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Three Years Later

2011-11-21T09:40:00.000-08:00

I went to a panel for parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing kids this week at Lafayette Elementary, which is the magnet school for DHH kids in San Diego Unified. It was a great panel. Several of the panelists were parents of deaf or HOH kids, and they talked about the process of getting their kids identified and served (boy, did THAT bring back memories!). Two of the panelists were deaf adults, and I especially enjoyed hearing about their experiences. One wears a cochlear implant and functions in both Deaf and hearing worlds (she was born hearing but caught meningitis and lost it). The other was a Deaf man who came from a hearing, bilingual family. He is now married to a Deaf woman, and their son was also born deaf. One thing that all of them shared was that they went through a grieving process when they found out their kids had hearing loss. I suppose that makes sense to me, although I don't remember ever feeling that. So I went back and read my blog posts. You know what? I never grieved.

I suppose that growing up with a cousin who is Deaf, and having spent my early life immersed in sign language both gave me more perspective than your average hearing person. But even the Deaf panelist talked about grieving his son's hearing loss. And really, we are quite fortunate because Caleb can hear, just not well. Then again, things didn't really turn out as predicted (we still aren't tearing up his IEP, and he definitely still has language delays). All in all, though, he's doing great. I couldn't ask for more than that!

Expanding Again

2011-10-19T19:17:00.000-07:00

In a totally unrelated turn of events, we will be welcoming two new members into our household. José, 18, will be joining us tomorrow. And Bolt, the baby chinchilla born here in August, will be coming home this weekend. Never a dull moment!

Crazy

2011-10-16T21:05:00.000-07:00

I've been having a very hard time dealing with all the balancing that comes with being a working mom lately. I don't know why it's hitting me hard this year in particular. I really don't. But it is. And I'm not quite sure that there's anything anyone can do about it.

But here's the crazy part. You ready?

I want to adopt this little boy I met in Ecuador two years ago. I really do. His name is Carlos. I got to spend some time with him while I was down there. I took he and his friend Jose Luis on a little walk. A dog came running over to say hi, and they freaked out. FREAKED OUT. Because they had never seen a dog run up to them like that before. Their lives are so sheltered and small in the orphanage. They orphanage is doing a GREAT JOB of taking care of these kids, but it's still an orphanage.

Three weeks ago, a member of our team from 2009 put out a table with pictures of the kids who are currently at the orphanage. They need sponsors to help cover their costs. And on one of those cards was Carlos. It told a little of his story, and said that he is free to adopt but nobody has come forward. I put the card back, and picked Lesley to sponsor. But Carlos has been on my mind ever since. Two weeks ago, I mentioned this crazy plan to my family in the car. They were all for it. Of course, I think they thought I was kidding. Tonight, I told my mom. She said to pray on it.

I know it's crazy. We don't have any money to adopt another child. We could make room for him by getting bunk beds in Caleb's room. But again, that costs money. I'm already going crazy trying to keep all my ducks in a row. But like my mom said, we're already taking Caleb to Boy Scouts and gymnastics. What's one more? And although he's a year younger than Caleb, they'd probably be in the same grade.

I always thought we would have three kids. Is God really telling me that we should?

This is just crazy.

Following Directions

2011-09-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

We made cupcakes for our Girl Scout troop today since we've had three birthdays since we last met. Caleb wanted to help. Nikki decided she could muster the energy to scoop the batter (she caught a cold and is very near death). The process went something like this:

Caleb: I want to put the papers in the pan.
Me: Okay, just do one pan and then we'll see how many more we need.
Caleb: Okay (finishes one pan). I'm done! I'm going to mail the letter.
Me: Okay. It goes in the TOP SLOT. Way above our mailbox.
Caleb: Okay!
(two minutes later)
Caleb: Mom! I forgot the key!
Me: You don't need the key. You're mailing the letter, not getting the mail.
Caleb: NO! I need the key!
(Nikki explains one more time.)
Caleb: I'm back!
Me: Did you mail the letter?
Caleb: Yep!
(Note to self: check mail slot for letter.)
Me: We need some more wrappers in the cupcake pan. Would you like to help?
Caleb: Yes! Here you go, Nikki. (Deposits a pile of cupcake wrappers next to Nikki.)
Nikki: Caleb, I need them IN the pan.
Caleb: Okay. (Deposits pile back into original container.)
(Nikki winds up completing this task.)

Caleb's IEP is coming up on September 30. They want to exit him from the resource program because he reads at the 2nd- or 3rd-grade level. We're very excited about his progress with reading, but he still has an auditory processing disorder and skips 15 when he counts to 20. And then there's that "following directions" thing...

They're Baaack!

2011-08-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

The bedbugs. They're back. Just in time for back-to-school. Grrrr...

So this time we've opted to do the foolproof, far-less-labor-intensive, way-more-expensive tenting option. Only guess what? When you tent for bed bugs, you have to leave your home for FOUR days instead of three. Awesome.

We found this out the day we were supposed to be welcoming Scott's cousin, Emily, into the household. Instead, she opted for the bedbug-free-but-not-so-close-to-SDSU Pages' house in Poway.

Here is a list of where you can find us this week:

Emily: Carol & Dave's house in Poway
Cindy, Scott, Nikki, Caleb: The Clements' house in Poway
Gloria: Carol & Dave's house in Poway
Lydia: Furry Friends Pet Resort (which has already called to tell us they can't brush her; she won't let them touch her)
Reeses the Rabbit: Clements' house
Chinchillas (3+baby): Clements' house

We are so grateful for both sets of parents' willingness to host two- and four-legged refugees from Santee. YAY!!

Fail

2011-07-16T11:02:00.000-07:00

Caleb had his swim assessment yesterday. The boy swims like a fish and was clearly bored with the tasks in the class. We were certain that he would be placed in the next level when the new session begins Monday. We were wrong.

An instructor other than the one working with the kids assesses the swimmers. When she came over to test the students, Caleb went first. He swam out to his teacher doing the backstroke, and then he was SUPPOSED to swim back freestyle. Unfortunately, he didn't get that message (because, you know, HE CAN'T HEAR WELL) and swam back underwater. Instead of making sure he understood the instructions and making him follow them, she failed him. Her feedback on the evaluation? "Don't go underwater."

Caleb can swim freestyle the entire length of the pool. He is bored in his class. He is with kids who are afraid of the water and for whom diving for a ring is a challenge. And now he is doomed to repeat it for TWO MORE WEEKS. I am so frustrated!! I DID tell the instructors that Caleb has a hearing loss, and that they needed to make eye contact with him while instructing. However, I don't think the high school students really get how to do that.

We told Caleb what happened, that he didn't hear the instructions. He said, "But I can't wear my hearing ears in the pool!" We emphasized the importance of making eye contact with the instructor and watching the other students. But really, if you already have a hearing loss, are surrounded by ambient noise, and your ears are half-submerged in the water, this is a legitimate problem.

I'll be away on a mission trip when his new sessions starts Tuesday, but Scott has assured me that he will ask for a re-test. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they will honor his request.

Don't let the bed bugs bite!

2011-06-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

No, seriously. Don't.

About a week ago, Scott came down with a rash on his arms and hands. It moved from day to day, but was consistently there. He's been under a great deal of stress at work, so we attributed it to that.

Then, last night, I crawled into my freshly laundered sheets with a new (and, as it turned out, very good) book. About two minutes into my read, I noticed a black bug crawling on my clean sheet. I thought it was a flea and, annoyed, crushed it, reminding myself that it was time to reapply the flea medicine on the animals. I continued reading and saw a second, then a third bug. And they were too soft to be fleas. Then I saw a larger, round, red bug crawling on the other side of me. And that was the end of my restful summer night.

We have bed bugs in our bed.

In the wee hours of the night, I made appointments for Stanley Steemer to come clean the carpets, Terminix to do a cryogenic treatment (if the heat doesn't get them, maybe the cold will?), and did extensive internet research which led us the the soon-to-be-purchased diatomaceous earth for sprinkling on the carpet. We spent the morning disassembling and removing the bed, laundering the just-laundered bedding, vacuuming, checking the kids' beds (they're fine, thank goodness!) and researching places to buy new beds. We'll be moving upstairs and sleeping on the aerobed until we figure something else out. And we'll be buying mattress encasements for the kids' beds. If you don't have them on yours, you should. All of this could have been prevented if we had had them.

So there you go. This summer is turning out to be very fun, and expensive.

Tonight, I hope to sleep tight and to NOT let the bed bugs bite.

Committed

2011-05-28T21:27:00.000-07:00

I had a conversation last night with two dear friends who I love very much, in which they were trying to justify the hypothetical decision to leave my job. They both felt strongly that if my work is not being valued by the leadership, it would be in my best interest to leave for my own happiness. My counterargument? I love my kids, I love the community, I love my job, and regardless of the inadequacy of the "leadership", I would never abandon my kids or the community. I don't do the work for recognition, I do it for the kids, because I believe in them.

I explained to my friends that I am good at commitment. As the words were leaving my mouth, I recognized the truth in them. I am not good at many things, but I am good at commitment. And I have learned that commitment is not always fun or self-satisfying, but in the long run the commitment is ALWAYS worth it. There are many areas of my life in which this is true.

Today, I finally took a couple hours to myself while Caleb was napping (!) and watched Eat, Pray, Love, which I read several years ago but had not yet watched. At the end of the movie, I was curious as to whether or not Liz continued the relationship with her male love interest at the end, so I started searching the Internet and found that she wrote this book. Notice the title. Yes, I ordered it.

But how does one explain to two people, one in their twenties and one in their early thirties, neither of whom is in a relationship or parenting, the rewards of commitment in ways that they will understand? I can understand why, from the outside, commitment might look like a lot of sacrifice for very little reward. I can understand why my life, my job, might not seem very rewarding. I can understand why they would not make my choices. Nor would I expect them to.

During the school year, I have no time to philosophize or ponder. But summer is coming. You have been warned.

Endings

2011-05-26T21:33:00.001-07:00

Just as September brings beginnings, May and June bring endings. We went to Nikki's final drama showcase yesterday, Caleb's final open house today, will soon be attending his final Little League game, and of course the school year is screaming toward a close.

Tonight also marks the first night that we are a family of four since March 2009, when Devon came to stay with us. Right after he moved out, Emma moved in. But tonight Emma is on her way to go camping with her family and will be back Tuesday to take her belongings. And so another chapter in our lives closes.

I would have loved for Emma's departure from our home to be triumphant. I am a fan of fairytale endings. But everything in her life is rather undecided right now, some things because of choices she's made and some things that are beyond her control. But God has made it clear to all of us that this living situation is no longer working, and we need to honor that.

Neither of us would change our decision to include Emma in our family for the past 19 months. We have learned so much and grown as a family through this experience, and we will always love her. Hopefully, she will take something good away from her months with us. But it is time. Time for her to figure out what path she wants to take. Time for us to refocus on each other. Time for Nikki to have her high school experience.

But tonight, the house just feels empty.

SEVEN!

2011-05-23T20:33:00.000-07:00

Caleb is seven today! It's so hard to believe that he is already seven, but then again I have trouble remembering life without him.

I took the day off so I could make cupcakes and take them to his class. Then it occurred to me that Ronnie was off this week, so I texted her and she came, TOO! It was fun to surprise Boo. We are so, so blessed that she plays such a big role in his life. I think that it's hard for some people to understand how our relationship works so well, but I love that it does. AND I love that she and her family love Caleb so much.

Happy birthday, Boo! Thank you for bringing so much laughter and love into our lives.

Gemini

2011-05-18T21:04:00.000-07:00

Caleb was SO EXCITED to go to school today. He's been having a great time looking forward to his field trip tomorrow, and to his birthday next week. Life is just awesome for him right now. Except for baseball. While he is REALLY GOOD at it, and has a great time while he's there, every game is preceded by a nuclear meltdown. We can't figure it out, we can just plan on it. So when Caleb woke up, we had this conversation:

Caleb: Is it raining?
Me: Yes, it is.
Caleb: YES!!!! NO BASEBALL!!!

However, when I went to pick him up from childcare, I was greeted with a yellow card from his teacher for (of all things) WRITING ON THE SIDEWALK AND WALLS WITH CHALK. He was MORTIFIED and hung his head out to the car, then proceeded to sob all the way home. I tried to calm him down. I told him that the teachers don't want chalk on the sidewalk at school, but it's still okay at home. He wasn't buying it. He came in, packed his little rolling suitcase, and told me he was running away. Except he didn't actually go anywhere; he just sat on the stairs and put his head in his arms. Even worse, while he was doing this I was checking the status of his game and found out it was NOT CANCELED.

After about ten minutes of sobbing and crying and refusing to put on uniform items, then lamenting the non-uniform socks, and that he can't tie his shoes yet, we finally walked out the door with a snack to eat in the car.

Then we got to the game, and he was HAPPY and played really well! He got two kids out at second with some great catches, got a hit every time he was up to bat, scored several runs. And he LOVED every minute of it!

I am really beginning to think there's something to signs. Caleb is a textbook Gemini.

In other news...

2011-05-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

Caleb's pediatrician just called (yes, at 8:00 at night). When he was there for his well-child visit, one of the CNAs gave him a color-blind test. Unfortunately, she had no idea what she was doing. The pediatrician reviewed the results she remembered after all the patients left, and according to her report the results indicate that Caleb is not only green color-blind, but COMPLETELY color-blind. Which makes learning your colors by age five seem pretty darn impressive, no?

That boy just amazes me.

Snoozing

2011-05-16T19:46:00.000-07:00

Scott is out of town for five days. He rarely does this, and I don't think he's ever left me for that long during school days. The weekend was fine. But Scott is the morning person in this family, and I had concerns about what this was going to look like. My concerns were not unwarranted.

Sunday
9:00 pm: Finally get kids to bed. Set alarm for 4:50. Cringe.
10:00 pm: Get into bed, grade stories.
11:00 pm: Turn on news, fall asleep immediately.

Monday
5:50 am: Wake up. Notice it is very light outside. Look at time on clock. Look back at window. PANIC! Realize that it is useless to panic. Wake Caleb up, get his clothes out, prepare breakfast, make lunch, shower, get dressed, gather belongings.
6:30 am: Amaze myself by being ready to go only ten minutes late.

Tonight, I will not only SET my alarm, I will also TURN IT ON.

Scott, COME HOME!!!

How to Vaccinate Your Cat (A Community Service Announcement)

2011-04-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

Get cat carrier off of high garage shelf and dust it off; it's been a year since you used it.
Notice that the cat has seen the "Box of Death" and has opted to retreat to the inner recesses of your daughter's box springs.
Tempt said cat with tuna. Find that this is futile. Notice that you have five minutes to get to the vet.
Call your husband, who comes in with a long pole. He thinks this will help until he realizes that the cat is INSIDE, and not UNDER, the bed.
Have your husband shake the entire bed and scare the %&*# out of the cat. Wait, ready, by the bedroom door.
Grab fleeing cat.
Insert flailing cat hind-end-first into Box of Death. Ignore moans and wails while hauling the now-heavy Box to the car. You are now five minutes late for your appointment.
Arrive at appointment ten minutes late. Apologize for your tardiness and the banshee-like noises coming from the Box of Death.
Find yourself quickly deposited in the nearest available room so the banshee will stop scaring the other unsuspecting pets.
Say hi to the doctor, who now has to extract the furry banshee from the Box of Death, the same one she barely fit in at home.
Let the doctor take the banshee away for shots. Listen to her howling from the waiting room.
Finish the entire appointment in ten minutes so that the banshee can be removed from the premises.
Drive the banshee back home while she screams at you from the Box of Death. Apparently, cat profanity contains many vowels.
Arrive home, open the Box of Death, and watch the banshee disappear. Appreciate the silence.
Wait until your daughter arrives home to extract the cat from under YOUR bed (because hers is clearly no longer safe) and yell at you for mistreating her cat.
Sigh and be grateful that it's over for another year.

Down and Out

2011-03-12T19:40:00.000-08:00

I know how much you love to read about my sick kids, so here you go!

Caleb has been sick for A WEEK. A WEEK!! And not runny nose or a little droopy sick, but lying inert on the bed or the couch sick. FOR A WEEK! Scott took him to the doctor on Tuesday, where he fell asleep on the examination table and also tested positive for Influenza B. So we tried to get him to eat, kept a water bottle at his side, and kept him company while he slept 16 hours a day and lay on the couch for the other 8.

Still, I was certain he would be better by yesterday, when his class took a field trip to Balboa Park for a puppet show. We had been planning the trip for weeks and I took the day off work (which turned out to be rather redundant this week). Alas, there was no puppet show for Boo. Instead, there was yet another trip to the doctor, who was quite impressed by Caleb's lack of activity. He couldn't find any indications of possible infection other than a red throat, so after the rapid strep came back negative, he sent us home to wait it out yet again.

But today, while Caleb was lying inert on the couch watching his fiftieth movie this week (because I feel like he should be staring AT something while lying there?), I got a call from the pediatrician's office saying that they cultured his strep test and it came back positive! So he DOES have strep. Which explains a lot. Finally.

Of course, we had to go through several options before we came up with an antibiotic that hasn't given him hives yet, but now he has azythromycin and, I am praying, will be on the mend. In the meantime he is yet again running a fever of 102 and sobbing while his daddy gives him a bath. "I just want to go to bed!"

Even so, I am feeling pretty blessed that we are dealing with this in our intact home in our intact city in our intact country. We are saying prayers for Japan, punctuated by prayers for healing for Caleb. Nothing like a little dose of perspective to keep me honest.

Highs and Lows

2011-03-04T20:27:00.000-08:00

High: Two new babies this week! A new generation of Clements (congrats Jason and Kirstie!) and Hank & Tomoko started their new family.
Low: Lost an alum from Class of '96. I don't know what happened to her. So sad. Rest in peace, Kim.
High: Junior is coming home today!
Low: Grades are due.
High: Fun Friday night out with the family.
Low: Marathon cleaning session tomorrow morning.
High: Maryland!
Low: Missing student in Spain, $4 gas, bloodshed in Libya, social status of my chosen career.
High: Blessed to have a job, a home, and people I love and who love me.

Hope you had a great week!

DRIVER!

2011-03-01T20:52:00.001-08:00

A fellow mom and I were discussing today our new role: taxi driver.

Because really, once I leave school, that's all I do. For example, today. Before school I dropped off Caleb and Emma. After school, I went and picked up a scholarship app from Emma, went home to find the letter of rec. she didn't include, wrote another one, drove to the post office to mail said scholarship app, drove and picked up Nikki, and drove home. And this was a reasonably quiet night because I didn't have to go pick up Emma and, mercifully, Scott took Caleb to baseball practice. Of course, the reason it was quiet was that I was leading a Girl Scout meeting (lest you think I was cleaning my house or grading papers or doing laundry, which I was not).

I told Krystal (the other mom) that somebody should have warned us when we were thinking about having babies that someday, our entire lives would revolve around getting each child to where they belong at various times of the day.

Perhaps all of this would be less aggravating if gas weren't $5 a gallon. But perhaps not.

Crash and Burn

2011-02-24T21:12:00.000-08:00

Here's a little parenting tip: If your child's school nurse calls you and tells you that your child fell while running and is probably too sore to make it through the day, believe her.

Pictures to come.

The Parks name may have died, but the genes live on...

Today

2011-02-16T18:08:00.000-08:00

One girlie without a fever.
One girlie on antibiotics.
Two girlies on the mend.

One trip to school to make emergency lesson preparations.
One trip to Escondido to see the doctor.
One trip to the grocery store.
Four happy people eating potato cheese soup for dinner.
(Not five-Caleb hates potatoes.)

One alum quoting Maya Angelou on his status.
One alum quoting Edgar Allen Poe on her status.
One happy teacher.

Uh oh.

2011-02-13T16:56:00.001-08:00

I was looking at an article about ADHD today, because Caleb's teacher hinted that she thought that he might have it at the beginning of the year (I'm sure she has changed her mind; he has none of the symptoms). Anyway, as I read Inattentional ADHD (formerly known as ADD), I became concerned. Read this list:

Signs of inattention:

Has a hard time paying close attention to details
Makes careless mistakes in schoolwork or other activities
Daydreams, has trouble focusing her attention
Has difficulty listening to what's being said to her
Is easily distracted from tasks and play
Doesn't follow through on obeying instructions and fails to finish schoolwork or chores (but not out of rebellion or failure to understand)
Forgets things
Has trouble organizing tasks and other activities
Loses important things or items needed for tasks and activities, such as toys, school assignments, pencils, books
Avoids or strongly dislikes tasks (such as homework or games) that require sustained mental effort

If you know me, you're probably concerned, too. THAT'S ME!!!!! :/

Why I Love My Job

2011-02-07T19:43:00.000-08:00

Or "Why I Often Bang My Head Against the Wall"

Student: Hey. Can you tell me which Best Buy scholarship we're supposed to do?
Me: Um, the Best Buy one?
Student: We can do any of them?
Me: There's more than one?
Student: So we do all of them?
Me: [Exercising great restraint by not using ANY of the smart-alecky comments I'd like to.] Sure.
Student: Do we have to?
Me: You don't HAVE to do anything, but this IS an assignment for AVID.
Student: To do all of them or just pick one?
Me: [banging ensues]

And just in case you think it actually WAS confusing, Google Best Buy Scholarship and you'll get this.

2011-02-04T19:41:00.001-08:00

It's been a REALLY LONG TIME since I've blogged. And I don't know that I'm quite up to blogging now. So here goes nothing.

The first part of January was FUN! Molly, our Australian friend, arrived on the 10th. We had a great time playing tourist with her. We even went skiing for the first time in YEARS! We loved it and it was her favorite thing we did while she was here. It was even worth the ridiculous Visa bill after she left. (OUCH!) It's a good thing we won't have another Australian student for a year!

The second part of January was SICK! Bad sick, not good sick. First Scott got sick. Then I got sick. Then Scott got a rash all over his body, so I couldn't be sick anymore. Then he woke up with swollen hands so we went to the ER. While we were there I broke out in a rash. We finally figured out we had parvovirus (AKA fifth disease) and Scott's turned into viral meningitis. He missed three days of school and I missed one DURING FINALS WEEK. We were both on the mend when Caleb broke out in a rash on Tuesday. Now Nikki has a fever. I'm really glad Emma has been gone so much. Hopefully, she'll dodge the bullet!

So now it is February. We started a new semester, which means right now I have NO ESSAYS TO GRADE! Nikki should be better by next weekend. Yep, things are looking up! Happy New Year!

Still Backing Up...

2010-12-22T07:25:00.000-08:00

Update:
After two days it was still backing up so I stopped it and successfully installed the new OS. YAY! Then I went to install the photo software and guess what? You'll never guess, so I'll tell you. THE DISK WAS BLANK. So I called Apple and they were very sorry. After some negotiating, we decided that the best solution was for them to refund the entire amount and that I should just go buy a version of iLife. Fortunately, they had it here in town at Best Buy. YAY! Oh, but wait! There's more! I installed it and ALL MY PICTURES ARE GONE! Most were backed up on KodakGallery, another drive, or at least on Facebook. But some were not. Some like Grandma's last birthday.

Life was so much simpler when pictures came on film. :(

Backing Up

2010-12-21T04:41:00.000-08:00

Since we were on vacation and Christmas was only five away, I decided on Sunday that I should really get started on my Christmas projects that involve pictures. So I got up at 4:00 (because I woke up and couldn't stop thinking about that fact that there are only FIVE DAYS LEFT UNTIL CHRISTMAS!) and chose all the pictures for my project. Then I went to export them to a website where I can do something with them and GUESS WHAT? After TWO HOURS of choosing pictures, my software wouldn't let me select them. So I, very practically I think, decided that it was time for me to finally upgrade my software. The only problem with this is that I have to upgrade my OS in order to upgrade my software, and before I upgrade my OS (which can crash the computer) I figured it was finally time to do this online back-up service my dad has been bugging me about. And that's where it all fell apart.

It has now been 48 HOURS since I started this endeavor, and my computer is STILL BACKING UP!! And guess what? I still don't have new photo software, or a new OS, and I still can't export my pictures. And now? There are only THREE DAYS until Christmas. I am thinking that I am in big trouble.

The Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (My apologies to Alexander!)

2010-11-29T20:26:00.001-08:00

We went back to work today. Going back to work after a little vacation is always hard, but I can't remember one that was quite as bad as today. Why? Well, since you asked...

I came down with a stomach bug this weekend. It decided to get REALLY bad last night. So that I was awake and asleep several times, beginning around 6:00 yesterday. Actually, I was in bed beginning at 6:00, but I couldn't sleep because my stomach was burning and I had a splitting headache.
I overslept this morning because my brain finally went on vacation and now it thinks I should sleep until 7:00 instead of 5:00. When I finally woke up I still felt rotten, but less rotten than last night.
When I was finally ready to go, I couldn't find my keys for fifteen minutes. Turns out they were right next to the first place I looked, but they had fallen off the bedside table. Probably when I hit snooze.
It was LITERALLY freezing, and my car was covered in ice. When I finally got outside, I had to spend another ten minutes scraping ice off the windows while the engine warmed up.
When I got to work, I realized that I had to make copies. I got stuck behind the CAHSEE prep teacher, who was making multiple big packets. Then the bell rang, so I went to the little machine we're not supposed to use and tried to make copies, but it took five minutes to make 20. I took enough for period one, and then rushed to class where all my students were waiting outside in the freezing cold because I forgot to leave the door unlocked.
I couldn't eat at all this morning because I was a afraid my stomach would start again.
It took two hours for the heater to warm my bungalow enough for our teeth to stop chattering.

BUT one of my wonderful students had made me a WHOLE INSULATED PITCHER of shaah (Somali tea). As soon as my prep started, I drank two cups. It was so wonderful and hot!! And then, after I drank it, I felt so much better! And then, after school I had some more and shared it with Scott and another frozen teacher. YAY!

So the next time you (or Alexander) have a no good, very bad day, just have Mariam make you some shaah. It makes everything better.

May you have a very happy Tuesday. I intend to.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2010-11-25T10:21:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for so many things because I have been so very blessed, but here is a list of little things for which I am grateful today.

Scott lets me put my cold feet on him at night when we get into bed. And he doesn't complain when I start a new book, even though he knows that it means that nothing is going to get done until I'm finished.
Mom cooks ALL of the Thanksgiving dinner, and she's teaching Nikki how to do the same. I will probably never in my life have to cook one.
Caleb still says "mowk" instead of milk.
Nikki was able to sleep all night in her brace.
Emma went to bed happy. Junior is home!
Gloria thinks I am the best thing since sliced bread, even when I give her a bath.
Three more days of vacation.
At the end of vacation, I get to go back to a job which enables me to work with amazing young people.
YOU! Because if you took the time to read this, you care about our family.

Happy Thanksgiving! May the Lord bless you and those you love this holiday season!

What We've Been Up To

2010-11-14T07:18:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged in a very long time. There's a good reason for that: grades. Quarter 1 grades just came out and I am just now digging myself out from under a pile of essays and précis. All of this grading makes it far less exciting to read or write anything. Which is probably not a good thing.

So anyway, here is a list of things we have been up to in no particular order:

Caleb lost his first tooth! On Friday. He was playing basketball with Scott and missed a pass. It smacked him in the face and the tooth was history. The Tooth Fairy brought him a dollar in exchange for the tooth and guess what he wanted to buy with that dollar? Yep, a Death Star.
Nikki ran her last cross-country meet of the season yesterday. She has improved tremendously and still loves it. She's planning on running all four years. In the meantime, she plans to dedicate her extra time after school to the drama department.
Emma withdrew from her calculus class, which she was failing in spite of all her efforts to get help. As it turns out, she doesn't need that class anyway. She will take statistics in the spring. She admits that she is relieved, but I'm sure the fact that the class beat her isn't settling well with her.
Scott is about to embark on a week of federal jury duty. Thankfully, he doesn't have to report on Monday. His ASB students also have a festival and a leadership conference this week, so it's going to be a touchy week if he's out. We have our fingers crossed!
ONE MORE WEEK UNTIL THANKSGIVING BREAK!! If Scott has his way, we won't go anywhere or do anything. If I have my way, we will. We'll see who wins. Most likely, the kids and I will go somewhere and he will not.

Yep, that's about it for the Pages. Hope all is well with you!

Why I Haven't Graded Your Essays

2010-10-27T20:39:00.001-07:00

This is dedicated to the CHAMPs Class of 2011

I know I said I would grade your personal statements today. And really, I had every intention of doing that. BUT...

Even though I didn't have to go to my staff meeting today, I DID stay for the Peer Helping meeting.Which went until 2:15. Which is my normal time to stop teaching. So much for my afternoon grading time.
Then I was going to see Ms. Wilson, but she wasn't feeling up to a visit. So I went grocery shopping because we had no yogurt in the house. This is a major problem at my house. Problem solved.
Then I picked up Caleb and took the groceries home. We unloaded the groceries and then decided that it was very hot outside and the perfect weather for frozen yogurt. And I can't grade when Caleb is around anyway because he keeps interrupting me, so we went for yogurt.
Then I came home and thought that maybe I could grade TWO essays or something, but then Nikki called to pick her up from practice. Then I drove the wrong direction because I thought I was going to church (?!) but in fact I was NOT going to church. So then we drove completely around Santee to get to West Hills. Yeah.
Then I came home and Nikki took a shower and I drove Emma to school, and Nikki and Trina and Caleb to church.
Then I tried to come home but Emma texted me and her class had been canceled so I went back and picked her up. And then we were hungry so we went to dinner at Anna's restaurant but Anna wasn't there.
Then I picked up Caleb at church but Nikki and Trina weren't done so I texted Scott and told him to get them on his way home from his class at SDSU.
Then I came home and bathed Caleb and read him a book and now I am writing this blog.

So that is why I didn't grade your essays today. I'm really, really sorry. Maybe tomorrow?

IEP

2010-10-18T15:58:00.001-07:00

So we had Caleb's big IEP meeting this fall. It was about what we expected. Nine adults in a room (psychologist, SLP, DHH itinerant teacher, audiologist, resource teacher, classroom teacher, principal, us) going over report after report saying that Caleb has delays when compared to his same-age peers. DUH! First of all, he's in kindergarten, not first grade like most six-year-olds. Of COURSE he's going to test behind them. AND he couldn't hear properly for the first four years of his life. That's why we held him back! But we were thinking that if we held him back, he'd be pretty much on par with the five-year-olds. And guess what?? He is! But apparently, this is enough to make him eligible for ALL KINDS of services. So now his IEP is not centered around speech and hearing, but around learning delays.

I wasn't surprised by any of this. I noticed last year that he doesn't process auditory information very well. It just doesn't "stick" like it should in a child of his age. I know, I know, BIG SURPRISE! But if he SEES something, it's permanently encoded and the object of much obsession. He was writing all of his friends' names on his white board last fall. He is now coming home and writing words he's learned in school. He can't tell you what sound a "d" makes, but he'll tell you that it's for dinosaur and dragon! The problem is that reading is taught phonetically, which isn't very helpful when you CAN'T HEAR. And all the tests he took? The directions were given verbally. So are the instructions in his classroom.

I refuse to believe that Caleb has been reduced to an IQ score of 74. Anyone who thinks that gives an accurate picture of what my son can do is sorely mistaken. I KNOW that once he can read, he will be fine. The question is how to teach him to read. So this week we are going to be labeling everything in our house. Don't be surprised when you come over to find index cards saying DOOR and REFRIGERATOR taped to every surface. We're on a mission now.

Hello, Scoliosis

2010-10-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

We had Nikki's first appointment with the orthopedist for her scoliosis on Tuesday. It has been established that her curve is at about 31º. This means she has a pretty significant case, but not enough to warrant surgery (50º). They established from her x-rays and other medical history that she has about two years left to grow, which gives her lots of time for the curve to progress. She was given several options. One was to do nothing and see what happens. Or she could choose to do some bracing, which doesn't correct the curve but can prevent it from getting worse. She can either wear a bending brace at night only, but it's a pretty severe form of correction, bending her back against the curve. She can also opt to wear a brace 20 hours a day, but it's a pretty inconspicuous brace. We just sat and listened, knowing that she is going to have to make this decision. She opted to wear the 20-hour-a-day brace. And she had a great attitude about the whole thing. The doctor was impressed by that, and so was I.

So now we get to embark on yet another medical journey. We're going to learn all about braces and x-rays and curves and hopefully NOT about surgery. Wish us luck!!

Another Goodbye

2010-09-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

Today we said goodbye to Maggie, our almost-16-year-old golden retriever. I really have almost nothing to say about this right now. I know it was the right decision, I know she was suffering, and yet it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. And I know that it's killing Nikki.

So I guess I'll go modify my blog header and leave you with one of my favorite pictures of her. Rest in peace, sweet girl.

Maggie Elizabeth Page
November 17, 1994 - September 28, 2010

Dinner at the Pages'

2010-09-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

Nikki: That's disgusting.
Scott: What???
Nikki: You're putting butter on your bread like it's frosting.
Scott: That's why I work out. So I'll be in good shape when I have my triple bypass.
Nikki: If you didn't use so much butter you wouldn't need one. It's gross.
Scott: You don't have to look.
Nikki: It's one of those things that's so shocking that you just can't look away.

Me: Are you done with your homework?
Nikki: [Heavy sigh] You make life so difficult.
Me: That's my job. I get paid extra for it.
Nikki: [Pause, confused look] You don't get paid to be my mom.
Me: [to Emma] Sarcasm is lost on 14-year-olds.
Nikki: We understand sarcasm fine, just not when it comes from 40-year-olds.

Teenagers are great.

Working Mom Guilt

2010-09-17T20:55:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons Nikki never went to school in our suburb when she was young is that the schedule at our neighborhood school is not working-parent friendly. They start at 7:45 (30 minutes after we start work) and get out at 1:30 (45 minutes before our school day ends). In addition, it's 30 minutes away from work. Obviously, it is impossible for us to either pick up or drop off with this schedule. For that reason, Nikki attended the Catholic school right up the street from our school. They start at 7:30, get out at 2:30, and I even could go volunteer in the classroom on my prep since it was so close. Unfortunately, because Caleb needs speech and hearing services, private school is not an option for him.

Fortunately, we have a wonderful neighbor who is taking both the kids to school for us. This works out great except on days like today, when I get a phone call in the middle of class from Nikki, who is informing me that her brother is refusing to get dressed in spite of several already-imposed consequences. I then find myself shouting at my hard-of-hearing son (no hearing aids yet-he won't get dressed) via Nikki's speaker phone to listen to his sister's words. This while my students are staring, wide-eyed. Yeah. Fun.

And then there is the after-school fun of "Project Safe." I don't know what they think is "safe" about this program, but so far Caleb is covered in bruises. When I have gone to pick him up this week, I have seen boys play-fighting in the middle of the yard, kids throwing sand at each other, and a child tossing another's homework over the fence. All of this with no response from any of the adults, because they are not looking. Caleb is covered in bruises from the waist down, has three blisters on his hands, and is now sporting an impressive purple bruise on his chin because they let the kids play on these plastic carts for boxes (the kids use them like skateboards, but they're not wearing helmets!). Am I disgusted? ABSOLUTELY! Do I have a choice about whether or not to leave my son there? NO! No reputable daycare offers after-school care because there is no money in it. So I am forced to leave my son where it is not safe (perhaps they should call it "Project Accident-Waiting-to-Happen", or "Project Safety Hazard"), and have to run out as soon as school is over to minimize the time he is in this unsafe environment, which means my work is not getting done. We've begun to leave the house at 6:00 am so we can pick up some of the pieces while he is still sleeping.

I am praying for some sort of solution to this nightmare. The school itself is great, but I am appalled that the only childcare option provided to working parents is so disgustingly unacceptable. Sometimes being a working mom just sucks.

Beginnings

2010-09-09T20:35:00.000-07:00

My friend Melissa is a real blogger and does these six-word Friday posts that are fun and insightful and very, very hard to do. Her topic this week is beginnings. I'm going to write about our beginnings in MORE than six words, because my brain is too tired to think of six-word phrases. I tried. Not happening.

KINDERGARTEN
Caleb started kindergarten this week. My wonderful mom was kind enough to take him his first day because, interestingly, it only lasted 90 minutes. So convenient for those of us who actually work, yes? Fortunately, Mom had the day off and was able to fill in. Better yet? It was followed by Caleb's first adventure to Chuck E. Cheese, exciting for him AND for those of us who prefer to not have to go! Caleb loves kindergarten and when I ran into his teacher after school, she said he is chatty but is doing great. NO RED CARDS YET!!

HIGH SCHOOL
Nikki LOVES high school!! LOVES IT! She is happy and is finding friends from all of her different schools she's attended. Homework is not too intense so far, and she is looking forward to running in her first cross country meet this weekend. Her biggest dilemma right now is that she cannot participate in the school plays and play sports. I'm sure she'll figure something out.

COLLEGE
Emma is on a trip to Chicago with College Life and is having a fabulous time. Her professors were all fine with her missing the week. We miss her but we hope that she is blessed by this experience. She is preparing for her baptism on Sept. 19!

TEACHING
Scott is back at Crawford! It's fun to have him back on campus, although he's in a different small school now so I rarely see him. I have my seniors back and we're once again starting Song of Solomon. They seem to be enjoying it. And for AP Psych I have 70 students in a lecture hall period 4. THAT'S an adventure! I'm currently trying to figure out how to operate the smart board in the lecture hall. I am a Mac and it requires PC knowledge, as well as other knowledge I don't have. I'm sure I'll figure it out.

That's pretty much it for our first week. Saturday is Caleb's first soccer game this season and Nikki's first cross country meet. I'll miss both of them because I'll be at Peer Helping Camp. Mom guilt is setting in.

I hope whatever you are beginning is going well. Here's to a great year!

Good, but not Great

2010-09-06T11:23:00.000-07:00

Scott and I agreed this morning, Labor Day morning, as we lay in bed together alone in the house for the first time in months, that this summer was not great, but good. And that any summer, no matter what, is good in the end. There was no exciting family vacation, and in truth there were very few family excursions in town. There was, however, a lot of hanging out. It was my goal this summer to spend some time enjoying the house we worked so hard on last year. I think we did, in fact, achieve that goal. We read books, put together puzzles, went swimming, rode bikes, and spent time with people we love. In fact, the only thing that kept this summer from greatness was the time spent working.

Financially speaking, there may not be a big family vacation next summer either. But I am making a promise to myself that next summer, no matter what, there will NOT be too much work. No way. Nope. The kids are growing up so quickly, and Nikki's summers at home are numbered (as are all of ours, I suppose). So right now, I am promising myself that next summer is the summer of NO WORK!! If you have occasion to remind me of this, please do so. In the meantime, have an amazing school year. I intend to.

Camp!

2010-09-01T16:43:00.000-07:00

Caleb is going to cooking camp. HE LOVES IT!

This development is the result of an E-mail sent by a friend with a dinner studio saying she still had openings. In a fit of inspiration, I responded and asked if Caleb was too young. In fact, he was not. We decided to give him a trial day and see how it went. And guess what? IT WENT GREAT!!!

Yesterday he made scones and meatballs. Today, cookies and fettuccine alfredo. I'm not sure why the dessert is always first? Anyway, he is having a great time and tells us all about it. But even more reassuring is the fact that he can be trusted to behave for three whole hours. It gives me great hope for next week.

HOORAY FOR CAMP!

Here We Go

2010-08-31T16:36:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow is reporting day for teachers. They day we go in, meet the new staff members, hear inspirational (or not-so-inspirational) addresses from our principals. The day we see precisely how much of a mess the cleaning crew made of our rooms. The day that means that summer is really and truly over.

I'd like to say that I'm all ready to go back. In some ways, I am. I am excited to revamp my AP Psych curriculum based on everything I learned this summer. I am very excited to see the kids, who I miss. I just wish that I had things more under control at home. Right now, there are still unexplored regions of the garage that very much need my attention. There are still four items pending sale on Craig's List that I would very much like to get rid of. I still have paperwork to clean up, bathrooms to clean, laundry to fold.

It's true that all of these things contribute to my sense of ambivalence. But truly, I think that I am afraid that this year at school will be the year that everything that we created our small school to be will go away. All the people who created the culture that put students at the center of our work have left except for a few, foolhardy souls who are too stubborn to give up.

I have spent the past two weeks trying to get my house into working order. This last week the focus has shifted to the garage and a large storage shed in the back yard. It involved countless hours of excavations and van-loads of donations to the thrift store. The thing about this process is that things have to get really bad before they get better. It's impossible to do this kind of work and have everything look neat and tidy every evening. I'm okay with that. I understand the need to dig in, spend my days covered in grime and cobwebs. I'm okay with being filthy and even stinky if it means that the reward will be a more organized and productive living space.

Unfortunately, our current administrator has no such understanding. He wants to promote a sparkling facade, unwilling to look at any aspect of our work that may involve dirt or sweat in order to fix it. Everything must look shiny and happy so that he may keep his job or even get a better one. I do understand that he is under the gun, but at what point does an educator decide that keeping one's job is more important than the self-examination that is absolutely necessary if one wants to move forward? And how on earth am I supposed to respect that??

Very wise teachers have told me to shut my mouth, close my door, and teach my kids. I'm afraid that this year, I just may have to follow that advice.

Priceless?

2010-08-24T22:25:00.001-07:00

Money has been flying out of my bank account. Here are some of our purchases over the last two days:

Calculus textbook $160
Sociology textbook $70 used
Graphing calculator $40 (used from Craig's List!)
Cross Country gear $107
ASB Card/Yearbook/PE Uniform $120

Holy cow. High school and college are expensive!

On the bright side, I have been having a little love affair with Craig's List and have not only moved items on to new homes, but have made some cash in the bargain:

Bookcase $35
Storage bins $20
Train table $50

Now to get rid of that big green tractor in the garage that nobody has ridden in four years...

Trust

2010-08-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

My daughter is running cross country. The same girl who dreaded every Thursday at school last year because it was her day to run the mile. The same girl who sits in her room and reads all day. The same girl who hadn't run a step since June. Yep, that one. I can't believe it.

I went into this week with ambivalence. On one hand, I was prayerful that she would love the experience and find some success. On the other hand, um, have you met Nikki?? Because really, I would think that spending two hours per day running would rank right up there with eating bugs on her list of favorite things to do. I am SO GRATEFUL that I was wrong!!

Nikki LOVES cross country! And it doesn't really matter whether or not she can run fast because they don't cut anybody. She most certainly has the body for it (where on Earth did THAT come from??). And so every morning this week, including TODAY (Saturday) she has been up at 7:00 am to don running clothes and sun block. The first two days there was some wheezing that was keeping her from participating fully, so her doctor gave her an inhaler (along with a referral to an orthopedist for her scoliosis). The first few days, I waited for her to tell me she hated it. She didn't! Yesterday, she did her first long run. She loved it!

I am SO GRATEFUL for this opportunity for her, and to the coach who just wants all the kids out there being healthy and improving. He hopes to have 80 kids! For Nik, I think it's a huge confidence booster and a wonderful social introduction to high school. I am SO HAPPY for her!! I need to learn to trust her decisions. Clearly, she's able to make some good ones.

Where did the week go?

2010-08-14T22:27:00.000-07:00

So I actually had a whole week off this week. No work at all! Here's what we did:
• Registered Emma for her classes. This was a four-hour process.
• All three of us girls went for eye exams. Emma needs glasses, too, but just for reading.
• Assembled an X-Wing Fighter from Legos.
• Took Nikki for her athletic physical. Found out she has scoliosis. Made an appt. with her real doctor.
• Scott finished the sprinklers and put sod in the front yard. It looks GREAT!
• Planned, bought, assembled, and organized a shelving unit in our retreat.
• Hosted one bunco, but not two because the second was only going to have three people.
• Had an MRI. It was supposed to be on Tuesday, but it wound up being on Friday instead.

And of course, there's laundry and cleaning and general business that goes along with having three kids in the house.

If I have a couple more weeks like this, I may be able to get my house back in order before school starts. Maybe.

You want to go where?

2010-08-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

The disadvantage to being the second child is that, by the time you arrive, the parents are pretty much over a lot of the stuff that they got excited about (tolerated?) with Child #1. Things like toys that make noise and really big toys that take up lots of room. Oh yeah, and crazy, kid-oriented places like Chuck E. Cheese. Caleb is six, and he has never been. In fact, he would never have known that such a place existed if it weren't for the Sunday ads, which had coupons RIGHT ON THE FRONT of the coupon section. But now, he knows. And he is ALL OVER IT.

All morning, Caleb has been obsessed:

Dad, can I go to Fucky Cheese?
I want to go to Mouse the Cheese.
I would like to go to Smell the Cheese.
Can we go to Smucky Cheese?

After much recitation, he is now asking to go to Chuck E. Cheese. Every five minutes.

Yep, it's hard to be #2.

Obsession

2010-08-08T05:03:00.000-07:00

For some reason, every August finds Caleb obsessing about a particular toy that he MUST have. This is unfortunate for him, because he gets toys for his birthday in May and for Christmas in December, but alas, no gift-receiving occasion falls in August. This year, it's the Lego Death Star. Granted, this is the coolest toy he's ever obsessed over, and both Scott and I spend several minutes staring at it each time a Lego catalog happens to make its way into our hands. But the reason we don't already own this particular item is that it costs FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS!! Ridiculous! And yet, still so very cool.

We tried explaining to Caleb that there is no way that he will own this toy. Ever. Not now, not for Christmas, not for his birthday. He responded, "I have four dollars!" The ensuing explanation about how he still needs $396 more met with a puzzled blink and an expression that said, And the problem with that is??

Today we went to visit Scott's grandma, Flossie, who insisted that everyone be given $20 to "spend on something fun." Caleb, however, came away with $40 because his birthday money was lost in the mail. His response? "Tomorning we can go to Legoland and get a Death Star." I told him that we were in fact NOT going to Legoland (??), he STILL couldn't afford the Death Star, but he could certainly purchase a smaller Star Wars Lego set. He wasn't hearing it.

So I'm pretty sure Caleb is currently dreaming about the Death Star he will not be buying tomorrow. Sadly, there is just no reasoning with someone who has no concept of money. Wish us luck.

Sunday School Confusion

2010-07-19T12:21:00.001-07:00

When I taught Sunday School, I always wondered why we were supposed to print out those little summary sheets to tell parents about the lesson. I felt they were redundant, since Nikki could recite the story verbatim and tell me the underlying lesson with little or no prompting. When Caleb began attending Sunday School, I developed a great appreciation for these sheets, as they provided much-needed clarification when Caleb would give me his rendition of the Bible story of the day. But, alas, Summer Sunday school provides no such service. So it's always interesting to try to figure out what it was they learned. This was our attempt yesterday:

Me: What did you learn about in Sunday School today?
Caleb: There are a lot of people.
Me: There were a lot of kids at Sunday School??
Caleb: Yeah. And Jesus help them.
Me: Yes, Jesus is always there to help us. (???)
Caleb: He give them food.
Scott and Me: OH!! FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND!!!

Of course, this was a successful interpretation. We still have no idea what he learned about last week.

Girl-less

2010-07-16T21:12:00.001-07:00

Nikki is still in Oklahoma, and will be for the next five days. Today, Emma went to visit her family. So now we are three. Yep, three. It's kind of quiet around here. Caleb said, "I miss my sisters." We do, too.

Whirlwind

2010-07-12T21:34:00.000-07:00

Life has been EXCITING and CRAZY since I last posted! Nikki and I spent an amazing week at Miracle Ranch in Tecate, Mexico. The youth group painted the boys' dorm and had a great time playing soccer and "traes" (tag) with the kids at the orphanage. Our guide, Bill of Transformational World Opportunities, did a great job of not only teaching the kids about the current economic situation in Mexico, but was great company as well. The kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves even though we had a go-around with Montezuma's revenge on Wednesday (not so fun with Mexican plumbing). The kids at the orphanage most appreciated the time our kids spent with them, since we are the only youth group visiting this summer. Our kids most appreciated the fact that the kids were so happy, even though they had very few possessions and no parents. It truly was a transformational experience for them, and they area already planning day-trips for the fall.

We arrived home on Friday and got to hear all about Caleb's week at soccer camp. We had a busy Saturday with a council meeting for Scott, a birthday celebration with Caleb's birthmom, and a memorial dinner at church. Yesterday we had dinner with my parents and Devon. It was a good weekend.

Today, however, meant back to work with four fun-filled days of AP training. :P I arrived at home to find five additional teens headed to the pool. Two more showed up after that. As one of our alumni said, "they just fall from the sky." It's always a party. We had a BBQ and red velvet cupcakes to celebrate Kelly's 18th birthday.

And tomorrow Nikki leaves at 5:00 am for Oklahoma, where she will be undertaking another mission and learning about Cherokee culture and history. If she ever finishes packing, that is. I'm so excited to hear about their adventures, and so grateful that she has the opportunity to go.

And that's about it for us. I keep waiting for things to slow down. Maybe next week??

Happy summer!

Summer

2010-07-01T18:06:00.000-07:00

Caleb has entertained us all day today. He's not quite sure what to do with himself now that we're actually on vacation.

Caleb: Is it a school day?
Me: No, remember it's summer. No more school for two months.
Caleb: Is it a church day?
Me: No.
Caleb: Then what day is it??
Me: It's just a summer day. It's a clean the house and get things done day.
Caleb: ??

We sat down and had a late lunch in our pajamas. Gloria was sitting under the table and sneezed.

Caleb: Bless you! Mom, did you see that?
Me: What?
Caleb: She sneezed on my toes!

Or there was this conversation overheard while I was cleaning the bathroom:

Caleb: Nikki, I see Toy Story 3.
Nikki: Yeah, that was fun, huh?
Caleb: Yes! And now I see Toy Story 1 and 2 and 3 and 25!
Nikki: Um, I'm pretty sure that doesn't exist.
Caleb: [running off] To infinity and beyond!

But he's making big plans for the future.

Caleb: Mom, I'm going to get the Bakugan video game.
Me: No, you're not.
Caleb: But I'm going to be a big man. And then I can get it.
Me: Yes, when you move out and have your own house then you can get whatever you want.
Caleb: Like Devon.
Me: Yes, Devon has his own house now.
Caleb: Does he have bad video games? How about Tim? Does Tim have bad video games?
Me: I have no idea. Hey, let's clean the sink!
Caleb: ???

And that was our day. How was yours?

Graduation #3

2010-06-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

Today Nikki promoted to high school. Yep, it's official; I'm the parent of a high school student. Wow. How did that happen so quickly? I swear she was born just a few years ago. Really, I SWEAR!! It was just last year that I had to carry her upstairs in the laundry basket with the clean laundry because I didn't realize until it was too late that I didn't have enough hands to carry her and the basket. And it was just a few months ago that she lost her first tooth. Wasn't her first communion two weeks ago??

The time is just flying by, and I know that I'm going to blink and then she'll be leaving to go away to college. I'm excited that we are done remodeling, because I really want to take the time to be present with her this summer. We are taking a family camping trip and then she and I are going on a mission trip to Tecate together. I feel like I have to savor every moment that I can, because if fourteen years went that quickly, four will be over in a heartbeat.

Happy promotion, Baby Girl. We are so blessed to have you in our lives.

Graduation #2

2010-06-20T07:18:00.000-07:00

Friday was Emma's graduation, which of course is also Crawford's graduation. I LOVE graduation day!! It is so beautiful to watch the realization dawn on the kids' faces that THEY have done it!! Many of them are the first in their families to graduate from high school. Emma is one of those many. And while I do love ALL of our seniors, I have to admit it was a little different with one of my own.

Yesterday we got to celebrate with Junior (Emma's best friend) and Dary at their homes. Dary is new to spending time with the Pages. She kept staring at me and asked, "Do you have any idea how weird it is to have your teacher at your house?" Well, um, no actually. But apparently it's weird for her to be at my house, too, so I guess I just can't win. I'm weird wherever I go.

We have one more "graduation" to go-Nikki's 8th grade promotion on Thursday. It's been a BIG month. I'm SO looking forward to summer vacation. I think I've had about all the excitement I can handle.

Gradulation and Goodbye

2010-06-12T13:15:00.000-07:00

Caleb's preschool "gradulation" (his pronunciation) was last night. He has been so excited about it for two weeks, and it was darling, as expected.

Unfortunately, we got a call around noon yesterday that Scott's Grandpa Dan had died suddenly and unexpectedly while working in his garden. We love Grandpa Dan dearly, and spent most of Devon and Nikki's childhoods enjoying their company. Scott has a unit designed around Grandpa's experiences as a POW during World War II that he teaches each year to his US History kids. In recent years, Grandma has suffered from dementia and we haven't been able to spend as much time with them because they can't really do big social events anymore. Grandpa was a tireless caregiver, and never got impatient with her. It was inspirational to watch their love change but never grow tired. Fortunately, Grandma doesn't fully comprehend what has happened, but I imagine it will all sink in eventually. So while we are glad for a swift and painless passing while he was engaged in one of his favorite activities, we are also painfully aware of what this means for Grandma. It's just very sad. And of course, we will miss him dearly.

Goodbye, Grandpa. We love you.

Together Again?

2010-06-06T17:49:00.001-07:00

Scott is home!! He had a great time and they got some service projects done just in time for the campers to go to Yolijwa. I survived prom with our crazy calculus teacher. Emma rolled in at 0 dark thirty after dinner at Denny's. I picked the kids up from Mom and Dad's. And we were all together again. For about five minutes.

Now Emma is at the beach with her buddies and Nikki is swimming with hers (or on the way to youth group?). So Scott, Caleb, and I are hanging out. I'm thinking this is a little glimpse into what the next four years are going to look like. And I'm feeling very grateful that Caleb will not be abandoning us anytime soon.

On another note, this week will be bringing us some answers. There's a strong possibility that I have celiac disease, which sounds worse than it is. Sort of. It means I can't eat anything with wheat in it. Which is a problem for me, because I love all things baked! Like the homemade chocolate chip cookies Mom sent home with us. And bread. Any bread. So I'm not so excited about changing my diet. However, while researching this disease, I discovered that Caleb exhibits NUMEROUS symptoms associated with this disease (I had to have a pill camera take pictures of my insides to figure out anything was wrong with me). So he was tested last week as well, and since then I have noticed that he does exhibit more symptoms when he eats wheat products. Which means that The Pages will most likely be going gluten-free. Soon.

In the meantime, I'm going to eat some more cookies. And do you like how I'm starting all my sentences with conjunctions?? COME ON, SUMMER!!!

Abandoned

2010-06-04T16:28:00.001-07:00

Our church is having a men's retreat this weekend, and Scott was on the planning committee. So now I am a single parent for the weekend. This weekend. Which is SAT weekend and prom weekend. So tomorrow I will be at work by 7:15 so that I can proctor the SAT and then race back home to do whatever Emma needs me to do to help her get ready and then somehow get her over to take pictures with Junior while also getting my kids to my parents' so that I can then turn around and get ready so I can go to prom with our crazy calculus teacher (an interesting story for another day). That was a big run-on sentence. And you know what? I DON'T CARE!!

I think I'm ready for a vacation. TWO MORE WEEKS!!!

SIX!

2010-05-23T07:11:00.000-07:00

Caleb came in at 6:00 this morning with a huge smile on his face. "Daddy, I'm not five anymore!!"

Happy birthday, Boo!!

Winding Down

2010-05-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's official. Testing season is OVER!! We took our AP Psychology test last Tuesday and celebrated by embarking on a week of CST testing. Fun! :P

But now testing is over. So school is calming down. We can just have fun for the rest of the year. Except, oh wait, there's still a whole month of school left! I guess we'll just have to read some good books and watch some literary films.

At home, things are ramping up. Caleb's birthday is this weekend, Nikki's confirmation is the next, and both girls are graduating this year (Nikki from 8th and Emma from High School). So it's a GOOD THING that things are calming down at school.

Hopefully it won't be another month before I post. Hopefully the next post will be interesting. I hope both of these things very much.

Words of Wisdom

2010-04-21T23:41:00.000-07:00

Our Girl Scout troop took a little road trip to the National College Fair last night (which, for the record, feels very different as a parent instead of just a teacher-YIKES!). In the car, we were listening to All Summer Long by Kid Rock. I pointed out that this was a good example of life choices we would NOT be making.

K: Ms. Cindy! This song is NOT about healthy life choices!
S: That's why you don't make Kid Rock your role model.

Sound advice.

Student of the Week

2010-04-11T22:49:00.000-07:00

Caleb is student of the week. Which, in case your child has never done this, involves making a poster about the kid and what they like. Nikki LOVED doing this when she was in school. Caleb took a little coercing before he was even willing to work on it. Once he got started, though, he rose to the occasion:

Me: What's your favorite color?
Caleb: I don't know.
Me: Just pick one.
Caleb: Orange.
Me: Great! Here's an orange pen. Let's write orange.
Me: What's your favorite thing to do?
Caleb: I don't know.
Me: What do you think is fun?
Caleb: Playing baseball.
Me: GREAT! Let's write that.
Caleb: Hey! That's not a "y". Where's the eraser?
Me: Um, there's no eraser for markers. It's okay.
Caleb: No! [goes over the letter to make it look more like a "y" than an "x"] There.
Me: [Sighing in relief] Where is your favorite place to go?
Caleb: [awkward silence]
Me: What's your favorite place you've ever been?
Caleb: Disneyland.
Me: GREAT! What do you want to be when you grow up?
Caleb: A space man.
Me: Okay, this is how you spell "astronaut".
Me: [Knowing this is going to be rough] If you could wish for one thing, what would you wish for?
Caleb: I don't know.
Me: It can be anything. What would you wish for?
Caleb: I DON'T KNOW!!!!!

So here's the finished product:

Good times.

Sunday Evening Fun

2010-04-11T21:42:00.000-07:00

You want to know how to have fun on a Sunday night? Fold two weeks worth of laundry while doing this week's. Then you should be sure that someone has put something black and nasty through the wash so that it's smeared and baked on the entire interior of the dryer. This will give you the opportunity to scrub said dryer for about thirty minutes trying to get the black gunk off. If you do decide to undertake this rewarding endeavor, it should be noted that Scrubbing Bubbles help a great deal.

Just in case you needed something to do...

Growing Pains

2010-03-21T22:48:00.000-07:00

I found out last night that Nikki is officially taller than me. I knew that she had been growing, but I had no idea that she'd passed me up. Caleb also surprised me today when I put him in the shorts that were to his knees in the fall, and they were entirely too short.

I guess I blinked. :(

Olympic Insomnia

2010-02-16T20:50:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned that Caleb likes to join us in bed in the middle of the night? Well he does. Frequently. Sometimes, he is polite and waits until Scott is already up and getting ready so that he just climbs in next to me and we sleep blissfully until Scott wakes us up. And then there are nights like last night. Nights where he is not so polite. Nights where 3:30 am seems like the perfect time to join Mom and Dad. And although last night was such a night, Dad was not feeling like 3:30 am was such a nice time for a visit, perhaps because Dad may be afflicted with his second round of strep this month, or perhaps because Dad was only about 30 minutes from his own alarm. Regardless, Dad wasn't feeling it and was being rather grumpy about it, which meant that Mom had to take Caleb back to bed and tuck him in and prevent hysterics. Which left Mom quite wakeful at 3:30 am. So what else is there to do at 3:30 am other than watch Olympic figure skating?? Which explains why Mom is quite tired tonight, and quite hopeful that Caleb remains in his own room for the duration.

Productivity

2010-02-14T14:00:00.001-08:00

I had a four-day weekend. Well, technically I'm still having it. So guess what I've accomplished?

Laundry done? Partly.
Laundry folded? Actually it's piled on my bed WAITING to be folded.
House clean? Um, no.
Caught up on cookies? Negative.
Valentines ready to distribute? Thank goodness for Costco's chocolate-covered strawberries.
Finally tackled piles of things from the remodel? Ha ha. Funny.
Book read? ABSOLUTELY.

So there you go.

Hooray for Presidents!

2010-02-12T07:46:00.000-08:00

Thanks to our former presidents, we get a FOUR DAY WEEKEND! And even better, today the kids have school. This would be especially wonderful if Scott didn't have to teach Saturday School (Friday School?), but whatever. We may get to sneak in a few hours without kids. Grades are done and I refused to assign any more writing this week, so I think I'll go read the book I've been avoiding for two weeks. Hope your weekend is great, too!

Public School Blues

2010-02-10T00:04:00.000-08:00

I'm not very good about blogging these days. And right now I should be sleeping instead of blogging, but I'm not so here we go.

In Caleb news, he is apparently attending school with a child who has a rather colorful vocabulary (okay, the kid cusses like a sailor) and these lovely little phrases have been making appearances at home. He was playing Mario Brothers with Tim, and Tim said it sounded like he said, "Son of a..." (He didn't actually finish it, but still!) Tonight, along with his fit about taking a bath (WHY does this come as a shock EVERY NIGHT??) he grumbled, "Goddammit!" Because I heard this one, a Q and A ensued:

Me: We don't talk like that. Where did you hear that word?
Caleb: I don't know.
Me: Did someone at school say it?
Caleb: Cary (I don't really know this kid's name, but this is what it sounds like when Caleb says it) said it. He say potty talk. That word is for the bathroom.

So apparently the teacher is on it, because there's no way that Caleb came up with that little speech on his own. Can I just say that I MISS CATHOLIC SCHOOL?!!!!!!!

Oh, and Caleb's audiologist's receptionist keeps calling me at home to make an appointment, presumably for a hearing test. So I call her back and leave her a message telling her to call me on my cell. Then she calls my house and leaves a message. It goes on and on. I think we've been doing this for two months now (maybe SHE needs hearing aids). I can't wait for Caleb to impress the audiologist with the new vocabulary he's picking up now that he can hear. *sigh*

Puzzling

2010-01-30T18:01:00.001-08:00

I often feel like my life is a puzzle in which I am constantly trying to keep the pieces together. There is a Nikki piece, a Caleb piece, an Emma piece, a Scott piece, and then there are more family pieces for people who don't live in my house, and then friends. One piece is work, but sometimes work is three pieces named Peer Helping, Psychology, English, AVID, Saturday School, etc. Oh wait, I guess work is sometimes more than three. But you get my point, yes? The pets are a piece. My house is a piece that is constantly in need of attention. Church is usually one piece, but sometimes becomes more. Girl Scouts is usually one piece, except during cookie season when it multiplies. There's just a lot going on. And most days, I manage to keep the puzzle together, somehow fitting each piece into its proper place. Today was NOT one of those days.

Today was SUPPOSED to be Girl Scout Cookie, AP Super Saturday, Little League Sign-Up, Cookie Pick-Up, Emma's Birthday Weekend, and maybe A Play With Some Great People and Benefiting A Great Cause Day. Then my principal wanted me to do Saturday School, which conflicted with AP Super Saturday, so it was also Emma Babysit Caleb While Scott Does Saturday School for Cindy Day. But Emma went midnight bowling for her birthday and didn't get to bed until 3:00 this morning, so it was also Feeling Guilty About Waking Emma Up Early Day. And then it all changed.

Today became Take Nikki to the Doctor Because She Has Strep Throat After Picking Up Girl Scout Cookies Day. Then it was also Pharmacy Day and Maybe Make it Late to My Workshop Day, which gave way to Ah Forget It, I'll Take a Nap Day. But this offset Feeling Guilty Day, because Caleb went with us to the doctor. So I have no training, and Caleb did not get signed up for T-Ball (that's Tomorrow), but we have cookies and antibiotics, Emma got to sleep, and I'm going to a play!! YAY!

My point is that sometimes my pieces get messed up, lost, and yes, even destroyed. And I hope that the people who love me are forgiving enough to be okay with that. At least most of the time.

Rodent Overpopulation

2010-01-10T20:57:00.001-08:00

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this, but Nikki got a bunny for Christmas. It was really not planned that way, but her friend Sami had some baby bunnies that needed homes, and Nikki decided it would be worth it to forgo an iPod touch (not that she was necessarily going to get one) in order to bring yet another furry creature into the house. So now we have two dogs, a cat, a fish, and a bunny. Meet Reeses (as in peanut butter cup):

But wait, there's more! This weekend we ALSO had the class chinchilla for the weekend. He's very sweet and we enjoyed his company, but check out the rodent corner of our house.

He'll be going back to school tomorrow.
Isn't he cute??

Peanut Butter Rant

2009-12-29T13:21:00.001-08:00

This is the most random thing to write about EVER, but I'm SO MAD at Henry's for switching to that stupid "Sun Harvest" label. Why? Because their peanut butter sucks!!! Henry's used to have the ONLY non-stir peanut butter that didn't turn to an oily mess as soon as you took it out of the fridge. It had the same consistency as the peanut butter that has bad stuff in it, without the bad stuff. And since Caleb pretty much relies on peanut butter and dairy for protein, we NEED good peanut butter! So now we're back to the oily mess or Skippy "natural" which I'm sure is not natural at all and definitely has sugar in it.

The funny thing is that I was sharing this with a friend, and her cousin was just complaining about the same thing.

Henry's, why hast thou forsaken me??

Other than that, vacation is great. How's yours? =)

Merry Christmas to All!

2009-12-27T20:29:00.001-08:00

I hope you had a merry Christmas! We did, even though it was rather different. My parents left to go on a cruise through the Panama Canal for our ENTIRE break, which I think is fabulous for them and rather lonely for us. Still, we had a great time. My aunt invited us over to her house for Christmas Day, so we got to spend time with all of the cousins (a rare occasion these days!) for a few hours after church. Then we came back and watched the Chargers WIN AGAIN!! =) Devon left after the game, so our wonderful neighbors came over and helped us sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and eat cake.

Caleb got Rock Band for Christmas and a great time was had by all pretending that we knew how to play instruments. I have to say, though, that we went out and bought Lego Rock Band because it received reviews saying it was more family-friendly. I'm grateful that my five-year-old no longer has to sing along with people with tattoos and piercings who are wearing skulls and ripped clothing. Unfortunately, Lego Rock Band doesn't come with instruments, so you're kind of stuck making a purchase rated "T." If you're going to buy it and you also are not a fan of skulls or piercings, I recommend the Beatles version!

Nikki has been reading, reading, reading, and reading. In between, she plays with her bunny and puts in a few songs on Rock Band. She is having quite the vacation, which ends tomorrow when she has to get to work on her science fair project and catch up on her chores. When she's done, she can go back to loafing around.

We are looking forward to visits from many different people this week and look forward to hanging out around the house. May your week be filled with friendship and fun. Merry Christmas!

Almost there...

2009-12-16T18:24:00.000-08:00

We have two more days of school until Winter Break. HOORAY!!!! Because I have a LOT of things to get done during that break. Things like Christmas shopping, Christmas cards, Christmas baking, Christmas wrapping, Christmas decorating, and maybe even some Christmas fun?? That would be nice. We also still have a LOT of trim to paint and a LOT of pictures to put up on the wall and a LOT of organizing to do. I'm thinking I may not have time to do all of this, and what I'd really like to do is spend some quality time in my bathtub, but I fear this is unlikely. Oh well.

Emma is still with us and still wonderful. We actually went on a DATE on Friday, and nobody called to tell us that we needed to come home because Caleb was having a meltdown. It was fabulous. We'll miss her when she goes home for vacation.

Nikki is at a dance tonight. She is getting so grown-up. Where does the time go??

Caleb is still very unhappy with us that he still has to go to school and he still can't open his presents. I tried counting angels to show how many days are left but he got mad at me because I was counting 1, 2, 3, 4 when the angels said 15, 16, 17, 18. I felt a mathematical explanation was probably overkill so I just gave up. It's hard to be five.

Two more days, two more days, two more days...

Negotiations

2009-12-05T17:32:00.000-08:00

Scott and I were trying to have a quiet moment together in the kitchen when Caleb marched up.

Caleb: Hey guys! Hey guys! Hey guys! Hey guys!
Scott: [Realizing that ignoring him wasn't going to make him stop] Give us five minutes.
Caleb: How about one?

And so it goes.

Time for Christmas?

2009-11-28T07:32:00.000-08:00

Caleb: Is it Christmastime yet?
Me: Well, sort of. It's time to get READY for Christmas.
Caleb: Blink, blink.
Me: I know, let's get out the angels (advent calendar). Do you want to do that?
Caleb: YEAH!!
Me: That way you'll know how many days you have until Christmas.
Caleb (scrunching up his face): I don't want DAYS until Christmas!!

Greetings

2009-11-14T09:43:00.000-08:00

I know this is going to shock you, but things have been busy around here. I know, I know, but it's true. The good news is that I'm all caught up with my grades (for now), today is the last soccer game of the season, and construction is pretty much over for now (although we still have no deck). We also have a new member of the family. Emma is staying with us for the rest of the school year, and can I just say that I should have brought home a seventeen-year-old girl YEARS AGO?! She reads, she plays Candy Land, she helps with dinner, she sits with Nikki and looks for differences in pictures in Nikki's puzzle book. SHE ROCKS!! And since she is currently sitting in a tent made of blankets with my children, I actually get to blog! Yippee!!

Murphy's Law

2009-10-25T08:33:00.001-07:00

Caleb's godparents came out to watch his game yesterday. The plan was to do that and then go to the pumpkin patch. City Farmers was having their fall festival, so we wanted to go support them and let the kids have some fun.

Godparents have new twin baby boys, so they didn't quite get a chance to eat lunch before they came to the game (which started at 1:00). When it was over, we went to the burger place to eat. By the time we were done, it was 3:30. The festival was supposed to be over by 4:00, but we figured we'd just hang out for a bit afterward. We dropped off one of the cars at our house and left for the nursery.

About a mile from our house, Caleb screamed.

Scott: What's wrong?
Caleb: [holding his nose] Ouch, ouch!
Scott: Let me see.
Caleb: [pulls his hands away to see they are covered in blood] Oh no!
Scott: Hold on!
Nikki: [general freaking out that triggers crying from Caleb]

Caleb had whacked himself in the face with his water bottle in precisely the spot that causes blood to spurt from the nose. I pulled over, we grabbed a towel from the back, and told Godparents we needed to go back to the house.

After we got things settled down back at the house, we had a hard time getting motivated to move. The boys went outside to check on construction. The five-year-olds went to ride bikes. The rest of us contemplated napping right along with the sleeping babies on our laps.

Finally, a decision had to be made. At first we talked about going to a pumpkin patch in Lakeside, but it closed at 7:00. We ultimately decided to go to the very commercial pumpkin patch off the 15 that we've gone to for the past five years. We got everyone loaded up, drove to Poway, and found the lot fenced off with nothing but some Con-Ex boxes on it.

Plan D wound up being Cold Stone on Pomerado Road. Fortunately, there was a Target right next door with, glory of glories, pumpkins in the garden center. So we got to enjoy ice cream with not only the godparents, but my parents as well. We were home by 7:30 and had the kids in bed by 8:30. And we have pumpkins. YAY!

Weekly Update?

2009-10-24T07:21:00.000-07:00

So apparently I'm blogging once a week these days. This week was actually much better than last week (which looked a lot like last Saturday). Scott was the one with meetings this week, so I got to spend some time reconnecting with the kids.

Caleb has an IEP meeting next Wed. We will have to make a decision whether to put him in their early kindergarten program or keep him in preschool. There are benefits and drawbacks to both scenarios. Please pray for guidance. He's take another cognitive leap and is impressing us every day with new phrases and skills. Last night he put together a puzzle without any help!

Nikki is at yet another birthday party with one of her best friends. I'm grateful she's getting some time with some wonderful girls (Jaycie last week, Trina this week). She's been struggling with a "mean girl" at school, but seems to be handling it beautifully. Unfortunately, she has to depend on this girl to get to her zero-period Spanish class every day. I'm also praying for a solution to this problem. Ah, middle school. How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways...

Crawford had its homecoming game yesterday. It was horrible. 70-0. Plus our quarterback broke his leg and one of my students broke his arm. He's just in a splint and is in a lot of pain, but he's going to Children's today to see an orthopedist.

So this morning we have chores (because my house has been sorely neglected) and then Boo's soccer game this afternoon. It should be a good day. Yeah, Saturday!!!! Hope yours is great, too!

Saturday

2009-10-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

6:00 am Crawford (picking up students)
7:30 am Mission Bay for Out of the Darkness walk
11:00 am Crawford (dropping off students)
11:30 am home for a shower
12:00 pm Caleb's soccer game
1:00 pm home for Nikki
1:15 pm Nikki to birthday party #2
1:45 pm Clairemont High for football game
4:00 pm Crawford (dropping off students)
4:30 pm crash and burn
8:00 pm laundry
10:00 pm pick up Nikki

But man, it's good to be home!!

Going home!

2009-10-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

I leave Ecuador tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to seeing my family, who I miss terribly, but am so grateful for this incredible experience.

Please pray for the team. Three have been stricken with the flu and we're all leaving in the next 24 hours. Please pray for a return to health for those who are sick and for continued health for those who are not. Also, prayers for safe travel would be greatly appreciated.

I can't wait to share stories when I get home. See you soon!!

Cold Feet

2009-09-27T22:45:00.000-07:00

So I leave for Ecuador in just three days. THREE DAYS! And then I'll be away from my family for TEN DAYS!!! I've never been away from my kids that long. EVER. And the last time I left Scott for that long was before we were married. So I'm feeling a little, well, nauseous. I prayed for a long time about this decision, and it was really one of those things where God hit me over the head and said, "GO!" So I know I'm supposed to do this. But I'm really getting cold feet here. I'm going to miss them so much!

Another issue is my students. My colleagues have got me covered, but I'm going to be gone until the end of the grading period and I'm going to have to come back and do grades because they are due the NEXT DAY. ACK!!

So here I go with my final preparations. I probably won't be blogging much this week. Since I seem to have been designated "blogmaster" for the group, I probably will only be blogging on the other site while we are there. I imagine we will be busy working most of the time.

So for now, farewell! Please pray that our presence will be a blessing to the children at For His Children. And if you're in a position to take good care of my family, please do so!!

XOXO
Cindy

Caleb Update

2009-09-23T17:16:00.000-07:00

Caleb is having another cognitive quantum leap. He is suddenly discussing books that he read in school and telling us interesting facts he learned from them. He is remembering people's names. He wants to practice soccer all the time. These are all NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN behaviors!!

I wonder if there's a magic formula that causes this to happen one year after you can actually hear for the first time?? Something to ponder.

I never blogged about this because we were doing remodel chaos, but we decided to terminate Caleb's special day class services. Last year, he was bused to a SDC preschool twice a week, which he never complained about, but it had to be disruptive. For a variety of reasons, we chose not to continue these services. Now he gets to stay at his school with the same friends (who are NOT SDC students) all day, and he gets speech twice a week in the mornings. I suffered from a great deal of parental anxiety over this decision, but now I am so glad that we made this choice for him. He is just blossoming.

Go, Boo!!

REALLY tired...

2009-09-20T23:18:00.000-07:00

I spent this weekend at camp with my Peer Helpers in Julian. We left after school on Friday and got back today at noon. Essentially, this means I got about eight hours of sleep all weekend. After dropping off one of the students (I still find it disturbing that I have the kids all weekend and their parents STILL don't come pick them up), we headed home. The rest of my day looked like this:

12:45 Arrive home, have a piece of Julian pie with the family.
1:10 Dress Caleb for soccer pictures.
1:30 Scott takes Caleb for pictures so I can unpack. Instead, I fall asleep watching the Chargers.
3:15 Wake up in a panic because I slept. Watch Chargers lose. :(
4:00 Bathe Gloria & put a load in the laundry.
4:30 Deep-clean former master bath since it is now for guest use.
5:15 Decide that we are having taco shop for dinner. Keep cleaning.
6:00 Eat, do dishes.
6:15 Still cleaning!
7:00 Kiss Caleb goodnight, switch laundry, PAINT!!
8:00 Kiss Nikki goodnight. STILL PAINTING.
9:00 Walking with Mich.
10:00 Laundry, vacuum.
10:30 Check E-mail.

So here I am at 11:30 blogging. I should really be getting my clothes for tomorrow out, showering, and getting my work stuff together.

I think it's going to be another long week.

The Good Part

2009-09-16T17:34:00.000-07:00

The really good part about Nikki being a teenager (and also liking to cook) is that SHE is making dinner so that I can type this.

I hope there's some homemade pasta sauce in your future, too. Particularly homemade pasta sauce that YOU didn't have to make (at home, or elsewhere).

That is all.

Mixed Messages

2009-09-12T04:47:00.000-07:00

Caleb is playing soccer for the first time this fall. He could have played with four-year-olds last year, but the two attempts we made at enrolling him in structured activities deterred us from making another effort at that point. This fall, however, he's ready to listen and is VERY excited about being a "soccer teamer." He's been anxiously awaiting his first practice since we purchased his gear mid-August.

Last Tuesday was his first practice. I had to go run several errands for the house, so I was a little late getting there. When I got there, he was beaming as he passed the ball back and forth to his partner for the drill, and kept giving me the thumbs-up sign. Clearly, he was thrilled. Of course, he had no idea what he was doing (we registered him late and he missed a couple practices), so most of the time he sort of stumbled his way through. This was aggravated by the fact that he didn't have his hearing aids (Scott was worried about the sweat and took them off. We have now agreed that hearing is more important, and that's why Caleb has Ear Gear.) Even so, HE was eating it up!

Then the coach decided they should scrimmage, so she called the boys in and gave them different colored jerseys to put on over their clothes. ALSO VERY EXCITING! Then she gave them a ball and let them play. Caleb happily ran down the field toward the ball, got it, and then immediately started crying when another boy took it away. He came running back to us sobbing, "They mean to me! They take the ball away! That not sharing!!"

For five years, we have had to work HARD with Caleb to get him to share. We spent an ENTIRE WEEK this summer talking about how we take turns when we go bowling. And then we turned him loose in a game where the whole point is stealing the ball from somebody else, your friends even, and sort of forgot to mention that. Such hypocrisy!

This week, our conversations went like this:

Me: Caleb, what do we do when someone takes the ball away?
Caleb: We get it back!
Me: That's right. In soccer, we don't share during the game.
Caleb: Yeah!

Of course, none of this prevented another crying episode during this week's scrimmage.

Oh man. What are we doing here???

New Beginnings & Letting Go

2009-09-08T20:45:00.001-07:00

The house is nearing a stage where it might once again be sane. We have a fully operational kitchen which I LOVE! We have been using it a LOT and I don't ever want to eat out again. Okay, well maybe someday, but not anytime soon.

Caleb started his final year of preschool last Monday and then started soccer on Tuesday. That's a funny story for another day.

Nikki started her final year of elementary school today. She's officially an eighth-grader (both of her schools have been K-8). Wow. Next year she will be starting high school. They played this song on K-LOVE as I was driving her to her Spanish class, and I had to change the station before I got too emotional. It makes me sad to know that we only have five years left with her. I know that five years is a long time, and that she won't really ever not be mine, but still...

CHAMPs has a new leader this year, and he's actually an old friend. We had a smooth start to our school year, and I'm optimistic that this year will be the push that we need to get back on track. We lost a lot of great teachers, including Scott, after last year. The new staff seems great, and the students have chosen "New Beginnings" for our theme this year. I certainly hope so.

Today was also my first day without my beloved Class of 2009 after four years of working together. My new students seem great, and I was actually fine once I got started, but the drive to work was a little teary as I contemplated all this change. I have trouble letting go. I need to get over it.

So that's where I am tonight. Feeling a little nostalgic, but very optimistic. It's going to be a great year!

Parenting Tip of the Day

2009-08-20T22:21:00.000-07:00

Caleb: Mommy, I have a big surprise for you.
Me: [Half listening because I'm painting.] You do? What?
Caleb: I clean the toilet for you!
Me: [Paying attention now.] You what??
Caleb: [Beaming.] I clean the toilet for you! Come see!
Me: [Quickly putting down roller and following him up the stairs.] Why was the toilet dirty?
Caleb: [Leading me into our bathroom.] Ta-da!!

My first observation was that there was a very strong scent in the air and some soggy toilet paper shredded all over the toilet tank. Also, there were TWO bottles of air freshener instead of one.

Parenting Tip of the Day:
Do not leave bottles of Febreeze around where your five-year-old might find them and mistake them for scrubbing bubbles. Or you could just supervise your kids. That would work too.

Looking up!

2009-08-18T23:37:00.000-07:00

Today the doors were installed and Scott installed the towel racks and light in the guest bathroom. Tomorrow our kitchen cabinets come, they break ground on the patio, and the drywall is supposed to go up in the future kitchen. In the meantime, I will be painting, painting, painting.

Tomorrow is also a bonfire/reunion with the Peer Helpers, sort of a last hurrah before the '09 kids start college. I'm looking forward to seeing them and hearing all about their summers.

Caleb is excited to be back at school in the mornings. Both kids spent the morning at the zoo with Scott's mom today and had a great time.

Our new principal is AWESOME! He has taken on this HUGE mess that was handed to him and is running with it. I have complete confidence in his ability to lead our school. What a great thing!!

My parents are off having a grand time on an Alaskan cruise and Devon is thoroughly enjoying his new independence and work.

Yep, life is good. :)

Moving On

2009-08-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

Devon will be moving out today. He's been with us for three months now. He has a job and a place to live that he can afford just a few blocks from where he works. He's excited about getting a pet corn snake, as are his roomies.

It's up to him now. I am praying very hard that he is able to continue his forward progress once he is on his own.

Congratulations, Dev. We love you!

Conflicted

2009-08-12T16:40:00.000-07:00

I had to go re-enroll Caleb in preschool today. This was the conversation on the way there:

Caleb: I don't want to go to school.
Me: We're just going for a visit. I'm not going to leave you there.
Caleb: I don't want to visit. I want to go home.
Me: I have to sign some papers. We'll just go for a little bit.
Caleb: But I don't want to go to school.
(Repeat fifteen or so times.)

When we got to school, nobody was there. They were still on their way back from a field trip.

Me: Your teacher's not here. We'll have to come back.
Caleb: But I want my school! I want to see my teacher.
Me: We'll just go to the bank and then we'll come back.
Caleb: We can't leave! I want my friends! I want my teacher!
(Repeat fifteen times or so.)

After the bank (and many more complaints), we went back. Caleb had a great reunion with his friends and most of his teachers. The boys all ran up and hugged him when they saw him. He loved every minute of it. I was inspired to sign him up for three half-days a week until his school starts up again (we need to get some work done in the house before going back to work).

On the way home:

Caleb: I can't leave. I have to go to school. I'm very upset. I can't go home.
Me: I'm sorry you're upset. You're not going to school today, but guess what? I signed you up for summer preschool, so you get to go next Monday!
Caleb: But I don't want to go to school.
Me: Well then it's a good thing we're going home.
Caleb: But I have to go to school.
Me: Yes, when I go back to work you have to go to school again.
Caleb: But it's not your school. It's just for children.
Me: No, I'll go to my school and you go to your school.
Caleb: But I want to go to school. I'm very upset.

So I have no idea whether or not he'll be excited on Monday, but at least we'll get our molding painted.

*sigh*

It's too hard!

2009-08-10T05:26:00.000-07:00

Caleb is napping sporadically these days. On the days where nobody is pounding on the house, we like to at least give him the opportunity to take a nap. Today, WE really wanted to take a nap and he desperately needed the rest. Here's how it all went down.

1:00 Read a story after lunch, give kisses, say goodnight.
1:30 Listen to Nikki putting Caleb back in his room. Crying ensues.
1:45 Listen to Nikki telling Caleb to go back in his room. Scott goes downstairs and tucks him back in. Crying ensues.
2:00 Caleb appears at the top of the stairs (apparently, Nikki is done with her prison guard duty). I take him back to his room. He cries and tells me, "It's too hard to take a rest." We sing a song, he settles, I go back to bed.
2:30 Caleb is up again. Scott takes him back to his room. Again, "It's too hard!!!"
3:00 Repeat above scenario.
3:30 We hear Caleb playing downstairs.

At this point, we gave up and decided to head to my mom's for dinner. About five minutes into the car ride, Caleb fell asleep. He didn't wake up when we got there. But it's too hard to take a nap.

*sigh*

Waiting for the other shoe to drop...

2009-08-06T23:18:00.000-07:00

Our house is still destroyed. Our master bedroom is the only untouched room. Thanks to air conditioning adjustments, we now have to repaint Caleb's ceiling and at least one wall. Painting is at a standstill until they texture the patches. Tomorrow, we pack up our kitchen in preparation for its demolition on Saturday.

We had a good time with our niece. We went to Hollywood, Universal Studios, the beach, had a shopping day, and today the girls did a photo shoot in the new closet. Now we get to catch up on all the things we didn't do while she was here, like buy lights for the outside of the house and a faucet for our tub.

Don't be surprised if we turn up on your doorstep around breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

It's going to be REALLY NICE WHEN IT'S DONE!!! :P

A laundry riddle for you...

2009-07-29T23:08:00.000-07:00

How does one thirteen-year-old girl go through fourteen pair of underwear in one week? And then not even realize that she's worn fourteen pair of underwear so that she then is forced to clean and organize all her drawers and fish out luggage to search for said underwear?

If you come up with the answer, let me know.

Too Fried for Prose

2009-07-26T22:25:00.001-07:00

Another busy week at the Page House! Because my brain isn't organized enough to link coherent thoughts, here is a list of the highlights.

Devon was diagnosed with shingles. He was quite miserable for most of the week, but thankfully is recovering well. Most of the lesions have scabbed over, and he appears to be on the mend.
We also thought that Nikki had come down with the chickenpox, as she had a red, bumpy rash all over her stomach. However, it never developed beyond that.
We finished painting the master bath and the dining room. The bathtub and vanity were delivered by our favorite contractor. We also have a door, but the one in the master bedroom won't be coming for another month. Pictures forthcoming soon.
Tomorrow we start Vacation Bible School, always a highlight. Today was spent decorating the Community Center like the Grand Canyon. Our camping gear was called back into service. We're looking forward to a fun week!
We have a new washing machine. Ours broke on the second load after returning from Yosemite. I'm still catching up on laundry, as it took a week for the new one to come.
The air conditioner has been repaired TWICE since our return from Yosemite. It's working hard to cool the bigger house, but is much more effective since the repairs. Also nice are the cooler evenings.
I got to see the new Harry Potter movie. :)
I finished Wuthering Heights and am back on literary fast-food with the next installment of the Outlander Series.
Our niece, Lauren, is coming to visit on Saturday. We're going to take the kids to Hollywood. It should be fun.

Hope you're having fun, too!

Painting

2009-07-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

We've been too busy painting to blog.

Boo LOVES to paint!

Teamwork!

Painting is messy business. :)

Painty toes.

Nikki's new room. She opted to splatter her paint. (???)

The girls are happy to be back in their own room after six weeks of being displaced.

Hmmmm....

Master Bedroom. We think it looks like a mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwich. It still needs the chair rail and molding, but at least it's painted!

And that's what we've been up to.

Where to start?

2009-07-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

We are back from Yosemite. In an answer to prayer, we have no bear stories to tell. I think this is in large part due to the fact that it is entirely too cold for anyone to survive a night where we were camping, so the bears intelligently moved to the valley. Regardless, I am grateful to have returned without incident.

Yosemite was BEAUTIFUL and we camped right on the Merced River. Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying that particular amenity.

I think my favorite day was spent in the valley at Happy Isles and Mirror Lake. Gorgeous.

Goddad rigged a solar shower, which made the trip bearable.

On Thursday, I even got to wash my hair in Curry Village. Unfortunately, we also ate in the cafeteria there, which resulted in Godmom and I puking all night. Did you know that it's very inconvenient to vomit while camping? First, zipping oneself out of sleeping bags and tents does not make it easy to vomit outside the company of others. Recognizing this, I moved into the van for the night, where the door just swings right open and provides easy access to bushes. I considered driving down to the bathroom, but that would have required entirely too much movement. Godmom, however, did make it to the bathroom, where she sat on a rock outside for about three hours. Did I mention it was COLD where we were? We're talking low 40's at night. When I found this out Friday morning, I felt quite guilty about not moving the van down there.

We came home Saturday to find that my wonderful mother had cleaned all of the bathrooms and washed our sheets. I am relishing my access to plumbing. :)

While we were gone, Scott accepted a position at Clairemont High School. For the first time in our married life, we will be working in different places. I'm sure it will be a great opportunity for growth.

We are currently painting the house. Last night, we spent about three hours priming. We're not done with the two rooms we started. It's going to be a long week.

We painted last night because during the day I had to go into school to interview a prospective English teacher. We were required to offer her the position. I tried to be as scary as possible. We'll see.

And right now I should be changing into painting clothes and getting started. Today my skin and hair will be green. Lovely, yes? It will be great when it's done, it will be great when it's done...

Hasta luego.

Update

2009-07-03T18:40:00.000-07:00

The week started out on a low, but went uphill.

A member of our congregation died of stomach cancer on Sunday. She worked in the office and all three of her kids (who are in high school/first year of college) are very active in the church. She was only 45.

We also found out that the principal we thought would be ours will not, in fact, be ours. Instead, we have to hire a new one. In the meantime, we are losing more and more teachers, my husband being a prime candidate.

So on Tuesday I left town for San Francisco. I took a recently-graduated student up for her orientation, and we stayed with Jackie at her apartment. It was SO FUN and SO NICE to be away from all the turmoil of construction, grief, and indecision. I got home yesterday afternoon.

Today we ordered the cabinets for the kitchen and the vanity for the bathroom. We now have a very large credit balance with Home Depot. However, I am very excited about the new kitchen. It's going to be GREAT!

Nikki also came back from confirmation camp today. She had a great time.

I know this is not even remotely interesting or entertaining, but that's what we're up to. Just thought you'd like to know.

Summer

2009-06-26T20:51:00.000-07:00

So we're one full week into summer now. Last week didn't count because my kids were still in school and I worked every day. But THIS week was VACATION!!

We camped Monday-Thursday at the beach with Caleb's godparents. FUN! S'MORES! TIDE POOLS! READING! It was awesome.

Friday I took the kids to do their work for a study (they're part of the control group and get paid $10/hour to take tests!). Then I came home to find the workers were done for the day and so we napped and watched "Return of the Jedi" on the wall for Friday Night Movie Night.

Today we went to the library's summer reading program kick-off at the park. Aside from the tragic loss of Caleb's balloon sword (he waited 15 minutes in line and it popped after 5 minutes), it was fun. Then another nap and dinner with Grammy and Grampy to celebrate their anniversary, which actually happened while we were camping.

So I'm sure I've put on some pounds, but I'm working on my THIRD book and I'm finally feeling like maybe it is vacation after all. YEAH!

The End of an Era

2009-06-25T17:39:00.000-07:00

As a child of the eighties, I am shocked and saddened by Michael Jackson's sudden death.

I know there are lots of controversial things to say about Michael, but I'm not interested in those things. I remember the VERY cute Michael who sang and danced his way into everyone's hearts back in the seventies. I remember the EVEN MORE talented Michael who stunned teens like me by making amazing videos to songs like "Thriller" and "Beat It," which I watched ad nauseum when MTV was new and still showed videos. I still have the "Thriller Tour" t-shirt the people I babysat for bought me when they went to his concert. I still have the album in vinyl! I recently downloaded the album to iTunes because we needed to do some cultural background in American Lit (Vincent Price narrated "Thriller" AND starred in many movies written by Poe). For those of us who came of age in the eighties, he was our Elvis or Beatles.

It's so sad that he was so unhappy with his appearance that he destroyed his face and skin, and ultimately his body. I'm sorry that he was such a tortured soul. But he has left a huge impact on this world through his art.

Thank you, Michael, for your music. May you finally rest in peace.

DONE!

2009-06-16T19:12:00.000-07:00

Schools out!!

It was a busy and wonderful final weekend with my seniors. Friday night we went out for pizza, rode on the rides at Belmont Park, and then cried our eyes out at a two-hour goodbye ceremony.

Saturday the Peer Helpers all came over for a pool party/potluck. They had a great time swimming, playing basketball and ladderball, and (oh yeah) throwing me in the pool. >(

Sunday they all had a bonfire at the beach, which I opted out of since I needed to do laundry. We also celebrated Mother's & Father's Days with Scott's parents/grandparents.

And yesterday was the big day! I had the honor of reading my kids' names for the final time as they received their diplomas. My favorite moment was when one of my students asked me to call her by my nickname for her as she walked across the stage. What a proud time for them. And since we did all our crying on Friday, I just had a blast taking pictures and loving being together one last time.

And now this year, which was so wonderful in every way that had to do with the students and so miserable in many ways that had to do with the staff, is over. Thanks be to God. It's summer!!! :)

Nothing in Particular

2009-06-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

There's a lot of hard stuff happening at work right now and it's making me sad. I don't like to blog about sad. So I'm not blogging much.

Oh, and I found out today from a co-worker (who is not also my husband) that my husband is applying for jobs at other schools. This is about the tenth time he has done this (made a major career move and I find out from a co-worker, or after the fact). Every time he does it, we have a big discussion about how I should be the first person to know these things, not the last. And then he turns around and does it again. I have checked and I am not the only one who finds this disturbing.

See, that's why I shouldn't be blogging right now. See you in a week.

The only constant...

2009-05-29T09:59:00.001-07:00

Change is becoming my best friend, which is really ironic since I've always hated it.

Right now, the administrators and a few teachers are deciding on a proposal for the future of our school. I have no idea what this means for our small part of the school. Regardless, our board member wants to tear the school down in a year, which means we either save our small school by moving to another site or our staff and students will be dispersed to the four corners of SDUSD. So I guess we have some work to do.

Devon has been a wonderful addition to the household. He's great with the kids and is working hard to re-learn math so he can pass his proficiency exam for his diploma on June 20. He's eager to find a job and start earning some money, but he has to wait for his ID to come in the mail. He has an orientation for a job-skills program on Monday. He's doing all the right things. I'm very impressed.

And of course, the school year is racing to a close. I will be saying goodbye to my beloved Class of 2009. In the meantime, I am getting the Class of 2010 ready for senior year by working on personal statements.

Oh yeah, and every day our house looks different. I'll post pictures again tomorrow.

Yep, Change and I are great buddies these days.

Birthday Pictures

2009-05-27T21:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Boo's birthday party. Fun!!

The boys had a great time in the pool!
Caleb's goddad made a BEAUTIFUL "rocket ship!" Notice who's driving it! ;)

Band Concert

2009-05-27T21:08:00.001-07:00

Last night was Nikki's first band concert. She got to play "Star Wars" with the high school band. She did so well!!

Dining Al Fresco

2009-05-27T19:49:00.001-07:00

Nikki decided we should christen the new dining area today since they added railings. It was fun!

Eating dinner. Gloria found it quite tempting. ;)
The view from the new dining area.

Ice cream for dessert.
The back of the house.
The view from the master bedroom. It's getting exciting!!

Expanding and Shrinking

2009-05-27T07:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we came home to find the downstairs completely framed, and even covered. It is quite magical to leave in the morning and come home to find one's house looking COMPLETELY different than it did when one left eight hours earlier.

So the house is expanding. But in the meantime, our usable space is shrinking. Yesterday, our contractor told us that we needed to remove all of our fragile things from our shelving unit because they are going to be ripping the stucco off the back wall of the house today (!!). Devon was kind enough to assist me in this matter. We also took down pictures. But my house was already full, and now I have pictures and breakable things to store. And I imagine that this is going to get MUCH worse before it gets better!

Our school gets out in three weeks, but during the first week of summer vacation our kids both still have school. I think that is a great time to PURGE. We have GOT to get rid of the STUFF that fills our house (and mostly our garage)!! In the meantime, know that if you come visit me you will be escorted through a maze of piles strategically arranged throughout the house. Don't judge me.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

2009-05-23T16:29:00.000-07:00

Why are we busy??

Devon arrived yesterday. We spent the evening rearranging the already-rearranged furniture to make a little space for him to call his own. He is so glad to be home, and we're SO glad to have him back!!

Caleb turned five today. Happy birthday, Boo!!

This morning, they began framing our house. We now have a bottom story. Yeah!

This afternoon, we went shopping because Devon needed clothes and Caleb needed to pick out the fun stuff for his birthday party.

Tonight we are going to prom #17.

Tomorrow is Caleb's birthday party!!

But I'm not complaining because it's all so GOOD!!!! :)