What's Up Wednesday ~ September 2016

Hello, Friends! September is nearly over and it's time to link up with Shay at Mix and Match Mama for What's Up Wednesday!  Here's what we've been doing this month.

What We're Eating This Week...My menu has changed about five times already this week due to our schedule. At this point, I'll be lucky to make it to the grocery store! I will share this tho: For some crazy reason, there was a box of Hamburger Helper {I don't normally make that kind of stuff!} in the pantry and Alise insisted on having it for supper Thursday night.  Did you know you had to add MILK to HH?  I had no idea.  It sounded gross. I was just happy I had unexpired milk in the fridge that night! Whew! Something else my mini-me is requesting: hot dogs! Yuck! We never have hot dogs because they usually give Alise a migraine, but I'm thinking since it will be for an evening meal, she should be okay. We'll see if they get added to the menu!

What I'm reminiscing about...September always reminds me of second chances and how God can bring happiness and joy out of a very bad decision. 

What I'm loving...I walked in our local neighborhood Walmart last week to get fall colored M&Ms for cookies I was baking - which they didn't have - and a huge crate of honey crisp apples hit me at the door! Made me smile {and I needed to smile that day!}. Love seeing all things fall pop up in the stores right now. We were coming home from church on Sunday and I noticed we actually had leaves in our yard! Mr. Horton better get that pool covered ASAP {we have lots of trees}!

What we've been up to...Three words: football and cheer! Here's a pic from last Friday's Disney themed pep rally! The JV squad was Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs.  I thought they were so cute!

What I'm dreading...Oh the joys of middle school! And I'm trying really hard not to be a Debbie Downer! We've had a situation where some of the girls are being bullied by another cheerleader. Heaven help me! Alise told me last week that she didn't know if she was going to try out again next year. A part of me was like, "Yay!  A normal life!" and another part of me was like, "But, Alise! This is what you've always wanted to do! You can't quit!" I just kept my mouth shut and let her ramble on. I dread her decision. Whatever it is.

What I'm working on...Getting a list of Christmas ideas together for the girls! I usually start my shopping in October.

What I'm excited about...Girls night is this weekend!  Oh, how this Mama needs it!

What I'm watching/reading...If you're a fan of Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series {like me!}, you may or may not know that there is a Bosch series on Amazon video. Wayne and I binged the first season this month and we really liked it.  We're working on season two now. The new book in the series, The Wrong Side of Goodbye releases November 1st. Of course, our TV is turned to football from Thursday to Monday nights and especially on Saturdays. Yes, we were sweating the Ole Miss v. Bama game a few weeks ago! So glad that the Crimson Tide was able to pull out a W! 

What I'm listening to...Still listening to Prime Country on XM, but I have to say that I'm a little disappointed in the Garth channel. They play his songs and the majority of them I've never heard before.  I hear his more popular songs on Prime, so that's where my dial is staying these days. Sorry, Garth! But I'll probably switch back and forth.

What I'm wearing...I surprised myself one day for work when I pulled out a red swing dress and threw a floral kimono over it that I've had for several years. I loved the look, got several compliments, and now its one of my favorite outfits! 

What I'm doing this weekend...Watching football. Going out with the girls. Working on a reading fair project. Studying.

What I'm looking forward to next month...Halloween!

What else is new...We had a horrible weekend. When Alise and I are both tired, we don't mix well together. My day to myself got cut short Saturday because she left her backpack in my car and I had to come all the way home to bring it to her so she could study and there was no sense in going back to town. Then her sassy mouth got herself grounded and ruined the date night Wayne and I had planned that evening. We decided to order a pizza and stay home for the night - she didn't want pizza! - and about an hour after eating, I was knocking on death's door with sickness. By Sunday morning, I was feeling better, but we nearly had to turn around and head back home on our way to church because of our precious eleven year old! Somebody please tell that kid to just SHUT UP and quit arguing with her parents before I really have to do bodily harm. We have five tests this week, to which she has already failed one. I'm talking, "F" for failed. She's never failed a test before. She didn't even bring books home Monday night. I do not know what has happened to my sweet and smart daughter, but needless to say, she's grounded for the remainder of the nine weeks!

In other news, Sunday afternoon D & S came over to the house and Wayne grilled burgers.  So happy to have all my girls - which, of course, includes Alise - together!  We hung out in the living room and laughed and had so much fun. D is actually in a boot right now because of her foot and I don't envy her at all, but my heart goes out to her just the same because I've been there. And on top of everything else I've got going on, S is having some "things" this week and I am just a basket case with worry. My girls are gonna be the death of me!

And so that's been our life the past month! Hope everyone is enjoying fall and this time of year. Some cooler weather actually hit our area yesterday and I was so happy! I've missed reading some of my favorite blogs lately, but life has been so busy for us. I'm hoping to resume my regular blogging schedule soon. For now, you can keep up with our crazy life on Instagram {laurahorton0120} and Snap Chat {laurahorton0120}. 

Heart Of A Tiger

I want to encourage y'all to watch, "Heart Of A Tiger" on College Football Gameday on ESPN tomorrow. If you can't watch, please record it to watch later.

Jonathon and Holley Perry attend our church and lost a baby boy last year. They chose to donate their son's organs in order to help someone else. Their son's heart ended up helping a little boy in Alabama.

The Perry's are LSU fans.
The donee's family are Auburn fans.

Be sure to catch this amazing story of unending love. God is so good!

Thoughts On Thursday

Just a few thoughts for today. Nothing big or earth shattering! Except for Tuesday night! Ha!

So, first of all, the split with Angelina and Brad. I hated it when he married her so I'm feeling no love loss for the divorce.  They were together longer than I ever thought they would be. Would love to see him back with Jennifer Aniston, but alas! After all this time, she's finally hitched now, too!

I'm seriously considering crossing over to the dark side and getting an iphone. But it has to be a big one. I LIKE big phones and I cannot lie. My old Samsung Note is driving me nuts most days. We're also thinking about getting Alise a phone, too. Still not sure I'm ready to go there yet, either.

I hate that I missed the documentary on the JonBenet Ramsey case.

So did y'all see it? Alise had NO homework Tuesday night! We didn't even have to study for one test! I felt like a new woman that night! I didn't have supper plans, so I just took a casserole out of the freezer and stuck it in the oven and about an hour later, we had lasagna and garlic bread! I got a hot bath, enjoyed a glass of wine, and watched not one, but TWO episodes of a show Wayne and I are watching together!  I kept saying, "This is so nice! This is so nice!" I wish I could have more nights like that!

I finally bought something in olive, even though I don't think it's my color at all.  More on that next week.

I haven't worn boots yet. Not even booties.  But I've decided it's ON October 1st, whether it's still 90 degrees outside or not!

As much as I absolutely HATE it, we're doing the reading fair because Alise needs the extra points.  I was OH-SO hoping we could skip out on this wonderful activity. However, I have put my foot down and utterly refused to do anything but buy the supplies she needs to finish it. #mamastired

Got some cheerleading bullying going on. I know my kid can exaggerate and is a drama queen, so I'm trying to give it some time and get some perspective about the situation, before I have a talk with the sponsor, who is a good friend of mine. I never would have thought in a million years that I would be in a situation like this because it's not how Alise is.  She's one to tell ya like it is. But I think age has got alot to do with the situation and she is not the only one being bullied. I can't say alot about it right now, but I have talked to the other mother and we are both in agreement.

Big Baby Girl is conditioning, practicing, running, going to treatment, and studying all the time. I'm putting on all the weight she's dropping. I miss her, but it's only the beginning. We'll only be able to see her at games during basketball season. She is so stinkin' funny! I'm so glad God brought her into our life. Still praying for her, too.

That's all I got, peeps! Enjoy your weekend!

Linking up with Home of Malones.

Let's Celebrate!

I could not pass this day up nor could I collect $200 without announcing that this is the very first night in over a month that we did not have any homework!  Absolutely no test to study for!  Eek!  I'm so excited that I opened a bottle of wine and I'm celebrating!

It's the little things, y'all!

Cheers!

Middle School Rant & Update

Middle School is tough.

And I only have my friends to blame for my assine thoughts that things were going to be so much better than elementary. I've been dupped! Last year, their kids were getting to attend football games, basketball games, bonfires and even everything NOT school related while me and my kid were studying our butts off and trying not to drown in 5th grade projects! I was told middle school would be so much better...not as many tests or homework.  SIKE! I dreamed of being able to run errands after work or enjoy a TV show in the evenings because we didn't have any homework. SIKE!

By last Wednesday night at 9:00, I needed a stiff drink. Alise and I had been studying since we walked through the door at 5:30 and she STILL didn't know the difference between a solid, liquid, and a gas and she's had this crap since third grade!! I was mad, I was tired, and I was aggravated. And we still had seven pages of history notes with words like Mesopotamia and Nebuchadnezzar to study. I finally had to pass the rest of the study session off to Wayne and went and got in a warm bath. I needed to be alone and just get over the situation. I had an ugly cry. And no wine to go along with it!

Maybe I'm too old, but I simply can't work all day, chauffer and carpool like I'm doing now, run from activity to activity to game and then back home to study and make sure she gets in bed at a descent time so she won't have a migraine at school. That's our life right now. We run. And we're all exhausted. This is my middle school life. I can't even beat her over the head with a notebook anymore because I'm simply too tired.

It's taken me seven years to finally realize that my kid probably won't graduate with a 4.0 like I dreamed she would. But she better get that scholarship to the University of Alabama!  Ha! I don't know how kids do it with the cheerleading and all the sports and still have some semblance of family life. And then I stop and think, "Okay, what matters most?" And then I feel guilty because I know I'm wanting her to live MY dream and not the dream that God has planned for her. I simply can't let go.

We're struggling in reading. She made a C on a test last week.  The kid has never had a C in reading, but it has always been our weaker subject.  And I don't understand it because all it is is reading a story, learning a few vocabulary words and taking a comprehension test and Alise has never struggled with comprehension. I think she's trying to read too much into the questions and not going with her first instinct. Anyway, her teacher stopped me at the ballgame Thursday night and said, "You have the sweetest daughter." I said, thank you and that I think I needed to come by and see her.  She said, "Yes, you do that. Come see me." Ms. W gave me the impression that she knew Alise could do better. So thankful that we have caring teachers at our school.

In other news, my parents came to watch Alise cheer last Thursday night at the JV game!  She was so happy to see them even though she wasn't feeling well.  I think she's getting my sinus infection!

Friday's pep rally theme was Tacky Prom and Alise was miffed that her squad didn't get to wear ugly dresses.  All in good time!  I thought they were still cute!  Ahem! I mean, tacky!

Friday afternoon, we celebrated Ashton's birthday and later that evening, we were back at the stadium for Friday Night Lights! S is becoming a Mustang fan!

On Saturday, it was all about my girls.  I spent the morning with S running errands with her and the afternoon was all about Alise.  She insisted on a Mommie/Daughter date at our favorite Italian Bistro and that's exactly what we did! Then we swung by Ulta for new mascara because of course!  All cheerleaders need to look on point! Wayne and I sweated the football game against Ole Miss, that afternoon and then S and her friends showed up to watch the ULM football game in the movie room and hang out. I made tacos, brownies, and honey bun cake at their request! I think they had a great time!

Love having my girls together under one roof! I'm still amazed at their relationship! They are truly sisters! I love how they support each other in their different sports. Alise loves to have S at her games and S gets the biggest grin when she sees her little sister wearing her ULM basketball t-shirt. 

On Sunday, God rested and so did we!  This mama needed it! I took supper to my friend, Kristin, and got my Brady fix. I dropped Alise off at church so that she could go to a "Happy Hands" party at our church.  When kids accept Christ as their Savior at our church, they get to put their hand prints on the wall of our children's wing. Alise was so excited to get to do this! It was a proud Mama moment, too!

And this middle school mama is truly learning to live for the weekends!