Best of Intentions

Well, I feel better today. I haven't watched the news or checked Chattanoogan.com all day! I do so love the Police Blotter section of the Chattanoogan where they report all the men that have solicited prostitutes (names included) and even better, those stupid men who have their money stolen by prostitutes and don't get anything in return (serves them right!). Imagine a prostitute not being honest. They deserve to have their money stolen if they are stupid enough to do something like that. It just makes you laugh and laugh!!!!

My full intention was to come home and fix a nutritious dinner for my family (done) and then spend the rest of the night with a glass of wine, fingernail polish and hot wax (YELP!). I got a phone call from a girl wanting to order something from Thirty-One and now, almost three hours later, I've not mani'ed pedi'ed or de-haired (my eyebrows) at all! Maybe tomorrow night I'll get some grooming in.

I did, however, help Brody write a fable for homework about a Sneaky Snake who had no friends, a Bird named Birdie and a Turtle named Slider. The moral of his fable is that you have to be nice to have friends. Words to live by....MEAN PEOPLE SUCK!

Debbie Downer

Okay, so I was in a weird place at work today. More shaking going on, and that always leads me down bad roads. Anyway..... I saw something tonight that put a true smile on my face and put some Christmas cheer back into my life.

It was Brody's first night up Upward basketball at Middle Valley Baptist. In the same gym, there were special needs kids also practicing. I'm not sure if it was Special Olympics or just a team put together out of a longing for their kids to play with other kids who understand them. I'm telling you, I didn't leave without shedding some true to the bone tears. These children were so loving, accepting and HAPPY it could even melt my Grinch heart. With every attempt each child and family would cheer like the child had won the game of the century. Most of them would then high five and hug each member of the team and the spectators. The more we cheered, the more they loved on us. I have to admit, I cheered just to get some love from those sweet angels. There was one little girl who was so cute that I swear I could have eaten her alive! They totally restored my very weary soul and made me feel something other than tired and jaded. I highly recommend "practice watching" this team. It was better than a night at the movies!

Thanks for letting me be down today and still loving me. I got so many comments from people that didn't want me to post their comments who had similar feelings. It's hard to be depressed during the holidays, especially when you usually aren't depressed about anything. It's easy to say focus on all the blessings when you can't see them for all that is bothering you. I think I've snapped out of my blue streak, thanks to a precious little girl who is certainly special in my book and has a mean lay up! Go Girl!!!

Many questions......

Christmas spirit. I wonder what that means to you. I'm having a pretty hard time this year with the whole Christmas Spirit thing. You know, I have decorated my house, decorated my office, gone to parties, hosted parties, etc. but I cannot "feel" the anticipation and excitement that I normally feel. I wonder if it's because I don't have any Santa believers living at my house anymore? I wonder if it's because times are tough financially, and it's hard to get into the spirit when you are on a tight budget? I wonder if it's feeling pressured to buy the perfect thing for children that admittedly cannot think of anything they want or need. I wonder if it's feeling guilty that when people are losing their homes and being laid off in my own company, we are commercializing a holiday that is supposed to help us remember the birth of our Savior. Savior. That is a word that we use lightly, isn't it? I wonder if we truly focused on the birth of our Savior during this season, would I have the right feeling about this Christmas?

I'm not sure where this funk is coming from, probably the news. Every time I watch it I become more and more De-Christmas-tized. I wonder what the family of that father and daughter slain while searching for "spiritual awakening" in India are going to be feeling this year without their loved ones? I wonder what all the men and women's families who laid down their life for our country over the last year will be feeling this Christmas? I wonder what victims burned and flooded out of their homes will be feeling this Christmas? I'm thinking I should avoid the news for a while. I think I should instead be remembering why we should be celebrating this season, and snap out of it.

Maybe snow would help........

Thankful for my BFF's

So they may be your "girlfriends", or "home girls" or just plain ole' "friends", but I thank God for mine. The eight of us are a group formed through Tres Dias. We came together as a "Reunion Group" to hold each other accountable and encourage each other. I cannot tell you what each of these women mean to me. They are the kind of friends that I could call at 3 a.m. and say..."pray for me, ....." and they would not only pray, they would do it while dressing, getting in the car and coming to my aide. I pray that they know that this is what I also would do for them. In a world where you're never quite sure where you stand with people, where some people would just as likely talk about you behind your back, I'm thankful for these women who I know HAVE my back. We have spent a lot of time together this weekend at Donna's Christmas Tea and my ornament swap, and it just makes me realize why we are BFF's. I am richly blessed!

YEAH GOD!

OK, so I guess I have to pitch a fit and accept the fact that I need help before anything happens for me.......thanks for the lesson God!

I can't change my stupid backgroud!

OK, I've tried everything. I've changed the template to minima, but it goes right back to that stupid Halloween template. I've copied and gone to HTML, but no go!!! I hate computers when they don't work the way you think they should. Anybody have any idea what I'm doing wrong???

How soon is too soon?

I know this is a pretty broad question.... too soon for some things might be too soon, while others might not be, do you follow? My question, in particular is how soon is it too soon to put up your Christmas decorations? See, I am a busy mom, and when I see a window of opportunity to do something, I feel that I should, no MUST seize that opportunity. I fear my opportunity came and went on Saturday. It was a semi-yukky day, rainy off and on. Lucas was out of town with the youth group, Brody was mushing his brain on video games and Larry and I were at loose ends. We went to I-HOP for breakfast (where I totally did good, only 3 pancakes and sugar free syrup). We came home with the day looming before us without anything to do. Can you imagine???? Me either! Anyway, I had the bright idea that we should begin the process of putting our overabundance of trees and decorations up for Christmas. This totally goes against my "never before Lucas's birthday" rule, but hey, the name of this blog is Crazy Hicks Family, you see we are busy.

I presented this option to Larry who was totally not on board from the beginning. Now you have to understand that we have almost been married for 17 years, and just prior to Christmas decorating season, Larry usually picks a HUGE fight with me so we will not be speaking during the annual putting up of the trees. This is a tradition in our house, and frankly, I think I caught him off guard! He couldn't think of a good reason not to do it, and we had been getting along too great lately to begin a fight out of the clear blue. He was baffled, but promised we would do it soon, but this was "too soon".

Did I mention that my BFF's are coming for an ornament swap on December 7? Did I mention that I usually put 5 full sized trees up and decorate 2 small one in the boys rooms? Did I mention we are busy? How about the fact that we are about to begin Upwards Basketball with Brody, claiming every Saturday and one night a week until the end of February, which coincidentally signals the beginning of baseball season??????

We did not get any trees, wreaths, lights, garland or tinsel hung this weekend. I can only look for my schedule to open up again around July. Ho Ho Ho.

Great Weekend!!

We have had the best weekend! I can't remember when we have had this much fun, and have gotten to be stress free. It's been great! We didn't do anything except shuffle kids to and from other's houses on Saturday, and that was Larry, I just had to tell him where to go (careful!). I got to clean the bathrooms and do laundry (don't be too jealous). I can't believe I enjoyed it so much. I guess it just feels good to be home.

Larry and I had plans to go out on a date Saturday night, but Brody had a meltdown, so we had to stay home. Larry fixed him a peanut butter and jelly on an english muffin and you would have thought that we had asked him to down arsenic! He sat on his bed forever, and we were all worn out by the time it was over. Neither of us felt like going out. We ended up staying home, on our couch in the bedroom watching Alabama beat LSU. I think he enjoyed me watching football with him without doing anything else. I remember when we first starting dating 20 yrs ago, I would sit and watch football with him for hours, and love it. Now, he is in the basement, and I'm doing something else somewhere else. I think it really meant a lot to him that I spent time with him watching the football game, and not doing anything else. It's hard to remember who needs to come first sometimes.

Today, we went to church, then came home and Larry grilled chicken. We went downtown and watched Madigascar 2, which was precious. I so enjoy a kids movie that makes it fun for adults. Thanks Disney, or Pixar or whomever made the movie.

We ate at Piza Pizza and I blew Weight Watchers. Two glasses of wine and chicken ziti. I did eat the child's portion and only had one piece of cheese toast, and then there was the popcorn in the movie. Oh well, tomorrow is a new day.

I'm all settled in to my new technological mystery, Facebook. Lucas has been wanting a Facebook account, so I decided to check it out, and I had to make myself an account to see what it was all about. Now, 80 "friends" later, I'm amazed that people have time for this sort of thing. I think it's really great that you get to find out what is going on in the lives of your 80 friends, but who has time? I just logged on and started down the list, and was exhausted after 3 friends. I feel compelled to respond about a cute pic of their kids or some tragedy that has happened. I almost felt rude for not commenting on some, and completely ignoring the rest. My momma raised me to be respectful, but I think in cyberspace, you have to have limits to the amount of info you can consume.

The week ahead looks jammed packed. Lucas has basketball on Mon, Wed and Thur. and I have a big reveal of the precious baby pics that are going to grace the maternity waiting area and Mother/Baby hallway. I'm going to have to miss Lucas' game, but he says he understands. Larry is going out of town with his dad this next weekend and Lucas is going on a middle school retreat overnight on Friday. It's just me and the Bro, and I'm trying to find something to do with him Friday night so I can go to the ladies meeting at Dallas Bay. I tried to get him to go to Larry's mother's since my FIL is going to out of town, but he won't go. He says he doesn't like to stay up there by himself. I should have made him, but I don't want to stay home alone, so I wonder where he gets it???

I hope everyone has a good week!
Shari

I hate ADHD!!

Okay, so when Brody was small, I avoided Hobby Lobby like the plague when he was with me. I wasn't sure what it was, but it sent him into a crying jag like you wouldn't believe. I attributed it to the time I maybe spent in there, but he didn't do it at any other craft/scrapbook store. Fast forward 9 yrs, and I can't go to McKays with Brody. I don't know if it's the stimulation and crowded corridors and funky looking people, or what, but he absolutely lost his mind there yesterday. Like, ran out of the bu idling while I was in line and stood by the car (a definite no-no). He even still holds my hand while crossing parking lots. I was astounded. Most especially as we were there to buy him a new PSP and a game. The meltdown occurred (in theory) because after having decided on a black one, he changed his mind and wanted the more expensive ($40 more) purple one. We had returned several video games/movies/books a couple of weeks ago and found them to be too expensive, and Lucas wasn't thrilled with losing his "stake" in the returns to solely benefit Brody. Well, for some reason I was feeling generous with the Bromister and announced that we were going to blow the whole yellow credit at McKays on my precious Bro. He was thrilled, until we got in there, and like the plague, this weirdness spread through him and he turned into this howling maniac. Literally, for 2 hours he screamed, beat his head on the van seats and alternately screamed at me and cried. After leaving McKays without me, I promptly returned the PSP and told him all bets were off. He spent the rest of the time until we got home screaming and crying like he was 2! I even had to call Larry a couple of times to either talk me or Brody down. We drove back to CSLA to wait for Lucas to finish basketball and he was crying so loudly everyone else parked in the back lot could hear him screaming and he didn't care. Larry thinks he is more emotional lately too. Of course, when we got home and he was being punished, straight to bed after homework, he was remorseful, and even drew these precious pictures and put them all over my bedroom while we were eating (Brody had Burger King right after school). It's so hard to believe that he and that boy in the car is one in the same. I hate ADHD and the swings in mood, the total refusal to be reasonable, the impulsiveness, etc. Again, I don't think this med is working, and guess I'm going to have to request it to be changed, AGAIN, but I know that Larry isn't ever on board about the meds. We have a meeting this afternoon with his and Lucas' teachers, so I'm anxious to hear what they have to say. More to come about this!!!!

Brody has a football game tonight, and Lucas has basketball practice. During both, we have conferences with teachers. I came in one hour early and am staying one hour late today so I can leave work at 1:00 tomorrow and get Lucas from home to basketball practice at 2:00. I think it's ridiculous that they call practice on a day off from school. If I didn't have such an understanding boss, he would just have to miss it. How do other parents do it? Larry wouldn't drive from East Brainerd to Middle Valley to get him tomorrow and then what am I supposed to do with Brody while Lucas is practicing? I need a break!!!!

Well, that's all for now. I can't wait for Halloween tomorrow. I'll try to post pictures of the boys as they dress up!

Have a good day!
Shari

Tired, tired and more tired

Okay, so I know I have titled this "The Crazy Hicks Family" for a reason, but I swear, it's getting to me today. I ran myself ragged yesterday, SICK. I actually called in sick at work, and then, didn't have one minute to even go home and lay down.



My day started out taking the boys to a doctors appointment that had been scheduled for months. Lucas had his 13 yr old physical a little early. He is 5' 8.5" and weighs 152. His blood pressure was a little high, but the doctor said it was probably d/t her being a female and him being in his underwear! He had some protein in his urine that I'm freaked out about, but the doctor said it was probably normal and I needed to retest it later this week. She also looked at his knees which had been giving him a lot of trouble recently. She said that it was classic Osgood Schlatter syndrome which causes inflammation on below the knee cap. She said it was an easy fix of rest, ice and Motrin. Here's the thing, should we or should we not let him continue playing basketball? She said she wouldn't, but that he could. She said that there shouldn't be any lasting repercussions from playing, other than pain and possible degeneration long term. Lucas said that there was no way he was "quitting", and that he would play through the pain. Is that wise? When should you step in and say, "you're 12, don't have a clue how much you need your knees in the future, and you're not playing"? Lord, this parent thing is hard. Larry and I haven't talked much about it as we haven't been in the same spot for long, so I don't know what his thinking is. I am supposed to get Lucas a brace for his knees today, and hopefully that will help with his pain. The doctor also said he was having muscle spasms in his neck, probably from stress. How in the heck do you wrap your mind around Lucas having stress? Are we pushing him too hard???? Is it school, sports, his crazy family or all of the above together. When is it time to put the brakes on this machine and say "ENOUGH"?

Brody just had a med check, and as usual, they screwed his ADHD meds up and wrote for the wrong milligram, so I have to go back today and pick it up and drop another one off at the pharmacy. I don't think that the Methyln is working great, but the doctor seemed reluctant to change him. I'm willing to let that ride until parent teacher conferences on Thursday of this week. Let's see what his teachers say first.

Lucas had his first basketball game against Normal Park last night, and it was a blood bath. Lucas has never really played basketball before, and NP killed us. It was like 35 to 16, I think. Lucas did score the first 2, and then got 2 more later, but they were not good. I hope they will improve. I had previously volunteered to "keep" study hall for the basketball team before the game. That was foolish on my part. These kids were not good. I mean, disrespectful and LOUD. I already felt like crap and then having to sit in there with them for 1 1/2 hrs, I was ready to scream! Then, during the game, the worst smelling family crammed in next to me. I was literally under this man's arm most of the game. He smelled of body odor, stale smoke and dirty feet. The entire family probably shared one strand of DNA and they were all very loud and inconsiderate. Listen, before any event when you might be sharing space with another human, bathe, don't smoke, brush your teeth and stay put. The kids in that family climbed, literally over me dozens of times, without so much as an excuse me, even from the adults. They were our opponents, and had very negative, racially charged comments about our students. I hated to let them know I was just blatantly listening to their conversation, so I kept quiet, but did feel bad about it later. Why don't people realize it's not about the color of your skin. I'm sure all the "non-whites" on the team were of better caliber and certainly cleaner than those lily white stinker's!

Brody played football against Avondale, and was in tears by the time he got to the car. He said the boys were cussing at him and yelling and being very physically aggressive after the plays.
Here is the explanation that the coach emailed me today:
Shari,
Yes, the game was pretty ugly last night. I considered forfeiting the game at half time but it was difficult to gage how all of the parents would feel about me doing that. Typically half would have supported me, and the other half would not have. So it was a difficult decision of how to handle the situation and keep everybody "happy". We DO NOT play them again. Our remaining schedule consist of the other two EB teams and then the playoffs.
We do not have practice tonight, and our next game is Thursday (10/30) at 7:15.
I apologize for the other teams behavior, and the refs were aware that some of that was going on, but couldn't eject or penalize players unless they heard it themselves.
Thanks,
Robb
Now bear in mind here that these are 9/10 year olds. Again, what is deal with people anymore? What are their parents doing? Where are they hearing this stuff? What parent on our team would have been mad for them to have forfeited the game that was going that south?? I was at the basketball game and Larry was there with Brody. I'm glad I wasn't there, because I would have probably pulled him from the game. I don't handle things like that well.

Well, that's about it for now. I am still feeling like crap today, but glad to be at work. I don't know what to do about any of the above, but just pray that everything will settle down soon. Many other "too personal to mention" things have to be decided soon, so keep me in your prayers.

Shari

Apology to Felicia

While I certainly stand by my sperm donor comment from an earlier post, I would like to publicly apologize to my Cousin Felicia who has an outstanding relationship with her uncle. She was offended by my characterization, and out of my love for her, would like to apologize.

Florida Fall Break 2008

Great News!!! Bad Weather!!!

Okay, so we made it back from Florida in one piece. My husband is still not talking to me, but all things considered, it's fine!!! The boys and I had a great time, we loved the beach and had such a relaxing time. We ate what we wanted when we wanted, and appetizers and desserts were part of each dinner. We even ate our meal in reverse at Joe's Crab Shack. We ordered dessert first, I had Key Lime Pie (YUM) and Lucas had a Cheesecake Sampler and Brody had Vanilla Ice cream with Chocolate Syrup. We then ate our main course and then finished with Cheese Sticks. The waiter thought we were crazy, but I wanted to have a fun, cool Mom moment. Nobody got burned too badly while there except Lucas. He is on doxycycline for his face and that made him sensitive to the sun, so he was pretty red one night, but was fine the next day. I always feel so bad when one of my kids gets burned on my watch. I truly did apply sunscreen, I think it has to be the meds. We drove home in the rain last Friday and got home to a chilly reception from the hubby. Things haven't thawed since, but I figure it's his loss.

I made it home in time to get my hair done by the great Mary Nelle, and she always does a great job! I just love her. She is so sweet and such a good friend. She always gives me a boost when I need it, and boy did I need it!!!

My stampin' friends got together Saturday night at Bev's. She is always such a great hostess, and my "very talented in all things" friend Winnie made the best soupand those sinful Oreo Bars. If I can figure out how, I'll post the recipe, because it was great!!!! We made some cute cards and had a great time being together.

Lucas had football Sunday, which made me ill. I hate it that they schedule football games on Sunday! It was at 5:00, so we couldn't go back to church and Lucas couldn't participate in MadFox. He really likes it, and it makes me mad that between basketball and football we can't attend church on Wednesday or Sundays. The real problem is that when my kids were younger and my friends had older kids, I really sat in judgement of them so many times, saying that you have to put church first, and what kind of example is that for your kids, etc. Well, as usual, my words have bitten me on the butt. We have football again this Sunday night after we finish with a basketball practice in the afternoon. Did I mention that my kids are busy with sports?

The great news that I eluded to in the title is that I once again passed my Lactation Consultant test!!!! I took this stinking test July 28 and they only posted the results today! I'm good for another 10 years, and hopefully by then I will be wise enough not to stress over it. You know, I do love my job, but the thought of doing this same thing in another 10 years kind of made me sad. Who knows? I would love to start my own private consulting business. I'd love to have an office in my home and have new mom's and babies come to my house and me go to theirs. I'd love to do Prenatal classes there as well, and also have them at churches and do private ones (although I don't think they would be as much fun for the parents). The problem is, I carry the
insurance for my family, so I guess for now, I'm here. I do love my job though. I can't believe they pay me for doing something I love so much. I'm very blessed to do what I love every day and find so many great people along the way.

The weather is stinking today, again with the title, and I have to go to the credit union to pilfer my pitiful account to purchase my growing boys some long pants. Lucas has shot up like a weed and thinned out like crazy and all of his pants are too big and short. Brody has just grown out (9 yr old pudge) and so he has to have his pants cut off and hemmed like crazy. I have gotten him a few pairs so far, so it won't be that bad.

Report cards come home today. Lucas and I had a discussion last night about grades. Now for any of you that are teachers that might ever read this (you might notice I have 0 followers) I hate report cards, and I hate grades. I know that you have to have some measurement of what a child knows, but I think that both of my kids get really bad test anxiety. I don't know where this comes from, because I love to take tests. I know it sounds sick, but I enjoy the challenge. Anyway, Lucas hasn't been very forthcoming about his exam grades and finally told me last night that he made a 73 on his Language Arts Exam. I think that's a D. That doesn't mean that his overall grade will be a D, but it sure doesn't help. Anyway, we got into a heated debate about whether or not I'd ever gotten a D on my reports card. This led to Lucas calling my Mom and asking her as he didn't believe that I never got a D. I was stunned (can't think of another word that's stronger that I can spell) to find out that my Mom had saved all of my report cards. Now I do save my kids, but my Mom is different. She was only 20 when she had me and divorced my sperm donor when I was 4. She was always young and hip, cool and very independent. She was the type who if I drew her a picture, I would find it in the garbage. If I picked her a flower, same fate. Now listen, she was a great Mom, just not a sentimental one. I can't believe that she saved my report cards. This really got me thinking about how my kids will remember me to thier kids. Will they recall all the practices that I sat waiting for them, all the benches that I warmed? Will they recall all the practice spelling tests that I gave and encouragement I hopefully provided just last night as Brody had to deliver his first speech ever today? I don't want to sound like a martyr certainly, and wouldn't want them to remember me that way, but I want them to remember me THERE. I want them to know that I saved their report cards (I have), I want them to know that I saved their very cutest baby clothes and books that they loved. I want them to know that they are the two most cherished loved boys who ever lived and their mother thinks they are the best thing since sliced bread. I want them to feel loved and protected from the minute they awake in the morning until they fall into bed at night. I want them to know that I was THERE AND I SAW EVERYTHING THEY DID and I WAS PROUD.

Proud Mama

Okay, so yesterday I said that I thought Lucas might have won a essay contest at school, and HE DID! I can't tell you how proud I am of him. He has always excelled in sports, but there is something about seeing your child being recognized for his brain when it usually is all about the brawn. He took it pretty much with a grain of salt, but I was so proud, you would have thought he won the Nobel Peace Prize (someday?). He won a great UT sweatshirt and really loved that. What I learned through this process is that we really shouldn't pigeon hole kids. I never dreamed that he could have written so eloquently about college and what it holds for him. I'm sure I push him academically, knowing that he isn't going to make sports his career, but I think in my mind, I thought that sports is where his self esteem was going to come from. What a misconception to think that just because he is good in sports, he wouldn't succeed at other things as well. I wonder how many other missed opportunities there have been to show Lucas how smart, funny and giving he is? I'll be on the lookout with both of my kids from now on.

I took Brody to my mom's last night to wait for Lucas after basketball practice. Bro's football practice was cancelled, so we thought it would be a short night, but I was wrong. Mom is going to hem some pants for Bro so he will have something to wear when the weather turns cold. Luckily I saved some things that Lucas never wore with the tags still on them. I'm so thankful for those times when you look ahead and then find that it pays off! I really appreciate her doing it. I never learned those homemaking arts, so she is gracious to take care of that for me. Bro was really good last night. Chick-Fil-A has a fundraiser for the kids school every Thursday night where the school gets a part of the proceeds of our families or others who identify themselves as a CSLA family. I wasn't planning on going, and he was bummed, but held it together pretty well. After practice we were all starving and the other kids were going, so we went as well. It was a really good time. Teachers and parents were all there in a really relaxed mode since there was no school the next day and fall break was here! I really am glad I went and it was good to see the kids exhale.

Thankfully, today is going to be a light day, even if it kills me! I only have one bra fitting late in the day, and got all my phone follow-up's done yesterday. I hate to go out of town feeling like I've dumped on my coworkers. No sports today!!! I'm leaving here this afternoon, getting the van washed, going home and packing and then to bed by 8:30 or 9:00. The plan is to get up around 4:00 and just leave. We'll shower and get beautiful after we get there, but I just don't want to waste the whole day driving.

I'm really kind of sad about leaving Larry. He is quieter than normal (and usually he is in a coma) so this is concerning. I know he would do the dance of joy if I told him we changed our minds and decided to stay home, but I feel really strongly about being alone with the kids. Not alone without him, I'd be happy for him to go, just alone our family. I have to admit, there is some stress reduction knowing it will just be me and the kids. Pray they don't fight the whole time. This drives me nuts, particularly in the van. I am going to let them hook up their games, so I pray the drive will be quiet and quick.

I don't guess you'll hear from me until I get back. I hope to have great memories to share and some good pics. Again, please pray for safety and great weather.

Go Vols!

Shari

Why isn't it Saturday yet?

So, I go in this morning to wake my sleeping cherub and he rolls over and announces that he is mad that it isn't Saturday yet. I had to take a moment to rouse him out of the bed and into the shower, but I had to admit he was right. I'm mad it isn't the day we leave for vacation too! I guess it's easier for Brody (9 yrs old) to be mad than it is me. We are so looking forward to it, well everyone but Larry. He feels that he can't leave work for a week, and doesn't think his truck will carry him there and back, so he is staying home. He is very somber and unhappy about it, but is listening to us make plans and get excited. It has to be hard for him, Lord knows I would absolutely make his life miserable, but he is being gracious and trying to be happy for us, although I'm not sure he really is.

Work is crazy today. I have to meet with a photographer this morning, and every meeting in Admin. usually takes turns off the subject and lasts longer than normal. I hope we can come to some consensus about this today. I'm also looking forward to seeing some of the great baby photos that will grace the wall of our facility soon. This afternoon, I have to meet with the new Boot Camp for Dad's guy so I hope that is going to work out. I need someone who can market this class in the community. He seems really nice, so I'm hopeful. Robyn is helping me today, so I'm not quite so pushed.

Tonight is more of the same. Basketball from 4-6 for Lucas and then football for Brody from 6:15-8:00. I really need to be home getting stuff done, but since we had the wonderful rain yesterday, Larry says he is going to work late every night and all weekend while we are gone.

Lucas is reading to his precious 7th grade buddy today after a field trip to the Corn Maze. It's his reward trip for a great 9 weeks, and I am in shock that we have been in school that long. Lucas is really showing such initiative this year. I'm so proud of him. He entered a contest composing an essay on What College Can Do For Me. Janelle is on the committee and hinted to him yesterday that he might have won it, so keep your fingers crossed. He wins tons of UT stuff, sweat shirt, etc. He is stoked, so I hope he wins. He worked really hard on it, and it was amazingly insightful and mature, who knew? Sometimes when he is standing in front of the mirror with his boxers pulled up under his armpits making crazy faces, it's hard to believe that maturity will ever spring from that vessel, but I guess it happens in small increments and not huge ones. He is such a great kid.

Brody and I had a clash yesterday at Target. For those of you that may read this that have smaller children than me, you may think that someday battles with candy at the checkout will become easier, but I hate to tell you, they don't. I had agreed to get Brody a "treat" for having to go in Target with me to kill time during Lucas's basketball practice. When I was ready to leave (1 1/2 hrs later) I amazingly didn't have anything to purchase, but remembered that I told Bro I would get him a treat. Of course, he chose M&M's. The bag was King Size and was $1.19. Right under the shelf, there was a bag of Trick or Treat Candy. There was a huge bag of M&M's in smaller packs that was only $2.29. A much better savings. I showed this to Bro, explained that he would have some for later, but the economy of this didn't astound him. He melted down with anger, indignation and rage. I did the thing that any self respecting Mom was do....I bargained with him. I tried to show him the benefits of this for him, and if I'm being honest, also for me! We didn't see eye to eye, and enough was enough, so I told him he was getting nothing and that I was leaving. He continued to stay in the line after I had walked out of the store. I went to the doors and called his name and he announced that he wasn't leaving. I thought I was going to kill him. I had to do the counting thing that your never really sure will be effective. This did bring him into the double doors of the exit, but when he saw that I was faltering in my reserve, he retreated back into the store. This Target is much too busy to let him cross into the parking lot alone, so I waited. Finally after a few minutes he came out being a little less than horrible and informed me I a was a liar. It truly was all I could do not to knock his block off right there, but I am proud to say, I didn't raise my voice or my hand, in part because I knew that Target had a video trained on me and also because I'm trying not to lose my cool so much. After a long drive back to the school and a few kicks on the back of my seat, I told Brody that as punishment for being disrespectful and disobedient he would have to go to bed early. More meltdown. He would sit with me in the gym, probably a good move. In the car with Lucas my sweet boy returned and by the time we got home, he was fine again. Oh, the joys of ADHD. We muddled through very hard spelling words (don't the teachers know about spell check?) and then it was time for him to go to bed. Another meltdown. Where was Larry? In the basement. He later confessed that he heard Brody yelling, but didn't want to come upstairs to find out what that was all about. I had to spank (not beat, spank) him and then he went to bed. After about 10 min, I saw an envelope being shoved under my bedroom door. It was an envelope all decorated with hearts, and in it was the sweetest letter that said, "Mom, it was all my fault, I love you and I'm sorry". You know, sometimes it's hard to be tough, but I don't want to raise my kids to think they can skirt the system, and get away with being ugly. I pray I always remember the value of consistency and keeping my cool. I think sometimes that makes more of an impression than screaming and my toxic mouth. Score one for Mom, a dozen for sweet Bro who hopefully won't grow up to be a axe murderer as his grandfather predicted when he was 2!

Have a good day!!!

Shari

Summer 2008

Bring on the rain!!

I am so thrilled to see the much needed rain today! We are 10 inches below normal, and it's really effecting Larry's business. Besides new equipment, we also need some rain. I have always loved rainy days, so I'm happy!

Larry is on his way to get me for lunch. That is another perk of the rain. He is off. It's the only time we really get to spend together without the boys, so I look forward to the rainy lunches we get to share very occasionally.

The boys are busy tonight, same as last night. Lucas has finished his exams, so we aren't so pressed to get home. Lucas has basketball practice tonight and then football immediately afterwards if the rain stops. I don't know how he does it, but he loves it. I think he would be happier if football was over, but he is such a great athlete. Brody has it easy tonight. We have to study for a spelling test tomorrow and I have to get our clothes ready for packing on Friday night. We leave for the beach on Saturday, so I need to get all that together and ready to go. I would love to go to choir, but just don't see that it is going to happen unless it continues to pour and Larry stays home.

I better go check on Larry's progress over here! Thanks for reading about our crazy life!

Shari

Later.....

I have had the best time tonight adding pictures and trying to be fancy and add some stuff I can't do, but that's part of the learning process.

Another crazy day tomorrow for us Hicks! I better get to bed before I turn into a pumpkin!

God Bless,
Shari

Today

The reason that I wanted to start a blog (since you must have asked) is that we are so busy, and I recieve emails from friends and family that largely go unanswered about how the boys are and how is Larry and his business and how is my job going, etc. Well, I have seen many blog pages lately with my breastfeeding mom's, so I decided to give it a try!

Here is our crazy life in a nutshell:
Larry is working like a crazy person. His lawnmowers are all broken, and we are praying desperately for him to be able to retire SOON. We are praying for a financial miracle.
Shari is working like a crazy person at work, after work and at home. I am still a very busy Board Certified Lactation Consultant working in a small hospital. I love my job, and sometimes can't believe that they pay me for coming to work! I also teach prenatal classes, and love meeting all the great soon to be parents! I am most fulfilled and busy with my boys though. They are constantly in motion and busy with sports, school, events, friends, etc. I am so blessed to have them, but boy are the boys work!!
Lucas is a 7th grader, and is a great athelete. He is so handsome and smart and generous and funny. He is such a gentleman and makes us so proud. God truly laid His hand on Lucas and gave him so many amazing gifts and such a great personality.
Brody is a 3rd grader and is also a great athelete. His eyes would melt your heart, and it is often said that we should think about getting him into modeling. He is a beautiful boy. His sensitivity astounds me. He can't stand to think of me or his dad being hurt, emotionally or physically. He is generous to a fault and is so funny and bright. He is the heart of our home.

Today holds many things for us, as usual. Lucas is taking his last day of exams and then has basketball practice until 6:00. Brody has football practice at 6:15. In the midst of all of our sports running, our washing maching has died. We have found a used one similar to ours for only $75 and are rejoicing that we don't have to buy a "NEW" expensive one! Thank you Lord! Larry is also having trouble with his mower, and we desperately need the money for a new one. Please pray with us that this money becomes available soon!!

We are anxiously counting the days until we leave for FLORIDA!!! Larry isn't able to go, but the boys and I can't wait. Our precious friend Bev is letting us use her condo, so we are hoping to do a cheap vacation, but fun. I know it won't be long before the boys won't want to be with us as much, so I'm trying to cherish every moment I still have with them. I know soon they will think I'm stupid and an antique, but for now, Mom is still marginally cool and fun to be with (when I'm not screaming with my hair on fire).

That is pretty much it for now! I hope to add more pics soon and figure this whole thing out!

Thanks for taking time to catch up with us! If you want to take a moment to thank God your life is wonderful, check out this blog that a friend sent: http://sgirl79.blogspot.com It will literally rip your chest open and jump up and down on your heart!!! Be warned!!!!

Shari