A mother's guilty pleasure ...

It is a Friday night and I find myself enjoying the peacefulness of an empty house. I'm torn though, should I be sad and missing my kids and husband? Or, is it okay to enjoy the peace and quiet and my glass of red wine? I'm guessing it's okay for a mom to enjoy these quiet moments ... but that's not to say I miss the other four a whole bunch right now, too! 

Sure, I've spent most of the night grading papers and planning out the rest of my Crucible unit, but there really is something to be said for being able to spread out papers on the table without fear of spilled water or the disruptions of arguments over toys and sharing ... or lack thereof. 

I thought I would take a break from school work to share a few more fun stories from the week.

My story about Gavin warms my heart for so many reasons. As an English teacher it's been quite fun to see his reading ability increase. Since I work with high schoolers I don't get to see the early reading growth very often. He's learning new sight words each day and got a 100% on his first reading test ... it's not just the English teacher in me though ... a mom (step mom or not) always loves to see her kids do well! On Wednesday night I made cupcakes for dessert. Gavin (as usual) was the only one to finish enough dinner to earn dessert. As he and Chuck and I were sitting at the kitchen table, Gavin told us that cupcake was a compound word. It came out that simply. No fanfare. Nothing ... it was so matter-of-factly that I think it made his announcement all the more adorable. We quizzed him a bit more and he told us that railroad was a compound word as well. Nice work, Gavin! :) 

The next story is about Chloe. After dinner on Wednesday night she went into the living room to play with the boys. The first thing she says ... "Gavin, can I be a man?" Chuck and I looked at each other and cracked up ... and then went in to see exactly what she was asking. It was simple really, Gavin had action figures and Chloe wanted to play with one of them. Cute phrase though ... although it did catch us off guard a bit! 

Master Zack has learned that if he smiles big and says please in the most adorable tone, he can get just about anything he needs from the teachers at school. Several of them have commented on how difficult it is to tell him no, as they all seem to melt when he asks. What a flirt! :) 

Happy weekend! 

Much love, 

--M