I spend a lot of time at my daughter's school. Actually, Thursdays and Fridays are generally nearly full school days for me.
This post isn't really about that, but that will make sense in a few.
Yesterday, my mom was talking to me about my sister writing a note for my niece to take to school. It seems as though my 4th grade niece has to sit between two boys at lunch (assigned seats) and the boys are being horrible. They dumped chocolate milk on C- on Monday. (Intentionally.) She was doused in water on a different day. On Tuesday, they were saying that they wanted to rap%e her. Yes. You read right. Rap#e. C-, not knowing what that meant, came home and asked my sister.
Understandably, she about flipped.
They discussed the matter. LeAnne has been giving her coping strategies for a couple of months. They got to the point that they knew that it was time for mom to intervene. When I found out that her intervening involved a note, I let my mom go and phoned my sister. She answered. "You can't write a note. You have to go in." "Huh?" "You can't send a note. A note is not okay. You must go in and meet with the principal-- now." She didn't want to be that mom, but I told her that this was a case where she HAD to be that mom. As it turns out, she did go, the principal took the matter very seriously and not only was C- moved, but the boys have been reprimanded in some way.
The time that I log in at school gives me opportunity to see how the school functions. Mr. B- runs that place like a well oiled machine. He doesn't take crap from kids, doesn't take crap from parents, but is a very nice guy. The kids all love him, he knows every single one of them and I told LeAnne that I know how he would handle the situation and I expected that her principal would do the same.
Today, I picked the girls up from school. LeAnne had an appointment and as I was sitting in the car conga line, I noticed a child standing to be picked up. A child that was dressed in pajama pants.
Really?
LeAnne reports that she sees it from the line every day. I told her that for me, it seemed weird to see kids out of uniform.
Have I ever expressed my intense love for school uniforms?
I was going through the PTA mailbox today. We have PTA elections coming up and there were some forms in there for people willing to step up and take board and chair positions. I got a kick out of one, though. One woman marked that she would like to be PTA President. Great. I'm glad that she gave consideration to the handful of open positions we will be having. There's a glitch, though. She is not a member of the PTA and doesn't attend meetings. How could she run a PTA that she has no experience with or involvement in? I appreciate her stepping up, but perhaps she'd want to be a member first and take a lower ranking board position to get her feet wet first. Just sayin'.
We have fundraiser frozen food item pick-up tomorrow. I've already prepared the office ladies to know that I will not be staying late. I will not be bringing people's food home to my house. I will not be having people come to my house to pick things up. If they do not come tomorrow night, they will have to come next week. Let us hope that all will be picked up. At least it is all paid for!
The Garden Fair seeds were distributed today. I had one teacher whine. "Well, I know that ALL the girls are going to want flowers for their mothers for Mother's Day so I guess that I'll take this one packet and distribute those." "I have a pack of seeds for each child in there and one pack for you." "But they are all going to want flowers." "I could give you an extra pack to use for the class, I have peat pots you could have and I could give you soil." "But what are we going to do with them over spring break?" "I don't know, but I can tell you that I have materials." "But why don't we have plants this year? We have just seeds?" "Well, I got $550. in seeds donated, so we'll be going with seeds this year." "Oh."
Sheesh. Give 'em something for free and they still complain.
On the flip side, I had additional packages that I was distributing to staff other than teachers. They were so excited. "I heard about those good seeds you got!" Hooray!
We studied for tests this evening. K- has a math, reading and a spelling test tomorrow. Marathon test study sessions like this are a family event. I spend time to make her a math test. She did poorly the first time she took it, but corrected it well and got an A- on her Mom Practice Test. I told her that I will have her do some more math problems in the morning to warm her brain up. "Petroglyphs" and "telephone" are spelling words this week (along with a long list of difficult words) and bless her heart, I do believe that she will be getting those wrong. We'll give that a bit of a tweak in the AM as well.
2nd grade. Who knew it would be so difficult? I had helped K- on a math paper, completely misunderstood a section and she bombed it. She got a "See Me" on the paper. She fixed it and before she returned it I wrote, "I managed to make it through 7 years of college, yet I can't manage to do 2nd grade math." Mrs. B- laughed at me.
Why do they feel the need to continue giving children stories that are Spanish based? These children are still sharpening their newer reading skills and words like "Guadalupe, charro, Yaqui Indian" and the like are beyond what these kids should have to be tested on. The last Spanish based test they had for reading really threw K- for a loop. Her teacher counts off for any spelling errors, so this test should be a doozy.
Tomorrow will be a long day. I must go meet up with my pillow.
Have a great day!
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Being prayerful with a rather long list.
I try to update my sidebar prayer list. Sometimes I find that I haven't done it in a while. I've had a number of prayer requests come to me, so I feel the need to be a bit more in depth.
1. Pastor Henry- (my previous pastor from the church I attended for 30 years) Was rollerskating with the 5th grade. He was trying to be fun sub for the day and he went down. He broke his femur in 3 places, requiring hip replacement (if memory serves) and a bit of attachment surgery. He's out substitute teaching for the remainder of the year. He is very diabetic and that is of great concern to me. He is home and on the mend.
2. The pregnant ladies. We have Janeen (a cousin) expecting her 3rd in August. Heather, a very good friend, is expecting her 4th in October. Megan, a friend of Rachael, is expecting in the fall. Megan had some issues with a previous pregnancy, so those concerns can't help but to sneak into her brain.
3. Jillian and her family- This is a family who is friends with my friend, Kay. Jillian, at the tender age of 8, has just been diagnosed with cancer in her leg. She is due to have surgery on April 5th to remove lymph nodes and do some general exploration. They'll be doing a skin graft from her backside and not only is cancer the concern here, but also the 4 hour ride home. Becky, the mom, has been diagnosed with breast cancer in the middle of all of this. She has put her care on the back burner right now. That is of great concern. There are two brothers whose names I cannot recall. The middle child has a "spot on his brain" that is giving him migraines. The spot hasn't grown, so there is no definition of cancer or not. Still, headaches remain and that is a bit disconcerting. The youngest who is now 4 found out from the new dentist (previous retired suddenly and passed his office on to a new dentist) that major dental surgery is needed for the deterioration of teeth in his mouth. A 3 hour surgery is expected.
4. Danielle and Logan. Danielle is on the PTA board and had emergency surgery yesterday. She's had a number of female reproductive issues this year and I suspect this is also in that same surgical family. Her son, Logan, rode a Razr scooter down the sidewalk of a very large hill. When he reached the bottom, he hit a piece of gravel and flew. He landed on the top right of his forehead. He was in the hospital for several days. This has obviously given him a big ole concussion and has left a kind of "squishy spot" on his brain. It will heal, but it will take time. When he did this stunt, he was still in a cast from having broken his thumb a few weeks previous. He is in middle school, perhaps 7th grade, so my guess is that he is 12 or so.
5. Rachael and family. A family member has been very ill and is nearing the end. She was able to spend some time with her family member, but still-- loss is hovering closer and closer.
6. LeAnne- (my sister) About a month ago, she had experienced some fairly heavy rectal bleeding. While it stopped in a few days, she is just going today for an appointment to schedule a colonoscopy. Right at the moment, she is on state insurance and care doesn't get approved quickly. The thought is that she has colitis, which runs in the family, but then so does colon cancer. Yes, I will be getting a colonoscopy in a few years. Ugh.
7. Cooper- (newborn of a cousin) Cooper had jaundice when he was born, then had to go back to the hospital for several days as a result. He has been home for a week and a half. Prayers that he is over all that and that his development continues on a positive course.
8. Mrs. B-'s mom- (K-'s teacher) Mrs. B-'s mom has had several falls. She is very overweight, extremely diabetic and has been found to have one leg significantly shorter than the other. Lifts were put in her shoes, which made a dramatic difference. Still, she fell last week, resulting in hospitalization. Services have been secured, physical therapy and such are coming to the house and hopefully, her recovery can be in a forward motion. Mrs. B- is retiring at the end of May so that she can get her mom up and moving more regularly.
Praises!
1. My nephew, L-, suffered from a horrible case of the lower digestive funk and as a result, he is now potty trained. LeAnne was saying about how burned his little bum was getting and we had talked about this being prime time for him to get out of the diaper and onto the throne. It worked! I'm sorry that it took the flu to get him there, but he has made it and is now happily pottying away.
2. K- has recovered from her digestive flu. She was gifted a lower level case (thank you God!) and I have to say that I think that might be in part to the probiotics that she takes every day. She missed 2 full days of school and came home early on Monday. She worked (without pressure from us) for 5 1/2 hours yesterday and another 1/2 hour this morning on the pile of papers that came home. She wanted to go back to school fully back on track and frankly, didn't want to stay in for recess to catch up. Can't blame her. I saw her several times in the hall today and there were no complaints of digestive yuck. Hooray!
3. Garden Fair seeds have been distributed. I now only have to get some soil to set out and we are in business. The teachers seemed to be very intrigued by the seed option of Garden Fair this year. I'm hoping that we have great participation in the fall. My thanks to Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds for accepting us into their Seeds for Peace seed donation program!
That might cover it. If you have anything to add to the list, feel free to do so in the comments.
1. Pastor Henry- (my previous pastor from the church I attended for 30 years) Was rollerskating with the 5th grade. He was trying to be fun sub for the day and he went down. He broke his femur in 3 places, requiring hip replacement (if memory serves) and a bit of attachment surgery. He's out substitute teaching for the remainder of the year. He is very diabetic and that is of great concern to me. He is home and on the mend.
2. The pregnant ladies. We have Janeen (a cousin) expecting her 3rd in August. Heather, a very good friend, is expecting her 4th in October. Megan, a friend of Rachael, is expecting in the fall. Megan had some issues with a previous pregnancy, so those concerns can't help but to sneak into her brain.
3. Jillian and her family- This is a family who is friends with my friend, Kay. Jillian, at the tender age of 8, has just been diagnosed with cancer in her leg. She is due to have surgery on April 5th to remove lymph nodes and do some general exploration. They'll be doing a skin graft from her backside and not only is cancer the concern here, but also the 4 hour ride home. Becky, the mom, has been diagnosed with breast cancer in the middle of all of this. She has put her care on the back burner right now. That is of great concern. There are two brothers whose names I cannot recall. The middle child has a "spot on his brain" that is giving him migraines. The spot hasn't grown, so there is no definition of cancer or not. Still, headaches remain and that is a bit disconcerting. The youngest who is now 4 found out from the new dentist (previous retired suddenly and passed his office on to a new dentist) that major dental surgery is needed for the deterioration of teeth in his mouth. A 3 hour surgery is expected.
4. Danielle and Logan. Danielle is on the PTA board and had emergency surgery yesterday. She's had a number of female reproductive issues this year and I suspect this is also in that same surgical family. Her son, Logan, rode a Razr scooter down the sidewalk of a very large hill. When he reached the bottom, he hit a piece of gravel and flew. He landed on the top right of his forehead. He was in the hospital for several days. This has obviously given him a big ole concussion and has left a kind of "squishy spot" on his brain. It will heal, but it will take time. When he did this stunt, he was still in a cast from having broken his thumb a few weeks previous. He is in middle school, perhaps 7th grade, so my guess is that he is 12 or so.
5. Rachael and family. A family member has been very ill and is nearing the end. She was able to spend some time with her family member, but still-- loss is hovering closer and closer.
6. LeAnne- (my sister) About a month ago, she had experienced some fairly heavy rectal bleeding. While it stopped in a few days, she is just going today for an appointment to schedule a colonoscopy. Right at the moment, she is on state insurance and care doesn't get approved quickly. The thought is that she has colitis, which runs in the family, but then so does colon cancer. Yes, I will be getting a colonoscopy in a few years. Ugh.
7. Cooper- (newborn of a cousin) Cooper had jaundice when he was born, then had to go back to the hospital for several days as a result. He has been home for a week and a half. Prayers that he is over all that and that his development continues on a positive course.
8. Mrs. B-'s mom- (K-'s teacher) Mrs. B-'s mom has had several falls. She is very overweight, extremely diabetic and has been found to have one leg significantly shorter than the other. Lifts were put in her shoes, which made a dramatic difference. Still, she fell last week, resulting in hospitalization. Services have been secured, physical therapy and such are coming to the house and hopefully, her recovery can be in a forward motion. Mrs. B- is retiring at the end of May so that she can get her mom up and moving more regularly.
Praises!
1. My nephew, L-, suffered from a horrible case of the lower digestive funk and as a result, he is now potty trained. LeAnne was saying about how burned his little bum was getting and we had talked about this being prime time for him to get out of the diaper and onto the throne. It worked! I'm sorry that it took the flu to get him there, but he has made it and is now happily pottying away.
2. K- has recovered from her digestive flu. She was gifted a lower level case (thank you God!) and I have to say that I think that might be in part to the probiotics that she takes every day. She missed 2 full days of school and came home early on Monday. She worked (without pressure from us) for 5 1/2 hours yesterday and another 1/2 hour this morning on the pile of papers that came home. She wanted to go back to school fully back on track and frankly, didn't want to stay in for recess to catch up. Can't blame her. I saw her several times in the hall today and there were no complaints of digestive yuck. Hooray!
3. Garden Fair seeds have been distributed. I now only have to get some soil to set out and we are in business. The teachers seemed to be very intrigued by the seed option of Garden Fair this year. I'm hoping that we have great participation in the fall. My thanks to Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds for accepting us into their Seeds for Peace seed donation program!
That might cover it. If you have anything to add to the list, feel free to do so in the comments.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
A couple of days off school.
K- was sent home from school on Monday with a rockin' stomach ache. She had one on Sunday off and on, but we thought it was the donut she ate.
She still had the rockin' ache on Tuesday morning, so we gave her a day home. She reported that she was feeling better and had promised me that without any morning strife, she would go off to school.
Then 3:30 AM happened.
Some sound woke me up and I sat up to look at K- (I can see her bed from my side of the bed-- we have a small house.) I didn't see her. I checked the room and nothing. I went to go down the hall and heard her call from the bathroom. She was letting me know that she'd be there for a while. She was having a middle of the night flush of her digestive tract. Good times. Dances with Lysol was done. Thankfully, there was no need for replay.
Obviously, I kept the child home again today. The thought of some type of catastrophic bathrooming accident happening at school didn't sit well with either one of us. She's laid low, but has a pileacious stack o' work to do. To boot, I believe that the teacher has neglected to tell me that there will be a math test. She doesn't generally inform the parents, but she's nice to inform me. Crap. Test prep on top of two days of work.
Good times here.
Now pardon me as I oversee homework and spend the next two hours making a Mom Practice Test. We only do fun stuff on days off here at the House of Bailey's Leaf. Fun times indeed.
She still had the rockin' ache on Tuesday morning, so we gave her a day home. She reported that she was feeling better and had promised me that without any morning strife, she would go off to school.
Then 3:30 AM happened.
Some sound woke me up and I sat up to look at K- (I can see her bed from my side of the bed-- we have a small house.) I didn't see her. I checked the room and nothing. I went to go down the hall and heard her call from the bathroom. She was letting me know that she'd be there for a while. She was having a middle of the night flush of her digestive tract. Good times. Dances with Lysol was done. Thankfully, there was no need for replay.
Obviously, I kept the child home again today. The thought of some type of catastrophic bathrooming accident happening at school didn't sit well with either one of us. She's laid low, but has a pileacious stack o' work to do. To boot, I believe that the teacher has neglected to tell me that there will be a math test. She doesn't generally inform the parents, but she's nice to inform me. Crap. Test prep on top of two days of work.
Good times here.
Now pardon me as I oversee homework and spend the next two hours making a Mom Practice Test. We only do fun stuff on days off here at the House of Bailey's Leaf. Fun times indeed.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Tales from the Trenches: We survived this one.
Y'all, it hit 25 degrees last night. Well, it really probably hit lower, since that was the temperature at about 7 AM. Hubs did dances with sheets with me and I think we may have pulled it off.
I think that the butterfly bushes may live to see another risk of frost. I do believe that will be Thursday and Friday night.
Why are we so crazy about the running of the sheets? Many years ago, we had a delightful tulip tree in the back yard. We planted it, as it had been a gift from Hubs' parents to us one Easter. She sat there (her name was Bethany) and did nothing for 4 years. I mean, she got some leaves, but she just sat there. There was no outward growing. It hit about 4 1/2 years after and Bethany took off like a rocket! She was getting so big that I had to trim a few lower branches. She was about 6 years old when the May 26 hard frost hit. I came out and all of the tulip tree's greenness was wilted.
They dried up that day.
They fell off the following days.
Then she started to re-leaf. Hubs' comment was, "Oh no! It's leafing out on next year's leaves. That is it. The tree will die." "Nah! It's doing great." It seemed to be. Then the leaves started wilting.
And they dried.
And they fell off.
And she died.
:(
So, dances with sheets? It works for us! How did you fair during this cold snap?
Have a great day!
I think that the butterfly bushes may live to see another risk of frost. I do believe that will be Thursday and Friday night.
Why are we so crazy about the running of the sheets? Many years ago, we had a delightful tulip tree in the back yard. We planted it, as it had been a gift from Hubs' parents to us one Easter. She sat there (her name was Bethany) and did nothing for 4 years. I mean, she got some leaves, but she just sat there. There was no outward growing. It hit about 4 1/2 years after and Bethany took off like a rocket! She was getting so big that I had to trim a few lower branches. She was about 6 years old when the May 26 hard frost hit. I came out and all of the tulip tree's greenness was wilted.
They dried up that day.
They fell off the following days.
Then she started to re-leaf. Hubs' comment was, "Oh no! It's leafing out on next year's leaves. That is it. The tree will die." "Nah! It's doing great." It seemed to be. Then the leaves started wilting.
And they dried.
And they fell off.
And she died.
:(
So, dances with sheets? It works for us! How did you fair during this cold snap?
Have a great day!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Upright and functional.
I know that each and every one of you were sitting on the edge of your seats just waiting for the next installment of, "Oh, snap! My back!" Well, I'm happy to report that I was able to get it stretched all back out and other than a bit of sciatica on the right, I'm good to go.
I can twist.
I can move.
Hooray!
Have a good day!
I can twist.
I can move.
Hooray!
Have a good day!
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