good things are to come.

the first day of school.

2011.

mason a handsome, mature little second grader. 

payton a kindergartener. 

addison still a preschool pipsqueak. 

i have dreaded this day for over five years.

this day that payton would start kindergarten.

this day that i would have to remove her from my wing and let her fly.

and she rocked it.

in true payton style.

if only i could be as carefree and confident as she.

she had no time for the paparazzi as we waited for the bus.

ma.

i am going to kindergarten.

i am going to ride the bus with my brother.

i will make friends.

and pretty much you should stop worrying about me.

her confidence helps my anxiety a wee bit.
and mason helps it a whole lot more.
this transition would be so much harder without him.
that is one thing i do know.

she seemed real nervous, eh?

kindergarteners moved to the front of the line to load first.
payton would not budge until mason went with her.
she is obsessed with her brother.
thankfully the feelings are mutual.

be still my heart.

yeah.
i admit it.
i followed the bus to school.
day one. and day two.
had to have that visual of the unloading process.

it is good.
this momma's heart is full.

addison gets to spend her mornings with me.

she is in an afternoon preschool class with payton's old teachers.

love.

it is amazing to me how far she has come.
her speech is coming along great.
just need a little more spontaneity.
she is blossoming into such a big girl.
love her.

she is rockin some glasses.
moved into big girl panties this past weekend.
she is rockin it.

hilarious.
her backpack is still bigger than she is.
has been for two years now.

can't help but think what she would be doing right now if still in russia.
likely nothing even close to what she is doing now.
sniff.

so excited for her future.
good things are to come.

 blasts from the past.

2009.

mason starts kindergarten and payton preschool.

addison starts preschool.

2010.

mason goes to 1st grade and the girls continue in preschool.

phew.

watching those old videos made me cry.

this momma is now a hot mess.

Saying goodbye.

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. ~Carol Sobieski and Thomas Meehan, Annie

My sister and I.

It was early 2000 and I was a newlywed living in Wisconsin. We had always talked about moving back to the east coast to be closer to family, but I knew that I could never go without my mom and my sister.

On a whim, I applied for a job. You know, just to see what would happen. When the letter came in the mail telling me the date and time of my interview, I panicked. I called a family meeting and proposed moving to the DC metro area. We had family in the area, as well as up and down the coast. Mom said no. And I don't even remember what Kristie said, but because Mom said no ... all bets were off.

A day or two later, Mom changed her mind. She said yes, we all found jobs and within a few months ... we all were living in the DC metro area. And here we have stayed since.

Until now. Kristie has moved to Florida. Saying goodbye was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. It kills me that our kids will not grow up together ... that is one thing that I loved so much about being close. But I am happy for them and what this opportunity will bring them. Just have my fingers crossed that they come back ... soon. Ha.

Our kids ... minus the new babe, Maya.

Before Kristie moved, we celebrated Maya's baptism and spent the day at a waterpark. There is nothing else in this world that makes me feel like I am exactly where I am supposed to be than spending the day with family.

Love these chicks.

L-R: Tammy (cousin), me, Sherry (aunt), Debby (cousin), Mom and Kristie (sister)

Love these babes.

I have thought a lot about how lucky I am to have the family I have. How lucky I am to have a sister that I love so much. How lucky I am to have that in my life. As hard as it was to say goodbye to Kristie, life would be so much harder with nothing at all.

So we make the best of what we have. And even though Kristie left just a few short weeks ago, she is lucky to have a crazy, spontaneous sister like me that has already taken a detour to Florida to see her.

Until next time ... 

Welcome Baby Maya.

today.

july 2, 2011.

i had the pleasure of witnessing my first birth.

amazing.

my precious niece.

maya rose.

Welcome Baby Maya from bethany balsis on Vimeo.

Take the time.

Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music. ~Angela Monet

I saw this quote the other day and I like it... a lot. I tend to be a get-up-and-go type of person... adventurous, I suppose. If there is something I want to do... I do it. If there is somewhere I want to go... I find a way to get there.

And I don't let anything hold me back. 

I have had this conversation with a few friends and family lately... about living life to the fullest. C'mon on along... let's do this... what are you waiting for... you deserve it!



NYC girl's weekend, anyone?



One of my greatest, bestest friends from Texas... McKenna... flew up this past weekend for a girl's weekend. Our friend Rachel and her friend Katie joined us... we had an amazing weekend!

On our way up to NYC to meet Katie.

Some artsy roll-around-on-your-friends exhibit.

Strolling the city streets, cafe lunches, traffic jams, Central Park, street performers, Times Square, architecture, street parades, M&M store fixes, naked cowgirls and cowboys, Serendipity, crazy cab drivers. All things NYC.









Note to self: Never lay down on a bench to capture a shot of the entire Rockefeller Center building again... you will be yelled at by security for laying on a bench.







This gentleman wanted some beer. He got mad at us for trying to take his picture without placing money in his cup. You want picture, you pay. We had to get inconspicuous and he knew it... he was holding his sign up backwards to cover his face. It was hilarious.

I reckon we were feeling a wee bit crazy that night.



On our way out of the city Sunday, we went to the World Trade Center Memorial site. I was there a few years ago and it is still just as crazy to imagine how things unfolded that 9/11 day when you are standing there.

Fire station that is on the street that runs along the World Trade Center site.

Throw a few chicks in a car in NYC and all bets are they will get lost. Yup, we did. Over this bridge, back over that bridge, down this street, oops missed that turn. The benefit of that is that you get to see lots of the different parts of the city. And bring along a Texas girl and she thinks she can hop out of the car to take pictures of a bunch of city kids playing a pick up game of basketball. Umm, hey white girl... get back in the car.



*ahem*

We headed on over to New Jersey to see our boyfriends Sunday night. It was sweet nostalgia... all four of us girls were huge New Kids on the Block fans as young gals, so being able to come together to see them with the Backstreet Boys was so much fun.



Yes, I love Jordan. I have never tried to deny that. Ha.

*insert 12 year old screeching eek! here*



Hey girls, can we make this an annual thang?

Music to my ears.

I woke up at 4 o'clock this morning with knots in my stomach. The anticipation of Payton's eligibility meeting for her kindergarten transition was killing me. The transition meetings are two-fold... first there is eligibility to deem her eligible for special education services and to reassign her a label... and then there is her IEP meeting... during which the dreaded placement is determined.

Several weeks ago... I consented to a full battery of psychological testing on Payton. I was not exactly sure I did the right thing in consenting to the cognitive piece, as I do not necessarily agree that performing an IQ test on a 5 year old with Down syndrome is a reliable thing to do. Nonetheless... I consented because I was confident in Payton and her abilities.

Payton and her amazing teacher of two years

Going into today's eligibility meeting, I was so afraid that they were going to throw this unreliable IQ number across the table and claim that she automatically fell into an ID (intellectually disabled) label... which is the new MR (mentally retarded) label. Currently, Payton has a DD (developmentally delayed) label... as does every other preschool child with special needs.

Long story short... the time constraints did not allow the psychologist to conduct the cognitive testing. I was freakin elated... normally time constraints would not fly with me, but for this... I'll take it since I was not sure I really wanted it. So the outcomes were completely based on reporting of Payton's teacher, the social worker, me and the bits and pieces that the psychologist has seen Payton.

Payton and one of her classroom aides of two years

The psychologist handed me her report and began speaking. She went through the scores and went on and on about how well Payton has done. Her scores average out just slightly below average... and whew... open the freakin flood gates! I covered my face with the report and couldn't keep it in... I was ecstatic. I brought the paper away from my face and the psychologist asked me, "Are those happy tears or sad tears?" Happy tears, of course! And then the social worker started crying... and then Payton's teacher started crying.

How did we get so freakin lucky!?! I freakin love them. I love that they see the Payton that I see.

Payton and one of her classroom aides of two years

Based on all of this, the social worker said, "We cannot even consider the ID label. Payton's scores are way too high." Oh.my.goodness those words were music to my ears. Not because I am in denial over Payton's progress or her diagnosis... but because I do not want her tagged with a bulls eye on her forehead. It should not be that way... but sadly, it often is.

So we remain with a DD label and we will reevaluate before she turns 7 years old. Good by me! Next up: reconvene next week to set IEP goals and determine placement.