Roller coasters, storms and power outages

Has it really been a week and a day since I last blogged?  Now that I have my laptop back I really wanted to make up for lost time.  Clearly I failed miserably this week.  This week has been a roller coaster with ups and downs and never ending speed.  I ended the week realizing my hair and eyebrows need some serious attention!  Not to mention my car which reminds me every time I get in it that I need an oil change, my tires are low and I have a brake light out.  Yikes!  This week has also been an emotional one.  I can't share anything in my blog except to say all is well with my boys and husband.  I've spent many nights wide awake in bed and many mornings on my knees in prayer.  This weekend was our last weekend before basketball started and we got hit with serious storms and we had no power for 6 hours today.  This is a new week and I'm hoping for peace, calmness and lots of patience with my children - Amen! 

Nick-A-Lick

A good friend of ours, Ryan Neal, started calling Nick, Nick A Lick, last year during basketball season and the name just stuck.  At first Nick hated it but I couldn't resist walking into his room every morning and waking him up with a big "What's up Nick A Lick?"  It's our fun and affectionate name for him around the house.  Nick is loving second grade but like Jay, it's proving to be difficult for him.  He loves his teacher and he LOVES math!  He is playing basketball right now and enjoying it.  Nick is my "I'm loving life kid."  He is a joy to be around and he can usually get at least one big belly laugh from me on a daily basis.  There is a reason he's my second child..........he will be living with me longer and his spirit is exactly what I need each and every day especially as I age.  He recently got glasses (hence the picture above, doesn't he look so grown up?) but to be honest I'm not convinced he needs them.  He doesn't like wearing them and Mike is sure he can see just fine, after all his boy can hit a shooting target like no other!  Anyway, life keeps rolling on and I wish I could slow down this season in my life.  I asked Nick recently if he could stay age 7 for just a wee bit longer than a year.  He's full of energy - so much energy he can be draining and Yes kind of annoying but his 7 year old innocence and sense of humor is what I love, love, love about him.  Sometimes I wake up on Monday morning, I blink and before I know it it's Friday.  My mom told my sister and I to soak it all up as this is the best years of our life.  I can certainly agree with that! 

The Running Challenge

I blogged on Oct. 1 about the Siebert family running challenge.  Here are the results:

Jay's best 2 mile time: 15.09
My best time: 20:49

and the winner goes to Mike (big surprise).  He ran 2 miles I 14.58.  Kid you not.  Granted I think he might have had a small stroke and his knees still aren't right but he did it.  Way to go, Sieborg!

6th grade awesomeness

Since it's been so long since I last blogged I wanted to post some random pics and No we did not get a new dog but my good friend, Laura did.  She got a golden lab, Stella.  Jay adores her! 
We are now 10 weeks into the school year and how's it going for Jay?  The only word I can think of to describe the school year thus far is AWESOME!  I doubt there will ever come a time when I won't remember Jay's start into 6th grade.  You have to understand a few things about Jay.  School has been a struggle for him.  Fifth grade was well kind of a thorn in my side and his.  Jay is also my child that requires more of me - more energy, more direction, more talking......you get the idea.  Many, many times I have called my mom on the verge of tears wondering out loud to her if I'd ever get that boy raised and raised well.  I spend a lot of time on my knees in prayer for both my boys.  In early September I was in tears with Mike again questioning how we were ever going to make it through this long, winding road we call parenting.  Mike was quick to remind me we aren't going backwards, only forwards.  Sixth grade started and I noticed Jay was sailing right along.  He had good grades and very little missed assignments.  He was keeping a grueling schedule with his cross country, small group at church and school but he was juggling it all quite well.  Apparently at age 11, you really can have it all.  Ha!  Recently he was "Spartan of the week."  In order to be Spartan of the week one has to be nominated by his or her teachers for hard work, kindness towards others, good decision making skills - basically just being a good kid.  And Jay got this award!  Just last weekend he dog sat for his principal who happens to be our neighbor.  I figured if Jay was a goon at school then his principal wouldn't have asked him to take care of his dog!  Then on Oct. 30.........a day I'll say will go down in infamy for me I attended Jay's IEP meeting.  An IEP meeting can be intimidating.  You are surrounded by teachers, a psychologist and a social worker.  On average there are about eight people at a middle school IEP meeting.  The meeting started off with Jay's English teacher, Mrs. Griffin, saying Jay was polite, kind, an extremely hard worker and if she could have 20 Jay's in her classroom then she would have it made.  Jay's special ed teacher went on to say Jay is one of the hardest workers she's seen, he gives 110%  with all of his school work.  When he's in her class at the end of the day for extra help he finishes his work and then helps other students!!  His teachers said he advocates for himself, asks questions and is all and all just a good kid!  I was amazed and was just trying to soak up every second of the kind words being spoken about my son.  Then another mother contacted me just the other day to tell me how much she appreciated Jay helping her son get around school b/c her son had leg surgery and was on crutches for several weeks.  She said her son so appreciated Jay's kindness.
I'm so proud of Jay.  I feel like the woman who is trying desperately to lose weight but every week she gets on the scale only to discover she didn't lose the weight she hoped she would or she remained the exact same weight she was the week before.  Despite all her efforts there was no movement until finally one day she got on the scale and wa-la she had a colossal weight loss.  All her hard work had paid off, it just took awhile to see some of the results.  With weight loss and parenting, we all need some of those moments where we realize it's worth the blood, sweat and tears we put into it.

I'm back

For 5 weeks I have been without a computer - kid you not!  My laptop crashed and Mike's crashed at the same time - quite a catastrophe if you ask me.  But stayed tuned.  The month of October was busy but fun and there is a lot to update.

Me, myself and my Pioneer Woman

About six weeks ago I discovered The Pioneer Woman/Ree Drummond on the Food Network.  I really have no idea how I stumbled across her show but it has literally changed my life.  It's only taken me 16 years (the time I've been married to Mike) but dang it, I can now cook!  I honestly think even God could see how distressed my family was with my cooking so he might have had something to do with my new found love affair with Ree!  Through the years I have ordered cooking magazines, surfed pinterest for recipes and I have loads and loads of cookbooks but I could never get the cooking thing right.  The thing is I have desperately wanted to learn how to cook for years.  I have longed to have my family smile after a meal and say, "Wow, that was really good!"  Well........drum roll please, thanks to Ree that has finally happened.  I am cooking and cooking well and with variety!  It's all visual to me and I finally found a woman who is cooking for a meat and potatoes husband and the rest of her 4 children, who include two boys.  Plus she lives on a ranch in Oklahoma (and on a side note, Nick loves watching the show with me because he's intrigued with the ranch and what it takes to run a ranch).  I've even gone shopping with Ree (ha) and learned her tips for picking things up at the store.   My family is experiencing red bell peppers, stir fry, meatball sandwiches, etc.....What I'm most proud of is I'm able to plan things out and everyone in my family gets a hot meal and trust me, that's an accomplishment in my house when we have some kind of practice each week night.  The other night I made hot meatball sandwiches & french fries for Mike and Nick.  Mike was taking Nick to football where he met up with Jay.  I packed up some meatball sandwiches for Jay and french fries and he ate them on the field & devoured every last bite.  It does take planning and I've noticed our grocery bill is higher but I'm really enjoying it and plus we are eating healthier with more variety.  What's on the menu this weekend?  Sloppy Joe's, french silk pie, and the best green beans ever - YUMMY!

Our October challenge

The creative juices are flowing in our house!  Mike came up with a brilliant idea and for once I'm not being sarcastic (hee, hee).  His idea was to challenge Jay to a run, not just any run but Mike told Jay he can and will beat his best XC time.  Mike hung a dry erase board by our treadmill and we're off - all four of us, although Nick and I are doing it just for fun.  Yes, it does scare me a bit because Jay is 11 and Mike is 40.  I'm worried he'll stroke out on the treadmill.  So far Jay's best time is 15.09 (the distance is 2 miles).  Mike did this as a way to motivate Jay and also show him what hard works gets ya......a great sense of achievement and pride.  I would write If Mike achieves the 15.09 time but I know my husband and the proper wording is really when he achieves the 15.09 time.  He has until Oct. 30 to do it.  A certain something of Mike's is on the line.  If Mike loses then he hands this certain gift over to Jay, if Mike wins (which I'm pretty sure he will) then Jay has promised Mike he'll pay more attention to what Mike is telling him in terms of how to be your very best (notice how I didn't say the very best).  There was no way I was going to let Mike get in shape without me.  I'm sure he'll drop weight like nobody's business and I didn't want to still be feeling blah by the end of October so I'm just taking on my own challenge because plain and simple I don't run - period.  But if you look very closely in the top left hand corner you'll see my first time was 25.24 and today my 2 mile run ended in a time of 23.28!  Granted I was literally screaming "I AM DYING" by the end but I did it and I'll keep doing it.  My goal is to run 2 miles in 20 minutes.  I'll post the results at the end of October.  Oh and for giggles, Mike's running chart is in the top right hand.  Only the Sieborg would draw such neat lines with his goal clearly written at the bottom of his chart.