My oldest child turned 11 last week. It is hard to believe I have been a Mom for over a decade. And even harder to believe is that my first born is so old. How can that be?
Soccer Girl is an amazing kid. She is wise beyond her years and always has been. She is my worrier… I have taken to calling her Wart, as in worry wart. She worries over us getting speeding tickets, over a sound she hears outside…she worries about being late anywhere we go. She Hates. Being. Late. While her worrying seems unreasonable at times, it is only because she cares.
She has a huge heart. Last year on our Christmas cards, I wrote that she has a "quiet heart" for God. She is my kid who silently prays when we see a homeless person or upon hearing about someone who has been hurt or is sick. She prays for her friends and family that do not know Jesus and worries (again my wart) that they will not be in heaven with her. I could certainly take a lesson or two from her.
I am so proud of her. She is a good student, a good friend and a good sister. While Lizard and Little Man drive her crazy, especially now that she has hit the "tween" years, she loves them and looks out for them.
I can foresee the upcoming years are going to have some rough patches ahead for the two of us. But, I will do my best to carve out that special time she craves and let her know through my actions (it is true that they speak louder than words) that she means the world to me and that no matter what, I am proud and love her beyond words.
Happy Birthday Sweet Girl. I Love You.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
It Has Been Awhile...
I can not believe I have not posted anything since the beginning of September. It has been a crazy few months with lots of changes for us.
The biggest change is that I started another part time job! It was one of the first resumes I sent out and I got the job. It was truly a "careful what you wish for" type of feeling. I can not believe with how many people out there looking for work right now, I got it. I feel very blessed. It is part time Monday-Friday in the mornings only…. I am back home by 1 o'clock. Mondays are long though since I moved my other part time job to the afternoon. And also on Monday I do my third part time job after the kids go to sleep. But overall, I like the people and the job. I am using my brain which is a very good thing. And, it has added a cushion to our budget which was the desired result.
It is funny, the hardest thing I struggled with was having to move Little Man from his preschool to a whole new day care/preschool set up. He did really well with his old preschool teacher despite how much of a challenge he could be. I could have pieced together care for him during the week and keep him there, but he would have had four different care givers during the week. And that would have only been through the end of the year. That was not going to work on many levels, but most importantly, it was not fair to him to shuttle him around so much. So we made the decision to make a complete change.
It has been the best move for him. He LOVES his new preschool and teacher. Just yesterday when I picked him up, we were walking out to the car and he said "I just love this place." Oh Little Man, I do too! While he has had some difficulties, he has not seemed to struggle with behaving like he did at his old preschool. They see how smart he is and what a sense of humor he has. They see him positively, not negatively. I so need to hear that when it comes to my Little Man.
Since I pick him up after all the other kids that are still there have gone down for rest/nap time, he has to sit at a table and quietly play and wait for me. I thought this would be a big negative. But it has turned out to be wonderful for him. He is getting about 30-40 minutes of one on one time with a teacher, sometimes two! He is coloring, practicing his letter and using flash cards.
And, he is at a home daycare on Mondays with a wonderful loving, Christian women from our church. He can snuggle on the couch if he needs too. And, she also does formalized preschool activities with the kids so he is getting five days a week of "education." Fabulous.
The girls are enjoying their new found responsibility of getting themselves to school. They have worked together well and Soccer Girl has really stepped up to look out for Lizard. They have surprised me. They are doing the chores I leave for them and getting their reading done all before school. Yah for responsible children!
It is funny how everything fell into place and the timing of it all. The location, the hours, Little Man's care, the girls stepping up...The answer to prayer is not lost on me.
The other fun thing that has happened is the number of photography jobs I have gotten. I have done five senior portraits sessions in the last three months and have a family session coming up this weekend. I love it! I has been hard to balance the time commitment it takes in editing the photos with all that has been going on. But it really has been fun. I see my photography as a fun creative outlet for me, a much needed service for people looking for good affordable photographs (did you know that senior pictures can cost upwards of a $1000… can you believe someone would pay that and that someone would have the nerve to charge that?!) and something that earns us some extra spending money. A win-win-win!
As I am getting use to the new schedule, I think I will be back to posting more often. I have lots rattling around in my brain that I think needs to be written… thoughts on working more and how that impacts me and how I view myself as a Mom, updates on Little Man, making things a priority that should be…. lots in my brain. I am feeling a little less frazzled so I think I can begin to formulate my thoughts so I can document this time. After all, the name of my blog is "simply capturing life" so I should do that, capture our life.
The biggest change is that I started another part time job! It was one of the first resumes I sent out and I got the job. It was truly a "careful what you wish for" type of feeling. I can not believe with how many people out there looking for work right now, I got it. I feel very blessed. It is part time Monday-Friday in the mornings only…. I am back home by 1 o'clock. Mondays are long though since I moved my other part time job to the afternoon. And also on Monday I do my third part time job after the kids go to sleep. But overall, I like the people and the job. I am using my brain which is a very good thing. And, it has added a cushion to our budget which was the desired result.
It is funny, the hardest thing I struggled with was having to move Little Man from his preschool to a whole new day care/preschool set up. He did really well with his old preschool teacher despite how much of a challenge he could be. I could have pieced together care for him during the week and keep him there, but he would have had four different care givers during the week. And that would have only been through the end of the year. That was not going to work on many levels, but most importantly, it was not fair to him to shuttle him around so much. So we made the decision to make a complete change.
It has been the best move for him. He LOVES his new preschool and teacher. Just yesterday when I picked him up, we were walking out to the car and he said "I just love this place." Oh Little Man, I do too! While he has had some difficulties, he has not seemed to struggle with behaving like he did at his old preschool. They see how smart he is and what a sense of humor he has. They see him positively, not negatively. I so need to hear that when it comes to my Little Man.
Since I pick him up after all the other kids that are still there have gone down for rest/nap time, he has to sit at a table and quietly play and wait for me. I thought this would be a big negative. But it has turned out to be wonderful for him. He is getting about 30-40 minutes of one on one time with a teacher, sometimes two! He is coloring, practicing his letter and using flash cards.
And, he is at a home daycare on Mondays with a wonderful loving, Christian women from our church. He can snuggle on the couch if he needs too. And, she also does formalized preschool activities with the kids so he is getting five days a week of "education." Fabulous.
The girls are enjoying their new found responsibility of getting themselves to school. They have worked together well and Soccer Girl has really stepped up to look out for Lizard. They have surprised me. They are doing the chores I leave for them and getting their reading done all before school. Yah for responsible children!
It is funny how everything fell into place and the timing of it all. The location, the hours, Little Man's care, the girls stepping up...The answer to prayer is not lost on me.
The other fun thing that has happened is the number of photography jobs I have gotten. I have done five senior portraits sessions in the last three months and have a family session coming up this weekend. I love it! I has been hard to balance the time commitment it takes in editing the photos with all that has been going on. But it really has been fun. I see my photography as a fun creative outlet for me, a much needed service for people looking for good affordable photographs (did you know that senior pictures can cost upwards of a $1000… can you believe someone would pay that and that someone would have the nerve to charge that?!) and something that earns us some extra spending money. A win-win-win!
As I am getting use to the new schedule, I think I will be back to posting more often. I have lots rattling around in my brain that I think needs to be written… thoughts on working more and how that impacts me and how I view myself as a Mom, updates on Little Man, making things a priority that should be…. lots in my brain. I am feeling a little less frazzled so I think I can begin to formulate my thoughts so I can document this time. After all, the name of my blog is "simply capturing life" so I should do that, capture our life.
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