Things to do with teens--Cheap, but not always

I have four teenagers in my home.  Yes--four.  They are 17, 17, 16 and almost 15 years of age.  And yes I know that is crazy.  But I love every moment with them.  Okay, maybe not EVERY moment, but for the most part, most of the moments.  They are fun, they keep me laughing and hey, they can dress and feed themselves! How awesome is that??  I can carry on conversations with them and get responses.  We can discuss world peace (ha ha ha, okay the boys are more concerned with world domination) and future plans (insert deer in head lights look here..at least that is what I always get!  SIGH) 

The biggest thing is the knowledge I only have a short amount of time before the guys (and one girl) and grown and gone out of my home.  I only have a short amount of time getting to know them more and influencing them (ha ha ha AS IF I had that power! LOL) Before I know it, they will be grown and gone (at least that's the plan) so for now, I choose to spend a lot of time with them.  So I have been thinking of things I can do with them to not only entertain them, but to also get a little bit more time in with them.  I wish I could say this list is full of free ideas but it's not.  I would like to say the ideas are cheap, but I haven't found anything cheap when it comes to teens!!  ;)

Tada--The list, as it is now

1.  Drive them to and from work. 
My guys work.  So I drive them.  I realize it is not always possible or feasible, but that is a few more moments to spend with them if you can.  Maybe just one day a week.  This is not a time to harp on their bedrooms, laundry piling up, the fact they didn't take the trash out, or have they applied to a college.  This is simply a time to chat, sing out loud to the radio, tell jokes, laugh.  Have fun with this time.  You can lecture later.  But for now, enjoy.  Your teens will soon be young adults and you will need to foster a new relationship with them.  You will always be their mom (or dad if you are a guy reading) so start now showing them you are human and not always the evil tyrant they think you are.

2. Drive-In movie. 
Of course this only works if you have one nearby.  A lot times they will charge by the car load and offer two movies for one price.  Plus you can bring in your own snacks.  So much cheaper than a regular theater.  Plan to arrive early.  Out here in West Texas, movies start at 9pm in the summer....you better be there by 7:30.  Grab some lawn chairs and an extra radio if you have one handy.  You just tune into the station to listen to the movie.  And here is an added perk--your sweet teens can sit out in front of the vehicle while you and your sweetie snuggle up in the vehicle.  So see...cheap, fun, and a chance to snuggle!  What more could you want?

3. Museums
I think everywhere has a museum or two or three.  Your teens probably haven't been since their 5th grade field trip.  Why not take them back now?  They are older and you generally don't have to worry about them touching things.  They might actually read the little plagues and learn something!  You may be pleasantly surprised at their response to the museum.  My guys take FOREVER in them.  I am the one wanting to hurry along to the next exhibit. 

4.  Play tourist in your area
Okay so this also a continuation of museums...but go play toursit.  What sites are there available to you in your area?  Historic homes?  Amusement parks? Cool places to eat?  Head over to your city's Chamber of Commerce and grab up the brocures for your town.  Then pick some things to do. 

5.  Nature
Grab your sunscreen, big floppy hat and go outdoors.  I have boys (and one tom-boy of a girl) so being outdoors is great.  Of course out here in West Texas we miss a few things such as wildflowers and trees and water, but hey, it's all good.  Take a picnic and head out.  Lake, Federal or State parks or even city parks.  My daughter will swing on a swing if it is available and she is 16yrs old.  Trails to hike on...my guys are gone with a "see you at the top mom"

6.  Crafts
These aren't for just little kids.  You can do actual crafts that are not made of popcycle sticks and glue.  My son, Alex and I have a plan to do make a bird bath incorporating the poured paint process.  He and I have a Lowe's trip planned and then we will be ready to pour!  Do you know how to sew or knit or carve bears out of logs? If so, pass this down to  your children.  Of course don't bully them into it, persuade gently....ha!  Also don't be a hard ass about it either.  It's for fun, you want them to have fun..no need to scream because the chain was pulled too tight while knitting or whatever.  Get your teens on Pinterest and pick out something to work on together.  It is also a great time to learn something new.

7.  Volunteer
Do you have a "save the Earth" kinda teen.  It won't kill you to go and help them volunteer somewhere.  Four hours a week, a month or whatever won't upset your life.  Go...do something.  And who knows you might like it!  Let your teen decide the project and call and go in .  And who knows maybe you will get a cool free t-shirt out of the deal.

8.  Concerts, plays
Drag them!!  Take them to listen to bands they may have not have heard of.  Expose them to new sounds.  Often times cities will host free concerts in the park.  Hello??  FREE!! Grab a blanket and some drinks.  Go sit and listen and if its good--dance!  Of course unless your family is really into Polka or something, I would skip those.  No reason to torture the ENTIRE family! 

Just think with Teens, you can skip Disney on Ice and go see some real grown up type plays.  Make it a date night (if you wish..one teen is cheaper than four!) or be brave and take them all.  And as much as they grown and grumble about how lame it is to go see the play, drag them anyway.  For our family, EVERY time they come out talking about how awesome it was.  Even Drake, my 17yr old, told me one time about being drug somewhere, "you know I am gonna tell you I don't want to go, but we always have fun and I am glad I went" 

9.  Sporting events
Even if you are not a sports fan you will survive a couple of hours at a game.  Here in West Texas we have hockey, soccer, football both indoors and outdoors and minor-league baseball.  So we get to take our pick.  Check out your local teams website because out here almost every home game comes with a freebie.  Magnets, jerseys, caps, bobble heads.etc.. 

10.  Take a drive
Yep, just get in and go.  Last weekend we took the soon to be 15yr old on one of our famous Conner-Jimerson, seat of your pants, road trips.  We got up early, went and had breakfast and then took off down the road.  For once we had a destination in mind, but normally we just take a road and go.  We took the long way to Fort Stockton and stopped and read every historical marker.  Yep, I learned about Blue Mountain (how it isn't really a mountain and Rattlesnake Butte) We stopped at convenience stores for drinks and chips and drove.  Well Mr. Looks Good in Wranglers drove.  I, on the other hand, looked like a puppy dog in the car..looking out this window then that window and back and forth I would go. 

If you are bit scared by a big random trip, just take one in town.  Is there a street you have never been down?  Who knows what you will find?  Then you can branch out.  We go for hours driving just to drive.  If it wasn't for random drives I would have never learned about Notrees, Tx.  Or that Wink, Tx is where Roy Orbinson grew up! 

To help cut costs you can bring food and drinks with you.  Stop at a random roadside park and grab a bite.  We have been known to pull over in a decent ditch and eat out of the back of the car.  Sounds very redneck doesn't it?? And the fun part...if the teens see something interesting they want to check out--we stop and check it out!  We don't have dvd players in the suburban (I'm mean that way) but we do allow them their phones and PSVita.  I don't want to torture them too bad! ;)

This list is to simply get you started.  Hopefully it opened a few ideas on how to spend some more time with your teens.  And yes, raising teens is like nailing jello to a tree sometimes

But it is possible!! Enjoy!!

How to put off housework!! Or the $6 wreath

So yesterday I was not very motivated to clean house.  Not even close to motivated.  More like, yeah---I soooo don't want to clean house.  But I still wanted to keep my Domestic Diva status and in order to accomplish that goal I had to find something to do make it look like I was truly in my Domestic Divaness role.  So, being the best at putting off work, I decided to make a quick (well not so quick) wreath.

This wreath could be free if you have the supplies lying around your home.  I, did not have the fabric so I bought some at Wally-World.  I bought 6 fat quarters (99 cents each) in cordinating fabric for my little DIY project.

I had a wreath from the fall, that I bought years ago.  I even think, if I am not mistaken, it survived the house fire.  So this wreath has been around a time or two.  But the flowers and leaves were falling off.  I cleaned out the laundry room last week and was going to throw it away, but decided to upcycle it instead.  I started pulling out the stems and off with the flowers. 

So here it is in the process of being destroyed...err I mean taken apart.  Once upon a time it was a pretty little wreath.  Now, I will confess I did not save the flowers or leaves.  I couldn't come up with something to upcycle them into and since I live in a small home and am not able to always collect supplies (in mass quanties) I decided...the trash it goes.  So they did.

Here is my naked wreath and my fat quarters.  Sorry the picture quality is not the best, but you get the idea.

Now here is where the fun started.  I did have one issue and lost half a fat quarter to trying to figure it out, but we survived and now I will tell you the RIGHT way to accomplish this, given the tools I had available to me. 

Cut fat quarters in half and then half again.  Because the material is cotton you can make one cut, then rip.  (but not the little strips....hence loosing half of one fat quarter, little streamers makes a lot of threads flying everywhere and looks horrible!)

Then take each quarter and cut into strips.  Oh wait, let me back up...the wreath I am using is small in diamater, so if you are using a larger wreath you need to have longer strips and will need to cut your differently.  Wheww...I almost forgot to pass along those words of wisdom!! 

After cutting strips for a while if finally dawned on me, I could fold the 1/4 of a fat quarter in half and cut strips that way and save some cutting time.  For the record I did not worry about my strips being straight and neat.  All I was doing is making a wreath.  If you need to have straight fabric strips, then by all means have at.....if I owned a rotary cutter and mat, I would have straighter strips then I ended up with.  Of course if you have pinking sheers, those would make cute fabric strips as well.  I didn't...so....well you get the point.

Once all my little strips were cut, I just got to tieing, tying?  How in the heck do you spell tie-ing?  Anyway....I tied strips on there forever.  There was a point where it was starting to loook very ugly and I was worried, but thankfully it all came out.

And wah-la!!  Isn't cute.  If you look closely you will see a lot of speckle marks and places where the paint is gone on our door.  It rained out here and what we can figure is the rain knocked the paint off.  (if you have to understand, rain in West Texas is a B.I.G. thing!!)  So hopefully soon, I will have a bright blue door, as I have threatened to paint it that color. 

Happy Mother's Day to my Dad

My father raised me alone from the time I was 2yrs old and did not remarry until I graduated.  We made the newspaper here in West Texas

http://www.mywesttexas.com/life/article_25d59118-ad29-5c41-9588-c49163d25542.html

The English Paper

Where Do I Belong?

            I have always seemed to have an identity crisis of some sort; never truly fitting in anywhere.  In high school I did not belong to the academic crowd because more often than not I floated by on a low B or C average.  I did not belong to the athletic crowd because I did not enjoy watching or participating in sports.  Friday night football nights where an opportunity for me to go to the other team’s side and check out the cute guys in their acid washed jeans, Van shoes and Polo shirts.  I did not belong to the druggie crowd because I could not afford to partake of that particular recreational habit and besides I was terrified of my father.  I did not fit in the goat-roper crowd, because I only wore my roper’s on special occasions and only owned one pair of red ones.  Those who were considered goat-ropers managed to have several pairs of ropers in a wide range of colors as well as the Rocky Mountain jeans and shirts. Now, as a mother of four teenagers, I have found myself again in the quandary of where I belong. 

            The first group of women are the Soccer-Moms.  These women began with a mini-van and worked their way up to a sporty SUV.  On the back glass are stickers of children’s names and megaphones, soccer balls, footballs, basketballs or the cute stick family stickers where everyone is displayed from father all the way to the family dog.  Their cars are filled with cute

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bags for organization as they whip around the town ferrying children to and from each group sport after school. 

            Soccer-Moms sit on bleachers with their hair carefully styled in the latest fashion all wearing capri pants and matching shirts.  The latest version of these moms has their feet adorned in Toms shoes.  They sit in groups and discuss husbands, mixed drinks and their children’s grades.  The tote bags beside them in the bleachers, proudly display names such as Hannah, Madeline, Ethan and Colby.  They sell candy bars and sit outside of stores all in hopes for raising money for their children’s newest organization involvement. 

            Another type of woman, I am not, is the Crunchy-Mom.  She is an adaptation of the Soccer-Mom, but she is more Earth and environment conscience.   She has her allotted 2.4 children and drives a hybrid car.  The stickers on her car speak of carbon footprints and gay pride.  As she pulls into the whole foods grocery store, she grabs her colorful bag, which easily slips over her neck and shoulder and hangs on one hip.  From the trunk she gathers her reusable shopping totes and heads in with her homeschooled children.

            If you stand too close you may notice a particular smell to Crunchy-Mom, she gave up deodorant because she does not want to the toxins to give her cancer.  Her hair, a bit in disarray, is its own natural colors as she does not want chemicals leeching into her scalp.  Children drink from washed out syrup bottles, as she reuses and repurposes everything possible.  At her home are a small garden and a compost bin.  Her children may be a bit more unruly than most but she wants to teach them love and not hate.  No spankings for these future environmentalists.

           

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The third type of mother is the Redneck-Mom.  Redneck-Mom is easy to notice because many times she heard before seen.  Tattoos on her legs, arms, shoulders, feet and around the ankle are her badge of pride; those and the deer head mounted on the trailer house wall.  She is the woman you think twice before letting your children go over because you are not sure the guns are locked up in the cabinet or on display.  Large trucks and car parts usually sit in front of her home.  And while she is hollering at her husband to stop drinking all her beer, her children, Bubba, Sue-Ellen, Junior and Sadie Mae run through the neighborhood playing cowboys and Indians with plastic weapons. 

            Mostly likely this mother is found shopping at Wal-Mart, pushing a basket while at least two scantily clad, dirty children clamor over and under the basket and hang off the sides.  Her motto is if you cannot buy it Wal-Mart, it is not fit to be had.  On a good day the Redneck-Mom will put on a bra and make up before heading out the door, however, most of the time she can be viewed in her natural habitat wearing pajama bottoms and a tank-top, bra-less of course.

            For myself, I seem to embody all three types of women.  I have tattoos, nine to be exact and yes, I do plan on more.  I live in a trailer due to the housing shortage however I will never be seen in public without a bra. Never.  I drive a VW Beetle which does save gas, but there are no window or bumper stickers.  I also own a SUV but it is for when my family of six goes on the road. I homeschooled my children up until four years ago, and begun again this previous fall with three of them.  I have one who attends public school. I have attended a few sporting events and even wore my school sponsored shirt. My children have been known to solicit for fundraisers.  I keep my nails done and I am choosey about wear I shop, generally choosing a

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better brand named item over Wal-Mart.  I do stop into the whole food stores to pick up vitamins and occasionally something considered healthy.  I have more than my allotted 2.4 children but I have been known to carry in a reusable bag to shop with.  The names of my children seem to be acceptable to each type of mother, Alex, Drake, Lynsie and Jacob.  As much as I would like to label myself a Soccer, Crunchy or Redneck mom, I have to face the truth and realize I am my own type of mother.  Maybe I should be known as the Red-Crunchy Ball Mom?

The Dad Post

Today is my father's 67th birthday, however we won't be able to celebrate with him.  Not this year or any other year.  My father passed away this past October (2011)  So in honor of my father I am going to share a bit about him. 

My father won custody of me when I was 2yrs old and did not remarry until I had graduated high school.  He raised me by myself, through the good, bad and sometimes even ugly.  Try being a teenage girl and having only your father available for advice..need I say more? *smile*

My father had a series of careers throughout his lifetime.  He faught in Viet Nam (63-67) He had joined the Air Force and volunteered to be a Commando, but the Air Force did not have Commando school so they sent him to Army Green Beret school.  When he went to Viet Nam, he went "Loaned from the Air Force to the Army as an American Advisor to the Vietemse Paratroopers"  So no one really knew who he was.  LOL 

After the military and running with the Hell's Angels he made his way to Texas.  Here he worked on a dairy and some how managed to get his way into the leather industry.  He was truly a brilliant leather artist, even winning 1st place at the State Fair of Tx for a saddle he tooled and built himself.  It broke his heart when he had to sell it due to financial issues. 

During his leather artist career, he became "The World Famous James S. Wood" because he also performed Rattlesnake shows.  I spent many weekends all around the state of Tx while he performed shows with the Heart of Tx Snake Handlers.  By the time was I was almost out of elementary school he had branched out on his own.  The summer after my freshman year, dad had a gig at Texas Safari (no longer open) where he performed snake shows.  Through that it branched to stagecoach and wagon driving, training a zebra to pull a wagon, exotic animal handling and numerous tv shows.  Oh let me back up and say, when I was in the 2nd grade, he was on "Those Amazing Animals" a branch of "That's Incredible"

My senior spring break was spent in El Paso with an elephant, ostrich, python and various other animals.  It was not uncommon for me to bring home baby lions, bears and tigers all because of our working at the exotic animal park.  

After I graduated my father began giving tours of down town Waco (Tx) with a wagon pulled by mules.  He soon bought his own carriage and gave carriage rides as well.  When he decided to give up these...he had found out he had cancer. 

To say the least I had an amazing childhood.  When it was cold we were out cutting firewood (a source of income) While my classmates were enjoying Saturday morning cartoons, I was bundling up to cut and split cords of firewood.  Once, a tank froze over and we "ice skated" in our boots.  We would take break and go searching in the woods and river banks for creatures, tracks and fossils and thus my geology love was born. 

I grew up on a ranch and we worked cattle.  It was nothing to ride the bus home from school and see a note on the fridge with the keys to the truck telling me where to go.  Quickly I would change, take off, do a few donuts in the pasture and then meet up with him to work cattle.  I remember sitting down with him after another incident involving fencing and cattle and he said, "If you ever marry a rancher, be sure he has good fences."  I think there might have been something deeper there, as I never did marry a rancher but the statement still sits with me as long as the memory of the wooden corral under my behind and the smell of cow patties floating through the air.

My dad taught me a few things about parenting.  1) Stop and smell the roses or cow patties, Look at the world around you and involve your children.  2) You can talk with your children.  You can trust a young adult with information.  I was helped weed the girls from his dating list and put my current "mom" number one on the list 3) Laugh.  My dad was funny.  A dork sometimes, but funny.  Stupid jokes, bad jokes, funny stories were always running around through my head with him.  We swapped them.  It was not uncommon to call each other up just to share a joke.  4) Live life....he took risks, chased his dreams.  There was something always bigger and better on the horizon and I never stopped dreaming.  Even as an adult, I am chasing my dreams.  My dream...a doctorate in Geology.  5) Give your opinion.  My dad didn't brow beat me with his thoughts but spoke his mind once and then let me mess up or correct the issue. 

I am sure there is more....I just can't think of them..  I do miss my dad...man do I miss him.  I catch myself several times going to call him to tell him something funny that happened.  Or to tell him I won a scholorship or to tell him I love you.  I miss his laugh and seeing his eyes crinkle.  I miss the handle bar mustache kisses.  I miss his knee high boots and big western hats.  I miss the fact there was always a book or magazine in his hand.  I miss skipping (as a child) with him across the mall parking lot.  I miss just saying a punch line to a joke when the situation called for it and we both knew what was being said.  I miss his voice, his singing, his huge embracing hugs.  I miss him. 

My dad in his hey day

My dad about a month before he died.  He was getting a Mary Kay facial with me!!  Even sick, he still had fun!  He hated the way he looked at the end, but he was still wonderfully my father!

Beautifying

Now mind you, I do live in West Texas in the middle of one of the worse droughts in history, and it doesn't look like it is getting any better any time soon.  We are on well water which means I can water (unlike those IN town, who face severe monatary punishment if they go over a certain amount of water) however, I am a bit relucant to just water all the time as I am trying to be a good steward as well. 

A little geology for you (since that is my major)..we live on the edge of the largest aquifer (natural) of water called the Ogallala Aquifer.  This aquifer is drying up.  Already where we live is pulling water from other sources in order to supply the town with water.  I say all of this to say....our well water, which comes from the ground, is coming from the aquifer.  I don't want to speed up the process any by having a very pretty and lucious green yard...I would rather have a few pretties and midly green yard and know I may have added a day or two to our water supply.  Sadly, this is really a reality for those of us who live in West Texas.  Our water could dry up.....If you pull out a map, you will notice there are no lakes really out here, especially compared to the rest of Texas. 

But, since I live where I live, I do want a few pretty things.  And then there is the issue of my previous fail trying to hang up my toucan planter.  As for now, the toucan just sits on the ground.  That might be his new home until I get to a lumber yard with Robert and figure out what we need to build a strong enough pole for my planter.

Since I became the proud ownder of two shepard's hooks, I have since became the proud owner of two pretty hanging baskets. 

I have no idea what this little plant is.  It has beautiful flowers when it's not 100+ outside.  And yes, we have already had a day of 104 degrees temps!  The poor thing just shrivels up, but by the evening and early morning, it is back to looking pretty. 

This is another no named one (because I have no clue!) but it is a member of the succulant family so he ought to do just fine out here.  The leaves are waxey/glossy and the little pink flowers close up at night.  Such a pretty little thing.

My friend Micah suggest I get Knock Out Roses so yesterday I did just that.  I bought one.  Lynsie requested it not be pink, so I found the closest I could to red.  This moring Jacob and I planted him.  Eventually where he is planted will be a raised bed but for now, he looks great there in the yard. 

The picture is not the best.  And as you can see, I still need to work on our little deck.  But my sweetie has been working about 100 hrs a week, so I can wait a bit before getting that all fixed up.  This picture does really show you how dry it is out here.  We had to wet the ground just to plant the rose bush. 

Even though, we currently don't have a lush yard like we would have been able to have in Central Texas, I can say, it is very nice to have a few things out to welcome us home.  I also picked up a tomato plant for sweetie  I have it planted (barely visible yellow pot to the left of the picture) It came with a few tomatoes as well as buds.  Now Robert can pick his own tomatoes and enjoy them. 

Regardless of where you live or what you live in...having it looks nice and inviting if nothing else makes you feel welcomed to your own home.  Even if you never have company a few things outside will help you fee invited in.  When a huge wind blows through and knocks my plants off (and yes that does happen) everything looks so bare until I get every one put back into their little homes and back up.  We don't have a lot of company (unless you count neighborhood teens coming over) so I do this for me.  Even Robert likes to see it be inviting when he comes in.  I can't change the fact we live in a trailer right now, but I can make it into a home.  I can't change the fact we live in West Texas and its dry out here, but I can do a few things to help spruce up the place!!  It may be dry out here, but at least when you pull up to our little home there is a bit of a green welcoming committee waiting to greet you!

A fun project

Okay, I am gonna be real honest and say, we probably saw this on Pinterest.  If you don't know what Pinterest is then I beg of you, stop reading and start clicking!! I love Pinterest.  It is a great site to showcase your favorite things, your company, your e-biz, whatever.  And it's an even better place for people like me with no orginal thoughts (or it seems) to get brilliant ideas to decorate a home with or to exercise with or cure cancer or whatever bits of internet info you have been dying to get your hands on.  Okay...back to the project.

We went to Wally-World looking for a plant (see previous post about my epic fail) (which by the way I did find a pretty little hanging basket)  Lynsie, my wonderful daughter, found the tinniest, cutest little succulants.  We LOVE succulents here...LOVE.....I mean love.  Did I mention love?  But hey we do live in West Tx and well ....succulents are our gardening friends!  Lynsie wanted them for her room, but didn't want to put them in a typical pot.  I mean, who wants plants in a normal pot?  So we headed to housewares. (okay, actually first we went to electronics and then over to grocery and we may have slipped through the craft area as well BEFORE heading to housewares)  We are looking at really neat white bowl, but the bowl is white. Bleh...down with the white bowl.  We don't like white bowls around here.  White is too boring for us.  (but honestly, would have been striking with the succulents)  And Lynsie asks, "Can we plant them in wine glasses?" 

Now, before you start your grand quest for wine glasses let me point out...they have small openings? mouths? Not sure what you call the part you drink out of.  So we chose goblets instead.  The opening? mouth? was wider and they were heavier...which is NICE. 

So now on my table sits a little row of succulents all planted in goblets.  Lynsie likes to watch the water roll down the sides when she waters them.  We probably should have put a few rocks at the bottom and then the soil, but hey...we got them in there and planted.  We will just becareful of the watering. 

So here they are, because I know you have been waiting to see them!!