Just for me!

I am not just a mom!  I am not just a teacher!  Sometimes I forget to post about the real me!

I love fashion; or at least love watching it!  I can't always wear, or afford, what I love but I still stalk it on the internet.  

Around the time of Kate and William's wedding, I found this website...  What Kate Wore
I LOVE it!  They run-down all her outfits and tell us where we can find the pieces.  I still don't fit into them but maybe one of you can.  What I can wear are the shoes!  So when I found they were giving away a pair of the London Sole flats that Kate wears, it was too good to be true!

You can enter to win too!  If you follow my link here, comment with my name so we both get more entries!  Good Luck to you, but more luck to me! :-)

An open letter to the parents of the world...

Dear Parents of school age children.

If you disagree with your child's teacher, please attempt to do so civilly.
If you MUST get forceful, do so with the full understanding that you may be harming your child.

A good teacher will not dislike your child. They will give the child several chances.   However you, the parent, will never get a second chance to be liked. The teacher will never willingly call you again and therefore you will not receive the notice you'd really like about your child.  Heaven forbid you get a teacher who is not so good...  a teacher who's already iffy... you've just put your kid on the permanent hit list.

Thank you!
Educators everywhere

**I origionally wrote this months ago and stuck it in "Drafts" so I could cool down.  It is no less true now than it was 6 months ago!

** See also this article which I didn't write but I completely agree with!

I need to DO something

A while ago, I posted about all the people in my life who seem to be having such a hard time of it... one of those was a co-worker who's son turned 1 in May.  That precious little child has been fighting leukemia since about 6 months old.  They thought they had turned the corner... they had their little fighter home again and his counts were going the right direction....

This week they found out the leukemia is back.  Most devastatingly, they are out of options.  This adorable child has been given only months of life.

I know it is not my child, but it just as easily could have been.  What happened to these young parents was a fluke, one of life twists that you can never anticipate.  I have been crying on and off all day.  Then I cry because if it makes me this sad, I can't imagine the crippling grief of the family.

I keep hugging my kids, they are starting to think I'm nuts!  I can't tell them, they don't have any idea about this family or that little kids can die too young.  I don't want them to know.

I don't know what else to do.  So far I've spread the word, asked strangers for their prayers, and eaten too much chocolate.  I know there must be a better solution... I hope I think of it soon.  I'm running out of chocolate!

Random

I am so awful about updating my blog these days. When I'm working (during the school year) I can't post because Blogger is blocked. When I'm at home, I'm dealing with the 3 children (and one large child aka husband) or I am sucked in to the Facebook vortex!

Notes:

July went wonderfully despite the broken arm. The visit from the cousins was great and we did so much fun stuff. It seems that the addition of 2 additional children forced us off our butts and out into the world where we did things we never would have done to entertain our 3.

Brianna is growing so fast. Not literally, she's 8 and can still wear a 6/6x when need be. But in other ways, some days I see the teenager she'll be and I am equally terrified and over joyed with her wonderful little mind. She's still the kid that scares me the most. She has all these fears and minor ticks and double the stubbornness than any one person should be allowed to have.

Grant is starting Kindergarten in less than a month and loves to learn so much. He tries to read all the signs and things at stores, and gets them right sometimes! He is always asking us to give him math problems to do, and they are nothing amazing, but the kid can add and subtract all the single digits and some of the double digits.... in his mind! He loves to eat cereal, would eat it every meal if I let him. He like to mix 2 cereals together since he can't decide between them. He is also a little mean. He hits/kicks Brianna daily (never Chase) but his teachers say he doesn't do it at school so I try not to be too concerned.

Chase is my troublemaker. I know, I know, he's almost 2 and his testing his limits. I get that... but the kid does exactly what we tell him not to do ALL of the time. And reverse psychology doesn't work on him. If we tell him NOT to do what we actually WANT him to do, he still knows what we mean and does the wrong thing anyway. He learns everything from Brianna and Grant and is so smart in that way. He is talking up a storm and wants to do everything physical that we let him. My baby is no longer a baby.

The hubs and I are fine. Hubs is so excited for the new school year. I love that after 12 years of teaching, he can still be so excited about his job. It's really his calling. I wish I felt the same. I still like teaching, like Social Studies, like the students. I just can't seem to find the same excitement that used to make things like getting my classroom and starting the year so much fun. I'm going to keep trying to get involved in as many other things as I can. The challenge of adding new responsibilities is what what keeps me feeling... challenged. I do like a good challenge.

August will no doubt fly by and before I know it, or maybe before I post again, school will have started, Chase will be 2, and another summer will have gone before I could truly appreciate it.

Sigh.

OMG!

I broke my niece....

Backing up- We have my niece and nephew staying with us for 11 days (but who's counting?) while thier parents are in Hawaii. They were dropped off late Thursday.

Friday afternoon, my niece fell off her bike and broke her arm. It's not a bad break but THAT was not a fun phone call!!! Sure, it could have happened anywhere, but it happened on my watch. I hate that part.

Me, Confirmed!

As an adult we all have to face certain truths about ourselves. For instance, I like being in charge and HATE feeling "left out".

This week we lost power for 30 hours after a major storm. Being without power, in the heat, made me face, or reconfirmed, some truths about myself.

1. I can NOT stand inconsiderate people. I dedicate this revelation to the single woman who sat in Panera, for the full hour we were eating, with 3 electronic devices plugged in, playing solitaire on your computer, at a 4 person table with out so much as a drink in front of her.

2. I am creature of comfort. I LOVE my air conditioning. I don't like humidity. I am an indoor cat.

3. Technology is addictive. Throughout our time with out power, I mentally changed my facebook status about every hour. I really wanted to vent my frustrations and see what was happening with other friends. I couldn't... It was actually tougher than I though it would be.

4. I will never have a clean home. Hours and Hours with no distractions... no tv, internet, radio, nothing. I could have done lots of the cleaning things I always put off. Showers, kitchen floor, shake out the rugs, clean the leather couch. I did none of those. I read a book.

5. I am a lucky girl and need to work on being grateful more often. So many people near us had severe damage and some are still without power more than 3 days later. We didn't lose a single tree branch or roof shingle. My family, immediate and extended, are all safe and sound. Amen!

And then...

I typed my "Waiting...." post last night, and then this morning.... BANG.

A former student, a young lady with a beautiful heart and tons of promise, died in a tragic car accident. She was driving around, distraught, because her beloved dog had cancer and needed to be put down. She put his needs ahead of her own... He died with her in the accident.

Even faith fails sometimes.

Waiting...

This time, I'm not waiting for the end of school (which has happened and is wonderful!)...

or waiting for some big event (although there are several in the works...)

I'm waiting for something to go wrong.

I have 3 healthy, although sometimes quirky, children. I have a husband who works out for fun! (He's so strange! ;-D) I am generally healthy and happy too! We seem to be in the minority.

• I have one friend battling breast cancer at the young age of 34.
• A co-worker whose son was diagnosed at 6 months old with Lukemia. They battle every day; he has just had a stem cell transplant and he's barely 1.
• A friend from high school has a son, only 7, who just had a cancerous brain tumor removed and is waiting to see if he'll be ok with therapy and radiation.
• A former co-worker had her uterus burst and she gave birth to her twins months before they were ready. (They are home now and I am so happy she has them safe.)
• Another friend has had more miscarriages than I can count, and she is a great mom to her first, she deserves another.
• Another co-worker was working out one day and thought she pulled a muscle... turns out she had lung cancer and had to have part of her lung removed immediately. She never smoked.

I find myself awake in the middle of the night wondering when it will be my turn. Things are too perfect, too easy, too wonderful. How long can it last before the fates turn on me? None of these people woke up knowing that life wold never be the same for them; that life would change in a blink.

I'm afraid to blink.

And the kids think THEY have spring fever!

We have 27 days of school remaining... 27 more "wake-ups" in which I have to drag my tired tush to work.
I can subtract 4 of those days for Field Day, the Last Day, and Yearbook signing/clean-up days.
I can subtract another 2 on which I will be giving tests (no mental effort for me those days).
And I can subtract 2 MORE on which I will have substitutes for personal/professional reasons.

Drum Roll Please.... 19 "teaching" days!

Somehow, that makes it all easier! However, I feel obliged to confess that even with in those days, I put teaching in quotations because it is impossible to actively teach for more than half-a-class this time a year. The kids need activity or distraction part of every period. None of us, myself included, can listen/talk for a full period. SOOO, planning from here on out is based around the following question:

How can I impart information in a successful manner AND make it interesting AND break it up with movies so I don't go insane with discipline??????

I have a love/hate relationship with the end of the year. I want to keep being a good teacher but the kids are so *done* and I am so *done* pushing/fighting them! I'm walking the fine line between staying sane and staying a teacher!

My Review of Leachco Wrap Strap Shopping Cart Safety Strap

Originally submitted at One Step Ahead

No more broken, stiff, icky shopping cart belts - give baby a clean, cushy harness that's hers alone! It feels so good; the harness is made of luxurious minky plush fabric, with a soft foam core and Velcro(R) back closures. Adjusts to fit all shopping carts, restaurant high chairs, and other ...

Leachco Wrap Strap Shopping Cart Safety Strap

Love, Love, LOVE!!!!

By mom2bgc from Chicago, IL on 4/14/2011

 

5out of 5

Pros: Convenient, Easy To Setup, Portable, Comfortable, Durable, Easy Use, Lightweight

Best Uses: Travel, Daily Use, Infants

Describe Yourself: Parent of Two or More Children

This product is great! It not only safely keeps my 19 month old in the shopping cart, but I've also used it on kitchen chairs in a pinch while at friends homes. The fabric is soft and appealing but the best part about it is that the velcro tabs don't stick to the fabric and damage it when I fold this and stick it in my purse!

(legalese)