Birthdays, sports, and other stuff

In an effort to make me feel like I am aging far too quickly, my children continue to have birthdays. This week we had Reghanne's 10th birthday. I have been a parent for a DECADE!!!! It seems like not that long ago, I couldn't even fathom a decade, now I have been responsible for another person for one. Craziness! We celebrated in Hawaii with a trip to a nice (well in theory, it was probably nice in 1950 when it was built) restaurant and the Smith Luau (best on the island). Since we are suckers, we also threw her a little family party at Cici's on Sunday and then took her to breakfast and lunch yesterday, because she wanted too and the general rule is, if it is your birthday you get whatever you want (within reason). Cici's was fun despite the fact that she ended up dumping an entire bowl of spaghetti on top of Denton (no exaggeration, he was covered, somehow his head is the only thing that escaped mostly unscathed) She got a pretty new outfit from us for her birthday so she could go to dinner at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant with her Dad last night. She has wanted to go there since she could ask for ridiculous things and he decided hittin' double digits was a big enough occasion! She had the best time and came back apologizing because apparently Wolfgang Puck cooks better than me, go figure. The monster ordered a $63, 14 oz steak! (Really glad her Dad took her on this little adventure!!) and a $15 sliver of cake. She loved every minute of it though and I am sure it all made it worth while, until they got outside and realized her Dad had a flat tire and he had to change it in his dress clothes in the dark.... ho hum!

Denton's birthday is quickly approaching. Somehow he has managed to turn two in the blink of an eye. He is saying all kinds of things these days but the sentences come out all jerky like a robot. He also thinks that if he grabs my hand and says "come on" I am obligated to go where ever he wants me to go. Which is usually to the kitchen or to bed (he has a very limited number of interests these days). No clue what the party situation will be for him yet, but after our last few restaurant trips where he has run around like a wild animal, it needs to be somewhere he can do more of that....

Fall is here (well almost, I will be happy when the weather catches on to that fact) and that means lots of boring sports that I hate. The other night my television looked like a slot machine of dull... Nascar, football, baseball (which I like), nascar, football, baseball, nascar, football, baseball... I ended up the winner because it landed on baseball for good... really glad I have convinced myself to like at least one of these sports. I loathe nascar and football equally. Both are mind numbing to me and I do not get the appeal of either.

I thought I had other stuff but really, I have my son and my niece hanging with me while Kara and Reghanne do a complete re-organization of her room and they are being a little monstery right now.

That is all.

Trying not to die and gaining weight...

What have I been doing this last week you ask? Well, the name of this blog says it all. Mostly I have been trying not to die and gaining weight at a rapid rate! Apparently I am pregnant with some kind of life sucking rhinoceros or something. In addition to putting on more pounds than are probably necessary, I am constantly fighting with a fetus for enough room to house my vital organs and allow them to function properly.

Just to recap, I went to Hawaii for a long (not long enough) time. I came back and had my glucose test. The doc was like "SOOOO, if you don't hear from us before next Wednesday, then you are good." My phone rings the NEXT day... my head is saying "If I don't answer it until next Wednesday does that mean I'm still good?"

So I answer.

Nurse: "Hey this is so and so with Doc so and so's office"

Me: "um yeahhh?"

Nurse: "Your glucose is fine."

Me: first thought YAY! Second thought, um then why are you calling, the only other test they said they were running that comes to mind is HIV (cue heart palpatations.) "yeaaahhh?"

Nurse: "You are anemic"

Me: "I'll take it!"

Nurse: "What?"

So, I'm not diabetic or HIV positive and I just have to take a little pill every night. Done and done.

Two days later I begin to show signs of what can only be described as some sort of death disease. I am dripping snot willy nilly, sneezing, coughing, and feeling like absolute turd. I call the OB, they don't want me to come in, they prefer I take my disease ridden body to a place not filled with healthy pregnant women. I call my PCP (whom I've never needed before because I'm generally healthy) and they tell me that, despite the fact that they are my assigned doc and the ONLY one I am allowed to see, they are no longer accepting new patients. Um.... okkaayyyy. I call the OB back and they bring me at lunch so I don't infect the masses. I have bronchitis, which I figured. I have battled this many times but not for a long time and it is particularly fun whilst pregnant with baby who loves jamming hard knobby appendages into my rib cage limiting my ability to breathe deeply and cough my lungs up.

As for the second half of the title of this post. I weigh more now than I did when I gave birth to Reghanne and only about 5 lbs less than when I gave birth to D AND I gained 1.5 lbs in a week. For those of you keeping count I am up to 155 now.... (Yeah, I told ya'll, I don't care if you know... I know and that is the worse than me telling anyone else I can think of)

Anyways, I am recovering quickly and getting excited about meeting my new little buddy (mostly because if he is out HERE he will no longer be in there causing permanent damage to my body parts).

PS. Reghanne made the Southwest Children's Chorus. She didn't inherit my voice but somehow ended up with a good one. We are very excited and will have a very busy December (they have 6 performances that month alone!)

That is all.

I'm not a "real" teacher.... - Musings of a homeschool Mom

Blog or rant, you decide. I am not angry really but I am curious. Why am I not considered a "real" teacher? What parent isn't a teacher in some respect? Your baby didn't pop out of the womb walking and talking and eating with a fork. Your children weren't born saying "Yes sir/ma'am" and "No sir/ma'am" or pooping in the potty. I mean, really, we are all teachers in our own right. Even those of us who spend most of our time at work. We spend weekends carting our kids to zoos and telling them the names of animals and evenings showing them the ropes of cooking, etc. We read books to our kids, color with our kids, and along the way, those kids LEARN things from them. So what is a "real" teacher???

Teacher is defined as a person who teaches. Am I less respectable as a teacher because I teach at home? Is it because I don't have a teaching degree? I am not a teacher, as I have been well informed since becoming a homeschooling mom, so I don't know what a REAL teacher does. Here is what I do. If there are real teachers out there, let me know if I qualify.

1. Obsessively research, study, and read about all types of curriculum for all subjects and learning styles in order to choose that which best fits my children.

2. Purchase all required materials for the classes I have chosen for my daughter to take.

3. Provide my student and all other children and members of the family with three meals a day.

4. Plan weekly lessons from the curriculum I have chosen and try to plan projects and field trips around those lessons.

5. Teach those lessons.

6. Grade those lessons.

In addition, I find teaching moments in everyday activities. I care for my other children who are not old enough for school yet. I do my own school work. I manage my household. I plan outside activities with other children so I am not accused of not "socializing" my children. And, best of all, I face constant criticism for my choice to teach my own child.

While I watch all the non-homeschool friends post excited/heartbroken/nervous status messages about sending their kids off to school, I have taken on the 24/7/365 responsibility of teaching my child everything she needs to know morally and educationally to navigate this world. Yes, it is MY CHOICE. I fully understand that, I have mad respect for working parents who send their kids to school, I was one. I have respect for teachers who go everyday and teach unruly little monsters that they don't have to love because they don't share their blood. My gripe here is why am I not a "real" teacher? Where is the respect for me and those like me? Discuss among yourselves.

That is all.

Waking up in Texas...

Good morning party people. I am waking up in Texas for the first time in two weeks. Well, I guess not technically. I did sleep until noon yesterday and I woke up twice to use the bathroom in the middle of the night but you know, officially waking up.

The last 48 hours were a whirlwind!! In some portion of that time I was overlooking breathtaking waterfalls and listening to the sweet sounds of Larry Rivera (he is a billion year old guy that played with Elvis in his Hawaiian movie, the name of which escapes me) on a plush green lawn with almost my entire family while my son danced the cutest hula I have ever seen. I am getting a little teary eyed thinking about it to be honest.

I did really love Hawaii, but I wonder, would it have been the same experience under different circumstances? I was unbelievably blessed to be in Hawaii for two weeks with my mother, grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousin, step dad, and step siblings! That doesn't even count the 5 days we spent with my cousins from Oklahoma who I haven't seen in a century. I can not even find the words to express what that meant to me. My son started off the vacation a little skeptical about my uncle but at the airport on the last day he pointed at him and said "TONY!". I grew up really close to my unc but over the years we have drifted apart so that was something that, sitting on my couch right now and thinking about, actually has me crying. (is this pregnancy or what? Surely I haven't grown a heart.)

Anyways, we had the best time. I really though I would just be sad to be home in Texas but I realized this morning that the hardest part about being home is not waking up with my family around me. I have to go now because I have a math exam to take and I don't feel like I will do well if I can't stop boo hooing.

That is all.

As they say in Hawai'i ALLLLOOHHHAAAA!

What can I possibly say about Hawaii that is not cliche? This place is amazing. I don't even make plans, just sitting here in a chair next to the window, feeling the breeze is enough to make me happy. No doubt the comfortable temperatures help with my enchantment of this place, but it is just an overall feeling of peace and relaxation I feel here.

It may be hard for some of you reading this to believe that I have been living in a house for almost two weeks that doesn't even have any air conditioning! This is something that I would never endeavor anywhere else. From our first day here we have SO enjoyed the happy rain showers that start just as quickly as they end and usually produce the most vibrant rainbow your eye has ever seen. The sights, smells, sounds and people are like no other place I have ever been. It is hard not to instantly feel at home!

We have had some wonderful experiences since we have been here. One of the trips we took was barfragious though! My dear mother, who knows that I can not even drive on a highway loop with out getting sick decided we would all take a trip to Waimea Canyon a few days ago. To say the road was windy would be an understatement. Picture me for about 20 minutes with my hands over my eyes groaning "Please God let this be the end!" and you will know the experience. When we got to the top it was cold and rainy. My mom assured me it would be "worth it" to which I replied "If I see a freakin' unicorn in that thing it won't be worth it!". It was pretty but not something I would ever do again. I asked her why she subjected me to that horror and she said "It's a canyon, I figured you knew about the drive." Yes Mom, I have lived in or around Dallas Texas my entire life, of course I know ALL about CANYONS!! What a dork!

Not every second here has been pleasurable but I will save that for another time, if ever at all. Those of you who know me are free to inquire about my side of the story as I know there are a lot of malicious comments being made. I think those of you who really know me, know me well enough to know that they are lies though and will require no further explanation.

That nastiness aside, my children have been just as amazed as I have by the beauty of Hawaii and I feel like we will be making subsequent trips here in our future. I have enjoyed a scenic round of golf with my husband, wonderful dinners, a fabulous luau with my birthday girl, and so many laughs watching my son explore beaches for the first time. My step sister, daughter, and son's "sand fight" on the beach the other day will be a lasting memory for me. Seeing their brown little bodies splash through the waves laughing and giggling brings a smile to my face and happy tear to my eye just thinking about it. I would not trade this experience for anything and getting to share it with my Mom and grandparents has made it all the more memorable!

That is all.