Bring on the heat

There are literally thousands of pictures saved on my computer and scrapbooked into many books in my house.  My family loves to look at all those pictures and pages and reminisce about the memories they bring.

On this cold January day, as the forecasters call for yet another winter storm (ice this time), I wanted needed to remember warmer times.

On this day last July, we went to a Cincinnati Reds game as a family (one of the things on our "Summer To-Do List").  The game started at 1:10pm.

It was 100 degrees.

We sat in the sun, soaking up the rays and sweating them back out, only to soak them up again.

Looking at this picture makes me feel warm again.  I can almost taste the heat.  Almost.  And it makes this cold day tolerable.  Until tomorrow, when I may have to drag out every summer picture I own to erase the effects of the ice storm headed this way...

In three months, winter will be but a memory.

I can't wait.

What do you do with your photos?  How do you survive the winter months?  Which do you prefer-summer or winter?

Mean mom, fun mom

Put away your laundry.

Do your homework.

Be nice to your sister.

Don't wrestle your brother.

Do NOT talk to me in that tone of voice!

Brush your teeth.

Wash your hands.

(Repeat on endless loop.)

Some days, it seems that the Mean Mom role is all I play.

So when the kids brought home straight A's on their report cards, I decided to let Fun Mom come out to play.  When I found a great deal for day passes to Coco Key's Indoor Waterpark, the idea was born.

I called the kids off sick, packed our bags, and surprised them with our tickets to a day of Fun.

Gabe is currently on the couch, "vibrating" with excitement in anticipation of our adventure.  Despite the snow, we are getting on our bathing suits and heading out in an hour or so.

Sometimes I like being Fun Mom.  It's, well, fun!

That's what (blog) friends are for...

Life has been pretty hectic around these parts.

Yesterday, I had to take Joe's dad back to the hospital on my way to class.  He is back in atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, and is extremely short of breath and symptomatic with it all.  Once he was settled into his room and I was able to discuss his plan of care with the cardiac nurse practitioner, I had to head downstairs to take a quiz in my community nursing class, then sit through hours of (very boring) lecture.

All this to say that by the time I got home, I was ready for dinner (beer and pizza...no diet today) and bed.  The fact that I had a paper due at midnight the next night did nothing to deter me from falling asleep to Obama's State of the Union.

When I awoke this morning, the anxiety kicked in.  Wednesdays are early release days, which means the kids' schedules are wacked, which means MY schedule is also wacked.  Instead of sitting down and just getting the darn thing done, I checked my email, started some laundry, visited some blogs and whined on Facebook about my plight.

Wearing my crown as the Queen of Procrastination, I dillied and dallied until MEP from Not to Brag chimed in on my status with a suggestion:


 "Here's one of my tricks. Pretend the paper is due in one hour. Sit at the keyboard and type your brains out without editing yourself. Then, when the hour is up, take a look at what you have. It's usually better than you think and you can revise, add, and edit from there."


I took her suggestion and got to it.


90 minutes later, it was written and submitted to my professor via the digital dropbox on our school's website.


I thankfully breathed a huge sigh of relief, took off my crown and prepared to enjoy the rest of my day.

Thanks, Mep!  You have reinforced my belief in the power of blog friends!

I try

January:  the month where we evaluate where we are, and where we want to be.

The planning of vacations.  The losing of weight.  The earning of money.  The bettering of our bodies.

I have planned our vacations.

I have thought about losing weight.

I checked a few books out from the library about both.  Books about Tennessee and Michigan.  A book about becoming a "Skinny Bitch", losing weight and eating healthier.

I didn't make it past the first chapter of that one.  When they talked about giving up caffeine and only drinking water, they lost me.

I'm a night shift girl.  Caffeine is seriously my savior, at the beginning of my 12-hour night shift, in the middle, and most definitely at the end, when I am trying to drive home after being awake for >24 hours.

I'm going to have to find another book.  Or maybe write one.  "How to lose weight on the night shift".

It might just be a winner.

Vacation:  A period of time devoted to pleasure, rest, or relaxation.

One of my favorite things to do in January is plan our vacation for that year.


This year we are planning a couple of small trips, rather than one big one.


We are doing a friends-and-family getaway to Tennessee over spring break.


And the kids and I were invited to go to Michigan with a girlfriend and her kids.  I have never been to Michigan, and haven't done a girls/kids trip since I was the designated vacation babysitter in my teens.


I cannot wait!


Planning vacations just makes me happy.  And makes the pain of surviving January much more tolerable.


Are you taking any trips this year?  Do you love to plan ahead?  Have you ever been to Michigan?

Snow day survival

Sleep in.

If the kids' internal alarm clocks won't let you hit snooze, go ahead and fix breakfast and get some coffee in your veins...it'll help.

When you're tired of watching the oldest kid play hours worth of video games, kick him outside and watch him shovel the driveway from inside your cozy kitchen.  Smile and be glad you're not twelve years old.

Send at least one kid up to Mamaw's house, to lessen the number of quarreling siblings in your own house.

Make peace with the decision that NOTHING is going to get done today.  Go ahead and have "art class" with your youngest kid at the kitchen table, complete with that chipboard that you still haven't used and LOTS of glitter glue.  Get crazy!  Admire your creations, and acknowledge that your kid may indeed have more talent than you...

Decide to go ahead and organize the five thousand Legos in your son's room, only to have him bail after ten minutes to go sledding in the snow with the neighbors.

Approximately 6.2 minutes after spending double that time bundling him up, help said son shed his snowy clothes and get warm.  (Baby, it really is cold out there!).

Spend the rest of the evening at your in-laws' house, eating a turkey dinner, visiting, and kicking some husband bootay at euchre; say a prayer of thanks for the blessings of family, food and fun.

Tuck the kids in, drink a glass of wine and snuggle up with your husband.  Don't forget to say one more prayer before nodding off:

Please, God, let there be school tomorrow!

The answer is yes.

Elijah asked.

We pondered.

We investigated and inquired, hemmed and hawed, but we finally came up with an answer.

Yes, son, you can go to Washington, D.C. in the fall.

(But no, I cannot chaperone...only teachers can go.  I know he'll have a great time, just like I did when I went with my class back in 1992, just after they had invented the wheel :)

Proud Mommy Moment

It wasn't that long ago that Elijah started playing basketball and Gabe had to tag along to every game.

Now, after years of waiting (not so patiently), it's finally his turn.

Saturday was Gabe's very first basketball game.  It was quite the family affair, with Joe coaching, Elijah refereeing and Isabel and me cheering.

Although he didn't get any slam dunks (much to his chagrin), he did score four points and did an amazing job at both offense and defense.  I had this image of both kindergarten teams just standing there, not knowing what to do, but we were all pleasantly surprised at how well they actually played the game.  It was adorable!

I wish I had a video of Gabe jumping up and down, guarding his "man" (who was sometimes a girl), calling out, "I'm open, pass it to me!".  The lighting in the gym is not the best, so these pics will just have to do.  If you ever need to put a smile on your face, though, I strongly suggest watching a kindergarten basketball game :)

Gabe and his classmate, Cian

Striking a pose for Mom

The ref, explaining the rules

Elijah, the big brother ref (and some cheerleaders)

Coach Daddy/Joe, passing out game stars

Upward is an organization that emphasizes learning a sport in a Christian environment.  Every practice involves a scripture lesson, and after each game, the boys are given special stars according to best effort, best defense, best offense, most Christ-like and best sportsmanship.  The boys all made it through the game without tears, without a fight and with a good attitude the whole time.  Joe did a great job as coach, keeping a smile on his face and encouraging the little guys on a game well-played.  Saturday mornings are going to be a blast for the next two months, for sure!

Where I'll Be...

This quarter of school has the potential to really kick my boo-tay.

I am taking seven credit hours of Community Health Nursing and Transitions to Professional Nursing.  Both of which require lots of weekly assignments, group projects and pages upon pages of papers written in APA format.

Doesn't the mere thought of that make you cringe?

I don't mind the work, the professors are actually very interesting and nice, but combining college with work and home life is going to be a challenge, I can already tell.

So, if you don't see me much around these parts these next 10 weeks, you know where I'll be...

That makes one of us.

Every winter, this hawk (or one of his relatives, perhaps) returns to our neighborhood, soaring above the houses and yards, coming to perch in our trees or on our rooftop.

He is beautiful.  He is magnificent.  He is clearly not taking advantage of his abilities.

Me?  If I could fly anywhere in the land, it would NOT be to Ohio in the winter.  I'd be in Texas, or Arizona, or California.  Somewhere warm.  Somewhere without snow and ice.

Just sayin'.

Where would you fly?  Or do you like winter in your neck of the woods?  What do you do to survive a season that you can't stand?

New Year's Recap

I love hosting New Year's Eve.

This year there was plenty of yummy appetizers (thanks for the recipes, Julia!), 

plenty of new cocktails to try...(Rock Lobster and Royal Flush were the favorites),

plenty of grown-up friends for us,

and younger friends for these guys,

old friends and new,

lots of noise while watching the ball drop (look at Gabe in the center...cracking me up!)

a new drink every hour had us feeling good and tipsy,

and lots of sugar had these guys wild and crazy!

All in all, a great way to end one year and start off another.

Any New Year traditions you have to share?  Did you make it til midnight?  Can you believe Dick Clark is still alive?!

Please, Mom and Dad...

This kid came home with papers about the 8th grade Washington, D.C. trip in the fall.

This kid, who doesn't ever like to spend the night away from home, has decided that he really wants to go.

There is a parent meeting this Saturday.

Is it crazy that I am actually considering letting my firstborn get on a bus and drive to the capital, without me?

I went to Washington on a school trip, and I still remember it (19) years later.  It was an amazing experience.  One I want him to have the opportunity to experience as well.

But seriously, am I crazy?  It's so hard to let go.  How on earth can I have a kid this age already?

Would you let your firstborn go?  Have you ever gone?  Do you struggle with being overprotective?

How to live up to a word.

2010 was the year of frugality, in which I learned to clip coupons and use sources such as couponmom.com and CVX Extracare Bucks (thanks to Brandy).  I vowed to use the things I had on hand and not buy extra, whether it was clothing or scrapbook supplies (I did fairly well with that vow).  Although we did vacation, it was with a timeshare company for one trip and a budget off-season family package with the other.  We managed to pay cash for Christmas (other than using our Kohls card for the 30% off).  All in all, I feel like I did a pretty good job living up to my word.

And now I must admit that being frugal pretty much sucked.  And I'm super glad that I can move on to another word for 2011.

Being a part of a new church has inspired my word this year.  The church of Antioch focuses largely on charity and missions, both local and worldwide.  While my dream is to serve on a mission, I'm not sure if I'm ready for the reality of leaving my family quite yet.  Instead, I am determined to find ways for my whole family to live out the word of charity, according to this definition:

char·i·ty

 noun \ˈcher-ə-tē, ˈcha-rə-\

1

: benevolent goodwill toward or love of humanity

2

a : generosity and helpfulness especially toward the needy or suffering; also : aid given to those in need

b : an institution engaged in relief of the poor

c : public provision for the relief of the needy

I'm excited about teaching my kids about the joy of giving, especially when we have been given so much.  My goal is to find one charity-focused event every month for us to participate in as a family, along with activities that will instill in their hearts a need to give to others who have less than us.

If you have any good ideas about this, please feel free to comment!  And if you have a word for 2011, please share!

You say goodbye, I say hello...

Dear 2010,

I must admit, I'm a bit sad to see you go.

There have been some years that I was glad to close the door on, but not you.

You saw me through my goal to become more frugal.

I started back to college after fifteen years, and it hasn't been (that) painful, actually it's been refreshing to stimulate my brain again.

All three of my babies are in school.  One in junior high, one in middle school, one in kindergarten.  Straight A's and good behavior from all of them.  Makes this mommy very proud.

My mom moved closer to me, and eliminated a lot of drama from her life.  My kids love having both of their mamaws less than five minutes away.

Joe's dad survived his open heart surgery and is recovering well.  He is determined to make some major life changes to stay healthy and live to see his grandbabies grow up.

Joe fulfilled a lifelong dream and started his own company, doing ceramic tile and general home repairs.  He is still teaching, too, until the company takes off.

2010, you have continued to bless me and my family with good friends, health, a good job that I love, and a realization that God has had His hand on us from the beginning and will until the end.

Though I'm sad to see you go, I'm ready for your cousin, 2011, to carry on in your example.

Goodbye, 2010; hello, 2011!