VIP Ethen at Range 702

A week ago Jonathon took Ethen to an event and he met the owner of Range 702, a local indoor gun range in Las Vegas. It helped that Ethen was wearing a Range 702 hat, because the owner invited Ethen to a VIP experience at the range. Today Jonathon took Ethen to the range and he was allowed to shoot a SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon, a Marine favorite) and an MP5! Did I mention that Lil’man has some skills… check out these shots!

SAW

DEAD BAD GUY!

MP5

Look at this face!!!

ANOTHER DEAD BAD GUY!

The next pool shark?!?!

I Must Be Crazy

So it began. I starting my third semester at College of Southern Nevada today. This time I’m taking 14 credits (ACK!!!) here’s what my schedule looks like:

BUS106: Business English (an online course to help me learn to write a resume apparently)

BUS273: Business Law (a course requirement to make me either A. pull my hair out. B. die from boredom. C. go postal or D. All of the above.)

HHP123: Anatomy & Physiology (not sure how learning the structure and function of the human body correlates to a degree in business, but OK)

HHP124: Anatomy & Physiology Lab (as all science requirements, a lab)

MGT103: Introduction to Small Business Management (not to be confused with Business 101 in which the same material will be covered regardless of redundancy)

So a full schedule for me, not to mention that I still have a calling in church that requires a significant amount of time. Jonathon is also back to school now. If only for the extra paycheck to help us along, I’m thrilled. Even though he is down one class because the main instructor shorted herself so she took his class. So rather than teaching two classes he’s only teaching one. Perhaps a blessing in disguise, we just don’t know yet. He’s also taking several welding courses this semester as well.

Oh did I mention that we have decided to homeschool Ethen. Yup! I pulled him out today after my first class. It was a little emotional for me because I have officially taken responsibility for the education of my child. HIS WHOLE EDUCATION!!!

Ethen doing math with Legos

This decision has been a long time coming. We have been thinking about it for a while now. Our concerns with Common Core and the fact that he wasn’t really thriving at this school made a huge impact on our decision. I haven’t decided what curriculum to follow, if anything formal. I am currently just reading a lot to Ethen, we do some math, journal and call it a day. I have a lot of research and planning to do.

I thought I was a busy mom before! Boy was I wrong! Ethen has been home two days and I am so busy! I know that this is the best thing for him. We have joined a homeschooling group that meets once a week so he can get out and play with kids of all ages. I know that most people’s major concern with homeschooling is socialization. I personally feel that he will be better socialized this way. Socialization is NOT about having friends. Friends are good, don’t get me wrong. Real socialization is the ability to resolve conflict and deal with people of all ages, not just your own.

I believe this is the best choice for our family. I’m thankful to have a husband that not only supports this but has encouraged it. I believe that this will bring our family closer. I pray the Lord guide me because I’m going to need it!

Wish me luck!

Gun Safety

Today I took Ethen to Green Valley Shooting Range for a safety course that they offer kids. He was a lucky kid today and got a one on one lesson about not only firearm safety but safety in general! It was pretty neat! I highly recommend that all kids take some kind of safety course. They are usually free and presented by a certified NRA instructor.

Ethen made sure that they spelled his name right too!!!

Last Day of School

Today is the last day of school. My baby boy is no longer a Kindergartener. He’s a 1st Grader! I can’t believe how quickly this year went by. I wish I could slow time down, but I know that is not possible. All I can do in enjoy the time that we have. So since we took picture on the first day of school I thought we should take a picture today too. I CANNOT believe how much he’s grown within 9 months - about 2-3 inches - Holy Cow!

It’s good to see that Ethen is learning to keep his eyes on his goals – his dream to be a Navy Seal is still in tact. As much as that makes me cringe, because of the level of danger involved, I can only be supportive and let him live his life.

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Just in time I finished out “Summer Bucket List” poster. Ethen HAD to have red marker so we went with a white board this year. I love this idea. It definitely helps keep us busy over the summer and when his teacher asks him what he did over the summer – he’ll know!

There was TOO much red – so the check boxes I went over in black to break it up a little.

It’s going to be a GREAT summer… now if I can just keep MY sanity – we’ll be doing good! Being a parent can be exhausting, but I’ve found that if I have a plan – it goes much better than I expect. On the other hand I’ve also learned to be flexible because sometimes things just don’t go as planned, and that’s ok! Semper Gumby – Always Flexible!

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I had to snap some pictures of me picking up Ethen one last time from school! I’m getting a little emotional writing this post! Here is Ethen on the last day of school and a little eager to get out of there.

Mrs. Tilley is so awesome – she gave me two “Candy Awards” for helping in her class this year. I LOVED helping in class. Ever since Ethen was first born I have always wanted to help in his classes. I didn’t think it would be possible when I went back to work last year. However that changed when I decided to go back to school! I truly enjoyed every moment helping in Mrs. Tilley’s class, even when Ethen didn’t feel like sharing me!!! Thanks Mrs. Tilley – you’re awesome!

Ok, so now that school is OFFICIALLY over – bring on the summer. Time for some fun!

Brandy

Cleaning Carpets

The other day I saw a spot on my carpets where Ethen had colored (he had a bad habit of this before). I asked him if it was new or one of the old ones – he told me an old one. I believed him, I had no evidence and really no reason not to. That night Jonathon asked him about it and he confessed that it was in fact new… He LIED to me!!! *GASP*!!!

I think I was more upset that he lied to me! So he lost his music for the night (devastated him) and he was told he would have to clean it up! Well the day of reckoning came – it was time to clean the carpet!

The look of irritation is strong with this one… wonder where he gets that from!!!

After he finished we had a long talk about how difficult it was to clean the carpet, BUT more importantly that it is never ok to lie. I told him if he colored on my carpets again, he would have to clean the WHOLE carpet – not just that spot. His eyes got as big as saucers!!!

Summer Bucket List 2013

It’s that time of year again folks! The days are longer and getting hotter. There is 18.5 days left in this school year! Last summer Ethen and I did a Summer Bucket List – see HERE and HERE.

Ethen LOVED marking off activities. Admittedly we didn’t do EVERYTHING that was on our list. So this year, those activities have been added once again and some fun new ones!

We have two trips planned this summer. One back to California for some fun at Lego Land and the other to Idaho for my mother’s wedding. I also desperately want to take Ethen camping and hiking – especially to Bryce Canyon or Zion National Park. My brother had the great idea to get our friends Felicia and Amari together to go rafting down the Colorado River! So fun!!

So in honor of our tradition I have compiled this years list. I present to you…

Summer Bucket List 2013

4th of July Celebration, 51’s Game, Back to School Shopping, Backyard Campout, Bass Pro Shop, Bike rides, Bounce U, Bowling, Breakfast @ park, Build a fort, Camping, Celebrate Father’s Day, Chuck ‘E’ Cheese, Colorado River Rafting, Coloring , Crafts, Dino Museum (in SLC), Dye Hair with Kool-Aid, Feed Ducks, Fishing, Flashlight tag, Fly a kite, Free Movies at Rave, Fun day w/ dad, Fun day w/ mom, Game Night, Get a snow cone/ice cream, Go Ice blocking, Go to a new skate park, Go to the beach in Cali, Hiking, Hoover dam, Inter tubing on the lake, Laser tag, Lego Land, Library Summer Challenge, Lied’s Discovery Museum, Lowe’s kids workshops, Make a gift for Grandma, Make care pkgs for deployed soldiers, Make treat for friend, Messy Painting, Mini Golf, Mini Grand Prix, Movie Marathon, Natural History Museum, Outdoor bingo, Paint a picture, Paint a rock friend, Parade, Pen pal, Photo Scavenger Hunt, Picnic, Plant a garden, Prepare for 1st Grade, Read a book a day, Ride a Horse, Roller Skating, Scavenger Hunt, Send G-ma a hug, Shark reef, Shooting, Sky Zone, Sleepover, Springs Preserve, Star Gazing, Swimming, Take pictures at the temple, Tie Dye Shirt, Train Museum, Trip to Cali, Trip to Idaho, Visit 5 different splash parks, Visit a friend, Visit Bryce Canyon, Visit fire station, Visit Lake Mead, Visit Mt. Charleston, Visit Nana, Visit Red Rock Canyon, Visit Uncle Chuck, Visit Valley of Fire, Watch planes take off/land, Water gun/balloon fight, Wet ‘n’ Wild

Well there you have it 85 fun, wholesome and MOSTLY inexpensive activities for this summer. It’s going to be a GREAT summer vacation… I can just feel it!!!

I seriously can’t believe that there is less than 20 days to prepare for all of this! Yikes… I better get going then!!!

Brandy

Devil Pup

Lil’man got his first (official) set of MARINE CORPS APPROVED camies!!! OOHRAH!!! I don’t care if he says he wants to be a Navy Seal – he’s a Marine at heart!!! Check out this handsome stud!!!

That’s right buddy… finger straight and off the trigger!!!

 

He looks awfully familiar in this picture… Let’s compare…

YUP! That’s me through and through! Like Mother… like son!!!

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Orange Rhino update – today I failed! I yelled today because I was frustrated, offended and irritated by a situation that had nothing to do with my family what-so-ever! Tomorrow is a new day and I will start again. I made it 7 days. That’s HUGE! This time… I will make it further! 30 days here I come!!!

Holy Hannah…

I can hardly believe I have made it 5 days (not counting today) without yelling! I’m so excited that this challenge! I am loving that I am “loving more and yelling less!”

We were doing so well today – until we were walking home from school. As we were crossing the road the crossing guard said something to him about riding his scooter in the crosswalk. Well he didn’t like that too much and he threw a fit the whole way home! When I say the whole way home I mean the whole 3 blocks we had to walk with God and country watching him come lose at the seams! AYE AYE AYE!!!

As we got home I put him in a timeout so he could relax. I set the timer for 10 minutes but he was really there for about 16. As before I kept having to reset the time. He didn’t completely calm himself by the time the timer went off so we went to have a little talk. I could not believe how out of hand he got. BUT – I maintained my Orange Rhino mentality! I did have to use my stern voice – but no yelling. I had to be stern so he would know that I was serious and wasn’t going to tolerate his poor behavior!

Thankfully that was the only issue today and we made it the rest of the day without incident! THANK GOD!

Day 6 down… 24 to go!!!

Twenty Minutes

That’s how long Lil’man was in a time out for this morning.

Today my hubby left just before 7 AM to go to his class to get his concealed weapon carry permit. It’s an all day class and we have been waiting for this opportunity for what seems like ages! The class costs $75 plus the $100 for a background check. So needless to say we had to save up for it! I was hoping that Lil’man would still be asleep because I wanted to still be asleep. So I asked, unfortunately the response was not what I wanted and I was forced to get up at that point! BOO. I was so tired! I haven’t been sleeping well for the past few days!

I knew I needed to clean my house – I had let things slide this week. The cat box needed to be cleaned desperately, the dishes had been left from last night, I needed to vacuum, fold the load of laundry that has been sitting in the dryer for a week (I found the shirt I was looking for all week – go figure), the bathrooms needed cleaning, the kitchen floor needs swept and mopped, the dining room table has become a “I have no place else to put this so I’ll just set it here with all this other crap” pile, the coffee table looked like a landfill with several empty water bottles on it, there were throw blankets on each of the couches that needed to be folded, not to mention the schlew of toys that were strung around the living and dining rooms, AND I have been wanting to get outside and pull the weeds that have become a jungle in my front yard. UH I had a ton to do and expected Lil’man to help me out! He had other plans!

As I’m telling him of the things I need HIM to do (clean the cat box, pick up his toys and clean his room up) he starts FREAKING OUT! “You’re mean! I don’t want to!!!” On and on and on, in that whiney voice that just gets under my skin like nothing else can. Orange Rhino… ORANGE RHINO!!! We had been playing the same orange rhino game that the creator does (except Lil’man likes blue) but we say blue rhino. As I saw him getting more and more frustrated I calmly said “blue rhinoceros buddy” – “NO BLUE RHINOCERUS I DON’T’ WANT TO PLAY BLUE RHINOCERUS TODAY!” he screams

That’s IT – You’re in timeout. Sit your butt down in this chair – right now. I actually said this without screaming it! “10 minutes buddy” and I set the timer on my phone. Then began the fight for control! I was determined to win – with logic and a calm manner!

He started screaming and kicking – I reset the timer. He continued to scream and kick – I took away a point (we have a point scale thanks to CLASSDOJO.COM his teacher introduced it to her class when I was volunteering and I decided to use it at home). This made him even more mad and the kicking and screaming continued – I reset the timer again. I think I reset the timer about 6 times. He finally figured out that every time he got crazy I reset the time and THAT meant more time sitting there! He finally stopped the kicking and screaming and after 20 minutes the timer finally went off.

Not ONCE did I yell. I did have to get VERY stern BUT I did it!!! I DID IT!!!

Over the past 4 days I have felt so great! There is a peace and joy in my house that hasn’t been here in a while! I love this not yelling challenge. I have been sharing through Facebook about my successes and failures. I have such a huge support there. Nearly all of my friends are supporting me and even a few have joined the challenge with me! At least once a day I get “What’s Orange Rhino?” and I get the privilege of sharing this amazing opportunity with them! Even my mother told me how proud she was of me and how awesome she thought it was that I was doing this. “This is going to change your life and his!” my mother told me. Yes mom, yes it is!!!

It feels so good to see that “3 day’s since” on my counter! I’ve gone 3 days (officially – today will be 4) without yelling! Thank you Lord for leading me to this! I know that He wants me to do this. We are meant to be loving and nurturing not ruthless and cruel! God is a loving god and wants us to be like him, so why not parent like Him?

The Orange Rhino

Over the past six years I have struggled as a mom. I try to be a good mom. I take care of him, love him, spend time with him, do amazing things but I am no perfect. In fact I often suck at being a mom. I think I have made my child cry on more occasions than I would like to count! It pains me that I have caused many of the tears that have streamed down the cheeks of my sweet little boy.

Lil'man can be quite the handful. He is probably the most head-strong child that I have ever seen. He can be easily agitated and insanely aggressive at time! But when he's not he is the most loving and enthusiastic child I could ask for. He is highly independant and self motivated!

Both of us are extreme type A personalities and when we both get going - it's ON!!! Yelling has been a go-to for me for the past 6 years. I mean the over-the-top-gonna-blow-a-gasket-erruption-of-mount-saint-hellens-blood-pressure-so-high-you'll-get-an-anyerism kind of yelling!

A friend of mine introduced me to a blog called The Orange Rhino. It's simply a chronical of a mom that has experienced the same issue and resolved to go a whole year without yelling. She would take it one day at a time and if she yelled she had to start back at day 0 again. If she had one of those eye-bulging scream outs she reset to day -2! She is currently on day 376!!! She did it!

This really got me thinking. The whole purpose of being a parent is to teach their children and love them. I have to say I love Lil'Man more than life itself and would do anything for him. I must teach him, though my example, to control my temper! This is necessary! So I have decided to take the challenge. I am going to do 30 days and once I get there I will re-evaluate to make the goal longer! I just need to take this one day at a time like she did!

 

I can totally do this. I know that it won't be easy! But I know that I HAVE to stop yelling. I don't like it and it's not an appropriate manner of parenting! I plan to chronical my successes and failures here and on Facebook.

 

Here is to a more peaceful home... Day 1 starts - tomorrow!

Ethen’s ARK

Today I received an email from Ethen’s teacher, Mrs. Tilley. Ethen has started his second week of Kindergarten and is just having a blast! Last week they learned the story of the Gingerbread Man (fast as fast can be, you’ll never catch me). Ethen told me all about the Gingerbread Man, and even related the story (several times) but there was part of the story he did not mention… this is what Mrs. Tilley wrote…

“Ethen was so sweet on Friday. I'm sure that he told you about searching for the Gingerbread Man. We cooked a large gingerbread man for the whole class to share but he ran away. We looked for him all over the school, visiting various places around our school. When we got back to our room, the Gingerbread Man was nowhere to be found but he had left each student a little cookie. Ms. Julie (our kindergarten aide) had been helping in our room that morning and we had told her that we were going to share part of the big gingerbread man with her but we'd have to wait till we found him. Ethen immediately broke off at least 1/3 or more of his little cookie and walked over to Ms. Julie and said, "Here, I'll share mine with you." WOW!! Almost instantly, at least half of the class broke off a piece of their cookie and soon Ms. Julie had a handful of cookie pieces. I was so touched!! He was so sweet.... and I don't even think he realized what a great thing he'd done!! You should be very proud of your little guy! I know that I was :)”

I was literally brought to tears. Now, I do not share this to boast of my child, BUT each mother yearns to know if she is doing a good job, if the life lessons she is teaching are sinking in! This was one of those moments that Heavenly Father allowed me to have, so I may know that Ethen, really is listening and learning!

I just needed to share the story of Ethen’s ARK (Act of Random Kindness). He has made my day!

Ethen’s Summer Bucket List

Summer is coming FAST!!! Ethen has only 6 days of school left so I’m frantically trying to find ways to keep him occupied this summer!!!

I certainly did not create this list all on my own - I searched the internet for hours (mostly pinterest.com!) If anyone has any other ideas - please leave a comment (here or on Facebook) so I can add it to the list! I'm not sure how many of these we will get to... but we sure are gonna try!!!

HERE GOES!!! (there's over 80 ideas so... keep scrolling)

• Free movies at Rave
• Bounce U
• Lied's Discovery Museum
• Train Museum in Boulder City
• Day @ the Lake
• Swimming
• Picnics
• Water Gun/Balloon Fight
• Chuck E' Cheese
• Shark Reef
• City Bus Ride to where ever
• Bowling
• Red Rock Canyon
• Rec Center Activities
• Skate Parks
• Splash Parks
• Natural History Museum
• The Potter's Wheel
• Painting
• McDonald's Play Place
• Hoover Dam
• Grand Canyon Sky Walk
• Coloring
• Worksheets (Ethen actually likes these)
• Water Gun Paining (paint by spraying canvas with dyed water)
• Dairy Tour
• Watch planes take off and land
• Bike rides
• Library Story time
• Sleep overs
• Fun day with Mommy
• Fun day with Daddy
• Camping
• Hiking
• Write a letter to Grandma
• Disneyland (we HOPE!)
• Write a pen-pal
• Build a fort
• Back to school shopping
• Make snow cones
• Roller Skating
• Hip Hop dance class (my kid loves to dance)
• 51's baseball game
• Puzzles
• Sky Zone (warehouse filled with trampolines!)
• Host a game night with friends
• Fly a kite
• Sleep in a tent in the back yard
• Make popsicles
• Make a treat
• Crafts
• Visit G-ma and Nana
• Movie in the park
• Make treats for a friend
• Mini golf
• Laser tag
• Wash the car (then have a water fight)
• Breakfast @ the park
• Put on music and dance
• Tie-Dye Shirts
• Make sidewalk paint
• Play flashlight tag
• Star Gazing
• Fun photo shoot with silly props
• Make care packages for deployed troops
• Make back to school kits for low income families
• Visit Vets in the hospital
• Play I spy outside
• Scavenger hunt
• outdoor bingo (cards have items to find first to get a bingo wins!)
• Paint rocks
• Pillow Fights
• Photo Scavenger Hunt (Ethen has his own camera so this would be fun)
• Furniture Obstacle Course
• Shadow Puppet Show
• Feed Ducks
• Shooting
• Bass Pro Shops
• Kid Workshop @ Lowe's or Home Depot
• Do crafts with the residents at the assisted living center
• Visit a First Station
• Spring's Preserve
• Read a new book ever week
• Celebrate Father's Day
• Celebrate Independence Day
• Watch a Parade
• Play at the mall playground
• Go to a carnival

Well there you have it... That's our Summer Bucket List!!! WHEW!!!

I found this cute idea while on Pinterest.com to create a “passport” for Ethen’s summer adventure. It would be a cute keepsake and reminder of how much fun he had over the summer!  HERE is the link if you want to download the PDF to create a passport for your little ones!!!

Image courtesy of HeatherCarson.net

Hope you all enjoy your summer – I’m sure we will!!!

 

An Indoor Campout

The imaginations were running wild today! Ethen decided he wanted to go camping! So we set up a tent, next to a fishing pond and what campout would be complete without a fire!

He had a TON of fun! It amazes me that he came up with this all on his own! He even told me how to do things… little smarty!

Check out the snapshots I was able to grab!!!

The campsite…

Campfire

Ethen doing a little fishing!

WOW – That fish MUST weigh at LEAST 30 pounds!!!

Hitting the hay!

UH-HO – Looks like we left some fish out and attracted some unwanted guests!!!

Sometimes I take for granted the fun that we can have. This time is so precious and won’t last forever. I’m so grateful I took the time today to play!