Time Out

After such a busy week, I feel like I need a time out! I was away from school two days this week doing FBLA testing in the surrounding schools. And no, I didn't get stuck in the mud anymore! It's nice to be away from school every now and then, especially since we always make sure to eat a nice lunch somewhere, but I pay for it when I get back to work because there's a ton of catching up to do!

The real point of this post, however, is this photo. Luke had a little time-out this morning, and when Tracy went to get him, this is what he found. I knew I had to get a picture, so I hurried and grabbed my camera, and was able to snap this before he realized we were there. Isn't he pitiful? He was a better boy afterwards though!

Stuck

In the mud.

Now some might say I am a "stick in the mud" but today, I was stuck in the mud!

I had it all planned. I was not going to be at school today or tomorrow, because I had (have) to go to the other schools in my FBLA district and administer the objective test portion of their competitions. However, this morning I realized that probably needed a copy of a file that is on my laptop at school. I really had not planned to go by school this morning, because it seems like once you get there, you always get tied up with something, especially when you're in a hurry to leave and get somewhere else! So I decided I would park at the side door, slip in to my room, print my file, and the slip out.

Now, you have to understand that there's no "real" parking at our side door. However, there is a big grassy area, and I've pulled up there before if I had a lot of things to unload from my vehicle or just need to run in for a minute.

But not when we've had 6 inches of rain the week before.

I had no trouble on the way in. I hurried in to my room, printed my file, and was on my way. Until I started up the ever so slight incline to get out....and then I felt my truck getting stuck. Fortunately, I had enough sense NOT to keep trying to get out on my own, spinning my wheels, and getting bogged down deeper. However, I was on a tight schedule...I HAD to get out of there! My first thought is that I would ask the ag teacher to pull me out, but that would entail him getting out the tractor, driving it all the way around the building, hooking it up to my vehicle, etc. I didn't have time for that. My dear friend and next-door neighbor (at school) suggested I just take her car, and maybe the mud would have dried enough by this afternoon for me to get out. I really hated to leave my vehicle stuck. So I got a couple of my students to go round up some other boys and ask if they would try to push my truck out. Then if that didn't work, I knew some of those kids had four-wheel drive trucks and could pull me out. Let me just say that we have the best students in the world at my school. Those boys were so willing to help me out. Long story short, they decided to push my vehicle backwards (back down the incline...they're smart, too!), and then I could just jump the curb and be on my merry way. Made it to the first testing site right on time. Not early, like I had planned, but right at starting time.

Sure, our students are like all other teenagers are sometimes...they get bad attitudes, or don't feel like doing their work, but when it comes to helping other people, they are always willing to do whatever is needed. Today I appreciate that quality more than ever! Looks like I'll be baking a big pan of chocolate chip gooey butter cakes tomorrow night....:-)

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We took a little trip this weekend. I had a school-related meeting out of town on Saturday and Sunday, so on Friday, my "entourage" and I hit the road. On Saturday morning we visited with my Uncle Mikey and Aunt Frances, as well as some cousins. We did a little singing, a lot of talking, and had a nice lunch together before my meeting. Then while I was in meetings Saturday night, Tracy and Matthew went to the monster truck show. Matthew has always wanted to go to a monster truck show, and luck would have it that Monster Jam was in town! He had a ball and has already asked if we can go back next year! He doesn't understand they're not always in the same time at the same place every year!

That's all from here. I hope the rest of the week is very dull compared to this morning! Have a great week, my friends!

I've Got Nothin'

That seems to describe my blogging lately. I'm having a terrible time figuring out what to blog about. Since the holidays, we haven't had anything really interesting going on. We've been going to school, playing a little basketball, and doing lots of just staying home trying to stay warm! I'm glad we've gotten a break from the bitterly cold weather over the last few days! Anyway, I will think about a post, and then decide, "Nah, nobody wants to read about our boring day-to-day happenings!" But then I remember that I actually enjoy reading about your day-to-day experiences, so I figure at least I could post a few pictures.

This little guy has decided he really likes a "big" chair much better than the high chair, and if it's not something too messy, I've been letting him. Don't you love little ones in warm jammies with bedhead?

Luke was feeling a little puny the day of Matthew's first basketball game, but he went this past Saturday and loved it! Toward the end, he even started saying, "Go Matthew!" You can see he had fun!

Hopefully I'll be back soon with things that are a lot more interesting!

Nothin' But Net

I am about to say words that I never really thought I'd say: I am a basketball mom.

A little background....I am as un-athletic as they come, as in, always the last one standing when they were choosing teams in PE. It was a major deal to me if I was not the last one chosen! Oh sure, I played basketball and other stuff on the playground, but for "real"--nah. Tracy played a little baseball when he was in elementary school, but that's it. We are just not athletically inclined! Tracy preferred activities like showing calves and FFA. My thing was piano, FHA (then Future Homemakers of America, now FCCLA--Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America), FBLA--Future Business Leaders of America, and pageants.

Fast forward to the present. We have never tried to steer Matthew into sports (or any other activity for that matter). We've just sort of let him see what he's interested in. Well, this year, it's basketball. Who would've thought it? Our school has a little elementary basketball program that runs for six weeks every January, and Matthew is playing. He actually wanted to play last year, but for a couple of different reasons, he didn't. This year, however, as soon as the paperwork was sent home, he begged me, "Mama, can I PLEASE play basketball?" So of course, we let him. It's really not so bad. They practice during their PE time a couple of days a week, and then have a game on Saturday morning. Hats off to our coaches (it's our high school boys' basketball coach who coordinates it; yet another benefit of a K-12 school) for doing a great job of working out the time schedule. This past Saturday, they were right on the money with the schedule. They play 4 six-minute quarters; the whole game, including time-outs, halftime, etc. lasts about 40 minutes.

He had so much fun last Saturday. His team is made up of 1st through 3rd graders. It's a hoot to watch them play! For the first half, if Matthew wasn't running, he had his hands in his pockets. We tried to tell him that he couldn't get the ball with his hands in his pockets! Here are a few pictures. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get very good pictures in our gym.

Discussing stragegy, maybe?

Bringing in the ball.

Finally got those hands out of the pockets and up in the air!

In the end, we lost by a score of.....are you ready for this.....8-2. Not many points were made, but they all had a whole lot of fun!

Happy New Year (a week later!)

Happy New Year! I hope that 2010 will be your best year ever!

The first week of the new year has been a great one for us. It's been filled with a little of this and a little of that, so this post may be all over the place!

New Year's Day we had Mama and Tracy's parents over for lunch. However, for the last several years, we have totally broken the Southern New Year's traditions of blackeyed peas, greens, and ham. We really don't care for blackeyed peas, so a few years ago, we decided why not start the new year off with food we actually enjoy! So, that year, we decided to grill steaks, and since then, we've made it our new tradition that we always grill on New Year's Day. This year, we had grilled chicken, hashbrown casserole, pinkeye peas (at least they're dark peas!) and creamed corn. I also tried a new dish this year. One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year was this...

If you are local, I'm sure you remember the Garland House. It was one of my favorite treats for lunch. The day they closed was my birthday a few years ago, and Mama and I went there for lunch. The place was packed, and everybody was taking pictures, both in the dining room, with the cooks, you name it! Made me teary-eyed! This cookbook has just been published and Mama got it for me for Christmas. I decided to make the strawberry congealed salad, and it was delicious...exactly like Garland House made it, except I didn't make mine in the individual molds. I can't wait to try the Chicken Divan, the yeast rolls, the Peanut Paradise Pie...well, you get the idea!

Since New Year's Day, we have gone back to school...without the heat working properly, but I won't go there. We've also managed to spend our fair share of time doing this...

I've also been busy just trying to be better organized in the new year. While I don't make resolutions, I do enjoy getting a fresh start and trying to just generally do things better! So far, we've managed to cook supper at home every night for the past week....a MAJOR accomplishment for us. We eat out way too much! I've also worked on just keeping up with things around the house better...the laundry, the ironing, keeping the house cleaner, etc. I just hope I can keep it up, because even though it means I'm working harder, I'm much more relaxed and happier when everything is organized!

We have also been blessed by Tracy's workload picking up drastically. As I mentioned in my last post, things have been pretty slow for the last couple of months, but we were hoping that it would pick up after the first of the year. I figured it would take several weeks. Praise the Lord, it has just exploded here in this first week! He probably has three weeks worth of work already lined up. I'm so thankful for the Lord's provisions.

Finally, I forgot to mention this in my last post, but I had a really neat surprise on my birthday. I met someone who reads my blog! This is the first time I've ever met one of my readers! Most of the people who read (or at least who comment) are people I either know in real life or who I've gotten to know by reading their blogs. She works at Matthew's dentist office, but she just found my blog on her own. I thought it was so cool! So Jessica, thanks for reading, and hello to everyone at Dr. White's office!