Proud Mom

Not too long ago, Belle came in with paperwork that she wanted me to fill out.  She wasn't completely sure what it was, just knew that she had been nominated for something and that she wanted to be a part of it.  She had been "chosen" to join the Duke Talent Search program which would allow to her take the ACT any time between now and her sophomore year.  There was no way we were NOT going to allow her to do this and the fact she wanted to made it that much more important for us to sign her up.  She went last month and took the ACT for the first time at 13 years old.  By that point she was hesitant.  None of her friends were going to be there. It was being taken at the high school with the high school kids.  Because it was at the high school, I took her in, signed her in and walked her to her classroom.  When it was over, I was waiting in the parking lot for her and she was completely unsure of how she had done. Said there was so many questions that she had no idea about. Scores came in the mail last week and...
16!!

We are so very proud of her!

Winter Blues

It seems I get at least a touch of them every year and this year is no different.

And I hate it.

I crave sunlight and fresh air to clear my head.  To get outside and move around and not feel confined by the walls crowding in on me.  I know that if I am suffering from it that my family must be, too, but it's hard to remember that at 6am when the boys are arguing (again!!!) and Belle is arguing with every word I say.

Did you know the sky isn't blue?  If I say it is then it must not be true because according to Belle everything that I say is wrong.  Up is down and left is right and rightiswrongandohmygoshchildstop TALKING OVER ME AND LISTEN...

And then I feel bad, because it's not their fault. I know it is just the time of year and add a bit of hormones and a touch of uncertainty and I get this tangle of emotions that I struggle to control. Tears flow easily  for no reason at all it seems. Not only am I fighting every waking hour to keep control but my unconscious is fighting me, too. Dreams that linger long after I wake, tears flowing from the cruelty I inflict upon my self .  Then I put my mask on and go to work and hope it doesn't crack until I can get to bed again. Tomorrow's another day right?

Hurry, spring, hurry! My family needs you!

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.

New Year, New Ideas, New Post

I hate resolutions.  For some it is a yearly challenge to choose resolutions and stick with them as long as possible.  For me?  It is something for me to forget that I had meant to do after a couple of days.  So I don't even bother to make any.  However, that doesn't mean I don't have intentions during the year to change things in my life.  It does seem that I have a lot of those intentions at the beginning of the year.  Today is no different.  So to start the new year, I am going to attempt to start off on the right foot with a couple of different things.  I failed to start off eating better.  I've had more caffeine and sugar than I need.  I haven't exercised today so that knocks that out of the water, too.  And I have definitely lost my cool over a couple of minor things that I wish I hadn't have done.  But what's done is done and I have to learn from my mistakes.  I will blog, in the hopes that maybe by doing something I would like to improve on, that maybe, just maybe, something else will fall in line tomorrow.  We will see what happens.

Tomorrow I return to work after being off for the last week on vacation.

I. Really. Don't. Want. To. Go. Back.

Really.

Really.

Don't.

I spent the last week catching up on my laundry, spending time with my family at Christmas, un-decorating the tree, straightening up my laundry room, playing Band Hero with all three kids, playing Scrabble with Belle and Brady, working on a puzzle with Belle and Brady, taking the kids to the park (even though we left shortly after we got there because Brady wasn't feeling well), and I attempted to take them to the library but unfortunately for us, the day I took them, they were closed.  Oh well.  Next time.  I remember now what it's like being a stay at home mom.  To be able to do what I need to when I need to and spend some quality time with the kids.  I'm sure if I had taken my vacation on a week when the kids were in school, I would remember how bored I got because I can only do so much housework before I'm ready to stop.  Needless to say, I enjoyed my time off and am not ready to get back into the swing of working just yet.  Oh to have one more week!

Hubs and I are still weighing our options on his job situation.  We have been back and forth on the spectrum about moving and staying home.  Find a new job or transfer in the company.  Move the kids or let them finish school where they are.  So many decisions to make!  The kids are aware of the choices that we are facing and for now are excited at the prospect of moving.  Hubs, however, isn't so sure it is a good idea, having made the same move at the same age Bryce is now.  Difference is we have three kids who are ready to move on to bigger and better things and meet new people where Hubs didn't want to leave his friends and family.  Oh how things have changed!

I find it time for me to collect my things and get ready for bed.  Work is going to come really early in the morning as much as I hate to go back!  So a question for those who occasionally stop by...

Do you make resolutions?  What have you made?  Any recommendations on how to stick with the things I would like to improve?  I would love to hear from you!

Happy New Year to all my readers and may 2012 be a great year to you!

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!

OK So I Lied

I think one of the reasons I have really slowed down on my blogging is simply because I simply cannot get back into it no matter how hard I try. And I do try. I feel as though I write and there is no one out there to hear what I say because honestly there isn't anymore. Not that I had many followers when I was writing but now I really have none.

Anyhoo. Obligatory first day of school picture of my 6th, 7th and 8th graders:

I know. They're entirely too big for their own good.  Brady had his first football game this past Saturday:

That scrawny little number 2? That's my son trying to block a kid who was almost double his size in pads.

I gave Belle a lesson in friendship bracelets a couple of weekends ago:

I can't tell you how many of these I made or how many hours I spent working on the next one. Belle has my want when it comes to making something but her daddy's impatience when it comes to finishing it. This one? Ended up being a ring because she got bored. The next one she made actually made it all the way to completion but only because she was making it for a friends birthday. I do know that she has one that she has started and that's as far as it's made it. It has been moved from her purse to her room to her purse but hasn't had any progress made on it at all.

Next pictures of four of the cats eyeballing a moth at the end of the hallway:

Sebastian is the one who finally won the prize when the moth came too close to his huge paws. Ginger is a HUGE fan of the dryer:

That is one of her most favorite places in the house, especially if I am folding laundry. She loves to try and catch what I pull out. 

Lately my life has been a lot about cleaning. I have cleaned my kitchen, washed down cabinets, washed windows, cleaned dishes and ceiling fans. For the most part, I've been keeping up with it and for me that is amazing. I'm not one who likes to do the dishes immediately after supper. I just finished cooking it. I want time to relax before I clean it up. Also? I have made all four beds the majority of the last 4 weeks. Awesome! And yes I make the kids beds simply because they get up at 6am, eat breakfast before they catch the bus in addition to getting ready and only have about 45 minutes to get it all done so I don't mind making their beds if it means I don't have to drive them to school. I have been slowly working on my living room. My windows are clean, curtains are clean, picture frames are clean. I even dusted! My goal is to finish cleaning off my desk and I will be happy with the progress I've made. The catch will be how long it actually lasts before it goes back to normal and if I can get the rest of the house picked up before it reaches that point. That is my goal! To have all of my house clean at the same time!

Now that I have bored you with my mindless dribble, my accomplishments tonight. A blog post and a clean desk. Very, very cool.