Dharma v Greg

Do you remember the show Dharma & Greg? I loved that show, it never got old laughing at uptight Greg and crazy, off the wall Dharma. Clint always said I was like Dharma but I always feel like ultraconservative Greg. If you haven't seen it, or haven't seen it in a while, pull up a chair and watch a few episodes on youtube.

Anyway, tonight was one of those Dharma moments. I had an overwhelming "need" to see stars. Not just the few you can spot if you don't look directly at the street lights, but real live, millions of stars, so many that you really can't pick out the constellations because the others get in the way. About 8:00p I decided to throw the kid in the car and took off up the 15. After about an hour, we pulled off the freeway, and about 2 miles down a dark 2 lane road, Sierra something or other road. We pulled over in a turn off, turned off the car and the lights and suddenly it was dark! For a moment scary dark, Shaun was a little nervous. We got out of the car, shut the door, and suddenly there they were, in all their glory. It wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, there was still a lot of glow from behind the hills and cars passing by on occasion. Shaun was thrilled to see a shooting star and amazed at all the rest of them.
As we stood there, we talked about this incredible world and universe that Heavenly Father created for us. We listened to crickets-soooo many of them-and it seemed almost as if the stars twinkling made the sound. I haven't made it to the Temple since Shaun came home. Being there, surrounded by Creation, even with occasional interruptions, I found that moment I needed, just to commune. I needed that "place apart" the way the Temple is, just to think, appreciate, and talk to Him and feel His love.
We sat there about a 1/2 hour and then turned around and drove home. That was all we needed, a moment to appreciate and to feel, and then back to "civilization" and all it's neon lights.

There was one light I appreciated. Off the 91, a bright red one on the side of a building. I have often said that there are certain things that if Heavenly Father wants me to do them he needs to send me Angels and a neon sign telling me this is the path to take. Well, I haven't seen any Angels, but I have felt the Holy Ghost, and tonight there was a bright red neon sign. We'll see how it goes.

I still want to go "real" camping before it gets too cold. Maybe two weeks from last night. I'll go out Fri and come back Sat. So, I have a chance to "dance among the stars and sing within the heavens". Anyone want to join me?

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Just reading in this months ensign. This line really hit me. As we might be a little worried about the problems of this world we can remember that we should turn inward, turn toward our homes for solutions.

…strong homes of love and peace will bring security to any nation.

my baby and his first day back at school.

Shaun's school publishes the list of who is in which class on the evening before school starts, after 5 pm. It is the easiest way to curb parent complaints. I was less than thrilled that Shaun will have the teacher as last year.
She is the same woman that told me it was too much work for her to come up with level appropriate work for him so he would have to deal with it and accept being bored in class and with homework. (Imagine a not very happy mom) She then proposed to send home extra homework that is closer to his level but still require him to do the regular HW as well. (find me any child who is willing to do twice the HW). His problem is not solved by harder worksheets but he needs more opportunities to think and discover but at the same content level. Higher grades often have content not appropriate for younger children, so it has to be very well done to incorporate both, but not beyond what several other children in his grade need as well.

He is thrilled to have his same teacher because he doesn't have to change, there is no worry about the "unknown" of having a new teacher. She is in a new classroom in order to fit all 35 kids in a class. At least there are only 35 of them and not 43 which is how many they had in one classroom that I substituted at his school last year.
After some grumbling and pouting and considering switching schools, I think the best choice for now is to do it myself. I am not sure what we are going to do about his regular homework, but I am going to teach him at home too. Long ago, my mom gave me a book that lists the international standards for each grade in each subject. By third grade they are a half year to a full year ahead of CA standards depending on the subject. Shaun is supposed to read for a half an hour each day so I figure instead of reading stories/novels like we have in the past, we will focus on the history/ social studies/ science subjects so he can catch up there. I started a blog for him that I hope will help him with his dysgraphia. It is not something that he can get rid of but it is something he can manage to overcome. I learned to write and so can he. Daily (or often) posts should help and give me a better understanding of where he really has problems and how to manage and overcome them. Math may just have to wait until the weekends. I think this is the year that they get to take text books home, so we'll just have to work ahead and then find "real world applications" to keep him interested and for him to really get it, not just do it and forget it.
I'm hoping that we'll be able to pull this off and I won't feel so overwhelmed making sure he really is having his needs met.
I guess I am afraid he will have to go through what I went through in school-hours, days, and weeks of boredom and then because I wasn't listening because I was bored I missed learning stuff I actually should have known. I don't want him to get to college with no study habits and not the slightest idea how to really prepare for a test. He is so smart and I want him to be prepared when he finishes school, not like me, wandering around still deciding what to be when I grow up. I want the best for him, he really is a great kid, and too smart for his own good, or mine. :)

I can't take them Anywhere!

We were on our way to see X-games 3D and had an hour to kill but no dinner yet so I suggested Costco. Have I mentioned how much I love feeding 4 people for $8 and I don't have to cook! We had about 15 min left until we needed to head to the theater so I started shooting pictures.

Boy full of pizza shot

Deer in Headlights shot.

I'm too sexy for my pizza shot.
(while T hides under the table)

She won't let me take her picture, unless, of course, I'm going to take a picture of her sister and then it is her duty as a little sister to ruin each and every shot. Funny how little sisters everywhere are always the same!
This is sooooo characteristic of these two. T is hopping into the middle of Shaun's picture and he is pushing her away. It doesn't matter what these two do together it is T being goofy and Shaun trying to get rid of her. (unless they are playing alone and then they actually get along, shhhhh it's a secret)

Me, the crazy parent who runs this 3 ring circus.

I wear my sunglasses at night (oh, sorry, 80's flashback)

Me related to them, no, it couldn't be true.

Too much fun for one mom to handle!

childhood tragedy

Today we went to a friends bday party at Pump it up, a warehouse full of bounce houses for the kids to go crazy on. Shaun had a blast, plus pizza, plus cake, plus goody bags. In Shaun's bag was a bouncy ball. The string it was attached to unattached within minutes, Shaun improvised by using a piece of paddle shaped card board to bounce it off of. On the way home he was holding it out the window and SURPRISE he dropped it and bye bye, no more cardboard. I figured, no big deal, it's not like it was his shoe or hat or something important, it was a piece of cardboard trash.
About 15 min. later as we are nearing home I hear soft sobs coming from the back seat. "I want my paddle! I'm so sad I dropped it." I am fairly sure that the sobs had a lot to do with the fact that he stayed up late Saturday, playing with his dad, and Sunday, because his flight didn't even get in until 8:40pm, and Monday, because his cousins were here and they never get to sleep when they are together. He cried himself to sleep on the couch, laying in my lap while I worked on this blog. Tomorrow is another day, hopefully we'll find a new paddle.
Don't feel too sorry for him. After getting his picture taken, the 85 lb sleeping child got a free ride to bed courtesy of mom the amazing pack mule, able to lift dead weight and carry it to the far side of the house in a single bound.

Shaun is Home

Shaun came home from his dad's house Sunday Evening. We didn't have much time to hang out before bed time and then up again early in the morning for me to get to work. Monday evening we had cousins over for dinner and as you can see, things tend to get a little crazy around here.

Yes, the 11 year old does have cheese and sour cream all over her face. Who in charge here?

All evening I couldn't get over how much Shaun has grown and how much he looks like my brother. Of course, he wouldn't cooperate to take a picture so lots of candid "Hey Shaun" moments.

Another picture of the "So Mature" 11 yr old spitting water all over because she was laughing so hard. I wanted to see it come out her nose but she wouldn't let me take that picture.
T hasn't learned better yet, Aunt Shauna always gets her photos! There is no escape.
Hard to believe that a short while later all 3 of them were calmly sitting in the living room for Family Home Evening. We have been learning lessons from two books about the prophets when they were boys. It is a good reminder that even small things we teach our kids make a big difference when they grow up and for the kids, seeing how important it is to keep the commandments and read the scriptures even as munchkins, they really are never too young!

Hummingbirds

One calm Sunday afternoon, Shaun and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. When suddenly a hummingbird nearly ran us down. We dodged left and right and it swooped up and away. Only then did we notice that our neighbors have feeders and that there were several (about 8) hummingbirds coming to feed there.
So, like any good weekend photographer I pulled out my trusty, really old, pretty slow camera and shot away. There's a problem when you combine a very fast bird with a very slow camera and that is that you have to anticipate where the bird is going to be several seconds ahead of time. With hummingbirds this is nearly impossible. Here is the fruit of my labors. I took pictures for 15 minutes before they noticed that two people were standing on the sidewalk taking pictures of their house for over 15 min and started to get paranoid and close blinds. We left before they could call the cops to arrest us for photographing the air around where birds should have been.