Here is to the New Year. . . . 2019

Year end update on the family, lots of things changing in 2019 for this crew.  Lots of new adventures on the horizon for us all.  It is going to be a little scary but we will attack it like we do everything else, as my sister says with Godcofince ( Confidence in knowing that God is leading us in His path).  That is my new buz phrase for 2019. 
I am very proud of the boys for their school work this year, they both did great and finished with high GPA's and Big T has chosen his pathway.  He had originally thought he would do EMS (emergency medicine) but after going to the college and seeing everything he has changed to a nursing pathway.  I am very proud of him.  Yes, the hubbs and I are both biology/chemistry majors but we have not influenced him other than being role models.  It does make a mama proud when your kids choose to follow in your major.  Not sure if he will do the super senior that is offered at his high school or not but either way he will have a foot hold on his college classes when he graduates. 
Sprat is making his way in Boston and loving every minute of it.  I must admit I was a little scared for him to be that far away, he is easily distracted.  He had a few snafus here and there along the way and it was crazy difficult getting him his mail.  His speech that involved me sending the Cheerwine he got a 92 and he was happy.  He met a lot of interesting people and got to do a lot of cool things and if all else fails, I do believe he could be a tour guide in Boston.  LOL!!  He is looking forward to Spring semester, it is going to be a tough class load but I think he can do it.  Since he has been home we have found out that his debit card was hacked so he is cardless now.   He is going to have to learn that cash is king and much safer. 
I have thoroughly enjoyed having everyone at home and it is amazing the bond that the boys have now since Sprat has been at college.  They are getting a long so much better and enjoy spending time with each other.  To all the moms that are worried about sibling rivalry it will level out, I was very worried about that these last 7 years they just argued all the time and there was NO love there.  It is very different now.  The hubbs and I are bracing for another possible lay off with his company, they are selling off every division and they are now down to pretty much the bare bones. 
On the up swing my job is going well and I have worked a lot in the last two months.  The good news to that is that we are preparing for this inevitable lay off.   We should hear something the first of the year so, prayers are greatly appreciated.  Walking in Godcofince as we embrace changes. . . .

Home Safe and Sound. .. ..

The hubbs and Sprat made it home safe and sound yesterday.  So glad to have the boy home for a few weeks, of course I may not be saying that in a few weeks.  You know how teenagers are, as you can see from the picture below he has already assumed the teenager position.   The brown lump behind his knees would be the B and she has also assumed her position.  

Speaking of the B, she was very excited to see her daddy and her boy come home.  She felt she had not seen them for years and she acted that way too.  She jumped and fussed and barked and wagged her tail like you would not believe when they came in the house.  

I have a secret to tell but you cannot share, if the word gets out I may never get to see this sight again.  So if you promise not to tell I will share what I saw.  It was almost like being in the wild when two rival species meet that usually fight to the death and you wonder what will happen.  I was brought to tears when I saw my two boys hug each other.  No, they were not trying to choke each other out as I would have thought had this happened over the Summer. They were truly happy to see each  other, in fact Big T has already enlisted his big brother advice on how to set up a prom posal for his "girlfriend" for the Spring.  Shhhhh!! I was not suppose to hear about that either.  I love hearing them talk with each other in a nice manner and not fussing and yelling at each other.  To all the Moms that are in that sibling rivalry phase, there is hope and there is light at the end of that tunnel and it does not appear to be a locomotive.  This Mama is going to enjoy Christmas having all the fellas at home together.  I am blessed beyond what I deserve and I am truly thankful for all of our blessings even the mouth one, the B. 

Snow Storm 2018 . . . .

The hubbs is on his way to Boston, and the biggest snow storm our area has seen in 90 years per the news outlets, is headed our way.  At 0430 on Sunday morning we had 6 inches of snow, it kept snowing most of the day.  I measured again by way of my leg and we had a foot of snow.  I am sure we had more but we did have an interspersing of  sleet and freezing rain that compacted the snow.  The hubbs is safe, Big T and I are safe here, I worked from home yesterday and will work tomorrow from home as well.  Another great perk of my company when we have bad weather or if you have kids sick and home from school. 

I was filling the hubbs in on our weather conditions last night and he says; "you need to run out and get a picture of the house decorated for Christmas with the snow.  You may not get that chance again."  Below are my best efforts at the night picture with the lights on.  I sent  him a copy via text. Just so you know, our lights on the bushes in the front of the house are not suppose to be on the bottom of the bushes.  They got a little droopy during the snow. 

Tonight since I was not working I decided Big T and I would have a nice dinner just the two of us.  I fixed homemade alfredo, which by the way I do very well.  It was very good and Big T ate two bowls. 

Preparing for Snowpocalypse 2018. . . .

The hubbs is on his way, sort of, to get Sprat a little earlier than planned.  He was trying to beat the weather out of the South.  Sprat still has two exams before he is finished, well one exam and a speech.  The speech has something to do with Cheerwine, I cannot wait to hear about it.  I shipped two cases of Cheerwine to him at school for this speech.  You cannot get Cheerwine in Boston heck, I do not think you can get it in Virginia even.  It is a southern thing.  Sprat so desperately wanted to share some of his Southern, I would not say heritage but maybe Southern traditions with his new friends in Boston.  It is not cheap to ship to cases of Cheerwine either.  I have had a time trying to get him mail.  I had three different packages in limbo for two weeks.  The postal person did contact me at the main branch in Brookline, MA and I must say he was the nicest and most professional person I have spoken with in the post office.  He was so helpful and in two days Sprat had all three of his packages and his Cheerwine for his speech. 
Back to snowpocalypse prep.  Yesterday the hubbs fixed his amazing crockpot chicken and I made chicken and rice soup in the instant pot today with his left over chicken and stock.  Soup was very good and Big T liked it too.  I used the stock left over from the hubbs crock pot chicken and added a little chicken stock and some rice, carrots, onion, and a little garlic and sage.  That cooked on soup setting for 15 minutes and then I added the chicken and did slow cook setting for 2 hours so all of the flavors could meld.   I felt like chicken and rice soup is a great staple for the snowpocalypse.  I have wrapped presents and made some scrabble (chex mix) too. 
Lots of things to get done before Christmas but most important is getting the hubbs and the boy home safe.  Stay tuned, the hubbs has requested pictures of the house with the lights on in the snow.  This should be very interesting. 

Tree is up and Mama waiting on the Boy. . .

Tree is up and decorated, the hubbs is leaving earlier than expected due to pending weather and the boy will be home for almost a month.  Mama is feeling very blessed and excited to have everyone back at home.  Prayers appreciated for safe travels for the hubbs and the boy.   

I cannot wait to hear about exams and Winter in Boston.  Sprat already has his schedule for next semester and we have books to rent and books to ship back.  To those preparing to send kids to college next year always check out Amazon to rent.  We have had great luck with that these last two years.  Renting is much cheaper than trying to buy, especially if the class is not in their major and they are not going to want to keep the book.  I kept a lot of my books from college, not sure why,  but I think my most expensive book was $150 and these days than can be as high as $400.  Rent, Rent, Rent~!!!! 

Decorations. . . .

In record time I have my tree up and lights on, no decorations just yet but those will be coming this week.  The hubbs and I enjoyed a breakfast date and then came home to decorate the outside of the house this past Friday.  With Sprat coming home for a long Christmas break, the hubbs wanted to  have everything just right.  So much to be thankful for this year, so many blessings on our home and family.  I will post another picture of the tree all decorated later.  

Work has been a little crazy with folks sick and family illness so I have been working a lot more than usual.  Very thankful for the extra hours especially at this time of year.  Sprat will be home in a couple of weeks and I cannot wait.  Prayers for all of those facing finals these next weeks, that is such a stressful time.  

Happy Thanksgiving . . . .

So happy to have my Sprat home, if only for a few days.  Thanks to a minor snafu by Mom Sprat also enjoyed his first plane ride via a first class flight home from Boston, while the hubbs flew coach. It felt good seeing the boys talking and picking with each other.  I guess absence does make the heart grow fonder.  There was minimal arguing and fighting these last few days.  We had a whirl wind Thanksgiving visiting everyone but it was so good to see family and friends.  It seems as though we blinked and now we are getting ready to send this big guy back to school.  Good news though, he will be home for a longer Christmas break. 

We got to hear all about how cold it is in Boston already and how it is dark by four o'clock. I do not think he is ready for the real winter he is going to experience, he has only had a taste of cold.  He does have lots of winter clothes and a big coat and boots to wear but he is going to experience Winter like he has never had before. 

 He has gathered with his friends to visit and catch up on what everyone has been doing and he had a list of places he wanted to eat that they do not have in Boston.  First meeting with all his buddies was Bojangles and then he wanted to eat at Salsaritas with all of us.  The boys went to Thanksgiving Eve Love Feast, that was also a must on Sprat's list of things he had to do while he was home. He took a picture of his Thanksgiving plate to show his teammates what a southern Thanksgiving looks like.  He  is the only true Southerner at this school so they all love to hear him talk especially the young ladies.  The hubbs had to stop on the way home from the airport to pick up Cook Out with some sweet tea.  He has asked on numerous occasions to send him some sweet tea via the mail.  I told him we could not do that.  It is funny the things that we get use to and that we miss when we do not have it.  He seems to be having fun and doing lots of cool stuff, Mom just hopes he is studying in between all of the fun.  Mama feeling blessed and very thankful for this visit with my boy. 

Below is one picture I was able to snap over this break, I hope I will get a couple more during Christmas. 

Garden Therapy. .

The hubs took Monday off and I had the day off so we decided to do a little work in the yard.  The hubs and Big T cleaned the front flower bed on Saturday while I caught up on some sleep from night shift.
They worked really hard and thankfully very quietly. 
The hubs and I dropped Big T off at school and had our breakfast date then off to the nursery to pick up some pansies.  I also picked up some decorative cabbage. 
It felt good planting and fixing our front bed. It reminded me of when we first moved in and we did all of  this work in that bed.  We had beautiful phlox and lilies and my rose bush.  We worked really hard in that bed those first so many years but then the kids were busy with sports and things just got neglected.  This could stand as a reminder for our spiritual life as well.  Perhaps this is what I needed to get grounded for this next phase of motherhood. 
It started to drizzle while we were planting today and that was ok we finished the planting and said a prayer for growth and renewal, again for our lives as well as our flower bed. 
Being in the yard and working and working with my hubby made me feel a little better about all this drama I am feeling lately. 
I have been promised some rosemary, lavender, and sage in a little garden area off my back patio, fingers are crossed.  We already have a few different varieties of mint and oregano back there that I use regularly in different recipes.  I will share pictures once we get the ball rolling. 
By the time Sprat gets out of college my yard may look like a jungle.  LOL!!!

This was several years ago.  I just love that phlox, the hubs has promised I get more phlox this Spring, I hope it will grow and be this pretty.  

New pansies and a little cabbage  

Another angle 

Rough Week. . .Random Thoughts. . .

I am a child of God, I struggle daily with the devil and his minions.  This week has been particularly difficult, my children are being tested/tempted by the devil and I am very worried for them.  We know that the devil is everywhere and that he is good at what he does, which is to tempt and tease us into doing things that we would not normally even think about doing.  His prime time to try and take hold in our lives is in our youth and this is what I am talking about with regard to my children.
I will not go into detail but I ask for prayers for both of my boys especially Sprat in Boston.  I ask for prayers for safety, peace, guidance, comfort, and healing.
When your kids are young you can protect them from most all things designed to do them harm, as they get older your ability protect gets less and less effective. It is not a fault of yours it is just the design of life, your kids get older and must make their own decisions.  All you can do and the most difficult job of my parenting adventure thus far is to let go and just keep praying.  I never realized how much of a control freak I was unit this year when Sprat went to Boston to college.  This week has tested my patience and my religion.  Sprat's concussion is getting some better and that is good and I am relieved and very thankful.  There are other things going on that I really cannot write about other than he is having a difficult time and so is mama.  Some days I miss those early mornings when the boys would come in the bedroom and crawl in bed with me and cuddle.  I even miss those wee morning hours when they would have bad dreams and I would crawl in their bed and hold them till they went back to sleep. 
This week has left me feeling very out of sorts, and we have a couple people out at work with various sickness and surgery so the extra work will come in handy for both my pocketbook and my sanity. 
I ask for prayers for both boys especially Sprat as we make our way to Thanksgiving and I get to see my boy for the first time since September. 

Leaping into Technology. . .

This week I leaped into technology by creating a snap chat account.  My younger hipper co workers helped me set up my account so that I could face time with my son in Boston.  He played in his first college lacrosse scrimmage this past weekend and on Wednesday last week he texts me to inform me he may have a concussion.  He said he had the worst headache he has ever had.  He has migraines and I had a migraine that same weekend for about three days.  I thought ok, this is a bad migraine.  He then informs me that he got leveled at the scrimmage with head contact.  Now is when mom drive goes into overdrive.  That is why I did the snapchat, I needed to see his face.  I felt like if I could see that face I would know one way or the other if it was a concussion or migraine. 
My co workers are the best, I was able to face time him and see that face that I have not seen since September 2nd.  I felt some better after seeing him, he did not seem loopy or disoriented or in severe pain like  I thought he could have been.  He is still having a headache and he text his dad today and told him that he saw the trainer again today and they would not let him go back to practice and that their main concern was to get him back in class.  That is troublesome too, that he has missed class because of this. 
Needless to say there has not been a lot of sleep for me.  When I worry I do not sleep.  Work keeps my mind off of everything so I have been working more filling in for folks when they need it.  Things are winding down and we will get to see him in person the week of Thanksgiving.  Cannot wait to see him.  Praying he has stayed on top of his grades, otherwise he will be home for good.  Low grades means no scholarship, means the boy comes home.  Praying he has stayed focused and diligent in his studies.
Update on Big T he made A honor roll this semester and made an A in his college class he was taking.  He did a tour of the Community College since he will be making trips there next semester for classes.  Up to this point his college classes have been online so he has not had to go to campus for anything.  Things are getting very exciting at our house. 
Update on 100 days of Real Food, I fell off the wagon, so I will attempt a re-start soon.  I was talking with a friend who is a PA and she was talking about processed food and headaches and migraines and other physical ailments that we have in common and I was telling her about this book.  We had both come to the conclusion that processed food is bad and we should be eating "Real" food.  This journey is on going at our house. 
Stay tuned as the college kid comes home and the Real Food journey starts again.

Updates for Everyone. . .

We celebrated my niece getting married this past weekend and Big T got to be a part of it.  It was a beautiful wedding and we enjoyed celebrating with our family and friends.  My niece was married in the same church that her mother and I were married in, so naturally I was a little sentimental about the day and remembering my own wedding.  I am sure my sister did the same. 
It was nice to see my very handsome son dressed in something other than shorts, t shirt and a sweatshirt.  Naturally I have pictures to share so, stand by.  Big T picked out his suit to wear for the Wedding and we did not know the colors my niece was going to use but to our surprise it was the very same suit that the groomsmen wore. 
We were missing Sprat this weekend, he had his first scrimmage on Saturday, that first college lacrosse game.  They got beat but they were playing teams that had been together a couple of years.  Sprats team are all freshman and that was their first time playing as a team.  They have a lot to learn and a lot of practice ahead of them.  We got their schedule and I hope we get to go see him play this Spring but, it will depend on Big T's schedule too.   I begged Sprat for some pictures from the scrimmage, of course, I did not get any.  I told him when he comes home for Thanksgiving that I will be all in his face taking pictures.  I miss him so much but, I dare not tell him that, I do not want to make him home sick. 
On our way to the Wedding festivities on Friday morning my hubby got a text from Sprat that said, "Boston was crazy last night."   That was the night that the Red Sox won their bid to the World Series.  I promptly sent him a text saying;  "I know you were not in the middle of all that celebration, right?"  His reply, "I might have been."  (priceless)   As a mom you never ask your teenage son a question that you do not already know the answer.  I knew he would be there and that was ok.  He is having the best time of his life right now and I am very proud of him. 

A little flashback from '93 

Hurricane Prep and Lack There Of

I was much better prepared for Florence than I was for Michael.   I was ready for power outages and knew exactly what I was going to do for food and how we would manage the power being out.
We are on day two of no power and it may not be back on till Monday.   It makes me sick because I had made food to freeze and now it may all be lost.  Things I had frozen from our garden.  We have moved items to coolers filled with ice, we took some freezer stuff to the hubs brother, and I took some things to work to keep in that fridge and freezer.   We have still had to throw things in the garbage.  We were not prepared.
One shudder was completely torn off the front of the house and three more are barely hanging on.  One of my columns on the front of the house has shifted and is going to need some attention.
On the power outage electronic side, I was a little more prepared only because of Florence.   I had purchased a solar powered charger for phones and tablets and such.  Best purchase by far in this situation.   I ordered it from Amazon, do not know exactly what brand it is, they offer a wide variety.  This is very basic and pretty compact.  See the picture below.  Again, I am not being paid for this post nor do I get any kick backs from the company. 
The appealing thing to me about this particular model is  it is small and you can charge two devices at one time and it has a flash light feature.  I charged my phone over night with it the other night.  

We have power now but we lost a lot of food, the upside is my fridge and freezer are clean now.   Now I just have to get my freezer food back from the brother in law, I got my stuff back from work already.  

Instant Pot and Real Food

Yesterday I was off and decided I would clean the expired canned goods out of my kitchen cabinets.  I feel very wasteful right now.  I had so many canned goods that had expired.   I had a couple cans of tomato paste that were near expiration and I decided I would not let them go to waste. 
I decided a vegetable soup in the instant pot would be great.  I started with some chicken broth and my tomato paste and then I looked in the freezer and grabbed some crowder peas and sweet peas we had frozen from our garden.  I threw in a can of Lima beans, and some store bought frozen corn.  Add some garlic powder, onion powder, fresh dried oregano,  and some thyme.  I added some beef broth to give a little more liquid. 
Closed my lid and set my pot for soup.  I started the soup around 430 and we  were enjoying it by 530 ish.  Feeding the hubs and I real food pretty quick.  I did too it with some cheese and a dollop of sour cream.  
Love this pot!!! 
I am not being paid for this, I have said many times I post about things I like and believe in.

Dating and My Boys. . .

Update on Boston:  Sprat has moved on to another female friend and this one goes to his school and play softball for them.  He says he and the other young lady he met at the Red Sox game are just friends.  Funny thing, the hubs and I met the softball players parents at move in day during the parent meeting and family dinner.  She is from California, the hubs and her dad were fast friends, funny how things work.  Sprat seems to be getting along well he has requested that I send him some sweet tea about every time we talk.  The lacrosse team has been doing fundraisers in and around Boston: they have worked the Boston College football games and will be going into the city to work at the Boston Children's museum too. Sprat even volunteered to do an extra game at Boston College to help out the team.  These fundraisers help them pay for their Spring break tournament room and board.  I love this idea, make the boys work to help pay their way rather than begging for money from parents or family.  The high schools could take a lesson here.
Big T informed me the other day that he was in a "relationship."  You can imagine my reaction to this comment from my 15 year old son.  I smiled and simply said, ok.  I was waiting on an explanation,  and decided I better  ask some questions because he was not going to offer up any information willingly.  I asked those typical Mom questions:  how long have you known this young lady?  is she in your grade?  what is her home high school?  If I have shared this already I apologize.   I was immediately told that her mother wanted to meet the hubs and I for dinner.   That actually went very well,  we liked the young lady and her mother and we had a very good time at dinner.  Last night was their first official date, they went to the movies.  The hubs and I got to go on a date too and that was very nice. 
I am not ready for this dating stuff again, bless dear Sprat he did not really date until he was a junior in high school and Big T is a sophomore.  The second usually does things faster than the first, except when it comes to driving.  Big T may be on track to get his license around the same time as Sprat, Big T does not want to drive much either. 
Stay tuned for more dating adventure and Real Food adventure. . .

What's Cooking. . . .

The Salmon last night was great!  It was even very good for lunch today.  The couscous recipe was from my new cook book and the lemon aoli was from pinterest.  Fixed another couscous recipe tonight for dinner, it was actually a mish mash of two different recipes that had a Moroccan flavor.  I really like this pearl couscous, it is larger than the traditional couscous that comes to mind.  I am also using the whole wheat couscous trying to keep it healthy.  The pearl couscous is a larger kernel than traditional. 
Here is my mish mash recipe for Moroccan couscous:
1/4 cup olive oil
2tbs balsamic vinegar
2 cups pearl couscous
2 cloves minced garlic
2 small red peppers chopped
2 green onions chopped
Mozzarella cheese cubed
2 bay leaves
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup water


Boil 1 cup chicken broth, 1 cup water and a splash of olive oil and 2 bay leaves,  after boil add couscous remove from heat and  cover for 15 minutes, 
mix together:  vinegar, oil, garlic and pour over couscous then add onion and pepper and cheese and toss and refrigerate.
I used Mozzarella instead of Feta. I do not particularly care for Feta cheese and I did not have any on hand. 
 Here is a picture of my lunch today with my Salmon and the other couscous from last night:

It was just as good as it was last night.  

I also made pumpkin muffins tonight, they were a little bland, I think it could use a little more spice maybe.  I am freezing some of them since I am the only one that will eat them.  Stay tuned for more recipe updates as I continue the "Real Food" adventure.                                                                                                                                                   

Another New Cook Book. . .. .

A friend of mine at work shared a cook book with me that she had recently purchased, 100 days of Real Food, by Lisa Leake.  I skimmed through it one night at work in between phone calls and I was intrigued.  You know I am always interested in a good cook book, especially one that has quick simple recipes, the bonus here is that they are also better for you recipes.
When you are working and trying to take care of your family you look for quick ideas to help you along, this is one of those resources. **** Full disclosure I am not being paid for this post, you all should know by now I post what I believe in and share things that I find have value. *****
There are a couple folks at work that are trying to keep everyone motivated with little tasks and helpful hints.  One is walking laps at the office when we are not taking calls to keep our energy up and our metabolism too.  Another couple of gals have created this great board to help keep us motivated and entertained with shout outs to other employees and little funny memes about talking on the phone all the time.  It is a big stress reliever and morale booster in my opinion.
So, with all of that said, my friend at work shared her cook book and I of course loved it.  I bought one of them on Amazon and have been reading it. 
The premise behind the book is to eat real food and cut out all the processed stuff that is available at the store these days.  It also hits home the amount of sugar that we consume on a daily basis.  She even tells what you can get at the different stores that are good choices for eating "real food."  I am off today and had to run some errands and decided I would go by the Whole Foods and pick up a few things suggested in my new book.  I do not normally shop at Whole Foods but I wanted some things that the book suggested that only Whole Food carry.  I am notorious for buying things not on my list and today was no different, we are having Salmon for dinner tonight with fresh dill, lemon, and butter.  I fixed my lunch today with suggestions from the book:   scrambled eggs, avocado, on a small whole wheat pita.  It was very filling and very good. 
Stay tuned, this is going to be an adventure for this crew.  Trying to cut back on eating out, eating more "real food," and cutting back on the soda (me).  This is not about calories it is about "real food."

Missing my Kiddo. . .

I thought I had this being a mom of a college student all in hand, boy was I wrong.   I do not have anything together.  I have been blaming work for not sleeping well since I have been working more nights and the truth is it is plain old worry.  I guess being a mom the worry never stops, I will worry when they are 40.  Kids do not understand that until they are parents themselves.  LOL!!  I sure did not understand.  My sister was quick to point out the worry I must have caused our mom when I was in college, when I was crying on her shoulder last week.
I know the parenting job is suppose to prepare our kids not to need us but must they not need us so soon.  Mine has gone off, Mr. Independent, tooling around the big city like a pro.  He loves it, and is having the time of his life and the worst part for me is that he does not miss home at all.  I know, I know he is suppose to spread his wings and fly to new adventures, I just did not think he would be this good at it. 
I pray every night that he will be safe while he is out tooling around the city and I pray that he does not lose his focus.  Focus being school and studying hard and preparing for his future.  Lots of prayers for all the moms and dads of college students that have gone off to spread their wings to new adventures.  This parenting thing is so hard and painful. 

The Boy is in Boston. . .

Just got home from dropping my oldest at College.  Wheww!!  I must give the school credit, it went very smooth, they had student leaders and student athletes helping the freshman get their stuff moved in to the dorms.  That was a huge help, and they were very organized, the most organized move in process I have ever seen.  I vaguely remember my brother moving in and I do not remember my sister moving in except in her apartment.  I remember my move in and we did not have help of any kind except what came with me. 
Because the school is up North there is no AC only heat.  It was pretty hot moving and setting everything up even with the help.  We got him set up and he has two roommates in a  room built for two people and furniture for two people.  They had events planned throughout the day for everyone and we had planned to leave to come home that afternoon.  Needless to say we stayed and attended all of the events for the family.   I love that this college has a culinary school because the family dinner we had was amazing!!!  We were able to meet several of the boys on the lacrosse team and a couple of the soccer players that helped move us in.  Everyone was very nice and helpful, I feel at ease about my sweet Sprat being there.  I am going to miss him terribly though. 
I was a little worried at first but then he escorted us to the car and told us he had to go find the rest of the team.  I took that to mean, I am ok and ya'll can go now, and the hubbs and I reluctantly left our first born in the big city. 
I left him with the letters I had written him over the years about different things and how he was at certain times of his life. In those letters I also enclosed a little money, which he does not know about yet.  I do not know when he will read them or if he will read them, I hope that he keeps them because I wanted him to have something in my handwriting.  I have some old journals from my mothers father and I cherish them because I never knew him, he had passed away before I was born.  The journals are just about his daily activities but it mentions my mom a couple of times and her sisters and brothers and what they were doing at that time.  I hope that Sprat will keep my letters the same way. 
Here are a few pictures from the day:

Dad giving last minute advice, the building in the background is one of the education buildings.

The trunk covered in stickers to hold all of his extra gear. 

Facebook Help or Hindrance inOur Social Lives. . .

A dear friend of mine from high school teaches third grade right here in my backyard.  We had found each other on the almighty Facebook but we had not physically seen each other since high school graduation (I could tell you how long ago that was but I want bore you with dinosaur history)  That is sad. Facebook can connect us to people far and wide but we lose that physical connection to those closest to us.
My very sweet friend reached out via Facebook and asked her friends and family to adopt her third grade class and supply each child with a book and a note of encouragement for that first day of school and prayers throughout the year.   I was thrilled to sign up for that since bringing snacks and surprises for the kids is frowned upon for the Sophomore year of high school.
We decided to schedule a lunch date so that we could catch up and I could bring her some goodies for the class.  It was great to see my friend and find out how she wound up here and to tell her how I wound up here, funny thing was, they were very similar love stories. 
We laughed and cried telling each other our terrific love stories.   We have vowed to keep in touch personally and not just with Facebook.
So back to my title of this post.  Is Facebook a help or a hindrance?  I think it is a hindrance, we like a post and comment here and there and you think you are keeping up with your relationship with that friend.  I think Facebook is driving a wedge between friends and family with all of the political nonsense and all the hate that is publicized that before Facebook we would not have heard about.  I do not delete people for their posts but I might hide a post or two if it is offensive to me.  I have been deleted before and I am not really sure why this person deleted me, I am not political and I do not argue with anyone on Facebook because that is useless.  Arguing with someone on Facebook is like arguing with my Basil, there is no point.
So what do you think about Facebook, help or hindrance? 

Stay tuned, prepping this week for taking Sprat to school. . . .

Work and a Few Tidbits. . . Here and There. . .

I am not able to post a lot about my job because of privacy and things like that but today we had a staff meeting and they introduced a new out reach campaign to get people to sign up to be organ, eye, and tissue donors.   It is called "Be the Hero your Dog Sees."   We have a lot of animal lovers in our company and they decided what better way to reach out to the community, than with their animals.  Basically, if you have dogs you know that your dog thinks the sun rises and sets with their human.  So our campaign wants you to be a hero to everyone by signing up to be an organ, eye and tissue donor because your dog already thinks you are a hero.  If you are interested or would like more information about organ donation if you are in North Carolina go to Donate Life NC, if you are somewhere else you can go to Donate Life America.

#Betheheroyourdogsees

My job is not easy and many nights I cry on my drive home thinking about the sweet folks that gave so much of themselves for someone else.  I think about that year that my sweet hubby was laid off and how God had a plan for our family and more importantly he had a plan for me.  I do love my job and I am very thankful for the opportunity I have been given to make a difference and to be a hero my dog sees. 

College Prep continues. . .

Sorry for the gap in posts; work has been busy and so has getting Sprat ready to go off to College.  I had no idea there was so much paperwork involved in this college thing.  I do not think there was this much paperwork in buying our first house and signing for our first mortgage.  Every day there is a new email with more things to do and sign that we have read. 
I must admit, I have felt a little overwhelmed these last few weeks trying to prepare for this send off.  I am so afraid I am going to forget something that he might need for school and there is just not a Walmart or even a drug store on every corner in Boston. 
In the midst of all of my own worry and fretting my very sweet Sprat brought me this book this morning.  It is a photo album that he and one of his girl friends put together for me.  It is some of his baby pictures and it is the sweetest, thoughtful gesture I think he has ever made.  I was blown away.   Big ugly tears today as I think about him leaving home for the Big City.  Today, I feel like I may have done some things right, today I feel very blessed and a little sad that I did a good job raising this one.  He is going to go off on his own and make his own way in this big old world. 
You know we talk about this when they are young, but I am here to tell you that nothing has prepared me for this.  You want them to go off and be successful but nothing prepares you on how to deal with them being so good at this going off part.  My heart is full of love, pride, and sadness today as I think I only have four weeks left with this very sweet kid that I have spent the last eighteen years preparing for this very thing.
Stay tuned for the drama to come . . . .

Time Capsule Opening. . . Drum Roll ^*^*^*^*^*^*

I told you we had a lot of celebrating to do for this Grad.  We celebrated yesterday to my Mom's and Sprat opened his time capsule that we sealed on his first birthday.  Lots of treasures were  found some worth a little dough and some just  very sentimental.  I think Sprat got a kick out of opening it and seeing everything we had put in it.  I know we all had fun watching him.  There were pieces of history enclosed with lots of pictures.  He had a C3PO pez dispenser still in its original packaging, pictures of the hubbs Dad from his service years and patches from his time on the police force.  Mint uncirculated coins from his year of birth, some Joe Camel advertisements from relatives that worked at RJR,  metal toy tractor from my hubbys youth, the cork from our bottle of Champagne from our "romantic" meal we had in the hospital right after we had Sprat, and all the cards from his first birthday and his infant Baptism.  So many memories. . .

Poppy enjoying the cake and festivities . . 

Getting ready to open the time capsule. . . 

Taking in all of the fun. . . 

I do not give a lot of parenting advice but this is and was a very cool idea and I am so glad we did it.  I highly recommend doing one for your little one if you have one.   Stay tuned, we have one more party before Sprat goes off to school. . . 

Lake Pictures . . . More Celebration. . .

Continued from my last post and our Lake celebration of Sprats graduation: 

The hubbs had to get in on the act. 

Big T making a birds nest in his line. . .

Fishing was a little slow but to my crew any day fishing is a good Day!!

Stay tuned more celebratory pics to come. . . 

Random Pictures. . . Lots of Celebration. . . .

They honored our Seniors at Church, we celebrated with the hubbs family, and there are plans to celebrate with my family and to celebrate with friends soon too.  Sprat has been playing HOT Lax these last few weeks and this weekend he played against college teams in a pick up tournament.  He is running daily to get in condition to go to Boston and play. 

Church Recognition 

3 back to back Lax against college teams and a quick lunch at the lake.

Celebratory lunch after Church with milkshakes 

This is my handy work, you cannot tell since my picture is so bad but...

it is a shadow box with Sprats letter and tassel.  Neither of my boys wanted Letter jackets so here is my answer to that.  It really is very neat, I still have to add his pins for Lacrosse from Jr and Sr year and I think he has at least one more star.  The shadow box I found at AC Moore and it has hinges so you can add to it through the years.  You can hang it or you can stand it up on a shelf. 

I am the Slacker Mom. . . But, I do Love my Kids. . .

I am a slacker mom, I have one good picture of Sprat in his cap and gown and not one good one of he and I together.  I must say, I am a little jealous when I see these moms with these great pictures of their boys and their tux at prom and their cap and gown at graduation.  I am just never able to capture those moments, I have other moments but never these perfect moments.
I have this one halfway decent picture of Sprat:

As you can tell, this was a quick snap as he was coming off the stage after receiving his diploma.  He hates having his picture made and that does not help when trying to capture these precious moments. When he was little I could hold him hostage and snap away but, now that he is grown up he is harder to hold on to to grab those special moments.

This is one of my favorites, I love those chubby little cheeks and that smile is contagious.  He has always had such a great smile and was always such a happy little fella. Not many things upset him.

I challenge you to look at these pictures without smiling.  He is just so darn cute!!

So many adventures ahead for this guy, I cannot wait to see what happens.  Stay tuned as Boston is getting closer and closer.  Who knew there was so much paperwork involved in going to College?  I do not remember this much.

Look Out Boston... Here Comes Sprat. . .

Road trip!!!!  We got the package and it is a full academic scholarship and we met with the lacrosse coach this week.
We always talk about how we want our kids to grow and go out in the world and do great things, I just never thought my sweet baby would go 13 hours away to start.
We met the coach on Friday for a tour and to see if this was going to be a good fit for Sprat. The school is small but it is only a short distance from Fenway Park.  I like the coach and his philosophy on things.  This coach is very smart. He took us on a tour of the school then showed us how easy it is to get into the city from school.  We took the subway into the city, three short stops, to the Bleacher Bar in the outfield of Fenway Park. We ate lunch and talked at length about how the coach saw Sprat impacting his program.  After lunch we took the subway by some of the local college hangouts for this college as well as Boston College.  The dorm rooms are pretty big for a dorm room and this college has a culinary school, so many times the culinary students are cooking in the school cafeteria.  No cars on campus, the blackberry stays at home.  All of his Lax gear is provided except for his stick and cleats. Since this is their inaugural Lax program these boys get to help design their uniforms. 
Sprat ' s only concern was the fact that we are 13+ hours away.  On a positive note they do live stream the games, so I will not miss them.  The coach also pointed out Sprat would have 19 new brothers, some coming much farther away than Sprat.
I have been praying about all of this and praying that God's hand will be in this decision that he makes.  It is a very exciting time to see your kid be excited about his future.

I am not sure I am ready for all of this.  A whole lot of changes working in our family right now.

Lax practice fields 

Campus

St Lucia, West Indies Winners Trip

We got delayed in Miami, we will catch a ride home tomorrow morning.  We slept in the airport, not the brightest idea for someone with a bad back. We got home this morning around 1000.
My hubby, after being laid off two years ago and re hired, came in top 14 in sales and won this amazing trip.  We were off to St Lucia, just me and the hubbs. We stayed at the Sugar Beach resort that rests between two volcanos called the Pitons.  We had the most amazing time and I was pampered in ways I could not have begun to imagine.  We resided in a true paradise for a few days and experienced breathtaking views at every turn. We were immersed in the West Indies culture.  This is an experience I will treasure forever.
The hubbs company truly went all out for their top sales people. We received gifts daily, whether it was new Ray Bans or new flip flops or gift cards, there was always something.  We enjoyed excursions:  deep sea fishing, snorkeling,  or the spa.  We had lavish dinner receptions and all day cocktails provided beach and pool side.
On one of our boat tours around the island we got a little history lesson from two local fisherman. They shared the history of the island and some salacious tells of some Hollywood stories. Mat Damon reserved the entire resort for his family one time and even bought out the local fisherman for a week to keep the beach private.  They showed us the resort where several episodes of The Bachelor were filmed.  They also showed us a bat cave where thousands of fruit bats lived. According to our guides they use bat guano (poo) to make mascara. Our guides said, "you have to get shitty to get pretty."  Mick Jagger, Oprah Winfrey,  and George Forman also have homes in St Lucia.  That is all for the Hollywood news.
It is going to be very hard to go back to my regular life.  The hustle and bustle of taking care of two growing boys and holding down the house hold.  I will hold this last week in my mind forever.

Our morning view from our Villa

The Hubbs and I with a little smooch and the two Pitons in the background after our boat tour 

This is the Great House where we had breakfast 

Our dinner view from the beach bar. 

It Just Got Real!!!!

Things just got real!  We just celebrated Senior night for lacrosse, and I just realized I have a a senior.  Really???   Are we sure, because I really believe he is only a freshman, sophomore or maybe a junior.  He cannot really be a senior, can he?  I see a lot of ugly crying in my future, you know the kind I am talking about.  I am talking UGLY crying. 
We got the cap and gown, I sent the announcements and we are preparing for Summer orientation at my dear Sprats College of choice.  Now here comes the monkey wrench.  My son loves the game of lacrosse and I wish he had found it sooner.   He has spent last year and this year falling in love with this sport.  He eats, breathes, and lives for this sport and being the Mom that I am I tried to help him find a way to be able to play lacrosse in college.  His college of choice does not have a men's lacrosse team so, I created a profile  for my son on "berecruited " to see if any colleges would be interested.  To my surprise he has had a lot of interest and a couple that sent email and one that called.  The unfortunate part of this all is that the one that is most interested is located in Boston, we are in NC.  This school is small and does offer his program of choice which is unusual because not many schools do offer it. 
Sprat has applied to this school, he has talked with the coach and we will probably go for a visit sometime in the near future.  This school does not offer athletic scholarships but it does offer academic scholarships and we are waiting to hear about all of that.  When all of this came out about me setting up the "berecruited" profile for Sprat, Big T said, "Mom you have to set one up for me, I want to go to Maryland and play lacrosse."  And there ya go. . . Big T has been playing lacrosse for three years now and he also loves the sport as much as his big brother.  Whole lot of changes coming down the road for our house.  Stay tuned, oh and do not forget the UGLY crying too. . .

Weighing In. . .

I am fed up today with this liberal nonsense.  Everyone has an agenda, EVERYONE!!!  I really wish for once that "people" would actually take on a cause for the sake of the cause and not to push an agenda.  Our schools do have a real problem but it is not one that can be solved over night and it will not be solved by making more laws.
Let us look at what is a law these days, last time I checked it was illegal to take another persons life and yet this happens multiple times every day every where.  It is also illegal to drink alcohol and drive a car, yet  we hear more and more death by motor vehicle due to a drunk driver.  Drugs are also illegal and yet people are dying everyday due to overdose from illegal narcotics.  It is illegal for someone under the age of 16 to operate a motor vehicle and yet you hear about kids dying in car wrecks at the hand of a 15 and under driver.  It is illegal to drive in excessive speeds and yet there are multiple people doing it and wrecks caused by it and people dying because of it.  Oh, and let us not forget the  that schools are gun free zones!!!!  Laws are only as good as the people that follow them.
I believe our problem is not a gun problem but it is a heart problem and a respect problem.  The youth of today have 0 respect for their elders and no I am not 100 years old or even 80 years old.  I was raised to respect my elders (anyone that is older than yourself) regardless of who they are and I was most certainly brought up to respect the law and law enforcement officers.  I have also tried to raise my children to have this same respect.  Some days I feel like I have dropped the ball somewhere and then other days,  fewer days I see I have done a good job.  I get to see that my boys are truly growing into fine young men.
I have talked numerous times about everything that has been going on in the media with my boys, I use these as teaching moments and if all parents would use these as teaching moments what a much better place our world would be.  Let us no teach them if they do not get their way to stomp their feet and demand it be their way or else.  Let us teach our kids to put on their big boy or girl pants and suck it up and move on.  There are going to days even years that will not go your way, you must  rise above it all and do something about it, make a change but do not stomp your feet and protest/pitch a temper tantrum and demand to have "your way."!!
I talked with Big T about the "walk out" after school the other day and he said he did not do it.  He said that he and two of his friends sat in class alone with the teacher and did their work and talked about what was going on.  They talked about how there are better ways to make a change in this world.  He did not try and stop anyone from protesting but he did not see the point in it all.  This was his choice and I think it was a pretty good one.  Sprat does not go to the high school until later in the day so he was not on campus when all of this took place.  He would not have participated in this either.
Our schools say they have a 0 tolerance for bullies and I am sorry but this is laughable.  When Sprat was in middle school he was bullied and so was Big T and nothing was done to any of the kids that were taking part in this.  In fact Sprat was the one that was punished not the bully in his case.  In high school both of my kids have been bullied by teachers, coaches, and other so called adults that work at the high school.   Big T was at the high school waiting for Lacrosse practice just this week and had some woman demand he give her his lap top (school issued from his school not the school he plays Lacrosse for) and she argued with him for a good 10 minutes before she left him alone.  If our schools would take as much time and actually doing what they say they are going to do and follow through our schools would be much better off and so would our kids.  One of my friends daughters was bullied every day on the bus in middle school.  This little girl hit her and stole her lunch and any money she had, every day.  The schools answer was for the child being bullied was to have their parent bring her to school rather than ride the bus.  Nothing was done to the bully!!! This parent transferred her daughter to another school district.
Oh and you can see the respect aspect of all of this play out daily on the news with the so called news reporters that are so disrespectful to the President and his family.  I do not care if you like him or not that is irrelevant, he is the President for that fact alone he deserves respect. The position of President deserves respect, no matter who is at the helm.

Things are Changing. . .

We sold Big T's bunk beds and  went bed shopping for him yesterday.  The hubbs and I delivered the bunk beds on Saturday morning and Big T will be riding the sofa in the mean time.  We found a really nice bed with a dresser and mirror.  Sprat got a new bed when he moved into what use to be the playroom from this same place.  We also got our double recliner a couple years ago from them.  They have a wide variety of furniture for every room at reasonable prices. 
Now I have to clean Big T's room so that the new furniture can go in his room.  I hate cleaning!!   I have watched those remodel/un-clutter shows where they take everything out of the room on to the lawn and you have to justify everything that goes back in the house.  I wish I had the nerve to do that.  I think I could get better organized if I did. Right now, I just go through things a little bit at a time and find things the kids do not want or need or cannot wear and donate them or take them to someone that I know that has kids that fit that size or age.  I have two bags of clothes and two pairs of shoes to take to work for one of my co workers.  We are also getting rid of some toys the boys have out grown, that is hard.  They are ready to throw everything out and dear old mom over here has a sentimental attachment to everything.
Sprat and Big T were both into Thomas the tank engine and so we had all of the Thomas the tank stuff and I wanted to keep some of it for possible grand kids, much much later down the road.  They are great wooden trains and the tracks and the books. All of that takes up space and the hubbs and the kids would like to throw it all out and I just cannot bring myself to do that. 

Exciting News. . .

I received a text from my very sweet hubby yesterday telling me to pack my bags, we were going on a trip. He won this trip for his sales last year, after being laid off in 2016. This could not have come at a better time.  We will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary this year and what better way to celebrate than a free trip to an exotic locale.  We celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary in Vegas on "the company" and took the boys to Disney four years later again on "the company."  They did away with that particular award and now they only send the top 14 sales representatives on this trip and with spouses or significant others only.  It is unfortunate that the boys will not be able to go with us but it will be nice to get away with my hubbs by ourselves.  I am so excited and a little nervous.  The company is already talking another re alignment (in code means lay offs).  We are much more prepared for possible lay offs this time than we were in 2016. 
On the lacrosse front, the boys are in a wining season after three games they are 2 and 1.  It is very exciting to watch the boys on the same field working together.   They're game last night was really intense and very exciting.  I was on the edge of my seat, covered in blankets watching last night.  It was a big win and a close game. 
Stay tuned for LAX news, Prom news, exotic trip news, and last but not least college news. . .

Lacrosse Begins. . . LAX On. . .

This is going to be a very exciting season of lacrosse, my boys will be playing on the same team.  They have never played on the same team before for anything.   They are both D poles and are playing varsity lacrosse at their high school.  We had our first scrimmage Saturday, and bless Big T he did not  get to go.   Big T woke up sick late Thursday night and missed school on Friday and practice on Friday.  He was a little disheartened to miss the scrimmage but he still did not feel well.  As for Sprat he was wired and ready to go.  They played three games back to back and we had a little rain Saturday too.   They played well in the first game but by the third game they were pretty wiped out.   Sprat had a kid break his stick over his shoulder in that last game. 
I cannot wait to see my boys out on that field together racking heads and blocking shots.  Be ready for lots of pictures this lacrosse season.  Sprat's team is in white jerseys with black shorts.  Sprat is #26  in the first and second picture is clearing the ball to our attack players.  The third picture Sprat is getting ready to try and block a kids shot. As a D pole Sprat cannot cross the white line, unless an offensive player stays back.

Cannot wait to get some pictures with both boys on the field together.  Stay tuned. . .  this may turn into a photo blog for a short period of time.