Questions, Answers and Photos

Happy Sunday, Peeps.

Today I'm going to answer the questions from the week before and post the football pictures of Son #3.

We went to church this morning ... Son #2 plays in the band for the high schoolers. I didn't hear them today but I did hear that he did a good job. I'm glad that he enjoys that.

Church was good today .... and good for me. I don't think I shed a tear .... got a bit teary-eyed at one point but didn't really cry.

I'm finding that the meds have a lot to do with that now. I am feeling less emotional and more "flat" if that makes sense. That word just fits for me.

Not sure that I like feeling "flat" but if it keeps me from starting up a car in a closed garage I shall take it.

Maybe I'll continue to adjust and feel less flat as time goes by.

We'll see.

OK, let's start on the questions:

W asks:

What would you do if you had a child with serious anxiety?

Hi W (I've missed you!),

Wow, that is a very hard question for me. God knew that I would find that extremely hard to deal with and so none of my children experienced that. At least not before Jim died. I still think they're doing OK .... I'm the one with the anxiety now, not them.

Other than asking my pediatrician and taking them to a child therapist, I'm not sure what else I'd do, but I'd definitely do those two things.

Anonymous asked:

I was just wondering what you do about husband jobs around your house? Since my husband died 2 years ago I have pretty much just let those things go, but they are building up. For example I have 2 lights over my garage outside that have been burnt out for over a year. I have hinted the need to friends and their husbands but that has not worked. And to be honest I have trust issues with hiring someone I don't know to come do odd jobs. What if they charge too much, what if they don't know what they are doing, etc. Thanks for any advice you can give.

Hi Anon,

Well, if the jobs are pretty easy, then I do them. Or I have the Sons do them. Son #1 is a whiz around the house but he's no longer home so it's more difficult. I have called friends before and asked their husbands to help. I find that you can't hint .... you have to ask right out. And yes, that's hard. In fact, I'm horrible at it.... always have been. So I'll usually try first. If I can't find anyone to help out then I'll ask several people for the name of someone they have used and liked and charges fairly. Then I'll call that person and pay them to do the job.

I am blessed in that I have a brother who's very handy and a wonderful step-dad who only lives an hour away who can fix almost anything.

So, in a nutshell .... come right out and ask for what you need, or ask for a good recommendation.

I hope that helps.

Anonymous (who really isn't anonymous but is my sister in law!) asked...

Will C be getting his learner's permit soon? Have the kids taken a driving course on line or in person? Where was the first place P wanted to drive? Have you heard any more about them upping the driving age in TX? I'm hoping if it is going to happen, it happens before next Sept. - I'm not ready!

OK. I have a theme for my questions now- things I'm not ready for, but you have been through. What age were the girls when they were allowed to date? Curfew? Did the kids take one of those SAT preparation courses? If the school was going to take your freshman to another country with say the band (you are paying of course) would you feel that was a little young or would you roll with it? You can probably tell which way I'm leaning there. I'm thinking if the economy is in the tank, why not these trips that cost as much as my family vacation! I have a year to save, so I better start eating beans tonight!

I'm sure there are other things looming that will freak me out, but I think I am done for the day...

Love you,

A

Hi A,

I've missed you!

OK .... off we go on all of your questions!

on #3 starts Driver's Ed in November and will get his permit then. We did driving school for each of them.

The first place Son #2 wanted to drive to was his friend's house. And no, I haven't heard anything about them changing the age. That's been going around since D#1 got her license so I'm not sure if they'll ever do it.

Dating age at our house was/is/will continue to be 16.

Yes, D#2 & D#3 took the SAT course .... Son #1 may have, too .... I just don't remember. Son #2 will definitely take it.

As for the band trip .... out of the country???! Really?!!! Wow, don't tell D#1 ... she'll be quite ticked since she only got to go to Dallas! Our band has gone to Disney World and the Rose Parade, but not out of the country.

However, if my child was in the band and they did that (hopefully not every year!) then I'd probably roll with it.

Now, if it's a yearly trip .... I'd most likely skip freshman year because that sounds ridiculous.

Just my opinion.

: )

Anonymous said asked:

OK, this is a serious one . . . you hair always looks great, did you every dye it, or did you just go grey gracefully?

Hi Anon .... at this very moment all of my friends are snickering quite loudly. Yes, I dyed it. Often and various colors .... even went blonde once. I have lots of colors and lots of styles. I'm not that anxious about my hair .... I figure it's only hair. It will continue to grow and I can try something else if I don't like the current "do".

Premature grey runs in my family so I had a lot of grey in my early 30's. It wasn't until early 2007 when I decided to give it up and let it go. It was such a pain to color because it grows so fast I'd have to do it every 2 weeks.

Also, I was curious to see what it would look like, knowing that I would dye it again if it looked terrible. I also made all of my friends swear to tell me the absolute truth about what they thought. So far, in the last 2 years, I've only had one negative comment about it. I certainly don't get the positive comments about how young I look anymore, but I'm OK with that.

Every once in a while I think about coloring it again, but just don't have the energy to keep it up.

Thank you so much for the lovely compliment. I need those once in a while --- specifically about my hair --- so that I don't feel I look older than I really am. Jim had only a few grey hairs so my fear was always that I'd look older than him.

Guess that's a moot point now, right? : )

Thanks for asking.

Anonymous asked:

My AMW/Th question is how did you do cars/driving privelages once your kids were of age? Did you buy them cars or did they have to? Did you pay gas/insurance? Or did they have to use mom and dads car or share with each other? And, did they have to earn the privelage of driving by making good grades, having to run some errands, etc.

Hi Anon .... great questions.

We bought the kids used cars when school started their jr year (they were all around 16 1/2 or so by then). They paid for gas, we paid for insurance. And yes, they did have to have good grades to be able to drive. Son #2 didn't even get to take Driver's Ed until his grades came up. He just got his license and he's 17. And yes, they had to run errands any time we asked. That was part of the deal, too. And they had to do it without grumbling .... at least within ear/eye shot of us. They could grumble in their car all they wanted. : )

My Aunt asked:

What is Daughter #2 doing?

D2 is working in her college town. She's a nanny by day and does after-school care at a local elementary school in the late afternoons. She's doing this for a year to rest and try to figure out what she wants to do next year ... like grad school or mission work.

Thanks for asking and keeping up.

Miss you, Aunt C!

I think those are all of the questions .... if I missed someone please let me know.

Here are some pictures from the game the other night of my #30. I can NOT believe how much he's changed since he first started playing. Compare him now to then.

This is him getting ready to go to the 80's Dance last night. Can you guess what the shirt is supposed to represent? I know that I was extremely busy having and caring for 3 little girls in the 80's, but I don't think I was all that busy to know that no one really dressed like this!

For those of you who have been with me since the beginning of time (i.e. Sept 13, 2007 when I started the blog ... hey!! That's 2 years ago today!! Cool!), here are some photos you might find amusing because you might recall that I wrote about these doors here and here. As you can see, the saga STILL continues, proving that the male species in incapable of closing doors:

All of the above doors are to be kept shut, unless the TV is being watched, of course. The door below is supposed to be kept shut to contain the horse/dog to the kitchen/family room area. Oh, by the way .... she had her check up on Friday and she weighed in at 128. Her little sister weighs 126 and will be beating her up in no time at all:

OK, Peeps ... that's all for now. Except to tell my Dad to have a very Happy Birthday today!!!!!

Take care and I'll blog again ..... whenever I blog!