Hi Everyone! I'm still here, believe it or not. I think I'm finally ready to blog again and once I explain, I think you'll understand why I haven't been on top of my blog game the past couple of months.
The Summer of 2011 has to be the most life changing summer of my life. Wait....that means the summer of '89 when I graduated high school and lived at the beach would be put to the wayside. Hmmm. Let's say the Summer of '89 was the BEST summer of my young life and the Summer of '11 was the life changing time, okay?
Where do I begin? We went on vacation in June with my life friend Lu and her family. We had a wonderful week of sand, laughing, golf cart riding, shopping, and eating. When we got home, regular life began again. The kids and I had doctor appointments of the regular kind. Makenna went and failed herself the skin allergy test. I'll try to remember to show a picture of that hot mess in another post. I went to my doctor to get medication refills and that's when the wind changed in my life.
I love my doctor. She is amazing and laid back and I would totally be friends with her in the "real world". We got to chatting and I looked her square in the eye and told her it was time to lose some weight. I was feeling old and tired...way beyond my years. She asked if I had considered bariatric surgery. I paused and then admitted that it had crossed my mind a time or two or thousand. She asked if I would be willing to talk with a bariatric doctor and I immediately agree. I had to confess that Summer of 2010, I started the process to have bariatric surgery at our local army base. I almost finished the process, but chickened out because I did NOT want to have any kind of surgery on a military base. (That's just me, guys, okay? If you don't know military medicine, then don't judge, please.) She said she would immediately put the referral in and I honestly didn't think much of it after that.
The next week, the first week of July, I got a call from the bariatric office to make an appointment for July 22nd. Wow. I was a tad surprised and maybe a tiny bit nervous the appointment was going to happen so fast. Trust me, that appointment came up on me quick.
Now, here's where I'm going to pause the story. It is so long and so involved and I have so many feelings and thoughts I want to share with you about this past Summer. I've decided I'm going to break it all down into parts and I PROMISE I will post in a timely fashion. There is so much stuff happening now, I can't afford NOT to post. You're missing out on my amazing children. I have a high school senior living in my house?!?! So many things going on there I need to share with you all.
I have to record this little snippet because I don't want to lose it. Last night my seven year old, my big boy, climbed up in my chair to sit with me so we could watch Survivor together. He was dressed for bed in a pair of pajama pants and pulled a blanket up with him so he could snuggle down to watch his show. I don't know what came over him, but he kept grabbing my chin with his little hand and turning/pulling me towards him so he could do loud smooching kisses on my cheeks. My son is not affectionate by nature. He is so like my Daddy in that aspect. You have to work hard to get love from that rascal. He kept smooching my cheek and getting so tickled. That, in turn, tickled me and Paige (who was sitting on the couch). I finally threatened to lick his face because he was being so sweet and he declared he didn't care. It was a very precious moment that I will treasure for always. He's growing so fast and is so independent...but for a little while, he was my baby again. The moment filled my heart to capacity.
You all come on back to the Edge. I'm going to take you on my journey I've started and who knows? There's no telling where we'll end up!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
What an Edgy Summer thus Far
I don't feel like I've slowed down since the summer started. I'll give you a brief re-cap of all the action we've had going on since the kids got out of school.
Last day of school, Neighbor Debbie showed up with her three kids. Why, you ask? Because Neighbor Greg got himself a job at the same company as The Man and I was going to have her here with me! I didn't say anything on the blog earlier because of "The Jinx". You get all excited and junk, and the universe steps in and laughs at you. I am excited to say, though, that they are living in the same neighborhood as we are and we are exactly .8 miles apart. We are two very happy women. I know we're meant to be friends because her family lived with us for almost a month while their house was being completed and we're all still alive! We did much walking through her house as it was being built/finished and observing details with slitted eyes. Many things were caught and fixed early but the builders hated us on sight. I know they had to have a champagne meal when closing happened and we weren't coming up with stuff on an hourly basis they needed to fix. Alas, they still have a year warranty to fix mistakes and we are not through looking yet. Every time I go over there (and that's quite a bit), I see a little something here and there that I draw to her attention and she takes note. Good times all the way around, Internets.
While the Neighbors were staying here, we went on a vacation to the beach in South Carolina. I did not take my laptop and it was quite a change not having my trusty 'puter near to my side. We went with Lu and her family and had quite the blast. I went in the ocean for the first time in twenty years and just thoroughly enjoyed myself. We did quite a few touristy things with the kids. Henna tattoos, zip lines, 20 story Ferris wheel rides, beach, pools, shopping, and golf cart riding. It was a full week that we needed badly. It was the first time in twenty years my husband wasn't rushing to go visit his family and rushing back to work. He relaxed and wore his new phone out playing games. I did way to much deck sitting and did not regret it one bit. I have quite a few pictures, but I'll address that in a moment.
We left the beach on Father's Day and headed back to my family (who live 30 miles from the beach). The Man was working with his company at another company in South Carolina that week, so we hung out at my parents for a visit. It was nice to have a few days to do some porch sitting with my Mama. On Tuesday, I took her all around shopping and out to lunch with my niece. We had ourselves a right large girl's time out. On Wednesday, I had to head home with the kids because real life just had to intrude with doctor's appointments and such.
Upon arriving home, I had to unpack/unload truck, catch up on Neighbor Debbie's house situation. We got home on Wednesday evening and they closed on their house on Friday. Suffice it to say, the next week was a blur as we helped by either painting or keeping the lovely Miss Nani (95 lbs. blond Lab) here with us and out of trouble. I am still a little dizzy by how fast things were moving.
Things may have started slowing down to where I could finally sit down and come talk to you and guess what happens?? MY LAPTOP DIED. Up and flippin' died on me. I am using The Man's computer at this moment and while it's sufficient? It ain't mine. He uses different programs and I'm set in my old ways and much prefer MY laptop and all the bells and whistles I know how to operate. Hopefully soon, he'll manage to get it to a facility that will fix it so I can ride the Internet in my own vehicle the way I like to do.
Oh, yes, many things going down this summer. Makenna failed the skin allergy test bigger than day. I have pictures of that mess. She starts allergy shots soon for who knows how long. Paige was allowed to get her nose pierced at the beach. What a story that is I'll have to share with you soon. Paige is also getting her wisdom teeth out in a week or so because they are impacted and her braces aren't going to work just right until those teeth are gone. Both girls have been selected to represent their orthodontist's office next week by singing the National Anthem at the Augusta Green Jackets baseball game, so this Mama has dragged the newly retired chorus teacher (Makenna's teacher last year) away from selling her home and packing up to train the girls with the new chorus teacher so they're comfortable and ready to represent the right way. Makenna starts her second golf class this evening because golf is her thang. School starts back in a month so there's preparation for that since my son will be attending a brand new school (we were re-zoned). My saving grace there is that his 5K and 1st grade teachers are also moving to the new school so my routine lovin' ADHD kid will have someone he's familiar with as an anchor. Paige will be starting her senior year and I'm the one having issues with that while I'm sure she has some kind of ticker hidden somewhere from me that has the countdown to graduation and her turning 18.
Hmmm...I'm about to think I may need to up my nerve medication a tad bit, don't you think? I have another single parenting gig to do before the year is out as The Man has a 15 week course (THAT ISN'T HERE) he has to complete for his job. I got this. This isn't my first rodeo and I have a teenager that has a license so I'm not afraid of any bull!
You will pray for me, right?
And I promise to provide some really awesome pictures when I get my laptop up and running again.
Last day of school, Neighbor Debbie showed up with her three kids. Why, you ask? Because Neighbor Greg got himself a job at the same company as The Man and I was going to have her here with me! I didn't say anything on the blog earlier because of "The Jinx". You get all excited and junk, and the universe steps in and laughs at you. I am excited to say, though, that they are living in the same neighborhood as we are and we are exactly .8 miles apart. We are two very happy women. I know we're meant to be friends because her family lived with us for almost a month while their house was being completed and we're all still alive! We did much walking through her house as it was being built/finished and observing details with slitted eyes. Many things were caught and fixed early but the builders hated us on sight. I know they had to have a champagne meal when closing happened and we weren't coming up with stuff on an hourly basis they needed to fix. Alas, they still have a year warranty to fix mistakes and we are not through looking yet. Every time I go over there (and that's quite a bit), I see a little something here and there that I draw to her attention and she takes note. Good times all the way around, Internets.
While the Neighbors were staying here, we went on a vacation to the beach in South Carolina. I did not take my laptop and it was quite a change not having my trusty 'puter near to my side. We went with Lu and her family and had quite the blast. I went in the ocean for the first time in twenty years and just thoroughly enjoyed myself. We did quite a few touristy things with the kids. Henna tattoos, zip lines, 20 story Ferris wheel rides, beach, pools, shopping, and golf cart riding. It was a full week that we needed badly. It was the first time in twenty years my husband wasn't rushing to go visit his family and rushing back to work. He relaxed and wore his new phone out playing games. I did way to much deck sitting and did not regret it one bit. I have quite a few pictures, but I'll address that in a moment.
We left the beach on Father's Day and headed back to my family (who live 30 miles from the beach). The Man was working with his company at another company in South Carolina that week, so we hung out at my parents for a visit. It was nice to have a few days to do some porch sitting with my Mama. On Tuesday, I took her all around shopping and out to lunch with my niece. We had ourselves a right large girl's time out. On Wednesday, I had to head home with the kids because real life just had to intrude with doctor's appointments and such.
Upon arriving home, I had to unpack/unload truck, catch up on Neighbor Debbie's house situation. We got home on Wednesday evening and they closed on their house on Friday. Suffice it to say, the next week was a blur as we helped by either painting or keeping the lovely Miss Nani (95 lbs. blond Lab) here with us and out of trouble. I am still a little dizzy by how fast things were moving.
Things may have started slowing down to where I could finally sit down and come talk to you and guess what happens?? MY LAPTOP DIED. Up and flippin' died on me. I am using The Man's computer at this moment and while it's sufficient? It ain't mine. He uses different programs and I'm set in my old ways and much prefer MY laptop and all the bells and whistles I know how to operate. Hopefully soon, he'll manage to get it to a facility that will fix it so I can ride the Internet in my own vehicle the way I like to do.
Oh, yes, many things going down this summer. Makenna failed the skin allergy test bigger than day. I have pictures of that mess. She starts allergy shots soon for who knows how long. Paige was allowed to get her nose pierced at the beach. What a story that is I'll have to share with you soon. Paige is also getting her wisdom teeth out in a week or so because they are impacted and her braces aren't going to work just right until those teeth are gone. Both girls have been selected to represent their orthodontist's office next week by singing the National Anthem at the Augusta Green Jackets baseball game, so this Mama has dragged the newly retired chorus teacher (Makenna's teacher last year) away from selling her home and packing up to train the girls with the new chorus teacher so they're comfortable and ready to represent the right way. Makenna starts her second golf class this evening because golf is her thang. School starts back in a month so there's preparation for that since my son will be attending a brand new school (we were re-zoned). My saving grace there is that his 5K and 1st grade teachers are also moving to the new school so my routine lovin' ADHD kid will have someone he's familiar with as an anchor. Paige will be starting her senior year and I'm the one having issues with that while I'm sure she has some kind of ticker hidden somewhere from me that has the countdown to graduation and her turning 18.
Hmmm...I'm about to think I may need to up my nerve medication a tad bit, don't you think? I have another single parenting gig to do before the year is out as The Man has a 15 week course (THAT ISN'T HERE) he has to complete for his job. I got this. This isn't my first rodeo and I have a teenager that has a license so I'm not afraid of any bull!
You will pray for me, right?
And I promise to provide some really awesome pictures when I get my laptop up and running again.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Water Deal!
My son will most probably be quite ill with me for sharing this with the world later on in life, but it's just a good thing I have to share with my close and personal Internet friends.
How many of you have issues getting your child to drink water? Oh, this has been such a hard battle for us around the house. My poor baby has intestinal issues due to his medication. ADHD medication can make a person very constipated and miserable. Daily, we have to slip a little of the generic miralax in his juice to hopefully help him "keep things moving". No joke, he's only been using the bathroom in that capacity once a week. On Saturday mornings. Like clockwork. I've had to go pick him up from school because of this issue and his stomach was hurting so badly he would sit on the potty and wail like a wounded bear. Are you feeling sorry for him yet? I know it breaks my heart on a regular basis because, DANG, that's just miserable, man.
The last visit to the dentist to get his teeth cleaned showed his teeth could be doing better. Gah, I hate when they put you on the spot and ask you how much water your child drinks. I do what any parent does, I hem and haw and try to avoid answering. But, they know. They know I'm not forcing water down his throat by any means possible. It makes me so ashamed.
Summer vacation started last week around Friday. Monday, as the first full week started, he started asking for soda to drink. I don't mind him drinking a little diet coke here and there, but there was no way I was going to let that be the ONLY liquid he put in his system all day long. The Man had purchased some 32 oz. water bottles a few months ago. Paige takes one daily to school to try and make her water quota. That smart sister got out the other one and told him they were going to have a contest to see who could drink a full one first. I sat back and let her work her magic. Of course, The Boy rose to the challenge because he's seriously competitive (he gets that from both his parents). A little may have spilled in the bathroom sink, but he truly drank most of the bottle. I was amazed and was very vocal about how awesome he was for drinking all that water.
That one day was awesome, but how was I going to get this to work the rest of the summer???
Tuesday morning found my boy up in the bathroom. That water worked it's magic on his system and, as the saying goes, "he got his oil changed". He was all skippy-do after that. Feeling good and sipping water. He started asking for some Diet Dr. Pepper he saw in the fridge and I told him when he finished his water, he could have some. Game on. By mid afternoon, that water was gone (I suspect a few ounces may have spilled down the bathroom sink again, but he seriously drank most of the water.)
Yesterday was hilarious. All that water coursing through his system was doing a great job and he was so gassy. If he wasn't burping? It was out the other end. I was ecstatic because this meant he was getting what his body needs and maybe, just maybe, if he kept this up? We could skip that powder in his breakfast juice.
Every few minutes, we would hear him say, "Excuse me!" as yet more gas escaped his body. Finally, he came up to me and was just tickled to pieces, all little boy giggly and he exclaimed, "I'M SO GASSY AND BURPY TODAY!!" I laughed and agreed and we both got tickled together.
This morning, I got up and fixed his breakfast with his cup of powder free apple juice. I went ahead and fixed his water bottle to put beside his plate. Without a word, he ate his breakfast, took his medication, and grabbed that spill-proof water bottle (whew! no spills!) to head on about his day. He keeps it within reach and will sip on it as he does his thing. He believes that if he can drink that water, he can get a little bit of soda in the afternoon/evening time to enjoy. And believe me, he thoroughly enjoys that soda like it's fine champagne.
I hope and pray I can keep this up and it becomes a habit with him. Since he has fallen in love with golf (another post soon), I have stressed that he will definitely need to keep that water bottle close when he and Dad go golfing since it's so hot here. He agrees whole heartedly because he was "sweatin' t'death" last Saturday morning when they went to play around.
Now I have to convince the tween that water is a good idea for her, too. It'll help with that acne stuff trying to come through on her forehead. I personally am not a fan of the water, but am a HUGE fan of the Crystal Lite and drink loads of that each day.
You do all realize that my son will probably keep drinking the water if he realizes it's the reason he's so gassy. Because little boys and a gassy body are best friends. Nothing cooler than the gas...or funnier.
How many of you have issues getting your child to drink water? Oh, this has been such a hard battle for us around the house. My poor baby has intestinal issues due to his medication. ADHD medication can make a person very constipated and miserable. Daily, we have to slip a little of the generic miralax in his juice to hopefully help him "keep things moving". No joke, he's only been using the bathroom in that capacity once a week. On Saturday mornings. Like clockwork. I've had to go pick him up from school because of this issue and his stomach was hurting so badly he would sit on the potty and wail like a wounded bear. Are you feeling sorry for him yet? I know it breaks my heart on a regular basis because, DANG, that's just miserable, man.
The last visit to the dentist to get his teeth cleaned showed his teeth could be doing better. Gah, I hate when they put you on the spot and ask you how much water your child drinks. I do what any parent does, I hem and haw and try to avoid answering. But, they know. They know I'm not forcing water down his throat by any means possible. It makes me so ashamed.
Summer vacation started last week around Friday. Monday, as the first full week started, he started asking for soda to drink. I don't mind him drinking a little diet coke here and there, but there was no way I was going to let that be the ONLY liquid he put in his system all day long. The Man had purchased some 32 oz. water bottles a few months ago. Paige takes one daily to school to try and make her water quota. That smart sister got out the other one and told him they were going to have a contest to see who could drink a full one first. I sat back and let her work her magic. Of course, The Boy rose to the challenge because he's seriously competitive (he gets that from both his parents). A little may have spilled in the bathroom sink, but he truly drank most of the bottle. I was amazed and was very vocal about how awesome he was for drinking all that water.
That one day was awesome, but how was I going to get this to work the rest of the summer???
Tuesday morning found my boy up in the bathroom. That water worked it's magic on his system and, as the saying goes, "he got his oil changed". He was all skippy-do after that. Feeling good and sipping water. He started asking for some Diet Dr. Pepper he saw in the fridge and I told him when he finished his water, he could have some. Game on. By mid afternoon, that water was gone (I suspect a few ounces may have spilled down the bathroom sink again, but he seriously drank most of the water.)
Yesterday was hilarious. All that water coursing through his system was doing a great job and he was so gassy. If he wasn't burping? It was out the other end. I was ecstatic because this meant he was getting what his body needs and maybe, just maybe, if he kept this up? We could skip that powder in his breakfast juice.
Every few minutes, we would hear him say, "Excuse me!" as yet more gas escaped his body. Finally, he came up to me and was just tickled to pieces, all little boy giggly and he exclaimed, "I'M SO GASSY AND BURPY TODAY!!" I laughed and agreed and we both got tickled together.
This morning, I got up and fixed his breakfast with his cup of powder free apple juice. I went ahead and fixed his water bottle to put beside his plate. Without a word, he ate his breakfast, took his medication, and grabbed that spill-proof water bottle (whew! no spills!) to head on about his day. He keeps it within reach and will sip on it as he does his thing. He believes that if he can drink that water, he can get a little bit of soda in the afternoon/evening time to enjoy. And believe me, he thoroughly enjoys that soda like it's fine champagne.
I hope and pray I can keep this up and it becomes a habit with him. Since he has fallen in love with golf (another post soon), I have stressed that he will definitely need to keep that water bottle close when he and Dad go golfing since it's so hot here. He agrees whole heartedly because he was "sweatin' t'death" last Saturday morning when they went to play around.
Now I have to convince the tween that water is a good idea for her, too. It'll help with that acne stuff trying to come through on her forehead. I personally am not a fan of the water, but am a HUGE fan of the Crystal Lite and drink loads of that each day.
You do all realize that my son will probably keep drinking the water if he realizes it's the reason he's so gassy. Because little boys and a gassy body are best friends. Nothing cooler than the gas...or funnier.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Is it really a gift?
I have a gifted family. Well, that's what the tests say. It's not a brag, either. Dealing with gifted people on a regular basis can be hard, Internets. I know first hand. See, I used to be gifted. I was in gifted classes all through school from 2nd grade through high school. I was so smart I was stupid. My Mama will be more than happy to testify that I'm telling the truth.
Paige and Makenna both are in gifted classes and have been since early ages. Now that Paige is in high school, she's ignored her abilities somewhat and The Man and I have to show our butts, get all strict discipline and mean to get the right results. Wears us out on a regular basis. Paige is quite funny, too. She can't stand stupidity. It is like one of her major pet peeves. Since she was young, she's been able to carry on a decent conversation with adults. She has an air of maturity about her that is quite scary when people guess her to be in her 20's and she's ...say 14. (Imagine how it is now that she's 17.) I know teenagers believe themselves to be experts on any and every thing there is in life. Add in being gifted and you got yourself a hard road to ride some times.
I believe I am no longer gifted. Thank Goodness! The Lord had mercy up on me because some one in this house has to have some common sense!!! I am perfectly fine with this but it does give me a headache at times when my smart people go too far out of the thinking box.
A few weeks ago we were outside in the back yard flying kites. My son has become obsessed with kites and their flying glory. I appreciate the local W*lmart selling them for a buck, too. As Paige was helping her little brother, she started telling us about what happened in science class that day.
Story goes:
Teacher asked the class how many transformers there are and what are their names.
My child immediately shoots her hand up in the air (I personally want to picture a Horseshack kind of thing going on here) and exclaims that she knows!
She then smugly tells the teacher and the class:
"There are two transformers. Autobots and Decepticons."
And sits back confident in her answer.
The teacher looks at her. The students look at her.
That wasn't the answer.
If you don't get this, Internets? I'll be praying for you. If you DO get this? Please, be praying for me.
After I caught my breath from laughing, I declared, "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my gifted child!"
Paige and Makenna both are in gifted classes and have been since early ages. Now that Paige is in high school, she's ignored her abilities somewhat and The Man and I have to show our butts, get all strict discipline and mean to get the right results. Wears us out on a regular basis. Paige is quite funny, too. She can't stand stupidity. It is like one of her major pet peeves. Since she was young, she's been able to carry on a decent conversation with adults. She has an air of maturity about her that is quite scary when people guess her to be in her 20's and she's ...say 14. (Imagine how it is now that she's 17.) I know teenagers believe themselves to be experts on any and every thing there is in life. Add in being gifted and you got yourself a hard road to ride some times.
I believe I am no longer gifted. Thank Goodness! The Lord had mercy up on me because some one in this house has to have some common sense!!! I am perfectly fine with this but it does give me a headache at times when my smart people go too far out of the thinking box.
A few weeks ago we were outside in the back yard flying kites. My son has become obsessed with kites and their flying glory. I appreciate the local W*lmart selling them for a buck, too. As Paige was helping her little brother, she started telling us about what happened in science class that day.
Story goes:
Teacher asked the class how many transformers there are and what are their names.
My child immediately shoots her hand up in the air (I personally want to picture a Horseshack kind of thing going on here) and exclaims that she knows!
She then smugly tells the teacher and the class:
"There are two transformers. Autobots and Decepticons."
And sits back confident in her answer.
The teacher looks at her. The students look at her.
That wasn't the answer.
If you don't get this, Internets? I'll be praying for you. If you DO get this? Please, be praying for me.
After I caught my breath from laughing, I declared, "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my gifted child!"
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Forty is the way to go
Well, I'm officially forty years old. Yep, it happened last week on Friday the 13th. I didn't really know how I felt about turning such a momentous age. I still don't. I don't feel any different than I did last week when I was 39, but I've been warned that some kind of signal goes off in your body when you hit 40 and things start acting funky and maybe even breaking down. This is where I stubbornly refuse to discuss how far away I have to put something out so I can read it.
It all started the week before Easter. I kid you not. Lu and her family were coming to spend Easter with us as has become our tradition. I toyed with going to South Carolina for the holiday since we haven't visited since February (life gets so busy!). Lu said she wanted to come here and The Man said he wanted to hang at home. I shrugged and agreed, wasn't a big deal to me. I found out that week that The Man's cousin from Tennessee was coming for a visit as her son is stationed here at the local army base and she wanted to see him. Shoot, the more the merrier is what I say! Thing is, H. (said cousin's name) is a "clean 'em up" kind of gal. If you got a mess? She'll clean it. It used to bother me years ago, but I know it's how she rolls and I have come to accept it. Still, I wanted my house clean as possible so she wouldn't feel compelled to do much while she was here. It became necessary for my dining room to be painted and finished before Easter weekend.
So began a hard 4 days of work to paint and get it all straight while cleaning house. That Man took off a couple of days from work so he could focus on the dining room. He was like a man possessed, I tell ya! I was totally impressed with how dedicated he was to finishing this room because he's not usually in the same frame of mind as I am when it comes to getting projects done. Makenna stayed home from school (because she had plenty of days) to help me clean on Friday before everyone arrived. People started rolling in that evening and the good times started! It was noisy and loud and full of kids and adults laughing. Perfect. (And just so you know? I find it kind of but not really funny that I ended up cleaning for my own party. Just sayin'.)
That Saturday, Lu and I had made plans for an afternoon just for us. We haven't had any time just to ourselves in a very long time and we were hitting the town. Evening plans were for us to come back, grab the men and head to Carrabas as that's our "date" place to go when she and her husband are in town. Let me tell you, I was right excited because I do love that place with good eating. We spent an hour or so getting manicures and pedicures then headed out to shop. I mentioned a few times that we needed to head back around 4 so we could get to the restaurant early before the crowd hit. Little did I know she was texting the men like crazy telling them to help her stall me. My husband called and said he had called the restaurant and we had reservations for 6 p.m. Cool, that meant more time to shop!
Finally, it was time to head back to the house. When we drove up, I saw many vehicles, but really didn't think much of it. We had a lot of people staying that weekend. When I walked in, I didn't see anyone but my husband sitting in his recliner. I made the comment that it looked like there was a party at my house with all the cars when I glanced into the kitchen. I saw my friend Kim standing there and I thought "That's Kim. What is she doing here?" That's when a huge group of people jumped out and yelled SURPRISE! My husband had thrown me a surprise 40th birthday party. I was floored. I had no clue whatsoever. Apparently, he had been planning this party for a month and a half with all my friends in cahoots with him. It was surreal and just awesome. Want to be even more impressed? Dude got it catered. There was a spread of food in my kitchen from a favorite restaurant of ours (Sticky Fingers- ribs, chicken, slaw, mac-n-cheese...good stuff). He had ordered five cheesecakes from a place that makes the best cheesecakes in the world instead of a birthday cake. He had seriously thought of everything. I could not have asked for a better party, Internets.
I would like to also state that maybe a few times during the party I loudly made the comment: "You do all realize that I am 39 years and 49 week-ish old, right? RIGHT?" Everyone was kind and gracious and conceded that I was still a lovely 39 and looking nowhere near 40.
The party was held early because my husband had to leave for a class up North on Mother's Day for two weeks. He missed my actual birthday (and, yes, I was sad), but when duty calls and the paycheck depends on it, you do what you have to do. (I am SO ready for him to get home this Friday!) He is still right smug over pulling this over on me and I'm letting him be as smug as he wants to be because he totally earned it.
That wasn't the end of The Celebration. Oh, no no no. If you thought it was? Then you must not know Miss Hope. No sir, I claim at least two days for a birthday. Three if my birthday falls on Mother's Day (and it will yet again next year). It only seemed fitting that turning 40 should claim at least four days, don't you agree?
Friday the 13th dawned clear with promise of a good day ahead of me. Carla Girl was claiming me for a lunch date with a little bit of shopping thrown in for good measure. First, I had to go to my son's school to see him perform in a classroom play where he had a speaking part! I had to record every single minute so Dad can see it when he gets home. I took my job seriously and did my best to get every single cute second. After that, I had to roll over to the middle school to rescue my daughter's cell phone. She forgot to put it on vibrate and it went off in class. Fair enough. While I was there, I found out she had to serve an hour of detention for having the phone. Do you know how I feel about kids having phones at school? Mine will. I'm still haunted by Columbine all those years ago. Makenna was devastated she had to do ~shudder~ DETENTION, but I told her to buck up and serve. It wasn't like the end of the world. Just remember to turn the thing off from here on out (as I handed it back to her all ninja-like). *She has since served detention with the P.E. Coach in charge who talked golf with her and then made her write about golf, then stopped her after she hit four pages. I think she had a good time?*
Back to the Birthday Story. (I tried to tell you my life has been crazy busy!) I finally finished my business at the schools and met Carla Girl at my house where we took off for some fine lunch dining. For you golf fans out there, I waved at the Augusta National as we drove by on the way to the restaurant near by. She had a hat for me to wear, with awesome glasses. As we ordered our diet cokes, she proceeded to bring out the napkins from her purse, along with another little table topper. I laughed and just enjoyed the meal. We headed to Macy's afterwards where I did, indeed, wear the hat with glasses perched on top all through the store. I even had the Happy Birthday Song sung to me in the middle of Macy's. Can YOU say that's ever happened to you? We hit a few more stores before I headed back to the house.
Neighbor Debbie rolled in that evening. She had been asking me for months what I wanted for my birthday and I just kept telling her all I wanted was for her to be here to share it with me. She threatened that she was going to give me a bucket full of circus peanuts if I didn't get my act together and tell her something. Wait until you see the pictures. Lu, Tiffany, and kids rolled in Saturday morning to share the rest of the weekend. This would be day three of celebration. Let's see......Neighbor Debbie, Paige, Lu, Tiffany, and myself headed out to get ourselves a pedicure. I'm so glad we caught the salon at a good time because we owned that place for a couple of hours. We all got funky designs on our toes, a few brows got waxed, and SOME people who will remain nameless will be getting more pedicures in the future since they shaved enough dead skin off the bottom of feet to make at least 3 small children. *ewww* There was lots of laughter and smack talk going around.
That evening we took all 13 people who were in this house to a local pizza place. The kids were thrilled and the smaller ones got to play in the game room. The adults sat around the table gabbing until we had to leave or someone was going bust a gut from laughing or over eating. We ended the evening with the adults around the kitchen table telling tales from our childhood and past. Neighbor Greg was a good sport about being around all the women and even had a few stories of his own to share. We went to bed late but tired and happy. I'll claim Sunday as my 4th day of celebration because we woke up to drink coffee and even more talking and laughing over breakfast. Man, that was a good weekend. It would have been perfect had my husband been here.
So, now I'm 40. I celebrated it thoroughly from beginning to end and then some. Did I mention that when I got home from lunch with Carla Girl, I then donned the tiara Paige wore to her party? Yeah, and I wore it to pick up my son's prescription and through the McDonald's drive-thru to pick up some supper. That's how I roll, man. I don't have pictures from my party because there's none on my camera! I know some pictures were taken, I just have to find out who took them and get copies.
Just so you know, I don't feel old. I feel seasoned. Heh heh. Yeah, seasoned. That's it. We're still not going to talk about how reading fine print is almost not an option for me anymore.
Enjoy the few pictures I managed to get!
I was rolling in style! There's a button on the side of the hat that says "Another Year of Fabulous!". The glasses were hard to wear but worked perfectly on top of the hat. Yes, I got a few looks in stores, but it was all good!
The menu from where we ate, table topper (which now sits beside my chair here at home), and napkins. Carla Girl believes in themes and I thought it was awesome! It sure helped me score an awesome free dessert.
Okay, about the circus peanuts. My Grandma always had these in her candy dish so I've loved them my whole life. Yes, I know they're pure sugar, but now they're more for the memories than the sugar rush. When the Chief's Wives club I was in did secret pals, I put these as my favorite and would get them all the time and loved it! Now, this vase they're in? Was one I dearly wanted so SCORE for getting the peanuts -it took 8 bags to fill this vase up- AND the vase that is gorgeous.
This is the birthday card Neighbor Debbie did for me. It has to be the most AWESOME card I have ever seen in my life. There's alot of thought and work put into this card, not to mention good candy that may or may not be shared with loved ones. I know I can't keep the candy forever, but you can bet your butt I'm going to hang onto the bestest birthday card EVAH.
It all started the week before Easter. I kid you not. Lu and her family were coming to spend Easter with us as has become our tradition. I toyed with going to South Carolina for the holiday since we haven't visited since February (life gets so busy!). Lu said she wanted to come here and The Man said he wanted to hang at home. I shrugged and agreed, wasn't a big deal to me. I found out that week that The Man's cousin from Tennessee was coming for a visit as her son is stationed here at the local army base and she wanted to see him. Shoot, the more the merrier is what I say! Thing is, H. (said cousin's name) is a "clean 'em up" kind of gal. If you got a mess? She'll clean it. It used to bother me years ago, but I know it's how she rolls and I have come to accept it. Still, I wanted my house clean as possible so she wouldn't feel compelled to do much while she was here. It became necessary for my dining room to be painted and finished before Easter weekend.
So began a hard 4 days of work to paint and get it all straight while cleaning house. That Man took off a couple of days from work so he could focus on the dining room. He was like a man possessed, I tell ya! I was totally impressed with how dedicated he was to finishing this room because he's not usually in the same frame of mind as I am when it comes to getting projects done. Makenna stayed home from school (because she had plenty of days) to help me clean on Friday before everyone arrived. People started rolling in that evening and the good times started! It was noisy and loud and full of kids and adults laughing. Perfect. (And just so you know? I find it kind of but not really funny that I ended up cleaning for my own party. Just sayin'.)
That Saturday, Lu and I had made plans for an afternoon just for us. We haven't had any time just to ourselves in a very long time and we were hitting the town. Evening plans were for us to come back, grab the men and head to Carrabas as that's our "date" place to go when she and her husband are in town. Let me tell you, I was right excited because I do love that place with good eating. We spent an hour or so getting manicures and pedicures then headed out to shop. I mentioned a few times that we needed to head back around 4 so we could get to the restaurant early before the crowd hit. Little did I know she was texting the men like crazy telling them to help her stall me. My husband called and said he had called the restaurant and we had reservations for 6 p.m. Cool, that meant more time to shop!
Finally, it was time to head back to the house. When we drove up, I saw many vehicles, but really didn't think much of it. We had a lot of people staying that weekend. When I walked in, I didn't see anyone but my husband sitting in his recliner. I made the comment that it looked like there was a party at my house with all the cars when I glanced into the kitchen. I saw my friend Kim standing there and I thought "That's Kim. What is she doing here?" That's when a huge group of people jumped out and yelled SURPRISE! My husband had thrown me a surprise 40th birthday party. I was floored. I had no clue whatsoever. Apparently, he had been planning this party for a month and a half with all my friends in cahoots with him. It was surreal and just awesome. Want to be even more impressed? Dude got it catered. There was a spread of food in my kitchen from a favorite restaurant of ours (Sticky Fingers- ribs, chicken, slaw, mac-n-cheese...good stuff). He had ordered five cheesecakes from a place that makes the best cheesecakes in the world instead of a birthday cake. He had seriously thought of everything. I could not have asked for a better party, Internets.
I would like to also state that maybe a few times during the party I loudly made the comment: "You do all realize that I am 39 years and 49 week-ish old, right? RIGHT?" Everyone was kind and gracious and conceded that I was still a lovely 39 and looking nowhere near 40.
The party was held early because my husband had to leave for a class up North on Mother's Day for two weeks. He missed my actual birthday (and, yes, I was sad), but when duty calls and the paycheck depends on it, you do what you have to do. (I am SO ready for him to get home this Friday!) He is still right smug over pulling this over on me and I'm letting him be as smug as he wants to be because he totally earned it.
That wasn't the end of The Celebration. Oh, no no no. If you thought it was? Then you must not know Miss Hope. No sir, I claim at least two days for a birthday. Three if my birthday falls on Mother's Day (and it will yet again next year). It only seemed fitting that turning 40 should claim at least four days, don't you agree?
Friday the 13th dawned clear with promise of a good day ahead of me. Carla Girl was claiming me for a lunch date with a little bit of shopping thrown in for good measure. First, I had to go to my son's school to see him perform in a classroom play where he had a speaking part! I had to record every single minute so Dad can see it when he gets home. I took my job seriously and did my best to get every single cute second. After that, I had to roll over to the middle school to rescue my daughter's cell phone. She forgot to put it on vibrate and it went off in class. Fair enough. While I was there, I found out she had to serve an hour of detention for having the phone. Do you know how I feel about kids having phones at school? Mine will. I'm still haunted by Columbine all those years ago. Makenna was devastated she had to do ~shudder~ DETENTION, but I told her to buck up and serve. It wasn't like the end of the world. Just remember to turn the thing off from here on out (as I handed it back to her all ninja-like). *She has since served detention with the P.E. Coach in charge who talked golf with her and then made her write about golf, then stopped her after she hit four pages. I think she had a good time?*
Back to the Birthday Story. (I tried to tell you my life has been crazy busy!) I finally finished my business at the schools and met Carla Girl at my house where we took off for some fine lunch dining. For you golf fans out there, I waved at the Augusta National as we drove by on the way to the restaurant near by. She had a hat for me to wear, with awesome glasses. As we ordered our diet cokes, she proceeded to bring out the napkins from her purse, along with another little table topper. I laughed and just enjoyed the meal. We headed to Macy's afterwards where I did, indeed, wear the hat with glasses perched on top all through the store. I even had the Happy Birthday Song sung to me in the middle of Macy's. Can YOU say that's ever happened to you? We hit a few more stores before I headed back to the house.
Neighbor Debbie rolled in that evening. She had been asking me for months what I wanted for my birthday and I just kept telling her all I wanted was for her to be here to share it with me. She threatened that she was going to give me a bucket full of circus peanuts if I didn't get my act together and tell her something. Wait until you see the pictures. Lu, Tiffany, and kids rolled in Saturday morning to share the rest of the weekend. This would be day three of celebration. Let's see......Neighbor Debbie, Paige, Lu, Tiffany, and myself headed out to get ourselves a pedicure. I'm so glad we caught the salon at a good time because we owned that place for a couple of hours. We all got funky designs on our toes, a few brows got waxed, and SOME people who will remain nameless will be getting more pedicures in the future since they shaved enough dead skin off the bottom of feet to make at least 3 small children. *ewww* There was lots of laughter and smack talk going around.
That evening we took all 13 people who were in this house to a local pizza place. The kids were thrilled and the smaller ones got to play in the game room. The adults sat around the table gabbing until we had to leave or someone was going bust a gut from laughing or over eating. We ended the evening with the adults around the kitchen table telling tales from our childhood and past. Neighbor Greg was a good sport about being around all the women and even had a few stories of his own to share. We went to bed late but tired and happy. I'll claim Sunday as my 4th day of celebration because we woke up to drink coffee and even more talking and laughing over breakfast. Man, that was a good weekend. It would have been perfect had my husband been here.
So, now I'm 40. I celebrated it thoroughly from beginning to end and then some. Did I mention that when I got home from lunch with Carla Girl, I then donned the tiara Paige wore to her party? Yeah, and I wore it to pick up my son's prescription and through the McDonald's drive-thru to pick up some supper. That's how I roll, man. I don't have pictures from my party because there's none on my camera! I know some pictures were taken, I just have to find out who took them and get copies.
Just so you know, I don't feel old. I feel seasoned. Heh heh. Yeah, seasoned. That's it. We're still not going to talk about how reading fine print is almost not an option for me anymore.
Enjoy the few pictures I managed to get!
Friday, May 06, 2011
Beautiful 17
Yes, I know it's been too long since my last post. I can apologize all day long but it has been crazy here! Since my last post, Paige turned 17 along with having an amazing birthday party, my husband threw me a surprise early birthday party (!!!), Easter happened, car wrecks, awards ceremonies, and some home improvement projects. I warned you it's been crazy!
This post is going to be dedicated to my beautiful now 17 year old daughter. I think this is the first time I've had a problem with my child's age. She's seventeen. That's one year from being eighteen, you know. Ahhh, eighteen, the magical age where you are a legal adult and can spread your wings and try to fly. She's right excited about that magical age, too.
I am so conflicted over my prematurely born baby growing up. I totally get how you blink and they're grown and gone. My years with her have truly flown by. Okay, that's a lie. There have been a few times that I may have stated that if I get this kid grown and gone, I'm throwing myself a big party to celebrate. I also have to laugh because this sister is her mother's child. I see myself all over her at that age. She's fiercely independent with opinions that usually don't agree with mine and her dad's. She has her own political thoughts and I'm pretty sure she's muttered that we are archaic about ours under her breath. It's all good. It shows that I haven't raised a person to enter society believing everything she hears without going on missions to find the truth for herself.
Paige asked me around February if she could have a 17th birthday party. I immediately said yes because her 16th birthday wasn't the greatest. We hadn't been living here but a few months and she really didn't know enough people to even have a party last April. I felt so badly for her as most of the kids in this area have Sweet Sixteen parties. You want to talk about a Mama who ached for her child? I sure did when I moved her in the middle of her sophomore year from a school and friends she loved dearly. (That situation would fall under parental decisions you don't want to ever have to make in your child's life.) My baby has had a rough year adjusting to living in this new place. I'm so glad to say that I think she's finally found her niche and her sparkling personality and will be just fine until she graduates.
We started planning at that moment and about a month before the party, we started to seriously think of themes and decorations. She finally decided she wanted to go with a zebra stripe and lime green for her colors. Then began the hunt on the internet to see what we could find. Okay, for the record? Zebra stripe is some popular stuff and if you want to use it at your own party? Order it weeks in advance. Boxes started arriving a couple of weeks before the big party day and Paige, Makenna, and I were so excited to open them and see the goodies we had ordered. Did I mention there was some disco ball added up in the mix of things? Little did I know that you could make a facebook event of the whole deal. That wasn't good enough for me. Parties need invitations. Call me old school, I don't care. Carla Girl whipped me up a template for her invitations and emailed them to me. We printed up post cards of red carpet and disco ball goodness for her pass out the week before the big date.
I decided to keep the menu sweet and simple. I gotta give a small shoutout to Walmart for this post. Did you know if they have a deli, there are affordable party foods you can order? Neighbor Debbie used some of Walmart's deli skills for Neighbor Greg's retirement and I decided to check them out for Paige's party. You can order six foot long sandwiches for twenty five bucks. I ordered three and when The Man went to pick them up, they gave him three more because the fresh baked bread they make the sandwiches out of wasn't as wide as they would have liked. Those sandwiches were amazing but we were sure tired of eating them a week later. I went to Sam's Club and bought chex mix, chips, and a nifty beverage station (pictures of that one). Add in a pack or two of cookies, along with the cake, and that was the menu.
The party was a huge success and she had between 20-30 teenagers come to party. The party was held at our neighborhood clubhouse. It was perfect and spacious for those loud kids to have a good time. Can I just say that I am beyond impressed with the friends my child has picked? There were six adult chaperones because this gal remembers being seventeen, if you know what I mean. This group of kids were absolutely fabulous. They laughed and danced and sang and ate. They were polite and gracious. No one tried to sneak out and come back in. It was a pure pleasure to have them at my child's party. Neighbors' Debbie and Greg, and new friends James and Sherry were just as amazed as The Man and myself over how wonderful this group of kids behaved and acted. Everyone considered the party a complete success and I had one happy girl when all was said and done.
Now, I have to take a deep breath and brace myself for this last year before 18. I will be truly excited over Senior pictures and all the crazy things that high school seniors get to take part. I already catch myself sneaking extra looks in my child's direction. I want to treasure this year and hold it close so when she's ready to fly...I'll be able to let her.
Oh, and just to show how exciting this year has been for her since she turned 17 on April 14th? She's gotten into her first fender bender. My heart stopped when she called to let me know, but she had wonderful cops (seriously, they were just awesome), and her worries that Mama and Daddy were going to be furious (we weren't. It was an ACCIDENT and she was okay...so we're okay). It traumatized my Drama Llama and Miss Scarlett had to take to her boudoir for the rest of the evening to recover. (It was literally a tap kind of thing, but the Loser Cruiser (the vehicle she has to share with The Man) is going to need some cosmetic work before hitting the highway again.)
We also found out yesterday that she has passed the state of Georgia's Graduation Exam!!! With honor and advanced scores!!! When she showed me the test scores there was alot of girl squealing all around and high fives and hugs. She will totally enjoy her Senior year now with that out of the way. We are so proud of her for this accomplishment. Poor kid has issues with math (like her Mama) and she has struggled with understanding and passing. Get this, though. She got an honor score in that subject! That's my girl.
Now, I shall share a few pictures of the party with you.
Ahhh, the cake table. We used fiber optic pieces all over the clubhouse so when it got dark, they were a huge hit! I kept the decorating simple, yet chic. I hope. The napkins are zebra stripes on the edge of white napkins with lime green napkins mixed in to make cute piles.
Look at this cake. It was simply amazing. I may have flinched a little when paying for it, but it was worth it! Everyone took pictures of it and we all seriously hated to cut it when the time came. Do you like the bling scattered around the bottom?
Again, simple decorations. These balloons are HUGE. When I saw the disco ball balloon, I just could not resist. Try riding around town with these bad boys up in the back bouncing around.
This is the food table. Simple food, but teenagers are not picky. They all ate well and enjoyed fixing their own sandwich to their liking. (One kid ate like 3 or 4 sandwiches and had to go home early. We wondered if his Mama fed him?)
The beverage table. Paige was a tad alarmed when she found out I was only serving lemonade. I informed her that I wasn't taking all these kids to raise (Southern for- I'm not providing a ten course meal.) She worried that they wouldn't like the lemonade. I splurged and ordered the lime green plastic wine glasses. Sharpies were provided so you could put your name on your cup and decorate to your heart's content. I was doing that to prevent them from wasting cups. Apparently, that was the biggest hit of the evening. They totally dug being able to decorate their cups.
The Beverage Station. You should have seen these kids. I promise I made around 8-9 gallons of lemonade (big container bought from Sam's). It was fancy and cute and they couldn't get enough. I kind of want to think they drink soda as a staple and the lemonade was something different. Add in the fanciness with a spout, and you've got happy kids. We kept seeing them make toasts and clink their "wineglasses" together. Debbie and I have decided we're going to fill this bad boy up with kool-aid this summer and put it on the back porch so the kids can play outside and not come in the house. ha ha
Front view of the food tables with the chaperones hanging out in the kitchen. We were able to visit and hang out the entire time. After it got dark, we let them turn the lights down and the fiber optic centerpieces were glowing along with the strobe lights I may have purchased. They danced and sang until time to go home.
** Just note that I am right nervous to post my pictures of my decorating abilities. I come from a long line of church women who have thrown many parties and get togethers. If I failed? I am a shame to the family. Yeah, I'm feeling a little okay. (Note also that I didn't get elaborate with decorating because coming from that same line of decorators have shown me that you still have to clean up at the end of the night. See? I was right smart about the whole thing, really.) I also have lots of pictures of teenagers having a good time, but no permission to post their pictures. I'm sure you understand.
This post is going to be dedicated to my beautiful now 17 year old daughter. I think this is the first time I've had a problem with my child's age. She's seventeen. That's one year from being eighteen, you know. Ahhh, eighteen, the magical age where you are a legal adult and can spread your wings and try to fly. She's right excited about that magical age, too.
I am so conflicted over my prematurely born baby growing up. I totally get how you blink and they're grown and gone. My years with her have truly flown by. Okay, that's a lie. There have been a few times that I may have stated that if I get this kid grown and gone, I'm throwing myself a big party to celebrate. I also have to laugh because this sister is her mother's child. I see myself all over her at that age. She's fiercely independent with opinions that usually don't agree with mine and her dad's. She has her own political thoughts and I'm pretty sure she's muttered that we are archaic about ours under her breath. It's all good. It shows that I haven't raised a person to enter society believing everything she hears without going on missions to find the truth for herself.
Paige asked me around February if she could have a 17th birthday party. I immediately said yes because her 16th birthday wasn't the greatest. We hadn't been living here but a few months and she really didn't know enough people to even have a party last April. I felt so badly for her as most of the kids in this area have Sweet Sixteen parties. You want to talk about a Mama who ached for her child? I sure did when I moved her in the middle of her sophomore year from a school and friends she loved dearly. (That situation would fall under parental decisions you don't want to ever have to make in your child's life.) My baby has had a rough year adjusting to living in this new place. I'm so glad to say that I think she's finally found her niche and her sparkling personality and will be just fine until she graduates.
We started planning at that moment and about a month before the party, we started to seriously think of themes and decorations. She finally decided she wanted to go with a zebra stripe and lime green for her colors. Then began the hunt on the internet to see what we could find. Okay, for the record? Zebra stripe is some popular stuff and if you want to use it at your own party? Order it weeks in advance. Boxes started arriving a couple of weeks before the big party day and Paige, Makenna, and I were so excited to open them and see the goodies we had ordered. Did I mention there was some disco ball added up in the mix of things? Little did I know that you could make a facebook event of the whole deal. That wasn't good enough for me. Parties need invitations. Call me old school, I don't care. Carla Girl whipped me up a template for her invitations and emailed them to me. We printed up post cards of red carpet and disco ball goodness for her pass out the week before the big date.
I decided to keep the menu sweet and simple. I gotta give a small shoutout to Walmart for this post. Did you know if they have a deli, there are affordable party foods you can order? Neighbor Debbie used some of Walmart's deli skills for Neighbor Greg's retirement and I decided to check them out for Paige's party. You can order six foot long sandwiches for twenty five bucks. I ordered three and when The Man went to pick them up, they gave him three more because the fresh baked bread they make the sandwiches out of wasn't as wide as they would have liked. Those sandwiches were amazing but we were sure tired of eating them a week later. I went to Sam's Club and bought chex mix, chips, and a nifty beverage station (pictures of that one). Add in a pack or two of cookies, along with the cake, and that was the menu.
The party was a huge success and she had between 20-30 teenagers come to party. The party was held at our neighborhood clubhouse. It was perfect and spacious for those loud kids to have a good time. Can I just say that I am beyond impressed with the friends my child has picked? There were six adult chaperones because this gal remembers being seventeen, if you know what I mean. This group of kids were absolutely fabulous. They laughed and danced and sang and ate. They were polite and gracious. No one tried to sneak out and come back in. It was a pure pleasure to have them at my child's party. Neighbors' Debbie and Greg, and new friends James and Sherry were just as amazed as The Man and myself over how wonderful this group of kids behaved and acted. Everyone considered the party a complete success and I had one happy girl when all was said and done.
Now, I have to take a deep breath and brace myself for this last year before 18. I will be truly excited over Senior pictures and all the crazy things that high school seniors get to take part. I already catch myself sneaking extra looks in my child's direction. I want to treasure this year and hold it close so when she's ready to fly...I'll be able to let her.
Oh, and just to show how exciting this year has been for her since she turned 17 on April 14th? She's gotten into her first fender bender. My heart stopped when she called to let me know, but she had wonderful cops (seriously, they were just awesome), and her worries that Mama and Daddy were going to be furious (we weren't. It was an ACCIDENT and she was okay...so we're okay). It traumatized my Drama Llama and Miss Scarlett had to take to her boudoir for the rest of the evening to recover. (It was literally a tap kind of thing, but the Loser Cruiser (the vehicle she has to share with The Man) is going to need some cosmetic work before hitting the highway again.)
We also found out yesterday that she has passed the state of Georgia's Graduation Exam!!! With honor and advanced scores!!! When she showed me the test scores there was alot of girl squealing all around and high fives and hugs. She will totally enjoy her Senior year now with that out of the way. We are so proud of her for this accomplishment. Poor kid has issues with math (like her Mama) and she has struggled with understanding and passing. Get this, though. She got an honor score in that subject! That's my girl.
Now, I shall share a few pictures of the party with you.
Here's the Birthday Girl in the lovely tiara Mama D (Neighbor Debbie) bought her for the occasion. She was the Belle of the Ball!
Again, simple decorations. These balloons are HUGE. When I saw the disco ball balloon, I just could not resist. Try riding around town with these bad boys up in the back bouncing around.
** Just note that I am right nervous to post my pictures of my decorating abilities. I come from a long line of church women who have thrown many parties and get togethers. If I failed? I am a shame to the family. Yeah, I'm feeling a little okay. (Note also that I didn't get elaborate with decorating because coming from that same line of decorators have shown me that you still have to clean up at the end of the night. See? I was right smart about the whole thing, really.) I also have lots of pictures of teenagers having a good time, but no permission to post their pictures. I'm sure you understand.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
We have Lucky Number 7!!
Here I go again. I'm doing my best to earn that Mother Of The Year title...not. My baby turned 7 on April 2nd. That was like a week and a day ago. Thing is, the kid's Spring Break happened last week and I just enjoyed being with my kids. We had a power outage on Tuesday that last well into the afternoon and I got to see my kids actually communicate and show off their UNO skills. That was my favorite day. It was probably the first Spring Break we thoroughly enjoyed. No rushing. No plans. Just letting the days happen. Yeah, it was awesome.
Now, about that Boy of mine. He is seven. How did that happen? I just had him like a month or so ago?!? I don't know how those of you with more than one kid keep it all "even" between your kids, but I don't sweat it at all. Paige is getting the big amazing birthday party this year. (O-M-Geeeee!! Wait til you hear what's going on with that!!!) We sat with the other two and told them they wouldn't be having parties because it was Sissy's turn this year. Do my kids care? Nope, not at all. They know they'll get a present or two and Mama will have some sort of special kind of cake going on that day. All is good. I am one blessed parent to have three kids that aren't jealous of each other.
Just because a party wasn't happening doesn't mean the day wasn't going to be super duper special. My boy woke up to get his first present and pancakes made by Dad. We had a relaxing morning until it was time to get dressed and head to Mouse's House and I ain't talking D*sney, Internets. I'm talking about Chuckie's house where all the fabulous games reside! He has been begging to go there for almost a year and we thought his birthday was the perfect excuse to go visit. (Truth be known, we were not the excited ones. That place is a flippin' madhouse.) My boy isn't about pizza, so he was all for the games. We went. We played. We had an awesome time. Afterwards, we hit up the Chinese buffet that we love and adore. Home was where we headed to open the last present of the day and enjoy some amazing cake. The Boy informed us that it was one of the best days ever. 7th Birthday= Success. A Mama sure likes to have a happy Birthday Boy.
Happy Birthday, Kid. You are the joy in my steps and when you smile, my heart skips a happy beat.
This is my favorite picture. He is so happy and content and I suppose contemplating a wish or two here. I love this guy to pieces. I really do.
Now, about that Boy of mine. He is seven. How did that happen? I just had him like a month or so ago?!? I don't know how those of you with more than one kid keep it all "even" between your kids, but I don't sweat it at all. Paige is getting the big amazing birthday party this year. (O-M-Geeeee!! Wait til you hear what's going on with that!!!) We sat with the other two and told them they wouldn't be having parties because it was Sissy's turn this year. Do my kids care? Nope, not at all. They know they'll get a present or two and Mama will have some sort of special kind of cake going on that day. All is good. I am one blessed parent to have three kids that aren't jealous of each other.
Just because a party wasn't happening doesn't mean the day wasn't going to be super duper special. My boy woke up to get his first present and pancakes made by Dad. We had a relaxing morning until it was time to get dressed and head to Mouse's House and I ain't talking D*sney, Internets. I'm talking about Chuckie's house where all the fabulous games reside! He has been begging to go there for almost a year and we thought his birthday was the perfect excuse to go visit. (Truth be known, we were not the excited ones. That place is a flippin' madhouse.) My boy isn't about pizza, so he was all for the games. We went. We played. We had an awesome time. Afterwards, we hit up the Chinese buffet that we love and adore. Home was where we headed to open the last present of the day and enjoy some amazing cake. The Boy informed us that it was one of the best days ever. 7th Birthday= Success. A Mama sure likes to have a happy Birthday Boy.
Happy Birthday, Kid. You are the joy in my steps and when you smile, my heart skips a happy beat.
Everyone should have the chalkboard for the fridge. This is what my son woke up to and a week later, it's still there!
How do you make a birthday better? Spread the opening of gifts over the day. We are aware that all the gifts are green. Did you expect any other color? Really? This was the first gift of the day. I picked out this really cute card and he opened it, read it, and looked at me and said.."What??? No dollar??"
There were plenty of these to go around. We are an arcade loving family and we all play games. So why it may have been a madhouse in there? We got our play on and those tokens went fast!
This is the shirt from last year. It fit this year and there's nothing wrong with representin'!
What focus! What determination! Seriously, though? Kid needs to grow another foot or two so he can reach the pedals and not bust a blood vessel trying to play.
The sisters got in some quality game time, too. This was a tag team effort with the basketballs.
Mama had a little fun with this game. It was seriously addictive. I may have to join a support group.
I had my eye on The Boy and when I glanced up, I saw my husband throwing a few footballs. Games are so hard to resist.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Differences
When I was pregnant with Makenna, I had many people tell me that you simply can't compare your children. I got that. I understood it. I still do. Now that I have three children, I get it more than ever. I have never in my life seen three such different individuals.
Here are a couple of ways I can't compare these three.
Paige turned two in April. By October she was potty trained. She had a brief stubborn period where she would only wear diapers, then she woke up one day and was done with them. Off to the pretty panties we went and didn't look back!
Makenna turned two in February. For a solid year I struggled to potty train that kid. I begged. I pleaded. I threatened. It was a very hard year. I truly thought she would start school wearing a diaper. The week before her third birthday, I put my foot down. I told her I was done with the pull-ups and the accidents and she was GOING TO POTTY. She was fully trained in one week. One week. I supposed she believed me to be serious and the crazy look in my eyes probably convinced her she better head on to the potty.
I've potty trained a few kids in my life being a childcare provider for years. I knew right off the bat that boys could be a tad bit more difficult and that if you got them trained before the third birthday? You earned some kind of trophy that was at least 8 feet tall. I wasn't even going to attempt with my son until his third birthday because I felt he wouldn't be still long enough to stand in front of a toilet (gotta love undiagnosed ADHD). In March, before he turned three in April, he just up and decided one day to potty. Within a week or two he was pretty much fully trained. I really didn't have to do a thing but wipe his butt on occasion. He was the easiest child I've ever trained. Shoot, he practically trained himself. I will always love him extra good for that.
The girls have always been excellent in school. Behaviour wise, that is. I had one little issue with Paige around the 5th grade where she got sassy with a teacher. After I made her apologize to the teacher in front of the class while sobbing, I've never had another problem out of her. Except for last year at the new high school. Not sure if I ever told that story. I'll have to check my archives and if I haven't, I'll ask her if it's okay. Man, that's a good story. Makenna is a "pleaser" and is too good at flying under the radar.
Then we have The Boy.
I have gotten so many calls from teachers and bus drivers in the past two years than I care to remember. Ahhhh...he's such a pistol. I really think if those seats on the buses had seat belts? We wouldn't have as many problems on buses. If you're out of your seat belt? You're off the bus. My son still rides in a booster seat. Yes, he's almost 7. He's also not big enough according to guidelines to hold his own in a seat with just a seat belt. He is totally cool with it as he has a very nice seat to sit in. He's up where he can see out of the window. He has a cup holder to hold his juice. He's only 52 pounds and pretty much still a baby in my eyes. Shoot, Neighbor Debbie's dog weighs almost twice what he does. The freedom of the bus just sends him over in to Hyper Land. Suffice it to say, after a call yesterday from the bus driver and a visit from an upset Mama at my front door...he might just stay in his seat. For a while. He and his Dad had a "Come to Jesus" meeting last night in my bedroom. He's lost all his electronics and had to go to bed 30 minutes early. Gotta snap down on poor choices, you know. I followed him out to the bus this morning to make sure he apologized to the bus driver for not listening. He tried to walk past her to his seat and I put one foot on the step and said, "Boy, you know I am crazy. I will follow you up there in front of God and your friends. You are going to apologize." He came back down the steps to have a stare down with me. I simply told him that I was going to count to three and if he didn't do what he was told? He and his Dad could have another meeting this evening. Up came finger one. He turned around and went to his bus driver to apologize. I know he has "issues" but I will not tolerate bad behaviour. Not at all.
I may be rambling a bit today, but I just get amused when I am reminded just how different three siblings can be at times. I know my brother and I are literally night and day so it shouldn't be such a surprise.
April Showers have come early here and with flair! Hope you all find yourselves enjoying some type of Spring. I've got some new stuff for the house coming and can't wait to share my feeble attempts at decorating with you soon!
Here are a couple of ways I can't compare these three.
Paige turned two in April. By October she was potty trained. She had a brief stubborn period where she would only wear diapers, then she woke up one day and was done with them. Off to the pretty panties we went and didn't look back!
Makenna turned two in February. For a solid year I struggled to potty train that kid. I begged. I pleaded. I threatened. It was a very hard year. I truly thought she would start school wearing a diaper. The week before her third birthday, I put my foot down. I told her I was done with the pull-ups and the accidents and she was GOING TO POTTY. She was fully trained in one week. One week. I supposed she believed me to be serious and the crazy look in my eyes probably convinced her she better head on to the potty.
I've potty trained a few kids in my life being a childcare provider for years. I knew right off the bat that boys could be a tad bit more difficult and that if you got them trained before the third birthday? You earned some kind of trophy that was at least 8 feet tall. I wasn't even going to attempt with my son until his third birthday because I felt he wouldn't be still long enough to stand in front of a toilet (gotta love undiagnosed ADHD). In March, before he turned three in April, he just up and decided one day to potty. Within a week or two he was pretty much fully trained. I really didn't have to do a thing but wipe his butt on occasion. He was the easiest child I've ever trained. Shoot, he practically trained himself. I will always love him extra good for that.
The girls have always been excellent in school. Behaviour wise, that is. I had one little issue with Paige around the 5th grade where she got sassy with a teacher. After I made her apologize to the teacher in front of the class while sobbing, I've never had another problem out of her. Except for last year at the new high school. Not sure if I ever told that story. I'll have to check my archives and if I haven't, I'll ask her if it's okay. Man, that's a good story. Makenna is a "pleaser" and is too good at flying under the radar.
Then we have The Boy.
I have gotten so many calls from teachers and bus drivers in the past two years than I care to remember. Ahhhh...he's such a pistol. I really think if those seats on the buses had seat belts? We wouldn't have as many problems on buses. If you're out of your seat belt? You're off the bus. My son still rides in a booster seat. Yes, he's almost 7. He's also not big enough according to guidelines to hold his own in a seat with just a seat belt. He is totally cool with it as he has a very nice seat to sit in. He's up where he can see out of the window. He has a cup holder to hold his juice. He's only 52 pounds and pretty much still a baby in my eyes. Shoot, Neighbor Debbie's dog weighs almost twice what he does. The freedom of the bus just sends him over in to Hyper Land. Suffice it to say, after a call yesterday from the bus driver and a visit from an upset Mama at my front door...he might just stay in his seat. For a while. He and his Dad had a "Come to Jesus" meeting last night in my bedroom. He's lost all his electronics and had to go to bed 30 minutes early. Gotta snap down on poor choices, you know. I followed him out to the bus this morning to make sure he apologized to the bus driver for not listening. He tried to walk past her to his seat and I put one foot on the step and said, "Boy, you know I am crazy. I will follow you up there in front of God and your friends. You are going to apologize." He came back down the steps to have a stare down with me. I simply told him that I was going to count to three and if he didn't do what he was told? He and his Dad could have another meeting this evening. Up came finger one. He turned around and went to his bus driver to apologize. I know he has "issues" but I will not tolerate bad behaviour. Not at all.
I may be rambling a bit today, but I just get amused when I am reminded just how different three siblings can be at times. I know my brother and I are literally night and day so it shouldn't be such a surprise.
April Showers have come early here and with flair! Hope you all find yourselves enjoying some type of Spring. I've got some new stuff for the house coming and can't wait to share my feeble attempts at decorating with you soon!
Monday, March 28, 2011
How it was and How it is now
Let's go back in time for a few, shall we? I say about 20-25 years. Now, my kids would say that's a LONG time ago. Not so much for me anymore.
Remember back in the day those nifty land line phones? You know, they were attached to the wall and you could only go as far as the cord would let you? Yeah, good times. I remember in our first home when I was growing up, having one phone. The cord wasn't really that long and I would spend my time chatting with friends sitting in a chair at the kitchen table or laying on the floor there in the hallway. I LOVED when there was a phone with a super long cord. You could twirl that line and play pretend jump rope while talking or wrap yourself like a candy cane and unwrap yourself a thousand times during a conversation. We moved into a new home when I was twelve and my parents put a phone jack in MY ROOM. That was like the most awesome thing EVAH. Until it got taken away. On a regular basis. (I was that kid.) That was about the time we moved on from the rotary goodness to push buttons. I remember the first phone I had in my room was push buttons, but it was still "rotary". It would make that schticking noise after every number and you would have to pause between numbers to make sure they all went through.
Best thing about those land line phones? You always knew where the dang phone was at all times. No hunting down a missing handset or pressing the paging button and playing marco polo all over the house looking high and low. Landlines never lost charge, either. That's why I still keep a land line phone in my bedroom. I can't tell you how many times I hear that dreaded beep in my ear letting me know my battery is low when my conversation is nowhere near finished. I then head to my room to lay across my bed in old fashioned teenage style and finish talking.
My kids have no idea. None whatsoever. All they know is that they can talk to whom ever they please at any time because if their phone doesn't have charge, then someone close by will have theirs charged and good to go. It's amazing how much a lifestyle can change in just 20 years.
Neighbor Debbie and I talk on the phone quite a bit. Back when I was living in Southeast Georgia, we were on the phone one day when a bad storm came up. One of us mentioned how we needed to get off of the phone before we got electrocuted. Then the other one of us pointed out that we were on cordless phones. After we finished laughing, we recounted growing up and how you weren't allowed to talk on the phone during a storm because you truly could get electrocuted if lightning hit the ground it traveled up the line to your ear. I actually know of someone this happened to back in the day. It then became a long standing joke between us and I almost want to think we make a point to talk on the phone during storms now just to prove we can't get electrocuted through the cordless wonders we are speaking.
Yesterday, we had a bad storm here. A while later, I happened to be on the computer and was checking the weather. I noticed the storm was then in her area and looked like it was just as bad as when it was visiting us earlier. I jumped up and sent the following text message:
"HEY! don't touch the phone...it's stormin' outside!!"
A few minutes later, I got this reply:
"OMG then why did u text me. I could of gotten kilt that way too!!!" (uh..kilt = killed)
I then started laughing because we're just so stupid. Paige was at the kitchen table doing some school work and asked what was so funny. I then told her and she just looked at me. Said not a word. Shook her head and went back to work.
I had no choice but to send this text:
"just so you know...paige thinks we ain't right"
Ahhh....this poor generation. What fun things they've missed out on. I used to leave my house and not have any contact with my parents until I got home. I don't know how they let me go like they did. I asked The Man if he could imagine sending our kids out for the night without a cell phone. His reply? "I can only because we did it. Will they be allowed to go out with out a cell phone? No." Good answer, my man.
If the good Lord blesses me with another twenty years? I can't wait to see what modern marvels today's generation will come up with for us to enjoy!
P.S. Now I'm tempted to go get a land line phone to put in the kitchen with a looooong cord on it for old time's sake.
Remember back in the day those nifty land line phones? You know, they were attached to the wall and you could only go as far as the cord would let you? Yeah, good times. I remember in our first home when I was growing up, having one phone. The cord wasn't really that long and I would spend my time chatting with friends sitting in a chair at the kitchen table or laying on the floor there in the hallway. I LOVED when there was a phone with a super long cord. You could twirl that line and play pretend jump rope while talking or wrap yourself like a candy cane and unwrap yourself a thousand times during a conversation. We moved into a new home when I was twelve and my parents put a phone jack in MY ROOM. That was like the most awesome thing EVAH. Until it got taken away. On a regular basis. (I was that kid.) That was about the time we moved on from the rotary goodness to push buttons. I remember the first phone I had in my room was push buttons, but it was still "rotary". It would make that schticking noise after every number and you would have to pause between numbers to make sure they all went through.
Best thing about those land line phones? You always knew where the dang phone was at all times. No hunting down a missing handset or pressing the paging button and playing marco polo all over the house looking high and low. Landlines never lost charge, either. That's why I still keep a land line phone in my bedroom. I can't tell you how many times I hear that dreaded beep in my ear letting me know my battery is low when my conversation is nowhere near finished. I then head to my room to lay across my bed in old fashioned teenage style and finish talking.
My kids have no idea. None whatsoever. All they know is that they can talk to whom ever they please at any time because if their phone doesn't have charge, then someone close by will have theirs charged and good to go. It's amazing how much a lifestyle can change in just 20 years.
Neighbor Debbie and I talk on the phone quite a bit. Back when I was living in Southeast Georgia, we were on the phone one day when a bad storm came up. One of us mentioned how we needed to get off of the phone before we got electrocuted. Then the other one of us pointed out that we were on cordless phones. After we finished laughing, we recounted growing up and how you weren't allowed to talk on the phone during a storm because you truly could get electrocuted if lightning hit the ground it traveled up the line to your ear. I actually know of someone this happened to back in the day. It then became a long standing joke between us and I almost want to think we make a point to talk on the phone during storms now just to prove we can't get electrocuted through the cordless wonders we are speaking.
Yesterday, we had a bad storm here. A while later, I happened to be on the computer and was checking the weather. I noticed the storm was then in her area and looked like it was just as bad as when it was visiting us earlier. I jumped up and sent the following text message:
"HEY! don't touch the phone...it's stormin' outside!!"
A few minutes later, I got this reply:
"OMG then why did u text me. I could of gotten kilt that way too!!!" (uh..kilt = killed)
I then started laughing because we're just so stupid. Paige was at the kitchen table doing some school work and asked what was so funny. I then told her and she just looked at me. Said not a word. Shook her head and went back to work.
I had no choice but to send this text:
"just so you know...paige thinks we ain't right"
Ahhh....this poor generation. What fun things they've missed out on. I used to leave my house and not have any contact with my parents until I got home. I don't know how they let me go like they did. I asked The Man if he could imagine sending our kids out for the night without a cell phone. His reply? "I can only because we did it. Will they be allowed to go out with out a cell phone? No." Good answer, my man.
If the good Lord blesses me with another twenty years? I can't wait to see what modern marvels today's generation will come up with for us to enjoy!
P.S. Now I'm tempted to go get a land line phone to put in the kitchen with a looooong cord on it for old time's sake.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
One of those moments
I had a moment around last week or so. I don't know how it happened, but I forgot to give my son his medication before he went to school. This has happened a couple of times and each time, it proves to me that he needs these two little pills each and every morning. He is so blessed to have such a wonderful teacher. Where she finds all her patience baffles me because she surely has her hands full with her class of first graders.
I received a call from her around noon one day. "Her Boy" was being a pistol in class. He refused to do any of his work and was just being an all around PITA (pain in the ...uh...butt. She didn't say this, I did.). She asked him if he took his medicine and he "thought so but wasn't sure". I immediately went to his daily medication holder and there sat that days medication. Crap. I told her to have him ready and I would come get him. See, he simply can't handle the pressure of the classroom without those stupid pills. I told her from day one that if he wasn't medicated, her life would end up being miserable and I'm not going to have her focusing 150% on him when she has other students she has to teach also.
I went to the school to pick him up and I just love that kid. He has a twinkle in his eye and is just full of spit and vinegar. We ran a couple of errands while I was out and everything seemed to be okay. We got home and I had picked him up some lunch (this would be his second lunch). He had to finish his work from class that day that he refused to do during class time. I told him he was not going to do anything until that sheet (front AND back) was done.
Me and Jesus got alot closer, Internets.
It was quite a few problems, both math and language, that had to be done on that sheet of paper. It took us two and a half hours to finish that paper. I am totally serious. I was flustered, hot, worn out, and sad by the time we finally finished every single problem. There was a few places that required coloring with crayons. That didn't happen.
After we finished, I let The Boy do a fun thing or two. It wasn't his fault he didn't take his medication. He wasn't being "bad" in class...just hard to handle. I emailed his teacher to let her know that the sheet was done and how long it took to finish it. I also told her that I could not apologize enough to both her and myself over him being unmedicated. I finished with a promise to tape his medicine to my forehead at night so we would remember each morning.
This makes me so dang sad. I've been so positive over him having to take medication and how wonderful it's been for him. And it has. Truly. I don't want my son to come back and read my writings and think of how sad his Mama is over his having ADHD with high impulsivity. Because, for the most part, I'm not.
Then I have those moments. Those moments where I wish I could take it from him...for him. Those moments when I'm sad because I wonder if he will have to take medication the rest of his life just to function in society and find peace of mind. I have moments where I see him medicated and unmedicated and I see two different little people in front of me. Unmedicated boy is wide open and rough and tumble. His eyes seem to sparkle just a little brighter and his sense of humor will have you rolling. Unmedicated boy also is hyper to the point where there are times I fear his little heart will come right out of his chest. Unmedicated boy can't focus and gets frustrated easily and loses control. Then there's medicated little boy. He's a little more serious and not as quick to laugh. Medicated boy shows amazing intelligence that keeps us speechless. Medicated boy sleeps at night. (That night he missed his medication? He might have slept an hour or two...at most. It was miserable all around.) Medicated boy can stop and control his actions.
I want to tell him I'm sorry lots of times. I want to beg him to forgive me and his Dad for passing this genetic trick to him. But....if I do that? Then I'm apologizing for him and who and what he is. That is so unacceptable. Because, along with his sisters, he keeps my heart beating on a regular basis. I don't want to change what makes him the amazing person that he is and is becoming.
I may have one of those moments here and there, but ultimately, I get past them. His issues aren't what I would have wished for my child, or any child for that matter. God had a reason for giving this precious little boy to me and our family. I am so grateful that He did. So, I had a moment. That's how long it lasted...a moment.
I received a call from her around noon one day. "Her Boy" was being a pistol in class. He refused to do any of his work and was just being an all around PITA (pain in the ...uh...butt. She didn't say this, I did.). She asked him if he took his medicine and he "thought so but wasn't sure". I immediately went to his daily medication holder and there sat that days medication. Crap. I told her to have him ready and I would come get him. See, he simply can't handle the pressure of the classroom without those stupid pills. I told her from day one that if he wasn't medicated, her life would end up being miserable and I'm not going to have her focusing 150% on him when she has other students she has to teach also.
I went to the school to pick him up and I just love that kid. He has a twinkle in his eye and is just full of spit and vinegar. We ran a couple of errands while I was out and everything seemed to be okay. We got home and I had picked him up some lunch (this would be his second lunch). He had to finish his work from class that day that he refused to do during class time. I told him he was not going to do anything until that sheet (front AND back) was done.
Me and Jesus got alot closer, Internets.
It was quite a few problems, both math and language, that had to be done on that sheet of paper. It took us two and a half hours to finish that paper. I am totally serious. I was flustered, hot, worn out, and sad by the time we finally finished every single problem. There was a few places that required coloring with crayons. That didn't happen.
After we finished, I let The Boy do a fun thing or two. It wasn't his fault he didn't take his medication. He wasn't being "bad" in class...just hard to handle. I emailed his teacher to let her know that the sheet was done and how long it took to finish it. I also told her that I could not apologize enough to both her and myself over him being unmedicated. I finished with a promise to tape his medicine to my forehead at night so we would remember each morning.
This makes me so dang sad. I've been so positive over him having to take medication and how wonderful it's been for him. And it has. Truly. I don't want my son to come back and read my writings and think of how sad his Mama is over his having ADHD with high impulsivity. Because, for the most part, I'm not.
Then I have those moments. Those moments where I wish I could take it from him...for him. Those moments when I'm sad because I wonder if he will have to take medication the rest of his life just to function in society and find peace of mind. I have moments where I see him medicated and unmedicated and I see two different little people in front of me. Unmedicated boy is wide open and rough and tumble. His eyes seem to sparkle just a little brighter and his sense of humor will have you rolling. Unmedicated boy also is hyper to the point where there are times I fear his little heart will come right out of his chest. Unmedicated boy can't focus and gets frustrated easily and loses control. Then there's medicated little boy. He's a little more serious and not as quick to laugh. Medicated boy shows amazing intelligence that keeps us speechless. Medicated boy sleeps at night. (That night he missed his medication? He might have slept an hour or two...at most. It was miserable all around.) Medicated boy can stop and control his actions.
I want to tell him I'm sorry lots of times. I want to beg him to forgive me and his Dad for passing this genetic trick to him. But....if I do that? Then I'm apologizing for him and who and what he is. That is so unacceptable. Because, along with his sisters, he keeps my heart beating on a regular basis. I don't want to change what makes him the amazing person that he is and is becoming.
I may have one of those moments here and there, but ultimately, I get past them. His issues aren't what I would have wished for my child, or any child for that matter. God had a reason for giving this precious little boy to me and our family. I am so grateful that He did. So, I had a moment. That's how long it lasted...a moment.
Monday, March 14, 2011
The Bathroom Project
It was finally time. Time to start making this house our home and putting a solid Edge stamp on the building. For the past two years, I have seen in my mind's eye a beach themed bathroom. Leaning more towards the East Coast as that's the only kind of beach I know and love. This is the first room we have fully completed and I'm happy to show. I chose this room because I already had the decorations for it in a box. (I was serious about the two year remark.) I have looked and looked at colors and it's kind of funny how I finally found what I was looking for. I was able to acquire a sample of paint from Valspar online. I had to pick a color and I somewhat randomly browsed through the blues. I wanted a happy blue that reminded me of the beach. It's hard to really tell how a color will look online, but I took a chance. When it came in the mail, I slapped some up on the wall and was surprised. It really appealed to me. I went to Lowe's to find the color card and when I did, I bought a sample of the lightest color on the card. I brought it home and put it up against the blue and knew those were the colors I wanted in that room. I also chose to do this room because The Boy lays claim to this bathroom and it's also the guest bathroom. I wanted a nice restroom for my guests to use (even if the guest bedroom is in shambles!).
All in all, we were able to do this room for under $400.00. This is what I had to purchase:
- Paint.
- Primer.
- Paint supplies.
- Shelving.
- Towels, wash cloths, hand towels.
- Rugs.
- Laundry hamper.
- Decorations.
Now, I do have to admit that I am a big fan of Sherwin Williams. I took my paint samples to them and got my paint at that store. They are amazing at matching up paints! I love love love their cashmere paint. It is a self-leveling paint that is amazing to watch. You put it up on the wall and you see streaks and thirty minutes later? It's SMOOTH! I won't use anything else because it's excellent paint and very easy to use. I used what was left of my trim paint from the office (purchased at Lowe's-next time will get it from S.W.)
My colors are Summer Splash for the walls, Crystalline for the ceiling, and Oyster for the trim. That oyster is a fabulous color. I love a good crisp white, but not "blinding", if that makes sense. This is just the perfect trim color and I will use it throughout my entire home, I love it that much.
Now, let's get started with the pictures!!
Ahhh..gotta love the builder's tan/beige paint. Good neutral color, for sure, but no imagination. It made this small bathroom look like a small box. Note how I tried and failed with the shelves for towels. Not a bad shelf/rack system...just not right for this space. In my opinion, the towel rack was about useless. Away it went!
It really was cramped looking and feeling in there.
Small vanity area to work with here. The bathrooms upstairs are not huge. That's perfectly okay. I have three bathrooms upstairs. The girls' each have their own bathrooms, so they don't need huge space. I tell them to be happy they don't have to share!
I...uh...started taping when I realized I hadn't taken any pictures so I left the roll hanging on the door frame. Those are paint splotches I started to prime. I'm serious about really looking at a color for at least a few weeks to see if that's what I really want.
This was my hands all week long. I ruined a few tshirts while I was hard at work, too.
We let The Boy do some painting. He asked to help and I wanted him to own some of the work it took to make HIS bathroom look good. He got a little slap happy a couple of times, but had a blast. He is shirtless because he had on a school shirt and didn't want to be bothered to go across the hall to his room to get a play shirt to work in. At least he kept his pants on. Please note the tank of the toilet has been removed to paint the wall. What a pain that was, but I wanted it done right.
I told The Boy to show me his muscles. The Man decided to get in on the act and you can see by the reaction that The Boy wasn't expecting it. Love this picture!
We kept a mess going here. Are you as nervous as I am that my son is walking past open paint? Gah, that kid makes my nerves bad some times!
Really look at this picture. On the left is the Oyster color. On the right is the builder's Blah color. You don't realize how dull their colors are until you put something nice and crisp beside it.
There were shelves that needed to be put on newly painted walls.
There were tools involved, which made my husband very happy.
Thank you, Lord, I have a husband who will read instructions before putting holes in my walls!
TA DA!!!!! Hello new bathroom!! Out with the rack and towel bar, in with the floating shelves. I love the way the lines are clean while giving me the storage I need for towels and decorations. (My son has his favorite green and character towels. Those were moved to under the sink and he's happy to still be able to use them.) I found the white wicker laundry hamper at Bed Bath and Beyond and it fits perfectly between the toilet and tub. Yes, we did do a "sit down" test to make sure it wouldn't interfere with personal business.
I took some shells and put them on the ledge around the top of the shower. Makenna discovered that if you bang hard enough on the wall, one or two might fall down. *rolls eyes* I'm not too worried if they fall and get wet on occasion....they are SEA SHELLS, man. Besides, this turned out really cute. I also kept the clear shower curtain. It gives the room a more open feel and keeps people from showering in the dark!
Nice white absorbent rug. I put a matching one in front of the sink that's a little larger. I love the rough woven look. It reminds me of beach houses. Easy to throw in the washer is what I like!
Please ignore the red fan that won't be staying. The fumes from the cleaning supplies I used needed help. The gorgeous shells are from the Florida Keys. Neighbor Debbie has family there and when she was visiting, she picked some up for me a couple of years ago because I mentioned I wanted to do a beach themed bathroom. I 'm keeping it to a minimum on the vanity to keep it clutter free and more spacious.
This is on the top shelf. Oh, how Makenna and I love these shells. We probably spent thirty minutes arranging them in the vase so they would look just right. The shells used through out the room are some we picked up at Amelia Island beach and others are from The Keys.
SURPRISE!! Did you think I would just keep it all blue and white. No, Sir! No, Ma'am! This was my inspiration piece. This also came from the Florida Keys. I kid you not, Neighbor Debbie is a good woman. She went shopping and must have sent me a dozen or more pictures of the metal art/ sculptures she found while shopping . I finally decided on this one and have been perfectly pleased over it. I love the colors and the blue background had to be perfect for them to "swim' around. It's a good size, if you notice the light switch and top of door. Yes, it's heavy, but it's so cool! You can look at it a dozen times and see something different every single time. It gives the bathroom the perfect snap of color. It does come out from the wall as it is a 3-D work of art. That made me a tad nervous, but it really is okay and works well!
Got rid of the towel bar and put in a nice sturdy hook to hang your towel on while you're in the shower. It may be a little lower than most people would do, but I had to keep my six year old in mind. It's a great compromise, I think.
There you have it! An Edge Re-Do! A completed project in my home! We do plan on putting crown moulding in this bathroom eventually, but there's no hurry. I'm also on the hunt for a white wicker trash can to match the hamper. I now have the fever to get started on my other rooms. BUT.....give me a week to recover and let my shoulders reattach themselves, please. Hope you enjoyed!
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