Melonie Johnson

Feliz Día de Las Madres

May 9, 2010Celebrations, Hallmark Moments, Hobbies, Homeschooling, Kids, Life, WebsiteWrite a comment

I firmly believe that mothers are a child’s first teachers. Well, both parents are, but in many ways much of it falls in the lap of the mom (argue with me if you want, but I’m not trying to start a fight here on gender roles or anything). Anyways, up until January of this year, I was more than Miss A’s teacher in concept – as a homeschooler, I was also her teacher in reality. Every day of every week in every subject, Miss A had me for a teacher. Even in many classes outside the home, like drama and gymnastics, she had me as her teacher (since I taught the classes she was taking).

Sound like it might get a little stressful? It did.

So it was a moment of joyous excitement when we found out that Miss A had been accepted into a local charter school. We had hoped to enroll her there for junior high (after homeschooling her through 5th grade, but decided since the chances of getting in the school were so slim, we should start trying now).

Well, the stars aligned and things worked out in just such a way that a spot became available for her this year. We jumped at the opportunity, and I’m so glad we did.

Adjusting to life in “regular school” (though this school is so far from regular, I don’t think it can really be called that – which is one of the reasons we like it so much) took some work for both Miss A and myself, but overall I have to say I am very happy with the switch.

One of the “benefits” of no longer being Miss A’s teacher for everything, is that now I can join the ranks of all the other moms who get treated to special surprise school projects on Mother’s Day!

Miss A made me a lovely Mother’s Day painting in art class, a card with a picture of the family and a poem written inside…

and a really neat card with a note written in Spanish!

She was so proud to present me with all her surprises, and I was so proud of her.

To all mothers – while we are the ones being appreciated today, may you appreciate your home, your family, and your life everyday (and take advantage of your special day in every way you can)!

WeekendHomeSchoolReport

Come Vacation…in Beautiful Wildwood

May 7, 2010Life, UncategorizedWrite a comment

Eh?

Yeah, that’s kind of what I thought when the husband and I were doing a blind search of possible lakefront vacation spots in the mid-west…

Check out this beauty:

Wow. What luxury!(Turns out this baby isn’t on Lake Michigan, but the Mississippi river instead.)

For a little background info, Wildwood is that lake neighborhood we all know – it’s sort of a modern white-trash (if you’ll excuse such an un-pc term) Wild West (or Wild Mid-West). Fireworks every night, garages turned into dens of iniquity (well, if guzzling beer, watching sports and burning stuff in portable fire pits qualifies as iniquitable), and kids buzzing around on various noise polluting scooter-type vehicles.

I joke about Wildwood, but places like this are in many ways great neighborhoods to live in – there are no annoying regulations about what color mailbox you can have, what type of wood your fence should be made of, and whether that plastic Elvis is allowed to take up residence on your front lawn.

Sure, such freedom comes with a price, and you have to endure noisy fire work-drenched nights and navigate streets filled with boats parked on the curb…but overall, the character and flavor the freedom in these neighborhood allows is refreshing.

Except when you’re planning a vacation.

At least for me anyway…when I think of vacation, I think of spas and maid service and leisurely breakfasts in which I don’t have t do the dishes.

I certainly don’t think of shed-like buildings miles away from the nearest restaurant.

But that’s just me.

As for finally reaching a desicion on where to have an enjoyable vacation – I’ll tell you more about that later.

But right about now, I need a vacation from trying to plan a vacation.

I’ll tell you one thing though, we won’t be going here:

If this is your idea of a getaway, that’s cool – have fun lightin’ some fireworks and burning stuff.

I plan to be chillin’ on my balcony off the lake, without a garage door party in sight.

Trying not to call it Failure…

May 6, 2010General Suckitude, WebsiteWrite a comment

I really wanted to post everyday in May.

Really.

But here it is not the end of the first week and already I skipped 2 days…if this was a diet I’d be thinking, “I’ve already screwed up, I might as well have another glass of wine…

But if I learned anything from my latest experience competing in The Biggest Loser, you can’t let one mess-up turn into a complete screw-up. View the set-back as a reality check, not as an excuse to give up and start all over again some other time. (And if you’re curious, I didn’t win this time around, but I lost about 18 inches and about the same number of pounds).

So, yes, I screwed up. I stayed up too late searching vacation destinations with the husband (more on that later), putting together lesson plans for my drama company, and designing a t-shirt for this season’s sand volleyball team.

So I missed two days, but I’m here now. Moving forward and hoping to meet my goal.

Like exercise, I have decided to try this approach: just do it for a little bit, it’s better than nothing.

I find that to be a very successful approach, and it has gotten my butt out the door for more workout time than ever. I no longer let the fact that somehow the two hours I had planned to workout have dwindled down to 30 minutes stop me from making the most out of the 30 minutes I have.

Like yesterday, between laundry and dishes and Lil G sticking everything from pencil erasers to the key to Miss A’s diary in her mouth, the time I had planned to lace up my sneakers and get outside came and went. I refused to give up though. With the clock ticking ever closer to when I would have to pick up Miss A from school (part of the blessing/curse that no longer being a homeschooler entails) I got out there and got my run done – I didn’t have time to finish the full 5k I had planned, and only managed just over 2.5 miles, but that’s 2.5 miles more than nothing!

So, on nights I don’t have the time (or energy) to create long, meaningful posts (not that I do that often in the first place), I will log on and write something – anything, and see where it leads.

Again, it will be better than nothing!

Monday Muse is back and sippin’ some MandaJuice!

May 3, 2010Hobbies, Monday Muse, WritingWrite a comment

Well, if I’m going to keep my promise to blog everyday in May, there’s no better excuse than to bring Monday Muse back!

I can’t recall how I stumbled across blogger Amanda Del Buono’s website: MandaJuice – Blogging With the Safety Off, but I’m glad I did. Her writing style is open and honest and quirky and funny. She is very near – if not exactly – my own age, has 2 young chilluns (her oldest and Miss A were born in the same year) and, above all else, she is also on the journey to publication. She’s a few steps ahead of me because her first book is finished…and wow, but do I love how she includes an open invitation for an agent to come check her awesomeness out. If that is not the definition of awesome, I don’t know what is. (I promise to stop using awesome now). Her unabashed “Hey you, I wrote this incredible book, now who is cool enough to be my agent?” was enough to get me wanting to read Gravy, the title of her hopefully-eventually-published-novel (y’know, the one she actually finished while I am still about 30k away from the 90k finish line I’ve estimated). I really like her recent post on “Where the Magic Happens” it makes me want to tote my netbook around more often, just on the off chance I’ll finally manage to find an extra 30 seconds in my day.

Apart from the kinship of a childhood in the 1980’s, motherhood, a love for Trader Joe’s, and writing – I find we have something else “in common.” Manda went through gastric-bypass surgery and is very open about the procedure and its impact on her life. My mother and brother have both had this surgery, and my sister and other brother are both in the planning stages to have it as well. Though weight is a constant struggle for me, it is a battle I have managed to control, for the most part, in that surgery is not an option I have had to consider – nor do I ever plan to let it become one. But I can, all too well, understand the ache: physical, mental, and emotional, that obesity causes.

But that’s not holding either of us back! On a much lighter note (yes, pun intended) I am happy to see her GoodReads shelf includes Laura Kinsale’s newest novel, which I have cued up (thanks to a rockin’ SB Sarah!) and ready to go on Miss Scarlett. Wow, this is one Monday Muse I’d love to sit and have coffee with…especially if it means I’d be doing it in Portland (I still really want to visit there, and the husband still really wants to live there).

But if you can’t get some java right now – in the Pacific Northwest or otherwise, click on over to MandaJuice and start sipping.

Though I can’t imagine being unable to obtain some kind of coffee-type beverage at a moment’s notice in the Pacific Northwest…or is that a stereotypical fallacy? I’d be happy to do the research necessary to find out.

E-reader Test Drive

Two For One…

May 2, 2010Uncategorized, WebsiteWrite a comment

It’s the weekend, so give me abreak. I know I said, “everyday in May…” but y’know, the weekend might have to count as one day.

Things…they get busy around here.

And my life is full of conundrums…like how Miss A can brush her teeth at the speed of light, yet manages to get toothpaste EVERYWHERE and on every surface…including the doorknobs.

Parenting is full of conundrums big and small, some serious and some silly. I’d love to hear some of yours.

Here’s something about parenting that IS NOT a conundrum: no matter how frustrated being a mama can be…no matter how exhausting…I’m so very lucky to be the mama of Miss A and Lil’ G.

Drama Mama over and out.

Look, Look – a Nook!

March 18, 2010Cool Stuff, ProductsWrite a comment

Ooooh, be still my lil’ book loving heart. The girls over at Book Binge are serving up a sweet give away that would make my spring lovely indeed: a Nook (e-book reading device for those of you who reside under a rock) from Barnes & Noble! Speaking of spring, check out the gorgeous colors these babies come in….you won’t want to hide it under a skin!