New School Year....

School starts Tuesday. This year I have a kindergardner (Megan), a fifth grader (Jessica), and a seventh grader (Debra). The beginning of a new school year is always exciting. It is fun to see the children go through all the excitement and pre-school jitters. This year is especially fun because Debra is starting Middle School and Megan will begin her first full day of Elementary School.

Debra received her schedule in the mail and tomorrow we will visit her classes. Last year Debra basically hung out with three really good friends and she was saddened when her schedule revealed that she only had one class with one of those close friends. She handled it well though. She looked at the bright side and said this would give her an opportunity to make new friends and learn new things.

Miss Megan has already been to pre-school and head start. School is not new to her, but riding the bus with Jessica and attending a full day is something she has not done before. This year is also the first year shes had to bring her own school supplies and she is very excited about that. She is the most nervous of all the girls, and she divides her time by barely being able to wait for school to start and then insisting that she is not going.....

Jessica is anxoiusly waiting for news of her fifth grade teacher. She has her little heart set on getting Miss Grey, but in all her school years she has only once gotten the teacher she wanted. I am really not worried about what teacher she gets as long as she is not in the same class with a student, who we will call mean face. Last year mean face made Jessicas school year miserable. She called Jessica names, wrote stuff about Jessica on the bathroom wall and even sent my little Jessica home with a black eye! I already requested that mean face and Jessica be seperated and I am sure the school will acccomodate me on this, because they know how awful mean face is.


So in a houseful of girls with school less than a week away, and school shopping less than half done, we are all a bundle of nervous excitement and our giggling and shopping are driving dear old Dad crazy......

Home

The Crazy Hip Blogg Mamas blogging topic for this week is "Home". Sounds simple enough right? Wrong. Home is so many things to me. Love, happiness, hopes dreams..... Home is where I can wear slippers and boxers all day. Home is where the kids don't have to wear matching clothes and they can fix their own hair. Home is where we share our lives, home is where we sometimes make new lives. Home is safe and happy. Home is, home is, home is. I could make a list of one hundred things, and still not feel like I have accurately described what home is. As I was struggling with a way to verbalize what home is to me I recieved this email. It was written by a friend named Sherri and subject line was Parent to Parent thought; Well, the first day of school was today for my kids and how trying it is each year preparing for such a thing. I took five days off to spend time with the kids before they returned to school. Travis heading to first grade and Sara to seventh grade. We had a few days of fun and a few days of work to prepare for the start of yet another busy year. Things went off quite smoothly as the kid's picked out thier new clothes they wanted to wear for the first day, took thier baths, and we prepped everything the night before to avoid the mad dash out the door like most of us experience every school morning. Whether it is walking to the bus in our jammies and shoving them aboard or slapping on a quick make up job so to run to work once the kiddies are settled into school, it truly shows the glory of being a parent. All went well and my Mom met me at the house this evening to enjoy the first day of school news with us from Sara and Travis. I watched my Mom as Travis and Sara went on and on about the day and threw papers at me and Mike left and right to sign or read. It is funny as my Dad came to mind quite often this evening and I without asking my Mom, could tell she inhaled all the joy the children were bringing to me and Mike at that moment. Whether your children are in school or due to go in a few years, sink yourself into the grace of having the opportunity to be a parent. As I looked at my Mom tonight, I know that with all the stress that comes with being a Mom or a Dad, that in the end it is all worth it. That what you accomplish being a parent is more important then what you accomplish as an adult. I am proud my Mom and Dad spent thier quality time parenting. I hope everyone has a wonderful school and/or parenting year. Remember, that being a parent is the greatest job you will EVER hold. Putting that job before any other will help you too look across a table at your daughter or son and grandkids one day and think to yourself "That is a job well done" as I feel my Mom was thinking tonight and know Dad was looking down and thinking the same thing. TTYL Sherry In this letter I especially liked the paragraph in which Mom, Dad and Grandma all made sharing the childrens day a priority. Imagine how special those children must of felt knowing that the three most important people in their lives cared enough to not only be there, but to listen to what had happened durring their day. Upon reading this letter, I was able to verbalize what home is to me. Home is quite simply the place where others care about your day.... Thanks Sherri....

Thursday Thirteen




Thirteen Silly Things I love....


1. Markers, I am an avid scrapbooker but even I must admit, no one needs over 100 markers.

2. Notebooks. If I see a cute notebook or journal, I must have it.

3. Hearts, I always have one room decorated in hearts.

4. Oldies, much to my childrens dismay if I hear motown I must sing...And now that I have mentioned it, I can't stop singing "Aint no mountian high enough"...

5. My swing. Whenever I am outside, thats where you will find me.

6. Knitting show on DIY network. I don't know how to knit, but I love to watch that show.

7. Dr. Phil, now hes not so silly, but I must admit I really love that man...

8. John Travolta, again hes not so silly, but in our house hes called "Mommy's boyfriend".

9. The Demalotion Derby. I don't care about cars or racing, but I can't pass up the demolation derby.

10. Court T.V., my favorite is the court t.v channel that shows real court room action, but I must admit I gobble up all the cheesy ones too.

11. My body pillow. If I had a choice of a bed without a body pillow or a floor with a body pillow, I would choose the floor.

12. Soduku, once again not so silly unless you take into account that I can not pass up a soduku magazine. I have enough that I could do puzzles for the rest of my life, and I'm sure I will buy more.

13. The silliest thing that I love is my family. A day in our house would fill you up with enough silliness to last a lifetime....


Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)




Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants



Wordless Wednesday

Baby Photos....

Janice and Susan, over at Five Minutes for Mom came up with this photo sharing idea. The idea is for everyone to post a favorite baby photo and describe what it is about the photo that makes it so special. So here is one of my favorite baby photos:






As a photographer I could critique this photo to death. It is not centered, the lighting is bad and the background sucks. But I don't care. Whenever I look at this photo (and it is framed in my living room) I smile. In this photo I managed to catch little faith looking straight at the camera, with a look of pure happiness on her face and that is why I love, love, love this photo....

Victimitis Virus

Don't go around saying the world owes you a living.
The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
Mark Twain

Do you know someone who feels as though they are owed something simply for being here? Do they often blame others, get angry easily, whine and never take responsibility for their actions? No, I am not describing a child I am describing a person infected with the Victimitis Virus. It is a real mental disorder. Victimitis Virus people are highly reactive and never proactive. They feel as though the world is out to get them and nothing you say or do can get them to change their minds. People with this virus do need therapy. Having said that and completely understanding that this is no laughing matter, I have compiled a list of things said by people with this virus.

1. I was riding in a car that was being driven by a female driver. She was cut off by a truck. We did not know nor had we ever seen the person driving this truck. She said "He only pulled out like that because he knew I was driving."

2. At a resteraunt with an adult male. We did not know any of the workers and they did not know us. Adult male says "We are not getting good service because that waitress does not like me."

3. I know a guy who was fired from work. He had been told several times that if he did not straighten up he would loose his job. He did not straighten up. He got fired. He said "Thanks to them people I can't pay my rent."

4. There is this girl. She misses more work than she makes. She always complains that she doesn't make enough money and can't figure out why her work won't give her a raise.

The next few are about my children. I do believe all children suffer from victimistis virus....

1. My oldest daughter was going to go to a concert which featured several of her favorite artists. She was put on restriction for sneaking out and was unable to go to the concert. A few weeks later she was watching videos and one of the artists from the concert was on t.v. She started moaning that she could of seen that person in concert. I asked whos fault was it that she didn't get to go to the concert. She said it was my fault because I put her on restriction.

2. My five year old was carrying an armful of books. She dropped them on her foot. She started crying. I asked if she was alright and she said she was not alright thanks to me. I asked what I had done and she said if I had just carried the books for her she would not of gotten hurt.

3. We have tivo. My twelve year old has a nine thirty bedtime. One of her favorite shows comes on at ten o'clock. She forgot to record it and got mad at me about it. I asked what she was mad at me for and she said she was mad because I make her go to bed too early and thats why she missed her show.

I must admit that while Victimitis Virus is serious I find myself laughing at the things on this list. I also find myself laughing at people who feel this way. However, I can not stress enough that this is a serious illness that needs serious treatment. So in all seriousness I would like to give Victimitis Virus Sufferers a prescription:

Take several doses of responsiblilty mix it with some reality and some feeling sorry for yourself killer, and do not call me in the morning.....

Silly me...

I am so silly. After all this time I just realized I could fix my settings so that anyone could leave a comment not just fellow blogger members. So for all you guys (I am mainly talking to you mom) who never left a comment because you didn't want to sign up for a blog, go ahead and comment away....

Disturbing Thought....

When my children were younger (all under the age of ten) I could not get enough of them. I loved having them, I loved raising them and most of all I loved spending time with them. Then puberty struck. All of a sudden my sweet, happy wonderful children became moody, selfish and ungrateful. Its not that I no longer wish to spend time with them, they all of a sudden don't have time for me, and when they do have time for me it is always for an alterior motive. I tried to perk myself up about this teenage girl stuff by remembering that they are only teenagers for a short (although it feels long) time. And then I realized that my childrens ages are spaced so that for the next nineteen years I will be raising a teenage girl...... Somebody shoot me!!!!!

Thirteen Opposite Things about Me and my honey... 1.I absolutely love to read. He hardly even reads the newpaper. 2. He loves football, I can't see what is so great about it. 3. I am a person who says what I think, and thinks what I say. Getting an opinion from him is like pulling teeth. 4. He loves home cooking. I love fast food. 5. I love to do crafts. He tries to act interested. 6. I need to know every detail of everything, he doesn't want his time wasted with useless information. 7. I love the computer and blogging. He loves that I love it, but has no great effection for it himself. 8. He loves roller coasters, you can't pay me to get on them. 9. He loves motor cycles. I am terrified of them. 10. He likes haunted houses and all things scary. I am too scared to go. 11. I love to dance. He says he loves to watch me but he won't join in. 12. I get offended and upset easily, he could care less what others say or do. 13. I know for a fact that I love him more than he loves me, but he swears he loves me more than I love him.... Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants



What I love about blogging.....

Hello ladies! Welcome to my very first blog entry for blogging chicks. This weeks theme is "What I love about blogging."

I am fairly new to blogging and like a lot of you bloggers out there I started a blog to keep family members updated on things that were happening with my children, my husband and myself. It was originally meant to be seen by relatives only, but that quickly changed when I saw just what a big community the blogging world is. I love doing memes, namely Thursday Thirteen, Wordless Wednesday, and Works for me Wednesday. There are a few other photo memes out there which as a photographer I am thinking I should join.

The thing I love most about blogging though is not updating family or doing memes. It is the therapeutic benefit I get from simply communicating. As a stay at home Mom I can sometimes go days and days without ever having an adult conversation. Blogging helps me keep my sanity. It helps me focus my thoughts and gives voice to my feelings and emotions. It gives me an outlet that I didn't have before. An outlet that I am so very grateful for.

Blogging also gives me another invaluable outlet. It allows me to look into the lives of other people. It lets me see how other people think and feel. Blogging shows me their options and choices and lets me see how they handle certain situations. In short blogging lets me know that I am not alone. We all struggle with the same burdens.

So while blogging is new to me now, I am sure it will grow to be a very old and very dear friend.

Happy Birthday Jessica!

Today my little girl turns ten. Jessica is my third child. When she was a baby she had colic and for the first four months of her life she cried and cried. Nothing we did ever helped to calm her. My husband and I spent hour upon hour walking the floors and singing lullabyes. Mercifully the colic passed, but the crying stayed. She has always been super sensitive and the least little things can make her cry. The other girls used to ask "Why is she crying?" and I would always answer "because she is Jessica."

When Jessica was three she wanted to draw a heart. She tried and tried but just could not do it. Her little eyes filled up with tears as she asked me to please show her how to do it one more time. I suggested she take a break, that her fingers were just too little to make a heart, but she refused to quit. She just kept crying and drawing until finally, she drew a heart.

That heart incident set a precedence for Jessica. She loves life and she loves to do new things. To this day she can not stand to fail. Once she has decided to learn something she will drive herself to tears until she masters it.

Jessica is by far the most sensitive person in our home. That sensitivity is both a blessing and a curse. She is easily hurt, but she so easily loves. She is always giving compliments and helping out. And unlike her colic days when were unable to satisfy her, she is now so easily pleased by the simplest things.

Jessica is my sweet, wonderful (not so) little girl and I am truly thankful and so very humbled by the wonderful blessing that is her....

I need a break

I came across this picture in an old program I have and it really just suits me to a tee… I sometimes feel like all I do is cook, clean and take care of kids. Don’t get me wrong, I love doing it, but sometimes I feel overworked and overwhelmed. I feel like I am running on auto-pilot and rather then enjoying the time I have with my family I am just going through the motions. It is unfair to them and it is also unfair to me.

I was invited to a crop party this past weekend. I went and had a great time. I didn’t get much work done. I was too busy socializing. We all joked about how I couldn’t get a page done without a child sitting on my lap. It was then I realized that this was the first time in almost two years that I had been somewhere without my children or husband with me. Can you believe that? Two years of being only a wife and Mother. Two years without once taking time for myself. No wonder I am feeling so burned out. I used to always take classes and go to crops. I used to have hobbies and a life that didn’t involve my family. I used to do new things and go new places. Between my family and my outside activities I had such a full life. Where did that fun loving, fulfilled woman go? And why did she just leave this shell of a person behind?

We all know that in order to be a good parent you must first take care of yourself. But is all too easy to just put our own wants and desires on hold. Sometimes--no most--no all times as parents we must take care of our home and family before we are able to do things for ourselves, but we should never forget how much we need time to do things that are just for us.

This post is a promise to myself to get out and do more things without my husband and children. Not so that I can be away from them, but so that I can be more appreciative of the time I spend with them. Also I will have stories to contribute to the conversations we have that are always about everybody else, because I have nothing to tell. I am making a commitment to be more than just a mother and wife, to do more than just cook, clean and take care of family, to contribute more to my family by being nicer to myself.

Birthday Party....

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These are some of the pictures from Ashleys birthday party. We all had such a great time. It was just one of those nights when everyone got along perfectly. For all you guys who missed it, too bad for you because you missed a wonderful night....