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. 

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.

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. 

Confession Time. . . .

Ok, so I am going to confess a few things today.  I have been excited about the possibility of going back to work but I have also been terrified.  This is a completely terrifying adventure, I have been out of the workforce raising my children for the past thirteen years.   Many things have changed since I worked and I am feeling a little overwhelmed.
I have always questioned if I have made the right decisions raising my children and I guess all parents have similar questions.  Should I stay home and raise my kids?  Can we afford for me to stay home with the kids?  These are all the questions my hubby and I asked before I decided to stay home. I do not regret my decision to stay home with my kids, I feel very blessed that I was able to stay home with the boys.  I went back to work too early after Sprat was born but he went to work with me.  He stayed with me for the first eight months of his life and then he went to an in home daycare.   There are little things I regret about sending Sprat to daycare, I regret that he had to go at only eight months old and that I missed out on some of his milestones.   Both the boys went to preschool and that I do not regret, it got them used to being around other kids and learning how to follow the rules.  I also believe my kids benefited from being around other adults and learning how to get along with different people.
With all of that out I will share my biggest fear.  What if I cannot cut it with this new job?  I am a little depressed because I am not at home as much with the boys.  I want to be a good example for the boys.  I want them to know that it is ok if when they get married their wife wants to stay home after they have kids or if she wants to go back to work after having kids.   It is a personal choice for each family and no two families are alike.  There is no one answer to fit everyone.
Stay tuned as we make this transition.