Crayons and Crowns

Time flies when you are not paying attention! Summer is nearly over and school is about to start again. It doesn't help matters that it has been below ninety degrees all of July. It still seems like early June. All of the kids will be going back to school next week, a week earlier again this year. I remember my youth when school started after Labor Day. At some point, we started the week before but never before the State Fair!

Amazingly, I have already gotten all of the school shopping finished. Shoes, Uniforms, supplies, the whole nine yards! Avery starts Kindergarten this year so in preparation I picked up a couple of K-1st grade workbooks, math and reading. She is not as interested in the ABCs as she is the math book. It is subtraction and she is whipping right through it. She is the total package, beauty and brains!

Dani will be moving to IUS in just two weeks. It is so bittersweet. On one hand I am so proud of where she is going with her life. The first in the family to go to an actual university and have a "real" college experience. On the other hand it makes me realize that she is not my baby anymore. OK, I realized this when she moved out over a month ago but this just cements the reality of the situation.

Alex is now a big high-schooler! He is so excited and seems more motivated to excel then I have ever seen him. He is excited about his class schedule and of course, the Jordans! I guess that is a big thing for boys, you know, the shoes!

Haylee is now going to be the Big Sister at school. I have been coaching her to make sure she looks out for Avery. They will be riding the bus home to Grandma Debbie's house so she is going to make sure Avery is OK.

On the diet front, I have stalled at 143. It kind of sucks but is expected. I haven't exercised at all in the past few weeks. Despite the fact that Beau bought me a new Wii game. If I want to hit my long term goal of anorexic chic by Thanksgiving I am definitely going to have to get back up on the horse! I did officially win the competition between Beau and I, however, I have not yet been able to collect my prize!

In less meaningful news, I watched a TV show tonight. It was called Toddlers and Tiaras. It is a documentary type program that follows young girls (their parents) that enter beauty pageants. First, let me say so as to not offend, Haylee has been in a few pageants when she was about three or four and did pretty well. However, they were royalty pageants, the type where every child gets something. It was hysterical watching these for the most part portly, homely women push their daughters to fulfill what I am sure is their dream all the while saying, "she loves it" or "we'll keep doing it as long as she wants to". There was only one little girl that they followed that actually seemed to be totally in love with the idea of the glitz and glam of the whole ordeal. I don't understand why people would pay so much money to buy the costumes, hair, make-up, spray on tans, entry fees, travel expenses and every other cost associated with the pageant circuit. There was one little animal that most likely needed Ritalin but once she was on stage she was able to compose herself. The editing room...what a great invention! I will most likely watch this show again since Wednesday is a crappy TV night.