A Little of This and That

I have recently embarked on a new approach to parenting my two girls.  After hitting bottom with my oldest, I decided that it was time to seek help.  Initially, I thought to look for outside help because obviously what we were doing was not working.  Outbursts were frequent daily.  Yelling was becoming the norm.  Tears flowed freely and emotions were running high.  The distance between us was growing every day.  It was not healthy.  If this is how it is now, where are we going to be during the teen years?  I started doing some research online.  I stumbled upon a book, Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka.  As a parent, I found it hard to admit that what I was doing wasn't working.  Surely it wasn't me, was it?  In a nutshell, the book focuses on emotional intelligence and being an emotional coach for your kids.  You essentially coach them on how they are feeling and how to express those feelings with words.  I am only about half way though the book, bu

This week's You Capture  is warmth.  It's rather fitting, no?  Last week's was cold so naturally the focus was the below zero temps.  This week a warm up has hit the region.  Birds are singing, snow is melting, sun is shining.  Spring is in the air...at least for a few days.  The temp today 52 and sunny. Perfect day for an open sunroof, loud music, and subsequent fast driving.  I am not sure why that is, but is seems like the nicer the day, the louder the music, the faster the driving.   Fabulous day of spring like driving.  If only that tree had some leaves, then spring would really be right around the corner...not just teasing us.

Today's You Capture  is cold.  Rather appropriate considering this morning was the coldest so far this winter season.  It was a frigid 10 below at 7 this morning.  It has warmed up 25 degrees today to a balmy high of 15.  I am seriously over the snow and the cold.  A heat wave is on the way though.  And with the upcoming 40 degree days, we will also having flooding from all the snow that will surely melt.  Is it summer yet?

Blizzard 2011 officially gives me that "Remember when..." story.  The most telling part of this blizzard...3 snow days.  Yep, no school for 3 whole days.  It snowed for 24 hours straight.  It was 72 hours before the girls and I actually left the house.  I did kick them out to play in the snow.  When your pushing 20 inches of fluffly white stuff, who doesn't want to go out and play, right?  It was a struggle to get around.  They got stuck in a couple of drifts, but at least now they have their own blizzard 2011 stories to tell.  In the midst of all this, the groundhog saw his shadow...early spring?  I'm not so sure...

This is my first  You Capture attempt.  Part of the reason I started this blog is that I wanted to participate in You Capture .  I have also been toying with the idea of blogging for awhile...so why not start now.  Today's mission....red.  The first thing that came to mind was my daughter's new desk/chair.  We ventured to IKEA this weekend for a desk/chair for our daughter.  The chair she wanted...red.  Her room colors...pink and purple.  Why not a red chair?  Why not embrace her out of the box sense of room decoration.  So here it is... As you can see in the background, she also picked a red lamp.  Now, let's see if I can link this.  If I can, it will be a major blogging accomplishment. So this morning my youngest comes out dressed in sparkly red Jessie boots.  I thought "red".  This would be a great You Capture .  So I grab the camera...

I picked up my two girls after school today.  As we are driving home, we talk about their day.  Mind you, it is only a 5 minute ride.  In that time, my youngest daughter (age 4) tells me that she has a new best friend. Why is she your new best friend I ask.  Very matter of factly, she replies "because she has a purple coat".  This is then followed by "and I decided who I am going to marry too".  The logic behind this choice...his hair is the same color as hers.  If only it were this simple.