Do you celebrate Halloween? As a kid growing up, we dressed up and went door to door and called it "Trick or Treating". We never, ever did any tricking. Hmmm....must not of been allowed. As I grew older, I "Trick or Treated" a lot less. Now that I have kids, I certainly have mixed emotions about "Trick or Treating".
How about this...
Do you celebrate Fall Harvest? Our church does have a Fall Harvest and it is just that. We celebrate, Jesus and fellowship and the harvesting for preparation of the approaching winter.
Regardless of what you call it, there is a history behind it all.
Here is something taken from History.com...
"Halloween has long been a favorite holiday, a day for trick-or-treating, parties, costumes and candy. Where did these Halloween traditions come from, and what was their original purpose? The one-hour documentary The Real Story of Halloween uncovers the true history of the holiday, from its sacred roots to today's secular celebrations of hidden identity and marvelous masquerade. The special explores Halloween's origins, tracing it back to the Samhain festivals of the ancient Celts, when communities would gather around November 1 to mark the end of summer. This was also the time of year when the spirits of those who had died were thought to return to visit their homes. As a result, ghosts and fairies became associated with these observances, including the Roman festivals of Feralia."
Whatever you call it or however you celebrate it, remember to keep it safe for everyone!
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Friday, October 28, 2011
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Look Out Cause We're Back
Our HomeSchool GroupBack at the homeschool group meetings again. It seems like forever since we have been to one of our homeschool group meetings. With all the surgeries (grannies, boys, cats) we were not able to go to our meetings every week. Everyone is finally on the mended side, so we are finally getting back in the groove of things. You really don't appreciate something until it's gone.
Today at our meeting there was a reporter from one of our local newspapers, the High Springs Herald. She was pretty darn cool too. Just about all of the kids in the group were able to ask her questions. She also tagged along with us as we walked up river collecting Apple Snails, Shrimp, Snails and many more wonders. We catch, talk about, look at and release.
And once again my camera sat at the house - as usual. Oh but hold on! Our fearless group leader emailed me some pictures.
Today at our meeting there was a reporter from one of our local newspapers, the High Springs Herald. She was pretty darn cool too. Just about all of the kids in the group were able to ask her questions. She also tagged along with us as we walked up river collecting Apple Snails, Shrimp, Snails and many more wonders. We catch, talk about, look at and release.
And once again my camera sat at the house - as usual. Oh but hold on! Our fearless group leader emailed me some pictures.
There is no doubt that we play as hard as we learn and learn as hard as we play. We love every minute of it too!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
In the Middle of
Right now I am in the middle of a lot of things. And in general, that's how it is. Some people call it to many irons in the fire. Regardless of what it's called, that's where I'm at.
My family is running from here to there and we seem to be just spinning our wheels. Even with spinning our wheels, things are getting done. Granny Karen is coming home tomorrow from rehab. I am thinking of taking the boys to Publix on Saturday for the pumpkin painting fun. My sister is flying in on the 30th. She even said that she would go Trick or Treating with us. That's gonna be a blast. My mom has surgery on the 31st. I'm still giving Tigger some meds. I just have a couple more days of that. It's not to bad if you hold him right. Yeah - and just how do you hold a cat to shove a pill down his throat? Very carefully!
No matter how many loads of laundry I do in one day, it always seems like the laundry basket is still running over. At least the boys have picked up a lot of the chores and they are even starting to do them without being told. Sometimes I have to give gentle little reminders, but I can deal with that. Every Sunday I assign different chores to everyone. Instead of us trying to remember them, I post them on the refrigerator. I know they all see it on the refrigerator because they drink tea like it's going out of style.
I've been working on a couple of crafts. Yes, more than one. Go figure. I just finished a beautiful baby blanket for a friend. About a week ago, I started an afghan for one of the boys for Christmas. It's camo, which is all 3 of their favorite colors. I wonder how in the world I'm ever gonna tell them apart. Oh well, I'll worry about that later. Today I started making a few more cloth bags. I make them from pants and shorts that the boys have outgrown. Some of the clothes I can pass down but most of them I can't. My boys like to play in the dirt and help their dad with working on greasy stuff. Some things you just can't shout out. LOL
One of most impressive crafts right now is plastic bags. Oh yeah, back on the eco thing again. By the way, I stay on it. Before we started using cloth bags (recycled from clothing) we would get lots of bags every time we went grocery shopping. I searched online and I found an awesome way to recycle them.
Marlos Crochet Corner has this awesome Plastic Tote Bag that you can make. There is a link on the website for the instructions on cutting and tying the bags. Once I get enough of the bags cut and tied, I'll start crocheting them. I thought that I would make at least one bag (probably many more) and use them when we go grocery shopping. I'm not worried about any certain color pattern right now. Most of my bags are white with black writing on them. It's silly for me to go out and find different color bags, that really defeats the purpose anyway. And if this works out, I thought that I would ask my friends to save their bags for us.
Superman has come up with the idea that we should make Christmas stockings instead of buying them. Of course I have all this material that I hoard, so it won't be difficult finding material to use. He has the idea that all 5 of us can make them one weekend. It sounds like an awesome family project to me. I'll have to let you know how that goes.
In the next day or so, I'll tell you all about our pumpkin carving that we did last night.
My family is running from here to there and we seem to be just spinning our wheels. Even with spinning our wheels, things are getting done. Granny Karen is coming home tomorrow from rehab. I am thinking of taking the boys to Publix on Saturday for the pumpkin painting fun. My sister is flying in on the 30th. She even said that she would go Trick or Treating with us. That's gonna be a blast. My mom has surgery on the 31st. I'm still giving Tigger some meds. I just have a couple more days of that. It's not to bad if you hold him right. Yeah - and just how do you hold a cat to shove a pill down his throat? Very carefully!
No matter how many loads of laundry I do in one day, it always seems like the laundry basket is still running over. At least the boys have picked up a lot of the chores and they are even starting to do them without being told. Sometimes I have to give gentle little reminders, but I can deal with that. Every Sunday I assign different chores to everyone. Instead of us trying to remember them, I post them on the refrigerator. I know they all see it on the refrigerator because they drink tea like it's going out of style.
I've been working on a couple of crafts. Yes, more than one. Go figure. I just finished a beautiful baby blanket for a friend. About a week ago, I started an afghan for one of the boys for Christmas. It's camo, which is all 3 of their favorite colors. I wonder how in the world I'm ever gonna tell them apart. Oh well, I'll worry about that later. Today I started making a few more cloth bags. I make them from pants and shorts that the boys have outgrown. Some of the clothes I can pass down but most of them I can't. My boys like to play in the dirt and help their dad with working on greasy stuff. Some things you just can't shout out. LOL
One of most impressive crafts right now is plastic bags. Oh yeah, back on the eco thing again. By the way, I stay on it. Before we started using cloth bags (recycled from clothing) we would get lots of bags every time we went grocery shopping. I searched online and I found an awesome way to recycle them.
Marlos Crochet Corner has this awesome Plastic Tote Bag that you can make. There is a link on the website for the instructions on cutting and tying the bags. Once I get enough of the bags cut and tied, I'll start crocheting them. I thought that I would make at least one bag (probably many more) and use them when we go grocery shopping. I'm not worried about any certain color pattern right now. Most of my bags are white with black writing on them. It's silly for me to go out and find different color bags, that really defeats the purpose anyway. And if this works out, I thought that I would ask my friends to save their bags for us.
Superman has come up with the idea that we should make Christmas stockings instead of buying them. Of course I have all this material that I hoard, so it won't be difficult finding material to use. He has the idea that all 5 of us can make them one weekend. It sounds like an awesome family project to me. I'll have to let you know how that goes.
In the next day or so, I'll tell you all about our pumpkin carving that we did last night.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Surgery of a Child
I have been with a lot of family members that have had surgery. I have even had surgery myself. I have managed all those times of surgery by sitting still and reading a book or just taking a little nap. But not today!
I paced. I paced some more. And then I paced some more. Superman actually told me that I need to sit still. Funny thing is, I didn't even notice that I was pacing.
We were at the hospital at 7am, we checked in and we waited. Poor little MJ was so hungry and so thirsty. His little eyes were red because he was so tired. We let him stay up late last night to watch a movie. That's what he wanted to do. We had to get him up at 6am this morning because we had to be at the hospital so darn early. He couldn't eat or drink after midnight last night. This kid gets out of bed hungry every morning. LOL
They finally called him to go pre-op at 10:15 and he was taken into surgery at 10:45. He said that he wanted me and his dad in surgery with him. We told him that they wouldn't let us go into the operating room but we would be waiting on him to get out of surgery. And we were!
12 noon we got the call that he was out of surgery and that it went well. We headed to the 2nd floor to wait for MJ to wake up. It took him about 1 1/2 hours to wake up. I was getting kinda concerned but everyone assured me that is pretty normal. Did that make me worry any less? Nope! Not one little bit less. At least by this time I had stopped pacing. LOL
Eyes start to creep open. Oh what a joyous sight! Superman won't admit it, but he was getting concerned too. Oh gosh - pain. That's what MJ felt about 15 minutes later when he was a little more awake. Tylenol with codeine - ok - now he's knocked out again. Goodness gracious I'm worried now. We sit and we wait and we wait and we wait some more. We talk to anyone and everyone that comes by to check on MJ. They assure us that everything is fine.
Superman finally gets him to wake up and talk to him around 4pm. MJ is awake now and ready to go home. He ask "Where am I". He grabs his dad's arm and hugs it and lays his head on it. MJ tries not to cry but the tears just come out. He was so worried that we weren't going to be there for him. He really thought that we were going to leave him. Please understand that in the past MJ and his brothers have lost everything that they have ever loved or cared about before. We assure them all the time that we will never leave them.
After us reassuring MJ that we waited just like we said we would do, he was fine and he was ready for something to eat. Out of bed to get dressed and in the car and on the way home. What a thrilled little boy he was.
WW and JD were so glad to see us, but they were more pleased to see MJ. They were full of questions and just had to see the incisions from the surgery. For the next hour or so, WW and JD were very protective of MJ. They didn't want him to get up to do anything. He was supposed to do nothing but rest.
8pm and the house is quiet. Everyone is exhausted and in bed asleep. Except me of course, I'm still pacing. LOL Just kiddin.
For any parents that their children have to have surgery...
Hang in there, they will be fine.
For all of the staff at Shands at the University of Florida...
Thank you for all your kindness to MJ and to my family!
I paced. I paced some more. And then I paced some more. Superman actually told me that I need to sit still. Funny thing is, I didn't even notice that I was pacing.
We were at the hospital at 7am, we checked in and we waited. Poor little MJ was so hungry and so thirsty. His little eyes were red because he was so tired. We let him stay up late last night to watch a movie. That's what he wanted to do. We had to get him up at 6am this morning because we had to be at the hospital so darn early. He couldn't eat or drink after midnight last night. This kid gets out of bed hungry every morning. LOL
They finally called him to go pre-op at 10:15 and he was taken into surgery at 10:45. He said that he wanted me and his dad in surgery with him. We told him that they wouldn't let us go into the operating room but we would be waiting on him to get out of surgery. And we were!
12 noon we got the call that he was out of surgery and that it went well. We headed to the 2nd floor to wait for MJ to wake up. It took him about 1 1/2 hours to wake up. I was getting kinda concerned but everyone assured me that is pretty normal. Did that make me worry any less? Nope! Not one little bit less. At least by this time I had stopped pacing. LOL
Eyes start to creep open. Oh what a joyous sight! Superman won't admit it, but he was getting concerned too. Oh gosh - pain. That's what MJ felt about 15 minutes later when he was a little more awake. Tylenol with codeine - ok - now he's knocked out again. Goodness gracious I'm worried now. We sit and we wait and we wait and we wait some more. We talk to anyone and everyone that comes by to check on MJ. They assure us that everything is fine.
Superman finally gets him to wake up and talk to him around 4pm. MJ is awake now and ready to go home. He ask "Where am I". He grabs his dad's arm and hugs it and lays his head on it. MJ tries not to cry but the tears just come out. He was so worried that we weren't going to be there for him. He really thought that we were going to leave him. Please understand that in the past MJ and his brothers have lost everything that they have ever loved or cared about before. We assure them all the time that we will never leave them.
After us reassuring MJ that we waited just like we said we would do, he was fine and he was ready for something to eat. Out of bed to get dressed and in the car and on the way home. What a thrilled little boy he was.
WW and JD were so glad to see us, but they were more pleased to see MJ. They were full of questions and just had to see the incisions from the surgery. For the next hour or so, WW and JD were very protective of MJ. They didn't want him to get up to do anything. He was supposed to do nothing but rest.
8pm and the house is quiet. Everyone is exhausted and in bed asleep. Except me of course, I'm still pacing. LOL Just kiddin.
For any parents that their children have to have surgery...
Hang in there, they will be fine.
For all of the staff at Shands at the University of Florida...
Thank you for all your kindness to MJ and to my family!
Monday, October 22, 2007
Where Do I Start
Sunday - that seems like a great place for me to start. Rain, we got more rain. I went to paint class and painted an awesome oil painting. I love the Bob Ross wet on wet method. My instructor is awesome. She is just so wonderful that it is hard to describe her.
Monday - class went really well today. We finally managed to get our microscope out and do a few Science projects. The boys were just amazed at what they saw. These Science projects are 5th grade level but MJ did them with us. MJ is really zipping through his books. His reading has improved so much and we are so proud of him. Now if I could just get WW and JD to show more interest. JD used to have such problems staying awake in class when he went to public school. He doesn't get sleepy during home school. I keep them hopping, so they don't have time to get sleepy. I also get them in bed pretty early, that way they are sure to get plenty of rest. Every night (including weekends) I have the boys sit down for quiet time. The quiet time is used to read. Every once in awhile the quiet time will be used as coloring time. The coloring time is about once a week. They are now looking forward to quiet time.
Tomorrow MJ goes in for his surgery. It's a day stay surgery but I am sure it will take most of the day. WW and JD are spending the night with their Granny (my mom). I sent them off with 2 small coolers full of food for breakfast and lunch for tomorrow. Lots of good snacks too. They were really excited about spending the night with her. They really wanted her to eat supper with us tonight but she had other plans. MJ ask me all kinds of questions tonight about his surgery. He said that he is a little bit nervous and he wants me and his dad to be with him the whole time. I assured him that we would be right there with him as long as the doctors would let us.
It's close to midnight right now and we all have to be up early in the morning. I'm heading to bed - oh yeah - after I let Molly in, because she is barking at the back door. LOL
Night all!
Monday - class went really well today. We finally managed to get our microscope out and do a few Science projects. The boys were just amazed at what they saw. These Science projects are 5th grade level but MJ did them with us. MJ is really zipping through his books. His reading has improved so much and we are so proud of him. Now if I could just get WW and JD to show more interest. JD used to have such problems staying awake in class when he went to public school. He doesn't get sleepy during home school. I keep them hopping, so they don't have time to get sleepy. I also get them in bed pretty early, that way they are sure to get plenty of rest. Every night (including weekends) I have the boys sit down for quiet time. The quiet time is used to read. Every once in awhile the quiet time will be used as coloring time. The coloring time is about once a week. They are now looking forward to quiet time.
Tomorrow MJ goes in for his surgery. It's a day stay surgery but I am sure it will take most of the day. WW and JD are spending the night with their Granny (my mom). I sent them off with 2 small coolers full of food for breakfast and lunch for tomorrow. Lots of good snacks too. They were really excited about spending the night with her. They really wanted her to eat supper with us tonight but she had other plans. MJ ask me all kinds of questions tonight about his surgery. He said that he is a little bit nervous and he wants me and his dad to be with him the whole time. I assured him that we would be right there with him as long as the doctors would let us.
It's close to midnight right now and we all have to be up early in the morning. I'm heading to bed - oh yeah - after I let Molly in, because she is barking at the back door. LOL
Night all!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Full Calendar
Have you ever wondered when it will every end? What ever "It" is. Well some days I wonder. This whole month has been a month from - yep - you guessed it. Oh yeah - and we are only 11 days into this darn month. What will the rest of the month bring?
Granny Karen has had her knee surgery this morning. MJ has surgery on the 23rd of this month. And my mom will be having surgery on the 31st. I have heard all my life that things come in three's. Will the surgeries are certainly coming in three's.
My October calendar is certainly full. And now I have to write more things on it. I think it may just be full after this. LOL And I just got a call from my sister saying that I need to pick her up at the airport on the 30th of this month. I knew about it but I had kinda forgotten. Just as long as I don't forget on the 30th I'll be ok.
Our weather was much cooler this morning. It was very nice to walk out the door and not feel like you're walking into an oven.
Yesterday the boys and I decided that we would have class on the road. We had a doctors appointment for MJ and from there I wanted to run by the book store. I couldn't find any books by James Patterson on sale. I did buy another "Wee Sing" cd for the boys. I love these little songs on these cd's. Once we left the book store, we decided to go over the Target and just look around. We have been looking for some Halloween cookie cutters and couldn't find them anywhere. We found them at Target, they were right inside the door and they were only $1 a pack. Pretty darn good deal.
We have been doing a little paper mache'. It is so very messy but so much fun. We are making pumpkins. I really have no idea how they are going to turn out but right now they look really cool. We started out with a balloon and then we started layering the paper mache'. We tied a string to the balloon so that we could hang them to dry. We are making them in a couple of stages because we want them to be sturdy. I'm excited about decorating them!
WW is baking cookies right now. He just said to me that he has never baked cookies before. I bought a roll of the toll house cookies and I got him started baking and off he ran with it. Chocolate chip cookies too! Yummy!
Even though our calendar is full, we are finding time to have fun and spend time with each other. It's very important to enjoy your family no matter how busy your life becomes or how full your calendar gets.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Especially the AMERICAN FLAG
Every week I like to read our local newspapers online. Tonight I start reading one of our local newspapers and of course I just have to go and read the editorial. The article that I am talking about just upset me. Why? If you are an American then you will know why. Please remember that I am posting this because I am an American and I believe in our country. This post is not meant to offend anyone!
Letters to the editor
Students banned from wearing flag
Editor:
It has come to my attention that the Levy County School Board does not allow Students, especially at the Williston Middle school, to wear any clothing with a Flag on it. Especially the AMERICAN FLAG!
I find this absolutely ludicrous. This is AMERICA!
Who are we going to offend? A Muslim? An anarchist ? An illegal?
I have also been advised that the Pledge of Allegiance is not pledged each morning in class. Is that true? Why not?
This IS AMERICA. The Land of the FREE. We Are “One Nation Under GOD” or have you bubble heads forgotten that under the guise of political correctness? Read the entire article here.
Letters to the editor
Students banned from wearing flag
Editor:
It has come to my attention that the Levy County School Board does not allow Students, especially at the Williston Middle school, to wear any clothing with a Flag on it. Especially the AMERICAN FLAG!
I find this absolutely ludicrous. This is AMERICA!
Who are we going to offend? A Muslim? An anarchist ? An illegal?
I have also been advised that the Pledge of Allegiance is not pledged each morning in class. Is that true? Why not?
This IS AMERICA. The Land of the FREE. We Are “One Nation Under GOD” or have you bubble heads forgotten that under the guise of political correctness? Read the entire article here.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Living in the Real World
We all know that once the weekend is gone that Monday comes along. It's a fact. Not one that much of us like but it happens. And once again I find myself asking - where did the weekend go? I wonder where the weekends go because we stay busy. We always seem to run from here to there and back again. I'm not so much the runner in the family, it's more Superman than me. The boys are all fine with staying home or being on the go. I really think they prefer to stay home than running from here to there. However, there are times when they will ask if we are going anywhere. I try to post our schedule (appointments) on the calendar and I do a pretty good job of it. I just don't post things like buying groceries or horse feed or things like that.
Yes, it's Monday. I used to really dread Mondays. That's when I worked in the real world. Now that I am a SAHM (stay at home mom) and a WAHM (work at home mom), I don't dread Mondays anymore. Funny how I said the real world. What exactly is the real world?
For me the real world consist of rolling out of bed at a decent hour, doing the brush teeth and make bed thing. Next I'm trying to get things a little organized for our daily school lessons, while I am waking the boys up and reminding them to get their chores completed. They're pretty good with their chores, so that's the easy part. Doing this and that for all the critters, such as feeding, cleaning the litter boxes, opening gates for horses and so on... Next, I'm giving a bottle to our baby squirrel while making sure that the boys clean the table and do their dishes after they eat breakfast. Then we're off to school where we talk about Columbus sailing the ocean blue, counting from 1 to 200 and figuring out what number comes before and after. We work on growing plants, examining plant cells, work on cursive writing, figure out the plot, setting and characters of a story. We work on spelling words and telling time. We do addition, subtraction and we multiply and we divide. We do fractions and we count beans. We draw and we color. I think it would have been easier to just say there isn't anything that we don't work on.
Some days we all walk to the mailbox together. Some days we run errands and read road signs. Everyday we laugh! No matter how bad the day is - we still find something to laugh at.
We eat lunch and we clean up our mess. We add some more and count some more beans. We count coins and we try to talk in Spanish. We run, we jump and we sword fight. Some days I'm toting a cat like a baby trying to get them out of the bathroom while answering 900 questions. Some days I'm feeding the baby squirrel while trying to wash my hands. One just never knows around here. LOL
Schools out and we all run our separate ways. Me to the barn and then to the kitchen. The boys? Oh they scatter in all different directions.
We all sit down to supper and we laugh and giggle and we talk about our day. We all do the cleaning up from supper and then we all scatter again. The boys scatter off to get their showers and do any homework that they have. Then they find us and hopefully we all can sit down to a movie or to another family conversation or even for some quiet time to read a book.
Bedtime. For everyone except me. Of course I am the one that has the most problem going to sleep. I take the time that everyone is asleep as my quiet time, my time to relax and finally read my emails, clean off my desk, do a little dusting, maybe even some laundry. Now I'm thinking, just how many hours are in the day anyway. LOL
In the morning we start all over again. That brings me to another question. Isn't it time for me to get some sleep? Yeah - I think so!
Goodnight all!
Yes, it's Monday. I used to really dread Mondays. That's when I worked in the real world. Now that I am a SAHM (stay at home mom) and a WAHM (work at home mom), I don't dread Mondays anymore. Funny how I said the real world. What exactly is the real world?
For me the real world consist of rolling out of bed at a decent hour, doing the brush teeth and make bed thing. Next I'm trying to get things a little organized for our daily school lessons, while I am waking the boys up and reminding them to get their chores completed. They're pretty good with their chores, so that's the easy part. Doing this and that for all the critters, such as feeding, cleaning the litter boxes, opening gates for horses and so on... Next, I'm giving a bottle to our baby squirrel while making sure that the boys clean the table and do their dishes after they eat breakfast. Then we're off to school where we talk about Columbus sailing the ocean blue, counting from 1 to 200 and figuring out what number comes before and after. We work on growing plants, examining plant cells, work on cursive writing, figure out the plot, setting and characters of a story. We work on spelling words and telling time. We do addition, subtraction and we multiply and we divide. We do fractions and we count beans. We draw and we color. I think it would have been easier to just say there isn't anything that we don't work on.
Some days we all walk to the mailbox together. Some days we run errands and read road signs. Everyday we laugh! No matter how bad the day is - we still find something to laugh at.
We eat lunch and we clean up our mess. We add some more and count some more beans. We count coins and we try to talk in Spanish. We run, we jump and we sword fight. Some days I'm toting a cat like a baby trying to get them out of the bathroom while answering 900 questions. Some days I'm feeding the baby squirrel while trying to wash my hands. One just never knows around here. LOL
Schools out and we all run our separate ways. Me to the barn and then to the kitchen. The boys? Oh they scatter in all different directions.
We all sit down to supper and we laugh and giggle and we talk about our day. We all do the cleaning up from supper and then we all scatter again. The boys scatter off to get their showers and do any homework that they have. Then they find us and hopefully we all can sit down to a movie or to another family conversation or even for some quiet time to read a book.
Bedtime. For everyone except me. Of course I am the one that has the most problem going to sleep. I take the time that everyone is asleep as my quiet time, my time to relax and finally read my emails, clean off my desk, do a little dusting, maybe even some laundry. Now I'm thinking, just how many hours are in the day anyway. LOL
In the morning we start all over again. That brings me to another question. Isn't it time for me to get some sleep? Yeah - I think so!
Goodnight all!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Calling All Parents
Ok - I have to admit, I really need some advice.
My middle son, JD, is 12 years old and he hates school. Yes, with a capital H. Some days he will do his work with very little complaints and other days - well there other days. Days that he complains about everything. He hates his chair, he hates his desk, he hates the clothes he is wearing. He hates to read and even refuses to read. Every lesson he starts to do is dumb. Ask him to add 2+1 on those days and he will tell you he is confused. He can come up with any excuse and every excuse to get out of his school work. He will say that no one can make him do his school work.
Instead of looking in the material he has read for the answer to a multiple choice question, he will just pick an answer. He will say that he doesn't care if he gets it wrong. He will say that the answer is not in the material he just read. He will say that the answer isn't where he is looking or where he looked. He will say that I never help him. When I am sitting less than a foot away from him, he will ask me to tell him what page the answer is on. Then he will want you to tell him what paragraph it is in. And then he wants to know what sentence it is. I mean it just goes on and on.
He will say so many other things too. All the things that he says is negative. We all try to work with him. We all try to help him. There is a limit to helping someone before you actually are doing it for them.
I am hoping that someone who has experienced something like this can please give me some ideas or suggestions that may help us out. At this point, I sometimes think a root canal would be more pleasant.
My middle son, JD, is 12 years old and he hates school. Yes, with a capital H. Some days he will do his work with very little complaints and other days - well there other days. Days that he complains about everything. He hates his chair, he hates his desk, he hates the clothes he is wearing. He hates to read and even refuses to read. Every lesson he starts to do is dumb. Ask him to add 2+1 on those days and he will tell you he is confused. He can come up with any excuse and every excuse to get out of his school work. He will say that no one can make him do his school work.
Instead of looking in the material he has read for the answer to a multiple choice question, he will just pick an answer. He will say that he doesn't care if he gets it wrong. He will say that the answer is not in the material he just read. He will say that the answer isn't where he is looking or where he looked. He will say that I never help him. When I am sitting less than a foot away from him, he will ask me to tell him what page the answer is on. Then he will want you to tell him what paragraph it is in. And then he wants to know what sentence it is. I mean it just goes on and on.
He will say so many other things too. All the things that he says is negative. We all try to work with him. We all try to help him. There is a limit to helping someone before you actually are doing it for them.
I am hoping that someone who has experienced something like this can please give me some ideas or suggestions that may help us out. At this point, I sometimes think a root canal would be more pleasant.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Inspiration
Last week at our home school meeting, our fearless leader brought a few books that we were all welcome to borrow. She suggested a book for me and tonight I finally had the chance to pick it up and flip through the pages. Now I am having trouble putting it down.
"The First Year Of Homeschooling Your Child" by Linda Dobson.
I have read and read and read things about homeschooling. I never had any doubt that I couldn't do it or that I shouldn't do it. On the other hand, Superman did have a little doubt about us homeschooling. He was really concerned about the social aspect of it all. That is always the least amount of my concern. Teach your children good manners and those manners will follow them into the world. Ok - that's my opinion and my view, but when you think about it, it really does make sense. Once I talked to Superman about the benefits of homeschooling and he thought about it, then he was convinced. His idea now - Public school is not an option.
In this book that I'm reading, I came across something titled "What I wish someone had told me during my first year of homeschooling." Well let me go on and share this with you. Why? Because if you have read any of my other post about our defiant middle son, then you will understand. If you haven't read any of those post, then the word defiant explains it all. LOL
"First, I wish someone had explained that every day would not be perfect but that they all have value. Actually, I heard this basic message in a few different places, and read nearly the same words. But no on I knew seemed to experience any low moments, so even though I understood deep down that we would not have magical moments every day, I felt really bad when we had a less-than-stellar day."
"I felt especially sensitive to this on days when I was finding myself trying to explain homeschooling to someone who didn't quite get it. Or after I read lots of anecdotes in books and magazines about amazing things that other homeschoolers are doing."
"Lately I have tried to find something to cherish in everyday, even if it is simply a hug or kiss from my kids. I have found that as I worry less about having picture-perfect days, I am more able to enjoy good days and live with bad ones. I am also better able to see that my kids are learning even when things don't go smoothly." Deb Baker, Bellevue, Washington
Ok - that really hit home with me. I thought - "Alta, here's your sign". How many more writings on the wall do I need to let me know that what I am doing is ok? It just takes a little inspiration from someone or something else to let us know that "This too shall pass".
"The First Year Of Homeschooling Your Child" by Linda Dobson.
I have read and read and read things about homeschooling. I never had any doubt that I couldn't do it or that I shouldn't do it. On the other hand, Superman did have a little doubt about us homeschooling. He was really concerned about the social aspect of it all. That is always the least amount of my concern. Teach your children good manners and those manners will follow them into the world. Ok - that's my opinion and my view, but when you think about it, it really does make sense. Once I talked to Superman about the benefits of homeschooling and he thought about it, then he was convinced. His idea now - Public school is not an option.
In this book that I'm reading, I came across something titled "What I wish someone had told me during my first year of homeschooling." Well let me go on and share this with you. Why? Because if you have read any of my other post about our defiant middle son, then you will understand. If you haven't read any of those post, then the word defiant explains it all. LOL
"First, I wish someone had explained that every day would not be perfect but that they all have value. Actually, I heard this basic message in a few different places, and read nearly the same words. But no on I knew seemed to experience any low moments, so even though I understood deep down that we would not have magical moments every day, I felt really bad when we had a less-than-stellar day."
"I felt especially sensitive to this on days when I was finding myself trying to explain homeschooling to someone who didn't quite get it. Or after I read lots of anecdotes in books and magazines about amazing things that other homeschoolers are doing."
"Lately I have tried to find something to cherish in everyday, even if it is simply a hug or kiss from my kids. I have found that as I worry less about having picture-perfect days, I am more able to enjoy good days and live with bad ones. I am also better able to see that my kids are learning even when things don't go smoothly." Deb Baker, Bellevue, Washington
Ok - that really hit home with me. I thought - "Alta, here's your sign". How many more writings on the wall do I need to let me know that what I am doing is ok? It just takes a little inspiration from someone or something else to let us know that "This too shall pass".
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Long Long Day
When class starts and 9:30 am and ends around 5pm, it certainly makes for a long, long day. And get this - class really didn't end at 5 pm, it's just that I had had enough. I couldn't take the whining or complaining anymore. JD can certainly takes hours and hours to whine and complain but he can't take 15 minutes to do his work. I think that for some reason that he believes that if he complains enough that I will just let class go and not do it, or he won't have to do his work. I have showed him time after time that no matter the amount of complaining that he does, he will still have to do his work. How in the world can I get him to understand? And even if he doesn't understand right now, if I can just get him to comply.
I know that some of you may have experienced what I am going through with getting JD to understand, sit still or just simply do his work. What can I do? He wanted my help today with math, no problem - but - the whole time I am explaining the division problem to him he is using his pencil as a car and even making car sounds. How much of this can a person take? I stopped and ask him to stop making the sound and to please put his pencil down. Oh yes - it worked for about 15 seconds. I know - take what is given to me. But the whole 15 seconds he is complaining that he doesn't understand. Well for goodness sake, I guess he doesn't understand if he won't listen.
I suppose some days I am just at a lose. Tonight we discussed his behavior at supper and he had to have a talk with his dad. He certainly doesn't like having those talks with his dad.
MJ is about to move on to Unit 2 of his History and Geography studies, he is also about to move on to Unit 2 in his Language Arts studies. He is really working very well and comprehending what he is reading.
I told WW that I am not holding him back and waiting on JD anymore. Tomorrow he will be able to pick up his books and do his studies by himself. I ask him to come to me with any questions that he has and I will check him from time to time.
Other than it being a long, long day, it was an ok day. Hopefully JD will get some really good rest tonight and we will be able to move him along.
I know that some of you may have experienced what I am going through with getting JD to understand, sit still or just simply do his work. What can I do? He wanted my help today with math, no problem - but - the whole time I am explaining the division problem to him he is using his pencil as a car and even making car sounds. How much of this can a person take? I stopped and ask him to stop making the sound and to please put his pencil down. Oh yes - it worked for about 15 seconds. I know - take what is given to me. But the whole 15 seconds he is complaining that he doesn't understand. Well for goodness sake, I guess he doesn't understand if he won't listen.
I suppose some days I am just at a lose. Tonight we discussed his behavior at supper and he had to have a talk with his dad. He certainly doesn't like having those talks with his dad.
MJ is about to move on to Unit 2 of his History and Geography studies, he is also about to move on to Unit 2 in his Language Arts studies. He is really working very well and comprehending what he is reading.
I told WW that I am not holding him back and waiting on JD anymore. Tomorrow he will be able to pick up his books and do his studies by himself. I ask him to come to me with any questions that he has and I will check him from time to time.
Other than it being a long, long day, it was an ok day. Hopefully JD will get some really good rest tonight and we will be able to move him along.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Game Day
It was so much fun! For 2 and a half hours there were about a dozen kids, ranging from 5 months to 14 years old, all playing educational games together. All playing and getting along without any problems at all. What a wonderful thing!
Today was our first "Game Day" meeting. Our group leader planned it all and put it all together. We all (well all that could attend) met at one of our members churches (in the fellowship) hall. There were educational games for all of the children to play. It gave us all time to sit and chat with each other and actually put some things together on paper for our group. I think this group is really gonna do very well. We do have a website that is in the process of being built and when it's all done, it will be totally awesome. We are also about to put together a yahoo group so that we can all communicate with each other without the mass email thing.
So now I am off to take care of creating the yahoo group where we can all post away until our little fingers get really, really tired.
Today was our first "Game Day" meeting. Our group leader planned it all and put it all together. We all (well all that could attend) met at one of our members churches (in the fellowship) hall. There were educational games for all of the children to play. It gave us all time to sit and chat with each other and actually put some things together on paper for our group. I think this group is really gonna do very well. We do have a website that is in the process of being built and when it's all done, it will be totally awesome. We are also about to put together a yahoo group so that we can all communicate with each other without the mass email thing.
So now I am off to take care of creating the yahoo group where we can all post away until our little fingers get really, really tired.
Over The Weekend
I just logged onto my computer this morning and I didn't remember what day it was. I really thought it was Thursday or Friday. My goodness where did the weekend go? I did the same thing with the month last night. I mean it was just August and now it is September and the middle of September to boot.
Now that I have established that I did actually go through a weekend, here's what we did.
A birthday party on Saturday. We had MJ's birthday party on Saturday. It was wonderful! Granny Karen and MJ had worked all week on making a pinata in the shape of a rabbit. It was pretty darn cool. I procrastinated and waited until Friday night to order the cake (not a good thing). Oh well! So I put together the most adorable little bunny cake. MJ said he wanted a rabbit cake and that's what he would get. I was up til way after midnight making a rabbit cake for my little guy. It was adorable!
Gifts! OH MY! He was so happy with all of his gifts. He kept saying this was the best birthday ever. He actually made me cry when he said that. Just a reminder that our boys are adopted and this is their first birthday with us.
Monday is actually MJ's birthday. The day my little buddy turns 10.
Now that I have established that I did actually go through a weekend, here's what we did.
A birthday party on Saturday. We had MJ's birthday party on Saturday. It was wonderful! Granny Karen and MJ had worked all week on making a pinata in the shape of a rabbit. It was pretty darn cool. I procrastinated and waited until Friday night to order the cake (not a good thing). Oh well! So I put together the most adorable little bunny cake. MJ said he wanted a rabbit cake and that's what he would get. I was up til way after midnight making a rabbit cake for my little guy. It was adorable!
Gifts! OH MY! He was so happy with all of his gifts. He kept saying this was the best birthday ever. He actually made me cry when he said that. Just a reminder that our boys are adopted and this is their first birthday with us.
Monday is actually MJ's birthday. The day my little buddy turns 10.
Friday, September 14, 2007
80 Miles Round Trip
Yes the round trip from our home to our home school group meeting and then back home is 80 miles. I know it seems like a lot and some days it feels like double that. I had thought about not going to the meetings anymore then I get reminded of how important they are. I also get to thinking about what we learn on that drive.
We learn things like this:
Time, distance, careers, patient, money, laws, reading, direction, manners, spelling, history, geography, language arts, math, science and my goodness, so much more.
On one of our little trips we watched men working on clearing under the power line. They were using heavy equipment and putting limbs into a chipper. We talked about why they were doing it, how they were doing it and how dangerous it could be.
On another of our trips we talked about the train that we saw. The cars on the train were full of coal. That started a conversation about electricity, coal miners, our planet and more.
Yesterday - oh yeah - yesterday!
Yesterday on the way home I saw smoke. I mentioned it to the boys and tried to point it out, but with the trees in the way it was kind of hard to see. We came to an area that is farmed and I could see it really well and pointed it out to the boys. As we drove we kept looking for it. We were getting closer and closer. Excitement was building. Oh my - it's in our neighborhood. What's really cool about is that MJ is studying about neighborhoods, helping and sharing (such as neighbors, fire departments and such). Oh the boys were all paying attention now and the excitement was getting more intense.
"MOM!!!" Yeah I know. It's getting fun now. I pick up my cell phone and dial 911. The fire was huge! It was running across the tops of the trees. It was burning on the ground. It was growing and growing. I'm on the phone with 911 and the boys are excited. The dispatcher was asking me question after question. I was giving answer after answer. Something you may need to know about cell phones - when I dialed 911, my cell phone was still on the tower that dials into another county 911 center. I was giving the address and the dispatcher was telling me that it didn't exist. I know I wasn't going crazy.
Finally - transferred to the right 911 center. I knew I wasn't crazy! LOL I've been a 911 dispatcher and I know how all this works. I should have known before the dispatcher ask me what county I was in. I was amazed that no one had called in this fire yet. It was pretty darn close to a house too. And get this - the house that it was close to had cleared some land, piled up the brush that they had cleared (right next to the woods). Now I don't know and I am just assuming, but who ever lives their had to have set that fire. They were actually inside the house, we found that out once the fire department arrived on scene.
Less than 5 minutes after my call to 911 the Forestry Department and the local Fire Department were there. I was very impressed. A total of 5 brush trucks, 1 Forestry truck and dozer, and one tanker truck showed up. One of the brush trucks was from an adjoining county and the tanker truck was from the adjoining county. The tanker truck was there to refill the brush trucks. The boys were able to see all of this happening. They thought it was the coolest thing and they could hardly wait until their dad got home from work.
What an exciting 80 mile round trip!
We learn things like this:
Time, distance, careers, patient, money, laws, reading, direction, manners, spelling, history, geography, language arts, math, science and my goodness, so much more.
On one of our little trips we watched men working on clearing under the power line. They were using heavy equipment and putting limbs into a chipper. We talked about why they were doing it, how they were doing it and how dangerous it could be.
On another of our trips we talked about the train that we saw. The cars on the train were full of coal. That started a conversation about electricity, coal miners, our planet and more.
Yesterday - oh yeah - yesterday!
Yesterday on the way home I saw smoke. I mentioned it to the boys and tried to point it out, but with the trees in the way it was kind of hard to see. We came to an area that is farmed and I could see it really well and pointed it out to the boys. As we drove we kept looking for it. We were getting closer and closer. Excitement was building. Oh my - it's in our neighborhood. What's really cool about is that MJ is studying about neighborhoods, helping and sharing (such as neighbors, fire departments and such). Oh the boys were all paying attention now and the excitement was getting more intense.
"MOM!!!" Yeah I know. It's getting fun now. I pick up my cell phone and dial 911. The fire was huge! It was running across the tops of the trees. It was burning on the ground. It was growing and growing. I'm on the phone with 911 and the boys are excited. The dispatcher was asking me question after question. I was giving answer after answer. Something you may need to know about cell phones - when I dialed 911, my cell phone was still on the tower that dials into another county 911 center. I was giving the address and the dispatcher was telling me that it didn't exist. I know I wasn't going crazy.
Finally - transferred to the right 911 center. I knew I wasn't crazy! LOL I've been a 911 dispatcher and I know how all this works. I should have known before the dispatcher ask me what county I was in. I was amazed that no one had called in this fire yet. It was pretty darn close to a house too. And get this - the house that it was close to had cleared some land, piled up the brush that they had cleared (right next to the woods). Now I don't know and I am just assuming, but who ever lives their had to have set that fire. They were actually inside the house, we found that out once the fire department arrived on scene.
Less than 5 minutes after my call to 911 the Forestry Department and the local Fire Department were there. I was very impressed. A total of 5 brush trucks, 1 Forestry truck and dozer, and one tanker truck showed up. One of the brush trucks was from an adjoining county and the tanker truck was from the adjoining county. The tanker truck was there to refill the brush trucks. The boys were able to see all of this happening. They thought it was the coolest thing and they could hardly wait until their dad got home from work.
What an exciting 80 mile round trip!
Fourth Week of Home School
We are on the last day of our fourth week of home school. It certainly has been a long 4 weeks. We have had our ups and downs but there have been more ups than downs.
WW started out kinda like this was a horrible chore. Now he is wanting to start as soon as he gets up every morning.
JD hates school. He's also defiant. As I said before, I have my hand full with him.
MJ, well he is just excited about everything. He is really zipping through his school work and doing very well.
If I remember correct, yesterday was our 5th home school group meeting. We missed last week but our fearless leader caught us up to date. We meet at Rum Island Springs, it's a county park and a pretty darn neat place. Yesterday we took a walk up the river. We talked about plants, animals, the Florida Aquifer, protecting and respecting our planet. And so much more. The kids were also allowed to swim and enjoy mother nature.
Our little group is really growing. I mentioned to Superman the other day that I had thought about us not going to the meetings anymore because of the drive. I sensed from he that he really didn't think that was a good idea. I am really glad that we discuss things and can communicate so well with each other. Ok, I'm convinced that we will go to the group meetings each week. We all enjoy them very much, it's just that the drive is 40 miles one way. But then I think about all the educational things in the 80 mile round trip ride. And I have something really great for you in just a few minutes. The boys remind me every week that we have our meeting on Thursday. I like that they do that. Our group now has started what we call "Game Days", we will meet on the 3rd Monday of each month for educational games. How can I not want to go when we have so much fun?!
WW started out kinda like this was a horrible chore. Now he is wanting to start as soon as he gets up every morning.
JD hates school. He's also defiant. As I said before, I have my hand full with him.
MJ, well he is just excited about everything. He is really zipping through his school work and doing very well.
If I remember correct, yesterday was our 5th home school group meeting. We missed last week but our fearless leader caught us up to date. We meet at Rum Island Springs, it's a county park and a pretty darn neat place. Yesterday we took a walk up the river. We talked about plants, animals, the Florida Aquifer, protecting and respecting our planet. And so much more. The kids were also allowed to swim and enjoy mother nature.
Our little group is really growing. I mentioned to Superman the other day that I had thought about us not going to the meetings anymore because of the drive. I sensed from he that he really didn't think that was a good idea. I am really glad that we discuss things and can communicate so well with each other. Ok, I'm convinced that we will go to the group meetings each week. We all enjoy them very much, it's just that the drive is 40 miles one way. But then I think about all the educational things in the 80 mile round trip ride. And I have something really great for you in just a few minutes. The boys remind me every week that we have our meeting on Thursday. I like that they do that. Our group now has started what we call "Game Days", we will meet on the 3rd Monday of each month for educational games. How can I not want to go when we have so much fun?!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
I Gotta Admit
I know that several of you are expecting pictures from our weekend trip to Missouri. I know I am in a bunch of trouble because I didn't take pictures. Yeah - believe it or not. I know, go to my room!
Here lately I just haven't been toting my camera along. I hate dragging all kinds of luggage with me. My digital camera that I have now just doesn't hold the battery life like it used to. The boys always want to take the pictures. It's just one more thing to keep up with. Yada, yada, yada...
Darn it - I should have taken it and let the boys take pictures. Then I wouldn't have had to worry about dragging it with me. Oh right - I forgot, I always seem to end up with all the things that they get tired of toting. LOL But really I don't let them do that to me. They ask me sometimes to hold this or that, but not me. No way. I tell them that they brought it and they have to keep up with it.
I will figure all the picture taking thing out and I promise to take pictures the next time we go. Hopefully that will be within the next 6 months. Superman is actually talking about us taking another trip there before this year is out. I guess we'll just have to see how that goes.
We have another birthday coming up this weekend. Little MJ will be 10 on Monday. He is all excited about his birthday and just won't hush up about it. It's ok though, we know he is excited.
Tomorrow we take our weekly trip to join our home school group. We missed last week because of packing and errands for our weekend trip. I actually missed it, so did the boys. Our little group is starting to grow and there are several plans in the making.
I think I'll call it a night. It's been a long day for all of us and of course a few behavior issues today, so I'm kinda tired. Night, night!
Here lately I just haven't been toting my camera along. I hate dragging all kinds of luggage with me. My digital camera that I have now just doesn't hold the battery life like it used to. The boys always want to take the pictures. It's just one more thing to keep up with. Yada, yada, yada...
Darn it - I should have taken it and let the boys take pictures. Then I wouldn't have had to worry about dragging it with me. Oh right - I forgot, I always seem to end up with all the things that they get tired of toting. LOL But really I don't let them do that to me. They ask me sometimes to hold this or that, but not me. No way. I tell them that they brought it and they have to keep up with it.
I will figure all the picture taking thing out and I promise to take pictures the next time we go. Hopefully that will be within the next 6 months. Superman is actually talking about us taking another trip there before this year is out. I guess we'll just have to see how that goes.
We have another birthday coming up this weekend. Little MJ will be 10 on Monday. He is all excited about his birthday and just won't hush up about it. It's ok though, we know he is excited.
Tomorrow we take our weekly trip to join our home school group. We missed last week because of packing and errands for our weekend trip. I actually missed it, so did the boys. Our little group is starting to grow and there are several plans in the making.
I think I'll call it a night. It's been a long day for all of us and of course a few behavior issues today, so I'm kinda tired. Night, night!
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Thursday and Friday
Where oh where do I start!?
What a weekend - and a really good one at that.
We left home on Thursday around 6pm and drove right at 60 miles to my father in laws house. Our plans were to spend the night and have him drive us to the airport Friday morning. Things sure can get mixed up sometimes. LOL
Thursday
Superman was supposed to get off from work early but of course things happen. He managed to actually get off from work later than usual. He was definitely not a happy camper about that. The boys and I ran all day to make sure that everything was taken care of around home before we left for Missouri. The boys were a wonderful help and they were really worried about their dad because he didn't get to come home early. They were actually upset with their dad's job because of that. We both explained that things like that happen sometimes and we just have to deal with those things when they happen.
We drove to Grandpa's house, had supper and started to settle down for the night. Everyone was so excited about getting on the plane on Friday and it really was hard to sleep. The boys finally settled down and it took them all of about 3 minutes to actually get to sleep. I think Superman and I finally fell asleep around midnight. I kept waking up because I just knew the darn alarm clock wouldn't go off or wake us up. Finally I woke up around 2am and just could not fall back asleep. 3am rolled around and I started waking everyone up and getting the boys dressed, teeth brushed and in the car.
Somewhere in here I need to tell you this...We had this all planned out for over 2 weeks about staying at my father in laws (Grandpa) house. Him and his wife were supposed to cook supper for us. So Superman calls me when he is on his way home and said something about his dad and supper. I think I just half listened. When Superman rolls in and we all pack into the car and roll out the gate, he looks at me and says "My dad said that we are having hot dogs for supper". I thought I would puke right then and there. Oh don't get me wrong - I really like hot dogs, but not as a main course. I just looked over at Superman and said, "I have got to have something to eat other than hot dogs". Nuff said!
We did have something different for supper. Thank goodness!
Friday
5am we roll into the airport. My first flight! I loved it! The boys first flight! The boys loved it! Getting checked in and through security was really easy. The boys manners and behavior were excellent. Superman actually saw and talked to some friends that he used to work with. We introduced them to our boys and told them about the adoption. Superman just glowed when he talked about the boys.
Time to board the plane. We boarded without any problems, sat in our little seats and the boys just kept asking questions about what this was and what that is and how this works and on and on...JD made sure that I sat beside him. He would have it no other way.
So many people at the airport and on the plane talked to the boys and made them feel really important. I was so proud of them!
Landing in St. Louis was a little rough. It was raining and the winds were blowing around 15 mph. Can you say "Turbulence"? Yes, we hit a little turbulence. JD was a little scared and he made sure that I was right there and I had to be touching him. I reassured him that I wasn't going anywhere and everything would be just fine. WW and MJ were fine with all of it. MJ actually laughed when we got into the turbulence. He is so darn silly anyway.
We grabbed our luggage, caught the shuttle bus and headed to pick up our rental car. I have to say that all 3 of the boys thought they were royalty. They have never been treated so nice. They had never been in a brand new car (our rental car), never stayed in a motel or a hotel and so many other things. They just seemed to glow!
Off in the rental car and headed to Summersville, Missouri - a 2 hour ride and beautiful scenery.
What a weekend - and a really good one at that.
We left home on Thursday around 6pm and drove right at 60 miles to my father in laws house. Our plans were to spend the night and have him drive us to the airport Friday morning. Things sure can get mixed up sometimes. LOL
Thursday
Superman was supposed to get off from work early but of course things happen. He managed to actually get off from work later than usual. He was definitely not a happy camper about that. The boys and I ran all day to make sure that everything was taken care of around home before we left for Missouri. The boys were a wonderful help and they were really worried about their dad because he didn't get to come home early. They were actually upset with their dad's job because of that. We both explained that things like that happen sometimes and we just have to deal with those things when they happen.
We drove to Grandpa's house, had supper and started to settle down for the night. Everyone was so excited about getting on the plane on Friday and it really was hard to sleep. The boys finally settled down and it took them all of about 3 minutes to actually get to sleep. I think Superman and I finally fell asleep around midnight. I kept waking up because I just knew the darn alarm clock wouldn't go off or wake us up. Finally I woke up around 2am and just could not fall back asleep. 3am rolled around and I started waking everyone up and getting the boys dressed, teeth brushed and in the car.
Somewhere in here I need to tell you this...We had this all planned out for over 2 weeks about staying at my father in laws (Grandpa) house. Him and his wife were supposed to cook supper for us. So Superman calls me when he is on his way home and said something about his dad and supper. I think I just half listened. When Superman rolls in and we all pack into the car and roll out the gate, he looks at me and says "My dad said that we are having hot dogs for supper". I thought I would puke right then and there. Oh don't get me wrong - I really like hot dogs, but not as a main course. I just looked over at Superman and said, "I have got to have something to eat other than hot dogs". Nuff said!
We did have something different for supper. Thank goodness!
Friday
5am we roll into the airport. My first flight! I loved it! The boys first flight! The boys loved it! Getting checked in and through security was really easy. The boys manners and behavior were excellent. Superman actually saw and talked to some friends that he used to work with. We introduced them to our boys and told them about the adoption. Superman just glowed when he talked about the boys.
Time to board the plane. We boarded without any problems, sat in our little seats and the boys just kept asking questions about what this was and what that is and how this works and on and on...JD made sure that I sat beside him. He would have it no other way.
So many people at the airport and on the plane talked to the boys and made them feel really important. I was so proud of them!
Landing in St. Louis was a little rough. It was raining and the winds were blowing around 15 mph. Can you say "Turbulence"? Yes, we hit a little turbulence. JD was a little scared and he made sure that I was right there and I had to be touching him. I reassured him that I wasn't going anywhere and everything would be just fine. WW and MJ were fine with all of it. MJ actually laughed when we got into the turbulence. He is so darn silly anyway.
We grabbed our luggage, caught the shuttle bus and headed to pick up our rental car. I have to say that all 3 of the boys thought they were royalty. They have never been treated so nice. They had never been in a brand new car (our rental car), never stayed in a motel or a hotel and so many other things. They just seemed to glow!
Off in the rental car and headed to Summersville, Missouri - a 2 hour ride and beautiful scenery.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Crayons In The Shower
I think tonight my husband (Superman) finally figured out the true meaning of fatherhood. I have to say it was rather amusing too.
I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth and Superman opened the shower door to start the water for his shower. He did something in the shower and then turned to me and said (while holding a crayon, "What exactly do ya'll do during the day and exactly how did this get in there?" Being the comedian that he truly is, his face was distorted in something that favored Bozo the Clown. All I could do was laugh! That really is not such an easy task with an electric toothbrush in my mouth. Needless to say that the electric toothbrush popped out of my mouth (to keep me from choking on it) and sprayed the mirror before I could get my wits about me. I literally had to catch my breath in order to give him a sensible answer. But before I could catch my breath and give him the answer of the crayon in the shower, he spoke up and said, "I know, MJ wrote in the shower I love you dad, in invisible crayon". Ok, it took me a little longer to compose myself because he is narrating on how the crayon got in the shower.
While I am doing my best to stop laughing so I can at least breath, he goes on to tell me about the activity of MJ helping him unload the feed and the hay this evening. Superman is trying really hard to get the feed out of the truck before the rain gets here. He grabs a bag or 2 of feed out of the truck, walks through the gate and into the barn with the feed. In the meantime, MJ gets bored and stands in the gate opening doing some type of gyrating boogie dance. Hands, feet, hips and head just a swinging around. Superman walks out of the barn in a bit of a hurry (because of the rain) and walks up behind MJ (without MJ knowing). MJ just continues with his boogie dance thing and Superman tries to get him to move. Well MJ being surprised steps to the left and then to the right and then to the left and so on and so on...Now it is like Superman and MJ are doing this boogie dance thing together. Superman just looks up and says to himself "let me get through this now because I know that I will be laughing about it later". There is no doubt that we will laugh about it now and later.
These and lots and lots of other things are just pleasures of being a parent. Some days I wonder how my parents did it. But in reality, I know how they did it. They simply ask to get through it now because they knew they would laugh about it all later.
Oh yeah - the crayon in the shower. I washed some back packs today and put them in the shower to dry, the crayon fell out of one of the back packs. I can hear you now - yeah right. That's exactly what Superman said.
I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth and Superman opened the shower door to start the water for his shower. He did something in the shower and then turned to me and said (while holding a crayon, "What exactly do ya'll do during the day and exactly how did this get in there?" Being the comedian that he truly is, his face was distorted in something that favored Bozo the Clown. All I could do was laugh! That really is not such an easy task with an electric toothbrush in my mouth. Needless to say that the electric toothbrush popped out of my mouth (to keep me from choking on it) and sprayed the mirror before I could get my wits about me. I literally had to catch my breath in order to give him a sensible answer. But before I could catch my breath and give him the answer of the crayon in the shower, he spoke up and said, "I know, MJ wrote in the shower I love you dad, in invisible crayon". Ok, it took me a little longer to compose myself because he is narrating on how the crayon got in the shower.
While I am doing my best to stop laughing so I can at least breath, he goes on to tell me about the activity of MJ helping him unload the feed and the hay this evening. Superman is trying really hard to get the feed out of the truck before the rain gets here. He grabs a bag or 2 of feed out of the truck, walks through the gate and into the barn with the feed. In the meantime, MJ gets bored and stands in the gate opening doing some type of gyrating boogie dance. Hands, feet, hips and head just a swinging around. Superman walks out of the barn in a bit of a hurry (because of the rain) and walks up behind MJ (without MJ knowing). MJ just continues with his boogie dance thing and Superman tries to get him to move. Well MJ being surprised steps to the left and then to the right and then to the left and so on and so on...Now it is like Superman and MJ are doing this boogie dance thing together. Superman just looks up and says to himself "let me get through this now because I know that I will be laughing about it later". There is no doubt that we will laugh about it now and later.
These and lots and lots of other things are just pleasures of being a parent. Some days I wonder how my parents did it. But in reality, I know how they did it. They simply ask to get through it now because they knew they would laugh about it all later.
Oh yeah - the crayon in the shower. I washed some back packs today and put them in the shower to dry, the crayon fell out of one of the back packs. I can hear you now - yeah right. That's exactly what Superman said.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Count Down
The end of this week we will be signing all of the paperwork on our new property. Our closing day is Friday the 7th. 40 acres! I am trying to contain myself and not get all giddy, but it really isn't easy. As I say that, I think - hmmm....I don't get giddy very much. I always remain pretty darn calm and level headed until things are all over with. Just my nature, I guess.
Did I say giddy? The boys wake up every morning this week and instead of saying good morning, I hear "5 more days" or "4 more days". WW wanted to start packing 2 weeks ago. He is one that has to plan ahead and be prepared. It's almost like Christmas around here with the excitement.
I don't think that the boys will get much sleep the night before we go to the airport. Instead of Santa flying in, we will be flying out.
It's hard to have class when the boys are all fired up. WW is so concerned that he will get put on restriction or make a bad grade and not be able to go swimming while we are in Missouri. I have tried and tried to explain to him that I rarely have any trouble from him. Today he explained (after making a C on a practice spelling test) that he was really worried that his dad was going to be really upset with his grade. I explained to WW that he should not worry that nothing bad is going to happen and his dad would not be upset. I explained that his dad would just tell him that he needed to study a little more. Now if you remember, our boys are adopted and their past memories are not very good ones. It's very natural for all 3 of the boys to think the worst. In time, I believe that those memories will fade and they will have more good memories than bad ones. Superman and I will do everything in our power to make that happen.
Ok - now you can join us in the count down! We fly on Friday in the early am. Less than 3 days and counting...
Did I say giddy? The boys wake up every morning this week and instead of saying good morning, I hear "5 more days" or "4 more days". WW wanted to start packing 2 weeks ago. He is one that has to plan ahead and be prepared. It's almost like Christmas around here with the excitement.
I don't think that the boys will get much sleep the night before we go to the airport. Instead of Santa flying in, we will be flying out.
It's hard to have class when the boys are all fired up. WW is so concerned that he will get put on restriction or make a bad grade and not be able to go swimming while we are in Missouri. I have tried and tried to explain to him that I rarely have any trouble from him. Today he explained (after making a C on a practice spelling test) that he was really worried that his dad was going to be really upset with his grade. I explained to WW that he should not worry that nothing bad is going to happen and his dad would not be upset. I explained that his dad would just tell him that he needed to study a little more. Now if you remember, our boys are adopted and their past memories are not very good ones. It's very natural for all 3 of the boys to think the worst. In time, I believe that those memories will fade and they will have more good memories than bad ones. Superman and I will do everything in our power to make that happen.
Ok - now you can join us in the count down! We fly on Friday in the early am. Less than 3 days and counting...
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Because We Can
The boys took a vote and decided to have school on the holiday. We will be out of town starting on Friday and I talked to the boys about doing school on Monday (the holiday) and not having school on Friday or take Monday off and do school on Friday. They voted and decided to take Friday off. I am glad that's the decision they made. Superman will be off from work on Monday, and that will make it a lot easier on me with the boys and their school work.
The boys all have test tomorrow and we have been having them study the last couple of days. JD always wants to study in his room, but he has no self discipline and he starts to wander off from his books (studies). WW and MJ know that they need to study and they both work really hard on it. If I could give them both a passing grade just for how much they apply themselves, then I would.
Tonight Superman helped me out with the boys by asking them a few questions that would be on their test. He also made a few suggestions of a few things that I could do. Very good suggestions too. One of them was with the test that is coming up. It is fill in the blank and there is no way the boys are ready for that. So...Superman suggested that I make a multiple choice sheet to go along with the test. I just finished creating it, double checking it and printing it out. I think it will really help the boys.
I'm not giving them the answers by no means. You have to understand that these boys have been held back because of their history. They have no idea how to take notes or study for a test. They just have not been exposed to general things dealing with everyday life. We are hoping that at some point they will just take off, but if they don't that's ok too. We're all here for each other.
Why - Because we can.
The boys all have test tomorrow and we have been having them study the last couple of days. JD always wants to study in his room, but he has no self discipline and he starts to wander off from his books (studies). WW and MJ know that they need to study and they both work really hard on it. If I could give them both a passing grade just for how much they apply themselves, then I would.
Tonight Superman helped me out with the boys by asking them a few questions that would be on their test. He also made a few suggestions of a few things that I could do. Very good suggestions too. One of them was with the test that is coming up. It is fill in the blank and there is no way the boys are ready for that. So...Superman suggested that I make a multiple choice sheet to go along with the test. I just finished creating it, double checking it and printing it out. I think it will really help the boys.
I'm not giving them the answers by no means. You have to understand that these boys have been held back because of their history. They have no idea how to take notes or study for a test. They just have not been exposed to general things dealing with everyday life. We are hoping that at some point they will just take off, but if they don't that's ok too. We're all here for each other.
Why - Because we can.
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