Beginning 3rd Grade

If you've been a long time reader or know me in person, odds are you know the past five year history of Reagan's custody schedule and our struggles in dealing with such.

Last August, we went to court to lobby for Reagan to attend school in our district which was successful and thus led to a schedule where Reag was with us during the school week and with her mom on the weekends.  While it was good for school, it was tough for us with regard to family time and of course, Reagan's participation in Brownies or extra activities.

Summer came along and the schedule changed to one full week here and one full week at her mom's. Fridays were our "exchange" days.  To be honest, at first we did not love it.  It was rough on all of us. As summer went along and we got into the swing of it, we liked it more and more. Thankfully.  It was just an adjustment from having no down time throughout the school year to all down time.

Here we are now, a brand new school year...third grade! 

George and Reagan's mom decided to make some adjustments to the school custody schedule and we're continuing with the week on/week off way of life this year.  We're thrilled because we get some weekend time wooooo hooooo! It works out so great for Reagan! Her mom gets more school involvement time which allows for Reag to be involved with Brownies as well. It's truly a win-win for all of us. It's more changes with her mom's side of the family for this year, so we're supportive of working together to make things work for Reagan.  I know!!! Can you believe I'm even saying this????  {I still have to write how our story changed...I'm working on it.}

This sweet girl has had a long time dream to have her parents be able to be in the same room together without friction.  We attended Curriculum Night at school last night where working together on her behalf has started seemlessly. It's going to be a great year!

It's worked out that no matter what custody schedule has been in place, that Reagan has been with us on the first day of school since she started.  This year was no different.

Happy 1st day of 3rd Grade!

 

 

life is good

Steph's Snippets

I need a little brain declutter, so random it is.

~I didn't forget about Reagan's 1st day of school pictures and post. ;)  I have her all set for Friday after Curriculum Night and ending our 1st week of school...purposely. We have a whole new schedule with her this year, so I've decided to end our back to school week with her. ;)

~I have a handful of bloggers who I read {and have read} regularly for awhile. I so totally know that time is so precious to both read/comment and respond. I truly appreciate a few who consistently and thoughtfully reply either under the blog comment I have left or an email reply.  I have left many, many comments on blogs where the woman never acknowledges it.  Apparently, there is some kind of clique I am not privvy to~~especially "big bloggers."  While that in itself doesn't matter to me, if you've poured your emotions out and people respond, even a simple "thank you" goes a long way. 

~I have lived in Pittsburgh for nearly 5 years. One of the crucial missing pieces of living here has been the lack of friends. Certainly, I don't mean the quantity, but rather women whose lives are on similar paths.  Basically finding and developing a valuable friendship in a new town when you're in your 30s and most everyone has grown up with all their friends, it's difficult to find the emotional and meaningful supportive friends that I truly need in my life.  I've been fortunate enough to find a handful of them recently.  As in with any group, some people have more in common than others and closer friendships develop.  I have had some deeper conversations with a couple of these amazing women lately, as well as a lot of laughs which is important to me too. As I recently shared with my true and genuine friend, I have waited 5 years to have a friend like her.


~Junior High has kicked my son's butt by day 3. He, who has been a crack of dawn riser the majority of his life, said to me this morning, "This is early, even for me." hahaha! He asked to take a nap after school today too.

~ So I thought I had Lily's Halloween costume decided on a few weeks ago, but now I'm not so sure. Did you know that there are costumes that cost upwards of EIGHTY dollars for kids?!  Holy cow!  No, I didn't choose an $80 costume that I'm changing from, but rather I'm not sure I want her to be a character off tv yet. Plenty of time for that, I think.

~I seriously do not understand why every.single.day. there is a car that runs into a building or a house in Pittsburgh.

~My husband's band has an upcoming gig. Their first. I'm super excited for him! And I'm looking forward to hearing him play out. My first. I swoon like a 12 year old girl listening to him play at home.

~  Don't forget to enter my Crayola Color Wonder Summer Fun Pack giveaway! Ends tomorrow night!

Giveaway: Crayola Summer Fun Pack

I'll admit I am a school supply junkie. I lovelovelove pencils, pens, Sharpies, paper, new notebooks, crayons and markers. Seriously, I cannot wait until I see supply lists!

As a former kinder teacher, I am pretty much a crayon snob.  Only one brand will do. Same goes for markers.

I always buy extra boxes of Crayola Crayons for classrooms to donate. Heck when you can get a 24 box for 25 cents, why not! Plus have you seen the melted crayon art floating around??? You could afford to do several of those if you desired! You can find Crayola on Twitter and Facebook for more activities!

While all our older kids are heading back to school, many of us still have little ones at home. Back to school for the olders in my house also means more time in the car running between hockey, Boy Scouts, Brownies, band activities and the like.  It's crucial to keep things for Lily to do in the car and waiting at school too.

Even though my older two are back in school, Lily and I {and her friends} are still celebrating summer! In honor of the littles still summering, I'm hosting a giveaway for a Summer Fun Pack from Crayola and MyBlogSpark!  These are perfect for in the car, on the go, restaurants, waiting in the dentist office. ;) 

The best part is, they're Color Wonder! Why's that important in the life of my 2 year old who loveloveloves coloring?  Let me simply show you...

 

Lily was super excited to have the freedom to color anywhere!

My favorite product has to be the  Color Wonder On the Go Tiny Tube! 

It has  perforated activity pages for magical coloring fun! The tube fits in the cup holder in the car and holds the markers inside, making it a perfect on-the-go activity. It's PERFECT for the car!


The prize pack you can win includes the following:

Crayola Color Wonder On the Go Tiny Tubes

Color Wonder Coloring Pad

Color Wonder Barbie Mini Coloring Pad and Markers

Color Wonder Drawing Pad and Markers

Dry Erase Travel Pack

Dry Erase Zany Play

Princess and the Frog Mess Free Color Wonder Activity Sets

 
This is a super easy peasy giveaway~ mandatory entries:
1. Follow me via GFC, Networked Blogs or Subscribe via RSS and leave me a comment telling me why you want to win! {i heart humor}
2. Tweet about this giveaway! {Include @littlepunkypie and #MyBlogSpark}

Additional entries if you want. {leave separate comment for each}
~Like My Not-So-Little Guy & My Little Punky Pie on Facebook.
~Follow Crayola on Twitter.
~Tweet each day.

Giveaway will end and the winner will be chosen via Random.org on Thursday, August 30, 2012 at 11:59p.m. Yes, this Thursday!

Hurry hurry hurry!! 

 

 

Disclosure:  product information, and additional gift pack have been provided courtesy of Crayola through MyBlogSpark.”