Seventeen and Eighteen

Krista and Shane turned 17 and 18 respectively last week.

I'm not sure when these kids got so big but I blinked and this is what I found.  Two wonderful, smart, funny kids who are practically adults. I couldn't ask for more from these two.

This past weekend all three kids went to Indianapolis for the band semi-state competition.  They missed going to state by 1.8 points and were so disappointed.  I hated to see the season end.  This is the only time since they all reached high school that they were all involved in the same thing.  Since Shane attends a different high school than Krista and Ty, I thought it would never happen. This year the band had a wonderful show that had a lot of props involved.  As soon as they started recruiting help, Ty enlisted Shane and Krista so they all got to be on the field together.  

Shane and Krista weren't only prop help, but characters in the show as well.  Here they are in uniform/costume before their performance Saturday.  I am very proud of the hard work these three put into the show this season and am sad to see it end!

I Don't Even Know Where to Start

I logged into my blog tonight and realized that I haven't posted in 2 1/2 years.  Not that I haven't tried.  I have started a few different posts that never materialized into anything that I could push publish on.  So I delete them and come back again.

Life is life.  It's up and down.  Hectic.  Unpredictable.  Hard. And all of those things make time scarce.  When we moved to Indiana, we downsized considerably.  We got rid of our couch because it had a broken board in it and felt like you were falling through it instead of sitting on it.  We got rid of our computer desk that was falling apart.  Because of this, our computer was literally set up in our living room with the tower sitting on the floor and the monitor sitting on top of it with the keyboard in your lap and the mouse on the arm of the rocking chair.

A pain in the butt.

We don't have a laptop and it's very hard to "text" a blog post from my phone or tablet.  A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I needed to move the computer to the table we have in the dining room that we NEVER use.  I have always hesitated because it's not a dining table but an air hockey table and I knew the minute I moved the computer the kids would holler they wanted to play air hockey.

They haven't.  Knock on wood.  As a matter of fact, they have used the computer more on the table because it is easier to use.  And I was hoping with it easier to get to, I would take the time to use it more, even though I spend all day long looking at a screen at work.

So here I am.  And a lot changes in two years.

Let's just say I don't miss high school drama.

Shane is almost 18, a senior in high school with his license, his own truck and a job.  He is involved with graphics communications and archery at school and love both.  He qualified for the state and national archery tournament last year.  He attended a graphics communication competition in North Carolina last year and his teacher has already tapped him and the girl who went with them to attend again this year.  He's applying for scholarships and I have a meeting tomorrow night about college information.

Krista is almost 17, a junior with her driver's permit, her own car and a job. She is still involved with orchestra and has a long term boyfriend. She is already thinking about her senior year and is already receiving packets from colleges.

Ty is almost 15, a sophomore and jealous of the license/permit, cars and jobs.  He is very involved in marching band at the moment and still plays his violin.  He is also paying attention to his future and changed his schedule around this year to make his next two years a little easier on himself.

I am amazed at how big these kids have gotten (they are all 3 taller than I am).  I am proud of the young adults they are becoming.

So really all I can do at this point is sum up the last two years.  The kids have grown, achieved milestones, and are looking forward to moving out and up on their own two feet.  Chris and I are loving them, guiding them, trying to catch as much time with them as we can while wondering what's gonna happen when everyone moves on. We will graduate a kid each year for the next three years and send them out into the real world.

Does time really have to move so fast?

Time Marches On

And on.  And on.  And on.

I have neglected my blog.  And I am so sorry.

It seems no matter how hard I try, how many goals I set, how many routines I create, I just can't seem to find the time to do everything I want and need to do.  My book list?  On hold.  My tv shows that I couldn't live without? I haven't seen since the second weeks episode and some I didn't even get to finish from last season.

But life keeps moving and moving fast.  I have spent the entire day trying to remember to write January on my paperwork.  It's 2013.  My kids are growing up and maturing into young adults.  Weren't they just toddlers yesterday?

I am going to attempt to update to the best of my ability, but my memory isn't always the most reliable. We have officially moved to Indiana. The kids came up with Chris the end of May and I followed in August. I have found a job that I enjoy working for a local trucking company in their accounting department. The kids have been enrolled in new schools and seem to be adjusting well. Shane is now a freshman in high school and turned 15 this past October. He is officially killing me at 6'2" and still growing. Krista is an 8th grader and turned 14 in October, too. I believe she has finally almost finished at 5'5". Ty is a 7th grader and turned 12 in September. He is so close to 5' tall he can taste it.

We moved to Indiana when the terminal Chris worked at was shuttered and he was left to find a new job or relocated. So he relocated. Not too long ago, he got the opportunity to apply for one of the local plants here and was offered the job. We felt at the time that it was the best decision for our family. Turns out we couldn't have been more right. The yard that he transferred to in February has merged with another yard not an hour away.

He would've been without a job next week.

Words cannot say how lucky we are in that instance.

I lost my favorite uncle not long after moving up here. Our last banter was on my birthday when he had mom wish me a happy birthday and tell me that I'm getting old. So I had her relay that no matter how old I get, he will always be older than me. I never got his come back. Less than a month later he was gone.

We have been home three times since I came up in August. Leaving to come home has not gotten any easier.  Mom and Dad are still very upset when we leave, even though we are only 2 1/2 hours away. I'm hoping time can ease their pain.

My baby brother got married the week before Christmas. Oh. My. Gosh. I am very happy for him and his new wife. They have been together a while and very good for each other I think.

This post is much shorter than I wish it was considering I haven't been here the past few months. I do have a couple of other topics in mind but those are for another day. For now, I am going to enjoy the quiet and get ready for another work day.

Your Child

Hubs and I have a running thing about "your" child.  Usually "your" child shows up whenever one of them have done something they shouldn't have but occasionally it is a true example of the child we used to be.  I saw Hubs in Brady not too long ago. 

The kids have figured out that empty water bottles are excellent for shooting lids across a room, especially Brady.  He takes pride in stalling when he's told to throw them out to show me his excellent "shooting" skills.  This particular afternoon was no different.  He grabbed the bottle, loosened the cap, and paused.  You could see the gears turning in his mind.  He was thinking.  Hard.

Callie was sitting only four feet in front of him, a distance he knew he could easily make. 

You could see the horns growing out the top of his head.  You could see Hubs take form sitting there on the floor.

"Don't even think about it!" stopped him in his tracks.  Busted! The bottle quickly made its way to the trash.

As I told the story to Hubs that night, he didn't deny that child.  The same guilty, pleased grin crept across his face.  The apple certainly didn't fall far from the tree.

So Many Milestones!

When I went back to work, I never dreamed how hard it would be for me to get motivated to do even the smallest of tasks.  There are days that I am constantly on the go, doing laundry, running the kids, washing dishes, and still don't have enough hours in the day.  Then there are the days that I don't want to get out of the bed, don't want to go to work, don't want to do laundry or dishes and want to go to bed as soon as I can possibly get the kids in theirs.  I fluctuate between those extremes fairly often and it's such a disappointment, especially when I am ready for bed at 8pm.  It interferes with my me time!  Like for blogging!  And Words with Friends!  I have seriously cut back on my facebook time as of late simply because it doesn't interest me.  I may glance through it but after a couple of minutes I'm caught up and on to bigger and better things.  Usually sleep.
School is going well for the kids. Football season is over and Brady has now moved on to basketball.  He also turned 11 a few weeks back.  My baby is 11!!

When did this happen??  Wasn't he just a baby in my arms yesterday?  And I love the little bits that he has to share with me.  Like when he told me today he weighed 70 pounds without his head.  I prefer he weigh the full 80 pounds.  He decided a few weeks back that he also wanted to join band and play trumpet.  His closest friends have decided to join band and he wanted to be a part of that group too.  So a trumpet player he is trying to become. 

He came home from school one afternoon and informed me he wanted to be Johnny Appleseed for Halloween.  I didn't argue.  I think he made a fine choice. 

Belle has been doing well in school, is on the school news team and seems to have fun each day.  She tried out for basketball, made the 7th grade team and just this past week turned in her jerseys.  There are people who are made for coaching and people who aren't and her coach was not made for coaching in my opinion.  There is a difference between coaching and bullying and her coach crossed that line, again, in my opinion.  So she decided that it wasn't for her right now and I support her decision no matter how much it breaks our hearts (mine especially!).  She became a teenager a couple of weeks back. 

She was certainly ready for the challenge.  I think she's been ready to be a teenager since she was 8.  She informed me that she wanted me to make her a blanket and I have spent the last couple of days working on it. Yet another thing that has been keeping me busy. 

Bryce is doing well in school.  He will be attending All-District for band tomorrow and Quad State in a couple of weeks, huge accomplishments for this area.  He turned 14 the day after Belle turned 13.

He is shaving now.  I know. He was just a baby not too long ago.  I distinctly remember holding him and wondering how I was going to take care of him, he was so little.  Now he's over 5'9".  Not so little anymore. 

The new company Hubs is working for held a conference call for all of their drivers Thursday of last week.  A half hour later I received a tweet from the local news station that his employer was announcing the closing of the terminal he is working out of.  His new job, his dream job, is now on the line as they are closing the doors in the spring cutting 240 jobs.  Not all of the employees knew when the story broke nor had the drivers had time to tell the families.  That tweet was how I found out my husband was losing his job.  While there will be a handful of drivers in the area, the majority of them will have to relocate or find other jobs in an area where there are really no good jobs to be had. The possible few local jobs that will be left will be subject to a wage change and will not be paid as well.  We are seriously, seriously, seriously considering relocating.  So much so that we are both going through the motions to see what we need to do to be ready.  What does the house need done to sell?  Where are there jobs within his company that are available?  Making sure the areas we look at have good schools for the kids.  I hate the uncertainty.  I hate the idea of moving the kids from their schools but when it comes to being able to provide for their basic needs, there isn't much of a choice.  It was me who initially said maybe we should go somewhere else.  It is never me who says lets get out of this town. 

I think it's time for me to update my Words with Friends games, put my dogs out for one last time and get some sleep.  Oh to not be so tired!

I've Been Called Out!

A dear blogging friend called me out a couple of days ago on Facebook for not blogging as much. I admit I am guilty as charged. I haven't been blogging and I have no real excuse. Or I could make excuses all day long but it still wouldn't change the fact that I haven't blogged. And they are really thin excuses.

Work is busy. Spring and summer are always busy times during the pest control season what can I say. I am still clocking 45 hours most weeks and the weeks I'm not doctor appointments and such has taken the place of work hours. The kids are definitely keeping busy. Since the beginning of May we have sent them on school trips to Holiday World, strings camp, birthday parties, and softball practices and games. Bryce and Belle play on a youth level softball team while Brady plays on the younger youth team. Since Brady will be 11 in September, he also has the opportunity to play "up" on Bryce and Belle's team so he actually plays on two teams this summer.  He has been in for his 6th grade physical and his back to school night is next week. Bryce picks his schedule up next week for 8th grade. Belle registers for 7th grade August 1st. As if this isn't enough we have softball practices Wednesday evenings and just last week we found ourselves with four games in three days. Even with Hubs taking a local job, he is still up and gone by 3am so he is usually ready for bed if not in bed no later than 8pm so most of the running for the kids falls to me. I feel like I am constantly going somewhere.

Earlier in the spring, we took the kids for eye exams and new glasses.

I was afraid Brady would get his and decide he absolutely hated them because they are very blue. I was also afraid of the teasing he might endure because they are so blue. Fortunately all I have heard about is the compliments he's received on them and so far they have lasted longer than the last pair of glasses he had knock on wood. What you don't see in these pictures is that I have also been given glasses for the first time in my life. Turns out my time on my computer has been affecting my eyes and left me with blurry vision especially when working. I don't believe there are any pictures with my glasses as of yet and don't expect there to be any time soon. Darn!

I could probably tell you mounds of stories about the kids and their softball days. Belle is moving between 1st and 2nd bases and loves both positions. Bryce usually plays 3rd and loves it as well. Brady ends up playing catcher or in the outfield since he is smaller and not as experienced on the larger field. Brady was ecstatic last week to get a "home run" last week. Because of many errors made by the other team, he was able to run each base before they stopped trying to tag him out. He rounded the gate grinning ear to ear and bouncing. For the first time all season, he finally felt big enough to run with the other kids.

The cats are growing like weeds. They absolutely love open windows, paper wads and chasing each other up and down the hallway.



I don't have any updated pictures of the dogs as of yet. That will be on my list of things to do for my next blog.

Things around the house hasn't changed much either. We don't get to church as often as we should. I have been kicking myself lately for this but I can't seem to get motivated. I can sit here all week long and think that I really need to get to the next service but Sunday rolls around and. Nothing. Don't know what it is that is holding me back. And it is totally me. Hubs can get up on Sunday morning and ask me if we are going and my response? A shrug. I just don't know. Just something that is really heavy on my heart and mind as of late and something I just can't seem to remedy no matter how hard I try. Something I've been trying to work on and will continue to work on.

Now I must finish some work I brought home from the office. Janjanmom, I am expecting you to call me out again if I haven't blogged again soon!

Various

I need more time in the day I think (proof would be that I started this particular entry over a week ago). Or at least I need more energy. And a better memory. I have been meaning to update more from my time off and it seems time keeps getting away from me so here is a very, very quick rundown.

For Christmas, Hubs bought me this:

And I love it! My Christmas photos, the critter photos and any of the recent kids photos were taken with this camera. I just wish I had more time to play with it.  And that I could remember to take it on days I really intended on taking it!

For our anniversary/Christmas gift, he bought me this:

He knew that I had been looking for the last 5 years or so for the perfect (for me) set. While the ring he put on my finger 14 years ago will always be special to me, I wanted a set that I absolutely loved, one that I knew would be my final set. I found this one a little over a year ago and fell in love with it. I sat back and watch and waited, hoping that it would be brought out in a smaller version but it never was. He surprised me with it just before our anniversary. I was ecstatic. I've been wearing them 6 months now and they still catch me by surprise.

We have managed to cruise through the last couple of months fairly easily. Belle and Brady finished their basketball seasons. Unfortunately Belle didn't make the spring league for the middle school which was very disappointing. We have three weeks of school left and I will have two kids in junior high and one in sixth grade. Where does all this time go? And who decided it needed to move so fast? Bryce is 5'6" at 13 years old. Belle is 5'2" at 12. Both of them are now taller than I am. So. Un. Fair. 

May is determined to keep us busy. We have a strings pizza party for Belle and Brady for practicing, a strings party for Belle for graduating out of the elementary school strings program, a trip to Holiday World for all three kids (on the same day wooohoooo) for their end of the year celebration, and a strings camp for Belle and Brady, which Hubs has agreed to chaperone. 

I hate how much I haven't blogged over the last year. I feel like there is so much I'm going to forget by not writing it down and sharing. Hopefully that will change over the next few weeks, or at least that's my intention. Hopefully I will be back later this week with more pictures.

More Pictures

 Building a snowman

 Working hard

Gotta make a snowball

 Still working hard

 Finished product

With snow seats we had to build

Here it comes!

The snow was deeper than she was tall...I love those ears!

Gotta catch him

Still chasing

Getting closer

 Almost got him

Back to Belle

Deep in thought

Watching the work

The finished snowman

Wearing Bryce's boots because they were convenient....they were HUGE!

Still more pictures to come as time allows and hopefully a story or two...

Pictures As Promised

 10th birthday

 Spike

 12th birthday

 13th birthday

 First Christmas

 New hat

 Sleepy

 Bashful

 Christmas morning

 Christmas morning

 Christmas morning

 Christmas morning

 Christmas morning

 A lesson

 Morning nap

 Mandatory putting the toy together

 Trying to hide

Naptime

More to come...