New Job

Today was That Kid's first day of his new job at the health club that we work out goof off at. His technical job title is "camp counselor", but basically he helps corral elementary school age kids in various activities throughout the day. He has experience -- he helped in the Homeschool PE classes for 2 school years, and was hired basically as soon as his application was submitted. I was pleased to hear him even attempting to get a job for the summer, and was even more pleased when he actually got a job that he is qualified for, instead of a McJob at the local fast food establishments.

I believe he has been blessed with talents working in the area of sports and kids. A couple of years ago he took a Career Assessment Test and it came back indicating that he excelled in the area of athletics and kids...so there you have it! It has been verified by someone other than me!

He worked a fairly long shift for his first shift -- 5 hours, and then immediately had to go referee 3 youth hockey games. I called him while he was on his way to the games and asked how his day with the kids was. He responded, "I HATE KIDS!!! They drew 'tattoos' all over me!" This cracked me up...he does this with his little brother all the time and I'm always complaining about it. Now he gets a little taste of his own medicine! And this will also help to insure that he doesn't get in any hurry to marry and have kids!!

You go kids! Keep driving him CRAZY!!!

Something else about his new job...he gets a pretty decent wage for a part time summer job, but it's nothing like what he gets paid to work as a referee. He is working 4 games this week as a referee and will earn what he is earning in working 5 LONG shifts as a "camp counselor". This will teach him to appreciate his money a little more, I think.

Well gotta go....I've got laundry to fold, a cantaloupe to cut, and bills to pay in the next hour or so...Hope you had a great day!

Adventures For A Sunday

I mentioned yesterday that That Kid bought himself some Dickies brand shorts for his new job. I just couldn't grasp him actually wearing these shorts, so I went to the mall and bought him a couple of replacement shorts that I thought were more "normal"! He got home and tried them on and remarked...."they're too short! I can't wear these!" I didn't know they had to be below his knees.

So today I took him with me to the mall (this was my mistake yesterday -- he wasn't with me and I was shooting blind, ya know). So we found 2 pair of shorts that were long enough, plain, basic khaki shorts. I asked him if these were better than the "dickies shorts" he bought for himself and his reply was, "ya I guess". Good enough for me...the Dickies go back to the store and I have the satifaction of knowing my son is wearing "regular" shorts!

The whole family went to the movies today. We saw Kung Fu Panda and it was a fun movie! There was a lot of kicking and punching and fast moves that kept the movie entertaining for the youngest crowd and enough of a plot to keep the older members of the group entertained. Oh, and did you know that buying food for a family of 4 at the concession stand is just like buying food in a restuarant like Chili's or Friday's?? and I assure you the food at the movies is not nearly as satisfying! Oh well, we had fun and I didn't have to cook, either...

Hope your Sunday has been fun!

Generation Gap

When I was a kid -- a.very.long.time.ago. there was a brand of pants that I would never have been caught dead wearing. That brand was Dickies. Whenever I saw this logo I immediately thought of my grandpa who was a farmer and wore Dickies overalls every day of his life, unless he was "going to town", when he would put on his "good pants", Dickies jeans! I also thought of those men who worked at manual labor type jobs. Dickies brand represented the "working class"....and I tried really hard to seperate myself from the "working class" as a teenager. I was kind of snobby, back then!! lol

I haven't thought about Dickies brand clothes in FOREVER, until recently I went shopping and saw none other than DICKIES Brand pants. and they weren't in Wally-world, where the farmers and other hard working manual laborer kinds of men shop! They were in KOHL'S, then I went to DILLARDS and another store I can't think of the name of, right now and they were there, too!! I couldn't believe my eyes!

Then I turned around and saw a nicely dressed, upper-middle class teenager looking to purchase these pants!! I was shocked....what is wrong with this kid, I thought to myself. Doesn't he know these pants are for the farmers and manual laborers of the country to buy so they can have pants that won't wear out and stain, when he busts his hump for the rest of the country to have some wheat, corn, or other such produce to eat???

Fast forward a couple of weeks to this week. That Kid got a new job where he has to wear plain, non-cargo pocketed shorts in the color khaki. So he went shopping, without mommy :(((( When did he grow up on me??? Anywhooo, he came home from Kohl's where he purchased none other than a pair of DICKIES khaki colored shorts!! I can't believe my own flesh and blood would purchase such a thing!! What came over him?? Then I asked him, "why did you buy Dickies brand shorts?" His response was, "why, what is wrong with Dickies brand shorts?? They are 'cool' and they were "cheap". My response was "Of course, they're cheap, they were made for people who can't afford to buy "regular" clothes!!" His response was "Oh!". Such a teenage answer, don't you think??

Now, don't get me wrong I have nothing against working class folks and I have nothing against "cheap" clothes. And truth be told I have nothing against "Dickies" brand clothes. It just shocked me to see something I always steered away from because it was for "the poor" and I thought I would tell you about these differences in my generation and that of my almost 18 year old son. Dickies brand clothes have gone from "taboo" to "cool" in a generation!

The moral of the story is "what a difference a generation makes" in what is cool and what isn't. I hope I haven't offended anyone!! I really do love and appreciate the working class people of America.

Praise HIM!!

You may remember a few months back I asked for prayers for my dad. He was diagnosed with colon cancer witha huge mass of tissue that was cancerous. Over the course of the past few months he has undergone chemo and then chemo with radiation. He was to undergo chemo for 8 weeks, then 5 weeks with chemo and radiation at the same time. He was told to watch for various degrees of side effects and report back to doctors and nurses.

This was/is week 4 for radiation with chemo. He went to the oncologists today and was told the mass has shrunk enough for them to do surgery. The surgeon will probably do surgery in about 4 weeks. The oncologist asked about his side effects -- to which he happily replied "WHAT SIDE EFFECTS??" He even has all his hair!! He has not had any negative side effects!! Praise God!! So the oncologist took him off the chemo and radiation a full week early!! He has even been walking 2 miles a day!!!He says he feels better now than he has in a couple of years!!

I just wanted to tell you how good God is, just in case you have forgotten recently!! I know I need a reminder sometimes... .and I wanted to tell you thanks for your prayers!!!

Thanks and don't forget GOD IS GOOD!!!!

Homeschooling Poll

Homeschooling has always been a controversial topic. Those who homeschool are very adamant that it is best for them and their kids. Those that don't homeschool think that the public schools or private schools could do a better job with those kids. I agree, homeschooling is NOT for everyone. I have a dear friend who gave it her best shot and has finally decided that putting her kids in the school system IS BEST for them! I applaud her! She went against "peer pressure" and did what was best for HER KIDS and HERSELF! Not everyone is cut out for 24/7 with her kids and teaching them .

I have homeschooled my oldest son his entire life. I plan to start "formal" homeschooling with my youngest son this fall -- actually he's already doing alot of stuff on his own, so homeschooling him has officially begun this summer! I don't have a teaching certificate. I do have 2 years of elementary education study from college. I seriously doubt having a teaching certificate would have made me a better teacher for my older son. I think being a better MOTHER WOULD have made me a better teacher. I also think that I should have followed my INSTINCTS instead of the teacher's manual for all those thousands of dollars of curriculum I bought. I think I should have operated a little more "out of the box". These things would have made me a better mom and teacher.

This poll was found in the Parade magazine and has been making its rounds through the homeschooling community. At first I just ignored it....as I do a lot of these "political-type" polls, but I decided to check it out. I have enclosed the link for the article as well as the link so you can vote.

http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2008/edition_06-01-2008/Intelligence_Report

In February, a California state appeals court ruled that unless parents have recognized teaching credentials, they must send their children to school. The judge, citing a state education law, said that “parents do not have a constitutional right to home-school their children.” Parents and politicians were outraged, and the court will rehear the case this month.

At stake is the education of the 166,000 California children who currently are home-schooled. But the court decision also could influence laws across the country. Nationwide, up to 2 million children are taught at home. Experts estimate that the number is increasing 7% to 12% a year.

“If upheld, the California ruling will send shock waves nationwide,” says Richard Kahlenberg, the author of a number of books on education. He says the case “pits those who believe parental rights are paramount against those who place a premium on well-educated citizens.”

Right now, only six states have strict regulations for home-schooling, usually requiring parents to have their curriculum approved, to show test scores and, in some places, to submit to home visits. Fourteen states, including California, mandate only that parents notify the state of their decision to home-school.

Let's keep our FREEDOM!!!!! In this area as well as all others!!!

Tiny Tots

Tiny Talk Tuesday celebrates our children and their view of the world. They continually make us laugh and by recording their Tiny Talk we can focus on one of the many JOYS of parenting!

If your kiddos made you laugh this week (don't they always), then feel free to share the humor!

Check out more Tiny Talks with Mary

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I'm kind of running behind on getting this posted today, but I wanted to participate anyway! I have been getting a lot of allergy testing done and going to the doctor alot the past few weeks to try and figure out why I have been sick for the past 10 months.
This morning I went to the doctor again -- this time to start my allergy medicine and consult with the ENT about sinus surgery. I left the men/boys at home to fend for themselves! Scary, huh??

Anywooo, I got home and hollered out "I'm home!" Customarily, I hear That Other Kid, run in from wherever he is and say, "oh mommy, I need you!" This is code for "I missed you".

Today he said, "Oh! I missed you, but I'm busy! I'll give you a hug when I get a minute!" I couldn't help but laugh....Oh to be soooo busy that you don't have time to hug your mommy!

A few minutes later I was sitting on the couch when That Kid came in and started to talk to me...That Other Kid was suddenly FREE from his busyness and "needed" me, too. It was nice to be "needed" by both my boys!!!

Call Me Crazy....

It's ok, I know I am CRAZY it has been proven over and over~~ and dh tells me I'm "insane" everytime I screw something up, so it's obviously true....cuz everyone knows that men are PERFECT, right??and they never screw anything up....

Ok, sorry for rambling, but there really is no point to this post, so I may as well start it off that way, right?

Anyway, I'm crazy! Last week I went to the allergist who informed me that I am highly allergic to DUST! Which is EVERYWHERE throughout my house! I HATE to DUST and do it ONLY when dh whines enough that I get tired of listening to it....and decide to go ahead and bite the bullet and rid the house of at least some of the thickest dust.

Soooo, anywhoooo, I got the wild hair that even without dh whiney I WOULD RID THE HOUSE OF DUST...thinking maybe I could breathe easier if I didn't live among the thing I am highly allergic to! Well the easiest way to motivate me to clean is to reorganize and clean at the same time. So I decided the play room and That Kid's room would be a my first targets! I talked dh into taking That Other Kid to the movies and give me 3 hours of QUIET ALONE TIME!!! I haven't had this in FOREVER and it was BLISSFUL. I need to do this more often...they had fun, too. But that wasn't the point as far as I was concerned!!!

The playroom is always a mess. That's just who That Other Kid is...and it needed a good CLEANING, so I started cleaning and reorganizing and moving things around. When they got home it was all clean and reorganized. The games are more accessible and the big train/car table is pushed into the corner...cuz he doesn't play with it very often. I also moved movies into the living room, so they won't get scattered all over the playroom. I have more control over them! and everyone knows it's all about control!

For Christmas we got That Kid some new furniture for his room. Since he is kind of growing up we decided it was time to make his room "grow up", too. But, he has been so busy he hasn't had time to reorganize and make room for the new furniture...so this was the time. We started Sunday afternoon...but he had to CLEAR out TONS of STUFF, first. This took a good part of 4 hours to go through everything and make piles. Keep and put back in room pile. Give away pile. Store pile. This created a TON of DUST blowing around...making my throat hurt, eyes itch, etc., etc.

He built his desk yesterday afternoon, put 1 of the 2 bookcases back in the room...left the 2nd one out, since he didn't really need it. His room now has TONS of space!! and it looks more like a teenager/young adult room. We need to buy a "trophy/collectibles" case, but that can wait. For now they are sitting in 2 big Rubbermaid containers. Everything in his room is pretty much "dust-free" at least till next week!

Why, oh why did I decide to do this?? Oh yeah, so the house would not be so dusty! Next up is the living room. First of all I have to go through tons of VHS movies, DVD's, music CD's, and books. The books will take a while. I have school books, reference books, personal reading books, and self-help books and magazines. My plan for the school books is to SELL them! I have books for nearly every subject, for 12 years of schooling. So if you are homeschooling and need a book...send me an email! I may have it!! I'm going to load them up in boxes and take them to the local homeschool bookstore. Whatever they don't buy, I will take to Half-Priced Books.

So, you see I have been busy trying to clean my house...and in the process to rid it of DUST....one of my highest allergens!