Friday Fun: Little Picassos!

Happy Friday!

The other day while dropping Anna off at day care, I had the pleasure of spending some time with her little friends as well. They are such adorable kids! Anna decided she wanted to draw me a picture to bring to work, and then a little boy walked up to me and gave me a picture he had just drawn and said, "This is for you, too!" (I know the names of everyone in Anna's class but I don't publish them without talking to their parents first so we'll keep them anonymous this time.)

Anna's pic on left, 1st little boy's pic on right

No More Distraction

Distraction is inevitable....to some extent. Ours is a fast-paced world that prizes productivity and multitasking, so finding ourselves distracted at times from the task at hand is unavoidable.

Except when it comes to our kids, that is.

You see, the kind of distraction I'm talking about is the technology-induced, smart phone-related kind. It's the temptation we all seem to have (yes, myself included) to check our Facebook account or e-mail or text messages with an often ridiculous frequency. Let's face it, there's probably nothing new from your last check-in a minute ago.

And, more importantly, while you're reading notifications and status updates and junk e-mail messages, your kids are there, waiting for your undivided attention.

Do they get it?

Other than for picture taking, we really don't need phones at the beach...

Something to Consider

Continuing with our recent self-improvement theme, I found this gorgeous photo with a lot of even better things to say. It touches on the things I discussed last week in the posts "Get a Life!" and "Finding Me."

Instead of beating ourselves up for our past mistakes or hardships, we should be proud of ourselves for learning from them and for persevering despite what we've been through. Something to think about, as we try to look forward rather than backward. Have a great day!

The Hard Is What Makes It Great

I'm sure some of you recognize this quote from the movie, "A League of Their Own." Tom Hanks portrays Jimmy Dugan, the manager of a World War II-era women's baseball team. He's trying to talk his star player, Dottie (played by Geena Davis), out of giving up the game mid-season to go start a family. When Dottie says things just got too hard, Jimmy replies:

"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard...is what makes it great."

I've thought back to this quote a number of times over the years, especially when I've doubted myself or my ability to get through something. I've reminded myself that nothing worth doing is ever that easy, and that sometimes the best things aren't supposed to be easy.

The hard is what makes it great.

Hanks & Davis, "A League of Their Own" (photo from classic--movies.blogspot.com)

Photo of the Week: Hey Batter, Batter!

Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend.

We're kicking off another work week with our photo(s) of the week. Having been a big baseball fan in my younger years, when I encountered a giant plastic bat and ball at the grocery store last week for only $3.50, I couldn't resist.

Anna was so excited to get home from school to find the bat and ball waiting for her. Thankfully, it was a lovely evening so we could practice in the yard. I should get her a tee when I'm able to, but in the meantime, hopefully this bat is fat enough that she can learn to hit with it!

My little slugger!