It is What it Is

Yesterday was a successful, productive day for the Tharpe family. We survived the first day of school and all that comes with it. I cannot believe I have a 2nd grader!

On Sunday afternoon, Noah started to whine and say that he didn't want to go to school. Then that night we were getting his clothes ready, and he remembered that his Nonna bought him a new pair of shoes for school. Don't you remember the feeling you got as a kid when you got a new pair of shoes? And these were not just any shoes....poor baby has been deprived and these were his first pair of light up shoes...Luminators, to be exact! He ran in there, put them on to see how fast they would make him run, and then said, "Man, to think I was nervous about starting school...not anymore!!" 

Maybe I need to get me a pair, and I'll be more excited too.  For some reason, I had a hard time when I dropped him off yesterday. I'm not going to lie, I even had thoughts of homeschool. But that was short-lived, and I quickly came to my senses. I love being with my kids, but I don't think I am disciplined enough for that!

Guess what else happened yesterday? After two weeks of attempting to clean and get organized, I finally finished! I was so excited to be done and I knew it wasn't going to last long, so I kept the kids out of the house until bedtime just so I could savor one evening of it being that way.

That hall closet is completely organized, and I now know where everything is...including the five decks of Phase 10 cards that I found. It feels good to know that the next time I decide to waste a good 2-3 hours of my life, I won't have to go out and buy a new deck.  

But you know what did not feel good...discovering a dead mouse underneath all of those shelves in the process.  And on top of that, finding it while Dustin wasn't home to handle it! I tried to coerce sister into disposing of it, but she refused. So I put my big girl panties on, grabbed a long craft wire, tapped that bad boy right into a target bag, and then ran like the wind to get that thing out of my hands and into the trashcans outside. Lord knows how long it had been there, and I don't know how it didn't stink!

(iphone pic)

I still cringe just looking at this picture. I came back in, covered the floor with baby powder, vacuumed it, and tried not to think about what had just taken place.  I know it's gross, and I probably shouldn't be telling people, but it happened! 

It is what it is!

Those five words have become quite meaningful to my family here lately. I didn't realize it, but when Deacon was born, my grandmother had a really hard time believing and accepting the fact that he had Down Syndrome.  She and my dad were having a conversation about it and he told her, "It is what it is." She said that those words just really helped her and stuck with her, and the day that she found out that her cancer was back, she told my mom that story and said, "This just is what it is." I'm not great with talking about things like that, so instead I just wanted to get her a little something to let her know I was thinking about her. I was in TJMaxx, and I decided to go look for an inspirational coffee cup, since I know how much she loves her coffee. And what do you know....

Tell me God wasn't in that! Of course I hesitated to get it, because that is not typically something you would give someone for inspirational purposes, but it meant something to her, and she loved it! Now it has just kind of become our family slogan. In fact, my brother called me yesterday to tell me that he got his own interesting version of it when he was driving through town and saw a pimped out vehicle with those words written across the back window in big, gold letters that appeared to be similar to the magnetic ones that you would put on a refrigerator. The Lord really does work in mysterious ways!

Speaking of my grandmother, she was supposed to begin her treatment today, but there were a few setbacks. Please pray for her and for the Doctors as they decide the best course of treatment for her.

We've been trying to spend as much time together as we possibly can while she is still feeling well, so we've been all about some family, good food, and fun around here lately.

Speaking of having fun, at 9:00A.M. last Wednesday (while still on a coffee high) my friend, Kelly, and I decided that it would be fun to all go bowling that night after church. We were pumped about it! However, at 9:00P.M. after a long day of grocery shopping, Dr. visits, and cooking for the church, we did not have the same enthusiasm and were wondering what the heck we were thinking! We sucked it up, carried on with the plan, and had a good time. I enjoy bowling, but I am way better at it on the Wii than in real life.

In addition to bowling, we have spent the last of our summer days reading...

Discovering our toes and trying to eat them...

 And holding our own bottle..."Go big boy!"

And tonight, something magical happened...I cooked dinner! So what if it was just a jar of Pace Picante' Sauce mixed with some taco seasoning and thrown over some frozen chicken breasts in a crock pot. It made a dang good burrito, and if Dustin hadn't asked how I made it, he would have thought that I really worked hard! Thank you, A.J., for that recipe! I even threw in some homemade guacamole to go with it. 

After dinner I went outside with the kids to play for a bit.

Then Daddy came outside for a watermelon picnic....

That somehow went terribly wrong!

And then resulted in having to spray the kids off with the water hose before they could come inside.

And that is when my redneck husband decided to give the kids their bath right there in the backyard!  At that point, I had to go inside to avoid the humiliation should a neighbor drive by. Since, as you can clearly see, we have had fence posts for almost a year now and still no fence. We aren't quite ready to give up the extra yard yet...at least that is the excuse we like to give.

  

Yes, we may be the white trash of the neighborhood, but....

It is what it is!