Kindergarten

I found this post from a while back and decided I'd go ahead and publish. It's funny how much has evolved in two years...Jack is 7, Greyson is nearly 5 and there's a sweet little one year old in the mix. And in just a few weeks I'll be home with them, working part-time. (I'm forecasting tons of tears when Cal goes to school).



Kindergarten ...from 2010

This month a lot of moms shed bittersweet tears over their 5-6 year olds heading off to Kindergarten. With backpacks the size of their entire torsos the kiddos toddle off to their classrooms in a hustle and bustle of new activities, snacks and playground excitement. I heard about the tears, I witnessed lots of welled up eyes. My 5 year old, Jack, joined the Kinder-ranks this fall but I didn’t cry. Maybe I should have but I was more excited for him than I was sad about this rite of passage. After hearing the stories about drop offs and tissues I wondered if maybe I was too insensitive. Thing is, as a working mom, I endured the big drop off tears at three to four months. Day care drop offs are so painful and always have been for me. The guilt that comes with leaving your babies to the care of near strangers can be overwhelming.

Jack started “real school” when he was three and a half. His school, Good Shepherd, has a Montessori program that starts at preschool who share a teacher and classroom with pre-K and Kindergarten, so his Kindergarten year was slightly anti-climatic due to the fact that this is his third year. (Unfortunately for Jack, he thought his summer camp at another Catholic school was kindergarten and that his first day back this fall at G-Shep was 1st Grade.)

Thankfully I have good girlfriends who work or stay home so I may commiserate and see the experiences for both sides. And by now we all pretty much know what those sides involve respectively. Each family makes decisions based on what works best for them. There are some days where I think I’m not entitled to a decision based on what I want but what I have to do right now. I miss my kids during the week and sometimes they wear me out on the weekends. But every Friday I find myself feeling good about what I do and my position in the work force…by Sunday I am ready to resign and be a full time Mommy. It’s a tricky road to navigate.

My kids, unlike any others out there I’m sure, have grown so quickly past the cooing, bottles and diapers. These once tiny creatures are wearing backpacks and navigating their own roads on the playground…they have to fend for themselves, once again, without me.

Apple Sales are Booming in Denver

And I don’t mean Mac. My two boys eat apples…not one every few days but a few EVERY day. We don’t live on an orchard or even near one. My kids gnaw through an entire apple in about 30 to 45 minutes so I guess I like the peace and quiet but it is amazing that they will spend the time to chew the fruit to the core.

I’m not complaining, just fascinated. I’ve always been somewhat of the food Sergeant. We don’t buy junk food at our house. I’m not the world’s most holistic chef I just want my kids to eat well and healthy. Pop-tarts have never entered this house. We have had the occasional Oreo however. How on earth can one reject its chocolaty cookie goodness?

This approach of healthier eating has backfired on me. While at a birthday party with my eldest son he refused the juice-box provided by the hostess for a bottle of water. All he drinks is milk and water. So, can you make too much of a good thing? My sons are certainly not the chunkiest kids on the block. I wonder if my holding back of fried foods and sugar could backfire later when they are teens. When they go to a friend’s house afterschool to help raid the pantry for Twinkies and sodas, I just hope they remember the thoughtfulness behind Mom’s attempts to keep junk out of their growing bodies and eat an apple instead.

Better Late Than Never

CONGRATULATIONS HUBBY!

It's been a year and a month or so since Brian found out he passed the CFA final...it took another 6 months for him to become Chartered with the Institute. So, I can probably delete the countdown clock off my blog. Or maybe I leave the countdown clock on there for when he gets "that" job related to the CFA.

I on the other hand am thrilled to still be employed by Comcast Spotlight...or check out our nickname's webpage: Shine Creative http://www.makeitshinecreative.com/

There are a few spots on there for which I contributed.

More soon, I'm a full-time working Mom with a thriving social life after all. (wink).

Test Time Wrapping Up

I’m beginning to wonder if these glory days will be slightly missed someday when the boys are older and the silly little giggles before bedtime that made us wonder if they would ever go to bed are replaced with the worry of curfew times where we wonder if they will ever make it on time.

Our cozy home is becoming tighter as the stress of the test nears an end. Brian has spent the past 5 or so years taking tests and preparing to close this chapter up with the final. We’ll know mid-August (yes, it takes that long) and following the anticipated happy results an obligatory fest will follow. The boys could care less if Daddy holds a charter or not they just want him to be ready for back yard t-ball games and rocket stomper, err…stomping.

CF, what? I’ve been asked so many times, this is what I know:
CFA = Chartered Financial Analyst

Exams for all levels are held around the world (curious where? http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprog/pdf/june_testcenters.pdf )
Level I exams are held in June and December. Levels II and III are only held in June.
You can take as long as you need to complete the program, and there is no limit to the number of times you can take each exam. The curriculum changes each year to meet the dynamic nature and
complexity of the global investment profession (oh joy).

If Brian passes all three exams, meets the professional and ethical requirements, and becomes a regular member of CFA Institute, he becomes a CFA charterholder. What Brian does with his charter is entirely up to him. Jack, Grey and I are going to party.

Babies to Boys

Jack (4) & Grey (15 mo) had well-care doctor appointments this morning and as crazy as it was to contain them (they have to strip to their underwear/diapers for the checkup and both LOVE to be naked or at least semi naked, poking and laughing at each other’s bellybuttons and running around like little monkeys) I enjoyed the fact that I have healthy and happy children. I know how fortunate I am and I’m not going to take it for granted. Those dimples can bring me to my knees but mostly they make me smile.

While sitting at my desk at the office today I looked over to see a photo of Jack at my Mom’s house in Dallas. He was about one. His wispy blond hair was glowing from the sun coming in the front door behind him.

We were in Dallas for an entire month because my Dad had just lost his battle with cancer and we were there to be with Gran. It was one of my saddest and most fulfilling visits to that house. Jack was playing on a rocking horse that my Grandpa made for my Mom. It’s such a nice piece of history that brings back a flood of emotion. When I look at that sweet little face I realize that the time has flown by and the wispy haired one year old is now four and growing out his first buzz cut. Not only does the world carry on but I long to have more time with both my Dad and Jack.

Where does the time go?

Seems like it was yesterday that I made the trip from Austin to Denver wondering what kind of journey Colorado would provide. Oh…if I only knew. Then I met Brian and one became two-yadda yadda yadda-two became three and then four. In a few sentences our family sounds more like the effect of mixing Gremlins and water. Well, our little Gremlins have dimples and whenever Jack & Grey meet someone the first thing typically said about the boys is “Oh, look at those dimples.” -From Dad free of charge. So, this is about our more interesting ½, the boys.

I enjoy other people’s stories but have thought less about our own. Our website http://www.rettighouse.com/ is under construction so before its debut this is a great way for the Rettig house to spread our tales to anyone willing to read them. As the mother of two very busy little boys I will do my best to keep up online, seeing as I’m way behind. Keep your fingers crossed for me.