This post will make the most sense if you are familiar with the Fail Blog. This blog generated all sorts of funnies in our family. For example, last Sunday Eee make fried rice that looked more like muddy farm "sludge". It was a "dinner fail".
Well, we had another birthday party fail today. The last one was Jee resisting going to a friend's party because, "I want to stay home and program! I want to program! No, don't make me go!"
Today was similar, but Jee is apparently becoming a more sophisticated negotiator. This time it was:
* "But mom, if I stay home, I can fix your laptop." (He can.)
* "Mom, they'll have cupcakes or cake or other sweets at the party and those are bad for me. Wouldn't you rather I stay home and not eat sugar?"
* "Wouldn't my time be better spent at my desk, learning something new?" (Yes, he actually talks like this. Sometimes.)
Saturday, September 20, 2008
4 knuckles and 2 toes
Why do I love the YMCA?
O, let me count the ways...
One of my favorite parts about working out at the Y is when I see the teacher do a pilates / yoga move and I think, "Pffft, yeah, right! I'm never going to get into *that* position."
Then slowly, bit by bit, aligning knees, ankles, hip bones, moving up the spine like stacking Legos, straightening arms, flexing feet, adjusting shoulders... and before I know it, I am balancing the entire whole of myself on my two big toes and only four knuckles total.
If I could fly like a bird, a passive aggressive bird, it would probably feel a lot like this.
O, let me count the ways...
One of my favorite parts about working out at the Y is when I see the teacher do a pilates / yoga move and I think, "Pffft, yeah, right! I'm never going to get into *that* position."
Then slowly, bit by bit, aligning knees, ankles, hip bones, moving up the spine like stacking Legos, straightening arms, flexing feet, adjusting shoulders... and before I know it, I am balancing the entire whole of myself on my two big toes and only four knuckles total.
If I could fly like a bird, a passive aggressive bird, it would probably feel a lot like this.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Best Edge #3
I think there might be Five Edges in here somewhere, but this is the one that jumped out at me today. Note that I do not actually follow any of these Best Edges consistently. I just do my best to remember them and implement them when I can.
Best Edge #3: Fiercesome Focus
Apparently, a person can get a lot more done when they focus fiercely on one thing at a time.
Like right now, Vee & Kee are at a friend's birthday party. Eee, Jee & Aee are playing piano at a community center building. I am home doing... I forgot what I was doing actually. So, I am going to try this fiercesome focus thing on... Hum. On... downsizing our house by five more boxes. Ready, set, go!
1,
2,
3,
4,
5.
Done!
Try it. It is fun.
Best Edge #3: Fiercesome Focus
Apparently, a person can get a lot more done when they focus fiercely on one thing at a time.
Like right now, Vee & Kee are at a friend's birthday party. Eee, Jee & Aee are playing piano at a community center building. I am home doing... I forgot what I was doing actually. So, I am going to try this fiercesome focus thing on... Hum. On... downsizing our house by five more boxes. Ready, set, go!
1,
2,
3,
4,
5.
Done!
Try it. It is fun.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
What happens when you don't plan
The kids and I have been planning out their extracurricular activities for the 08-09 school year. Aee wrote each activity on a card along with the date and time of the activity.
As I laid out their chosen activities, I realized that Jee's Mondays would look like this:
5:45 Up with brothers (since they always wake him up "by mistake")
7-8 Skateboarding with Dad
8-2:30 School
2:30-3:45 Basketball
4-5 Fencing
5-7 Home, dinner, homework
7-8 Cub Scout meeting with Dad
8:30 Late bedtime
Hum, that's --way-- too much for a 7 yo.
And you know what would have happened if we hadn't written out the schedule?
1. Sign up for classes since they all look fun.
2. First Monday of class, so much of a whirlwind (getting other kids to & from theirs also) that we don't notice what's happening, only that "we're busy".
3. After the first month, burn-out happens. He's tired by late afternoon and we look into dropping a few extras...
There is absolutely no purpose behind the crash and burn approach, although I know that's how a lot of people live.
Planning WORKS.
As I laid out their chosen activities, I realized that Jee's Mondays would look like this:
5:45 Up with brothers (since they always wake him up "by mistake")
7-8 Skateboarding with Dad
8-2:30 School
2:30-3:45 Basketball
4-5 Fencing
5-7 Home, dinner, homework
7-8 Cub Scout meeting with Dad
8:30 Late bedtime
Hum, that's --way-- too much for a 7 yo.
And you know what would have happened if we hadn't written out the schedule?
1. Sign up for classes since they all look fun.
2. First Monday of class, so much of a whirlwind (getting other kids to & from theirs also) that we don't notice what's happening, only that "we're busy".
3. After the first month, burn-out happens. He's tired by late afternoon and we look into dropping a few extras...
There is absolutely no purpose behind the crash and burn approach, although I know that's how a lot of people live.
Planning WORKS.
Best Edge #2
Be appreciative.
This nugget of wisdom comes from one of the most beautiful women I know -- she is always saying how grateful she is for this, that, and the other thing.
So, in an effort to erase some of these worry lines and add a bit more beauty to my day, here it goes.
I am appreciative of:
* a good night's sleep
* dreams that comfort me
* nightmares that help me identify what I am most worried about (so I can fix it)
* a good, healthy breakfast (no sicky sweet cereal for me!)
* kids who wake up
* kids who wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
* kids who wake up in time to walk leisurely to school
* kids who talk to me during said walk
* all the beautiful things we saw on that walk to school -- the weird plants and the way Aee noticed how the world changes from day to day
* the friends who also walked and met us along the way to make our walk even more enjoyable
* friends who ask me about how things are going
* friends who actually want to know the answer
* friends who can give constructive feedback when I give that answer
* friends who leave me smiling (and sometimes who are sad with me)
Pausing for a deep breath... I am appreciative of:
* the Y-M-C-A (can you hear the song when you read that?) and all the wildly enjoyable classes they have
* the workout instructor who played R-E-S-P-E-C-T today and how that song stuck with me throughout the day, shaping my interactions in that ever-so-imperceptible way
* the way my body stood up straighter and breathed deeper after I was done
* the friend I saw in class who I didn't know attended that class and who I wish I could spend more time with
Another deep breath already? It isn't even 10 am yet... I am appreciative of:
* a lot of work to keep me busy
* a clean-enough house
* a desk full of lovely messages
* a bit of quiet
* the six kittens running around under my feet
* the one momma cat slinky around, acting like a rule enforcer of them all
* the way the kittens run around so fast and carelessly that they often hit the wall, door, window like a bird splatting on a window pane
* a bit of relaxing music in the background interspersed with podcasts while working
* an excellent lunch -- salmon on a fresh tossed red lettuce salad along with a handful of cracked pepper Triscuits.
There was so much more, but I think you get the picture. Life is good, but being able to appreciate it is what makes it full of better moments, or possible even best moments.
Isn't it cool when you have moments in life that are "best moments" where nothing else you could be doing in that moment could top what is actually happening?
One of those moments that qualified as a "best moment": A few of the kittens figured out how to use my leg as a springboard. He would run at me, jump / bounce up my leg, onto my desk and smack his little head into my computer monitor. I think he may have been pouncing at the cursor onscreen. Who knows. It was hilarious.
I could have been annoyed, but why?
Best Edge #2 -- Be appreciative.
This nugget of wisdom comes from one of the most beautiful women I know -- she is always saying how grateful she is for this, that, and the other thing.
So, in an effort to erase some of these worry lines and add a bit more beauty to my day, here it goes.
I am appreciative of:
* a good night's sleep
* dreams that comfort me
* nightmares that help me identify what I am most worried about (so I can fix it)
* a good, healthy breakfast (no sicky sweet cereal for me!)
* kids who wake up
* kids who wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
* kids who wake up in time to walk leisurely to school
* kids who talk to me during said walk
* all the beautiful things we saw on that walk to school -- the weird plants and the way Aee noticed how the world changes from day to day
* the friends who also walked and met us along the way to make our walk even more enjoyable
* friends who ask me about how things are going
* friends who actually want to know the answer
* friends who can give constructive feedback when I give that answer
* friends who leave me smiling (and sometimes who are sad with me)
Pausing for a deep breath... I am appreciative of:
* the Y-M-C-A (can you hear the song when you read that?) and all the wildly enjoyable classes they have
* the workout instructor who played R-E-S-P-E-C-T today and how that song stuck with me throughout the day, shaping my interactions in that ever-so-imperceptible way
* the way my body stood up straighter and breathed deeper after I was done
* the friend I saw in class who I didn't know attended that class and who I wish I could spend more time with
Another deep breath already? It isn't even 10 am yet... I am appreciative of:
* a lot of work to keep me busy
* a clean-enough house
* a desk full of lovely messages
* a bit of quiet
* the six kittens running around under my feet
* the one momma cat slinky around, acting like a rule enforcer of them all
* the way the kittens run around so fast and carelessly that they often hit the wall, door, window like a bird splatting on a window pane
* a bit of relaxing music in the background interspersed with podcasts while working
* an excellent lunch -- salmon on a fresh tossed red lettuce salad along with a handful of cracked pepper Triscuits.
There was so much more, but I think you get the picture. Life is good, but being able to appreciate it is what makes it full of better moments, or possible even best moments.
Isn't it cool when you have moments in life that are "best moments" where nothing else you could be doing in that moment could top what is actually happening?
One of those moments that qualified as a "best moment": A few of the kittens figured out how to use my leg as a springboard. He would run at me, jump / bounce up my leg, onto my desk and smack his little head into my computer monitor. I think he may have been pouncing at the cursor onscreen. Who knows. It was hilarious.
I could have been annoyed, but why?
Best Edge #2 -- Be appreciative.
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