sol18: it's okay to cry

Being a parent requires an insane amount of patience, love, and understanding. It's the best and hardest job in the world. It means mistakes will be made, tantrums will be had, but happiness and forgiveness will be the reward. 

James's {big} personality has been taking center stage lately and we love it. Our days are filled with dancing, singing, reading, exploring outside, hide and seek, laughing, trying new foods, you name it. He LOVES life so much and because of this, he never wants to stop doing what he loves!

Yesterday, I picked him up from my in-laws and he was outside swinging with "Ba" (Grandpa). Each time Grandpa would stop the swing, James would sign, "More, more." I let him keep going for another minute or so, but since it was almost dinner time, we had to stop.

As I went to pick him up of the wooden swing, he burst into tears. His little bottom lip quivered, and his brows wrinkled downward. His face was bright red, tears flowing down his face, and he kept reaching back toward the swing as we walked to the car. I held him tightly and whispered in his ear, "I know you're sad because you can't swing anymore, and it's okay to cry."

He cried as I got him buckled in the car seat, and I kept saying, "It's okay to cry, I know you're sad because you had to stop swinging." I set a book on his lap, we pulled out of the driveway, and he was calm and happy by the time we got to the corner.

Parenting is hard work. Sometimes we don't always know what to say or do. One thing I do know is that I will never tell James to "Stop crying." Crying is a way for this innocent child to express his emotions, and I never want him to feel like his emotions of sadness, frustration, or anger aren't worth expressing. Yes, it breaks my heart to hear him cry, but telling James that it's okay to cry and express his feelings actually calms him down quicker. :)

I know that I have a lot left to learn and experience as a parent, but I'm hoping this approach will guide James through life without fear of coming to me when he needs something, is frustrated, angry, or sad.

before the tears :)

sol18: always cold

"What do you want for Christmas?" my husband asked.

"A heated blanket." I answered in a joking tone (even though I was super serious).

I'm always cold. Even when it's 75 out, I still wear a jacket or long sleeves.

2 days later...

"What's in that box?"

"Your heated blanket! I figured I would order one so you could start using it right away!"

Every night since, I've been using that heated blanket and an extra blanket on top. Even last night when the temp topped out at 55 degrees outside, I still needed my heated blanket turned on to a 5. ;)

sol18: feeling coachy

There we were, sitting at my round table talking all things early literacy: what characteristics we see in early level text, how to teach CVC words, the weird schwa sound, how butterfly kits will fit in with our standards/next unit of study; We watched a video of a student sharing her writing (chills), and this teacher helped me pick out some resources we would need for next year.

We scheduled our meeting for a half hour (ending at 2:20), but we were so deep in conversation that neither of us realized that the clock read 2:43!

This is my first year as a literacy coach and some days I leave work feeling more coachy than other days. Today is one of those days. :)

sol18: a mother's intuition

When I was pregnant with James, we kept his gender a surprise. People would constantly ask if I had any inclination whether it was a boy or a girl. I never did. Some weeks I felt stronger that the baby growing inside me was a girl, and some weeks, I felt it was for sure a boy.

I would go back and forth for almost the entire 9 months, until the day before he was born. I was pacing the house making sure everything was in it's place. I walked into the baby's room to sit in the rocker and I vividly pictured a little boy in my arms. I looked over at the changing table and could envision myself changing a boy. I stood up to take a peek at the crib and pictured a baby boy sleeping soundly in there. I went down to practice pushing the stroller and visualized taking a boy for a walk around the neighborhood. The mama-roo in our living room, I imagined a little boy softly rocking.

Everything I came across that day, a baby boy was attached to it. That was my very first case of mother's intuition. <3

sol18: waffle day

It's the best morning of the week around here because Saturdays are waffle days! As Jim is mixing the batter and making bacon, I'm playing with James in the living room. The smell begins to make its way over to us and James yells, "Waf!" 

We get our hands washed, James strapped into his chair, and Jim plates us our beautiful waffles. I hear James say, "Mmmmm..." as he's eating, and a little smirk comes across his face. 

We stuff our faces full, and our bellies remain that way until well into the afternoon. 

Waffle day is the best day. 

sol18: FRI-YAY!

Parcc testing is complete, my husband is home, AND we ordered fries for lunch. Enough said. It really is FRI-YAY! 

sol18: christmas morning

I woke up 15 minutes before my alarm went off, excited and full of anticipation. I got ready with a little more pep in my step, and tidied up some loose ends around the house.

I looked at the clock - only 6 a.m. James was still sound asleep. I cracked an egg into a pan, made some toast, and actually sat down for a hot breakfast. I checked my weather app, only 27 degrees, but I didn't care. I scrolled through some of my other apps trying to pass time.

As I enjoyed the last sips of my coffee, my phone screen lit up.

It's like Christmas morning. :)