The Best Stage Ever?

As a mom watching Buddy Roller grow from an infant to a toddler, I naively approached each of his milestones thinking this is the best stage of his life ever. And then I found myself thinking that exact same sentiment when he started eating solids, and when he took his first steps, when he started talking, when he became potty trained, when he started Pre-K, when he joined his first soccer team, and the list goes on and on...

Wedded Wednesdays

Do you remember your wedding day as if it were yesterday? When you look back at your wedding pictures, are you as happy now as you were then?

I have mentioned before that marriage is hard work, yet it can be very rewarding. But you have to do the work, every day.

So The Hubs and I have been doing this new thing for about a week now. I totally stole it from a blog I frequently read.  It doesn't take a lot of time, but it does force you to reflect on your day and your marriage every day. And it's totally worth it!

All you have to do are five things. Tell your spouse two things you're grateful for, two things that made you happy that day, and one reason you're glad you're married to that person. That's it! It's so easy and it'll go a long ways to filling up each other's love tank.

Try it!

Have a Terrific Tantalizing Tremendously Transformational Tuesday

We haven't talked since Saturday. For us, that is a long time. With our kids back at school and well, LIFE, things are busy. I was thinking of her this morning and the next second my phone was ringing. It was her! My BFSF!!! Go figure, we are several hundred miles apart and yet we are connected just like that! Gotta love our relationship.

We only had a few minutes as I had just made it to work. I was dragging this morning and she was there for me. She asked how I was, and I told her, "I'm fine, just trying to balance. Just trying to balance. That's all." I, just like many other moms out there, am just trying to balance work, being a mom, wife, finding time to exercise, yada, yada, yada. It's hard, and I would think by now it would be a little bit easier. And then I thought, we, moms, must be doing this to ourselves.  Certainly God didn't intend for us to be toiling around like this. I think I'm on to something...will have to look into this toiling thing some more and find the key to balancing it all.

Anyways with just a few words, my BFSF had me laughing out loud. It was just some simple words but told in a sisterly loving way that only she could say that would have the effect it had on me.

So in the words of my BFSF....have a terrific, tantalizing, tremendously, transformational Tuesday!!!!

And right now I'm thinking of this moment in time, two years ago when The Hubs and I drove 12 hours to Miami to see this special lady to celebrate her 40th birthday.  Love this girl!!!

Mondays With Roller

Do you have an effective way of waking up your kids in the morning? And by that, I mean a way that actually works and gets them up and out of bed...with no tears and no fussing.

I've been struggling with this since Buddy Roller was a toddler. He is NOT a morning person, and he does not understand that if we're late, he will miss the bus, I will be late for work, and yada, yada, yada. In the past, I have tried jumping on his bed, even driving the plethora of his toy cars over his body in hopes of waking him up in a fun way. I have tried bribing him with a short game of Subway Surfers or Angry Birds on my cell phone. That only worked for a few days!

In fact, it seems just when I come up with a clever idea, the novelty of it wears off and we are back to tears and moans and groans.

Not so, though, this morning.

We tried the online bomb timer. It was a huge hit! Once you access the link, you should also scroll down and click on "classroom timers" for more kid friendly and entertaining countdowns.  Buddy Roller actually saw me use it yesterday as I was planning a lesson for my kids. He thought it was the next best thing. He got so tickled silly when time was up and the bomb went off. And so after he woke up this morning, we set the timer and off he went to brush his teeth and get dressed. I've never seen him get dressed so fast AND be in a great mood all at the same time!

I'm hoping this novel idea won't wear off any time soon. If that happens, I guess I'll have to resort to dressing him in his sleep. And that will be no fun for anyone.

If you have a funny story of how you wake up your little ones or have any good strategies that have been working for you, please leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you.

Family Football Traditions

Do you remember how old you were when you watched your first football game? Who or what made you become a fan?

To be really honest, I'm not a huge fan of football. I'm not even a fan of football. But with the start of football season upon us, I can't help but know this fact because of The Hubs. He is a fan. He watches the games on Thursdays, Sundays and Mondays, and he's even gotten Buddy Roller excited about the season. He got the whole family Giants t-shirts, and we all wore them for the first time today.

For as long as I've known The Hubs, he has always loved the Giants. He told me the story of how as a young kid growing up, he remembers going into his father's room one day to find him watching TV. His dad was watching a football game and the Giants were playing. That was the team his dad was rooting for. And that's how The Hubs became a Giants fan. What started as a time for The Hubs and his father to bond and spend time together, has now grown into a tradition that has carried over to this family with The Hubs and Buddy Roller.

So no matter how good or bad the Giants are this season, it doesn't really matter. Some traditions never die. And I'll do my part to keep this one alive in this family. Go Giants!!!

Day 5 of Being Grateful

Happy Friday!

Today is my last post on being grateful...at least for now.

First, I am so thankful it's Friday. That means two days to recharge from a long week. Second, because it's Friday, that means it's jeans day at my school. There's just something about wearing jeans to work that makes it so special and comfortable, don't you think? And third, I'm grateful for this teacher pictured here with me. Her name is Ms. Zamora, and she is our art teacher extraordinaire.  Every Friday, she greets the kids in the hallway with this silly, yet infectious, song and dance. I'm calling it her Friday song. She sings it out loud, and you can hear her sweet voice down the seventh grade hallway. She sings, "It's Friday, it's Friday..." You can't help but smile. It just makes you a little bit happier.

And here's something else to smile about. Check out these before and after photos of some colleagues of mine who took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge after school.

Whatever your plans are for the weekend, have a great one!

Day 4 of Being Grateful

It all started with this plate and several others like it.

And then the conversation got really deep and really interesting, really fast.

You see tonight is the first night I, along with several other teachers at my school, met for an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) certification class. This class will last the duration of the school year, and it involves meeting every other Thursday from 4:30 til 8 p.m.  There is a lot of reading, assignments, and discussions involved in this course.  The majority of the population at my school is Hispanic. Thus, taking this course is a good idea and it will help me become a better teacher and help me serve my students more.

We were instructed to take a simple paper plate and divide it into portions or slices (such as occupation, religion, age, race, etc. etc.) that best represent our culture and help to explain what makes us who we are. Then we each had to present our plates to the whole group.

First up was my colleague and a diabetic, Mr. Potter.  He shared a recent personal story of how he got into a car accident due to complications from his diabetes. When a police officer arrived on the scene, he just assumed that because Mr. Potter is Black, he must have been drunk or high on drugs. Because of his assumption, paramedics were directed to assist the other White victim involved in the accident. Luckily, Mr. Potter regained consciousness and was able to tell someone he is a diabetic and then he was looked after by emergency personnel. Mr. Potter shared this story with us because being "Black" is a huge part of who he is and affects how he is treated. He also told us that the officer admitted to his very wrong assessment of the accident.

Wow! You hear of stuff like this on the news, but it certainly hits home when someone you know becomes a victim of such racism. Mr. Potter is a professional. He comes to work every day in a shirt and tie, and yet this happened.

When it was my time to present, I told everyone how grateful I was to be part of this conversation. Here we were, some of us, okay all of us, dreading being stuck in a room until 8 p.m. but then appreciating the frank and rich discussions we were having about race and culture. I then asked everyone in the room to take a look at me and guess my race. Of course I heard the usual, "Asian, Hispanic." No one ever thinks Jamaican! I shared with them that I am Jamaican and I never had to think of race until I moved here, to the United States. Since moving here, I have had to put myself in a category, check a box, on every application I have filled out, and always never finding the "right" box to check.

Anyways our conversations continued with the group growing really comfortable and having some really good discussions about race, ethnicity, cultures and stereotypes. I knew right then and there that day four of being grateful would be centered around this.

First, I'm grateful to be a student again in this ESOL course. Being among other interesting people from every different background imaginable is, no doubt, the real lesson. Second, even though I've added yet another "thing" to my plate, and I won't be getting home until 8 p.m. every other Thursday, I am thankful for this opportunity to learn and grow, and become a better teacher for the huge ESOL population at my school. And third, I was so thankful that after a long day, The Hubs had takeout Chinese for dinner...waiting at home.

Day 3 of Being Grateful

Today I got to do something I LOVE!!! I got to leave my classroom for four hours, visit another middle school, and observe other teachers in action. Gosh, I learned so much today, and I can't wait to start using some of the strategies I saw from other educators. So...day three of being grateful is, no surprise here, all about education!

First, I'm so thankful for my career as a teacher. I get to work with students every day and try to make an impact on their lives. It is a huge responsibility! One I take very seriously, and I'm always looking for ways to improve and get better.

Second, I'm grateful that my students, every day, help me to work on my patience. I have said before that this is no easy job, and I'm sorry, but I'll say it again...this is no easy job!!! Ha! My kids stretch my "patience" muscles every day. Every day! But it's a good thing. I need patience.

And finally, I'm thankful that I took a chance and said YES to my new role at school. It has been opening up so many doors for me.  And that makes me grateful!

Day 2 of Being Grateful

Image credits: Reuters

I shared this photo with my students today. It was taken in Lebak, Indonesia and it shows the treacherous journey some students take around the world just to go to school.  As a teacher at an International Baccalaureate (IB) school, we try to expose our students to the world, allowing them to make connections to places outside their home, city, state, and country...to far away places across the globe.  We have weekly "Images of the Week" that we share with students to give them a peek inside what's going on in the world around them.  Seeing this image of the week this morning, prompted me to focus on education for day two of being grateful.

First, while some may argue that public schools aren't perfect, I am grateful we have them.  Second, I'm thankful that students have safe (relatively speaking) transportation to and from school every day. And finally, I'm thankful we live in a country where education is valued, and where every one has access to it and can use their knowledge to make a better future for themselves.

For more incredulous photos and to read about more of the dangerous journeys some students are taking to get to school, click here.  After news of the above photo spread, it's important to note that a new bridge was built so that students could safely get to school.

This truly makes me appreciate what we sometimes take for granted.

Day 1 of Being Grateful

I've been issued a challenge by my BFSF. It's called Five Days of Gratefulness. That means for the next five days, I have to list three things that I'm grateful or thankful for. So here are my three things for day one.