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Feb
18
peeking shyly into the blogosphere…
Hi. This blog is deserted! My fault. Let me give you the facts of life for Sheri right now:
- Graduate school. Or I should say GRADUATE SCHOOL! I am taking two classes this semester, and one of them has been known to cause people to drop out and never come back, its that hard. And time consuming. I dream about dropping out, but that’s why I waited til my third semester to take this class; I’ve got too much invested in this dream to drop out now.
- Snow days. My kids have been out of school practically more than they’ve been in school since the first of January. The first few snow days were fun; after that, not so much fun as miserable. And as soon as the weather improved:
- Sickness. My family cannot get well. We finally recovered from the swine flu epidemic, then Nolan got sick last weekend. My husband was taking the kids to Kansas so I could get some work done on my massive school project, but instead I stayed home with the sick boy. Now I am sick. Never fails.
- Busy-ness. How can a family with only two kids be so stinkin busy? Band concerts, piano contests, school dances, shopping to be done for clothes to wear to the school dances, because we apparently don’t do “semi-formal” in real life. And the best part: Every single activity/event/concert/contest/campout/field trip costs money, yay!
- Since we’re talking about money, I have to mention: Doctor visits. Prescriptions. Lab tests. ‘Nuff said.
- The winter slump has hit me hard. I don’t want to do anything, especially not anything that resembles required reading, research, citations, or attending class. Whoops, thats my whole life. What do I want to do? I want to eat ginormous amounts of baked goods, which I want someone else to prepare for me. I want to lie on the couch in a clean living room, one without tissues and medicine all over the tables. I want my house to be cleaned by someone besides me (but lets be honest, its been awhile since I’ve cleaned it). Am I asking too much, really?
So, there you have it. Blog = back burner. Actually, anything I truly enjoy = back burner right now. I am trying to write down post ideas as I have them, and I do have them, because I miss writing and having a life to write about. I keep reminding myself, I chose this, and the accompanying craziness of having a family and going back to school. Maybe I didn’t willingly choose the sickness part; that was buried in the fine print, but I chose the rest of it.
I will find my way back here to post regularly again, hopefully soon. I will conquer my schoolwork and my messy house, and maybe I’ll even bake something for myself and read a book for fun. Eventually.
Who else has a crazy life right now?
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Feb
2
We all are slowly making our way back to the land of the living after our visit from swine flu. But its slow going. I wanted to post an update, but you’ll have to excuse the randomness of my ramblings.
~My kids had a two week Christmas break. The week they went back to school, they had two snow days, so another four day weekend. Then they got a three day weekend for Martin Luther King day. Last week they got out of school early on Thursday and no school at all on Friday because of snow. Even without the flu, I would be exhausted from all the snow days! I am not enjoying this winter wonderland anymore.
~I turned 41 on Sunday. It was actually nice to be snowed in on my birthday, a very quiet day.
~I went to a meeting for parents of incoming high school students last night to learn about enrollment. I’m not sure why I was asked to attend, don’t they realize there is NO WAY my baby can be in high school?? Although that same baby keeps reminding me that he will get his driver’s permit this summer. Why does he want me to have gray hair?
~My husband and oldest son are doing the P90x program. My husband has been doing the exercise program for a few months; after the holidays he started loosely following the eating plan. Tanner started doing the exercise program in January and is also loosely following the eating plan. What this means is that there are no good snacks in my house. None. I’m all for eating healthy, but a girl needs some snacks around. Also, eating healthier means cooking more. None of this grab a bag of processed something or other and throw it in the oven. There is chopping, slicing, dicing, baking, broiling, and in my case, burning. Yes, burning. A few weekends ago, I decided to grill some steak that my inlaws had given us. My husband and Tanner were practically salivating at the thought of those steaks after a week of tuna, chicken and 500 pounds of vegetables. I started grilling when Mike and Nolan were driving home from baseball practice. I haven’t grilled in awhile, let me just say that. So when the smoke alarm went off, I ignored it. Must be malfunctioning, why would the smoke alarm in the house go off when I’m grilling outside? When that thought sunk in, I ran outside to find the back of the house covered in smoke. The flames were so out of control I could not open the grill for about 20 minutes after I turned it off. So when Mike got home, starving for steak, to find a plate with baked fish and a pile of veggies waiting for him, he was not happy. We all cried that night.
~I am not doing the P90x program with the guys. I may have told them that I am diligently doing the workouts during the day, when I’m home alone. That may have been a small lie fib. The truth is more like when I’m home alone I sometimes pick up the exercise dvds and move them off the table. To make room for my snack. Then I remember, NO SNACKS! I’m really suffering through their fitness program, and I do not appreciate it.
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Nov
9
Tonight my youngest son, husband and I were hanging out in the living room. I don’t watch much TV, but I was taking a break from my homework. My husband was watching football and flipping the channel back and forth to whatever my son wanted to watch. Finally my son sighed, got up, walked over to me and asked:
Can I just go read my book?
Sweeter words were never spoken 
That boy takes after his mother!
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Nov
7
Since my husband and youngest son are gone, it was just me and the teenager here. We made a fast trip to the mall, fast because I don’t enjoy shopping or the mall. Even though I avoid shopping, I wasn’t too surprised to hear sales clerks telling customers to “Have a Merry Christmas”. All that starts way too early for me, but every store seems to do it. But I was shocked to see Santa at the mall, with children lined up to sit on his lap and tell him what they want for a holiday that is about seven weeks away! Does that seem a bit early for anyone else? Christmas is my favorite holiday, so I’m not being all bah humbug, but come on.
At this rate, Santa will have to make room for the Easter Bunny before Christmas even gets here. Or one on each end of the mall maybe. Ridiculous.
Am I the only one that feels this way?
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Nov
6
My husband and youngest son are going on a Boy Scout camp out this weekend. My older son has all region band tryouts tomorrow and a football game to go to tonight, so it looks like I’m going to have some quality alone time. Can’t complain about that
When my husband and sons go camping, I rent a chick flick to watch by myself. It has become a tradition that on Friday or Saturday night, when I settle down to watch my movie, I have to call my husband – usually in the middle of a very fun campfire activity – and ask him to tell me, AGAIN, how do you work the dvd player. Yes, I am my mother when it comes to technology. I just very rarely watch TV, never TIVO anything, and the only time I control the remote is when I am home alone. How can I be expected to remember what to do when I only do it a couple times a year??
It’s quite the joke in my family, my kids think its a combination of hysterical and embarrassing. Today my husband decided to break tradition, and he showed me how to do it before he left. He not only showed me, he had me do it.
So much for tradition. I guess he really doesn’t want me to interrupt the smores again.
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Oct
14
As an added bonus for my loyal blog readers (yes plural!) I’m going to start sharing words of wisdom that my kids so willingly share with me. I know that this stuff is so valuable I should charge for it, but I’m going to share it for free. Write this down people, because you’ll probably never hear it anywhere else.
This is a conversation I had with my 14 year old last night. Background info: he does his own laundry, not because he is so helpful that way, but because mom got tired of the daily laundry requests.
Tanner: Is it too late to do a load of laundry? I need to wash whites.
Mom: I guess not, but don’t just throw in yours, throw in all the whites in the hamper.
Tanner (after finding very few whites in the hamper): Do these gray shorts count as white? (the shorts are white and light gray)
Mom: yes
Tanner (back with a few more things): Do these black jeans count as white?
Mom: shocked silence, absolutely nothing to say to that. He was actually waiting for the answer though, so I eventually had to get up off the floor, stop laughing, and explain that NO, black does not count as white.
Don’t you wish you lived at my house? The hilarity never stops. Just do not let my son do your laundry.
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Sep
23
My youngest son wants a cell phone. He has wanted one for awhile, but now that he’s in sixth grade and everyone has a cell phone, he is especially desperate for one. I offered to let him carry one of our old ones and just always say his phone died, but he didn’t go for that
Unlike his teenage brother, whose method for getting what he wants is limited to asking then wailing when the answer is no, my little guy knows the subtle art of persuasion. In other words, he is trying to manipulate his mama with his cuteness. Oh yes he is.
For instance, puppy dog eyes. He does it well, and he does it often. Tell me this face is not irrestible-
(I had to include the actual puppy with the boy and his puppy dog eyes, so you see the full irrestibility)
I am particularly vulnerable to this boy and his puppy dog eyes, because he is so desperate for a phone that he drops his manly attitude and is all “hug me mommy”. He knows what works, the sly dog.
He went on a campout last weekend and used one of his friends’ phone to text me. Often. I guess to show me his fine texting skillz… Which are so fine that I have to share the texts with you:
Nolan: Hi mommy yer stil at the church (translation: we’re still at the church)
Me: Hi honey, have a good time.
Nolan: Dont text me again im on davids fone
Then my older son sent him a text, because when someone tells you not to text them, you must respond!
Nolan: david is taking hi fone awa so dont text me but i dont think that os fairatall (translation: david is taking his phone away so don’t text me, but I don’t think that is fair at all)
Nolan: member to call att (translation: Remember to call AT&T and ask how much it will cost to get him a phone)
Nolan: Seriousli
Nolan: U better
Nolan: Seriousli before o get home (translation: seriously before I get home)
Nolan: Davids fone is dying dont text again (notice that I have NOT been texting him!)
Nolan: hi mom imon dads fone now (translation: hi mom I’m on dad’s phone now)
Nolan: dad wants his fone back already wich is totaly ufair by (translation: dad wants his phone back already which is totally unfair. bye)
Well. I think we all can agree that the child is a texting prodigy. Seriously, I was laughing so hard getting those texts from him.
Adorableness and texting genius aside, that boy is still not getting a fone. Wich is totaly ufair.
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Sep
19
Its really true. You are the wisest you will ever be when you’re in kindergarten.
My mom was babysitting my six year old nephew when he came running into the house, and here is part of their conversation:
Elliott: Grandma, there are people outside and they know my name!
Grandma: How do they know your name, do you know them?
Elliott: (in a slightly exasperated voice) Grandma, my name has traveled the world because I am so wonderful!
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Sep
9
It is unbelievable how much can happen in less than three weeks. Unbelievable.
Here is what has been going on in my life over the past couple of weeks, in chronological order:
- My van broke down. Major engine problems.
- Our home air conditioner went out for the second time this summer. Since summer can last until October here, we called a repairman. It probably needs a major repair, but since we’re past the summer heat wave and we’re having a slight cash flow problem (cash flowing out faster than its coming in) he did the very least he could do to make it last until next spring.
- My husbands truck died for no reason. It started again, but he took it to the mechanic to have it checked.
- Our dryer quit working. Well, it didn’t quit working, but when I told my mom that it was getting really hot on the outside of the dryer, she told me that wasn’t normal. That it was a fire hazard. Oops.
That all happened in one weeks time, actually. Moving on:
- After one week in the shop, we learn that my van has several major engine issues which require hard to find parts.
- After my husband took his truck to the mechanic, they diagnosed and fixed it in one day for a relatively minor fee, which caused great celebration at our house.
- The day after the mechanic fixed his truck, it died on his way to work and would not start. Coincidentally, this was the day after the fire hazard dryer had to be replaced. Back to a different mechanic. The new mechanic replaced the fuel pump for a slightly more major fee. No celebrating this time.
- By now, my van has been in the shop for almost three weeks. I have forgotten what color it is. When they call and tell me its all fixed, I’m tempted to tell them to keep it at this point.
- I pick up the van and drive it home. It’s raining so I go straight home with the windows up. Which is why I did not hear the horrid sound that it makes when I put it in reverse. This is a new sound, it wasn’t there three weeks ago when we took the van to the shop.
Sigh. Can anything else break? Would anything else like to break RIGHT NOW? Come on, I can take it.
There is a bright side to all this. My van, with the major engine repair? Two little words that will make you dance for joy: Under Warranty. We have never been able to take advantage of a warranty before, usually things fall apart right after the warranty expires. But not this time, and I am counting my blessings every day for that.
The fifteen year old dryer has been on its last leg for a long time, so this wasn’t a complete surprise. But we had a plan, a well thought out plan that involved a budget and saving and getting a new washer and dryer when we were ready. Which was not last week.
Tomorrow I will call the mechanic that worked on the van and explain the new noise problem. And I will try not to laugh when I’m talking to him, but at this point, what else can I do?
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Aug
13
What is THAT?? Who are those scantily dressed women and why are they bothering my baby? Clearly he is struggling to escape from them. Poor kid.
And this is the last time I let my husband take him to a local baseball game. When the paper said Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader Night at the stadium, I did not know it meant that cheerleaders would be harassing my precious boy like that.
He does look upset, right? Let’s pretend that he does.
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