Monday, Monday. . .

Went shopping with my niece this weekend.  I was showing her the neat places to shop for clothes.  We had a great day and shopped till we both dropped.  I told her mama she wore me out and she told her mama that I wore her out.  Ha ha ha ha!!!!  We are both like my mother and her grandmother, we go till we cannot go anymore. 

I remember marathon shopping trips with my mom.  We could go to the outlets and shop all day, I would be completely worn out but not mom, mom seemed to have endless energy.   We would always find the best bargains too.  I am still a bargain shopper but I tend to find my bargains online these days.  I also like travel bargains, I am looking for some of those this week.  I would like to take my kids somewhere neat and educational for a couple days since we did not get a beach trip worked in this year.  Football sort of starts to take over our lives this time of year but, I would not change that for anything, Sprat loves his football.   This is when I get creative on family fun.  Life would be so boring if everything worked out all of the time.    I am keeping my fingers crossed that we can work something out and, I will share our trip with you.  

One of Sprats friends called last night to go practice lacrosse since his friends' mom and I are friends too, we dropped the boys off to practice and we went for TCBY and a chat.  It is nice to have girlfriends to be able to just go for some yogurt and a chat from time to time.  The boys had a workout for sure, Sprat was soaked to the bone.  

The hubbs has some phone calls this week so everyone keep your fingers crossed and I will be posting updates on him as we find things out.

Teen Driver Interview for Insurance. . .

The Insurance agent interview went well and I am really glad that our agent required this.  I wish all agents would require it, it might change the way some of these kids act behind the wheel.  As a parent you can tell your child what a huge responsibility it is to drive a car and how important it is to pay attention at all times.   When another adult that is in authority talks to your kids about this "privilege" and, yes it is a privilege for a teen to be driving, if you let them think otherwise that is your first mistake.
 Our insurance agent is a retired city police officer and also a former military police officer and he takes his job of insuring young drivers very seriously, as he should.   He had a very frank talk with Sprat about the seriousness of being behind the wheel and communicating with his parents about where he is and following a curfew.  I hope that Sprat will take heed to what he heard yesterday and remember that every time he goes out the door and drives off that we will be in a panic until we know that he arrived at his destination.   He made Sprat set up a contact for him in his phone and told him if anything happens and he cannot get in touch with the hubbs or I he can call him.  That is true customer service and something that the hubbs and I value very much.  That is comforting to know that there will be someone out there that will be there for my kids if they ever need it.
If you sell auto insurance and you insure minors I hope that you will take some of what I have shared here and do the same with your clients, they will appreciate it.   This is our agents requirement before he will sign off so that the minor can go to the DMV and get their license.
I had heard from many of my friends that their insurance went up two thousand dollars or so and I was pleasantly surprised that ours only went up $800 a year by adding Sprat.   Our agent said that our company that we have our auto with was very good to minors and we have multiple policies with them so that helped too.  With everything going on with the hubbs and the job front I was so relieved to find out that it was not going to go up that much.  Whewwww!!!
Stay tuned for more on the job front, some new prospects showed up yesterday so we may have news there this week.

Next. . .

One down and three to go. . .  The hubbs received his first, thank you for applying but we have gone a different direction email yesterday.  He has three other jobs that he is in second and third interviews with so we are hopeful one of those will be the one.  He was not terribly upset over not getting this one because it would have required us to move to a different state.   The fact that he did not live in the center of the territory was the reason he did not get that job.  Personally, I think that is a dumb reason not to give someone a job.  If this person is the perfect candidate for the job and is willing to move if it works out why not put the best person for the job, in the job.  Instead they hire a less than qualified candidate just because they live in the optimal area.   That makes absolutely no sense what so ever to me, but what do I know I am just a mom/wife.
We still have three possibilities and who knows what tomorrow may bring.  We are hopeful that the job that is a perfect fit for him is still out there.  I have told him this is God's way of telling him to slow down and enjoy his family while he still has time.  While Sprat and I did the College tour the hubbs and Big T went fishing again.  They did catch some fish this time, Big T caught three and the hubbs caught one.   The hubbs said they had fun even though it was hot as blue blazes.  He has another fishing trip scheduled for tomorrow with his brother.
Today Sprat goes for his interview with our insurance agent.  Our insurance agent requires an interview with the student and the parents before he will sign off on an insurance policy for the student.  I do not think all agents do this but ours does.  He believes if he is going to give insurance to someone he should know them.  He knows the hubbs and I very well because he is a family friend and has been taking care of our insurance since we got married.  I actually think it is not a bad idea for the interview, this will help prepare Sprat for possible College interviews and certainly job interviews.

Update Tuesday. . .

Sprat came home from camp on Saturday and I spent most of the day airing out the funk.  Washed all grades of laundry and used almost an entire can of Lysol on what I could not put in the washer.  He had fun and I guess that is the important part.  He swears he took two showers a day but, I am not sure I believe all that.
We were treated to a great baseball game by my brother-in-law and his wife on Sunday after Church.  We had awesome seats and all you can eat food and ice cream and we were in the shade.  Shade was pretty important on Sunday.  We had several foul balls hit out way and scared the life out of me.  My head is a magnet for foul balls.  Every game we have ever been to, at least one if not more foul balls have almost hit me in the head.  My dear hubby has saved me on more that one occasion, by mere inches.   We had upper deck seats for this game and they also gave us wine and beer passes for the bar.  The hubbs and I rarely drink but when it is free and you have a driver we might indulge.  The over 21's got a different colored arm band for the bar.   The young man that was giving us our arm bands gave all of the adults a band without asking our age.  Big T of course he did not ask because he knew he was too young but, he asked Sprat if he was 21 and wanted an arm band.   Ughhhhh, Noooooo!!!   I guess because Sprat is tall he looks older than he is but he does not look 21, that of course is a Mom's opinion.   He is only sixteen.
Yesterday was College tour day for Sprat and I.  We took a road trip with a good friend and her son that is good friends with Sprat.   Our friend is interested in going to this College, Sprat not so much.  I wanted Sprat to see this campus because it is a larger campus than the one we went to earlier this year.  He needed to see that on some campuses that you cannot just walk out of your dorm and right into your classroom or be at your classroom with-in five minutes.   The food that this larger campus has to offer did intrigue him, they have really good places for the kids to eat on campus and they are covered by the meal plan.  It is a much larger city so there are more things to do around the campus and I did like that they offered a bus system for the students to get around and all they had to do was show their student ID.   Before the visit Sprat was sure he did not want to go to this particular College but after, he was not all that sure anymore.   That is the big reason we are going on all of these tours and visiting the different campuses because you just do not know until you see it for yourself.   I am amazed at the different perks that are offered to the students as well.  We had fun and it was really nice to be able to visit this College with friends.

Sprat listening intently at the College information session.

He really hates having his picture taken.

My very handsome boys at the game.

This was where the foul ball landed behind us.

By Monday it Will be Semi-Normal. . .

We pick Sprat up at camp tomorrow, I really have missed that bugger.  I hope that he has had fun at camp and did not get any migraines.  Big T's dream of being an only child will end and things will start to get back to normal at my house.  We do have a college tour planned for Monday so we will be busy then and I may not get to post so please stay tuned for college updates on Tuesday.
My hubby turned down his first job offer today.  It was sort of odd because they contacted him out of the blue and totally out of his field.  I think he felt pretty good being able to say, no thank you.
This is why if you are in the market for a new job you need to get it together and set up a Linked In profile.  The hubbs has had more interest from his Linked In profile than any where else.  The days of looking at the want ads in the newspaper are over, you have to be on the internet and networking to find that dream job.  It is all about who you know and who they know.  If you have been out of the job hunt game as long as my hubby has you will also likely need help setting up your resume and Linked In profile.   We did seek professional help to organize the hubbs resume, he had almost twenty-four years of statistics and accomplishments he had to get into a professional resume.  He has had many compliments from his former co-workers about how great his resume and profile look.  The majority of his contacts about jobs have come from recruiters and head hunters that have seen his resume on Linked In.  There are many professional companies that offer these services, I recommend you check them out if you are in need.  There is no shame in seeking help to get that resume together.

Funny How Things Happen. . .

My husband says I am sort of nesting, and no I am not pregnant, he says I am nesting because I have been cleaning.  I think part of me is just trying to stay busy so I am not dwelling on the job front and missing Sprat this week.  The hubbs is not complaining he was just making an observation.
This morning I decided I would start cleaning out the kitchen cabinets.  I threw so much junk away, I was amazed at how much has accumulated in the ten years we have been in this house.  I am not going minimalist yet, but I am getting rid of some junk.
The Hubbs and Big T took the boat out yesterday for a little fishing.  It was so hot, they had a few nibbles but no real takers.  Big T is enjoying being the only child this week, he loves fishing with his daddy.   Sprat likes fishing too but he likes to fish off the dock or pier rather than in the boat.  Me personally, I had rather deep sea fish, that is what I grew up doing.  I only started fresh water fishing when I met my hubby.
A little note on the job front.  Several more phone interviews for various positions, I am praying for God's hand to be in whatever offers come our way.   The majority of these opportunities will involve a move and we are all a little timid about that.  This may be what God has in mind for us though, so we are praying and keeping the faith.   The d365 devotion for yesterday, I feel, was written specifically for me.  It talked about planning and being in control and how God is really in control.  If I have learned one thing from my sweet hubby's displacement, it is that God is in control and we are living in faith that He will put us where He wants us to be.

Spring Cleaning and My Sanity. . .

While the hubbs was at his interview yesterday I decided to keep myself busy that I would do some Spring cleaning.   I started by cleaning up the kids school stuff, yes their school stuff was still laying in my living room.  I even had their stuff last year still in there.
I have a hope chest with two leather boxes on top of it and in my "ideal" mind their school papers would be in those boxes and periodically I would empty those boxes throughout the year.  Well, their boxes had not been emptied or even looked at in two years.  I spent the majority of my morning going through school papers and discarding what I did not want to keep.  I have a plastic box for each kid, for each year with their school things in them.  I have a great little storage area so I have lots of room to keep them.  Yes, I am a pack rat and I am a little ashamed to admit it but, I cannot help myself.  This is where my "ideal" little mind comes in to play again.  When the kids get ready to go off and start their own families I would like to go through their boxes and remember all the field days and special moments they each have had and then send them on their way with their boxes.  My reality may be ending up on an episode of Hoarding, surrounded by old magazines and plastic boxes full of memories.
I did get a lot of stuff organized and thrown away, yes, I did throw quite a bit of stuff away.   Next, I attacked my kitchen cabinets.  I have some crystal and silver on top of my cabinets as part of my decor.  I have not cleaned any of that in a while so they were pretty greasy from being in the kitchen.  I polished all of my silver and washed all of the crystal and everything looks really nice.  I feel like I have accomplished a little but, I have so much more to do.  I think today I will clean out my cabinets. I have so much junk and some of it really needs to go so that I can put away the things I really want and need to keep.  
As the hubbs starts his interview process my cleaning is going to be more intense.  I clean to keep my self distracted as long as I am distracted and busy I do not worry as much.

"Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age."  Matthew 28:20
My d365 devotion today.  He knows what I need and when I need it.
Stay tuned more on the job front, this interview went well and he is in the running and there are two other jobs that he will be interviewing for soon.