Wordless Wednesday

The weird social situation of summer.

This summer has been hard on me.  When I was a SAHM, I had a grove and I would have time with friends that way.  You saw the same people at the gym, the library and the park as they would go at the same time as you.

When I went to school, I lost those friends in a way, meaning I didn't see them everyday.  But, I gain the friendship of those in the graduate program as well were with each other all day while we were in school, did homework together, studied together, etc.  We became somewhat close friends.

Now that I have been out of school for a little over a month and a half, I have lost them too.  I see some of my grad school friends around town, but not consistently like I did.  I miss going out to eat with them almost every Friday and just the adult conversation it brought.

Now, I am home again with my three kids.  And I miss my friends!  With the constant talking and fighting, I really miss my friends.

I am lucky to have found one friend of my with a child about the same age as my kids and once a week with do some adventure seeking together.  She is a teacher, so she misses her friends too!

It is hard to not feel burnt out over the summer when your kids are back home and fighting.  Do you have any advice to give?

Wordless Wednesdays

Why You Should go Climb a Wall

One of the many blessing my family has as grad student is that we all have access to the Student Rec Center.    We used it a lot in the winter to go swimming.  But this summer has been very rainy with the chance of a thunderstorm almost every day, so swimming, even inside has been out of the question.

So, my kids have taken to the rock wall. The SRC has it is called has a 50 ft rock wall.

On Monday, my kids decided they wanted to try it.  I have been rock climbing several times, including on 2 cruise ships, so I was up for the adventure.  Mark just got back from scout camp where he climbed a 40 foot one.  It has been 2 years since Ann last attempted and Patrick had never tried.

Ann and Patrick tried, but they made it about 1/3 of the way up.  Mark was successful on his second attempt and with a lot of coaching, I made it up on the second day we tried.

So, why should you go climb a wall?

1. The sense of accomplishment you feel.  Even if you made it up 10 feet, you know you did something.  Every time you walk past that wall, you know you tried something that you didn't think you could do and you did it.  About 3/4 of the way up, I thought I was done.  I could not reach that pull and I fell off the wall.  But I got back on and did it.  I was so proud of myself when I touch the top and I didn't want to get down.  So, I lived in that glory for a moment.

2.  You have to think about each move you make.  For the first few feet, you can just go as you wish, but after that, every move is thought over.  Can I reach that far?  Can I stretch that far?  In life, too many times, we don't think about the decisions we make.  Climbing a wall reminds us that we need to think about what we do.

3.  You see how strong you are.  It may not seem like it takes a lot of strength to climb a wall, but it really does.  It is a great way to work out both your heart and your muscles without being on a machine.  I promise you, you'll feel it within a few hours.

4.  It teaches you trust.  You have to trust your guide going up the wall and knowing that he has you.  If you feel like you are stuck, you have someone that has the rope, but you are doing all the work.

5. Failing can be relaxing it.  If you need to fall off the wall, I think it is really cool to be suspended by ropes up in the air.  It gives you a chance to breathe, see where you are and get back on that wall.

So, I encourage you to go climb a wall.  It is a great way to spend an afternoon with the kids and support each other.  

Have you climbed a wall before?

First and Last Day of School

Can you believe the last day of school is finally here?  It has been a long time in the making for us as we started school August 8th.

Here are side by side pictures of the first and last day of school:

My, how time flies. I barely remember being in tears as Patrick started Kindergarten.  Now, I am in tears as Patrick is now a first grader.  I have to start thinking about the talk as our school does some sex ed in 5th grade.

I enjoy summer and I hate summer.  Summer gives us a lot of time to hang out together as a family and do the stuff we want to do, but we don't have the time.  Camps, museums, biking and hiking are big highlights of the summer.  But I don't like how the kids have to fight all the time.  So, we get really busy.

What are our thoughts about summer?  Did you post first and last day pictures on Facebook?

I'm Back!

It seems like forever since I have been on here.  This past semester was fast and furious and  I didn't have any time to blog at all.  Plus, I was in the middle of a research project, so all my words went there!  So this summer, I will do my best to up date my blog with everything that happened, plus everything we are doing.  So hold on!

Who is still out there?  Comment with what you have been up to!

This is from the recital we were in!

5x7 Folded Card

Chalkboard Heart Dad Father's Day Card

Shutterfly custom cards for Valentines Day, Easter & Mother's Day.

View the entire collection of cards.

Happy Spring Semester!

It's amazing how school starts and again I get busy.  This should be an interesting semester - and it is only 4 days old!  I have Stats, Analysis and a directed research project this semester.  I am also teaching a section of sophomore Stats as well.

My directed research project is on financial literacy and how math can help teach it.  There is so much information and I don't have a lot of time to do it!  16 weeks may seem like a lot of of time, but where there are other things going on, it is not.  I really need to devote my 9 hours a week to do it to do my best job.  I am hoping to present my research at 2 different conferences with it, so it better be good!

Not much has changed to my schedule, but since my directed research is not a class, it seems like I have a lot more time.  It is still the getting up at 6 with the kids (probably not tomorrow as we are getting a lot of snow right now), then working out and then teaching and class.  Spring semester always seems crazier though with activities.  And since Patrick is old enough to do some activities, things will be even crazier.

So, how is your new year?  Are you in school?

Back to the office today

My w inter break is officially ending on Monday, but the problem of being a teacher is that you have to start a bit earlier then the students.  So, into the office I go today.

I have enjoyed my break.  I had two half weeks where I had no kids and I got a lot done.  But, also 6 hours is really short.  When you block off an hour every day, that eats up a lot of time.  But, I need to work out.  But, I also spend some time each morning doing the chores I would do in the evening.  So, I had a lot more energy and my house looks a lot better.  I also had more time at night.

It was nice to have two weeks with my kids.  We were very busy during that time, but it was nice not to worry about scouts, homework, and other activities during that time.  We were also able to clean out their rooms.  It is amazing how much stuff they can accumulate in their rooms.

So, I started thinking if I could be a full time stay at home mom while the kids are at school.  I could and I think I would keep myself very busy.  But, I am having the time of my life back at school and teaching others to appreciate math.  I don't think I could go back to being a stay at home mom since all of my kids are at school.

Not a day off.......

For the next week, the kids are in school while I don't start until next week.  I thought I would have a nice, relaxing week.............

                                                                  NOT!!!

Today was the first day of that week.  I thought I would have plenty of time to clean house, work out, relax   I have been working hard on two of my volunteer activities: High Country Mommies and Girl Scouts.  All day long, I have been working hard for these two organizations.  I did get to work out and get a shower.  I enjoyed the time off, but I wish I had a few more minutes today.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!  Some people would say that Christmas was a week and a half ago.  Not for us, as we celebrate 12 days of Christmas from Christmas Eve to Epiphany.  The four weeks before are Advent.  The Christmas Tree is not even up until the third Sunday of Advent.

Christmas is a season of church going for us.  The kids and I go to the Family Mass on Christmas Eve.  Matt sings 2 other masses.  Then, we go to church on the Sunday afterwards and then on New Years.  Then, there is the mass for Epiphany.  That's a lot of church.

But, it is also a fun season for us.  Of course, there is the gift giving.  This year, the kids made a donation to the local homeless shelter in my name.  We don't go big on Christmas presents here as the grandparents buy a lot of stuff for the kids.  They also get some money for Christmas, a lot of that goes in savings and we talk about what that is for.  We also see a lot of family too and spend a lot of time on the road.  We were able to see all of our brothers and sisters and parents and my goddaughter during Christmas. It was really nice to be home after all that traveling.

Christmas is also a season of birthdays for us. Of course, we celebrate Jesus' birthday.  But Ann's birthday is 2 days before and my birthday is 5 days afterwards.  That is a lot of sweets.

I hope your Christmas was as good as ours was.  From our house to yours, Merry Christmas!