School

The boys started school last week on Wednesday. Our youngest came home in tears asking if he was smart. Apparently their "old" school uses a reward system with cards based on the kids grade pt average. He is only 10 and it totally broke his heart. They handed out said cards in an assembly to all the kids in the school. With each card they get to do more stuff. He got the low card. Kids who got a grade point average of 3.75 to 4.0 got to do more stuff. Like go to lunch early, get homework passes, computer lab pass, library pass, and something else I cannot remember. This school district moved the 5th grade over to the JR. high. Anyway~~~~my husband and I were outraged over this. Basically the school is labeling the kids. Everyday they have to carry around this card and it says what they can and cannot do. It was crazy! So, we spoke with the principal and the superintendent over this deal. They are in agreement that it is a good reward system. That it makes the kids work harder. That is far from the truth.....a lot of the kids don't like it. One kid told me what about the kids who never get a white, red, or black card. What about the kids who don't learn like the rest of use. This was coming from a 11 year old. Here he is concerned about the slower kids. Sigh~~~pretty darn sad to me.

So, we pulled our boys out of that school district and put them in a new one yesterday. What a change that was! My kids came home happy. My youngest was thrilled to have one teacher. He was excited about making new friends. My oldest thought that it was cool that he gets to play softball. YEAH! When I went to go get him for his physical he was out in the field learning how to march for band! How about that!! I am already excited for both of them. Both of their teachers seem super nice!

On the home front: we are starting to strip wallpaper from our home office. Egads! What a mess. It's amazing how many layers of wallpaper there were on our walls. I think 6 or 7. Our home is 104 years old and our walls are plaster and lath. We are just about there. They even wallpapered the ceiling. Once we get that stripped off the ceiling we will be ready to spackle the walls, prime, then paint. then we will do it all over again to the living room. Except in there we are removing paneling. That will be a major job because we are wanting to raise the ceiling again. Whoever lived here before us lowered the ceiling. So, we have a big job ahead of us. Enough for now. I need to look for a job now. I need all the luck I can get.

Sad

I was terribly sad yesterday. I got a call from my mom...D wanted to come home. He is homesick. It's been raining there since Monday. I told him if he wanted to come home anytime he could. So we will be leaving on Sat to go get them. That means that we will have spent almost $400 in gas to drop them off and pick them up. Sigh~~~~~~Damn gas!!!

Anyhow.....I had a nice week with out the boys. It was quite. Except for the dogs. Chevy has been into chewing more things. Lets see this week he has chewed up:

My new book I've been reading
Stuffed Animals
Kitchen hand towels
My bra( WTF!)
Brand new harness for him

We provide him with all sorts of stuff for him to chew on. He has plenty to chew on. We walk him and he plays with Penny. They chase each other around the house and around the yard. I cannot imagine that he does not have enough to do. Pent up energy? Who knows......

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Summer Fun

The boys are so excited about going to Mars Academy this weekend. They are going to have a blast. They get to stay in the dorms at the college. They'll learn cool stuff about Mars. Alex is really thrilled. This is like a dream come true for him. He loves anything that has to do with science. Dakota is excited also....he's never been to a sleep away camp. He'll be fine...I'm sure of it.

The last two weeks of July they will be off to my mom and dad's. They have so much fun there. It hard being away from them for so long but it'll be ok. We need this.....it's good for them and it's good for us. Last year mom and dad planned a Spring day. That is where they went and looked at the natural springs in the towns that are near to them. Dad took them to a water park. I think he even got wet. This year they asked if they could stay weeks instead of one. They love being with my folks. I love it to. It's a chance to get to see them and get to know them. It's so hard because they live so far away. This is a time in the boys life that they will never forget. I love it and I am gld mom and dad can provide this opportunity for them.

Summer

Summer is here and we are in full swing of things. The Fourth of July is just right around the corner. Not sure what we will be doing.... J invited some new friends over to swim and hang out. It'd be nice to meet new people. I need something new in my life. Not quite sure what it is.... new job? New friends? New anything would be nice.

The boys have been having a fantastic time in the pool. The first day we got it up and going all they could say was Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! It was so nice to hear that. I've got terrific kids!

Changes

Haven't posted in a while. It's been totally crazy around our house. I turned in my 2 weeks at work. It needed to be done. I just got tired of the headache there. 2 days before my last day my mom calls to tell me that my grandmother only has 48 hours to live. So, we loaded up and headed to MO. We made it there in time for her to recognize us. She passed away on Sunday morning. The service was on Monday morning and we left for home shortly there after.

J is making a bunch of changes with his work. He has gone into a heating and air franchise. He was gone a week in April for training. That week didn't go well for me. I am not used to him being away. My good friend at work got fired. Then I had some issues at work and at home. On my drive home from work all I could do was cry. That is when I had the Ah ha moment that I need to quit my job.

So, you know what? I am so totally ready to be at home awhile. I'm sure I'll go insane but that's ok. I'd rather be crazy than work there anymore. So, if anybody really reads this....I am looking hard for a job. I am very talented. I can just about anything, I am creative, and I can do a bunch of other stuff. Just ask me and I'll tell ya. LOL

A is going to babysit for his aunt this summer. I hope that goes well. It kind of scares me. One, I cannot believe that he will be 12 and two, that he will be old enough to do that. D will be home with me. They didn't want to play ball this summer. That was fine with me. I'm a big pusher of the sports thing. If they want to they can if they don't that's ok, too. J and I have been thinking about motocross. That is something I think they would enjoy.

Anyway...I am going to try to keep up with this blog thing this summer. Wish me luck!!

Happy Birthday

My birthday is only 3 days away. I'll be 37. 37!!! My son's birthday is tomorrow. He'll be 10. I remember being 10. No cares, no worries.....the only thing to worry about is wanting to go out and play outside. I would love to be that kid again. Playing in the dirt. That was my favorite thing to do at 10. Yup, I was a muddy buddy. I'd play for hours out by our mulberry tree. Making little towns. My mom has a picture of me and this kid in a big hole of mud. I have the biggest smile on my face.
Now, I can not stand being in the dirt. It's amazing what a little maturity will do. If I do dig in the dirt I have my gardening gloves on so I don't get my hands dirty. My question is this...."When do we as adults stop playing in the dirt?" I mean, what makes us stop enjoying life? We get so wrapped up in work, home stuff, kid school stuff and life we forget what it means to have fun. I want to have fun! I want to enjoy my life as if I were 10 again. Looking at things with young eyes. Seeing how a 10 year old would see things. Wouldn't that be fun? Now, when my birthday comes in 3 days I'll be excited about turning 37. What is age anyway?

Car Wash for the Soul

By Mary Lou Rosien

At the end of a long, dirty winter, we like to pile the children into our car and go to the car wash. The children find it thrilling, a little scary, and really cool! It reminds me a little of the need to go to confession regularly. None of us wants the dirt and salt to destroy our cars, and yet, do we think about our souls in the same way?

Do we allow sin to build up and destroy the beauty of God’s grace and life within us? My family has found that making the Sacrament of Reconciliation a family affair can be like the car wash, thrilling, sometimes a little scary, and really cool!

1. “The family that prays together, stays together.” Receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation brings our family closer together. We confess our shortcomings to the priest, seek forgiveness, offer contrition, and are absolved of our sins. We find it is easier then to ask for forgiveness from the other members of our family.

2. We are strengthened by Actual Grace and renewed by Sanctifying Grace. Actual Grace helps us to make good choices and strengthens us against the temptations of sinful behavior. Sanctifying Grace brings God’s life back into our souls. We are then united to Him. When we go to Reconciliation as a family, it unites us all to the Lord and thereby to one another.

3. We develop good habits. Going to confession can be a little scary at first, but like anything else, if we do it often, it becomes comfortable. As role models to our children, we have an obligation to demonstrate appropriate behavior. Frequent confession can help them attain heaven. This way, they see the Sacrament as a normal part of Catholic life.

Frequent confession also helps us to develop and maintain an informed conscience. Think about it this way, if a child misbehaves and is not held accountable, she will think her incorrect behavior is acceptable. So it is with humans of all ages and sin.

4. We are made strong by putting on our armor against a world full of temptation. I see confession as a gift. It is waiting for all of us, to strengthen us against the evils of the world. Yet, many of us kick the gift under the couch like Aunt Fannie’s Christmas fruit cake. We ignore it, put off opening it, fear it, and some even resent it. I have heard, “Why do I have to tell a priest my sins? I can just tell God I am sorry.” In Reconciliation, our contrition is made perfect. We are assured forgiveness, and we are reminded to thank God for it. This helps us grow in humility and decrease in pride. We are not, “telling our sins to a priest.” The priest is taking the visible place of Christ; Christ is there. We can also receive wonderful guidance to help us overcome our sinful behavior. The world is filled with good and evil. We need all the strength and wisdom available to us to continue on the path of holiness.

5. Accountability helps us to change behavior. Nothing inspires us to change our behavior better than having to give someone an update on how much progress (or lack of it) we are making. God gave each of us the particular weakness we have. He knows our struggles and He loves us for trying to grow in holiness past them. If every month (suggested), or week (wonderful) or year (required according to Church law, Catechism 1457) we have to account for our actions, we may be better inclined to try to change wrong behavior.

6. The Sacrament of Reconciliation saves marriages and family relationships. A wise priest told me once that when one person in a marriage sins, the effects are felt by both, because they truly are one. Troubled marriages can be healed, good marriages made great, and great marriages can find the strength to endure the difficulties that even great marriages must endure. As we are reconciled to the Lord, we are reconciled to one another.
So the next time we are at church and see all those shiny, clean cars in the parking lot, we may ask ourselves — Is my soul as clean as my car?

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Mary Lou Rosien writes from North Chili, NY.