I've been tagged with "8 things." Actually, I think she tagged another Pam, but what the heck, how many Pam's are there out there anyway.
8 Things I Look Forward To
1. The semester ending for work
2. The next novel I'm going to read
3. Our family vacation, which I'm supposed to be planning right now
4. My next trip to Target
5. Mother's Day because I told them to get me ice cream instead of a birdhouse
6. The Baby being potty-trained because I'll finally be diaper-free
7. My children being baptized
8. Sleep
8 Things I Did Yesterday
1. Figured out how to do one of these chain questionnaires on Facebook, with help from a friend
2. Made up 3 quizzes for my classes
3. Helped daughter with homeschooling
4. Called the husband multiple times to bug him
5. Surfed on the internet
6. Cut my daughter's hair
7. Washed dishes (very important, must do)
8. Went to work
8 Things I Wish I Could Do
1. Cook
2. Spend more time with friends
3. Not be the bad guy to the kids all the time
4. Spend more time with God
5. Organize and clean better
6. Play the guitar
7. Stand up straighter
8. Fly
8 Shows I Watch on TV
We don't have any TV channels, only videos & dvds
1. Bob the Builder
2. The Land Before Time, Part 5
3. Kung Fu Panda
4. Veggie Tales
5. The Incredibles
6. Cars
7. Monk (on Hulu)
8. Friday Night Lights (also on Hulu, to reminisce about my Texas years though they sucked)
Our church services have been covering a series about marriage. I just can't believe how timely God speaks to us. Usually I'm raving on and on about marriage (it elicits such a lovely response from my sisters), but if you were to ask me right now to rate ours, the score would be not very high. It's nothing major, definitely fixable, just another tale of a marriage pushed to the back burner in the heyday of work and kids.
We're catching it early enough so that the husband is like, "what problem?" Lucky for him that he has such a sensitive wife, otherwise he probably wouldn't see the problem until after I've gone insane. No D word for us, never ever. Murder, maybe, but never D.
So we've been sort of working on things when along came this sermon series. I had a few issues with last week's message. The pastor was talking about how husbands have to show their wives how much they care. As an example, he pointed out how he stays at home in the mornings to help her get their kids ready for school because his work schedule is flexible. Excuse me, but if this is the nicest thing he can think of that he's done for her lately, then they're in trouble. Because he's the dad; he's supposed to help with the kids! He's doing it for himself and the kids more than his wife. I suppose she's being romantic every time she does his laundry and scrubs his toilet. But it's a good lesson for what can happen in a marriage: romance is forgotten.
This week's message (from a different guy) totally hit the nail on the head. Among his nuggets: Marriage is the best battle unit God ever designed and The essence of marriage is not the absence of conflict.
The solution? Be vulnerable, depend on God, and be disciplined about communication. I find it interesting that he doesn't just say, "communicate" but rather "get disciplined about communication."
That means somewhere between passing each other on the way to work/home, in between all the kids' activities, regardless of one being an early bird and the other an owl, we've got to communicate.
And not just through a blog.
I'm back, just to say that spring break is way too short. They really ought to extend it by a week, especially since we were sick for half of it. I don't know if it's just me, though, because some of my friends were dying for the break to end. Their kids were running them ragged. I'm just more used to the craziness, since my kids are home more than other kids.
Gee, there's so much that's happened that I've forgotten it all.
I do know that I'm insane to be sitting here typing instead of snuggling with my baby in bed. So what if he's over 2 years old, he still sleeps with us. Not only that but he specifically has to fall asleep right on top of me, before he shuffles over to his own pillow, pressed up against me. Early in the morning, he'll open his eyes sleepily, smile at me, and say,"hi Mommy" before going back to sleep. If I'm not there, he'll start whining for me right away. He forces me to get extra sleep that way.
When he wakes up, he slams the door closed at everyone except me. I'm enjoying all this while I can, before he wakes up one day and realizes that he wants nothing to do with me.
Yup, he's our baby, all right, especially since that's his nickname. If you were to ask him what his name is, he would say,"Baby." I'm running an experiment to see how long he can go as "Baby." Maybe one day someone will be able to say about him,"No one puts Baby in the corner." Yes, a worthy thing for a mother to strive for.
Clearly I need the extra sleep, so good night.
1. The other day, I was griping to my mother-in-law about my crazy schedule. I told her that I overdid things this semester by taking on too much at work. Her response: yes, it's too much for Kevin to take care of all the kids that much by himself. Thanks for the sympathy, Mom.
2. We love our charter school for many reasons but most especially because we get to go on cheap or free field trips. Sea World was $5.75 per person, and the Wild Animal Park was $4 per adult. Sure we had to take off from work and take the children out of school, but these are must-go kind of prices.
3. Our son has started reading all his assignments backwards. Either he is bored with his reading assignment or his mind works backwards. I hope it's the former.
4. I'm taking this week off from the blog, along with the kids. So far, it's been a thrilling spring break: I got sick and put a total damper on the hubby's birthday and Easter, and now the kids are all sick as well. Hope your spring break is much better!
One day after school on the playground
My son to his classmates: this is my sister and other sister.
Adam: they are your girlfriends!
Everyone: K has a girlfriend, K has a girlfriend!
K and his sisters are highly insulted and begin chasing everyone.
******************************************************
The next morning, K lines up behind Adam.
Adam: K has a girlfriend!
K: I'm going to get you.
Adam: You wanna meet after school?
K: Yeah, I'm gonna beat you up.
Adam: Oh yeah? Well, my dad's going to beat up your dad.
I know there will be much disappointment, but I have no soccer update for today (awww). Our game was cancelled without notice because we had no referee signed up. It's just as well, though, because my daughter would've missed it anyway.
Instead, she went with her dad on her first outreach trip. They went to Mexico to help out at a children's home. The trip was organized by our church, who visit monthly. Everyone travelled down and back in a chartered bus, with an actual bathroom on board, which came in handy since my daughter got sick and threw up on the way down.The children's home they went to is a temporary and sometimes permanent place for kids who were abused and/or abandoned by their parents.
It's a well run farm in a small town with loving caretakers. The place is small but self-sufficient. The kids go to school daily and work around the home. My daughter says,"they are poor but very happy."
During this trip, the group threw an Easter party for the kids. So my daughter and husband helped with the food, Easter eggs, games, etc. Although the intention was for my daughter to "help out," I think it was more fun than anything else. We want her to eventually see how the rest of the world is, and this was a good start. Already she's clamoring to go back.
I have to wonder though. How much good is it really for a bunch of well-off people to ride down once a month to play with some disadvantaged kids? Do they scoff at us behind our backs, laughing at our do-good attempts? Do the children feel worse when they see our kids with loving parents?
At least the children benefit from the church's monthly donations of money, food, and other supplies. I hope they're also better for knowing that the world is a caring place, not cruel as their parents may have taught them.
For us, of course, the trip was invaluable. We hope that these experiences will shape our children's heart. Even as people continue to scoff at us.
My online rating as a teacher took a major plummet this week when a student gave me the lowest score possible across the board. I know exactly who wrote it because of her description. And it's not like I teach too many classes.
This student had been caught cheating with her lab partners earlier in the semester. They copied someone's work verbatim, including the spelling and grammatical mistakes. So after reading 6 identical labs, even an idiot could figure it out.
Since I gave them all 0's for that assignment, they've been forced to do their own experiments but very reluctantly. One guy in the entire group pretty much does everything while the rest just sits around till he comes up with the answer, then they all jot it down. One girl tries to get through the work as fast as possible by asking me for the answers to the discussion questions. These are questions they're supposed to figure out by doing the experiment and/or microscope work. So I tell her to either read through the lab for the answer, because it's clear she hasn't, or to wait till the experiment is done.
Her comment on my rating was that I'm extremely unhelpful, that I refuse to answer any questions, and that I embarrassed her (with questions like, did you read the lab?). It was so easy to figure out which student it was because the description is so not me. I may have my faults as a teacher, but I answer every question, even the "no such thing as" stupid ones.
I'm actually not too bugged about my new negative rating. Because hopefully it will scare away other lazy students like her. Her kind always looks up ratings and picks the easiest teacher. I certainly don't want any more students like her. What boggles my mind, though, is that she couldn't wait to post her negative comment till after the semester. She chose to do it while it could conceivably affect her grade. Not that I would let this affect my grading.
Still, she doesn't know that. So she's either completely arrogant or stupid. In this case, both.
