The first four days I'd school are in the books and we managed to feed the kids with little to no complaints in a somewhat timely fashion.

Here's what I learned the first week of school.

There's a lot of guesswork that goes into ordering. Quick, how many kindergarteners will eat a hotdog on the first day of school? How should you know? Exactly my point. I figured more buns was better than not enough.

The great milk debate. I am only offering white milk/skim milk for breakfast and so far it is going great. About 90 percent of the kids are taking it and I've had few questions about it. One 1st grader amazed herself when she "made" her own chocolate milk by pouring it onto her coco puff (Before I get any crap about serving coco puffs, please note that they are half cup servings of reduced fat/low sugar coco puff and contain only 12 grams of sugar).

I'll just have the hot dog. One little kindergartener told me at breakfast that he liked the hotdog so much that he came back for another one. He was amazed to learn that we served different foods for breakfast. He jumped excitedly when I told him we were having eggs.

Is there popcorn in the chicken? A kindergartener asked her mom if the popcorn chicken was made out of popcorn or mixed with popcorn. Goodness, that might be one of my favorite questions of all times.

Being on my feet all day. It's hard to get back into the swing of things after chillaxin at the pool all summer. My feet are still mad at me for making them wear shoes.

What did you learn?

• Don't be to anxious to "grow up".  You asked me the other day if I thought you should shave your legs and my response was simple.  "I think you should shave your legs as long as you are ready to make it a lifetime commitment."  Once you start you can't stop.  You decided on your own to wait a little while.  I'm sort of glad.
• It's good to have someone who always has your back.  I'm glad you have a good buddy who you can confide in and share laughs with.  The good thing about being a girl is that we make friends easier than boys.  The bad thing about being a girl that some of those friends look for ways to create drama.
• Boys, boys, boys.  You are starting to realize that not all boys are gross.  My advice to you regarding boys, "Never let a boy come between you and a friend.  It's simply not worth it."
• School is important.   You aren't exceptionally excited about the start of school.  You don't really like to read and sometimes you complain about math.  While it is true that you likely will not need to know the capital of Uzbekistan, you should look at all those lessons like adventures.  Just think of all the things you might learn tomorrow.
• Treat others the way you'd like to be treated.  I stress this point often and I'm sure you are sick of hearing it, but I think it's starting to sink in.  Tonight, when your best friend scored a goal in a scrimmage game, you immediately ran up and hugged her.  It made no difference to you that she was playing against you!

Dear Oldest G,

You are becoming a beautiful young woman.  I am amazed when I look at you.  Gone is the little girl with the blond ringlets and standing in her place is a young adult who looks so much like me.

As you complete your middle school journey I want you to remember a few things.

• Middle School has a lot of drama.  The thing about drama is that, if you let it, it will follow you wherever you go.  Those girls that make little things into big things, they do that as adults too.  Decide not to partake.  The choice really is yours.
• Boys eventually mature (okay not all of them).  Middle school boys think body noises are funny and boobs are great.  Eventually, these boys grow up and stop making the body noises, but they always think boobs are great.
• As with anything, what effort you put in, matches the result you receive.  If you apply yourself, you can pretty much accomplish anything.  There is an old saying that asks the question, "How do you eat an elephant?" The answer is "One bite at a time."
• Don't be too anxious for things to end.  Live in the moment, because this moment, the start of eighth grade, it will never happen again.
• Surround yourself with people that make life bearable.  There are two different kinds of people in the world: the givers and the takers.  Try to be a giver.

Here's hoping that you continue to shine in 8th grade.  I am very proud of you and the wonderful young woman you are becoming.

~ Mom ~
   

My little boy teaches me many things.

He teaches me the importance of not caring what other people think. He acts like himself no matter who is around. He never pretends to be something he is not.

He paints his nails more than I wish he would, but I don't stop him.

He just likes the colors.

He teaches me about treating others they way you would like to be treated. He says his friends know that he's a "Tom-girl" and they don't care. He says he doesn't care what his friends like or don't like he just knows he likes them.

He likes things that sparkle.

Yesterday he wanted me to buy him a sparkly (very sparkly) best friends necklace and all I could think about was how others will make fun of him. It was two halves of a heart and they were magnetic. He wanted to give the other half to me.

I'm not proud of it but I was desperate to talk him out of it. I just didn't want him to be made fun of.

My almost 9 year old son asked me if I was embarrassed by him.

EPIC PARENTING FAIL

Of course, not I said.

I just don't like sparkly pink, I said.

We ended up getting gumball machines. His is teal and mine is pink. They say BFFs.

I am honored to be his BFF and I hope he knows that know matter what he does he will never embarrass me.

I love him sparkles, glitter and all!

Photo Credit The Awesome Terry Border

The countdown has begun.

Many neighboring school districts have already started.

We're last out of the starting gate with our Tuesday morning beginning, but barring anything unforeseen, I think (swalling hard), I'm ready.

The food has arrived.

The milk and bread have been ordered, due to arrive on Monday.

Produce may make an appearance on Tuesday.

Fingers crossed.

Guess there's nothing left to do but see what we can learn.

Tune in next week...

Two week's ago, my daughter got stung by a bee at the pool. The lifeguard gave her some bee sting spray and a bag of ice and sent her on her way.

Twenty four hours later, her foot looked like this.

I called the doctor and spoke to a nurse. She said that swelling was a "common" reaction and that if it didn't go down within a week's time or it swelled up beyond her ankle to call back.

She also said to watch for streaking coming from the area.

The swelling went down, but middle G continued to complain about the itching. She went to the beach with a friend over the weekend. She had a fabulous time.

When she came home, I asked, "How was your foot."

"It's still itchy. Oh and every now and then it turns dark purple."

She is eleven and prone to exaggeration, but sure enough. The foot has been dark, dark purple a couple times this week.

You can't really tell in this photo, but her toes are quite purple and the skin on the top of her foot blanches and feels sort of clammy to the touch.

I called the doctor. Spoke to a different nurse.

He didn't know what could be the cause. Asked me if I was sure she hadn't bruised it. Asked if she had a fever. I'm sure and she doesn't.

They wanted me to come in at 9 p.m. tonight and I said... "yeah, um...how about tomorrow."

8:30 a.m. And you know that foot won't be purple.

Anyone have a similar story?

Here are a few things you should know when querying agents.

It is painful.

The stories we write are close to our hearts. They bring us laughter and tears. They talk to us. Literally. Ask any writer. We hear their voices. We know what they want to say. Sometimes we get out of bed at weird hours just to write it down.

We send these heartfelt words to agent after agent and many of them send form letters back (if we are lucky). Others just ignore us all together. Every now and then we get an invitation. A bite. A request for a partial.

Please send five pages.

Five pages? But...

Nope. Just five.

Sometimes we get an even bigger bite. Please send 25 pages. Maybe even 50. Please send them in times new roman font 12 with no more than 1/2 inch margins.

For me those bites have ended there. After four months I have had only three partial requests and all of them have been rejected. My hope was that I would have more interest by my 40th birthday.

At first I was a little sad that I didn't accomplish that goal but then I realized that I'll be 40 until next July. I still have plenty of time.

Besides, it's never in ones best interest to give up on a dream.

What are you dreaming about?