Everyday I am proud

So this picture has Danica and I in it, but this blog is about my Boyz. Josh must have been leaning against the wall cuz he isn't that short! this year he starts his second year at Westminster College in SLC. He is passionate about learning and especially interested in music. It can consume him, practising guitar and keyboard/piano. And I wonder what he will master this year. When Alex moved to AZ and left my home, Josh stepped up as the man of the house. You know I never had to remind him when it was garbage day or the lawn needed mowed or other things like that. Josh displayed very adult behavior and just did what needed to be done. He took so much pressure off me I really appreciated. Sure miss that now!
I have to stop calling Adam my baby boy. He's over 6 feet tall and not done yet! By the time he grows into his hands and face he'll probably be 6'4"! I called it when he was little. I said he would be taller than Stephan and at 16, he is! A junior in high school he is passionate about his culinary arts program at school. Every he talks about what he made that day and what is on the menu for tomorrow. We are working on being responsible and following through on chores cuz boarding & friends are way more important to him!
Now Alex, the bearded middle child of mine has been a joy from day one! Damn good looking, bright and interesting he has a knack for making friends and sharing what he learns. He, by nature, is probably the spiritual leader of the clan. He simply shares what he learns, by whatever method, causing fascinating conversations everywhere! Hard for his sibs to be quiet when Alex is stirring the pot on religion, philosophy, ethics etc. And now he is engaged to a long-time family friend, Emily Masterson and I am uberexcited, just so you know! I told her when she moved up here from Tucson, to choose one of my sons because I wanted her for a daughter-in-law! I knew she had a thing for Alex but didn't let on! She picked him when she was 9 and just had to grow up so he would notice her amazing energy and spirit!
And the little guy in the pic, is Tegan's son, Matthew. What a personality! All kids have gifts and things they are good at. This kid is articulate at 17 months, holds conversations using big words and speaks distinctly. Of course the whole family likes to teach him new words and he uses them! If you give him anything he will say, 'Thank you,' immediately! Soooo, we give him all kinds of things! Kids smart that way!

Phone calls

Talking with Stephan, stuck in 99 degrees in going home SLC traffic, my phone beeped as Jason was calling. Steph and I talked bout getting together this weekend to work on his truck, Randy's Camarro and what time to meet and all that jazz.

When we hung up, I called Jason who wanted to bring my up to date with all his doings with car stuff and work stuff and girl stuff. i told him he is a loving guy in a relationship and someone will apprediate that at some point. He talked about the furniture he might create for someone in Las Vegas and my phone beeped with a call from Josh. So I asked Jason to think about what he might create for the Ogden Farmers Market that would have to do with our garden theme. When we hung up I called Josh back!

Josh was returning my previous call in the game of phone tag. I wanted to know if he could help me deliver flower baskets in SLC tomorrow. He is available and can help me and I mentioned that Adam may call while we were talking since I was on a roll! He said Alex would probably call me!

I had already chatted with Trevor on vacation in Vernal UT putting a new roof on his friend Scottie's house. He is so excited to create solar panels and generate energy for my greenhouse.

And I spoke with Adam and text back and forth as he needed money to buy thongs for his vacation to Flaming Gorge with friends!

So, if I could just have a moment of David's time, I will have spoken with all my sons in one day. I'll just go now to see if I can catch him...

Thinking about Morning Time...

I don't need motivation to get up in the morning. I actually love the quiet time when the house is still. I'm listening to Maximum Focus from Advanced Brain Technologies and can focus and be at peace.
However, when I need my kids to be up and out the door to school, work or to plant flower baskets, I have a few tools at hand. One is I have all the money in this crowd! If anyone wants something, they know the quickest way to get it, is to follow through with assigned chores, be kind to each other and pull their own weight! The peer pressure gets intense as one slacker will hear about it from the sibs who are taking up their aforementioned slack! they also know if they give me stress, I dig my feet in and start saying 'No!' to everything.
Mom, will you take me to a party at Kayla's house?" "Are your jobs done? Is your room clean? Is your clean laundry put away? Have you watered the baskets?" If the answer to any of these questions is 'No' I ask, "Then why are you asking me when you are not ready to go yet?"
It teaches them to follow through before asking and that what they contribute is critical to the household and I appreciate their efforts. I am also not going to be the one who takes up their slack in normal situations! So access to money and freedom are directly tied to contribution of their time and efforts.
This is especially true of school. School is their job. I expect them to go, behave, learn something and have fun doing it! Danica will set her cell phone alarm and jump up and get ready for school! She has learned she gets almost everything she asks for, because she has a great attitude about school, makes a good effort and follows through on assignments and attendence. And for the most part does this at home, too. Mostly...
Adam (pictured above at a party), on the other hand will think of every excuse some days, of why he should stay home. he doesn't feel good, the outfit he 'needs' to wear is dirty, his shoes are at his friend's house, he needs a shower, his teachers are mean, his classes are boring and here's a good one, he really wants some bonding time with the mom! Sheesh! This kid takes a bit more effort on my part.
I used to cajole and bribe and try to convince him and excuse his tardies. One day I got tired of the emotional stress and told him if he didn't get up and get moving the next day for school, I would NOT excuse his tardy, in fact I would not excuse his tardies any more. He was to plan and be on time or take the consequenses. The next day he tested me and dragged his feet and expected me to give him a ride so he wouldn't be late, but when he came out of a leisurely shower, I was already out the door! He grabbed his longboard after callling me and getting no answer.
He was late. He got an unexcused tardy and a couple more after that and ended up having to take attendence school after school and on a Saturday, which cost him money! he was a bit sullen, but it took personal experience and natural consequences for him to learn to get out the door on his own.
We don't do our kids any favors doing everything for them. As the mother of older children I can tell you they don't grow out of it until life/Mom makes them!
Speaking of older children, when my older sons were younger I did all kinds of things to get them out the door!
Jason loved to sleep in and had a heckuva time getting up in the mornings. I'd lay his clothes out, make him shower at night, send him to bed at 8:30 with a book and all kinds of things. I even hung a poster on his door that said, "Some days I wake up Grumpy and some days I let Him sleep in!"
I used to make these wholesome pumpkin, chocolate chip cookies with applesauce and whole wheat and let Jason have them for breakfast. Then it occured to me his teach might ask the class what they had for breakfast and if he said cookies, she would think Oreos/bad mother, so I told him he could have them after school if he popped out of bed and got going on time. That worked too. It's called Bribery!
Younger moms are always IM-ing emailing and calling me to find out what I did in any given circumstance. I share, we laugh, they feel better about not being alone and that someone else gets what they are going through! Thanks for this chance to think about my kids and being their mom in the morning! Oops I hear a grandbaby calling me!
Ciao, Roxy

Duct Tape the Kid to the Floor

If you have only one kid these things don't happen at home. One kid can't duct tape himself to the floor like this. It takes one or more other kids. Wierd thing is, see the foot holding him down? That's his mother, Lisa/Risa/Raegan. Huh. Good thing his favorite grandma took him to Westgates in Park City for a long weekend. Stuffed him full of yummy stuff and sent him to the pool for hours and lots of SpongeBob Square Pants with Aunt Danica! Gotta take him back to SLC so he can go to Lagoon for Frightmares. Super fun UEA Weekend for Quenton Cross.

BOYZ!

So in lieu of posting pix of my boyz, I've opted to post a placid pic, relaxing and peaceful as my boyz are anything but! So Josh is off to Westminster College this year and I'm super proud and comment on how I keep having to pick up buttons off the floor busting off my shirts in proudness. He has worked so hard for this and no one seems to recognize it in the family. Well except the mum, of course. I insisted he apply. He didn't want to- thought it would be too expensive and that he mightn't get in. His sophmore year I told him he could take any classes he liked as long as he took one marketing class with Wayne Dittmore. The man is a legend in the DECA world and when I saw he was at Jordan High, I, well ya know. Anyway, Josh took the class, loved it and jumped into marketing and DECA with both feet. He worked in the school store for 3 years, competed in every regional, and state meet. It was this year that he really caught fire. Josh Cross, Justin the Valadictorian and Trevor Larsen and another last minute arrival took Utah State DECA and headed to Atlanta GA for the international competition. So many things happened. Josh broke a tooth in his smile while there. Distracting to say the least. He still competed with his DECA Quizbowl team to beat Georgia, Arizona, to other state teams and final trounced Canada 34 to 7 to take the planet! All this while he worked 20-30 hour weeks for Larry H marketing, stayed on the honor roll, took college classes and AP classes.

Westminster openned her arms to him and I think he will have an amazing year learning and thriving in an environment meant for him. Excellence. Yesterday when I dropped him off at his dorm, with students walking by and milling about, he stood at the truck door and said, "I love you Mom and thanks for everything." Like in Elizabethtown, I clicked a mental picture, to save this memory as one of the sweeter ones in my life. As a single parent, raising him for 10 years alone, not having 2 pennies to scrape together most days, this was one of the better days of my life. And I did not cry for 7 minutes after leaving. Big Girl!