Cold Coffee-and other things I'm getting used to.: September 2010

26 September 2010

Little Laid Back Brother

Just wanted to post a quick picture of Matthew yesterday. He was a complete dream as we walked around Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village indulging in Ryann's every whim. I guess its right (and slightly sad) what they say about second children in that they learn to be patient due to parents always having to meet the demands of the older child first. I hope this relaxed demeanor carries him through toddlerhood!

15 September 2010

A job ain't nothing but work.

The difference between being a mom and a teacher is basically that I don’t have to feed my students dinner. Yet.

I am back to work and really enjoying my new school. The staff and students are great and although we are still in the “honeymoon” phase, I am excited about the start of a new school year. That being said, I have done pretty much nothing but eat, sleep, work, plan, cook[1], and clean.[2] I am tired!

I have spent the last year at home with Ryann and so I am getting pretty used to understanding her moods, likes, and dislikes, and as a parent I am her first teacher-knowing all that stuff is important. However, to be a successful classroom teacher, one must know their students the same way. Trying getting to personally know the likes, dislikes, and moods of 150 different kids is a little bit more demanding. I think this is the main reason why the beginning of the school year is so exhausting-sure, you have stuff you have done in class before, but just because it worked last year doesn’t mean it will work this year, and during this honeymoon phase a lot of the time is spent trying to figure out how to meet the needs of many different personalities.[3]

In the same way that I hope I am being a positive influence for my child, I hope that I can in some way impact the lives of the 150+ kids I see every day in class, and for that reason, even when I am not at work I am thinking about work-so while teachers aren’t in the classroom every day, the students of my classroom enter my mind daily. I talk about them like they are my own. I have gotten stopped mid-story before by someone who said “wait a minute-how many kids do you have?” I realized that I was telling a funny story about a student of mine, and of course had started out the story with “one of my kids…”

So while today’s blog has nothing to do with my family, I am hoping those moms who follow and check out the Yahoo! calendar for things to do will be patient-I will be adding to it soon-lots of cool stuff for the fall is coming in-and if you find something cool let me know!

[1] Or my version of cooking, which includes opening up different cans, mixing them, and turning the stove on.

[2] The jury is still out on whether or not what I do can be considered “cleaning” but it sounds better than “hiding stuff”

[3] This is without the option of just having the grandparents take them for the day so you can recharge. Also, a 2 minute time out for middle school children doesn’t really affect them the way it affects my daughter.

03 September 2010

Inspiration from Starbucks

The Way I See It #198

"You can shower a child with presents or money, but what do they really mean, compared to the most valuable gift of all-our time? Vacations and special events are nice, but so often the best moments are the spontaneous ones. Being there. Every moment that you spend with your child could be the one that really matters."

-Tim Russert

Host of NBC's "Meet the Press" and author of "Wisdom of our Fathers."

I have had the above posted on my fridge for probably a couple of years now, it is a quote that was written on the side of my Starbuck's cup. Today I noticed it again and it really got me thinking…

We consider ourselves to be pretty hands-on with our kids, myself especially since I have been off for 64 weeks.[1] However, I am wondering if the moments that I spend with my child where I am so frustrated I could flip the couch over are also the ones that really matter. Ryann woke up from her nap yesterday in the worst mood. She was crying and complaining for like an hour[2] and my patience was wearing thin. Needless to say, she was not happy with us. I put her up in her room so she could calm down and Matt went up to talk to her.[3]

I hate to get mad at Ryann especially because she doesn’t understand why I get frustrated when she is merely trying to “help” me bring my fork to my mouth by holding on to my fork while I try to shovel in some food between toddler and infant demands.[4] I realize that everything she does is a reflection of things we have taught her, directly or indirectly, and that she doesn’t know any better on some things but it doesn’t make it any less frustrating when we have one of “those” days.

So Ryann finally settled down and we got ready to go watch her Uncle Tom play J.V. football for the evening. She was a sweetheart at the game, blowing kisses to Grandpa and Uncle Tom, and walking up and down the bleachers making friends. Matt wondered aloud why she wasn't always that sweet with us. I was reminded of something our friend Carl (who has high school boys) said last time he visited. Matt mentioned that he couldn’t believe that one day Ryann was going to tell him that she hated him and Carl replied that “that is how you know you have done your job right.” So I guess EVERY everyday moment is one that matters-because whether we are having a great time or counting down until bedtime we are still doing it together.

[1] Do you think my laundry would be all caught up by now?

[2] probably more like 15 minutes, but time passes slowly when your blood pressure is skyrocketing

[3] Time that I think would have been better spent fixing me a strong drink

[4] Yes, she really does actually hold the end of my fork and repeat “Careful mom, careful mom” the entire time I eat.