Meet the Teacher!

I found this little guy off Chibird, and had to share it, because ya'll...

June and July were literally 5 seconds long, I'm sure of it. What happened?!

*Le sigh... No sense obviously in wondering where it all went, although I'm not really complaining because that just stands to reason that the summer was packed full enough to make time seem fleeting. We were fortunate to travel most of this summer, catch up with the regular faces, reconnect with some old familiar ones, and even meet some new ones. Birthdays, weddings, baby showers, bridal showers and following Sydni around for whatever it is she's doing = my summer.

Speaking of Sydni.. and speaking of Summer..

The latter is coming to a close, and the former just went to check out her third grade classroom tonight. And guys, lemme tell you what.. unless her teacher turns out to be some heinously bipolar train wreck, I can tell you right now that I already love her. I've heard nothing but positive things from other parent friends whose kids went through her class, and meeting her tonight was pretty much all the confirmation I needed to feel confident that Sydni's going to have a great year.

I walked into a room filled with THESE CHAIRS.

gaiams!!!!

Literally, I geeked. I guessed Sydni's reaction before she came through the door, and I wasn't wrong. She's on cloud 9 right now - she got the homeroom teacher she wanted, and she gets to be just like mom while she's "working."

like mama like mini! 

I don't know who's more excited about her 3rd grade experience - me, or her. Whew..

Seriously though. This kid hit the jackpot.

And I did, too! I came home to find this waiting on the front porch for me:

botm! 

The August Book of the Month is HERE! I had a friend randomly pick this out of the August lineup, and read the overview later. It looks legit, so once I find the spare time [hahahahhhahahahahahaha] to read it, maybe I'll post a book review. We'll see. Don't hold your breath ;).

Monday.. check.
This week is stacked already.. time for some rest!

xo | cms

"You Can Have Both, Mommy."

Kids, man. They are the absolute best source of practical wisdom, and Sydni is no exception.

Tonight I was reminded by two very simple moments that this is a beautiful, albeit chaotic little life we live. We have so many liberties that we take for granted, and she managed to remind me in ways she won't recognize until years from now, that I have it made.

First, this:

nutella + graham crackers... minion graham crackers

Kids have the most reactive metabolisms, especially if they're regularly healthy like Sydni. She plowed through a quarter of a box of minion graham crackers and spoonfuls of Nutella to go along, more than a "snack" portion, but without ruining her dinner. The kid usually makes healthy choices on her own, but we happened to be out of grapes and apples today, so I took the blame and gave in to her cravings for this... just once, yenno? ;) 

Anyway, the mini feeding frenzy passed without much further attention, and an hour later I heard the familiar whirring of the elliptical in the basement, so I went down to check on her. I kid you not, Sydni went hard on this thing for at least 30 minutes straight, until I told her to take a little break. I asked her, jokingly, if she was training to get big and strong and fast so she could outrun Mommy, to which she whimsically replied, "Nope. I'm essercising because I just ate a whole bunch of crackers and nutella."

Now, before anyone jumps to conclusions about how my daughter perhaps believes that you must push yourself to physical limits every single time you eat [or any other unhealthy psychological deliverance], she doesn't. She has never [amen, amen, AMEN] cared what she ate, knows that the Disney girls look "weird" with their unrealistically-proportioned bodies, and doesn't usually tell me she's using the elliptical for the same reasons an adult uses the elliptical. Haha. No. She's 5, and it was perfectly in line with her goofy little personality for her to say that. What she has learned in our house is that exercise is good, and that if you do it, you will stay healthy and be able to do all the things you want to do: swimming, running around, playing tag, etc. That was long-winded, but I just don't want anyone out there to mistake this as a reflection that we hang around teaching her that she'll get fat if she doesn't work out. We're all about healthy and happy in this house, not just one or the other ♥ 

Thank you, though, mini-me, for reminding me that there's balance to this. It might not make sense to you yet, and I absolutely read into these two simple things tonight, but it struck me as a subtle little note to be aware of balancing out - whatever it is, be sure to get all that I need, not just one side of something. You're such a great little teacher, mini! 

"You can have both, Mommy."
Yep, we can. We can have work and play. Fun and responsibility. Plans and free time. 

Duh! 

xo | cmd