tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-589839145943912182024-02-17T03:48:50.490-05:00Shut The FridgeA little about my life as mom to 6, who have a tendency to stand in front of the fridge....just looking, adjusting to life after a move from Minnesota to Georgia, homeschooling, and trying to get myself to Shut The Fridge and lose some weight.Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.comBlogger574125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-30474751376818517292020-11-06T14:11:00.000-05:002020-11-06T14:11:25.823-05:00What a Difference a Year Makes<p>This time last year, S-girl was filming a kids baking battle. Wow. I cannot believe it has truly been a year. The older all the kids get, the faster time seems to move. My sister had asked me for some of the pictures from the competition to use for her blog for some <a href="https://rko-ideas-galore.blogspot.com/2020/11/baking-spirits-bright-gift-tag.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> super cute Christmas gift tags</a>. </p><p>And, it was at that point that I realized I NEVER blogged about it when it was actually happening. Ooops......life....Christmas....a pandemic, you know?!?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vh-m3weO-HVXiIbsvPSeadP5KGPuUmQNvTSDorNnRDjLnLUhyphenhyphen7DWDTfPSOLqH15StnqGmzqXidARFGab7wwk6DI4rfZ8TBwtB5bTXtO5eLUX_NZNjgCLe0bQrDoom1Fe0_Gt7oiR9ys/s960/Sylvia+poster+shoot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vh-m3weO-HVXiIbsvPSeadP5KGPuUmQNvTSDorNnRDjLnLUhyphenhyphen7DWDTfPSOLqH15StnqGmzqXidARFGab7wwk6DI4rfZ8TBwtB5bTXtO5eLUX_NZNjgCLe0bQrDoom1Fe0_Gt7oiR9ys/w400-h300/Sylvia+poster+shoot.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>It is kind of funny now when I see pictures of people clumped together without wearing masks. It seems strange. That is sad. </p><p>Anyway, S-girl auditioned by submitting a short video of herself showing off some of her treats and then talking about some of her favorite things to bake. She was selected for the Holiday Kids Baking Battle competition. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhERjxv1B_a1WNnfTsAUuz5rVRMPOwEF55U32Fr7K4ekYdxlsdswICCp5cVv6vnHbwxMxmWI1JSNyI6s9t0NuuN9LCBHkbiT1IZC9FmCR3tEztYVJ8eB8bbG8t_9DWYC_w1rNioJ-kFEuI/s1880/Sylvia+baking+promo+without+name.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1576" data-original-width="1880" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhERjxv1B_a1WNnfTsAUuz5rVRMPOwEF55U32Fr7K4ekYdxlsdswICCp5cVv6vnHbwxMxmWI1JSNyI6s9t0NuuN9LCBHkbiT1IZC9FmCR3tEztYVJ8eB8bbG8t_9DWYC_w1rNioJ-kFEuI/w400-h335/Sylvia+baking+promo+without+name.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We went for an official photo shoot a few weeks before the competition. There were flyers and posters up all around town. She even appeared on a digital billboard. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCgBaKT620s1a1t83Se1t07NgcEby5LjLyZ4hZ2LEVIJtN86_mKhMCmUm_C-qr-R73rD0_jtqyZjsEg9GFz4Je8K0vWV8wmpBDH2FBPhMXH9PwnbCjQzgzlyA0qS_nLp6AGtswCyfnFWI/s2048/IMG_9068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCgBaKT620s1a1t83Se1t07NgcEby5LjLyZ4hZ2LEVIJtN86_mKhMCmUm_C-qr-R73rD0_jtqyZjsEg9GFz4Je8K0vWV8wmpBDH2FBPhMXH9PwnbCjQzgzlyA0qS_nLp6AGtswCyfnFWI/w480-h640/IMG_9068.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p>We all gained a bit of weight as she tried recipe after recipe trying to figure out the best one. There were time limitations, so some of her more complicated choices had to be set aside for something that could be done more quickly in a room full of people that were also trying to use the same oven. </p><p> </p><p>She settled on an old fashioned lemon pie. She picked that because it fit the time slot AND because both her grandma's have a love for lemons. My mom makes lemon meringue pie every year for Christmas and Rainman's mom has "famous" lemon bars. She was even featured in her local newspaper back when big hair was in. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht2ZJSfMKbtWOfMydujJeCQAmBHmEPv2HLDu_21Z7L6KcpXnGKsqH_lFN1nELsx0s96yc0sIzkQlaZoF_FXuBhJWmc_cqXEU96CKw2iQvcl6pswmykKLRc-jEoDnpgaM_ECk9gLqBF360/s2048/IMG_0877.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht2ZJSfMKbtWOfMydujJeCQAmBHmEPv2HLDu_21Z7L6KcpXnGKsqH_lFN1nELsx0s96yc0sIzkQlaZoF_FXuBhJWmc_cqXEU96CKw2iQvcl6pswmykKLRc-jEoDnpgaM_ECk9gLqBF360/w300-h400/IMG_0877.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>S-girl did not win (and yes, we all think she was robbed). But, nonetheless, it was very interesting to be part of the filming and see how all those t.v. shows come together and how lots of stuff can be edited out so what you are seeing is accurate.....but, sort of not, at the same time. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdQFoRlsHEL-SuXDIkdzwra3yjQGyg-V41DgG9ZTJiqkU561Thh3cTk_OhZ2ZZefBz3hR4xsI_mfSt3ZLFIharPNHNVHWJZBUm6I1J3vjr67CLkOm1MZIkqqi2twpNe0Mx6b95PvUErA/s960/Sylvia+and+her+pies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdQFoRlsHEL-SuXDIkdzwra3yjQGyg-V41DgG9ZTJiqkU561Thh3cTk_OhZ2ZZefBz3hR4xsI_mfSt3ZLFIharPNHNVHWJZBUm6I1J3vjr67CLkOm1MZIkqqi2twpNe0Mx6b95PvUErA/w480-h640/Sylvia+and+her+pies.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>All in all, it was a good experience for her....but none of us are clambering for our next shot at fame.....because, it isn't really.....real. </p><p><br /></p><p>If you haven't already, go get some of my <a href="https://rko-ideas-galore.blogspot.com/2020/11/baking-spirits-bright-gift-tag.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">sister's free printable gift tags</a>. I JUST started my Christmas shopping this morning...so her timing was perfect.</p>Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-9458907651681726882020-05-26T16:00:00.001-04:002020-05-26T16:00:44.576-04:00Typical Homeschool Day Around HereWe have been homeschooling for a loooooong time....like 17 or 18 years. I have lost track.<br />
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I think back to when we were so nervous to try it. Rainman and I sort of took turns with one of us being excited and stoked to do it and the other freaking out a bit that we were going to ruin our kids.<br />
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I am happy to say that I can safely say that our children have NOT been ruined.<br />
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We are down to only 2 kids at home doing school....if you don't count the whole pandemic situation....that had all 6 at home doing school again!<br />
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I thought I would share what our typical school day looks like. I know some people are considering continuing to homeschool after the pandemic situation settles down...and others cannot wait for everything to go back to normal with the kids at school all day. I get it. But, I will say, remote schooling and home schooling are NOT the same thing. So, if you hated remote schooling and all the Zoom conference calls, but liked having your kids around and seeing them learn stuff, you may want to give homeschooling a try when fall rolls around.<br />
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Our "typical" day has changed many times over the years because....life. You know, jobs, babies, illness, moves, visitors. It is one of the beautiful things about homeschooling. It is not this rigid by the book thing that has only one right way to do it. <br />
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Click through some of the links at the bottom of this post to see various versions of our homeschool rooms....including, but not limited to the dining room table, a swing, and a bed!<br />
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We have had times where we did home schooling as close to what Rainman and I remembered about our typical public school day. We had desks and letters on the wall. Then we realized that the letters on the wall were fine and dandy, but the kids actually did school every day on the couch....or at the kitchen island and the desks just ended up as a place to pile their junk. <br />
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As locations of where "school" took place changed, one thing that has stayed fairly consistent is our goal of creating independent workers/students. We have always been good about creating a lesson plan that the kids can see and use that shows them what our expectations are in each subject for the week. <br />
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(The last column we fill in with elective type courses - like art or music)</div>
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This has been a good thing for the kids, but also for Rainman and I. It has kept all of us on track and accountable. It has allowed the kids to be independent. Rainman has always worked a full-time job and for most of our time homeschooling, I have also worked and not "just" been a stay at home mom. The majority of my jobs have been what I call "sweatpant" jobs, where I can wear what I want and work from home. Sometimes I do have to put real people clothes on and leave the house, but mostly my work has been done from home. The whole working from home during the pandemic has been business as usual for me.<br />
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What that meant for me, was being able to quickly switch from professional mode, to mom mode, to teacher mode, to math tutor mode, back to professional mode, to short order cook mode, to exhausted mom flopping into bed at the end of the day mode. <br />
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What that meant for the kids was that they didn't have to wait to do their school work if mom was busy. They didn't need to wait because we had it written down in black and white what they needed to get done each day. If they had an opportunity to work for someone from our church or do something fun on a weekday, they could just double up on their school work and all would be well. <br />
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This system has worked <u><b>really well</b></u> for us. Rainman is VERY diligent in sitting down and breaking down all the work they need to get done. I am happy to let him. We use a mixture of workbooks, textbooks, on-line and hands on resources for our actual school work. We have not stuck with one curriculum, but chosen bits and pieces of different things that we felt worked best. I was blessed to be a product reviewer for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine for many years, so we got to try out lots of different products - many that I wouldn't have known about or been able to afford on my own. So, we have a pretty eclectic mix of what we use.<br />
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These days, our school day, typically begins in the 9:00ish range. I have relaxed my standards on this a bit. There was a phase in our home schooling journey where I was much more strict about time. I would march around the house making sure kids were up, forced to have breakfast and be at their desks by a certain time. I have found I don't care as much anymore, as long as the work gets done. I used to say that we would <i>not</i> start school any later than 9:00, but some of my kids are not morning people and if I allowed them to tailor their day a bit later, they did better on both their daily work and their tests. So, I had to let go of the idea that letting them sleep until 11:00 was bad and made me a bad mom. (It is not easy though!) Even though I have relaxed that rule a bit, it has not stopped me from lecturing them about how the world won't care if they are morning people or not and if their boss says they need to start work at 7:00 a.m., they had better do it with a good attitude. <br />
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I also do not make my children breakfast, unless it is their birthday or some other special occasion. They are on their own. I encourage them to have a little something, but some people just don't like to eat right away in the morning. One of my daughters actually physically feels worse if she eats in the morning. I must be getting old, because I am mellowing on this one too.<br />
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Back to our "typical" day. I get up at about 6:30 a.m. every morning. Let animals in or out as the case may be, feed a few of them, make the coffee, take my medicine and start my work day. The various big kids that are working get up in the early-ish morning and head out to their day. <br />
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My mother-in-law moved in with us in January and needs help with daily activities because she cannot walk and is in a wheelchair. I keep a baby monitor on my desk and she calls me when she wakes up which is usually about 8:30 a.m. I get her up and ready for the day and S-girl who shares a room with her usually gets up around the same time.<br />
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S-girl is <u>very</u> internally motivated and organized. She is not necessarily a morning person, but she likes to have goals and will diligently mark them off her list. She is very structured in how she does things and likes to finish one thing before she moves on. She has a system in the morning and likes to check things off her list - whether it is her daily devotion time, exercise, or school work. She is very independent and has learned that she does better when her texts are read aloud, so when she gets to a subject like history, she will pop over to my work area and ask if (or when) I will have time to read to her. Most of my work is easy to drop and pick back up again, so I pour myself a fresh cup of coffee and she sits down with me at the kitchen table and I read history and then we spend time going over the discussion questions in her book.<br />
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V-girl can sleep and sleep and sleep. I usually try to let her because I know that is what her body needs. But sometimes I can't take it and I have to wake her up while it is still morning! LOL Now before you ask, she sleeps in late regardless of what time she goes to bed....it just seems to be part of her nature. I will say her bed time has gotten later during the pandemic with all the big kids home. But, again, I don't really care. You know why? Because they stay up late watching Jeopardy or playing games together. I am in bed and sometimes I can hear all 6 of them laughing and shushing each other from down the hall. That, to me, is more important than an early bed time. Anyway, she sleeps later and gets a later start. Whereas, S-girl's goal is to be done with school by lunchtime, V-girl is usually just starting hers around lunchtime. Again, though, this works for us, because then I don't have to divide my time between both of them and my work at the same time. However, in the past, I have been able to successfully ping pong myself around and help the kids in their different subjects and grade levels. It just meant that I didn't get as much of my own work done during those years - at least during "school hours".<br />
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V-girl has a lesson plan and can still be independent, however, she needs a little more face to face teaching time still because if not, she will just plow on through and "get it done".....even if it is all wrong. LOL I have to be careful with her, because if I get busy and just say, "Do you need any help? or "Are you understanding everything?" She will almost always reply - "No, I don't need help. I get it." Then Rainman or I will correct her work and she will have done the entire thing wrong. She is not big on reading directions all the way through. She has a tendency to sort of skim and glean what she <i>thinks</i> is the idea and just jump in and go for it. (I happen to be married to someone like that too, so she comes by it naturally.) Like it does for Rainman, sometimes it works for her and sometimes it completely backfires. <br />
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I still make daily chore lists or piles for the kids. This will sometimes incentivize the late sleepers to get moving a little earlier because the early bird gets to pick all the easy chores! (That is the beauty of the pile system....it is a completely random division of jobs. It just takes a bit more work and planning on my part.)<br />
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Rainman or I will correct their school work in the evening and "go over school" with them if we didn't already doing it during the day. We just go over things to solidify what they did well or show where they messed up. We also assign "homework" a few times a week too, which are usually just extra worksheets for math or essay type questions in other subjects.. <br />
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The other parts of our "typical" homeschooling day are just all the normal household stuff that you need to know how to do: Dishes, cleaning, laundry, yard work, home projects, and cooking. I also, as much as possible, try to have the kids be responsible for making their own phone calls/inquiries about things. For instance, when they want to get their driver's license or permit, there are documents that they need from school. I do not handle any of that, nor do I even look up what they need. That is on them. It is their license...or not, as the case may be. Do they sometimes get mad at me because I won't "just do it for them"? Yup. I do make doctors/dentist appointments until they are able to drive themselves though. See? I am not a horrible human being. <br />
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We have had the kids all start being responsible for their own laundry in the 10-11 age range. They also start cooking basic stuff like scrambled eggs and grilled cheese by probably age....6 or 7. They have always helped us with yard work and home projects despite their dramatic moaning and groaning. Cleaning is a constant battle with 9 of us living here, but I think we do a pretty good job of balancing the line between squeaky clean and gross. The house is a little cluttered and lived in looking. It is what it is. <br />
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When everyone came home because of the pandemic and I was cooking every night, Rainman made a brilliant kitchen chore chart that has made a huge difference. Now, whoever is on kitchen duty that day has the job of putting the kitchen to bed (wiping down counters, washing dishes, starting the dishwasher). There are still a few late night snackers and dirty dishes left here or there, but in general it is done. Which is a wonderful thing for me so that when I get up at 6:30 to start my other work, I don't have to factor in an hour to fix the kitchen first. <br />
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I will say one difficult thing with all the big kids being home because of the pandemic is that they have disrupted our chore routine. It is hard to assign chores to big kids who are working outside of the house or have a heavy school load. But, if we don't, then the younger ones are resentful that they are the only ones cleaning even though they aren't the only ones making the mess. It is just harder. Our system worked really well, when the oldest 2 were at college and the middle 2 were in public school because we managed to get both our regular school work and the daily chores done before they walked in the door. Now it is just...harder. <br />
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Does that answer your questions about our typical day? If you have more, let me know. People have made comments to me now that their kids are home because of the pandemic about how hard this is and they cannot believe I have been doing it for so long. Well, I think the remote schooling that their kids are doing is different than what we have been doing for so many years. I guess there are pieces of homeschooling that are hard, but overall, I feel like homeschooling is easier on both the kids and the families than public schooling. Everything in public school seems too rushed and so competitive...but not in the right ways, if that makes sense. I like that our home schooling ebbs and flows with life and we don't have to worry about falling behind. We just catch up when we can. I like that my kids can cry over math or a bad test score in the privacy of their own home with their parents hugging them and wiping their hair back from their faces. I like that some of the boy/girl pressure is a little more delayed at our household. It still exists. We don't live in a bubble and we watch t.v., but it is not in their faces all day every day, so things don't start too early.<br />
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Seriously.....got questions? Ask away. I guess I can be considered a veteran homeschool mom at this point, can't I? How did that happen?<br />
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I found some of my old blog posts that also share a glimpse into our homeschool life at the time. If you aren't sick of me yet, go take a look (even just to see how crazy cute my kids were!)<br />
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<a href="http://www.shutthefridge.com/2010/11/homeschoolingour-way.html" target="_blank">Homeschooling...Our Way</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.shutthefridge.com/2012/08/school.html" target="_blank">School!</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.shutthefridge.com/2012/09/fitness-when-you-are-homeschooling.html" target="_blank">Fitness When You Are a Homeschool Family</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.shutthefridge.com/2013/08/back-to-school.html" target="_blank">Back to School</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.shutthefridge.com/2013/08/this-is-very-first-time.html" target="_blank">This is the Very First Time</a><br />
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<br />Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-29411366035132776322020-05-22T08:24:00.001-04:002020-05-22T08:24:50.643-04:00Quarantine Chronicles - Part 2Things are getting back to "normal" here in Georgia. Most things are re-open. No libraries yet though. Grrr. <br />
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We were supposed to have a bunch of senior awards ceremonies and activities to attend this month. <br />
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D-man graduated from the University of Georgia earlier this month without a ceremony or fanfare. His ceremony has been postponed to October. <br />
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D-man's girlfriend, J-girl is an artist and did this rendering for him. Pretty cool<br />
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L-girl was supposed to graduate high school at the end of this week. She also didn't get prom or any of the other end of the year fun and games or finish our her senior varsity year in tennis. Her graduation ceremony has been postponed to the end of June, but now only 2 of us get to go because they are reducing the amount of tickets available to each student. <br />
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(As you can see from all her ropes, stoles and medals - we are missing out on a LOT of awards ceremonies!)<br />
There is a piece of me that is heartbroken for them not to have these special moments. But, an honest piece of me is rejoicing that I don't have to sit through both boring ceremonies right now. I am horrible, aren't I?!? I really just want to hear my child's name and accomplishments. I don't care about Tom, Dick, Harry or Penelope. I don't. I clap politely, but I don't care. I also don't expect you to care that much about my kids accomplishments. (Honestly, I brought a book to A-girls graduation ceremony and I read. I did. Originally, I was worried that I would feel a little rude, but people around me were talking and watching movies on their phones. Reading seemed sort of tame in comparison.)<br />
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I have tried to make a few special memories for our two graduates though. We surprised D-man and took him out for a steak dinner on what should have been his graduation night. It was the day after restaurants started opening up again for in person dining, so it was interesting. I had made reservations ahead of time, but there was a limit of 6 people per table. I tried to explain to them that we were really a true family....like we all live together and everything.....all 9 of us.....but, they couldn't make an exception. So, we sat at 2 tables with 6 feet between them....then proceeded to walk back and forth and visit with each other the whole evening. The restaurant was packed with loads of people waiting for tables....because the tables were spaced for far apart they couldn't seat as many people. The poor wait staff were run ragged and all red faced and hot because they had to keep their masks on. They also had added work to do like sanitizing menus after each and every customer, salt and pepper and steak sauce could not be just sitting at the table....also because it had to be sanitized between each customer. So, they had lots of running back and forth to do, because they kept forgettin that they had to bring back those things. <br />
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I just realized that we all got dressed up and I didn't even remember to take a picture of us! It was actually Grandma's first time out in public in about 2 months. Ooops.<br />
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There is not much I like about public school, but I did like one of the local high school traditions<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> called Senior Breakfast. It is exactly what it sounds like, but in addition to food, they also have teachers and family write cards and letters to the students. The idea is that they just sit and eat and read their special notes. </span> I contacted teachers, friends and family and asked them to write letters to both L-girl and D-man. I wanted to surprise them, so I had people send them directly to me and then we plotted and schemed so the two of them never picked up the mail.<br />
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I was particularly proud of my cantaloupe graduates.</div>
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I truly surprised both of them. They both got lots of funny and thoughtful letters (and a few monetary gifts). They were happy. I got true hugs afterwards. I was happy.<br />
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We have been keeping busy having bonfires, playing games (anyone heard of Qwixx?), hanging out on the deck just chatting. Nothing earth shattering, but still sort of awesome. <br />
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Other things we have been up to:<br />
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S-girl had her first birthday cake commission. I helped, but not as much as I thought I would have to. This is really mostly her handiwork.<br />
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I have been crocheting ear protectors for facemasks. <br />
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Grandma turned 92 on Mother's Day. She got the obligatory birthday pancakes<br />
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and then the kids made us fancy brunch/breakfast. <br />
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(I didn't even know my kids knew how to make crepes!)</div>
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We surprised her with a Zoom call with almost all of her kids/grandkids. It was chaotic and loud and we made her cry happy tears....more than once. I made her 2 of her favorite desserts, strawberry shortcake and lemon cheesecake (She was sad that she blew out all the candles and didn't end up with any boyfriends. She was hoping for a 90 year old millionaire!). It was a very good day. <br />
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Another recent quarantine activity was that I got my first haircut since....I don't know...probably October. My hair is pretty easy. It is long and thick and I can usually pull it up in a pony tail or make something work between cuts. But, it was getting to be too much for me. Super long and heavy and I was just done. When I start to get headaches when I pull it up in a pony tail, I know it is time to chop some of it off. So, as soon as salons opened back up again and my lady was ready....I signed up.<br />
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But, I have to say, all the new protocols almost ruin what is usually a relaxing treat for me. I truly get my hair cut once or twice a year which means that I don't feel too bad splurging on it. <br />
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You know how it usually works: They offer you a drink, you get a nice shampoo/condition, a little head massage while they work the product into your hair, a nice chat with the stylist, and leave looking fabulous. <br />
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My stylist, Kelly, used to work at a salon close to my house, but a few years ago she moved about 1 hour and 20 minutes away from me. I followed her. I don't really mind the drive though because she is worth it...especially when I only do it once a twice a year. <br />
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However, now....post COVID-19.....here is how my day went:<br />
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Arrive and wait outside the salon. Put on my mask. Be allowed in one at a time. So, they can: take my temperature; have me sign a waiver that I haven't been coughing/been near anybody coughing, etc; sent straight to the bathroom to wash my hands; then told which chair I could safely sit in. Out came Kelly. She was also masked and had a white, plastic "lunch lady" apron over her salon clothes, which has to be changed between each customer. We talked about my hair through our masks, whilst complaining about our masks and the lack of oxygen. Kelly sent me off to the shampoo bowl so her helper could wash my hair. I sat down and I was asked to sit back, then her helper said, "I know this is weird, but I have to put a towel over your face." Seriously?!? I am already masked, now you put a towel over my WHOLE ENTIRE FACE? <br />
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Yes, they did. It was black. It was dark. I felt like I couldn't breathe. It wasn't quite as bad as my experience in the MRI machine where I had a little bit of a claustrophic panic attack, but it was NOT pleasant. Where I would usually be relaxing and basking in being pampered, I was silently urging her to scrub faster and whispering in my mind, "That is enough. I am sure you have rinsed all the conditioner out by now." I REALLY couldn't breathe now. She whisked the towel off my face when she was done which was all well and good, but then I couldn't see. I felt like I was on one of those t.v. shows where the good guy has been kidnapped with a bag thrown over his head, transported to the evil villains lair and when the bag is finally whipped off....he kind of stands there squinting and blinking as the lone light bulb (in one of those cage thingies) sways back and forth....before matching whits with the bad guy behind the chair. You know what I mean? It was just like that, minus the guns and bad guys. <br />
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When I regained my sight, I went back over to the chair and Kelly started work on my hair. This wasn't really relaxing either. My mask got in the way of her cutting, so she had to carefully move the ear straps out of the way without exposing my face. We talked, but it didn't feel the same. Somehow, the world is just eyeballs and hair now. It made me think maybe I should splurge and get those crazy fake eyelashes that are all the rage now. If that is all I have to show the world, they may as well be long and luxurious, right? (except they would touch my glasses when I blinked. Oh well, short stubby lashes are all the world gets from me, I guess) I don't wear my mask much, but when I do, I have found myself announcing to people, "I am smiling under here....you just can't tell!" Maybe I would be able to smize more with my eyes if I could have to those lashes. <br />
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The only part of the salon story that is the same pre and post COVID-19 is that I left looking fabulous. <br />
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To finish this never ending story, the rest of my day was also not relaxing. I drove 1 hour and 20 minutes home (which thanks to Siriously Sinatra, Sirius Broadway, and Sirius 80s, was not a bad trip). I got home and found out that I was supposed to pick up 2 of the kids at the church car wash. So, I hopped back in my car - drove to church, got a free car wash, drove them home. Came home where Grandma had been waiting for me to help her take a shower, so we did that. Then, Rainman wanted to show me the outdoor projects he had worked on that morning (ones that I have been asking him to do for a few years now). Yay! Walked outside. Looked around. Dogs joined us. One of them, who shall remain nameless, apparently ate something that she shouldn't have and instead of taking care of business in the great outdoors, proceeded to walk into the house and throw up on the floor. Happily it was on the hardwood and not the rug. So, I cleaned that up, then my cute new hair and I did a little cleaning, pulled out stuff for supper, and had a very late lunch.<br />
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How is your quarantine going? Are you coming out of it? Things opening up yet? Having to wear masks? <br />
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<br />Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-48870863157047951982020-05-01T09:35:00.000-04:002020-05-01T09:35:42.657-04:00Quarantine Chronicles - Part 1Many times in the last few months, I have thought about blogging to share stuff that has been going on over here. Then, I would stop myself and think....who cares about what is going on in my world....besides me?!?<br />
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I have not changed my mind about that, but I still feel compelled to commit a few things to paper (you know what I mean) even if it is just for my own sake and to help me remember.<br />
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We had a few birthdays.<br />
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We had FANTASTIC trip to Minnesota in February. The girls and I went and played tourist because I had come to the realization that only A-girl and L-girl had vague memories of Minnesota. And really, their memories were scattered and mostly things like remembering when we had to go shovel the end of the driveway so Rainman could get home from work....only to have the snowplow go by and us having to do it all over again. Not exactly stellar, heartfelt memories of my home state. <br />
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We stayed with my mom, but we tried to do different vacation-type things most days. I had to laugh because when we got to Minnesota, we grabbed a bite to eat at Pannekoeken Huis and then headed to the famous Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. We got out of the car and one of the girls said, "Man, I was hoping for some <i><b>real</b></i> cold weather while we were here." I would say about 5 minutes or less....later....she turned to me and said, "Nevermind. I take it back. This kind of hurts." LOL Yup. Even I, who have lived through many a year with wind chills in the negatives had become a bit of a pansy. It was like -11 wind chill that day. My face hurt. My lips didn't really want to work and form words. But, underneath it all, it was kind of refreshing. I do have a lot of Norwegian blood running through my veins. LOL<br />
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We went to a live taping of a local T.V. show, we went to Benihana, we did this super cool Game Show Battle Thingie. It was just fun. Stress free. I even remembered how to drive in snow and ice - yay me! <br />
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Then we came home and the world began to change. <br />
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Public school kids came home....and my extra little bonus buddy got to stay home with his mom (special ed. teacher) and not hang out with us. I miss him. <br />
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College girl came home.<br />
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College boy worked at the dorm - so he quarantined by himself when he wasn't working shifts while everyone moved out of the dorms.<br />
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Then, college boy came home (and brought home a dog that he had fostered during the quarantine so he wouldn't be alone.)<br />
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Eventually, even Rainman was working from home.<br />
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I now have a full house with 9 humans, 4 dogs, and 1 cat living here full-time....and I don't hate it. <br />
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I have been cooking and baking. We sit down to eat dinner together almost every night - because nobody has to run out the door to work, sports, church, etc. <br />
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I would say the majority of us LOVE the new routine of eating together. <br />
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A-man looked at me one night when I called him to dinner and said, "Mom! Are we eating together in the dining room again?!? Ugh....Why? Nobody really does that anymore. It is weird."<br />
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LOL! Yes, we force that poor teenage boy to dine with us. We are just those kinds of tyrants. <br />
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There really is a lot that I have loved from this weird time in our lives. <br />
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I love the unhurried days. <br />
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I love the togetherness.....it feels like our lives when I homeschooled all of the kids. <br />
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I love having time to feed my family. <br />
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I love our on-line exercise classes. <br />
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I love our bonfires or the nights we all just sit around on the deck and visit and joke around.<br />
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Daily life has not really changed for those of us that were already home-schooling....other than there are a lot more siblings around to help (or distract) us during the day. <br />
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What do I miss?<br />
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Going out to eat and going to church (which is also where I was able to see my friends). That is pretty much it. <br />
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It is funny (or not) how different Rainman and I are. <b>I</b> am hoping to retain most of our new normal once the quarantine rules expire. <b> He</b> wants to jump back into our old lives of running around, sports, lessons, etc. He is ready to take off as soon as the restrictions are lifted. Opposites certainly attract (and eventually annoy). <br />
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I am going to try to post more and at least document this time of our lives for myself. I am also planning a post on what "our" typical homeschool day looks like - just in case anyone happens to be interested. <br />
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In the meantime, stay safe. Wash your hands. Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-78985697675012767082019-10-08T15:40:00.001-04:002019-10-08T15:40:43.255-04:00My Birthday<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
I turned 52 this year and now that I am finally doing better with keeping my expectations low for how much hoopla there will be on my behalf, Rainman and the kids managed to do a pretty decent job of making me feel special this year. Go figure. </div>
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Rainman attempted to take me out for a relaxing breakfast on my birthday. It was a Saturday. He had to work at noon (which means leaving our house by about 11:15 to make sure he gets in on time). He kept puttering around the house and I kept pacing saying things like, "Shouldn't we get going?" "Maybe we should drive separately so we won't be a in a rush." He pooh-poohed me and assured me that it wouldn't be rushed. (I am just like my mom in that regard - I can remember the rare times when we went out to eat after church to Mel-O-Lane. Dad and us kids would wolf down our meals - chug the Mountain Dew (the only time we got to have pop!) - and be ready to hit the road. There would be my mom sitting back in her chair just calmly sipping her cup of coffee and disgustedly saying to us, "Don't rush me. I am enjoying my coffee."). My point is, when I get to go out to eat, I am just like my mom. I like to take my time, enjoy being waited on, and just relax. </div>
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Remember these bottles?</div>
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When we got to my number one choice of locations, there was a line out the door (Luckily, I had kind of figured this would happen since it was now mid to late Saturday morning, so I had a back up place in mind.) Off we went to my back up option number two....and...yup.....line of waiting customers outside. So, yes, my birthday breakfast ended up being at Chick-Fil-A. Good thing I really like Chick-Fil-A! </div>
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Unfortunately, between home and the three restaurant stops, Rainman and I had gotten into a tiff, so by the time we sat down to eat, he took my birthday card out of his pocket and shoved it across the table to me with a semi-snotty "Happy Birthday!"</div>
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Anyone that has been married for any length of time, knows exactly what I am talking about, right?</div>
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It was a very sweet gift, but at the time, I felt like it was something unnecessary and way too expensive. Notice I said "at the time". But, more on that later!</div>
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The kids gave me sweet gifts this year. S-girl and V-girl gave me small, thoughtful gifts - things I needed or would really use - a new hair brush - a bath bomb. L-girl got new family pictures printed for our wall. D-man and A-girl, broke college students, both said that they wanted to take me out to eat. A-man is 14 and just sort of huddled around everybody else as my gifts were open. I did get a hug and an "I love you" from him though. I will take it. </div>
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I got Chinese take-out for my birthday meal and a foot massage and pedicure by my girls. It was a good birthday.</div>
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Now back to Rainman's gift.....which was.....a night alone at a bed and breakfast. </div>
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Let me tell you about my life now that the kids are getting bigger. When it is not sports season, I spend a lot of evenings alone....in my bed....reading....or taking a bath....whilst reading. When I say "a lot", I really mean pretty much every night. I have given up watching t.v. - with an occasional Netflix show here and there. So, my evenings are very quiet and solitary - since everyone else still wants to watch t.v. or is just doing their own thing. Every now and again, the kids and I will play some games, but pretty much, I think they feel they have spent all day with me and are done with me by the end of the day.</div>
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As I opened his gift in the middle of Chick-Fil-A, he said things like....I made sure it had a nice bath tub....and you can read on the private balcony, etc.</div>
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Sweet.</div>
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But, I thought....I do that for free every night at my own house!</div>
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He had actually looked at the family calendar (a rarity) and reserved my room so I wouldn't put it off (which I totally would have).</div>
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This is where he sent me.</div>
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<u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u><br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.sugarmagnoliabb.com/" target="_blank">www.sugarmagnoliabb.com</a></div>
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It was actually great. </div>
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Here is what I realized....I do spend a lot of time alone either reading or working, but I am also interrupted a lot by questions, having to referee disagreements, or having to use my Solomon type wisdom to decide what is fair in their quest for more computer time. I see (or hear) the kitchen getting dirty and people not cleaning up after themselves, so even if I go to bed early to read, I know there will be a mountain of dishes in the kitchen just waiting for me when I get up in the morning. When I awake, there are also just random piles of shoes and socks spread throughout the house - even an occasional pair of undies that have been mysteriously abandoned by their owners. </div>
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You moms will get the idea, I think. While I read, there is almost constant chaotic background noise (music, t.v., laughter, fighting, cheering for sports, impromptu wrestling matches). </div>
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Mental chaos. </div>
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I almost always awake to...a messy house. </div>
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Physical chaos. </div>
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At the B&B, I was truly alone. Literally. I was the only guest and the innkeeper doesn't stay on site. So, I locked myself in and rattled around in that big old house by myself. I did have a bit of work to do to meet a deadline, but I sat on my balcony and typed away. The only interruptions were from me watching people walk or bike by in front of the house. There were also occasional tourist stops in front of the house. I felt a bit like a minor celebrity as I would stop my work to wave at them from my perch on the balcony.</div>
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When I finished my work and sent it off to my boss, I read. </div>
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I sat in the massage chair downstairs for a LOOOOOOOONG time. I took a bath. I shaved all my bits and bobs. I exfoliated. I moisturized. I read some more. <span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> I used Door Dash for the first time and wasn't murdered. (My son, D-man recommended it because he works in a dorm on his campus and said they get deliveries from Door Dash all the time and he said the guys seem nice and normal. That didn't stop me from texting him messages like, "I did it. I am awaiting my very expensive cheesesteak and fries...and possibly my murderer. Just know that I love you....." After my food was delivered, I texted him, "I am alive and unsullied". LOL I crack myself up.) </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Really, the Door Dash thing was a bit expensive, but when you don't want to go out and get your own food/can't get your own food - it is pretty awesome. I did it all from my phone. I ordered. I paid/left a tip. They sent me a text that they had gotten my order. They sent me a text when my order was picked up by the "Dasher", and literally sent me a text when my "Dasher" parked his car and was walking up to the door! This is the kind of thing that makes me feel old and realize how good this younger generation has it with these kinds of things. In my day, you had to drive in the snow, up hill both ways....to get yourself food. 😉 </span></div>
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Breakfast at the B&B was wonderful and unrushed and I could just take my time over my coffee with no pressure. The innkeeper did pop in and chat with me a few times as people tend to do when they find out you have 6 kids....and homeschool. It was definitely a splurge, but, great job, Rainman!</div>
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I am a teeny tiny bit ashamed that I did spend almost the whole time reading. Almost. I was also able to spend time thinking and praying. Again, something I "think" that I do at home, but in retrospect, I don't do it as often as I should and even when I do ends up rushed and....thoughtless. It was nice to go a little deeper. </div>
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One thought that kept rearing its head was Rainman and I becoming foster parents....to babies. My parents were foster parents for 25 or 30 years. But, I have been reluctant to be a foster parent, especially for babies, because I remember how attached my mom would get and how she would cry when they would leave. I didn't want to do that to myself, but, that is kind of selfish, isn't it?</div>
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Rainman and I are still mulling over the realities of bringing in extra tiny people to our family, so we shall see. (Yes, we have been bringing extra little people into our family for years - but most of them go home at the end of the day) I was thinking of the practical things like - we already have most of the "baby stuff" - we have a lot of love here - we all love babies - babies are portable so they could easily go with us to sports/school events/church with us. We will see....we are very early in the thought process. But, pray for us, will you? Age is factoring into our thought process a bit. I am a bit leery of losing sleep again.</div>
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I completely get that I am getting older. But, I still forget. Kind of like I sometimes forget that I am overweight and then I see a picture of myself....and think, "Oh yeah....that is right....I am fat."</div>
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Here is a recent example: V-girl and S-girl decided that they wanted to paint their bedroom because it was too little girlie for them and too "Neopolitan" looking (like the ice cream - and it was....brown on the bottom, white chair rail and pink on top).</div>
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Anyway, the girls picked out a color and I got to work...thinking I would knock it out in a day. This is where the "Oh yeah....I am old now" snuck up on me. I did manage to get it done in 2 days (with the girls doing the little touch up spots for me because the thought of climbing up that stupid ladder one more time or even sitting on the folding chair and bending over to get the spots near the baseboards had me in a tizzy. They also got paint on the ceiling and I just looked at it and said, "Meh....who will be looking at your ceiling, right girls?" I was not climbing up that stupid thing one more time!)</div>
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It looks great, but seriously, I was sore from my finger tips to the tips of my toes. I think the only part of my anatomy that was not sore was my head. That is it. Sad.</div>
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So, then I think, what am I even thinking by considering taking in extra little people that I will have to get up in the night with? But, then I think about those poor little babies and think, if not me...then who? Will it end up being someone that doesn't love babies the way my family loves babies? I love how V-girl has gotten to be a psuedo-big sister to the extra kids we have watched for the past 5 years. You don't really realize the natural life skills that are taught when there is a younger sibling around. Even the simple ones, like being aware of someone else's needs or having to wait for the baby to stop crying or get their diaper changed before you can ask your mom a question. Little things that are actually quite big. </div>
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Selfishly, again, I think of the fact that I am finally getting back to my singing and am enjoying being in 2 bands. I have time to write and have gotten some articles published with more possibilities looming. Will those things go away if we take on part-time/temporary care for babies? I don't know. Should I even consider those things as part of my decision? </div>
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Anyway, happy birthday to my rambling self.</div>
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<br />Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-4433510337473484542019-09-04T15:56:00.003-04:002019-09-04T15:56:59.737-04:00Summer RecapSummer, here in Georgia doesn't end on Labor Day with temperatures still in the 90s....summer will still be here awhile.<br />
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But, here are some highlights from our summer, thus far. Lots of good stuff...and a few not so good things sprinkled in the mix.<br />
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We didn't take any family vacations although about half of us made it up to Indiana for Rainman's family reunion. We did a lot of hanging out and chatting on the back deck, swimming in the pool, and sitting inside in the air conditioning when it was too hot. Boring to some, but not to me. I was in heaven with all 6 kids home again (although, don't tell anybody, but sometimes it did get too loud and wild for me...sometimes they get along a little too well. ).<br />
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D-man got a summer internship in our county, so we got to see a lot of him. <br />
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Sometimes he even got to surprise us and come home for lunch in his spiffy big boy clothes!</div>
He is starting his senior year in college and is planning to take the LSAT this fall because he is thinking law school year near.<br />
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A-girl got a summer job literally the day after she moved home from college and didn't look back. She worked the whole summer.<br />
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We still got to see a lot of her this summer (and discovered one of the best thrift stores we have found down here in Georgia. They have 10 cent days!!!). She is starting her sophomore year in college and managed to get more scholarships this year than she did her freshman year!<br />
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L-girl went to tennis camp, went on a few mission trips, worked as a nanny this summer and sprinkled in a few odd jobs here and there. She was busy. We didn't see a whole lot of her! She just started her senior year in high school.<br />
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A-man is a freshman in public high school this year. He had a bit of an adventure this summer at a youth group pool party. He and one of his friends were playing catch with a baseball and A-man jumped for a ball over his head and caught it. When he came down, he found himself, impaled through his shoulder on a wrought iron fence post (in through his armpit - out through the top of his shoulder) Yes. Yuck! It was a first (and hopefully last) ambulance ride for him....and for me....I got there just as they were getting ready to pull away. Here is the miracle though - which a few of the doctors even acknowledged - no major arteries were struck - no major nerves - no bones. His surgeon said it was almost like everything important just moved out of the way as the fence post went in (like Moses parting the Red Sea). He had a few of the doctors look deeply into his eyes and say that they hoped he realized how amazing it was that his injuries were not much, much worse. It really is amazing. The medical bills have started arriving, so that is fun too. I just have to keep reminding myself that A-man is here and doing great.<br />
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S-girl was part of the church youth group this year so she finally got to go to the summer fun events and the mission trips. Seems odd that she is old enough for all that stuff, but she is. She even sent in an audition tape to be on a local kids cooking competition show. She wasn't selected, but if you know her at all, it was huge that she had the courage to put it together and send it. Huge. She just started 7th grade and is still at home (yay!). If things keep going the way they have with the older kids, I will only have her at home for one more year after this one. She is already a fantastic golfer, so I am thinking she will be off to play high school golf. I cannot believe that.<br />
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Poor V-girl was stuck at home with us all summer. She so wants to be one of the big kids. It really chaps her hide that she is too young for some stuff. She started 5th grade this year. I am so happy that I will have a few more years with her at home full-time. The adventures she and I will have...but, I think we will both be a little bit lonely!<br />
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Three of my extra kids left me and moved to Texas. I am equal parts sad and excited. Their dad had moved there for a new job and mom/kids stayed here for awhile while they sold their house and he got settled out there. I was so happy when the time came that they could go join him in Texas and be together again - but, man it hurts too. I have been watching the girls since they were about 3 months old (and the same with their little brother). It is hard to let go of being part of their everyday life.<br />
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I still have one of my extra kids left, but he will be heading to full-time school at his mom's school next year. Everyone is leaving me. (sigh)<br />
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We did manage to do a few things with all 8 of us this summer - which made me very happy. I know those are going to get harder to come by as my people keep heading out into the world to become their own people.<br />
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So that is our summer update. I am so ready for sweater weather, bonfires, hot chocolate, and boots....but it is still supposed to be in the 90s here all week. And, let's be honest, it is barely sweater weather here in January - but a girl can dream. </div>
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<br />Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-34445547257375128802019-08-01T18:23:00.004-04:002019-08-01T18:23:56.941-04:00Read Aloud Favorites...and Not So FavoritesMuch to my children's chagrin, I still like to have read aloud as part of our school day. Every year they assure me that are all way too old for such nonsense.<br />
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But, like the good mom I am, sometimes I have to completely ignore their opinions!<br />
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I am going to list a few of our favorite read aloud books/series here in case any of you would like to torture your children the same way I do. If I was more of a Pinterest mom, I would have a beautiful graphic labeled Top Ten Read Alouds...or something, but, since I am...me, you get a willy-nilly list that you will have to slog through if you are interested in my thoughts.<br />
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<b><u>Favorites</u></b>:<br />
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<b><i>The Magic Treehouse Series by Mary Pope Osborne</i></b><br />
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I liked these ones because they pack a lot into their skinny little binders. Action. Adventure. Intrigue. You don't necessarily have to stretch these ones out and can finish them in just 1 or 2 read aloud sessions. These are a good choice if you have someone under your roof that doesn't have a huge attention span.<br />
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<b><i>Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls</i></b><br />
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This is the first real book that I can remember being read aloud to me my Mrs. Toll in 4th grade. When I was in K through 3rd, my two favorite parts of the day were going to the milk cooler and counting out the little milk cartons for our class and going to the library and sitting at the librarians feet while she to read us reading upside down. But, when I moved on to the next school level, as a <i>big</i> kid, I was surprised when our teacher made part of our day read aloud time - and it was a big chapter book. It was also the first time I can remember wanting so hard to sob, but knowing that I would be mercilessly be teased (I am looking at you Mike O.) that I had to swallow it back and pretend that I was completed unaffected by the story. The beauty of homeschool is that all the other students have already seen everyone cry numerous times so it isn't that big of a deal.<br />
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<b><i>Anne of Green Gables Lucy Maud Montgomery</i></b><br />
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This is still one of my favorites and I read this one just as much for me as I do for the kids. I have not made it through the whole series with my kids, but I feel as though their education would be lacking if they didn't know what a "bosom friend" is or that "tomorrow is a new day without any mistakes in it yet".<br />
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<b><i>The Impossible Quest by Kate Forsyth</i></b><br />
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This us a book series that I got at a friends Usborne Books party. I personally enjoy fantasy and science fiction, so I am fine with those types of books even for my kids. This was a fun little series that has 4 kids as the heroes and lots of adventure, bad guys trying to get them and the need to work together and appreciate the gifts and talents that other people have to be just as important and useful as your own gifts and talents. There are some dark magic type moments, but there are those in the old Disney classics too. <br />
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I am also a big fan of mysteries, so the kids and I have done a few of those as read alouds too. These we just randomly picked up at the library. These are also skinny books, so they don't take too long to get through the whole book. <br />
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<b><i>Cam Jansen</i></b><br />
<b><i>Encyclopedia Brown</i></b><br />
<b><i>Jigsaw Jones</i></b><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">We have read a few of the</span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i> Boxcar Children</i></b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> books. There are a ton of them, so I don't have an exact one to recommend.</span><br />
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<b><u>Not So Favorites:</u></b><br />
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We have tried to <b><i>Nancy Drew</i></b> and <b><i>Hardy Boys</i></b> books - but my kids don't love them as much as I would like. I am not sure if they are too old fashioned, but not as old fashioned as say, Anne of Green Gables. <br />
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The <b><i>Little House on the Prairie Books</i></b> have had mixed reviews from my kids - which I find amazing - because I remember being entranced by the stories. I still love these books and I would say my kids "like" them well enough.<br />
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<b><i>The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis</i></b><br />
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This series is great! However, I don't consider them great read aloud option because there are a lot of wordy description sections that make the kids eyes glaze over. I have found these are better read by yourself, because it is easy to skim those parts and move along. I did the same thing when I read <b><i>The Hobbit</i></b> and <b><i>The Lord of the Rings</i></b> - great books - just not great read alouds - at least for my kids.<br />
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One other quirky thing about me is I have a rule that if I know there is a movie about a book - you HAVE to read the book first. No exceptions. (I will admit sometimes one will sneak by me that I have no idea was based on a book though!)<br />
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Yes, when you see the movie you are almost always disappointed because they left out so much detail or cast a completely wrong person in the role you connected with the most, but, I think it is better to have the true full picture/intent of the book before you see it on the screen.<br />
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This rule was where I got my reluctant readers to<i> really</i> read though and it was all because of....Harry Potter!<br />
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Now, I will say that I actually read the books first because I had heard a lot of talk when they first came out, from the Christian community, that they were horrible books. After reading them, I understand their concerns, but I found a lot of good in them. So, instead of banning the books, I had the kids read <b><i>This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti</i></b> first. Then we talked about how there really is evil in the world at work behind the scenes and talked about why some Christians were choosing to stay away from Harry Potter. I think this approach worked really well and we have enjoyed the <b><i>Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling</i></b> series with no guilt. <br />
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Honestly, my list really could go on and on. I LOVE to read. I am hoping to instill a little of that into my kids. One of my favorite memories of my dad was the time I realized that he liked to read as much as I did. When I was a kid, I remember him reading the newspaper every day and I remember him reading the Bible, but not really much other stuff. Looking back now, I am thinking it was just because he was too busy working, taking care of the house/yard/cars that he didn't have time to read for fun. I get it. There were many years in the middle of this parenting thing where I just couldn't read....or would start a book, full of hope that I would have time to finish it, and there it would sit on my bedside table - slowing accruing library fines - because I was too tired at the end of the day to read.<br />
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Back in 2001, Rainman had a long term work assignment in The Netherlands. We only had D-man and A-girl then, so we packed up and moved to the apartment his company had rented over there. At the end of his work assignment he took 2 weeks of vacation so we could tour Europe and asked his mom and my parents to fly over and meet us. It was so much fun being able to see the world with them. Back to the reason I started this story...when we were in Italy, I needed to run to the store (probably for diapers) and my dad said he would go with because he needed a few books. As he and I were perusing the books we could find printed in English we chatted a bit. I told him that I panicked a bit if I was almost done with a book and didn't have one waiting in the wings (even if my time to read was slim - I still needed one waiting for me as an option!). He chuckled and did his little sideways smirky-grin and said he was the same way. He explained that he was almost done with his Tom Clancy book and didn't want to be in the middle of nowhere in Europe and not have his next book ready to go because he wouldn't be able to relax without knowing he had a book.. I remember my mouth dropping open because I had no idea that he and I had that in common (since every one, including him, used to tell me that I was exactly like my mom).<br />
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Now that my kids are older, I have a lot more time to read. I have also stopped watching t.v., so most of my free time is spent with a book in my hands. I am hoping that all of my kids will follow my example and become readers. D-man has definitely become a reader, but he is following in Rainman's footsteps and seems to enjoy non-fiction more than fiction. But, hey....at least he is reading in his spare time and not doing all the other things a 21 year college guy could be doing, right?!?<br />
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We are getting reading to start our new school year next week and I only have 2 students still at home. Crazy! I have already started to gather my read aloud pile for the year....and they have started the moaning and groaning, like usual. It actually makes me smile a bit to hear them complain about this particular thing, because I know that at least one of the books I have chosen will get inside their heads and mean something to them or inspire them to go dig up information on ancient Egypt, or the depression, or even Norwegian recipes. I know it. <br />
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This is what homeschooling is all about....tackling favorites and the not so favorites - whether it is books, chores, school, or life... together. <br />
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big of a deal. Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-51828309179154481762019-07-07T11:44:00.000-04:002019-07-07T11:44:25.079-04:00Miscellaneous MayApirl and May have felt particularly crazy this year. It just seems like it is a never ending list of birthdays, awards ceremonies, banquets, end of season games followed by end of season parties, plus trying to finish our school year strong. <br />
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I am just ready to relax a bit. Think that may be possible?<br />
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Here are some highlights:<br />
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S-girl's birthday.<br />
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College girl, A-girl, was feeling kind of lonely and truly bummed that now as a grown up she wouldn't be home for her birthday for the first time ever. We surprised her the day before and spent the day together.<br />
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L-girl had prom....<br />
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Then on her birthday, she got student of the month....<br />
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We had Easter Dinner with some "extras".<br />
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A-man helped the Easter Bunny out with some of his duties<br />
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We sold our big van. It is very strange not to see it parked outside of our house. We also no longer own a vehicle that all 8 of us can travel in. I have a new to me station wagon/SUV thing that is marvelous satellite radio, great a/c....but, I am having a heck of a time parking it because it is so small! LOL <br />
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Did a last minute trip to Minnesota to see Mamna Mia with my mom and sisters. <br />
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On a side note: Delta is a great airline. I ended up flying home on Mother's Day. As we sat in the gate area....this is what came along....<br />
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They gave out free ice cream treats for Mother's Day! It was awesome.<br />
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Two of my Mother's Day gifts....a cup hand made by S-girl for me. <br />
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The box of cereal is especially meaningful because Rainman, after 22 years of marriage <b><u><i>finally</i></u></b> knows what my favorite cereal is! LOL <br />
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A-girl made Dean's List both semesters of her freshman year AND got a larger scholarship for next year.</div>
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L-Girl was named the MVP for her tennis team and was nominated for Athlete of the Year for our County. </div>
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A-man made the All-Star Baseball team.</div>
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D-man got a summer internship close to home.</div>
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(He wouldn't smile for his mommy on his first day on the job!)</div>
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Seriously, I am getting more and more tired just typing all of this stuff. My swing band took a brief hiatus during this time, which turned out to be quite helpful to my schedule and sanity. I had to take a hiatus from the soul band because I can't be two places on the same night, much less three - which is how many of our rehearsal nights were turning out. </div>
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Things are tapering off as the school year winds up, so I should be heading back to rehearsals soon. Hoping I can breathe a bit and just sit. </div>
<br />Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-17710189405593248052019-03-03T18:08:00.000-05:002019-03-03T18:08:13.607-05:00Ready to Chat a BitI have had lots of stuff going on lately, but I think I am finally ready to chat a bit about it.<br />
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I guess I will just be random because life doesn't really happen in any particular order, does it?<br />
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I have been working a lot. That has mostly been good. We have had to restructure and change our routines around home, but my kids are fantastic and just go with the flow. Man, they are helpful (most of the time). Rainman has really stepped up and is handling a lot more of the teaching responsibilities (which is a relief and also sort of hurts my feelings....LOL. Women! Right? As my dad always used to say....women are inscrutable.)<br />
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I used to make fun of this other homeschool mom I knew that had her kids call her by her first name, Betsy...not mom. When I asked her about it, she said that when she became a mom, she didn't want to lose her "Betsy-ness", so that is what they did. She was this fantastic fun homeschool mom that was adventurous, nurturing, and not afraid to get messy with the kids. There was a piece me of that wished I was more like her and not so structured in our homeschooling. But, I just could not wrap my head around her wanting her kids not to call her mom. It was weird. <br />
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However, I sort of get it now. Sort of. Now that I am working and doing a few things just for me again, I am getting a bit more of my "Kayla-ness" back....so I get that aspect of it. But, the most important part of me is still being mom to my 6 kids. So, they had better still call me mom. (Hear that, A-girl?)<br />
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I have had two true close friends since moving to Georgia. I do have other friends...but Debbie and Sherri were, in the words of Anne of Green Gables, my "bosom friends". <br />
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Debbie was on her way to meet me last July and was hit by someone who ran a stop sign. After a long hard battle, she finally succumbed to her injuries in December. It was and is heartbreaking. I still find myself wanting to pick up the phone and chat before I remember that I can't. I miss her. In the words of Forest Gump....that is all I have to say about that.....<br />
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Sherri got a fantastic job offer in....Ohio. She and I can still chat on the phone and text, but I know I will miss our occasional 3 hour face-to-face chats when one of us just needed to vent and process something out loud. I miss her.<br />
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So, I am bosom friend-less here. I have a lot of kind, nice people in my circle, but those were the two that knew most everything about me and loved me anyway. The two that I could really be my true, authentic, weird self with. It has been hard. I don't really want to go out and try to make new bosom friends. Ugg. I can remember when we moved down here when I realized that I actually had to put some work in and be more up front and bold and actually pursue friendships....just like in elementary school. I don't want to. LOL<br />
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The other big thing I have been doing is working on losing weight. I am down 50 pounds, so far.....still a bunch to go....but, man it feels good to start to see the old me coming out from behind the bulk. It is good to try on clothes and not completely hate how I look (not completely....). I wear make-up more often. I were jewelry. I even spritz on a little perfume every now and then. Crazy stuff, I tell you.<br />
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I have also been singing. I joined a 60s soul band back in October and last month, I auditioned for a swing band as a lead vocalist and got it. I am in heaven. Those of you who have known me for more than a few years, know that singing used to be my life. I even tried to sing as a career once upon a time (before I realized just how many other great singers there are in the world). I sent out a lot of demo tapes, did a lot of weddings and funerals, but that was pretty much the extent of my "musical career". Then I met Rainman, had a bunch of babies....and had little people that would literally tell me to stop singing when I would burst into song around them. LOL True story.<br />
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A few years ago, I did start singing in the contemporary praise band at my church where I would once in a while be assigned a song that really let me shine a bit and made me feel like I was a real singer again, but mostly it was just singing on key and blending in with the group. <br />
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I have to admit that I am super excited about the swing band. I have been listening to big band music since way before it was cool. I have loved artists like Rosemary Clooney, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, and Peggy Lee since I was in my 20s. Rainman came with me to my audition (strange date night, but it is what you do when you have a bunch of kids). My audition was literally to sing 3 songs (Summertime, Orange Colored Sky, and Sentimental Journey) during their concert set (cold turkey - without ever rehearsing with them) at an assisted living home. There were maybe 15-20 or so people there, which was about the same number as there were in the band....give or take....people would wheel themselves in at out occasionally. Somehow, I wasn't super nervous....even though I have never practiced with these guys. I just hoped and prayed that I could still remember how to count and came in at the proper entrances. <br />
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I did good. <br />
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We practiced a few songs at a rehearsal after the concert and I messed up a few times....nothing major....but mistakes. The band was kind....even though they really know their stuff. I am rusty, with a capital R. One time, one of the trombone players, who is a former band/choir director was shouting at me from his spot....that I was 2 bars off....and telling me....come in here. Embarrassing, but true. LOL<br />
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The cutest thing may have been Rainman's reaction to the whole thing. He was so excited for me. So sweet and complimentary. He sat there with a huge smile on his face the whole concert. Afterwards, he said he was so wrapped up in how good we were that he forgot to film. He also talked about ways to make my involvement in the band easier with the kids and everything. He even realized that I would need some new clothes for performances and told me not to worry about money. He even....now this is big people.....offered to take the day off...for our first gig in March. That is almost an unheard of offer from him. Really. <br />
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Even though I am....in my 50s now....there is a piece of me that feels like I am back in my 20s....kind of figuring out the trajectory of my life again. The feeling is both exhilarating and terrifying. Oh well. It is life. <br />
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<br />Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-38806003509953889362018-10-16T15:35:00.000-04:002018-10-17T12:38:11.399-04:00Changing Times...Changing Me....I have two children in college now and only four at home. It stills feels weirdly small and empty around here.<br />
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This past weekend I only had two children home, because two were in college and another two were at a church retreat. Weird. Weird. Weird. One of those children worked Saturday from about 4:30 to midnight, and Rainman worked until 9:00 or so, so I was home alone with one child. One. Crazy.<br />
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I feel a bit like I am coming out the other side of a mid-life crisis that I didn't even know I was having.<br />
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You have seen me on here for a few years. I had gained weight....a lot of weight. I had let myself go. I had given up. I was sort of living life for the people that I was surrounded with...which is something all moms do....but, somehow I got lost in there, in a completely unintentional way. I was quiet, subdued and really fat.<br />
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Things have changed. I have started trying again and don't plan to give up anymore. I am trying to say yes to stuff for me. Just me. Without feeling selfish and like I am the worst mom/wife/Christian in the world.<br />
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The first thing that has changed is I have given up sugar and flour and have lost 20 pounds thus far. I still have a whole person yet to lose, but it feels weirdly doable....and not as horrific as I had imagined it would.<br />
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There is a sculpture of a woman chipping away at her fat self to reveal the thin person underneath....that is what it sort of feels like for me. I will go see if I can find it.<br />
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<img alt="Image result for thin woman inside sculpture" src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/09/93/6d/09936d1585dbac016ae187f769f0b00d.png" /><br />
(By Brazilian sculptor, Gabriel D. Orazio)<br />
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Other changes around here are that my extra little people that I have been watching for 3 years now, don't need me as much because their mom has been able to go to part-time work (a long time desire of hers!). I am thrilled for her to get to be with her babies, but sad that I am not such a large part of their lives anymore. It left a hole physically and financially for me.<br />
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Enter my friend, T.....first a little background. When we first moved to Georgia, we moved in next door to a single mom, named T, with two kids a little older than ours. I am sure she was shocked when this clan of Minnesota speaking blond haired people moved in to her nice, quiet neighborhood! But, she was so sweet and actually had 5 of the kids over to her house so Rainman and I (and tiny baby V-girl) could celebrate our anniversary with Chinese take-out at home the first year we lived here. That was huge. Because one of the hardest parts of the move was not having grandparents/aunts/uncles to handle the babysitting duties for these kinds of things.<br />
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If you have been reading my blog or know me in real life, you know we obviously moved away from T, but she and I kept in touch - mostly via Facebook. She and her husband (she got remarried while we were still living next door to sweet, quiet J)....and recently decided to buy a new business. The kids and I helped them unpack boxes and get inventory on the shelves and then wished them good luck and went back to our lives. <br />
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About a month ago, I saw a Facebook ad for a job at her company and I gave her a call. She and I talked it over and found a lot of it can be done remotely and she hired me! I can still homeschool, watch my extra kids, go to doctor/dentist appointments and still help ease T's load a bit. So far, I think it has been a win/win.<br />
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Here it is, if you want to take a look: <a href="http://www.dirtcheapchristianwear.com/">www.dirtcheapchristianwear.com</a><br />
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Seriously, cute stuff and...ahem....dirt cheap!<br />
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It has been a weird mixed bag of blessings for me. The financial rewards are super helpful as we have to dig out from some debt....again. Ugg. I will admit it was scary at first....dealing with things when I hardly had a clue of what I was supposed to be doing. But, I think I have done quite well. It reminded me that I used to be a very good Executive Secretary back before babies.<br />
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One of the things that I think gets lost when moms stay home with their kids....is that sense of accomplishment that we are actually good at something. I can't really explain it, but it feels good. I will admit that working 30+ hours a week at this job is somewhat stressful. I am also still working for my old Minnesota company doing minutes for Council meetings too. So, I am working well over 40 hours a week, but both jobs are flexible enough for me to be here at home (my favorite place to be) and teach the kids.<br />
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I have done two other things just for me this fall. I joined a band. Two of my musician friends from church joined this band last January and have been asking me to join on and off since then. But, I could never make the rehearsals work with all the stuff going on with the kids lives. So, I kept saying no. They asked again at the end of August/early September and had changed rehearsal to one of my "easier" nights to be away from everyone. So, I said yes. I am mostly a back-up singer because the other female singer (single, no kids) actually joined the band last January. It is a super fun and talented group. We even have a horn section! We do a bit of soul and rhythm and blues. I am hoping to get out of the back-up singer box and do a little swing/standard type stuff (Rosemary Clooney, old Doris Day, Peggy Lee) one of these days.<br />
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I will admit to having a little mental health struggle with being the old, middle aged fat mom, singing back-up for the young girl with the nose ring (who is super sweet and not a diva - it would be a little easier if I could hate her....but I can't! Ha!). One of the wives of the band members came up to me at our first concert and said, "You must be the new backup singer!" My heart sort of dropped. I wanted to be considered one of the singers, but I am not.<br />
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It is a total ego thing.<br />
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I know I need to let go of it, but if I am honest it really sort of stinks. I am feeling insecure in my talent and don't feel like I have shown the rest of the band what I am capable of....partly because I am coming to the game late and they had already picked all the songs....and the keys.....but partly because it is something that I have always struggled with. It is a total roller coaster ride and I realize how whiny I may be sounding, but ever since I was little, I would get lots of compliments and people telling me I should be on the radio and make a living with my voice. I sent out demo tapes and auditioned for a few things in my early 20's, but there were no takers....so, I thought maybe those people were wrong. But, I still get some of those kinds of compliments today when I sing in church. So, in my head, I thought maybe this was finally going to be "it" and I was going to get to answer those people from my past that ask what I am up to by legitimately being able to say ...."I sing in a band!". "I sing back-up in a band", just doesn't sound as good, you know? LOL. But, I am not giving up. I am going to keep singing. Keep showing up. Keep trying and, hopefully show them a song that is perfect for my voice and move out of the back-up box and into co-lead singer.<br />
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One other thing I have done is auditioned for some voice over work. I have made the second round of auditions and had to submit a recording of one of their scripts. If I get this job (which I can also do from home), I will be recording the voice over scripts for tutorials on their website. I think I would be really good at this and even told the kids after I listened to myself, that I would hire me. I think I sound friendly, approachable and professional. So, we shall see. I am proud of myself for trying and not talking myself out of it or downgrading my possible talent in this area. (Michelle B. I am ...thanking you or blaming you.... because whenever I read in Sunday School, you always compliment me on my voice and say you could listen to me all day!)<br />
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Let's see...what else? Oh, I went back to my natural blond hair. Red was WAAAAAAY too hard to keep up with and I am not high maintenance enough to make a go of it. I definitely feel more like myself now and like I belong with my little tow-headed offspring.<br />
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Here is a picture of me with my new hair right before my band's gig. (See how cool I sound? We had a gig! LOL)<br />
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And, yes....I totally look like the mother of the bride, but it was the best I could do. I don't have a lot of call for performance clothing in my life. Maybe that will change, but for now this is what I had that I could dig out from the back of the closet.<br />
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Okay, that is it. That is my update on me. I will fill you on on kid stuff soon.Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-35838251352440857392018-08-14T09:42:00.001-04:002018-08-14T09:42:58.812-04:00A New YearThis summer was kind of a blur. Some fun things, like lots of time in the pool and a few visits from family members from afar. <br />
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(My mom and my younger sister)</div>
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Some not so fun things, one friend moving away, another friend in a horrible car accident (be praying for Debbie), and also a mini mental health flip out/break down by me. (I may or may not tell you details, but I am thinking my feelings/reasons are probably fairly common among middle aged mothers)<br />
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Then, on July 31st, L-girl started her junior year in the local public high school.<br />
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This same week, D-man left to spend a week in Washington D.C. for a conference and then on August 8th, moved back to his apartment on campus.<br />
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On August 10th, L-girl and A-man left for a 3 day leadership retreat.<br />
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On August 11th, we moved A-girl onto her campus - not the same one as D-man.<br />
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It was very strange not to have the whole gang there to move her in and say goodbye...and somehow with less people there, I still managed to forget to get a picture of she and I. (Oops.) The drive home was even weirder with only 2 kids. We were like a "normal" family driving down the road in our mini van!<br />
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We are down to a 4 kid household and let me tell you it feels very strange. It is very quiet. Even though the two oldest are not exactly our wildest/loudest children. Somehow their absence makes it very, very quiet around here. <br />
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We started our homeschool year yesterday. We still have three doing school at home. (I will be honest, I would like to continue homeschooling through high school. I suspect I am going to be outvoted though.)<br />
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Rainman and I are doing things a bit differently this year and I think it is going to work out well. We have actually divided the subjects, so he will officially teach/be in charge of some and I will officially teach/be in charge of some. We didn't do a good job of co-teaching/communicating last year and things got lost in the shuffle. His work schedule has changed in that he is off most Mondays and Tuesdays and most of his other shifts are from noon to 8 p.m. so he will have plenty of time to teach. He does work a few 7 to 7 shifts, but, I don't think that will mess things up too much.<br />
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I am actually excited for the school year. I think it is fairly rare in the homeschooling realm to have a husband/dad that actually wants to teach and be involved in the day to day things connected with our school. Rainman has gotten more and more interested and involved every year. But, what I think has happened in the last few years is that I have felt a little pushed aside by his interest and his own excitement to teach. He is the kind of person that jumps in with both feet and doesn't test the waters. So, he ended up jumping past me and took off swimming with the kids at his side, while I was still carefully hanging onto the railings and climbing into the water. They unintentionally left me behind.<br />
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I mean, I was still involved, but it was more often than not having work delegated and assigned to me by Rainman. Like, "Make sure they read this chapter." "Here is the science quiz." "Study the capitals with them before they take the test." If you know me at all, you know I really don't like people telling me what to do....even if I am married to that person. Or maybe I should say, especially if I am married to that person! Ha!<br />
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Gone were the days of me designing our days and taking off for a fun field trip to get donuts or popsicles, just because I felt like it or something meshed with my lesson plans. Instead, I spent quite a bit of time just waiting for someone to need me and then when they did, having to catch up and figure out what they had been working on with Rainman because I wasn't as involved in the nitty gritty details of what they were learning. Kind of hard to explain.<br />
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But, anyway this year, we are splitting the course work. We are each creating our own lesson plans for the kids. I will still have to see how I can work on the spontaneous field trips that won't interfere with Rainman's school day plans. But, I am more excited for this year of school than I have been for quite a while. I am hoping that our two approaches and teaching styles will help our kids become even more well rounded in their education. We shall see, I guess.<br />
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<br />Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-40963413014454334302018-05-15T11:09:00.001-04:002018-05-15T11:09:53.013-04:00May....SighYup. It is May.<br />
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Seriously, if someone would have told me that I would be busier now than I was when I had 6 kids under the age of 12, all at home full-time, I would have called you crazy. Having all six kids under my roof and controlling our schedules was a breeze compared to life now. <br />
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Again, it is not like I am busy scheduling time to go visit kids in juvy or anything. It is sports schedules, awards banquets, church obligations, work schedules....for me, Rainman, AND my three big kids...because we are trying to be productive members of society.<br />
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It is stuff like this...<br />
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Confirmation</div>
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Tennis awards banquet (MVP second year in a row!)</div>
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Honors award presentation (summa cum laude)</div>
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School signing day</div>
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National Honors Society induction</div>
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Prom</div>
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Official scholarship signing at her new school</div>
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Golf awards banquet</div>
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County Leadership program graduation</div>
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Somehow, I don't have any pictures of A-man and his baseball team. (I have one more game to remedy that mom-fail) </div>
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Plus, there are still three or four "awards nights" coming up! (I know....whine, whine, whine....my kids are getting awards. Poor me! 😜 Although, let's be honest, half the "awards" are just their name printed fancy on a piece of thick paper. But, that is a curmudgeonly post for another day!) There is also graduation and all the events that go along with that coming up too. </div>
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Throw in an 11th, 16th and 18th birthday in there, and you will see why I am sighing....oh, and then there is this...<br />
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We are fostering Raquel, who seems to be making herself at home. We are all fairly certain we are going to be a "foster fail" and just adopt her though. <br />
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Busy with good things, still feels busy. <br />
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But, we are happy and blessed, so I guess I will shut up, or at least try to shut up. <br />
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The older I get, I realize the simpler I like my life. No drama. No endless "events" or even taking the kids a ton of places. I like to hang out with my family...at home. Okay, I do like to go out to eat too, but, in general, give me some food and throw me out in the back yard to just chill with my people, listen to the birds, watch the deer, maybe read a book, and I am good to go! Really. So, I will not be mourning the end of the school year. I will be rejoicing in the freedom to just....be. <br />
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Ahhhhh....totally different kind of sigh. Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-9652189883537009112018-03-17T11:59:00.000-04:002018-03-17T11:59:05.172-04:00Sort of a Working Woman AgainThose of you that know me in real life, know that when we lived in Minnesota, I was a stay at home mom, that worked. What is that acronym....WAHM? <br />
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Rainman and I both had strange schedules, but my work was flexible so I could pretty much schedule it around his and the kids needs. It was pretty awesome. Having the ability to bring in a little extra money, while still getting to be with my kids was spectacular. Yes, I was tired, but, we had bills to pay.<br />
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Back in Minnesota, I had a few jobs, all at the same time. <br />
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I was a massage therapist. I spent time working a salon. I spent time teaching at a school of massage, but mostly I just saw private clients. Super flexible.<br />
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I was also what is called an off-site secretary. I primarily worked for a group of commercial real estate brokers. I would type correspondence, contracts and purchase agreements and help close big deals....from my home office. I remember how fancy I felt when we were able to get my home system set up so I could just connect to the printers at their office and even their home and send over the completed contracts to be ready for them when they woke up in the morning. (I did most of my work after kids were in bed.)<br />
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I was a transcriptionist. Back when I worked in an office, I did medical transcription, but, at home, I did legal transcription work. Mostly it was probate hearings that took place on an Indian reservation. I am not afraid to admit this was hard.<br />
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I was also what is called a recording secretary. This meant that I attended city council or corporate board meetings and took minutes. Sort of like a court reporter, but with just a regular laptop.<br />
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Somehow, Rainman and I were able to sort of balance my work, his work, homeschool all of our kids and just other normal life stuff, without too much drama. But, usually either Rainman or I were home with the kids. Every now and then we would have to get an aunt or grandma to cover childcare, but that didn't happen very often.<br />
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When we got the news during my last pregnancy that we were going to have to relocate to Georgia, we paused for a bit. We realized a few things: Georgia handles licensing for massage therapists differently than Minnesota (so even though I had been working in the field since 1992, that meant nothing in Georgia); I couldn't work for either the realtors or the recording secretary company from Georgia (I actually could have kept the realtor job, but they were VERY nervous about me being in another state); I would be in a totally new state with 6 kids and no family or friends.<br />
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We made the decision to try to just let me be a stay at home mom and see how both our budget and my mental health did.<br />
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Both did pretty well. I think my sadness and depression about being in Georgia was just because I missed my family, friends and church. I don't think it had anything to do with me not earning my keep, if you know what I mean. In a way, it was relaxing to just stay at home and take care of kids and the home, without having to feather in any work. (I did do some home school curriculum reviews in there, but I am not really counting that, since no money changed hands.) In the last 8 years, I have done a bit of temp work here and there to bring in extra money, but nothing regular, like the olden days.<br />
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Fast forward 8 years and the realization that I sure had a lot of free time to read and drink wine on the back deck. LOL Seriously, I couldn't believe how many books I was able to read. The house was fairly clean. Actual meals were getting cooked. The 3 kids that are still homeschooled were still getting a great education. Yet, I had quite a bit of actual chunks of "free" time sprinkled throughout my days. It was just the age old scenario of "the kids don't need me as much anymore". (Now, I will put in the caveat that the free time was also because spring sports season had not yet arrived at my house. Things are a lot busier when you have kids in golf, tennis and baseball at the same time!)<br />
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About this same time, Rainman and I sat down and had a budget talk. Things are tighter than we would like. Not awful. Not great. We have some debt that neither of us want and the sooner those payments are gone, the better! So, I decided to see if I could find something to do again from home. I decided to update my resume and references. I had a possible lead on some clerical work from home at a company the sister of a friend of mine owned down here.<br />
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I am still Facebook friends with my past bosses (and their families), so I contacted the most recent ones to make sure it was still okay to include them as references and make sure that I still had the correct contact information. They all said that they would be happy to be contacted about me.<br />
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The next morning, my phone rang. It was the owners of the recording secretary company in Minnesota. I have know them since I was a teenager. We went to the same church. I babysat their kids. They gave me a chance and hired me when I had a bunch of little kids. <br />
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Guess what she was calling about?<br />
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She basically asked if I wanted my old job back! Technology has changed so much that recording secretaries no longer need to actually drive to the various cities and companies and sit there frantically typing what everyone is saying. Most meetings are videotaped by the local cable companies and the ones that aren't have audio recordings. So, since January, I have been working for various Minnesota cities taking minutes as I sit in my living room, in my sweats, with my feet up on a footstool. I still teach the kids. I still keep the house clean. I still manage to cook fairly regularly (when I am not running here or there for sports drop offs/pick ups/games). I even still have a little time for recreational reading and wine drinking. So it is....all good. <br />
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I still get to hold babies and play with toddlers too.<br />
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My first set of audio minutes took a REALLY long time. I was really rusty. I was scared that I was stupid to think I could still do this. I didn't know the voices, so I couldn't concretely say who was talking and asking questions. I kept rewinding and listening again. It was tedious. But, I have found, I possess a strange skill set and it was like riding a bicycle and it didn't take me long to get good and fast again. I am feeling pretty confident in my abilities again. It is a nice feeling. Bringing in a small paycheck again is magical. It is just helping me breathe a bit financially. <br />
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I am going to get religious on you for a second here. As I was thinking about trying to find work, I kept thinking and saying to people..."I wish I could find something like TimeSavers again! I want to find something where I can control my schedule and when I do the work. I want to be able to work around our lives, instead of it taking over our lives.....like I had in Minnesota, with TimeSavers."<br />
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I really wasn't sure if it was even possible though. It felt sort of selfish to basically say....yes, I want to work and make money....but I only want to do it when it is convenient for me and my family. You know?<br />
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But, that was basically what I wanted. To work when it worked for me.<br />
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It was like God looked down at said, "Well, Kayla, how about instead of finding something "like" TimeSavers, I just let you work for TimeSavers again?"<br />
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Seriously, it was like God could dream bigger than I could. (just like with our house...<a href="http://www.shutthefridge.com/2017/05/lifepaused.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.shutthefridge.com/2017/08/finally-settled-in.html" target="_blank">here</a>...) To me, it was really one of those moments where I realized things really work better when you just get out of His way and let Him be in control, I am sure there is a clever motivational t-shirt that says something like that.<br />
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I got this t-shirt from D-man and J-Girl for Christmas. I LOVE it. One fun side of working for Minnesota cities is I get to listen to Minnesota accents again on a regular basis. Let me just say to my southern friends....okay, I hear it now. LOL <br />
<br />Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-4375581092511876892018-03-08T10:31:00.000-05:002018-03-08T10:32:01.251-05:00February Summary - Part 2Okay, I know I am boring some of you, but, I promised part 2, so here is part 2!<br />
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A-man had a buddy sleep over for his birthday. They decided it was a great idea to jump in the pool so they could say they were the first ones in. Lol! (If you can, zoom in on his face when we comes off the slide!) They actually stayed in longer than I expected. Good thing we splurged and got a hot tub too!<br />
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A-man, has also succumbed to the lure of the t.v. show Vampire Diaries....thanks to his older sisters. Much of it is filmed in a nearby town, and friends just named their baby after one of the characters in the show. So, for his birthday lunch, he picked the restaurant from the show. (I will admit I have never watched the show, so I know nothing about the show or the restaurant - but apparently it is a big deal to be in the same spot that you have seen in the show)<br />
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Isn't he looking like a man?!?</div>
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I will say the food was quite good and not super expensive.<br />
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We didn't really celebrate A-man's birthday much on his actual birthday, because D-man wasn't around and Rainman was working. We waiting until the next day, because we took a drive up to North Carolina to go tubing. We have timeshare points that we could use up there, so we could stay for free. With all the almost snow events we have had here that last few years, the kids have really just been heartbroken that they don't get to build real snowmen or go sledding. So, Rainman said, this year we were going to take them up into the mountains and do some snow stuff.<br />
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We just barely succeeded. They have had a very warm patch and we happened to get there on the very last day that they had the ski slopes and tubing hill open. It was a balmy...50 or so. It was wet and slushy on the hill and brown and bare ground everywhere else. Not enough for snow for snowmen, but we did throw a bit of it at each other.<br />
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When we got to the hill, I scoffed at its size. It seemed small and I totally did the mom thing - inside my head "What a rip off! We paid that much for this little baby hill! What are we going to do for 2 hours?!?"<br />
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Let me just say, that hill was a lot scarier at the top than it was at the bottom. We spent the entire 2 hours going down in various formations and partnerships. All of us. I will say I didn't go as many times as everyone else. After the second time I landed at the bottom of the hill and whooshed right past the protective rubber mats onto the gravel and tar beyond, at speeds that made me realize why they had me sign a waiver acknowledging that I may get hurt and releasing them from any and all accountability, I took a break and watched.<br />
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I left my phone/camera in the car, but, luckily, my teenagers didn't and captured some of our fun for you.<br />
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See? It doesn't look that big and scary, does it?</div>
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We succeeded in doing an 8 person train a few times. The people at the bottom said it was like a Christmas card was coming down the hill. But, somehow, none of us thought to leave a camera with one of them and ask them to take our picture or a video while we careened down the hill. So, we have these action shots instead.<br />
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The warm weather took its toll on the businesses around town too. We had a hard time finding a restaurant that was open or didn't have an hour wait. Plus, many of them seemed to be shutting down the next day for renovations or spring cleaning. (more later on why this is important) We ended up eating at the first place we had tried and walked out after were were told it would be an hour or so wait, not because they were busy, but because they had 3 staff members up and quit earlier that day. But, as we traipsed around town trying to find something else that was open, the ones that were all had a long wait too. We realized that the first place had smelled fantastic and was close to our hotel, so we really wanted to eat there. So, we called them and made sure that they would still seat us if we came back and they did. They even remembered that we were the big party with the birthday boy.<br />
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As D-man said later that night for a night were just about everything that could go wrong....actually went wrong, it was one of the best experiences that we have ever had at a restaurant. Food wise and service wise. Seriously. They had 3 workers quit and they were closing the very next day for renovations. What went wrong? For example, we would order a salad with spring greens and ranch. The waiter would take our order. Go to the kitchen. Come back and say, that he was very sorry, they were out of spring greens....would be like a spinach salad instead. Sure, we would say. Then he would come back and say that they no longer had any ranch dressing and give us another option. Seriously, just about everything we ordered initially they were out of and had to be tweaked somehow. We lost count of how many trips back to the table our waiter and the manager made to apologize and offer us a different tweaked option than what was on the menu. It was almost like we were being punk'd or on candid camera, except we weren't. We just laughed.<br />
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The skeleton staff that was still employed there was super nice. We were planning to go back to our hotel room and open presents, but A-man wanted to open up with birthday cards while we were there and lo and behold, turns out it was the manager's birthday also. (For real. We thought maybe he was lying to try to bond with us, but we overheard him telling someone else it was actually his birthday, so we know he wasn't just sucking up to us.) We were just getting ready to leave and he sort of corralled us and said that we had to go sit back down. Out he came with cupcakes for the whole family and singing Happy Birthday for A-man!<br />
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We realized later that we are pretty sure he sacrificed his own birthday cupcakes that his staff or someone had gotten for him and gave them to A-man, because this was kind of a little hole in the wall bar and grill that didn't even have dessert options on the menu.<br />
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The next day, we drove about a 45 minute drive through the foggy mountain roads to visit with our niece and her family who run an <a href="https://www.outdoor76.com/" target="_blank">outdoor store</a> there. We stopped to see a few waterfalls along the way.<br />
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This last one was a big beautiful one with walking trails down the side. But, the path had a chain across it and said it was closed because of icy conditions. Guess who that stopped?<br />
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A-girl and I were the only rule followers who wouldn't climb over the chain and go to the bottom. LOL<br />
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D-man had to get back to campus, so he left from there and we took a different twisty road through the fog back to our hotel and the next day, headed back home again. When we got home it was like summer. It was in the high 70s/low 80s and the kids decided they were going in the pool....even though the water was only in the low 70s. But, it was a fun finish to our quick trip away for some winter-ish fun. <br />
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<br />Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-7500371637503222442018-02-27T10:49:00.001-05:002018-02-27T11:00:49.716-05:00February Summary - Part 1This post will be a random round up of what we have been up to this month. Good thing for you, there will be lots of pictures.<br />
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I got my <a href="http://www.shutthefridge.com/2017/11/my-version-of-mid-life-crisisapparently.html" target="_blank">red hair</a> worked on a bit. My blond was growing back in and I had sort of a skunk stripe down the middle of my head. I have figured out that I am not made for the upkeep of coloring my hair, nor is my wallet. So, we added some blond highlights to help me transition back to my normal color. My kids think I look just like my sister, <a href="http://rko-ideas-galore.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Karen</a>.<br />
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My selfie skills are questionable, aren't they? I look scared of myself here, don't I?<br />
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D-man got rid of his college hair that had to be stuffed under a hat and now looks like a young man. Well, actually a young scientist with those glasses. Love him.<br />
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All seven of us went to the salon for the afternoon. Four of us were getting stuff done to our hair and the other three just came along because we LOVE the little restaurant next door and we were going to eat. The stylist was running behind and all our services took forever. My younger girls had never really witnessed everything that happens in a salon before and were intrigued by how relaxed we all looked when we were getting our hair washed. They asked Kelly, the stylist, how much it would be just to get their hair shampooed by her. She took me aside and asked if she could do it for free, because they were being so good, even though the day was sort of spiraling out of control. I said she could. But, then everything with us took longer than any of us planned, Kelly was exhausted, and we were all getting hungry, so we didn't do it.<br />
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But, sweet A-girl, remembered how I used to wash her and L-girl's hair on the counter when they were younger. (My mom used to go my hair like that for years - until I barely could fit on the counter)<br />
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It was so cute. Lots of giggling.<br />
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I got a few sweet Valentines, took the kids for our annual trip to the local coffee shop during the day (I LOVE homeschooling!) and S-girl made and decorated a cake for us.<br />
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A-man turned 13 and is now officially on Facebook. He is also almost as tall as me. Crazy.<br />
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I am back to watching my little extras now that their mom is done with maternity leave. I am happy and any mouth injuries I may sustain are totally worth it. <br />
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Looking through my pictures, I have a few more things from February, but I will tell you about them later because otherwise this post will get way too long.<br />
<br />Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-55179601132568148222018-02-13T09:00:00.000-05:002018-02-13T09:00:06.410-05:00Hurricane HelpObviously, I am very behind in sharing some of my life stories with you. Last fall, Hurricane Irma was barreling towards Florida and it looked like it was going to be really bad. I put out the messages to all my family and friends that live down there, that they could evacuate to our house here in Georgia. <br />
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They all turned me down and decided to ride out the storm, except for my friend T. T and I have known each other since.....I think 4th grade. (I am getting old, so some details are getting fuzzy. LOL)<br />
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She sent me a message and asked if she could really come escape the storm with us....and bring her two fur babies. Yup, I said. Come on! And, she did.<br />
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It took her like 15 hours to drive the 500 or so miles to our place. Yuck.<br />
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I will admit that I <i>completely</i> meant it when I said our home was open to friends and family. I will also admit that when she said she was actually coming, I <i>freaked out</i> a bit. T and I have known each other since elementary school, but she is not one of the people that I have kept in super close contact with since we graduated. Facebook happy birthday greetings? Clicking "like" on a funny meme about Minnesota winters? Yes. Jamberry and other on-line parties? Yes. But, sharing life and conversations? Nope.<br />
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So, I started thinking....what if we don't like each other anymore? What if it is weird and awkward and we are trapped together in my house? <br />
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But, you know? It really wasn't weird. It was sort of weirdly normal. We were still essentially those same 4th grade girls - albeit less awkward and much more comfortable with our nerdiness.<br />
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We still liked each other. We still understood each other. <br />
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My kids loved hearing stories about our time in school....or even just how public school worked back then in rural Minnesota. Like, how the boys could drive their trucks to school, park it in the lot with their gun on their gun rack. Because they had gotten in a little hunting before school and planned to go out right after school, if they had time. No big deal.<br />
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My one and only experience with T.P-ing (I don't really know how to spell that...) was at one of T's sleep overs in high school. It was not a good experience for me. I am such a rule follower...aka...nerd, that I was terrified that we were going to get caught and arrested or get a stern talking to by somebodies mom or dad. I don't like to get in trouble. I don't even like the possibility of getting in trouble. So, I just sort of awkwardly crouched behind bushes and kept saying things like, "I think that is enough. That is good. Maybe we should go home now.", while everyone else gleefully chucked the rolls of toilet paper onto the trees.<br />
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It was sort of fun to know that I was basically the same person that I was back when I was a kid. You know? I have changed, but also, I haven't.<br />
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T stayed with us for about a week. We just went about our normal lives and she just went along with our flow. She even came to church with us and helped pack relief buckets for hurricane victims! Her fur babies never really warmed up to us or the house though. I don't know if it was because there are so many of us, or that we were too loud and moved too quickly. But, they stayed in her bedroom for 99% of the time.<br />
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(This is another Florida evacuee that was staying with a friend from church. Just cracks me up that they both ended up coming to help pack relief buckets with us.)<br />
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As a thank you gift for me, she ordered me these really cool rubber wine stopper things so I don't have to try to shove my cork back in the bottles now. I can be classy like other people!<br />
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She also wanted to thank L-girl who had given up her room for T. So, she surprised her and bought her the dress she wanted for Homecoming. L-girl was thrilled.<br />
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It was nice to have someone to talk....Minnesotan with that had also moved down south. It was fun talking about the things we have had to adjust to and things we thought were normal in Minnesota that are weird down here. LOL<br />
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<br />Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-2689747825410431962018-02-06T09:40:00.000-05:002018-02-06T09:45:02.211-05:00ThinkerIt may or may not surprise those of you who know me in real life, and, I guess, those of you who know me via my blog, that I am a thinker. Some may call me a deep thinker, but I suspect more would refer to me as an over thinker.<br />
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"<i>Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes, I just sits.</i>" - A.A. Milne (muttered by Winnie the Pooh)<br />
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<img alt="Image result for picture of pooh thinking" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1tJsit0-TCM/UhQIbdwSZcI/AAAAAAAAJLs/e4Vzc0z3TJo/s400/WinniethePoohimageCopyrightWaltDisneyStudios.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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<i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This image © The Walt Disney Studios</span></i><br />
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I really can't turn my brain off. Even when I am quiet, my mind is mulling over something or the other. Looking back, I am pretty sure both of my parents were also thinkers. I can remember my dad just sitting back and watching when the whole family would get together. He didn't talk much (unless you got him to talk about God or politics). But, he would just sort of sit there, looking over his brood, every now and then we would get a smirk, or the ever elusive and rare smile....with teeth. If you could get my dad to actually laugh out loud, it would give you an ego boost for years to come.<br />
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My mom is more of a quiet planner. She doesn't like to make moves or do anything until she is done thinking it over. Top to bottom. Left to right. Backwards and frontwards. She doesn't like to make a move on anything until she has thought it through and is ready. She talks more than my dad did and we can get her to laugh quite a bit. But, she will also be content just sitting and thinking, like my dad was.<br />
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I seem to have gotten both of their thinking proclivities. Depending on who you ask, that may or may not be a good thing. I have totally found myself sitting back and looking at my brood (plus my little extras that I watch) with that secret little smile on face, that I can totally remember seeing on his face and wondering what was going on in his mind. For me, it is a sense of peace and contentment. A sense that really as long as I have these people surrounding me, all will be right in the world. I wonder if he was thinking some of those same thoughts? I also do not like to make any moves until I am done thinking it through. (I don't even like to hang pictures in the house until I have thought through every possible place they <i>could</i> go and picked the best one. I don't want unnecessary nail holes, you know.)<br />
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The problem with my thinking comes in when you marry me off to Rainman. You have heard me say that he is one of the smartest people I know. He is. But, the man is not a big thinker. He is impulsive. He is a risk taker and likes to jump in. No thinking. No measuring. No pros and cons list. Gulp. He plans a trip and before that one has even gotten here, he is working on planning our next two. He spews dates, plans and hotels at me. My eyes glaze over. My upper lip breaks out in sweat. My ears totally tune him out. I do tell him that I can't think about it yet. But, he is so caught up in his excitement, that he can't contain himself.<br />
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I can't do it. I can't think about that until I am done with the most immediate thing, whether it be a work assignment, or an event at church. I have to finish that up. Put it behind me. Then I can move onto thinking about the next thing. This is sometimes where I wonder if I do actually have a <a href="http://www.shutthefridge.com/2014/08/the-whole-spaghetti-and-waffle-thing.html" target="_blank">waffle portion of my brain and that it isn't all spaghetti</a>.<br />
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I assume it is because my brain is such a thorough thinker that it is trying to save me by not having me have too much information and too many things to be processing at once. I know Rainman finds it annoying that I can't get excited about the next five trips he has planned, or even the next one, if he talks about it at the wrong time, but the very thought of it <i><u><b>truly</b></u></i> overwhelms me. Again, it is not that I don't enjoy traveling. It is not that I am incapable of letting loose and having fun. I do and I can.<br />
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I find myself now, just sitting and drinking my coffee and looking outside. Just like I used to see my mom do. I also find myself sitting outside reading. I can feel the sun on my face, the breeze on my skin and be able to hear the world around me. Just like I used to see my dad do.<br />
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Am I the best of both of them....or the worse of them? I guess it depends on who you ask. Ha!<br />
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I do know that I am not changing. Rainman still doesn't understand me. I can't seem to figure out a way to tell him that his incessant trip planning and planning and planning truly overwhelms my heart and soul. But, I assume that his planning and planning is just who he is also and he won't be changing anytime soon either.<br />
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We need to figure out a way for us both to be able to do our thing and not get in the others way. Wonder if that is possible?<br />
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My thinking has also been the thing that has stopped me from blogging more often. I actually have <b>lots</b> of stuff I would like to share with you guys. But, then, I start thinking.....will this or that hurt the kids feelings? Will this embarrass them? Will they misunderstand my motives? Will people think I am weird? Will trolls be mean to me?<br />
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So, I end up in a never ending thinking loop that I can't get out of. I am mentally paralyzed and don't do anything. My friend Kristy, though, actually sent me a message and said she had missed my writing and asked if I was going to start up again.<br />
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I know you will be shocked to know that I thought about it....and decided to try to jump in again. Even though there really is a piece of me that thinks, "Why would anybody care to spend time reading about my life, my thoughts, or my opinions?"<br />
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Honestly, this was way easier when my kids were younger. (That is not a sentence you hear very often, is it?) They were just <b><i>my</i></b> little people...not really their own just yet. Does that make sense?<br />
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I absolutely have thoughts, feelings and opinions on teenagers and the world around us, but because they are older now, I hesitate to share our stories for the world to see. So, I am stuck. I am not a food blogger or a home improvement blogger. I am not even a homeschool blogger anymore, even though I am still 100% behind homeschooling.<br />
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If you have stuck with me and continued reading this, I will end with saying, I am going to try not to overthink and blog a little bit more. It truly is a fun way to document our lives and the funny things the kids have said or done. Sometimes, I will go back and read some of my old posts and had totally forgotten some of the stories and cute things the kids did. It is fun. Makes me feel bad that I am not doing as good of a job for my younger three as I did for the older three. (just like with their actual scrapbooks....those poor children!)<br />
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I am going to try to do better. That is all.<br />
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<br />Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-4481656338457562262017-11-16T10:27:00.001-05:002017-11-16T10:27:47.984-05:00My Version of a Mid-Life Crisis....ApparentlySo, I did something. A few things, actually.<br />
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After I did them, my sister said, "Changing it up in your 50's!"<br />
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I honestly hadn't thought about it as an aging woman choice, just a wanting a change choice.<br />
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But, now that I look at it, I guess it is my version of a mid-life crisis. I just didn't get a hot new car or a hot new man and leave my husband and kids. LOL<br />
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So, here is what I did...I went from this:<br />
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(I still say I had pretty hair, but...)</div>
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To this:</div>
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Fun and sassy. </div>
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However, apparently that wasn't enough for me, so a few weeks later, I went back and did this:</div>
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Instead of a little red sports car, I got a sassy, little, red hairdo!<br />
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I am loving it. Rainman loves it. The kids love it. My mother-in-law even loved it and said it made me look younger.<br />
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I will take that!<br />
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<br />Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-30172251438846999202017-10-26T12:07:00.000-04:002017-10-26T12:07:22.438-04:00Happy Anniversary RainmanRainman and I have been married for 21 years today.<br />
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Really a crazy thought to me. Sort of like I don't feel 50. I also don't feel like I am someone that has been married for over 20 years, like a real grown up.<br />
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Marriage is really something else, isn't it?<br />
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Fantastic at times.<br />
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Not so fantastic at times.<br />
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Annoying..... much of the time.<br />
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But, I wouldn't have it any other way.<br />
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I am currently in an annoyed state of mind with Rainman. Nothing major. Just lots of little things. I have learned, in my old age, that these things are cyclical and shall pass. So, I sort of silently go along with life. <br />
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Honestly, usually he doesn't even notice.<br />
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But, of course, he turned to me in bed a few nights ago and said, "Hey, what's wrong? You mad at me?"<br />
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To which, I internally rolled my eyes and said (inside of my head), "Seriously...right now, at 11:00 at night. Now is the time you actually pay attention and notice that I am perturbed at you?!?!?"<br />
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Outloud, I actually said something like, "Just sort of annoyed, in general." He then wanted to know if he had done something "new" to annoy me or if it was the same old, same old. Ha!<br />
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I admitted that it was nothing new. He pecked me on the cheek. Rolled over and went to sleep.<br />
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It totally makes me laugh today.<br />
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Because that is how marriage is.<br />
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You are annoyed.<br />
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You are angry.<br />
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You are teamed up with this person, so, buckle up, get over it, and move on.<br />
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My Facebook memories thing popped up with <a href="http://www.shutthefridge.com/2015/10/love-is.html" target="_blank">this post</a> that I wrote 2 years ago for our anniversary.<br />
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Aren't I just the gushiest female you have ever met? Bwaaahaahaha!<br />
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Every word of it is true though.<br />
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I know this man loves me.<br />
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I hope he knows that I love him.<br />
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But, man oh man, that guy can rub me the wrong way sometimes. I do wonder if there are marriages out there that aren't like that. The ones that are married to their best friends. I don't know. Maybe I am being too pessimistic about a marriage partnership. But, I don't think so. I think we are human and I think we can all be jerks sometimes, even to our best friends, so, my version of a happy, successful marriage feels much more realistic.<br />
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Does that stop me from having the occasional fleeting thought .....<i>you would think after 21 years, that man would know me a bit better. </i><br />
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Nope.<br />
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But, I will say this: We have a happy marriage. We have a healthy marriage. I do not want to be married to anyone else besides Rainman.<br />
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However.....<br />
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Do I always feel understood?<br />
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No.<br />
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I think this might be the biggest reason that I will admit that I am NOT married to my best friend. Rainman does not understand me. He certainly understands pieces of me and can sometimes predict how I will react to something. Sometimes. But, he doesn't really understand me, my thought processes, my feelings about many things, or what makes me tick. Is that part of being a mysterious woman? I don't know. He tries, sometimes and other times, I know he just throws his hands in the air and gives up on ever understanding the frustrating, inscrutable woman that I am!<br />
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Do I always feel cherished?<br />
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No.<br />
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But, I bet he doesn't always feel cherished either. I think this is the good and bad thing about being in a good marriage. You take each other for granted. You don't really worry about the other one getting so sick of you that they will leave. We are confident in each other and our marriage, so we don't always "try" super hard. We just let our hair down and don't worry about the consequences. But, as I am typing this, I am thinking....I wish he wouldn't let his hair down quite so much....which then led to me thinking....I suppose he is probably thinking the same thing about me.<br />
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Shoot.<br />
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I am going to have to work at this marriage thing too. <br />
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It is so much easier to see the areas where a relationship isn't super great. It is probably very easy to allow yourself to think that someone else would understand you better or love you more fully. <br />
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But, I think that is a big crock. It isn't realistic. Love really is a choice. I know, I know. Total cliche. But, for our marriage, and for most good marriages, it is true. It has to be. We choose to be together. <br />
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For good or bad. In sickness and in health. For skinny or for fat. For they "get me" or they don't. For hurt feelings or not. For P. U. <a href="http://www.shutthefridge.com/2011/06/i-love-spice.html" target="_blank"> to Old Spice</a>. For we are rolling in dough to we are drowning in debt.<br />
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I know when push comes to shove, Rainman will have my back. I hope he knows I have his too. <br />
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There are times that I know he is doing things simply because he loves me and wants to make me happy. I do have a tendency to take those for granted and just accept them at face value and as my due. <br />
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Like, this house. Although Rainman and the rest of the kids are now also completely in love with this house, it was <i>my</i> desire for a home that worked better for our family, that started it all. They were content where we were and didn't think much about having anything else. But, Rainman, knew I wasn't happy there and he wanted me to be happy. (Again, not that a house can make or break your happiness... but, those of you that have seen me in both houses, totally understand what I am talking about.)<br />
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The little ways that Rainman loves me are things as simple as keeping my van full of gas, doing most of the grocery shopping or not being annoyed when I come up with a new gadget or eating plan (never cheap) that is going to finally help me lose all this weight. He doesn't outwardly roll his eyes or say anything about the cost. He just says, "okay" and figures out a way for it to fit into the budget. Meanwhile, the man continues to love me just the same as he would if I were a size 8 again.<br />
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The little ways that I love Rainman can probably be easily overlooked too. Cooking. Cleaning. Doing the laundry and folding his clothes the way he wants them and not the way I want them. The typical housewife type things. I don't do them because I love them and feel super fulfilled by them. I do them because I love him....and the kids....and I want this home to be a peaceful haven for them. <br />
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It is what you do when you love someone. Try to think about them as much as you think about yourself, and maybe, just maybe, a little bit more than you think about yourself.<br />
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I am trying. I probably fail more times that I succeed. But, I am trying. Rainman and I have tried for the last 21 years and will do it for the next 21 years. <br />
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Choose to love each other....warts and all.<br />
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<br />Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-20518253521085180632017-10-18T10:03:00.001-04:002017-10-18T13:11:14.926-04:00Whiny Curmudgeon Alert<i>This post has been sitting in draft form on my blog since last spring. I was reminded about it last night when Rainman told me that we have to bring stuff to share with my high school daughter's team this weekend. Then he informed me that the last time everyone brought drinks/snacks to share, the kids hardly even touched them. I practically shouted at the poor man. "So, what is the point? Why can't everyone just bring their own stuff?!?" Which sparked my memory of this post I wrote and apparently wasn't brave enough to publish last spring. I am feeling feisty today, so here you go:</i><br />
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Okay, I can't control myself. I have to vent a little here.<br />
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Why?<br />
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Why do kids need "snacks" for their sporting events.<br />
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Why do 12 year olds all the way up to 18 year olds, need mommies and daddies to sign up to bring "snacks" to the little darlings?<br />
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I am using snacks on quotation marks because apparently in some circles, snacks actually means meals. <br />
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We have numerous kids in sports. Already a fairly expensive endeavor when you factor in fees, sports physicals, and any equipment that the athlete needs. Now add in the fact that transportation needs to be provided to and from "away" events (although there have been 2 where they have actually been able to ride a bus). Also. add in that of the 3 kids in a sport this current season, somehow their games all seem to be on the same night and around the same time. Rainman works many of those nights, so there have literally been times that I was supposed to be 3 different places at 3 different times.<br />
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So, yes, I am already a bit ticked off about sports. Now, add in the expectation that I am supposed to not only feed my own 6 kids, but the team and in some cases, the coaches. I believe the magic number for one team was to feed 25 people.<br />
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For the 12 year old, the expectation is actually a snack....no quotation marks. But, my problem is the same: Why? Why can't I just give a snack or meal to my own child?<br />
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The reasoning for the high school team "snack" is that they get out of school and then have to head to their game. This is where I begin rolling my eyes, just like a teenager, and say, "So, what?"<br />
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My question, albeit said under my breathe (because apparently I am the only non-Stepford parent in these parts), during the meeting where I was informed of this requirement, was......why can't they just pack themselves a sack lunch on game days? Why can't they make themselves a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, throw in a bag of chips and a Gatorade and call it a day. Feed themselves what they would like and what they will actually eat. They have shown they are responsible and can actually....gasp.....feed themselves. Their parents don't have to take out a loan in order to feed the team, or take off of work or make arrangements for the food to be delivered to the school at the appropriate time.<br />
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To me, this is just lunacy. <br />
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Why do high schoolers still have a snack list for their parents to be involved in?<br />
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Why does a 12 year old team have a snack list?<br />
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It is idiotic.<br />
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It is.<br />
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I love my kids.<br />
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I want my kids to do well, in life, in sports, in love.<br />
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But, geez Louise, they can feed themselves if they need to.<br />
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My precious little snowflakes will survive if they have to snarf down a slightly squished PB&J and not a hot Chic-Fil-A sandwich or something before their game. <br />
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It may surprise people to know that I was once an athlete. I was also a frequent participant in dramatic shows and competitions. I also competed in vocal productions and competitions. <br />
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My mom never had to bring snacks for me or the "team". Ever.<br />
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Was she asked to volunteer at fundraisers. Yes. Did she have to drive me back and forth constantly. Not really. I will admit that she had to do it occasionally, but in the olden days, there were buses for that, or it pretty much didn't happen. She also did not attend my "away" activities (but that is a whole other blog rant).<br />
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We also planned ahead and either had a big lunch at school on game day or threw in an extra sandwich for later, to hold us over. Then, when we got home, we snarfed down whatever we could find.<br />
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Our church also asks parents to volunteer a few times a year to bring a "snack" for the youth group on Sunday nights. Yes, I am again using "snack" in quotation marks. Yes, I understand the idea in theory, but I wonder what is wrong with them eating when they get home at 6:30 or 7:00. You know? I do not volunteer very often because of a few reasons:<br />
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Number one: The concept annoys me. (Surprise. Ha!) <br />
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Number two: Those kids waste a LOT of food. (I have a thing about wasted food. Ask anyone who has met me). I serve a plate of food and then 15 minutes later when they are cleaning up to start playing their games, I see a full plate being thrown in the trash. We paid good money for that food and could use it at home if you aren't going to eat it. Don't take it if you don't want it. Which brings me to...<br />
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Number three: Money. Rainman and I are working hard for our money. Money that I would like to decide where it is to be used. We give quite a bit to charity. We tithe. I don't really want to include a budget item for feeding other people's kids every month. Feeding my own costs enough. I am okay feeding my own kids. I am also okay if my kids skip a meal every now and again. When you start adding up all the extra money, it is not cheap. Especially, if you happen to have more than 1 or 2 kids. <br />
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I just don't understand what has happened to our society where this expectation is normal. Where it is up to me to make sure my kid (and every other kid on the team) has enough energy or hydration to compete in their chosen sport. If you, as a grown up, have a meeting from 5 to 7 p.m., don't you use common sense and say, have a snack at home before hand to hold yourself over and them eat a later dinner...or another snack when you get home? Is that so awful?<br />
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Guess what? If they are stupid enough not to know to fuel their body before the big game, maybe they shouldn't be playing in the first place.<br />
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And, before you get started, this is not one of those situations where....<i>this might be the only good meal these kids get in a day</i>.....it just isn't. <br />
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Again, I must say.....why? Why are we taking every little inconvenience out of our children's lives? And, in the process of that, completely inconveniencing ourselves! Ridiculous. But, somehow, I seem to be the only parent who thinks this way. Or, perhaps the only one stupid enough to put it in print and publicize it.<br />
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I think we are doing a huge disservice to our kids. They need to figure out to do little things like, do their homework and plan ahead to complete assignments. They need to figure out how and when they are going to feed themselves, when necessary. They even need to know how to do their own laundry, fill out their taxes and that things like car insurance and cell phones cost a lot of money.<br />
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You know what else costs money? Food.<br />
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<br />Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-20608258709548986212017-10-12T12:33:00.000-04:002017-10-12T12:33:21.263-04:00V-girl Turns 8...oh yeah, and I Turn....50!Gulp.<br />
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I really, really cannot believe either of those facts. Didn't I just have V-girl? Yes, I was considered to be of advanced maternal age with her during the pregnancy (actually, I think I was considered advanced maternal age for at least 4 of my children!)<br />
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I do not feel 50 (although, seriously, once the birthday happened, various body parts started being mysteriously sore for no reason....)<br />
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I feel, maybe 30-ish. Definitely in the "I am a grown up" phase of life, but not the middle aged dowager portion that I am actually in. <br />
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My birthday came just as we were moving into our new house. So, I spent it unpacking. A-girl and L-girl had already started school. Rainman had to work. I was torn between selfishly still wanting a fuss to made over me....and saying "oh, goodness, we are all so busy and this new house is all the present I need, dearies." (But, come on, the house is for all of us, not just me....)<br />
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But, I will be honest. I wanted the fuss. I didn't get it.<br />
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I got this at like 8:30 or 9:00 at night, when I had already taken my bra off (notice the strategically placed cake in front of the saggies) and put on my pajamas. So, yes, thank you, I guess I DO look 50. <br />
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Rainman also brought home Chinese food, which is one of my favorites.<br />
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My two little girls gave me a hand made coupon book filled with foot rub and back rub coupons. My friend, Sherri, gave me some cute stationary. That was it. I get that my birthday isn't the most monumental occasion in anyone's world, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit disappointed in how my birthday played out.<br />
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Okay, enough old lady whining.<br />
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V-girl turned 8 on the day of the eclipse. Oh, my was she excited for the big event. (which ended up being a huge letdown for her - I know how you feel, sweetie)<br />
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D-man came home the weekend before her birthday so they could have a special day together since he wouldn't be here for the usual family celebration.<br />
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He took this picture of her getting to choose whatever she wanted on their birthday date. 😍<br />
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She was happy with all her birthday goodies.<br />
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We "watched" the partial eclipse through our homemade viewers. I thought I had ordered eclipse glasses, but my order was never completed. I think it would have made the viewing much more enjoyable if we could have just looked right at the sun. :( <br />
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For my grown up self, it was still pretty cool when things got a little....dim.....but, not the spectacular event that my kids were envisioning. D-man, who ended up (skipping classes) driving to see the eclipse in totality, was the only one who was and continues to be blown away with what he saw that day. <br />
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Happy Birthday to V-girl who, literally and figuratively, whips through our lives adding fun and joy wherever she goes.Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-71209741139106140952017-10-11T12:56:00.001-04:002017-10-11T12:56:06.938-04:00I Don't Know Where September Went....I had fully intended to get back into the routine of blogging more regularly. If for nothing else, than to keep my own pictures and memories of the kids and our lives straight. Now that I have a smart phone, I am finding that I update my family a bit more but just shooting them pictures in a text of stuff the kids are doing and not by writing blog posts.<br />
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But, I miss writing. I miss spending time forcing my brain to analyze my thoughts and feelings about our life events.<br />
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So, I am trying again.<br />
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But, these first few are going to end up being random, stuff all jumbled together with little to no rhyme or reason. Fair warning.<br />
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V-girl got her 3rd grade Bible this year. <br />
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Once we actually found the boxes that had our school in it, we were off and running. Now that we have an actual "library" space at our house, we are doing a lot more reading. Yay!<br />
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I gave S-girl and V-girl bangs. They look so stinking old.<br />
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S-girl has starting golfing, just like big sister, A-girl. She has also started winning in her age range.<br />
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I just realized that everything I just talked about happened in August, and I still haven't touched on the three August birthdays we had! So, apparently, I don't really know what happened to August or September!<br />
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<br />Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-25099180750119283052017-08-22T09:04:00.000-04:002017-08-22T09:04:06.191-04:00Normal UpdatesIt is time for just some normal "life" updates. In July, we took a road trip up to Minnesota and Indiana to see both sides of our family. Here are some random shots.<br />
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V-girl and my mom.</div>
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We went to the best movie theater I have ever been to. Ever. It is this cute, sort of french cobblestone street theme inside. The seats are super comfy. The tickets and popcorn are super cheap (compared to the Atlanta area) AND they have a bar where you can order adult beverages and bring them into the movie with you! It was great. </div>
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D-man met us here, since he rode my with sister, but apparently I didn't take any pictures after he got there. Oops.</div>
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The scene by my mom's new townhouse. Beautiful, quiet view of the Mississippi River.<br />
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I have to laugh after any of our road trips. I know that we all love babies around here, but when I see my camera after road trips, it is just kid after kid after kid, with baby after baby after baby. Makes me laugh.<br />
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Poor little tiny L-girl was so over us by this point! Ha!</div>
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When we got back it was time for A-girl senior pictures.<br />
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I will leave it at that for now and bring you more normal life updates soon!Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-20842334279677132802017-08-15T12:07:00.003-04:002017-08-15T12:08:43.801-04:00Finally Settled In<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We are in our new house and honestly, we couldn't be happier.
This place has felt like home since the very beginning - even amidst the
mess and boxes and the chaos after closing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We closed a few weeks after we
had planned because of the easement title issues that surfaced as part of that
whole paperwork stuff that goes with buying/selling property. We thought
we had it all worked out. We lived with our friends for a little over a
week, so our renters could move into our old place. We closed and were
set to take possession at 5:00 the following day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But, the people we were buying
from, the M family, ended up having an issue with when they could take
possession of their house. Someone didn't sign something/didn't pay
attention to the dates and so there was a misunderstanding with the homeowners
of the home they were moving into. Did you follow that? They
weren't out of the house when they were supposed to be, nor did they have any
intention of hurrying up so the M family could get in. It was crazy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">So, the M family told us to go
ahead and move in as we had planned since most of their stuff was already
loaded on the trucks and trailers and what wasn't could just be pushed aside.
So, we did. (Remember 99% of our stuff was already loaded into the
basement of the new house since we had to get out early) I think we all
expected that the M family would be on their way in a few hours. We put
our food in the garage fridge/freezer and they kept theirs in the kitchen, since
they didn't have anyplace to actually put their food without it going bad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">However, we were all wrong
about it being a few hours before they could get into their new house.
It ended up being a few days later. They were here (they slept at their
realtor's house). We were here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The craziest thing was that it
didn't even feel that weird around here. I can't really explain it.
One of my friends was over when the M family was in the backyard, then
the garage, and eventually in the kitchen, cleaning their food out of the
fridge. She turned to me at one point and said, "This is weird,
isn't it?" For me, it really wasn't. As strange as it sounds,
we sort of became friends with the people we bought the house from. We
actually like them, and I think the feeling is mutual.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">One of the days where we were
both sort of co-living in the house, L-girl and their teenage sons got off the
school bus together at the end of our new driveway, since their parents were
hanging around here waiting for word that they could get into their new house.
It really confused the bus driver. She thought for sure that
L-girl, the new girl, had made a mistake and was getting off at the wrong
stop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But, we were all weirdly
comfortable together. Rainman and D-man helped them load things into the
truck and when they finally were able to get into their new house, D-man and
A-man helped them move. For real. The M family actually donated
their old couch and chair that they didn't need in their new house to D-man for
his first apartment at school this year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMe18MW86_fqpMC4GEfJnQjfPeziFUz9G5vkEQXuFojqpX_l4V97X_g68INtAbanB_uM6Mo_dHOZfck8T9kEQkVp7Jrpr1W_PiUoH3eoGT6XAZ4-h9w2CXIgq1SUEXArbd0aRVPE78tFY/s1600/IMG_7234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMe18MW86_fqpMC4GEfJnQjfPeziFUz9G5vkEQXuFojqpX_l4V97X_g68INtAbanB_uM6Mo_dHOZfck8T9kEQkVp7Jrpr1W_PiUoH3eoGT6XAZ4-h9w2CXIgq1SUEXArbd0aRVPE78tFY/s320/IMG_7234.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="separator" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQVvuURsQaSye1lXDIfuxAFmC-qSSNPgslKOHV4qbVS3N6rasvjUzNjIN0RXCoAjaXc14qs2KyQzf_dn7sB-pt4bY1e1z1olaknZ24bsPx63vf0H8KO7MjdvdX0lcAdQainpOfij2KhxM/s1600/IMG_7234.JPG" imageanchor="1"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 13.5pt;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75"
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<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">(If this doesn't
scream bachelor apartment, nothing does!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">After the final trip of getting
them all set in their new house, D-man came home and said, "I really like
the M family. They are just so nice. I mean, I am even on a first
name basis with the grandparents." I knew what he meant. We
were all comfortable with them. I was fine with A-man being alone with
their family on their final moving days.( D-man was back at school and Rainman
was working....and I was busy working here.) Hard to explain it. I
will just say that it definitely felt like a God thing and that He had brought
us together with this other family. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I have to be honest. I love
this house so much that I feel a little bad that the M family had to leave it
and doesn't get to live here anymore. To make myself feel less guilty
about loving it so much, I have to believe that they left because they <b><i>really</i></b> <b><i>wanted</i></b> to
leave and move to their new house. You know?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Some of them stopped by the
other day to drop off a few things that they had of ours and pick up a few
things that they had accidentally left here. I said how much I loved the
house and how it felt like "home" immediately. Later I kicked
myself for saying something so stupid/insensitive in front of the former
owners. This was their home for 10 years. I just really, really
hope that they are having these same kinds of feelings at their new place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But, oh my word, I love it
here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I was sitting outside after
dinner the other night with a few of the kids and Rainman. I turned to
them and said, "I love it here. I. Love. It. Here." Then
we laughed, because it has been fairly obvious to everyone how I feel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It is beautiful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It is peaceful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It is quiet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">There are deer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">There are stars galore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I actually sat outside in my
pjs the other night reading for awhile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I sit outside all the time
here. Sometimes I read. Sometimes I drink wine. Sometimes I
just sit and look and listen to God's world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It is fantastic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Here are some random pictures
from our first few weeks here:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOkCSuSK00pD5kDuSGPugPKZI3FEtrqLTio4xGdCsXSiii8nHMOwRaEEFOvsfAhJuTZAIzA_a0OE0frNkCESlYcR6rCFRgtbG305Py5nNdFVQMsqHL3paZLopITHJ8Q6pgv-oEmRap6U/s1600/IMG_3310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOkCSuSK00pD5kDuSGPugPKZI3FEtrqLTio4xGdCsXSiii8nHMOwRaEEFOvsfAhJuTZAIzA_a0OE0frNkCESlYcR6rCFRgtbG305Py5nNdFVQMsqHL3paZLopITHJ8Q6pgv-oEmRap6U/s640/IMG_3310.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="separator" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">First morning visit by a deer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnO7Sdu5NfM2LLBOUNGhmpQvxLqdSJy4EWo53jq-KmyhD7LN3dzKV3fRyD837hQa2IBdxaIEsnGSJH0W_NPHBvh83AyzzTFjODRedQYzVQbcuSlE1ZQ2uQ0gZJn6qeXi3e9jMLm6Khk0/s1600/IMG_3355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnO7Sdu5NfM2LLBOUNGhmpQvxLqdSJy4EWo53jq-KmyhD7LN3dzKV3fRyD837hQa2IBdxaIEsnGSJH0W_NPHBvh83AyzzTFjODRedQYzVQbcuSlE1ZQ2uQ0gZJn6qeXi3e9jMLm6Khk0/s400/IMG_3355.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">A-girl and F-girl LOVE this
house and being able to run around outside and keep on an eye on the goings on
in the backyard, whether it is deer or people playing baseball.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">This is A-man and the M family dad playing baseball on one of the
days we sort of co-lived in the house. LOL <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">This is my view when I wash dishes now. My view at our old
house was of a wall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">My little girls have opened a
library at this house. They have hours. They have applications for
library cards and actual library cards. It is cute. It makes me
very happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I sent this next picture to
D-man after he had moved back to college.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">To which his response was
"Laaaaaame! You need to do that the next time I come home and all
the other times after that." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I used to bake all the time.
I used to have a cookie jar filled with cookies. The last few years
it had become only cakes for birthdays and at Christmas time to make our
cookies that we hand out to friends when we go caroling. Baking used to
be one of my favorite things to do. But, at the old house....it just
wasn't fun anymore. I never "felt" like baking. I only
did it when I had to do it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Hoping this becomes a regular
site again at our house. (Although my hips, thighs, tummy, and butt, are
probably hoping that it isn't!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEk40Zn01iNsSaU4yKo2Tad-4hNLzwpirOSVmIT8O9SGdo_Yalprj1IX4Mb3fiYjqT8TqPjCMQzKfFiM3xDe94K228gyOwHzE5IziKlSqA0YP9r2mobae0x4DYrSTc8c70YjWyBvH9Tn8/s1600/IMG_3383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEk40Zn01iNsSaU4yKo2Tad-4hNLzwpirOSVmIT8O9SGdo_Yalprj1IX4Mb3fiYjqT8TqPjCMQzKfFiM3xDe94K228gyOwHzE5IziKlSqA0YP9r2mobae0x4DYrSTc8c70YjWyBvH9Tn8/s640/IMG_3383.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">To put it simply, I am happy
here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58983914594391218.post-8781339950552601692017-08-01T07:36:00.000-04:002017-08-01T07:36:01.602-04:00A Move, And Then, AnotherAhhhh.....it is happening.<br />
<br />
Our move has begun. Our closing ended up being postponed a few times due to title/land easement problems. Plans had to change. So, a little over a week ago, thanks to the kindness of the sellers, all of our "stuff" got moved into the basement of our new house. The eight of us, however, moved into the basement of our ever so generous (or stupid) friends M and S. <br />
<br />
Our renters, who are planning to do a lease purchase of our house, moved in a few days ago. They do not appear to be scam artists or liars. They just seem like a nice family. Praise the Lord, and...fingers crossed.<br />
<br />
My excitement about getting into the new house is somewhat dampened by the fact that it took us about 2.5 days to get everything out of our house and hauled over to the basement of our new place. Then we had another day or two cleaning up the old place (that sadly, involved yet ANOTHER dumpster!) Some of you may be interested to note that I did not have really one slightly sad or sentimental feeling about leaving the old house. Not one. We shall see if that lasts (I think it is going to)<br />
<br />
We are exhausted. And, now, we have to go and move all our stuff again into its proper spot in the new house. When we started loading things inside of the basement, we sort of had a plan. You know, kitchen stuff over here, clothes over here, kids stuff and toys over here, but, boy, oh boy, by the end, we were just shoving stuff wherever we could find a spot and stacking stuff on top of stuff. Seriously, there is a little path from the door to the stairs and that is it.<br />
<br />
There will be no rhyme or reason to how we actually move into the new place, even though I have cute, colored coded labels on my boxes this time. I have already given myself permission to let it take awhile to get settled. But, you know and I know that once I am in there, I am just going to want to bang it all out and get it done. Plus, I am going to need to do crazy things like feed my family and wear clothing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIE8SUBIObrWW-G_RIuXvG6F6NCaFaSGQthdGA9GvoRdRrxWrfkDVxLUZAksx9_dvdVBZxY79Ii02UMmmtLgmWZnu9RhXWYpu0iMLNIaRCx2qyfD7HrjLZkSpHghpAvkvt8s31SD9nD3k/s1600/first+day+of+school+2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIE8SUBIObrWW-G_RIuXvG6F6NCaFaSGQthdGA9GvoRdRrxWrfkDVxLUZAksx9_dvdVBZxY79Ii02UMmmtLgmWZnu9RhXWYpu0iMLNIaRCx2qyfD7HrjLZkSpHghpAvkvt8s31SD9nD3k/s400/first+day+of+school+2017.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(First day of school pictures in front of our generous friend's front door)</div>
<br />
The public schools down here start classes started yesterday, which meant that A-girl and L-girl had first day of school stuff at our friends house and will come home to our new empty, messy house on Tuesday and then will try to make order of their space AND most importantly find their school clothes. Oh, yeah, and do their homework too.<br />
<br />
Our home school for the past few years has also just basically mirrored the public school calendar. It was just easier for all the kids to be somewhat on the same schedule whether they were learning at home or not. However, all of my curriculum and school supplies are currently buried in boxes in our new basement. Who knows how soon I will be able to get to them and find what we need, so school for the three youngest is postponed until further notice, even though we are all (even the students) looking forward to doing school at the new house!<br />
<br />
I am starting to let myself get excited for our new home. But, first, I have to get our friends house clean, do a bunch of sheet/towel laundry and put her home back into order, then we are doing a big grocery and Costco run this afternoon. (See above note on feeding these people I live with.) We get possession of the new house at 5:00 today. Just enough time to put up our beds and hopefully grab a few boxes before heading to bed.<br />
<br />
Tomorrow, I have to be up at 4:30, Rainman has to be up at 5:30, A-girl and L-girl have to be up at 6:30 and D-man has to be up by 7:15 for our various jobs or school. So, no late night unpacking will be allowed.<br />
<br />
I really do have high hopes that once we are in the house, we are all going to be very happy and feel at home (even the reluctant teenagers). I will share some pictures in the coming weeks so you can see why I love this new house. <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzUiKRTCA9jFc4LBr_SM4Faf6tHDqKAtMirfmAWaaacDF_18psL8z6YQvLIpvf5NYOEuFaB9D57TdQoPp1HHWy7dTNH-cdm6cLeVcM2Ya6Z-1zl619nX5Ssc2gucInmByP0-IsJBIkAbU/s1600/overhead+view+butler+bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="550" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzUiKRTCA9jFc4LBr_SM4Faf6tHDqKAtMirfmAWaaacDF_18psL8z6YQvLIpvf5NYOEuFaB9D57TdQoPp1HHWy7dTNH-cdm6cLeVcM2Ya6Z-1zl619nX5Ssc2gucInmByP0-IsJBIkAbU/s400/overhead+view+butler+bridge.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Kaylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05786734257690659413noreply@blogger.com0