We didn't have a lot of of happenings going on in September, which we really needed after the past month of craziness. I also haven't been working as many hours, which has allowed us more freedom and flexibility in our schedule.
Mason and Aubrey are both settling into the school routines. We are now knee deep in sight words, math problems, and fundraisers and the nerd in me is loving it. I always loved school and both kids seem to be enjoying it so far, which makes me happy. Aubrey got her first progress report from school and she is on track in all of the measured areas. She also got her first note home from school telling us she is struggling with paying attention and following directions in class, which was not a huge shock considering this is a big problem for her at home. This was also noted on progress report, so its something we are really trying to work on more in the evenings.
Some bad news of the month was that Aubrey had to have a lot of dental work done this month. I finally took her back to the dentist last month, which was long overdue. Her last dental visit had been at age 3 and it didn't go well so we held off as not to scare her off from the dentist. Unfortunately, they told us she had 4 cavities in her back teeth, none of which would be falling out soon so they required work. All of them were between her teeth, which means the problem isn't a lack of brushing, more a lack of flossing. I never remember flossing as a child, nor do I remember having any sort of cavities before I was like 8 or 9, so I was really surprised to hear this information. She handled the first 2 fillings like a champ. They gave her nitrous oxide prior to doing the work and she said she felt no pain. She seemed fine after the visit and went right back to school. She had the last 2 cavities worked on Tuesday, and due to 1 cavity location, she had to get a crown instead of a filling. This visit did not go so well and she was a miserable mess after we left. She cried or whimpered the entire way to school. I gave her a dose of ibuprofen and hoped she would feel better after a few hours. We've added a fluoride supplement to her brushing routine, as well as twice daily flossing in hopes that we can prevent anymore cavities because I hate the thought of having to do this to her again.
The bright spot of our month was going to the beach for our 7th wedding anniversary. We've skipped our anniversary trip the past 2 years because of low funds, but now that I am back to work we could afford it this year. We decided to just do a quick weekend visit to Oak Island because of Aubrey being in school. Oak Island is where we went for our honeymoon and holds a special place in my heart after years of childhood visits plus our honeymoon. Mason had never been to the beach and I really wanted him to experience it, so leaving the kids at home wasn't an option to us. We got down there late Friday night but still wanted Mason see the beach so a quick walk down the water was necessary. We got up early Saturday morning and spent most of the day out on the beach. It was overcast outside and cool, which made for a comfortable day of playing in the sand. That evening, we went to Southport for dinner, and unfortunately, it started raining so we weren't able to walk around the town. We had to get up early Sunday to pack and head out, but not before taking a trip to see the Oak Island lighthouse and the Oak Island pier. We are already considering a week-long trip back to Oak Island next summer because the kids really enjoyed themselves and want to spend more time there.
We wrapped up the month by taking our first trip to the Huntersville farmer's market. I've worked so many Saturdays that we have never been able to attend, but since I had a Saturday off and it was so gorgeous outside, we decided to take advantage of it. Its a neat little place to visit and I hope to go back next summer. The best part of the trip was noticing that the town of Huntersville was hosting a fall festival so we had to take the kids for a walk through. There were games and bouncy houses and free prizes so the kids enjoyed themselves. Mason was thrilled he got to sit in a real fire truck and walk through the fire department. He is becoming obsessed with all things on wheels and fire trucks are pretty high on the list, so he was in heaven.
So, this month was a nice transition month for us. The fall is shaping up to be busy for us so it was nice to be able to relax and spend time together as a family while the weather outside is so awesome.
