HOME!

Well, faithful readers, I write today with a heavy heart. I had the greatest of intentions for my summer of fun at camp, but so little of our actual expectations come to fruition. In fact, those things that we have the highest hopes for generally cause us the greatest heartache in the end. Such is true of my summer camp experience.

I hoped to be able to work, be a mama, blog, visit friends on the coast, sight see, and enjoy time with my husband and kids. Well, the reality of this summer was that I worked my behind off, managed a few coastal outings with my family, and spent a great deal of time hoping that Joe and the kids would become better adjusted any day now. It was very tough for them. I was working 16 hour days, around very little, and Joe was keeping the kids all day everyday in a new, unfamiliar place, and no one ever really found their footing down there. It was this week that we realized that maybe we had not made the best choice moving everyone down there for such a long period of time. Jacks was starting to act out because of my long absences, and he never really felt comfortable around the staff; there wasn't anyone his own age to play with and he was generally intimidated by the older kids. Nealy is notorious for not really liking anyone at all; she is extremely particular. And such was the case down there. She clung to me and Joe at all times, and she really didn't like anyone else to give her any attention. When an amazingly cute baby comes into a situation with lots of people, that baby tends to get swarmed and ogled. Nealy is not one who appreciates such attention.

As for me, I was having the time of my life being back at camp, but the difficulties that my family were having could not be overlooked. It was causing us all a lot of stress and unrest. So, rather than stick it out for the summer and continue to hope for the best, I pulled the plug. We did it for a month, and a month away from home is a wonderful adventure! So, while there is still a summer to be enjoyed, we packed it up and headed home.

And since we have been home for all of one hour, my children have already been the happiest I've seen them in weeks. Jacks really is a homebody mama's boy, and this is where he needs to be - at home with his mama.

As for the rest of the summer, we have big plans: go to the pool, maybe manage some tumbling classes, work on the garage (no big renovation projects this year, just organization and purging!), visit with friends, go see Toy Story 3 about 15 times, and just rest and relax before we have to get back to the grind of the school year. This has been a bittersweet choice, but I know that it's the right one for my family.

I cannot post about this current situation without mentioning my summer staff. In the past 4 weeks, I have come to love and adore a group of about 30 high school and college kids more than I ever imagined. Leaving that group of kids was the most difficult part of this decision. What an amazing and perfect group of kids.

So, we're back home, everyone! Give us a call. We're available!

CAMP!

We've arrived at camp, and we've been crazy busy with staff training for nearly a week now. I don't have much time to blog right now, and my Wi-fi spots are limited, but I'll leave you with some pictures of our amazing cabin and the kids.

I will say that our summer staffers are incredible. Also, Joe has been the greatest stay-at-camp daddy while I've been tied up all day and night with my staff. It's been a major adjustment, and we're still not totally in our groove, but we're getting there. I'm sure we will not want to leave this perfect place when our summer tenure is up. Stay tuned for more.....

Nealy's ears

Little one has had several ear infections, and she's having some trouble shaking them. So she had ear tubes put in on Friday morning to attempt to solve the problem. It was a quick and easy procedure, but I was still worried about my wee bebe having to be put under anesthesia even for a few short minutes. She was pretty upset when it was all over, but she really pulled through like a champ. She was crying when we came back to get her, but she settled down immediately when I gave her one of the doughnut holes that I had stashed in my diaper bag.

The picture above is not from the morning of, but it demonstrates her deep abiding love of doughnut holes.

Not long after we got home, she took a nap and woke up happy and ready to play. We hope this will help her with her ear infections so she won't have anymore difficult nights, at least due to ear problems.

Good weekend

I might be having some rough weeks, but the weekends are always welcome and delightful. We headed to Fairhope for the weekend to visit our summer time home, but just before we hit the road, sister and John blew through for an overnight visit. Which is always nice.
Then, we hit the road for South Alabama on Friday afternoon. It was a long and winding road to the farthest corner of Baldwin county, but we were greeted at our dearest friends Curt and Sellers' house with hugs and wine! After collapsing too late Friday night, we all enjoyed a leisurely breakfast which was cut short because we were running so late. We threw ourselves together and headed to Beckwith to meet some of our sweet summer staffers for a work day.

I got to visit every building on the property, including my favorite, Wilson Hall.
It might not look like much in this picture, but it smells exactly the same after all these years and it brings back years of great memories. For many of us old school Beckwithians, Wilson Hall was where it all started - where we first signed in on our very first day of camp, where we were first bestowed with our tree trunk name tags and Beckwith tee shirts, where we caught the first glimpses of our counselors, where we got the first taste of what was to come. It's no wonder that Wilson is my favorite.

Nealy spent a little time acting sassy and walking around.
Jacks got to watch a fisherman at work.
He's not so sure about those fish in that bucket....And both kids got to spend a lot of time with Grayton, their newest summer time playmate.
Then we spent mother's day at the Fairhope Yacht Club with loads of friends, new and old.
It was a taste of summer days to come which can't come soon enough. Let the next few weeks fly by so we can get back down south.

Difficult Week

We have reached that part of the school year where the weeks feel like years. The closer we get to summer, the more difficult the work days become. Everyone can feel the warmth of summer beating down upon us, and school becomes long and gruesome. Students believe that teachers enjoy making this part of the year hard on them, but it is just as hard for us to gaze at the sun kissed window panes thinking of lazy days and farmers markets and swimming pools and cold watermelons and days at the lake and trips to the gulf and afternoon cookouts and late night yahtzee games and porch nights and all things summer.
And it gets even more difficult when we actually have to work really hard. And this week, I have had to work REALLY hard.
There was one day that I had to leave work promptly, get on the interstate to drive to Montgomery, then sit through a planning meeting followed by a work dinner. Now, I know there are people who run this kind of a schedule every day. Driving up and down the highway, late afternoon meetings, business dinners, getting home after dark, wearing sensible shoes in the morning so you can last all day.....and I have to say that I salute you! I'm not made for that! It was long and it was hard and by the time they fed me I was about to gnaw off my own arm, and I missed my kids and my husband and my TIVO and my bathroom.
Then there was another day that I had to make hard decisions with an intern. For the sake of confidentiality, I won't get into the specifics of this situation, but it was HARD. I know there are plenty of people who spend their days having meetings and giving feedback and providing constructive criticism and looking people dead in the eye and telling them difficult things.....and I salute you, too. I don't know how to have confrontations and deliver hard to hear news and be the meanie pants all the time. It's hard.
Then there was the whole Nealy's sick again thing. This time we're not totally sure what's going on, but we're pretty sure it's ears even though the fluid in them has not reached the infection level just yet. She's just mildly feverish and fussy and upset and not smiling all the time. And my baby honestly smiles ALL the time. So when she doesn't, you know little one feels icky. Joe has been super dad, and he has stayed home with her for 2 days. All we're doing now is trying to hang on until our ENT appointment next week.
I spent most of Thursday thoroughly convinced that it was Friday. I'm sure you can imagine my disappointment.
Not that Friday really means that much lately, because I've had so much planned on my weekends that I've had to program things into my phone calendar. I mean, I can't just remember what I have to do, I have to set an alarm to remind me to do it.
Ok - on to the good things that are happening for me. Because although this work week has been hard and long and tiring, there are plenty of bright spots in my fog. First of all, I won a pair of sandals from Dillards. Yes! I entered a contest and I WON! Y'all know my affection for shoes. Of course, they gave me blisters today, but they're totally cute and I will surely work them in soon.
Then there was this tortellini salad that I made that I wanted to marry because it was so good. That was a good thing.
Jacks told me that he loved me and he's glad I came home the other night after I had to work late. That was nice.
Oh yeah, then there's this....
Okay, so she's not totally walking just yet. But she's been taking a few steps here and there, and we know it's just a matter of days before she takes off. This is HUGE news, but it's bittersweet. It means my sweet baby girl is getting older, which is hard to take. I want to keep her little and small and my wee bebe. When she starts walking, she'll just walk away from me. And I still want her to stay in my arms all the time.
And yes, I've just posted pictures of myself as my unshowered, pajamaed self from first thing in the morning. Don't judge. You're not pretty first thing in the morning, either.

And of course, we are mere weeks away from leaving for camp. I can't remember how much I have talked about Camp Beckwith on this blog, but it is one of my all time favorite places on the planet. I attended Camp Beckwith as a camper and worked there as a counselor for a combined 11 years. It is a little piece of heaven located on Weeks Bay in Fairhope, AL. Although I have been away from Beckwith for many years, I have been graciously hired to serve as Associate Camp Director this summer, which means the Dyers are headed to camp!
I seriously don't know how I'm going to make it though the next four weeks before we leave. There is so much to do, and all I want to do is day dream of long, hot summer days at camp on the bay.
(I'm trying to NOT think about the effects of the oil spill on my beloved Gulf Coast waters. I've not spoken about it very much because that is a situation that I'm still trying to get my head around.)
As I sit here, late on a Sunday night, I am trying to get my second wind to dive into another busy, busy week full of boot camp classes, doctor's appointments, a field trip, a visit from my big sister (YAY!!!), and a mini trip next weekend to camp to do a little preliminary work and deliver some large items we'll need for the summer. Oh yeah, and I have that little thing called work going on all week. I need to dig around in my drawer and find my big girl panties. I'm going to need them this week. And caffeine. And ibuprofin. And wine.

Handsome Boy

There was never a child so lovely but his mother was glad to get him to sleep.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Old 280 Boogie

Saturday was jam packed with activities, and we had to pick and choose what we were going to do. I had to spend the morning at boot camp and running errands, but the afternoon would either belong to me or to my family. I had a shower to attend, but I opted out in order to spend a couple of hours with the kids in the sunshine before everyone crashed at nap time.

No, it wasn't the most well mannered choice. When invited to a party, if you are able to attend you should. But sometimes there aren't enough hours in the week to properly enjoy your kids, so I had to make the selfish choice.

There were lots of activities going on at Auburn - the Vet school open house, A-day, BBQ cook off at the Ag Heritage Park, sneak peek of the new sports arena - but Joe and I decided that we would head to the country. The Old 280 Boogie was going on in Waverly, and I think we made the better choice.

Several years ago, Highway 280 went straight through the middle of Waverly, AL. Although being along this thoroughfare made Waverly a little more than a blip on the map, it made life there kind of hard. The traffic was bad and it moved fast. The slow pace of this tiny town was seriously hindered by the speeding cars. So when 280 was rebuilt and widened, the state was kind enough to move it just outside of town, once again making Waverly the slow paced, off-the-beaten path town that they always wanted to be. In honor of losing this highway, Waverly began the Old 280 Boogie 10 years ago. It is primarily a music festival and crafts fair with a few food vendors thrown in. It is a VERY relaxed atmosphere. Folks come in droves with blankets, lawn chairs, and coolers ready to enjoy some great tunes in good company.
We had a blast. The kids rode to town in the new wagon, which was the epitome of riding in style. We all enjoyed some great food, good music, and a big bowl of ice cream. We saw several friends and made a few new ones. It was a great day. As we were packing up to leave, I told a couple that was sitting behind us that we would be getting out of their way. The woman said, "Honey, please, y'all are fine. If you've got problems with anyone here, you're in the wrong place!" So true, so true. I will never miss an Old 280 Boogie again. Those are the types of folks that I enjoy being around.
Notice in the picture above Jacks is showing off his new Waverly tee shirt. He got chocolate ice cream all over his shirt, so I promised him I'd buy him a new one. All this, plus he got to sit in yet another fire truck! That boy's been in more fire trucks than anyone I know.