I See the Bad Moon Arisin'...

As a teacher, there are two things I will always be able to tell without ever looking outside: #1: a full moon and #2 weather changing. It might sound crazy, but you would not believe how much those two things can change the behavior of children (and adults!).  The fact that it's only Wednesday and I'm TOTALLY worn out should just further prove that point. It probably doesn't help that it's the end of April and the kids are just as ready for summer as I am. I feel that I should just print off key phrases  I say all day long and paste them to my clothes so instead of becoming a broken record, I can just point. If you see me at the grocery store with signs like "When you're ready to listen, I'm ready to teach you" or "Does that sentence have a capital letter at the beginning and punctuation at the end?" or "We go to recess at 2:10, why don't you tell me how much longer we have." and my ultimate favorite "No, we do not have P.E. today." taped to my butt, please know it's because the moon is full and I'm up to my ears in children.

On an exciting note, TWO girls I've taught with had a baby yesterday! Little Blaine & Claira joined the world, and I can't wait to meet them both. 

So, until I have time to sit for another 20 minutes, you can be left with the words of Creedence Clearwater Revival...."so don't go out tonight, well it's bound to take your life, there's a bad moon on the rise.

Life

What a weekend! We had such a full weekend, but it reminds me that summer is coming soon and I'm quite excited for that. On Friday night, Jon and I attended the 4th annual "Buck-a-Bone" fundraiser in Jeff City for the Special Learning Center. Last year was our first experience and it was so much fun. We like the Friday night event where all the "amateur" barbecuers try their hand at ribs. We went with our neighbors and friends, Tyler and Abra, and their son Teven. We ate our fair share of ribs and had a great time. 

On Saturday we celebrated April birthdays with Jon's family at a family farm. I think Jon and I are the only two people in his entire family that don't watch the weather channel because all three of us were dressed in shorts and sandals. Basically we were freezing while watching others pile on the layers and bring out the blankets. Don't worry - they all shared. Our Sunday was spent working in the yard. We purchased a definite "fixer". We've replaced all the flooring, have plans to work on the siding and maybe the roof this summer. I feel we are still the "odd duck" on the street, but in time HGTV will have nothing on our skills. ha!

I am under no illusion that life is a picnic. I've been very fortunate in my life to have been blessed with many things. I find that when life throws you a curve ball or you become disappointed in something it's best to stop and think about what you are thankful for. I find comfort in counting my blessings. So here is my abridged version...

I'm thankful for God, my adoring and ever patient husband, my beautiful and healthy daughter, a mother and father who love me deeply, siblings who care for me, an "in law" family that treats me as if the word "in law" wasn't in my title to them, a warm  and safe home to raise my daughter, a job that I truly enjoy, and friends who no matter my mood will hang out with me. I'm feeling better already, if only it were Friday. :-)

 

Sickness...

I would say the hardest thing in the whole world is going to work when your kid is sick. I picked up Harper from the babysitter on Monday with a high fever and drainage from her ear. The poor thing hardly slept on Monday night. With my mom taking her the doctor on Tuesday, I got up for work as usual. Jon had to be out of the house by 6, so the Poo and I were on our own. (Harper's nickname is Harpoo, given to her by her adoring cousin Brock when he mispronounced her name at the hospital when he came to see her. We thought it was so cute, it's been around ever since). She woke up when Jon left and screamed for me to hold her until Mom showed up at 7. It was absolutely heart wrenching. I kept thinking, "What kind of mother am I?" I mean, all she wanted was to be held on the couch and I kept trying to pacify her with other things. I kept telling myself I had to be ready for work, people do this all the time. It didn't make me feel any better. It doesn't matter if I'm leaving her with the sitter or my mom, when she's sick I can't help but feel guilty that I'm leaving her to someone else. I feel very fortunate that I have lots of family around that will keep her, and my babysitter is the most gentle and kind woman, but I still feel guilty.  

I stayed home today, not because I was guilt ridden, but because my allergies are TERRIBLE. I love this weather, but I'm ready for the yellow/green haze to clear. My poor sinuses can't take anymore! On a happier note, thanks to Nurse Nelda (my mother) I bought a Neti Pot. I've been a bit skeptical about these because let's face it, anything that goes in one nostril and out the other just reminds you of the kid at the lunch table who blew milk out of his nose. I was desperate today for anything to make me feel better. I tried it, and much to my surprise, it worked! My sinuses are still a bit congested, but the pressure is gone! I was shocked. It did feel a bit weird to have something going in my nose instead of coming out, but it was well worth it. I highly recommend it. I made Jon try it because his nose has been clogged too. His attempt didn't go so well. I'm gonna blame it on user error. Ha! 

Loaded down with ear drops and Neti Pots, the Binkley's are hopefully on the path to being healthy again.

Pampers vs. Luvs

What a week! It's official I have 31 days of school left. All I can say is bring on summer! When I really stop to think about it my life still revolves around school like schedules. Remember when you were in elementary school (or even high school) and the year revolved around summer break and snow days? Well, my perspective about the year hasn't changed! Summer still starts in May and ends in August. Fall consists of decorating pumpkins and snow days are still the best thing a girl could ask for on a cold winter day. 

On another note, this week at the grocery store I had to buy new diapers. We were on low supply and the babysitter was needing a new pack too. Now, for those of you who have spent time with my daughter you know she's an all or nothing kinda girl. I would say 80% of the time she wakes up in the morning with a dry diaper, but not long after her morning "milk" she's filled her britches to the brim. Because of this dilemma, we've had to be very picky about the type of diaper we've used. For Harper, only Pampers will do. We really like a specific kind of Pampers. On my quest to find the "cruisers" I find that a pack of 100 cruisers was literally double the price of the pack of 100 Luvs. My "cheap" side kicked it (which rarely happens) and I become appalled that the diaper company is taking me to the cleaners. After almost a week of using the new cheaper diaper, I have strict instructions from my husband to go back and buy the pampers, he couldn't handle the cheap stuff anymore. Ha! The funniest part is that she hasn't had any accidents, but we keep breaking the tabs off the diapers when we change her. So, here ya go Pampers - take my wallet and run. At least Harper and her purse will have fun with the Luvs box. 

Back to Reality

So today it was back to reality. After a full week off (really it was a nasty tease to summer) it was back to the grind for me today. Thankfully my kids were great and ready to get back into the swing of things.

I do love this spring/summer weather we're having. I'm a sucker for the change in seasons. I'm always ready for Spring at the end of Winter and ready for snow come November. We took Harper for a walk after work (while our dinner was in the oven). She's so funny right now because she's not quite ready to walk completely on her own during our walks, but she wants to soo badly. Jon ended up holding her hand to prevent any scrapes and burns on her little hands from the gravel. She let him know quite loudly that she did not need the help. He held her hand anyway. :)

The weather makes me want to start running. This is an experience I tried to start last year around springtime. I failed - miserably. Athletics are just not in my genes. Don't worry - I'll try again this year. I'll probably fail again - miserably, but what's life if we don't try and fail. I have high hopes that one day I'll wake up and be graceful and athletic. My mother would probably tell me "keep dreaming sweetheart". 

So for now, I'll dream that I'm a graceful runner - waking up bright and early every morning and jogging to my hearts content, getting dressed in fashionable yet sensible clothes, work with children all day, come home and make my tired husband dinner and then cozy up on the couch for a night of play time with our non sassy daughter. If I'm gonna dream, I'm gonna dream BIG.

A New Experience

I decided, as I am quickly approaching my 30's, it's time for me to join the virtual world of blogging.  I'm a young mother, a wife of almost 6 years, and a full time teacher.  My husband Jon and I have our own little piece of the pie in a small town and a beautiful 15 month old daughter, Harper.  I've always thought, "I don't have enough in my life to 'blog' about" but I'm beginning to think I'm wrong. 

Jon and I are busy people and more often than not something happens that I think is adorable, intriguing, or just down right funny and I simply forget! So here is my attempt to keep those who want to listen informed about my thoughts, feelings and our lives! Enjoy!