The game of LIFE!

So, a memory may be defined as retaining or recalling a past experience. Aren't we glad we have these memories? I can remember being a little girl, playing in the basement at my house, all by myself for hours. I had the biggest, coolest Barbie house and my Barbie was equipped with every outfit and accessory imagineable.

I can remember my first boy/girl party and whose house it was at. I can remember elementary school and being sent on the wrong bus the very first day of school. I can remember the time that my Mom spanked me and I looked at her and said: "That didn't hurt." That probably wasn't the best response, but I can remember it.

As I sit here, looking at my own children, and watching them make their own memories, I am thankful. Thankful that I am allowed this experience. Life. The thing about life is that, experience is not required. We are experiencing life everyday. Whether it is life 25 years ago, when we were playing Barbie's and doing cartwheels, or life 10 years ago when we were in college....this game is not to be taken for granted. It is always nice to stop and remember how amazing it really is.

I have no idea how I ended up where I am today, but I believe I went down this path that God helped guide me on, and helped me get through difficult levels of this game of life. He helped me score and collect points. Well, that doesn't sound right, but you get the idea! Friends and family helped somewhere along the way. It is hard to believe that I am 30 years into the game. But, I am having a great time. Life is a game. Now go play!

Adjusting to the new position...

Well, we have all heard the term soccer mom. And, I thought after I got a minivan and my son started playing soccer, that I had met the definition or requirements of that title. But, I have quickly learned that is not the case.

I do owe my husband an apology for the slight meltdown I had after the first night of baseball practice. Yes, I do want Darius to be involved and do the things that he wants to do. But, when a child wants to do it all, don't you have to draw the line somewhere? I mean, he wanted to do cub scouts, fine. But then I ended up as one of the leaders. He wanted to do soccer, and Ewan ended up as the coach. Super. And then Darius decided that he wanted to try his hand at baseball. Fantastic.

Well, with Ewan being in school, it truly means that most of this falls to me. I admire Ewan very much for sticking with school and finishing up his Master's, which will be completed in May. (I don't want to jinx him or anything, but since he pretty much get's straight A's, I think he may be safe.)

So, baseball batting practice is on Monday nights, Tuesday nights are cub scouts and soon-t0-be soccer practice, Wednesday nights are Sofia's dance night and Thursday nights will be fielding practice starting next week. So, that means, that every weeknight is officially filled up, except for Friday nights, which will hopefully remain Family Night. Saturdays are taken up by soccer games, birthday parties, Caribbean Night (which sometimes means, Caribbean afternoon into night) and Sundays, church., sometimes meetings, sometimes E has work, preparing for the new week, etc...

My wonderful husband keeps reminding me that he would be taking Darius to some of this stuff if he wasn't in class. But, the thing is...he is in class! It wouldn't be so bad if the facility wasn't CLEAR across town. Literally, couldn't get any farther away. But, I think I am just adjusting to this new lifestlye. I know I am not the only one to go through it, and won't be the last. So, I am willing to let my kids do what they enjoy and sacrifice a little bit of my sanity. I know that we will be right there, watching those games, at that dance recital, and making sure that daddy and the batmobile and mad mom in a mini-van are ready for round 2, and round 3....and round 4.... you get the idea.

Watch out for that....

SOCK BOMB!




I think we started a new fun game at our house. I was sitting on the bedroom floor, folding laundry and the kids were bored. They kept coming in the room. E was laying on the bed, and I was folding...what's with that? Anyway, I grabbed some rolled up socks and started throwing "bombs." And, I started a true explosion alright. An explosion of fun! We literally ran through the entire house, arms loaded with socks. We were hiding at every corner and I was on my own team, while Ewan was laughing at all of us. He probably would have joined us if his knee wasn't swollen to the size of a watermelon. Nonetheless, we had a great time.

The kids kept conversing about where they thought I was hiding, and when they were wrong, E and I were trying hard not to bust out laughing. The laundry room light comes on automatically when you walk by, so this kind of hindered my trying to hide, but I didn't complain too much being bombarded by sock bombs. I mean, at least they were clean!

When it got to the point that Darius was heading to his sock drawer to load up on more socks... I drew the line. I mean, the socks from the folded laundry were already out, but digging out more socks? No thanks.

Sidenote here, a really nice mustang just turned around in the cul-de-sac and it was literally the color of an orange.

Anyway, after round one of the sock bomb war, the kids were begging for me. I was sweating and needed a break, so I went into Ewan's socks and gathered up a bunch of "huge bombs" and after a few minutes, I was ready for more. I don't think it's such a good thing that I now have the kids running around saying. "bomb.bomb.bomb. bomb.bomb.ba-bomb," from Meet the Parents, but we sure had a great time!

The art of Stephanie's snow shoveling

***CAUTION: If you like to shovel snow, or do a good job at it, don't read.***

Okay, so, since I only work part-time, it stopped snowing and Ewan pretty much works circles around me, the least I could do would be to shovel the snow. I mean, I feel like it's the little things.... well, apparently this is not such a little thing.

It seems easy when you think about it, but I must have a few issues going on here. Either a) we have two really crappy shovels (one is a $30 shovel. I feel like that's an expensive shovel, but I know nothing about shovels) or b) the person operating the snow shovel is just really terrible at it.

You should see everyone else's driveway. I think I am not the only woman in the neighborhood to shovel today, but I did witness someone shoveling their driveway and they made it look effortless. And, the driveway is perfectly "clean" or really just wet looking.

So, you should see my driveway. I left a huge patch at the bottom that will remain unshoveled because I am just done. There are little snow patches everywhere, and I promise I really tried my person best because I do like things to be, not perfect, but if you are going to do something, at least do a good job, ya know?

I would take a picture if I wasn't so worn out. But, I am now drenched in sweat and my driveway still looks crappy.

There is only one good thing that came out of this: I got a decent workout and worked up a sweat.

Too Blessed to be....(you guessed it) Stressed!

TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED. Ya know, this is a very cheesy statement. But, break it down, and it really does have a lot to say.

This morning, I took some time to really stop and think about all that I have been blessed with. I have been stressed over so many different things in my life...small and large. And, looking back, I am able to see how insignificant those things really were. I am thankful that I grew up in a home that provided a strong faithful foundation, and know that these things in life would be so much harder without God.

Family and friends are definitely a go-to during tough times, but God? You can talk to him anywhere, anytime. Tell him anything, and he'll listen. His answers come, in his own time, but the answer will come. Sometimes, the answer comes along and you don't even realize it, because it may not be the one you were looking for.

I was driving home from dropping Sofia off from preschool, wishing that I would like to switch places with my husband for a day every once in awhile. I don't know how he does it. He goes to work all day, and then straight to class, and sometimes straight to play basketball. He really is too blessed to be stressed! He doesn't have time to be stressed because of all of the wonderful things he has in his life. His strong will and faith have provided him with so many opportunities. The latest opportunity has him in class tree nights a week. (Yes, tree. My favorite number tanks to a few Caribbean people in my life, that I have been Master's Graduation to you baby! I know you can't wait!

So, this "too blessed to be stressed" came out simply out of some little things. It just hit me that we are currently booked up for all weeknights, and with Ewan in class most of those nights, I get to do all of the running. It's cold, we're busy, and I'm over it... already! Monday nights are baseball batting practice, Tuesday nights: cub scouts & soon to be soccer practice, Wednesday nights: Sofia dance, Thursday nights: baseball fielding practice... Saturdays are soccer games, Sundays: church and sometimes basketball for Ewan.

Why am I even blogging about this.... 'cause I am "too blessed to be stressed!"

Shopping, Husbands, Sizes & Shoes

So, most women would probably prefer to shop for themselves, but I had a really great time shopping with my husband last night. I like to shop for him by myself, but it makes things difficult on final size/length decisions. Finding a 3XLT is not an easy feat. So, when you do find something, you almost have to not look at the price, and snatch it up! But, it makes for even more fun shopping when things are on sale, and then they are an extra 30% off AND you are actually able to find things in the right size. And the shoes, those are another story. Let's just say, you missed out a fun time.

Yesterday, Ewan and I were both off for a crazy morning with the kids. Darius' class was going to the KS History Museum and Sofia had visiting day at preschool. So, E and I both went to the museum, and then he split to go to Sofia's visiting day. The day started out very crazy because I was still waiting on approval to be off work. I was supposed to work 10:45am-2:45pm, and it took over a week to approve my time off. I learned my lesson trying to use some special time that I earned off (long story) and ended up having to make 2 trips home to enter the requests. Luckily, since I work from home, I was able to swing by and enter my requests and enjoy the day off with Daddy and Sofia.

So, after the crazy morning, we came home, sat on the couch and went back to work on Mario. It was great, but we were lazy! We had no real desire to go shopping in the freezing cold, but got a call from my Mom telling us about the great sale. So, we had no choice but to keep playing Mario until Darius got home, and then eventually get dressed and head for the mall. It was well worth the trip. We got out alone together, got some great clothes and had a little break from those kids we love so dearly. I always miss them, but am always so grateful for a little bit of time away from them.

As much fun as I had stacking up purchases for the man of the house, I may have to go and find some things for myself...

Wedding Dress

Sofia was talking about my wedding day. She was saying that Grandma Pam and Nanny brought her and Darius to where her Daddy and I got married. She was quite sure this is how it went down.

After some conversation about this big wedding day, I asked her if Mommy was wearing a pretty dress or an ugly dress. (Why I would ask this, I will never know.) She tells me that it was a pretty dress, and then changed her mind to "a little bit ugly." I had to get to the bottom of this. I asked her why the dress was "a little bit ugly" and she said that it is because it was red, and not pink. And she likes pink better. Well, that settles that. Now, I am just trying to figure out where it is that she thinks her Daddy and I got married, and where I was wearing a red dress? Uh, this is going to bug me!

Itsa me, a-Mario! Imma back!!!

Super Mario has partially taken over our lives. Well, not literally, but we have been on a coin mission for the last week, avoiding the last of the Worlds. There has been a lot of yelling, laughing, crying, googling and just plain old family fun!

Darius somehow manages to scoop up all of the best powers to be had. He runs, jumps and sacrifices his lives, all just to be the first to get a coin or jump into a penguin suit. He is our fearless leader and afraid of nothing. Ewan and I get to sit back, shake our heads and say, "Really? Really? You did all of that just for a tiny yellow coin?" And, he says that he did it just for our own good.

Sofia is known as bubble girl. She loves to float along, and "play" the game along with us. Occasionally, she will venture out of her bubble to get some power, but likes to be cozy inside the comfort of her floating bubble.

Dad is the Savior. He comes along and cleans up the mess everyone else has left behind, or he is the only one who hasn't bubbled up, or gets a one up to bring everyone back. Thank goodness for the savior! Darius would be in a world of hurt without him!

I just have fun with it, but also stress out too much. I get super frustrated if we've been working on the same level for hours, making the same mistakes over and over. I guess if anything, it helps with dedication and not giving up?

Well, World 8 is waiting and I hear some going a-ringin' so... here I go!

Caribbean Night

Well, the first Caribbean Night of 2010 is scheduled for this evening. CN seems to gain more speed as each month goes by. I am always thinking up new recipes and things to be served and Ewan is the one that puts them into action.

Tonight, we have on the menu....Guiness Ice Cream. It was our first attempt ever at homemade ice cream and the Guiness part complicated it a bit. But, we didn't mind. We had fun reading the recipe and tripling it, and then doing everything backwards and trying to go back and clarify what we meant. It was quite entertaining.

Then, we had a run in with the actual ice cream freezer. The motor kept getting stuck and would quit turning, but in the end, it worked and we have our very first batch of homemade Guiness ice cream. Ewan told me that it didn't look quite right, that it's a little "browner" than in the Caribbean, and I had to remind him that we are not in the Caribbean. We are doing our best here!

Our wonderful sister-in-law contributed to this month's Caribbean Night. They made the trip from St. Lucia to New York and were gracious enough to provide the dried sorrel flowers needed to make a yummy Caribbean "fruity" drink. The kids had a great time helping with it and stirring it up. They even made a little video to send to Grandma ' Ronica.

Only problem this time....where's the food? It may just have to be pizza.

Now, you may wonder what actually goes on at Caribbean Night. I won't share all the details, but it involves a lot of laughing, dominoes, eating, playing the wii, kids running/crawling around, movies, music and FUN!

Halfway through December already!?

So, it's been awhile. A lot has happened this month. I left my twenties, we've had two snow days already. Darius had his Christmas program. I have been working on my Christmas card list, but still haven't gotten them in the mail. Ewan completed his second to last semester. :) The list goes on....

But, all in all, things are good, and I am getting anxious about Christmas. This will be our very first Christmas in our new house, as a family. The four of us. Before we were at my Mom's, we were in the apartment and Sofia wasn't born yet, so we can't wait to wake up Christmas morning here at the new Auguste household! :)

I am pretty much done with my shopping, and have been feeling the spirit of Christmas. I want to buy presents for everyone...although that is not possible right now. I can't help it. I want to buy for the mailman, the bus driver, you name it. I think the holiday really needs to hurry up before I buy out all of the store's.

In the end, I am still able to clearly remember that Jesus is the reason for the season. :) Happy December. Merry Christmas!!!