I know I may feel differently next week when we are back at school but today I am actually happy for the rain.

Of course I know it is good for the flowers and the trees and for our brownish green grass in our yard but I am most happy because it gives me an excuse to have an inside day.

I have been loving the awesome weather this week and Reese and I have had our share of time outside and more but I am the type of gal that likes some inside time as well.  I know there is nothing wrong with that but I also feel guilty when we spend time inside instead of outside in the great weather.

So when I saw today’s forecast was for rain I secretly hoped it would happen during the day.  And when it just started pouring a few minutes ago I felt less guilty about Reese and I camping out inside today.  And I will feel no guilt the rest of the day while we hang out enjoying fun things together inside.

Getting to spend this Spring Break at home with my daughter Reese has been a JOY so far.  We have had so much more time to talk and have fun and I got to hear a bunch of her “sayings” that I just adore.  Those incorrect words or phrases that you don’t dare correct them on because they are just too sweet and because you know they will eventually be corrected on their own without warning.

Here are a few that I am enjoying now..

“Spin my round”- Spin me around

“I want to talk you something”- instead of tell you something

“Piece of your water”- instead of a drink of water

“opitus”- octopus

“Mommy, talk to my ear”- when she wants me to tell her something in secret

“I have a dea.”- instead of an idea

“Mommy, it’s just tend”- instead of pretend

“white tomatoes”- which are potatoes

Glad the week has just begun…

 

 

I am somewhat of a grammar/spelling snob- After all I did win the third grade spelling bee in my school.  Winning word- gentlemen- still remember to this day!!

No judging as I am sure most of my posts have had errors- some because of the time crunch of getting it in on time and some because I’m pretty good at grammar but by no means an expert.

I know when and how  to use their, they’re, and there; to, two and too.  I’m pretty sure I use a colon and semi colon correctly.  All that good stuff- that “above average grammar people” know.

I get asked to proofread things for my friends and family.

I get irritated when people constantly make the same easy  grammatical  errors; but get amused when they do and are trying to sound high and mighty- nope you now just sound like a fool.

I once dropped a college course because the professor had so many grammatical errors in his syllabus.  To be a bit fair it was 3 more credit hours than I was used to taking that semester so the thought of dropping it already occurred to me BUT it was the ridiclous errors-they were ALL OVER-spelling, grammar, everything.

Anywho the grammar snob in me was quite embarrassed the other day when after ALL these years I realized a mistake I had been making with the words your and you’re!

I totally understand both.  Your is possessive and you’re is a contraction meaning you are.

I use them correctly all the time (at least I think I do) EXCEPT for (which I just realized) when I was spelling the phrase “you’re welcome”.  Until very recently I was writing “your welcome” until someone pointed out to me that it is actually “you’re welcome” as in “you are welcome”, not “your welcome” like the welcome belongs to you.

Definitely knocked me back of few pegs on the grammar snob ladder!!

Apologies to all those grammar errors I have laughed at in the past 🙂

I, like most teachers (well at least I hope I am with the majority), have a problem turning my “teacher” role off when it comes to kids in public.  I know it embarrasses my husband but I only do it when it is affecting me or especially my daughter.  Sometimes it just comes out and I feel bad that it does, or feel that it was not my place.

Lately I have been good and biting my tongue especially if their parents are around but it makes me nuts when kids are mean, disrespectful or rude to others and their parents don’t care.  In my school and especially in my classroom it is my job to correct these behaviors and to teach better ones in its place, so it is so hard for me not to do it in public.  I also think it is necessary for kids to work things out on their own, even my daughter.

Even if I am standing right there.

Even if I don’t agree with the way she is handling it- unless she is the one being rude, disrespectful or mean.

I try not to turn on my ‘teacher”.

However this weekend I actually turned the “teacher” way up and yelled at two girls from my neighborhood (one whose father was standing right there).

We have lived in our neighborhood for almost 3 years and these 2 girls are just not very nice girls.  They are usually not very nice to my daughter when she tries to play with them, or even just say hi to them at the park or in the neighborhood.  I’ve seen them be not nice to other girls too.

Sometimes Reese does not want anything to do with them and other times she tries to interact with them.  When they are being unfriendly I try to encourage her to play with nice kids and sometimes she listens and sometimes she does not and keeps trying to play with them.

On Saturday she kept on trying to play with them.  They finally called her a “cheater” for some reason and then she ran away from them.  Knowing I was watching- which BTW these are the kids that know they are naughty because they always have their eye on me when they interact with her to see if I am watching or not- they started yelling towards her “Sorry!  Sorry!”

Well I had enough and the “teacher” in me went OFF.  Right in front of the dad and I did NOT care.

I know these girls are only 5 and 6.  I know that Reese can be a little stinker too but this happens all the time and they are just looking to be mean to kids and I cannot stand that.  I don’t expect them to be her best friend but I do expect that when she comes up and says hi, that they don’t just ignore her and walk away for no reason.

After my yelling, the dad chimed in and yelled at the girls as well.

By the end of the time at the park the girls apologized and were playing and being nice to her and made sure they said goodbye.  My point got across- for that day.

I know that chances are they will most likely be the unfriendly girls next time we see them again and my “teacher” coming out probably won’t phase them and my daughter will still want to play with them but that was definitely a time I am glad my “teacher” came out.

Last night I went out with of my best girlfriends and witnessed an act of kindness; done by her.

While having dinner at a favorite local Mexican restaurant my friend spotted a couple that we went to high school with.  We both waved but she has kept in touch with them now and again so she went to say hello.  When she returned to the table I asked how they were and she said, “Not so good”.

Apparently the old friend’s sister, who had been battling cancer, received some bad news that her cancer had gotten worse and was inoperable and there was nothing else the doctors can do.  She was there with her other sisters and their husbands trying to figure out how they were going to help their dying sister fulfill her wish to go to Disney World, since she has never been.  It seemed to be a very sad situation.

We finished our dinner and went to pay.  My friend seemed very distracted by something and then finally asked, “Do you think it would be weird if I pay their tab for dinner?  I just thought they could then use that money to start saving up for their sister.  Also I wanted to do something nice for them during this hard time.”

I told her I thought that was such a kind and thoughtful gesture if she (being a single mom) could afford to do that (it was a table of six so it probably wouldn’t be a cheap bill).  She said that she would make it work and went ahead and paid the bill.  She sent a note along with the paid bill to the table after we left.  She didn’t want to be acknowledged.

Doing that made her night and she reminded me what a good feeling you get from doing kind things for people and to remember how lucky I was, as it could have been me there with my siblings discussing how to help out my sick sibling.

So proud to call her my friend.

Today when I was coloring Easter eggs with Reese it dawned on me that we did not go and see the Easter Bunny this year.  I mentioned it to her and asked her if she wanted to see him and she said no.

Then when we were at the beauty parlor getting Reese’s haircut the beautician asked her if she saw the Easter Bunny and she said no.  She still did not care so I felt fine about that but it had me thinking..

What happens when the kids see the Easter Bunny?  What do they talk about?

I know when they see Santa they talk about the presents they want and if they have been good or not and what kind of cookies he likes but what in the world do you talk to the Easter Bunny about?

Reese has seen the Bunny when she was a baby and that is just taking a picture.  And then when she was older and could talk she wanted to see him until we got up there and then she freaked out (I don’t blame her, those bunny heads are always creepy and odd and weird) so we got a quick picture and that was it.  Last year and this year she had no interest and I did not bring it up so I still don’t know.

But now as I am typing this I am thinking that that weird bunny probably does not talk so is it just a picture?  A $38 wallet size picture? Glad she wasn’t interested.

I don’t know if it is because I don’t have any big plans.

I don’t know if it is just because it falls within the Easter holiday.

I don’t know if it is because it is only Thursday.

I don’t know if it is because it was a LONG short week with the kids.

I don’t know if it is because this school year has FLOWN by and it feels like it can’t actually be here

I don’t know if it is because I just got back from a mini vacation last weekend.

I don’t know if it is because lately my mind and the time of year have not been on the same page (probably due to the odd weather I’m sure). Last weekend someone asked me what I was doing for Easter.  I answered them with an “I don’t know.??..” as if they were asking me what I was doing for the Fourth of July.

But it definitely does NOT feel like Spring Break.

 

 

Tonight while making dinner, my daughter Reese reminded me of all the funny lessons we learn as kids because we are stubborn and know more than mommy does.

She always wants to help in the kitchen especially when it is time to mix things up.  She loves to pour all the things in the bowl.  Sometimes I let her measure the things out and sometimes I do the measuring and she does the pouring depending on what it is.

Tonight we were making cauliflower pizza crust (which BTW is my new favorite) and just like her mommy, she likes to eat the ingredients while she cooks, especially the mozzarella cheese.  But tonight it wasn’t just the cheese that she wanted to try out.

The recipe also calls for flour.  So I scooped out the flour into the measuring cup and let her dump it into the bowl.  I started to measure out the next ingredient when I noticed her little hand go into the bag of flour.

“No Reesie, you don’t want that.  That is yucky!”

“No, it’s not mommy.  I like it!” as she tasted the tiniest little remnant off her finger.

“Okay, if you like it, go ahead!”  Knowing that it wouldn’t hurt her, I let her figure it out herself.

She scooped some flour into her little hand and right into her mouth.. AND

Well we know how yummy flour is…

I tried to get a picture of her while she was trying to spit the dry flour out of her mouth and into the garbage, wiping it with the wet paper towel I gave her, because I knew right then and there that this was going to be my Slice for the day.  BUT she knew it was embarrassing so she did not allow it; turning her head and getting her way.

Lesson learned for Reese; dinner time laugh for mommy!!

A few years ago my friend and teaching partner at one time introduced me to the saying” Time to put your big girl pants on”.  Maybe it is a well known saying but it was the first time I heard it.

We know that sometimes it is hard to put those big girl pants on.  We use it when things are hard but you have to step up and say how you feel or make a dig decision and deal with whatever may come from it, or when you need to stand up for yourself.

You have to go in and be a big girl about it.

Most of the times we use it jokingly, although sometimes we do use it when it involves something serious.

Over the years since I have been familiarized with the saying I have only used it with myself jokingly, or about something that was not that serious.  However all that has changed.

For awhile I have had a situation where I have needed to really “put on my big girl pants on”, but understandably like the saying implies, it is not always easy.  This particular situation is extremely difficult.  I always find a reason or excuse not to put them on.

Unfortunately it is time, my reasons are pretty much gone, and at this point so silly I don’t even “buy them” anymore.

It is time, I have no excuses.

It’s time.

I’m trying.  Right now I would say that the “pants” are out of the drawer and I have one leg in..

I am getting there but it is hard.

I am proud of myself for getting this far and I know that once I get there I will feel so much better .

One step at a time or should I say one leg at a time!

Over the weekend I spent some time in the airport and my usual airport wonderings and thoughts (not annoyances.. well maybe a few) once again popped up in my head.

Why in the ticket line does it take people so long?

Why in the security line does it seem like people are clueless what to do?  It can’t be everyone’s first time through security, can it?

Why do people in airports seem to forget you walk on the right side?

And if they do walk on the right side they always walk slowly weaving in and out so you cannot get past them?

Why is your gate number never a low one, but always the high one at the very end?

Or why if the gate number is a low one then that particular airports gate numbers go from high to low?

I wonder if my bag will ever be the first one out of the baggage claim chute.  I think that would be pretty sweet.

People in airport bars are always friendly- why shouldn’t they be, they are probably going on vacation.

Why does it take people so long to get seated in the plane.  Don’t they ever think about getting things out of their bag beforehand or at least having a plan of attack?

Isn’t people watching at the airport pretty good?

Definitely looking forward to my next trip to the airport