These past few weeks...

These past few weeks have been so overwhelming.  TONS went wrong.  It all started 2 weeks ago yesterday when Violet got sick.  She had been coughing and congested for a week or so, and at her checkup with the ENT, he suggested we start Claritin with her.  So we did, but it didn't help and she was a little wheezy, so I took her in to see the pediatrician.  By this time I had a cough as well.  The doctor said she was indeed wheezy and it  probably wasn't allergies since the Claritin wasn't helping.  He prescribed an inhaler and a steroid and sent us on our way.  That was a Tuesday.  By the next morning I was so tired and my cough was so bad I could barely breathe.  I went to the doctor and found out I had pneumonia.  What the crap?  That explained why I was so weak and out of breath, I guess.  I was prescribed an antibiotic, inhaler, and steroid.  

This was also the week that it rained every...single...day.  

So, life went on.  The next day, still hacking like crazy, I took Jordan to wrestling practice.  We pulled up to the school to find the parking lot overflowing and cars parked along the road.  Obviously, some kind of function was going on.  I dropped Jordan at the gym door and then found a parking space all the way in the far lot.  The rain had miraculously stopped and I put Violet in her stroller, tried unsuccessfully to find my umbrella, and then we walked inside.  Halfway through practice, Chris texted to let me know that his car wouldn't start.  "The battery", I asked.  "No.  It's something weird and electrical.  I guess you need to come pick  me up".  He was still at work.  When practice ended, the rain was pouring down in sheets.  Jordan, Vi, and I sloshed out to the car.  We picked Shaun up at my dad's and went to pick up Chris.  

I don't know what was wrong with the car, but praise God it started running again, one week later.  

A few days later, my washing machine stopped draining.  It was under warranty, but we had to take the machine in to have it looked at. The problem was that Violet's kitty cat sock was clogging the drain.  Easy fix.  But wow, can laundry pile up in just one day!

That same day, my phone crapped out on me.  My new iPhone 6 Plus, that I've had since October stopped working, for the second time this year.  We were still making things work with one car at this point, and there was no time to take in in to the Apple Store, and then Jordan came home from wrestling practice wailing with ear pain.  A trip to the doctor the next morning confirmed at ear infection, not the wrestling injury that we were afraid of.  :)

Since Jord was out of school  for the day, the kids and I went to the Mall of GA to have my phone looked at.  Funny thing... I didn't have an appointment and the wait was over an hour.  I was irritated and still kind of sick and just tired in general and  mad that my phone was messed up.  I politely explained that my kids and I would just wait, since Shaun had left his phone in the car and I couldn't leave a number to text me when they were ready.  I wound up only having to wait 10 minutes.  Another 10  minutes later I left with a phone to replace my "bad Apple".  Ha ha!

Okay, what else?

Well, my George Foreman Grill broke.  It had been faithful to me since I opened it up at my wedding shower.  It lived a long, full, life of 15.5 years.  

And, to top everything off, they killed off McDreamy last Thursday night.  What the heck?

What a wild ride.  On Saturday, Chris's car started working again, so maybe things will calm down at least for a while. 

Pan-Glazed Chicken with Basil

Usually, for dinner, I eat something totally different than the rest of the family.  Not that they eat unhealthy food, but they do want/need things that I can't have.  Mainly, pasta and bread.  Even though I've switched to whole grain pasta, I don't like eating all those carbs so I'll have a salad or some broccoli and chicken instead.  

Tonight, I made a dish that used to make all the time but forgot about it.  I was cleaning out the kitchen cabinets the other day and came across my old trusty 5 Ingredients 15 Minutes cook book from weight watchers.  I thumbed through it and saw this recipe and had to make it.  It's so good, and the whole family loves it.

Pan-Glazed Chicken with Basil

You'll need:

4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts

salt

pepper

olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons dried basil

Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  Add chicken and cook on both sides until browned.  Stir in vinegar, honey, and basil and cook 1 minute.  

I cooked up some squash, zucchini, and onion with some olive oil in my wok and heated up some canned green beans.  I know... canned.  I usually try not to do the canned vegetables but I was in a hurry to get dinner cooked before running Jordan to conditioning practice.  I also made everyone else a slice of grilled cheese.  It was delicious.  Everyone thought so.  Well, except for Chris, who is working late.  

It's healthy, low calorie, and super-easy.  

I don't know why I ever stopped making it!

Fountain

We were at the mall earlier this week and went parked by the fountain.  As we were walking out, one of the boys had the idea that they could, in fact, get inside the middle of the fountain without getting wet.  

Why wait for summer?!?!

So they, Chris and the kids, gave it a try.  I watched.  

They had fun.

Until Jordan accidentally on purpose fell in the water and soaked his pants.  

And then Shaun ran into Violet and she fell and soaked her pants.  She cried and cried.  Not because she was wet, but because she didn't want to leave.  

So we had to walk to the car this way:

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.  

Wrestling

Jordan just finished his first season of wrestling.  I admit that I was not excited about this when his football coach (who is, of course, also the wrestling coach) gave all of us football parents his Wrestling is Amazing speech.  My first thought:   "Wrestling?  Ew."

But Jordan wanted to give it a try.  

I walked into the wrestling room at my old high school and nearly gagged from the smell.  Sweat galore.  Ew.  Gross.  But, Jordan wanted to give it a try.  So...

Here's a picture from one of his first practices.  This one makes me smile because he's come so far and is so much better than he was back then.  I still thought wrestling was pretty stupid at this point. 

Practices went on and soon it was time for the first tournament.  Before the tournaments, wrestlers have to weigh in.  Did I mention that the only thing I knew about wrestling was from watching Saved by the Bell?  We went to the weigh in.  It was total chaos and we didn't know what to do.  But we figured it out.  

The tournament was the next day.  Here's Jordan ready to go.  Notice his weight on his arm... 75.6 pounds.  He's since put on over 5 pounds of muscle.  Woah. 

He didn't win his first match that day.  He got pinned, in fact, but he did win some matches and he placed 4th.  Here's a picture of the first match he ever won. 

Something happened to me during this match.  I watched my sweet little baby wrestle his heart out and I became a crazy wresting mom.

No one can believe it.  In fact, neither can I, but I'm a wrestling fan.  I love it.  I even have a shirt to prove it.  And yes, I wear it with pride!

Someone asked me if I ever thought I would be so excited about my son wrestling.  My answer?  "Not in a million years!"

Anyway.

Jordan really began to love wrestling, too.  Maybe the fact that I love wrestling stemmed from watching him find something he really loves.  That must be it, right?  Ha!

We kept going to tournaments.  He wanted to go to every tournament, in fact.  Even those that his team didn't attend.  The bad thing is that beginners tournaments are on Sundays.  Chris works on Sundays.  But we made it happen.  This is Jordan and his friend Connor.

They've played football together for two years.  Connor and his parents are lifesavers.  They shuttled Jordan to tournaments for us so that he could make weigh ins when Chris and I had to stay later at church. We kept each other company during those loooong tournaments.  (They last hours and hours...it always seemed like we were the last ones finished!) We're so thankful for them!

Here are some more pictures from this season.

 I love this one with my dad in the background.  

Photo Credit:  Amber Cloy Photography

Photo Credit:  Amber Cloy Photography 

Now, most of Jordan's football buddies dropped out of wrestling during the season.  I can't blame them, really.  Wrestling is tough.  The practices are tough.  Way tougher than football.  When Jordan decided he wanted to go to the state qualifier tournament, he moved up from the beginners practice to the advanced practice.  And it was so hard.  Hard for him.  Hard for me to watch.  I couldn't watch it, in fact, so I stopped going.  It was so hard for me to see my child suffering through those workouts.  And believe me, they all were suffering.

Since Jordan is a first year wrestler, he wasn't the best in this advanced group.  He got the crap beaten out of him twice a week and kept coming back for more.  After the first (and only) advanced practice I stayed to watch, I asked him if he still wanted to do it.  His reply? "Yes.  I just want to wrestle".  Okay, then.  He's grown up a lot this season.  Last year, he wouldn't have been ready for this. Jordan isn't one to stay motivated when something is hard, so the fact that he stuck it out when the going got tough testifies to how much he really loves it. 

I came in at the end  of one practice to see the team praying together.  This made my eyes water a little bit.  

So, Jordan worked really hard all season and never gave up.  That's how we found ourselves driving to Gilmer County before the sun came up to make it to the State Qualifier in time.  This was a hard tournament.  Jordan was pinned in his first match.  He was really upset  but after he sat by himself for awhile he said, "I'm going to be a better wrestler after this tournament".  And he was right.  He placed 3rd at his first State Qualifier and made it to state.

State was an amazing experience.  Very overwhelming.  
Here's Jordan in front of the Georgia Dome.  Such an accomplishment.

He was pinned his first match and then wrestled really well the second match.  He was losing and then tied it up at the very last second. 

He lost in overtime.  And he cried.  I did too, a little.  But he wants to go back next year.  All in all, he did exceptionally well for his first year of wrestling and we couldn't be more proud of him.  

Of course, Shaun came to support him.  They may fight like crazy, but they're each other's biggest fans.

On the way home, but check out that hoodie!

We had a week off and now another wrestling season has started-  Freestyle/Greco.  Again, I have no idea what that means except that, according to Jordan, you can't go for the legs.  I really think I need a copy of Wrestling for Dummies.  

This day I had...

This day has really been one for the record books.  It's been bad.  The tail end of a few really stressful weeks finally caught up with me and wacked me in the behind, so to speak.  

Can I just lament for awhile?

First, though, I need to praise.  Part of the reason these past few weeks  have been so stressful is that Chris, The Hubs, finally has a full-time job.  Amen and Hallelujah!  This really is another blog post in itself, one I've been trying to write but just really can't find the words.  This is something we prayed for and God really answered our prayers and I'm so thankful.  

Now I know this sounds horrible, but when your husband works part-time for two whole years, you get a little spoiled.  Not that he didn't work hard (he DID!), but he was also able to get off whenever he wanted or whenever I needed him to help me with something.  Doctors appointments, errands, etc.  Not anymore, and it is taking some getting used to.  Not that I'm ungrateful or wish that we could go back to part-time employment.  Not at ALL.  It's just been an adjustment.  

I've been really stressed.  I think I used the word "drowning" once or twice.  Drowning in homework, the kids' arguments, laundry and housework.  There's not enough hours in the day.  I know, I know, the same thoughts every other woman in America has every single day.  

Jordan had a project and oral report about Vermont due today.   I'd rushed to help him finish it all week.  Parents were invited to come to school this morning and listen to the reports and we were also told we could bring a treat for the class relating to the state our kid researched.  Did you know that Ben and Jerry's ice cream was "invented" in Vermont? Well, it was, and Jordan wanted to bring some in for his class to sample.  I woke up early this morning so I could put on actual clothes and be presentable to go to school and even left the house in time to go by Kroger to get the ice cream on the way.  The only thing I forgot was to let my sister  know that I would be driving Jordan to school...he usually rides in with her on Thursdays so she was confused and, I'm sure, a little annoyed with we weren't at home and she couldn't get in touch with me.  

But I made it to Kroger in time and Violet was behaving and everything was going smoothly.  We got back in the car, I put it in reverse, and the two youngest kids went crazy!  Screams and fights, and I accidentally backed my car into a curb.  And I muttered, "SHIT" when I did it.  I'm surprised the children even heard me, considering how loud they were being, but they did.  And Jordan was shocked.  I don't usually curse, and I guess the fact that Jordan was so stunned proves that he never hears those words from me.  He was really floored!  He thinks I'm Holy, I guess.  Ha ha!  I think it's kind of funny and flattering at the same time.  

The car wasn't hurt and we made it to school in time with our project and snack.  I pulled in and noticed that no other cars were parked.  That was my first clue that I had misread the teacher's email and came to school on the wrong day.  A trip inside confirmed my suspicion.  But at least we finished our project a week ahead of schedule.  But, let me tell you that I felt so dumb when Jordan's teacher told me that I had mixed up the dates.  So stupid!  Violet and I (and the ice cream) walked back down the stairs and outside to the car.  A few moms from Jordan's class were outside talking and I just admitted that I had stressed my entire family out this week over the stupid project that wasn't even due for 7 more days.  And then I burst into tears.  Real tears.  In front of these ladies I barely know. They were kind and understanding.  But again, I felt stupid.  

I got in the car and called me sister.  I said to her, "I'm losing it!  I NEVER make mistakes like this.  Coming to school on the wrong day is something like YOU would do!". She didn't get mad even though I had just sort of insulted her. She even agreed.  Ha! And we had a long talk and I felt a little better.  

Fast forward to lunchtime.  I was picking Jordan up from school and the plan was to meet Chris for lunch.  I had rearranged my day to do this, so I was a little angry when he called me on the way to lunch to tell me that someone had offered to take him and some other co-workers out to lunch and that he was going to see what I thought about him going with them instead.  Well, I told him what I though.  Very loudly.  What I didn't realize was that he was in the car with these people and they heard everything.  Again, I felt so stupid.  Chris asked me to just come pick him up so he could go with us after all.  And then I had to apologize for yelling and embarrassing him.  And then I felt humbled and stupid.  

After lunch, the kids and I ran some errands and went to the gym.  I dropped Violet off in her classroom and then went to the locker room to change clothes.  I went to put my shirt on and realized that I had packed the wrong one.  The whole family gets "spirit wear" for football every year, and I grabbed the wrong shirt.  This one was too small to work out in.  To be honest, when I first got the shirt it didn't fit me at all.  It was sized way small and I couldn't squeeze into it.  Now, it's not too small.  It actually fits, but I like longer shirts to work out in.  This one was too short!  And of course I didn't have a anything to layer under it.  So I wore it anyway and spent the whole time on the treadmill pulling my shirt down.  Good times.  

After the gym I had to take Shaun back to shirt for band practice and then the younger kids and I went to Kroger on the way home.  I just had to get a few things so I used the self checkout lane.  I scanned all of my items and went to get my wallet...that I had left in my gym bag.  Still in the car.  So off we went, after telling the manager what had happened.  He just left out stuff there, so everyone gave us "looks" when we rolled back up to pay for our things.  

What a day.  

It was such a day that it's tomorrow and I'm still writing about it.  Yes, this was actually yesterday.  Ha!

But today was better.  :)

Stranded

Last Sunday night I left my keys in Chris' car, by accident, of course.  And he, in turn, drove off to work with my keys the next morning.  Also by accident, of course.  So the kids and I were stuck at home for the entire day.  

I was so upset.  We had plans.  Shaun's piano practice.  The gym.  Errands.  But, by the time I realized where my keys were, it was too late for Chris to come back so we dealt with it.  The piano lesson was moved to the next afternoon and I let the gym and errands go until then as well.  

The kids and I stayed home the entire day and got so much accomplished!  

Jordan finished all of his homework without being rushed, Shaun completed a whole day of schoolwork (usually, since Jordan is home on Monday's, we don't get everything done and have to double up the next day).  The kitchen finally got a really good cleaning and I even started catching up on my laundry.  

Oh, and the weather was gorgeous that day.  Temps in the 70s and bright sunshine.  We spent a lot of time outside.  The boys played football and rode bikes.  Violet rode her little car and jumped on the trampoline.  We read some books and had snacks outside and just enjoyed the weather while crossing our fingers and hoping that the cold weather was gone for good.  (It wasn't. I think we had highs in the 30s for the next few days)

It was a really good, low-key, relaxing day. All because I forgot my keys in Chris' car.  It's good to slow down and take it easy sometimes.  It made me miss the days when the boys were little and we'd blow off school to  take a "sun-shine day" at the park.  I need to take Violet to the more often!  

The bottom line, and the reason I felt the need to blog about this day a whole week after the fact, is that I needed the reminder to take time to just "be".  Even though I was inconvenienced and irritated at first.  

The Big 1-5

Shaun...my baby, my first-born...turned 15  years old last week and I still can't wrap my head around how in the world this happened so fast!

He's grown so much over this past year.  Physically- he's TALL!  Way taller than me or his dad, of course, but he's also passed my sister.  That's pretty tall!  And it doesn't look like he's slowing down any time soon.  He's grown in other ways, too.  Emotionally, intellectually, spiritually.  He's one of the most kind-hearted people I've ever known.  He loves the Lord and he loves serving at church.  He's still taking piano lessons and he's getting better and better-  he wrote  his first song a a few months ago and he's been perfecting it.  It's beautiful!  

He's also following in his dad's footsteps and learning how to run sound at church.  He gets up super early every Sunday to go in with Chris and help with the sound system for our kids' service.  Chris is so proud, he says Shaun has a good ear and knows how to make it sound right.  I don't know much about that, but Chris does, so I'll take his word for it.  

Sometimes we will be talking and it's like I'm not talking to my child anymore.  More like a friend.  He's growing up!  He finally convinced me to "just try 1 season" of The Walking Dead.  Now I'm hooked, so we have lots of good talks about that!  

He's come so far from that little miracle baby I gave birth to 15 years ago.  Sometimes his baby days seem like they happened eons ago, and other times the years seem to have passed in the blink of an eye.  

Shaun, your dad and I love you and are so proud of you!

As his age progresses, Shaun is hating posing for pictures more and more, but here are a few from the past few weeks.

I think he's quite handsome!

Most of the time I get a goofy, scrunched up face or a grunt when I ask for a picture, so I'm always glad to get a good one!

I can't wait to see what this next year brings for Shaun.