Over the weekend we were off with my students for a competition. It was our 2nd to last show of the Winter Guard season. The kids have come quite a long way, 3 months ago they we just learning how to spin a flag and move at the same time.

They got 8th place out of 10 groups again and the scoring has been quite close. Here is a look at the show as it was performed over the weekend:

We had Everly along for the trip and this was the first time we’ve road tripped in our newly repaired new-old car. It was nice to not have to pay for a rental car while traveling for the competition. Saves some moola!

Some trip highlights were another meal out with Everly in tow. It was only to the Waffle House though, ha!

We also did some sight seeing/ hiking, since N is still gaining weight and feeling all bummed about it. Plus, E loves the outdoors and for once it was actually warm and sunny out.

Also, we visited a winery in the area. This was our first winery experience ever an amazingly there weren’t many wines we didn’t love there. We promptly spent all the money we saved not renting a car, we got 4 bottles of wine and 2 bricks of cheese. Yum!

The lady selling us the wine told us that having her last child when she was over 40 years old saved her from “the hot flashes”… She was a hoot and the whole experience was pretty fun.

Now we are back home and back to the weekly routine. Good news it it’s really warming up enough to get the garden going officially. We’ll move the bunnies back outdoors (they’ve been living in the garage all winter) and we can begin enjoying the outdoors again.

I only have another 3 weeks or so left of teaching until the season is over for me. I’ll be back to the stay at home parenting after that. I love teaching and my kids are great but I am still kind of looking forward to some laziness this spring/ summer and time to focus on my writing… Only another 3 weeks to go.

How is spring shaping up in your neck of the woods? Anyone have bulbs in bloom yet? Our Daffodils are just starting to surface and some tulips are following. I can’t wait for warmth and pretty flowers.

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The ultimate goal is to leave the students with some life lessons in addition to teaching them how to do colorguard/ winter guard. Things like:

1. You can do whatever you set your mind to.
2. Discipline and hard work always pay off.
3. Actions speak louder than words.
4. It is better to try and fail than to sit on the sidelines scared.
5. Without risks and hard work you have no chances for huge success.
6. Life is not about the end result it is about the journey.

Of course I also want to teach them about showing up on-time, fulfilling commitments, being a team player, planning ahead, time management, setting goals and so on…

Each kids responds differently to various approaches. Right now we are tackling discipline and focus in rehearsals.

I’ve been toying with the idea of physical punishment (aka push-ups and so on). It is something many marching bands incorporate in to their rehearsals as a means to refocus the kids and to give them incentive to do their best.

For me it is something that I’ve never really been able to fully appreciate. Sure I was forced to run a few laps in marching band when we all were having a really, really bad rehearsal… it only happen like twice the entire 4 years of high school though.

Now that I am teaching in a totally different place (culturally) I am having to revisit the idea of forced discipline & focus as opposed to simply expecting it. Does that make sense at all?

I guess what I mean is I am used to just being expected to act properly or leave as opposed to being expected to behave improperly and then to pay for the misbehavior.

You know on the one side there is no room for acting up but with the punishment there is the expectation of acting up followed by a punishment. It’s a glass half full or half empty sort of thing… with expectation of good behavior as opposed to expectation of bad behavior

What are your thoughts? Do you think there is any benefits to one over the other? How do you think they translate in to life lessons and shape young people?

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However, I’ve always totally believed that winning was only to be a bonus for my students, not the driving force behind their efforts. I know many more competitive people that do not agree with this theory.

I’ve had many students who were not the cream of the crop competitively speaking, that was okay with me though. I saw my chance to help them believe in themselves and to show them that hard work can help them achieve anything.

Often times this meant training, nurturing, building them up, guiding them and then pushing them to their limit. If you’ve got a good relationships with someone they trust your intentions and work harder for you.

Not everyone is born as talented at some things as others but that doesn’t mean you can’t try it, feel good about it and succeed.

I’ve noticed that so many kids these days are afraid to fail. So afraid that they are often too scared to even try new things.

Personally, if I never tried new things I wouldn’t be where I am today. I wouldn’t be a dancer, a teacher, a writer, a mother or a wife… Those were all things I was new to that I could have potentially failed at.

It’s not about winning or loosing to me (or succeeding vs. failing) it’s about taking chances, working hard, loving and believing in yourself and others while they grow.

For me it’s more about how you play the game as opposed to weather or not you win.

I value effort, determination, work ethic, team work and the development of good character qualities over winning at all costs. That is just how I choose to see and approach life. Is that so crazy? Does that automatically make me destined to lose and always the underdog?

I mean if your kids were in a competitive situation wouldn’t you value the things they could learn about life through the activity versus whether or not they were always winners?

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I ended up arriving just after my band was taken through the security personnel and on their way to warm up. Of course when I tried to get in to meet them I was denied because I didn’t have my staff member credentials (they were with the band in warm up).

I almost missed their performance thanks to all the combative security staff members staged all over the venue. Walking through the parking lot near my school’s buses just about got us tackled. Everyone wanted to yell at us.

Eventually we just ran to the ticket booth, paid $40 for two tickets (after we paid $10 for parking) and ran to the main entrance. We knew we weren’t going to get to meet up with the band until after they performed and I couldn’t miss their performance.

Once inside it was a huge walk to the stadium seats and I could hear my band taking the field. I was desperately trying to find my way to the stands so I could watch them perform. Every entry way was corded off though. Again I was being confronted and stopped by just about every security staffer. “Oh, you can’t go that way”, “Please come this way and wait…”

I know they were just doing their jobs but so was I. I needed to see my students last performance at the very least, they would ask how it looked. I’d already missed their warm up, I had to see them perform. The whole season had built up to this one performance, I couldn’t miss it.

So I yelled right back at people as they tried to stop me and kept on my search for the area where I would be allowed to watch the performance. I was literally jogging past security people and yelling back at them. N was trailing behind me with Everly and he just smiled and shrugged his shoulders when the staffers looked at him all shocked and butt-hurt about my response to them.

Eventually I did get my self poised at an entrance I was allowed to go through. Unfortunately they wouldn’t let me through to sit down since the band had already begun their performance. I stood in the stairwell with a family and watched my students perform.

They did a great job and I was so proud. It was nice to see the show from up in the stands too. Most of the time I only get to see the show from the field level. It’s so different from up top!

So the performance went great, I felt so bad for missing the warm up but the kids didn’t seem to upset by it since another staff member besides me was there too.

After the performance the trip was much more relaxing and enjoyable. Basically we just stayed in the hotel with Everly that night since she was sleeping.

Sunday on the way home we saw some sights, enjoyed Starbucks and Panda Express, we also stopped in a department store to do some gift shopping.

They are already playing holiday music in stores! This is the time of year when the holidays are just around the corner and everyone is being all premature about them. Decorating shouldn’t happen until AFTER thanksgiving. At least that is how we do it in our house.

Personally I love the holidays but I am not in to prematurely celebrating or decorating for them. The build up to and anticipation for them makes them that much more exciting. If you throw up decorations and play the holiday music after Halloween by the time December rolls around it’s all old news and just isn’t as fun anymore.

Of course that is just my 2 cents… What do you think?

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I actually hate football with a passion but marching bands perform during halftime at football games so that means I am there and crazy busy. Teaching is my passion, it’s hard to balance passions with motherhood though.

Currently Everly and I go to band practice pretty much 4 days a week, from here on out I’ll have their performances to attend almost every Saturday. That’s 5 out of 7 days working, in addition to being a full time stay at home mom.

I basically have time to eat, wash laundry, feed Everly, bathe and sleep. There isn’t time for much else, which is why I haven’t been blogging as much.

We aren’t leaving her with a sitter because finding a sitter we can TRUST (it’s way more than just finding someone we trust her with if you know what I mean) isn’t easy at all.

We are worried about protecting her from germs too, especially since she’s not vaccinated yet. Did you know breastfeeding is the best protection against the swine flu, regular flu and other common sicknesses? She’s still exclusively breastfeed because of this and many other reasons.

Anyway, Everly is growing so fast, she’s 3 months tomorrow. She looks much different now and is a little slobbery, licking and hand sucking fiend these days. Oh and she still wont take a pacifier! She’s content with sucking her fingers or licking my shoulder instead. Nice huh?

Also, she’s a pro at whining now. There are no more indistinguishable cries here, she whimpers and whines and will even full on wail when she’s needing different things. She’s expressing herself, lol.

She’s doing better at sleeping in her bassinet for naps too. I even made some blackout curtains for her nursery so she could nap in there during the day.

We still struggle with her getting overtired on our busy days but all in all this parenting thing is going much better than it did when she was first born.

Now, if I could just get a handle on this being exhausted and lacking motivation thing

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Nobody can ever really make you understand just how much your life changes once you have a baby! I am not gonna lie, we are so looking forward to when our free time increases a bit once she’s older. Right now the constant need to be held is rough on us.

Finding the time to feed and care for ourselves is verging on impossible with little 7 week old Everly. That comes with the territory though, that’s what we’ve been told at least…

We had a good 6 week checkup with our midwife at The Farm this past weekend. We stayed in the cabin that Everly was born in, it was so cozy and quiet. We relaxed a bit but things weren’t quite as leisurely as we had expected.

Turns out little E doesn’t like being away from home right now. She was extremely overstimulated and had a pretty hard time going down for naps and sleeping at night. We even brought her beloved swing that she falls asleep in at night but the different surroundings left her acting uneasy and unable to relax, even in the swing.

Pamela examined us and said we were both very healthy and doing great. E got weighed and she was too big for the baby scale (almost 11lbs). She’s also gained 2 inches in length since birth so her growth is great which means breastfeeding is going great too.

My 4th degree tear repair was done very well according to Pamela. She was very impressed with how nicely the stitches healed up and she says my pelvic floor is very firm and all back together. By 3 weeks postpartum my bleeding had stopped and the tenderness of the stitches was gone, that is apparently remarkable healing for such a bad tear.

All in all things are on track following labor and delivery, we are glad to hear this. I still can’t believe we are parents though. Staying in the cabin and looking at the spot there on the floor where I delivered E is surreal.

Our midwife was telling me that she’s been sharing my birth experience with all her students too. She thinks it was pretty great how I was “in a trance” and so relaxed during labor and transition. She tells everyone how calm Everly’s birth was and keeps complementing me on it.

I still can’t grasp it all, I know I had a baby but it still hasn’t sunk in how truly huge and amazing that fact is.

Anyway, now we are home and getting back in to the swing of things. E seems much more relaxed and comfortable now that we are back too. She slept great last night and we had band rehearsal today which went well. Tomorrow E and I will have a day off to relax and get caught up on some stuff before another busy day on Thursday. Fun, fun!

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Yesterday was the start of my back to work adventure: teaching colorguard with a local marching band. It’s my super part time work that I am way passionate about.

I’ve always been able to handle the rehearsal schedules and the long hours outdoors but combining that with being a mom is way different!

Yesterday Everly and I went for a 6-9pm outdoor rehearsal. I had the stroller, baby seat and ring sling. She wouldn’t tolerate being in any of those for very long. I held her against on my left shoulder for almost the whole 3 hour rehearsal.

Things went well, she napped for a few min here and there on my shoulder but was awake for most of the time. She fussed and really only had a meltdown once right at the end of rehearsal while closing comments were being made by the staff.

Today we are back at it again! Dropped N off for work, came home to eat and try to get her to nap. This evening we head back out to rehearsal and then to bring N home from work.

It’s no doubt nice to get out of the house and do something other than care for Everly. It is exhausting as well. It also leaves like no time for blogging, paying the bills, laundry and all that other stuff that I’ve been slacking on.

I am still trying to figure out exactly how I’ll make it all work, this is obviously the hardest part with E being so young. I am thinking it will get better as she gets older, only time will tell.

Oh, E is 6 weeks old today! We are going to see Pamela for her 6 week checkup this weekend too, we are excited and so is Pamela. Well that is all to report for now, just wanted to let you know I wasn’t dead in a ditch somewhere. Wednesday we don’t have rehearsal so I’ll have time to update, if I can find the motivation.

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Choreographing routines and working band camps has ended for me. If you are interested to see what I have been putting together here is a video:

After the party today N has 1 more day of work left then we focus on last minute packing and cleaning. We move in 8 days it is pretty surreal for us but also exciting! Here we go!

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Dispite the station being shut down he will still be working until August 26th so he has a few days of work left before we head out. I’ll be teaching until Saturday so we both have some more days of work left.

I wanted to share this little treasure with you… She has not been named yet but she sure needed a loving home. When we saw her she was super dehydrated and was skin and bones. She was living outside in the arizona desert with her 2 other litter mates. As a result she hid all day and very rarely come out of hiding, even to eat or drink. She is unique with her tortoiseshell markings. She is doing much better now, here is a photo of her:

I am off to a NAU rehersal tonight and boy am I sore from the previous 2 days of rehersals. The dance moves are kind of making me feel old but it is also nice to stay active even if it does cause some major soreness. I have found that when your muscles are sore it is best to keep moving as opposed to babying the sore muscle. Muscles that stay active are less painful than muscles that sit idle and stiffen up after a workout. I guess I’ll go do some leaps and stretching now to loosen up my muscles. Here is what I’ll be working on:

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Channel 2 is officially off the air and now N is out covering some massive flood in the area, he is staying the night out in the middle of nowhere so he can go live for the phoenix news station after the Olympics tonight. Hopefully he will be home tomorrow but who knows… John McCain is apparently making an appearance out there so he may have to stay and cover that also.

Yesterday I was all excited about the possibility of doing some mystery shopping along the way to Indiana. Is that crazy of me? I personally think that any opportunity to make a little money is great, even if it is during our Arizona to Indiana road trip madness. I know I have the tendency to heap too much on myself but this could be fun you know.

So far we are signed up to visit a hardware store, a casino and a tanning salon. I am trying to find a restaurant an perhaps a coffee shop for us also, I figure those would be beneficial for us and also an easy money maker. Mystery shopping is great if you have an eye for detail and have some customer service experience (like I do).

In the past we have shopped places like ace hardware, buffalo wild wings and best buy. It’s kind of cool to be able to help improve customer service while getting paid to vist the places you probably already frequent. So that si something I am stoked about.

I am writing this as I relax between teaching sessions over at NAU today. I am working their summer band camp and am choreographing for them before I leave for Indiana, yeah I know we are moving in exactly 2 weeks.

Many have asked me why we aren’t just focusing on getting things in order for the move during these last 14 days… Well, N is working till the 26th anyway and we basically have most of the preparations for the move done already.

Plus, I am making us some moola for the move so it is all good right? That doesn’t mean I wont be 100% drained when this week is over though. Sigh, life is good.

Oh and guess who’s washer just shimmied across the floor as it’s gears were grinding to a pulp… Yep, you guessed it, it is ME! We are now without a washer in addition to having a leaking kitchen sink. Sweet huh?

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