Found- New Favorite Website!

OK- the title isn’t completely true.  Nothing beats cakewrecks.  But, earlier today I went to the blogger choice awards site to see if my beloved cakewrecks won the best humor blog.  Of course itdid!  While I was reading the list, I was overcome by the amount of votes for the winner of several other awards- including best blog about stuff, and best blog of all time.  The blog is about a guy who is married to a woman with cystic fibrosis.  It tells about their daily life, including their new miracle baby who was born when just over 1lb.  I just started looking at it, but at first glance the site is very well done.  And, I predict it to be a daily must read in the near future!  For people like me who are just finding it, there’s a recap to get us up to speed on everything from the beginning of the site.  So, you don’t have to go back and read the whole thing.  But, after reading the recap, I’m even more tempted to go back and read it all.  It seems inspiring and sweet, although I’m sure sometimes scary and sad.  But, the response to the site is amazing and helps to let me know there are good people out there caring for others, praying for others, and are generally good people.  And, if we think we have had a bad day, there are probably others out there who have had worse- and who don’t feel as sorry for themselves as we do!

Time For Mom

A friend from my homeschooling group had a great idea.  Every once in awhile, we have a mom’s night out for the mom’s in the group.  Several of us felt we were ready for one- SOON!  I think it’s just that time of year.  You know, in the beginning everyone is excited to start something new for the year.  But, a few months in and everyone is ready for a break!

Anyway, she decided to host one and spent some time coming up with a theme.  She came up with a great idea!  What mom doesn’t have stress?  What mom doesn’t put herself last in the time category- this one needs her to this, that one needs her to do that, etc.  So, we are going to spend a few hours taking time out for mom.  We’ll discuss what stresses us out and ways we can destress. 

I am in charge of coming up with some ideas for our discussion.  So, here I am at my trusty resource- the Internet.  And, you all are my first stop.  What do you do to relax- to avoid or relieve stress?  I’m interested in your thoughts and ideas.  I’ll also share mine as I find them.

So, comment and let me know!

Creating a Mission Statement

After a particularly stressful discussion, I went online to search for some inspiration.  Trying to regain focus in my life, I referred back to something from my highschool days.  I was in a test program for Stephen Covey’s 7 Habit’s of Highly Effective People.  They were in the process of creating a high school class and I was lucky enough to be one of the guinea pigs!  So, I went online and did a search for his website. The result was that I created a mission statement for my life- in about 15 minutes!  With the philosophy that the first thoughts that come to mind are the most important to a person, they use thoughtful, yet simple, questions to get people to realize thier values and thier purpose.  These answers are then repeated back in order to create action sentences- ways people will live thier values and purposes. Check out this link to create your own mission statement.  You can read mine below.  I might make some changes to it- mainly the order it’s written in.  But that’s ok.  Here is the great quote they gave as soon as the mission statement was saved.  “Creating,defining, and refining your mission statement is an ongoing process because life is an ongoing process.”  Interesting thought.

Your Kickstart Mission Statement:
I will try to respect all people, places, and things.
I will help my son to become the wonderful person he has the potential to be.
I will do what I can to have a happy and loving relationship with my husband.
I will try to laugh rather than cry, to look at the lighter side of things.
I will work to be a person of integrity.
I will put God higher in my life by listening to the direction He is trying to lead me in and by trying to follow it.
I will be honest- both with other people and myself.
I will try to be a good friend to others- listening to them and helping them when they need me.
I will try to listen to what others have to say and put myself in their shoes in order to understand where they are coming from.
I will try to be a happy, light- hearted, likeable person- easy to be around.
I will work to achieve happiness. Whether it is my original plan or I have been thrown a curve, I will try to make the best of the situation I am in.
I will spend time with my family, immediate and extended, knowing that they are very dear to me.
I will follow through with what I commit to doing, and also let others know I expect the same of them.
I will also look at the situation and try to understand if someone does not follow through with their commitment to me- realizing that I cannot change others, only my response to them.

Click here to create your own mission statement- http://www.franklincovey.com/missionbuilder/flash/missionIntro.html?c=MissionStmntC

lincoln- same as always

I can’t believe it’s already Thursday!  And I really can’t believe it’s been so long since I wrote anything! 

A week of vacation was a wonderful thing!  A week of recovering vacation has not been as wonderful!  I knew it would be a little rough at times- getting back into the groove.  But, not this rough!

Monday morning I gave my son the list of things to do for each subject.  Actually, it’s written on the dry erase board in the schoolroom (Yay for an excuse to visit the office supply store a few weeks ago!).  Then, I went off to do my things for the day.  That was my first mistake- thinking it was ok to leave and assume he would accomplish his tasks.  I came home to pick him up for work a couple hours later- thinking he had done 2 of his subjects.  (that’s our agreement- he can keep his job working 2 hours a day if he has 2 subjects done before he goes and finishes the rest when he gets home)  Then I brought him back home to do his chores and school stuff.  I had a meeting and then made a trip to do go grocery shopping (yuk!)  When I came home, he and my husband were watching something on the computer so I figured all was right with the world and he had completed everything.  That was mistake #2!  Being exhausted at this point, I made dinner and then collapsed for the evening without checking his stuff.  You guessed it!  Mistake #3!

Imagine my surprise when I found only two subjects in the spot I told him to put things for me to check.  I went to the first book- wordly wise- to check his vocabulary.  I found 3 out of the 10- 15 questions that he just hadn’t bothered to do.  I was not happy since he has a really easy time with this so it was obvious it was pure laziness and not something he didn’t understand.  So, I handed it back to him and told him to finish while I went on to check his history.  Since we are using History of Us and there are not questions in the book, I have a list of things he has to write in a notebook for each chapter- vocabulary, famous people, important events, culture, art and literature.  So, since we are studying the civil war, he was on a chapter about Abraham Lincoln.  Here is what he wrote- the only thing on the entire page for the chapter.  Are you ready?  Are you sitting down?  I wish I had been.  Ok.  Here it is!

lincoln- same as always

That’s it!  That’s all he had to say.  What is that supposed to mean?  So, that is what he had spent an entire Monday doing! 

As you may have guessed, Tuesday morning was not quite what you would call fun around my house!  I proceeded to load him down with the work he should have done Monday and the work for Tuesday.  The last thing I wanted was to let him think he would get away with that!

Unfortunately, bombarding him with more work when he was having a hard time handling getting into the routine of a regular day made for a really fun time for all.  It was so much fun that we rolled it into a fun day Wednesday!  This was the day I finally told him to go t bed.  I know, a normal parent thing to do.  But, not at 4:30 in the afternoon!  He was obviously so tired I could tell I wasn’t getting any work out of him until he had some sleep!  The evening was better after his nap.

Today has been pretty good.  He even got caught up on some things and now has the privilege of watching Smallville- one of those father/ son bonding things.

A statement my husband made yesterday got me thinking.  He seemed surprised when i told him a homeschooling friend I work with has these kinds of days too.  “You mean we’re not the only ones?”  I have a wonderful support group that helps me vent.  As a homeschooling father, he doesn’t have that luxury.  Most of the dad’s work alot so the mom’s can stay home.  So, they don’t get together like the mom’s.  So, he had never had the opportunity to hear other horror stories. 

This is where you come in!  Share your moments of stress and chaos- your homeschool horrors!  Vent- just as I have just done (thanks!  I feel better!)!  Give me some stories to share to tell my husband that we are not the only ones with days like these. 

American Youth

I just got back from an overnight trip.  Since I wasn’t driving, it was the first time in forever that I had a chance to spend some quality time reading!  Usually, I have 50 million other things to do and even if I do sit  down to read, I am interrupted either by someone or the thought of something I think I should be doing.  But, yesterday and today, I had a chance to do some guilt- free reading!  It was wonderful!

Awhile back, when I went to vidit my cousin, she gave me a book.  Her friend wrote it and he even came over and wrote in the book for me.  How cool is that?  So, when I got home, I opened “American Youth” and started to read.

I couldn’t put it down at first.  Each page made me turn to the next wondering what would happen next.  And, the great thing about it was that I was quickly through several chapters.  As I said, unfortunately reading for fun doesn’t have a permanent time slot in my schedule.  So, I loved that it was a quick read- not that it wasn’t deep or thought provoking- just simply written to be understood.  So, then, quickly came a twist in the plot that set me back.  I think that’s what made it take so long for me to pick up the book again.  Not that it wasn’t a good book- I just had to digest it- take it in.  You see, it’s about a boy about my son’s age.  And, the reality of it all set me back.  My son is a good kid- really I am blessed.  But, a tragic event can happen to anyone.  And, the after effects- the quick spiral downward from there- was something I am glad I didn’t read about until  I had a chance to digest it all.  In the end, the resolution was good- realistic and not a fairytale. 

I’m glad I had the chance to read it.  I think it’s something, as a mom, that gives me insight into the pressures a boy can face.  And, for a teen, how easily things can spiral down without even noticing they are moving.  So, even though at times I was kind of freaked out as a mom, I was also grateful for an opportunity to peek into the mind of a teenage boy.

So, thankyou Phillip LaMarche for sharing with us all!  And thankyou Annabel for sharing with me!

“I Carried a Watermelon”

Raise your hand if you can name the title of the movie that quote is from.  C’mon!   It’s ok- you can all admit it!  Dirty Dancing is a classic!  They are making it into a musical now.  (read about it here http://www.dirtydancingonstage.com/)  They just announced it will open a year from now in Chicago.  It’s already a hit in London.  That announcement triggered a trip down memory lane.

When I was younger, I used to watch it all of the time.  I hadn’t seen it for at least 10 years.  So, I decided to rent it from the library this weekend.  I watched it last night.I knew every plot twist- every line actually, if you want to know the truth.  But, I watched it through much different eyes- the eyes of an adult/ a parent.  When I was younger, I loved the romance, the excitement of thier dancing. 

This morning, when I was thinking about it (it was way to late to think when it ended last night) I thought about the lessons in the movie.  My alternate title for this post was “Dirty Dancing- homeschool curriculum?  OK.  So, I’m not quite ready for my 13 year old son to watch them dance.  And, I don’t advocate Baby lying to her parents and sneaking out.  But, there are points to be made.  Baby is the one who sees people for who they really are- not the size of thier wallet or the place they grew up.  This is an admirable quality I want my son to know.  Baby sees a problem  and figures out how to make it right- not just accept it.  This is something I want my son to do.  That is a valuable quality both in everyday life and out in the work force.  I had never really listened closely to her speach to her dad after she admitted to being with Johnny in order to save him from being fired.  She apologizes for her actions- a good thing- but then goes on to share her feelings of sadness and disappointment.  After being taught to treat everyone equal, she realizes that only meant in thier class of people.  Strong words from a daughter to her father, I know.  But, is it disrespect or sharing her feelings of confusion of what’s really expected of her?  I guess it’s a matter of perception.

So, I think this movie does have some learning points to it- both for parents and children.  What do we expect from our children?  Are we allowing them to live as we are teaching them to live?  And for children- there were mistakes made and consequences for the actions.  But, there are also strong lessons such as not being judgemental and keeping an open mind.  Also, the concept of identifying not only the problem, but the solution and working to remedy it is a valuable skill.

So, is my son going to sit down and watch it with me tonight?  No.  Am I going to consider it in the future?  Yes- consider.  Am I going to think more about the lessons from the movie and how I can instill them into my son?  Yes- definitely!

Your Hollywood mom match is Angelina Jolie

If there’s one mom everyone’s heard of, it’s Angelina Jolie. Thoroughly modern and always on the move, your celebrity mom match never fails to get people talking. Like the tomb-raiding, pants-wearing, do-it-all mother herself, whether you’re bonding with the kids (and hunky hubby!) or planning the next family trip, you’re anything but boring. Totally in control, you’re more likely to be captain of the jet set than flying coach. Though sometimes people may suggest you slow down, you know that the best way to lead your family is full speed ahead.

You adore being on the go and getting things done. And one thing can be said for sure — you’re never short on adventure — or love!

In life you can make your own decisions or let other people make those decisions for you. Being Above The Influence is about staying true to yourself, and not letting people pressure you into being less than you. So be yourself. Or be something less. It’s your call.

Find out which Hollywood mom you are!

http://web.tickle.com/tests/hollywoodmom/

I have just spent way too much time on a website that I just got sucked into. 

 http://isawyournanny.blogspot.com/

It’s about reporting nannies that are not taking good care of the children they are employed to take care of.  The stories range from a nanny who spends her time texting and talking on the phone to a nanny who actually left a 3 or 4 year old at a park in Manhattan while she went to run an errand!  How scarry is that?!

What interested me was the different viewpoints of the nannies, moms, etc.  There was a nanny who talked about never working for someone who made under $200,000 and didn’t have a full time housekeeper.  She took a job only after checking out the rock on the mom’s finger and the collection of bags the mom owned!  The cars the nannies drove- required the parents have for them to drive (BMW’s, etc)- were better than I would ever dream of driving.  That is not what I want my son to learn about from the role models in his life.

I believe children should be surrounded by good influences- people you would want your children to grow up immitating.  Right now, the people around my son fit that description.  I am blessed to have him at home instead of at school where I have no idea who he will be around.  The people he works for are good, honest, hardworking people.  That is what I want my son to grow up to be- a good, honest, hard working man.  My family and friends- his family and friends- are all good people who love and respect family and friends. 

My point is this.  I wonder about what this world is becoming.  In my job I see so many people my age and younger who have no work ethic and respect for others.  It’s people like this nanny that judge a person based on what they have instead of who they are that disturb me.  They just expect to get everything and have things handed to them without working to earn them!

OK.  That’s my rant for the day.

Where-oh where- has my little boy gone?

I can’t believe how fast time has gone!  My son is now 13 and it seems this has been a year of so many changes- some subtle- others not so subtle.  But, just in the last few weeks here are a few.

He got a job- a real job!  He works 1- 2 hours a day 5 days a week at an Alpaca farm.  He loves it!  Amazing since it’s not much different than picking up after our pets and he hates doing that!  But, he is learning alot about Alpaca’s, horses, and working in general.  I’m pretty proud of him, actually.  It started out as a volunteer thing once a week.  But, they liked having him there to do certain things and asked him to start working there- thier first employee!  So, he must be doing well!

Next is a little scary.  He got invited by a girl to his first girl- boy party.  It’s at a beach about 30 minutes from here.  It’s a girl in his tennis class.  Since he was not able to go into the class at his playing level, he is at the top of his beginner class.  And, it seems all the girls- which is the class majority- have seen him at his best.  The girl who invited him also wanted to play him in tennis last week.  Hmmm.  Unfortunately, he will be out of town the day of the party.  When I told him he should call her and tell her that, he was not ready to do that.  OK.  I’m relieved.  I’ll admit I’m not quite ready for him to start calling girls.  Or, worse yet, have girls calling him!

Which leaves me to the next life change.  He doesn’t even know this one yet since he won’t be home until Friday.  We got him a cell phone.  I’m not excited about this.  But, I’m sure he will be.  But, it will only be for emergencies and to let us know where he is.  We can track who he calls and his minutes.  So, we will see how this works out.  I’ll keep you posted.

So, am I ready for these changes?  No, not really.  But, I see I have no choice.  And, someday I will probably look back and wish these were the only changes I had to worry about.  So, we move on and wait for the next one!

Welcome to the World!

This morning I got the phone call I had been waiting for!  My cousin called to let me know she was at the hospital and would be having her bouncing baby boy at any time.  So, here is my message to you both!

It’s amazing how much you can love and care for someone you’ve never seen- haven’t even found out your name (although I’m voting for Escher!)!  You are blessed to arrive as a member of a wonderful family- both immediate and extended!  Your parents have been anxiously awaiting your arrival and continue to impress me with through thier parenting adventure with your big brother.  So, I know you have really lucked out by having great parents to take care of you- even though you’ll wonder sometimes when you are older and are amazed that you know so much more than them!  (Just wait a few years and they will suddenly get smarter!)  Speaking of big brothers, I know he has been anxious to meet you and I think he is definitely up to the big brother role.  I can’t wait to see pictures of the two of you together.  You are already so loved by so many people- family, friends- and I can’t wait to meet you!  So, welcome to the world!  I hope you and your parents are all doing well!  See you soon!  We love you!