Happiness Reflections

I didn't abandon my happiness goals the last two months of the year.  Just struggled with them...A LOT!  The part of November's focus that really got me was complaining.  Honestly, I did not expect that to be such a challenge.  I've known (and worked with) some habitual complainers.  You know those people that can never say a positive thing to anyone about anything?  I found myself in several situations in November where I very honestly had a lot to complain about.  But instead of choosing what was best for my spirit, health and my joy, I chose to fester in the negativity and complain...A LOT!  And even in the midst of doing it, knowing what I was doing to myself and those around me, I could not stop myself.  And that really bummed me out.

But November was also a time of great joy.  My best friend Peggy had her last chemo treatment and that nasty tumor shrank from 5X6X7cm to 3X3X3cm.  She has surgery January 6th so continued prayer and positive thoughts are still needed.  Another moment of great joy was the final adoption of Coen into our Morrison family.  I am so thrilled to have another nephew!  Such a special kid and a very special family.

So my final thought on this happiness project 2014 is that it's helped me be more aware of joy and looking for joy in all things.  The focus each month really helped me be aware of what I was doing and the choices I was making.  I will continue to focus on things that were a challenge in the coming year.  And I'm going to continue my happiness journal.  Finding (or remembering) one happy thing each day really does help on those days when I wonder why I decided teaching middle school was a good idea.  They also help coming home to a son who is 5 but often acts like he should be in middle school.  I had lots of those in November too!  But finding one thing that brought me joy, often leads to another, and another.  I think you see where I'm going with this.

Happiness: November

The happiness focus this month is to keep a contented heart.
I will do this by:

• Laughing out loud
• Laughing at myself
• No complaining and no focusing on the negative!

And something that's been making me very happy lately...
Levi's obsession with writing his own books.
He has written (and illustrated) about 8 books.  Topics include: Star Wars, Angry Birds, Robots and Flying Saucers.  He's obsessed!

We also had conferences with his teacher on Wednesday.  She said he's "adorable"!  Have to say that we agree...most of the time.  And he's meeting all benchmarks in reading, writing and math.  Very proud of this kid.  He is quickly becoming an independent reader.  It will be bitter sweet when he's reading me the stories before bed.

Happiness: October

It is incredibly difficult for me to believe that today is the first day of October.
This month's happiness focus will be on Mindfulness.
In October I want to find happiness by:

• Paying attention
• Reading Dalai Lama's The Art of Happiness
• Creating 5 basic rules I want to live by

Because I've been in serious blog neglect mode, I'll also share what I wrote in my happiness journal today.  "What made me happy today was a delicious fall meal of roast beef and Delicata squash we grew in our own garden."

So many things to love about fall!

Happiness: September

Heading back to work is not a happy time for me.  It's nice to get into a predictable routine, meet new kids, and be creative.  But it also means less time with the one kid who means the most to me and a heck of a lot of stress.

I've decided I'm going to make this month as happy as I can by pursuing my passion for art.
This month I want to:

• paint, paint, paint (I have a project in mind for someone special)
• make a John Muir quote "mural" that I've had floating around in the back of my mind for awhile
• catch up on project life
• create a new art "installation" for the dinning room

Happiness: July Review

Honestly...this month I've really struggled on the happiness resolution.  I haven't gone on my morning runs in weeks.  And I knew I was slaking on the happiness goals this month and I couldn't get myself to really care about it!

Maybe it's because July has just been plain fun!  We played a lot with friends and family.  And I just feel happy.  It's amazing what summer sun can do for the soul.  The things I wanted to accomplish this month can wait!  The to-do list is always there, but summer will soon disappear.

While I've been slacking on the goals I set for myself in July, Gabe deserves a shout out this month.  He's working on getting our mortgage refinanced...something we've talked about doing for months!  We'll sit down and budget soon!

Happiness: July

This month the happiness focus will be on money.  I firmly believe money can't buy happiness but I do believe the opposite is very true.  Money can cause a lot of unhappiness.
I'm a saver.  Gabe's a spender.  This difference has brought us both unhappiness at many points in the last 10 years.

The focus this month will be on these three areas:

• Take time to really examine our budget and find ways we can cut back on things we don't really need.  Give something up!
• Indulge in a modest splurge. (Maybe one for both of us.  I know Gabe won't be happy this month if I cut him off from amazon and steep and cheap completely.)
• Spend out.  This month I want to focus on spending more love and generosity.  That could be financial but it could also be time.  Time is extremely valuable in our house too!

Happiness Project: June Update

The goal I set this month to make new friends was difficult.  I knew it would be.  Life is busy, and it's hard to get people to take time away from what they know and give me a chance.  In addition to trying to get some people together to pick berries, I've also made a huge (for me) effort to be more friendly and talk to other moms at Levi's swimming and sports camps.  I've been amazed at how just saying "good morning" opens people up to engage in more conversations.  I've especially hit it of with a mom who's two daughters (ages 6 and 4) are in Levi's sports camps.  I haven't worked up the courage to ask for her contact information...that's my goal before Thursday.

Here are some photos from Levi's swimming and sports camps for the grandparent readers:

This kid rocks the back float!  And his front glides are really looking good too!

Apparently it can get boring waiting at third base!

Levi and I also randomly ran into one of his friends from school at the library this afternoon when we went to see a clown presentation.  I'm so glad we did!  Levi loved sitting next to Roman, and laughing with him at the clowns silly rhymes.  Plus, they are getting out their slip and slide tomorrow and asked if we would be interested in coming over after baseball camp.  So awesome!


We've also been fortunate this month to spend time with some long time friends.  My friend Sarah is back in town for the summer from Japan, so all the girls (and kids) got together last week to visit.  We've also been lucky to spend some time with my dear friend Peggy and her boys during their visit from LA.  We enjoyed a presentation from knights at the library about the science of sword fighting.

Played some at the park.

And picked raspberries (between rain showers)!
Hopefully we'll be able to spend some more time together before they leave on Thursday.  I know for sure Peggy and I are going to go out without the little boys!  A true best friend is definitely one you see twice a year but somehow it doesn't matter because you can always pick up right where you leave off!

OK...I've put off doing my homework for my summer class long enough!

Summer-Week 1

I'm enjoying the sunshine in the back yard, watching Levi ride his bike around the drive way and climb in the maple tree as I type this blog post.  Oh, the wonders of summer!

We started our summer off right by asking a few of Levi's friends from school to join us at the berry patch.  Several were off on vacation, but it was fun!  The kids did a surprisingly good job picking and we had a nice picnic lunch together after all our hard work.  Levi and I made home made strawberry ice cream, a strawberry pie, and strawberry oatmeal bars with our berries.  Plus, we got some in the freezer for smoothies in the winter too!

Gabe and I did our second of four 5K races on Sunday.  (Gabe kept telling me the best Father's day gift would be me telling him that I was actually teasing and didn't sign us up for a race on Father's day.  I think we made it up to him by taking him to lunch at Fire on the Mountain.)  Levi ran his first of two 1K races.  He did great!  Gabe and I also improved our times from our last race.  I ran mine almost 3 minutes faster!

Since it's been overcast, cool or raining since summer vacation started, we took a trip to the library on Monday to pick up the summer reading packet.  Levi is super excited and we might need to make another trip this week for more books.  I love how much this kid loves to read!

We were (more like I was) very thankful that Levi's summer craft box arrived yesterday afternoon in the mail.  We were running out of things to keep us busy inside while it rained.  A tent and "fire" for roasting marshmallows was perfect!

We've also been keeping busy with swimming lessons in the morning.  Levi back floated for 10 seconds today without his teacher holding on to him.  Now...putting his face under the water is another story.  That's his area for growth!
I also enjoyed an evening with my friend Alexis yesterday.  We went to Powell's to hear one of our favorite authors (Jeannette Walls) speak.  It was fun and I probably wouldn't have bothered to do it if I hadn't set that goal about friendship this month.  I figure it's nice to spend time with old friends while attempting to make some new ones.

We're off on our first summer camping adventure this weekend!

Happiness: June

My happiness focus for June will be on Friendship.

Lucky for me...my best friend Peggy will be here at the end of the month visiting!
But I also want to try and make some new friends.  (Which I've never been very good at...too shy)  I think the best way for me to achieve this goal is to include Levi.  Since I don't stay at home, he hasn't been able to have play time with kids outside of the time they spend at school.  He has told us several times this school year that he wishes he could play with many of the kids in his class.  So the goal this month will be to:

• Make three new friends.  (In the process, Levi will get to have play time with three friends from school).  Since making friends is hard for me, I'm going to have to make an effort to be friendly by smiling more frequently, asking questions, and trying to look accessible and warm.

Happiness is the end of May!

I really meant to get this post up yesterday.  But we were so busy playing (celebrating a birthday here, enjoying time with friends, eating cake and ice cream, taking "naps") I didn't have a chance!  I figure it was fitting for May's happiness focus on play.

Here's a quick update on how else we played the month of May away.
The holiday weekend we spent with Jen, Rich and the boys at their house in Sunriver.  The Nichols family was there too and it was fun to have everyone together for the weekend!  Since this is the second year we've done it that means it's a tradition right?
Levi loved riding bikes and "playing" with Addison.

We all went for a hike to Tumalo Falls.

And of course we had to go splash around at the pool!

It was such a fun time.  Getting all the kids in bed and having just adult time (with beverages of course) might have been the highlight of each day!

We also celebrated a huge milestone this week...Levi's completion of preschool!

Here he is getting his goody bag and "yearbook" from teacher Debi and teacher David.
He's pretty excited he is on summer vacation and I can't wait to join him!

I also heard this very interesting series on NPR a few weeks ago.  It's about how our obsession with our cameras (especially on our phones) may be impacting our memories.  Very interesting.  It has made me think more and take one or two pictures...instead of a dozen.  Check out the story and let me know what you think!

Happiness Update:  We sure did a lot of playing this month!  But I never did have a chance to try learning to sew like I wanted.  I did research where I can take lessons...that's as far as I got.  I feel like that might be a good project for the fall since our summer is already full of fun adventures.  Seriously! I think as of right now, we'll only be home 2 weekends between the start of my summer vacation and going back to work.  I love summer!  Just wish it was longer...

Weekend Highlights

Gabe and I ran our first 5k of the summer!
I'm happy to report we both finished and are going to use our times to improve at the race next month.  Strangely, they haven't published official race times yet.  It surprises me because they now have these timing chips that should make the process easier.
Here we are staying dry under a tree before the race started.

And here we are after the race.

We also got to celebrate baby Elijah's first birthday this weekend!
Can't believe it's been a year.  Sure wish we could slow down the clock every once in a while.

He wasn't really sure about his cake.  Silly kid!
Levi wanted to capture the excitement as well.
I haven't checked yet to see how his photos turned out.

We sure are looking forward to the long holiday weekend coming up!
That means summer is literally right around the corner.

Taking play seriously

Friday night Gabe and Levi went to spectate some of the Oregon Trail Rally out at PIR.  Sounds like they had a fun time looking at cool Subarus and watching fast cars.  I came home from work to a empty house, got a good long workout in and spent the evening reading.  The boys didn't get home until after 9 and Levi was tired...but excited to tell me everything!  It was a perfect way to start the weekend for everyone.  And Levi even slept in yesterday morning!  That was a treat.

Saturday, I decided we should all take turns picking out things we wanted to do together.
Levi picked shrinky dinks.
I picked a family run at the track.
Gabe picked dinner at Raccoon Lodge.  (And a growler full of beer.)
We also took a trip to the garden center to get plants for the garden.  Shopping for plants is one of the few shopping experiences I enjoy.

And we finally tackled that project we were suppose to get done last month.  This is Levi's stormtrooper helmet.  Made out of milk jugs...lots of hot glue...a little electrical tape...and some paint.  Gabe engineered the helmet design and construction.  I was in charge of the finishing touches.  Levi wasn't too interested in helping actually but does love it!  I think it turned out pretty cool.

Today, Gabe also made an amazing cinnamon swirl bread.  Apparently he didn't like me teasing him about how his goal to bake actually turned into me baking more.

And here we are on Sunday evening with lots of fun experiences to get us through another week of school and work.

Happiness: May

This month's happiness focus will be on play and leisure.  Fitting since we've been having some difficult weeks at work...both Gabe and me.  And we have NOTHING on the calendar this weekend!  Lots of time for play to start the month off right!

We're going to find more fun (and be more serious about play) by:

• each choosing a fun play adventure for the family to do together.  We'll probably let Levi pick the first one this weekend.
• Try a new hobby.  I'm going to try and learn to sew...finally!

Levi and I also have a project we've been meaning to get done.  But, we needed some supplies and never got around to it last month.  Since there is rain in the forecast, we'll have a chance to do it this weekend.

Gabe and I also run our first 5K of our series in a few weeks!

Decided my goal will be to improve my time from race to race.  And to beat Gabe...that's always the goal.

Motivating 8th graders in May when it's almost 90 degrees in our classroom isn't easy.  Sure am looking forward to summer!

Happiness: April

This month's happiness focus will be on parenthood.
My overall resolution this month will be to remember more often that "the days are long, but the years are short".  Some things I want to do this month to be a happier parent are:

• Take time for projects.  I think overall this is something I enjoy doing but since work/weeknights are so busy...and then weekends are busy with things that don't get done during the week...I'm not intentional about doing "projects" with Levi.  So we're going to have more fun this month creating things together.
• Disconnect from technology between 5 and 8pm.  We have so little time with Levi during the week, I want to be present for him each evening.  And I don't need to check my email or Facebook.
• Read these two parenting books that I've been wanting to get around to but haven't made it a big enough priority.  (The first one might be helpful at work too!)
• Encouraging morning greeting!  Levi is not a morning kid and he's a very slow mover.  So, I want to start the day off right by having the first thing I say to him each morning be positive.  It might end up being the same phrase or little song...I'll have to try a few things out and figure out what helps us start off our day on the right foot.
• Start the month with a silly April Fool's joke. 

Anyone want some juice?

My 2014 Anthem

Love this song!

It is totally going to be my go-to song when I need a shot of happy.  (Like during 6th period every day!)  I might just have to start dancing to it in my head and just let the kids think I'm crazy.

Check out the 24 hours of happy video.  It's super cool!  I promise you'll want to dance the happy dance.

March Update

Figured since March is half over, I should do a quick update.

• In the last few weeks I've tried a few feedback strategies.  Several times I've had students take time to do some personal feedback, and measure their own effort and understanding.
• I've also contacted two parents each Tuesday and Thursday to give some positive information about how their student is doing.  Started out with my most challenging class...but still am not noticing any change in the class.  The quarter is over the first week of April, so all I can hope is that as kids get mixed around in different class periods, things will get better!
• I have a meeting to talk to my principal on Monday.

Thought I should share this photo...cause it makes me happy.

Apparently even 4 & 1/2 year olds have jumped on the "selfie" bandwagon.

I downloaded this from Levi's camera this morning!

Happiness: March

This month I'm suppose to focus my efforts toward happiness at work.  What a huge challenge for me.  Work is the place I feel the most unhappiness.  Especially this year with new Common Core Standards, teaching a language arts/history curriculum in one hour instead of a two hour block, learning a new online grading program, having a teaching partner who is not a team player, and working through a new state mandated teacher evaluation system.  And that doesn't even take into account the 168 students I see everyday.  The amount of student writing I have to assess and the challenges of engaging students who have needs that I don't have the counseling degree to support.  (For example, the three kids I have who are homeless.  The five kids, I know of, that live with grandparents or other family members because their parents have substance abuse issues.  And the girl I found out yesterday overdosed on pills and is in the hospital.)  All that, and I'm being paid the same salary I was in 2009.  We are on year 5 of not receiving our step increase and a cost of living increase.

As you can imagine, I have found it more and more difficult to come home from work and be the patient and loving mom to my own son that I want to be.  I'm emotionally drained when I walk through the door at 5 o'clock most days.

So I'll start by focusing on the positive!
What does make me happy at work?
*The crazy and random things 8th graders say.  For instance, I overheard this gem a few weeks ago: "Sixth graders are sorta like Legos.  You know they'll hurt when you step on them but sometimes you just can't avoid it."
*I love reading the same books they do!  I love young adult literature and I love talking to them about what they're reading.
*Fourteen year olds are discovering that they can have opinions and ideas all their own.  They don't have to believe, and agree with, what their parents, family, or teachers think.  I love nurturing the buds of their independent ideas.  And forcing them to think more critically about issues that matter.
*I enjoy being able to sit down with kids one-on-one and work through an assignment or problem with them.  (Except when they ask for help with their high school level geometry!)
*I'm happy when I have students truly engaged in what we're doing in class.
*Creating and developing curriculum.

With everything on my plate at work this year, I knew I wouldn't have time to take a continuing education class.  So when one of my colleagues threw out the idea to have a professional book club  I thought that might be something I could undertake during this crazy year.  We've read, and met, about one book.  We are currently reading our second and I'm almost done with it.  The book is all about how important feedback is for students to be engaged as well as achievement.  Thinking about the thesis of the book is leading me to one of my resolutions.

In my pursuit of finding more happiness at work in March, I will focus on:
-a feedback strategy (or two) that will increase student engagement and achievement.
-send a positive email (or make a phone call) to parents and share the awesome things their student is doing in class.  I will do this every Tuesday and Thursday.
-meet with my principle to discuss my frustrations about my teacher partner.  We are suppose to be working together to create curriculum and assessments.  But because he's a month behind me, I do all of the creating and then when we meet, all he wants to do is find out what I've been doing so he can just take what I've done.  Don't get me wrong, I have no problem working together and sharing ideas together.  But that's not what's happening!  I do all the work...

Well, that's a start.  Spring break will give me a good chance to re-evaluate and see how things are going.  I also decided that with the amount of sick time I've accrued in the last 4 years, I need to take a "happiness break" from work every once in a while.  Making sub plans is a chore, but I hope having some extra time to do things with Levi (or by myself) will make me happier at work for the rest of the week.  I'm taking my first "happiness break" on Monday!

On a different (but also very happy) note.  Some one in our house is celebrating a birthday in the coming week.  Birthday celebrations make me soooo happy!  When I asked Levi what he wants to get Gabe for his birthday he said: "Beer.  Cause that's what we always get him right Mom?"  Not really kid...but OK!

February Happiness Results

February went by so quickly here at home…totally a different matter at work.  My day (or should I say students) sorta fall apart the last hour, so it's been a really difficult month at work.  But I don't really want to get into that right now.
I want to focus on happier moments of the month.

I did lots of little things to give proofs of love to Gabe this month.
*Little love notes by the coffee maker in the morning so he couldn't miss them.
*Letting him sit in our favorite spot on the couch that we often "fight" over.
*"Thinking of you" text messages every once-in-awhile.
*Picking up one of his favorite bourbons for Valentine's Day.
*Making one of his favorite cookies on our snow days.
*After I'm done working out, I've left the TV all set up for his show.  All he has to do is get on the elliptical and press a play.
Overall, I've just been trying to be more thoughtful about doing little things for him.

Now about the nagging…
I do think I "nagged" him less this month.
I can only really remember two instances where I caved to the nagging urge.
His driving up to our friend's house on Super Bowl Sunday was…how shall I say this…"intense".  So I could not resist the urge to tell him it was making me uncomfortable.  The only problem was, I didn't exactly say it like that!
I've also asked him several times, in the last few weeks, to make a service appointment for my car because the SERVICE NOW notice comes up every time I start the car.  (Super annoying to me…but not a big deal to him since he doesn't drive that car daily!)  I was about to just do it myself to avoid "nagging" him again and to my joy...he made the appointment!
And I have to be honest, I've also been more aware of the times I ask Gabe to do something and it gets done.  Focusing on the positive is always a struggle for this "glass half-empty" girl.
I think Gabe felt more loved and appreciated this month.

I also tackled some personal nagging tasks this month.  I've been putting off for quite a while scheduling a doctor's appointment and a vision appointment for myself.  Got them scheduled for my furlough day later this month before SPRING BREAK!
We've also been busy this month visiting kindergarten information nights at focus option schools around town.  It's crazy to me that we will have a little man in Kindergarten in the fall!

Happy Friday (and last day of February)!

Holiday Weekend: Sunriver

Our friends, Jen and Rich, were kind enough to let us use their house over in Sunriver this weekend!  It made for the perfect holiday weekend away.

We got out of town after work (and school) on Friday and rolled into Sunriver about 9:30pm.  It's a long drive, and getting stuck behind snow plows going over the pass slowed us down a lot!  So we had a pretty lazy Saturday morning and then went into the Village to meet our friends Mindy and Mark (who live in Bend) for lunch here and some ice skating.

Sunday we went up to Mt. Bachelor and Levi took his first skiing lesson.
He did a great job!  Maybe now that Mt. Hood has some snow we'll try to get up there before spring break and let him try it again.  He said he had fun and wants to try it again.  His one complaint was how uncomfortable the boots were.  I've never skied (snowboard boots are pretty comfy) so I don't know if they were too small or just a different feel and something he'll have to get use to.

We made a lunch (and beer) stop in Bend on our way home and here we are...not really ready to start the work week again.
(Oh...and my proof of love on Valentine's day was to stop after work to get Gabe his favorite bourbon. That is one way to may husband's heart.)

Happiness: February

This month's happiness project resolution will be centered around....you guessed it....LOVE.  And more specifically...the man I love!

The goals this month will be to:
*Quit Nagging
*Give Proofs of Love

It's pretty incredible how happy a person feels when they're making other people happy.

Since the above mentioned man reads what I write here, I won't be saying anything further until the month is over.
But we do have some fun activities planned this month so I'll be back to share those from time to time.