The boys have started the new semester in school, they each have some class changes. Big T is taking, what I would call a home economics class. He will learn to sew, take care of a baby, and cook. He thought he was going to get off easy and get to take care of a bag of flour but another teacher is in charge of his class and I think they are going to do the mechanical babies. Yes, you may laugh now, I sure did. These are the babies that cry and require being held and rocked to sooth them and they cry when they are hungry. They are intended to simulate an actual baby and all the things baby's require. This is going to an interesting semester for dear Big T.
Sprat is taking new classes too, he gets to take chemistry along with Spanish 2, math, and history. He came home last night and had math and history homework. He does not often come home and do homework, he must complete it most of the time at school. This is going to be an interesting semester for both of the boys.
I am still working and learning as I go. This is going to be a learning year for us all and lots of changes for everyone. The boys are taking on more responsibility, reluctantly of course and the hubbs and I are relinquishing responsibility. It is fun to watch the boys growing and learning new things but, it is also hard to watch your children not needing you as much. I think that may be the hardest thing I have to deal with this year, knowing that my boys are not going to need me as much.
Stay tuned as we are all learning this year.
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Smoothies, Shakes, and Breakfast. . .
I broke down and bought one of those Nurtibullet blender things. I have always enjoyed a protein drink for breakfast here and there. When I was little I could not make myself sit down and actually eat breakfast, it made me nauseous. My mom would make me a protein shake for breakfast, when I got old enough I made them myself. Growing up, my Mom sold Shakley vitamins, she and my Dad have always taken vitamins and probably eaten healthier than most. Shakley used to make the best protein powder but I now use a powder I get from the Vitamin shop. I have tried different ones but I always come back to this one.
This is what has lead me to purchase the Nutribullet. I tried my first smoothie today. I was amazed that the majority of the smoothie recipes contain a green, like spinach or kale. I never thought of adding greens to a smoothie, when I think of smoothie I think fruit. I feel like I may have a little bit of a cold coming on so I decided I would try the "immune boost" smoothie recipe. This calls for: pineapple, spinach, blueberries, orange, and banana. I had everything but the banana. It actually tasted pretty good and it was very filling. I will try some different recipes that they have in their book and I will let you know how they are. I am not a fan of kale so in those recipes I will probably substitute spinach. I was surprised that none of these recipes suggest adding a protein powder, I may do that on my own. I will let you know how those turn out.
This is what has lead me to purchase the Nutribullet. I tried my first smoothie today. I was amazed that the majority of the smoothie recipes contain a green, like spinach or kale. I never thought of adding greens to a smoothie, when I think of smoothie I think fruit. I feel like I may have a little bit of a cold coming on so I decided I would try the "immune boost" smoothie recipe. This calls for: pineapple, spinach, blueberries, orange, and banana. I had everything but the banana. It actually tasted pretty good and it was very filling. I will try some different recipes that they have in their book and I will let you know how they are. I am not a fan of kale so in those recipes I will probably substitute spinach. I was surprised that none of these recipes suggest adding a protein powder, I may do that on my own. I will let you know how those turn out.
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Birthday Woes. . .
Celebrating another year this week. My hubby is out of town and my boys are oblivious. Ughhhh
This is one and probably the only time I wish I had a girl. I think girls are more in tuned with celebrating things like a Mom's birthday. That sort of thing is completely lost on boys or at least on my boys. They are too tied up with their sports and video games to care that Mom has a birthday. I think my husband texted Sprat to remind him it was my Birthday. My very sweet hubby did send me flowers though and he has not done that in a long time. Maybe boys realize the effect of birthdays on women once they get older. I guess there is still hope for my two scoundrels. We went out to eat last night; the boys, my niece, and myself to celebrate, that was very nice and I did enjoy it.
Big T asked me how old I was going to be and then he began trying to guess. He said, 30 years old? I said nope, I am 21 years old. This brought up a very funny memory of my Mom. I always believed what ever my Mom told me, why would my Mom tell me anything that was not true. I asked very innocently how old my Mom was and she told me she was 21, actually it may have been Dad that said she was 21. This was when I was in the third grade and obviously she was older than 21 since she was in fact in her 30's when I was born. That next week I went to school and something was said about my Mom and I told them she was 21 years old. My teachers all laughed and said that my Mom had done a lot in her 21 years. They all knew she was older than 21 but they did not say anything to me about it. They did, however, corner my Mom at the next PTA meeting and they all had a big laugh at silly me.
My hubby comes home today and I cannot wait to see him. This is one part of his work I did not miss when he got laid off. He does not travel much but you can count on at least 2 trips a year for national conferences. He usually misses a Birthday or an Anniversary here and there.
This is one and probably the only time I wish I had a girl. I think girls are more in tuned with celebrating things like a Mom's birthday. That sort of thing is completely lost on boys or at least on my boys. They are too tied up with their sports and video games to care that Mom has a birthday. I think my husband texted Sprat to remind him it was my Birthday. My very sweet hubby did send me flowers though and he has not done that in a long time. Maybe boys realize the effect of birthdays on women once they get older. I guess there is still hope for my two scoundrels. We went out to eat last night; the boys, my niece, and myself to celebrate, that was very nice and I did enjoy it.
Big T asked me how old I was going to be and then he began trying to guess. He said, 30 years old? I said nope, I am 21 years old. This brought up a very funny memory of my Mom. I always believed what ever my Mom told me, why would my Mom tell me anything that was not true. I asked very innocently how old my Mom was and she told me she was 21, actually it may have been Dad that said she was 21. This was when I was in the third grade and obviously she was older than 21 since she was in fact in her 30's when I was born. That next week I went to school and something was said about my Mom and I told them she was 21 years old. My teachers all laughed and said that my Mom had done a lot in her 21 years. They all knew she was older than 21 but they did not say anything to me about it. They did, however, corner my Mom at the next PTA meeting and they all had a big laugh at silly me.
My hubby comes home today and I cannot wait to see him. This is one part of his work I did not miss when he got laid off. He does not travel much but you can count on at least 2 trips a year for national conferences. He usually misses a Birthday or an Anniversary here and there.
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
The Uterus, the Finder of All that is Lost. . . .
My kids and my hubby lose everything. I am surprised they can find the nose on their face some days. Last night the hubbs was frantically searching for his new ear buds. My first question to the looker for lost things is; where were you when you had them last? Simple question, right? When they answer that, that is where I send them to begin their search. The hubbs said he had his ear buds last on the couch. I recommended he go look on or in the couch. Being male, he of course, chose not to do what I suggested. He is still frantic looking for his buds. I put down what I am working on and go to the living room and go right to the couch, and found the all important missing buds and on my first attempt. I should get an award or something for that. I have always told my husband that he thinks my uterus is a homing device for all lost objects. Now this has rubbed off on my on my kids. They think mom is the finder of all things lost, and if I cannot find it, it is somehow my fault it is lost. Bahhahhahhaa!! My family is so funny. I use simple logic to find their items and if they put forth any effort at all they would find their missing items. Instead they depend on the uterus to locate their lost things.
To all of the uteri out there finding all of the lost items of your family, hang in there you are not alone.
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Lessons Learned. .
I am always learning new things as are my children. The lesson I learned this past year may have been at my children's expense and that makes me sad.
Being a parent is not easy, and I do not say that to mean that you do not already know how very difficult it can be. I guess I am saying it as a caution to those that come after.
My oldest has played football ever since he was old enough to do so. I know many of you have kids that play sports the same way, be it: baesball, soccer, or even basketball. Sprat has always had a very deep love for football, and has played on some good teams and some not so good teams. I have never forced my kids to play sports, they do it because they enjoy it. Sprat played all the sports until he reached high school. He has only played football for the high school. Playing a high school sport takes a great deal of dedication and not just during the season but in the off season too. Our family gave up vacations and cut family visits short so that he could be at most every season and off season training experience. This was our choice because that is what he wanted to do. He loved the sport.
This year changed for him, football stopped being an enjoyable sport. His team stopped behaving like a team and began to act as every man for himself. This mentality should have been shut down by the coaches but sadly it was not. It seemed to be encouraged by some of the coaches and you all know football is a team sport. It takes a group of young men working together to achieve that win. Sadly this season was anything but a team. They did have a winning season but it was not an atmosphere of teamwork. A few players tweeted on different occasions that they were the star players and they were the reason the team won.
I shared all of this to say that my oldest son has decided not to play in his senior year. There are several things that will be going on during this summer with our church that he is very excited to be a part of. I am not disappointed that he is not going to play, I am disappointed and very sad that he has lost that love of this sport that he has spent his entire childhood playing and loving. I am also a little mad at myself because I should have made our family and family time a priority over football. I said earlier that we did without vacations partly because we could not fit them in between football practices. I wish I had been a better parent and said, sorry our family comes first. This is the lesson I learned at the expense of my oldest.
Being a parent is not easy, and I do not say that to mean that you do not already know how very difficult it can be. I guess I am saying it as a caution to those that come after.
My oldest has played football ever since he was old enough to do so. I know many of you have kids that play sports the same way, be it: baesball, soccer, or even basketball. Sprat has always had a very deep love for football, and has played on some good teams and some not so good teams. I have never forced my kids to play sports, they do it because they enjoy it. Sprat played all the sports until he reached high school. He has only played football for the high school. Playing a high school sport takes a great deal of dedication and not just during the season but in the off season too. Our family gave up vacations and cut family visits short so that he could be at most every season and off season training experience. This was our choice because that is what he wanted to do. He loved the sport.
This year changed for him, football stopped being an enjoyable sport. His team stopped behaving like a team and began to act as every man for himself. This mentality should have been shut down by the coaches but sadly it was not. It seemed to be encouraged by some of the coaches and you all know football is a team sport. It takes a group of young men working together to achieve that win. Sadly this season was anything but a team. They did have a winning season but it was not an atmosphere of teamwork. A few players tweeted on different occasions that they were the star players and they were the reason the team won.
I shared all of this to say that my oldest son has decided not to play in his senior year. There are several things that will be going on during this summer with our church that he is very excited to be a part of. I am not disappointed that he is not going to play, I am disappointed and very sad that he has lost that love of this sport that he has spent his entire childhood playing and loving. I am also a little mad at myself because I should have made our family and family time a priority over football. I said earlier that we did without vacations partly because we could not fit them in between football practices. I wish I had been a better parent and said, sorry our family comes first. This is the lesson I learned at the expense of my oldest.
As parents it is our job to set the family as a priority over all other things and yes that includes sports our kids play. As I look back, Sprat would not have lost anything with regard to football had he missed those few practices to do the family thing. As parents we must remember that it is our job to encourage our kids to do well but it is also our job to make sure what priorities we are teaching. Are we teaching that family is a priority?
I have rambled all over the place today and I am sorry about that but, this has really been weighing on my nerves these last few days.
Stay tuned as I have said Sprat is going to try his hand at Lacrosse, this should be very interesting. We also will have a lot more time for family and those all important College tours.
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Snow, Snow, and Snow. . .
We got more snowfall than the predictions and it was in the teens this morning. The sweet B loved being in the snow yesterday but, she is less enthused today. The hubbs said she could have been the ASPCA spokes doggie for keeping your pets inside on cold days. It was absolutely pitiful. She has the height of the pug, so with almost 10 inches of snow her little naked belly was buried in the snow.
We laid down two boards before the snow started so when it was over she would have a grassy spot to potty.
That works great for a quick squat but for the other it would not do, hence the cold belly.
They have already called school off for tomorrow and Church was canceled for today due to road conditions.
I love the snow, I always have. I called my mom the day after it had snowed and hollered, "it snowed, it snowed, let's go out and play, hurry up." Mom got a kick out of it as I reminded her of early a start I would get sledding with our neighbor. They had the best hill, it was almost like a ski slope.
We laid down two boards before the snow started so when it was over she would have a grassy spot to potty.
That works great for a quick squat but for the other it would not do, hence the cold belly.
They have already called school off for tomorrow and Church was canceled for today due to road conditions.
I love the snow, I always have. I called my mom the day after it had snowed and hollered, "it snowed, it snowed, let's go out and play, hurry up." Mom got a kick out of it as I reminded her of early a start I would get sledding with our neighbor. They had the best hill, it was almost like a ski slope.
It is so peaceful when the snow is falling. It is like nature's way of cleansing itself and starting new.
Here's to the new year and a cleansing of my own, a new start for our family.
Here's to the new year and a cleansing of my own, a new start for our family.
Friday, January 6, 2017
Predictions of Snow. .
Predictions of snow here in the South make people act a little nutty. We do not get a whole lot of snow and we are not really prepared for great amounts of it. Northerners make fun of us because we do not like to drive in the snow and ice and how we will cancel school and close businesses when there is a threat of snow or ice. We do these things because we are not prepared for it and usually we get more ice than snow and let's be honest nobody knows how to drive on ice. You could have the biggest baddest 4X4 and you would still slide all over.
I personally do not like to drive in the snow and such, I may have to this year because of work. We have to be there regardless of the weather. I will be driving slow so, if you see me out there just know you may have to pass me if you are in a hurry.
The hubbs and I, when we were first married, use to go to the grocery store when they were predicting bad weather to watch what people were buying. You could look in the grocery carts and see how bad people thought it was going to be. On heavy snow predictions people would have milk and at least two loaves of bread. We always wondered what people would do with all that bread and milk. I think they were going to make stew or soup of some sort and possibly grilled cheese sandwiches. I went to the store, for this event, and bought junk food for my kids, we already had milk and bread. I am going to make a big pot of pinto beans with some cornbread for the weekend. The hubbs loves him some pintos and cornbread. He is going to the meat market to pick up some ground meat for tacos for the boys.
How do you prepare for the snow and ice and the possibility of being home bound for a day or so? I would love to hear your thoughts.
I personally do not like to drive in the snow and such, I may have to this year because of work. We have to be there regardless of the weather. I will be driving slow so, if you see me out there just know you may have to pass me if you are in a hurry.
The hubbs and I, when we were first married, use to go to the grocery store when they were predicting bad weather to watch what people were buying. You could look in the grocery carts and see how bad people thought it was going to be. On heavy snow predictions people would have milk and at least two loaves of bread. We always wondered what people would do with all that bread and milk. I think they were going to make stew or soup of some sort and possibly grilled cheese sandwiches. I went to the store, for this event, and bought junk food for my kids, we already had milk and bread. I am going to make a big pot of pinto beans with some cornbread for the weekend. The hubbs loves him some pintos and cornbread. He is going to the meat market to pick up some ground meat for tacos for the boys.
How do you prepare for the snow and ice and the possibility of being home bound for a day or so? I would love to hear your thoughts.
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
A Look Back on 2016. .
2016 was quite a year. Jobs were lost, jobs were found, new jobs started, and new drivers in our midst. This year has been like a roller coaster for our clan. Looking back though, I can see God's hand in all of these events, even those that were difficult.
I have a lot of hope for 2017, I think we are on the upward swing of things. Every year I intend on keeping better track of times I feel we were blessed, this year I will be making a more concerted effort. I am going to make a note of each time I feel or see that God is working through our lives so that at the end of 2017 we can look back and remember how truly blessed we were.
I worked three twelve hour shifts right in to the new year. I applaud and commend all of those that work twelve hour shifts, they are not easy. The family is working really hard to get accustomed to my hours, as am I. We had a minor snafu right before Christmas. Big T got busted walking up to the high school to ride home with Sprat. It was not so bad that he got busted but that the hubbs was on a skype re-certification session and could not leave to go pick him up. Neither of the kids had the others' phone number. In the middle of the skype re-certification session my sweet hubby is fielding text and phone calls from both kids. I was at work and did not know any of this was going on until that night. The good news was that the manager that was doing the skype thing told my husband that he did the best on the presentation than anyone else he had certified and that was with all of the interruptions. The manager said the hubbs never missed a beat. Back to the boys, the middle schoolers are not supposed to walk to the high school unless they have a parent that works at the high school. What the administrators do not realize is that it is much safer for those kids to go to the high school to catch their ride with their older sibblings than for their older siblings to have to drive through the car rider line at the middle school. The middle school parents are horrible and the high school kids have to pull out against traffic in order to get in line to try and come to the middle school. I know it was probably done for safety but it truly is safer especially for an eighth grader. I purposefully tell Sprat to stay at school and hang out a little while before he tries to come home, it is much safer than rushing out of that parking lot at the bell. Those kids drive like they do not have a brain.
We only have a few more months and they will both be at the same school. I am not sure if that is good or bad. You will have to stay tuned to find out.
I have a lot of hope for 2017, I think we are on the upward swing of things. Every year I intend on keeping better track of times I feel we were blessed, this year I will be making a more concerted effort. I am going to make a note of each time I feel or see that God is working through our lives so that at the end of 2017 we can look back and remember how truly blessed we were.
I worked three twelve hour shifts right in to the new year. I applaud and commend all of those that work twelve hour shifts, they are not easy. The family is working really hard to get accustomed to my hours, as am I. We had a minor snafu right before Christmas. Big T got busted walking up to the high school to ride home with Sprat. It was not so bad that he got busted but that the hubbs was on a skype re-certification session and could not leave to go pick him up. Neither of the kids had the others' phone number. In the middle of the skype re-certification session my sweet hubby is fielding text and phone calls from both kids. I was at work and did not know any of this was going on until that night. The good news was that the manager that was doing the skype thing told my husband that he did the best on the presentation than anyone else he had certified and that was with all of the interruptions. The manager said the hubbs never missed a beat. Back to the boys, the middle schoolers are not supposed to walk to the high school unless they have a parent that works at the high school. What the administrators do not realize is that it is much safer for those kids to go to the high school to catch their ride with their older sibblings than for their older siblings to have to drive through the car rider line at the middle school. The middle school parents are horrible and the high school kids have to pull out against traffic in order to get in line to try and come to the middle school. I know it was probably done for safety but it truly is safer especially for an eighth grader. I purposefully tell Sprat to stay at school and hang out a little while before he tries to come home, it is much safer than rushing out of that parking lot at the bell. Those kids drive like they do not have a brain.
We only have a few more months and they will both be at the same school. I am not sure if that is good or bad. You will have to stay tuned to find out.
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