What I've Been Up To

Here is what I have been up to lately:

 Teacher appreciation reusable snack sacks.  I put a homemade ( I know, right?) brownie mix in them. 

 I wanted an old cottage window to put up on my wall.  Alas, I cannot find one.  The one I did find was $75 and that was way too much.  So I decided to take apart a mirror that went to the dresser I redid.  I have now learned how to glaze, and have also learned that priming is not necessary!

 Mark's birthday brazilian style.  We had beans and rice and I made the table look like the flag.

 The little bird that the girls wanted to keep and take care of.  No - we took it to a friend who takes care of animals.

 Mark found a praying mantis egg sack thing.  He kept it in the garage and then one morning ...it hatched!  The girls had a great time holding them and setting them free.

 Lots of baby praying mantisis!

 The girls and I made puppy chow - and then they spilled it on the floor!  Who needs a dog when children will eat off the floor?

Almost clean....

Blog Background

Check out my blog background. It made me smile so I just had to put it on...even if it was for a short time. My friend kept telling me I needed to read 'The Hunger Games.' I kept saying no until one day I found myself on the couch with a horrible flu. I was so bored but too sick to do anything. I then asked for the book and read all three within a few days. I couldn't wait to see the movie.

The last book was hard for me to read because it was too real. Although one side conquers they don't win. The losses are always so great. For those who serve in war they never get over the images of what they saw and the nightmares that come too often. I love that my dad and grandpa served their country. I know my dad reads my blog or is at least told of what I wrote, so forgive me father for writing about the effects of war on you. I know that even after 40 years you are still haunted by the war you served in. I remember when I was hot headed and 19 wanting to become a therapist I asked you to tell me what happened so long ago. Your eyes teared up and all you said was, "I've seen things that made grown men crap their pants." It was then that I realized the devastating effects of war. In my grandpa's life history he wrote, "you never get over the smell of blood and burnt flesh." He was referring to the battle he was in at Guadalcanal.

Hunger games - here's to you!

Easter Pic

The girls found our face makeup from Halloween. They wanted to be bunnies on Easter so Mark did his best.

Your Name Is Safe

When I was a teacher I had a motto for my classroom - 'Your name is safe in my room.'

I had kids from a spectrum of great loving homes to foster care. I wanted all my kids to feel like my room was a safe place for them. One where they would not be made fun of or teased. Only kind words would be said. No matter what happened at home, in the general ed classroom, or in life, there was one place they could go and feel happy and safe. That is what I tried to achieve in my classroom.

My last year of teaching I had a new student who was a fifth grader. His mom was frantic at the beginning of school to have a meeting with me. She was very concerned for her son. As a teacher you have parents who don't care, are completely over the top, and those in between. I preferred parents who were involved with their kids at home but weren't too demanding on me as a teacher. She seemed demanding, but I listened and implemented what she desired. I didn't quite understand at that time why she was so concerned. After about a month she calmed down. Later she confessed that her son had such intense anxiety about school that he made himself ill just thinking about having to go. He had a difficult time making friends and was often made fun of. The year I taught him was his best year ever, (to that point). It was the first year he actually wanted to go to school. It wasn't just me, he had an amazing fifth grade general ed teacher who was (and probably still is) a miracle worker with kids who have disabilities. Anyways, his name was safe in my room and it made a difference. (This has nothing to do with my topic of writing but this student was so funny - he had a crush on me and everyday the first thing he'd tell his mom about school was how I did my hair that day! After she told me that I was always conscious of how I did it!)

I have a new motto for my ward. 'Your name is safe in my ward.' No judgements, no hate, just accepting, uplifting, edifying because this is your safe place to come.

Easter

On Saturday Kendra had a couple of friends over to dye eggs and have an easter egg hunt. They each got a dozen eggs, aren't I so nice?

Helping Megan

Easter egg hunt

Kendra found one!

The spoils. Kendra's little friend was so funny during the hunt. She kept saying, "this is the best easter egg hunt ever!"

Little Smartie

Kendra had an awards ceremony last week. She received two awards: "I Am Proficient" and "Trustworthy." The trustworthy award is a citizenship award.

This is her principal. She shook the kids' hands to congratulate them.

All the kids were suppose to wear their scorpion shirts but Kendra's is super big on her - she'll probably fit into it in 2nd grade.

Mark was able to go to this assembly. Afterwards he went with Kendra on a field trip to the Rio Grande nature center. Kendra was so excited to have her daddy.

April Showers

It snowed in April in Albuquerque!!!! We accumulated about 4 inches before it finally melted.

There was a fast flowing river in our arroyo by evening. We only get those during monsoon season.

PE

Okay, so after my rant on my ward I need to say this: There are a lot of good people and families in our ward who would help me out with anything. I probably made it sound worse than it really is.

Kendra was marked down on her PE evaluation. We know she has coordination and balance issues. Yesterday I went to watch her in PE so I could see how bad she was compared to her peers. She is definitely on the lower side, no mistaking that. But she isn't as bad as I thought she would be. Mark and I have decided to put her in a gymnastics class rather than do a PT evaluation. The thing that bothered me the most was that she just gives up. Her class was told to run two laps around the playground and after one she just stopped and walked. When I asked her why she said "I'm just slower than everyone else." Yes, child and you run funny too but you should still run the two laps! Mark and I are doing more active things with her at home to try to help her. We made a huge stride in riding her bike yesterday. She typically pedals forward a couple of times and then stops. It's too scary. Yesterday she rode two houses down before stopping! Yay for progress. Now if we could only get her to catch and throw a ball....

Ward Boundaries

I usually don't write about personal issues on my blog. I know once I write it down it's out in the world for all to see. However, I have decided to share my feelings regarding church.

My church is a huge part of my life. I believe strongly in it and that is why I try to emulate my Savior in all I do. I feel that other people who share the same faith should do the same. We (as LDS) should be kind, loving, and forgiving to all people.

I grew up in Oregon, lived in Idaho, Utah, and California, and, for the longest amount of my adult life, New Mexico. My favorite ward was in California. Perhaps everyone loved us because it was the ward that Mark grew up in. It just seemed to be a unified ward with good families and people. I loved that ward. Mark and I hoped we would have the opportunity to live there again. But we were led elsewhere, and were grateful for our job in New Mexico.

It was exciting to finally begin our real adult lives. A child, home, and a real job all at once. The day after we arrived in Albuquerque we went to what we thought was our ward. Many people greeted us with enthusiasm and excitement to have a new family move in. After a few minutes a bishopric member realized we weren't in their ward. He helped us find what ward we were to attend. I was sad, but excited to attend our real ward. The reaction was completely different. A couple of people said hi and that was that. Later I would learn that we didn't have the socioeconomic status to prove our worth.

As the weeks past I noticed the people that moved in. There was a group of women in our ward who would bombard these new sisters in our ward - but only some new sisters. The ones with colored hair streaks, expensive clothing, newer cars. I noticed how others, who were more like me, were overlooked and never talked to. I overheard one of the wealthy sisters say to someone, "our ward is just like a little Utah." Yep, it was. I hated Utah for that reason. Your personal value is based on what earthly possessions you have.

It wasn't just this group of women that made it difficult to come to church. There were women who had horrible things to say about me, but ofcourse never to my face.

It bothered me that my value in a ward, that I had planned to live in for 30 + years, was based on appearances. In my mind "I mattered plenty". I decided to be the one that would change the ward. I sought people out who were lonely, didn't have many friends, and weren't included in the "cool" crowd. I have since decided that it is a losing battle. I can't change ideals or people, but I can help people feel that they are loved, wanted, and valued.

Some of those hot shots have moved in the last six years that we have lived here, some have not. There were many cat fights and gossip that were among the women when we first moved in and although they still happen, they don't seem to be as awful. It seems that people are more friendly, and I haven't noticed a group of women surrounding a new comer the way they use to.

Still, I would love a change. Even though people like me now, I would love to be in a ward that was unified and loved and helped one another. I want to be in a ward that wants me. I cross my fingers that the ward boundaries will change. Because a move doesn't seem likely.

Play House

I saw a felt playhouse on a blog. http://www.etsy.com/shop/missprettypretty sells them for $120 +. I thought, "I can do it cheaper than that." So, just to prove my point I created this:

Side of the house with a watering can that has velcro on so the girls can water the flowers.

Inside the house is a fridge and oven. There are fruits and veggies in the fridge and the pots are open on top.

What a fun door. Took me forever! The mailbox opens to mail.
This side has a fence that is a tic tac toe board and the strawberries and flowers are the Xs and Os. This project took me a long time. I made my own patterns which took me awhile. I can't just eyeball things. The girls are loving it though so it was worth it.

Haircuts

Megan had her first haircut this week. I took them to Kidz place in Rio Rancho. Megan isn't my baby anymore and needed a big girl haircut.





This was a waterfall braid I saw on pinterest.

Dr. Suess

Thank you Dr. Suess for the wonderful books you have written. Green Eggs and Ham was the first book I used to teach Kendra to read. I would read everything but "I am Sam" and Kendra would read those words. She loves all Dr. Suess books and can read the majority on her own. My favorite is, "Oh the Places You'll Go." Here is how we celebrated his birthday:

The Lorax at Target - they gave the kids goodie bags.

Green eggs and ham for dinner with Lorax pancakes.