Thought provoking

A new article from Time Magazine
This article has me happily thinking that the world may not be doomed after all!

Before I was a parent, I was a teacher. Now, I am both! This article should be mandatory reading for every parent of a school age child. I already see "mistakes" I made in my 6 year old... things I wish I'd handled differently so she learned a different lesson than the one I unintentionally taught. I am learning everyday what kind of parent I want to be.

Ask yourself- What kind of parent do you want to be? Is that who you already are?

SO overwhelmed!

So I am writing my first blog entry from work! I seriously need to focus my thoughts and get my self together! (SO how is blogging going to help? It's not but I get to relax for a minute!)

Somehow, getting to know 95 students always seems easier in August when no one knows them. But now- I am trying to learn names, accommodations, quirks, special needs, behavior triggers... all from someones notes. I don't have time to wait and see like I would have been able to in August! UGH. AND- This week is conferences- so I get to meet all the parents of the kids I don't know!

On the plus side-- Chase is loving daycare (as much as a 3 month old loves anything). Morning patterns are working pretty well... mommy just has to get her lazy butt out of bed 15 minutes earlier! :-)

Done!

My maternity leave is done.
Tomorrow, I resume working for a living.
I am not happy, but I am also not too upset.
I will miss having Chase all to my self, and having LOTS of free time.
I will not miss feeling unproductive and lonely.

It all goes by so fast....
12 weeks in a blink!

What about the kids?

It's actually been a while since I talked about my kids!

Chase is sick. :-(
My poor little baby has his first cold. He is sniffling and sneezing and sleepy. I wasn't too concerned until he had a "fit" this morning.... 40 minutes of unstoppable crying/screaming. THAT is not at all like my mellow little man! As soon as I got him to sleep, I called the doctor. Of course they don't need to see him but I feel better knowing I checked. Also, inevitably, he got much better after I called. I should call the doctor sooner, even when they don't do anything, simply the call seems to make my kids better!

A great Grant-ism:
When I asked him what he'd had for lunch at school he said, "We had the green beans that are rectangles with circle ends, not the ones shaped like little balls".
I seriously had to replay that sentence in my head a couple times!

And Brianna?
I don't know... Bri is fine. She is super excited to go to the bookstore tonight where her principal is reading a story. She is getting better at her reading and math everyday. She's still stubborn about her clothes but we are learning to compromise with each other.

They are great kids and I can't imagine life with out them!

Notes from the home

I am not normally a stay-at-home mom... however, I am enjoying this maternity leave thing quite a bit! But that is beside the point. Having stayed at home the past 11 weeks, I am starting to notice things I never did before.

1. Why are there SO many loads of "dark" laundry? Do the dark clothes infect the lighter colors in the hamper? Is it because it's fall/winter? Do I just gravitate towards those colors when shopping and if so, what does that say about me?
2. The dust bunnies in the corners of the family room do not bother me at all. Seriously, I could stare at them for days if no one is coming over, but the minute I know I might have company, I scramble to pick them all up.
3. It is hot in the office of our home. It has a lot of windows and apparently receives LOTS of daily sunshine. I never noticed before... I may or may not have to blog while dressed inappropriately to compensate.
4. I could spend all day on the Internet if necessary. Seriously- If the TV died and the kids wouldn't bother me, and I could make money, I could spend all dang day on the Internet. I will have to seriously cut back on this soon and it is distressing me slightly!

Ahh, the enlightenment! :-)

It's not about me... for a change.

Today, as I sit around the house in my sweats, with the kids running around and my husband home....

Thank you to all the men and women of the armed forces who made this perfect life possible. America has so much to thank you for!

In the words of an old country song... "All gave some, some gave all".
God Bless!

Oh Behave!

I am heading out the the store today to buy something special... Something I hear is the greatest gimmick ever to be invented by parents and the great all-knowing Hallmark.


It is called... The Elf on the Shelf! Have you heard of it, do you know?

The elf comes to your home the day after Thanksgiving. He sits on a shelf in the house all day long. At night, he leaves to report back to Santa in the north pole. When he returns in the morning, he is in a new place in the house! Sometimes he brings a little treat for the kiddies... AND you can't touch him because if you do, he loses his magic and he can't go back and tell Santa how good you are.

There is a book that comes with so if the kids don't believe you, the book confirms everything!
I am excited to try it.

6 is the new 16?

I had planned to write about something else today BUT- I have a frustration to share instead!

My in-laws informed us today that they purchased a Nintendo DS lite for my 6 year old for the holidays. They did not ask us first, they just informed us when it was done. (They thought we might want to buy her more games for it). I'm a little dismayed by this! I think 6 is too young to be playing hand held games. She needs to be working on learning how to read and write and add, not how to get Tinkerbell through the forest!

My husband and I were already struggling with my parents purchase of an inexpensive mp3 player for her. At least this, I rationalized in my head, could be used sparingly and I could control what music went on it. It seemed like a good first step into the technological world in which kids live today. She already knows how to use my husbands and would not need much help with this...

It just occurred to me... am I going to have to teach her how to use the DS? I'd rather be teaching her not to reverse her S's and 7's!!!!! Not to mention that the DS is $130!!!! I just don't think a 6 year old, at least not MY 6 year old, is capable of taking care of something that is over $100! She loses everything... EVERYTHING!

Am I over-reacting?
Do you know a child of this age that does well with it?
Should I tell my in-laws no?!?!?!?!?!!!! (I've never been good at that!)

Lord knows- once she has it in her hand, she will love it (for a time) and there will be no going back....

10 days

I have 10 working days at home with baby Chase! When did a 3 month long maternity leave suddenly become 10 days?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I want more time!

Day one

I have decided that I don't want to be a size 18 anymore. OK- lets be real, I never wanted to be a size 18, I never planned it, it just happened. I have 3 kids who need a better role model. I have trip to the beautiful beaches of Mexico to plan for (July 2010!). I want to stop shopping in the "Women's" department!

At my smallest (that I can recall), I was a 12 in the months immediately before getting pregnant with my oldest. I want to wear that dress again. Yes, I have a size 12 dress that I bought in that wonderful time and I am holding it in my closet so I can wear it again someday. It's nothing special, definitely not an "investment piece". I think I bought it at Target. But I remember how I felt in it!

Yesterday I did the Jillian Michael's "30 day Shred, level 1". I plan on doing something like this 5 days a week. I know that I need to make it a habit so I picked a time that I will be able to continue even after I return to work in a mere 17 days.

If your looking for me at 3:oo, I'll be in the family room, sweating!