Have a New Kid by Friday - Dr Kevin Leman

Shortly after Christmas,

some mates and I were chatting

about our angels,

and how they aren't always angels.

A couple mates mentioned 

having read Dr Kevin Leman's book

Have a New Kid by Friday.

And since Ethan and I battle

often,

I thought I'd check it out.

For the most part

this book makes sense.

It's fairly common knowledge

just stuff I'm not good at following through with.

You know,

saying things only once,

following through with consequences,

not getting angry.

Will it change Ethan in 5 days?

Not sure.

But it was a great reminder

that I'm a good mum

and Ethan is a good kid.

I just spoil him a bit too much.

So...

I'm learning.

Not to get angry.

To say things once.

To follow through with what I say.

To give him more independance.

And to remind him

how much I love and

respect him.

Writer's Workshop - Shopping!

If I gave you $500 today, but you could use it for only

one purchase, what would you buy and why?

So, I saw this prompt

from MamaKat

and thought..

Oh, the possibilities!

So then I thought

what would I do with $500.

It's really not enough to travel with.

Then I thought of a shopping spree.

But it's one purchase.

Does buying many things from 

one place count?

And then I thought,

well really Tima,

if you could pretend to

buy anything

what would you splurge on?

Yup,

you guess it.....

Legacy Leather Large Duffle by Coach

Oh wait....

maybe in blue.

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 52

This week, Ethan began a new Unit of Inquiry;

Making Sense of It All.

It's about the five senses.

And since he began a new unit,

it means he finished a unit.

On Friday,

Ethan's class held their work share day.

Parents are invited to the classroom. 

Students show off the work they have done 

in this last unit.

I love work share day.

Ethan reads his days of the week story.

His art work and poem about seasons.

His math word problem.

His rock cycle

Happiness is seeing the learning

that goes on in school.

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 51

As things

slowly start returning

back to normal,

here are a few things

that brought a smile to my face

and helped me get through the days.

The Boys

My 6-yr old is learning that women want flowers.

My new addiction

Is it tea? Is it chocolate?

Happiness is comfort.

Future Ex-Husbands

I have not had the best few weeks 

recently.

I am, 

more than ever,

grateful for my wonderful husband

and amazing son.

They've been my rocks.

And chocolate suppliers.

But,

if I'm going to be honest,

I do need to thank some other people.

My Lusaka family

has been amazing.

And you know I could not

have done this without you.

And yet,

there are still 3 others

who've made

these last few weeks

bearable.

Thank you for keeping me company

while I sat on the couch

eating chocolate covered almonds.

You three make me smile.

You can eat crackers in my bed

anytime!!!!

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 50

These past couple of weeks

have been a little rough.

I haven't blogged much in this time.

I haven't done much of anything.

But today,

well, today was a new day.

Today was Ethan's

first grade assembly.

His class has been learning about cycles.

He's been talking about this assembly for weeks.

Yesterday,

he was not feeling well

and was sent home from school early. 

He was very concerned

he could not go today

and would miss the assembly.

But, he was feeling much

better

and made it in.

AND

he was fantastic!

(And I'm not just saying that because I'm his mum.)

Happiness is being a proud mama. 

Writer's Workshop - The Name Game

Share how you came up with your kid's name.

I wish I had a fun,

cute, pleasant story to share.

Or even be able to tell you

that Ethan is named after some

semi-famous relative.

But no such luck.

If the truth be told,

Ethan was the first boy's name

that Scott and I agreed upon.

And since we agreed on one,

why make a list of more?

We had no problem with a list of girl's names.

We had no issues picking the one

favourite girl's names.

But boys' names?

Well that was another story. 

When Scott and I first got together,

I often joked about having three boys

so I could name them

James, Byron, Dean

respectively.

We knew James would be the middle name

but there was no way Scott was

going for Byron or Dean.

So cross those off my list.

Bryon

Dean

I always loved the name Noah.

But Scott didn't like the whole

alliteration thing.

Noah

Nicholas

He has a cousin named Adam.

Adam

Let us not even discuss the unisex names.
Jordan

And, don't bring up Buffy.
Xander

One evening,

as we were relaxing at home,

I was watching One Tree Hill. 

And there it was.

Lucas and Nathan Scott.

Scott's nephew is named Lucas.

If we had a Nathan,

 we could have the One Tree Hill family.

But since Nathan brings back the

whole alliteration thing.....

Nathan

But....

this time,

Scott didn't just veto my name choice,

he offered a compromise;

Ethan.

We knew no one named Ethan.

We loved Ethan from Survivor Africa.

So...

yes...

I like Ethan.

Hey, guess what?

We agree on a name!

It's settled!

Ethan James it is!!!!

Now,

I feel it very important to share,

Ethan was born in July 2006.

In May 2006

Mission Impossible came out.

So...

can I please clarify,

Ethan was not named

after or for

Tom Cruise's character Ethan!