The Green Blanket

The air has been much colder these past few days. Not only does the cold air mess with my lupus infested bones, but it plays with my mind too. I have a ton of bad memories that get jarred when cold weather hits.
One of the times that hurts was when it was just Skylar and I. I was a single Mom with that boy. A scared, single Mom all alone that did what she had to do.

Blast from the Past with an Update!

October 2013 
Have You heard that saying the Proof is in the Pudding?   I'm sure you have, we all have.  I said this to my Son today and my 13 year old asked me what it meant exactly.  I explained to her and she was like, what's Skylar's pudding going to prove?  I don't know....that's why the Cake will rise, the Froth will form, the Peaks will be beat!  Ok, maybe It's that time of the month and I'm overly dramatic and craving a ton of sweets.  But, You get the idea!!

Wedding Cake Pops...No Problem!

I'm pretty sure that I've mentioned that my oldest Son is getting married soon.....in a few days soon.  Being the Groom's Parents kind of puts you out of the loop because it's the Bride's show...kind of.  And I understand, every since Skylar was a baby I thought geez his clothing options were the adorable over the top baby suits, onesies, or jeans and basic T-shirts.  When Mahala came around my eyes were opened to color, dresses galore and baby bling.  So, how fun could it really be to dress up the Groom?  Well, we did spend the day looking at bow ties together......don't laugh!

More then Half my Life

 




















So, it was another Birthday for me.....yay me!  I am thankful the Lord has given me 40 years and that 21 of them I have been a Momma!!!  We had a great celebration together, especially since my oldest was born on my Birthday.  We both hit milestones this year, I turned 40 and he made it to 21.  Here I am with my Sweet girl who just turned 15 not too long ago.  They grow up so fast and before you know it those late nights don't seem like such a big deal anymore.  I would do anything to be able to go tell my younger self to relax more and enjoy the kids.  No, I take that back!  I did do that and that's why my Son was out with his Family on his 21st Birthday.  Because I did take the time to stay up late and talk with them.  I did play board games, make cool art projects and decided to Homeschool them to tailor their education and be able to spend quality time with them.  We have made cookies just because it was Tuesday and have spent many afternoons dancing in the rain or basking in the sun.  These last 21 years have been the Best years of my Life.....I Love My Family!!!

Little Hands Big Hearts

 There is hardly a time when I don't have all of my Kiddos with me, or at least one of them.  Honestly I miss them when they aren't with me.  Maybe I've just gotten so good about tuning out the not so pleasing behavior or I'm just in love with being a Momma.  I think it's a little of both.  :) But, I truly enjoy being around my Kids.....even on the bad days. 


Don't get me wrong...I have my days, when I just don't know what will help Kaden stop screaming and banging his head like a mad person.  And the teenage hormones can send Mahala from being little Miss Sunshine to Cruella Deville.  But, I expect those days to come.  And when those days are in the here and now I try real hard to imagine the day they wont be making a trail of cracker crumbs from the kitchen table to the tv.  There will be a day that Skylar, Mahala and Kaden will have their own families and I will hopefully be a Grandma just begging for her Grandkiddos to come over and bake a mud pie with me.  When I think about that it makes it a little easier and then I'm able to stop rocking in the corner praying Hubby walks in at any moment.  And I can try to enjoy whatever glimmer of happiness I can find in any situation.

I pray a lot, I pray every day for patience and strength with a glimpse of my child's heart.  Sometimes if we look at life through our Kiddo's eyes, we see their heart...their intent.  We can see that their goal wasn't to take us down piece by piece.  You will be able to find glorious opportunities to teach and love them to greatness. 

Having a Friend or group of Friends is always important too.  I have my Sister and if she wasn't there for me on those days that I want to just cry because I don't know what I can do to help Kaden through his meltdown I don't know what I would do.  Hubby and I have also been making date night a major priority too.  We let it slide the past few years, because we were caught up in therapy with Kaden.  We now have remembered our relationship needs to come first, right after our relationship with God.

What helps you get through those trying days?  Give us your Secrets.....

Psalms 127:3-5  

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

StayCation~1

A few weeks ago we decided to have a StayCation.  Sometimes you just want to skip over all the traveling, reserving and packing to just head straight for the super fun part!  That was us this year, we knew we needed to get away and reboot our Family connection.  But, we wanted to spend all that time and money on the actual act of doing it not the place we were sleeping and gas in the van.  It was so much Fun that we decided to do it twice a year every year!


 

So, we kicked off our week with a trip to Our Kiddo's Favorite place to play...Dave and Busters.  It's like a Chuck-e-cheese for older Kiddos and adults.  I decided to have our first activity to be a Big deal, to create excitement for the week.  

Looking back now, I would probably used this as a midweek outing.  Just to break things up.  I had only planned 2 bigger outings for this StayCation, so I guess it still worked out fairly well.  

Do You Speak Computer?

This was a Review perfectly Designed for Our Family!  Hubby is a Computer Engineer and my Middle Kiddo is destined to follow in his foot steps.  Kaden who is only 6 years old seemed to have been born with a laptop in hand with his very own trigger finger.  :)  So, you can imagine the happy faces and the squeals of delight that came from my Kiddos when I introduced them to the Homeschool Programming program.  Let's just say I haven't had to ask them to get out there materials more then once whenever it's time to work.  They even offer to read aloud for me. :) I could get used to this!

I still remember when I bought my first computer.  I was 22, in college and I remember leaving the box at the store because it wouldn't all fit in my tiny car.  I thought it was such a monster and was worried sick about figuring out where all the cords plugged in at.  HAHAHAHA  Now, I have 5 computers and 3 of them fit under my arm and weigh in under 15lbs.  Back then it was a whole new world and it took me awhile to figure out what was what.  Fast forward 15 years and even my youngest can set up his own computer, open an email account and he just knows where to plug things in at.  What happened to this new generation of Kiddos???  All I know is just to look cool to my Kiddos I need this Programming Series just as much, if not MORE then they do.  :)

Mahala's Face shows a little of the Confession we had going on in the beginning! 

We were given the TeenCoder Windows Game Programing to Review.  I'm going to be honest that it was not easy to get started and I did need extra help.  But, I have been known to loose files and I'm no stranger to the call Hubby at work for technical help game. :)  That said we started off a little shaky, but after a little guidance and a few hand holding sessions we were able to see the light.

Hamsters can eat Hamsters

A few years ago we had a second hamster die in our family. Let me correct myself....It was a "Hamster Homicide"!  I think most kids go through that Hamster phase, thank goodness Kaden has not.  Mahala ended up having 3 and then it was just too much on her when they died.  
That day she went to go feed the hamsters and all of a sudden we heard her screaming like "Freddy" was in the room with her. 

Routine Then & Now

This was my Routine back when Kaden was almost 2yrs old.....Funny to look back and see the differences.  I put the differences in Bold Print!!!

Grilling Lanes

We went Bowling the other day and had so much fun.  It's amazing how slipping on a pair of Ugly shoes that hundreds of people have warn before can be son darn Fun!!  :)  But, it is and I can't wait till we go again.

Sparks & Fire!!!

Sparks were flying over the 4th of July Holiday.  We had a Lazzzy 4th this year.  I usually have tons of things planned like food, crafts and games.  Not this year......We didn't even get our fireworks until 6 pm on the 4th.  Talk about last minute!!  HAHAHAHAHA  

Since we are Gluten Free now, food options have changed slightly. :)  Instead of the huge feast that I normally prepare.  We had a more simple menu.....Steak, Grilled Veggies and a wonderful Salad.  

We spent most of the day shopping and watching old movies.  And when the sun started going down Kaden eagerly brought out the loot we had just purchased.  

Usually Skylar is the one that lights all the fireworks.  But, after years of begging Dad let Mahala light a few this year.  I don't know why she wants to mess with all that, actually I do.  She is such a daredevil.  Not afraid of anything and most of the time she surprises me with her "ideas" of fun.  Examples....let's build a robot out of an old cooler.  What about the time she wanted to make a hot air balloon with a bucket, some tarp and kitchen torch.  Yes, this is what I live with on a daily basis.  HAHAHAHAHAHA