Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Multitude Monday/Tuesday

Well, I am catching up on a Tuesday morning, but with school starting, I gave myself a break. Zoey was such an absolute joy yesterday. What a sweet girl she is most days. She is turning into such a little mommy. She loves to command anyone near her to "lie down, drink your bottle, cry." It's just so funny. At the same time, she will take care of you. She will cover you with a blanket, or even one of the beloved BBs. Sometimes you might even get a little pat. So sweet.
She seems to be doing okay at daycare (which we call school-I don't know, it just makes me feel better). I don't know if she loves it as much as I imagined she would, but she hasn't complained, so I guess she likes it okay. She isn't sleeping great there, but that just means she sleeps later in the morning. I wish it were both.
She did throw-up at school the first week. Maybe she ate too much and was running around too much after, I don't know. Nightmare is what it really was. They couldn't get me on the phone, so they called John and he went and got her. We need to tell them that needs to just happened every time. What a great husband. That leads me to my list. I am not so sure where I left off, so here is a guess.

41. a sweet little girl

42. a great friend staying with me while John is in California

43. going back to work

44. Target

45. A school atmosphere that is so happy and positive instead of chaotic

46. a good rainstorm yesterday

47. a God who does not prey on my fears

48. a husband that I miss terribly

49. being able to travel because of John's job-going to meet him in San Francisco on Friday!

50. Above mentioned friend watching my little tiny while I am away and knowing she is in good care.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

5 Ws and an H

Yesterday I was in one of our many meetings, listening to how we can close the achievement gap between the different groups of kids in our schools. It was a really good conversation. I was relatively interested. I mean, it was my nap time, and I was kinda thinking about how I wanted to get a pedicure, but all that changed when one of the assistant principals brought up something that actually shook me to the core. On the board he wrote "WHO?, WHAT?, WHERE?, WHEN?, WHY?, HOW?" Being an English teacher, I have taught that over and over, but he was about to teach it to me in a completely different way.
He looked at us and said, "How many of your kids know who they are? They might say I am__________, I  am  a boy/girl, and I am X years old." They might even go as far as tyo say they are an athlete or a Christian or a musician, but that is not enough. Could you say who you really are. I mean think about that question for a minute. I did. It really bothered me that I didn't really seem to like what my answer was. This is who (I think, correct me if I am wrong) I am: I am Ashley. I am 28 years old, and I am and I am a woman. I am a wife to John and an mother to Zoey. I am a follower of Christ although not as strongly as I should be by any means at times, this being one of those times I think. I am obsessively afraid of throw-up. I am very selfish. I love holidays. I love teaching, but I am only mediocre at it. Not much of an original thinker. I love to read. I'm proud of my family and my friends, although I don't always show it. I am not just a wife, I am a friend to my husband, and I love my husband passionately. I rely on him too much sometimes I think. I am a person who longs to be better stuck inside a person who is too afraid and too lazy to do anything about it. Oh yeah, and I am also really honest about myself.

So I sat in this meeting on the brink of tears realizing that I was not sure I wanted to face the reality of who I was, because if I did, I may not like it. But I guess we all have to do some unpleasant things sometimes. I guess now that I have it in writing, I can work on it. I looko at the list and I am little overwhelmed. Maybe I'll start running or something. Physical fitness seems to cover a multitude of sins.   

This has really got me thinking. I am doing WHAT next.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Multitude Monday

The summer is fast coming to an end, and I realized that my last post was pretty sad, and although I cried all the tears I could in a short time period, the effects have lingered it seems. It has been a stretch to be in a thankful mindset, although that is extremely selfish to admit. But, I find myself on enjoying a week with John at home, and I have so many things to be thankful for.

31. a husband on vacation

32. a car that has been paid off! Woohoo!

33. lemonade pie

34. being a part of a team (Go Team Knippers!) that makes decisions for our family together. We went preschool shopping today, and I can legitimately say that John is in on the decision making process just as much as I am.

35. comfortable pajamas

36. A sweet friend who added another addition to her family last week. Welcome to the world, baby Ben!

37. One word: Schlitterbahn
We took the youth to Schlitterbahn last Thursday, and it was a total blast. We did have to wait in monumentally long lines, but I had a great time hanging out with the kids and soaking up some rays...

38. two words: no sunburn
...but not too many rays!!!!!!

39.cupcakes (wink)

40. an affectionate little girl