Help needed from my readers.....

This will sound silly, but I do need your help if you live close by to me. I'm still in the need of bugs. Joshua has a project where he has to collect 10 different insects, freeze them, look at them, and then display and write about what he has observed. I could still use a lady bug, an ant (I was looking for one of those bigger ones) a cockroach, fly, termite, bee, wasp, grasshopper, mosquito or any other type of insect. So far we have a spider (which now I don't think is considered an insect) a big big bug which I'm not sure what it is, a cricket, a butterfly, a moth, and another type of bug. If you find any of these in your house and don't mind catching them, I would appreciate it. The bug does not have to be alive as they will die anyway when we freeze them. Normally I could find these roaming the house, but where are they when you REALLY need them?????

Time...

Time. Something none of seem to have enough of. This weekend has been great for time. Friday night I totally enjoyed my night. I went out to dinner, ran to Target and then came home and watched "The Last Song". Definately a girl movie and I cried, but I was all alone so it was perfect. I didn't have to hold it in or go to another room!! After that I messed around on the computer and then I took a bubble bath with no interruptions. Thank you God for a night all to myself. The boys and Jack had a blast at the campout at the Dunns and Jenna had fun at her sleepover.

Today Joshua and Jack went to Charlotte to see a Panthers game. Jenna had a birthday party so I got to spend time alone with Jacob. He was so excited and it was nice to see him open up. When you have more than one child, it is hard to get that one on one quality time. I knew what Jacob would want to do......go to IHOP for pancakes. He totally enjoyed himself.

A Night to myself....

This has never happened......I have the entire evening all to myself......all night!! Joshua, Jacob and Jack are going to a camp out and then Jenna got invited to a sleepover. Wow!! It's probably been 10 years or so since I've had the house all night to myself!! What will I do??? Hmmm.... My plans are......drop kids off, go have dinner with my family, run to Target. Come home take a nice long hot bubble bath. I might clean just a smidgen, and then I have rented a chick flick to watch!! Wow, what could be more perfect? Have you had a night to yourself? What would you do?

Moma bear and her cubs

As a mom I want my kids to experience a lot. At the same time though, I can be protective of my children. In fact, you can mess with me all you want, but leave my "cubs" alone. When I see someone hurting my children, I'm not a very nice person. This came about very recently. Thankfully, my child had no idea that someone was attacking him, but mama bear heard and came to the defense of her cub. I happen to see one kid taking another kid to the side and say "do you like Joshua"? thankfully, the other kid said "yes". The other kid said "I don't" and then started on his war path against him trying to get the other kid not to like Joshua. The "bully" (that's what I'll name him right now) saw me and realized he got caught. He then took the child over to another location so that he could finish. I swear I wanted to shake the life out of the child!! When he was done I went over to him and said "that wasn't very nice at all" and his response was "I don't care". You should have seen momma bear. I was livid (I just love that word). Through other conversations I found out that he was jealous that Joshua was talking to HIS friend (which is also Joshua's friend) and that earlier he had gotten upset by something Joshua did and Joshua stood up to him and for himself, so that also made him mad. I realize that not everyone is going to like my son, and that's just part of life. What gets me is that you have to go and tell another child not to like him just because you don't. The sad part is that even though the parents know what happened, nothing will be done. It will be really hard for me to see this boy's parents again and try to act all friendly to them. Before you start to worry, let me set the record straight and say that this did not happen to any of my reader's children!! I still have to act Christ-like because the parents are not Christians. I was pretty upset about it the entire day. One thing I realized though in typing this is how guilty I am of this. How often do I act this way. "Oh, did you did you hear what "so and so said"......trying to get the other person to join my bandwagon!! I just wish all people of all ages, including myself, would keep their problems with other people to themselves!! Thankfully Joshua has no idea this ever happened!! (although I guess he should experience how cruel this world can be
I remember once when I got treated unfairly and my dad stepped in. While I can't see my dad getting "livid" I will never forget that he went into the highest power for my defense. I will always be a "mama bear" though to my kids......and you better not mess with them or you have to mess with ME!! So how do you feel about this subject? Are you a "momma bear" (or papa bear) or are you calmer and just make that part of "life's lesson"? I guess there really should be a balance I hate to see someone hurting my child!!!

What would you buy?

Do you ever go into a store and dream? What if someone gave you a $1000 gift card and told you to get whatever you wanted? What would you get? Last week we went to 5 guys (LOVE THAT PLACE) and then went to JCPenney and Target. Here are some things I would get. I'm not trying to be envious, but just dreaming:

1. I would get Jenna a new bed. I don't like the mattress or frame. It shakes around and wobbles and I just don't like it. I would also get her a matching dresser and this beautiful comforter I saw at Penney. She also fell in love with this comforter and I've been looking for one on ebay with no luck. I wish I could find her one.
2. The boys would get new mattresses as well.
3. I would get a new kitchen counter height table. Again, I saw on on Penney's several months ago that has been on clearance. I wish I could save enough money for it!!
4. My kitchen is still "bare". I would buy some wall hangings. I've also been thinking about a large wall clock for decoration above the microwave.
5. I would buy a new bedroom set including a new comforter.

I'm sure once I bought the table I wouldn't have enough money, but still, it's fun to dream. I could also go through housewares, decorations etc at Target and get a lot of stuff. I didn't even mention clothes!!! So, do you go into stores and dream and what would you buy?

Football Mom

As a mom, we hold many titles. I am a personal chef, a boo boo healer, a nurse, a banker etc. One of the titles I love is football mom. Yes, it is football season once again. Josh had an incredible game Saturday. He had 6 pulls, and came just a yard or two short of making his first touchdown. The Jets are 2-0 right now. He loves it and I love watching him do something he is so passionate about, so today, I'm proud to be football mom!

No Matter What

I've heard this song on the radio before and my friend posted it on facebook today. I watched the video and really listened to the words. I really like the first verse. (song by Kerrie Roberts)

I'm running back to Your promises one more time
Lord that's all i can hold on to
I gotta say this has taken me by surprise, but nothing surprises You
Before a heartache can ever touch my life
It has to go through Your hands
And even though I keep asking why I keep asking why

No matter what, I'm gonna love you
No matter what I'm gonna need you
I know that You can find a way to keep me from the pain
But if not, if not, I'll trust you no matter what, no matter what

When I'm stuck in this nothingness by myself
I'm just sitting in silence
There's no way I can make it without your help, I won't even try it
I know You have your reasons for everything so I will keep believing
Whatever I might be feeling, God you are my hope
And you are my strength

Anything I don't have you can give it to me, but it's ok if you don't
I'm not here for those things
the touch of your love is enough on it's own
no matter what I still love you and I'm gonna need you

repeat.

Uncertainties.......

I recently saw a billboard that said "don't ask God to guide your footsteps if you're not willing to move your feet". I liked that a lot. We are facing a lot of uncertainties right now. First of all, we found out two weeks ago that Jack will not be able to stay on another year. There were rumors and hopes that they would offer him to stay on another year and work from home. I guess I got my hopes up. The money we would save on gas, having my husband home to be with me at a good hour every night, being able to eat family dinners together......all these things which are really hard for us to do right now. God has other plans. He had a phone interview last week and they are wanting another phone interview next week and a possible "live" interview to follow. It gets confusing.....do we try to pursue something now and hope they'll wait for us (January), do we just leave when he gets an offer and forget the bonus and severance for staying until the end, or do we wait closer to the end before looking?
I left preschool officially about 3-4 weeks ago. Wow, was that one of the hardest decisions I had to make. I miss my kids already. I miss all the pictures and presents they would make me. I miss the kind words from parents. So far, it's been pretty good. I have subbed the last three days and have really liked it. I was working for Joshua's teacher for an hour or two every morning. That was supposed to be for a week, but ended up being three. The principal wanted me to continue as a teacher's aide working 1-2 hours a day, but the school board leader didn't approve it because he didn't think it was in the budget for Southside. I really thought God was opening a "surprise door" for me....something better than preschool, but once again, I was disappointed. I guess I'll go on being a sub, volunteer, and available to my kids as they need it. I'll continue to run errands, clean the house (only to have it messed up once everyone gets home) and do what I'm supposed to do. I know there is a reason why I needed to leave preschool.....just not sure yet what the reason was. Who knows, maybe I'll be home schooling next year, maybe I'll become an aide, or maybe I can get a position to be a lead teacher somewhere else!!.......to be continued when more things become clear!

Bathroom Makeover (and enjoying the patio)

I'm still working on my bathroom. It was finally in our budget to get some paint so I spent part of Saturday and Sunday painting. The pictures do not show the color really good. I think it will look good next to our chocolate colored towels. I still need to get a couple more things in next months budget and it will be done. I have enough paint left over to paint the kids bathroom. The colors are very similar, but they need a new painting in theirs, so hopefully it will make theirs look better too.

We also got to enjoy our patio set this weekend. Jack cooked some yummy steaks on the grill and the weather was perfect!!

Brick Making

Josh's class has been studying Pharaoh, the plagues, and the children of Israel. Today they had a "brick making" activity where they had to gather straw and mud and make bricks just like they did back then. They first "crushed" the material down with their feet (reminded me of I Love Lucy and the grapes) and then they took their shoe boxes and filled them with the material to make bricks. They will sit out in the sun for awhile and then the bricks should be ready. It was a very messy project, but it was fun and I think it really showed them what it must be like for them to do this.