Grades: Who Needs 'Em?

See these two kids? I love 'em to pieces and yet they can frustrate me to pieces too. As their mom I feel responsible to make sure they are doing well in school. I also would like them to take responsibility for doing their very best. I cannot prompt them every day. They've got to own it.

So I back off and hope for the best and pray for them to do their best. Then the new grading system comes along and has thrown me (and other parents)for a loop. So I check their grades on line and I cannot decipher how they are progressing, but encourage them to hand in missed assignments and follow up with their teachers as to how they are supposed to finish their Learning Targets to complete the Power Standards.

Report cards come home and I see F's and I's. "Face palm. Head shake." I'm so frustrated. Now I have to take away privileges and begin close monitoring. I pray that my kids will have a desire in their hearts to be responsible not only in school, but with chores at home.

I know that grades don't define my children, but school is a way to help them show what they've got and find for themselves how well they can do when they apply themselves and be proud and thank God for an education and opportunities.

They did have better grades in math than in the past so I'm so thankful we've made progress there. They each had at least one "A" and 2 "B's" so I am pleased about this. Feel free to give ideas and advice on how to encourage my kids and how I can cope with where they are in their lives right now.

I am giving this over to God because He has it all in control and I need to let go and let Him do His mighty work in their lives.

Where Have I Been All Year?

Well this is last February. My kids went to a Winter Ball at a church nearby. It was decorated in the Narnia theme and it was awesome. It's almost time for them to go again and I haven't even posted pictures from last year. I'll post a few for ya. Enjoy!

We found H's dress at a thrift store for $14.00. I thought it was pretty. She did have to wear a shrug because it was a haulter dress and she wasn't comfortable showing so much of her back.

Here they are ready to go to their very first Winter Dance.

H invited a friend. They had a lot of fun.

Two of J's friends. The one on the right is Nan's (Mom's The Word) youngest. Aren't they dapper? They are in front of the coat closet that leads to Narnia.

I went into Narnia for a few minutes to take pictures. This is the way back into the coat closet from the Narnia side. Clever, wasn't it!

A glimpse of Narnia and I had to let my kids have fun without me at their first dance.

I wish I could experience every first in their lives, but time is past for me to be at every single first in their lives. They are in high school now and I don't homeschool them anymore so that settles it. I'll take every opportunity to experience any firsts that I can though. Some day there may be grandkids to experience firsts with :)

H Gets A New Haircut

H is doing a Wax Museum part as a book report. Her whole class is doing this. She wants to be Princess Dianna. So she got the idea to get her haircut as close to Lady Di's as possible for the part.

My friend who cuts our hair for us thought it was a brave move for a seventh grader. I agree. H is going out on a limb here.

A month ago you saw her at her Karaoke birthday party with long hair.

And last Wednesday she took the leap and got her haircut. She loves it and most people have made positive comments. She hasn't had short hair since she was little and she claimed she didn't like it then, but she likes it now.

Watch out Wax Museum, here comes "Lady Di". I wish I could be at her school that day.

Awana Awards Night 2010

Our kids and I have been involved with Awana about ten years now. We just finished another year two weeks ago.

This year's theme was "Run the race". You know, "Pressing on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philipians 3:14?

It's been a fun year and I'm looking forward to next year. I enjoy being the secretary for the T & T group, ages 8 to 11. I actually finished the first book this year. The book is full of scripture to memorize, sections to get a kid into the Bible, all of the books of the Bible are memorized during this book as well. This year I can say I really have the books of the Bible memorized. Before, I always had to stop and think before I could recite them. Now I feel confident I know them.

The background decorations on the stage are long sheets of paper that all of the kids and leaders footprints are on. Yes, we put paint on our feet and took 4 steps. It turned out pretty neat I thought. Also there are about 200 hundred balloons on the stage.I only blew up & tied about ten.

First up we have a picture of my son and his friend because they helped Ms Nan (in red on the left) from momstheword with the SPARKS group, ages five to seven.

These guys got together and sang acapella for the parents and others attending the ceremony. The two on the left are none other than Nan's sons. Boy do these guys sound good together for just starting to practice together earlier that day. God given talent at it's best. Thanks guys.

These are our middle schoolers called TREK. A lot of these clubbers will be going to camp this summer so we are raising funds for that now.

My daughter is in this group on the far right.

Here's H after receiving her certificate.

Well, farewell for now. I pray that all these kids and then some will return to Awana next September with hearts ready for God's Word to come in. Pray for kids everywhere to find their place in God's Kingdom. There's room for everyone!!

Check Out These Slippers

Look at these goofy things! They have a purpose & it's not to keep your feet warm.

Such style and class. How do we find such awesome things as these? And my kiddo is ready for Valentine's Day too.

Since my daughter loves to slide on our wood floors, as little as we have, I thought I'd put her efforts to work with these handy cleaning slippers.

She's been wearng them every day and I have to say they are pretty dirty, but that's cuz our floor is so dirty. Thanks, H for cleaning while you slide. You're a peach!

On another note, this is how Jack helps with chores around here. Geesh!

Oh, we've disturbed the king's beauty sleep. So sorry, your highness.

Have a great week. I love having you drop by. I love visiting you all too.

The First Day of School, 2009

These have been dusted off and actually used this week. This is good news. The teachers and the school board came to a happy compromise and school started Tuesday, September 15th, 2009.

These two kids got to go to school after eleven days of waiting. They were very happy. My son looks a little tired here. I think that he thought he could maintain a summer routine of staying up late. I think morning came early for him on this day.

My daughter was up early and ready to go. She had layed her outfit out the night before and asked my advice. Something she rarely does. I think she looked rather cute. The black hat she's wearing is sequined. Gotta have some bling.

I'm so happy they are in school and that I'm working steady for now. I call them every day after school to see how their day went. It feels strange, but I think it's gonna be okay. God has carried us every step of the way and I am so thankful for that.

Kids Still Not In School

These are collecting dust as are the brains of my children.

Just a quick note to those who know that our school district's teachers have been on strike since August 27th.

My kids have missed ten days of school so far. A judge has ordered the teachers to go back to work. They have refused. Today the judge said that if they don't go back by the 14th the union will be fined $1,500 a day and each teacher will be fined $200 a day.

It's a sad situation for everyone. It would be nice if they could get the things they're asking for. I'm just praying that they can find a compromise that will work for the teachers and the students and the school district.

I'm anxious for my kids to get started. I'm not looking forward to an extended school year and shorter breaks during the year, but that is what will have to happen.

Keep us in your prayers as we continue on in this new journey of our lives.

Just Stuff

Today is going well and I actually left the house to do a little ordering of supplies at the church for Awana.





So many things are starting up and here I am waiting on a tooth.

My kids are suppose to start school on August 31st. However, there is a strike going on and we won't know if school starts Monday until we get an automated phone call Sunday sometime. My kids were so looking forward to going to school for the first time. They may be on delayed excitement for a bit.

My jobs will probably not start until after school gets well underway when substitutes start getting sick and making appointments and the like. I may have some time to get this tooth situation squared away before I get called to work. I really don't want to start my jobs by saying I can't work cuz my tooth hurts.

Awana starts on September 9th and I want to get ready for that.
I like to be as prepared as possible for when the kids come
all excited and ready to hear God's Word. I want to make sure
we have their shirts and books and other supplies ready for
when they earn the right to wear them. I love Awana!!!!

Unfortunately, the first night for Leaders is September 2nd, the evening after my root canal. Hopefully I'll feel just fine and get to go. Otherwise, I'll be starting cold turkey on the 9th. Thank goodness I have a few years of experience. Hopefully I'll be all prepared.

I also run background checks and make sure all of the children's ministry workers have filled out all of their paperwork for the year. This takes some time. For some reason most folks need to be asked several times to finish the paperwork. This makes it frustrating and time consuming for me, but it needs to be done and I'm the one that has the job.

I am thankful for all the folks who volunteer because without them there would be no ministry for children. I try to be very sweet in trying to get the paperwork done because I don't want to lose any volunteers. We do want to be compliant with insurance requirements and protecting ourselves and the kids. So I will remain diligent and get prepared as best I can. God willing, all will go well. It will certainly be His plan, I know that.

Things I Did Today

First I went to the Social Security office and it wasn't bad at all. I was in and out of there in 30 minutes. There is one window that handles card replacements. I had the form filled out and my license and it went real smooth.

I should receive it in 5 to 7 days, so that is all much
better than I anticipated. I didn't even get any good stories
about anything strange that happened there.

Later in the day I boxed up our homeschool books to send them back to the curriculum store house in VA. The boxes are in the car so I can take them to UPS after I finish with my mammogram tomorrow.

Oh, the joys of womanhood. I'll be sure not to use any soap with glitter in it. I read a blog post about that a couple of months ago. It was so funny. I don't want to be the one telling that story though.

This evening my daughter and I listened to side two of the first cassette tape "Preparing for Adolescence". Many of you have probably done this already. You know there are 6 tapes. I did this with my son two years ago.

My daughter has not wanted to do this. I don't know what she's afraid of. She only said, "I don't want to be an adolescent!" I told her she already is and there's no stopping it now.

We've talked seriously about how to take care of herself when she starts her period, but that is it. She read the American Girl book about puberty. She seemed fine with all of that, but not adolescence. I think she'll find the tapes and book very helpful.

Unfortunately, I dozed off while we were listening tonight, but I think I've got the gist of it. Dr. Dobson's voice kinda lulled me to lala land. Good thing I never had him for a prof in college. I do love his lessons though.

So now, as I write, my daughter is in her room singing at the top of her lungs, well not quite. She is trying to find a song to sing for an audition next Monday for a play at the parks department program. She did excellent last year in our church musical theater production.

Since we're not having it this year (boo hoo), she wanted to try this other program. It's just an audition and your in or out. The rest of the week is rehearsing and the play will be on the weekend. The Lord knows what is best for us this year.

She just came out and said she couldn't sing the song she had picked cuz it was too slow and now she doesn't know what to sing. Then she said, "Maybe I'm loosing the touch." I told her she's not. She just needs practice.

So now I'm really tired and my day is almost done. Still gotta pick up my son at church. He went to Bible study with the guys. Yay! I'm so happy the guys are doing this this summer. Nan's kids are there too.

I'll tell ya one thing, I've been thinking about what the pastor said on Sunday all day. I need to keep focused on the Lord at all times and listening always. Several times today thoughts of jealousy, poor me, and who cares crept into my mind. God just kept reminding me to focus on Him only, not on these lies that are sneaking into my heart.

I prepared myself to be kind and patient before I went to the SS office. I was obedient and it was a piece of cake. Yes, I do have to tell myself to be kind and patient.

I can get upset and loud if things don't go well. I do not like it when that happens. Waiting and waiting really gets on my nerves and there's nothing you can do about it. I prepared myself to wait a long time and I didn't even have to. God cares about every detail of our lives.

Milestones for Mocha Momma's Kids

I'm having a hard time thinking of something to write so I looked at some pictures and found this one.

This is my kids and me after the Awana awards ceremony. They both had a milestone year. My daughter finished her fourth Awana book earning the Timothy award. My son finished his sixth Awana book, earning the Meritorious Award.

Now to me this is a big deal. When my son got his award I stood up and cheered and said "we did it". Because it took a lot of hard work on my part to get him to study on his own and he has learned to time himself and study and complete this on his own.

My daughter is younger and I'm still in the hard work stage of motivating, nagging and threatening. I try not to threaten or nag, but I do.

More importantly is for our kids to claim a relationship of their own with the Lord. Not mine or Awana's or anyone elses. We've raised them to be christians, but it must be their choice to follow Him.

I'm glad they have memorized so much scripture, but now it's time for them to really put it to work in their lives. Good job kids! I'm proud of you.

Child Safety Tip

I have the neatest child safety tip to share. It's called KidCare ID. I started my booklets in 2001 and I still carry them with a current photo in them.

They include emergency information about your child. You put a current picture of your child in the given location and fill in current information about your child like: name; date of birth; date of the photo; weight and height. It should be updated once a year.

I checked the website to see if it is still available and it is. Go to Project KidCare here.

Also, your local police department may have some for you. Ours was given to us at a local street fair with a nice plastic cover.

I give it to my childcare providers when I leave my kids with them especially if I'm going out of town.

I hope you alreday have something like this or you'll make one or check out the website about it. Have a safe and fun summer.

(Since I'm a newb I forgot how to make a link. Sorry!)

Thumb Sucking, Blankies and Such...

I was always a little concerned that my kids would have a problem with thumb sucking or using a pacifier for too long. I was critical of those who allowed it prior to becoming a mom.

I thought an eight year old sucking his thumb or a three year old using a pacifier was just strange. Like maybe these kids had issues that their parents weren't addressing. To this day I don't know for sure.

My firstborn sucked his first two fingers on his right hand. At first he bent them and sucked the knuckles. Later he sucked one knuckle and then he sucked the two fingers again fully extended into his mouth.

He held his "MeMe" (favorite blanket) in the left hand and gently rubbed his nose as he sucked his fingers. I thought it was cute. I let him be. He usually only did this while sitting watching t.v.,riding in the car, or at bedtime.

At about age four or so one grandparent would ask him when was he going to stop sucking his fingers? He'd smile real big and keep on sucking.

After this happened a few times, I just said, "We're just ignoring it and hoping he'll just stop on his own." That helped to stop the questioning. He did just stop on his own about six months to a year later.

Now to the MeMe. Both of my kids love their baby blankets. A friend had given each child a blanket she had sewn a silkie ruffle onto when they were new borns. My son called his "MeMe" and my daughter called hers "Mickie". Not sure why they picked thos names, but it worked for us.

At first I had no idea my one year old, first born had a name for his blanket. I found out one day when he was wandering around the house looking and sounding distrat calling, "MeMe? MeMe? Where's my MeMe?" I inquired as to what Me Me was, but he couldn't tell me. After a few anxious minutes he found it. He got a big smile and said, "Here's my MeMe!" As he held up his precious blanket.

I said, "That's your MeMe? You named your blanket MeMe?" And I just laughed. That was a sweet and very cute moment. He just completely retired it about nine months ago. Well it's in one of his dresser drawers. He's thirteen.

He kept it in his bed for all these years. That is, once he stopped taking it everywhere with him (not preschool though, it stayed in the car). My daughter also still has hers in her bed (she's twelve).

She used to weave the silkie ruffle through her fingers and twiddle her fingers so the ruffle would move over her fingers. She was wearing it over her shoulders every morning this past winter, but I haven't seen it lately.

Here's one more thing that my kids did that really bothered other people. It would shock them. Our kids would call my hubby and I by our first names. I don't know when it started, but it didn't bother us.

When they did it in public, whoever we were with would ask, "Did he/she just call you by your first name?" And I would respond, "Yes, he/she did" with this funny look on my face because I didn't even notice it.

One elderly man thought it was so disrespectful, he took it up with his daughter-in-law later. She told me what he thought, but I just had to laugh. It really wasn't a big deal to us.

I can't remember how long they did this or when it stopped, but it just stopped. I do think it is disrespectful if it is done by older children who know better, but our kids knew us as Nannette and Gary. That's what everyone else called us. I guess they thought they should too.

Some battles are better left alone. Next it's the messy bedroom. So far I've pretty much let that battle go (most of the time).

Tell me what you think? What have you done in these situations and what battles will you pick or leave alone? Every family is different so I'm expecting to hear all kinds of solutions.