Thinking about Friendship

But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine . – Thomas Jefferson

Friendship is one of the greatest testaments of love and kindness in our lives, and I love this quote because it’s a reminder to me that our friends are constant. We share the happiest moments of our lives with our friends, and we also share the most tragic times with our friends.

In the past week or so, I have experienced what Jefferson described as both the sun and the shade with my friends. As one friend is grieving a tragic loss, I cannot begin to imagine the pain she is suffering. It has touched my heart to see the outpouring of love and kindness from the people in her life. Watching her friends and family surround her with love gives me hope and reassures me that God is present to serve as a source of comfort. Although we never understand tragedy in this life, there is some peace in knowing you have friends and loved ones by your side.

During this same week, another dear friend gave birth to a handsome baby boy. Celebrating new life is such an exciting time, another time for family and friends to share together. Welcoming a baby into the world is a challenging task, and these dear friends are blessed with loving families and friends to help along the way.

After a very emotional week, I needed to write this to take time to reflect. I feel blessed to have such amazing friends in my life, friends who help so much in times of need and in times of celebration, in the shade and in the sun.

Four Months & Counting

For weeks, I have been brainstorming for blogging ideas (dorky, I know). And to be honest, the only thing on my mind right now is this baby. I’ve spent almost everyday this summer thinking and planning all things baby. We are now less than four months away from my expected due date, so I thought I’d get some thoughts down.

Jamie was home for a few weeks this summer—yep, that administrator thing definitely takes away from his time at home. During that time, I put him to work in Baby G’s nursery. I know it seems a little pre-mature, but once we get back to school, time goes by so fast. It was just better to get it done while we had some spare time. So far, we’ve painted (well, Jamie painted) and assembled the basic furniture necessities. The assembly process was … trying, and we’re glad it’s done.

At my 20 week ultrasound, doc said everything looks great. For the most part, the little guy was quite stubborn. Even with the tech being rather rough, pushing and shaking him around, he didn’t budge from his balled-up, sleepy and snug position. It took over an hour to get all of his measurements. It was an 8:30 appointment in July. I really can’t blame him.

Now it’s time for me to get ready for going back to school. I know I’m in my second trimester, and everyone tells me I should be full of energy. The truth is, I’ve become quite accustomed to my lazy summer schedule. I go to the gym or walk, eat lunch, nap, watch tv, eat dinner, maybe read a little, and sleep. I’m going to be exhausted if I have to stay awake for more than nine hours at a time. And hungry, too! I’m hungry all the time right now. I may come home from work this week and eat dinner by five and be in bed by nine. I’m tired right now just thinking about it…

One thing I’d like to do in the next few weeks is schedule a maternity photo session. We’d like to take a few pictures outside this fall, like mid-October, to keep record of this bump. If anyone has suggestions or recommendations for locations or local photographers, let me know. We don’t need a ton of pics; I mainly need a good portrait for Christmas cards. J

Less than four months to go…

Sunning & Swelling

Sunning & Swelling…. That sums up my trip to the beach last week with friends. It was definitely a lot more difficult than I had expected, sitting in the sun all day… growing a baby. My typical beach schedule of beach by 10:00, sandwich at noon, beach ‘til dinnertime needed serious revision this year. Even with a few Bubba Kegs of water and plenty of snacks, I grew tired very quickly. Not to mention what the heat and salty air did to my poor fingers and toes… Wimpy, I know.

Being there with our friends and their young children gave me a glimpse at what our future beach trips will be like. I believe our days of packing a cooler and setting up camp for the day in the sand are behind us. We will now be towing beach toys, bottles, baby sunscreen, extra diapers, etc. along with us, and our beach time will be significantly less.

Despite these changes, I honestly believe our best beach memories await us. Watching the love- even through some rough patches- among these parents and their children made me rather emotional on multiple occasions. We’re blessed to have some great parenting role models around us.

Jamie and I couldn’t be more excited to have a little one of our own to bring along for the beach fun next year, even though our “routines” will never be the same. Growing up, I guess… 

Just for fun, here's a picture of one of my nephews on the beach last week. Oh, to sleep like that...

Pregnant and Slightly Crazy

It’s been a while! The end of the school year always makes life hectic around our house, and this year even more so as we are expecting our first baby. Even at three and half months pregnant, it still is a little strange to get used to saying that.

 A baby- another human we will be responsible for… feeding, changing, bathing, getting ready for school or daycare. Not to mention all the financial responsibilities. Yikes. Imagine my deer-in-headlights face as I’m brainstorming these things even now.

Please don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled to be having a baby! My husband is beyond excited. I’m just in awe of the huge responsibility we’ve signed up for.

Since we announced our pregnancy, we’ve been blessed with genuine excitement and support from our families and friends. Even people we barely know are eager to offer advice or share their own pregnancy stories – something I’ve been warned gets more interesting as the baby starts to “show”.

It’s no secret that I am frequently a selfish person and pretty self-conscious, especially about my weight. Pregnancy has forced me to step back from my usual frame of mind; I’ve had to think about the health of this baby rather than what I want or how I want to look. It’s a tough balancing act, especially in our society. Mix in with that all of the crazy pregnancy hormones I’ve had, and you can imagine my fragile state of mind. My poor husband!

I’ve been quite the basket case for the past few months, and I’m sure the remainder of the pregnancy will be an adventure for me and my loved ones. I apologize in advanced for hormonal outbursts, either in the form of tears or anger. You can also expect some blogs about my emotions, the baby’s growth, and some of the interesting encounters I have with others offering their own personal commentary.

It’ll be a journey in itself, but it will all be worth it when this baby is here!

End of the Year Laughs

Blogging has been on hiatus over the past several weeks as the school year gets begins to wind down. I thought today I’d share a few of the hilarious things my students have said to me lately. Yes, I keep a pen and paper near at all times to record these for future laughs.  These are keeping me sane as all the kiddos are beyond ready for school to be out.

I’m pretty sure these each came from a different child, so this is a glimpse into the wonderful world of my kindergarten classroom… Enjoy!

1.     Student: “Me and my brother are going to be in a wedding in June. I get to dress up like a cowgirl.”

Me:  “Oh really? That will be so much fun.”

Student: “Yea, and my brother gets to be the ring BARRIER.”

2.     Student: “Mrs. Garland, we’ve been outside too long for recess today. I’m getting STUN-burnt.”

Me: Shaking my head.

3.     Student: “I had to go to the doctor yesterday cause I’m having surgery this summer.”

Me: “Oh no. What kind of surgery? Are you nervous about it.”

Student: “No, I’m not scared or anything. I’ll be asleep when they cut me. And when they’re all done, they will put SNITCHES in it.”

4.     Student: (Sniffs my arm. I know, right??) “Mrs. Garland, you smell like the Easter Bunny.”

Me: “Not sure what that means, but thanks I think. Is that good?”

Student: “Yea, you know, like jelly beans and chocolate.”

5.     At the police department for a field trip, and the K-9 Unit is doing a demonstration when….

Student: “Is that dog a werewolf?”

Officer: “No, she’s just a German Shepherd.”

Me: Shaking my head.

6.     Again, at the police department for a field trip, and the officer is describing the tools he uses for his job.

Officer: “This is our gun… This is a taser…. This is a flashlight…. These are handcuffs.”

Student: “My mama’s got a pair of those”

Officer: “Does she now?”

Me: Doing that silent laugh that hurts because something was too inappropriately funny, shaking my head, and wishing sometimes I had a video camera to record these priceless moments.

We’ve almost made it to summer, people. I will miss these children next year, but I know they will share some great wisdom with their first grade teachers.

Spring Whistling

From our back porch in early March

I’ve been brainstorming ways to start this, so I searched for a quote about spring. My intentions were to blog about the beauty of spring and the promise of new life, sappy stuff I will get to eventually, but I wanted to share my wise crack first. Insert sly grin here.

 “Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.”  ~Doug Larson

So true, right? In springtime, we all are filled with fresh air, bright eyes, and a hope for new things as the seasons change. We see life outside again. The past few weeks have definitely been whistling weather, even though I’ve had my share of slushy shoes.

Our only blooming azalea

I am always an early victim of spring fever, but as I get, ah-ahem, older, my reasons are maturing. As a student, I definitely understood spring fever to mean summer is quickly approaching, a defense for slacking off in my schoolwork. Spring was simply a route we all walked through just to get to summer—hot & sunny days at the pool, beach trips, shorts & tank tops, late nights, etc.

In my more adult perspective, spring is a miracle, not just a stepping-stone. The beautiful changes- color in the grass, birds in the sky, and blooms (especially our gorgeous irises) everywhere- are reminders of God’s love and greatness. These are the reasons for my spring fever, wanting to be outside more than inside, this year.

I’m using my newfound spring energy to help shed some of the pounds I picked up during winter “hibernation.” After all, summer will be here before we know it. That’s just how the calendar works. And it’ll be time for those hot days at the pool, beach trips, shorts & tank tops, late nights, etc.  

Pinning

Hahaha. I’m sure someone, somewhere has already made this reference to Charlie Sheen’s epic interview, but it made me feel clever.

The past few weeks, as part of my resolution to learn to sew, I’ve spent countless hours #pinning. Looking at Pinterest for ideas and sewing tutorials, and then attempting to complete the projects. Of course that means I’ve also spent money on craft supplies and I’ve neglected my housework, but that’s okay. At least I made something.

So far, I’ve been fairly successful, minus today’s “Thing One & Thing Two” cupcakes, so I thought I’d share three things I’ve learned from DIY/Crafts on Pinterest.

1.     Before you login, have a general idea of what you’re looking for. If you don’t, you’ll end up looking at things you don’t really need. For example, last week, I wanted ideas for magazine storage. I ended up finding a great “vintage” wine crate idea, which led to another vintage framed-scrapbook-art idea. Which of course led to the scrapbook tree idea… You see what I mean?

2.     Set a time limit for yourself. I am clearly the queen of wasting time & being easily distracted. In the past two weeks, I’m sure my total hours of pinning exceeded 24 hours. Sad, I know. 

3.     Be realistic with your expectations. If you’ve never made homemade cupcakes or homemade icing before, expect a learning experience…and be prepared for multiple attempts. In my learning experience this week, I was attempting to make these fabulous cupcakes I found for my school celebration of Dr. Seuss’s birthday. The cupcakes, as in the “cake” part, turned out great. The icing, not so much. It was supposed to be bright blue and piped to look like tall, wild, Thing-One-Ish hair. Let’s just say it was a failed attempt. The icing was delicious, but it looked like blue soup. At 5:00 this morning, I was pinning again to find ways to thicken icing. All attempts to revive my icing were in vain. In the end, the kids loved the treat, but I was super-disappointed in my baking skills.

New goal: spread the projects out over several weekends rather than cramming everything into one three-day weekend. This weekend, my time pinning will be more limited as I plan to finish a book I started months ago. See my pic below for my scrapbook tree & wine bottle vase I finished last weekend. I say it's an improvement to our kitchen space.

If you need an invite to Pinterest, let me know. I’m happy to spread the mania.

Right Here at Home

Have you SEEN outside today? Gorgeous. I’m in love with this weather. If this is winter, I’ll take it.

Anyway, I wanted to write today about the realization I had this past week. In my search of kind things to blog about, I remembered all of the small things my husband has done for me lately. He will probably be mortified that I’m blogging about him, but he deserves a moment -however brief & embarrassing- in the spotlight.

He’ll love this more, too, because he continues to ensure me that keeping a blog is totally dorky (I know, hurtful) and that it is unlikely many people actually read it (gasp).

So, in this very public and highly read (hehehe) media, I would like to commend him for his unselfish kindness… at home with me, with his family, and in his daily routine at school. Living with me is not always an easy task. I’m terribly loud and very clumsy. I struggle to be a good listener. I love sleeping late, playing on my computer (or phone or iPad or other technology format), sewing until late hours of the night, hogging the remote, and filling up the DVR with Chelsea Handler. 

You get the picture- I’m slightly self-centered.

But, through it all, he is forever patient and kind. We are not typically “Valentine’s-ish” people, but I was surprised this year with a rose. For two weekends in a row, he has sneaked out of bed in the morning, taken care of our fur-babies, and let me sleep until after 10:00. Two of those days, when I finally crawled out of bed after 12+ hours of sleep, he had a biscuit waiting for me. He has sat through numerous new sit-coms that I know are not his favorite. And he continues to support me through my serious budgeting flaws (I’d love to say they’re minor math mistakes, but that’s simply not true).  

I’ve always known my husband’s a great guy, and he continues to make me proud everyday in his hard work, family support, and *youthful* sense of humor. I can only hope his kindness and level-headedness will somehow rub off on me.

My search for kindness in the world this week was quite simple and fairly short. My husband. Right here at home all along. 

Keeping Calm

I really started this year out with a bang on my blog, or at least I thought so. The past few weeks have been unbelievably hectic, especially considering Jamie isn’t even coaching this year. I thought we might have some down time, but I was mistaken. I realized that no matter how much we “give up”, we will always find a way to fill that extra time.

But, the point this week isn’t to vent about my busy life. I actually have a big celebration/actualization to discuss.

I was quite shocked a few months ago when my principal asked me if I would host a student teacher. It was one of those “Who, me? Are you sure you mean me? The girl with only a few years under my belt… still figuring this out myself…Right here… ME?” I gladly accepted, but still question my qualifications, if you will.

Best. Decision. EVER.

I have had the past four weeks to get to know an amazing young lady who happens to be extremely gifted in the classroom. She is so excited to come to school everyday… and it shows in her teaching. Her enthusiasm and fresh hope has encouraged me to take a better look at how I approach my students everyday.

Rather than focusing so much on every little detail, I’ve been more goal-oriented. Rather than repeating myself (5,000 times everyday- at least) to the point of frustration, I’ve been challenged to find another way to achieve our objectives. Rather than losing my patience, I’ve been more focused on keeping calm.

Little things may, and they most likely will, come up everyday. But when we get creative, we can still find a way to achieve our goal.

 Keep calm, stay focused on the goal. My mantra for now.

Wal-Mart Hero

Only 18 days into the new year, and I have found my hero/inspiration for the next several months. At Wal-Mart (of all places).

If you have ever been shopping with me, or you’ve seen me shopping, or maybe you just read my blog about holiday shopping, you get the vibe that I don’t shop leisurely. It’s not fun for me.

Especially in Wal-Mart, where I swear those lights and crowds induce some kind of mild anxiety attack (quite possibly so that people like me grab as much as they can as fast as they can and race out the door). Oh, Wal-Mart… after a nine-hour work day... Throw on a side of After-Christmas-NO-MONEY-LEFT Checkbook status.

AND…  the icing on the cake… I had to “stop by” Wal-Mart twice last week after school. I sacrificed my sanity TWICE in one week to save… maybe eight bucks? Imagine my mental state.

Anyway, the man that made me recognize I was acting like Drama Queen of the Year was standing outside of the store near the red light. I’m sure if you had to make a similar shopping trip in the last week, you saw the man, too.

The first day I saw him as I was leaving, doing my deep-breathing exercises. He was holding a sign that read “HOMELESS. Will work for food.” And of course the light stopped me directly in front of him, so I read it (rather awkwardly) like 1,000 times.

Wow. Here I am, as lucky as can be—so blessed with a loving family, awesome friends, a great job, you know...a house… the list goes on. And I’m having a fit because I had to wait five minutes in line to buy dog food. Really?!?! How selfish could I be? Then the sense of guilt ran over me because I had absolutely nothing to give him (and here I am still staring at his sign). No cash, no food, no job opportunities.

Second trip to Wal-Mart, and I’m mentally preparing myself for the man standing by the red light. Sure enough, he was there. This time, though, he had company. I watched as a man, I assume was a kind stranger, carried a bag of fast food and a hot coffee to him.

Wow, again. This generous man, who is now my Wal-Mart hero, walked right through the intersection to offer him a meal.

 I’m not sure if the homeless man took the food or if they talked for long, but I know I continue to be amazed at how much love and generosity there is around us. Not every act of kindness is so bold or obvious, but each one is still important. Recognizing these acts, rather big or small, has been a blessing for me as they remind me of God’s love… and in this case, it reminded me not to sweat the small stuff.

Even in Wal-Mart.

In Stitches … Literally

One week in to the new year, and I’m keeping true to my resolutions thus far. I’ve exercised 5 of 7 days and lost a few of the holiday pounds I managed to pack on (Knowing my darling husband has lost almost 8 lbs. in a week makes me extremely jealous; men and their ability to lose weight so quickly is irritating). The honey bun cake I made for supper club wasn’t the best idea I’ve had. I scarfed down four slices in 24 hours, but I digress…

The family thing was harder to do this week. Here I go, making excuses, but the first week back to school after a break is so draining. I saw my dad several times at the gym, and Jamie and I took a nice walk yesterday in the beautiful winter sunshine. Today I’m planning to drop by to visit my grandparents for a little while. So, this is definitely a work in progress.

My acts of kindness to note this week I observed at school. I know all of my teaching buddies sympathize with the chaos of the first week back after Christmas. And with report card grades due next week, I thought last week would never end. Despite the heavy workload, I made it through with the help of some pretty awesome co-workers. From other teachers helping me with assessments to carrying library books for me to bringing me a Diet Mountain Dew (much needed by the end of the week), I realized, again, how lucky I am to work with thoughtful people everyday.

Speaking of working… I spent yesterday afternoon working on a cover for a friend’s Kindle Fire. I found several patterns online for free and one in a book, but I wasn’t crazy about any of them in their entirety. So, I decided to merge the ideas together and make my own. For a beginner sewer, I’m now thinking this wasn’t the best path to take—Next time, I’ll just follow the directions because I am either the world’s worst measurer or the fabric shrunk significantly as I sewed. Ugh. After two attempts and four hours of sewing (and probably a few choice words here and there), I finally had something that looked halfway decent. 

My plans for today are to get a few household chores completed and then start a new sewing project. Not sure what’s next… I’m browsing for ideas. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Another Trip Around the Sun

Happy birthday to my blog and Happy 2012 to you! I started blogging last year at New Year’s as a way to keep up with my resolutions, sort of like an accountability journal. Looking back, this was a great idea. Although my resolutions slipped out of sight, as do most, I realized how much I love to write, however simple it may be—and hopefully some of you enjoyed the postings along the way.

I know I say things like this all the time, but I honestly am flabbergasted by how fast time goes by (I’ve been told that’s a sign of getting older). After 365 days, 31 blog posts, over 1,000 pageviews (thanks guys!), and lots of laughs along the way … it’s time to rethink my resolutions and revise my writing.

My favorite thing about the past year’s blog is recognizing the kindness and caring hearts of people around me. I’ll continue writing about that because it makes my heart smile to think about the goodness in the world. Enter cheesy smile here.

As for 2012 resolutions…  My first is to make family more of a priority. I know I’ve been a little slack in making an effort to spend time with my family. Especially now that I have some amazing baby faces, thanks to my in-laws, family needs to be a definite focus. I need to be more pro-active so I can be FUN Aunt Erin for all of my nephews (the count is up to 5, in case you’re wondering) and Cousin, Niece, Granddaughter, Sister-in-Law, etc. Erin for everyone else.

Secondly, I know I’ve got to do a better job of making healthy choices. Ugh- I’m not getting any younger, and I need to take care of myself. This includes food and beverage selection and physical activity (notice, I did NOT say diet or exercise; that’d be a total cliché. Insert sly face here). *As I’m writing after a long day of family dinners and two weeks of “holiday” eating, I am not even sure if my school pants will zip tomorrow. And add a pouting face here.

And last, but not least, I am learning to sew. Yep, me- extremely impatient and uncoordinated and frequently spatially challenged. My dad bought a sewing machine for me for Christmas, and I’ve already sewn a half-apron and three fleece hats (two for my twin nephews… cute picture attached). It’s a work in progress, but I’m learning as I go.

This last trip around the sun was full of laughs and love, challenges and triumphs. As always, I’m sad to say goodbye to a year, especially a year with such amazing memories and opportunities for growth. But, with hope and faith, I am excited about the new possibilities ahead in 2012.  I hope you’ll continue to read along the journey.