there's something about Miley

Ah yes...the wisdom and knowledge of youth

I couldn't not post about this.

Cole is studying for a district wide social studies assessment test given to all 5th graders. It covers, Nebraska history, government, civics, economics..etc. So we were going over the 3 branches of government: executive branch, legislative branch, and judicial branch.(makes me long for the school house rock videos..lol)

So I am quizing him on who makes up each branch..who makes up the Congress, etc. We get to the Supreme Court and I say "what is the Supreme Court"...and his answer:

"Isn't that like where Judge Judy holds her show?"

There are no words. Ah yes...the wisdom of young America..Jay Leno would be so proud..lol.

Hello football season

The season is underway and the boys are loving it. Drew more so than Cole, as his team is undefeated, while Cole's team can't seem to win a game to save their souls. (The ONLY touchdown of the season so far was scored by Cole.) Secretly I am so happy Drew is experiencing success, over Cole this time around. That sounds bad, doesn't it..I should say, I don't wish Cole NOT to have a good season, of course I want him to win, and be successful, but for soo long Drew has been in the shadows of Cole athletically, that it's high time Drew got his moment in the sun, ya know?   (in the photos..Cole is the one running the ball..looking like he's about to be tackled by his own team..which could be why they aren't fairing so well..lol, and Drew is the one with the rec specks on..ready to come off the line..SO cute)

I am not enjoying the nasty smelly equipment that comes with being a football mom. Since we have had really soggy weather this past couple of weeks, we have had a TON of wet practice clothes, and I can say with great disgust that smelly damp football socks and pants are by far the most foul pieces of laundry I have ever had to deal with in my laundry career. SO gross.

Cole has a birthday this week, and the struggle to figure out what exactly to get him is becoming a real issue. The only thing he wants, he can't have and he says he really doesn't want anything else. So I am stumped.

School is going well, although we have determined that Brenna is a motor mouth. No scratch that, we KNEW she was one, but recently the teacher has discovered her fabulous talking trait. She has taken a trip to the  " safe seat" 3 times so far this year, ALL for talking.(which is basically a time out, although the school refuses to call it a time out, they insist it isn't, but simply a place a student goes before a problem gets out of hand..but let's call a spade a spade shall we?) Last Monday as I was packing lunches, I discovered a balled up piece of paper in Brenna's lunch box along with the trash she didn't dump out.(which is a WHOLE different post...I mean really..how hard is it to throw away the trash instead of putting it back in the lunchbox? ugh!) When I flattened out the wrinkled piece of paper I discovered it was not ONE but TWO safe seat referals from the previous Friday. She not only managed to get one, she got TWO in one day, both for talking.

Brenna Faith, get in here now! (Don't judge me it was 7:15, it was still dark out, and I was cranky)

Enter the chatterbox.

"hey, do you have anything you want to share with me about last week that you forgot to tell me?"

No..oh, don't put mayonaise on my sandwich because I think it makes my bread soggy."

I'm not asking about lunch Brenna, I'm talking about your behavior at school..anything you want to share?" and I hold up the scrunched up evidence.

"Oh that."

"Yes, THAT. So, we have a problem now dear...first you have not ONE but TWO safe seat encarcerations in one day, and second, you didn't tell me about it..you tried to hide it....what's that all about?

Think fast little talker..think fast.

"Mooooom, I'm Sooooorrrry, I couldn't keep my lips closed, I tried, and then it just didn't work. I HAD to talk, I couldn't help it. And I hid it because I didn't want to ruin your weekend.'

"Oh come on Brenna...you didn't want to ruin my weekend? Really? Is that really what your going with?"

"Ok fine. I didn't want to ruin MY weekend."

DO you see my problem here? She's a pistol for sure. She's also a pistol who is grounded from all things webkinz related until the end of the first quarter. (that sent her into a manic rage, complete with "my webkinz will surely die, and starve if I don't feed them before then!!") Hopefully this will help curb her mouth. Although I have a feeling this is going to be an ongoing battle for the rest of our lives. lol

Off to finish my consignment sale merchandise..I feel like I have been working on this project forever. I'll be so glad to be rid of it all this week. Then it's on to the big scrapbook second annual "junk emporium" sale to end all sales. If you are local, keep checking back, you won't want to miss this sale if you are a scrapbooker!

Ok enough rambling..happy Monday!

Goodbye summer...

So we just finished up the last week of summer. Can it really be over already? It's hard to believe isn't it. We spent the weekend in Edwards MO at the lake of the ozarks at my parent's new home. The house is finally done enough that you can stay there, so we packed up the kids Friday after school and dance and hit the road. We rolled in around 11:30, and by 6:15 the next morning, my boys were out on the dock fishing. That was basically the way every day went, to bed around midnight, up again at 7 to fish, and then swim and boat. I don't think the kids spent more than a half hour in the house during the day, and that was for food. lol

They are all sunkissed and tanned, and my guess is that today will be a L O N G day at school, inspite of going to bed early last night. I can barely move this morning, as my arms were darn near ripped off my body while tubing on Sunday. I am too old and fat to be doing those kinds of activities. It was not a pretty site. So I came home sore and oh, I have a black eye. I got bit Sunday night by the largest meanest nastiest horse fly right under my eye. It hurt something fierce. I was sitting minding my own business on the deck, and it came out of nowhere and started swarming around my head, so I swatted at it, and then it made a beeline right for my face. I now have new respect for any horse or barnyard livestock that has been biten. My face immediately swelled up, and I have convinced myself that I will soon begin my transformation into the fly ala Jeff Goldbloom. (was that his name? from the fly?) I'm telling you, if I start growing corse hair on my neck, I am calling the authorities. For now though, the only sign of the injury is my black eye, and man does it hurt.

My poor husband was in football withdrawl all weekend though. My folks have their tv hooked up to the dvd player, but they have no satellite yet, as they aren't living there full time. That meant no Nebraska football game on Saturday. We didn't even know what the score of the game was until sometime Sunday when we called Greg to make sure he hadn't blown away in the hurricane. (he didn't blow away by the way..just lots of rain) As much as I like Nebraska football, it was nice not to even worry about football games all day long like we typically have to do on Saturdays around here.(don't tell Bryce I said that)

It will now make sense why we call Cole "beaker" when you look at his hair in this photo. Tell me he doesn't remind you of the muppet.

Brenna holding on and looking completely ticked off and scared to death...really...she was having fun..lol

Drew looking very serious and hell bent on holding on.

There are lots more, but I won't bore you with those, and I certainly won't be posting any of me..because frankly, those are very scary and even I was a bit alarmed looking at them on my computer.

I will leave you with one final photo of Cole, sliding down the slide on the dock..it's blurry, but hilarious none the less. That kid cracks me up!

He's discovered girls.

Say a prayer for me. My baby has discovered that girls do not have cooties. He has moved on from old navy motorcycle and truck shirts and has discovered Abercrombie. He is wearing (way to much) cologne. He is using gel in his hair.

He got in the car last week and told me that there was a "rumor" about him at school. When he first said that, my heart sank and I thought..oh no, I hope he's not getting picked on. Turns out the "rumor" was that there are two girls in one of the other 5th grade classes that like him, and they are fighting over him "like crazy". I had to bite my lip when he told me, because he was soo serious, like oh my gosh, can you believe it? serious. So I asked him, so how do you feel about all this? He thought for a minute, and said, "I can't help it that I'm THAT good looking".

I am in serious trouble aren't I?

back to school

Today was the first day of school. The first day with brand new shoes, backpacks and a dozen freshly sharpened number 2 pencils. It was also a day of newness, and butterflies in the tummy.

The kids went back to school today to a brand new school, and to be honest, I was a little nervous. For the past 5 years we have been at a private christian school, and today my kids made the leap into the big bad public school system. I won't lie..I was and am nervous of what they will pick up that they shouldn't this year and in years to come.  I am worried they will have a hard time with the transition..but after the first day, it seems like we are going to be ok. There were no tears..and there were smiles at pick up time.

 

Brenna changed her mind on what to wear no less than 5 times this morning, and aside from a hair crisis she as good to go. She got bangs cut yesterday and I think she is still not sure that was a good idea, although I am loving not having it hang in her face. I have no clue what she learned today, or what she thought of 2nd grade..but I did learn that she "definately has the cutest backpack". That's my girl. lol

how can you look at this photo of Drew and not just smile? I don't know if it's the hat or the shoes...but this photo screams "rockin cool kid" to me. Doesn't he look grown up? Man..when did that happen? He was very quiet today,(which is TOTALLY out of character) and I   think he did fine! I was freaking out though when he wasn't outside on the sidewalk after school. Apparently his teacher got him confused with someone else who was suppose to go to child care (wonder where that kid ended up?..lol)so she send him to the gym and so he was missing after school. Just the time the sweats  and the urge to send out an amber alert hit, he was found. When the teacher finally got him back to me, she said.."you know, he has got to be the sweetest little boy..I could just squeeze him" He seems to have that affect on the ladies. lol That was a good sign that he was going to be ok..because it means he was typical Drew today.

And then there is Cole. He's was the first to cheer when we told the kids they weren't going back to their old school..but today was a different story. He was a nervous wreck, and I think he realized that he had it pretty good where he was, in terms of friendships and familiarity. When I walked him over to his class at drop off, he turned around and said.."maybe we should just go back to Concordia"...and then the biting of the lip started. Changing schools when you are in 5th grade is a scary thing...so I hope he transitions well.  He looked relieved at pick up, and apparently has found a friend or two already. The only turmoil of the day was getting "screamed at" (or so he says) by one of the office ladies for wearing his hat. Apparently they aren't allowed to wear them, but we had no idea. I had called the school and asked about any dress code issues I should know about, and they told me there wasn't any..so I assumed hats would be fine..apparently not. lol

So all together a successful day! I realize this post was boring, but my brain is much frankly from staying up far to late to watch the Olympics, and now I am running behind on getting the boys to football practice. The end.

 

update on Drew

no phone call for Drew. Although there seems to be quite the story brewing over this whole situation, (we aren't even sure if the team has fully been selected yet or what)I have nothing further to say at this point..as I am trying to peel my 8 yr old off the floor, and trying really hard to be objective and upbeat for my little guy.  Hell hath no fury like a mama scorned, I tell ya.

We are out the door to go buy a new hat, as he is refusing to wear the one he has now. SO sad. So very very sad.

...it's worse than Hall of Fame call day around here

I really thought the days of sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring were over for me. I hung up my scrapbook contest gloves and swore off anything that required an entry form. Apparently I can run but I can't hide.

As I said in my last post YESTERDAY(...take that hatters...2 blog post in a row....lol) the boys have baseball tryouts this week. If you don't know by now, baseball is right up there with breathing in our family. Greg has played since he was little, and now plays division one ball in Alabama, and cole and drew have been playing since, well, before they could even walk, they were throwing the ball. Brenna was darn near raised in a pack n play at the ball fields when she was little. So it's kind of a big deal in our house.

So,  here in Nebraska, what we call "select" baseball starts at 8 yrs old, and really gets started seriously at 9yrs old. Drew played this season on an 8 yr old team for the same organization that Cole plays for, which is regarded as one of the best, if not the best ball program in our area.  He was asked to play, because they were throwing together an 8 yr old  team at the last minute, and they knew Cole had a little brother who was the right age, and so he made the team, with no try out. For NEXT season though, they have to go through the official try out process, and compete with any other players that show up for the try out.  Last night was the 9 yr old try out for Drew. His first "official" select baseball tryout.

Drew did really well WE thought, but you just never know. There were a couple kids shy of 40 players there, and they are only taking 11 for the team. They told the boys if they are offered a spot, they would get a phone call by 7pm tonight. If they don't get a call...they are not on the team.

Poor Drew is a mess right now.

He has been up since about 7:30 this morning, and has been walking around with the phone in his hand. He told Bryce last night that he should probably stay home all day today, in case they call. He told me that every time the phone rings, he feels like he has to throw up. 

I believe I have created a monster.

This reminds me all too well of how I have behaved in the PAST when it came to scrapbook contests and calls. I don't think my friends will ever let me forget Hall of Fame rejection day 2003. Oh yes, this was the year I just KNEW I would win HOF, I mean come on..I used a freakin etch-a-sketch on one of my layouts. Totally.serious.I.tried.to.rock.the.etch-a-sketch.and.failed.  It's still stings. Brief moment of silence for the etch-a-sketch moment. Oh how I wish I had a scan of that layout to share today..lol. But I digress..it obviously wasn't meant to be, as I was beat HARD by the likes of Ali and Tracy Kyle, and the fabulously talented and OH SO BLEW my etch-a-sketch out of the water Karen Russell. As you can see..I was living in the land of delusional when I thought I stood a chance. But by the phone I sat for 2 or 3 days, waiting for Lisa B to call. I didn't leave my house for 3 days. I sat glued to 2peas for 3 days straight. I yelled at friend Kelly everytime she called, because I darn near peed myself everytime the phone rang. Finally, after the last call had been confirmed, and the last HM had gone out..I found myself in a fetal position...curled in my bed in the middle of the afternoon swearing to never scrapbook again. Cue the pathetic sad music...it was devistatingly pathetic blog nation. Fortunately, it was nothing that an evening of karaoke and booze couldn't cure, and it wasn't long before I had rebounded back into some sort of scrapbooking frenzy.

All that to say...I am so worried about Drew today. I want him to get a call so badly I can't stand it. Of all the boys, he has the most enthusiasm and heart for playing...but he doesn't have the most natural athletic ability. The other 2 boys don't even really have to work at it..it just comes. Drew is a lefty, and has really had to work harder to compete, and work hard he does. He has spent the last week at the ball field TWICE a day with Greg working on fundamentals. Ground balls fired at him over and over and over again. Base running. Pitching, Pop flies, you name it...he was out there working on it. So what he might not have in raw talent, the boy has more than made up for with determination and pure will. He wants it bad.

So he's got passion for th game, but he's also the most tender hearted of ALL the Johnson clan, so he's going to take the rejection even harder if it comes to that. I am just praying like crazy today that he gets a call. How can they say no to a face like this?? And seriously...no posed photos here. This was the scene at lunch today, waiting on his turkey sandwich..phone in hand. I believe it's time for an intervention. Although I am thinking karaoke and booze are not really appropriate for handling 9 yr old rejection, so let's all think happy positive thoughts..and WILL him to get a spot so we can celebrate this evening...that sound like a MUCH better idea!    

Hello again...

So I'm not quite back to daily posting, but this is better than nothing, and frankly I am tired of making excuses..lol.

It's just another fabulous Monday. We just got home from a 9 day trip to St Louis for a baseball tournament, and I am up to my eyeballs in laundry, so this will be a post and run entry for sure.

Since I last posted we survived dance recital...and Brenna joined the dance team. 3 days of dance a week until the end of July and then we start fall classes. She seems to be loving it..although I could do with out the constant leaping and turning that seems to be going on all the time now. My oven door has become her mirror to perfect her turns and leg holds. It's quite comical.

Please excuse the blatant over exposure of dancing brenna, grandma reads this blog, and she needs her photo fix.

In addition to  dance, we have been as usual spending unusual amounts of time at various ball parks across the midwest. The season officially wrapped up for both boys on saturday, and now we move onto try outs for next season, and football starts in August. Oh happy day.

A few ball photos to share of Cole. I don't have ANY photos of drew..which is extremely sad...I really have to do better about dragging my camera around.

 

So now we wind the summer down with days at the pool, and back to school shopping. ( For the first time ever the kids will not be required to wear uniforms to school as we pulled them out of the private school they were attending and will be sending them to public school in the fall. It was a hard choice, but I think in the long run, it is a good one. ) Brenna is THRILLED beyond belief to know there is life beyond the polo shirt and khaki skirt. She is beside herself with the possibilities. My wallet isn't ready for it, that is for sure. The boys had a "polo and uniform pant burning ceremony" on the last day of school..and declared they will never wear a belt again. (that's what they think)

Let's see..what else is happening? Oh! I took the summer off basically from all things Uppercase Living. We had some family situations that prevented me from really focusing on it the way I wanted to, and with the kids schedules, it was best to just put it on the back burner until I could come up for air.

The new catalog however, has sparked new life into me, and has motivated me to start up again. If you want to check out the new catalog, just log into:Uppercaseliving and register as a new customer using my demonstrator id: 753311 amd the registration token: JOHNSON. This will give you full access to the catalog, and the custom design center as well.  There is a TON of holiday product, and some really really FUN new expressions.. I absolutely ADORE the create piece on page 68, it would be perfect to accent a scrapbook space. I am also really looking forward to getting the advent calendar on page 99, it looks like a fun fun way to celebrate the holiday season! Go check them out! I am offering a 20% discount on any individual order placed between now and August 1st, so if you find something you can't live without, let me know!

Ok, the laundry is calling my name...all 46 loads of it.

tom brady..and the rest of the bunch

Can you tell I am avoiding cleaning my house? I am. There is no other explaination for two posts in one morning.

They are out of school for the summer and right now at this very minute they are hiding from me. We have to go to go begin the annual, "hey school's out, so let's make you miserable and clean out the playroom instead of going to the pool and having fun like every other kid in america is doing right now" process.

I have a feeling I am going to hear ALOT of whining and complaining...so I am avoiding it myself.

On another note..hasn't the dog grown? He's recovering from a REALLY bad haircut. I mean BAD people. He could easily qualify for the ugliest dog in american contest right now. You can't tell from these photos..and I am frankly embarrassed to show you a photo of the full damage. Maybe tomorrow. Let's just say, when the groomer asks you if you want to give your dog a "summer haircut"..you should probably say, um..no. I knew I was in trouble when I went to pick him up and the technician who was working at the time, who apparently hadn't seen Brady yet, gasped and said..ooooh...that's...wow. That's a haircut all right.

hello..is it me your looking for?

I'm not even going to address the obvious. Let's just start over shall we? Just pretend I was on a reeeeally long vacation, like when friend Becky went to Washington last month and we were all like, 'um hello, is becky EVER coming home?"

I started this blog a couple of years ago when I was at the height of my scrapbooking obsession. EVERYONE was doing it. It was a window into the lives of the almighty scrap gods, and for the obsessed fan (speaking of myself here, not you the reader..lol) it was like a daily dose of the latest reality show..only not quite as tacky as living lohan or denise richard's new show..not that I would know what those shows are really like mind you..I don't watch them (live anyway, I tivo.)

I was pretty darn committed to the blogging phenominon back in the day. Almost a daily poster. I don't know what changed between now and then..well I do kind of. I got a tad bit shy and paranoid. Somewhere along the way blogs went from being rainbows and sunshine to becoming kinda nasty in the scrapbooking world. One or two turns of being mentioned on THOSE blogs and I was rocking back and forth in a fetal position, ready to eat everything in site. (I freak out=I eat.) So, I crawled under a rock and stopped posting for fear of being eaten alive and getting my feelings hurt. After way to long of an absence, I realized, who am I kidding? Who do I think I am..lol. I said to myself, Self, so what if you get mentioned on the anonymous blogs..until you show up on Perez's blog you ain't got nothin to cry about.

but by then it was just too late.. I was out of the habit of daily blogging and frankly I just got lazy about it all together. I fell out of the routine of checking in, and decided what do I have to say that is relevant any way? No one wants to listen to me go on and on and on about nothing. Been there done that. It was called Seinfeld Miley, and they've all seen it done a million times on reruns by now. So I just stopped talking.

i told the girls last week at dinner(the bagels=kelly becky she who is as bad as me about blogging Becca Holly denise Lisa ) that my plan was to start blogging again and have a REALLY big give away right of the bat..like she does and give away like a trip or something..and how funny it would be because NO one would even know about the give away because who am I kidding, I have no following, and second of all anyone who was bored and used to read this blog stopped oh, FOUR months ago due to the weeds growing up around the edges.

So basically this will now be a home for me to talk to myself..because lord knows no one is actually reading anymore, and if you are well then you have either the patience of a saint to have stuck around, or you lead a really really boring life and should probably come to my house and help me clean.

Speaking of cleaning, remember oh, back in JANUARY when I was going to clean and purge my scrapbook room? Yeah. About that. It's still not done. In fact, it's worse than it was. I haven't done much (any) scrapbooking since like January. It's safe to say I USED to be a scrapbooker. Not so much anymore. I lost that loving feeling. Which led to me leaving the garden at 2peas last month. That was I have to say,a sad sad day for me. A "kick a girl when she's down" moment in my life. While in my head I knew I had no business being a garden girl anymore, as I was not pulling my weight and had nothing creative to offer, my heart was hurting at the thought of not being a part of that group of women anymore, so I held on by my toenails longer than I should have. I think I held on so long because I knew the  minute the lights are turned off on you, and your name is taken off the list, you are alone. You spend several years of your life talking and becoming friends with a group of people and BAM! you no longer can chat with them and are thrown back into the general pea population where you have no one familiar.  Sounds pretty pathetic doesn't it?  Without sounding even more stupid, I just became really dependant on that group of girls..and I don't know if they even realize it.  I miss them every morning when I sit down at the computer. They were a constant in my life that I won't be able to replace. I miss them terribly.

So today I start over.(again) By then end of the week I HOPE I will have a new look to this blog. A make over. It needs one. I have things to share. Stories to tell. So let's give it yet another go..and if this time I fail miserably, I will hang up my blogging shoes forever.