Drivers, Cars, Kids, School. . . Updates. . . .

Big T finally got his driver's license.   Between my schedule and his classes we had a hard time getting everything together.  He had his license for several days before he even wanted to drive anywhere.  He did talk to the school about his parking pass so, he will be able to drive to school and then ride the bus to his school and that will save us on gas.
I was chomping at the bit to get my license when I was sixteen but, neither of my boys have been very excited about it.  Big T did get his license before Sprat though, Sprat was seventeen before he got his license.  My kids are not the only ones that have not gotten their license as soon as they turned sixteen.  I have heard many of my friends  talk about their kids not getting their license right at sixteen either.
You all know Sprat took my little raspberry to Boston so, Big T will be getting Sprat's little blackberry to drive.  I took it and washed it and tried to clean it up a little before we headed out to the DMV.  I was a little embarrassed at how dirty the car was, it really needs a deep clean.  I may take it somewhere and have it detailed later.
Now that we have another driver, it seems we are getting closer to an empty nest.  The boys do not depend on us to take them here and there and they are becoming more and more independent, like young adults.  I am excited to think about an empty nest, the hubbs and I spending quality time together and traveling.  Planning the college tour to Florida and all of our little side trips we took sort of got me excited at the fact that we would be able to do this just the two of us if a few years. 
I really enjoyed our trip to St Lucia, WI that was also a little glimpse at what empty nesting might look like for us. I have always wanted to go to Italy and I would love to go back to Germany and Switzerland.  The hubbs is not that keen on traveling but I think I could talk him in to those trips.
Stay tuned as our College  tours are just beginning and Lax season is getting started.

School and Cars, Boys and Cars, Moms and Cars . . . .

First day of Junior year.   Yayyy, the hubbs and I had our traditional celebrate the kids going back to school date.   Big T drove to school, still trying to get his hours, with the hubbs.  I worked a half shift last night so they let me sleep in a little so no pictures of first day of school.   The hubbs and I had our traditional back to school breakfast out and  then we drove to pick up my new wheels.  Yep, Mama is getting her very own wheels. I have not had a car that was my very own since before we were married.  I have always had what would pull the boat and what would haul the kids and all their gear.  The hubbs always had a company car so what ever I drove had to cover everything else.  Now that Sprat is in college and I am not hauling everyone to baseball, football and everything in between I can try and find my very own car.  I am so excited.
I have been on a heated search for Sprat a car and have not found anything that fits my pocketbook or my specifications for my kiddo to have.  I did, however, find a neat little gem for myself.  It is more than I wanted to spend on Sprat but less than I had anticipated spending for me.   So, Sprat is getting my not so old car to take to school.   I am not very happy about that but I am pretty psyched about my little T Bird.
The hubbs and I are debt  free except the house and plan on staying that way so, my specs on cars had a whole lot to do with cost and mileage even for myself.  I have been pounding the internet looking for cars for Sprat and on one last ditch effort on tip from a friend I found my little T Bird.  I guess I am in my mid-life crisis.  Since I was a little girl, I have always secretly wanted a convertible and this little T Bird just fell in my lap. 
Sprat is over the moon about getting my car and Big T is happy to have Sprat's first car.  We just have to get Big T a license.  A few more hours to go on his supervised driving and he will be there. 
Stay tuned:  School, Cars, College, Boys, and girlfriends. . . . . . . . . .

Vehicles Fixed and Back Home. . . and More. .. .

Finally got our truck back that I wrecked hitting the deer on my birthday and got my beautiful earrings back after having the posts changed, and I had a few days off to recoup from a busy work week.  I love my earrings they are so pretty but I think my hubby cheated.  He gave them to me for my Birthday and then gave them to me fixed on Valentine's Day.  I think he might have pulled a fast one on me.  LOL!!  Nahh we do not go in for BIG expensive things for V day any more.  I think we have gown out of that and I am quite fine with that too.  The truck looks great, what I could see of it in the dark, our insurance paid for it since the deer was low on cash.  It ended up costing a lot more than anyone had anticipated, I tell you what when I wreck a vehicle it is done.   I was relieved that I did not get points on my insurance though, two wrecks in three months eeeeek!!!  I think my next vehicle should be a TANK, I was just about side swiped again on the way home from work last night. Speaking of getting a new car; Sprat is excited because Big T will be getting his license soon, we hope anyway, and he will be getting my car and Big T will get his car.  Now these will not be theirs to keep but to use while they are under our roof or at least till they are out of college.  It is what my folks did for me and I feel I should be able to do the same for my kids.  This way you know that they are in reliable and safe vehicles, I would shudder to think what they would drive if they had to pay for or pick it out.  I remember my first car was passed from my mom to my sister and then to me kinda like how the boys will be in a few short months.  I am not real happy about Sprat getting my car, my car is nice and I really like it but I guess this way I can get a new something maybe that Tank I was talking about earlier.
I have been looking at cars for a while trying to decide what I would want if I had MY choice.  I have never really had a choice.  When we bought the blackberry Sprats first care and the car Big T will inherit strictly on safety and gas mileage and we needed something quick, we bought it when gas was upwards of $4 per gal.  We parked our Expedition at that time and it was strictly for hauling stuff.  Sprat and I shared the blackberry until I got my job and need a car of my own, LOL!!  Again, I need something that was reliable and good on gas and we needed it fairly quickly so I did not get the car that I wanted, I got what was there.  I did get my color though, I got a reddish car.  I have since fallen in love with my car, it drives great and gets great gas mileage.  It has some perks that I did not get on the blackberry but purely by happenstance.  MY car this time will truly be MY car, nobody else will get this one so, I am going to pick out what I want.  I am not buying rushed or whatever they have on the lot which is what happened the last two times.  Do not get the wrong impression here, whatever I buy will be a good deal and it will just be and new to me.  I am way over the buying the brand new car thing.   I am really and truly going to get something for ME.  LOL!! 
Stay tuned, I have not started test driving yet, I have just been window/internet shopping so far.

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. . .

Driving with Teens. . .

Driver's education has started again at our house.  Big T is driving this week well, he is driving for the next four days.  I really think Sprat drove longer than four days when he did his driving.  Big T is so funny, he came home and was sharing his driving experience.  He said he hit a trash can with the side mirror when he was driving but, that the instructor did not have to grab the wheel or hit the OS (oh sh!!$) brake.  He said the little girl that was driving with them did get the wheel grabbed at least one time.  I worked on Sunday so the the hubbs took Big T to practice driving in the parking lot, just to get him warmed up. 
Remember we are on a roller coaster this year lots things happening, 2018 is going to be very exciting. The boys first lacrosse scrimmage is this weekend, it is going to be very exciting watching my boys play on the same team. 

Used Cars. . .

We have been looking for an inexpensive used car for me to drive when I start work, since Sprat is driving mine to school.  I have looked on every internet auto list there is, or at least it feels that way.   I found something interesting along my journey to a car.  Did you know that the car rental companies sell their cars for a really good price when they can no longer rent them out?  These are the Enterprise and Hertz rentals places.  On a whim last week I drove by one of their used car lots and walked around.  They have some really great deals and the real plus is that you can be pretty sure that these vehicles have been properly maintained with oil changes and tire rotation and things like that.  This would be the ideal place to look for your kid a vehicle when they get ready to drive.  If we did not already have something for Sprat to drive I would most definitely go here over a dealership.
I am taking the car I am looking at to my mechanic today for a once over and if it passes my guys inspection I will have another car.   I am sticking to Dave Ramsey's plan, we are paying cash for this car, I refuse to go into debt with our job situation and we had to have another car so I have a reliable means to get to  work.
I start work on Monday and I am really excited and really nervous.  I am going to have six weeks or so of training so my schedule will be all over the place.  I do not think this position will ever get monotonous and since I will be part time I will be able to still be around for my kiddos.
A lot of things going on at our house this week.  Stay tuned still waiting for feedback on a couple phone interviews for my dear sweet hubby.  I told him to keep the faith that God's plan may be to keep him home till we have made this transition of me going back to work.   It is all happening in His time not ours.

An Even Keel. . .

I am going to say this very quietly and please do not repeat it, I think everything is finally starting to fall into place.  Shhhh!  I do not want to jinx this.   The one thing that is looming on the horizon, other than my hubby and I not having jobs, is Sprat will go to get his drivers' license today.  I cannot believe I said that out loud, that may just counter act everything else.   Sprat will also turn seventeen this week, where has that time gone.  I am really starting to feel old.   Lord willing and the creek don't rise, I will have a teen driver in my house by noon.
Since we have only two cars and the hubbs and I both are going different directions these next few weeks, he may not get to drive by himself for awhile.  He will at least have his license so when our lives do settle back down he can drive.  He does not see this logic just yet, so he is pretty bummed that he will not get to drive immediately.
We will be cramming birthday celebration in between lots of Church activities this weekend.  If you see me I will be the one running around with my hair on fire.

Ready or Not, Here Comes Monday. . .

Sorry for the lapse in posts, it has been  a little hectic around here as I am sure it has been for all of you.  We are trying to get the boys ready for school.  Football is already going strong with two wins under their belt. 
We had meet the teacher for Big T and I have some reservations about his group this year.  I will be sending up prayers for everyone going back to school this year. 
I have big hopes for my boys and their future as I am sure all parents do. 
Picked up school supplies and some new shoes for the boys.  I used my "school" envelope money for school supplies and school fees so that these things did not derail our budget.  I used our "clothing" envelope money to pay for shoes so they did not derail our budget either.  If you are doing the envelope system and have children I recommend you add these two to your envelope categories. I use the school money for their lunches through the year and for field trips. 
I budget a certain amount for these envelopes through the year and I do not pause during the Summer. Using the school envelope is how I am able to cover school supplies with no problems.  I am still adding money but nothing is coming out for those three months, my school money is gaining momentum through the Summer.
I honestly do not know what I would do without my envelopes, especially in our current situation.
This week is going to be crazy; the kids start school, I have an interview,  and the hubbs continues to look for his new career.  Hold on to something it is going to get bumpy.   Oh, and did I forget to mention Sprat will be driving himself to school in a week. 

No pictures this morning, I will have to do day two of school pictures for the boys tomorrow.  The hubbs and I enjoyed our annual first day of school breakfast date too.  

Birthday week. . .

This week is Sprats' birthday and he is having a birthday week.  I was in college before I celebrated my birthday for a week.   Any who, we went to dinner on Monday so Sprat could have his favorite fish-n-chips and Tiramisu cake.   Yesterday he got to open one gift and had more cake.  He got socks.  Heeheeheehee  Thursday he will be starting again on the offensive line.  He will really celebrate this weekened when he gets his driving permit.  I will probably be locked in a paded room somewhere.  We will celebrate with family over the weekend.  Not sure I am going to be able to take all the cake that goes with all this celebrating.    So many great things happening in my sweet boys life.   Praying I can survive these teenage years.

Only Four Years to go. . .

My dear oldest starts high school in a few weeks and in four years will be headed to college.   Time has flown by,  it seems like yesterday I was preparing him for kindergarten.   This will probably be my theme this year.   I only have four more years and my baby will be gone to his next adventure. 
The boys have always had savings accounts, even as babies they had savings accounts.  Anytime they received money from relatives it went to their savings.  I always joked that grandma and grandpa had to pay to see their grandbabies.  A dollar here and there along with spare change does add up.   Now that Sprat is approaching the driving age he will need a checking account.   That is next on our list for this year and again proves that he is growing up.  
Big T is also going to have big changes this year.  He starts middle school this year and this will be his last year for Saturday football.  It will also be his last year for his dad to coach him in football.  I think my dear hubby is taking that one hard.  He loves football  and has enjoyed working with the kids.  He also has enjoyed watching those young men that he coached when Sprat played, now playing at the high school level. 
The boys are each taking giant steps this year.  Stay tuned. . .

Less than four weeks. . .

In less than  four weeks my oldest will be getting his drivers permit.  Eeeeeek!  Am I old enough to have a child with his permit?  Sadly,  I am more than old enough.  I am old enough to have a freshman in high school too.  Ughh!
After driving will come dating, I guess.  Dating these days scares me.
I saw where a young girl posted rules for other young girls to follow in high school.  It was a great list of things to do  and not do.  It had some that could be relevant to both boys and girls.  One of them  said to stay vertical.   I totally agree with that for boys too.   The other one I liked was; selfies are for faces.   One that she did not mention was, to not put yourself in a compromising  position to begin with.  
I gave my boys a talk the other day about dating etiquette.   Here are my rules for my boys on  that: 
  Do not ever honk the horn  or text a young lady to let her know you are in her driveway.

  Always go to the door and knock  and then walk her to the car and open the door for her. 

  Always open doors for ladies.

  Never make out or get smoochy in public.   Nobody wants to see that.

  Always walk a young lady to the door a little kiss goodnight and wait until she goes in before  you leave the porch. 

These are just a few of the things we talked about.  I brought these up becasue I have seen this happen and it is very sad.  It is sad that a girl would let a boy treat her this way and it is sad that the girls parents would allow her to be treated that way. 
   This day and age of technology has moved dating along to a level that is not for the better.  Our kids are learning about sex very early and seeing sexual material before they are ready.  Girls are sending explicit texts and pictures of themselves to boys.  I am here to tell you that my boys will  not be associating or dating any girl that does that.  Young ladies should hold on to their modesty for as long as possible, once it is released onto the internet you cannot ever get it back. 
  Maybe that should be the class they teach in elementary school.  Instead of sex ed, internet ed, how once you take a picture and send it to someone that somone can send it to many others and so on.  
  I know I have babbled on but, I hope you got my point.  

Texting and driving? ? ? ?

So yesterday in all my running around I was almost hit four different times by four different people.  I was beginning to think I was driving with my cloaking device on.  It was like I was completely invisible to everyone around me.  I know my little blackberry is not as big and bold as good old Big Bertha was but good grief.   I watched two people that I know were texting while driving.  I  do not understand the arrogance of some people.  One young man was doing at least 70 down the highway texting or on his computer or something.  How can you think you have control over a vehicle going that fast and you are not paying attention.  I watched him as he flew by me and swerved to one side and then to the other too many times to count.  The bad thing was that there was a car that was riding his tail.  What was that car thinking?  If the guy in front wrecked he would surely take out everyone around him.   I watched one coming home after school, I am assuming it was a student, going down a very curvy road swerving all over the road.  I know how these kids are having wrecks, they are doing everything behind the wheel except paying attention to the driving.
After dropping my oldest off at school I was on the back roads going home and I had a van stuck up my rear end.  If I had to stop for anything they would have killed me.  He was so close that I could smell his breath.  I do not drive that slow, I usually do the speed limit or a little over.  I was getting ready to turn in to our development and this guy flew around me.  You have to slow down to turn into our development because of the angle of the turn.  If you don't you could either take out the person sitting waiting to turn onto the road or take out the brick marker for the development.
Where has our common courtesy gone?  Is everyone so consumed by themselves that they would rather push someone off the road and hurt them just to get on their way?   Are people really that hurried and that unconcerned with someone else's life?  I think this is what is wrong with our society as a whole today.  It is all about me, me, me and self, self, self, who cares about anyone else.  I think we have lost all respect for everything we used to hold dear.  Kids don't respect their parents, so why should they respect their teachers or any other adult for that matter.  This makes me sad.  If we don't start teaching the younger children about respecting their elders I dread to see what our Country will be like in the future.

to close for comfort. . .

I had my wake up call this morning.  While taking the kids to school this morning we were just about hit by an SUV.  I am thankful the Lord was with us and watching out for us because the person driving the other car was not even looking.  If we had been hit it would have hit the passenger side, where the kids were.  I am so thankful my little blackberry is short.  That and the Lord above is the only reason we were not hit.   This was a two way stop right of way issue.  Anyone out there a cop or have knowledge of the traffic law, I would love to hear your thoughts. 
I am still a little shaken.  I am worried about the kids too.  I asked them if they were ok and they said they were.   I know that sometimes things like this linger with kids and then sometimes they don't think a thing about it.    I am hoping these two don't think about it again.  I hate it when things like this happen, obviously it lingers with me and I will worry about this for months.   I worry about the fact that Jack will get his permit in 2 and a half years  and his license in 3years.  This is a bad intersection right above our house that my kids will pass through  many times a day once they have their license.   I know I am a worry wart.  That's my job, I'm  a Mom!

Learning to Drive

So, my sisters' youngest daughter  is learning to drive.  I got tickled at my sister the other day when she was talking about the girls driving and everything.   Her oldest is getting ready to go to college, in fact, she had an interview for a full scholarship to go to Campbell University on Saturday.  She has really good grades and has been involved in a lot of different school and community activities.   So back to driving, the youngest took drivers education and only had to drive three days.  Now, when I was learnig to drive we actually drove for a week and each kid got twenty to thirty minutes behind the wheel.   I personally believe that the kids need more than just three days behind the wheel before I have to let them drive me somewhere.   I know they get their permit and then they drive with their parents but like I said I want them to have more time behind the wheel with the instructor before they are driving me anywhere.  I am not ready.  Yeah, I have five more years before I have to really worry about it but, YIKES!!!! 
So the new saying for the kids learning to drive is;  keep it between the mustard and the mayo and stay out of the lettuce.  I know it is corny but I could not stop laughing when my sister was telling me about it.
Wait a minute,  five more years and Jack is driving.  Holy Cow!   And I know dating will come before actual driving too.  Oh, boy!