Mama Speaks

Today my students asked me how Earth was created and who the first person on Earth was.  They, in fact, wanted to ask me question after question to which I did not have the answer.  I finally asked, "Does anyone have a question I can answer?"  What I did do was applaud their curiosity and encourage them to do some research (vocab word this week) and grow up to be the kind of people that find the answers to those questions. I had a former student, a now 5th grader, come to visit me today.  I don't know what it is that I did right as his teacher, but he has such great respect for me.  He dropped in to say hello and tell me that my costume (yesterday was Make Believe Monday for National Literacy Week) was the best.  :)  To this day, he visits me and calls me Ms. G (which only certain students do).  His mother had a baby the same year I had him as a student, which is also the school year I conceived Ayla.  He always looked out for me, telling ...

Another day, another migraine.  As I tried to soak my pain away in the tub this evening, I got to thinking.  The thing in life that satisfies me the most is feeling as though I have made some sort of difference in another's life.  I don't mean that I took someone who was on the wrong path and helped them start anew.  Wonderful as that may be, I would just like to think that I am leaving footprints on the lives of some of the people I encounter.   My life has been impacted by so many people in ways both big and small, I couldn't begin to tell each tale or thank each one, but here are 5 people who have changed my life (obviously I've blogged much about my family-so here are some others). 1. My brother Denny.  I don't actually blog or talk about my brother Denny very often.  He is 23, and he is an awesome kid.  He will always be a kid to me.  His charisma and sense of humor are totally original, and people just love to be around him....

Wednesday.  Happy hump day!  My day has been rather uneventful, though my frustrations about teachers in my county not getting a pay raise or level of experience "step" and the public's negative reaction to teachers in general (i.e. "Get over it teachers, enjoy your paid summers off"--which by the way are not paid!!) has me hot under the collar.  But I'm not going to expand on that. My sweet little Ayla is a hitting, kicking, mean-machine.  I arrive to pick her up.  Slap hello.  Buckle her in the car seat and lean in for a kiss.  Slap.  Take her to the park for a half hour and amazingly do NOT get smacked.  Arrive home to get her a snack and milk.  Slap me, slap my laptop.  Time out number one.  Sorry, hugs, kisses.  Two seconds later, she is swinging a book at me.  Time out number two.  Make Brandon talk to her.   The frustration level I have with her over these behaviors is boiling.  Last nig...

We met with our wedding caterer on Friday, and she prepared a smorgasbord of delicious foods for us.  One dish in particular, has me wishing that it was our wedding day already!   We've also met with our photographer and made a final decision on her.  I am so excited to have found very talented and kindhearted women who also actually fit into our budget!  It is amazing how quickly the expenses of a wedding add up!  However, we are doing our best to be frugal and get things done ahead of time.  I am a big planner, a trait inherited from my dad (who always has to have a PLAN!), and it feels good to get the ball rolling on these things. We have our date (Saturday, October 8, 2011) set and our venue reserved.  I've ordered the Save the Date magnets (from VistaPrint, thanks to my BFF Ette who recommended them) and got them for 50% off!  I don't see any purpose in spending a great deal of money on invites and save the dates because if people a...

My household is experiencing a case of the terrible twos...about 5 months early!  Ayla's latest obsession is hitting, kicking, and slapping me.  Also, when she finds something she isn't supposed to have (usually something expensive and/or breakable) and is told to give it back, she instead runs and LAUNCHES said item at the nearest hard surface.  It is exhausting.  She is so smart (all moms think that, but I've had non-biased parties tell me so, so it must be true-wink) so we spend a lot of time talking about her behavior. Me: "Do we hit?" Ayla: "Nooo!" Me: "Is hitting nice or..." Ayla: "Meeeen!" Me: "What do you say?" Ayla: "Sawddy" (sorry) Then, she says "aww" and hugs me.  Which is sometimes followed by another slap.  The struggle is day-to-day.  Do I give her a mean mommy face?  Do I ignore her since she's looking for a reaction?  Do we do (another) time out?  I vary my strategy because...

I received a most unexpected compliment the other day. Someone said, " My life has been full of goodness since I've met you." It made my day-it made me feel so important and validated in such a significant way.  I wanted to remember that moment.

My weekend has been very busy, but I feel accomplished and had a great time in the process.  Friday, I stayed home from work with Ayla because Danni's grandfather passed away last month, and the family all joined here after the holidays to have his celebration of life, starting on Friday and lasting over the weekend.  Ayla and I pretty much napped the day away, which we obviously both needed.  Ayla has been hard hit with being sick, getting a cold immediately following her recovery from her first ear infection.  She must be like her mama-sleep to recover.   Friday evening, Brandon, Ayla, and I went to go meet with Indica Woodruff, a wedding photographer.  I really adore her work, and I've realized recently that I know over a half dozen people she's done wedding photos for.  She's so personable, and I am really excited to have my heart set on a photographer.  I also ordered our save the dates and got a great deal on them.  I've slowly s...

I wish I could enjoy a nice pedicure...but my naked toes are a badge of motherhood and laziness. I wish I could sleep in every day...but then I'd miss my happy, early bird baby girl. I wish my bed was a California king instead of a full...but I'm glad to be next to Brandon. And Boo.  And Oscar.  I wish my jeans were smaller...but my heart got bigger every day I grew Ayla in my belly. I wish to never suffer a migraine again...but my I refuse to believe my suffering is without some bigger purpose. I wish I knew my real purpose in life...but then I wouldn't have to work for it.

Life is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally I'm reading a new book on my Kindle, and I'm really enjoying it (thanks to Ette for funding this special birthday purchase) so far.  It starts off talking about how the author's stepdad was diagnosed with lung cancer and died 37 days later.  It goes on to talk about how eventually we are all 37 days away from our own death... The question is not a new one: how would you spend those days?  The author goes on to explain that as a mother of small children, we probably wouldn't spend it doing wild, crazy, extravagant things like going around the world.  Nor would we spend the time dusting and scrubbing and organizing and straightening the house.  Instead, we'd eat more pancakes and play harder and all those things we do on "special occasions."  Another point the author makes is that what we write is the legacy we leave behind.  She even went on to talk about how our children deser...

2010 was a year full of ups and downs, as many of them are.  As I happily begin 2011 by sleeping in after a day full of birthday celebrating, I am going to bid 2010 farewell by reflecting upon the highlights of the year gone by again so quickly. + Ayla turned 1 +Spent time with Martinez family over the summer +Got engaged on October 8th +Henriette got engaged! +Celebrated our 3rd anniversary +Purchased my first laptop +Welcomed a new niece, Elisabeth, into the world +Spent time visiting with family in Iowa over the summer +Started couponing  +Got Oscar, my sweet Boston terror, er terrier, for Mother's Day +Ayla was spaghetti & meatballs for Halloween +My good buddy Tonia teaches across the pod from me +I have a really sweet class +Brandon is teaching the Cambridge program this year +Dad turned 50 +We both turned 27 +Boo turned 4 -Grandpa LeRoy died -Water heater broke -Mom endured months and months of suffering and devastation with her dental issues -...