Boys Are Just Yucky!

Conversation yesterday between Boy 1 (oldest son) and Boy 3 (youngest son)


Boy 1: Where did you get those shorts?

Boy 3: They’re mine!

Boy 1: Yes but where did you get them?

Boy 3: They were on the bathroom floor.

Boy 1: That’s gross I wore them to wrestling last night!

Boy 3: Well they are clean now.

Boy 1: Putting them in the dryer for a few minutes with the other clean clothes does not get my sweat off of them.

Boy 3: I got them wet.

Boy 1: What?

Boy 3: When I got out of the shower I stepped on them and that made them wet, so technically they’re clean…

Boy 1: ……………………….You’re weird!

Post It Tuesday's

I seriously need to get some mental juice - seems like I'm running on empty these days!

Sunday Movies

No time this week for movies except for one which has a slightly funny story to it. We were getting ready to watch the movie Everybodys Fine and the boys asked me what kind of movie is it. Not sure where I got my information but I told them it was a comedy. Well they were none too happy by the end of the movie when we all tears in our eyes. This is a slow but well paced film. There are no hurried moments it takes its time to unfold. For those of us with grown children it will hit close to home. De Niro is wonderful, though at times I wanted him to be more like his rougher characters but only because I also wanted to him to kick his childrens butts. Watch this I think you'll like it.

Savanna

I have thought often in the last few weeks of writing this blog. Going over and over in my head how I want to word my thoughts, and then I would never do it.


This blog is a letter for my daughter Savanna; she is a beautiful 17 year old girl with ideas and opinions that have conflicted with the worlds for some time. She is the youngest of my three girls and perhaps the least likely to actively search you out for attention, time and love. Savanna left home in January and we have not heard from her since. It breaks my heart and I think of her every day.



Dear Savanna,

I know that you are aware that I have this blog and I can only hope that you are reading it in order stay caught up with the family news. I am thankful that you talk to Jasmine on occasion, because then I know you are ok. I’m sorry you feel unloved and are so angry. I honestly don’t know where all the anger comes from. Your dad and I have done the best we could and yet it was never enough for you. I’m not sure there was anything more we could have done. But that doesn’t stop us from worrying about you. I think of you every day, every birthday, and every family get together is not the same without you.

I’m not sure if you feel like you can never come home or not. The last time you spoke to us, you said we were out of your life forever. Forever can be a very long time and over time ideas and attitudes soften. Mostly I want you to know that you can come home, we do love you and we care about you. If you ever need us we will be there for you. I love you my darling girl. Love Mom

Who's Rowing Your Boat?

Sometimes when our lives don’t match our expectation we forget that the boat we are in is built for two. Oh it’s all fine to row together when the seas are calm, the sun is shining and you can stop at all the local ports of call without worry of spending too much.


But what happens when the storms come in? I unfortunately am the first one to panic and stop rowing. I think it comes from my childhood and the life I led before I married my husband. I felt alone and abandoned and was sure that anyone who was in my life would use me, abuse me or leave me. My husband is not any of the above but still when things get tough I bail.

I panic and withdraw into this quiet depression that speaks volumes of my faith in him to get us out of another hard situation. And the worst part is after 19 years and many storms and many rescues, I still bail with the clouds get dark. I eat and shut down and shut out, instead I should be holding on to him and trusting him. I also know that I should keep rowing and pulling my weight instead of leaving him to do it all alone.

You would think that since I have the insight to know such much about myself and how wrong I behave I would change but it is harder to change what seems so instinctive to my nature. I can know in my head that I need to behave better but it feels surreal and I respond badly in spite of myself.

So here’s to another storm trip with the hopes of sunny days ahead and I want my guy to know I love him and he is my rock and my anchor. Thanks for putting up with all my bullshit! I promise in the next storm I’ll try harder.

Post It Tuesday's

It's Tuesday which means Post It's. I really like this idea of a miniature version of what I've been thinking. Give it a try. To participate in Post-it Note Tuesday go to SupahMommy. Get on over there and check it out!

Things to Teach Your Children to Prepare Them For College

I was pretty naïve when I started college; I assumed that everyone there was excited about learning and getting an education to improve their station in life. Well this is not the case for most or at least not right now. So I thought I would share some insights which might help you in preparing your kids for college.


1. Do not buy your kid a laptop for college. Ok so most of you will do this because it does seem logical that they would need one. But the library has lap tops they can check out if needed and there are computer laps all over campus. My reason for this is that 90% of the kids, who bring their laptops to class play games, visit Facebook or shop. Which means they are being rude to the professors and are not learning anything in the class, which also converts to the pocketbook because they will probably have to take the class again? Just a side note on this issue it is also very distracting to sit behind someone who is doing the above mentioned activities.

2. Make your highschooler have homework! Most professors tell their students the first day of class that you will have about 3 hours of homework for every 1 hour of class. Now even I don’t study that much but it does take at least an hour minimum for each class. I sit with students who tell me they are unprepared for homework and assume that the assignments are no big deal and can be done whenever. This leads to point number three.

3. Does your student understand a deadline? There is no such thing as late work in college, not even the next hour. Most professors won’t take late work unless you are dying and have a note. Those that do, take a lot of points off. In high school these days turning your assignments in right before report cards are to come out is fine, just get the work in, this will not fly in college. Also you cannot miss a test (except for the dying excuse), unless you are an athlete leaving town that day, test day is test day! And if you do poorly you cannot take it over to get a better grade (again a popular practice at high school to help raise those class averages).



So there are a few tips to get you started on preparing yourself or your kids for college!