Nature vs. Nurture

I, by nature, am not a gardener. I have no green thumb and have routinely killed most green things that have the unfortunate experience of inhabiting our home. However, I can nurture an entire classroom of 8 year olds and motivate their minds through the wonderful world of reading and writing. How does this relate to James, you may ask?

On Friday, I picked James up from preschool and he proudly showed off his latest class project, a green bean sprouting from a paper cup. The mature adult in us would think, "yeah, yeah... so what?" But, to the mind of a three year old, it's "This is the coolest thing ever! You start with something hard and tiny and then this green leafy thing grows up and up and up! Amazing!" Yep, those were pretty much James' thoughts verbatim. And, he was determined to take very good care of his plant! For example, he wisely rolled down the car window and held it out in the sun on the way home because "plants need sunlight, mommy." Then, I caught him trying to pour water out of his sippy cup into the plant cup because "plants need water, mommy." And if that's not enough to convince of you of my child's green thumb, he later informed me that "plants need seeds." Mind you, he was telling me this as he tearing apart the sprouted bean plant in search of seeds to put back into the dirt. So, he got the right concept, but his execution needs some work. Hmmm..... maybe he does take after me in the Nature department after all!

On the homefront, we had a very relaxing and productive weekend. Can you really have both, you ask? Why, yes you can!

Friday night we hit up the clubhouse for sunset happy hour. We got a sitter for James and really enjoyed getting to have real conversation for the first time all week. It makes for a happy mommy and daddy!

Saturday was chore day. Grocery shopping, cleaning house, laundry. You know, the fun stuff! Then we got to enjoy the rest of the afternoon by the pool. Dinner was grilled shrimp and chicken, followed by more family pool and hot tub time. After we got James to bed, it was movie night complements of Netflix (best thing ever!)

Sunday was more laundry and then tackling our garage. We had TONS of stuff to clean out, but I think we are now able to definitely fit one vehicle in there and maybe two if we're lucky!

Before:

After:

While cleaning out said garage, I found two pictures that I had bought over two months ago with the intentions of hanging, and well... you see where they ended up. After much discussion and searching around the house, we decided that the back hallway could use some brightening up. Success!

My Week

My Week was....
~A full week of teaching, which included mentoring my level 3 intern
~Monday: Grad class until 9 PM! The class is on Epistemology, so we have to complete all of these fascinating (not!) readings by Descartes, Stroud and Moore, who were basically a bunch of men with PLENTY of time on their hands to sit around a ponder/discuss/reflect/argue the essential questions like, "How do you prove that two human hands exist?" Seriously????
~ Tuesday: after teaching all day, I came home, made dinner, cleaned up the kitchen, started laundry and promptly fell asleep at 8:00 pm.
~ Wednesday: Grad class until 9 PM! (again!) This class is on Cross Cultural Diversity. Here, two white, male principals attempt to teach Diversity to a class of all white females. Anyone else see the irony here?
~ Thursday: Gym time after school, then home for dinner, playing with James, bath time, books and bedtime.
~ Friday: oh! Glorious friday! Here at last! Here at last! I came home from school with a migraine, so Will took over with James for a while (maybe a hour). After we got James to bed, we got to enjoy Movie date night compliments of Netflix. Bring on the True Blood extravaganza!
~ Saturday: School work in the morning, followed by a trip to Sweetbay for some groceries. Then, Will and I are heading over to some coworkers of his for a "housewarming" party/cookout. I'm looking forward to the downtime!
~ Sunday: A day of rest????? I hope so!

As I'm typing this, James is running in circles around the house "like a rocket!" This boy has SO much energy. He is literally running in a circle, while twirling around in circles. Last night, he insisted that we call him "puppy" as he was no longer "James." Then, he proceeded to try and lick our faces and only responded to us in barks. Yes, we think he's highly talented and gifted, too. (insert sarcastic laugh here)
Either way, I'm looking forward to my weekend with my "three" dogs and the hubs! Hope all of you out there are having a great weekend!

The irony

So I'm sitting here, watching a Netflix movie on the couch with James (Fly Me to the Moon) and thinking of the irony of my Life.
Let me explain....
Last week, there was a certain event that I had planned for and looked forward to ALL summer long. It was to be FUN, relaxing, romantic, entertaining and inspiring. (I don't expect much, do I?)
And, it turned out to be the exact opposite. Oh well. Sometimes Life deals you a raw deal. I'll live, right?
Then, late Friday night, I throw together some plans with a fellow teacher/friend from grad school. Plans included meeting up with some people, boating out to a nearby island and partying for the day. Turns out... it was one of the best days the hubs and I have had in a while. Our favorite sitter was available for the entire day, I packed the cooler with drinks, water and Publix sandwiches. I applied a heavy dose of 50 sunblock, we donned our bathing suits and drove ten minutes to the boat ramp.
Our saturday included...
-waiting for an hour and a half for everyone else to show up at the boat lift (we chose to stay in the air conditioned car, open up a few drinks and enjoyed having conversation with no interruptions for juice, potty, trains, etc.)
-yummy pina coladas
-bright sunshine
-a boat ride
-fun picture-posing with drift wood along the beach
-cuddling in the warm Gulf water
-a walk around the island, complete with hand-holding and smooching
-lots and lots of laughs at stuff that I can't really remember right now
-a "private" acoustic guitar concert from our new friend Pablo featuring the ever-romantic music of Tenacious D
-roasted hot dogs on the fire
-making new friends
-a relaxing day filled with fun, friends and each other!

I hope everyone else is enjoying their impromptu Labor Day plans!

Summer Reflections....

Since today was the first day of school, I guess I have to admit that my summer is officially O-V-E-R. See, I can't even say it! I guess it's because I feel I didn't have much of a summer. For the Hayman Household, Summer was....

* Too short (I think you got that hint already!)

*Five weeks of grad-school HE!! (I was SO stressed out and uptight, just glad hubs didn't divorce me!)

*Spending some quality time with Peggy, aka Nana (Will's mom)

*Family trips to the clubhouse pool

*Lazy weekends around the house in our PJ's

*Grilling poolside and watching James jump in the pool over and over again during dinner

*Spending quality time with Grandpa (my dad)

*Planning and savoring our ONE crappy dive trip of the season (after last summer's dive season, this one was just a let down. We just didn't have/make the time for diving and we both missed it dearly, but there's always next year!)

*Homemade Sushi Night (with the Sushezi, it's perfect sushi made easy!)

*Too short (oh wait, I think I mentioned that one already!)

But you get the jist!

Here are some quick pics to recap!

James totally inherited my sweet tooth! "Will run for cupcakes!"

(Are these the cheesiest, most innocent-looking smiles or what!?!)

Summer Reading

"I knew you could! And you knew it, too-
That you'd come out on top after all you've been through.
And from here you'll go farther and see brand new sights.
You'll face brand new hills that rise to new heights.

I wish I could show you the stops that you'll visit,
But that isn't my choice to make for you, is it?
Instead, I can tell you some lessons and tales
That I've learned and relearned in my time on the rails."
I Knew You Could!
Written by Graig Dorfman

So that's the introduction to this very awesome, filled-with-adult-life-lessons new picture book that I picked up for James at the low, low cost of $4! (Thank you Wal-Mart!)
Of course, it's a huge hit with the train theme and all, but the sing-song, Dr. Seuss-style verses tell about overcoming life's obstacles, being a good friend, staying true to yourself and believing in yourself, which made it a huge hit with mommy and daddy!

James is enjoying his summer reading! Not quite sure what he's doing with his arm. We'll say he's waving me over to come read the book with him...

And now that I'm done with my summer grad classes (thank GOD!), I have found some time to do my summer reading (for pleasure!) I finished this book, Eat, Pray Love (maybe you've heard of it?) this week. I can't say it was the most engaging or powerful book I've ever read. The funny thing is, when I was reading about her stay in Italy, all I wanted to do was eat and eat and eat. When I was reading about her stay in India, I longed for a quiet space to sit and breathe and listen to my inner thoughts. (dare I say meditate?) And when I was reading about her stay in Bali, well.... I don't remember having much of a reaction at all.

What should I read next before my precious days of summer come to an end?????

A Letter to the Birthday Boy!

This photo slideshow personalized with Smilebox

Dear James,

What an independent little man you have become! You approach Life with so much gusto and determination like I've never seen before. You are persistent in what you want and demanding when you don't get it quickly (heh-heh...wonder where that comes from!) You have no fear (wonder where that comes from!) when it comes to climbing, jumping, playing, running or heights. However, you do have a fear of eating anything green, which makes getting your daily number of veggies in quite challenging!

Your "little" personality wins over the heart of everyone you meet! You aren't afraid of new people and in fact, have "never met a stranger." For example, I have walked down the halls of your preschool and pass by staff workers who all wave and say "Hi James!" yet you are not in their class and I've never met them before! At other times, you will wave and repeatedly say hello to the homeless person standing by our car at red lights until they wave back (forcing me to hand over any spare change or snacks we have in the car!) I'm seeing a lesson on "stranger danger" is in our near future.

At age three, you love to run, kick, climb and jump! Your energy and endurance would rival a world athlete! You often tell me what a fast runner you are and you are very proud of this fact (who wouldn't be?) You still have a strong love of trains, but that also includes anything with wheels. You are expanding your horizons to include craft items such as crayons, markers, paint and my all-time favorite (not) - play doh!

Your love of classical music is still very apparent, as you still call the guitars on your shirts "violins" and you still prefer to listen and hum along to anything by Beethoven or Bach. Your latest favorite movie is the Disney classic, Fantasia. You actually will cheer during the upbeats and move your arms as if you're conducting the music. I love watching your expressions as they change from concern to excitement, based on the mood of the music.

I love our conversations. Lately, you've been talking a lot about the volcanoes near our house (TECO Energy smoke stacks) and about going on a rocket ship. You haven't figured out where to find a rocket ship yet, but you have informed me that I'm not invited to come with you (thanks a lot!)

You are still set in your bedtime routine. First, you take a nice, hot, bath...complete with plenty of splashing and toy-playing. Then it's off to the bedroom for pajamas and story time. Lately, you love to count anything and everything in the books we read. You love to point at the pictures and label what you see. And, you often ask for the name of something when you don't remember or don't know what it is, which is a good thing. After reading an ever-increasing number of books to/with you, you always, without fail, ask for a hug and a kiss, which I always, without fail give in generous amounts. I cherish and count each one of those hugs and kisses because I am all too aware that one day, you won't ask me anymore. And one day, I won't be around to give them.

Lastly, your daddy and I want you to know how much you are LOVED! We can't wait to see what the future has in store for you and what you will accomplish once you set your mind to it. We love you right up to the moon...... and back!

Love,

Mommy

Happy 4th of July!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July with friends and family! We spent the weekend grilling by the pool, going to pool parties, having pool parties, eating a lot and spending time with family and friends!
One of my new favorite resources for the classroom is Animoto . I was exposed to this dynamic website during one of my summer grad classes (which I'm LOVING actually!) and I wanted to play around with it. So, I made an image slideshow using one of my favorite subjects- James! When I return to the classroom in the fall, I can't wait to incorporate this technology to awaken and inspire my young readers!

One funny story that I have to share with you from this weekend...

During the pool party at Tom and Veronica's house (James' godparents, our good friends, and fellow SCUBA divers) Veronica brought a scuba tank/regulator set into the pool. She planned to let another girl practice breathing scuba (without descending) as her "introduction" into SCUBA. Certain diving agencies start Scuba certifying children as young as 8 years old. We have said that we want to wait until James is 12-14 years old before he gets certified. Well..... we might not be able to wait that long!

As soon as Veronica jumped into the pool with the tank and regulator, James ran up to me and demanded, "Mommy, I want to play that!" Then, he proceeded to jump back into the pool and try to stick the adult regulator into his mouth (because he noticed that this was what the adults were doing with it.) Most adults are very hesitant to stick this large regulator into their mouths and then stick their heads underwater. Not our son! He thought he was doing something very special! Although he didn't actually "dive" and he only breathed in about two breaths on the regulator, I can see that this is something he is definitely interested in! Future family SCUBA vacations, here we come!