{Thirty Eight} Tangents...

Already you can tell that this may be a lengthy post.  I haven't posted in over a month.  It certainly doesn't seem all that long ago.

To give away what really isn't worth knowing, I turned the big 3-8 this past Monday.  I didn't even say the number out loud until that night.  That's when I announced I was heading to bed and K gave me a strange look and asked, "Really?  It's only 9 o'clock!"  I answered, "Yeah, but I'm thirty eight now and I'm really tired."  That about sums up my life right now.  Sad.  I know. {but isn't this piece of art fun?  thanks, Jen}

Before Christmas I found...wait, back up.  Six years ago I mentioned to K that I would really love to have a set of three stackable rings, each with a different stone, to wear in honor of my kids.  When Kyle was born he bought me his version of what I had described.  The thought was absolutely lovely.  I wear it sometimes, but it gets swallowed up amongst the other ginormous rings I wear almost daily.  Before Christmas I ran across a set of stackables on Etsy and planned to buy them myself as a gift.  The bummer is that they were all sold out!  I checked the site in January and found out the rings were going to be produced again!  Not what I had originally wanted {no stones, silver} but these are lovely and am in total love with them.  I told K I'd really like them for my birthday.  He gave me money and told me to order them.  Thanks, dear. ♥  They have an approximate four week creation time and I ordered them on January nineteenth so I'm hoping they arrive real soon.  Aren't they to die for??  I cannot wait to own them! {you can obviously  guess what mine will say}

Valentine's Day was lovely.  I love visiting my OBGYN on a holiday.  I bought all the men in my life books this year as gifts.  And according to faces and voices, I did a stellar job.  K always reads presidential books...biographies and autobiographies...and he likes to go in order.  The exception is a JFK book he received for Christmas.  He's been reading that lately and really enjoying it.  I bought him Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Andrew has been reading Harry Potter {his fave} over and over.  And over and over.  I took him to the bookstore two weekends ago {we had a date} to find a new interest for his brain.  The book lady tried selling him on the Hunger Games series, but over A's head, I was mouthing to her that I already bought them for Valentine's Day...needing her to back off, nicely.  I don't think she understood a word I said, but she still backed off, nicely.  Kyle was E.A.S.Y.  Sports...duh!  I bought him a Sports Illustrated book and I got a great deal on it too.  It sells for nineteen ninety nine and seventy seven kids offered it and I had a forty percent off coupon.  Score!  I also found him a Little Critter Treasury on the bargain shelf for seven ninety eight.  WOOT!  I had a convo with Caleb not too long ago about him needing to get back into reading.  He was such a great reader from a really young age and used to enjoy reading.  In recent years he has fallen prey to sports magazines and other people's notes. {nosey kid}  I took special care in picking something out for him.  Although I believe he would enjoy the Hunger Games also, I wanted to cater to him so I leafed through books in the sports section.  I wanted something to pique his interest but also something that would make him think and learn something.  The first book I found, The Best Game Ever, looked perfect.  It is about the game against the Giants and the Colts in 1958, remembered as the greatest game in history, being the first sudden death contest in NFL history.  Seventeen future Hall-of-Famers were on the sidelines, including Vince Lombardi. {another fun fact I will share in a moment refers to him as well}  For the other book, I wanted to get him something relating to basketball.  He loves everything basketball and hasn't always excelled in it.  Last summer he blew us all away and came into his own.  He didn't let anyone in his head and didn't think...he just played.  He had a pretty good school season this fall, but I feel the same ol' thing happening again this winter.  I teach him respect...but at what cost?  He lets so much get to him instead of just hearing what is said, respecting it, and then moving on to get the job done.  I want to remind him life is bigger and better than just middle school...or even high school for that matter.  I found just what I didn't know I was looking for.  I bought him Sacred hoops:Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior.  "Act with a clear mind-not thinking, just doing...live in the moment and stay calmly focused in the midst of chaos."  It's kind of his mantra.  And it's perfect for Caleb.  I am always talking about mindfulness with the boys...this guy stresses it.  I couldn't have done a better job if I tried. {toot, toot}  The best of all was the reaction from each of them...all priceless...I scored big time...and so did they! {and I wondered if they'd be disappointed not getting the usual five bucks and box of candy}  It was definitely a splurge for me but one that will pay off in the end.  Love books.

{killer paragraph-sorry}  Whew.  I intended to load photos of the major happenings in our lives right now but the cord is missing from the office and my sister is on vacation so I have to either wait more time to do this or just keep typing away without anything to show for our triumphs.  {decisions, decisions}  Maybe I'll give a few quick highlights and will touch on them later.  Here's the teaser...lol.

*high school
*The Help
*Men of Honor
*crop
*missing teeth
*budding relationship
*romance
*my story
*signs
*districts
*wild fun
*comfort zones
*birthday party
*laundry woes

**Mother-in-law...I will keep you informed. ☺

I'll continue on with my thirty eight tangents another day.  Soon.