Charlotte FC Inaugural Home Game - 3/5/22

This past Saturday our family attended the inaugural game of the Charlotte FC MLS team. The girls and I have never been to an MLS game before while the boys have been to several at the Crew stadium in Columbus, Ohio and also in Portland, Oregon for a Portland FC game. 

Our game was played in the same stadium that the Charlotte Panthers play in which holds quite a lot of people. (There was a record setting 74,000+ people at our game attending a professional soccer game in the United States, or so I've been told.) 

The pregame stuff was AMAZING. Josh and Andy both agreed it was the best pregame experience they have ever been to. It was so magical. The lights turned off during part of the pregame production and inspiring videos were shown, fireworks went off, and a small laser show made feel like we were experiencing an epic moment. 

When the National Anthem was sung the microphone went out on the lead singer and the entire stadium picked up where she left off creating a spine-tingling, hair raising several minutes that left myself, Sarah, and Andy with tears in our eyes. It was such a powerful moment to hear 74,000 people sing our national anthem acapella.  I don't know if I will ever forget that moment. 

The games itself got mixed reviews from our family. Some of our members loved it; while others thought it was subpar because the stadium was too big and the crowd didn't know what they were doing in terms of organizing chants/cheers. I thought the game was cool, but I do think it would have been better in a smaller stadium of half the size. 

Charlotte FC ended up losing 1-0 on a goal scored in the second half. Our goalie had done a really good job prior to this goal and continued to do a good job after the goal. It was just one of those goals that were in the upper 90 and unstoppable. 

Bobby did a great job scoping our parking prior to our trip and we reserved a spot in a lot about 3/4 of a mile from the stadium which was perfect because it allowed us to stretch our legs before and after the game. It was also far enough away from the stadium to avoid crazy traffic. We were able to get in and out of our lot with relative ease. (Plus, we only paid $20 for our spot where as some parking lots were charging $50 a spot!) 

Bobby and I made a promise to our kids this year that we would make an honest effort to try and experience more non-naturey things with them as we haven't really ever had the budget to regularly go out on excursions that weren't relatively free. Bob has done a wonderful job working so hard to secure extra funds for our family, so that we can experience stuff like sporting events. I know the kids appreciate just how hard their dad is working and just how expensive it is for us to go out and do something as a family of six. I know that I certainly appreciate his hard work and dedication to our family. 

Overall, I would say that this game was a good experience for us. It is always a tender experience for me when the six of us get to be together especially because that happens so rarely with Josh away at school and Andy working and going to school. I appreciate being with my tribe so much.

In our parking spot partaking in some beverages (gatorade for me and the girls and beer for Bobby and Andy) before the game. Josh was meeting us at our spot as he arrived downtown earlier with his soccer buddies from school. 

I cannot tell you in words how much I love these four humans in this picture with me. It makes me verklempt just thinking about it. They are my everything. (And it is crazy that I am the shortest person in my family by several inches!)

 

Sarah looks so annoyed in this picture. We try to make a specific noise for her when we need her to look in a certain direction for picture taking, but obviously it didn't work too well in this one. 

I think behind Washington DC, Charlotte is my second favorite city. It is clean, easy to use, makes good use of its space, is pretty to look at, has a lot to do, etc...This is a pic taken from where we parked. 

From the outside this stadium is one of the coolest I have been to. The decor is majestic and sleek and the building seems imposing. I would definitely like to see another game here - maybe when the Browns come into town to play the Panthers this fall. 

I'm not gonna lie - these statues were both really cool and really scary. There were two of them at the entrance of the building and they were definitely imposing. 

I love us so much. We are so lucky to have each other. 

I always get a bit verklempt when I see service members, but more so when I see them carrying our stars and stripes. 

This pregame show was so, so cool. 

Panoramic pic taken by Bobby. (And capturing Elizabeth's essence perfectly.)

Watching the pregame warmups.

Game is just about to start - introducing the players. 

Playing the game. 

Second half of the game. 

The number of people in attendance. 

Right back from where we started from. 

My wish is that they always love and care for one another as they grow. They are so good to each other and I hope that never stops. 

Family Meals - Week of March 6

Last week's bread making was successful - I would say anyway. The kids usually get nervous when I go into one of my 'try and make everything from scratch modes' because I have tried to make some crazy things - corn tortillas and pasta come to mind as some of my biggest nightmarish food disasters. I don't necessarily blame them either for being hesitant to try things like homemade bread because it is different from store bought bread - it's supposed to be different. (But - I also have made this bread on and off for years, so it's not entirely new to them either.) The recipe that I love for making homemade bread has 5 ingredients - yeast, flour, salt, sugar, and vegetable (or olive) oil. It is incredibly easy to make and 1 loaf will last us about 3 days - as soon as the kiddos realize that my bread is not poison and choose to eat it themselves vs me forcing it on them I will probably go through two loaves every 3 days. Thank goodness most of my kiddos are good sports about their diet and they understand that eating well is good for them - even if it takes a minute or two for them to want to choose healthier options. (I get it - I am the same way.) They are also very sweet in understanding that the bread I usually buy (Dave's Killer Bread) is no longer an option for us at about $6 a loaf, and don't give me too much grief that homemade bread is what is in the budget right now. 

Anyway, our breakfast meals will always be the same every week. Our lunches will have some variety, but not as much as our dinner choices. 

Breakfast

Cereal/Oatmeal

Pancakes

Waffles

Muffins

Cinnamon Buns

French Toast

Bagels/Eggs

Lunches

Fajitas

Chicken Noodle Soup

PbJ

Grilled Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese

Leftovers

Dinners

Chimichangas

Lemon/Herb Chicken w/ Rice and Veggies

Stromboli

Baked Ziti with Meatballs, Bread, and Salad

Breaded Chicken with Scalloped Potatoes and Salad

Leftovers

Books Read: February 2022

 It was a slow month in terms of reading this month, not because I wasn't reading, but because one of the books I chose to read is quite a monster of a book both in content and size. In the end I read only three books, but all were really good and I would take the time to read them all again. (In fact, one of them I am reading for a second time because it was so interesting to me the first time through.) 

January Books Read: 4

February Books Read: 3

Total Read: 7

Homeschooling 2021 - 2022: Week 18/36

 We are officially half way through our school year! Because school began at the end of July/beginning of August in Indiana, sometimes I will look at the calendar and freak out about how much longer we have left to go, but then I remember that we didn't begin our school year until the Northeast part of the country starts their school year which is always the first Tuesday after Labor Day, and I breath deeply and sigh because we are doing just fine. 

I will be tallying up grades tomorrow, but I am pretty sure Elizabeth ended up with all A's (maybe one B) and Sarah got all A's and one B (in advanced biology which in a public school setting would be a weighted class, but I am not sure you can do that as a homeschooler, so I will just be counting it as a regular class). 

Sarah just took a biology test last week in which she was required to show me where all of the 28 major bones in her body are located, plus label all 13 major bones in the skull, plus name all 12 major parts of our skin, on top of the usual definitions and chapter questions that each test normally requires. She had spent days studying and did and awesome job. Her ability to learn despite her blindness and some cognitive issues never ceases to amaze me. 

Elizabeth also has done an amazing job this semester. Learning is very hard for Elizabeth, much like it was difficult for Andy. I feel certain that if Elizabeth was in public school she would be on an IEP for some type of learning disability, just like Andy was for the few brief years he spent in public school. Because of this I work more slowly with her than I would with Josh or Sarah because grasping content is a big struggle for her. She has really done such a good job (overall) with trying to keep a good attitude about learning and just plowing through until things make sense. 

I am proud of both of my girls for this semester's work. I look forward to seeing where this next semester takes us. 

All finished! Her first semester's spelling book is complete!

Homeschooling 2021 - 2022 : Week 17/36

 It has been another solid week in our house in terms of homeschooling. We are making our way through the material we need to and are wrapping up this semester. I cannot believe we are through a full semester already. We will most likely be schooling until July sometime because we took off more time than I anticipated in October for a funeral that we attended out of state, but that is okay because that is one of the benefits of homeschooling. There is some flexibility in our schedule that allows for things to pop up and for us to still get our stuff done. Plus, we did not start our school year until the Tuesday after Labor Day, so we weren't going to finish our 36 weeks until the end of June had we not had those October setbacks.  

I was hoping to take a week off in-between semesters in order to scrub down the house from ceilings to baseboards and go through all of our items to make sure they are things we really still need/use/want. The girls are pushing to just start next semester right off without the break. We'll see what kind of compromise we can come up with. I always feel a deep urge to go through all of our stuff twice a year and to deep clean the house and every single one of its nooks and crannies as well. With spring here, and warmer temps just days away that urge to get my cleaning/sorting done is becoming pretty intense for me. We'll see what happens. Stay tuned...

When we lived in New Mexico, I reached out to their school for the blind, asking for help and/or access to information/resources that I could use to make Sarah's learning experience a good one. New Mexico, like North Carolina, has the same philosophy towards homeschoolers - they will not (in New Mexico's case they cannot financially) help support homeschoolers. BUT the school for the blind in Alamogordo was amazing, and a teacher came out from the school (which was about an hour away from us) gave us a old brailler, supplies, and a braille curriculum so that I could teach Sarah braille.  They did all of this without charging me a cent. They did it because they knew that braillers and curriculum were expensive and they wanted to help us in any way they could (such is the way of the people of New Mexico). I will forever be indebted to the New Mexico School for the Blind for their generosity because with their gifts I have been able to teach Sarah both uncontracted and almost all uncontracted braille. (She had a tutor from Indiana teach her the remaining uncontracted braille I did not get to.) I am not using this curriculum to teach Elizabeth braille as she has chosen this has her required language for high school.

Sarah and I are slowly working our way through this book. She is amazing at math when you look at all that she does mentally. We have some left-over resources from the amazing help Plainfield High School gave us in Indiana and use those for math, plus I have purchased more graph paper for Sarah, but other than that we just make up stuff as we need to make sure she is learning the stuff she needs to know. I think the hardest thing for me about living in North Carolina (besides its awful summer humidity) is the fact that we went from a school district that fully supported homeschoolers - who would give Sarah any resource she needed in order to be a successful student (things I could never afford to buy for her were gladly loaned to her for as long as she needed them) to one in which they will do jack shit for her. They will perform the federally mandated test that determines if Sarah qualifies for services (which she will) and that is it. Which means we are completely on our own competing for college spots with kids from high schools who not only can see, but who also have access to so many resources Sarah does not. Now the argument could be made that we choose to homeschool and therefore we have opted out of those resources - an argument that I would have completely agreed with you on for years, but now I don't. Because here's the thing - I pay for the taxes that go to support our schools just like every public school parent does. I should then have access to the resources I need to level the playing field for my child. But as we all know, life isn't fair, and so Sarah and I do the best that we can to learn the subject material with the resources we do have. And she does amazing. 

Sarah and I just finished up this book. It took us forever to get through. I have been reading what I call 'great books' with the kids for years. I started it with the boys when they were in high school and, over the course of the years, have read through dozens of books. This is probably one of my favorite legacies I am leaving my children in terms of their homeschooling experience. I hope that if any of them choose to homeschool their kiddos that they also will read the classics with their children too. 

Family Meals - Week of February 27, 2022

 Planning out our meals is a necessity if I am going to stay on budget, but unfortunately, I am not always as consistent with doing so as I should be. Trying to get better in this area of my life will probably always be something I am working on, but I think that as long as I am still willing to keep trying to be more successful in consistent meal planning I can count that as a success in and of itself.  

When I am on top of things my breakfast menu looks pretty much the same. I always try to have oatmeal and a couple of boxes of cereal for the child that does not like the breakfast I have prepared for the day, so that he/she can still have something to eat, but without the trouble of me having to prepare something else just for him/her. 

A lot of the time lunch is just leftovers. I have a tendency to make make more than necessary which leads to a lot of leftovers. There was a time in my life when I threw away most of my leftovers, but that ship has since sailed. I now save all of them, but I find myself having to point them out to the kids as lunch meal options, otherwise they would just go to waste if I did not do so. I do run into certain days of the week where there are no leftovers in which case, if I have prepared a menu for that week, I try and make lunch. 

As for dinners, I try to have consistent theme of dinners (for example: Mexican, Italian, Chinese, etc...) and then rotate between 2-4 meal options during different weeks. I also try to have one completely new recipe each week unless, of course, it is the kind of week like I have prepared for this week's meals in which I just fall back on my default menu. 

In order to save money, I try and make as much of our meals from scratch as I possibly can. This includes all of my sauces, breakfast items, breads, snacks, etc... This also means that I must be super organized in order to have what I need on hand and also to allot the amount of time necessary to prepare my meals in time, but doing so saves me money which is important to me. Plus, I have a handful of adult/almost adult helpers who can lend me a hand when I am in a time crunch. 

Here is this week's meal plan:

Breakfast

Pancakes

Waffles

Cinnamon Buns

French Toast

Bagels w/ Cream Cheese

English Muffin Bread with Eggs

Cereal/Oatmeal

Lunch

Left-overs

Fajitas

Grilled Cheese

Soup

Mac-n-Cheese

Peanut Butter & Jelly

*I try to cut up veggies and a fruit for the kids to eat with their lunch on the days that I am making lunch and we are not having leftovers. 

*I  began making my own sandwich bread again this week.

Dinner

Chicken Tacos/Rice/Beans/Toppings

Hamburger/Gardenburgers/ Jo-Jo/Corn/Baked Beans/Salad

Peppersteak/Eggrolls/Rice/Veggies

Pizza/Salad

Lasagna Rollups/Meatballs/Greenbeans/Bread/Salad

Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta/Chicken/Bread/Salad

Leftovers

Snacks

Cookies

Cut up Veggies

Fruit

Pretzel Nubs

Granola bars

*I have never used the pretzel nub recipe I found on Pinterest, so I'll let you know how it goes once I use it this week. 

Ordinary Moments: Week 8 of 2022

 I cannot believe that we have already completed our 8th week of 2022. It seems like just yesterday I was bringing in the new year with my tribe, and here we are already 1/6 of the way through that same year. Time truly amazes me. I cannot wrap my head around the fact that time can seem to move both so slowly and so quickly depending on what is happening in my life. 

Here is just a minute glimpse of my ordinary moments from last week. I truly believe in 5 years when I look back on these posts that these mundane, average parts of my day - the things I do without a thought or an acknowledgement - are the things that will mean the most. 

This view reminds me of Portland. It was a rainy, cloudy day when we took this path for the first time which only added to the Portland-ish vibe. The feeling was surprisingly comforting to me. 

I haven't had flowers in the house since around Thanksgiving - if I had to guess. It's been a while. I am not sure why because flowers are such a relatively inexpensive gift (when you know where to get them from) for myself and make me happy. 

I have a confession to make. I had no idea every car comes with a place to put your gas cap thing when you are filling up for gas. Elizbeth (my child with no license) is actually the one who told me about this last week. Of course, when I got gas and saw that she was right I had to take a picture and send it to her. Who knew?!

I have never been good at making sure my family ate dinner together every night. I feel like I was better at it when my kiddos were little, but I still wasn't super great about it. I decided to try to be more intentional about eating dinner together this year. I haven't been perfect about it - not by a long shot, but I do think that I have gotten better about eating our meals together - even if it is just a smudge better. 

Fireworks and gun shots scare the hell out of Max. He does not usually jump on our couch unless he hears one of those noises which was the case on this night. Sarah was on the couch first and he had to be touching her... 

He was swiping at my phone as I tried to take pictures of him. 

Seriously. How can I not obsessively love this cat? He is so darn cute! I am 100% convinced there will never, ever be another cat like Moose in my life. He is a one of a kind gift. 

Map of the trail Bobby and I began to hike last week. We hike about 5 miles in 90 minutes. The trail is pretty flat and paved, but meanders parallel to a nice size stream/brook through the woods. It also backs up to different developments some of which are H-U-G-E and are kinda cool to look at. (Although I would never want to pay the utility bill on a house that big.)