Acknowledged & Appreciated

We all want to be appreciated - whether its for a job well done, going above & beyond, just doing what we do. It's nice to have someone express appreciation. Lately, on the job...after 18 years...I'm feeling very UN-appreciated. I'd like to think (work-wise) that the world would stop if I weren't here because yeah...they need me THAT much, but i'm beginning to realize, maybe i'm just another low-level nothing. I don't know how to move out of this place, because I don't like the way I feel about it. I wish I were crafty. Do you have any idea how many people quit their jobs and sell their crap on etsy & promote themselves through blogs? I wish I had some god-given talent that could sustain me. Ugh. So depressing. Must go wipe my weepy eyes.

TAKS

TAKS tests are difficult for everyone - parents, teachers and especially students. There is so much pressure and focus on TAKS that sometimes there's little "fun" to keep kids focused on learning at school. My 10 yo was really struggling this last 6 weeks. I had several meetings with his teacher and buckled down hard at home. I sat with him for hours reviewing, preparing, mock-testing, and guess what? HE PASSED! I am so incredibly proud of him. I knew he could do it!!! GO MASON

Weekend recap

lets see...the weekend was fun. On my way home from work Friday I stopped at Michael's (with my 40% off coupon) and bought some paint, paintbrushes and canvases. The weather for the weekend was iffy so I thought it would give the boys something to do if we were stuck in the house all weekend. Luckily, we weren't, and I'm having a little buyers remorse for the $30+ "project" with the canvases that are larger than I wanted. Yea, I may take them back. We went to the in-laws on Saturday. It was nice because we took our sweet time getting up and ready. Hubby love made the boys clean up before we left. Why are boys SOOOOO messy? So we headed to the lake. We spent the day fishing and visiting. Mason caught a pretty big catfish and Rylan caught a fish that was, um...petite, but he didn't care because it was HIS. I love fishing with my boys. Mason and Dalton both tied on the weights & hooks (I think I lost 2, got stuck on something underwater) - I was so proud. They told me that Dennis taught them how to tie "fisherman knots" - I didn't know there was such a thing...but I guess when it's broke I always hand it off to a man to fix it! HA

Better already

The constant pain in my throat has finally subsided and I'm kinda getting back to normal. I had lunch with my bestie and a long overdue conversation with my hubby so I'm feeling better now. Amazing how communication bridges all gaps. TALK PEOPLE.

Being sick puts me in a funk, like the stars are misaligned and I can't figure out how to put things back. Oh, and I started. That really put me in a funk. :-(

Only one baseball practice tonight and I'm making Pioneer Woman's Lasagna for dinner, I can't wait. Dalton is starting the meat for me before I get home so when I get there, I can layer and bake.

We were planning a weekend at the lake, still are, just a few adjustments. Thankfully Den looked at the calendar and realized Mason has a game Saturday morning. Then I get an email that R. has photos on Sunday afternoon. Kinda puts us on a "schedule" but we are still planning to go & make the most of it. I can't wait to dip my pole in the water!!!!

SICKLY

Sunday morning I woke up not feeling too great. A little hungover, a lot of a sore throat. As the day wore on, I realized how bad my throat hurt. I spent most of the day on the couch and drinking gallons of water. Monday I woke up and felt worse. My uvula was BRIGHT red (in case you didn't know, that's the little thing that hangs down in the back of your throat). Fast forward - strep throat. Ugh. I haven't felt this bad in a long time, but everyone expects me to carry on like I'm perfectly well. So irritated! I can only carry the superwoman title for so long, even superwoman gets sick sometimes

Finally Friday

This week has been so hectic. I sometimes feel like work is interfering in my life. I should probably think the other way around but family is SOOO important to me...and in the grand scheme of things, family, people are irreplaceable. Memories are made on a daily basis. I wish I was more organized to keep up with things teh kids say. Luckily, I take tons of photos. I don't print them or do much, but I do take them. Dalton had an assignment in his Reading class to make a scrapbook. I printed pictures from the last year, he took his camera to school & took pictures and we have been working on it for the last several days. I must say, it looks really good! We have a few more stories to write. I say "we" because I'm writing them and he's telling me what to write. He claims I have better handwriting and....well, I agree. It became a family project and now the little boys want to make their own. I just need to send more pictures to Walgreens.... It was fun reflecting on vacation and things that happened, places we went, things we did.

Weekend, oh weekend, whereforartthou?

It was so super busy and action packed, I missed it. Baseball tournament on Saturday and Sunday. I LOVE baseball. Fun games to watch. My boys are so stinking sweet. Mason and Rylan both made me flowers and cards at school and Dalton's coaches took pix of each boy for him to give me along with two roses. Mason also made me breakfast --- bacon sandwich, oh yum. My hubby love (& boys) got me a coach purse and wallet (YEA ME!) and I spent the day with the four boys who make my heart melt.

Saturday night we had a family get together at my sis-in-laws. I LOVE having a big family and everyone together. The only one that couldn't come was Sharon and Gay made a suprise visit. Good food, good company. Sweet babies!

Weekend recap

The plan was to have a kinda low-key weekend and looking back, I think we were successful.

Friday I made several stops on my way home, to return a shirt I didn't try on before I bought it (i KNOW better), to buy my son some overpriced cologne that he's been begging for and to look for some black sandals that don't kill my feet. My dad called but I had turned off my ringer (see son that wanted overpriced cologne) so when I came back to the cellular world, he called again. It was unexpected, but a cousin was found dead in his apartment. Shock. I kinda went into a zone and finished my errands in silence and ready to be home with my honey. He knew right away that something was wrong but I felt like if I didn't say it out loud, maybe it didn't really happen. My stomach turned, I felt nauseous so I climbed into bed. The royal wedding recap was all over the television but I just didn't feel like applauding such extravagance at the moment.

Saturday morning we headed to Rylan's game, which was a bloodbath. Not really, but it was bad, they were playing a team with kids 2-3 years older than ours and also a select team. Ha! Our kids had fun & ultimately, at this age, that's all that matters. Afterwards, Den and I headed to Allen for a day of shopping. We got a few things at the outlet mall which was HUGE. It was a long drive but I'd say well worth it. We had a late lunch, came home and watched movies~perfect ending to the day!

Sunday Funday. I went grocery shopping, discovered a pretty awesome policy offerred by HEB, took a nap, made Paula Deen's lasagna and ended the day with Khloe & Lamar ~ insert big puffy heart here ~

Raining today, so ballgames have been cancelled. We will welcome the brief haitus and real food for dinner vs. hot dogs and nachos with flourescent cheese.