Peaceful Easy Feelin

Don't you just love when it snows and you have no where to be and nothing to do? The fire is lit and the entire family is home with no plans. And that is something that doesn't happen too often around here anymore.

I love just listening to everyone as they watch an episode of The Office...love listening to my son belly laugh because he doesn't do that near enough anymore...you know...being a man and all now. It really is just the small things and I am thankful for the day we get to spend together...

But snow??? really??? It was like 75 degrees yesterday...and then...snow. It is no wonder my sinuses are whacked out to the extreme right now. But I did get both my raised beds built, the grass removed and the rest of the garden tilled. I can't tell you that Dave is thrilled about the raised beds...but he is his ever easy-going self and lets me do pretty much whatever I want :o) We really were made for each other...have I ever said that? I think I have :O)

Ashtyn's room is a different story! I really wanted to have it done by the time my vacation was over but with working outside, ball games and just everything else that gets in the way...her room just didn't fit. Because of that, I have decided that we are going to have one of Dave's friend do the texturing and painting. It's what he does for a living and he is giving us an unbelievable deal on the labor. So much so that it just isn't worth the pain and suffering of doing it myself :o) (thanks Steph for substantiating that fact for me and I am sending good thoughts your way for a speedy finish to your bathroom project!! I know it will be great!)

I have been taking pictures along the way of all these projects and will be posting as they progress...but for now I am just gonna sit here under my comfy blanket and finish watching Dwight and Michael throw trash at each other :oP

Chewy Granola Bars

Well I have a new love! Chewy granola bars. The recipe is here and I just have to tell you...it is delish! My son even loves it!


The only thing I really did different was add about 3 or 4 tbs of honey too. I used the Karo syrup version and used all it called for plus the honey. And...I only baked it for around 27-28 minutes....35 minutes was way too long in my oven and dries it out.

I even mixed extra for the next time round...so good!

Practice Makes Perfect

Okay...so I have read about 43 books on digital photography lately because I want to get better at using my camera and capturing really fun pics. And so far...I feel like I have learned so much! I definitely have a lot more to learn but the biggest problem I have right now is finding time to practice taking pictures and working on what I have learned. Sooo...we just went driving around taking pics this last weekend of just whatever we came upon.

The weird thing was where we turned up...

In OKC...there has been problems with gangs (I know....just like everywhere else nowadays) and one gang in particular was just "showcased" on the tv show "Gangland". This gang known as the "Southside Locos" has become a large problem for the southwest side of OKC and tagging is a very popular thing among their members. And don't you just know that this is what I chose to be my "practice"! :o)

So I wanted to share some of the pics I snapped as we quickly drove by these not so nice looking places. Please picture in your mind...my 14 year old daughter in the back floorboard with her head between her knees and arms wrapped over her head chanting..."we are gonna die...we are gonna die...we are gonna die!" :O) Good times!! Never say we don't have adventure in our lives...

On the "Gangland" program, they have Southside Loco members talking about how they "diss" their rival gang by calling them cornbreads or other terms they consider derogatory. It was pretty weird to actually see that displayed in their tags...

This is what Ashtyn now wants to use as her profile pic on her facebook/myspace page...she is such a gangsta!

Speedie showed up in a lot of places...his spray paint can gets around.

It is pretty depressing to see how it really has infiltrated this whole area of the city.

I really love the next one..."Keep it clean OKC"

GBC's and MRC's are some of the big rival gangs of the Locos...I don't know if they are one in the same gang and just use the different letters but I know the interviews with the Locos members all talked about the GBC's being their biggest opposition. There are also a lot of GBC tags around the southside but in this area...it seemed like the MRC tags were represented more.

187 is used all over in the Locos tags...don't really know the number significance but all of them use numbers in their tags.

Here is "Speed" again...it is sad that a lot of the houses have been tagged.

sad...

Black skull flags are another thing I started noticing a lot in the area...

For those of you who have eaten at Chelinos - this was just a tortilla factory...pretty fun...of course I am snapping pics as we are driving by so as not to be shot per listening to instructions from the daughter. :o)

What's really weird to me was that not too far removed from this area are the next pictures of a private (i.e., expensive) catholic school...it is just really weird to me that I would be paying high dollar for my kids to go to school around the corner from very notorious gang activity. The building really is old and beautiful though. Ash had provided info to us that she had heard that the fourth floor of the building is haunted...maybe that is why the Locos stay away.

The rest are just more random pics that we took on our tour of the southside...

This was some kind of factory but I loved the yellow and back and forth look of the stairs...

I just loved this old house for some reason...

This was my second favorite pic of day...just love the contrast of colors...this is to pay homage to all the photo books I have read and how they just make doorways seem so cool. This is my practice doorway :o)

This was my favorite of the day! Thank you for letting me share my practice with you as well as my gang education :o) Maybe I will get real good at taking photos and become the gang photo person for OKC :o) I try to have wild side dreams however displaced they may seem...ps...my husband would put a stop to gang photographer aspirations...but one can dream.

Lost

Well today I enrolled my baby into high school...I just finished helping my firstborn enroll for his Senior year and my husband is traipsing around in another country...I am a little lost. I think I might spend too much time worrying about the future (ya think?) Like what happens when there are no basketball games/meets or arctic baseball games to attend? Ok - so I know it isn't arctic but it is dang cold people!! Baseball really should not be allowed to start until mid-April...I am just sayin!



I have really just been hangdog lately about the fact of how fast life goes by and that I can't stop it. It is good though to think about it because it means that you don't take as much for granted and also hopefully try to make more lasting memories. That is what I want most...memories that my kids will always have and be able to hold dear...that is why I am really trying to promote a hike up Pikes Peak (maybe this summer.) Wouldn't that just be the funnest trip and an awesome memory for our family to share? Well unless we get mauled by a bear...then that's maybe not such a good memory :o)



So to all my friends who have young ones...I know I sound like a broken record... but ... don't miss "it" whatever "it" might be today. And for all my friends who have older kids that told me over and over not to stress the little things because you will miss them before you know it...I concede!!...you were so wise!!



And finally to my Canadian defected husband...I miss my best friend and am ready for him to come home now!

Baby Boy~

It has almost been seventeen years ago that this sweet sweet boy took his first breaths of life and fully helped me realize the greatest reason I was put on this planet. Which just happened to be substantiated once again when his sister was born several years later. You know I always wanted babies. It was in my makeup...and while I just thought that was what all girls thought about...that and meeting their Prince Charming (who is also pictured below...how lucky can one girl get?) ...I know now that it was more than just what was suppose to come next in life.

I was born to be a mom! Don't get me wrong, I have not always appreciated that fact 100% of the time...and I have been distracted by things such as work and school and just stuff along the way but I just have to tell you...there is so much joy that comes from being a mom!

Caleb is my firstborn and to listen to his sister, has a definite advantage when it comes to discipline....he sees it the other way around. I seem to think that it is more because he fits the first born mold in every way. He is my worrier and follows the rules to the letter. There is little gray in Caleb's world. In elementary, if his teacher told him to read with his mother...on the couch...with the tv off...for 20 minutes a night... well, let me just tell you there was no getting by with reading for 19 and a half minutes...and we would be seated on the couch with the tv off! Sometimes I seriously considered calling or emailing his teachers and begging them to help me by keeping in mind how literal he would always take their instructions. "Mom...she said it had to be the 8 oz bottle!"..."Okay Caleb, but this one has 8.8 oz...so that is better because it has more." ...little brown eyes blinking...then as he walks away muttering..."Okay...but she said the 8 oz one...she specifically said 8oz and that we had better get the right one...I'll probably get in trouble because she said it like three times." ... I can not tell you how many of these conversations I have had over the years!

Caleb is super-smart and it is funny because I don't...nor have I ever had to ride him about his homework...he is harder on himself than his dad, teachers, coaches or myself could ever be. He is a perfectionist and while you would think as a parent that would be the best thing to have in a child, I will tell you that at times my heart aches deeply for him. Sometimes I just wish I could better impart my wisdom of my past "many" years on this earth so that he would be able to understand that you don't have to please every person and do everything 150% to be considered a success. It is a hard struggle with him because on one hand, he makes me the most proud a mom could be but on the other hand, I simply worry that he misses out on too much joy because it is being overshadowed by the stress he has surrounding him while trying to always be the best...

He is and will always be my little man, even though he looks down at me now which just isn't right! He has the biggest heart imaginable...and the compassion he has for others, especially children is just a blessing to be able to watch. Kids are always drawn to him mainly because he doesn't just blow them off as many teenagers would but has no problem getting down on the ground and wrestling with them until giggles are abundant! What a wonderful father and husband he will make someday!!

And coupled with the fact that I have now an almost 17 year old child, I also am having to face the dark reality that he will in just the span of a quick spring and summer be a Senior in high school and let me tell you...I...am...not...ready!! I am not ready for the year that will most assuredly fly by in no time and I can't even fathom him beginning college...it just isn't right...he should be climbing up on my lap and putting his arms around my neck...or pulling at my legs saying "up momma, up!"

His dad and I have always said we just want to order them to stop growing and even though it is exciting to see where the road will take them and what an awesome man he is and will continue to become...I know my days are numbered as far as having him come home to me every night and just knowing he is still tucked beneath my wing and in my nest. I really didn't want this to be a sad happy birthday wish but I am just not ready to let my baby grow up and yet that is just what he is doing :o)

I love you baby boy more than you can ever know and I am so proud of the man you are becoming!!! Happy birthday Leb!!!

"I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be."

Don’t be a pic hater!!

Okay…so I receive a lot of grief…okay maybe not a lot, but a few grumblings nonetheless, about the fact that my son Caleb doesn’t get a lot of blog time…be patient…gesh! One real big reason is simply that Caleb, like his father, does not like to have his picture taken. And I am one of those people who don’t like to make people take pictures when they really don’t want to. Especially in today’s world where every bad picture ever taken is plastered up on facebook, myspace, or in blog world. Even when I may think a picture is great, the subject may not and it is really a choice that should be theirs and not mine. And not to mention that when someone is uncomfortable in front of the camera…it is going to show in the pics and that is just not fun~

Now, with that being said, by no means assume that I don’t do my darndest to get my son to “cooperate and just let me, for the love of Pete, get a good picture!” “People think I don’t love you!!!” …small grin…”whatever mom…”…sigh…

So I do the only thing a desperate mom can do…I wait for his friends to come over and let them help me guilt him into it…

So when Kayla comes to do Chemisty homework…out with the camera I come…of course not before Caleb can get his shirt up to cover his face.

“Please…just one???” …”Mom, we are trying to do homework!!”… “I know, but this will be a memory…think about all the times you and Kayla have worked on homework together….we need to memorialize it!”

And sweet, sweet Kayla…”Come on Caleb…just one…” Mom’s are smart when it comes to knowing how to manipulate our children. It’s actually a gift God has given us!

Okay…so it’s just a little smile…but hey…that is like a major accomplishment in my book! Awww…see it’s not so bad :O)

Stress

You know...stress is a real joy stealer! I was thinking about stress yesterday as we changed our mind about going out for our anniversary. Ashtyn was staying at home and Caleb was going out with Lindsey and we just didn't think it was right for her to be alone on Valentine's Day. Much to her dismay, as she felt like it just highlighted "alone awareness" in her life, we had decided to stay in. But then we realized that Caleb didn't have reservations until 8 and if we hurried we could go out and hopefully not only beat the rush but also be back before Caleb left. So we decided this at 4pm and also just as I happened to have just stepped out of the shower (..so sometimes I do take showers in the middle of the day when I am freezing cold and its the only way I can warm up!!! ...have you been to my house?? Don't judge until you have lived with the Eskimos that I have for family members!) ...so really the plan being...if I could get ready and us be in Norman before 5pm, then we could make this happen. And it was now 4:03 and counting~

So of course I rush to my closet and start the race against the clock. For some reason, it reminded me of Sunday mornings when the kids were little and I was a stressed out wreck by the time we got to church. Mad at my husband because he had dared to sit, earlier in the morning, and stare at ESPN (which was replaying the same story they had already talked about 12 times over the last hour) while two children had pop tarts stuck in their hair and were still wearing their pajamas...mad because there was guilt over the fact that pop tarts were my kid's breakfast...mad because not one thing seemed to fit or look right together...or because I knew that I had to sing in the praise band that morning and therefore was stressed by default of having to get up in front of a crowd...you name it, I stressed over it! And I know...I hear all you organized souls saying...why didn't you lay out clothes the night before or get out of bed a little earlier or have premade breakfast casseroles ready to pop in the oven...well that would have just been a little too organized for me at that time in my life...why would I make life easier on myself? I know...the questions one can ponder...

And while I was rushing around yesterday, I was wondering...why am I not stressed? Why am I not having a melt down because I know that I don't have enough time to get ready... To be honest, I obviously do not have small children anymore and let me tell you, that makes a HUGE difference in the amount of things you can do, but it's more than that. I have learned that you don't have to be perfect!! Hear that super-moms??? You don't have to have spotless tile, or a clean refrigerator and if the guest bathroom tends to have toothpaste in the sink because your son refuses to use the bathroom his room shares with his sister's...it is going to be okay!!! No one is going to see the toothpaste in your sink and think you get the worst mom of the year award!! We waste too much energy on things that while important overall (you can't just not ever clean your house or else your gonna end up on Hoarders!) are not important enough to steal your joy!!! There will be time in which to get to those things...and it doesn't always have to be perfect right now... Just ask my son...I ask him for a couple of weeks, at least, before he gets to the cleaning of the toothpaste out of the sink...(okay so there are times I get a little stressed about the toothpaste, but 3 weeks is, I think, a very generous waiting period before gaskets are blown)

I have realized over the years that I wasted too much time and hurt too many people in my quest for perfection and you know what...it just isn't worth it!!

So we actually made it to the restaurant before 5 and I was not the least bit stressed from trying to make the deadline and the result is that I had a fantastic anniversary dinner with my husband and Ashtyn was surprised with her own take-home steak dinner so that her "alone awareness" didn't have to be so painful! (you of course know that Ashtyn has never truly fit into any "aloneness" category..."picky" maybe...which is just fine-de-dine with her momma!...so don't feel too sad for her!! ...after all, she did get steak!!)

Enjoy life and don't sweat the small stuff!!