Talent Show 2017 - Take 2!

I don't know if y'all remember what happened last year during the Talent Show. If not, stop right here and read THIS. It's a pre-requisite for this blog post.

Now Evan has had other moments in his life he's gotten to practice that disappointment he learned last year. But...NEVER in my life did I think he was going to have to experience the EXACT same disappointment in the EXACT same way on that EXACT same Talent Show stage.

Evan and his friend Hudson were in the Talent Show together this year. They were performing Ghostbusters. They had been practicing for weeks and had it all down for their big performance down to their matching Ghostbusters outfits and proton packs. They were adorable.

They were the 14th act in the Talent Show. THREE other acts had used the drums before them. We knew they worked. We knew they were coming through the sound system. The extremely nice sound guy was confident which drums were being played. I had ZERO worries about this year.

Until Evan started playing and we couldn't hear him.

Y'all, I can't even explain the next 60 seconds. Evan sat up there hitting those drums as hard as he could. He knew they weren't on. He knew he wasn't being heard.

I was, again, working the music in the sound booth. I had on a headset that let me talk to the Jessica Abell and Tracy Forbes back stage. I immediately turned on my headset and said, "Y'all. This CANNOT be happening again. This CANNOT be happening again!!! How is this happening again???"

Just like last year, they went into go mode. Tracy went to work trying to figure out how we were going to stop the performance so we could fix the problem, and Jessica tried her hardest to calm me down on the headset. They both finally convince me to turn off the music in the middle of the song. Actually, I told them no a couple times because I was afraid it would totally throw them off or mess them up or (sadly) worried about how the other parents would feel if they got more 'time' on the stage than other acts.

But this ENTIRE time, Evan kept playing. He kept going. He never stopped.

But when Allison stepped on stage, I knew I had to cut the music. Poor Hudson didn't know why we stopped early. He just kinda stood there with his hands up and looked at Mrs. Betchick. Evan, though, new exactly why they stopped. Allison announced that we were having a technical difficulty and if anyone was there last year, this happened year to Evan and we were not going to have that happen again, to which Evan stood up and yelled out to over 500 people, "They are not even on!!!"

So all my friends went into momma bear mode. Tracy, Jessica, Allison, Courtney, Stephanie all went out on the stage. Let me just say, none of them knew the first thing about electric drums, but I knew exactly what they were doing. They were going out there to make sure my baby was okay.

And not just them. I had multiple friends text me while this was happening to give me so much support. It's amazing when they say, "It takes a village" how true that is. I am SO lucky to have these people in my village.

The super nice sound technician figured out in about 30 seconds that the drums had been turned off after the last act. He found the power switch and turned them back on to the cheers of everyone in the audience. The boys were finally going to get their chance. Their very own Adele moment (just to remind myself for when I read back on this in 10 years - Adele started over at the Grammy's this year. Google it, Amanda.)

Oh boy oh boy to they take their chance. They had that ENTIRE room singing along with them.

And while their performance was super impressive, I was more impressed with the resiliency AND flexibility of those two eight year olds. One of the principals, Andrea, got up after they were done and said, "They handled that better than most adults would in that situation." That made my heart swell. 

Evan, you are a great little drummer, but you are an AMAZING little human. I am so proud of you for taking that disappointment of your drums not being on and not letting it affect your character. This year, you got a 'take 2', but also remember, we can choose to take a 'take 2' anytime we want. Something happens in your life that you don't like, take a deep breath and try again. Your village, which included everyone in your family, will always be there to support you and help you back up so you can shine.

Donuts with Dad

Donuts with Dad is one of our favorite days! Why? Because it combines two things my boys could never live without. Donuts and their daddy!!

I love Donuts with Dad because it's the one day of the entire year that I get to choose the radio station on the way to school.....that AND because I love seeing these little guys brag on their daddy. But getting the car to myself is pretty cool too.

In Senior K, the kids make a book all about their dad. It's simply adorable.

Please notice the facial 'stubble'. The week this was made in Luke's class, John's electric razor broke. I am STILL dying over Luke including stubble in his picture of John.  That and the fact that his most unique feature is his warm clothes. 

 I asked about this picture. Apparently, when they play video games, Luke sits on the floor that close to the TV and John covers himself up in a blanket.

I mean, it's really pizza, but I'm glad our kids think we are this healthy.

The stubble reappeared.

Evan wrote a sweet letter to John and designed him a word cloud using words that described him.

These boys sure love their daddy and it shows!

As for me and my house, we will do the chores

2017 started off a little bumpy for me. I can't put my finger on the exact reason why, but I can generally slap my hand down to find a myriad of reasons.

One of those many reasons 2017 started off shaky was we had become busier. Evan was moved up to Rock 102 AND he started basketball. It's only church rec league, but those 2 things alone immediately take up 4 of our 7 day week. Third grade has also provided us with more opportunities to advance our study skills (that was worded so nicely....). So basically, when we already don't get home until after 5:30pm, and then try to squeeze evening practices and rehearsals on top of having to actually study, things get a little hairy and momma gets a little stressed.

And NEXT month, I will have BOTH children in sports at the same time. Baseball season is upon us! So I started looking for ways to lessen that stress now.

I have mentioned before, but I constantly look to the mommas in my life who have most recently survived visited this phase I am in. I was chatting with one about chores. Up until now, chores have always been done because you are a part of this family. You put your plate in the dishwasher after dinner. You picked up your toys. Dirty clothes always go in the basket. Little things like that. But that was not enough.

So, we started real life, you get paid, you do these things every week, kind of chores.

I had seen the meme so many times 'If you child can learn how to use an iPad, they can learn how to use a washing machine.' I would roll my eyes and say "as soon as apple makes a touch screen washing machine that can fit in their hands, sure thing."

BUT...

I get what it meant.

So, as soon as I figured out Evan was tall enough, I started training him to do his own laundry. From taking it out of the basket, carrying it downstairs, setting, loading and starting the machine, switching it to the dryer, folding AND putting it away. The first time we did this, it was SO much work on me and took all day. And the folding...it looked like someone with two hooks for hands folded his laundry. But hey, he did it and it was done.

This week was the third week he's done it by himself and it was GLORIOUS! The effort we put into getting him ready to be independent was worth it!

He also takes the recycling to the bin, unloads the dishwasher each time it's clean, and cleans his fish tank.

These four chores earn him a whopping $3-4 a week and have decreased my stress level. That alone is probably worth 10 times that, but don't tell him that.

He's seen his money start to add up. The smart entrepreneur has started asking for more chores. We'll keep adding to the list, slowly but surely.

My little rocker

Evan had his second School of Rock performance on Friday. This time, instead of sharing the stage in one big music festival, the bands got to enjoy a special time allotted just for them.

Evan's band, Shame Spiral (isn't that the worst?? I mean...the worst in an absolutely hilarious way...but still the worst) performed 4 songs. There are three drummers in his band, so he and another kid played on the first song, Bad Fish, and he played solo on the last song, All Along the Watchtower.

I didn't get ONE single picture of him playing because I was too busy recording a live video for Facebook. But MAN, does he just beam when he is on that stage. You can truly tell drumming is his passion.

As usual, he had an amazing cheering section. My boys sure are loved BIG!

I let E decide where he wanted to go for his celebration dinner. He chose El Mezcal. We dined and laughed, and drank, and celebrated.

It's so amazing to watch my kids find their gifts, talents, and passions. Seriously, one of the BEST things about being a parent. 

100th Day fun!

Friday was a HUGE day for us. First Luke had his 100th Day of School party. He had a blast!!! He had been talking about this party for a week.

They had basketball, balloon popping, fishing, a cake walk, putting green, bowling, a general store and even a cafe!

I love Mr. Cutrell's reaction to Luke's balloon pop!

Mrs. Collier takes Luke's order and Mrs. Templeton joins him for a snack!

Mrs. Martin helped Luke catch a BIG one!

As for me, I had the very important job of helping run the general store. Thankfully, my workmates were just as into showing off our wares and I was.

It was deemed THE BEST day by this little fellow.

One High; One Low

I have been so blessed to be surrounded my entire life as a mom by some amazing parents. Many offered excellent advice to me whenever I shared a struggle.

Some offered the advice without me asking....but I can forgive. ;)

Sadly, I have NO idea which amazing mother this idea came from, but I love it.

If you have boys or kids like mine, it's is like pulling teeth trying to get any information about their day out of them! I am KNOW this one word answers are going to turn into grunts soon.

Me: Hey guys! How was your day?
Them: fine
Me: Whaddya do?
Them: Stuff
Me: Who'd you play with?
Them: people
Me: Anything great happen?
Them: no
Me: Anything bad happen?
Them: no
Me: Are we done here?
Them: yeah
Me: Awesome. Good talk.

So we have started telling our High/Low. I did this when I first heard about it, but the kiddos (especially Luke) were a little too young to understand or even recall his day. So I waited and kept trying again when the mood struck.

Finally, this month it worked!!

Each night at dinner or in the car on the way home (if we aren't going to eat together that night) we talk about our one high and one low of the day. The entire family gets into it!! Each person has to pick one great amazing thing that happened to them that day and one not so great thing that happened to them that day. I like starting with the low and ending on the high, but since the game is called High/Low, the kids always start with the high.

I LOVE what it does for us as a family! It gets us talking!! Not that either one of these children has a problem talking (they.don't.stop.), but I get a little insight into their day! And what's even better is they talk to each other about their day at the dinner table!

I've been a BIG proponent of no screens at the dinner table since the kids knew what screens were, but we fell into this lull at dinner. John and I had just hurried home from work, bags were unpacked, lunches unloaded and remade, dinner started, homework cried over, dinner put on the table. To be honest...I WAS DONE talking. But this little tradition we've started got me back on track.

We started it just in the car on the way home from school. Luke got so excited to participate, he would make sure it was the first thing we did. His highs usually revolved around recess and aftercare. One day he told me his low was his group didn't follow directions. Because of that, they all had to go back to the table. Instead of focusing on what went wrong, I dove straight into some empathy training on how that made him feel, how he thought the rest of the group felt, but more importantly, how that made his teacher feel.
He felt safe talking to be about this mistake because he knew he wasn't in trouble. He was sharing about his day!!

And something else....it shows the kids that mommy and daddy's days aren't perfect either. Sometimes we have really great things happen, but other times, we have to overcome a mistake, disappointment, or just a generally yucky day. These things...these lows (and highs) will continue. It's how we deal with them that makes all the difference in the world.

I hope we can continue this little routine for years to come. I am sure there are going to be many nights that the kids don't want to tell me their high or their low, but they will always know I am here to listen, no matter what.

SNOW DAY!

We had an unexpected snow day! I mean, it was predicted by the weathermen, but for some reason, it was down played a little bit. No snow-maggedon. No weather lasagna.

But my kids heard the word snow and went into full force into prep mode. Bread and milk?? No no no...Wine store??? Nope, that's how momma preps for a snow day. These boys went into full school children snow day prep.

For those of you who live where snow is actually a thing that comes each winter, you might not be familiar with what us southerners need to do for it to actually snow. Like white flakes falling from the sky and accumulating on the ground kind of snow. But have NO fear, the Asbell brothers are here to educate you.

There are many variations of this procedure going around, so find the one that works for your region. For the Mid-South, you will need your pajamas, ice cubes, a toilet, and a metal spoon.

Pjs go on inside out, ice cubes get flushed down the toilet, and spoons are placed under your pillow, all right before bedtime. Don't question the process, people. Trust the process.

And as I always do, I posted this whole thing on social media. My friends who don't live here thought it was hysterical that this was really a thing!

But then, the comments section got even more interesting. There were debates about how many ice cubes and wooden spoons vs metal spoons. I mean...we are serious about our snow people!!

My friend who works at a local news station saw the OVER SIXTY comments and decided this needed to discussed. So, with my permission, he put it on the news' website and social thread. When I showed the boys, you would have thought it was Christmas all over again. I was just glad my toilet was clean, because when you live with THREE boys, you just never know.

Say what you will about us crazy southerners, but we git 'er dunnnnn! It worked! We woke up to bright beautiful SNOW!!!

I told the boys that they could look outside and check for snow when they woke up, but NOT to wake me up to tell me if it snowed. They didn't wake me up, but decided to get fully dressed and go outside. So after I had checked my email and texts and got confirmation we were out, I crawled back into my warm bed. That lasted about 1.5 minutes. So up and at 'em we went.

We had a great snowball fight with friends.

We made snow angels.

We rode on the sled I bought in Oct because I was convinced it would snow this year.

And NO snow day would be complete without some baking!! I don't know why I feel compelled to bake every snow day, but I do! Whether it's snowcream or cookies, I just have to make some sweets! But I LOVE how my boys want to bake with me. (Notice every ingredient is generic except the chocolate chips. I know what's important.)

Or maybe they just want to lick the spoon and mixer....hmmmm. Either way, I'll take it.

It was a great day that ended in a great way! John and I got to see Jason Isbell and his wife Amanda Shires in concert at GPAC. Such a good concert!

A perfect day in every way!