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. 

A New Cookbook for this Pampered Mom. . .

I have watched the movie Julie & Julia several times over the last so many months, and I love it.  No, I am not going to start a cooking blog or cook through any cookbook but, I must confess I did purchase Mastering the Art of French Cooking.   There is a great deal of good tips and tricks in this cookbook and I love this book.  I did make Julia's Boeuf Bourguignon last night.  I would say  I am an average cook, not the best but certainly not the worst.   It took me three hours to prepare this dish and then it cooks for 2 1/2 hours before serving.  We ate dinner at eight o'clock last night.  When the hubbs came home I told him what I was fixing, he was intrigued but not impressed.  He has gotten use to me trying new odd recipes.  I told him that I hoped it was really good and that everyone enjoyed it because I would probably not be making this one again.  The boeuf was really good and yes, I may have to eat my words and make it again.  If I do make it again I will start preparation at noon. Big T even like it and when I try my "new" recipes the hubbs and I are usually the only ones that enjoy them.
There are a couple other recipes that I want to try in my new cookbook, if they turn out I may share them with you.  I have always loved a cheese souffle and I did find an intriguing recipe in my new book.  I have made souffle's before so this one will not be a daunting as the boeuf was.  I may take a stab at pie crust again, I have yet to master that one and maybe with Julia's help I will.

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. 

The Year of Adventure. . .2018

As we are approaching the end of another school year and one that will end with Sprat going off to College, this is a BIG end and a BIG start.   Very nervous as everything is changing and the new territory we prepare to dive in.  The hubbs and Sprat were invited to visit his college of choice and to visit the business school since that is his curricula of choice at this time.   They got a tour of the business school and dinner then off to a basketball game.  They got to sit in  the Presidents' box and visit with both the President of the College and the President of the school of business.  Fun fact the President of the school of business use to be the President of the school of business at my hubbs Alma Mater.   I am very excited that Sprat will be attending my Alma Mater, it does a mamas' heart good for her baby to follow in her footsteps.  It does not hurt that the University is a pretty good school too. 
Big T will be finishing his first year of High School in a few months and boy has he done a lot in this first year.  He has grown so much as a student and has had some interesting opportunities at his school.  I cannot remember if I mentioned this or not so I will mention it again anyway.  At Big T's school they are encouraged to choose a pathway, Big T has chosen emergency medicine as his pathway.  In this program he could go on to be a nurse, physical therapist, EMT, or an OR technician.  He is interested in either the nurse or OR technician right now.   Yes, this is the kid that is terrified of needles and I did point out all the needle things that are involved in each of these careers.  He tells me that needles only bother him if there are intended for him.  Got love this kid. 
Stay tuned, as you can tell 2018 is going to be one crazy ride. . . .