principal's office sentences

so in an earlier post, it may have appeared that

this t-shirt inspired "mama bird"

is all about sun, sand, tire swings

and utterly carefree summers.

true.
but definitely only partly true.

back at the beginning of summer vacation
i also proudly assumed the title of
"principal mom."

the one who with authority
addresses most summer behavior
violations with sentences.

because while yes, we love and NEED
the break from schedules, routine and homework,
it does not mean we treat our days or each other with
sass, disrespect and utter carelessness.

i loved this mama blog post.

so good.
right.

and that's absolutely what we have here...

sun, sand, tire swings and a whole lot of 

 milk left on the counter,

wet bathing suits left on the rug,

eye rolls and sibling disputes.

so on or around july 1st i established the summer principal's office.
founded on the premise that if the children
spoke to their teacher or a fellow student
in the way they sometimes do to me, their dad and each other
then they would most certainly be sent to the principal's office.

and in our principal's office they write sentences.
lots and lots of sentences.
25 for the small things.
another 25 if they complain about it.
50 for bigger things.
100 if they they roll their eyes.
200 if it happens again.
and an occasional 300 if it's just gone too far, or i'm at my wits end.

and let me tell you, it's working.
the magic 1-2-3 method that worked so well when they were babes,
and that i still need to use with jane
now has age appropriate and importantly mama consistent repercussions for the bigs.
oh and you can't beat the benefit of a little penmanship practice along the way.

they love it.
just ask them.
 (if they roll their eyes, tell me so i can give them some sentences to write).
just kidding.
they hate it.
but truly it is working.
all i need to say now is 50, 100, 300...
or the other day 500!!!!! before bennett wacked his sister...he didn't.
it's like magic.

inspired by wes' childhood and embraced
to the fullest this summer by yours truly,
"principal mom"...
make that with with a capital M.

due date reflections

august 5th

10 years ago this was my official due date

for baby arrival, parenthood, motherhood.

i've been thinking about this all week.

remembering fondly the anticipation, fears, tears, and whirlwind of emotions

as wes and i cherished our final days/evenings of it being just us.

i remember sitting on the same blue couch we still have

with my very swollen feet propped on his lap as we

prayed and dreamed about life with a baby, life as parents, life as a family.

10 years ago.

granted ella wasn't born until 10 days later, 

but oh how the due date brings me back to that time.

the time when it was just us.

the time when we weren't parents.

the time when i wasn't a mom.

and oh my goodness has this week brought me back.

this week's middle of the night fever, bedtime accident, bad dream.

this week's rearview mirror reflections in the car on the way to camp, football practice, 

playdates, barber, library, grocery store and pharmacy.

this week's teeth brushing, finger nail clipping and pony tail tying.

this week's laundry, dinner prep and  dishwashing.

this week's story time, tickle fights, couch cuddles and piggy back rides.

i wasn't doing any of this 10 years ago today.

and then 10 days later it all changed.

everything.

mama bird pep talk

hi there.
just me, mama bird, stopping in for a little august pep talk.

for some reason, we turned the calendar to august today

and many of us went a little cray.

the world seemed to shout,

"hey summer is almost over, you better get on it!"

ella asked to go school shopping at 7 am.

texts were flying about homeroom assignments.

time was spent figuring out school id's and middle school portals.

no less than 10 talks about how summer is flying.

summer reading lists were printed off.

oh...

and we spent our first of many august evenings 

here for football pre-season.

football is a fall sport...
but here we go.

so...

let's have a little pep talk.

are you ready?

stop it.

seriously.

there is still a whole lot of summer left to be had.

i love september, pumpkins and flannels too.

but there are still 4 FULL weeks of summer.

so stop it.

i mean it.

slow it down.

and bring on more moments like this...

pep talk recap.

stop it.

slow down summer.

oh and please.

mama bird signing off.

xo!