An Iowa Mom

Following In My Footsteps

The other night, my oldest son informed me that he has started a blog.  Just like his mother.  Yup.  All on his own.  I played no part in any of it.  Seriously.

Why did he tell me this bit of information?

Well ... I think he's using me.  Using me for YOU.  I didn't come to this conclusion the first three times he asked if I'd tell you all about his blog ... but then this morning ... nestled snuggly under my keyboard, I found this:

 
So, as any good mother would do ... or because I'm just sick of hearing it ... I'd like to share with you ...

Life Of An Iowa Boy

I give him just a couple of days before he forgets to post. 

Just sayin'. 

I mean, they are MY footsteps he's following in after all.

Project 365 - Day 4 - Pork! Only Pork!

If you've read this blog for a while ... and by "awhile" I mean ... years... then you MIGHT know that two of our four children have been diagnosed with ADHD. 

Yup, they have.  How do you think I've gotten so much blog material?  Hello?

Anyway ... while having a child with ADHD is a challenge, having two is triplethe challenge.  I'm just sayin'.

If you're familiar with ADHD, then you know that children who take medication (please do not send hate mail, I'm not up for it) for ADHD struggle to have an appetite.  It's not fun.  You make a meal and they won't eat it.  Regardless of what it is.  Even if it's a favorite.  EVEN IF IT'S CAKE!!!

Then ... the timing is right and you have something special warming in the crockpot (BBQ Pork) and your oldest child catches a wiff of the aroma from the basement.  It smells so tantalizing that it weens him AND HIS FRIEND from their video game ... to come up and ask what is cookin' for dinner.

Now you KNOW that means it's smellin' pretty darned good.  Don't you?

It's then you start second guessing whether or not you should feed it to your family or freeze it and save it for when someone REALLY special comes to visit.  I mean, it's not often your kid, AND HIS FRIEND, set down their controllers to find out what is smelling so good in your kitchen.  Right?

And my one neighbor says I can't cook.  What's wrong with him?  Ahem ... never mind that silly thought.  Notice I said "ONE" neighbor.

So ... after I finally come to my senses and realize Keith Urban won't be stopping over for dinner ... before the roast is freezer burned ... I decide to feed it to my husband and children.

Jake in particular ... because he is begging for it.

And I like that.

Jake:  Mom, that smells so good.  Can I eat now?

Me:  No, Dad and Drew are still at ball practice.  You'll have to wait.

Jake:  Please.  I'm starving ... what do I have to do?

Kinda sounds like a soap opera, doesn't it?  Welcome to my life.

 

Me:  All of your clean clothes are on my bed ... you have to put them all away! 

 

THE HORROR!!!!

 

Jake:  OH MAN!!  All of them???  Even the hanging ones???

Me:  Yes.  And when you're done ... take your shower.

Regardless, Jake endured all the madness and managed to place every clean article of clothing in it's appropriate place.  Then jumped in the shower.  Therefore, he was allowed TO EAT!

I even offered him chips, cottage cheese and/or cheesy potatoes to accompany his meal ... which he declined all ... saying he didn't want all the "extra" stuff to fill him up.  Seriously .. he said that ...

I'm not kidding ...

He ate FOUR ... count them 1 - 2 -3 - 4 ... BBQ pork sandwiches ...

Of course ... leaving me with no bun for my sandwich come the 'real' dinner time! 

Figures!

Tellin' It Like It Is ...

Earlier this week when Jake arrived home after school with the news that his "girlfriend" broke up with him ... I tried to be a comforting and understanding mother.  I know that is hard to believe, but I really did. 

I mean ... It was his first break up.  And my first "try to make him feel better after the break up" moment.  We were learning together.

After cuddling with him on the sofa for a while and telling him my own middle school sagas, trying to assure him this is totally par for the course at this stage in life ... I offered up some very valuable information ...

"Jake, don't worry ... there are many other fish in the sea!" I told him.

To which Jake replied, "Yeah ... but I live on land!"

Throwback - No. 1

Do you remember this summer when I never blogged?  Well, I did actually blog, because I specifically recall logging into this little platform thingy and writing that I was sorry I haven't blogged, I realize I'm a loser, and I was BACK.  Really, really back.  And then I wouldn't log in again for weeks.  I lied.  I admit it ... but, technically I DID blog this summer ... just sayin'.

Anyway, just because I didn't blog, doesn't mean that I didn't have things I could have blogged.  And I did keep track of some of those things.  See - I'm not as big a loser as you thought I was, huh?

One of the things I want to share with you, that you probably don't give a flyin' fart about, but this is my blog and I like to record some big things that happen in our lives, so we will always remember them ... and this is one of those things.

Jake, you know that kid of mine who is eleven years old now ... and I just can't believe that ... played baseball again last spring/summer.  He had a lot of fun and totally enjoyed himself last year.  The team was awesome and played so well together ... which is why they ended up in the STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME at the state tournament.

Yup, they did.

And while they lost that final game, just getting to that point is such an accomplishment for these boys who practice and try so hard.  I mean, 2nd place in the STATE is nothing to squawk at.  Ya know what I'm sayin'?

So, even though I'm four or five months late in saying it ... CONGRATULATIONS to Jake and the rest of the CR Hawks Black 11U Baseball Team for this memory that I'm sure you will always carry with you.  YOU GUYS ROCK!

As a family, we truly enjoyed attending all the games and Jake, we are so proud of your accomplishment!

A Typical Monday

Monday was a "Teacher Inservice Day".  I don't know if you all have these in your district or not ... but we have a ton of them.  I know, I know ... they are important.  The teacher needs these days to prepare.  To learn.  To be the best they can be while teaching our kiddos.  But I think they are crap.  Probably because they always fall on Monday.  If they were on Wednesdays, I think I'd have a completely different opinion.  Just sayin'

Anyway, this is not about school.  Or teacher inservice days.  Or Wednesdays.  It's about Mondays.  Particularly this past Monday.

The day started just as any other day would ... only I was being jolted awake at 6:30am for NO REASON ... since the children didn't have school.  Apparently, my kids feel that school or no school, I should be up preparing their nutritious breakfast before the freakin' sun gets up.  Note to self:  Stock up on PopTarts.

I won't give you the details of the day, since it was a typical day and I can sum it up in one sentence.  My kids misbehaved, didn't listen to a word I said, drove me freakin' crazy and then I lost my mind.  Again.

There.

Fast forward to late afternoon.  I was preparing to get Emily ready for her soccer game, waiting for Big Daddy to come retrieve her.  Negotiations between her and I took place earlier that afternoon awarding me a "pass to opt out" of attending her event.  While I would have liked nothing else but to see 16 kindergartners running around in the rain and mud for an hour, I really needed to spend some time with my sewing machine since I was participating in the local "Fall Fest" craft show this weekend.  Keyword:  WAS.

So, there I was.  Organized.  Extra time before Big Daddy was to arrive.  I cracked open a beer to celebrate my accomplishment.  Tipped it up to my lips and took a nice, big, long swig ... and then the phone rang.

It seems as though Jake was playing football up the street with some friends and was now bleeding from his head.  Yup.  My neighbor informed me of this ... because they called HER rather than me.  Ya see, here in our neighborhood, we prefer to have the mothers of the non-injured kids run through the rain to tend to the injured children.  I mean, HELLO, the parent of the bleeding child was enjoying her celebratory beverage, she couldn't be bothered. 

I'm kidding.

Kinda.

The girls and I jumped in the car and headed five houses up the street ... where I found Jake laying on the stairs in the foyer, ON THEIR BRAND NEW CARPET, with a towel to his forehead.  Covered in blood.

Needless to say, I had to place a call to my sewing machine to reschedule our date ... because I would be sitting in the Urgent Care for the next 3 hours ... with beer on my breath ... while Jake got sewn up.   So technically there was sewing involved ... it just wasn't fabric.

To think we were nervous that Drew would get hurt playing football ... NA!  It was Jake.  And as it turns out, the gash in his head wasn't caused by playing the greatest game on earth.  Nope.  They were playing some version of hide and seek and he was hiding in front of a door.  Well, what do you know ... when you hide in front of a door and someone opens it ... you'll cut your head open.

Don't say I never taught you anything.  This blog is very educational. 

And yes, that is my sixth grade boy ... with a clippie in his hair ... and I posted it.  Because I'm mean like that.  Hey ... at least it matches his shirt.

Sorry for the long post.

I guess I could have just said, "Monday afternoon Jake had an accident and cut his head.  He needed 5 stitches."

Yeah, that would have probably been a lot easier.

It's Like Riding A Bike ... You Just Never Forget!

Last night a big ol' annual event in our lives took place.  It was huge.  It was crazy.

It was School Open House.

Now, I realize many of you are chuckling as to how I could think this was some enormous affair ... however, I bet those who are laughing don't have four kids ... all lugging their school supplies in at the same time, all bolting ten feet in front of you ... going in different directions.  Am I right?  Come on, tell me ... I'm right.  Right?

We determined the girls were the most excited about meeting their teacher and seeing their classrooms, so they would be first.  As we entered the school, the same school we've entered for the past 6 years I might add, the following remark is made, "Where are the kindergarten rooms?" 

Yeah, us adults are a little slow sometimes ... obviously not the sharpest crayon in the box, but pretend you didn't notice, okay?

Jake, the only one no longer attending this elementary school looked at Big Daddy and I like we were not just idiots, but COMPLETE idiots and cooly muttered, "Don't worry.  Just follow me.  I know this school like the back of my ear!"

Which led me to ponder ... How well does one actually know the back of their ear?

So, who's coming off as the numbskull now?

I'm just sayin'.

** It's a joke Jake, chill out ... we all know you're a smart kid.

What's A Mother To Do?

Many would probably disagree with me, but I feel like I've been a mother for a LONG time.  Mind you, I've only spent 11 of my years as a parent, but man ... some days, it feels more like 111 years. 

I'm just sayin'. 

So with that, ya know, 111 years of parenting I've got under my belt I have an itsy bitsy problem.  As I sit here at 9:00 on this beautiful, sunny, breezy yet warm Monday morning ... I find myself in a bit of a pickle ...

Last night, or I should probably say ... this morning seeing that it was actually 1:30 AM ... I wake to the sounds of voices.  More like screams.  Angry screams.  It was my boys ... yelling at each other.  I get up and follow the sounds which lead me to the basement.  It was here that I find my 11 year old and 8 year old side by side on the sofa with Wii controllers in their hands.  Fighting over what was fair and what was not in the game they were playing.

Did you catching the 1:30 AM thing I wrote it the previous paragraph?

Yeah.

To say that I was angry is an understatement, but I was too tired to do anything about it except shock the hell out of them by standing there, gritting my teeth and uttering, "Get your butts upstairs RIGHT NOW!"  I don't think they were expecting me to crash their party ... so that part was pretty funny ... to me anyway.

So, here is the deal.  It's 9:00 now ... and they are both still sound asleep. 

  

Should I let them sleep?  Because I'm sure they're still tired.

Or wake their asses up?  Because they should have been asleep long before 1:30 AM?

What do you think?