Drunk Proposal

Alex and I drove to Brookings, which is a local college town, a few weeks ago to see a movie. We were going to go to the 2:00 show so I figured we’d leave a little early and have pizza downtown prior to hitting the snack bar at the theater.

What I didn’t realize was that this particular mommy/son date was occurring on the exact date/time as the annual pup crawl in Brookings. In case you’re wondering, a pub crawl is a very sophisticated event where local college students and brewery enthusiast around start from one end of the street and hit every bar downtown. This event is in full-swing in the early morning so by 11:00, you could say only the strong have survived.

As we were leaving the pizza parlor, a kid approaches me, with my son next to me, and proposes marriage saying “you’re so stinking hot”. If that won’t knock girl’s socks off…….

I ignored him and walked away but made sure to inform Alex is I ever caught him acting that obnoxious, I’d…..well, it wouldn’t be pretty.

Then last night, we were passing through Brookings and Alex had a friend along in the backseat. Alex informs the friend “you do not want to be down here when there is a pub crawl because there are a lot of drunks. One guy even asked my mom to marry him!!!”

To which the friend responded “Wow! He asked YOUR MOM to marry him? He MUST have been drunk”

New and Exciting News

We’ve had so much going on in our lives and I have very exciting news to share – my boyfriend and I are moving in together! I was moving to the town where he lives and we just decided to buy a house together. He is so wonderful to Alex and I and I couldn’t have asked for a better man. I always said I would NEVER date a man with kids so when he approached me, I wasn’t interested. Through time, however, he and his kids have enriched our lives.
I struggle with getting married and perhaps its fear. I’ve been praying about it and have asked God to bless our relationship, even if we never have a marriage license. I’ve been down this marriage road not once, but twice and both times, we stood in front of God, our family and friends and made vows that were under false pretenses. I’m not opposed to marriage, but I’m certainly not in a hurry. Prior to moving in with my second husband, I told him that we needed to be married before I’d move in and we had a beautiful wedding, but he forgot to mention he was a gambling addict. I should have seen the signs, but didn’t want to. With Bruce, it’s different. I see how his is with his kids, with his money, with his faith, and with his friends and family and it overwhelms me sometimes.
So, here we go with another chapter in our lives. Alex will begin school at the private catholic school in the fall and Bruce and I will begin our life together. We toured both the public and the private school and the minute we walked into the catholic school, I just knew this was where Alex needs to be. The teachers were great, the curriculum was challenging but supported with a great deal of support, and the kids were wonderful. Alex came home with three notes and told Bruce “none of them are from dudes which my mom is going to think is weird”. We spied on the kids at recess and watched Alex play with the kids as though he’d grown up with them. When its right….it’s right and all of the questions I had a week ago have been resolved.

Pictures from Easter

A few pictures from Easter weekend









Chewy and Kiki even dressed up for the special day







Fun on the Farm

Private vs. Public

I have been mulling over the decision to send Alex to a private or public school. He has been attending a public school and has received a wonderful education, but we're moving and he will have the option to attend a private school. A month ago, my mind was decided and he was going to attend the private school. Recently, however, parents who have kids in the private school have enlightened me of the politics that are involved with the school. In regards to education, I've heard wonderful things about both schools. The private school offers a much smaller classroom and more individual attention. Alex would be in a class with about 25 other students as opposed to a graduating class of around 400. However, the public school offers more in regards to arts and trade opportunities. The kids in the private school seem to be a close group of kids who look out for each other, but from what I've heard, the parents can be clicky. I really like the idea of integrating religion with education in Alex's life and although we will be living in a larger city, I love the idea of a small school. With the same token, I'm afraid of the politics involved with this private school. The other factor that weighs on my mind is Alex’s father. He’s a great dad and Alex loves hanging out with him, but education isn’t something that his dad values and I sometimes feel like I have to over compensate for that and surround Alex with a system that gives provides more individual attention.

Please give me your thoughts on both schools. I did not have the option to attend a private school so I need some outside perspectives. I've met with both administrations and again, either school will offer Alex a wonderful education.

Spring Is Here!

Have we turned the corner? Is spring really here?

Alex and I have been busy with....well with life I guess. Alex is doing so well in school and I couldn't be more proud of his accomplishments. Last year, Alex's teacher had alerted me of possible ADHD and sensory integration disorder. He was doing well in school, but his teacher was worried about problems in the future due to the fact he seemed to have a difficult time paying attention in the classroom. This year - no problems and Alex is even excited to go to school and he does his homework without an argument. Reading is still his least favorite, but he works very hard!

I'm taking 15 credits this semester. Yes....I said 15 which allows little time for a social life outside of work. However, I will be done after this semester and I'm planing on taking my GMAT in September (fingers crossed)

Alex and I paid a visit to my sister this weekend who was babysitting for a friend.



Tyson telling Gunner (my sisters dog) to stay away from his cookie!










This is what Tyson thought of Amanda telling him "no". Alex replied "mom, aren't you glad I never pouted?" Sigh, how quickly they forget....

Rental

Driving to Minnesota this past weekend, Alex saw a that read "Gezer Rental"

He said "Mom, look...that place is called Geezer Rental. I bet you can rent old people there."

I had hoped to guide him to a logical conclusion where he realized "Geezer Rental" doesn't exist. So I replied "Alex, why would someone rent and old person"

He looked at me and exclaimed "Hello mom....handicapped parking"

Weekend Fun in Minnesota

Alex and I had the most fabulous weekend....and here are the pictures to prove it! We kicked the weekend off with mom finishing her last midterm on Friday night and Alex wrapping up his basketball season Saturday morning





Then off to Minnesota to snuggle with the newest member of our family, Ryan Henry



Alex with his cousin Ryan



They melt my heart



Ryan is perfect and so incredibly sweet!! I loved every minute with him. On Sunday - it was time for some Golden Gopher Basketball! Alex and I love our college basketball and we had a blast watching the men's team beat Iowa















I love having shared interest with Alex and now that he's old enough to really follow the game and get into it, he and I have so much fun cheering for our beloved Golden Gophers. We have a date set for Thursday evening to enjoy dinner at the local sports grill to watch the Gophers take on Penn State. Thankfully, our local restaurant subscribes to the Big Ten network!

After the game, we stopped to see another addition to our family, Hazel Mae



She's so beautiful! Even though she was tired, she flashed me some smiles and allowed me to love her up for a few minutes! Aunt Terry and Kathy are very special to me - they started me on my road to earn my education, they've been the best influences for Alex, and they've guided me through so many disasters. It makes me so happy to see them become "Nana and Papa"