Tag Archives: life

Parents everywhere breathe a sigh of relief….

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Here we go, here we go, here we go…..first day of school pictures!!!

Back to school for us in our neck of the woods…I know some areas wait until after Labor Day but here in the South we like to just barely dip our toes in the school waters and then…..have a little break.  Kinda ease into it…nice and easy like.

Whether you home school or work full-time and farm out the learnin’ to the public and private sector schools, back-to-school time is a grand time indeed.  Don’t get me wrong, I love me some summer-time….and I don’t even GET a summer break.  However, all good things must come to an end and now is the time…..so bring on the paper, pencils, 1-inch binders and glue sticks.  We are ready to get back into the routine of things.  Not as much fun, yet it’s a part of life and we’ll just keep movin’ on and looking back and wondering, “How in the HECK are we back in school ALREADY!?!?”.

 

Sufferin’ Succotash

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It’s Friday and usually I round-up the week with a little summary of what went down this past week with Jennifer Fulwiler and her peeps @ Conversion diary, however, it seems I’ve been doing plenty o’ whining about my week all week-long.  This Friday is a little different version…..because amidst all my moaning this week I’ve had a lot on my heart and prayers going up for various friends.  Tonight, in the midst of our evening routine a good friend emailed me great news regarding some prayers answered.  It was a reminder that suffering, though inevitable, often brings great changes.  This week I’ve been praying a lot and chewing on suffering.  We don’t always find out the “why” but when we realize that this life is temporary and accept that God CAN and DOES use all things to His glory, we can manage through a little bit easier until we gaze upon that which is eternal.  hopefully.  generally easier said than done.

  • In suffering we become more empathetic toward others, realizing we all have a cross to bear, none heavier than the other.
  • In suffering we are given the opportunity to open up and allow others in because we aren’t meant to carry our burdens alone.
  • In suffering we have a choice, to be bitter and let the weight of the world crush our shoulders or accept and let our suffering bring us to a healing relationship in Christ.
  • In suffering we are often begin to see more clearly the difference between what is useful and necessary and that which is excessive and confusing.
  • In suffering we prioritize the important and (hopefully) adjust our sails accordingly to tweak our actions to match our priorities.
  • In suffering we step out in faith.
  • In suffering we receive grace.

Whatever cross you bear, may you be fully comforted in the Truth and Joy that comes in a Savior that died for us so that we may be received into heaven freed from the suffering that comes in this life.  Be blessed.  Be encouraged.  You.  ARE.  Loved.

Psalm 66:10  For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver.

Psalm 94:12  Blessed is the man you discipline, O Lord, the man you teach from your law.

Isaiah 55:9  As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Romans 8:18  I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

Romans 12:12  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Revelation 21:4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:  for the former things are passed away.

Manic Monday

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After the whirlwind weekend comes crazy Monday….

Starting off innocently and with bright hopes for the day with a great boot camp, shower, some quiet time and then off to wake up the littlest (our older girl had a sleepover) and then…..at 7:22 a.m. as I was gently waking her and asking what she wanted for breakfast….I realized….I……was the early person.  Yes, the person who “opens up” at 7:30 a.m.  Oh.  crud.  Bless her heart,she opened those eyes and joined “Team Mom” and dressed and got ready in record time as I made lunches and got myself ready.  I made it to work @ 8:06 and FORTUNATELY had NO patients waiting…..phew!!!

Nothing like a little adrenaline to start the day.

The evening was apparently a bit of a peek into what the next few months have in store for us with dueling sports/practices/games going on.  We’ve done this before and I guess enough time must have passed that I forgot how psycho that time was….kind of like being pregnant/giving birth/babies.  So….here we go again.  Lord, have mercy on us.

We have a cheerleader for a Pop Warner football league and a soccer player entering the club bracket for the first time.  We will have NO.  LIFE.   for the next four months. So call me.  maybe.  or text.  or email.  or Facebook me.  or read my blog, it may get interesting as the seasons start (because we’re still in “practice” with no games until September)….on a plus side, I’ll be getting lots of cardio in during the practices, so there’s that.

I thought it went fairly well with Hubby on “deliver-the-girls to practice” duty and me on pick-up.  I had son #2 put dinner in the oven and Hubby would be home in time from his swim to dish it out and get the sides ready, except………somehow…..the oven didn’t actually get turned ON.   Therefore….pancakes, eggs and hash for dinner.  And it was ready.  My Hubby rocks.  and he makes great pancakes, too!  😉

So…..little speedbumps to smooth out…but that’s what practice runs are for, right?   Boys and girls we learned a few good lessons today:

1) Make sure you know WHEN you are supposed to be somewhere.

2) Make lunches the night before.  Time saver here.

3) Teach the boy to push the button PROPERLY…

4)  Always have  pancakes, eggs and hash on hand.  oh, and chocolate chips.  they go good in pancakes and in a REAL crisis you can just eat them by the handful.

Spastic Sunday….

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Sunday.  A day of rest.  After our “shopping Saturday melee” you’d think I’d really take advantage of that….and the day started out innocently enough:  Mass and donuts and then home for a “Teamwork” chores activity and by Noon, the house was clean, laundry was going, it was raining (again–thankfully!) and we were one kid down for a sleepover.  Then I don’t know what happened.

I had to take our youngest to get shoes (shoes and supplies are essentially all that’s left on the school shopping list) for her and her sister, who told us what she wanted…we ran a couple of other errands (buttons to bling up her backpack and a new pillow for my awful, aching neck), somehow managed to drop her off at her friends (now down two kids to friends) and made it home.

Love this cookbook!!

Sitting for a few minutes I remembered I really wanted to cook a few meals ahead and freeze because we have an insane couple of weeks with practices nightly until 7:30 and it’s so much nicer if dinner is READY when we get home.  So I began.  Sometimes when I do stuff like this, it is utter chaos….controlled, mind you….but there is nothing anyone can do to help me because it would take WAY too long to explain the stream of consciousness going on in my head and here’s the breakdown that took place in the two hour period:

(It’s kind of like “If you give a mouse a cookie“….I am the mouse.)

  • I fried up some bacon because bacon=yummy dinner to my kids
  • I chopped and caramelized onions in the bacon drippings because kids don’t mind onions if they taste like bacon
  • I browned some ground beef added the onions and split it up for two dinners
  • I made some coffee and sweetened condensed milk ice cubes for my weekend iced coffees
  • I hardboiled a dozen eggs because we had a ton in the fridge
  • I had leftover SCMilk so I made a killer chocolate cake
  • I made two shrimp quiches and had leftover cream so…..
  • I made homemade whipped cream for the cake
  • I finished dinner for that night which was SOOOOO easy and so delicious that my 9-year-old daughter’s friend said, “Let me know the next time you have this and I’ll drive myself over here!”  Here’s that recipe:

Spray a 13X9 pan and place chicken breasts in pan

Pour a jar of Alfredo sauce over chicken

Sprinkle bacon crumbs over sauce

Grate Havarti cheese and sprinkle over bacon

Bake @ 375 for 20-30 minute (until chicken is done)….enjoy!

I ran out of steam and then had a mountain of a mess to clean up, but I am hoping that it helps our hellish evenings go a little smoother knowing that dinner is ready when we get home.  How do YOU prepare for your crazy nights without Driving Through and killing your budget???

Now it didn’t go as planned on Monday….but that’s another post!  Have a blessed day!

Sweet nectar…

Saturday, snooze, snacks and shopping…

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As of right now, we have 15 days of summer left (for those people in this who don’t hold full-time jobs), so that means since it was raining AND tax-free weekend we attacked the bulk of the school shopping on Saturday.  Somehow, I managed to guilt Hubby into coming (who would rather you play Beethoven’s 5th on a chalkboard with your nails than to go shopping).  Sadly, I didn’t really think about the lethal combination of Tax-free shopping+rainy Saturday+Son#2 who shares Daddo’s extreme dislike for all things shopping…..anyone have a lighter and an aerosol can???  I’ll spare you the details, but trust me on this….That.  Combination.  Will.  NOT.  Happen.  Again.  Ever.  The good news is, we are all aware of this now and on the same page.  The other good news is that after 2 thrift stores and Old Navy we completed the bulk of the shopping.  The OTHER good news is that over a dinner of pizza and Wings (I worked OT remember????) all was well.  

We (meaning the cat) also took advantage of the rainy day and snoozed….

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We (meaning ME) also made some snacks….Lemon Puppy Chow via A Sweeter Thing….Oh.  My.  YUM!  I had no lemons (apparently someone ate them….) so I used lemon extract…it worked…

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And to sum up the day with the BEST.  PURCHASE.  EVER.  Really.  If you knew this kid, you’d understand how perfect this shirt is for him…maybe you have one of your own….

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OK, that’s all for now…but fear not…it was a busy weekend and there’s some seriousness on bullying, some manic cooking and bedazzling that occurred…I also uploaded Evernote and Skitch…to help me be more productive…kind of an oxymoron since they are sure to take plenty of my time to master!!  Either way, stay tuned!  Now I have to get in bed…Boot camp is calling me (my last week of early a.m. craziness, we’ll just move it to the cheer fields @ night!).