Nick turns 17!

Today is Nick's 17th birthday! Wow how time flies. I remember when he was on a Monday 17 years ago. Born at 21" long and 7lbs 12oz and now 6ft 2" and about 138! He has become a great young man and has made the last 17yrs for me wonderful. While we have had our ups and downs the truth is I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love forward to many more birthdays with him and can't wait to see him grow into the man he is becoming.

Fixed him a great breakfast this morning and he was off to school in a great mood. Dinner tonight to finish off the day!

Time to dish the cash!

3rd day of school and all is well but as many of you with kids know - its time to start paying and buying things. For Nick - its a fee for photography class plus supplies. Not many notebooks needed this time around so at least school supplies are kept to a minimum. Now this year I get to save on lunch money as he is on early release!!! I am thrilled because at 5.00 a day - lunch can get pretty pricey throughout the year. He is happy because he doesn't have to eat school lunch!

For the most part he likes his classes but knows that he has to make sure he stays on top. I am thrilled he will get home a bit early because that means there will be NO excuses on why things aren't done -- you should have everything done by 7pm and have the rest of the night to play games!

Karate practice is going well. He has a great self defense partner - a black belt and they just finished practicing. Friday is tournament and he is competing in the weapons division. I believe he is going to do well!! Our black belt test is on the 5th - so next week is going to be a bit nerve racking! Also Nick turns 17 next Monday!!!!!! My baby is grown up!

Today is the day - first day of school

This morning began at 630am for me-- then began the "Nick wake up calls" it start at 650, 7am, 710 and finally at 715 when I decided get up or walk LOL. He did get up with the grumbling of, "school sucks", why do I have to go followed by I rather be sleeping LOL.

He eventually got up and got himself ready. I had promised him Whataburger breakfast so off we went got some drive thru. I wanted to beat the parent drop off crowd so we got in at 8:05 and as I watched my son leave I came to realize this was the last time I would be doing a first day of school drop off. I watched him go into the building and drove off remembering the last 12 years off first day of school. Mom's/Dad's - don't take for granted those days - you never realize how fast they go. So a little misty eyed I went off to work.

Nick just called a few minutes ago and sounded so happy! He gets out early everyday and loves it! Also he said mom you will save money since Lunch is last period so he figures he will wait til he gets home to eat - Yippee no lunch means about $100+ saved a month!!!

He was happy about his classes and his teachers.

So a great day overall and hopefully tomorrow will be just as good. I look forward to the paperwork waiting for me tonight as well as self defense practice.

Tomorrow is the day - First day as a Senior!

Notebooks bought, pens & pencils in bookbag, Textbooks picked up and schedule in hand. Tomorrow begins Nicks last year in high school as a senior. Tomorrow will be the last first day of school I will share with my son. Next year it will be college and if does go out of state - I wont be there to wish him well in person :(

The morning ritual of trying to wake him up begins. I think this year I am going to start the call at 630 - maybe by 730 he will wake up LOL I await tomorrow afternoon when the forms, complaints & my favorite "I need XXX$$$$!"

So to all the mom's sending their kiddos to school tomorrow - remember - feed them a good breakfast, make sure their clothes match and wave goodbye as they go but don't ever forget the day!

Books and a flight home

Picked up Nicks books today - I have to say the school has the process down very well. Come in with your schedule, walk out with your books - 2 minutes is all it took, plus the fact that he only got 2 books! Looks like this year his Swiss Backpack will hold up well with less to carry.

Nicks flight gets in to Austin in about an hour. As a mom I am excited he's coming home - I missed my son :) , he, well he would rather be on vacation with dad playing golf - which is fine too! He dreads coming back to the 100 degree heat! Florida's heat is like Alaska compared to this Texas heat!

Tomorrow - appointments, karate, catching up on sleep for him - the fun begins in 4 days - back to school!

School Schedule has arrived - the fun will soon begin

Nick's schedule arrived yesterday and its not that bad. He has early release everyday which I told him he needs to use to do his homework early!!! I get the great task of picking up his books tomorrow as the school allows you to get the books early. Now you may think just let him get it - well if he waits til school starts, he will end up with the "left over books" - better known as the well worn out books - so as a good mom tomorrow at my lunch hour I will go get them.

He arrives tomorrow from Florida so hopefully he will be ready to get started with school. We also have the LSO (Lone Star Open) karate tournament next weekend and then black belt test the weekend afterwards. Lots to do and lets not forget all the first week of school meetings and things to buy shopping spree. September will be a VERY busy month!!!!

Vacation, karate school - all in that order

Nick is on vacation with his dad in Florida. Golf, relaxing and enjoying family is all that is on his agenda. When he returns on Thursday it will be karate/school for the next 3 weeks. With our black belt test coming up on Sept 5th and Sept 12th and school starting on Aug 24th - it is going to be a busy couple of weeks.

On top of all of that is scholarship applications, SAT retest, new teachers, new assignments - oh boy the first couple of weeks of September will be crazy!!!

For all you moms and dads reading this -- scholarship.com - great site to look up scholarships to apply for - in this economy any money your kids can get for college is greatly appreciated!!!

School starts in 12 days

In 12 days my only child Nic goes back to school to begin his senior year. The thoughts that have gone through my head as I think about this go from happy to scared out of my mind. The child I have taken care of all his life from the moment he was born to the first day of school, to his first field trip to helping him on his first project to driving him around from band practice to karate. How fast they grow and now he's a senior and college is on the horizon.

His senior pictures were taken two weeks ago by Photo Texas and the moment I looked at the proofs, my eyes started to tear - no longer was he my little boy but now a full fledge young man. What's a mom to do but embrace the coming year with open arms and in these technological days - blog about it! I am going to blog about the upcoming year so that I can share the joys, frustrations and experiences about being a mom through this time. I will also add some helpful sites for college bound students or anything that is relevant.

So welcome to my blog and if you want to share your experiences please feel free to leave a comment.