Math

Our school system does student evaluations throughout the year as a means of measuring where the child is and how far they have, or have not, progressed. WA's first evaluation was sent home last week. Turns out the kids is all about math. He is exceeding his grade level across the board in math already. His reading and writing skills, on the other hand, are below average. This bias is probably typical of his gender and certainly points to him being much more like his father when it comes to learning. I SUCKED in math. Sucked. Had to get tutored to learn my times tables sucked. Yeah, it was bad. Reading, writing and history were always where I excelled. It's a good thing the hubby breezed through most math classes and ended up becoming an engineer. I can't related to WA's strong math skills, but I am proud of his achievements in that area and am ready to help where he struggles.    

Grandma love

My mother-in-law is in town. She came down to watch WA on Monday since he was off for a teacher in service day. She decided to keep IA home, as well, to spend the day with both kids. Their day began with a trip to Bob Evans and some sausage and eggs for WA and pancakes for IA. They then headed to the Columbus Zoo and saw polar bears, petted (and cleaned...eewww) goats and went to the recycling exhibit. They came back full of stories, loaded with sugar and armed with stuffed animals (3!! for WA and 1 for IA…my guess is that WA was just a tad bit better at sweet talking his grandma). When I got home last night they were ready for bed and so excited to tell me all about their day. Once I got the entire recap from WA, I said “WOW, I’m so glad you had fun! Grandma sure did spoil you!”. He immediately looked at me with a big smile and said “Yeah, I bet you wish she was YOUR grandma!”.  I’m glad my kids recognize how good they've got it :).

I think she needs more bling

What IA picked out and wore to school today...

I Carry Your Heart

Over the past couple days I have been obsessing over a song by Michael Hedges. He was an amazing acoustical guitarist/singer/song writer who passed away tragically many years ago. I was introduced to him while I was in Seattle, but just recently "rediscovered" his work. He's a bit new-agey at times, so I don't love everything he's ever done. One of my all time favorite artists (and a blast to see in concert) Keller Williams lists Michael Hedges as one of his inspirations. Point is, I really like this song. The song is based off (word for word actually) a poem by E.E. Cummings. I've been sitting here trying to figure out what I think the poem is really about. Clearly it's about love. Romantic love? Love of God? Love of family? Maybe all of the above? I find myself thinking of a combination of people when I hear this song/read this poem. My kids, my mom, my husband, those I love and have loved. It uplifts me and makes me depressed all at the same time. I really suggest googling this song and giving it a listen (unless you like butt-rockin'-death metal...then you're not gonna like it). Words to the poem are below:

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done

by only me is your doing,my darling)

i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

Amen

I grew up Catholic. I don't think there's a time I don't remember being in a pew on Sunday morning. Through college I kept it up, but right around 19-20 I started to get the feeling that the Catholic church was just not for me. That doesn't mean that I didn't (and don't) appreciate all the things I feel like I got out of it growing up. I learned a respect for others, a love of spiritual things and a sense of right and wrong (not that I'm always spot on with that one). You could argue that my parents had something to do with teaching me these things, and they did, but for me church reinforced them. That's not to say as I grew up I didn't see the negatives. Guilt, sexuality as sin, women as second class and last but not least (in any way shape or form) the hypocrisy of that particular institution. I just couldn't swallow it. So for the past several years I've really been "church-less". Not non-spiritual, but feeling like I was a spiritual person without a home base. I love nature and being in nature and even see "God" everywhere in nature, but  never really felt like that was the answer for me.

So here I am, 40, with two children and the one thing I can say that I am actively regretting is not offering my children the same experience. That's not to say that I am going to shove anything down their throats and "make" them believe one thing or another, but I want to give them the experience of religion and in time let them make their own decisions about how they feel about God and want to experience him/her.

Today I felt it. Today I went to a church of a friend of mine who is a minister. She is Methodist and belongs to a modest, but tight, congregation just a few minutes from our house. The hubby, myself and the kids went to a service this morning and I have to say, I enjoyed it. This service could NOT have been more un-Catholic. There was a full on band, tons of singing, no pews, snacks(!) and a wonderful focus on children actively learning lessons in the Bible (and not simply being lectured to for an hour). About 15 minutes in to the service, the children are taken from the main service and brought to the children's room (much like a pre-school room). Where they do a craft and talk about a certain lesson from the Bible. Today they made a burning bush from crepe paper. Super cool. They like it too! No whining or refusing to go back. At the main service there was more singing and a sermon from the main pastor. I actually teared up a couple times during the service because I felt it. Hurray! That hasn't happened in such a long time. Being used to such a static church environment I think it will take a bit of time for me to feel totally at ease, but I like what I felt today.

Unfortunately the hubby is not quite convinced. I can't blame him and I would never try and force him to believe or participate in something that he doesn't feel, but I think he is supportive of my goals for the kids and I understand his need for caution when it comes to religion. For now, I am thankful for the positive experience and hope it's a step toward something good.

School update

WA is well in to his first month of school. With 12 days under his belt all seems to be going just about as good as we can expect.

Does he have trouble concentrating?
Sure.

Does he not love learning every single day?
I suspect the answer is the same for most little boys...they'd rather be on the playground.

Does he eat hot or cold lunch?
Right now it's a mix. I admit, it's nice not to have to pack his lunch every single day.

Is he making friends?
Yes. His besties are Charquez and Brady. And he talks about them on a regular basis. He also saw Piper at the ice rink and the two were playing tag on skates.

Do we have a decent line of communication with his teacher?
Thankfully yes. She allowed us to come in a day earlier than the other students so that Will could meet her and see the classroom (as he was a little anxious about the whole thing) and from then on we have been emailing with her on a regular basis. She tells us when he's had a rough day or when he's done really well. I SO appreciate this feedback.

Is the bus going well?
YES! With the exception of the one morning he totally took off down the street when the bus rounded the corner. In his mind if he didn't get on the bus, he didn't have to go to school. Needless to say I addressed that little fantasy pretty quick.

Am I happy?
Yes. I'm glad he seems to be adjusting well and enjoying himself. He has already taught me how to say "I love you" in Mandarin (they have Chinese once a week),  我爱你 or "wǒ ài nǐ" (whine - knee), and I love saying it back to him every night before bed.

Keep up the good work New Albany schools and great job WA!

Clash of styles

I find myself in a bit of a decorating jam. Now that I own my own wonderful house (with plenty of space to fill) I feel like I'm finally spreading my personal style wings.

My tastes run very much toward the eclectic. Not so much in the items themselves, but in the mixture of worn and new, textures and colors. My mom always had great style and growing up I always remember feeling very proud of my house. Her tastes were more country casual (and I don't mean the kind with an over abundance of knickknacks, potporri and roosters). My own residences have been furnished with her "leftovers" for a very long time. So now that she is gone and I have a place that truly feels like my own, I am tweaking. Here's the rub...I have some pieces that are just too sentimental to part with. Like dressers that my great grandfather made

or rugs that I got at an auction with my Mom. Things that are hard (or impossible) to part with. So I now fear that I am creating a place that lacks the polish that I desire because it's a bit out of tune. Not sure how to solve this one other than to "just try it".