Saying Goodbye

A few days ago I announced that I intend to shut down my blog and Facebook page. I will also be including my Twitter in this shut down as I hardly use it effectively and only ever post to it when I post to Facebook because I have them linked. It doesn't make sense to keep it for a blog that is no longer up and running.

I briefly mentioned why I am shutting down, but I don't feel that I gave enough information to you. So I am going to in this post.

I first want to say that I absolutely love blogging. It has been so much fun to grow my blog, meet new people and share my experiences of the last nine months with so many people! I am sad to be ending my blogging run, but I think it is what is best for myself and for my family. It's time consuming, and time just isn't something I have on my side right now. This is not a decision I came to easily. I spent over a month praying over this decision, waiting for God to show me the right path. And He has now. God is helping me get my priorities straight.

Why don't I have any time on my hands? Well, because we have a lot going on. Always. And I enjoy it, but I have to be sure to keep my priorities straight. Unfortunately, blogging isn't at the top of the priority list so I'm choosing to remove it from my schedule. It's an added stress to sit here and think that I should be writing for all of you but I just don't have the time to do so. Why would I keep the stress of something on my shoulders when I know I won't be able to get it done anytime soon? It doesn't make sense to me.

Life has always been full of things to do around here. There's just so much to get done all the time. Of course there's Kaley. She's my number one priority, as well as Pat's. We do everything we can to make her life as enjoyable as possible and to spend as much time with her as we can. Yes, there's the inevitable loss of time due to her having to go to school. I have to send her to school and I am happy to say that she loves going to school. And I am lucky enough to be able to work at the school she attends so I get to see her throughout each day. A quick hug when we pass each other in the hall makes all the difference to her!

Then there's my work schedule. I work between 25 and 30 hours each week at the school. But, let's be real. I'm a teacher so my work comes home with me at the end of each day. Between grading papers, lesson planning, communicating with parents and getting my supplies in order for each lesson, I'm looking at working an additional 10 to 15 hours. Unfortunately, though, I don't get paid for those hours. Because of this I have begun working a second job. We're trying to pay for a wedding here, people, and weddings aren't exactly cheap.

And don't forget that I'm still in school. I was 2 points away from a passing score on my last exam. Two. Points. Ridiculous. So I have to retake my exam, but it isn't available for retake until the middle of March. That means I have plenty of time to study and complete my last two classes before I retake the exam, but it takes up a huge chunk of time each week. And I need to take advantage of every opportunity available to get in more studying.

What else? Wedding planning. We're actually doing pretty well when it comes to wedding planning. The date, venue, reception hall and entertainment are all figured out. I have had several meetings with photographers in the last two weeks and am setting up meetings with caterers over the course of the next couple of weeks. I still need to find someone to bake the cake and cupcakes, and then there's a lot of little stuff to get done, but I'm feeling like we are in a good place at the moment. We will get there. I just need some dedicated wedding planning time over the next few months.

Last, but certainly of massive importance is Pat. His appointment with the VA a few days ago didn't end very well. We have several major decisions to make in the next couple of months and a lot of talking to do in terms of our course of action as it pertains to his injuries. And the VA? They're not helpful. At all. I'll just leave it at that.

Add in the other things we have going on like going to the gym, running, coaching cheer, four basketball games every Saturday, and the need for family time, it amazes me that I ever get to bed at night. But I'm managing.

 

All of these things are important in our lives. Kaley loves cheer, Pat enjoys running the scoreboard for the basketball games, and I need to go to the gym and run to keep my sane. I love my jobs, Pat has decided he's going to walk for another ten years, and we will have a beautiful wedding at the end of May.

Our life is busy, but it's a good life. We enjoy the time we spend together and we all work hard to keep our family happy. It isn't easy, but we all make sacrifices and we all understand that everything is worth it in the end.

I will miss blogging. But I hope you all understand that there are a great many more things going on in my life that take precedence over this blog. Maybe someday I will be able to come back. In the meantime, though, I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to share my life with all of you and to meet some of the most amazing people I have ever known. I appreciate each and every one!

Managing Your EMail (in GMail)

Last year I taught Middle School Information Science. This year my grandmother is teaching Middle School Information Science. We have had several updates this school year in terms of technology which allow our older students to have access to many different Google products. One of the things they now have access to through our school is email.

So I was sitting in the computer lab a few weeks back and listening to my grandmother explain to them how to manage their email. Now I know how to manage me email. It's not that difficult. I'm just not good at keeping up with it. But based on the fact that these kids had no idea what the concept of email management was, I thought there are probably a great many more people who don't fully understand the importance of or how to manage their email inbox. So I've put together a list of steps to follow to manage YOUR email. And I've used a before and after picture from my own email inbox to show you that I'm not overly on top of things and that I'm only human like the rest of you.

This morning when I logged into my email for the blog, this is what my email inbox looked like.

There were so many emails in my inbox that didn't even need to be there. Some could go to the trash, others could go into folders, some should be kept because they are important.

When managing your email, you should try to keep the clutter down to a minimum. Keeping hundreds of emails in only your inbox causes you to quickly use up the storage space you are allowed. Trust me, that storage runs out fast!

The "Golden Rule" of email management is to only keep what is currently active in your inbox. Most of the time, that's no more than 5-10 emails because, again, we are only human around here. So the email from your Aunt Betty that's been sitting in your inbox for over a year? You can probably send it to the trash. Still want to hold on to it? Create a folder.

Not sure how to create a folder? Just follow these three simple steps!

Step 1.

Open the email and find the toolbar at the top. Click on the "Move To" button.

 

Step 2.

Type in the name you would like to folder to have. It should be short and accurately describe the content of the emails you plan to place in the folder (also called a label). For example, I have a Giveaways folder, a Passionfruit Ads folder and a Blog Hops tab, just to name a few. The titles are short, but accurately describe all of the content within them.

Once you've typed in the name of your new folder, click below where it says "(create new)".

 

Step 3.

You would think that after clicking on the "(create new)" button, you'd be done, right? Wrong. Google has added in another screen for you just to complicate your life. But not really.

Often times once you've created your new label you're good to go. Google gives you the option to "Nest" it under another folder, though. This is a great option if you have sort of a catch-all folder that you put things into, but want some division in that. For example, if you want to create a folder that's called "Projects" but you are working on multiple projects at once, you may want to "Nest" a new label under the projects folder. The choice is yours.

If you don't need your email to be that complicated, simply click on the "Create" button and you're good to go!



Folders are awesome. They store your emails based on the labels you create and keep them from eating away at all of the storage space you have available. Use them! Create labels and actually use them! It will help you to be more organized and keep your email running longer. I promise.

Now that you've set up your folders, how the heck do you find them!? Google likes to be tricky sometimes so they sort of hide things away. But they're not really hidden. You just have to know what to do. So if you've just successfully made 72 new folders for the hundreds of emails you had sitting around in your inbox, just keep reading to locate your disappearing labels!

Look at your email. You have this lovely sidebar on the left hand side of the screen that says things like "Inbox", and "Important" and "Sent Mail". These are all great things to have, but none of them are the labels you just worked so hard to create. Your sidebar navigation currently looks something like this:

Take your mouse and hover over the sidebar. It's like magic, I swear! Your sidebar should now look something like this:

Keeping up with managing your email isn't that difficult. Honestly I should be a lot better about it than I am. It only takes about 3 minutes to move all those emails to the folders they belong in and it ends up saving you a lot of time later when you're trying to find that one email that your co-worker sent three weeks ago that you need to act on about two days ago. It's worth it to take the time to make it happen. Why? Because in the end your inbox looks so much better and you aren't left feeling so overwhelmed! Just take a look at the difference it made in my email!

End the Homework Struggle

I don't know about you, but we have a tendency to struggle with homework in our home. Honestly, I kind of feel like a bad mom sometimes because it's not like I have 2 or 3 more kids to supervise during those after school hours. I only have Kaley. And we still have difficulties.

Kaley has ADHD. She is medicated. That's a struggle in and of itself which you can read about HERE. But due to her ADHD, homework is such a hassle most days.

I know, I know, there isn't hardly a child alive who loves doing their homework. But, at 7 years old, most of them are willing to sit down and just get it over with. Mine? Not so much. By the time we get home at 3:30, she's done for the day. Her medicine is wearing off, her attention span is practically zero and the ability to focus flew out the window about an hour ago. That's just the way it is.

So how do we make it through? How is it she still has A's in all but one class (forgive the child for her B in math- she's just not very good at it...)? Because over the past two and a half years that she has had homework I've found some things that really work with her ADHD. And I've decided that I won't be selfish with them anymore and I will share them all with you because I know ADHD is something many children struggle with.

1. Do NOT let yourself become frustrated.

This is one that I have had a difficult time with, to be honest. It has taken me a very long time to learn that my frustration has an adverse affect on Kaley's productivity level. When I become frustrated, she knows it and she pays more attention to that than she does to what she is supposed to be doing. Many of us parents think that raising our voices, expressing our irritation is letting our children know what they should be doing. It's not. It's just taking what little focus they have even further away from their homework. Not conducive to completing the assignments.

 

2. Do NOT let your child become frustrated.

If they've been sitting at the table, staring at "3+7=" for 20 minutes and can't seem to figure it out, have them move on to the next problem. Or, better yet, give them a 5 minute break to get some energy out. Odds are they are staring at the problem because they are frustrated by a question they probably answered 10 minutes ago that they aren't sure of and just need a little help to refocus on what is in front of them. So take a few minutes to have a conversation with them or let them play with something they enjoy or give them a few apple slices or a glass of milk. Just find something to take their mind off their frustration for a couple of minutes so they can get back to it with their mind cleared.

 

3. Pay attention to them.

Even if they seem like they are completely focused on the page in front of them, take 5 minutes out of your day to sit down with them and watch them do their homework page. Honestly, Kaley gets so much more done when she's supervised than when she isn't. I know it's a struggle sometimes to take a few minutes, trust me. Our lives are crazy. But just taking that time will let them know that you're paying attention. And then when the time is up, their motivation to get done is still there because they know you were paying attention so they're pretty sure that you still are paying attention. It makes a huge difference, I promise.

 

4. Let them work it out the way they need to.

This stuff isn't easy for most kids. That's why they have homework. They're reinforcing what they learned in school that day to help solidify it in their minds. So if they need to use a number line to finish their addition facts, let them use a number line. If they have to read every word of their book out loud, let them read out loud. Let them figure out what works best for them. They know their learning style better than anyone else could hope to know. So if you give them the opportunity to do it their way, they are more likely to not fight you on the whole idea of homework. And this works even on days they are positive the sky is purple.

 

5. Always check over their work.

ADHD kids have minds that run a mile a minute. There is just no slowing it down. And this can lead to carelessness and mistakes when it comes to things they should be taking their time on. If they've just finished a math sheet with 30 problems in less than 2 minutes, check their work. You'll likely find something they missed or that they answered incorrectly. If they read a 10 or 15 page story in 5 minutes, ask them questions about it. Ask them to identify characters, tell you about the plot, identify how it ended. Chances are they'll have to go back and look through it to tell you because they just read the words without taking the time to comprehend what they read.

 



Tips for Traveling ...With Children

This weekend we went away for a few days. We didn't go far, just a few hours down the road, but it's far enough that we stayed overnight rather than driving home. Which got me to thinking about how different it is to travel alone versus traveling with children. So I thought I would put together a few tips and tricks I've learned over the years.

1. Clothes

Most people go with the "2 pairs of pants, 4 t-shirts, maybe one nice outfit and an extra pair of shoes" method when packing. But I've learned from experience that that is the worst way to pack for a kid. Because then they have too many choices and they are overwhelmed haggling over which shirt goes with what pair of pants and you're now 30 minutes late getting out the door.

Pack clothes in sets. Full sets. Socks, underwear, pants, shirt, and hair bows or hats if necessary. Stick them in a large Ziploc bag, squeeze all the air out and stick it in the suitcase. Do this for however many days you are planning to be gone, plus an extra one or two and you're done. Then, when they wake up in the morning all they have to do is select a bag and get dressed. Trust me, it saves a lot of time and energy. And there's a much less chance of any early morning arguments.

 

2. Food

It's really easy when you're going on a road trip to just say we'll stop for fast food along the way. Really easy. But it's not good for your wallet... or you... or your child. So just don't plan on that.

Easiest thing to do is to grab a few small Ziploc bags and create small snack packs for the ride. Goldfish, pretzels, fruit snacks, cereal, teddy grahams- you're options are almost unlimited. So do yourself a huge money-saving favor and pack some snacks. It won't even take much to satisfy those tiny tummies on a trip because they're just too excited to get where you're headed!

 

3. Bathroom

My best advice? Don't trust your child when they say "I just went to the bathroom." Odds are they didn't and they're just trying to get out of going at all. And when you're headed on a road trip that will take a few hours you're not going to want to stop every ten minutes. My suggestion? Have your child go to the bathroom 15 minutes before go time. And then again right before go time. And plan your stops along the way at points that make the most sense for your journey.

We take many trips up to the Raleigh-Durham area each year and have made it our habit to stop about halfway there, fill up the gas tank, stretch our legs and take Kaley to the bathroom. Every once in a while we won't feel the need to stop, so we won't and not even ten minutes past that highly populated area Kaley has to go to the bathroom. And by that point it's another twenty minutes or so to the next place we can stop. So we're hoping and praying she can make it that long while she's bouncing up and down in the backseat reminding us every 30 seconds that she really has to go.

 

4. Toys

Every kid wants to bring every toy they own with them when they travel. Even if they're just going for the day, they just have to have every tiny little Lego or Polly Pocket. And you're standing there wondering why everything doesn't fit in the car for your three hour drive. Stop. Take a deep breath. And don't let the kids have a say in what toys they bring.

If you take just ten minutes to pack a small bag with their toys it will all be ok. They'll be happy you just thought to bring them a few toys that they won't miss the doll at home they never play with. I promise. But once you tell them to pack a bag? That's when you're bringing every Hot Wheels car ever created with you. And you don't want those all over the floor at Grandma's house. So just grab a few books. a coloring book and crayons and maybe a few toys to keep them occupied on the drive to wherever you're headed and call it good.

 

5. Electronics

I know, I know, electronics are practically considered the devil by some parents, but just hold on for a minute. When you're sitting in the car for two or three hours, the kids are in the backseat going nuts, what's the first thing you offer up? Your phone, right? Right. And maybe they actually HAVE an iPod of their own at home, you just told them they couldn't bring it with them. Why? Because it's family time and you're supposed to be enjoying your experience together. Well let me tell you that you shouldn't plan to enjoy the car ride there. Just plan to live through it and enjoy your time once you're out of the car.

Let the kids have at least one electronic in their hands in the car. Whether you have a DVD player that everyone in the backseat can see or they each have a handheld system, just let them have it. Trust me, it will save you tons of arguing and a lot of attitude from your lovely children. And, as a result, they will be much more willing to have a good time as a family once you reach your destination!

 

 

So there you have it. Just a few tips for traveling with children. And wherever you're headed this holiday season, may your travels be safe and may you enjoy the time you have with loved ones.