in good time...

Somewhere between here and two weeks ago, I decided that life is ours for the taking. I am starting to UNDERSTAND that what we do, the ins and outs of everyday, make me content. I've heard it over and over...don't take for granted the everyday events and only celebrate the special occasions and holidays...but rather take in the the little things that make life good. Not good like materialistic good, but good as in carefree good. And for this reason I am able to look back on the past two weeks (that I haven't updated my blog!) and say here is what we appreciate:weekend food: Where there is time in the day to plan a curious looking meal called an "Inside-out Bacon cheeseburger" that places the cheese and bacon somewhere in the middle. The kids thought they were funny and good.

homemade haircuts: Aly, completely out of the blue, asked for Momma to trim her hair. No CUTTING she said, because she promised Jessica that she would let her do her hair when she got to cosmetology school.

quick fixes: Using leftover chinese food white rice, I can whip up a batch of stuffed peppers and throw them in the oven to bake on the mozzarella cheese...

...in less than 30 minutes.
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coordinating crew: We LOVE to match, especially for BIG sporting events. Spending the evening with friends and family, hoping to cheer on our Chicago Bears on their way to the Super Bowl was a great opportunity...but we lost. :(

this boy: He is something else. He HAD to have these humongous slippers back in the fall. Thought he was the best thing since swiss cheese, because he was EXTRA prepared for the grand football event! His knucklehead attitude is one I may battle everyday from here until he moves out, but his fussing and insanity makes me know that life is battle worth fighting for!

hungry faces: There is nothing Cristian won't eat TWO of. I adore watching this kid eat, and I wish his BFF Brandan would take some pointers from him!

fast food: In this house there is "drive-thru" food and "fast" food. Fast food is the kind of food that takes absolutely NO preparation other than heating it up in either the microwave, the stove or the oven. After hitting Sam's Club the day before the game, I was able to heat up Italian Beef, toss BBQ wings in the oven and serve up some Sea Salt & Garlic potato wedges to the crowd. (The paper plates made clean up FAST too!)

Spontaneous celebrations: Caitlin showed up on her 19th birthday. The kids just HAD TO whip up a cake for her. With no icing in the house they melted chocolate and peanut butter chips. With no candles in the house, they sought out a long wooden match and wahlah...INSTANT BIRTHDAY celebration.

curious kids: up the stairs, down the stairs, back and forth all night long. I love these guys together. I can't express how much I LOVE THESE kids.

candid camera: getting comfortable is still on my to do list, but I want to take my camera out everywhere. I'm willing to capture everything, just need to get past the curious looks. I guess untill then I'll practice some self shots and visit Vivian Maier's Photography exhibit downtown before it closes! Who's with me?

weekly basketball: Each Wednesday and/or Saturday we attend one of Brandan's basketball games. Each week he runs his tail feathers up and down that court doing everything he can to get a hold on the game. His passion is there. His feet are under him. Too bad his team hasn't won one yet! It's surely building character.

busy weekdays: School work and teaching are the lining to every week. Organizing, preparing, instructing, grading, loving what I do MOST days. I have decided I have the best classroom in the world. It doesn't have it all and I dream of a longer school day to get it all in (yes, I said that out loud), but it is a wonderful home and a great place to be M-F.

hoping for the best: I've tried a million and one experiments, whether you're talking about at school, at home, or in life...and they all end up the same - filled with curiosity and inspiration, but overflowing with hope. You never know how things are going to turn out, but if you stop hoping you can be guaranteed to not see fruitful returns. Cross your fingers that my classroom beans sprout against those cold, winter-y windows.

peaceful teachings: My favorite book to use in the classroom is Hiroshima by Laurence Yep. Probably a bit out of range for my third graders solo reading level, but this seventh grade chapter is one I share as a read aloud over the course of a week every January. If you don't learn about the past - you are doomed to repeat it, right? I start them early.

planned events: Shel and I had been planning on getting together for a while to make up a big batch of tamales. Finally, last night we took the hours of prep and pulled out some 60+ (but I forgot to truly count) pico de gallo beef and salsa verde chicken tamales.

overexcited holiday madness: Valentines have been on Aly's mind since the Christmas stuff disappeared from the shelf and the V-day stuff arrived in early January. Today, I finally broke down and let her buy some class set ones (guess we won't be creating anything homemade this year like I wanted to!) We had not been home an hour before she was knee deep in them and trying to recall all of her classmates names by heart.

There are ten thousand more things to add to this list. I appreciate my daughter's willingness to make ME hot chocolate, my son's freckled face that showed signs of his first pimple, my husband's constant support of me and how crazy I can be...you get it. Life IS for the taking and these things are just some of what we have accomplished lately, but I also UNDERSTAND that not everyone gets THIS. It is my prayer that the little things become more important and LOVE takes over wherever it can for everyone. We are off to make a big bowl of ice cream and watch a movie...just one more thing to appreciate here.