Progress Reports and Reality Check

The boys both got progress reports yesterday.  Joshua's was good in most things, excellent in some, with a compliment from his teacher on his kindness.  Considering he had a few notes from the teacher about his lack of focus and attention (which threw me for a loop!), I was thankful for this good report.  His teacher also sited that he was "becoming a strong reader."  Thanks for that news flash:)


And then there's Gray.  Well his report was okay in most things and "improving" in several things.  Areas like being quiet during instruction, following classroom procedures, paying attention, etc. are a bit of a challenge.  HIs teacher noted that he was talking and touching other students a lot during carpet time.  Matt has noted that during his CrossFit Kids enrichment, he is sitting in other's kids seats and laps, head butting other children, and trying to pick other kids up.  So I wasn't too surprised with his teacher's observations.  Think he wants to be a bit of a clown:)  She did say she thinks in time he will improve and that he does much better at table time and is great at working with other kids.  When we met her a few weeks ago, she told us how "bright" he was, but that he liked to pretend he's not so he didn't have to work hard.  Yep.

So here's the reality check.  My kids are not perfect or even close.  They are going to have behavior challenges (gasp!) at school!  Why is this hard for me to come to terms with?  Well, I was a very quiet child who was mortified to even have a teacher call me down.  I can remember all two times that it happened:)  I once left my notebook at home in 4th grade and cried my eyes out in my teacher's arms.  A 'B' was a bad grade for me.  So I had this illusion that since my school record was practically spotless, our children would be just as well-behaved when they are in class.

Why isn't excellence happening here?  Well I think it's not that there's any flaw in my perfect parenting skills, but clearly because the boys have 2 parents and they have more of their father's genes than mine:)

Okay, really, I am probably missing the boat in motivating them to better self-control and respect of their teachers.  Also, they are not as shy as I was.  Also, they are boys.  Also, they are normal.

So I'm trying to come to grips with what will probably be a recurring issue as the boys go through school.  Trying not to make it a bigger deal than it is.  Trying to want what is best for them and not what is best for me.  Trying to see how and when to correct and teach and help.  Trying to give them space to figure it out and to give God time to work.

Thankful for my sweet, funny, smart boys--even if they do give their Mama a few little headaches!

And Friends Are Friends Forever...

Conversation with Gray after school today:

Gray:  Someone on the playground asked if I wanted to be friends today.

Me:  Oh wow!

Gray:  And I did.  And I said yes.  And I have other friends too that I already told you about but I don't know if you heard me.

Me:  Yes, I remember the first day you thought you would make Drew your friend but you weren't sure yet.  So who is your new friend?

Gray:  Uh.  I don't know his name and I don't know whose class he is in.

So there you go...think they are pretty close buddies!  I can just picture the whole scene, can't you?  Gotta love kindergarten friendships!

Can't wait to see Gray in action first hand next month, as I'll be in his class a few times to monitor lunch and also driving him and a few other kids to their first field trip at the pumpkin patch:)

This and that

Nothing too exciting going on here, but we have been without our computer this week and just busy with day to day stuff.  More later, but here are a few pictures for now.  Matt had some guys over from church to drink beer and play corn hole (sounded really spiritual out there:) ) and the kids and I watched a Lion King movie (version 1 1/2--pretty cute).  Wanted to capture their bedtime kisses for Julia, but the pictures I got weren't as sweet as it is in person.  Love the love, even if it's rare some days!

Let's Play Ball!

What a beautiful day!  We enjoyed bike riding and ball playing yesterday.

 Julia was given this bike by a friend and she loves it!  She doesn't know how to do the pedals, so I basically escort her around while she sits on her throne.  She has made comments such as, "I'm turning into a princess!" and "Mommy, remember when I didn't know how to ride a bike?" as I drag her around the culdesac, sometimes stopping to push her feet to make the pedals go. Not much progress yet, but she's having so much fun!

 Julia is really into "Jesus Loves Me" the bunny, who plays that song.  She'll talk about "waking Jesus Loves Me up in her big girl bed" and "taking Jesus Loves Me on a walk."  So funny.

Somebody's been watching her brothers and wants to play too!   But how does a girl learn to catch?

Like this?

 Or maybe like this?

 Oh!  Now I get it!!

 Yay, it works!  (actually this picture is deceptive...it really bounced off her hands)

Don't Wake Up Mama!

Julia loves this "5 Little Monkeys" book about making Mama a birthday cake.  She can even "read" some of it accurately on her own.  She enjoyed reading it with Matt tonight...

 "I'm going to let you read this book, Daddy"

"Hmm, every time I read this I just get a different perspective.  So intriguing!"

"Shh!  Don't wake up Mama!  That's the funny part, Daddy."

"Oh, Daddy, I love you even more than I love this book!"

"Now, please tell me how wonderful I am!"

Hmm, looks like someone else wants to read...

Happenings of this past week

More picture taking at home...

 and at the gym, where we went for a Saturday workout.  You can barely see that we added some "motivation" words to the color blocks on the black wall too.

 And I painted some more quotes on the walls.

 We babysat Pogo.

 Read a lot, as usual.  I think Joshua's thinking in this picture, "Wonder how I can convince Mommy to let me have a pet fox."

 We did a lot of puzzles (Julia is becoming interested in that now) and cleaned some out to send to Joshua's class.  Since she hasn't taught in 7 years, she's low on classroom supplies.

 And we took a few pictures of me and the boys for a project Matt's dad is working on.  We did have any in the last 2 years of just me and them!  

 Also, I got this new dress in the mail from my sisters!  And it was one I had seen and really liked but didn't tell anyone!  It's really soft and comfortable and it's from the global girlfriends site.  Some handicapped women in India who would have no way to provide for themselves otherwise made the dress, so to me that makes it so special.

And more pictures at home.  We have butterflies everywhere lately and Gray found this one and wanted me to take a picture.

Lots in store for this week!  Gray was sick last week with a cough and emailed his teacher to tell her.  He was so thrilled to get a reply from her!  And this morning, he was so excited to wake up and go back to school...except it's Sunday!  He will get to go on a field trip this week to kick off their "All about me" class project.  He's also starting "enrichments" on Monday, which means when their school gets out early, he'll go to another special drama class and then he'll go to the CrossFit Kids class that Matt is teaching.

Also my Bible Study is starting back up this week and we have a few more meetings, plus trying to get some more painting done and Kids' Night Out on Friday!  Going to be a full week.  Hope you all have a good one!

A Camera & a Painting

After much deliberation, sale-watching, & research, we finally bought a new camera...a nice one, thanks to a great deal on amazon.  I am such an amateur but I can already tell a huge difference in the detail and quality.  We're hoping to get some better shots for the gym, since our camera does a poor job in action and low-lighting scenarios.  Here are a few pictures I got so far:

Sweet Girl!  She has been so happy lately.  She's been a super good sport too, hanging out a lot at the gym with no trouble, aside from peeing on the floor:)  Matt and I took her out to lunch today and she had so much fun getting our undivided attention!

 Zinnias are one of my favorite flowers and these that I planted just took off this summer.  They are so easy to grow!

 Love the variation in size and color that you get with this flower.

 Playing with the dodge balls, the kids' favorite thing at the gym

 Just testing out the camera a little bit

 Not quality picture taking, but can't you just imagine him with a cape?!

 Just showing how detailed this camera gets in the close ups...and the faded background is neat too.

So yesterday, I finally got around to that gym mural.  I was pleased with being able to finish it in one day and I think it turned out just fine...not perfect by any means, as I am not a perfectionist AND I was painting on a brick wall, which was a challenge.  Now Matt's wondering which walls I will tackle next....

In other news, everything else is just chugging right along.  Matt's busy at the gym and we are thankful for some new members lately.  Joshua is still enjoying school and doing well.  He seems to be putting a little more effort into his work this year so far...at least he was much more focused on his homework than he used to be.  Gray is loving school.  On Friday he told me, in anticipation of his next school day on Tuesday, "Mommy I hope right after I wake up on Tuesday I don't die!"  And this morning he said, "I can't wait for tomorrow, for my 4th day of kindergarten!"  We are trying to get the endless carpool line time managed between the two schools, but it's just long.  The worst thing to me is just wasting gas puttering along for 20 minutes through the line.  Wish it was more efficient, but hopefully it will get better and really hoping next year we are ready and able to settle on one school for both boys.

That's all for now!  Have a good rest of the week!