taking a first step

i'm really proud of my mom.  she took a step that wasn't easy to take.  she quit her job yesterday.  it's a sad thing because she is PHENOMENAL at what she does.  but because of her abilities and heart and passion, her superior wasn't doing her job.  my mom had a choice--either continue doing what you are doing and enable some unhealthy things, or be the one to take the first step towards necessary change--even though the cost will be high both professionally and personally.

here's the part i'm most proud of...the price she would have to pay wasn't the deciding factor.  the deciding factor was looking at all the elementary students that she interacts with that aren't being taught and encouraged the way they should by her superior.  my mom is sad leaving the kids and other teachers, but knows that things won't change for those children unless someone takes a stand for them.  accountability needs to happen and if everyone else is brushing it under the rug, it doesn't mean that things are okay...sometimes it takes someone willing to take a risk and take the first step.  she sees that she is a part of something bigger than herself and was willing to take that first scary step.  i'm proud she's my mom.  she's left me some great footsteps to follow in.

where does time go???

things have been so busy lately.  the days and hours and minutes and seconds have been flying by so quickly.  i feel like i've gotten lots done, yet there is so much more to do.

hoping some more minutes come my way soon.

do we really remember?

it's memorial day weekend.  this is a holiday that i really didn't get for most of my life.  there are all kinds of furniture sales and deals on cars.  the ads always are red, white, and blue and have catchy patriotic jingles under them.  store hours are different.  grocery stores are featuring all the fixings for a family picnic in the main walkways.  is this the way america really celebrates memorial day?

my two grandpas were both in world war two.  one was in the pacific and the other was in northern africa and italy.  all growing up, i don't think i ever heard their stories.  after my grandpa that was in the pacific had a stroke, i heard part of his story.  it makes me so sad that i never heard it from him.  it was a powerful story and made me look at him through different eyes.  my other grandpa has only talked about his experience once when i was around.  it was short and brief and had very little detail.  he talked of his travels and how he had to use different currencies.  he didn't talk about the battlefield...but you could see a distance in his eyes as it crossed his mind.  i know they served their country.  i know it was a big part of who they were/are, but it was something they were very quiet about.

isn't this closer to what this weekend is supposed to be about?  remembering and reflecting on the price that someone was and is willing to pay for what they believe in?  aren't we to remember all that have been willing to sacrifice, to make a stand for this country that we live in and all its' ideals?

i just don't think twenty-four months interest free on a new matress set does all those brave, selfless individuals justice.  they deserve far more.  let's not cheapen what they have and are willing to do.

the power of 'no' is an amazing thing.

to a toddler and a dog, that word establishes a boundary that must be tested over and over and over before it is understood that 'no' truly means 'no'.  (and then must be tested one more time to be sure.)

to a school age boy, it means a different form of boundary--one that isn't fair and requires pouting.

to an adult, it can mean a difference of opinion, a rejection, obstinance, an authoritative command, and many other things.

amazing thing...one little word.

it will be okay

i've always been a 'people pleaser'--that is, i don't like it when people are upset with me.  growing up, i didn't need to be grounded.  i just had to hear this phrase come from my parents' mouths:  'kristin, we're so disappointed in you.'  don't know why i'm wired that way, but i am.

working on some things at work knowing full well that someone would be disappointed.  i really didn't want to approach this task as defeated, but i knew that no matter what, someone would not be pleased with the end result.  i guess all i can do is walk away knowing that i've tried, but something had to give and not everyone will be happy.  tough thing, especially with my people pleasing tendencies.

it will be okay.  it will be okay.  it will be okay.  it will be okay.  it will be okay.  it will be okay.  it will be okay.

naptime?

had a fun night watching my boys and my dog and my brother's dog run and run and run and run.  i was ready for a nap at the end!  looking forward to more summer evenings like that...

comedy of errors

i have to just laugh.  i could cry, but really, when i stop and put it all together, it just makes me laugh.

in the past few days, i don't think i have ever dealt with this much poop in my life.  i have a puppy that is not digesting things well and can't control it--which means messy kennel, messy dog, messy floor, yet another bath which means wet dog and the wet dog smell lingering in the air and then the need to clean all the floors again because i have a 'the puppy could have tracked stuff' paranoia.  i have a toddler who is almost all the way potty trained, but now has to poop every time we get near a toilet (and he's the kind of kid that you could read a novel while he's sitting there, taking his sweet time and then he's sure to announce to everyone we meet that he can go poop on the toilet--he'll be thrilled years from now that i shared this detail here.)

i usually don't have a ton of down time in the afternoons, so i value the moments of quiet, time to read and think...i value those moments greatly.  lately, they are all full of poop.

you gotta laugh.

breathe in, breathe out

i am sinking into my couch, munching on a piece of dark chocolate, breathing in and out very slowly and savoring a little moment of silence.

we have had a very busy few days with travels for our niece's graduation, adapting to life with an eight-week old puppy, some shifts in schedule as the school year is wrapping up and all the other normal day-to-day things that go on in our home.

we are loving the puppy, but completely forgot the fact that it's like having a newborn in your house again.  everything is built around how long the dog can wait before we have to get back and let him out and ways to expel all of his energy so we can take things down a notch in the late evening.  (pretty much like life with a toddler who is wearing his 'big boy undies' as we are potty training! lol)

good news is that we've been walking a ton more and i'm only hoping that a payback for all the extra walks and cleaning up piddles and doing extra laundry is losing a few pounds!

a girl can wish...

mission accomplished (with one 'moment')

we had a successful surprise!  i've been spending the past few days rearranging schedules to make an early pick-up of our new puppy.  boys were completely surprised and beyond happy.  it's always fun to see their expressions and then to hear their response of gratitude.  was a good morning!

a bummer moment this afternoon though...  carter was watching a movie in the living room while chewy (the puppy) was napping in the kitchen.  carter wanted the puppy to lay with him, so i put my camera in my pocket and then picked up the puppy to hear a klunk and then splash.  my camera fell into the dog's dish of water.  i have been hairdrying my camera and letting it air out, praying that it will be okay this afternoon.  (for anyone who knows me, my camera is my extra appendage--it goes everywhere with me and this is an incredibly tragic event for me.)  so i'm praying...

all in all, it's been a pretty good day (sans camera event).

the one thing i wasn't prepared for was the fact that carter's mouth hasn't stopped (literally) ALL DAY.  i need a tylenol to cope with the constant chatter!!!  

bonus points--puppy potty training is going well...only one piddle in the house.

double bonus points--toddler potty training--successful day in undies!

surprise!

i love surprises.  right now, i'm in the middle of finalizing some details that will be a wonderful surprise for our boys and i'm pretty much giddy with anticipation!

we are getting a puppy at our home this weekend.  we all know about it, we've been planning for about a month now.  we had to wait until the puppy was old enough to come home with us.  we have the kennel all ready, food and water bowl, collar and leash, toys--oh, the boys have been so excited picking out dog toys!  (even spent their own money!)

the surprise?  the boys think that it will be sunday evening because we have to be at an out of town graduation.  but i'm in the midst of phone calls arranging it to be saturday morning.  they will be so excited to have the whole day just to begin getting to know 'chewy'!  i can't wait to see their faces!

now...let's hope it all comes together!  will post pix soon :)

it's snowing???!!!

we were driving from work to home and i hear colin's sweet voice from the backseat:

mom--it's snowing!

we were in a shower of white petals coming off the trees in the breeze.

just beautiful!

these are the only kind of 'snow' showers i'd take in may!

jellyfish with peanut butter stingers

i love conversations with a three-year old.

colin was playing with a 'diego' game he has.  it helps teach counting and catagorizing and learning all kinds of different animals.  he was holding the bag of pieces in the car and was telling me all about the animals and our conversation was as follows:

mom:  what piece do you have now?

colin:  jellyfish

mom:  how many jellyfish are on that card?

colin:  jellyfish have stingers

mom:  yes, they do.  how many jellyfish are on that card?

colin:  what do their stingers taste like?

mom:  i don't know.  i've never thought about that.  what do you think they taste like?

colin:  silly mommy.  they would taste like peanut butter!  it's a jellyfish--it's a peanut butter and jellyfish!

of course they would!

(i still have yet to hear how many jellyfish are on that piece.)

good days

it's been an outdoors sort of weekend and it's been wonderful.

we've gotten a trellace up and planted a tree.  there has been water gun fights and digging in the sandbox.  new grass seed laid down and watered, visits with neighbors and friends and family.  a sleepover and a birthday party to go to.  errands and trying something new.

nothing extraordinary, but simply wonderful.

a great way to end one week and begin another.

looking forward

thursday evenings are one of my favorites!  we've gotten together with dear friends for the past several years every thursday night.  it's a highlight of my week.  it's not that we do anything extraordinary, it's that we can just be ourselves together.  our kids can be in less than stellar moods, we can be in less than stellar moods and it's all okay.  we can listen and be listened to.  we can try something new for dinner, it can totally bomb and we order pizza and it's okay.  sometimes we get together at one of our homes, maybe at a restaurant with a playground, maybe a park...

there is nothing like dear friends that you can live life with.  i'm grateful!

looking forward to this evening and a chance to hang.