Eye opening

As I suspected, last night's cross country meet was very eye opening.  It confirmed one thing I already knew...our team is not at all good.  We had not one single male runner who finished in the top half of the race.  Robert set a new personal best, but he came in sixth on our team alone...and finished in the bottom 1/5 of the overall field.  The third mile really does him in.  He's winning the sprint challenges at practice and he can win the two mile competitions, but that third mile, yikes.  It was a good experience for him to see where he really is and hopefully give him some ideas for where he will want to be!

Cross country begins tonight

I have changed my blogs to show runners...tonight is our first cross country meet.  Very difficult to believe that in these parts where football is KING, there is a Friday night cross country meet.  This is reality though, and we are very excited about it!

Robert worked hard on his running this summer.  He was pretty devastated that his poor choices led to us not allowing him to swim, and our routine during many of the kids' evening practices involved him running three miles...the same distance as a cross country race.  He wasn't running for times, he was just out there running.  During most of the summer he ran at least four days a week.  We were aware of the fact that between the seniors who graduated and a family with a superstar runner who had moved to another state, Robert was probably going to be one of the top 7 (considered varsity) runners.  However, some others that had consistently finished ahead of Robert last year decided not to run this year, and we were certain his races would now count toward team points.  We were astounded however, when he came home from practices and was telling us that he was winning every single challenge his team was having.  Between those who did not return, and Robert's hard work this summer, he is currently the top runner on the team!  However, his times are no where near where we would need them to be for him to be considered competitive.  This is why we are so excited about tonight's race.  He feels part of his time is the fact that there isn't really anyone on the team who is challenging him, and that he isn't giving it his all.  Tonight is going to be a huge meet, and we are really looking forward to seeing where he stacks up against others.  To be totally honest, I don't expect him to be among the top runners finishing.  However, I believe he will be #1 or #2 from our school, and I'm looking forward to him having a legitimate picture at what kind of time he needs to achieve.  We are really excited about this season!

An unexpectedly emotional evening

Since the weather is absolutely gorgeous, I asked Andrew if he would go with me to our high school girls' field hockey game when we took Robert to band practice.  My cousin plays on the team and I wanted to see her play at least once.  We went up to chat with her afterwards and just wanted to let her know that we are here for her.  Her father (my first cousin) has essentially abandoned her to go off and have the time of his life with his new girlfriend.  In addition, her grandfather (my uncle - dad's sister's husband) is not speaking to her.  I completely acknowledge that Emily said some things she shouldn't have said, but Uncle Darrell has to be the adult in the situation and reach out to her.  This poor girl has really been through the wringer with this side of the family in the past year.  She lives with her mom which is about a half hour away, but has open enrolled here in our school district so she can finish out her last year of school.  We reminded her this evening that she is welcome to crash with us any time at all that she would like to do so...and as she thanked us profusely, she began to cry as she said she just doesn't have anyone here.  I, of course, cried right along with her as I gave her a hug and told her I loved her.  She does not deserve the way the adults in her life have treated her.

After that, since it was still very early, Andrew and I decided to walk over to the volleyball game.  I was really looking forward to the varsity match, but wanted to call and check on Catherine and Thomas to make sure all was okay at home.  Thomas answered the phone, and he was very upset.  Those two have spent the summer at our neighbor's house playing with the new kittens.  One of the kittens isn't going to make it much longer, and the neighbor kids decided to bring that kitten over so that Thomas and Catherine could have one last moment.  I've written before how my little guy loves all animals, and his heart was broken.  I asked if he needed us to come home, and he said he did.  He actually told me that he wanted a hug from his mom.  I got home and he crawled up in my lap and the tears filled his eyes...and of course mine too!

I know that we are all going to be okay, but it's been a much more emotional evening than I expected!

One more day this week

We have already reached the point of the year where the weekends are sooooo necessary.  We have nine days in...169 to go!  Not wishing it away though!

We have a very busy weekend planned, but nothing compared to the weekends when cross country AND marching band are going to be in full force.  The crazy schedule is just about the only thing I don't like about this time of year.  The weather is gorgeous right now, and fall festivities are beginning.  I'm holding on to this sense of peace for as long as I can!

National Dog Day

I had to change my blog design today in honor of National Dog Day!  We don't have a dog ourselves, and to be honest, I am much more of a cat person, but Thomas loves ALL things dog in a way that I can't even describe.  So today, this blog is for the dogs!

Candle weather

I love the fact that it is currently cool enough to have a candle lit.  To me, candles are so cozy, and I just can't bring myself to have them lit when it is hot outside.  As soon as it turns cooler though, I have often light a candle, and Yankee candles are among my favorites.  I especially love the fall scents, and a few of the winter/candle scents, but I'm not crazy about floral or summer scents.  That's probably another reason I don't light them much in the summer!

I also love the fact that we've been able to pull out the sweatshirts and the overnights are just so comfy!  I know this weather isn't going to last, but I am certainly going to enjoy it while it does!

Another one of "those" days

I vividly remember December 17, 2013.  On that day, Thomas was home sick from school, we had a major behavioral issue with Robert, Catherine threw such a temper tantrum that she picked up a plate of spaghetti and hurled it across the room hitting a dining room wall, Andrew's mother was admitted to the hospital, our laundry room flooded, and our sun room flooded...all of this while still dealing with Andrew's brother rehabbing from a stroke suffered the day after my father had died...just 33 days before.  It is one of those days that you get through by the grace of God, and you look back on and laugh about one day.  FYI, I am not sure we are there yet. :)

Yesterday was one of those days...although in many ways not nearly as bad.  At the same time, it will ultimately prove to be much more expensive, most likely.  It was a Monday of week 2, and everyone was just a little less pleasant about everything.  No one was rude or misbehaving, but it wasn't exactly our best morning ever.  I understand that this is the first time in our family that five people are up and at 'em at 6AM.  This is an adjustment that we ALL need to make and we ALL need to work on it.  Since I was up I decided to get an early start on my laundry.  After all, I had put it off all weekend and it needed to be done!  As I was hanging the first (and what turned out to be only) load of the day, I noticed ink stains on some of the clothing.  Sure enough, Robert had managed to get a blue ink pen into the washer, and some of my clothing was ruined.  I was grateful though, that it wasn't the entire load, and mostly it was just clothes I wear only around the house anyway.  Unfortunately, I had also noticed during the wash cycles that the water was backing up into the sink.  Not the first time we've had this problem!  I tried a few "home remedy" fixes and when they didn't work, I let Andrew know that he needed to rent a pipe snake on the way home.  We got to work with that as soon as he arrived home.  After a great deal of time, we thought perhaps we had been successful in that we heard water running.  And there it was running right into the undersink cabinet...perfectly crystal clear, clean, fresh water.  How is that even possible??  We were working in the DRAIN PIPE!!!  Needless to say Andrew quickly turned off the main water line.  We did some experimenting and we have absolutely no idea what may have happened.  We have no idea if this is related to the back up or if somehow we managed to put a hole in both our drain pipe and incoming line.  All we know is that we are currently functioning without any water, although we are able to turn it on for VERY quick showers as long as we have a bucket under the sink.  That's actually helpful though, as we can then use that bucket of water to flush our toilets.  Fortunately, the plumber is able to come out this afternoon.  Hopefully we will have running water again by this evening!

Much less dramatic, although equally frustrating, was an issue with Robert and his schedule.  In the fall he is involved in both marching band and cross country.  He is not the only one, and both the band director and cross country coach are aware and things seem to work out.  This Friday though, was the first major conflict we've had in our two years.  There is both an away football game and meet.  I wasn't concerned though, because not all band members go to all of the away games...you are simply assigned to two of them.  I put in writing back in the spring about this conflict, and the director and I even had a conversation about it, so I wasn't worried about Robert being assigned this game.  Unfortunately, not only was he assigned to the game, but he claims the directors almost didn't believe him (Friday meets are VERY rare) and told him he'd have to find his own replacement.  Needless to say, I am very frustrated.  What is the point of communication and doing the right thing if it isn't going to matter?  He simply never should've been assigned to this game in the first place.  I have an email into the director and am hoping this can be easily resolved.  Trust me when I tell you that one person is NOT going to make or break a pep band at a football game.   I know in the big scheme of things this is minor, but we have so many dramatic issues with Robert that I find it very frustrating to have to deal with one that never should have occurred in the first place.

At the end of the day though, I felt so much peace.  These aren't the worst things that have happened to us this year, and for the most part everything should be resolved.  A hassle is just a obstacle on the way to a resolution!

More beautiful weather

This gorgeous weather just continues right along...it is absolutely spectacular!  In fact, the evenings and early mornings are down right chilly.  It honestly feels more like September than August, but we will gladly take that!

As we are into week 2 of school, everything continues to roll along.  I am so impressed with how the kids are getting up and moving each morning.  I know it won't last the entire year, but so far seven days have gone well!

An amazingly beautiful Saturday morning

During the school year, Saturday mornings are pretty much the best time of the week...and to have one as beautiful as this one is, AND to have nothing scheduled...well it just doesn't get better than this!

Last evening Andrew and the boys returned to our former town for a scouting ceremony.  I felt badly as it turned out Thomas had attained his first rank, but since I didn't know I didn't go.  I'm pretty fabulous at being a lousy scout mom.  Fortunately Thomas minded not one little bit.  I took a Benadryl after everyone arrived at home and slept blissfully for over 10 hours.  The temps last night were in the 50's, and it was just absolutely gorgeous weather.  This morning I am even wearing a sweatshirt because it is too chilly without one.  LOVE IT!  Robert has to work this evening but for only two hours so we pretty much have almost all day to just enjoy our day!

A beautiful day for the end of a great first week

The weather, since yesterday morning, has been GORGEOUS!  I truly can't imagine how it could be more beautiful.  It's really too bad Robert hasn't had any cross country meets where we could all be out enjoying it!

Overall, the first week seems to have gone well.  I am particularly impressed with how everyone is up and moving each morning.  I know this isn't going to come close to lasting the entire year, or probably even far into the next month, but we've had five really good mornings.  We were able to meet the teachers at the middle school last evening (although we knew most of them already) and I'm excited for the school year.  I am also particularly excited that we get to sleep in tomorrow morning!!!!

Move in day

Today is move in day at our local university.  It is the biggest freshmen class ever, and I can only imagine what it looks like in town.  I'll get to find out later this afternoon though, as I have a meeting at church.  I'm planning to leave about 1/2 prior to the beginning to make the 2 mile drive.  Sadly, I'm not joking.  It is ridiculously crazy.

Ironically, it was exactly 23 years ago today that I was one of these freshmen moving onto this very campus.  My goodness, it doesn't seem as though nearly a quarter of a century has passed since that day.  There are still things I vividly remember for that day.  I remember that I drove down with my mom and my sister and grandmother drove down separately.  Dad had to work, but he and my sister made another trip down over the weekend.  I'm excited for the students are beginning their college careers today, but I'm not excited about the traffic!

A successful first day

Everyone had a good day of school yesterday...only 177 more to go!  Seriously though, Thomas has done well in managing the transition so far, although I expect him to be exhausted by the end of this week.  Robert is already exhausted as he had forgotten the rigors of participating in both cross country and marching band.  Add in an honors class and a job, and he was already pretty tired last night.  As with anyone, he is easily irritated and frustrated when tired, and the moody teen is back!  Overall though, things are going well and we are all looking forward to the year!

They are out the door

I have been alone in this house for the last 20 minutes...and have another eight hours until anyone comes home!  With Thomas being on the same schedule as everyone else this year it's a different routine...I don't have to be "clock watching" in the morning to make sure I get him up and ready to go.  In fact, I told Andrew last evening that if I fall back to sleep in the mornings, there is nothing I have to get up for again until everyone comes home!  Obviously that isn't going to be a daily occurrence, but I suspect there will be those days!  I am also looking forward to not having to worry about Thomas's bus arriving home at 4:30.  It's not going to be a carefree evening as Robert has both cross country and band and won't be home until nearly 9:00, but I am excited about this year...more than I have been in a long time!

A perfect summer dinner for the end of summer

In spite of the fact that the official end of summer is well over a month away, and even the generally recognized "unofficial" end of Labor Day is three weeks away, we all know that for our household, "summer" is over.  Ironically this week is going to be one of the hottest, but it is what it is.  Regardless, Saturday evening we had a perfect summer meal.  I stopped by the local farm market and purchased a dozen ears of corn.  We cooked that up with tater tots and baked beans...and it was a great summer meal to end our summer!

His sweet little heart

My youngest child Thomas, has a huge heart when it comes to animals.  To be honest, I can't imagine him finding a career in life that doesn't involve animals.  Animals are huge part of his life every day and have also always been a huge part of his imagination.  And considering Thomas is a pretty tender kid, I just can't put into words how he feels about pets.

That is why I was not happy when we were watching a TV show the other day, and onto the screen popped a commercial for the ASCPA.  Let's be honest, this organization uses scare tactics and worse case scenarios to make their point.  I'm not saying that there aren't animal atrocities happening...I'm just saying I don't want them on my TV at 9:00 in the evening.  I kind of held my breath and looked at Thomas, and while he tried to hide it, it wasn't long before his tears began to fall.  Catherine was hugging him and I was hugging him, and I just can't help but be grateful for his sweet little heart!

Strangely excited

After dreading it all summer, I am actually excited about school beginning tomorrow.  I am excited to have everyone on the same schedule, and I am excited to get the bickering OUT OF THE HOUSE.  I wish there were some things we had done, but that can't be changed now.  I am optimistic and hopeful that everyone is going to have a great year!

Allergy season has arrived

I really can't complain as this is a rather late start, but allergy season has arrived!  The burning and stuffy nose, the itchy and watery eyes...yep, it's here!  I'm usually in flown blown misery mode by now, so the fact that it's really just starting is nice...as long as it doesn't last longer than usual!

We also have the windows wide open right now as we are having some absolutely gorgeous weather.  We've two solid days of just beautiful days, although the humidity is going to being creeping back up this weekend.  It really seems so hard to believe that school begins Monday!

I'm pretty sure it is time for school to begin

While I lament the loss of our carefree time, and I literally almost dread the scheduled craziness of the fall season, it is most certainly time for my children to go back to school.  Gone are the days when we played fun board games together as a family and enjoyed our days together.  Now these children find anything and everything to argue about.  My husband has always said teenagers are a different species and I couldn't agree more.  Don't get me wrong, I love them and we have had a lot of fun together.  At the same time, recognizing that I am going to have over eight hours a day to myself is VERY appealing right now!

He's back at it

Andrew went back to work today.  To be honest, it's probably the most beautiful weather day we've had all summer so it really seems to be a shame that he has to be at school.  He was expecting it to be a shorter day and be home half an hour ago, but I haven't heard from him yet so I'm not certain what his plans might be.  I think the beautiful weather is helping me to cope with the fact that the end of the summer has arrived and I miss him.  I am so grateful I get to share my life with my best friend, and I appreciate, every day, this life we have made together.  I know that we are amazingly blessed to be able to share as much time together as we do!

One more week

Somehow, the summer has flown by yet again.  This time next week everyone will be at their first day of school.  I have such incredibly mixed feelings about it all.  I am looking forward to the routine, but not to the intense schedule.  Call me crazy, but generally speaking I really love having my family home all around me.

Andrew is lamenting the end of this summer more than he usually does.  He said he just really felt we didn't do fun things with the kids.  Robert's work schedule made that incredibly challenging this year, but I don't regret or begrudge him his job.  We are all very grateful that his boss is willing to work with him around both cross country and marching band and keep it going through the fall.

I am working very, very hard in not allowing my concerns and worries about the things, mostly minor, to take over and control my actions and thoughts.  That is one of the problem with all of the quiet time I'll have soon...too much time to think!

Kayaking

This morning the boys' scout troop went kayaking.  Because of a wedding reception we were attending last evening our crew wasn't able to do the camping last night, but they were up before the sun this morning heading to our former town to join them for the kayaking this morning.  I'll be honest, I was a little apprehensive about Catherine and Thomas, but I was assured they were going through a company and not just throwing kayaks in the river.  It sounds as though everyone had a really good time, and they certainly came home wet and dirty enough to indicate that they did!   Thomas thinks it is something that we should all do together as a family sometime and while that might be fun, the cost is something that will make it a while before it happens.  I'm glad they had so much fun this morning though!

Fun family Tuesdays

The last two Tuesdays have been fun for our family.  It's not that we have particularly picked Tuesday to be the "fun" day of the week, but with schedules it turns out it has been the day of the week that has worked out for us!  Last week we drove to the discount bargain theater, and Tuesdays are also half off days!  We watched Tomorrowland and I think it is a movie every teen and tween should watch.  It has a message about hope and making a difference.  I'm not a huge movie fan, but I was entertained by the movie.  Afterward, we ventured to do some clothes shopping, and just overall enjoyed our day together.

Yesterday was the one evening of the week where Robert was off work at 2:00 and had no evening commitments.  We had a family dinner out that Thomas and I especially enjoyed.  The pub fries are slathered in cheese and bacon and cooked in a white wine sauce.  Absolutely yummy!!!  Afterward we again did some back to school shopping, and while I really wasn't feeling well by the time we got home, I laughed so hard in the car and just soaked it up and enjoyed it.  A week from today Andrew is back in the classroom, and the kids are growing fast.  I love having these days when we can get them!

This week's focus

Lately our weeks have had a focus to them.  Two weeks ago it was focusing on the chaos of the paperwork and payments of getting the high school band off to band camp as well as getting uniforms situated for the year.  Last week's focus was getting the house ready for our family gathering yesterday.  I was not just cleaning, but in many cases, deep cleaning various parts of the house.  This week's focus?  School!  In just 14 days, everyone will be out the door for the first day.  While I dread the crazy (and exhausting) schedule (and the behaviors that sometimes accompany it), I am looking forward to being in a routine again, and I am excited about the kids' (and Andrew's) year.  Not going to lie, I am also looking forward to some quiet time every day.  In the meantime, we are starting this week to go through our clothes to see what needs to be purchased as well as making sure the supplies are ready.  Here we go!

Officially underway

Mandatory fall sports practices began today.  Robert is our only runner this year, but he had to be up and at 'em this morning.  Andrew took him because he wanted to check out some things in guidance so I got to sleep in...those days are numbered!  Anyway, this is exactly the reason I am completely okay with school starting as early as it wants to in August, and getting out earlier in May.  It's not like August isn't full of mandatory commitments anyway!

I can also tell that the end of the summer is upon us by the behavior of Catherine and Thomas.  While these two normally get along just fine, the last week not so much.  Part of it is Catherine's hormones and age, part of it is Thomas's age, and part of it is nine weeks of complete togetherness.  Last evening they spent the last hour of the day separated into their rooms and today after being up for 25 minutes, they are right back there.  Just lovely!

A fabulous day with family

Today would've been my aunt's mother's 91st birthday.  She loved to bake and felt dessert was the best part of every meal.  Today is also "Family Day" in Arizona.  Months ago Andrew and I decided to spend the day hosting my mother's side of the family.  We used to get together nearly monthly, but as my cousins and I grew and married and added our own kids (and moved further away) we are lucky to see each other more than once or twice a year.  I spent all week scrubbing the house and this morning we set up canopy tents and tables in our back yard.  I couldn't wait to see everyone!  Just as everyone arrived, sweat bees decided to swarm our backyard and all the tables and chairs were moved inside for "plan b".  Fortunately, our home now can accommodate everything and it was still a very nice afternoon.  A few cousins (and even Robert) had to work, but we really enjoyed the opportunity to get together.  We even took a few group photos that turned out great.  I am so grateful for today!

Rough awakenings

This morning at 4AM, Andrew and I were awakened to the sound of our oldest cat vomiting...all over our bed.  I'll be honest, with my youngest child being 11, I thought we were beyond the stage of cleaning up vomit in the middle of the night, but not so it seems.  I cleaned things up, put bedding in the washer, and then proceeded to lay in bed because I couldn't fall back to sleep.  I finally managed to so sometime around 6, and then, astonishingly, the telephone rang at 7AM.  It was my mother.  She was planning to bring down some supplies for our reunion tomorrow, but had decided she didn't really have time and could Andrew meet her as we had discussed earlier.  Sure, but I didn't have to be awake yet!  Thomas had a scout meeting this morning, so needless to say, we didn't bother to go back to sleep.  As it turns out, all three kids were awake and moving prior to 8AM.  I'll be honest, that doesn't bode well for the harmony of the day.

I am hoping that the first eight hours of August are not an indication of the month as a whole.  To be completely honest, August is often my least favorite month of the year, and has been for decades.  Over the course of various years, August brought the deaths of my grandfather and two great-uncles, a friend's leukemia diagnosis, some health issues for myself, my father's BOOP diagnosis, a car accident for Andrew, my dad having shingles, and various other less-than-fun events.  The good news is that there is plenty of time still this month to make it a great one!