Pledge: Phone Compartment - It can wait.

This morning a blogger I follow on Facebook posted this and hit home hard with me:

This morning I put my phone in the glove compartment (the below is not my glove compartment, it's a random image from Google, but I want a visual to add here), and I felt the instinctive urge to grab my phone FOUR times in a 20 minute drive. That is a crazy addiction, people. And I know I'm not the only one who feels that way. 

I'm done. 

I want to set a good example for my kids who will be drivers one day. I want to be safe with my kids in the car. I want to be safe for other people on the road. 

It CAN wait, and this is my public pledge. No more texting and driving. No more "checking" and driving. I hope you'll consider pledging with me.

Parenting Toddlers Article

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephanie-gates/4-things-i-wish-id-known-when-i-was-parenting-toddlers-the-first-time-around_b_5539505.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000037

One more interruption in the form of an article that spoke to me - especially after an evening of trying to convince Clara to eat her dinner. Which is a normal struggle in this household.

I love the perspective this woman is coming from!

And I have been slowly learning to embrace Clara's personality - which has really helped me enjoy her more!

I don't own my child's body

This was an interesting article to read about forcing a child to hug or kiss someone in order to not hurt their feelings, even if the child doesn't want to.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/20/living/give-grandma-hug-child/index.html?c&page=1

It's a really interesting perspective and one that I'm glad I've read. I've frequently wondered how people feel when Clara doesn't want to go to them, but that's the thing - she doesn't. She doesn't know everyone right away. As she warms up, she likes to snuggle with others, but it takes her a while, and I didn't realize how unfair it was of me to try to push it.

Nostalgia

While I do completely believe that Bryan and I made the right decision regarding my employment this semester, I've really been missing my classroom, students and co-workers! MISS THEM. I really need to get up to the school and give hugs all around.

I saw this on a friend's facebook post and many of them are very true and made me smile :)

HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU’RE A TEACHER? By Jeff Foxworthy

1.You get a secret thrill out of laminating things.

2.You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line.

3.You walk into a store and hear the words, “It’s Ms./Mr. ____________ and know you have been spotted.

4.You have 25 people who accidentally call you Mom/Dad at one time or another.

5.You can eat a multi-course meal in under 25 minutes.

6.You’ve trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times of the day, lunch and planning period.

7.You start saving other people’s trash, because most likely, you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom.

8.You believe the Teacher’s Lounge should be equipped with a margarita machine.

9.You want to slap the next person who says, “Must be nice to work 7 to 3 and have summers off”.

10.You believe chocolate is a food group.

11.You can tell if it’s a full moon without ever looking outside.

12. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, “Boy, the kids are sure mellow today.”

13.You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public.

14.You believe in aerial spraying of Ritalin.

15.You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.

16.You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own children.

17.You can’t pass the school supply aisle without getting at least 5 items!

18. You ask your friends to use their words and explain if the left hand turn he made was a “good choice” or “bad choice.”

19.You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils.

20. You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer.

21.You understand, instantaneously, why a child behaves in a certain way after meeting his/her parents.

Dr. Aune

I wanted to share this article with you. It's so, so, so sad. I not only worked for Dr. Aune for two years when I worked for the Department of Communication at Texas A&M, but I was also a student of his for one semester - I took his class Rhetoric of Western Thought (which, consequently, was the only B I ever made in a Communications course - it was hard!). He was incredibly intelligent and a strong leader, but struggled with social situations. 

One of my former professors (and friend) thankfully notified me before this article was released because she knew I had spent some time with him and wanted me to hear it before the news.

Please add his family and friends and the Texas A&M student body in your prayers - for peace, and understanding. He will be very much missed - by me and others.

http://www.theeagle.com/news/a_m/article_8de6e792-59dd-11e2-a878-0019bb2963f4.html 

Sooo funny

If you're having a lousy day and need some serious giggles, please enjoy!!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/people-who-are-having-a-worse-day-than-you

15 ways to stay married

I loved, loved, loved reading this, and I've bookmarked it for future reference.

http://girlsguideto.com/article/15-ways-stay-married-15-years

I highly recommend reading it!!!

Carpe a couple of Kairoses a day

A friend of mine shared this article with me, figuring I would enjoy it.

She absolutely figured right!

http://momastery.com/blog/2012/01/04/2011-lesson-2-dont-carpe-diem/

The last several paragraphs are my favorite. This has become a focus of mine each day.

Today a few of my Karioses were:

- My sweet baby was dressed in a cute outfit, wrapped in a lightweight blanket, clinging to my shirt, and just smiling at me like I was her favorite person in the world. I just soaked up that cuddle time.

- Bryan's warm hug this morning. I have a hardworking, affectionate, loving husband who tries very hard to be the best possible Daddy. How I savored that moment with him.

- Working on lesson plans this evening, and realizing how lovely it is to have a laptop, textbooks, electricity and the education to be able to do this. How awesome it is to be *this* excited about a lesson plan on maps - and how fun several of my students will think it is. Such a good feeling.

I may have had more - but I know I had at least 3, and THOSE are worth every moment of Chronos time that may not have been the easiest.

I'm so grateful to this writer and to my friend for sharing!

For the last 4 days since I've read this my attitude has been more positive, knowing it's OKAY to not "love" every minute of parenting, or teaching, or keeping house for my husband, but that I LOVE "having" parented, planned, and been a good wife today. I am blessed. I am grateful for this validation.

"Carpe a couple of Kairoses a day!!"

Classroom Flipping

For those that I've talked to about "flipping my classroom" this year, it's very similar to what Kahn Academy is doing. I'm definitely not this good, but I really hope this will make a difference in my one small classroom the way he has all over the world. There was a segment on 60 Minutes tonight about it - it's so incredible where education is heading! I LOVE the idea of a teacher being a mentor/facilitator instead of a lecturer. Love it!! 

Please feel free to watch the segment and be amazed!! I would love to make such a big difference on even a few students as this man is doing world-wide.

Click on the link below to read/watch the segment:

Khan Academy: The Future of Education

 And then feel free to watch one of my videos just to get an idea of how I'm trying to implement the similar concept:

Mrs Evans: MAPS

LOL

Sorry for the double-post day, but this made me smile :)

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/hello-stranger-on-the-street-could-you-please-tell-me-how-to-take-care-of-my-babyHow do I take care of my baby?