, that I really don't remember ever bringing home any progress reports that weren't absolutely dripping with comments on how I was "such a delight to have in my class!" or the "ideal student!"

Okay, my memories may be a little bit biased...

But seriously. What's the best way to handle this sort of thing? I don't think that he's being a terrible student, really, but I know he isn't applying himself the best he can...Ask the kid anything about the Avengers, Spider-Man, or Star Wars! He'll dazzle you with how much his 5-year old mind can retain! But ask him to sit down and do some handwriting or reading and you'll probably wonder if English is even his primary language...

A good portion of me is cautious about being overly strict here...A product of a military father and a "tiger mom," I know what can happen when you press a child too hard. [Love you, mom and dad, but you know I'm right...] However, I also know what can happen if you're too lenient and a child perceives that there are no consequences or no incentives to do their best...or worse, the child can feel like the parent simply doesn't care about how they're doing in school and, thus, doesn't care about the child...

/Sigh Where's that nifty little guidebook that was supposed to come with becoming a parent?!?

Parental calamity aside, I've had another pesky thought swimming around my head a good bit lately:

I want a hair cut!! [I blame my cousin for this!! She mentioned wanting to get one a few days ago, and now I REALLY WANT ONE!]

Why is this a big deal? Because, I don't want just a trim or an addition of a few layers...I'm seriously jonesing to get another pixie cut. I present to you, my options!





Option 1:
I definitely wouldn't go blonde [it just isn't a color that I like for myself], but I like the overall shape of this cut. I also like the medium-length-ish bangs!

Option 2:
Now, this color is one that I adore! I know I've mentioned in previous posts that I have a love for red hair...this picture combines that fantastic red with an amazing cut...yes, please! This cut has longer bangs...more styling possibilities?

Option 3:
As seen on the fantastic Anne Hathaway, pixie cuts also look fantastic on brunettes...pretty sure that my natural hair color isn't the same lovely shade as hers, but it's pretty close...closer than red, anyway. This cut has shorter bangs than the other two.







Option 4:
Yes, I know this one is a bob and not a pixie...but I think it my be my compromise cut. It's still a good bit shorter than the current shoulder-length hair I've got going on right now, but isn't as dramatic. I'm also thinking that not going quite as short would give me the change of pace that I'm looking for without the commitment that comes with a pixie cut...





I'm planning on giving the whole haircut situation a good couple of weeks to think about...partly because my cousin and I have an unspoken agreement to get dramatic haircuts together, and partly because I need to tap-dance around my finances a bit to make sure that I can spare the money required for an excellent cut and color...definitely not a job for Great Clips!

What do you guys think? Which haircut would you choose?

Friday Updates...

Good news! My kiddo's first day of kindergarten was a success! Morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up both went off without a hitch, and he survived his first lunch in a cafeteria. He even said that PE was fun! I'm so glad that his first day of "big kid school" went well for him, I'm hoping the rest of the school year continues to go well...definitely makes all of the aggravation leading up to the beginning of the school year worth it. His school reminds me of some the better schools that I went to as a child. (Being an army brat, my family moved around a good bit. I went to about 10 different schools for kindergarten through finishing high school and have seen my share of really good schools and not-so-good schools...) I signed up for all sorts of parent-volunteer opportunities...guess I'm going to be the mom that shows up for everything! I know that will drive my kiddo crazy when he gets older, but I'd much rather be involved than have no clue what's going on with my child's education. (Knowing that he's going to a great school makes even the traffic more bearable!)

Holy Cow! Morning School Traffic!

Ouch! :(

Elsewhere in Gotham City...I'm supposed to find out the fate of my car sometime this afternoon. My insurance company is sending one of their agents to inspect the car to see if it's going to be deemed fixable or if it needs to be totaled. Everybody please cross their fingers that it comes back as fixable...I won't be able to afford a car to replace my poor Saab if it isn't fixable.




Found out yesterday that the motherboard in my personal desktop computer is most likely fried. Luckily, my parents have ordered me a new computer for my birthday (read: computer for work stuffs) otherwise I'd have to add "fix computer" to the list of expensive worries that have been plaguing me here lately. But the lack of computer, both laptop and desktop, are certainly to blame for the delay of the birthday post I've been promising. I've written posts from the iPad before but it's terribly inconvenient for posting pictures, links, and videos. The post is coming though...eventually. Maybe I should write snippets of it whenever I can and then copy and paste them together...darn computers.

Kindergarten And The Green Arrow...

Hey Guys! Hope you're having a good morning so far...

Just dropped my kiddo off for his first day of "big kid school" not too long ago. Everything went just as smoothly as I hoped it would, no complaints about the actual drop-off at all! The parents were told several times that we are not to accompany our children into the school, and I was a bit worried that my kiddo would freak out about having to walk into the relatively unknown building all by himself, but he did great! I can't wait to pick him up this afternoon and listen to all the stories that he's going to have about his first day!

I did one of the overly-sentimental mom things and made a chalkboard sign for his first day of kindergarten.

Not actual photo of my child! 

It's got today's date on it, says his "first day of kindergarten," and then lists some of the his favorite things right now, what he wants to be when he grows up, and stuff that I'll want to remember such as his height and weight. I plan on making a similar sign on the last day of the school year, I think it will be fun to see how much he changes during the year!

As some of you may have read, yesterday was my birthday. I survived another year! Woohoo! I intended to write a post summarizing the past year with some witty humor and profound wisdom sprinkled in, and then I managed to wreck my car...so, yeah. I will still write the post, but probably not until later on tonight. 

However, I do want to mention that I finally finished watching the first season of Arrow! I started watching the show (based on the DC comics character the Green Arrow) about a month or so ago at the suggestion of one of my buddies, and I'm helplessly hooked on the show.

The show has an amazing cast!

The first season of the show chronicles Oliver Queen's return from being stranded on an uncharted island for 5 years. His family had thought both he and his father to be dead for the years Oliver was missing, and unfortunately Oliver's father does not make the return trip home with his son.

The first couple episodes of the show were a bit hard to get through, but I think that's pretty common with most shows. It takes a while to get truly interested in the story line and the development of the characters. I'll be the first to admit that I had written off Oliver Queen's character as a Bruce Wayne knock-off, but I'll happily admit that I was wrong and that the Oliver Queen/Green Arrow story line should definitely be given a chance.

 Stephen Amell stars as the show's Oliver Queen aka the Green Arrow aka the Hood. In my opinion, he does an excelled job bringing the character to life and portraying the mind-boggling amount of growth that is experienced by Oliver at different points in the story arc.

Plus, you've got to admit he's certainly easy on the eyes...not saying that him being devastatingly handsome is the only reason to watch the show, but it certainly doesn't hurt!

As far as eye candy goes, I'm also a fan of Oliver's best friend, Tommy Merlyn, as well as the actor who plays him, Colin Donnell. Tommy holds his own as Oliver's best friend, most of the time is equally funny, charming, and witty. And he's got the whole dark hair/blue eyes combo going on...gets me every time.

Another character that I have come to love is Felicty Smoak played by Emily Bett Rickards. Felicity has a very minor role at first, she works in the IT department of Queen Enterprises, and both Oliver and his step-father, Walter, approach Felicity for help on various tasks. I absolutely love Felicity's character! She's brilliant (at some point in the show you learn that she's a MIT graduate), she's funny, and painfully awkward. Some of the interactions between Felicity and Oliver are so awkward, you'll literally cringe...for example:

Yikes...

No worries, Felicity...I'm right there with you. 

So, if you haven't checked out Arrow yet, I suggest that you do! The complete first season can be found on Netflix, and I know that some of the second season can be found on Hulu...I'm going to see if I can find the complete second season online somewhere. 

I'll leave you guys with this small montage of ridiculously adorable pictures of Oliver and Tommy (Stephen and Collin) hanging out together. Seriously, I love these two! Add them to the list of celebrities that I need to meet in real life...

I Need An Adult...

My son's new school had one last registration confirmation event last night. Over the course of the summer, I had to go to the school to confirm our address three times! Three! I understand that I'm registering him for a school in a desirable school district, but c'mon...is it really necessary to have three separate confirmations?

After proving for the third time that our address is indeed our address, the kiddo and I got the chance to walk around the school and find his classroom. The school is huge! Well, huge in my opinion anyway...(Probably a good time to point out that I graduated from a really small high school) I ended up having to ask someone for directions to the kindergarten hall. Thankfully, I wasn't the only parent who had to do so.

After struggling with the pre-paid bundle of school supplies that I had purchased during one of the several registrations, we had to sit through a "kindergarten question & answer" program... I understand that there's a ton of information for parents who have a new kindergartners, but we were sitting there for almost two hours! *grumble grumble grumble*

Overall, I'm very happy with the school that my kiddo is going to, and I'm pretty sure that I will end up loving his teacher and making new friends...it's just hard to remember all of the positive things when I'm staring at a sheet of items to buy for the classroom and the list of required fees...

Tomorrow is the official "meet the teacher" day, and I'm sure I'll be full of opinions and you guys will get to read all about it...I bet I can even find memes! You guys enjoy your Tuesday...

Time...

Time stops for no one...

At times, the unstoppable passage of time can be our biggest enemy. In other situations, time can be our biggest ally...it all comes down to your individual perspective of the situation at hand.

Lifelong 'frenemy,' time, has brought another chapter of my life to a close. My little one finished up his last day of preschool yesterday...it's most definitely a bittersweet occasion. I'm without a doubt excited for my son as he starts kindergarten next week. New school, new experiences, new opportunities...he will take his first step into his new school next week, the beginning of a lifetime of learning. A part of me cannot wait for this new leg of our lives to get started.

What will his teacher be like?
What will his classmates be like?
What kind of student will he be?
Did I choose the right school?

And then, of course, my thoughts can't help but turn to myself and the myriad of changes that are also going to occur in my own life as a result of him starting kindergarten. For the most part, I am overjoyed and welcome these changes. Finally, I'll get the opportunity to meet new people. Finally, I will get the chance to start working more and more independently. Finally, I will get started on my 'adult life' and no longer be stuck in an endless rut of feeling like I'm going nowhere.

Yet, despite all of these excited changes, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness when I picked up my little guy from his preschool yesterday. This was it. The last time I would ever drive to that familiar building to pick him up. The last time I would go to his cubby and pick up his things. Never again will I open that classroom door and see his beaming face as he exclaims, "Mommy!" and runs into my arms with the worlds most perfect hug and kiss. Gosh...I hope this keyboard is waterproof :(

So it begins. My baby boy is growing up, just like he has been all along. I'd better be careful, one day I'll take too long to blink and a young man will be standing where my kindergartner is supposed to be. Time certainly has a was of sneaking up on you when you least expect that it will.

But I will do my best to accept all the inevitable changes with as much optimism, patience, and grace as I can. What better opportunity would there be to close all of doors to painful things of the past?

Now, more than ever, I need to be an example for my son. I need to show him what it's like to be a responsible adult, a dutiful follower of Christ, and a loving and caring person. I have to prepare him for the road that lay before him and the hardships and joys along the way. Even more challenging, I have this daunting, herculean task meant for two people, and I'm facing it by myself. Failing or faltering is not an option, my son's growth and development as a person is what's at stake. To be honest, the gravity of the situation is overwhelming at times and I feel the crushing pressure trying it's best to break me down...and sometimes it does. Sometimes, I feel like all I can do is sit and cry about how unfair things can be.

And I think it's alright to cry sometimes. It's good to embrace those feelings, otherwise they'll always be there lurking beneath the smiling surface awaiting their break free and wreak havoc in the most destructive of ways. I know that I need to have faith that there is a divine plan with good things in store for both myself and my son.

That being said, I know that I have some loose ends to tie up and some doors to close. I intend to put an end to hurtful, toxic habits that could jeopardize a happy future for my little family, the first of which is Facebook.

I know that there are plenty of positive, constructive ways that the social networking site can be used, but I think you'd agree that there are just as many of the opposite. So many people become so enthralled in this virtual world, that their actual lives suffer as a result. There was an article that I stumbled on the other day that stated that Facebook was among a growing list of causes of divorce. Facebook. It's just a silly website you guys! People are becoming so dependent on this virtual world that we've created in the last decade or so, it's scary. I've done it before, and although it is hard at first, deleting a Facebook account is one of the most freeing actions a person can take. You'll be amazed, and likely ashamed, when you realize how much time you actually spend on those sorts of sites...precious time that was used to stare at a computer screen or smartphone rather than things that are truly worth your time...like watching your children grow.

I don't know exactly when, but I will deactivate my account sometime before Monday. I will continue to write posts for this blog, and anyone who would like to read it might want to save a shortcut to my blog as I will no longer have a Facebook wall to post up my new blog entries. Most people that I personally know already have my phone number or email address, but if you need either, let me know!