Simply Altered

better late than never....

Who ever said she did things in a timely manner???  not me!!!

Today was HER first day of school, fashionably late maybe, but none the less, today was THE day!!!

We got the call last night, saying she had been approved by the Eddyville / Blakesburg school district and can be there in the morning!!!   yikes.  Talk about some lightening speed school shopping!!! (school supplies atleast as the clothing had already been done)  whew.

I went along to help get her schedule all figured out and afterall, I wanted to completely check it out.  Ya know, we have been known to RUN back and bring her back home!!  haha.  (oh my, we are still trying to forget about that fiasco)  LOL

All seemed well, and DID indeed seem like a better fit for her.  She is a small town girl, and loved the small town feel to the school.  Nearly as many people in the entire 4 year school as what was in her one CLASS before.  That is a good thing.

She made sure to spot the class that has the word “Ag” in it  !!!!   I think it was called “Ag Sales”  (?)   all I know, I would have chosen sewing or something like that, but it is not MY schedule, so I kept my mouth shut.  

I don’t expect perfection from her or from a school.  I would have loved to hear her say “Oh mom, this is the most awesome ,wonderful, amazing school EVER”  ….but do ANY kids REALLY describe school like that anymore???  none that live in this house, I know that much.

She liked it.

and she is going back again tomorrow.  :)

This is good.

Thanks to all who have cared and listened.

“When life looks like it is falling apart, it may actually  just be falling into place”

there are many times, and many situations that I am constantly reminded of this, I think it is perfect and can help us to stop wondering “Why?” but rather to sit back , take things as they come to us, and realizing, this is ALL happening for a reason.

Enjoy the day.

I tried to find a FEMALE in a kitchen sort of lab setting , but did not find anything too “appealing”  so I will go with Mr. Scientist instead.  

I am searching far and wide to come up with a SIMPLE, and frugal alternative to the INCREDIBLY expensive dish washer tabs I am forced to purchase.  I think I MIGHT possibly be onto something……

BUT

I do NOT want another failure like the Clorox wipes, so this time I am doing plenty of testing before I post these results OR the incredibly SIMPLE recipe.

Maybe I will do some extra baking or cooking, or somehow make a WHOLE lot of dirty dishes so I can do enough trial runs, and then let the secret out!!!.    Many of you have asked about this, just one more way to save money!!

Stay tuned.

and this is what my childhood bed looked like. No hardwood floors though, I had pink SHAG carpeting!!!

Funny how things strike you on certain days.  This Sunday is one of them.

A few thoughts today keep bringing me back to my  mother.

We overslept for church.

As we got up and going, this was the scene at my house.

Glenn loads up everything to go mow, the many OTHER yards than ours that he does.  (rain the last few days has messed up his schedule)

Maison heads out to go somewhere on his moped with a friend.

I am way behind on laundry, so I am diving straight into it, doing many loads and getting them out on the clothesline to conserve energy as well as take advantage of the beautiful breeze.  Then…I need to tackle my “to-do” list for the day!!

Madison is STILL sleeping.

Now, to reflect on my OWN mother and my childhood.

Sundays we attended church, without a doubt, no matter what was going on ( which wasn’t much) my mom, my dad and 5 little girls went to church in our “Sundays best”.  Every. Sunday.

We came back home after Sunday school, to a BIG homecooked meal that was prepared for the most part,  the day before, and the rest of the day remained VERY quiet.  My sisters and I  cleaned up from the meal, and pretty much stayed near our bedrooms after that. (note: the image I chose.)   Not sure what we did to fill the day, but whatever it was, it was QUIET.  My parents always took a nap together and we knew better than to make much noise.

Going anywhere was out of the question.  We did not shop, we did not do “work” of any kind, and for heavens sake, going to the movie like some of our friends wanted us to do, was COMPLETELY out of the question.  To this day, although I do alot of things differently, I have probably only attended one movie on a Sunday, EVER,  and that was “Passion of the Christ” so that sort of does not count, right?  

I wish I could do things like I was raised, but it is hard.  Look how my day started??  we overslept. Pathetic huh?? I am not sure, but I do not recall one day in my childhood  that my mom “overslept”.  Ever.

My dad was an over the road truck driver, gone most of the week.  Wouldn’t you think he would have had a list  a mile long to do, on one of the two days he was home for the weekend??  no.  On Sundays he rested, and then left our family again on Sunday evenings to go back to work for the week.

I am not sure who mowed our yard when I was young.  I know it was not ME…..and I know it was not my Dad.  Maybe Kathy, or Kim, or Kris?  I don’t know.

Here is my husband mowing 3 other yards today.  {sigh}   and then ours.

Growing up, we went to church on Sundays, ate,  and rested all day.

My mom did laundry for 7 people, I do it for 4.  My washer runs ALL day on Sundays, my moms did not even get turned on.

I want to be THAT simple again…..but in todays time???  we would seem bored and “unproductive” if our Sundays were spent that way.

Is this progress or regress?  I have my own opinion on it, but at the same time, can not figure out how to change it.

Enjoy your Sunday, however YOU choose to spend it.

inching our way, one step closer...

Today was the day.  All documents in hand, all bases covered, and my husband headed into foreign territory.  The school administrations office.  I had done everything up to this point, all the calls, paperwork, begging and pleading, now it was HIS turn to get the MUCH anticipated signature to release Madison from our resident school district.

He obliged, and asked very nicely demanded an end to all this nonsense and simply find a school that seems a better fit than where our daughter has attended very unsuccessfully.

It was not without a fight, but to spare you those details, all that matters, is the signature was completed, and tomorrow, we proceed to the next step……taking all paperwork to the receiving school district, for (HOPEFULLY) an approval.

You have no idea how ready we are to find our “normal” again!!!   we have had anything BUT normalcy around here for too long!!!  I am a creature of habit, but having teenagers, certainly humbles you and forces you to be MUCH more flexible that you ever imagined you could be.

The most disheartening part, was that with SO many people on our side, school staff, friends, etc etc , I do feel that a certain section of the  administration was working AGAINST us.  Literally standing in the way of my childs education.   This should have and COULD have been done a week ago.  The term “in the childs best interest” is very broad and easily misunderstood depending on what side you are on.  Is it really necessary for my daughter to BEG for a fresh start?   I will have to look past all these details and just feel happy to have this step out of the way!!! I am trying.

I will end with a quote a friend of mine posted to Facebook the other day.  Do with it what you want… I know I have some improvements to do in this area, like most do.

“When you judge others, you do not define them, you define yourself”

Yep....this is where I am.

I have tried to go around it, above it, backed up and tried a different route…..I think I have tried just about EVERYTHING, and I just keep running straight into it.

I am trying to get a life again, I am trying to also find our new “normal” and nothing is coming to me.

Once I get  what I am looking so hard for, you will know it and I just might be back and better than ever, but in the meantime, this brick wall is all I seem to be faced with.

{sigh}     ( a great big huge )  {SIGH} !!!!!!!  

my 24 hour nightmare

Oh my.  I hardly know where to begin.

I will begin with our trip to Job Corp yesterday.   Sadness set in, which we were prepared for.  We thought we knew how to deal with it.

We took her ( I will try to make this brief).  (mind you, we did not experience ANY of this on our initial “tour” so I feel like we were slightly misguided)

Starts with a SEARCH of all her belongings as soon as we arrived.   Now, I am thinking WHAT ON EARTH ARE THEY LOOKING FOR???   my daughter would have not brought anything inappropriate with her, let alone, I spent alot of time helping her pack.  Hellooooo???    but regardless I overlooked this part as best I could.   (and they did so kindly offer all the horrible details of things that they have confiscated in the past)  WOW  !!!!

Next, if there are two words I have never used to describe my daughter, it would be NAIVE or INNOCENT.   She is a mature girl, possibly beyond her years in OUR world, but there???  she was niave, innocent and a fish out of water.

We were taken around by a very nice enough student, but one that came from a VERY different background than what we live.  She was from Chicago, and I am fairly certain she had no parents and she was also 23 years old.  I am sure SHE was doing just fine at Job Corps and was a good fit FOR HER.

She warned us in a nice , but blunt way of the possibilities of the “funny things” that often happen there.   Still knowing we were this far into it, I tried once again, to look past this, although, they were VERY shocking possibilities, and this job of “overlooking” was getting increasingly harder for us.

Fast forward to the car, when we had to tell Madison good-bye and it was a very tearful one, and I expected that.

As soon as we backed up, my husband went into HYSTERICS .  I have been with him for 28 years total, through alot and I have never ONCE witnessed him this distraught and emotional.  NEVER.  He is a man of very few words, and at this time, completely inconsolable.

Bad went to worse.  The things we were promised to ease our minds were NOT happening once we drove out of sight.   She was thrust into a very big world, all alone, and ignored.  Hardly in with the “welcome committee” like we were told.  I am not sure whos fault this was, but it was not one my husband (or I ) were prepared to deal with.  She begged us from the road to turn around and come get her.

I did manage to get my distraught husband home, wrap our minds around what just took place and vowed to get a good night sleep, despite the situation.  We did , I texted her last night until she literally fell asleep holding her phone, and before the sun came up this morning, my husband and his sister went back to get her.  They are en route heading home as I type.  I am working today and trust me , I needed to do just that.

I think Job Corps has a very good place in the world, but not in ours.   I think for disadvantaged youth, with maybe no home life, or very little of one, this is a good and safer place for them to be.  I have a daughter that comes from a very loving, functional, christian, and unbroken home.  She needs to be here.  We will figure out other options for education.

Two years ago, she hit a big bump in the road of life.  She is a completely different person now, and she is a person I am not willing to live without, much less let her live in less than ideal surroundings.  After the warnings that the tour guide told us  about, it could have easily been detrimental to the progress she has made.   I am not willing to take that chance.  NO WAY.

What is next??  I don’t know.  I pray to God that something comes our way and I believe it will.  It is a true test of my faith to wait.  God has a plan.  Maybe I was trying to stand in the way of it?  but out of every bad situation, something much better is in the making.

It is just a matter of getting through it, and we will do it…..together.

Thanks once again for hearing this out with me.

{sigh}

toilet paper....EVERYwhere!!

As if the weekend has not been exciting ENOUGH ???

Late Saturday night, the kids were all in and out of the house, checking in with me, but still not done for the night, so when all was quiet once again, I heard some “strange” commotion coming from my yard.

Lo and Behold, toilet paper flying through the air and teenagers running EVERY which direction.  !!!!!!!!   I guess this ought to be flattering to the two teenagers that live here, but I saw nothing but a mess in the making and a WHOLE lot of wasted rolls of toilet paper!!!  :o

The funny part, is as I bolted upstairs to get Glenn OUT OF BED, they were just finishing up the job.  He took the stairs all in one jump, ran out the door, but quickly learned teenagers can STILL out run him…..and away they went. I am sure laughing the whole time at that “old man” trying to catch them.

Was this Maisons friends figuring out how to do it maybe for one of their first time???  or Madisons  (more experienced friends)  giving her a grand good-bye??   Regardless, it made for some good clean (enough) fun, but left a whole lot of work for both my kids as soon as we got home from church this morning.   (ok, I helped clean up a little too)

Big day tomorrow.  3 hours to Denison,  and we return home another 3 hours minus my daughter.

I need to get a grip on myself, because as of now, I am pretty much an emotional wreck.

I thought I was doing fine until she left to go to church Youth Group tonight, and I spend the rest of the evening in tears.  No way to disguise that I have been crying, so I guess when she gets home, I will just admit it.      this is TOO hard to try to “appear” so non-chalant about.

{sigh}  weather she is there one week or a whole year, it is still time I have to endure without her, and for that…..I am just not ready.

My daughter and her sidekick (click to enlarge for detail)

At some point in everyones life, someone comes along that is a friend like no other.  Madison has Jeff.  Jeff has Madison.  99% of the time I get the pleasure of having them BOTH!!!  :)    Where you see one of them, the other is not far behind.  Have you ever had a best friend like that?  I did, and I hold her in the highest regard to this day.   {Thanks Micky}   although time gets away from you and you might go in different directions, you never lose each other or the memories you made together.

Madison and Jeff will be lucky enough to make that claim as well.

Their enthusiasm is CONTAGIOUS!!!!  I laughed so hard at the two of them  last week, I had my iced latte nearly coming out my nose!!!  it has been a LONG time since I have laughed that hard!!!!   They just seem to bring out the best in everyone when they are together.

(btw) in the picture, he is driving MY car, she is riding shotgun and I am in the BACKSEAT going shopping all over Des Moines.  I was certainly “enjoying the ride” like the image states.  This will be one of her gifts to proudly display in her dorm room.   I have embellished it with a local map, and images from all the places they frequent together.

He has instructions that he HAS to come by our house on his way home in the evenings.  He has spent so much time in our home over the years, it would seem too strange without his presence, as well as hers.  Needless to say when she comes home on weekends, he will not be far behind.   I often wonder if he will be on the edge of town waiting FOR her to arrive!!!   LOL

I have tried and tried to talk him into going to Denison with her, but so far, have been unsuccessful.  

They are the best of friends and I am guessing when she comes back, they will feel they have never ever been apart.

What a wonderful feeling that will be.

Thanks Jeff, for simply being YOU.

I am stumped !

ok.  Help me out here.  I now know why I generally ALWAYS test something over and over before I post it.  Clorox wipes are a perfect example.  Grrrrrr

After I read the comment that they turn to “mush”  I quickly got in gear and made some up myself.  Yep, mush they are.  Yuck and disappointment.

I did some more research and found information stating that Viva turns to mush, but Bounty does not.  Not true.  It does.  I have a canister full in my kitchen to prove it.

I will keep on trying to find a real solution.

If you are doing the same, let us all know.

I am not one to give up easily.    :)