Continued

Ok, so apparently last week wasn't enough! I have the pleasure of hosting Bunco this week, which is fine, I do not mind one bit, when I'm not sunburned. We took the kids to the lake on Saturday and camped that night, then played all day Sunday. The boys had a blast. Even Nicolas, who I thought was scared of the water a little. At first, he tried to stay in shallow water, but couldn't when we decided we wanted to swim in the middle of the lake. This turned in to me or Jason holding him. Not much fun. Finally late in the day, he decided he didn't want help any more and wanted to swim by himself (with life jacket of course). He of course decides this right as we are getting on the boat to head to the marina! We plan on taking them back this weekend, so we shall see what happens.
Back to the story. I have to back up. On Wednesday of last week, while I am still recovering from that sunburn, I decide to wash clothes. I forget they are in there until much later. I go to put them in the dryer and the washing machine is full of water. I think I accidentally hit the knob and turned it off so I pull the knob so it will start. It starts, and I forget about it again. I go back later, there is water in it still. Guess what? My washing machine is broke! UGH! Oh well, like I care I can't wash clothes. I will just wait for Jason to get home and fix it. Thursday rolls around and we aren't really doing anything. I went to the bank and dollar General. We get home and it feels a little warm in the house. At first I think it is because I am hot because I've been outside and the door was open for awhile because my kids cannot just come inside, they have to hold the door wide open. Later, I notice it isn't cooling down like it should. I check the thermostat. It says it is 80 degrees in the house. Why is that high? I keep it on 68. As it gets later, it keeps getting warmer. I check the vents, they are blowing, but the air is warm. I decide to just turn it off. I try to go to bed, I did not sleep well. I got up early and called Middleton, because they just installed that unit the day Nicolas was born. They tell me they cannot come out until Monday. MONDAY?!?!?!? I call Jason and tell him what they say, he calls them and they say they will have someone out that day. I wait forever for someone to come. They finally get here at 4:45, when the temperature in my house has reached 96 degrees. It takes this guy no more than 5 minutes to fix it. The part he replaced can go out without warning. GREAT! He also said they can go out due to power surges and since my washing machine ceased working also, a power surge probably got them both.
Back to hosting Bunco. Since I have had all of this wonderful luck lately, my house has been severely neglected. So, I have been trying to clean my entire house in 2 days. It has been so much fun! I plan on having a good time tomorrow though. My kids will be spending the night at my mother in laws house and my husband isn't home, so I will have no worries at all tomorrow night!

Ever have one of those days where everything goes wrong?
I had one of those weekends!
Well, it was actually a few days of things going wrong...
Last week we sold the Suburban so Jason could buy this old Bronco he wanted. I had to drive the thing home. I stopped by my in-laws house on the way home, and the battery cables came loose and I couldn't get the thing started. My father-in-law was there, so he fixed and everything was fine. A couple of days later, on Thursday, Jason found a boat he wanted to buy. We went to look at it Thursday night. He checked it over and thought every thing was fine. Friday, he took the boat to his dad's house, they were going to check it out and take it out on the water. They start to take it apart and see that the floor of the boat is rotten. UGH! Jason calls the person that sold us the boat, and he said he would take it back and give us our money back, but he couldn't until Saturday at 11. We were supposed to be on the road to go camping by then, we weren't! We finally got the boat taken back on Saturday, got everything loaded up and got the kids to their Granny's for the night. Jason and I go to Hot Springs to look at a boat. This takes forever! The boat we went to look at was not in good condition, but they had a party barge for sale also. We decide to look at it. The idiots at the dealership cannot figure out how to start the thing. Finally they get it started, and realize the battery is no good. We decide to buy the boat, so they send some guy to buy a battery for it. We get everything signed, insurance bought, and the guy isn't back with the battery. He finally gets there, but cannot figure out how to get the battery back in. I could have done it, it was 2 wires! We get the boat hooked up and see the pigtail is broken, and we know we will have to replace it before getting too far. When everything is hooked up and we think we are ready to go, Jason thinks the brakes on the boat trailer are locked up. We have to get out and see what's going on. It turned out that the emergency brake in the truck was on, we figured it out 20 minutes later. Finally on the road. We have to stop by Wal-Mart to get the stuff that has to be in the boat, and go to the parts store to get a new pig tail. We get all of that done, sitting in the parking lot to wire the pig tail, everything. One more stop though, the trailer tires need air! Finally on the road. It is around 6. Did I mention there is no air conditioner in the Bronco? I am dripping sweat the entire time. To make our ride better, there is a hole in the floor board letting exhaust in, making Jason and me sick! We were on our way to Lake Chicot, so there were many more stops since we had to buy gas a lot! Finally around 11 or 11:30 we make it there. I was so hot, I wanted to get on the boat immediately. After we got back to camp, Jason set up our tent and got stuff ready to go to bed. I did not sleep much since I was so hot. The next morning, we got up and started packing up all of our stuff so we could spend our day on the lake. There were 4 other people having to pack their stuff up too. Everyone finally got all of it done and we were ready to get on the lake. We get on the boat, Jason parks the Bronco. We pull up to get him, but have to keep letting him get off the boat to go get stuff out of the truck. First he needed tape, then it was Cd's, then he had to go get his wallet because it was sitting on the seat. Finally out on the lake! Everything is fine for awhile, everyone is having a good time. Well, almost everyone starts drinking. They were really drinking. Some guy, that I had just met, gets SUPER drunk. He starts throwing up over the edge of the boat. Everyone tries to make him eat so he will feel better, but he wont, and he finally just passes out. The rest of us decide to swim. After we all get back in the boat, I keep smelling some horrid smell. We cannot figure out what it is. I finally figure it out, the guy that passed out pooped his pants while passed out. It was all over him and in the boat. He acted like nothing happened when he finally woke up. We get the boat loaded up and get them all dropped off at their cars, and we start our journey home. First, we stop by McDonald's on the way. Jason likes plain burgers, so they made plain burgers, ALL of them were plain. My burger was plain! We didn't realize until after we were gone. We also had to stop at a gas station. Jason got gas and had to get me some cigarettes. We do not realize until later that they gave us the wrong ones. Oh well, we were going home. We had to stop a few times on our way because of the exhaust leak. Jason was really getting sick. We finally see the Woodson exit and the Bronco breaks down. We sit there for what seemed like forever, but he finally go t the thing started back up. Thank Goodness! We finally made it home. That was the longest weekend of my life. And, I forgot, my bathing suit cover blew off the boat somewhere in the lake.
It just seemed like anything that could go wrong the past few days was going to. It is a trip Jason and I will never forget! We are ready to take the kids out to the lake this weekend. They have never been on a big boat in the lake before, so this should be fun.

Working Out

So me and a friend joined Imagine Fitness on January 12. Guess what, over a month of working out and I have not lost one pound! I decided about 2 weeks ago that I need to measure myself so I can see the changes that way, but I haven't seen changes yet. This is probably because I had to miss almost a week of going to the gym because of bad weather, etc. The gym is starting Zumba classes tonight, I want to go soooo bad! Since my husband is always gone, I have to be here with the kids and can't go to a night class. I did buy the Zumba DVD set about a year ago, so I am going to do them at night with my 3 days a week work out at the gym. Maybe then I will see some sort of results for all my hard work!

No title...

I have no title for this because it's going to start on one subject and end on another. Last week I went to parent teacher conferences for Jacob and Lucas. Lucas is doing surprisingly well. He is ready to read, and they are going to begin teaching him this week! I was amazed that they told me this. Sometimes, most of the time, I wonder if he understands anything that comes out of my mouth, and they have him ready to read? He also knew most of the other things he was questioned about.
Jacob's report was also perfect academically. The only thing his teacher has a 'problem' with is Jacob's shyness I guess. I can't remember exactly what she said, but basically she said since the beginning of the year he has come out of his shell, but isn't where she thinks he should be.
This brings me to the rant! I am saying this because I know someone else who got a talk about their child being shy. What is it with these teachers? What happened to the days when they wanted the kids to sit there and be quiet, now they want them talking non-stop? I am saying right now there is nothing wrong with a child that does not want to talk all the time, or is shy. I personally know the other child whose parents were basically told the same thing, and there is nothing wrong with that kid either! I went to this school, back when it was Kindergarten all the way up to sixth grade, and probably only spoke 10 words the entire time I was there. I am not saying that I am perfect, but I do not believe that I am not as normal as the person in the class that was the most outgoing. Let me say something else, I also do not want my children to be shy, I hope that they are outgoing, but I am not going to push it on them. They will be who they are.
These 'talks' made me feel like I should take an 8 year old to a psychiatrist to be evaluated. Like there is something terribly wrong with him. I know there isn't, but sometimes as a parent, you get questioned about what you are or are not doing. As a mother, I constantly question every choice I make concerning my children. When someone else says something, especially a teacher who is with your child more than you are, you question your choices. You may question them for a minute, a day, or a month, but you do it. So, I let this woman do this to me. I have since decided that there is nothing wrong with him or the way I am dealing with his self-confidence issues.
I just hate that I let this woman do this to me. I can semi-understand where they are coming from, but REALLY? Do they not have any thing else to do? Are there not more pressing issues at that place then a few kids that are shy? Maybe I'm just over reacting, but I do not think I am. I do not need someone questioning me. If I was doing drugs, or Jake was showing up at school without shoes or something, question my parenting abilities, but to question me because I have a shy child is ridiculous. What do you all think?

Craziness!!!

OK, so I haven't blogged in months, sorry! I have been super busy. I had a job (yes, outside the house) for about a minute, LOL! I could not stand those people, so I quit. But, it's fine because Jason is buying another truck and I am going to be his load broker. (whoo hoo!) I will get to do everything he can't do in a truck away from home, plus do everything else I already do-laundry, chauffeur, maid, cook, etc. and also full-time student. If I can make it to October 10, I will be sooooo happy! As long as I do not take any breaks, that will be my last day of class, YIPEE!
From the experience of going to school when I am almost 30, I know already one area I will not be like my own parents, and Jason like his. Neither set of parents stressed to us how important it was to go to college, but not only that, they did not stress how we needed to go directly after high school. Jason went not long after we got married, while I was pregnant with Jake. That was hard enough. Now I take this on with 3 kids, one a baby. What was I thinking? I ask that sometimes, but I know exactly what I was thinking, and what I am doing, and I am glad I am doing it.
Since my last post, some very important things have happened. My little Nick-a-poo turned 2. I know, I can't believe he's that old either. My biggest little baby Jacob turned 8. All I can say is time flies. It seems like yesterday that he was walking around in a diaper! Lucas turns 5 soon, and that one seems the oddest to me. I don't know what it is about Lucas turning 5 that turns my stomach, it just doesn't seem like he should be that old, and half way to kindergarten.
We had a wonderful Christmas. The kids really liked their gifts this year. We have been outside a lot over this break because they got Razor Rip Riders for Christmas. As soon as I get some pics of them riding them I'll post them, it is hilarious. The day after Christmas, the kids spent their Christmas money on Band Hero. It has become an obsession for us. We have played it everyday since we got it. This past Friday, we had to go buy another Guitar Hero game because we beat Band Hero, we've beaten that one also!
I will go, as soon as I get my pics in the computer, I'll upload some...

Kathy

Lucas' 1st Razorback Game!

Saturday we took Jacob and Lucas to see the Razorbacks play. It was an awesome game by the way, the Razorbacks scored in the first few seconds! Jacob has been before, but Lucas hadn't. We had a plan for the whole day, a week before the game. We were going to leave super early so we did not get into too much traffic. Since we would have time to kill, we were going to take the kids to the zoo for awhile and maybe the McDonald's across the street from the stadium. That was a good plan, except into the week, the news started talking about rain for Saturday. We didn't know what to do then. We didn't know if we should even try to bring the kids at all. I was not going to leave because they were getting wet! In the end, we decided to take them. We had to take Nicolas to my mother in laws that morning, of course, on the entire way, it was pouring! Jason and I left all the kids with her and ran to 5 different stores to find ponchos. Everyone was sold out! Finally found some, and picked the kids up. I realize that I have left my camera at home, so we have to go back to get it. It was fine, we had time. We finally get to the ramp on the freeway where traffic is stopped. We get close to the zoo and I have Jason let me and the boys out so we can go to the zoo while he parks the car. We get in the zoo at 3, and they close at 4:30. The kids had me running so they could see everything before we had to go. I pull out my camera and guess what? NO MEMORY CARD! I was only able to take 3 pictures, and now have no idea how to get them off the camera! We are finally walking up to go in the stadium. Everyone that knows Lucas, knows that he takes his time to look at everything. He was walking so slow. Everyone that came up behind us was just going around with no problems. Then some lady that looked she was from some ghetto, had to mouth off when she passed us. I mouthed back. She came at me, but just stared at me for a minute, and then says, "I was not trying to be rude, you did not have to be that way." I just stared back waiting for her to say something else, but she walked off. I seen that lady a few times after that, she would just stare at me. I don't know what the deal was. It was 5, the game started at 6, and we were right by the gate that she was going in, she was not going to miss anything. I was mad about that for awhile. On our way in, we bought the kids a hog nose and a little pom pom. Thank goodness that the people sitting in front of us and behind us were very nice. I cannot tell you how many times they got whacked in the head by Lucas swinging his pom pom! He was hilarious the entire game. The band was sitting in the section next to us, Lucas thought that was wonderful. Every time they played, he had to stand up and dance. After the game, the kids got to hang over the side and high five the players. Lucas did it, but was more worried about the band. After the last player came through, he took off to the band and yelled at them "You did wonderful. I really like you!" Of course some girls were eating that up! Even though there were a few mishaps at the start of our day, it was a great day to hang out with most of my boys. Even though I did not get a picture of Lucas' face when he went in there, I do not think I could ever forget the look! He asked me the other day, if I could take him to another Razorback game on Tuesday? I told him I would as soon as they started playing on Tuesdays!


Kathy

This is driving me crazy!

I do not know where to even begin! I am so frustrated with school right now. I am sick of taking classes that do not pertain to anything. This time I am in Religions of the World and Environmental Science. First E.S. I know that people pollute everything, we really can't do anything about it while we're all sitting on our computers using up energy, right? I think that it is ridiculous to learn how to conserve energy when we are using a ton of energy just to read the stupid information they are giving us. I do not care for that class, and it is showing in my grade, oops! I have an A, but it's a 94%. If I paid some sort of attention, I would have a better grade. Now for R.W. I thought, before I started the class, that it would be interesting. Boy was I wrong! I have learned a lot, but I do not know why I need to know any of this. Sunday I had to write a paper comparing the lives of Jesus and Muhammad(founder of Islam). That was very difficult. I do not believe anything that has to do with Islam, the more I have learned about it, the more it sounds completely made up! I have had a lot of trouble trying to keep an open mind and not injecting my own beliefs into class. I believe I am done, I can not take it anymore. I am going to tell everyone that Islam is made up! For my final project in that class, I had to interview someone of a different religion than my own and write a paper comparing the two. I choose the friars at the monastery. They are Catholic, which is Christian, and that was as far as I was willing to go! While I was at the monastery, I met the nicest young man, Brother Daniel. He was fairly new to the monastery. He was answering my questions, and it seemed like he was so old, because he knew so much. He was talking about when he was in high school like it was so long ago, then later he said his age, and I am sure he saw a crazy look on my face! He was only 21! He took me on a tour of the monastery, and then we walked to the cemetery way in the back. I did not see any of the other friars. I did not know, but there are only 5 of them there right now. There used to be more, but Brother Daniel told me that a couple of them have gotten too old to care for themselves, so they are in nursing homes. Anyway, if any good has come out of this class, it was getting to meet Brother Daniel. It is something that I will always remember.
If anyone wants to know anything about Brother Daniel and my interview, I will be glad to tell you. Til next time...

Kathy