And thanks to Casey Jane at Primary Powers for the One Word Resolution linky, which I'll start off with.
1. I kept reading everyone's great one word resolutions, thinking that many of them resonated with me. I couldn't find just the right one until finally I stumbled upon...
Yep, for me Balance has to be the word for 2015. I need balance with eating and exercise, and balance with my various school responsibilities, and balance between home and school, and balance within my family, and balance in... well, everything.
For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven. A lot of my doing stuff too much is about control. This verse reminds me who ultimately has control.. and this year I must strive for His balance in my life because I can't do it any other way. Click on the image up there to see what other bloggers resolve to do this coming year. Many posts were quite inspirational.
2. Why in the world are my socks on the blog??
Because they make for a great attribute sorting activity! So, I was sitting on my bed the week before winter break, sorting through my socks to pair them up. It occurred to me that I had to pay careful attention to a slew of attributes– length, thickness, shades of black, cabling, patterns, etc. Presto- a math activity was born.
I hauled the bin to school, told my kiddos I wanted to wear matching socks, and let them go to it at center time. I also supplied short lists with five lines and asked them to write down five different attributes they used to sort my socks. Black socks are good for more than never getting dirty! How many do you have in your sock drawer?
3. Techie Tip of the Day! Do you know how to make a gif? Super easy and quick. Here's a silly sample:
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| That squirrel is eating some child's lunch! |
I've done a few of them for fun now, but because they are for family or students I can't really share them here. I do encourage you to go to makeagif.com and follow the easy steps. You need to use small photos and the easiest way I've found to shrink a pic is to email it to myself, choosing to send it in the small size. Next, drag them off the email into a folder you create on your desktop. Then when you go to the site, open the folder and download the pics. Make-a-Gif lets you put the pics in whatever order and speed you choose. You can then download the completed gif to your laptop, upload it to email, or your blog, or anywhere you choose. See, even I can do it. Easy-peasy! And did I mention it's FREE! Think of the fun you're gonna have with your store of photos.
4. Bet you can guess where I went over break.
Yep, I was in the Big Apple with both daughters just before Christmas. Great fun! I went to school at Bank Street and have been to New York many times since, but I had never been at Christmas. I wanted to do it for ever so long. It was just a girls' weekend of shopping, food, sights, fun, and lots of laughs.
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| I discovered selfies- Off we go! |
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| Tried out new photo angles- Wow! was that elevator ceiling shiny! |
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| Found a cool lending library for kids at Bryant Park |
And talk about Movie Stars!
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| I found myself surrounded by Minions! They look a lot smaller in the movies. They really wanted a picture with me. |
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| Olaf gave me a big smile- wait until the kidpeople see! |
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| We looked for Tom Hanks where he met Meg Ryan once before (remember You've Got Mail?) |
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| A sly shot over my shoulder! He's in A Delicate Balance on Broadway right now, though the last movie we saw him in was Monuments Men- Great flick! |
No trip to New York City is complete without a glimpse of a movie star, so I'm glad we got a few.
I mentioned I discovered selfies... which doesn't mean I mastered them... much to the amusement of my daughters.
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| Delaney lends a hand in the photo department as Samuelina records the silly moment. |
We loved seeing James Earl Jones in You Can't Take It with You and cracked up over this old, still funny classic; we found The Milburn Hotel a fine place to stay; we shopped 'til we dropped, and froze, at the winter markets at Columbus Circle and Bryant Park; we got the BEST bargains on scarves from the street vendors; and the big store windows and Christmas lights were spectacular. Lifetime memories! I am so. so. so. glad we went!
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| Me jumping for joy because we went to NYC! |
5. And now it's time for Funny Kid Friday! They come just monthly during the school year on the first Friday of the month... unless of course I live through one that has to be shared sooner.
During most school breaks of a week or more I find time to do some little new thing around the house. It can be as simple as buying a set of new dishtowels, hanging something new on the wall, or rearranging a room. It's good to keep things fresh. This break I decided to put up new family photos. I found a fun, triple chalkboard thing that I'm going to use for photo and saying display. Jonathan and I had fun going through old pics of the kids and did indeed settle on what the triple frame would look like. Maybe I'll share later.
Anyway, during this rummaging we remembered something our daughter Delaney said a loooong time ago, and which has become a sometimes used farewell among us. It was the summer she turned two. That period when she was getting pretty confidant in her running skills and was using them to keep up with her big sister. But like a lot of toddlers that age, she was having a few extra bumps on the sidewalks, resulting in her fair share of skinned knees. That didn't slow her down, of course, but we knew it was something in the forefront of her thoughts when she said to her dad on his way to work one morning, "Have a nice day, Daddy. Don't fall down."
Now it's time to share your funny kid story. Leave in comments or grab the button and link up. Remember stories can come from your own kids and the link-up will be open all month.
I'm slipping in a few breakfasts with friends and heading in to work this weekend. Have a great rest of break and don't fall down.
You can go on back to Five for Friday be scrolling back up to that first button at the top of the post.
