oh jack-o

oh jack-o thomas..... his behavior at school has been somewhat challenging and squirrely. i don't know if this is a phase and it too shall pass or if we are in for lots of challenges for a bit.

last week was a short week for school but jack managed to get a red ticked THREE of the four days. tuesday he came home saying he got a ticket for play fighting. wednesday he got two tickets for "spitting" on others and not listening and thursday he earned a ticket for taking other people's things. on thursday, i requested he have to call me from school.

privileges were taken away for the weekend and that hurt. it hurt both this mama (and josh) and jack-o. legos sat untouched and the wii was not even an option. an easter basket was almost lost as well (wink wink....he would have earned that one back...i am not that harsh).   many conversations were had and wrapped up for how jack's week would go.

monday came. jack's awesome teacher went out of her way to help give LOTS of positive attention and reinforcement. she even had him call me for positive behavior at lunch--a pleasant and awesome surprise if i do say so myself.

however, today is tuesday and even though he did not get a ticket, he certainly did not have a stellar behavior day. he was antsy and "takey"...taking things from his friends that weren't his in a teasing (?) manner. again we had a chat. behavior at home as been the same squirrely-ness and i am getting a bit fried. this mama and her hubby work HARD to be consistent.....and why is it not working at the moment?!?!? tonight legos were played with but the new lego set from his "legos every two months club" sat untouched and unearned. perhaps tomorrow he he will earn that.

a list of privileges that can be taken has been mentally made along with a list of consequences but this mama needs more input. thoughts?  

my hero saves the day

i have a pretty pink laptop whose name is johnny five. she is pearly and has a slight sheen. tonight, johnny five took a tumble. she fell right off my bathroom counter as my elbow clumsily bumped her. it was a slow motion nightmare as i reached out to protect her from the inevitable fall. she landed hard. and as i picked her up, i saw a screen of death. not the blue screen of death but an angry black screen screaming a problem with the hard drive not being readable. i sighed and owned up to the fall to my hero. josh took johnny five ever so carefully with only a few choice words muttering under his breath. he sat and tinkered. he tinkered and sat.parts were removed and then put back in. and ever so skillfully, he put her back together and the screen of death left. i am grateful for my hero who saved the day for johnny five and ME who cannot seem to live without my computer :)

human goo

it is just human goo. it can happen to anyone. these are two statements made today that helped me get through an exposure therapy. yes folks, i got to experience human goo (aka puke) kind of up close....close enough to see it and avoid it in the hallway!

i find my exposure to human goo today ironic. just last night i was having a mini panic attack over the thought of goo and now today i was GIVEN an exposure therapy. it must have been what i needed! not that i am saying i want more exposure therapies and i really don't want the stomach flu in my house but as my colleague stood there so others did not walk through it, she says so nonchalantly to me, "it can happen to anyone" she made sense to me. then again as i walked past and my AWESOME vp was mopping (yes....that is what he gets to do), i thanked him for taking care of things and he smiled. again, he does not enjoy that part but he seemed to take it in stride..... it is NOT a big deal. just nasty, stinky, temporary stuff. however, i was still feeling pretty shaken as i went on with my day. my anxiety was up and my small knots were growing and tightening.....

my biggest breakthrough happened after i emailed josh. his response to my "saw puke in the hall....anxiety up" was "just human goo" and that made me laugh. i actually had a smile on my face and a small giggle escaped. he is right of course. it is just human goo. stinky, gross but just goo.

i am not asking for more to happen :) but in the face of today, glad it did occur. afterall, it is just human goo that can happen to anyone.

small knots

i used to have large knots that got tied up inside of me. lots of things would lead to the tangles. now the knots are much smaller....most of the time.

i have been back in therapy for about 8 weeks and find it helpful.i am seeing a great gal named carol every other week and find that she has a nice perspective for me to think about. with her help, i am able to take a step back and look at myself and my surroundings. i am much more aware of who i am and what things impact me--negatively and positively.most days things feel good or at least better than they were a few months ago. my overall anxiety is decreased and my phobias seem to be a bit more at bay.

however, there are still "things" that lead to knots...things that scream at my phobias and try to wake them up. namely, the thought of puke gets my insides are tangly and tight. tonight, as i read status updates, i saw a colleague's family is flying through the stomach flu. it has hit one after another of their family members. immediately, as i read, my insides went tight. my stomach tensed. i felt small knots grow. the small knots are trying so hard to move into larger, hard to untie, messy knots.

so i sit here and try to take a step back. i am trying to look at it from a different point of view. so what if they have the flu? i feel terrible for them but is it the end of the world? am i any more exposed because i know them? if i was exposed, would it be okay? if jack and luke puked tonight, would i be able to handle it? are there more important things to worry about and devote my time to?  

YES there is nothing to worry about. i cannot worry about things i cannot control. worrying today does not empty me of my worries; it empties me of my strength for tomorrow. 

the knot is not gone. but at least it is not a huge one. in fact, i am not sure the knots will ever be gone but i can certainly work on making them small and easily untied :)

snapshots

the day moved quick and as it went, i felt as if i was taking mental snapshots of our family throughout the day. let me share:

a glimpse at our boys ramping pint sized toy skateboards over daddy's workout bench

jack standing over a baby bat with daddy and aunt lynda

luke, happy as a clam, "driving" uncle john's lawn tractor no where in the drive way

boys taste testing {what seemed like} 100 times turkey and ham from the sweet lady at sam's club

boys hastily putting away laundry for their daddy so they can play

a tuckered out luke fast asleep 20 seconds after getting in the car

our family {with uncle john and aunt lynda} digging into some deep dish jet's pizza in our scrubby clothes as we took a break from siding their house

boys on the couch, snuggled in with shrek on aunt lynda's big tv

me on the phone for over an hour with an old friend

the snapshots are just that--little tiny tidbits of our day. gosh what a beautiful day we have been given today. so glad we could help my sister and her hubby :)

thunder....snow?!?

crazy talk. friends it is april 19th, 2011 and we have THUNDER snow/rain/sleet/hail.  tulips should be blooming, robins should be fattening, children should be running and giggling in the fresh air. instead, we have cold snotty mist from mother nature. i know my pleasant dreams of warm air are just around the corner........

happy michigan spring :)

getting political for a minute

my letter to our mi governor, senator and representative:

I define public education as the opportunity for ALL students to receive the best education possible. Times are tough in Michigan and money is scarce but when legislators continue take away funding from our public education, not even mediocre education can be provided. I am NOT okay with providing less than the best education for ALL Michigan students. Without adequate funding, the best education is not possible.

I am a public school teacher and proud to say so. For the past nine years, I have given my non-contracted time and my own personal money to make sure that my students were getting the best education possible. Perhaps that is the problem. Perhaps too many public school teachers give freely of their own personal time and own personal money to benefit their students. Perhaps the public does not see the need for proper education funding since teachers make do with what they have at school by digging into their own pockets to supplement supplies, and resources.

I am a mother. My son Jack is a bright young man who attends Kindergarten in our local public school. Mediocre education is not okay for my child. I am a neighbor. My smart ten year old neighbors attend our local public school. Mediocre education is not okay for my neighbors. I am a friend. My friend, an intelligent and well spoken sixteen year old, attends our local public school. Mediocre education is not okay for my friends. My sons, my neighbors, my friends and OUR students in Michigan are our future. They are the citizens who will be the backbone of our democracy. They are the brains behind new inventions and innovative ways of thinking. Our students in Michigan deserve better than mediocrity; they deserve excellent public education. Without an excellent and properly funded education, how can we expect students to achieve to their potential?

Without adequate funding, our children will not receive the best education possible.

I am asking you to stop cutting public education funds. Please reinstate the funding that you propose to remove.

Please contact me with any questions, comments or concerns you have. I want to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Teresa Boyer

Resident of Greenville Public School District

Special Education Teacher at Sparta Area Schools 

here's hoping for adequate funding for K-12 education! 
i am a bit worried. i am still low-ish man on the sparta area school teacher totem pole. i am hoping for a few things.... 

for me: 
-keep a job
-no cuts for sparta as i feel our schools are already "bare bones" and have little to no room for more cuts 
-keep health insurance that is good (not free....i understand that i might need to pay for some of my health insurance but i still would like excellent coverage) 

for jack and luke and all students attending public schools: 
-quality teachers kept on staff--funding to be adequate so districts do not need to cut 
-class sizes kept small 


for all....no child left behind to be declared unconstitutional..... okay so that won't happen but  hey a girl can dream, right? :)

giddy

folks, i am getting closer to the light at the end of my "master's degree tunnel"!

7 credits starting today. a research class that is three weekends in june/july. a practicum that is self directed. a 1 credit 6 hour capstone test in may.

3 credit thesis project this fall (i.e. a HUGE paper)

then...yes this makes me giddy....then i am THERE. i will be graduated. again.

oh i am giddy :)

busy bees

we were busy bees this weekend and squeezed in a tiny bit of everything....

girl's dinner out with my mom in law and sis in law along with a shopping splurge at maurices
saturday morning bday party for luke's cute little {girl} friend jaquelyn
spring cleaning with a goodwill trip
boyer family dinner with roast and pound cake
snuggle time with our 2 month old nephew owen
farkle fun with mom and dad boyer
early morning coffee and paper
a walk in the snow (yes snow)
birthday party fun for our three year old friend dawson
time to hoe and rake part of the veggie garden
and a slow sunday night of watching Up with the boys

now to mentally prepare for a busy yet short week ahead. hope yours is a great one!

it is what it is

it is what it is. this might be another overused phrase of 2011 but today it fits well.

josh and luke were recently out and about together when luke announced that he saw uncle tom's place. josh was thoroughly confused as they were driving on highway 91 in greenville. josh looked around and was still perplexed. he told luke that they were in greenville not cadillac. luke continued to insist that they were by uncle tom's place. josh looked around again and it dawned on him. they were driving by a cemetery and in luke's mind it was uncle tom's place. josh gently reminded luke that uncle tom's place is actually in cadillac but he was right, that was a cemetery.

i can't decide if my heart grows heavy to think that my son associates the cemetery with his uncle tom or if my heart is light to know that he thinks of uncle tom and recognizes the cemetery. josh and i have never hesitated taking either boy to the cemetery to visit uncle tom (and grandma beep beep and grandpa bill). we have explained that uncle tom's body is buried but his heart has gone to heaven to be with God.

so instead of deciding if my heart is heavy or light, because it can most certainly be both--i will go with it is what it is.

bragging alert part two

luke luke oh luke. how you have grown too!

it is hard to believe that our littlest one is only a month away from turning four. it is so awesome to watch both of our boys grow and change.

luke is now writing his name :) he is so darn proud. he makes a beautiful L, U, and E and the K is mostly recognizable.... :) additionally, he can verbally spell luke!

his vocabulary is absolutely amazing. in the past few weeks, he has correctly used the words: hypothesis, echolocation, however, actually, companion....


he can count to 13...and then the teens get confusing :)  but can count up from 20 to 29, 30 to 39, etc.

he knows his basic shapes and thanks to his brother, knows the words cylinder and hexagon.

and our little lukie is our contrary child. he loves to say and do the opposite of what others want. example: luke, please count for me.... his response, "i forgot how". we are working on this...........

luke is adventurous! when we were at great wolf, he did not hesitate to go down the BIG slides and explore new areas of the park. he also was the one who slept on the top bunk! :)

he has excellent manners. when we went to the dentist the other day, dr. o mentioned several times how polite and wonderful both boys were! 

i love LOVE love love watching our children blossom!

bragging alert

yes folks. i am alerting you now. this mama is proud :)

as i sat down to write this post a few days ago, the intent was to write a note about how well jack is doing at t-ball. he is hitting well, throwing well and having fun.  days went by as my post sat unattended to and this mama is more proud than before.

sports are great and all but i am now super excited about jack's report card. those excellent academics and HARD WORK excite this nerdy mama.

jack has improved tremendously since the beginning of kindergarten in written expression. on a scale of 1-4, 4 being the best, he went from 0 in october to 4 in all areas except punctuation, spacing, and capitals (which he got a 3 this time). mrs. heether emailed me separately to tell me that he was the 2nd highest scorer in written expression for kindergarten :) go buddy!  on a side note, he continues to have poor fine motor skills. we that it is probably due to him being young for kindergarten (bday 8-15) and left handed. mrs. h has now gotten him involved in a fine motor program for hand writing :) so hopefully this helps!

his math scores were fabulous. he had one 3 but that was due to reversing a number. example: he said 21 for 12. he knows the differences but got confused. :) oh well can't be perfect all the time. his number concepts are impressive. he grasps greater than and less than very well and is even starting to get precursors to multiplication. this does not surprise me as his daddy has excellent math skills!

reading....oh this is so my favorite subject.....yes sweet reading. jack has just blossomed in this area! they do star literacy testing in his class and we were able to see the progress he has made over the year. in october, he scored about 600 (out of 900--which is still darn good) and now he is up to just over 800! he is a probable reader now (according to the parent letter). This is the highest he could get :) i can tell you from our daily life that he is reading EVERYTHING he can get his little jack paws on! we are darn proud of that kid of ours!

for behavior, he is polite and thoughtful.

we have shared the report card with jack. we talked about how proud we are. we also shared with him things we want him to keep working on. we don't want him to become complacent with where he is at. 

go jack go!

catching up

theme for my spring break (thus far)--catching up! catching up on sleep, fun and laughter but mostly catching up with FRIENDS!

friday i called one of my lovely friends from minnesota. i love that angie and i can catch up JUST LIKE THAT--nothing weird, nothing awkward, just pure friendship. i enjoyed our conversation :)

saturday we caught up with jason and met his lovely girlfriend jan.  we have known jason a long time--at the tender age of 11, while in 6th grade, jason was my boyfriend :) he sat behind me in mr.myer's math class and even brought me chocolates and a teddy bear for valentine's day. we broke it off when another fella told us we should--so 6th grade! we dated again in 9th grade and sat next to year each in mrs. niebauer's english class. but alas, we broke it off again :)  fast forward a few years, and josh moved into the picture..... and jason became his roommate at mtu! they lived together two of the four years! cracks me up still to think of that. jason was a groomsmen in our wedding and until this weekend, we had not seen him since our wedding day june 14, 2002. it was fabulous to get caught back up with jay and get introduced to his lovely long term girlfriend! she is a gem and i just loved getting to know her. they both were super sweet to the boys and it was fun to see jason as a "grown up" :) and probably weird but fun for jay to see us as parents! we have plans to see them again SOON.

sunday night we caught up with my uncle roger and aunt missy. they now live 1/2 mile down the road from my parents in my grandpa's house. when grandma and grandpa were alive, tradition was that they would come down for dinner EVERYTIME we came home--didn't matter if i was away for college, or living in minnesota or living in gowen--they always came for supper. even after grandma died, grandpa would still come down for supper and see me.  so, now that rog and missy live so close, i thought it would be nice to continue tradition and invite them for supper and they joined us :)

monday i caught up with my friend emily. i have known emily since we were just little kids. my parents owned the spot roller rink and because of that i got to know LOTS of friends:)  emily and her two sisters were regulars at the rink during the summer time. their family traveled to michigan for arts festivals as they were traveling jewelers.  the family has established a lovely jewelry shop in cadillac and have fabulous custom creations for sale and all three daughters are the owners now :)  you should totally check out their site...... okay so let me back up, em and i played a LOT together as small girls. and now through the technology of fb, i was able to reconnect with her. we have been playing scrabble on facebook for quite a while, posting small notes and even commenting on pictures so we figured, why in the heck have we not seen each other in person!?!? so on monday morning, i took the boys over to meet miss em and her two beautiful little girls. em's two boys were in school (not their spring break) but regardless, we had a fabulous time. we attended our first tea party :) the four kiddos got along great and em and i were able to catch up! it was fabulous!

monday afternoon my mom requested i go up to the nursing home she works as. she has a special resident who really wanted to see me. my 8th grade german distance learning facilitator, mrs. cannif,  now lives there and is slowly dying. my mom says mrs. cannif cannot stop talking about me and thinks the world of me so the boys and i headed up for a visit. i can honestly say i would not have recognized her. she is frail and broken. we stayed for a bit and my sweethearts of boys, even though they were slightly frightened by the tubes and such, gave her a hug and a kiss before we left.

monday night we caught up with cindy. i started watching cindy and roger's children when i was around 11 or 12 (wow seems to be a theme with friends i have visited and being around 11 or 12). i watched her two kids every summer for 7 summers and was their right hand during the school year and while traveling. cindy is a fabulous friend now :) and we had a great time catching up with her as we didn't see her at christmastime.

tuesday we headed to the cemetery and i suppose you can say we caught up with my brother. it is always bitter sweet to visit there. i find peace being there. it is quiet and pleasant. i can reflect and talk to him but the fact that i have to go there to see my always going to be 33 year old brother hurts. but alas we caught up. i also stopped by to see my grandma and grandpa there :) along with my great grandparents and great aunt. the boys love the cemetery. they see it as a place to say hi to our loved ones but really it is just a park with beautiful stones for them. i am okay with that. i love their childhood innocence. 

tuesday we met up with eric (cindy and roger's son) and toured his television station. he is definitely an entrepreneur and has had several businesses previously....yes he is only 22 or 23. now he has created mi 26. it  is a new venture for him. it was very cool to see what he is up to! :) and yes i like to think i had a hand in molding him to be such an awesome guy!

woah, that went much longer than i thought. thanks for sticking it out :) we had a fabulous time catching up with friends!!