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Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Laugh.


OK girls! I've got a SWEET deal for you all! So I've moved 25 of my WordArt packs released this summer into the SUMMER REWIND section of Scraporchard's Market. The sale is, spend $10.00 and get 33% off. AND, to sweeten the deal, I've put them all on sale for $2.00 a pack. Bear with me here, as my math skills suck, but if I did this right, it should be like this:

Buy 5 WordArt packs for $10.00
get 33% off

So your total price for 5 WordArt packs would be $6.70
SO, they would be $1.34 a pack. Dang, that's a good deal! Don't you think???

Here's a list of all the WordArt packs that are on sale:


Click HERE to go to the SUMMER REWIND section :P


Here's a few pics from the party Jimmy went to on Saturday. See him there on the end in the yellow. He looks SO happy.


Until he threw down his bag and announced "I QUIT". Nice.

And decided to ride the bouncy horse the rest of the time we were oustide.


Wow, what a long and exhausing Monday I had! I was up before my alarm went off this morning. Well, not much, but still. Every 4 minutes counts. I was out of bed at 7am, getting kids ready for school. I managed to get them out the door at 7:35am (5 minutes late, but they'd make it). Next, I situated Jake with his History, then Jim and I headed out the door the Commissary. We needed Hot Dogs for the party, Ice cream for the "after" party, pineapple for me (woohoo!!!), and laundry detergent (I was on my last pair of underclothes and we were out of laundry soap!). I hurried home, set Jim up with a movie, helped Jake switch subjects, and baked cupcakes. Strawberry (sounds better than pink) with white frosting. Dang, they smelled good.

Jim had a lot of fun helping me with the cupcakes. He SO wanted to lick everything. hehehe. After the cupcakes were all done, I left Jim with Jake and headed off to Legal Aid. Captain America's cashing out his old retirement accounts (not very big), and I needed to get my signature on it Notarized. The army offeres that servies free for it's soldiers/families. So, I waited in line for about 15 minutes, got it signed, and was on my way home.

We made Steak for lunch. I'd bought it at the commissary for Jake. It's his favorite. Instead of my normal cheese and cucumbers, I had a stir fry, and got to put pineapple in it. DIVINE!!! It was SO good :)

Next, I helped Jake with his pendulum lab. It was pretty fun. And, his Lap Report looked nice! I forgot that I was supposed to put my "Summer Rewind" items on sale the night before, so spent part of the afternoon doing that.

I went to pick up the kids from school at 3pm, and had them home by 3:40. Yeah, it takes a long time to pick them up. Tom wanted to walk, and got home only 5 minutes after I did. I guess that's why I make them walk most of the time.

I got home, and started cooking the hot dogs. I grilled 1/2 and boiled 1/2. Who knew that boiled hot dogs will stay hotter longer? Well, they do. If you need to pre-cook hot dogs and take them someplace, boil them, then put them in a ziplock bag, then wrap them in a few dish towels, then place them in a cooler. They'll be SUPER hot.

We left for the party at about 4:15pm. Party started at 4:30. When we got to the pool, we practically had the whole place to ourselves. There were a few other people there, must mostly us.

Since none of our friends had shown up yet, I decided to take a few minutes and take some pictures. Here's Jimmy


Tom, Eme, and Jacob

And our friend, Mr. Buttcrack. He was here ALL party long :)

Look how big Jake is!

Happy Tom :)

It was really sunny, but Joe's doing his best to pose for my photo op!

Jake even took a pic of me!

A happy Joe face

And a crazy/funny/demented Joe face (my favorite kind - it makes his eyes extra sparkle!)

And 4 of my kids, playing nicely in the baby pool during pool break.

Mr. Buttcrack again!

Pull up your shorts!!!


Our first friends showed up at almost 5pm. My kids were starting to panic, because no one was there yet. Check out Jake's sad face because no one came to his party..... poor guy!


And his happy face when Ayden and his family showed up!



They were SO excited when the Huezo's showed. And a few mintues after that, the Timmons (Laurie) came. It was a nice party. We swam (well, they did), ate hot dogs and pretzels, and drank lemonade and water.

Jake opened his presents, and everyone had TONS of cupcakes. Between the 3 families, there were 6 grown ups and 14 kids. That's a HUGE b-day party - hehehe. I think Jacob had a lot of fun. All total (grandmas, family, friends), he ended up with $60. He's wanting to buy a different gaming system, but it having a hard time keeping his money. It seems to burn a hole in his pocket - hehehe. Silly kid!











We headed home at around 7pm, and my family had the "after" birthday party party. They ate Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie ice cream. Dryers, none the less. Sigh. I sang Happy Birthday to Jake then quickly retreated to my room. I let Captain America handle the ice cream. I don't think I could do that kind of temptation. And no cheats for me!

So, that was my day. Long. But good. Except. I'm so frustrated about my #4 son, Joe. He's in 1st grade. He went to Kindergarten for almost 5 months in Oregon. Very liberal, touchy feely Oregon. 1/2 day Kindergarten. They were learning the letters when he left. Moves to Texas. They've learned the letters in Pre-School. Joe never had pre-school. They can read in Kindergarten. He was WAY behind. We were in one school for 3 months, then another school for about a month. He was so far behind, it wasn't funny.

Fast forward to now. The 1st graders here know SO much more than him. He doesn't even know all his letters. Most of them, but not all. He can't read. He only knows about 6 sight words. So, when we went to talk to his teacher on Thursday night, we explained the situation to her. She told us that he'd catch up, and that we could work with him at home. I made up flash cards with the words he didn't know, but there were a TON of them. It was gonna take a long time.

So, today, he comes home with a note saying : Does not know his Kinder-Sight words - needs to know them!!

Um, what the heck? First of all, why are you shouting at me with all your exclaimation points. That's just plain rude. Second of all, didn't you even pay attention when we were talking on Thursday night? HE DOESN"T KNOW THEM. I already told you that. And you think he's gonna learn them ALL over the weekend? I think it's a much bigger problem than just needing to memorize a few words.

I really think he needs to go back to Kindergarten. Obviously, to be in the Texas schools, you need to know more. And clearly, he doesn't. His Birthday is August 12th, so he a VERY young 1st grader. I know he comes home frustrated with school, and crying. He doesn't like to be the only one in the class who doesn't have a clue what's going on.

I think Captain America and I are gonna go talk to the school people and tell them that we'd like him to go back to Kindergarten. It would help him out SO much. They never should have promoted him. Not in this school district. He's gonna just keep getting further and further behind. I can't do all of Kindergarten with him, AND expect him to keep up with 1st grade at the same time. It doesn't make sense.

Anyway, it's really bugging me. I can't seem to stop thinking about it. I'm gonna have Captain America call first thing on Tuesday morning, and either get it straightened out, or set us up an appointment to get it straightened out. Something needs to change. Joe can't come home feeling "dumb" every day. I think doing Kindergarten over would be GREAT for him. I really do :)

This WordArt request is from RoseAngel (Paula). I thought it was pretty funny. Doesn't it seem that way in life, sometimes. No matter how hard you plan and plan, things just don't seem to work out. Most of the time, looking back, they work out better. But often times, the here and now is pretty hard and not too plesant. I think, if we'd just sit back, and instead of fighting against the plan the Lord has for us, and insisting that our plan is better, we'd be a lot happier. hehehe.

Click on the link below to go to my account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work.


19 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Bethany!

I wanted to let you know about an educational website that my children use at home and school. You might already know about it, but I thought it wouldn't hurt so share just in case.

It's www.starfall.com

It is a great site for learning phonics and reading. They have games and such that make it fun for the kids and Joe might like it.

Just thought I'd share! Have a good day.

~Thanks so much for all the freebies and I really enjoy reading your blog every morning :0)

Rubypat said...

Thanks for the freebie. I hope you get some help with Joe - going back to Kindy may at least help him to feel he is achieving something; so much learning now takes place in preschool and Kindy - and it is hard to catch up when others are so far in front. Good luck!

Jewelle said...

I am impressed with the fact that you are thinking of sending Joe back to kindergarten. Most parents won't let that happen when it needs to happen. Many times teachers are pressured to allow kids to move on to the next grade even if they are not "ready" for the next grade. It is a social thing. I HATE that part of the education system. I taught for for three years and hated that I had to pass on some kids that I knew wouldn't succeed, but I wasn't "allowed" to keep back. I agree that the Texas school system is much more rigorous. It is almost expected that your child go to some form of preschool. I just moved to Texas and found that my 4 yr old probably should have went to preschool. Now I am basically "homeschooling" her through preschool. LOL! Thanks for all the time you put into your wordarts they are beautiful. I also love that you do quotes from your/my religion. It makes VT really easy when I can give one of your wordarts to the sister on a card or something!

Heathermsc said...

That's for the great word art! I used DVDs for my 5 y.o. with Autism to help teach his letters & sight words: http://www.preschoolprepco.com and http://www.signingtime.com/.
Of course my son's learning style is much different from a typically developing child, but, he's a strong visual learner & the DVDs were perfect for him. He also has what they call "splinter skills" in the area of letter recognition, reading, & writing and he's ahead of many other kids his age. On the other hand, he's not fully potty trained and can't converse like other kids his age. His 2 y.o. sister has better conversational skills than he does. She like's the videos, too, and knows all her letters ... but only because I was signing to her from the time she was 6 months old ... we wanted her to be able to communicate using sign language in the event she also had autism. Thankfully, she does not appear to have autism!

You might check your public library for educational videos/dvds.

Good luck with Joe ... if you follow your gut & PRAY, I'm sure you'll arrive at the right decision! Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Sympathies for Joe - it's gotta be so frustrating for him. Hope that situation gets solved, 'cause, yeah, moving him back will be so much easier for everyone, I'm sure. [btw, if you do a search for "online learning phonics" you'll find a number of sites that offer online games/activities.] Please keep us updated on what you decide to do! [Thx for the word art too!]

Mystic_Mom said...

This is one phrase that we use lots around our place, thanks for doing such a great word art for it! And I hope you can get your little man back in K, sounds like it's best for everyone - he'll catch up easier and do super! Bright blessings!

lizanne said...

Hi Bethany! Just thought I'd drop ya a note to say thanks for the latest WA - yours is truly the best! :) Oh, and love the new pic (with grunge overlay?) you have in your header - what nice looking family!

Margaret Anne Clark said...

Hi Bethany, I just wanted to give you an educators POV (albeit UK based). DO IT. INSIST he is put to Kindy. ESPECIALLY as he is a young 1st grader. It is unacceptable that he is already feeling insecure re schooling, and he will manage better in future schooling (I mean high school etc) with the extra maturity. In Scandinavian countries they don't start formal education til they are 7... Good luck. My thoughts are with you. xx

Erin said...

Bethany -

I read your blog every day but I am just not the type that comments. However, I just had to come and give you some support re: the school situation with Joe. You as the parent absolutely knows what is best and it sounds like you are making a good decision for your son. Don't let the school talk you into anything that you aren't comfortable with. Sometimes they just want to take a "wait and see" approach - especially so early in the year - but if you know that he needs to repeat Kindergarten than you are right! These first few years of school should be a wonderful experience that builds up a childs confidence in their ability to learn and it sounds like right now that isn't what Joe is feeling. You are a good mom - I just wanted to give you a little extra boost of confidence!

jahree said...

I this word art!!! Made me laugh out loud!!! Thanks for sharing!
jahree

Susan said...

Hi,
I'm another reader who reads every day, but isn't a commenter :)
I just want to say that you have to be your child's advocate and insist they put him back in Kindergarten. It is such a no brainer especially with an August birthday and it will change his life. Stay strong and stand your ground. Now is the time to do it!
Good Luck!

Mari said...

I think repeating Kindergarten would be a fantastic idea. Its hard to not only be one of the youngest in the grade, but to feel dumb. Its gonna effect his self esteem. Better to repeat now then when he's older or to always struggle. Good luck! I know its got to be a hard decision.

Happy Birthday to Jake!

Sue said...

What a wonderful quote and word art! It is so true! Why do I always forget and still make my own plans? Thank you for sharing your talents this way. :)

Unknown said...

Hi Bethany. When we moved to Floria 12 years ago mysn was i ndy. He was able to start when he was 4 due to his birthday falling in September. 5 months into the school year we moved. I realized that he was a very immature 5 year old and I chose to keep him home with me and have him repeat Kindy the following year. OMG! What a difference it made!! He knew virtually nothing when we got here but graduated K the following year at the top of his class. He is going to be 18 on the 21st of this month and is so darn smart! We have FCAT here and he always scores a 4 or 5 on the test (5 being the highest you can get) :) So you do what's best for your son and don't take *no* for an anwser. It'll help him so much in the future and save boh you and him a ton of tears! Good luck! And thank you so much for the wonderful wordart :)

Desleigh said...

I think first grade is the most important grade of them all... if kids don't get 'it' then, it may continue to be a struggle for the rest of their school career...
They have to be ready for it and going back to kindy is the best choice I think... good luck Bethany and Joe! From another mother of 5...

Rose said...

Mr. Buttcrack made me lol!! Too funny. Hopefully you get the school thing figured out, it could affect the rest of his life!!

TitanThirteen said...

Aawwww i really felt for Jake in that pick when he thought no-one was coming to his party - the poor guy!

The word art isn't nice. God never laughs at our plans :o(

LOFT said...

I think it's a no brainer that with an Aug. 12 birthday and the poor kid moving around that the school will have to let you put him back in kindergarten. It should always be about what is best for the child. Where my kids went to preschool they didn't learn ANYTHING except manners, etc. It was a big help getting them ready to be away from home for a half day (since preschool was half of a half day) and learning to listen and obey rules, but they didn't do ABCs, etc. Joe will catch up fast, in kindergarten. I'm appalled at that teacher behaving the way she did. Does she have amnesia or what? Even if you hadn't told her the situation, she started out on a bad foot!!!!!!!! (Get my joke with the exclamation points?) LOL

kc5323 said...

Love your wordart. You are very talented. Well let me be the first to welcome you and your family to Texas. It's full of lots of really nice people!! I'm in the Midland/Odessa area so we're still a couple of hours away but you and your family with be in my thoughts and prayers!