Jacob's Education Metaphor

You know you are a true educator inside and out - 24/7 when your thirteen year old presents you with this thought during dinner. What prompted this was Victor telling us about the new State law that requires teachers to allow students to make up work even when they are suspended (usually an unexcused absence):

Jacob: Mom and Dad, I've been thinking. Here is how I think of education. You have a grocery store (the State Education Department). Inside the grocery store you have an aisle with a bunch of different boxes of chocolate (all of the different districts). Each are labeled with the same thing "blah, blah, blah, blah." Inside the box are all different kinds of pieces of chocolate (parents and teachers). You pick one up and it is anyones guess on what you will get.

Me (trying to keep a straight face): Good metaphor Jacob but I have a few questions. Why the "blah, blah, blah."

Jacob: Because nobody listens to the parents and teachers even though they are closest to the students.

Me: Also, where are the students in your example?

Jacob: They aren't even in the picture.

Makes you think about the education system we have that a thirteen year old has this picture of what the state of education is.

Learning from Mistakes?

During my drive to work every morning, I often have random thoughts or set up my strategy for the day in my head. This morning my mind was wandering in many directions but became focused on parenting. Jacob and Zachary are 17 months apart so there was not much opportunity to learn from any mistakes made as I "parented" Jacob and correct them for the benefit of Zachary. I often wondered if the closeness in their age and my lack of mature parenting skills had anything to do with Zachary's delays. For those of you who are close to me, you know I am beyond blaming myself but that thought process is still part of who I was back then and sometimes I do go back. Doing so actually makes me realize how much we have all progressed and grown as a family and as Christians.

Fast forward 12 years when God gave us the beautiful gift of Ava. It was different from the very beginning. Not planned, carefree and easy pregnancy (yes even as AMA - advanced maternal age), only gained 35 pounds versus 60 pounds (yes, really), and the list goes on. Unfortunately, the morning sickness was the same. Even more surprising to many friends and family we decided not to find out what we were having. I am typically the person that is over prepared and can't handle surprises. Since my mom is not on FB or rarely reads the Blog, I can admit that I snooped with success almost every Christmas. I still cannot express the amazing feeling I had in my heart when we saw that it was a girl. I was truly expecting a boy. Thank you Kristin for capturing the moment for us!

Nineteen months later I am focused on the saying "mistakes are okay if you learn from them." I am an educator and I do believe that but the first step is realizing that you made the mistake in the first place. But what about parenting? As I stated earlier with Jacob and Zachary, there was not enough time to realize the mistakes, let alone make any changes. So I ask myself, "what mistakes did I make, have I learned from them, what can I do to make sure I don't make them again?" I do not seek to be the perfect parent or perfect wife, daughter, sister, or friend but I pray that whatever choices or decisions I make will always glorify God. How do we know that we, as parents, are making the right decisions for our children? Are we giving them every opportunity to discover the gifts God gave them and be able to use their gifts for His glory?

My Life with a 13 Year Old

It was saturday night and there we were, me and Victor, at the Opera after a wonderful dinner. Kids are home with the babysitter, Jena who is a college student. We called home after dinner just to make sure all was okay and of course the response from the 13 year old was "sure, why wouldn't it be." So off to the opera. Just as the curtain was raised, my phone started to buzz. I did not answer. Then Victor's buzzed. Then mine buzzed again. At this point what do I do - make a whole row of people stand up so I can get out to answer and then again to let me back in? My thoughts started to run wild. With my purse flap covering the light from my phone, I sent a text to Jacob "Is all ok?" Of course, it went unanswered. I sent the same text to the babysitter. No response. In the meantime, I am missing the first 10 minutes of the opera which is in Italian with subheadings but I am too preoccupied to follow. You can imagine all of the thoughts that were going through my head. One thought was "oh, my what could be going on?" but quickly followed with "why do I pay his cell phone bill?" Then I thought, maybe if I dial his number, he will see that there is a text and respond. Finally, this worked! He sent me a text that went like this (spelling corrected and no abbreviations included here) "where is the other container of popcorn kernals? we are out and I want to cook some more. everything else is fine." Still concealing my phone under the flap of my purse and hoping the older lady next to me does not turn me into the "opera police" for violating the rules of opera behavior, I sent him a reply that made it clear to him I was not pleased. My gracious, this parenting stuff is hard but I would not trade being the mother to Jacob (13), Zachary (2 months shy of 12) and Ava (19 months today).

What in the world have we been up to?

Well as many of you can sympathize, we have been very busy over the last few months and I have neglected the blog. Surely the February 1st - last post date is an error. Here are some pics to give you an idea of what has been happening. I promise to do better and post more often.

Date Night - Earnest's and the Opera

Ava - always happy in the morning

Jacob - Orthodontist will probably not be happy with the Easter Bunny for this.

Zachary - listen to some tunes on Daddy's phone with his shades on.

We love springtime at Grandma and Papa T's house.

Spring Break hairstyle complements of Daddy - two pigtails and one bow.

Riding around the block with Papa T.

Easter Sunday

Paintball to Celebrate Jacob Turning 13!

I cannot believe I am almost the mother of a teenager. Jacob will turn 13 on February 10th. We celebrated a little early with a paintball party in partnership with Alex. It was a great time with 20 middle schoolers and two adults. Yes, the dads both played. I am happy to report no major injuries. Just several bruises.

2009?

Are we really only 5 days into 2009? So much has happened already. My mom was scheduled for hip replacement on New Year's Eve but it had to be rescheduled because she was misinformed about when to stop taking her blood thinner. So, her blood was too thin. It will now take place Monday, January 5th. Ava will go to the Mainiero's for the next several weeks every morning at 6:00 am. Victor will take her so he can be to work by 7:00 and I will stay here waiting for the boys buses - Jacob at 6:45 and Zachary at 7:30. So, I will get to battle the wild morning Bossier City traffic and try to be to work by 8:00. Victor's Dad will drive to our house in the afternoons to meet the boys' buses after school. Please pray for my mom and a speedy recovery. Also for all of us as we change our routines. Hopefully, no speeding tickets. :)

My sister, Michelle, who is 40 was rushed to the ER on New Year's Day morning with her rapid heart rate issue (220 bpm) that she battles. She had let it go on much too long this time and caused a mild heart attack. Much to our surprise, they released her late that afternoon. After waking from a nap at her house, she called my mom in a panic because her speech was gone. My dad and brother rushed to her house and called 911. She suffered what is called a TIA (I think). It is a mini stroke with no longlasting effects. She stayed overnight and was sent home with orders to take her medicine and make sure she follows through with the ablation procedure to fix what is causing the heart rate issues and eat right. Please pray that she listens. It is hard on her twins since she and Joe divorced two years ago.

Yes, it has just been 5 days into the New Year. I pray that there is much less excitement the next week.

Fall 2008 Family Pictures

Make a Smilebox scrapbook