thursday 13

Did you know that in the teen brain there is a process that occurs, called "pruning"? It occurs mainly in the areas of the brain which control, among other things, organization, multi-tasking, goal-seeking behaviors, and self-control. This "pruning" is a cleaning out of nerve fibers and the unused connections between these fibers are ELIMINATED.

This explains so much.

This post is for me. To remind myself, with 13 sweet little reminders, of how much I love my 13 year old gift. This girl is fabulous. But she's 13. And we're experiencing some "pruning" in her brain right now... but at least I know that her brain REALLY IS FRAGMENTED. And it's not just my imagination. It's a scientific fact. And it's because she is growing up.

This phase will be gone all too soon, won't it?

wordless wednesday - friends

10 on tuesday

My friend Erin did a list similar to this last week, and since there are some strange things on my desk at the moment I thought it would be a good time to copy... so here you go... 10 things on my desk RIGHT NOW.

1. iFlip. My absolute favorite toy. Bought it off of woot.com.
2. A peeler card that is going to expire in 7 days. I'm feeling the urge to use a bunch of the coupons but I don't think my system can handle Papa Johns, McDonalds, Burger King, Sonic, Kolache Rolf's, and Ben & Jerry's in such a short amount of time. Well, maybe if I used the Kwik Kar Lube and Tire...
3. Two pairs of scissors and a pink ruler.
4. A big red button that says, "Ain't gonna happen" when you press it. It's annoying but effective with the children.
5. Luggage tags.
6. A picture of my mom as a child.
7. A molar.
8. A letter from Malawi and my World Vision child. (I love getting these!!)
9. My All About Him Christmas planner. I am terribly behind on the planning, but I'm making headway with my gift shopping.
10. Three fortune cookie fortunes which read, "Failure is the mother of success" and "You will move to a wonderful new home within the year" and "A new challenge is near." I don't know if this means some wonderful things or if I just eat too much Chinese food.

juggling act

This picture is from a quick trip we made to Galveston with my parents... but this guy reminds me a little of me. It feels like life is a balancing act around here.

There is school to be taught, activities to be taken to, work to be completed, laundry to be done, a house to clean, meals to be made, bills to be paid, and all the other stuff that makes up life for us around here.

Some days, I feel that even though we are busy, we are balanced. Other days, it feels as though I am standing on a house of cards, with a few missing, and I've just been handed a couple of juggling pins.

The past two weeks have been horrible because my sweet girl has been sick but it's been nice to be "stuck" at home. As nice as that forced break was, though, I'll be glad to get back to the daily balancing act of life here in our family.

Here's to a balanced, happy Monday!

weekend wrap up

Saturday was the big double header day for Upward Soccer. We had games scheduled from 9:00 AM until 2:30 PM. There were hamburgers and hotdogs for lunch and people everywhere! Last week was very warm and humid but this week it was overcast and cool. It was perfect weather for sitting outside for hours...

Game one. Vikings vs. Rams. SuperGirl was feeling better this morning after a very long 11 days of being sick and she BEGGED to play. I told her she could play one quarter but when we arrived, they only had enough players to play but no substitutes. Her dad talked to the coach and they decided to play her in the back field as much as possible to keep her from getting over tired. Playing kept her warm enough, but when she was on the sidelines, poor SuperGirl got a bit cold. Would you just look at this display is sisterly love? Summer gave up her very warm sweatshirt for SuperGirl. And she even sat down in the cold grass to keep her company while she wasn't playing.
Her first game was a little sketchy. It took SuperGirl until the fourth quarter to remember how to play or something. It seemed it all kicked in then and she started doing a little more playing and a little less prancing around. Hey, who's that on the other team? I think CK was taking it easy on her... they are friends after all!

Hey, look! There's DK and DK! So, who's the coach and who's the assistant here?

Game two. Cardinals vs. Giants. Pickles was IN THE GAME this morning. She was shouting helps to her teammates and getting after the ball. I was pleasantly surprised to see how aggressive she was being, especially since it was before noon. She doesn't like to do anything before noon. I wonder where she gets that from? My favorite part of this game was when Pickles kicked a hard ball out of bounds... right into Summer, barely missing Grammy. That made for some excitement!!

Pickles has a great coaching staff. What this guy lacks in wardrobe (t-stip hat), he makes up for in spirit and enthusiasm! I love listening to him cheer on his team. Thank you, Coach Sample!

Pickles played hard and was looking forward to some burgers and another game later in the day. She's learning to give it everything she has while she's on the field. That's good for her.

Game three. Vikings vs. Raiders. SuperGirl really had it together by this game. She was actually going TO the ball instead of chasing after everyone who was going for it. I still worried a little bit about how much she was running but she seemed to be doing just fine. Must have been the hamburgers for lunch!

Part of the fun of playing Upward soccer is getting to see and play with so many friends! These two spent the whole game smiling and giggling with each other, a carryover from Pickles's game. They are so cute!!

And if SuperGirl doesn't get a white star for this little act of service, I'll be really surprised. When they stopped the game for ES to tie her shoe SuperGirl marched herself across the field and announced, "I'll tie it for her!" Nevermind that she'd just learned to do that for herself this past week when she was home sick. And yes, she is 7 years old and just learning to tie her shoes, but give me a break, she has two older sisters who tie everything for her and years of shoes with no laces (think high heels, flip flops, velcro shoes, and sandals), so it's a wonder she even knows how!

The game went on and SuperGirl played as hard as she could. I kept waiting for her to tire out but she didn't. I was so happy so see her bouncy and healthy again. And I was really enjoying the afternoon outside... sitting with my mom and watching the girls play.

Then, just about half way through the final quarter of game three, a storm started to drop big, fat raindrops on us. I had a golf umbrella and settled myself in my chair, ready to enjoy the rain. Hubby came running across the parking lot and told us to gather all our stuff and get in the truck. And within five minutes, the skies let loose. We were all safe in the truck, mostly dry, watching families scramble to get in their cars... soaking wet. Game four was cancelled so we went home and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon.

It was a good thing we all napped during the afternoon storms, because around 11:00PM Saturday night, SuperGirl's rash and itches came back. And we were up for several hours during the night dealing with that again! By morning, she was fine and we are all looking forward to the games of next week!

hives

Hives, hives, hives.
Splotchy hives, itching hives.
Transient, cropping up hives,
On the back, the front, the legs and face hives-

Those are just a few.

Inflamed hives, irritated hives,
Red polka-dotty hives,
Itching, scratching, excoriating hives,
Big pink hives, too.

Benadryl for hives, Prednisolone for hives.
Don't forget the Caladryl lotion for hives.

Last of all, best of all.
All gone, no more nasty hives.