She Works Hard for the Money...eh, eh...eh, eh

Lazy summer is not in my vocabulary. Despite working at a university, my summers are not downtimes because I coordinate the TRiO Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program which has an intensive Summer Research Institute of 27 students. Going into this job, I knew that meant that my summers would be intense too.  This year, however, is especially stressful compared to last year, because last year I had a supervisor who was highly involved and did much of the coordinating. This year, I am doing her work, plus my work from last year. Whew! It's been a great learning experience,though. I've always had trouble delegating, but I've had to do that more or else I just couldn't get it all done!

Despite all the stress, I still love this program. As an alumna, I am a success story of the program, having earned my PhD (not to brag, just to point out what the purpose of the program is and my commitment as a scholar). And now, it is truly a privilege to work for McNair and see my Scholars develop over the summer. They come in shy, inexperienced, rough around the edges, and they leave confident, skilled, and polished. I know for me it changed my life in one summer and I hope to do that for my students too.

Unfortunately, McNair and other TRiO programs are financially threatened due to federal budget cuts. The worst case scenario (in my biased opinion) is the very real possibility that ALL McNair programs nation-wide will be defunded. This would be an absolute tragedy. At my institution alone, we've seen at least 34 alumni earn doctorates in the past 5 years. These are earned by people from low-income families, who's parents did not got to college, and/or who are underrepresented in higher education. That is quite a feat!

You can help me possibly save McNair and other TRiO Programs by signing this petition.

I've personally been debating about working and having a family, and if this job is the right fit for me at this time. I'm still thinking and praying about that (and would appreciate your prayers). If this program is defunded, however, I'll be out of a job. More importantly, literally hundreds of thousands of students will be affected.

I'm fighting for this job, even if I were to eventually leave it. I'm working hard for McNair and to get the word out so the feds will keep funding TRiO programs! Thus the reference to Donna Summer's great hit:


What's up with the dude in the yellow shorts and knee guards?

B-day TP

Tey has taken pride in being really helpful around the house over the past few weeks. On his 3rd Birthday, I asked him to open a package of toilet paper and bring a couple rolls to each of the bathrooms. He got really excited and said, "It's my birthday, so I get to open the toilet paper!" as if he were unwrapping a birthday present.

Business Etiquette

Driving though a business district where construction was going on.
Me: I wonder what they are building there.
Bean: Maybe a house.
Me: Possibly, but this is a business district, so it's probably a business of some kind.
Bean: We shouldn't go in there then. It's not polite to get into people's business.

Risky Research Question

Research Question #1: Can I get wake up at 8am, drop Bean off at school and still make it to work on time?

Hypothesis: I can not wake up at 8am, drop Bean off at school and still make it to work on time.

Finding: After waking up at 8am scrambling around like a chicken with it's head cut off, and with much help from my superhearo husband, Bean and I got out the door at 8:20. I was able to get him to school soon after 8:30 and leave fairly quickly. On his way out of the van he did spill his cereal and about had a meltdown. I made sure I gave him the right amount of comforting words and hugs to let him know it was ok, and then I booked it out of there without guilt that I was abandoning him. The traffic lights were especially good to me and there were plenty of parking spaces close to my work. I made it to work ON TIME!

Conclusions: Despite being able to arrive to work on time, the amount of stress associated with running late make it not worth the extra couple minutes of sleep. It also does not allow for the unexpected of wrenches of kids, which should be expected to be thrown in sometime randomly. This time Bean recovered quickly from being upset, but I that might not have happened and then I would have had to chose between being there for my kid or being late to work.

Discussion: For me being a good mama bird means allowing for extra time for delays for just the occasion that an eaglet would need more of me for a longer time. I know that when I factor in time to account for my kids needing to take their kid time, life is a lot less stressful. Many times recently things run miraculousness smoothly, and we get to school early with a couple minutes of free choice time together! The fun we have together before I need to head to work, puts me in the right spirits to do my job knowing that my kids are also have a good time away from me. If you are a working mom, what do you do to help you feel like you are juggling work and family ok?

Decorah Eagles

Ever since a friend posted the link to this live video of the Decorah Eagles, I have been hooked.


Broadcasting Live with Ustream.TV

Something is so inspiring about watching the Decorah Eagles up close and personal, simply going about their daily business.

Bald Eagles are mated for life. DH and I have been married for 6 years. It's enough to know it takes a lot of commitment and hard work to make it last a lifetime.

Right now mom and dad eagles are taking turns incubating 3 eggs. I'm coming to realize how short my kids' childhoods are. It seems all too soon that they will be leaving our nest as adults. It also highlights the important fact that their quality of life depends on our parenting, especially when they are young enough to be our responsibility and not their own. This makes want to be a better mama bird by slowing down, appreciating the gift and privilege it is to be a mother, and making sure I do the best job I can.

Lastly, knowing that bald eagles are a threatened species, the lives of each of these eagles are even more precious. It's easy for me to see the similarities to my own children. Though their lives are not threatened, per say, each of their well-being is so important to me. Seeing this live eagle family also puts things in perspective for me in a more global sense. It makes me stop to think about how my family's lives impact the world and the environment that we live in; my precious eaglet trio in some way has an impact on these eaglets. I don't take lightly that God not only made me steward of my own children, but also of this beautiful earth and its inhabitants, including the Decorah Eagles.

Another Eaglet, another blog

I've been thinking about starting a new blog for a while. After going back and forth about about public versus private, I've decided to go public and use pseudonymous for the sake of privacy. So, without further ado, I introduce to you our eldest son, Bean at 4.5 years old:
Our middle child, Tey, at 2.5 years old:
And our newest addition, Mei-Mei, at just about 5 months.