Sunday, June 27, 2010

Different Priorities.

Marriage.  It can be great.  It can be frustrating.  Sometimes you give more than you take.  Sometimes you take more than you give.  It is an interesting game.

I think for the most part, my husband and I have done pretty good in balancing out the give and take.  I know that there are times when he shakes his head and wonders why I've done something.  I have done the same to him.

Home decor is one of those places where we differ.  It is a high priority for me.  Making my house a home is a big deal to me.  It doesn't feel like home unless everything is just "so".  I don't buy or put things in my home unless it is something that has some kind of meaning.  My house has a lot of photos, quotes, old furniture, new furniture.  Things I have made.  Things my kids have made.  My home speaks of where we have been and where we are going.  A lot of thought goes into how I put things in my home and where I put them.  I pour over the colors I choose for each room.  Each thing I hang on the wall reminds me of someone or something.  I know.  I am strange.  It is just how I am.  I don't decorate my home for others.  I decorate my home for my family.

Where am I going with this post?  Well, I have felt the need to redo my daughter's room top to bottom.  Normally this wouldn't be a problem.  The problem is that we just moved into our brand new home in March.  My hubby sees no reason to redo her room.  He thinks it is fine, "just the way it is".  I feel SO different!  Logically if I sit and think about it I know that the financial things (job changes, moves, a home up north that we can't seem to unload, etc) we have faced over the past 15 months have taken a toll on us.  I know that timing may be bad to redo a room that doesn't really need it.  So, why do I feel the need???

My daughter is almost 17.  Realistically she won't be home much longer.  I feel like the time for me to go in and make her room "special" and one-of-a-kind is slipping away.  If I wait much longer it won't mean anything to her.  If I wait until she moves out and change her room, it will no longer be her room.  Does that make sense?  Honestly, I have visions of how I want her room to be.  Of the memories she will make in it while she is still living here, and then I have visions of sitting upstairs with my granddaughter in that SAME room and telling her, "This is your mom's old room.  She slept right here in this very bed that you are sleeping in tonight.  She used to laugh here.  She used to sit out on this same balcony and write her poems.  She made memories here.  How you see this room right now is how it was for your own mother."

Nostalgic?  Perhaps.  I can't help it.  That is just how I am. 

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Got Gas? Know How?

Love my daughter.  She is smart.  Intelligent.  Pretty.  I could go on and on.  Sometimes though she makes me stop and say, WHAT?  Yesterday she informed me that she needed to take my car to piano lessons because the Jeep was out of gas and, are you ready for this, because I sure wasn't. . .SHE DID NOT KNOW HOW TO PUT GAS IN THE CAR.  (Eyes bulging out here).  She has had her drivers license for 9 months and a learners permit for almost a year prior to that.  How did that happen?

So, to remedy the problem, I immediately took her to the gas station and showed her how to start the pump and fill the car with gas.  I decided that she would be fine while the gas pumped and I would go fill up my drink while she finished up.  Then, I changed my mind.  SO GLAD I DID!!!

Do you know the gas scene from Zoolander?



It almost happened at Maverick yesterday.  My smart, intelligent, beautiful, daughter tried to pull the gas pump out of the car while still pulling up on the handle.  (Insert screaming mother here).  I grabbed the pump from her and informed her that maybe she needed another lesson in pumping gas.  Oh dear.What a day.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

hAppy fAthErs dAy!!!

What great men I have in my life.  My father.  My hubby.  My father-in-law.  My brothers.  My brothers-in-law.  My four sons.  I feel VERY blessed.

Honestly, I don't think I could write anything more than I did when I did a tribute to my hubby and my dad on their birthdays.

Click HERE to read my post about my dad.

Click HERE to read my post about my hubby.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!  Celebrate it well.

Friday, June 18, 2010

The Jacket.

The pictures don't do it justice.  Trust me.  It was fabulous!

Have no idea what I am talking about???
Then read my previous post:  Retro Night.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Retro Night.

Tonight I felt like I had gone back in time 20 or so years. I attended an Oak Ridge Boys concert as part of a work conference that I am attending with my hubby. I am going to be honest, when he told me who the entertainment was, um, well, I wasn't really all that excited to go. SO glad I did!

The whole time I was having flashbacks of being a kid and riding around in one of these beauties:
Listening to music on one of these:
On family vacation listening to my parents singing along to them:
We were also privileged enough to get to listen to Willie Nelson, Eddie Rabbit, and Crystal Gayle while driving around in our uber cool VW bus. Those were the days!

The concert tonight brought back a lot of memories. It was fun, oh, and before I forget. . .the jacket that the bass singer (Richard Sterban) had on. . .FABULOUS! I took some pics with my phone. I will have to post them later. Seriously. Fab!

Dear Oak Ridge Boys,

Thanks for the enjoyable night and for the memories.

Love- Me

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Happy Birthday "BONES"!!!





HAPPY 15th Birthday, son!!! Wish I could see you today and give you a big hug and a kiss and wish you happy birthday in person!!! Instead of being home, you are HERE celebrating your birthday at scout camp.

Hope you have a fantastic day!!! I seriously cannot believe that you are 15. Where has the time gone???

Love- Mom

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Praxis.

I took the Praxis today. I am glad it is over, but I just want to know what my results are. I won't find out for about 4 weeks.

What is the Praxis??? It is an oh so lovely test that all teachers have to take and pass before they can be considered "highly qualified" teachers. It all came about because of No Child Left Behind. There are parts of the NCLB that I agree with and parts that frustrate me. The Praxis is some of the frustrating part.

The Praxis is based on content knowledge. Basically they test in four content areas: Language Arts, Math, Science, & Social Studies (which includes: Geography, History, Economics, etc.). There is not an official study guide. Basically, just know everything there is to know in each of these areas and you will do great.

I am all for being tested to see if I am a qualified teacher or not. Just give me something as a study guide. Just tell me some general idea of what I need to know and I will learn it. After all, I am not going to know everything there is to know in all of the content areas just in my head. If there is something that I am going to teach to my students that I don't know, then I will brush up on it and learn what I need to.

In my opinion, the Praxis test should be testing me on my ability to be able to find information I don't know about and see if I can learn it and teach it. Not testing me to see if I have all kinds of general information already stored in my head.

Today I was doing fine on the test. The Language Arts and Math were a breeze. Then I hit the Science. . .oh, dear. They had a cross section of an amoeba and I was supposed to know how to label the different parts. What? Who just has that information in their head??? Not me. That is for sure!

History was tough too. I knew some of the answers, but there were some specific questions about Theodore Roosevelt and laws and specifics about his Presidency that I just didn't have in my little brain.

If I didn't pass, I am not going to stress. MANY MANY people take the test several times before they pass it. I hope that I passed, but if I didn't, I guess I will be hitting the text books and brushing up on my knowledge about science and history.

Until then, I will just TRY not to worry about it.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Quick Memory

My kids are growing up WAY TOO FAST! When I have a memory of them that I haven't written down, I feel the need to do so. I guess it is one way for me to hold on to their childhood.

My boys are upstairs and I just heard one of them tell the other a memory they had from several years ago. I had completely forgotten about it until now. I love listening in on their conversations, especially when they don't know I am :)

Distant Memory:

My youngest son- "Mom?"

Me- "Yes?"

Him- "Can I wear my short-sleeved pants today?"

Me (smiling)- "Sure, go ahead and wear your short-sleeved pants. It is warm enough outside today."

Oh so cute! I guess since we have long-sleeved and short-sleeved shirts he just thought that pants and shorts were long-sleeved and short-sleeved too!

LOVE this memory! :)

Monday, June 7, 2010

Just Stuff.

Not much going on. Imagine that! It has been so nice. No hospital visits this week. No doctors appointments. No school. No homework. It feels like vacation! Seriously, so nice to have a break.

I was even able to do a project for my daughter's room. It is a cork board that I was going to throw away because part of the cork had torn off when we moved. So glad I decided to do a little make-over on it instead! It will look super cute with her new vanity. You can CLICK HERE to sneak a peek at the cork board if you want :) If you do, let me know what you think!

Next week will be a little bit busier than this week. We will be heading out of town for work stuff. So, I am going to enjoy the peace and quiet of this week and just soak it all in!

Happy Summer!