How much of the day are you plugged in? Do you consciously set aside offline time, or does it happen whenever it happens?

I am plugged in most of the time that I am not at work. When I am at work, I only check texts if I get them and answer an occasional phone call. Once I leave work, I tend to plug in to find out what is going on in the world. Because I am not plugged in at work, I found out about both Sandy Hook and the Boston Marathon via social media after work.

I don't consciously set aside offline time. Starting this week, my husband has stated no electronics until we get some housework done, dishes, laundry, dinner started, homework, etc. It has proven to be a good strategy because once he plugs in, I don't see any reason to do work because he is not helping out. It is really annoying at restaurants when I am trying to get myself and the kids not to use electronics and he pulls out his phone to check scores/play games. I finally got to the point of if you can't beat them, join them. Kids and I still limit ourselves during the meal itself though.

I find that if I am into a really good book, I will be offline more. I have seen it with my kids also. Tonight, my daughter read for 90 minutes because we went to the library and she found a new series of books that she really likes.

Cheering Section

Do you have a mentor? Tell us about him or her. Are you a mentor to someone else? Tell us what that relationship has added to your life.

As a teacher I believe that your fellow teachers serve as your mentors and your support system as we navigate the changes in the education system and the problems that our students bring to school with them. At this point I do not count one person as my mentor, but many people depending on what my needs are at a given time.

I am a mentor to someone else this semester. She is a college student that is getting her first experiences in the classroom. I believe that it has added to my life an appreciation of where I have been and where I am now. Because of time constraints, I do not feel that I have been the best mentor this semester, but I have tried to impart as much knowledge as I possibly can.

Extra Hour

With the turning back of the clock we get an extra hour today. I am not sure exactly how I spent mine. I could say that I got an extra hour of sleep. I could say that I spent an extra hour outside or doing chores or cooking. I guess my point is that no matter how much time we are given, it is never enough. Live each day, each hour, each minute to the fullest with no regrets!

Mid January Three Day Weekend

Thought I would take a few minutes and update how my year is going. I have pretty much kept up with Collect and Project Life. My kids say that I have become their Auntie Lilian by taking pictures of everything, but once I told them I was trying to document our daily lives, they lightened up and allow me to take "odd" pictures. My son has even joined in and asked me to take pictures of his favorite things. I find that I spend most of my day at work, but never think to take a picture until I get home. I did get two pictures at work last week, but should have many more.

I find that I look at things differently now and see opportunities to take pictures of things that I would have never thought to take a picture of before. We went to the Columbus Museum of Art today to look at a LEGO exhibit and I was looking at a picture of details in one of the exhibits and saw a picture of a chocolate doughnut with Christmas sprinkles. I thought to myself that the next time my kids get a vanilla dip doughnut from Tim Horton's, I need to take a picture of it as part of our family history.

My husband and I started walking in the morning again. We have been doing 3 laps around our neighborhood, almost 2 miles. I am trying to stay active for a 5k in mid-February and also to start training for the quarter marathon in May. I plan to train wih NoBo again as I enjoy the company and don't really want to join a gym.

Hoping to keep the New Year's Resolutions that I have made...
Lead a Healthy Life by eating better and exercise
Document our Family History through Project Life

2013

Wow! I can't believe that it has been almost a year since my last post! We have done so many things and even though I have thought about my blog often, I have not really given up time browsing on the web to write. Well, that is going to change this year!

In the last year I went from completing NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) to completing NoBo (No Boundaries) and running in my first 5K races last spring. Yes, I said running, which I never thought that I would do or enjoy doing. I got a bike for my last birthday to help with cross training and am hoping to teach my youngest to ride a two-wheeler this year so that we can go on family bike rides.

I gave up running for this summer because we went on a family trip to Thailand, and I found that I don't really like to run in the heat. I was going to plug on and just join MIT (Marathoners in Training) this winter and do my first half marathon this spring, but my best friend convinced me to do NoBo again this fall. Doing NoBo again this fall was definitely easier than the first time around, but it also convinced me that I am not ready to do a half marathon. So, the goal right now is to complete the quarter marathon in May training with NoBo and do a half marathon before I turn 41. We found that training takes a great deal of time, and it is time that we do not have to devote to running especially in the winter time when daylight hours are minimal.

I have started using a sewing machine and hope to complete more projects using it. I have also just started making no sew fleece blankets. I know that I am behind the times, but once I made some for my kids; they were so soft and warm, I kept stealing theirs and had to make one for myself. Of course, I made mine big enough to share! Once I am done with the no sew blankets, I hope to get to the fringe fleece scarf that I originally wanted to make with the sewing machine. Before we left for Florida after Christmas, I made the kids seatbelt pillows. They didn't really care for them, but I thought they were quite comfy.

I have also started Project Life this year along with Collect. These are both projects that are based on 365 Project which is taking a picture a day for a year. I have been doing pretty well so far, but we are only nine days into the year. I am using Project Life to document our family life and events and Collect just for fun. I bought the Project Life Album and Kit from Amazon and really hope that it turns out nice.

As you can see, my new year is off and running. Hope that the blog post are off to a great start also!

I Had to Leave for a Few Days

As we go through the mundane of winter and the end of the quarter grind, I had to take a break from blogging daily.  It has been such a busy week, and one night, we decided to have family night and watch Dolphin Tale.  After the movie was over and the kids were put to bed, I didn't have it in me to blog.  None of my experiences of the day were speaking to me.  Sharing a computer is difficult also.  I can blog from the tablet or the iPod touch, but I like the feel of keys under my fingers.  I also like to see what I am writing and feel that I can go back and edit without messing up the whole post.

Although the reading testing is done, the math is not.  Report card weeks find me running here and there.  Do I plan for class and teach or assess and do grades?  I did get some assessment/report card comp time from the principal.  The first day I entered all my grades on the report cards.  Today, I started on the comments and did some planning for next week.  I am on a quest to write better comments on my report cards and was given a hand by a colleague who let me borrow her Timesavers for Teachers Book 2.  I love the examples of comments that it gives, but it is taking me longer as I search for the words that express what I want to say.  I wish that I could have kept on task and finished my math testing also, but there is always next week.  The problem is that the longer I take, the more out of routine my class gets.  I am ready to change some of the routines in my classroom again and need to set higher expectations for my students to get the best work out of them.  At the end of the month I have a student teacher coming.  I enjoyed having a student teacher for the first time in the fall and hope that this experience will be just as enjoyable.

Three Day Weekend

I am so glad that this is a three day weekend.  We have spent the last two days doing other things.  Tomorrow will give me the opportunity to do the housework and laundry that still needs to be done.  I also had some goals for household organizing that I would like to complete such as labeling the LEGO boxes and finishing up the cleaning up after the holidays (yes, I realize that we are 15 days into the new year) and some things that I need to complete for work.  I have trouble doing things during the week.  Once I go to work, come home, cook dinner, and do homework, I am beat and do not feel like doing any extras.  I know that part of it is my ADHD, but the other is that I like to watch TV and play on the computer also.

Always the Last Gift of the Year

Our last gift of the year is always the celebration of our oldest's birthday.  This year, he turned the big NINE.  Next year will be double digits for him.  We celebrated in style by having his birthday party on his birthday as we did last year.  We invited his friends and for the first time, one of his sister's friends and her family.  The group that celebrated with our son was the same as last year so the kids all know each other and had a great time.  It was fun.  In some ways, I would like to put some space between Christmas and his birthday, but in other ways, I am glad the celebrating is over all in one shot between Christmas and school starting after the new year.

Looking Forward to the Gift of a New Year

The NaBloPoMo theme for January is Beginnings.  As this year ends, I am looking forward to the beginning of another year.  The year ends with a celebration of life for a relative of one of my close friends, the celebration of two more birthdays, a family lunch on New Year's Eve, and some one-on-one time with my husband to ring in the new year.

As I look back upon the year and look at the goals I set for 2011, I realize that my goals changed as the year passed.

1.  Participate in three 5Ks and run at least one. (I did not achieve this goal.  One of the 5K we normally do was on a weekend that we were out of town.  Instead of walking another one, I volunteered with the kids' activities.)

2.  Help Riley organize LEGOs and finish LEGO table. (This is a half-done project.  The LEGOs are sorted and binned by color, but the table is not complete.  This project also became organization of the whole house rather than just LEGOs.  I spent the summer reading organization books/websites and trying to apply some of the tips to my life.  My goal became to declutter and use what we have and get rid of what we did not need.)

3.  Finish garage so that cars will fit.  (Another almost complete project; we decided that rather than store some of the items, we would sell them.  Need to get them posted to sell; then cars will fit.)

4.  Clean out crawl space. (This is one that did not get accomplished.  The main floor and the garage are mostly clean/organized, but the crawl space still needs work.)

5.  Keep up with laundry.  (Not particularly successful at this one.  I find that I can gather it up, take it to the washer, wash and dry it, and carry it back upstairs, but lack motivation to fold it and put it away.)

For 2012 most of my goals are the same with some tweaks.

1.  Participate in three 5Ks.  I would still like to do this one, but I have no desire to run in one anymore.  When the weather gets warm and the days get longer, I will start to walk the neighborhood again or hopefully, invest in a bike so that I can ride with the kids.

2.  Organize the house.  I will continue to use what I have learned and read to keep my house in better shape.  I will work on the daily chores of laundry and dishes as well as continue to declutter and get rid of what we do not need.  I will teach my children how to play and put away their LEGOs and toys properly.

3.  Eat better.  For many years I have been able to eat what I want, but I have found that I need to eat healthier so that I feel better.  Plus, I could lose about 15-20 pounds and watching what I eat would help me to do it.

My Gift to Myself

I have decided that my gift to myself will be a clean house for Christmas and the New Year.  I stopped mid-cleaning to get this post off tonight.  I have really the kitchen, bathrooms, basement floor, and the rest of the great room left to do.  It is still a lot, but I am trying to clean and throw things away at the same time plus put things back where they belong rather than just shove them in a box, basket, etc.

Tomorrow will be for making beds for guests and probably cleaning the bathrooms so that they are nice and fresh for the guest coming Christmas Day.  It will also be my wrapping day as I have not started that yet!

In the stretch...

At this point I am pretty much done with Christmas shopping.  I have a few gift cards to pick up and all my wrapping, cleaning, and Christmas cards still left to finish.  Hopefully, the house will be mostly clean tonight, and the Christmas cards will get finished!  Loftly goals, I know, but I need a sense of accomplishment.  I have to work the next two days, and then we have guests for Christmas.  I love watching the kids open their gifts on Christmas morning.  I hope they like what they get!  If not, the money they get for Christmas will be used to fill in the gaps especially since Reese is not always really clear in what she wants.

The First Day of the Weekend

Saturday did not bring the gift that I wanted.  I wanted a clean house, inside, that is.  Instead, I got the outside clean.  That would include sweeping up after the man who mowed the grass and cleaning out under the lawn mower so that it can be stored for the winter.  The flower beds are clean of leaves and as ready as they are going to be for the winter.

The gift to myself would be if I can really get cars in the garage this winter.  I tried last year.  I was out on New Year's Eve cleaning the garage out.  I threw lots of things away and even took some things to the scrap metal place, but it never got beyond that.  The vehicles never did make it in the garage last winter.  It was a mild day, close to 60 degrees.  This year, today was the day to put up the things that we do not need for the winter, bike, balls, etc.  It was also time to throw away some things that have not been used and are not useful anymore.  Finally, it was time to put those things that need to go to Goodwill in the truck.

We are almost there.  Most of the garage floor is clear.  Some of the things need to be hung up and we should be good to go.  Pray that the rest can be done; with the vehicles getting older, it would be a lot easier if they could be in the garage at night.

Friday Night and The Gift of the Weekend

TGIF, Thank Goodness It's Friday, is something that most people can agree sounds so good!  This week, especially, I have been looking forward to Friday.  The week of work seemed long, and I was somewhat tired from entertaining my children during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  The children both had after school activites this week, and I had an after school meeting so there was a great deal of juggling.  I needed to work late last night planning with a colleague.  We didn't get much done, but it was a start.

I also need this weekend to recover from last weekend.  I have a laundry list of things to do that I did not get done last weekend with a few things added on like putting up Chirstmas decorations and going to Breakfast with Santa.  I still have high hopes that I will get most of what I want to get accomplished done with the gift of two days without work.

Friday nights, though, I never get much accomplished with regards to housework.  I am usually beat from the work week, and the children are usually happy to just chill in front of the TV and watch videos or play the Wii.  Tonight was no different.  I guess I still had school on my mind and brought it home with me.  On the computer tonight I went researching for free resources on Teachers Pay Teachers.  I found some really good things that I can use right away in the classroom.  Then, I went searching on SMART Exchange for writing mini-lessons.  I got lucky there also.  I know, I know, I should have taken the laundry downstairs and gotten the first loads started, but that is where the gift of the weekend comes in!

I Made It!

What did you learn from doing NaBloPoMo?

I have learned that I can blog everyday.  I have something to say everyday, some days are more profound than others.  Some days are worth more in the memory bank than others, but all are worthy of being written about.  I am glad that I was able to stick it out.  I did not do what some thought was the best course of action, get up early to make sure a post got in everyday, but I still managed to sit down every evening and write something.

Blogging everyday also encouraged me to download my pictures to my computer more quickly so that I could use them in my posts.  My camera's memory stick is grateful!

I am going to go for it again next month.  I like the topic of gifts, but we'll see if I stick with the prompt or strike out on my own!

Presents

Do you like to buy presents ahead of time or right when you need to give them?

I use to like to but presents right when I needed to give them so I could have a particular person in mind while I was shopping.  As time has gone on, I have found that I like to buy some presents ahead of time because I do not always have the time to shop when I need something.  I like to keep lots of general things around so that I have a choice when I pick a gift from the things that I have on hand.  I also find that the gift stash is convenient when trying to keep the cost down when buying gifts for my children to take to their friends' birthday parties.  When they do not go to the store and pick out something, I can better control how much is spent on the gift.

Despite My Good Intentions...

At the beginning of the five day weekend I had good intention of getting some work done for school as well as doing some reading both for pleasure and for professional reasons.  Now, we have come to another Sunday night and of course, I did not do what I intended to do, but I have to put it in perspective with what I did do this weekend.

1.  I was reminded that I said I would edit a master's thesis for a friend of the family.  I have been reading the thesis to edit it.  It is due on the first and is 86 pages long.  I have only finished about 1/4 of it.  Trying to get to page 40 tonight so that I have two days to complete the other 46 pages.

2.  I spent time with family and friends during the holidays.

3.  I kept up with writing for my two blogs daily through the holiday.  Only three more days to go!

4.  I spent time with my children by taking them to lunch, the movies, and the library.

5.  I helped to decorate for a wedding reception.

6.  I raked the leaves and put fertilizer and grass seed down for the winter.

7.  We went to buy our gifts for the giving tree at Church.

8.  We went to Church this morning and then out to lunch.

9.  I started the laundry so that we will have clothes to wear next week.

10.  The reading that I did get done was reading the news on the computer, catching up on friend's blogs, and reading the ads to see if I wanted to go shopping on Black Friday.

Work will always be there when I get around to it.  Time spent with people and doing the things that need to get done around the house are important also.  As for my pleasure reading..., I usually find some time to get it in although with Christmas coming, it may not be until after that!

I Can...

My life has become a series of I can statements.  We are suppose to state academic objectives in kid-friendly language.  I can...  I have charts up around the room stating what students should be doing when they are at each station.  Thought I would list some to face the other aspects of my life right now.

I can...

• clean the kitchen and the house before Thanksgiving
• make sure that Riley practices his math everyday as well as finishes his Social Studies Project and regular homework
• apply for field trips, programs, and grants for school related things
• evaluate my student teacher
• plan for the next few weeks of school
• prepare reading lessons and evaluate and assess reading and writing
• find and return most of the library books I have borrowed
• think of things that my children really want for Christmas
• get some pleasure reading time in over the holiday weekend
• take the family to visit a National Parks Service Site soon
• visit COSI to see the Dora and Diego exhibit
• start and finish the holiday shopping
• start and finish Christmas cards
• meet with some friends and family to share in the holiday joy

I can do all of this and more if I put my mind to it because there are a bunch of things that I know I am leaving out!  I think I can; I think I can.

Where Does the Weekend Go?

It's amazing how one thing can throw off a whole week's schedule.  If we are out of town for the weekend, then the laundry that is usually done on the weekends may get done during the week or sometimes has to wait until the next weekend.  I blame it on the fact that the washer and dryer is in the basement and therefore, not in my line of sight.  Some of that is true; the other side of that argument is that I am good at separating the colors, getting it downstairs, into the washer and dryer, and back upstairs, but I hate folding and/or hanging and putting away.  I have tried to solve this problem by paying my son for putting his laundry away.  It works sometimes.  I fold it for him and put his clothes in a basket.  He actually does a pretty good job of putting it away.  My daughter will put away her socks and underwear in her bottom drawer, but that is about it.

This past weekend the sink was out of commission.  Now, I have a sink full of dishes waiting for me as well as a clean dishwasher.  I know, I know, all I have to do is empty the dishwasher and put the clean things away, and then I can just load the dirty things in the sink into the empty dishwasher, which brings about that putting it away aspect of which I am not so good!

Mission Accomplished

I went to buy the plumber's putty today, and the new garbage disposer is up and working!  Every once and awhile we are able to complete our own home improvements.  The things that I am hoping to get done this winter are a window seat in our bay window, painting the master bedroom, and new blinds for the bedrooms!

This coming week is suppose to be warm so it is time to finish working on the outside of the house, raking, mowing for the last time, cleaning up dead plants and putting winter fertilizer down.  Fun, fun...

They Are Only Young Once!

My words to live by right now are: they are only young once.  I want to be able to experience what I can with my children because one day, they will be able to go and do whatever they want without me.

I use to think that I could miss this event or that event because they would not notice that I was not there.  I don't anymore because I don't know how many events they will have.  With school funding cuts I may not get to go on the field trips that I use to go on.  Last year my son told me at the last minute that he wanted me to go on his field trip.  I made the arrangements and went.  I am glad that I did because this year, there are no field trips.

This year, my daughter had Kindergarten Share Day.  I wouldn't have missed it for the world!  She was so excited to show me her classroom and what she does there.  She also loved that she was able to ride the bus home, which she cannot do everyday.

Today is my son's musical day.  He is just part of the chorus because he did not want to try out for a part, but I know that he wants me there and I will be there to see him and cheer for him.