What Christmas looked like this year {2013}

I didn't take many pictures this Christmas and I'm regretting it

Our boys are growing up so fast 

Spencer opening his cell phone

Parker opening bb's

I LOVE the facial expressions

I was worried the boys had been snooping and knew what they were getting for Christmas

{I know that I snooped as a kids and totally regret it today}

After seeing them open gifts, I know they were surprised

This girl LOVED all the Christmas action

I'm pretty sure every child got a rubberband loom this year

 Our Christmas goodies

My Dad opened a gift from my niece Metadel

 I think we have an artist in the family

She made a canvas picture of my dad's Mustang convertible

All of our Christmas cards

Every year I buy the boys an ornament 

I give it to them the day we go pick out our tree

 This year Parker got a hamburger and Spencer got a hot dog

Mental note for next year: Charge the camera and take lots of pictures

Christmas 2013

Our Christmas 2013 schedule

Monday the 21st: Supper with my mom's side of the family
{delayed from Saturday the 19th due to bad whether}

Wednesday the 25th: Lunch at mom and dad's

Thursday the 26th: Appetizers with my mother in-law

Sunday the 29th: Celebrating all day at my mom and dad's with the whole family

I don't even know where to begin other than to say - we are BLESSED

We have everything we could possibly need

A WARM HOME, BEAUTIFUL FAMILY and JOBS

I saw this quote that I absolutely love on Pinterest last week:

I think as you grow older, your Christmas list becomes shorter

because the things you want can't be bought

On Christmas day, my best friend from high school lost her mom

Sara was at her mom's house and was trying to persuade her mom to go to the ER

Minutes later, she and her brother were performing CPR and she slipped away

My heart aches for her and her family
Christmas will never be the same for them

Making a Christmas list has become a struggle 

My lists over the years get more practical

{Crock pot, a rug for my very cold laundry room, sheets}

I would be content getting nothing, I have EVERYTHING I need

But I LOVE giving and watching people open gifts

The boys LOVED what they got and know they are truly blessed

Here's a list of just a few of the gifts they received:

Spencer :

                cell phone and camo case

     rubber band loom

fuzzy pj pants

             Under Armour clothes

    i-tunes gift card

                      Xploderz gun {from Santa}

Parker:

wii games

fuzzy pj pants

Under Armour clothes

i-tunes gift card

Xploderz gun {Santa}


We also gave them a certificate for Snow Star Ski Resort
{We're hoping to go next week}
and
a family pass for the Aquatic Center for the summer of 2014
{Chip and I are thrilled that we won't be setting up a  pool this summer}


We had a great Christmas and enjoyed spending time with family


We're Blessed!

Ba Humbug

I've been a bit ba humbug lately

I just can't seem to get in the Christmas spirit and I'm not sure why

Christmas is usually my favorite time of year but this year, I could take it or leave it

I'm trying to come up with reasons for my ba humbug mood:

We missed out on the Festival of Trees Parade

Spencer was at a youth conference, Parker had been sick and with temps in the teens we didn't brave it

We didn't go to the Holiday Stroll down town
 Iowa's bitter temps kept us home

Our Christmas tree experience was a flop

My Aunt's funeral was the day we go and Chip signed up for a bowling tournament that evening

We flew to Morning Sun and ended up with a tree that had already been cut

The kids were beyond mad that we didn't get to hunt for the perfect tree and cut down ourselves

And $57.00 for a tree- Yikes!

The boys Christmas programs were a bit ridiculous this year

Old ladies singing blue grass music in between the different grades

and 

why does the middle school insist on having the orchestra and choir concert together?

This made for some long drawn out concerts

I've let some family members get to me this holiday season

$700 car repairs the week before Christmas stink

 Christmas with my Mom's side of the family was postponed until Monday
due to the snow and freezing rain
It's still going to be before Christmas but I was ready to get together

This morning we woke up to 4-5 inches of snow
Church has been cancelled which means no Christmas program
I know our pastor/chief of police just wants everyone safe but it won't be the same after Christmas


I have 3 days to get myself in the mood
Here's to hoping some holiday tunes and baking will do the trick

a HAPPY BIRTHDAY at our house

We celebrated a BIRTHDAY last Wednesday

This kiddo is 9!

We celebrated with family last Saturday

Lasagna, italian bread and salad for supper

Cake and ice cream for dessert

I always let the boys pick the theme of their birthday party 

{This year Parker picked soccer}

and

I always let the boys pick 2 ice cream flavors to go with their cake

{Parker picked Snicker and Bordeaux Chocolate Cherry}

Let me say, I'm not a cherry lover but Oh My!

Parker was spoiled rotten

Just to list a few things he got-

A new soccer blanket made by cousin Katie

Alarm clock 

{He has got out of bed without me waking him every morning - This has been AMAZING}

Legos 

Under Armour shirt

Hawkeye hoodie

Gift cards

Money

A cubs hat

Bop It {Game}

Tuesday was his "real" birthday

We celebrated with a cupcake and candle for breakfast

He got an Amazon gift card and his room decked out in soccer decor from Mom and Dad

He took reindeer cupcakes for his birthday snack

{I didn't like the idea that they were holiday themed but I made what he wanted}

and we had a Christmas concert for Spencer that night

I still can't believe how fast 9 YEARS has gone!

Happy

Birthday

Buddy!

You are AMAZING and we can't imagine life without you

Aunt Ruby

My Great Aunt Ruby slipped gently into heaven yesterday

She was a beautiful lady with a heart of gold

Photo taken: October 31st, 2012

I'm so glad my boys got the chance to meet her

He's WIRED!

I think my title should read more like this

He's W$RED

$5,000 worth of metal will be in this boys mouth over the next 16-18 months

Ouch! 

Thank goodness for insurance and some MESSED UP teeth that qualified for some coverage

He was excited to pick out the colored bands

{green blue and yellow}

He's already decided he will get pink next October for breast cancer awareness

{We'll see once we get there}

He was pretty sore this morning when he got up 

I told him: With beauty comes pain

Winter's here and it brought it's usual

I started this post last Tuesday and I've been adding to it since

Winter came with a vengeance

It was 50 degrees over the weekend and now we have freezing temperatures and snow

Winter brought it's usual ick

and it didn't waste any time getting here this year

Our little guy has been handed his fair share of issues 

His ears have been a problem for most of his life

{2 sets of tubes and wax cleanings every 6 months- which is considered in-office surgery}

Our ENT has even commented on how odd {deep and narrow} his ear canals are

deep, narrow, waxy and fluid aren't a good combination

When the boy gets stuffy, we have issues

BIG ISSUES

It starts in the nose, then the ears and ends in the lungs

I struggle with where to take him when the cold sets in

ENT or regular physician?

His ENT can clean his ears out which helps the fluid flow
but he never wants to treat kids for ear infection

and when it ends up in the lungs, he can't do much for him anyway

That's when we need to see his asthma doc or his physician

The ENT is only in town 1 day a week and his asthma doc is in Iowa City

What do we do?

It just so happened that Parker had ear pain last night {last Tuesday}and couldn't hear out of his ear

I called his ENT and made an appointment

I was sure we would end up making an appointment for him to be seen by his physician too

but I thought we should start at the core problem which is all the wax this boys ears produce

Thursday:
His ears have been cleaned and are still popping
 The doc had no answers

FRUSTRATING

I'm tired of paying an arm and a leg for insurance
Then we pay a co-pay and now co-insurance thanks to the change in our insurance
We got no where
So now we'll be paying another co-pay and co-insurance
so we can hopefully get this poor boy some relief

Friday:
Parker was seen this morning by his regular physician {who we LOVE}
I explained what we were dealing with
She took a look as did her nursing student
The diagnosis-
Flaming red, beefy ears and bronchitis
{His Dr. even let me look at his ears}

She prescribed Z-pack, Prednisone, Albuterol treatments, Cortisporine drops
added to his regular prescriptions of Zyrtec and Singular

The poor boy is a mess!

Now we have to decide if we want to keep the ENT or get a referral to a new one
that will hopefully do something for us


We go back to the physician tomorrow for an ear check
Hopefully he's on the mend


UPDATE:

We went back for his recheck and he STILL has ear infection

10 more days of antibiotics

The Wedding and a dance party

We've been waiting 8 long months for this day
 Saturday it was finally here

My cousin and her man got married
{They met online and they couldn't be a more perfect match}

They're a beautiful couple

Congratulations Gretchen and Mike!

They're wedding was adorable

Here are just a few of the decorations

The bride was so organized

{She should be a wedding coordinator}

She showed up at my house one night to work on decorations and pulled out her binder

Everything neatly organized and labeled

There wasn't a detail she missed

Look closely at the cake topper
While the idea is cuter than cute
Cardinals?!?!
Yes, Mike is a HUGE Cardinal fan and even received Cardinal cuff links from his bride
{We still LOVE Mike and will allow him to be part of the family}

While everyone was behind the scenes waiting for the wedding to start,
Mike said to his soon to be mother in-law - I don't think I can do this!
She gave him a look and he said - the vows
Watching him cry while saying his vows showed how truly in love he is with Gretchen
Mike quoted Dr. Seuss
 You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep
because reality is finally better than your dreams
{We've already made bets on how long it will be before your reading Dr. Seuss books to a little one}

The maid of honor and the best man gave the BEST toasts I've ever heard
Erica, Gretchen's twin sister knows Gretchen better than anyone and gave Mike 5 tips
Unfortunately, I can't remember all of them and the stories that went with them
but my cheeks hurt so bad from smiling because she  was right on

John, the best man expressed how happy he was that Mike found his true love
He and Mike used to email back and forth about sports and work
and Mike had dated but was losing faith that he would ever find that perfect girl
and one December night, John got a text and it said - She's amazing

The first dance was magical and their dance lessons were well worth it


And here are a few pictures from the reception
{Other wise known as the best dance party ever}

Congratulations again Gretchen and Mike!
Thank you for letting us be part of your special day!

November

Happy November

It truly don't seem possible that the holidays are right around the corner

As excited as I am for all the activities, I dread them at the same time

So I'm going to slow down, take it all in and be thankful

I worked my craftiness last weekend and I'm excited to see it come together
It's kind of hard to see with the maple tree and burning bushes in the back ground

I cut out leaves using my Cricut and bought some tiny clothes pins at Joann's

{Each night one of us will add something we're thankful for on a leaf}

When I explained what we were doing Spencer basically told me he thought it was dumb
{but using other words because we don't say that word at our house}
I think his response was: I'm not doing that
Parker's response to Spencer: Well that was rude!
I didn't give examples, I wanted them to really think about what they were thankful for
Parker started us off - He is thankful for soccer
Spencer's even coming around
look at this

 

It's hard to see it but it says:
I'm thankful for my nice brother
-Spencer


I'm looking forward to a few things this month:

My beautiful cousin is marrying her best friend this Saturday
Girls day out shopping trip with my friend Jill {We only see each other once a year}
Thanksgiving spent with family
and
Of course black Friday shopping with my mom

October {Photo Challenge}

In October, I challenged myself to take a photo a day

I'm just going to say: It was harder than I thought it would be

Life is busy!
Something else I learned: I should have a little camera that I carry in my purse all the time
I saw so many "picture perfect moments" and had no camera

I'm going to try harder next time
{Maybe December}

Halloween

 I can't say Halloween is one of my favorite holidays

I don't even remember liking it as a child

I hated those plastic masks
The nose holes either weren't in the right spot or they weren't big enough

and the elastic that went across the back of your head never stayed in place

The only other things I remember about Halloween as a child:
Those awful plastic costumes

We used to dress up and go see my Uncle Herb and Aunt Ruby out on the farm

and

when we trick or treated around the neighborhood, my dad would take us with his lantern

{This was a BIG deal - My dad didn't do much with us when we were growing up}

Now that I'm an adult, I like Halloween even less

I dislike the controversy over costumes {My kids always want the goriest mask}
I dislike rude people out on Halloween night {We're all out doing the same thing, why must they be rude}
I dislike my kids hyped up on sugar {Why can't people hand out pencils, glow sticks, books....}

But the kids love it
On Wednesday night as we were getting ready for bed, Parker kept saying I can't wait until tomorrow


This year we did things a little bit different

Every Halloween, we take the boys to see my Aunt Ruby at the nursing home
This year, her health is deteriorating and she doesn't know who we are
I want my boys to remember her as Aunt Ruby
I don't want her to feel anxious and upset because she doesn't know who we are
so I decided that we wouldn't visit her on Halloween this year
It breaks my heart but I think and hope we made the right decision


We trick or treated around my parents neighborhood
and made a few other pit stops at family and friends houses
The boys were spoiled as usual

I have to say..... I was very pleased with their choice of costumes this year

{Ed and Ethel}

Now we're coming down off the sugar crash

Parker caught the bug {the flu bug}

I was on my way home from work yesterday when an aid at the school called

She had Parker in the office and he was one sick little boy

He went down to the office in the morning and said he didn't feel good

They took his temp and sent him back to class

Fast forward an hour and the poor kiddo was puking on the floor and had a fever

I brought him home and got him comfy on the couch

The poor boy threw up every half hour for 8 and half hours

That's a whole lot of puking

{and this mama did a whole lot of hand washing}

He couldn't even keep water down 

which also meant that we couldn't keep meds in him to get the fever down

My heart ached

He didn't know what he wanted

He thought he wanted a drink but would soon want the bucket

He was hot and wanted an ice pack but all of a sudden he had the chills and wanted a warm bath

He was fidgety and couldn't get comfortable

At 10:30 he finally fell asleep but was pretty restless

I slept in the living room with him and heard him laughing at 3AM

My initial thought was - Oh my goodness, his fever is high and he's delusional

and then he started telling me about his dream

He even got up and imitated what the people in his dream were doing

Praise the Lord this boy was showing signs of improvement

He went back to bed and slept until 8:40

His cheeks are pink but the thermometer says 98.7

I don't wish this violent bug on anyone

Stay healthy my friends and wash those hands

FALLing into my flannel sheets

Fall is definitely here

We had a sick boy who stayed home from school on Monday

{sore throat and stuffy nose}

The furnace got turned on

{We prayed like crazy that it would work and will continue to work}

We sat at a very chilly soccer game Friday night
{And needed an inhaler- Boooo}

We went to the corn field maze and bought a pumpkin
{We love supporting small town businesses}

Made chili for supper
{Left over chili is perfect for lunch after church}

The hubby broke out leaf blower
{Our maple looks AMAZING but will soon be bare}
By the end of the weekend, I was ready for a warm bed so,

the flannel sheets got put on
{There's nothing better than sheets straight out of the dryer}

A few pictures from this week:

The cutest goalie ever
He scored 2 points for his team

Ready for the corn field maze

Our beautiful maple

I feel like we went from air conditioning to turning on the heat
What happened to my Fall cleaning {windows open} weather?
Tomorrow we're supposed to have highs in the 40's with possible snow

I'm glad we got some Fall fun in over the weekend

Guilt trip for the working mama

My boys are back in the mind set that they need their backs rubbed before falling asleep

{I'm not complaining, I know they'll grow up in the blink of eye and this is something I'll miss}

As I was rubbing Parker's back on Thursday night, he said:

Mom, your coming to the fall festival thing tomorrow right?

I get to throw pie in Mr. Castle's face!

GUILT TRIP

The wheels started turning

Normally I take Friday's off from clients but I had a FULL afternoon of hair cutting

I made mental notes to call each client in the morning to see if they could all move up a half hour

If there was "one" client who couldn't come early,

my little boys heart would be crushed

He desperately wanted me to see him throw that pie

It all worked out and I got to be there

Parker's 3rd grade class sold the most raffle tickets so they got to throw pie 

He had so much fun and I would have been so bummed if I had missed it

Fall Craftiness

The other night I was looking on Pinterest and told the hubby I was addicted

He said - Admitting you have a problem is the first step

{He thinks he's funny!}

The only problem I have with Pinterest is:

I see so many cute things but when I try to recreate them,

they don't turn out as cute and I'm left feeling totally disappointed

I've been working on a few things lately

I made a yarn wreath for a bridal shower and was asked to make one for a benefit

Here it is:

I'm not in love with it but from the sounds of it, there were several ladies fighting over it

And here's one of my more favorite Pinterest remakes

I saw one of these and decided it was a must for my secret sister at church

After I got it done {but before I added the K} I wanted to keep it for myself

I LOVE candy corn
The candy corn M&M's are out of this world delicious and my SIL was so kind to send me some
I'm pretty sure they were sent for the boys but in this family - We Share!


I'm home with a sick boy today
so I'll be doing some more pinning on Pinterest in between administering meds

Keeping up

We're keeping up but some days I feel like we're barely hanging on

These last couple of weeks have been anything but easy

I'm worked to death and totally exhausted

Last night I went to a craft night and just sat there in a a complete fog

I have so many things I'd like to do but I can't even think straight

This week my schedule looked something like this-

        7:45 Drop kids off at school

8:15-10:00 Job #1

10:20-12:00 Job #2

12:30-2:45 Job #1

3:00 Pick up kids

3:40-5:00 Job #2

Make super

On Mondays I teach at job #3 from 7:00-9:30

On Tuesday nights I work at job #1

On Wednesdays Spencer has youth group and the hubby bowls

Some days I wish I just worked a 9-5 job

Then I remind myself that I'm able to be with the boys all summer and we don't have to pay for day care

This to shall pass

So.... with everything going on, I am failing at my October photo challenge

We are 10 days in already and I'm 8 days behind

{Story of my life}

In the very few minutes I get to myself, I've been working my craftiness {or lack of}

I find all these adorable things on Pinterest and try to recreate them

 and then I'm totally disappointed with the outcome

but 

I'll share a few things with you later this week

I'm heading out to take some pictures on this beautiful fall morning

Dear October, You are one of my favorites {Photo challenge}

 October is one of my favorite months with December running close in second place

 It's hard to believe in 2 short months we will be in the full swing of holiday stuff

I'm taking on a challenge this month

I LOVE to take pictures {I'm no photographer by any means}

I just love to capture moments and since I love Fall, I thought it would be the perfect time

My challenge is going to be to take a picture a day of something Fall related

I'll be posting all the pictures in a collage when I'm done

I'm hoping this challenge makes me think outside the box and appreciate the goodness of Fall


Happy Fall Ya'll!

Funnies

Every now and then, one of the boys will say something that makes me crack up

It takes a lot to make me laugh
 The hubby says I have no sense of humor

I have to agree with him and wish I could take life a little less serious

 I've tried but it takes the right thing to make me laugh

I find things to be more funny when I'm extremely tired

Now for the funnies:

Earlier this week we had parent teacher conferences

While Spencer is doing great academically,

he has a problem that we know will be brought up at EVERY conference

He's too chatty!

We know this and every teacher he's had knows this

At conferences, his language art teacher said she was going to move him to the back of the class

because he keeps turning around during class

So... Last night at dinner 

Chip asked Spencer if his teacher moved him yet

Spencer said, not yet followed by....

I don't know why she has a problem with it, she says you should look at people when they're talking 

I couldn't help but laugh and told him I didn't think that's what she meant

Later while we were cleaning up the dishes, 

I was having a conversation with the hubby about needing to do something for me

{He bowls every week with his friends}

Spencer told me I should go play Bonko {he meant Bunko} because that's what Mrs. Welsh does

I laughed more tonight than I have in a long time

I love when kids say funny things but they're totally serious about it

Like the time Spencer was looking over his new middle school schedule
while we quizzed him on what class he has each period
What do you have 7th period?
Spencer: PE....... I've never had a period before
I couldn't help by laugh hysterically
He finally caught on and told us her learned about "periods" watching "the movie" in 5th grade


Laughter...
It's the best medicine

Proud Mama

It's hard to believe the kids have already been in school long enough to have conferences

We started out at Parker's school

His teacher {Mrs. Yahn} is AMAZING!

She's the most positive and encouraging person you'll ever meet

She has already picked up on Parker's strengths and weaknesses

She has seen his love for math and his hesitation with reading

I was glad to hear that he is working with Mrs. Goddard and Mrs. G for some extra help with reading

Mrs. Yahn truly believes that we just need to find a book series he loves

{I hated reading as a child so I'm thinking he just takes after me}

Anyway, Parker has all A's and is a joy to have in class

Things don't always come easy for Parker but with a lot of hard work, things are paying off

I'm so proud of him and his accomplishments

Middle school has given me my fair share of gray hair in the last 6 weeks

I've laid awake at night worrying about Spencer in middle school

My fear of him becoming lazy and slacking off just about puts me over the edge

Conferences in middle school are a lot different than elementary school,

the teachers set up desks in the gym and parents find the teachers they want to meet with

I'm so impressed with the group of 6th grade teachers

I'd heard other people comment about the "6th grade group" and I'm seeing it

Each one of them called Spencer by name when we went to conferences

{These teachers see approximately 200 students a day}

Each one of them shook our hands and asked if we had concerns

Each teacher showed us assignments or projects that he has done in class 

They explained their grading system and what they expect from the students

Spencer has an A in every class and a 4 in his language arts class

{Language arts is now graded using the SBG grading system}

Spencer has some fabulous teachers and if I had to pick out my favorite, I'm not sure I could
All of his teachers went on and on about how much they enjoy Spencer
and  wish they had more students like him

Again, I'm worrying for no reason

The boy blew my socks off and I'm so proud of him

I only have one complaint/concern

The school district will no longer be grading spelling tests

Parker's teacher is still testing the kids but the grades will not be added to the grade book

Nothing will change at our house, we will work them just as hard as we have been

I'm not sure what we did to get so lucky

We treated the boys to a new book of their choice at the schools book fair

"Those People"

If you're anything like me, you've heard yourself say :

I just want to be like "those people"

The people who have endless festivities all weekend

They have traveling soccer games

They go to the movies every weekend

They go out to eat 

They get mani's and pedi's with friends

They go to the apple orchard or pumpkin patch and spend money on over priced caramel apples

Please tell me I'm not the only one who says they want to be like "those people"

Do these people have a money tree growing in their backyard
Sometimes it seems like they have an endless supply of money
Are these the people that are also living pay check to paycheck?
If that's the case, I don't want to be like them

We try to do fun things on the weekend but everything is so darn expensive

Last weekend we invited my parents to go to Wilson's Apple Orchard with us
It was okay but totally over rated
It was Johnny Appleseed's birthday and the place was packed
We stood in line for a half hour to pay for our $10 bag of apples
{which I could have bought at Fareway for a fraction of the cost}
The hubby says we paid for the experience
Spencer got an attitude when I wouldn't spend $7.50 on 2 caramel apples


I want to be like those people who bought bags and bags of apples
and pies
and turnovers
and apple cider
and apple butter
 and apple cider donuts

But I just can't see spending that kind of money on those things


Our weekend fun consists of driving through the cemetery looking for deer and picking up buckeyes
Having a fire in the fire pit or a movie and popcorn at home


Almost 4 years ago when the hubby lost his job,
I never imagined 4 years later we would still be where we are now
Just getting by and always worrying about when we'll have to take out of savings

I'm tired of living like we are, yet we have what we need
In fact, we have a lot more than we need
We're blessed and I know it, I'm just never content
How do I become content?

I know that I could go get a full time jobs instead of the 3 part time jobs I work
BUT
I wouldn't be able to be home when the boys need me
I won't be able to help at school
and
we would have to pay for day care over the summer


I just want to be like "those people" that seem to have an endless supply of money to spend on fun

Full House

Full House was my favorite TV show when I was growing up

I didn't know they had reruns on until my kids were watching it one day

They love it as much as I did as a kid

I like that it's tasteful unlike a lot of the shows that are on these days

Last Friday the boys and I were watching an episode of Full House

I was sitting on the couch and the boys were on the love seat

It was the episode when Jessie is moving in with Becky because their getting married

Jessie has a suitcase and little Michelle wants to know where he's going

He tells her that their moving in with Becky

Michelle gets a suitcase and starts packing her stuff 

Uncle Jessie comes in her room and explains that he's the one moving

Michelle gets teary eyed and tells Jessie she's going to miss him

I looked over at Spencer and he had tears rolling down his cheeks

He looked at me and said : This show is pulling at my heart strings

I was in awe

Boys think they need to be tough and not show emotion

I'm glad he still has a tender heart

Pulls on you heart strings

Recap of last week

Last week was well......

I'm not sure where last week went

We had homecoming week festivities and the usual every day stuff
{you know work, work some more, a braces consult, bowling, youth group....}

This year homecoming week was Disney themed
{Probably a really cool idea if you're a girl}
The boys participated on Simba's mane day {Crazy hair day}

Other than that, they were not about to dress up like their favorite Disney character


We were a little worried about the weather for the homecoming parade on Thursday night
The news channels were calling for severe weather
{we had impeccable timing}
This picture was taken minutes after finishing the parade

We were mean parents and didn't take the boys to the game Friday night
They wouldn't have watched the game anyway


Friday was also Colorado's Fall Festival kick off
We watched Mr. Castle get a pie in the face and ride the 18" bike around the gym

We think things were crazy this week,
things are about to get out of this world crazy

Feeling accomplished

This week is going so much better than last week

I'm feeling accomplished:

I renewed my expired drivers license
 Bought groceries
The family ate better this week {No frozen pizzas}
I kept up on laundry
and
in general, I just feel like this week went well

We are still in the adjustment phase and probably will be for quite some time

but at the moment, I'm not feeling like a horrible wife and mom

A high five to my boys for staying home alone and showing responsibility
They are doing great, so yesterday I left them little love notes with a surprise
Spencer:  A Central Chargers shirt for homecoming this coming week
{Love note: Your hard work and dedication are paying off}
Parker:  A new pair of Adidas soccer shorts
{Love note: I can't wait to watch you play soccer on Saturday}
They may not appreciate it much now but I know they will later
It's the little things that show them we care

One of my goals this week was to figure out how Spencer is doing in middle school
We go through the same thing every day:
Do you have homework?
Spencer: Nope
What did you do at school today?
Spencer: Nothing
I was a little worried and wanted to nip things before it was to late
I haven't been able to get on powerschool to check his grades so I was left wondering

He came home this week and told us that he doesn't really care for Mrs. Sturms

Long story short, she's telling the kids that they need to type faster and use two hands

I told him what I tell the kids ALL the time - Try your best and have a good attitude
I was a little worried about his language arts grade after hearing he doesn't care for the teacher
I took that as - I'm struggling in class

Anyway, Spencer {Mr. techno savy} was able to get me on powerschool through his account

I was so happy to see all of those A+'s

We're still uncertain about this SBG grading system but he's doing fantastic

Parker came home yesterday with an A+ on his math test



We're feeling blessed this week
It was a good week!

Grandparents Day

My boys are beyond blessed when it comes to grandparents

I'm not just saying that because they're my parents

There is absolutely no word to describe them

My parents would do ANYTHING for their grandchildren

My Mom cried when I was in labor because she didn't want to see me in pain
When my children hurt, she hurts
She has rocked them when they are sick
She has put butterfly strips on ouchies
{because she doesn't want to see them get stitches}
She has given more hugs and kisses than could ever be counted
She still asks Spencer to sit on her lap
{And he does which is so adorable because he's almost as big as her}
She is their #1 fan when comes to sports
She is the Grandma that everyone deserves but not everyone gets to have

And then there's Grandpa

My Dad was at the hospital with us when both boys were born
He was so proud holding each of them for the first time
I still remember him telling us that we made beautiful babies
My Dad isn't one to tell you that he's proud of you but he'll tell the rest of the world
{There's probably not one person that my dad knows who hasn't heard about his grand kids}
Grandpa was the one that took the boys to the shooting range for the first time
He lets them drive the lawn mower around the yard for hours
He lets the boys shift the stick in his truck
He takes them for a drive past places and tells them stories about when he was a young boy
He buys them klondike bars and special treats


My parents are basically at the boys beckon call
If my mom stops by and the boys want to go with her, she takes them
She very rarely tells my children no

Years ago, Spencer started saying he had Grandma diabetes if he hadn't seen her in a while
He has learned that it works like a charm
Spencer will call her and say, I have grandma diabetes and she's picking them up in 20 minutes


I hope my boys know how lucky they are

Drained

I'm physically drained this week

We're trying to get the new schedule down and let me just say -

Everyone is handling the change much better than I am

Yesterday morning I broke down and called the hubby in tears

This week was just plain exhausting

It started on Sunday with a flat tire on the truck

The hubby waited until 4:45PM to ask if Blain's was still open

{Keep in mind the next day is Labor Day but we wait until quarter til 5:00 to call}

Long story short

When we hit things, we hit them good!

The tire needed replaced

On Labor Day we spent the afternoon cutting down a huge tree limb 

that was hanging over the neighbors yard
Lots of hard work and sweat
Thankfully there were no injuries with the chain saw

Tuesday I started my first full week at the new job

When I got home, I found a reminder note from the school telling me that Wednesday was picture day

What the heck

There wasn't even a picture form sent home, good thing I got a reminder

The sheep were sheared and the clothes got ironed

Wednesday morning I needed to go into school to get a picture form

I went in only to find out I didn't have any checks to pay for the pictures

I went back home for the checks and thought I would take my trusty old car for a spin 

She's like driving a little race car now that I'm use to my van which is like driving a hearse

I got to school, paid for the pictures

got back in the car to run some errands

put my foot on the brake 

and 

my foot went all the way to the floor

No Brakes!

While I should have been thankful that I wasn't going down a hill or that the kids were with me, 

I had steam coming out my ears

I took on this new job to try to get ahead and save money

and within a week we had 2 car issues

Instead of running errands, I spent the morning on the phone with the insurance company

Thankfully we have road side assistance so we didn't have to pay to have it towed

I also found out on Wednesday that we had over 100 kids sign up for gymnastics in 2 days
Muscatine Parks and Rec. has since opened 3 more classes on Tuesdays
We are up to 140 little gymnasts
I'm not sure how all of this is going to work with my boss being in Rochester for another 2 months
I'm just going to breathe

Thursday was another crazy day of working and trying to hold down the fort

I had a headache that no amount of Excedrin Migraine would get rid of
The bottle said to not exceed 2 pills in 24 hours - 6 Excedrin later, I was still miseraable

{After giving birth, I unknowingly traded in the cramps for killer headaches}

Friday I turned into an emotional mess

I called the car repair man to ask if he had a chance to look at the car

He told me that he'd just got it done

When I asked what the damage was, he told me that it was taken care of

I asked what he meant and he said, your dad told me to tell you that it was taken care of

I called the hubby sobbing

We had the money to pay for the car and I felt guilty that my dad paid to have it fixed

{HORMONES- Don't you love them}
I couldn't even go to see my dad to thank him because I was a blubbery mess

Between working 2 jobs
Making sure every one is dropped off and picked up where and  when they need to be
Making sure everyone is fed
Clothes are washed
The house is some what presentable
I felt like a complete failure as a mom and wife this week

It will get better

Thankfully it's the weekend and even though we have plans
I'm grateful to not be working the next 2 days

Starting school in the heat

           

We made it through the second full week of school and man was it hot

Thankfully our schools in town have air conditioning

There were several schools that let out early every day due to the heat and no air

How do kids concentrate when it's 104 degrees?

I saw on facebook that there were several discussions up for debate

about whether the kids should be practicing in the heat after school

I'm not sure how I feel about this so I'm glad my kiddos aren't playing any sports right now

Speaking of sports

Last week when I was looking at our calendar which is busting at the boxes,

I forgot that our little guy is doing FUNdamentals with the Muscatine Soccer Academy
He starts in 2 weeks and couldn't be more excited

We scored big this weekend with some great coupons

Blain's just remodeled and had a grand reopening sale

They sent out $10 coupons to use this weekend only

I also received a $10 off the purchase of $25 or more at Hibbet Sports

We purchased a soccer ball, shin guards, cleats and socks for less than $25
Signing him up is the expensive part but watching him play will make it all worth it

They boys are enjoying their 3 day weekend {Labor Day}

We'll be back in the books on Tuesday

Living the - What if's

My husband must tell me at least once a week that we can't live the what if's
I know I shouldn't live this way but it's so easy to try to guard ourselves

Should I go blow every penny we have in savings? What if I die tonight?

Should we go on a vacation next week that we really can't afford? What if we all die tomorrow?

Life is short and often times, it's over in the blink of an eye

Would we live differently if we knew we only had a month to live?
I know I would
Shouldn't we live every day like it's our last?

I tend to live the "what if" life

I've missed out on opportunities because I play the what if game

I try to protect my family instead of letting us live and learn

I came across a blog this week that put a week spot in my heart 

and gave me that anxious feeling of - What if

This young family has been through so much yet they are so strong
They look for the good in every situation and know that there's always something to be thankful for

Here's the blog if you would like to learn more about this AMAZING family

Zach is legally blind due to swelling of the optic nerves

After reading post after post from this beautiful family,
I can't help but think of my Spencer

At 9 we were told that he had large optic nerves
At this point they look healthy and symmetrical and his optometrist doesn't seem concerned
Spencer has regular eye exams and Dr. Kreuger is always so kind to look extra close at those nerves

Doctors don't know what caused Zach's optic nerves to swell
I commented on their blog and asked if Zach had any vision issues as a child
His wife responded and said the doctors never said anything about them looking abnormal


Would it do us any good to know whether this is something we would ever face
No it wouldn't
So why am I anxious and thinking - What if


I saw this Pinterest

"what" and "if" are two words as non-threatening as words can be
But put them together side by side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life
What if?