A good egg

I had no idea Sarah mailed sweet letters to our neighbors.

The Cox family kept it. 

In fact, when Ginger opened the letter, she was so touched that she put it back in the envelope so that the rest of her family would have the experience of opening it.

Then she put it on their bulletin board.

When she said how sweet the letter was and I told her that I had no idea what she was talking about, she sent me this picture.

Snowball fight

When the bus stop is in your front yard, it's a great meeting place for a neighborhood snowball fight.

jamming to despicable me

I didn't start filming soon enough.😄

I was laughing,  which made my hands shake.

And I'm far away because I feel like she has a sixth sense when I am recording.

How could they have been so wrong?

Every weather man owes my kids and my staff a big fat apology for getting our hopes up that we would have a snow day today.
And I love watching the lady on the news team driving around looking for snow.
Hey, lady, your colleague was wrong! Drive up to the Red River. Maybe it was snowing at 6:00 there.

Last night: "snow between 4:00 and 6:00 AM"

This morning: "should transition by 7:00 or 8:00"

That doesn't help with school cancellations. Grr.

Now I'm really wishing I had more than 4 hours of sleep.

this weather

If we have to stay home because of boring ice, we should get to stay home if it snows. 

Snow fun > Ice fun

.....................

Every time it snows/ices, I'm reminded that the kids need better cold weather clothes.


....................

I have slept so much for the last 2 days that there is NO way I'm going to be able to fall asleep tonight. 
#snowdayproblems

.....................

I'm ok with school on Thursday... I'll even go into work and do a few things tomorrow afternoon... just not tomorrow morning.
#onemorelazymorning
#please

snow day #2... watching On Demand

Catching up on "Better Call Saul".

It's just as great as "Breaking Bad".

His shows aren't for everyone,  but I think Vince Gilligan is a genius.

the waiting game

To school or not to school?

That is the question.

(About which I keep getting texts and emails from staff and parents.
**Watch the news.  You'll know when I do if we're open tomorrow.**)

The roads don't seem bad, but it's the slush freezing that gets ya every time.

Just saw that 1 - 3 " of snow is possible Wednesday.  If that's true, I bet they'll push to get a day of school in tomorrow if we might be out on Wednesday.

It's such a guessing game.
But more than anything it is a waiting game.

Watching the Oscars

And desperately wanting a reason to get dressed up.

Super dressed up.

Ball gown, full skirt, maybe a train dressed up.

I want sketches of the dress and fittings with the designer and to be wearing so many jewels that a security guard follows me around.

Is that too much to ask?

Moving right along

I interviewed at the Plano Administration building on Tuesday and was told I would hear something from them in two weeks.

But I got my letter yesterday. :)

I'm in the applicant pool which means my name will be given to principals looking to hire a school counselor.

I'm so thankful the committee liked me despite the ungodly amounts of sweat pouring from my body.

Praying there will be a principal who likes me too.

Love the natural smile ;)

Caroline's first game

After 2 practices the Lightning Bolts were ready to play their first game yesterday.  ;)

Our coaches are really great.  They don't take this too seriously.  They teach the girls as we go along, but they never yell at them. They seem to understand that part of coaching Kindergarten girls is being patient with kids who want to talk, dance, and twirl on the field.

The only time I heard either of them yell was when Carlos said, "Girls, run the other way!" An important and necessary redirection.

The team we played? Wowsers. Their head coach was intense, to put it politely.  He screamed at them for everything.  He was in a huff about all of it. 

At one point, we were losing 4 - 0. Our parents were laughing about it. Our sweet girls were having fun... not necessarily excelling.

But then we started to catch up! 4 - 3!! :)

At this point,  the other coach stripped the jersey off his goalie and put someone else in. Then he yelled, "If they score one more, we'll be tied. Get it together!"  The goalie was crying;  we parents were watching in disbelief at the way he shamed this kid.  It was painful.

Much to his relief, I'm sure, we did not score again. We lost 4 - 3. 

At the end of the game, when our girls took a knee to listen to our coach, he said "Did you have fun? Y'all did a good job. And we'll keep practicing so we get even better."

Thank you, Carlos, for TEACHING and ENCOURAGING. :)

GO LIGHTNING BOLTS! 

How I spent my Presidents' Day...

Of all the sacrifices I've made as a mom, none have been so great as this...

Two hours of my life that I'll never get back

at the dentist

My dentist's office is like going to the salon.  Not because of the service, although it's great.  But because of the chatting... which is extremely hard to do when someone is cleaning my teeth. But I didn't let a water pik and a mirrot in my mouth deter me from getting to know the new hygienist.

---- She's 46, a Baylor graduate,  dating a guy she met while salsa dancing, they've been together for just over a year.  He was married to his high school sweetheart for 21 years.  They have 1 child, a 25 year old with 2 Master's degrees.  (She had a full ride to Baylor but followed a boy to UNT midway through her undergraduate degree. Of course they're not together anymore. . Isn't that always the way it goes??) Anyway he separated from his wife for a year before filing for divorce. He dated a couple of women before meeting my hygienist,  but he just wasn't thinking "long term".  She's the first woman to meet his daughter. ---

And I got all that out of her during the exam!  Imagine if we went to happy hour!


The point of the post.... she mentioned I might be allergic to my toothpaste.  Apparently dry cracking lips is a sign of toothpaste allergy.

Stopping here... I know my lips are dry.  I figured I was dehydrated.  Let's face it, when I have a lot to drink, it's usually not water.  Or maybe I'm a mouth-breather.

But she said to switch toothpastes and see if it helps.

All that's to say:
I feel as though I should apologize to any of you who have had to look at my face... because I now feel like my lips are the most disgusting things ever!

And I will try a different toothpaste.   If I can enjoy my dehydrating beverages and still have smooth lips, I'll give it a go. I've never heard of a toothpaste allergy,  but I feel like we bonded today... And my new BFF wouldn't lie to me. ;)

Valentines

Valentine's Day is near, which means the Valentine's Day... er, I mean, Friendship Day... school celebrations are fast approaching.

Of course "Friendship Day" turns into Friendship WEEK in elementary school.  Do you think they're going to pass up an opportunity for a theme week?? Nope!

And with theme weeks come dress up days.  With dress up days comes the responsibility to remember what the heck the kids are supposed to dress up as today.  With that responsibility comes almost certain failure to remember.  And failure to remember results in either pouting-- or at the very least-- a passive aggressive comment from the peanut gallery in the backseat of my minivan when I pick them up from school.

"Today was "dress like a rock star" day.  Guess who was the only kid in my class not dressed up."  [overly dramatic sigh]  "Hopefully next year they'll have a rock star day... but there are no guarantees."

Speaking of no guarantees, there are no guarantees I won't kick you out of my car and make you walk the rest of the way home! Watch out for the busy intersections! Remember to run when the bright red hand starts flashing "stop". 

One thing all elementary school theme weeks have in common--- a pajama day.  It never ceases to amaze me how they can work that one in every time. 

Red Ribbon Week:  "I won't let drugs keep me from achieving my DREAMS."  Wear pajamas.

College Week:  "College helps me reach my DREAMS."  Wear pajamas.

Howdy Week: "No, you're not DREAMING. School is back in session!" Wear pajamas.

I think this week they're dreaming about being good friends or something.   All I know is Friday they're not getting dressed for school.  I'm over changing out of overnight PJs and putting on school PJs.  I dream of a day of one less thing to wash... and I'm making that dream a reality.

This year the girls wanted to make their Valentines.  Sarah is making Rainbow Loom something-or-others.  Caroline drew pictures for every classmate.  All 22 of them.

I thought it was sweet how much she knew about each of her friends.

Just a small sampling...



"Mwango loves ballet so I drew her doing ballet."

This is not a post about the names of the kids in her class, but I know a few of you are waiting for me to make the joke.

"Aiden likes police officers.  That's why I drew this."

And from the stories I've heard about Aiden, this might be a picture that foreshadows.  Except if that's supposed to be a picture of Aiden, he won't be a cop... and he won't be smiling.

Additionally, I have neither met nor heard of a kid named Aiden that is anything less than trouble.  If you know a sweet, respectful Aiden, you just may live in a parallel universe.

"Kennedy loves Christmas."



"Elliot loves recess."

That's a picture of the playground.



After approximately 15 drawings, she grew understandably tired.  And moved to sticky notes.

"Luke likes trains."



"Ethan likes Minecraft.  So I drew a Minecraft pig."

I labeled it.  Because honestly I don't see a pig.  I see dots.  But there is apparently a yellow outline of a pig.  And Minecraft pigs are spotted.  You learn something new everyday.



In order to make her homemade Valentines more appealing, she attached candy to them.

She was very careful to not tape the peanut products to her two friends with severe peanut allergies.  Again, thoughtful... and necessary!  I wonder how severe is "severe".  Hopefully it's ok that the peanut M&Ms are wrapped and in a Ziploc bag.

The candy she found was old Halloween candy.

Did I tell you the story of the missing Halloween candy?  I swore I bought a HUGE bag of candy but couldn't find it.  So I sent Jason out on Halloween night to buy candy.  And he came back with 3 packs of jumbo candy bars, which equated to about 15 candy bars.  Not extremely helpful, but I guess I should have been more specific about what I needed.

Anyway, as I was cleaning out the laundry room over Christmas break, I found the big bag of candy!  It made me feel so much better that I wasn't imagining buying it back in October.  And ashamed that it went missing for months.

Well.. that's the candy she used for her Valentines.

Listen...I understand there's a certain "ick" factor in homemade things.  Especially when it involves food.  (And I know it doesn't look great for me that the candy Caroline is using was purchased-- and lost-- 3 months ago.)

One time Caroline made some brownies and cut an oddly shaped piece for her teacher, Miss Rushing.  When I picked Caroline up from school, I asked her if Miss Rushing loved her brownie.  She said, "Miss Rushing told me she was going to save it for an after school snack."

Mmm hmm... I know what that means. I'm giving the side eye as I type. 
(We're clean!  I swear!)
When I saw how wacky that brownie looked, I should've told Caroline to watch Miss Rushing eat it.  Don't walk away until every morsel is gone. 
Pound your fists on the table while chanting, "Eat it! Eat it!"
Don't let her get away with "saving" it for an afternoon snack.
I'm on to you, Rushing.  And I don't like it. ;)

But I'm hoping that the homemade quality of these Valentines is endearing. 
Sure, there will be some parents who will see the drawn pictures taped to Ziploc bags with random candy inside, and throw it away when their kids aren't looking.  Protecting them from the nastiness they fear lurks inside the bags.

But surely there will be some that will appreciate her effort. 

I know I do.

She put a lot of work into her Friendship Day treats.  And I think she did a great job!

I'm officially a soccer mom!

Caroline had her first practice today. She loved it!!

And I learned that soccer is a sport I know nothing about.

Turns out that soccer cleats are different from softball cleats.
Hmm.

And shin guards are necessary.
Interesting.

Apparently I'm supposed to bring a ball to practice for drills. I guess I'll be going to Academy.

Questions I was too embarrassed to ask:

Do shin guards go on the inside or outside of the socks? From looking around my money is on "inside". But I'm not certain if those were socks with built-in shin guards.  (That is a thing, right?)

Does it matter what size soccer ball I get? My inclination is to go small... And cute. Do you think they make any with butterflies on them?
......

It works well that Caroline is aggressive and not afraid to go after the ball.  It's fun to watch a kid shorter than the other kids fight for the ball... And then think, "Hey, that's MY kid." :)

She was slow dribbling... (check me out with my official soccer terms).... around the cones but had control at all times, which I thought had to be a good thing.

Or is speed better?

Heck, I don't know.

But yay for Caroline! She has completed the minivan mom by turning me into a soccer mom.

At least for the next 6 weeks. 
It's a short season.

Rest

I met a girl today (She's my age, but I still say "girl".  Women are old. LOL) who was talking about her mom.

Her mom is a superwoman.  According to this girl, her mom could make anyone look lazy.  She had eight arms, managed to get everything done, never got sick, never looked tired, never dropped a ball.

Until 3 1/2 years ago.

She was getting her groceries out of the back of her car and was so busy-- probably running through checklists in her mind-- that she accidentally put the car in Reverse instead of Park.  The car ran over her and she was killed.

This girl said that her dad had been inside and could've helped get the groceries.  Her dad could've gone to the store instead.  But this was a woman who was always "on the go" and never asked for help.

She didn't slow down long enough to make sure her car was in "Park". 

I can't imagine.

But then I thought about the last two years and how busy I've been.  I have a certain level of anxiety this semester because I'm not as busy as I have been in the past.  I'm worried I'm losing my edge... or my drive... or my work ethic... I don't know.  I should be embracing this season of rest, but it's hard!!

I know I'm not alone.  I have friends who check work email at 2:00 AM.  We can't shut it off. We are accessible at all times... and feel like we need to be.

Now jobs have taken us to social media.  We're tweeting and posting and texting on behalf of our work.  Most of us don't leave work at work.  We can't.  There are emails to be returned, fires to be put out. 

We feel wrong for disconnecting.  It's almost more stressful to NOT check email and Twitter and Instagram and Facebook and wonder what we're missing.

Even my downtime revolves around technology.  Like I posted, I'm obsessed with a game called Trivia Crack.  I blog for fun.  I will check personal email 10 times a day even though there's nothing there worth reading.  I scroll through facebook and Instagram and am disappointed if there aren't any updates.  It's kinda pathetic.

I need to make a serious effort to disconnect and set boundaries for myself about how often I'm staring at a screen.  I want face-to-face relationships and interactions with people I care about rather than depending on the Internet or my phone.

My goal is to embrace the rest I've been given this semester!!  And make myself shut off the crazy part of me that wants to move at a fast pace at all times.

(Now to see if I can actually do that...)

Ski Plano 2015

Last night we went to Southfork Ranch to support the Plano ISD Education Foundation at their annual fundraiser, Ski Plano. 

I'm so proud to be friends with... and related to... so many names on this list of committee members.

My dad is the president of the foundation.  His pic is below.

And there he is giving his presentation.  Woo hoo! He did a great job!

Selfies and pics of the night....

Then I took this pic with Kyle Bosworth and his wife, Kara. Kyle used to play with the Cowboys. Ok, great, whatever... but Kara (pronounced "car uh") is from the Real Housewives of the OC. 

Please tell me someone else watches Bravo and recognizes her!!

I wanted to ask her so many questions but I figured begging them for this photo was creepy enough.

We had a great time and walked away with 4 silent auction items.  I wasn't sure whether to feel like a winner or a sucker. ; ) But nevertheless it was a fun night!