Family * Travel * Food

Vollyeball, elections and cupcakes

I have to apologize for my lack of personal posts. My life has been consumed with obligations but most importantly, my family. The girls just finished up their volleyball season which allows me to have a little more free time. It was bittersweet for both girls. They did not win very many games but did play exceptionally well compared to the previous years. Chardie is an emotional wreck because her high school volleyball years are officially behind her. She wanted it all to be over, yet she will miss it. Brie had a hard time losing so many of their games but felt great winning the last game against their old coach. It was such a sweet victory for them. I have to say that Brie played amazingly all season long. She has so much talent and it was so cool seeing the two girls play together.

It is crazy that they girls are 16 and 18 now. Brie has outgrown all of us in height and is so mature. My baby girl has grown up and the next stop will be driving. She has not been very enthusiastic about driving like most teens would be, but she is ready now. It feels weird to say that I am mother to an adult child. The good thing is Chardie was in no rush to turn 18 and says she doesn't see what the big deal is. She will be voting in the election next month and is excited to do so. I still can't get over that! Speaking of election, I can't wait for it to be over! I know everyone has their views and opinions but social media makes you want to throw up with it in your face 24/7. I won't lie, I have had to unfollow and unfriend some people that got way too out of hand. Regardless of which way it goes there will continue to be unhappy people. I do have to say that this is the funniest thing I have seen all week!
I'm so sorry, I couldn't help myself!

Another thing that happened recently that has nothing to do with anything is I purchased some new kitchen gadgets. I have been baking and cooking since before I was a teenager and have never owned cake decoration supplies or cupcake transporters. How on earth do you have children in school for over a decade and not have anything to carry your cupcakes in? I have baked hundreds of cupcakes over the years and can't remember how I was sending them to school. I also have been wondering why I have never had icing bags with the piping tips. I am now officially obsessed with making pretty cupcakes. I do need to play around with the different tips to learn how to make more designs. I made this gorgeous cupcakes recently to sell at the girls' Dig Pink volleyball game to raise money for breast cancer.
They were white cake with homemade cream cheese frosting that I tinted to make pink. Pretty, huh? Speaking of baking, I am so excited about all the baking that will be going on in my kitchen over the course of the next few months. I have already made a wish list of some things I want to have to make my baking experiences better. Can't wait!

What's going on with you?
Shelly, Mom Files
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Safeskin Kids Sport Wrap Review

Being the mother of 2 student athletes, you deal with many issues concerning their bodies. Both of my girls play volleyball and it is not unusual to see them or their teammates with wrapped wrists, ankles, fingers, elbows or knees. Safeskin Kids Sport Wraps are a great way to help get through the game when those body parts are not fully cooperating. What better way than to have a fun, colorful wrap instead of the traditional white. These sport wraps come in four bright colors – blue, red, green and yellow – and is ideal for securing bandages and splints and cushioning or supporting wounds. My daughters say that having the colored wrap makes them look "cool".

In addition to these benefits, SAFESKIN* Kids Sport Wrap is:
· Self-adhesive and reusable – with no clips or pins needed to secure the wrap into place.
· Soft, cushiony and comfortable against the skin.
· Water-resistant.
· Latex-free
Safeskin Kids Sport Wrap is currently available at Walmart locations nationwide for a suggested retail price of $3.94. It will be available at other retail locations in early 2012. For more information, visit www.kcdiy.com/safeskin/.

I will be purchasing a pack for each of the girls' gym bag. I wish they came in orange so they can wear their school color! Sadly, my girls would want to wear these even if they don't need to because they love looking cool :-)

I received a product sample for review purposes and all opinion are 100% mine as always.


Shelly, Mom Files
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Update on the girls

Last week was a busy week. The girls completed volleyball tryouts and they both made the team. Chardie will be on Varsity and Brie will play JV and will also get to join in on Varsity practice as well as get a little play time if they need her. They are both pretty happy and are excited about the season. They also picked up their schedules and got all the classes they needed. Remember in past posts how happy I was to finally have both girls in one place so I don't have to be scattered around all over town? Well they will be going to the same school and will playing the same sport except their schedules are very different. One has early bird and the other doesn't. One will have early dismissal second semester and the other one doesn't. So, you know what this means.... yep, scattered around again. We came up with a solution for mornings though. I will take them at the 2 different times for a couple weeks until Brie becomes comfortable with her new school and then she will get dropped off early with her sister. She will be able to go to the library at that time. It still freaks me out that both my girls are in high school! As far as afternoons go I still have about 4 months before that happens. I am looking forward to the girls going back to school in a week so I can focus more on teaching little Will his school lessons at home.

Has school started back in your city yet? Are you prepared?
Shelly, Mom Files
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I am so happy that the girls have returned from their volleyball camp in Charleston. They both had a great time and learned a lot. Of course after visiting College of Charleston, they are both considering applying there. I would be fine with that since it is only 2 hours away. It was certainly very quiet with them gone! Well, it's time to go cook them a big ole dinner. Have a great day friends! :-)
Shelly, Mom Files
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My girls are gone :-(

I woke up this morning at 4:30 so I could take the girls to meet up with their volleyball teammates to board the bus to Charleston for a 3-day camp. You would not believe the amount of stuff 2 teenage girls carry along for such a short time! I tell you what though, I miss them already. As a matter of fact I started missing them since Monday. William woke up this morning and gave his usual good morning greetings. He then asks to go downstairs so he can see his girls. Yep, he refers to his sisters as "my girls". I told him that they were not home and he got teary eyed. I am sure he will be missing them a whole lot too. I know the girls will have a blast and at least they can get away from the mountains of summer work they have for a few days. The upside to all of this is that we will actually have food in the house for the next few days!

Oh, one last thing...Chardie got her score from her AP European History exam she took in May for college credit. You get scored from 1-5 (5 being the highest) Guess what? My girl got a 5!!!! We are so proud!!!
Shelly, Mom Files
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Doctor's diagnosis "You are not dead"

The other day my 16 year old was complaining that she was having some odd pain in her chest when she left volleyball practice. I asked her a bunch of questions like "Did you spike the ball hard? Do you think you pulled a muscle? Could it be gas?" She said it was not a normal pain. After about 2 hours I felt like we had better get it checked out, just in case. Off to Urgent Care we went. I told Chardie we should go ahead and get her knees checked while we were there since she has been suffering from knee pain for some time now. We were so glad that we were the only ones in there and was able to be seen within 5 minutes. Wouldn't you know that the pain stopped? Yep, no more pain. Classic. Long story short~ the nurse checked her vitals and did an EKG. My daughter has a problem with anyone touching her. She is VERY ticklish. I mean even if I try to give her a simple manicure she will go nuts with laughter.

Flashback- When Chardie was 6 months old she fell off the bed while I had my back turned to grab a diaper and powder. I was frantic and she was on her back laughing heartily. She has never changed. Whenever she falls or runs into something you will see tears streaming down her face. This is not because she is in pain but it is from laughter. Yes folks, my kid laughs when she gets hurt. You can never tell if she is okay or not.

Now back to the doctor... He walks in to let us know of any findings from the EKG. He let us know that her problem had nothing to do with her heart. It was more than likely from her physical activity that she irritated her chest muscle. He said that if a 16 year old was having a heart attack that they would not be able to survive. He then tells us that the good news is that she did not have a heart attack and she did not die. I could not help but giggle. Every time he tried to touch Chardie, she would start laughing. The doctor said maybe it's a good thing she is that way. He said if she is alone with a boy and starts to giggle then we would know that he better back off of our daughter. He then attempts to touch her knees. Of course we all know how that went! He told us that knee pain is the most common problem in teen athletes and recommended she take Ibuprofen. So the end result is that she is fine, just as I suspected. Thank goodness! We keep cracking jokes about her not being dead. That doctor was crazy but we really liked him and will surely go back to him again :)
Shelly, Mom Files
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Time to get it together

School is officially out for the Summer. This does not mean anything to me since my kids still have busy schedules. Chardie got a job at the law firm her dad works at a couple days a week. This should be a great experience for her and I am sure she will learn some valuable life lessons along the way. Both girls have volleyball twice a week. They also have 3 books each to read over the break that have assignments to go along with it. They have tons of other reading and writing~ AP European History for Brie and AP US History for Chardie. They both have doctor, dental, orthodontic, orthopedic and chiropractic appointments in between. Something tells me they won't have time to breathe!

I am going to have to buckle down and get William potty trained (I hope). It has been so up and down. Still no poo-poo in the potty yet. I just try to go with the flow and encourage him. I keep telling myself not to stress out and that he will get it [one day]. I also really need to have a more organized teaching style. He is learning how to use the computer mouse but I still prefer to teach him the old-fashioned way with paper and pencil and out of books. I do not think I will be putting him in pre-school. If I did, it would be for "other people" who think I should. I am going to buy some colorful bins to pack away all of his random toys so he has a neater area to do his school work. I will refrain from frequent social networking and more than likely fewer blog posts. My kids are the priority and they need me now more than ever. I also want to have some fun time with them before school starts back. We have a couple short out-of-town trips planned as well as some pool time at a friends house as much as we can. The Summer will be busy but we will be sure to take time to enjoy it.

So is school out in your neck of the woods? Do you have any big plans?
Shelly, Mom Files
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Go Brie!

We attended Briahnna's middle school athletic banquet last week to recognize all students that participated in the sports programs. For each sport the coach gave out 3 plaques to the athletes they thought were most deserving for a specific area. Briahnna was given the 'Coach's Award'. Her coach was pleased with Brie's readiness to work hard, perform well and be a team player. We are so proud of Brie and she certainly deserves this great honor. What a nice way to close out her middle school volleyball career. Next stop high school!


Shelly, Mom Files
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Getting ready for the Spring/Summer sports season


Volleyball season is nearing and my daughters have started conditioning already. I always make sure that they have a drink (usually a water bottle) and a snack tucked in their gym bags. Thanks to HINT water and Smart for Life, your players can stay fueled and focused during their games with refreshing drinks and healthy, good-for-you snacks.

HINT flavored water has no calories, sweeteners or preservatives and is a great alternative to juice and soda. HINT was launched in April 2005 by current CEO Kara Goldin and is now available in all Whole Foods and Starbucks. It is available in Blackberry, Mango-Grapefruit, Pomegranate-Tangerine, Raspberry-Lime, and Strawberry Kiwi and sells for $1.79. My girls really liked them and this surprises me since they are not sugary! I tried the mango-grapefruit flavor and it is so refreshing. You can "like" HINT on Facebook.

Smart for Life has a range of protein filled Chocolate Chip cookies, Cranberry Granola Squares, and Protein Bars that are sure to help your players stay energized and on their game. I personally enjoyed sampling the Cranberry Granola Squares. It has a nice chewy texture to it and I love the cranberries.

I received product samples for review. All opinions are 100% mine as always.

Shelly, Mom Files
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The last jacket this child will ever get

Back in early November Dwayne and I ordered a Letterman's jacket for Chardie since she has expressed numerous times that she really wanted one. She has already lettered twice so we finally broke down and let her get it. As we made the order and picked out the patches, I asked the salesperson what the turnaround time was. He said roughly 6-8 weeks since it was the holidays time. He said that it would be closer to 8 weeks. You should have seen the look on my child's face. I think she was thinking more like 1 week. So for 7 weeks I had to listen to her complain and whine about how her jacket was taking forever. With all I went through having to listen to an impatient teenager I told her that this would be the last jacket she would get for the rest of her high school career. I also informed her that she better wear it all the time since we spent $200 on it. You see, my child is one of those girls that will love something and finally have it and decide that it is not quite her style.

Well the jacket came in on New Year's eve and she has almost not taken it off since then! She is so happy with it. We ordered a size small short since she is a little munchkin. She could not wait to go to school today to show it off. After all, she will be the only girl at her school that has one.

She loves the HUGE volleyball patch with her number on it. It is way bigger than we were expecting actually.
She wanted the embroidered letters for the back instead of the chenille. She is my classic baby.

Of course she has her full first name. She goes by "Char" at school but I think she wanted her full formal name since she is once again my classic baby. I am glad she finally got it so I don't have to hear about it anymore. Oh the things you do for your kids....

Shelly, Mom Files
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Mixed feelings


Well volleyball season will be coming to a close next week. Chardie's team improved tremendously this year although it was not enough to take them to the play-offs. Brie's team is undefeated as of this week. Next Wednesday is the final game of the season and that will determine who the District Champions will be. We are facing an equally talented team so it's any one's game. I won't lie, my nerves are bad right now!

I am really happy in some ways that the season is almost over yet really sad. The girls really love the sport and don't want it to end. The bright side of things for them is at least they can have more time for schoolwork, friends and family. During v-ball season they have no life. Just school and volleyball. I have really enjoyed watching some good volley action and next year both girls will be at the same school together. This means only going to one school for both! I really am so happy about that yet at the same time I can't believe little Brie (although she is taller than me) will be a freshman in high school *sighs* I guess growing up is something that can't be avoided. I sure am proud of those girls. At least now I can see them a lot more and I can have my shopping partners back. It's not the same gallivanting all over without them :)
Shelly, Mom Files
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Weekend wrap-up

I spent the weekend doing a whole lot of random things that thankfully kept me close to my family. I was so glad to see everyone in one place all at the same time! The girls schedules are so hectic with school, volleyball practice (5-7 days a week), volleyball games and homework. Some nights Chardie does not get home until 10:00 and has to be to her early bird class at 7:30 am. With all of that I am proud that both girls are maintaining their grades (A's) and still try to keep up with their responsibilities at home. I really do miss them a lot.

We spent Saturday at a tournament for Brie and Sunday we did some 'girls only' shopping. I bought myself a whole entire set of makeup and will be throwing away all of the stuff I currently own. This is my first step to trying to take more time out to take care of myself. Next step is a new haircut. I am playing around with a few ideas. I am thinking long sexy layers. Then again, maybe a choppy short cut? I have to find a photo and then go from there. I have been searching online but the problem I have is that all the cute styles I like look better if you have blond or highlighted hair. I will not ever color my hair so whatever it ends up being will have to look good in jet black with a few gray streaks. I intend to let my gray grow in since my husband thinks I will look like one of those hot older chicks. He is so full of it! haha!

I hope everyone has a great week :-)
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Saturday's v-ball tourney

We spent Saturday in North Augusta for Chardie's volleyball tournament. It was a long but really good day. Chardie's team won first place in the Bronze division, not exactly Gold status but it is always great to place first in any division! The team was so excited and here are some photos of the day.
William was SO well behaved and all the parents were bragging about the fact that he was so quiet. Yeah, that was just because he was surrounded by women and girls all day!

Here is Willie with Brie before the first match.
Papo, Chardie and William getting some floor time before the next game started.

William and Chardie

This is what it looks like when we have to pack up to go to an out-of-town event. ALL of that stuff belongs to our family. It was like home away from home! Beverage anyone??
Chardie and a few teammates just goofing around.

The victory "T"!!

The team with their winner's t-shirts.
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