Sick to death

There have been plenty of days where I have just not posted rather than be a Negative Nelly. But today I just have to say that I'm sick to death of myself. UGH! I'm sick to death of my house. Double UGH!And I'm sick to death of laundry and cooking.

That is all.

April is all about literacy it seems

It's School Library Month. Did you know? It's a great time to thank your librarian, if your school is lucky enough to still have one.

There are also a number of other special literacy-related dates this month. For example, National Library Week is April 8-14. It’s a time to "celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support," according to the American Library Association. "All types of libraries -- school, public, academic and special -- participate. This year’s theme: You belong @ your library®."

Other dates this month: National Library Workers Day - April 10; National Bookmobile Day - April 11; Support Teen Literature Day - April 12; and Children’s Day/Book Day - April 30.

Though I'm naturally all about Children's Day/Book Day given my business, I think my favorite literacy-related day this month is National Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.) Day - April 12, 2012. Again from the American Library Association, "It is a special reading celebration to remind and encourage families to make reading together on a daily basis a family priority. The official event date, April 12, is the birthday of author Beverly Cleary."

How fun!

Now, of course, when I find out stuff like this, my mind starts turning to figure out how I can incorporate this into my book business.

I'm thinking hostesses hosting home parties and donating their free books to their schools' libraries.

I'm thinking preschool or scout troop read-a-thons on D.E.A.R. Day with pledges going for books to the kids and books to be donated.

I'm thinking Cards for a Cause fundraisers benefiting local libraries and literacy groups.

Lack of ideas is never my downfall. Follow through on the other hand...

If you'd like to help me celebrate literacy this month, hollar at a sistah. Or perhaps I'll run into you at the library. 

Ode to 8 hours of sleep

What a difference 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep makes. (Let's not count the phone ringing at 5 a.m.)
I don't remember the last time I got a full 8 hours. But I need to do it more often because wow just wow.
I woke up actually rested. I can make myself a cup of coffee just because I like the taste and ritual and not because I can't open my left eye until I've had it. And I'm sure my kids appreciate it because I've made them breakfast and played a game of Snakes & Ladders, and I haven't even made that cuppa joe yet.

Sleep--the best kept non-secret!

A momma rant

I am sick to death of the "I didn't have time" excuse constantly coming from my son. I just picked him up from his after-school activity and as we're walking down the hall I'm looking at some of the things posted outside his classroom. So I ask where his is, and you guessed it. He didn't have time...

Now I know he's slow. I call him turtle for a reason. But I also know that after fall teacher conferences where I heard about a lot of unfinished work, I expressly asked that my turtle be kept in from recess if he didn't finish his work. That worked for about a month evidently.

So what do I have to do, show up every morning at recess time to check that his work is complete before he's allowed out? Or can we at least have his unfinished work sent home so I can have him finish it. I guess I'll have to send an e-mail to the teacher.

In the meantime, turtle's gaming systems are gone for a week while his guitar lessons are put on indefinite hold because frankly he just doesn't have enough time, especially with all the extra work he's going to have to do now.

*sucking my teeth and rolling my eyes*

Positive energy

Do you ever look around your house and get discouraged? Do you ever get sick and tired of being sick and tired? Do you ever just get sick of yourself and your negative inner monologue?

Yeah I’m there today. So I’m trying to find and focus on some positive energy. Sometimes being grateful for the big things isn’t enough. I mean, of course, I’m thankful that my hubby has a job and my kids are healthy. But that’s not enough to make me want to get off my booty. I need some little victories. Lots of little victories!

Some morning victories: I worked out. That’s a positive. I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher. So that’s another positive. I remembered to eat breakfast at a reasonable time, so there you go three positive things.

Is it sad that I have to pump myself up about these little things? (I’m sure you’re thinking yes though you’ll post no. lol) I think I’m going to need some more small victories to get me through today.

Stream of consciousness

In normal housework avoiding fashion, I'm sitting at the kitchen table taking turns staring out the window at my middle child playing outside in the cold and staring at my loud laptop trying to come up with something to write.

I kinda gave up on coming up with something good to write, as you can tell, and decided to go with more of a stream of consciousness post. There is just nothing exciting going on and I, fortunately, don't have any major concerns or issues on my mind -- mostly thanks to my mom listening sympathetically to my rant during last night's phone call.

Anyway, I'm feeling pretty good about where I am in time and space at this very moment. The kids are happy and healthy. I'm feeling pretty good about where I am on my *current* weight loss journey (fit and fabulous at 40 is in full effect). I had a good February in my book business. And am looking forward to a busy March. I am a little nervous about March through May, as I need $1000 in sales each month to stay on track to win an iPad. But if I do it, I'll not only win an iPad, but I'll also be on track to finance my 40th birthday celebration in Vegas.

So yeah, overall, I'm in a good mental space.

Fitting it all in

Since Sunday, after I dragged myself out to meet up with the Portland Metro Mocha Moms (moms of color, not a coffee group), I have been thinking a lot about the best way to raise my kids and set them up for success.

I am the first to admit that my kids are not likely to end up as a statistic. Kids raised in a two-parent household where both parents are college educated are rarely the ones dismal statistics are referring to. BUT it's not like that's a hard-and-fast rule. So naturally I worry about doing the best things for them. That's a universal momma thing I think.

I worry about who they will date. More specifically I worry about the parents' reaction when some little white girl brings my little black boy home as her boyfriend. Because really we live in Oregon and have no plans to move so that's likely going to be the reality. I posted a picture of Aliyah "tanning" recently, so yeah it's fair to say I worry about her self-esteem when she sees very few people who look like her.

Oh but wait the topic of this post was "Fitting it all in" not "What LaRonda Worries About." So back on topic. With all this going on in my mind, I start thinking about how to give my kids the best chance of success. Academically that has meant homework even when none is assigned. It has meant summer reading programs and workbooks, etc. And I think I have a pretty good handle on the supplemental education in that respect.

But then my friend Michelle mentioned that she does supplemental black history work with her children, too. And I thought, "Oh man! I should be doing that, too." But then I started to panic trying to think about how to fit that into what we're doing already.

I am having a hard time thinking through the balance between social time/play time, supplemental education, and extracurricular activities. There are only so many hours in a day after all. And I don't want to overschedule the kids or have kids activities totally take over our family time. So I guess what I'm looking for are suggestions for fitting it all in.