Mama's Mumblings I've been away a while!

Hey friends!  The few of y'all that have stuck around in my absence.  I did not have plans to take an impromptu break. It just sort-of happened.  At the end of my long days, I just haven't had the energy or brain power to come up with any sort of decent post (if you can consider any of my blog posts decent. lol).  So, I thought I would just pop in and let everyone know that I'm still here!

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We should have known something was going to happen.  Every time Marty gets something new at work, his job or position changes and he doesn't get to enjoy his new equipment.  Well, Marty has been waiting several years for a new work truck, and he finally got it about 6 weeks ago.  About 4 weeks ago, Marty starting having a lot of pain in his hip and leg, and finally broke down and went to see someone about it.  They initially found out his hip was out of place, and after several chiropractic treatments, it was much better. Suddenly, his pain became worse than before.  After a MRI, they found he also has two bulging discs in his back.  He sees a neurologist on Friday, and may be having an epidural next week.  Of course, during this time, he's been out of work, and his poor new truck has just been sitting, waiting on Marty to come drive it.  Prayers for a complete recovery would be appreciated.

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Jameson and I went on a fantastic field trip to Stone Mountain last week.  The weather was perfect and all the kids behaved.  It was pretty much a perfect day!  We left Talladega at 6:30 that morning, and didn't get home until around 10:00 that night.  It was a LONG day, but we all had a blast!

I LOVE THESE KIDS!

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After several years of having the same schedule at work, things are changing.  We've had some staffing changes over the past few months, so I am being moved around to where I am needed the most.  I'm still doing phone triage, but am also working some out on the floor, too.  It's been a huge adjustment after sitting on my bootie for the past 7 years!  It is nice to actually be able to see some of my patients face to face now.

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Blueberry Hill Handmade has been booming!  I pretty much spend every waking hour that I'm not at my bill-paying job, working on Blueberry Hill orders.  My poor house is definitely suffering!  I could probably clean for a week and still have a ton of work left to do!  Oh well, the housework can wait, right?  Here are a couple of the fun Halloween things I've been working on.

My customer sent me a picture of this and asked me to recreate it.  I think it turned out really cute!

The pumpkin shirts have returned!  These are some of my favorite shirts ever!

My friend Katherine from Grass Stains sent me an e-mail a couple of weeks ago, asking if I had ever thought about making reusable tote bags.  I hadn't thought of it, but decided to try making some, using Kat's great ideas!  I think they turned out SO CUTE!  I love making these!

If you are interested in anything you see here, or have something you would like for me to to make for you, visit my page Blueberry Hill Handmade.

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Speaking of Halloween, this is the first year since we've been in this house, that I have not decorated for Halloween.  I am SO BUMMED!  Since Marty hurt his back/hip, he can't get into the attic to get down all of our stuff, and my big ol' bootie ain't fitting up those steps, so I guess there won't be any witches' legs on display!  Also, our temporary front porch steps have been moved to get ready for more permanent front steps, so trick-or-treaters can't even get to our front door!  Not that we ever have any trick-or-treaters.  But those are on hold, too, until Marty's back/hip problems are fixed...and we try to bounce back financially from his not working for a month.  It's always something, right?

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*whew*  That's a lot to cover, and I'm sure there are 100 other things I meant to tell all of you, but just can't remember right this minute.  LOL  I hope you all are doing well, and I hope you have a fabulous week!

The Wisest Kid in the Whole World!

Jameson, my 11 year old son, is awesome.  He is so stinkin' clever and wise,  and I never know what he's going to say next!  This weekend, as he was running through the house, he stopped at my chair and said "You know what?  Eating dessert first never killed anybody!"

After I finished laughing, I thought about what he said, and realized he was right.  Eating dessert first never killed anybody, but boy can it be frustrating when your kids don't want to eat anything BUT dessert.

Jameson is SUCH a picky eater.  Until the past year-or-so, I honestly don't know how he survived because it seemed like he didn't eat enough calories to keep him going.  Obviously he did, but I'm afraid his "eat dessert first" mentality is the only way he did survive.  Fortunately (?), his eating has definitely picked up over the past year, but finding things for him to eat other than pizza, burgers and chicken has been tough.

This is where Campbell's and the Wisest Kid in the Whole World came to my rescue.  Campbell's Wisest Kid the the Whole World is the ultimate expert on what makes kids happy.  Through their recipe destination www.campbellskitchen.com, Campbell's gives you tons of new, kid-friendly recipes like Mini Chicken Pot Pies, and fun ways for your kids to eat tomato soup or chicken noodle soup.

I looked through all of their amazing and mouth-watering recipes, and immediately knew that their Pepperoni White Skillet Pizza recipe would be worth trying!  Pepperoni, chicken, noodles, and Campbell's cream of mushroom soup...what's not to like?

I decided to make it on a work night, so to speed the process up for me, I cooked my chicken all day in the crock pot.  (Chicken breasts and Swanson chicken broth, low, all day long).  When I walked in the door, the house already smelled wonderful, but once I started putting together all the other ingredients, the house smelled AMAZING!  Marty was as curious about the recipe as I was, and he helped me put everything together.  Once we completed the last step, we couldn't even wait for the final cook time to take several  a bite.

Photo from HERE because my picture shows off my messy cooktop.  HAHA!

OH MY WORD!  It tasted FABULOUS!  Marty and I spent a good 5 minutes just standing at the stove with forks eating straight from the pan!  I guess it's a good thing we aren't germaphobes.  Marty and I loved it, but the big question was, would Jameson like it?

Here's the big test...will he like it?

YES!  Success!  He liked it!!!  He liked it!!

Look at that huge second bite!

So YES Jameson, "Eating dessert first never killed anybody", but it sure is nice for you to eat your DINNER first, every once in a while!

Is your kid the Wisest Kid in the Whole World?  Do they say things that just make you scratch your head and then beam with pride because its just so clever?  Of course they do!  Through Campbell's Wisest Kid in the Whole World, you can share your kid's wise sayings with all your family and friends, and with the whole world!

I never realized each year would be even better!

Today, this no-longer-little boy turns ELEVEN!!!

I don't even know how that's possible!  It just seems like yesterday he was this little-bitty boy running around all over the place.

When he was colicky, then going through the terrible ones, twos, threes, and fours, I seriously never thought I would make it by the time he made it to the "pre-teen" years. I thought for sure I would be balled-up in the corner, sucking my thumb.  However, it has been the complete opposite!

Every year has been better and better. He has grown and matured into this loving, sweet, tender-hearted, intelligent, thoughtful, and hysterically funny young man.  He is the light of my life (along with his equally awesome big sister) and I cannot wait to spend time with him every day.  The very few times he's spent the night with friends/family, I literally felt like 1/2 of my heart was missing.

Happy 11th Birthday my dear, sweet boy!  I cannot wait to see what this year holds for you!!!

I LOVE YOU MORE THAN WORDS CAN SAY!!

Creating Routines to Help My Son Succeed

 

Jameson started back to school this week.  While many parents can't wait for their kids to get out of their hair and head off to head off to school, I dread it.  A lot.  I love the lazy, unstructured schedule that summer allows.  Once school starts back, the super-strict and structured schedule starts once again.  Why such a difference between summer and the school year?  Jameson has ADHD.

 Jameson has always been a very active child, but we didn't know anything different.  Chelsea's childhood was anything but "typical," so we were like first-time parents with Jameson.  We just thought that all kids constantly ran around in circles, never slept, and talked/whistled/hummed/sang every waking second of every day.  It wasn't until he started school that we figured out that there may be problems.

 

 After some lengthy conversations with a few of his teachers, we decided to have him "officially" tested. We completed our forms and the teacher completed her forms. We gave them to his pediatrician and waited.  About three days later, we got a call from his pediatrician's nurse saying he did have ADHD.

 Jameson was able to sit still and be quiet during church, and any other places where that was required.  He was easily able to stay focused enough to put together huge Lego sets, and sit quietly and read several chapters in a book.  But we found that if we let him go play for a while once he got home, it would take ten times longer to get him to settle down enough to finish his homework.

 

 

So we came up with an after-school routine for him:

 

Once home, he goes from the car straight to the kitchen table, where we do his homework.

One of us always sits at the table with him while he's working.  He isn't allowed to leave the kitchen table (except to go to the bathroom) until his written homework is completed.  This has changed a little bit over the recent years. These days, by the time he gets home, he's usually hungry. Now we allow time for a snack break, while still sitting at the kitchen table.

If he completes his written homework quickly and without too much drama, he can do his required reading wherever he wants; whether curled up on the couch, on his bed, or outside in the sun.

 

One of our biggest stressors during the night time routine has always been getting clothes picked out for the next day and pajamas picked out to wear after shower time.  We would send Jameson into his room to get his clothes, only for him to come out 30 minutes later holding a toy instead of his clothes.  We solved this problem by moving all his clothes into the laundry room.  We have a small chest of drawers that holds his socks, underwear and pajamas, and a hanging rack for all his other clothes.  It takes up a huge amount of space in our tiny laundry room, but has stopped all the distractions while looking for clothes.

 

Until now, these methods have worked, but I can tell that the older he gets and the more involved the homework gets, he has a much harder time staying focused.  It's taking a little longer to get the work done and we are having to redirect his attention back to his homework twice as often as before. Depending on how he does in the classroom this year, we may consider other options.

 

Jameson started the 5th grade this year. This is his last year at the elementary school and I think he is enjoying the fact he will be "the big fish in a little pond."  He's not nervous at all, but definitely isn't looking forward to it.  He's a night owl and loves to stay up late and sleep in.  In years past, it's only taken him a couple of days to get into a new routine, but I'm afraid this year is going to be tough! 

 

He's never been a big sleeper.  He stopped napping at 1-year-old, and normally only slept around six hours at night.  However, this summer things have definitely changed.  It is not unusual for him to sleep 10-12 hours straight.  He's even been taking occasional naps, here-and-there.  Who is this child?  I don't know if this is puberty taking over, but I am really nervous how this will affect our "normal" school routine this year.

 

 The main thing we are doing to try to enforce earlier bedtimes is to make him turn off the computer/iPad earlier in the evening. If we left it up to him, he would stay on the iPad all night long.  We are trying to find a good balance between letting him have enough down time with the computer/iPad, that will still leave him enough time to wind down and get to sleep earlier.  We are already having a struggle in this area, so we may have to try several different things until we find something that works for all of us.

 

We don't know what this new school year will hold for Jameson, but we know we will do whatever it takes to help make this a successful and enjoyable year for him!

 

A week of field trips!

Hey friends!

It's the start of yet another week!  How is that even possible?

Last week was a week that I was looking forward to, and dreading, all at the same time.  Jameson had TWO field trips last week, lasting a total of three days!  Talk about an unusual school week!

Tuesday, he had his Gifted class field trip. They went to the Southern Museum of Flight in Birmingham.

We weren't really sure what to expect, but by the time we left, we were huge fans of the museum!  The instructors, Brian and Brian, were fantastic with the kids! They all learned SO much (as well as the parents!).

We first took a tour through the history of flight.

An authentic German fighter plane.

One of Delta's very first planes. It only carried one passenger and was a crop duster!

An authentic fighter plane from the Vietnam era.

A replica of the second known generation of plane.

The kids getting to build their own glider.

My ham-of-a-son getting to sit in a real plane

Once we learned about this history of flight, the kids got to use a flight simulator and learned how to take off, fly, and land a plane!

There were a few successful landings and several landings on Interstates and through buildings. LOL  The kids had a blast!

Once we left the museum, we headed over to the McWayne Center to watch an Imax movie about the Monarch butterfly.  The movie was SO good and very interesting!

Posing in front of the McWayne Center.

Everyone wanted to get in on the act!

We all had a great time and learned a TON!

Then, on Thursday, the 4th grade had their yearly 4-H overnight (and 100% unplugged) field trip at the 4-H center near Wilsonville, AL.  Jameson was hesitant to go at first, but decided at the last minute that he wanted to go.  

ALL the kids that went! (Photo by Renee Stone)

Jameson and one of his best friends, Victoria. ( Photo by Renee Stone)

Jameson petting a SNAKE! (Photo by Renee Stone)

They got to learn a TON about nature. They waded through streams to try and catch different things in the water.  They learned about reptiles and also learned about using a GPS and how to tell directions without a GPS.  They learned a lot of very fun and USEFUL material!  

Even though he had a great time, he was very glad to get back home!

 

Jameson and his buddy, Hudson

Once he got home and told me all his stories, he didn't leave the couch for the rest of the night.

I don't know if Sweets (the cat) was happier to have Jameson home, or if Jameson was happier to be back home with Sweets!  LOL

We all had a blast last week, but I'm glad to say that it's behind us.  Now on to this week, and SPRING BREAK!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Snow Day 2013!

Yesterday started off pretty blah. It was cold and rainy, and neither Jameson or I had any motivation to get doing. But, Jameson had school and I had to buy groceries, so we pushed on and got up and out. I dropped Jameson off at school and headed straight to buy groceries before the rush of people came in to buy their milk and bread for the predicted "snow storm". I managed to make it through the produce and meat sections and then I got a call from the school. Jameson and some other kids fell while running during P.E., and Jameson took a knee to the groin/lower abdomen. The nurse asked if I could come to the school and bring him "something for the pain." 

So, I rushed through check-out (without most of of my grocery list)and headed to the school. Of course once I'm there, Jameson wasn't thrilled with me just giving him some Motrin and leaving without him. He gave me the sad puppy-eye look, and of course, being the huge sucker that I am, went ahead and checked him out. Who doesn't need a mental health day every once in a while? 

We went home, Jameson did homework and studied for Friday's tests, and then rested on the couch. The funny thing was, within about 15 minutes of getting home, the school called and said they were being dismissed at 11:30 due to bad weather. If he could have just held out for a couple more hours, he would have been home anyway. Oh well, live and learn, I guess. 

We anxiously awaited the snow.  Every newscast was filled with tons of photos taken by people in West Alabama, who were already covered in  snow.  We were all going crazy waiting on those first few snowflakes! 

Chelsea was with my Mama, and they were as excited as we were.  We called back and forth all day long.  Around 12:00, we started to get our first flakes!  Jameson was so excited!  We called Mama and Chelsea and they were mad that they hadn't gotten any yet...which was weird because they live on the mountain and usually get snow before any of us do. 

So, from then until around 5:00 or so, it snowed and snowed and snowed!  The ground was warm, so initially most of it melted, but pretty soon, the snow started to stick!  Jameson decided his "pride" wasn't hurting any more and ran out to play.

I don't know if you can see it or not, but Jameson and Spencer are in Spencer's yard already playing.

 

Poor deer...he always gets stuck out in the snow.

 The snow was pretty light for a while, but then the heavier snow started moving in!

I couldn't believe how fast the snow started to stack up!

 

The grill is getting covered!

By this time, the boys were freezing, and came for for a little while to warm up by the fire and drink some hot chocolate.  They also had to play around and act goofy!

 Then the snow started to come down really hard.  The flakes were HUGE and so wet!  It was SO beautiful to watch!

For some reason, the boys thought Mr. Deer needed an American flag.  Don't worry, it's safely in the dry house now.  The flag, not the deer.  LOL

After a few more hours in the snow, the boys finally decided they should come inside, especially since they couldn't feel their hands anymore.  Jameson headed straight for a hot shower, and I headed out onto the front porch to enjoy another rare site around here these days....the sun!

The day may have started off "blah", but ended up being a day filled with a lot of laughter, fun, snow and SUN!  Even though it may be years from now, I can't wait until the next snow day!