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Wordless Wednesday: Train Mechanic

Lessons from My Little One

My son has taught me more about love, life and myself than I ever thought another person could. Please see my latest post on Liberating Working Moms, Lessons from My Little One. <3


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As a working mom, and even more specifically, as a teaching mom, I often mull over the lessons my son might learn from me as he grows up. Will he be a planner like Mommy or will he go with the flow like Daddy? Will he be a horrible cook like Mommy or a quick learner like Daddy? Will he be outspoken like Mommy or a quiet observer like Daddy?

Too often, we ask ourselves these questions. We wonder which of our traits—good and bad—will rub off on our children. Then we think about academics. We wonder if they’ll learn their letters, colors, shapes and numbers before they go to school. We wonder if they’ll be potty trained…ever. Because we’re the teachers. And they’re the learners.

But this week, I realized something. That’s not true. I realized it before this week, but a few things this week reminded me. My son has taught me so much about life, love, and myself. More than anyone I’ve ever known has, or ever could have. Here are a few simple lessons I think we, as hard-working moms, can learn from our wee ones:

1.     “Sometimes…what you least expect happens.” -Love and Other Drugs

Man, there were moments during my pregnancy when I experienced wicked feelings of regret. Why didn’t I just get my Master’s degree, dedicate my life to teaching and writing, and put off the whole start a family thing for a few more years? Why did I subject myself to daily trips to the bathroom to puke?

Well, now I know why.

I expected the worst throughout my pregnancy. I thought about miscarriage, deformities, colic, and more. And you know what I got? Literally the healthiest, happiest, funniest infant I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. My son has taught me that from now on, I’m not going to fear the unknown or unexpected. Because those might be just the things I need.

2.     “Don’t find fault, find a remedy.” –Henry Ford

My son has taught me to problem solve. Lately, he loves to turn the television and Playstation 3 on and off. Although I think it’s hilarious when my husband is playing a video game and my son crawls up to the entertainment center to do his trick, it’s really not a safe place for him to be. I don’t want him messing with the cords and systems, so while we await the arrival of our monster play yard, we’ve been blocking him off with various other items. Items he has learned to push. And items he has learned to climb.

When I strategically placed a laundry basket in front of the cable box and game system, I watched. I could see the wheels turning in his little baby brain. He was problem-solving. How do I get to it? he would ask himself if he could speak out loud. He pulled himself up, cruised to one side, and began pushing it until it was far enough on one side that he could make it to the Playstation 3. He pressed the button, the light turned blue, and he looked at me as if to say, “I got it!”

Sometimes as working moms, we’re so busy that we fail to realize the simple solutions to problems that plague us. We need to look at our problems the way our children do. To them, nothing is insurmountable.

3.     “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do… Sail away from the safe harbor... Explore. Dream. Discover.” –Mark Twain

Babies and children love just checking things out. When I handed my son a piece of banana for the first time, he examined it. He passed it from one hand to the other, squished it between his fingers, stared at it, then ultimately, put it in his mouth. When we’re outside, my son looks around like it’s the first time he’s ever seen a tree or a sunset before. Because maybe, since he’s so young, to him, it is the first time. He chases ants crawling, sticks his finger in between the sidewalk cracks. He turns his head when he hears a fire engine siren. He is inquisitive. He wants to discover.

We need to appreciate beauty in life. We need to try new things. As working moms, we have to make sure to stay out of a rut. Routines can be beneficial. But they can also be stifling. We need to experience things the way our little ones do—like it’s the first time, with awe, and with curiosity.

4.     “A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety.” –Aesop

There is good stress or anxiety. The moments before a wedding. The start of a new job. The arrival of a newborn family member. But then, there are bad kinds of stress and anxiety. And I think we face those more regularly. My son isn’t stressed or anxious. He can’t be. His needs are met. As working moms, we work to meet the needs of our family. We feel like we are entitled to stress, am I right? But the thing is, the stress isn’t helping us accomplish our goals for our workplace or for our family. We need to let it go, eat the crust of bread while breathing easy, and forget about the things that plague us. Even for a few moments a day.

5.     “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” –The Shining

When my son wakes up every Saturday morning, he plays on his play mat in his pajamas for at least an hour. No, he doesn’t have to do laundry. He doesn’t have lesson plans to write. He doesn’t need to send out birthday invitations or grocery shop. But he’s a person. And a person needs play time. Which means, so do I.

Jack Nicholson’s character typed the above quote over and over and over again. Then he went crazy. Ladies, if we don’t have time for ourselves, if we don’t make time to do something for fun, we will lose our minds. I know that I grow resentful if I feel like all I do is cater to the needs of others. While I love pouring into my family and teaching my students, I have passions and hobbies that need tending to, as well.  Find something you love and dedicate some time to it. Dedicate some time in your day to play.

6.     Love unconditionally.

This is the most important lesson I’ve learned. There’s really no love like the love between a mother and a child. People told me that. But I didn’t believe them. Til I felt it.

For thousands of years, people have been trying to put the love between a mother and child into words. In my humble opinion, no one has even come close. The love I feel for my son when I look into his sweet brown eyes is a love I never knew existed. And the way he looks at me is indescribable, too. What I’ve learned about love from him is that you only truly love someone if you love him or her unconditionally. Period. Real love doesn’t keep a record of wrongs.

I guess the point is, maybe I’m not the teacher, after all. Maybe I’m the learner. And maybe, that’s the way it should be.

Down the Road, the Sun is Shining

I’m a pessimistic person by nature. A Negative Nancy. A Debbie Downer, if you will. I often have to remind myself of the little ways in which I am totally rich and blessed: I have a husband who loves me unconditionally, a house to live in, a job, a car to drive, a beautiful, happy, healthy, funny baby boy. Yet, I often find myself confronted with anxiety or depression or just simple disappointment that I haven’t accomplished everything I’ve wanted to in the time I wanted to.

I went back onto Liberating Working Moms and saw the post where we all shared our New Year’s resolutions. I’m not gonna lie. I kind of threw my list together last minute. All of them were items I fully intended on addressing, but my heart really wasn’t in them at the time. The only resolution on that list that I have kept is probably the most important one: to play with my son daily. All the other ones, in some ways, I have failed.

One of my dear friends, Laura-Jean, decided upon the arrival of her third and final (so she says—not many of us believe her) sons that she would sit down and write a goal timeline for herself.

Because if anyone deserves to put herself first now, it’s her. I mean, she won’t put herself first. Technically. Her handsome young men will still be educated, loved, played with, entertained, cooked for, and her husband will still have a saint of a wife to keep their home as perfectly organized and smoothly running as only she can, as she accomplishes her goals. But she’s making her desires and passions a priority. And for that, I salute her.

I decided instead of making lofty long-term goals and dates I MUST stick to—because I know I’ll become Negative Nancy if they don’t happen according to plan and get down on myself if I’m at fault for letting a goal fall by the wayside—I decided to make a list of things I’m looking forward to in JUST the next four months. That way, when I become pessimistic about all of the items on my to-do list for each week, when I miss my son while I’m at work, when I have doubts about my future, when I get stressed out at work, I can remember these little pieces of sunshine that will greet me soon enough.

MARCH 2012

Things I Look Forward To:

1.              Going on a lunch date and to see The Hunger Games with Jimmy- We both read and enjoyed this trilogy. We’ve gone to dinner and a movie ONCE since Will was born. It’s overdue.

2.              Seeing Matthew and Caroline!!!- Our best man and his lovely wife will be visiting from Asheville. Even if we only see them for a day, it’s worth it. They are two of the most beautiful people I know.

3.              Participating in my first MLB Fantasy Draft on March 31- nervous, but so, so, so excited about this. And determined NOT to be the quintessential girl.

Goals:

1.              Write one new short story

2.       Finish The Scorpio Races- I don’t read as much as I used to. I started this one over Christmas break, put it down, picked it up, put it down. I just re-started it last week and I will keep reading until I’m finished, even if it’s only a couple pages a day.

APRIL 2012

Things I Look Forward To:

1.              Spring Break- just me and my boy <3

2.      Major League Baseball starting!!! April 13--Braves home opener!!!

3.             Will’s first birthday party!!! <--event of the century, people!

4.             Jimmy’s graduation-Master’s Degree, baby!

(I just realized that April is going to be a pretty badass month.)

Goals:

1.              Compile milestone pictures and create Will’s first year scrapbook

2.              Take Will to one new place and try one new craft over Spring Break

3.              Start reading a new book, preferably on my Kindle

MAY 2012

Things I Look Forward To: 

1.              Turning 26 (not really… that sounds too close to 30, but it's an excuse to eat cake)

2.              Celebrating Mother’s Day

3.              Seeing the Braves at the Trop!!! />/>/>

Goals: 

1.              Organize all educational materials from my classroom at the end of the year

2.              Get to the stadium EARLY to see batting practice when the Braves play the Rays

JUNE 2012

Things I Look Forward To:

1.              Summer off!

2.              Celebrating my 4^th wedding anniversary with my love

3.              Seeing COLDPLAY live in concert!

Goals:

1.              Write DAILY

2.              Use Rosetta Stone or Little Pim (haven’t decided which to buy yet) to learn Spanish FLUENTLY… No seriously. This NEEDS to happen this year. No excuses.

3.              Work out... Also NEEDS to happen.

4.              Look for an online teaching position to relieve some of the stresses of working outside the home and to be more available to my son

5.              Contact advisor at University of Tampa, University of South Florida and University of Central Florida regarding applications for MFA in Creative Writing

6.              Study for the GRE if necessary

7.              Get new glasses :)
8.      Enroll Will in swimming classes!

Before I wrote this, I didn't realize how much I had to be positive about in the next four months. I think this is a good start.

Cooking Impaired?

Check out this week's Liberating Working Mom post about how I am completely and totally cooking impaired.

That Teacher Evaluation Post...

When my first evaluation of this school year rolled around, I didn’t know what to expect, and sort of ran on adrenaline. It was the beginning of the year, my lessons were prepared, my kids were relatively well-behaved, and really, what was the worst that could happen? I could “score” as a developing teacher. I could be told I need serious improvements in my classroom management. And hopefully, I would be given advice on how to improve before the next observation.

I didn’t really give it a ton of thought.

But now that my second one looms over my head, and I sit at the dinner table discussing it with my husband, a few things come to mind.

I’m tired of getting calls about the latest Senate bill being voted on without any input from real-life, day-to-day educators.

I’m tired of my students feeling anxious because they think something they say or don’t say to an assistant principal might affect my job status.

I’m tired of being stripped of all creativity for the sake of standardized testing.

I’m tired of not just being me in my own classroom. And my students not being themselves.

The Marzano evaluation system covers 41 domains. 41. Of those 41 domains, I don't think they touch on many things GOOD teachers do on a regular basis. Should I have routines, rules and procedures in my classroom? Absolutely. Should my students be engaged in a lesson? Certainly. Should my students be able to answer the "Lesson Essential Question" for that day? Yeah, maybe. But when you ask my student a loaded question like, “At what point did you lose interest in today’s lesson?” you are setting me and my students up for failure. And there are so many more parts to being a teacher than routines and discipline.

So, Mr. Marzano, Mr. Governor, Mr. President, and all other parties involved in creating unrealistic legislation and inconsistent evaluation processes, here are some situations I have undertaken in the last four years that you might find interesting... I only thought of 10 off the top of my head.

1. I spent time in my portable (yes, portable—but you probably have a nice office with a view, right?) with a student after school hours translating a letter to her parents from English to Spanish. You see, she had just moved to the United States from El Salvador, and didn’t really understand how to read Julius Caesar with her classmates. So, after printing her shorter summaries and pictures to go with the material, along with giving her oral exams because she couldn’t write words in English yet, I communicated with her parents in their native language to let them know what was going on in their daughter’s education.

SIDE NOTE: I was there, just four weeks after having my first child, to see that girl from El Salvador graduate from high school. Wouldn't have missed it for the world. I hugged her, congratulated her, and took a picture with her. So I can remember true successes that aren’t printed on data sheets.

2. I left my class alone… Yes, alone. I left sixteen-year-old students in a classroom by themselves. Not a best practice, right? What if I told you I left them alone because no one in the front office would answer the phone and because I had to walk one of my students to a social worker immediately? You see, she confided in me that she wanted to take her own life that night. I know I broke the rules. But I may have saved a life, too. Does that count?

3. In the midst of a district-wide senior project, I stopped my lessons to give my students a copy of my own resume. Many of them were talking about the economy, employment, and how financially difficult things were getting for their families. When I showed them my own resume, many of them admitted they had never seen one before. So, I took a break from ACT prep. I took a break from Senior Project. I taught them how to write resumes using mine as a guide. Then, I made them dress professionally and conducted mock interviews with them.  Multiple students accepted job offers in the following weeks. One of them even told me the hiring manager complimented him on his resume. Too bad mock interviews aren’t in the English curriculum.

4. During my lunch, I sat with a girl and helped her write multiple scholarship and college entrance essays. But it’s okay that I didn’t get to eat. She’s now into her second semester of college, on her way to a promising career.

5. I proofread multiple love letters one of my students wrote to his girlfriend. On my own time. In between classes. During my planning period. Because he can’t spell, but he wants to express his feelings to a girl he thinks is beautiful. And I think that’s important enough to spend time on.

6. I notice when my teenage girls come in hormonal and upset. And I listen to them. When their boyfriends hurt their feelings. When their parents get divorced. When their best friends make fun of their hair extensions and spray tans. When they don’t get asked to prom.

I notice when my teenage boys are pissed at the world. I talk them out of fighting. I stand up for them to other teachers. And if they don’t get their work done that day? “It’s okay,” I tell them. “We’ll work it out.” Because we will. And because EVERYONE has off days.

7. I got an email this weekend from a girl asking me what to do because she likes a boy. And I answered it.

8. I got another email from a student asking me how to use databases to search for sources for her research paper. And I answered it.

9. I got an email a few weeks ago from a former student asking me to help cure his writer’s block for a college paper. And I helped him. And he got an A.


I answer all emails I receive from current and former students. And their parents. And my co-workers.

Because they matter.

Because I teach more than English.

10. I go to school plays and shake the hands of the students who perform. I go to baseball games with my husband and son and cheer when one of my boys pitches a strike or drives in a run.

I know there are more situations. But you get the picture.

So, I have a request. How about we add a domain to the evaluation process? How about we dedicate one domain to teachers who genuinely CARE about students?

Because in that domain, I would be considered innovative. Exemplary. Whatever you want to call it. Because I do care. And if you want to call me developing, I’m fine with that. Have I ever shown a movie in class that wasn't totally related to the curriculum? Have I ever been behind on grading? Have I ever said something sarcastic? Have I had a bad day as a teacher? Yes. 


But whether a student likes me, hates me, thinks I need improvement or I’ve already “arrived” as a teacher, at the end of the day, I bet they'll tell you I have their best interest at heart. Always have. Always will.

I am thankful that I work for and with an administration who encourages me, sees the good I do, and does not set me up for failure. I wish all teachers could say the same.

I would like to state for the record that I have NO problems with observations. I have NO problems with an evaluation system that assures the best teachers are in the classroom with our nation’s youth.

I just think the current systems are flawed. Like most of us, and like most of our students. Life fluctuates. So does my classroom. And it will be that way until someone takes the title of “teacher” away from me.

Home is Where the Mess is

Are you the perfect housekeeper? Would you like someone to make you feel better about the way your house looks?


Please see this week's Liberating Working Moms post: Home is Where the Mess is.

Wordless Wednesday: Think Big

Wordless Wednesday: Baby Love

I'm a Working Mom. Oh, and I'm a Wife, Too.

This week's LWM post: Working Wife

And time goes by...

On my planning period today (and in between periods, and after school) I was looking at pictures of my little boy. And I just can't believe that this:

has so quickly turned into this:

Sigh. My little boy is getting so big so fast <3

Wordless Wednesday: Messy Little Hands

Wordless Wednesday: Window Watching

Liebster Award

A couple of months ago, a friend of mine, whose blog you can find here sent me a comment that she awarded with me the Liebster Award for blogging. Sarah is a new mommy of a boy, a breastfeeding, cloth-diapering mommy--very unlike me, haha--and she was awarded the blog from a woman she connected with who lives in Australia. In the last few months, as I've begun writing weekly for Liberating Working Moms, I've really grown as a mother and a writer. I've also started following a LOT of mommy blogs, including one of my favorites, Play at Home Mom. While I've learned more about the blogging world, links, pictures, etc, I decided to go ahead and pass on the award that was given to me.


I have not earned a ton of followers to my blog, but really, it's been more about my own making sense of things, my own sanity, and my own memories. So, the fact that Sarah gave this to me reminds me that I need to recognize my friends and cyber-friends who are making sense of their lives but have fewer than 200 followers. 


In accepting the blog, I am asked to do the following:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.

2. Reveal 5 blogs you have chosen for the award and let them know by leaving a
comment on their blog.

3. Copy and paste the award to my blog.

4. Request that people you have sent the awards to forward it on to their favorite bloggers.

5. It has to be given to a blog with fewer than 200 followers.

Here are the 5 blogs I am sending an award to:


1. Sister-Dipity: Though I do not know Rebecca personally, somehow I stumbled upon her blog and now I look for updates on a regular basis. She is a fellow teacher with three beautiful children (all with lovely, classic names). When I decided to follow her blog, I first read the Emerson quote on the side of her page. It was something I needed to hear that day, so I'll attribute it to fate.


2. Faith inFertility: Naomi does not post a lot, but when she does, it is poignant. Naomi and I have been good friends for years, and I have watched her through her marriage reconcile that some of her dreams are taking longer to come true. I have been apart of her first fostering experience, and can't wait to see the next chapters of her life and how she blogs about it to encourage others. 


3. The Mommy Circumstance: Laura-Jean and I met in high school after she moved to Florida from upstate New York. She is a go-for-it kind of person, someone I need in my life to remind me that things don't need to get humdrum and complacent. She just welcomed her third beautiful son, Davis Hawthorne, into the world, and she blogs about all the aspects of being a woman, wife, and mother.


4. Sunshine and Spilled Milk: Danielle Renae is one of the most beautiful people I know. She was my matron of honor and she was present when my child was born. Long before I even thought about becoming a mother, she was a stay-at-home mom, teaching her son, creating work space for her husband, making beautiful crafts, and blogging about it.


5. Chill Mama Chill: Brandee and I met through Liberating Working Moms, and I just love how she can tell it to you STRAIGHT in her blogs about being a new mother.

Check these blogs out!

Working Mom or Mom Who Works?

Check out this week's Liberating Working Moms post: Mom Who Works

Wordless Wednesday: Brown-Eyed Boy

Limbo

Limbo
noun
1. (in some Christian beliefs) the supposed abode of the souls of unbaptized infants, and of the just who died before Christ's coming.
2. a West Indian dance in which the dancer bends backward to pass under a horizontal bar that is progressively lowered to a position just above the ground.
3. an uncertain period of awaiting a decision or resolution; an intermediate state or condition; a state of neglect or oblivion.


I wish I were talking about #2, at like a party or something. But I'm not.


Right now, I am in an uncertain period. I feel like I've been waiting forever for my dreams to come true. Not even that. Just for something to change. I know I haven't been waiting forever, but it feels that way. I am living in a house I don't want to live in. It's small--comfortable for right now, but not to live in long-term--with short ceilings, leftover paint from the previous owners that I just can't seem to cover, dead grass, a broken fence in the backyard, a desk and bookcases in the dining room because a baby took over the office, and other little treats. We were given notice last year that our mortgage is being raised because of sinkhole coverage and we were told recently not to plan on leaving any time soon unless we have thousands of dollars to GIVE the potential buyers at the closing. Well, swell. I love hearing that my house isn't even worth the measly amount of money we paid for it. I love knowing that I can't move on with my life because of our beloved economy. Every day, more and more, I wish we had been smart and rented.


The thought of staying in this house 3-5 more years, in this neighborhood, in this town, makes me want to cry. I'm not saying I want to up and move to Hawaii. I just want to see something different. I want to live on a street where people take care of their lawns. I don't want to hear stray cats mewing at night. I don't want to walk my son in the stroller and see hubcaps on someone's lawn with a misspelled FOR SALE sign. I want to own or rent a house I'm proud of. I want to have people over. I want a pool for Will to learn how to swim.


Now I that I re-read this, I feel like I sound like a jerk saying I want over and over again. But I shouldn't be sorry, because it's the truth.


I never saw myself teaching at a public high school in New Port Richey and raising my son here, so it's hard to stomach. Which brings me to my next point: my job.


Let's just go ahead and admit it: the school system isn't what it should be. Understatement of the century. I love my students, I really do. I care about their physical, emotional and academic well-being. They are what can make my day go very right or very wrong. I can usually come into a class, hear a student say something funny or watch while a struggling student finally "gets it" and that's enough for me to forget about the politics and the lack of pay, appreciation and benefits. But lately, it's just not enough. 


I want to get my Master's degree. I miss being in school. Logistically and financially, I just don't see it happening any time soon. Which means I'm stuck, a 25-year-old with an education degree. Who wants an education degree? A school. 


Idon'twanttoworkataschoolanymore. I want to be free, to be with my son more often. I want time to write, to really seek an agent and finally get published (I promised myself I would be published before 30--even that dream is looking grim). I want time to see my son learn and explore, instead of teaching other people's sons how to pass standardized tests.


Everyone has to make sacrifices in life. My husband and I decided that financially, it would be best if he got his Master's first. But I'm jealous. I just get to sit around while he furthers his education and has the prospects of other jobs. I want to look forward to what I do each day. I want to love what I do. I want to be an example to my son.


There go the I wants again. 


Thing is, what I want isn't really top priority anymore. And I'm okay with that. And the only reason I'm okay with that is because of Will. 


I am so thankful that God gave me that little boy on April 23, 2011. Even when I didn't know if I wanted him. Even when I didn't think I could handle him. He is what gets me through the day, because now I don't have to find meaning in my position at a difficult job. I don't have to find meaning in my short stories, and whether or not a publishing company enjoys reading them. I don't have to find meaning in my education or ambitions. 


That's why I usually refer to him as the wish I never wished for, because even though I wished for so many other things, someone bigger than me knew he was everything I ever needed to come true. 


And when I look in his beautiful brown eyes, see his long eyelashes flutter, and get a big open-mouthed kiss as he smiles, limbo doesn't feel too bad.

Wordless Wednesday: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Let Nature Be Your Teacher

I'm currently reading the book Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv, and it has been a real eye-opener.

Normally, I do not pride myself in being "outdoorsy." I don't hike, camp, fish, ride bikes, or anything of the like. I've never been an athletic person. I don't like spiders, so I steer clear of the woods. I hate the Florida heat so from about May to September, you'll normally find me inside, cranking the air conditioning. If I want to run or exercise, I typically do it in a controlled setting, or attend a class at my gym for motivational purposes.

That being said, I really do love nature. I always found solace sitting by the rippling lakes near my private university my first year away from home. I would write some poetry or just listen to the birds chirp and realize how small I was in the scheme of such a big world. I like lying on a blanket or on the grass at the park looking up at the shapes the clouds make. I enjoy taking walks with my little boy in the stroller when the weather is temperate. I'm not a huge fan of going to the beach to swim in the Gulf of Mexico, I don't like getting sand in places it doesn't belong, and I hate sunburn, but I adore the beach at sunset, walking along the shoreline, feeling the wet sand between my toes and watching crabs sneak into their little holes.

I want my son to grow up to love nature, to learn from nature. I don't want him sitting in front of the television, playing video games, eating potato chips and thinking everything in life comes with wood floors and central air. In Last Child in the Woods, Louv discusses the sobering fact that in the United States as well as many countries (developed and underdeveloped), children are growing up indoors more and more often. He also includes research supporting the theory that nature-deficit disorder, a phrase he has coined which is not actually a diagnosis, contributes to physical and mental illness in children and adults. I can totally see his viewpoint.

When I'm surrounded by the quietness of nature, or when I hear ocean waves crash, when I see the pinks and oranges light up the morning sky on my way to work, something inside of me awakens. It sounds cheesy, but it's totally true. Nature does something to you. And I believe nature can heal the mind and body. It can teach.

As I continue to read this book and reflect on its contents, I want to promise myself something: my son will spend time outdoors. I may even have to conquer my fear of spiders so I can climb a tree with him someday. (Side note: this day will probably be sooner than I think, because although William is nine months old, he seems to think he is Spiderman these days, climbing the stroller, the playpen, the entertainment center, and various other items he shouldn't be climbing.)

So far, as a working mom, I have made time on my evenings, weekends, and vacations to spend a lot of time with William. I have talked to him, played with him, watched him learn, and let him explore. Because he was so little in the summertime, we spent most of our time inside, watching Major League Baseball and playing on his playmat. I made an effort to take him on walks in the stroller, but he didn't react to much except to squint when the sun was in his eyes. But when fall came, and he was five months old, and since winter has come, he's been so much more alert, more mobile, more alive. In his short lifetime, we have exposed him to nature in various ways:

1. We took him swimming. (Side note: Someone told me after the fact that a baby should be six months old when he goes in the pool for the first time and that the water had to be 84 degrees... He was five weeks old, the water was cold, and he survived.) 


2. We take him for walks around the neighborhood on a daily basis. He loves to sit up and look over the stroller like a big boy :)


3. We hung a swing from the tree in our front yard and pushed him while he laughed :)

4. I sat him in the sand at the beach, let him grab the sand, smush it between his fingers, and even put a shovel to his mouth. The first time, he didn't know what to do and his face was one of amazement. You can see that picture in an earlier post.


5. I also held his hands and let him walk barefoot in the cold water. You can tell from the pictures that he has been to the beach over and over again this fall and winter. Sometimes, I have to love Florida for that. 

5. We've taken him to multiple local parks where he could play on the playground and crawl in the grass.

6. We took him to the zoo to see wild animals in captivity and to the aquarium, where he loved standing up against the glass and seeing the sharks swim.

7. We brought him to the sponge docks in Tarpon Springs and walked the St. Pete pier on New Year's Eve where he could watch the boats float by.

I know it's going to be difficult when the summer comes and rears its ugly Florida head and the humidity reaches 110%, but I want to make it my goal to spend time with Will in nature at least once a week, or whenever he wants as he grows up. I want him to run, play, get dirty, breathe the fresh air, and use his imagination.

Wordless Wednesday: Sensory Ball

[I'm aware it's Thursday. But I was off Monday. So it feels like Wednesday.]

Sweet, sweet three-day weekend

I never appreciated weekends as much as I do now that I'm a working mom.

This weekend, my husband, my son and I got to spend some quality time together. We took Will to the Florida Aquarium for the first time. Jimmy and I get in free because we're teachers, which is a plus since Will's attention span is... well, that of an almost nine-month-old. He was enamored of the penguin, enjoyed crawling up to the glass at each of the fish exhibits, and he and Daddy loved watching the sharks!

When we got home from the aquarium, we let Will play with his bath toys in some colored water and then we gave him shaving cream for the first time. The first thing he did was squish it between the fingers on both hands and then grab his feet!

Because we got Martin Luther King Day off, we had even more time to spend with Will. A Monday I don't have to get up at 5:30 AND I get to be with my son? Bonus! After we snuggled long into the morning, I took Will to see Gamma and to the park while handy Daddy made a sensory board. He used great ideas we saw on the Play at Home Mom blog. So thankful for people like the mothers on this site who share such meaningful ideas for helping kids learn through play.

Will loved the jingling bells, the push lights, and the bead maze. He also decided to take a mouthful of the plastic tubing! Lots of good stuff going on... back to work tomorrow!

Reversed Separation Anxiety

Check out this week's post on Liberating Working Moms: Reversed Separation Anxiety

Wordless Wednesday: Shapes

Cultural Childcare (LWM post)

Click here to read Cultural Childcare... or just continue reading :)


In honor of my mother-in-law's birthday, I wanted to post an article I wrote that was published on the Liberating Working Moms website last week. I love my mother-in-law! Enjoy!

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It’s no secret among my family and friends that I have specific taste in men. I like Hispanics. Always have. I blame part of that on the fact that I grew up watching Major League Baseball, and the other part on mere chance and the fact that everyone is different. So, it’s not surprising that the love of my life and my high school sweetheart is from Puerto Rico. My husband and I spent nearly four years as a dating couple then one year as an engaged couple before we tied the knot. We always planned on starting a family, and knew that because we both worked, my mother-in-law’s house would become the daycare center. I don’t think it was until our son graced us with his presence that we realized how truly different our cultures and upbringings are.

I speak a little Spanish. Enough to pass a couple of years in the high school elective, to order food at a restaurant, and to eavesdrop on my mother-in-law’s conversations with her mother-in-law. But I definitely don’t speak enough to read, write, hold lengthy conversations, or teach my son. I hope to drop a few bucks on the Little Pim series soon. That way, I can immerse my son and myself, as well. My husband speaks fluent Spanish and English. He moved to Florida when he was four years old, so he’s as American as they come. But there are some discrepancies. Every once in a while, I’ll use an old saying my grandmother taught me. “Six of one, half a dozen of the other.” “You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.” And he looks at me like I have two heads.

My mother-in-law, who lovingly takes care of our son while we (working mom and working dad) teach every day, also speaks fluent Spanish and English. She lived in Puerto Rico through her 20s, so she definitely less “Americanized” than my husband and still has an accent. She is incredibly intelligent, and speaks English very well, but we all giggle when she calls all storage items—even small Tupperware—“buckets” and when she calls my son’s car seat his “box.

Every day, my mother-in-law lovingly watches my son from about 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. During that time, she speaks to my son in Spanish and teaches him Spanish songs. He’s not old enough to respond yet, but I can tell he is learning. And I’m not going to lie—sometimes I love it, and sometimes, I secretly worry that it will make me less of a good mother if my son says his first words in Spanish.

My mother-in-law is a saint. I firmly believe that when she enters the pearly gates, she will be rewarded with the largest mansion Heaven can offer. She has been a stay-at-home wife, mother, and now, grandmother, since she married over 30 years ago. She keeps the cleanest home I’ve ever been in, cooks daily, and decorates shamelessly (I’m pretty sure she has color-coordinated shower curtains, bath mats, and hand towels for every season and holiday

I often wonder why my husband decided to marry a domestically challenged working white girl who makes PB&Js and Velveeta shells and cheese. Either way, I can get a lot of ideas from my husband’s family and culture. Some I like, and some, well, not so much.

One tradition my mother-in-law told me about is Dia de los Reyes, or Three Kings Day. This is a holiday she celebrated throughout her childhood in Puerto Rico. The basis of the holiday surrounds the birth of Jesus Christ. Children are supposed to gather grass for the camels transporting the kings to baby Jesus, put the grass in a shoebox under their beds, and go to sleep. In the morning, the camels have eaten the grass and the kings have left small gifts for the children. I immediately fell in love with this tradition. A way for my son to be in touch with his Puerto Rican heritage and an excuse for me to give him more gifts two weeks after Christmas? A way for me to take the culture my son learns at “daycare” and incorporate into my life as well? Sold. I already bought the little gift to go in the shoebox—let’s hope I can hold out until January 6!

Now, I’m not always the most gracious when it comes to these traditions. I’m not always thrilled that my son is taken care of by family while I work. My in-laws aren’t the annoying types who give advice constantly, but when my father-in-law reminded my husband that in Puerto Rico, it is typical to name your son after your father, my response was, “Well, we’re not doing that.” When my mother-in-law told me one afternoon when I came to pick up my son that many Puerto Rican women believe that putting a balled up piece of yarn on a baby’s forehead helps cure hiccups, I crinkled my nose. But when I think that every day while I work, my son is learning a second language and when I realize that although he has many influences (just like any child of a working mom), he’s going to grow to be his own unique little self, I can’t help but smile.