Life Lately

Oh friends... it's definitely time for a Life Lately. Since I was 100 percent MIA last week!

First off .... HAPPY HALLOWEEN! So glad this day is here... my kids have had a countdown. Apparently this is their new favorite holiday! We have a busy day of school parties and trick or treating this evening. We will be slash I will be ready for bed at 8:30 pm!

I'd also like to start this post off by saying that if I had five extra hours to get Two Dots, LipSense and blog work accomplished, I'd really be feeling on top of the world! Sadly, I don't have the power to extend my day any more than I do... which means that sometimes, one of those three things has to take a back burner.

It has been LipSense for a few months, but starting November 1, I'm announcing a new monthly giveaway and going to start sending out samples of samples of other products in our SeneGence family for those intrigued.

Two Dots took a backseat all summer until September and now I'm working my fanny off to make it better and bigger. Making it better isn't as hard as making it bigger. I feel clueless as to how to stretch our fanbase without asking everyone to share our social media pages constantly. Which I don't want to do. So... I'm brainstorming a lot. I don't want to think negatively but I know that if we stay 'stagnant', Two Dots will probably have to close it's imaginary doors. Which is sad to think about and something I don't want to have to think about. SO... I won't! I'll figure it out! :)

Me, ubering to Stylemax, a local Chicago trade market to look for clothes for Two Dots! :) 

We are just about to finish out our second month of school and I kind of feel like we have found our groove. I still am yelling at everyone when it's time to leave for school, but I find that to be inevitable. Matt went to a Montessori Parent Education night last week and came home feeling much more knowledgeable about the school we were sending our kids to than when he walked in to the meeting.

And thank goodness!

To say we knew very little about Montessori was an understatement! I think he felt pretty upbeat about how the kids are being taught with only a few questions that he hadn't gotten answered when he came home. It's definitely a different world than what these two small town public school kids are used to. But luckily for Sloane and Reece, they really don't know much of a difference except that there aren't desks to sit at... they just have their own personal rugs.

So hippie, right?! :)

Sloane is doing well. We are most proud that she is finally remembering kids names, which is a real struggle for her! I still sometimes worry when I look out the window and I see her kind of wandering around the playground by herself during recess. I wonder if we've done the right thing by moving them so much. But right or wrong, it's a part of our life and our journey right now. I pray that it makes her a stronger and braver kid in the long run. And I hope we eventually can get to our forever home so she can make some forever friends.

And Reece.

Oh Reece.

Despite the constant worry I have for him in certain areas, being social and friendly is not one of them. This kid will walk up to complete strangers, say hello, ask them how they are, tell them his name and then proceed to tell him the names of everyone around him... "my mom, my dad, my girlfriend Sloane..."

Just last week his teacher had responded to an email I had sent her and finished it off by telling me how proud of him she was. He has some small meltdowns every once in awhile, but she has found a way to make them minor. And his hugs and smile make her day better.

So... there is a chance my son might be a school janitor (I mean... I could be a great school janitor) or he might be rocket scientist. But either way, he will be the friendliest one you will ever meet! :)

I meet with the special education coordinator and his teacher this week to go over his IEP plan and see what needs to be adjusted with that. This kid is saying bigger words than his sister so I'm not sure if speech will be what needs to be tackled anymore. He is getting one-on-one reading help daily, which is nice. Other than that, we are constantly working on sight words and he is obsessed with making signs and hanging them up all over the basement.

Not sure what they say, but... they are up!

He was very upset he didn't have homework like Sloane so Matt  gave him some homework... he took it very seriously! :) 

And Ms. Tess. Well. She is a mess. We are officially closer to being two than one and I can feel it! The girl can throw up a 'tude in the snap of a finger! It's quite amazing! At least three times a day, I have to apologize to someone for her nasty look she is giving someone. And tell them that she does it to everyone.

It's exhausting! ;)

We've spent some time at the pediatrician lately as well as a kidney ultrasound last week. Apparently she has two tubes running from one of her kidneys to her bladder rather than just one which is causing her to have some small issues. We meet with a urologist in a few weeks to see what we need to do. I'm just praying its not surgery! But we will cross that river when we come to it.

We've had lots of visitors lately -- Matt's dad and girlfriend came up a few weekends ago and then Michael and his girlfriend Jami came this last weekend. Jami found the magic touch with Tess because Tess gladly would sit in her lap and hang out. Which doesn't easily happen for many! :)

Michael, if you are reading this (which I'm sure you will get to at some point)... we love her and I need her as my sister-in-law. No pressure. ;)

We have one free weekend before I head to Kansas City with all of Two Dots in tow to attend the Gift Gallery for the second year in a row. We had a BLAST there last year and are so excited to attend again! The vendors are LEGIT people - if you are in the KC area and need to get some Christmas shopping done, make a stop at the Cure of Ars Catholic School off of 95th and Mission in Leawood, Kan. You will not be sorry!

Lauren, Sam, Perry and Cohen come up right when I get back from KC and then my best friend arrives after that until the Wednesday of Thanksgiving, followed my parents for Thanksgiving!

Busy. Busy. Busy.

And I prefer it that way!

XXOO,
Allyson

Life Lately...

Hello out there!

It is I, keeper of the blog. Absent for four months because well... life.

I'd like to start off by saying that by no means did I want to go four months without blogging. I truly love it! I'd also like to say that the last four months may have been the most chaotic of my life! So blogging/Two Dots/LipSense was pushed to the back-burners because... life.

Most of you that read this follow me on social media so you know the gist of what has been going on in the Clark household since March. But to recap:

• Matt took a new position with Coleman in January and started traveling back and forth from Bentonville to Chicago during the week. 
• Sold our house in White Oak Trails in Bentonville.
• Moved into a two-bedroom apartment in Rogers, drove the kids back and forth for school. 
• House-hunted for MONTHS with zero luck!
• Grew accustomed to 2 AM wake-up calls from Tess, who basically wouldn't go back to sleep. She eventually got back to her sleeping routine right when it was time to move again! 
• Sloane graduated from Kindergarten, we said our goodbyes and moved in with my parents in Manhattan while we crossed fingers we would find a place to live! 
• Found a place to live IN THE CITY, where I had zero intentions of living with my family. Life is funny.
• Found out Reece would have to start kindergarten because he turned five before August 1. It's a joke of a rule and absolutely NOT in the best interest of the student, but... ya can't fight city hall (or the Chicago Public School system in this case). 
• Moved June 26 and couldn't fit most of our big furniture in. Fun!
• Packed as much fun into a month as we could in Chicago because I think Matt forgot we weren't just visiting, but actually lived here... 
• Busted pipes in our basement while Matt and I had went away for a weekend. 
• Followed that up with me spending four days in the hospital to end up having my gallbladder removed.
• Followed by Tess back to her old tricks of sleeping SUPER poorly. 
• Followed by more busted pipes in our basement...

And in to September we have rolled... 

Our summer vacation lasted approximately three months and nine days. Our complete life flip lasted five months and five days. There is no better way for me to say this but to say that these last five months have been nothing short of a shit show. And I mean that in the most endearing way possible! 

It's almost laughable (now) at all of the things that we have done/dealt with/participated in/fallen for. I will also say to you that I thank the heavenly stars that my kids are so adaptable and for the most part, go-with-the-flow! They did NOT get that from their mama so I will go ahead and give Matt the props for that. The number of times that I have wanted to plop down and cry or run outside and scream have been plenty. But somehow... here we are. All in one piece and looking back at March like it was 10 years ago (because believe me, it feels like it)! 

Why did I choose today to return to blogging? 

No. 1 reason is that two of my kids are back in school! ALLELUIA! 

Today was the first day of school for the Chicago Public Schools (which is so bizarre since everyone else started school way back in August). We walked Sloane and Reece over to school this morning, which is conveniently located directly across the street from us, and after a few hugs and reminders that I would be there to get them after school, in they walked. Since Sloane was going in to first grade, they asked us not to walk them in, but since Reece was going into Kindergarten, we got to walk him in. He has a locker, which he immediately put his backpack in, and then barely told us goodbye as he walked in to his classroom. 

This is not a surprise from this kid because he has done this every time we have taken him to school. I have to beg for a hug! 

For those of you that know Reece, you will laugh at this. But every time we get on the train, he sits down, and starts chatting with the person next to him. We walked through the DePaul campus the other day and a girl was sitting at a picnic table and he stops ands says, "Hi! I'm Reece! How are you?" "This is my mom, my dad, my girlfriend Sloane, Tess, my friend uncle George (otherwise known as my brother, Jordan), Alex and Anderson." 

The kid strikes a conversation with ANYONE and EVERYONE. Stranger danger? He knows no stranger. And as scary as that may be, I keep telling myself that maybe one day he will strike up a conversation with someone who hasn't made good choices and maybe not very friendly... but Reece will spark something in them to make them flip their life around. 

Or maybe they will tell him to stop talking! 

I don't know! 

I am excited to pick them up and see how their day went. I'm excited to report back to you all about what I find out (like why Reece was already sitting in timeout at recess when I drove by this morning)!

So thank you all for following along on our crazy journey the last three... err... almost six months. It's been a wild ride thus far. I can only pray that life slows down, we get back into a routine and it's smooth sailing! 

.... OK, I can't even type that without laughing! 

Until next time, friends!

XXOO,

Allyson

PS. My LipSense Labor Day sale wraps up today! If there is a fall color you've been hunting for, now is the time to buy! Everything in five percent off plus free shipping through tonight! Check out my Facebook page to see what I have in stock. I also have Lexie Beary, Dark Pink, Caramel Latte and Luv It coming in this week - all fantastic fall colors! :) 

Life Lately

Well friends ... life lately has been a big bummer!

If you didn't see my Facebook video I posted last week on my Tess and Elm Facebook page, I talked about the big bummer.

Which was how we were under contract on a house (FINALLY!) and then had the inspection done where they found a huge crack in the basement wall. We had to have a structural engineer come to look at it to see if it was a major or minor problem.

Turned out to be a major problem. A sixty thousand dollar problem to be exact!

And not 60 thousand dollars that we felt we should have to pay (and not 60 thousand dollars that I thought the owners were willing to pay either).

I was correct because they respectfully declined to pay for it. So we had to say goodbye to the house that was too good to be true for us!

We are sort of in a weird place right now. We just kind of don't know what to do. Matt came home Thursday night from Chicago and said he had a great idea and after the showered, he would let me know what it was.

I was sort of thinking it was going to be this fantastic, genius idea.

It was a house boat. He wanted to buy a house boat.

Needless to say, my sails deflated (pun intended) quickly and I went back to looking at my phone for houses.

I know that a house will work out for us. It's just obviously not even close to being on my time frame. I finally decided to just start emailing a few preschools in the areas we want to be in and will probably just sign Reece up for something. The kid has to go to preschools for so many reasons, but mostly because mom cannot teach him anything. Teaching was not my calling in life and when you know your strengths and weaknesses, you admit them!

I'm going to choose to be optimistic at this point because I'm tired of being sad about it. And on that note...

Other things going on in our life... school is almost out! I literally cannot believe it. I can't believe that I have sent Sloane to school nine months of the year and not once forgot her snack or water bottle that she was supposed to have.

I DID forget to sign a homework folder every once-in-awhile but hey, it was a learning process for us all!

What a school year though... it is truly amazing to watch your child come home and read to you. Or write sentences. I have loved watching Sloane in her first year of school and how she has grown.

Maybe someday she will learn to pick up the tempo a little bit...

But I'm not holding my breath!

As for Reece... he has no idea how to read or write a sentence and I'm really just excited for him to write his name. I think its a little bit of the boy in him, but his care level for that stuff is non-existent.

Can someone confirm or deny this with their own boys at this age?!

We've made big strides in other areas, especially in the swimming department. Once we finished up with occupational therapy in December, I knew I needed to keep pushing him in the areas that he needed to work on. One of those was the water.

The kid loves baths and to put his head under but the pool is a different story. After taking group lessons that were filled with Reece screams, he took private lessons for a month and man... Ms. Lisa was amazing! He still screamed here and there, but he is now putting his head under, going through the extremely loud maze of squirting water at the community center pool to go down the slide and is going down the bigger slides as well.

He has come a long way and I'm hoping we can keep this up -- I don't want him to put a floatie back on!

And as for Ms. Tess... she loves me. Like... a lot. And if mommy is not holding her or she can't see me, she's crying. Loudly. Every once in awhile she will venture off to play with some toys but no more than three minutes later and she is back at my feet.

God love her.

But sometimes I need a break!

Oh... and Matt is in Chicago every week.

Did I mention I need a break?

We seriously miss him... it definitely has put a strain on us as a family and in our marriage. If you can avoid the life of a weekly traveling husband/dad, I recommend it!

And that's life lately for us. We have a busy month ahead and then what comes after school is out is still unknown (say a prayer that the unknown starts to become a little more "known" for us soon)!

And we all know how much I love the unknown!!!!!


XXOO,
Allyson