College Visits. . .

Sprat is a sophomore in high school and between football, school and the orthodontist I am afraid we will have little room for college tours next year.  We have our first college tour tomorrow, it is a small private Christian school.  We are starting with a small school so that we will have perspective when we visit a larger campus this summer.  Sprat is still not sure what he wants to major in so we will be visiting many different places.  The one place he is sure he does not want to go is Appalachian State, he hates cold weather.   The way things are going so far, it is a plus that we at least know one place he positively does not want to go.
Yes, we are starting early but, I much prefer to start early than to be late to the party.   I hope visiting a college campus will get him excited about the possibility of going off to college and being on his own.  I will share some pictures of our visit over the weekend so check back.  I will also post a follow up about what we learned on this visit.
This particular school holds some family ties;  my Dad went to this college for a brief time before going on to NC State, one of my uncles played football and graduated from this college, and one of my aunts taught at this college.
By the time all of this is said and done Big T will know everything he needs to know, and then some, about going to college.    Stay tuned. . .

Things My Mom Taught Me. . .

Our mothers are our first friends, so to speak, and they are our first teachers.  What did your mom teach you?  My mom taught me that you always share what you have with others.  I remember my mom sharing what ever we got out of our garden with all of our neighbors.  We usually end up taking ours to Church and passing out cucumbers and zucchini as people make their way to their cars.  I love our Church family.  My Mom also taught me about respect and that you respect your elders.  Mom also worked very hard in our Church and she taught me to do the same.  Mom was over our nursery for many, many years and spent her own money to buy juice and cookies for the kids every Sunday.   Mom did not just teach by words she taught us by doing.  I learned more by watching my Mom than I could have learned had I taken a home economic class in school.  My Mom lead us by example,  I can only hope that my kids learn as much from me as I have from my Mom.
One thing my Mom was notorious for was making sure anyone that visited her house had plenty to eat.  I will never forget my roommate in college and I meeting mom and dad at the State Fair and the first thing out of my mom's mouth was; "how are ya and have you eat?"  She always fixed a ton of food to take to the Fair.  She was always prepared to feed the multitudes.  We usually spent several days there showing and of course they would catch a football game too.   Mom always made sure you had plenty to eat if you were around her.  She wanted everyone to be comfortable too.
Mom always worked in the yard, she mowed her own grass and plowed her garden and worked her gardens.  When I was in high school she had two gardens, one at the house and one at the barn.  I know I got my love of gardening from her.  I am thankful that my hubby's family was similar to mine.  He got his love of gardening from his dad.  
There are two things that I did not get from my mom.  Mom is very strong and can handle anything thrown her way.  I am not nearly as strong as mom, I think all of her strength went to my sister.  I am also not nearly as good at whipping up a meal as mom.  I remember my dad always came home for lunch every day and occasionally he may call at the last minute and say; "hey, I am bringing Bill with me for lunch today."  Mom could whip up a five star meal in the drop of a hat and it would feed whomever dad brought home.  I do not have that talent.
I am so blessed to have been raised by such a strong mom that taught me so much and she may not even realize how much she has taught me.  I would not be the woman I am today if it were not for the example that was set by my Mom and my sister.  I am truly blessed to have these two beautiful women in my life.  This black and white picture is of my Mom before she and my Dad were married.  The other is of my sister and my Mom at one of Big T's football games.

A Letter to Me at 15. . .

If you could write a letter to yourself at 15 what would you say?  Here is what I would write.
Dearest Me;
Please spend more time on your studies and less time on boys, they will break your heart.  The man of your dreams will not be ready for you until you have graduated college and started your first official job.   Do not tie your self down to one boy, and enjoy your friends.  Do not quit dancing, you will regret it.   Do not sweat the small stuff, nobody really cares.  Every opportunity to travel that you have, go for it.  When aunt Linda offers to take you to Costa Rica GO!    Spend more time with your horses and showing.   Have faith in you.

What would your letter look like?  This is kinda what mine would say.  This is why I am always encouraging my kids to step out of their box and be weird.   Normal is boring.   I want my kids to be able to stand on their own two feet and not depend on anyone else for their happiness.   Life is too short to depend on others to make you happy, make your own happiness.

Below are pictures of two of my loves, my sweet Patches and my very handsome hubby.  

Wonderful Weekend. . .

The kids tie dyed t-shirts after they had cleaned graves on Friday and I finally got them rinsed and dried.  They turned out great.  We have the best youth leaders around, they keep our kids involved in activities around our community and they also make it all fun.  I am very thankful for each of them.
Since my boys are getting older our Easter bunny did their Easter baskets a little different this year.  The bunny was checking things out on Pinterest and found a neat idea for boys.  This year Big T got a Lacrosse baseball hat and Sprat got a Detroit Lions baseball hat and the bunny used that for their baskets and then stuffed them full of candy and goodies.   I think they liked them, with teens you just never know.  Big T did wear his all day, except to Church.
Lots going on this week since the kiddos are out of school for break.  I am still in school so I will still be studying and working things in for them to do.

Happy Good Friday. . . .

We planted part of the garden yesterday.  We have three rows of potatoes, four rows of sweet peas, and three rows of onions.  I love sweet peas so much my hubby hopes that by planting more rows he will actually get to freeze some of them.  We only froze a very small portion last year because I ate most of them raw.  I have always loved raw sweet peas, I used to go to my mother's garden and pick the peas and eat them while I was playing outside.  Today the hubbs hopes to plant some broccoli plants, cabbage plants and some lettuce.  Sprat loves the potatoes and Big T loves the lettuce.  
It is funny to think back on last year at this time, the hubbs was trying to recover from his torn quadriceps tendon and muscle surgery and we were not sure we would even have a garden.  I feel very blessed that the hubbs brother planted our garden last year.  I also feel very blessed to see that my hubby is back on his feet and going strong.  
My hubby is my rock, he is always there to cheer me own in what ever I am doing.  He makes me laugh, cry, and sometimes cuss but I am blessed to call him; husband, friend, and love of my life.   I will soon have the pleasure of celebrating twenty-three years of wedded bliss with him.   I am proud to say that after twenty-three years that he still makes my heart skip a beat here and there.   We enjoy spending time together; whether it is working in the yard, snuggled on the couch watching a movie, fishing, or watching our boys play whatever sport they are playing.
The kids are going to clean gravestones today at our graveyard to prepare for the Easter sunrise service.   Our graveyard serves several Churches and each of the youth groups clean the stones and the women's fellowship groups decorate the graves with fresh flowers.   Our Easter sunrise service is beautiful, if you have never been to one I highly recommend it, it is a very emotional experience.   The Church bands are scattered along the hill and they play as the move toward the center of the cemetery where they converge and play as one band.  It really is the most beautiful and moving service.

Odd Things Around My House. . .

I was watching an old episode of Designing Women the other day, it was the one where they were to redecorate a house of an older woman.   If you do not know what Designing Women is, it was an 80's show about four women interior decorators and their lives.    This particular episode was about the quirky things they found in this house and the very interesting reasons why they were there.  It  made me think, what will people say about things they will find in my house one day when I am gone.  On the show the lady had a portrait of her husband hung upside down in the living room.  The reason was the lady had to lay a certain way on the couch and if the picture were upside down she could see it better.  She also had fishing lures in a glass case as if they were priceless jewels.  I laughed at that one because I got it immediately.   Her husband made those lures and sold them, that was like his display case of what he could do and since he had passed away it was evidence of what he had done.
I started thinking about all the odd things I have in my house and what people might think when they see it.  I have a zip lock baggie in my jewelry box with my precious Frito's baby teeth in it.   Sweet Frito was our very special Chihuahua and when she was a baby and her teeth fell out I would put them in the baggie to keep.  I am not sure why I did it, it just seemed right.  I have a baggie with Basil's teeth too.   I also have baggies with my kids teeth.  In my living room on a book case there is a pewter urn with my sweet Frito's ashes and a ceramic piece with her footprint along with her picture and her collar and tag.  She was a huge part of our family, my kids grew up with her.   On that same bookcase there are two wooden boxes that contain the ashes of our sweet Cainie and Jake our Labs that were also a huge part of our family.   There are no labels on these, so you would not know what they were just to look at them.  On this same bookshelf at the bottom are an assortment of turkey feathers.  Big T loves turkeys and my mom and dad always have turkeys in their yard and mom sends Big T the feathers that she finds around the house.  I also have little glass jars with sharks teeth in them.  The boys and my hubby love to look for sharks teeth when we are at the beach.  I have a jar for each beach and those teeth that they found there.  
I am sure I have more odd things laying around but to me they are not odd, they represent our lives as a family and all the things we have done.

Easter Fixings. . .

I usually bring deviled eggs and some sort of dessert to our family get togethers, this year I was asked to bring mac and cheese.  I have a great recipe for homemade mac and cheese that is actually my sisters.  She shared it with me when the hubbs was having his food allergy issues and I had to make everything from scratch.  Yes, I was a baking fool.  The hubs could not have any veggies that were yellow, red, orange, or green because of his salicylate allergy.  He was also not allowed anything that was pre-packaged.  That means homemade everything.    I learned a lot during these couple of years that this was required for his health.  I learned that I can do anything that I put my mind too and that the good Lord above will give you strength to overcome.  I am going to share my sister's fabulous homemade mac and cheese recipe.

2 cups dry pasta (I use whole wheat elbow mac)
1 cup milk
lots of grated cheese (I use a whole big block of cheddar, you can use mozzarella or jack)
2 eggs beaten
salt and butter

Cook your pasta according to package directions.  I grate my own cheese because there are things added to the bags of grated cheese that are not natural.  This also saves money.

Combine eggs, milk, and salt to taste.  Grease casserole dish.  Layer noodles and cheese 2-3 times then dot with butter then pour egg milk combo over the top to cover.  I usually top with extra cheese and you can add bread crumbs for some extra texture.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

This is not your traditional mac and cheese it will have a much different look and texture than what you normally see.  This is actually a healthier version of this childhood favorite.  My hubby and I love this.  

Until we eat again. . . Enjoy

This and That. . . Random. . .

I started looking for a good planner/calendar to keep up with the kids schedule, the hubbs schedule, and my own schedule.   I, of course went to Pinterest to see what everyone else was using.  I found this thing called the bullet journal.  I was intrigued by it because you kind of created your own as you went.  I started this one with a notebook I had laying around the house, nothing fancy.  There are videos on how to set this up, like I said you can structure this one to fit your lifestyle and needs.  I am a fly by the seat of my pants kinda girl anyway so this really fit me.  I have been using mine for almost a month now and I have really been able to stay on top of everyone's appointments.   It has a place to write in a daily log what has been going on and it also has a spot for journal entries.  I love keeping a journal and I have a prayer journal that I keep but this journal is more about day to day things random thoughts and feelings.  I also have a blog section where I write blog topics that I might want to write on.  I do come across things during the day and think hmmmm, I might want to write on that later.  I have added a page dedicated to the things I love.  This is where I write down things that I love, just random words or thoughts.  You know that my journal/planner would not be complete without a section dedicated to saving money and keeping track of spending and saving.   So I have a couple pages dedicated to financial stuff.   I have days 1-15 listed and out beside the day I write down what bills are due, an average amount for that bill, and if it is something that is an automatic draft I make a note of that too.  On the next page I have the days 16-31 and I write out the bills that are due on those days.  This is really helpful when budgeting your paycheck, if you get paid twice a month.  I believe in keeping things simple and there is no reason to re-invent the wheel.  I found this on Pinterest and have adapted it to fit me.  This bullet journal gives you a jumping off spot to get you started keeping a journal as well as a calendar.  I mentioned above about my page dedicated to the things I love, the picture below is on the opposite page of my "my loves" page.  This is a drawing that Big T did for a poster at school.  It is the Campbell camel, my Alma mater.

Husbands and Wives. . . .

Spent a cold rainy day watching Big T play lacrosse.  They lost their first game but won the second one big.  Big T got his first penalty for hitting a kid in the back.  Lacrosse is kind of like hockey in that he had to sit out for one minute.  He had some very good legit no penalty hits that were awesome.   He played almost the entire second game, except for that pesky penalty.  It was cold as can be but we had a great day.  The hubbs missed all the action, he was fishing a big tournament in South Carolina.  He had a good weekend too, came in second the first day but not too goo the second day.  
Whenever the hubbs is out of town like that over the weekend he takes that Monday off.  This morning we had our breakfast date and then a few errands and back home to relax and recoup.   I can see us doing this more and more as the kids get older and we have more time together, just the two of us.  If you are not dating your hubby I highly recommend it.   Having kids and being consumed by their activities we can sometimes neglect our spouse.  As a wife or a husband we must make a concerted effort to stay connected with each other.   Once your kiddos are living their lives and are more independent you should really step up this effort to be connected.
I lived in the moment this weekend with the kiddos and since it was rainy and bad I did not take my camera so no pictures to share this time.
Lots of exciting things going on with the Clan so stay tuned.

Rainy Days. . . Be Prepared. . .

Things always tend to go awry when you least expect it.   This is why it is important to have an emergency fund and to plan for the expected as well as the unexpected.  When my hubby and I were first married he traveled some with his work.  It never failed, when he would go out of town something would break down.  The first time he went out of town my washing machine broke down, the next time the dryer.  I do remember one icy February he went out of town and the people that were putting in our fence cut my phone lines and then we had a big ice storm and the power went out too.  This was before kids and we had a beautiful chocolate lab that thought she was a lap dog.   On this particular nasty night I took the dog out and twisted my ankle in a hole in the yard and fell.  The dog thought I was playing and proceeded to jump on my back, all 90 pounds of her.  I crawled to the back door dragging her behind me and held on to the door knob to stand up.  Did I mention it was snowy and icy?   I look back on these memories and just have to laugh at how incredibly crazy life is sometimes.  
All of these things happened before I found Dave Ramsey and we did not have an emergency fund and these things did zap our budget.  Today, if any of this happened, it would not be that big of a deal because we do have our emergency fund and we are prepared for those rainy days.  Our heat pump went out one of those times the hubbs went out of town. I learned then, that we needed to be on a schedule for routine maintenance and yearly check ups for our heat pump.  I highly recommend this if you are not already doing so.  There are lots of good companies that will do this for a nominal fee and it is well worth it.  They come out two times a year and check everything out and by doing this they can tell if there is anything that is not working properly before it breaks and messes something else up too.   You also get preference when you do have trouble and discounts on parts and labor.  To me, this is a very good investment.
I have talked many times about my envelopes and I do have one called home repairs.  This is for anything around the house.   We had a little washer trouble this week and thank goodness I was able to cover it with my envelope.  If you are not using the envelope system or some other system to save money for specific things I encourage you to start.  Start small with maybe one or two envelopes and see what you think.  You do not have to do Dave Ramsey, do some research and find what fits you best, but get started.
I really wish our school system taught Dave Ramsey.  Our kids do not learn enough about personal finance in school, I am trying to teach my kids about money using Dave Ramsey but they all need to learn.   It should be one of those mandatory life skills classes.  I am embarrassed to say, I did not learn how to balance my checkbook until I started using Dave Ramsey and saw a real need for it.

Plotting and Planning. . .

The hubbs will be turning 50 this year and I would love to throw him a surprise party.  I threw him one when he turned 30 and it was a huge hit.  I really did surprise him, he almost missed his own party because his friend that was supposed to bring him back to the house could not get him to come home.  Ughhh!  Men!
I told him I was having a Christmas Around the World Party and he even helped me clean up for it.  That was my way of getting him out of the house.  I think this year I would like to rent a place so we could invite more folks to come.  There is a particular venue near us that I think would be really great for this type of thing.   I am just not sure how I could get rid of him and then get him back where he needs to be.  I have been thinking about this one for a while now and trying to figure all of this out in my head.  Stay tuned there will be other posts on this one.

Time to Eat. . .

Here are some updates on my recipes I have posted.  The Coconut Red Curry noodle soup was a big hit with my family.  The hubbs wants me to try it with shrimp, I think it will be yummy.  Big T even tried some and said  he thought it was good.  If you go back and check it out, it called for chicken but I made mine without. 
I have to admit I am a wee bit adicted to my Iced coffee.   I have tweaked it too.   I will say Maxwell House original instant is the best and 2 tsp are a plenty for a 10 oz cup.  One a day is about all I can handle though I drank two one day and was a bit jittery.   I will stick to my one in the morning.   It is much cheaper than your swanky coffee shop and lower calorie too.  Last night I was trying to enjoy my moments with the boys.   We did not have any practices so we had a nice family dinner.   We had baked Tilapia with whole wheat couscous and lemon dill sauce.  It was really good.  I made my own dill sauce and I will share that with you.
Lemon Dill Sauce

1/2 cup sour cream
2tbsp lemon juice
Dash of garlic powder
Dash onion powder
1tsp honey
2tsp dry mustard
Dash white wine
3tsp of dill

Mix all of this together and chill for a bit in the fridge before serving.  You can dip this or spoon it over your fish.  I think it would be good with Salmon too.   It was really good with the Tilapia.  

What are We Living For???

What are we living for?  I know that seems like a harsh question but it is an honest one.  Are you living to work, play, grow, or just be?  A friend of mine posted on Facebook yesterday about as parents are we living in the moment or are we just living to get to the next moment?   I guess what I am asking is are we living and enjoying while it is going on or are we pushing for the next season or thing to come our way?  This is definitely one to mull over a bit since one of my boys is finishing his sophomore year.   We had a little lull after football season this year and I must say it was nice not to feel like I had to rush out the door as often.   I am going to try and live in the moment more this year and not rush so much to get to the next thing.  My boys are growing fast enough as it is and goodness knows I do not want to rush them off too soon.   I will be trying to slow things down a bit, I want to enjoy my time with the boys before they go off to college.
Sprat got aggravated with me the other day because I rubbed his arm.  It sort of hurt my feelings because he jerked away from me like I had some sort of disease.  I am a touchy person, I touch people when I talk to them.  I also touch my kids, it is kind of how I say "I love you" when we are out in public and I do not want to embarrass them.  When he pulled away it really hurt me.  I did not say anything at the time because we were out in public but later that night I did tell him he had hurt my feelings.  He had no idea that is what I was doing.  I hope that now he knows he want be so ugly about his mama touching his arm.   I also run my fingers through their hair but he has gotten so tall I cannot reach his head without stretching.
My goal this year will be to enjoy my little moments with my boys and make great memories with them so that when they do have a family of their own they can tell their kids about their crazy fun mama that tried her best to make life fun.  

Wonderful Weekend. . .

Jam packed weekend; lacrosse, photography class, and school work.  Big T had two games on Saturday and they won them both.  Big T is still learning the ins and outs of it all but he is having a blast.  He loves playing defense and they let him use a D pole this weekend and he loved it.  The D pole is longer than a regular lacrosse stick.  It was a little awkward at first but then he got the hang of it.
I loved my photography class.  I learned how to use most of my buttons on Big T's camera and I took some great pictures at Big T's game.  I cannot wait to get some of Sprat pitching this year in baseball. I could have read the instruction manual to learn most of what they taught in my class but it sure was nice to have a person to walk you through what you should and should not do.  I think this guy explained everything very well, he gave practical explanations on why and how to get the best pictures.   I signed up for the next course they are offering for the intermediate photography too.  I am taking these classes through the continuing education department at the community college.  I highly recommend that you check out what your community college has to offer.  My sister-in-law has taken stained glass courses at ours too, she made some beautiful stained glass works.
Big T got to go to the Charlotte Hornets game on Friday night with his class.  He had not been to a professional basketball game before, we have been to a few college games in the past.  He loved it, he kept commenting on how small he thought the basketball court was.  I guess it looked bigger to him on television.   It was a great weekend with beautiful weather.   Below are some of my pictures from Big T's game.

How is Your Budget????

How is everyone doing with their budget?  I learn something new ever time I work on mine.  Remember those budgets are living organisms and that they will change each month and sometimes each week.  I learned during football season that with two boys playing football I need to allocate some extra cash for concessions and gate fees.   Here are some other things that you might want to think about including in your envelopes if you are not already.
Car repairs and oil changes, you are going to have to do these things why not add a little cash to an envelope each pay period and save for them in advance.   This has really saved me, those car fees use to zap my cash flow before I started planning for them.   Do you have an envelope for the barber shop or  beauty shop?  Those can zap a budget too.  I set aside a little money each pay period in my envelope system just for hair.  My hubby asked me this morning if I had any hair money, because he wanted to go by the barber shop on his way home from work.   Entertainment money is also very important, you do not want to feel like you cannot have any fun while on a budget.  We use our entertainment money for movies and sometimes sporting events or concerts.   School fees are another area that can zap my budget.  I use school money during the school year for kids lunches and field trips, I keep saving in my school money envelope even over the Summer and that money is used to buy school supplies at the beginning of the year.   School fees and supplies can also zap that budget but if you are planning for it there is no fear.  I feel as if I have really accomplished something if I can buy all of the new school supplies and pay school fees with my envelope money.  Do you have pets?  I have my beautiful Basil and I also have a Pet envelope, I set aside a certain amount each pay period for my sweet Basil too.  I pay for her food, toys, and vet visits out of her envelope.  I am sure you know vet bills can really stack up if something bad happens to Rover, but if you are saving a little at a time they will not blow up your budget.   Do you save money for your home repairs?  I have an envelope for that too.   With my Home Repair envelope I pay for:  my annual heat and air check up, to have my gas logs cleaned, pest inspection and any type of appliance repair.  Each of these would surely blow your budget crazy but, if you plan there is no fear.
These are just a few of my categories that you may not have thought about for your cash envelope system.   The basis for this system is your grandma or great grandma and Dave Ramsey tweaked it and I have tweaked mine.   The great thing about this system is that you can customize it to fit your needs and it is very easy to follow.   I do not get kick backs for any of my posts, I write about things I like and that work for me.  This envelope system is the best and if you use it right, it will help you curb your spending.

Moving on Up. . .

I spent a wonderful day today with my wonderful sister and her oldest daughter.  She is in her last year of Pharmacy School at Campbell University and will be doing clinical rotations in my backyard for several months.  Since my house is like a three ring circus on most days they have opted to get an apartment, for her months she will be in town.  I am sure she would like to have her own space too, and not be constantly bombarded by my boys and all the boy stuff I endure on a daily basis.
We searched several different apartment complexes and boy have things changed since I had to find my first apartment.  We went by where I used to live when I first got out of College, and it has gone down hill.  
We had a blast driving around town shopping apartment complexes and navigating the big city.   Wish we lived closer to my family so we could do this more often.   It is nice to have some sister time and niece time.  She will be working in two of our hospital pharmacies during her months here in the big city.  We grew up in a small town and Campbell is also small so this will be an adventure for her for sure.  I showed her the great little dives to eat and cool places to shop.   I like to think of  my nieces as my daughters since I only have rotten little boys.   Sometimes it is nice to have a little girl time with my nieces and my sister.  If you throw our mom in there, well then you better look out, there is no stopping us.  

What's Up????

I have run like a mad woman this morning trying to get  caught up on all of my errands.  Sorry I am late on my post.
The hubbs could not drive until after lunch because of his cataract surgery.  He rode with me to take the kids to school and then go to Wal-Mart.   I spend twice as much when he goes with me but, I do like the company.  I have someone to talk to rather than talking to myself as I go up and down the isles.  After Wal-Mart I had to go get my glasses, yes that hateful old age is bearing down on me too.  I now have reading/computer glasses.   The hubbs says I look pretty cute in them.  
As you know we love whacky Wednesday,  so the kids will have pizza tonight but I thought the hubbs and I would try a new recipe.

Coconut Curry Noodle Soup
8oz of chicken
3 garlic cloves
1tbsp fresh ginger
Lime
Red onion
Chicken broth
Coconut milk (canned)
Thai red curry paste
Fish sauce
Rice noodles
Oil
Water

In a large pan over medium heat add  2 tbsp oil, garlic chopped,  ginger grated, and 3 tbsp red curry paste.  Cook til fragrant about 5 minutes.
Add chicken and cook till chicken is no longer pink.  Add  4 cups chicken broth,  1 cup water, 2 tbsp fish sauce, and 2/3 cup coconut milk.  Bring to a boil.  Taste for seasoning.  
Pour liquid over your dried noodles in your bowls.   Add a squeeze of lime. 
You can add your noodles to your pot and cook a bit before you serve.  
I cannot wait to fix this tonight. 
I found this on Pinterest on The Woks of Life.  Check it out.

We never stop learning, even as adults we are always learning.  Sometimes we have to refresh our skills to help our kids with school work.  Then you have to hear, Mom that is not how the teacher said to do it.  That is my favorite,  especially since we are still fighting common core stupidity.
We are learning a new sport,  Sprat has been trying to help his brother with passing skills.  We had a great Saturday watching Big T play Lacrosse.   After watching a game, Sprat has decided he might want to try it next year.  We watched several games on Saturday and some of the older kids got a little rough.  That was when Sprat said he was interested.   Big T's team won both their games and he had a blast.   We are looking forward to the season. Below are some of the pictures I took, I am learning how to use Big T's camera.   Big T is #42 in black.

Well Child Check up or Whale Child?

Sprat suffers from migraines and takes a medicine every night to help prevent them.  It works like a charm.  He started having headaches when he was in the third grade and it seemed like he was taking Tylenol every day for many weeks.  We went to the doctor, had his eyes checked and a CT scan done to try and find the cause of these chronic headaches.   Sprat has a very high tolerance for pain so I was very concerned with the fact that he was complaining of headaches on a daily basis and requesting pain medicine for them.   This was very much out of character for him.  After all the tests came back normal, the doctor prescribed him a medicine to take every night before bed to prevent the headaches.   A couple of days on this medicine and he did not complain of headaches for a very long time.  He does have the occasional migraine and they did give him another medicine to take for instant relief if he does have one.  
Because he takes this medicine on a daily basis he has to have yearly "well child check ups."   I told the hubby that we had an appointment for a "well child check up" and he laughed and said do you mean whale child check up.   My husband has a warped sense of humor for sure.   Sprat got the run through; eye exam, blood pressure, updated on shots, and a HA1c.   I requested the A1c since the hubbs has such a strong family history for diabetes and I wanted a baseline because this is genetic and both of my boys could develop it.   Everything was normal and Baby Huey is still growing.

Updates on the Family. . .

It has been a year today since my hubby had to have surgery on his knee for a torn quadricep tendon and muscle.   I thank everyone that prayed for us during this time last year as we struggled to cope and recuperate.  Looking back I know that God watched over us and held us up as we made our way through the year.  This was a huge event in out life and it is easy to look back and see where God worked in our lives, but what about all the little things he does every day.  I have mentioned before about journaling and how I keep a prayer journal.  I try to write in it every evening before I go to bed, this helps me get things that are troublesome off of my mind and on paper and turned over to God so that I can sleep.  When you keep a prayer journal you can go back and look and see how God has worked in your life.  It is amazing to see what he really does and sometimes you cannot be aware of it if you are not writing it down.   So, with the hubbs injury it is really easy to see how God walked with us through this difficult time.  He will never be 100% but he is pretty darn close these days.  It took a good six months of physical therapy to get him here.  
Big T has begun Lacrosse and is having a ball.  The group he plays with had a professional Lacrosse player, Casey Powell, come and gave a skills demo and teach the boys a few things.  This guy was great, he played in high school, college and is now playing professionally.  The boys loved watching him and listening to all he had to share with them.   He worked with them for two hours and did drills for the skills he was teaching them.  He then stayed for autographs and photo opportunities.   Big T is loving Lacrosse, we have a Jamboree coming up this week, I am going to be taking lots of pictures.  I am practicing my new hobby of photography.  
Sprat is getting geared up for football in the Fall.  The high school has already started weight lifting and conditioning after school.   He is doing well in weight lifting, he  benches 225 lbs. and he is squatting 320 lbs.  He has really grown this last year and I think he is going to do well in football.  He has still not gotten his drivers license yet.   I hope he will be ready to get it in the next few months.  I am not rushing him though because I want him to be ready.  This perplexes me because when I was ready to get my license you could not have held me back for anything.  There are several kids his age that have not gotten their license and I cannot figure it out.  I am not rushing, he will do it when he is ready.  There must be a reason, I just do not know what it is.
We have a lot to look forward to this year so stay tuned. . .

Iced Coffee. . . .

Did you know that humans are the only mammals that drink milk after they have weaned from their mother?   I am not bashing cows or the dairy industry, I just thought it was an interesting fact.  Some would say that dogs, cats, and cows cannot go to the store and buy their milk so that is why they do not drink it after they are weaned.   My kids drank milk at every meal till they were about eight years old.  I tried to keep them away from soda as long as I could, once you open Pandoras' soda there is no going back.
Since the hubbs was diagnosed a diabetic almost twenty years ago he has tried to keep his sugar intake as low as he can.  He tried Almond milk, and loved it.  He also likes Cashew milk and I personally like Coconut milk.  These are all lower in sugar than cows milk.  The boys like making chocolate milk with the Almond milk.  I have also eaten cereal, made smoothies, and I cook with it too.   I do keep it in the fridge, it is just weird to think of drinking milk at room temperature.  

I have told you all of this so that I could share my iced coffee recipe with you.  I have found I really like iced coffee these days.  I have never been one for hot drinks, not even hot chocolate, I do drink hot tea every now and then when I have a sore throat or am feeling under the weather.   Do not laugh but, I like the iced coffee at McDonald's.  I do not eat their food but I like their coffee, we have never been fast food people to amount to anything.   Yesterday I looked at Pinterest to find a good homemade iced coffee that I would like.  I also wanted something a little healthier.  I found a winner.  This recipe is from www.blueridgebabe.com 

1-3 tsp of instant coffee

cold water

almond creamer

Ice

Add coffee and 4-6 tbsp of creamer and stir to dissolve coffee.  Fill glass 3/4 full with cold water and stir.  Add ice and enjoy.

As usual for me, I changed things up a bit.  I added heavy cream instead of creamer and then used a little Almond milk.  This is really good and requires no trip to McDonald's and no sweetener.  It does not even require a coffee maker.   Below is a picture of my creation this morning.

Happy Leap Day. .

I meant to share this yesterday but, you know how Monday goes, we were all over the place.

Four years ago on leap day I had the kids write down what they thought they would be like in four years.  I sealed them in an envelope so we could open them today.  I think I will have them do this again today and speculate what they will be like in four years.  
They both described how they would be physically; taller, more facial hair, and playing sports.  Bless my dear sweet Sprat, he is going to be just like his daddy, the hairless wonder.  According to my hubby, he was a junior in college before he really shaved.  

I would like to get the boys to do this again and maybe put a little more thought into it.   Sprat already said, well in four more years I will not be here.  I am not sure exactly where he thinks he will be.  This will always be his home and I hope he will always come back, at least to visit.  

You want your kids to be independent but then you want them to need you just a little every now and then.  You want them to know that they are loved and always welcome in your home.  The way Sprat talks you would think I am going to change the locks on the doors or maybe even move after they go to college and not tell him where we moved.   You know I am not going to do either of those things.  I did have one friend that her parents did move after she went off to college and the house they moved into did not have a room for her.  My room at my moms still looks the same and so does my sisters and my brothers.  Although my sisters' room does have a baby crib in it now so when we brought the grand-babies they would have a place to sleep.  

I do have plans for the boys rooms when they do leave the nest but I am not rushing them out the door.   I think one of them will become a fabulous library and reading/craft room.   Shhhh!!  please do not tell them.