Grant vs. Ozzie

It was Scout night at the Nashville Sounds game last night. I love going becuase it's very family oriented with some exceptions but they really make the game and everything in between really worth the money.

Grant was chosen to race Ozzie around the bases. He had no idea but Bill set it all up (the advantage of being a Cubmaster and knowing someone on the inside). It was extremely hot so I had to convince Grant to keep his uniform shirt on and it wasn't easy!

This rare event made him super happy & excited!

I love when he's happy!

~thirty-four~

On my Summer Bucket List, I had written 50 things that I wanted to do this summer. One was to do something different for my birthday and to have my friends over for a cookout. Well, I killed two birdss with one stone. I took all my unwanted crap over to H's house for the neighborhood yard sale. It was great to hang out with her family and make a few bucks. I left around noon to come home and get ready for the birthday cookout. Yes, I threw my own party---no shame in that---and yes, I prepared the meal and fed my friends. That is exactly what I wanted to do. My bff "H" suggested I get some props to use for silly 'photo booth' type pictures. It was really fun and the pictures are HILARIOUS!!! The food was great!: chicken & steak kabobs, squash casserole, grilled corn on the cob, baked beans & watermelon margaritas! The best part of the whole day? Spending time with the people I love and making memories for years to come!
I am blessed!

~staining 101~

I have NEVER stained a thing in my life so there's no time like the present, right?

I bought this cute little table & stool set for the boy about 3 summers ago, and whenever he has friends over, they like to go out on the deck to socialize.....
this poor table was so faded, I pressure washed it first so this picture is after all the gunk was gone....

I cant' remember what the stain is but I picked it up at Lowe's with the handy help of the Lowe's man. He saved me a lot of work. This type of oil stain already had a built in polyurethane so I didn't have to keep applying coat after coat of stain and then add the poly! I also didn't realize what a mess it is to stain something so small. Looking back, I should have taken the whole thing apart but I was lazy!

Isn't it gorgeous!

Even if we never use it again for a picnic table, it will definitely be a  great little side table on the deck!

 

PYHO

I haven't poured my heart in awhile and I try not to have any pity parties but sometimes a girl just feels like she wants to bear her soul to whoever might want to listen.
First thing I'm having a terrible time with is my job situation - AGAIN! I am trying so hard to believe that God has a plan for me-it's so easy to become so doubtful and I hate it. I don't want to doubt anything about His will, His promises, or His plans. However, this fall will be going on the 3rd year that I haven't had even so much as an interview for a teaching job. I feel so defeated about it and I can't come to grips for the reason let alone the lesson that God has for it.
Everyone keeps telling me that I will get a job and that's partly true, it's just I don't want to continue to wait & wait & wait & wait. I have prayed so many times for God to reveal the purpose for all of this, and I have yet to hear from Him OR I'm just not listening closely enough. I actually fell asleep last night praying with tears streaming down. That's where I am, just being honest and raw about all of it.

Another burden that I have carried for almost two MORE years is our inability to have another baby. This goes hand in hand with the job thing. Just when you think that one thing won't work out for you, you believe that God will show his hand in another area. Had I gotten pregnant in '09 and had the ability to stay at home again, I wouldn't feel this way today. Again, praying and asking God to guide us in the right direction or to simply tell me in His own way that Grant will be all we have., I keep telling  God that I would be okay with it but obviously He knows I won't be. I ask and pray for the lesson and as I previously stated, I wait & wait & wait. See the theme here? I'm not getting younger and I'm not fond of having a baby 10 years after Grant. Seven years is plenty of space between two kids. It's a big ball of emotions that is way to complex to write about but if any of you has had infertility issues, you know exactly where I am coming from.

Then there's this curse I am caught in which is called the sandwich generation. Taking care of children and parents. It can be a source of frustration, anger, sadness, fear, and anxiety. Neither of my parents have retirement plans, no money to live independently, neither of them planned for their 'senior' years. And guess who the fall girl is? yep! ME! (enter scream here). Again, I ask God for the lesson and one insight I have seriously gleaned is that I will work hard to never to do this to my child(ren). I can't quite understand it and I can only be the daughter that God would want me to be and to honor my mother and father even if it  means that I am the one who has to foot the bill for their poor choices. It just really isn't fair to this young heart, mind, and spirit.

These are just a few of the things that are on my heart. I know and understand that others are in worse situations than me. I am trying super hard to count the blessings I do have. I have many and I must be grateful for every gift that God has given me. All I know is that sometimes you just gotta pour your heart out.

~Perfect~

Today was a really great day. I can say that I really enjoyed being a Mom today. Th boy was spectacularly good. He was agreeable and didn't speak "Whinese". Got that from another blog I read and I love it!
I had to get up early to get the Puppy to the Vet......no babies for Him!
Ran by McD's to get my cup of joe and a sausage biscuit for the boy who was still sleeping!

He came running out to the living room, Peacock hair, blanket, and duck and snuggled up beside me.

We watched a little bit of America's Got Talent. Wehn it was over, we went outside so I could do some work and he was roaming around in the garage. He was sitting with DOG on the deck for awhile, talking to her like she totally understood his woes. At one point I heard him pretending to be a judge on America's Got Talent and he was telling imaginary people "you're going to Vegas!" He so totally cracks me up.

He rode around on his four wheeler, played Legos, hung out on the monkey bars, just being a boy. At one point he came out in his swim trunks and asked to play with the hose. I obliged and snapped a quick picture:

It was close to noon so we decided to get in the Yellow Bug and head to Sonic for a bite to eat.

I love that about  being at home in the summer, you can decide whatever you want to do for the day and just do things on a whim....no agenda, no appointments, no plans

We were sitting at Sonic and the sky opened up unexpectedly, my mom made a dash to the car to put her top up. We didn't melt, thankfully

On a whim, we went to a flea market in Lakewood. Grant was actually the one who suggested it only because he found a Rubix Cube there on a previous visit. I think we were there for almost two hours.
Grant & I were playing "Scaredy Cat", a game where we hide and try to scare each other.
We found an old school Wheel of Fortune game for $3.  He was super duper well behaved, didn't speak any whinese and was perfectly happy with the game. He really wanted this obnoxious M&M's dispenser for Skittles?! I talked him out of it! Whew!

We came home and for a reward I let him watch a movie. *He's been grounded from TV for a week* & this was also a ploy to buy me some time to get other stuff done

We went to church, came home, hung outside for a bit and came in around 8pm and played a rousing game of Wheel of Fortune. You know how games go with young kids, it could last for a few minutes or it can last forever. This took about an hour! It's totally cool though b/c I loved just being present wit him and watching him trying to figure out the puzzle.

We sat on the couch together and watched another episode of America's Got Talent. I think he loves that show. I found a devotional book for kids @ Goodwill and he is into it. He reminds me that we missed a day. After that, it was bedtime! I love this boy, especially when he's in a good mood, well behaved, and doesn't speak Whinese fluently!

Thank you Lord for a Perfect day! I will need this post to remind me of how blessed I am when I begin to speak "Whinese".

{Deck Makeover}

I've been working hard over here in the land of Tulip Grove

Unfortunately I don't have any BEFORE photos to show you

only adjectives to describe what was on the deck before this summer

boring

ugly

disgraceful

uninviting

lifeless

colorless

really boring!

I present to you the AFTER  photos

Bargain Urns from Kmart, a little over $10/each

Thanks Heather!

Gardenias from the local nursery

(I had a gift certificate from a Silent Auction and I used it)

@ $40 including a ginormous bag of soil

The Patio furniture was 1/2 off at Wal- Mart in JUNE!!!

this includes the two chairs, the love seat, all cushions, table w/glass

and two decorative pillows

$148

I found the umbrella at Target on clearance in JUNE! for 1/2 off

*I had just sold a trailer for my daddy-o and he said I could keep the money*

I bought the umbrella with that money!!! SCORE!

$212

The outdoor rug was a score too, thanks to 320 Sycamore

she gave a tip that these were on clearance at Lowe's for $17

Original price was $68

I added the Coca Cola tray and that white watering can was rusted before I took

some Rust-o-leum to it and made it a fresh crisp white

the floral placemat under it was $1 @ Wal Mart

I normally don't discuss the prices I pay for stuff but I couldn't help myself.

These were bargains for sure!

Now the Deck is:

inviting

beautiful

relaxing

colorful

and the gardenias are

DELIGHTFUL

There's still a little bit left to do but it's coming together nicely!



~making a little bit of progress~

I had a lot of things listed on my Summer BucketList. I am making a little bit of progress..........

~Old Glory~

July 2nd

Our Cub Scout Pack was invited to a Flag Retirement ceremony

This was Grant's first experience with this kind of thing

I didn't realize how much you had to do to retire a flag





 First you have to cut out the blue field of stars

Then, you have to cut each red stripe away from each white stripe\

When the stripes are all cut, you have to roll each one and place it in the field of blue

The Boy Scouts will cut each star out of the blue fields and give them to retired veterans

some fields of blue are saved to wrap the bundle o stripes together

The ceremonious thing to do is to burn each stripe separately

However, since there wasn't a big turnout for this event, the boys got to

place the whole bundle in the fire



I got to keep a field of blue to use for my own decor since my kitchen is Americana

Not sure what I will do with it but I'm glad the Scouts let me take it!

Grant was a little fearful to approach the fire pit so he just tossed it in.

It was a pretty cool thing to be a part of and there were still several flags to retire when we left.

Hope everyone has a blessed Fourth of July!

Lucky #7

July 1st

The magical age of 7

I wonder what it will bring?

This is what I did for my O.C.

Star Wars Lego/Pool Party

The Food table pre-party

I made a birthday banner out of cd's

my first one ever for my boy!

I used stickers to jazz it up...

I made homemade pizza for the kiddos

Yoda Soda was 7 up & sherbet

Darth Maul Serum was Hawaiian punch

That's the X wing fighter that Bill the Big Kid bought

came in handy for decor

This is an R2D2 cassette tape player I found at Goodwill

for 3.99......the best part is that it actually works!

another Lego set that Big Kid Bill put together

Darth Vader's Tie Fighter

2 out of 3 types of candy that G-man loves

Skittles & Starburst

M&M's for the chocolate lovers

like Tan Tan : )

Ta-da! The cake

made by my awesome friend Heather

and it was ymm-OH!

I added the mini-figures

The party favor table

Lego mini-figure gummy candies

made from Jell-O

*note to self: do not leave in the heat, they melt!*

Lego head marshmallow pops

only one party guest took one

it's okay, they were still fun to make

and fun for the decor

Pool Noodles + colored duct tape = a fun way to make a waterproof light saber

The first year I decided to do a Pinata

I let the kiddos use one of G's light sabers

it had a pull string just in case they couldn't smack the evil out of it

it didn't take much before Darth Vader's head split open!

c

A great party isn't fun without friends!

Yes, G-man does have male friends but due to the fact that his mom's

two best friends have girls, he can't help but be a ladies man!

The 'Rents

Lucky # 7