What a Weekend

Friday started off pretty good. I mean it was Friday for goodness sakes! The plan was to head to
the first Farragut game of the season after "tailgating" so to speak with some friends of Jakes. Well that fell through, but no big deal right? So instead, we decided to grab a burger at Aubrey's before Jake had to be fitted for a new helmet. So, the kids and I headed to Aubrey's to meet Jason and that is when it all started......THE MOUTH!!!! Jake just couldn't control his flapping tongue....it will be the death of him. I can't imagine where he gets it. His problem is that he just can't stay out of everyone's business. I mean, I am the mom here. If he would just leave the other boys ALONE and let me handle things, he would stay out of trouble. But NO!!!! After about 15 warnings I had had it......finally I had to just remain silent after a comment that "broke the camels back" so to speak . When Jason arrived, the table was SILENT and I was about in tears. Through all of the chaos, I neglected to notice all of the chocolate milk Christian was "slamming". By the time we got through dinner and we were standing up to leave, Christian mentioned he didn't feel good and was giving the "wiener dog urp" look. UNBELIEVABLE!!!! I pushed him on to the restroom as fast as I could with no luck.......yes he did! Right at the entrance of Aubrey's.....all over the floor, himself and me. His crocs were FULL!!! I didn't know whether to help clean up or go with him to the bathroom. Needless to say, by the time I had cleaned out the crocs in the bathroom sink and somewhat cleaned Christian up, you would never know he had done it .....they were fast.....Jason had no idea what had happened!

Jason went on the game with Jamesen and yes, Jake stayed home grounded as well as his phone taken away. Christian ended wanting to eat again and then snuggled up next to mom while she watched the Olympics.....poor baby!

On Saturday we had Jake's game that he won thanks to his AWESOME CATCH in the end zone for the two point conversion. They ended up winning 8-6....way too close! Saturday evening Jamesen spent the night out and Jason and I went out to dinner. A much needed break. Jake stayed at home to babysit Christian and tried to convince me he would need his phone for safety purposes. And I just laughed.....I mean we have a land line. Is land line even in the dictionary? About an hour into our meal we get a call from a frantic Jake.....he swears there was a "drive by"....he had heard a big POP and a flash of light. OK....we live in a culdesac in one of the nicest areas in town.....it couldn't be a drive by. I questioned him for a moment...neighbors shooting fireworks....etc. He was FRANTIC...had christian and the wiener dog behind the bar under the comforter...yelling at them to stay down....finally coming to the conclusion that the oven had shorted out...."oh wait a minute mom....the oven is off....it was just the oven...oh ok .....just the oven....ok mom we are ok.....no y'all don't need to rush home.....I love you" Was I even feeling like finishing my dinner? After a while it seemed pretty funny but at the time I was about to think we had actually had a "drive by". You never know this day and time.

Sunday was ALOT calmer. Went to service at Cove Park, stayed to eat some lunch and let the kids play.....Jake went to batting practice while Harrison came over to play a while with Jamesen...and Jason worked on the range. The mother board was completely fried! Jason the handy man was able to take it apart and before the afternoon had turned to evening, he had it all back together with new parts on order.....and we grilled out burgers. I am so Glad it is Monday and it is just me and the wiener dog asleep on the couch!

Oh......and

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUSTIN SAMS!!!!!!

AND A HAMSTER NAMED HENRY!

Yes, we have added another member to our entourage.....Henry the Hamster. Jamesen has been "working" us for a hamster for months. He is our lover of all animals and felt like having just one wiener dog wasn't enough for the Rees household. And five males wasn't either. Yes, obviously Henry is male. We have added more testosterone to the household!

When Jamesen approached us for about the 15th time about acquiring a hamster, he made all sorts of promises. Of course all I could imagine was me cleaning the cage ,all the while chasing the hamster down while keeping him safe from the wrath of a wiener dog. We made him do his research so that he would know what to expect and how a hamster should be cared for.....I have to admit, he did a darn good job of it. He even offered to pay for it out of his own money until Mungy came through with an offer to pay for it. To top it all off, he even found a place for Henry to stay while we are in DisneyWorld for Fall Break......his buddy Chase. After all that, how could we say no.

Henry "Spiderhamster" Rees came to us via PetSmart on August 18th (our cousin Becker's Birthday). As you can see from the pics, it was an exciting time in the Rees household. And I do have to admit, he is growing on me. Henry is what you call a Robo Dwarf Hamster so he is tiny like a mouse and has quite the personality. All he needs is a motorcycle. He loves his exercise ball and his exercise wheel, although he does get going so fast in both that he can't keep up and ends up being tossed about. It is quite comical. He also enjoys his newest hobby, cage climbing. Hence the middle name Spiderhamster".

So we say WELCOME to our newest family member in hopes that life in the Rees home is all you could possibly want it to be!

We Made It!

Well, we made it through the first week of school with minimal damage. Jake seemed to have the best week, although I don't know things sometimes right away with him. Christian and Jamesen were getting warnings and pulling sticks because of their social nature. We reiterated with the two of them that it better not last!!!! Our plate stays full after school with Jake and Christian playing football and Jamesen talking "hamster talk". He has been begging for one since the middle of the summer. I have been just putting him off by making him do research on the little creatures. He loves all types of animals and I guess Obie isn't enough for him. Not sure where this hamster idea came from but I guess we'll have to give in.....for now. Soon we should have another addition to the Rees household.

Friday night we went to the Jamboree at Bearden....Farragut did very well. Jake actually watched the game along with the fights that went on. I guess one has to expect that with 10 different schools in one high school stadium. It is a bit nerve racking....thank the Lord for cell phones. Saturday we were able to "farm" all the boys out so Jason and I could attend the Robert F. Thomas Foundation Evening of Elegance Gala up in Gatlinburg. It is a benefit held each year for the Sevier County Hospital and Cancer Center. Tennessee RV donated a travel trailer and we joined a group up there for some fun. It is always nice to have a reason to get dressed up. We had a great time, but 24 hrs. with no children just isn't quite long enough. In no time we were back to baseball, hamster talk, and a trip to the pool before getting organized for another big week ahead! We have football practice 4 nights this week for Jake followed by a game on Saturday. Christian has practice Tuesday and a game Thursday. One of those evenings we have to find time to purchase a Hamster. Oh, and Jamesen has decided he may want to try Boy Scouts. Whew!!! Well, many thanks to the Toney, Fain and Ross families for giving us 24 hours of much needed "couple time". Oh and by the way, this past Friday at 10am Jason and I purchased 2 tickets to see Michael Buble on October 5 at Thompson-Boling Arena. Any takers on the kids.......just kidding!

Back to School!! YEA!!!

Finally.....they are gone! Today was the first day of school and as you can tell, I am not the least bit teary! Don't get me wrong, I love my boys and it makes my heart hurt that they are growing up so fast, but they have been grating on my nerves for the past week. I finally have some peace and quiet around here! Just me and the wiener dog.....he's just snoozing away. I am sure he will begin to wonder why he hasn't been taunted or fought over in the next few hours.

Let's see.......I have exercised (combined with quiet time) , started dinner in the crock pot and am now blogging. Wow!!! I am doing ok! The morning started early at 5:15 am. By 7:05 everyone was ready and in the car......pics included. I even got a smile out of Jake! Jason took Christian and I took the other two. It was pretty uneventful on my part but Jason had some trouble finding a parking place at the Primary school. All in all the morning went smoothly!

Journey is "Beastly"!

"Beastly" is how Jake described the "80's" rock band Journey. As I mentioned the other day, he attended the concert with three other friends and two 40 something moms. Saturday evening at approximately 10:45 pm est my phone rang. I was in the middle of dozing and watching the Michael Phelps win the Gold in the 400 IM. It was Jake on the other end at trying to speak over "Send Her My Love". "Listen mom......can you hear it? Aren't they 'beastly'?" Of course I have always loved Journey, but Jake wasn't too "in" to my renditions of "Open Arms"," Faithfully", and "Don't Stop Believing" two days before when we were downloading it on his Ipod. But at that moment, I think he may have understood what his "lame mom" had been telling him. For the next 1/2 hour or so, he held his phone up so that I could hear those songs that took me back to my teenage years. From the reaction of the crowd, they must still have it. It does a 40 year old mom's heart good to know that she actually can be right about something in her 13 year old's eyes.

Seagrove Beach fall 07

Let's Get it Started!!!

I guess now is as good a time as ever.....I have decided that I might as well try this thing they call blogging.....since I spend a lot of my time reading others. My main focus with this thing is to keep somewhat of a diary. I wake up nights in anxiety mode stressing over things I have no control over....one being the aging of my precious boys. Jake, 13, wants nothing to do with being photographed, our family outings, or me when he is around his friends. Jamesen, 9, is as sensitive and precious as ever, but has gone from the ever so laid back easy child to the one always contemplating death and dying. His conscience gets the best of him so he is always telling on himself and his friends when he feels they have done something that might disappoint me. Jake is constantly calling him a "suck up" but I honestly think he has a strong sense of "pleasing". Christian,6, is trouble with a capital T! He has no problem with lying when it benefits him, he's ALWAYS RUNNING, and deserves about 95% of what he gets!!!!! He, like Jamesen, still loves his momma and loves to snuggle in mom and dad's bed when he is overly tired. Now my fourth child, my husband Jason, is my best friend. He is caring, sensitive, pretty laid back when it comes to the "child induced anxiety" thing, and tends to handle the teenage stuff better than me....although he is a little lite on the discipline compared to me. He, like Jamesen, aims to please for the most part. He loves his boys (and his wife) and spends most of his free time wanting to "hang" with the family. Needless to say, he doesn't play much golf and only got into watching sports after marrying into the Sams family and having three boys, the oldest of whom loves SPORTS! Then there is the WIENER DOG......Wiener One Kenobie....fondly known as OBIE. He is our 5 soon to be 6 year old red dachsund that we acquired from a lady in my brother's office for a mere $50. He was the last of the litter but definitely not the smallest. He was supposed to be a mini....but his body and his territorial instinct is neither. Let's just say " Enter the Rees house and yard at your own risk"! BEWARE OF PROTECTIVE WIENER DOG!

Then there is me.....MOM.....I guess you could describe me as always having good intentions, but following through for very long is not what I do best. I am doing exactly what I have always wanted, being a stay at home mom. I do tend to envy those who seem to be able to do it ALL, but I love the fact that I really don't have to DO IT ALL. I have tried a few business ventures from home and also opened my own gift / monogramming shop. Then I realized that I had disobeyed my Lord and Saviour in doing so. With help from my Father above, we bowed out gracefully just as things were becoming profitable. I am coming to the conclusion that the Lord put me here on this Earth to raise three positively productive boys who will one day grow up and leave me for their own families. I used to be excited about that .....being in a QUIET home with only me and Jason to care for.....but now I am having second thoughts. Maybe it is that I just turned the big 40! I just have to trust that he Lord will find me three wonderful daughter-in-laws to enjoy who will bear me many beautiful granddaughters.

Now, just so you know that if you ever visit the Rees household, let's say at dinner time, it may not seem that I am doing my God-given duty. First off, we are lucky to be at the dinner table all at the same time.....maybe once or twice a week. If we are, the conversation usually revolves around the male anatomy. If the table is quiet, one brother has probably "dissed" the other one , another has taken up for that one only to "diss" the other one and I end up "dissing" one because I have allowed myself to be brought down to their level because I get so angry and my husband has cut all conversation to a halt. Once in a blue moon we have good, meaningful family dinners, but don't hold your breath!

So now that I have given everyone an overview of life in the Rees household, I am now ready to start this thing. The boys all go off to school on Monday....the house should be totally empty by 7:30 am until around 3:30 pm. Only Mom and Obie. I have a lot of plans :

1) Spend some quiet time with my Heavenly Father.
2) Get this place organized!
3) Keep exercising on a daily basis.
4) Maybe even keep up this blog!

So as the Black Eyed Peas so appropriately say,

"Let's Get it Started!"

Oh...... my 13 year old would let me know that "that song is SO OLD" although he just left for a
JOURNEY concert with 3 more of his friends and two 40 something moms!