A look back

So the year is almost to a close.  Did we do everything we set out to do for our resolutions in 2008?  I didn't.   2009 was a pretty good year for the Crater house.  We stayed pretty healthy except when Thomas thought he was dying from the Swine flu.    I am loving Gemeinschaft and hope we are able to continue on to Gemeinschaft II when this session ends sometime in May.  I feel like my bond with God has grown stronger over the last few months and completing my Lebenslauf (spiritual autobiography) has been an eye opener as well.   I think because I have been reading my Bible more it has inspired Jack to do the same.  He has been reading his at bedtime. 
I hope Jack and Thomas continue to have a great year in school.   Their basketball games will begin soon.  Thomas is doing much better this year.  I think he has the concept now.  Jack of course is all about it.   He will be traveling more this time since he is playing county ball.  They won't be playing at the same gym so that may be hard at times. 
Happy New Year!!

Going to see Santa and other stuff

Well, we went to see Santa on Friday when the kids got out of school. Yes, the day it snowed so much. We were waiting in line to see Santa. When we came out of the mall the snow had not accumulated on the ground yet, but was on the cars. The parking lot was full. We ended up taking the kids to eat before we went home. They love this wing place that has a trivia game. We sat in there watching the snow. I have to say it was beautiful. We had driven the Expedition up there so I knew there would not be a problem getting home. I figured the longer we sat there would give the idiots more time to get off the road. Sure enough we saw several cars in ditches on the way home. I don't think anyone was injured they were just stuck.
The kids had a blast. Mark even broke down and let them have a present early. They got their snow boards early from us. This was the perfect snow to snow board. Mark even got into the act. I always said he was a big kid. I have some great pictures of him snowboarding. HA HA!!!
The kids built a snowman too. We thought we had a real life frosty. We went out and he had rolled down the hill in front of our house. He was really heavy. Then the next morning he was back where he started put back together. That was funny.
I think the kids got all they could ever want and then some. Jack got an ipod from Santa and a compound bow and arrow set. Yeah, I know I never knew Santa delivered weapons. Luckily the arrows Santa got were blunt tipped. Jack found a love of archery at Church camp this past summer. Thomas got a LOT of Legos from Santa and a game or two for his DS. They are still putting together Legos today.

Santa and other questions ?

We keep talking about taking the kids to see Santa. Jack has said on more than one occasion that he is not going to see Santa and is not going to sit on his lap either. Well, as a mother I was devastated. Could this really be happening? Is he really going to do this at this age? Mark talked with him yesterday about going to see Santa. Mark told him if you don't go see Santa how will he know what to bring you for Christmas. Jack simply replied, "He knows what I want." Mark asked him how could he know if you have not told him or written him a letter? Jack said, "well, last year I did not tell anyone that I wanted a guitar and Santa told Gee (my mother) that I wanted one so she could get it for me. Mark laughed and said ok. So this was not at all anything I had to worry about. He just has more faith than I thought. I guess I should not be so quick to think the worst. I love that my kids still have faith and believe in the spirit of Christmas. I hope they never loose it.

Is Mother Nature real?

So that is the question of the day. Jack asked his Daddy last night at bedtime if Mother Nature was real. Mark said no that she was fictional. Jack said, "Well who controls the weather then?" Thomas replied, "God." Mark said yes, God takes care of the weather. Jack said well, doesn't she help God take care of the weather? Mark said no she is not real. Jack insisted that she was real and that she helped God take care of the weather. So then he asked if there was a "Jack Frost?" Mark said no, that he was fictional also. Jack decided that his Daddy was probably right on that one. So then he asked where Santa parked his sleigh. Since we don't have a chimney would he park on the roof or in the front yard. Mark said he parks in the front yard. Mark asked him why he wanted to know and Jack simply replied he wasn't sure where he should put the reindeer food. My kids are so innocent I hope they stay that way forever.
I have a special Santa Key that only Santa can use to get in our front door. I have had mine for years. Back when Christmas Around the World was popular they carried one. I have recently seen some in Hallmark and a few other places. They tell the story that you can hang this key outside your door on Christmas Eve and only Santa is able to use it. Even if you have a fire place with a chimney he would like to use the key, that way it saves wear and tear on his suit. So every Christmas Eve before the kids go to bed they hang Santas' special key on the front door.

Christmas Program

The kids had their Christmas Program at Church yesterday. Our Church gets all the kids involved that want to be involved. Some want to do a little bit of everything while others, like Thomas, only want to do a little. Thomas is a little shy, I know what some of you are thinking and yes he is shy sometimes. Jack was a wise man, Melchoir, and he sang a solo. Thomas was part of the caravan and he only sang when everyone else sang. Thomas also got to wear his pj's to Church and he thought that was the coolest. We have a great director for our Children's programs. She always comes up with something original that gets everyone involved. She does a great job getting the kids to do things they normally would not be willing to do. Like getting Thomas to sing.
My Mom and Dad got to come up for the program too. I am so glad the weather was not bad so that they could come up and see the boys. Thomas told me he was a little scared. He had an odd look on his face through the whole thing. I asked him what was wrong after the program and he said, "Mommy I think I had a little stage fright." I laughed and told him that was ok. All the kids did such a good job.

Catching Up. . .

One of my dear friends from High School got married the weekend before Thanksgiving and I was blessed to be able to attend. I have not seen her in probably ten or more years and it was so nice to see her and to be a part of her special day. I also got to catch up with another dear friend that I had not seen in at least six years, we were both pregnant when we last saw each other. It was great seeing them both. In school we were in separable. We sort of lost touch when we went to college and started our own families. But, you would have thought we were never apart. We picked up right where we left off those many years ago. Now, we all have families of our own and getting together is hard but, I hope we will be able to stay in touch. The one friend is a teacher where my nieces go to school. The one that got married is a little further away.
It is so hard to stay connected to your old friends when life is so crazy and you have your family to take care of. I am going to make it a point this next year to try and stay connected to these wonderful gals. As my Daddy always told me, "You can only go as far as your friends will let you go." That is one I will always remember and has held true for me.

Happy Thanksgiving !

Hope you all had a Happy Turkey Day! We had a big one. We spent lunch with Marks' family at his sisters' house. Then we went to my Moms' for dinner. I ate sooo much food but, it was all sooo good. We came home last night from Moms'. On the way I asked the kids to name some things they were thankful for, here is how they responded: Jack said he was thankful for, "food, shelter and parents." I am not sure if he is thankful for his parents or just parents in general he did not elaborate. Thomas said, "friends, parents, and food." Mark said he was thankful for his job. He has had a rough month with work. I said, "I am thankful for my family and the love we are able to share." That love did not last long, by the time we got home the boys were both fighting over who got to go to the bathroom first ect ect. . .
I am trying to get Thomas to try new foods since his list of things he will eat is very short. So Marks' sister had fixed some really good sweet potato casserole and she added the marshmallows so I did get him to eat some of that. I think he liked it even though he did not want to admit it. Jack still refers to the cranberry sauce as cranberry jello. That was the only way we could get him to eat it when he was little. Thomas tried that too. Again he will never admit that he liked it but he did eat what I had put on his plate.

Teaching the kids

Ok, so I had Children's Church this morning and we were talking about the books of the Bible. I was supposed to do the craft. I thought it would be a good idea to try and start teaching them the books of the Bible. I don't remember when I had to learn them but it was part of our Sunday School. I found some great websites that gave some information on how to teach the books of the Bible to the kids. To start you had to break them in smaller sections. So I decided that we would start with the New Testament and have them memorize; Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, and 1st and 2nd Corinthians. I tested this out on Thomas last night. I decided if he could remember them the other kids could do it too. He did pretty good. So this morning I was quizzing him and he started, "Matthew, Daddy, Luke" ect. . . I stared giggling. For those of you that do not know My husbands name is Mark. So we have told the kids they are not supposed to call us by our first names, we are Mommy and Daddy. So this is quite funny. He was a little embarrassed and I told him he should not be.
During Children's Church this morning Trish our director of education was teaching the lesson about the books of the Bible. She asked a few questions and I was pleasantly surprised that Jack knew many of the answers. The questions were not things that we discuss when we talk about the Bible. We have started our journey now to learn the books of the Bible. This should be very interesting.

School Spirit Week

Ok, so the school is having spirit week. The kids get to dress up and be silly to show their school spirit. Yesterday they got to dress like a Rock Star. Leave it to my kids to pick Kiss and Alice Cooper to dress up like. Thomas went as Paul Stanley from Kiss and Jack went as Alice Cooper. They did not wear wigs though. Today was wear your favorite teams colors so both boys wore their Miami jerseys and their Miami hats. They looked so cute. I will try to attach some pictures.

Tears for the Boys. . .

Tonight our fighting Knights lost their last game of the season. It was a bitter battle to the very end. Our boys fought the good fight but we lost 12 to 8. The team we lost to was ranked #1 and we were ranked #8. We were actually in a three way for 8th place. We had some tears from our boys it was sad. They worked so hard and tried so hard. They played a great game! I don't think I could have been prouder as a Mom if they had won. It is sad to see our season come to this end. I think it was as hard on the parents as it was on the kids. The kids have grown as ball players and have showed great sportsmanship.

Here is to all our Knights! Great job this year boys!

Eating better. . .

When Thomas was diagnosed with the Swine flu a few weeks ago he hollered and said he didn't want to die. I told him he was not going to die from this flu. I said, "You are healthy you will be just fine in a few days." He said with tears streaming but I don't eat healthy. The Lord works in mysterious ways. I said well here is where we make a change. We will all start eating healthy.

This summer I had looked into the Mediterranean Diet for Mark. I had read somewhere that the people of the Mediterranean have a lower risk and incident of diabetes and many other metabolic diseases. Researchers attribute that to their diet. So off I go to do my own research on the matter. I did use some of the recipes I found in my book and I tried to do more fish. I have not thought seriously about it since I read that book this summer but I found a site through Lowes Foods that has more information on the Mediterranean diet and some really good recipes. It also has a food pyramid for adults and one for children. Check out this site it is cool www.mediterraneanmark.org

I guess I will have some things to talk about at dinner tonight with the kids. I hope showing them the food pyramid will help them understand the importance of certain foods.

Cleaning out the closets. . .

Ok gals, I am cleaning out the kids closets this week. I have some boys clothes up for grabs. These are Thomas' things so they are 4's and 4Ts I have a few pair of good jeans (carter, Lee) I have one pair of corduroy dress pants size 5, I also have some footed PJs and a few dress shirts ect. . . Let me know if anyone is interested in these they are in good condition. Jack is raising money to help fund a flood relief program in Goldsboro. They need to replenish their flood buckets so the money I can get from the clothes will go to the flood buckets. The group in Goldsboro sent all their supplies to Georgia when they had all their flooding. Goldsboro primarily supplies flood items for North Carolina. Each bucket costs $25 they hold detergent, clothes line and pins, towels and other cleaning supplies.

Anyway, if anyone has any interest in these items let me know via email. pamperedpage@bellsouth.net I also have some cleats if anyone is in need. Baseball is just around the corner.

I hope we are done. . .

I hope we are done with all the flu yuck. The kids are feeling much better. Jack actually went to Church yesterday with Marks' sister. Mark and I stayed home with Thomas. We have a lot of older members in our congregation and I would hate to infect any of them with this bug. I think it could take its' toll on an older person. I did get to go to my Bible study though and I am so glad. My Bible study has been a saving grace for me this last few weeks. We are required, I love that required, to have a quiet day for 6-12 hours by our selves to reflect and get started on our Lebenslauf (spiritual autobiography). So I got to take mine before all the sickness broke out. I went on Wednesday to the Lake for mine. It was nice, I did have to take Thomas to the doctor before I could go. I did get a good start on my Lebenslauf. I wrote in my journal and took some pictures with my camera and I read my Bible and another spiritual book that I took with me. I think the Lord knew what was coming for me because my quiet day could not have come at a more needed time. I have a really good start to my Lebenslauf and next week I have to give a summary of what I have so far to my group.

The Flu

So Thomas had to go back to the doctor on Thursday and Friday. He tested positive for the Swine flu on Thursday and was dehydrated on Friday. Thomas had the puke portion of the flu. We are doing much better today. I always thought Thomas was my better puker. He tended to make it to the bathroom and actually hit the toilet. Jack on the other hand when he got sick he hit what ever was in his way. Thomas proved me wrong this time. Thursday and Friday he puked where ever he was. He made no attempt to get to the bathroom. I am not sure if he did not have the energy or if it came on that quick. So I have spent the better part of these past few days doing laundry and spot cleaning the carpet.
Thomas was so pitiful he said, "Mommy I am sorry I puked on your couch." I told him that was ok it was an accident and he should not worry about it. Then, "Mommy I am sorry I puked on your bed and in the floor of your room." I said that is ok things happen you can't help it. Now my house reeks of Lysol and floor cleaner. Yuck! I guess it is better than the alternative.
We are all back on the road to recovery. He has not been at school since Tuesday. The doctor said Thomas could go to school, if he felt like it, on Monday. We have a teacher workday on Monday so he will get an extra day to recover. Yeah!!
We have weathered the storm of sickness. Remember wash your hands! I also read something online about things you can do to prevent the flu. Most were common sense but they said to gargle with warm almost hot salt water and if you could not do that to drink hot liquids. They said it takes about 3 days from the time you come in contact with the bug for you to get sick. They said the hot liquids would kill the virus. It enters through your nasal passages then to your throat. Needless to say I have been drinking a lot more coffee and hot tea as of late.
Cheers!

Sick Children

So on Monday this week Jack complains of a headache and sore throat. Off we went to the doctor for fear of the flu. It was neither the flu nor strep but an upper respiratory infection. The doctor gave us antibiotics and we were back home. On Tuesday morning Jack woke up and I checked his temp and it was 103 so I gave him some medicine and sent him back to bed. With in twenty minutes he was back downstairs and said his eyes hurt. He was flush and felt really hot. I checked his temp again and it was 106.3 in his ear. Now I know ear thermometers are not the best but that scared me. So off we went to the tub. Jack is a really good sport so he did not complain about the cold water. He knows that I don't do things just to torture him. He spent 20 minutes or so in a cool tub before his temp broke to 104 and I was relieved with that. I gave him a dose of whatever it was that he had not gotten the first time to try and get a hold on this temp thing. So it is now Thursday (wee hours of Thursday) morning and I think he is going to get to go to school today.
Thomas will not be going to school. He went to the doctor yesterday with the same symptoms only his temp did not shoot up until 2:00am. His was only 105.3 in his ear. So off we went to the tub. Thomas is not as good a sport as Jack. He cried the whole time he was in the tub. I gave up after 20 minutes and his temp had not broken. I got him out and put him on the couch and started an alcohol rub down. He did not like that much either. He is now in the bed with a manageable 102 temp.
The moral of this story is check those temps. If you wake up in the middle of the night and your kids have been sick check those temps. Something just told me to go and check on him tonight, I am glad I did. I think this must be the course for this bug they have. It is not the flu it still may be viral though. High temps scare me, some may think I over reacted and some may think I did not react enough because I did not take them to the hospital. I don't think the hospital would have done any better or quicker than I did. Please be ware of this bug that is going around.

A Loss. . .

My Uncle passed away this week. He lived in Tennessee and knew everyone. When we talked with folks that knew him they all had a story to tell about something he had done or said that somehow changed their lives. I know a lot of people say they had friends or relatives that knew everyone and had never met a stranger but my Uncle truly never met a stranger. If he did meet someone he did not know he knew someone they knew and quickly became friends with them. He loved life and the outdoors. He was 85 years young. He had been a Principal and involved in the school system for many years and many of the people we met this weekend he had either taught or they worked with him. He grew up in an era that kids respected their elders, you never talked back to your parents, and you always helped out around the house.

My Mom told the story about he and another Uncle that were in the Navy and had not seen each other in at least a year because they were both at sea. She said that Carroll, the one that passed away, his ship had run out of water. They only had water to drink and barely any of that. They called for assistance and met up with an aircraft carrier near them. Well, low and behold, it was the aircraft carrier that his older brother Julian was on. They tied up together and the boys on the aircraft carrier threw a party for the boys on the other ship. Julian knew his brother was aboard the other ship and he boarded her to find his brother he had not seen in at least a year. When he found him poor Carroll looked a mess. Julian told him he would have to shave and shower before he board his ship. (with a laugh of course) How is that for a story? Two brothers meeting each other in the middle of the ocean serving on two different ships and in the middle of a war.
My dear Uncle Carroll you will be missed.

Things my boys say? ? ?

So you know how my kids are. They say whatever pops into their little heads. Sometimes it can be hurtful and sometimes you just have to laugh. Well, the other morning before school Thomas was making fun of my hair. Yes, I had the terrible bed head. I was rushing around trying to get them ready to go to school so I had not brushed my hair or even tried to fix it. I really didn't care right then. Thomas commented that it looked really ugly. Jack immediately jumped to my defense and told Thomas that was not very nice and he should apologize to me. Thomas of course ignored his brother and kept poking fun at me. Again, I really did not care, my hair did look bad. Mark said I had a Don King thing going on with it.

I am glad that Jack jumped to defend me. It makes me feel good that he realizes that words can hurt peoples' feelings. I guess I am going to have to get up earlier so that I can make myself presentable before I wake my kids up. HA HA!! Not! They will just have to learn to deal with it. I have noticed Jack saying please and thank you more often lately. Could he be up to something or could he just be using his manners. I hope it is the later.

Thomas always has a way to make me laugh and wonder where he comes up with these things. We were watching TV the other day together and a commercial came on for a wrinkle cream. (you know where this is going don't you?) Thomas looks at me and says, "Mommy you need some of that stuff." I said, oh really. Why? He said, "you know when you give me my bath and your fingers get all wrinkly. You could use it after you give me a bath so they aren't so wrinkly." I laughed and grabbed him and hugged him and told him how much I loved him. He makes me laugh so.

The Fair

Well, I am going to be awarded the worst Mommy award this week. I had promised Jack since last fair time that he could enter something in the Fair. He loves to cook and has been wanting to make fudge since last Christmas. He does a good job. So this year I promised him he could enter his fudge in the Fair. We even created a new recipe to make it his own. I made my pound cake to submit as well. I have always wanted to enter something at the Fair too. Today is the day you have to take everything up there to be judged. I went on the website to figure out how to submit everything and found that you were supposed to send in an entry form by Sept. 1st. I did not do that, so I cannot take our entries today. Jack is going to be so mad at me. He has looked forward to this for so long. His fudge is really good too. I don't know how I am going to break this to him. Anybody want a really good pound cake?

First Football game

We played our first football game yesterday for both boys. I love football but I do not like it in the rain. It rained all day yesterday and was a little chilly too. Since our club was the host for the games that meant we had to work the gate, the concession stand and do clean up. Just throw the rain in there and you have a party. I think my family changed clothes 3 times each during all that fun and to boot Mark wanted to go out to eat after the last game. Yuck! We went out to eat with me looking like a drowned rat. I must have been really hungry because I did not care that I looked like a drowned rat.
The boys played good games but Thomas's team got beat. They are a young team so some of them like Thomas still have a lot to learn. Thomas is still learning the finer points of the game. One thing he has not learned is that he is going to get knocked down. He still takes that personally. Yesterday he and one of my best friends' son knocked heads and they both came off the field crying. I think my friends' son got the worst end of the hit. Thomas is my little drama queen though so everything is major to him. In the middle of the drama they both said at the same time, "I don't want to play football anymore." I think it was a heat of the moment kinda thing. I think they will both be back at it on Tuesday for practice.
Jacks' team did well they won despite the rain and yuck. Jack scored a TD and a two point conversion. Of course I did not find that out until after the game. It is so hard to see who is who on the field. I just cheer for all of 'em.

Football Jamboree. . .

Both the boys had their jamboree for football this weekend. Jacks' team scrimmaged against 4 other teams and did pretty good. They are still working on fine tuning a few things. I thought they looked great but of course I am a little prejudice. Mark on the other hand is very critical so he saw a lot of things they needed to work on. I was so excited one time because we were running for a touchdown and I looked to see who ran the ball and it was Jack. I jumped up and said that was Jack he's mine, that's my son. Yeah!! In all their gear you cannot tell who is who. I just know his number. They have their names on their jerseys but I can't see that far so that does not help. Thomas did well at his jamboree. This is Thomas first year of football so he has a lot to learn about the game. Several of the kids that are on Thomas team played last year so that is a big bonus. They know what to do. Thomas only played one team instead of multiple like Jack did. Thomas team won. Yeah!! I looked up one time and all I saw was Thomas feet fly in the air and then he got up rubbing his head. He was quite upset about that. We told him that's football, he did not like getting knocked for a loop. He bowed up at the boy and looked like he wanted to go after him but his coach grabbed him and brought him back to the line where he was supposed to play. He did not get any flags but he tried really hard. I think other than getting knocked on his fanny he had fun.

They both play on Saturday for real. They are playing at different times so I will get to see both games.

New Bible Study . . .

I have started a 40 week Bible study through our Church called Gemeinschaft. It is a small group Bible study only seven people and we are reading our Bible and daily text and also creating a journal. Since the Moravians' are German then a lot of our names for things are German. Part of our study is creating our Lebanslauf which is German for spiritual autobiography. I was a little worried about that one. I have started it and surprisingly it is not as hard as I thought it would be. This has brought back many memories of my childhood and church. I have remembered things that I have not thought of in many years. One of the things that brought back great feelings was when I was about five or six and I got to be the star in the live nativity scene. I stood on a ladder behind the little shack they had built to represent the barn.
I also remembered all the pot luck suppers we had too. Our Church now has a few suppers but they are not really pot luck they are fixed by the members of the Church but they are not their own recipes. I think that is one thing I miss.
I hope when my kids look back on their childhood they will have fond memories of going to Church and Vacation Bible School.

Double digits. . .

Well, my baby has reached double digits. He will be ten this week. He is getting a new bike for his birthday. I feel old! Yuck! I have a ten year old son? He thinks he's twenty. We had a family get together at the Lake yesterday and fun was had by all. The kids played in the water, Mark fished, and I got to gossip with the ladies. HA HA!! Don't think that Mark was not gossiping to. You know men do it too. If they say they don't they are lying. My husband has gone to the kids basketball games and come home with more dirt on people than I could even think of. He never solicits information people just like talking to him and will tell him anything.

I made Jack a cake to go to the Lake for his Birthday Celebration. It was devils food with chocolate icing. Yummm!!! It turned out pretty good. I spelled his name on top with M&M's. He liked it and everyone else thought it was really good. I told' em you can't beat Betty Crocker. Jack got gift cards to the toy store so I guess tomorrow we will be shopping at the toy store. He already knows exactly what game he wants. He has been saving his commissions, that is what we call his allowance, for several weeks now to buy it. Now with birthday money rolling in he will be able to get it sooner than he thought. He is also very excited about his bike. He has already picked it out so all we have to do is pick it up. He did need a new one really bad. The one he has now is too small for him. Unfortunately, it is too big for Thomas right now. Thomas is at that in between stage. He is too big for his bike and his legs are too short for Jacks' bike.

Whiney kids

Ok, so why is it that when you tell your child to do something that they immediately respond with the highest pitch whine ever. Oh, mom whyyyyyyyyyyy? Can't they just know that they are supposed to do what we ask when we ask it. Then of course you get the stomping of the feet and the loud huff. I am trying a new response to those things. If they give me the oh mom bit I simple point to their room and tell them ten minutes. I know this is lame and to close to the old time out thing. But, when their time is up I tell them again what I need them to do and they seem to do it without arguing.
I know they need boundaries but goodness does it have to be this hard. Do we have to do this every time. (whine, whine, whine.) Life is such a vicious cycle.
I was looking through some old pictures again of the kids when they were just babies. I miss that age sometimes. I don't miss the 2am feedings and diaper changes though. I miss their little laughs as they see something for the first time. I miss that baby smell too. You know the one I mean. That sweet clean smell. I have two boys and they just stink now. They have that sweaty, stinky, little boy on the playground all day stink. They whine and complain why do I have to take a shower? I took one yesterday. Mark just tells them to smell under their arms. That is the male approach to getting them to bathe. It works so I don't complain. Mark does have some parenting skills, it has just taken them almost ten years to kick in.

Knitting . . .

I have started knitting. Mark says it is an old lady kinda thing. What do you think? I have always wanted to learn to knit. My niece Allison knits and she is in high school.
She helped me get started. I finally finished my scarf I have been doing on and off for two years. It would not have take that long if I could have gotten someone to show me how to bind it off. Allison showed me how to get started but nobody ever told me or showed me how to finish. Finishing is tricky. I have taught myself the different stitches. I am now working on a stole for myself. The scarf is for me too. When I get more comfortable doing it I will give them to people. I have found a book on Prayer Shawls that is really neat. There are a few women in the Church that are doing these. I will definitely have to get better before I can give them away. They have a few errors in them and don't look exactly right, but hey they are hand made.

I don't think I am old because I like to knit. It is fun to see how it comes together to make something. I am excited about my stole. I will have to post you a picture of it when I finish. My goal is to get comfortable enough that I can knit things and give them away. Both of my kids received little hats while they were in the hospital right after they were born. The hats were knitted by local women that volunteer in the hospital. They are quite precious little hats. That is what I would like to do.

Let me know your thoughts: Is knitting an old lady thing?

First Days of School

Well, the boys survived their first three days of school. No problems or issues with teachers. Yeah!! I may have been concerned for nothing. Who am I kidding, I'm a Mom I am supposed to worry and be concerned for nothing. Isn't that in our job description?
I was talking with the dental hygienist this morning about kids and school and she said where her kids go to school they had to buy copy paper. So, is the School system budget in that bad of shape that they cannot afford copy paper? Jacks' teacher told me they are only allowed to make one copy per week per kid. How crazy is that? I feel a tax increase coming on.

I was really concerned about Thomas adjusting to a new teacher and more work. He has really not come home with any work yet. He seems to like his teacher. He had his kindergarten teacher completely snowed last year. She was apologizing to me for having to move his clip for something he did. I told her if he had done something wrong he needed it moved. Thomas is my charmer, he can charm the pants off of anyone. He probably got away with a lot last year. Jack on the other hand he is the brutally honest one of the bunch. Thomas would lie in a heart beat to save his own skin and make you believe it too. Not Jack, no matter how much trouble it meant for him he would not lie to get out of anything. I guess that is why he does not get into that much trouble. He is a talker. That is what he gets in trouble for at school. He is a social butterfly. He is smart and makes good grades. He has never gotten in trouble over his grades just his behavior. I am hoping the behavior thing he will grow out of. It may just be a boy thing though. He acts just like his Daddy. I guess Thomas is more like me. I don't see myself as a charmer though. I never got away with anything when I was in school.

Telemarketers ? ? ? ?

I know they have a job to do but they are soooo pushy. I absolutely hate getting telemarketer calls. Most of the time they are from non-profit organizations begging for money. I know they need money and I am just as sorry as I can be about each one of their causes. But, I have a family and we are working with one income since I stay at home with my kids and I really hate people asking me for money when I work everyday to make ends meet. This is not to say that I don't give to charity because I do. I support our local charities that are associated with our Church and I support our Church with 10% plus. I also am an avid gift giver to breast cancer research foundations and the American Cancer society. I don't want anyone to think I am callous or uncaring for these folks plight. I do care and I know everyone else does but these are hard times for everyone. Don't feel guilty for saying NO. It is ok to say NO. I did.



I really do not like these people constantly calling with their hands out. Who is going to take care of my kids when we don't have money to pay bills. Not one person that's who. That is why today I took a stand and told the lady on the phone that I could not do it this time. I have been bombarded by the Police, Firemen, Cancer Assoc, Mammogram people, and the Children's Miracle network. I have given to many of these over the years and this year as well but today I stood my ground and said, NO. I am not even sure if these organizations actually get the money we give. Yes, this is not your local police or firefighters calling you. They may put on their best southern accent for you but they are not local. I know for a fact that the one group that used to represent the police only gave forty to fifty cents on the dollar to the police they were collecting for. I know this because my father-in- law and brother-in-law are both retired from the local police and my mother-in-law looked into it when she got a call to make a donation. I also know the fire department does not get all the money either because I have an uncle that is a retired firefighter. He was actually the Chief before he retired.

So if you want to give money to these charities go to them in your local area and write the check because otherwise they don't see that money. Also you can check them out with the Better Business Bureau to see if they are legit. http://www.bbb.org/

School is almost here ! ! ! !

I am so excited School is about to start! Yeah!!! The kids on the other hand are not so excited. They are really going to have to alter their schedules. I have been quite lenient on them about bedtime and what time they get up. They have been staying up past 9:30 most nights and sleeping till 9 or later most mornings. I have not slept that late though. I still have Mark to contend with and my little blind chihuahua. The Chihuahuas' alarm is set for 6:30am and she expects to be fed immediately.

I hope we have a good school year this year. I am a little nervous about it. Thomas starting 1st grade and Jack going to 4th, they grow up so quickly. Jack will turn 10 toward the end of the year and he is really growing up fast. You can see his maturity some days. He has started reading his Bible more. The Bible I have for him is the King James Version so it is a little more difficult for him to read but he is doing it. He reads a little each night before bed and bedtime prayers. I get a little teary each night when I see him reading from his Bible. It makes me feel as though I just may have done something right as a Mother. Only because the good Lord above has been guiding me.
I am sure I will be praying a lot this year. I don't know why but I just am really worried about this school year. Maybe I am apprehensive because I think they are growing up to fast, I am not sure.

The Composter!!!!

Yeah, I now have a composter. Mark is putting it together today. Our garden did ok for a first year. Our soil is very poor. I think when they built our house they just grated all the top soil off and that left us with yucky soil. No nutrients what so ever. My goal is to use my composter to boost my garden for next year.

We did have a good crop of zucchini and cucumbers. I am still getting tomatoes so that is good. It has been a struggle though and I should have had a bumper crop of tomatoes with the number of plants we put in the ground. We have made salsa three times and it was good but too hot for my taste. Mark says I am a weenie. I think my taste buds have changed in my old age. I use to could eat hot stuff but now I just can't take it. The kids love the salsa so I know it must be pretty good.

Oh my gosh! I completely forgot to tell you about the fig tree. My figs are fabulous this year. I am picking about 5 per day. Yeah, I know that does not sound like a lot but I eat them right off the tree so five will fill both Mark and I up. The kids don't really like them yet. The are good size figs too. At the rate they are ripening I will have figs till October, if we don't have a cold snap.
I will keep you posted on the old composter. I know it will take some time to get compost so we will improvise until it is ready.

Summer is almost over. . . Ahhhhhhh!!

I have compiled pictures from our adventures this summer. This a sampling of what all we did. I just hope my kids had fun. I did!

End of Summer Camp. . .

Jack has returned home from his week of camp. He slept most of the way home and I think he even fell asleep after we got home and settled. I guess the cots don't sleep as good as his bed at home. Well, I would like to think so anyway.

Once he woke up I got to hear all about camp. This is his first time at a week long camp. I think he had a great time. I asked him if he missed us and he said nope. He got to do crafts; making Gods' eyes, a tea tray out of wood, a braided necklace, and a catapult. He also got to learn how to shoot a bow and arrow. He loved that and now he wants a bow and arrow for his birthday. Not sure I am ready for that one yet. Although we do have a nice big back yard and we could set up a target at the back of the yard, as long as it is not near Jakes' dog lot. Don't want to deal with that accident.

He had a few run ins with one kid that wanted to pick on him some. Not sure why except the kid is mean. Jack said he picked on everyone but he seemed centered on Jack. Oh well, thank goodness Jack is thick skinned and not a lot bothers him when it comes to that kind of stuff.

We have had Bible School this week at Church so Thomas has been all tied up with that. Jack got to go tonight and they had some animals for them to pet and play with. They had a: donkey, llama, pony, parakeet, a couple of small snakes, and a type of lizard. Not sure of the proper names for the reptiles but they were kinda creepy. I am not a slimy, creepy, crawly kinda Mom. Jack held one of the snakes and played with it. Yuck!! Thomas on the other hand did not want anything to do with it. Tomorrow is our last night and we get to dunk our Preacher in the dunking booth. How cool is that? There are a few others on the list ahead of him but he is going to get dunked. My kids can't wait for that part. Jack wants to be the one in the booth though. I think he just wants to heckle people. Wonder where he gets that from?
Mark is off this next week so we are going to be doing some more interesting things before School gets started so stay tuned. There is never a dull moment with our group. Oh yeah, and Mark has said he is going to the pool with us one day too. So that should be interesting. Thomas has to show him how he can swim under water.

The Healthcare Plan???

Ok, I know this is political yet again and I am sorry skip it if you want to. I have to get this off my chest. I do not like the idea of the government telling me what doctor I can go see and when. Worse still the fact that they could decide that oh, your to old to have that surgery we'll just let you suffer. This is the government playing God and let's face it there is only one person out there fit for that job.

The news said the other night that the majority of healthcare benefits are spent in the last year of someones life. I say spend it. You have paid into these programs all of your life shouldn't you get something out of it.

My parents are 76 and in pretty good health they don't take a lot of meds for chronic things. My Dad still works out at the gym most days. He has high blood pressure and that is about it. My Mom battles osteoarthritis and that has only come on in the past say four years. Now, under this supposed plan of Health care reform should something happen to my parents that put them in the Hospital the doctors could say, Oh their too old to really do anything for them, they are at the end of their life. Let's just let them go. I don't think so. My father fell through the roof of our barn at age 63. He fell between 17 and 23 feet to a hard dirt floor. He crushed his right arm, cracked his pelvis in three places and lacerated his kidney. He was in traction in the ICU for 4 weeks on a respirator. He then went to the surgery floor where he spent another week in traction and then came home. He was to remain in bed for an additional 2-3 weeks. We taught him how to walk again. Like I said earlier he is 76 now and he has some pain in that right arm in the winter and he still goes to the gym almost everyday.

If that scenario had played out under this "healthcare" plan (I use that term very loosely) I don't think they would have done as much to save him. He took 18 plus units of blood and almost died twice in ICU. Now 13 years later I am glad President Obama was not in charge of my Dads' Health Care. If he had my Dad may not have seen the birth of three of his six grandchildren.

Empty House. . .

Well, this week Jack is at camp and Thomas is at Memaws' for a few days. He hates sleeping upstairs by himself. So he talked his Memaw into letting him spend a few nights at her house. The house is sooo quiet. I had planned a nice dinner for Mark and I last night. We had pasta with a Vodka sauce that was really good and then I made cheese fondue. I know the two do not actually go together but that is what I was wanting to eat last night. It was really good. We had Key Lime Pie for dessert. Yummm!! Mark was surprised. He was not expecting all of that especially since I have been battling my back for the past several days.

I called Memaw this morning to check on Thomas and she said they had been very busy playing and reading. They went to the Library yesterday and got some Ghost story books. They played crochet and Memaw squirted him with the water hose. I think he is having great fun and he wants to stay another night. I am not sure about that I will have to talk with Memaw about that one. So I may be alone yet again. Ahhh the sound of silence.

Weddings. . .

Worked the Wedding Show this weekend in Greensboro. It is always so cool to see what everyone has to offer the Brides. I don't remember all the fuss when we got married. They have Wedding directors, photographers, reception destinations, and destination weddings. When Mark and I got married we just did the old Church sanctuary and Church fellowship building. Mark and I did things very simple but elegant. Marks' niece is getting married next year so she and her Mom came to the Bridal show to check out all the goodies. They did pick her cake person out there so that was good. They went with Cakes by Manfred. He is the best. All the years I have been doing the Wedding show he has been there. He always brings me a piece of his cake at the end of the show. It is the best. If anyone you know is getting married I highly recommend Cakes by Manfred. He is the best! He is a very sweet gentleman and a wonderful baker too. His cakes are just melt in your mouth fabulous.

The other cool thing about the Wedding show is that they do fashion shows and you get to see all the newest styles for the up coming Wedding season. They had some gorgeous gowns this time.
Marks' niece is going to get married outside our Church on the lawn. We have a beautiful Church both inside and out. Then they have booked the country club for the reception. Mark is already complaining about that one. He is fussing about the date and the fact that he will have to drive to another place for the reception. He is such a fuddy duddy sometimes. It has nothing to do with his age he is just set in his ways. He is very traditional I guess. Although it did not take long for me to talk him in to renewing our vows in Las Vegas. He loves Las Vegas though. He had won a trip with his company in 2002 and we planed our trip to Vegas and I decided how cool it would be to renew our vows. He agreed. We renewed our vows at the Little White Wedding Chapel, the one where Elvis got married. We had such a great time. Some of Marks' friends that were in our Wedding the first time came down to join us in Vegas for the second time around. Now this was the year of our ninth wedding anniversary. We had such a great time in Vegas. We took a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon and landed to have a nice lunch in the Canyon. That was really cool. I did not like the helicopter ride so much but everything else was really cool.
The next time we renew our vows I want to do it on the Beach. Not sure if I can talk Mark in to that one or not. I think we should do it again for our 20th anniversary. That would be in 2013.

Tax FREE

OK, so here we go in to a very busy shopping weekend, mostly for the kids. Mark and I have already started. We went to a sporting goods place to get the kids new cleats for football last night. Afterward I took Jack to try on pants. He goes to camp on Sunday so I could not do it another night. Kids hate clothes shopping, or at least mine do. I am sure I am not alone in believing that this is one of Dantes' Layers.

Jack and I went to the Mall, yes I said it the Mall, to find him some pants for this fall. I cannot fit him anymore by just looking and bringing it home. He must have tried on six pairs of jeans and we only found three to fit him. They were either to long or to big in the waist but the next size down were too tight. He is at that awkward in between stage. We finally found three pair that fit all of different sizes if you can believe that. I wanted to go in to the Mall and find one more store. Of course I got the, Mom, are we done now, can we go now, I'm thirsty. Can we get something to drink? I told him we would after we go to this last store. I usually find good deals at this one. They were having a sale so I picked out a couple of pairs of jeans for him to try own. Those worked so I decided I would get Thomas a pair too. Thomas I can still fit just by looking. He can wear some of Jacks' old jeans but most of them have holes in the knees. After that I was off to get the poor little dehydrated boy something to drink. I wondered how Marks' adventure was going. He had taken Thomas and was going to the grocery store. HA HA !!! I have been sick most of this week and I have not been. I still don't feel well so this was a pretty difficult shopping trip. We made it home and boy was I glad. I felt like a damp dish rag. Today I get to go find all the school supplies.

The School, warning political

Ok, so I got the notice that because the budget has not been settled that the kids cannot find out what class they are in. Now, how long have they known that this budget has to be done? Since let's say June! What is the problem? I know part of it is the State budget. I guess we cannot expect our schools to do any better than our State Government.
The letter also stated that when we do find out what teacher our child has it is not set in stone. They could get moved around to a different classroom because they don't know what teachers still have jobs.

This is insane! If I did this with my household budget they would foreclose on everything I own. So why can they, meaning the school system and the State Government, not get it together. Your average business cannot do this either. What if I just said, Oh, I am sorry my budget is not set and I cannot pay my taxes. They would probably arrest me. So why do we let them do this? Is there not something we can do to put a stop to all the BS that is floating around? We have allowed them to walk over us and if we continue to tolerate it, it will only get worse. I think we need less government instead of more.

Just like this health care stuff. I don't want the government handling my health care. They can't balance a budget and I am going to let them tell me what doctor I can see and when. I don't think so. That is stupid. If I wanted the government to take care of me I would tell Mark to quit his job and we would go on welfare. There is your government run health care program right there. Welfare and medicaid; that is the mess we will be in if all this goes through. I bet you this that the Senators, Governors, House Representatives, and the President and his family won't be a part of it.

Been a long week sorry for the rant. But think about it. What government run program is doing what it is supposed to do? Look at Social Security. I am not depending on it. It won't be there when I'm ready.

Just let me keep my own money and let me take care of myself. I think we would all do a better job than the government.

The Movies. . .

We have gone to see a lot of movies this summer. I don't remember going to the movies that much as a kid with my parents. But, we seem to go quite a bit with our kids. Sometimes Mark is the only one that takes them especially if it is a cartoon type. We did go to see G-Force yesterday though. It was really good it was in 3D. I laughed so hard. It was really cute. The others we have seen are: Up 3D, Transformers Revenge of the Fallen, and Race to Witch Mountain. Up was cute but it was not a lot of 3D. You could see it in 2D and you would not miss anything. Now for G-Force if you did not see it in 3D you would miss out on a lot. I think so far this summer G-Force is the favorite. I love the "Rock" so Race to Witch Mountain was pretty good too. I grew up watching those on TV. You remember the Escape to Witch Mountain? I loved those. Just adding the "Rock" made it that much more entertaining.

This era will be dated by the 3D pictures. There are so many 3 D movies out this year and more to come. I love them though, they are so neat and the 3D technology has come a long way. They are even going to release Toy Story 1 and 2 in 3D. We saw that advertised yesterday. Mark said I will go see that one. Mark and Thomas were both excited about that news. The next one on our list is Aliens in the Attic. I think this one looks pretty cute.

Fresh Salsa

Our garden is starting to slow down so Mark insisted on making some fresh salsa with our tomatoes and peppers. So we found a recipe for a Verde salsa and altered it to fit our needs. You know me I never follow the recipe to the letter. There is always room for additions. So here we go:

we boiled gently for about 4 minutes 11 tomatoes just until their skin pops. Then we threw in the peppers. We used 4 jalapeno peppers, 1 yellow pepper not sure of its' name, 2 Anaheim peppers. Those we boiled till their color changed and they were soft.

I let all this cool and then we peeled the tomatoes, skinned the peppers and put them in the food processor. I sauted some onion and garlic and added that to the food processor too. then we chopped some cilantro and added that to it. We zested a lime and juiced it.

Mark was the official taster he said it was missing something and I remembered when we had made salsa last we added some cumin. So I opened my jar of cumin to add it and Mark said what is that smell? He said it smelled like arm pits or BO. I laughed because that is a key ingredient in Mexican food. Not arm pit odor or BO but the cumin.
So when it was time to eat the salsa I tried it and it was way to hot for me. My kids loved it and I never really thought I was a light weight when it comes to hot food but yikes. So I did not eat very much of it. I think next time I won't leave all the seeds from the peppers in it. You know the seeds are where the heat is.

Dinner Out

So we went out to dinner last night. We took Jack, Thomas did not want to go eat Japanese. Jack got to pick because he had won the basketball pool that we did back during Basketball season. We do it as a family and who ever wins gets to pick their favorite restaurant. Jack won and he loves eating at the Japanese Steak houses where they cook the food in front of you and do the tricks. He also loves the shrimp.

We had put this off for a while now and just decided last night was a good night to do it. So Thomas went to stay with Marks' Mom while we went to eat. He was very happy with that too. He does not get to spend as much time with Marks' Mom as Jack did at that age. It is just hard for her to keep up with two of them, heck it is hard for me to keep up with the two of them. He took some of his toys and a movie for them to watch.

So we get to the restaurant and sign in and I am looking around at what everyone has on. Two people come in in tank tops. I mean ragged no sleeves and shorts. I just cringed. Here we are dressed nicely to eat at a nice place and these folks come in in shorts, not even dress shorts and a ragged muscle shirt. Yuck!
Well, you can just guess who we got to sit with. Yes, ragged shirt dude and his girlfriend with short shorts. Now I am not a snob but, I do expect people to at least wear a shirt where their armpit hair is not able to be seen at the table. Please!!!!! The other three were at least clothed but they did not take their sunglasses off the whole time. But, I had rather look at someone with sunglasses than the gentleman, and I use that term very loosely, sitting next to me with ARMPIT HAIR hanging out. Gag me!!

I am not a snob but I do believe people should have some respect for themselves as well as the people that they are sitting around. Now Jack did have on shorts but they were nice shorts and he is 9 for heaven sakes. He also had on a nice shirt.
What ever happened to restaurants having a dress code? What ever happened to common courtesy? What has happened to us as a society where that is acceptable behavior? I do not accept it. I don't know what I can do about it, but I do not accept it.

Home Owners' Insurance

This is my public service announcement for the month. I received a notice from my insurance company, that holds our Home owners' policy, telling me that there is a Bill in the State of North Carolina House that will be voted on that could raise our premiums a substantial amount. My Insurance agent also called and told me about the proposed legislature and said we need to be sure our representatives know how we feel about this.



The Bill 1305 decides what portion of our insurance bill goes to pay for these losses that the Government funded Beach Plan does not have to cover losses due to hurricanes on our coast. That means our premiums go up to cover those $1million dollar houses that get damaged in storms like Hugo and Hazel. If the wording is not seriously looked at our premiums could go up as much as 200%.



I am sorry that things like that happen but I don't live down there for a reason. They pay a ton of money for insurance and now the insurance companies cannot afford to pay out on the damages. There are many folks in North Carolina that are teetering on the brink of loosing their homes and all it would take is their home owners' insurance to go up by 50% to make their mortgage to much for them to afford.



My insurance agent also told me that there are several insurance companies that will not do business in North Carolina because of this. The North Carolina Beach Plan does not have enough money in it to cover losses and the Bill 1305 will decide where the extra money comes from. There are many insurance companies that will not cover homes in North Carolina for this reason. If this bill passes there could be many fewer still. The ones that do cover will be going up on premiums to cover their losses. Check out the website www.fixthebeachplan.com


I urge you to contact your local representative and senators.

Wake Forest Football Camp

I went to the Wake Forest Women's Football camp today. It was great! I had so much fun. We learned how to hit, block, throw the ball and catch it. We learned the different positions. I think my favorite was the linebacker position. You get to hit in that position. That was fun!

This was my second year doing this. I highly recommend it if you have not done it before. If you have any interest in sports or if you have boys that are going to be playing football at some point. I learned a lot. It was a little warm today but we had a good breeze.

The coaches did a really good job telling us and showing us what we were supposed to be doing. Lanie Pope was there today from WXII channel 12. She was in our group. A lady in our group came up to her and said I know you don't I. You look so familiar. I wanted to say; "That is because she comes into your living room every day to give you the weather you boob." But I refrained. Come to find out their kids go to the same school. HA HA!! Any way. She was really funny and she did a good job on the drills too.

See you on the football field.

Juggling

I took the kids to the International Jugglers Competition. Yes, they have such. It was a free thing opened to the public yesterday. They had all sorts of jugglers. The kids had a lot of fun. They even taught us how to juggle. I can only do the scarves but I can do it. There were a lot of kids there. They had one that was 9 years old and he had been juggling since he was 6. He could juggle 7 rings. He did really well. They had junior events and they had events for older people. There were several kids that performed for us and a couple of older folks.

After they had performed they let us try it and that is where they taught us how to juggle the scarves. I did pretty good if I do say so myself. They let us go to the gym down the hall and see all the other jugglers. They had guys doing the batons, balls, these weird giant yo-yo things, and rings. My favorite was a family from Virginia. Check out their website www.penguinjuggling.com This is a family that performs and teaches juggling. They also sell props for juggling. I bought Jack some balls to juggle. He thinks he is going to be the next juggling star. Thomas got a set of the scarves. It does help with hand eye coordination.

Just another day of our fabulous summer vacation.

Swimming

Well, we went to the pool again yesterday and boy was it hot. It was a lot hotter than the day before. The boys had fun. It was just us and one other couple with their kids so we had the pool to ourselves. That was great because I did not have to worry about Thomas getting knocked around. He spent more time under water than he did out of the water. He loves that he can go under now and is fascinated by it. He dove for the torpedo a million times. He is starting to actually swim under water but he does not realize that is what he is doing.

We stayed at the pool from 12:30-4pm and they were tired. They both came home and laid on the floor. They did not move until their Daddy came home. Then they stirred just a little. We ate pretty early and then went outside and played dominos on the big table on the patio. Mark says it is perfect for dominos. We played till it got dark. The skeeters came out then and ran us back in the house.

They both slept late this morning till at least 8:45. Yeah! I know most of you might say that is not late but for my two little solar powered boys that is late. I love the pool!!!!!!

Learning to Swim.

Well, Thomas is just full of surprises this summer. Yesterday he learned to swim on his own. He put on his goggles and put his head under. I was shocked when I saw him I thought it was an accident so I told him how great that was that he just went under. I told him to try again and this time to remember to blow out through his nose. So he did it again he did not have his whole head under but he was close. He said, "that was fun Mommy." I said, yes and I have been trying to get you to do that all summer. So I decided I would get in with him and see if he would try swimming.

As soon as I got a foot in the water they were both splashing me like crazy. Then Jack proceeded to push me off the steps into the cold, cold, cold water. Once I regained my composure I showed Thomas how he could put his face in the water and push off with his legs and swim. He did and loved it. He jumped up and said Mommy I did it!

Before yesterday he would jump in but, he would not put his head under. Now, he jumps in and all of him goes under. He looks pretty cute with his goggles on. The little tendrils hang off his head so far they look like antennae.

My little one is growing up so fast. He learned to ride his bike without training wheels and learned to swim all within a week.

Learning to Ride the Bike

One of our Adventures this summer has been for Thomas to learn to ride his bike. The boys did not get bikes until we moved to this house. We used to live on a main road and so bikes were out of the question. Our first Christmas in this house Santa brought the boys bikes. They both had training wheels. Jack was 6 when we moved here and so that is when he learned to ride a bike and shortly after that learned to ride without training wheels.

The other day the boys were out riding and one of Thomas' training wheels broke. Mark said ok, it is time to learn to ride that bike without them. So he took the training wheels off and started practicing with Thomas on how to ride. His bike is really probably to small for him but he likes it and right now it will have to do.

Day three of trying to ride without training wheels and Thomas has mastered it. He is so excited that he can do it. Once he starts riding he does not want to stop.

My little baby is growing up. Oh no, I am not ready!

Party !!!!!!

My friend Lori and I are having an Initial Outfitters party on Saturday July 11 at 1pm at Loris' house. Everybody is invited. Initial Outfitters is a unique group they carry jewelry, monogrammed items like soap, candles, bags ect. You can preview the catalog at www.initialoutfitters.com if you would like to place an order email me at pamperedpage@bellsouth.net and I will take care of it. They have some really great items and their products have been featured in Style magazine and during the Ms. USA pageant.

If you would like to come to the party please email me and I will get you directions. It is a treat our consultant LaChell is wonderful. She did our party last year and it was a blast. That is why we are doing another one.

Linville Caverns

I went to see my folks yesterday and I took the kids to see the Linville Caverns. They are so neat. It is a natural cavern that they have equipped with minimal lights and rails to hold on to. It has a stream that runs through it and it is quite cool in there. We also went gem mining. The kids love that. We got to see all kinds of rock formations. It was close quarters in there too. You had to duck and squeeze through in places. We had a lot of fun though and my Mom, Sister and her two girls went with us. My mom did not want to go in the caverns and we had to make her. I think she enjoyed it after we got in there. She was afraid she might fall or something. It had been many years since she had been there and it had been since I was in the 8th grade since I was there.

We had a really good guide that took us through on our tour. He was very knowledgeable about the caverns. He had grown up there around them so he knew all the history. They were first discovered in the 1930's. The rock formations inside are always changing though because of the moisture. You were not allowed to touch the walls or anything because the oils from your skin would cause the formations to stop growing. There was one section in the back of the cavern that we were allowed to touch because it was growing closer together. Back in that section there was an abyss. It was covered with a steel grate so that we could walk over it.

After going in the caverns we went down the road to a little gem mine. The kids love gem mining and of course they had a ball this time too.

Movie Day. . .

So yesterday we went to the movies. We had a low key day. Not too much activity. We went to see Transformers, it was really good. The language was a little over the top for me but it was still good. We always tell the kids that they are not to repeat things they hear on TV or at the Movies. We made the mistake of taking them to see Hancock and the language in it was worse than the Transformers. We really had to have a talk with them after that one. I know they are going to hear things from other kids at school and on the bus so it is important for them to know how we feel about it.

Mark and I are not perfect and sometimes things slip out when it should not and we talk to the kids about that too. I just want them to know that we don't think it is ok for them to use some words that other kids and adults use. I think sheltering them from it is not the way to go but I think if they hear it and you talk about it right then, you can nip it in the bud.

Anyway, that is my lecture for the day. Transformers was a good movie though. I think we may go bowling again today. After all we have two FREE games a day. Why waste it? We are going to try to stay cool today I think it is going to be a hot one.

Carowinds . . .

So we went to Carowinds yesterday. It was warm but not un-bearable. Thomas finally rode one of the water rides and we all got wet. It kept us cool though. If you go to the Carowinds website they are selling tickets for a whole lot cheaper than you can get them from the Credit Unions and buying them at the gate. The food is very expensive as always. We packed a picnic and ate in the parking lot. I was surprised there were a lot of people doing the same thing. It was like going to a ballgame or something. People had their chairs and blankets and were sitting under the trees. We did not do all that we just sat in the car. The kids loved it they sat in the back with the hatch open and they thought they were something else. Mark laughed and said his folks used to do this all the time at the zoo. They would go and have a picnic in the parking lot. It beats the heck out of paying $30 for a slice of pizza that tastes like cardboard.

We are going to the movies today and then maybe bowling again. The kids are having fun on their stay-cation. I will try to post some pictures later of our trip to the park.

Vacation. . .

So, Mark is taking this week off and we are doing things locally. Yesterday we took the kids bowling for FREE. Yes, I did say for FREE, check out www.kidsbowlfree.com. Jack and Thomas love to bowl and Mark and I do too. You can find bowling lanes in your area that are participating they have them all over the US. You get two FREE games per person that you sing up everyday through the summer. Not a bad deal. For a fee you can sign up to 4 adults for FREE too. I signed Mark and I up and if we take the kids two times this summer and we bowl too we have made money on this venture.

After bowling we went to eat at a wing place. During lunch they are not very crowded. They have TV's up everywhere and you can play the trivia game on the TV. The kids thought that was cool so we each got a controller and played the trivia game while we ate. My kids are very competitive, don't know where that comes from. I won!!! HA HA HA!! Mark was helping Thomas and Jack was doing pretty good by himself.

Mark and I both laughed on the way home about how much fun the kids had staying around the house doing crazy things like this. We also went to AC Moore and picked up some little balsa wood prop planes for about $2. My kids are easily amused. They stayed outside most of the day once we got back home and played with their planes. Those things really do fly well especially with a little breeze under them.

Well that was day one of our Vacation.

Stay at Home Vacation. . .

Anyone staying local for Vacation? I think we are. Gas is just to high and the economy the way it is. I think we will be going to the Zoo and some local theme parks and going to the movies. There are few good movies out that the kids really want to see. In fact I think we may be going to one today.

I told you about the classes the kids were taking, well I signed them each up for a one day art class. A local studio is offering, at a really reasonable price, one day art classes where the kids create a picture on canvas. They are doing different themes, one day is gardening, sea life ect. . .
They also have them for different age groups so Jack and Thomas do not have to be in the same class. After the class you get to take home a special piece of art created by your little "Picasso." Jack is pretty talented when it come to drawing and this way he will be able to try paint. I am excited about this I can't wait to see what they create. Maybe I can up load a picture when they are done.

Well the natives are getting restless so I gotta jet. Happy Vacation!

The Red Cross Class. . .

Jack had his class yesterday and Thomas and I had Mommy and Tom time. While Jack was in class Thomas and went all over shopping, playing, and eating. Yeah, all my favorites and throw in Thomas for comic relief and that is great. Jack was in class from 9-3:30 so Thomas and I had the whole day to play. We went to Costco for some groceries and had to stop and have a cinnamon thing and a soda of course. Then off to Lowes to see the flowers. Then we got to meet Mark for lunch. I decided since I had a little time I would go back to the Red Cross and donate blood. Thomas was very well behaved. He sat like a little gentleman while they did my blood. The little ladies of course doted on him and he just ate that up. He got to go to the canteen and have a snack. Once I had finished giving blood it was time to stroll over and pick up Jack.

When I dropped him off that morning he was not very happy and said he did not want to go. I told him we were here and he was going. How do ya like that logic? His class was the last one to get out and he was the last one to come through the doors. He had the biggest grin on his face. I asked him how he liked it and he replied, "Can I come next year too?" He obviously had a great time. He made several new friends and was excited about what he had learned.

I asked him about what they learned and he said, they learned how to stop bleeding and how to bandage a cut or scrape. They learned about pressure points with blood flow. They also learned a little about rescue breathing. Of course Jack being Jack I am sure they learned more that he cannot remember.

Thomas gets to go to his class in July.

Zucchini, Zucchini. . .

I am doing pretty good at creating new recipes for all my zucchini. Last night we had grilled chicken and Zucchini corn bread. Yes, corn bread. It was really good. Again I used old faithful, www.allrecipes.com This recipe included corn muffin mix, zucchini of course, cheddar cheese, onion and eggs. It had a really good flavor. Mark liked it the kids not so much. It was a nice change from the same old french fries or potatoes. The kids probably would have prefered french fries.

Marks' stomach is officially well now. We ate Mexican after the last, yes I said last baseball game of the year. Yeah !!!!!^>^>^>^>^>^> (that's me jumping up and down). We celebrated that last ball game in style. Now we can relax and enjoy our summer by the pool.

I will keep you posted as I try new recipes for my bountiful garden. I have picked my first three cucumbers. I have two different varieties. One is a pickling type and the other I am not real sure what it is. It is really long and skinny.

until we eat again.

AIG stuff. . .

AIG stands for Academically Gifted and Talented. We got our letter yesterday and Jack did not get in. I knew he was not going to because I had already talked with the AIG teacher at his school. One of the reasons he did not get in is because he was tested on Field Day. Yes, on a day that all he could think about was getting outside to play and have fun they chose to test him on his academics. Well, he only answered 42 questions out of 70. So I knew he was not going to make it.

Jacks' teacher brought this to my attention on Field Day and she was very upset and told the AIG teacher as such. She said it was unfair for the children to be tested on this day. She used to be an AIG teacher and she told me that she NEVER tested kids on Field Day. Their little minds are just not on school work that day.

So I also called and complained. I was told that if I pushed the issue that yes, they would test him again but if he did not pass then they would not look at him again EVER. I ask you how fair is that?

I have prayed a lot about this and I did not want to even talk to Jack about it because I knew how devastated he would be. He was so excited about getting to test and he really had his hopes up for this program. Last night Mark and I sat down and talked with him about it. He was upset and I told him that he would be on the "watch and wait" list. I am not sure exactly what this means except that they will test him again at the end of the fourth grade.

What really upsets me is the fact that I really wanted him to be able to participate in this program and when the teacher that is in charge of the program called to talk with me about my complaint this is what she said, "Being in AIG really doesn't mean anything, once they get to Middle School they don't even have AIG." So this is the "teacher" telling me the program she is over does not mean anything. So I asked her if she was just trying to make me feel better or what. She could not answer my question. This is not sour grapes, this is really what she said to me. How strange is it that the teacher in charge of the program says it does not mean anything. Should she not be more positive about the program?

I told Jack that his friends will probably be in the program and that he should be happy for them and congratulate them on a good job. I just hope he does not get ragged about not getting in. He did make straight A's for the entire year. I think that is a great accomplishment.

I don't know how much confidence I have in the AIG program after my odd conversation with the teacher.

The Garden. . .

The garden is doing quite well. All of the rain we have had in the past month or so has really done some good. I have picked about 4 zucchini every day this week. I have been eating them raw with ranch dressing since Marks' tummy still is not up to eating things like that.

Last night he came home from work and said he wanted some zucchini pasta. So I began looking for some recipes for this. I love the www.allrecipes.com site. You can type in the ingredients you have and they will search and find you a recipe. It is pretty cool, especially if you are looking for something different. Another site I love for recipes is www.foodnetwork.com they have some great recipes too.

I found a recipe I like and had most of the ingredients. You know me I always improvise. Sometimes that is good sometimes not so good. This one was a winner. Here is what I did:

olive oil
4 (fresh) zucchini
2 cloves garlic
3 (fresh) green onions
1 (fresh) Anaheim pepper
1 can diced tomatoes with basil and oregano
3 leaves (Fresh) basil
3 stems (fresh) lemon thyme

So in a skillet I sauted my garlic, onion, and pepper in the olive oil. I added a little white wine then added my sliced zucchini. I let that cook till the zucchini were soft then I added the can of tomatoes. After that had time to cook and blend together I added my (Fresh) herbs and some more wine.

I cooked a pot of angel hair whole wheat pasta and served the zucchini over it with some Parmesan cheese grated too.

Mark loved it, the kids not so much but they did eat a little of it.

I got the basic recipe of tomatoes with zucchini in the skillet but I added all the garlic and peppers and the wine and the fresh herbs. Now anywhere I said fresh that means it came out of my garden. Yummmy!! Not only was this a healthy meal but it was also cheap since most of it came out of my garden. Another bonus to gardening.

Until we eat again.

Day two of Summer Vacation. . .

Is it August yet? Just kidding. The boys did sleep in today they got up at 8:30 instead of 7. Yeah!!! I was up anyway though so I really did not get to sleep in. They seem tired this morning. It could be the baseball games they have played this week, or maybe the fact that the baseball games did not get over till late. Or, it could be that I let them stay up past 9pm. I think it is the last one. They do not ever stay up that late during the school year.



So what is everyone doing to pass the summer this year? I would love to hear what you have planed for your kids. Mine are going to be doing some educational stuff and some fun stuff too. Is anyone going some where educational for vacation? To comment just click on comments it will take you to a spot where you can post your comments. I love to hear what you are thinking.

I have enrolled Jack and Thomas in a Red Cross first aid class at our local Red Cross. Jacks' will be a little more advanced than the one Thomas is doing. It is 51/2 hours and they take a bag lunch. The Red Cross has a lot of different classes to offer for the kids and for adults. I am doing my CPR re-certification. They are also offering a pet first aid class for kids. I think that is pretty cool. The boys are also doing basketball camp at the High School and Jack will do football camp too. Jack is also talking about wanting to take an art class this summer too.

Let me know what you're thinking.

Public Service Blog. . .

Ok, Mark just got back from California on Thursday and has had stomach issues since Wednesday. He got violently ill on Sunday and the on-call nurse called us every two hours just to see if he was ok. Mark is mildly diabetic and so his blood glucose was going crazy along with his bowels. So he went to the doctor yesterday and they gave him an antibiotic for his stomach bug. He did ok throughout the day but early this morning it started all over again. He went to the bathroom 10 + times from 4 am until 8 am. I told him he was either going to the doctor again or I was taking him to the ER.

I called the doctor and they said they would work him in. They had done blood work yesterday and they had that back. According to his blood work along with his symptoms he has E-coli. This is some nasty stuff. You get it from poorly cooked food and food cooked in unsanitary conditions. Now when he goes to these meetings they stay in the best hotels and are supposed to be served the best food ect. . . Since this all started while he was in California it is quite obvious that is where it came from. So folks be careful traveling and eating out. Also be careful what you drink. You do not know where their water comes from or how it is treated.

Mark was also dehydrated and had to have two bags of fluid along with another IV antibiotic to kill this bug. He is sleeping it off now. I hope we make it through tonight better than we have the past two nights. He has really taken a beating the past few days. He had lost 3lbs since yesterday. He says he does not recommend this as a diet.

Allergies. . .

This is a hives update. Thomas is doing well, he only has welts every now and then. I went to find me a new vacuum cleaner the other day and I was not impressed with what I found. I went to Lowes and they had a lot of the wind tunnel type vacuums. I do not like those I had one once and it did not do the job I needed plus it was messy. I was looking for a vacuum with a bag. This way once I vacuum I do not spread the yuck around my house trying to empty it. I did that when I used the wind tunnel type. I looked at some canister vacuums and I like them, they were light weight and seemed easy to move around. They also felt really cheaply made if you know what I mean.

I was talking with a friend about my dilemma and she mentioned she had an Oreck. My Mom has an Oreck and I have used hers before and I liked it. It was really light weight but seemed well constructed. My friend said she really liked her Oreck and her family had allergies too. I decided I would take a trip to the Oreck shop. The lady that waited on me was great. She really knew her stuff. She showed me several different types of Oreck vacuums. I liked them all. She asked what had brought me in and I told her about my kids having allergies. She then showed me the Oreck air purifiers. They have one that is a tower for large spaces and a desk or table top model for bedrooms. They had a sale, of course, buy the tower and get the desk top for FREE. So I bit. Instead of getting a vacuum I got two air purifiers.

I did all this without talking with Mark. He was out of town all last week and I made this purchase on my own. I told him I had bought them and how they worked. He was intrigued. He got home late on Thursday evening and he said the house smelled really clean. He could smell the difference the air purifiers were making. I have also noticed that Jack is not sneezing as much in the mornings and he does not blow his nose for 20 minutes right after he gets up.

So for those that have allergies check out the Oreck shop in your area. They have the online thing but it means more to see it in action. I am going to get one of the vacuums but I have to wait till I get the purifiers paid for. Don't forget Dave Ramsey.

Good Sportsmanship?

How do we teach our children good sportsmanship when you have other children out there acting ugly. Thomas and Jack have both had some sports disappointments in the past few days and some of the kids have really been down right ugly. Thomas played yesterday and they only lost by one run. That was great! Their team is young and some of our kids have never even played ball before. We had our end of the season party after the game and our Coach said that one of the other kids went by him in the line and said, "We beat you, We beat you!!" Thomas is just starting to realize there are winners and losers in sports and he does not like to loose. I am trying to teach him that you can be a good winner as well as a good looser. This is very hard to teach a six year old. I told him the kid on the other team was being a poor winner. I also told him that he had to be a good looser. Of course that went in one ear and out the other he had cake and forgot about it.

Jack on the other hand is older and hates to loose. All kids do I know. Jack just seems to take it personally. I think he gets that from his Daddy. Yeah, that's a Daddy trait for sure. Well, he did not make All - Stars this year and he is quite devastated by this. He loves to play ball. He had a really good season this year but his bat was just not there. Last year his batting average was 821, and this year being in player pitch for the first time, his batting average did not get near that. He was walked and hit more times than he hit. Other than that he has had a solid year. He played third base which he has never played before and made some amazing plays there.

There were three kids off of his team that made the All-Stars and they proceeded to rub his face in the fact that he did not make it. Now, how ugly and un-sportsman like is that? They are on the same team and they are ragging him and talking ugly to him because he did not make the All-Stars. I know their parents and I cannot believe they would be so mean. One of the kids is his coaches son. I don't think the coaches heard all this but I am not so sure that they would have done anything about it had they heard it.

I told him that he had to rise above it and that he would face people for the rest of his life that were poor winners. They could not be happy just making the All-Star team they had to be ugly and rag my child because he didn't make the team. I told Jack that this was a character building event. God has his plan for us and it does not always go along with our wants.

I just hate it when kids act ugly to one another. Not to say Jack has not done that, but I don't think he has. I know I do not approve and if I knew I would correct him on it. I guess what really bugs me is that they are supposed to be his teammates. Not Cool at all.

Field Day. . .

We had Field Day yesterday and the day before. Thomas had his on Monday and Jack had his yesterday. The little kids they let have it in the early morning so it is not so hot. The older kids however, have to do it in the later morning. It was so hot out there yesterday. The kids had fun though. They got to run, splash water on each other, and just be rowdy. I guess they were burning that steam from all the end of year testing.

I went to watch both Jack and Thomas and I took a lot of pictures. Mark and I were talking the other day and poor Thomas has second child syndrome. No, that is not a health concern. It is when you take all the movies or pictures of the first child and then the second child does not get nearly as much. I had a video camera when Jack was little. We video taped Christmas, Birthdays, t-ball games. You name it and we had the video camera. Poor Thomas, I don't think I have him on tape for anything. That is "second child syndrome."

I think we are going to try and find a good digital video camera. Things have changed so much since Jack was little. I am going to be doing a lot of research on the subject before we buy. If anyone has any advice I would love to hear it.

Hives and stuff. . .

I got a call from Thomas' teacher called me the other day and said Thomas was scratching and had big whelps on his back. He does get that way sometimes when he has been on antibiotics but it has been several weeks since his last dose of those. I decided I would go to school and check him out. I asked if it would be ok if I gave him some benadryl. She said yes that would be fine. So off I went to school. When I checked in at the office his teacher brought him to me and sure enough he had a huge whelp down the center of his back. She said that earlier he had one across his side that looked like he had been popped with a switch. His teacher said he could not stop scratching.

I decided I should take him home and to the doctor. The PA saw him and most of the big whelps were gone due to the benadryl. There was a new one though on his leg. It was just starting to whelp up. The PA said it looked like an allergic reaction, maybe a food allergy. She wanted to give him a dose of steroid. She said she could either give it by mouth or by shot. I prefer a shot because it is once and done. The medicine by mouth is harder to get in him. Thomas of course did not want a shot. He cried and cried. I knew the shot would hurt for a little bit but, that medicine would taste bad everyday a couple of times a day.

We prayed about the shot and prayed that God would comfort him during the process. The nurse came in and said he was going to have to be really still so she could make sure that the medicine went in. So then she went for back up. Then two nurses came in and we laid Thomas face down on the table. They pulled his shorts down to get a good spot on his tush. Well, he had his fanny clinched so tight that both nurses busted out laughing and the one with the shot said, "and I was worried about finding his muscle." You could have bounced a quarter of his fanny it was so tight. We all laughed then. So I tried to talk to him to get him to relax so it would not hurt as bad. Once I talked to him he began to relax and they gave him the shot. We limped out of the doctors' office and went home.

He is fine now and we do not have to battle that icky medicine every day.

Crafts for Children's Church

I had Children's Church this past Sunday and as I racked my brain trying to come up with a good craft I resorted to my trusty computer and good old faithful Google. When in doubt or need google. I found several sites that had lots of different activities. The one I chose was a prayer jar or can. You use empty soup or bean cans and of course wash them out and you can take the labels off but you don't have to. I cut construction paper to fit the can and then I cut smaller pieces to write their prayers on and put them in their can.

I told them that they could write down what ever was bothering them or something they wanted to pray for and place it in their can. Several of the kids wrote down two and three things they were praying for. On the piece of construction paper they put around the can I let them draw pictures or whatever they wanted but they had to write in the top corner, "From Me to Jesus."
This way they knew that they were talking to Jesus about their problems and they were asking him for help.

As usual for my blog there is something funny to go along with this. As I was telling the kids what to do with what I had out in front of them, Thomas pipes up and says, "My Mom dug these cans out of the garbage you know." There is never a dull moment, not even in Church, with Thomas around. I of course told them I did not get them out of the garbage, in fact, Marks' Mom is the one that saved the cans for me and yes she washed them.

Check out this website for fun stuff for the kids to help them learn bible verses. http://www.mypocketscripture.com/

Baseball, Baseball, Baseball. . .

Well, yesterday was another day in the life of a field mom. Thomas had pictures and practice that turned out to be a scrimmage. Jack had a game at the same time. So Mark took Jack to his game on one field and I took Thomas for his on the other field. Mark called and gave me updates periodically. Mark called at one point and said, "They just put Jack in to pitch." What? Yes, they put Jack in to pitch his first game ever. Ok, so here I go running up the hill to see Jack pitch his first game ever. Of course they were losing by a lot but Jack did well he struck two kids out, which to me is wonderful. He only got to pitch half an inning but he did well. So I think they will let him pitch again. I only got to see him strike one kid out but Mark said he did strike out two. I was so proud, even though we lost I think it was a victory for Jack.

After that last strike out I ran back to Thomas and his scrimmage. I am sure that was a sight to see me running between the two fields. I am not in the best shape in the world and that proved it to all that were watching. HA HA!! That is the life of the field Mom. You have to run between the fields when you have two playing at the same time. I guess I will be doing that from now on. I would not have it any other way.

Here is to all the field Moms out there. You Rock!