Birthday Pandemonium Week

Whew! What a week. My oldest kiddo's birthday was on Tuesday. He is eleven years old. I can't stand it. Some days seem to take years to complete and yet the whole 11 years has flown by. Go figure.

Granny transported cupcakes, ice cream cups, and drinks in a cooler to school on Tuesday for the classroom party since I was teaching and couldn't do it myself. Two of the girls made up a cheer to commemorate the birthday shenanigans.

We had the obligatory family party Tuesday night after work. We ate hot dogs and had ice cream cake. My nieces couldn't make it, so that was a bummer, but it was a nice get together, even if I did have to clean my house wearing an aircast.

Friday, I was scheduled to work detention at school, and we went in early. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the students who were assigned to work didn't show up, so we left after about an hour. So, we set off to Decatur to pick up my new orthotics and orthopedic shoes. This saved us a trip on Saturday. It took over 1 1/2 hours to get there--ugh! I ran into two detours due to road work and then my directions were incorrect. We are probably lucky to have found the place at all. But, we got them and all is well. If only I could wear them now. I go back to the orthopedist on the 27th and with any luck I will be able to use real shoes instead of THE BOOT.

Today, we picked up a friend and took my boys and friend to the movies for the "official kid gathering." We sat through Mr. Bean's Holiday and I can honestly say that it is a supreme act of parental love to sit through that much slapstick and Monty Python mimickry. Don't get me wrong, I love Python, just not bad rip offs of their skits. The boys, however, laughed until I thought they would pee their pants, so it was a successful outing. Now, they are all over here, running around the through my house. But, it 's a good thing.

My youngest son has had friends over on numerous occasions. Even kids who come over to see both of my kids, gravitate toward my youngest. My aspie son sometimes joins in and sometimes does not. This is the first time that he has asked a kid (who is 3 years older than him) over and they have really had a blast and he is here for my aspie son, not for the other one, who is also joining in the play. My kid really feels special and it makes my heart sing. Today, it is all about him. I am grateful.

It's good to have Super Friends!

One of my favorite classes to teach is British Literature. The kids seem to really enjoy the Arthurian legends and this year was no exception. One story in particular, "Gawain and the Green Knight" is the first story where a knight (a superhero in his time) wore someone else's magical girdle (made much like underwear that pull up really high) outside his clothing to protect him. After the kids got past the man wearing another man's underwear part, they realized that our modern superheroes wear their underwear on the outside too.


I'll give you three guesses as to what the assignment was that arose from this discussion...
The first two don't count.
Yes, this lad, dressed as a cheap disco ball, complete with Superman undies and a cape, is my 18 year old brother. Pray for me.
These are all of my little Superheroes (Matthew, Michael, Mikhail, Stephanie, Nathan in front). What a motley crew they turned out to be!
Yes, this student attempted to be terribly risque in his choice of Superhero names. His superpower was the ability to search out large mammary glands in teenage girls (much like the skills of ordinary teenage boys, but that is another story). Unfortunately, grammar prevailed and he only confused folks with the label of "Double D D's" emblazoned on his chest. While everyone knew what he meant, they realized that he really hadn't said it after all.

I think everyone should grow up and be a teacher. It's good for giggles at least!

Birthday week

Well, my oldest turns 11 years old tomorrow. I can't believe how old he is getting. He is so excited about it, that he is really driving me crazy. He just can't wait.

He'll have a good time tomorrow.
He'll drive me insane tonight.

I'm a Proud Mama

This week, I received an invitation for my younger son to participate in the Gifted Program at our school. I am so proud of him. He absolutely loves school and to learn.

This class will meet twice a week with the Headmaster of our school. The kids will work on doing hands on science experiments and history projects. I think he will really groove on this.

As for my older son, he has done extremely well this week in school. The new computer and software has helped his attitude tremendously. I have spent this week in total awe of how well he has done with the help of his new technology. His attitude has improved dramatically. I knew that academics were very stressful for him, but I didn't realize how a little success would help him relax about school.

I feel so blessed. God is good.

The Secret

My friend, Karen, told me about a book that she was reading when I was on vacation with her. It was called The Secret. She tried to explain to me what it was about and I was really intrigued.

The other day, hubby and I were in a bookstore and he saw the book and asked if that was the book that Karen told us about. It was, so I got it.

It was a little odd getting into it at first, but once I got past the first little bit and got accustomed to the odd terminology at times, I realized that it touched upon some really familiar things.

As I read, I bounced back and forth between memories of scriptures and moral lessons and the long, rambling talks that Misty and I had during our marathon training sessions (that broke my foot and eventually sidelined Misty, too).

This author synthesized down Biblical messages to basically explain why and how, "you reap what you sow." For something so basic and so simple, it is really awe inspiring once you get into it and really grasp it.

I am amazed how much of this concept I knew and I respected and I believed, but I didn't embrace and use it.

Okay, maybe I don't scream obscene things at other drivers when I am mad, because of these lessons, but I didn't accept how these types of lessons instruct us on a deeper level: how my attitudes and my thoughts and emotions are affecting the world around me.

It's the key to achieving deeper faith. It's the key to developing balance in your life. It's the key to keeping your sanity, long term, when surrounded by hormonal teenagers at work every day.

And I had missed it.

Blessings!

One of the biggest things about the recent educational testing is that our son needs extensive use of adaptive technologies in order to be successful academically. Technology=Money and that has been in short supply lately. It was a stretch to pay for the testing!

But, my parents jumped up, unbidden, and provided a laptop, voice recognition software, headphones, printer, and educational software, and a few audio books to get our little guy started. It's an early birthday gift, but I am the one who feels gifted far more than he does--and he really does!

What can I say? Prayers are answered. Needs are met. Kids are loved.
God is good.

Growing Like a Weed

My little wheezer has grown so much over the summer that when we put long pants on him, they are all capri-length. So, we ran today and got a great deal at the Old Navy outlet. They are becoming an Old Navy (sans Outlet) and are having a 50% off sale. So, I got two pairs of really good fitting jeans for the price of one. I'm a happy camper!

I will go back for more over the weekend. I wonder if they have anything to fit the older son....
Hmmm.