Join me on Joy in the Ordinary Life

 I started this initial blog when I was teaching and living in China (hence the url chinatripchinatripchinatrip). I had many wonderful adventures in China and beyond. Once returning to the states, life got busy and felt different. I did not feel a strong need to process in writing for a long while.

 During the past ten years, much has transpired including marrying my best friend, having 2 wonderful children, going back to school to become a special education teacher, and moving to a new city. Life has  felt fast and there have been very few, slower moments where I felt like I had the capacity to write about it. 

However, the season and urge to write has returned, much like a boomerang returning to the thrower. I will be writing on the blog "Joy in the Ordinary Life." This blog is very much like it sounds:  I will be writing random posts about life, parenting, & simple joys. Thank you for coming along on my many adventures in China and beyond. If you'd like to follow more of my writing, I'd welcome you to follow me here: https://joyintheordinarylife.blogspot.com/

Kindergarten Readiness

 As a mom of a first grader and an almost 5 year old and a teacher of kindergarten students (reading & math special education), I've spent a lot of time reflecting on kindergarten readiness. How does it look? What's really important? While I am by no means an expert, I have a few ideas that can help make sure your child is ready for school. Here's how we have and continue to build these skills both at home and at school: 

1. Write their name (legibly). It does not have to be perfect; it does not even have to have all of the letters. However, starting on day 1, kindergarten students will be asked to identify their name and write their name. Why not set them up for success and boost their confidence by helping them master this first skill. If you're not sure where / how to start, I suggest the following: 

1. Write their name in highlighter. Let them trace their name with another color marker or pen. 

2. Write their name 5 times on a piece of paper, but leave out a different letter each time. Have them fill in the missing letter. 

3. Verbally identify items around the house that have the same beginning sound as their name. "Oh, jam starts with a /j/ just like your name?" Can you think of anything else that starts with a /j/ sound? Once they are successfully able to identify words that have the same beginning sound as their name, have them try to identify words that have the same beginning sound as your name. (It's an easy way to build some phonemic awareness into your day.) Phonemic awareness is an important pre-curser skill for reading and writing. Your child will do lots of phonemic awareness throughout their early reading careers; might as well prime the pump for them. 

4. Rhyming games! The best way to introduce rhymes is through rhyming books or nursery rhymes. Point out how the two words have the same ending sound by saying the two words out loud and saying, "Hey- cat, bat! It rhymes." This skill can take some time, but regular exposure and calling attention to it will be enough to get your child interested in identifying rhymes as you read. 

4. Invest (or DIY) one or two number games. Here's an easy one that you can make or buy: cards with the numbers 1 - 10 (one number per card). Start with the first few numbers (numbers 1 - 3) and mix them up. Then, have your child put them in order. Continue to add in the next number as they master the skill. 

5. Prepare some easy to count items that you have on hand (beans, pinecones, legos, etc.) Use you rnumber cards from step 4, and line the cards up from 1 - 3 for starters. Model how to place items on the card that match the number. One pinecone on card one. Two pinecones on card 2, etc.  Then, let them practice. 

6. Model counting out loud and pointing as you do. (This is called 1:1 correspondece, and it will be a key for all future math skills.) Encourage your child to count items and point or even physically move the item over as they count. 

7. Play Hi-Ho Cheerio: Okay, this is a classic but also incredibly valuable at teaching that 1:1 correspondence without the child even realizing that they're doing math. 

That's all I have for now! I started this post two years ago, and have only finished it now. Our children are now in kindergarten and 2nd grade, and I stand by all of these easy to implement skills. Don't be fooled when kindergarten teachers say "They don't need to know anything before kindergarten." It's simply not true.

I rediscovered this blog!

 I've had a week off of work due to a surgery, and I rediscovered this blog (and more incredibly how to get logged into my blogspot account.) I didn't realize how much writing I had done to process life after I returned home from China. 

I'm going to continue writing, but I'm going to primarily use this new account (see below) 

-->  https://joyintheordinarylife.blogspot.com

I'd love to have you follow my musings there! I'll have an exciting post coming soon about my recent surgery and recovery. Get the popcorn ready!

I have failed. . . and I will continue to do so

This evening I feel like a mom failure, with a big, capital F. Malachi and I attended his buddy's one year birthday party, a joyous occasion to be sure. The party was held in a room at a park. It was tight corners, and there was not room in the room for baby's play. I held Malachi on my lap for most of the time, only to let him crawl on the floor a few times with my eye on him. At one point, a lady almost stepped on him -- (failure number one.) "Good thing, I looked down before I took a step" she said loudly. Yes, good thing. And I get the point: "get your baby off the floor."

My baby is now quite stout. In the past 2 months, he has really packed on the pounds (especially in the belly region.) It's no small feat to carry him anywhere, much less feed him and myself lunch single handedly out out of disposable paper plates. After painstakingly cutting up fruit and cheese into small bites for him, he proceeded to try and turn the paper plate upside down- his new favorite game. This wasn't woking. I then tried to give him some noodles from the noodle soup. He spit them out. I then gave him wild mushroom soup-- he delighted and cooed for more. And at this point (failure number two) I just kept feeding him wild mushroom soup because A: he was finally eating something (without trying to throw it on the floor) and B: he was sitting contentedly. If my transgressions had ended there, I don't think I would have felt the need to write this post. But they don't.

Jump ahead with me to one hour later. I have been juggling holding Malachi and letting him crawl with trying to sneak bites of food for myself. It's now time for cake and ice cream. I am still hungry, so you bet I am going to enjoy a sugary piece of cake. As I hold Malachi on my lap and get ready to sink my teeth into glorious marble cake, he starts reaching for my bowl. I push it further away, and he looks up at me and whines. Oh fine-- one little bite won't hurt? I give him a small taste of the ice cream. He loves it, and he is sitting contentedly on my lap. Sold! I give him several more bites of ice cream in between sneaking bites of the delicious cake.

Jump with me to 5:30. The party has been over for awhile, and we are at home. Malachi is crawling happily about the living room. Then I hear him grunt and hear the gurgle from his stomach. I change his pants only to find an explosion. Poop up to his shoulder with chunks of wild mushroom soup laughing at me. And I feel so terrible. I allowed my own "convenience" dictate what I fed my child, and now he has diarrhea. Lesson learned- I have failed, and I will not make that mistake again. But the thing is, I know that more and different mistakes await me as a mother. I am only human, and failure is part of my humanity. So I roll up my sleeves, wipe away the poop, and prepare for our next great adventure: this could get messy.

When your baby becomes a toddler. . .

There’s a certain sadness that comes when your baby crosses over from being a cuddly infant to being a wiggly toddler. The feeling was so subtle that I almost missed it. But no, there it was nestled right below the business of caring for a one year old. I noticed it when I realized that I could still squeeze out an ounce of milk even though Malachi has been done nursing now for 3 weeks. I noticed it when I went to snuggle with him, but he wanted to climb out of my arms and play with his toys instead. I notice it everytime I pick him up, and he is half my length and 23 pounds already. 

As a new mom, I foresee that all of Malachi’s growth milestones are going to feel somewhat bittersweet.  Of course, I am happy that he is developing and reaching those milestones. And it will not be too long before he is walking yet too. But I also miss the stage of cuddling him and letting him nap on my chest. For as long as those mid-night feedings seemed, I almost cant remember how it felt already, and it leaves me a little sad. My husband and I don’t know whether or not we will be able to have more children. God alone know these things, and we don’t assume that even though it might be our plan, that it is necessarily a given.  

And now even as I mourn cuddling with my sweet baby boy, I am trying to also embrace this new stage of toddlerhood and all its possibilities. The world really is their playground! Especially the kitchen. 

Malachi T: Age 1 year and 1 week

Milestone: Crawling into oven drawers

The Secret Language of New Moms

The Secret Language of New Moms

(Originally posted on March 17, 2016 on lifeinbalanceblog.com) 

We’ve been parents now for a little over two months (now almost a year). It feels like the fogginess of sleep deprivation has started to lift, and I’m just now feeling whole enough to write again. One of the things I have wanted to share is the meaning behind what new moms are saying. I’ve found that even moms of older children (been there, done that moms) seem to forget the shock that is new parenthood.
I can only write from my experience, and I don’t expect that all first-time moms have the exact same feelings.  But from talking to other first-time moms, I think it’s safe to say that some of these feelings are universal.

1. Hey, baby and I are just hanging out at home tonight and could use some company. Wanna come over? Translation: I’m too proud to say it outright, but it’s been a hard day, and I think I’m going to lose it. PLEASE come over!

2. Being a new parent has been tough / challenging / difficult.
Translation: I’m really barely making it. I have already cried two times today and peed myself once when I sneezed. When will I feel normal again and be able to carry on a normal conversation?

3. Breast-feeding has been a challenge.
Translation: I have already had a breast infection, plugged ducts, and low milk supply. Baby and I have visited the lactation consultant about 4 times in one month and if you suggest another supplement that I’m not already taking that helped someone else you know, I am going to scream.

4. We think he’s pretty cute. / We may be biased, but we think he’s pretty cute.
Translation: We think he is the most beautiful baby in the world.

5. Being a mother brings me so much joy.
Translation: Being a mom is really an amazing feeling. You cannot explain the love you have for your child. It flows out of you and grows everyday, and you would make all the same sacrifices ten times over for your little one.

6. I’m so in love.
Translation: Remember when you were falling in love with your your significant other? It feels like that only it happens instantaneously when you see your baby’s face. You feel so vulnerable like your heart could break at any moment because it’s so overwhelmed with emotion.

Coming Soon!

Coming Soon!  Life in Balance Blog 

I am excited to share with you that I have purchased a blog name, set up word press, uploaded some posts and plan to launch my new blog in this next week. I could not be more happy with my decision to finally take the plunge and be self-hosted. Even the process of taking this risk and pouring myself into this blog has been good for my soul.  

The timing for this blog is also divine. In this past month of December, I have been very easily discouraged and melancholy as I anxiously await for little T to arrive. My hormones are no doubt elevated from pregnancy, and my emotions have not been very good company as of late. But the other day, after feeling sorry for myself all morning, I decided to purchase the domain name and get started on my blog. Before I knew it, two hours had passed, and I no longer felt like crying. I felt so mentally challenged and inspired that I completely forgot about my pity party of a morning.

I know without a shadow of a doubt that this pleasant distraction of a self-hosted blog is a gift from God, and I am excited to see how he is going to use it and challenge me through it. I believe that God puts new adventures in our life to remind us how to trust in Him again. I also believe that it is not a coincidence that the beginning or “birth” of this blog coincides with little T’s birth. My logical mind would not purposely take on a new project as a first-time mom, but somehow the timing worked out that way, and I believe that this is also part of God’s plan. Just like I trust God’s timing with this blog, I trust him to also show me how to be a loving mom to little T. I trust God to show me how to love little T without making him an idol in our lives. I trust God to help me overcome my insecurities as a person and my anxiety about becoming a mother.

I am not sure what will happen to my Life From Here blog, but my guess is I won’t update it anymore. It served a purpose for about 9 years, and I am grateful for all the adventures I got to write about on here. If you want to keep following me at my new blog, I would be most honored. Just head on over to http://lifeinbalanceblog.com. It should be up and running soon.