Buddy was so excited to go. I thought it would be nice for him to check out the camp his sister went to a few years ago and where I hope to ship all three of them off to one summer in the near future. 

When Rea was there two years ago, she was obsessed with the zip-line. At that time, it was the longest in the state of Florida. Now I believe, it is #2. Anyway, Buddy was vicariously familiar with the zip-line. He and I watched as Rea and Stu rode it two summers ago. And then we listened to stories of Rea riding it over and over and over that week. So I am not surprised that Buddy wanted to try. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised he went alone. 

Right around the time that March ends and April begins, the kids start chatting about Daddy's birthday. We love birthdays. They guarantee a good meal and cake! Stu loves ice-cream cake - specifically Carvel ice-cream cake. So he looks forward to his special day for that reason. 

Lately he's been complaining a lot about getting older. And grumbling more than usual about his birthday. Because of this, my mom assumed it was a big year for him. She thought he was turning 40 this year. 

Buddy is almost finished with kindergarten. The summer before her kindergarten year, Rea's main goal was to lose one tooth. Buddy never seemed to really care too much for this rite of passage. 

Then almost a year ago, we were at a friend's house for a party. The kids were mostly outside swimming and playing on the incredible blow-up waterslide. Parents were milling around both in and out. I can't remember exactly what Buddy came inside for, all I know is he was in the house. Then he heads back outside... at full speed, right into the sliding glass door. There were some tears, racing heartbeats, minor amount of blood.

After things calmed down a bit, I noticed his front tooth was a tiny bit wiggly. The random Mom-knowledge in my brain's rolodex of potentially useful-ish information told me that this was not ok. But that's all the card said: This is not ok, call the dentist. 

So I asked my pediatrician instead. She said to take him to the dentist for an x-ray, make sure no damage was done to the roots. Ok, that makes sense. 

I think as a mom, it's so fun to watch other moms. As I briefly mentioned yesterday, sometimes as moms we feel isolated. We feel like we are messing up all the time. We feel like we are never doing anything "right." We sometimes let our husbands down because we simply do not have enough energy to go around. 

For all of those times in my life I turn to my girlfriends. I don't know how people do it without a core group to share with. My friends have talked me off the ledge more than once. I have assured one that what her son does in the bathtub is just a new trick and he'll get over it one day. A friend has had to remind me that I need to set my marriage back on the right track or all else is for naught. 

Life is messy. Motherhood is even worse. I swear, Dads have it so easy. Motherhood is like the world's sick experiment to see how much stress, how little sleep, how many pounds gained, how many tears cried, how many hours spent second-guessing herself one woman can take. It doesn't exactly get easier either, as the kids grow older. The stress and pressure shifts into different forms, but it is still there. 

That's why there are so many Mom Groups, Mom Blogs. I think we crave confirmation that someone else is experiencing the same things we are. Someone else feels like we do. Someone else made it out of this situation alive. 

There's a new show on Bravo TV, it's called There Goes the Motherhood. It airs tonight at 10pm. My DVR is ready. I cannot wait! Fingers are crossed that it will be worth the watch. 
​
For a first look, click #TGTM or copy and paste the web address below into your browser. 
​http://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/new-bravo-series-there-goes-the-motherhood-first-look#

When I sat down to write this, I was going to talk about "Raising Sons." I read an article this morning (and posted it to my Facebook account). But then, as I thought about it, it's more about me. I feel like, not only am I guiding my kids down the right path, but I am also setting myself up for the future. The future truth is they will leave. 

The article I read this morning was about Missy Robertson's words to her son after he announced his recent engagement. The whole article is fantastic. But one part really resonated with me. Missy is quoted as saying:

This weekend, Rea earned her orange belt. It was the happiest I had seen her. You could see it in er eyes, she was so proud of herself.

Rea is in black belt training. Buddy, because of his age, is in the little champs group. While Rea is earning solid belts, Bud is working on striped belts. His always has white on it. And when he turns 7, he'll move onto the black belt track. He's very excited about it. But for now, he is happily working toward new belts. In June, he will probably earn his high yellow belt (right now he is yellow). 

It's officially summer in south Florida. Ok technically, it's only just turned to spring, but we had maybe 5 days of lovely weather. Now it's hot. HOT. HOT. The kind of hot that hits you when you step outside. The kind of hot that makes you want to change your clothes and shower multiple times each day. The kind of hot that screams for water activities. 

We Florida people love our swimming pools. Last fall we invested in a pool heater. Just because it's 90+ outside does not mean the pool is warm enough for our thin blood. The pool heater was the best idea ever. The kids (and grown ups) have spent more time in it this entire year than ever before. 

Facebook said it. So it must be true. Today is Sibling Day. And my sisters are so lucky to have me. 

I'm only partially kidding. While you guys did truly luck out in the older sister department, I didn't do so bad either. I am very grateful to have you guys as my blood. Thank you both for being the awesome humans that you are. 

Here's my photo tribute to you. 

Now, a slideshow of good times! 

Rea told me that the former scientists of the day have brought in things for the rest of the class to interact with or manipulate. For example, one student's project included Root Beer floats. Yum. 

We thought it'd be a great idea for each student to get a plane. Rea flat out refused the idea of making paper airplanes - She said the boys go too crazy with paper airplanes. So I went shopping in search of something appropriate. 

This week Rea has to be "Scientist for the Day" in her class. Each student was given a topic. Their assignment was to create a science board and visual to teach their assigned topic to the class. 

Rea was given Force and Motion. She decided to find out how an airplane lifts off the ground. She and Grandpa built a wind tunnel to test find the answer to her question: "How does an airplane fly?" This turned out WAY better than I ever expected! Rea worked very hard on this project for nearly a week. 

Keep reading for more pics.