Another March Madness post

Yep, it is the yearly March Madness post from the Powell house. March, May, December....repeat. This year we have had enough going on to kill a plow horse. We have soccer, speech therapy, kung fu, rodeo, Caleb's birthday, doctor appointments, baby showers, meetings, and our own Griswold Vegas Vacation to name a few.

But this month, cakes have ruled my thoughts. This year, as in years past, Caleb wanted a Mario themed cake. We had not planned on throwing him a birthday party this year, as we will be spending his birthday in Las Vegas attending the Monster Jam World Finals...(insert your biggest redneck yee-haw here). His grandmother offered to have some of our family over for a Sunday lunch and celebrate his birthday then. This means that I must provide a cake. Yes I have made a few of our family cakes, but for the most part, my friend Jenny has made them. Unfortunately, she is no longer making cakes, so I accept the challenge. That is, until Caleb came up with his cake of choice....Mario. I told him that I refuse to have a Mario cake 3 years in a row and if he was so insistent, he could pick another character to base the cake on. What is his choice? Bowser! Are you kidding me with that? Does this child know that my cake decorating skills are limited, beginner at best?

Anyway, Friday and Saturday I will be making two cakes. One for Caleb and one for my parents' Joy Ride party they have every year. Hopefully that one will be a little more simple and less time consuming than a BOWSER cake! To describe my previous birthday cake bakery skills, I have included pictures as evidence... beware....

The middle picture is of Jansen on his 1st birthday, but for the life of me, I can't seem to find the picture of his actual cake. It was shaped like a party hat and with the same colors of blue and green. Caleb's 1st (Sports) cake and 3rd (Batman) cake was made by me, 2nd (the Wiggles) and 4th (Bob the Builder) cakes were done by a family friend, and his 5th and 6th (Mario) were made by Jenny. I made Jansen's 1st (Party Hat), and Jenny made his 2nd (race car), 3rd (Cars), and 4th (American Idol).

Inspiring words....

Since I was a child, I have always gravitated to the scripture written in Proverbs...31:30 to be exact. "Charm is deceptive and beauty is vain. But a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised." Everyone seems to have a favorite verse or quotation and this is definitely mine. But today I began to think about this verse and what it truly means. How often do I live as this verse suggests? The answer to me is painful to realize but necessary to admit. Not often. Not even close to often.

As I began to read Proverbs 31 as a grown woman, and no longer a youth, I am struck by how descriptive it is. It is very clear to me at this point in my life of how things should be. I am so often obsessed with my own individuality and stubborn independence, that I lose sight of the "plan". Of course, this is my personality, and aspects of it I love, however I want to be a better person. Over the course of the last 5 years, my family has leaned further and further away from our traditional upbringing. There are aspects of that upbringing that I would not change, and some that as a more aware adult, need changing.

That said, my new favorite verse is from the same chapter in Proverbs.
"She watches over the affairs of her house and does not eat the bread of idleness"
-Proverbs 31:27.
Now the women's liberation movement may feel that this is sexist, submissive, and inappropriate for today's Modern Woman. And they may be right for many women out there. For me, the best thing that came of the movement is the ability to choose. As thankful as I am for my college education that can open doors for me, I am just as thankful for the right to choose the path that is right for me as an individual. What is right for me is to be home with my children, nurturing them and being attentive, and managing our household. I feel peace in this.

Side note: I needed to use up some leftovers and threw together this dinner inspired by another blogger's recipe:
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 chopped onion
1/2 taco seasoning packet
1/2 can corn
1/2 can kidney beans
1/2 can refried beans
Brown the meat with the onion. Mix in taco seasoning, corn, and beans and heat through. Pour in an 8X8 baking dish. Cover with 5-6 uncooked biscuits and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-22 minutes.

It was mighty tasty and mighty thrifty. This meal cost $3.70 to make, Josh and I ate it for dinner, Josh took a serving with him to work tonight, and there are two servings left for tomorrow. How awesome is that???? Watch out world....I am working on my wicked cooking skills!

Weight loss

Josh and I started on a mission to lose weight three weeks ago. We have decided that enough is enough and we want to be healthier. This comes at a fantastic time for me, since the two of us work really well together when we are on a mission. The trick to this, is to keep motivated, so we are taking a quick cruise. No one wants to be flabby in a bathing suit for 4 days!

We are both doing well so far but I do notice that we are both a little more irritable than usual. Josh has lost 18 pounds already and I have lost 3.5. I can't complain about my slow weight loss, because my metabolism hates me. It always has. I can gain 3 pounds in a day, but it will take me a month to lose it. Slow and steady.

In other Powell happenings:

• Caleb has begun walking to and from school by himself or with other children. I stand at the end of the street and watch him walk all the way to school...a whole 2 blocks.
• This weekend's soccer double header ended in two wins...Caleb blocked three goals as goalie, and did some impressive dribbling. He is beginning to learn the skills of the game.
• Jansen has changed to being right handed. Although he has a preference for doing things with his left hand, in working with him on writing, he is more stable with his right hand. Let the re-teaching begin.
• We are counting down the days until the Black Eyed Peas concert, and then to Las Vegas!
• I have begun a back yard overhaul...ants and all.

Some things I take for granted...

Often times I think many parents take advantage of the little things that their children do. Of course there are the One-Up parents, who talk non-stop about their children and how much better they are than yours. Trust me, I have no problem with parents that talk about their kids a lot. When one has young children, the majority of their lives are run by children: their sleeping and eating patterns, schoolwork, daycare, school programs, sports and activities. That is just your life at the time.

But what I often wonder about is the families that just have normal children. And by normal, I mean neurotypical children. I find myself wondering about Caleb a lot and what my hopes and dreams are for him. More often than not, I wonder about the little basic things, that I wonder if some people take for granted. Some of the things that Caleb has done in the past year: going up to the top of the McDonalds playground, playing soccer, getting a hair cut without screaming, telling two jokes, going across the monkey bars by himself, attending a birthday party without a meltdown, and he finally learned to ride a bike (I cried like a baby). These things are incredible accomplishments for him...I mean, honestly, sleeping through the night is an accomplishment for him.

I look forward to continuing to gently push him to try new things. He loves soccer, and loves going to his college classes, and I hope that he will try to play an instrument...maybe. We really hope to find something that gives him a strong sense of accomplishment. He is just not the typical kid that we can say...Hey you are going to college. I mean, college is very important to us as a family, and I can only dream that he would be capable of going. We are going to talk as if he were going, as see where that takes him.

Our other goal is to have a playdate with one of the kids in his class once Spring rolls around. Caleb doesn't really see the point of it, but maybe he will come around.

Let the games begin....

My boys are officially scheduled enough. Mom's taxi service is out in full force and will be cruising to a town near you. This spring Caleb is taking two enrichment classes at the college (cooking and archery) and is playing soccer. Jansen has speech therapy two days a week and started Kung Fu three weeks ago. Jansen is really excited to learn all the cool Kung Fu moves, and Caleb just wants to be active. He will be playing soccer in Lake Jackson this season because Richwood isn't offering a Spring league. Caleb didn't care where he played, just as long as he played.

School craziness is upon us and we cannot wait for our Las Vegas trip. It will be a quick 4 day trip, but fun none-the-less. We are blessed beyond words!

In a land of testosterone

As millions of moms with boys will attest, raising a gaggle of young boys is a major undertaking. Whether you have 2, 3, 4, or more boys, you know this to be true. I, growing up as an only child, was surrounded by girly things and girly problems. From dolls to makeup, emotional tantrums and tears, calling friends just to talk to enjoying having clean hands, my life went on as any typical girl's would. Although, to my parents' detriment, I had a horrible sarcastic attitude with a fiercly strong will.

Now, happy with my attitude and strong will, I see this displayed in my youngest son with a vengence. Although at this point he does not think I am completely ridiculous, he does display a "my way or the high way" disposition. Thank goodness for Garnier, who has made the perfect match of hair coloring for my head.

Boys are unbelievable, even at 4 and 7. The beginning of my day often begins with walking into their rooms and exclaiming, "what is that smell?". We simply cannot have many nice things as boys are tactile and tend to seek and destroy. They fight like cats and dogs, wrestle each other to the ground, can break a brand new toy within 2 minutes, expend endless amounts of energy, ruin pair after pair of jeans to holes in the knees and grass stains, keep feathers and rocks in their pockets, but are blissfully black and white. Their emotions are held on their sleeves and have sensitive egos, but they are not grudge holders.

I remember myself as a growing girl, and for that I am thankful that my days consist of Transformers, Super Mario Brothers, Soccer, Kung Fu, and even the accidents from faulty aim.

Unexpected goodies

Jansen is growing like a weed and can't seem to stay the same size for very long. He began the winter with a yellow coat that his brother used last year, and it is already too small for him only a month and a half later. Of course, in south Texas, we rarely need more than a good hooded sweater for the "winter", and when looking in my childrens' closets...there they are. However, this winter for us has been unusually wet and cold. So Jansen and I went on a mission to buy two new coats, one for him and one for me, preferably some that do dual duty for rain as well as cold.

We tried the Ross, JCPenney, The Children's Place, Target, and finally Kohls. Nothing for me, but ding, ding, ding....a huge rack of 80% boys winter wear. We found warm sweaters for $5.40 and his new all weather jacket for $10. That's right, TEN DOLLARS! WHOOHOO. We practically ran to the cashier.

Then Tuesday, I took my mom to the dentist, and killed some time at one of the thrift stores in town. Guess what? Brand new Adidas soccer cleats for Caleb for $1.00. That's right, ONE DOLLAR! Today, after I had my hida scan at the hospital, I went to the Bargain Box, because I love that place and I still hadn't found myself a heavy, all-weather coat. Yep, I found one! So excited am I. What was my grand total after leaving the store with: A women's heavy, all-weather coat, a new prayer book for Caleb (he LOVES to read), winter pajamas for Jansen (pajama day is Friday at his school), and a sweater for Caleb??????? My total was $9.20! DOUBLE WOOHOOO!!!!

Realized that I work best off a list. I keep a magnetic notepad on the fridge and write down things that we need and people's birthdays and such throughout the year and try to stick to buying only those things, and then look until I find it. Christmas, birthdays, and showers sneak up on people, so we keep a section of the closet for gifts I find during the year. Even though Jansen's birthday is in May, I usually find something early on sale in January and keep it until May. Every year, I use everything in that closet and then start in January building it back up. It's January...beware, I am shopping for deals! There are lots of babies to buy for this year! :)