The crack heard 'round the world.

In June, Kris decided to go play paintball.  Instead of playing though, he broke his leg and messed up his ankle pretty bad. So bad in fact that he needed surgery. There was no set it in a cast and let it heal. No, when my husband does something, he does it to the fullest! He broke the leg in several places, shattered and splintered the bone, and he moved his ankle out of place. All of which needed repair. What was supposed to be a two hour out patient surgery turned into a two day hospital visit. He now sports a titanium plate and more screws than the local hardware store carries but there are still bits of bone that are not secured. They were too small to be screwed. He also has a Syndesmosis tight rope across his ankle which keeps it in place. He was in a boot for over 2 months, now he is down to an ankle brace. He has a knee walker which allowed him to get around easier than using crutches, right now he only uses that for work because there is a lot of walking around the plant. He uses one crutch while at home and hobbles around with that.
He goes to physical therapy now so hopefully one day soon he will be able to walk again without the use of accessories.

I learned a few things from this.
1. All paintball gear will be taken away April 1 from now on, and not be returned until after all summer vacations have been taken and enjoyed.
2.When a man says he 'thinks' he sprained his ankle... he's not being truthful.
3. The sound of Velcro being ripped open in the middle of the night can cause a person to loose her mind and she should not be held accountable for her actions.
4. I am not now, nor will I ever be a nurse.
5. Paintball is not for old...er people.
6. That Hawaiian vacation that I have talked about for years has now become a mandatory, extended stay vacation...
7. I will be at least 5 people ahead of Kris whenever we have to board an airplane. Security!!!

Hello again...

It's been a long while since I last posted, a lot has happened since then so in the next few days I will bring this blog up to speed.

First I will start with...

Zack finished out 3rd grade having kept a straight A report card all year long. He was put into the academically gifted program for both reading and math. He met the personal goal he set for AR (reading) and he received a medal for being top reader in his class. It amazes me how smart that kid is. School has started already for this year and so far 4th grade has been so good. He likes his teacher, he's happy that a couple of his buddies are in the same class and he is already asking to sign up for different clubs and programs. He came home yesterday telling me he signed up for battle of the books. He has already finished reading the first book.

He went to 2 camps over the summer. The first was soccer camp that was held during the day for five days. He loved it and by the second day he was begging to make sure he gets signed up for it again next year. I thought he would be absolutely miserable because it was nearly 100 degrees each day but even though he was hot he had a blast.
The second camp was Webloes camp. Webloes are 4th year cub scouts and Webloes camp is an away from home for 4 days camp. This one did not go so well. He had been looking forward to going for the longest time but when Kris broke his leg he was not able to go as a leader, Zack wanted no part of it. I made him go. He called home crying the first night, I felt miserable not going to pick him up but I knew he was in good hands. He was bitten by fire ants and had to go to the medic, he was freaked out by the bugs in his tent, it just seems like whatever could go wrong, did go wrong. He called home each night asking for me to come pick him up but I knew he was having some fun during the day and it was just the nights that was upsetting him the most, so I kept telling him to stick with it and he will be glad he did. He wasn't very happy with me when I finally did pick him up, he told me he felt like I abandoned him. Hello heart break!

Report card time

Zacks first report card of 3rd grade is straight A's. I have to admit I was worried going into this school year. Worried over the continuous testing, and the fact the year did not start off very well. I was also worried because he missed so much school already.
I will sit back now and just smile for a bit, oh wait I do not have that option. Its science fair time...

The good the bad and the ugly.

We will start with the ugly and work our way to the good. 

The ugly:
School started back a month ago and its been a long rocky road already. Day one Zack came off the bus complaining that he wanted to be home schooled. Not a great way to start the year. He is not adjusting very well and has more melt downs than normal. I really don't understand all the meltdowns but we are working on things as they come and trying to deal with any problems we can. I can only hope things get better and this isn't going to be a terrible year.

The bad:
Soccer has also started back. He's on a new team this season. He hurt his leg in practice one day and was limping for days. Just when we thought he was on the mend he was kicked in a game and that started the whole process of healing all over again. He will get through it.

The good:
Scouts has started back and that seems to be something he's comfortable with and enjoying. He's having a good time hanging with his buddies. He looks forward to going to the meetings. I am so thankful we have made some great friends in our pack.

With any luck the bad and the ugly will start to get better soon and things will not be so stressful.

Lesson probably not learned...

Recently while in the grocery store Zack turned to me and started begging. "Please Mom, I really want to try it, I promise I will eat it." Knowing my son as well as I do I said no because I know he would not eat this item that he was begging for.
He continued his begging. I continued saying no.
Not really having the patience at the time I eventually and reluctantly agreed but made sure I told him that I knew he would not like it. "Oh yes I will Mom. Oh and we will need crackers to go with it."
Rolling my eyes knowing it was money that was going in the trash.

That very afternoon  I heard "Mom can I have it now, please?" So I made up a plate and set it on the table for him. He quickly put it in his mouth and almost immediately made a face. Just as quickly as he put it in his mouth is a quickly as he spit it out. "I do believe I heard a 'that is gross' come out of this childs mouth.

At this point I took the moment to repeat what I said in the store... that he would not like it! This was my opportunity to remind him that I am always right and he should never question me again! Really when is the child going to learn I am Queen and should never ever be questioned?!

What is this disgusting thing that I speak of?

None of than...

Beautiful

8 years ago

So hard to believe that 8 years ago today I was going to the doctor for my 'why in the world won't this kid vacate the premises' appointment. Yes he was already 9 days late and I was not so happy that he assumed he could take up permanent residence in a space he clearly outgrew a while ago! It was then that I knew this kid would be trouble... pure trouble. That day the doctor decided to serve him with eviction papers because this kid clearly had set up a nice comfy environment for himself with no regard for the body parts of mine that he was torturing. Heck my kidneys still won't speak to me because of the constant punishment they received. Although this landlord wanted the tenant out I refused the forceful eviction and decided to try to coax him out. The only problem with that, I did not realize how long it would take...

David Allen

David Allen I want to wish you the Happiest Birthday ever. It is unreal to me that I could have a child your age but I do. I hope you have many more happy healthy years. I love you with every beat of my heart. ~Mom

Trouble ahead

Zackary got off the bus looking annoyed. Of course I asked what the problem was. He said "Mom I just do not think I am going to talk to my teacher until after lunch tomorrow." Hmm, what in the world could have happened for him to be like that, after all he likes his teacher. So I dig a little deeper until I get to the cause of the problem.

Apparently while teaching the class his teacher asked what makes the arr sound. He responded with "Mom I was just trying to be a little funny and I said 'A pirate' but I guess she didn't think it was so funny."

Anyone else seeing the makings of a photo of my child in his high school yearbook with the words 'class clown' next to it?

Shaking my head.

A special kind of person

Did you ever see a person slide down a set of bleachers while they are sitting down? Not a child person, an adult person. How the heck can an adult person just freaking slide down the bleachers when that person was sitting there doing nothing wrong? There was not a thing wrong with those bleachers. They were flat, not tilted at all, absolutely flat! All I can say is it takes a special kind of person to do that!

And yes, I am that special!

I still do not understand how, but I can tell you, I was in tears laughing at myself.

Happy Birthday Gram

Today would have been my Grandmas birthday. I would tell you how old she would have been but she always said she was 29 and holding so I guess I should not give away her secret. (Don't worry Gram your secret is safe with me).

I miss picking her up and taking her around town where ever she needed/wanted to go. We had a lot of conversations during those car rides. Some were serious and others, well, they were just down right laugh until you had tears coming from your eyes. She had such an incredible sense of humor.

I remember when I was little, my brother and I would fight over who got to sit in her rocking chair. If it started to get physical she would kick us both off and she would plop her butt in it. That chair although older than old has a prominent place in my house. I look at it and I see Grandma doing her puzzles.


I loved that woman but then again anyone that ever met her loved her. I miss you Gram but I know that there is one heck of party going on in Heaven for you today.

Did I hear him correctly?

My darling little boy has earned a permanent mark on his record. No it is not a good mark either! The record I am speaking of is the record that all moms keep of what cute and not so cute things the children have said and done throughout their young years.

While eating dinner tonight we were discussing how some schools were already closed tomorrow and how some are operating on a delay because of the severe cold we are expected to experience upon waking up.So Zack starts saying how dumb it is that the news has the information at the bottom of the television because it is too hard for people to watch the news and read that information at the same time. So I reminded him that its alright because most schools call the house or parents cell phones anyway to let them know so they do not have to watch the news for that. Then I proceeded to tell him when I was little how we had to get up and watch the news to know if schools were closed or not. I let him know if you blinked and missed it you had to continue to sit there and keep watching until you saw your schools name. Kris said something about it being alphabetical and I said not when I was little, it was listed as the information came in.

Zack then said "Mom did you like the olden days?" I asked what he meant and he replied "Did you like the olden days when you were little?" I told him yes but I did not like having to sit there watching and waiting for my schools name to appear. Then the little snot  he said "It must have been hard going out in the cold getting the oil for the lamps!" Cough, choke, spit and sputter! I think I might just have to hurt the boy. How old does he think I am!

Let me just say the boy is now walking on thin ice, very think ice. Ice so thin that one false move or statement from him will send him into trouble the likes that he has never experienced before!

Lazy day.

What do you do when mom is not feeling well? You lay in bed with her and play video games with your headphones on so you do not bother her. Love this kid.

So this is Christmas
And what have you done?
Another year over
And a new one just begun. ~ John Lennon

It is that time of the year where we ushered out one year and brought another in. 2013 was not a very good year in my life so I can honestly say I was not really sad to see it go. Pretty awful way to think if you ask me. I do however hold high hopes for 2014 to help bring some good luck, happiness and joy to my life. Notice I said 'help' bring. I know I have to be the one to make some changes or it will just be the same old thing.
So here is to change, here is to a new year.

Happy New Year!

2014

Ask and you shall not receive.

"Mama, what do you want for Christmas?"  This is what I was asked first thing this morning.

I did not have to answer, I just gave him a look. His response to my look "No, the answer is just No, you are not getting a one way trip for one to Hawaii!"

Bah Humbug!!!

Really?

One day last week Zack and I had to make a quick run to the grocery store. We did the whole fast walking through the store so we could get out and get home before the rain came.

As we pulled into our driveway the sky opened up and started pouring down so instead of getting out and making a run for the house we decided to sit in the car and wait it out for a few minutes, after all we usually get some really good conversations in when we do this.

A couple minutes later the rain was slowing up to a drizzle when I noticed Kris had just pulled up in front of the house. I told Zack to sit still and we would see if he noticed us sitting in the van as he was walking by. Not much of surprise to me, he walked right past us, oblivious to the fact that we were staring at him watching his every move. We watched as he gathered up his stuff from the car, we watched as he got out and walked right by us, we watched as he unlocked the door to the house and walked in. I told Zack to give it a minute and he would realize we were not in there and probably start looking all over the house for us.

Sure enough a couple minutes later Kris opened the front door, walked out onto the porch and was looking all around with a confused look on his face. Zack and I were still sitting in the van not more than 10 feet from him and he still did not notice us even though he looked in the direction of the van. At that point Zack and I both started giggling. It was then that he heard us laughing and looked into the van and just shook his head. It was at this point that Zack and I both broke into a full on laughing fit.

I wonder if he will learn to be a bit more observant now?

Where is my medal?

Let me just start this post by saying I deserve an medal of some kind.

Now as I tell you this you will understand why a medal is in order. You see I was able to restrain myself the other day. I somehow dug down deep and found the inner strength not to commit a crime, a serious crime. A crime that could have sent me to the big house for many many years.

I was minding my own business sitting on the stairs the other day just waiting patiently for the kids to show up so we could get started on our way to the bus stop (I walk several kids to the bus stop each morning so we meet at my house). While I was waiting my phone made that lovely little notification sound warning me that it was my turn on the game Words with Friends. So I picked it up to take my turn. My dear darling son decided to go upstairs at that very moment. As he was passing by, he made a comment to me that he should have never let escape his mouth.

"Mom, when I am at school do you do anything except play that game?"

Yes, that is what came out of his mouth. No, I could not respond immediately. I looked at him and after what seemed like an hour I responded with "Nope, I sit here all day playing games and it is magic that the dirty clothes walk themselves to the washer and wash themselves so you have clean clothes to wear everyday. Food magically appears in our house and then it jumps in the oven all by itself to cook so you can eat everyday. The dishes they all jump in the sink and play and play all day until they wash themselves so you don't have to eat off dirty plates. The floors that get covered with dead grass and dirt from your constant in and out get swept by that magic broom sitting in the closet that you never open. The bills, well they just pay themselves so that big black box upstairs can magically come on. Do I need to say more?"

"Um sorry Mom I didn't know."

Really? Seriously? 

I swear I love that kid more than anything and that just may be the only thing that kept me from beating the living tar out of him!!
So there you have it, I let the kid live after that comment and for that I deserve a medal of some kind.

Not ready for school

Here it is the first week of August. It seems like we have not done a thing this whole summer and school is scheduled to start up in just a few short weeks. This is one year I will say I am not ready to send my little one back there. We haven't done everything that was on our original list of summer events. We haven't done enough fun things yet.

If my little one were not so hard headed and stubborn I would consider home schooling but anyone who knows him knows he is on a track to being the president of the debate team and I just do not have the patience for it all day every day.

 Anyone know how to slow time down a little bit until I/we have gotten all our summer fun done?

Zack the chef

Zack is becoming the big kitchen helper. He is always wanting to make his own meals and making meals for anyone else. Granted his meals consist of cereal, sandwiches and chips, you get the picture. Well on Sunday morning (fathers day) he wanted to make pancakes for Kris. Normally pancakes are made from scratch in my house but if I am eating them I use a gluten free mix. I wanted some so the mix it was. Zack read the directions and started to pour everything in a bowl and tried to mix. It was obvious there was a problem. He reread the directions and still did not catch his mistake so I had to step in. Instead of 1 cup of mix he put in 1 bag. Lets just say he was on his way to making bricks instead of fluffy pancakes. Once I fixed the batter he took over again. The pancakes turned out well and we feasted. He was pretty proud of himself for making such a good meal.

I am beginning to think by the end of summer I will have this kiddo trained to make dinner and I will just sit back and watch.

Schools out.

Friday the 7th was Zacks last day of school. It is hard, very hard to believe he is moving on to the second grade next year. Just where has the time gone?

He received the Principals award for academics, the good character award, and perfect attendance for the last quarter at the awards ceremony that morning.  His teacher also made up a special award for each member of the class. What award did Zack get? Anyone who knows my child knows how spot on his teacher is. She gave him the most likely to become a 'Video Game Developer' award. Out of all the awards this one was his favorite!

When I looked at his report card I was very pleased to say the least, he is such a smart kid and I for one am a very proud mom!