Special Parker

I'm sure every mother feels this way about her child but I swear there is just something about Parker. He is far from perfect--in fact I want to strangle him at least one time everyday, but overall, he is a pretty great kid. I happened upon this on another blog and it has made me stop to make sure I treasure my boys. This boy passed away last night. He was 12 years old and they found out late last year that he had an aggressive form of cancer. So, so sad. I will be keeping this family in my prayers.

The prettiest garbage bags ever!

Why would you ever need these? Not for garbage anyway! Maybe to wrap a large gift, or store something, but never for garbage. Might be a cute housewarming gift though.

Sloppy editing

I am trying to play with photo-editing without any type of instruction. There has to be an easier way than what I am doing. I want Adobe Photoshop--maybe for my birthday. I could give my kids virtual haircuts with that program! (Because they hate to get haircuts in real life!)

Jack and Macie

For anyone who might not know, Macie is my niece. She is exactly 2 months older than Jack. They look more like siblings than Parker and Jack! This was taken on Easter. Poor Jack, he looks wiped out!

This is Jack as soon as we got home on Easter. Look at how cute he is holding his bunny from his basket.

Decked out in Denim

This is me and Tracy in 1976. That haircut was supposed to be a Dorothy Hamill. I'm probably about 6 here and Tracy is 4. This is one of my favorite pictures of us. I can sort of vaguely remember standing in front of the refrigerator for the photo. Gotta love those little trips down memory lane!

New stuff for us

This is my new purse and I love it. It is the perfect size and it has all these wonderful pockets and places inside that will at least make me attempt to be organized. Best of all it has these cute little pockets where I can put pictures of my 3 favorite people. Oh wait, best of all--IT'S PINK!

These are Parker's new shoes. He wanted some of these so badly. He actually made me ask a store clerk if they had any in the back at Famous Footwear. They didn't. But we found a pair in St. Louis. He is one happy kid.

These are Jack's new shoes. It remains to be seen if he will actually wear them. For about a year now he has refused to wear anything but Crocs. Even on the coldest, snowiest day.

Parker says......

A Parker quote: "You are a big mama." I gave him a mean/hurt look. "Not fat. Just full of love."

I could just EAT her!

Oh my gosh! She is soooo cute! Love, love, love this baby girl! I can't have a daughter now, no way would she be as cute as Stella Bella! Of course, she would have some great hand-me-downs! The precious thing about Stella is that her personality is even cuter than her appearance!

The pity party is over.

I'm tired of being down, so I'm forcing myself up. I suppose there is no sense in beating myself up about things I can't control. I just have to give it to God and find peace with the situation.

And, this little cutie pie is coming to visit today! How could I possibly be down when this funny little face will be here!? Is she the cutest thing EVER!?

Down in the Dumps

Do you ever just get down in the dumps? I am definitely feeling very down. I am not good with change and there are a few changes on the horizon that I am not looking forward to. I especially hate change when it is something I have no control over. I'm being vague and that's stupid. The change is that Mrs. Lamb (Parker's preschool teacher) is leaving the co-op. I have really grown to appreciate her and her teaching style so much. When he first started there, I thought she should focus on academics more and try to get them to start reading, writing and arithmetic. You know, give them a head start on kindergarten. It didn't take very long for me to see that she is giving them a huge head start on kindergarten--she gives them the important skills like sitting still, following directions, routines, etc. that make it possible for them to be totally ready to learn when they hit school. It doesn't matter if a child knows how to read if he can't sit quietly at group time. It doesn't matter if he can count to 100 if he can't stand in line without touching other kids. Mrs. Lamb holds a master's degree in early childhood education, but she teaches like someone who has learned from experience--not textbooks. I am so sad that Jack will not have the same opportunity to learn from her as Parker has. If ever there were a child who could use Mrs. Lamb's brand of strict-but-caring teaching, it's Jack. I'm sure that whomever is chosen to replace her will be highly qualified and capable, but she will never be a Mrs. Lamb because I don't believe there are too many of her kind left out there. I always told people that she reminded me of teachers when I was a kid. They weren't usually affectionate. I don't remember any ever getting down and playing with us. They had high expectations for behavior and learning. I was so hoping that the co-op board would at least be open to finding a replacement who is more focused on basic learning skills than academics, but that doesn't seem to be the direction they are headed. I am anxious to see how this all plays out. Maybe I will be thrilled with the new teacher. I hope so, for Jack's sake.

Hip, hip, hooray!

At this point, it appears that Travis has been elected to the school board. It was a pretty tight race so I am very relieved at the tentative results. (I'm picturing Dwight Eisenhower holding the "Dewey Wins" newspaper.)

To anyone who voted for Travis who might be reading this--THANK YOU!!!! Obviously every vote counted and we appreciate your support so very much. Travis will not let you down!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!

Thank you for letting me campaign on my blog and thank you for your support. Tomorrow is the BIG day!

A word to the wise

DO NOT EVER, EVER, EVER BUY MOON SAND FOR YOUR CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is the messiest thing I have ever seen in my whole life. Ever. It's everywhere. Our kitchen looks like a yellow and pink beach. So does our living room. And the bedrooms. And the stairs. And the bathroom. It sticks to their clothes and hands and feet and hair and everything else in it's vicinity. Even close supervision did not prevent this disaster. Booooooo to Moon Sand!

So true...

It has been said many times that, "no good deed goes unpunished." I am strongly reminded of this today. You would think that I would learn from the past, but I keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Sitting on the sidelines as opposed to being in the middle of everything is looking better and better to me.
From kindergarten through my senior year in high school I always wanted to be involved in everything. I wanted to be a part of decision-making--part of the action. After high school, I was so burnt out that I spent 4 years of college sitting on the sidelines. And you know what? It was nice. Many years later, about the time my 10 year reunion rolled around, I decided it was time to get involved again so I jumped in with both feet and almost drowned. Actually I was attacked by sharks and almost eaten alive. And after that ridiculous, awful, impossible situation, I went back to the sidelines. Then, along came by firstborn and it was obvious that I had to jump back in because I couldn't just sit there and let decisions be made about my baby's education without having input. Well, guess what? The sharks are circling again. If I didn't know better, I would think that the common denominator here is me. Maybe I am just not very good at being involved. And there is probably some truth to that. But, I really think this is a universal problem. How do I know? Because we have ALL heard the saying, "no good deed goes unpunished."!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So true.

One happy little cowboy!

We went to a birthday party last Saturday where they had two horses for the kids to ride. (A friend of the family brought them.) Parker was not interested in riding, but Jack couldn't wait. He was so excited. It was so cute to see him so happy. Our neighbor took these photos. I have to get a better camera. I cropped these down because they were taken from all the way across the yard. Look how sharp they are! I have so many wants and such a small pocketbook.

This is on my birthday list. It is from Foxy Girl Jewelry which apparantly is all the rage with the coolest people in Hollywood. Paris Hilton, Reese Witherspoon and Jessica Alba have all been seen wearing Foxy Girl jewelry. Don't you think I fit right in with that crowd!? The best thing about this necklace is the price: $31.00 ! Love it.

Well, that didn't take long

I'm back. I like blogging so I'm going to keep doing it. I just need to manage my time better.

The number one reason to vote for Travis is that he has no alterior motives to being on the board. He doesn't own a local business, he doesn't have kids involved in one particular school group, he isn't unhappy with how things are done now, he doesn't have a grudge against any administrator, he just wants to be a part of something good. Something that benefited us so well. We want our kids to have the same experience with school that we did. The Mt. Zion School Board's job is NOT to come up with "fresh" ideas or teach the kids. That is why Mt. Zion only hires the best educators and admininistrators. The school board's job is "behind the scenes" budgeting and making it possible for Mt. Zion to continue to be the outstanding district that it already is. Most of the candidates who are running for the board have not even been to a school board meeting. (They keep track of visitor attendance.) Several of the candidates mentioned the growing population of Mt. Zion and the need for additional classroom space. Well, if they knew their facts, they would know that although new housing is popping up all over the place, our enrollment has been completely stagnant for almost 20 years. In fact, my class, the class of 1988 is still the largest class to ever graduate from Mt. Zion. A few candidates mentioned security at the grade schools. If they knew their facts, they would know that the school has already budgeted $15,000 for additional security measures at both schools. In the past year, the district designed a 5 year plan. They took input from parents, teachers, administrators, board members and outside experts to come up with a comprehensive plan that addresses everything you can think of associated with eduation in Mt. Zion. The plan has been reviewed by the Illinois Association of School Boards and was found to be so well thought out that they have asked to provide it as an example to other school districts. One of the greatest assests Mt. Zion ever had was Ken Hendriksen. He thinks BIG and even though he is no longer at the helm, by hand picking Darbe Brinkoetter and Travis Roundcount, he has laid the groundwork for Mt. Zion to be successful for many, many years to come. Remember when you vote to elect the candidates who want to make a way for our administrators and educators to keep up the excellent work they are doing NOT the candidates who have an agenda that only benefits a small segment of the Mt. Zion population. If you need me to spell it out for you, you can e-mail me at saraforeman@insightbb.com

Thank you for listening to me ramble on about this. It is extremely hard to watch a whole community be conned by certain candidates. I had to vent!

*****Edited to add additional thoughts. I should say that owing a local business does not make you a "bad" candidate. In fact it is a good sign that you are committed to Mt. Zion. My point is that as a school board member, you get your name in the paper a lot. People ASSUME that a school board member is an upstanding, moral, person with integrity so obviously you are going to get some business just from that assumption. Travis doesn't own a business, so there is nothing for him to gain by being in the paper or being on the board. And just in case you missed it, being on the board most certainly does not guarantee that you are an upstanding, moral person with integrity. For sure. Definitely. No doubt about this one.

Taking a break

I did this once before, and now I'm doing it again. I am going to take a break from blogging. It is taking up way too much time. I enjoy it, but I sit down at the computer to write on my own blog and then I get caught up in reading other blogs and before I know it, an hour has passed and I haven't accomplished anything. My house is a disaster (you know it's bad when even I think it's bad!), all my kids do is fight, I'm getting increasingly lazy and summer is coming--all these things require my attention. So, thank you for stopping by and looking at my scrapbooking and listening to my pointless rambling. Maybe I will be back in a few weeks. Thanks!

I miss those curls

Man I loved those curls. To me, he looked like a cherub. Didn't act like one, but looked angelic! This was a very long day. Parker and Jack seem to fight constantly. I can't stand it. I know it's normal, but they are only 3 and 5. What is it going to be like when they are 7 and 9!? As I speak, Travis is yelling at them. You would think they would get tired of being yelled at all the time. I did this page after they were both sleeping last night. So at least I wasn't being a neglectful mom.