Three Things I Have Learned...

My husband just celebrated a birthday this weekend and mine will be following this summer. We are both now in the last third of our 40s and over the years, we have learned some things about life. I was reflecting on this, as we had several conversations along these lines over the weekend.

Things I have Learned...

1. Sleep is a beautiful thing. Alternatively, I'm too old to not get enough sleep. Alternative to the alternative, why didn't I enjoy sleep more as a child and could someone please tell me I have to take a nap? Friday night we both fell asleep in the living room; me on the couch, him in the recliner. We heavily debated turning off the light and staying right there for the night. Unfortunately, the dogs have their own agenda and we ended up taking them outside again before bedtime. This only made it later when we finally went to bed. Guess who also woke us up early to go outside? Yep, the same fuzzy creatures. As we contemplated how tired we were, I realized how much more sleep my body requires to function now than it used to...I'm pretty sure this is why we have children when we are younger.

2. Anxiety is an unwelcome beast. I have battled this. My husband has battled this. Now some of my children are battling this. My husband and I have learned some coping skills that work for us and aren't self-medicating mistakes. Now, we are helping our children to navigate this in the same safe ways we have learned. My daughter and I talked about the rule of threes and using essential oils last night after an anxiety attack she had yesterday at a restaurant. We put on the oils that calm her, talked about getting back on track with using them daily on her feet at bedtime (something we found worked for her as a four year old), and the rule of threes where you notice three things you can see, three things you can hear, and move 3 parts of your body. I know there are variations on this idea but the point of all of them seem to be to engage your body is something else besides the anxiety and shift your focus off the anxious thoughts. This engages your senses, promotes mindfulness, and calms the stress response in your body. It seems to work for her and that's all that matters!

3. A coffee treat can make errands and chores better. I had to pick up my grocery order and get gas this morning, then come home to work on planning for the week (the last 4 days before spring break are always "special" aren't they?) and getting ready for parent teacher conferences, which are also this week. To say I wasn't looking forward to doing any of that on this Sunday is a gross understatement, but it has to get done, so how about a lil' coffee to help get the job done? Don't mind if I do.

I was stuck on what to write about today and came across this idea of a list of 3 things. Check out this post for my inspiration: https://sliceoflisa.blogspot.com/2025/03/three-things-i-dont-pay-attention-to.html

Spring Break Countdown...5 more wake ups!

 5 more days until the finish line.

          5 more days of alarm clocks buzzing in the darkness.

                    5 more days spent with other people's children instead of my own.

          5 more days of busy busy busy talking to parents at conferences.

5 more days of wrangling the wiggles in the little bodies.

Don't get me wrong...I love them, I do.

          But it's time for a little rest and relaxation at home.

                    I can't wait to do what I want, when I want, and for however long I want.

          But mostly, it's the lack of alarms in the darkness that make me excited.

And, of course, no wrangling for a few days. That's cool too!

The Hounds!

I have a little furry friend. Actually, I have four of them. I have three Dachshunds and a Corgi. Our hotdogs are very sweet. They love to bark and they meet us at the door everyday when we get home. Even if we are only gone long enough to get the mail.

But Max is a different beast. He is the Corgi. He's also very sweet, but he is also very loud, and domineering, and stubborn. He is playful and fun and still very much a puppy, at a year and a half old. He loves to play, or destroy, his toys. He loves to eat and he loves the outdoors. He enjoys splooting and laying his belly on the cool floor boards. He is just a fun guy!

All of our dogs are awesome and they are all smart. But Max is SO SMART! We tried to teach the others some tricks. They are all house trained, so they learned the big one, but other than that, sit and shake are about the extent of tricks they others will do. Max, however, has learned everything we have ever tried to teach him! He sits, he whisper barks, he will speak, he will roll over, he will turn in a circle, he will shake, and he will give a high five. 

Recently, we bought him a new gadget. We bought him a set of buttons. He has a button by the door that says outside. When he presses the button, it says outside, and we know he needs to go out. He has a button that says play and when he pushes it he will bring you a toy to play with. It took him all of two days to get these two buttons down. Now we are working on the food and water buttons...those are taking a little longer but coming along. The last one says "I love you" - I can't wait to teach him this one!

Dogs are truly man's (or woman's) best friends. 

Five Things That Made Me Smile Today

1. It was "dress like your favorite book character" today at school (part of our March is Reading Month activities). It was fun to see the creativity of the students and teachers in all of their outfits. I had Junie B. Jones in my classroom, Mouse from If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, a Cow from Cows That Type and a few others. They made me smile!

2. Making plans with my daughter. She is coming over tomorrow night to watch Survivor together. We girls have all been watching it together for the last few seasons and now that she doesn't live at home anymore, we love it when she can come over and join us still. Talking to her made me smile!

3. My dogs rushed me at the door when I got home today (and every other single day of their lives). I was greeted with happy jumps, licks, barks, and lots of love. They made me smile!

4. Dinner was a pretty salad with chicken and mandarin slices tonight. I love salad nights! I also cooked enough chicken tonight for dinner the next two nights. It felt good to get the time consuming part out of the way so that dinner prep the next two nights will be short and sweet! That thought made me smile!

5. I wanted something sweet this evening and stumbled upon some hot chocolate hiding in the cupboard. I made a cup of hot chocolate with a tiny bit of instant French Vanilla Cappuccino added in for a hint of flavor. I also added my new favorite...sweet cream cold foam on top. That steamy cup made me smile!

Bro! Bruh!

 I chuckled a little to myself at the dinner table tonight. Three of my kids were having a spirited conversation with each other, or, you might call it picking on each other. Either way, they were having fun.

As I listened to conversation going back and forth, rapid fire, I had to just laugh and shake my head.

It was "bruh" this and come on "bruh" that. Bro this, and bro that. Volleyed back and forth like a tennis match. Except everyone seemed to be coming out a winner in this match.

Then I made the mistake of asking or maybe smartly asked, "What exactly is the difference between "bruh" and "bro" and how do I know when to use which?

They all turned their grins upon me. You know the one. That slightly devious, slightly OMG Mom, I can't believe you don't know kind of grin. The one where they contemplate telling me the truth or messing with me.

I believe the chose the truth.

I was then taught that bro is for when you are excited about something and bruh is when you are "ugh" about something.

For example, bro, I won the lottery! 

Or, bruh, I can't believe you ate the last cookie!

My old school brain was (new?) schooled. I can now fluently converse in the bro/bruh universe.

Whew, thank goodness we got that cleared up!

The Clock

 

My grandfather died when he was just 39. It was 1952 and he left behind a wife and two young children, ages 6 and 9. My grandma worked but things were always very tight for money and she almost always did jobs on the side every evening and weekend to make ends meet. She would do laundry for people, she was an amazing seamstress and made clothing for people, and anything else that would bring in a few more dollars. My mom remembers my grandma saying she wasn't very hungry sometimes in the evening to be sure that the kids ate dinner first and got what they needed. My grandma was a very resourceful and handy lady, maybe because of this or in spite of it, I'm not sure.

She used to make cane seats for chairs. She made a rocking chair with a cane seat. She made beautiful doll clothes for my Cabbage Patch kids and even for my Barbie dolls. She could literally make anything if she wanted to. She never remarried so as my mom and my uncle grew up, she was able to change her side jobs into hobbies and do projects for fun.

Well, one day she decided she wanted to make a clock. But not just any clock - a grandfather clock. She knew it would be a big job but she also knew she could do it. So, she ordered a kit. She had to cut out the wood pieces, assemble everything and build the clock. Then she had to assemble and put together all the clock pieces and the pendulum and weight system. It was simply beautiful and she was very proud of it. It sounded amazing and I was mesmerized as a little girl when I would watch her reset the weights and "wind" the clock in the morning.

This clock stood prominently in her living room for the rest of her days. It was always in the same spot like a guard standing watch over her, her home, her family. I always loved the clock. I remember playing Barbies at the base of the clock. I remember laying in bed listening for the chimes to ring and hearing the calm, steady tick in the middle of the night. 

Each picture that was taken for any occasion at Grandma's house was taken in front of that clock. From the time I could stand alone, there are pictures of me in front of it, documenting my growth. Someone came to visit? Take a picture in front of the clock! It's your birthday? Take a picture in front of the clock! It was as much a routine as the chiming of the clock.

The picture above isn't my Grandma's clock. That one is in my mom's house right now. This is the kit that she ordered to build the clock. I looked online for a picture that was similar and found the exact kit she used over 40 years ago to make her clock. Same company, same everything, except if you buy this kit now you pay a whole lot more than she did. Now, the wood comes pre-cut and pre-stained and you just assemble it all. You can even watch a YouTube video to see how to assemble the clock workings. Grandma didn't have a video. She had some directions and a big ol' "best wishes" from the company.

I see why she was proud of it. We are all still proud of it. Someday, it will stand guard in my house. A visible memory of my Grandma for all to enjoy. Maybe a Grandmother Clock?

Lightening, then the thunder!

Morning came extra early in our house today. We had our first spring storm early this morning. It was very windy and some rain, thunder, lightening. I probably would have slept through it myself, but Max had other plans.

Max is our 1.5 year old Corgi. He's so smart and has a huge personality. We love him to pieces! He can figure out just about anything and has learned way more tricks than any of our other dogs. He's not much of a daytime cuddler like our other dogs, but he does like to snuggle a little at night. He will lay close-ish to us in bed and likes to be near but he has too much fur to enjoy a blanket. 

This poor boy though, absolutely hates storms. He just can't figure them out! He doesn't want to be snuggled during a storm, but he does. He doesn't want to pace, but he does. He doesn't understand the sounds of the wind, the booming of the thunder, or the crazy flashes of lightening. Poor baby was a nervous wreck last night. Pacing, panting, whining, jumping, laying, looking out the window...over and over until it was finally done.

When morning came and the storm was complete, we all took a nice long nap.