When Afraid Just Do It!

At the start of the new school year, I was approached to join a preschool co-op. I was both flattered and afraid. I was flattered because someone wanted me to teach their kids. Friends never ask me to watch their kids. I don't really know why. Of course I always take it personally. Mrs. B has asked me more than any of my other friends, every time she does I jump at the chance because it's nice to know she trusts me with her most precious possession. I was afraid because I'm not a great teacher. I play well with kids but teaching them is scary. Thoughts swirled in my head-what will do for 2 hours? How will they all interact? Can I actually teach them something? What will I feed them for snack time?

So instead of giving into my fear, I gave into my flattery. I've taught them twice now. There are three girls (including mine) and one boy. The first week of the co-op was hard. Their attention span was much shorter than I planned on. However, last week was my second time and it went great! I had plenty of activities that expanded their minds and they seemed to have a great time! One of my best rewards was my 2 year old has sung the nursery rhyme we worked on every day since. About the cutest thing ever!

I'm so glad I decided to just go for it. I have gained a new love for little 2 year olds. I have met someone new. My little girl has gained friends that she talks about almost every day. I have pushed past my fear to do something different and new and have loved it!

What is a fear you pushed past recently and found you liked what was on the other end? (Savannah I know what yours is! Way to go!)

It's Wednesday!

I'm afraid my 6yo's teacher thinks she's being raised in a crack house, what with the pace at which we complete her homework, the capris worn to school in November, the terrifying rate at which my child reveals information about her home life that, while true, has been slightly skewed, and the fact that I declined to plan a Halloween Party on rather short notice.

I'm also afraid I inadvertently volunteered to plan said party at some point, but I'm afraid to ask.

I'm afraid that requiring my 11yo to give up her friendly but hopelessly pungent hamster (even if it was to a very nice man who sweetly brought her a brand new Littlest Petshop pet in return) was the coldest thing I've ever done as a mother. Even if she did inherit an unscented hamster from her older sister, and even if she had the maturity to understand and accept the situation without tears or argument.

I'm afraid the nice man is feeding Peanut the hamster to his pet snake right now.

I'm afraid that the gigantic alien robot/vehicle monologue playing in my living room right now is less dramatic than it is laughably cheesy. So, so cheesy!

I'm afraid that 87% off Halloween clearance was more than I could resist.

I'm afraid that even though I want to write a fabulous post about some of the fantastic things that people I love dearly have accomplished lately, I just can't do them any justice at this hour.

I'm afraid this post of questionable quality is all you get.

Ok, and some pretty pictures I couldn't resist taking:



On the bright side, I'm off to bed! Hooray!

PS - What would you have done with the hamster?

5 Confessions

-I recently told a lie.

-My husband and I deactivated our Facebook accounts and I think it was the best decision I've ever made. He has made dinner more, we have argued less, and I've kept my house cleaner!


-I recently admitted that an old acquaintance who I recently ran into, could take me down if she chose and that it terrified me she must might try!


-I'm trying to stick up for myself more. So on Saturday at the kids' school carnival when an eight year old girl told them they cut in line I told her, "No we did not, we got in line behind the last person in line." I showed her!

-There are certain friends I can't wait to grow old with and others I'm not so sure about. Let me clarify-I recently found something out about a friend that bothers me.

Hooray Hooray!!!

Mandi is a Bloom finalist!! Yippee!! Go vote for her!

Also, if you want to see some amazing photography & witty commentary, check her out here.

Bloom

I've been meaning for weeks to tell you all about Bloom! (Somehow the start of school, schedules, a little homeschooling, sports, etc. has made my memory highly unreliable lately. I am not programmed for multitasking, but I'll keep trying.)

But back to Bloom: It's a blog written by two lovely young mothers of excellent Rogue Valley upbringing (with lots of fantastic guest posts), and it's quickly becoming one of my favorites! (also with some fabulous art by my highly talented and awesome cousin, Emily.)

You can read what Bloom is about here. Thus far, I have harvested many helpful hints and delightful ideas. I love the overall feeling of finding joy in creating a home, while keeping it all real. Go read it, and you'll see what I mean.

This week's posts have been particularly fun to read, because they're all about photography, which is, of course, very near and dear to me. You'll just have to go read the whole week's posts, because they are PACKED with fantastic tips and clever ideas for capturing everyday moments.

Incidentally, Bloom is currently running a photography contest (details here) that has been extended until Sunday evening. It's all about capturing moments (simply and non-professionally). I can't wait to see the pix that have been submitted. This is something I've been trying to get better at: capturing moments instead of poses.

So, if you're reading this, you're about to be YONFed! Go to Bloom, read the last five days' posts, and then enter the contest!!

Hey, if we're all reading Bloom, does that make us Bloomers?

Confession Wednesday

Confession: I'm on a new fertility plan.

I've always wanted to have at least six children, but it turns out my body isn't very good at getting pregnant, and even worse at staying pregnant. Eleven pregnancies have produced four miraculous (and sweet) children, and if that's all I ever get, they're enough.

But for better or worse, here's my plan:

1. Thanks to a true friend who knows me too well and won't accept excuses, I'm a little more fit and a little less round than I was two months ago. I still have quite a distance to go, and am hoping for continuous progress.

2. My garage is housing a whole bundle of baby storage: clothes, swing, bathtub, jumper, crib, basinette, more clothes, exersaucer, etc. With the exception of a few very sentimental items (a few outfits and a basinette my father-in-law and brother-in-law made for me), it's all headed to a much better cause than cluttering up my garage.

3. Every day I discover more and more about how much I enjoy being a mother of older kids (four through thirteen). Believe me, there are many, many perks to this! Imagine, if you will, uninterrupted sleep, coherent verbal communication with all household residents, and only one 5-point harness in the car, which can be buckled and unbuckled by any of three older siblings. Everyone here can get their own drink of water, wipe their own - uh - noses, participate in the job chart, and tidy up their own bedrooms. Who couldn't get used to this?

So there it is: Physical downsizing, baby storage gone, and enjoying my big kids.


I'll be pregnant by the end of the year.

It's Yonf's Birthday!!!

Why Yonf deserves a Happy Birthday:

1. Because she is a fantastic mother to a whole crowd of children. (Patient, intuitive, fun, on top of things, relaxed . . .)

2. Because she hosts Project Nights at her house, and invites me to hang out with her cool peeps.

3. Because she's still my friend, even though as a teenager I may have contributed to a certain amount of misery in her brother's life. (Oh wait. Maybe that's WHY we're friends?)

4. Because sharing a birth month with her makes for extra fun.

5. Because without her Year of No Fear idea, I would have missed out on a whole bunch of memorable experiences.

6. Because my kids are as comfortable at her house as they are at home.

7. Because her kids are as easy to have around as my own. (Actually, easier.)

8. Because she's still my friend, even after I pointed her husband out to the fuzz.

9. Because when have mothering dilemmas, I know who to call for some advice and perspective.

10. Because when totally bizarre and embarrassing things happen to me, I know who I'm going to call and have a good laugh with.

11. Because she's so thoughtful, loyal and perceptive when it comes to her friends.

12. Because she can sail through 5 months of pregnancy without even noticing. (JEALOUS)

13. Because there's always something yummy to snack on at her house.

14. Because she'll deliver a ginormous and delicious strawberry lemonade on a sweltering summer day.

15. Because she is candid, yet kind, with her opinions when she's asked to share.

16. Because she helped her friends mop pudding pies off themselves following the Great Table Collapse of '08.

17. Because she takes very good care of her lucky man.

18. Because for all the time she's been Year of No Fear-ing, I don't think she's chickened out of anything yet!

19. Because she's an excellent seamstress, and not only helps sew aprons for weddings of people she hardly knows, but hosts the sewing party to boot!

20. Because she has a lovely, lovely mother who I've adored since I was about 10 (clearly the loveliness is hereditary), and a charming father who I feared in my youth (see #3) but always liked also.

21. Because she's one of my dearest friends.


Happy Birthday Yonf!!!!