Forest Animal

My daughter came home with a sheet about the third grade musical "The Old Gingerbread House". She is in the chorus as a forest animal. Parents were asked to provide costumes for their child. Some ideas/choices were: birds, squirrels, bears, deer, skunks, rabbits, raccoons, mice, turtles, fox or bugs. The teacher suggested to start out with sweats and build a costume from there. Brown sweats and antlers could be a deer. I suggested the deer or rabbit because I know we own both antlers and rabbit ears. My daughter decided that she wanted to be a turtle. I told her that was fine, but that I was not buying her a shell. She had to use her turtle backpack from last year, her Raphael shell from last Halloween or her Donatello shell from this year's Halloween costume. Thanks to Walmart and her backpack from last year, this is what we came up with.

The End of November's NaBloPoMo

I have made it to the last day and have managed to post everyday. I enjoyed doing my writing at the end of the day to a point that some days I think that I miss the midnight deadline. I started out doing both NaBloPoMo and posting a status everyday of things I am thankful for on Facebook. I kept up with NaBloPoMo, but gave up mid-November on the thankful statuses. I just didn't feel the passion anymore to continue to post things that seem to have become trivial to be thankful for. I did say that I would probably post on the blog my thankful status posts from Facebook on the last day so that is what I am going to do.

Day 1:  I am thankful I was able to spend time with my family this evening attending Church, dinner, and Riley's last Spooky Gym as an elementary student!

Day 2: I am thankful that my children got to meet their great grandmother while in Thailand last year.

Day 3: I am thankful today for my health and for the ability to lead an active life.

Day 4: I am thankful that we live in a city with an awesome library system!

Day 5: I am thankful for my parents who are always there for me and my family. I love you very much.

Day 6: Thankful that I knew Linda Umstattd! Wonderful person and friend. May she rest in peace.

Day 7: Today I am thankful for my friends, old and new, young and old, near and far. You all have influenced my life and made it richer! Thank you for letting me be a part of your lives.

Day 8: I am thankful that I am able to foster my children's interests, whatever they may be, from trucks and trains to Lego, Nerf guns, archery, and hunting. The future looks to hold more artistic interests, drawing, pottery, and cake decorating.

Day 9: To my gramdmother, Mon Chaisurat, thank you for leading us by your example. We will remember you always.

Day 10: Thankful today for a day of rest in order to be refreshed to face the challenges of a new work week.

Day 11: Thank you to all those who serve and protect our country.

Day 12: I am thankful today to know many parents who love and care for their children; parents who take the responsibility of raising a child seriously and believe in being a parent first and then their friend.

Day 13: Thankful for all the opportunities I have been given in life, personal and professional.

Day 14: I am thankful for my education and that I am able to use my education to influence the lives of others.

Day 15: Thankful for my parents today and everyday! They have always supported me in whatever I wanted to do!

Day 17: I am thankful for all children; they teach you with their innocence and truthfulness.

Day 20: Thankful that we are able to help where we can, both in our local community and overseas!

Day 30: Last, but not least, thankful for my husband and the life we have built together. May we continue on our adventures together for all the days of our lives. Love you very much.

Well, after going through my post, I had 18 days of thankfulness. I have much to be thankful for in my life and although I try to concentrate of the positives in life, sometimes the negatives do get me down, but not for long!

Thanksgiving Prayer

Last week Riley decided that he wanted to say grace for Thanksgiving dinner. Today, we sat as a family to compose what he would say.

I wanted to copy and paste or re type the words, but I am having trouble wifi connection. Happy Thanksgiving 2013

Tell us about the last thing a person or advertisement convinced you to buy.

I can't think of the last thing that a person or advertisement convinced me to buy, but this question makes me think of my daughter. She loves infomercials, and she wants whatever she sees in TV ads. So, in thinking about her, I guess the last thing that I was convinced to buy was her birthday present, "The Rainbow Loom". It was something that she saw on an as seen on TV ad. She loves to go to Walmart where she can find most of the things that she sees on TV. She usually tries to convince me to buy something for her. I usually tell her someday.

Crazy v. Happy

Think about something that drives you crazy. 
Now, think about something that makes you happy. 
Does it change your perspective on the former?

Something that drives me crazy is when my children ask questions and then don't bother to listen to the answer that I give them so they have to ask the question again.

Something that makes me happy is being able to have conversations with my children in the van. We have had many bonding moments in the van, and I, sometimes, think of it as the former dinner table. The other time that I get information from my children is right before bed while I am reading a bedtime story. Even though my son just listen and reads his own things from his bed, I still sometimes get information from him if it is really bothering him during this time.

It does change my perspective. I realize how much I enjoy talking to them and communicating with them. One day, they will be independent and not ask me questions anymore because they will "know it all"! I better appreciate the conversation while I can get it!

How much of the day are you plugged in? Do you consciously set aside offline time, or does it happen whenever it happens?

I am plugged in most of the time that I am not at work. When I am at work, I only check texts if I get them and answer an occasional phone call. Once I leave work, I tend to plug in to find out what is going on in the world. Because I am not plugged in at work, I found out about both Sandy Hook and the Boston Marathon via social media after work.

I don't consciously set aside offline time. Starting this week, my husband has stated no electronics until we get some housework done, dishes, laundry, dinner started, homework, etc. It has proven to be a good strategy because once he plugs in, I don't see any reason to do work because he is not helping out. It is really annoying at restaurants when I am trying to get myself and the kids not to use electronics and he pulls out his phone to check scores/play games. I finally got to the point of if you can't beat them, join them. Kids and I still limit ourselves during the meal itself though.

I find that if I am into a really good book, I will be offline more. I have seen it with my kids also. Tonight, my daughter read for 90 minutes because we went to the library and she found a new series of books that she really likes.

From the Mouth of a Seven Year Old

The seven year old sleeps on the bottom bunk, and the ten year old sleeps on the top bunk. The ten year old likes to sit on the bottom bunk to get dressed in the morning. The seven year old does not want her brother to sit on her bed. So, she makes a sign, "No Riley's on Reesie's bed!"

In the shower tonight Reese could hear her brother rough housing with their father. She took the quickest shower tonight in order to be able to go back out and play. She even said, "This is the first time I have dried myself."

My New Interest: Pinterest

My student teacher was the one who told me about StumbleUpon and Pinterest. At first I was hesitant to get started with these new "research" sites. I tried StumbleUpon first and I liked it, but once I got my Pinterest account, I loved it. The ideas that other people pin are awesome. They are mostly from blogs that I may not find in a regular Google search. I have found things that I would use in my home as well as professionally. The problem I had with StumbleUpon was the websites, where it sent you, were mostly pretty crappy and very random. You cannot see where you are going prior to getting there. With Pinterest you can see what you are going to pin before you find out where it is from.

Always the Last Gift of the Year

Our last gift of the year is always the celebration of our oldest's birthday.  This year, he turned the big NINE.  Next year will be double digits for him.  We celebrated in style by having his birthday party on his birthday as we did last year.  We invited his friends and for the first time, one of his sister's friends and her family.  The group that celebrated with our son was the same as last year so the kids all know each other and had a great time.  It was fun.  In some ways, I would like to put some space between Christmas and his birthday, but in other ways, I am glad the celebrating is over all in one shot between Christmas and school starting after the new year.

What Was My Favorite Gift?

My favorite gift is definitely the ipod touch.  I really enjoyed having this piece of technology and it is working out the way that I intended.  I wanted it for myself as well as for the kids, but did not have to buy them their own individual ones.  I also decided that I am done buying kid speciality computers; my kids are old enough to use the adult versions if they are taught the proper way to use them.  I bought a Fisher Price iXL last Christmas for Reese, and she loves it, but will also grow out of it.  Now, we have a tablet and an itouch so the kids have their own devices, and we can share them all.

Santa's Gift

Reese made Santa a card for Christmas.  We did not have any cookies so we left Rice Krispies Treats, white chocolate pretzels, and a candy cane.  Santa snuck in while Mommy was wrapping gifts last night and ate some pretzels and one-half of a Rice Krispies Treat and took the card.

The Gift of a Great Teacher

Most of our teachers, the good ones and the bad ones, we remember for life for the way that they make us feel.  I hope that, to most of my students, I am the good one worth remembering.

Today, my son's Archery teacher told us at the end of open archery that she would not be back next year.  She has taken a job in western Ohio.  Although we have only known her for a short time, she has had a great impact on our lives.  Riley started Archery in September.  He was so excited, but did not want to shoot right handed.  I allowed him to shoot left handed in order for him to be comfortable in the class and not have a meltdown on the first day.  He made it through the beginning class and onto intermediate we went.  The teacher suggested that my son switch and shoot right handed because he is right eye dominant.  I insisted that he switch, and although he resisted at first, practice paid off, and he could finally see that he was a better right hand shot.

After the intermediate class, the last three weeks have been open archery.  My son has gone to every session and stayed the whole two and a half hours.  That is five hours at the archery barn a week.  He has spent a great deal of time with his archery teacher, and she has taught/tutored him a great deal.  It has worked to his advantage in that he has mostly been the only one there or one of a handful of kids.  He really didn't have to take turns and could shoot every round.  The practice has paid off, and the last two days, my son has been shooting balloons from 10 yards.  With five shots, most of the time he can hit all four balloons on the target!

Thank you Miss Ronda for helping my son to realize that he has a talent, can be athletic, and giving him confidence in himself and his skills.  Although we will continue to come to the archery barn and take classes and lessons from others, things will not be the same without you.  You will be missed immensely!

Sharing Our Gifts

I love to work with Shutterfly and have for many years now made a calendar for my husband's father.  I wrapped up the calendar yesterday in order to get it ordered and in by Christmas.  In the past I have been able to post my work from Shutterfly onto my blog, but that option is not available for the calendar.  I like to make photo books also and the kids' from 2009 is already here and ready for Christmas.  This is a gift that I like to share.  I like to make scrapbooks by hand also. but this is just easier sometimes especially since my son's and daughter's are identical; it is easy to make two copies with different covers.

In addition, I make photo collages for graduations and Christmas.  I usually make one with both of my kids and individuals of each of them for my own wall as well as for each side of grandparents.  This year, since my duaghter made our Christmas cards, I make photo stickers instead of wallets to go on the cards.

What fun it is to share this gift!

The Gift of a Little Girl

When my son was little, he asked for lights in front of the house.  I bought the bush lights and the candy canes and put them up in the front of the house, and he was happy.  This year, our daughter asked for lights on her house.  She wanted them to be hanging from the house and wanted lots of them.  She would have preferred colorful lights, but any lights were better than none.  The thing about her is that she was willing to help, and she brought the family together to get the job done.  Both her dad and I helped each other, and I made trees out of our tomato cages.  There is only one up right now because the lights on the other one did not work.  Looking good!

Friday Night and The Gift of the Weekend

TGIF, Thank Goodness It's Friday, is something that most people can agree sounds so good!  This week, especially, I have been looking forward to Friday.  The week of work seemed long, and I was somewhat tired from entertaining my children during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  The children both had after school activites this week, and I had an after school meeting so there was a great deal of juggling.  I needed to work late last night planning with a colleague.  We didn't get much done, but it was a start.

I also need this weekend to recover from last weekend.  I have a laundry list of things to do that I did not get done last weekend with a few things added on like putting up Chirstmas decorations and going to Breakfast with Santa.  I still have high hopes that I will get most of what I want to get accomplished done with the gift of two days without work.

Friday nights, though, I never get much accomplished with regards to housework.  I am usually beat from the work week, and the children are usually happy to just chill in front of the TV and watch videos or play the Wii.  Tonight was no different.  I guess I still had school on my mind and brought it home with me.  On the computer tonight I went researching for free resources on Teachers Pay Teachers.  I found some really good things that I can use right away in the classroom.  Then, I went searching on SMART Exchange for writing mini-lessons.  I got lucky there also.  I know, I know, I should have taken the laundry downstairs and gotten the first loads started, but that is where the gift of the weekend comes in!

National Parks Visited

These are the National Parks that I have visited before I even knew I should/would want to keep track:
Statue of Liberty National Monument
Delaware Water Gap National Reserve Area
Appomattox Court House National Historic Park
New River Gorge National Reserve
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
First Ladies National Historic Site
James A. Garfield National Historic Site
Grand Canyon National Park
Lake Mead National Reserve Area
Haneakala National Park
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Lincoln Memorial
Washington Monument

I look forward to sharing in many more National Park adventures with my family in the years to come.

Passport To Your National Parks

We visited the First Ladies Historic Site today.  I bought my Passport To National Parks book today.  The last park we visited was the James A. Garfield National Historic Site, and I bought the Kids' Passport To National Parks Companion.  Once I bought theirs, I decided that if I am going to take the kids to the national parks, I wanted to collect cancellations also.  And, once I had flipped through their books, I realized that I have been to many of the parks and not even realized it!

I like the kids' books because there are checklists for the national parks, whereas, the adult one just has a map with the places listed at the bottom and blank pages for stamps and cancellations.  I wish that their books had blank pages for cancellations, and my book had the checklist.  Oh, well I will make it work.

Iris' Angels

Fellow graduates of my high school lost their daughter Iris on Monday.  I have been following the story on facebook and am sorry for their loss.  Children are a special gift that we should cherish each day.  The words under Iris' picture touched me deeply.

Goodbyes are not forever.
Goodbyes are not the end.
They simply mean I'll miss you,
Until we meet again.

Please visit Iris' Angels

May she rest in peace.

I Can...

My life has become a series of I can statements.  We are suppose to state academic objectives in kid-friendly language.  I can...  I have charts up around the room stating what students should be doing when they are at each station.  Thought I would list some to face the other aspects of my life right now.

I can...

• clean the kitchen and the house before Thanksgiving
• make sure that Riley practices his math everyday as well as finishes his Social Studies Project and regular homework
• apply for field trips, programs, and grants for school related things
• evaluate my student teacher
• plan for the next few weeks of school
• prepare reading lessons and evaluate and assess reading and writing
• find and return most of the library books I have borrowed
• think of things that my children really want for Christmas
• get some pleasure reading time in over the holiday weekend
• take the family to visit a National Parks Service Site soon
• visit COSI to see the Dora and Diego exhibit
• start and finish the holiday shopping
• start and finish Christmas cards
• meet with some friends and family to share in the holiday joy

I can do all of this and more if I put my mind to it because there are a bunch of things that I know I am leaving out!  I think I can; I think I can.

Full Moon

The last two days have been a challenge with both my own children and my students.  There is something about a full moon that causes more energy than normal.  The children are more talkative, hyper, and just in general, LOUD!

Today, I had an activity planned that would require manipulatives that I just could not do.  The extra equipment would have caused mayhem in the room, and I just couldn't handle the extra chaos in the room.  We had to go with a quiet activity in order to bring quiet to the room.  The rest of the week will probably not be any better due to changes in routine.  Tomorrow, there is a coat giveaway and on Friday, a fire drill!

How I look forward to the weekend this week and starting over again next week!