tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76782751003566011972024-03-06T00:07:14.848-06:00littlegreenbumsmaking time for the good stuff...Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.comBlogger330125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-67398717765807579892012-10-27T21:04:00.002-05:002012-10-27T21:12:06.890-05:00Pinterest (Grateful, Day 11)Like Epinions and Facebook before it, Pinterest has captured my heart. As an art teacher, I can always find something to inspire me for my lesson-planning sessions. Ditto for my meal-planning sessions. (Also my snarky-quote-finding sessions.) Now that I'm back in the classroom (yes, I'm working in the kids' school in the afternoons...) there are bajillions of management Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-58479602839395331752012-10-25T21:10:00.001-05:002012-10-25T21:10:22.273-05:00Good Drugs (Grateful, Day 10)Today I am grateful for Excedrin. More when my brain has returned to its normal size and location. Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-17112984082253553792012-10-24T20:48:00.003-05:002012-10-24T20:48:42.435-05:00That little voice in the back of my head (Grateful, Day 10)So yesterday, I decided to be a Good Mom. I would make dinner in the crockpot...a thick, hearty split pea soup. I chucked some split peas, carrots, onions, and beef bones into the crock, set it to low, and went along my merry way. Come suppertime, I took the crock off, pulled out the bones, and stuck the immersion blender in the pot to hide all the veggies before the kids got a Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-56655570989390922002012-10-23T22:14:00.001-05:002012-10-23T22:14:28.594-05:00Drive-Throughs (Grateful, Day 9)I didn't begin to appreciate the beauty of the drive-through until after the birth of my first kid. That whole sleeping-kid-in-and-out-of-the-carseat to pick up one prescription/cash one check thing didn't work real well, and I thought I was properly grateful. Then came kid number two, which, if you do the math, means that I had a newborn and a precocious 2 year old in tow when I set Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-62746609663057044592012-10-22T21:19:00.000-05:002012-10-22T21:24:32.125-05:00Teaching What I Love (Grateful, Day 8)I started teaching in '92, and worked long, hard days. I spent my evenings preparing, shopping, pimping my classroom and reading trade journals. I loved it, but was daunted by the paperwork, the meetings, and the red tape. The kids were amazing, and there were flashes of pure joy that made everything worth it.
Over the years, there have been kids who have changed me, moved, meWendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-55817444429238400742012-10-21T23:05:00.001-05:002012-10-21T23:05:56.507-05:00I'm Not in High School Anymore (Grateful, Day 7)You just cannot begin to know how profoundly grateful I am that high school is over. For me. (Not that I didn't enjoy it, or that I don't look back on it fondly or anything. But my kid is a junior, and oh. my. gosh...the drama! )
That is all.
Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-82001837918024507922012-10-20T23:01:00.003-05:002012-10-20T23:01:56.162-05:00Daniel (Grateful, Day 6)We've moved three times since 2006. Before that we'd lived in Miami for a dozen years, and I was just about able to get myself home from the library, the grocery store, and my favorite thrift shop without getting hopelessly lost.
In '08, on the way home from Des Moines, we stopped off at Best Buy and got a family GPS. My world changed in ways both innumerable and wondrous. Two years later,Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-71383073352821049032012-10-19T12:01:00.001-05:002012-10-19T12:01:56.610-05:00The Library (Grateful, Day 5)If the public library had a frequent-flyer program, I'd be in business. Lucky for me, all of my kids consider a trip to the library a big treat...even though we're usually there 3 times a week. They know the librarians by name at our regular haunts, and they figured out library etiquette ages before they got the hang of potty training. On an average, I have between 80 and 100 Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-40668607498372573672012-10-18T21:32:00.000-05:002012-10-18T21:32:53.900-05:00Big Kids (Grateful, Day 4)I started working out of the house last week, and I discovered just how much I accomplish in three hours. Because when those three hours of productivity were suddenly swept away, the whole. house. fell. to. pieces.
Enter Thing One and Thing Two, who have stepped into the breach with their typical aplomb. Floors have been swept, dishes done, meals made, clothes Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-82164243320194794492012-10-17T17:26:00.000-05:002012-10-17T17:26:43.813-05:00Benadryl (Grateful, Day 3)I had insomnia in college. Once I had my first kid, though, the idea of not sleeping when I had the chance was entirely ludicrous. As the parade o'kidlets continued, I was grateful to report to all and sundry that I got at least 8 hours a night, no problem. Until this year, when my old pal Insomnia came back with a vengeance, dropping in each morning at 3 and keeping me company Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-77226560106996030392012-10-16T15:22:00.002-05:002012-10-16T15:22:35.921-05:00 Autumn (Grateful, Day 2)
You have to live in Florida for awhile before you can properly appreciate Autumn. Having spent my teens, twenties, and a good chunk of my thirties in the Sunshine State, I feel eminently qualified to put forth my opinion of the Wonders of Fall.
It's gorgeous, you know. The colors are breathtaking, and the same old roads that I travel every day are suddenly photo-worthy. Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-62500367179690888012012-10-15T20:09:00.000-05:002012-10-15T20:30:23.047-05:00Copycat.I wondered what it would take to get me back to blogging. Because I've been sitting here, staring at the littlegreenbums tab on my browser for months, now, and just feeling like it was too much work to post something. (Which is kind of sad in its own right, but I digress.) I've been a little overwhelmed of late, and all of the Not Entirely Essentials---eyebrow waxing, Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-9331285423318655932012-06-13T10:01:00.004-05:002012-06-13T10:01:39.433-05:00Meet Baxter.
We learned a valuable lesson last week: You snooze, you lose. The lovely Jasmine was adopted right out from under our noses whilst the kiddos were lemonade-standing for her adoption fee.
Clutching a jam jar of hard-won cash, we took our business elsewhere, to the Elbrook Humane Society.
Once there, we spent two hours meeting and greeting the various pups who were Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-71948446282246779352012-06-07T22:30:00.000-05:002012-06-07T22:30:38.862-05:00They Call it Puppy Love...
The kids and I spent some time at the Humane Society this evening, and we're smitten. Her name is Jasmine, and she's a 4-year-old Border Collie-Lab mix. We're hoping nobody else thinks she's as marvelous as we do, and that she'll still be there when we go in on Monday.
My apologies---she's resoundingly un-photogenic. Or perhaps my camera skills are limited to Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-16981449459418848962012-05-29T22:15:00.001-05:002012-05-29T22:15:14.438-05:00Now we are nine.
Our niece, Kasey, joined our family for keeps this week.
She's eight, and we're beyond thrilled to have her with us.
She fits right in, right?Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-77019426427161736222012-05-14T03:03:00.000-05:002012-05-14T03:03:41.513-05:00Hiya.How you doin'?
I'm fine, thanks for asking.
No, really, I am. A little busy, maybe, but nothing to worry about. I seem to have gotten out of the rhythm of blogging, though.
There's been a flurry of class-giving, and the usual end-of-the-year madness. A considerable amount of unavoidable stress is staking its claim, and some big change is afoot chez nous.
The Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-32845423545196344302012-04-22T21:49:00.001-05:002012-04-22T21:49:59.930-05:00Love means never having to say you're sorry......even if you've all but stopped blogging, and your faithful readers are left to wonder whether you've perished at the hands of your hangry offspring. Fear not, Faithful Readers! I have returned! (Albeit without apologies. Try to deal.)
There has been a great deal of doctor-going in these parts. Since I'm usually of the "Doctors-only-make-things-worse," mindset, it has Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-71854852976721274902012-04-10T01:25:00.000-05:002012-04-10T01:25:38.275-05:00Spit That Gum Out Right Now! (Pesach 2012)
We've arrived. All the crazy preparations---the shopping, the cleaning, the cooking---have receded into childbirth-like memory, and we're right smack dab in the middle of the most thought-about week in the Jewish calendar.
We've consumed our body-weights in eggs and potatoes, and we're not even halfway through. The seders have come and gone (quite smoothly--but Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-24466269483686347152012-04-02T22:50:00.000-05:002012-04-02T22:52:39.552-05:00Toothpicks and q-tips and bleach, oh my!Yup, it's almost Pesach, which means I've been neglecting you, my little bloglings, in order that I may bleach the living bejillies out of most everything in my house. This evening, my trusty razor blade and I excavated the cracks and crevices of the stove, bringing forth all manner of unspeakable gunk.
Right now I'm itching to clean the kitchen table so I can dress it up in the Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-35454735503012679102012-03-20T19:53:00.000-05:002012-03-20T19:53:19.795-05:00Not dead yet...
Just a little overwhelmed. Please forgive my delinquency!
Here's our Chicago trip...
...and Purim! (Check out the plethora of costumes that #5 insisted on wearing.)
Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-70387232053629477982012-02-28T20:09:00.000-06:002012-02-28T20:09:11.610-06:00Table for 10?
We had company for Shabbos this week, and one of my poor, unfortunate children found themselves seated upon (gasp!) a folding chair. A small amount of whining ensued. I blew it off, though, because we're lucky to have guests on a regular basis, and we only have "proper" seating for 8, although the dining room table can seat 10 comfortably...
So yesterday, I was driving carpool andWendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-69999138565148089272012-02-27T20:54:00.000-06:002012-02-27T20:54:21.676-06:00This is what happens......when we break out the Purim boxes.We're getting close!Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-37685929501244473962012-02-22T09:53:00.002-06:002012-02-22T09:53:59.366-06:00Easy, out-of-the-way storage for daily medsSo I have a few kids who take daily meds, and I've always kept them on the kitchen windowsill, right above the sink. (Cue scary music.) You know as well as I do that this is a Bad Idea, not only because the sunlight can't be good for the meds, but because the kids were getting a vocabulary lesson every time I knocked somebody's &%$*!# medicine into the &%$*!# sink.
But I Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-30224072020615228732012-02-16T08:57:00.000-06:002012-02-16T08:57:15.110-06:00Watch out, Punky Brewster! You, too, Rainbow Brite...
My 7 year old dresses herself. Every day.
Check out the Pinterest-inspired upccled headband.
And the Pinterest-inspired menu board for the kitchen. (Cabinet door from the free pile at ReStore + chalkboard paint + white paint pen.) Me likey. (Pardon my craptastic nighttime photography.)
Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678275100356601197.post-16858226092261436772012-02-13T14:46:00.001-06:002012-02-13T14:46:39.510-06:00Sneaky, sneaky me.In the girls' room, there's a little room adjacent to the closet that most people would use for storage. My kids claimed it for a playspace--- in spite of its dark, creepy interior--- the moment they discovered its existence. I've been hoping to do a mini-remodel on the DL for ages, and last week I did the deal.
This is pretty much what the interior looked like when I started.&Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14626286815589144470noreply@blogger.com6