This SOL challenge has really flown by.  Hard to believe that I wrote 31 blogs.  Can’t say that I can remember all of them without going through and reviewing them.

One of the things that I enjoy most about this challenge is reading the blogs of my coworkers.  Some coworkers I see daily and know about their lives and family.  But what I get from reading their blogs is an inside look at their family, thoughts, and daily going-ons.  It’s like a whole new look into their life.

I also have coworkers I do not to get to see or talk with often because of different lunch schedules and “living” on different floors at school.  Their blogs really give me a closer look at their lives and family and I feel like I got to know them a little better.

I also like that when I not only have read my coworkers blog but other blogs out there it is nice to know that there are other people out there like me.

People who have special times with their kiddos.

People who play silly games when they are at McDonald’s.

People who have rough days and feel less than a great teacher or great parent.

People who have to share their little ones with their other parent

People who enjoy the little things in life with their kids like I do.

It’s also a great way to really reflect on your day and how many things actually happen and things that you enjoyed about your day that you might forget or not truly enjoy otherwise.

Until next year…

 

As we get older and have families and responsibilities and jobs and move farther away it is hard to make plans with friends.

I am lucky to still have 6 very close friends from high school and college.  It is very hard to get together now that we are older. What is funny is that if we try to make plans too far in advance something happens and someone can’t make it or a child gets the flu. But I’ve come to realize that if it’s s last minute plan things seem to come together much easier.

About two weeks ago I was thinking about my spring break and how it was going to end with Reese being out of town with her dad and how it would encompass a special anniversary for me and John. So I thought maybe we can get away for a night.

Somewhere close but fun.

Thinking about what we like to do I found that we could go to Four Winds Casino and get a room for a really good price.  We could stay the night, hit some breweries on the way and gamble a bit.  Even though it was less than two weeks away I expanded the invite to my close girlfriends who are local not expecting anyone to be able to make it work. Surprisingly two of the couples were totally free. That never happens. Awesome!

So last night with very little notice for working families with kids in lots of extra curricular activities three couples who rarely get to see each other got to eat, drink, gamble and catch up just like that.  It was a great way to end my spring break and made me realize that sometimes future plans just don’t work; sometimes it’s the last minute ideas that work out best!

Maybe it was because she is turning 7 in 10 days.

Maybe it was  because I have been spring cleaning her room and finding toddler toys and clothes that somehow made it this far.

But this week I have been thinking a lot about how old she is getting and missing some of the things that came with her being a littler girl.

The sweet sayings are gone because now she knows how to pronounce them the right way.

She fixes her own hair and only once in awhile do I get to do that.

She gets herself ready for bed (although I still get snuggle time with her :))

She doesn’t need help with things she used to need help with.

Her toys are becoming bigger kid toys.

I was feeling sad about the time and things that are gone.

But then last night as she was reading her book for homework I started realizing there are so many more great things that she is doing now that I couldn’t enjoy before that I could now.

Now she has read since kindergarten but just last night I noticed how great she is doing.  How she is using her strategies to figure out words she doesn’t know.  How if she says a word wrong she realizes it and goes back and fixes it.  How she is reading with expression.  How she is reading harder books than I thought she could.

And this morning as I drove her to school I loved hearing her read her library book to me.

Something that I wasn’t able to enjoy when she was little because she didn’t know how.  Made me start feeling excited about all the things to come and not so sad about the things that are gone.

While doing the Slice of Life challenge I find myself more aware of things that are happening in my day and am always looking for things to blog about.  Today while out doing lots of errands and shopping I had lots of observations and thoughts.  None of them by themselves really made up an entire blog so I decided to turn all of them into the blog.

My thoughts during shopping today..

It is nice being able to use a regular sized cart instead of the usual “limo cart” I use at Target when shopping with Reese.

I think it may be the first time I left Target with a bill less than $20!  I guess that’s what happens when your errand list is long and you are actually focused on it!

I love Kohl’s and Target return policies where you do not need your receipt you just need to bring in your credit card.  I am notorious for losing receipts so this is so helpful plus I don’t need to try anything on, I can do it at my own leisure at home.  Comes in handy when shopping with my little partner Reese.

To me the mom at Target shopping with 3 kids under 5 is a Rock Star!  I used to get anxiety just thinking about taking Reese out by myself at that age!

Even though I know I did not steal anything, I always walk so carefully, holding my breath through the metal detectors when I leave a store.

It was rough being a short person today.  3 times in the grocery store I couldn’t reach what I needed because it was too high or too far back on the shelf.  One time I did a climbing act on the shelves, one time someone helped me and the other just stayed on the shelf because I could not get it and no one was around to help..  Was something I really didn’t need anyways..  I took that as a sign.

I should really try using Walmart pick up like a bunch of my friends do and have raved about it- no height problems with that.

The self check out lanes and I have a love hate relationship.. I love that I can do it myself BUT I hate the “Please place items on belt”  “I did it is a card, it does not weigh that much” “Calling for assistance” AND “Item removed from belt; please place item back on belt”  “I did not remove anything” “Calling for assistance”- and yes I do talk to these machines!!

I miss my little shopping partner..  she always helps me remember where we park.

It’s crazy how many thoughts you realize you have when you are really paying attention to them.  I just hope I wasn’t saying these thoughts out loud..

 

 

Since I am not going anywhere over break and Reese is still in school this week I have had a chance to have some down time and have been able to read more than usual.  I have several books that are on deck to be read and my aunt, sister and I are always passing along books and recommending books so I am never without reading material.

Yesterday as I cracked open my (what I hoped was) new book, I, like always, had to laugh at myself as I remember what I used to think was funny (and is even more funny now that I am laughing at myself).

A few years ago my aunt, sister and I were together at a family party and swapping books and my aunt made a, what I found to be very funny, comment about how she sometimes starts reading a book and it is not until she is half way through that she realizes that she already read the book.  Now I know sometimes people reread the same book that they love over and over but this was not the case.  She really thought she was reading a brand new book!

My sister then chimed in that that had happened to her as well.

Now I just found this unbelievable.  How can you not remember you read a book, especially once you are pretty deep into it!  I know they read much more than I do but come on.

Needless to say from that day on every time I shared a book I would tease them about their poor memory about the books they read.

That is until it happened to me..

Now my defense (weak as it is, it is still my defense) is that I look at books all the time when I pass them at Target or wherever I may be shopping.  I find myself drawn to the same titles and know a lot of titles and what they are basically about  although I have never read a lot of them.  And then vice versa..  I know about a lot of books but sometimes can’t remember if I read the book and that’s why I know about it or if I just read the back of the book 10 times at Target and that’s why it sounds familiar.  And throw in a popular author that I like then it makes things even trickier.

I think what even made it worse was that my friend had the book that she originally got from me.  When I showed interest in it she told me that I already read it and gave it to her.  I disagreed and she kept insisting.  She said we even talked about it and how we didn’t like the ending  So I decided that I must have given it to her without reading it and she must have mistaken our chat with someone else.  Certainly I would remember.

So I read and I read and I read and then all of a sudden things started to sound familiar and like a light switch the whole story came back to me and I had done what I teased others for doing.

So from now on I make no mention of reading forgetfulness to anyone and I reread the back of books and even flip through pages to make sure I have not read it first, especially when I buy a new book.

Ever since we got divorced, Reese’s dad and I have had to share holidays.  We have an official legal court document that outlines our parenting times and days which includes how we split up the holiday time.  Fortunately we always make Reese the first priority and for the past two years that document has been gathering dust because we never have to look at it.

We talk through our individual family plans and make decisions based on what would be best/more fun for Reese.  This Easter I have no idea who is supposed to get her.  All I know is that my two sisters will be out of town (which means no Easter family plans with me) with their families and my ex wants to take her up to Northern Michigan to see his family and take her for a final ski trip of the season, as well as to celebrate her birthday which is the following week.

No brainer..  absolutely she is going with him.  Yes I will miss the official day of Easter with her but what does it matter- we are not very religious so church and things like that don’t really play into our annual plans- I can celebrate with her earlier and that is exactly what we are going to do.

So we are coloring eggs tonight and I am going to do my best to get a hold of the bunny to see if he can visit a little early (like Santa did when he visited her dad’s house early).  And I have a real good feeling that he might stop by while she is at dance class tomorrow night!

On Valentine’s Day I gave Reese a small gift bag with some goodies in it.  One of the goodies was an emoji nightgown because she is a fan of the emoji faces.   Sometimes the pajamas come with a smaller nightgown for the baby dolls but this one came with a sleep mask.  Nothing fancy just that pretend silky girls pajama material.  I noticed it and figured that was fine, she could use that with her baby dolls or if she didn’t want it we didn’t have to keep it- it wasn’t much money.

She liked the nightgown right away but when I pointed out that there was a sleep mask, she was thrilled!

“Mommy, you knew that I always wanted one? Zoey and Audrey (her cousins) have one and I have been waiting so long for you to get one for me!”

I had no clue but that sometimes happens.  She doesn’t really want something she just thinks she does or wants it because her cousins or friends have it.  And this wasn’t even a toy- it was a sleep mask :).

But of course I told her how happy I was that she finally got it and I can’t wait to see her sleeping in it.

And the first night she did use it.  I put her into bed and kissed her goodnight and there she went covering her eyes.  And in the morning when I woke her up there they were still covering her eyes.

She liked it! Great, but I still thought it would end up at the bottom of the toy box or under the bed.  It didn’t matter either way.

But then the next night came and she wore it and the next and the next and she still continued to wear it.  A month later and most nights she still wears it.  She looks so sweet.

I guess that she really did want it!

And this weekend, while out shopping in a unique little shop, John and I saw this cute little, pink and white soft sleep mask with a cute little bag to store it in and we just had to get it for our little sleeping beauty.  Looking forward to seeing her go to sleep in her new more comfy mask.  Hopefully it will still be something she has wanted for so long!

20 years ago one of my best friends was the first of us to get married. (If you’re doing the math-my friend was very young when she got married-I’m still young 😉).

Invites went out and she started her planning. One day I get a call and she asks me “Are you still planning to come to the wedding?”

“Umm yes, I’m the maid of honor.  What’s going on?”

”Well invites went out 2 weeks ago and I haven’t gotten your response yet.”

”Oh, well I know you know I’m coming with my boyfriend so I figured I’d send it in whenever”

”That is not the point” she snaps back (she’s kind of a B but we’ve been friends forever and that’s just her and we love her just the same 🙂). “We are getting so many things together and other people are helping and it is just more helpful if we have the responses back for the official count.  If you know you’re coming or not it is just so polite to get that response back right away!”

Message received. Response went into the mail ASAP.

Fast forward 7 years to my wedding and I totally got what she meant.  Why wait if you know your answer.  The stamp and envelope are all set for you. Just mark the paper and throw it in the mail.  Once you know send it in.

Ever since then when I got a wedding invite I sent it back in right as soon as I knew my response.

My wedding/baby shower/wedding shower invite days have slowed so I have tended to slack off when I do get the occasional invite. Or Reese gets the birthday party invite .  I do RSVP but sometimes it’s last minute.

Just this past week I was reminded how important this can be to the party host.  Especially when that party host is a six year old girl.

Invites went out last week for her 7th birthday party.  She wanted to invite her whole class so we did. 22 invites. So far I’ve heard back from 6.  It’s killing me!

It’s not the money per kid- I have until 24 hours before the party to update the total number of kids and a “2 kid no show” credit they’ll give.

It’s not that it’s past the RSVP date- that’s still 2 weeks away.

Also I know that in a few cases families are still figuring things out their schedules so I understand that.

And I know that I’ll hear back eventually and many friends will be there.

What’s killing me is that sweet 6 year old face asking me everyday about whose mommy and daddy called me and said if they could come to her party.  It kills me when I have to tell her “not today honey” and her smile turns into sadness.

My lesson has been relearned.

If you know your response RSVP right as soon as you know to that bride to be, to that mommy to be.

And especially to that little 6 year old kiddo excited to know who will be celebrating the big 7 with her.

 

 

 

One thing I love about Fridays at school, beside it leading into the weekend, is because one of the kids is the “super hero of the week”.  This means that they have filled out an all about me poster and if they wish, have brought in a book to have me read and an item to share for show and tell.  They will present their poster and the class and I will interview them. Afterwards I’ll take their picture by their poster wearing their super hero cape to display on our bulletin board with their super hero mask.  The kids will each decorate a page for the “super hero” and I will put them into a book for them as a memory of their day in kindergarten.

I love this for many reasons.

I get an even closer look into my student’s lives outside of school.

it gets everyone a chance to shine and be the kid everyone wants to talk to and share with that day.

It gives the kids an opportunity to find common connections with other kids in the class

The kids love it.

It goes along with a teaching standard in speaking and listening.

But my MOST favorite part of this is the question and answer part (the interview) with the kids.

May first they don’t really understand what to ask so I model a bunch and basically it ends up being about their favorite “something or another” which is perfect for this age group.

Most questions are usually things like…

”what is your favorite candy” or

”what is your favorite sport”

But we do get some interesting ones…

”what is your favorite thunder?”

“favorite star in the sky?”

“favorite flag?”

“favorite pants?”

“favorite sight word?”

”favorite chair?”

most of the time the kids don’t know how to answer those odd questions (can’t blame them) so they just answer with things like “these pants” or “bright stars” or  “that flag (pointing to the US flag) or “my chair at school”, all the while most kids are waiting on pins and needles to find out these answers.  Oohing and aahing and agreeing with them.  So funny and cute.

Over the years I have had a few kids who are a bit more “with it” and when asked these type of questions look at me like “my favorite type of thunder? How do I answer that?”

I think last years class was the best at these unique questions.  This year, not as much.  The most unique question we got at today’s “super hero interview” and basically all year, was  “What’s your favorite butterfly”

His favorite is the rainbow one-in case you were wondering 🦋

 

 

 

 

I am not a coffee drinker (except an occasional iced coffee) but definitely need the caffeine.  So my go-to is diet pop.  Especially a diet Coke from McDonald’s.  So usually I treat myself on Friday’s before work but sometimes (like lately) it might be a few more times in a week.

This morning was a non-Friday morning when I decided that a McD’s diet Coke would be a good start to my day.

Now I usually do not have a lot of time in the morning so if the drive thru line is long I have to make my “do I park and go inside or do I take a chance that the drive thru will move quickly”.  A few extra minutes can make a difference so I have to choose wisely..

Since I love games, every time  I do make the go inside decision I make it a game to see if I made the right choice.  I look far back into the drive thru at the car I would be behind and then the game is on.. (Lori vs. the drive thru line).  Will I come out before that car is through the drive thru or will going inside be a big mistake (I know I’m a big dork!)

So today’s decision was a “go inside” decision.

As I pulled past the drive thru I peeked at the last car in line and headed to my spot.  As I decided to park the drive thru line started cruising along so I got nervous ( I know how silly) so I hurried inside and luckily the line wasn’t too bad so I got my cup and filled it up with my diet Coke and headed out to a moving drive thru line.  I peeked at the cars and what do you know…

Like usual, like everytime… I forgot what car I would have been behind, they are always similar looking or my mind goes blank, and I’m such a true game player that if I am not 100% sure what car it was and therefore cannot be sure if it is still there or  already gone I cannot give the true win to myself or the drive thru..

so basically once again I find myself playing a game that I never know if I win or not.

So what’s the point?  Not really sure..

But I think that now I am challenging my memory..

So here’s to luck tomorrow (Friday) that I remember that silly car I would be behind if I make the “go inside” choice.

Boy do I need to get a life…

 

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