No Mother Left Behind

A few months ago, I was asked to be a part of the awesome women over at Deep South Moms Blog, one of the regional blogs that comprise the well-knows Silicon Valley Moms Blog network. Due to personal circumstances, the SVMB groups will be ending. I was really lucky to be a part of it for such a brief time and I have learned so much from the wonderful women there. This post, and a few others to come, were originally posted over at DSMB.

Last year, I wrote a whole string of posts about the “No Child Left Behind” Act", signed into law by President George W. Bush. Know what I learned from writing all those posts?

The general interwebz people who read mommy-blogs don’t find education topics quite as exciting as I do. Ditto for political topics. Who Put Me In Charge Of These People??? is not exactly the Huffington Post.

The whole reason I even broached the very controversial subject of No Child Left Behind was because I was sick and tired of not knowing all the facts. When the subject came up in adult conversation, I wanted to be able to speak and actually know what I was talking about. I mean, let’s face it: when do I, or you, ever have time to actually hear more than a 30-second sound byte on any news topic? When do we ever have time to really sink our teeth into the real stories behind the headlines?

Maybe the reason I don’t usually pay attention to politics or news is because nothing is straightforward anymore. Every time a politician speaks, acts, or votes, there are a dozen different reactions. All the talking heads slant their reaction to benefit their own point of view. How is a mom supposed to get an unbiased account of what’s going on?

I had to start somewhere, and I decided that since my children were at the age when NCLB would play a very real role in their education, I would start by finding out some answers on my own. I looked online. I went to the library. I spoke to the principal at my children’s school. I did my best to gather information from as many neutral resources as I could find.

The way I felt was nothing short of exhilarating. I hadn’t used my brain to acquire purposeful knowledge in so long that I felt like I was blowing out all the cobwebs and revving up my engines. I felt like I was being awoken again! I had many all-nighters in front of the computer while researching, typing out my thoughts, and forming rational opinions based on sound research.

I got to a point when I started to believe that I needed to explain to everyone else what NCLB is all about. I felt especially compelled to tell other moms about it. After all, what responsible mom WOULDN’T want to know all about it, right?

Then I realized: I wasn’t passionate about NCLB. I was passionate about waking up to adult topics and taking a break from Play-Doh and Elmo’s World. Suddenly, my Google searches no longer included the words “best stroller” or “chicken recipe” or “organizing tips”.

Nowadays, I’ve decided that I have to pick and choose what media bytes I get sucked into. Like anything else a busy mom does, it is a conscious choice to decide if I have time. Do I really care about all the details of Heidi Montag’s cosmetic surgeries? No. Do I have time to figure out all the confusing details about the National Healthcare Plan? No, but I should make time for that. Overall, I’ve learned something about myself: knowing all I can about the world around me helps me stay plugged into my family even more. By being a contributing citizen of my community and my country, I am shaping the world for my children and all who follow behind me. They aren’t just learning from my example, they are benefiting from my choices. And, what better legacy to leave behind?

This is an Original Deep South Moms Blog. Gretchen, a.k.a. Texan Mama, spends her days finding rogue singleton socks and tending to the dozen feet that wear those socks. She resides in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex with her husband, 5 children, and one dog (who doesn’t wear socks). In her spare time, she blogs at Who Put Me In Charge Of These People???

Oh Snap, I'm 14 In Dog Years

And, I'd say that's an appropriate title right now because that would make me a bitch in heat.

Which I am. It's Texas in the summer y'all. I drove by a bank at 9:30am yesterday and the COMPLETELY ACCURATE temperature sign outside read "92 degrees". Yes, at half past nine in the morning. I don't really mind the heat, though. I'd much rather have it than the cold. But still, the heat makes me wilt a little bit.

So anyway, my 2-year blogoversary came and went. I completely forgot about it. My very first post (aptly titled "My First Blog Post" - gah, I was original, wasn't I?) was all about Sally swallowing a Lego, or so I thought. The mystery remains still today.

The other night, Texan Papa asked me, "Why do you do that?" Referring, of course, to reading blogs. I don't think he gets what the appeal is. I didn't know how to explain... blogging doesn't really seem like a hobby although I guess you could say it is. I just told him that I like it because it's a lot like having female friendships/relationships, without all the danger of getting screwed over. Online relationships are safe. I have lots of people who share a common interest (the internet!) and can relate to me and my point of view. And, there are SO many people online that I can even search out people who have the same views as me: religious, political, parenting, etc. I don't even have to be held back by demographics; I can chat with people in Houston, D.C., Chicago, Ohio, Washington State, Florida, or even England or Australia.

It's weird to think I've been blogging for 2 years now. I have certainly enjoyed it. I don't intend to quit anytime soon. I have a hard time, though, when I ask myself, "How has blogging enriched my life? Made it better? Caused me to grow as a person?"

I don't think my writing has grown very much. If anything, I feel like I have a quickly-dwindling supply of blog-worthy material in my arsenal. I often read other people's blogs, filled with witty repartee and a vocabulary above 3rd grade and I think, "Oh, so THAT'S the word I've been trying to think of! So THAT'S what I was trying to say, only she said it much better!"

It hasn't made me a better housekeeper. Obviously. Anyone who blogs regularly and has more than a dozen feeds in her feed reader probably has let a few jobs slip, in order to read just one more post. Guilty as charged.

I haven't really become a better parent; at least I don't think so. On more than one occasion my toddler has pulled my hands off the keyboard to play with her. (I'm now doing the shameful tucking my tail between my legs thing.)

I guess I've gained a little sanity, though. I know that there are a lot of women out there who want to connect like I do. I know that my parenting choices aren't always bad and I'm not the only one who's ever felt like running away from it all. I've learned that even the most perfect marriages have their skeletons in the closet. I've learned that the saddest, most depressed person in the world might not be able to be saved, no matter how much I try and pray and wish it to be true, because some problems are simply not mine to fix.

I guess reflecting back over 2 years of doing anything consistently is worthwhile. So, how has blogging changed you? Made you better? How?

Turtle 411, or 911 as the Case May Be

Meet the newest member of our ever-growing family. My kids want to name him Sonic. Or is it a her? Who knows.



We found this little turtle in our back yard and fell in love with it. So cute!



The problem is, we don't know if it's a turtle or a tortoise! I'm guessing a turtle, but from the investigation I've done on Google (remember: Google = gospel) turtles have flat shells and webbed feet. You can see that Sonic has neither of those, but I'm thinking those characteristics are only for aquatic turtles. However, we are guessing he isn't a water turtle, considering the nearest water to our house is a concrete drainage ditch. I took this picture next to a dollar bill so that you could see how big he really is:



Also, Sonic's shell doesn't really look like a typical box turtle's shell. Also? No stripes on his face. His shape really indicates more of a tortoise, but tortoises aren't really native to America like turtles are. Tortoises have more of a domed shell, like Sonic does.



We put him in a large cardboard box outside in the shade. My husband put in a fake plastic tree (for decoration? I don't think it's fooling the turtle.) For food, we've given him some lettuce and a few carrots and a dish of water. I've put in a few pitted cherries too. We tried to give him bugs (turtles are omnivores but tortoises are herbivores) but he showed no interest in eating. Then again, he might have been a bit freaked out from the many small hands that want to pet him and love him and feel his skin and touch his claws.

I don't blame him one bit for pooping on the plastic tree.



So, any turtle/tortoise experts out there? Ahem, I mean herpetologists? Can anyone give me the 411 on this reptile?

Weekly Winners, June 20-26

I've had a hectic week, so I haven't been behind the camera as much as I'd like. We had our garage sale yesterday. THOSE are a huge waste of time, in my opinion. We had it from 7-11 and we made $400, but we sold some bigger items (TV, DVD player, baby gear) and also there's SO many hours of prep time. I wonder, after counting the hours we put into sorting, tagging, advertising, etc. what we made per hour?

So, back to the normality of daily life.


Last Sunday, after lunch out for Father's Day.



These bugs are everywhere in our yard. I don't know what they are... but I have a feeling they are not harmless.



Summer Wardrobe



Little Acorn



Blur
Taken at the DFW airport


See all my photos over at my Flickr Photo Stream.

Grow Your Blog Readership the Texan Mama Way

Much like Dan Rather, formerly of the CBS evening news, I'm going to give you "exclusive information" about how to grow the readership (aka increase the number of followers) on your blog.

So, in other words, my information is completely unconfirmed and may or may not be factual. I guess you could say that my methods could be called questionable, since I don't exactly have the following of The Bloggess or Seth Godin. Anyway, the last time I checked, there was no minimum comment-count in order to qualify to give out unsolicited advice on the interwebz. Because, really, isn't that why we all blog? To tell people how they should be doing the things that they are CLEARLY doing wrong?

So, growing a blog's readership. Here's my 2 cents.

1. Write often and write well. Content is key; the more you have, the better. Don't worry about the length of your posts because, after all, you're practicing your craft. Sure, you might be able to make your point in 5 paragraphs or less, but why? Readers love to hear all the details about your fish getting ick or about the lady in front of you in line at Wal-Mart with this t-shirt:

Thank you, People of Walmart, for this priceless photo of such a sweet old granny.

2. Visit and comment on lots of other blogs. Remember that it doesn't really matter what the post is about; just make your comment something generic like, "Your blog is lovely. I'd like to invite you to follow my blog." After all, the post might be about something depressing, like the death of their mother or the forclosure of their house. You don't really want to get all into THAT do you? You just want followers!

3. Pimp up your layout. When folks land on your page, you want to grab their attetion right from the get-go. Make sure you add lots of widgets! And, a flashing ad near the header works great too. Don't forget to have music automatically play when the page loads too. All of these will assure you repeat visitors to your blog.

4. Host a Giveaway. Have a contest that requires people to follow you, tweet about the contest, like your fan page on facebook, etc. I've found that people don't mind jumping through a hundred hoops, if it means that they're in the running to win a $15 Starbucks gift card.

5. Don't shy away from writing about your personal struggles. While your fish is suffering from ick, you may be depressed about its journey on the road to recovery. But if you don't feel that your readers are grasping the seriousness of this situation, you might want to make up a fake illness. You could even make up a fake baby to have the fake illness. Once the readers get to know the real you, they'll sympathize with your plight. Just make sure you don't post any photos - that could blow your cover.

6. Be Yourself. If you don't have a natural penchant for spelling or punctuation, don't worry. Really! I hardly ever hear bloggers talk about lose vs. loose, your vs. you're, and 'I could care less' vs. 'I couldn't care less'. I mean, po-tay-to, po-tah-to, right?

I hope these tips will help you to gain a real following with readers, both in quality and quantity! Never underestimate the power of the typed word!!!


These tips are really all just tongue-in-cheek fun, and this post is dedicated to my 200+ followers. I treasure each and every one of you!

A Long Way Up

You look up
and see the stars;
You focus on what's out of reach
And you grab it.

Go. Go. Go.
Higher!
Faster!
Longer!
Right now!!

Your size is of no consequence
You can handle yourself
Nothing scares you
There are no obstacles
Only new adventures

Energy can't be harnessed
Enthusiasm can't be bottled
Determination can't be derailed

Scars are trophies
Band-aids are more trouble than they're worth
Boo-boos don't need a kiss
Just rub a little dirt in it.

Boys will be boys
And soon you'll be a man
With aspirations

You'll look up
and see the stars;
Remember to focus on what's out of reach
And grab it.

This post was part of MamaKat's Writing Workshop.

The prompt was:
2.) Write a poem about a picture.
Hop on over to Mama's Losin' It and play along!

Day One

Every journey must begin with the first step. But I must admit, this seems less like a journey than it does an empty pledge from a freshly released rehab patient after her 3rd try.

I was browsing through my feed reader the other day, and I was knocked on my ass when I read this tribute Jenny Mac wrote to her mom on her birthday. Most posts about mothers are sweet and filled with memories and tributes. But this one struck a chord with me for the simple reason that it caused me to think about how I've been acting with my own children. I wonder what my children must feel about me and about themselves.

She writes, "...how easily you demonstrated our importance to you." and, "Everyone needs someone to champion them along, and I have no bigger champion of me than you."

I realized, sheepishly, that I have been everything less than a champion for my children. I have failed to demonstrate to them how important they are to me. Somehow, over time, I have begun to see my children as interruptions in my quest for quiet. They have become almost like the enemy: they are the ones who mess up the house I've cleaned, who eat up all the food I've bought, and who interrupt my sleep every night.

These thoughts have run through my head countless times before. I've made excuses like, "I've got 5 kids, of course it's going to be crazy." and "Kids need to learn to deal with disappointment." and "I just suck. I'll do better tomorrow..." I can't identify the exact moment when I stopped being surprised by these thoughts and just accepted them as my normal everyday attitude about my children. Maybe it was the constant bitching about never having time for myself and finding comraderie with other women who felt the same. Maybe it happened when I would hear the sweet voices of my children, over and over again, forgiving me for scolding them yet again too hastily or for frivolous things. Maybe it was simply my sinful self wanting to push blame for any personal shortcomings on someone or something else, never examining any culpability on my own part.

How in the world did I get here? How did I go from breastfeeding them on demand to being bothered by their demands? It seems that I am pretty good at recognizing the investment other parents have to make in their children in order to reap the benefits of a happy and healthy family. However, when it comes to actually putting in the sweat equity of my own parenthood, I'm coming up short. WAY short. I can talk a good game, but it's time to put my money where my mouth is.

So, today is day one. Today I smiled at my kids more than I'm used to but still not as much as I hope to tomorrow. Today I answered their questions every time, even if they asked the same question more than once or twice or five times. Today I didn't raise my voice, except when someone was physically hurting someone else. Today I didn't make my children feel like their bad choices were a disappointment to me. Today I reminded them that I could help them if they needed it, and I meant it. Today I noticed that they whined just a smidge less, and that I was better able to handle it when they did.

Tomorrow will hopefully be even better. It may be worse, it may be the same. It may cause me to drink unhealthy amounts of diet Coke as a coping mechanism, but I certainly hope not. But, I started today, and this journey has to start with the first step. I want my children to grow up and feel like I was their biggest fan, like they could trust me to be fair even if I might not agree with them, like they knew that the two constants in their lives are God and family, in that order. My kids deserve that. They deserve a parent who really has time for them, not just one who says she'll come play a game of Uno with them in a few minutes... in a few minutes... and without noticing, a few minutes turns into 2 hours and all of a sudden it's time for bed. They deserve a parent who will actually play a game of soccer with them in the backyard instead of making excuses about it being too hot or too windy or too close to dinnertime.

My kids need me: not just my physical presence, but more than that they need my emotional presence. What good is a mom who only makes meals and cleans house? Couldn't a chef and a maid do those things? Isn't this exactly the thing I complain about, that I feel like a chef and a maid and nothing more? Maybe that's not the fault of people around me not making me feel appreciated. Maybe, instead, it's my own fault for not acting like a person who is so much more than a chef and a maid. If I want my family to see me as someone valuable, someone who is irreplacable to them, then I have to BE IRREPLACABLE. I have to quit acting as just the chef and the maid (and the chauffeur and the wetnurse and the secretary) and I have to start over. I have to quit wishing the kids would take care of themselves and start hoping that we ALL can take care of each other.

So, for my family: Today is Day One. I love you and (more importantly) you aren't an inconvenience. The time you demand from me is worth it. The patience you so clearly desire from me is well deserved. I am going to try. I can't say I will always succeed, but I will always be willing to try again when I mess up. After all, YOU are why I am able to call myself a mother.

Random Thoughts

Know what I hate?

i hate it when a person doesnt use any type of punctuation in a sentence at all i mean really why do they do that do they think that we will just figure out what they mean and where we should put in the commas or periods or question marks it makes me really frustrated because this is a skill learned in 1st or 2nd grade and i cant believe that people are THAT lazy that they cant just type a little dot

like this.

(Whew. Can I tell you how hard it was for me to not put any punctuation in that paragraph? My fingers naturally went there on the keyboard and I had to actually keep backspacing to erase capitals and commas and apostrophes and periods.)

The other day I was refilling the hand soap bottles in my house and I looked at the large soap refill jug. I noticed that, on the lid, there was an expiration date. So, hand soap... expires? Seriously???

Please, people, can you load my blog from this page and tell me if it's loading weird? I'm having some issues with long load times and holes in my background and my social media buttons getting sucked up into the header. I've noticed it doesn't happen when trying to land on a specific page, but when just landing on the home page it does have all these issues. So, if you see some weird junk too, will you please let me know in comments, and what platform you're using (windows xp, vista, 7, or maybe Mac OS 8.??? because I don't believe in Macs. Sorry. I think they are a very smart and very competent but also very greedy monopoly and I refuse to buy into them. So, (trying to stay on track here) I am not aware of what Mac Operating System they are up to now.) And, also, what browser you're using (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, IE, etc.)

Now, go on over to Keely's Blog and check out the OTHER Random Tuesday Thoughts.

My Simple Solution

Hey Y'all!
I've been watching the vlogs over at Momversations and they recently posted a contest, asking moms to submit their "Simple Solutions" for everyday problems.

I was so excited to put my simple solution on film! Unfortunately, I can't post a video to the momversation site unless it's directly from a webcam, so I hope they hop over here to see the video I put together about making firestarters from things we have around our house.

I've noticed that my text area is a little too narrow to show the whole video, so you can click here to go to YouTube to watch the full-size video, or click play below, but be aware that you'll see more of my messy kitchen than you were planning to see.

Watch the video and tell me what you think! Wish me luck!! (By the way, the winner gets a $500 gift card to Target!!!)

Some Things Just Suck

What do all these things have in common?

Answer: all things that are NOT allowed at the YMCA pool that we just joined. Full summer payment. No refunds.

Cha-Ching

All I have to say is, it totally pays to be a blogger. Okay, sure, it's great making new friends online and reading posts that make me laugh until my sides hurt. But the icing on the cake is the swag.

I have won a TON of stuff, considering I'm not even into entering giveaways or anything.

The very first thing I EVAH won was this:

I got three bags, the exact two pictured above and one more. I won them during the (I think) first SITS Spring Fling? Maybe? Anyway, every hour there were giveaways and I was nearly peeing my pants that I won something that I could actually use! Not an Etsy gift certificate or a strawberry-scented pencil, but REUSABLE GROCERY BAGS!!! Awesome. I also won 4 reusable fabric produce bags (for things you'd buy in the produce section but normally use those plastic bags on a roll). I was so excited to give my name to the person, I think I pestered her to death!


It was more exciting than the time I won concert tickets to see Richard Marx. I mean, I was totally up in the nosebleed seats but I could see his feathered mullet even from up in row RR355. Totally.

Okay, the next thing I won was some hand-stamped note cards from Even The Nice Ones. Those I love even more than the hand-stamped cards I make myself, because it's all the pretty and none of the work (on my part). So, boo-yah.


Then, I hit the mother lode. I won a Flip Video camera from Seven Clown Circus.



I know, right? Like, how lucky am I? I was pretty determined to give it my best shot (it required more than just a comment - I had to write themed blog posts and come up with a halloween craft idea and give 5 pints of blood - okay not really the blood thing - but all the work I did was fun anyway) and as luck would have it, my name got picked.


A little while ago, I won the "comment nirvana" pick from June Cleaver Nirvana in her weekly Potluck. I got 4 boxes of Little Debbie Petites cakes. So yummy. So soft. So... gone. I mean, hello? They entered our house at 4pm and were gone by about 6pm. Really, they are VERY petite.




Just a month or so ago I won this prize from Classy Chaos. I have always wanted to have a big group of gal-pals over for a slumber party and now, with this game, we can pretend we're answering quizzes out of Seventeen magazine all! night! long! SQUEE!!!!!!





Now, just this week, I found out I've won a sleep sack and a snooze-wrap from Random Walk Down Mommy Street. They will be perfect for Violet!!! She kicks her little feet around so much that she usually wakes in the morning with both legs inside one half of her sleeper. This will help so much.

So, all I can say is, you'll never win if you don't play. And, I don't even need to give you a disclaimer for getting all this stuff for free!

My Personal Little Work Force

To say that I have a lot of work at home is an UNDERSTATEMENT. Now, this is no pity party. I'm not doing the whole "woe is me" whining. But I just say it to preface my next question for y'all:

Exactly when does putting your children to work stop being abuse and start looking like a good idea?

My husband's ironing pile seems to multiply exponentially. Our continual mountain of unfolded laundry baskets have become a regular fixture in the living room, like the T.V. or the couch. My pantry constantly needs straightening and organizing. My refrigerator has magnets that hold papers/coupons/notices which are months old. Clearly, I need either a) a bit more resolve to stay off the computer, or b) a wife.

Since neither one of those are very likely to happen, I have put my children to work. Mild work, have you, but it helps. Every M, W, F they take turns emptying the trash cans, cleaning the bathroom countertops, emptying and sorting the laundry baskets, and sweeping the kitchen floor. Probably once a day they do dishes, either loading or unloading the dishwasher or hand-washing the dishes in the sink.

And yet, still, I can't get caught up. So, at what age can a boy cut the lawn without my neighbor screaming, "Don't you know he'll chop his foot off doing that?!?!?!" When can I put my daughter to work with a hot iron and a stack of cotton shirts? How young is too young for a child to operate a heavy vacuum cleaner???

I know, you think I'm being funny. But, as they say, many a truth is said in jest...

Texan Neck

Texan Papa = Head of our household
Texan Mama = Neck



Scotts lawn service is coming next week.

'Nuff said.

Normal

Yesterday I went to a friend's house so that my litter of children could play with her gaggle of boys. We got a chance to catch up while the kids ran around, made a lot of noise, and wore themselves out.

This friend was a fairly new friend, who I'd met through blogging, but we've met in person before yesterday. However, this was the first time our kids had met each other. I know all her kids faces and names and she knows all of mine. But, this was the first time we'd ever all been collected in one place at the same time.

I must admit that I am always a little bit guarded when I meet a new mom because I fear that my parenting choices will be judged. It's natural - I mean, I do it myself too. While I may try not to do it, to some degree, I always do. Even if I fill my head with criticisms and then immediatly chastize myself for critiquing another person's parenting style, I still do it. So many years of honing the craft of parenting has made it almost like a reflex. My intent is never to make myself feel better for my choices, but rather to keep myself in check with other moms and what they do. Even though what I'm doing is not out of any mean-spiritedness, I am judging all the same.

Why do I judge or critique or {insert euphamism of your choice here}? I think it's so that I can measure myself against some invisible ruler do determine if I'm doing an adequate job as a mother. If so-and-so does this, and she has great kids, then I need to do it too or else I am failing. If whats-her-name only does this much with her kids, and look at how THEY are turning out, then clearly I must do more in order for my kids to not grow up to be criminals.

So, yesterday. There we sat. My kids clobbering her kids over the head with nerf battle axes. Her kids pelting mine with nerf bullets. All kids pounding each other with light sabres and foam swords and wiffle ball bats. It was one notch below mayhem.

I was a little bit afraid of what my friend would think. Had my wild children incited hers to become out of control? Did I need to make sure my kids used their "inside voices" at all times? Should I suggest that everyone just sit down and read a book? Would she breathe a sigh of relief once we left, promising herself quietly that she'd find creative excuses the next time I suggested a playdate? No. She laughed and I laughed and we just talked to each other louder, to be heard over all the crashing and thumping and yelling. And we all had a wonderful time.

When she got out a big basket of snacks to serve all the hungry mouths, I said to myself, Hey, we have a basket like that at home too! When she offered her kids water, but they all begged for soda instead (even though she didn't give in), I thought, Wow, her kids do that too? I thought mine were the only ones. And when she reminded her boys to say "thank you", I was completely relieved that my kids wouldn't be the only ones who needed reminding.

And do you know how that made me feel? Amazingly, blessedly... normal. I cannot tell you the relief I felt when I saw someone else who had happy, successful, well-adjusted children and to know that she does a lot of the same things that I do. To know that my choices weren't sabotaging the future of my children. To realize that this woman, who I'd respected from afar and probably put up on a motherly pedestal, was a lot like me.

Thank you Holly, for a fun day and for being normal.

Summertime Studyin'

This summer is going to be different. That's what I promised myself in April, and reminded myself in May. This summer, my kids are going to have stuff to do. They aren't going to sit around and say I'm booorrreed and can I have more computer time?

School got out on May 21st, after my kids had completed 170 days of school. WTF??? When I was a kid, and even when I was a teacher, the standard was 180 days of school. Like all kids in Texas, our kids had to take the TAKS test (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills). Any kid who passed the TAKS test, had decent attendance and good grades, was eligible for early dismissal (meaning May 21). The extra 10 days (actually, only 9 because of Memorial Day) are called "flex days" when kids can come for extra academic work. In the past, the school has also offered elective classes, like Hawaiian culture (i.e. Luau Party) or Sports (i.e. All-Day Recess). Not that it's okay to skip two weeks of academics, but at least the kids are at school for those full 180 days and maybe enjoying being at school. But this year, I guess the nazi Principal is really getting her panties in a twist about the TAKS scores, so the only kids who could stay for flex days were those needing academic help. Our kids were actually requested NOT to come to school, as they would be bored and the teachers really needed to focus on the kids needing extra help.

So, anyway, I'm forcing my kids to do school work at home. I had such big plans! They would do book reports! And art projects! And science experiments!! So far? They've done a lot of workbook pages. I bought those all-in-one workbooks from Sam's Club for $8 a piece. They have sections on Reading, Spelling, Math, and Reading Comprehension. They are fine, and they really saved me a lot of work from looking online for worksheets that fit my plans. But, I don't know how interesting they are.

The one thing they HAVE done is give me some leverage for the computer time. We really try to limit our kids' exposure and time on the computer. Our kids get 45 minutes of fun play time, twice a week. Plus, beyond that, they get 20 minutes every day they don't have "fun time" for "educational time". But my kids and I have some disagreement about what constitutes "educational". My kids want to play games like Asteroids. They claim, "I have to plan it out! I have to know where I'm going to shoot my bullets! I have to figure out how to conserve my bullets!" Yeah, not so much. But I did come across sites like this.

And this.


And their favorite one is this.


Now, while I like the idea of my kids playing games that are meant for kids, with cutesy fun animation, and there is a clear absence of blood and scantily-clad girls, I'm still not sure how "educational" these games are. Teaching logic? Sure. Teaching kids how to think outside the box? Yep. Teaching kids how to differentiate between the right-click and left-click? Definitely.

I am really on the fence about the computer... I don't think it's evil. I absolutely see how it can be used as a great learning tool. But I wonder if we're really using it like we could. Or like we should.

How do your kids use the computer?

Come Travel with me in the Way Back Machine

How many of you remember THIS gem?



I remember our drill team (ahem, I mean POMS) performing a dance to this song in high school, under much controversy, to the disappointment of the nuns and priests in attendance. But, ah, the rebellion of the teen years is so sweet to remember...

Weekly Winners, May 30 - June5

These are my best shots from this week. All are taken with my Canon Powershot SX10is.

You can see all these photos, as well as my other photos from this week, on my Flickr Photo Page (You can click on the Flickr Icon over there on the left! It's the one with the two dots!)



Night Highway
I went out and practiced my technique with slow shutter speed. I like to pretend that my Powershot is a DSLR.




Water Bottle
I like the bokeh of the leaves in the background. Also, I learned how to really get a close, tight zoom on shots. Just needed to make a small adjustment in one of my settings. Man, it really pays off to know your manual cover to cover.



Sprinkler in the Morning
Again, I like the sunlight bokeh in the upper right corner. I used a little slower shutter speed to show the sprinkler spraying rather than the individual drops of water, like in the next photo.



SPLASH!
Taken at a local splash park. It's a free park with a water feature for kids to play in. It's the cheap money-savvy mom's way to keep her kids happy in the summer.



Skylight
Taken at the Ft. Worth Museum of Science & History, right near the entrance.



On that subject, let me tell you that although all my kids had a WONDERFUL time exploring all the exhibits, I had a very frustrating day. The museum is geared toward children. While adults certainly can enjoy it, the focus of this museum is clearly for kids. But, the 10-foot-high glass entrance door? No button to open it for wheelchair or stroller patrons. Doors to enter the bathroom? (not the individual stalls) Again, no electric-opener button (and couldn't they just leave the door off?) Sinks in the bathroom - too far back for my children to reach to activate the automatic sensor. Same for the soap dispenser. And, know what the most frustrating part of that is? Millions were spent to renovate this building LESS THAN ONE YEAR AGO. I am wondering if they ever talked to any parents when making the design changes.


Okay, hopping down from the soapbox. Now, go on over to Lotus' page to check out other Weekly Winners!