Friday, August 20, 2010

My Kids are Weirder than Your Kid

You read it right. My kids are weird. Straight up. Isaac has an unmatched imagination in our family. The proof: his new favorite game. It's called "The Umproidal Shrimp." This is not a complicated game. It consists of him running around chasing the other kids, while they run away shreiking, "Oh no! It's the Umproidal Shrimp!"

I have no idea what an Umproidal Shrimp is, or where in the world the child thought of one. My other kids don't find it strange at all. They even have little Rowan playing along.

This game can be added to their repetoire of other games which include: "Gaster Gastion" and "Rabies." Rabies is pretty self-explanatory. One has rabies and they chase the other one around. It goes like this:

Isaac: Hey, you guys wanna play Rabies?
Adam: Sure! Do you have rabies or do I have rabies?
Kalena (in a very grown-up, exasperated voice) : I have rabies, okay?
Rowan: You have rabies?
Kalena: You better run!
All the kids: Oh no!!!! (Squeal and shriek)

Gaster Gastion is a variation of the Umproidal Shrimp....but it requires that Isaac run around screaming "Gaster Gastion" during the chasing process.

So, like I said, my kids are weird.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Satisfaction

Can we ever get it? I mean, are we ever totally satisfied with what we do in life? I'm sitting here, in MY store, my own shop, wondering if this is as good as it can be. I'm critically evaluating every single product, the prices on them, the window display...why can't I just look around with satisfaction, and realize that my dream is coming true? Maybe it's the enormous amount of pressure I feel to make Pinwheel Kids successful. Not only is our future tied up in this, but my business partner has a lot invested in me as well. I feel like I HAVE to do everything I possibly can to make this store a success. And at the same time, I don't want to lose out on the joy. The joy I feel when I can help a new mom pick out the perfect baby carrier, or when a grandma comes in and finds a toy she just knows her grandson will love. Is there such a thing as a happy medium, a balance in life? And how in the heck can I find it?

I keep telling myself to be patient. Just let things run their natural course. If Pinwheel Kids is meant to be, and I just KNOW it is, then it will take off on its own. And things are already off to a great start! But I always wonder, could it be more? Could I be doing more? Should I be?

And in this equation, I have to add in the happiness of my family. I know how easy it is for me to become consumed, and I don't want to lose those precious moments with my kids because my focus is so much on the store. This is all uncharted territory for me, just like when I started teaching last year, and I guess I just don't know what exactly to expect. But even though my life is definitely 180 degrees different than what it was a year ago, I have to say that it's definitely in an exciting, good place. Just a little....okay, a LOT.....scary.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Dang

Yeah, so I guess I'm a big fat liar, and I can't keep up with my blog. Can you blame me? I am in the middle of opening a new store. Because I'm crazy.

My store is Pinwheel Kids, and it is going to be so rockin'. I just hope my four little monkeys make it through the next couple of weeks while we get up and running.

In kid-news, they are just getting big and smart, like all children do. But this morning the kids were all in the bathtub, and Kalena decided to entertain the others so she got a toy boat and said, "The Wizard is going to break through these icy bergs. Here it goes. Off to catch some crab." And she proceeded to bust through the bubbles as if they were really "icy bergs." Then she looked at me and said, "Mom, these bubbles really do look like icy bergs. Really."

This indicates two things to me:
#1 We have been watching way too much Deadliest Catch
AND
#2 These are such fleeting moments in our kids lives. I'm glad I was there to catch a glimpse of her creativity, kindness and spunk.

Well, back to work. I have a pile of invoices with my name on them that I need to tackle.

Monday, March 22, 2010

The Jerk

No, I don't mean the crazy man that insisted on driving right next to me at the exact same speed as I was driving home today. I mean the crazy dance that I am trying to learn from my students.

If you don't know what The Jerk is, just YouTube it. Over the course of the last week, I've heard it described as "backwards skipping" or "jumping forwards and backwards at the same time." Gee guys, that's really helpful. But I stink at it. I don't have any rhythm, and I have about 60 extra pounds I'm trying to jerk around. Not pretty.

You ask why I'm trying to learn this convoluted dance? It's all my own fault, actually. I've decided to put my students on a Laughter Campaign as part of our research unit on researching the effects of laughter on environment. So part of their assignment is to increase the amount of laughing that happens on campus. You do the math: teachers (especially white-bread, no-rhythm teachers like yours truly) + dancing of any kind = hilarity. They decided the best way to get some chuckles is to get the teachers dancing on film. I insisted that if I'm being filmed, I must be tutored in the ways of the Jerk before I make my YouTube debut.

So stay tuned. You just might see my jello-butt jiggling in the near future. If you didn't shudder, I just shuddered for you.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Sponge-Bob Rules the World

Yes, I am back with a vengeance, my friends. It is me, your friendly neighborhood mom, wife, teacher, tennis coach, soccer coach, lover of pie and all-around swell lady. I have rediscovered my blog, and I have to admit, I've missed it. It has been nearly a year since I checked in here. Sad.

Things have changed. And that is probably the understatement of the millenium. My life is almost 360 degrees from where it was this time last year. I am teaching at Waco High. Ninth grade English. Oy veh.

I don't have the time, energy or even finger-power to type all the long yarns I have to spin about school, so we'll just say that it's, um, different. I like it. Some days.

The kids have grown. Once again, huge understatement. Rowan might as well be reading by now, she's so dang smart. I've never heard a little bit talk as much as she does. She's 18 months going on 10. She can practically keep up with Kalena in the talking department. (Okay, now I"m just getting silly).

Adam just turned three, Isaac is pushing 5, and Kalena is reading like a big 3rd grader, even though she's just in 1st grade. Where in the heck has time gone???? I don't know, but it feels like I go to sleep at night, and wake up a week later. I've been so busy, I forget whole days at a time.

It's late, however, at nearly 9, and it's my bedtime. Yes....that, my friends, is a sad state of affairs. I should be hanging with the Luby's crowd I guess. But the kids are happy watching Sponge Bob tonight, or "Bum Bob Pants" as RoRo calls him, and I am tapping my toes to the jolly little pirate whistle, getting ready to head to bed myself.

I've turned a leaf, my friends. Or a page. Or a megabyte. Whatever. I promise to blog more faithfully. At any rate, in the words of the illustrious governor of California, "I'll be back."