We invited some friends over today to eat pancakes. Yep, that's how we roll. On a day off we eat pancakes and bacon, way too much bacon. And tomorrow we start it all over again. I have 5 books I need to scan for one client, and 7 yearbooks she wants me to scan, but I need to clarify what parts she wants scanned because if she wants me to scan ALL of those pages, her bill is going to be pretty steep. I will call her in the next couple of days to make sure I am clear. I also got an email from a possible client (or it was someone just fishing for info. I get those sometimes and I never hear from them again...).
Wednesday I will miss the first girl scout meeting I have ever missed in 5 years of being a leader. I am missing it because we will be in court on the bankruptcy hearing. It will be done then, no turning back, and hopefully we will catch our breath and see where we land. We are already doing better, trying to get the finances under control. It's not an easy thing to do, but at least I know we will make it through this, like other problems in the past, as a whole and happy family.
I had a long talk with my cousin the other day, a real wake up call, and I sure did appreciate that. I know I spread myself thin sometimes, all too thin, and I need to stop doing that. I won't be any good to anyone if I keep on taking on things because I am trying to be helpful. I do need to focus on work and making things better at home before I go off trying to change the world.
Thomas is doing better in school, I think. It has been a week since I heard from his teacher. We have him doing a writing prompt each morning in an attempt to get him up to speed on the skill of writing. His handwriting is bad... his printing is bad... and it slows him down so he doesn't write to his full potential. If we can build up his confidence in his writing I think things will start to fall in to place. He knows his multiplication tables to 12 now, which is what you need to get out of 5th grade. Good on him for that.
Glee will be selling girl scout cookies soon... and on another entirely separate note, she is going to apply for a $500 US Savings bond award, which she is hoping she will win. She has to write an essay and we have asked her 4th grade teacher to write a letter of recommendation for her. It's through an organization called CAG (California Association for GATE students). It's a state version of NACG or something like that.
So there you go... the update of what is happening here...
Monday, January 16, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
What to do with a boy...
As I mentioned, Thomas had a not so good report card. So, I am being proactive and asked his teacher to send home his journals so I could gauge what needs work. Seems like all of his work needs work. Oh, except math, he got an A, 92% on his math test. He got a C+ on his English test. His journals have notes all over them from the teacher asking for more details, to be more specific. He knows they say that. He knows what she is looking for. He just doesn't do it. She mentioned they had a conversation today about his work and she asked him why he didn't want to do better work. He told her he didn't like school. She asked if there was anything at all he did like about school and he said playing with his friends. She said he teared up a little when talking about it. That scares me. I asked him later tonight, while we were laying in bed talking about his new plan to write in a journal every day, I asked him if everything was okay at school. He said it was. I asked him why he told his teacher he didn't like school and he said he didn't know why he said that, but he really DOES like school. There is more to this story that I am going to have to suss out somehow.
I thought he might be bored. I thought he might feel like the questions that were being asked were just dumb. I have realized he is just like me. When I was a kid I did the bare minimum too. I never got satisfaction from doing more than what was required of me, so I didn't do it. He is exactly the same. If he finishes the work that is good enough for him. He doesn't have to do it great or more or bigger than anyone else, he just has to finish it. How do you teach someone to care more about something? Am I going to have to wait until college and he can study what he is actually interested in? Will he be able to write a paper then if he can't do it now in third grade?
I thought he might be bored. I thought he might feel like the questions that were being asked were just dumb. I have realized he is just like me. When I was a kid I did the bare minimum too. I never got satisfaction from doing more than what was required of me, so I didn't do it. He is exactly the same. If he finishes the work that is good enough for him. He doesn't have to do it great or more or bigger than anyone else, he just has to finish it. How do you teach someone to care more about something? Am I going to have to wait until college and he can study what he is actually interested in? Will he be able to write a paper then if he can't do it now in third grade?
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
2012 - The End of it All (?)
Okay, maybe not really... maybe only according to the Aztecs or the Incas or whomever it was whose calendar ended. This is really going to be a new beginning for me. I am going to try to right more here (and less on facebook).
So, we are in January, and Glee and Thomas have both been back in school for a few months, and we have had one report card and one parent/teacher conference. Glee is still on honor roll, on target for earning her Presidential Scholar award. She is still top of her class in almost everything. She struggles with spelling, and I am trying to help her with that before it becomes too contentious. Thomas, on the other hand, seems to be suffering from a lack of will power and self confidence. I am hoping it is a maturity thing, but in the meantime a report card with mostly c's is not good. He even got a b in reading. I almost choked when I saw that report card, and then I got sad. I felt bad for him because he did not expect it. When I had the conference with his teacher I saw why. His written work and projects ARE average. Not above average, but middle of the ground average. And she even said he is very engaged verbally, he understands what is going on and he is learning, it's just not coming out through his work. He is a very impatient kid, always rushing to the next thing, not really caring about the thing he is working on. That is my dilemma. How do you make someone care? How do you teach someone the value of the experience instead of allowing them to always move on because they are afraid they will miss out or be left behind?
I truly think he is smarter than Glee. That's not a bad thing. Glee knows what to do and does it all on her own, a very admirable quality in my opinion. I never have to sit and watch her do homework, and I only have to help her a little, and she knows when to ask for help. Thomas, I have to sit with him and remind him to focus and do the work and that writing counts, even in math. I don't know. I was a little relieved to hear only one kid in his whole class of 35 kids was on honor roll. Seemed to be a lot of kids from two of the four 3rd grade classes, and only one in his. It sucks because he is smarter than a lot of those kids, and he does have a harder teacher. I wish they all worked on the same system. Not that there is any excuse, and I have a lot of work to do with him on that.
In other news in our house, I have NOT had much work lately, and the work I have I have not been diligent about doing. I need to earn more money here, and I need to make myself do it. I need to get inspired somehow. I think this is a common theme in my life.
Also, the other big thing going on here right now is financial. We are in the process of declaring bankruptcy. We have a court date on January 18th. There is a fair bit if shame attached to this whole thing for me. I feel like I have taken advantage of someone, like I have done something really wrong, but what we did was live beyond our means. The hard part for me to reconcile is that we were not living extravagantly. We were living nicely. We did not want for anything. Now that's not to say we had new boats or a house we never should have owned, or that we were spending all willy nilly. I thought we were being pretty conscientious. I thought we were making pretty good choices. I shopped with coupons, never pay full price for anything, from electronics to groceries. Don't eat at fancy restaurants. The problem was were were buying electronics period. The problem was were/are eating out way too much. We spent too much money at Christmas, and didn't watch our spending as well as we should.
So the lesson here is this... first, I am working through the shame of this. I have to take some punches, I have to admit my financial defeat. Not to pass the buck here, but it wasn't like I didn't try. I called all the credit card companies and tried to negotiate. I don't know if I am a really bad negotiator or if they just had enough of consumers asking for a little leniency, but I was 0% successful and getting any of those companies to let me work with them. Our credit card payments were so high I couldn't do it. So I called with offers to pay less a month but for longer, well, forever if that's how long it took, just stop hitting me with late fees every month. Not a single company would budge. This bankruptcy truly is a last resort. The second lesson I learned is we have way more money that I thought, if I just do some work. I got our phone bill lowered, I got the cable bill lowered. I am working on the internet bill now. I cancelled one newspaper, and kept the cheaper one (for Wayne, he needs it). I have found money each month that we were blowing and shouldn't have been. So that is a lesson learned (and a slight regret for all that money we blew!). Even though I am not bringing money in, I am doing a pretty good job of stretching our dollar farther. And everyone should get a do over just once in life, just once, right? Learn from it, that is what I am doing, and making sure I learn and keep the lesson.
I have a couple of new year resolutions (sort of... more things I would like to do more often). 1. Keep working on the home finances and squeeze all I can out of this. 2. My family is ultimately important, and not matter what, no matter how hard things are, we have each other and we will persevere. 3. I need to use this blog as a tool to unload some of the junk I have been carrying. It was a stressful year last year and I can feel it in my shoulders. No need to carry the weigh when I can drop it here.
So, we are in January, and Glee and Thomas have both been back in school for a few months, and we have had one report card and one parent/teacher conference. Glee is still on honor roll, on target for earning her Presidential Scholar award. She is still top of her class in almost everything. She struggles with spelling, and I am trying to help her with that before it becomes too contentious. Thomas, on the other hand, seems to be suffering from a lack of will power and self confidence. I am hoping it is a maturity thing, but in the meantime a report card with mostly c's is not good. He even got a b in reading. I almost choked when I saw that report card, and then I got sad. I felt bad for him because he did not expect it. When I had the conference with his teacher I saw why. His written work and projects ARE average. Not above average, but middle of the ground average. And she even said he is very engaged verbally, he understands what is going on and he is learning, it's just not coming out through his work. He is a very impatient kid, always rushing to the next thing, not really caring about the thing he is working on. That is my dilemma. How do you make someone care? How do you teach someone the value of the experience instead of allowing them to always move on because they are afraid they will miss out or be left behind?
I truly think he is smarter than Glee. That's not a bad thing. Glee knows what to do and does it all on her own, a very admirable quality in my opinion. I never have to sit and watch her do homework, and I only have to help her a little, and she knows when to ask for help. Thomas, I have to sit with him and remind him to focus and do the work and that writing counts, even in math. I don't know. I was a little relieved to hear only one kid in his whole class of 35 kids was on honor roll. Seemed to be a lot of kids from two of the four 3rd grade classes, and only one in his. It sucks because he is smarter than a lot of those kids, and he does have a harder teacher. I wish they all worked on the same system. Not that there is any excuse, and I have a lot of work to do with him on that.
In other news in our house, I have NOT had much work lately, and the work I have I have not been diligent about doing. I need to earn more money here, and I need to make myself do it. I need to get inspired somehow. I think this is a common theme in my life.
Also, the other big thing going on here right now is financial. We are in the process of declaring bankruptcy. We have a court date on January 18th. There is a fair bit if shame attached to this whole thing for me. I feel like I have taken advantage of someone, like I have done something really wrong, but what we did was live beyond our means. The hard part for me to reconcile is that we were not living extravagantly. We were living nicely. We did not want for anything. Now that's not to say we had new boats or a house we never should have owned, or that we were spending all willy nilly. I thought we were being pretty conscientious. I thought we were making pretty good choices. I shopped with coupons, never pay full price for anything, from electronics to groceries. Don't eat at fancy restaurants. The problem was were were buying electronics period. The problem was were/are eating out way too much. We spent too much money at Christmas, and didn't watch our spending as well as we should.
So the lesson here is this... first, I am working through the shame of this. I have to take some punches, I have to admit my financial defeat. Not to pass the buck here, but it wasn't like I didn't try. I called all the credit card companies and tried to negotiate. I don't know if I am a really bad negotiator or if they just had enough of consumers asking for a little leniency, but I was 0% successful and getting any of those companies to let me work with them. Our credit card payments were so high I couldn't do it. So I called with offers to pay less a month but for longer, well, forever if that's how long it took, just stop hitting me with late fees every month. Not a single company would budge. This bankruptcy truly is a last resort. The second lesson I learned is we have way more money that I thought, if I just do some work. I got our phone bill lowered, I got the cable bill lowered. I am working on the internet bill now. I cancelled one newspaper, and kept the cheaper one (for Wayne, he needs it). I have found money each month that we were blowing and shouldn't have been. So that is a lesson learned (and a slight regret for all that money we blew!). Even though I am not bringing money in, I am doing a pretty good job of stretching our dollar farther. And everyone should get a do over just once in life, just once, right? Learn from it, that is what I am doing, and making sure I learn and keep the lesson.
I have a couple of new year resolutions (sort of... more things I would like to do more often). 1. Keep working on the home finances and squeeze all I can out of this. 2. My family is ultimately important, and not matter what, no matter how hard things are, we have each other and we will persevere. 3. I need to use this blog as a tool to unload some of the junk I have been carrying. It was a stressful year last year and I can feel it in my shoulders. No need to carry the weigh when I can drop it here.
Friday, August 26, 2011
I would like a prize please!
Okay, not sure this will count, since really no one reads my blog, but I would like to win a prize for a free photo book... so here we go... please pick me... :)
In other news, I will come back here and put up an end of summer, proper post in the next few days, when I have some time. Thanks for watching.
In other news, I will come back here and put up an end of summer, proper post in the next few days, when I have some time. Thanks for watching.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
That one is (almost) over
Well, what I have learned this year in school is, #1, trust my instincts. I should have requested a new teacher for Thomas. It was/has been a terrible year for him. Fortunately his grades have not faltered, and he is reading 5th grade level books (he's in 2nd) and doing 4th grade math, top of the class in both, but the teacher has a real vendetta against him. I was happy to talk to another mom whose son had this teacher part of last year (in Glee's class) and realized it truly is the teacher, not Thomas. He got a detention this year for laughing at the teacher when she repeated "Buttkickers is not appropriate language at school." Who wouldn't laugh at an old lady saying the word "buttkickers?" He also got a letter for playing cops and robbers and getting tackled during the game. It only hurt a little he said. Yeah, that is a lame teacher.
#2, I should not be embarrassed that my kids are smart. I am still working on that, but I sure don't want to be that parent who just thinks their kids are advanced when they really aren't. My kids are. It's almost harder than having kids with learning disabilities because people think you are boasting, but I am not. Glee is on honor roll again all this year, and her goal is to be a Presidential Scholar, which is honor roll for all three years you can be on honor roll in elementary school. She reads books like there is no tomorrow and loves loves loves math. Not to mention she is learning the negotiations of a pre-teen, and she has a straight head on her shoulders. Thomas, he is a a firecracker. As much as his teacher doesn't like him, I think he is amazing. He is funny, quick and learns things faster than can be taught. He still loves his turtles but with his new interest in all things Space and all things Tron I think we may have an MIT candidate some day soon.
#3, and last... I don't have to be in charge of so many things. I can give up PTA jobs and they will still happen. I have been really lucky this year, my business has really picked up. I could do a better job following up on those clients, and I think I will set that as a short term goal, but for now, I have had a fairly steady flow of work and that makes me happy on all sorts of levels.
So, we have two trips in the planning this year... one to Colorado and one to Chicago. We are going to Colorado in the summer, with a weekend stop in Arizona for a family reunion. We are planning a winter time trip to Chicago, because we like new experiences and we have never been there in the winter! We were hoping to plan a trip for a wedding in March of 2012, but the bride and groom are tying the knot in September 2011 instead, and we can't make it. I am sad... but so incredibly happy for the family members getting married! They are perfect together, and I am very glad they found each other.
Other news here... lately, there was a royal wedding to watch, and Glee and I sat on the couch at 3am and watch it. Amazing, and I am sure I will remember it as fondly as I remember the wedding from 1981. Also, Osama bin Laden was taken out by the US Navy SEALS, and it leaves a weird feeling to me. I am relieved, not that anything will really change in the world, but I feel like his orchestration of 9/11/2001 stole a piece of my history from me, my baby daughter was 5 days old. I am glad he can't be here to do that anymore and it feels like what I imagine closure may feel like, although I have never been in a situation where I needed closure (thank god). I am glad the guy is not here anymore. It felt kind of personal to me.
So, I am looking ahead to the summer of libraries and parks and beach days and sleepovers with friends and computer games and knitting. It will be a good summer.
#2, I should not be embarrassed that my kids are smart. I am still working on that, but I sure don't want to be that parent who just thinks their kids are advanced when they really aren't. My kids are. It's almost harder than having kids with learning disabilities because people think you are boasting, but I am not. Glee is on honor roll again all this year, and her goal is to be a Presidential Scholar, which is honor roll for all three years you can be on honor roll in elementary school. She reads books like there is no tomorrow and loves loves loves math. Not to mention she is learning the negotiations of a pre-teen, and she has a straight head on her shoulders. Thomas, he is a a firecracker. As much as his teacher doesn't like him, I think he is amazing. He is funny, quick and learns things faster than can be taught. He still loves his turtles but with his new interest in all things Space and all things Tron I think we may have an MIT candidate some day soon.
#3, and last... I don't have to be in charge of so many things. I can give up PTA jobs and they will still happen. I have been really lucky this year, my business has really picked up. I could do a better job following up on those clients, and I think I will set that as a short term goal, but for now, I have had a fairly steady flow of work and that makes me happy on all sorts of levels.
So, we have two trips in the planning this year... one to Colorado and one to Chicago. We are going to Colorado in the summer, with a weekend stop in Arizona for a family reunion. We are planning a winter time trip to Chicago, because we like new experiences and we have never been there in the winter! We were hoping to plan a trip for a wedding in March of 2012, but the bride and groom are tying the knot in September 2011 instead, and we can't make it. I am sad... but so incredibly happy for the family members getting married! They are perfect together, and I am very glad they found each other.
Other news here... lately, there was a royal wedding to watch, and Glee and I sat on the couch at 3am and watch it. Amazing, and I am sure I will remember it as fondly as I remember the wedding from 1981. Also, Osama bin Laden was taken out by the US Navy SEALS, and it leaves a weird feeling to me. I am relieved, not that anything will really change in the world, but I feel like his orchestration of 9/11/2001 stole a piece of my history from me, my baby daughter was 5 days old. I am glad he can't be here to do that anymore and it feels like what I imagine closure may feel like, although I have never been in a situation where I needed closure (thank god). I am glad the guy is not here anymore. It felt kind of personal to me.
So, I am looking ahead to the summer of libraries and parks and beach days and sleepovers with friends and computer games and knitting. It will be a good summer.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
And so it goes...
Thomas got the teacher I thought I wouldn't want for him. In the long run she may the best of the three choices (although I had trouble with her last year when Glee had her, but that was a 2/3 combo of which Glee was the 3). This year it is a dedicated 2nd grade class... maybe it will work out better. Glee got the exact teacher I had hoped for. I was thrilled with that one! Yes, school has started again, we have made it through day 2, and luckily day 3 is a Friday. Soccer season first game is on Saturday, both kids teams have really great parents and it should be a fun year even with all the messing up the league has done. Glee's team was almost disbanded for lack of a coach, but that swung around the next week. Problem is both kids teams play 7 on 7 and both teams only have 9 total, so if it is like last year and any one or two kids don't show up there could be a lot of forfeiture.
The boss man is nearing the end of a weeklong vacation, that was really nice. It's nice to have him here for the first week of school. Also this week Glee turned 9 (?!?) and I have no idea where those days/weeks/years went. We took them on a train ride through our city to the El Capitan for the new Tinkerbell movie. It was sweet and she was really surprised. I was afraid at first that it would be too young for her but on her 9th birthday she met a character who was 9 also, and who made a scientific journal of the fairies with Tinkerbell's help. So it may be the last year to do it, I am glad we did. Thomas will turn 7 at the end of the month and has already planned that he wants to go ice skating and we are hoping some cousins can come along too.
The other news is we have lovely new neighbors. It is a family with a boy in between Glee and Thomas, a girl just younger than Thomas and a girl who is 3. PERFECT! We have enjoyed them over the summer... and they homeschool so we won't get to see them at school, but afterwards and weekends maybe.
My parents should be visiting soon for a wedding at the end of the month. I am hoping for a lovely visit, and I think it will be. Time for some gardening advice from the old man farmer known as my dad.
That's it for now... things in full swing (school, soccer practice 4 days a week, scouts 2 days a week every other week). Let the games begin!
The boss man is nearing the end of a weeklong vacation, that was really nice. It's nice to have him here for the first week of school. Also this week Glee turned 9 (?!?) and I have no idea where those days/weeks/years went. We took them on a train ride through our city to the El Capitan for the new Tinkerbell movie. It was sweet and she was really surprised. I was afraid at first that it would be too young for her but on her 9th birthday she met a character who was 9 also, and who made a scientific journal of the fairies with Tinkerbell's help. So it may be the last year to do it, I am glad we did. Thomas will turn 7 at the end of the month and has already planned that he wants to go ice skating and we are hoping some cousins can come along too.
The other news is we have lovely new neighbors. It is a family with a boy in between Glee and Thomas, a girl just younger than Thomas and a girl who is 3. PERFECT! We have enjoyed them over the summer... and they homeschool so we won't get to see them at school, but afterwards and weekends maybe.
My parents should be visiting soon for a wedding at the end of the month. I am hoping for a lovely visit, and I think it will be. Time for some gardening advice from the old man farmer known as my dad.
That's it for now... things in full swing (school, soccer practice 4 days a week, scouts 2 days a week every other week). Let the games begin!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Summer full swing...
So, I can't say anything about England that I haven't said before. It was another amazing trip. We spent the most wonderful time with our family, learning new wedding traditions (some English, some religious) and got to meet the newest members, the boys. We went to museums and we decided it would not be a bad thing for both kids to go to University in London (where they are pumping out nobel prize winners and scientist like there's no tomorrow!). We found an Egyptology museum and a museum of dead things (some even extinct!). We went to our favorite bookstore, stopped in to say hello to the Rosetta Stone and the roman antiquities and the British Museum. Discovered the newly redone Museum of London, walked past St. Paul's, went to Hampton Court for one whole glorious day, rode loads and loads of trains and ate delicious food. And then there was the company, which goes without saying, have to be my very most favorite relatives. It was just wonderful and I am ready to go again (the bank account isn't, but I am!).
And then we ended school with Glee being admitted to the GATE program, for which there is no funding so I have offered to be the parent rep (since the other one is leaving because she wants her kids to go to a different school) and we will see what I can dream up. GATE is for the gifted kids, and of course it was one of the very first programs cut when there were budget cuts. That's okay, we will make due... both kids got amazing report cards (again all A's for Glee and Thomas was able to improve in his listening skills and attention skills!). I got to attend a field trip to the Santa Ana Zoo (home of the sad monkeys and one of my friends called it) and was surprised to learn that the kids in his class whom I thought would be best behaved actually weren't. We made it through Multicultural week/Fair, school carnival, yearbook sales (I think there are only a handful left) and we have been launched into summer as of June 24th. Now, tomorrow is 4th of July which always signaled midsummer to me, but since school was out so late this year I may have to revise my midsummer! School starts again on Sept. 8th (I think) which feels like years away but will be on us in no time.
I also have a few jobs going... one big one I am working on, one smaller one I just finished and a couple of print/design jobs, so maybe we can catch up a little on the bills. Things have been tight for us (as for everyone) and it would be nice to be able to loosen the stranglehold a little. I have been knitting (found some lovely stuff in England when we were there) and am working on a sweater for Glee which should be done just in time for school. The yarn is called "moonlight" and it's lovely, it will look really nice on her.
OH, we have new additions to our family... Rex and Luna, a couple of kittens we have had for just over a week now. They are about three months old and adorable (as all kittens are). Thomas named Rex, who is mostly black but has a white belly and white legs. Glee named Luna who is a calico in honor of Krycek. That was one of my personal requirements, we honor our first cat.
So there we are, all caught up, right? For now anyway.
And then we ended school with Glee being admitted to the GATE program, for which there is no funding so I have offered to be the parent rep (since the other one is leaving because she wants her kids to go to a different school) and we will see what I can dream up. GATE is for the gifted kids, and of course it was one of the very first programs cut when there were budget cuts. That's okay, we will make due... both kids got amazing report cards (again all A's for Glee and Thomas was able to improve in his listening skills and attention skills!). I got to attend a field trip to the Santa Ana Zoo (home of the sad monkeys and one of my friends called it) and was surprised to learn that the kids in his class whom I thought would be best behaved actually weren't. We made it through Multicultural week/Fair, school carnival, yearbook sales (I think there are only a handful left) and we have been launched into summer as of June 24th. Now, tomorrow is 4th of July which always signaled midsummer to me, but since school was out so late this year I may have to revise my midsummer! School starts again on Sept. 8th (I think) which feels like years away but will be on us in no time.
I also have a few jobs going... one big one I am working on, one smaller one I just finished and a couple of print/design jobs, so maybe we can catch up a little on the bills. Things have been tight for us (as for everyone) and it would be nice to be able to loosen the stranglehold a little. I have been knitting (found some lovely stuff in England when we were there) and am working on a sweater for Glee which should be done just in time for school. The yarn is called "moonlight" and it's lovely, it will look really nice on her.
OH, we have new additions to our family... Rex and Luna, a couple of kittens we have had for just over a week now. They are about three months old and adorable (as all kittens are). Thomas named Rex, who is mostly black but has a white belly and white legs. Glee named Luna who is a calico in honor of Krycek. That was one of my personal requirements, we honor our first cat.
So there we are, all caught up, right? For now anyway.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Spring springing all over...
Happy Spring world! I only have a couple things I want to put here before I forget. #1, Thomas' school conference... he is maxed out in his reading, his teacher has tested him as high as he can go in first grade. He wants to read The Lightning Thief... he just finished Diary of a Wimpy Kid. That boy can READ! He can even read a book we have called The Universe which is full of scientific descriptions of stars and other things in the universe. It's awesome. He is a very intuitive reader. He also is at the top of the class in math (and considering his teacher thought he needed math help at the beginning of the year, I found that to be a nice amusement for myself). His area he needs to work on? Following class rules and keeping his desk neat. Yes, I think those will be following him the rest of his life. One other note about Thomas... we were sitting at the table eating dinner the other night and I asked him what will happen when someday Glee doesn't want to play with him, when she wants just to have her own friends? He looked me square in the eye and said "I will love her no matter what." I asked what if she wants to marry another boy and go live without us and he said that would never happen, and then she said no way, never happen. Man I love those kids.
Glee got named to honor roll again this trimester. She had all A's and one B on her report card. I have to say I am super proud of her too. She rolls with the punches and does her work without fail. I don't even have to sit with her for homework anymore, she just does it! Her weakest subject... handwriting. I say so what on that one. She will never be judged on her handwriting after third grade, so I told her as long as she does her best, I don't care what grade the teacher gives her on that. By the way, she is often marked off for her "j"'s which will be amusing to you all.
We are off to a wedding at the end of May... IN ENGLAND!!! We bought our tickets and we will be gone for 10 days. All of us are just a little excited...
Glee got named to honor roll again this trimester. She had all A's and one B on her report card. I have to say I am super proud of her too. She rolls with the punches and does her work without fail. I don't even have to sit with her for homework anymore, she just does it! Her weakest subject... handwriting. I say so what on that one. She will never be judged on her handwriting after third grade, so I told her as long as she does her best, I don't care what grade the teacher gives her on that. By the way, she is often marked off for her "j"'s which will be amusing to you all.
We are off to a wedding at the end of May... IN ENGLAND!!! We bought our tickets and we will be gone for 10 days. All of us are just a little excited...
Friday, March 12, 2010
Krycek 1996-2010
Our much beloved cat died yesterday. She had kidney failure and a terrible heart murmur. She was at least 15 years old, because she wasn't a kitten when we got her, but she wasn't much older than that. We got her our when we got our first apartment as a married couple, on PCH. She was a rescue cat, and I remember the day we got her. We went in to the pet store and there was a ring of chairs set up. They just sort of let the cats go in the ring of chairs. We sat down in chairs and she walked over to us and jumped up on me. Like she chose us. The lady who was there with the cats said she never went to anyone, so she must have known we would be her family.
One of my first times I was ever really afraid for someone I loved, it was kitty. She had jumped up on the roof of our apartment and I was afraid she would get hurt coming down. I actually asked Wayne to climb up and get her. And he did. Little did I know that cat could climb anything. We used to play with her in the front yard on PCH, with a stick, and she would chase it. One time, after a particularly active play session she sat there panting like a dog. It cracked us up.
She moved with us to Wayne's mom's house for the year we lived there saving up for our own house. She was an indoor cat there, and in Gardena when we bought our first house. She laid on my lap while I was pregnant with Glee and then Thomas, claiming them as her own children. She slept in their cribs (no matter what I did).
She moved with us to Torrance, and right now, our house feels like someone is missing. Not like she is just out for the day, but like she is gone. A warmth has left here. The kids keep hearing her collar, and her footsteps on the stairs. I see her shadow out of the corner of my eye. She is not gone, but her body is. I am really sad about this. Losing a pet is harder than I expected. We cling to the ghost, saying she would never leave us, she will always be here.
When we first moved here the kids would often have to go upstairs by themselves to get ready for bed.One of the ways they felt safe was knowing that kitty was up there to scare away any monsters. That's what cats do you know, they scare away monsters. Monsters HATE cats. They are horribly afraid of them. It hasn't come up yet, maybe because Krycek's spirit is still here, but what will happen now. Can the monsters get in? I don't know the answer to that one yet.
I will miss her warm fur, her little meow which wasn't even a meow, more of a mmew with her mouth closed. It was her way of telling me she was okay. I would ask her "you okay?" and she would say "mmew." We all miss the kitty kisses and the meowing at the door to let her out. I wonder if I should tell the punker girl who always stopped to pet her that she was moved on. I wonder if she will miss our cat.
One of my first times I was ever really afraid for someone I loved, it was kitty. She had jumped up on the roof of our apartment and I was afraid she would get hurt coming down. I actually asked Wayne to climb up and get her. And he did. Little did I know that cat could climb anything. We used to play with her in the front yard on PCH, with a stick, and she would chase it. One time, after a particularly active play session she sat there panting like a dog. It cracked us up.
She moved with us to Wayne's mom's house for the year we lived there saving up for our own house. She was an indoor cat there, and in Gardena when we bought our first house. She laid on my lap while I was pregnant with Glee and then Thomas, claiming them as her own children. She slept in their cribs (no matter what I did).
She moved with us to Torrance, and right now, our house feels like someone is missing. Not like she is just out for the day, but like she is gone. A warmth has left here. The kids keep hearing her collar, and her footsteps on the stairs. I see her shadow out of the corner of my eye. She is not gone, but her body is. I am really sad about this. Losing a pet is harder than I expected. We cling to the ghost, saying she would never leave us, she will always be here.
When we first moved here the kids would often have to go upstairs by themselves to get ready for bed.One of the ways they felt safe was knowing that kitty was up there to scare away any monsters. That's what cats do you know, they scare away monsters. Monsters HATE cats. They are horribly afraid of them. It hasn't come up yet, maybe because Krycek's spirit is still here, but what will happen now. Can the monsters get in? I don't know the answer to that one yet.
I will miss her warm fur, her little meow which wasn't even a meow, more of a mmew with her mouth closed. It was her way of telling me she was okay. I would ask her "you okay?" and she would say "mmew." We all miss the kitty kisses and the meowing at the door to let her out. I wonder if I should tell the punker girl who always stopped to pet her that she was moved on. I wonder if she will miss our cat.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
It's been a while...
We made it through the end of 2009 with little drama, lots of happy and well, just general good cheer.
Christmas was fun this year. Kids got a telescope from dad... he got it from work as a 15 year award or something like that. He decided he didn't need a watch or another clock, and the telescope is awesome. We have seen a blue moon and a full wolf moon, along with various stars and maybe even a couple of planets. This is the year Glee gets to study the Solar System and space... and I took the telescope to school last week to show the kids what a telescope is. Apparently, according to the teacher, all of the kids except Glee had never seen a working telescope. Hmm.
This was the Christmas of arts and crafts. Glee got a sewing machine, and she has made a ton of pillows already. She has one other project to finish, a skirt she made by herself that just needs to be hemmed. Thomas got a car design kit, with a working light box that he uses to design his own hot wheels. Lots of markers, coloring books and crafts were left by Santa too. We had a small group for Christmas this year, and I cooked the usual prime rib. It was mouthwatering to say the least... hardly any leftovers even thought I cooked 15lbs!
Then we made it through January... we had some awesome rain storms, a weeks worth of rain, and spent MLK Day splashing through puddles at the high school. It was tons of fun, Glee and Thomas had a blast, and I took lots of photos.
So, the updates... Glee earned Honor Roll... that's for your whole report card having nothing lower than a B. She had all A's except for a B in Spelling. Good report card! Thomas' was awesome too, only thing checked on his was that he needs to work on not wandering around the classroom so much. He has a tendency to forget what he got out of his seat for. That's okay, I do that a lot too! Thomas has passed his math facts to 12, and now his math tests are all vertical questions, that's the big leap in first grade! So much for needing help in math. He's practically a math savant! Really though, there are only two kids ahead of him in his class in math. His spelling is really good too, and his printing is looking fantastic. He is doing great. Glee is now on her divides 7, which means she has gone through the multiplication tables and is almost through the division. I had to teach her long division for some problems they got that were problems for estimating. It made me mad. The teacher told them they should guess at the answer. You don't guess at math. So I taught her long division so she could get the correct answer. Her teacher was annoyed, but I didn't care. Glee is also learning handwriting (cursive) and her teacher will mark the paper wrong if you write a letter in cursive that you haven't technically learned yet. So there are letters in Glee's name she is not "allowed" to handwrite. I say too bad. Her handwriting is really lovely, she does a good job on it!
So there we go... all caught up. Oh, the last thing, I hurt my back in January so bad that I had to make my first visit to a chiropractor. Wow, what have I been missing! The doc made a huge difference... I have still been having trouble... I need to stretch more, but at least I can walk. There was a day or two where I couldn't hardly stand up. It was horrible. I need to start yoga so I don't get old so fast!
Happy 2010 everyone...
we are in the midst of planning our trip to the UK for my cousin's daughter's wedding. We are so excited and happy to have been invited, and I am really excited about seeing my dearest cousin again soon. We set up the computers to talk via Skype, so we are keeping up on the latest news there.
Christmas was fun this year. Kids got a telescope from dad... he got it from work as a 15 year award or something like that. He decided he didn't need a watch or another clock, and the telescope is awesome. We have seen a blue moon and a full wolf moon, along with various stars and maybe even a couple of planets. This is the year Glee gets to study the Solar System and space... and I took the telescope to school last week to show the kids what a telescope is. Apparently, according to the teacher, all of the kids except Glee had never seen a working telescope. Hmm.
This was the Christmas of arts and crafts. Glee got a sewing machine, and she has made a ton of pillows already. She has one other project to finish, a skirt she made by herself that just needs to be hemmed. Thomas got a car design kit, with a working light box that he uses to design his own hot wheels. Lots of markers, coloring books and crafts were left by Santa too. We had a small group for Christmas this year, and I cooked the usual prime rib. It was mouthwatering to say the least... hardly any leftovers even thought I cooked 15lbs!
Then we made it through January... we had some awesome rain storms, a weeks worth of rain, and spent MLK Day splashing through puddles at the high school. It was tons of fun, Glee and Thomas had a blast, and I took lots of photos.
So, the updates... Glee earned Honor Roll... that's for your whole report card having nothing lower than a B. She had all A's except for a B in Spelling. Good report card! Thomas' was awesome too, only thing checked on his was that he needs to work on not wandering around the classroom so much. He has a tendency to forget what he got out of his seat for. That's okay, I do that a lot too! Thomas has passed his math facts to 12, and now his math tests are all vertical questions, that's the big leap in first grade! So much for needing help in math. He's practically a math savant! Really though, there are only two kids ahead of him in his class in math. His spelling is really good too, and his printing is looking fantastic. He is doing great. Glee is now on her divides 7, which means she has gone through the multiplication tables and is almost through the division. I had to teach her long division for some problems they got that were problems for estimating. It made me mad. The teacher told them they should guess at the answer. You don't guess at math. So I taught her long division so she could get the correct answer. Her teacher was annoyed, but I didn't care. Glee is also learning handwriting (cursive) and her teacher will mark the paper wrong if you write a letter in cursive that you haven't technically learned yet. So there are letters in Glee's name she is not "allowed" to handwrite. I say too bad. Her handwriting is really lovely, she does a good job on it!
So there we go... all caught up. Oh, the last thing, I hurt my back in January so bad that I had to make my first visit to a chiropractor. Wow, what have I been missing! The doc made a huge difference... I have still been having trouble... I need to stretch more, but at least I can walk. There was a day or two where I couldn't hardly stand up. It was horrible. I need to start yoga so I don't get old so fast!
Happy 2010 everyone...
we are in the midst of planning our trip to the UK for my cousin's daughter's wedding. We are so excited and happy to have been invited, and I am really excited about seeing my dearest cousin again soon. We set up the computers to talk via Skype, so we are keeping up on the latest news there.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Field Trip
I forgot to mention, I got to go on a field trip with Glee's class to the California Science Center and Imax theatre. Lots of fun. In her class there are 8 kids, four boys and four girls. They are called the GATE cluster, higher achieving kids. The other 12 kids in her class are 2nd grade (she's 3rd). Those kids really are a different level than the other third graders. Very strange. They stick together too. One of the boys in her class, named Kevin, plays an online game called Maplestory. He told Glee about and now her, Thomas and I all have characters. She was playing the other day when a character came up to her and called her by her real name. It freaked me out a little. Here is my 8 year old playing an online game with a boy from her school, all virtually... and it was an amazing thing to me. Our technology is a major thing, it has really evolved. Computers barely existed when I was 8 and it wasn't until I was 16 that you could "go online." Here she is communicating with a school friend in the virtual world. It blows my mind. Just think what her life will be like if she is doing this at 8!
The Turtle
My whole family is visiting right now, they have been here almost a week and will be here through the weekend. It's been interesting. I wouldn't say fun (although there have been fun moments) and I wouldn't say good (although there have been some good moments), but I realized a lot about my family that I hadn't realized before and I am grateful for the lessons. I need to learn the lessons.
We went to the Aquarium of the Pacific and for a bunch of people from Colorado they sure weren't as impressed with ocean stuff and I think I would have been. I guess they are all just fish, but still. We stopped at one exhibit and they had a monitor above it showing what happens when sea life gets caught in fishing nets, sort of a promo for eating fish caught in a safe manner I guess. I got nervous, glancing over at Glee when they showed the dolphins stuck in the nets, but she didn't seem to notice. There were other animals trapped as well, and suddenly I felt a thump against my legs and waist and it was Thomas. My poor Thomas. He was weeping, because he saw a sea turtle stuck by the neck in the fishing net. He said he never wanted to see anything that horrible again in his whole life and he was crying, seriously. So I hugged him, a lot, and told him we had a responsibility as humans to take care of the animals in the world and maybe someday something he does will help save the sea turtles. He felt a little better, but still sad. So, when it came time to go he checked out the animals in the gift shop and got himself a little gray sea turtle he brought home to live with his turtle entourage. He named the little guy OJ (his name and Jr... you all know what I mean). It was really sweet, and OJ is now friends with Turtle, Little Hawaii, Little Sewy, Bill, Ben, Thomas, and Torbadice (he made that last one up all on his own...), along with a few others I don't know there names.
My sweet boy, my sweet sweet boy. This Friday is his turn to lead the craft at cub scouts. He wants to do leaf rubbings, so we will.
We went to the Aquarium of the Pacific and for a bunch of people from Colorado they sure weren't as impressed with ocean stuff and I think I would have been. I guess they are all just fish, but still. We stopped at one exhibit and they had a monitor above it showing what happens when sea life gets caught in fishing nets, sort of a promo for eating fish caught in a safe manner I guess. I got nervous, glancing over at Glee when they showed the dolphins stuck in the nets, but she didn't seem to notice. There were other animals trapped as well, and suddenly I felt a thump against my legs and waist and it was Thomas. My poor Thomas. He was weeping, because he saw a sea turtle stuck by the neck in the fishing net. He said he never wanted to see anything that horrible again in his whole life and he was crying, seriously. So I hugged him, a lot, and told him we had a responsibility as humans to take care of the animals in the world and maybe someday something he does will help save the sea turtles. He felt a little better, but still sad. So, when it came time to go he checked out the animals in the gift shop and got himself a little gray sea turtle he brought home to live with his turtle entourage. He named the little guy OJ (his name and Jr... you all know what I mean). It was really sweet, and OJ is now friends with Turtle, Little Hawaii, Little Sewy, Bill, Ben, Thomas, and Torbadice (he made that last one up all on his own...), along with a few others I don't know there names.
My sweet boy, my sweet sweet boy. This Friday is his turn to lead the craft at cub scouts. He wants to do leaf rubbings, so we will.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Title 1
Almost forgot... Thomas was recommended for Title 1. Another bunk situation. Title 1 is for kids who are not working up to the appropriate level in either reading or math. In the first week of school all kids are tested. Seems Thomas didn't count the way the teacher expects you to count. He had a pile of something he had to count and instead of counting them and moving them, he just counted them in the pile (lazy boy). He counted wrong. So now, the teacher, who sees his math papers come back every day 100% says he can't count and needs "intervention." The boy is doing 2nd grade addition now. Seriously. I know it's how schools make their money, I am on School Site Council, I know what Title 1 is... this is just stupid.
Detention...
Guess who... yep, Thomas. I think it is bunk. He got detention on Friday for climbing up on a fence to check out the carnival that was being built over at the high school for homecoming that night. He and another boy were caught. They both served their detention today. I asked him how it happened and he said the noonaide, Mr. "O" blew his whistle, told the four boys who were at the fence to sit on the benches, he wrote out two slips and told two of the boys they got a second chance and gave two of the boys detention. The two who got away just weren't ON the fence at the time. LAME. I asked him if he knew it was wrong, and he said he knew, AFTER he got the detention slip. Can't they help the first graders out a little? This is the first year he is on this playground! So, I emailed the principal, saying I understood why, but could someone be a little more clear with the first graders what is allowed and what isn't (especially the first grade boys). She said she would talk to the teachers. Hmm. Then Glee has been having trouble with math, her strongest area last year. And I asked her teacher to explain what she expected and she basically said that Glee talks too much in class (and that is just not her, and she was moved today from a boy who talks... ALOT...) and that if she were paying attention she wouldn't have the problem she is having. I then explained I didn't understand the math, could she show me what she expected and I learned that in third grade they are learning to estimate... yes, to guess at the math. Here is a sample problem... "M" has 7 more than "Q." All total they have 43. How much does each have? And you are supposed to solve it by guessing. Let me outline it for you... 43-7=36... each has half of 36, with M having half + 7. Oh, and they don't know division yet, so they are supposed to "guess" the two numbers that are equal to each other that make up 36. Yes, guessing in math. It's madness. I taught Glee long division so she doesn't have to guess at her math. I know it was wrong, but she can do it, and seriously, guessing?
This year is turning out to be harder than I anticipated. Poor Thomas is trying to do the right things and ending up with wrong things, and poor Glee... she had a nightmare about a man with a crocodile head who wandered around school with other monsters and the croc man kept saying "I AM GOING TO EAT YOUUUUUU!!!!" We talked about how some dreams may have deeper meanings and she told me she had a sword in the dream and would scare croc man just by showing it to him. I asked her what she thought croc man was, and she said third grade (?!). So I told her the sword is her brain and she can use it to beat croc man any day! Poor girl... oh, but there were fairies in the dream too, who were like small children (preschool size) with dragonfly wings who have their own play area on the playground with fairy size equipment. Best dream ever she said.
This year is turning out to be harder than I anticipated. Poor Thomas is trying to do the right things and ending up with wrong things, and poor Glee... she had a nightmare about a man with a crocodile head who wandered around school with other monsters and the croc man kept saying "I AM GOING TO EAT YOUUUUUU!!!!" We talked about how some dreams may have deeper meanings and she told me she had a sword in the dream and would scare croc man just by showing it to him. I asked her what she thought croc man was, and she said third grade (?!). So I told her the sword is her brain and she can use it to beat croc man any day! Poor girl... oh, but there were fairies in the dream too, who were like small children (preschool size) with dragonfly wings who have their own play area on the playground with fairy size equipment. Best dream ever she said.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
First and Third...
So, the odd years seem to be harder than the even years in school. Thomas, after 2 weeks of school, had 15 (yes, 15) pages of unfinished work, which, when he brought it home took him all of 20 minutes to finish. Attached to those pages was a note from the teacher that said he talks too much in class. I have had a couple of conversations with the teacher since then, and I think (oh man, I hope) things are getting better. He is completing a lot more of his work in class, and not spending every recess working on finishing his work. The thing is, he KNOWS this stuff, and the teacher even said he is a very bright student, he just spend a majority of his time listening to other kids talk (he told me "they say funny stuff!"). Focus has never been one of his strong points, and I am thinking this may hopefully just be a wrinkle that is working itself out. We have changed his morning diet from poptarts and yogurt to scrambled eggs and toast with cheese. More protein, less sugar. Also we have totally given up nintendo and tv during the week. They can play and watch on the weekends, but not during the school week, and so far (one week in) that is working out okay.
Glee also was having trouble in class, with math and she is still struggling with it a bit, but again, just a wrinkle, I hope... she has also taken up the clarinet and is learning music in school now. She is the only third grader playing anything other than the violin! Yes, all of her friends chose violin. When I explained that marching bands don't have string sections she took up clarinet. She's not too bad. She has figured out how to put the thing together, and how to blow without making a horrible screeching noise.
So, we are in full steam now. Girl Scouts is in the mix, and we are working on finding a Boy Scout Pack to join. We have checked out a couple but they aren't great fits (in one Thomas would be the ONLY tiger cub, and really, what fun is that?). Still looking... still here.
Glee also was having trouble in class, with math and she is still struggling with it a bit, but again, just a wrinkle, I hope... she has also taken up the clarinet and is learning music in school now. She is the only third grader playing anything other than the violin! Yes, all of her friends chose violin. When I explained that marching bands don't have string sections she took up clarinet. She's not too bad. She has figured out how to put the thing together, and how to blow without making a horrible screeching noise.
So, we are in full steam now. Girl Scouts is in the mix, and we are working on finding a Boy Scout Pack to join. We have checked out a couple but they aren't great fits (in one Thomas would be the ONLY tiger cub, and really, what fun is that?). Still looking... still here.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Thomas is 6 and 3 days...
So, for his birthday the man got to pick out anything in the world he wanted to do. After school we picked him (and Glee) up and came home for just a little homework (that has become an overwhelming but controllable problem already!)... then it was off to the Toyota Center for some ice skating and to Round Table Pizza after for dinner. He was totally happy and really enjoyed his day. The only bad part for him was he got two new nintendo games but he and Glee lost their nintendos for two weeks almost two weeks ago when it took them 10 hours (all day Saturday and part of Sunday) and their rooms still weren't clean. They aren't clean now, but I am more lenient with that than X is... so, needless to say, he has two brand new nintendo games and a gift card to Gamestop burning a hole in his pocket, and he can't play them, not yet.
Funny enough, they lost all tv, nintendo and computers on that fateful weekend and they have done surprisingly well going cold turkey. They play with each other a lot more, we have more family fun (playing Uno Attack has been really popular) and they are generally better behaved without all the electronics. Go figure.
Funny enough, they lost all tv, nintendo and computers on that fateful weekend and they have done surprisingly well going cold turkey. They play with each other a lot more, we have more family fun (playing Uno Attack has been really popular) and they are generally better behaved without all the electronics. Go figure.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Thomas has graduated...
While in first grade today my little boy told me he jumped and when he landed he felt a pressure go through his feet all the way to his gums and blasted his loose tooth right out! Luckily they found it and it came home in a cute little envelope with a smiley face missing a tooth. It has been loose for a while, and we were looking at it yesterday just waiting for it to fall out. I guess, like most boys, he had to blast it out. 5 days before his 6th birthday! You can see the new "grown up" teeth coming in right behind the baby teeth on the bottom, they have already pushed through the gums and right now his teeth look like shark teeth, two rows, one right behind the other.
Yesterday we picked up a clarinet for Glee. Yes, she will be learning clarinet. Thomas got a recorder because you can't take music classes until 3rd grade, but the music teacher said it would be good for him to practice on for now. All of Glee's friends (and I mean all the ones who are playing an instrument) chose violin. I don't know why. We talked about it and it came down to what instrument could you play if you wanted to march in the Armed Forces Day Parade next year, and pretty much any instrument except the violin. I am glad she chose the clarinet. It has a real soothing sound to me... and I don't know if I could have handled the flute, which was her other choice. She and Thomas did a performance for us last night (he played his recorder and she danced) and today I was treated to a parade through the house while they practiced marching and playing at the same time. Funny.
School is going okay. I am still not happy with the class Glee is in, but it just means more work for me, because I don't think you should be punished because you are smart. And I expect them to use what they have. Yes, there is a whole long story behind this that I just don't feel like typing right now. My throat is sore and I am a little chilled even though our house says it is 76 inside. Off to bed for me I think. Happy Friday tomorrow.
Yesterday we picked up a clarinet for Glee. Yes, she will be learning clarinet. Thomas got a recorder because you can't take music classes until 3rd grade, but the music teacher said it would be good for him to practice on for now. All of Glee's friends (and I mean all the ones who are playing an instrument) chose violin. I don't know why. We talked about it and it came down to what instrument could you play if you wanted to march in the Armed Forces Day Parade next year, and pretty much any instrument except the violin. I am glad she chose the clarinet. It has a real soothing sound to me... and I don't know if I could have handled the flute, which was her other choice. She and Thomas did a performance for us last night (he played his recorder and she danced) and today I was treated to a parade through the house while they practiced marching and playing at the same time. Funny.
School is going okay. I am still not happy with the class Glee is in, but it just means more work for me, because I don't think you should be punished because you are smart. And I expect them to use what they have. Yes, there is a whole long story behind this that I just don't feel like typing right now. My throat is sore and I am a little chilled even though our house says it is 76 inside. Off to bed for me I think. Happy Friday tomorrow.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Fairy Tale
While watching the movie Fairy Tale, A True Story with Glee (she got it for her birthday) she turned around and whispered to me "mom? I think I know what happens when we die... we become fairies and live in the gardens forever..."
Have I said lately how much I love her? Okay, let me say it again, I love my baby girl.
Have I said lately how much I love her? Okay, let me say it again, I love my baby girl.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
8 Days and Counting...
Yes, there are only 8 official days left in our summer. Let's recap...
Catalina was bliss. I can't think of a better way to describe it. We did see dolphins, going to Catalina and coming home. A great pod of dolphins frolicking through the ocean, jumping our wake. Amazing. We spent four days on the boat, with my cousin very generously taking us up to the beach whenever we asked him. Glee and Thomas were amazed by my young cousins and their bravado, one jumping from the very top of the boat into the ocean, and the other restricted to a lower jump because he possibly had a concussion from skateboarding earlier in the week. My aunt and uncle were very generous hosts... I know I owe them some money, and at least a dinner, but read on reader and you will see why we are sort of strapped... for money... that info to come.
So, yes, we all loved staying on the boat, staying up late playing Scrabble, waking up to the smell of the ocean and the gentle rocking of the waves. We kayaked, we swam (sort of, our children are spoiled with the warm pool across the street, and the ocean is coooooold). They almost swam with scuba gear (flippers and masks, they still don't have the hang of the breathing apparatus, and we have been practicing in the pool). We found shells and talked of mermaids and dolphins and buffalo. Really wonderful.
Then, last week we took the monsters to Sea World. It is the compromise for no birthday parties this year. They decided they would rather go to Sea World than have a party, and I found an amazing deal where we paid for adult tickets and got kid tickets free, saving us $110. Of course, add in parking and then all day food passes (which cost us almost $100, but were well worth it for the four meals we ate being there all day), and it would have been more economical to have birthday parties, but to sit with Glee as she watched the dolphin show, and to walk with Thomas throughout the park, and then to watch them be amazed at the things the sea mammals did, it was totally worth it. They both had a wonderful time and have decided to be the first sister/brother team of dolphin trainers at Sea World.
So... the real cost of the summer came when Snowray got sick. It was fleas, and here is an amazing piece of info for dog owners. Fleas can cause animals to have ear infections and partial paralysis. Yes, paralysis. Who would have know? About $800 in vet bills later we learned a few things. Fleas = bad news all around. The dogs bite, and their skin can get raw (no kidding, right), and that can lead to ear infections (?huh?) of which our dog had both ears infected, one majorly. She was put on a topical antibiotic (squirted in her ears) and an oral antibiotic, as well as super flea fighting pills, and given a steroid shot. Yep, this all happened the 2nd week of August.
And then, this week I go to the take the Mini in for service, and our service agreement expired in July. So, if I want to go ahead, this service would be about $800, and a follow up service next year, about $600, and rear brakes next year probably ($400)... are we up the $1500 yet? Yes, $1495 is how much it was to renew our warranty for three more years. So, we had to pay that. Good thing we bought the kids news shoes a few weeks ago.
So, there we go, our entire summer budget blown out the window. Ah well, it's only money, and we will recover, eventually. We always do. :)
So, now, the next couple of weeks I have to get the website for the school up to snuff, organize a flier for parent volunteers, and start to build the Edison Army. Our schools are in such dire need, our principal is asking for things like copy paper in all sorts of colors, and glue sticks, and white board markers, and ink for the office printers. There is going to be a list, that's for sure.
Hope the end of summer is exactly how you all want it to be. I am looking forward to Halloween (as always). This year we will have one beautiful eight year old mermaid, and Flash Jr., a creation similar to the superhero The Flash, but with a few modifications (I have plenty of yellow fabric and not quite enough red, so we make due...).
Catalina was bliss. I can't think of a better way to describe it. We did see dolphins, going to Catalina and coming home. A great pod of dolphins frolicking through the ocean, jumping our wake. Amazing. We spent four days on the boat, with my cousin very generously taking us up to the beach whenever we asked him. Glee and Thomas were amazed by my young cousins and their bravado, one jumping from the very top of the boat into the ocean, and the other restricted to a lower jump because he possibly had a concussion from skateboarding earlier in the week. My aunt and uncle were very generous hosts... I know I owe them some money, and at least a dinner, but read on reader and you will see why we are sort of strapped... for money... that info to come.
So, yes, we all loved staying on the boat, staying up late playing Scrabble, waking up to the smell of the ocean and the gentle rocking of the waves. We kayaked, we swam (sort of, our children are spoiled with the warm pool across the street, and the ocean is coooooold). They almost swam with scuba gear (flippers and masks, they still don't have the hang of the breathing apparatus, and we have been practicing in the pool). We found shells and talked of mermaids and dolphins and buffalo. Really wonderful.
Then, last week we took the monsters to Sea World. It is the compromise for no birthday parties this year. They decided they would rather go to Sea World than have a party, and I found an amazing deal where we paid for adult tickets and got kid tickets free, saving us $110. Of course, add in parking and then all day food passes (which cost us almost $100, but were well worth it for the four meals we ate being there all day), and it would have been more economical to have birthday parties, but to sit with Glee as she watched the dolphin show, and to walk with Thomas throughout the park, and then to watch them be amazed at the things the sea mammals did, it was totally worth it. They both had a wonderful time and have decided to be the first sister/brother team of dolphin trainers at Sea World.
So... the real cost of the summer came when Snowray got sick. It was fleas, and here is an amazing piece of info for dog owners. Fleas can cause animals to have ear infections and partial paralysis. Yes, paralysis. Who would have know? About $800 in vet bills later we learned a few things. Fleas = bad news all around. The dogs bite, and their skin can get raw (no kidding, right), and that can lead to ear infections (?huh?) of which our dog had both ears infected, one majorly. She was put on a topical antibiotic (squirted in her ears) and an oral antibiotic, as well as super flea fighting pills, and given a steroid shot. Yep, this all happened the 2nd week of August.
And then, this week I go to the take the Mini in for service, and our service agreement expired in July. So, if I want to go ahead, this service would be about $800, and a follow up service next year, about $600, and rear brakes next year probably ($400)... are we up the $1500 yet? Yes, $1495 is how much it was to renew our warranty for three more years. So, we had to pay that. Good thing we bought the kids news shoes a few weeks ago.
So, there we go, our entire summer budget blown out the window. Ah well, it's only money, and we will recover, eventually. We always do. :)
So, now, the next couple of weeks I have to get the website for the school up to snuff, organize a flier for parent volunteers, and start to build the Edison Army. Our schools are in such dire need, our principal is asking for things like copy paper in all sorts of colors, and glue sticks, and white board markers, and ink for the office printers. There is going to be a list, that's for sure.
Hope the end of summer is exactly how you all want it to be. I am looking forward to Halloween (as always). This year we will have one beautiful eight year old mermaid, and Flash Jr., a creation similar to the superhero The Flash, but with a few modifications (I have plenty of yellow fabric and not quite enough red, so we make due...).
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Mid-Summer
Off to the second day of the second week of swimming lessons today. The monsters swim from 9:45-10:20 every morning... and we are lucky enough to have a neighbor with an in ground pool so we reinforce swimming lessons a couple of times a week in their pool. Glee's hair is as green as any respectable mermaid and Thomas is trying, but still doesn't like his head under water! He's getting there, jumping off the edge yesterday.
I get to do a little reading while they swim in the morning. And we have been heading to the library a couple of times a week to stock up on Rainbow Fairy books and Bionicles and Captain Underpants and Robotech movies that they watch with X. Wow, who knew the library would have so much cool stuff? I have a couple of books out now for fun, one knitting book and a couple of reading books. I read Odd Girl Out about girl aggression and bullying. That should come in handy for girl scouts next year.
We had an amazing time in Colorado. Glee bathed 5 puppies one day, and spent a lot of time playing with them and kissing them. I held my new niece who was the shining star of perfection. She's lovely and reminds me of all the reasons I don't want to have another baby. I spent a lot of time talking to my youngest brother, helping him figure things out and mature a little (I hope). I spent an evening or two gazing at the milky way, out on the deck, as a cool evening breeze blew by and cooled the temps down to the high 70's. We even got to go to a wedding reception that was unlike any event I have ever attended in my entire life. The groom, my brother's friend, is 27, his new bride, 43. She has five kids ranging in age from 18-25. It was a real interesting event... and reaffirmed my hillbilly roots. Scary.
Now we are looking forward to this weekend spent on my aunt and uncle's time share boat, cruising out to Catalina and hopefully seeing dolphins along the way. Glee is convinced the mermaids will sing to us at some point. I wonder how I could make that happen...
Summer, in full swing, is really nice. I have lots of work to do for PTA before school starts, and that kinda sucks, and also organizing stuff for girl scouts next year. Thomas will be old enough for cub scouts, and I want to make sure he has that opportunity. So much for volunteering. I am hoping to actually get some more paying jobs (and forcing myself to make time to do those jobs) since everyone in our house will be gone from at least 8:30am until at least 3pm everyday (except me, who will be trying to drum up business!).
Hope your summer is peachy too!
I get to do a little reading while they swim in the morning. And we have been heading to the library a couple of times a week to stock up on Rainbow Fairy books and Bionicles and Captain Underpants and Robotech movies that they watch with X. Wow, who knew the library would have so much cool stuff? I have a couple of books out now for fun, one knitting book and a couple of reading books. I read Odd Girl Out about girl aggression and bullying. That should come in handy for girl scouts next year.
We had an amazing time in Colorado. Glee bathed 5 puppies one day, and spent a lot of time playing with them and kissing them. I held my new niece who was the shining star of perfection. She's lovely and reminds me of all the reasons I don't want to have another baby. I spent a lot of time talking to my youngest brother, helping him figure things out and mature a little (I hope). I spent an evening or two gazing at the milky way, out on the deck, as a cool evening breeze blew by and cooled the temps down to the high 70's. We even got to go to a wedding reception that was unlike any event I have ever attended in my entire life. The groom, my brother's friend, is 27, his new bride, 43. She has five kids ranging in age from 18-25. It was a real interesting event... and reaffirmed my hillbilly roots. Scary.
Now we are looking forward to this weekend spent on my aunt and uncle's time share boat, cruising out to Catalina and hopefully seeing dolphins along the way. Glee is convinced the mermaids will sing to us at some point. I wonder how I could make that happen...
Summer, in full swing, is really nice. I have lots of work to do for PTA before school starts, and that kinda sucks, and also organizing stuff for girl scouts next year. Thomas will be old enough for cub scouts, and I want to make sure he has that opportunity. So much for volunteering. I am hoping to actually get some more paying jobs (and forcing myself to make time to do those jobs) since everyone in our house will be gone from at least 8:30am until at least 3pm everyday (except me, who will be trying to drum up business!).
Hope your summer is peachy too!
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