Big Spender

I'm always writing about Nathan and Charlotte, but this post is devoted to Wayne. This is the funniest story! Last week, Wayne had to go to Nashville for business. He's been really busy at work the past few weeks, and wasn't really looking forward to going out of town. He was so exhausted but at least he was able to schedule his flight so that he would arrive in Nashville a few hours early so that he could rest and relax before going to dinner that night with everyone. From the moment he left, nothing went right. First of all, whenever Wayne travels, he valets his car at the airport so that he can park right away and get in. Well, for some reason, the valet guys weren't there so Wayne had to circle and circle the garage looking for a parking place. He found one and quickly made it to the plane. Luckily, his flight wasn't delayed at all, and he made good time getting to Nashville. He took a cab to his hotel and saw that he had a good 2 hours before having to meet in the lobby. It was just enough time to watch some football and rest in bed. So Wayne goes to turn on the TV, and it just so happens that the channels showing the game were not working. "That's just great, but oh well. I'll just lay in bed and check scores on my phone," he thought. Wayne goes to get his phone and can't find it anywhere. He remembered taking it out of his pocket in the cab to get to his wallet...and setting it on the seat next to him. Wayne panicked for a moment. I mean he HAS to have his phone while there on business, but how was he going to know what cab he was in?! Then he remembered he paid with a credit card and had the receipt. The name of the company and number of the cab was there! Thank goodness! He called the company and the company contacted the cab driver who confirmed that he did have Wayne's phone and could deliver it to him in 30 minutes. Whew! Of course Wayne had to pay him $25 for the extra trip, but at least he had his phone back. After returning to the room, phone in hand, Wayne checked the clock. He's got a little over an hour left. So Wayne got back in bed and closed his eyes to try to get a quick nap in. Then, all of a sudden, the fire alarm starts going off! "You've got to be kidding me!" Wayne lays there a while seeing if it will go off, but no. So he gets up, and goes to the hall to look out. He finds out its a false alarm and there's no need to evacuate. So he goes back to bed, but the alarm keeps blaring and blaring and BLARING! Finally, it turns off. Clock check...30 minutes...time to get up and take a shower...no nap.

Even though Wayne didn't get a nap in, he had fun visiting with everyone in the lobby and going out to dinner. After dinner, a group of people decided to walk to one of the bars, Tooties, to listen to some live music and have a few more drinks. Wayne was having a really good time when one of the band members came around with his tip jar. Everyone really liked the band, but all Wayne had in the way of cash was twenties and a few ones. He gave him two dollars apologized to the guy for only having a few dollars on him, but the guy was really nice and said every little bit helps and thank you. As the night went on, Wayne and his co-workers were really having a good time. Everyone was drinking (their hotel was in walking distance so no one was worried about driving) and they were all really loving the band. So Wayne decided he was going to be a little more generous...and show off a bit. He was going to give him a...drum roll please...Twenty! When one of the band members came back around, Wayne called him over and said, "Hey man, I found a little something extra for you." He gave him the twenty dollar bill and said, "You guys are amazing." The band guy was so appreciative. He thanked Wayne several times and told him if he had any song requests, to be sure to tell him. Wayne was a little surprised by how thankful he was, but like he said earlier, every little bit helps. And Wayne knew a $20 tip was very generous.

At the end of the night, everyone walked back to the hotel. When they got to the hotel, everyone said goodnight, and then Wayne's boss asked Wayne if he could borrow a few dollars for his cab ride home. Wayne told him he only had twenties but he could still have one. As Wayne was looking through his wallet, he was thinking, "Wait a minute, I know I had more money than this." But he didn't want to make a big deal about it while his boss was there so he have him a twenty and then went up to his room. Wayne opened his wallet and started frantically searching through it. "Where the hell is that HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL?!?!" Yes, Wayne had a few dollar bills, some twenties, and a hundred dollar bill in his wallet. He dumped out his wallet...no hundred. And then it hit him. No wonder the band guy was so appreciative! Instead of tipping him a twenty, he accidentally have him a hundred! The shock of throwing away ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS mixed with the fact that he had been drinking, made him feel like he was about to pass out! When Wayne was telling me this, I was laughing so hard I could hardly breathe! Wayne, Mr. Conservative, just tipped a guy in a bar $100! A $5 tip would have been nice...$10 would be generous...and $20 (what he thought he gave) would have been exceptional! But $100?! That's ridiculous! Wayne said that when he started thinking about all he could have spent that hundred dollars on, it just made him sick...I mean he'd rather buy everyone a round, or two rounds of drinks than give it to a stranger! I could just imagine the shock he felt at the realization of tipping a hundred. I don't even think I would do that! Poor Wayne!

After recovering from my uncontrollable laughter, I told Wayne that he learned two lessons: First, don't drink so much that you can't tell the difference between a twenty and a hundred, and secondly, don't try to be a show off. Isn't that the funniest thing?!

Nathan's First Soccer Game

Nathan just started a new season of soccer and had his first game on Saturday. His team is the Warriors, and he is loving it! He is playing with a different team than the one he played with last year, and we are so much more excited about this team! Blake, one of his classmates from last year, is on the team along with Roman, who was also in his class. These three boys were best friends (and Graham, but he had already joined a different team) so it is so great for me to see them together again...even though they are not in school together, at least they can play soccer with each other! And the best part is that Nathan's coach is Blake's Dad. He is such a great coach, so positive and motivating. Last year, Nathan liked playing soccer but wasn't excited about going to practice. It's completely different this year. He can't wait for soccer practice, and was really happy for his first game!

Nathan is #5

Getting a pep talk from Coach

Nathan is to the right of the boy kicking the ball

The other team "won" the game, but I don't think any of the kids on Nathan's team realized that! They were just having fun getting out there, running around, and kicking the ball. After watching Nathan play, Wayne and I figured out Nathan's "strategy." He runs very aggressively after the ball and stays right with it, making you think he's about to kick it at any time, but when it starts to get congested, he runs around the ball so as not to get kicked or knocked down! It's kind of funny because he is pretty good at acting aggressive. At one point, Nathan was really running after the ball and was in the perfect position to give it a good kick, and then he backed off a bit and started cheering for Blake to go after it!

End of the game high fives

Blake and Nathan

Nathan's biggest cheerleader, Charlotte

First Week of School

The first day was great...rest of the week not so great. Both Nathan and Charlotte went to school on Wednesday, which was their first day. Charlotte only goes on Mondays and Wednesdays so after the first day, she was finished for the week. Nathan was not too happy about that on Thursday.

I was a little worried about that, but Wayne and I really talked to Nathan the night before, and he acted excited about school, but that all changed once we walked into the building. As we got closer to his room, the crying got louder and louder. We stopped by the stairwell so I could try to talk to him, reason with him, comfort him, but he just wouldn't calm down. He kept telling me he loved me and wanted to be home with me and Charlotte. I was so sad for him. Finally, one of the assistants, Miss Jackie, came over to us...she heard us down the hall. Nathan went through this same thing last year, and miss Jackie made him feel better then too. Anyway, she told me just to drop off his backpack, and she would talk to him and go with him into class. After I let his teachers know where he was, I walked past the stairs and saw miss Jackie holding Nathan, his arms wrapped around her and his head laying on her shoulder. I knew he was nervous because it was a new class with new teachers and new kids. My heart broke for him. Charlotte and I left and an hour later, Miss Jackie called to tell me that he was still a little sad but wasn't as upset as he had been earlier. I thought about him all day and was sure I was there a little early to pick him up. When I picked him up, he was in the BEST mood! His teachers told me, it didn't take long for him to get happy and that he played with  two other boys really well. They said he got a little teary eyed halfway through the day but never cried again. As we walked out of his classroom, Nathan couldn't stop talking and telling me about his day. He told me he made a good friend who built block towers with him. He was so happy! As we got closer to the car, Nathan saw his friend and said, "Mommy! That's Aidan!" He ran over to him and gave him a big hug. Aidan said he was sorry he wasn't going to be here on Friday because they were going out of town, but he promised he would finish the block tower with Nathan on Monday. Then Nathan told him that he could come to his house next week and play with all of his toys and Legos. They were so cute! Nathan told me that he snuck his toy lizard in, and is teachers let him keep it with him to make him feel better. He said it smelled like my lipstick so he knew I kissed it for him, so that made him happy. Sweet, sweet boy. I was so relieved that Nathan ended up having a good day!

Now it's Friday. I wasn't as worried about Friday because he ended up having so much fun the day before plus it was a half day. We talked and talked about him going to school today and not crying. He said he wasn't scared, and since it was a short day, he was happy to go. I honestly didn't think we were going to have a problem. We walked in, walked to his class, I signed him in, put on his name tag, leaned down to give him a hug and kiss, and then his eyes welled up. Oh no, not again! He pulled me over to the sided and said he didn't want to go. I said, "Nathan, don't do this again. It is a short day, and I'll be here a little early to pick you up. Be brave! Now, come on, let's go." Now the tears are really coming, and he's got a death grip on my hand. I keep trying to pull my hand out of his, but he is NOT letting go. I knew that once I left, he would be fine like the day before, but I also didn't want to cause a huge scene. So I got my hand away from Nathan fast enough to drop off his back pack in the room. I gave one of the teachers a look, like "Here, we go again." thinking she would come out and take him in like we did yesterday. Nope...the halls had already cleared out, and everyone was starting their day, and I'm around the corner with Nathan crying. I did feel sorry for him the day before, but now my patience is wearing thin. I thought about just dragging him into the room and taking off, but since the teachers weren't out there encouraging me to do that, I didn't know if they wanted me to. I'm thinking, "Where is Miss Jackie?!" Before I know it, Nathan is walking down the hall saying he wants to go home. Charlotte and I walk after him. Now I'm getting mad. I call Wayne thinking he could give him a pep talk, maybe even a threat or two. But that didn't really have any effect. Now, I've pretty much had it. I thought I'd just hug him and carry him into his room, be sweet but firm, and just leave. I guess Nathan knew what I was going to do so as I walked towards him, he started running OUT of the school!!! I ran after him, grabbed him, and by this time, I was seeing RED! I was so ANGRY!!!! Then I heard the door slam behind us and heard this big click. The door to the hallway locked behind us with Charlotte still standing in the hall!!! I was about to lose it. The door was too big for Charlotte to open so the only way to get back in was to walk all the way around the building, go in the front door, go down a LONG hallway to where we were. And all the time, Charlotte is in the hall by herself. I was pretty much running to get to her. Nathan is jogging behind me still crying and wanting me to hold his hand. And I'm thinking, "Nathan, you're lucky we're in a school and I have a tiny bit of self control left." I finally get down the hall and see Charlotte standing by the water fountain trying to get herself a drink. I was so relieved she was still in the same place we left her. I grab Charlotte and start marching down to Nathan's room. I hear him say, "Mommy, what are you going to do?"  With my teeth clenched, I say "I'm getting your teacher. Sit on this step and don't move!" He knew I was mad and did just that. I go to his room and tell Mrs. Landry that Nathan doesn't want to come in and can she help me. This is what she says..."I really think it would be best if you just let me get him and take him into class. He'll be just fine once he's in here, just like yesterday."  Ummmmmm you think? She was really sweet, but in my mind, I'm thinking that's what I wanted someone to do! Come help me! She probably thought I was one of those moms who was coddling him and comforting him and not wanting to see him cry and that I was the one having a hard time letting him go. But I said, "Yes, that would be great." So she comes out and takes his hand. Nathan knew it was over, he was going in whether he wanted to or not. He pretty much gave up the fight and asked to give me a hug and a kiss. I did and then just turned and walked out.

So, not a good day at all! I was supposed to drop him off at 9:00, but ended up not leaving the school until 9:45. It pretty much took me all morning to calm down. When I went to pick him up, once again, he was in the best mood! His teachers said he was wonderful all morning and had a great time. They told me the best thing to do on Monday would be to just walk him in, hand him off to one of them, give a quick hug and kiss and leave, not draw out the goodbye. Great idea! On our way home, I said "Nathan, what in the world happened this morning?" And he said he didn't like being in a different class with different kids and teachers. He said he didn't know if anyone would play with him. But he told me that even though Aidan wasn't there, Taylor played with him all day. I said, "Nathan, I know it's hard to start something new, but you can't carry on like you did this morning." And this was his response: "I know Mommy, I am just so sorry about that." And then he gave me a hug.

That night, Wayne talked to him and gave him another pep talk. We both agreed that we didn't want to ignore the way he was feeling, but he also had to find a way to be brave. He loves the IPad more than anything so we told him that if he walked in crying on Monday, it would be taken away until he could go in without crying. That really scared him! He also really wants to see The Amazing Spiderman movie again (it's on at the dollar theater) so I also told him that if he had a great week, we'd go to that on Friday. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Nathan fell asleep early Friday night...it's exhausting being naughty :)

First Day of School

The first day of school is finally here! Wayne and I have been talking to Nathan and Charlotte about the start of school constantly to make sure they were ready and excited about school. I have been more worried about Charlotte starting school than Nathan. She is so quiet and shy and a little dependent on me so even though I knew this would be a good experience for Charlotte, I was worried she would be sad and scared when the day actually came. So when today finally came, Charlotte was so excited!!! She couldn't wait to put on her new outfit, have her hair fixed, and show off to Daddy!

Last night, I got a little stressed because I have been thinking this whole summer that when school starts, they are only going for half days (until noon) this first week, which meant no naps for Charlotte and no lunch for either of them. Last night, around 8:00, I was looking at the lesson plans that their teachers sent over email and noticed that neither one said anything about ending at noon. WHAT?! I looked back at the school calendar and saw that it said CDO kids go until noon the first week. I realized that CDO stands for "Child's Day Out" which are the babies. Nathan and Charlotte are CWP, "Children's Weekday Program." I hadn't gotten Charlotte's nap mat from my mom yet, didn't have her lunch box, and didn't have groceries for good lunches! Luckily, Mama had already finished her nap mat, so I grabbed my keys and headed to her house to get it. Then I went to Wal-Mart to get Charlotte a girly lunch box and stuff for their lunches. The only lunch boxes they had left were Dora...well, that was perfect because Charlotte loves Dora! She was already asleep when I got home, so I had to wait until the next morning for her to see her new things. Boy was she happy!!!!

Nathan already had all of his things ready to go. Auntie Carrie had gotten him a new super hero backpack, Spiderman lunch box, and a Batman water bottle. He and Charlotte looked so cute this morning!

When we got to school, both Nathan and Charlotte were so happy. Nathan wanted to go to Charlotte's room first to drop her off. I was nervous about the actual drop-off, but when we got to Mrs. Shelley's room, Charlotte walked right in and straight to the area with the baby dolls! We went in the room with her to unpack her bag, but Charlotte really didn't pay much attention to us. Nathan went over to her and said, "Now Charlotte, you have to be a big girl and don't cry. Brother is going to be right down the hall OK?" He was so sweet to her, but I think a little disappointed because she could care less! She just wanted to play with the babies. We both gave her a kiss and hug and walked out without a peep from her!

Now on to Nathan's room. Although Nathan was acting really brave and excited for Charlotte, I could tell he was nervous himself. When we got to his room, he asked me how long he was going to be at school. I told him until 2:00, and he asked if that was a long time. I told him it wasn't all that long, but he was starting to get sad. He kept hugging me and then said he wished he could be in Charlotte's room. I think he was just nervous because it was a new room with new teachers and new kids. Although he knows lots of the kids from last year. They just weren't in the same room as him. Luckily, one of his teachers was right at the door, and led him right in so he didn't have much time to give me a long good-bye and get too sad. 

I am loving having today all to myself, but can't wait to pick them up and see how the day went. Hopefully everyone will be happy!!! I think the hardest thing will be going back tomorrow and Friday because Charlotte only goes Monday and Wednesday, so she won't go another day this week but Nathan will. He'll go a full day again tomorrow and then a half day on Friday. I'm a little worried that he will be sad that he's going to school and Charlotte isn't. But we'll just cross that bridge when we get to it. As for now, I'm going to have another cup of coffee and relax!