Destruction, Competition and a new Baby

Destruction, Competition and a New Baby must be a normal Sunday night, right? Ok so that sounds a little more than what we did this Sunday but its true! I will even show you in pictures. This picture I will put twice because I think its funny. He was trying to keep a straight face.

We have this shed that is falling apart. Its on old shed that was here before we even got here. Today we decided to work in the yard, weed, mow etc. I kept looking at that shed and finally we decided lets just take it down. The kids cleaned it out of stuff that we didn't even know about and put it in the barn. Then they decided they wanted to pull it down themselves instead of using the bobcat. Crazy teenagers! They had fun though and Ryan finished it off with the Bobcat. Garbage went to the Garbage and recycling went to the metal pile.

My 14 year olds helping

They wanted to do it the hard but fun way

So much fun smashing things

Will recycle into garden boxes

After working in the yard I talked my husband into shooting bows at targets. Ok so if you know my husband Ryan you will know that all I had to do was say "hey do you want to" and he would of already of said yes. Then he heard the word "bow" and probably started to salivate in his mouth thinking I was going to pick it up and shoot it ha! You see I haven't shot a bow but maybe 20 times ever. Cushing's had taken my strength so I wasn't able to really do it. Today was the first time I thought I was strong enough to do it. Before I couldn't lift or pull back 10 pounds now I can do 45-50 so I was in the clear. Jackson decided to shoot with us. I shot two times and did really well. So well that I couldn't tell that it was two shots because it looked like one. I thought to myself "hey I am kind of good at this...who knew". So I decided to have a competition with my son who shoots all the time. We did the best out of four shots. I made sure that he had his bow sited in and made him promise me he wouldn't let me win. Jackson is too competitive to let me win even if it was me lol. So we did the best out of four and guess who won!!! ME!!!! I am telling you I think I might have a gift here hahahaha considering they shoot ALL the time and today maybe was my 30th time ever shooting a bow. hehe...you should see me giggling now because I felt so good about it. I could never beat Ryan but I will take that I did better than my son.

Ryan shooting. He always gets his shot

Jack in competition with me

Yep I have a light bow lol

Winner!! Mom! Rae Rae!

LOL!!

After we were done shooting we got a phone call from our good friends and ranchers the Albaughs. They are lambing and had a bummer lamb that the mom wouldn't take. He has a cleft palate and was just born an hour ago. I started jumping up and down. I get so so excited seeing the lambs and each year we bottle feed a couple for them. You have to feed them 6 times a day so its no easy task but I love it.

First we toured around and looked at all the babies!! I loved it. I just wanted to hug them all. I cant help it. Here are a couple pictures of their place.

Then we got "Lammie" hey why not...Better than what they were calling her before which was "Parrot" because of her mouth. She is the cutest little thing. We will love on her and feed her till she is healthy and big. She has a broken little ear, and a cleft mouth but she is ours to love. :) Our new baby has already had her bottle and doing well. She is sleeping in the dog crate so she stays warm but is outside when she isn't in the crate. She is different but to us she is beautiful. Love her!

Taking Lammie home

So asleep with Cassie

First of Many, Many Bottles!

So as you can see we had a good day! Love family days like this. A lot was accomplished. We had fun. We got a new baby. You know....its just an ordinary Sunday!

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No Cell Phone Sunday and RANT!

I am a mom of four teenagers of which all of them have Cell phones. Being a blended family this helps with the other parents being able to get ahold of the kids. Helps when they are away or at sporting events etc. I personally think my whole family probably uses their cell phones more than they should....this includes me.

A little rant....Now a day teens really don't have to wait for anything when it comes to communication. They don't even have to pick up the phone to see what time their game is the next day if they forgot. All they have to do is text. I am a texter too, don't get me wrong but so much is lost in the translation when you cant HEAR the tone. You can constantly put ":)" or " lol's" to make sure others know you aren't upset. Realistically though tone is really lost. How often in this society do we pick up the phone anymore and actually call someone. Its so much easier now to text because you are busy and don't really have time for a long conversation. Seriously....how many of you have text while you are on the toilet? HA! Ryan and I have noticed for awhile now that our kids seem to even be in better moods if they aren't on their phone that much. They are paying attention and don't get restless because you seem to be interrupting what they are doing. And man....watch out if they get a girlfriend/boyfriend because then they swear their significant other will think they are mad if they don't respond. We seriously have had to set a lot of ground rules in our household just to make sure that the world is  going on around them and they aren't paying attention.

Its interesting to me this generation. Maybe I am old at 38 but I remember when we had to run home after school to see if that person we liked called. Who remembers picking up the phone just to see if it had a dial tone because you hadn't gotten that call yet :) I remember thinking I was just going to die if I didn't have a pager. A PAGER PEOPLE! And this was just to get the number to actually call that person ha! We had long drives where we played games in the car or talked to our parents or actually looked at the surroundings. Now I am not saying that we still don't do that but I really think that it has gone to the point where kids are really looking down at a screen most days. IPad....Cell phones...computers....Ds....handheld gamers....etc. I am one of those ppl. Heck I even read books on a Kindle now. Now a days kids think if they haven't gotten a text back to a question that the person must be mad at them. Everything now has become instant and less and less we are having to learn patience. My son once called a house phone and it gave the busy signal. He thought that phone was disconnected because he had never heard a busy signal before. He is 16.

Are cell phones bad? No...I happen to really like mine. I love to post things on Facebook and see what my extended family is up too. I love editing my pictures on Instagram to make my yearbook I do for my kids each year. I love to see Pinterest Ideas that make parties, cooking, decorating more fun. Uhm...I love to Blog! I am always writing emails answering questions from Cushing's Patients and I love to work on my website. I live in a small town of 250 people and advocating for Cushing's just wouldn't work. The internet reaches far more ppl in a day than people in my own town. I text, I Twitter......and all these faucets I love. I usually do these things when the kids are at school but I do get on my phone.

We have a few rules in our household for our teens which helps us.

• At bedtime phones are charged in living room so they can have restful sleep
• IF disrespectful we take phone for 24 hours
• If homework not done we take phone for 24 hours
• No phone use at school unless on break
• Meal times are spent as a family at our table with phones off
• Family time is just that....family time. If we watch a movie no phones
• Long trips you get your phone one way so you can see scenery the other way
• No talking to us with your headphones on
• If we have to shout your name for you to hear us then your music is on too loud

Now we have a new rule. No cell phones on Sunday. Ryan and I really thought about this and think its a good idea. A couple of our friends do this and are having great reactions from it. The kids don't even complain anymore. We brought this up to our kids at dinner and we all agreed (with a little bit of "Are you serious?) that Sundays we will not be on our phones or computers or gaming. The kids gave us grief too of "then you cant blog mom" or "no shopping for bow hunting stuff dad" but all six of us are going to do it. Only part of the phone that will be used is if someone calls and we are home. Sundays we are going to do it the old fashioned way. Are you willing to try this? I guess in this day in time its kind of drastic....but is it really?

I challenge you to take a day with no phone....or see how long you can go without your phone. You might think its longer than it actually is.

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Jason's first game and it's that kinda night

645 am and we are up on a Saturday getting ready to drive to the 8th grade first basketball tournament. Not only is it the first game of the season but it's Jason's first game ever. We make the 1.5 hour drive to the game all pumped up for the day. Excited and nervous he is but it's gonna be a great game.

As other families and friends of ours who have boys on the team show up, we set up for the best view. This game we only have 5 players so they will be playing the whole game. Jason did great hustling and passing the ball. I think he was afraid to shoot as he would pass it to someone right next to him. We were screaming from the stands... " Go Jason!!!" "Arms up get that rebound" " Go Cards" "Shoot the ball!"

I could tell Jason was afraid to shoot the ball so at half time I talked to him and said ,"just shoot the ball.... If you miss then you miss......just go for it". In the second half of the game I was proud because although he was getting tired and his cheeks flushed...he started shooting! Bingo! He is coming out of his shell. My son didn't make a basket in the two shots he took but he got close. He did great on rebounds and grabbing the ball. For a first game he did really well.

Although they didn't win the game it was still a victory to have your first game over with and already progressing just since the start of the game. Go Jason! Took him out to a breakfast place and we talked about what we did well at and what we could work on;)

It seems everyday is packed full of something. When we got home Jackson and Ryan were finally done with the fence. They decided to go coyote bow hunting. Jason was too tired to go but was happy to chill with Josh and Cassie who were drawing.

That night we did our family night. I cooked this new pasta meal with brocalli, sausage, asparagus, capers, Chinese mushrooms, red onion, penne pasta and homemade mushroom sauce with freshly grated paramesan. I really wanted pasta bec after this weekend I am going to have our family cut back a little on so many carbs. Mainly me....but since I cook I guess that means them too.

You see I have gained over 120 pounds in the last couple years because I have a rare disease called Cushings. It's when you have a tumor on your pituitary in your brain. It wrecks havoc on your body and 11 of your hormones. So no matter how much I exercised, dieted, I gained and gained. Let me tell you that was only one symptom of the many. No one wants that to happen though. Fast forward to now. I am 5 months post op from brain surgery and had to take replacement meds so still wasn't losing but thankfully wasn't gaining. As of two weeks ago I weened off all the hormones and BAM! 12 pounds gone without me dieting or anything, 8 inches off my waist and 6 inches off my hips. It's starting to reverse itself on its own!!!! I literally cried because when you are gaining weight every week and can't do anything about it ...it affects how you feel. Now to see it reversing finally is so exciting. My tears were of joy! So I thought now if I changed my eating habits now that I can lose weight that it might be beneficial! So Tuesday when we come back from our mini mini vacation to see family I am going to start. I am totally not a sweets person but I just may have an ice cream cone before Tuesday.

Saturday was a good day. Fun at basketball. Jason and I even made a funny video to the song "shake it off". We all had our dinner together as usual and had pretty deep convos with lots of questions and answers. Cassie was super talkative and I swear she talked about school, anime and vines she had see. For the whole first half hour ha!  Then we watched the movie Guilt Trip which apparently Josh and Jason were too tired to make it to the end as you can see!

It was midnight and we all had to get up early to leave to South Lake Tahoe which is 5.5 drive to meet up with my Dad and stepmom for lunch (they will do the hour drive after church to come see us;) and then we are going to Ryan's twin sisters house and staying the night and next day since kids have off to chill, visit and give gifts to our niece who just turned 3 this weekend;) It's going to be fun and I am thankful our friend is house and dog sitting for us;)

****Sidenote and my dad will probably kill me hehe but today he was telling me he read all my blog and that I hadn't mentioned him much lol!!! I said don't worry Dad I will make sure I blog all about you when I see you. He did get a haircut so I guess that makes him totally blog ready;) I love my dad. He served in the Army (Military Intelligence ) for 23 years and is very smart. The thing I love about him though is he isn't stuffy ....he is goofy and fun with our family;) There you go dad.... Another blog with you in it and tomorrow yet another;) Can't wait to see you!

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Question of the day: Do you take pictures of every event? If so... Why? If not.... Why?

If you like someone..you have to ask their parents!

If you like someone you have to ask their parents....Its our rule! Keep reading to see which kid did that today.

This has been a weekend full of teens. I know that should be every weekend since well we have four teenagers but Jackson and Josh both had someone spend the night Saturday night and then Sunday Josh had his friend Darcy come over with her mom. Where do I start....

Mateo, Jackson, Ryan

Working and then Fun.
Ryan, Jackson and his friend Mateo made a fence for the dogs so they can run around but not go far enough to try to go to the neighbors. These three also had fun by doing some bow practice and later when coyote hunting on our properties. They didn't find any but they had fun trying.

Siting in their bows

Went straight through Target

Ryan showing Boys

Cassie decided that she was going to cosplay this weekend. She is really into Anime and also drawing Anime. For those who don't know what Anime is ....its Japanese Cartoons and Drawings. People who are really into it dress up like the characters sometimes.

Cosplaying Cassie

Josh, Jason and Cody played some xbox and Mateo, Jackson, Cassie, Ryan and I all watched the movie .... A Million Dollar Arm. That was a really good movie. A lot of us teared up at the end of the movie. It was funny because our oldest Jackson turned to me and said, "I am not going to lie I teared up....look at my eye" LOL. Loved that movie. All about baseball but also a good family movie.

I made some yummy Rosemary Lamb Chops with Garlic Mashed Potatoes for all of us. The recipe was super yummy if anyone wants it I can put the recipe in the comments. I love eating lamb where I know they were taken care of and raised on a big ranch with lots of room. Our Friends the Albaughs gave us some and its so yummy. Its Jason's favorite new food.  Also made some teen friendly Rice Krispie Treats that my friend Heather Vela gave to me. Its a Brown Salted Butter Treats. The kids loved them! Thanks Heather!

Yummy Lamb Dinner for Everyone

Sunday was spent working on our rental house and cleaning it out. Its been a hard thing to do because our friend rented from us but recently passed away. They finally have everything out. We wanted to give them time because its a hard process. I am glad that it is finished though because it puts some ease on us and her family. Then I had to hurry back home because Josh has his friend Darcy and her mom coming over.

I guess this is the main part of my blog today. With three boys and a girl we feel its the right thing that when you are interested in a girl or a boy that you need to talk to their parents if you want to hang out. Sometimes other ppl think that is old fashioned so they don't do it but if its possible to happen we want it to always happen. Its about showing respect for the girl and yourself. Josh likes Darcy. Darcy likes Josh but they are only 14 years old. In our house they cant date till they are 16 but now a days kids think they are "seeing each other" which means they are exclusive but they don't actually go anywhere ha! Josh is only a freshman so he has 1.5 years to go before he is 16. He likes Darcy though so he needs to express that to her and her parents if they want to hang out together SUPERVISED. Maybe we are too strict but there is no alone time. They can be in the common rooms of the house. No bedrooms. Only living room, family room, kitchen, dining room Etc. Its about respect to each other and to everyone around them I was able to meet Darcy mom and she stayed while they were visiting. I want to make sure we are on the same page because as much as I want to make sure my child is being respectful and responsible its nice to find out if we are on the same page with one another. We are......which helps a lot. We have had in the past when my oldest dated parents who weren't in the same mindset, so he ended up never being able to go to their house.  She had to always come to ours. I just feel that teens are just that....teens. Its good to trust your child but we have all been teens before. We know that if we have the chance to do things we just might. I am not talking about big stuff even. Its just a good policy to us. Darcy and her mother were very nice. I am sure it was  awkward for them too. It was a good visit though. Josh had the opportunity to tell Darcy in front of her mother why he likes her and was able to ask for permission to hang out with her with supervision. I liked  Cindy when she responded with "yes as long as your respecting her. If I think you aren't we will revisit the answer I just gave you". Loved that response! Darcy seems beyond her years with her head on her shoulders and uber sweet. Glad she is the one that he likes.

Darcy and very embarrassed Josh

See Ryan and I work hard to have our kids see how you should treat the person you like. Are we perfect? Nope...! We respect each other though. Say I am sorry when its needed. Say and show each other we love each other everyday. First and foremost we are Best Friends who enjoy spending time together. We are teaching our boys to be gentleman and our daughter to be a lady. My husband after 7 years still opens my car door for me. Although I am VERY independent, I let him and say thank you because he likes to show me how he likes to take care of me. The boys will even do that for me sometimes. Then I have to definitely let them know that its appreciated. Ladies....if your man or friend is doing something nice....let them...and say Thank you! Chivalry doesn't have to be dead. Our kids are kids though and make mistakes but I am hoping by time they leave the house they will be prepared for life as young men and woman.

This weekend was a good one. Lasagna in the oven now. I am pretty tired but all the kids and things happening this weekend but it was a good one!

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Question of the Day.......What is something someone does for you that you feel every gentleman or lady should do?