A few weeks ago, KG’s principal called me out of the blue while I was grocery shopping…of course immediately my mind thinks something is wrong and it takes him FOREVER to get the point.

It seems the local high school will be putting on The Wizard of Oz this Spring and as such would be casting some of the elementary students as munchkins, Mr. J thinks KG would be perfect for the part.  The problem is KG won’t agree to even practice to try out without my permission (whoa. Kind of makes me sound like Troll Mom.), so Mr. J is calling to find out if I have any qualms.

Are you kidding me?!

Theatre I understand! Hello!! It’s what I originally wanted to get my degree in, ya know…before I realized I needed to make money.

I calmly assured Mr. J that I wasn’t a troll was ok with KG practicing and auditioning, all the while tamping down the urge to break out into song right there in the middle of Kroger. My girl wants to be an actress!! I think to myself and then struggle to remember not to project my dreams on to her…while also silently planning how we can watch the movie over the weekend and devoting myself to helping her perfect her audition piece.

The rest of the grocery buying trip is a blur…I had to call everyone and tell them that my daughter was going to audition for the high school play!!  She was following in Mommy’s footsteps a little!

Fairly floating on air KJ and I arrive to pick her up…but wait!  The fun isn’t over!

It seems that my ever the advocate daughter would also like to fill out an application to be in the Student Council.

Success!! I have done something right! 

Not only does my girl want to act…she wants to be in the student council!

Thoughts of college applications….and years of student council-ing…fill my head.  I am awesome at this parenting thing!

I’m even more thrilled when we arrive home and ‘lo here is an opportunity for KG to practice her open-ended question answering, handwriting, and grammar skills!  Upon my demand, she writes all of her answers on a separate sheet, I then reviewed  it and pointed out any errors or areas that needed clarification, and she rewrote it on the application. Ha! Score another for Mom! I thought!

All the while I’m also thinking…let her audition, let her apply…what are the chances of all the kids she’ll actually get chosen for both?

HA!

It seems that out of all the kids who auditioned for the part of a munchkin, KG (and several other deserving students) was chosen for a munchkin part in the high school’s Spring play, The Wizard of Oz! YAY!

First rehearsal is January 9th….from 3:30-6pm…wait. That’s a Monday. She has cheerleading on Monday’s from 6-8! Oh boy.

From there we will learn the rest of our rehearsal dates and times…oy.

On the same day we found out KG was also accepted as a 3rd Grade representative of the Student Council! YAY!

These practice days don’t interfere with anything and actually we’re really excited about this!

And now for more good news!

KG is Ms. W’s Class’ Student of the Month!!

Students of the Month are “chosen based on academic achievement, behavior, positive peer relationships, and/or academic growth.”

We are so proud of her!

And ya know what? I would be proud of her even if none of this had happened..

Share what your kids are doing to make you proud in the comments!

 Image Credit: Sam Howzit

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Today-I am grateful.

Today-I remember what God has given me.

Today-I am hugging my girls tighter and pulling my husband close.

Today-I helped a family in need provide Thanksgiving dinner for their loved ones.

Today-I smiled at a stranger, just because.

Today-I am thankful.

What are you thankful for today?

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1. Thankfulness: 8/6

As important to a mother’s sanity as chocolate and coffee.

or bacon.

Hush. I know what you’re thinking: Who has the time?!

Am I right?

You do.

No. Really.

Me time, even if it’s just 20 minutes once a week it’s important that you take time to take care of you; to relax for a bit.

Slow down.

Breathe.

{Go on. I’ll wait.}

Okay. You’ve slowed down {haven’t you?}, you’ve breathed {right?}. Now what?

For me, me time consists of yoga in the mornings before the house stirs and a weekly Sunday spa night.  Sure, I get up early every morning for yoga; for me, it’s totally worth it.  20 -30 minutes of yoga in the mornings before a child has a chance to make a demand of me creates a much more focused, more patient, and calmer Amanda for the rest of the day.

While it’s true that I, like most of you, don’t have the time to head to a spa weekly to get my eyebrows waxed, a facial, and a mani/pedi…but I do have time for these things on Sunday nights just before bed.  So I set my calendar to remind me every Sunday at 10pm that it’s time to pamper myself and I treat this appointment just as I would a client meeting.  I feel better about myself and I find that I have more confidence in my business when I take this time.  I never regret taking the time to take care of myself.

I was curious how others spent their me time so I asked around to some of my favorite people around.  Here’s what they said:

Me Time

Erin from A Parenting Production says ” I do two things. Sneak it in where I can find it (example, baby is napping right now and I have a cup of coffee and some blog reading to do) Or if I want more than 15 minutes, it has to be scheduled in advance. I have to find a night, afternoon, morning where hubby has advanced notice or I hire a sitter.”

Colorado Moms Emily says “I take one night during the week when DH is not on call, I will go get my hair cut or a mani/pedi or sometimes got o a movie by myself. I don’t get to do this every week, but when I can, it’s heaven.”

Amy from Freaky Perfect reminds us “If you want ‘me time’, you have to take it. Don’t wait for someone to offer it to you or hope that your husband will read your mind and see you need a break. I find that announcing it helps me. I tell the kids ‘I am going to take a bath and anyone who enters the bathroom for anything other than an emergency will be punished.’ Or I tell my husband ‘I will be going out with friends Wednesday night so don’t expect me to be around for dinner or bedtime.’ I don’t consider that to be selfish. It’s just being very clear about my needs and expectations.”

Jen from over at One Mom’s World shares what she’s doing for me time right now, “[A]t night when the girls go to bed, I am doing a bible study for myself.”

Nicole from Finance Diva  says she loves “Massages and pedicures. There is a cool Foot massage place close by which is both affordable and convenient.”

Tonight at 8pm EST I’ll be joining @SheSpeaksUp, @RachelFerrucci, @LisaSamples, @centsiblelife, @zipporahs, @daily_pinch, @JustPrecious and Cerra.com to talk about the illusive #metime and how we can spread the love.  I hope you’ll join me!

How do you get ‘Me Time’?

Disclosure: I am a paid panelist for the #metime Twitter party, but this post is
unsponsored and is all my own thoughts...well...
except for those thoughts that came from my friends.

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It. Was. Awesome.

Jon and I laughed, danced (well, I did anyway), sang, and all together enjoyed just being together without having to say “Come Back Here” 100 billion times before getting pissed and heading back to the car. No, instead we were allowed to stay out as late as we wanted, drink a little too much (well, I did anyway) and fall asleep contented in each other’s arms.

It is so rare for us to have any opportunity to enjoy life sans kids, so we made sure we took full advantage of it!

Sublime with Rome had two opening bands, Elephant Room and The Ville Billies, both rock-rap bands that had me scratching my head in confusion as to what their music had to do with Sublime.  Needless to say I kept drinking those Jameson & crans until their opening sets were over.  Not that they were bad, they weren’t, they just aren’t my style of music and I was there only for Sublime with Rome.

After the opening sets, the sticky hot July air filled with the sweet sounds of Sublime with Rome and the smell of someone enjoying a mary-jane cigarette much to the chagrin of the officers on duty that night.  The beats kept coming for nearly 3 hours and with the exception of their new stuff I didn’t miss a beat, even my husband, who knows my love for Sublime, was surprised by the fact that I knew every. single. word. Me? Well, there might have been a few moments when I was goofy and cried tears of happy.  I was giddy. Full of joy. And thankful for the opportunity to share this with my husband.

After the concert, I was starving so we headed to what is quickly becoming our go-to after concert restaurant, Steak & Shake (romantic, I know), for cheese fries and a huge BBQ bacon burger.  We made it home around 1:45am and even though we had to get up way early for work and King’s Island (more on that tomorrow), it was worth every minute of exhaustion the next day.  We also realized we need to start making time for us in terms of date nights more often…even if it’s not as awesome as a concert.

Do you and your significant other go on date nights?

This month I’m participating in Project Marriage’s July Challenge: Date Night, you can too! Learn more at Life without Pink!

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Forced to drag my painfully exhausted body out of bed at the ungodly hour of 6:45am and deprived of the caffeinated life-blood that is normally required for my waking, I threw my aching body under the hot spray of the camp shower and prayed for coffee at breakfast.  Thankfully God provided.  The rest of the day was spent walking up gravel-hills both ways, literally, in 95 degree weather.  Beginning first with breakfast and the world’s strongest coffee, which no one but me liked well enough to drink, and then onward to Quiet Time with Mom.  Possibly my favorite part of camp, KG and I spent 30 minutes reading the bible and praying together before heading over to the Missions table to learn about a missionary from Malta.  This time so so needed for us.  IT also showed me how much she truly needed her own Bible.  I would just watch her face while she was reading; that beautiful little girl, so grown up in so many ways and yet so much still my baby…how I adore her.

After learning about Malta, the girls and moms split up for the one and only separate Bible study—the girls with their cabin leader and the moms with missionary Gaby.  Gaby really pushed us to think about the sacrifices missionaries all around the world make every day and what kinds of sacrifices we are making, personally, for God.  If I’m being honest then I would honestly admit that I sacrifice absolutely nothing for my relationship with God.  I would ashamedly admit that I haven’t read the Bible in months but I seem to always find time to pray whenever I need or want something.  This is something I am being called to change.  So there, in that room with about 10 other moms I made a promise to myself and to God to start making time, and sacrificing what was necessary, to rebuild the relationship I once cherished above all else.

After collecting the girls, we headed once more to the chapel (uphill both ways) to learn more about our amazing Missionary Gaby and the places (Bolivia & South Africa) that she has served.  KG was disgusted to learn the Bolivians, or at least one of their tribes, ate alpaca and guinea pig…ok, honestly I was a little grossed out too. Y’all know how I like my chicken.  I jokingly asked if it tasted like chicken…apparently it did. I can’t get past the images of little guinea pigs and their squeals. *shiver*

After missions we had recreation, our last chapel meeting, and then onward to lunch where once again the girls had to dump everyone’s trays and clean our group’s tables. That was awesome and KG has such a good time we decided to start requiring that in our own homes.

The moms, perhaps due to sun exhaustion, promised the girls we would head to the pool after lunch since camp was basically over and we still had 2 hours before the premises had to be vacated.  Now mind you, I did not bring a swimming suit with me but by this point I was certainly wishing I had, so much so that I promised KG that if the life guard would let me I would swim with her in my shorts and tee-shirt.  Thankfully, the life guard was totally ok with it and I jumped it.  OH how I had forgotten how much I loved swimming. Love.  And it gave KG the opportunity to practice her swimming skills, which are still developing, with me there beside her.  We headed home after the pool time and KG & I passed out on the bus in the backseat until we arrived at the church and our cars.

All in all the 24 hours were some of the most jam-packed I have ever participated in, but absolutely some of the best.  I came home exhausted, but closer to KG and God than I had been in quite a while.  I’m sad that this was to be our only opportunity to enjoy Mother-Daughter camp together since she’ll go to the actual GA Mission Adventure camp next year, but I am so grateful for this chance.

Have you ever attended camp with your kids?

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After pool time, we headed to dinner at the dining hall and then to chapel for worship.  Always a favorite of the girls, the young women who lead the camp never cease to amaze me and bring joy to the masses of squealing girls.  These amazing young women sang, danced (honestly, my least favorite part of camp…the hand motions), did skits, and put on puppet shows for the audience of captivated girls and contented mamas.  The camp had a welcome party that night complete with limbo (I have rug burn), games, and message in a bottle making.  At one point the adorable Recreations Leader asked what the girls would write on a message in a bottle to tell someone about Jesus. KG instantly throws her hand (and I’m expecting something profound because this is KG) and says, “I’d tell them He’s our Savior and God created us, NOT monkeys.  I laughed until I cried.

That night KG met an incredibly inspriational missionary named Gaby, who had served in Bolivia and South Africa and was kind enough to share her story with us.  KG was fascinated by her and wanted to know more about where Gaby was from (Ecuador) and the adventures she had had.

Craft time reared it’s ugly head after the party and if it sounds like I don’t enjoy craft time that’s because I don’t. I do not have a single crafty bone in my body.  I am the antithesis of the crafty mom. Seriously, craft supplies run screaming from me. And to make it even better? We were decorating sailor hats. Yep. Sailor hats. My face is not one that looks good—or even cute—in a hat.  Least of all in a sailor hat.  Thankfully one of the moms with us is quite the Crafty Caroline and willingly took pity on the rest of us by writing our names with an anchor on our hats.  All I had to do was stamp a shell on the hat…guess what…I managed to do it without messing up! Yay me!

Finally at 10pm (!!) we all dropped, exhausted, into our sleeping bags and onto bunks.

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I have to tell you I was not a cheerleader and I, as a rule, avoid all things cheer related like the plague.  THE PLAGUE. Sigh. I guess that’s why I have fought her desires so long. Seriously, it’s like God is playing a very un-funny joke when it comes to my daughters. They are both destined to be peppy cheerleaders. **shiver**

But all joking aside, it was breaking my heart to think that I might have to tell her this morning morning that we just can’t swing it this season, and she would have to wait until maybe next season.  After some creative budgeting we realized that we can swing it.  Yes, it’s expensive…very expensive to a family like ours.  In fact, it’s likely that I will not be attending anymore conferences after BWE LA in November, at least not until Type-A 2012.  It also means that any extra concerts, extra sports, extra…whatever…is pretty much out. But really, isn’t it worth it?

Yes.

Yes. It. is.

I will willingly give up whatever it takes to make cheerleading possible for my girl. So today, instead of breaking her heart Jon & I were able to give our little girl a very special gift.

As you can see she is very pleased.

Have you ever had to make a hard decision with regards to your child’s extracurricular activities?

What have you sacrificed for your kid’s extra activities?

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One of these women knew me well while I was my most obnoxious; my teenage years.  She saw me act like a fool for too many years & I can’t help but wonder how and if that colors her perception of me. The other women, though I had gone to church with them for a long time (and our church is quite small), I didn’t *really* know well (my own fault). I didn’t know what to   expect and the days leading up to camp were filled with self-doubt and plain old anxiety, but by the time we pulled out of the church parking lot Friday afternoon I had put it all aside and was fully focused on having a good time with my girl.

I can be really slow to hear God speak or to see Him move, much like this turtle.  I spent a lot of time praying for guidance and that God’s hand would be visible throughout the weekend; I prayed that we would have fun and that KG would find her place with these sweet girls.  I know God was present this weekend, I certainly felt his presence. The weekend was so jam packed full of fun and activities I can’t fit it all in one post.  Come back every day this week to keep up with our adventures!

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Disclosure: There is an image of an alligator at the end of this post, so if it freaks you out don’t read the end.

OH how I desperately needed this time with my brilliant small people to just relax in a sea of strangers and let the sun beat down on me without any thought to work, school, or conferences (more about Type-A very soon!).

After meeting JonEfun for an impromptu and surprise lunch at Healthcare’s cafeteria (actually yummier than you think) we headed over to the zoo by way of the college JonEfun & I met at.

After I dropped a pretty-painful-penny to pick up joint dual passes ($148 to be exact) to both the zoo & science center for the next year.  We do this pretty much every year since we spend a lot of time in both places and it just makes more financial sense for us to do it this way.  When the weather is nasty (or too hot) we head over to the science center and when it’s pretty out and we’re bored we head on over to the zoo to hang with the monkeys

SO we pulled on our suits (not me…the girls) and headed to the Glacier Run and to the splash park to spend some time splashing around and sliding around in the joy that is childhood in the summer.

Of course, KJ could not handle all the water spraying in her face & KG was little to no help in that department. And why should she be? She’s 8.

After an hour of screaming, squealing, and dripping small people the girls and I headed out for a reptilian adventure.  We scoped out every single snake in the zoo (my mother would have been fa-reaking!) and KG took pictures of every last one of them…I had to make her pinkypromise she wouldn’t sneak up and show them to Nana. Seriously, my mother would have a major heart attack…it would be vurry bad.

Ahem…reptile picture on it’s way next.

Yeah, so after all that exhausting nice Mommy-ness we headed home to all pass out early for some much needed rest.

FYI: I’m still exhausted.

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At the first of the month, I spent some time rambling to my faithful readers about where life was at the late hour of the post and about a situation I had discussed with a good friend.

Early this month we went to a fundraiser chili dinner for a local fire department and the girls got their first up-close look at a fire truck.

While we were all snowed, iced, or just plain frozen in this month the girls and I explored different ways to reinforce learning skills with items we had around the house.

This month I joined Jan and Susan from 5 Minutes for Mom and learned that winter weightless is easier with friends!

February’s Community Impact Feature was St. Baldricks and my friend Jen’s team Bald for our Boys as they are raising money to support research for childhood cancer cures.

This month Jon & I decided to play the Go Fish II Money Game save money each weekend we didn’t go out, stay tuned in March to find out how we did and what our next Money Game will be!

If you check out Social Media Saturday you can scope out my favorite social media posts from January and early February.

We made valentines mailboxes for KG to take to school during a snow day early in the month.

On Valentine’s Day I reminded you how important it is to stay involved in your finances and how truly sexy knowledge is!

For all of you pork loin fans this month I shared my family’s favorite Sunday afternoon recipe: Apricot Glazed Pork Tenderloin.

And just last Monday I shared a picture of my sweet baby’s ballerina foot in black and white.

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