Tough Job

When LO attended a local private Christian school for K3 and K4, I served as the "Room Mom" both years and absolutely loved it! I'm passionate about communication and made sure my parents were aware of all of the activities happening in the classroom as well as the various volunteer opportunities available for them to serve. These parents were always on the ball, happy to sign up to help in the classroom, send in items for class parties, etc. My job was Room Mom was fun, relatively easy and a great way to learn which parent goes with each child. ;)

Fast-forward to LO's first year in public school for Kindergarten. I'm serving as the "Room Mom" for her class again this year. We have 21 students, which would mean we have 21 parents/guardians to participate in the classroom.

Yet I'm about to pull my hair out!!!

We have a need for a simple computer lab volunteer. They help turn computers on. And maybe help the kids "point & click" on the right thing during the class. It's a 30-minute obligation.

I've had ZERO parents sign up (besides myself and my co-Room Mom). ZERO.

Seriously? For Kindergarten?? This is the kids' first year of "big school" and I can't get a single parent to sign up to help in the computer lab?? I understand not all parents have the stay-at-home flexibility that I have, but come on. It's like using ONE LUNCH HOUR EVERY OTHER MONTH to volunteer and help out in your own kid's classroom. Is that seriously too much to ask?

Apparently.

This is so frustrating. I have another classroom program (reading to the kids!) that needs volunteers; again, only myself and my co-Room Mom have signed up to help. The sucky thing is you can't bring younger siblings to these volunteer programs in the classroom, so I have to make arrangements for Chase each time I go to help with the computer lab or the reading program. It's a bit of an inconvenience but I don't mind doing it occasionally. Only since there are NO parents interested in helping in their child's classroom, I'm gonna need to do it a LOT more frequently than occasionally.

GRRRRRRR!!!

This is NOT what I signed up for! I just cannot fathom how parents are so disinterested in helping in their child's Kindergarten class. I get that parents work, parents are busy, etc. But the most frustrating part is NONE of them even bother to respond to my emails! Not even just to tell me they work and aren't able to help. That'd be nice to know and so appreciated! But it's frustrating to keep contacting my parents and get ZERO responses from them.

I guess if this is what it's gonna be like, I'll be sure NOT to sign up for this in the future. I just hate that parents' lack of involvement cause parents like me (who love to serve!) to give up and walk away from the opportunity to make a difference in their child's class because they can't get parents to reply to a simple email, to just communicate with me!

Ugh. Thanks for letting me vent. Hopefully this will improve as the school year continues, but I'm not gonna hold my breath.

Seriously, though. What am I missing? What am I not understanding? I'm all for working parents to dodge the bullet of volunteering if they truly can't get away for one lunch hour every other month. And I get that some stay-at-home parents may have younger siblings they can't make alternate arrangements for so they'd be able to serve. But is it really too much to ask for parents to RESPOND to me to let me know this?? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!!!

Ugh. The End.

Marbles

I am SO. STINKIN'. PROUD. of my sweet LO! She has grown up so much over the past few months, and I can hardly believe she's now a full-time elementary school student who can ride her bike without training wheels and actually listen to mommy & daddy sometimes!

I'm not sure if I had written about it on the blog much lately, but LO has had some significant behavior issues over the summer. She wasn't listening, wouldn't do what she was asked to do, had a very negative attitude (especially when being disciplined) and was just overall not the sweet little girl I once knew.

One date I was lamenting to friend about LO's behavior problems, and that dear sweet friend of mine suggested I try a system she was using with her 5-year-old son. Marbles.

Yes, marbles.

She uses a system of marbles to reward good behavior. Essentially, if the child does something (anything!) good/nice/thoughtful/kind/etc., they earn a marble! If they do anything opposite of those behaviors, they lose a marble. Once they reach their goal of marbles, they get a special reward/prize. My friend uses 25 as her goal... we started with 10. ;)

I wanted to introduce LO to the system and allow her a smaller goal so that she could (hopefully) reap a reward quickly and see the benefit of earning marbles and behaving. Those first 10 marbles were quite a process! It was gain one, lose one, gain another, lose another. Honestly I was being VERY generous and giving her marbles for the simplest thing just so I'd have some to take away later, because I KNEW I would be taking some away based on her behavior pattern. It was crazy and I thought it'd never happen.

But it did!!!

She finally earned 10 marbles and was able to reap the reward she had set for herself: a family trip to Chuck E. Cheese's! We went to dinner at Outback (that was for mommy & daddy) and then went to CEC (for LO), and it was a wonderful night! We talked up how awesome it was that she had behaved well enough to earn 10 marbles, trying to encourage her to keep it up. The kids had a blast and I'm ashamed to admit I only captured a few pictures of the kids together on a roller-coaster simulator ride.

After the success with 10 marbles, I upped the ante and made her next goal 12 marbles. Of course we let her choose that reward again, which was a trip to Brewster's for ice cream (quick and cheap -- mommy like!). I noticed almost immediately that she was able to earn at least one marble per day rather consistently, which was a HUGE improvement from slowly gaining/losing/gaining her first 10 marbles. She started being super easy to wake up in the morning (at 6:40 AM - gasp!) for school, did her morning routine without complaining, had "green" (i.e. good) days at school, started being nicer to her brother (this one was HUGE!!!!!) and would do her evening routine without too much grumbling. Let's just say she earned her 12 marbles in about a week! Shocker!! I was so impressed and proud of her!

So tonight we loaded up in the car after dinner to hit Brewster's for a big fat ice cream reward! Again, we made sure to talk about how great she's been doing, what a big helper she has been, how proud we are of her, etc. She really enjoyed her special dinosaur sundae, complete with sprinkles and eyeballs... ;)

I love the pic of her and Chase on the bench talking. Chase had already downed his ice cream cone by then but they had a pretty good conversation about who-knows-what. I love these kids!!

After our ice cream trip, I let LO know that her next goal was 15 marbles (I'm trying to ease her up to 25 so this doesn't end up being so expensive with all of these rewards!) and asked her what she wanted as her next special prize. After some discussion, she landed on a trip to a local amusement park complete with go carts and arcade games.

DONE!

I'm so happy that this little girl of mine is back to being her sweet, thoughtful, lovable self! I'm so glad the marbles reward system is working so well for her and us! I highly recommend giving this a try if you're desperate for a way to improve your child's behavior and listening skills! It worked for us! :))

LO's Big Surprise!

Hello out there! Yes, it's been quite some time since my last post, and I do apologize for that. Things have been quite hectic around here since LO started Kindergarten last month! The great news is she's really loving her new school and she's adjusted incredibly well to her new routine. Mommy, on the other hand? Notsomuch. I haven't seen 6:30 AM on my alarm clock consistently for probably over 10 years! So this has been a big adjustment for me, too! But I must admit I'm really LOVING the special Mommy/Chase time every day while LO's at school. Things have been a bit busy lately since I've taken on several new roles with LO's school, but I'm hoping that'll start to even out a bit as the school year progresses. I've taken on the school newsletter, which is published four times per year. It's called a newsletter, but at an average of 13 pages per, it's a bit of a novel in my mind. ;) Additionally, I am serving as a Room Parent for LO's Kindergarten classroom. This is a LOT to take on at the beginning of the year, but I'm very excited about it! I loved doing the newsletter because it gave me an automatic "IN" with so many of the school's staff, from the librarian to the principal to the counselor and more! I know me, and if I didn't have an "in" with anyone, I wouldn't have had the courage to introduce myself and get to know the people that will be helping care for and teach my sweet girl. I'm also managing the school's Facebook page and am serving on a committee that is putting together our annual fall festival in October. Whew! It's been a busy 3 weeks! Add work, family and other commitments to that, and it's a wonder I'm able to function these days! ;)

Those of you who follow me on Twitter may have already seen this video when I tweeted it yesterday, but since I like to chronicle cool happenings with the kids on the blog, I wanted to make sure to post it here as well. Here's the backstory: About 2 weeks ago, we purchased a Balance Buddy to put on LO's bike to help her learn to ride without training wheels. Since she wasn't a big fan of learning to ride without the training wheels, we were hoping this little device would help give her the confidence she needed to get the hang of it. It's basically a little extension on the back of the bike that allows an adult to hold on and run along behind her to help her keep her balance.

I busted it out for the first time about 2 weeks ago for all of about 5 minutes before both of us were too frustrated to continue. Hubs tried it with her maybe once or twice since then for a few minutes each time, but the balance thing didn't seem to be coming too easily for her.

Fast-forward to yesterday... I had been sick in bed all weekend, but I managed to stumble out of bed and head outside to see my family for a few minutes, and was SHOCK N' AWED by what I saw! Hubs had spent about another 20 minutes with LO using the Balance Buddy, and the girl was OFF! She was all over the parking lot across the street from our house, making amazing turns, speeding her way back and forth like you wouldn't believe!!! I know I couldn't believe it! It's like it just "clicked" for her and all of a sudden, she was on her way! I seriously was amazed at how fast she was riding and how much control she had over that bike. Whoa. This girl never ceases to amaze me!!!!!

Check it out!

First Day of Kindergarten!!!

Whoa. I cannot believe I just sent my little baby girl to "big school" for her very first day!!! I'd like to state for the record that it is currently 8:40 AM and I have not yet cried a single actual tear, although it's definitely still pretty early. ;)

Last night we were able to do all of our prepare-for-the-first-day-of-school stuff, from picking out her outfit, to painting her fingernails, to planning her lunch. For the most part, I was pretty much prepared and ready to get this day rolling bright and early this morning.

I was up at 6:10 AM to get ready. I was downstairs cooking LO's special first-day-of-kindergarten breakfast, which included blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon and chocolate milk.

She was quite pleasant to wake up (nothing like her mommy!) and came bounding downstairs for breakfast. Even with both of us being extremely quiet, to my amazement, Chase came down less than 2 minutes later. No biggie! This worked out for us today, so he enjoyed a yummy breakfast alongside his big sister.

While LO was getting dressed and ready for school, I packed her lunch, exactly to her specifications:

• PB&J (shocker, I know)
• Carrots
• Cucumbers
• Apple Slices
• Yogurt (not pictured)
• Juice

I'm beating myself up right now because, while I remembered to include a sweet note in her lunch, I forgot to add a cookie in there to surprise her with an extra special treat on her first day. #mommyfail

After she was ready, we went outside for some first day of Kindergarten pictures!!

I can't believe how big this girl of mine is!

Let's flash back for a moment, shall we? Here are last year's first day of K4 pictures:

Cool stuff!

And let's not forget the first day of K3:

She's so totally the same but yet so totally different! It's insane how fast time flies... it's totally true what they say!

Anywho, back to our day... After taking pictures out front, we all loaded up in the car to head to school. Luckily we got there waaaay before the craziness and were able to get a quick parking spot. Hubs and Chase waited in the car while Mommy and LO went in (but not before a few more pictures in the parking lot). I let LO lead me to her class and she was greeted immediately by one of her teachers. She was so so so much different than Monday at Meet the Teacher when she hid behind me, clinging to me, unable to speak or make eye contact with her teachers. She's really warmed up quickly and I'm so very proud of her!

I took a few more pictures in her classroom before heading out. Ain't she purdy??

Before I left, the students were all asked to sit at the tables, so I snapped one more pic...

As you can tell from this last one, she was tired of taking pictures. In fact, she said exactly that just seconds before I snapped this pic!

Haha! I'm so glad we had a great morning and she did such a great job with her first day of Kindergarten. Today should be interesting as it is the start of an entirely new routine for the kids and I. Since Chase was up and eating breakfast bright n' early, my plan is to feed him lunch around the same time LO will eat hers at school (11:30 AM), then put him down for a way-earlier-than-normal nap at 12:30 PM. I'll need to have him up and ready to get in the car to pick up LO by 1:45 PM (yes, I'm that crazy mom that wants to be one of the first ones in the car pick-up line) as school gets out at 2:30 PM.

I can't wait to hear all about LO's first day of Kindergarten and I also can't wait to see how Chase handles his new routine today. I'm really looking forward to having some fun mommy/Chase time now that she'll be at school every day. There's a lot of good stuff happening and I promise I'm doing my very best to embrace it -- without tears!

HAPPY FIRST DAY

OF KINDERGARTEN, LO!!

MOMMY LOVES YOU BUNCHES!!!

Beach 2012!

Last week we took a much-needed family vacay to Pawleys Island, just south of Myrtle Beach. It was an awesome trip that also included my sisters, nieces/nephews and mama! Good times!!

I've shared a little photo recap of our trip below for those of you who are still reading this ol' blog of mine! ;)

First up on any road trip? Movies for the kids (including headphones to keep things quiet for mommy & daddy) and m&m blizzards from Dairy Queen for all!

Our first night in Pawleys Island we hit up a local pizza joint/pub for some delicious eats. We had a simple cheese pizza and a pepperoni stromboli. YUM-O.

After dinner it was time to head next door to the Piggly Wiggly (yes, we're in the South, folks), for some groceries we'll need during our stay. I can tell you with complete honesty that I've NEVER EVER EVER allowed the kids to ride in one of those car carts pictured below, but since we were on vacation, I knew I could let them get away with it (without them expecting to do so every time we go to the store in the future). They had a blast with daddy speeding them up one aisle and down the next, and even thought it was hilarious (as did I) when daddy knocked over a display with the cart as he zoomed past it. LOL!

Our first day on vacation also happened to be one of my sisters' birthdays, so we celebrated with cake! As you can see, she was turning 6, and since I'm 3 years younger than her, I guess that makes me 3! ;)

Thursday was our first day on the beach. Ah, glorious sunny skies! The kids were beyond stoked and I couldn't wait for some relaxing sunbathing.

The kids were super excited about the water, and I was so impressed with both of them! LO was not a big fan of the waves on our previous beach trips, but she jumped in with no fear this time around! Chase had a great time, too, and wasn't worried at all about those waves, either!

Later that night we went out for dinner at a total tourist trap. It was supposed to be Margaritaville, but the wait was -- seriously -- 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Are you kidding me!? Anywho, we ended up at Planet Hollywood instead.

I opted for the rack (yes, an entire rack!) of ribs, with a side of sautéed veggies to balance it out. ;) Ha! The fun part was that my 21-year-old nephew got them, too, so it was a bit of a challenge to see if I could finish them since there was no question that boy could put down some food! As expected, he tore 'em up quicker than I ever could've dreamed!

After dinner, we drove over to Broadway at the Beach for some nighttime fun! I loved the Wonder Works building because it's upside-down. We never went inside and I still have no idea what it is... but it was pretty cool regardless.

The kids did fun stuff like ride the carousel...

...ride the train...

...and fly a plane!

I also made them pose for a photo with a really creepy bunny statue, because I'm just that kind of mom. See how stoked LO was??

Friday we all slept in and didn't really get moving toward the beach until the early afternoon. Hubs, the kids and I were the last ones to get ready after everyone else had already walked down to the beach. We were sunscreen'd up and ready to go when hubs suggested we wait a few minutes after checking the weather. We're VERY glad we did.

Here's a pic my sister sent me from the beach. It was too late for them to make a run for it once this "pop up hurricane" rolled in...

Hubs drove to get them since it was about 1/4 mile from the house to the beach, and they were straight up SOAKED, being pelted with raindrops as they tried to hurry back to the house. The poor things! The weather didn't really cooperate so we didn't end up at the beach on Friday.

We did go out to eat and ended up at a joint called Quigley's Pint & Plate. There was a bit of a wait for a party our size, but I think it was worth it! I hooked myself up with the fried pickles appetizer and my VERY FIRST experience of Chicken & Waffles! They were sweet potato waffles and were served with a sausage gravy, and OHMYGOODNESS people. These will NOT be my last order of Chicken & Waffles! Amazing!!

The plan on Saturday was to start early and get to the beach before any storms had a chance to ruin our fun. But lo and behold, these were my kids at 9:30 AM!! Still zonked! (Hubs was out cold, too!)

After we all finally got moving, it was beach time! Here's my handsome fella catching a lift on the walk to the beach.

We were able to get lots of time in the sun and sand!

Chase took plenty of snack breaks. ;)

As did his big sister...



But like a sudden pop-up storm rolling in, so was this mess that Chase turned into...

As you can imagine, it was about time for us to pack up and go! But not before I was able to take a pic of my sister's LifeProof case for her Droid!

Haha!!! She's been debating between an iPhone or the Samsung Galaxy III (gag) but I think my LifeProof case might have put her over the edge... especially when I could take pics of one of her kids like the one below.

After the beach it was time to clean up and pack up. We had a great trip and the kids had an amazing time playing with their cousins and enjoying the beach. It was only a matter of time before this was happening on the way home...

We had a super great time and it was just what we needed as we start to say good-bye to summer and hello to LO's first day of Kindergarten, which is just around the corner!

Hellooooooo!!!

Well howdy, folks! For those of you who thought I'd given up on blogging and r-u-n-n-o-f-t to Paris by boat, SURPRISE! I'm still here.
((insert gasps of shock & awe here))
It goes without saying that just like every other blogger out there, I've been staying quite busy this summer and haven't made the time to blog. Shame, right? Right.

Geez. I was totally planning an awesome, awe-inspiring, comprehensive catch-up post but I'm just not feeling it tonight (side note: this may or may not have something to do with my recent MacBook Pro and Apple TV purchases, or perhaps the fact that I'm in the middle of a rather atypical stretch of working 36 hours over a 5-day period). Regardless of my beautifully amazing distractions, I'm not leaving you empty-handed! As your reward for reading this totally lame post, I've shared a little clip of Chase (and LO) saying a blessing before dinner tonight. Seriously, Chase totally cracks me up!!
Enjoy!

LO's 5th Birthday: Part 3

Look out, folks! It's another photoriffic post! :)

The morning of LO's 5th birthday began with... birthday pancakes!!! Not the greatest looking "5" but seriously, have you ever tried to flip a pancake in the shape of a 5? It took me two spatulas and a lot of hand-eye coordination! ;)

LO was super happy about her birthday pancake... Here she is making another birthday wish!

We had her birthday dinner at Red Robin, complete with singing, a hot fudge sundae and a balloon! When we got home after church that night, we did have a little ice cream cake with a candle and sang "Happy Birthday"to our girl, led by Chase!

The plan was to continue her "birthday week" with a trip to the beach today (Friday). Unfortunately, it was gonna have a heat index of 105° F, so we opted to scrap the beach plans and come up with a new strategy for our family day o' fun!

We started the morning with a special treat: breakfast at IHOP! We very rarely eat there, but I knew LO loved their silly pancakes, so we headed that way for a super yummy breakfast!

After breakfast we headed to a nearby fun park for a ride around the track on the go carts! It was Chase's first time and he loved it!!

See??

Seriously. Loved. It.

:)

We went inside for some arcade fun, too!

Believe it or not, this is LO bowling... ;)

Told ya!

Chase's turn!!

Giddy up!!!

One of mommy's favorites...

After the fun park/arcade, it was time to head to the pool with family! It was crazy hot, but the pool was refreshing enough.

After the pool, our day o' fun continued at the movie theatre to see Ice Age: Continental Drift. We had a great time and all enjoyed the movie!

You know you were successful in having an awesome, fun-filled day when your kids look like this at 6 o'clock in the afternoon!

We had a great day enjoying time together as a family. I think it was much better than 7 roundtrip hours in the car to sit on the beach in 105 degree heat! And although LO was slightly disappointed when we told her we weren't going to the beach after all, I think she managed to have a decent day anyway. ;)