Hardest Part About Growing Up

30 things I want my kids to know about me

Day 13

Hardest part about growing up

Growing up isn't easy. There are many hard parts I think. For me, one of the hardest parts about growing up was not feeling that I belonged. I didn't feel like I belonged at church or school, two very important places for a child/teenager. It didn't bother me so much as a child, it really started about the time I turned 11. I went to a different school than most of the people I went to church with so it was hard to talk with them about school. I didn't know most of the people they were talking about, I wasn't there for such and such event and I didn't have the same teachers. I even lived in a different part of town so we didn't know the same people. 

My best friend Jenny really helped. She knew I didn't know people so she would tell me about them and include me in the conversation. I love her to this day for all she did to help me feel wanted at church.

School was a different story. I am shy and do not like big groups of people. So I kept to myself, had a few friends and did my school work. I got good grades too. No one likes the good students though so I got teased quite a bit. It was hard to ignore some of it. I made it through though, learned a lot of hard lessons and I feel that I am better know. I know where I belong and have gotten to the point where I am very happy with my circumstances. I don't need large groups of friends to be happy. I belong with my family and few close friends that I have.

A Day in the Life

30 Things I want my kids to know about me

Day 12
A Day in the Life of Me!

What does a typical day look like for me? Well that depends on the time of year. Right now I am on summer break from school so a typical day now looks very different from a typical day during the school year. So we'll focus on a typical day during the summer.

I wake up when the dogs wake me up. It can range anywhere from 6:30-8:15. If they wake me up at 6:30, I feed them, put them outside and go back to bed.

If it is a more reasonable time, like 7:30-8ish, I get up, get dressed and stay up. My morning routine looks something like this.
Feed Dogs
Eat Breakfast
Check and fill water bottle my Husband
Check all things on computer while waiting an hour
do my exercise for the day. I run 3 days a week and work strength training the other 3 days.
Then I quietly read or chat with my sister until my husband wakes up
Then it's lunch, dishes, pick up house, other things that need to be done. 
Make dinner, sometimes watch a movie or read or whatever needs to be done. then shower and bed.
Not the most glamorous life but I love it and am very happy :)

Pet Peeves

30 Things I want my kids to know about me

Day 11

Pet Peeves

I have pet peeves and today's prompt is to list 10 of them. However, as I was thinking abut this topic this morning, I decided not to list any. I came to the conclusion that pet peeves are nothing more than behaviors of others that annoy you. Everyone is different! We all like to do things differently. Just because I may not like something you are doing, does not mean it is wrong.

I've noticed that some of the things that used to be considered a pet peeve, don't bother me any more. I find myself trying hard to exercise self control over these feelings and look at the person differently. It's a part of who they are and if I say I love them then I should love all of them. I'm sure there are things I do that could be considered a pet peeve to someone. I know I am not perfect. 
So today I will focus on the good in others and not small, insignificant behaviors that in the grand scheme of things, are not important.

Embarrassing Moments

30 Things I want my kids to know about me

Day 10

My most embarrassing moment

I can honestly say I don't have a most embarrassing moment. That's not to say I don't get embarrassed. I do. I am known for opening my mouth and inserting foot. I say or do things that make me embarrassed but I laugh about it and move on. 
 Sorry for the very short post but there is nothing to say on this topic! :)

One of the people who have influenced me

30 Things I Want My Kids to Know About Me

Day 9

Someone who has influenced me

There are many people who have influenced me in my life. Today I want to talk about one of them.

My Grandpa Schneider has been a huge influence in my life. He has always been a hard working man and has supported his family. My mom would talk about how he would work hard when she was growing up but also had time for his family. 

Grandpa loves my Grandma very much. He has very high respect for her and I love to see them together. He loves each of his children, their spouses and all his grand and great grandchildren. 

Grandpa has a very strong testimony of the church. He has served in many callings and has done so cheerfully. I have never once in my life heard him complain about any calling he has had. He is so willing to lend a helping hand whenever it is needed. 

Grandpa also loves people. He is soft spoken but his genuine concern for people draws them to him. I love going places with him because he knows almost everybody. He will stop and talk to people, inquire after their families and visit for a bit. He is loved throughout the community.

Grandpa has a deep love for our country. He flies a flag every day and serves in the community helping veterans. He served in the Korean war. That experience changed his life. It gave him direction. He has great respect for those that served and continue to serve today.

Grandpa, I have always looked up to you. Your leadership and love for the family has always meant a lot to me. I have always felt peace and love in your home. I have great respect for you and love you very much. Thank you for showing me how to love, serve and respect others. Thank you for raising my mom who was able to pass these teachings on to me. Thank you for your strong testimony in the Savior Jesus Christ. Thank you for listening to me when I needed to talk. Thank you for being an example in my life. 
 I love you!
Carol

5 Favorite Things

30 Things I want my kids to know about me

Day 8

5 of  my favorite things

1. Quiet reading time. I love time when I can bury my nose in a book and disappear into another world. It is one of my favorite things to to.

2. Spending time with my family. I like time with my husband, time with my children, and time with my extended family. I love all my family and enjoy the time I get to spend with them.

3. Listening to music. Music is so important to me. It calms me down, motivates me and many other things. Music is such a huge part of my every day life.

4. Running. This is a new favorite thing to do. I like the time to move my body. I like how I feel now that I am tying to exercise regularly. I have more energy, sleep better and overall just feel good.

5. Being at home. I love staying at home. Some times my life gets busy and I am going, going, going. Staying at home is nice because I get to relax and just be at home.    

Dream job

30 things I want my kids to know about me

Day 7

What is my dream job and why

 My dream job is to be a stay at home mother. My mom was home when we were growing up and I loved the sense of security it gave me. No matter what, she was there if we needed her. Our home was clean and peaceful. Friends like to come there. I always wanted to have that for my children. However, life has taken me in another direction. I have been very fortunate to be able to attend college. So I made sure I chose a career path that I would love too.

So my work outside the home dream job is to be an elementary school teacher. I want to be able to make a difference in these young students' lives. The closer I get to graduation, the more I know I made the right decision. I love being in the classroom and working with them. I love what I do and look forwad to having my own classroom of students.

 

3 Wishes

30 Things I want my kids to know about me

Day 6

3 Wishes

Image from Google Images



If I could have 3 wishes what would they be?

This one was hard. I really had to think about it.

So wish number 1
I would wish that I had enough money to pay off all debt and to live comfortably the rest of my life. I would want to make sure my family was taken care of. I don't want a big fancy house and fancy car, just a comfortable lifestyle.  

Wish 2
I would wish that my childhood dream of living next door to my best friend would come true. We always wanted to be able to raise our children together and have each other around. Life took us in different directions but we still talk about how much fun it would be to be neighbors.

Wish 3
 I would wish that I could teleport. Sometimes I feel I waste so much time driving. I would like to be able to just teleport to my destination and be there. I could spend more time doing important things. 
 
 

Things that make me happy

30 things I want my kids to know about me

Day 5

5 Things that make me most happy right now

1. Spending time with my husband. We have opposite schedules during the school year so it is hard to have quality time with him. When we do though, I love to spend time. 

2. Spending time with my children. I love this time as well. We don't do anything fancy but we always have fun doing it. 

3. Quiet time to write first thing in the morning. I love being up early to write in my blog. The house is still and I can hear birds chirping. It is a very peaceful time.

4. Reading a good book. Thanks to Goodreads, I have a whole list of books I want to bury my nose in. 

 5. Daily chatting with my sisters. I try to talk to both of my sisters daily. It doesn't matter what we talk about, we just talk. I love it and miss it when things get too busy.  

To my 16 year old daughter

Day 4

Dear Daughter,

I want you to know that I love you very much! I am so blessed and thankful to have you as my daughter. You have brought much joy into my life.

I want you to know that I am proud of you. You have many talents that you share and you also work hard. I know being a teenager isn't always easy but you are doing great in life. Keep up the hard work and the things you want for you life will happen.

Have fun and enjoy this time you are young! I love that you think it is cool to hang out with me and look forward to all the fun things we do. 

Remember to choose friends wisely that will help you in life. Continue to do well in school and work for your goals.  

Most of all, never forget that I love you and will always be here for you.

Love, Mom  

My relationship with my Husband

Day 3 Describe my relationship with my husband

My husband is my best friend. I love him very much. We have had many goods times and times where we have struggled as a couple. However, we have ALWAYS worked things out. I can talk to him about anything. We have grown closer over the years we have been married. I love how he has supported me going back to school and in whatever decision I make in life. He is a very hard worker.

I love that we can talk, laugh, have fun and be serious. I love his testimony in the gospel. I am thankful every day to have him a part of my life.

  

Fears

30 Things I want my kids to know about me

Day 2

3 Legitimate Fears

Today I get to talk about 3 fears I have and explain how they became fears.

Fear number 1! I have a fear of drowning. I do not like to go in large bodies of water over 4 feet deep because of this fear. I can't swim because being in the water almost paralyzes me. I panic and can't breathe. I almost feel like the water is crushing me. I love being on the water in  boat or canoe because I feel safe there. 

I am not really sure how I got this fear. I don't remember a time in my life when I didn't have it. That said, as I have gotten older, it has gotten better. I used to not like going in over 3 feet deep. 

Fear number 2! I fear that if a disaster happens, I won't make it to my children. 

This fear happened after I got divorced and the world changed so much. Whenever I think about it though, I always feel peace that I don't need to have this worry or fear. I know that everything will be ok. My children will be fine and I will be there if they need me.

Fear number 3! Public speaking
I do not like speaking in front of a group of people. I can prepare all I want but the second I get up to speak, my mind goes blank and I can't make eye contact. I get sweaty palms and feel like my mouth doesn't want to work.

I really don't know how I got this fear. I suspect that because I have an introverted personality, I don't like it. To overcome the fear, I speak when asked. The more I do it, the better I get.  

30 Things I want my kids to know about me.

Thanks to Pinterest, I found a blog post with ideas for 30 days of writing. http://www.babymakingmachine.com/2012/11/30-things-my-kids-should-know-about-me.html

I love this idea and have decided to do it! So here goes! 

Day 1, 20 random facts about me.

1. I love James Bond movies
2. I want to run a 5k someday
3. I don't like the color pink
4. My longterm goals for the future are to become Nationally Licensed as a teacher and earn a Masters degree
5. I don't like to keep a journal so blogging isn't easy for me.
6. I love to walk around the mall with my children
7. May is one of my favorite months in the year
8. I love to eat popcorn
9. I'm currently reading A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
10. I love texting and talking to my sisters daily
11. I think Twizzlers make the perfect road trip snack
12. My lilacs are blooming and that makes me happy
13. I love to bake banana bread but don't like to eat it
14. I would rather clean a toilet then fold laundry
15. I will buy cleaning products based on price and scent
16. I love to walk through a store and touch things because I love how different textures feel
17. Some day I want to raise chickens
18. I don't have a Facebook account but I'm on twitter, instagram and Keek
19. Every year I tell my children they can't grow or get any older. They never listen :)
20. I recently learned how to crochet and love to do it to relax