Happy Tofurkey Day!!

So, another day of giving thanks is here.  Another year that my family has shared and grown. 

This year I am thankful for:

....the house that we were able to buy and make our home.  A space for our children to run and grow and play.

...the dog that fell into our laps, that has brought us joy and hours of fun!

...that I will be graduating in about two weeks.

....that new paths are opening up to me, and I am able to grow and learn as I experience each day.

... that we have three healthy pecan trees in the yard that I used to fill these two sweet potato pecan pies to savor this holiday......

....and so very much more!!

Another Way In Which I Still Need to Grow.....

Turns out things are not going as planned.... Not that they ever do, but I am so very good at planning.  I can visualize the many steps necessary to make a thing happen, and happen successfully, but the execution never seems to happen quick enough.....

It had been my deepest desire, as of late, to be fully moved into the new house so that I could do Halloween up right!  I love to decorate, play creepy Halloweenie music, scare the kiddies, etc.  These are things that I relish in all year long, but Halloween is such a magickal time of year for such trickery.

Herein lies my discomfort..... We have yet to even partially move in.  I have set up much of the kitchen, and hung most of my clothes in the closet, but such things as beds and computers have not yet made it to the new space.  It seems almost unlikely that they will before mid weekend.... As a result, I am terribly saddened, and the holiday is not engulfing me as it has done is years past.... 

'Tis my goal for the week to reapply the cobwebs, get my cackle in order, and set about Haunting!!

Discussion of my Absence....

I am, by nature, an avid writer. I love to create using words.  That is the purpose of this blog.  However, lately I have been feeling far to exhausted to undertake any addition creative endeavors other than the ones that are already expected of me.  Let me give you a breakdown of the my life, as of late.....

I posted about the search for our first home purchase.  In fact, I believe I spoke of my "wish list."  Turns out, we found a house that is just about perfect, and on 4/10 an acre!   All paperwork was signed and recorded on the 4th of this month.  The house is now our home.... though we are still trying to finish the moving part.

Moving is a ridiculously difficult undertaking.  I am quite tired of it, frankly, but now that Christopher has begun working nights, his body has yet to adjust to this dramatic change.  He has been too tired to assist me in the packing.  Which is fine, but it is all beginning to feel a bit overwhelming.

In addition to my many responsibilities, I am nearing the middle of my final semester as an undergraduate.  I am preparing final projects, writing papers, taking tests, applying for jobs, etc.  I have a huge, looming fear that I will graduate and be unable to find suitable work.  Yes, I will have three majors and one minor under my belt, but what is the usefulness and marketability of this degree?  I fret.....

These tasks and responsibilities that lie before me, along with my duties to my three wee ones, have put me in a state of exhausted frenzy, hence the lack of posts.  I don't know how long I will be in absence, but every spare moment, I daydream of the little plot of land, my easel and/or yoga mat, and hot tea.  After all of this is completed, I may revel in these daydreams a bit before posting regularly again....

*** Want to get further into the depths of my mind?  I started a tumblr account as a place to keep my favorite images http://spidergoddess.tumblr.com/ ***

Note to All Professors:

Please respect the 'bell.'  I respect you and your work enough to show up before the class begins.  At the same time, I expect that you will respect my work and time.  I need the 10 or so minutes to walk across campus and be on time for my next class.  If you keep me past the bell, I will likely be late for my next meeting, putting into motion a string of disrespectful events:

• My teacher might feel that I disrespected him in showing up for class late.
• My fellow classmates will be disrupted/distracted by my showing up late for class.
• My grade will suffer, as tardiness compounds and lowers one's grade as would an absence.
• etc.....

New Beginnings

I am terribly excited at how this new year is shaping up.  My son has entered the first grade, my daughter is in preschool, and my wee one has moved to the bumblebee class.  These transitions have all gone seamlessly.  They are all doing really well.  In fact I believe they are thriving, learning more than they were previously.

I am also beginning my final semester as an undergrad.  I was a bit upset about having to go back to classes so soon after completing the summer semester (less than a week and a half), but I am alright with it now.  My classes are so lovely and interesting, and the professors seem to be passionate about the subjects they are teaching.  In all, I see this as an exciting few months ahead....

As is my way, I have made a list of goals and small achievements I hope to keep up with over the semester (and likely beyond). 

This semester I will:

1)  Walk/ride my bicycle to all of my classes instead of riding the bus

2)  Do the majority of my homework on the weekends, so that during the week I can pay more attention to working with Z on his reading, A on her letters, and N on signs and communicating

3)  Take the stairs instead of the elevator

4)   Schedule in 'me' time, where I actually do nothing other than enjoy my life (i.e. no homework, no housecleaning)

5)  Be better about keeping up with the housework by ridding myself of my excess.  This will be done by giving away more of the things that I do not need, and that I know my friends will enjoy.... (maybe a garage sale as well)

Just five simple goals, but they are enough to keep me busy, yet simplify my world by huge degrees....

Wish List

As you may know, if you have read my earlier posts, we are in the marked to buy a house.  This is a terribly daunting, yet very exciting prospect.  Ideally, I want to live one some land in a Queen Anne Victorian home nestled in the woods.  I want to be able to farm, raise chickens, tend bees, bake pies, and drink lemonade while sitting in my porch swing....

However, for my first house, I must be content with something a bit different.... I have made a list of the features which I am looking for.  These are bits that I simply cannot do without:

1)     At least 3 bedroom and 1 1/2 baths - we have 3 wee ones, and less than 3 bedrooms means chaos

2)     I would like a fairly open floor plan, especially a kitchen that is not closed off

3)     I would like there to be a window in the kitchen, one on which I could set a plant or two (i.e. aloe vera, basil...)

4)     A sizeable backyard where we can have a dog, I can plant a garden, and the kids can
 play.

5)     A porch, or room to build one. ( Gotta have the porch swing. )

These are very doable, but we have been having the experience that we will find a house, and before we are even able to look at it, it will go under contract.  This has happened 4 or 5 times already.  (Proof that the economy is not as bad as we are led to believe) 

Today, I will go and look at a house that appears to meet this criteria, and then some....I will let you know

Soul of a Librarian

I am a book lover.  Actually, it goes far beyond that.  I have a raging, passionate love affair with books.  As a child, books were my best friends.  I would read under the covers at night, using my digital alarm clock for light.  My parents would have to enforce bedtime by taking away my reading materials.  Any where I went, I had to have a book with me.

The love affair that started in the early years of my youth, still burns with the same passion.  I continue to bring a book with me *everywhere* I go.  I feel naked without it.  I keep a book in the glove compartment of my car, just in case there is a quiet moment when I can read a few lines.

Being passionate about reading, I have often pondered how it is that I can raise my children to share this passion, as I put a good deal of value on this trait.  I believe that it is my duty to raise children that love to read.  As such, I have done a bit of reading (haha) into the subject.  What I have found, in the way of scholarly and expert advice, is this: teach by example. Experts believe that having parents and role models who love to read does more for a child's reading habits, than anything you can say or do for them.

My example:  

1) My children live in a house were the bookshelf, not the television, is the center of the common living space. 

2) They also have a personal bookshelf in their rooms, where their favorite books are kept. 

3) The kids see their father and me reading daily.  We also, in order to get more reading time, have established an hour or so when the kids must "chill."  During this time they can read, draw, or do anything that helps them relax and quiet down before bed.  Often, they choose to read.

4) The fourth, and final way (that I can think of right now) that I get my kids to read, is by letting them choose their own books. Be they comics or Dr. Seuss, we regularly go to the library and/or book store so they can choose their own reading materials.  This, I believe is crucial....

This is what I do to raise my kids to be passionate about reading.  How do you work to this end?  What are your suggestions?

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms blogging program to be eligible to get an "I Can Read!" book. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”