Lora's United States of Whatever

Over this past year, I've read 31 books, not including the many picture books that comprised the majority of my Amazon purchases! #teacherprobs Five of the 31 books were nonfiction; two were historical fiction. The majority of my reads were fiction. When it comes to books, I definitely have a “type”. Give me a great thriller, and you’ll find me on the couch for the next 24 hours! Here’s the books I read in 2019: The Innocent Man (NF) True Places The Tattooist of Auschwitz (HF) Magic Hour Stories From Webb (professional) Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine Picture Perfect Magic Hour Valencia and Valentine   Nine Perfect Strangers We Got This.   (professional) Killers of Flower Moon (NF) Educated (NF) A Boy Called BAT (children's) Those Girls False Step Pieces of Her Run Away Where the Crawdads Sing The Polygamist’s Daughter (NF) The Wife Between Us Girl, Stop Apologizing   (motivational) I am Watching You The Woman in the Window The Silent Pa...

Teaching Izzy to ride a bike may be one of the most challenging things Greg and I have done thus far as parents! Back when Izzy turned five, we got her a bike with training wheels. She was great with those training wheels and even proceeded to ride her bike into the big pond down the street! (That's a now-hilarious story for another day!) Once we took the training wheels off, we were faced with so many frustrations; Izzy struggled with balance, and we struggled with patience. People of Wal-Mart A few years later, I read about a bike camp in Katy for children with disabilities, immediately signed up, and was placed on a waiting list. For three years, we remained on that waiting list. This year, I started reading through their website. I found the protocol used for teaching children this skill, and I thought, 'hey... let's give it a try!' As I read through the instructions, it made so much sense. (Directions here if you want them!) We made a beeline for Wal-Mart an...

Last summer, we added cacti to our landscaping in the backyard. This desert look really wasn't my style, but as the cacti began to grow, I was amazed. This ugly, prickly, green plant sprouted buds everywhere! Each day I waited and waited and waited for them to bloom. Finally, a beautiful yellow blossom appeared. In the midst of the sharp spikes was this stunning flower. A few days later, the flower was gone, and, in its place, a new stem began to grow. I was obsessed! I started researching cacti and even learned how to transplant a cactus stem to grow a new plant. You can imagine my excitement when my transplanted cactus began to thrive! This simple cactus reminds me so much of the ugly, prickly, unexpected mess that life brings us. We may not understand at the time why that spike... the loss of a loved one, loss of a job, medical issues, a strained relationship... is a part of our life. But if we wait patiently, we will begin to see a bud forming, the beginning of something new....

Time. It's not moving fast enough, or it's moving too fast. We want it to speed up and slow down all at the same time. I find myself looking forward to the next holiday break and the next summer break all the while not realizing that precious moments are slipping, like sand, through my fingers. Winter 2007 #pregnantforever I'll never forget when I was pregnant with Izzy. I thought I would be pregnant FOREVER. And really, I was! I was pregnant for 41 loooooooong weeks. I seriously thought that she would never grace us with her appearance. I was so over being pregnant. Then, all of a sudden, she arrived on the one snowy day in Charlotte, North Carolina, and our lives have never been the same. My mindset shifted to the next thing... Man, if she could just sleep through the night... if she could just roll over... if she could just start crawling... I was ready for the next big thing that would make life with an infant easier. Before I knew it, she was a toddler! Even tho...

Recovering from sedation January 2015 Every six months we head to the dentist for a teeth cleaning and check-up. When Izzy was four years old, it was time for that ritual to begin for her, and... IT. WAS. AWFUL. Because of her lack of spatial awareness and sensory integration, she couldn't just lay back in the chair and open up wide like the kiddo in the room next door. So the dentist recommended sedation for her cleanings. What?! Sedation! This really freaked me out. I did not want to give my child medication unless it was absolutely necessary... and I also didn't want to fork over $250 to pay for it. However, teeth cleaning is essential, so we did it. Every six months, we did it. Greg and I took a day off of work to take her to the dentist. A trip to the dentist that may take 45 minutes for a typical child took a full day for us. We had to arrive an hour early, so she could take the meds, stay an hour after the exam, so the dentist could make sure she's all right, an...

First day of 5th Grade School is in session! School started for students on August 15th, yet I’ve been back since July 30th. Although I love the start of a fresh school year, along with that comes so much. The transition from a carefree summer to the hustle and bustle of school is a tough one. I’m reminded daily of the many decisions that educators make. Statistics say that teachers make 1,500 decisions every day! Along with many decisions comes the stress of a never-ending “to-do” list and the unexpectedness of working with children. While I’ve vowed to continue writing, this is why I've kept my pencil down over the past month. During one of the last weeks of summer, we visited Bahama Bucks. (If you haven’t been there yet, stop reading this post and go now! LOL! Seriously, though! Their shaved ice is the BEST!) Izz walked up and placed her order for a blue coconut with cream sno-cone quickly while Greg and I hung back and viewed the menu. Finally, Greg ordered a large m...

One of the greatest parts of summer for me is reading books and visiting the library! I know... NERD ALERT! LOL! But seriously! Here are my favorite reads from this summer: Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis : You've heard me talk about this book in previous posts. It is a life-changer. Since reading this book, I feel like I can really focus on my purpose and making the most out of each day. I've written goals, and I am working hard to conquer them each day. I also started following Rachel on Instagram and listening to her podcast. She shares relevant advice, and I love her conversational tone. I feel like we could be BFFs in real life! (Did I just say that outloud? LOL) I am so, so excited for her new book, Girl, Stop Apologizing . It comes out in March 2019. It's going to to be another fantastic, motivational read! The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah : This is a book that I read recently for my book club. Wow. This is book is in my top ten. Kristin Hannah wr...