Birthday Party Day

Well, Gustav is trying to mess with our birthday party plans, but the party is going to happen anyway. The storm isn't supposed to hit Louisiana until Tuesday morning, so we still have plenty of time to party. The plans started out really small and low key because I'm just not up to planning a huge shindig in my current condition. With the weather and cancellations, it'll be us, my parents, and Scott and Kiki. Oh well, some things can't be helped!

We are going to evacuate to my mom's house, but not until tomorrow afternoon. We'll go there for the party today, come home, pack up, get up and go to church in the morning, and then leave for mom's house.

We went this morning to take Nadia's two year pictures and a final family picture with my big old pregnant belly. Nadia did not want to cooperate at all. The lady even had to take us back in the studio after we tried making our order because none of the family ones came out. We did get some really good pictures of Nadia, a couple of Baylor by himself, some of just me and David, some of Baylor and Nadia together, and family ones.

We'll go back in three months for pictures of Dawson. It's hard to believe he's almost here already. I've been nesting, and have his clothes washed, his bed set up and ready, diapers bought, etc. All we need now is the baby.
I have another doctor's appointment Tuesday afternoon if Gustav leaves town in time for it to happen.

What a week!

Baylor started school this week in his new homeschool situation. Homeschooling is going great. He loves his teacher, he's performing well, and he's making friends with his new classmates. To top it off with a cherry, his teacher was bringing him to our babysitter's house every afternoon so I had ONE FREAKIN stop to make on my way home. I've been on cloud nine about that plan every since Kasie agreed to keep him afterschool. This afterschool situation was the one area of my life that wasn't stressing me out.
You see, I'm leaving to go on maternity leave on September 5. By that date I must have lesson plans done for my English II and my English IV classes all the way through December 1. (This includes copies, extra materials, fire drill instructions, duty schedule, how to let kids make up work, etc.) My classes are huge, and on top of planning ahead, I'm also having to plan for right now while I'm there, get papers graded, do my duty, you know, do my job. I've been staying for at least an hour after school each day, and honestly, I need to stay longer, because I don't think I'm going to get everything done.
Physically my pelvis and hips are killing me, and there are moments when I can barely walk. My classroom is upstairs, which doesn't help.
Wednesday afternoon when I drive up Kasie meets me outside and tells me that she doesn't think Baylor being there is going to work out. The short version of the story is that she caught him in about five lies in the two hours he was there. That doesn't count whatever happened Monday and Tuesday that I don't even know about. I ask her if he can continue going for a couple of days until we can find someone to keep him, and she says yes.
I blew a gasket. How could he mess up what was basically Nirvana? My reaction was completely inappropriate, and didn't help matters at all. By the time we got in the van Nadia was screaming hysterically because of what happened, Baylor of course was crying, and I was just beside myself. (I did apologize to him later for my inappropriate response, but that doesn't erase what I did.)
The next morning David printed a list of all the daycare centers on this end of town. He called all of them, and all of them said that they couldn't take him. One place said they could take him starting at 2:15, but they would charge $220 a month. (That's more than we're paying for his school, by the way!) We were thinking that we'd have to put him back in public school on Monday morning. We checked with his teacher, and she said she'd think about options.
Friday afternoon Raymond picked up Baylor at school. I stayed after to work on lesson plans, and my classroom sometimes doesn't have any cell phone service. I checked my phone as I was walking to my car and saw that I had 4 missed calls from Raymond's cell phone. My first thought was that something was wrong, and my second was that Mrs. Elaine agreed to keep him and he was so excited he couldn't wait to tell me.
I called, and Baylor answered. He asked if it was too late to get out of soccer for this season because he decided he wanted to go hunting with his dad. I told him I didn't know, and he said, "Well, call me back when you find out." As he was hanging up I said, "Wait! Did Mrs. Elaine say anything about afterschool care?" His answer? "Oh yeah, she said she'd check with the other kids' moms, and if they couldn't keep me then she would."
If he would have been in my presence I would have hit him again. I said, "Don't you think that bit of news is much more important than soccer or hunting?" He said, "Well, I forgot about it until you said something."
Something is wrong with my son. I've been crying about this situation since Wednesday afternoon, and I am so stressed out about what we're going to do. He could care less. He really doesn't see the magnitude of how bad he screwed every thing up. This issue has not touched his heart.
So I talked to my friend Jessica about it, and she came up with a great idea. I'm going to make him think about it and suffer the consequences for a long time. Basically, since he caused Kasie extra work with his behavior and his lying, he's going to have extra work to do. Everyday for twenty days he will have extra chores to do around the house. We will pay him for these chores and ALL of the money he earns will go to Kasie. (and he'll have to give the money to her himself.) He can't watch TV or play his PSP (which he JUST got for his birthday) until his debt to Kasie is paid off. Then, because we're going to have to pay for Mrs. Elaine to keep him, he'll continue working to pay us back.
You see, he messed up an entire SCHOOL YEAR (this year and next) in THREE DAYS. So he will work and work and work, and hopefully the lesson will stick. Hopefully the next time he opens his mouth to lie he will bite his tongue instead. Hopefully he'll be more concerned about how his actions affected our entire family than whether or not he gets to hunt with his dad.
Any suggestions?

Busy, busy weekend.

This was such an exciting and busy weekend for us! I picked up Baylor in Lewisburg Friday afternoon. He had been there for a week and a half, and it was time for him to come home.
Saturday dawned, and it was Baylor's 10th birthday. I can't believe that little fart is 10 years old already. We got dressed and went to the Cajundome to work at the Games of Acadiana. This is a fundraiser for the Miles Perrett Cancer Center. Our family worked the soccer booth with Laborde Therapy Center. We had such a good time, even though David is a little sore from all that work. I liked that we were doing service work as a family. I think it's so important that our children grow up with memories of doing things for others.
Saturday afternoon Baylor got to open his presents. He got a PSP, the carrying case with some accessories, and a game from us. Granny and Papa came and met us at Sicily's pizza for dinner. Granny got him two games for his PSP. After dinner, Granny and Papa came over to watch a movie at our house. We watched No Reservations, which is a movie that was pretty good.
Today was church this morning, and the sermon was about the importance of not being alone. He was talking about spiritually, and in a church community. After church, we were planning to bring Nadia to the playground at church to let her play, but there was a sign on the equipment saying that a copperhead had been seen and not killed. I had the bright idea to let the kids go play on the playground at McDonald's next door. We were in for a rude awakening because apparently the playground got torn down months ago. They even told us that all of the McDonald's playlands were being torn down. My guess is that someone sued because their child got hurt and we all have to suffer. Scott and Kiki came with us, and as usual, it was nice to sit down and visit with them. We don't get to see Scott very often, so it was nice.
After McDonald's, we came home and took a nap. Once we woke up, we got Baylor's backback ready for school tomorrow, picked out his clothes, packed his lunch, etc. We also got the infant carrier out of the shed and discovered that the straps and padding were full of mildew. I sprayed with Oxiclean, let it soak, and washed it twice. (I even added bleach to the water) and the mildew didn't come out! I started researching replacement straps and covers, and discovered that it would cost $40 to replace them when a brand new seat is $60! David suggested I soak the straps in straight bleach, and I decided to give it a try since I really had nothing to lose. Guess what? It worked! The mildew is gone, and the color of the straps wasn't even ruined. I rubbed some bleach into the cover, and it seems to be gone from that as well. I'm so excited!
I am going to wash them again, but this time in baby laundry detergent, and I'm going to do a plain water rinse so that baby Dawson isn't sitting in straight bleach. Bleach is awesome!

It's almost 9 pm, and I'm pretty sure I'm about to go to bed. I have a lot of lesson planning to do at work this week. I need to have my plans done through the first week of December very soon. I'm getting nervous that Dawson will arrive early and catch me unprepared.

What a weekend

Friday night we traveled to Morgan City for Gigi's funeral services. David worked all day Friday on a power point of some pictures of her, and it played continuously in the funeral home the whole time we were there. Saturday morning were the funeral itself and her graveside service. I think overall all it was a good celebration of the life she lived. We learned a lot about her from the biography written on the back of her program (like the fact that she introduced Roy Rogers and Trigger to the stage in Morgan City, and that the day she retired from a hospital was declared Roma Fortinberry Day in Morgan City, and she delivered Payton Manning!). Dee Ann read something from her journal at the funeral that made everybody in the place start crying. It really was a beautiful tribute to her.
My parents came, and they brought Nadia up to the casket at the end so that they could pay their last respects. Nadia pointed to Gigi and said, "Gigi night night." Then she said, "Bye Bye Gigi." It was so cute!
We stayed Friday night and Saturday night at Danny's new house. His house is GREAT! I so wish we could find something like that in this neck of the woods, but the housing market is just a LITTLE different where we live (words dripping with sarcasm here!) Danny was nice enough to give up his bed for us, and boy, did I appreciate that! My hip didn't cooperate with me too well, and by Saturday afternoon/evening I couldn't walk without holding on to the couch or the walls to get around. At one point I couldn't get off the couch for about two hours because when I would stand up to move around, I couldn't even take a single step.
We left Morgan City early this morning to make it to church in time to work in the nursery at 9:45. We were about five minutes late, but we made it. We are no longer working in Nadia's class (and she had to move up to the next age group today), and that made us a little sad. I'm really glad they did though, because there is no way my hip would have handled chasing after a roomful of two year olds for an hour. So today I got to rock, feed, and burp a three month old little boy...Good practice for when Dawson arrives! I had David change his diaper so he could get his practice in too. We then attended the third service, and I got a chance to talk with a few of my friends afterwards.
After church we came home, ate lunch, and took naps. We slept for about an hour and 45 minutes, and then went to the UL Fan Appreciation Day at Cajun Field. They had free food and drinks, a live band playing, and a chance to meet the coaches and teams. The coolest part of it was they had four skydivers jump and land in the middle of the field. All four of them landed on the 50 yard line! Nadia was so impressed (and honestly, so were we!) After that, David took Nadia down to the field and let her run around and play with all of the other kids. She had a blast running around and burning off lots of energy.
David and I are planning to go to bed around 10 o'clock tonight, which for us is EARLY. I have to go back to school tomorrow, which means I have to wake up really early. I'm tired from the weekend, so I need to try to get at least 7 hours of sleep. I hope Dawson cooperates with my plan.

Christianity According to God

Church yesterday was very thought-provoking for us. We've been going through a series of sermons from the book of James. The basic discussion was figuring out if you were a mature Christian, or just going through the motions. Of course, the bottom line was that NONE of us are finished maturing, and all of us have room to grow.
Three things that our pastor focused on came from James 1:26-27, which says, "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
Three Marks of Christian Maturity:
1. I have a controlled tongue....This one really convicted me because I had really lost control of my tongue Saturday with Baylor. I was frustrated with him, and I ended up screaming and cursing at him. I did all of this with Nadia on my hip, and she started crying and telling me, "No Momma!" I felt terrible, but words can't be unsaid. He asked us if anyone of us were haunted by a word or phrase said to us by a parent, friend, or other loved one. Our tongues have the power to bring life or death to people in our lives, and I need to do a better job of controlling mine.
2. I have a compassionate heart...I have a compassionate heart, but I really don't act on it as much as I should. I have friends who are just so good at that kind of thing. I know I could do a much better job of being compassionate. The widows and orphans would be a place to start, but there are so many other people in my life who need compassion.
3. I have a clean life...He talked about being IN the world without being OF the world. There are so many things that society says is normal, or okay, that God clearly doesn't agree with. Just some examples off the top of my head are pornography, cursing, stealing, cheating. He talked about how this step is not a call to isolation, it's a call to get in the mess without getting messy. Dennis talked about a flower that grows near coal mining areas that doesn't allow coal dust to stick to it. You could pour a bucket full of coal dust on top of this flower and it will just slide off. That's how we are supposed to be in the world. We should be serving the world, and being a light, but not become corrupted by secular world views.
It would be really easy to isolate ourselves in a Christian bubble, and in fact, that is what a lot of people do. We want to protect our families and our kids, so we hang out with only Christian people, go to Christian schools (or homeschool), and don't get "dirty" with the filth of the world. I guess my question is this: How do you get mature enough to be able to be around filth without it corrupting you? I mean, if I start hanging around people who curse a lot, it makes me more likely to start cursing. If I listen to music with cursing, sex, and other immorality, it makes it seem "normal" and not all that shocking when I do encounter it. I listen to mostly Christian radio, and on those rare occasions when I do listen to secular radio, I'm shocked when a bar commercial comes on because it's been months since I've heard one.
I also believe in the "garbage in-garbage out" philosophy. That is, if you put garbage into your mind and your life, than that's the fruit that you are going to see in your life.
So my dilemma is this: How do those two thoughts reconcile with each other?
Today we are going to work in my classroom. I made Baylor get up early this morning so we can start adjusting our sleep schedules, and I just realized he's snoring on the couch while I'm typing this blog! We need to go to bed early tonight for sure.

The Educated Parent...

I was reading through a book today that I bought on a clearance table at Follett's bookstore when I was in college. It's called The Educated Child by William J. Bennett.

There were a few things that really jumped out at me today. For example, "Too many mothers and fathers have the attitude that school is like a car wash where you drop the child off at one end and pick him up at the other. They do not realize that, to get a good student, you have to be involved in the washing." Or what about this? "We've tried to turn schools into the first line of defense against problems far beyond their competence to handle successfully. Teachers today tell us that much of their time is spent "raising children"--teaching them the basics of hygiene, manners, and rudimentary respect for the rights and property of others."

Can I get an "Amen?" And people are seriously wondering why our test scores are suffering!

He also has this list entitled: Ten Principles for Parents of Educated Children
It's so good, I'm retyping it in its entirety here. I hope you enjoy!
1. Parents are the first and most important teachers. The more involved you are, the better your child's chances of getting a good education. You can make the difference.
2. Your teaching must not stop when school starts. Some parents withdraw from involvement in education once their children reach school age. This is a mistake. Teachers cannot do a good job without your aid, support, and interest.
3. The early years build the foundation for all later learning. Make it sturdy. The first few years of life and then the first few years of school are critical. A solid education by eighth grade is a necessity or there will be trouble in high school and beyond.
4. American schools are underperforming. Many schools don't pay enough attention to academic basics, and standards are often too low. Trust but verify. Do not just assume that your school is doing a good job.
5. Learning requires discipline; discipline requires values. Too many classrooms are disrupted by disrespectful, unruly children. Too many kids have not been taught the virtues necessary to succeed in school.
6. Follow your common sense. Some people act as though it takes a special degree to know if a school is doing a good job. Wrong. You are the expert on your own child. Pay attention, talk to teachers and other parents, and trust your instincts.
7. Content matters: what children study determines how well they learn. Many schools are unwilling to say exactly which facts and ideas their students should know. This is a fundamental problem in American education. Some things are more important to learn in elementary school than others.
8. Television is an enemy of good education. In many homes, TV is the greatest obstacle to learning. We urge you to shut if off from Sunday evening until Friday evening during the school year.
9. Education reform is possible. You can change the system. If you are interested and engaged, there is much you can do to ensure that your child receives an excellent education. There are ways to improve your child's school, especially if you join forces with other parents.
10. Aim high, expect much, and children will prosper. No parent, school, or child is perfect, but we all rise toward the level of expectations. The surest way to learn more is to raise standards.

I'm thinking #5 will be my motto/philosophy for this school year. How well do you think this would be received as a letter home to parents? Obviously, it would have to modified somewhat, but what about a letter to parents with some list about how important they are in their child's educational experience?
I'll post more as a read more, but I'm pretty pumped now!

No car seat today :(

I woke up bright and early to make it to BabiesRUs for their super Friday sale, and the car seat I wanted wasn't on sale at our store. I was so disappointed. I even tried the mall after that, since everyone is having sales today. I must have not been in the mood, because I didn't see anything that I HAD to have. I'm sure my husband appreciates that fact that I saved him so much money today (by not buying anything).
We went to Target to check on the car seats there, and they don't even have the car seat we use. There were sales all over the store, and I just bought a thesaurus that fits in a binder for Baylor's school supplies, and a pack of paper clips that I need for my school. Nothing else even got my interest.
As we were leaving Target, it started drizzling. Baylor was upset because today was his last day of diving class, and it already got rained out yesterday. He started singing "Rain, Rain, Go Away" and Nadia joined him. It was so adorable that I took a video. Here you go: