August Joys with my Boys

August is in full swing and summer seems to be winding down.  There's something about the calendar change to this time of year, life gets busier and the last half goes much quicker than the first.

We've spent the past week getting our Junior ready for school.  That in itself seems unreal.  While his looks would pass for a college student, it seems he should still be the excited little boy awaiting his first bus ride.  Instead, he'll be driving himself to class this year.

This momma bear isn't sure how to process that just yet.  

We enjoyed our final "Mom & Son" date on Friday with lunch at our favorite sushi spot.  How I will miss those afternoons together!  Between school, his job, and the loss of our morning commute together, it'll take some creativity for quality time.  

Anyone want to teach me how to Snapchat?!

On Monday, I took a vacation day to finish shopping for what he needed.  As he has years past, my gentle giant was ever grateful and humble while browsing for clothes.  If he spied a price tag that seemed too hefty, he'd move on, whether he loved it or not.  I'd have to catch glimpses of his body language and use my sales experience to seal the deal, vowing use of a coupon to add it to our cart.

Somehow that didn't translate at the grocery store yesterday.  I should know better than to bring hungry boys, as there were lots of unnecessaries by the time we reached the register!  But Noah is such a hard working kid, who pays for so much of his own things, how could I deny him extra cans of Chunky soup and chocolate chip muffins for after school snacks.  And, of course, the perfect pack of mechanical pencils that "don't squeak" when he uses them.  

As our big boy headed to work, we got a call from my niece with an offer to watch her baby.  Well, maybe it was a request, but any time with that sweet boy seems like a reward!  His momma couldn't stay away too long but we loved seeing him for as long as he stayed.  Our doggies weren't quite sure how to react to someone so small.  Both were protective, though our smallest dog was just rather curious.  Ross, on the other hand, would sulk at the outline of his tummy time blanket and then slowly army creep closer to him.  Once his head could reach Isaiah's feet, he was content.  

The rest of Saturday was spent with my sweetie.  With the heat, we've pretty much retreated to the house and stayed lazy.  He did however move long enough to relocate from his recliner to sit by me on the couch.  Love his heart, he didn't complain about watching a romantic comedy either.  Afterward we flipped between the Olympics and crime dramas.  Hearing him mention steak earlier in the day, I made sure my grocery cart contained all the fixing for a "fancy supper" at home. We almost settled outdoors to eat but even with the sun setting the humidity was too much.  Besides, how often can you watch volleyball live in Rio and eat a steak dinner?

But the simplest joy I tucked away from yesterday was holding hands with my hubby.  I love how we still enjoy and want to be close when together.  I noticed that both of us would search the other one out, if we moved or shifted positions during the movie.  

Yes, I even broke our tech free rule to sneak a pic.

I'm thankful to have lingered through a slow Saturday, as I don't see many lazy days of summer left. This girl is ever-ready for fall and all that comes with it but I sure found lots of joy in doing much of nothing yesterday with my boys.  Welcome August, whatever joys may come....

Laughter Spree

I'm a simple gal.  As such, it doesn't take much to make me smile.

And though Friday was jam-packed, the grin I still carry is from quality time, not the quantity of things we did.

(However, in the eight short hours we had, we did get a lot accomplished.)

The day's mission was back to school shopping, specifically shoes for my son who is now wearing a size 15.  Although I could've done it on a Saturday, I took vacation time to spend some one on one with my towering teen.

Now, I don't know many teenage boys who willingly want to spend a day out with mom, much less shopping, but "Mom & Me" days are somewhat of a tradition in this house.  Hearing Noah's excitement this week, when he talked about our plans, brought joy before the day even began.

The only thing that would've made the outing better is if we weren't on a time limit but my hard-working boy had a 4:00 shift to clock in to.  And I got him there with minutes to spare!

We crammed a day of shopping, sushi, a matinee, and a stop for frozen yogurt in the few hours we had.  Noah asked for none of it, being so thankful and frugal our whole trip.

Well, actually he did simultaneously say "Orange Leaf" when I leaned over and said, "You know what would cap off this day?...."  And then we both laughed.

Laughter was a big part of our day.  Noah had me snickering at purchasing every color of shorts Academy Sports had, when we found a great deal.  Not one to care about labels, he gasped when comparing the savings shorts with a name brand.

"Why would anybody pay that much just for a logo?" he exclaimed, "I can get six pairs to this one!"

He was so price conscious, I had to persuade him to buy much of anything.  I'd watch his body language for things that caught his eye.  And then I'd show him how we'd go online, find a coupon, and save 20% at the register.

At Shoe Carnival, I walked in hopeful but worried we wouldn't find anything in his size that he liked.  To my surprise, we were in and out in 15 minutes.  Although I could've hand-picked the bright orange tennis shoes he wore out the store, he shocked me by buying some stylish slip-on canvas shoes.  My face must've questioned him because he shrugged and said, "I'm unique, Mom."

One of the highlights of the day was our ride home.  Running behind, because Noah had to sample every flavor of frozen yogurt before choosing, I was attempting to eat my treat and get him to point B on time.  Safely.  I'd scoop in a few bites (coconut and pistachio - yum) at every stoplight.  In the end, I drank the melted mixture.  Of course, mine went quicker because it was only a swirl or two.

Noah's was a heaping mound of weird concoctions.  Peanut butter and mango bobos.  Strawberry cheesecake and marshmallow creme.  For whatever reason, he thought it'd be funny to stuff a spoonful in my mouth just as I was yawning.  Now, there's two reasons this received an odd reaction from me.

One, it was gross.  I don't even want to recount the weird textures and flavor combinations my taste buds experienced.  Second, I have a really, really small mouth.  Although it was a "normal" size for him, I had ice cream coming out of my ears.  But it was too gross and cold to just swallow and I couldn't spit it out because I was driving down the road.

I was gagging and snorting.  He was laughing.  In the end, I was all but peeing my pants.  As we cornered his pizza parking lot on two wheels, he rolled out gasping for air.  It was a wonderful day that will always hold fond memories.

For after all, he reminded me this week..."Just three more years, Mom," as we were making plans for start of another school season.

Yes, this momma knows.  Much like he has a countdown to turning 16, I am holding tight to every precious moment, because I know one day I'll blink and he'll be full grown.  I'm already pushing in the brakes before this sophomore year even begins.

Time seems to go quicker with every passing year.

Case of the Mondays??

If people looked forward to Mondays as much as Fridays, the week would surely fly by faster than it does. Instead, most moan about Monday as if it were the same as a trip to dentist, which I've never really understood because I love going for a cleaning!

Anyhoo, if you're having one of those Mondays, I thought I'd treat you to some of the joys that have come my way lately.  Maybe they'll brighten up your day.  Or make you smile.  It's always better to smile than frown anyway because they say it takes more muscles to make a grumpy face...and I'm sure it causes more wrinkles!

Plus, I feel like I owe ya a post, since I wasn't very Faithful at posting this past Friday.  More on that below!

May seem funny to start out with on a post about joy but my weekend started a little weepy.  You see, my baby is starting High School this week.  My itty bitty, little mouse, once tiny now towering boy is all-most grown-up and now has one foot out the door.  It's hard for this momma to grasp that her strapping guy of 6 feet 2 1/2 inches has reached this stage of life.

At the same time, this season he's in brings up a lot of bittersweet memories about Austin that add to the water works.  Freshman orientation is about the last happy high school memory we have of our first born, now gone from this world.  He left us just three short months later.

So you can imagine that I was biting my lip extra hard at an effort to keep it all together Thursday night, as we walked Noah around his new school.

But several things helped me in the process, like seeing the excitement on Noah's face.  I don't know why but I think he's been ready for high school since preschool.  Orientation didn't start until 5 pm but he was calling me after lunch, wanting to know when we'd leave.  Much to our surprise, Tina even got teary-eyed, as we drove past the middle school.  She commented that she didn't know if she was ready for her "little cousin" to be this big.  That girl never cries at things like this but it hugged my heart at how close they've become. It helped distract her tears, in finding excitement by showing him around and introducing him to teachers.  Each of them got a chuckle at her "little cousin" introduction, given that he's two feet taller than she.
And of course, at the close of the night, once we settled into the car to head home, I glanced down at my phone to see the battery on 23%.  Austin's way of saying hello and that he'll most certainly be watching over his little brother.

The rest of the weekend continued to be focused on our two teens, as we began and completed their school shopping in one giant swoop.  It was sweaty and hectic, crowded and chaotic, and my feet hurt more with each step.  I'd say it reminded me again and again how old I'm becoming but even my energetic dancer complained about her aching toes, so I know it meant we walked A LOT.  But in the mix of the hustle and bustle, we did share some great moments and lots of laughs.

Slug bug punches.  Bohemian Rhapsody.  White Castle Crave Case.  

Funny Tshirts.  

The search for the biggest - and smallest - shoes in the store.  

Impromptu visit with my sister's babies and extra sweet hugs from Baby Rae.  

Fresh, yummy cherries.  Stripper pants.  Evening walk with my hubby.

School snack stock-up.

  A Tim & Tina date.

And of course....Sushi!

It was a wonderful way to spend the last free weekend before school starts 

and this momma surely enJOYed soaking up the memories!