Mama Bear? ? ?

Does anyone else have the mama bear syndrome?  I think I am eat up with it.  If you don't know what I mean by mama bear then you don't  have kids or they are just babies.  That does not mean that you won't find your mama bear personality down the road.  Mama bear syndrome usually occurs when you as the mom see or feel that your child is either in danger or being grossly mistreated.   You feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up and you want to intercept what ever danger is headed toward your child.   Sometimes you just have a feeling when your child is not around that something is going to happen.  I have had that one a couple of times and have stopped what was about to happen once I got to where my child was.  Sometimes it is just the fact that they are getting ready to do something stupid like jump a bicycle over a drive way.  It seems simple but as soon as we left the kid jumped the drive way and didn't quite make it and broke his collar bone.  Sometimes you just have to trust your gut.  It is not always the popular decision according to your child.
Mama bear can come out in other ways too.   You know Sprat just got a cell phone and he is actually being very responsible with it.  It does not go up to his bedroom at night and yes I do check it each day to see what is on it.  Do not assume all kids are nice because they are not, some are just plain mean, deceitful, and conniving.  As a mama bear you must keep vigilant and watch over your kids and their friends or who they think their friends are.  Sprat has three close friends and of course they got his number right off the bat but now he is getting text from people he does not know.  I have warned him about giving his number out and that some people are not who they appear to be.  Facebook and texting allows too much anonymity if you ask me.  I told him he should be ware of people texting and not telling who they are.  I told him some boys may pretend they are girls and try to get him in trouble.  He, of course, blew me off and does not want to listen.   One tried to friend me on Facebook and I don't quite understand that one, and it was just a wee bit creepy.  They do not run in the same circles and up to this year they never even played the same sport.  You see why I am apprehensive of some of these kids he is in school with.  Some just want to know what everyone else is doing and it drives them crazy when they don't.
To all the mama bears and to the future mama bears stay strong and follow your gut.

My New Cover Picture. . .

This is a throw back picture to 2003 when my sweet Big T was just a Tiny T.   This was from his first beach trip.   Time goes by so fast, that was Big T's poem that he wrote that I posted yesterday.  It was part of his language arts homework.  I thought he did such a good job it warranted sharing with the blogosphere.

I started this blog to share the funny quirky  things that my kids said and did on a daily basis.  I love sharing things here, it is a means to get things off of my chest and, some days, brag just a little.
Motherhood is a crazy roller coaster, some days I feel so positive and excited about things I could burst, other days I feel like I could just explode at the drop of a hat.  I know we all go through this and it is supposed to be normal.  Huhhh!!!   Some man must have said that.  I guess it is important to remember that in life there are ups and downs and we hope that there will be more ups than downs.   I remember being frustrated with both boys trying to potty train and now that is such a distant memory.  I guess that is one more thing I should remember, the bad stuff fades away and all you remember are those blissful times when your little angel says, "mama" or "dada" or one of my favorites from Sprat, (while trying to put on his zip up hoodie) "mama, mama, I can't get my neighborhood on."   You just have to bust out laughing.  Or when Big T had been somewhere and I had not seen him in a day or two and I looked at him and told him, wow! you have a grown a foot.  Big T looks down at both legs and asks earnestly, where?
 We had difficulty getting pregnant with Sprat but things happen in God's time not ours.  Big T was a complete surprise and we could not have been happier.  We almost lost him at 25 weeks, when I went into preterm labor.  One of the scariest things I have endured as an adult.   Dear hubby was two hours away in a deer stand and I had Sprat age 3 and did not realize I was in labor.  We did make it to term, thank goodness.   Yes, I guess the good does out weigh the bad.  It is just sometimes so difficult when we are living the bad to think about that.
So if you are a mom or trying to be a mom focus on all those good things so that when those years have flown by that will be what you remember.

Where I am from. . . By Big T

I am from the old wooden rocking chair, from the smell of homemade cookies.
I am from the sweet smell of roses.
I am from the mint leaves and rosemary bushes.
I am from sitting at the warm fire on Christmas and looking at our Moravian M's on our hands, from Mom, Dad, and Sprat.
I am from family get togethers and family dining,  from live life to the fullest and say it don't spray it.
I am from the Chirstian songs at church.
I am from Thanksgiving turkey and gravey.
From the highway where I ran over a deer, and the pain of hitting my forehead on the carseat.
All the pictures of the family on the wall remind me where I am from.

By Big T

First day of High School and Middle School

Big T came in after school with the biggest smile on his face.  That says it all.  I have been so worried over him and his classes, who would be in his room etc. . .  He has a couple friends from elementary school and one from baseball and is making new friends fast.  His whole demeanor has changed from last year to this year.  So very thankful today!  I pray this is a sign, things are on the up swing. 
Now high school is another story.   My oldest is so closed lipped about things I never really know what is going on till I read it in the head lines.  Just kidding.   He is a good boy he just has more teenage attitude than the law should allow.  I have been reading my "Power of a Praying Parent" heavily these last few months.   This is just teenage boy stuff, I dread when girls come in to play.  
I hope I will find out more today.  It is hard I guess because he is at school till after 6pm everyday for football.  I only see him a few hours each day during the week. 
Covering them both in prayer.

First day of school

Well there is no more putting it off, I am a mother of a high school student.  Eeeek!!  I really should have thought about all this before we had Big T.  It is hard to have tow big years at once.  Sprat starting high school and Big T starting middle school.
Hubby took today off to help get everyone out the door and to start things off smoothly.  After dropping the boys off we went for a nice breakfast.  This has become our anual thing.  It is nice to sit down and talk and spend some quality time together.  We also went to the store to pick up extra school supplies for the boys and buy groceries for the week. 
Now we can relax a bit before it is time to pick the boys up and start any school work they may have. 
I know we will all need to be up sooner tomorrow, we barely made it to school this morning.  We will be tweeking our morning routine.  I hope everyone has a good day.

First JV football game

Lots of firsts yesterday.  Sprat had orientation for  his freshman year of high school,  Big T had his orientation for middle school, and we had our first JV football game.
Sprat, even though he is a freshman, did get to play last night in their first game.  We also chalked up our first win for the season.  Big T has a jamboree tomorrow with his football team.  I hope they are going to have enough kids to play this year. 
School starts Monday,  dear hubby is taking the day off so we can  have a date.   It will be very simple a nice breakfast and then grocery shopping.   I know it is not romantic but, hubby and I celebrated 21 years this year and we don't have to have elaborate expensive dates.  Simple things and just time together is all we need. 
We have been doing our little date on the first day of school for a couple of years now and we celebrate and commiserate about our babies growing up.

First day of class. . .

I started my classes today.  An advanced software support and criminal law.   It is going to be an interesting semester, especially if you throw in the kids and my dear hubby.
I have had to fill out all these introductions for my classes so everyone knows who I am.   One of the  things you are supposed to tell is what year  you are going to graduate.  That is a hard one for me.  I am not sure when that will be.  I am going slow and taking only two classes a semester.  That is all I can do comfortably and still be there for my boys.  My goal is to graduate around the time they are done so that I can get a job to help cover their college expenses.   I am also paying cash for my tuition and that is tricky with our already stretched budget.  I am determined though, not to get into debt with school.  I don't want my kids to go into debt for school either.