Takin Care of Business

Hi Friends! Time to get caught up on the past week! It's been busy, but super wonderful!

Irvine Football has started up again, which keeps my pretty busy. This year I have a lot of responsibility which is perfectly fine because my school schedule is very light right now. I  purposely made it that way because I love football so much, I never want to miss it! ;) Anthony is playing both JV and Varsity this year, so I am going to 2-3 games a week if you count the Freshman games. Though, that's nothing new to me. When Anthony was a Freshman, Armand was both JV and Varsity, so I'm used to it! So, JV played on Friday in South Torrance and lost 21-3 which was a bummer, but they played their hearts out, so it was a great game to watch! Anthony played both OL & DL, so he was exhausted by the end of the game. Thank goodness Carrie Whitsell brought snax for them to eat on the bus ride home!

Saturday was the 1st Varsity game of the season and I am now in charge of coordinating the pre-game meals, so I was at the school from 1:00 til about 11:00pm. There are a select group of us moms and dads that devote our time and energy to the program and are willing to make sacrifices, even if it means we don't get to enjoy all the bells and whistles. The satisfaction on our boys' faces makes it all worth it. So, our 1st meal was tailgate style and we grilled burgers and sausages for the boys. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun! Then we had family pictures, which I cannot wait to see! Sadly, Armand had to miss it though because of work. :(

I got a partial delivery of the football garb...aka spirit wear....that I get to rummage through this evening and sort them out according to orders taken. There are already 5 boxes full and that's only about 1/5 of everything. Pretty soon my living room and dining room will look like football vomited in my house! Love it! This year is a bit sad for me though because I need to find a replacement. It's been 5 years since I started running garb and it's like my baby. But, Anthony's gonna be a senior next year, so I want to find someone to shadow me this year so that I can give them the reigns and actually watch my boy play for his final season. So far, I've got no takers though. uh-oh...looks like I might just have to stay! ;)

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of 9/11. At church we had a short little memorial and I lost it. I haven't cried that hard in an really long time! Then, pastor mentioned that as a result of 9/11, my baby boy Armand was saved! I remember it so clearly. The 3 kids were downstairs watching Cartoon Network and I was in the boys' room watching the news footage from the attacks. I was sobbing not only at the realization of all the hurting people in the world who had lost loved ones, but at the realization of the thousands that had lost their lives without a chance to trust the Lord. Armand came upstairs and saw me crying and immediately tried to console me. He was rubbing my back and asking me what was wrong. I shared with him why I was so sad and we discussed what it meant to be a Christian. He asked Jesus into his life at that very moment. 9/11/01 will never be forgotten, but neither will 9/12/01.
After church I came home and crashed hard until 7:30 when Anthony came in and asked me for dinner! I'm guessing I needed the rest!

Today after school, I went and applied for Healthy Families and found out that I qualify! I am so excited because I can finally get Anthony back on his medication, Amythyst can get her teeth fixed and Armand can get new glasses!! Hoorayy! No insurance for me, but I'm totally okay with that. The kids are priority 1! So excited! God is good!!

Well, that's all I have time for right now. Catch you up later when I'm done takin care of business!

TTFN~kel

Enjoy the Silence

Well, today was back to school for Irvine High! So, I got up early to send my little munchkins off to their first day! Anthony as a Junior and Amythyst as a Freshman!

I have always been the one to protest back to school, kicking and screaming because I know that when school is in, I have to be the meanie mom and force them to do homework and get to bed early and so on and so on. Well, today was not like any other first day of school! I got up and got the kids to school and gave Armand the car so he could get to work and it suddenly dawned on me! I was home alone and had HOURS to be just me! WHAT?!?! That's impossible, or so I was beginning to believe! The first day of school instantly became my new best friend! Don't get me wrong, I love my babies and there is nothing in the world that could ever make me love being a mom any more or less than I do, but peace and quiet has become a precious commodity around this place!

Sooooo....here's what my day looked like: I moved all the furniture and vacuumed under it and sprayed for fleas (ick!), then I did 3 loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, cleaned out the hallway closet, sorted out some clothes to give away, played around on facebook for a minute while enjoying some coffee and handled some football business and BAM! Just like that, the alone time was done! But it was the perfect amount of time for me!

Then I went to Irvine High School to sell some garb at the Freshman football game! Dang, can those boys play! Irvine beat South Torrance 44-6! It was very exciting! I sure hope that is an indicator as to what the season's gonna look like across the board! Tomorrow is the JV game and it's away. Thank goodness for teammates that are willing to carpool!

Amythyst had a great first day of high school, aside from getting LOST twice! OY! But she had a wonderfully chipper attitude when I picked her up and she is in her room doing homework right now! Anthony had a great day as well. They had the wings ceremony tonight for football! (that's when they put the stickers on their helmets) We had an amazing dinner and now, we're all chillin!

I hope tomorrow's a little bit cooler! Catch ya on the flip side!

Back to Reality

Well friends, this is it! Armand and I have been in school for a couple weeks now and it's been a slow transition. Armand and I have been sharing the car and it is working out just fine. I invested in a cheap little cruiser so that I can ride my bike to school on the days that he has to work early. I am taking 12.5 units and Armand is taking 8.5 units. Classes were hard to get into this semester because there is a massive influx of students since the universities are turning students away due to budget cuts. Two of Armand's professors are ones that I also had my 1st semester, so that is very exciting!

Amythyst and Anthony start back this Thursday!! I am normally not a fan of back to school season, but this year has me pumped! I'm ready for a steady schedule, even if it's busy, at least it will be consistent.

Football Season is upon us and I couldn't be happier!! Anthony will be playing both JV & Varsity this year, so he is very excited for those Friday Night Lights! He recently collided with a teammate and busted open his eye. He had to get 7 stitches, and now has a real pretty scar below his left eyebrow! Yay! Bragging rights! *sigh* He got Megan Brophy for his cheerleader and I just adore her! He will be a junior and is ready to take school seriously. I am hopeful that this will be a transitioning year and he will be able to make huge strides toward graduation.

Amythyst is ready to start High School! She has been working hard at who she wants to be. She has been experimenting with make-up and is doing a beautiful job. She also got Violet colored contacts! :O She has incorporated combat boots into her wardrobe this year and, I must admit, she looks adorable. We will be dying her hair black this evening. I am hopeful that she will find something of interest in high school. My biggest fear as a parent is not being able to prevent my kids from making the same poor choices I made. So far, so good, I just don't want this to be the year that everything falls apart. Wish me tons of luck and say lots of prayers....I need em!

Well, that's all for now! Talk soon!

TTFN~kel