Stuff Life is Made Of

After the crazy week and weekend that I had just experienced, I was hoping for a quiet week, and so far that's what I have been given.
I'm still sick and my broken toe is still swollen and bruised and incredibly painful to put any pressure on. I'm on new medication that knocks me out-so hopefully I can finally get over it all. Of course, I have to go to the Ortho on Friday to have my toe/foot checked out.
Lite version of school started yesterday and we made it through both days without too many interruptions. Full school starts next Tuesday, after our first hockey tournament of the season -- its local, yeah!!!
Both kids seemed to be ready for some routine, so I'm going to oblige and see where that gets us.
Hope your week is going well so far.

Where Are the Brain Cells

That Kid, being a typical teenage boy, decided he wanted a girl friend. It was oh soooo important to have a "girl" to call his own. So about 6 months he started dating a girl. I had my doubts in the beginning, she called at all hours of the day and night - homeschooling allowed a lot of opportunities for phone calls and instant messaging when a typical teen might not be able to socialize.(I thought homeschoolers were supposed to be anti-social:) ). Their relationship grew, as well as my discomfort level of said relationship. Lies started, missed curfews became the norm, general discourse among the normally compliant teenage boy.
After a couple of months of dating, he discovers some BIG issues with her that had yet to be finalized and solved. He decided to stay with her, and just accept these ISSUES and work around them.
Things have continued to follow the same lines of discourse and now they have been together for 6 months. I am about to ground him AGAIN for lying and basic disobedience. I normally ground for 2 weeks...I think I'm going for 2 months or more this time.
Soooooo again I ask what happened to my generally agreeable teenage son's BRAIN CELLS????????????????
Advice appreciated....

Togetherness

A little brother time this evening as "the boys" play video games together. That Other Kid just loves to play games with his brother and he's pretty good at most of them. He's a fast learner and That Kid has been playing them with him for probably 1 1/2 years. What a good big brother!!!

Please excuse the site of the room -- he is afterall, a teenage boy!

He's The Boss

From day 1 of That Other Kid's life, he has been opinionated and demanding. So much so that the first few month's of his life I slept in the rocking chair, 'cuz his bed/room were not good enough to sleep in. He needed to sleep with mommy - maybe I should say ON mommy. If I wasn't holding him, he wasn't sleeping!
Fast foward to 6 months ago -- daddy thought his bossy behavior was amusing so he started saying "obey my orders" "I'm the boss" and then getting him to repeat the phrases.
Fast forward to today -- daddy says That Other Kid needs to do what mommy says, 'cuz mommy is the boss.
He turns to daddy and says "no, I'm the boss, you obey my orders, and mommy has to obey my orders, too. I.AM.THE.BOSS."
I guess we should have seen it coming 3 1/2 years ago.....I'm just the peon around here, he's the real boss.
At least till I get the wooden artiliary out and prove to him that I have more authority!

Preparations for Junior Year

We will be starting school over the next couple of weeks, in stages. This will be That Kid's junior year of high school. It has been a long, interesting journey homeschooling him and I would be lying if I said it was always fun. There have been times when he didn't want to do school and I didn't either. He has to work HARD to get the kind of grades we expect out of him and he doesn't always perform under pressure. He has struggled with math throughout his school career, but we have finally gotten help (in the form of a tutor and a class w/a professional teacher, who happens to have a Ph.D in engineering. It should finally be a sucessful year for math....it's about time, dontcha think? Some people might wonder, why didn't you get help sooner? I wanted him to want it as bad as I did! You see with That Kid, when it comes to school, he needs to have a real reason to do it, i.e. ACT's, and SAT's so that he can get into a good college. That is his motivation for the next 2 years. He'll make it. I have faith and confidence in God that He will fulfill His promise, "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength". I claim this for That Kid this year, as this year will really be a big CHALLENGE.
Prayers will be appreciated as always.
Nighty, night......

My First Meme

Kirstie at My Journey Home tagged me for my first meme. I'm sooo lucky cuz my middle name is short..... so I'm supposed to do rules first then the meme, so here we go.....


WHAT’S IN A NAME?
1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of their middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts.
4. At the end of your blog-post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.


Ann is really my middle name - I started going by it when we first moved to Texas. My first name didn't really seem to fit me or Texas, and besides I never really liked it. Now seemed like a good time, since no one knew me from Adam or Eve as the case is.

So....

Avid reader. I love to read, which is how I got started reading blogs. My favorite reads right now are short, historical novellas. I can read a few pages here and there (like in the bathroom), since I really don't have a lot of time to read, with all the blogging and preparations for our new home school year.


Nurturer..... I love to take care of my kids and nurture them in any way they let me. It is getting harder as That Kid is growing up into a young man, but That Other Kid still loves to snuggle, cuddle, and get hugs and kisses, so I'm going to treasure this opportunity and do the best I can with my young man.

Nasty patient --- I hate being sick or injured. So, needless to say I have been rather difficult to get along with for the past month or so since I have sick and/or injured. I'm praying that my family forgives my grumpiness.

Now I'm supposed to tag 3 people with names beginning with the letters of my name:

Addie at http://littlewomenmomma.blogspot.com/

and if your name begins with "N" please consider yourself tagged. I can't find anybody with a name that begins with "N".

Hope ya'll have a great night.

A Dog Tail

Here are a couple of shots of out completely tolerant dog, Rex. Read on for more of the story. (Oh, and ignore the "junk" in the shot with him, he wasn't really in the mood for a formal pose in a perfect location.)

Beth Moore and her daughter Amanda write one of the best blogs I read on a regular basis. Check them out http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com/

and you will be blessed, for sure! The entry there today was about dogs and their antics. I thought to myself, Gosh, it's too bad I don't have anything clever to write about our dog, Rex or "poopfin" in the words of That Other Kid and lo and behold he did something worth writin' about, at least it will get a laugh.

He is a Sheltie and sometimes that tail just gets in the way of his bodily functions, if you get my drift. Today was one of those days. We kept smelling something strange whenever the dog came near us. We thought, maybe he has gas -- out he goes. A few minutes later he come back in, we still smell it. Oh well, he just needs a bath.

A little later, we see a smear of, how shall we say it, residue, on the carpet, exactly where he had just laid down. Then a few minutes later another smear. Ok, lets take a looksee ''Oh yes, there is a BIG Smear of Residue"! The dog goes out and I get the distinct pleasure of hosing the dog down. Now if you knew me very well you would know that this dog was not my idea--I'm not a dog person. I am much more of a cat person, so this was not my idea of a fun activity and there was always the thought "what if he decides to take a hunk out of my hand or steps on my "still bruised, and broken toe". But alas, he is the best dog, ever and he just stood there and let me clean his b*tt with a cold hose. He was happy to be done with this little "torture" and I gave him extra treats.
Hope to read some more great dog stories, soon.

My Little Texans

We have lived in Texas now for 12 years, before that we lived in California and Kansas, so That Kid was not born here, but as they say "got here as soon as possible". He sometimes seems to have a Texas accent, and says ya'll, but for the most part he just has a mid-western, run of the meal accent. BUT...That Other Kid was born here, and I don't know where he gets it from, but he has the cutest little Texas accent;) Tonight he was talking about nothing in particular and it seemed every word he said had a "little twang". It just cracked me up..... It's too bad I didn't have a tape recorder (do they have those anymore?) with me, so I could capture all that cuteness. He is a true Texan -- through and through!

Now as a side note --That Kid plays ice hockey (yeah, I know ice hockey in Texas) and the new season starts this week with late night practices and tournaments over the holidays. Praise God he drives himself to these now!We already have our first travel tournament coming up in 3 weeks to Cinncinati, OH. I've never been there, and it looks like he will be traveling there with his team by himself. We don't have time to plan ahead to buy all of us plane tickets, booo. I hate letting him travel by himself. I miss him while he is gone and I miss watching him play, too. Oh well, Christmas tournament will be here soon enough and I'll be sure to go on that with him.
Nighty, night......

Blogging Contests

I just signed up for my first bloggy contest with Shannon at her new site here. If you want to try to win something you can go here and comment. The cards for this week are really cute.

I Had A Productive Day

I finally felt like doing something productive today so I got out the new homeschool curriculum out and looked through it. This is what That Kid will be doing for school this year. We still need to find math and language arts curriculum, but I still have a couple of weeks.... He will also be doing an Online Writing Curriculum, but I obviously can't show that.

After tackling the school year's curriculum I had to tackle my next big task of the day. Here is the before picture:

It only took about 30 minutes to make it look like this:

It was nice to have a productive day finally!!

Hope your day was good.....

Lazy Summer Days

The past week has been very laid back around our house, since I couldn't really do much we laid around and watched a lot of tv and played a lot of computer games. I don't like to do this, but sometimes it's necessary (like when momma has a broken toe). I finally got out of the house yesterday and bought groceries -- ooooh the excitement. I had That Kid go with me to drive and walk around and gather groceries so I didn't have to walk so much. There are definite advantages to having a big, strapping teenage boy in your house :)) He only put a few extras in the cart -- so I got by pretty easy.
Daddy was home so That Other Kid stayed home and played computer games the whole time we were gone, which was a real bonus. I had some one on one time with That Kid and we didn't have to deal with "I want to go home, I'm tired, I need to go potty, I want...." you get the idea.

My toe is starting to not throb so I'm going to start getting some things prepared for school. Some of That Kids classes start on the 27th and then we will go full force the Tuesday after Labor Day. He'll be a junior this year so we have a lot of serious school to accomplish this year. Chemistry and whatever math we end up with will probably be his biggest challenges. I know they will be mine -- although, they will be the two classes that I won't teach -- I will have to ensure he gets them done. Keeping That Other Kid occupied so he can work will probably be my biggest challenge of the school year.
Well off to try to rest from my exciting weekend -- not! I need a pain pill, cuz I've walked around too much yesterday and today.....
Thanks for reading................

Happy Birthday!

Today is my mother-in-love's birthday. Most people would say she is your mother-in-law, I say no, she is full of Love, not laws. She loves me like no other -- she is my confidant, my friend, my advisor. She is everything a person could ask for in a mother-in-law. She has been through so many trials throughout her life and has come out on TOP.
I love her like no other.....
and if YOU are reading this, I hope you have the best birthday ever. Thanks for your everlasting LOVE.

Homeschooling At Its Best

Today I had That Kid take a diagnostic test through Acceleration Christian Education to find out exactly where he was in math...boy, do we have a lot of work ahead of us this year. Math has always been our weak area, and he has struggled with some of the basics now for years. I found out just how weak he was and how far behind he is through this test.
Next, we will need to hire a tutor for math to get him up to where he needs to be....I know it will be a long, hard road but he is a smart kid when he applies himself, so I know he will get there. This is one of the best reasons to homeschool your kids. When they need extra help you can get it for them and they don't just get left behind.

Quick Update

Nothing too exciting going on at my house this week. I'm on meds to keep the pain to a minimum and so I'm not going anywhere, and both kids are behaving reasonably well. Finally, a quiet week.....of course, its all relative since I can't really function -- I'm not good with pain meds! I just kind of lay around and veg out.
Hockey season officially starts tomorrow morning with a dryland practice (workout with weights, etc) which That Kid is not too excited about, the real practice is Thursday night -- but he has to work so he will miss it. He is really torn; he wants to practice with the team but if he doesn't work he will miss out on about $100 for one night of work.....so he's working~ he loves that money!!!
Well I'm off to bed--- these meds waste me....
nighty, night.

Update to earlier post

I went to the local CareNow facility this afternoon, and my toe IS broken. The doctor told me that my toe is broken in a zig-zag pattern, not wonder it hurts almost as bad a child-birth.They gave me a nice little shoe to wear for the next couple of weeks and told me to stay off from my foot as much as possible -- I laughed since a mom really can't just sit around can she????
Now I guess That Kid will get to help out around here more than normal and That Other Kid will have to learn to play more by himself!!!
Wish me luck, I think I'm gonna need it.

Word to the Wise

Trying to answer the cell phone this morning -- which turned out to be a "telemarketer" -- I jammed my toe into a wooden box that holds our shoes by the back door. Now I have a broken toe -- thank you, Mr. Telemarketer.

So just a word to the wise -- if you are trying to do too many things and hurry to answer the phone, make sure you don't jam your toe into a big wooden box!!
Now I'm off to take something for this excruciating pain in my toe..........

Have a good day.

I Shoulda Stayed in Bed!

This morning I was awaken straight up 8 a.m. - thank God for the small things -- That was ok we had to leave by 10 and it usually takes us a couple of hours to get out the door. I fixed dh a birthday breakfast (he's 42 today)
and took a shower. As I'm about to walk out the door the phone rings for the 3rd time this morning -- now mind you it's only 10 a.m. Caller ID is a blessing from God, I tell ya. I didn't have time to talk, so walked back to get That Other Kid's socks on him, when dh decides he needs to have something scanned for a client -- RIGHT.STINKIN.NOW!!!! Problem the computer isn't on and HE doesn't know how to scan from our scanner/printer. It's now 10:05 a.m. and I needed to leave 5 minutes ago. He wants detailed description on how to do the scans, how long it takes, and when will the computer be ready to go? He's getting ANGRY cuz I don't have time to deal with this....I say call me and I'll walk you through it. I wait for the phone to ring the whole 3 hours I'm gone thinking he will call soon --- but no he WAITS FOR ME TO DO IT WHEN I GET HOME! He needed this sooooo bad, right???
Dish satellite guy came to hook up another tv, and brought the wrong equipment. Well maybe he didn't bring the wrong stuff, maybe I ordered the wrong stuff --- who knows at this point!
DH's b-day dinner was a FLOP -- both kids were whiny and grumpy. Yes, even 17 year olds can be whiny and grumpy. and it took me 1 hour and 10 minutes to get That Other Kid to go to sleep tonight.....
Now I'm ready to fall into bed, but 12 loads of laundry await folding.....so off to the pile of laundry.
Thank you God that today is almost over!!!!!!

Family Fun

Today we celebrated "That Kids" 17th b-day at the big water park in the metroplex. It was HOT, HOT, HOT, but everyone had a great time. He had 8 of his friends and his dad wasn't there --- but we had a great Family Day. We've waited all summer to enjoy a rain free day to go to the water park, and boy did God provide. Not a cloud in the sky!!! That Other Kid enjoyed his first taste of water slides, lazy rivers and wave pools and cried when we had to leave....Unfortunately, I left the camera on the kitchen counter so I don't have any evidence of our day except for my sunburned shoulders and back.
Hope you had a great Friday!

Mornings are for sleeping

When That Kid was about 3 years old I told him, "mommy doesn't like to wake up till after the 8 shows up on the clock. Do you know what the 8 looks like? yes, he replied. "Good, don't wake me till after the 8". Ok, no problem...he complied. He would sometimes wake me right at 8:00, but never before. What a good little boy! Today he doesn't see the light of day till around 10, unless I specifically make him get up. I'm ok with that. It's one of the many advantages of Homeschooling. You can start your day when it fits your life style.

Life moved on like this till about 3 1/2 years ago....when That Other Kid arrived in the world and he decided that he didn't like this system. It was time for a change! I had slept in long enough, he figured.

I tried the same approach with him -- but oh no! Waiting till 8:00 a.m. is just wasting too much precious time. He prefers 7 a.m. and the boy wakes up ready to PLAY, PLAY, PLAY. I have tried telling him that it is still night time till 8 a.m. but he is WAY too smart for that foolishness. I guess it wouldn't be sooooo bad, but he doesn't think bedtime is till after 9 p.m. This makes for a VERY long day for a mommy who can't really function before 9:00 a.m. and after 10:00 p.m. Not to mention the thousands for things that need to be accomplished AFTER bedtime.



Oh well at least I had few years of sleep!!!

A Little Perspective

That Kid is doing an ACT Prep class this week so I decided to take That Other Kid to "chicky-place" (Chick-fil-a) for those of you who aren't familiar with kid-speak. Anyhoo, I'm sitting there with my rambunctous little boy who can hardly eat 2 bites without wanting to get up and go play...when I glance over to the next table and get a little perspective.

Here is a mom sitting with 3 girls -- a girl about 10, and one about 4. The third girl is sitting in a child-sized wheelchair - I would guess her to be 7 or 8. Mom is dealing with all 3 girls, but her focus is on the disabled girl. She is spoon feeding her, trying to keep her happy and encouraging the other girls to eat before they go play. All the while she is trying to squeeze a bite in here and there of her own lunch. She is smiling and talking to her daughter in the wheel chair not at all discouraged that she can't eat her own lunch. Once she finishes taking care of her daughter she tries to eat her lunch, only to hear that she also wants to go play --mind you the little girl only communicates with noises, but she IS communicating loud and clear what she wants. The older daughter is now done and wants to play, too. Mom says will you take your sister in to play just long enough for me to eat? Older daughter agrees, reluctantly....you will come in if she needs help, right? Yes, I just want to eat my lunch, mom says.

I don't know about you but this made me realize how much I have to be thankful for. I left Chick-fil-a thanking God that I have 2 VERY Healthy, active boys. Sometimes they are TOO active and they drive me CRAZY with all their activities and noise, but they are healthy! and for that I am VERY GRATEFUL to GOD.

Time to sit back and be Blessed because our kids are blessings from God even if we don't always appreciate the blessing!

Have a good night,
Ann

I am monster -- Hear Me ROAR!!

Today I woke up feeling a little like a monster -- I've been sick for a week and I'm still not feeling great; cough, sore throat, sinus infection junk. But I got tired of feeling yucky and decided to tackle a little project. This "little project" only took 2 hours to go from point A:

to Point B:

Ain't ya impressed????!!! He thought it looked good and even showed daddy his clean playroom. He started to dump toys right after I was done cleaning and I roared like a monster and chased him through the house!!

Before I conjured up the energy to clean the playroom That Other Kid was watching "Little Bear" on tv and it created many interesting stories in our house -- he started running through the house being a monster!!! Hands raised above his head screaming "I am monster -- hear me roar!" It made me laugh to think he wanted me to be scared of him -- he's all of 37 inches tall and 30 pounds...don'tcha know that's scary~~

Now me a Monster I can see, like everytime I wake up with a sinus infection, cough, congestion....

Until next time,

Ann

Starting out....

I've been a lurker now for about 6 months and I kept reading blogs thinking, "I should do a blog...maybe I can vent to someone that will listen", maybe not. Well finally I did it. I have officially started my blog. You might ask, "Why, 'she's gonna blow'?" Well I'll tell you -- my hubby thinks I am gonna blow a gasket someday, and who knows maybe I will??!!! But I think this will keep it from happening soon...cuz aren't we moms all in the same boat??? I think we are, based on what I been reading.

Well that's all that blabbering for tonight...I need to set up the rest of my page!!

Ann