Learning As I Go
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School Mom vs. Summer Mom
School Mom vs. Summer Mom: Is there a difference at your house? There certainly is, at mine. School Mom is all about bedtimes, making beds, eating breakfast at the table, no TV before school, homework before screen time, posting the family schedule calendar, making appointments and being clean before getting into bed again. Doesn't sound like much fun, does she? Probably not, but she is a necessary evil. Summer Mom is less concerned about bedtimes, happy to eat ...
More...Jun. 05, 2013 | Permalink | Kim B -
Baseball Life Lessons
Having spent the better part of the last two months watching Little League Baseball Games, I've come to realize that much of the coaching on the field, translates very well into real, regular life. See what you think: 1. "Baseball Ready!" This is shouted before the game begins, before each inning begins. It's the coaches' way of getting the boys' attention...calling attention to the fact that they need to be ready, be focused, be prepared. I would love to be in the classr...
More...May. 01, 2013 | Permalink | Kim B -
Girlfriends
Last week, my friend sent this story to me: GIRLFRIENDS: They Teach It at Stanford In an evening class at Stanford University, the lecture was on the mind-body connection and the relationship between stress and disease. The speaker (the Head of Psychiatry at Stanford) said that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman. One of the best things that a woman could do for her health was to nurture he...
More...Apr. 10, 2013 | Permalink | Ki -
Boys and Their Socks
It is a well-known stereotype that girls often develop specific loves for their shoes. Little girls might spend most of their time, in the morning, selecting which shoes to wear with which outfit. These little girls then grow into big girls who linger in the Nordstrom Shoe Department. No surprises, here. What I didn't know about, was the potential for the same kind of obsession in boys....only the obsession is with socks. Yes, socks. My son is eight. In his short lifetime,...
More...Mar. 27, 2013 | Permalink | Kim B -
Reading Habits are Genetic?
Sometimes, I think we live in a time of "required intensity" for our children. At eight years old, our son is already being asked to choose his favorite sport, devote all of his time to it and give up every other activity. Each time we commit to an activity, for either our son or our daughter, there are multiple forms to sign, indicating our absolute dedication to avoiding all scheduling conflicts. The message seems to be: "You must want to do this activity, all the time, every day."...
More...Mar. 13, 2013 | Permalink | Kim B -
Where I Want to Be
This is where I am: This is where I want to be: Does anyone else out there feel like this every February? Every year, at this time, the call of the tropics beckons me. It's especially loud, right now, as I know people who are actually lounging on this very beach at this very moment. In reality, the Spring Break that comes in March will be spent at kid parties, kid soccer and baseball practices and kid play dates. Lunch with friends will have to ...
More...Feb. 20, 2013 | Permalink | Kim B -
One More Difference...
The differences between boys and girls are many and obvious. From the moment I found out that I would have a little girl, who would become a little sister to my sweet boy, most people offered comments about these differences. "Well, you'll have a whole different experience with her." "You will get to find out that what works with a boy, does not work with a girl!" "Wow, you're in for quite a ride, with one of each." Agreed. Our boy and are girl ARE very different. Whet...
More...Feb. 06, 2013 | Permalink | Kim B -
TV for Me
I've been hearing about it for quite awhile. "You do watch Downton Abbey, right?" "I KNOW you watch Donwton Abbey. It's like everything you like to read." "Surely you've watched since the first season, right?" Well, actually, no. Until now. For Christmas, a dear friend recognized my lack of television screen time and purchased Downton Abbey, Seasons 1 and 2, for me. She said, simply: "You MUST make time for this. It is worth the lost sleep, or the one less thin...
More...Jan. 16, 2013 | Permalink | Kim B -
Dear Santa...
Dear Santa, Please bring me a house filled with regular, healthy people for Christmas. I have had my full of stomach bugs, bronchitis and lice-scares from the elementary school. The whole month of December has been spent with Saturday morning "fine-I-guess-we'll-have-to-break-down-and-go-to-the-doctor" visits, dispensing of antibiotics and a nearly continuous cleansing of the bathrooms and the kitchen. I am worn out with wondering and worrying what we'll wake up and find, each morn...
More...Dec. 19, 2012 | Permalink | Kim B -
Happy Halloween! Is it New Year's yet?
I am the first to admit that life moves pretty quickly at my house. We are busy, busy, busy with school, soccer, dance class, baseball, Indian Princesses, football, church and cheering for TCU. This is by choice. We all love the social nature of these activities and the kids actually behave better, with a healthy dose of a schedule. However, with Halloween in our rear view mirror, it seems that even our fast-paced life has begun to fast-forward. Christmas commercials a...
More...Nov. 07, 2012 | Permalink -
"Which Comes First..."
".....the storybook or the costume?" At our elementary school, we have a Storybook Parade, each year. It's always held right around Halloween. The idea is for the students to come, in costume, based on a character in a storybook. They don their costumes, carry their books, and parade around the school park, for an adoring parental audience. Fun! The challenge, at our house, seems to be that my children decide what costume they want to wear, first. Then, they...
More...Oct. 24, 2012 | Permalink | Kim B -
No Wonder They Love School!
The first six weeks of the school year have come and gone. Report Cards are due to come home today. It hardly seems possible that we are in the full-swing of school, when there is so much fun going on! For the next four weeks, these are the items on my kids' school calendars: Boosterthon Fun Run Carnival Book Fair Storybook Parade There is not a single "regular" week, among them. Not a single "normal" week, without something extra and fun going on. Throw in a Ca...
More...Oct. 10, 2012 | Permalink | Kim B -
Without Exception...
Without exception... There used to be many of these in my life. Without exception, I will control my own schedule. Without exception, I will not cry at work. Without exception, we will have chocolate in the house. Without exception, I will try and see the best in all people. Without exception, there is always a way to get it done. Without exception, I will guard my need for sleep. Without exception, I ...
More...Sep. 19, 2012 | Permalink | Kim B -
Moms are Real People, too!
For this post, I am simply re-posting a brilliant blog about how we, moms, are real people. Contrary to our children's opinion, we do exist, separately from them. More importantly, we are better moms when we remember this and take care to ensure the following things: (These come from April Perry, who writes on the Power of Moms .) Deep down, we need to think of ourselves as people I once read a book called The Sacrificial Mother , which describes many mothers who sacr...
More...Aug. 29, 2012 | Permalink | Kim B -
It's Back to School! It's Fall!
It's Back-to-School! It's Fall! Time to put away the swim suits and shorts and get out the sweaters for the cool mornings! Say goodbye to the sunscreen and popsicles and hello to the warm socks and hot chocolate! Or not. As I prepare for my kids' entrance to Kindergarten and Second Grade, I find myself in a strange place. We're choosing backpacks and lunch boxes, but buying the pants that are a size too large, because no one will wear them for three more months. We'r...
More...Aug. 15, 2012 | Permalink | Kim B -
Life at the Beach
If only Life in the Real World could be like Life at the Beach: Responsibilities are narrowed down to sunscreen, food and sleep. Worries are whittled away to the weather, the arrival time of the ice cream truck and the lines for the Boardwalk Rides. Laundry is reduced to swim suits, towels and t-shirts....a family of four is done with one load! Cleaning and dusting cede to the inevitable sand-in-everything litmus test. &...
More...Aug. 01, 2012 | Permalink | Kim B -
Moms: Never Give Up!
Occasionally, I stumble upon a message that really hits home. I may read it in the newspaper, on another blog, in a passed-along book. The wisdom seems to be just what I need to hear, or read, just at the right time. More often than not, the comfort comes from knowing that there are other people in the world who feel or think or worry about the same things that I do. When the subject matter has to do with being a Mom, there is an additional emotional impact that serves to strengthen the mess...
More...Jul. 11, 2012 | Permalink | Kim B -
It's Hot. Why are we surprised?
As a friend of mine recently wrote: It's Texas. It's late June. It's hot. Deal with it. She's right. This summer heat wave has arrived, yes. But, it has arrived, just as it ALWAYS does. Co-workers, fellow-moms, even weathermen, like to talk about the heat, analyze the heat, make a news-event out of the heat. But, really, the bigger story would be if it WASN'T so hot. Correct? Imagine the news headlines if we made it to July 4th and it was 75 degrees. What if, like in Sa...
More...Jun. 27, 2012 | Permalink -
LIttle Sisters and Baseball
Things for little sisters to do, with other little sisters, while their big brothers are practicing or playing All Star-Little League Baseball every night in the month of June: 1.Try to hang from the sun-drenched metal bleachers, just long enough for little hands to sustain minor burns. 2. Stage a pseudo-doll-hospital along the grass, complete with Hershey Bar wrapper bandages and Twizzler thermometers. 3. Make mud pies by pouring water from drink cups into the smal...
More...Jun. 13, 2012 | Permalink | Kim B -
Post-Mother's Day Reality
Until the day AFTER Mother's Day, I didn't realize how much mileage I was getting out of the holiday. The week leading up to the wonderful Sunday that celebrates me, in my mom-role, was extremely busy. Every kid-activity is coming to an end and seemingly requires rehearsals, recitals, tournaments, team parties and the accompanying food and treats. All of this is fun, but also requires cooperative, happy children, rather than slow-poke, ornery, disagreeable, whiny ones. So, ever...
More...May. 16, 2012 | Permalink | Kim B
