IT'S ABOUT ME, MY BOYS AND A LITTLE CRAFTING THROWN INTO THE MIX!
I am sharing this with no political agenda. Just a cool observation we made about presidents.
The boys and I were talking politics the other night and I realized, that both boys, especially Jack, has only know a black president and may now know a female president. How cool is that?
What really is awesome, is that a white president, a black president and a female president is normal for my boys. I like that.
So we went clothes shopping the other day. I stepped into the dressing room with Jack to see how things were fitting. He said, “I need a smaller shirt. I need a smaller short. And how about a smaller sock!”
Giggle giggle giggle!!
Jack! Are those really the socks you wore today!?
Sometimes this kid really worries me!
As you may have noticed, I have taken an unexpected vacation from blogging! Do you want to guess why?
2. Napping. A must to rejuvenate my muscles after my dreaming of Olympic practices and greatness.
3. Crafting. I think I have run 26.2 miles of adhesive on the back of my photos! You should see how fast I can apply that adhesive and at times, I have found myself with my hands in the air, doing a little celebration!
“THAT was a lot of adhesive!”
4. Reading. I’ve been marathon reading with three books under my belt in three weeks!
5.Cooking creatively. I have decided to go beyond my comfort zone of the basic three ingredients and try 5…or 6. (OK, I can’t even keep a straight face with this one!)
Will back from my mini-vacation on Monday!
I’ve been trying hard (but not too hard) to keep up with my memory keeping in one of my planners and I am proud to report, that I have been pretty successful!
Here is what I have accomplished for the month of July!
Our focus this week was to get ready for our Fourth of July party, Jason going to the Guns and Roses concert and Jack getting his dream drum set for his early birthday gift! I added a 3×4 pocket page for extra pictures and journaling (which I have not done yet.) Washi tape, ephemera packs and stickers are my best friends! Memory Bound also sells an amazingly huge variety of die cuts. I purchased the Dory die cut before seeing the movie and it worked perfect with the movie ticket!
Below, I left a large space for journaling about the party. I also need to tell about my adventures creating my new blog!
The next week was HOT! We went to a movie, hung out at the pool and our town has Summerfest, which is a big carnival. The wristband “Sam’s Amusements” is from the carnival night…fit perfectly into the page.
Lots going on for Jack’s birthday week! Jack had a Lego camp and lacrosse camp. Sam went water skiing with friends. Included a receipt this week of how much I spent on gas. Thought that would be fun to look back at in the future. Again, I included an extra refill page for more pictures of Jack’s birthday.
More pictures and journaling about Jack’s birthday celebration with family. Most of the stickers I use are from 12×12 sticker sheets that I purchase from Memory Bound!
Currently, I am working on the last week of July and the past few weeks of August. I must say, I really like this method of memory keeping because it is fast and I have control of the sizes of the items I include in my book. No trying to cut or print pictures to the “just right” size!
Finally I am reaching memory keeping peace!
(For this month!)
How do I know this? It was actually pre-printed in my planner!
Today I have all sorts of Lazy things planned for me and the boys! First we are going to eventually get up and then we are going to do nothing, but lay around, watch movies, nap, read and lay by the pool. Which as Jack says is actually doing something!
Sam is back from after heading to Canada for 10 days with a friend and his family. He had the best time ever! (his words) Which again, makes me happy! Don’t get me wrong, I miss him and couldn’t wait for him to get home, but I am glad he can go out on his own and be successful!
Anyway…here is a picture of Sam’s first catch in Canada!
Way to go Sammy!
Then he went out later that week. Nice and early and sent me this picture!
Holy Walleye!! Yes, he really did catch that and no, he couldn’t keep it. There are restrictions about size…once a fish is beyond a certain weight then they are considered important to spawning and they need to be thrown back in the water.
It was the walleyes lucky day as much as it was Sam’s!
This is a conversation that Jack and Jason have on a regular basis!
This one made me laugh out loud, too!
It made me thin of the post I shared on Dec. 16, 2010. At that time, it was a classic Belding dinner.
Jason made corn bread to go with the chili for dinner….
Jason: “Boys you need to try the corn bread. Just one bite won’t hurt you.” (words of death)
Jack: “I’m not doing it.”
Sam: “Just one bite?”
Me thinking: Great. Someone is going to throw-up, Jason will get upset, I’ll gag and dinner will be ruined. SERIOUSLY…don’t go there, Mr. Jason. Remember when you made Jack try carrots??? (barf-o-ramma)
My internal trauma thinking: NO DON”T DO THAT JASON! My mom and dad made me sit for over an hour sometimes to eat one pea….and I still don’t like them…the peas. The average person waits in line for 6 months of their life…that doesn’t include waiting at a stop light, waiting at the Dr. office or on the phone. So basically, my parents just added onto my life waiting time. Plus I got to practice my stubbornness.
Sam after trying one bite: “I don’t really like this. ”
Me: “Not a problem, Sam. Thanks for trying a bite.”
Jack:” I’m not doing it.”
Jason: “One bite. That’s all.”
Me thinking: Do I step in and save my child or do I team work with my husband?
Jack takes one bite and the GAG-O-RAMMA begins.
Sam: “OH NO!!”
Jason: “Jack, swallow it and take a drink.”
Me thinking: Too late, Mr. College Boy.
Jack throws up on his napkin.
Me thinking: (Wish you didn’t eat that fabulous Santa cookie, Jack…what a waste)
Me: “Jason, seriously?”
Jason: “Seriously, Jack!”
Sam….Sam….Oh, he bolted upstairs.
Me: “Have fun cleaning that up.”
Sam (standing at the top of the stairs): “Dad, that just goes to show you that not all people like the same things…and that is OK!”
Me thinking: High Five to me for teaching Sam that little speech!
Me: smirk and Jason and shrug my shoulders
Jason: “Sam, I really don’t need your advice right now!”
I clean up Jack…
Sam comes down and sits on the complete other end of the island…but not before asking: “Did any of that stuff get on my plate?”
Jack: “See, dad, THAT is why you people should never try new foods.”
Since then, Jack has lived on hot dogs, mac-n-cheese and chicken noodle soup.
What is hilarious is that we were at friends house, not so long ago. We were eating chili and oven fresh corn bread. Jack was offered corn bread and (surprisingly) said he would try it. He then said, “I need to eat it over the garbage can though.” Our friend replied “Oh ya..corn bread can be crumbly and messy.” Jack, “No. I have a tendency to throw up when I eat corn bread.”
I just finished a book that Jason actually recommend to me. When Jason recommends a book I usually start with the question, “Is this a James Bond like book where bad things happen to the main character and he never dies no matter what?” If the answer is no, then I read the book!
Jason recommend a great book called:
The Second Life of Nick Mason
by Steve Hamilton
From Amazon:
Nick Mason has already spent five years inside a maximum security prison when an offer comes that will grant his release twenty years early. He accepts — but the deal comes with a terrible price.
Now, back on the streets, Nick Mason has a new house, a new car, money to burn, and a beautiful roommate. He’s returned to society, but he’s still a prisoner. Whenever his cell phone rings, day or night, Nick must answer it and follow whatever order he is given. It’s the deal he made with Darius Cole, a criminal mastermind serving a double-life term who runs an empire from his prison cell.
Forced to commit increasingly more dangerous crimes, hunted by the relentless detective who put him behind bars, and desperate to go straight and rebuild his life with his daughter and ex-wife, Nick will ultimately have to risk everything—his family, his sanity, and even his life—to finally break free.
From Me:
This book is a quick read and kept my attention. A perfect summer read because I didn’t have to do too much thinking about what was happening. There are a few twists and turns and definitely room for a squeal/series. I got a bit tired of all the time this guy spent in a car though! I have to admit, that I started to think about all the time spent in the car, that I had to reread what was actually happening and get over the all driving he does!
I would give this book a 3/5 stars.
The next book I am tackling is
The Fireman by Joe Hill
Joe Hill is Stephen King’s son and this is my first time reading a Joe Hill novel. I have always been a Stephen King fan and Jason is a Joe Hill fan, so I thought it was time to check out one of his books. This one is just a mere 768 pages! So I obviously won’t get this one done in a week!
Sam has been one busy young man this summer! He went on his first “big” adventure last week. I call it a big adventure due to the fact that he went to Kansas City for four days, without his parents! (Maybe it was more of an adventure for me!) As much as I love to see my boys become independent and try new things on their own, it’s still hard on my end, but I am also so proud to see them grown and start dong their own things!
Enough about me…
Sam headed to Kansas City on a Mission Trip. He took off on Thursday and returned Sunday evening. When I picked him up, he said it went so fast and was bummed to be back. (Which I see as a good thing.) He honestly loved every minute of the trip and can’t wait to go again!
Sam’s group was on dinner duty, meaning that every night his group made dinner for everyone! I can’t believe he is cutting up tomatoes…he’s come along way!
I Cannot even believe that he put cucumbers on his eyes! I don’t think I have ever seen him so close to a green vegetable!
The first day their group went to food pantry, sorted and bagged potatoes. Sam mentioned the potatoes were very interesting…and squishy.
The next day they went to a shelter and set up desks and shelves.
Sam is very focused on his large pop!!
The dinner crew making tacos!
Scheming during human tic-tac-toe.
This day they went to a house and pulled weeds, picked vegetables in the garden and cleaned and organized the house.
He was then home for three days and headed to Canada for 10 days with a friend and his family. Can’t wait to hear about all those adventures!
I miss this guy, but I also know that he is making memories and will have lots of stories to share and that is what it’s all about!
You know those days that you have all planned out and ready to go, get things done…then something happens and your plans are shot. Well, that happened to us last Friday.
Jack woke me up around 5:00 in the morning (very early for me…still night time, actually) telling me that his head hurt so bad and that he felt sick. Well, about 30 minutes later, we were in the bathroom and Jack emptied his stomach. Big time. He was sooooo sick. I tried all my “tricks” for nausea, but nothing worked. Every half hour we were in the bathroom. He got to the point where you say, “Will this ever stop?” (I was thinking the same thing!)
Poor guy…eventually laid on the floor in his bathroom instead of running from his bedroom each time he got sick.
About three hours later, he finally was able to make it to the couch and fell sound asleep for three and a half hours. (Phew!)
And then get this…when he woke up, he was fine! He actually said he was hungry and wanted something to eat! Later that night, he even went to a movie with Jason. So, we really don’t know what was going on, but I am glad it didn’t last too long!
I told him if he didn’t want to do the errands we had planned, he could have just said something.