why I haven't blogged

THINK GREEN

This is what I've been up to.  A Think Green Initiative at our school is in full swing and because I am chair (why did I want to be chair again?), I have been up to the school almost as much as my kids.  I have also been at the computer going through names and emails because we are going to Email Correspondence instead of hard copies of notes.  About 75% of the families are on board which is great, but that means I am seeing names in my sleep.  Besides that, I am excited.  We are also doing a Mile of Magazine Drive through the month of November and December.  We need to collect 5600 magazines.  That is 8 per child.  I have about 40 here at the house, so my kids are more than covered.

What else? 

Two of my good friends and neighbors are moving away.  What makes it worse is that they have kids who are good buddies with my boys.  So we have been sad around here.  Very happy for them and their new opportunities but sad that we won't see them in the everyday setting anymore. 

We are winding down our sports for the fall.  Noah wanted to play basketball in the winter, but I promised we would find something fun to do if we didn't.  Does that make me a bad mom?  I don't think so.  I just think we need a break.  Going to 2 different practices and 2 games a week is tiring. 

So that is why I haven't been blogging.  I'm too busy thinking green.  And being sad.  And driving kids around. 

checking in

I am well!  My kids are well!  We are enjoying these last two weeks of October.  I'll have a make-up post with pictures, I promise, but right now I just wanted you to know that we aren't sick anymore.  Yay!

hello

Last week, when I found the quote above this post, I laughed. 

This week, I am not laughing anymore. 

Whatever "not feeling well" is, I had it.  I am feeling better today and Noah is on the mend as well.  He, too, had the piggy flu and now has an ear infection on top of it.  Thankfully, Seth took care of the boys when I was feeling my worst and a sweet friend brought us chicken noodle soup from Panera (the best ever).  But I have to say that quote is so true.  Kids don't care if you are sick.

I want to also take this time to give a big cyber hug to my friends Holly and Justin.  I hope you know we love you!

Although October hasn't been the best month for us, it is a month of celebration for my family. 

• My nephew's birthday is today.  He is 9!  Happy Birthday Nicolas!*
• My dad's birthday is tomorrow.  Happy Birthday to Dad!*
• My grandmother's 90th birthday is Saturday!*  My mom is having a party for her. 90.  Wow.  That is amazing.

Have a good day and here's hoping for a day out of the house.  At least for Noah and me.**

*Because of said "not feeling wellness," all birthday cards will be late. Sorry.
**It is Fall Break today and Friday for the boys.  As if we needed a break.  Because my kids have missed half a week of school each, they I am not feeling the excitement of a Fall Break.  I am sure we'll find something fun to do. 

wishes

The other night I was wishing, wishing that Noah hadn't gotten sick like his brother, exactly one week later, on a Saturday, and that led me to thinking about how I really like wishing.

As a child, I made many wishes.  I would wait for an apppropriate time of course--the first star of the night sky, blowing out the birthday candles but later realized that just wasn't enough.  So I found out that if an eyelash falls out and you find it, you can make a wish and then blow your eyelash into the wind.  Blowing dandelions was another good time to make a wish.  Then, I admit, I got a little carried away.  If I saw 11:11 on the clock, I would make a wish.  If our car drove over a bridge at the exact time a train went under it, it was wishing time.  If I was eating a bag of peanut M&Ms and came across an M&M without the peanut inside, I would make a wish.  As you can see, I did make it a little hard for me to find opportunities to wish.  I knew it couldn't be very easy; that I had to work for it.  (Imagine my disappointment when I looked at the clock at 11:12, or after begging inside my head for Mom to drive faster, we just missed the train or eating a whole bag of peanut M&Ms and they all had peanuts).

I wish that I could tell you that I stopped doing all of that when I grew up to be an adult.  I wish I could tell you I was a bit embarrassed that I didn't stop.  But those wishes weren't made on any of the criteria I have for wishing, so sorry, it just won't happen.  :)  Although now, I do most of my wishing at night when I can't sleep.

To me, wishes are hopes, little prayers and dreams.  Why would anyone want to stop that? I remember a year ago I read a book (and I think I talked about it on this blog) about a woman making three wishes that she hoped would come true in a year.  The thing about her wishes, though, was that she just didn't make them in the one-star night.  She thought about it, she wrote them down, she made a sculpture of what she wanted to see in her life and she even sought those things out. 

I thought about that as I was wishing the other night in my bed.  How do I go about making my wishes (or little prayers) become a reality?

• I wish I could be the kind of mom that has breakfast ready for the kids before they get out of bed.
• For that to happen, I am going to have to be the one to get out of bed earlier than I currently do. 
• I wish I could get those Waste Management people to call me back and talk to me about a recycling contract for the school.
• I am going to have to sound more authoritative, less like someone who is easily pushed around.
• I wish I could sound more authoritative on the phone.
• I am going to have to practice.  Look, I admit, Dad, that I am a mumbler.  I also am no good on the phone.  Or with confrontation.  Or having a take charge kind of attitude.  I am cursed with being too nice. :)  But maybe this will be good for me. 

Those are just small wishes I have.  There are others, deeper and more personal. But talking about these wishes has made me want to think about those others.  Maybe I should do what the author of that book did.  Maybe I will write it down or draw a picture--something to remind me what I am striving for in my life.

Do you still wish?  Do you have funny ways of wishing (or is it just me)?  What is something you wish for this week?  I hope that whatever you wish for, it becomes a reality for you.

inspired!

...It is Friday!  Woohoo!  I think I want to do a Be Inspired Friday post today. It has been forever since I have done one but I finally upgraded my editor on the ole blog and it has a bullet option!  Perfect for a list-maker like me.  Side note:  Being a list-maker doesn't make one organized.  Just so you know. 

• See, isn't this cool?
• And so much easier!
• Art Display and Storage Box:   Bloesem Kids blog always has such great crafts that I find myself going here first if I ever need a rainy-day craft for the boys.  This Art Display and Storage box is such a great idea that I think we'll do it next time my kids say, "I'm bored." "Let's do something together Mom!" (Yeah, I have strikethrough now.  Isn't it awesome!)
• Kim Haynes is an Oklahoma based photographer who took photos of my whole family three years ago because a friend of a friend recommneded her.  I love looking at those pictures everyday and love going to her website to look at all her work. She is so talented and I am thinking it is about time to get some new pictures.  (hint,hint Seth)
• I love this idea:  A Recycled Gift Bow!  You can make it from old magazine pages or even old map pages.  This is such a fun idea.  I hope I remember to do this for Christmas.
• On a sad note:  My favorite cooking magazine, Gourmet, is shutting down.  I really wish I had helped them out by taking a subscription.  Instead, I relied on their website for wonderful, delicious dishes that impressed all my neighbors.  I bought their magazine on occasion and plan on buying their last issue in November (or is it this month?) and found it so enjoyable to read.  I understand the reasons for it shutting down production but I will miss the inspiration--especially when the website shuts down as well.

Have a great weekend!

you'll like this post

...So, have you noticed anything? :) I decided I was bored with my blog layout and did something about it. It helps when you can't go anywhere because your child is home sick.

Which leads me to this--Rhett is back at school today! Feeling good and dreading the homework he'll have!

The rest of this post is sort of a photo recap from the last few weeks. It is a modge-podge, so get ready:

For my birthday, the boys blew up balloons for me that morning. An even greater gift: Rhett learned how to tie balloons, so I didn't have to do anything! Yay!

Last week, I received a lovely little gift from my sister Krista. To show you what it was, I tried taking a picture of myself wearing it, but I kept closing my eyes because the flash! Picture after picture, I took, only to see in my viewfinder myself with eyes closed. So by this picture, I was laughing hard at myself:

After all of that, I realized, you couldn't even see the necklace that well, so this one I just took one of the necklace. It is probably the only picture I didn't blink:

Isn't the necklace adorable! It is a scrabble tile!! Krista bought it from etsy.com, a site I love because it has all kinds of handmade wonders. Thanks sis! I love it! I wear it whenever I have to take care of things for the Green Team PTA. Oh and good news on the Green Team front: The school is going paperless as far as school correspondence is concerned! All news that the principal or the PTA has for families will go out in an email instead of sending home 700 copies each week! So exciting!

Fast forward to last Friday: Seth surprised me with flowers! It was so sweet and unexpected. They were a little mound of colorful flowers like daisies and such. Two days later, I noticed another type of flower:
The tulips totally shot up and look like they are trying to escape! They were not like that when Seth brought them home. It gave us a great laugh. I have enjoyed the burst of color, especially since the weather has been grey and gloomy and we've been inside all week.
This next picture, I took on the way to Friona almost two weekends ago. I love taking pictures of the sky and this was just wonderful. It was of a heavy rain storm that we eventually drove through (or at least one like it). I love how you can see where it is raining and where it is not. It was more fun seeing it from afar than driving through a storm like this. I couldn't see a thing! Rhett was a little worried. He asked later, "Mom, how could you drive through that?" Good question.
I hope you have a great day. I am just so happy my kids are healthy that I know I will.

ramblings from the seat beside the sick bed

...Since Rhett is sick with the flu (yes, THE flu that everyone is talking about), we have been pretty much stuck inside for 4 days. Which isn't a bad thing because I've gotten all the laundry done and I haven't spent much money. So there is that.

Rhett doesn't like soup so I have been eating it for him. I ate Chicken Tortilla soup for 3 meals in a row and today for lunch, I had Chicken Noodle soup. Rhett has been drinking sprite, gatorade and eating Honey Nut Chex, without the milk. Seriously, that is all he will eat.

All Rhett wants to do is watch tv, so I've let him. I mean, what else is there to do when you feel bad? Right now I am making him try to take a nap because yesterday he didn't take one until he passed out at 5:30 and then didn't wake up again until the morning. I hear him moving around though, so that must mean he is starting to feel better because he is not wanting to go to sleep.

He does still have a slight fever which means he won't be going to school tomorrow. I dread that day. He will feel better by then (fingers crosses) and therefore will be bored the entire day. I'll have to think of something fun to do. But still relatively calm because he is supposed to rest.

I talked to my mom yesterday and she recalled the 6 weeks she was stuck inside the house while her four kids had the chicken pox, one at a time. 6 weeks. And this was before the Wii. Or the DS.

But that is what moms do. (Or dads). And that is all I've got to say today.