How Are you? A Truly Blessed Season

 A dear FB friend asked me how I was today. Often, people say, "How are you?" but they are just being polite, not actually inquiring as to your wellbeing. And to those people, the only correct answer is, "Fine, thank you. How are you?" However, this is a friend who really wants to hear a truthful, specific answer. Like, how I *really* am right now. And after a moment of reflection, here was my response.

How's life?

~Overall, pretty good. We've got our heads above water financially for the first time in years. Dan has largely settled down and when he isn't working, he's hanging out with the family. Derek is emerging from the sulky early teen years and is spending more time with us, has rediscovered his sense of humor, and has even left the house a few times in the last few weeks. In fact, Dan and Derek are currently sitting in the LR playing Minecraft together, and we already have an expansion of Dominion on the table for board-game playing later tonight. I'm loving my job at Acton, even on the days that drive me crazy. It is good to be needed and feel like what you are doing is making a difference. And frankly, making decent money doesn't really hurt my feelings either. 😉

I've been really enjoying this season of 'non-active parenting' with The BIGS and their ladies. We have breakfast together once a week, plus pizza and movie nights on Sundays, we all ride motorcycles together whenever the weather and schedules allow, and each of the boys pop in and out of the house in the evenings a few times a week. It just feels like everything is right with the world when your grown children want to hang out with you, while still being mature and independent adults. Sometimes, you just KNOW that a particular season of your life is fleeting, and you want to cherish every moment. And that's where we are currently. It's pretty great. 

Dungeon Mayhem: Monster Madness

 Gaming with this guy. First he whooped me three times at Dungeon Mayhem with the Monster Madness expansion, and then I snuck right past him to win a game of Unstable Unicorns with the Dragon expansion.

#GameNerds
#BoardGameNerds
#DTSlick
#ManCrewHouse

Sweet Sweet Sunday

 Ahh, Sweet Sweet Sunday, how I love thee! Sundays look a lot different than they used to around here. With Corona still raging around us, church is meeting virtually and that frees up some of our time. With me back at work and Patrick working a full time gig these days, we've switched our previous Thursday morning breakfasts to Sundays. 
Today, we enjoyed pumpkin pancakes and scrambled eggs, plus hot tea and coffee of course, together with us 3, plus Pat, Cynterra, Mark, and Chris. We enjoyed our tasty breakfast and then played Dominion with the Alchemy expansion for the first time. The Alchemy expansion is fantastic and we all enjoyed it quite a bit. 
Later, all the people wandered off to do their own activities, and Dan went to help Ricky with some home improvement projects. David and Makenzie popped through to say hi and work on his new-to-him police motorcycle, and then they also headed out for an afternoon of adventures. I cleaned this and that, did some laundry and dishes, read for a while, and enjoyed some uninterrupted time to listen to Pandora. (I also got tested for Corona today, but that wasn't the best part of my day, LOL)
At 5, people started to trickle back in while I was preparing pizza ingredients and dough. We discussed lots of movie choices, and decided on watching Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure to prepare for watching Bill and Ted Face the Music, that I got for Christmas. By 7, we were all eating our own pizzas, cozy in the darkened living room, while laughing at Bill and Ted's. And now, Derek is lounging in his room, Dan is watching tv, and I'm using a few free minutes to blog about our day. 
Friends, life is good, especially if you're willing to look around a little. One good thing about the Corona Quarantine is having less distractions and more time to spend with your family and close friends. 

God is good. All the time. Yes and Amen

Quarantine Goals

 It seems we’re all going to have a little extra free time in the next few days. What are you doing with it? As with most things, this girl needs a plan. Mostly so that I don’t just mindlessly binge watch Netflix while I snack myself straight into diabetes. Also, a plan helps me feel more like I’m in control of something, and if you know any of the Smith girls, you know we all enjoy the illusion of control. LOL! So here’s a few things I put on my to do list to give some order to my days and so that when this nonsense is over and someone asks me what I did while I was at home for a week, I’ll have something more to say then, “I dunno...nothing.”

Quarantine Goals:

•Put together 7 Wonders Box Organizer

•Learn to play both expansions for 7 Wonders

•Play a Game together every day

•Read a book for every 2 days that we are home, including Sahara, that arrived in my mailbox today.

•Not contribute to mass panic, despair, or dismay but to bring cheer and reassurance to all those I “see” online..

•Stay hydrated, get some sun, eat my veggies and supplements each day, and stay on my regular sleeping schedule.

•Post on IG and FB each day, and perhaps take up blogging again.

•Sing, Praise, Worship, and read my Bible every day.

•Try a new recipe, or 3.

•Do a small workout each day: WiiFit, take a walk, have a dance party, lift weights, do some yard work, whatever.

•Catch up on the latest quarterly issue of Simplify Magazine.

•Re-Pot my plants that have grown over the winter.

•Deep clean or declutter one room each day.

•Homeschool Lite with DT: Khan and Reading each day plus memorization practice.

•Do 1 load of laundry, 1 load of dishes, and swish and swipe 1 bathroom each day.

•Stay in contact with my people and make adjustments as necessary to meet their needs.

•Hang out with Hercules when he is around.

•Work at the office as needed.

Do you have any quarantine goals? Share them here

#CoronaVirusPandemic2020

#QuarantineGoals

#INeedAList

#WhatsOnYourList

#IRefuseToLiveInFear

It's the Little Things: Day 284

 

I want to focus on the good things this year.

All the things people get right.

All the times that everything works out just perfectly after we assumed disaster had already struck.

All the times that the right word was spoken at the right moment.

So, let's celebrate those little moments together, shall we?

• It is a really good day of school after a few that chased rabbit trails and ended up being more character training than following our curriculum.
•  It is having a new friend over for dinner, even though it was unplanned.
• It's having a free evening to host company since our community group was canceled this week. 
• It's having your grown children bring their friends over for you to dress their wounds when they've had an unfortunate experience with bare skin and a rough sidewalk. 
• It's having Hercules eat at the table with me two nights in a row. 
• It's the major rearranging that's been going on all week being finished and the dust settling now that everything is in it's new place. 
• It's having the house ready for Dastroyah, PattyCakes and NayNay to each have their own room. 

What's on YOUR little things list?

Catching Up with Us Meyer's Sept 2018 Edition

Hey friends, it's been a hot minute, hasn't it? Life keeps on rolling, whether we participate or not, so we might as well play along, right? Anywho, September has been packed full of the exciting and the mundane, so here's a quick overview to get everyone caught back up. 

~Hercules: Is still unemployed in terms of not working for an official business but continues to be the busiest unemployed person I know. He's completed 2 engine swaps this month, fixed up a new-to-us car that he and Dastroyah collaborated on for me, fixed Pat's car 3 times, and Nathan's at least twice and is working on Dastroyah's Datsun as I type this. He's also helped Roger, Teresa and Karen move, put together an estimate to repair a home damaged by flooding, put in new carpet for 2 people and repaired a car for Tommy and Alex from church. Everyone in the family has working AC in their car now (If they are set up for it) thanks to a new technique he learned recently. He's worked on Ricky's old 270 car and a motorcycle that Ricky wants to buy from David. He is considering going into business with Joelle and opening their own little handy-man/auto repair storefront. Somewhere in there, he's made time to hang out with DT playing Mine-Craft, celebrate our 22nd anniversary, attend church and community group, and always be present for Pizza and Movie Night each week as we plow through the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. 

~Mama K: I'm tired just trying to remember everything Dan has been doing. LOL! I also worked my 30-35 hours a week with Jodi, did a solid 4 weeks of school with DT and Mr T., ran the house, decorated for Autumn, cut all the hair, attended swing dancing on Tuesday evenings, Sister-Girl Night on Wednesdays, enjoyed Community Group each Thursday, hosted Game Night on Fridays and church on Sundays. Jody Stolp, Ruby Eley and I did a FULL DAY of batch cooking last Saturday and while we wore ourselves completely out, we had a ball and prepared a full freezer's worth of breakfast foods, which are now being inhaled at an alarming rate by The Man Crew and Friends. (Look for a separate post regarding the baking day soon.) I also FINALLY FINISHED my #HotMess challenge project of getting the SOC room ready to use as a scrap-booking counter so I can leave my supplies out all the time. *Victory dance* I even managed to sort some books, clothes, and other things and filled my donation box to overflowing twice over. So not to toot my own horn, but TOOT TOOT, I was pretty productive this month, too. 

~Patrick: Patrick remains elusive after his grumpy sorta-kinda-maybe move out at the beginning of the summer over the lack of Internet at the MCH. He's been sleeping at Nathan's for weeks and weeks and has recently crossed the street to hang out at The Hooligan House. He comes home to shower, do his laundry, and eat all the food out of the fridge. He also comes home to ask Dan to help him with car projects, and for Pizza and Movies Night. Jodi and I are considering asking him to take school pics of Mr. T and Slick.

~Derek: Derek is working his way through the 7th grade and making progress by leaps and bounds. His tablet and/or Mine Craft consumes most of the rest of his time, if I allow it...because riding your bike/rollerblading/pogo sticking isn't that much fun by himself, and it's still too hot for Mama to intentionally spend much time outside. He did get to attend Home School Day at the Rockin' Jump Trampoline park and enjoyed himself immensely. 

~Dastroyah: Dastroyah still prefers not to be talked about much, but I think it's safe to say that he's working on motorcycle and car projects, still working at the gym, and he attends Pizza and Movie Nights each week.

 Yes, we're *those* people. The crazy ones that homeschool. Because we like it. Because we like our children. Because we think that it's our job as parents (and not the government's) to raise our children. So here we are, 18 years in...

If you are interested in what we are using this year, you are in the right place. Here is an overview of what we are doing for the 2018-2019 school year.
Derek is a 7th grader this year and Titus is a 5th grader. Both have learning struggles so they end up about on the same level, which is currently hovering around an upper 3rd/lower 4th grade level. But we made MUCH progress last year and are hoping to see massive gains again this year. 
Jodi and I are sharing the teaching time again this year with my Derek and her Titus. It's good for each of them to have a class mate, and to have a variety of teachers and styles. So, without further ado...

DEREK (and Titus):

• We are continuing to use our beloved My Father's World for our core curriculum. It covers Bible/character training, geography, history, science, art, music and our read-aloud books. We are in year 3 of the 5 year cycle called Rome to the Reformation. It can be found here. It was generously given to us by one of our homeschooling friends and I filled the gaps with the MFW gift certificate I had from work last year's homeschooling conference. I teach in the morning while Jodi is running errands, visiting students at school, and doing her housekeeping. Jodi teaches in the early afternoon while I do office work. We are following the public school schedule since James is in public school and it also keeps our work/school schedule simple in terms of when Jodi will have clients in the office and I will be at work.
• Jodi teaches in the early afternoons and is writing curriculum specifically for Derek and Titus to cover Language Arts and Arithmetic, with a special focus on writing. She is using the "What Your ___Grader Needs to Know" series as a starting point and adding from there. This year we are using the 2nd and 3rd grade books for language arts and using the 4th and 5th grade books for math. We are also using Teaching Textbooks Grade 5 as a way to cover some of the basics and reinforce the math concepts that Jodi is teaching during the afternoons.
• Derek and Titus are learning some Spanish this year and we are using the DuoLingo phone app to allow them some independent learning time. They are both soaking it up like little sponges and are teaching us new things weekly.
• Extra Curriculars include: Lego Club/Board Game Day/Camps at Learn For a Lifetime, Game Night, Jump dates at Rockin' Jump on Homeschool Day, play dates with friends (and each other) and whatever else their mothers think up for them.  
  
  
  That pretty well sums up what we are doing this school year. If we add or change anything, I'll update the page.

So...A Funny Thing Happened Last Night

After I posted this photo...

First Family Photo after moving to NM in 2007. Derek 2, Dan, David almost 10, Patrick 8.5, Kristy

 ...on FB earlier this week to celebrate our 11 year anniversary of living in the great state of New Mexico, I had several requests for a humorous photo remake. And so, here in all of it's radiant and ridiculous glory is that much requested photo.

Derek 13, Dan, David nearly 21, Patrick 19.5, Kristy

You're welcome.

This super silly photo brings me so much happiness that there are no words.

None at all.

Just a bubble of laughter ever time I look at it, and a deep abiding joy that my family is just as it is. Silly, loud, occasionally obnoxious (okay, perhaps more often than occasionally) loyal, hard-working, and some of the very best people I know. *See Gentleman Savage* Every single of them would give you the shirt off of their back, tow and /or repair your car, feed your belly, snuggle your baby, laugh with you, tell you when you've messed up but that it's okay and they know how to help you fix it, cry with you and in general love you like you've never been loved before.

And THAT is a legacy I'm comfortable with being part of every single day.

#100HappyDays2018: Day 89

#100HappyDays: Day 89
The much requested photo remake of our family from 11 years ago. It’s not a great photo, but well, neither was the original. LOL!
#100DaysOfSummer
#TheManCrew
#PhotoRemake
#100HappyDays2018

 

PS. Yes, I'm aware that this picture is already up on the blog, but since I'm all about complete sets, I can't leave this out of the #100HappyDays2018 series. Thank you for kindly overlooking my neurosis. 

#100HappyDays2018: Day 87

#100HappyDays: Day 87
A birthday party for J and T at Chuck E Cheese’s. The BIGS attended, hilarity ensued and fun was had by all.
#100DaysOfSummer
#TheBIGS
#JamesAndTitus
#BirthdayParty
#100HappyDays2018

#100HappyDays2018: Day 78

#100HappyDays: Day 78
My child showed me a picture he liked from a book he was reading...on purpose.

This.

Is.

Huge.

#100DaysOfSummer
#ReadingOnPurpose
#Homeschool
#100HappyDays2018

#100HappyDays2018: Day 67

#100HappyDays2018: Day 67

#100HappyDays: Day 67
Birthday celebration, round two for this guy. Minecraft with Dad all day today. His gift from Dad and Mama K was several packs of the much anticipated and often requested Pokémon cards. He was pretty excited. He mentioned that he needs some energy cards to make complete decks, so they are on the way, courtesy of eBay.
Happy birthday, Slick!

#100DaysOfSummer

#DTStrong
#Slick
#Pokemon
#100HappyDays2018

PS. anyone want to teach me how to play Pokémon?

— feeling happy with Derek MeYeR at The Man Crew House.

 

#100HappyDays2018: Day 65

 

#100HappyDays2018: Day 65

 A Happy Days photo mixed with a recent Throw Back Thursday post. Our current at-home family. Hercules, Mama K, PattyCakes and Slick at the races for Independence Day. Green flag racing, friends, glow sticks and fireworks. Not a bad way to spend an evening. It's one of our very favorite traditions. 

#100HappyDays2018: Day 64

#100HappyDays: Day 64
Happy 13th birthday, Derek! Gummy bears and Pokémon cards for the win. Thanks Grandma!
#100DaysOfSummer
#DTStrong
#Birthday
#NewTeenager
#100HappyDays2018

 

#100HappyDays2018: Day 63

 

#100HappyDays 2018: Day 63

These three guys, who have been together non-stop for the last week. They get along really well (most of the time) and are generally cooperative and easygoing. Tonight, they played together and wandered the downtown plaza getting some fresh air while I delightedly watched all The BIGS swing dance with the pretty girls...and each other. 😁 Dastroyah, PattyCakes and Nathan had a ball and I woo-hoo-ed and shouted encouragements until I was nearly hoarse. Good times! 💃

#Cousins
#TheBIGS
#Brothers
#SwingOnThePlaza
#100DaysOfSummer
#100HappyDays2018

— attending Swing on the Plaza at Plaza de Las Cruces.

 

#100HappyDays2018: Day 58

#100HappyDays: Day 58
These happy hooligans. Makes my heart happy.
#100DaysOfSummet
#ThreeHeadedMonster
#Cousins
#100HappyDays2018

#100HappyDays2018: Day 56

#100HappyDays: Day 56
These three stair-step cousins playing at the plaza tonight.
#100DaysOfSummer
#SwingOnThePlaza
#Cousins
#100HappyDays2018

Titus~just turned 10, DT~12, James~15

It's the Little Things: Day 198

I want to focus on the good things this year.

All the things people get right.
All the times that everything works out just perfectly after we assumed disaster had already struck.
All the times that the right word was spoken at the right moment.
So, let's celebrate those little moments together, shall we? 

• How can this year already be more than half over? I'm enjoying this blog series so much. It has become one of my little things. I don't get to post it as often as I'd like since I can't blog from my phone or my tablet, but whenever I get the chance to review some of my blessings, that's a blessing in itself. 
• It's as simple as a Pandora music station that plays only songs you love and gets smarter and smarter the more you play it. (Currently playing, Ernie Haase and Signature Sound radio.)
• It's a week on my own at the office. Which isn't necessarily a little thing, since it allows Jodi to have a week of stay-cation, but her trust in me to handle the students is a wonderful gift. 
• It's Hercules and DT spending a whole day together playing Minecraft and hanging out. Mama got to work in peace and they had a ball together. And neither of those is a little thing. 
• It's a hilarious Facetime visit with my 'Shua, Lauren and Caden. Little Punk was NOT all about sitting still to talk to {Grand}Mama K. At. ALL. But it was fun to visit with 'Shua and Lauren in their new house looking so happy and content. 
• It's getting a gift of candy corn from one of my this-week-only students. 
• It's my breakfast nook roof not leaking anymore thanks to some extra attention for Dan earlier this month. This is NOT a little thing, but I'm mentioning it just the same. Monsoon season is upon us and it's raining at least for a while nearly every day, so this repair came at just the right time. Thank you, Dan!
• It's an hour to blog in between students. And with DT at home with Dan again today, it's only interrupted by the office phone ringing. And that's good news for the business so that's okay with me. 
• It's pulling random ingredients from the fridge while I'm still sleepy and bleary-eyed this morning and once I woke up, realizing I've got ingredients to make a spinach salad topped with honey-chipotle chicken tenders, tomatoes, cucumber, zesty Italian dressing and Cheez-It crackers as croutons. Not bad, indeed. 
• It's looking forward to "Swing on the Plaza" tonight if I'm not too tired. Free swing dance lessons, followed by 2 hours of music and room to dance. Dastroyah recently discovered swing dancing (with Z Benson's help) and it has changed his life. Even if I don't have the energy to dance, just enjoying the weather and watching the youngsters dance will be pleasant. Plus, food trucks will be there with Taco Tuesday specials. One can hardly go wrong in that environment. LOL! 

All of these and more make up my little things list this week. Isn't it so difficult to not see the blessings once you start looking? What's on your little things list today? 

 

#100HappyDays2018: Day 47

 

#100HappyDays: Day 47
An evening well spent playing Road to Mexico Dominos with my favorite youngest biological child. 💚

#100DaysOfSummer
#Dominos
#100HappyDays2018

It's the Little Things: Day 184

I want to focus on the good things this year.

All the things people get right.
All the times that everything works out just perfectly after we assumed disaster had already struck.
All the times that the right word was spoken at the right moment.
So, let's celebrate those little moments together, shall we?

• It's a successful day of work, which involved making kites, walking to the park, watching Mary Poppins, and laughing at the kiddos antics.
• It's being SO ridiculously grateful for Air Conditioning in this insanely hot and humid (for Cruces) summer that we are enjoying. 
• It's having an easy peasy and tasty dinner ready to eat in 5 minutes.
• It's having big kids that means I can slip off to Starbucks around the corner to enjoy a free iced tea and blog for an hour (or two).
• It's that same big kid that still enjoys having me read him bedtime stories. I KNOW I'm on borrowed time and I'm trying to soak up every minute. 
• It's a friend requesting that we have our annual Independence Day bbq and then donating all the money to make it happen. (We are so blessed, guys!) 
• It's celebrating with 'Shua and Lauren over the purchase of their first home and a successful and safe move last weekend. They live 6 blocks from my mom now. Woot for GiGi! 
• It's a friend offering a free Herbalife shake to help me start my weight-loss journey. And enjoying some delightful mama chatter while doing it.
• It's a bestie that calls to ask how things are going...not the socially appropriate answer of fine. How are things TRULY going? And being able to answer without fear of ridicule or a scolding reminder that others are worse off than I am right now. She's a gift, that's for sure.
• It's having brake lights that WORK again after some attention from Hercules and Dastroyah. I feel so fancy and special now! 
• It's a new sermon series by Pastor Dennis that rocked my socks off and caused me to rethink several long held ideas about my commitment to the Lord. And that's always a good thing. 

 

What's on your Little Things list?