Are you friend or parent?

Both.

Brytin and I went through some growing pains earlier this school year and I picked up a bunch of stepparenting books that I thought would solve the household's problems.

Of course, it was just a phase and all is well now, but I still learned a few things from the books.

From "7 steps to bonding with your stepchild" by Suzen J. Ziegahn, I read this little gem that I want to share with you.

Pages 25 and 26:

"One of the best ways to build rapport with your stepchild is to balance being a friend with being an additional parent. As you may be thinking, there is an incredibly fine line between the two roles. If you act only as a parent, you may create a wall between you and your stepchild; he will see you only as an authority figure and resist any efforts on your part to socialize with him. But how do you be a parent and a friend? Well, interestingly, this is easier to accomplish in the stepparent role.

"As a stepparent, you will participate in raising your stepchildren, and the stepchildren need to recognize this.But you also have an opportunity to be a companion, mentor, and friend to your stepchild outside of the parenting role. How? Even though you are an additional parent to them, you are still different from his biological parents. And when children need to confide in someone, often they will not confide in their parents, for any number of reasons. They see their parents as just that - their parents, and fail to see individual character qualities that other people see. For example, your own father or mother may be a wonderful listener, but would you have realized that when you were growing up? Probably not.

"Your stepchildren see you as an adult, outside of the parental definition of adults, which to children doesn't exist I(parents are not adult, they are parents). If you approach your stepchildren correctly, you can be both the disciplinarian/parent and someone they respect enough to confide in and share important details of their lives with. So, put on your best diplomatic face, and be stepchild-friendly. This will increase the chance of a successful relationship. Plus there is always the possibility that your stepchild likes you, admires you, and would like to be friends with you. Getting your stepchild to like you as a person, a separate individual from his biological parent, will allow your stepchild to see your strengths and weaknesses. It will encourage your stepchild to make conscious choices about relationships with other adults he chooses to spend time with, and chooses as a mentor for his own life."

For many reasons, Brytin and I have a unique non-biological relationship, but it still fits that I get to be his friend :)

Oh, Baby!

My trip to Hawaii brought home a souvenir - a pregnancy!

The GREAT news is that a baby means I'll get to stay at Loma Elementary for another five years (hence the name change to "Elementary Escapades")! Go Leopards!

Brytin is very excited for the pending baby arrival.

He saw a breastfeeding video with me...he became very worried. "The baby isn't going to get confused and try to get food from ME is he?!!"

We don't know if it is a boy or a girl, and hopefully won't know until it is born. In the interim, I say him/her interchangably. I refer to "cupcake" or "muffin" or even Baby Bruce (Broussard).

If you haven't noticed already, scatterbrained is my biggest symptom. ("Pregnancy Stupids" as Jenny McCarthy calls them.)

NFL Spirit Week

In an effort to win Loma $10,000 this awesome momma put together an NFL Spirit Week loaded with fun activities for the students.

Back to Football Friday

NFL Spirit Week at Loma started with Training Camp on Sept 10. Kids ran through tires and competed in speed drills. During recess Monday through Thursday we helped the kids compete in a football toss and a football kick competition. Kids who wore jerseys throughout the week stuck pins in a map in lunchroom showing where their favorite team plays. Each grade had a football trivia contest, a football math worksheet and a healty living poster contest to work on in their own time. The week concluded with an End Zone Dance Competition and a tailgating party.

Training Camp: Tire Run


Poster Contest: Healthy Living


How Far Can You Throw?


Geography via Football


Human Spelling of NFL (sort of)


Clinic: Throwing and Kicking