Snow Day - Take II

School was cancelled once again yesterday.  I actually had to turn on the air conditioning on Sunday, but Texas weather is fickle.  As much as I love not having to get everyone up and out the door by 6:30am, I know these days have to be made up so I just wanted to go to school.  The roads weren't icy, however, we did get some snowflakes drifting down for about 30 minutes.  They melted immediately, but it was still exciting.  I mean, I did grow up in North Dakota and attended college in Utah so a few flakes isn't all that impressive for a snow veteran such as myself, but I was excited for my kids. ;)

Ellie and I went for an hour-long walk in the afternoon and the neighborhood was completely deserted. I think we only saw one other person outside the entire time we were on our walk. Everyone was safely tucked in their homes.  But, y'all, it was only in the 30s!  It really was not THAT cold!

A Texas Snow Day

School was cancelled on Friday due to weather being in the 30s and ice on the road.  I love Texas.  My kids were so excited to see ice on the trampoline.  I couldn't get them to wear their hoodies, but I was successful in talking them out of shorts.

I found that little trampoline on a BBBS board for $25. Best investment ever. The kids spend hours out there jumping on it. They have some sort of Harry Potter game they play where they are Harry Potter's great-great-great grandchildren. I don't know all of the specifics, but I do know that a ball (as in dance, not bounce) is involved and I will often look out and see Ellie and Jack dancing. They get along so well when they are out there, too. Sam was a little sad that he couldn't be outside with the kids, but he soon found a new form of entertainment in my kitchen cabinets.

Potty mouth

The weather was so beautiful on Monday and we had the day off, so the kids and I arranged to meet up with all the cousins at a big park 20 minutes away.  I, of course, got the time wrong and was there really, really early so I decided to take the kids on a walk along the nature trail.  My kids are so not used to the great outdoors.  They were scared of walking in the woods and kept asking about wolves and snakes.  I was trying to talk up how great it was to be able to walk through the "forest" when Ellie looked around and commented, "This place is a DAMN mess!"  I stopped in surprise and asked her to repeat herself.  She repeated it word-for-word.  When I told her it was a bad word, Mrs. Know-It-All proceeded to argue with me that it wasn't a bad word because she had heard a grown-up say it.  I told her the same thing my mom told me when I was young, "If I don't say it, you don't say it."   When I texted Tom about it, his reply was "at least she used it in the right context."

A long story about a little hurt

I have written on here a couple of times about how people will often ask me if I’m pregnant (or when I am due, or some other way of saying I look pregnant).  Ever since I had Ellie, I have never lost the pregnancy belly.  My weight has fluctuated a good 30 pounds since then, but even at the lowest, I still got asked.  After having Sam, it has been extremely difficult to lose the weight.  I was making good progress, but then the holidays hit and I put back on all I lost and then some.  With the start of the New Year, I have been eating really clean and walking two miles 5 days a week.  I am trying my hardest to get in shape.  I just wanted to set the stage for my little story.

I have a coworker that I work closely with. I have talked with her frequently about how I get asked almost on a weekly basis if I am pregnant and how discouraging it is.  We have also had several conversations about getting our tubes tied and compared notes on our experiences.

A couple of days ago we had a fire drill at school.  I was in the parking lot talking to her and a paraprofessional.  The para turned to me and asked me if I wore a girdle after giving birth to Sam.  When I said no, she informed me that I should have because it would have helped make my tummy go away.  My coworker chimed in and said that she never wore one and that it is just about getting your butt off the couch and exercising. I then went on to tell them about how hard I have been trying to lose the weight and what I have been doing.

Less than two hours after that conversation, my coworker was in my classroom discussing dyslexia testing with me. At the end of our conversation, she starts to leave and then turns around and says, “I have something that I want to ask you. It is really offensive and I probably shouldn't ask, but people keep asking me and I know it is offensive, but I’m just gonna ask. Are you pregnant?”

I made sure my face didn't show any hurt and I acted all nonchalant as I gave my standard response about how it is just a food baby and, no, I am not pregnant.  But later? When no one was around?  I totally started crying.  And even now, days later, it is still weighing on me (“weighing,” heh heh).  I don’t know why I am dwelling on it.  I get asked it all the time, but this time it really, really bothered me. I keep mulling it over so I decided to write it all out and use it as motivation for those times when I just want to give up and eat a pan of brownies instead.

Kids these days

I put Ellie's hair in two adorable pigtails this morning and she insisted I take them out. "No one in second grade wears pigtails, Mom!"  Noooo, I am not ready for her to quit being my little girl!

In related news, Jack informed me that I was ruining his life because I wouldn't let him wear shorts this weekend to a birthday party.  What is up with these strong-willed, opinionated children of mine?

Instagram decor

At the beginning of the school year, I put a few of my favorite instagram pictures on the wall behind my desk. This is how it started out:

This is what it looks like now:

I don't know why, but it just makes me happy.

A savvy shopper

About a week ago, I noticed an unusual charge from Amazon on my bank statement.  I checked the Amazon Prime account I use and couldn't find anything that matched the amount.  Then, on Saturday, this arrived on my front doorstep:

I vaguely remembered Jack pointing to a picture of this on his Kindle Fire and saying how much he wanted it and me giving my standard response, "Well, maybe for your birthday."  Well, somehow my son who can't read and can barely even dress himself managed to order himself a birthday present nine months in advance.

I resolve...

I am not much for New Year's Resolutions.  Some years I have made long detailed lists broken up into categories of ways to improve every aspect of my life.  Last year, I did the One Word resolution.  I don't know that I was all that successful with either approach.  This year, I am keeping my resolutions to a minimum. I tried to set a general goal and then think of one measurable way to make it happen.

1. Be More Social - Go out with friends twice a month (book club counts).

2. Get Moving - My goal is to walk 500 miles this year. (And now I can't stop singing "and I would walk five hundred miles and I would walk five hundred more.")

3.  Take Pride in My Appearance - I am lazy.  Most days, I go to work with my hair soaking wet from the shower and very minimal makeup. I throw on something from the closet that isn't jeans so I can count it as professional dress.  On weekends, I have been known to go to the grocery store in sweats, unbrushed hair pulled up in a pony tail, and zero make-up. My goal is to do my hair and make-up every day.  I was never really that girl, but I feel like if I take pride in my physical appearance, I will take better care of myself overall.

4. Be More Kind - I have already written about this and it is something I have been working on for awhile.  It is really difficult to make it a quantifiable goal, but the plan is to perform an act of kindness daily and then put a little heart on my calendar so I know I have achieved it.  I am hoping this will make me more aware of those around me.  It isn't that I think I am unkind, but I just want to be more kind. :)

The Best Birthday Present Ever

Remember when I mentioned that I received The Best Birthday Present Ever - 24 hours all to myself?  Well, I cashed in over the holidays.  It was awesome.  The hotel offered dinner and breakfast so I didn't even have to leave.  I spent the entire time reading. I didn't even turn on the TV once.  And it was so nice to be able to go to bed secure in the knowledge that I would not be woken up by a small child or a snoring husband.

When I told people about my gift, some thought is was really weird.  Even the older gentleman checking me into the hotel said he thought it was "crazy."  All I know is that from the time I wake up in the morning until I go to sleep at night, I AM NEVER ALONE.  Never.  Weekdays it is all rush, rush, rush and my days are spent with my kids or with a room full of teenagers. Weekends are crammed full of all the things that don't get done during the week and trying to spend quality time with the Little Ones.  Honestly, I usually feel pretty content about my life, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't like to escape from it for 24 hours every now and then.

Sunday Best: All about teeth edition

I had my brother pull Ellie's two front teeth this week. The new teeth were growing in behind the baby teeth, causing her front teeth to stick straight out. Mark used the numbing gel and then did a series of shots to ensure she wouldn't feel anything, but when she saw the pliers she freaked out. We pretty much had to hold her down.

That night, she left her teeth out for the tooth fairy along with a note and two packs of Nerds. The note was awesome.

Ellie was really excited to see the tooth fairy replied and she bragged to all of her cousins that she knew the tooth fairy's name.

Edit: I really did write this on Sunday (hence, the Sunday Best title), but for some reason I saved it as draft and didn't publish. Oops.

Let the child-proofing begin

Right after publishing his letter in which I stated he wasn't crawlong yet, Sam decided to prove me wrong. He REALLY wanted that rainbow loom.

Dear Sam at 9 months

Dear Sambo,

You are now 9 months and boy are you handsome!  Sometimes I just sit and stare and marvel at your perfectness.  Is that a little weird?  Maybe.  Despite your good looks, you have turned into a major whiner lately.  Seriously, you just sit and whine until someone picks you up.  I am hoping all the whining is because of your cold and not a new personality trait.

You now have 6 teeth and use them to eat like a champ!  You can pretty much eat whatever we are having as long as it is in small bites.  I made the mistake of giving you a banana, though, and the faces you made...we thought you were choking, but then realized you just really hated bananas.

You are also pretty mobile. Still no crawling, but you can go from your belly to sitting in no time flat and then back to your belly again where you will perform a series of fast barrel rolls to get where you need to go.  You now like to stand up holding onto things and keep trying to pull yourself up on objects.  Unfortunately, those objects are usually unstable so you haven't had much success.

Your sense of humor is really developing.  When we go to change your diaper, you will wait til we are about to put it on and then do a fast flip to your stomach, chortling as you do so.  You will also grab the diaper from our hands and chuckle away.  Your belly and ribs are so ticklish so it is pretty easy to get that adorable laugh on demand.

You are still a nosy-noser and like to watch what everyone around you is doing.  You are happiest when there is a lot going on around you so you can sit and stare to your heart's content.  You still love to play with your brother and sister and don't even complain when they drag you around like a doll.

Sam the man, I look at you and want to just stop time.  You are funny, cute, and loving and I want to keep you my baby forever.

Love,
Mama