What Part of Motherhood Surprises Me?

Wow!  Before becoming a mom I thought how hard could it be to do it all.  Really all you needed was lots of love right?

Growing up I loved being around kids and loved the idea of being a mom.  My niece and nephews were awesome and I loved babysitting for other people's children.  I had ideas of all of the millions of books I would read with my own children and all of the fun games we would play.

Now I am a mother of three and here is a list of things that surprise me.

• the never ending to-do list...there is always something I could be doing at home, for the kids, or with the kids
• the amount of mental and physical energy it takes to raise three kids
• the endless amount of laundry and dishes that need to be washed and put away
• the constant range of emotions that can be felt in one day : happiness - love - frustration - impatience - sadness - surprise - fear - anticipation - optimism 
• the endless moments of awe
• the feeling of never being truly alone - there is always someone there (even if it just the dogs)
• the constant need to make decisions, re-evaluate my decisions, and make new decisions
• the lack of sleep ~ no one can truly describe what lack of sleep is like; I never knew how much I would miss sleeping in
• the incredible bond I have with my children ~ now I understand how my mom knew me as well as she did; I think I know some of my kids moves before they know them
• there are no sick days when you are a mom
• how wonderful it is to hear "You are the best mommy in the whole world"
• now I know what unconditional love is

What has surprised you about being a mom?

My Dog Years

Recently my language arts class read the autobiography by Gary Paulsen, My Life in Dog Years, and I thought that would be a good topic for a blog.

For anyone who knows me well knows I have always had a dog in my life.  

BUSTER

This first dog in my life was Buster.  He was an outside dog who was a very good guard dog.  I remember Buster as being a ham for anyone taking pictures.  Whenever I look back at photos of him he always seemed to have some sort of pose going on.  For me I would not call him a companion dog because he was really my older brother's dog.  Buster died when I was 10 of old age.  I remember that day clearly because that was the first experience I ever had with death.

SQUIRCK

Squirck was the second dog in my life.  He was mine.  I got Squirck in kindergarten.  He was a chihuahua mix and I think I intended to name him Squirt, but when asked how to spell it I spelled Squirck.    He always slept in my room.  He was always the last one to sleep at night and would come and settle in my room after everyone else was settled in bed.  He was also the first up in the morning for his early morning patrol of the house to make sure everything was in order.  Squirck was my constant companion growing up.  He listened to me like no one else did and shared all of my joys and heartaches.  Squirck passed away the fall of my sophmore year in college and I still remember that day clearly.  It happened quietly in his bed at my parents' home.  My brother drove up to Winthrop from Columbia to tell me.  I happened to be in the lobby of my residence hall when he came in the door.  The moment I saw him I knew Squirck passed.   I will always miss my best friend.

UBU
When I was in fifth grade my older brother got a new dog to replace Buster.  He named him Ubu.  He got the name Ubu from the tv production company that had several tv shows on in the 80's. Do you remember the phrase, "Sit Ubu Sit...Good Boy"?  Ubu was a mix of golden retriever and german shepherd.  He was a very strong dog who loved to jump on people.  He also liked to drag my Barbies around the back yard by the hair.  One of my most favorite memories of him was sitting in the laundry room in the evening while he was in his bed and rubbing his ears and talking with him.  The end of his life was a hard one to watch because he became blind and then began to loose the use of his legs.  The night I said goodbye to him was fall of 1999.  I was twenty-five and I sat next to his box and rubbed his ears and had a talk with him.  The thought of it now still brings tears to my eyes.  About a week later my brother took him to the vet and said his own goodbyes to Ubu.

SCOUT
July of 1999 I got Scout.  I picked him up from a local no kill shelter.  He is a Walker Coon Hound / Beagle mix - white with tan spots and tan ears.  Scout has a very special place in my heart and that of my husband's.  He became our first dog.  Now this our thing we did not know about when I first picked Scout out because I had not yet met Mike.  I met Mike the following week.  But now 11 1/2 years later, Scout is our dog ~ our first child.  Scout is a well traveled dog.  While Mike  lived in Florida, Scout made the trek up and down I-95 with me, and then up and down I-77 when Mike moved to Charlotte.  He always traveled well in the car and like to sit up front.  He never jumped around or barked or went nuts in the car.  He is always relaxed and just enjoyed the ride by looking out of the window.  People often comment to me that from a distance he looked like a person from behind.    For many years Scout went to my parents for doggie day care.  Everyday I would drop Scout off before work and pick him up after.

Scout is a great dog and loves people.  I think he likes people more than other animals.  His favorite activity is to lounge around on the couch looking out the window / sleeping.  Last winter we had a scare and thought for a weekend that we would have to put Scout to sleep.  Fortunately it turned out to be fixable because I do not think Mike or I were ready to say good-bye (not that one is ever ready).  I hope for a few more quality years with him.

SNAPPY

In 2007 Mike and I decided on another dog.    We went back to the no kill shelter I got Scout from and came home with Snappy.  My daughter Maddie named him.  He is also a hound mix and is a very sweet dog.  However, Snappy is full of energy that at times can be exasperating.  He is also very loyal and is always under my feet.  Snappy does not like to be far from me when we are in the house.  If we would let him, Snappy would become a 70 pound lap dog.

My Life as a Reader

I stole this topic from a blogger who swiped it from another blogger.  The original blog it first appeared on was the blog Once Upon a Teacher the Fall Blog Challenge 2010.  There are many great topics that I think I will use to help jump start my writing.

My Life as a Reader

I love to read!   My earliest memories involve books.   One of the first Christmas gifts I remember is a stack of Little Golden Books.  I remember being read to nightly, going to the library on Trenholm Road and on Fort Jackson and visiting the bookmobile.

As a child some of my most favorite books were: Lyle Lyle the Crocodile, The Hungry Caterpillar, Babar, Bread and Jam for Frances, and Ferdinand the Bull.  As I grew older I began enjoying the authors Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume, and Donald Sobol.  Once I hit middle school I started to read more of the tween romance books such as the Sweet Valley High series and books by the author Paula Danziger and V.C. Andrews.  High school came along and more of my reading focused on what I had to read for English class.  There were a few books I enjoyed while in high school such as A Tale of Two Cities, Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, and Lord of the Flies.  High school was when I feel in love with a particular genre of books Southern Fiction.  Some of my all time favorite southern authors are Harper Lee, Carson McCullers, Dori Sanders, and Pat Conroy. I still enjoy reading (or re-reading these novels).  As an adult some of the authors I find myself gravitating to are Ann Rivers Siddon, Dorothea Benton Frank, Jonathan Kellerman, James Patternson, and John Grisham.  I also like searching off of the bestseller list and reading biographies and true crime novels.

Growing up I read everywhere and always put myself to bed with a good book.  As long as I was comfortable I could lose myself for hours in a book.  Now it is not as easy to read.  I have to carve out time for reading.  Much of my reading is for my job.  Some of the books I read are for professional development and others are finding books that my students will enjoy.  Recently I received a Kindle and I am finding myself having a little more time to read for pleasure.   I am also reading a lot for my own children.  I am enjoying passing onto my kids different books that I enjoyed reading as a child and discovering new authors such as Jane Yolen, David Shannon, Julia DeVillers, and Alyssa Crowne.

What is your life as a readier like?

Happy New Year and Those New Year Resolutions

I have one major New Year's resolution.

To rediscover myself..

My plan is to do the following.

• To write more and I figure since I am in front of the computer more and more that this would actually be easier than the traditional journal.  I used to love to write when I was in high school and college.  When I had more time to be reflective.  My writing was always about life and my observations of it either through poetry or prose.  I have missed writing and am going to try to my hand at it again.
• To keep a gratitude journal.  I plan to write down at least one thing that I am grateful for each day.  Now this should go without saying I am extremely grateful for my family, friends, career, and life.  I want to find those everyday things that make me smile and say thanks.
• To carve out time for me in my busy life.  I think this will be the hardest to do with having a husband, 3 kids, and 2 dogs to care for as well as working full time, but I have to do it.

So join me on my journey of rediscovery and let's see where we end up.