I am Michelle D. Carter

Several years ago I bought the Red Lace, Yellow Lace Learn to Tie your Shoe! book from Stride Rite. I made the purchase with the intent to sit down with Alyssa and teach her to tie her shoes. Of course, that intention was moved to the back of the closet with the book.

Andy found the book this past weekend and wanted to learn how to tie. Andy convinced Dad to sit with him and work on it. A few tries and Dad’s help, he was successful.

The book lay on the couch when he grabbed it again. This time, he wanted to show me how he could do it. Again, with my help, he tied the shoe.

He continued to work on tying while I fixed lunch. All of the sudden, “MOM, LOOK, I DID IT!!!”

“Andy, that is so awesome! I am so proud of you!”

He continued tying the shoe all weekend with success. He even had to take one of his sister’s shoes and tie it as well.

Wow, I am so proud and impressed with his perseverance!!!

This weekend was full of life’s lessons for my kids.

The boys and I discovered the Halloween store was open on Friday afternoon. They had taken their purses with them (yes, my boys carry a purse) but I wouldn’t let them buy anything. I told them we had to come back with Dad and we’d talk about it. Gone are the days where they would move on to something else and forget about the Halloween store. Saturday morning they began asking when we could go.

When we got to the store, the boys immediately took Dad and Alyssa over to the life-size mannequins of Jason from Friday the 13^th and Hannibal Lector. They pushed the buttons to show them what they would do. They then led them through the rest of the store to show them the cool things we had found the day before. I jokingly said to Tim, “So, do you think we spent the afternoon here? We’ll it sure seems that way, doesn’t it?”

All three kids were planning on saving their money for a Swim Puppy. Tim and I struggle with their decision because it is their money; however, we would rather they spend it on something more useful. So, Alyssa purchased a trident, Alex a sword and Andy a gun that bellows fire and rapid sounding machine gun sounds from the Halloween store. OK, definitely more useful for inflicting pain on one another.

Our next stop was the grocery store. It wasn’t long before I heard, “I have to go potty.” Normally I’m there without Tim and off-peak times and Alyssa will take them for me. The kids went on and feeling a bit nervous I told Tim he should probably go check on them.

Tim arrives at the restroom only to find all of them in the Ladies Room. Typically the boys won’t go in the Ladies Room. They are Men after all! The kids quickly informed Dad that there was a poisonous beetle in the Men’s Room so they couldn’t use it.

I tried to hurry through the store to avoid the I want that syndrome. I saw them and quickly picked up the pace. Alex come running up the aisle yelling, “Hey woman, wait up.”

Saturday evening, the boys had Jake over for a sleep over. It was the first time they had a friend sleep over. Luckily, he has an older sister that is the same age as Alyssa so we had Claire spend the night too, in case Jake got scared. They all had so much fun. While they did get a bit wild (what do you expect with boys?!), at 9:30 when I said it was time for bed, the girls went to Alyssa’s bed and the boys went to Alex and Andy’s bed. I never heard another thing from them. I did check on them around 3:00 am and found all five of them on the floor in Alyssa’s bedroom, the smallest bedroom in the house. I’m amazed they even fit on the floor in there.

Sunday the kids were short on sleep so the fighting and bickering was intensified. At one point, Alex came running to the front door to escape the clutches of his sister. I heard her declare, “Let that be a lesson to you, don’t mess with a woman.” Awe, I’m proud, she is learning from me.

Needless to say, it was an early bedtime. And while normally we’d hear how unfair it was that they had to go to bed early, the fresh baked cookies seem to make it all disappear. It was a nice end to a weekend of lessons.

You know the type… those who think they are better than you. I used to work with one of these types. He wouldn’t talk to you unless he HAD to. He wouldn’t even acknowledge you as he passed you in the hall.

I found out yesterday that this particular individual did time for drug possession.

Maybe he didn’t really think he was better than anyone else. Maybe he didn’t want to get close to anyone who would find out his secret. Maybe he DID think he was better, then life’s pressures added up and he couldn’t take it anymore and needed a release.

I’ll never know. But I’m sure he did get taken down a notch or two.

Yesterday was the 16^th day of school. The bus driver motions me towards the bus as the boys are getting off.

Miss Margaret: “Andy doesn’t want to sit down while I’m driving.”

Me: “OK, I’ll talk to him about it.”

Miss Margaret: “Thank you.”

Me: “No problem.”

Great, not even a month into school and Andy already has two strikes against him. It’s going to be a long school year.

Being raised by a single Mom, I apparently missed out on the nuggets of wisdom only a Father can give.

Last night Tim was supervising the boys’ bath while Alyssa and I were doing her reading homework. One of the boys must have been a little too aggressive while scrubbing his rear end. In his most serious tone, Tim provided a piece of wisdom that could only be handed down from one male generation to the next: “You’d better be careful with that wash clothe. If you get soap in there you’ll learn a whole new definition of Fire in the Hole.”

Both boys were laughing as loud as they could. Then I heard, “Will I be able to fart like the skunk in Over the Hedge, Dad?”

Some times you just have to learn things the hard way.

I love the changing of seasons. I don’t know if I could live somewhere without the seasons changing. Each season has something to offer and enjoy.

I love winter. Well, I love to take the kids sledding once or twice then I’m done with it. However, I do love when ice forms on naked branches and they glisten in the sun. The beauty of Mother Nature is amazing.

I love spring as everything comes to life. I love to get outside and plant new flowers and watch them bloom with all their colors. The smell of fresh cut grass and its green color is intoxicating.

I love summer as the sun warms the days. I enjoy lounging by the pool with my margarita watching the kids swim. I love that they play outside and my house is somewhat picked up.

I love fall. I love the changing of colors. Red, orange and yellow are my favorite colors and they are everywhere in fall. The air begins to cool. I love opening the windows to let the fresh air in. My allergies are spring so I’m good there.

Yesterday after a couple of hours of playing Super Mario Brothers on the DS with the boys, I decided to take them and the dog on a walk. They noticed the falling red maple leaves and picked up a few. When we got home they got a bag and wanted to fill it with leaves.

Once the bag was full, Alex ran inside to make a book. He grabbed a few pieces of paper and began taping leaves on the paper. He drew pictures as well. Then he asked me to write some words for him.

This is his story in his own words:

A little boy came along and saw a big tree. Then a storm of leaves flew by. March through the leaves. And then climbed up a hill. Then I went home to go out and play with leaves. The leaves came falling down. And the leaves came falling on my head. The end.

“Mom, did you notice the leaf in my nose.”

“Yes, Alex, I did. You are silly.”

Giggles ensued. I love those giggles! And I get giggles with every season too.

Saturday, Tim needed to take some things to the Resource Recovery Park a.k.a. the dump. I guess the City wants a fancy name for their dump. Anyway, the boys wanted to go with Dad. Tim reluctantly agreed. After about an hour and a half and no sign of them, I figured they had gone to the hardware store. Tim usually makes at least four trips each weekend.

My assumption was correct. Two and a half hours later the boys arrive with Home Depot aprons. They have workshops for kids. They made football goals out of wood. Tim said they did an awesome job of hammering, etc.

Sunday, Tim headed out to work on the house. The boys decided they were going to help Dad. Both of them ran to get their aprons and stood by waiting for the chance for Dad to let them do something. Tim was fully aware of their eagerness and decided to let them help pull the nails out of the wood. To help pass the time, and keep them out of his hair, what’s left of it, they also hammered nails in the wood. They were helping Dad. They were big boys doing big construction work.

With great fear, I asked, “So, how often do they do these workshops?”

“I’m not sure.” Then he realized what he was saying and knew this would allow him to go to the hardware store more. “I mean, ah, everyday.”

Now the boys will want to go to the hardware store all the time too. Oh well, I guess that means I get to spend more time at the nursery.

I miss Fen-phen. Fen-phen was the combination of two drugs, fenfluramine and phentermine, that proved to be effective at loosing weight. I’ve struggled with my weight all my life. When I started taking Fen-phen, I was working out, loosing weight and feeling good about myself. I was in the best shape of my life. After studies indicated that the drug combination caused heart value disease and high blood pressure, it was pulled from the market.

I know I’m fortunate to not be one of the women that have health problems resulting from taking the drugs. An EKG ensured that my heart is healthy. I am sympathetic to those who took the drugs and have lost their most important asset, their health. However, I miss my skinny inner self showing on the outside.

I work out. I work out hard. It’s my eating habits that need improvement. I know that, but it is so difficult to eat healthy on a regular basis. Given that I hate to cook and my family is nothing but a pack of picky eaters, I don’t stand a chance. I just want an easy fix to help jump start the weight loss. Will there ever be another Fen-phen that won’t cause health issues???? 

Thanks Dorsey! She wrote:

From what I’m to understand, Alli and Xenical are the new thing. Unfortunately they come with some pretty disgusting side effects. IF its not TMI, they can lead to very loose bowels and “greasy discharge”…NO thanks!! I’ll just keep pluggin away at the Wii Fit and monitoring my diet.

I agree! I don’t want those nasty side effects either.

If you take the frustration of not finding a job and having no money out of my life, life is good. I am a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator and truly enjoy creating projects and scrapbooking. My sweetheart, Alex, also likes when I scrapbook him. I’ve heard on more than one occasion lately, “Why aren’t you working on our books?” I love it!!

Here’s a picture I created with my colors from my website. Yes, they are Stampin’ Up! colors: Real Red and Tempting Turquoise. I’ve also used the new Décor Elements line. This is my style, simple, yet makes a statement. I really like how it turned out.

My reason to celebrate today: I’ve received my first blogging award from Pam. Thanks so much!!

And so, I pass it on to Debbie, Michelle and Dorsey. I don’t have a long list of blogs that I read as of yet. The goal of my blog is to make money. Yes, I enjoy writing and it is my therapy. The experts tell you to find what you are passionate about and turn it into your career. This is my career choice. And until I’m at Heather’s level, I will continue to do what I need to survive.

Today, I am stronger.

Yesterday was the tenth day of school. The kids have been doing great getting around in the mornings. Everyone loves their teacher. Alyssa has been coming home and sitting right down to do her homework. I used to have to fight her to do it.

Included in Andy’s work yesterday was a note from his teacher. It states: pulling a friend’s ear, hit friend while walking in the hall. Andy explained that he and friend were being silly and it got out of hand. We discussed how to solve problems using words not hands.

I talked to Andy about it as well. He told me that he was trying to play with his friend like the does with his brother. I told him that is not what we do at school. At school, we need to be nice to our friends and keep our hands to ourselves. He told me that he was good after the teacher wrote the note.

Great, day 10 of Kindergarten and I’m getting notes from the teacher about fighting.