Would you look at that?

Rendered & Renewed is in the top 200! Keep clicking!

Thanks so much,
Mrs.PJ

Aspirations

• I love to write. There are pages of unwritten stories and essays floating around in my head. Non-fiction mostly, but some totally made up in my imagination. One day I want to write a book so I can share it all with other people. I want Oprah to read my book that does not exist, so then everyone will read it. Then I want to write five more.
• Quilting and crafting are another creative outlet I enjoy, but there is never enough time for. My supply stockpile is so huge that if I ever get around to it I want to open an Etsy shop. I have already done tons of research, come up with a business plan, store name, picked out a theme and everything. Now all I need is the time to make all of the things I want to make.
• After my Etsy shop becomes wildly successful I want to open a real store. There are several funky 1970's era buildings in our town that I want to take over. I want to sell handcrafted goods and vintage finds. I want to sell records and comics and be the cool hangout for all the hipsters. My husband has informed me that no one but me is into records anymore, bummer. Well, I'm going to bring them back.
• I want to buy up all of the cute little properties that are for sale in our town.  I want to fix them up and rent them out. I want to be a real-estate mogul. I want to get filthy rich and own the town.
• One day I will get my masters. After that I will get National Board Certification. and be the best teacher ever. Then after that I will teach at a University and I will teach aspiring teachers how to rock. Maybe I will write a book about that too. 
• My children's daycare is so awesome that I want to have one too. There is a need in our community and our church has tossed around the idea. I want to help open it and be the director. I want to help run everything and play with the kids and lead the teachers. 
• Having this blog has made me want to create a website for my students. This project I am actually working on. There are several great sites out there that have inspired me, but this will be one for my kids. I want to have resources available for other teachers as well. Hopefully my students will gat excited about it and actually use it. 
• Summer is almost here. In a few years I want to be able to take our real kids on awesome summer vacations. Not theme parks, but real destinations. The redwoods, grand canyon, Niagara Falls. Ok, Geography destinations, but I want to take them camping and hiking. 

One step at a time. I know realistically I can't do all of these things all at once, but I can pursue them a little bit at a time. I can let my big dreams inspire me to do fun things and take a leap. What inspires you? What are your secret ambitions? Who do you aspire to be? Share below and have a great weekend!

Work hard and have fun,
Mrs.PJ

Thanks for reading! Show your support by clicking below to vote, reviewing R&R on the directories and commenting. 

Lovely Landscape

How pretty is this farm? It looks like a quilt to me. I love landscape pictures and city skylines. You can click on the photo to go to an article of about a man that has been photographing agriculture in the United States for 40 years. Of course being the geography geek I am I found the pictures and story so fascinating I wanted to share them with you. I will be showing them to my students tomorrow for sure.

Take care,
Mrs.PJ

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to show your support by clicking below. 

Reasons I am kicking myself.

3. I signed up to teach summer school and now I totally wish I hadn't.

sensible me: It's an extra three grand, great way to make up money I lost on my maternity leave.
not so sensible me: Yeah, but that was last year. I'm ready for a break now.
sensible: It will be easy. It's initial credit, so the kids will all be nerds.
not: But summer won't start until July now.
sensible: It's just a few weeks, besides, there will still be the whole month of July and most people don't even get a month of vacation.
not: Why? Whyyyyyy? I want my summer!

2. I forgot the diaper bag.

My daughter had her nine month checkup today. So I had to speed pump milk, quickly resolve an issue in the parking lot (lady bumped into my car just before I pulled out but only damaged her car, so we parted ways), speed home as safe as possible (30 min drive), put pumped milk in fridge, feed dog, speed to day care, grab baby, go to pediatrician (25 min drive), go to get out of car and realize I don't have any clean diapers or wipes. We cloth diaper and the only thing I have with me is the bag of dirty diapers sent home from the daycare.
 I felt like everyone in the waiting room was staring at me like I just kidnapped this baby because I had no bag or other baby accessories. I was sure they were going to call child protective services because my baby was in a wet diaper when she had her exam. Then the nurse says, "Oh that's nothing, my sister left her baby in a restaurant when they left once." So I guess by comparison it wasn't that bad, but I still felt negligent.
Little Miss PJ handled the whole ordeal with a smile and didn't even cry when she got her vaccine.

1. I missed the boat.

If you have been reading R&R for awhile now you know I love my job teaching, but I wish my school was closer so I wouldn't have to spend such a huge chunk of my day on the road. Last week I saw that the school district I live in had an open position. I hesitated to fill out the application because it was already 11:30 at night and the application is loooooong. I left right after school let out on Friday rushed home to fill it out before I went to pick up the kids and, drumroll please, it was gone. I guess they filled the spot that fast. Maybe it was posted for a while before I saw it. I e-mailed the principal to let them know I'm interested in case anything opens up, but I still feel like I let my family down. Totally kicking myself.

What was I thinking? Anyone else out there wondering where there mind is?

Take care,
Mrs.PJ 

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to show your support by clicking below. 

Our Puppy Dog

me: Hey, you wanna come help me get dinner ready in the kitchen?

son: Um........no.

me: Why not? You love helping in the kitchen.

son: Um...I'm getting comfy with my puppy. 

me: You know she is not a pillow pet.

son: Yes, she is my comfy pillow. She is my puppy.

Big dogs are comfy!

She is not really a puppy anymore. Our sweet little puppy is eight or nine years old, which is way older than our three year old. She has loved him since the day he was born though. 

On guard the first day.

She was our practice baby before we had our real babies. When she was a puppy Mr. PJ would carry her around in his arms all day. She has adapted without hesitation to new homes and both of our babies.   Most importantly both of our babies adore her. 

"She is my Clifford!"

We have taught him how to be gentle with her. He doesn't try to ride her like a horse anymore. His only chores are to feed her and let her outside to go potty. He takes this responsibility very seriously and loves out puppy dearly. Really she is already an old girl and I worry about what will happen when she is gone. She is smart and sweet and for now I will tolerate the white fur on everything because we love her.

Boo!

This past Sunday the baby was sleeping between Mr.PJ and myself. She is nine months and trying to talk a little, not doing more than "mamamama" and "dadadada".  Anyway, I was watching her wake up and she smiled with recognition when she saw me and her daddy. Then she sat up and saw the dog at the foot of the bed. She let out a gasp and said, "A puppy!" It was too darn cute.

Pretending to be a jackrabbit.

On a completely different note, you might want to know that I have added a new Frequently Asked Questions page to the Sharing is Caring section on the left over there. Hopefully that will clear up a few questions people have asked. I don't get tons of free time to work on the old blog since I am a working momma, so I do appreciate your feedback and support. How can you support this blog? Super easy, just share links with your friends by e-mail or on your facebook page. If you have two seconds to click on the squares below it would be much appreciated.

Take care,

Mrs.PJ

In this moment VI

This is the final post in this series.  If you would like to read the others here are the links:

In this moment I

In this moment II

In this moment III

In this moment IV
In this moment V

Sometimes the prayer I need to say the most is the one that is the hardest. Somedays I find myself questioning Gods motives. Somedays I doubt myself and worry that I'm not cut out to be a mommy or teach. Sometimes I look at everything going on around me and I just want to ask God why? The most challenging part of having faith in God is having it on the bad days too. On the days when it appears everything is going wrong, everyone is crabby and miserable, and it appears that chaos reigns.

On those days, when the moment of silence comes in the morning I am tempted to ask God, "What the f*ck is going on? How am I supposed to be a good mom when I have to work? How the hell am I supposed to be a good teacher when these kids come to me from these totally screwed up situations? How am I supposed to be a good spouse when my husband is so difficult to talk to? How can I be a good friend when I have no free time? Why is the world so crazy sometimes?" It is not my place to question God. I know in my heart that even when it seems like there is no plan, that that is when I need to have faith the most. God will provide.

That prayer that I mentioned, the hardest one to say. It is not a prayer that questions or begs. It is a prayer of thanks. When I am frustrated and stressed out a prayer of thanksgiving can be the most difficult to say, but it the type of prayer that helps me get right with God and get ready for the day. After reading some of the other posts in this series you might wonder what there is to be thankful for. Everything.

I am thankful for my partner and spouse, help me to show him that. I am thankful for our amazing children, let me be the best mommy to them that I can. Thank you Lord for providing me the opportunity to work so that I can contribute to our household and be a good model for my children. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to work with students who will benefit from the work I do. Thank you for providing this school. Thank you for guiding all of us and thank you for the many blessings you bestow.

There are so many blessings to be thankful for. Often the students that push me the hardest are the ones that come back later on to tell me how much of a difference I made in their lives. Students who acted out come back and apologize and thank me for teaching. I take their testimony as evidence that God does have a plan for us all, even if we can't see it right away.  A teenage mother comes back two years after graduating to tell me she is working and in college, "It was only with the love and support of my Grandparents and the Grace of God that I have made it to where I am." A teenage father (not related to her) comes back after graduation to tell me he has finished his associates degree and is going to college. Thank you Lord for getting him there.  A student that was arrested his Junior year comes back to tell me he finished his GED and is going to barber school.

My husband doing the dishes, my son making it to the potty, my sister getting a job, finding a great new resource to teach with, my daughters smile, the students who work hard without a struggle, the opportunity to serve. There are countless things to be thankful for. Sometimes when I find myself downtrodden, the best thing I can do is remember all I have to be thankful for and demonstrate my gratitude by saying a prayer of Thanks. It helps me to remember there is a plan and get my mind right.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the 

renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, 

that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:2

Thanks be to God,

Mrs.PJ

You know you are grocery shopping with a toddler when......

- You speed through the parking lot to flag down a bag boy collecting carts, screaming out the window, 'Hey, excuse me sir! I will take that cart! Yes that cart right there." Which cart could be so special?

Yep, that's the one.

- Your trip is slowed down by random, well meaning people who have to come introduce themselves to your kids and try to initiate a conversation with your three year old. Yes he likes to help shop. No he will not be the one making dinner, but he can help. No we will not be stocking up on cookies, and I don't appreciate you telling my kid this is where cookies come from. Thanks.

- You can barely navigate your extended cab car cart around the store because it is so crowded. That is until you accidently knock over an entire display of air fresheners, then everyone else disappears. The toddler declares, "You made a big mess Mommy!" After being  momentarily frozen in shock / embarrassment you decide to have a contest to see who can pick it up the fastest. I swear there was 100 cans of aerosol spray and 75 car fresheners on the floor. 

- You have to explain to the cashier why you have items in our cart that you did not pick up. They are there because your helper helped himself to a few cans of ravioli and surprise surprise, cookies. 

- You are physically exhausted after pushing a jumbo car cart loaded down with groceries all over the store and through the parking lot. You happened to be wearing the baby, so that is another 18lbs of wight lifting. By the time you get home you just want a nap, but you still have to put up all of the groceries. 

-You kind of wish your grocery store offered a service where you could just shop online and have every thing delivered.

Happy shopping,

Mrs.PJ

Happy Mothers Day to mommas everywhere. You can support this Momma's blog by clicking below.

 

My United States of Geography

and now for a little fun and geekery.......

The Names Behind The States infographic by Fonx.


I adore geography. Interesting graphic huh? So did you learn anything? 

Take care,
Mrs.PJ

        Thanks for reading! Don't forget to comment, subscribe, like us, and click on the links to vote.

 

Already

      This Saturday marks nine months since our little girl was born. That means she has been out of the belly longer than she was in. Already. Really. She is standing on her own and will be taking her first steps any day now. Already. She is eating squishy food and trying to talk. She recognizes her name, is doing a super fast crawl and is chasing all of us around the house. Already. She has outgrown the baby whale tub and is bathing in the big tub (in about three inches of water). Already. She loves it and I can tell she will be outgrowing her rear facing car seat soon. Already.
     They say time flies when you are having fun. They aren't kidding. Days and months disappear so quickly that I find myself writing the wrong date more and more. It is not just the little girl. Our son is telling us stories about his day and pretending to read his books. He wants to help with dishes and laundry and dinner. This year is just disappearing so fast. It is almost the end of the school year already. It is almost the weekend already. Wait, it is almost 10:00pm already. Good God where does the time go?