Jellyfish

I think there is a difference between pushing religious beliefs on my children and simply helping them understand where I stand and answering their questions when they arise.  While I would like for them to share the same beliefs that I do, I also want them to know that they are their own people and free to believe what they choose.

Over the last year or so, Bekah will say things like, "My brain told me to do xyz, but I didn't."  I wasn't sure what she meant, so I would just respond with something like, "well, do you think that by not doing xyz, you made the right choice?"  She would say yes and we would go on.  100% of the time, the things her "brain" was telling her to do were things that weren't really the right thing to do.

Here's an example, while putting away dishes in the dishwasher....

"Mommy, my brain told me to see if the edge of this knife to see if it is sharp, but I didn't."

ME: "Do you think that not touching the edge of the knife was the right decision?"

"Yes, I think I shouldn't touch a knife."

ME: "Well good!  Then it looks like you did the right thing."

And that was the end.

It took me a while to figure out where this was coming from, but I finally determined a few things that I believe (feel free to disagree):

1.) Bekah has a very close relationship with me.  She tells me everything, even the smallest little things, she thinks she needs to tell me.  I am so thankful for that relationship with her.

2.) At times, she has a very naive personality/demeanor.  Sometimes, I don't think she even realizes that some things she should probably keep to herself.  (Like, when she tells me I look kinda chubby in a pair of pants!)

So, I think she's at an age where she's "curious" about things, and instead of just full out doing it, she conciously thinks about doing it, then makes the right choice and tells me about it.  The only way I can materialize the thoughts is the whole "angel on one shoulder-devil on the other" metaphor.

Bekah prays about everything.  Honest to goodness, God love her - she prays about everything.  She prays that she will not have to go #2 at school because she's embarrassed, she prays that God won't make her cry when she waves bye to me as she gets on the bus, she prays that God won't make her scared when she lays in bed at night.

And if there's one thing that I am thankful for, it's a child that trusts me, and more importantly trusts God.

So, we've had a few teachable moments this past year. 

For instance....

A little girl in her class (who Bekah considers VERY smart) was having a hard time passing "Math Masters" - our equivalent of the old trusty addition/subtraction timed tests in elementary.

She said, "Mommy so-and-so keeps not passing Math Masters and I feel really bad for her."  So, as I always do, I said, "well, do you think if you said a prayer for her before the test tomorrow, it might help?"  She agreed that she thought it might help her.

The next day she came home and said, "Mommy!  Before our Math Masters test, I said a prayer for so-and-so that God would make her pass the test and guess what!!?   She did!!!"

Then tears welled up in her eyes as she told me, "...but I didn't pass the level today mommy.  Why did I say a prayer for so-and-so to pass, but I didn't."

[Insert teachable moment about how much God honors humility here]

So, I explained to her that, while I understand it is very, very tough to see someone else get the "prize" that you prayed for them to have but then  you are left seemingly empty handed, God was SO proud of her for being truly happy for the other student that passed the test, despite her own score; and that today just wasn't her day to pass.... but God will honor that prayer that she prayed for the other student, and not herself. ... in a really big way.

I'm not sure that lesson sunk in, but it sure warmed my heart.

Fast forward to today.

We were riding in the car and she started in on some random thing that her "brain" told her to do.  Beacuse I feel that she's to the point where she can start hearing a small bit about the Devil and his misguided ways... I decided to bring that into the "my brain told me such and such" story.

So, I explained it the best way that I could.  Definitely not exactly accurate, but as accurate as I could get it... to a 7 year old.

I told her that the Devil doesn't want us to go to heaven, and he'll tell us to do things that aren't very good and nice.  But Jesus lives in our hearts (this is where it gets tricky with the whole accepting Christ/baptism/etc - so for my Christian readers, bear with me here...).

So, Jesus lives in our hearts and when we are "told" certain things in our minds by the devil, and our hearts feel otherwise, we really need to listen to our hearts because Jesus would never misguide us. 

I told her that any time her brain tells her to do something, she really needs to think about what Jesus would do in those situations and most likely, if she really listens.... she'll hear the answer in her heart.

(At what point do I take my own advice here!?! ha!!)

She said she understood and that the Devil doesn't sound very nice.  And she wants to make sure she goes to heaven.

I agreed, and reiterated that she will go to heaven because Jesus is in her heart.

A few minutes later, after some serious thinking she said,

"Mommy, how do Jellyfish go to heaven?  Since they don't have any hearts, how can Jesus live in them and make them go to heaven?"


........

.......

......

1 Point - Bekah
0 Points -Mommy

Something Fishy

I remember being a kid, anticipating the arrival of the infamous "June Jamboree"... dubbed more recently by high schoolers that I know as simply the "June Jam".

A sign of the times I suppose. 

When I was younger, I couldn't wait to get to the fair.  It was as though I was approaching Disney World every time.  However, as an adult, I find myself dreading to go - hoping to hold my kids off from going more than 1 day. 

This year I told the kids we could go to the fair on Friday evening.  So, after a busy day, we ventured to town to hit the fair.

As we pulled in, parked the car and walked toward the fair, Bekah and her friend Jordan could barely stand it.... they were dying to get there!  Sometimes I miss that innocence. 

I agreed to let them play one game with the money their grandmas gave them, and of course - chose the fish game.  Can you imagine my excitement when they both won a fish!?

About an hour later, we left the fair; fish in tow and headed home.  Bekah's fish found its home in an old pitcher while Jordan's lived at her house in a bowl for the night.  Byt this morning, both fish were dead.

Surprised? 

No.

I laughed and said that it sounded like it was time for a fish funeral.

I didn't know they'd take me seriously.

Within about 10 minutes,  they had gone in Bekah's room, through her closet and found a couple of nice dresses that would help them pay their respects to the poor fair fish, that were destined to a short life.

Playing along, their brothers and a couple of their friends put together a funeral processional on their bicycles, riding single file down the road in route to the location where the fish would be buried ....

together....

forever.

Trying not to laugh, the boys dug a shallow grave and lowered the fish into the Earth.  Soon after the burial, the boys disappeared while the girls hung out by the grave and looked at the flowers, freshly picked from the flowerbed, laying against the rocks at the head of the grave.

It certainly not the type of occasion that should've warranted me laughing histerically whilst trying to explain to a sad little girl that her fish had died at the same time as Jordan's because they wanted to be together in heaven.

It was a bonding moment.  A time when I should've been really explaining life and death, but instead, all i could think about was trying to get her to stop crying so I could grab my camera, hide in the bushes and act like the papparazzi.

Ya win some and you lose some.

Luckily, as the day went on, the girls have forgotten about the fish funeral that went down this morning.

I haven't... I'm still laughing.

The Verdict

I got the news today! 

I was awarded 12 credit hours for the portfolio, and I couldn't be happier.  That trims off an entire semester from my degree (and thousands of dollars!).

I originally asked for 21 credits, knowing it was a bit of a stretch in some areas, but chose to be rather safe than sorry especially since it was a one-shot deal.  When I got the notification that the faculty had awarded me the 12 credit hours... i was thrilled.

With the credit hour award, I am officially a "Junior".  Woot!

This summer session, I am taking two more core level electives that I need toward my degree, and then I will register for fall classes very soon. 

Additionally, I had applied for a local scholarship back in February and got the letter this week that I'd been awarded a $2,000 scholarship for next academic year.  That was GREAT news.... and my bursar account will appreciate it as well!

So, things on the school front are going well.  I'm really going to try to take as many online classes as I can, because I know when I have to go to class a couple times a week - it will really take a toll on my family.

So, that's the news!

The Truth about Facebook.

Tell me you're headed to the store to pick up some carrots...

good deal!  Glad to hear it!

Let me know that your husband had dinner on the table when you got home from work...

Awesome!  What a great guy!

Oh?  You had a new baby and you want me to know how much you love him?

I can relate!  So, so happy for you!


..but dear GOD... if all you do is brag and brag and brag about how wonderful your life is, how happy you are with everything in your life... how BLESSED you are and how absolutely adorable and perfect your kids are....

I will most likely LOSE MY MARBLES!

I'm ok with this every now and then.   Because I too, feel very fortunate at times.

But let me tell you all something right now.  It ain't always perfect. 

yes I said ain't. 

I don't talk about how wonderful my life is 24/7.  Because I don't really think I need to.  I have a lot to be thankful for.  And if you're a close friend of mine, you already know that.

Here's an example of something that I might say if I wanted to get attention from all 7283473284 of my facebook friends and lead them to believe my life is friggen fabulous.

"so, today the kids and i went and rented the little pedal carts down at the canal and had the perfect day.  Then, we came home and the kids fixed me a 3 course dinner and we ate next to a bonfire outside while making smores."

I'm here to tell you that NOT EVERYTHING ON FACEBOOK IS TRUE.

I suppose it's as true as you want to believe it is.

Let's be real.

If i were to be honest about the status i mentioned above, (with no limits on characters in the status update) it would say... more realistically....

"wanted to take the kids to do something fun, since we were about to kill eachother being stuck in the house.  First, we headed to the canal to rent the little pedal cars and the kids fought the entire way there.  I threatened to pull the car over no less than 8 times... but realistically never had the intention of turning around since gas is over $4 per gallon on the average day.  So, we finally got there... i threatened the kids one last time before we went to the rental shack to pay a lot of money  for the little cart.  We started riding and almost crashed at the first corner, mostly because my kids were fighting again and i turned around the smack them upside the head.  (JK)  After we finished at the canal, the kids chose McDonald's (and I plan on using this against them later tonight when they are fighting again) where I had a hamburger, french fries and an extra-large-add-whipped-cream-smoothie because after the day I had... I EARNED EVERY CALORIE.  We ended the evening with a bonfire in the backyard where I burned all of the old grass, weeds and papers that I needed to get rid of while the kids wasted about 60 marshmallows in the fire and fought over who got to break the Hershey bar into pieces.  After all of that, the kids survived.  I consider it a great day."


That's the truth about that first "facebook update" I put.  And for any of you parents out there that are honest and have children that are .... well.... let's just say - not perfect.... i'm sure you can relate.

I can assure you that none of my readers that are also friends on facebook are the ones i'm complaining about.  Each of you have just the right amount of status updates that i enjoy reading them.  There are just some people....

.... that get under my skin.

And that's all.

Organization

Let's be honest. 

My organizational skills are not very good pathetic.  Just downright pathetic.  I have really great intentions... but not so much on the follow through.

And I have realized that a lot of my anxiety in my house is not only due to being home all day working, but also the fact that I cannot escape the disaster that is my disorganization.

So, I bought this really awesome idea book at the Kinko's store when i was getting some things printed and have really enjoyed reading it.  It's given me some good and applicable tips as well as some that are.. well - not so realistic.

But anyway - I wanted to share with you some of my progress.  While minimal... I am feeling extremely accomplished.

First things first. 

The entryway dumpster closet.  It's like shoes, coats, hats, gloves, scarves, etc  just literally threw up everywhere.  So, i was in a house recently taking pictures and noticed their organization system in their "closet".

So, i stole the idea. 

It's a cheap little walmart over-the-door shoe holder that has all of our hats, gloves and scarves in it!  

Then, my other issue is the dreaded filing of bills.  I know I don't really need to keep them, but for some reason I'm just not ready to part with them.  Maybe it's the statistical nerd in me that wants to have them to look at trends IF i would ever want to.  Or maybe it's the pack rat in me.

But, here are 2009's bills, neatly organized by month in my drawer:

Then, here are the 2010 & 2011 bills...

Yea, not cool.  I couldn't figure out how to organize the 2009 bills in a way that made me not want to go take an entire bottle of prozac just to survive.

Until today.

I ran to the dollar store this morning to get some dishwasher detergent and ran across the exactly what i'd been looking for to solve my bill organization issues:

13 pocket folders!  YES!  12 pockets for each month of the year + a pocket for medical bills that I paid!  WOOT!!!

I'm ready to become an organizing fool!

A Busy Life

Aren't we all like crazy busy?  I have been meaning to update this blog for oh, let's just make it an even 30 days.  GEEZ!  In retrospect, I can't remember everything I thought, "oh, that would be a good topic to take to my blog!"

So alas, you get the boring update.  I've been feeling rather cynical and blah lately so my outlook on things has been a little less than flavorful.  And that's really sad!  What in the world do i have to be grumpy about?  I need to get myself in check.  Pronto!

My favorite man has had soccer games every Saturday and Sunday since early April.  I'm pretty disappointed in the soccer organization this year.  I try not to complain, because I'm certainly not the one out there volunteering to coach... but I surely don't feel like I've gotten my money's worth this year.

I never thought I'd say this - but i'm so ready for football season.  I really have never understood the sport nor any of the rules and plays, but I do enjoy watching my little man out there doing something that makes him happy.  Seeing him all dressed up in his pads and helmet makes me just melt!  I have no idea why.... especially when he takes off his helmet and he is NASTY sweaty.  But he's mine... and I love him.

So, I finished my first class (OLS 399) at IUPUI where I turned in a portfolio of my prior learning to petition for credits.  Thanks to my sweet friend Eve for helping me edit it and organize it all in a way that made sense.  After looking at it so many times, all the sentences began running together and it was a giant blur. We had a great time spending a few working days together while my kids were at school.  Just another reason why I am so thankful for my high school girlfriends. 

But anyway - 200 and some odd pages later... I got an A+ in the class!  Woot Woot!  Now, just the waiting game of seeing how many credits they will give me for my prior learning.   I'm seriously about to have a stroke just waiting.  I petitioned for 21 (knowing that about 3 - 4 of the credits were a stretch - but rather safe than sorry!).  I'll be happy regardless, because it was a great experience and now I have a professional portfolio with all kinds of artifacts and evidence of my abilities and learning.   I should know my credit award by Memorial Day... if not sooner (i'm really hoping for the sooner part!)

Work is going well, but working from home is really starting to get at me.  I know it sounds crazy and I'm sure people think, "oh, i'd love to work from home!"... and there are perks... but i'm pretty sure I'm going insane.  I think that's a large contributer to my recent funk. 
Well, that and weather. 

 "Blame it on the rain, yea yea...."

Sorry, I had to.

My grandparents have been taking me to lunch a couple of times a week and I am so, so thankful for that time with them.  I know they won't be around forever and I really enjoy spending time at lunch with them a couple of times a week.  So, that has helped break the monotony here and there... but even then - getting out of the house seems like such a chore...and I don't even have small children anymore!?! 

Am I the grinch or what?

Prom Crawl

Things have certainly changed since the days of Prom for most all of us.  I know it has changed quite a bit for the 80's Ladies that may be reading this.

Oh, the days of prom....

I have a sweet little friend that is a Junior this year and SO excited about her first prom.  As an adult from the outside looking in, I think "oh goodness, all this money being spent and plans being made for one little night!?"  But then i remind myself HOW MUCH prom meant. 

... and it's a pretty big deal for these girls!

When I hear about the price of dresses these days, it makes me SUPER thankful that I have a son (and a daughter, but her prom comes later!)  I remember thinking about how crazy it was that us girls spent the greater part of the entire day getting ready for prom; from hair to nails, etc.

...and boys - got ready about 45 minutes before they picked us up.  

But as a parent, the thought of a +/- $100 tux + corsage,  isn't as bad as the $500+ that girls are spending on their stuff. 

W.O.W.

Then you have the whole element of dining at the most fabulous restaurant around.

Which brings me to the point of this post.

Some sweet parents asked me back this year to the North 40 entrance to the park to take pictures of their kids before they go to prom this weekend. 

I received the "official" facebook invite with all the details just last night.

Here's the interesting part...

The Event is called a 2011 Lapel Prom Crawl.

What is a Prom Crawl?

I'm glad you asked.

So, the kids meet at the high school to get on the chartered "shuttle" type bus.  (picture shiny black small sized charter bus).

They ride in the party shuttle bus to the park to meet me for pictures.

After they leave the park, they start crawling; or heading to each family's house for a section of the dinner.

The first stop is Appetizers.  Then salads at the next stop.  Followed by main courses and desserts at the next two stops.

Now, as the mother of a son (who should pay for his date's dinner)... I really like this idea!  Mostly because his mother wouldn't be out a bunch of money on food, but also because I feel like the parents get to be a part of this really big evening for them.  And, they get to stop at every parent's house for pictures with any of the extended family or whomever wants to see them before prom!

What a fun idea!

I'm so excited to be on one of the "Prom Crawl" stops this year!  Woot-Woot!