11 Rules to Life

I have seen this before. It has actually been passed around as some speech that Bill Gates supposedly gave. In truth it is from the book "Dumbing Down our Kids." Regardless of where it came from, I think it speaks volumes and should be given to all kids in school so that they could actually learn from it. Not like I am some wise parent or anything, but I think there are important things to be said in this.

RULE 1
Life is not fair - get used to it.

RULE 2
The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world
will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel
good about yourself.

RULE 3
You will NOT make 40 thousand dollars a year right out
of high school. You won't be a vice president with
car phone, until you earn both.

RULE 4
If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a
boss. He doesn't have tenure.

RULE 5
Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your
grandparents had a different word for burger flipping
they
called it Opportunity.

RULE 6
If you mess up,it's not your parents' fault, so don't
whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

RULE 7
Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as
they are now. They got that way from paying your bills,
cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about
how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest
from the parasites of your parent's generation, try
delousing the closet in your own room.


RULE 8
Your school may have done away with winners and losers,
but life has not. In some schools they have abolished
failing grades and they'll give you as many times as
you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the
slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

RULE 9
Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get
summers off and very few employers are interested in
helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.

RULE 10
Television is NOT real life. In real life people
actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

RULE 11
Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for
one.

It's Tough Being Her

I am not an ideal parent. I have had my share of screw ups with this child. Suffice it to say, that there are some things I have done that surprise me she has lived through them. Like the time that I hit her so hard in the head with my wedding ring that the child actually bled. This was of course on accident.

Not being the ideal parent, sometimes things come out of my mouth around her that really shouldn't. We all remember her favorite word for a while was none other than fuck. So when she is having a "melt down" or throwing a tantrum, I often look at her very unemotionally and say "It really isn't easy being Caitlyn is it." Of course there is a little sarcasm in my voice and I should probably talk to her to see what the problem is. But she always manages to pull this at very inopportune moments...like when I am in line at the grocery store or something.

The other day, she fell or did something else that caused her grief. I go into her bedroom to ask her what is wrong cause I can hear the ever famous I am acting like I am crying sound so that someone, anyone, will come to rescue me. She looks at me and says....

"Sometimes it's not easy to be me right Mommy?"

Busy Weekend

Seems we never really got a chance to relax all weekend, and I have the messy house and laundry to prove it.
Friday we went to Six Flags Great America. Every year, my brother's complany rents out the park for a private party. It is wonderful because all the lines are a fraction of what they normally are. This is the first time that we brought Caitlyn with us and she had an absolute ball. Of course, I forgot my camera at home, so I didn't get a single picture of her enjoying the hell out of the roller coasters that she was bog enough to go on. They have a roller coaster called "The Whizzer" and this child would have spent the entire night riding this thing if I would have allowed it. Thank goodness she has my genes and loves roller coasters. She was so upset that she couldn't go on the larger ones that went upside down.

Saturday we just ran around most of the day doing errands and such. Matt and I went to see The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Can I just say holy shit was that a good movie. And I will be haunted by the images of it forever, just like I am of The Exorcist. I hate those movies, but feel compelled to see them...must be the masochist in me.

Today we had our NICU reunion and it was a wonderful day. It is the first that they have had since our "graduation." It was so nice seeing all the doctors and nurses that took care of my wee one. And it was nice seeing them in a setting which didn't entail my begging and pleading for answers LOL. Today I remembered my camera and got some pictures. The best part of the day was that we saw some of the families that were there the same time as us that we have lost touch with. Here's a few snapshots from that. The first pic is a girl that is also a 25 weeker and about a month younger than Cate. The second is a boy that is a 26 weeker and is also about a month younger. Both of these families had a significant impact on ours lives in one way or another so it was wonderful to see them and the little ones again.

What job should you really be doing?

Took this right off of Cath's Blog

What Job Should You Really Be Doing?

Here's the answer it gives me with my married name....
Nancy Walsh, Your ideal job is a drag queen.

And for the maiden name....
Nancy Chirempes, Your ideal job is a Heavyweight Boxer.

Hmmmmmm....I am thinking a career change may be in order.

But on the flip side, if I put in Caitlyn's name with her middle name, she has the best job of all...
Caitlyn Mackenzie Walsh, Your ideal job is a God for everyone.
I always knew this child was destined for greatness, I just never imagined it to that extent.

Caitlyn had a wonderful first day of school.  She didn't sleep well last night cause she was so excited.  So waking her up this morning was no treat.  But once up and going, she was rearing to go!

Parents are encouraged to stay with the kids the first day, so it was really crowded in the room.  Caitlyn, being who she is, would have done fine if I wasn't there at all.  Seemed all she wanted to do was include me in the activities that they were doing and I had to keep telling her to just play with her friends and listen to the teacher.  She did everything that they told her to do and got in the swing of the routine very quickly.  She played in the sand table, on the computer, and "wrote" in her journal.  Which the journal writing thing I think is a very cool idea and may have to pass it along to some of the Early Childhood teachers that I know. 

They also have a program to encourage reading to your children.  The fact that a program has to be in place for this is something that I truly don't understand.  Reading to Caitlyn has been part of our day since she was in the NICU.Before she could even open her eyes, we were reading to her in her isolette.  So they give the kids a book from their library every day and it is supposed to be read to them.  Then the parent fills out a form to send back to school.  The teacher and aide will ask the child to tell them about the book the next day.  The only interferrence this is really going to have in our lives is that Caitlyn will probably be irritated that she can't pick out one of her own books to be read to her at night.  So essentially, I know that I am now going to be reading more than one book at bedtime with this child. 

She keeps telling people that she got "homework" because she has this library book in her backpack now.  And she is terribly excited about that fact.  Give her a couple years and she will be pissed off when she has to carry books home in her backpack.  But for now, I am letting her enjoy the hell out of it :)

And for the wardrobe for the day, Caitlyn chose to wear the rainbow sundress.  Which is one of my favorites so all was well...and she was one of the cutest kids in the class if I do say so myself ( not that I am biased or anthing).

Tomorrow is the big day

My wee one is starting PreK tomorrow. Makes me a little sad, yet I am happy that she is going. I get to go with her tomorrow. They have the kids come in groups MOnday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, with the parents. And then on Thursday, the kids are finally all brought together as a group....without parents. I am pretty certain that Caitlyn will be dandy while she is there. Though, she could always turn on a dime and flip out for all we know. So I have been prepping her all last week that she is starting school at the "big girl school" on Tuesday.

My baby is getting bigger and bigger and bigger. I actually bought her size 4T pants that don't fall off of her when she walks. And I bought her some new shirts and they were size.....5!!!!! Is it possible that this child's growth is actually catching up to her age??

Now on to the real dilemma at hand....what is she going to wear tomorrow and Thursday so that she is just the cutest kid in the classroom ROFL!!!