#thedertings

I am not sure what I want to say, what I need to say or what I should say......but here it goes........ I have not let myself watch the news (not that I normally do) since Friday...the most information I have seen has been on FB.....I have not let myself fathom that such a horrible, unspeakable, awful, senseless, heartless, horrific act could ever happen.....nor have we talked to Bryson about it..... I do realize that it is a real world, real life situation, but I was very sheltered as a child and I obviously am raising my children to be the same way.....and yes, you can disagree b/c that would be your opinion......but I do not know what good it is going to do for my already worry wart 6 year old to know that a classroom full of students his age were suddenly taken from this world b/c some people have issues and do not know how to handle or control their emotions without ending or resulting in violence....... I am deeply saddened for the families involved and it breaks my hea...

Well, I am a little behind on a few things, so I am going to take this time and try and catch up before more craziness sets in..... I know I am behind on my weekly menus, but they have been really easy this week...soup/sandwichs, mac and cheese, pizza.....I will try and do better in the coming weeks...but as you know next week is Thanksgiving, so that will take over most of my menu for next week..... I want to take this time to reflect on the past few days...I have been at the EC Conference in Greensboro since Wednesday....this is always a much needed thing for me...and especially this year... As you know I struggled going back to work this school year and questioned why I work...and as the weeks have pushed on, I have seen the answers 1st hand, but then again yesterday it was crystal clear...... It has been a rough start to the school year for most of us educators because there have been so many changes statewide and even many within Alexander County....I finally, think things...

Happy Wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Menu and put away laundry day....... ***Please note this week's menu looks like a whole lot of Italian....but I have some new recipes to try and that is what they all ended up being....I will try and be a little more health next week........AND I even have a little bit of hamburger meat thrown in this week...... Sunday: Grilled cheese sandwiches and your favorite soup....good way to end the Balloon Rally weekend, you probably know about my balloon obsession, if not click and read..... My balloon obsession is tied to memories :) Monday: Pizza Pasta in the crock pot http://www.cookingwithjoey.com/2008/09/crock-pot-pizza-pasta.html Tuesday: Pizza night Wednesday: Chicken Spaghetti http://www.boomerbrief.com/2012/03/super-satisfying-chicken-spagetti.html Thursday: Chicken Tenders & Mac & Cheese   http://tipgarden.blogspot.com/2011/09/one-pot-mac-and-cheese.html Hope your week is going great....see ya next week!!! Much ...

Hi all!!! I am day a late...sorry about that!! Also, I have to admit I didn't like the Parmesan chicken last week. Mine turned out tooooo greasy and oily, so that you will probably never see again!! With that being said, you may see some repeats...... Sunday: Steaks on the grill, baked motz cheese sticks, green beans   http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/25-baked-alternatives-to-potato-chips-and-french-f Monday: Pizza Night Tuesday: Crock pot chicken tacos http://www.mychocolatetherapy.com/2012/01/crockpot-chicken-tacos.html              Wednesday: Spinach Artichoke Pizza *Recipe of the Week* http://thetwobiteclub.blogspot.com/2011/07/spinach-artichoke-alfredo-pizza.html Thursday: Hot dogs and nachos Hope you have had a great week!!! Enjoy the weekend! Alysha

I have pondered a post today...since its our special day....and I don't really know where this may go...... I can't think of my life without Brooks probably because he has been there for over 1/2 of it....and he was even there before then, we just didn't know it.... When my mom and dad divorced in the 6th grade, we moved to Fox Croft Apartments. Well, there was this BRAT that lived a few buildings over and he was always into something...very sneaky! I remember a time when mom went running to the door to find this blonde boy selling candy (only to find out later he took the money and told the school he dropped his box in the creek...YES he was a bad boy)....mom ran into the bed post and broke her toe trying to get to the door.... A few years later my mom was a substitute at West and she had this kid that tried to smooth talk her.....(even then)..... So on October 4, 1997...Brooks asked me from the end of the hallway if he could call me before the football game...my r...

Happy Wednesday :) It's Menu Day!!! Sunday: Steaks on the grill with potatoes on the grill http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Three-Cheese-Potatoes Monday : Parmesan Crusted Chicken & Crock Pot mashed potatoes (Both Recipes of the Week) http://theenchantedcook.blogspot.com/2011/10/parmesan-crusted-chicken-hellmanns-mayo.html http://firstadream.blogspot.com/2012/05/potatoes-in-crock-pot.html Tuesday: Pizza Night Wednesday: Pot Roast with potatoes and carrots                      *******Never tried it in the crock pot, but I am looking for a recipe! Thursday: Cupcake Pizzas!!!                   ********New favorite, cheap and easy! Bryson could make this by himself! http://reallyfrompinterest.blogspot.com/2012/04/cupcake-mold-pizzas.html Friday: Ham & cheese subs with ...

Sorry in advance that there is nothing spectacular about next week's menu.... Sunday: Baked "fried" chicken (its a weight watchers recipe)               some sort of beans               cook potatoes then mix butter, sour cream, bacon and cheese               *****chicken, 1cup of panko crumbs, 2tbps dried sage, 1tbs Parmesan cheese, 1tbs paprika                         dip chicken in milk, mix in the mixture of crumbs, sage, cheese, paprika, salt & pepper                         place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes Monday:...

Where has the month gone...I can't believe such a short time ago it was 100 degrees and flip flop weather and today was barely short sleeve worthy..... I have had such a weird attitude lately, but after today I see that it is time to get in the mood and attitude of Fall....pumpkins, costumes, 5ks, Saturday soccer...etc..... We had a really fun weekend...hope you did! The warriors put 2 balls in the net, only 1 counted, but it was very exciting for the ball to go into the goal...especially for my soccer mom posse! We celebrated my grandmas 79th birthday last night and enjoyed some great food in West Jefferson today....such a fun weekend makes me happy! Oh and I even ended the day with a 1 mile run...after all the food I have consumed in the past 4 days...I felt it was necessary...I just hope that 1 mile will turn into more...SOON!   My boy in action!   Most of you know that 2 years ago this week is when my blogging adventures were born and most know it was because...

Finally bringing myself to "wrap up summer".....this was the best summer I think I've ever had...we had lots fun, made many memories and traveled often..... In June we visited Brooks' family in Washington State and spent some time in the FUN city of Seattle. We really enjoyed introducing our Britan to Brooks' grandmother and many aunts, uncles and cousins during our visit! The weather was cool and NOT humid at all during our stay which meant we had to purchase some winter clothes the 3rd week of June while in Seattle. We visited the Space Needle again and I hope that this time Bryson will actually remember it in years to come. He got a Lego Space Needle set while we were there so hopefully those memories will stay with him...and Britan enjoyed her 1st trip to the top...I guess we will need another trip in the future to make sure she remembers ;) We also searched for iCarly and Christian Grey, but no luck during our search....maybe next time??!!! The 5.5 hour fli...

Hallelujah for a GREAT 1st day of school!!!!!!!!!! My day was not as productive as I would have liked and consisted of sorting files, figuring out a workable schedule, trying to find my desk....AND most importantly seeing smiling faces & catching up with old friends! I was not myself when I posted last week and I TRULY don't like the negative attitude that I had and shared with many.....I would love to work my way up the corporate ladder one day, but for now I know that I am exactly where I am suppose to be.....and most importantly so is Bryson! I can't say enough about how great Stony Point is...but I will say that the 90% + we showed on test scores last year and the family morals that WE all bring to work daily is beyond enough for me to say that we are the BEST elementary school around!!! Britan has started a new transition with a new sitter schedule and today was a GREAT day for her! I am excited for her to try something new again tomorrow and I feel con...

I am so confused about my life's purpose right now....call it a midlife crisis, call whatever you want, but I think this is the HARDEST time I have ever experienced going back to work.....I have always said that I am better mom because I work because it keeps me sane....but I have really enjoyed being in my little cocoon with me and the kids all summer, our own world, no one to answer to...... Do I want to stay home with my sweet girl? YES! Do I want to work where Bryson actually is in school? YES! Do I want to continue to provide our children with experiences that give them happiness? YES! Do I need to feel like I have a purpose? YES! So what the heck is wrong with me..... Is it the fact that I need something NEW to balance my life about every 5 years? MAYBE Is it that I want new challenges maybe even a new career? MAYBE Again what is the problem, Alysha...... Do all these questions I am having mean I am going to breakdown and stop bein...

I am writing this post to keep myself in check because I tend to accomplish more if it's in writing.....I use to spend Saturday mornings cleaning the whole house...dusting, sweeping, mopping, washing sheets, cleaning all counters..it would take hours if I was uninterrupted and if I was interrupted it would take days...Therefore I need to find a way to hold myself accountable and not waste away my Saturdays..... Now there are MANY blogs, pins, and websites out there to help one STAY ON TOP of household things...cooking, cleaning, the laundry, etc...but unlike the other bloggers that get paid for it...if you are like me, it's an unpaid J-O-B! So....now that summer is sooo close to being over, I MUST reset my mind and move forward with a new school year and my 8th year in the classroom.... You probably know by now that my life must have structure...prime example of no structure = my house is a wreck thanks to the 2 weeks worth of Olympics I watched.....so now is the best tim...

Look at me...day 2 of accomplishing my goal ;) Life is good, when goals are accomplished!!! Today, just like yesterday, is all about Britan Rae! Today is her 10 Month Birthday! I mostly wanted to do this post because I honestly can't remember where the past 10 months have gone and can't believe that they have passed so quickly. So I wanted to do a quick recap of our sweet girl and some of her memorable moments so far!!! Month 1: Britan's 1st trip to the beach at 2 weeks :) Look how sweet this pink bundle of joy is! Month 2: This boy never knew how much he could love his little sister, but these two share a bond and love like no other!! Month 3: Such a girly girl :) Already eating baby food!  1st Halloween Month 4: A swimmer by month 4 & 1st Christmas Tree picking!! Month 5: Britan's 1st Christmas!! Sitting up by this month!! Christmas Morning Month 6: 1st Trip to TN...Such a water baby! Britan got her ear...

Hello ALL!!! I have been away from the "blogging" world for some time, but I am making a personal goal to complete some important posts this week! This is the 1st and the most urgent!!! Our SWEET, ADORABLE Britan is STILL NOT sleeping well at night!!!!!!!! For instance, last night she was back and forth between me and Brooks from 1 AM to 4 AM!!!!!!!!!!! What is wrong, what should we be doing, why can't/won't she SLEEP??!!! I posted several months ago about the "Magic of the Babywise Book" and that helped for approximately 2.2 seconds (MAYBE 3 weeks) and when I say it helped/worked, I mean she wasn't getting up ever hour and 1/2, she was only getting up every 4 hours, WHICH at the time was a HUGE improvement. BUT once we got her eating cycle regulated, her sleeping routine never quite reached PERFECT! And then we put her on a cruise ship for 3 nights and then "forced" her to have fun in Orlando for another 7 days (she really ha...

I am really not sure of the answer..... Life has not been too crazy lately, but I guess you could say steady! We have been spending lots of family together at home saving our pennies for our upcoming Spring Break vacation....and hopefully for the "new" car that Brooks and I have yet to agree on! Bryson is well on his way to kindergarten graduation, sadly, and he is also busy playing soccer for his new coach aka Daddy. I can't believe how much he has CHANGED in the last year. We had kinder screening at school last week and I can't even remember Bryson being so shy and apprehensive like some of those sweet upcoming kinders....hard to imagine that a SHORT year ago he was little and shy and now he acts like a grown up that reads and writes and everything else a 6 year old does! SAD, but FUN all in ONE! Soccer season is in full swing and the team is starting to figure each other out and hopefully before the season is over they will grab a win!!!! Britan is well on he...

To all the new moms and moms to be....... My little Britan Rae has not by any means mastered sleeping! And last Wednesday I realized something had to change because 6 straight months of MAYBE sleeping 5 nights all night, no interruptions during this time frame had taken a toll on this person that LOVES and MISSES sleep BADLY! Granted we have adjusted to not much sleep, but my mood and attitude have been severely affected by the loss of sleep...SO....I did some searching and came across the book Baby Wise, which I had looked at a couple of months ago, BUT I thought, I don't need a book to tell me what to do and it probably will not work anyway....wonder where we would be had I bought it months ago?????????? Brooks took the kids to Barnes and Nobles to find me this MAGIC book while I took a nice nap. When he got home I fumbled through skipping around trying to find the chapter that would make her sleep that night....eventually I started from the beginning and read 4 chapters...

This is going to be long, just so you know from the get go, but I promise by the end it will come full circle hopefully for you as it has for me! This past week has not been the best of weeks for the Derting's. I have had a rough couple of weeks at work since Christmas break, don't get me wrong I LOVE my job, but it has been very trying lately. On Tuesday I had a meeting all day and I had this little bump on my chin and I squeezed and squeezed all day trying to get it to pop (there will be some gross parts, so beware) and it popped a little, but it was still there. By Tuesday night I had self diagnosed myself with a boil. I tried the old remedy from my Grandma to put a raw potato on it with a band aid on top. I did it for a couple of hours and nothing. Wednesday morning it was bigger and harder and still nothing would come out of it. It was almost on my jaw line and it had a little round place of dried blood (told ya, gross). So I went to work and took some Tylenol and kept...