Since You've Been Gone

Here's the latest and greatest:

Mariah turned 15 and went on her first "real" driving lesson with her dad at the high school parking lot. She came home for 5 minutes and left again to go on a service project at Feed America First. They portioned about 1600 lbs of beans to feed 800 families.

Grammy and I did yard work, went to a patio store, sat in massage chairs for 30 minutes, and ended up just buying new cushions for the wicker chairs vs a sunbrella glider. Another summer or two of running out in the thunder, lightening and rain to collect cushions so they don't get soaked. We had a lot of fun at a huge store nearby that sells everything you'd ever want for your house or garden. That's where we found the cushions and saved probably $50 off what they would have all cost elsewhere. So it was a worthwhile trip.

Mike finished making the patio firepit cover. Well, he's almost finished... Just a couple last minute touches. I love it though already. Mike also changed the brake pads in the volvo with a coworker who has worked on volvo's in the past so he was a big help. That saved us alot of money. I will put the brake job to the test on my way to work as I go up and over "the mountain" today. 

Gib spent Thursday-Saturday with a cold. He missed a couple days of school and since yesterday our schools were shut down on what we like to call "Manhunt Monday" he will have a ton of work to make up. But before we went back to the daily grind, the kids played at a family fun center with the youth group. Mariah put her new driving skills to the test and Gib tried out for NASCAR and hustled everyone at mini-golf.

 Gib  "look ma! no hands"

 Mariah "where's the brake again? never mind don't need it!"

 Gib "you wanna a piece of me?!"

Is he a mini golf wizard or a hustler?!

Happy Birthday Mariah!

Today our baby is 15 years old!!  Happy Birthday to our kind, smart, funny and delightful daughter! She was happy to see presents appear last night after haranguing me for days to wrap them. There's even a surprise or two in the pile, so there Mariah!!  We are going to Outback for her birthday dinner. The college girls will be missed!

Mariah and I spent a long time researching for places she could apply to for a job. Smoothie King won't hire until 16 so that is sadly out. We dropped off applications at Papa Murphy's and Dunkin Donuts. Last week we did the employment kiosk experience at the grocery store. It is definitely #1 on the list but Dunkin Donuts is hiring right now and asked her to stay for a screening interview on the spot. She was told she'll be contacted for a 2nd interview this weekend. So, I think Mariah will end up with an the opportunity to develop an iron-strong willpower. It may even cure her of ever wanting another donut again for the rest of her life. She really wants to go on the Mission Trip to Ecuador and at this point any job that helps her contribute to getting there might make the difference. I like that she could walk to work. I told her by walking she might work off one donut hole and that should be her limit.


After we dropped off job applications, Mariah and I zipped to her appointment to get a 2nd piercing in her ear. That was her present to herself. It looks fab!  I also like that she does what I do, and gives herself her own present too!



Gib attended the JROTC military ball as a date to the gal who was head of ceremony. He complained about me getting her a corsage because he didn't think he needed it (I secretly think it has to do with the fact that he has a different date to prom who he thinks highly of); however, I LOVED it, I love the new florist I found, and when he texted me that his date was actually kind of a big deal that night, I was REALLY glad she had an amazing corsage!  My new florist friend assures me she can top it for the Prom - and if Gib sends a few people her way for their corsages, his will be free! As a former parent of our high school and living close by, it might be an easy thing for Gib to do.  Gib took the etiquette talk exceptionally well - which means we laughed alot. But he must have listened! Gib was complimented by a couple people on what a handsome, attentive date he was and I even received report that he is a decent Waltzer.  Even though HE doesn't tell me anything, I do my best to keep informed.

Something New Everyday

We had a fun Valentines - Mike got roses that made me so happy! Aren't they beautiful?! We had a low key valentines. Stayed in for the night, had a casual dinner of Mahi Mahi sandwiches and artichokes. I don't know why it's been so long since we had artichokes but it totally reminded us of how Mike had never had one until he met me. Now that's love.

Mariah and I are doing Atkins together Donuts, cookies and chocolate were the temptations of the day for both of us. It is not fair when your diet starts the day before Valentines. At work, there were treats everywhere and TWO boxes of doughnuts - from Krispy Kreme which I don't like; and Dunkin' Donuts which I do like. I resisted and gave Gib all my treats from preschool. He broke into a heart shaped box of chocolates on the way home from a much needed haircut (he had a total Johnny Bravo thing going on and we were making jokes about it and other potential styles he could pull off, and how it had only been 6 weeks but his hair grew 3"). I will admit I seriously considered snatching a chocolate out of Gib's hands. I hoped they would all be fruit filled ones, because those are gross, and then I wouldn't feel deprived! The first one he bit into was the orange filled one. I was secretly thrilled to make a disgusted face as Gib remarked how good it was. I guessed the next would be pink or white inside trying to convince myself I was fortunate to have my taster taking care of all those gross chocolates filled with sugar and carbs. It WAS pink. I was so happy to say YUCK!  Gib remarked that he liked that one too. So I'm thinking I will get out of this without feeling deprived at all. I guessed that the rest would be chocolate filled  (probably crappy chocolate too so I wasn't missing out - now if it had been See's I woulda cried) and whimpered inside that there would also probably be a caramel one. THOSE I like even if surrounded by waxy chocolate! Sure enough the next 2 were chocolate filled and the last was caramel. I just gripped the steering wheel and kept on talking about something else. Luckily, Gib eats pretty fast so my window of opportunity to grab candy from my baby was rather short lived.

Gib got to stay after school yesterday - to learn the Waltz. He is going to the military ball on Saturday with a gal named Maya. She asked him.  He also announced yesterday that he is going to the Prom with another girl. Who asked him. I am working on getting the wrist corsage ordered today for Maya.  Meanwhile, Gib took pink roses and some Spiderman stuff and silly string for an after school surprise - I think for the Prom girl whose name also starts with M. I cautioned Gib on not mixing them up. As one of his friends remarked, shared with us by another mom, "I do all right; but I'm no Gib!" I think I need to print out some etiquette tips for my son. If he is willing to learn the Waltz surely he will read two paragraphs about how to behave like a gentleman.

Gib also decided to apply to University of Tennessee Knoxville. That is where the majority of students go. We didn't apply there (sadly because 12/1 is the deadline and I am doubtful for scholarship money now) because he didn't want such a large school and to go where everyone else is. He said he wanted it as an option now due to the fact that so many of his friends are going there. The application is all but done now, just need the recommendations. Gib wanted to email them first before submitting the electronic request from the application. I chomp at the bit over the delay but he is probably right. I think I will blame this unexpected stress for why I forgot my Valentines dessert. I was working on editing his personal statement a good portion of the evening. Now I get to have anxiety about another college, admission and price tag.

Mariah has been busy with two big assignments due this week. The baby scrapbook for Chad Damien was turned in yesterday. It looked fab, and Mariah said would be proud of it until she saw the professional scrapbookers results the other students turned in. She'll still be happy it's done and has the satisfaction of doing it all herself. I think it looks great! The worst part of this assignment is that now the best scrapbook in the house is for an imaginary child. The best part was the supplies were all on hand from the wedding album!

The other assignment was the English essay on the fashion differences and influences of the 1920's v. 1930's. It was due today. I reviewed it last night from 10:30-11:30 pm.  Mariah did a great job on that too but she has a crick in her neck from working on the laptop in bed... guess she didn't want to work around all the scrapbooking debris littered throughout the house. Thankfully, she'll get it cleaned up tonight. Or tomorrow. Definitely by Sunday!

And the countdown continues for Mariah's 15th birthday in 4 days. She thinks she'll be driving around on a learner's permit right away. I'm not so sure about that. If she's lucky I will take her for a spin in the high school parking lot on the 18th when we have a school holiday. But I'm not promising anything more than that.

File Under - Kids Say the Funniest Things

It's been awhile since I shared an entertaining moment from preschool.

Today as we were walking back from music class one little guy kept trying to balance and walk on this curb for want of a better term. It can be done - there's about 1" of concrete to balance on, but at least once a year someone falls off. Usually into another person, who falls into the person in front of them, and wouldn't you know it, the person behind isn't watching where they were going and ends up in the heap of crying children.

So, experience tells me that a very important rule when we are "on the move" is to keep both feet firmly planted on the pavement and leave the trick-walking for when you're with your mom.  Because I have to remind my little friends of this gem of wisdom quite often, sometimes I get tired of saying it to the same person over and over.

Today rather than my usual "walking feet on the street" spiel, I asked the little repeat offender if he needed me to remind him of our walking rules every day or if he could remember them on his own? I offered to hold his hand if that would help (haha my favorite tool in the preschool toolbox).

He goes, in a real hangdog way, "I'd rather go to a school without ANY rules".
I reply, "Well buddy, this is probably the best you'll ever have it - so enjoy!"
and the friend behind him goes, "Yeah, besides, you don't want to end up a PLUMBER do yah?!"

Keeping Up...

We've been plugging away at the usual this past week.  Notice the title of this post is Keeping Up. So brace yourself for a long update. And know that I really enjoy themes. Especially color coded themes!

Keeping Up with Gib is a challenge:

• He's gone as often as possible - playing Ultimate, working out at the Y, heading to a friend's to play xbox.... then there is Scouts and youth group as well. 
• We make the most of those moments passing in the kitchen, saying hello/goodbye again, and wake up. It's all good.

Keeping Up with Mariah's life takes a little more effort.  (Note the length of hers vs Gib's)

• Baby Project - you remember there was the wedding hulabaloo - well now it's baby time in Family & Consumer Science. They have to name babies, including twins and future celebrities. OK I made up the part about celebrities. Beside all the usual good reasons high-schoolers should not get pregnant I bet nobody has put much thought into the NAMING REPERCUSSIONS of such an event.  I ran across a paper with some gawd awful baby names on it. It might have been homework due the next day, but no matter, this future grandma needed to be heard! So I wrote: NO, NEVER, ABSOLUTELY NOT, YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! next to all the ones that I hated - which was 99% of them. Oh, I just crack myself up. I waited a couple days for the outburst but it never came. So I had to ask and turned out she didn't see it because it was just notes their group suggested during class. We had a good chuckle at the inability of people her age to name infants. I might have scarred Mariah just a tad because she texted me some other names from class and I responded they were fine for romance novel dudes. So now she won't tell me the name she ended up with for the scrapbook. I suppose I could sneak over and read the announcement but she will FREAK now that she knows I'm blogging about it. I deserve a little fun here since Mariah is taking up two tables with this project and her stuff, all while the top of her desk is relatively barren.

• Allergy shots! Boo!!!! We missed a couple due to the flu and all of a sudden we are back to 3 freakin' times a week!  Sometimes we enjoy it and the special mother daughter time we squeeze in (like when I get her out of PE to go to the allergist and she misses the pacer test or the mile run). But alot of the time it is just plain TIRING! (like after working at preschool all day or when other people are in the waiting room annoying us. ESPECIALLY the sniffing lady, anyone talking on a cell phone like we want to hear all that? the super obnoxious middle school student, and I'm sorry-but really any homeschooling family coming in with all their school work. Which also reminds me of how much we detest the after school crowd because invariably there's a spelling test that must practiced for loudly enough for us to play along. Ugh!!! ). We are thinking of revisiting the Monday 10:30 time slot (next month so as not to arouse suspicion with the PE teacher) because there's NOBODY in the waiting room and we get in & out without being annoyed by PEOPLE. And then our fun mommy-daughter time is all icing!
• Mariah will be inducted into Mu Alpha Theta on Monday night. http://www.mualphatheta.org/About_Us/Purpose.aspx  So proud of her! She has an opportunity to jump right in for an evening at an elementary school's Family Math Night. They need 15-20 volunteers to play games with the kids for a couple hours. Can't wait to hear about it. There will be lots of sports-themed games but no athletic ability is required (whew! math geeks and sports; not always a winning combo).
• We stopped by Smoothie King to inquire about hiring an amazing 15 yr old, but the timing was bad (new hires being trained) and she was told they don't hire until you are a Sophomore. We decided to try another time with the nice manager - if at first you don't succeed.... and this time when she's asked what grade she is in, instead of how old she is, her answer will be "I'm a rising Sophomore!".  Disappointing, but we enjoyed pretend interview answers about why it would be better to hire her now since she's got a goal of living on Smoothies for the rest of her life and alternative jobs for 15 yr olds support UNHEALTHY eating such as Dunkin' Donuts, Sweet Cici's, etc.  If we are stymied again, she will look into getting a job at Publix grocery store. She really wants a job!

Keeping Up with Mike via cell phone conversations this week! 

• I'm glad he had the chance to visit family, meet up with old Novell guys, and enjoy some time away from the office. He was able to get alot done on Friday working out there vs in the office being pulled in several directions at once.  I'm sure everyone is looking forward to his return same as we are!

• Mike had some time so he visited the Salt Lake cemetery and got to search for the snow covered headstone for baby Emily. Luckily, the EL in grandma Elva's was showing as he was looking in the general vicinity so he brushed them off and placed some lovely decorations there. It's been so long since I've been there so I really appreciate the tie-in when someone else can go. 

Keeping Up with my life - (I get a life?!):

• preschool service hour credit needs to start becoming a priority for me. Must have 20 by July. I had none until last Thursday when I attended a session about helping children who suffer from anxiety.  The presenter was AMAZING and I kept thinking this will Indie in a few years!  So that made it even better for me. I was telling Indie about it, and put up the link to the presenter's website here for her. The session I attended is offered free through a K-12 school for children with learning differences. Every session is interesting whether you think it applies to your life or not. Some even provide a free super delicious lunch (from the onsite CHEF). I would suggest anyone wanting to enrich their knowledge of child development look into whether a similar type school is near you and get on their community outreach mail list. I wish I had known when my kids were young many of the things I have learned since working at preschool. But I also know that a lot of what I do know, came from experience. However, I want my kids to know that not only will I be happy to help them NAME their child - I will be a GREAT grandma... in about a decade. This training takes time.
  

Paris Goodyear-Brown, LCSW, RPT
(Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Registered Play Therapist)

.http://www.parisandme.com/bio.html

Keeping Up with Indie - some more good news! 

• I mentioned the acceptance from University of Texas a few days ago, and now she has a part time job at Ann Taylor The Loft. Congratulations and welcome to paychecks in the form of clothing!!!

Keeping Up with Taryn requires a computer for facebook stalking and a cell phone for texting. Theoretically, that cell could be used for actual conversations (I like to give her a hard time!)  So, let's piece together the past week or so of T's life:

• I know she's attended classes: "Today in Met 121 I learned the if iron was given a gender, it would be a female because it changes it mind all the time."  
• And I know she is studying: "If I wasn't in the library, I'd be throwing my DiffEq book against the wall"  
• And I know Taryn has smarts and a good attitude! "If you could choose one characteristic that could get you through life, choose a sense of humor" 

It's actually rather fun trying to keep up with Taryn, isn't it?!

I tend to think it's fun to keep up with all of us, but I'm sure I'm biased.

One Down

I heard from Indie last night - she is super excited that her first graduate school acceptance letter arrived!  University of Texas - Austin. https://www.utexas.edu/

She said that now one place has accepted her she has a plan! I think she will have choices but it is nice to know one of those choices is solid.

Before he left for Utah, Mike filed the FAFSA for Indie, Taryn and Gib. Everyone is waiting to hear back about the financial aid options at their prospective schools.

Congratulations Indie! I hope it's the first of several great choices and is followed up with a fantastic financial aid award!

It's Been Awhile

Taryn complained I hadn't updated the blog in FOREVER.  Well she's right! (Neither has her dad but we'll just let that one go!)  In fact, I didn't blog the entire month of January.  I'm pretty sure we've lost our readership anyways.

Today is a SNOW DAY! Finally. First one of the winter. Patches of ice on the roads do it every time. Recently, Gib spoke of high school students organizing a bucket brigade to create an icy patch big enough to cancel school. They didn't do it and we only had a 2 hr delayed start with the ice storm just barely missing us last week. With the tornado outbreak on Wednesday we all lost a couple hours of sleep from 2-4 A.M. when we had to retire to our tornado shelters (aka the downstairs couch until Mom says run for the closet). We had no cable but we had power so between fb, twitter, and live feed on the computer we stayed informed. My head said it was OK and I really wished I had just gone back to sleep. I think the final tally was 12 tornados in TN - in every county around ours. Everyone say it with me "the bubble of no trouble".  However, the kids' high school had a roof on one wing torn off from straight line winds and there was ALOT of water damage in Upper D and Lower D halls. And yet school still was NOT cancelled, much to the entire county's dismay. C'mon what does it take?! Well, last night Gib said he was with his Ultimate team at a high school event to introduce the sport to freshmen and get them to sign up to be on the team. He was gone longer than I thought he would be and returned in a really good mood. Around midnight, the snowfall of 1" expected started and temps dropped to the teens. And today - school cancelled due to icy roads - coincidence?! You decide.

Taryn is back in the swing of things at MS&T. She had a super long break and was off for well over a month. Knowing her, she is REALLY glad to be back on campus! I am glad she likes it so much and pray for her continued success there. In case anyone was wondering, there is no apparent age limit on blanket forts. I'm sure it is a wonderful place to study.

When I saw the picture on the left, on my teeny tiny iphone screen, I had to look twice to see if it was Mariah or Taryn. The girls were not happy with me at all. Taryn's eyes look really brown - but the real clue is the signature tongue face - that's all Taryn.  It's really kind of strange because sometimes they really do look alot alike and other times not so much. Mariah just exclaimed "WE DO NOT!!!" and I am sure Taryn said the same upon reading this.

  Gib was leaving for backpacking trip and Taryn for college.

Mariah just got over Influenza Flu type A. A slew of OTC meds cost less than tamiflu. I came down with symptoms a few hours later but mine weren't severe and I decided I didn't need the tamiflu (or the expense). It took me a couple days longer to recover than Mariah so there you go - it does just what is says it will. Gib had an even shorter version of it from Friday-Sunday. While the flu shots we all got may not have prevented illness, I do think they helped us not be too too sick during our bout with the flu and since we were miserable enough, I'm glad we get vaccinated every year.

When Mariah returned to school she had 3 days of work waiting for her. One is a big assignment she missed two days of intro for -a research project for an English paper. I suggested something about fashion and she ended up choosing to compare 1920's to 1930's fashion trends and influences. We set off yesterday to
the real bookstore - the one where you can browse in person, turn real pages... anyway, we found this awesome history of fashion book. Within each decade are several chapters devoted to trends of the time, with pictures, sketches, & descriptions of outfits, details about how events shaped fashion and why, and notations next to illustrations to bring your attention to particular details of that design.  It's actually pretty interesting stuff.  She will have everything she needs to get started on her research and hopefully this book will be a resource for the next 3 years in Fashion & Design classes too. An inside look at 3,000 years of Women's Wear:

 One of Mariah's recent sketches. She hasn't had classes in sketching fashion design but she is really good at it naturally.

Mariah received an invitation to join Mu Alpha Theta - an academic honor society for math students in high school & 2 yr colleges. I have to laugh because she keeps insisting she doesn't really like math and I keep insisting it really is her best subject. She is at the age where it isn't cool to be really good at it. She took a phone call last night from a friend and was tutoring her for over half an hour. That should tell her something! Mariah is patient and good at explaining. I almost understood it - well haha not really, I had no idea what they were talking about nor do I want to know. I am just so thankful that my math dyslexia didn't pass to the kids and Mike's math ability gene prevailed. I hope Mariah enjoys Mu Alpha Theta or else I will hear for the rest of my life how much she didn't like math after all.

I am enjoying watching Mariah develop into a beautiful, kind and smart young woman. I'm going to emphasize the YOUNG here and restate that the dating age requirement has been changed to 20. It keeps going up... understandably. She is going to try to talk her way into a job when she turns 15 at Smoothie King. For some reason, she really wants to drive and have a job. If she gets hired, she will save her money for a mission trip with Good Shepherd to Ecuador this summer. She and Gib both hope to go, and whether we can afford it will depend heavily on fundraising success and how the next couple months go for us.






Gib is getting in backpacking shape for another run at Philmont this summer. I am so happy he gets to go again; he has had many great adventures with his Troop, but I think Philmont ranks at the top of the list. These pictures are from the Savage Gulf trip on Martin Luther King weekend.

Other than that, Gib is working really hard at Senioritis - whether it is to overcome it or make the most of it is an open debate. He plays Ultimate every chance he gets and is going to the Y with a friend after school almost every day. Even after a semester of weights, the workout they have started has him grinning in pain at how much his triceps hurt.

As far as the college search goes, we should be hearing soon from Samford with their scholarship award offer. He's been accepted into all the colleges applied to, and final decision time is approaching!  The FAFSA is in and financial aid offers will be sent out probably late Feb/early March. We are going to a preview at UT Martin mid-March and I anticipate that visit will be one in which Gib compares that campus feel/lowest cost of attendance to the next best offer and decides what he wants. In the event that he chooses the cheaper of his options I wanted him to at least get what he wanted in dorm life so I put in a housing deposit at UTM and accepted the scholarship. Well, actually GIB did all this, I was just the vehicle by which it happened. We needn't have worried - he doesn't want the posh University Village apartments I would have chosen for him - he wants the low rent, dorm roomie experience. Taryn helped Gib make his choice as to which hall he wanted. It's good to be Gib and have all us women helping him identify these things. Gib is thinking of majoring in Economics. He's getting an A in that class and finds it interesting, so we say GO FOR IT! I will die laughing if he ever has to read Richest Man In Babylon after all.

Indie is in her final semester at Mercer. Looking back and seeing how much she has grown, experienced, and succeeded there makes us happy and proud. She finally has an easy semester, which she worked really hard to make happen, and will enjoy the last few months until graduation.  However, she hasn't quite perfected the art of total relaxation (Gib could give her a few pointers) because she is applying for a part time job and was accepted to present her research in psychology at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research (2013) in April.  Her abstract is on how moral identity is changed through international service aid experiences. She is excited and honored to be chosen as one of the presenters from among 3500 applications of undergraduate students across the country. Wisconsin in April should be lovely! I imagine she is just about done applying to graduate schools. A couple weeks ago she only had 2 left to finish.  

Mike will be Utah bound tomorrow! I know he is looking forward to seeing family and people he knows from Novell as he attends the BrainShare convention. Wonder what it will be like to go as an employee of CHS vs a Novell guy. Once a Novell guy always a Novell guy is my guess.

We will have to do the Superbowl without him here - but I know he is going to love watching it and cheering on SF 49ers with the clan.