Hi, my name is Michelle and I am a Face Book Addict!!! I can not believe how long it has been since I last posted. I have discovered the world of FB and I am truly addicted. It has been wonderful to catch up with friends from high school. I have rekindled friendship with people I had not been in contact with since high school 18 years ago.

I will try and update this week-end with stories and pictures from the past few weeks.

Take care,
Michelle

Are My Kids To Involved?!?!

I am having a difficult week. I am tired and need a break from the mom taxi service. I am happy my kids are involved in school activities and sports but I think something may have to go. Let me give you a little run down of our activities at the moment.
Taylor:
Quarterback Practice Tuesday - Friday 6:15 A.M. - 7:30 A.M.
School- 7:45- 3:00
Baseball Practice- 3:00 - 5:00 Monday - Friday
Basketball Practice- 5:30- 8:00 Monday - Friday (with the exception of game days)
When he gets home after 8:00 he still has to complete homework. He is taking 4 honors classes and a 10th grade Spanish . It seems the coaches expect alot from a freshman. First of all football season does not start until September. Is it necessary they have QB practice at 6:00 in the morning in January? Baseball and basketball I can understand. It is the middle of b-ball season and baseball starts in three weeks. Taylor would never complain about his 14 hour days, but I know he is exhausted. He had an away game last night and did no get home until 11:00. He then had to do homework and get up at 5:30 am for QB practice. This is just to much for a 15 year old!!! I have suggested (am almost at the demanding point) that he choose only 2 sports. He says he can not choose he loves them all.

Autumn:
Basketball practice and games 3 times a week.
Chorus practice Tuesday - Friday 8:00 - 8:30 am , Tuesday 3:30 - 5:00 and
Saturday 10:00- 1:00
Cheerleading Tuesday 7:00 - 8:30pm
Softball starts again in 3 weeks.

Chandler: Poor Chandler he is the baby and his activities are limited due to an already full schedule.
Basketball practice and games 3 times a week
Baseball starts in three weeks

As you can see things are hectic around here. On Saturday (my day off) we had 4 basketball games in 4 different locations, a birthday party, chorus practice, and somehow managed to even wash a load of clothes. I know I should not complain. I have 3 healthy, active kids. I am just having a bad week and feeling sorry for Taylor.

Thank you for letting me vent. I feel better now.

Michelle

Love Hate Relationship

Somehow :) I have managed to gain 30 pounds since graduating from high school in 1991. I kept waiting to wake up skinny one day but it hasn't happened.



About 3 months ago I finally decided to do something about the 30 extra pounds that are making me feel miserable. Most people would choose a nice daily walk , jog or even a trip to the gym. No, not me, I decide to sign up for kickboxing/hotboxing classes. I convinced my friend Susan to go with me and she may never forgive me.

In October Susan and I started attending class 3-4 times a week. I love several things about the class. The fact that it is a group setting and Susan and I hold each other accountable for going. It is great exercise and very intense. The lights are off and the music is loud. This keeps everyone from seeing the anguish on my face and hearing my gasps for air. Last but not least when I have a bad day, I can get all my frustration out while kicking and punching the bag. And even better, everyone is cheering for me the harder I punch and kick.

There are however; a few dislikes with the class. The first would be the panic you feel when you have to use the restroom. Just knowing you have to lower your entire body to sit on the toilet can bring on a panic attack. When you are so sore you can't walk, how can you possibly sit on the toilet. LOL Secondly, the 2 "Hooter Girls" (yes they really work there) that decide to attend class about once or twice a month and ALWAYS stand directly in front of Susan and I. We decided next time they come we should offer to buy them a new pair of shorts. Then they will not have to continue wearing their 5 year old sisters shorts. If they refuse our offer, we will kindly suggest they please wear undergarments and I don't mean a bra. :)

That about sums up the love hate relationship I have with kickboxing/hotboxing. To anyone who may be looking for a new workout routine, I highly recommend you try hotboxing. I have lost about 10 pounds without altering my eating habits. Susan has lost about 20 pounds with hotboxing and counting calories. Since January 1st, I too have been calorie counting and hope to see better results in the next three months.

Take care,
Michelle

Happy Birthday To The Boy That Melts My Heart

On December 28th, 1999 the third love of my life entered the world, Chandler Coleman Ring. As all moms know, I never knew until I had kids that I could love one person so much.

Chandler is such a loving and affectionate child. Even at nine years old he loves to sit on the couch nd let me hold his sweet little hand, scratch his back, and kiss all over that precious face. There are so many times that a simple look from him makes me want to squeeze his little face and kiss it all over. As you can tell from the pictures, he will sometimes resist, but in the end always gives in.

Look at those dimples. Who could resist them?!

Chandler is a very laid back child and does not get in a hurry for anything. He enjoys each day for what it is. He love to play sports, football, basketball, and baseball.

He loves to spend time at the family camp in Michigan. Whether that means playing cards, hunting, riding the four-wheeler, or just hanging out.

He loves his electronic games (Nintendo DS, Gamecube, Playstation etc...) so much that we some times have to set time limits on playing them.

Unlike his mom, who is a Coke kind of girl he loves Cream Soda in the bottle.

He is a straight A student who is always striving to do his best.

A wonderful friend.

The bond that Chandler and Autumn share is one that I thank God for everyday. As I have mentioned before they are only 15 months apart and are inseparable. They sleep in the same bed, eat every meal and snack together, play together, tell each other all their "secrets" and keep them secrets, do homework together, read books to each other, stick up for each other, and on rare occasion have nasty little fights. Hey, it's not a perfect world. LOL I am so grateful for this special bond and hope that it will always remain the same.

Chandler and Taylor are 6 years apart so their relationship although very close is different than he and Autumn. Taylor is his role model. He is always striving to be like Taylor may it be in sports or academics.

So on December 26th at 8:00 a.m. it was time to put away the Christmas decorations and get ready for a family birthday party. Having a birthday so close to Christmas is not easy. My birthday is Janury 4th so I understand how he feels. When he was born I promised myself that I would never down play his birthday just because it was so soon after Christmas. Every year on his birthday we have a big family party and celebrate later with his friends.

Happy Birthday Chandler!!! I love you more than words can ever begin to express.

Michelle

Whew.. What A Busy Week

O.K. get ready for the enormous amount of pictures you are about to see. I will start with Christmas Eve.

When I got home from work this is how I found Autumn and Chandler. Snuggled up on the couch waiting for Jason and I to get home from work and take them to the movie. I am so happy that Autumn and Chandler are so close. They are only 15 months apart and are inseparable. Even at the age of 9 and 10 they still sleep in the same bed every night. I have tried to get them to sleep in their own beds but they are not interested in that. Back to the movie. All 5 of us went to see Yes Man. It was a really good movie.

After the movie it was time to get ready and go to Gucky and Paw Paw's (my parents) house for dinner and presents.

Chandler is trying to show a mean face. I would say he did a pretty good job.

We are considering getting my mom counseling for the amount of presents she buys us for Christmas. She did cut back this year. Each daughter, son-in-law, and grandchild only received about 10 or 12 presents each. Good thing she is cutting back. LOL

My sister and niece.

The only thing Jason wanted this year were Best Buy gift cards so he could buy a new T.V. Well, it just would not be fair to only have one present for him and so many for everyone else. So he received numerous Best Buy gift cards. This was his surprise as he opened about the 8th or 9th gift card.

At about midnight after being completely spoiled with presents by my parents we headed home. Once at home Autumn and Chandler started putting out cookies and milk for Santa.

When suddenly here comes a cookie thief. Porkchop STOP!!!!

Look closely and you can see the cookies in his mouth.





Ahhhh... delicious.

The next few pictures are at 1:30 a.m. when I am attempting to get a picture of the kids before they go to bed. Let me say they were wound up. I have never seen them quite so HYPER!!!

Take 1

Take 2 Yes Autumn is standing on top of the chair.

Take 3.......... I give up

Christmas morning

I bet you are thinking this picture was taken bright and early. Wrong, this was taken when they woke up at 10:15!! Taylor had been up since 8:00 waiting on them to wake up. He finally went outside and started playing basketball.

Santa overdid it a bit.

Taylor's favorite present was The North Face coat.

Autumn was beyond excited to receive her very own camcorder.

Can you tell by this face he was excited to get Club Penguin.

Once my sister and niece arrived she had to show Gucky and Granny some of the things Santa left for her, including an ice cream maker.

Once everyone ate breakfast and went home, this is where I found Jason and Chandler. They were laying in Autumn's bed watching Chandler's new Star Wars Movie.

We had a great Christmas with family and were blessed beyond measure.

O.K. it is over now. Hurry up and take down the Christmas decorations we have a special birthday to celebrate. I will post about this special birthday in a few hours.

Take Care,

Michelle

30 Day Re-Cap and Picture Overload

Is it really December 22nd?!?! We just had Halloween. We have been busy as usual. I have got to get better at updating my blog. At least I am not still at the beach right Mo. LOL

We finally finished travel softball for the season. It has been nice not to have that activity.
Taylor has been on restriction since November 18th so he has had to go everywhere we go including every tournament. Can you tell by this picture how much fun he is having.










We went to Michigan for Thanksgiving. We had a good trip with the exception of Autumn getting the stomach virus on Thanksgiving morning. She and I ended up staying home all day while Jason and the boys went to his Aunts house. One of my best friends from high school was also home for the holidays so I was able to spend alot of time with her and her family. We even did our traditional Black Friday shopping at 3:00am.

Jason and the boys stayed at deer camp for 3 days. By the looks of the pictures they had fun.





Friendly poker game....




Taylor helping cook. Miracles do still happen.

Jason, Taylor, Jeremy (Jason's brother), Chandler, and Bert as the kids call him (Jason's dad)

Ahhh... aren't they sweet

Jason and Chandler in front of their deer blind. To bad they did not see any deer this year. Maybe next year.

We are now into basketball season. Taylor started out playing with the freshman but they have now moved him to J.V. also. That is keeping us very busy with him playing on two teams. Autumn and Chandler have also started their season. I am coaching Autumn's team again this year. Out of 9 girls there are 5 on the team who have never played before. That should make for an interesting year. For the first time Jason is not coaching Chandler's team. We have so much going on he thought it best to take this year off. Chandler seems to be doing well and really likes his coach.

Autumn and Chandler had their Christmas parties at school on Friday. They had alot of fun and are excited to be out of school for Christmas break.

Friday night we went to Stone Mountain with my sister and parents. We have never been to the Christmas Celebration at Stone Mountain before but it was alot of fun. Chandler had to take a picture of Jason and I with this enormous Santa Claus.

Isn't he cute with his pigtailed Santa hat?! I had to quickly sneak it on him in one of the stores. I don't think he found it very funny.

They had a tent set up for the kids to decorate Christmas cookies. Brooke my niece is in the middle. That little girl loves to put on a show. Can you tell by the pictures below?

Well, sorry it has been so long. I will try and do better updating. I hope everyone is having a great holiday season.

Michelle

Halloween Pictures

Autumn and Chandler posing for pictures before trick or treating. They both decided this year they did not want to dress up. Normally I would be sad, but things have been so busy lately I did not argue with them. Autumn wore one of Taylor's friends cheerleading uniform from middle school and Chandler wore his beloved Steelers jersey.









Autumn was going to invite ONE friend to go trick or treating with us but by the time we were ready to leave she had 4. Of course they all HAD to sleepover. They had so much fun. I am always glad to have their friends at our house. We did our usual hayride for them. I think that will be the last year we do it. They never really rode in it, they were to busy running from house to house.

Taylor and his friends terrorized the neighborhood for a few hours before returning to our house to all sleepover.

Chandler had his end of season football party on Saturday.

I just love this sweet little face.

This is Taylor #3 at the Varsity game against Lowndes County. He is a freshman quarterback playing varsity with 2 senior quarterbacks. He has been doing alot of standing on the sidelines which he is not use to. Tonight they will play their final game of the season against Valdosta. USA Today had an article in yesterdays paper ranking our high school conference #1 in the nation. I thought that was very exciting to know how much football talent there is here. I am so proud of the team and their hard work.

GOOOOOOOO Bears!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Michelle