Grandparents Day at School

Today was Grandparents' Day celebration at Allison's school.  There was a potluck breakfast and then chapel service and then grandparents could go back to the kids' rooms if they wanted to.  


I made a "French Toast Souffle", which I also had made last year.  Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly as good as it was last year...:(   I didn't have any half-and-half cream, so I just used regular milk...and I thought I would use French bread instead of just plain old bread. I had seen other recipes that called for French bread so I figured it would be okay. I think I used too much maybe. There just wasn't very much flavor. The recipe also uses 8 ounces of cream cheese. I remember tasting more of that last year.  So, note to self...do FOLLOW the recipe! HA!



Image by Cool Text: Free Graphics Generator - Edit Image

In Remebrance

Many of the children I work with, if not all, were too young at the time of September 11, 2001, to remember the events of that day, or not even BORN yet.  It seems impossible that it's been 10 years.  

It was an awful day....

I was living in Marysville, but had not gotten married yet.  We were to be married in just a little over two short months from when this happened.  I was teaching in the worst job that I've ever had ... I was in a job teaching jr. high special education, a job that I was totally not prepared nor educated to perform.   It was just as 2nd hour was beginning or had just started.  I was told to turn on the television in the classroom.   Fear overcame me.  I had never had to view something this horrific on American soil.  Something like this was not supposed to happen on American soil.

I have read comments from people that they do not with to relive those horrific events of September 11, 2011, and why is the media playing back-to-back shows regarding this.  Well, I can agree with this statement from the view that today's media just seems to want to sensationalize anything that will draw an audience. However, on the other hand, I can see the need, given it IS the 10th anniversary, to ... remember ....   To honor those INNOCENT people who were either trapped in one of the airplanes used as bombs, those people who were performing their jobs in the Pentagon or one of the Twin Towers, those brave emergency workers who are called upon each and every day of their jobs to serve and protect the public....

So, thanks to God for protecting HIS citizens and taking those in HIS comforting arms.  Thanks to those who make a difference in our world today, doing God's work, to HIS glory.

God Bless America

Image by Cool Text: Free Graphics Generator - Edit Image

Family Storytime....New Year Begins

...and who would the new family storytime storyteller????  Why it is ME!  ...and we had our first session Thursday evening.  I was nervous, believe it or not.  I had done storytime before Allison was born, when I worked at the library before.  I did my last storytime like two or three weeks before Allison was born...almost 7 years ago.  I normally feel competent to work with kids, and talking in front of kids, and in fact when I do something like this, I don't even realize there are adults/parents in the room. However, like I said, I was nervous going into it.  I don't think I felt as prepared as I would have liked to have been. Plus, we've had two really really creative people lead family storytime in the interim.  I am working 10 hours a week at the library now, which does include the 4.5 hours that I do Homework Center. That leaves me 5.5 hours to plan and actually DO the storytime each week.  That may sound like a lot of time but it really goes fast.

So, how did Thursday go? It went fine. It went FAST too!  Allison really liked Mandy, the last person who did storytime. She was disappointed when she left.  She really wasn't that happy that I took it over either. It's interesting how all the child development/psychology material say that parents should be involved in their children's lives, at school, etc etc etc......I think Allison feels I am TOO involved in her life!!!  Whether it be school, Sunday School, activities, and NOW library too....it's too much! LOL    So,  asked her how I did after storytime was over Thursday night. She looks real serious and says, "Better than I expected really."  Well, okay then......


Image by Cool Text: Free Graphics Generator - Edit Image

Labor Day Weekend Family Reunion

For the past several years, my mom's side of the family has had a family reunion on Labor Day weekend.  In the past it has been on Saturday; this year it was today, on Sunday. There was a really good turnout this year, too, probably due to the change of days.  I believe there was nearly 100 people there.  We met this year at the 'home' church of my grandma's family in McFarland.  It was a nice day; nice weather, and nice turnout. It was good to see my sister, her husband, and my darling little niece Shelby.   She is so sweet...loved seeing her!


Image by Cool Text: Free Graphics Generator - Edit Image

Proud Mama

I knew of course that Allison was a bright little girl.  She's been speaking and carrying on conversations since she was about 18 months old; she's known her alphabet and how to count since about then too; letter sounds came early; and she easily is reading at least at a fourth grade level at least in word call and usage since mid-kindergarten.  


At the end of the school year last year (kindergarten), Allison's class took the ITBS (Iowa Tests of Basic Skills).   I know as well as others that testing are all really very subjective. There are so many factors that have effect on the results of children's achievement testing.  That's why it is and has been such a conflicted and debated subject.  However, it is, by nature, something that we may put a lot of stock into, whether we want to verbally admit it to others.  As educators, it does play a part in the overall assessment of a child in their classroom...along with the day to day work, testing, and anecdotes.  The state and federal departments of education and other funding agencies and licensing agencies put a lot more stock into the test scores.  As a private school, however, with small class sizes, we don't always see the testing results in general because they only post on the education website those classes with at least 10 (I think) students.  


Well, anyway, the school sent home a little envelope with the test results in it.  I had been looking forward to seeing this information, but I didn't know that was what was in this little blue envelope before I opened it.  There was a multi-folded 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper with typing on it, and a small slip of paper, maybe 1 1/2 inch x 11 inches.  I held my breath. I know, I know....   But at that moment, the whole worth of me as a mother, and Allison's success (or not) in school all lay in balance in that little strip of paper.  The large piece of paper was written by the school principal to try to assist in reading the test results.  


The tests assessed Vocabulary, Word Analysis, Listening, Language, Mathematics, and the Core Total.  My little miss got the highest score possible pretty much in all areas.  Whew! I am so proud of her.!!!  I am not necessarily proud of how much pressure I put on myself to have Allison be successful.  I try really really hard not to put undue stress on her! I do realize that about myself.  However, I just want her to be the most successful, well-adjusted (:-) child that I can....   I also think education is soooo extremely important.  It's what makes a person who they are.  Education doesn't necessarily mean all book and paper and in-school learning. It is LIFE and being exposed to different experiences and being curious and wanting to learn about different things.  


At any rate, I am so thankful that she is doing so well in school, and in education, and in life.  Now, we just need to continue our hard work, and keep that moving forward.  I think we'll do just fine. 


Image by Cool Text: Free Graphics Generator - Edit Image

New Passion?

It's cool how willing and eager Miss Allison is to try new things to do. I'm really proud of her.  The high school volleyball coach and her team is conducting a sort of "camp" for 4-5 Saturday mornings for girls ages K-6 grades.  Day before yesterday was the first day.  I had signed up Allison for the class after we talked about it for a bit, and decided it would be a good opportunity for some exercise etc.  ALlison really had no experience with volleyball. In fact, when we first began talking about, she realy didn't even know WHAT it was...how you played it, what the ball looked like, that there was a net, etc. 


When I took her Saturday morning, there was one 6th grade girl from her school, and then one kindergarten girl from her t-ball team. Other than that, she didn't know the other kids (although there wasn't a HUGE group).   When I went to pick her up 1 hour 15 minutes later, she said, "Mommy, I loved it! I could stay another 2 hours!"  She really had a good time, and is looking forward already to next week.


So proud of her! 


Image by Cool Text: Free Graphics Generator - Edit Image

First Day of First Grade

So, I now have a first grader!  WoW!  She's ready, and momma is ready, I think. Oh, I am,....I am realistic enough to know that by nature, of course, everyone grows up (Good Lord Willing), and we want our children to grow up to be the best, smartest, most well adjusted that they can be, and that the therapy bills won't be crippling when they are adults!  Allison's a good girl...she really is.   She's definitely ornery, but I think that is normal. 


+Allison had her first day of school last week.  Here's crossing my fingers for a very successful first grade year!

Image by Cool Text: Free Graphics Generator - Edit Image

Boston Vacation, Day 7

Departure day...or so I think....maybe....It's been quite a day so far, and I don't know how it will conclude.  It is 6:00 Boston time, and the flight is supposed to depart at 6:20, but it's been delayed until at least 6:50, and it had been like 7:18 earlier in the day.  You see, it has been raining pretty steadily all day today.  If it had to rain, other than not being especially conducive to perfect flying weather, it did at least wait until the day that we are getting ready to leave and not one of the days when we were trying to actually do and see something.  I am sitting in Boston's Logan International Airport waiting for this whole situation to decide itself.   We've moved gates once, we'll see if that has to happen again. Bruce is excited about the potential of actually being "bumped" from the flight or laying over so that we get a $400 (per person) worth of free airfare in the future. I'm just ready to get home. He counters that by saying we are not actually going directly home, but to a crappy hotel in KC so Bruce can go to a KAB meeting on Tuesday.  I counter that I don't care. 


Image by Cool Text: Free Graphics Generator - Edit Image

Boston Vacation, Day 6

This somewhat overcast, off-and-on sprinkly day started out with us leaving Taunton, Massachusetts, and heading out toward New Bedford, Massachusetts, where there is/was big whaling industry.  We began with a walking tour from the National Park Services'  historical building.  (We have discovered on this vacation in particular that the NPS give very good tours.)

This was a type of boarding house for sailors.  It still basically is, but it has been closed for a couple of years for repairs and renovations, but we were told that up until the point where it closed it was still renting rooms for $10 to folks who could show their seaman's papers. 

This is the Seaman's Bethel, or house of worship....still in use for nondenominational services.

I just liked these views from near the harbor in New Bedford...it looks like I had pictured New England area to look like. I also like on top of this building, the weather vane does not have a rooster, but a whale....

 z

From New Bedford we traveled to Falls River, Massachusetts; it was a fine enough little village; and then moved on to Newport, Rhode Island. It was the first time that any of us had been to Rhode Island. What I didn't know, that Bruce did know, was that Newport is known for it's "Mansion Row"...there are many, many turn of the 20th century (late 1800s, early 1900s) mansions still standing, and many of them utilized as museums now for tours. 


Which one to go to? We were going to try to find the Astor-Beechwood (I've heard of the Astors), but we ran across one that pointed us toward one called "The Breakers", which was the "granddaddy" of them all, I guess.  It is part of the Vanderbilt family history.  Below is "The Breakers".

We have toured many old home and mansions on our travels around the U.S. (one of my favorites in Charleston, SC), but this was one of the largest I must say, but also the most expensive one to get in to tour, I would think.  But on the upside, it was a self-guided walking tour, but with audio so we all had headphones, and for kids 8-12 there is a "Family Tour"...Allison and I took that one.  It was actually very good, and Allison got a kick out of it.   When we were finished, in fact, she asked if we could go back and do it again.  

The bottom two pictures (above) are, believe it or not, of the children's playhouse in the side yard.  Yes, the children had a playhouse that could very well pass of as a small residence in some areas of the country. :)  It was very cute inside, too.  What fun!

We are, tonight, in the Providence, Rhode Island, area, preparing to look around here in the morning, and then progress back up to the Boston area for a late afternoon flight back to Kansas City. I'm fine with coming home, it's probably time. Bruce on the other hand is starting to pout, and it's not a lot of fun being around him when he's like this.  

Image by Cool Text: Free Graphics Generator - Edit Image

Grandma,don't get too nervous! :)

While in Plymouth, Massachusetts, there was a festival in the park area to the side of the Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower II.  I think it might have been to benefit MDA.   There were primarily food vendors and a few jewelry and fiber craft tents, and this one "ride" or activity.  We stood looking at it for a few moments, and Allison said something to her dad that I did not hear.  I asked Allison if she thought she would like to do this, thinking she might not want to, and Bruce said she was trying to talk him into letting her do it. (It was $7.)  I told her if she would go on it, I would pay for it.  I have spent a lot of my adult life especially being afraid of doing this and that, and I don't want Allison to have those fears.  If she would do it, great!    Well, she did; she marched herself right up there and waited her turn in line. When she was finished, she came walking over to us, and she said, "THAT was SO MUCH FUN!  Can I do it again!?!?!?!?"  I asked her if she was getting nervous or scared in line, "Oh, no, mom!"




Image by Cool Text: Free Graphics Generator - Edit Image