An Evening at Magic Kingdom

Last night Healthy Henry Communities held Magic Kingdom at East Lake Park, an opportunity for families to spend an evening together getting some exercise and meeting familiar characters along the walking path. Bailey's friends Lilly and Abby arrived at the park the same time we did so she enjoyed taking part in the activities with her friends. The 3 moms also enjoyed the adult conversation.

Bailey and Lilly with the Queen of Hearts (aka: their favorite High School Helper, Miss Dyall)

Bailey with Cruella D'Ville (this girl was type-cast well and had fun with her character)

The girls with the Wizard of Oz characters

Peter Pan Characters

They're Upside Down

Bailey was excited to look in on her caterpillars this morning and see 4 out of the 5 of them hanging upside down. Within 2-3 days they will begin forming their chrysalis and for the next 7-10 days they will be metamorphisizing into a beautiful butterfly. The company who provides this exciting experiment is Insect Lore. I've been just as excited as Bailey to watch the caterpillars as it's been so long since my elementary years that I'm not sure we got to witness this transformation. Bailey said both her kindergarten and 1st grade classes did this experiment.

Growing and Getting Messier

The caterpillars have been eating very well since their arrival on Saturday. Their home has become a little more messy and hard to look into. Perhaps they would like a little privacy as they work towards the chrysalis stage. It should happen within the next 7 days.

Field Day

Today was Field Day at Van Allen Elementary. All the 1st grade classes ran 3 races against each other. The overcast day made it a little cooler, but at least we didn't get rained on and moved inside. While the other grades were racing, the classes sat and watched (or socialized like Bailey did with her friends Lilly, Zack, Owen and Liam).

Day 3: Eating and Getting Bigger

Day 2: The Caterpillars Spin Silk

The instructions said that the caterpillars would start to spin silk to make it easier for them to move around.

Day 1: The Caterpillars Arrived

For Bailey's birthday she received a butterfly kit from Hope and Geoff. The caterpillars needed to be ordered through the mail and finally 5 of them arrived in our mailbox on Saturday. They came in a cup with enough food at the bottom to feed them over the course of 7-10 days. One of the suggestions is to journal about the observations made as the caterpillars change to butterflies. Bailey has been journaling in her classroom since January so this was not a new concept for her. In fact she really enjoys it. And I enjoy reading them. We will be sharing the process of our caterpillars changing to butterflies over the next couple weeks through the eyes of a child.

Take Pleasure in the Small Things

Today marks the start of our summer hours at the college with offices closing at noon. In the past, summer hours involved going home at 4:30 every day. But for some reason, getting an extra 4 hours on a Friday afternoon for myself seems like a bigger perk to me. For the next 10 weeks I will get 4 hours of Mommy time each week and get to start my weekend 4 hours earlier. I know there are many people who make a lot more money than me and probably have better benefits. But I have to wonder how happy they really are in their chosen profession. Do they get to go to a job they love every day like I do? Do they get to meet some of the most amazing and interesting students and colleagues I get to work with? For me, so many benefits in my job are not even the monetary kind. I get to drop Bailey off at school every day, go to a job I love (most days), work with some great colleagues and students and go home to spend time with Bailey. I'll continue to take pleasure in these small things.

I'm Getting Things Done

Over the past 3 weeks, my workdays have moved at a slower pace. However I have felt just as productive thanks to a great book I've been reading, Getting Things Done by David Allen which was recommended to me by my sister, Hope. A couple months ago I was extremely stressed out from work and ended up developing a terrible cold which hung on for a couple months. Remembering another great book I had read a couple years ago, Do One Thing Different by Bill O'hanlon, I knew that I had to do some things differently. Allen talks about mastering your workflow through 5 simple steps: Collecting, Processing, Organizing, Reviewing and Doing. I was excited to read that I was already practicing some methods he suggests like writing things down and finding a place for everything other than your inbox. Some of the new methods he suggests, I've been trying to implement and be mindful of at work and at home. Hopefully if I can condition myself during these next 3 months, the rat race of the school year won't seem so overwhelming. Change is good!

Mommy Time

Early in my motherhood years, I learned the importance of saying 'no' to Bailey when she would say 'Mommy, play with me'. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy playing with her. In fact, I played with her all the time. However the pleasure of playing together wore off and I wasn't really focusing on her, but rather the other things I would rather be doing. So I developed 'Mommy Time'. When I had played with Bailey for a while, I would say 'I need Mommy Time now'. This allowed me to do what I wanted to do. From then on, whenever she saw me reading a book or watching TV, she would recognize that as Mommy Time.

From Mommy Time developed Mommy Weekends. As a single parent, about the only time I get to myself is when I am at work. Although I love my job, work is still not doing leisurely activities that I get to do during Mommy Time. So now I try to make a point of scheduling a weekend for Bailey to go to her grandparents every couple months. In fact, I get another one this weekend. Once Sunday afternoon rolls around, I'm usually ready to go back to being a full time Mom. And scheduling some Mommy Time during the week.

Living in the Moment

With the buzz of the students on campus gone and our activity calendar somewhat clear for the next couple weeks, it seems strange to have time to do what I want to do. I'm the type of person who needs something to do or I will get bored. This was why 3 complete months off in the summer when I worked as a guidance counselor became boring after the first month. I need to be around people and have something to do. However I also need to remind myself that it's okay to slow down and remember what's really important.

Monday night was Bailey's first softball game. This year the girls are being pitched to, but strikes and balls still do not apply. For some girls, they hit the ball after the 1st or 2nd pitch. But for many, it took 5 or 6 pitches. We live in a society that moves at such a fast rate that it was not surprising to me that parents became irritated when the coaches kept giving the girls chance after chance to try to connect with the ball. For me, I was living in the moment of the slower pace and enjoying it. Even though my child was not connecting on the 1st pitch. Our kids grow up too fast and if we are constantly pushing them through at our rate of speed, we will wonder where the time went. So last night after I picked Bailey up from daycare, we went to the park to practice her softball skills. But the most enjoyable part was when she wanted to go play on the monkey bars and I was just living in that moment.

My First Ever Blog Post

One of my goals for the summer was to create a blog to share with those interested enough to read it. I enjoy blogging about Bailey on the My Kids application of my Facebook page, but did not have a place to blog about my thoughts and happenings. And although Facebook has allowed me to reconnect and stay connected with friends and family, there does not seem to be a context or application to fit my needs. So here is my first blog post. Hope you enjoy reading my posts in the future.