The Luckiest No Matter What!

I am a walking stereotype... I am a Virgo and basically encompass every single trait I've ever read about that sign. Virgos tend to be extremely responsible, a planner, meticulous, over-critical and judgmental (of themselves probably more than others), neat, selective, economical, worriers, highly determined, and sometimes harsh. Check, check, check. I'm also a first born. I follow essentially every psychologists research on what a first born might be like. First-borns are often reliable, people-pleasing, rule-followers, goal oriented, conscientious, critical, control freaks, scholarly, leaders, and well organized. Again... CHECK. You can see, as you look at these traits, how much Virgos and first-borns share. This is a powerful, dangerous cocktail, I can assure you.  I kinda hate that I am SUCH a cookie cutter of both of these things, but even the fact that I don't like how much  I fall into the natural roles of these things also perpetuated th...

This is a delayed blog- I love writing so much, but I certainly go through times of feeling like I just don't have time. November seems like one of those time; I think it has a lot to do with having more school work with report cards being sent home at the end of the month. If I have a free kid-free minute, school work takes precedence at that time of year. Nolan and Judah turned 5.5 on November 7th. This last six months has been HUGE for them- becoming big big brothers to Preston, having their longest summer at home, playing T-ball and soccer, and starting kindergarten. Both boys are loving school AND it's been a HUGE adjustment- they are exhausted and overworked (in my professional and non professional opinion) I'm so thankful, however, that school has been a safe, welcoming place for them.  These two boys are very much the same Nolan and Judah that they always have been- Nolan's mind moving a mile a minute, sharp with an iron lock memory to boot, feeling hard...

My teaching partner, Katie and I, talk a lot to our sixth graders about what they want to be when they grow up and also what WE want to be when WE grow up ;). While learning about a man who discovered a pre-clovis spearhead that could completely change the story of who our Native Americans are and where they came from, I screamed out, "I SO want to be an archeologist when I grow up!" When watching a documentary, Guns, Germs, and Steel, on the history of power and white privilege in our world, I throw my hands in the air and yell, "Dr. Dimond!  He traveled all over the world and made his life's work trying to figure out why some groups have power and others don't?!  THAT'S what I want be when I grow up!" On the completion of the novel A Long Walk to Water , we find out that one of the main characters is real and has devoted his life to bringing water access to his home country of South Sudan.  I slam my hands on the desk and declare, "Now I...

Last year for Nolan, Judah, and Carter's birthdays, we got them balance bikes.  Up until that point, my kids only experience riding things with wheels were big wheel bikes, a train you scoot on, and a hand-me-down bike with training wheels from our neighbor.  The training wheel bike was just starting to get some serious attention when spring broke last year.  Before that, the boys hadn't been terribly into riding bikes and would much rather dig, dump, and draw while outside than anything else.  Josh and I thought getting them bikes for their birthdays, which are in the first week of May, would be an awesome gift so I started doing what I always do before buying things for my boys- I researched.   I am kind of an obsessive researcher of things, which started when I was putting together our baby registry for Nolan and Judah.  I had no idea what I should ask for as a new mom so I read, and read, and read. While it drives Josh crazy because it seriously takes...