Box of Chocolates

Oh sweet summertime, you are missed already.  One of my kids said that the school year is the beginning of a 180 day sentence.  Makes a mother with a teaching degree sad.  I love learning. I don't love the system of education and why I am not a classroom teacher anymore but I understand some of her complaints. I am the mother of a freshman in high school. At a brand new school. No one went to school there ever until a couple of weeks ago.  I told her the first couple weeks could be hard. The plus to being a freshman in a new school is that it is new to everyone. I knew that even though the building cost 75 million to build that things were not going to be ideal.  Boy was I right, I don't always like being right. Some things are a mess.  Some things are getting better each day.  There are things I can not understand and probably will never understand.  Even as a parent that has been a classroom teacher with two degrees in education I can't make sense of the things that h

I have been wide awake since before 2 AM. Wide eyed and well, not so bushy tailed. This is the second day in a row. Why?  No really, why? This is the second day in a row my brain refuses to turn off for longer than a few hours. It's like half my brain wants to party and the logical side knows this is not a good thing.    As a mom of three on the first day of a new school year I am sitting in the family room in the dark thinking of all the things I can't do right now. I am also lamenting summer. Today summer break officially ends. At least I am up in time to get the kids to school.   I am not excited for today. It has a few milestones that we can not put off. I will not drive to the elementary school for the first time in eight years. I will be dropping my youngest off at middle school and my oldest at the high school. Also the middle child decided to go back to school so I will not be homeschooling this year.   In a few hours my kids will wake up and start a new scho

I choose not to work. I do understand that people don't have a choice and have to work outside of the home for a pay check to buy food and shelter.  One parent in my house must work. I also feel some don't really have to work and choose to work for luxury items.  I have talked to people that say there is no way they could be a stay at home parent and choose to go to work. Why do we as parents belittle each other in our choices.  Recently on Facebook (some say a necessary evil, but I think it is just evil) A parent commented   "...for the parent that actually works".  Wow, only one word makes that sentence sting.  I try not to let these words on Facebook hurt me or give them a second thought but I am a wordy person and I think about words.  The sentence takes a different tone if it was written, "for the parent that works".  The word "actually" implies negative things to those that don't work. For the parent that works I understand that a 30

Grand Canyon 2015 I love to travel. Two summers ago we took a 4,000+ mile road trip west that was the hands down best trip I have ever taken with my kids. A million times better than our Disney trip. Did the van get to small some days? Yes. Would I do it again?  In a heartbeat. The summer before going out west we did a tour of Florida. We started in the Panhandle to Key Largo back up the east coast to Saint Augustine, with many stops in between.   At the time we went out west my kids were 9, 10 and 12. My kids two years later are still talking about our trip. It often comes up because of school. One day my son's class was learning about Mesa Verde and the teacher asked if anyone had ever been and my son was the only one to raise his hand.  This has come up a number of times in the past two years. My kids are the only one in class to raise their hands when asked about different locations in the USA. Recently my daughter has had to study the Little Rock Nine and we have b

Is this thing on?  I'm so glad no one read my last post.  I never want to be a mommy blogger but zero readers?  ZIP!  It is a little disheartening.   I got on this morning to tell a story but I am so discouraged.  Maybe I need to rethink this blogging thing.  I originally started this blog for my mom before Facebook was popular.  I wanted to share with her the happenings of the family because she moved away from her grandkids.  But hey, even my mom doesn't read my blog.   What is the point if no one reads it?  Signing off to reevaluate. 

The life as a wannabe writer. That was my newest idea for novel.  It is really just an autobiography of my attempts to write. I love trying to do NaNoWriMo and CampNaNo but it is not working out for me this April. My word count is low, really low. My word count is bad for many reasons but by trying to do the challenge I realize what I need to work on as a writer. I am too far behind on word count for any kind of novel to be written in 30 days. That is okay with me because I am writing a little and a little is more than not at all. I think just trying to do the challenge each time they open the virtual gates online it helps me learn where I am, and who I am as a writer. I will be the first to say I am a novice. To take on a challenge of 50,000 words is not an easy task for me. I am not sure why I set my goal 50,000 for April when you can choose your writing goal. I know I can write 50,000 words in a month because I have done it, once.   For me I have to accept my reality of what

I'm guilty. Anyone that reads my blog knows I commit word crimes. The worst lately was in my last post. The first word of the first sentence. I really do know the difference between it's and its. I worked on the last blog for a while on Friday.  I read it multiple times before I posted. When I went to look at it later, I just about died. I probably should have walked away and went back and posted later.  I can make excuses for my lack of grammar or word choice but here's the thing, I am writing.  For that I am not going to feel too bad about my grammar errors. I am sure there is someone that would love to take a red pen to my blog. I sometimes wish someone would. I'm know I have a lot to learn. You would think at my age I would already know how English works but I really was not interested in reading or writing when I was a kid. I tolerated school because I had to go. I guess you could say I am a late bloomer.  It wasn't until I was in college that I feel in lov

It has been 24 days since I changed my password and logged off Facebook. I have logged on twice to see if anyone messaged me and logged back off. Which I am glad that I did because someone messaged me about math tutoring. The only thing I missed was if someone had had their baby. I was interested to know and while I tried so hard to stay off Facebook I did search her name just to see if she had the baby. Then I thought if she did have the baby and I don't know then are we really friends?   We are not friends by the true definition, just virtual Facebook friends. Top 10 Things I Don't Miss About Facebook 1. Selling of Rodan & Fields, LuLaRue, 31, Ketones or Scentsy.  I like some of these products and support you 100% and hope you do well.  The multiple posts on your product daily but nothing else in your life, blah. 2. Bragging. I love to see pictures of your vacation, if it isn't the only time you are on Facebook. 3. Posting fake news. 4. Making a comment I ho

Today I remembered something from fifth grade.  It isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things but in my world I was surprised at the timing. Earlier in the day I was reading Modern Library Writer's Workshop A Guide to the Craft of Fiction by Stephen Koch. I read the first part of chapter two, The Writing Life. It is odd that the day I read about remembering and what writers do to remember I had a flashback. Just hours later I had this moment when I was visited by a shadow of my past when I least expected it.  Proof a writer should always have a notepad.  I am taking a student for math lessons starting tomorrow. It isn't that they can't do the work. They don't want to do the work. I get it. Math in fourth and fifth grade, although easy as an adult is tedious as a child. I have been researching the why behind the inevitable phrase,  "show your work".   Long division is, long.  It takes time and seems pointless to a 9 or 10 year old kid.  I want my

Idioms, they are clever words with a meaning that have transcended time. I remember when I was a kid my mom would tell me, "that is the pot calling the kettle black".  I understood the meaning but the history behind those words took me longer to understand. I remember the day I had the aha moment when saying those words. As a child of the 80's we really didn't have cast iron kettles or pots. I am not sure where I was or how old but I do remember the connection to a black pot and black kettle.  It those moments when you audibly make a noise at the connection.   As a student teacher many moons ago in my first internship I had to teach one lesson. I was given the reins to a fourth grade science lesson on earthquakes and plate tectonics. One of the students had an aha moment that day. It was one of my first times teaching a class and to hear a kid audibly make a sound when they understood the topic makes a life long impression on you. I love aha moments. They seem t

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.    ~ Thomas Edison   As a parent I really struggle with how much should I meddle in the affairs of my kids. At what point are you just making your kids decisions for them? Recently I went to a winter retreat with a group of middle and high school students as a chaperone. We had fun, but as a chaperone we were talking about a choice one of the kids was making and the other parent said to us along the lines of it will be a "self correcting error".  At what point do we has parents let our kids fail, not to be mean spirited but at some point you learn by error. Clearly something that is going to cause them or others physical or emotional harm needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. What about the kid that wants to take AP history? The class you know will be hard. It will take a lot of work and might not be worth the AP credit. Do you let them never even have a cha

This is a time line of how one can be very busy but get very little done. Some times are estimates, some are recorded by phone call, text or email.  I had that much going on yesterday that I have many events time recorded and because of technology I can sit here hours later and sum up my day. 6:15AM I get up get kids ready for school, pack lunches, get dressed, etc. 7:25 AM We leave for morning drop off. 7:44 AM Pick up mom for a scheduled procedure at hospital (text from driveway confirms time). 8:00 I know the time because I commented how the boy walking from the church to the high school was going to be late with two minutes and over a block to walk. I then pull into Dunkin for coffee. One highlight of my day. 8:15 AM We get to hospital and wait. 8:57 AM We get a text, "Report to lobby desk". My mom goes back for procedure. We (homeschool kid and I) wait some more.  She is trying to do some school work.  I am trying to read but I am fascinated with people and w

CampNaNoW riMo is right around the corner. Yes, another NaNoWriMo writing challenge. This one is a little different but I love a challenge and for whatever reason they motivate me to write. CampNaNoWriMo starts April 1st, no joke! April fools, get it? No joke... Anyway, I am going back to an idea I had in 2013 and although I plan to start a new story I am going to use my notebook to get me jump started. CampNaNo is about writing anything and setting your own goals.  It is also a camp like atmosphere where you have a virtual cabin of 11 other writers you can encourage or chat about writing (although in the past it seems we are all too busy writing to chat). The challenge is more self monitored and you set your goals and you can write anything, not just fiction. My last post I told you I am looking into a new way to journal/write in my notebooks.  I have always labeled my notebooks so they are easy to find later and it came in handy today.  I pulled my 2013 notebook out today and st

It is crazy when all three kids and the husband is gone how quiet it is in the house. Today was a half day of school and the kids went mountain biking with their dad. I am sitting here in silence. I did go do a little shopping, cleaned up the much neglected kitchen and I though I should use the remaining time to write in peace.   I have been researching notebooks and how to organize my ideas. There is a bullet method that I am not going to adopt 100% but it looks like I will try some bits and pieces in my Camp NaNoWriMo 2017 notebook. I start a new notebook for every NaNoWriMo challenge. I will let you know how it works for me. The one idea that stood out to me is start with an index and number your pages so you can find things. I have to say this is genius and not sure why I never though of it before and I am hoping it will help me find my randomness I want later.    I am researching ideas now so that come April I have a ton of ideas and websites bookmarked in advance. Toyin

They say ignorance is bliss.  Lately I have wondered if I am the only one in America that has not lost their mind.  Seriously, some people's lack of knowledge is alarming to me.  I just want to copy and paste links to YouTube, Crash Course Government onto Facebook posts and say "No honey, that is not how it works." Politics is the most frustrating for everyone but some of the things I watch insult my intelligence.  For example, Liz Warren. This woman is sneaky and I don't see why so many people like her.  When she was questioning Betsy DeVos she asked questions for her education secretary position that made me mad. One was along the lines of,  have you ever taken a student loan?  Which DeVos said she did not.  Them she asked if her children ever had a student loan or pell grant.  Which DeVos said they had not.  Now, they seem like okay questions since there is a huge rsesponsablitly to the education secretary job, right?  I disagree. She was in my opinion calling

For some time I have wanted to own a typewriter. Within minutes of being in an antique store I saw one in decent condition. I took the price tag into my hand and let it go and walked away. The price was a little high for my penny pinching ways. My 13 year old was in awe.  She said to me, "Mommy, look!'  First of all those words are so precious to me.  I am still her mommy after 13 years and the fact that she knows my heart for anything that has to do with writing makes me smile. She also wanted the typewriter. I had already seen the price before she got my attention, because the typewriter had already gotten my attention as soon as I saw it. I told her how much it was and that I just couldn't spend the money on it. I did joke with her that maybe the purchase of this typewriter would get me that best selling book I know I have in me. A few days later I was talking to my mom that works at the antique market on occasion to help the owners on days they have doctors app

Today I started a new book and in the front it read, "This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental." Anyone else read this in the beginning of a book and think, LIES! I want to start my book with, "This is a work or fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is not entirely coincidental because the author doesn't live in a cave without Internet, T.V. and has a life."  With that being said,  I would have to actually write a book in order for this to be in the front.  I am almost positive a publishing company would not allow my version for legal reasons.  What this all really leads to is writing.  I am looking into d

Day in and day out I am frustrated with myself because I didn't take the time to write.  I want to write but I find myself not writing anything but thinking about writing.  I love to read and make time for reading but I find myself often just thinking about writing and not actually writing.   I am not sure what will ever motivate me to write daily.  Being a mom to three tween/teens in a huge job.  Especially when one is being homeschooled this year.  I find myself saying things like, when the dishes are done or when the laundry is done then I will write.  Just let me check all this school work first and then I will write.  When it is quiet, I will write.  This could be why I never write.  It is never quiet in this house.   Today I have had enough.  I am not about new year resolutions but I am going to make the commitment today to write daily.  I ideally would like to write not just for the blog but novel writing.  Blogging is at least getting my mind on the written word.  In

I am bad at time management.  The life style of a stay at home mom is a lot of self management and self control.  I know I waste time with Facebook, phone apps, Pinterest, etc.  The ways in which to waste time are numerous. I decided to print out a 24 hour time management activity log.  Just for kicks.  I started it today and plan to do it for a few days.  Here is what I am finding on day one. I miraculously have not had time for Facebook or phone apps and games.   I seem to be more productive if I write down what I am doing.  It is like the opposite of a list. (I hate lists)  It is making me think about what I really want to get done today and when to do these activities Before I even started to write things down (yesterday) I thought about getting up earlier.   I think it will help me plan out when I can do the things I love like writing and blogging.  It seems that we are finished with homeschool about lunch time so the 1 to 2 hour might be my best time to write.  Which two

I usually don't do New Year's Resolutions but this year I am going to do things differently. One is I am going to write almost daily if it kills me.  Although it is already the 3rd and I didn't write January 1 or 2nd.  This is exactly why I don't do resolutions. I can never keep them and then I feel bad. Life is fleeting.  My oldest is now 14 and I feel like the years she will be home are almost to an end.  That it pains me a little.  She starts high school in this calendar year!  Be still my heart.  Time is a funny thing because I also feel like there is no way on this earth I have been married for 19 years this February.  Most important to me is I have a family that needs my attention and I don't want to sacrifice my time with them. These things have lead me to change some habits. Lately I am forgetting things.  Meetings and appointments.  Maybe we are too busy.  Maybe I am a tad unorganized.  Maybe I am losing my mind.  I have got to figure out a system other