Uh Oh, Swine Flu has hit us!

My middle son has Swine Flu! He tested positive at the DR's office today. He had a fever last week, felt fine toward the end of the week but then got a fever again yesterday, along with a bad cough. Bad news...Dr said he can't go out Trick-or-Treating! There is also a movie night after T-or-T in the green belt which he can't go to! What a horrible Halloween for poor Nicky! Now I have to go pull my oldest out of school because he had a fever this weekend and the Dr. said it was probably a mild case of the Swine Flu and they have to be quarantined for 7 days after onset of fever! Oops, didn't know...

Happy Belated birthday to Nolan

My baby turned 5 on Tuesday! It was a pretty uneventful day because Nicky was sick and I had to take care of him. Nolan got to be the center of attention at school, which he loved. He got to bring in cupcakes with spiders, because he loves Halloween. He got to pick out what he wanted for lunch AND dinner...I LOVE "Higley Hot Dogs" and Panda Express! Way to go Nolan! Do you think I had anything to do with his decisions???

We hadn't bought him a gift yet because I had absolutely no idea what to get him, although his 12" bike was getting a little small on him. Pretty soon, he was going to need a 16". Well, today we went and got him a big boy bike. As soon as he gets on it outside, I will take a photo and possibly post a Youtube video of him riding without training wheels, because he is very ready for that! It just gets more and more difficult for me to figure out what my boys want. When they were little, it was basically unisex stuff. But now, it's frustrating. I didn't grow up with boys. My brothers were all grown up when I remember anything about life. My boys can't play with Barbies and dolls! (Well, ok, they sometimes like to when they are given the opportunity, but we try not to go there). And my husband, as sweet as he is, doesn't think that they need anything for their birthday, which they probably don't. So he doesn't give me any ideas for gifts for them, nor for himself. Which brings me to my next paragraph...

His birthday is this Friday. We already celebrated it on Friday with a few close friends (I missed you AB). He played poker with his buddies. He was totally surprised and I was so happy it turned out as well as it did. He kept saying the next day that no one had ever done that for him and he felt so special. He loved everything about it and didn't want the night to end. As soon as I find my camera, I will post photos. It was fun to have it be such a surprise to him. I can't wait to do it again :)

Parenting vs. Teaching

I have been reading a lot of textbooks recently because I have midterms coming up this weekend/next week. I have been reading constantly about positive reinforcement and praise for the student. I don't know if I ever had a teacher who was really positive or showed a lot of praise for the students' efforts, so it is difficult to comprehend. As I am reading these books, I start wondering how I can change my parenting skills as well so my boys will be more effective listeners. Sometimes I wish I could share this information with my husband as well. Having 3 boys home under the age of 10 can be a bit frustrating. I felt as though I have been yelling for 7 years straight and now I have to go into calm mode while engaging my students. However, I don't think I can actually be that different from one set of kiddos (my family) to another (my students). This is really a burden on my heart.

I've been praying and reading a lot about this and I hope I can become calmer while still being authoritative. I want my family to have a renewed respect for my parenting skills. I feel that I have already done some damage to my oldest son because he sometimes has anger management issues. He gets really overwhelmed when he is not in control of a situation. My youngest has severe behavior issues when he doesn't get his way. He cries A LOT and most times, I will just give in to him because I cannot handle his crying. My middle son is always calm and gets along with everyone except possibly his younger brother because #3 is taunting him. He is generally in a great mood and I love him for it!

This past weekend, I really tried this new concept with the boys. I knew it would be a long week with them home for the break and I wanted them to enjoy themselves while I studied. So far, they have not really gotten into it too much. I did end up yelling at #3 today and sending him to his room for a time-out, but I was able to talk to him calmly and let him know that he can make choices and decide what is right. He came out of his room much calmer than when he went in. For the most part, I think God is watching over me and doing something to help me out this week...Despite the fact that I accidentally left #3 sitting on the toilet for a while as I was outside chatting with my friend.

Happy birthday Cindy and Nancy!

Sunday was my sister's and Sister's-in-law birthday.
I got to see my sister at Church, but that was about it. We were supposed to have small group for church later that evening and I was going to surprise her with a cake, but unfortunately, the group leader's daughter got Swine flu and wanted to quarantine her house. I always get a little bummed during my sister's birthday because she is always so busy and her family doesn't pamper her nearly as much as I would like to. She rarely takes time out for herself. So...Happy Birthday Cindy! I hope you had a fabulous birthday!


Nancy (Hubby's step-sister) had a birthday too. I'm sure she had a most excellent birthday because she was in Paris with her best friend. I still get to celebrate her birthday next weekend as she will be home for the first time in 6 months. We are looking forward to seeing her again. Happy Birthday!

New best Eater in the Family!

Ever since Nate was a baby, he would eat ANYTHING you put in front of him. He never had a favorite food (OK maybe McDonald's with Mom was a favorite food!) But he never complained about anything. Even if he didn't like the food, he would still eat it. He wouldn't say much, but he wouldn't really complain either...
Well, last night, I decided to try making Eggplant Parmesan. I have been really trying hard not to have as much red meat or pork, even though we are definitely NOT giving it up. I made it with pasta, fortunately. I gave the first plate to Nick, my Ultra picky eater. After 1 bite, he wanted to spit it out. Then I gave a plate to Nate, Nolan, hubby and myself. We all ate a bite around the same time. Nate looked at me, smiled and finished with his bite. I could tell he didn't really care for it. I thought it was awful, but I continued to try eating it. I asked hubby how he liked it..."OK" he says. But then there's Nolan. He ate it so fast, we thought it may fly away if he took a breath! After all of us were finished eating our pasta (and leaving the eggplant on the plate) he was asking for more! What do I do now? I can't just make a helping of it for the little guy and not for us! Should I try a different variation for the family to see if we like it better a different way or just file it in the ol' circular file and let Nolan order it when he is at the Italian restaurant?

Back at it!

School is in full swing for the boys...and for me! I need to start observing the classroom very soon. I am getting butterflies even thinking about it! How the heck am I going to be an effective teacher if I get this nervous just walking into the classroom???

Brenda's Birthday!

I generally don't post on friends' birthdays, but today begins a new era! Happy Birthday Brenda! I hope you have a fabulous day!

Eating Healthier

I have been reading my friend Jenna's cooking blog a lot lately and it has been very inspiring. Although she is becoming a bit more vegan than me and I cannot totally cut out meats, I have found that I actually like vegetables!
Last night, I made grilled Portabella mushroom burgers with Swiss cheese, tomato, avacados and lettuce. I brushed the Portabella with olive oil, Salt, Pepper and Pesto. Rob grilled the burgers! Oh my gosh, they were fabulous! I think I may have to start including that in my routine!
The boys had hamburgers, but the oldest one had a bite of my mushroom burger and he said it wasn't TOO bad! Yay!
Sorry I forgot to take photos.

Start of a New Year/Rambling

Well, the kiddos have been back in school for a couple weeks now and I have had some free, albeit, very limited free time, but free time altogether. In between running the kids to school and trying to get my computer working again because the hard drive BROKE, I have been able to paint some of my bathroom. My sister said not to paint a bathroom green, because it makes your face look green. But I have only painted 1 wall so far and...So far, I don't look green! Yay! I love to paint walls. It is very therapeutic for me. Someone once looked at my room and told me it's Army Green. If that's how it looks, so be it. I like it. It looks really good with my furniture we got for a stinkin' deal last year right before I quit my job.

Starting next week, I have more classes. I am concerned about these classes because I actually have to go into the classroom and observe the students and teachers. I really hope the students don't turn me off to teaching. I really want to enjoy this next stage of my life in terms of my career. I really feel that God has given me this opportunity for a reason and I need to jump at the challenge. Will I be as effective a teacher as I am in my dreams? Will I be able to be a good teacher without being so wrapped up in it that I forget about my family and my priorities? I pray no. My mom was so absorbed in her teaching that we were a distant second or third in her list of importance. She will be the first to admit that her students gave her their undivided attention and they looked up to her like we never did. My husband has said that I get absorbed in my work very easily. I wish there was a class that taught me how to be effective as a teacher, but when I am not at school, how to be even more effective as a servant of God, wife, mom and good friend. If I start becoming too absorbed in me, can you please let me know?

Nate took 2nd in Forms

For the past month, Nate has been practicing his Karate as much as he can. He had a competition this past Saturday which our studio was hosting. He was doing 2 forms: one with Kama weapons and one Free Form, which is without weapons.

I was extremely nervous about the Free Form, because he had private lessons to learn the form just 1 week prior to the competition and there were some harder moves that he just couldn't nail...But he did in the competition! He took 2nd in the form. Way to go Nater!