Lil V and her Buddy Club.

My daughter, Little V, has a big heart. She is friends with everybody and works hard to make sure everyone feels included and loved. She and 7 other 2nd graders at her school even started a club with this very purpose. They founded the Buddy Club after hearing a bully prevention lecture in class. 

In
 the
 students’
own 
words,
the 
purpose 
of 
the 
group 
is
 “to 
watch 
out 
for
 bullies, 
prevent 
fights, 
teach
 kids 
to
 stand up 
for 
themselves
 and 
look
 for
 kids that
 are
 sad”. 

To
 advertise 
this 
group, 
the kids 

made 
posters
 that 
are 
hung 
around
 the
 school, announced 
on 
the 
school
 intercom
 encouraging
 all
 to
 join
 the
 club, 
presented 
to 
each
 class
 the 
purpose
 of 
the
 club
 and 
made
 a
 link 
to 
our
 school 
website 
for 
parents 
and
 students 
to 
view.

 Because 
of 
this 
group, 
a 
“Buddy
Bench” 
was
 ordered
 and
 placed
 on 
the
 playground
 so 
group 
members
 can 
help 
those at 
the 
bench.

 Any member 
of 
the 
Buddy 
Club
 
will 
come
 to 
the
 aid
 of
 anyone 
in
 need. 



The
 group
 meets
 at
 least 
once 
a 
month
 over 
lunch 
to
 brainstorm 
techniques 
in
 helping 
on 
the 
playground. 



At 
the 
beginning 
of
 each 
new
 school 
year,
 the
 club 
will
 talk 
to 
the
 student
 body 
about 
how 
to 
be 
a
 buddy 
on 
the 
playground. 


This 
student 
led
 group 
is now 
a 
permanent
 part 
of
 our
 school. It was an amazing success. My daughter used it more than once. When Little V's friend "Mary" got a new best friend "Lexi", there was some conflict. Lexi did not like Little V and didn't want to play with her or let Mary play with her either. So, my Little V went and sat on the bench. Soon, fellow member "Carlos" came running up and listened to the problem. Then, they went together to talk to Lexi. With a neutral third party, the problem was quickly worked out. This is a way for kids to work their problems out on their own. This is kids supporting each other. It is amazing! The counselor wrote up what they did and submitted it for a Kansas Promising Practice Award. We won! We were then entered into the national award and we were selected as a 2014 Promising Practice award winner by the Character Education Partnership. This is what she wrote about the impact this has had on our school so far after just one year: "Students 
are 
becoming 
less 
worried
 about 
specific 
clicks 
of 
friends 
and 
are 
becoming 
more 
interested 
in 
helping 
out 
others.
 For example,
 instead
 of 
fighting 
over 
the 
soccer 
ball 
at 
recess, 
they
 are
 learning 
to
 teach 
each
 other 
how 
to 
play
 soccer. 

Because 
of
this club,
 office 
referrals 
are
 going 
down 
as 
students 
are
 spending 
their
 energy 
on 
helping 
instead 
of 
hurting 
others. 

The 
more 
students 
see 
they 
have
 the 
peers
 on 
their
 side,
 they 
will 
feel
 less
 worried
 about
 recess, 
bullying 
and 
friendships;
 this
 will
 then
 lead
 to
 fewer 
students 
missing 
school
(an 
increase 
in 
attendance 
rate)

Daily, 
students 
are
 asking 
to
 join 
the
 buddy 
club
 and 
are 
excited
 to 
be
 a 
part
 of
 this 
movement.


 There for 
a 
strong 
sense 
of
 community 
and
 pride 
is 
being
 created
 in 
our
school.
" That, my friends makes this Mama so proud. She has already said she can't wait to plant a new Buddy Club at her next school. I can't wait to see her making a difference anywhere we go.

Memorial Day

My military man crush Monday: Captain Pugh works hard, he travels all over the world, he misses so much to give us everything we could ever want/need. I love him and I am so proud to call him my husband.

Military Monday

So, we are getting ready to move later this year. It is our first real move as a military family. We have been so very lucky to stay home for all these years. Steven was in the reserves and between the deployments, schools and that recruiting tour that we do NOT talk about, we never had to move. My girls have thus far been only minutes away from both sets of grandparents, all of their aunts, uncles and cousins. The girls just had their first real deployment in 2011 and now their first move. I think it is the perfect one for our family. Only four hours away, a similarly sized town and similar climate. We can come home on weekends if we want/need to. We will be right by Tablerock, which means that family will probably want to come and visit us on occasion. I am a bit apprehensive. Transferring colleges right as I am ready to start a nursing program is scary. Transferring the kids to a new school makes this mama nervous. Yet, Steven has sacrificed so much to make sure we are comfortable and this is the best thing for his career right now. At this point, we are all excited and nervous. It is hard to predict the future but my girls are strong little ladies. We are going to rock this! New experiences and new places await. Remind me, I really need to tell my husband we prefer beaches over blizzards......

Wordless Wednesday

The man, the legacy.

My husband's grandfather passed away this morning. I loved that man. He was one of the most intelligent people I ever met and he had a heart of gold. He treated me like one of the family from the moment we were introduced. He was a great husband who cared for his wife over 61 years. He was a writer, a photographer, an amazing cook, a veteran, a hard worker. He was an amazing storyteller, with a dry but impecable sense of humor. There are so many people who are going to miss him. I know that I will everyday.

Date Night

Every few weeks my husband and I let our girls go spend the night with my parents. We then go on something called a date. For those of you who may not remember, that means you can eat dinner and have a few drinks without talking about boogers, playground drama, or Harry Potter. (Unless you want to) It is wonderful and something we have waited a long time to be able to do. The only thing missing was live music. We don't like going to movies all the time and I am not a big drinker. Sometimes it is nice to sit and talk, or enjoy a good band. Everywhere we travel has bars or small venues that always have live music. Wichita is a decent sized town with lots of great restaurants, shops and bars. Live music is a huge draw but, unfortunately, it is a lot harder to find here. We worked to find a list of good places before heading out last weekend. We found Larkspur downtown has a live jazz band from 5:30pm to 10:30pm on their patio in the summer. Hotel Old Town also has a jazz group playing in their lounge from 5:30 to 8:30pm. We also discovered an amazing duo called the Erin Alan Project. It is a small band that performs 60's, 70's and 80's classics with a few original pieces mixed in. Overall, it was a great time. We got a few suggestions for next time. Mike's Wine Dive and the Monarch. Where are your favorite places in town to go jam out? Music, people, music!

Little Miss is obsessed with Ellen

My daughter is obsessed with Ellen. I do not know where she first heard about or saw her, but it is now a big deal. She wants to watch her show every day, she talks about her like they are besties, she discusses what would happen if she were ever on the show. It is funny. Little Miss started discovering just how much her and Ellen have in common. She loves to play pranks and could not believe that Ellen did too. She loves to dance, she loves animals. She is now showing me dance moves that she should try out before she goes on the show(like that is a certainty). She asked for Ellen underwear. She wants me to record her pranks so she can show Ellen. I feel like there are far worse celebrities she could fixate on. Ellen is a good person, with a good heart. She is funny and charismatic. If my daughter wants to work to become more like Ellen, I know I am ok with that.