Change. Change. Change.

Our kids are going through such a season of CHANGE!!!

- New job for J which means a new church for us.

- For the first time in their little lives, they are the only Caucasian children at church.

- Motor Mouth is on a new swim team.

- Mini Me starts a running club for first time.

- Mini Me starts a new chess club for the first time.

- Moving at an age when they are more aware of what a move entails.

- We are moving to new home in a new neighborhood.

- We will live on two floors for the first time and our master will be on a different floor.

- Our children will be the only Caucasian children in our new neighborhood.

The kids are troopers. I'm planning lots of play dates and trying to make special moments for them. I am looking ahead as much as possible to reduce their stress. We have to keep in mind the amount of change they are dealing with and love them through it. I love them so much!!!

The good news is that we will still be bad ass parents. Fortunately, some things never change.

Sunday Rundown

Yeah. I know it's Tuesday.

My kids are amazing. They really are good kids. J has been gone for most of last week. He had a set install. The kids were great each evening with just me. I'm sure they were sick of being with just me all the time. But they were obedient, played well together, and rolled with the changes. On Saturday, they were very helpful and made a difference in the stage with us.

It's a whirlwind these days. Work is busy, busy, busy. I sent a number of notifications to families last week. It's so hard to tell a family their child is in a waiting pool. There were days last week that I wanted to hug the parents and cry with them. And then I'd get an email from someone who was ecstatic because their child was accepted into our program. It's the excitement that makes my day.

We have so many school events coming up. FIVE events I'm supposed to be at in the next 10 days! It's insane! It's one thing to help organize them as staff but I also have to attend as a parent. Oh lordy.

For the first time we are offering a summer program. I get to market it. Design the flyer, online add, emails, etc. At least I don't have to teach it!!! LOL!

Oh, and we are doing a little thing - moving!

Calendar

Looking at the week(s) ahead, I am overwhelmed. I just want a Saturday when I can sleep in and do nothing all day. 

This month we have had a swim meet followed by a bowling party or babysitting or a big fundraising event. Next Saturday we have Motor Mouth's birthday and a friend's bday party. 

On their own, these days are manageable but when I factor in my evening work meetings and J's work schedule we won't see each other!

I'm going to purpose to make April a work and evening/weekend free kinda month. 

I Am Good.

Each evening as we sit together for our family dinner, we take turns sharing our "Top 3" for the day. Monday evening my last item was that I felt good. Just really felt good.

Nothing hurt. I wasn't exhausted. I wasn't sad. I wasn't jumping from the rooftops happy either. I just. Felt. Good.

You ever just feel good? As in, you stop and take account of how you are actually feeling and how you are doing in your head and in your heart.

There are the times when you get a paper cut on your pinky finger which reminds you that you actually have a pinky finger. Or you have a really painful zit at the base of your right nostril and for a day, you remember that you have a right nostril.

Most times, unless we are in pain or discomfort, most of the time we don't realize we have 2001 body parts. Shout out to the good folks at Lever body soap counted.

Anyway, I felt good. I took the time to take stock of my body and my life and realize that I'm doing good. I'm good.

Great Weekend

I had a really wonderful weekend. It started on

Friday
I helped a friend for a little bit. She twisted her ankle and her husband was out of town for the weekend. Not sure how much I really helped but I was able to do her dishes and my kids played with her kids while she and I got caught up on each other's lives.

Saturday
We went out to the suburbs and enjoyed a great lunch at Baisi Thai in Oakbrook. J had a Groupon so we pretty much just got an amazing meal for the price of a tip!

We made a quick detour to our friend's home. She recently redecorated her son's bedroom. I LOVE what she did in there!!! It is 100% her son. Everything he loves is in his room and makes up his room. We only had 15 minutes to visit. Short and sweet. Too short!!!!

Afterwards, the kids and I babysat my other friend's kids. We had a nice time! J got a chance to get work done.

Sunday
We went over to MAM's. As usual, it was great. We got a chance to talk to people we had not seen in months - all people we know through MAM. Some of whom are real friends of ours now.

It was brief, but our friend LRD was there - she got a book deal!!! I got to spend time with my former boss and his girlfriend. Love, love, love them. Hey! MAM got a book deal too!

All of this and I got a TON of work done AND I'm organized and ready to tackle the week ahead.

(Pic of me and MAM)

What a Month!

February has flown by! I realize it is short a few days and that in most months today would be the last day. But still.

J started a new job. Recruiting season is in FULL force. Motor Mouth had 3 big projects. Mini Me was a challenge in school. Winter Break. Swim season wrapped up today with the A City Championships. I've been struggling with a morphing bug. And it actually snowed in Chicago for the first time all season.

J's Job
I am a single married person again. J has been working in the evenings after a full day so I am left to my own devices and alone with the kids. The kids are still alive. Part of me hates being here alone. In the fall, it wasn't so bad b/c King was over here so much. Now it is just me and the fishes. Literally. Part of me loves it b/c I have been working guilt-free after the kids go to bed. And reading.

Recruiting Season
I can't give specifics but lets just say that it's shaping up to be another great year!!!

3 Projects

Motor Mouth had a Geometric City project that I think is uber amazing for the teacher to have come up with. They had to create a map of a city using geometric shapes and had numerous criteria including the number of parallel and perpendicular streets. The kids ALL did a great job letting their personalities shine through. The coloring set that Usher gave him for Christmas is really getting use!

Motor Mouth also has a States Project. It's multi-part. They were each assigned a state to research. Massachusetts is what my boy got. He had to draw a map of his state with detailed land masses, rivers, etc. and a legend/key. On the 28th he turned in a travel brochure he created and next week, he has to have his persuasive essay completed.

Mini Me Challenge
This is a blog post on its own. Check back.

Winter Break
The kids were off school for a week. They needed the break! So did I. I worked from home and got a lot of work knocked out. It was great. I invited kids over for play dates so my kids were engaged and happy while I worked.

Swim Season
So swim season is kinda over. Motor Mouth finished at the top in his league in the City Championships. VERY proud of his hard work!!! Swimming is not Mini Me's thing. However, she did a GREAT job today to help her relay team win a gold medal.

Morphing Bug
So I thought what I had was allergies. It went all over the place for weeks! Pretty much the whole month. Then last weekend, I lost my voice. For realz!!! On Monday, I didn't talk at work. I only talked to my boss in our weekly mtg and that was it. I HAD to save my voice for tours on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Snow!!!
I seriously suspect that Tulsa got more snow than we did this whole winter. When it snowed a few times this month, it was like people had no clue how to drive. We have had two really mild winters in a row. Maybe people have forgotten the Blizzard of 2010!

So that has been our month. My month. We still have our Christmas Tree up!

Sunday Updates

It's been quite a week or two or three!

This weekend one of J's cousins came to visit. Hair Fairy was delightful. I really, really, really enjoyed having her here. Two days was wayyyy too short. Hair Fairy is about 12 years younger than J so it's not like they really grew up together. This was a great opportunity to get to know each other. We are extremely proud of Hair Fairy. She has strength of character, is hard working, smart, driven, and self-aware enough to know when to end a bad thing. Can't wait for her to return!

J started a new job. He's really excited about it. I am thrilled to see my husband so happy. It's a lot of work as he is tasked with bringing about a lot of change. That man has plans though.

With J returning to church staff, I return to being a single mom on Sunday mornings. I suck at getting me and the kids ready on time to go to church on time. It also means I have to either schlep the kids at 6:30 am on a Sunday morning across town to drop J off at church so I can have the car, or the kids and I have to take a couple buses to get to service. Sigh deeply.

Mini Me has been a CHALLENGE!!! The meth affects from when her birth mother was pregnant with her are front and center lately. Fortunately, she has a great support group of teachers and principal. We hit the jackpot in this school.

Speaking of school...I'm in the middle of recruiting season. I've been working ten hour days, coming home after swim practice, spending time with the family then working another three or four hours after the kids go to bed. Hopefully, we can knock out some interviews, current families will register for next year, and we will have full classes in two months so I can breathe again. But realistically it won't all get finalized and figured out until June then in August we have a mass exodus when everyone has to pay tuition and then it's crazy until school starts. Sadly, from talking my admissions director counterparts at other schools, I know this happens to most schools.

Motor Mouth has been kicking ass at swimming. He has done so well!!!! I should call him Midas because every race turns to gold!!! So proud of him. So proud.

If you made it this far, you deserve to get this gem: I changed my voicemail message to tell callers to just text me!

And I know it says Sunday Updates but it's Monday. Oh well. 

Sunday Random

I need to do Sunday Randoms more often. Quick updates on my week and what is on the agenda.

Reading
I'm reading three books right now. I don't really have time to read one but well, it is what I do. I'm excited about all three of them. One of the books is for middle school students. It's a great book. Jerusalem Maiden by Talia Carner. Then there is Best Friends, Worst Enemies that I am reading for a Book Talk at the school. Finally, my Bestie, Usher, read Cloud Atlas and wants me to read it so we can discuss it.

Changes
There may be some big changes to our family coming in the next few weeks and months. I'm cautiously optimistic. It would be huge for our family if this comes to pass. Huge. We could really use a huge change like this right now.

Work
It's the thick of the admissions process. I'm looking forward to this season. But I'm scared too. I've had about 25-35% increases in admissions numbers for the last three years. Each year, I keep thinking that this is the year that the double-digit increases stop and I no longer look like a shining star.

More than the numbers is the heart wrenching. I get to know these families. I believe that we have a great school that would serve many students well. So when financing or something falls through, I am crushed. This is the start of an eight month emotional journey for me.

Bike
I have this great new bike that I want to ride!!! My back went out right after I got the bike. It's finally at a point where I can do a test ride but now it is REALLY getting cold out. I just want to ride it around the block. Hello!!!

Easy Updating
I have been using the email update feature. Love it!!! Wish I had started it a long time ago. Makes it so easy to add a photo and a blog post. Love, love, love!

I should go to bed now. Well, I should have gone to bed an hour ago. Yikes!

I've Been Busy!

I made five hat and scarf sets in the last month. The first set I made is pictured under Husband Hat and Husband Scarf. They were all Christmas Gifts for the people I love.

Round Up

My life as it stands...

Some like it hot. So do I.
Our heater went out. Of course it did. J was out of town. Did it go out when he was here? No. Does crap ever hit the fan when my man is in town? Nope. When I got home, it was only 64 degrees in here. I was so cold, I wore a sweater, J's thick hoodie, my pj pants and thick socks to bed and had the bed heater turned up all the way and the down comforter on. I still froze all night and woke up shivering several times. It was down to 62 degrees this morning.

The handy man came over to fix it. His name is Manny. And he is Hispanic. I kid you not. He looks like Handy Manny's Abeulo. Turns out, we had 2 extra filters that Handy Manny said we did not need. They were located in obscure places, too. How often do you change your air filter? We thought it was every 3 months. Turns out, Handy Manny said we should change it every month.

Play Dates Rock
Certain kids have been wanting play dates with my kids for forever! One kid had to wait almost a year to come over. Kids have handed me or J their parents' cell numbers on slips of paper. Over the Christmas Break we had four play dates with five families. I got to know two new families. It was nice.

No Laptop for 3 Weeks
I went for three weeks without opening my laptop. I checked email on my iPhone, looked up information on my iPhone, checked Facebook on my iPhone. I used the iPad to read a book by my one of my favorite authors, Patricia Cornwell.  I wasn't sure it would turn back on after such a long hiatus. LoL.

My Kids Rock
For no special reason other than I love them like crazy!

Rundown - Nov 21

What a week! Here is the rundown:


Monday
We hosted an Open House at the school where I do recruiting and marketing. I never know if anyone will show up to these things. We had a full house!!! 


Tuesday
I spent a great day at a cafe getting caught up and doing some organizing. 


Wednesday
J and I attended an education summit at our church. We got to stand toe-to-toe with Geoffrey Canada, a legend in the education field for his work with the Harlem Children's Project. Canada transformed a 100 block radius in Harlem where children had almost zero chance of completing high school, much less attending college. Go HERE for more info on the program.


Thursday

Oh. THIS was THE day. J got stuck in traffic. He called me at 5:45 pm to say he was 45-60 minutes out from picking up Mini Me from after school care. I called a friend who lives next to the school. She wasn't home, but her husband and daughters were. 


I called the after school care people and said, "Please let Mini Me know a man she has never met will be coming to pick her up but it's okay because his wife is a friend of mommy's." 


Fortunately, JG's wife is the founder of the babysitting co-op I am a part of and JG is a strong activist for Mini Me's school, currently serving on the Local School Council. JG was kind enough to pick up Mini Me, take her home and let her play with his daughters and dog for 30 minutes until J got there.



Friday
We've been trying to work out a solution for the kids' boots and hats and gloves for the entry for 2 years. It finally dawned on me that we should custom build the entry closet to suit our needs. Container store doesn't have solutions for our size of closet but now we are on to something!


Saturday

Motor Mouth had his very first swim meet. He came second in his first race! I'm so proud of our boy. 

Rundown - Nov 15

Alright, I know I've been posting mostly minor pics and not much text. Here is the Rundown of my life this past week.

THE PROJECT:

The redecorating project is almost done. Here is a sneak peak:

ORGANIZATION:

Sunday was my first full day off in almost 2 straight weeks. I spent it cleaning Mini Me's bedroom to convert it back from a laundry staging area to a little girl's room. I'm exhausted and in pain. But she is sleeping in her own bed for the first time in, sadly, months.

WORK:

I do marketing and recruiting for a small private school. Last year, our school had 105 students. This year, we have over 140 students. I've had 'Walkthrough Wednesdays' each Wednesday for the last 6 weeks where I give people tours and they see classes in session. Of the 12 families who toured, 6 applied. That's a pretty great return on time invested. (We have more applications for 2011. This is just from those who toured on a Walkthrough Wednesday.)

VOLUNTEER:

Motor Mouth and I spent Saturday afternoon volunteering at a thrift store that donates 1/6 of it's sales to our son's school for tuition assistance. The thrift store was started with the sole intent to help Christian schools financially. Last year, they donated $38,000 to our school.

SURPRISES:

When Motor Mouth and I got home, we found that J had painted a wall, put together a bookcase and decorated a reading corner. It used to be a desk area with a cherry bookcase and was not really working for us. 

ISSUES:

I don't check our mail. Neither does J. This is what was in our itty bitty city mailbox...for the past month!! Our poor mailman.  Gotta feel sorry for the guy. We did the same thing in Tulsa. Once, I found a note saying our home was abandoned and the mail was at the post office!!

EXTENDED FAMILY:

My brother got hacked. I received an email saying he was stranded in Madrid. Sure, they got his bday right, but 1. my brother would NEVER ask me for money and 2. my brother NEVER emails me. I did have fun when our mom emailed me to warn me that it was a hoax. And I had a lot of fun when I talked to my brother on the phone and nearly gave him a heart attack thinking I had actually sent in $2,000. Haha!!

EVENTS:

My birthday is coming up!! I'm so excited. I'm turning 40 (again). All I can think about is how I want to go to the Museum of Science & Industry and stand in front of the baby chick hatchery for an hour then head to the south side for a traditional Trinidadian meal. My friend, MAM, has already begun to plan her 40th bday party in 8 months. She called me an amateur b/c I've only been planning my bday for 2 weeks. 

FORTY:

I have enjoyed being 40 and am not ready to give it up just yet. I really like being 40. Gonna stick here another few months and see how that goes.