Sunday, December 13, 2009

Sleepy Sam




This kid is strong willed. He will not take a nap, but he frequently falls asleep in the oddest ways.





Crazy Kiddos

I hear Tommy shout "Mommy, I'm ready for Ballet!", so I go into Mary's room and this is what I found.

Another great Thanksgiving with cousins!



Isaac's Baptism

We're proud of our little buddy Isaac for getting baptized last weekend.


Monday, November 23, 2009

First trimester report cards...

The kids did excellent in their first trimester of school. Here's what the teachers said about them on their report cards:
Jr.-
Can you guys believe that his teacher had nothing to say on the report card? She left it completely blank in the comments section. I am having a hard time with her. She only gives negative feedback, and all my friends who have a kid in her class agree. She actually had Jr. fill out a self evaluation where he wrote: Reading-excellent "I read just right books and I get to be a better reader."
Writing-Satisfactory "I don't really like to write."
Math-Excellent "I know a lot of math."
"I need a few reminders once in a while to stay on task and return my homework on time, everything else I almost always do."
When I went to Parent teacher conference she pulled out that self evaluation and proceeded to criticize what he had written, and expected me to agree with her. She said "He just doesn't get it, he thinks he is doing great!" I am still trying to get over that one. I want to cry when I think of my son being stuck with a teacher who thinks he is good for nothing. It will just damage his self image and make him hate school even more. If you never mention someone's efforts to do well, they will do well less and less because what's the point of trying to please someone who will never appreciate your effort? There's no point. He consistently gets all his spelling words right, he's great at math, and he is a strong reader. She never mentions these things. I think he is a normal 9 year old boy who is bored with school.

Isaac-
Isaac's teacher wrote the following: "Isaac reads with fluency and expression. He can answer questions about the stories that he reads. Isaac is a great speller. He spells most of his words with conventional spelling. He tells his story in logical order. He understands concepts taught in class. He has great number sense. Isaac enjoys humor and likes to be silly. He is fun to be around and has many friends. We will be working on helping Isaac make sure to keep his silliness under control and be silly only at appropriate times."
I am very proud of Isaac. He is a unique individual, and I celebrate that!

Mary- Her teacher wrote this: "Mary is blossoming! Her gentle kindness, enthusiasm for learning, and willingness to listen are such gifts to our classroom. As a learner, Mary has a work ethic that is second to none. She is growing in all academic areas and is beginning to share her spark with others! Mary is continuing to gain fluency in reading and we are working to add several new comprehension strategies to her repertoire. Mary is developing confidence in problem solving strategies and in explaining her mathematical thinking. I am very thankful to be Mary's teacher."
I am glad she is Mary's teacher too. Isaac had her last year, and he loved her as well. She is a good christian woman with kids who go to the same school.

Tommy-
His teacher said "Thomas has transitioned nicely during this first trimester of Kindergarten. He is less shy and has made new friends in our classroom. There is a tribe of boys that have formed a friendship, and he is part of that tribe. He has started to participate in group instruction and works well with his classmates. Thomas knows the letter names and most letter sounds. He is working on using that knowledge as he writes words. He is a sweet boy and I am so glad he is in our class!"
I am glad that Tommy is doing so well in school. I was so worried! I feel better about him entering school early.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

I'm so busy

I have two exams tonight. One in Anatomy lecture, and a midterm in Anatomy lab. Wish me luck!
I thought I'd include a picture of my two smallest little angels. I hang out with these guys all day. I sure love being a Mom, have I mentioned that lately?

Monday, November 2, 2009

Hi Ya'll

Here is something I'm learning in Chemistry, THIS WILL BLOW YOUR MIND!!!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Random pics from this weekend...

We did Halloween sugar cookies with friends. The kids had orange and green frosting and all sorts of sprinkles and candies to have fun with. Sam used a whole bottle of green sprinkles before I saw what he was doing, but he sure was proud of that cookie he made.

We made chocolate spiders. Marshmallows on a skewer stick with pretzel stick legs, dipped in melted chocolate, with red hots for eyes. They were devoured immediately. Yum.

Jared had to go to St. Louis for a business conference on Thursday and Friday, so boy did we have a ball while he was away. I moved a mattress into the family room and we snuggled up and watched a movie and ate dinner down there. All the kids know it's party time whenever Dad leaves. (Sorry hun)!! It's our tradition to do fun stuff, and most importantly, everyone sleeps in the master bedroom with Mom. It is GREAT FUN!

I bought some sharpie markers and let the kids draw faces on a pumpkin. I think Isaac's is my favorite.

We spent hours and hours outside on Saturday raking up leaves and let me tell you-- it is a tough job. The kids helped so much, I was delighted. Of course they had to jump in the leaf pile a few times.

Soooooo Cute! He did this on his own. I just love having kids.

Here's my little Sam and Tom. All dressed up for church! They are so handsome, aren't they? We had a pretty good weekend.







Sunday, October 18, 2009

School's Out...until tomorrow.

This is my lab group from biology, working together. Going clockwise: Shahid, Jessica and Amanda, Matt, and me. It was so nice to have a group of friends to work with. The work went a lot faster that way, except when we made mistakes and ended up the last ones in the room with the teacher! I really enjoyed my time in Biology, and here are some of the things I learned about:
*How the cells turn oxygen and food into a useable form of energy for the body.
*How to make beer! haha
*How the food chain works, and how plants make food and oxygen for everybody.
*How to use a microscope (How embarrassing that I didn't know this and I'm 32 years old!)
*How plants reproduce
*What causes genetic disorders, and how genetic inheritance works.
*How to count the kernels on an ear of indian corn (don't ask)...
Overall I had a great first semester, and I'm looking forward to next session. I will be taking chemistry online, and Anatomy lecture and lab on campus. Hooray!
Hope everyone is having a beautiful and peaceful sabbath day.
HUGS!

Friday, October 9, 2009

We've been having some fun...

We had a girls night out last week. My friend Dana and I took our girls out to see the Toy story movies in 3D. We all had a great time. Aren't they cute?
We like to go down to the creek at the end of our street back in the woods. Here we are playing with some of the neighbor kids.

Sam is starting to love the water. He fell in and got wet, so I took his clothes off. I made Mary take off her leotard under her outfit and I put it on Sam. He was cute dressed in purple and stars. LOL
Here is Mary with her little stuffed animal riding in her shirt. She's going to be a great Mom, she already takes great care of her stuffed animal "babies".
Here we are playing at Cosmo park. It is pretty close to our house. We are playing in the volleyball sandpit. We made a castle and a pyramid together. I wanted to do something fun before I had to go to school that night. I feel like I need to be a good Mom so much more now that I'm going to school.
Notice how Isaac is trying to keep Rusty from demolishing the pyramid before we could get a picture of it.
I hope everyone is doing well. I'll try to post some more stuff tomorrow. I'm cramming for finals. I have two final exams next Thursday. Pray for me! I have to get good grades to get into the nursing program next year. xoxo