January Wrap Up

It is the end of January, and I wanted to touch on my goals for 2013.  I had 3 goals for the year, and the results for January are below:

Goal #1: Read all seven Harry Potter books on my new Nexus 7 tablet.
Currently I am on book #3.  I am enjoying my new tablet, and have embraced the new idea of reading digitally rather than paperback.

Goal #2: Reclaim my body - mentally, physically, and emotionally.
The truth is: I am having difficulty focusing on myself this month.  We have been though quite a bit of upheaval this month, and food is something I find comfort in.  I know, I know, but I am being truthful here.

Goal #3: Give more.
I gave $100 to the Ronald McDonald House Charity earlier in the month.  Last week I gave a few hours to a teenager who needed to talk and share.  She is the daughter of a friend of mine, and I sincerely hope the time I gave her was beneficial.  I know that I learned a lot from just listening, which is definitely part of this goal.

How have you been doing with your 2013 goals?

Did You Notice?

...or No More Sock Monkey Mama

I decided yesterday that I personally needed a reboot.  What exactly does that mean?  Well, as my readers know we left our church at the end of last year and now our magical school is closing its doors (it is now official).

Still Life With Autumn Fruits
Jullian Merrow-Smith

Home Life

Our Zoebug is still in therapy for her anxieties and worries.  Over the weekend Jim and I shared the news of the school closing with our girls and Zoe sighed and said, "okay, where are we going then?"  She was very excited to hear the idea of an adventure (thank you Dana!!!), and I said that I was really proud of her reaction.  She said, "It is therapy, Mom, I really think it is because of therapy!"

Little Evabug is still my sweetpea.  She is quite upset with the move to a new school, but we have started to attend the church next to the school and many of her Kindergarten friends attend there.  So, she was reassured we wouldn't lose touch with her important friends.

Financially I am planning on getting us out of all credit card debt this year.  The plan is to only have a car payment and house payment.  Therefore, I want to get rid of the home equity payment as well.  This can be accomplished a bit easier without a tuition for private education.

Yes, we are seriously considering going the route of public school.  There will never be a place as magical as Dearborn Christian, but the truth is that is okay.  

We have had our home cleaned once, last Monday in fact.  It looked amazing, and I know that this change will make a huge difference in how I view our home and those in it.  What a stress relief!

Faith and Love
Lisa LifeUnity

Faith Life

As I mentioned above, we are attending a new church that our Ladybugs absolutely love.  I am at the point in my faith journey that I want to worship at a place with dynamic people who nurture my spirit and challenge me to think differently.  It has also been very comforting we can simply worship and fellowship and not be approached again and again to do something or to hear the latest tale about the pastor or a difficult member. Jim and I were invited to attend a small group that meets on the 1st Friday of the month.  We are going to attend, because it felt like the right decision to make.  There is no homework in this group, and I really like some of the group members already, so that really makes it sound fabulous.

The Piano Teacher
Wet Cavas

Work Life

My last blog described my plans for the future.  If all works out well, I will not be teaching private lessons this summer (June thru August), and take the time to enrich the Ladybugs' vacation.  We are members at Greenfield Village, Cranbrook and the Detroit Zoo.  So many things to see and learn, we won't be bored.  I also plan on condensing my student load - the hope is to keep those students who want to learn and practice and let go those who are not truly interested in learning.

I will also be open to other music opportunities, as I have many abilities and skills to do a variety of work.  

Garden Celebration
Suzeee

Blog Life

I have decided to make my blog writing a bit more cohesive  and I have also been referring to myself as MamaBug, a take on the Ladybug idea I started years ago.  Therefore I spent a little time creating a new header for the blog and making a few changes to my social networking connections.  This will afford me the ability to streamline my writing and communications with my readers.  

So here's to a reboot.  The year of the short bangs.  The year our family takes an adventure in education.  The year we take a trip outside of Michigan/Ohio (maybe).  The year we get out of debt.  The year we move into the next family chapter.  Hello MamaBug!

Embracing a Snow Day

or Thank God I Have Another Day Off From Work

SNOW DAY!

Today is a snow day for us, and I must say I could not be more thrilled.  I have been in a fog this weekend because of the news I was told on Friday.  I didn't even do lesson plans yesterday, like I usually do on a Sunday.  However, I planned on cramming the planning into this mornings activities.  Thankfully I didn't have to cram them into the morning, as I have the DAY OFF OF SCHOOL!!!

In my last blog spoke about the impact the Ladybugs will experience with their school closing.  However, I failed to mention how I feel about losing my job with the school and being told second hand rather that first hand of the closing.

Yes, the truth is I haven't been officially told of the closing yet.  And I am a staff member.  I really do feel this makes things even less "real".  The finality of our magical school could still be a roomer, right?  Yeah, I know it is not, but there is still this voice that says, "what if?"  I am also rather hurt that I have not been informed the correct way.  Hearing information second hand is really crummy.  REALLY CRUMMY!

The truth is, I am only teaching music at the Ladybugs' school for them.  Since they have been born, my work has been for their gain.  I am sad that my time teaching at the school will be over, but I can say that I'm not really all that sad.  I am paid less than half what I get paid per hour to teach private lessons, and I am only paid for 8 hours of work each week.  Teachers will tell you that for every classroom hour taught at least one hour is preparing at home.  So I am getting paid even less than half if you figure that in.  So, no, I'm not sad about losing my job at the school.

Where Will I Go From Here?
I am planning to continue teaching private lessons in the fall, but I am definitely going to pair down my schedule a bit.  That means only offering lessons to those who want/deserve them.  And to those students and families who I enjoy teaching.  My time is money, and I am not going to keep students who don't practice or care to practice. I am also not going to keep students who have parents who do not respect my time and profession.  If the Ladybugs are not going to attend a private school (nothing is set at this point), I have plenty of reasons to lessen the burden of teaching through the week.

Making Plans for the Ladybugs
So far our Plan A is to attend the school of choice in our district.  I have filled out the paperwork and on Friday I received confirmation that our information was in the system.  However, we have to wait until the end of May to find out the outcome.  We currently do not have a Plan B.  Many of the families are either going to home school in the fall or send their children to another private school.  However, that school is not an option for us, since we are not Lutheran and the doctrine of the church is one we'd prefer to not have our children learn.  Plus the church runs the school, and that is a big NO for us as well.

I still have connections in our public school system, as does my mother.  Our next step is to research our neighborhood elementary school further.  The internet does not view them favorably, but that does not mean it is true information.  We are going to determine whether the school is as poor as we assume.  We are not thrilled with the adjoining middle school nor the high school the school feeds into.  However, that can be determined at a different point.  Who is to say we will be living in the home in 3 years when Zoe would be entering middle school.  So lets just plan for next year.

The hardest part for me is the waiting...the unknown.  But for now I will do my best to continue to teach and research schools.  For that is all I have control over.

The End of a Chapter

or Where Are the Ladybugs Going to Attend School in the Fall?

A Sad Day
I have been keeping something a secret for some time now, but the balloon in my head needs to be shared.  I have begun a blog post a million times, it seems, and yet I just couldn't push "publish" after spending time writing.  The truth is: The Ladybugs will not be able to attend their current school in the fall.  Why is that?  Because the school is closing at the end of the school year.  I got confirmation today, but I have instinctively known this for quite some time.

In order to keep the school running smoothly, there needed to be approximately 75 children attending.  This year the enrollment begun at 42, and starting Monday we will be in the mid 30s.  Why?  Many different reasons.  The biggest reason that I could see is that people lost hope in the school.  Last summer a couple of families decided to pull their children and send them to another private school in the area.  When these families left the school, others joined them.  I find it interesting how quickly the sheep follow others.  But they did.

We did not leave the school, because I believed in what the school had to offer.  It is and has always been a magical place for me and my family.  I love the school, but know that this is the proper course of action.  It is heartbreaking because it comes in the aftermath of leaving our church less than a month ago.

Now What?
This leaves me and my husband, Jim, the hard decision of where the Ladybugs will attend in the fall.  Our public school system leaves a lot to be desired.  However, last week I put in the paperwork for a school of choice in the district.  We are not thrilled with our neighborhood choice, and we really hope that the school we've selected has room.  I sent a letter describing our reasons to request the school of choice.  Hopefully our desire for after school care, and an ease of transition for our anxious Zoe will be enough.  Of course I realize it is all in His hands.

I suppose we have to establish what is Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, etc.  I would put self-homeschooling at the bottom of the "plan list".  I love my Zoe, but we are like oil and water.  I do very little homework activities with her, because she constantly gets annoyed with me.  However, I would be open to having a professional teacher provide "home-schooling" for the Ladybugs in the fall.

The real issue is that we do not want our children attending a private school that is affiliated with a church.  We have been blessed to be at a Christian school that is not affiliated with a church, but is parent sponsored and run.  The other non-denominational schools in the area are basically twice the tuition as we are currently paying.  That is a lot of piano/voice lessons I would have to do.  I'm not entirely certain what will happen to my business either.

2013: The Year of the Short Bangs

I have been trying to focus my thought bubbles on more amusing topics.  It has not been very easy.  However, yesterday I got very short bangs, and I have decided that 2013 will be the year of the short bangs.  And for THIS change, I am all ready!

The Knights of Bedford Street

My Grandpa Brown is turning 90 next week. My father (and his siblings) decided that because my Grandpa had pretty much everything, a book with letters from his friends and family would be a perfect gift.

I decided to write a short essay about a game my cousin and sister used to play in my Grandparent's basement. Here is the finished version submitted to the book.

The Knights of Bedford Street

In the Medieval dungeons of Bedford Street, Sir Kelly the Kind, Sir Matt the Militant, and Sir Michelle the Musical are once again on the search for an elusive dragon.  After years of battling these flying beasts, the three knights continue on the quest to rid the villagers of the disastrous foes. 

Their first stop is the Table of Colorful Orbs.  These powerful orbs foretell the color to which the enemy will appear.  Sir Matt is first to roll the one called Black as Night.  The ebony colored orb immediately eliminates four options.  Sir Kelly is next to roll the Black as Night orb.  Five more orbs meet their fate in the dark pits of the table.  Sir Michelle is last to roll the Black as Night orb.  After completing her turn, the three knights breathlessly look at the solid orange orb left on the Table of Colorful Orbs.  They look at each other, knowingly, and proceed to find additional knowledge in the Star Gazer. 

The three knights approach the Star Gazer and ask it to show where the evil dragon will be hiding.  Quickly the Star Gazer indicates the dragon with orange scales will be found in the celestial being of Taurus the Bull.  The three knights look at each other and begin to fear that this dragon will be the worst foe they have ever fought. 

But like any good knight, Sir Matt, Sir Kelly, and Sir Michelle forge ahead to the den of the orange scaled dragon under the celestial being of Taurus the Bull. 

The fire-laden pits of the enemy are no match for the bravery of the three nights.  Each approaches the quest as their last.  And it may have been, had it not been for the Wizard of Imagination calling the three knights to dinner.

Grandpa,

Thank you for your imaginative and adventurous character.  You definitely were a huge influence on the fantasies of my childhood and even still today as an adult.  I have always admired your ability to write not one, but two autobiographies.  Your true stories encouraged me to write my own (true and fictional), and your Lion Hunts remain to be unmatched in my heart and mind.  You no longer live on Bedford, and the dungeon has been replaced by a jungle, however, your creativity lives on.  Today the knights are jungle explorers, my daughter’s Zoe and Eva, but your magic lives on.

Happy 90^th Birthday you Wizard of Imagination!

Making Order of Chaos

or How I Must Organize and Purge Before the Cleaning Person Begins

who looks this stinkin' happy to be cleaning?

Next Monday I have a cleaning person coming to my home, and I know this will be the start of a wonderful relationship.  However, the cleaning company does not do "maid" work (i.e. make beds, wash dishes, pick up stuff, etc.), so I have decided to spend time reorganizing and purging items in my home.  My hope is that less stuff will equal a better opportunity for the cleaning person to clean.

I never do anything halfway.  Never.  If I'm going to change the way things are around my home, you better bet the change will be noticeable.  And not just to me.

I have started to wonder how many other people clean before the cleaning person comes to clean.  I know I cannot be the only one.  And I found a couple of other bloggers who feel the same way:

Kelli Traber Talks

Money Minded Moms

So the question is: why have a cleaning service in the first place?  I, myself, feel there is a distinction between organizing, straitening up stuff, putting things away, and cleaning.  One is tiding up, the other is cleaning.  One does not need the use of water or soap or sponges, and the other clearly does.

So I will continue reorganizing and preparing my house for the cleaning person to come next Monday.  Why?  Because like many others I want my house to sparkle.

A Ticket to the Twilight Zone

For Christmas, Santa Claus brought the family a Blu-ray player.  Our old DVD/Video cassette player died roughly 6 years ago, and even though we never removed it from the entertainment center (I know, pretty sad, right?) we used Jim's Xbox to play DVDs.  However, we both felt that a new system would be a smart choice.  Santa's gift was exactly what we wanted.  We also decided to purchase Netflix as an added "cherry on the top".

I must say that Netflix is quite fun for us.  The Ladybugs have enjoyed watching old episodes of Jem, new episodes of My Little Pony, and current episodes of Curious George and Martha Speaks.  Jim and I have enjoyed watching episodes of Breaking Bad and The Twilight Zone.

Jim and I have always enjoyed watching TV marathons of The Twilight Zone, and often tape a few during the run.  However, we have been watching the episodes in order, and we have noticed a running theme: age of characters.  Then men are always 36 and the women are always 27.

Neither Jim nor I fit TTZ (The Twilight Zone) profile, so we are very lucky to know we won't be pulled into an odd world where time is infinity.

On a more serious note - one has to wonder why 36 and 27.  Where those ages that Rod Sterling felt could connect to the average age of the viewing public?  It seems another writer also wondered about this: Click Here.

However, for those of you male reader who are not yet 36, and those female readers who are not yet 27, beware!

A Stay-At Home Mom No More

or My Epiphany this Holiday Season

A little over eight years ago, I sold my music business in Plymouth, MI and began preparing for Motherhood.  My husband and I decided that the best thing would be for me to stay home full-time and teach private piano/voice lessons on the side.

As the years passed, I added more students to my part-time teaching schedule and fell into a routine of full-time Mommy to Zoe and Eva.  There were times I looked at what my working-outside-the-home friends and wondered how they were able to get everything done.  I prided myself on the ability to juggle it all.

and then a ball dropped...

Insight Slaps Me On the Face
Okay, yes, I realize that a literal ball dropped in New York (and Detroit) on New Year's Eve, but I am completely being figurative here.

I decided to spend some time over the Christmas break cleaning out closets, organizing and deep cleaning the house.  I have completely let the floors go to pot, and the bathroom, don't even ask.  However, after 11 hours of working on my home last Friday, I realized I was nowhere near to being done and something needed to change.

I know some moms from school who clean on the side.  However, I did not want to have someone I know come to my home and see my filth.  I realize it is a job for a cleaning person, but I still felt uncomfortable knowing the cleaner outside of the service relationship.  So I searched online for different companies.  My Grandpa has a person, but after giving her my information over two months ago and not receiving a call I figured I'd look elsewhere.

I searched for MollyMaids, but they don't service this area.  Then I got frustrated and did a Google search for cleaning companies in my city.  A list of possibilities were returned.  One was for HomePride Cleaning, so I filled out an online form.

I got a call on Wednesday from a mom friend at school.  This cleaning company is HER company.  I had no clue.  Honest.  I didn't know she had a cleaning company, and she's had it for 11 years.  I know...the irony behind this is rich.  However, she will not be cleaning my home, as one of her staff (or two) will be cleaning my home every other week.

The first appointment is on Monday the 21st, and I super hopeful and excited to be relieved of this task (or tasks).

I Am Not A SAHM
Yesterday morning I realized that the reason I cannot get all the household stuff done is because I am no longer a stay at home mom (SAHM).  If I consider myself one, I am completely setting myself up for failure, and thus becoming depressed over my inability to "do it all".

I am still trying to find a healthy balance between work/health/home/etc.  And I truly hope 2013 brings the balance and future incite I so desperately need.

ABC's of ME

I follow Play Dr Mom's blog, and she does a weekly questionnaire with her blog community.  I thought a fun way to start 2013 would be to do the ABC's of me!  So here you go!

Age	37 (not for long)
Beverage of Choice	triple venti soy latte
something you’d like to Change in your Life	definitely my weight
favorite Diversion	reading children's/teen lit
Essential start of the day	cup of coffee
Favorite Color	indigo
Favorite Game	currently in love with Where's My Water
Height	5 feet 6 inches
favorite Ice Cream flavor	coffee or coffee with chocolate
Beloved piece of Jewelry	my engagement/wedding ring
Kids (names & ages)	Zoe (7.5) and Eva (Evie 5.5)
Where do you Live	Michigan
Favorite Movie(s)	so many...Amelie, Gone with the Wind, North By Northwest, White Christmas...
Nickname	Shell
Occupation	mommy & music teacher
a weird thing in your Purse/bag	face wipes/butt wipes (what can I say, my kids like to be clean)
favorite Quote	"You can never go down the drain" - Mister Rogers
Right or left-handed	right
Siblings	one younger sister, Kelly
Time it takes to get ready	Depends - 10 to 30 minutes
Unusual Fact	An ancestor on my mother's side was on the Mayflower
Best Vacation	Before kids: Kentucky with Jim 2002/ After kids: Great Wolf Lodge 2012
What makes you late	I am very rarely late
Xrays you’ve had	chest, knee, and various others throughout life
Yummy food that you make	Evie and Zoe say, "grilled cheese!"  I personally think one of my crock-pot creations.
favorite Zoo animal	giraffe