Tuesday Ten - A Belated Father's Day Post for my Hubby

Last week, for my Tuesday Ten and in honor of Father's Day,  I posted a list of things I learned form my dad.  However, I most certainly do not want to overlook my wonderful hubby who is a fantastic dad to our three girls.  So, it may be a couple days late, but for this week's Tuesday Ten, I enlisted the help of my girls.  I asked them to tell me some things that makes their dad a great dad.  Here's what they came up with:
 

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Ten Things That Make Our Dad Great
from Rachel (10), Megan (8), & Emily (5)

1. He is silly and he makes us laugh.  But, he knows when to be serious, too. (Rachel)
2. He disciplines us when we need it, but he's not mean.  (Rachel)
3. He is easy to talk to because he is laid back about our problems.  He helps us see which problems are big ones and which ones are not such a big deal.  (Rachel)
4. He is good at math and helps us understand it.  Science, too.  (Rachel & Megan)
5. He is really smart. (Emily)
6. He helps us when we need help. (Emily)
7. He is cuddly like a big teddy bear and I like to snuggle with him.  (Emily)
8. He is encouraging.  He encourages us to try new things and to do our best.  (Megan)
9. He is hardworking.  He works really hard so we have plenty of money for food and the other stuff we need.  (Megan)
10. He is awesome! (Megan)  (Yep!  I'd say that pretty much sums it up!) 

Happy Belated Father's Day!!  

Thanks for all you do!  We love you!!!

Mornings - Bah Humbug!

You know those people who get up at 5am to go to Zumba or spin classes?  Or those other people who get up early to journal or blog?  Maybe you are familiar with folks who wake up and are immediately happy and ready to face the day.

Well, I am NOT one of those people.

I am soooooo not a morning person!  It doesn't matter if I am woken up by the alarm clock, the kids, or the birds chirping cheerily outside my window - getting out of bed is the hardest part of my day.  Once I do get up, I like to take my time waking up, although this is not always an option.  Ideally I could wake up no earlier than 7:00am and have an hour or so of "quiet time" to drink a cup of coffee while casually checking Facebook.  Then, I might not dislike mornings so much.  Sadly, of course, mornings like those rarely happen.   I know, I know - "Each new day is a new opportunity for happiness;"  "The early bird gets the worm" and all that jazz.  Well, I don't like worms anyway and I still don't like mornings!

My kids are sleepers, too, which can be a good thing or a very bad thing.  Of course, on Saturdays or summer vacation days I like love that they will sleep until 7:00 or 8:00 or even later.  Even better?  They are old enough now to entertain themselves for a while so I can catch a little extra shuteye. 

The problem comes, however, on school mornings.  Their alarm clocks NEVER actually wake them up.  So, on school mornings, I have to drag my grumpy self out of bed and then go room to room shaking and waking all of them.  Most mornings, Megan is pretty cooperative.  The other two- not so much.  Finally this year, the oldest (5th grade!) would get herself dressed and come downstairs only semi-comatose.  The youngest is quite possibly even worse than me.  On most school mornings, I literally had to sit her up and forcibly dress her limp body - like something akin to dressing a rag doll.

Since I don't like mornings, I can't really blame them or be upset with them for feeling the same way.  Despite that, though, take just a moment to ponder this equation:

1 grumpy mom + 2 grumpy kids + 1 additional sometimes grumpy kid + the typical morning rush = ???

Let's just say it's usually not pretty.  Fortunately, we are just ending our first week of summer vacation which means we have many more mornings of sleeping in and NOT waking up grumpy (hopefully) before we have to go back to that dreadful routine!

How about you??  Are you a morning person?  Are your kids early risers??

This post was written as part of Finish The Sentence Friday which is hosted by the following bloggers.  Please give them a visit and see all the other blogs that participate as well!

Janine at Janine’s Confessions of a Mommyaholic

Stephanie at Mommy, for Real

Kate at Can I Get Another Bottle of Whine?

Dawn at Dawn’s Disaster

Tuesday Ten - Things I Learned from my Dad

This Sunday, June 16th, is Father's Day.  I thought that, since I wrote Ten Things I Learned from my Mom, I would make this week's Tuesday Ten Ten Things I Learned from my Dad!  So, here goes . . .

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Ten Things I Learned From My Dad

1.  Not to throw like a girl - My dad is a big sports fan - especially baseball and basketball.  When I was younger, I played some sports myself including basketball, softball, and tennis.  Thanks to my dad, I don't throw like a girl!  I throw a ball properly. ;-)  That's not to say that I have a super strong arm - I do not.  However, I do have a proper technique!
2.  The Importance of history - My dad loves history.  He taught high school history for over thirty years and he reads books about history all the time.  He can recite dates and spout off historical facts as if he, himself, was a history book!  Through hearing him discuss history, I have learned how important our history actually is; how every event has shaped how we live today.  It has also made me painfully aware of how much today's history books are missing and I hope I can teach my daughters as well as my dad has taught me.
3.  The importance of family - This coincides with #2, because your family IS your history.  Even if you don't like all of them; even if you don't know all of them, your family is where you come from - they are your history.  My dad has shown me how important and meaningful keeping up with family connections can be.
4.  The joy of competition -  Through sports, my dad has taught me how much fun a little competition can be.  I always enjoyed playing for the win and seeing how far my team could go.
5. You can't win 'em all -  This kind of goes along with the last one because, although winning is obviously more fun, nobody wins every time.  My dad taught me that's o.k.  You still hold your head high and just try harder the next time.
6.  Stubbornness - I realize that stubbornness can be a negative thing, but there is also something to be said for knowing yourself and not letting anything sway you away from that foundation.  My dad holds firm to his beliefs and convictions.  He has never taken the popular stance on an issue just because it was what everyone else did or because it was easier that way.  He is confident in who he is and what he believes and he does not falter.  Ever.
7.  How to treat a woman and have a strong marriage -  My mom and dad have been married for 40+ years.  Their marriage is strong because they respect each other and communicate effectively.  I have never once heard my dad raise his voice or treat my mom like anything other than an equal.  When I was old enough to begin dating and searching for "Mr. Right," I had high expectations of how I wanted to be treated in a relationship because seeing my dad with my mom taught me how a man should  treat a woman and let me know that I should not settle for anything less.
8.  To appreciate the simple things in life - My dad is the only person
I know who goes into Kilwins' with 20+ ice cream flavors from which to choose and orders vanilla every time.  He just doesn't need the frills.  He is perfectly content with the house my parents have lived in for nearly 40 years.  His car is almost older than my marriage.  And, that's o.k. with him because he realizes that there are more important things in life than just "stuff" and he is content with "simple" blessings.
9.  How to speak in front of a crowd - My dad was a teacher, so he spoke in front of students all day long.  However, I have also seen him speak in front of a church congregation and I have seen him give several speeches.  He is honestly one of the best speakers I have ever heard or seen.  He never seems the least bit nervous.  He speaks slowly and clearly.  He makes his point concisely.  I have heard many others who should take a few lessons from my dad.
10.  Faith - In my post about my mom, I said, "There was always an undertone of Faith in our house as I grew up.  It wasn't an in-your-face kind of faith, but it was always there.  That solid foundation has allowed me to further explore my own personal faith as an adult."  Of course, my dad was a big factor in that as well, so he deserves credit for it, too! 

Happy Father's Day Daddy!!!  I love you and admire you some much!  I'm so glad you're my dad!!