Teaching Moments

Well for those wondering, my week has gotten much better. I really do adore my children and never want to take them for granted but I was having a crazy moment and needed to vent. Lucky you!!! :) So anyway....


My kids knew that today was their last day of school before our spring break started so that made them very wild but very focused. Once we got started, they worked so diligently we were done by 11:30! So I took that opportunity to do something that I've needed to do, don't do very often, and haven't had the time to do for awhile.


I colored my hair. Yea, yea....I have grays I need to cover. Oh well. Little man informed me this week that gray hair is a sign of wisdom in India and means you are well respected. Well I don't intend on going to India any time soon and I'm tired of the comments so I colored it. While that in itself isn't very exciting, it did remind me of the last time I colored and I thought I'd share.


I use a dark brown on my hair and the last time I did it was NOVEMBER 2008! Yikes! My hair was about 4-6 inches longer then and much thicker. (I just recently got it cut...4 inches....and massively thinned out). I had to use two bottles of color and had to have my hubby help me so I could get all of it covered. The children of course thought this was very interesting and proceeded to sit on the bathroom counter and watch every moment. Hey we can make good family time out of any situation! :)Well hubby started to notice that he was getting the color on my forehead, my ears, my neck, my back, etc...
and asked me quietly, "Is this going to come off your skin?"
I answered without any thought, "Yeah, eventually."

We heard a gasp and turned to look at little man whose eyes were huge and his mouth hanging open. "What's wrong?" I asked. "Mom, you're turning into a........."



Wait for it......








"A DEMOCRAT!"

I guess with all the hoopla of the current presidential election and the very limited political coverage we watched, in his little 7 year old mind, African American and democrat went hand in hand. And here he was watching this black stuff overtake his moms face and body. It would have been a perfect teaching moment for us as parents to discuss the differences in political parties and how they have nothing to do with your skin color; but we were laughing too hard to say anything and then promptly got on the phone to share with grandparents.


We since have had that discussion but it's a classic moment that will never be forgotten. What's interesting to me is that he wasn't concerned about the skin color but the political origin. We have tried very hard to overcome past generation prejudices and don't make race, social status, etc. even an issue. People are people that are people. They are all made by God our Creator and all deserve His love, mercy and grace and deserve our love as one of God's creations, and as co-inhibitors of this world, that God put on here....together. Anyway, it was obvious that political party needed to be apart of this list too. We may not always agree with the opposing side, but we still treat with respect. So there...cat's out of the bag...we're Republicans. :)

But I guess for now, until the little I got on my face and neck fades, I'll be a democrat.

Ahhhh....kids say the darnedest things!

How do you spell frustration?

I am having one of those weeks. Spring break needs to come sooner than later and this stinking cold weather needs to GO AWAY! My kids are driving me nuts....fighting, bickering, whining, etc. You would think my daughter has reverted back to being a two year old. She cries at everything. If you tell her no, if you look at her the wrong way, if she doesn't get her way and so on. And she gets hysterical if she thinks you are mad at her. Ugh! I don't know how the tears are so ready to fall ALL the time. It's like they are sitting just on the surface and she can cry at the littlest of things. I don't know if it's because since her allergies are acting up that she feels just bad enough to be ultra sensitive or if she's just overtired or what but I need it to STOP! I have to be able to discipline her without her going on overload of emotions every single time. It wears me out. It makes me tired and I am done with it. Any ideas?

And the fighting. My kids get along pretty much all the time but there is the occasion that they don't get along at all. And now is one of those times. The constant pick pick pick can drive a person to drink! Whether it's fighting about the smallest of things (the sky is blue today...no it's not...yes it is....no it's not....yes it is) or something major like little man hauling off and smacking her, they are constantly at each others throats.

Let's not even begin to mention the fact that I can pick up 5000 times a day and turn around and things be thrown everywhere again....

Sometimes I think they just go through phases and sometimes I think its their way of making me WANT to leave for a few days. We leave for Vegas in one week and I'm so ready for the break! Being a home school mom is so rewarding but it also means that I am with them 24/7 and a girl needs some rest! I will be really glad to not answer 2 million questions and I might not even talk at all one day. Hubby has been so busy at work that he probably would enjoy me to not talk for a day. (yeah right, like that will ever happen!) But seriously, I just need to get through today and get through the phase they are going through. When we get back, we'll have to de-grandparents-spoil-us-too-much them and then things will be back to normal. I hope. :)

Sorry to rant and rave but that's what this blog is for and so just bear with me. Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's just exhaustion, but I am greatly looking forward to my break and I refuse to let myself feel guilty for that. I will be a better mom when I get home from some peace and quiet and relaxation. And hopefully some shopping too! :) But for now, I'm going to go break up the fight brewing and put them back into their separate rooms......

Weekend Work

Since this weekend was so cold and windy, we decided to take advantage of it and "finish" the kids bathroom. We have been putting it off for awhile and it was one of the last rooms to not have anything done to it. Back at our old house, I had made their bathroom into an aquarium and we all missed it so that's what we decided to go with. The kids helped with all the decisions and put their stamp of approval on each step of the way. They loved having a say-so! Why not? They have to be in there more than me, so they need to enjoy that space. Now if they would just keep it a little cleaner! Haha! (Wishful thinking.....)

So first the before pictures....

We picked our color and started painting. The color was "Ocean Breeze" and it really got us in the mood for our upcoming vacation to the ocean in Jamaica.

The during pictures...



After painting, we put up some Uppercase Living expressions to complete our aquarium. We even put a palm tree on the mirror with a gecko on one side and flip flops on the other to separate the two sides that have to be shared by the two kids.

The after pictures...

I gave the fish bubbles and water trails just to add to the effect of them swimming around. I'm not very talented but I did my best.

Task complete! All we have to do is add family memory pictures from our vacation that fit right in with our theme. I can't wait!! Now the house is almost done and everyone has their own special fingerprint on it and can enjoy it as a home.

Ummm......

Please explain the thinking for this to me.....

KIDS!!!!!

:)

Little moments....

Last night another cold storm blew in making it snowy and very windy outside. So we decided to make the best of it and have our last fire of the season, make smores, and have a Wii tournament. (We're not much into college basketball so we made our own brackets.)

Game one: Princess vs. Little Man: Bowling

Hubby waiting for his turn...

Princess lost game one and proceeded to pout for the remainder of the evening. :)

Game two: Mom Vs. Dad: Bowling

I lost to Hubby in Game two which means he and Little Man had to play each other for first place. Little Man was quite surprised when he realized that he was going to win...

And this was Hubby's punishment for losing to his son....

:)



We had so much fun and gorged ourselves on chocolate and marshmallows. We laughed at Princess because after dinner she said she wanted a Popsicle. We made sure we let her know that we were planning to have smores and she couldn't have both. So she still chose the Popsicle and gave up her chances of chocolate...crazy kid! :) But she was more than willing to toast marshmallows for our smores and while me and hubby were playing our second game, I peeked over and she was stealing the marshmallow off of his smore. Right after we finished playing, he asked her for it and wondered where his marshmallow went! She knew she'd been caught but she was so cute about the whole thing we couldn't get on to her. Sneaky little thing! :)

Laughter was all around....

Take advantage of little moments to enjoy the ones you love and you will be greatly rewarded!

Another great weekend...

We had another fabulous weekend this past weekend at Cross A Ranch. My aunt Becky, uncle Ken and cousin Keri from Tyler joined us and it was another picture perfect day. Wow! Our God is good and knows what is best for his children. We fished, ate, laughed, played and had a great time and are once again blessed to be apart of such a Christ loving family. He has blessed us so...

My grandmother sitting pretty while fishing. She can look graceful doing just about anything...




Father and daughter enjoying some time together on the fishing dock...



Princess getting in on the fishing action. She doesn't pick up a pole very often so this was a shock to all. She didn't catch anything but sure had fun trying!



My uncle Ken doing his best to add to the anticipated fish fry for the next day...



Brothers-in-law hanging out on the shore talking...I'm not sure what my sisters husband is doing laying on the ground but there seems to be a serious conversation going on anyway....I am so happy for my brother to have these men in his life. Growing up with 2 sisters wasn't always the easiest and since Jerod has been around since Adam was 12, they are quite close and good friends.



Little Man taking his turn at fishing this weekend...still didn't catch one...he'll get there one of these days! :)

My cousin Keri, the other photographer, enjoying the sunshine and family. I'm so happy she came with her parents!! We are just a few months apart and look more like sisters than me and my sister do and have remained friends throughout our grown up lives. I love her so!!

My other cousin Kara and her family came later in the afternoon and brought this ride. Little brother just had to take it out for a test drive! :)

Cousins going for a ride....she trusted me...I have NO idea why!!!

Charley hanging out and helping getting the fish ready for the big fish fry the next morning. (Which I think is YUK by the way...we went to dinner but no fish was eaten by this family of mine.) :)

Ahhhh.....couldn't ask for anything more. God please be with this wonderful family of mine, keep them safe, and protect them from the illness and pain that wants to invade them. Thank you for this blessing and I pray for attentiveness and gratefulness to never take them for granted. Amen.

Quiet...

My house is quiet. Very rare! One of little man's friends down the street asked him to spend the night with him last night and since she never gets to join, Princess asked my mom if she could spend the night with her. Both kids gone on the same night and we are not even out of town! God knew I needed it though. Everyone else is taking spring break this week but I decided not to since we will be taking off for our Vegas trip. So needless to say, they haven't been the best students this week knowing all the other kids were out. After the last few days, my spring break can't come soon enough! :) So I got a good nights sleep, slept in and am being lazy this morning. God takes care of me! The sore throat that was creeping up on me is gone and I am enjoying the quiet. It will only last a few more minutes, but it is wonderful while it lasts. Princess made me laugh last night because she said, "But momma, if we both leave, you won't have any kids to tell good night to!" Oh, honey...I think I'll be able to manage. :) Funny thing is though, that within the next half hour, the quiet will drive me nuts and I'll be so ready to go get them. I may need a break every now and then, but they are still so apart of me that I miss them sooner than later.

Birthday Bliss

Yesterday was my 31st birthday. I am now officially over 30. Sigh. Oh well...I had a wonderful day and was treated like a queen. My day started with breakfast in bed by my dear husband. He got up and made me french toast and coffee...what a beautiful start to the day! I then got caught up on my blogging (if you didn't notice) and the kids were so very anxious to get out to the schoolhouse which I found completely strange since they really tried convincing me that we needed to take the day off. Once I finally got in there, I understood their excitement. This is what was waiting for me...

They had schemed with their father to put up Happy Birthday banners and leave flowers on my desk. It was so cool. We then started our studies and went on about our day. I got many phone calls and felt very loved. Lunchtime brought opening my presents and having pizza delivered by a very handsome delivery man...(my hubby came home for lunch). I got a new cd, a new cross, and a new Willow Tree figurine for my collections. They know me well! At dinner, we met my entire family (parents, sister +3, brother, and in-laws) at Olive Garden to eat. Then when we got home, I got a phone call from my friend, Robin, in Houston. Yay!! Texting, facebook and emails are great forms of technology but there's just not much that can replace hearing the voice of your nearest, dearest friend. We talked for an hour and it was the perfect ending to a perfect day. Happy birthday to me! ;)

Saturday was a fantastic day. It was my dad's birthday and so we all went to the ranch to spend the day with him. It was an absolutely beautiful day and we enjoyed every minute of it.

The boys played football...






Princess looked adorable in her Cross A hat...




Even though my dad had a big project going of burying 30 years worth of trash, we all pitched in and tried to make it a little easier and fun...

What a mess!




Papaw "tried" scaring the kids with the chompers on the skid loader. Don't they look terrified? :)




My grandparents joined us after lunch and the kids enjoyed having them there to fish and explore with them.

Mamaw and her little "rock hunters"...



Grandpapaw and his fishing buddy...

He caught one!!!! 16 inches and 1 3/4 pounds! Good job Grandpapaw!

Jaxen had one, but it got away! Drats!!!

My dad then buried the trash and we called it a day.

This wonderful day was followed by a family birthday lunch on Sunday at our house. For some reason I was a little worn out and didn't take any pictures. :) My family is such a blessing and having them close enough to spend this time with them only adds to it. God is so good!!!

Okay...I think I'm caught up now! ;)

Purple

Friday ended with little man having a belt test that night. He is double belting in Taekwondo and Jui Jitsu and is getting very close to his junior black belt. This night he got his purple belt which seemed forever away when we started and now he is just 3 belts away! Yee-haw! He works so hard and is very talented in martial arts and says he wants to run his own school when he gets older. It took me awhile to get used to watching him wrestle around and put people in choke holds, and get put in choke holds himself, but now that I know that he can take care of himself, I don't worry so much. He very much deserves this and I am so very proud of him!!!

S.T.A.R.S. Field Trip

On Friday, we had a S.T.A.R.S. field trip to the Texas DPS helicopter hanger. (S.T.A.R.S. is our homeschool group that we do field trips, parties, and different activities with. It stands for Students That Are Rock Solid...cheesy, I know.)

Clay, our tour guide, was so good with the kids and answered all of their questions with patience and accuracy.

He let them crawl up into the helicopter, see the control panels and just hang out in there as long as they wanted.

Once everyone had their turn inside, he then let them put on a headset and sit in the drivers seat...very cool!

After everyone was finished seeing inside the helicopter, Clay took it out of the hanger and flew it around for us a little bit. He turned on the siren and lights for the kids and it was very exciting to see it up close and personal.

Homeschooling has given us opportunities that most traditional schools don't have time to give and I feel so incredibly blessed to be able to teach my children. I feel very responsible to do the best I can for them and make sure they are growing up under the Lord's direction. We've made great lifelong friends in this group and I wouldn't be where I am today without their support. We love our S.T.A.R.S.!!