Monday, September 24, 2007

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Homework

Well, besides growing up and having to do all of my own homework, I have had two years of practice doing homework with Emma to prepare for this year. A well oiled machine? HA! First off, this is the first time I have felt like my children regressed during the summer on their knowledge and own personal skill levels. So, it's really important that they practice to improve by completing their homework.
Can you say "nightmare"? Emma argues about which books to read and always tries to pick the ones with two words on each page. It's great that she's willing to read and that there are things that she feels confident in doing but I'm trying to explain that in order to be a better reader she needs to try books with more vocabulary... Then we have a new teacher with new methods and new ways of completing homework and Emma argues with me that I'm telling her the wrong way to do it. She wants to do it how she had to last year. She tries the,"Mom, I'm getting Izzy her blanket for her. Can you write the rest of my title for me?" And then she's furious when I tell her I can't do her homework for her. Furious is what Emma seems to be a lot lately. She's indignant about many, many things. Maybe I need to obsurve how I'm responding to her...
Then there's Aiden. Homework is new to him. He's only had it twice now and it is not every day. He was actually very excited to receive his first piece of homework and talked about how he couldn't watch any t.v. or anything when we got home because he had a LOT of homework that he needed to do first. Once he got inside, however, he changed his mind. I finally got him to come start his work and he wouldn't follow a single set of directions I gave him. He tried to do the exact opposite of anything I asked and then when he was convinced he needed to color the picture part first I didn't have the patience to sit there and watch him color... very slowly... But, if I leave the table, he quits! He got me so irritated I ditched the homework. It was a Friday so there was plenty of time. Needless to say, it was too painful to get him to finish it and he was forced to tell his teacher he didn't complete it. When the next homework came home it went like this:
I ask him to bring his homework to the table which takes him ten minutes with multiple requests and multiple t.v. turn offs and steering away from the computer. Then a request for colored pencils which he swears they have to use. He can't find them. I have to get them. We sit. "Okay write your name here." "I can't remember how." "Copy this ." He falls off his chair. He doesn't write his name yet. "Trace this letter." His pencil drops. "Trace this." He flips the paper over and around and upside down. "Start right here. Trace these." "Izzy, what are you drawing?" "Aiden, focus on your homework!" Traces one. Traces another one and tries to switch pencils. "First trace all of them with one color. Then switch." Traces all 3 letters then gets a new color. Starts to color the picture very, very particularly and slowly, changing pencils very often. I stay watching however pained I feel. He can't finish coloring 'cause his hand is tired. We move on. He has to draw his own picture. Then he colors that with at least five interruptions. He moves to the last page and finishes after a total of 45 minutes at the table. Completed: 7 traced letters, 3 of his own letters, and two pictures mostly colored...
Awesome.
When it was time to read together he was being ugly about it and I told him he would have to lay on his bed while we read if he kept it up. Where was he when I was yelling over and over for him while the others and I are waiting on the couch with our books? He's on his bed! "You said I could lay on my bed if I didn't want to read!"
Screw it, man!

Friday, September 14, 2007

Heaven came down and glory filled my soul!


I have dish network. You may think , "Big deal", but I say, "Lord, the light of your love is shining." I cannot begin to describe to you the utter joy we received by pushing the menu button after months of having to flip channel after channel to find out what was on t.v. Every push of a button felt like the holy spirit filling my soul again and again and again. Hallelujah, what a Savior! And let me tell you about all those days I grabbed the remote to rewind the part of the show I just missed or to pause the t.v. and now... now I can pause. The look of the t.v. as it is suspended in mid broadcast is a feeling of pure delight. Then I get up and get myself a little snack and I walk back to that t.v. and push play. It waited for me. The little t.v. waited for me. Oh, then... then a commercial tries to entice me saying, "buy me, buy me" and I say, "Screw you little commercial. I shall skip you." And I skip, skip, skip past every commercial until my beautiful show returns to me. The refreshing, quenching feeling like taking a shower after years without water. Oh, the water... running down my face, pouring over me. My dish... Aiden looked at the new remote as it sat there next to me and he said, "We have this remote again?" And I said, "We sure do, son. It feels like home again!"

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Good news/Bad news

Good news:

Happy Birthday, Ben!

You are 29 today and I'm honored to have been born the same year as you. You have to admit it's not that many of us born at the end of 78 that were able to graduate from high school in 1996. So... lucky us! You're also a fantastic guy and I'm a better person having known you these 12 years. I hope this year brings you much more than you imagined it could. I love you!
Bad news:
I had a busy morning this morning and had some friends come over 45 minutes before I was suppose to meet Aiden at the bus stop. I made lunch, ate lunch, cleaned up a disaster and an hour after I was suppose to meet him I remembered him... He had to ride all the way back to school and wait in the office for me. To make matters worse his bus drives right past the church building on the rest of it's route and he started crying again when he saw it cause he knew his dad was in there. I felt horrible and cried as soon as I was out of the school office. It was so horrible and sad. Who forgets there kid a whole hour after the fact? Not five, ten minutes. An hour! I cried and carried him the whole way back to the car. The we sat in the car and he told me about the good day he had before I ruined it... Then he begged to go back home so he could play with his friends that were waiting. I suck.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Aiden's first day of Kindergarten



This lay out is a little peculiar but this is Aiden's first day of school. He was brave and went right into his class. He rode the bus with Emma and then daddy met him at the school to help him find his class. His teacher's name is Mrs. Fraanzman. He rode the school bus home on his first day and was so late getting to the bus stop that I knew something must have gone wrong. They ended up arriving 35 minutes after the scheduled time but he was as smiley as ever! When he was telling me about his day he said he had a new friend but he didn't know his name. He also said that his friend liked to give thumbs up just like him. Maybe he'll figure out his name soon. :)





















Thursday, September 06, 2007

Gilead


Our church has a book club. It's comprised of women and we meet once a month. Gilead is the book we are reading this month and was Ben's only suggestion per our request. I have not started it yet but I will by the end of the week. We like to pick different genres every time. I'd really like to read Blue Like Jazz next because a lot of people have read it and I've even heard the guy speak but haven't read it yet. If you have suggestions feel free to comment.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Emma's first day of school in Washington




She was excited and woke up with more than enough time to get ready. We took her to school in time for breakfast and I stayed and sat with her. She did great and was brave. Tomorrow she'll ride the bus to and from school.

Aiden won't start 'til Friday and Emma will be able to eat breakfast with him to show him the ropes. His teacher will ride the schoolbus with them on there trip home after lunch. He's very excited.

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Monday, September 03, 2007

I win!

I firmly believe that Bellingham, WA has more drive thru coffee places than the Portland/Vancouver area per capita! To prove it I will start taking a picture of everyone I see and I will not duplicate any one spot. That does not mean there will not be multiples of a chain coffee place. I did not take this picture but I will allow it represent the one on Sunset...

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