Christmas Band Concerts

Brian on the right with the black jacket

Both in the same night! Go figure! In our world that is just how things manage to happen!  We have come to expect a certain amount of go- go- go in our lives!
The middle school band put there performance on first and as the first time band parents stood around pointing out their little angel, we smiled at their innocence.  The honking of horns,  tapping of drums, clanging of cymbals, flashing cameras, and video recorders galore came to an end, it was time to race to the high school.  Brian played several different percussion instruments and even had a speaking part. We were very proud!

Cory on the keys

At the high school, the event was much more dignified, as nervous teens gathered around the band director. The lights went out, the spotlight appeared and the night of decibel piercing sound began! Sweetie even humored himself and found the 'app' for measuring sound, and took delight in showing us the needle dancing about in the red danger zone.
Cory proudly played keys and a whistle of some sort, and did a great job of it. Band has really stretched him this semester and he is better for it. (side note:  we got to meet his date to the snowball's parents on this evening - much to he and his girlfriends chagrin) 

Brian ready for the concert

All joking aside, it was a delightful evening.

Chocolate Bacon?

Okay, so what  made me create this intersting combo? Well, apparently chocolate covered bacon is a delicacy? I have looked all over for it, short of ordering online, I decided I would help curb the boys' (and Best Bud's) curiosity. I made some at home.

I melted some milk chocolate in my own homemade double broiler!

 I dipped the cooked bacon in the chocolate, then put it in the freezer for a few minutes... Then we all tried a piece.
Cory and Best Bud liked it. Brian was on the fence. Sweetie and I - YUCK!

Magic Kingdom - A Day To Remember....

After Sweetie graduated  we were blessed with the oportunity to go to Magic Kingdom for a day. We met up with a former childcare provider of the boys and had a day of fun. We rode rides, and laughed and met a few Disney characters. I enjoyed watching people and children interact in this dream world. We were very tired but still managed to drive to Tampa that evening so that we could hang out with some other friends.

The boys with Chip n Dale. We learned that in order to tell the difference between the two is by the color of the nose. Chips nose is brown like a chocolate chip while Dale's is red. Dale also has two teeth seperate while Chip has two teeth together.

The boys loved riding the roller coasters!

Pink Rainboots

Yesterday I was the recipient of a gift. I know! YAY! My best girlfriend, (I promise she held this title before the gift also) suprised me with some pink rainboots. Ohh! I haven't had rainboots since I was a little girl. According to my mother they were a favorite accessory of mine as I loved to splash in the puddles that were consistantly in the streets of London. She told me once, that I got terribly upset over the birds splashing around in the water without their rainboots on. (blush)
Anyway, these boots are under the Liberty collection at Target. They were very affordable and as all you mother's know I admired from afar as I generally don't feel free to spend money on myself. However...she saw me looking at them and put my size in her cart! Sigh.
If she reads this blog dedicated today to her and my boots and well until I think of something more awesome than these boots to dedicate it to, well she won't know how much these boots mean to me. See, I've been looking at rainboots. I do a lot of work in the yard and am continuously washing my garden tennis shoes out because of all the dirt and mud. I've been wanting some badly for several years, so I watch and wait for sales, then when I see they are on sale, they are now unfortunately out of my size. I wear either a 7 or a 8 and those are a popular size! So I just count it as it wasn't my time to buy them and wait another season. So.. my friend.. she made my day!
Thank you my sweet friend! I will wear these boots until they have holes in them! By the way, I showed them to the boys to which they replied, "Yucky! Look at the pink! those have girl flowers on them!"
My thought is: "guess I won't have to worry about any boys putting their stinky feet into my boots!"

Mud Games

Saturday was the first game of the Spring soccer season for the 10 year old Strikers. To set the scene, you must know that it has rained on and off for three days prior to the game. Game morning there is a definate, and purposeful
rain coming down. We go check out the website to find that the game is still on. Arriving at the field we find ourselves in mud..it is drizzling rain and the temp is 47 degrees.
The boys are loving this! There is a huge mud puddle in the center of the field and lots of sloppy mud and patches of grass everywhere else.
The whole game was in slow motion.. the mud made for the ball getting stuck often and the boys slipping and sliding. There was lots of laughter and silliness
built in and the parents had a great time sitting in the rain and laughing in spite of ourselves...Brian scored a goal and assisted on another. He celebrated his goal by taking a big slide down the center of the field!
The game ended in a tie, with everyone ready to clean up and warm up!
Sweeties car needed a good cleaning and I spent lots of time hosing down clothing and shoes before puttting them in the wash.
Welcome Soccer season!

Thankful Moments

On January 29th we got some snow! Our rain gauge and a ruler in a flat, non-drift area shows we got 7 inches! YAY!
It has been awhile since we had some good "go play in it" snow. Early January we got an inch. We made the best of it, but that is rather hard when you can still see grass sticking out of it. Now can't see the grass except where we have pulled the snow off of it! The roof tops are covered, and the roads that yesterday were coated in ice, today are just slush.
The kids were able to get out of school and we have taken advantage of it! Sledding, snow ball fights and today, we were able to make a couple of snow people!
I still get excited when the kids get a snow day as I remember how happy that made me!
As the boys sip their 3rd cup of hot cocoa, and me with my hot tea, I am so thankful for these days. I'm trying to burn these images into my mind, as I know the days are not so far away when they will not be so quick to invite me to come along!
So, as I type this there are wet gloves and soggy jeans, chunks of melting snow all over the carpet and well, two very tired boys, and one thankful MOM!

Oops!

Yesterday started with a not so good event. It was the last day of Christmas break and the kids needed to get things in order for the next day. Part of that was cleaning up their treasures from Christmas and putting their rooms in order. One of those chores was cleaning out their betta fish.
The middle schooler spent the best part of the day cleaning up his room. The youngest? Well, he wanted to move his furniture around. He wanted a new look for his room for the new year. SIGH!
We shifted things around some, which created an even bigger mess. Although once completed was better than before, and allowed us to purge some toys and broken things! This child likes to keep things even if they are broken, maybe we can fix them, or maybe I can find a part to replace a missing part.. and so goes the clutter. Together we went through these things and parted with most! Whoo hoo!
Now to the ooops! It was time to clean out his fish. Albert Einstein he called him, pretty blue and black with a tinge of red on the outer edge of his fins. This fish has been around since early October as a reward for good grades. Poor little thing, his water had gotten murky over the holidays as there was no time to clean him out.
He asked for help, so as we poured the fish into another holding container that little booger jumped when he was supposed to slip into said container, and straight down the hole, down the drain. We both looked at each other. Then came the silence. "Mom, where is he?" We are both looking at the sink,like maybe he will reappear, we looked back in the original bowl, looked at the running water. SIGH!
"Um, he um, he went down the drain." It was hard for me to say it out loud.
Little man, just as soon as the words fell out of my mouth, it became reality and the tears started rolling down his cheeks. Sitting the holding container down, he bolted for his room, throwing himself onto his bed sobbing.
Oh! The twisting of the heart. The middleschooler now hearing this starts to do all he can think of to help. He starts pulling out change, until he has $4.00. He wants to buy his brother a new fish. (on days when I wonder if they love each other I will pull from this memory)
Needless to say, we got another fish. We all put a little money toward a new one. That way everyone could enjoy watching our little man smile again. The new Albert Einstein Jr. is a different shade of blue, more of an aqua. With the promise of not cleaning a fish out around an open drain (the one in the boys bathroom you have to hold up, it won't hold on its own, we found out too late)the boys were able to sleep soundly.
With the first oops of the new year behind us, we hope the rest of the inevidable oops's are as "easy" to fix.

Picture day

Yesterday was picture day at our son's elementary school.
Does this conjure up any memories for you?
Ha! Me too!
Our youngest does care, very much about what he wears.
This day was no different.
After several changes he comes downstairs with his hair slicked back and dressed in all black.
He wanted to go looking "cool". He did!
Our middle schooler was out sick when school pictures came, we are still waiting for the make up date. When it happens for him, he will not care what he wears. He probably will forget to give me the date and he will just take an average everyday photo. He says that is the way he is, just average and everyday.

Camp

Our Middle school son has just come home from camp. He is so hype! What fun he had! He got to spend time worshiping with his peers,go play paintball had fun pillowfights,got to swim in a lake, stay up late, eat all sorts of teen food... memories!
A few of his friends rededicated thier lives to Christ. Awesome!
Meanwhile on the homestead our little man got to have his parents and neighborhood friends all to himself.
He did have to endure a short shopping trip to Nashville with MOM and adopted Aunt. He did so well, he was rewarded with a new Wii game, 007. He has picked up a new talent, hip hop. Fun stuff! Last night we sat with friends at their pool watching their son and ours get their groove on! They were so cute! I need to video it..
Let's see, he also got to eat Hondurian food...fun stuff.
He has been taken out to eat, and slept in, and basically had peace.
Both boys missed each other not that they will admit it - much.
I missed not having us all under one roof.
Time to go ref the arguing going on in the other room!

Summer time Schedule

Hello!

Wow! I can't believe its been a month since I lasted posted. Life is busy!
That's a good thing! The boys are home from school, the Lord has blessed me this summer by being able to stay home with them! I haven't done that in several years!
YAY! I'm working with EIRO Research out of TX.

"EIRO IS A GREAT-TASTING, HIGHLY EFFECTIVE SUPERANTIOXIDANT NUTRICEUTICAL MADE WITH A PROPRIETARY BLEND OF FIVE WHOLE
SUPERFRUIT PUREES, INCLUDING A FIRST-TO-MARKET SUPERFRUIT.

Each superfruit in EIRO was selected for its high content of key antioxidants and polyphenols. Each superfruit is present in meaningful amounts, ensuring key nutrients are delivered to the body.

EIRO is formulated with whole fruit purees and doesn’t contain any extracts, freeze-dried ingredients or added sugars."

Check out our website! www.EiroVision.com

Lots of information there!

Outside of this.. Our oldest is gone to camp in Alabama. Fun stuff! He is having fun with his church group. Our youngest...he has sports camps, a dance camp, (hip hop), and tutoring.

Busy schedule, but it is so great to get the time with them! Getting to know the boys even better by being involved in their days, not just hearing about them.

Weekend with Preteens

Wow! With Mountain Dew surging through my veins, I am now awake and able to take on the avalanche of middleschool boys surging through our home. Usually by 10:30pm I'm snoozing my way into dreamland at a steady pace. Last night.. ha! Bible study didn't start until 11, so we had the 9 boys come in and drop their stuff. Then they were hungry and thirsty.. so yes, we went there. Then they jelled in devo time.. next activity? Outside! Yes, no matter that it is 36 degrees and 1240..its time to play outside. Armed with flashlights and jackets they decend upon the clubhouse and turn our quiet backyard into mayhem. (I warned the neighbors!)
Thanks to the cold they weren't out there long. Next comes a fooseball match. This lasted best out of three, then best out of nine.. can you see a pattern developing here?
1am. I'm feeling the tired. The kids are winding down, praise GOD! The leaders are actually more tired than the 6th graders! (leaders being my highschooler and college kid)By 1:30 the leaders were asleep, and the kids were just into the whispering/calling girlfriends, texting..listening to IPOD's.
Sweetie marches downstairs and tells them final lights out.
Somewhere around 2ish I fell asleep. 5:20 someone gets up to use the bathroom, so I'm awake. Its okay Ive got breakfast to make.
The kids are up and showered by 7am. Our fearless leaders are still in bed! ha! wow.
8 am we are eating our massive breakfast. 9am is small group time. What an awesome God time that was! These kids have no problem praying aloud or sharing.. it is something. Deep stuff was discussed in a mature manner. (could be my delerium)No, seriously they were great. They rolled up their bags, stacked them, helped clean up.. wow!
We had a moment for the kids to all gather around the piano and praise music just sounded up and down the street! GOOD STUFF!
Off to church we go for morning group...great speaker in from VA. Kids gel again and its pizza time! I counted 30ish pizzas! Our group hoovered 7..by themselves.
1pm we are heading back to the house for some group "manhunt" game..I don't know ask the boys. I have some awesome pics I will download.
Now I'm waiting on devotion time again and 2:30 we are taking the kids skating. This will last til5pm then back here for dinner. Plan is to grill out burgers and hotdogs. Ive got a lot of soda pop and chips and snack stuff for them to gorge themselves on!
That is the point in time.. Im in now.. so the rest for later!

Etiquette Training at the Symphony

In the life of our boys, they never know when their mother will spring some sort of "grown up/learning experience" upon them.
Since our oldest son is 11 and our youngest 9, I figured they were old enough to behave themselves at a two hour music program put on by our local university. So, last night.. off we went.
We had to be there at 6:30 so that we could attend the discussion before the presentation. Which meant, hurry up with the homework, choke down your dinner, and lets go! You aren't wearing that are you? Uhuh. Some battles are not worth it. Besides, it was a community event and there were lots of college students in jeans who behaved worse than anything the boys dreamed up. I was able to overhear one highschool/college kid saying to a professor about not dressing as he should, " I was born in the 80's, our generation is more laid back." Which then lead into another discussion I wasn't privy to, besides that my sweetie was beside me snorting about the kid born in the 80's! ha!
The Gateway Chamber Ensemble, conducted by Gregory Wolynec, performed Mozart's "Gran Partita" serenade was played in full. Which means all seven movements were played over a 45 minute time frame. We were also treated to Serenade in Eb, Op.7 by Richard Strauss.
Oh it was beautiful! There were obo's, clarinets, horns, bassoons, flutes, basically it was a wind instrument event.
First order of business was to explain the "etiquette" of such an event. When to clap, when to be still, (stop laughing!), when one was allowed to move about the auditorium. Just because I'm anal.. I explained no loud talking, whisteling..ect.
With those rules swirling around their little heads, I ended with, "Remember enjoy yourself!"
Wow. Only a Mom!
Overall they were awesome. Our oldest is really into music, so he enjoyed himself. Our youngest? He shifted, asked why they didn't play something faster...(I believe he takes after his father). Oh yes! He fell asleep. He lasted through the Strauss piece, and the discussion, but not the Mozart piece.
Since we got in around 9:20 I popped in a classical music CD for them to listen to as they drifted off into dreamland. I truly hope exposing these type of environments to the kids will help mold them into well rounded leaders in the future.
Born in the 80's! Ha! Our boys were born in the late 90's and they had better be dressed the way they are supposed to for such an event!