Mornings are a Nightmare

I had someone once tell me that when you have teens that it is like they are toddlers again.  They have to constantly be watched and it seems they become helpless again.  Unfortunately, my teens are starting to lead me to believe this. 

It is funny how in elementary school, they kids never had any problems getting up for school, but now that I have two teens, my mornings are a nightmare.  My daughter gets up at 6:30 in the morning to her alarm and then moves to the couch until about 7:00.  At 7:00 I start bugging her to get up and get ready for school.  I used to have to only wake her up once, but now she is impossible.  Mornings have turned me into a nagging mom threatening my daughter that she had better get up.  I have even bought cappuccino that she likes to get her to wake up in the morning.  I am to a point where a caffeine addiction is better than my killing her and going to jail. 

As for my son, he gets up easier, but cannot seem to consistently set his alarm or get up to it.  So, I find myself most days, waking him up at 7:15 because he didn't set his alarm.  On days he does set his alarm, I have to end up going to his room and turning it off because he will not get out of bed to turn it off.  He lays in bed for a couple of minutes before he actually gets up and sometimes I do have to nag him a little bit too. 

I am considering getting a bull horn to blare in the morning so that I can save my voice from having nag the kids to get up.  Any parents out there have a good solution on how to wake up teens?

Support Team Dylan

 

On December 23, the Taylor's learned a word that no one with a son wants to hear far less have invade their lives. Adrenoleukodystrophy, is a genetic disorder that preys unmercifully on boys, rearing it's ugly head in mid childhood. This disease previously offered little hope, but the specialists at Amplatz Children's Hospital feel a bone marrow transplant is Dylan's best hope.

Dylan and his fami...ly have a long journey ahead of them physically and emotionally. Dylan was blessed to have received his bone marrow transplant on Valentine's Day, but he will require a lifetime of care. In the first six months post transplant the doctors anticipate Dylan needing recurrent hospitalizations due to infections and associated illness. He and his family will need to remain in Minnesota for a minimum of six months to ensure he is stable enough to return home to Florida.

The initial expenses related to Dylan's transplant are estimated to be $60,000 above and beyond what their insurance will cover. Reality is it will probably exceed that estimate quickly. Amplatz Children's Hospital is tending to Dylan's physical needs and recognized the Taylor's would need additional assistance to help ensure Dylan has the best outcome possible. They referred his parents to COTA, a not for profit organization the fundraises in honor of patients such as Dylan.

Last night a group of Team Dylan volunteers met with a COTA representative, Amy, and learned about the rays of hope COTA provide to transplant families in need. When you donate to Dylan via COTA 100% of your donation is made available to Dylan and his family to use toward transplant related expenses immediately and long-term. All contributions are tax deductible, and can be submitted by check directly to COTA or via their online payment option.

Paul and Sara will not directly ask for financial assistance from us, but I can't imagine facing the challenges they are and having to ask for help too, it would be unbearable. So I will ask that you please include Dylan and his family in your prayers and contribute to Dylan's COTA account. Remember, there is no donation too small, as my grandmother used to say every little bit counts.

By donatong to COTA in honor of Dylan, you will be making a difference in the life of a very special child!

Thank you.

You can visit the COTA webpage for more info and to make donations at:

www.COTAforDylanBishopT.com

 

Peacocks

We have a flock of peacocks that are wild in my neighborhood.  They usually hang out a couple of blocks from my house, but they decided to visit my street one day last week, so I got some pics. 

Had a Soccer Weekend and Gearing Up for Another One

We just got home today from a soccer tournament in Gainesville, FL.  The girls played well but must not have made the proper sacrifices to lady luck because she was definitely not on their side.  One games in which we tied, our team had at least 5 shots on goal that missed by mere inches.  Our only loss was due to a controversial reversal of an off side call.  Needless to say, our girls were upset to lose.  We did not go on to the finals, but the girls played well and that is what matters most. 

Next weekend we have the 2nd round of the Region Cup playoffs.  So, it will be another weekend of soccer.  Hopefully lady luck will be on the girls' side for those playoffs...

Soccer, Baseball and now Track!

My daughter is starting track today with her middle school.  It will be interesting how this will work out since she is playing soccer on two teams already.  The regular soccer season has not started yet for the spring, but her team has already played in the region cup for the 1st round and is moving on to the 2nd round.  Also, we have a tournament out of town this weekend(I am thankful that John has a 21 year old son that house sits), so we are in full swing with soccer. 

I keep teasing my daughter that she will be an iron woman soon since she is in soccer and plays games for 2 teams U13 comp girls and the U13 boys team (co-ed?) and she has P.E. everyday at school and now she is starting track.  In fact, on Mondays and Thursdays I will have to pick her up from school after track and take her directly to soccer practice.  Overall, I think it will be good for her though.  Of course she will have to keep her grades up too. 

The only real issue I have with the schedule is that I am missing out on some of my son's baseball games because I have to be at soccer practices with my daughter.  Oh well, I guess that is part of parenthood. 

I did watch one of my son's baseball games on Monday.  They lost, but as a team they played really well.  They had a rough 1st inning as the pitcher was trying to settle in, but other than that, it was a very close game.  I think that my son's team will do quite well this year.  My son played especially well, which I figured he would since he played pretty well before, but got contact just after baseball season last year, so his hitting has improved significantly. 

Doggie Diet!

I took my beloved dog, Hunter,  to the vet the other day for his check up.  I got the lecture about his gaining weight in the last year.  The vets definitely lecture more than human doctors, so I got quite an earful.  So, of course, I promised to be a good parent and put my furry son on a doggie diet. 

I am measuring his dry food everyday and he is not supposed to have any snacks.  I know John will have a really hard time with that, so I am cutting back the allotment for the dry food even more so that if John lets Hunter cheat, then he will not gain weight.

Poor Hunter however really hates his dry food, but I am not switching him to something that he likes better because he is on an organic person quality food.  We switched him last year when he really started aging (he is now over 10 years old) and the better food helped him a lot. So, whether he likes it or not, he is stuck with it. 

Yesterday was Hunter's first day on his diet and he was not happy.  John comes home for lunch everyday and usually gives Hunter ham and cheese when he is making a sandwich.  Hunter was totally holding a grudge when John did not share.  Then, for dinner we had pork steaks and Hunter did not even get the little bits the kids couldn't eat.  He was mortified.  Instead he got steamed cauliflower stalks that had the florets taken off.  Yes, my dog likes steamed cauliflower.  He begrudgingly age the cauliflower when he realized he was not getting any of the pork.  Oh yeah, his other snack was lettuce...yes, lettuce.  When I was taking lettuce scraps out the the compost bin, he was begging for them, so I gave them to him not ever thinking he would eat them.  But, I was wrong.  My dog actually sad down in the grass and ate 2 pieces of lettuce (the hard crunch white part).  So, I guess he is getting desperate. 

Today, he was outside so could not beg from John at lunch.  He seems kinda depressed though.  The good news though is that he can still take his vitamins, which he considers treats.  He was thrilled to get those this morning...

Need To Sell Banners for Baseball

My son needs to sell a banner for a fundraiser for his baseball team.  If you own a business and want advertising in Melbourne, Florida, the cost is $300 for a banner to be made and hung on the fence at Florida Air Academy during baseball games.  The renewal fee after the first year is $200 annually until the sign needs to be replaced when it would be $300 again to cover the replacement fee. 

So, if you have $300 in your advertising budget and want to pay for a banner, please contact me.  By the way, if you want to check out the school, you can go to their website at www.flair.com

A Violent Soccer Weekend

My daughter's soccer team was in the Region Cup this weekend.  They played well and are moving on to the next round.  I was really disappointed with some of the other teams and parents though.  I could not believe the amount of trash talking on the field from two of the other teams and one parent on the sidelines was being very RUDE.  In fact one team of girls were pretty much taking swings on our girls when the ball was not in play and the refs were looking the other way.  I have never seen such a violent soccer game. 

I did find out that my daughter has a temper to match her red hair.  She had to sit out a little of the game to calm down because she wanted to get even with a couple of girls that kept slapping and punching her during the game.  At one point one of my daughter's teammates had to slam a girl onto the ground because the other team had 3 girls on her and 2 of them had their arms locked on her and she could not move.  If the other team was not so violent, our girl definitely would have gotten a yellow or red card.  She just got a warning because the refs saw that she was practically getting mugged.  Needless to say, after the slam down, they did not mess with that girl too much anymore.   

My question is, who are these parents and coaches that allow their kids to be brutes in soccer.  I am sorry but this is not football, there is no need for violence on the soccer field.  Those parents and coaches that allow for that kind of play should be ashamed of themselves.  These are 12 & 13 year old girls and you guys are teaching them to use violence in a non-violent sport....pathetic.

Wildfire Season

Here we are in Florida again wanting rain since we have had a recent problem with wildfires.  I am sure you saw in the news Sunday that there was a multi-car pile up in I-75 near Gainsville that left 11 dead.  Needless to say, wildfires can be very dangerous.  It is not just the fire itself that is dangerous but can also be the smoke and lack of visibility that caused the crashes on Sunday.  Those of us with any kind of allergies or respiratory problems definitely have a harder time dealing with the smoke too.  The repercussions of the wildfires are more than most people realize. 

Unfortunately mother nature allows and sometimes even encourages wildfires.  It is part of the cycle of life.  Do you know that there are certain seeds that will not even germinate unless they are exposed to fire? Wildfires provide germination and fertilizer for a wooded area, not to mention that it lessons congestion of growth so that those plants and trees that survive will now thrive.  Strange how destruction can be useful. 

In Florida, we often have planned burns.  The government agency plans where to burn and had fire crews on site to make sure the fire is contained.  These planned burns regenerate growth but also clear out areas that are presenting the right conditions for an possible out of control wildfire.  The planned burns are a win/win situation as long as they stay in control and the smoke does not harm people. 

I just hope that we get a significant amount of rain soon so that the burns will be extinguished.   Let's all do a rain dance to try to get it started. 

I Was Wrong on That One

Well, my predictions for voting yesterday were totally off.  I guess I could never be a political analyst.  Oh well, good thing I am good at other things :)

This is not the first time I was ever wrong and certainly will not be the last.  So, I will shake it off and move on.  So, when have you ever been wrong?  What were the circumstances and how did it feel?  Sometimes I admit that it just feels lousy.  Luckily in this instance there was really no bearing on anybody in particular so, no big deal. 

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!