The REED Way

Every family has their way of doing life.  I love it when I learn something from another family.  My good friend Daphne says our family "has a culture all it's own".  She says this with a big ol smile so I know it's a compliment.  I also know at times we can be "THAT NEIGHBOR." Like when we had a pet pig that walked out to the bus stop and kinda scared all the kids, because he was a baby wild hog. 
That said, I thought it would be fun to do a few post about our family and the way we do things.

Our Little Blue Car

We are all about not spending money we don't have to. So buying used cars from private sellers is our way to go.  We have saved thousands upon thousands sticking with this philosophy and making sure our cars are not gas guzzlers.   Right now we kinda share a small blue hatchback and our truck has basically sat in the driveway since we moved from the beach to Austin.

 I will admit sometimes in the carpool line or at a school function I notice how we look different.  A family of five piling out of a little car just isn't the normal.  The kids are oblivious.  Yes, they are sitting pretty close together, but they do fine and when they fight about touching one another I remember back to when we had a minivan and they would lean half way across the van to poke each other. This car just makes it more convenient.

 The other fun thing we do in our little blue car is rarely use the AC.  At first, I was not an advocate of this. But now because there is an obnoxious rattle when the AC is turned on, I have crossed over to the kids' and Daddy's way.  The FUN WAY they call it. Like dogs, they let the breeze take over and relish the wind in their hair.

 The most funny part about driving this car is when we have other kids with us.  Whenever the kids friends' see that we are driving the blue car they squeal  "Yay!  I love the blue car. It's soooo fun!"  They love their hair blowing around and the feel of the wind too.

 "Aren't they hot?" you may be thinking. Not unless you ask them if they are.    I realize the blowing around of the hair might not be so fun when they are teenagers but I think we will have established that a car doesn't have to have a DVD player or tons of room, to be a fun car.   I am hoping this among other practices we Reeds hold true to, will help my kids be low maintenance and enjoy life without having to make their environment a certain kind of comfy before they can relax in it. 

Next time, I'll share how we keep in shape.  It's not a strict diet or fancy gym membership I promise you that! 

Education Nation

After watching Mit Romney on Education Nation , I feel validated in my efforts between 4-6pm.  I already knew I should be involved in the education of my children however doing homework with three kids and trying not to let it completely take over the evening is a huge task.

 I agree with Mit that it is not the amount of money we give a school but the kind of teachers that teach there and more importantly the amount of parent involvement.  As much as I would prefer some days, ( just because it's so much easier) separating my children's school life with our home life is not possible. Not possible if my husband and I want them to be successful.  I have smart kids. Although, at the ages of 10, 8 and 5 , if I don't put emphasis on home work and studying for test they will naturally do other things.  When I have let things play out on their own and decided to step away from the homework battle, it has involved tutoring (more money), and a child who feels unsuccessful and behind.  All could have been avoided had I had control of the situation and made studying and homework a priority.

 I do believe there is too much homework, I wish it could be different. But, it's not and if I sit on my ideas about just letting them "be kids" when they get home from school, they end up loosing.
Not loosing on every level of course. Feeling like you belong in a family ranks higher than being successful at school.
I once tried Homeschooling for  this very reason, to be done with homework.  It works wonderfully for many.  For me, not so much.  To put it plainly, I like people and being part of my community and honestly I like school.  So, I have decided to put my kids in the best schools I can, and support wholeheartedly the teachers.  Hearing out my kids complaints but not feeding them.  Homework like testing ( which no one likes) is simply part of life. It is the best way the teachers have found to make successful students.  I will do my part at home to partner with them.  This may mean that between the hours of 4-6pm or 7pm and sometimes into the  night is not always fun, but doable.  I will try to be light hearted and fun but stay consistent with routines and stay on top of subjects each child is struggling with.

Going back to Mit.  Several times he was ask " How are you going to change public school?"  He has ideas, but what he kept going back to is parent involvement.  At the end of the day which ever President sits at the White house is not essentially responsible for the education of my child,  I am.  I own that.  Mit encourages America to own their responsibility, and their success.  I support that.

Michelle

Michelle is a good mother, a supportive wife , and a health advocate.  I truly believe she has a desire for a better America. I believe she loves her family and  feels responsible to make America better.
 Michelle was brought up in a  different world  than me. She had obstacles I didn't , yet she made better grades and pushed herself further academically than I .  Michelle took 2 buses across town to attend a magnet high school and graduated at the top of her class.
 Michelle's ambitious spirit helped push her through the status qua.  Once educated on issues most Americans wouldn't even attempt to pursue she used  her knowledge to help the less fortunate.
Election season always brings light to the wives of Political figures. I am always curious about these women. I like to find out how they are the same and different. I enjoy knowing their passions and convictions.

  I watch Michelle, mother of two , wife of the Commander and Chief live out her life with drive and enthusiasm. You can see in her girls that she is a wonderful mother and this speaks volumes to me about her character.
I am happy to find so many reasons to like her.

In a biography about Michelle, a colleague of hers, at the Legal Aide Bureau at Princeton, says she did not give out compliments freely.  " When I thought I was working really hard, she was like " Isn't that what you are suppose to be doing?"  I like this.  I like Michelle.

Trash Days

Trash days are my favorite day to jog in my neighborhood.  Not because of the big trash cans I must maneuver around but because of the plastic green containers that sit beside the trash cans.  In my neighborhood our recycle containers are just big bins that are lidless, and I love this.  Open containers , on a neighbors curb are almost like if  were a fly on the inside of their house.  I have a fascination about how other people live their normal lives inside their house and these green containers feed and satisfy my desire to know people a little more, even if I don't know their face. 

One can learn a lot from a quick look at a recycle container.

Cereal Preferences ( morning routines always say a lot about a person )

Coffee drinkers? 

Healthy or Not

The amount of alcohol regularly consumed ( assuming they recycle it all) 

If they just got a new T.V or if someone just had a birthday

Are they the organized type where everything is divided up in different bins.  This makes my cursory look much faster so thank you neighbors who have this gift. 

 

Die hard Green Households are my Favorite because there is so much to look at.  I will admit if  a neighbor has three or four sitting out, this is too much temptation and I will slow my jog down to walk, or maybe even need to retie my shoe in front of their house. 

 

While empty boxes and bottles might be boring to some , to me it's a peak into the lives of the people I live with.   I guess you could call me nosy. I think it's fun to know these facts about a household. But not nosy in a gossipy way. Nosy in an interested in people kind of way.  I get a kick out of a quick look in a recycle bin like someone else might get a kick out of doing  sudoku.  Don't worry fellow neighbors, your extra bottle of wine or secret love for little Debbie's wont go any further than this neighbor. I am satisfied to know and won't go blabbing that "house such and such eats a bunch of frozen meals." 

 

So what's in my Recycle Bin? Well, that's for me to know and you to jog by and found out.  After all  one houses'  trash might be another joggers morning refresher! 

 

 

 



Finding my Way

The first day all three of my children went to school, I walked around in circles in my house, then wandered aimlessly around Target and ended up with a Starbucks Refresher watching people walk in and out of the grocery store.  Wait, I take that back, that was the second day. The first day I talked on the phone with my Mom , then my sister, then a best friend, drank coffee and POOF it was time for pick up. 

The awkwardness set in on the second day.  I was not prepared for this in any way.  I had silently smirked at the poor Kindergarten Moms who were crying dropping off their babies for the first time.  I gave my own kindergartner a sweet shove toward his teacher and a kiss, then bolted to help my other two find their classes.  "How can they be crying?" I thought.  "Kindergarten is the next step, we can not keep them on our laps forever!" 

Well, after I found myself wandering through the pet aisle I begin to wonder if  I was a little sad.  And if I was sad, was it because I was going to miss my little guy asking for another Popsicle or asking me questions like how many bites would it take a dinosaur to eat a hippo?  Or, was I sad because now having all three kids in school I wasn't sure what my role was.  Both I think. 

After 10 years of being at stay at home Mom with little ones at home I never could have predicted how this phenomenon of all three being in school would create such a lost feeling.  Sure I have a million projects I can now finish, hobbies I have wanted to pursue and of course house hold running itself never really ends.
I suddenly had the strong desire to make sure what I did during those 8 hours really counted.  I didn't for one second want my husband to know I was sucking on a Starbucks looking at dog toys for half an hour  during my first week of freedom. I didn't want my kids to know that I had spent a good part of the morning thinking of all the fun stuff we did over the summer, Kleenex in hand.  They were all being productive , shouldn't I?  But, I am tired and a little confused and maybe a trip to a bookstore will help me focus. 
 
This back and forth in my head, trying to decide who I was trying to please  or whose affirmation I needed went on for the the first week at least.  I still don't have a good answer.  I do know though that no one in my family is thinking about what I'm doing while they are at school or work, so that's good  And when they get home no one is badgering me with questions about how I spent my day.  Which means, I have got to do some thinking about what I want to pursue.  I am very blessed for this option.  I am praying for a direct word from God, but so far He is quiet, but He is with me and I am liking that. 

Everybody knows you are not suppose to wrap your identity up with your kids only.   But there is nothing like no kids being around to force you to figure out where your identity lies.