Whew!

It's been a busy couple of weeks. Things are finally starting to wind down at the school and it's strange that the kids will all be home for the summer a week from today.

Hannah had her last Daisy Girl Scout meeting for the year last week. Melissa, her troop leader, announced that the Girl Scouts have made the Daisy program a two-year deal so Hannah will be a Daisy for another year. She'll start Brownies in 2nd grade.

This is the cake that Melissa made. When she told us how she did it, I was amazed. She spent a lot of time on it. (the bee alone is made from three different cake pan parts - the wings are bunny ears!) It was very yummy.

The girls get ready for the flag ceremony.
Saying the Girl Scout Promise.
Daisys is all about learning the Girl Scout Law. They break down the parts and earn petals when they master each one (that's what the petals on their smocks are for. They get a petal for each one mastered.) They also used this board to help them along. Hannah puts up one of the petals.
Melissa gives Hannah her awards for the year.
Hannah shows off her awards (with a goofy face)
Here are the awards she received. She was the top cookie seller for her troop!
Last night was the graduation/cookout for the boys Cub Scout Pack. This is always a good time. The boys officially get their new ranks (which means Daniel's now a Bear Scout!). It was tons of fun.

Jacob was freaking out because ashes from the campfire kept falling into his drink.
Mike gives his den their awards.
Jacob and his best friend, Andrew.
Mike gives Daniel his new Bear neckerchief
Mike and Daniel.
The Webelos didn't get anything but they were brought up for recognition.

Getting ready to roast marshmallows.
More roasting.
Like mother, like son. Jacob loves his on fire.

Ugh

We had a tornado watch for most of the day yesterday but nothing came of it. So, imagine my shock and horror when I turn on NBC (I was TiVoing Grey's for after the kids went to bed) and Gary Lezak's on with a tornado warning. Panicked, I turn to ABC and their weather guy's on. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Gary only interrupted programing from 8-8:30 but freaking ABC did for the whole 8 o'clock hour! For a storm that was barely in our viewing area (200 miles way up to our north past St. Joe). Not only that, but they were also covered by the St Joe NBC station. Why did we have to miss Grey's??? It'd be like WHOI cancelling programing to cover a storm in Sterling. I did get to finally watch it this morning...on my little bitty computer screen at ABC.com since our station isn't even re-running it until Saturday! Ugh!!!

A couple of hours after dropping the kids off at school, I got a call from the school nurse asking me to come get Jacob because his stomach hurts. I will admit that I didn't believe him since he's famous for crying wolf with stomach pain. I did feel bad when, an hour after bringing him home, his breakfast was all over my bathroom floor.

That really sucks because tonight is my very last MOPS and POPS (an evening for the husbands to come, we have a catered dinner, childcare, games and a speaker...tons of fun!). Mike, very generously, offered to stay home with Jacob so that I could still go. Daniel and Hannah want to go too so the three of us will be heading up there while Mike and Jacob hang out at home.

I just hope no one else gets this stomach thing.

Stressssssss!!!

As much as I'm looking forward to the end of the school year, I hate these last weeks before the end. It's like the school waits to have everything in a two week period of time. Today, I have a parent volunteer luncheon to go to. That's not bad because it's just sitting and eating lunch (with Daniel's teacher...Ack!!). Next week will be insane...actually, mostly next Tuesday and Friday. Tuesday is my last MOPS ever. :( So, that's in the morning and then I run to the school to help with the 4th grade Colonial Day. I'm actually happy it's in the afternoon because I thought I wouldn't be able to help. There was no way I was missing my last ever MOPS meeting. Wednesday, Jacob has his last strings concert and his last Hebrew School for the year. Friday is Field Day and what was I thinking when I volunteered for that!?! Luckily, we don't have to do the OWLS site training (we volunteered to take care of the garden for a week again this summer) since we did it last year. The following week, we have Hannah's class picnic at Deanna Rose that I have to attend. Ugh!!!

In the middle of all of this is tae kwon do and gymnastics. I know I'm forgetting something, I just don't know what. I just have to get through these next few weeks and then we can relax for the summer. We're not doing Day Camp this year (yay!) but the boys are doing overnight camp. I just can't wait to get to summer!!!!

Homemade and Stuff

We're getting spot audited for our insurance so I had to go up to Mike's office so he could photocopy my driver's license. After stopping there, I decided to hit Whole Foods to pick up a couple of things.

I'd been reading Better Homes and Gardens yesterday and they had recipes for body scrubs and hair masks that I wanted to try. I picked up some sweet almond oil and some avocado for the hair mask and then looked around. I also ended up getting a bunch of local honey, some Earl Grey tea and some soy milk. I thought I'd try making my own London Fog drink (from Starbucks).

The hair mask turned out really well (1/2 avocado, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup sweet almond oil. Mash and leave on hair for at least 30 minutes.) It was a little strange to have these huge chunks of avocado in my hair (and randomly falling out onto the floor)...next time, I'll put it in the blender to get a smoother consistency. My hair is nice and soft and it's actually got a ton of curl in it. I'll definitely be doing this one again.

I love the London Fog drink from Starbucks...with a few modifications. I use soy milk and no water. They always look at me like I'm nuts but it's just tastier that way. Anyway, I made my own this afternoon and it tastes exactly the same!!! So, for the price of one of Starbucks London Fogs, I can make 4 at home! LOVE IT!!!

I can't wait to try the honey bubble bath I made! LOL!!!

Crazy Weekend

Mike's nephew, Bryan, and his fiance, Marlaina, got married on Saturday. Hannah was so excited because she got to be the flower girl. Quick funny story:

Thursday night, Hannah had asked me a question.
Hannah: Is there going to be a reindeer at the wedding?
Me: Ummm...I don't think so. I think it's too warm for reindeer.
Hannah: No. A REEEEEIIIIIINNNNNdeer. Will one be there?
Me: Sweetie, maybe at a winter wedding but reindeer don't come to spring weddings.
Hannah: MOM! Seriously! You know...a reindeer. They walk down the aisle with a pillow!
Me (finally getting it): OH! A ring bearer? I don't know if there will be a ring bearer at the wedding.
Hannah: Geez. That's all I wanted to know!

We left for Atlanta on Friday morning. We were nervous because the rehearsal was to start at 5 and we weren't landing until after 2pm. We then had to get the car and drive to Commerce, GA which is where we were staying and where the wedding was taking place. We made it to the hotel at 4:45, we checked in and headed straight to the church.

Amazingly, we were the second people there...Mike's parents were the only ones that beat us. That was fine because the kids got to run around a little and Mike and I were able to change.

Here are some pictures from Friday night. Click the photos to make them bigger.

Mike and his brother, Marc

The bride and groom, Marlaina and Bryan
Hannah and James, the "reindeer."
Hannah waits patiently with the bridesmaids.
The kids loved this huge chess set outside the chapel.

So, we head back to the hotel and are told to be back at the church at 11:30am. Seriously, we could have shown up at 1:30 and we would have been fine but that's okay. The wedding was beautiful and we got some great pictures. It was the first time we got the whole family in for a picture. Here are some photos from the wedding.

Jacob, Daniel and Hannah before the wedding.
Hannah and Marlaina
I can't believe how nice this one turned out. I'm going to put it in a sepia tone and get it blown up. Hannah was looking out the window to see Marlaina getting her picture taken outside.
Hannah and James walk down the aisle. James was so fascinated by what Hannah was doing.
The start of the wedding.
What a big group!
David and Hannah
Daniel and Maurice
The five of us after the wedding.

It was a fun weekend but it's so good to be home.

Random Junk

I woke up to thunder this morning and was really excited. Unfortunately, that's about all we got. It rained for about 10 minutes and the storm blew past. Ugh. I was looking forward to a good thunderstorm this morning. Oh well. At least it's supposed to be warm again today.

I guess Hannah thought that flower fairies came and planted yesterday because when she overheard Jacob and me talking about them this morning, she said, "Oh! I wondered where those flowers came from!" LOL! Jacob told me that he'd be willing to try the tomatoes that come off of our plants because, "I know where they've been." Ha!

I'm going to be taking the boys up to visit Mike at work this morning since it's Take Your Child to Work Day. They're just going to go have lunch with him, which they're crazy excited about. It's such a treat to get out of school and have lunch with Dad.

For the past many, many years, my favorite local radio station, Mix 93.3, holds a huge outdoor (family friendly) concert called Red, White and Boom. Usually, they have one big artist and a lot of up and coming bands that have one or two hits, plus a local band. The kids really wanted to go last year but I wasn't sure if they'd like it. They began ticket sales for this year's concert on Monday and Jacob's been on his hands and knees, begging to go. I've been apprehensive about getting tickets because they hadn't posted the lineup. They finally did today and Jacob will be happy to know that I got tickets for this year's concert. David Cook (from American Idol) will be headlining. It's going to be fun!

Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring!!!!!

I finally got outside and planted my containers today. It was kind of chilly when I started but now it's actually a little hot outside. That's fine with me. I'll take hot any day. We're supposed to have upper 70's today and 80's for the rest of the week so I'm hoping to get the flower beds in good shape this week too. In the front, I just planted some flowers but in the back I planted some tomatoes. I've never had good luck with veggies but I'm hoping this is my year.

I was going through the kids' backpacks and I found this little snippet in Hannah's. I had to laugh because Hannah's teacher thinks they're about 8 years old and is constantly trying to get them to "think critically" about everything. They had a week where the theme was "when I grow up." They had to fill out a questionnaire and here's hers...

My name is: Hannah G.

When I grow up I want to be a: rok FinDr (rock finder)

I will wear: Hat

I will use: toos (tools)

I will: rok FinDriNg (rock findering)

I will: a rok FiND F roKES (I had to ask about this one..."a rock finder finds rocks")

My favorite part of my career will be: FiN rocK (finding rocks)


Well, duh. It's all about the rock finding! LOL!!

Hannah's High Blue Belt Testing

It just occurred to me that I never posted pictures from this past week when Hannah tested for her High Blue Belt. In addition to form, three-steps and sparring she had to break a board. It was too cute because she had been practicing hand technique when she had to do a foot technique. Needless to say she was confused. Luckily, Master Johnson came over and helped her out. Here are the pictures.

Hannah tries to break the board.
Master Johnson comes over to help out.
Forms
Three-step sparring
Master Thibbedeau is such a character. He kept tapping Hannah on the back of the head with his foot. She thought it was the funniest thing ever.
Sparring
More sparring.

For Dad (and everyone else)...

This is too funny!!! Redneck Wedding

Hmmm...

Last week I had a parent/teacher conference with Daniel's teacher. She talked about how he's made huge improvements this year and is at grade level in all of his subjects. He's a good writer and loves art. He's also quiet in class, never disruptive, and seems to have many friends. However, she had some concerns about how he looks like he's working but he's really doodling. She also said that he has to sit in the front of the room because if she moves him, he goes off into his own world. She's concerned about third grade because, "they have to work so much more independently."

At the end of the conference, she told me that she thought it would be a good idea to chat with our pediatrician about Daniel. She'd be happy to write a letter for me to give to him if I'd like. I told her fine (to get her off my back). That letter came home yesterday.

I was more than angry when I read the letter. She's given me no indication, before now, that things were as bad as she says they are. The line, "his mother has also expressed some issues at home that complicate his performance at home and with homework," irritated me beyond belief. WTF? I told her that he hates doing his homework. Ugh. Anyway...

She listed his strengths and weaknesses as she sees them. I did smile when she said he is "uniquely creative" and listed it as a strength. However, some of her weaknesses piss me off.

*doodles, fidgets at desk when attention is needed
*reads in a flat, monotone voice
*lacks organizational skills
*doesn't seek help when needed
*homework is often late and is not completed thoroughly (this, I know for a fact, is crap)

She's also concerned that he relies heavily on her. Honestly, I can't believe some of this stuff. I'm not saying Daniel is the greatest student in the world but come on. She even had the nerve to bring up crap that happened in kindergarten. Seriously?

Mike and I decided to make Daniel an appointment with his pediatrician (for Monday) but refuse to even consider medication (unless he has an actually disease or whatever) and we will be telling them that.

I'm not kidding myself here, though. I know Daniel can be a challenge. I've been doing a lot of research online and, while I don't think he has ADHD, I do think there may be an underlying learning disability of some sort. He fits very nicely in some of the categories (trouble learning letters, rhyming, etc). I can't help but think that, in some ways, he's lost. Here's the problem: the school has to do the LD evaluation and testing. This brings in my favorite person in the world, the school psychologist. The same guy that said Daniel was clinically depressed and had severe anxiety disorder. Awesome. However, it's a ton of work for them, which makes me smile just a little.

The good thing about a possible LD diagnosis is that he would either fall under a Section 504 and/or IEP (individualized education plan). This would mean that his teacher's concern about more independent study in third grade would be thrown out since if he needs more personalized attention, he's legally required to have it.

I think what makes me so mad is that the possibility of anything other than ADHD has been completely ruled out by his school up until now. Of course, I'm getting ahead of myself here but grrrrrrrr!!! That's my baby boy they're messing with!

A Poem

Daniel brought home his family unit project today. Inside was a poem he wrote about me. I thought it was so cute that I have to share. This is the poem, exactly as he wrote it.

For the family mom bakes.
In the oven she grills stakes.
After exercising mom is sore.
Then she sleeps in bed and snores.
Mom cleans up a lot of messes.
She even cleans up Hannah's dresses.
I get hugs and kisses every night.
Mom makes my room a little bright!

Awwww...

And I Used To Work Here...

I found out today that my old boss was arrested for obstruction charges in the murder investigation from January. I'm not surprised. She was always worried about her own paycheck and didn't care a bit about her employees. This would have never happened with the group I worked with. What a shame that the facility is closed now.

Poor Miss Judy. Karma sucks sometimes. I would give just about anything to see what's going on in the other two facilities right now!

Here's the article from the Lake County Daily Herald

Photo Update Post

Last week was a busy one for us. Jacob had a strings concert and Hannah had her birthday party. First up, strings.

Jacob LOVES playing the violin. I have to admit that he's not too bad at it either. I actually don't mind listening to him practice because the songs actually sound like what they are supposed to sound like. His concert was huge. All of the kids (4th grade through high school) that feed into their high school were invited to play. I was amazed at the middle school orchestra. They were playing stuff that we might have played in high school and sounded awesome. Anyway, here are some pictures.

4th grade strings. Behind them and to the left is the middle school group. To the right are the 5th graders.

Jacob waves from his spot.
Jacob just before going inside.

Hannah was so excited that it snowed on her birthday. It wasn't as bad as what they had been calling for, which was good. We were supposed to get 10 inches of snow and got about 3 because it rained longer than they thought it would. Of course, it all melted Sunday since it was in the 50's. Anyway, we had her birthday party on Sunday afternoon and a ton of her friends showed up. (Thank goodness for places that don't charge per child!) Here are a few pictures.

Jacob on the rope swing.
Hannah on the rock wall (the girl on the right). She loved this and proved to be a great climber!
Hannah.
I love this one of Daniel. Pretty typical!
The kids get instructions before going into the playroom.

Hannah's cake. Yeah, I bought it. :(
Jacob and me on the big slide.
Hannah blows out her candles.

Happy Birthday!

Today is Hannah's 6th Birthday. Where in the world has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday she was born and now she's walking, talking and reading.

Happy Birthday Bear!

I'm In There!

I made it into the article...it's just one line and she kind of took what I said out of context but there I am! :) It's fun to be in an article!

Here's the link:
The Jewish Week: Gentile Women And The ‘S’ Word

Yay For Hannah!

Hannah taught herself how to ride a bike without training wheels today! I was out there with her for a little while but my back was killing me. She was so determined to learn that she did it herself! It's so funny to watch her riding a big bike with the other kids on the street.

Bloobedy Blah...Part 2

The kids started Spring Break last week. I know it seems early but they always have Spring Break at the end of the third quarter. The teachers take a day for grade card prep and a day for teacher's inservice. I actually don't mind having the kids home...it means I don't have to be shuffling the kids around a whole lot. Our synagogue is also on Spring Break for Hebrew school and for Sunday School, so we really get a break. What'll really be nice is if the 80 degree days they're forecasting for next week pan out. I've got a lot of gardening work to get done.

This is kind of exciting...

I belong to a listserv for non-Jewish mothers raising Jewish children run by the Jewish Outreach Institute. 95% of the time, the things that go on make me want to quit. Not only are these girls way hard core, but they're very judgemental about others. It makes me so mad. Anyway, the leader of the listserv sent out a post about a lady that writes a monthly column for The Jewish Week newspaper. She's writing an article about the term Shiksa and would like to know our opinions/experiences with the word. I had to write her because A) I love the term Shiksa and B) my fantasy football team name was Shiksappeal.

So, I wrote her an e-mail with the information we were told she was looking for and got an e-mail back saying that she'd definitely use my experiences in her article. How cool is that? We'll see if I actually get in or if she uses my name (I said she could). Her article should come out next week.

Bang, Bang Choo Choo Train

We made it to and from Chicago on the train. I really think Amtrak is something everyone should do at least once. The kids really enjoyed it. Coming home, there were several kids, also heading home to Kansas City, that kept our kids entertained. At one point, they were all hanging out in the Lounge and were reprimanded by the conductor for being too loud. Oh well. It was a great experience.

This is Union Station in Kansas City.

Daniel sits in front of an old sign while we wait for the train. All Aboard!
The observation car. The kids loved hanging out in here.
We ate breakfast in the dining car.
These were our actual seats. Lots of room and pretty comfy.
A view of downtown Chicago from the train.

We took the Metra into Buffalo Grove where Bobbi and Ed picked us up.
Hannah, David, Daniel and Jacob pose for a picture.
Bobbi scheduled manicures for everyone. Here, Bobbi, Rachel and Hannah get their nails done.
At the wedding, they took pictures of each family group. This was ours.
The weekend went by so fast. Here the kids are on the train headed home. This was the observation car.
The boys look out the window and see the Mississippi River.