I embarrassed my daughter again.........

So, Friday night was the Upwards basketball league awards ceremony. Claudia is a cheerleader and Ethan has been playing basketball. So at the ceremony the cheerleaders do a dance. Last year they just did a few cheers and that was it. This year Claudia has not wanted me to see what they were doing. I wasn't really that pumped about it, I mean I've seen her do the cheers every week at the games. We get there and they get on stage and the music starts. It's not the regular music that they usually play so I was a little intrigued. About the middle of the song, all the other girls kneel down and Claudia and 4 other girls start doing a dance. I was SPEECH LESS (for about a second.) First of all, I had no idea that Claudia had any sort of rhythm, second of all, she is the shyest child I know and she is shaking her thing for the whole audience. The next thing I know I'm on my feet and yelling at the top of my lungs!! I literally could not stop myself, I was so proud. Well, after the thing I rush up to Claudia and I'm going on and on about how great she was. First thing out of her mouth is "I was looking at you mom, but as soon as I saw you stand up I looked the other way because I knew you were going to embarrass me!" The only thing I have to say is.... go on and get used to it because I can't stop myself. If I would have known what she was going to be doing, it could have been a lot worse. I would have been there right in front of the stage with my video camera. So I tell her to be thankful I was surprised.

Mom of the year here....

You know how we all know that men are big babies when they get sick right? Well, what I was not aware of was that it starts at a very young age. Ethan has been sick for the last few days and "holy mess" he's a handful. Bless his heart, I know he feels bad but the whining is getting crazy! At first I thought it was just a virus so we didn't do much for him, just gave him Tylenol and let him sleep alot. Well, today he was whining, whining, whining.....so I decided to take him to the dr. mainly to get him to be quiet. Wait for it....mom of the year here....he has STREP. So, I'm feeling horrible because he has actually been very sick. Then the doctor looks at me and asks if I want a shot or medication. The medication was one that he would have to take 3 times a day for 10 days. Now, for those of you who know Ethan usually a shot is totally not an option. However, this time I knew he had been sick for a long time and if he took the shot he would feel better much faster. So, without making eye contact with Ethan I told the doctor we wanted a shot. After the doctor leaves the room to get the nurse I look over at E and seriously, if looks could kill I would be dead. I have never seen a child look so mean. I wanted to take a picture but I was a little nervous that his eyes would be red and we might see little horns sticking out of his head. I'm not even going to go into detail about the actual shot process, not fun. We are out in the waiting room afterwards because we have to stay for 20 minutes to make sure he doesn't have a reaction. He just looks at me and says "I can't look at you, I'm so mad at you right now." So of course when we left I took him and bought him an ice cream cone.

Who Am I???

So, I decided to start crocheting. I had lovely pictures in my head of making beautiful afghans and scarfs and some day becoming a household name because of my mad creative skills. Ethan told me he would wear a sweater I made for him, all was good. BTW, I will keep that tidbit of information to share with a girlfriend later on down the road. But, let's stick to the story. I go to Hobby Lobby to pick out my stuff. To my great amazement, Vanna White has a line of yarn. What?!? I know. I was excited too. I picked out 4 colors, a whole package of crochet needles and a "how to" book. I was ready to go. I mean really, you put the yarn on a hook, loop it through and voila....a beautiful creation. WRONG, this crap is hard. And by hard I don't mean, oops I made a little mistake, it's fixable, let's get on with the project. No, I don't know how anyone can do this, my "creations" look like wadded up gobs of yarn. I have yanked the yarn out, thrown the book and said a few choice words more than once.



After several failed attempts, I finally get the hang of it. I've got a straight stitch and I learned a double stitch (sorry for all you losers who don't understand the terms, it's a really cool thing!) What I didn't realize is that after you make a stitch and come back down it you have to go up again, which for the life of me I can't figure out. I've watched videos on youtube and these old ladies are doing it so fast talking about how anyone can do it, it's so easy, blah, blah, blah....WRONG. My goal is to make a pot holder before the end of 2010. I know that's a lofty goal but I feel I can achieve it if I work at it everyday.

Yes, I am THAT mom...

So yesterday was our upwards games. Let me start by telling you we were at the gym for 3 hours. Not fun. Ethan played at 1:00 and Claudia cheered at 3:00. Made for a long afternoon. This was the first year that Ethan has played basketball. Now, I've always made fun of the parents who were so into everything, yelling, pointing, mad at the refs....etc. I mean, come on, they are kids and it's just a game, right? Another thing you might need to know is they play for upward which is a CHURCH league. So, in I come ready to just sit back and watch Ethan do his thing. About 10 minutes into the game I realize I'm the only one standing up and yelling, not to mention hitting the guy next to me (who happened to be E's dad, so not that upset over that one) and just overall bringing much attention to myself. I could not help it! Ethan's team lost (by a lot) they don't keep score "officially" but I kept up with it. After the game I found myself giving E pointers for the next game. For those of you that know me well, you will understand why the previous sentence is absolutely hilarious. We have another game next week so I'm already talking to myself about how I'm going to have to calm down a bit and tone it down! It was fun though and E had a great time! Of course, this is the second year that Claudia has cheered and she was beautiful and great as always. I learned a long time ago not to yell for her, she hates it, seriously. Ethan on the other hand is not embarrassed, yet. Give him time, if I don't calm down I'm sure he's going to be acting like he doesn't know who I am! I didn't get any pictures to put up, I was a little busy, but I'll get some at the next game and put them on.

Why yes, they are that smart....Thank you for asking!

Today was awards assembly at school. This was the first time that Ethan was recognized for more than behavior and attendance, they now count his grades also. I know everyone says their kids are the smartest, cutest, yada, yada, yada........well, mine are and I have the proof! Ethan received; All A Honor Roll, Perfect Attendance (for those of you thinking this is a nerd award, WRONG, it shows dedication) and Citizenship, which is for good behavior (shock I know!) Claudia received; A,B Honor and Perfect Attendance (they are too old to get awards for being good.) I often laugh at the parents and grandparents that come to these events at school. Mind you, the ceremony started at 8:30, these parents were waving and blowing kisses to their kids like it had been weeks since they had seen them, not 30 minutes ago when they dropped them off. They are also taking pictures of every little thing, it's so sad. Actually, I have to sit on my hands so I won't do the same thing......... It's like you walk in there and you become THAT mom. You all know what I mean, the kind of person that actually makes you embarrassed for yourself. It is unstoppable, something happens when you see your kid up on that stage and somebody else takes over, at least my kids are not ashamed of me now, they actually wave back. I'm going to have to get it in check though before they start acting like they don't know who I am. I'm very proud of both of them and they worked really hard for these awards. This pictures are actually from the house, the ones I took at school didn't turn out so well. I don't think it had anything to do with me pushing people out of the way to get up front to get the best picture......who knows.

Going serious on ya for a bit.....

As all of you know, we are a blended family. The current living situation is as follows: I share 50/50 custody with my kids dad so they are back and forth between our houses. (thank God we live close to each other) We also have my step-daughter, Kennedy, that lives here full time and our youngest we see whenever possible. However, my husband currently works in North Carolina and we are all here in Maumelle. When you are growing up you have so many visions of what your life will be like....The perfect husband who loves you all the time no matter what....the 2 beautiful kids (boy and girl) and the beautiful house in the suburbs and maybe even a minivan (you are welcome sis). The husband goes off to work and the mom takes care of the kids, the house, and is great at everything she does. At night after dinner, the family sits around and plays a game or watches TV. This was my vision. I had a HUGE wake up call. I got divorced.......which by the way I was the first one to do in my family. Not a title I longed for. I made a decision up front to get along with my kids dad no matter what, to make the kids happy, that I have accomplished and we work well together. Here comes the part no one prepares you for. You find a great guy. Then what? We all know when you marry, you inherit in-laws, it's a given. However when you re-marry you also gain children and now you have to figure out how to make it all work. NOT EASY. Throw a husband who works out of town in there and, well you get the picture. This has been the most eye opening, learning experience I have ever had, to say the least. When you have children, you look at other kids and think "I would never let my kid do that" or "no one is as great as my kids" and you surely think you would never be able to love a kid that didn't come from you as much as you love your bio children. I have learned to never say never! Now, don't get me wrong, my kids are the greatest, they are the smartest and they are the most beautiful loving kids I've ever laid eyes on. The funny thing is though, I didn't give birth to more than 2 children but I have 3 living with me and I love them all the same and think the same of them as if I had everyone of them since they were born. You don't realize how much you can love and handle until you open your heart and your mind and let it all in. My family unfortunately is more the norm now than not. While I have worried that divorce would scar our children and make them think that was the way out, I've found that as long as they are loved, safe and taken care of, they need nothing else. My family is different and I would not ask for anything else. My kids (bio or not) are the best thing that has happened to me and I think that anyone who has the pleasure of knowing them has been blessed in some way. WOW, I'm not usually sentimental, girly...whatever you wish to call this. I figured this is my blog though and it's for sharing my life and this is what you get! (I only have 2 followers who happen to be my sister and my best friend!) Here is the icing on the cake....not only did I gain a wonderful daughter to add to my life, I gained her father who is absolutely and completely everything a girl could ever hope for. This is also a good understanding of the title of the blog, pruitts-barnetts....we might have different last names floating around here but we are truely, undoubtely a whole family just as much as one that is "normal".

Snow days!

Remember back in the day when the weather man would tell you it was going to snow and you would get all excited only to wake up to nothing the next day? Well, it is now that time in my kids life when they are starting to hear that stuff. Back in the day we were never creative and I believe I know now why we never had that many snow days and were always let down. We didn't have the secret formula. Kennedy and Claudia came home today with the ultimate way to make it snow. Who knew there were things we needed to do on our part to make it happen?!? This is how it all started out.......We have to get one piece of ice for each toilet....Claudia held the ice and dropped it into the toilet while Kennedy and Ethan chanted "snow"......Then we all had to get spoons and place them face up under the pillows (apparently face down will not do the trick) and last we have to wear our pajamas backwards but not inside out (that too is very important). Now I also have to participate in this because if it doesn't happen it would be my fault and three grumpy kids blaming me for having to go to school is not my idea of a good start to the day. We will see what happens..........