Prince's Special Day

DadOf4 has been doing special days for the last several year.  During each child's special day, s/he gets to plan out an entire afternoon one on one with Daddy.  The kids have evolved from McDonald's and a movie to Cici's Pizza and Main Event.  Whatever they choose, the kids (and Daddy) have a great time.

End of Summer - End of an Era

The end of summer is approaching fast and, with it, the end of an era.  My best friend here in Texas is moving to Pennsylvania.  Her husband quit his job here a few months ago and just accepted a new one.  The big part of me is happy that he found a job he is excited about, but the selfish and scared part of me wonders what I will do without her.

We met when our now-9-year-olds were 5. They were lucky enough to be assigned the same Kindergarten teacher and became fast friends.

Here are our kiddos the very first day of Kindergarten.  They even sat next to each other.  Back then it didn't matter that one was a boy and one was a girl.  There was no pressure, not teasing and playdates were easy.  That all changed when they hit the end of second grade.  Peer pressure won and their friendship faltered.

Luckily for me, AB's mom and I continued to be friends despite Princess and AB's parting of ways.  Princess has three little brothers, so we were still able to get the kids together by slyly calling our get-togethers playdates between AB and her brothers.

This is a picture of me and AB's mom the night my little Duke was born.  I honestly don't know how I could have made it through that week without her.  My little Duke ended up having an infection and he and I spent the first 8 days of his live in the NICU.

AB's mom was a nurse in her life before kids.  She knew just what to say to me to help keep me calm for my family.

We have shared countless books with each other.  We have seen lots of movies.  And it was AB's mom who invited me out for birthday dinners.

And now they are moving.

Life here in Texas has been very lonely.  It took a long time to find a good friend.  Sometimes it bothers me because when we left Des Moines, I had several really good, life-long friends who would do anything for me just as I would do anything for them.  Plus two months after we moved to Texas, my sister and her family moved back to Iowa.

Having kids invites involvement in the community.  I volunteer a lot at the school and am around a lot of adults during the school year.  There are just not a lot of opportunities to really get to know people.    My kids are getting old enough to go to playdates on their own - so there are fewer opportunites to get to know their friends' moms.  Maybe the Knight's starting Kindergarten this fall will present some friendship opportunities.

AB had a sleepover with the boys last night.  It was kind of a farewell playdate for them and it gave AB's mom some last minute packing time.

She picked him up about an hour ago and now they are on their way out east.

My heart is broken.  I feel very, very alone right now. 

Maybe that is why I returned to my blog.  It's been a while.