I am in such awe every year when school gets closer to starting. The amount of parents who say things like, "I can't wait for school to start - my kids will be out of my hair again!" or "First day of school... I feel my sanity slowly coming back :)", which was posted by a friend on Facebook, is pretty sad. Sometimes I find it so hard to bite my tongue to not say anything. Why do those people even have kids if they look so forward to shipping them off to strangers for most of the day for approximately 177 days a year? I feel bad for those kids who's parents don't want to be around them and can't wait to get rid of them for 8 hours a day.
I'm not saying that all parents who send their kids to school are horrible - just the ones who make it well known that their day is going to be so much better with their kids not around.
Frustrating.....
Monday, August 24, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Children's Museum
We went to the Children's Museum yesterday and I remembered to take my camera this time. Here's a couple pictures from the Grossology part.
Big nose you could walk into - Brendon standing in there.
At the Art Gallery
They had a whole Egypt thing too which was really cool! Brenna was fascinated by it.
Playing in the science lab learning how to build dams and make rivers on a water table.
And finally --- Brenna lost another tooth today!! Her first top one. It popped out while we were eating breakfast at IHOP. She's getting so big!!!!
Big nose you could walk into - Brendon standing in there.
At the Art Gallery
They had a whole Egypt thing too which was really cool! Brenna was fascinated by it.
Playing in the science lab learning how to build dams and make rivers on a water table.
And finally --- Brenna lost another tooth today!! Her first top one. It popped out while we were eating breakfast at IHOP. She's getting so big!!!!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
I could have written this word for word. Such a true depiction of the things I feel and go through choosing to go the route of unschooling with Brenna......
Home Education Magazine
May-June/97 - Articles
Dealing With Doubts - Janet Keip
Choosing any unconventional path carries with it periods of uncertainty and doubt. The choice to homeschool is an unconventional choice; the choice to unschool is even more unconventional. Like most unschoolers, we are convicted of the wisdom of our education choice yet there are times when doubts assail us. Sometimes the source of those doubts is from a quarter from which we least anticipate.
Last week we had a parent's networking meeting, gathering to discuss homeschooling issues and concerns while our children played. My eleven year old daughter, Jaime, a veteran-never-been-to-school unschooler was one of those playing children. As usual, following the meeting, we gathered in clusters to talk and catch up with the latest news of our family's respective comings and goings. I was already feeling a little alienated, having spent two hours listening to others compare curriculum and other pre-programmed learning tools. I am familiar with all the methods of homeschooling, the various materials and can speak intelligently of such matters, yet was left with a lingering sense of "not fitting in" even with this group of homeschoolers whom I know so well. Our unschooling path was leading us even further away from the mainstream of homeschoolers.
The real uncertainty came as Jaime and I headed out the door. Few questions can erode a new unschooler's confidence more than "What grade are you in?" or "What curriculum are you using this year?" There is nothing quite like seeing your child's eyes rolling frantically in your direction to make your heart turn over and cause you to question everything you believe and hold true.
"Hi, Jaime. What grade are you in this year?" The well-meaning question suddenly pins her, mute and helpless. Jaime fastens her apprehensive eyes on my face.
"We, ummm . . . we don't use grades.", I manage to intervene.
"Oh, realllly." our friend replies. "How do you know where she is at and how she is doing?" Warning bells clang in response to her suddenly cool, steely tone.
"Well", (a long pause as I take a deep breath to ground myself),"She seems to be doing just fine, learning and moving forward at her own pace. She is a very happy and contented kid."
"Ohhhh, I see. Well, how do you know she is -- like, is she at grade level?" (At this point, she leans forward conspiratorially, as if to say our little family secret is safe with her.)
"We trust.", I say. "We trust that she knows what to learn to take her where she is going."
"Well, doesn't she have to take tests or something?", the speaker finally blurts out incredulously.
"Mmmmm, not really", I reply, evasively, my willingness to share our philosophy of learning evaporating.
Jaime is tugging on my shirt sleeve, whispering, "Can we go, now?
I'm left with the sour aftertaste of a conversation gone wrong, lingering doubts and slight, smoldering anger at a fellow homeschooler's lack of understanding.
How could I have handled this better? Just what sort of defenses have we against such erosions of our confidence? What tools could I have used?
Perhaps it is easier to be an unschooler in places where there are many unschoolers but where we live, we are the only unschoolers amongst a large homeschooling group. Among the general population, most people have heard of homeschooling but few have heard of unschooling. Many homeschoolers have never heard of unschooling, or as our homeschooling friend demonstrated, cannot yet grasp the concept of child-directed learning through living. I suspect there are others like us out there in our community who would like to unschool (or who are unschooling already)but who feel hesitant and shaky against the perceived pressure to stay to the conventional path.
Time is the First Tool
When we first began homeschooling six years ago, I felt a raw defensiveness when someone challenged or questioned my choice to homeschool. Now I feel that same surge of defensiveness when someone questions unschooling. In the beginning, my conviction of the rightness of homeschooling for us and our daughter was firm. However, homeschooling was still too new and too fresh for me to easily articulate our philosophy. Today, I confidently speak to anyone about homeschooling, no matter how uninformed or hostile they might be. Unschooling, a more recent shift for us, is still too fresh to for me to have developed an assured, confident response. Given time, I trust I will acquire the same ease of speaking about our choices to unschool.
The Second Tool: Support Networks
Building a support network by talking on the Internet and on-line service forums bolsters my confidence and feeds my need to connect with others living a similar lifestyle. It has also helped me to understand that unschooling is still relatively unique among all homeschoolers. Feeling unique is not a result of living in a fairly remote and isolated area but an understandable response to an unconventional choice. It has been important for me to build a supportive community with other unschoolers no matter how far afield I must reach.
Reading is the Third Tool
Staying informed and knowledgeable through reading about other unschoolers continues to be my best form of defense. The more I learn about and share of the experiences of other unschoolers, the better I understand and can articulate my thoughts. My bookshelves bulge with practically every book and most magazines ever published on the topic of unschooling! Every month the list of titles grows. HEM and Growing Without Schooling are consumed as soon as they arrive. Books such as The Art of Education, by Linda Dobson, Deschooling Our Lives, by Matt Hern, and Real Lives, by Grace Llewellyn have fueled my resolve to unschool in spite of periodic doubts.
I have noticed that talking to schooling parents about homeschooling sometimes generates a defensive prickliness in them. Institutions like this, I remind myself to be gentle. I must also be aware that mainstream homeschoolers may feel a similar sense of defensiveness in their choice to follow a more structured and conventional path than unschoolers. I can remain sensitive to their feelings while reminding myself to be gracious, understanding and tolerant. Learning new ways takes time. © 1997Janet Keip
Home Education Magazine
May-June/97 - Articles
Dealing With Doubts - Janet Keip
Choosing any unconventional path carries with it periods of uncertainty and doubt. The choice to homeschool is an unconventional choice; the choice to unschool is even more unconventional. Like most unschoolers, we are convicted of the wisdom of our education choice yet there are times when doubts assail us. Sometimes the source of those doubts is from a quarter from which we least anticipate.
Last week we had a parent's networking meeting, gathering to discuss homeschooling issues and concerns while our children played. My eleven year old daughter, Jaime, a veteran-never-been-to-school unschooler was one of those playing children. As usual, following the meeting, we gathered in clusters to talk and catch up with the latest news of our family's respective comings and goings. I was already feeling a little alienated, having spent two hours listening to others compare curriculum and other pre-programmed learning tools. I am familiar with all the methods of homeschooling, the various materials and can speak intelligently of such matters, yet was left with a lingering sense of "not fitting in" even with this group of homeschoolers whom I know so well. Our unschooling path was leading us even further away from the mainstream of homeschoolers.
The real uncertainty came as Jaime and I headed out the door. Few questions can erode a new unschooler's confidence more than "What grade are you in?" or "What curriculum are you using this year?" There is nothing quite like seeing your child's eyes rolling frantically in your direction to make your heart turn over and cause you to question everything you believe and hold true.
"Hi, Jaime. What grade are you in this year?" The well-meaning question suddenly pins her, mute and helpless. Jaime fastens her apprehensive eyes on my face.
"We, ummm . . . we don't use grades.", I manage to intervene.
"Oh, realllly." our friend replies. "How do you know where she is at and how she is doing?" Warning bells clang in response to her suddenly cool, steely tone.
"Well", (a long pause as I take a deep breath to ground myself),"She seems to be doing just fine, learning and moving forward at her own pace. She is a very happy and contented kid."
"Ohhhh, I see. Well, how do you know she is -- like, is she at grade level?" (At this point, she leans forward conspiratorially, as if to say our little family secret is safe with her.)
"We trust.", I say. "We trust that she knows what to learn to take her where she is going."
"Well, doesn't she have to take tests or something?", the speaker finally blurts out incredulously.
"Mmmmm, not really", I reply, evasively, my willingness to share our philosophy of learning evaporating.
Jaime is tugging on my shirt sleeve, whispering, "Can we go, now?
I'm left with the sour aftertaste of a conversation gone wrong, lingering doubts and slight, smoldering anger at a fellow homeschooler's lack of understanding.
How could I have handled this better? Just what sort of defenses have we against such erosions of our confidence? What tools could I have used?
Perhaps it is easier to be an unschooler in places where there are many unschoolers but where we live, we are the only unschoolers amongst a large homeschooling group. Among the general population, most people have heard of homeschooling but few have heard of unschooling. Many homeschoolers have never heard of unschooling, or as our homeschooling friend demonstrated, cannot yet grasp the concept of child-directed learning through living. I suspect there are others like us out there in our community who would like to unschool (or who are unschooling already)but who feel hesitant and shaky against the perceived pressure to stay to the conventional path.
Time is the First Tool
When we first began homeschooling six years ago, I felt a raw defensiveness when someone challenged or questioned my choice to homeschool. Now I feel that same surge of defensiveness when someone questions unschooling. In the beginning, my conviction of the rightness of homeschooling for us and our daughter was firm. However, homeschooling was still too new and too fresh for me to easily articulate our philosophy. Today, I confidently speak to anyone about homeschooling, no matter how uninformed or hostile they might be. Unschooling, a more recent shift for us, is still too fresh to for me to have developed an assured, confident response. Given time, I trust I will acquire the same ease of speaking about our choices to unschool.
The Second Tool: Support Networks
Building a support network by talking on the Internet and on-line service forums bolsters my confidence and feeds my need to connect with others living a similar lifestyle. It has also helped me to understand that unschooling is still relatively unique among all homeschoolers. Feeling unique is not a result of living in a fairly remote and isolated area but an understandable response to an unconventional choice. It has been important for me to build a supportive community with other unschoolers no matter how far afield I must reach.
Reading is the Third Tool
Staying informed and knowledgeable through reading about other unschoolers continues to be my best form of defense. The more I learn about and share of the experiences of other unschoolers, the better I understand and can articulate my thoughts. My bookshelves bulge with practically every book and most magazines ever published on the topic of unschooling! Every month the list of titles grows. HEM and Growing Without Schooling are consumed as soon as they arrive. Books such as The Art of Education, by Linda Dobson, Deschooling Our Lives, by Matt Hern, and Real Lives, by Grace Llewellyn have fueled my resolve to unschool in spite of periodic doubts.
I have noticed that talking to schooling parents about homeschooling sometimes generates a defensive prickliness in them. Institutions like this, I remind myself to be gentle. I must also be aware that mainstream homeschoolers may feel a similar sense of defensiveness in their choice to follow a more structured and conventional path than unschoolers. I can remain sensitive to their feelings while reminding myself to be gracious, understanding and tolerant. Learning new ways takes time. © 1997Janet Keip
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Healthy Times
So I've been trying to cook a lot healthier lately. Brenna is dealing with it rather well and is adjusting wonderfully. Some things she turns her nose up at but she's getting to where she'll try most things. As long as she tries it and doesn't like it then she doesn't have to eat it - but she has to at least try it. Her diet is starting to widen tremendously though, which I'm happy about. No more hot dogs and mac and cheese in this house. LOL The picture to the left is one of her favorite things for breakfast now (it looked so pretty, I had to take a picture of it!). Whole grain waffles with organic yogurt, blueberries and strawberries. She doesn't like eggs so I have to get a little creative when it comes to trying to make her a good, healthy breakfast. For snacks she has fruit or my homemade granola with yogurt. We also made these granola and almond butter balls that are so, so yummy!In fact, right now she has a friend over and she just made them both fruit salads to snack on while they watch a movie. All her idea too - I love it. :) Gotta teach 'em young! (Ok, well now that I think about, I guess it helps that there's no other option besides fruit! LOL)
Our fridge now is stocked with all kinds of salads, raw veggies, fruits and as much organic stuff that I can find at the store. They don't have much but I find something new just about every time I go. I think the most important thing that I buy organic is the milk. It's expensive but it's not loaded with antibiotics and growth hormones - it's still pasteurized, which isn't all that great for you, but I have a friend who sells raw cow's milk and I will be trying to get ahold of her soon. I found a guy pretty close by that has an organic, free-roaming chicken farm and he sells his eggs for $2 a dozen. I just wish we had some kind of farmer's market here with locally grown, organic veggies. The selection at the grocery store is not all that impressive.
When I do go shopping though I find that it takes me much longer now. I am always reading labels now. I read a long time ago that when you shop healthy you will do most of your shopping on the perimeter and hardly ever go in the middle isles. That is so true! My cart is now loaded down mostly with clear, plastic produce bags. LOL The downside of shopping that way is that I can't just go every two weeks now. I'm having to make trips about twice a week. Fresh veggies don't seem to last as long as boxed food with tons of preservatives and chemicals. LOL
My next major thing that I want to accomplish is to get rid of all my chemical cleaning supplies and start cleaning with just good ol' vinegar and baking soda. I've been reading a lot about it and I feel that it is very do-able and a much better alternative. Cheaper too - I'm always up for cheaper. :)
So yes, Brandi is on another whirl-wind adventure.....
Monday, August 17, 2009
10 Ways We Misunderstand Children
(I need to remind myself of these every so often too....)
1. We expect children to be able to do things before they are ready. We ask an infant to keep quiet. We ask a 2-year-old to sit still. We ask a 4-year-old to clean his room. In all of these situations, we are being unrealistic. We are setting ourselves up for disappointment and setting up the child for repeated failures to please us. Yet many parents ask their young children to do things that even an older child would find difficult. In short, we ask children to stop acting their age.
2. We become angry when a child fails to meet our needs. A child can only do what he can do. If a child cannot do something we ask, it is unfair and unrealistic to expect or demand more, and anger only makes things worse. A 2-year-old can only act like a 2-year-old, a 5-year-old cannot act like a 10-year-old, and a 10-year-old cannot act like an adult! To expect more is unrealistic and unhelpful. There are limits to what a child can manage, and if we don't accept those limits, it can only result in frustration on both sides.
3. We mistrust the child's motives. If a child cannot meet our needs, we assume that he is being defiant, instead of looking closely at the situation from the child's point of view, so we can determine the truth of the matter. In reality, a "defiant" child may be ill, tired, hungry, in pain, responding to an emotional or physical hurt, or struggling with a hidden cause such as food allergy. Yet we seem to overlook these possibilities in favor of thinking the worst about the child's "personality".
4. We don't allow children to be children. We somehow forget what it was like to be a child ourselves, and expect the child to act like an adult instead of acting his age. A healthy child will be rambunctious, noisy, emotionally expressive, and will have a short attention span. All of these "problems" are not problems at all, but are in fact normal qualities of a normal child. Rather, it is our society and our society's expectations of perfect behavior that are abnormal.
5. We get it backwards. We expect, and demand, that the child meet our needs - for quiet, for uninterrupted sleep, for obedience to our wishes, and so on. Instead of accepting our parental role to meet the child's needs, we expect the child to care for ours. We can become so focused on our own unmet needs and frustrations that we forget this is a child, who has needs of his own that she cannot meet herself.
6. We blame and criticize when a child makes a mistake. Yet children have had very little experience in life, and they will inevitably make mistakes. Mistakes are a natural part of learning at any age. Instead of understanding and helping the child, we blame him, as though he should be able to learn everything perfectly the first time. To err is human; to err in childhood is human and unavoidable. Yet we react to each mistake, infraction of a rule, or misbehavior with surprise and disappointment. It makes no sense to understand that a child will make mistakes, and then to react as though we think the child should behave perfectly at all times.
7. We forget how deeply blame and criticism can hurt a child. Many parents are coming to understand that physically hurting a child is wrong and harmful, yet many of us forget how painful angry words, insults, and blame can be to a child who can only believe that he is at fault.
8. We forget how healing loving actions can be. We fall into vicious cycles of blame and misbehavior, instead of stopping to give the child love, reassurance, self-esteem, and security with hugs and kind words.
9. We forget that our behavior provides the most potent lessons to the child. It is truly "not what we say but what we do" that the child takes to heart. A parent who hits a child for hitting, telling him that hitting is wrong, is in fact teaching that hitting is right, at least for those in power. It is the parent who responds to problems with peaceful solutions who is teaching his child how to be a peaceful adult. So-called problems present our best opportunity for teaching values, because children learn best when they are learning about real things in real life.
10. We see only the outward behavior, not the love and good intentions inside the child. When a child's behavior disappoints us, we should, more than anything else we do, "assume the best". We should assume that the child means well and is only behaving as well as possible considering all the circumstances (both obvious and hidden from us), together with his level of experience in life. If we always assume the best about our child, the child will be free to do his best. If we give only love, love is all we will receive.
1. We expect children to be able to do things before they are ready. We ask an infant to keep quiet. We ask a 2-year-old to sit still. We ask a 4-year-old to clean his room. In all of these situations, we are being unrealistic. We are setting ourselves up for disappointment and setting up the child for repeated failures to please us. Yet many parents ask their young children to do things that even an older child would find difficult. In short, we ask children to stop acting their age.
2. We become angry when a child fails to meet our needs. A child can only do what he can do. If a child cannot do something we ask, it is unfair and unrealistic to expect or demand more, and anger only makes things worse. A 2-year-old can only act like a 2-year-old, a 5-year-old cannot act like a 10-year-old, and a 10-year-old cannot act like an adult! To expect more is unrealistic and unhelpful. There are limits to what a child can manage, and if we don't accept those limits, it can only result in frustration on both sides.
3. We mistrust the child's motives. If a child cannot meet our needs, we assume that he is being defiant, instead of looking closely at the situation from the child's point of view, so we can determine the truth of the matter. In reality, a "defiant" child may be ill, tired, hungry, in pain, responding to an emotional or physical hurt, or struggling with a hidden cause such as food allergy. Yet we seem to overlook these possibilities in favor of thinking the worst about the child's "personality".
4. We don't allow children to be children. We somehow forget what it was like to be a child ourselves, and expect the child to act like an adult instead of acting his age. A healthy child will be rambunctious, noisy, emotionally expressive, and will have a short attention span. All of these "problems" are not problems at all, but are in fact normal qualities of a normal child. Rather, it is our society and our society's expectations of perfect behavior that are abnormal.
5. We get it backwards. We expect, and demand, that the child meet our needs - for quiet, for uninterrupted sleep, for obedience to our wishes, and so on. Instead of accepting our parental role to meet the child's needs, we expect the child to care for ours. We can become so focused on our own unmet needs and frustrations that we forget this is a child, who has needs of his own that she cannot meet herself.
6. We blame and criticize when a child makes a mistake. Yet children have had very little experience in life, and they will inevitably make mistakes. Mistakes are a natural part of learning at any age. Instead of understanding and helping the child, we blame him, as though he should be able to learn everything perfectly the first time. To err is human; to err in childhood is human and unavoidable. Yet we react to each mistake, infraction of a rule, or misbehavior with surprise and disappointment. It makes no sense to understand that a child will make mistakes, and then to react as though we think the child should behave perfectly at all times.
7. We forget how deeply blame and criticism can hurt a child. Many parents are coming to understand that physically hurting a child is wrong and harmful, yet many of us forget how painful angry words, insults, and blame can be to a child who can only believe that he is at fault.
8. We forget how healing loving actions can be. We fall into vicious cycles of blame and misbehavior, instead of stopping to give the child love, reassurance, self-esteem, and security with hugs and kind words.
9. We forget that our behavior provides the most potent lessons to the child. It is truly "not what we say but what we do" that the child takes to heart. A parent who hits a child for hitting, telling him that hitting is wrong, is in fact teaching that hitting is right, at least for those in power. It is the parent who responds to problems with peaceful solutions who is teaching his child how to be a peaceful adult. So-called problems present our best opportunity for teaching values, because children learn best when they are learning about real things in real life.
10. We see only the outward behavior, not the love and good intentions inside the child. When a child's behavior disappoints us, we should, more than anything else we do, "assume the best". We should assume that the child means well and is only behaving as well as possible considering all the circumstances (both obvious and hidden from us), together with his level of experience in life. If we always assume the best about our child, the child will be free to do his best. If we give only love, love is all we will receive.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Finally posting about our trip...(very long, sorry)
So I am finally able to get on and post! I've been busy with laundry, cleaning and spending time with my friend, Mieree.
Anyway, we had such a wonderful time on our trip. We are definitely going to do a road trip again in the very near future. Brenna was absolutely wonderful the entire time. She's such a great traveler and stays entertained with her DVD player, Nintendo DS and drawing. Never once did we hear, "When are we gonna be there?" or anything like it. I was amazed! LOL
I loved being in the car and seeing all the different states and scenery. We drove through 7 states in 12 days - so as you can see there was LOTS of car time. I was the navigator and spent the whole time with a map in my lap, telling Brendon and Brenna where we were going to be next and pointing out other miscellaneous things (rivers, ect). I took tons of books but never even opened one. I was having too much fun with my maps! At one point I told Brendon that I loved maps and he said he's going to get me a t-shirt that says that. LOL
I really tried getting Brenna interested in all the beautiful landscaping but she just didn't care much. But when we drove through a town and she finally took her nose out of her DS she saw a Pizza Hut and said with all the excitment she had, "Look Mom! They have a Pizza Hut!" Crazy kid.
So let me start at the beginning....
We stayed in Waco the first night (Wednesday) with Aunt Lyn and went to see her beautiful Arabian horses. They are not only pretty but VERY friendly and when we went in the pasture the six that were there all came right up to us and loved on us. Brenna was thrilled. I did forget my camera that time so I never got any pictures. I'm hoping we will be able to go again so I can make up for my mistake. They would have been great pictures.
Second day the destination was Kansas. When we drove through Oklahoma, one of the highlights was taking a small detour and driving on Route 66. I thought that was pretty neat and we found a park to stop and eat lunch at. We took a big ice chest with us and tons of food - saved lots of money that way!
So after we left Route 66 we headed onto Kansas. With me being such a huge Wizard of Oz fan, it was really cool seeing the "Welcome to Kansas" sign. Of course we listened to the soundtrack - how could I not? :) We got to our hotel that night and swam in the pool for a while - that was nice after a long day in the car.
Third day we woke up and packed and drove to Wamego, Kansas - home of the Wizard of Oz Museum and Winery. It was fabulous - better then I had expected. They had so many neat things. One of my favorites was a clay monkey that they actually used in the movie for the scenes with the flying monkeys. I took tons of pictures. We also stopped at the Wizard of Oz Winery and got a few bottles of wine. Once those are empty they will be a nice addition to my collection.
After we left the museum we got back on the road to head to Iowa. We took a small detour (took lots of those actually!) and followed signs that lead us to the Oregon Trail. After a few failed attempts to find a place to stop and eat we finally found a nice park on the Oregon Trail and had lunch. It was neat being someplace that I had only read about as a kid. I borrowed a book from Mieree for Brenna to read about the Oregon Trail. It's a story about two kids so I think she might like it - especially since she has actually been there.
We finally got to Iowa around 9pm and got right in the pool. Something about washing in-the-car-grime off of you is very refreshing!
The next day, Saturday, was Travis and Marrona's wedding. The ceremony was at a park and it was so nice - great weather for an outdoor wedding. We all went to the reception afterwards and Brenna had a fun time dancing on the dance floor with a bunch of other kids. We met Jason's (Brendon's step brother) girl friend and her little boy, Ethan - such wonderful people! Brenna and Ethan really hit it off and spent the whole time together. Angie and I got along great and we are hoping they will come down and visit sometime.
Day five - Sunday. On the road again headed to Springfield, Missouri. When we got into Missouri we decided to take the scenic route through Central Missouri because we thought it would be a lot prettier then just driving along the border of Kansas and Missouri. We were wrong. Not that great for the extra hour or so we spent in the car. It was pretty but not really worth it.
Finally got to Springfield and of course it was straight to the pool. We stayed at the Ramada Oasis and they had a great indoor pool with an atrium.
Funny story here --- After we got to the hotel Brendon said that he heard that there were three bands staying there that night - LA Guns, Great White and Firehouse (all 80's hair bands). I went out to the car real quick at about 9:30 that night to get some stuff and happened to see some guys getting instruments out of a van. They had these stage pass things around their necks that said LA Guns. These other two guys were behind them and they were all made up in their 80's get-up - from the long, curly, poofy hair to the snake skin boots - it was pretty amusing. Looked like they walked right off of an old poster. Anyways, I said hello and walked passed them to go in the door. They came in behind me and I noticed they were going into the same hall as I was so I thought I'd be nice and hold the door open. Oh geez. I ended up hitting one of the 80's dudes (found out after looking online that it was the lead singer) and knocking his drink all over his shoes and the floor. I apologized a bunch and headed straight to the room where I cracked up laughing and told Brendon all about it. It was pretty funny.
Day six - woke up early and started off to Arkansas. Out of all the states it was definitely the most beautiful! Before we got to Arkansas, we stopped in Branson, Missouri "just to drive around real quick" - yeah right. Ended up spending two hours there. LOL We took an AmTrak train ride through the Ozarks and WOW! was it breathtaking! Definitely worth the stop.
We finally got into Arkansas and stopped at the Welcome Center to get our free map. The nice lady there talked us into taking the Arkansas Scenic 7 Byway - yes, yet another scenic drive. I am so glad we did though because I have never seen anything like it! We drove right through the Ouachita Mountains and the Ozark National Forest. That drive was worth the extra time and I would recommend it to anyone.
That day (Monday) we reached our destination - Lake DeGray State Park. We got there kinda late (wonder why??LOL) so only had enough time to walk around a bit and go swimming. We stayed there all week and left Friday. This post is already pretty long so I won't go into all the details but we had a blast! We went horseback riding, swimming at the beach, rented a boat and drove around the lake for 2 hours, went on a sunset cruise and took a hay ride on the last night and went to a square dance. That was sooooo much fun!! We had never square danced in our lives and didn't think we'd stay but I think that was the best time we had while we were there.
They are lots of pictures from DeGray for everyone to look at (link at the bottom).
So Friday we left and stayed the night in Houston. Woke up Saturday and drove to Rockport, TX for a family reunion on my Dad's side and stayed till Sunday. I must have the biggest family in the world. LOL I think someone tallied up almost 200 people. We stayed at a resort and had all the cabins but one or two. There were so many people there that on Sunday morning I was STILL seeing people that I hadn't seen all weekend. We had a lot of fun though!!!
I was a little sad to be home but in a way it was kinda nice being back to our regular stuff, like our BED! I love sleeping in my bed after being away for a long time. I still can't get over how much fun we had. I think we will be talking about this trip for a very long time. I'm hooked on road trips now though so I'm hoping we'll be taking another one next year. We'd like to drive to Oregon next time!! Wow - now that's a drive.
Anyway, here's the link for all the pictures. I took over 500 but I weeded through them and posted the best ones. There's still about 250 I think.
(If it doesn't automatically start the slide show, click on "slide show" on the top right corner)
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v23/raving_butterfly/Iowa%20Trip%202009/?albumview=slideshow
Anyway, we had such a wonderful time on our trip. We are definitely going to do a road trip again in the very near future. Brenna was absolutely wonderful the entire time. She's such a great traveler and stays entertained with her DVD player, Nintendo DS and drawing. Never once did we hear, "When are we gonna be there?" or anything like it. I was amazed! LOL
I loved being in the car and seeing all the different states and scenery. We drove through 7 states in 12 days - so as you can see there was LOTS of car time. I was the navigator and spent the whole time with a map in my lap, telling Brendon and Brenna where we were going to be next and pointing out other miscellaneous things (rivers, ect). I took tons of books but never even opened one. I was having too much fun with my maps! At one point I told Brendon that I loved maps and he said he's going to get me a t-shirt that says that. LOL
I really tried getting Brenna interested in all the beautiful landscaping but she just didn't care much. But when we drove through a town and she finally took her nose out of her DS she saw a Pizza Hut and said with all the excitment she had, "Look Mom! They have a Pizza Hut!" Crazy kid.
So let me start at the beginning....
We stayed in Waco the first night (Wednesday) with Aunt Lyn and went to see her beautiful Arabian horses. They are not only pretty but VERY friendly and when we went in the pasture the six that were there all came right up to us and loved on us. Brenna was thrilled. I did forget my camera that time so I never got any pictures. I'm hoping we will be able to go again so I can make up for my mistake. They would have been great pictures.
Second day the destination was Kansas. When we drove through Oklahoma, one of the highlights was taking a small detour and driving on Route 66. I thought that was pretty neat and we found a park to stop and eat lunch at. We took a big ice chest with us and tons of food - saved lots of money that way!
So after we left Route 66 we headed onto Kansas. With me being such a huge Wizard of Oz fan, it was really cool seeing the "Welcome to Kansas" sign. Of course we listened to the soundtrack - how could I not? :) We got to our hotel that night and swam in the pool for a while - that was nice after a long day in the car.
Third day we woke up and packed and drove to Wamego, Kansas - home of the Wizard of Oz Museum and Winery. It was fabulous - better then I had expected. They had so many neat things. One of my favorites was a clay monkey that they actually used in the movie for the scenes with the flying monkeys. I took tons of pictures. We also stopped at the Wizard of Oz Winery and got a few bottles of wine. Once those are empty they will be a nice addition to my collection.
After we left the museum we got back on the road to head to Iowa. We took a small detour (took lots of those actually!) and followed signs that lead us to the Oregon Trail. After a few failed attempts to find a place to stop and eat we finally found a nice park on the Oregon Trail and had lunch. It was neat being someplace that I had only read about as a kid. I borrowed a book from Mieree for Brenna to read about the Oregon Trail. It's a story about two kids so I think she might like it - especially since she has actually been there.
We finally got to Iowa around 9pm and got right in the pool. Something about washing in-the-car-grime off of you is very refreshing!
The next day, Saturday, was Travis and Marrona's wedding. The ceremony was at a park and it was so nice - great weather for an outdoor wedding. We all went to the reception afterwards and Brenna had a fun time dancing on the dance floor with a bunch of other kids. We met Jason's (Brendon's step brother) girl friend and her little boy, Ethan - such wonderful people! Brenna and Ethan really hit it off and spent the whole time together. Angie and I got along great and we are hoping they will come down and visit sometime.
Day five - Sunday. On the road again headed to Springfield, Missouri. When we got into Missouri we decided to take the scenic route through Central Missouri because we thought it would be a lot prettier then just driving along the border of Kansas and Missouri. We were wrong. Not that great for the extra hour or so we spent in the car. It was pretty but not really worth it.
Finally got to Springfield and of course it was straight to the pool. We stayed at the Ramada Oasis and they had a great indoor pool with an atrium.
Funny story here --- After we got to the hotel Brendon said that he heard that there were three bands staying there that night - LA Guns, Great White and Firehouse (all 80's hair bands). I went out to the car real quick at about 9:30 that night to get some stuff and happened to see some guys getting instruments out of a van. They had these stage pass things around their necks that said LA Guns. These other two guys were behind them and they were all made up in their 80's get-up - from the long, curly, poofy hair to the snake skin boots - it was pretty amusing. Looked like they walked right off of an old poster. Anyways, I said hello and walked passed them to go in the door. They came in behind me and I noticed they were going into the same hall as I was so I thought I'd be nice and hold the door open. Oh geez. I ended up hitting one of the 80's dudes (found out after looking online that it was the lead singer) and knocking his drink all over his shoes and the floor. I apologized a bunch and headed straight to the room where I cracked up laughing and told Brendon all about it. It was pretty funny.
Day six - woke up early and started off to Arkansas. Out of all the states it was definitely the most beautiful! Before we got to Arkansas, we stopped in Branson, Missouri "just to drive around real quick" - yeah right. Ended up spending two hours there. LOL We took an AmTrak train ride through the Ozarks and WOW! was it breathtaking! Definitely worth the stop.
We finally got into Arkansas and stopped at the Welcome Center to get our free map. The nice lady there talked us into taking the Arkansas Scenic 7 Byway - yes, yet another scenic drive. I am so glad we did though because I have never seen anything like it! We drove right through the Ouachita Mountains and the Ozark National Forest. That drive was worth the extra time and I would recommend it to anyone.
That day (Monday) we reached our destination - Lake DeGray State Park. We got there kinda late (wonder why??LOL) so only had enough time to walk around a bit and go swimming. We stayed there all week and left Friday. This post is already pretty long so I won't go into all the details but we had a blast! We went horseback riding, swimming at the beach, rented a boat and drove around the lake for 2 hours, went on a sunset cruise and took a hay ride on the last night and went to a square dance. That was sooooo much fun!! We had never square danced in our lives and didn't think we'd stay but I think that was the best time we had while we were there.
They are lots of pictures from DeGray for everyone to look at (link at the bottom).
So Friday we left and stayed the night in Houston. Woke up Saturday and drove to Rockport, TX for a family reunion on my Dad's side and stayed till Sunday. I must have the biggest family in the world. LOL I think someone tallied up almost 200 people. We stayed at a resort and had all the cabins but one or two. There were so many people there that on Sunday morning I was STILL seeing people that I hadn't seen all weekend. We had a lot of fun though!!!
I was a little sad to be home but in a way it was kinda nice being back to our regular stuff, like our BED! I love sleeping in my bed after being away for a long time. I still can't get over how much fun we had. I think we will be talking about this trip for a very long time. I'm hooked on road trips now though so I'm hoping we'll be taking another one next year. We'd like to drive to Oregon next time!! Wow - now that's a drive.
Anyway, here's the link for all the pictures. I took over 500 but I weeded through them and posted the best ones. There's still about 250 I think.
(If it doesn't automatically start the slide show, click on "slide show" on the top right corner)
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v23/raving_butterfly/Iowa%20Trip%202009/?albumview=slideshow
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Another trip in the workings
Brendon, Brenna and I are going on vacation!
I know we go camping a lot but to us this is a REAL vacation. No tent sleeping - we're staying in real hotels and not cooking outside! LOL Well we always have a blast camping but this will be completely different!
Brendon's step-brother is getting married next weekend so we are driving all the way to Iowa to celebrate it with them. I was a little worried at first having to drive that far with a 7 year old but we are all very excited about it, including Brenna. Yeah, I guess we'll see how excited she is when we're only 700 miles into our 2,800 mile round trip. ("Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?") LOL I'm planning on going to the store and getting her some new stuff to do on the road. A good place to start I guess would be some new Nintendo DS games. Those will keep her occupied for hours. We also have a TV for the car too so that will make some time pass. We're dividing up the trip pretty good though and I think our longest day will be about 10 hours driving. All the other days will be between 5 and 8 hours - so that won't be so bad.
We will be staying in Kansas one night in the small town of Wamego. It is home of the Wizard of Oz Museum as well as the Oz Winery and I am soooo excited about going! It's only about 5 hours to Iowa from there so we'll be able to spend a decent amount of time at the museum. I'm going to be like a little kid at an amusement park! Can't wait to get more things for my collection and maybe a bottle wine or two.
Once we get to Iowa on Friday we are only spending Saturday there and then leaving Sunday and heading to
Arkansas (staying one night in Springfield, Missouri) where we will be staying at DeGray Lake Resort State Park for a week at the lodge (picture on left). This place is not only awesome but very, very affordable - we were pleasantly surprised. They have horseback riding, snorkeling, beaches, pools, a park, hiking, a golf course and canoes and boats you can rent. Brendon and Brenna will be playing golf while we're there and Mom will be lounging by the pool drinking a pina colada - oh wait it's a dry county! Crap. Maybe that's where my bottle of Oz wine will come into play? LOL We are also planning on doing just about everything they have to offer. Brenna is most excited about the horseback riding. She has ALWAYS wanted to ride a horse and will finally get to.
On the way home from Arkansas we'll be stopping for the weekend in Rockport and going to a family reunion for my Dad's side. So that will be lots of fun too.
Anyway, not sure if I will post anymore before our trip because I still have lots to do but I will definitely have pictures to post when we get back.
I know we go camping a lot but to us this is a REAL vacation. No tent sleeping - we're staying in real hotels and not cooking outside! LOL Well we always have a blast camping but this will be completely different!
Brendon's step-brother is getting married next weekend so we are driving all the way to Iowa to celebrate it with them. I was a little worried at first having to drive that far with a 7 year old but we are all very excited about it, including Brenna. Yeah, I guess we'll see how excited she is when we're only 700 miles into our 2,800 mile round trip. ("Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?") LOL I'm planning on going to the store and getting her some new stuff to do on the road. A good place to start I guess would be some new Nintendo DS games. Those will keep her occupied for hours. We also have a TV for the car too so that will make some time pass. We're dividing up the trip pretty good though and I think our longest day will be about 10 hours driving. All the other days will be between 5 and 8 hours - so that won't be so bad.
We will be staying in Kansas one night in the small town of Wamego. It is home of the Wizard of Oz Museum as well as the Oz Winery and I am soooo excited about going! It's only about 5 hours to Iowa from there so we'll be able to spend a decent amount of time at the museum. I'm going to be like a little kid at an amusement park! Can't wait to get more things for my collection and maybe a bottle wine or two.
Once we get to Iowa on Friday we are only spending Saturday there and then leaving Sunday and heading to
Arkansas (staying one night in Springfield, Missouri) where we will be staying at DeGray Lake Resort State Park for a week at the lodge (picture on left). This place is not only awesome but very, very affordable - we were pleasantly surprised. They have horseback riding, snorkeling, beaches, pools, a park, hiking, a golf course and canoes and boats you can rent. Brendon and Brenna will be playing golf while we're there and Mom will be lounging by the pool drinking a pina colada - oh wait it's a dry county! Crap. Maybe that's where my bottle of Oz wine will come into play? LOL We are also planning on doing just about everything they have to offer. Brenna is most excited about the horseback riding. She has ALWAYS wanted to ride a horse and will finally get to.On the way home from Arkansas we'll be stopping for the weekend in Rockport and going to a family reunion for my Dad's side. So that will be lots of fun too.
Anyway, not sure if I will post anymore before our trip because I still have lots to do but I will definitely have pictures to post when we get back.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Sick Times
Brenna's been sick this whole week with a horrible cough and congestion so I've been pretty busy taking care of her.
It's almost midnight and she's laying in bed hacking away and the only thing I can think of at this moment is what someone told me about a month ago -
"You're kid isn't going to build up her immunities as good as other kids who are going to school because she isn't going to get sick as often."
Good.
I don't WANT a sick kid. She's going to be just fine, thank you very much. If she got even more sick then she does right now I think I would go a little crazy. It's not like I keep her in a closet all day. It's not like she's not around other people IN PUBLIC. It's not like she's not around other germ-infested school-going kids because apparently she can't be NORMAL unless she is.
Sorry. I'm a tad bit sleep deprived and a little grumpy tonight and could not think of anything else better to do then come post on the blog real quick.
Off to bed with me now.....
I'll post again soon and next time it won't be so bitchy. LOL :)
It's almost midnight and she's laying in bed hacking away and the only thing I can think of at this moment is what someone told me about a month ago -
"You're kid isn't going to build up her immunities as good as other kids who are going to school because she isn't going to get sick as often."
Good.
I don't WANT a sick kid. She's going to be just fine, thank you very much. If she got even more sick then she does right now I think I would go a little crazy. It's not like I keep her in a closet all day. It's not like she's not around other people IN PUBLIC. It's not like she's not around other germ-infested school-going kids because apparently she can't be NORMAL unless she is.
Sorry. I'm a tad bit sleep deprived and a little grumpy tonight and could not think of anything else better to do then come post on the blog real quick.
Off to bed with me now.....
I'll post again soon and next time it won't be so bitchy. LOL :)
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Half Way There
So I'm half way to my ideal weight goal! I've lost a total of 11 pounds since the beginning of June and I can really tell a huge difference. I'm wearing things now that I couldn't even button two months ago (and if I could, they looked terrible on me!) and my wardrobe has doubled in size now. I'm glad that I hung on to all that pre-baby stuff that I said would never fit me again. I still need to lose about 10 more pounds but I am so motivated to do that and every day it becomes easier and easier. Exercise is a habit now and if I don't do it I feel physically and mentally horrible. I'm eating better then I have in my whole life and I actually like waking up at 6:30am to go walking my 4 miles in the morning. LOL
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Late night... but a surprisingly good day!
Brenna had a sleep over last night with her friend that lives next door (previous post). It was pretty exciting for her (and me!) because it was the first real sleep over that Brenna has ever had. I went on a store-run at 9:30pm and got them popcorn and M&M's and they watched a movie. After that it was hair and nails - so cute! They did each others hair and Isabelle painted Brenna's toe nails. I was a little iffy about how late to let them stay up but they were having sooo much fun and I didn't want to ruin it so it wasn't until about 1:30 when I finally said, "Lights out girls!". I heard them giggling until almost 2am though.
Guess what time they woke up this morning!!??
I was seriously expecting them (hoping I guess!) to sleep until about 9 or so but Brendon came in the bedroom at about 7:15 (he wakes up at 6am for work) and told me that they were up! Oh geez. Five hours sleep for my little Brenna. I didn't think that would go over very well around noon or so. But surprisingly she did great all day - they both did. I did yard work in the back all day and Isabelle stayed here until about 6pm. I could tell that Brenna was getting a little tired and grumpy towards the end so I sent Isabelle home before it got too bad. It's all about prevention! LOL
So tonight I thought she'd go to bed around 8 or so but she stayed up until almost 9:30 and that's when I started seeing her get pretty red-eyed and veerry grumpy! I'm usually pretty lenient about her bedtime but tonight she went to bed a little upset because she wanted to stay up longer. I just KNEW she was exhausted though and I "mommied-up" and off to bed she went. I stayed for our song and she was asleep before it even ended.
What an eventful day and night! I think she's got the "sleep-over bug" now! It begins.....LOL
Guess what time they woke up this morning!!??
I was seriously expecting them (hoping I guess!) to sleep until about 9 or so but Brendon came in the bedroom at about 7:15 (he wakes up at 6am for work) and told me that they were up! Oh geez. Five hours sleep for my little Brenna. I didn't think that would go over very well around noon or so. But surprisingly she did great all day - they both did. I did yard work in the back all day and Isabelle stayed here until about 6pm. I could tell that Brenna was getting a little tired and grumpy towards the end so I sent Isabelle home before it got too bad. It's all about prevention! LOL
So tonight I thought she'd go to bed around 8 or so but she stayed up until almost 9:30 and that's when I started seeing her get pretty red-eyed and veerry grumpy! I'm usually pretty lenient about her bedtime but tonight she went to bed a little upset because she wanted to stay up longer. I just KNEW she was exhausted though and I "mommied-up" and off to bed she went. I stayed for our song and she was asleep before it even ended.
What an eventful day and night! I think she's got the "sleep-over bug" now! It begins.....LOL
Monday, June 29, 2009
Fun Week
Brenna and I spent most of last week at the Arroyo and had such a great time! Brendon went out of town again for work so I figured instead of staying home, we'd kinda mix things up a bit and go on a mini-vacation. My parents have a trailer down there so that's where we stayed. Free vacation - can't beat that! LOL My Aunt RuthAnn lives down there so we got spoiled every night with dinner, which was very nice because she's a wonderful cook! Brenna and I borrowed her kayak and went kayaking in the river one morning. I'd never done that before and Brenna was pretty nervous cuz she knew that Mom was inexperienced. We did fine though and never tipped over. I did end up in the water when we were getting in because I slipped on the boat ramp. Ouch! Kept me nice and cool though.
We went fishing off the pier everyday and Brenna finally caught her first fish! She was sooo excited and really loved it. It was just a little 8 inch catfish but you would have thought it was a 30 inch red with the way her face looked. Priceless. Of course I forgot to take my camera - typical. Hopefully I'll have it next time we go and I'll post a picture.
It was so nice staying down there and I think we're going to do that more often during the times that Brendon goes out of town and we can't go with him. Beats staying at home and doing all the usual stuff.
So this past weekend my parents had a bar-be-que at their house. They celebrated paying off their house, which being a homeowner myself, is a really big deal. Most of our family from San Antonio came down and it was nice visiting with my Grandma Carol, Aunt Barbara and my Aunt Susie. Grandma - I never did see you before you left but I'm hoping to make it up there sometime soon! *BIG HUGS TO YOU!!*
Brenna is having a sleep over tonight with the little girl that lives next door. They recently moved in and have only played a couple times but they get along so great. She's 10 and so very sweet. They played today and Brenna asked if she could sleep over and I said yes. (They are the same neighbors that I posted the picture of with all the laundry along the back fence.) There are like 8 kids in that house and I really feel for the little girl because it kinda seems like she's the baby sitter. It's going to be nice for her to have a little peace tonight and hang out with Brenna here at our house. I told Brenna that her Mom might not let her because we've never met them before but I was wrong. I did take it upon myself to go over to the house and talk to the Mom though and make sure it was okay. I guess I just find that a little weird - letting your 10 year old stay the night at some one's house that you've never even met before. I know my Mom was very strict about that when I was little and I know I'll be the same way with Brenna.
Well, off to check on the girls and maybe make them some popcorn. I have a feeling it's going to be a late night.
Till fingers and keyboard meet again......
We went fishing off the pier everyday and Brenna finally caught her first fish! She was sooo excited and really loved it. It was just a little 8 inch catfish but you would have thought it was a 30 inch red with the way her face looked. Priceless. Of course I forgot to take my camera - typical. Hopefully I'll have it next time we go and I'll post a picture.
It was so nice staying down there and I think we're going to do that more often during the times that Brendon goes out of town and we can't go with him. Beats staying at home and doing all the usual stuff.
So this past weekend my parents had a bar-be-que at their house. They celebrated paying off their house, which being a homeowner myself, is a really big deal. Most of our family from San Antonio came down and it was nice visiting with my Grandma Carol, Aunt Barbara and my Aunt Susie. Grandma - I never did see you before you left but I'm hoping to make it up there sometime soon! *BIG HUGS TO YOU!!*
Brenna is having a sleep over tonight with the little girl that lives next door. They recently moved in and have only played a couple times but they get along so great. She's 10 and so very sweet. They played today and Brenna asked if she could sleep over and I said yes. (They are the same neighbors that I posted the picture of with all the laundry along the back fence.) There are like 8 kids in that house and I really feel for the little girl because it kinda seems like she's the baby sitter. It's going to be nice for her to have a little peace tonight and hang out with Brenna here at our house. I told Brenna that her Mom might not let her because we've never met them before but I was wrong. I did take it upon myself to go over to the house and talk to the Mom though and make sure it was okay. I guess I just find that a little weird - letting your 10 year old stay the night at some one's house that you've never even met before. I know my Mom was very strict about that when I was little and I know I'll be the same way with Brenna.
Well, off to check on the girls and maybe make them some popcorn. I have a feeling it's going to be a late night.
Till fingers and keyboard meet again......
Friday, June 19, 2009
Venting (again...)
One of the many reasons why I'm sooooo glad my kid doesn't go to school.....
Okay, so I wasn't going to complain about this on my blog but after talking to Brendon and being justified on my opinion about this by him (sometimes I'm a bit sensitive) , I figured I'd get it off my chest. I'm always looking for drama to post on the blog anyways, LOL :)
Brenna has been complaining lately about being "bossed around" a lot by her teachers at summer camp. Okay, so I figured - this is a kid who's never been to school and has not experienced the whole I'm-the-almighty-teacher-you-listen-to-me-or-else thing so it can't be that bad - she's just not used to it. Brendon and I are very relaxed with her and are not your typical parents I guess. She's not spoiled by any means but she is treated like a person with her own feelings and opinions. I like it that way. Surprisingly, we don't have many problems with her. We respect her and don't take on the role as "the superiors". Does she act like a kid? Yes. Does she sometimes act up? Yes. But I think it would be ten times worse if we would constantly boss her around. She's a very opinionated little girl. And I believe that if you show respect then you will get respect. It may not happen over-night (and it is something that they definitely have to learn) but I think it's very good for the long-run kinda thing, which is what you are ultimately shooting for.
Anyway, I'm totally getting off-topic.
Friday morning Brenna and I got to the school to go on the field trip that never happened (previous post). When we entered the cafeteria all the kids were sitting on the floor in a line, paired up with who they were going to sit with on the bus. At this point it was 8:30am. We were told to be there by this time because that's when they would be leaving. So Brenna takes her place in line and is sitting and talking to a group of girls, one of which is her very bestest friend there, Kayla. Yes, it was loud - kids were talking and having fun - what else were they supposed to do? At this point one of the teachers starts clapping his hands and telling the kids that they are being way too loud. Then he proceeds to start talking in this ridiculously low, almost whisper, voice and tells all of them that if they can't hear him when he talks like this then they are being too loud. What the hell? What do you expect them to do? These kids range from ages 4 to about 10. You seriously expect them to just sit there and act like perfect little angels and talk in whispers so that they can hear the teacher if he decides to talk in his abnormal midget voice? Come on.
So it's about 8:45 now and I am getting really annoyed. Not at the loudness of the kids (to me that's normal) but by the teachers constantly telling them to "Be quiet", "Sit up straight", "Don't lay down, sit on your bottom", blah, blah, blah. AHHHH! Ok, if you don't want to be around loud, chattering kids then find a different profession!!
This went on for a total of 30 minutes. I was getting restless after 20 minutes, waiting till it was time to get on the bus - can you imagine how hard it is for a 7 year old to stay quiet and talk in whispers for half an hour? Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. I had to bite my tongue so hard to keep quiet and not tell these teachers what I thought of them and their crazy expectations. Thank goodness they did not single my daughter out like they did some kids. They would have had a Mama Bear to deal with. None of them were doing anything wrong.
Today I talked to Brenna and she started telling me about how much the teachers control everything they do. During "free time" they tell the kids what to do; they can't go to the bathroom unless it is a designated bathroom break - that one really bothered me. Are they going to pay for my kid's doctor bill if she gets a bladder infection? Any person should be free to use the bathroom at their discretion. That's a human right. She told me that she has asked them numerous times if she could call and talk to me for a few minutes or ask if she could go home and they tell her NO. I told her to tell them that I said she could call me whenever she wants and go home when she wants. It's not that hard for them - they carry a cordless phone with them - I've seen it. Brenna has my number - they don't have to look it up. Maybe they are worried about other kids wanting to call their parents too - I don't care. I'm thinking of either letting her take my cell phone or writing a note that tells them she can call me when she wants, especially if she wants to call to go home. I don't need this place as a day care. She can come home when she wants.
I'm just really annoyed by all this - can you tell? I do not like the whole "school scenario" one bit. So glad my kid doesn't go to school and have to put up with this nine months out of the year.
End of vent! :) Thanks for putting up with me.
Okay, so I wasn't going to complain about this on my blog but after talking to Brendon and being justified on my opinion about this by him (sometimes I'm a bit sensitive) , I figured I'd get it off my chest. I'm always looking for drama to post on the blog anyways, LOL :)
Brenna has been complaining lately about being "bossed around" a lot by her teachers at summer camp. Okay, so I figured - this is a kid who's never been to school and has not experienced the whole I'm-the-almighty-teacher-you-listen-to-me-or-else thing so it can't be that bad - she's just not used to it. Brendon and I are very relaxed with her and are not your typical parents I guess. She's not spoiled by any means but she is treated like a person with her own feelings and opinions. I like it that way. Surprisingly, we don't have many problems with her. We respect her and don't take on the role as "the superiors". Does she act like a kid? Yes. Does she sometimes act up? Yes. But I think it would be ten times worse if we would constantly boss her around. She's a very opinionated little girl. And I believe that if you show respect then you will get respect. It may not happen over-night (and it is something that they definitely have to learn) but I think it's very good for the long-run kinda thing, which is what you are ultimately shooting for.
Anyway, I'm totally getting off-topic.
Friday morning Brenna and I got to the school to go on the field trip that never happened (previous post). When we entered the cafeteria all the kids were sitting on the floor in a line, paired up with who they were going to sit with on the bus. At this point it was 8:30am. We were told to be there by this time because that's when they would be leaving. So Brenna takes her place in line and is sitting and talking to a group of girls, one of which is her very bestest friend there, Kayla. Yes, it was loud - kids were talking and having fun - what else were they supposed to do? At this point one of the teachers starts clapping his hands and telling the kids that they are being way too loud. Then he proceeds to start talking in this ridiculously low, almost whisper, voice and tells all of them that if they can't hear him when he talks like this then they are being too loud. What the hell? What do you expect them to do? These kids range from ages 4 to about 10. You seriously expect them to just sit there and act like perfect little angels and talk in whispers so that they can hear the teacher if he decides to talk in his abnormal midget voice? Come on.
So it's about 8:45 now and I am getting really annoyed. Not at the loudness of the kids (to me that's normal) but by the teachers constantly telling them to "Be quiet", "Sit up straight", "Don't lay down, sit on your bottom", blah, blah, blah. AHHHH! Ok, if you don't want to be around loud, chattering kids then find a different profession!!
This went on for a total of 30 minutes. I was getting restless after 20 minutes, waiting till it was time to get on the bus - can you imagine how hard it is for a 7 year old to stay quiet and talk in whispers for half an hour? Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. I had to bite my tongue so hard to keep quiet and not tell these teachers what I thought of them and their crazy expectations. Thank goodness they did not single my daughter out like they did some kids. They would have had a Mama Bear to deal with. None of them were doing anything wrong.
Today I talked to Brenna and she started telling me about how much the teachers control everything they do. During "free time" they tell the kids what to do; they can't go to the bathroom unless it is a designated bathroom break - that one really bothered me. Are they going to pay for my kid's doctor bill if she gets a bladder infection? Any person should be free to use the bathroom at their discretion. That's a human right. She told me that she has asked them numerous times if she could call and talk to me for a few minutes or ask if she could go home and they tell her NO. I told her to tell them that I said she could call me whenever she wants and go home when she wants. It's not that hard for them - they carry a cordless phone with them - I've seen it. Brenna has my number - they don't have to look it up. Maybe they are worried about other kids wanting to call their parents too - I don't care. I'm thinking of either letting her take my cell phone or writing a note that tells them she can call me when she wants, especially if she wants to call to go home. I don't need this place as a day care. She can come home when she wants.
I'm just really annoyed by all this - can you tell? I do not like the whole "school scenario" one bit. So glad my kid doesn't go to school and have to put up with this nine months out of the year.
End of vent! :) Thanks for putting up with me.
TGIF!
Well this week really got away from me and now it's already Friday! Nothing too eventful has happened. Brenna and I were supposed to go on a field trip this morning with her Summer Camp group to the Young Chef's Academy. Notice I said "supposed to". Turns out that the bus had a flat tire and nobody realized it until all the kids were outside, lined up and ready to go - they were actually in the process of getting on the bus when someone noticed the tire. Talk about disappointment! Those kids were so bummed out. Hopefully they will be able to reschedule because that was the field trip that Brenna and I have been looking most forward to. If not then I will have to make a point of taking her myself one day - I heard that it's a pretty cool place.
So I've still been exercising on a daily basis like a real trooper! It's getting easier and easier though. I've turned my 2 mile trek into a 4 mile trek and it feels wonderful. I was only going out for 30 minutes but have bumped it up to one hour. I read that to maintain the weight you are then 30 minutes is sufficient, but to lose weight then you have to exercise at least an hour. I got a little discouraged earlier this week because the scale showed that I went back up to 160 (was down to 158 at one point) and I didn't understand why I wasn't losing any weight when I was being so diligent about eating right and exercising. I almost threw in the towel but I started to notice a couple days ago that my clothes when not fitting quite as snug and today I actually wore a shirt that had I never worn before and my belly didn't look like Jabba the Hut! LOL So now I am totally re-motivated. I guess I am losing fat and gaining some muscle at the same time.
Ok, well Brenna is still at Summer Camp so I am off to do some dishes and head to the grocery store. I hope everyone has a great day!
So I've still been exercising on a daily basis like a real trooper! It's getting easier and easier though. I've turned my 2 mile trek into a 4 mile trek and it feels wonderful. I was only going out for 30 minutes but have bumped it up to one hour. I read that to maintain the weight you are then 30 minutes is sufficient, but to lose weight then you have to exercise at least an hour. I got a little discouraged earlier this week because the scale showed that I went back up to 160 (was down to 158 at one point) and I didn't understand why I wasn't losing any weight when I was being so diligent about eating right and exercising. I almost threw in the towel but I started to notice a couple days ago that my clothes when not fitting quite as snug and today I actually wore a shirt that had I never worn before and my belly didn't look like Jabba the Hut! LOL So now I am totally re-motivated. I guess I am losing fat and gaining some muscle at the same time.
Ok, well Brenna is still at Summer Camp so I am off to do some dishes and head to the grocery store. I hope everyone has a great day!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Great Night
As I sit here at the computer and write this Brenna is under the dining room table, in her fort that she built with all of her stuffed "buddies", a bunch of pillows and blankets, reading a book before going to sleep. Did I mention that it is 10:45pm? This would have been completely unheard of in my house about three months ago - maybe even as close as a month ago. It's nice though letting her do things like this instead of saying no all the time. You should have seen her little face this afternoon when she asked me if she could sleep in her fort tonight and I actually said yes! And then I went even a step further and said yes again when she said that she would like to read for a little bit after our movie we watched.
And guess what? It's now 10:50 and she has turned her light out, put on her music and has decided on her own to go to sleep. I don't have to be the "bad guy" or the controlling parent and she is happy because she has been able to make her own choices. It's a win-win situation.
Here's a quote from a book that I'm reading called Playful Parenting. I read it tonight and thought it was worth posting. I'll end with it and then go and fall asleep on the couch so Brenna won't be out here all by herself.
"When we constantly tell children what they should or shouldn't do, they have no room to think for themselves and are forced to choose between resentful obedience or defiant rebellion." -Lawrence J. Cohen, Ph.D.
And guess what? It's now 10:50 and she has turned her light out, put on her music and has decided on her own to go to sleep. I don't have to be the "bad guy" or the controlling parent and she is happy because she has been able to make her own choices. It's a win-win situation.
Here's a quote from a book that I'm reading called Playful Parenting. I read it tonight and thought it was worth posting. I'll end with it and then go and fall asleep on the couch so Brenna won't be out here all by herself.
"When we constantly tell children what they should or shouldn't do, they have no room to think for themselves and are forced to choose between resentful obedience or defiant rebellion." -Lawrence J. Cohen, Ph.D.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
9 Years
WOW! Nine years that I have been married to my sweet, wonderful, supportive, hard-working, sensitive, awesome, caring, opinionated, passionate husband. Our anniversary was last week. I can't believe that it's been almost a decade. I LOVE YOU BRENDON!! Thank you for making my life so spectacular. :) XXXOOOXXXOOOXXX
Friday, June 12, 2009
Sorry that I have been MIA for a week or so and haven't posted. We have been busy and I haven't had much time to get on the computer. I guess I should not make excuses since Brenna has been at summer camp for five days a week, six hours a day, for the past two weeks. LOL I have been taking advantage of the mommy-time to get things done around the house and run errands without having a 7 year old accompanying me. Surprisingly, I have not had much computer time or made that much computer time for myself. The time just seems to fly by when you are in cyber-world and before you know it three hours has gone past and you have not accomplished much. LOL I am making time now though to post. It is about 11:30pm and Brenna is fast asleep in our bed. I should be in bed with her but conveniently I got my second wind about an hour ago and am just not that tired. She crashed out pretty quick since it was so late. I have our thick curtains pulled down so hopefully she'll sleep in abit. That girl is like a darn rooster! :)
Brendon is out of town on business - wish we could have gone with him but he drove up with a couple people from work and it just would not have been feasible. So it's just us girls for the weekend. It's fun when it's just us and we have our "girl time". Tonight Brenna stayed up until almost 11pm and we jammed out on Guitar Hero. It was so much fun! She went in her dress-up box and picked out some accessories for us to wear (pictures below!!) and I think we must have played about 15 songs. She's actually quite good on the bass guitar - she still plays on beginner and she loves it. It's such a great family thing to do together. We have the World Tour for Nintendo Wii so we have two guitars and a drum set so we can all play together. Family bonding I guess you could call it. LOL Brenna is getting quite a taste for music and has been introduced to many, many artists. I guess you could call it our "music curriculum". I just don't like that 'C' word much. Blah. :) LOL
Brenna has been having a pretty good time with her summer camp thing. We took a field trip last Friday and went on the dolphin watch at the island. Neither of us had ever been on that before and it was pretty cool - we saw lots of dolphins and porpoises. I totally could have done without the "No! Get back over here!", "You can't go up there!", "Stay here with me, now!", "Sit down!", "Stop doing that!", blah, blah, blah.... from all the teachers. Geez, I'm so glad my kid doesn't go to school and just get bossed around all day by superiors. It's unbelievable. Really. At one point Brenna and I were up on the top deck of the boat (which was really cool!) and we heard a kid say, "I want to go up there too!" and a teacher promptly responded, "No, you're not allowed. She's up there because she's with her Mom." There were like only 20 kids (and about 4 adults) - now why can't you just take them up there in small groups - like 5 at a time? It really was very cool! How could you not let a kid do something that they think is just fabulous? How sad. It really wouldn't have been that hard. I'm so thankful that I was there with Brenna so that she wasn't told that she couldn't do something that she wanted to. All in all it was fun though. Brenna got to ride on a school bus for the first time and she was pretty impressed with that. Why, I'm not sure. I think school buses are horrible. But I guess for a kid they are pretty exciting -not having to wear a seat belt; being on the biggest thing you've ever ridden in, ect... I got pretty ticked on the bus too. Surprised? Didn't think so. Brenna was sitting by her friend on the bus on the way to the island - the friend that she has been talking nonstop about since she started summer camp; the friend that makes her little art things that she brings home everyday (and visa-versa I'm sure); the friend that she lets play her Nintendo DS during quiet time. Apparently they are pretty "tight". :) So about half way to the island her friend stands up on the the bus for like two seconds so that she can switch places with Brenna so that Brenna can sit by the window. Very sweet. Apparently she got busted for standing up (never mind that other kids were standing every so often) so on the way back home she had to sit up by the teacher and Brenna had no one to sit with - the kids were told to sit in their exact seats that they had come in on. I just thought that was a little harsh. I ended up sitting by Brenna on the way back cuz she told me that she was lonely. And some people want me to send my kid to school so that she can socialize. HA.
Anyways... on to another subject. Health. I have been taking advantage of all the alone-time that I have had and have started getting back into shape. I've been jogging 2 miles a day all week and have lost 5 pounds already. I feel sooooo great and I'm sure I will feel nothing but better as the time goes by. I have a good 25 pounds to lose (20 now) and I have never been so determined before to get healthy. I've been eating so good (lots of veggies and salads - actually contemplating on becoming a vegetarian - we'll see - still researching that) and surprisingly my appetite has drastically plunged. I used to eat like there was nothing else in the world to do. I LOVE FOOD. Now I find that I am not so hungry anymore and it is so wonderful! Right now I am at 159 and my goal is about 140. Yes, I am making my weight public (*gasp!*) because now maybe I'll have a little more incentive to "report" to all of you who read my blog. LOL So I am hoping that by next Friday I will be at 154. We'll see. I honestly have never been so pumped up in my life to exercise. I didn't get to jog this morning because Brenna said she didn't want to go to summer camp and I was so bummed out! Not that she didn't go but that I couldn't go jogging. That is so not like me! If you would have said a month ago that I would be jogging two miles a day and LIKE IT and actually look forward to it I would have called you crazy. Brenna did go to camp today at about 12:30 though but that was way too late to take a two mile treck (it got to 99 today) so I walked to my Mom's house, which is about a half mile away and immediately got on her exercise bike she has and did that for almost 30 minutes. So that did make me feel better. My Dad is a huge health buff so I told him that I would like to spend a little time picking his brain and have him tell me what I need to do. I'm sure he's full of very useful information. He's not one to push stuff on you but if you ask he has lots to say and so much information that he has aquired. Kinda like me with homeschooling I guess.
Ok, this post is quite long enough! Time for bed. I'll post again soon..... Here's some pictures from the last couple weeks.
(Brenna at the dolphin watch on the bow of the boat)
(Brenna is the 3rd kid in the orange visor)
(Rock Stars!! LOL)
(A tad embarrassed about this picture, but what can you do....)
Brendon is out of town on business - wish we could have gone with him but he drove up with a couple people from work and it just would not have been feasible. So it's just us girls for the weekend. It's fun when it's just us and we have our "girl time". Tonight Brenna stayed up until almost 11pm and we jammed out on Guitar Hero. It was so much fun! She went in her dress-up box and picked out some accessories for us to wear (pictures below!!) and I think we must have played about 15 songs. She's actually quite good on the bass guitar - she still plays on beginner and she loves it. It's such a great family thing to do together. We have the World Tour for Nintendo Wii so we have two guitars and a drum set so we can all play together. Family bonding I guess you could call it. LOL Brenna is getting quite a taste for music and has been introduced to many, many artists. I guess you could call it our "music curriculum". I just don't like that 'C' word much. Blah. :) LOL
Brenna has been having a pretty good time with her summer camp thing. We took a field trip last Friday and went on the dolphin watch at the island. Neither of us had ever been on that before and it was pretty cool - we saw lots of dolphins and porpoises. I totally could have done without the "No! Get back over here!", "You can't go up there!", "Stay here with me, now!", "Sit down!", "Stop doing that!", blah, blah, blah.... from all the teachers. Geez, I'm so glad my kid doesn't go to school and just get bossed around all day by superiors. It's unbelievable. Really. At one point Brenna and I were up on the top deck of the boat (which was really cool!) and we heard a kid say, "I want to go up there too!" and a teacher promptly responded, "No, you're not allowed. She's up there because she's with her Mom." There were like only 20 kids (and about 4 adults) - now why can't you just take them up there in small groups - like 5 at a time? It really was very cool! How could you not let a kid do something that they think is just fabulous? How sad. It really wouldn't have been that hard. I'm so thankful that I was there with Brenna so that she wasn't told that she couldn't do something that she wanted to. All in all it was fun though. Brenna got to ride on a school bus for the first time and she was pretty impressed with that. Why, I'm not sure. I think school buses are horrible. But I guess for a kid they are pretty exciting -not having to wear a seat belt; being on the biggest thing you've ever ridden in, ect... I got pretty ticked on the bus too. Surprised? Didn't think so. Brenna was sitting by her friend on the bus on the way to the island - the friend that she has been talking nonstop about since she started summer camp; the friend that makes her little art things that she brings home everyday (and visa-versa I'm sure); the friend that she lets play her Nintendo DS during quiet time. Apparently they are pretty "tight". :) So about half way to the island her friend stands up on the the bus for like two seconds so that she can switch places with Brenna so that Brenna can sit by the window. Very sweet. Apparently she got busted for standing up (never mind that other kids were standing every so often) so on the way back home she had to sit up by the teacher and Brenna had no one to sit with - the kids were told to sit in their exact seats that they had come in on. I just thought that was a little harsh. I ended up sitting by Brenna on the way back cuz she told me that she was lonely. And some people want me to send my kid to school so that she can socialize. HA.
Anyways... on to another subject. Health. I have been taking advantage of all the alone-time that I have had and have started getting back into shape. I've been jogging 2 miles a day all week and have lost 5 pounds already. I feel sooooo great and I'm sure I will feel nothing but better as the time goes by. I have a good 25 pounds to lose (20 now) and I have never been so determined before to get healthy. I've been eating so good (lots of veggies and salads - actually contemplating on becoming a vegetarian - we'll see - still researching that) and surprisingly my appetite has drastically plunged. I used to eat like there was nothing else in the world to do. I LOVE FOOD. Now I find that I am not so hungry anymore and it is so wonderful! Right now I am at 159 and my goal is about 140. Yes, I am making my weight public (*gasp!*) because now maybe I'll have a little more incentive to "report" to all of you who read my blog. LOL So I am hoping that by next Friday I will be at 154. We'll see. I honestly have never been so pumped up in my life to exercise. I didn't get to jog this morning because Brenna said she didn't want to go to summer camp and I was so bummed out! Not that she didn't go but that I couldn't go jogging. That is so not like me! If you would have said a month ago that I would be jogging two miles a day and LIKE IT and actually look forward to it I would have called you crazy. Brenna did go to camp today at about 12:30 though but that was way too late to take a two mile treck (it got to 99 today) so I walked to my Mom's house, which is about a half mile away and immediately got on her exercise bike she has and did that for almost 30 minutes. So that did make me feel better. My Dad is a huge health buff so I told him that I would like to spend a little time picking his brain and have him tell me what I need to do. I'm sure he's full of very useful information. He's not one to push stuff on you but if you ask he has lots to say and so much information that he has aquired. Kinda like me with homeschooling I guess.
Ok, this post is quite long enough! Time for bed. I'll post again soon..... Here's some pictures from the last couple weeks.
(Brenna at the dolphin watch on the bow of the boat)
(Brenna is the 3rd kid in the orange visor)
(Rock Stars!! LOL)
(A tad embarrassed about this picture, but what can you do....)
Friday, June 05, 2009
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