Category Archives: Kids

Holidays, Kids, Thankfulness Challenge

Thankful Challenge, Day 2

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Just so there is no confusion, I started this on November 1st, so it will always look like I’m one day behind.

Day 2! My daughter woke up and I said “Good morning! It’s Monday!”. And she replied, “Yay! We get to go to school!”

Now, that’s a perspective I like to see. They GET to go to school. It’s a privilege. And my children are truly blessed to be at the school they attend, for many reasons. One, the principal is a good friend of ours from way back before we had kids. And because we know her and like her, we are confident that she does an amazing job. That and it doesn’t hurt that she has known and loved our kids since they were born.

The school is particularly special because it is an IB World School. I encourage you to visit the site, but what it basically means is that they are held to a higher standard of academic and social learning. And because Chinese is the language of choice, they are taught half the day in Chinese.

My kids are learning how to read and write, but they are also learning some crucial life skills. They are learning how to be problem solvers and work productively with kids who come from a variety of different backgrounds. They are challenged daily to realize their potential and work towards it.

But aside from all that, I am grateful to live in a country, in a city, where public school is available. I know that is not a privilege every community has, but one that is so important to our future. Cue Whitney Houston…

Kids

You can never get it back

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Oh dear. Natalie erased everything from the marker board in our kitchen in order to draw a picture. I explained why she should not have done that, because whatever she erased is lost forever, and it may have been important information, but assured her(sheepishly) “I love your picture!” And she nodded all serious-like, said “ok”, and went back to her table. She returned with a clean marker board. She had erased her drawing. I made a sad face because I said  “I loved that picture”… she giggled at that and then paused for a few seconds… then BURST into tears. Because I was right. It’s gone forever 😦

Family, Housekeeping, Kids, Movies

Movie night for the win

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I had a crazy busy day, and now the house is a disaster. Well, a disaster in the same way last week’s thunderstorm was a hurricane. There are still traces from last night’s dinner in the kitchen, floors have attracted various debris from the weather outside, and laundry is, well, always in progress. But I was home alone with the kids tonight, and I didn’t want to spend it cleaning. I wanted to spend it with them. So I did. We snacked and talked and then we snuggled up on the couch and watched Toy Story 2, right up to the very end. I can’t remember the last time we’ve all watched a movie from start to finish with no interruptions, and with no electronics stealing our attention. It was beautiful.

And now they are in bed, well past each of their bedtimes, and I sit. Writing and reading. Not cleaning the house out of some neurotic obsession. I think that’s a good sign, right? That I’m not TOO obsessive? That I can draw a line somewhere, and be realistic about what matters and what doesn’t? After all, (paraphrased from the best movie quote of the night) “I can’t stop [them] from growing up, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Driving, Kids, Motherhood, Partial Blindness

Here comes the bus

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I will start off this post by assuring everyone that #1 – my husband found my driver’s license, and it is still valid, so I was within my rights, and #2 – no one was harmed during the events of this story.

So. I walked the kids to the bus stop the last two days, and it has gone very smoothly. I was sharing this fact with my husband and I guess in the matter of sharing, I told him I would like to continue the daily procedure. But my crappy memory told me this morning that he had said, or the kids had said, that he would continue to drive them. So at 7:50 this morning I was freaking (I do that, it’s not pretty) because he was still in the shower and oh my gosh, they need to be at the stop in TWO minutes! No way, no how is he going to be out and dressed in time to drive them, and only Superman could get us there that fast on foot (or cape?).

What was a frantic Momma to do? Thinking fast, I grabbed my coat, keys, and purse, and the kids and I got in the car. And I drove the three blocks to the bus stop. We pulled up just as the bus rounded the corner from the other direction, making it JUST. IN. TIME.

I didn’t run over anyone, I didn’t hit any cars, I didn’t even run into any curbs. No harm, no foul. Daytona is not in my future, but maybe bumper cars??

Deafness, Kids

New challenges

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So this week I have a new challenge ahead of me. It shouldn’t be a big deal, but it kind of is.

My husband is going out of town for work. For three whole days. And the kids need to go to school, which starts at a precise time every single time. They ride the bus, which is on a schedule. Since I can no longer hear an alarm clock, my husband has served as my alarm clock the past year. And I don’t have one of those alarms that shake the bed. So I must rely on my oldest child.

Now, fortunately he is a very early riser, usually up and ready well before we are. So it will probably be fine. But we have set an alarm clock in his room just in case, and he has been instructed to wake me up as soon as he wakes up, whether it is when the alarm clock goes off or before. If he wakes me up at 5 am I’ll be regretting telling him that, but at least we won’t miss the bus.

I’ve been making sure they are ready for school for the past two weeks, so that part shouldn’t be a problem. We’ve gotten into a good routine and they are surprisingly self-sufficient. Luke, at 7, pretty much takes care of everything on his own. He’s a morning person and he loves school, so no prodding necessary. Natalie, my four year old, on the other hand, needs a little coaxing in the wee hours of the morning. But once she gets going, she does pretty well all on her own.

So. I’m nervous, a smidge, but really kind of excited to be given this enormous responsibility, and even more stoked that I am physically able to do it.

Food, Kids

Bad Idea

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Natalie likes to help me. With just about everything. She often helps me make coffee in the morning, and today was no different. Only I had set it up the night before with the timer, so there really wasn’t much to do. So she picked out my coffee mug for me and brought the half & half out of the fridge. Both were waiting for me on the counter, next to the pot of freshly brewed coffee. I so love this girl. And just when I think she “gets” me, she says things like this: “You should sometimes not drink coffee.” When asked for clarification, she said (with an air of astounding gravity) “just skip a day of drinking coffee”.

Uh…. NO.

God speaks, Kids, Multiple Sclerosis

Morning snippet

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Psalm 38:15 “But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.”

Oh boy, do I wait.

I hate waiting, but yet I also hate to be rushed. I suppose I should give God the same courtesy I would want. I won’t try to rush Him. He will heal my eyes, in His own perfect time.

Until then, I must relish the good and take joy in what I have now. I am loving spending time with my kids this summer. We have taken walks together, played at the playground, gone camping, ate ice cream, built forts, danced around the living room. They return to school in a little over a week, and things will change all over again. I’m not sure I’m ready, but it’s okay because we take things one day at a time around here. And anything that can be done in a day can’t be that overwhelming, right?

 

 

Kids

Screen Time Struggle

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Do you struggle with kids and excessive screen time? I do, and it drives me crazy. I fear Minecraft may have taken over my son’s brain. I grew up playing a lot of Atari and Nintendo, and yet I feel like I turned out okay. Today though, I fear that kids spend even more time in front of computers and televisions, and we don’t know how that will affect their development. I try so hard to limit my son’s screen time, but some days it is such a battle. It’s exhausting, fighting that battle (it doesn’t help that we are so much alike). However, I do think it is a battle worth fighting. And this article helps to confirm that theory. Next time Luke objects to turning off the game, I’ll just tell him to read the article! 😉

Do Screen Time Limits Really Matter?