Things I Love Thursday: Life Lessons

My daughter received her first life lesson this week.... in kindergarten.  I honestly did not think I would have to worry about Marissa getting in trouble in school until, well, maybe never.  She's always been such a brown-noser people pleaser and teacher's pet. While Marissa can be a challenging kid, she's a good kid.  Well, this week we both received a reality check.  Her teacher e-mailed me and mentioned that another girl in the class returned after school had dismissed with of all things, Marissa's lunch money.  And get this... Marissa had given it to her, as well as two other girls.... all $20 of the money that was to go into her lunch account.  Ugh.  What's worse, when I questioned her about the incident, she denied it.  She's not a good liar.  Double ugh.  It was at that moment when she started stammering about God-knows-what-story she was making up at the time and looking back at me with pleading eyes that I thought to myself... "What do I do now?"
I knew that she was lying, it was obvious.  She knew better than to give away $20 of money that was not hers to give.  I had never had to deal with such a large situation like this one with her and I was kind of at a loss as to what to do.  I started to panic... What would my mother do?  Would I handle it the same way?  What would a good mom do?   Then I gave up and channeled my momma-instinct and went with my gut.  I told her that I was sorry, but didn't believe her story and that I knew she was lying. I told her that it was wrong to give things away without asking permission. Then I told her that she could spend the night in her room with the light off until she was ready to tell the truth.  Then..... all hell broke loose.
According to her, I was a horrible mom for not believing her and she wasn't afraid to scream this at the top of her lungs.. for quite a while.  Then came more made up stories, and more time in her dark room.  After three (or maybe four??) hours had passed she finally came around.  Yes, I am well aware she gets her stubbornness from me...  She cried big crocodile tears when she told me she was sorry and that she did indeed give the money away.  She was sorry that she had lied and she knew that it was wrong to give her lunch money to friends.  In a way I was very proud of her.  She had learned her first major life lesson and understood the mistakes she had made.  I had learned a lesson too.... I think once we "grow up" (heh) we forget about all of the mistakes we had to make along the way to get to where we are, to be the people we have become, to learn from those mistakes and to not repeat them.
So after the confession, it was time to come up with a punishment.  This has equaled out to be a packed lunch for two weeks - she is not allowed to purchase lunch because she gave the money away... (she was allowed to purchase lunch at school twice a week before the incident), no TV or computer use for one week and an apology to her teacher and friends at school today.  Of course, I am second guessing myself with how I handled the entire situation, like I always do.

What do you think?  How have you handled similar situations with your children?  Anything you would have done differently?  I am all ears...

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Things I Love Thursday: my annual winter virtual vacation

In February or March every year, I found myself having to tackle the "task" of doing some family travel planning for the summer.  More often than not, this should have been started earlier, but mommy is somewhat of a procrastinator likes to take her time and do some research before committing to such things.  For the past few years, the number one item on the list has been the CYFAR conference that I attend for my Extension work. This takes place in May and God willing, my husband travels with me and we make a little hallelujah no kids for a week getaway out of it.  We love our children, but we also savor our time alone together as it is almost nonexistent.  At any rate, planning for the conference always involves booking flights, a hotel, and scouting out fun things to do while we're there.  This is where my love for Google Earth and Google Maps come in.  I could lost in my computer for hours "walking" down the streets of downtown San Antonio, or across the Golden Gate bridge.  The technology transports you to that foreign but gorgeous location that you just can't wait to get to!  I know that I seem like a nerd (because, well... I am!) and that these gadgets have been around for a while and aren't anything new.  But I can't help but to still allow them to transport me on a virtual vaca when I need it the most.... like now.... when there's 2 ft of snow taunting me outside my window.

Well, the summer trip planning has begun and it's starting with San Francisco.  This is the location for CYFAR 2010 and I couldn't be more excited!  I have never been to California (my husband has and no, I am not bitter).  After the conference will come a family trip that our entire family is going to try to survive taking with my parents, sister and her family to Marblehead along the Lake Erie shoreline in June.  I have been a browsing, searching, and virtually walking fool over the past few weeks trying to scout out places to stay and things to do on the Lake.  Our family's wallet is pretty thin this year, so I'm trying to be creative in planning the trip (hence the multi-family vacation to the beach by the lake versus by the ocean).  Our daughter is old enough to understand that we're going on a trip, but she could care less where the location is as long as there is a beach involved somehow, somewhere.  So, when I first sat down to virtually check out the Marblehead area, I invited her to "walk" around with me.  She was amazed... and so I think I'm going to include her in this little tradition of mine from now on.  Why not?  She obviously just as much of a nerd as her mommy is. ;)

Ways to Have Your Own Virtual Family Vacation:
 -  Pull up Google Earth and let your kids pick a location (it can be anywhere in the world).
 -  Notice landmarks in the area and "walk" around the areas they are located.  This is a cool way to virtually visit Washington D.C.
 -  Do a Google search for resorts that offer live-action video shots of their surroundings.  These can sometimes include anything from a view of the beach or ocean to a view of a mountain range.
 -  Visit the Travel Channel's homepage for an interactive world map tour.  The Caribbean looks especially tempting today... but my favorite spot on this map is Europe/Greece.
 -  Don't forget to use this fun family activity as an opportunity to teach your children about other cultures. The National Geographic Kids website has some great games and pages for viewing on your computer and printing out.

Happy virtual travels everyone!          

For more Things I Love Thursday posts, visit thediaperdiaries.net

Things I Love Thursday: Good wine, good steak, & good times with friends

For those who know me personally, they know that I enjoy a nice glass of wine every now and then... preferably a fruity red or blush... please.  :)  So it goes without saying that I also love enjoying my wine with a nice slab of steak and conversation with good friends.  The best place to have all of this fabulous stuff in one spot?  Valley Vineyards in Morrow, Ohio has to be hands down one of the loves of my life.  I. Am. Not. Kidding.  I fell head over heels for the family-owned vineyard and winery the very first time I visited over seven years ago.  VV is not just a winery, but the family also hosts Friday and Saturday night cookouts, complete with cooking your own steaks on one of two open fire pits!  This, people, is what won me over.  Not to mention the oh-so-delicious side dishes, salad with homemade dressings, and dessert buffet.... If you're ever at VV look for me... I will be the crazy lady trying to sneak five different desserts off of the buffet table without anyone judging seeing me....  The setting of the restaurant portion of the winery gives off a  very romantic aura, so is perfect for a Valentine's getaway dinner for two.  However, my husband and I have found that we enjoy our trip their best when we are in the company of friends.  Nothing says good conversation like wine and steak... okay, so maybe the wine has more to do with it. ;)

Almost every year since my husband and I began dating, we have traveled to Valley Vineyards sometime in February to jointly celebrate Valentine's Day and my birthday.  Of course, this isn't always the best idea, as we tend to have to fight lovely Ohio February weather in order to make it there.  But in the end it is always worth the hassle.  This year, my husband and I are foregoing our annual VV trip.  Partially for financial reasons and partially for scheduling reasons... and it does sort of tug at my heart a little bit.  I remain hopeful that we will make back down to this wonderful hidden gem-of-a-place sometime during the summer.... and in the meantime, perhaps hubby and I can pick up a bottle of VV wine at the store and have a little steak & wine dinner in the comfort of our home this February.  I could always use a little at-home intimacy just as much as Valley Vineyards togetherness.

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Things I Love Thursday: February

Wow, it has been a while since I've blogged! I guess the first of the year is always insanely busy for our family... this year was no exception. I thought I would get back in the blogging saddle by writing up a Things I Love Thursday post, and this one will be on..... the month of February. Why in the world would anyone love the month of February, you ask? I'm am not unaware of the vast majority of midwestern Americans who absolutely despise this month - we are all sick and tired of winter by this point and it seems never ending. But there are so many reasons to celebrate February in my book. Valentine's Day (while a funny holiday, I admit) is always a nice transition between the cold of winter and the warm promises of spring. My birthday is also in February, which usually means it will be cold and snowing (or sleeting) on the day of... but that's okay, because it is still a reason to celebrate something with my husband and with our family. And that is a great gift in the middle of a cold, wet, and bleak winter.

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