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Happy Thanksgiving 2008!

November 26, 2008 at 4:35 pm | In Holidays, family, self awareness | No Comments
Tags: family, thankful, thankfulness, thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! In keeping with tradition, I would like to share what I am most thankful for this year.

I am most thankful for my ability to BE thankful. I am thankful for all of those times of total contentment when I find myself wanting nothing. The times when I am simply watching my daughter and my husband interact and my heart swells so much it aches. And I know that there is nothing better than being right there in that moment, soaking it all up and filing it away in my memory. A perfect moment.

My life may not be perfect, but so many hours of each day are nearly. And I am thankful that I am just fine with nearly.

Unit Study

October 20, 2008 at 3:52 pm | In adventures with Hali, education, family, preschool | 3 Comments
Tags: homeschool, preschool, units

Without even realizing it we had alreatsdy started a sort of “unit study” approach to our preschool, where we focused on one thing or area at a time, moving along each week or other regular interval. So imagine my surprise when I was reading up about all the different approaches and curriculum out there and DUH! the unit study approach was the best fit for us.

The OCD, organizational freak that I am loves this. and the slightly obsessive Hali does as well. We really do best when we focus on one thing until we are done with it. So far, she really absorbs everything well and doesn’t forget much of what she has previously learned. I’m sure that next summer will be spent doing a little review before kindergarten starts, but I’m honestly not too worried about it.

I love the flexibility of unit study as well. I can sort of plan units out so that they coincide with a field trip or holiday. In addition, we have plans to meet up at least once a week with some friends who are also homeschooling or in preschool. We’ll get together for outings, field trips, or just simple activities that have to do with each unit we are studying. This just really adds to the fun of it all for Hali (and for me- adult conversation! Yay!) and also helps to take care of the socialization aspect.

This is an idea of how you might go about planning a unit, and it is very nearly how I planned mine, though I did mine on a grander scale. Putting units together can basically be as time consuming as you want them to be. You dont’ have to plan every tiny little thing out, just make a list of things that need to be taught and run with it.

I’ve found some great local activities that can be tied into a few units, so I have scheduled the units to correlate with, say, when the local children’s museum is doing a class on dinosaurs.

For the next couple of weeks we will be learning about seasons and more specifically fall. This coincides with, obviously, the season we are in now, but also several activities we have planned like going to a pick-you-own pumpkin patch. Things that we would be doing anyway, but can become a learning experience and a reward at the end of the week.

I really am loving this whole homeschooling thing! Every time we start and finish a unit. Every time we go out for some fun with other homeschoolers. Every time I get to experience first-hand Hali’s eyes lighting up when she figures something out. I’m pleased with our decision to homeschool and I couldn’t be happier about getting this extra year with my Hali at home!

What My Husband Did This Weekend

September 22, 2008 at 5:36 pm | In family | 6 Comments
Tags: Cherokee, haircut, husband, Jeremy, mo-hawk

Speaking of the hubs, want to know what he did this weekend? Not really? Too bad.

Suddenly that 1/16th Cherokee is obvious in him. At least he gave up on growing his hair and facial hair out so that we would all be strip searched the next time we travel because of his obvious Lebanese ancestry. I made him boom “I pity da fool” about a hundred times yesterday before I realized that he was part Cherokee which would be more fitting of the look and gave him his Native American name “Flatulent Jeremy”.

Regardless, my husband does look a little intimidating when he shaves his head and is sporting facial hair. So here’s the Jeremy I know and love:

I love how the bathroom light bounces off of his bald head. It’s so shiny. And for new readers that haven’t seen what he normally looks like:

I’ve not been embarrassed by my husband often in our over 7 years together. However. I refuse to be seen in public with him until the hawk is gone. Also? He had the best thick soft hair. It was just long enough to run my fingers through. Now? My hand just kind of sticks to his dome.

The Time Old Navy Made Me Cry

September 5, 2008 at 3:35 pm | In The Mundane, adventures with Hali, family, self awareness | 2 Comments
Tags: childhood, Hali, motherhood

Somehow I signed up to have Old Navy e-mail me their store adds. I clicked on the ad this morning. It was for a sale on baby clothes. Baby clothes. For newborns all the way up through size 5T. My four year old daughter? Is a size 6 now.

I don’t even get to shop for her in the same part of the store anymore. She is firmly insisting on continually growing. My tall lanky little girl is not so little anymore. She’s always been in the highest percentile for height.

So here I am. I have a preschooler. I have a big girl. She rarely lets me refer to her as even “my baby” anymore. We are going through this whole new, take-it-to-the-next-level independent stage. She doesn’t want to hold my hand. She doesn’t want to ride in the grocery cart anymore- she wants to walk beside it. Cuddles are few and far between.

All these dang milestones. Now I am just all the more determined to enjoy this last year at home we have together. I knew she wouldn’t be my baby girl forever, and it is exciting to see her growing up, I just wish it didn’t manage to jab me in the heart every single time there is irrefutable proof that my baby girl isn’t a baby anymore.

Influencing My Child

August 19, 2008 at 5:24 am | In adventures with Hali, family, preschool, self awareness | 1 Comment

As a parent I worry more than enough about how I am influencing my child. Guilt hits me as soon as something I said wrong leaves my big mouth. I use a word I shouldn’t have. I criticize when I should have praised. Or do I praise too much? Did I praise the right thing? Should I focus more on the effort than the actual outcome? I haven’t been eating as many vegetables as I should- surely Hali has picked up on that and so she’s not eating hers as well as she should.

I swear I can make everything about me! It’s always somehow my fault. Even in my head.

So on top of the normal day-to-day parental influencing that I have, I am now inflicting my educational influences on my daughter. For the next year I am in charge of her schooling. Great. Another area I can totally mess up. I have to confess to being less than enthusiastic about some aspects of education. Thankfully, most of these aspects are more a part of the public school system. Not schooling itself.

However, I do have a hard time balancing encouragement with outright pushiness. A couple of weeks ago, Hali was sitting next to me at the desk in the office. She had decided she wanted to work in a workbook. One of those trace-the-letter-then-draw-it-on-your-own deals.

She settled in next to me and started working away, making the same letter five or six times, turn the page, repeat. She had done about two pages. Realistically, that is pretty dang good for a four year old. She had just begun work on her third page. She decided that she was tired and wanted to quit. So I looked at the page. It was a letter that she struggles with drawing.

I kind of froze. I thought about pushing her on. I thought about just suggesting another letter to work on. I thought about just saying that was fine and to go play.

I was really worried over this little thing, because for some reason, on this day, the enormity of how my response would influence her hit me hard. So, I smiled, and told her all her letters looked really good (and they did). I gave her a sticker on the complete pages at her request. And I said ” Qs are tricky! Here, let me make you another dotted one for you to trace so you can practice making it”. This made her pretty happy and she traced it. She decided that was enough and I let it be.

I didn’t want to push her to the point where she just didn’t think it was fun any more. But I also didn’t want her to close her work book in frustration over a “tricky” letter and have it ruin her enthusiasm.

Thinking about it afterwards as she was playing, I couldn’t help but think about how badly this could have gone. I was sort of doing my own thing on the computer while she was working next to me. Only half paying attention. I’d look over when she wanted my attention and smile and tell her I was proud of her for working so hard. Had I been in a bad mood and out of patience or whatever, I really may have responded differently. And I worry about the impact that could have had on her.

That little educational moment may not seem like a big deal at a glance, or even to other people, but we are in the early stages here, and I really do fear I will mess this up for her. As her parent, I naturally have hopes for her. I want her to love learning. I want her to enjoy it. While I think it is only natural that she wants my or another teacher’s approval, I want her to work hard because she wants to.

Mini Vacation 2008

August 15, 2008 at 4:23 pm | In adventures with Hali, family, vacation | 2 Comments
Tags: beach, family, fun, vacation

We recently discovered the greatness of The Mini Vacation. We spent most of a weekend at the beach and had a blast. Jeremy decided to inform me that we were going just a few days before we were going to be leaving. So, I decided to roll with it and make it a Big Deal. We booked a hotel last minute, packed a bag with a couple changes of clothes, a cooler full of drinks and snacks, and loaded up all our beach gear.

I have to admit, we had the best time. A couple hours drive there. A couple hours at the beach. A swim in the beautiful hotel pool. After showers and some sprucing up we decided to walk next door to The Rainforest Cafe. We’ve never taken Hali, so it was quite an experience for us as a family. If you’ve never been to one and/or you have the opportunity to take the kids DO IT! The whole thing is just great. Excuse the bad picture- they keep the whole place pretty dark- its supposed to be like a real rainforest…

Our hotel room had a balcony with a beach and pool view:

There was mini golf. Or was it putt-putt? Either way? Fun! Hali’s first time. It got to the point where I was having such bad luck it was kind of a game to see just how many times I could miss a shot that looked as though it should have gone in. If that is a game, I am the winner, hands down.

And, on the way home, pancakes, waffles, and this:

some amateur car races at the Gulf Greyhound Racetrack. Jeremy was a happy man. Again, sorry for the bad picture quality- it’s hard to photograph racing cars while you’re still sitting in your car with a camera that needs replacing.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend. We already have plans on doing it again next year.

This was actually the view as we were leaving the mini golf course. (Darn you power lines! You have ruined too many of my photos!)

The Preschool Decision

July 25, 2008 at 6:02 am | In adventures with Hali, family, self awareness | 7 Comments
Tags: education, homeschool, preschool

My baby girl is preschol age this year. It’s hard to believe. Even harder to believe? Is how difficult it is to decide what to do about preschool.

Public? Nope- quickly found out we don’t qualify for that (you either have to be pretty dang broke or not speak English as your first language)

Private? Well, there’s the private preschool just down the road that Hali will have a friend or two in. It’s reasonably priced. It’s only twice a week for a few hours a day. Don’t know whether or not that’s good.

I love the idea of Montessori, but the closest one is about 20-25 minutes away. And tuition ain’t cheap.

Homeschool? YES! I get to keep my baby girl at home with me for one more year. Selfish of me, yes- but she’s only this age once, right? Honestly, I was really worried that Jeremy wasn’t going to like the idea. I was wrong, thank goodness. He actually brought it up himself one day and I was so happy I nearly cried.

Growing up we both knew a couple of families that homeschooled, and that’s not really a good thing. They kind of gave us reason to shy away from it. They were that bad homeschooling stereotype. So for us to consider it so quickly, was really quite something.

We are more than likely only homeschooling for preschool, though. Beyond that, I think it will be more beneficial for us and for Hali to attend the local public elementary school. Though, I must admit, if there was a charter school in our area, I’d be all over that.

So, being the over-prepared woman that I am, I checked out half a dozen books from the library on homeschooling. I ordered a few more from Amazon. And I read. The more I read, the more I realized how pleased I was with our decision. It felt like all that worry was for nothing. Of coursewe’re going to homeschool for preschool! Why would I even think of doing anything else?!

On I read. I made out a list of what goals I wanted to reach throughout this school year. I found out what Hali would need to know before entering kindergarten. I started listing what things I thought shewould want to learn about. I researched what the state of Texas requires for homeschooling (nothing for preschool- not much beyond that either). I learned to identify what kind of a learner Hali is- how she learns best. I poured over all the different methods.

Finally, one book had an extensive quiz that told you what might work best for you and your family. Unit Studies it was! Which was perfect, because that is the way I was already grouping things together anyways! I felt so relieved after all that fell into place. I’ve been jotting down ideas for the past few weeks- ideas for different units. It’s actually been a lot of fun.

I surprised myself with all my enthusiasm for it all, I have to admit. But the more I think about it and the more ideas I come up with to incorporate into different areas of study, the more excited I get! We are going to have a blast doing preschool ourselves! Plus, the money that I would be spending on tuition, can now be spent on fun field trips!

Luckily, there are a few homeschoolers in our area with younger kids, so we will be able to continue to meet up during the week as we did this spring. I friend of mine has even decided to homeschool (for preschool) her son who is Hali’s friend as well. Knowing that Hali is going to continue to get plenty of opportunities to play and socialize with other kids of course makes me feel better about our decision.

Vacation 2008

July 23, 2008 at 4:00 pm | In Holidays, adventures with Hali, family | 2 Comments
Tags: family, Idaho, vacation

Visiting my family in Idaho was absolutely awesome. Who can say that? I just really enjoy Idaho. I just have this feeling there that I can’t describe. Even when we lived there, that feeling was around. Almost a lighter, more casual feeling. I have many good memories of that area. I just wished that Jeremy felt the same- poor guy of course got a cold while we were there and that was compounded by an ear and sinus infection. Hali got a cold as well, so no one slept as well as we wanted to.

Our flights there were a mess. The flight leaving got canceled so we were transfered over to another airline that had our seats all over the place. And they only gave us one boarding pass for the flight after, from Phoenix to Salt Lake City. So that caused us to miss that flight, which meant a two and a half hour layover. Hali was so great about everything, though. Hali’s dad? Not so much.

Hali is now a pro at the “additional screening” which we had done for both flights there. She holds her arms out like a pro without even being asked. Then she whips out her Webkinz and pats her down, just like she was just patted down. You have to watch out for those four-year-olds, you know. Bombs in their shoes 50% of the time. Suprisingly, it’s almost always the left one.

Of course, I can never pass up an opportunity to tease my 25% Lebonese husband when we fly. Especially because of how often we have to do the additional screening. I have my very own redneck, LDS, Lebonese terrorist every time I fly! Yay!

Oh, and the secret thrill I get from being patted down by a woman! Whoohoo! I must say, the woman in Phoenix did a more, urm, thorough job of it than they did here in Texas. She felt up my muffin top and everything.

We saw WALL-E. Well, I took my little brother and daughter while everyone else saw a drunk super-hero. No, not that one, this one. How many super-heroes with drinking problems do we need?

We road the four wheeler up in the foothills, and saw some of the most amazing veiws.

Us girls did a little shopping, followed by a trip up to Ririe Reservoir for some boating in the new boat my parents bought (they recently sold the boat that they bought when I was 6). Here lies my favorite sunglasses. Dad enjoyed whipping my mom and I around on the double tub a little TOO much. Ouch. I was sore for a few days after that.

It’s pretty incredible to be a boat sitting in the middle of this lake carved into the mountains (foothills?). Makes you feel tiny.

There were late nights on the back porch making s’mores and melted starbursts. Melted starbursts? Yes. That’s what I said. Try it. One of the wonderful things about living in the north versus south is that it cools down quite a bit at night there. As in “grab a hoodie” cool. And we did:

Classy, aren’t I? I thought we were adorable in our matching pink sweatshirts.

The 4th of July was absolutely amazing. People come in to Idaho Falls from all around to see the fireworks display. It is that amazing. A town with 60,000 people gains about 40,000 more every July 4th. AND it’s all timed out to music which everyone tunes their radios into the same station to hear. The show is nearly half and hour long of solid fireworks. And impressive ones at that. I’ve never seen anything like it.

It was wonderful looking around at all the family that had gathered onto my grandparents front yard for the show. Hali had several cousins to play with- some of who’s parents I used to play with every time I visited Idaho growing up and hadn’t seen for 10 years.

The Fourth of July was long and exhausting. We started by watching the parade they do every year downtown. Then hurried home to beautify ourselves for pictures. We finally did it! Professionaly done pictures of my whole family! It’s been a long time since we had any done- most definately not since I started my very own family. After the big group shot was done, Jeremy, Hali and I did some of just us as well. We have never been in- I’ve never even taken Hali in. I’m a bad mom, I know.

Then it was back to the house to change and out to lunch. Back home to pack our bags, as we would be leaving the next morning, then out to my grandparents to await nightfall and the fireworks display. We did a little walking around down by the Snake River. People park RVs and stake out spots days in advance just to ensure that they have a good spot to view the show from. I’ve never really experienced anything like it. Definately a lasting memory that Jeremy and I will always be able to look back on.

Check out my flickr pictures over there on the sidebar to see what else we did! Just click on the pictures and it will take you to flickr where you can see all of them.

I Don’t Want to NOT Be a Stay-at-home Mom

July 16, 2008 at 7:27 am | In adventures with Hali, family | 2 Comments
Tags: adventures with Hali, family

Helping out at the shop a few weeks ago made me realize how much I love my job and how much I don’t want to leave my days as a stay-at-home mom behind. Sure, the hours often times suck, but it’s a really good job. I just cannot stress how happy it makes me to be a stay-at-home mom. I literally spend all my time with Hali- most of the time within a few yards of her. And while this can often times become a complaint, it is a blessing.

Before we got married, Jeremy and I talked about our future often and about our plans for a family. We both agreed without any debate that I would be a stay-at-home mom when we started our family. There was never even any question about it- it was just what was going to happen.

And while it would have potentially made things easier on us financially, I have truly never worked outside the home since Hali was born. We were so extremely poor when Hali was first born. We had just started a business and it simply wasn’t bringing in enough money (new businesses in general aren’t going to bring much in for the first year or two). But we persevered, and have been blessed for it.

Jeremy and I derive a lot of satisfaction from the fact that I am and always have been at home to take care of our girl. I know there are women who, when asked what they do, don’t really feel as pleased with themselves as they should when they answer that they are a stay-at-home mom.

I used to feel like it wasn’t enough, and would try and act as if my role in helping Jeremy with our business was a little larger than it really was. But by the time Hali was a couple of years old, I figured out that I really was proud of myself and of my husband because of the fact that I was able to be at home all the time, concentrating on raising our daughter. I really found myself in that identity of simply being what I was. I wasn’t embarrassed to say ” I stay at home with Hali”. I didn’t feel the need to tack on other things to my job title, after all, mine was an important, all-consuming, difficult job.

Looking at the road ahead, it is difficult for me to imagine life once Hali is in school. I feel like once she is in school I should find some way to contribute financially. Which means a job. Starting over in the professional world after what will be over five years at home is a scary thought to me. What will I do? Who will hire me? Will I be able to find a job that enables me to be home whenever Hali is? Will it be something I truly like? Should I also go back to school? Will that help me get a better job that meets my requirements?

Just thinking about it stresses me out and makes me sad to think that I won’t be able to call myself a stay-at-home mom for much more than another year. We are constantly arriving at new stages in life- especially at this early point in our time as a family. The next one will be the upcoming year of preschooling at home. It’s the stage after that I’m worried about. It’s going to be a bg change for me, and one I am glad I have another year to get used to the idea of, because right now, I don’t even want to think about it.

First Beach Trip of 2008

June 13, 2008 at 1:27 pm | In adventures with Hali, family | 1 Comment

Fortunately for us, we live just a couple hours from the beach. We can easily drive down Saturday morning, spend 3 or 4 hours there, then drive back home with time to spare. Last weekend was our first trip to the beach this summer. Last summer we went three times, the summer before that only once or twice. We all enjoy ourselves immensely each time we go. It will bring out the kid in any adult.

Hali is, without a doubt, the highlight of the trip each time. Just watching her experience everything is thrilling for me. As I watch her run out of the waves and for no apparent reason, flop on her little belly like a beached whale in the sand as the tide is coming in, I find myself laughing out loud. The family under the umbrella next to ours probably thought me to be a crazy woman, the way I kept randomly laughing out loud.

Watching her rediscover the magic of the waves that constantly threaten to knock her tiny body over never fails to bring our family even closer together. As parents we are nearly experiencing the novelty of it all through her eyes. Besides the three pounds of sand, sunburns, and precious memories that we bring back home with us, every trip to the beach bonds us a little closer together.

I don’t know what kind of elusive magic it is that the ocean water saturates us with, but it’s therapeutic qualities are undeniable. We return home relaxed, physically exhausted, ravenous, and content. Recharged in a way.