Tooth #2!!!

The tooth fairy comes again! Last night was a very busy night! We learned to tie our shoes and Mikey lost his second tooth!

Tying Sneakers is a Process!

"I did it, I did it Mommy!" Those are the words I heard over and over again as Michael repeatedly practiced tying his shoe for an hour last night. We even had to skype Ahma and Ahpe to show them this huge accomplishment! He is so proud of himself. This morning he woke up and got dressed away only to put his sneakers on by himself! I can't begin to tell you how proud of him I am. He is such a determined little man.

When it Rains it Pours!

The McMaugh house is FLOODED!!!!
Sunday night after a ridiculously long stressful weekend Mary-Ann was in the ER with Coup until 2:00 am. Monday she stayed home still with a terrible coup cough. Monday afternoon Mikey comes home from school saying his head hurt and had a low grade fever. Mommy is running around ragged trying to cram in 400 pages of notes so I can just pass my test. Tuesday morning Mikey wakes up with a fever and continued headache and Mary-Ann is STILL coughing up a lung (if she even has one left). Daddy calls and says his throat hurts, and Mommy has a sore throat and tickly nose...plus still has TONS and TONS of studying to do. Both kids tonight have fevers, one is hacking away even with prednisone and Robatussin with Codeine and one has a fever with bad bad headache and is crying! Oh topper is phone call from Uncle Rick that Nan has developed a long infection and will need to be in the hospital for another week! Praying for Nan to pull through. I love this lady so much!

I want to scream, cry, run away, put my hands up in the air and call it quits...but I have the most AMAZING parents in the ENTIRE world that are helping me and motivating me to stay strong and picking up for my slack while Mike continues to slave away to support us sick and all!

Amazing Grace!!!

Fourteen years ago, I was introduced to Nan. She was living alone, teaching in the ghetto, drove a car, cared for the ENTIRE family, and was completely independent. November 8, she will be 97! It has only been over the past year that she has been declining functionally. She no longer is able to ambulate Independently. She requires a rolling walker to walk. She quite frequently gets urinary tract infections that land her two week visits in the nursing home, but quickly bounces back and is home again, living with her son. To me, she is an AMAZING women. I have been blessed with getting to know her very well. I truly admire and love this women to pieces.

On Thursday morning, Nan fell and broke her hip. That evening we drove to RI to visit her in the hospital. Our visit was good, lots of laughs partly because she was so drugged up. She remembered us, the kids, my parents, however, had no clue where she was, the time of day it was. Her speech was slurred, she was "missing her toe", she was going to make us some dinner, and told me I was PERFECT! How funny!!! I asked her if I was as perfect as Mike and she said, "well, not quite!" LOVE HER!!! Friday morning she was due to go in for surgery with a 50/50 chance of survival. I was so nervous. I had to stay home to chaparone a field trip and watch my little man present his sandwich fair project to the school, so I was unable to go down there for the day. At 4:00 she had made it out of surgery and was in recovery. I was on my way down to see her. I felt like a thousand pounds were off my chest. Arriving at the hospital I was alone. Mike was up with Nan. When I walked in, it was NOT the same experience as the night before (obviously). She looked awful, the poor little lady. She has been constantly on my mind and of course I have a huge exam on Thursday that I am now so far behind with studying! I know that she is going to make it through this, she truly is AMAZING, however, I do feel like it is just a matter of time, and my heart (as well as Mikes) will be broken.

HOORAY FOR THE FAYAH!

The fall is my FAVORITE time of year. One of my favorite events of the fall is going to the fair! Last year we started a tradition of having a Hooray for the Fayah party. It was so much fun. So, this year we of course had another party. Once again it was a blast. I got to kick back and relax all weekend without opening a book, I spent time with my amazing family, and I saw some old high school friends. I think the worst part of the weekend, was going on a ride after a night of drinking and an empty tummy!

Struggles of Motherhood.

Life the past few years has been difficult trying to manage being a mother, a wife, working, and going to school, but when I compare last year to today it seems like a breeze. Michael has started Kindergarten. It has been a huge adjustment not only for him but for Mommy, Daddy, and Mary-Ann as well. Personally, I feel that going to Kindergarten a full day is WAY too much for a little five year old. I would say 3 out of 5 nights we have a huge meltdown due to being exhausted. He has had his ups and downs weekly. This past week was my fault, because I was NEVER home. When Daddy walked in the door I would leave and go study without giving my little sensitive man and very independent daughter a kiss goodnight. The poor little guy was struggling. I will never forget the sincerity in his voice when he informed me of his "not so good day" at school. When asking him why he was having trouble listening and following instructions, he said in the sweetest, most sincere voice, eyes looking in mine, "mommy, I miss you!" I did everything I could to not burst into tears. It absolutely stabbed my heart. To this day I think, is this education really worth missing being with my children every minute of the day. I have been told it is worth it in the end, however, I must say I am not convinced! His teacher also reported to me on that day, she had asked him what was wrong and he said, "I miss my momma." When the teacher told me this after my conversation with Michael, I broke into tears on the phone with the poor lady. It was such a heart breaking day.


This year is going to be a struggling filling many shoes. I know not only working, being mommy, a wife, and a student, but, I am a member of the PTA (parent teachers association), a soccer coach, the team parent for Michaels football team, basketball coach, and I have to transport children to and from there multiple extracurricular activities: gymnastics, football, and soccer, as well as, school functions (open houses, family fun nights). My schedule looks something like this:
Mondays: gymnastics at 5:00
Tuesdays: school all day and PTA at 6:00
Wednesday: Football practice
Thursday: School
Friday: Usually Free night(HOORAY)
Saturday: Soccer 9-10 and work 10:30-4:30
Sunday: Football 1-2
Life is a little chaotic and I wonder if I will survive this, but every minute of it is so valuable and precious to me. I can't imagine my life any other way!

Switzers!!!

Summer is upon us and that means....GOOD OLD MR. SWITZER! Michael was in a class with third and fourth graders and looked like a midget and Mary-Ann was with Mr. Switzer. During the course of swim lessons I agreed to take on Geof's children as well. So, for two weeks I had four kids all day and all night. It was an adventure and it made me realize, I could never be a mommy of four!