Happy

We have been having a blast the past couple of days......Nothing major to report but good times. Spending tons of time in the intex pool. If you have contemplated getting one, do it! It has been such a treat because the last couple of days here have been hot hot! Tomorrow I head to the Furthur show with my brothers and a few assorted friends. Excited to kick up the heels again! I am hoping my feet will recover from a bit of a late night of dancing on the pebble stone patio by the firepit. We ended up having an awesome impromptu "Name that Tune" which turned into a dance part which turned into *cough* 3 am bedtime. Its not often I really get a chance to let loose which is crucial when doing the mommy juggle!

First Day of Summer

Finally, I am finished for the summer. I wrapped up my last day of camp today. My big brother comes to town tomorrow. Fiesta is here which equals crazy tourists hittin' our town with a vengeance. We are heading to the Furthur show on Wednesday. It will be a family affair. The kids are already driving me nuts. They talk all the time. Questions, stories, rants, songs......you name they do it. They are beyond the age of me being able to get away with the standard "mmhm, yep, really?, wow. ok" answers. "Mom are you listening to me?" We will make it through thanks to our silly intex pool in the backyard. I am telling you it is the best $100 we have ever spent.
I went to see Phish last week on a school night. Nearly killed me. It was our second annual with this crew. A great show. I need to stop pretending like I am seventeen at concerts. I am officially that old lady who is doing the crazy dance. I love it. Just gotsta shake my bones.
Goodness. Look at that picture! This is me on the way to Phish. ALONE. in my car for almost two hours. It was bliss. I have such a humongous snoz! I fondly remember my first boyfriend saying...'its not big, its just over sized.' Not that I remember or have developed a complex as a result! I will however spring for VIP parking next year. There was nothing fun about trying to get out of lot 13. I didn't even know there was a lot 13.....

Boredom

We finally heard back from Elizabeth's teacher. I had sent a lengthy email expressing my concerns about maybe needing to get her tested. Apparently, she is testing above a 2nd grade bench mark. (she is only in first grade) So I have come to the resolution that her 'acting out' in class is because the is bored! She whips through her worksheets and gets up to bother the other kids. She says she is trying to help them. Which to Elizabeth means doing their work for them. Regardless, I can breath now. I would like to tell her teach to go fly a kite and pull Elizabeth out for the rest of the year. I did give her a mental health day yesterday. We took the pup on a nice long hike and ate ice cream for lunch. Now I am off to set up on of those crazy above ground pools. Its 6am here. It will be perfect for our 90 degree weekend coming up. Now that we have Penny, our all day beach stints will have to be put on hold. All I can say is CANNONBALL!

Trying to find the bright spot.

I love when my boss says "What's the bright spot?" There is always a bright spot, I guess. Our sweet girl is struggling. I want to believe her when she tells me she is trying her hardest. This is not what is being to told to me by her school. The husband and I both took off work today to attend her Author's Breakfast. We both agreed we would kill them with kindness even though the past few days have been hell. We held hands (actually I think he was holding me up) as we walked up the driveway to the school. My heart pounding in my chest. We waited anxiously in the lobby making small talk with the other parents. As we made our way down the hall we smiled and greeted the principal. I was thinking, ok this isn't going to be so bad. THEN we turned the corner. There, like a slap in the face, were all of the Star of the Week posters. All nineteen of them plastered up on the wall display. All but Elizabeth's.....We were told she had to earn it for having just one good day. Really? She has not had one good day all year??? Funny. As we entered the classroom all the children were seated at their tables, smiling, waiting excitedly for parents to arrive. All the children except for Elizabeth. She doesn't sit at a table. She sits at a desk, ALONE, facing the wall. I am still ok at this point. No tears. She reads us her books. They were good. Bare minimum but good. I was dumbfounded her teacher didn't ask her to write a bit more. I guess just getting by is good enough for her. I observed Elizabeth, who was buzzing. Couldn't focus. Distracted. Over-stimulated. I know how she feels. I was tested for ADD/Dyslexia but not until high school. So now we are left to wonder, should she get tested? Is it the teacher? Is it her? If we take her out of this school will it just be the same in another school? Of course, the Star of the Week poster came home today. While all the other kids had it up for months she will get to share hers for um....four days. So what is the bright spot? Elizabeth is my Star of the Week every week. I don't need a poster to tell me that. She will be ok. As long as we stick by her and love her, she will be ok. I am still waiting to come up for air.......

Warning.....this isn't going to be pretty

This is how I feel. Angry. Frustrated. Tortured. Hurt. Confused. My sweet Elizabeth is nearing the end of her first grade year. I received news that she wasn't going to be able to participate in Star of the Week because she has not 'earned' it. Funny a few months ago we were told no spring conference was necessary. She was doing great. Yesterday I was spitting nails. Today I am choosing my words wisely. I feel bad for her teacher truthfully. We can't all have that natural instinct that really great teachers possess. I don't judge her. She has her excuses as to why Elizabeth is miserably failing at this point in the year. I am on the outside looking in to this classroom where piles and piles of worksheets come home. I see my daughter humiliated by being put at a table alone. She distracts, disrespects, chats, BEHAVES LIKE A SEVEN YEAR OLD! GO FIGURE! I am armed with knowledge. I am her advocate. I will be heard. She will not be the sacrifice of an out of control school system. What if your mom doesn't stick up for you? Where do you turn when there is no unconditional love. How do you survive when only the negative is noticed. How many children have been failed by our public school systems. I will pray for the children who have no advocate. I will pray for the teachers who live by task first, child second. I will praise God for my strong-willed-whipper-snapper who I love unconditionally whether she behaves in school or not. In my house, what happens at school stays at school.

Yes, I am crazy....

"You are crazy!" is all I heard when we announced we were getting a puppy. This isn't really a stretch for me. So after awhile I decided people were just stating the obvious. I do have to say that having a puppy is like having kids except you can put kids on a leash w/o getting a few sideways glances. Penny Blu is doing great and become my new obsession. I am back at the beginning stages of having a baby. My thought process again revolves around looking at poop and making sure it looks ok. Constantly making sure the pup is not eating something she can choke on. Encouraging her to eat all her dinner. Getting her to go down for naps etc. On the other hand, she is an amazing addition to the family. She adores the kids and the feeling is mutual. I am so happy we are now challenged to find place to play that are dog friendly. We have encountered some dog folks already. I think they can smell I am the new kid on the block. These people are a breed all of their own. I am going to go take my crazy self and get some puppy love!

Welcome Home

Finally, our newest addition has arrived. She is a sweet, shy, happy little girl. Her name is Penny Blu. For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted a dog name Blu. The kids were on board with this name too. But as we were driving home in the pouring rain as she snoozed on my husbands lap, I just knew she was a Penny. Her incredible journey started with the rescue of 9 little pups and turned into 50! 30 hours later transport arrived with the puppies. They were starving, scared, covered in poop and pee. They were all received with hugs and cheers. My dear friend was the driving force behind this transport. She is a brave, compassionate, firecracker and I am so proud to be able to call her my friend. She has given us the gift of our newest family member. Jude was a natural. He started by washing pups by hand. Then he proceeded to hand feed them all. He was better than most of the grown-ups. We are blessed! I say this as my husband is walking her around our mosquito infested yard trying to get her to pee and poop. And so it begins.....

Blue

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Can't seem to find the words today. I have a heavy heart. My 2 classes are graduating this week. I am sending 10 of them off to kindergarten. I am so proud and sad all at the same time. Where is the bright spot? Maybe it is this bundle of love arriving in 5 days. A little girl named Blue.