Conscious Discipline

I am taking a continuing education class called "Conscious Discipline". It is fantastic. I am getting so much out of it. One of its foundational principles is that discipline is ultimately  about the state of the discipliner. Also that how we react to things depends on where in the brain we are reacting from...frontal lobe (rational, reasoning) vs limbic system (emotional) vs brain stem (impulse, survival). How I react to what is happening around me is less about the situation and more about what state I am in/what part of the brain is reacting. For much of my life I was all about the emotional reaction (WHAT??? me? I do not overreact!! I do NOT!) and over the course of time, I have become much better at taking the emotion out of situations (usually, not always). That is so much more productive, let me just say. I have learned so much by watching how Jack reacts to things. My father was the same way.
Anyway, today's class was about encouragement. Pretty powerful and interesting and all about encouraging vs judging. This quote was on the board as the class started and it totally spoke to me:
"Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you".
Wow.
And we watched this very powerful video. All about being encouraging and the function of behaviors. Check it out if you have about 10 minutes to watch.
http://youtu.be/RXJGcqcJckA

County Fair!

We did the County Fair as a day trip on Sunday, September 22nd. Wayne and Julie were not able to attend this year as they were in Cleveland for Julie's high school reunion. Sally and Matt were toying with the idea of coming, but it was the day after Caitlin and Todd's wedding and there were still some festivities on Sunday morning. Jack and I would not have minded going by ourselves (Jack would not even have minded going by himself, as he has twice before), but we were tickled when Arne and Beth said that they and Abbie and Nina would be interested in experiencing the Fair this year. They understood that it was going to be a FULL day, from early morning to late evening and they were still game. Such troopers!
Jack rented a Yukon XL for the trip, complete with a DVD player and lots of room to spread out. We picked up the kids around 8:15 (as usual, we were 15 minutes late!) and got on the road. It was so fun to ride together. Abbie and Nina's enthusiasm and excitement were contagious. Even the rest stops were interesting to them. We arrived in Hillsdale around 1pm ET and stopped at the College for our traditional pit stop. Jack introduced the girls to the statue of Winston Churchill and they were appropriately fascinated. "Jack, it looks like this guy really liked books. How many books does he have? Let's count them!" "Jack, what is this chain on his shirt?"

Jack's best audience

After some time with Winston and Thomas Jefferson, we headed over to the Fairgrounds. Driving down Hallett, I had a flashback to the days when we had Alison, Caylen and Wayne in the last row of Rick and Pat's minivan. Same thrill to see the Fair, just a different generation :)
We started with a corn dog and fries, then did some games and rides. No photo button booth again this year, so we took some pictures and will make our own through Mpix.

Beth, Arne and Jack

so much fun!
 

fishing game

We saw the Barnyard Babies and quacked with the ducks (Abbie is an awesome quacker!) and then headed out to Marshall and Win Schuler's. Once again, Schuler's did not disappoint. I just have to remind myself next year to forget about an entrée. Just meatballs, salad and dessert. That is plenty.

There was not a cross word spoken all day. Arne and Beth are doing an outstanding job of raising two darling, respectful and confident daughters. They never whined or complained or fought. Abbie and Nina just rolled with the punches all day. Jack and I feel so blessed to be able to spend time with this darling family.
We were on course to get home around 9 pm (not too bad!) and we were less than an hour from home when we ran into a construction traffic jam on 80/94 near the state line. No one got frustrated or upset. We rode along, watching Aladdin and singing "I Can Show You the World". Beth and Abbie rocked it. We pulled into Arne and Beth's drive around 10:30 and as tired as I was, I was sad to see such a fun day end.

Happy birthday, Grandma!

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday. Marie is an amazing mother, mother-in-law and grandmother, loved by all of us. She is intelligent, honest, fair and loving. We were so grateful that both she and my father-in-law, Bill, were able to be at Sally and Matt's wedding. We do not take for granted how sharp and ageless she is. Our entire family is thankful for Marie and her unconditional support of us all.
We love you!
Here is a picture of Marie and Bill that our friend, Chuck, took of them at Sally and Matt's shower in June.

The Meghan

This morning Jack and I participated in a Lupus walk in honor of our friend, Meghan. 

Background: We have known Meghan since she was in preschool; she and her twin Caitlin took ballet classes with Sally. Sally did summer swim team with them and spent time at their family's lake house. I taught 8th grade CCD with their mother, Siobhan and I was Meghan's Confirmation sponsor. Lots of great memories. 

Meghan was diagnosed with lupus in her senior year of high school. It has been quite a battle for her, but she has done well, mostly because Meghan doesn't let it get her down. She has a very dry sense of humor and is a talented writer and uses both of those things to help her deal with this serious chronic illness. 

The 3 mile walk this morning was held in Lincoln Park and Meghan had quite a team there supporting her. It was great to catch up with Meghan and her family, including her parents, aunts, and cousins as well as other friends. The fall weather was perfect, blue skies and bright sunshine, which is what wish for Meghan. 

God bless The Meghan! 

Be back at ya soon

Just a quick post before I go to bed. Man, these days have been super busy. I have not gotten to bed before 11:30 the past 4 nights. That's not enough for this aging body!

Last weekend was filled with fun from start to finish. On Saturday we went to Caitlin and Todd's wedding; they are great friends of Sally and Matt's. Caitlin and Todd stood up in Matt and Sally's wedding and vice verse.  On Sunday, we went to the Hillsdale County Fair (Jack's 41st). Arne, Beth, Abbie and Nina came with us. Each event deserves its own post which I will get to as soon as I can. For now, I will share one picture from each and will leave you on the edge of your seat until I can write a proper post. Haha! Good night 

Schuler meatball

Caitlin and Todd

Happy birthday, Jack!

Yesterday was Jack's birthday, but he was in Maine on a business trip. That was probably a more exciting place to be than home and we all know how Jack loves to travel so it worked out perfectly.  We celebrated tonight with homemade pizza ( a really good one, if I say so myself) and a Kirschbaum's whipped cream birthday cake. It doesn't take much :)

I am so darn blessed to have the best partner in life. I could not ask for a more caring and loving husband. I praise God every day for giving me the gift of a husband who is faith filled, kind, compassionate and FUN! 

Fun Friday

I had a jam packed Friday. Fridays are usually pretty crazy anyway because of my work schedule; I travel between three schools over the course of an average Friday and things are often unpredictable because of...well, they just are. A week ago Friday I had the wildest work day ever (pretty much) and I would tell you about it, but there are confidentiality parameters. I will just say that day involved head butting , kicking, some parent issues and then my car was hit from behind at a stop sign on the way home. This past Friday was much better!
After a short "happy hour" at Lisa's with some really fun people, Jack picked me up and we met our old neighbors, Joe and Michele, for dinner. It was an amazing evening, with such awesome conversation. Joe and Michele are about 15 years younger than Jack and I are, but we have had a nice connection with them since the day they moved in next door to us two years ago. They were renting that house and have since bought a beautiful home a couple miles away in our town. We miss them and their four cute kiddos. Jack and I loved spending time with Michele and Joe. Such great people.
After dinner, we returned home to hang out with Sally! Matt was away at an all weekend bachelor party and Sally had to coach at a swim meet early on Saturday, so she spent the night with us. There is something quite comforting/settling/reassuring (not sure what word works here) about going to bed with at least one child under our roof. I love it.