The Game

Amber wanted to go to the JV football game last Thursday. Just stay after school, and go to the game, and I would pick her up at 6:30. She said: "There will be police officers and security guards there." I said....."That's nice".

BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was a good laugh, right? Me. Send my daughter to a football game. With no supervision. 11 years old. I told her, of course you can go to the game.....with me.

Of all the kids she knew there, I was the only mother there that came to supervise. I had 2 kids ask me for a ride home. WOW. Not only did their Mom send them to the game, they didn't know how their child was getting home? She said one of her friends laughed that she couldn't go to the game without me. I'm glad she got a good laugh.

It was so hot and I was miserable, but she really wanted to go, so I went. She had so much fun.

When we were on our way home, she said "Mom, we would have done the same exact thing that we did whether you were there or not." So I explained to her-it's not that I think you are going to do something wrong, I just want to watch over you, and make sure that you are safe.

Then she said..Mom, I know why you come. Just to watch me...and be there in case I get hurt....I understand. It's okay Mom. I like when you come.

*SIGH* SHE GETS IT!!!!

Adam & Eve

Marie was driving in the car with Danielle (10) and Amber (11).

They drove past the store "Adam & Eve".

My niece says..."What is that store, Adam & Eve?"

Amber says with her big cousin confidence...."It's a Christian store Danielle...Adam and Eve are in the bible."

Danielle says "Oh.....well, why do they have Bras in the window?"

If you didn't find the humor in that, Adam & Eve is an "Adult" store.

I hope Amber never asks me to take her to that "Christian store".

The Blues

What started off with terrible news at school yesterday, followed by a horrible nightmare, and topped off with an attitude from an 11 year old, has turned my day into a day of waterworks. I have accomplished nothing, and do not intend to either.

I found out yesterday that a child in the TK program has been diagnosed with leukemia. Her Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer 6 months ago. A mother of a child in the 2's class and a child in kindergarten died in her sleep this week. She was 34. I'm not sure of her illness, or if there was one. I know she was dropping off and picking up as recent as Friday. I've watched a Mom of a child in my class lose her father to cancer over the past 2 weeks, and it has brought back some haunting memories. A friend at the restaurant has a neighbor that was fighting alcoholism. During his detox, while trying to sleep in his bed, he suffocated/choked on vomit, and passed away at 44. He was found by his 12 year old son when he came home from school.

Big Alex got a heartfelt birthday card from his father today, and he called me to tell me about it. This makes me a sad happy, because there have been many times in life that their relationship has been strained, to say the least.

Tomorrow night should be the night that my father would be repeatedly saying "Make sure my presents are piled up on the table when I wake up in the morning" for his birthday, which is Thursday.

When my husband came home this morning, and saw how rattled I was, he lost 5 years off of his life. He thought something happened to the baby. He was shaking like a leaf. I should have warned him before he got home.

I'm disgusted with myself because even after all of that news, I let my daughters hormones get the best of me this morning. How selfish. If her hormones are my biggest worry, I should be thanking God for that.

I think I will go back to bed now while my little man is asleep. Praying for a better day tomorrow.

Bangs

Amber has been asking me for bangs for about 6 months. I kept saying no. I just didn't think she would like them. She has had a side, longer bang before, and wound up pining them back until they grew out. She wanted a full blown thick 80's Katie Perry bang. After all of the haunting, nagging, and pestering, I finally gave in. It's her hair, and if she didn't like it, she would have to live with it. I have suffered through a few hair cuts I could have lived without. I didn't let her go as thick as she wanted, but here they are. She doesn't 'love' them because she has a caulk, and she can't do her hair by herself anymore. I have to dry it for her, and it's more work, and she's...well...low maintenance. Her she is...the Brenda Walsh of 2009!

Homemade Lasagna

Homemade Lasagna. Not the quickest, easiest dish, but it's delicious.


Make your sauce.
Brown your meat. This is a pound of ground beef, and a pound of sweet Italian sausage. At this time, cook your lasagna noodles. Be sure to put a little oil in with your pasta so it doesn't stick.
Make your mix. This consists of the meat, a medium size tub of Ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and parsley. Add your sauce bit by bit. If your mix is too wet, your lasagna will come loose, and you will be disappointed.
Layer the bottom of the pan with sauce, and then your first layer of noodles.
Over the noodles, spoon a layer of your mix, a LITTLE bit of sauce (you can add as much sauce as you like when you sit down to eat. DO NOT over sauce this dish or it will get soupy and will not even come out of the pan properly.) Then a nice layer of Mozzarella. Yes, there is a corner with no cheese. That is for my strange daughter who doesn't like cheese. Repeat, repeat, repeat....
And there it is. Bake it in the oven on 350 until thoroughly heated. It will take around 30 minutes. Much longer if you freeze or refrigerate it first.
Serve with your extra sauce, Parmesan cheese, garlic bread, and a salad.

P.S. If you have a husband that works evenings, make sure you finish it before he leaves, so you can pack it up for him to bring to work. He will really love that. Then he will brag at work about what a good cook his wife is.

Making The Band

Amber joined band this year. Go ahead. Make fun of her. I'll come and beat you up. I think learning an instrument is a great experience, one I wish I had done a long time ago myself.

Her dreams of playing the saxophone were crushed when she realized along with her band teacher that the saxophone weighs more than her. She couldn't maneuver the ones supplied by the school, and to purchase one was too expensive. The next step was heading to the music store to see if we could rent one until we knew it was a great fit for her, and then maybe the whole family would pool together and get her one as a gift.

Then she came home yesterday, and told me that her and her band teacher together decided on the bass clarinet. I am so excited for her. She is struggling a little in the confidence department when it comes to the instrument, so today I am going to take her to the music store, get her her reeds, and a book on the bass clarinet, and really try to encourage her that she can do this! I know she can! Stay tuned for updates.

Hoarders

I will never again say my house is a mess.

I will never again wonder why my husband looks at me like I'm insane when I say my house is a disaster.

I am clean, I am organized, I am tidy, my home is safe, and no one would ever walk in, even unexpected, and not want to eat here.

I couldn't sleep last night, and came across the show called 'Hoarders'. I have never seen anything like it in my life. I have never known, or even known someone who has known a hoarder. It was the most bizarre sickness I have ever seen.

One older woman hoarded cats. The county pulled 76 cats out the house. 76. 38 were alive, and the rest were skeletons, including many, many babies. She never meant to harm the animals, she just liked to feed them.

One woman once fell on hard times and wasn't able to eat much variety of foods, so she hoarded food. Her house was full of rotten, molded perishables, amongst enough boxed and jarred food to last her 2 lifetimes.

Another young man hoarded, what seemed to me to be trash. And dog hair. He just loved his dog so much that he never wanted to get rid of anything that had to do with it, so he never once cleaned up the dog hair in YEARS. Clumps and clumps and filth everywhere.

I know this is an illness, and they were getting these people help. Here are a few examples of hoarding. You won't believe your eyes.

Oldies but Goodies

33 years ago

21 years ago
11 years ago

10 1/2 years ago

10 years ago

8 years ago

6 years ago
3 years ago



Our family just 3 years ago. It has since doubled!! I can't wait to see the next set of oldies but goodies!