Sara J. Schmidt

Another Hard Week to Love

25 Aug 2011 1 Comment

by sarajschmidt in Just Sara Tags: things i love thursday

This layoff is taking its toll on our family. I think the financial stress is the main barrier to my otherwise usually positive outlook, especially in times right now when so many traditional schoolers are surrounding us and hurling accusatory questions and assumptions in our direction. Why is it okay for them to do this, again, when it’s apparently not for me to do it quid pro quo, or over their spanking or smoking or whatever else? I’ve been on the “fringe” receiving end of such vitriolic spewage, whether it was for my weight or my religion or whatever, but for some reason when it comes to parenting, it feels the most personal, the most hurtful.

I was definitely better at handling this stuff when I wasn’t the sole breadwinner, we weren’t so behind on bills, and we had an extra $1,200 or so a month! Please keep your fingers crossed that my husband will get a job soon, and be sure to send any leads you might know of our way.

With that out of the way, here are a few things I’m loving this week…
~ The Hunger Games footage to be shown during the VMAs this weekend
~ Family Game Night coming up
~ A dizzying number of field trips and playgroups to attend; we’re having to choose which ones to go to and which to skip because there are literally things every day (and the main concern people seem to have is over the socialization?)
~ Gobstoppers while I’m up late working
~ A new babysitter and a date next weekend!
~ Guillermo del Toro’s newest, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark
~ Wood Sprite’s love of Sly and the Family Stone and Journey
~ My husband’s homemade fries
~ Having gas in the car, when we have it
~ Letting things go, when we can…
~ The few nights of sleep without nightmares
~ The brighter days
~ Fall is coming!

Things I Love Thursday

18 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment

by sarajschmidt in Just Sara Tags: things i love thursday

I have a new planner for next year that I am DYING to fill out but I have to wait until I have a good, full day off. I got it for a measly four bucks during all of these crazy back to school sales! Other than that new treasure, this week I am loving…

Mild weather! I’m really hoping those 90s and 100s are on their way out for the year      Impromptu park trips after errands       Wood Sprite being lovey-dovey and silly when it gets close to bedtime      Free field trips! I’ve scheduled 4 homeschool trips to the MO History Museum for families who are interested      Sweet love notes from my husband in our shared Sudoku book       making enough money to pay back (some) people I owe! It’s making enough to pay the rest that’s tricky…       laughing hard over the dumbest stuff; when I say I don’t need drugs to be high, I am not kidding       sleeping 8 hours THREE nights this week! I’m on a roll…      Teaching WS to say “fecal matter” instead of “s***” so she’ll feel important with a new “big word,” then hearing her scream, “Fecal Matter Forever!” in the store parking lot over and over again…      playdates with BFFs (for both of us)      waking up from really bad dreams and realizing that they weren’t real       half-price video store specials! It seems as if we’ve seen more movies this month than we’ve seen all year     power-washed decks (thanks for letting us borrow it, Dad!)      River attacking my hand every time I itch a mosquito bite      making a dozen silly face pencil toppers with WS at the library (it was a team effort; all three of us got crafty that afternoon)      playing old 80s Nintendo with my guy over the weekend       Jack Johnson       movies that are truly kid-appropriate, like Ramona & Beezus       My guy’s amazing homemade french fries      “Not Back to School” celebrations: I heard about this great idea from another homeschooling mom and decided we need to do it, too! We’ll probably hit Mary’s Sweet Shop as soon as we get a chance       smudging with Wood Sprite; she knows the blessing by heart and can do the whole thing by herself now       WS bringing home nuts, weird rocks, and whatever else she finds “for her collection” that I didn’t even know existed        an ants-less house for two weeks now, since we found the nests!      WS mixing her own paint colors without my help–when did this happen?       WS’s obsession with nutrition; I’ve never seen anything like it! What other kid asks how much “fiver” is in a food?      playing with Aqua Sand, though it was difficult to clean       blessings in disguise       new friends & fall playdates