Thoughts on Schools

Well, after a month of moving, purging and cleaning we are out of our old place. It was one of those places that was truly awful. It sucked the life out of me and I'm so very glad to be gone. Everything is going along swimmingly for the kids. No major funnies to share this week, and no major bad things either.

I am looking forward to getting back on schedule and getting the kids back on schedule as well. They were great when we were doing last minute things and Caleb took it upon himself to properly organize our food storage--and he did a great job. He was super proud of himself. Beth has been a good big sister leading her brothers in games and in a Chinese dragon dance that involved a blanket, lots of falling and giggles. Jacob is just Jacob. During Sacrament meeting, he just kept giving me kisses and saying I love you. You can't go wrong when your son is so happy.

There is a whole hotbed of debate right now because the school board went through a shift during the last elections. They are pushing for neighborhood schools instead of the bussing and shifting around. It's been interesting to talk to people about it. I get both sides of the argument. Parents are frustrated because their kids have been in three different schools in as many years. It is hard when your child is bussed away when you can walk to three different elementary schools. I'm for neighborhood schools, but I don't think they should do away with the magnet programs.

The thing is that Beth is in a magnet school, and I've seen all the extra help that the magnet students and their parents give to the classrooms by volunteering and donation wise. Beth's school is next to a housing project, and I know without the magnet status it would only be low income students that attend. And a lot of those kids are really struggling academically. Beth's in a great school, and I can't wait for Caleb to go next year. I just hope that the program sticks around until all my kids have gone through it. The school offers a lot more than most other schools, and really it could be implemented district wide without a lot of extra money. Rob and I thought a lot about whether or not the magnet programs were right for our family before we applied. The extra long bus ride was one thing we thought about. Usually Beth is home in about thirty minutes, which is the same as some other students who aren't in magnet programs, and as quick as picking her up would be. But the payoffs have been worth it. She is in a very diverse school and that makes me extremely happy. She is being exposed to a variety of cultures and learning so much.

Anyway I had to share my little rant, because I'm getting frustrated with all the people who want the magnet programs gone. I just don't agree, though I do support neighborhood schools as long as the magnets stay in place. I really think I'd feel the same way even if my kids weren't in the program. I can't stand behind something that is going to set up inner city schools to fail and as far as I can tell magnets are a voluntary way to address that problem.

Have a Great Week!

Bloggery Things

Conversation with Caleb this week:

Me: Caleb you have a birthday party this Saturday.

Caleb: Really does that mean I'm six already?

(His birthday was less than a month ago-so yeah)

There was something else this morning that was super funny, but I can't remember if it was Jacob or Caleb who said it or what it was, but if I remember I'll share.

The move is going well. We made four trips to the dump today. Wow! Plus we've filled up two big garbage cans--the kinds the machines lift up and we are working on a third. Pretty much all we have left at the old place is stuff I need to run and donate. And we are Craigslisting some of the baby stuff. I hope I don't jinx myself. It is so freeing to have all of that stuff just be gone out of our lives.

The kids love the new place. They are very happy here. We did have a marker on the wall incident unfortunately. And then we found paint in the storage shed that we though matched, but it was semi-gloss instead of flat. And now we have shiny patches all over the place, because Rob went a little slap happy with the touch ups.

Beth is lost without a good book to read. Any suggestions would be swell. She adored the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series--read the whole thing in about a month. I'm impressed with her that's a book a week.

Caleb is being Caleb. Tonight he informed me that he doesn't actually sleep at night--he stays awake because that's what werewolves do and he's a werewolf--since they have sharp teeth and he does too. (My son goes from wizard to vampire to werewolf to ghost hunter--I wonder what his parents are interested in?)

Jacob is so funny. His s's are sounding lots better and I think he is making so much progress on his speech. He took a nasty fall this week into the corner and half of his forehead is black/gray bruised, plus he has a cut thing going down the center. We walked to story time this week, and Jacob absolutely adored it. I think we will be taking lots of walks once Caleb starts kindergarten next year!

Gail and Eldon came to watch the kids so we could really get stuff done this week and it made a huge different. Plus Eldon helped put some new stuff together. Thanks you guy! The kids had a lot of fun.

Take care everyone have a great week!

Science Fair

I'm letting Rob post the pictures, but I'm super proud of Miss Beth tonight. The science fair project was a success. There were 152 participants at this year's science fair and they had real live scientists come in and judge the fair. She got a comment from the judge written on the project. I was impressed with the entire thing. They gave ribbons to most of the projects, white for good, red for superior and blue for outstanding. Additionally they gave t-shirts to the top scorers in each grade.

I was out in the hall with Jacob sadly when this was going on, because Beth got a t-shirt and a ribbon. I'm super proud of her hard work and her scientific method process style! Rob forgot the camera (and so did I), so we took pictures when we got home after celebrating in style with McFlurries!

Anyway the science project was how different liquids affect the growth of Jelly Crystals. She was very precise in her experiments!

Have a great weekend!

Arrgh!

We are in the middle of the move. Rob pushed our big move day back a week, because we are running behind due to the weather and things in general just being icky. Then today our dryer breaks. The drum isn't spinning. Rob's fixed it before, but he is thinking that he won't fix it until we move. The reason is that the way the washing machine and dryer are in our current place, makes it a complete and utter pain to pull them out. That means Rob doesn't want to fix it until we move. So off to a laundromat I go.

The last week was long. Kids were out of school for three days. And everyone was going crazy. Caleb kept asking when he could go back to school, and there were lots of fights. It was crazy. We were all stir crazy. Totally and completely stir crazy.

This week should be better. At least that's what i'm hoping. The mess keeps coming in waves, but that's what happens when you move, right? At least I hope so. We are doing a great job of purging and even found a way to get rid of toys. We found a charity that will take them. So we can cut back on the toys. I've even purged my books. (Oh the tragedy--but it's a good thing!)

Jacob's doing great on potty training. He either tells me or takes care of it himself. Life is much easier with no diaper changes. Ahh the joy--no more diapers. Ever!

Caleb got bumped up to a more advanced gymnastics class. He's super excited, and I'm excited for him. He is so fun--he is so awesome!

Beth is doing well. She's entering the science fair this week. It should be fun and exciting. At least I hope so. She's also in the middle of a great story that she wants to enter in the PBS story contest!

Have a great week!

New Bare Naked Ladies Song

Strangely enough I'm not someone who gets attached to bands. I listened to the radio a lot in high school, not as much in college, and now I generally listen to NPR. But there are a few bands that I really adore. Rob has introduced a number of them to me, and we went to see BNL in Salt Lake City when we are first married. They were my first concert (definitely not Rob's) and my second concert when we caught them a year later in Chapel Hill.

I was really sad when Steve and the band decided to go their separate ways. This song, from their new album, makes me think that it was hard on everyone. I hope that you guys enjoy. I have a feeling that they are still going to be a great band.

Mountain Goats

So, yeah, it has nothing to do with our family, but for those of you who haven't heard of them, The Mountain Goats happen to be my favorite band. And here's a little clip, cause I'm the sharing type.

Photos

I've posted some photos to some of the earlier blog entries, so be sure to scroll down if you want to see some photos from Birthdays and such. Hopefully I can get some videos up soon too. I've been a bit slow.