Amazing Texas Sky

I was driving home the other day about 4:30 and couldn't get over the sky. So naturally I pulled out my phone as I was driving down the curvy two lane FM Road and started taking pictures. I know, I know, not safe of me at all. I'm sorry.

But I couldn't help it. It just took my breath away. And I wanted to capture it so I could show it to my husband.




It's really to bad I didn't have my real camera, and wasn't actually driving you know. But I will take these small glimpses of heaven from God anytime I can. Even while driving.

Oh No He Didn't....(as my son says with attitude)

I'm a little ticked off today. Okay really a lot ticked off. I had a comment left on my FB page from someone I haven't talked to in 20 years. Instead of the normal hey, great to see you comment. It was something more offensive. Not to mention completely untrue. So I immediately deleted it after it had been up for about an hour. Then I sent a private email to the "friend" asking what gives? Now if this was just a joking around comment, it was in very poor taste. Especially since it's been so long and I've obviously lost my sense of humor. So I'm waiting to hear back, if I even will to find out what that was all about. Obviously this guy has forgotten that I am not one of those people to take rude comments like that and just ignore them. So yes, I'm ticked off and considering for the first time ever actually de friending someone. So me and my head bobbing self chanting Oh no he didn't...will calm down before I make a decision. Until then, if your on my FB page and you see any offensive posts, well I would just stand back and wait for the fireworks to begin.

Just not right

It's January, one of the coldest months in the year. But even though it's January, I am off to have the AC in my car fixed today. Why? Because the weather is so crazy going from 80 to 40 on a daily basis it seems. And on those regular occurring warm days it gets down right stuffy in the car. And since I'm part of a family whose allergies who are terrible, we never have the window down. So even though to me it just doesn't seem right to have to fix the AC in January, that's what I'm doing. Crazy isn't it, this Texas weather.

A bit of this and that

In case your wondering, and I'm sure you not. Things are still hectic around here. Here's a bit of what's been going on around here.

-School started back so kids are up and going early. Mom, not always the case.

-I've been to some more training classes that I probably didn't really need but had to have anyway.

-Dropped off K. at school and headed to the dealership to have my A/C fixed. (Yes I know it's January but this is Texas and we still are seeing the occasional 80 degrees) So get to dealership and wait while they figure out what's wrong. Get the call from preschool saying daughter is having severe allergic reaction to something can I come get her and can they give her benadryl. Yes give her medicine and I'll be there as soon as my car is off the big rack they have it on. Then go tell them to get it off the rack and I'll be back later for them to fix it. Get to preschool and K. is all better and doesn't want to leave. Still don't know what caused reaction. Now I'm waiting for my part to come in so I can take the van back to be fixed.

-Went and played Bunco with some friends. Lots of fun.

-Hubs and I have talked about getting a treadmill. Discovered Hubs boss just bought an $1800 one last year that has only been used around 6 times. It's now being offered to us to try out. At no cost. If we decide we still want it in 6 months then we can talk about price then. So Hubs said yes and will go get it this evening.

-Talked Hubs into painting girls bathroom last week, now just need to get the rest of the house done. It's just hard to decide on the color I want since there are so many of them to choose from.

-Really need to get the kids used to not interrupting me on the phone when I'm talking. They are having a hard time with it, but since I am now on the phone alot with work stuff, it's vital they learn. The big ones have it, but the girls are still struggling.

So there you have it, aren't you glad you read this far. We are just so exciting in our house. So until I bore you again, that's it for bits of this and that.

Hershey Kiss

Hershey Kisses calling my name.
Hershey Kisses make me gain.
Hershey Kisses go away,
I want to zip my pants today.



Can you tell what I'm craving right now...

Thankful

Things I am thankful for right now:

-friends
-family
-a clean house
-most of my kids are on the road to being healthy again
-the dog who isn't throwing up for now
-Diet Dr. Pepper

We have so much

I am going to come right out and say it. Our family has been blessed. Very blessed. We have way to much. And because of this our children expect more and more it seems. And I have to say that I am guilty of this as well. It's all brought more to my attention lately because of the fact that we have had a recent birthday and report cards. It seems like they just expect that if they do good at school they will automatically get rewarded for it. You know how it is, they think they need to be rewarded for every little thing they do instead of just doing it.

I'm reminded of how little we had while we lived overseas. We had four plates, four sets of forks,spoons,etc. We had just enough bath towels for everyone to have their own. Z. had about five or six toys and that was about it. We had one TV and it only had one station we could understand. If I wanted on the computer than I had to go to the library. And we only had the clothes that would fit in our suitcases we took over there. And you know what? With as little "things" we had, we were very happy.

Now it seems like I am constantly tripping over things that we really don't need. Our closets are stuffed with clothes that don't fit but still they sit in there instead of being donated. And so now I'm left to wonder why it is my children are like this. Could it be because I have gotten to where I like having stuff around also.

This is obviously an area that I need to work on and am planning on starting today. I'm going to try and thin out alot of the things that we really don't need in order to be happy. I can't say that I will get rid of all those dishes I have but I am planning on having a lot less than what it currently there. That may mean that "gasp" I may have empty spots in our pantry because we really don't need five different kinds of chips. I just think that everyone in our family could benefit from a little less.

So wish me luck as I try and retrain the way that our family thinks about what we need and what we "truly" need. I'm sure it's going to be a long and bumpy journey.

Scattered and randon things

Things have been a bit unsettled here lately. So it's been hard to post. It could be because A. has somehow managed to pop off all the keys on my laptop. Even though Hubs was able to get them back on, they aren't really working right anymore. Only about half of what I type actually makes it to the screen. And since I'm way to lazy to go into the office where the desk top is then I just haven't been on the computer much lately.

A. also managed to pull out all her shoes and throw them all over the stairs. She then tripped on them and rolled down the stairs banging up her nose a bit. I seriously doubt she learned her lesson though. She's a bit more hard headed than that.

Z. has had strep throat the past week. Somehow, we have avoided anyone else catching it. Even though I didn't take him to the dr until he had been sick for three days.

I'm ready to start planting some new shrubs in the backyard now that it's getting cooler. Hubs is not as excited about it as I am. He usually ends up doing a lot more digging than I do. And since we need to make some new beds, it's just going to be work.

And top off all this useless random information that no one really cares about. All I want lately is Mexican food. I eat it and that's what I want again at the next meal. What's up with that. Now I'm surethat you guys are all so glad you wasted your time reading this post. I promise to not be quite so boring next time. But when it's a mommy blog and nothing super blogable is going on then this is what you get.

My true feelings..

"An Ode to Laundry"

Laundry pile in my hall,

Why are you so freakin' tall.

I wash you weekly without fail,

Come next Monday your back, Oh Hell!




Updated to add that I posted this and then felt immediate guilt about actually posting something in it with a bad word. I don't normally do that but since I couldn't find anything else I liked as much (in the thirty seconds it took me to think of it) I decided to leave it. Come back next time for a G rated post again.

Not in the trophy mom club

I have long since known that I am not a trophy mom.

You know the ones I'm talking about. They look like they are completely dressed and ready to go to a great cocktail party at eight A.M. every morning. They usually have two kids (anymore than that and it tends to make it hard to remain a trophy mom) because one kid isn't enough to get you into the trophy mom club. And if there was a way for them to be gender specific they would try and have a boy and girl each. And well their kids are always dressed in clean name brand clothes. Did I mention that they are always clean? They never let their kids get dirty and usually have them enrolled in one or two activities each (but only if they can drop off their kids). They have perfectly manicured fingers and toes and their roots never show. They usually drive way to big SUV's or else sporty little cars like BMW's. And the trophy mom must always be a stay at home mom. It doesn't matter if her kids are both in school all day long. That is a requirement otherwise you have to forfeit your membership. And they usually have a Starbucks coffee(venti) in their hands.

So now that you know who I'm talking about you will completely understand how I'm not in the trophy mom club.

1. I have to many kids.
2. My kids are almost never in name brand clothes unless they were given to me by a friend as a hand me down.
3. My kids are always dirty, within seconds after a bath or getting dressed you would find something on them that would automatically disqualify me from the trophy mom club.
4. My van is now considered old and there is nothing sporty about it. However it does hold all my kids comfortably so that's a plus.
5. I am very seldom dressed and ready to go to a cocktail party at eight am. That's usually the time of day I'm driving my kids to school in my nightgown (And just for the record school starts here at eight so yes we are always running late in our house).
6. I can't really keep up with my nails so much. My roots however I never have to worry about. That's because I still have my original brown hair with lots of gray making an appearance these days.

No, I am definitely not in the trophy mom club. I am in the unnamed mom's club that has to many things going on to deal with all the requirements of the trophy mom club. I show up to school functions with an oily face that has long since lost track of any makeup. I may or may not be wearing clothes that have boogers on them courtesy of one of my children. I'm in the mom's club where as much as I would like to help out with my children's classrooms it's hard to do because I always have one or two in tow with me. And no, I can't guarantee that they will behave perfectly. So instead I send things to school or do things that don't require my actual presence. I pay dues in the PTA program but have yet to actually make it to a meeting. I don't get to serve as homeroom mom because of this.

I'm in the mom's club that lets her kids eat breakfast at school because it's easier some days. And in all honesty if it weren't for that my poor kids would probably get a cold breakfast most mornings. I love my kids, ALL of them. And yes, I do all know their names and the names of their teachers. I know when their lunch accounts are running low and need money. And although it may look otherwise some days, my kids do start out the day clean.

So please don't judge me by my appearance or by how many kids are getting out of my van in the drop off line in the morning. I already know it takes us longer to get unloaded but just for the record I am car pooling so technically they aren't all my kids you see. Just most of them belong to me.

One day, when my youngest goes off to school I may actually qualify to join the trophy mom club. And I may do it and run for office (because I'm convinced they have secret meetings and elected officials). I'll become the president of the trophy mom club and it will be all downhill from there. I'll show up to meetings in my nightgown and no makeup and take control. Before long the trophy club moms will all look like the rest of us moms out there just doing the best we can and the best we know how.

But just to fit in, I may have to go out and buy me venti Starbucks coffee.

A new reason to love jello

I have heard of a new reason for us to love jello. This falls into the friend of a friend category if you know what I mean.

She was having some surgery done (she'd apparently lost a lot of weight). Anyways...her plastic surgeon has instructed her to eat jello at least once a day. Why? Well because the gelatin in jello is supposed to be great for our skin by making it a bit more elasticy (is that a word). So your skin will heal better after surgery. It also makes your skin look younger for the same gelatin reason. And if your hoping to avoid strech marks during pregnancy then he also suggests eating at least one serving a day. So whether it's regular jello or sugar free jello, it's supposed to be really good for the elasticity of your skin.

Now I am not sure how reliable this information is, but if it's going to give me a new reason to enjoy my jello then maybe I better not risk it.

In other news...

It's been busy this week. Z. has been at a baseball camp all week long. With the heat index being anywhere from 105-109, well I just don't know how they can do it but they can. K. and Hoss were invited to attend VBS with a friend this week, so I thought why not. They have had alot of fun with that as well. They said that they liked it but liked the one from our church more. But they are super excited to go the water park tomorrow night for only a dollar with their friends VBS. Who knows maybe then it will come up to their standards.

So, it's been me and A. doing a lot of running around this week. We finally decided to replace the old swing set with a new one so we went and bought it. The kids have been patiently waiting for the weekend when dad can put it together. We bought a few school clothes but are waiting for the cooler weather to actually start before we buy pants and such.

Hoss started flag football this week and I have to say he is living up to his name. He is the second tallest on the team. He was so excited to be there that the heat and the drills didn't put him out at all. When all the other little boys started whining about the heat and running, he just asked me to poor more water over his head. But he is my child that I can not keep indoors. No matter the temperature he is happiest outside. I think it's paying off for him right now. The heat doesn't seem to be bothering him. His team is practicing three nights a week just to get them (and parents) used to the heat

Z. has decided he wants to do select baseball again, so tryouts are tomorrow morning. It should be fun. They aren't planning on to much traveling for this particular team which is why we chose them. And the costs are actually kept at a reasonable price. I'm sorry but we just can't afford to pay 1500 dollars just for the gear and uniforms some of these teams want you to pay. Not to mention all the out of state tournaments they have to pay to attend.

I'm also going to sign K. up for her dance class tonight. She keeps begging to go and they are finally enrolling. So once a week she'll have her chance to dance. So that just leaves A., who is happily not interested in doing anything just yet. I'm sure that will change in the next year so I'm going to enjoy it while I can.

So there you have all the latest on the Juice Box household. Lots of sports in the last few weeks of summer. Not to mention as much swimming we can squeeze in. Before we know it school will be starting so I'm trying to enjoy my kids while I can. Especially since they aren't driving me crazy yet.

To Clip or Not

I've been going back and forth about clipping coupons. I'm sure we have all been there at some point or another. But this time it was brought on by my friend sending me to the grocery game. They tell you how to get all sorts of free stuff just by clipping coupons and being a savy shopper. And well I tend to be of the mind set of "if it's free, then it's for me". So I thought I would try it out. The only problem is that it is still a lot of stinkin' work just to save what looks like a few dollars here and there. I went to the grocery store today and well let's just say that I still have a headache. Was all that actually worth the five dollars in savings that I had. I honestly don't think any headache is worth this unless you start to enter into the thousands of dollars. But at least I can say that yes I did try it. And FYI, for the future if I'm using coupons, I think I'll just buy generic instead.

Where are the lazy days of summer?

I don't know what it is like in other households but in the Juice Box household we are still searching for the lazy days of summer. It seems that there has just been one thing after another to keep us occupied this summer. Between VBS, baseball, vacations and now swim lessons we have not found our lazy days yet. We have yet to have more than a few scattered days here and there to just hang out and do nothing. I'm hoping that after swim lessons it gets a bit better since technically we only have about seven weeks left of summer. I really enjoy having the kids home (well at least most days I do) but the summer schedule seems to be just as hectic as the school year this fall. Hopefully the lazy days of summer will show it's face around here soon, I'm ready for them.

Popcorn everywhere

There are some foods that no matter how careful you are, it gets everywhere. Popcorn is definitely one of those for us. The kids love it and will eat lots of it. I find it everywhere. The obvious places like under the couch cushions and the floors. The not so obvious places like in the diapers where it somehow ends up. I really don't want to wonder on that one to much though. Then when you add in the fact that popcorn is the most requested snack at baseball and movies I also seem to find it in the most unusual places in the car. We naturally have it all over the floor in the van along with the car seats and seat benches. But how does it end up in the driver side door pockets when I know it's not me that puts it there. And how does it end up in zipped up bat bag when the popcorn is purchased after the bag has been closed. Now since it seems like lately we have popcorn and baseball every night that means my van is a mess. Which means that the birds around the parking spots that I park at must love my children. My kids think that every bird out there loves popcorn as much as they do, and do their best to leave it for them. And if that means they brush out old stale popcorn out of the van for them, even better. It just means that there is less of it in my van. But I must say, that is some expensive bird seed that they are eating and I hope they enjoy it.

Crazy Busy...and Baseball

It just seems like it's been crazy busy the last few days. Ever since Z.'s birthday last week. He had his friends over for a sleepover with lots of junk food and video games and very little sleep on Friday.

Then on Saturday Hoss played in a tball tournament. They actually kept score for the first time and when it was all said and done Hoss and his team came in second place. They really should have come in first place but those poor boys had already played three games in 99 degree weather and were playing a team that hadn't played all day so they were fresh. But that's a rant for another day. And just for the record I'm really not one of THOSE parents at your kids games. It was just really sad that these boys who had been out all day long barely lost the game. But none the less Hoss is quite proud of his very big trophy. In fact Z. said it was bigger than his and that made Hoss even more excited.

Z. starts his All Stars games this week also. So now we go to the more serious games of our older son. His games are fun to watch but a lot more competitive. It's amazing how good some of these boys can be at 10 years old. Since they have so many pitchers on his team for the all stars I'm not sure Z. will be pitching as much. But that's okay with me, it's always more stressful for me with him pitching. But Z. takes it all in stride. I will however be trying my best to avoid sitting next to or anywhere close to one of THOSE parents during the games. That woman drives me crazy with how great her grandson is and how bad the rest of the boys are. Makes me just want to throttle her.

The kids are also doing VBS this week and loving it. It's giving me a bit of time in the morning to catch up on a few things. I guess this will be a bit of what it's going to be like this fall when I only have one child home three days a week. I have to say, it's kind of nice.

Did ya know?

That ITunes can be a bit addicting. You can spend hours and all kinds of money on all those great songs from way back when. Guess it's time to go listen to some of that money spent.

Confession Time

I must confess another little dirty dark secret. I'm a bit embarrassed by this dark little secret and only admit it to a few people here and there that I know.

My dirty little dark secret is that I have gotten to where I really love reality TV. I can spend hours watching these ridiculous shows. My all time favorite is still The Amazing Race which I have mentioned before. But now I must confess to being an avid watcher of Dancing with the Stars (most of the time anyways). My biggest secret reality show that I watch is such the ultimate in bad reality TV but never the less I always seem to be watching it, and it's The Bachelor. Now normally this wouldn't be something that I admit to most people so consider yourselves in on my dark little dirty secret. But now they are getting ready to start another one of my old time favorites which is the Mole. Not the celebrity one which was terrible but the real people one which I liked a bit more.

So there you have it, my dark little secret for everyone out there to see. Maybe by sharing my dark little secret I will be able to come out of the proverbial closet and seek immediate help. Well at least until the next season of the The Amazing Race, I already have that one set up on TIVO.

Rhyme Time

I remember when I was little I heard the following rhyme, poem, limerick or whatever it is...I really don't know, but anyways I digress. The poem went like this

Fishy Fishy in the brook
come and get on daddy's hook
mommy fries it in the pan
baby eats it like a man

So since I have nothing better to do than think of ridiculous rhymes in my head I decided to come up with my own version.

Dishy Dishy in the sink
There are so many I can't think
Mommy decides to turn her head
And let daddy do them instead.

Or if that's to simple for you how about this one.

Whining crying kids at home
are guaranteed while I'm on the phone
Lock the door, throw away the key
mommy wants privacy while she pees.


So what do you think? Now you all know one of my dark little quirks. I love to make silly, nonsense type rhymes to drive the ones I love crazy. Maybe I should start working on one for Father's Day. Have any ideas, then please share.

True Colors

Most the time I am able to keep my frustrated emotions hidden from people when it comes to my children. But I must say, there are some days when it is just impossible to do. Take for example last Saturday. We had been out running around between every sporting event you can imagine. And so naturally great mom that I am, I decided to take all the kids over to my friends house so they can hang out and play with all their friends. It had nothing to do with the fact that I desperately needed to be able and sit and visit with my friend as well. No, I am going to say it was entirely for the children. But if you think differently, then I can't really say your wrong. After all misery loves company and that Saturday was miserable. Naturally I had to share my misery with my friend and she of course had to share hers.

So now you have the setting, two cranky miserable moms venting with each other. Add to that mix ten children (no they weren't all ours, we picked up a few extra from the neighborhood) and one trampoline and one play set. Toss them all around like you would a salad and this is what you get.

Three bloody noses (none of which either mom inflicted), two band aids, a dirty diaper (again not mom's) and one mom (namely me) being tackled and knocked on my bottom by Hoss as he leaped out of the trampoline. This in turn led me to my finest mom of the year moment losing my temper in front of everyone (even an extra adult who happened to pop in and check on their children). Yes, my true colors showed for a few minutes and then I felt really bad for it. (At least until I saw the grass stains on my bottom) I did calm down and felt immediately better to be surrounded by such great friends that they started teasing and mocking me falling on my butt. At least until one of theirs made them lose their tempers and they showed their true colors. Like I said, misery loves company and we were all at my friends house last Saturday. It's really a good thing that we do all know our true colors or else we would probably never want to play with any of us again.