DotMom 2013 and Feeding the Homeless

Y'all. It was SUCH a good weekend. No...good is not a strong enough word to explain the weekend. Maybe great. Awesome. Amazing. Even those don't seem to do it justice.

On Friday morning, I dropped the kids off at school and headed to Dallas for the dotMom conference. I have been hearing about this conference for years, but have never had the chance to go since it is usually too far away. But since Dallas is pretty close, I decided this was MY year to finally see what all the talk is about. (The fact that some of my very favorite blogger women would be there made that decision even easier.) I stopped in Rockwall to pick up my birthmom, Sherry, and then we were off to Frisco.

The emcee's for the event were Sophie and Melanie, and they did a phenomenal job. I made it a personal weekend goal to meet Melanie and get her to sign my copy of her book Sparkly Green Earrings. This is the book that I talked about in my last post, and her book has since moved into the #27 slot on the New York Times best sellers list. I have been reading her blog for YEARS and I could not be happier for her and the success of her book. Unless you read people's blogs that you don't personally know, you probably won't understand this, but I feel like I have known her for a long time, even though I've never actually gotten to meet her, and I knew this weekend would be my chance.

Ok. If you're looking for a 'what NOT to say' when you first meet someone, here's one for you...."Hi, I'm Delisa and I LOVE you!" As Austin would say...AWKWARD. But she couldn't have been sweeter and I enjoyed getting to talk to her for a few minutes. If I didn't love her so much, I would hate her for her hair perfection. Why will mine not do this?!

I've had a few people ask me if they can borrow my book so they can read it, and before she signed it, it was not a big deal. But now, I've gotta go with no. No, you cannot borrow it now. I'm sorry, but it's only $10 on Amazon or Sam's, and it's a purchase you won't regret.

The first big speaker for the conference was Angie Smith (another blogger I follow). My first time to hear Angie speak was at Women of Faith in Dallas last fall, and she has not disappointed either time I've heard her. Angie has a unique ability to stand up in front of hundreds of women and be completely real and raw. I don't know how she does it, but I love the fact that she doesn't try to hide the fact that she is a mess, despite the fact that from the outside she seems to have a perfect life. She is humble, and God uses her to touch other women through her humility.

This conference included several breakout sessions that included different topics that affect moms, and we had many different ones to choose from. I made it a point to go to Melanie's breakout session, which was about fashion for mom's. Not that I care about fashion. Like, at all. But, because of my aforementioned LOVE for her, this is a breakout that I HAD to go to. I am not ashamed to say that I was a little bit in stalker mode. Not. One. Bit. Ashamed. While I was sitting in that small little, overcrowded room, I saw a girl standing up over to the side that looked familiar. It didn't take me too long to realize that this was, yet another, blogger that I follow, Kelly Stamps. I was SO excited that I was actually in the same room with Kelly AND Melanie. I got a chance to talk to her after the breakout session was over, and as you can tell by the look on my face, I was a little bit star stuck (because Kelly IS a star in the blog world).

But she was super nice, and I'm so happy that I finally got the chance to talk to her face to face.

Even though I was in blogger heaven at during the entire conference, the most important thing I got out of this event is practical tips on how to be a better mom. I attended a breakout session on raising boys, and with 2 of them I need all the help I can get. The worship was lead by Travis Cottrell, and it couldn't have been any better. My friend, Sara, was originally supposed to go with me, but she had an unplanned trip to California come up, so Sherry gladly stepped in and went with me. Moments of alone time with Sherry are rare, so just having her by my side all weekend made it that much sweeter. We both enjoyed the conference, but also enjoyed dinner at Gloria's, a night together in a hotel room, and shopping at The Container Store.

A weekend I will not soon forget...

I do want to add that, while I was so happy to be where I was, I hated that I had to miss the homeless feed that our young family group was doing on Saturday afternoon. Robbie took the boys, and the 3 of them, along with about 70 of our friends, fed the homeless in Texarkana all the deer chili they could eat. They also passed out tarps, tents, blankets, and toiletries. I love that our boys are being exposed to people who have very little, and that they got to see God's love in action. Here are a few pics that my friend, Leah, sent me from the homeless feed....

Deer Chili!

These kids are learning more than they even realize.

Passing out toys to homeless children.

Passing out tarps and tents.

Like I said, this weekend was good. Great. Awesome. Amazing.

All of the above, really. :)

Valentine's and Book Review

Ok. If you read my post last week, I mentioned how it had been the best week we had experienced around here in months. Well, this week has been even better than last.

Maybe it was because we only had a 4 day week at school. Maybe it was because Austin seemed to master the spelling words and timed reading book by Monday night (when the test over them wouldn't be until Thursday). Maybe it was because I actually understood Aaron's math homework this week enough to sound like a math whiz. Maybe Cupid shot an arrow at me that was filled with Xanax. I'm not really sure what it was, but over the past week or so, I have a sense of calm that I haven't felt in months, and I have actually been able to relax and enjoy things a little more.

I did hit a milestone this week that also may be helping my mood a bit. I have slowly but steadily been losing weight since school started, and this week I hit the 20 pound mark. I am down about a size and a half. (I would say 2 sizes, but I do enjoy breathing after I get my jeans on, so I'm going to wait a little longer on that). I credit most of this to the inventor of the hysterectomy. I no longer feel the need to eat an entire box of candy bars every 3 weeks, nor do I feel bloated or icky EVER. If you're considering getting one, just do it. I can honestly say that I am a better person because of it. And apparently a lighter one too.

Thursday was Valentine's Day, which means that the school would be filled with cute little cards that say things like 'Beeeee mine' with a picture of a bee on it attached to some form of sugar in a candy wrapper. Aaron was a little jealous this year because middle school doesn't have parties. Or get candy. Or even get little 'Beee mine' cards. Growing up is hard to do. But Austin was beside himself excited to get to give all of his friends a fun size bag of skittles with a sticker on it (because I never claimed to be an over-achiever mom who wants to win the cutest Valentine contest. Unless there really WAS a contest. In which case I would TOTALLY be an over-achiever.) Anyway, Austin's class party included ice cream sundaes, with an add-your-own-toppings set up, along with cupcakes and sprite (and of course the aforementioned card/candy combo times 22). It went smoothly and all of the kids seemed satisfied with the overload of sugar, which happened just in time to send them home for the weekend.

Austin's desk at school

On Friday, the boys and I slept in, then we packed their bags for Grandma's, and headed to town. I took them to get haircuts, then a stop by Books-a-Million, where Austin read 6 books to me to add to our countdown to 200. Then we headed to DeKalb where we met my parents and brother, Craig, for lunch. My brother owns the rodeo arena in town, and the Picadilly Circus was there for a show on Friday evening. After lunch, Craig took Aaron and Austin with him to see what all was going on out there. They spent the day hanging out with Uncle C, and then got to go watch the circus that evening with my parents. Here are some of the pics that my mom took...

My very own little Austin tiger :)

My child is riding an elephant...the things grandparents let you do!

My good-lookin Aaron :)

And this was at my parents house right after the circus...

Bless my momma's heart.

I think it's safe to say that they had a blast. And while our kids were off having fun with the tigers and elephants, we went to Shreveport with Josh and Sara for our Valentine's date night. And it's possible that we had just as much fun as the kids did...maybe even more. There is nothing like a night out with the besties.

This morning I woke up around 6:30, which really is unfortunate since our kids weren't here and I could've slept as late as I wanted, but when I woke up I remembered a book that I had gotten in the mail on Friday that I have been DYING to read, and suddenly reading became more important than sleep. So I got myself out of bed and curled up in the recliner with my book and a blanket. I didn't intend on sitting there and reading the entire book, but Robbie had to leave for a while (At least I think he left. I never really looked up and saw him go. I just know I didn't see him for a while. But the book was so good that it's possible he was sitting in the living room with me all morning and I just never looked up and saw him.) so I ended up reading the entire book in one sitting. It was written by a girl whose blog I have been reading like it's the morning paper for years, and she just wrote her first book. Her name is Melanie Shankle, and the book is called Sparkly Green Earrings.

 

 

Y'all. I laughed out loud. I sobbed until I couldn't see straight. And I just couldn't stop this hysteria until I finished the last chapter. At one point Robbie walked in and I was crying so hard that I could barely speak. Like a good man, he brought me tissues and looked at me like I was possibly losing my mind and I did not care even a little. It is just that good. If you are a mother or mother-to-be, then this book is for you. If you can make it through this book with no emotion, then you are over-medicated, my friend. Get it. Read it. You will thank me.

The rest of today was spent doing laundry and cleaning. This evening, Robbie went to dinner with a friend, and I got Austin back from my parents (Aaron wanted another night in DeKalb), so he and I went on a mommy and me date at Cici's Pizza, where he told me every detail he could remember from the circus last night, along with everything he did today. His face still had some tiger paint on it, so he got more attention than he prefers from other people in the restaurant, but oh my word THE CUTENESS.

Y'all have a great week!

English just doesn't make sense...

I remember a time, not too long ago, when I would sit down to do a blog post and not feel guilty about the time it would take me at the computer to write, add photos, and edit a post. But since this school year began, I feel like I have had very little down time.  I have been struggling since then to just keep up. We have all had big adjustments since school started in August, not only because I went back to work after 12 years of being home, but we also entered a very difficult year for my 7 year old, Austin.

Austin started first grade not able to read a basic sentence. He knew less than 50 sight words. It was suggested that he do another year of kindergarten, but I was (and still am) determined to get him to where he was 'supposed' to be for his age. It's hard to believe that was less than 6 months ago. I didn't realize the work that it would take for him to just be able to keep up. I didn't think about the fact that I would be working with 1st graders all day long at my job, just to come home and work with MY 1st grader for several more hours. And that is on top of cleaning, cooking, going to church, paying bills, and attempting to help Aaron with his homework. Most days I feel like a person that can't swim well that has been thrown into the deep end and is flailing around just trying to keep my head above water. It has gotten ugly at times y'all. There are MANY days that I just feel like I'm fighting a losing battle, and Austin and I are both just left frustrated and frazzled. I have cried. I have been brought to my knees. I have beat my head against the wall (not really, because OUCH!) But really, nothing is more frustrating than working with other 1st graders who seem to be 'getting it' fairly easily during the day, and then come home to my child who has to fight for every single passing grade he makes.

I remember the first year of life of each of my boys being somewhat stressful at times, but I don't remember ever feeling more overwhelmed or thinly stretched as I have over these past 6 months. Adjusting to going back to work has been a MAJOR adjustment in and of itself. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy what I am doing very much. I LOVE the kids that I get to work with everyday, and they all now have a special place in my heart. I am so thankful that I get to work at the school where my children attend. I love bumping into Austin in the hallway and getting a quick hug or fist bump, or getting a peek at Aaron on the playground during his recess. These are little things, but they are priceless to me. But after we leave school and get home, it all starts back over. I give them 30 to 45 minutes to snack and watch TV, but then it's work time. Aaron frequently has math homework (that has just about surpassed my not-so-mathematically-minded self) that I attempt to help him with. Austin has 4 to 5 tests every Friday, so we spend Monday through Thursday working on the material he will be tested over that week.  

English, grammar, and spelling have always been my favorite subjects, but I haven't really thought that much about how difficult the English language is until this year. Things I've learned about our language: there is a 'rule' broken in just about every paragraph, what works for one word will not work for another word just because it's similar, and you cannot phonetically sound out words that are rule breakers.

I ran across this poem one day and it hit the nail on the head...

....which leaves me asking, WHY do we not live in Spanish or French speaking country?! Surely other languages follow the rules more closely than English does.

Despite the fact that English makes no sense, I decided to stick it out in America. Which meant that Austin needs to learn this stuff. And that I needed to get this child excited about reading before we both lost our heads. This is why I made a decision in January to focus completely on improving Austin's reading level rather than on his spelling words and math. Not that those aren't important, but being able to read trumps almost everything. After all, if you know how to spell a word but can't read it when it's in a book, then you're no better off. And you have no chance at a math word problem because it's made up of WORDS. There is no escaping them.

So I presented a challenge to Austin in late January. It was to read 200 books from that day to the end of spring break, which will be mid-March. My purpose is not to overwhelm him with books he can't read, because we've started with very basic level books But we are working our way up to more difficult books without him even realizing it. It has been a great experience for both of us so far. It has become routine for he and I to go to Books-a-million after church every Sunday morning (Well, after lunch. I mean, reading is important, but so is food.). We pick out several books and find some place to sit together and he just reads. I look forward to this time, and I think he enjoys it too. It's only been a few weeks, but I can see a big difference in just this short amount of time. He got to pick out prizes that he will get after the first 100 books, and also when he makes it to 200. We try to read one or two books a day at home during the week also.

This was the day we started...

And this is where we are today...

That's 64.

The words are getting easier for him, he is not having to say as many words sound by sound as he did when we first started, and we aren't even halfway to our goal yet. I expect big differences in where he is today and where he will be by the end of March. We are both working hard to keep this up, and we are both noticing the results. It's been a positive thing for us since it started, and I hope that it continues.

Now that the school year is more than half-way over with, we seem to be on a good solid track. I no longer feel like I'm flailing (I NEVER use that word, and then BAM! Twice in one post.) around gasping for air. This past week seemed to be the easiest week we've had at home since school started. I feel like my guys are stepping up and helping me around the house more now than they ever have (which is a HUGE load off). And most importantly, Austin is more secure with his reading than he ever has been, and it's only getting better. I have shared my struggles with many of my close friends throughout the past several months, and I want to tell y'all thank you so much for checking on me and praying for me during all of this. It is, by far, not over. But I am beginning to see a faint little light at the end of this very long, dark tunnel, and I am running toward it with everything I have.