Introducing... the TpT blog! - Teachers Pay Teachers

Introducing... the TpT blog! - Teachers Pay Teachers

Tales from the "Redhead Freckle Faced Baboon": Obsessed Tweeter

Tales from the "Redhead Freckle Faced Baboon": Obsessed Tweeter: So... I started a Twitter Account,... OMG,.... I am obsessed.... I thought with my history of being writer,.. that I would be more obsess...

Obsessed Tweeter

So... I started a Twitter Account,... OMG,.... I am obsessed.... I thought with my history of being writer,.. that I would be more obsessed with blogging.... but nope I am obsessed with Twitter.  I would not have thought of myself as a voyeur but I feel like I am peeking into the window of the insights, complaints, thoughts, likes and dislikes of celebrities.  I am following several A list celebrities all the way to the dredges of wanna B's,... to the famous D list bitches... I can't help myself... I'm the nosy neighbor,... peeking through the windows,... watching the comings and goings,... I know when the people across the street go to bed and that their kid makes out in their car with his girlfriend after they go to sleep. I am obsessed.

  

I am not only following celebrities but a few friends from high school.  Its always good to catch up with old friends,... That's really not what my twitter account is for since it isn't actually linked to me personally.  Yep, I have an alter ego,... an alias,... an unknown identity that I can choose to use for good or evil. 

I am sneaky,... I am following my children, nieces, cousins and their friends.  Already, I caught one child posting his cell phone number to his 300+ followers.  I caught another child who was spending the night at a "friends" house, sneak away from that house he was supposed to be at to go to a party.  I love that it tells you where you are "tweeting" from.  I also love that the kids caught tried to say that twitter always messes up the location,... yeah like the GPS on your phone don't work,... LoL.

Anyway,... you can follow me if you like,.. this will be my only "advertisement" for my twitter account,... I hope you can be just as happy and blissfully obsessed as I am! :-) Follow my blog while you are at it.   http://talesfromtheredheadfrecklefacedbaboon.blogspot.com/  :-)

https://twitter.com/redheadbaboon

Sisters

Sisters are the best thing in the world!!! They are your playmates when you are young. Having a sister doubles your toys. Having a sister doubles your wardrobe.  They are your best friends growing up.  They are there for all the firsts.  The first time you walk, ride a bike, roller skate, the first date, the first dance, the first kiss, the first boyfriend,...  Sisters are with you when your family moves across the street, to another town or another state.  They are there through the school changes and graduations.  They are there through the divorces, marriages and births.

I know women who have lost their sisters.  What they wouldn't give for a moment with their beloved sister again. It doesn't matter if the loss the result of a gradual illness or a sudden accident.  They miss their sister.  A part of them is always missing.  The speak of her in hushed tones with moist eyes.  Even if they were not close to their sister they feel the loss deeply.

My sisters are fighting,... Something that occasionally has happened during my life.  We are very different women.  When you put all of us in a room you not only get the best of our parents but you get the worst too.  We have taken both the good and the bad; different traits and very different percentages.


We are the 20+ year married working mother, who gave everything to her career, marriage and children.   She is the one who was goal oriented but wanted it all.  She is the driven one who set her sights on the prize and never slowed down until she got it. The one who went back to school for more education and got her doctorate.  The one who strives to be our mothers favorite and struggles the most with envy. The perfection has a stronger hold of and in her drive to be perfect, lost herself.

We are the working mom, who balances her life and family with the help of our mother.  The one who still has one foot in the friendships of her youth.  The one who said she would never wear clothes from Walmart and still doesn't.  The one with the perfect body, nails and hair.  The one with the best car, newest clothes and best vacations.  The one with the physical issues and emotional losses in her past.

We are the military wife and mother.  The one who joined up for an education but found the structure and discipline she always wanted. The one who gave up her career for his.  The one who married the introvert.  The man who now turns his hearing aid off when the nieces and nephews enter the room.  The one who still wants life to be structured and predictable, so much that she shuts out the unpleasant and unacceptable.  The one who judges before she can be judged.  The takes before she can be taken.


We are the divorcee, who survived infidelity lost her confidence.  The one who remarried, has step children and a tendency to not take care of herself. She is the fat one, the one who needs to diet and exercise, the one who needs to get a hair cut or have her nails done.  She is the giver who gives of herself until there is nothing left for her to take for herself.   The one who runs away at the first indication that anyone is upset or angry.

We are the stay at home wife and mother.  The one with more kids than hands. The one who schedules weekly play date with the neighbors so that she has another adult to talk to for a few hours.  The one who shares stories of potty training and t-ball games, soccer teams and gymnastics classes.  The one who runs children from place to place with van full of groceries and kids in diapers that need changing.

We are the single sister striving to find her own way in the world.  The one who takes risks at work and in her life.  The one who runs a marathon but doesn't have the ability to keep relationships together.  The one who looks put together, strong and independent but works 80 hour weeks so she doesn't have to be at home alone.  The one who has acquaintances but no real friends.  The one we see once a year, twice if there is a wedding or funeral.

My sisters are fighting, like the Hatfields and McCoys. Opinions long held, shared with others behind backs and conversations that never should have happened. Jokes taken too far that left marks that turned into scars. Misunderstandings that lead to hard feelings.  Anger and resentment building up over decades not given away like the used baggage it was.  The one thinks this, the other that,... do you think I should have made that choice? Do you agree that I did that? Do you like my husband? Do you like my children?  Do you love them?  Do you like me? Do you love me? Do you accept me for who I am? Do you?

I am your sister,... nothing else matters,...

Children Are A Gift

As a woman who struggled with infertility.  I believe that children are a gift.  As I entered my late 20's and early 30's I resigned myself to the fact that I would not be a natural mother but I would take on the task of loving someone else's children.  I planned to adopt a baby girl from South America.

After my first marriage fell apart I was lucky to meet a man who I fell in love with that already had children.  It didn't take much to fall in love with his children.  He is such a special dad, always putting the needs of the children first. The kids were so sweet and loving we made a wonderful little family unit.

Imagine our surprise when after living together for 2 years, I got pregnant less that a month after we married. Another blessing in an overflowing basket.  After our daughter had some health scares in her first year of life we decided that our family was done growing but I always knew in the back of my mind that we would take in more children.

Eight years later we were flabbergasted when one of our children's friends came for a visit and ended up living with us.  Her father had remarried,... chose the new wife over his 16 year old.  How can a man choose a woman over his children?  Aren't they your flesh and blood? Your babies?  Don't you want the very best for them? Don't you want to see them grow and develop? Don't you want to help them become productive adults?  How do you kick a 16 year old out of your house? Did you actually say, "I love her more?" Do you drive her somewhere and leave her? Do you give her a bus ticket? Plane ticket? Cab Fare?

I know what you are thinking? Where's her mom? Well she had been living with her mom since her dad kicked her out but circumstances changed and now her mother was ill an unable to care for her.  She has a sister who has her hands full with 3 young children and no other relatives to step in and help.  We agreed to keep her for as long as the mother needed to get herself back together. 

It was difficult.  Friends and family saying we were being taken advantage of.  People telling us that it wasn't our problem but this was a child, is a child.  She is a valuable human being.  She deserves to be somewhere safe where people care about her and take care of her.

She wasn't always easy to deal with.  Emotional outbursts and periods of hiding in her room.  She is a teenaged girl, some of its expected, some of it not. The hardest thing to watch has been her riding the emotional roller coaster as she constantly trys to reconnect with her family and rebuild relationships. But over times she adjusted and started to make more friends and build a life here.

I was thrilled for our young charge when she was able to visit family over the Christmas holiday.  I was surprised when her mom and younger brothers came to visit for New Years but glad she was back for the start of school.  Her mom talked of moving here in a few weeks and taking her daughter back to live with her.  It all seemed to be working out for the best.

Overnight the plans changed. We couldn't believe the next morning when her mom stopped by to pick her up to travel again.  What about school the next day? She had already missed days of school to fly to visit family. Wasn't her education important? Shouldn't she be in school.

A week later she is back.  Mom "washed her hands of her." Dad says, "she should go into a  psych ward." They threaten to keep her away from her boyfriend.  To send her away somewhere else. To put her somewhere and leave her there. WHAT THE HELL!?!?!?!

This is your child!  Your flesh and blood! You made her who she is today.  Your actions, reactions and choices influence her every decision.  She is a valuable human being.  She is a kind loving person.  Yes, she makes mistakes, she is human.  Yes, she makes bad choices.  You did to at her age. She is not  a piece of trash to be set out on the curb.  She is a child.

I love my husbands philosophy on life. He says that some people only focus on the bad in life, on the things that hurt them in the past.  They never move on from it.  We all know those people,... they drink because they were abused.... they do drugs because they are from a broken home....  It is not your past that defines you but the choices that you make each and every day.  Everyone has had some adversity in life,... it is how you  deal with that adversity that makes you who you are,... do you rise above it and show the world that you are stronger and more powerful than whatever problems you were faced with or do you cower in the corner,... reliving them every day,....

Our young charge is back in our home now.  She is welcome to stay as long as she needs.  Yes, it is a challenge for us as a family,... but it is a challenge that we are rising to and using to teach our children that ALL children are gift!

Salad Bar

I am truly blessed to have met hundreds of mothers in the last few years through a playgroup that I started July 4, 2006. How did you, a girl with social anxiety do that you ask? Well that is a story for another time,... today I want to talk about a friendship made,...

Darla and I met through the "No Drama Mamas" when our little ones weren't even 2 years old.  We were an unlikely pair.  One athletic mom the other needing to spend less time eating and more at the gym. One pale skinned Irish looking girl the other golden brown. Our friendship grew out of our love for our children.  I have a girl, she has a boy,... we must have looked like Mutt and Jeff, but for us it worked.  Alike in values but so different in our backgrounds.

The kids quickly entered school and Darla moved, not far, but far enough for us to stop seeing each other regularly. While I would see her every couple of months it just wasn't the same,... until last night.

Last night we ran into one another.  She looked awesome, as fit and healthy as always.  Her son in 1st grade, daughter now in middle school, she finished school and her family was finally doing well after medical scares and deployment woes.  She is looking forward to moving overseas at the end of the month. I had heard through the grapevine that she was moving again,... but seeing her in person made me ache.

We talked with the rest of the group for several hours but when it came time to leave I just didn't want to walk away. We stood outside the cafe, street lights buzzing above us, the cold nipping at our fingers and toes, neither wanting to walk away.

I think god knew I needed her that night.  I had been struggling with feelings of insecurity, inadequacy and was down on myself. With her loving words she lifted me us as she shared with me the story of the Salad Bar Friends.

As a child you may not even like a salad but at least there are a few things on it that you will eat.  I know that I didn't like anything,... I was a lettuce only type of kid.  Give me some lettuce with carrot and thousand island dressing and that was all I would eat.

I've grown up.  When I go to a salad bar I now get my beloved lettuce but add color to it.  I like carrots, cucumbers, celery, mushrooms, radishes, peas and broccoli.  There was a time I liked sunflower seeds in my salad but not any more.  I have tried red peppers, yellow peppers, green peppers, apples, oranges and even onions but either I don't like them or I just don't like them in my salad.  Sometimes I make a taco salad. I add taco meat, tortilla chips and cheese.  Sometimes I am in the mood for chicken, shrimp, ham or bacon bits.

Friendships are like salad bars. What we like or want changes over time.  Friends that you had can be like the carrots that I have always liked and wanted in my salad. A friend can be like the sun flower seeds that I liked so much for awhile but I out grew the taste of.  They can even be like the onions that I don't like the taste of any more. Or they can be like the apples that while I like to eat them occasionally I don't like them in my salad.

Some friends are like the new things we try to add to our salad but they just don't taste right. Others are beloved and will always fit in.

Darla reminded me that I do love with all my heart and I do give to everyone around me.  Some people are in my life for a small amount of times, others for longer. Either way I had an impact on them and at some point they fit into my salad fine, as I learn and grow they might find their way back in or not, either way its OK.

Marks of All kinds

1/4/2013  Book Marks For Mamas
Today is day #3 of my journey of Giving. I am surprised that my enthusiasm has not slowed down.  Gift # 3 is for the wonderful women who introduced me to the gift of giving.  Tonight, I have my book club meeting.  We are just a random group of women, many of whom met through a playgroup for our children.  It was this group of ladies who recommended the book that started my journey.  I read it and was hooked!!! So as a gesture of gratitude, I made book marks for the ladies. Don't think I am more crafty than I am,... while I do like to dabble in crafts I found some free printable Book Marks online.  I was able to print those off and give them out tonight.    I am so excited to go tonight and see what the other ladies thought about the book. I am so excited!!!! I can't wait until tonight!!!

1/4/2013  Reflecting on my Giving
I was so excited to start this journey. I was excited to share my stories of giving.  I used to write poetry and stories,... 10+ years ago before I married a man with many children and had my own child.  I try to think that I have thick skin but I its a lie that I tell myself.  I wear my heart on my sleeve.  I attempted to blog about my journey but ended up having to change the wording of my post because I offended someone with a word I used.  It is 2013, words are just that, words,... I know that words if used in a mean, evil way can inflict pain and suffering on people.  I understand that.  I am a kindergarten teacher.  I see how just a few words can wound a child but in a blog meant to share my excitement and enthusiasm that word was just that a word.  It was an adjective,... that one complaint, one issue, killed my enthusiasm, killed my excitement, killed my dream. It is going to take me some time to grow thick skin, but I am working on it, I can't let their judgement effect my choices and my dreams.

Accidentally or Intentionally, some words leave a mark.

Today, I realized just how hard it is to give.  I went to book club and found that the other ladies were not infected with the enthusiasm of giving as I had been.  I was shocked to find that while some liked the book others opinions were not as favorable.  I shared with them that I had been inspired to start a journey of focusing on others and not myself. I then laid the books marks that I had made for them on the table and asked them to choose one that had meaning to them.  As I explained that I had made these book marks for them with inspirational phrases on them I found myself belittling the gift. I didn't want them to know how much they meant to me.  I felt that I was laying my heart on the table before them and was asking them to accept my friendship by marking a box yes or no.

Does the insecure child in us ever grow up?
Do we outgrow the desire for everyone to mark yes?

Lesson Learned

1/3/2013  Lesson Learned
It is my maternal grandmother who is the recipient of my second gift.  My grandma is 88 years old.  She became a nurse during WWII and retired after a many years of service in the early 90's. She is the mother of 6, grandmother of 11 and great grandmother of 10.  We refer to her these days as "GG" which stands for "great grandma."  Tonight, I decided to give of my time and self and call her.

I owe her so much.  I went to college 6 hours from home but 1 hour from GG.  For 2 years I spent countless weekends with her.  She cooked my meals, made my bed, laundered my clothes.  She never asked for anything in return, just loved my company and visits.
With my busy life I often go months without calling her.  While I think of her often, its those day to day things that get in my way and prevent me from following through with that, "I need to call her" thought.

Well, not tonight, tonight, I called her twice. Yep, of course,... no answer the 1st time,... 2nd time I got her voice mail,... while pondering my next course of action,... she called me back!!!
We did the initial, how are you feeling check,... whats going on with the family check,... but I wanted to ask more, to share more, give more,... I asked her about her day today,...
I was surprised to hear that she spent some of her day helping others... Early this morning, she visited a friend who usually wears slippers because she can't reach her feet, to put socks and shoes on her, so that she could go to a doctor’s appointment. Later she visited another "elderly" friend who partially blind to help her put eye drops in her eyes. She had 2 more visits like that today,... just in her senior living community.

I am honored to have her as my grandma,... I love her with all my heart and want to live my life generously as she does.

Some gifts we think we are giving to others, are gifts that others are already giving.

Share Your Enthusiasm

1/2/2013  Share Your Enthusiasm
I am so excited to focusing on giving instead of focusing inward.  I have had several ideas of what I wanted to give on day 1. I have a gift card to give to a co-worker that does everything for everyone.  She never takes time for herself.  I have to say I am in awe of what she does.  I thought she was going to be my first recipient but I'm gonna wait until a later time.

I raced into school this morning to tell a Nicole, who is struggling with many medical conditions and issues about the book 29 gifts.  I wanted to share my enthusiasm with her.  I wanted to help her order the book and have her join my book club on Friday to talk about it.  I wanted to get to know her better, but she wasn't at work today.

So, I started the day off my sharing my enthusiasm with one of the other wonderful women that I work with.  I was so excited to talk about the book, I think I was gushing.  Then I told another woman about it, hoping that she would want to join in the gratitude community.  In all, I talked to 3 different people at work about the challenge.  I shared the book with them, recommending them to read it on their own.  (I think that one of these days I am going to purchase a few hard copies of the book to share with friends, family, acquaintances and strangers who might benefit from its wisdom.)  I still have a few more people I want to talk to about the book, all in good time I guess.

At lunch today, I found out that a dear friend received some awful news about her dog.  This is her baby, the child she had before she had her two children.  She is struggling with the pain that her dog is in and the fact that she is going downhill so quickly.  She has the name of a vet that will come to her home and put the dog down in their home surrounded by family.  She is struggling, that's not how she wants to remember her dog.  Its not how she wants her children to remember their beloved pet.  I suggested that they take a day as a family to play with the dog and say their goodbyes.  I offered to take her to the vet when she is ready or to take the dog for her if she needs someone to do that.  Only time will tell if she takes me up on the offer but even then, this is not my first gift.

I have decided that my first gift will be to my 7 year old.  I always say I have 5 kids but in reality, I have 1 daughter and 4 step children.  (I was not supposed to be able to have children but was blessed after I married a man with 4 kids. A long story, I might tell at another time.)  My daughter spent many days over the holiday asking me to play "Monster High Dolls." I avoided it all winter break.  Yesterday, she was able to talk her dad into playing with her, but I was too busy reading to play. I feel guilty about that, I want her to know that I love her unconditionally. I am going to give her my time, undivided, no TV, no phone, no computer,... just time together to do whatever she wants to do.  I won't push her in one direction or another to play or do what I want to do,... it’s time for her,... about her,... it’s my gift to her.     :-)

1/2/2013  Give with an Open Heart
UGH- who would have thought spending time with a 7 year old would be hard to do.  After having to work a full day, we had shopping, dinner and homework that brought about tears and a temper tantrum. No I didn't cry or throw myself on the ground but I thought about it while she was screaming at me that she couldn't do her homework.

I wanted to give her the gift of my time,... of uninterrupted time and attention.... doing whatever she wanted.  It was quite a struggle to get everything taken care of that needed to be done so that we could have that time together.  It wasn't until 15 minutes before her usual bedtime of 8:00 that with homework done and emotions in check we headed up to her room to play.  She was so excited that I was doing to play Monster High with her,... 5 minutes of explaining who got to play who and what each girls "thing" was,.... we got into playing.

She had a blast and I did too,... we giggled and made the dolls talk to one another.  It was so nice to see her enjoying herself.  I finally felt like I was doing something right as a mom.  When we finally had to get ready for bed (45 minutes after the usual bedtime) she asked me to read her a story. Now usually at night she reads to me, to practice her fluency and to get minutes for her reading calendar.  She has a book shelf in her room and a pile of books on her vanity.  I reached for a book on the pile, without looking and pulled out the children’s bible....
Imagine my surprise,... isn't the one thing I want out of this is a renewed faith of some kind,... Another 15 minutes of reading her children's bible (which- I can't recall the last time we have done that) brought about a closeness and feeling of peace that I didn't expect.

I am excited about day 2.  I have decided to not plan ahead today,... I want to see what opportunities fall into my lap... Much of my life is planned out for me,... I have to get up at a certain time,... take care of my mother in law,... take care of my daughter,... thankfully the teens take care of themselves many a days,... but I do dinner for them,... clean the house,... do much of the laundry,... I want to see how the day unfolds,....

I am open to the possibilities that life puts in my path...

Joining a Challenge

Background:
29 Gifts: How 29 Days of Giving Can Change Your Life is a book by Cami Walker.  Mrs. Walker is an author who suffers from multiple sclerosis.  She transforms her health and life by choosing to embark on a month long journey of purposeful giving.

I'm joining the challenge:
I have found myself focused on the negative, the problems, issues, pain and suffering. I have actually caught myself not only listening to the office gossip but adding to it.  I have found my body and mind getting older and I haven't been fighting it. I have found that I am not behaving and acting like the person that I want to be.
On January 1st I sat down to read the book 29 Gifts for my book club.  I finished the book the same day.  Cami's story touched me.  It made me think that I too could make positive changed in myself by purposefully focusing on others and giving of myself is the first step.

What I'd most like to receive:
I would like to receive a renewed focus on life. I am truly blessed in life with a wonderful husband, 5 children and a job I love. I struggle with my weight and negativity both in my outlook in the world but more in the negative things I say and do to myself. While money is always an issue especially with my husband losing his job last year, it is not what I want to focus on. What I would like to receive is the renewed life that Cami received when she did the 29 day challenge. I want to find a spiritual connection and live life in a positive way