:(

So Dylan's birthday week has final come to an end.  Our living room is covered in gifts bags, tissue paper and gifts and he is one happy little boy.  We had a "friend" party for him at 360 gymnastics this afternoon.  It was so cool.  They set up different courses for the kids to run, jump and tumble through.  Then after an hour of tuckering them out they come together for cake and presents.  The smiles make the time and money so worth it.  
We also have a tradition of Fazzaris Pizza with the grandparents.  So after the party we met for pizza.  Although Dylan loves this,  once the pizza was gone he was ready to get home to his new Legos.  
Now we are relaxing.  Gearing up for another week of school and work. 

Today I am thankful for friends.  Not mine, but my sons.  How lucky he is to have so many friends that want to share his birthday with him:)

Time

Tonight is the second night in a row my oldest son has spent the night with a friend.  My youngest loves this time.  In fact he was upset that his dad was home last night because he didn't have me all to himself.  Usually we eat chili beans and corn bread while watching some funny movie together.  Then he gets to sleep in my bed because it is just the two of us.  Tonight we colored together while he talked my ear off.

Recently my oldest said we needed to start our tradition together.  I feel bad that we have waited so long.  I guess time just gets away from you.  When the opportunity arrived, we went for it.  We left little brother at a birthday party and went in search of our adventure.  We decided on dessert.  In Lewiston you are limited on places to eat, so finding a good dessert is almost impossible.  We found our way downtown and decided to try Main Street Grill.  There we shared a piece of tuxedo cake with fresh cream and berries.  He had tea, I had coffee.  His smile melted my heart. 

Now after two nights with little brother I am ready for some one on one time with my oldest again.  Knowing there is a piece of tuxedo cake waiting for us doesn't hurt either:)

Today I am thankful for time with my boys.  They are two of the most wonderful people:)

Life In A Day

Last year YouTube came up with, what I think is, an amazing idea.  They invited the world to make a movie in what is now being called "the first user-generated feature-length documentary."  YouTube asked people all over the world to take a "snapshot" of their lives on July 24th 2010.  The project is called Life In A Day.  They received over 80,000 clips and some 4,500 hours of footage that they then had to whittle  down into to a 90 minute film.  Not to much to ask of director Kevin McDonald and producer Ridley Scott. The week of January 20, Life In A Day will premier at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. 

I got a look at some of the clips that are a part of this film.  It is everything from an older lady giggle while being licked by a bunch of puppies, to a little girl who climbs a human ladder.  They say this movie will take you on a roller-coaster of emotions, while you watch people all over the world share a moment of their day on July 24th 2010.

If I would have heard about this film a bit earlier, I could have watched it tonight.  YouTube was streaming it, tonight only, for those of us who couldn't make the film festival this year.  Since I was a bit behind I will have to wait until it comes out on video, as I am doubting our theater will be one of  the select few to show it.


Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/lifeinaday

Today I am thankful for technology.  Without it we could not have movies like Life In A Day.

Wasted day

I guess you have to have them every now and then, but at the end of a wasted day I feel like I let myself down.  I look around the house and see all that I should have done and start wishing I would have just got myself in gear.  I didn't even make it to the gym:( As they say there is always tomorrow.  I am working tomorrow, so I am betting everything gets put off until Friday.  That will be a great way to start our three day weekend.


Today I am thankful for the sound of my oldest son reading to his little brother.  When they aren't fighting they are quite the team.

Happy Birthday Dylan!!

Well today was a good day.  My youngest son turned 8.  We started the morning with  french toast before school.  My husband was working today so he and his partner took the fire engine to school and ate lunch with Dylan.  Then we finished the night eating cake and ice cream at the fire station with the guys.  This Sunday he gets his "kid" party and pizza with the grandparents.  What a lucky boy!

Today I am thankful for my little boy.  Dylan is an awesome kid and I am lucky to be his mommy.

Birthday week has begun!!

Between working this morning, birthday shopping this afternoon, then going to the gym I am amazed that I got the cupcakes finished, but I did. Dylan choose pirate cupcake wrappers, so pirate cupcakes he got. They aren't as fancy as most years, but Dylan loves them. That is really all that matters to me.
With my husbands help we figured out how to get the pictures off my phone and onto my blog for you all to see.

Today I am thankful for time spent baking with my boys. Such fun for all of us.

From Blogger Pictures

Yeah!!

I am so much better today.  I still have my cold, but the flu is gone.  Since I spent the last two days in bed today was a catch up day for me.  
Hopefully I got enough accomplished because time is of the essence this week.  It is a birthday week in our house.  My youngest is turning 8.  We have family gatherings, parties at school and parties with friends.  Tonight I have to get all the invitations filled out and ready to be handed out at school tomorrow.  Tomorrow I have cupcakes to bake and decorate.  Tuesday we start celebrating.  It should be a fun and exciting week for us.  

Today I am thankful for my washer and dryer.  I couldn't imagine doing laundry by hand, especially in winter.  I can guarantee my family wouldn't have as much clothes as they do now if I had to wash it by hand.

Still sick

It is the most beautiful day today and I can't stand up without feeling dizzy. I am happy my kids feel better, but sad I can't go outside with them. If how quickly they got through this is any indicator, I will be up and going by tomorrow morning. Hopefully Sunday is as nice a day as today.

Today I am thankful for Nyquil. the good night of sleep I got last night made a big difference and I bet it will make an even bigger difference tonight.

Ugh...

I think sickness has hit our house.  We kept one boy home yesterday morning because he just didn't look well.  By last night he was running a fever (good call on dads part to keep him home from school). The school sent our oldest home today, but he didn't seem to bad.  Now I am thinking he is catching what brother has, no fever yet though.  To top it all off I have a sore throat.  So I am keeping it short tonight.  Off to rest now.

Today I am thankful for hot tea and a warm house.

This can't really be the future of education.

This article was in the Lewiston Morning Tribune this morning.  Thought you all would enjoy reading it.

BOISE - Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna pitched his school reform plan as a way to save Idaho's education system from future funding shortfalls.

It turns out, however, he'll need upward of $68 million in extra money over the next six years to pay for the reforms.

Luna presented his restructuring proposal and fiscal 2012 budget request to a combined meeting of the House and Senate budget and education committees Tuesday.

With 47 lawmakers on the four committees, almost half the Legislature was at the hearing. Most had already heard the basics of Luna's reform plan.

In essence, the superintendent wants to increase class sizes in grades four through 12 by about 10 percent over the next two years, an increase of about two students per class. This would result in fewer teachers and administrators, allowing the state to cut funding for staff salaries by about $107 million per year beginning in fiscal 2013.

This money would then be "reinvested" in classroom technology, including free laptop computers for all incoming ninth-graders and an increase in online learning opportunities.

It would also fund a pay-for-performance plan intended to reward good teachers and administrators. Eventually, Luna said, 85 percent of teacher pay would be based on the traditional salary grid, with the remaining 15 percent tied to student achievement and other performance measures.

Over the past two years, he said, state support for public education has dropped by $200 million. School districts responded in a variety of ways, including cutting teacher pay, shortening the school year, shifting money from maintenance into operations and relying on federal bailouts.

"We hoped the situation was temporary, (but) today we realize this is the new norm," Luna said. "That takes us to a crossroads: We can continue to cut the current system, we can raise taxes to prop up the current system, or we can change the system."

Based on current funding models, he said, public schools would need $25 million in additional funding in 2012 just to pay for enrollment growth, plus another $35 million to replace one-time money in the 2011 budget.

Rather than continue down that road, Luna wants to take about 10 percent of the public schools budget and spend the money in a new and - he hopes - more effective way.

"Some would call this a radical proposal," Luna said. "I guess it is radical that we could accomplish so much with no or little additional money. But we know it isn't radical to expand technology in the classroom. It isn't radical to improve teacher pay through pay for performance. The only thing that's really radical about this plan is that it actually puts students first. Look at what we can accomplish if we're just willing to spend what we already have in a different way."

Several lawmakers, however, noted Luna's proposal isn't entirely self-funded. The increased class sizes and other efficiencies come up anywhere from $9 million to $19 million short each year from 2013 through 2016.

"That's a concern," said Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert. "We'll probably have some discussions to see if there are places we can trim."

Cameron noted Luna's proposal would eliminate about 770 teaching positions, together with 300 classified staff and another 60 administrative positions.

Luna said most of the teaching reductions could be handled through normal attrition, but it's unclear if that's the case with the administrative and classified positions.

Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, said she supports the concept of giving laptops to ninth-graders, but she's concerned rural students might have a harder time accessing online classes.

"There's not enough time in the day to get everything done without doing work at home," she said, "but some parts of Idaho don't have dial-up (Internet access) yet, much less high-speed broadband."

The proposed increase in class sizes was another concern, Keough said. Even setting aside claims higher class size hurts student achievement, some classrooms physically can't accommodate more students.

Other lawmakers wondered how laptop use would be monitored to make sure students aren't visiting inappropriate sites or interacting with online predators.

The likelihood that large, urban districts would find it easier to enact these reforms than small, rural districts was an issue as well, as was the availability of training to ensure teachers could effectively use the new technology.

Overall, lawmakers continue to be receptive to Luna's reforms, but they want to see more details.

Gov. Otter has come out in support of the plan, but it may take weeks for the education committees and joint budget committee to work through it all. 

I am not so sure I am ready to trade teachers and aids for laptops.  The idea of getting a laptop sounds so appealing, but who will monitor what they are looking at, fix them when they break, replace them when they aren't returned and pay for the internet connection these kids need to use them at home?
Thoughts??????????

Today I am grateful my husband had the day off.  When you have a sick kid it is always better when one of you can be home for them.

Blogging.............

Blogging is hard.  I want to say something meaningful and worth reading everyday, but my life just doesn't lead to that kind of excitement on a daily basis.  I am enjoying the process, just not the concern I feel over picking a topic.  I will hopefully move past this rather quickly.


I subbed all day today.  Great sub job!  I got to work with SpEd kids, at a great school, with really good people.  These are days I value. I especially enjoyed the kids today.  One student I worked with today has Autism.  The more I am around students with Autism and the more I learn about it, the more fascinated I become with it.  These kids are amazing little people and once you gain their trust their world is yours.  I knew I had her when she ran over and gave me a hug. I had been with another student and hadn't seen her for about a half and hour.   When she saw me her eyes lit up, she is a girl of few words, and she came over and gave me a hug.   It was awesome!!

Today I am thankful for unprovoked hugs.  Whether they are from my own two boys or the kids at school, there is nothing better.   

Martin Luther King Jr.

I painted my boys' bedroom door with chalkboard paint to give them a place to draw and write.  What I didn't know at the time was that I would start using that door to write inspirational quotes for them to read.  Being that January is a time to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. and all he accomplished for our nation, my quotes this month are from him.  I wanted to share those quotes today as my own little reminder of how far we have come as a nation of acceptance.

"The time is always right to do what is right".

"Let no man pull you low enough to hate him".

"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools".

Today I am thankful for those people that are willing to stand up for what they believe in.  To them I say "Thank You".

Welcome...

Today is the day I start my first blog. 

I read recently that part of making yourself a happier person is writing something down you are thankful for each day.  It helps remind us of all the good in our lives and makes us take a minute to reflect on those things.  I tried using a journal to write down what I was thankful for each day and found it very difficult to remember to write each night.  So, I am planning to use this blog as a way of continuing my Gratitude Journal.  

I also plan to write about my life.  I figure I will just go with what I am feeling or thinking about each day and see where my thoughts lead me.  I hope that you enjoy learning about me.
  

Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone.  ~G.B. Stern