School

We are full swing in the school year and have really (thank you Jesus) got in to our routine.
Things were a little rough for Delaney for a while and I was slightly concerned that she was really going to struggle with kindergarten. I got called on two seperate occassions because she was hiding under the table in the classroom. I feared that maybe she was too young to start school. However, after we talked about it and made an "Awesome Day" chart in which we put a sticker on for...wait for it...when she has an awesome day at school.  I have seen a real positive change in her. I think learning how to read has got her pumped up.

Cecelia is doing great. She's just a great kid. I caught myself asking her sisters why they can't be more like her the other day. I know it was TOTALLY not cool, but it's kind of true. She loves school. Like, a lot. She doesn't have to be told to do her homework. It's wonderful. She is a wonderful example to her younger sisters and we couldn't be more proud.

Laila is also enjoying school. Granted, she only spends 5 hours a week there, but she has no separation anxiety at all, she just gives me a kiss and off she runs in to the class. It's kind of sad...for me...but I'd rather it be this way than leaving her in tears.

Lastly, I am also doing pretty good in school.  The semester is almost over and I've got to kick some serious butt on my finals to keep my GPA high in the sky.  I find the material very interesting which makes it easier to sit in a night class in the cold and dark 2 nights a week.  It seems like I will never be fluent enough to interpret, but I know as time goes on I will continue to improve.  I also have been tickling my brain writing papers (lots of papers) and reading text books again.

We're going to have a lot of time off from school for the holidays so hopefully next semester will go as smoothly as this one has for us.

Yay for school!!!

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/1107/Wealth-gap-between-young-and-old-is-wider-than-ever/(page)/2

All About Me

Let's talk about me and the fact that I have become one of those people.

You know, the kind that complain about stuff, but don't do anything about it.

The biggest issue: body.

I weigh myself almost every morning and seriously wait for that day when all of a sudden I've lost 5 pounds. Like magic.
Obviously that hasn't happened. Then I stare at my fat gut in the mirror and wish I could just cut it off.

I know I should work out, but honestly I don't feel like it will help.
I proved to myself last year that running on a treadmill won 't make one bit of difference.
Sit-ups don't help either.
Halloween candy is only making it worse.
I feel like the only people who have totally awesome bodies work out everyday.  I don't want to have to do that!
I have found that finding the perfect shirt helps the most - something "flowy" for example.
I'm also holding out for that one day when the perfect body style is like those women in old school paintings. It obviously was in at one point in time.

By the way, don't ever let my girls read this because I never want them to care or worry about what they look like.

I am such a cliche.

Happy Fall Y'all!!

3

I would like my girls to sometimes have to earn the fun things that we do. Lately, I've been struggling because 2 out of the 3, or 1 out of the 3 will be cooperative but then the other 1 or 2 is not.

I want to tell the one(s) that are acting like wild animals that they will not be rewarded for their behavior.  For example: if I tell the girls that we can go to the DQ today if everyone helps picking up, and only one or two actually help out (without complaining constantly) then only the one(s) who helped should be able to go.

BUT, that would mean either Bill or I has to stay back

or

if it's just me and the girls I bring them all and only reward some?!?

I can't imagine doing that.

However, if I say no to the DQ all together then those who were "good" get screwed.

How do you do it with 3?

"Disability"

Being back in school, and learning about deaf culture, has been super fun. I have learned a LOT about deaf people already (and am slowly mastering ASL).
I have seen through the last couple of months a common theme that I heard a lot when I was doing my undergraduate schooling in psychology which is this:
If your child is born a certain way, please please please just leave them be.

I remember back at Moorhead State hearing about babies being born with both genders. Most of the time, the parents just pick the gender they think is best and then raise the child that way.
9 times out of 10, once these children grow up they are not only extremely disappointed in their gender but also sad that they're body has been essentially mutilated.

In the deaf culture, the big issues are:
cochlear implants
mainstream school vs. residential school
oral vs. ASL education

I honestly cannot say how I would feel if I had a deaf child. As a hearing person I would probably feel distraught that my child would never hear the things we take for granted every day. On the other hand, knowing what I know now about the deaf world I would hopefully not try to "fix" my child.

Trying to teach a deaf child to hear and talk is a futile effort. These children have a language and a culture of their own and expecting them to be just like the other kids is really not even possible.

Time after time I have heard stories from deaf adults who were tortured as a child - not allowed to use sign language, being forced to learn speech, being thrown in to a regular school without other deaf students or an interpreter.

As parents, we see our children as a reflection of ourselves and want them to be "perfect." However, what may seem like a disability to us, is just normal to them and the bottom line is that we should just leave them alone until they are old enough to make decisions about their own life.

Great Day

My great day is due to:
the fact I had the day off.
I got to visit CeCe's classroom.
Laila and I went to the park.
while at the park the church
bells rang Fur Elise
(the whole song)
Me and my girls all got
to have lunch at school together.
We raked leaves in the warm sun.
Bill took all the girls to
gymnastics by himself.