Summer Schedule

The Young Maker Teen has a summer that will move in fits and starts. A week or two without much going on, followed by week of half-day camp, more nothing, then away for a week, home to unscheduled bliss and then away for three weeks.

Because he's something of a planner and organizer (just don't ask to see his bedroom) he presented me with this proposed daily schedule which I'm sharing with his blessing:

7:30 - 8:00    wake-up, eat breakfast, brush teeth, get dressed
8:00 - 8:30    exercise
8:30 - 9:00    play computer
9:00 - 11:00  build/make, read, do whatever is planned (WHIP)
11:00 - 12:00 lunch, play computer
12:00 - 3:00   WHIP, pool, or library
3:00 - 5:00     park
5:00 - 6:00     play computer
6:00 - 7:00     eat dinner
7:00 - 7:30     exercise
7:30 - 8:00     play computer
8:00 -9:30      family time

I'm not sure how well we'll actually stick to this, but I appreciate his attempts to bring structure and balance to the lazy days of summer. As I type this, he's working on a Pinewood Derby car I picked up at a garage sale this morning. This after a brief jog on his part (I, however, logged over 2.5 miles as I'm training for a 5K that I thought was later this month, but is actually next week--yikes!) and some time at the computer.

The older boy has his last final of freshman year this morning. He's going to be swimming in the (early) morning and, for the first two weeks of summer, will spend his afternoons as a teaching assistant in a computer programming class for middle schoolers (dream first job!). Summer school will start later this month, filling up his mornings. Most days will be topped off with an evening swim session. Oh, and he'll be teaching swim lessons on weekend mornings.

Forget what I said about lazy days of summer. I think we'll all be keeping quite busy!

Time for a Mammogram

This morning on Facebook my friend Melanie posted a reminder about keeping up with annual mammograms because a friend of hers was recently diagnosed at her annual visit. I happen to have a similar reminder sitting on my desk, but it's those gestures from friends that tend to kick me into action. I know some bloggers who make a pointing of posting about mammograms and pap smears for that very reason.

At any rate, in keeping with my theme of revisiting old blog posts AND proving my increasing senility, here's what I wrote on May 29, 2012:

My informal research indicates that women who hear or read about their girlfriends getting mammograms are 72% more likely to pick up the phone and schedule their own overdue screenings than other women. That's why I'm sharing that I had my girls checked out today.
Lucky me, our local Nordstrom has a mammography suite.
Seriously.
They partnered with a local hospital to offer general breast screenings. They don't provide ultrasounds or high level screenings, though.

So yeah, here comes my annual trip to the local shopping mall.

Oh, and I can't leave out this little gem of haiku from 2006:

boobs in a vise grip 

smooshed for just a few seconds 

my first mammogram

Are you due for a check? Make that call!

Office Depot Helps Teachers

And Office Depot is helping me help teachers, too. In my final post of this series, Office Depot is walking the talk. They provided me with a collection of classroom supplies packaged in a fabulous "Workmate" office-on-wheels bag and a $100 gift certificate to award to a special teacher or two.

Here's how I split the bounty:

If you've ever sat through an beginner band performance, you know there is a very special place in heaven for elementary school band directors. Simply teaching young children how to play and care for their instrument is a tremendous task. Combine that with coordinating the fledgling musicians to play en masse? Well, that takes a tremendous amount of patience and effort.

Ms. Saks, our school's band director teaches instrument play and musicianship in grades 4-8. She gives the job her all, getting to school early, leaving late and dipping into her own pockets whether it's to buy doughnuts for her students for an extra early morning practice session, band supplies, or classroom materials. She has high expectations and makes the kids work hard to meet them. And the band sounds fantastic.

She is such a gift to her students (even if they don't recognize it during yet another early morning practice), so it was exciting for me to give her a gift of a $100 to spend at Office Depot. She was so excited and has no shortage of ways to spend it to benefit her students.

When I first learned that Office Depot's REAL change campaign partnered with Adopt a Classroom.org, I clicked around the site to see which local schools already had active pages. I noticed that my son's former computer teacher, now a Chicago Public School teacher, and his colleagues from West Ridge Elementary School were taking advantage of this great site. I knew I wanted to share Office Depot's generosity with them, as well. 

This Saturday before the start of Scratch Day Chicago, I'm giving Brian Myers the super deluxe Workmate bag filled with school supplies from Office Depot and books  for the school library. The books came from local resale shops and made a brief appearance as centerpieces at my son's recent bar mitzvah. Once the books and supplies are removed bag Brian will have space to tote several laptops around with ease. That should come in handy because he also works with programs outside of school like Have Dreams.

It's not too late to tell your favorite teachers about Office Depot’s charity partner, AdoptaClassroom.org and participate in the REAL Change Project! What a great opportunity to be eligible for funding from donors around the country. And how fun would it be to surprise one of your former teachers with a gift through the site?

As a parent, I like when teachers take advantage of sites like this. Sometimes you want to do a little something for a teacher who has made that extra effort for your child and it's nice to know what they'd really like to help them continue to make a difference.


Disclosure: I am an Office Depot REAL Change blog ambassador. This post is part of a campaign where I was compensated for my time. To learn more about REAL Change, visit their website.

Happy Mother's Day!

It's hard to believe this is my 15th Mother's Day. I still remember the first one. We took out little bambino for a morning stroll at the Botanic Gardens. It was probably one of our first family outings. This year I'll start out the day with breakfast in bed taking my son to the synagogue at 9:00 to sell his seed bombs (he's halfway to his goal!) followed by a soccer game and dinner at my moms. I guess we'll celebrate with my in-laws on Saturday; I'll see what my husband has planned. Silly me, it's Mother's Day and I have to make the plans, right?



Here's another thing I never thought I'd say. "Honey, go ahead and get me a weed whacker for Mother's Day." But I did. I'm practical like that.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Feeling Buggy

A huge black bug scampered across the laundry room floor after I grabbed something from my son's clothes pile on the floor to toss in the washing machine. The critter quickly took cover under a plastic garbage bag that's supposed to be hanging from the laundry room door, but was also on the floor.

My heart pounding (did I mention it was huge?), I stomped all over the bag hoping that I was squishing whatever was beneath the bag. I pounded the floor with my foot several times (and possibly let out a scream and a curse or two) then quieted down to listen for the crunching sounding that would indicate the end of the dark creature's life.

When I felt confident enough to move the bag, I lifted it up to find...a shiny black bouncy ball of the type that comes out of a gumball machine. After breathing a sigh of relief and swearing under my breath (this time at my sloppy kids), I hung the trash bag in its rightful spot on the door and promptly deposited the ball inside.

Guess who will be cleaning their rooms and doing laundry tonight?

Take Action to End Gun Violence

Take action to end gun violence. Mayors Against Illegal Guns has a campaign running sharing 5 easy ways to get involved to stem the spread of illegal guns and the violence they cause. Click now to take a step toward ending gun violence.

Help a Teacher Out with Adopt A Classroom and Win

I wasn't kidding when I wrote that teaches around the country give their all to students each day. For many teachers, that means dipping into their own wallets, something that 92% of teachers report doing. Although teachers can write off up to $250 in classroom expenses on their federal taxes, the reality is that many spend much more than that --we're talking $1,000-- outfitting their classrooms and ensuring that all students have the supplies they need to succeed.

I once saw a teacher with a "giving tree" bulletin board in her classroom. Each paper apple on the tree listed an item she hoped to acquire for her room. The items ranged in price from a bottle of hand sanitizer to a classroom dictionary and beyond. It was a cute idea, but parents rarely enter the classroom. Here's something better: AdoptAClassroom.org. It's like a giving tree in the cloud, a wish list that can be accessed by almost anyone, at anytime, in any place.

As the second part of my work with Office Depot, I'm pleased to share that if you donate to a classroom as part of the REAL Change campaign, the recipient will be able to spend 100% of that money to secure school and classroom supplies at Office Depot. Nothing off the top, no transaction fees.

Whether you're a teacher or an outside helper, learn how you can get involved in the REAL Change campaign and sign on to Adopt A Classroom.

As you see in the graphic above, Office Depot is hosting a #TeachersChangeLives Pinterest Sweepstakes. Enter to win gift cards for you and your favorite teacher. Three winners will receive a $100 Office Depot gift card for each along with a $50 gift card for the teacher of your choice.

Create a board per the instructions above and then be sure to report your #TeachersChangeLives board here. Looking for examples? Check out Office Depot's board. Good luck!

Disclosure: I am an Office Depot REAL Change blog ambassador. This
post is part of a campaign where I was compensated for my time.