Hey, we could sell that!

Today we went to my parents' house to help Mom, though, truth be told, the only help we had to give her was fixing lunch! She's getting around really well.

Last night Bethany asked why we were going.
Me: To help Mammaw while Poppaw plays golf.
B: Oh, yeah, and if a robber broke in Mammaw couldn't move fast enough.
Me (stifling a laugh): That's true. Plus we need to help her with the leg bending machine.
B: Why can't Poppaw do that before he leaves?
Me: Well, she can't stay attached to it for the whole time he's gone. That would be 6 hours or so.
Nat: That's how long she's SUPPOSED to stay on it.
Me (proud of her for listening & knowing that fact): Yes, but not all at one time!

Today we were there & as I picked up the table for lunch, I threw away a tissue. I asked first if it was Mom's & if she needed it. "Just throw it away. You can't keep it!" she teased. So I asked the girls (just feeling ornery) if they wanted an autographed tissue from Mammaw. Girls, "It's not autographed." I told them it was autographed by her nose.

Later Bethany pipes up, "If Mammaw were really famous, we could sell her SNOTOGRAPH on the internet and make money!" Ha! ha! I asked where she heard that word. B, "Oh, I just made it up." SNOTOGRAPH! I have to remember that next time I blow my nose.

Tonight we have sleepover guests. It's spring break here so the kids who go to school can sleep over during the week. Really, though, WHY is it called a SLEEP over or SLUMBER party? We all know THAT ain't happening any time soon! I am attempting to calm them down with "light's out & watch a movie." That has become lights out & we'll "pictochat" on our DS's, while talking to each other. HUH? Back in the day that would have been like writing notes to each other while talking. Soon it will be DS's off. Maybe by 3 or so they'll fall asleep!

As for me, I worked on Easter dresses today. I have a piece of Natalie's in my lap. I was on my way to the sewing machine when my ADHD kicked in & here I am!

Good night!

Do you LOL?

Do you really Laugh Out Loud when you put LOL? Or do you just think it's funny in your head & laugh? It would look really weird to put LIMH (laughing in my head), I suppose.

Do you ever call your husband "dh"? Do you ever mean something other than "dear" when you type, "dh, dd, ds, etc."

Have you ever referred to your mother-in-law IRL as MIL? Do you ever say "IRL" in real life?

Have you ever really LOLPIMPRDML? Laughed out loud peeing in my pants running down my legs? Yes, I've really seen that!

OOOOOOH, how about this? Have you ever ROFLOL? Really, have you ever rolled on the floor when you were laughing out loud?

AND, do you have any interest specific of these abbreviations? For example: PC (Pampered Chef), EAD (Easy Accent Decorator), USG (Ultimate Slice & Grate, but now it's the Ultimate Mandoline). Or for stamping: SU (Stampin' Up), SCS (splitcoaststampers), PE (Pearl-Ex), EP (Embossing powder), or WWC (wonderful watercolor crayons). And, my favorite: AS, ASD, dx, rx, PDDNOS, pdoc, NT.......otherwise known as Asperger Syndrome, Austims Spectrum disorder, diagnosis, prescription, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (that's what they say when they can't QUITE call the child autistic & it stinks because insurance generally won't pick up charges for kids who are PDDNOS), psychiatrist/psychologist, Neuro-Typical (this is the "normal" person---HA! Is there a normal?).

I think my all time favorite of these acronyms is TTFN: Tigger's ta-ta for now! But, it makes me laugh because a dear friend (or is that DF) didn't know what it meant. This friend lives with 3 boys in her life (her dh & ds's!), so she thought this meant: Time to f-a-r-t now! LIMH!

GTG. BBL. TTFN (the Tigger kind, not my friend's).

Happy Birthday to me, I live in a.....

Wait a minute! Zoo doesn't rhyme with me! Oh, well.

Today is my 25th birthday. Again. My niece & I are the same age now! LOL! Okay, so maybe I wasn't born 25 years ago, or even 30 years ago, but it is my birthday.

I got to sleep really late today. I woke up & Natalie greeted me with a big, "Happy Birthday" & a hug. Bethany was coerced into doing the same. She has figured out how to send cards from sites like Barbie.com, so she sent me 2 cards. She asked what her e-mail address was. I had to tell her she didn't have one, so she sent it from "Beth@google.com" which was pretty creative! Then Natalie gave me a scarf that she knifty knitted (under the pretense that it was for her!) and also 2 beautiful beaded bracelets. I must say the girl has better fashion sense than I do!

I've been cleaning in the kitchen. I know, I know, it's not a birthday kind of thing to do. However, my oven has been fuming the last few times we used it, so I sprayed it with caustic oven cleaner last night that had me gagging. I wiped it down & it needed more spray, so now we are all choking, or just avoiding the kitchen. I'd tried a more "gentle" cleaner but it didn't do the job. Plus it made my food taste like what I think cleaner must taste like (I have no personal experience, for the record). Phil sent me an hilarious e-card and has offered to REALLY clean the kitchen. I'm doing the top surface stuff. He says he will actually make counter space for me. THAT would be nice! He's also forewarned me that things will be thrown away. Thus, I must go in there first & salvage anything of value!

Since we ate out for his birthday on Tuesday night, I'm cooking tonight, but picked up some steak & potatoes, so we'll be set. I need to go put some kind of marinade on them now.

You know how people will say, "It's hard to believe I'm (insert age here). I don't FEEL that old." Well, I can honestly say I don't feel 43. I feel much more like 63! I guess the achiness the past few days (where every muscle hurts), is from fibromyalgia. This is new to me, so I'm just figuring out that there is a reason I feel that way & it isn't all in my imagination. Today I feel better, though, so will enjoy the energy while it's here!

I have two birthday twins I want to send greetings to, also: Happy Birthday Jeanne! Happy Birthday Karen!

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Booty Kickin' Mammaw!

I heard something yesterday that I have never heard about my mom and don't think I ever will. If you don't know my mom, she is pretty quiet and shy around anyone she doesn't know. She is very polite. She is gentle (Bethany has said she likes that about Mammaw). Actually, she's a lot like Bethany. They even look somewhat alike.

The supervising Physical Therapist came by yesterday for her final check-up. From now on she will go to outpatient PT to finish her therapy. Well, at least therapy for her knee. Therapy from raising us is way too costly, I'm sure! So, this guy comes in and his first words to her are, "From what I've been told you are Kickin' Butt!" It took everything in me not to bust out laughing. Mom was grinning, too. See, Mom never let us use that word. It was "bottom" or "backside" or "rump." With my kids our favorite words are "Hiney" or "tushy." But (no pun intended) never the B-u-t-t word (spelled out as my kids do). I'm not so strict as my mom about it & know that it's the normal word to use now days. Even mom will say it is okay to use NOW. Still, I've never heard HER say it. And certainly she has NEVER said she's Kickin' one. AND REALLY never been TOLD that she is kicking one!

I think her grandkids all need to get a shirt now that says, "My Mammaw kicks B......."

Or not. LOL!

Delouse: out of da house & Mom update

We THINK we are done with lice. We treated again yesterday & I washed & dried clothes, bedsheets, towels and I'm sure more, from the time I got up til 2 a.m. Phew! I double treated mine with a "RID" substitute (a shampoo for delicing) and a "NIX" substitute (a lotion you put on after you use regular shampoo). I didn't feel itchy at all today. Well, not til Phil said his head feels itchy. Now I do, too! UGH! I haven't seen anything suspicious in his hair. He's got really dark hair with a few sprinkles of gray, so the nits should show up pretty well, right? I hope it's all "in his head!" LOL!

Mom got her staples out of her incision today. I talked to Dad & he said she felt a lot less pain when they took those out. I imagine they do hurt. The girls & I are headed over tonight to help out tomorrow & some on Thursday. I hope to work on the girls' Easter dresses while we are there, too. We might go back next week for a day so Dad can get out again.

Tonight we went out to eat for Phil's birthday. I was so proud of myself for finding an online coupon for a free appetizer for T.G.I. Friday's (where Phil wanted to go). I picked an appetizer as my main meal, Phil got a hamburger & the kids' meals were pretty cheap. We were given some birthday money so used a little of that, but still did pretty well keeping it lower than it could have been. I used to do a lot of frugal things. While we are not extravagant now, there are things that we can cut out (like fast food) to help even more. Anyway, we were able to eat out & not spend too much of our gift money.

Now I have to see if the LAST of the clothes are dry. Our dryer is S-L-O-W because it vents up, not out. Long story. Good night.

Homeschooling Illegal in California

In case you haven't heard, a court in California ruled homeschooling ILLEGAL in California. Here is the Fox News version: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,335808,00.html
And a different source: http://onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=69177

Here is HSLDA's (Home School Legal Defense Association) response: http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/ca/200803060.asp

And another on one news now about HSLDA: http://onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=69235
If you would like to sign a petition on HSLDA you can go to http://www.hslda.org/

Interestingly, I searched on CNN, for an "unbiased" report. They don't even have it on their website, at least not using the search criteria I entered. From my understanding of things, this is saying that all homeschool parents must be certified teachers in California. Also, it sounds like they require that students take standardized tests and report progress to the state.

I have a bit of an opinion on this matter. Before I share the homeschool mom side, let me share the classroom teacher side. Teachers work hard to get their degrees. I don't know how many other degrees require that you spend a semester as an unpaid intern (student teacher). I don't know how many other fields require you to pass a state mandated test to earn your certification, in addition to your college degree. I do know that teachers are taught all they can be taught in a college classroom, yet are never truly prepared for the job they must do. No college class can adequately prepare you for a principal breathing down your neck over test scores, or a parent complaining to the principal because little Johnny didn't make the honor roll. No class makes you ready to try to help little Shawnequa, who is the oldest of 7 children, at age 8, with "Daddy" being whoever is sleeping with Mama that night, who is so emotionally disturbed that she can't even sit in her chair, or look at you, and needs 2 desks because she hoards so much "stuff." No professor tells you that you will sit in ARD's prepared to get help for little Shawnequa, and the only words from the principal's mouth are "Can she pass the TAAS test?" or TAKS, or whatever the test d'jour is. No one can prepare a teacher for the endless hours she or he will spend grading papers, writing lesson plans, calling parents, and worrying over 20+ kids that are in her or his care. Teachers work a thankless job most the time. I know this. I've been there.

I meet part of California's standards. Well, not really, but if they had the same standards here. I'm a certified teacher. Phil has a BS in Science, and could easily obtain an "emergency" teaching certification. Yes, they really do give those out when there is a teacher shortage, which there always seems to be. If I had to stand before this same court, these are some of the things I would like to tell them: NOTHING I learned in college is necessary to teach MY children. I would tell them that I have seen some teachers with a license to teach whom I would NOT want teaching my kids. I would ask if they've ever picked up a teacher's manual to see that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to teach a child. I would ask if they've ever watched a DVD or satellite broadcast of a homeschool lesson. I would ask if they have kids in public school, how much one on one attention their child gets per day, per lesson. I would want to know how filling in little circles on a standardized test qualifies a child for the real world. Oh, the list would go on & on.

Oh, yeah, I would also say I think ALL parents should be accountable for what they teach their kids: things like getting drunk is okay, using foul language is okay, watching shows with inappropriate material is okay, that sleeping with whomever "daddy" is that night is okay. Yep, that's what some parents do who send their kids to school for 8 hours. And trust me, those kids aren't normally your honor roll students, or high scorers on the standardized tests.

I have many friends whose kids are in school, public or private, and they have made the choice that best fits their families. These are wonderful parents who are giving their kids what they've decided is best for THEM. By the way, when I taught at a private school, having a teaching certificate was not a requirement. I don't know if it is or not now, but there were some amazing teachers there. My point is that there are parents who love their kids and are involved in their children's lives and education, in a school setting.

On the flip side, there are some parents who see school not as a privilege that our country offers, but as a right. They expect the school to take care of their kids from breakfast til almost supper.

Now I'm going to the homeschool parent role. If you take homeschoolers AS A WHOLE, you will find that a MAJORITY of homeschool parents are educating their children as a CHOICE. They want to provide the very best education possible for THEIR children. Isn't it ironic that the government would look at people who have PURPOSELY CHOSEN to educate their children and question their ability? Yes, there are some, who, for whatever reason, are not educating their children with their best interest in mind. Yet, there are certainly a good number of parents whose kids go to school, whose skills at safeguarding and teaching their children life skills, and how to be a productive citizen, should be more of a concern than parents who actually want to educate their children!

I contend that MOST homeschool parents are doing an acceptable, if not exceptional, job of teaching their children. We need only look at studies of graduated homeschoolers (now that we have reached that stage) to see how they compare to their peers to find that most of these young adults fared quite well. I've often said in regard to homeschooled children, "The proof is in the pudding." You can't judge a child's outcome until he or she has, well, "come out."

As a classroom teacher, I truly hated standardized testing when used as it is in public schools. Testing such as this should be used for 2 purposes: 1) to obtain a comparison of how the child has progressed from the previous testing to this one, and 2) as a diagnostic tool to determine in what areas the child needs help. Now, this may sound very flippant and disrepsectful, so I ask for forgiveness up front, but when I see a sign on a school that says something about the school being exemplary BASED ON TEST SCORES, I just want to scream, "WHO CARES???" I want to ask, "Are you teaching the kids how to use these skills in real life? Are they learning to respect other students? Can they work together on a project? Can they solve problems individually, and as a group? Or can they just fill in circles on a test to make the principal look good?"

I've heard people say that it is frightening that people without the proper training are trying to teach their kids. Scary, teaching them to work together, to love others, to honor God and their parents. Yep, scary, isn't it.

Finally, words from the Edumator, The Governator, the Terminator, Ahnold:

"Every California child deserves a quality education, and parents should have the right to decide what's best for their children," Schwarzenegger said in response to the ruling, which said children educated at home must be taught by a credentialed teacher.

"Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children's education," Schwarzenegger said. "This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts, and if the courts don't protect parents' rights then, as elected officials, we will."

Read entire article HERE.

Stepping off my soapbox. Quietly backing away. Good night.

My funny girl

Bethany has developed a love of "word play" that I have, so we enjoy exchanging puns and silly word play. Today I used the word louse again. She asked what a louse was. I told her that it was the singular of lice, many are lice, a louse is just one, single. She quipped, "You mean it's not married?" with a smirk on her face! Silly girl!

I've seen no signs of the little buggies last night or tonight. I'm greasing down their hair with glosser still, and will do mine. It's messy but if it keeps the lice away, that's great!

We are itching to get out of the house (pun intended), but glad today wasn't the day. We've had a last bit of Old Man Winter here today. After 92 last week, it's been in the 40's all day and we had a fire in our fireplace! Crazy weather.