Happy Day

4 years ago today.....

Happy Anniversary my love.

Parent Teacher Conference

This kid constantly surprises me. Well not surprise exactly…for I know what hes capable of…but well pleasantly surprised I guess is the best word I can use to describe what I recently found out. A few weeks ago I had an email convo with his teacher. The teacher that Elijiah complains about constantly, says hes always in trouble with etc. Now I haven’t loved her either- I mean a kid that never brings home homework and says hes bored all the time-oh well. Anyway he brought his report card home and everything was great except his citizenship. He went from a 5( perfect) mark to a 3. I was very upset but knew that it had something to do with the trouble he had been getting into that the teacher and I were discussing but I was still disappointed. I decided that parent teacher conference was coming up and I would further discuss the issues at that time. Last week Khory and I went to meet Elijiahs teacher. We met for about 45 minutes. We went over all the work they are doing, goals they are setting, and what they plan on doing next term. Elijiah has often said he is bored and primarily its because he is a 2nd grader but reading on a 6.5 grade level and so much of the topics they are learning seem boring to him. It’s a bit of a struggle the teacher recognizes and is working to find alternative things for him specially. She mentions that his maturity blows everyone else out of the water, he has a comprehension level far above his peers, and he knows adult humor, joking, teasing and when it goes too far( which she says others don’t- they go and go until they are in trouble.) Elijiahs issues in class is that he often is done before anyone else, and tends to talk which distracts other students and so she has to remind him about that. But here is where she told me things about him that I didn’t know.

1. Elijiah is one of the most popular students in 2nd grade. Because Elijiah is so well liked everyone wants to play with him. ALL the time. She notices that he feels a lot of pressure to include everyone even when he doesn’t want to. Sometimes he wants to just play with one or two kids but because he is always asked by lots of kids to play and he feels bad saying no, he is surrounded by kids all the time and she notices he is overwhelmed by the attention at times- which in turn she can see that he can loose his temper and situations occur where he gets in trouble. She talks to him about trying to verbalize his feelings before he explodes. I laughed and said…well he takes after Khory on that one!

2. There is a kid in the class that gets picked on. Often left out. Elijiah is always kind to include him and when he notices him by himself- he will go over and sit with him. ( Now as a mother I have always tried to instill- you don’t have to like everyone and be friends with everyone- but you have to be nice to everyone- And that he should pay special attention to those less fortunate or those that don’t have a lot of friends and be extra kind.) I was shocked to see that this was an observation by his teacher confirming to ME that something I am doing must be sinking in.

3. There is a behavior/physical disabled class that Elijiahs class goes and hangs out with several times a week. She said that Elijiah was unafraid and easily went in and started to play with these kids and he is well liked there as well. Again that made me happy to hear that he can handle situations where people are different and just play and be a kid with them. All in all the feedback was positive and I was sooo proud of Elijiah and all that he is doing to be the best kid he can be.

Well the weekend was a parenting failure from my perspective. Anytime that I loose my temper and YELL at the kids is a failure in my mind. Even if they deserve it. Feeling like my kids have exhausted me with too many “no’s” so I loose it- well no matter how many times you say sorry- it doesn’t fix things. Tristan was sick, Elijiah "on one", and neither wanted to help out, do chores or contribute….even the treat of a movie didn’t turn them into sweet angels. Sunday was much the same that I went to bed defeated, and told Jonathan that it bothers me that here we are on the verge of another work week and I should be rested. However I was tired. So so tired. Its incredibly hard to be a working parent. There are just never enough hours in the day to get it all done. There is never enough weekend hours to catch up. Saturdays are busy…Sundays just as busy. I don’t feel that we really ever have the family time and one on one time that I crave and need with my boys.

HOWEVER- Monday came the routine began all over but at the end of the night…I said my prayers and literally poured out my gratitude for a day that I won....there were no fights, arguments and yelling. Dinner was made, consumed and enjoyed. Messes were cleaned, hugs were plenty, family time was enjoyed by all, bedtime routine complete and lights out by 9pm.

Heres to hoping for more days like that...

On an unrelated note...we are working on getting one of these in our yard....

(not our yard- FYI- I WISH!)
Jonathan worked all day Saturday digging and preping the ground, buying the wood, putting it together...now we need soil. Cant wait for our garden this summer!

Running

Running….love it and I hate it.

Love: Getting outside after spending all day in a cubical environment
Hate: Having to go outside after spending all day in a warm office when its cold( which its either cold or WINDY-VERY WINDY 8 months of the year)
Love: Time to myself, either listening to my thoughts, having time to think and pray, or listen to music
Hate: When I should be better, faster and I have to turn around only 1.5-2 miles into a run because Im exhausted
Love: When I run consistently and I am feeling strong, and get a runners high
Hate: Winter running when I have to layer my clothes( pants, wicking undershirt, Long sleeve shirt, jacket, hat, gloves etc)
Love: Feeling like I am challenged…there is nothing like the feeling of giving up and then getting a second wind
Hate: Summer running- ITS HOT here in the summer 90-100 degree weather most of the time. I hate to wear a much of anything while running in the summer, but do because I don’t like people seeing me jiggle
Love: Saturday morning runs- I don’t feel rushed
Hate: When my injuries prevent me from doing my best
Love: No excuses why one cant get inshape when you have a pair of running shoes. All you need to do is get outside and start moving

Ragnar 2011

Super duper stoked! Last years Ragnar relay was a blast for me. I had a great time with a bunch of girls and thought I would love to again participate in 2011. However I let my team captain know that hello!!! I was going to have a new baby by then and there was no way I could run the relay just a few weeks post birth. ( Because really when we decided to have another baby last year I just knew like with my previous 3 children the moment we started trying we would conceive- ha little did I know...) well with our setback and subsequent advice to wait a few months before trying again, THIS years relay was again a possibility. My good friend Emily invited me to participate on her team, and guess what? I talked Jonathan into running with me! Im so excited to have this fun experience with him!

:)

Skiing

did a little skiing this weekend. so MUCH fun. lots of snow. a bit too much if you ask me, but all in all....a day on the slopes is a good day. me and the boys( minus little T....we will get him on the hill next year....)