Tales of a Teenager

It happens every. single. year. When everyone else is busy cleaning up leaves, planning Thanksgiving menus and all the other fun things of fall, my children ( not just 1, but 2 of them) insist on having a birthday. Really guys? Every year! Who's idea was this anyway?

It seems the only thing I post about anymore is birthdays. We had 3 in September, 3 in October, and 3 in November (all of them immediate or extended family.) We'll take December off and be back right after New Years with another one.

We joined the Parents of Teenagers association this year. This calls for special celebration! Dad picked him up from school on Friday and took him for a surprise overnight outing. The boy made out well! Golfing, bowling, Buffalo Wild Wings, bountiful junk food, a movie and a motel stay. But since this was a "male bonding" weekend the camera toting Mama was not included in the fun. And so I have no pictures. Not even on Dad's phone. Zip, Zero, Nada!

Really, the trip was his gift but I had to find a couple of small things to wrap up and take a picture of or one day my forgetful little Grandma self will wonder why in the world we didn't celebrate the boys 13th birthday. Poor boy didn't even get a cake since we choose his birthday to celebrate good report cards at Sweet Frog. I don't think he was at all disappointed to trade cake for an enormous mound of frozen yogurt and 2 too many toppings.

His handsome teenage self!

My little boy is gone

in his place I find 

a respectful,

responsible,

young man,

who is 

a great big brother,

has a fun sense of humor,

and many talents and gifts.

Jesus, help me to continue to teach and to show him how to be a man of God

and to use those talents for your glory!

Made Me Smile Monday

{a  snapshot --or two-- from my week. with or without words. something exciting. something ordinary. something special. something silly. just something. that made me smile this week. a memory to brighten my day. to make me smile again. even though it's MONDAY!}

 

 

It's been a while since we did 'MMSM' but this is a big one. 

3 Celebration worthy report cards 

(this is nothing to take for granted)

 and a 13th birthday.

Good Moms

Good Moms do lots of things for their children.

They buckle them safely into seat belts. In and out, in and out for every errand.

They serve nutritious lunches, occasionally stuffing it into the hello kitty lunch box instead of the usual boring paper plate.

Good Moms allow light sabre wielding-superhero-pirates to protect the living room from emanate danger.

They do many, many loads of  laundry and keep drawers perpetually stocked with clean clothes.

They...

Clean bathrooms.

Kiss ouchies.

Correct inappropriate behavior.

Read bedtime stories.

Good Moms will even rescue pet rocks from the toilet, for crying boys, should the need arise.

Great Moms will even rescue pet rocks from the toilet that had not previously been flushed after somebody did some serious business.

Apparently I am just a Good Mom!

Fall is Here

 

It was a dreary, chilly Tuesday.

Great for candle burning...

 

 blanket snuggling...

 

She fell asleep on the couch. This is blog worthy!

 

and coffee & cocoa sipping.

these two. they are the best of friends.

they spend hours and hours playing together.

and I did not know that siblings could get along so well.

honestly, they rarely fight.

occasionally they get a lil on the wild side for the confines of my living room

but they are not trouble makers either.

this morning they were upstairs quietly entertained,

when I went to check on them the 'worst' thing they had come up with

was turning the bunk bed ladder into a balance beam.

I wish I could take credit for all this, but if you ask me for my formula, 

I'm afraid you'd be disappointed.

  the only thing I did different with these 2 from the others 

is have them closer together.

if that makes the difference??

I doubt it.

if we'll have rough days ahead?

I'm sure.

if I feel very blessed to be their mama?

absolutely!!!

 ************************************************

I'm s.l.o.w.l.y. trying to add a few touches of fall around the house.

There are a few specific places that I like to switch out seasonal decor.

This shelf is one of them.

 

{This saying is one I need to read again and again and again!}

And I dug a few old pillows out of the closet and covered them 

with some fall-sy, clearance, fabric from Hobby Lobby.

There is a bit of blue in the design and I thought the blue ribbon would 

help to pull it out but it didn't.

It ended up looking a little lost and out of place

 so I didn't waste the time adding it to the second pillow.

Neither did I waste the time to rip it back off.

'Cause I'm patient like that.

Less than $10 later...they'll work.

Next up, Hump Day!

Enjoy yours!

Change

  I believe everything happens for a reason. Well, it's possible that "why dryers eat socks" and "the magnetic attraction between a clean floor and a piece of jelly bread" are not included in my "everything" but when it comes to the real stuff in life, what really shapes who we are and where we are headed in life, it's not just about coincidence. I believe it but I sure don't always understand.

 Last spring when we began the transition process from elementary to middle school for my second born, it suddenly dawned on me that I would have 3 kids in 3 different school buildings this year and I panicked just a bit. My husband and I decided to look into moving our first grader to the private school where his big brother goes but we were too late. We were told,  "his class is full, we'll put you on the waiting list." I had no idea how long that list was or how far from the top we were. I chalked it up as "how it was supposed to be" and moved on, schedule planner in hand.

  School started, we adjusted and all was going well. I filled out emergency forms, busing requests, and lunch menus and made it to 2 out of 3 "back-to-school" nights. Thursday, September 19th, was "Back to School Night" for my first grader. I met his teacher for the first time, visited the classroom and came home super impressed. He has a fantastic teacher! Of all the teachers, of all the years, of all my kids, she ranks in the top 2. Yeah, that good! Her behavior system was outstanding, full of encouragement and without the usual junk prize box. Her room neat and organized. Her personality fun and easy to work with. Now I understand, this is where he is supposed to be! I'm sure of it.

  Five {5} days later we received a call from the principal at big brother's school. There is now an opening in first grade, we are next in line. Seriously? It took me all of 2 minutes to make my decision. Why would we change now? He's happy, I'm happy, lets not mess with a good thing, right?  Of course if we said "no" to this opening, there may not be another in the fall but I felt like God could definitely work that out if it was supposed to happen. Surely there was a reason this opportunity only came up after I visited his class! My decision was made but my wise husband's words (to the principal) were "we'll talk about it and get back to you."

  So "we" talked about it. Well really, I blabbered on and on about all the wonderful things I learned at Parents night (the Mr. was not able to attend with me) and pretty much convinced the hubs that this was a no brain-er but the final call had not yet been made. Procrastination? Distraction? Providence? All of the above? Wednesday afternoon, I'm cleaning up the never-ending-paper-mess that goes on on the kids little project table and I find a note from the first grade teacher. How did I not see this 2 days ago when it came home? I have no idea. The paper states that said teacher will be taking a sabbatical to further her education. Beginning in January my son will have a substitute, yet to be determined, for the remainder of the school year. Wait, What? That changes everything. If the boy is going to have different teacher anyway, it might as well be the one I have met. We decided to discuss it with him and give him some say in the matter. He's a loyal boy. He's content and happy with his friends and his spot in life. Change is hard. Unknowns are scary. But after some thought, and the news that his teacher would be leaving too, he decided he was on board with the idea of switching.

 He passed the evaluation with flying colors  (not that anyone was really worried about that) and we decided the two day break in mid October would be a good time to make the transition. Public school had a 3 day break, private school had a 2 day break. I gave the boy a choice, have off or go to school on Monday. He choose to go. So Monday morning, I dropped him off for his "first" day of first grade. Again. It was harder on mommy the second time around then the first. He knew the name of one boy in his class, didn't really know him, just his name. Everybody else is already in routine. They all know each other. The rules will be different. The teacher will expect different things. Seems like an awful lot of pressure for a 6 year old. But in the end, he rocked it! He declared it a good day. He gave me a list of all the things that were better about this school. Yup, he misses his old friends, but he's moved on and it's all good. So proud of that boy!

{Thank you Mrs. T. for jump starting him off for a great year in first grade 

and for gracefully blessing our decision to make the change! We will miss you and your fantastic class!}

  Sometimes I wish I could handle change this gracefully. Maybe those socks devoured by the dryer ARE part of a bigger plan. Maybe they do shape who I am becoming. Maybe, just maybe I could use a few more lessons in patience, contentment and accepting change. Socks and sticky floors may be one of the cheapest ways to learn some of those lessons.

A month...

...since I wrote. How did that happen?

...of fun times and train rides with little friends.

...of the return of our favorite Daddy after 2 long weeks on the road.

...of birthday photo shoots for Little Miss who is 3 going on 17.

...of an undefeated soccer team.

...of purchasing pumpkins and mums {and just a few more mums. and another pumpkin or two.}

 ...of a special lunch date with Mommy and a very quite day at home, just to two of us.

{I thought maybe while his little sister was gone he would need me to play games, read books, just generally keep him company but it was exactly the opposite. He read books, played with the kitty, and quietly entertained himself for hours. I almost forgot he was there. Almost.}

...of celebrating 60 years of Grandpa.

...of field trips with first graders.

...of joining a cousin for a small town parade. {where record breaking amounts of candy are thrown out, thank you to whoever threw the toothpaste our way too. not pictured are the potato chips, pens, glow sticks, water bottles and chocolate milk also collected at said parade.}

 

... of a 30th birthday party for a sister-in-law, returned from afar. My sister and I made the food, but not the cake. Her family did the decorating. Her husband (my brother) conspired and coordinated it all from across the globe.

  {Yeah, we've been a on a bit of birthday overload around here, but who doesn't love a party. Another one coming up this week.}


...of a weekend church retreat (sans kids) where I took not one single picture. Not one! I find it hard to believe  myself but there was just too much connecting and being inspired and late night partying to be done.

{This picture was taken at the same retreat several years ago, it gives you an idea what we had to suffer through.}

And now you are officially up to date. I know you've been checking daily for all these inspiring, thrilling details. Be back sooner next time. Really.

When Mama has a birthday...

...she makes extra coffee in the morning, because she can.

...little people get (much more) excited (then the mama herself.)

...{said} little people really can't understand why nothing unusual is happening.

...so {said} little people take matters into their own hands.

...the boy collects a box, a hefty stack of old newspapers and a few hand-me-down "treasures" from his room.

...he brings me the scotch tape...I tear off a piece...he runs off to attach it randomly to the newspaper...he comes back for another...rinse and repeat for about half the morning.

...he asks me how to write "Happy Birthday Mommy" and spends the remainder of the morning copying his important message onto any and every paper within his reach.

...the girl decides a cake must be baked.

...she volunteers for the job...repeatedly!

...her kitchen will not do the job, it must be made in Mommy's kitchen.

...the laundry still does not do itself.

...boy #2 comes home from school to do the birthday song & dance {Adventures in Odessy style}

...the delivery man shows up with flowers from the Mr. who is miles away {and not happy about it!}

...the mailman brings bright colorful envelopes wherein the words "Due By" are not found.

...the Facebook page chirps countless notifications.

...Grandma makes and serves a tasty dinner complete with cheesecake. But there are still no candles, the girl is not convinced, what kind of a birthday cake has no candles?

...the Mama decides that treating herself to a latte and a road trip to visit a sweet friend just a few days before is one of the best ways to celebrate.

...the Mr. is still trying to figure out how to "make it up."

...the girl has momentarily forgotten about the cake.

...boy #1 asks "Mom, are you 26 now?" (I say, yup, something like that. :)
   {no need to wrap any more treasures my boy, that is the best gift ever!}