ONLY TOOK 1 and 1/2 WEEKS

It took exactly 6 days for Bash to get pink eye, fever, and sinus infection from kindergarten. Every year he gets something the first two weeks of school. I have been meaning to get my car detailed and now after the vomit all over the backseat and floor, I can no longer wait.
Today Sebastien and I laid around and watched T.V. all day. He gets so sad looking when he is sick and loves to lay all over me. I am sure I will be sporting some pink in a few days.

Kindergarten..Day Two

Today was the first full day of school. I think it went well for Bash. He gave up taking naps/rests at 22 months so I was a little worried about "rest time" at school and how he would react. He said he just laid down and had to be quit for a really long time but some kids were talking. It is a good thing he loves to follow the rules :)
On another note....carline. We just didn't have carlines at school when I was little. Everyone took a bus but not down here in Florida. Mondays carline was an hour and thirteen minutes but today it was only 24 minutes. It is the biggest waste of time and gas.

Kindergarten and Fay

Holy cow.....summer is over. I blinked and it was gone. Except for our trip to Michigan, I don't have much to write about...it was over before it started.
So, let's move on to the first day of school...the first day of kindergarten! Bash has been really excited and for me I can't decided if I am happy or sad. I think a little misty eyed. It hasn't really sunk in yet because today was a half day and tomorrow we a have a hurricane day Tropical Storm Fay). Yep...for those relatives in Canada, we do have hurricane days and they sure do cause panic. Especially the first week of school. Funny, it looks like we may only get a little rain now....so we get to go to a movie on the second day of school and have an extra day off. Or maybe we will just hang out in PJ's one last week day. I think Sebastien was looking forward to the "monster storm" and being able to carry a flashlight around all day. The things we do for fun in Florida!

THE GREAT ONE

Last Friday was the memorial service for Great Grandma Ann. Sebastien wasn't all excited about going to church....I think he thought all this was a ploy to get him to church. But he did understand as best as a five year old can. He understands that she has died and is not coming back. Hard concept for anyone to "get".
It was a lovely service and mom did such a good job organizing it and putting her special touch on it. My uncles did the readings, Aunt Diane sang Ava Maria perfectly, and mom gave a touching eulogy. Bash , Tim and I walked the gifts down to the priest and Bash made a somber occasion funny for a few minutes with his antics walking down the aisle.
He had so many questions but was such a good boy and I was proud of him.

Finally...the beach

Hasn't been much of a summer vacation yet but we managed a trip to the beach today. Bash and Nicholas had a great time and Uncle Tim gave Trisha and I a break by body surfing with them for an hour. Poor Bash kept getting hit by the surfboards and falling over the lifeguard equipment but the boys had fun and I finally feel like I am coming alive again! Although by 1:30 I was cooked and sore and we headed home but since we do live an hour away, it was a full day. If we can just go away for a beach vacation for a few days ....that would be a little piece of heaven.

HELP :)

Before Mimi left us after her two weeks taking care of us, Bahs was concern about who was going to take care of me and I think he meant all of us ....Joe and him included. He has been a really big help around the house..loading and unloading the dishwasher, pulling the laundry out of the dryer and even draging the hamper around for me. Sometimes he sems a little worried about my ability to do some things...like My first time to Publix, grocery shopping, ...before we got out of the car he asked who was going to help us....(I managed to get the store manager to help us around the store which Bash found really cool as ge pointed to what he wanted to buy) but his concern is understandable because I haven't been capable of a lot the last few months....he asks me how we will get to Mimi and Papi's this summer because I won't be able to help him onto the plane. Which is sooo not true but hell...I haven't been much help but everyday I am sooooooo much better.

I do have to say, though, I almost started crying when he pulled out his wallet on the way to the back doctor (which I didn't know he grabbed on the way out the door) on Wed. and said "Mommy how much does it cost for the doctor?" I said to him from the front seat as I was driving..." I think it is only $10 for the c0-pay" And he said ..."oh...that's good because I have ten dollars so I can pay for your doctor so don't worry about that." "and I have enough for the toy store."

I love that kid.

Nothing and more nothing...

Guess what Sebastien and I did this morning? yep.....nothing. We didn't get out of our PJ's until after we ate some lunch.
Perfect way to start the summer of 2008.
We deserved every minute of it.

THE GREAT ONE

Yesterday , The Great One...great-grandma Ann...my grandma.....Ann Koeber.. passed away. It never really matters if you knew the time was coming or that she lived a full life or if she was 87. You still are stunned for a few moments and realize that she won't be back, we won't see her again, and holidays won't ever be the same without her saying Grace before the meal. She was a tough old bird and she had different relationships with everyone. I was lucky to have had her in my life as long as I did. She was a part of my family's life....she was at my wedding, got close with my husband and she loved Sebastien.
I am sadder for Sebastien than for myself. He loved her....he thought she was funny and he came up with the name, The Great One. That was because grandma, being the oldest, he thought she was the boss of all of us. He bought her this HUGE (about 12 inches long) pink pen for Christmas last year so she could write big words so she could see better. He loved to climb the tree at her house and "ride" on the lazy boy chair that went up and down. Sebastien is five...we don't know if he understands for sure that she is in a better place but he says great grandma is in Heaven.
I love family, I love traditions, I loved my grandma and she will be very , very missed.

Last Day of Preschool

Wow...it is weird how sad I was the last day of preschool yesterday. It was the last day of walking Bash down the mile long hallway to his classroom (which two weeks out of back surgery is an Olympic event for me), last day with a lot of great mom friends who might not be there next year, and the whole simpleness of it all. It was preschool (which at a Catholic school seems like 1st grade), if we didn't go to school one morning, it didn't really matter, if we took a few extra days off after a holiday...it didn't really matter. He glued things, started to learn to read, counts to 100 and more and by five's and tens, knows more about bears, lizards, and the entire life cycle of a butterfly plus the difference between them and moths.....he has grown so much. I can't stop looking through his work that he did all year...piles of it all came home the last week.

Bash keeps telling me it is only 60 days until Kindergarten and he can't wait. He wants to be dropped off at the front and stay 7 hours at school. (I think that story will change after week one) I don't want attendance to really count! The summer started last night and Joe and I let him stay up late and celebrate it. I am not going to want this summer to end. I love traditions, milestones and all that stuff but isn't five to young for 7 hours at school :(
I am sure most parents go through this but Sebastien is my only one and I don't get to relive it with another.

By the way, Trisha....we had one awesome end of the year party yesterday! It was insane and at one point I counted about 60 people! But the kids had a ball and I am glad we got to do it together...although you had to do all the labor!

On To Better Things...

Well...I normally try to just keep this blog about things that go on with Sebastien but we all have been put through the ringer the last two weeks. Good news is that my back surgery was successful as of today. It has been two weeks and Mimi just left this morning and I braved driving Bash to school. These last two weeks.. Mimi became Florence Nightingale, Sebastien learned to be careful around me and became good at getting what he wanted from Mimi, Joe survived chaos, and I got recovered!
I thank God for all my friends who drove Bash back and forth to school, Trisha for everything...including organizing dinners (all the friends who brought dinner), taking Bash and mimi to the doctor , the list goes on and on....Patty, we won't even write about what i am thankful for you for :)

Anyhoo-
enough of that, Bash has three days left of school and we can't wait to start hitting the beach and pool as soon as I am up to it!

Islands Of Adventure

We went to Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios last weekend. The last hurrah before my back surgery and the end of school. I use to love only Disney World but we have become experts on IOA and US this year. The rides are all awesome and the hotels are great, especially because you get on all the rides first with your room key. If we have to wait more than ten minutes, it would be a shock to us.
Bash had a ball. Once again we did breakfast with Spiderman and The Cat in the Hat and got a ton of great pictures. He got an anchor tattoo...highlight of hanging by the pool in the afternoons.
This summer probably won't be the "summer of fun" between my back and Joe's work so it was nice to get away when we did.

One small note because in ten years I won't remember this unless I write it down........not that it is a proud moment (a little funny...yes) but this weekend in school Sebastien and Nicholas were arguing so Bash went up to the teacher and was telling on Nicholas and then he said to his teacher, loudly, that " Nicholas is a jackass!" Yep....I know it is not funny so he did get into trouble and then I laughed like hell behind closed doors. I can't even imagine who he learned that from??? :)

Time is flying by.....

At some point the madness will stop.....it's been awhile.

Since Easter...Mimi and Papi came down which was a nice break from normal activities. We all had a wonderful visit and Bash and Papi went on a zillion bike rides. Cousin Ashley came down and sang the national anthem at one of the Lightning games...it was a great night for the whole family and we were all so proud of her.

Since there won't be much time to get away this summer, we are taking a family weekend trip to Orlando this weekend. Bash is very excited...he loves staying in hotels. I am looking forward to it because after this trip, there will be no more amusement park rides for me. My back surgery is scheduled for May 8th...not looking forward to the surgery but it will be nice to be pain free. Mimi will be hanging with us for almost two weeks. Grammy is very much missed around here but is appreciated for all the love and help she is giving Great-Grandma Ann right now.

Easter Sunday 2008

Time has been flying by....it is Easter Sunday today. I haven't written a blog in a month. We've all been very busy.

Bash has been busy with school, hockey, and just being a kid. Joe has been swamped at work with all the drama and I have had a million health issues. But we are looking forward to springtime. We can't wait to get to the beach, Bash is loving being on Spring Break (sounds crazy for a 5 year old in preschool, huh?), and I can get going decking the patio out in flowers!

Easter is a little different this year....Grammy is in Ocala with The Great One, Joe is working due to the NCAA's ....so Bash and I went grocery shopping this morning. The easter bunny made a grand appearance for Bash....it is amazing how the bunny knows about Wii games and Spiderman.

Keep our Great One in your thoughts today.

BOXERS OR BRIEFS?

Sebastien, who is now five, has decided that he only wants to wear boxers. I was informed that I need to throw out all the other kind of underwear in his drawer. Unbelievable.

Fair Day

Bash was off of school on Friday so we braved the Florida State Fair with the Woods family. It was my first time at the fair since I got married and had Bash. We had fun....a different kind of fun than I remember. I use to go and eat and drink our way through the fair at night and maybe catch a concert. This time, I drank water and iced tea and tried to keep track of the kids and didn't touch a funnel cake. Different but fun. Nicholas and Sebastien went on about 20 rides and it is a miracle that they didn't get sick because everyone of them spun around and around.

We had hockey last night and Bash got hit with his first cross-check across the back. It was awful to watch but he survived after a few tears and my wonderful words of wisdom..."That's hockey, Bash....get back out there", as I wiped tears from his eyes (and mine). I think the dads all around me were proud that I handled it like that. The mother of the boy who hit him was pissed at her son and pulled his bully butt off the ice for a good talking to. I was secrectly happy she did it.
Sebastien's first day of basketball was this morning. To my surprise, he loved it and scored a basket. So, there goes our Sat. mornings. We have to be at the Y by 7:50 a.m. next week. They must have been smoking something when they made the schedule....the kids are 5 and under.
This coming week we have Thursday and Friday off.....probably another Saints birthday.

5TH BIRTHDAY 2008

We made it....Bash is FIVE. Today is the last day of this three day birthday celebration. We brought cupcakes to school which grammy and I worked hard on. (star shaped cupcakes with star wars characaters on them). Did I mention the birthday theme this year was Star Wars? We now have everything Star Wars that has ever been made.
It is amazing how generous our family and all his friends are. His party was a success...final count was 39 kids and about 100 adults. Everyone seemed like they had fun and Bash certainly loved being the center of attention. Madison and Hannah argued a little about who got to sit next to him...they both call him their boyfriend. Hard to believe that is starting at age five but it is serious business with those girls. Bash got some great presents....he loves all the Transformer stuff and one of his favorite things was the magic show kit that Jack Wilkins got him. Of course the Wii games he got from grammy (Star Wars and Transformers) and the Wii game from Mimi and Papi (Spiderman), the star wars comics from uncle tim and all the great stuff from everyone.
Anyhoo- another year gone by.....can't wait to see all the great things he will learn about this year!

The Final Countdown....

Tomorrow is the birthday party and I have never been so happy to receive last minute cancellations....final count 38 which includes 6 kids under two. (does not include adult and siblings) Someone remind me of how agravated I have been about this party so next year I take Joe up on the suggestion of a Disney World weekend instead. Also, someone remind me NEVER to be late with rsvping to someone else's party......

Long Time, No Write

It has been awhile....lot of crap going on since the holidays.

The big news of the month with Bash is that he is turning FIVE next week. It is hard to believe he is FIVE already. I am sad to see that the preschool years are almost over but watching him grow into a great kid is so much fun. He is so excited to be turning FIVE...it is like a rite of passage somehow. He lists all these things that he will be able to do once he is FIVE. And I say that loudly because everytime he mentions that he going to be FIVE, he yells out the number to give it more meaning. I think he thinks that FIVE is an adult. (nowadays it almost is)

So, our sad news is that The Great One (great-grandma Ann) is not doing to well. She has cancer and only limited time left with us. It is aggresive and was only diagnosed Jan. 4th and sadly has not been given to much time. Bash, Joe and I went up to Ocala to see her on last Sunday. We all, grammy included, went out to lunch and had a nice visit. Joe and I are slowly telling Bash what is going on...he is a bright kid so we have to be honest but can leave out a few details. We will just go see her as much as we can with him. He loves her and like us all will miss her very much. He has a little bond with The Great One......Sebastien calls himself her "great-son".

We are off to hockey practice tonight. Bash has been doing well with it. Last week he played goalie for a little bit and stopped two pucks. He was beaming with pride!