CYFL & MU Tailgate

Ok, so these are from September I know. But, as you know, I've been busy. Things are going really well though. This was the weekend that CYFL got to play on the MU field. Alex was super excited. After the game for Alex, because our coach has some in's, we got to go into the Tigers locker room. We tailgated with some friends after all of the CYFL excitement and then went to the game with the team.It was beautiful football weather.

Alex is the super skinny kid, #11.

This was in the locker room. A "GO BEARS" huddle.

A future Tiger? We hope so!

A future Tiger cheerleader? I don't know about that!

Hello!

Yes, I'm still alive. The last week has a been crazy, but so far I'm tolerating it very well. I have so much to blog about, I hope I don't forget anything. Friday, my last "official" day at Barnes & Noble went well. Thursday was my last storytime and all of the regular storytime moms that I have grown so close to were there. And of course their darling little angels. Emily drew me a picture and gave me a hug. It was so sweet. She is an amazing little girl. They also made me brownies to celebrate the big career change. I think I owe Kim a big thanks for that! Thanks Kim and all of you for your support. Friday night we had family come in to celebrate Loey's 75th birthday on Saturday. Sunday, we headed to mom's at the lake. Kalynn, the little pest, got a new Honda Pilot. That is the car of my dreams. When I become a nurse and am making good money (hopefully) this is the car I want. She even got it in the color I want. Anyway, just the kids and I went and Kalynn and they have never had a DVD in the car, well they did have a portable one once, but it's been awhile. They were funny, but it kept them quiet.
All three of us girls were there this time. That doesn't happen very often anymore. We are all busy with our own schedules. I love it though when we are all there. This was the last boat ride of the season and of course, it was cold. We didn't even get to go swimming. Crazy weather. The last boat ride and visit to the lake always makes me really sad. It leaves that empty, longing feeling in me. But, I love fall, I just hate to see summer go.

Monday was catching up on laundry and getting the house in order before the next week. We went to JJ's for breakfast to celebrate my birthday since Monday was not going to allow any time for that. Alex had football practice. We did go get ice cream at Andy's after practice. $15 for all of us to get something! Bud would have a stroke Michelle. So Tuesday was orientation on birthday and Wednesday was skills lab. Thursday I hit the floor running. I had 4 patients to care for and seriously it's like riding a bike, you don't forget. It felt great to be back in healthcare. I love it! I did have a few moments of anxiety rush over me and thought, "what have you done? You totally quit your salaried job to do this, are you crazy?" But these quickly passes as I didn't have time to dwell on it, too busy. The twelve hours are long, but I think will be nice. The University is so different from Boone. It's a whole new world.

So, Wednesday, at Alex's practice, one of the boys broke is femur bone. He had to have surgery and have a pin placed. Nice uh? Now I really don't want Alex to play football. But, speaking of, one of the coach's said that Alex is a good candidate to be a quarterback. That would be awesome, a quarterback for the tigers! A mom can dream can't she?

Emma came running out like this and I had to take a picture it was hilarious. So, I'm surviving and just taking things day by day. Yesterday I had to work at B&N and cleaned my first house. He is a bachelor no doubt, but it wasn't that bad. The money is good. I miss seeing my storytime moms and can't wait to get together with you guys again. I'm off on Wednesday and Friday. So, hopefully we can get together then. I need to go and tend to my own house now and get ready for Alex's football game. Have a great week!

Saki Bombs, Football and I Got My License!

Uh? That's right, that's what I said, I got my license. There's nothing like feeling 16 again. Apparently, my license has been expired for almost a year now!! When I went into the University on Monday to sign all of my new hire paperwork they told me to bring my license. Ok, no biggie. When they went to make a copy of it, they asked for a valid license. Uh? That is a valid one, it's the only one I have. No, it's expired. I simply and cheerfully corrected them that no, it expires next week, on my birthday. They simply and cheerfully corrected me and said no, it expired last year on your birthday!! What? How embarrassing. No biggie right? Wrong. When I went to the license bureau to get my license renewed I learned that I have to take BOTH tests over again. Thank God I passed both of them. Talk about embarrassing.

Which is a great segue into my next topic and explains the Saki Bomb above. I got bombed at a baby shower. That's right, leave it to me. I'm blaming it on Michelle because she started the bomb business. But, really it was all my fault. We'll leave it at that and let your minds wonder as to what happened.
Unfortunately for me, we had to get up Saturday morning and head to KC. Alex won tickets to the Chiefs game through CYFL (Columbia Youth Football League). It just so happened to fall on the same weekend that Heidi and Joe were moving. So, I had to get up and try to make it to KC to help move and make it to the game. We didn't get out of town until 11. Martin was a little irritated with me, but it turned out to be a good day. I was just tired and a little queasy all day. Can you tell? Terrible picture, bad angle. Oh well. The game was fun and Alex and Addie had a blast.

Sunday was Alex's first game. He got to do the coin toss and start. He had a lot of fun and is already talking about playing next year. He got to meet Gary Pinkel on Monday night. Martin forgot the camera in the van. Alex got to shake his hand. That made his day. I didn't get to go. I love Gary Pinkel and think he so hot. It's always been a joke with me that I'm going to hop on the back of his Harley and ride off into the sun set with him. Martin called me and said, "guess what Gary showed up on?" OMG, I'm so sorry I didn't go. But, I didn't want to drool all over him in front of my husband.

The Hodge family came to help cheer Alex on. As well as Gammy and Papa, Kalynn and Emma and Papa and Loey. He has already established a fan club! So, to end this post, I'm finally there. I'm really starting to get excited about my new job. I met some of the staff on Monday and they were so nice. I know I'm going to work my ass off and once school starts it's really going to be tough, but I can't get it out of my head, that, I'm going to finally, some day, be a nurse!!!

You Just Got Told

As you all have heard me tell stories of Addie, you know very well that she has quite the imagination. She loves to put Alex's clothes on and pretend that she is Alex. So, the other day, I'm reading, minding my own business, when this pops in and says, "you're messing with the wrong guy." Uh? I'm not messing with anybody and where in the world did you come up with that?
She continues by taking off her glasses, pointing them at me and saying, "I said, you're messing with the wrong guy." She puts the glasses back on and starts to walk off and says, "I'll see you later, nerd." That wasn't the end of it. She also said as she is pointing her finger at me, "You just got told." And walks off.

Check

So, as all of you know by now, I can check off getting a job at the University off of my "to do" list. Next step is to work my ass off for 6 months until I'm eligible for tuition reimbursement. Then, it's back to school for Pharmacology, Physiology, Nutrition and Chemistry. That's just the beginning. After I master those classes, it's on to Nursing School.

I thought I would be more excited about this, but to tell you the truth, I'm scared to death. I can hardly breath. I keep asking myself if this really is the right thing to do. I know it's what I want to do, but is it the right thing to do when you have so many more responsibilities? For example, the two precious souls above. I love them more than anything in the world and want to give them everything. I'm going to miss out on so much through this journey I'm about to dive into. Will they resent me? Will I regret my decision? I can't take the time I miss back.

I appreciate all of the kind words, wisdom and encouragement I have been given. But, I'm still scared. I know everything will work out and it will be worth it in the end, but that doesn't mean it's not scary as hell. So, here begins a new chapter in my life....

"The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck."

Opportunity sometimes seems to knock more frequently on some people's doors, while others struggle, wondering when they'll get their big break. If we look closer, we see that lucky individuals share some traits. They expect to find opportunity around every corner. They can view any new situation, even a difficult one, as an opportunity.

The world is brimming with possibility. What if we were to enter each day and moment with an attitude of childlike curiosity? Look, here is another gate, a transition from one space to another. We reach out and lift the latch, hear the creak of the hinges, and , instead of staying where it is safe and familiar, we step through.

I resolve to open a new gate in my life. I'll take a peek and see what's on the other side.

...we shall call it Open the Gate.

Potty Talk

One of the perks of being a female, potty talk. It's been a long time since I've gone to the bathroom with a group of girls, but it used to be one of the highlights of my day. Going to the bathroom with my girls in between classes, at lunch, at a party. It was the place to "catch up" on the gossip and did you see so and so doing such and such and did you hear what he/she said? It was always the place to make sure you were looking your best and that your outfit was cute. The bathroom at our home or my friends homes were always packed before a big night out. It didn't matter who was doing what in the bathroom either, we all just did our thing and talked non stop. It was great. So, this is what I found my girls doing, practicing their potty talk. Good for them, keep the female traditions going.
My back yard is a mud pit. Again. We have done this before, a couple of years ago when we got the swing set. Another story. A few months ago we had to have the two big trees in our yard taken down. They were dying and full of disease. Martin insisted that we have the tree stumps dug up. So we did. This is Eddie's machine. A guy that Martin works with. Yes, it is purple. Apparently this was a machine that was supposed to go to a different country. Why do people in other countries want a purple machine? I have no idea. Anyway, he let the kids play on it. I'm sure it's something that OSHA wouldn't approve of, but hey, I'm not getting Mother of the Year this year anyway. I've already blew that. Another long story. Apparently, all of the mothers of children Alex's age in our neighborhood are out to get me. I'm telling you, I'm real scared. One of the mom's names is Echo, the other is a Mormon. She judges me all of the time. So, I'm used to her. She really likes it when I sit out on my back porch with my glass of wine.

Since I'm on the subject of my Mormon neighbors, you know what really pissed me off about them? They sent home a Mormon bible with Alex the other day. What the hell? They know I'm Baptist and I occasionally go to church. They are not converting my son. No way. They also asked if Alex could go to church with them on Sunday. Um, let me see, no. I told Alex that they can't drink soda and that they can't play on Sundays and asked him if he really wanted to be a part of that. Who in the hell tries to convert someone else's child? The Mormons that's who. Back off.

Last night was supposed to be the first night of football practice for Alex. It rained and Parks and Rec wouldn't let them practice. His coach is really nice. He is one of the football coaches for MU. Don't ask me his name. Kim help me out please. Another reason I won't be getting Mother of the Year.

He seems really nice and I think he will teach Alex a lot. I'm not sure how Alex will take to football. He has to practice 4 night a week. And I thought Cub Scouts was bad. I thought it was funny when the coach was talking to the parents and asked them to please not get involved with the refs, other coaches, etc. He would handle all of that, there was no need for the parents to get involved. What do you think he has delt with in the past?

Just Because

Life has been uneventful for us lately. I'm not complaining, no drama is good. Although, I kind of got used to having drama in my life and now it seems a bit boring. I have absolutely nothing worth talking about. It seems every weekend has been too cold to go to the pool or lake. We didn't take a vacation this year. No birthdays to speak to. Just going to work and raising the kids. Just plain ol' life.
These pictures are from John's birthday party. I just never got the chance to post them. Work has picked back up again. School starts in less than 3 weeks now. Alex is going to be in the third grade. It really is hard for me to swallow. Just three years left of elementary school and then he will be starting a middle school. Seriously?

With nothing going on in our lives I've had a lot of time to reflect on my life. I'm focusing on all the good things. We are all healthy, thank God. I have two terrific kids. My baby sister is going to have a baby of her own. Now that is hard to believe. Kalynn is really like a daughter to me than a sister. It's hard for me to picture her as a mom. Don't get me wrong, she will be fabulous. It's just one of those things that's hard to get your head around. She was 12 weeks on Sunday. So on to being thankful. I have a job. This economy stinks (oops, that I am not thankful for). I have a husband that loves me, annoys me yes, but he loves me and is faithful to me. Wine. I really am thankful for wine. Sorry, can't help it. Hopefully this weekend I'll be thankful for the sun and warm weather. I'm pale in August. That really is just not typical of me. I'm hoping for a trip to the lake this weekend. We'll see.