Wednesday, February 15, 2012
A Joke for Wednesday
I was listening to my two daughters, ages 4 and 6, while they were playing. The oldest says, "So what do you want to be when you grow up?" The youngest replies, "A Mommy by day and a Ninja by night." The oldest exclaims, "You can't be a Ninja at night! When will you sleep?" The youngest states emphatically, "Ninja's don't need to sleep!"
Monday, February 13, 2012
Stories From The Potty
Years ago I had what I thought was a brilliant idea - songs and stories inspired by potty training. I wrote and recorded Songs From the Potty - a CD with humorous and lighthearted songs that made toilet training enjoyable. I also tried to compile a variety of stories from parents who had gone through potty training. Little quips and stories that would entertain other parents going through the same issues.
I have let this project sit on the back burner for a long time now. However, please pass along the word to friends and family. I am looking for true potty training stories. They can be sweet, silly, and definitely messy if you'd like to share. I would appreciate any and all help!
Thanks in advance!
I have let this project sit on the back burner for a long time now. However, please pass along the word to friends and family. I am looking for true potty training stories. They can be sweet, silly, and definitely messy if you'd like to share. I would appreciate any and all help!
Thanks in advance!
Friday, February 10, 2012
A Joke for Friday
Here is my most recent submission to Reader's Digest.
I was in the process of making my daughter's favorite lunch: grilled cheese and pickles. This time she wanted to add the cheese to the bread. She was very quiet and contemplative. Then she exclaimed "Mommy, can boys eat girl-cheese too?"
I was in the process of making my daughter's favorite lunch: grilled cheese and pickles. This time she wanted to add the cheese to the bread. She was very quiet and contemplative. Then she exclaimed "Mommy, can boys eat girl-cheese too?"
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
the 29th day
[Cue magic fairy dust]
And just like that....just like that, reader...the 29 days are complete. It seems like the journey just began yesterday. But I have decided I like this new way of viewing life (and those in it): as a gift. I really enJOY giving and accepting gifts from others. In the past I felt guilty accepting gifts, and I realize now that was very selfish of me.
Last February I had knee surgery. A dear friend of mine, Jennifer, wanted to make me a meal. I was too proud to accept her help. At the time, I didn't realize how I had slighted her gift. She wasn't able to give the gift, and my pride clouded my vision. I thought I was being strong and self-sufficient. However, I really hurt Jennifer's soul. A similar situation happened last Wednesday to me. My sister, as you might recall, went to the ER for what she thought was a gall bladder attack. She denied me my gift of wanting to go with her. I think it was at that moment I understood how Jennifer felt a year ago. I have also vowed to not let people's gifts get refused.
So, what about my last few gifts? Well, here they are!
Day #25 I went with my mom and the ladybugs to Build-A-Bear and lunch. I purchased a karate outfit for both bears, which was the whole reason the girls knew about the bears. Back in July or August one of Evie's classmates in karate brought in her Build-A-Bear with a cute karate outfit on. Evie wanted that bear SOOO bad. In fact, she mentioned the bear every single time we went to karate. The cutest part of the outfit is that it comes with a multitude of colored belts. So as the girls move up in their studies the bears will move with them! My mom took advantage of a day off from school on Friday to reward the girls with a bear and an outfit. And I made sure that I was able to get them the karate costumes. I was tickled with JOY when Evie and Zoe walked into karate in Monday with their bears adorned in the little costumes. Evie finally was the kid with the cool toy!
Day #26 was a full teaching day, and like the ones in the past I was not quite sure what I would give. However, my 1 o'clock student's voice was so beautiful during her warm-ups I was inspired to encourage her to audition for the Michigan Opera Theater Children's Chorus. I was part of the adult chorus years ago, and I helped another former student get into the MOTCC last year. I printed out information and tried to encourage my 1 o'clock student to take the next step. I also encouraged her to look at music summer camps. She has been taking piano lessons from me for quite some time and is also very gifted at playing as well as singing. This morning I received a thank you email from her mother. She was so glad I encourage her daughter. I suppose I feel as a teacher the greatest gift you can give is inspiration to help the student grow and glow in their own way.
Day #27 Jim and I went to see a special exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts: The Faces of Jesus. I had purchased the tickets a few weeks earlier and secured a babysitter in my parents. Jim and I had a wonderful time looking at the artwork and just spending time together.
Day #28 was a very emotionally charged day for me. However, I still made the effort to put in over $1 in the meter, when I was only using 10 cents of it for my trip. I would love to some day put money in a meter and run around the corner and wait for the next person to come. I imagine having a camera ready to shoot a picture of the person's expression when they realize they don't need to put money in the meter. I just want to see the happy face! Of course I can imagine, because it has happened to me in the past.
Day #29 came quickly and I was still dealing with a lot of high charged emotions in my family. By 3pm I was unclear what my gift would be. I said a prayer and by 3:10 my phone was ringing. It was my neighbor calling to see if I could pick up their son, Anthony, from school and watch him until they got home. I usually leave at 3:20 to get my ladybugs, and Evie doesn't have school on Tuesdays. After dealing with Evie crying because she was in the middle of a game (trying to fit everything in before Zoe was picked up from school), I picked up Anthony and then swung over and got Zoe. The kids don't go to the same school. My ladybugs are in a private Christian school, and Anthony is at a public school. The only problem with the pickup/babysitting gift was that I start teaching at 4pm on Tuesdays and have a sitter that I bring home from school as well. A bit chaotic, but it all turned out okay. My sitter was sweet enough to say that she'd watch Anthony. This was really REALLY kind of her, because I don't pay her to sit in the first place. We exchange services: she gets voice lessons and I get a weekly sitter. Anyway the lesson yesterday is: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PRAY (or wish) FOR!
Like many of the other 29 Givers, I find myself not wanting yesterday to be the end. So, today I am starting the second round of 29 days. Wish me luck! :)
And just like that....just like that, reader...the 29 days are complete. It seems like the journey just began yesterday. But I have decided I like this new way of viewing life (and those in it): as a gift. I really enJOY giving and accepting gifts from others. In the past I felt guilty accepting gifts, and I realize now that was very selfish of me.
Last February I had knee surgery. A dear friend of mine, Jennifer, wanted to make me a meal. I was too proud to accept her help. At the time, I didn't realize how I had slighted her gift. She wasn't able to give the gift, and my pride clouded my vision. I thought I was being strong and self-sufficient. However, I really hurt Jennifer's soul. A similar situation happened last Wednesday to me. My sister, as you might recall, went to the ER for what she thought was a gall bladder attack. She denied me my gift of wanting to go with her. I think it was at that moment I understood how Jennifer felt a year ago. I have also vowed to not let people's gifts get refused.
So, what about my last few gifts? Well, here they are!
Day #25 I went with my mom and the ladybugs to Build-A-Bear and lunch. I purchased a karate outfit for both bears, which was the whole reason the girls knew about the bears. Back in July or August one of Evie's classmates in karate brought in her Build-A-Bear with a cute karate outfit on. Evie wanted that bear SOOO bad. In fact, she mentioned the bear every single time we went to karate. The cutest part of the outfit is that it comes with a multitude of colored belts. So as the girls move up in their studies the bears will move with them! My mom took advantage of a day off from school on Friday to reward the girls with a bear and an outfit. And I made sure that I was able to get them the karate costumes. I was tickled with JOY when Evie and Zoe walked into karate in Monday with their bears adorned in the little costumes. Evie finally was the kid with the cool toy!
Day #26 was a full teaching day, and like the ones in the past I was not quite sure what I would give. However, my 1 o'clock student's voice was so beautiful during her warm-ups I was inspired to encourage her to audition for the Michigan Opera Theater Children's Chorus. I was part of the adult chorus years ago, and I helped another former student get into the MOTCC last year. I printed out information and tried to encourage my 1 o'clock student to take the next step. I also encouraged her to look at music summer camps. She has been taking piano lessons from me for quite some time and is also very gifted at playing as well as singing. This morning I received a thank you email from her mother. She was so glad I encourage her daughter. I suppose I feel as a teacher the greatest gift you can give is inspiration to help the student grow and glow in their own way.
Day #27 Jim and I went to see a special exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts: The Faces of Jesus. I had purchased the tickets a few weeks earlier and secured a babysitter in my parents. Jim and I had a wonderful time looking at the artwork and just spending time together.
Day #28 was a very emotionally charged day for me. However, I still made the effort to put in over $1 in the meter, when I was only using 10 cents of it for my trip. I would love to some day put money in a meter and run around the corner and wait for the next person to come. I imagine having a camera ready to shoot a picture of the person's expression when they realize they don't need to put money in the meter. I just want to see the happy face! Of course I can imagine, because it has happened to me in the past.
Day #29 came quickly and I was still dealing with a lot of high charged emotions in my family. By 3pm I was unclear what my gift would be. I said a prayer and by 3:10 my phone was ringing. It was my neighbor calling to see if I could pick up their son, Anthony, from school and watch him until they got home. I usually leave at 3:20 to get my ladybugs, and Evie doesn't have school on Tuesdays. After dealing with Evie crying because she was in the middle of a game (trying to fit everything in before Zoe was picked up from school), I picked up Anthony and then swung over and got Zoe. The kids don't go to the same school. My ladybugs are in a private Christian school, and Anthony is at a public school. The only problem with the pickup/babysitting gift was that I start teaching at 4pm on Tuesdays and have a sitter that I bring home from school as well. A bit chaotic, but it all turned out okay. My sitter was sweet enough to say that she'd watch Anthony. This was really REALLY kind of her, because I don't pay her to sit in the first place. We exchange services: she gets voice lessons and I get a weekly sitter. Anyway the lesson yesterday is: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PRAY (or wish) FOR!
Like many of the other 29 Givers, I find myself not wanting yesterday to be the end. So, today I am starting the second round of 29 days. Wish me luck! :)
Identification of Self-Worth
After a very difficult and emotionally charged few days, I decided to meditate and found myself compelled to write the following. I hope you enjoy it, reader.
Ask most women and they will tell you they base their self-worth on the relationships they keep. These relationships can be with a spouse, children, parents, siblings, friends, or colleagues. I believe women were created as social creatures who are able to pretty much "do it all." Through the centuries a woman's role has changed from a nurturing provider of warmth, meals and love, to virtual super-woman. The role of woman becomes even more mulit-faceted when she becomes a mother. This role of mother has been mine for almost 7 years.
Ten years ago I left the corporate world to be a full-time music teacher and studio owner. I taught somewhere between 16 and 20 Kindermusik classes, directed a children's choir, had roughly 30 piano students and ran a full-time music business. When I became pregnant with our oldest Zoe, we decided it best to close down the studio. I had never not had a place to go to in the morning. School since I was 5 and then a job after that. Now I was a stay at home mom. What did this mean?
Even after having Zoe I was lost. I enrolled in a masters degree program for Library Science, and I decided I would never teach music for the rest of my life. I had always worked full time or worked full time and gone to school. I was half way to a degree in Information Science when I met Jim. I just didn't enJOY the classes and started to feel like I was just completing the masters degree as something to do with my extra time. I have a hard time doing nothing. However, I was not meant to be a Library Science major, and thus decided to focus on my role as mom.
One thing I've learned in this life: the universe will not allow you to complete something that is not there for a lesson or for your true authentic self growth. There is even Biblical scripture that speaks of this.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." - John 15:1-4
I often think that my branches get cut off that will bear no fruit - like my time getting two different master degrees. I wasn't supposed to do Information Management nor Library Science. I was meant to do music. But when I had the studio I was not able to succeed financially, nor was I happy. Writing music makes me happy and teaching music also brings me JOY. But the business was not going to get pruned. I had a very VERY difficult understanding and accepting this. However, I notice how now that I'm teaching at home, my business continues to get pruned and bears more fruit each year. Pretty awesome if you ask me!
Zoe was a difficult baby, requiring a lot of my time. She didn't sleep well, and as a nursing mother I was her lifeline. But Zoe has taught me patience and the need to relax and take life as it is. However, I have passed down a lot of my anxieties to her. Not intentionally, as I hope that I provide a calm demeanor when Zoe needs me. However, anxieties are hereditary and they have been shared - passed from generation after generation and then through my father to me. Sorry Zoe!
Last week Zoe suffered from a poor night of sleep. Her hands were extremely dry and she was in a lot of discomfort after applying the lotion. Thursday was a rough day at school because she had such a difficult evening with little sleep. Friday she had a day off of school so her sleep Thursday evening was wonderful. It was also fantastic on Saturday and Sunday. However, Sunday night she began to worry about school and not getting a good enough sleep. Even though she stayed up until 10pm (which is over an hour later than usual) she slept in Monday morning.
Monday is always a difficult day to get motivated and moving in the morning. This week it was especially difficult, because I had spent the greater portion of the night sleeping with Zoe and thus had not slept well myself (as I was worried Zoe would not be happy or emotionally healthy at school). I was able to manage to get both girls off to school, and both of them were not happy to be going. Zoe forgot her tennis shoes (she wore boots) and Evie was not thrilled about naptime at Preschool. I was so rushed that I wasn't able to attend my weekly Pilates class, which centers me and starts my week off on a good note.
Zoe made certain to tell me that she didn't want to leave me because she loved playing with her toys. She loves to play PlayMobile in the mornings before school. If she wakes at 7am - great. But she woke at 7:55. There was only 30 minutes to get ready, eat, and leave. Not exactly happy times for Zoe, who is a creature of habit. So when I dropped both girls off I was a Mommy who felt like a heel. Why? Because my self worth is determined by how my children are growing and glowing. I take each one of their successes and failures personally and heartfelt.
I realize that my ladybugs are not going to always love me. I have been called "Poopyhead" in the past. But their well-beings and emotional/mental status is important to me. My relationship to them as a mom is how I identify myself. I am not just MOM, but Zoe and Evie's MOM.
I never really liked school because my mom was really cool and I wanted to stay home and play with her. With the exception of a few teachers, I excelled highly at school. However, I think it had more to do with my home environment. I loved my family and my home. It was a warm and welcoming place. Many friends loved to hang there too, so I know it was not just me. I suppose I wanted that for my girls too, and I should be happy they want to be with me and at home. However, it is hard to relive some of the past anxieties of my life 30 years ago.
So as I continue to grow and learn as a mother, I believe that acceptance is the first step to changing my perception. I love where my children learn and grow each day, but I have to admit I do miss them. Again that is my identifying myself as their mom and not as Michelle. Hopefully I can work on this during 2012.
Ask most women and they will tell you they base their self-worth on the relationships they keep. These relationships can be with a spouse, children, parents, siblings, friends, or colleagues. I believe women were created as social creatures who are able to pretty much "do it all." Through the centuries a woman's role has changed from a nurturing provider of warmth, meals and love, to virtual super-woman. The role of woman becomes even more mulit-faceted when she becomes a mother. This role of mother has been mine for almost 7 years.
Ten years ago I left the corporate world to be a full-time music teacher and studio owner. I taught somewhere between 16 and 20 Kindermusik classes, directed a children's choir, had roughly 30 piano students and ran a full-time music business. When I became pregnant with our oldest Zoe, we decided it best to close down the studio. I had never not had a place to go to in the morning. School since I was 5 and then a job after that. Now I was a stay at home mom. What did this mean?
Even after having Zoe I was lost. I enrolled in a masters degree program for Library Science, and I decided I would never teach music for the rest of my life. I had always worked full time or worked full time and gone to school. I was half way to a degree in Information Science when I met Jim. I just didn't enJOY the classes and started to feel like I was just completing the masters degree as something to do with my extra time. I have a hard time doing nothing. However, I was not meant to be a Library Science major, and thus decided to focus on my role as mom.
One thing I've learned in this life: the universe will not allow you to complete something that is not there for a lesson or for your true authentic self growth. There is even Biblical scripture that speaks of this.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." - John 15:1-4
I often think that my branches get cut off that will bear no fruit - like my time getting two different master degrees. I wasn't supposed to do Information Management nor Library Science. I was meant to do music. But when I had the studio I was not able to succeed financially, nor was I happy. Writing music makes me happy and teaching music also brings me JOY. But the business was not going to get pruned. I had a very VERY difficult understanding and accepting this. However, I notice how now that I'm teaching at home, my business continues to get pruned and bears more fruit each year. Pretty awesome if you ask me!
Zoe was a difficult baby, requiring a lot of my time. She didn't sleep well, and as a nursing mother I was her lifeline. But Zoe has taught me patience and the need to relax and take life as it is. However, I have passed down a lot of my anxieties to her. Not intentionally, as I hope that I provide a calm demeanor when Zoe needs me. However, anxieties are hereditary and they have been shared - passed from generation after generation and then through my father to me. Sorry Zoe!
Last week Zoe suffered from a poor night of sleep. Her hands were extremely dry and she was in a lot of discomfort after applying the lotion. Thursday was a rough day at school because she had such a difficult evening with little sleep. Friday she had a day off of school so her sleep Thursday evening was wonderful. It was also fantastic on Saturday and Sunday. However, Sunday night she began to worry about school and not getting a good enough sleep. Even though she stayed up until 10pm (which is over an hour later than usual) she slept in Monday morning.
Monday is always a difficult day to get motivated and moving in the morning. This week it was especially difficult, because I had spent the greater portion of the night sleeping with Zoe and thus had not slept well myself (as I was worried Zoe would not be happy or emotionally healthy at school). I was able to manage to get both girls off to school, and both of them were not happy to be going. Zoe forgot her tennis shoes (she wore boots) and Evie was not thrilled about naptime at Preschool. I was so rushed that I wasn't able to attend my weekly Pilates class, which centers me and starts my week off on a good note.
Zoe made certain to tell me that she didn't want to leave me because she loved playing with her toys. She loves to play PlayMobile in the mornings before school. If she wakes at 7am - great. But she woke at 7:55. There was only 30 minutes to get ready, eat, and leave. Not exactly happy times for Zoe, who is a creature of habit. So when I dropped both girls off I was a Mommy who felt like a heel. Why? Because my self worth is determined by how my children are growing and glowing. I take each one of their successes and failures personally and heartfelt.
I realize that my ladybugs are not going to always love me. I have been called "Poopyhead" in the past. But their well-beings and emotional/mental status is important to me. My relationship to them as a mom is how I identify myself. I am not just MOM, but Zoe and Evie's MOM.
I never really liked school because my mom was really cool and I wanted to stay home and play with her. With the exception of a few teachers, I excelled highly at school. However, I think it had more to do with my home environment. I loved my family and my home. It was a warm and welcoming place. Many friends loved to hang there too, so I know it was not just me. I suppose I wanted that for my girls too, and I should be happy they want to be with me and at home. However, it is hard to relive some of the past anxieties of my life 30 years ago.
So as I continue to grow and learn as a mother, I believe that acceptance is the first step to changing my perception. I love where my children learn and grow each day, but I have to admit I do miss them. Again that is my identifying myself as their mom and not as Michelle. Hopefully I can work on this during 2012.
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