Monday, May 23, 2011

Homeschool and soccer wrap up!

Logan finished up his soccer season this past Saturday.  He LOVED playing, and I was very proud of him.  I never thought I would be one of those parents, but I now truly understand why my dad was kicked out countless games.  Lyndon and I are going to have to start taping our mouths shut.  Honestly, I just wanted to offer encouragement and support while he was out there playing, but the coach started to get on us about "coaching" from the sidelines.  I guess it would have been better if I actually knew something about soccer.  I will say that our little team finished the season 8-0 (not that we were keeping track or anything)!  Logan contributed a few goals, but more importantly, he learned a new skill and was able to learn what it means to be part of a team.  I am actually a little bummed that it is over. 
We are also wrapping up home school for the year.  What an experience this has been.  I learned to respect Homeschooling while I was in Little Rock, but actually participating in the process has brought it to a new level.  We started out very strong with daily lesson plans.  The boys loved it and looked forward to it everyday.  But, as the spring approached and we were able to spend more time outside, it became more an more difficult to find the desire to sit inside and do work.  It is not like we worked all day, but I had designated times to work simply because attention and patience (for both parties) was better at certain times of the day.  There is just something to be said about teaching your own children.  There is a definite sense of accomplishment being able to say that you are the one to teach them to read or add.  I loved seeing those "light bulb" moments when they got something.  I loved that both boys wanted to work with me and they were willing to turn off the TV and listen to instructions.  I loved that they had fun with it and actually looked forward to the work.  And, I really enjoyed the co-op that we were able to join.  I learned so much from these wonderful families.  I took Logan in last week to register him for school, and I have to say that it was a very difficult thing for me to do.  While I know he will do so much better in a school environment, I have to say it made my heart sink.  I told him we were going to sign him up as we drove to the school, and he lit up.  Logan is just one of those kids that will love going to school and will thrive on the challenges.  His Sunday School teacher tells me he is a natural-born leader (takes after his daddy), and that he is always trying to run her class.  These are the qualities I prayed for when they were babies, but at the same time, I did not realize how hard it would to watch them not need me!  Don't misunderstand.  I am so grateful that they have developed skills that makes them more independent. But, after almost 6 years of doing everything for them, it is an adjustment for me.  Not to mention that Logan is just over 4 foot tall now which means in another year or two, I will be asking him to reach stuff for me...and while Luke is not quite as tall, soon enough he will be opening jars for me that I am too weak to open.  How did this happen? Ok, so I am being a bit dramatic, but I have really been thinking about all of this lately.  Needless to say, I have not regretted keeping them at home this year, but I know that it is time for Logan to move on.  While I understand home school is not for every family and every child, let me just say that it takes an enormous commitment and a lot of planning especially if you have multiple children. You rarely have time to yourself, and you really have to learn to say "no" to things if it means taking time away from what you have planned.  To all of my home school friends out there, thanks for including us in your co-op and for your support! 
A little time at the park with our home school group!


Logan's last soccer game for the season!



A small celebration afterwards!

The coach promised Ring Pops after the game.  That would explain the blue lips!

Logan was beside himself when he got his trophy!


Luke was the team's biggest fan!  He sat through all of the practices and games and never complained or whined about him not being out there.  Of course it helped that he got to eat the snacks and take part in the parties!  He loves his big brother and had fun watching him play.  We will see if he has interest in playing in the fall!
 

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Meals!

Meals for May16-29!
16) Broccoli and beef pasta with bread
17) Paninis
18) Red beans and rice and salad
19) Shepard's pie with fresh, raw veggies
20) leftovers
21) Blackbean burgers
22) Tex Mex chicken and rice with black beans
23) Penna with arugula, roasted feta
24) Sloppy Joes
25) Sausage and Cheese Manicotti with asparagus
26) Blue cheese and pear sandwiches
27) leftovers
28) Sausage and egg burritos
29) Roast, potatoes and salad
Happy Meal Planning!

Cool air!

And we have air!! A week later, and our new system is running nicely. So, now the battle of temperatures begin.  My sweet husband is a fan of the cold.  For him, short-wearing weather starts when it is about 55-60 degrees outside.  He would probably prefer the house to run at 60 also.  He also loves the overhead fans. So, it could be a nice 70 or 80 degrees outside, and I am wearing my parka to do laundry.  During the week when he is at work, it is easy for me to turn the temp up for me and the boys to be comfortable. But, in the evenings and on the weekends, what temperature the house is set on is an ongoing battle.  He goes from room to room and turns on all the fans, turns the temp down, turns off all the lights and closes all of the blinds to cool the house to a "comfortable" temperature.  Then, I follow behind him, open up the blinds and turn off the fans.  We do this several times a day on the weekends.  My favorite is when he asks me to cook in the dark so I don't heat up the kitchen too much.  It might appear that we save electricity; however it is all relative when the air is set to freezing...and so, as the temperatures (and crazy humidity) slowly increase, the battle will continue!

It would not be right if I did not share some pics of the boys with you!  May you have a wonderfully, cool day!


Logan has become obsessed with Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  He loved the movie, and when I told him there were more books in the series, he just had to have them.  I tried two different libraries, but the wait list was insane, so we finally ordered the box set for him. Luke, of course, had to have a little something special too.  He chose G-Force.  Both of them have slept with their goodies for a week now! 


A little baseball.  They have a bat somewhere, but instead of taking the time to look for it, they came up with an alternative! 



I will leave you with an actual rabbit hole!  We have watched and waited for babies, but none have appeared yet...

Monday, May 9, 2011

Happy Mother's Day and telling on myself part II!

It is amazing that so much can happen over just a few days.  It has been a roller coaster of crazy and calm moments this weekend.  It ended on a sweet note, so I am not complaining, just stating the realities of life.  Lyndon says that I am not high maintenance as far as clothes or nails or hair, rather I am emotionally high maintenance.  I am not a fan of this title, but it has taken me sometime to recognize that perhaps I am.  There are people out there who thrive on daily stress and seem to come alive when there is a complication that needs fixing. My husband is one of those people.  He "shines" when a problem is presented because he has an incredible talent for taking the worst situations and making them come out in everyone's favor. To be clear, I am not one of those people. That kind of stuff stresses me out, and stress zaps me of energy, and I basically shut down.  This is where absent-minded me comes into play. I forget appointments, lose track of important papers, forget names, put eggs in the cabinets with the coffee cups and get from point A to point B before realizing I left everything I need neatly piled on top of the car.  When I get into this mode (and trust me, I recognize it before anyone else does) I really have to focus on tiny, yet uber-important details such as buckling in the kids, or turning off the coffee pot or locking the doors when leaving the house.  And, yes, I have turned the car around mulitple times during the same trip to check that I have done uber-important things or to retrieve items I need. The really fun part of all of this is that I have kids, so there is always something going on, always a stressful situation or a complication.  This means I spend a lot of time in this state of mind.

 Having said that, this weekend was a perfect example.  I was very excited on Friday because I had my carpets cleaned.  It is what I wanted for Mother's Day.  Don't judge me; I thrive on a clean house with stain-free carpet.  I had big plans for Saturday to get the furniture back in order and do some deep cleaning (cleaning actually relieves stress for me).  However, our AC went out upstairs Friday, and I woke up in the middle of the night sweating and miserable and could not go back to sleep.  This was the start of my downhill.  My plans to organzie and clean went down the tubes so we could focus on what to do with no AC. And, we have had to move beds downstairs adding to the insane chaos of my unorganized house.  A replacement is on the way, but we are looking at another night downstairs until it is installed. My brain is on overload seeing that I can't walk through my downstairs, so I have begun the shutdown process.  We did manage to work around the craziness with a nice dinner with friends and a very sweet Mother's Day.  The boys took me to brunch after church, went for a walk with me and made me a beautiful steak dinner last night. And, for the first night in three nights, the boys slept. My house is a wreck, and I have a week full of my usual plans plus the added fun of AC replacement. So, if you are out and about and see me driving down the street with the door open just wave and smile. Or you are having a conversation with me and I forget something important like your name, please do not be offended. I hope be be back on track in a few days!

I will leave you now with pictures from our weekend!
At the strawberry patch again, but we got rained out. No strawberries this day!

Team picture!

Soccer game (Logan scored two goals, not that I was keeping count)!

I gave Logan the camera to capture whatever he wanted while the men in my life fixed me a steak dinner!  There were a lot of pics of the grass and trees, but we did manage a few of Luke and Daddy!



We had a very nice Mother's Day dinner complete with stuffed potatoes, salad and steak!

Yes, the boys are sleeping in the t-shirts they wore that day.  After the crazy day we had, I was not willing to battle them on this.  Luke loves sleeping with his big brother.  I am not sure Logan feels the same...

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Drum roll please...

We have the beginnings of green beans and bell peppers!  Sorry, not much has happened this week, so I am reporting on the little things. I am very excited about the prospect of fresh veggies because I am attempting a container garden this year.  I have also planted tomatoes and spinach. They are not popping through yet, though. I will keep you informed of how it is going!




In other news, this is my up and coming project.

Ten pounds of fresh-picked strawberries!  There is a farm that grows them just about a mile or two from my house.  The sad thing is, I plan to return this week for more.  I am going to attempt strawberry jam, Lyndon's favorite.  Anyone have a good recipe?? These are SOOO much easier to clean and contend with than the apples.  If the jam turns out,  I will share the recipe! 

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Meals...day late and dollar short, always!

Here they are!
May 2-May15
2) Sesame chicken and noodles with green beans
3) Grilled cheese and fruit salad
4) Rigatoni and meatballs with green salad
5) Baked potatoes and fresh raw veggies
6) leftovers/out to eat
7) Homemade pizza
8) Stroganoff with rolls and salad
9) Meatloaf with potatoes and asparagus
10) Bruschetta and fruit
11) Three cheese pasta with chicken and veggie mix
12) Salmon patties with rice and salad
13) leftovers/out to eat
14) waffles and eggs
15) Stuffed peppers
Happy Meal planning!