We LOVE CORE!

Well, for now we do anyway! LOL

Yesterday was the first day and it seemed to go very smoothly for Kayti and for the rest of us. We had to get up MUCH earlier than we are used to because we had to take Dylan to school and then head over to Moody so Kayti could be at "school" by 7:55. Despite being stopped by a train and hitting a patch of traffic caused by a schoolbus and then another patch of traffic caused by a garbage truck, we made it with a few minutes to spare even. Brooke and I walked her in and helped her find where she was supposed to put her lunch, belongings and her first class and then me and Brooke were off to work!

We got stopped by ANOTHER train but I still made it to work on time for my first day as "Discovery Room" teacher. It went VERY well. Brooke went in another room for a little while and worked on her math but then she came to help me. I have an assistant also and she is AWESOME! The 5k and 4k classes were a dream and they seemed to love it. I am looking forward to teaching them a lot this year. The 3k classes are still in the "baby" phase. Most didn't seem like they have gotten used to the idea of "school" yet, let alone doing something different. So that was challenging.

In talking to my mom, we are noticing a disturbing trend among kids these days, especially preschoolers (Mom works with preschoolers, too) It seems like the "it's all about me" attitude is getting so much worse and I'm concerned about that. I'm already well acquainted with quite a few who were raised as the center of attention and now that they are grown up and realizing it's NOT all about them, they are having an extremely difficult time. What's worse is that their pitfalls do not only affect them. They affect those around them and that's what concerns me most. Parents should be raising their children to one day be able to be on their own. As much as I love my children and would love to keep them babies for the rest of their life to make ME feel useful and fulfilled, it simply isn't healthy. Do I want them to grow up, move out and never come back? No, of course not. My mom is now one of my best friends and I hope one day my children will consider me in the same regard. Am I naive enough to think they won't ever or shouldn't ever need me again in some way? No, also not true. I still need my mom, A LOT and regretfully, I have had to borrow a little money from her from time to time. And I will gladly help out my kids should they ever need a little "help". Nothing wrong with that. But supporting them the rest of their lives like a lot of parents I know now do? To me, that amounts to more than a failure on the kid's part. It's the failure of a parent to show that child how to survive, how to thrive, how to give back and just plain old NOT be a leech on the rest of society!

Of course it's sad when we have to leave our toddlers in someone else's care. I remember that all too well (and I left mine in the care of my own mother!) You feel so many different things for leaving--guilt, anxiety, sadness, etc. And it is completely natural for the child to have those clingy feelings and for us to want to protect them from feeling that way. But we do them more harm than good if we show them that WE can't control ourselves. It's selfishness to put your own emotions over the well-being of your child and I see it all too often. It breaks my heart. Maybe I'm alone in that I take parenting way too seriously. I sure hope not. Am I a perfect parent? Oh please! But I try very hard not to let my failures and shortcomings take my eyes off the goal.

Another thing I'm seeing lately is this allowing your child to quit something they started. Whatever happened to what our parents used to tell us? "You start something, you finish it?" Twice this year I've witnessed this and the excuse is always the same--"I just don't want to listen to them whine/gripe/complain" :::Jaw dropping big time here:::

Do you think their boss is going to one day want to listen to it? Or their husband/wife? There are always valid reasons for quitting but in my opinion, that isn't one of them. I tell my kids all the time, there will ALWAYS be things that don't make us 100% happy. But if you committed to do something and especially if there are other people depending on you/counting on you/expect you to do your part, your "happiness" is not the top priority. Suck it up! Put your big girl/boy panties on and deal with it!

*sigh* just another symptom of the self-centered society we live in.

Anyhoo...I honestly didn't mean for this blog to start as a whine, vent & moan session! LOL

After I was through with work yesterday, Brooke and I had a "van" picnic and went shopping! I got Brooke & Kayti both some shorts off the clearance rack at Cato's and had to pick up a few things at Walmart. We hung out at the library for a while and then went back to Community to wait on Kayti to get out of school. We picked Dylan up and headed to Pep practice and dance practice during which time my headstrong teenage son and I had a brief and heated argument! You know, I used to think I was halfway intelligent until I became the mother of a teenager! Now I'm reminded quite often how stupid I really am! LOL Oh, he doesn't dare say that (he'd be picking himself up off the floor, I don't care how much he can "benchpress") but it's just that teenage attitude and mannerisms that remind me that I, too, "knew it all" when I was 16. Why couldn't all of life's problems have hit me when I had all the answers to them! LOL Wouldn't that have been groovy? *sigh* Just can't wait until next year when I'm the mother of TWO teenagers. I guess you guys will all have to pitch in and help me relearn to read, I'll be so stupid by then!

So today is one of our "down" days. Not down as in sad, just down as in NOT busy! It's 2:12 p.m. and I'm still in my pajamas. The girls are doing their school work and I am helping them (and they did get dressed) but we take things at a slower pace.

We finally made a decision about music lessons. Brooke really did not want a new teacher yet. So I am going to continue to give her piano lessons. I cannot work out Kayti's violin lessons with my new work schedule so I'm going to try and do that myself as well. I don't play the violin but I do read music and I think I can keep her going until we find someone else. Worse comes to worse, I can teach her piano, too. At least it's some form of music (music education is VERY important to me), it will save us some money and one less day of having somewhere to GO!

I haven't made any decisions about Camp Fire yet. I know Kayti really wants to be involved with the Builder's Club (part of Key Club/Kiwanis) this year and though she COULD do both, I'm not sure it's a good idea given her classload. I was also wanting to get Brooke involved in 4H but the club that meets through Community is based in Pell City. I'm not driving that far and I don't know if I want to start one (which seems to be the response I get when asked about having one closer) because I have enough on my plate as it is. So she may continue with Camp Fire. I love it and don't really have any reason for NOT wanting them to continue. But their lives are taking them in a different direction and I feel like I should just go with the flow.

Our family meeting went pretty well the other day. But it's obvious now that I have three kids that think I wasn't talking to them! There have been some bedtime issues, chore issues and some resistance to a few other things. But we're sticking to our guns. My home has always been a haven and I'm determined to keep it that way and lately I could feel it becoming more and more chaotic. I DO like to be busy. But the older I get, the more I'm finding that balance is key and attending Kathi's seminar helped me to confirm that. I'm so relieved that I don't have to feel guilty for not being involved in some things, even though they are worthwhile and good things (like church). I know it's important to serve God and thankfully He has shown me how I am to do that. I understand that some feel strongly that everyone should serve a church and I understand why they feel that way. I used to feel the same way--I resented those that came to be fed and never gave anything back. But now I understand why sometimes God chooses to have some serve the church and others serve in other ways. I love my church very much and I was once VERY involved in serving it. But it's not what God wants me to do right now and until He shows me otherwise I will keep doing what I'm told! (like I wish my kids would do! LOL)

Blessings!