a book hidden in a nook that I took to a teacher

When Julianna was in Kindergarten I saw an idea on Pinterest that I knew I wanted to copy. It was a graduation gift for your child and all it was was a copy of Dr. Seuss' Oh The Places You'll Go that you have all of your kid's teachers sign throughout the years and then present to them with a letter from you on their graduation day.

I got a copy of the book and I had her Kindergarten and First grade teachers sign it and then I proceeded to lose the book. Well, what I really mean is that I quickly snatched it up and put it away in a nice hiding spot one day when Julianna discovered it on my bookshelf and then I promptly forgot where that hiding spot was.

I guess it didn't matter that I'd hidden it anyway because this year, the end of second grade, I completely forgot about it altogether.  In fact, we were playing in the floor with the kids one night this week and Jonathan stopped abruptly and looked at me and slowly said, "oh the places you'll...." and all the while he's staring at me and raising his eyebrows. It hit me like a train.

I quickly emailed her teacher and explained that I knew she might not get this email since school was already out and I'm sorry to impose on her break if she does get it but that I needed a really big favor.  Then we started looking for the book.

It took two days to find. It was still in the manilla envelope that I had used to deliver it to K and 1st grade teachers right under her nose in her book bag (oh those were the days) and it was crammed in a box under the guest bed. I delivered it to the kind teacher willing to use up her summer break on a favor for a forgetful parent and I'll get it back in a few days.

So now I've created a Google Calendar event to remind me at the beginning of May every year until 2023 to get her teachers to sign this darn book and we're putting the thing in my husband's gun safe with our passports and birth certificates so that we're sure to find it next year. I mean, if I write about it on the blog it's bound to happen, right?

random musings

We had a pretty nice weekend with the exception of all of us dealing with colds.  We really didn't do anything on Saturday except yard work and things around the house and on Sunday we hung out with family for Father's Day.

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I started Summer Speed Series this morning and it kicked my tail. I seriously struggled. The good news is that I guess that means I have lots of room for improvement.

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I still haven't seen The Fault in Our Stars although I am more than ready for it.  When I first read it, I rated it 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads however I am sure that by now, with all the hype lately it is letting some people down.  Oh well. I'm a fangirl so I don't care.

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We are trying to find a time that we can go to the beach that our condo is available and we don't have tons of stuff going on and it is practically impossible. I suppose it's a good thing, but it sure is frustrating!

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The kids are going to Vacation Bible School this week and I am totally looking forward to having some quality time with Jonathan. Plans include several quiet dinners out and shopping in peace plus maybe a run or two.

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In all my years in schools this will be the shortest summer I have ever had. Because of the snow days and teacher work days I will only get 58 days of summer this year. I know many of you are reading this thinking, "Wahhhh Waaa waaaa I don't get a summer at all!" but my paycheck certainly suffers because of those 7 weeks off so just keep that in mind.

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Now, I need a new series to watch on TV. We tried Scandal and didn't get into it. We've almost finished the 2nd season of House of Cards and we're still waiting for the final season of HIMYM to come out on Netflix. What can I watch in the meantime? What can you recommend?

5 Instagramers you should follow

I thought I'd share some of my favorite Instagram peeps with you today. If you have an Instagram account you should check these guys out sometime. And as always, you can follow me at @aisforbeautiful.

samhaseyebrows
This account documents the silly antics of a little white kitty with black markings above his eyes that look exactly like eyebrows. Hilarious. The captions are witty and the pictures entertaining. I normally don't like stuff like this but it's one account that never fails to make me smile when I see the pictures posted.

wordinaire
If you're an English nut like I am you'll want to follow this one.  It helps to have the visual with the definition to remember the word and it's meaning and then in the caption they actually use the word in a sentence. I don't always remember the words, but the stunning pictures and clever sentences really make it easier and I like to think it makes me smarter.

sweating_it_off
Alan Ali has lost over 150 pounds and his account is one of the most motivational I follow. He posts motivational quotes, great workout tips, and healthy food products he's found. Plus, he's North Carolina folk so he's good people.

runeatrepeat
Like a lot of Instagramers, Monica, the name behind Run Eat Repeat had a blog first. I like her instagram account because it provides quick witty snapshots and captions of healthy foods, inspirational workout tips and plenty of run documentation and info. Plus, she's funny and fast so there's that too.

hawthornefamilyeats
This account contains clean eating ideas for meals and snacks for any age.  Gorgeous food art photos and great ideas for trying to eat healthy.

BONUS for local peeps:
Check out southernbiscuits and mywinstonsalem

Now tell me, who should I follow on Instagram?

a letter for the end of second grade

Dear Julianna,

You're eight years old and it seems like you're both 18 months and 18 years at the same time. You're 4'6" tall and you wear mostly size 10 clothes. It won't be long before you're as tall as I am.

You're about to finish up your second grade year and to say it has been a good one would be a bit of an understatement. You've had a phenomenal school year. You've gotten all 4's and all S's on your report cards.  You've taken gymnastics and played softball. You wear glasses during school all the time now since your vision has gotten so much worse. I'm not afraid to tell you that we expected that to happen since you inherited both your dad and my poor vision.

You're asking for more and more independence. For instance, you like to ride your bike down the street and visit the neighbors on your own. You will often approach the counter by yourself in a restaurant and ask for whatever it is you need.  You make phone calls on your own occasionally.  Sometimes you now write "Julie" at the top of your school papers.

You hate to have your picture taken but you love a chance to dress up and wear lip gloss. You love to sing but you're self-conscious of your voice. You have mood swings and sometimes give us the silent treatment for a bit.  You still have a sweet tooth.  You may have a touch of asthma and have been on and off with a daily inhaler while we try to figure it out. It's nothing that bothers you at all but we want to make sure that if you get sick then you can get well again as quickly as the rest of us.

The way that you've seized and taken ownership of softball and developed a love for something you're pretty darn good at has made me extremely proud. I see a few of the other girls pout when they strike out and you rarely do that. You know there will be another chance at bat and you know that it's likely you'll have a good hit.  I'm so impressed with your attitude on the field.

While you've come to really enjoy sports this year, you're also learning to knit, make friendship bracelets, make loom bracelets and braid hair. You have changed your favorite color to pink and you love to have your nails painted.

I do wish that eager and enthusiastic attitude would sometimes transfer over at home though. You often bully your little brother. You tell him that mom's inside calling him just to get him to leave you alone for a minute. I can't say that I don't understand or greatly empathize because I've definitely been there. Little siblings can be so annoying. I just wish you would take the high road a bit more often. Stop racing him to be first at EVERYTHING. We know you'll win. You're almost four years older than he is. Stop telling him he's always wrong. You naturally know more than he does. You're almost four years older than he is. Do more of the, "Can I show you how to...?" and "Do you want me to help you...?"  That's what we hope and expect of you, Big Sister.

So while it seems like just last week that we were standing in Nanna and Pap's driveway when you looked up at the crows and said, "CAWWW, CAAWWW!" for the first time, I know it wasn't. It's been eight years and before we know it, that day will have passed decades ago but I'm enjoying this time with you. You've brought tons of smiles to my face and happiness to my heart. I'm so proud of your second grade year. I'm so honored to be such a sweet girl's mom.

Love you bunches, Doodlebug!

Mama

stories

Riding in the car last night Josh told me, "Mom, I'm gonna marry you someday." So I told him, "I don't think so, Buddy. I'm already married to Daddy, but one day you'll meet a nice girl and marry her." He said, "No, I don't think so." I said, "Yeah, you'll find a different girl to be your wife" and he told me, "Well, I'm too much of a boy to like girls."

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"Mom, I've got an idea! We should get a pet shark!"
"Josh, what would we do with a pet shark?"
"We could get one that's not too big and not too small... one that's bigger than the fish but not as bib as Tut and we could put it in the turtle tank and then it would be too big for the fish to eat and too big for the turtle to eat and too small to eat the turtle..."
"Josh, that sounds scary! I might be too scared to have a pet shark."
"MOM! It would be a well-behaved shark!"

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"Mom, what's gay? If you wanna know why I wanna know what it means it's because the boys at school all hold up their hands and say if you don't touch this (pointing at their palms) by the time I count to five then you've gay."

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Josh told Nanna one day that his mom had been married twice. She told him that she didn't think so but when he insisted she asked why he thought that. He said, "Because she wears two rings!"

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And finally, in case you ever doubted that my children are homebodies. One of my kids wants to know when he/she can be sick again so that they can stay home. Any guesses as to which one said this?

help wanted

I'd love some help with something if you have any ideas. I'd like to try making a list of "summer rules" for my kids this year. These are not chores; we'll still expect them to help out around the house in that way. These are just extra practices we want to happen this summer.

Here's what I've got so far and I haven't even talked with Jonathan about these yet so they're definitely subject to change.

• brush teeth every morning and evening
• blankets and teddy bears stay in the bedrooms
• no TV before noon
• do something kind for someone every day
• read for 20 minutes each day

We will have guidelines and consequences for what may happen if they don't follow these rules but Jonathan and I have to talk about that as well.

So what input can you offer? Any other ideas? What has worked for you or not worked for you and your kids? What do you do differently in the summer?

The main thing is that I want our summer to be fun, but I also want my children to be responsible and not get lazy just because our routine is more relaxed.

up to

My goodness! This has been one very hectic week!  And we still have one work day left.  We've been running around from activity to activity like crazy and I am very ready to see the end of baseball, the end of gymnastics, the end of school, and the beginning of summer break. Who's with me?

Anyway, here's what I've been up to over the last several days.

celebrating:
My cousin had a birthday party for two of her girls and we celebrated at a picnic shelter and soccer field at a local school. It was fun to play on the fitness trail and run around on the field and it was also nice to do bunch of crafts with the kids while not sitting there thinking the whole time about the huge mess we were making. Well, it was a lot of fun until Julianna kicked my tail on the pull-up bar and Jonathan kicked a soccer ball and gave Josh a nosebleed.

movie-ing:
I scored free screening passes to A Million Ways to Die in the West so Jonathan and I arranged a sitter and ran off to the movies in the middle of the week. It was nice to slow down for a couple of hours and laugh at NPH.

reading:
I've recently finished reading The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes, Wonder by R. J. Palacio, And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini, and now I'm working through Talk to Me First: Everything You Need to Know to Become Your Kids 'Go To' Person About Sex by Deborah M. Roffman. All very good reads and I've been really enjoying the chance to read again.

snacking:
I've been trying to get my calorie consumption under a little better control since my marathon training has ended and I no longer need 2500 calories a day. I've mostly just been trying to eat less at meals and choose healthier snacks. The problem is that this kettle corn from Trader Joe's is so darn good!

working:
I've been trying to earn extra time so I don't have to work all of the teacher workdays after school gets out and this week they needed help at school at the end of the year chorus concert. I got to hear a bunch of middle school kids sing The Beatles and John Legend.

watching:
My daughter's second grade end of the year program was last week and I was thoroughly entertained (and thankfully for less than an hour) at their Surfin' USA performance. Also really thankful for parents who come to my kid's performances.

What have you been up to lately? What should I read next? What new snacks have you tried? I need some yummy recommendations.