by Sarah | Aug 9, 2012 | All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Family, All About Kennedy, All About Learning, All About Me, Cross Country, Friday Fragments, Random, The Teenager
[flickr id=”7665949676″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]I’ve been having a good week…month…year. Whatevs, it’s all good. Okay, so there’s been ups and downs, but as I said recently I feel like I’ve hit my prime.
But for whatever reason my mind can’t wrap around a cohesive lengthy post today so you get the ever-marvelous bullet list of awesome.
- School starts in less than a week. Three kids. Gone all day. Makes me salivate at the thought of all that might get accomplished.
- Erik is doing a lot better. We’ve had a change in diagnosis & treatment plan, and things are looking up. Hopefully soon we’ll dive more into it – when he’s ready.
- In case you missed it – I’m being published. I so cannot wait until February to cross that sucker off my 45X45 list.
- The teen is entering high school. Honestly, not sure if this goes on a list of awesome b/c it sort of freaks me out – but it is happening. He’s in JV Cross Country practices now.
- We’re going to the State Fair on Monday. I’m actually pretty excited for this. Been a long time since I’ve done this.
- Erik & I have started walking together every night. It gives us added exercise & some time for just the two of us.
- I still have this 5k coming up but with the heat I have lapsed on training. Starting again real soon because time is running out (pardon the unintentional pun)
- Did I mention school starts soon? No? Well, it DOES.
- Oh, make sure you come by here tomorrow…I’m having a fun, flirty, sexy giveaway you do NOT want to miss.
by Sarah | Jul 27, 2012 | All About Family, All About Indiana, All of Us, Blogging Life, Community, Indiana Family of Farmers, Table Talk, The Reluctant Hoosier
It’s safe to say that I’ve mentioned a few times before how much I love my neighborhood. It reminds me of a neighborhood I grew up in when I lived in Buffalo. We all know each other, our kids all know each other, we watch out for each others families and homes. There isn’t a weekend that goes by that you can’t find a group of neighbors gathered at someones house. This stands true through spring, summer, fall, and into the mildest of winter weather.
One surefire way to get a group over your house is to get out the grill. Usually when we plan on cooking out, we expect to end up inviting at least two of our neighbors to join in the fun. Hot dogs, hamburgers, steaks, chicken – you name it we grill it. Someone is bound to bring mac & cheese (because you can’t have any food gathering without that) – and of course type of salad. Before you know it, our deck table is absolutely overflowing with food and our deck is overflowing with neighbors.
Usually after the kids settle for ice pops. You know, the stick-pops of juice you get at the local supermarket on the cheap. Every freezer in the neighborhood is jammed full of them.
This year I’m bringing something new and fun to the party.
A [amazon_link id=”B003U9ZCRO” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Quick Pop[/amazon_link] bar. Make a base of their yummy vanilla yogurt pop and lay out the fruits and chocolate shell. In minutes the kids can have a yummy popsicle they made themselves – and it’s not just sugar water. Fruit’s involved which helps with the healthy points.
Yup, this year my Quick Pops will bring all the neighbors to the yard 😉
*~*~*
This post was written as part of Indiana Family of Farmers Table Talk series. As a Table Talk contributor I received products. All opinions and stories in the post are my own truth.
by Sarah | May 23, 2012 | All About Denver, All About Family, All About Kennedy, All About Learning, All About Me, All About Molly, Crap, Random
[flickr id=”6987996541″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]One week.
That week includes a three day weekend.
And the kids are out for summer.
10 weeks.
I’m both filled with dread and…
Um…joy? Fear?
Well whatever it is, I’m filled with it.
We have plans, quite a few of them. It will pass quickly.
It will probably pass even faster because I will most likely be employed again by the end of the month. Part time. VERY close to home (like walking distance) and w/ hours that will let me meet the kids at the bus and kiss them at night before bed. Also, once school starts again I’ll still have a few days a week home w/ no kids.
No kids.
All the school day long.
How many days until school starts again?
by Sarah | Apr 15, 2012 | All About Denver, All About Family, All About Me, Crap, The Teenager
[flickr id=”7082358983″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]Twenty years ago it was me. Standing in the kitchen facing up for teenage versions of crimes. For lies.
Tonight in the oddest form of a time warp my mother’s voice transported twenty years into the future and emerged from my own lips.
“I don’t understand why you continue to lie. You always get caught. Don’t you think you should learn by now?”
I never did learn. Not for quite a few years.
I fear my son will hold onto the lies with the same stubbornness. I want so much better for him.
Better than the strange consuming urge I once had to lie. I never did good at rebellion. I feared the consequences of rebellion too much. I feared hurting my mother. To this day I still rarely curse in front of my parents.
My one form of rebellion was lying. It became an urge, a need. Not until it once almost ruined my marriage did I learn to let go.
Like always I hope for better things for my children.
For now my mother’s words and the punishment of removing his distractions and pleasures one by one have to suffice. Lessons need to be learned – but each one is a blow.
Now only 20 years later can I begin to comprehend that my Mom told the truth when she said “This hurts me as much as it hurts you.”
by Sarah | Apr 12, 2012 | All About Denver, All About Family, Crap, The Teenager, WTF?
[flickr id=”5888954984″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]The tween-into-teenage years were a nightmare for me. Labeled as a nerd, unpopular – oh, my I still have nightmares about middle school. Tortured, lost – it battered my low self-esteem into a pulpy puddle of goo.
In high school – once we moved 527 miles away to Indiana – I found friends. I had a group that I became a part of where I belonged and I still talk to some of them today. As an adult I can say that I’m grateful for the internet as it has allowed me to expand my circle of friends. My best friend is someone I met online, and I would never have met my Geek-Girl peeps without the power of this internet world we live in.
I never thought I would be the one saying…
THANK HEAVENS I DIDN’T HAVE THE INTERNET IN MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL.
Because, really. Thank heavens I didn’t.
Now that the teen is on the internet we’re having to create a new set of rules. From “Mom has access to ALL your accounts, and you’d better remember that” to “Don’t post intentionally hurtful things.”
For a while things got ugly. Internet privileges and the iPod have been revoked until proper ‘netiquette’ has been learned.
It’s a process that we are all learning together.
I am very glad I didn’t have to worry about such things at that age. It’s hard enough being a teen without everything happening at the speed of internet.
by Sarah | Apr 11, 2012 | All About Family, All About Kennedy, All About Me, All About Molly
[flickr id=”6921772250″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]Before he was 2 years old, Erik had 7 surgeries on his eyes. Today he still suffers the effects. Astigmatism in both eyes, weak muscles and near-sightedness. His perscription changes every single year enough to need a perscription.
I got my first glasses in 6th grade. My eyes are too bad, but I’m nearsighted.
Denver was 7. Nearsighted.
Now it’s the girls. In a houseful of 5, not one of us escaped the need for corrective eyewear. [flickr id=”6921772134″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”right”]
Molly is just like her daddy. Astigmatism in both eyes, near-sighted.
Kennedy is (as always) the odd-duck. One eye is practically perfect. The other is a mess. Astigmatism, near-sighted. Her glasses are lop-sided in correction.
I wish the girls had been able to escape this fate – but they look darn cute, don’t they?
