School's Out For Summer

I have been fighting a cold for exactly a week.  I don't think I've ever been sick this long and I don't know why it won't go away.  It seems to be worse at night time.  I haven't slept well at all this week.  This is why it's passed midnight and I'm sitting here on the couch trying to stop this continuous cough.  I can feel the mucus draining down my throat.  Gross!  I just don't know what to do to get rid of this annoyance and I'm trying hard to avoid seeing the doctor.  I just want sleep!  Last night I slept on the couch because my coughing was driving my husband insane and kept him from sleeping as well. So, I sat on the computer and did some writing.  I have always wanted to be an author and have been working on the same novel for many years, struggling to get through the first chapter.  It's mainly because I lack the time to get it accomplished.  Someday my dream will happen.  Someday.

In other news, today my son finished his last day as a second grader.  I can't believe it.  He has done so well thus far in school.  He is above grade level in math and reading.  He does need to work on spelling and handwriting but he will get it eventually.  I truly do believe that the English language is hard and not everything is spelled as it sounds.  It's so tricky.  As for handwriting he's a lefty, as am I, and I never seemed to be able to write eligible.  These things that he has trouble with I plan on working with him during the summer in preparation for third grade.  I cannot believe he is now entering the third grade.

My experience in third grade was horrible.  My teacher was the meanest person I had ever met in my life.  She called me stupid and told me I would never amount to anything.  I wasn't the only student she treated this way but it did hit me hard.  I believed it and from that point on I came to hate school and didn't see a point in trying.  It's a shame I allowed one ignorant teacher to effect my entire outlook of school and learning but unfortunately I did.  Now my son is entering the third grade, a year I hated so much.  I'm sure he will not have a teacher like mine.  Oh, I won't allow it!  But academically speaking he is going to be faced with more challenges.  I believe in him.  He's very smart.  I still worry.  Doesn't every good mother?

Now summer vacation has started for both of my children and I have many, many plans to keep them busy. 

Mommy Got A Crown

I had a dentist appointment this morning to get a crown put in.  As I was getting my daughter ready and told her why I had to go she said with amazement, "you're getting a crown?"

Well, yeah, of course!  I am a princess, you know.

Okay, so I'm not a princess.  I'm just your average person ... with a history of having not so good teeth.  Gah!  This was my third root canal.  Not cool.

My husband was at work and my son was in school so I had to take the little miss with me.  She sat so quietly and nicely as I was getting the work done.  The dentist couldn't get over how well behaved she was.  He had told me awful stories of other kids who have visited before.  One kid poured soda into the fish tank while his mother just sat there and laughed.  The poor fish didn't make it.  Another kid threw toys at the wall leaving dents and marks.  My goodness.  We discussed how horrible some parents can be.  I mean, I don't like to judge another parent but come on, laughing while your child dumps soda into a fish tank?  So not cool!

The entire time I was at the dentist he just kept going on and on about how great she is and how great kids come from great parents.  He even let her pick a toy from the prize box and gave her a $1, which is something he has done for both kids in the past whether it was for their appointment or mine.  Geez ... these kids are getting rich from going to the dentist while I go broke!

It really feels good when someone compliments my children on their behavior and also on my parenting.  I know I'm not perfect ... not even close.  My kids can and have been out of hand at times.  Hey, they are kids. Kids will be kids.  There are times when I feel like I'm losing my mind because they just won't listen.  However, for the most part, they do very well when we are in public.  I'm thankful for that.  My son's teachers and classmates have told me numerous times that he is very quiet in school.  I asked him why and he said, "because we're not supposed to talk in class."  My kids do listen, maybe even too good.  At home it's another story.  Sometimes I feel like a broken record when it comes to having to tell those two to stop doing something.  It's nice to know they are behaving when they are supposed to be and it's nice that others are noticing. 

Preschool Graduation

Well, our youngest has graduated from preschool last week.  It was definitely an emotional time for me and she didn't take it so well either.  She loved going to school and loved her teachers and classmates.  She made lots of friends and most of them she probably won't see ever again.  The year went by so fast.  Sending both our kids to preschool was the best decision we could have made.  She went from knowing so little to knowing so many things.  She has learned how to write the alphabet and numbers.  She knows the days of the week and the months of the year.  She can spell her name and also spell MOM and DAD.  She also knows how to spell her brother's name.  This summer I plan to work more with her before entering kindergarten.  Kindergarten?  Ugh.  I am not ready to see my baby enter the world of public school.  Time goes by so fast and it's not fair.  In our district kindergarten is full-day and I know it's going to be long and exhausting for her but she's a social butterfly and will do well.

I am so proud of her and how far she's come since the beginning.

Aside from learning she also went on many field trips and I was able to join her for each one.

The fire station where she learned about fire safety and had the chance to see the different equipment used during a fire and a tour through one of the trucks. 

Story time and a tour of the library.

 

A hike through a local park getting educated about different animals and trees by a tour guide.

 

A tour at the dairy where we learned how milk is made and even got to meet a few cows and goats.

There were also a few concerts.  Halloween, Christmas and graduation.

 

 This milestone really hit me hard.  I was in tears throughout her last day of school.  I'm an emotional person and can't handle change very well.  I am also struggling with the fact that my kids are growing.  Of course, the growing is going to happen and I am very proud of both my children.  I want to be able to keep my children little forever but also can't wait to see them grow up too.  

So, we have another graduate from preschool.  I am so proud.  

God Will Never Unfriend Me

Lately I've been having some issues about not feeling accepted by certain people and feeling harshly judged by others but I do not want to go into details about those things.  Aside from all that I logged onto Facebook today and took notice to the fact that one of my nieces had "unfriended" me.  I messaged her and she said her boyfriend went onto her phone and deleted everyone.  I immediately knew this was false because I could see she had over 1,000 friends on there, including all of our family.  I remember when I noticed when the amount of my friends had dropped by 1 but I didn't put much effort into trying to figure out who it was.  Come on, I have a life!  Today I discovered it was her and it had me confused and a bit hurt.  I've been "unfriended" before, not just on Facebook but in real life as well.  Plenty of times.  I've known people who have looked me in the eye and told me how much they cared for me and then found out they had the very opposite things to say about me behind my back.  This happens often.  It's made me lose the ability to trust anyone.  I've often wondered how anyone could be so dishonest and disheartening to others, then again, I haven't been perfect in how I have treated others at times.  We're human.  We have emotions.  We make mistakes.  We get hurt but we also hurt others, intentionally or not.

So many times in my life I've allowed people to get close to me and believed their words of how they like me and trusted that their motives were good, only to find out that they weren't who they said they were.  I wouldn't doubt that every person I've ever met has said at least one negative thing about me when I'm not around.  Here's the thing, their opinion doesn't matter.  Nope.  It doesn't.  I don't wake up in the morning and live my life for them so their judgements mean nothing.

The opinion of Jesus is what matters.

God created this world for His purpose.  He created me for His purpose. Am I living my life fully and completely for Him and the way He desires me to live it?  Those are the things I need to worry about.

Honestly, it's taken me a long time to feel this way.  My husband has the ability to brush things off his shoulders and never makes an issue out of anything that someone else says about him.  When I was hurt over some comments others had made his response was, "it doesn't matter what a person who doesn't even live with us thinks."  Since he said that I started praying to God to help me through this.  I can't change the opinions of others but I can change how I handle them.  When someone says or does something hurtful I'm going to feel that sting of pain for awhile but then I'm going to remind myself that it doesn't matter.  I'm going to focus only on the One who created me.  The One who has never given up on me.  The One who promised to never give up on me and will hold onto that promise.  The One who would never hit the "unfriend" button.  People will make promises and break them.  God makes promises and keeps them.

It's true!  Who could love you more than Jesus loves you?  No one!  So, why should the opinions of others matter so much to us?  They shouldn't.  Having this mind set has been an amazing weight off my shoulder and really helps.  I thank God for his everlasting love. 

Tea With The Princesses

I'm probably not going to get a chance to work on Happy Homemaker Monday today.  I only have one hour before having to pick up my daughter from preschool and there is so much to be done around the house but I wanted to update about the weekend.

Saturday morning my daughter and I joined my best friend and her daughter to a princess tea party with Elsa and Anna.  It was so cute.  The tables were set with fruit, a ham and cheese sandwich in the shape of a butterfly and little cakes.  Elsa and Anna did the girls hair, makeup and nails.  My daughter was so happy and loved every minute.  I don't think I've ever seen such a bright and cheery face on her before like this.  She always tells me she wants to be a princess so this was a chance for her to live out that dream.  She kept telling me it was the best day.

Then we went home and joined the boys for opening day at the amusement park we go to a lot.  This is the third year we are season pass holders.

 

When I tucked my daughter into bed that night I asked if she had a good day.  She hugged me and looked up at me with a smile and said, "the best."  It makes me feel so good to see my kids happy.  

I also have to add, with the help of Elsa, my daughter had a french braid in her hair for the first time.  It looked so cute.  

Doing "The Twist" With Chubby Checker

As a little girl I remember my dad blaring his oldies and singing as loud as he could and dancing around.  I would join him in doing The Twist for fun.  We also danced to The Twist at my sisters and my wedding.  I have to say, music from my parents' generation is definitely amusing.

When I heard the legendary singer and songwriter of The Twist was coming into town to try and break the record of how many people can dance to the song simultaneously I knew my parents would be thrilled.  Yes, they were thrilled and ordered tickets to the minor league game where Chubby Checker sang a beautiful rendition of The National Anthem and then came back out after the third inning to break that record, in which, we did!  With almost 7,000 people in the stands we all twisted for five minutes.  It was pretty awesome.  I'm glad to be part of it along with my parents, husband and kids.  This is going in The Guinness Book Of World Records, folks.  Big deal!  At least, I think so.

 

Happy Homemaker Monday - 4/25/16

The weather outside is:
BEAUTIFUL!  It's going to be in the 80's today.  YYYYYEEEEEESSSS!  Loving it!

On the breakfast plate this morning:
A cup of coffee and a bowl of cinnamon chex.

As I look outside my window:
It's so bright and sunny out today.  My flowers have bloomed and birds are flying everywhere.  I love this time of year.

Now I am:
I just finished watering the flowers outside and straightening up the inside of the house.  We had some ants by the front door so I quickly got rid of those.  Right now I'm just sitting and enjoying another cup of coffee and typing this up.  The kids are at school and hubby is at work.  It's my moment of peace.

As I look around the house:
I did some reorganizing and straightening up so things look clean and tidy.  This will not last long, folks, and if you have or had little kids you understand what I mean.

On today's to do list:
My parents are coming over today.  My dad has been helping me get a garden started in the backyard.  Today we are finally going to do the planting.  I can't wait to have fresh veggies to enjoy.

Currently reading:
Just my devotional.  I really want to get a new chapter book to read.

On the tv today:
When my television is on it's usually kid shows.  I'm not sure what's on tonight but I'm sure once the kids are in bed my husband and I will find something to watch.

On the menu this week:
Monday - gluten free meatloaf, mashed potatoes and a veggie.
Tuesday - crock pot ham
Wednesday - zucchini boats and salad
Thursday - baseball game
Friday - Bacon, spinach & tomato pasta

These meals are subject to change, as always.

What I am creating at the moment:
A garden.  Yay!

New recipe I tried or want to try this week:
zucchini boats 

Favorite photo from the camera:

 Last Saturday was opening day for my son's baseball league.  Here he is running down the field after his name was called.  They were announcing all the players.

Prayer, Inspirational Quote or Devotional:

Happy Homemaker Monday created by Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom