Vacation & New Schools

Well I know I kind of dropped the ball last week. Like I said my goal was to post once a week but last week our family was able to spend a relaxing week of vacation at the Jersey Shore. Every year Monica's mom rents a house in Ocean City New Jersey for the week of Labor Day. This year Monica, Missy and I were lucky enough to be invited down for the entire week. Mon and I decided It made more sense to go down on Friday night to avoid the traffic on Saturday. Our plan was simple, be packed and have the truck loaded by 7pm so we could get on the road just about the time Missy would be ready to got to bed. Monica had to work Friday so It would be up to me to do some necessary prep work but she would be home by 4:00 so that would give us time to throw a couple of suitcases together and load the truck, right? In a perfect world, maybe. In this world everything would go smoothly and a 14 month old would not require 5 times as much junk as both of her parents combined. In this world silly little errands would not take half a day to complete and would be done before the sun was gone from the sky. However, as most of you know from your own experiences, we do not live in this "perfect" world. Needless to say we finally got on our way around 10:30. By the time we arrived at our destination we were exhausted. But the next day we were on the beach and it was all worth while.

Please click here for more pics of our trip.

After an amazing week of sun, fun and relaxation at the beach it was time to get home and get back to the grind. We got home Saturday afternoon and began the tear down right away. We needed to get as much done as we could, Monica had work on Sunday and we still had to get Missy ready for her first day of nursery school on Monday.

Monday I had a lot to do to get ready for my own new school experience. My mind was all over the place as I woke up. I needed to think about what Missy would need for the day, what I needed for my appointments and a timeline to get it all done with out being overly rushed. I got up early, took my shower, shaved and got a little daddy fuel in me to help me through the morning. Next, I woke up my little girl on her big day. I got her changed, dressed and fed. I packed her school bag, her lunch and all the stuff I would need for the day. I got us out the door and on the road in plenty of time. I was so proud of myself. I was Super Dad! We got to the school. She was doing great. She began to wave to her new teachers and new friends before I could even set her down on the floor. I watched as she began to explore her new classroom. I began to put her stuff away. I talked to the teachers about her morning, the things I had brought for her and... Wait, what was missing? I had done such a great job getting out of the house this morning. How could I have forgotten her lunch? Oh shoot! Now I had to go home and get it before I could go to my appointment. When I left I stood outside the door for a minute and looked in on her. She was doing great! But by the time I got back with her lunch and got back on the road I was running really late. Later that afternoon, when I arrived to pick her up I was told how well she had done. She played with the other children. She ate her snacks and lunch at the table. The staff seemed genuinely impressed! My little girl is already starting to grow up.

We're back!

Hey everyone! Sorry we've been away so long. Monica and I started this blog as a way of letting you stay up to date on what's going on with the Rich fam and we dropped the ball. However, it is a new beginning here at Living Rich. Monica has begun orienting to her new job on the transport team at CHOP, Missy has had her first birthday and she and her daddy both start a new school this month. My new goal is to post a little something each week.

As many of you know Monica has been all over the country with her new job. She has been able to ride in ambulances, helicopters, and jets. She has been all over PA, NJ and DE. She has even been able to go as far as NC, MI and NY. She seems to really enjoy the team and alway has a good time when she works with them. While on orientation she has been bouncing around the hospital, getting familiar with every unit and learning all she needs to know. Unfortunately this has her working 4 or 5 days instead of her regular 3 day schedule. However, this will only last another couple of months.

Missy begins her new day care soon. Monica had a little "getting to know you" conference today with one of her teachers. I think it went well. Monica and I hate that we have to have someone watch her but we both feel really good about the school and all the staff.

I took a math placement test last night. Unfortunately I do not think I did all that well. I am still waiting to get the results back but I just did not feel confident. I was looking at the questons thinking "man, this looks familiar. I know I learned this in high school." As it turns out high school was a long lime ago. All I can do now is hope for the best. Other than that I can not wait for classes to start. I feel like last year was just practice. Now I will be at a real school. I know it will be much harder but I am looking forward to the challenge.