There’s a friend over, which means they all want to sleep in the same room. There’s been a LOT of giggling this week as the kids float around with sleepovers and playdates and whatever else there is going on. It’s midnight and I hear an argument between Jamie and Cassie erupt. One of those that is probably minor but loud. The friend (J) is not involved, but is cowering on the bed like “seriously, people, I’m an only child, WHAT is the deal?” I walk in, where they both try to tell me the various transgressions…

Me: “Wait, I don’t care. Jamie, apologize to Cassie.”
Jamie: “Sorry, Cassie.”
Me: “Cassie, apologize to Jamie.”
Cassie: “I didn’t do anything!”
Me: “….” (the look)
Cassie: “Sorry, Jamie” (only a little grudgingly)
Me: “Now, Cassie apologize to J”
Cassie: “I didn’t do anything to her.”
Me: “I said…”
Cassie: “Fine, whatever. Sorry, J”
Me: “Jamie… apologize to J”
Jamie: “I’m sorry, J, for fighting with Cassie over nothing while you were here.”
Me: “Oh, that was a good one.”
Jamie: “Yeah, I know” (fist bump)
Me: “Cassie, apologize to me, please.”
Casssie: “But I…”….. “okay, sorry!!!”
Me: *sigh* “Jamie…”
Jamie: “Yeah, mom, I’m really sorry that we were arguing and interrupted your work and you had to come in here to do this.”
Me: “Oh crap… you are getting good at this.”
Tom: *laughing nearly hysterically*
Me: “Yeah, we have a politician on our hands here”

She came home last week with this (notice her answer to #25):

I’m not sure if I’m more amused by the answer she gave or the fact that her teacher gave her full credit. That rocks.

Then, I must wonder… did she do this because she didn’t know the answer and wanted to suck up enough so maybe the teacher WOULD give her full credit? Not that I think she’d do that (no, not that sweet innocent little angel of a girl)…

Anyway… enjoy! I laughed and made her cry. I wasn’t laughing at her answer (well, I kinda was… that mom of the year award continues to elude me!)

Oh boy. This will be fun.

Cassie: “Jamie bonked me on the head for no reason.”

Jamie: “I bonked you on the head for a reason, you weren’t listening!”

I couldn’t help it, I burst out laughing…

At least he didn’t deny it, right?

Cassie hasn’t really asked about sex or anything like that and we decided it was time (more on that in a minute) to fill her in a little bit before the kids at school told her god-knows-what. After her shower, I sat down with her in my bedroom and asked her if she had ever heard the word “sex” before. She said yes and I asked her if she knew what it meant. She proudly told me “It means love.” Awwwww… ya know, I think that’s the most apt description I’ve ever heard.

So, anyway, the big reason I brought it up to her is because she hadn’t asked and I knew we needed to have that talk soon. But also because Tom is scheduled to have a vasectomy this week. Can I just say, “Yay!” Our kids are 8 and 10. We’ve been married for 18 years. Everyone in this house can wipe their own butts and buckle their own seat belts. We’re done with the baby-making part of our lives and I’m looking forward to not having to deal with any accidents, quite frankly.

So, yeah, we haven’t told the kids about that yet, but I figured it would be easier to explain why Dad has an ice pack on his crotch later if I addressed it now.

One more funny… when the doctor asked if Tom was doing this for himself or his wife or what the deal was, Tom said that he was doing it for “us”.  I think that’s probably the most apt description I’ve heard too.

Snippy-Snip, baby!

PS – before anyone can tell me I’m oversharing more than I should, I asked permission before posting this news

I’ve been basically hibernating since my last post. Tax season was a bit brutal to me this year. Crazy, but should hopefully slack off once I catch up – if I ever do catch up!

The kids are doing fabulous. Jamie has really come out of his shell this year, he’s managed to drop probably 20 pounds and his grades are AMAZING. I’m so proud of him. If I could get him to get up in the morning without threatening him with bodily harm, then life would be REALLY fabulous. Cassie is puttering right now along… she loves school and loves learning and always has a smile and a hug ready for nearly everyone.

Tom got notice that due to the budget cuts, his position will be cut after this year. So yeah, he’ll have worked five months. Very sad, but we have hope that he will be rehired. He honestly loves teaching and has loved the past four months. Funny, he finally finds what he’s supposed to be doing in life and now this, but we have always believed that things happen how they are supposed to so I have faith that this is just a bump in the road. (Yes, I think he’s crazy… there’s so many of them – no way – not happening – I’d rather have bamboo shoved under my nails). But I must say that he’s been so genuinely happy that I really do hope he’s able to continue next year. The good news is that he was hired, so he’s in the rehire pool. Like I told him, if he wasn’t, he’d be in a bad position. So, see? Not all bad.

I’m doing well, getting ready for a few upcoming trips and various things going on. Excited, but already exhausted. At least I have a couple of weeks to recover before we go… it’s going to be fun! First stop is Portland, then to Dallas this Summer and then Vegas this Fall. Never been to Portland or Vegas so I’m super excited.

Not much else going on, honestly… just going day by day… we did get the kids new bikes. I know it’s sad, but our kids don’t know how to ride. They had bikes with training wheels, but Jamie took a nasty fall when he was 5 or 6 and refused to get back on it. We’re kind of making him get one because I know he’ll like it. Cassie, of course, is all over it and trying her hardest to learn. She can go if I give her a good shove, she just can’t start or turn around yet very well. It’s coming along though!

And now a sweet story (and to show you that either Tom is the sweetest husband ever or he has everyone snowed)… I texted him a few weeks ago while he was at the grocery store and asked him to bring me some jelly beans. I was going to be up most of the night and I needed something to chew on. He came home with them. No problem right? He told later that he had to go back in because he was packing the car. Awww… sweet right? Well, he went back through the line and the lady said something and he said “Oh, my wife wanted jelly beans so I came back in”. She asked when I was due (umm. no.) and he said, “Oh, she’s not pregnant, she just asked and I came back in”. She was surprised and asked something to which he replied, “Yeah, I just can’t resist a pretty face.”

Snowed or sweet? Hmmm… it’s been 18 years and I’m still not sure…

Keep smiling, baby girl…

So, let’s see… Jamie turned 10 (when did this happen?!?!) October 17th. He’s such a wonderful young man that I’m proud to be his mother. He’s very empathetic towards everyone he meets, just an amazing boy. A few months ago, we took him to be evaluated and, while I wasn’t completely on board, he has Inattentive ADHD (the difference is that he really doesn’t have the hyper part, just the inability to focus). He’s been on medication for two months now and (again) I wasn’t completely on board until his teacher grabbed me during a school event last month and told me that she has seen such an amazing real change in him and how he’s able to finish his work on time, get his math worksheets done and she’s not constantly having to keep in on task. We’ve noticed some changes here at home too. He doesn’t take it on the weekends or days off from school. It’s really to help focus during class. He brought it up yesterday, actually, and said that he likes that he’s not in trouble so much for not doing his work and he doesn’t feel like his brain is “crazy” (whatever that means). I know it’s the right decision, but it still bugs me a little. I still think ADHD is over-diagnosed. So, I suppose I’m still leery overall, but it’s made a BIG difference for him. Contradiction, much?

We spent Christmas in South Carolina again. I love spending the holidays with my mom and sisters. I think next year we might stay home though. It’s a trek and really wore us all out. We drive (yes, 1250 miles one way) and we take the dogs (Leo cannot really handle being boarded) so it’s kind of crazy.

Cassie. Oh, Cassie. Cassie turns 8 this week. Cassie is a bright and lovely young lady. She’s very responsible and likes to keep people on point. She likes to snuggle up as much as she likes her independence. She made it into Robotics (see my previous post – LOL) and is having a great time. She’s also doing REALLY well with violin lessons. Something clicked for her a couple of months ago and she’s finally getting the rhythm parts and a few pieces are actually really pretty sounding. She’s an amazing student, but works hard to achieve her goals in school. She’s so serious sometimes that I feel like I have to remind her to have some fun too. Perhaps responsible was an understatement. Militant might be more accurate. *laughing*

Our biggest news lately is that Tom got a job! He’s teaching 5th grade and loving it! It’s hard work, but he has great students and is enjoying following his dream. It’s been nice to have group insurance and a FSA again too, I won’t lie. It’s been a big adjustment for us both. I’ve had to do all the daily running around while trying to keep my neck above water in my business, but we’re making it through pretty well.

Me? I’m doing okay. I’m finally getting the allergy testing (and hopefully shots) I’ve been wanting to do for many years. Living in Austin is rough, I have allergy issues 10 months or so out of the year and I’m hoping this will help a little. I just need something to help me get it under control and livable. This year was really bad during cedar season. Otherwise, it’s been pretty much the same old same old.

I promise to make more of an effort here. I tend to update on Facebook more often, but I know this is more permanent so I’ll try harder

Robotics Paragraph

By Cassie Beauchamp

I really like robots and I always wanted to be in the robotics club. My brother has a robotics kit and I really like the robotics kit. My dad used it for robotics. My dad helped teach robotics. I’m really interested in robots. I have watched the big kids in the past. I have seen the robots go around the course. I liked seeing them build the robots. When my dad said they were doing a kid robotics I said “When are they?” I was waiting for a long time to get into robotics.

Now, if I could train them to put the milk and cereal back in the fridge/cabinet…

BUT it is really sweet how well they do together. It makes me proud to think that I actually had something to do with that, it was my superior parenting skills that have shaped my children into cooperative… oh heck… it was luck.

The conversation went like this:

Me: Will you always have kisses for me?
Cassie: Yes, always
Me: How about when you’re 10?
Cassie: Of course
Me: How about when you’re 13?
Cassie: Yes, Mom!
Me: How about when you’re 15?
Cassie: I can’t make no promises about that.

Sigh. Yeah. That’s what I thought.