Kindergarten Helper

This morning I had the opportunity to volunteer in Lilly's classroom. Although at first I was dreading the thought of spending an hour with 20 five year olds, it ended up being an awesome experience. I got to the classroom before Lilly and her friends arrived from the bus. I made a few copies for her teacher and by the time I got back to the room, there was my precious baby, sitting perfectly at her desk, working on her morning exercises. (I have no doubt my daughter is always this perfect and that it had nothing to do with me being there! RRRIGHT!) She blushed when she saw me and ran to give me a giant hug! She was so excited to "show me off" to all her little friends! It was precious! What was supposed to be an hour long volunteer stunt, turned into two hours with the little tots. It was so much fun and I really do plan to do it again soon next month!

Heeeeey girrrrrrrl!

My daughter has been quite the entertainer in our house as of lately. Yesterday she informed us about the drama in her kindergarten class. "Evan brought a real phone to school today and called the cops on NaRiah. But the cops didn't show up. Mrs.Summers called Evan's mom and he's going to be in so much trouble." Wow.
(I've never used the word "cop" around my children. She said she learned it from NaRiah. I promise.)

Halloween costume shopping for the kids is expenssssssive. Anderson wanted to be an airplane. Target had the cutest airplane costume, but of course neither of the stores close to us had his size. He settled for a garden gnome! HILARIOUS. I'd upload the picture of him, but I have to save it for Halloween! (Stay tuned!) Lilly has been begging to be Rapunzel. She saw the wig and dress at Target a few weeks ago, and I didn't buy it then...BIG MISTAKE. Every Target from here to Granger is sold out. I now have Aaron looking in MN. We found the costume and wig at Toys R Us, but the wig is $24.99 and the dress is on sale for $19.99. I cannot justify spending $45 on a Halloween costume.

So, I recently "discovered" that I've gained over ten pounds since meeting JM. EEEEK. Thank God he's so understanding and loves me regardless of my added cushion. My motivation has officially headed in a new direction, starting right now. Ten pounds? Seriously? UUUUGH!

The kids and I head to FL in a little over a week! I am SO insanely ready to get away with my little boogers! The kids are SOOOO excited to go to Sea World! (I may be even more excited than they are about it!)It's going to be the perfect little weekend getaway for us. They're looking forward to flying and staying in a hotel. (I'm not.) But it is pretty cute seeing my little travelers in the airport!

I've been trying to sell my treadmill, a twin bed, and my kitchen table on Craigslist. Although I've had quite a few interested people, none of them have panned out. I want to get rid of these items IMMEDIATELY so that JM can have the other side of the garage. It's getting colder at night and I hate that he has to climb into a freeezing cold car in the morning. If anyone knows of anyone in my area who might be interested in any of these things, PLEASE let me know!

I've been "encouraged" to apply for yet another position at work. After the previous experience and disappointment (remember?), I'm not sure I have it in me to go through it again. JM is the only person I've discussed this with, and I am really thinking it through carefully before making any moves. After going through the last interview process, I took quite the beating. I'm just not sure I want to do it again, especially if the outcome is the same. As much as I want to take chances and "move up" in the company, I'm just not sure if right now is the best timing for it all. I need to really decide if this would be best for my family. I'm praying about it and would appreciate prayers from ya'll too. This grown-up stuff is hard!!!

Stress

I got this email from a friend today. I don't typically pass along forwards, but this one seems fitting! Enjoy!
A young lady confidently walked around the room while reading and explaining stress management to an audience; with a raised glass of water, and everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, 'half empty or half full?'... She fooled them all..., "How heavy is this glass of water?", she inquired with a smile. Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.
She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." She continued, "and that's the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden… holding stress longer and better each time practiced. So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night... pick them up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment. Relax, pick them up later, after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it and the now 'supposed' stress that you've conquered!”

REMEMBER, STRESS IS SOMETHING THAT WE DO TO OURSELVES!

1 - Accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue!

2 - Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

3 - Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

4 - Drive carefully... It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker..

5 - If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague

6 - If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it..

7 - It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

8 - Never buy a car you can't push.

9 - Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

10 - Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

11 - Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

12 - The second mouse gets the cheese.

13 - When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

14 - Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

15 - You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

16 - Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.

17 - We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

18 - A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Plans for Me

I haven't shared the latest news, mainly because I was a little scared, but also because I was a little really embarrassed. A couple weeks ago, I applied for what could have been a huge opportunity for me at work. Although I was reluctant to even apply for the assistant director position, I knew that I had to at least TRY or I'd regret it. My boss said that my name had been thrown into the pot by our regional VP and that I should go for it. I submitted my resume to the RVP, EVP, my campus director, and the hiring manager. A day later, I was given an online profiling assessment to complete...all leading me to think I was in the running. I got emails back from the RVP and EVP saying that they were glad I had shown interest and that they would be in touch for interviews.
Flash forward to Wednesday afternoon...I met with my campus director and our RVP. After about an hour conversation, it was clear that I was not right for the position, for many reasons. It would be too difficult to balance as a single parent. How would staff/faculty respond to me as their "leader"? Was I aware of the workload that was involved with this position? I need more experience in other departments of my campus before branching to assistant director. The list continues... I left the meeting feeling extremely defeated. Was the fact that I'm a single mom really going to prevent me from new opportunities? I mean, how would I be able to manage it all? Who would watch my kids if I couldn't get away from work? Was I really prepared to spend even less time with my kids? And then there was the issue of leadership...am I a leader? Could I rally the team and produce results? Am I strong enough to handle harsh criticism? There are so many factors that I hadn't fully considered when I applied for the job. Regardless, I felt like a failure. I felt like I was "stuck" in the position I hold now. I felt like I was letting my kids down, because the new position was a significant pay increase, and would have really made things easier on me, financially.

I talked to my dad later that night and he texted me a verse to read. He said "Jeremiah 29:11. Read this daily and get out of the way of yourself." It was perfect! It was exactly what I needed to read at that moment. "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." As much as I THOUGHT I wanted/needed that new position, I know that it's not right for me (or my family) at this point. I NEED to be home with my kids. I NEED to learn more about my job and wait for the right moment to move on. I LOVE my job. I LOVE the position I hold now. I REALLY love everything about my job. I love my work family, I love the friendships I've made with my work family, and I love the interaction I have with our students. I love that my job allows me to make a difference in the lives of people, that I am part of the investment they make in their future.

Sure, rejection stinks. I mean, I felt really lousy...so much in fact that I took a "me" day yesterday and sat home in jammies with a little way too much Chinese food and a terrible Kate Hudson chick-flick. Six pounds, a few tears, and a day later, I'm over it. I know I'm lucky to even be working, especially at a job I love as much as I do. At the end of the day I have to remember that there are big plans for my future and I just need to be patient enough to wait for them. As my dad always says, "Maybe God isn't saying 'No' he's just saying 'not yet'!

Take Me Home (tonight)

It's no huge secret that I have an odd infatuation with my house. Like I mean, I LOVE being home. It's not that my house is amazing, by any stretch of the imagination, or that my house is immaculately clean. It's neither of those things in fact. But when it comes to making travel plans, the thing that always holds me back is the thought of staying the night somewhere else. This isn't a new thing for me, in fact I talked about it years ago, here. Ever since I had the kids, I literally panic at the thought of what might happen at someone else's house. I worry that their cute little fingers might smudge a perfectly clean window, or that their curious wandering minds might venture into fragile, breakable collectibles. I worry that they'll mess things up.

This weekend the kids and I traveled to Grand Rapids to celebrate Pulaski Days with JM and his family. After catching the last ten minutes of the parade, we spent the remaining part of the afternoon at the park. That night we were going to be staying at JM's dad's house since they were out of town. I literally couldn't enjoy myself because I was so worried what the kids might mess up at their house. It's not that the kids are heathens and would intentionally destroy things, that's definitely not the case, but they are just kids and things do happen. But I wasn't willing to risk that happening at his dad's house. After a couple hours of stressing out, I made the decision to leave. The kids and I left MI around 10pm and got home, safely, around 1:15am...and it was SO worth it to be able to sleep at home.

"I don't have a parade, but you can come to my 50's and 60's party!"

Isn't it great to have friends who will swoop you up in your moments of despair? Thanks Sally!

There are no words...

I've worked for Ross for over two years and never could I have imagined something so terrible happening to our close-knit campus. Last night we got word that one of our evening MA students passed away. She was only 27 years old. Apparently she had some health complications that spiraled out of control. She lost her life at the hospital a short time after arriving there. This has definitely taken a toll on our campus, as the evening MA class was pretty small and quickly became like family. Please keep the Curtis family in your prayers.