Sydney turns 12yrs old!

This year, she wanted to do her party at home,... do a sleep over. She invited her 7 closest friends,.... 5 of them were able to attend. 4 were able to stay the night. We had 6 girls total for most the evening. *phew*

They hung out in the bedroom for the most part,... they came out and had pizza, goofed around with the cats and dogs,... they had some cake and icecream and hurried through opening presents,... then played on the Wii and the Xbox 360. They put on make up and played with the Littlest Pet Shop stuff, they painted nails and laughed and teased and made a lot of girlie noises LOL

Poor Chris, he had to work the next morning, so by 11pm we told the girls, they needed to tone it down,... they had decided to all cram themselves in the bedroom to sleep,... some in the bed, others on the floor.

Chris and I were snug in bed with lights/tv off by midnight. I dozed off,... but kept an ear to the door listening for girls. I woke a couple of times,... the last time I recall it was around 1:30 and they were still opening/closing doors and giggling.

The alarm went off far too early,.... 4:30am. We crawled out of bed, and I came into the livingroom,... heard the bathroom door shut and the bedroom door shut,... girls were STILL awake????? OMG!! I found out later it was Sydney,.... she had announced that she was going to bed as Chris was getting out the door to work LOL

Thankfully he slept through all the girl noises. Although, we were both pretty dead tired LOL

I talked to the girls later that morning and found they had a great time playing, and that most all of them stayed up really really late. So, I suppose the party was a great success :o)

Chris and I later decided that that many sleeping over,.... won't happen again LOL It was just pretty crazy. We are glad that they all had such a wonderful time though :o)

Here are a few of the pics from the party :o)


Happy 12th Birthday baby girl!!!
Mommy and Daddy love you so much!!!
xoxo

Geoffery's Christmas Program

Geoffery was Ralph the Reindeer in his Christmas program this year. A real speaking part!!! We went over his lines often,... he had them down to a "T" and was very excited about his big role.

It was great fun watching the program,... and I was thrilled that Chris was off work so he could attend too :o) We were so very proud of him as he did such a GREAT job!!!

Here are a few pics, and the video of his big performance!!





I think he's a natural at the mic!!

Holidays!

It's hard to believe that we're so close now to 2010!! This has been a pretty rough year for a lot of people. Us included. Granted, I know things could have been so much worse, but still yet. I'm sure hoping for a much better year ahead!!!

Thanksgiving was quiet, we spent it with Chris's folks. Chris had been working nights if I recall, so it was a long rough week for him. We usually will take a turkey and deep fry it for ourselves later on to eat. This year, neither of us were in the mood to mess with all that.

It was a nice Thanksgiving though, relaxing. Enjoyed some quiet. I think that was also the weekend we vegged and watched some Harry Potter. I'd not watched all of our DVD's so that was pretty fun :o) Good movies.

The month of December was filled with activity. We were trying to get a little bit of shopping done, which we managed to do online. Chris is great with Ebay!! :o)

Anyhow, on the 8th I think it was, Sydney had her band concert. They have a large beginning band,... she was crammed in the center, first row on the stage, with the teacher right in front of her. So, I didn't get to SEE her much,.... not to mention the stands in their faces too.


They played really well, and it was a great concert as always. Very proud of her for taking up an instrument. Only thing I ever really wanted to play was violin, but in school I was too shy to even consider taking band. I hope that she continues through the rest of her school years, as it would be really good for her. She would like to learn to play the guitar, and I hope that somehow this might help her or motivate her to learn.

Sometime after the concert,... one early Saturday morning, we headed to the school auditorium for Breakfast with Santa!! Geoffery was very much looking forward to this, he brought his LONG list,.... and couldn't wait to see Santa. We got in, and his number was 49. We went over and he got a cinnamon roll and a cup of milk. We went to the table where he could write another letter to Santa, and he ate and contemplated whether or not he wanted to write a letter. He finally "gave in" and scribbled out a letter. He kept saying that he HAD one with him,... he didn't NEED to write another,... but I knew he needed to kill some time. Santa hadn't even arrived yet!

He wanted to sit with a friend of his, so we did that,.... they both impatiently waited for Santa's arrival. Then they had to wait for their group of numbers to be called. During that wait, they both gave in and went and got their faces painted :o) His friend got called up to go see Santa before he did. Poor Geoffery was so anxious.

Finally it was his turn!!! Here are a few pictures from this day :o)



Then we go into the class parties. These are always the last day of the school year. This year, on Sydney's 12th Birthday. Dec 18th.

Sadly, I was informed by Sydney that she did NOT want me to attend hers. *cries* I couldn't believe it. She doesn't need me anymore. "It's embarrassing" she tells me. EMBARRASSING???? "I'm embarrassing????" :o( "I didn't say YOU were, just that it is embarrassing when you're there" *cries* I don't dress silly, or talk funny, or hug and fawn all over her,..... hmm okay, maybe the later part I do a little bit??? :o) Ahhh well, I knew this day would come eventually.

So, we're driving to school, when we realize she forgot her soda. Dang. Doesn't that just figure??? My plans were to drop them off, go home and get ready and go up for Geoff's party. Well, now it would be: go home, get ready, grab Sydney's soda and drop it off to her first, then go to his party. Meant I got to sneak in there anyhow HA!!! I win.

Or so I thought. I got there,... and the hall was quiet,... the kids were all in their rooms. Hmmm odd. I know they've changed things around a lot there, but sheesh. I went into the office, and waited,... finally got to drop off the soda and told them the "She doesn't want me here at her party" story,.... also mentioned how it was her Bday,... found out that they weren't doing the whole big party like normal. They were just having fun class time, having some food, exchanging gifts,... simple. So, I didn't feel so bad :o)

I headed over to the elementary building,.... and enjoyed Geoffery's party. He is such a character that kid. He was so very excited about his party. We had already had a long talk about being thankful for whatever gift he might get. A $3.00 limit on a gift doesn't buy much, and he is usually always disappointed.

Here are a few pics from the party... lots of good food,... kids had a great time,....




Well, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that he was not pleased with his gift. I took this picture, and inside I was giggling. How I managed to capture this so perfectly,.... I looked at him sternly and put on a smile to remind him of how he was to behave. *sigh* Sadly though, even through his fake "I like this" smile, he was pretty upset. He's not been into trucks since he was very small.

Once in the truck, we had another long detailed talk about the art of giving and receiving through the holidays. We also talked about the art of regifting!!

In the end, the day was great since it was the last day of school, they got out early, it was Sydney's birthday!!! so much excitement for one day!!!

Of course, I did fail to post about Geoffery's big performance!!! I'll do a different post and show pics and video of that next :o)

A tad bit late, but Halloween pics!

This year, it was just Sydney and Geoffery to take out trick or treating. We had initially planned on going to the big church here in town. They always have a big fun deal for the kids. Since Chris was working that day, we thought it would work out perfect. He'd get home from work, kids would be set to go,... and we'd go down there and let the kids run around and play games and get candy.

Sadly, the church started and ended much earlier than past years. After finding this out, it was too late to try and hurry the kids up to get ready to go. I ended up getting them ready and took them trick or treating. We got home just after Chris had. Spent a good hour walking around a neighborhood getting all kinds of yummy candy!!

There were a couple of really fun things though. Geoffery year before last, was a HUGE Star Wars freak. We went to a house, and out front in the driveway, was a man dressed up to the hilt as Darth Vader. He had the saber and everything. Totally decked out. I watched Geoffery, as he stood there in awe.

He's gone from Star Wars, to Sonic the Hedgehog and now Pokemon. Still yet though, this man dressed as Darth Vader was a bit much,... all he could muster up to say was "Holy smoke" He didn't even go up to the folks to get candy he was so dumbfounded LOL It was totally classic!!

From there, we came to another house, it was such a nice evening,... that most everyone was sitting out in chairs on their porches or driveways. This group was lined up against their garage door,.... they had chalk outlines on the driveway, flashing lights, eerie music,... and they were dressed up big time,... I couldn't see everyone, but there was one up there that freaked Geoffery out enough that he was like "HECK NO" he wasn't goin up there to get anything from them :o)

It was so much fun, I laughed and just enjoyed being with them that night. It's great fun to look at things through kids eyes.

Here are a few pics I took at the house,.... Sydney was a "Pumpkin Fairy" and Geoffery, the character from "Scream"

Let's talk about hair

Once upon a time,.....

Mom and I went to the mall, Southland Mall in CA, and I went to "Command Performance" there to get my hair cut. My hair just so you know is VERY thick,.... at the time it was fairly long. I had to have been around 16 or 17 maybe??? Anyhow, I've gotten used to sitting down in the chair and the hairdresser running her fingers through it saying "Goodness you have a lot of hair" (or something along those lines)

As she was cutting, she commented on the color of my hair,... "Did you know you had some platinum in your hair??" Umm... no, I honestly didn't. At that time, I thought "Cool!! I have some blonde in my hair!!!" Mmm hmm....

By the time I was 21 I was coloring the GREY out of my hair. Granted it wasn't much,... but any grey at that age is unheard of right??? Seems my mom's side of the family grey's early. Nice. Thanks a lot. *SIGH*

Ever since, I have been coloring my hair. Usually a color that matches what my haircolor is normally. Well, I'm 40 now, and "THEY" say that you should start going lighter, makes you look younger and all that crap.

When mom came to visit, we did a haircare day. Went to a salon and got pampered,... I had some highlights put in and it was wonderful. I really liked it. BUT maintaining it.... that's another story. I just can't see going in every 6 weeks or whatever to get it redone for $100+. So, instead, I found a haircolor that closely matched and have been doing the all over color. It's lighter than my natural color for sure. Decent enough, but I do miss the look of the highlights.

Soo,... while getting groceries the other day, I NEEDED haircolor,.... (hate when these nasty grey roots start showing up) I came acrossed this

For Lt Brown to Dk Brown hair,.... and for LONG hair as well. I pondered over the box,.... even called my cousin to get her 2cents on the ordeal. Told her what was in the box,... cap, things to pull the hair through the cap, this rinse that other stuff,... blah blah blah. Well,.... she seemed a tad bit skeptical, but that yes, it would blend in the grey,..... SOLD.

I got 2 boxes. Just because something says it's for long hair, doesn't mean MY long hair,... my THICK LONG hair.

Today,... I'm going to attempt to try doing this. I'd do before and afters, but I think I'd rather not LOL I'll just let ya know how it goes instead ;o)

Wish me luck!!!

Oh yeah, I still plan on posting the kids Halloween pics,... and giving the run down from our trip around trick or treating. It's quite funny :o)

Teenage Frustration

And I'm not talking about the teenager being frustrated. The mom is frustrated with the teen.

*pulls hair out*

I dunno what I've done wrong, or how to correct the situation, but it seems he's just lazy and doesn't give a crap about much of anything.

I feel like he's for sure not giving 100% at school. Going to Comm. College so he can continue on to a 4yr college and get a degree in gaming design. Sounds wonderful doesn't it?? I mean, great in that he has a goal.

If there was a meter here to show where he was at in reaching that goal,.... well, the meter wouldn't read much of anything.

He doesn't study,.... he's confessed that he's skipped some classes..... hey, I did too when I went for a full semester,.... but he has a goal!!! I didn't.

His room is most always a mess,.... yesterday he came out and asked me "If I clean up my room, can I go hang out w/ my friends" What I thought was sad is that he's 18 and asking if he can do something IF is room is cleaned. Well, at 18 shouldn't he BE keeping his room clean???? I guess not.

Then today,... he's gotta work,.... he's got a seasonal position at Game Stop,... like his dream job,.... he's worked 1 day a week since he started a few weeks ago. He came in to ask me a question,... all dressed and ready to go.

He was a wrinkled mess. Looked like he'd slept in his shirt or worse!!! Just looked horrible. Grrr.... I went off. Nagging mom ensued. I hate being the nagging mom,.... but every time I turn around,... well, he just gives me plenty to nag about.

Told him he needed to either go change or iron his shirt. "Nothing else fits" Well, that's a lie,.... I know for a fact he's got other shirts that fit just fine. ARGH.... knowing him they're either in a pile and dirty, or in a pile and clean.

I'm just frustrated that he doesn't care more about himself. His job. His schooling. Nothing.

I know he has it easy here,.... free room/board. He's got internet, cellphone, gaming,.... it's all right here. Who'd wanna leave that??? I just don't think we ask too much of him. Go to school, do well, work hard,.... various household duties,... we want him to get a decent job so he can start saving towards a car,... but I don't even think he cares about that.

I dunno. Just needed to rant I suppose.

I do have a plan! He has no school on Fridays. So, this Friday, will be job hunting day. He'll go with me in the morning and anything along the way, we'll stop off and get an application, he can fill it out right then and there,... turn it in. Something has to pan out. I'm tired of him being so lazy and not caring about things.

We'll see how this goes I guess.

Enough ranting. I have dinner to start for the littles. They want to go to this Halloween Carnival that a family is having. Should be fun :o) Best get us ready!

**edit**

I just hung up with said lazy teenager. He was about to leave work and head home. He was excited to tell me that he got an achievement at work today... ??? Umm... okay?? what??? "I'm on the board for doing good deeds" "Ohh, that's neat, what was your good deed?" "I alphabetized the whole half of the store" "ewww, bet that was fun" "ohhh yeah..." "well, that's really cool honey" *sigh* All that ranting and look what he goes and does. Damn kid. LOL

You know it's time for home schooling when....

Your daughter gets into the car after school and the first thing she tells you about is how her teacher sorta melted down.

The class wasn't cooperating is what I gather,... finally a student answers a question, and the teacher thanks her and proceeds to sit down at her desk and tell the students that she gives up, that they can do what they want and she'll sit at her desk and just relax. She sat down and removed her glasses, and had to wipe her eyes. Sydney said she was crying real tears!?!

To add insult to injury, one of the office workers comes in and tells them all that they're going to get zero's but nooooo.. they don't CARE about zero's do they????

I'm sorry.... is this teaching???? I'm confused.

I'm very frustrated. I send youngest to school w/ notes in his folder for the teacher, and never get replies. Just a simple "I got your note" or SOMETHING, ANYTHING would be great!!

Then there are the papers he's to return,.... they sit in his folder and I wonder "did she see these??" "did you turn these in??" to which he says yes, "did she see them??" "I think so?" *headdesk*

Communication is lacking lately. If I didn't think I'd have no hair at the end of a week, I really would give home schooling a shot,.... and like hubby says,.. the kids need the interaction with the other kids. He is right about that, especially w/ Geoffery. He's VERY social.

Oh well, what can we do?? I know teaching isn't EASY, but there just seems to be something amiss here.

The Draft

I know that we've not reinstated the draft,.... I know that it will probably never happen in my lifetime right??? I feel pretty confident in that. I mean, really,.... would they ever force our men to go to war again??? Could they??? Should I pack Brian's bags and move him to Canada now???

I picked up the mail today. Brian had a weird letter. Used his FULL (he has 2 middle names, so yeah... when you see all that you become alert) name on it too,.... hmm... school something or other maybe??? I waited until we got home so he could open it.

It was a letter reminding him that he was an 18 year old male, and that per the law he had to register for the draft.

Hit me like a ton of bricks. I mean, I know that boys are supposed to. I remember thinking how weird it was that boys did and girls didn't when I was close to being 18.

Now that I'm a MOM,... having my baby boy (okay,.... so he's not a baby anymore,...) have to register for the draft, well, just puts a lump in your gut.

Standing there in the kitchen, the kids are all snarfing down mini Oreo cookies for snack. I look at Geoffery who will have his turn to register in 9 years. This happy go lucky and yes Inky, always in smiles boy.... all I can do now is pray that the draft never goes live,... ever.

Fun times at Pumpkin Hollow

Last week, we went to Pumpkin Hollow with Geoffery's class. This is the annual 3rd grade field trip. Second time we've been. The first time was less than stellar so I wasn't expecting much, but was glad Chris had the day off so he could go along. That always helps :o) Geoffery was VERY excited about his field trip. What kid isn't???

Here are some photos of our fun time there.... it did end up much better than anticipated.


When we first got there, the kids watched a short video that would explain where we were going, what we would see,.... they all look so thrilled don't they? lol

Daddy got picked to hand out the feed for the goats,.....

Here's Geoffery feeding one of the many goats they had

After feeding the goats and running around, going to the restroom,... it was time for the hay ride!!! Here's Geoffery with his best friend Kristopher :o)

At the top of the hill,... there was a nice pond, the kids were each given a quarter to get feed to feed the ducks, the turtles and the catfish that were in this pond

Daddy and Geoffery at the pond

Kris and Geoffery bein silly before walking through the corn maze

Here, we're waiting to go down to the pumpkin patch.... these large bails of hay were great for climbing on,... and proclaiming that you're the "KING OF THE WORLD!!!!!"

Down at the pumpkin patch, there were so many pumpkins to pick from,... rather sad that they only let the kids pick such small ones,... they're hardly suitable for carving.... but hey... they're having fun right??? Daddy is helping find the best one ;o)

I think this is the one......

YUP! This is THE pumpkin for me!!!!

Ahhh finally lunch time!!!! Can we go home now??? (someone was looking forward to getting home so he can play his videogame on the Wii)

Before we headed out, we did sample some fresh pumpkin pie and pumpkin roll,... omg delicious!!! I could've eaten the whole things :o) We also went over to the fish pond and got our picture taken before going home.

All in all it was a very nice day :o) The weather was perfect,.... considering the day before we had had rain and I fully expected us to be muddy messes,... it wasn't that bad.


Since then,.... things have been fairly quiet around the house. Chris worked nights,... getting a few things done around the house,... getting ready for cooler weather so going through the kids clothes. I have BAGS upon BAGS of clothes and toys that will go to a gal where Chris works. She'll take it to her church where the items will go to those that need it most. I usually do Goodwill, but ya know, if you're HAVING to shop there,... you don't have a whole lot of money in the first place,... so yeah... am glad that the church will see to it that people who need it will get the stuff,... FREE.

Geoffery brought home a sheet to sign up for basketball. One year that Sydney was cheering, I was quite sure they had "pee wee" teams for 3rd graders. I swear they were playing each other. Maybe I'm wrong??? anyhow.... I thought what a great deal for him, then when 4th grade rolls around, he'll be that much better!!! (to play against other schools etc)

Geoff announced Friday after school that he had basketball practice Monday!! ?? Umm.... what time??? "I don't remember" "which gym??" (there are 3 at the schools) "Dunno..." *SIGH* Yup, so far this was organization at it's best huh??

Monday I called up there to find out,.... and even the office wasn't sure. She didn't sound thrilled about it in the first place as football was still going on, and the practices would be over lapping. Well,... this bodes well already doesn't it?? She gave me a cell number of the guy doing the coaching,... I called, left a message and he quickly returned the call.

Which is when he explained that this is a sort of try out for the 3rd graders. Normally basketball doesn't start until 4th grade,... but if any 3rd graders show potential, they'll put them on the 4th grade teams. A try out??? How can 3rd graders try out for something they've not ever done anything with??? I mean, Geoff has NEVER played any form of basketball outside of PE. Yeah, I felt this could've been handled so much better. You know,... a notice sent home to all 3rd grade parents,... Geoffery thought he would be ON a team,... so we had to tell him otherwise. Just go out and play your best, and have fun,...

Chris took him last night, and he said he did pretty good,... he can dribble the ball pretty well,... Geoffery had already been bragging on how well he can do this,... but shooting the ball,... hmm.. not so much LOL He had a GREAT time though, so that was good :o) He'll have like 2 more of these practices where the boys are watched and evaluated. We aren't expecting much, but maybe this will give him an idea of what to do for 4th grade :o)

In the mean time, we're waiting for the sign ups for soccer. At least soccer is something he CAN be on a team for.

Jessica's 15th Birthday is Saturday. Hard to believe she'll be 15. I hate that she's not HERE with US. I'd like to do something fun with her. Have her friends over,.. that sort of thing. I don't know what she has planned,.... but I just finished boxing up all her goodies to send off this afternoon :o)

I guess that's it for now. It's sprinkling outside. I had delusions of going out and weed eating around the house LOL Riiiiggghhhttt... I've got plenty to do inside, so going to get off my rump and get that done :o)

Have a great day!!

Feeling down...

I am trying to stay motivated and clean up the house. While hubby was home, I did very little, so now it's like playing catch up. While I'm cleaning, I'm trying to declutter areas. We're bad about tossing stuff on table tops and leaving it there, and it piles up more and more..... then there are drawers. You get the idea.

I got Chris's side all straightened up, took a break, ate some food, and watched the season premiere of Medium. I'm so glad that the shows are back :o) I'm so glad we have a technology that gave us the wonderful thing called a DVR.

Once that was over, I set off to clean more. It was my side of the couch,... my end table, top and bottom.

Under the table I have a huge photo album,... and a box. I bought the box a long time ago,.... it had smoked salmon inside. The box is wooden with a metal plate, an image of a fish on top. It looks very Alaskan for art. The salmon has long been gone of course,... but fishing makes me think of Dad. I use the box to store the letters that I'd received from him over the past years.

From time to time, I like to pull them out and glance through them. Today was one of those days. I always cry when I do this,.... it makes me miss him so much. The letter that was on top held a picture of him. He was in the VA program to help get him on his feet, and while there, it was his Birthday along with several other VAers that month. It was a picture of him standing there w/ a mic in his hand.

I can only imagine the things he might be saying,... he loved to talk. He could be quite funny, so I imagine there were several laughs to be had.

Always in his letters, he would tell me how much he loved me, and how proud he was of me. There's still not a day that goes by that I don't miss him. He's been gone now for 8 years. While it doesn't feel like just yesterday that we said good bye to him,... it sure doesn't feel like it's been 8 years.

I guess I will go back to cleaning now.

So, what's new with you??

Been awhile since I'd posted,.... thought I'd jabber a little bit. School is still plugging along for the kids. We got progress reports on Sydney,... less than stellar,... but she's got 4 weeks to bring her grades up before we remove her laptop from her room. *crossing fingers she brings her grades up* One of her grades is math, it's always been hard for her,... the teacher commented about tutoring. Of course they don't offer such things AT the school, so I asked her teacher for suggestions. Seems her older daughter can tutor Sydney,.... we're still waiting to hear more about that. I will also see if she can work with Geoffery each week as well.

I've torn apart Sydney's room. Now that Jess isn't here,... no point in the two beds year round. Was sad to do, but at the same time,... it sure has made Sydney happy :o) She has her OWN room. Rearranged, cleaned,... all that good stuff. It took me 2 freakin days to get it done. I'm still wanting to sort through the closet as it's still full of junk she never plays with. I do have a pile of toys and bags of clothes to be given away.

Chris took well over a week off,... from Sept. 16th - 27th. He was sure to be home for our Anniversary, and he defiantly needed the break. Work was really getting on his nerves LOL We enjoyed a lot of at home quiet time. We went for coffee in Jonesboro one day,... wandered around the mall,... was really nice :o) On our way home, we popped into the furniture store we use,... Gamble Home Furnishings and spoke with Jeremy there. He's a good guy. The whole family is really. Anyhow, we went in to see about ordering Sydney her full sized bed :o) We found the perfect bed, matches her existing furniture! Got that ordered,.... and well, Chris loves his toys... especially the electronic type. He was in the TV area. We love our tv now,... but Chris was determined to see a better picture, and to do so, we needed one with the 1080p ability. So, he wheeled and dealed with Jeremy and we got our new tv the next morning LOL The bed frame and all will be here in a couple weeks I guess.

Sept. 20th was our 12th Anniversary :o) We celebrated by leaving the kids at home with Brian and going to the 501 for dinner. Mmmm was sooooooo good!!!! I had a nice salmon dinner. I already knew what I wanted before we even got there :o) Was delish!

We went out for coffee another day, wandered the mall some more,.... but for the most part, while he was off, we vegged at the house, played online game called Guild Wars,... some friends from my PSP group also play so we had our headsets and got to talk with them and their husbands,... just a lot of fun :o) Watched a couple movies and things too. Very relaxing and just nice to have that time together.

Brian,... he finally got a job,.... which was like his dream job :o) Game Stop!!!! What better job for a future video game designer???? Sadly,.... he had his one day at work,.... a Saturday morning,... for like 4hrs of training. He called the next day for his schedule, only to find that the store is having to reduce it's hours, so he's not even on the schedule this week. He said he'd be on call for Fri and Saturday. *sigh* I told him that he needs to visit WalMart, and see if he can't get on there. He'd still have electronics, and discount,... whatever he could need would be there. I know he doesn't like the idea of working there though. I can't seem to get it through his thick skull that he NEEDS money,... we won't be paying for movies, lunches, etc. He also needs a car,... badly. I hate nagging. I guess he'll figure it out eventually??? Can't do much of anything without some cash in pocket right??? *shrug* He's a big boy now. Time for mom to cut the cord ;o)

On that note, cutting this now,.... need to get dinner going.

They grow so fast....

So,... we're headed home from school this afternoon. Geoffery asks me if it's okay if he calls a friend when we get home. Well, no, not until after homework and chores are done. "Yes, I know that already" Mmm hmm.... "What friend are you calling today??" The other day, he called his friend Kristopher, and they would talk like 30 seconds and Kris would say he needed to call him back,... they must've done this like 5xs until I finally put a stop to it.

He wanted to call his friend Sydney,... said that he needed to get a girlfriend. He then proceeded to tell us about how his girlfriend in 1st grade was a user.

A user??? Where do they come up with this stuff??? I mean, he's in the 3rd grade!!!! Should he even KNOW that there are girls out there that will use him??? Wait.... he's in the 3rd grade,... should he even be worried about HAVING a girlfriend??????

Sheesh. I swear, the boy cracks me up, and at the same time,... I am scared for what's to come. I've already raised one son to 18yrs old, and I don't recall going through this stuff with him,.... ever. The poor thing has had one real girlfriend ever, and she ended up moving away. Maybe I should worry about him more? LOL

Oh well.... there are bigger things to worry about right now,... like teaching Sydney how to crochet!! I hope I have the patience for this LOL

Labor Day Weekend

High in the pine tree,
The little turtledove
Made a little nursery
To please her little love.


"Coo," said the turtledove,
"Coo," said she;
In the long, shady branches
Of the dark pine tree.

Hubby is working nights this week. He got in around 6:30 this morning. I always get up, shut the house alarm off, visit with him before he heads for the shower & bed.

Because the kids are back in school, the dogs have the school schedule down pat. No sooner was hubby in the door, bearing the fruits of breakfast from Mc D's for the kiddos,... the dogs were prancing around my feet, crossing their legs ready to go outside.

*sigh* "Okay, come on" I said. To which hubby says "be careful out there..." ?? "stray dogs running around??" "no, hunters" Eh??? in our backyard????? I peek through the blinds of the backdoor, don't see anything, so head outside w/ the dogs.

While standing there as they do their business,... I hear these *pop* *pop* sounds around me. Holy crap. I poke my head back inside and ask him "They're hunting in the cotton fields????" "yeah, this is the first day of dove season" "oh."

Back outside,... I'm amazed at the sounds going on. It was really REALLY weird. We've lived here now 3yrs,.. and I've not ever noticed this before now??? How could that be?? Obviously I wasn't ever outside this early in the morning on opening day.

All I could really think is "poor lil doves" I have sampled dove. Hubby's cousin brought us like I dunno... 5 cooked up doves. I could easily put all 5 in the palm of my hand, bacon wrapping included. I can't help but wonder, is it REALLY worth it??? You surely couldn't feed a family of 6 with dove. You'd have to kill 3 dozen of the things!!!


Poor doves.

I wish I was rich

On the way to school this morning,.... I have the music on, relaxing as I drive the kids to school. I'm looking forward to returning home, to a quiet house,... get some cleaning done.... yep, I like school mornings.

From the backseat I hear Geoffery

"I wish I was rich"

"You do?? what would you do if you were rich?" I was thinking that he would say something in regards to not having to attend school or something. Instead his reply was

"So I can buy lots of video games and a new computer and computer games"

Ohhh okay.... well, get good grades in school, and get a GREAT job and you can buy all that stuff.


On the way home from school, we pulled up into our drive and Brian's friend was parked in the driveway. Both he and Sydney were "who is here??" They had a few comments about the white El Camino truck parked there.

"When I grow up, my car is going to be a limo" says Geoffery

I wonder what he will be when he grows up????

Summer Ends....

August 2nd we drove the 3hrs to Little Rock airport to pick up Brian. He would be returning to attend ANC (Arkansas North Eastern College). It was wonderful to see him!!! I missed him a lot. Seeing him reminded me though, that Jessica was NOT with him, and would NOT be returning. That sucked.

All in all, at least I have Brian for at LEAST another 2 yrs as he works on his prerequisites towards a larger college. I think he hopes to transfer to San Jose State. We'll see how that all goes.

We made the long drive back home,.... and well, by this point, yes,... summer was indeed over.

I was having to shop for the various TONS of school supplies,.... 5 3 ring folders, 3pks of dividers, glue sticks, packs of pencils,... and the list goes on and on and on..... I admit, I don't like buying supplies like this for the entire class. Kleenex, hand sanitizer,... and even the dry erase markers??? Sheesh.

Back in the OLD days,.... you got your new binder, inside the binder you had your trapper keeper folders (if you were smart, you got those, they were awesome!) lots of binder paper,... the little plastic pouch held some scissors, crayons, some pencils, and new erasers!!! You would throw that with your lunch into your new backpack and ta da!!! You were off to school.

Our first day,... poor Sydney had a backpack full, plus two walmart bags full of crap as well. Geoff's backpack was full and one walmart bag full. Oh, and they had to carry their lunches!!!

But the great news is....

THE KIDS ARE BACK IN SCHOOL!!!!!!!

Brian started on the 17th, and seems to be going well with him. He complained about how easy his math was. One of his problems was something like 4 x 8. I reminded him about how "well" he scored on his ACT exam. He's as smart as Jessica,... only he decided to NOT apply himself. He skated through his last year of school,.... and after graduation, at the award program,... he realized "I should've worked harder and done more" YA THINK????? LOL

We're still proud, he's going to college, he's taken steps to find a job,.... and hopefully soon we can do something about getting him a car so he can take himself to school and soon work????

Sydney and Geoffery started on the 19th. The first day was rough. Neither one of them really wanted to get up. We had gradually started implementing the regular bedtime routine, but that left them laying in bed wide awake. Geoffery was the worst to get up LOL Sydney was looking forward to school,....

The first few days went well,... they like their teachers, they are happy to see their friends again. Things are looking good!!!

The first full week was last week. They were tired,... falling asleep well before lights out,... dragging themselves out of bed but able to be ready to go on time. The whole drop off and picking up procedure at the school is a major mess. They've torn down some of the school, (elementary areas) and it's caused issues with where to drop your kids off. They've started doing the whole "Kiss & Drive" While normally I'd not mind this, I don't like that I can't park somewhere and walk in and get my son,.... he's forgetful, and trying to convince him that it's in HIS interest to remember his lunchbag, (that they swore they'd use and not leave at school) and his homework,... etc etc.... it's tiring.

Normally I would wait in the cafeteria for him,... check his bag, make sure everything was there and if not, march to his class and get it. I need that one on one with the teacher. I hope that in time things smooth out and who knows, maybe Geoffery will get more responsible. HA! Who am I kidding???? LOL

I was pleased with this though,.... we knew Geoffery could read,... but I have to share :o)


You can see where his teacher wrote Good! with the smilie at his ONE HUNDRED THIRTY SIX wpm,... but personally, I think it's GREAT!!!! :o) LOL Nothing pleases me more than a child that can read. Seeing this,... I mean, sheesh, this is the beginning of the year,... what will his wpm be at the end of the year????? Very exciting!!!!!

Now, if only we can get math scores like this, we'll be in business!!!!

The rest of summer...

Was pretty uneventful. I had picked up a few craft things for the kids to do,.. Geoffery was way more interested in playing on his computer,... Sydney would start a project, and never finish. Her "pompom" kitty keychains are still sitting on the bar unfinished.

The weather was fairly mild,.... we got a LOT of rain this year. My roses grew and bloomed a few times :o) I was VERY happy about this. I bought like 3 or 4 from WalMart,... they never did anything, in fact,... sadly we mowed like 3 of them down already. We also bought 4 from Sams Club, and they were MUCH hardier and only one didn't make it. I look forward to putting some more in the ground to replace the ones that didn't survive.

I think the best part of summer was that I read a lot of books, slept in a LOT,.... I let the kids do whatever they wanted. I mean, they stayed up till 3am and slept till noon or later!!! Usually I like to keep some sort of a routine, but eh,... it's summer. We didn't have any BIG summer plans,... we were doing baseball up until the end of June,... so this worked.

We DID however go to a local water park. It was the baseball "get together" and of course after all the HOT weather we'd had, they picked a day where it wasn't so hot. The water was FREEZING!!!! But the kids had a WONDERFUL time!!!!! As you can see from these pics!!!!

Don't they look COOOLLLDDD??? lol

It took a LOT of convincing that once they tried the water slides that they'd have a GREAT time,... and what do you know,... mom was RIGHT!!!!! They only had two slides,.... the other was red and covered,.... like sliding through a straw or something. They decided to give that one a shot after having done the blue a couple of times.

I missed this attempt,... and only heard the horror story of how Geoffery nearly drowned. It's not as bad as it sounds,... it actually cracked me up. You can see from the picture of Sydney sliding down, there's a guard right there,... if not ON the slide, standing in the water or very close by. Geoffery came out of the red one like a rocket,.... the red slide I learned later was MUCH faster,.... and he plunged into the water, and jumped up saying "help! help!" All he had to do was stand up LOL Anyhow.... he said he'd NOT ride that one again, but they had a great time going down the blue one again and again and again........

The waterpark is about an hour away from us, and is VERY cheap,.... I look forward to going back next summer as often as we can :o)

The morning after

The time at the hotel with the kids was great, breakfast was enjoyable,... it all seemed so perfect. The ride home, the kids were sorry to leave, wanted to stay longer,... however, Geoff DID have his new Wii game to return to, and he was anxious to play on that!!!

We no sooner walked into the door, when the phone rang. It was my ex. The older kids were there for the summer,.... Chris had answered it. I was working on ushering in the kids, getting bags put in rooms, etc. Then taking the dogs outside. All the while trying to get an idea of what was going on on the phone.

It didn't take too long,.... I gave Chris a look of " ???? " and he mouthed "Jessica" First I felt alarm,... but the look on his face didn't say she was hurt or anything,... then it hit me. "She wants to move there." I didn't ask it, I just said it. Chris nodded yes.

My first reaction was NO!!! NO NO NO this will NOT happen. We had gone through this with Brian but he was younger,.... maybe not even Jr. High. When we talked to him at great length about it, he really didn't have a reason to leave,... he just wanted to. Well, with his age and all, I just wasn't ready.... and didn't think he was really ready either.

Jess was about to enter High School. Here the student class is roughly 80??? Classrooms are small and you do get one on one with the teacher,... the teachers KNOW their students. Jess is also a straight A student. Very smart,.... to the point of she never has to pick up a book and STUDY. I have NO clue where or how she got this ability, because it sure the hell wasn't from me!! LOL

So, I was pissed. My first thought was "Ohhhh right,... he wants HER because he'd not have to "raise" her... he won't have to worry about her with school,.... he didn't want Brian (long story there) but he'll be MORE than happy to take Jess."

I just wanted to tear stuff up,... I was so angry. I was hurt. I was in tears. I didn't want to lose my baby. That's how it felt. I felt betrayed. I was mad at her. How could she want to do this??? How could she want to do this and have never discussed it WITH us????

All these feelings took place in a matter of hours. After Chris had gotten off the phone, he explained. Jessica was spontaneous about the whole deal,... it was like she'd been thinking about it to herself for awhile, and only just announced this to her dad.

Her reasoning was that the school there, had wonderful classes that she was very much interested in. Canine sorts of classes,... animal types of classes. She wants to be an Animal Control Officer when she "grows up" and these classes are SO NOT available here. The school there is much larger,.... they're able to do a lot more.

HOW do you argue with a 14yr old who says she wants to live there because of SCHOOL ????? I just couldn't. I felt like my hands were tied on this. I relented. I hated it, I wondered if it was the right decision. Was I tearing my family apart??? Chris and I talked about this for days and days.... I had already given in,... but we were concerned about the decision for sure. We were blaming ourselves.... it was just so difficult.

I have to keep reminding myself that she's 14. A teenager. They don't think. They sure don't think things through. They definitely don't think about the outcome of their decisions and how it will affect others.

I think the worst part of it all was telling Sydney. I felt sick inside when her daddy held her close and told her, and she started crying. Did I make the right choice???? Is this all my fault????

Just to recap,.... as it's been nearly 2 months since this took place. I guess we're all "over it" now. Sometimes I still feel resentment,... sometimes I still hurt that she's gone,.... but she seems happy, and has started school. The school is huge and she's learning her way around,... she has a combination lock locker,.... (they don't have locks on them here) so that's a challenge in itself for her,... but she's enjoying her classes and her teachers. She's taking all honors classes, so I figure with a classroom size of 30+ students, it will be even more challenging, and I keep reminding her that it's just the start of the year, she will probably HAVE to study. I pray that she does well there. I would like to see her as an honor student. I know she would've been here.

She's happy,... so that's all that really matters right??? Sydney's looking forward to redoing the bedroom to suit her,... daddy said we'd get her a full size bed, and change things around the way she would like them. She likes that she doesn't have to share the computer in the room anymore too LOL Simple pleasures. She and Jess text, and Jess calls every once in awhile. I guess things are working out okay for all of us.

Still miss my Jessica though.

Happy 9th Birthday Geoffery!!

It's hard to believe my baby boy is 9 now. His Birthday is July 5th. Do you know how hard it is to try and plan a REAL party right after a holiday???? I think we're going to REALLY try hard to plan his party for like the week before or maybe even for the week right after school lets out??? I have to come up with something, because it's not easy after school lets out.

Anyhow.... we strained our brains to come up with something that we knew he (and Sydney too) would enjoy doing. After all the comments from the two of them over time about hotels.

I got questions like:

"Do you LIVE there???"

"Is room service for real? like they bring you food to your room??"

"What is IN a hotel room??"

Comments like:

"I wish I could be in a hotel"

"I've never been to a hotel, I always wanted to do that"

I'm sure the list went on and on, but those were a select few that amused me.

Soo,... I mention to Chris,... "what about getting a room for a night, hotel w/ a pool so we can swim, that sort of thing??" "Do you think they'll like that???" "yeah, I think so,..." I mean,... why the heck not?? Not like we had to go FAR and not like we had to stay more than one night,... let them get the new experience of being in a hotel room,... we can do room service and the whole shebang right????

We did some looking, and we planned it out. One night in Jonesboro (biggest town near us) we'll do the swimming, we'll do the room service for dinner,... Geoffery LOVES waffles/pancakes, so we thought we'd do Waffle House or IHOP for breakfast,.... AND the awesome theater was real close by, we were going to take them to the new Ice Age 3, in 3D!!!

On the 4th we informed the kids of our fun filled day ahead. They were VERY excited, and Sydney wasted NO time at all in packing for her trip. I helped Geoffery make sure he had all his stuff. I also had a new pair of goggles for them for the pool. Yup yup, this was going to be GREAT fun!!!! I was thrilled to see them so excited about all this.

In the morning, they were ready to go, but check in was later, so we had time to do some cake and icecream and presents. Grams came over to help us celebrate as well.

Daddy with his 9yr old boy!

Happy Birthday Geoffery!!

Due to the "trickiness" of the candles, Geoffery called for reinforcements

Ahh the excitement on his face says it all,... Sonic the Black Knight for the Wii!!!

See the GameBoy Advance game??? He wanted that game for a LOONNGG time,.... since before Christmas. Sadly, it's no longer found NEW so I've been looking in Game Stop for it ever since, and amazingly, I found it!!! I had to find an empty case and printed out the cover art for it :o) Such a clever mommy if I do say so myself!! He was THRILLED over his new games though

Soon after the small party at home, we headed for the hotel,... the kids were very anxious to get there and check things out!

Of course, when we got there,... our room wasn't yet ready, and we got to wait just outside of it for a good 15mins or so. Rather irritating,... but the kids enjoyed watching as she worked, and tried to see inside the room like a sneak peek or something LOL

Little do they know, they're sitting upon their bed for the evening!!

Once they finished inspecting the bathroom, the drawers, the "awesome" flat screen tv,... our room upstairs (this room had a real 70's feel, I got the impression of a swingers type party probably went on here,... the adjoining door, the decor was very *cough* tasteful..) well, by now the kids were all set to go SWIMMING!!!!!



Fun in the pool!!


The kids had a great time in the pool, it was indoors... they made friends with some older kids and had fun playing a game of keep away w/ a beach ball they had. We spent a good hour or so there, then headed back to the room to order us some "room service" dinner!!!


Dinner consisted of burgers and fries, it was brought to us on a large tray with cloth napkins. The kids thought this was just the greatest thing. It was fun to see them so excited about such trivial things,.... but I will say, this is the first and last time we order room service like this,... holy cow, burgers and fries cost a LOT like this. BUT they really enjoyed it, so it was worth the expense. Don't you agree???

After this, our next surprise was to go over to the nice theater,... they have theater seating, and HUGE screens, not to mention the new 3D screens!!! We were off to go see Ice Age 3 in 3D!!

I couldn't resist snapping a picture of him in these glasses, so cute!!!

The movie was cute, but lacking in the 3D effects I thought. I still hope to maybe take them to see GForce in 3D as the previews sure made it look awesome!!! The kids really loved Ice Age though, so that was the important thing :o)

Now back to the room,... they didn't know that their bed was the pull out sofa they'd been sitting on. I kinda left that for the evenings "surprise" LOL Ahhh to be a kid again, when everything is so new and exciting huh???

Walking towards the room, they were both saying something like "I wonder what our bed is gonna look like???" Well, I was very happy to show them!!

And with that, we left them to their room, with their tv.... they didn't stay up too long. We were curled up in our bed over them,... and listened to the jabber,... and the tv until the wee hours LOL Finally I snuck down and turned the tv off.

Chris and I enjoyed talking about how well it went, and vowed that we needed to try and make more of an effort to do more things like this with them, even at the cost of it all. To see them so excited over little things, well, to me, that's always the best. I love to look through life through a childs eyes. This I guess is just a great age to view life through too.

In the morning, we did the hotel's free breakfast, and they had quite the spread. Geoffery got his waffles too!!! They were sorry to leave, but even a night away, I was happy to be home and back in our bed that night.

Happy 9th Birthday Geoffery.... glad it was the "most awesome Birthday ever" I hope we can top that next year!!!