Family Matters Friday

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it lately but I am one proud momma. Not to be ‘that mom’, but it’s true. I mean, I guess I am "that mom". I am the mom who stresses the importance of school and doing your best, I am the mom who makes sure Talon's homework gets done with full effort, I am the mom who disciplines if Talon doesn’t try or misbehaves around others, and I’m even the mom who stands on the sidelines and yells errr reminds him to pay attention and what he should and should not be doing in sports practices/games.  I’m sure I’m sometimes that mom that other moms don’t really care for. I know for a fact that I’m that mom that Talon wishes he could trade in sometimes.  I’m far from the perfect mom. My son has a bad habit of talking back to me, or whining, or making me raise my voice more often than not. There are some days I feel like ether of us just can’t get it right. There are some nights he doesn’t take a bath because I just don’t feel like dealing with it, and there are some days I give in and let him eat an Oreo or 2 even though he didn’t eat near enough dinner to deserve one. I’m like most moms, I’m imperfect with good intentions. My intentions are for me to mold my sweet baby boy into the best person he can be. Point blank. Those intentions don’t always get executed as they should, but I try nonetheless. So when I see our (his dad's, mine, and Talon’s) hard work pay off, it makes me proud. So proud. And so worth it.  

I’m not sure if you guys have ever noticed but Talon looks a little (a lot) like me(insert sarcastic expression). But also, his demeanor is so much like me. Sometimes I really think he was cloned. 

Talon loves sports. He could dribble a basketball or hit a baseball all day and would never get tired of it. I was exactly the same at his age. After school, I would pick up a basketball and just dribble it up and down the street. Yes, I was that weird kid.

 

This summer, his team was season and tournament champs. He then joined an all-star team and they also won their tournament. He’s now playing basketball and after that hump we had to get over (see previous post), he absolutely loves it too. I don’t expect my son to become a professional athlete. I just want him to have fun, always try, never give up, like my parents never let me give up. I am so thankful they never did because some of the best memories from my childhood are from playing sports. I proudly displayed my trophies as does Talon.

And then there is school. When I was in elementary school, I was that kid who asked for extra homework and dominated in math races on the blackboard. Again, that weird kid. I’m still pretty proud of that. I love school. I always have. Talon started kindergarten this year and I see that same love for it that I had at his age. He enjoys school, he loves doing homework and showing off his reading skills, and he is just so well behaved. I had a parent/teacher conference with his teacher not to long ago and when I left, I had tears in my eyes. Tears of joy of course. She mentioned how hard he tries, how smart he is, how he’s a role model, and how the other kids (and teachers) love him. That’s what any parent wants to hear. And it makes me so thankful. Thankful because I know lots of great parents who try so hard to get their child motivated to learn and they just don’t have any desire. While I’d like to take full credit for how well Talon does in school, I can’t. It’s just how he is. 

So far this year, Talon has received a couple of awards for doing well in learning, another for being Student Of The Week, and another for being Student Of The Month. Furthermore, the teacher gives the students a sticker for each day the students behave and do their work. Talon has only lost one sticker this year, and I couldn’t even get mad at him for it because it was a misunderstanding mixed with defending himself.

So to sum all of that, I am one proud mom. And while this post may seem a smidge boastful, that's not my intentions. It's simply to show how rewarding being a mother is. What was life like before kids?? I really feel like it didn't exist.....

Confession:: I can't take full credit for all the good Talon does. His father plays just as an important role in his life as I do. My number one priority since his dad and I split up has been to still make sure we still work together in raising Talon. I think this is proof that we do a pretty good job....

Guess Who's Back

Welcome to my blog!  ... again.

So I realize I've fallen off the 'blog' wagon here lately. I really don't have an excuse, or a good one anyways. I really enjoy blogging, I do, but sometimes it just seems easier to Facebook my thoughts and random moments because, well, it takes less effort. Nevertheless, I've missed blogging. So here I am. I'm back! And to ensure I don't slack off again, I am committing myself to write at least one blog a week. Yikes!! <--- that's what I said. But I'm going to do it. So this one post a week won't just be any ol post, it will be about parenting experiences from the week: a good story, a lesson learned, a lesson taught, or just some complete randomness. Heck, I might even surprise myself. I shall call this weekly post, "Family Matters" . So be on the look on. But don't you worry, you will still get other random posts about other random things that pop into my random head. "Family Matters" is just my motivation for me to blog weekly. 

But for now, I think I owe you guys a recap of my life here lately. So here it goes....

You maybe wondering why I just posted a picture of binders, folders, and highlighters. Well, it's my life. This bag with those binders/folders/etc represent almost every part of my life. They keep me sane. Here's how:

Striped Folder. That's my school folder. 1 more project, 2 more papers, and 2 finals and this semester will finally be over. Thank you sweet baby Jesus. I'm not sure if I've told y'all lately but I can't wait to graduate. It's been 8 years in the making. After next spring, I might actually have some free time. You know, time when I come home from work and don't have a paper to write, or a book to read, or a project to research, and can just do whatever the h-e double hockey sticks I want. I can taste it now and it tastes goooood.

Pink Planner. Speaking of free time, whatever happened to that anyway? Talon starting kindergarten has made me realize that I need more time in the day, or I need two of me, or I need an assistant. And since I can't make any of those happen, say hello to my makeshift assistant: my planner. I am completely lost without that thing. Between work, school, my homework, Talon's homework, Talon's school activities, Talon's extra-curricular activities, my doctors appointments, and all of my families outings, there is rarely a day I don't have something to do.  

Blue/Purple Binder. That's my Rotaract binder. Right now we are in the middle of our biggest service project of the year:: Warm Blessing's Meal Kitchen 'Neccessities Drive'. This is our third year doing it. We collect donated 'neccessities' such as shampoo, body wash, toothbrushes, etc. and separate them into bags and they are given out to the patrons of the soup kitchen during their Christmas meal. This is definitely one of my favorite projects we do but it's also the one that stresses me a bit. That is because I want to make sure we get enough items for everyone.I hate the thought of someone who needs these items not getting them. In a couple of weeks, you'll probably see me and T at the store with a basket like this...


Grey Binder. This is the my least favorite binder... It's my bills organizer. Every time I open up my mailbox, this song pops into my head...

Destiny's Child- Bills, Bills, Bills

Why? Because that's all that's ever in there. Luckily I can pay my bills but I wouldn't mind if there were fewer of them. Car payment, house payment, my health insurance, Talon's health insurance, my life insurance, Talon's life insurance, car insurance, homeowners insurance, cell phone, cable, electric, water, trash, you know all of the adult stuff... I'm still old fashioned and write checks for almost all of them. It's a control thing, and a single mom budget thing. Which is why I have a binder thing.

Black & White Binder. What's this? Another bills binder? Why yes, turns out when you have a serious medical condition, you also need another binder to organize alll of the medical bills that come along with it. In the last 5 months, I've had 44 medical claims that total $64,000. Have I mentioned lately how much I love health insurance? This is a friendly reminder for those who feel that they are young, and healthy and don't need health insurance:: my medication that keeps me alive costs $72,000, THOUSAND, a year. I'll post an update on my health later. Until then, moving on...

White Binder. That is my latest and greatest project: Hands Filled With Heart, Inc. You may or may not know, about 3 years ago, I found my real passion:: volunteering and giving back to the community. As a result, I started a Facebook group called 'Hands Filled With Heart' that was designed for others who also enjoy giving back but didn't know where to start.

(This is our logo I made using my hands. It's simple but it makes me happy. )

I had a vision of this becoming more but wasn't sure what, until a couple of years later. Hands Filled With Heart, Inc is now an incorporated non-profit in the state of Kentucky. I decided to incorporate and become a non-profit because not only do I want to continue to be an 'information hub' for all local volunteer and donation opportunities in our area, but I also want to create my own projects to benefit a local organization or a need that isn't currently being addressed. To read more about how it all started, click here.  I teamed up with my mom and sister who also have the same passion and we are making it happen! I'm still finalizing the back-end work (obtaining insurance, becoming tax exempt, etc) but hope to have everything squared away by the first of the year so we can start 2013 full force. We already have tons of ideas of different things we want to do. To read more, click here. I can't even explain how completely excited I am about this.

Purple Folder. That little gem just got added last week. It's filled with my Christmas shopping list for the 25 people I need to shop for along with the receipts of everything I've bought thus far. I usually wait until a couple of weeks before Christmas to do my shopping but I decided to be proactive this year and I think it's working against me. I've done most of my shopping online, which is great, but I am already forgetting what I have bought so far. I bought Talon a pullover last weekend and when I got back home, I realized I already bought him one just like it. Maybe I should also take pictures and put them in the folder as well.....

There's one thing in my life I don't have a folder for and that's work. Instead, I have a marker board to keep me organized.

Note:: That masterpiece to the right is not my work of art. My sweet little 4 year old niece stopped by the office a week ago and made her mark. I just couldn't erase it. :)

So, that's what I've been up to. Stay tuned for more!

Confession:: This isn't even a confession because I think now it's quite obvious. I have an obsession with organizing. But I have to. If I didn't, I wouldn't be able to do half of the things I do because I wouldn't know if I were coming or going. You need proof? Well, twice in one week, I pulled up to the gas pump and rolled my window down. About 20 seconds went by before I realized I wasn't at a drive thru and needed to roll my window back up, get out of the car, and pump gas. So....yeah.

And how about my new layout??!