Fall Field Trip

Well, today Jack and I went on his first field trip! That seems weird, but I think the only other two he had the option of going to got rained out the last two years. So today was the first! He loved it! We went to a local orchard/ pumpkin patch. It was his kind of place. Of course, his teacher was there and he loves, loves, loves Mrs. B! He held her hand most of the day! (Good thing I'm not the jealous type!)

His class from his Monday, Wednesday, Friday preschool was there. So that meant his little "girlfriend" was there!

 I think the feeling may be mutual since she walked up and wanted to hold his hand! :) This same little girl walked up to him on the first day of school and handed him the hard hat to put on since he was playing with the tool box. She was looking out for his safety!

We got to ride on a wagon pulled by a tractor and of course we sat in the first seat on the trailer so as to be as close as possible. Anyone who knows Jack knows tractors are his "thing". He loves them! When we made a couple of turns we could have reached out and touched the tractor wheel! We got to pick out a pumpkin and I have to say he did a great job!

We also got to taste apple cider, play on the playground, and even got to bring home a couple of apples! He loved the cider so much we had to buy one of those little apple shaped bottles when he was done playing.  As he would say, "I'm sweat! I need a drink!"

The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we had a wonderful time!

Bachlorette-ing It ...Kind Of

Well, Jack and I are home alone for a few days! Mady and Jeremy have flown to Texas to visit our "family" out there. He went for the horse sale and she went to see Mrs. Marshall. I am not sure how much she remembered of her, but from what I hear they are fast friends again. I love that. I love how Mady can not see someone for years and in a matter of minutes she is their best friend. I hope Mrs. Marshall is having as good a time as Madalynn is! I hate that what is so embedded in Madalynn is so far away. She has been back to Texas twice in the last 5 years. I wish the Garretts and Mrs. Marshall  lived closer. Mady had a Texan accent for years even though we only lived there until she was a year and a half old. She thinks Texas is the greatest place on earth even though she can't remember much about even being there.

According to Jeremy they have built a nice concession stand for the football field, a new sports complex and some other sports related  facility. Must be nice to be living in town with a woman who has so much money she is itching to give it away. (Long story) One of the few things in town when we lived there was the Shell gas station. Well, after we left, they built a bypass around Guthrie and since then the gas station closed! That was one of the only two places to buy a coke during the day and the only place after 5 pm. It was the only place within 30 miles to buy gas. It would really suck to live there now.

Since they left Jack and I have eaten at Wendy's, Chinese, and Taco Bell. I have thoroughly cleaned the house and driven the tractor for the first time. I have also watched a few movies I have wanted to see (The Backup Plan, Date Night, Bounty Hunter, and Valentines Day) I watched Bounty Hunter today - lasted forever and wasn't all that good. Yesterday, I watched The Backup Plan - very cute- and Valentines Day - terrible! I have yet to see Date Night.

I have also slept in my own bed and enjoyed it immensely! I love Jeremy dearly, but his snoring is AWFUL! I have slept on the couch so that I could actually sleep lately. It is nice to have a good night's rest.  Lovely!!!

I love my oldest and my hubby, but it is a nice change to have only one other person to take care of!

This, That, and a Million Other Things

So about 3 weeks ago, my babies started back to school. :(  They enjoy it and I do have a few minutes of peace or time to run errands and not have someone asking "When are we gonna go home?" That is nice and I have high hopes that at some point, I will have my schedule down pat and make the most of the time I have with no kids in the house on MWF.

I am doing better about treating my "stay at home mom and wife" gig as a real job. Too many days I felt like I  hadn't accomplished nearly enough. Well, I ran across a website that included forms for planning out your day. They have been a huge help. I am a big fan of a list anyway. I love the feeling of crossing off things and feeling good about it. Sometimes I even write in all the extra things I did in a days time just so that I can mark them off! Weird I know. Now I plan out my days and the things I want to accomplish and what I am cooking for dinner each night. This has helped me. I get more done and feel better about myself. Planning my meals helps make less trips to the grocery store and I am prepared for nights where we have commitments or activities.

Everybody thinks that stay at home moms have all this free time if their kids go to school, even if it is just a few hours per week. Well, everyone except stay-at-home moms that is. If you have lived it - whether you are lucky enough to do it full time or while juggling your paying job as well, you know that there is more than enough to keep you busy 24 hours a day! (I find it is usually men who are of this opinion. You can't really blame them...they are just uneducated about what life as a mother, caretaker, wife, chauffeur, nurse, cook, cleaning lady, organization specialist, and personal assistant to two other people is like.)

This year is shaping up to be a busy one. I have a first grader and would like to have a day to volunteer in her classroom. I have a son who is enrolled in the preschool at our church and I am teaching two classes of Early Learning there this year. (I have so much I need to do for this class!) I am also picking up and dropping him off at another preschool 3 mornings a week. I have done pretty good exercising this summer and am trying to work that in some days while the kids are at school. So far, not so good. I am usually having to do it after Jeremy gets home in the evening. That is about to be a problem because we are quickly heading for a time change and it will be too dark when he gets here. I am joining a MOPS group too this fall. It puts me out of my comfort zone, after all it is on Friday mornings (one of the days Jack is at preschool) and I really love just having quiet time to myself. But I need to do it, I need to get outside my comfort zone and meet other women at my stage in life. Maybe even make some friends and get the name of a good babysitter so that before my kids turn 18 the hubs and I could go out some night! All this in addition to the "normal" stuff. You know church, cooking, cleaning, car-line, homework, birthday parties, etc. Oh, and did I mention as of August 31 we will own 90 acres! (I am sure that won't add to the workload!) I have to say, lately I have been happier, more content, and more at peace with my life than in a long time. I still have worries, mainly the impending events involving relatives in Tennessee and the financial changes associated with owning our farm, but everyone has something to worry about and I am truly blessed to have this wonderful life I have!

A Big Day!

I'd like to say Wednesday, August 11, 2010 was a big day because my little girl started 1st grade! It was big because my son started a new preschool! But I'd have to say the BEST thing that made Wednesday, August 11, 2010 a BIG day around the Whitman household was....

It was the day we got our first University of Tennessee season football tickets!!!!


As my husband said, " We have arrived!"

Summer is over in just a few hours!

I can not believe that it is over! This is the last night we have with no school in the morning. This time tomorrow we will be doing the early bedtime routine for real! It just doesn't seem possible. M got out of school exactly 2 months and 1 week ago and now we have exactly 1 day left! I hate large amounts of snow! We have bought all the school supplies and uniforms for warm weather. (I had to do that a few weeks ago since the last full week of summer vacation was spent ... away on vacation!) We have crossed most of the things off my summer "to do" list. We did orientation tonight and saw who was in the class and met the teacher. She is even ready to go back she says. I love that about her; she likes school. I hope it lasts forever. I was like that. Other than the nervousness that pervaded my very soul right before school started, I didn't mind going back.

Not only will she start Wednesday, but Big Jack will start a new preschool that day too. He will go Monday, Wednesday, Friday for half days. Plus he will attend preschool at church on Tuesdays. So he (and Mrs. Mama the bus driver) will be super busy. I hope I am not too sad. I went back and forth about whether or not to send him that many days. I hope I can get alot done around the house and exercise during his time at school.

I may have more to do than I can handle since we recently purchased a 90 acre farm! I have no idea how to drive a tractor, but I guess I will be learning. I may have to teach at the church preschool too. I have escaped this until this point and in all honesty, I need to help. I am bad though...I will help when drafted. I may be from Tennessee, but I am not much of a volunteer!

Yummy Salsa Recipe

I really love going to a Mexican restaurant and eating all the chips and salsa I can hold. I could go and just eat that easily. Well, what I really love about the restaurant salsa is that it isn't chunky and thick and gross. It is always nice and thin and delicious. I have experimented with salsa recipes before without much luck. They just never taste all that great. Until I ordered a cookbook with a wonderful salsa recipe.




It had the Chili's Salsa recipe and it is so good! It was very easy and super quick.

Salsa

4 teaspoons fresh or canned diced jalapenos *Not pickled* I couldn't find anything but pickled, so fresh it was. I have jalapenos in the garden, so I just used one small one and removed all the seeds so it wouldn't be too hot.

1/4 cup of diced onion

One 14 1/2 oz can of tomatoes and chilies (I had only 10 oz cans so I used one and a half- I had one can of rotel with cilantro and lime so I used that with 1/2 can of regular)

One 14 1/2 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes with juice

3/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1. Place jalapenos and onion in the food processor. Pulse for just a few seconds.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until well blended, but not pureed. You want it to still have a little texture.

Serve with your favorite chips!

I had this for supper one night since Jeremy had already had something to eat. So good!

My Summer List

Last year as Madalynn was winding down at preschool, I began to realize that the summer of 2009 would be our last summer before she would start school and before my life and hers was forever changed. Not to say school is bad, but every mom knows that once they start to school, everything is different. They have new friends, new surroundings, come into contact with outside influences like never before and someone else spends most of 5 days a week with them instead of mama. Madalynn (and Jack too for that matter) loves people. While I taught elementary school for years before we had kids, I don't think homeschooling could be for us. She needs the "people" aspect of it.

Anyway, last summer I decided to take the kids to Dollywood theme park down in East Tennessee by myself. I was scared to death of venturing 3 hours from home with two kids alone. At the time Jack was 2 and Madalynn was 5. I have a friend down that way that I taught with and she has two boys of her own. She met up with me at Dollywood and we had a great time! I was so glad I had done it and we really hated to pack up and head home after 4 days.

Well, last year went so well I decided to make it an annual event. This would be our way of celebrating the year of school they had just completed and the beginning of summer. Of course, Jeremy will never be able to participate in this tradition with us, since breeding season is still going strong.

We went again this year and it was just as much fun. Although one day we got drenched during a brief episode of rain, even that worked in our favor. Many people had stayed away from the park because the sky looked like rain, but there wasn't any lightening, so rides never really stopped. The lines were short and it wasn't really hot. Perfect! Most rides we either got right on or had very short wait times. Plus it is always nice to see my friend and her boys. The kids and I spent time in the pool and got to eat out two or three meals. I even did a little shopping on the way home.

Dollywood was just one of the things I put on my list of things I wanted to do with the kids this summer. Youth is fleeting and one day not only will they not want to spend time with mom, but will have other activities pulling them this way and that. So while they are mostly mine, I want to savor every moment.

Here is the rest of my list. So far we are having a great time and I am not ready for it to end!

Treasure Hunt- done We started too late and the route was too long, but enjoyable...I guess?!

Ice cream for dinner- done twice (Last time it was Wednesday night before church at Coldstone Creamery. I had coffee ice cream with snickers! Yum, but the small was way too much!)

Summer Reading Program- done

Swimming lessons- in the process of finishing. Mady took one level of lessons at the beginning of the summer and is now on her second. Jack is taking his now since they couldn't get him in any earlier.

Visit West Tennessee- done. Got to see Uncle Ben and Aunt Jenna's house they are building, saw Granny and Paw and the cousins, even saw Uncle Floyd at church and Granny Jean for a short visit. Got to swim at Aunt Lona's pool!

Playdate with Emma- done We picked Emma up the Wednesday before swim lessons began again and took her to the free movie (Robots- YUCK) and then to Steak N' Shake for lunch. We got to stay at Emma's house and visit for a few minutes afterward.
*We also ended up getting a playdate for Nico and Jack. My friend called and asked if I could relieve her husband for a few hours. He was doing child care all week...alone. I said sure and Jack and Nico had a great time!

Now the undone list...
Tie Dye T-shirts
Get Jeremy to make a tire swing for the kids (we have the perfect branch)
Go to the aquatic center a few more times
Go on vacation
Go on a picnic
Go on more bike rides
Let Mady help me bake cookies one or two more times

Only two and a half weeks left before school starts back! Got to get busy!!!

Changes

Well, yesterday my little girl looked like this...



and today she looks like this!





She is so proud of herself. She has pulled another tooth! Only the third one ever, but it has been over a year since the last ones. She can't wait for the tooth fairy to come. She has like 5 or 6 that are loose and she has just been letting them dangle for weeks. Then a couple of days ago she said she wanted to look different for her graduation picture and tomorrow is Kindergarten Graduation. I don't know if it is just me being sentimental or PMS, but I tear up just thinking about it. I know in the blink of an eye we will be doing the graduation thing...FOR REAL. I don't know if that is part of what scares me or not. I shouldn't be old enough to have a 6 year old. She should still be a baby! I remember in the days after we brought her home from the hospital, I just sat on the couch holding her in my hands and thinking "I am holding a real life baby doll." I had wanted babies since I was a baby practically, so having her was really a dream come true.

She is turning into such a little lady. She is generally a good helper, and good sister, and such a caring soul. She is also a wonderful example of what Jesus meant for all of us to be! Children are a window into what Jesus must have been like! She trusts so willingly, she is a tender hearted little thing, she is so interested in how the world works and God's role in it. She is a very good Bible student at church and school. I know I am partial, but sometimes I feel we don't deserve her! She is just so sweet and so pure. I wish she could always stay that way.

I love her so so much! So tomorrow I will try and keep it together and celebrate with her as she graduates from Kindergarten and moves on to bigger and better things. She will always be my baby though! I love you Madalynn Kayte!

Where did the time go?

Well, April and May have flown by! I am teaching 3rd and 4th grade girls on Wednesday nights. We have had field trips, school functions, last days of preschool for Jack, spring cleaning, a couple of projects, a trip to Tennessee for Easter, a long visit from the great-grandparents, getting the garden in, mowing, and now preparing for Madalynn's last days of school and kindergarten graduation! :-( Whew! No wonder it flew by!





I always dread the work that goes along with teaching a class, but I also realize that I always learn so much when really looking in depth at scriptures I have read dozens of times. Now if I could just get the girls to be quiet during class!

Madalynn graduates next Thursday night. May or may not have family coming into town. I've got to get on finding out who is coming!
I've got a project I want the kids in M's class to do for the teacher. My co-workers did it for me when I left Piedmont. Each person makes their fingerprint and you write the name underneath. I hope it turns out cute.
I have a couple of friends at church that have had babies that I need to carry food to.

The great grandparents came for a visit about 2 weeks ago. Jeremy talked to them on Wednesday night and they weren't sure if they were coming or not. They said they would let us know on Thursday. Well, they always come in on a Friday so I thought OK, that will give me time to prepare even if they are coming. I had to drive on a zoo field trip for Mady's class on Friday and wanted to clean up my car and had a few more things I had to do. Well, they called Thursday morning and said they were coming...and they were already on their way!!! They were here to keep Jack so he didn't have to go to work with Jeremy, but such short notice! I'm a planner and I have a grand in-law who doesn't eat beef so I usually try to think of what I am going to cook while they are here. Well, this visit we ordered pizza one night and went out for Mother's Day another night. They arrived by 2 pm on Thursday and didn't leave until Monday!





I got my garden in, but we had torrential rains so I think all my seeds have been displaced and need replanting. Jack and I will have to get on it. I need some sweet corn!

I also did a couple of painting projects.


BEFORE


AFTER





I found a small school desk at our Habitat ReStore that I sanded and painted for Mady. I got it for $3. I have also been looking for a piece of furniture for our bathroom. We have a wall that has a nearly full size window and nothing else. I can always use more storage and with it being a bathroom I needed something that didn't have drawers because you couldn't stack anything or openings where you see what you have stored. Who wants to see Kotex and toilet paper? I wanted something with solid doors. I found an old veneer cabinet for $35 at Habitat ReStore. More than I wanted to give, but cheaper than anything else. I sanded and painted that too. I think they both turned out cute. Still looking for a small piece for the small bathroom downstairs. Maybe I will swing by ReStore again! :) BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!!!

8 Long Years

Eight long years ago today, my mom died suddenly. She was fine one day and gone 2 weeks later. She felt sick on Friday, but she was well enough to work all day. She felt enough worse the next day that they took her to the ER. She died after a quick decent downhill 2 weeks later. SHOCKED! That is how we all felt.

I could not believe the call I got from my sister that Sunday morning that the doctors had found a mass in her abdomen. My first thought was "not both of us". After all it had been less than 2 years since Jeremy had lost his dad to cancer.

This couldn't happen to both of us, could it? Yes, it could and it did. His dad was 43 and we were 23 when Darrel died. We were 25 when my mama died at the age of 51. That is too young. We were old enough to realize that we had been blessed with good parents, but too young to ask all the questions we have thought of since. They never got to be grandparents and that would have been so fun. For the longest time I couldn't even mention my mother to my children. It was, and sometimes still is, too painful. I miss her so much.

Two good things came out of it though. My sister and I are stronger and closer than we might have been otherwise and I am a better Christian. Definitely not what I aspire to be, but better than I was when she died. At her funeral and visitation I was amazed at how many times I heard "She was such a good Christian lady." I grew up going to church and she taught children's classes my entire life since my sister and I were two of just a handful of children there. I was baptized when I was 13. I knew she was a Christian, but I didn't really understand what a good impression she made on so many people. Not just church members, but her clients in the beauty shop, friends from numerous types of churches, all kinds of people. I realized then that I owed it to her to do better. When you live away from family and are on your own, you can go to church or not. I never lived a wild life, but I didn't attend church regularly. My mama's death made me want to be better. It was one thing I could do for her, even though she isn't here anymore.

It would have been very easy to skip church tonight. The weather was beautiful and the kids wanted to go back out and play after I fed them supper. I have a lot to do since we are leaving to visit Tennessee on Friday. It would have been easy to decide to stay home, but we went anyway. Guess what the lesson in the auditorium class was? "The Virtuous Woman". This was part of mama's eulogy.

I love you so much Mama!