First Halloween...

She rocked it!!!

Pumpkin Carving......

First trip to a pumpkin patch...

(First, before the pumpkin patch, the girls had two soccer games. They lost one, and then won one.) Then we went to the pumpkin patch. We took a wagon ride. We picked pumpkins. We won at the corn maze. We ate pumpkin donuts, and apple cider. And, we played in the big red barn. When we got back, my mom made Halloween sugar cookies with the girls. Then we ate sloppy joes.

Pure Joy.... And for some reason....

Pure Joy... * Every night when I put S. to bed, I kiss her cheeks, and hug her tight. She giggles, and says, "nother hug, mom," and giggles harder. I give her another hug, and more kisses on the cheeks, she coninues to giggle, "nother hug, mom." I give her another hug, and more kisses, while she laughs, her contagious child bubbly giggle. I say, "one more time." I hug her and kiss her again, all the while she is laughing. It's pure joy. * She says, "fisk," for fix. As in, "mom, can you fisk this." * She says, "rupted," for interrupted. As in, "mom, E. rupted me again." * Priceless. :) * And, for some reason, my blog will no longer let me seperate paragraphs. I try to seperate them, and indent them, then I push publish, and it all squishes together. Any suggestions on how to "fisk" that? :) :) :) * It's been a long week of teaching. Meetings everyday. Correcting non-stop. Politics from the politicians, and just about everyone else to boot. Stress. :) * Good thing for my girls. They light up my life. I love them so.

Standardized Tests

I don't like standardized tests. I don't think many people do. I really don't think they tell us much. Although, instead of moving away from them, the state, and federal government keep adding more, and more testing. They are making a self fullfilled prophecy that public schools aren't good. We have to give so many standardized tests, when are we supposed to teach. Also, tests mostly tell us whether a person is a good test taker or not, and not much else. The kids know that they are using standardized tests to evaluate teachers. A kid said to me last week, "If I do bad on this test, it just means you are a bad teacher right?" I said, "no, it can mean a lot of things. It can mean you didn't do your best, and a lot of other stuff." Then the kid just sat there, and no amount of prompting could get him to do anything. Later in the day, same kid, in study hall, I gave him his make up work, that he had zeros for, and he said to me, "are you kidding me right now?" Kids these days. :)

S. says to me, "mom, E. keeps rupting me." :) :) :)

Another thing she says, "mom please fisk it." instead of fix it.

I discovered today that the show Jessy on the Disney channel had a show about "Gotcha Days." I thought it was pretty cute. They could do even more on adoption, I think. But very cute. One of the boys was adopting from India as an older child. It just shows another way of becoming a family. It is a nice reflection of our family. I think it makes my girls feel normal. There should be shows about every kind of family on t.v. these days. There certainly are enough channels. :) It's so good for kids to see a reflection of their family. It's normalizing. It's validating. :)

I think churches focus too much on money these days. I love going to church with my girls, and meditating, and praying, and feeling closer to God. I love seeing all my church friends, going to communion, sitting quietly. All of that. I do not like being asked for money non stop. I think people give what they can. I think it makes poor people feel bad, or left out, or less than, that churches ask for money all the time.

I love the show Long Island Medium. I love Teresa. She is such a great character. She's so vivacious, and hilarious. I think, sometimes, I could be a medium. I'm not sure. I'm not sure entirely what I want to be when I grow up. A writer, a photographer, a counselor, .... So many things, so little time, when you are already a mom, and a teacher.

Jump in with two feet...

Remember your mom raising you? She probably had confidence, and know how that seemed to come from so deep inside her no one would dare doubt her. You are mom now. You have the answers to their hearts, and minds, and souls. You fix boo boos, and kill spiders, and chase away monsters in the night. You know your child better than anyone just like any other mother. It's all inside you. Just like when a couple brings a baby home from the hospital. The couple is thinking, "they are letting us leave, with this little guy, no instructions, we just get to go?" Looking over their shoulders hesitantly, waiting for the nurse to run out with the rule book, they put their new born in the car seat, and head for home. Then, what do they do, they jump right in, two feet. This is our kid, our time, and we know our baby, and her needs better than anyone else in the whole world. They never look back to that moment of walking out of the hospital, they deal with the here and now all of it, one foot in front of the other. She's mom, he's dad, the end. And so it is with adoption. This little guy, or gal has been waiting for you. For your love, your guidance, your hugs, your kisses, your gifts, your mistakes, your assets, and your motherly love, advice, essence. Jump in. You are their fearless leader. Don't act like this little person is a visitor, or an exchange student, or a distant neice. This is your child, you are mom, so make them behave, hug them, feed them, cuddle them, gaze at them lovingly. Be all things mom, just like your mom,only maybe even better. I don't know if that makes sense, but I just decided early on that it wasn't fair to E., or S., if I gave S. a "grace" period, of "special" rules, and "special" treatment, only to have her wake up a year from now, and be held accountable for all the rules. So, I jumped right in. I hugged her, kissed her cheeks, rocked her, read to her, picked her up. I put her in time out when needed, lectured her when needed, and taught her things she needed to know. It's worked for me. And I know, it's not always that easy, but... That's why we have God, and our moms, and our grandmas to ask for advice, and our friends to vent to, books to read, and if needed counselors to go to. But the most important thing, I think, is not treating the newly adopted child somehow like an outsider, but instantly knowing, and letting them know, they are family. They are in a family, part of a family, and they belong, just like every other child in the house.

Bonding...

I think bonding is almost the same as bonding with a baby, no matter how old your child is. Co-sleeping is a really great way to bond, if you can handle little feet in your face, and an occasional elbow to the stomach. I can't, unfortunately, co-sleeping drives me crazy. However, I love rocking my girls. I read to them, and rock them every night. It is definitely time well spent. When a baby comes home from the hospital, the mother nurses, and rocks the baby, only the mother. So, when your child first comes home, it is the parents that should meet all their needs. If they want something to eat or drink, it is one of the parents who should full fill that need. The same with boo boos, or fears, the parent should sooth those worries. And cuddle time, is so important. Whether it's on the couch while watching t.v., or in a big over stuffed chair while reading, or co-sleeping. Cuddle time is so important to bonding. When it's a new baby, it's just natural to hold them, and stare at them, and admire their perfect cuteness, well, the same should be true for your newly adopted child. You need it, as much as they do. Also, it's not going to hurt them, to let them regress a little. If they need their bottle, or their diapers longer than expected, don't freak out, they've been through a lot. I'm sure they won't go to kindergarten with a bottle, and diapers. Just let them have the comfort of being a baby a little longer if they need it. It won't hurt them, and it will probably help them, and you. I guess that's all I've got for now. ;) Take care. :)

Parent Teacher Conferences for my girls...

My girls rocked it. E. is in 3rd grade, and reading at a 6th grade level. Plus, super smart in math, and every other subject. S. is in Kindergarten, and reading at the level she is supposed to be at by winter. So, she's a little ahead too, in all subjects. I'm so proud.

Packing For Travel...

When traveling to pick up your child, talk to people with children the same age as your child you are picking up. Ask them what they would bring for their child of that same age on a trip around the world. :) * you will need age appropriate toys. * clothes. * child friendly, age appropriate snacks. * blankies. * shoes. * diapers. * pull ups. * wipes. * crayons. * color books. * fruit leather. * granola. * lice treatment. * bottles. * sippy cups. * baby food. * paperwork. * stroller. * baby carry front pack. * back packs for carry ons,so your hands are free to take care of your child. * baggies for snacks, and possibly dirty diapers, if needed. * Infant / child thermometer. * Infant / child tylenol. * Infant / child cough syrup. * diaper rash ointment. * powder. * sunscreen. * deep woods off, keep away misquitoes. * pictures of close family, and friends to show your child. * hair bows, and jewelry for little girls. * brushes, combs. * nail clippers. * tie a colorful ribbon to the handle of your luggage, so you can spot it. * stuffed animals. * mini computer or tablet, makes communication easy. * cameras, video camera, regular camera. * take tons of pictures, you probably won't be back for a long time. * buy stuff from your child's country to put around your house. Enjoy your trip. It's a magical time. Any questions. Just ask.

Gandhi's birthday....

* It's Gandhi's birthday today. I've always been a big fan of Gandhi. I mean, who isn't, right? :) * Being that he is a national hero in India, and it is a national holiday in India, today we celebrate it. :) With cake, of course. :) Gandhi is on all of the money in India. Well, he's everywhere. Everyone loves Gandhi in India, well, and around the world. * In class today, I talked about how Gandhi invented peaceful non-violent protest. And, how he used it to help South Africa get equality. And, then he used peaceful protest to help his own people back in India get rid of British rule. Martin Luther King Jr studied Gandhi, and used his non-violent protest methods in the civil rights movement. * Gandhi was a wise peaceful man. He was shot in his backyard one evening, when he went out to his garden to pray. * I showed the students pictures of him, and I showed students many of his quotes. His most famous being, "be the change you wish to see in the world." I love that quote. He is so wise. * After I told my students that, I asked them to journal a half of a page. I told them they can write a reflection about Gandhi in anyway they wanted to. Then I gave them some ideas. They could respond to, "what did you think," "what did you feel," "what did you notice," "what did you connect with," "what did you realize," or interpret the quote. They could answer any one of these questions, all of them, or any combination of them that they wanted. Or they could write in their own way about Gandhi. * 1st hour, one student, "why are we learning about Gandhi?" * Me, "I told you at the beginning remember? It's because we are studying memoir, and it is Gandhi's birthday. And, I just thought it would be someone interesting to talk, and write about for the memoir unit." * Same student, "I don't get it, I don't know anything about him." * Me, "remember, we just talked about it. He invented peaceful non-violent protest to help South Africa, and India. Martin Luther King Jr used his methods in the civil rights movement." * Same student, "I don't get why we are talking about him. Why is he important?" * Me, "He created peaceful non-violent protest." * Same student, "I still don't get it. Why are we talking about Gandhi again?" * Me, "it's his birthday, and we are in the memoir unit." * Same student, "what? I still don't get it." * Me, "well, why don't you write down all the questions you have in your journal?" * Student, "I hate this class. This is so stupid." * Ahhhhhh. That was just one student though, well, it might have been 2 or 3 different kids by the end of the day, that said similar things. But, the majority of the kids said some really cool stuff in their journal. Oh man, kids, gotta love em. :) And I do. :) * Then with the family, we had dinner, and cake. Gandhi cake. Gotta love it. :)