First Day of School 2015-2016

 August 17, 2015 was the first day of school this year.  Also, my Asher Bedasher's 9th birthday!  He was disappointed when he learned that the first day of school was on his birthday but, handled it like a trooper.  Tristan has had the same issue before.  Those August birthdays.  Asher is in 4th grade this year and his teacher is Mrs. Rose.  So far, do good. 

 Liam is in 5th grade this year and his teacher is Ms. Adkisson(Ms. A). 

 Cedric is in 8th grade and has multiple teachers.  He is on the top of the totem pole this year in Jr. High but, will be back at the bottom next year in high school, lol. 

 Cullen is in 1st grade this year and his teacher is Mrs. Bray. 

 Tristan is in 10th grade this year.  He is taking driver's ed and I am crazy.  We have laid down the law and said that he won't get his permit or driver's license if he doesn't keep his grades in check this year.  Hopefully that is motivation enough.  

Eden Rose is in Kindergarten this year and her teacher is Mrs. Fink.  She was SO excited, she could hardly contain it! I sent a box of pullups with her since she has refused to potty for me at all.  The first week of school quickly fixed this problem and now she takes herself to the bathroom all alone without even telling anyone!! So proud!  Wearing big girl panties all day, every day!! Woot!

We made the choice to have the kids ride the bus to and from school this year.  We have never done this because I remember having bad experiences  on the school bus.  But, what a blessing it has been!  Our mornings go so much smoother.  And Jeremy can get to work on time, which we had issues with in previous years. 

Vivi and I had a super duper first day to ourselves.  This girl is pure joy.  She loves being outside.  So we went outside to wait for the bus to bring her brothers and sister home from school.  I was hoping and praying that Eden handled the bus well because they are the last ones dropped off. 

She is so funny!  She doesn't like grass.  So when I tossed the ball to her and it rolled in the grass, she was so cute trying to figure out how to get that ball without putting her feet in the grass! lol! :)

Cutting the grass with toenail clippers.  Efficient, right?!!?

This is so funny!  I took all these pics in quick succession.  The bus pulled up right in front of our small willow tree, which was annoying but, whatever.  As soon as the bus pulled up, Eden shot out of the bus like a cannon!

About right here, I noticed that she didn't have her backpack and said:"Eden, where is your backpack?"

As soon as I said it, her world was crushed.  Her brand new backpack was gone forever or so she thought.

Luckily her big brothers chased the bus down and got it to stop around the corner.  When they came back with her backpack she was most relieved!  They all had great first days and loved the "new school".  The elementary school was moved into the same building as the Jr. High this year.

Morning Blurb

I am having a meltdown over my fitbit.  Lol, for reals.  It is still tracking everything for me but, won't sync up with any device.  I have to manually enter all my steps.  So annoying.
But...........
So far today has been freaking awesome!! :)  It is my Asher's 9th Birthday and the first day of school for the 2015-2016 school year! The morning went off without a hitch! I just got me and Viv here and it feels amazing!!  I already am getting stuff done and getting to spend time with just Vivi.  She is loving the access to all the toys that Eden usually snatches from her!  lol!
I woke up at 5:00am so that I could get a handle on the day.  Everyone was awake except for Jeremy and the girls.  I made some biscuits and gravy, fried eggs,toast, and individual cartons of orange juice with little straws for Asher's birthday breakfast/back to school.  I bet he hates having his birthday then.  Jeremy says that he always hated it too.  Tristan has the same issue some years.  I think Eden is in the clear but, still early on in the school year.  We got some Lofthouse cookies and I took those out to school for Asher's birthday treat.  Jeremy bought 50 of them for Asher's class, lol! 
We signed the kids up to ride the bus this year but, when it didn't show up when it said it would, Jeremy loaded everyone up and took them to school.  I think they are riding the bus home. Vivianne and I will be waiting with the camera! 
I have slowly been writing this since about nine this morning.  The day is going well.  Vivianne is down for her nap and I am planning Asher's birthday supper. I am planning on making a big batch of meatballs to freeze and might just do spaghetti and meatballs.  I also thought about pork chops, mashed potatoes/gravy, corn, and noodles.  I can't decide. 
Our shed is overrun with wasps nests.  They are EVERYWHERE.  It is like a battle every time we go to the shed.  And we have two hornets nests in the best trees in the backyard.  So far no one has been stung.  But, I just had an epic battle with a huge wasp that got in the house.  It refused to die and it kept stinging the broom over and over and over again.  It was frightening.
So, the kids JUST walked in the door from school......at 4:45pm!! Criminey!

Well, everything went really well today! I was expecting pure chaos and everything just kinda flowed today.  Sweet!! We had home made spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, and waffle or regular ice cream cones.  Asher got a new toy machine gun and a transformers lego set.  AND he gets to pick out whatever new bike his little heart desires!! More details on stuff from the day later!!

Taking The Train to Philmont

 Last Friday(Aug. 7) Tristan and Troop 110 boarded the Amtrak train headed for Cimarron, NM and the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch.  We had him prepared as best as we could.  We got him the nice new hiking boots, new hiking socks($18 a pair, they better be worth it and not give him blisters, lol), hiking backpack with water bladder, camp gear, new moisture wicking hiking clothes, bear bags, rain gear.  Do you think I thought to get him a camera to take along??  No.  No, I didn't think of that very important item to take on a 10 day expedition across the country.  Ugh.  So annoyed with myself.  He took a little trac phone with him but, I am betting the battery didn't last long and the picture quality is going to suck.  Oh well.  Hopefully the memories will stay with him throughout his life.  

 I also forgot to get a good pic of he and Jeremy standing together, him in his uniform.  I was just so flustered at the train station.  I think I was the only parent freaking out about every single thing.  He is my first born.  I worry about every single little thing.  It is because I care so much.  Not because I don't want him to do things or have fun.  I just know there is so much that can (and usually does) go wrong.  But, I bet he is learning and growing so much in these 10 days!  I am so happy that the church provided this for the whole troop.  I know that the train fare, the week in Philmont, food, etc.  was a pretty penny. I each boy was about $1500 for camp/hike fees and train fare.  We had to pay $100 to sign him up, get him a physical, and pay for hike gear which came out to about $600ish.  Oh and he needed money for the train food, bus fare from train station to Philmont Ranch, and money to spend at the base camp trading post.  We sent an extra $125 for all that so hopefully that covered his needs.  Though it is an expensive endeavor, it should be well worth it for the life experience.  Travel was such a BIG part of my life growing up and it taught me a lot of stuff and gave me some street smarts.  We haven't been able to travel as much or as far as I imagined traveling with my own little family but, one day soon....we almost have this figured out, lol!

Okay, so it is really weird to me that this is my little baby, Tristan.  What the heck happened?!?!  For reals.  He will be turning 15 years old in 8 days and he is starting to turn into a young man.  I never realized how strange and confusing it would all be.....FOR ME.  I knew this time was strange and confusing for the adolescent but, who knew that I would have no idea what was happening either, lol?!?!?!  He just looks so grown up. 

The boys were supposed to arrive in their scout shirts but, Jason Skog (leader) had t-shirts for them when they all got to the train station.  Oh, and Tristan knew everything that day.  The heavens parted and the knowledge of all things hiking was bestowed upon his humble being.  *sigh*  It's okay, I knew everything once too.  Smh.  He won't always know everything, right!?!?  Lol! 

On the whole, he was in a pretty good mood and was probably just embarrassed that his mother is an emotional basket case.  Whatever. I am who I am and he is just going to have to deal with that! :)

He was in a good mood despite me freaking out about a lack of camera.  He was just so sure that if he put his trac phone in airplane mode that it would last the whole 10 days for pictures.  I think he is living in La-La-Land but, whatever.  So, they all boarded the train and were off .  They were supposed to arrive by 10am Saturday morning and start their hike into the mountains Saturday afternoon.  We heard that the train broke down in Colorado and they had to bring a new engine in to push them back to Grand Junction.  So they didn't get to Philmont until Sunday morning and left on the hike Sunday afternoon. I hope he is having a blast and it is a positive experience for him and not a miserable one.  Time will tell.  He is supposed to be home Sunday(16th) at 11am.  Unless the train breaks down, which from my experience happens almost every time. (I've ridden the train A LOT.  And every time there has either been a break down or we are late, late, late. You would think they would know how to prevent this by now since trains have been in operation for nearly 200 years now but, whatever.)  I hope he gets home in time for school to start on Monday. 

I have lost my damn mind.

Random Things

Jeremy and I made a decision to only shop at Aldi for food and whatever we can't get there, we get shipped to us on our monthly Amazon shipment.  So far, so good!  I love, love, love, that we get our basic necessities each month delivered right to our front door.  And shopping at Aldi is so much quicker and cheaper than other grocery stores.  And we don't end up spending extra money on those check out aisle purchases or whatever other junk we see at the store and think we need at the time.  The only problem so far is that I have not been in the mood to cook for months now.  Not that I don't cook.  Obviously, I have to with all these people in the house.  But, it has been rather lazy cooking, lol.  Last night was good though. I was in a super crappy mood.  Everyone was on my "Annoying List".  And I hadn't eaten all day except a leftover peanut butter and jelly that someone left on their plate at lunch.....so it was nice and stale.  Lovely.  But, somehow, after losing it and pouting in my bedroom for a bit, I went ahead and made supper.  I hadn't had my own pork chops in a long time so I made those with mashed potatoes and gravy, italian green beans, and a supper yummy watermelon.  It really, really hit the spot.  And everyone else liked AND ate it so that was a bonus!

Me and my fitbit are pretty much besties, lol!  I am seriously obsessed with it.  I wish it would talk instead of me pressing a button.  I get so annoyed if I take a shower and forget to put back on before I leave the bathroom.....oh no, wasted steps, LOL!  I am in a serious competition with myself.

So, I have been losing weight at a pretty steady pace(mostly) but, my main weakness is Brookside Chocolates.  Oh my goodness, I am seriously obsessed.  I had Jeremy go up to Casey's again last night and get me another dang bag of them($5 every time....I need to check and see if Amazon has them....or quit binge eating them, lol) and ate them all.  Dumb.  Whatever.  They are dark chocolate with fruit so they should be good for me, right?!!?

Another thing bothering me.  The Carthage house is consuming me, my time, my thoughts, my money, my everything. I feel like another summer is wasted dealing with that dang house.  And every time we go there, we find something else we need to buy, work on, or fix.  I am SO over it.  I wish a miracle would happen and it would all just be magically done.

On another note....I am all set up to take school pictures now!! I also have a web site complete with a personalized private password for client sessions where they can view and order photos from their packages....and even pay online!  I am pretty excited.  I know I probably won't get in to take any school pictures this year because the schools are already scheduled with whoever they normally go through.  But, I want to give them my information and at least get my foot in the door for future years.