Not much to say...Football done

Twins and Ya Ya and Pa pa

High school football is over. I've had a blast. These boys have made me love this game. I mean realistically, I've always liked football. I had a football boyfriend or two and enjoyed watching them on the field but nothing could prepare me for the love I would have for this game once my boys suited up in the pads.  The thought that my son would take a role in which every game the defender would be set on crashing him and ripping the ball from his hands as he fought for yardage has made me sick, thrilled, insane, excited and many other indescribable emotions. 

Last Friday we lost to a team that was not better than us but, definitely more prepared for the emotions.  We showed up to a dog fight in our ballet shoes. (I posted the whole story, then decided against it and erased it). The boys played their hearts out and left nothing on the field. I'm proud and I continue to fall in love with the men they are becoming more each day.

College awaits, back to the bottom of the totem pole on the football field as Twin A continues to ponder his next move. Twin B moves on to basketball and his senior season on the hardwood. 

On a side note...CJ and Daddy's team won the championship! CJ enters the Ward realm of building a tradition of champions!

Been Slacking

So I realize I've been slacking on my updates and life in general. It seems its all just one big day lately. I feel extremely exhausted and there can't possible be enough hours for everything. I'm sitting down to get a good update in but no telling when I'll be able to do it again...lol

This senior year seems to be flying by. I'm saddened that in a little over a month I will be a mother of 18 year old twins. Wow is the only word to describe this. The football season has flown by and last Friday was the first playoff game for the their team. We were ranked #5 and played the #12 seed. This division is so deep though, that could have been ugly. Twin A finished with 3 touch downs and was sat down early in the 3rd to save him for what promises to be a physical game against the #4 spot next week. Twin B also continues his starting role at DB and was on an island by himself daring them to through it for most of the night. Finally score was 47-21 but we went into halftime leading 34-0. All scores thereafter were scored on our second string and a host of sophomores brought up after their season for playoffs.

The first quarter ended well with Twin B pulling out his usual good grades. I'll take his 3.6 any day to the 2.5 I solidly had in high school.  Considering he only has 4 classes it should be a bit higher though. Unfortunately, Twin A has a full load complete with two sciences, a math, english, religion, spanish 2 and government. No room for error in his quest to clear the NCAA clearinghouse.  He does well for his stringent academic regimine but I feel bad for him on somedays.  He pulled out the first quarter just under a 3.0, we'll see how he does with finals this semester.

They have finally decided which schools they will apply to and I'm happy to say only two California schools are in the hunt. The other schools include 2 others still on the west coast and a southern school. Yes, all the same schools. Twin A just finally said it "I don't want to go out of state unless my brother comes". aawww, my heart melted  just a bit, but it took him forever to say it.

Finally, senior night wiped me out. I was an emotional wreck for the majority of the day and cried anytime someone asked me how I felt. As the boys ran toward me with their flowers, I could barely see through my tears but wanted to have "no ugly face" pictures so I straightened up. I can't imagine my life without these boys. The love I have for them feels my heart each and everyday.

Lots of talks with them this year and they are sharing some great stuff.  I love that they talk to me and share their thoughts on their life, God and the future.  I will say, I hate their whole "twitter-swag", but they have to have an outlet so I'll let it be..for now.

Back to my hole and making my nitch in this world, taking care of my family, Jr. Rams, basketball, football, law school (which has become overwhelming lately), and everything that is Nesha.

That Kid

so I'm bragging just a slight bit. I feel good today. My Bam Bam is having a great year so far. Each morning as I crawl in that closet and ask God to protect my children each day, to keep them blessed, healthy and injury free I wonder if he also knows that in the back of my mind, I wish for a little more.  The little more is "Lord, it would be nice if somebody out there took notice"...well I'm pleased with the notice he has received thus far.

Today, Maxpreps rankings came out and check this out. My baby is currently number 15 in the country...whoop whoop...and whoa! Check this one out. Hes number to in the state. I'm elated! Just a small boast on my kid.

Football Season is over

Well, we did our job (yeah, I said we)...but Friday night our season came to an end after facing Grant High School, ranked #4 in the nation, #1 in California. The prediction was that we'd get blown out 70-7! yeah baby! If we had to go out- let it be by the best. We had them on the ROPES! We went up 8-0 quickly after a safety and a trick touchdown.  Our fans were so pumped and let me tell you we were DEEP in the hood!
Too much talk, message boards and news attention the upcoming week about shutting down #30 let them to smash on my little guy each time he came near the ball and let me tell you with a o-line and d-line averaging 260 lbs, I was holding my breath each time he TOUCHED the ball, but I was so proud of my 5'8, 170lb baby that managed to tangle up their 275 lb linebacker all night! YEAH BABY! In the end it came down to us shooting ourselves in the foot multiple times with off-sides penalties time and again and 2 face masks walking them into the endzone. We have the respect of our town and the section and that's all we wanted.  Final score 20-11.  Basketball season starts today for Twin B, Twin A says he will continue to concentrate on football. His rationale...do I want to be a great high school basketball player or play football at the next level. Hmmmm, I love you son. Great season.

Quick Break

I'm on a short break. Lots going on, including have 3 wisdom teeth extracted yesterday. A horrible experience I must say after one doctor had to stand up on the sides of my chair to really put his muscle into it. It was a flashback from a doctor standing up over me and pushing twin B out at birth after he decided he would float around instead of coming out right after his brother. I'm miserable. I'm on 2.5 vicodine right now and still in pain...so iWrite.   I woke up to the boys giggling about Twin A's computer animation video they put together. I've attached for your viewing pleasure. He got an A. Wish they would have cleaned up the room first or even video'd (is that a word?) on a wall other than the one they were wrestling near and kicked a hole in the wall. 

Large tourney this week and next. Summer begins...PS...as of tomorrow. The boys are JUNIORS!

Twin B

I wanted to share a conversation I had this week. It seems so much more enlightning lately to talk to people who don't just listen but are actually processing what you say. It makes me smile each time I think about it.

So I had this discussion about my Twin B. He's so very different from Twin A in so many ways. Not only are they mirror twins (meaning one is left-hand, one is right, one reads well, one does numbers well, one is the spokesperson for the twins and one is a bit shy, one is the social butterfly and the other not so much).  Here is the thing...they both are good at sports but one seems to excel without having much effort most days while the other works a bit harder at sports but is so bright in the class that sometimes it seems too easy.

Problem is this. Twin B is so smart, not just with books but just about life in general that he sometimes seems disturbed by us normal people.  We are mere pions to his oversized brain. Not that he is a genius or anything. He merely thinks that you should be able to explain to him in detail why you think he should be doing it your way, hold an intelligent conversation and realize when you are the joke of the room. He could care less about doing his best on the court when he doesn't feel like it, or rather if you can't coach him to it. He doesn't want to hear your spewing of the magic trick for getting to college being a sports scholarship because in his opinion sports is fun and he'll apply himself when need be but he's going to college anyway.  I love him for being his own man. My problem is that at 16 you simply can't turn your nose up at people you think are not very intelligent. You aren't in the position nor is it nice. 

I've simplified this conversation quite a bit.

So in my discussion about Twin B I was told some things that I will keep in my heart forever about my dear twin.  Simply put, we can't down our kids because they don't fit into our box. If he realizes his limits at this stage in life he is far ahead of many others and of course the biggest thing that got me.  My friend shared that "you must know more than me for me to respect you or be happy about following you". Those are not the exact words so I shouldn't put them in quotes but basically simplified.  I loved the example I was given.

"You want me to play man to man on this dude. You know he's faster than me, I know he's faster than me, he's beat me down the court the last 3 times and instead of switching to a better defense or adjusting who I guard, you want to make me look like an idiot and scream 'run twin' and then get mad when I don't", then throw me on the bench and say, he's just not working hard. 

Wow. Good stuff. Quite simply put. In order to be the very best parent I can be I've learned over the years that all this competition stuff is irrelevant.  It's not about living our dreams through our kid. So they don't make the paper each week. So they don't make 20 points a game or 4 TDs a game. They are having a good time and we need to learn to love them through it all. Our hangups are not theirs. I love that Twin B is his own man. He thinks different than others. He has dreams and goals that don't include every single thing that I want from him. Sometimes it just takes longer to take the mommy goggles off.

Blessings,
Powerful Beyond Measure

Beware of the Skanks in Training

If you follow me on facebook at all you'll know that I was enraged at the end of my day yesterday regarding Twin A's new little love interest. I'm being polite in the decription of my post regarding the FSOA club (future skanks of america).

Here is a brief summary. Twin A who almost never texts unless its to me, dad or to ask a friend about an assignment a practice or to his ya-ya about his touchdowns had been on his phone texting away for about a week...night and day. His new quarter grades on powerschool left a lot to be desired as well and in my opinion he's been more than distracted the last couple of weeks. Add to the pot my lovely school VIP's who make sure I remain in the loop who also stopped by to throw me the skank alert flag, and my beams were on fire. The alert was not only was the girl not the most attractive chickenhead in the group but her reputation for already being a squirrel (you know what squirrels like to eat) had already made it around the school. She's a freshman and its November for Pete's sake.

After some detective work and checking my facts (you know we have our ways), I approached Twin who basically told me "mom I heard it all, she a nice girl and I like her". I gave him the benefit until I got my last phone call before I had my second discussion with him in which it went something like "I trust your judgement and will support whatever decison you make because I've raised you right but please know that for every rumor there is some truth to it and I'm not sure how you feel but the thought of kissing a girl who may even have possibly given bj's or anything else to some or even one of your friends should make you throw up in your mouth a little bit". He sat quietly and told me he would think about it and soon went to bed.

I got a text about an hour ago that said "mom, I love you I had to cut her".

I'm sure I can't chase all the hoes in training away forever and his emotions will eventually over rule my scenarios and visuals but for now it worked and all I can do is continue to put some type of morsel into his mind about what is appropriate to bring home.

PLAYOFF TIME!

I can feel it come in the air tonight, oh Lord - Phil Collins


Well, it's that time. Been waiting all season for it to get here and now is the time. Playoffs are here and in the SJS Saint Mary's High School is rated #1 baby! Come get it!

Checked to make sure my boys were focused on the task at hand and grades look good. Next checked their myspace pages for inspection and I found this on Twin A's page...

love it!



On Twin B's page I found something equally as good. Love a multi-talented receiver -



Twin B has gone on to basketball. The last JV football game ended Friday night. Saturday morning he was at basketball practice at 8am. This was the last football reminent I found on his page as he's remade it to fit the upcoming basketball season. Still love that round ball! Can't wait for the season to begin but right now I got OUR (YES I SAID OUR)...okay okay, (THEIR) sights set on a run for the state title. It's all for the parents anyway right?

Be back with an update next Friday peeps!

Just Stopping By

Theme Music this week....I ADORE THIS SONG AND PLAY THE AIR DRUMS WHEREVER I AM EVERY TIME IT GETS TO THE 3:34 MARK! FOOTBALL MUSIC BABY!!!



Wow! Things have been a little crazy here lately and it's becoming much harder to make this a daily blog. Weekly has been hard enough. Football season is NUTS! It seems the Fridays are flying by.

My boys team cracked the top 100 in the nation this week! See for yourself. We'll take the number #88 spot!. BAM BAM will make his Varsity appearance this week. After accumulating 14tds in 7 games at the JV level this year and 500+ yards he's making the big jump. I'm a little worried for him but we left the decision completely up to him. I'm hoping he won't be camping out on the sideline too much. Even a 4th quarter appearance would make me...and him, I'm sure feel good. We'll see.

Twin B will stay down at JV and he's doing well with quite a few vicious catches in traffic this year, but I still look at his face and watch the computer history and his frequent visits to the basketball forums and know that he is pining for the basketball season to begin.

As the holidays begin to approach I'm increasingly becoming more anxious to visit my mom and dad sometime soon. I never thought I'd be a adult child in misery over not seeing her parents but I somehow feel that visits to them are necessary to keep me sane. As necessary as my gym visits each day...I know, wierd but even though I've been with my immediate family all of my adult life I still sometimes feel as if my real wall only can be let down with my mommy and daddy. Yes that is what I call them and if you have a problem with it...SEE ME. (smile)

Well, I rushed this one in between, scrubbing uniforms and floading 4 loads of laundry that has been sitting slowly growing in a chair for 2 days. Peace and Hair Grease!

Just say no to fried ocra!

Nesh!

M.I.A

(Wondertwin power...ACTIVATE) (#18 Twin B, #5 Twin A)

Ripping any running. Such is life lately. Haven't had much time to blog...but I miss all of my readers even if somedays the only one reading is me.

It's 96 degrees outside right now and just sticking nasty hot. I don't want winter just yet but I'd love for it to be a little cooler, maybe just 10 degrees color.

School is crazy right now between all these tests and homework and projects. Work life, not to mention football has been going, going and going. Since it's too hot to be in the writing mood I thought I'd share some pictures of the last few weeks. Enjoy. MUUUUAAAAHHHHH!!!!



(My little daffodil picker got a tackle this week, next year he'll be in beast-mode)



(my handsome little sophs...lub them boys)


(Cayden started school, he's so happy...AND SO IS MOMMY!)

Obama's Speech will corrupt your children. NOT!

Just when you thought August recess couldn't get any wackier, conservative talk show hosts have stirred up a hornets' nest over President Obama's planned speech to the nation's schoolchildren next Tuesday. Obama plans to tout the value of education, encouraging kids to work hard and stay in school. But now, after working themselves up into a frenzy over death panels and Nazi symbols, conservative critics are inspiring a new wave of madness, calling the speech a political recruiting tool and propaganda. Florida Republican Chairman Jim Greer took an incredible leap of logic, saying that Obama intends to "indoctrinate America's children to his socialist agenda."

Newpaper reports all over the country are reporting that parents have called local schools requesting that their children be excused from viewing the speech or threatening to keep their kids home if the speech is shown in their classrooms. The Associated Press reports that school districts in six states - including the President's home state of Illinois - will refrain from showing the speech to students. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has written to teachers encouraging them to incorporate the speech into their lesson plans, using the president's message about hard work as a learning tool. But, in reaction to concerns from parents, some schools have decided that the speech won't be discussed at all in their classrooms, leaving it up to parents to decide whether the speech merits a conversation with adults.

All of this raises a few questions: What happened to classrooms as venues of learning, where ideas are explained and debated? Isn't it the exact job of schools to turn out young citizens who are informed and engaged enough to be full participants in political discourse? Since when should we be directing schools to shield children from history, politics, and culture? If a speech by the president of the United States isn't a legitimate device, then I'm not sure what is.

It's not unusual for presidents to visit schools when promoting policies, as George W. Bush did when he passed No Child Left Behind and wasn't he a brillant one. No problems with him entering the classroom. Ronald Reagan did the same for his "Just say No" policies. Mostly it's been considered a privilege and a learning opportunity to have an important political figure speak to children. Political candidates often use schools as a backdrop for their education pitches. And it won't be the first time teachers have turned on a TV so students can witness important political moments. Do you remember the day you watched the first teacher go up into space only to have the shuttle explode on tv. I watched this in my 6th grade Science class. The notion that letting children hear the president speak is worthy of fear seems ridiculous to America's democratic values. Moreover, the subject matter should be something that people of all political stripes agree on: education should be prized, working hard should be valued, and staying in school helps kids getting ahead. The question has been proposed about how todays young students could insure a graduation rate in 2020 of 80%, I believe the number was. And isn't that a horrible thing? We have this "horrible" president who would like to see 80% of our high school kids graduate! Oh the horror of it all! He wants kids to graduate! What will he want next? Young people to go to college?! Heaven forbid! We can't allow him to indoctrinate our children to become ed-u-ma-kated they might end up smarter than us! They might even grow up to become a Vice President who knows how to spell potato. Have we really gotten to a point where parents are afraid of having the president impart those messages? You will allow your child to download music that you can't even hear to follow through your child's ears while they are in your backseat, knowing you have no idea Lil' Wayne is really saying - or when is the last time you viewed every text that passed through your child's cellphone or myspace - but certain folks have the nerve to be intimidated by a stay in school speeches for your child? Are you serious? President Obama...please please please indoctrinate my children that SCHOOL IS THE WAY!!! It is what we as parent "preach" to them EVERYDAY!It's been one crazy summer.

Good News

This morning was just a bit overwhelming between trying to get all the boys off to school this morning. FIRST DAY 10TH GRADE! Whoop Whoop. In the process of trying to get the twins out the door the garage collapsed and barely missed my car. It came off the track with the truck still inside. Thank goodness for my two boys. They managed to get it on track good enough to push it up and hold it up while I backed up. We barely made it out after they had to return back to the house to scrub all the dirt and grim off. I arrived at their school at 8:00 and made it back across town to get CJ out the door and to school.

I was a little flustered when I got back home but I got a great phone call in the middle of it all. I've been up a little lately thinking about bills, tuition, the economy the future and such. My friend on the line called to say not to worry about anything because it was all worked out. I can't really go into details much. Sorry guys public forum but I can relax a little. I'm very happy.

Second good news is that a friend shared some school information with me last week. I told her how frustrated I was that Twin A had been put into Contemporary Foods, a non-transferrable class that is IN MY OPINON worthless. I mean come on, I can teach my son how to cook and prepare foods at home. They gave him health as well. TWO garbage classes? My friend shared with me that buried in the middle of the English classes was Rhetoric, a great elective that is also on the NCAA clearinghouse list. Love it! Well, loved it until I went to try to enroll him in the class and there was no room. Gggggrrrr!

I got the call yesterday that they found room for him and he's in. Whoop Whoop!
And now I'm off any running. Make it a great day!

High School vs. AAU

All of these coaches make good points. It's so hard and so much pressure on these kids though. I feel bad for the high school coaches however it sometimes feels as if the AAU Club coaches go make the extra effort to get to "know" their players. By get to know I mean, read their faces, their emotions, know what moves them and what drives them to win and get the most out of each one. Because these coaches are squished into a passenger van or SUV with their players on road trips, staying in a cheap hotel and eating at McDonalds with them they get to KNOW their players. That is why at the end of this segment you heard the player say that his club coach is the one he picks to help him out with his future.

Now that my boys are in high school I see the difference between high school coaches and club coaches. I have the additional experience of having their coach also be their father which brings another link into the picture. Coach Dad knows EVERY ONE of the players on his team. He knows how to tell if "Jimmy" is tired, if "John" can give more. He knows that "Bobby" is having a hard time at home lately, that Shawn needs to hear some encouragement to get him going and that the ball should always be in "Paul's" hand at the end of the game because he's going to make that shot or draw the foul. He knows how to call a time out and look his team in the face and say "dig dammit or I'm calling the season and I'm done with with crap". He wants it as much as they want it.

High School coaches often simply just don't have enough invested in their players. They haven't paid for the player who's parents couldn't afford it. They haven't fed 5of the kids in the SUV with them. They haven't picked up 4 of the kids for practice or talked with them 30 minutes after practice while waiting for their parents to get there. They haven't listened to the conversations going on in the back seat. They haven't had an event outside of basketball to watch the kids personalities. Something as small as sitting by the hotel pool while the boys swim and watching how they interact with each other makes a world of difference. Instead, they get the kid often after he's left the house at 7:00am, done a long day at school, had a bag of chips and soda before practice, flunked his math test and doesn't really feel like running lines because his teammate missed his freethrows. The coach has to play "everybody" on the team. He doesn't understand why Seth feels his minutes are being wasted on the "scrub" behind him who is getting minutes because he comes to practice everyday and who just got beat by his man the last three trips up the court. Lastly, the club kid is unconfident in his coach because not only is he usually a highschool teacher who doesn't get on their level but he's given the kids no reason to believe they can relate to him. Highschool coaches tend to do two things. They either feel the AAU player has a big head already so they do not reward them when they do well or kiss their butt so much that the kid doesn't respect him. You'd be amazed just how far "nice pass or good job buddy" go. These remarks can't just be for the bench players. Let's be honest though. Highschool teachers HAVE to be held to a certain standard though. They more often have to deal with the student-athlete. A club coach is in a position to be a little more personal with the player's family. You actually pay your money to this coach to get the best. Can a highschool coach really grab your kid up by the neck and say "get your ass out there and ball". Not really...a club coach can do it and have a replacement for your kid by next week should he decide not to oblige.

On another coach there is the highschool coach who wants to prove so much that the player ain't sh**, that it becomes a personal vendetta to break the kid down to show them and everyone else who will pay attention that "he ain't sh**", instead of doing what an AAU coach tends to do which is say "get out there and get in his chest and lock your man down, I know you can do it". I believe that we all know a "bad" club coach when we see one. It's reflected in his players. As an observer of both sides I've been to a million AAU tournaments and highschool games. This is an on-going battle that will continue for years. As a parent I can only hope that both my sons' AAU coach and highschool coach has the best interest in my son. To make him better, be a role model to him and use his love of the game to help him along the road of being a successful man. This does not mean that basketball will be his life but when he looks back on these years in high school I want him to enjoy these years, make lifelong friends and know that the time has not been wasted but made him grow as good human being. Vince Lombardi said "Winning isn't the everything, it's the only thing" however I hope he meant in the game of life. It's the most important part.

Sportsmanship Amongst Grief

I found a great story today on my sports forum. It's playoff season and everyone is waiting for the brackets to come out but in Illinois some character has risen amongst competition. A Delkalb Ill. basketball had traveled over two hours to make it to their basketball game only to arrive and still have to wait an hour to play. Most of the opposing team where at the hospital with their teammate.

During his college ACT exam Johntel Franklin's mother had taken a turn for the worst at the hospital. She was hemmorraging as a result of her 5 year fight with cervical cancer. This time she lost. Her son and several of his teammates were at the hospital late that afternoon when the decision was made to turn off the life-support system. Carlitha Franklin was just 39. He was very distraught and it happened so suddenly he didn't have time to grieve.

His coach was going to cancel the game, but Franklin told him he wanted the team to play. And play they did, even though the game started late and Milwaukee Madison dressed only eight players. During the second quarter Johntel Franklin arrived at the game. He came there directly from the hospital to root his teammates on.
The Knights had possession, so his coach called a time out. His players went over and hugged their grieving teammate. Fans came out of the stands to do the same. He told his coach that he wanted to play.

There was just one problem. Since Franklin wasn't on the pre-game roster, putting him in meant drawing a technical foul that would give DeKalb two free throws.

Though it was a tight game, and the coach was willing to give up the two points. It was more important to help his senior guard and co-captain deal with his grief by playing.

Over on the other bench, though, the team wasn't so willing to take them. The opposing coach told the referees to forget the technical and just let Franklin play. The refs told them, "no, that's the rule. You have to take them."

That's when Rohlman asked for volunteers, and McNeal's hand went up.

He went alone to the free throw line, dribbled the ball a couple of times, and looked at the rim.

His first attempt went about two feet, bouncing a couple of times as it rolled toward the end line. The second barely left his hand.

It didn't take long for the Milwaukee players to figure out what was going on.

They stood and turned toward the DeKalb bench and started applauding the gesture of sportsmanship. Soon, so did everybody in the stands.

"I did it for the guy who lost his mom," McNeal told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "It was the right thing to do."

Franklin would go on to score 10 points, and Milwaukee Madison broke open the game in the second half to win 62-47. Afterward, the teams went out for pizza, two players from each team sharing each pie. Carlitha Franklin's funeral was last Friday, and the school turned out for her and her son. Cheerleaders came in uniform, and everyone from the principal and teachers to Johntel's classmates were there.

"We have a losing record but there's life lessons going on, good ones."

None so good, though, as the moment a team and a player decided there were more important things than winning and having good stats.

Yes, DeKalb would go home with a loss. But it was a trip they'll never forget.

"This is something our kids will hold for a lifetime," Rohlman said. "They may not remember our record 20 years from now, but they'll remember what happened in that gym that night."

More Budget Cuts!

This is so frustrating...article in our local paper printed this morning...and people have the nerve to question why I am sending my children to private school. I HAVE to pay the cost in order to have even a descent education for them now-a-days. Of course all these budget cuts won't happen but I'm sure most of them will. All the electives, transportation, closing a highschool that hasn't been opened 6 months? Worse, closing Manteca Day...home to the little thugs that refuse to obey teachers, do their homework, and be normal productive students and mix them in with the rest of the students. So now there isn't even the threat of getting kicked out of school and sent to continuation school because they can't afford it.

WE ALL NEED JESUS!!!!

Finals are finally over -

So we made it through the first semester by the skin of our teeth. I think I've sweated these first high school finals as much as the boys did. I'm actually quite proud of them too. I witnessed as they both buckled down this week and last and studied for their tests. I quizzed and tested and quizzed and tested some more. Twin A managed to pull out a respectable grade in all classes. The math grade killed his GPA though. He bombed on the Math final and he bombed on the Science final but he had an A already in his science class so he ended with a B for the semester. Twin B, my more studious kid who has never missed a day of honor roll had a much tougher time. Spanish has been his adversary this year. His fought all year just to keep his head above water. He brings a final grade of C home for that class. He also took a dive in Alegebra and bombed the final. Luckily the teacher likes him and decided to give him a mediocre grade but he won't see the honor roll this time around either. I know my Twin B though. He'll be back fighting. A fellow public school honor roll student, who happens to be a Junior at their current school saw his disappointment and shared with him "you'll be happy for the 2.8 at this school". I'm hoping the academics and quest for the students to do better will spark a competitive nature in them. Not only in sports but in the classroom as well. I have a feeling next semester will be better. I actually feel badly for them because they both seem so glum about their grades this time around. My take is that if I don't see you trying to do your best that is another story. Since I wasn't an A student I can't be upset if they don't bring home perfect grades all the time. I do expect more though. I was thinking about a punishment for them but it just doesn't seem fair at this point to discipline a kid simply because they "didn't get it". I reviewed their powerschool information and no assignments were missed. Every option for extra credit was used. I don't know. I'll have to think this one over a little bit more.

The Formal Is Coming

Oh My Goodness, Cayden has been up all night. I'm trying to break him of his new habit which is to lay in bed and simply screaming for what he wants "I want someone to cover my feet"..."I want some Juuuuuiccceeee", "I need mustard and ketchup"....EXCUSE ME! What happened to can someone please help me??? This went on all last night until 4:30am. He's sleeping beauty now. I'm so tired I can't sleep!

Anyway, onto my post - Monday the boys started discussing the formal dance in January. Twin B played cool and said he didn't care to go and wasn't really interested in going but a couple girls had either asked him or hinted that they wanted him to ask them. Twin A...Mr. Ladies Man of course (with a girlfriend) says that he is taking his best girl-friend. I said "your taking or you are asking me can you take". After that whole "mom can I go discussion". We go to the store and he asks if he can get her a bear and a rose in order to present to her and ask her formally. I'm like, "I thought you guys already discussed this"...and wow, surprise of surprises he says "yes mom, we already discussed it but all of her other friends are getting stuff from their dates and I don't want her to feel left out so I gotta get her something". I asked why he wasn't taking his actual "girlfriend" and he explains that she doesn't go to his school and I'll be stuck with her all night. If I take my friend then I won't feel obligated to be stuck with her all night. LMAO! Okay...well I love that there is always a method to his madness. Funny thing- I wish I had the inside scoop on what boys thought when I was growing up.
Twin B then comes in and asks can he get a small bear and a rose to for the girl he wants to ask. I'm even more surprised at this. He says "yeah, i guess I should check out this dance thing and see what it's about". He asks the girl yesterday and she said she would like to go but she has a C and a D right now and her parents said she can't go unless she passes all her finals. I love this school. I love the parents there too. I asked if he gave her the gifts and my comical son says "heck no, you get it if you say yes, if you said I don't know, you get NOTHING". Then he goes on to share some stories of several of the boys this week who have purchased expensive bears and flower bouquets and given them to the girl only to be told no....I LOVE THAT BOY! He thinks just like his Mama.
Anyway - writing makes me sleeping. I'm hitting the sheets before Cayden wakes up.

Catching up on the boys

and so the first quarter of high school ends for the twins. I smile as I type because both did much better than I expected. I've been on them like white on rice each day "do you have homework?, what's homework? let me see it? what did the teacher say? Did you have all your books?" Sometimes I don't know how they deal with me. Sometimes I don't know how I deal with them. Jordan had his cast removed and is anxiously awaiting getting back out to football practice. He started with some light jogging this week and he swears he is playing next week. Honestly, I doubt it but I'll continue to give him a smile as he talks about his first high school game. Jalen has blossomed in high school. He has a 3.2 gpa, really likes his teachers and even managed to get moved up to the JV team where he is currently starting on both sides of the ball. He has yet to ask for a goof off day yet although who would want a goof off day when you could possibly come back to 6 hours of homework. I'm please with them both, I pray it continues and I anoint their heads with prayer oil after they go to sleep each night :-). PS Jalen still has the same girlfriend...I have no idea how, they go to different schools and haven't seen each other since 8th grade graduation...it's a text relationship..lol

Talking Dirty

As I watch the boys grow and change I see so many of the things I did as a teen in them. Their mannerisms, their clothing style, their culture it's basically just a circle of what I've already done in my youth but they seem to always up the scale just a little more. The one thing I did not do often was curse as much as the youth of today does. I was always so afraid my mother or father would be lurking around a corner somewhere to say "I'm gonna whoop your butt". It was many years away from my parents before I was able to freely curse without looking around and even longer before I dared to even say a curse word in front of them. It's a work in progress as I find myself struggling sometimes to suppress words I should not say. In fact I have money jar on my desk and if I say a curse word I have to put a quarter in it if CJ hears me say a curse word.

At an early age I've already heard my sons' and their friends curse a number of times. In fact if they think I'm out of earshot they are going to curse. We've had many sit downs and I've discussed open their vocabulary and the fact that if you curse so much it's just a way of saying I'm too dumb to think of a more intelligent word. Not the case with them. They say it's a different form of expression....BULL! Wherever you look someone is cursing though. Do you know how many words you could get away with on tv and radio now? I remember watching "Dynasty" as a kid. When Alexis slapped Krystal for the first time and said "You Bitch"...the whole room went silent and my hand immediately went up to my mouth. Now, I have to turn the radio down in the car and many points in the song to avoid all the stripper songs, weed songs, get butt naked songs, I'm gonna murder your mother songs....etc etc etc.
All I can do is continue to teach my children to expand their vocabulary and be better...while feeling up my quarter jar and making CJ rich.

Twin Love

So, the twins...they are adjusting well to high school but I feel "the change" coming on. The change as in "I no longer am interested in adults because we are clearly more superior" attitude beginning to form. Particularily in Twin A. He is "smelling" himself to no end. His whole attitude is "I have no time for you unless you can do something for me". I'm doing my very best to keep him grounded, to make him aware of this new found attitude and to remind him that he need not bite the hand that feeds him. He isn't rude, disrespectful or obnoxious by any means. It's simply...something we've noticed. No more kisses goodnight unless I go in and prop myself on his bed and then I sort of feel as if I've entered "his space" (which leads me to my next topic). He is still helpful around the house, he simply does what is asks then goes back to texting, myspace, ipod...anything to be out of touch or distant. I know he's growing up but it still hurts my feelings that I have to have a dollar in hand, the possibility of an interesting place to go and something in it for him, or some good gossip to even get his attention lately. Go figure.

On another note - "The Change" has trickled down to the twins wanting their own room. I walked around sullen for about 2 days and refused to respond to the requests for the last 3 months but I finally gave in last week and allowed Twin B to move into his own room. He was so excited he was up until 2 am moving his things out and setting up, his spot. He didn't even care that Twin A had the tv and cable. I walked in "his room" to find him staring up at the ceiling, eating a bag of Sour Cream and Onion Ruffles and listening to the radio with the best smile on his face and the cleanest room in the house. He says it's his twin's fault the room was always messy and I agreed readily that he was the neater one until I went back upstairs to find that Twin A has spent a week with an immaculate room as well, complete with vaccuum lines on the floor. So now I have no idea who the "real" culprit of the dirty room was or if it was simply too much stuff in one cozy room. I smiled yesterday when I came home and found them downstairs in the same room. One on the floor, one on the bed cracking jokes. I'm hoping that will never change.