The Night Before The First Day of School

At the end of each school year I think to myself, next fall I'm going to do better. Next year when school starts I'm going to have a plan instead of running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I plan that when my kids head off to school that first morning not only will their bellies be full, their supplies all sorted and ready to go but their minds will be fresh off a summer of fun learning. I plan that we will start "school" bedtimes at least one week before the big day, all laundry will be done and clothes neatly put away so that everyone can find their favorite outfit. And so I start looking for recipes for things to stock my freezer with for healthy quick breakfasts. I search the internet (ok I scan Pinterest) for ideas on fun learning activities to get the whole family involved. I print off school supply lists on the first of June with the intent of being sure every item is purchased by the beginning of the year. I pile the lunch boxes and back-packs in the laundry room to scrub until they look and smell new. But it never fails. I am never prepared for the first day of school. I have the date on the calendar, I get constant e-mail reminders about things that need to be done, and as the day draws near I run it friends who are asking me "are you ready?". But the answer is always NO. I'm never ready. I barely made it to the grocery store today to pick up the food for the kids' lunches only to come home and realize that all our little plastic containers had become homes to various crickets, roly-polys, and other bugs, guess the they'll only take what can go in a plastic baggie. And I think I forgot to buy bread. Then one of the children asked what did you get for breakfasts, Uggh! Never quite got around to making all those good for you and great for freezing breakfast items.  Just have to see what I can whip up from what's in the house tomorrow morning. Last night I finally got the kids to bed before 11PM, well at least some of them. I went through the kids' school supplies (about 15 min before open house) to find that those items that I was tired of looking for the day we had gone shopping were still missing from their bags. And the back-pack I had sworn did not need to be replaced because it was just a little dirty, that with a good cleaning would be as good as new, now sits still a little wet from finally being washed only to look not so new or so clean. I've got physicals that need to be turned in, fees that need to be paid, boxes of kleenx that haven't been bought, and stacks of ideas for first day teacher gifts that will never be made. All those fun learning ideas we were going to do this summer are still marked on my Pinterest board just waiting to be read and actually completed. As I sit hear tonight listening to the dryer run with the load of laundry that someone suddenly remembered needed to be done because their favorite shirt wasn't clean, I wonder how will we make it through another year? But we will and when this year comes to an end I'll think - Next year I'll do better!

Battle of the Bulge

I've been fighting this battle pretty much since the birth of my first child. It started out as a small war waged against a noticeable but not overwhelming enemy. But as the years had passed and our family had grown and grown and grown again, so had the size, weight, and over all immensity of the challenger. There were times when it would shrink and I would feel as if I had a handle on it but other times the size would be so overwhelming all I could do was sit and cry. I worked hard to get back to what it was like before kids. Sometimes with help, sometimes on my own. Some weeks I would make huge progress, keeping up with the pledge I had made to myself and conquering mountains I never knew I could. And others I'd fall back into bad habits or lazy behaviors. I was just too tired, felt too busy, or just didn't want to work at it for another minute. In those times (which might only have been a day or two) all the work of previous weeks would be undone leaving me right back where I started or worse with a bigger load than I had before. I'd lie to myself often saying "Next week I'll do better, I'll stick to my plan." But more often than not I find it would only last a few days before I began to feel overwhelmed and looking for excuses not to follow through. In recent years I have made much progress though. I've found that following a few basic guidelines I can make a difference and it's made this battle a little less challenging. So here are my tips:

1. Come up with a manageable and workable plan. A good plan will not only help you conquer but will also help you maintain. And get the family involved. Remember they helped cause the problem it only seems logical that they participate in the solution.

2. Ask for and require help. Again your family should be there to support you and provide assistance. This is just as much for their benefit as it is yours. Older kids are great resources and younger kids love being included.

3. Work on smaller goals. Do a little every day. Every little bit helps so even if you're short on time try to make a small amount of progress. Trying to take care of it all at once never works and ends up leaving you too exhausted to keep up which usually results in the enemy making gains.

4. Stick to the basics. Don't let yourself be sweet talked by gimmicky products. They are expensive and rarely work like they claim.

5. Accept the fact that there may always be a little something left to do. That's what having kids does to you. It's ok. Don't be discouraged.


Using these 5 steps I've found that even though sometimes I still slip up and find that my bulge has grown once again I am easily able to get back on track and stay there. Now go battle those bulging laundry hampers, find the bottom of those weighed down baskets of clothes, TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR LAUNDRY!

This is Tech Support???

I admit it! I am not a tech savvy person. I am often perplexed by our TV remote, find our game system to be intimidating and often turn to my children for help with my phone. But I have to say I a confounded by the fact that I am often more technically literate than the so called Tech Support Reps I with whom I have to interact with for help. Here's the latest example of a quality Tech Support conversation:

"Hello you've reached technical support, how can I assist you?"

"Hi, my name is Amber, I have cell phone model #----- it's a touch screen phone and the touch screen is no longer responding."

"Ok let me get a little information from you. What's your name and what kind of phone do you have?"

"Yes, my name is Amber and my phone is model #------."

"Ok that appears to be a touch screen model, what seems to be the problem?"

"The touch screen is not responding"

"What portion of the screen isn't working?"

"The part you touch."

"Have you tried turning it off, waiting 30 seconds and  then turning it back on?"

"Yes. I even took out the battery and kept it out all night then put it back in this morning."

"Ok here's what we're going to try. First turn the phone off, wait 30 seconds, then turn it back on."

"hhmmm ok. That's done."

"Is the screen working now?"

"No"

" Alright. Now try removing the battery, let it sit for 60 seconds, then put the battery back in and power the phone up again."

"Ooookkkk."

"Does the screen work now?"

"Nope, just like after leaving the battery out all night as I mentioned before it still doesn't work."

"We will need to try a hard boot next. This will erase any data you have on your phone. Would you like to take some time to retrieve that data and call us back?"

"Well since it's a touch screen model and the touch screen isn't working it seems to me it would be impossible to retrieve that data, so I guess no."

"Yes ma'am. So you'd like to proceed with the hard boot."

"Yes."

The tech proceeds to give instructions on pushing a series of buttons which causes the phone to reset and the conversation continues:

"What is the phone doing at this time?"

"It's still powering up"

"Alright take your time."

"Are you talking to the phone? Because I'm just waiting on the phone to reboot."

"Yes ma'am."

"The phone has rebooted and power is on, the screen is still not responding."

"It would appear you have a non-responsive touch screen ma'am."

"How did you determine that?"

"Well....

"Never mind. What can we do now?"

"You can send the phone to our service center for service. This may cause a loss of any data you have on the phone so please take time to retrieve the data before sending your phone."

"Would that be the same data I lost in the reboot that I couldn't access because of the non-responsive touch screen?"

"Ma'am?"

"Never mind, can you just give me the instructions for sending it in?"