I Couldn't Agree More

There's a post up here that I couldn't agree with more.

You have the right to agree or disagree with me, you have the right to your own opinion, but none of us have the right to tell people how to live their lives or that their life choices are 'wrong and a lie and unnatural'.

Period.

Words of Support

I just read something that made me proud of myself. You should read it too; I hope it gives you the same feeling.

We Voted

And, so did my son! I'm so proud of him, wanting to be involved and making the decisions on his own.

Do your part - VOTE!

People are Temporarily (I Hope) Evil

There is so much nastiness right now. I'm referring to the political bashing - against both candidates and supporters - that seems to have permeated everything. Even the comments on our local papers' website are down right disgusting.

We don't have to agree. Vote for whomever you'd like and express yourself that way rather than name calling and venom.

I can't wait for November 5th.

A Poem

Matt wrote a poem for English and I found it on my computer. I thought it was great and asked if I could share it. There are a few references that you may not understand, but for him they are meaningful.

***

I am from

By Matt

I am from buffalo steak,
And Grandma’s sun tea.

I am from Friday night lights,
And a gridiron game.

I am from snowmobiling at Bundy,
And Christmas at the cabin.

I’m from September first sunrise,
And late November hunting.

I’m from eighth notes and treble clef,
And A# and BǷ.

I am from the cool crisp air,
And a Rocky Mountain morning.

I am from my Mom and my Dad,
Who have helped me through my life.

***

Thanks for letting me share it Matt!

Poor Lindsay

Sadly, Lindsay can't play soccer. She isn't allowed to participate fully in her yoga classes either but she isn't in any pain and she should be healed pretty quickly.

She has a splint rather than a cast so it makes life easier, bathing and the like, as well as caring for the cuts she managed to get on her hand and arm. However, it doesn't provide enough support for the potential fall or contact that occurs during soccer - a supposedly non-contact sport. Yeah, right.

We took this picture on Saturday after team pictures. She looks thrilled, doesn't she?

We had parent teacher conferences today, a week late due to the stress of the arm breaking, doctors appointments and birthday party. I'm glad we rescheduled since we were there for an hour and 15 minutes. We had a good result; the teacher understood our concerns and we came to an agreement regarding the curriculum.

We impressed and excited the teacher by being concerned about our ability to help her with math at home. I guess most parents aren't as involved. I think that's sad.

Fall Beauty

I thought it was time for a change of scenery. (Or... Isn't the banner picture beautiful?)

I love Fall, all of the sights, smells and feelings involved. The smell of the leaves and the streets covered in them, beautiful! Soon we'll be able to smell woodsmoke in the evenings and there will be nothing more comforting. Funny, I really don't like winter but I welcome the season that ushers it in.

Senior Pictures

Senior pictures are expensive. That being said, we took Jake's senior pictures ourselves. It was two hours spent on a Saturday in a beautiful park. The best pictures we took were of him sitting on rocks in a little stream bed.

And there it is. Not bad for a novice.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Lindsay!

10 Whole Years!

She BROKE HER ARM!

As if we didn't have enough craziness in our lives! Lindsay broke her arm at school today. It should be noted that she broke her other arm, at school, last year on October 18! The girl is one huge accident waiting to happen!

Now the good news. It's what's called a buckle fracture, which is incomplete and heals rather quickly. She will even be allowed to play soccer if she chooses considering that the fracture is stable and not prone to movement.

Has anybody else noticed that raising kids can be exhausting? Yeah, that was supposed to be sarcastic.

Lindsay's Math

Updated to include another YouTube Video! This one's fun and you will TOTALLY UNDERSTAND what they're teaching my daughter!

Let me clarify the problem with Lindsay's math curriculum. The problem does not lie in the actual math itself, but in the way the school, or district, is teaching it. They use something called Everyday Math, or Chicago Math, that provides students with an alternative way of adding and subtracting. It's confusing for parents and lots of students but they introduced it in order to give the kids who struggle with traditional methods new ways to figure simple math problems.

Sounds helpful for those who struggle in math, doesn't it? Sure it is, but not if your kid has had a firm grasp on traditional math since pre-school. Lindsay loves math, but she cannot figure out how to use the new methods.

I'll do my best to illustrate here, but this is a blog and I'm limited in what I can do. For example, 36+84 = ?

When you put 36 on top of 84, you and I add the 4 and 6... follow me? The answer is 10 so we put the 0 on the bottom under the 4 and the 1 on top of the 3. Then we add 1 + 3 + 8 = 12, we put 12 under the 8. The answer is 120. In Everyday Math, they put the 10 under the 4 and 11 under the 8 and SOMEHOW come up with the correct answer. I'm confused, I don't get it and Lindsay doesn't get it. Check the YouTube videos, they explain it much better!

I'm simply trying to get the school to STOP confusing my daughter and let her learn math that she will actually use in her checkbook when she's in her 20's. I've included a link to Everyday Math reviews that you should check out if your child's school is using this program. It was given a C- and has created serious problems for graduating high school seniors in the state of New York.

I found the greatest YouTube video describing just how confusing the program is - and it turns out that our school district is requiring both of these... Could you do multiplication this way? I doubt it.

I'm done with my rant now. Thanks for being patient.

My First Foray Into Politics

OMG - I couldn't help myself...

Go check out this political joke!

We Live

It has been insanely busy around here since the beginning of school and I just haven't had the time to think about myself until this last week. We've got football, we've got soccer, I've been working more hours, the hubby's got classes, I started a class, and of course the kids are all in school and the homework is astounding.

Rob and I recently had a disagreement with Lindsay's school regarding their mathematics curriculum. We are seriously considering home schooling her in math, nothing else, just her math curriculum. We have parent/teacher conferences next week where we will discuss it, then schedule an appointment with her math teacher and do it all over. In the end, I think it's possible for us to get them to see the light - at least for Lindsay - but only time will tell. If anyone knows of a good home school math program for 4th grade, please comment.

I have finally gotten internet access - real honest to goodness NON-dial-up access - at work, along with a new computer and finally (just this week) a new chair. I like being at work again. YEA!

The boys turned 16 and 18 last month. Jake seems to feel the need to remind us of this on a regular basis. For their birthday we bought them one present... an X-Box 360. They fell in love with us all over again. Matt plays two football games a week - one Varsity (kick return) and one JV (whenever the coach puts him in). Jake is blessed with only the Varsity games (O-line, left tackle). They both are juggling school and sports rather well this year, makes a momma proud.

Jake went on a campus tour of Mesa State College here in Colorado and will go on a tour of the University of Wyoming next month. I think that's probably where he'll end up going. I've been sick with worry (it's what I do best) about him leaving home. I've also been working on getting comfortable with the idea. We've raised an exceptionally grounded young man with lots of ambition and drive. "He will be fine. He will succeed. He will thrive." That's my mantra.

A turns 10 next week. She's so excited to be turning 'two digits'. I've gotten away easy on the party aspect with her the last two years. We have her party at a park adjacent to her elementary school right after school lets out. I meet them at their classrooms, walk them to the park, give the kids an 'after school snack' (read: cheap and easy), let them play, feed them cupcakes, open presents, and then everybody goes home. That's the cheater-mom's party. I'm only responsible for these ten kids for an hour and a half and Lindsay loves it.

I started a class this week, Psychology of Personality. I have a passionate dislike of Freud. I'll leave it at that, but I'm really getting into Jung. The class has been condensed (even more so than a normal 5-week class)! We're only going from 6-8pm because, among other reasons, there are only four of us. I really love small classes. I've got an online class that starts in two and a half weeks but I'm just not worried. As a matter of fact, I'm much more confident in my ability to not only do well in school, but in the fact that I will actually be able to finish my Bachelors Degree. I've discovered I have just enough financial aid available to finish my degree... and then? Then I've decided to apply to the Masters of Counseling Psychology program at CSU. I have no idea whether or not I'll be accepted, but I have to try.

All in all, the last month has given me a run for my sanity. When football and soccer season end, I should finally be able to lean back and relax a little.