January 30, 2013
Fun Mommy Moments of the Weekend
I wrote this up in my journal in the car line on Monday, and I am just now getting it posted. Busy week... Anyway, sitting with the windows down on an unseasonably warm day in January doing something for myself, other than surfing pinterest on my phone, felt really good. Doing something worthwhile to take care of myself always makes me feel like a happier person and a happier mom.
-Friday, after school, we went to the Y to swim. When we got there, they told us the problem was being worked on, but the water was 77 degrees. It didn't sound so bad, but I was wrong. 77 degree water is cold, and I will not "get used to it." I have never been happier that my kids passed their swim tests so that I don't have to get in with them. Lynn was purple in about 3 minutes, but she and Joe both just wanted to keep swimming (and make Mom squeal by splashing her.) Daddy arrived to make the swimming even more fun for the kiddos. I love watching him play with them. The smiles are priceless. Bonus: I got some time in the hot tub.
-Normally on Saturday mornings I am a hermit in my bed. My family leaves me alone because I am kind of a grump about wanting to sleep in. However, in my effort to be a little happier and a little more fun, I didn't grump at the kids when they came in wanting to play a video game together. Yes, I said together. They actually wanted to get along while doing something with each other. I held my whining in and told them to come on in. It really was kind of sweet to listen to them working together and to hear Lynn say, "Buddy" to her brother every time she wanted to ask him something.
-Joe went to a Birthday Party on Saturday afternoon. I was expecting to hang out with the other moms, but when we arrived we found out it was a "drop off" party. Dan and Lynn were on a Daddy/Daughter Day so I got 3 unexpected hours to myself! That was a blessing in itself.
-Said Birthday Party had an awesome goody bag. It had something in it to represent all 8 elements of the Skylanders (kid video game, doesn't matter). Anyway, air was represented by two balloons. This led to a weekend filled with balloon volleyball games in the hallway. As balloons do, they gave us a lot of laughs and then caused a bout of crying when they popped. It was fun while it lasted.
-Harry Potter is famous at our house right now. The kids have seen the first 4 movies, and Lynn hardly talks about anything else. I am very proud and happy to say that the asked if we could listen to the real books in the van while driving to school. We are all loving it, and we have already had some great conversations about how the book is better than the movie! I am having a blast "re-reading" one of my favorite series and introducing the magic of "making the pictures in your mind" to my kids.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
17 Day Break
17 days ago I posted a "Take a Break" Tuesday. I haven't written a word since then. I also haven't really read anything not related to work either. We have Sustained Silent Reading for 20 minutes everyday in my school. I usually love that time because I have something really good to read. However, over the last few weeks, I have been flip flopping back and forth between a few books trying to find my mood. That doesn't even make sense. Find my mood. Well, maybe it does. I think I am in the winter "mood," but I don't want to be. I don't want to be depressing or read depressing, but fluffy and happy doesn't seem right either. Really, during the last 17 days, I have been stressing about what I should put on this page. I had a goal in mind of blogging really regularly, and then I made it 8 days. Nice, Lib. Real nice. Today I am reminding myself that it is the little things that matter so I don't have to wait for something super significant to happen to write it down.
So here we go again. Be fun and have fun everywhere in my life. Here is a quick little list of the happiness producing moments of the last 17 days.
-Watching Lynn dance during her dance class and seeing her proud smile when she sees me watching in the big mirrors
-Dressing up with the kids at Lynn's 5th Birthday party
-Intelligent discussion with my Juniors about the story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson (must read American Short Story that is easily found on the net/ go read it when you are done with this/ disturbing but amazing)
-Cookies from Grandma Donna and the follow up phone conversation with her catching up on life
-INXS "Never Tear Us Apart" on the radio twice in a week (my radio time on my way to work lasts for about 5 blocks, so this is a big deal)
-Working out with some of my co-workers after school (We are doing an Advocare 24-minute work out almost everyday, and almost everyday my muscles hurt. The physical activity is counteracting the winter "mood.")
-Reading Magic Tree House books with Joe every night (He loves learning about history and he loves books. That's my boy!)
-I am working at not being a nag at bedtime with Lynn. I have been pretty successful with this. I have realized that I shouldn't complain that my kid wants more hugs and kisses from me. Someday she won't want any.
-Impromptu trip to the library in which I convinced my children that we don't need to use the handicapped door with the button. They didn't argue with me or complain. Life is all about the small miracles and that was one of them!
Look for the small things and have a miraculous weekend!
So here we go again. Be fun and have fun everywhere in my life. Here is a quick little list of the happiness producing moments of the last 17 days.
-Watching Lynn dance during her dance class and seeing her proud smile when she sees me watching in the big mirrors
-Dressing up with the kids at Lynn's 5th Birthday party
-Intelligent discussion with my Juniors about the story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson (must read American Short Story that is easily found on the net/ go read it when you are done with this/ disturbing but amazing)
-Cookies from Grandma Donna and the follow up phone conversation with her catching up on life
-INXS "Never Tear Us Apart" on the radio twice in a week (my radio time on my way to work lasts for about 5 blocks, so this is a big deal)
-Working out with some of my co-workers after school (We are doing an Advocare 24-minute work out almost everyday, and almost everyday my muscles hurt. The physical activity is counteracting the winter "mood.")
-Reading Magic Tree House books with Joe every night (He loves learning about history and he loves books. That's my boy!)
-I am working at not being a nag at bedtime with Lynn. I have been pretty successful with this. I have realized that I shouldn't complain that my kid wants more hugs and kisses from me. Someday she won't want any.
-Impromptu trip to the library in which I convinced my children that we don't need to use the handicapped door with the button. They didn't argue with me or complain. Life is all about the small miracles and that was one of them!
Look for the small things and have a miraculous weekend!
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Take a Break Tuesday
I'm human, just in case you were wondering otherwise. I have started to think seriously about blogging everyday or almost everyday, and I decided that I need a plan because I can't come up with something everyday that is worth it to you to read. So, Tuesday will be a day to take a break. I am going to post something little. It may be something funny, inspirational, just wacky, sarcastic, or some other little tidbit that I feel like sharing with the masses about me or my life.
I have always loved country music! Thank you, Dad. All of those days in the trucks, tractors, and combines with you singing along stayed with me.
There is something about the song "Every Storm (Runs out of Rain)" by Gary Allen right now that keeps it stuck in my head. The message is great if you are going through a rough time, but there is just something else about the music, the sound of it. Anyway, go check it out. Take a break, listen, and remember that "every dark night turns into day." http://www.garyallan.com/pain/
I have always loved country music! Thank you, Dad. All of those days in the trucks, tractors, and combines with you singing along stayed with me.
There is something about the song "Every Storm (Runs out of Rain)" by Gary Allen right now that keeps it stuck in my head. The message is great if you are going through a rough time, but there is just something else about the music, the sound of it. Anyway, go check it out. Take a break, listen, and remember that "every dark night turns into day." http://www.garyallan.com/pain/
Monday, January 7, 2013
Not Perfect, But Good
January 7, 2013
I feel like I need to be honest in these posts to show my friends and family and anyone else who might read this that life isn't always perfect. Things don't always work out the way we wish they did. We can't always be the person we want to be. Sometimes we fail, fail miserably, in moments that we wish we could take back. That happened to me this weekend. But you know what? That is life. We gaff and then we say sorry to our kids, ourselves, our spouses, and God, and then we move on knowing we all still love each other no matter what.
I didn't completely succeed at being the fun loving, happy mom and wife that I wanted to be this weekend. However, it still ended up being a great weekend. There was yelling and there were timeouts (for mom and for kids), but we all got past that and spent most of our two days together content and sweet to each other. My husband was happy to have me home on Saturday night since we won't see much of each other this week. I got in quite a few snuggles with both kids and tons more handstand practice with my little gymnast. We went to a store, got what we needed, and left without any major breakdowns or fits. We got to church on time without any arguments and left in fairly good moods. I didn't have any earth shattering epiphanies about parenting or marriage. It was really a pretty uneventful weekend, and that is why it was a good one. We spent time together and were happy (most of the time). Isn't that what really matters?
I feel like I need to be honest in these posts to show my friends and family and anyone else who might read this that life isn't always perfect. Things don't always work out the way we wish they did. We can't always be the person we want to be. Sometimes we fail, fail miserably, in moments that we wish we could take back. That happened to me this weekend. But you know what? That is life. We gaff and then we say sorry to our kids, ourselves, our spouses, and God, and then we move on knowing we all still love each other no matter what.
I didn't completely succeed at being the fun loving, happy mom and wife that I wanted to be this weekend. However, it still ended up being a great weekend. There was yelling and there were timeouts (for mom and for kids), but we all got past that and spent most of our two days together content and sweet to each other. My husband was happy to have me home on Saturday night since we won't see much of each other this week. I got in quite a few snuggles with both kids and tons more handstand practice with my little gymnast. We went to a store, got what we needed, and left without any major breakdowns or fits. We got to church on time without any arguments and left in fairly good moods. I didn't have any earth shattering epiphanies about parenting or marriage. It was really a pretty uneventful weekend, and that is why it was a good one. We spent time together and were happy (most of the time). Isn't that what really matters?
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Learning is Fun (especially if you don't know you are learning)
January 3. 2013
The first day back to school after a break can be horrible for students and teachers alike. My goal today was to make it not horrible for as many kids as I could. I figured that my students need their brains turned back on before I give them a district Benchmark test next week. My plan, make them laugh while they are learning. They might not notice the hard work their brains are doing. I must preface this with the fact that they didn't love all of the lesson, but they did ask if we could do this everyday. So I would say it was a success.
Every student needs to know that they still have creativity somewhere inside them. They also need to be given a chance to use it without feeling like they are weird. I made everyone be silly. I told them that the only thing I wanted to do today was laugh. No grade other than participation, just laughing.
The activity consisted of drawing a location word, an object word, and a character word out of 3 separate cups. All the words were pretty basic things, but when combined randomly, created some interesting scenarios.
The first day back to school after a break can be horrible for students and teachers alike. My goal today was to make it not horrible for as many kids as I could. I figured that my students need their brains turned back on before I give them a district Benchmark test next week. My plan, make them laugh while they are learning. They might not notice the hard work their brains are doing. I must preface this with the fact that they didn't love all of the lesson, but they did ask if we could do this everyday. So I would say it was a success.
Every student needs to know that they still have creativity somewhere inside them. They also need to be given a chance to use it without feeling like they are weird. I made everyone be silly. I told them that the only thing I wanted to do today was laugh. No grade other than participation, just laughing.
The activity consisted of drawing a location word, an object word, and a character word out of 3 separate cups. All the words were pretty basic things, but when combined randomly, created some interesting scenarios.
High-rise office
Foot Doctor
Tools
Bank
Police Officer
History book
Mountains
Umbrella
Comedian
Museum
Sculpture
Burger Flipper
Amazon River
Car keys
Scorpion
For each scenario, I gave the kids 3 minutes to write a few sentences linking the 3 pieces together. I think my favorite was the bank robber who escaped from the police officer by smacking him with the history book. I also had to chuckle at the raw meat museum featuring a sculpture of SpongeBob as a burger-flipper. All totally silly, but really good stuff coming from my kids who have reading and writing disabilities. No one would have known that today. They had fun and they learned about a skill they have inside of them that they can use to their advantage. At the end of the class, I had them choose their favorite story and give the characters names and 3 character traits. This was equally as funny as the stories themselves. My plan is that they will build on these stories a bit at a time over the next few weeks until they have something they are proud of.
The juices are flowing and we had a good time today. Mission accomplished.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Play Some Games, Do Some Acrobats
I need to go to bed, so this is a quick one.
January 2, 2013
It is all about spending time focused on each other. I lost of couple rounds of Uno Moo, won a game of Pirate Plank, played Barbies, and helped Lynn with her hand stands for dance class. Proud moment of the day: Lynn wailed when she lost Pirate Plank. I ignored it, and it went away!
January 2, 2013
It is all about spending time focused on each other. I lost of couple rounds of Uno Moo, won a game of Pirate Plank, played Barbies, and helped Lynn with her hand stands for dance class. Proud moment of the day: Lynn wailed when she lost Pirate Plank. I ignored it, and it went away!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
See the Fun, Be the Fun
I don't typically don't do the whole New Year's Resolution thing. They never stick, right? So why put myself through that? But....I really want to start writing more, and I need something to write about. So here comes the Resolution if I have to call it that.
I want to see the fun and be the fun more often, and when I do, I'm going to blog about it. I want my family to have fun with me, I want my co-workers to enjoy their day, and I want my students to have fun in my classroom. I am going to make a deep down, real effort to make that happen as many days as I can. So here goes...
January 1, 2013 No More Duchess of Don't
My daughter has a Barbie movie that she calls the 12 Princesses Dancing. Long story short, the evil aunt comes to reform the motherless girls. She poisons the king in hopes of taking over. Lynn and I knew she was bad because she had "big, fat hair." All the villainous women do in the Barbie movies. Anyway, at one point the girls are making fun of the aunt and they call her "The Duchess of Don't." "Don't do this. Don't wear that. Don't, don't, don't!" Watching this is always hilarious to Lynn and I. It is probably one of my favorite scenes in the million hours of Barbie that I have watched. However, as a mom of a very strong willed and energetic little girl, I find myself sounding more like the Duchess of Don't than I would like.
Today I was the Lady of Let's. There were more than a few times today that I wanted to just sit and surf pinterest or stare at the TV instead of join in on activities with my kids. Today, I didn't say, "not now", or "just a minute", or "let me finish this." I said, "Let's do it." I ended up winning two games of Lego Pirate Plank. Lynn didn't love that the first time, but by the second, she was okay. She beat me twice at Uno Moo. I made some cute paper animals for Joe to decorate that made him smile. I didn't think they would turn out, but they were good enough for him, and we had fun doing it. I didn't scream at the kiddos to stop running the racetrack through our house. Instead, the mommy monster cut them off at the pass and got some really big hugs and giggles. That was more fun than yelling and sending kids to time out. Honestly though, I am really the most proud about some really little things that I didn't do today. I didn't say "don't" when my baby girl jumped on me in my bed this morning. I just hugged her and tickled her and let her hug me back. I didn't nag when I found some Goldfish crackers on the floor. I just threw them away and moved on. I didn't say, "don't" a million times like I could have at Nebraska Furniture Mart. Everyone else is on the beds, why shouldn't the kids try them out too? It wasn't a completely happy trip to that store, but it was better than any I can remember. No one was mad when we got to the car. It might not sound like much, but it was an amazing and relaxing day. It was fun.
It really is the little things. I know that there are going to be times when I can't be the fun one. There are rules that have to be followed. We can't have bacon for every meal. I know this. My goal is to say "yes" to the things I can, because "yes" let's me enjoy my family to the fullest. So long Duchess, the Lady has arrived.
I want to see the fun and be the fun more often, and when I do, I'm going to blog about it. I want my family to have fun with me, I want my co-workers to enjoy their day, and I want my students to have fun in my classroom. I am going to make a deep down, real effort to make that happen as many days as I can. So here goes...
January 1, 2013 No More Duchess of Don't
My daughter has a Barbie movie that she calls the 12 Princesses Dancing. Long story short, the evil aunt comes to reform the motherless girls. She poisons the king in hopes of taking over. Lynn and I knew she was bad because she had "big, fat hair." All the villainous women do in the Barbie movies. Anyway, at one point the girls are making fun of the aunt and they call her "The Duchess of Don't." "Don't do this. Don't wear that. Don't, don't, don't!" Watching this is always hilarious to Lynn and I. It is probably one of my favorite scenes in the million hours of Barbie that I have watched. However, as a mom of a very strong willed and energetic little girl, I find myself sounding more like the Duchess of Don't than I would like.
Today I was the Lady of Let's. There were more than a few times today that I wanted to just sit and surf pinterest or stare at the TV instead of join in on activities with my kids. Today, I didn't say, "not now", or "just a minute", or "let me finish this." I said, "Let's do it." I ended up winning two games of Lego Pirate Plank. Lynn didn't love that the first time, but by the second, she was okay. She beat me twice at Uno Moo. I made some cute paper animals for Joe to decorate that made him smile. I didn't think they would turn out, but they were good enough for him, and we had fun doing it. I didn't scream at the kiddos to stop running the racetrack through our house. Instead, the mommy monster cut them off at the pass and got some really big hugs and giggles. That was more fun than yelling and sending kids to time out. Honestly though, I am really the most proud about some really little things that I didn't do today. I didn't say "don't" when my baby girl jumped on me in my bed this morning. I just hugged her and tickled her and let her hug me back. I didn't nag when I found some Goldfish crackers on the floor. I just threw them away and moved on. I didn't say, "don't" a million times like I could have at Nebraska Furniture Mart. Everyone else is on the beds, why shouldn't the kids try them out too? It wasn't a completely happy trip to that store, but it was better than any I can remember. No one was mad when we got to the car. It might not sound like much, but it was an amazing and relaxing day. It was fun.
It really is the little things. I know that there are going to be times when I can't be the fun one. There are rules that have to be followed. We can't have bacon for every meal. I know this. My goal is to say "yes" to the things I can, because "yes" let's me enjoy my family to the fullest. So long Duchess, the Lady has arrived.
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