Around Here: Week 6 2023

 {February 5-11th}

Dressed up as an old lady for the 100th day of school

Sweet Carly left me one of her yummy candies.
Love that thoughtful girl. 

Jack

Logan

Enjoying... the sweetest little nap Lulu took in my arms before my sister came to pick her up after her sleepover. I knew she was tired, so I gave her her binky and blanket and sat reading my book with her in my arms, and before I knew it, she was out! Oh to have a little one asleep on my lap again! I miss these days!

Blown... away by Carly's little constantly working brain.  The other morning as she was eating breakfast (that she had gotten for herself after getting on her clothes and shoes) she said to me, "It must be really hard to be a special needs parent." She has a student who joins her class twice daily and is special needs (nonverbal) and she said she thought that getting them dressed and ready for the day must be really hard.  I don't know if she was imagining dressing them or asking what they wanted for breakfast, but I love that she was thinking about it. 
That same morning on the way to school Carly said out loud, "I wonder if school was hard for Mrs. Cruz?" Because I am in school and doing homework nearly constantly, she was thinking of when her teacher (who has three kids) was in school and wondering if it was hard for her as well.  

Blowing... Carly's mind when I had her write her Valentine's cards and she figured out it is ValenTINE's not ValenTIME's. Haha! She couldn't believe it. 

Hearing... the best, simplest parenting advice I've ever heard. This doctor who had six kids of his own and has been a counselor for decades said that the kids who turn out best had parents who were "Kind, but firm."  I shared this with Josh and we agreed that this is why we complement each other so well.  He is good at being firm, and I am good at being kind.  So we both promised to try a little harder to go the other way.  Josh will try to be more kind and I will try to be more firm. 

Chatting... with my counselor about my tendency to give everything 100% and feel like I'm failing if I don't, and she encouraged me to try half-assing it. I asked jokingly, "So, half ass is better than no ass?" I am now trying to do things in little bits and spurts.  It goes against my nature, but I'm trying!

Watching... The Parent Test on Hulu. It has been fascinating to see all the parenting styles. I recognize a bit of myself in all of them, and I really enjoyed it. (Think Wife Swap meets Supernanny, sort of).

Reading... Migrations, which is a bit melancholy, but so good; and listening to Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow which is very much about gaming (meh) and unrequited love (also meh).  Didn't live up to the hype for me.

Holding... the twins back from doing all the things they want to do.  They want to ride with their friends who drive, and they want to ride dirt bikes at the dunes... but I'm not ready for any of that. So we're making them wait. They hate it, but I think one more year won't hurt. Oh parenting, how hard you are!

Discussing... the Trenton Six when Jack had to do a presentation on it for English. He was putting together his slide show with just the facts: Six black guys in 1948 who were picked up for killing a white storeowner and his wife. Josh and I did a little more research with him to get to the real story which was that justice was NOT served in this case for a long time.  These six men didn't even remotely resemble the description given police of the suspects, but were eventually convicted of murder and sentenced to death! By 1951 four of the six men were acquitted. The two remaining were stuck because of plea deals. One died of a heart attack in 1952 while still incarcerated and the other was released in 1954.  It was a good opportunity to talk with our boys about their white privelege, the injustice that minorities see on a daily basis, and how eye witness accounts of things cannot be taken with any validity. 

Embracing... the utter chaos that is our afternoons.  Pick up, drop off, practices, passing out snacks and spending over two hours each day in my car... it's cray-cray. And we haven't even entered actual baseball season yet!!!

Laughing... at Carly as she is getting super into fashion. She has strong opinions about what matches or looks cool, and is always playing with her dresses or nightgowns (holding them up, folding them over) and saying, "ooh this would be a cool dress!" 
Also laughing when Josh sent me a word problem from his curriculum that said "Shelly read her book for a 1/2 hour each afternoon..." Haha!

Deciding... I better expedite Jack's and my passports so they get here before EF Tours needs them to schedule our trip and purchase our plane tickets. Our trip is in about four months!! So exciting! (For those who missed it, a year ago Jack and I signed up to go on a student tour of Rome and Greece with his school this summer. We're so pumped!)

Loving... as always, her little first grade writing.  Her daily ramblings on her Play Plan (who she's going to play with and what they're going to do during free time) or when she writes songs or papers are my favorite. I love her thoughts and her adorable little handwriting. Oh Carly, don't you ever grow up!

Getting... 100% so far in one of my two classes.  I am so proud of myself!

Choosing... to shower and get ready each and everyday even though I rarely leave the house except to drive kids around. Last week I was just feeling kind of down and yucky everyday, so this week I am getting fully ready for the day everyday, and it's amazing what it does not only for my mood but also for my productiveness. Highly recommend.

Helping... Jack memorize the FFA Pledge. Dang that thing is long! Thankfully Wyatt helped as well. 

Enjoying... Josh's shower messages this week. In one class I got a 98% on an assignment and he put: "So you know, a 98 is still great!" cause I teased that I clearly wasn't even trying. Haha!

Putting... together another slideshow for school.  The nice thing about having already made one is that I sort of remember how to do it this time, but it's definitely been a learning curve making brochures and slideshows and writing papers after 18 years.

Interviewing... two teachers for class this week about special education. It was very enlightening and I'm so grateful for all the time that teachers are willing to give me to help me learn more. 

Sounds... like fall outside which is nuts.  It's so dry, and the winter came on with snow so quick, we never lost all our leaves, so there are crunchy leaves blowing all around outside and when I walk through them, it sounds like November, not February. 

Dying... laughing (and promptly texting Josh, my sister and my parents) when Carly saw a tumbleweed blow across the street on our drive to school and she said, "A tumbleweed?!? It's not cowboy times!!!" Bahaha! Where does she get this stuff?

Celebrating... the 100th day of school with first grade, volunteering in my pj's, bathrobe and old lady shower cap, to help the kids make fun projects.  I am cherishing these volunteer opportunities more than ever now that I know I only have one more school year left of them. If all goes well, I'll be teaching in my own classroom when Carly hits third grade (year after next). It's bittersweet for sure. 

Getting... out of the house for dinner with my mom and sister. It was so fun! We got to eat goooood food and talk and laugh, and oh man, did we laugh! When dinner was done, we swung by the house and grabbed the twins to get Crumbl for the fam.  We laughed even harder once the twins joined us, and one thing I love so much about my mom and sister is how much they love my kids.  They truly enjoy being around my boys and it makes my mama heart full to know that. 

Doing... homework all day Saturday until movie night when I stopped and made pizza and cookies for Carly and Wyatt.  The twins went to Grandma Carol's for a sleepover, so it was quiet. 

Teaching... you the words the kids are using these days.  I swear, sometimes my kids talk and I have no idea what they're saying... so I'm here to translate some of it for you. This week we have three terms.  The first is "dip" as in, "We gotta dip" or "I was dippin'" which means simply "leave". Often it means you had to leave because you were gonna get caught or in trouble.  "Ay yo" (pronounced like the letter A followed by yo as in "yo-yo") is something the boys say when you have insulted them or are acting strange.  It's often followed up by "So sus" which means "so suspicious".  "Ay, yo! That's sus" is common, meaning that I'm up to something questionable. 

Feeling... so proud of our rugged boys after they sent me pics of each other on their four wheeler and dirt bikes out at the land with Grandma and Papa. I never imagined that cowboy boots and dirt bikes would be part of our lives, and I'm so so glad they are. 

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