L is for L.L. Cool J

Can I just get one bug collective YUM for that delicious man?  I mean, wow!

I have been a fan of the lovely James Smith for as long as I can remember.  Lets take a minute to look at him through the years.


 
 And did you see this? He's not only nice to look at but useful to have around the house!

And being the great man that he is, he's made some educational songs, which means I get to watch him at work!

We can end with this... Go wipe the drool off you computer screen now...

I is for independent

I have always been an independent person.  I have great family, friends and support, but I also know my own mind and make my own decisions.  Independence is a trait I want my son to have, but I'm not sure how to teach that?  I know that I model it.  When appropriate, I 'think out loud' about things so he can hear my thought process.  I give him choices and respect those choices.  Again, when it's appropriate.  If I let him choose if he wanted to brush his teeth, he would be toothless.  I do let him choose, for example, if he wants to brush his teeth before he gets dressed or after he gets dressed.  

What else can I do?  How do you encourage independence in your children?

H is for Host

As in... The Host, by Stephanie Meyer (of Twilight fame).

I recently devoured this 600+ page book. In a week.  I did nothing but read when I was home.  I got the majority of it done one weekend.  I laid on the couch and read read read read.  Reading is my first choice activity.  I read every night.  It's one of the reasons I am so passionate about teaching my students to read and why I am/was thrilled beyond belief when my son started reading at age 3.  I'm glad I got it done before the movie came out!

G is for girls and growing up

I have, without a doubt, one of the best TA's in the world.  However, I've been really blessed and lucky with my TA's.  She has two boys and I love to talk to her about them.  As a single mom however, I am really not looking forward to the the whole growing up/puberty/girls thing. I'm going to be beating the girls back with a stick when he grows up!

F is for faith, friends

People often ask me how I do it as a single parent.  I have two main answers... faith and friends.  It was my faith that led me to NC 10 years ago on my own.  Now, it is again my faith in God that keeps me here.

I also have the BEST group of friends.  Even luckier, I get to work side by side with some of them as teachers :)

E is for Ellie

Ellie is Michael's stuffed elephant.  Actually, it belongs to his Nana, but he commandeered it one time when we spent the night with her and it has lived with us every since.  The Curious George was mine when I was a little girl.  I loved that little monkey so much, I'm just tickled pink that he loves it too!

D is for dirt

DIRT

There's still a shoe in that mud 'pit'.  

In the fall of 2012, I heard Michael yelling 'Mama... Help!'  I went outside to find him stuck in the mud but happy as could be.