New Stuff

Well, again I have fallen behind on my blog. So here is an update...

David has now officially passed all requirments for being a teacher. We got his final test scores back yesterday and he nailed it!! He has interviewed with a high school right next door to the kids' elementary school for a EH class. They have asked him to coach football IF they offer him the job (sounds like a good thing). He is excited but nervous about a new career. Now, we just have to wait for a contract :)

Hannah finished her second ever triathlon last weekend in the pouring rain. She did a 200-m swim, 2 mile bike and 1 mile run in 25:26. Not the best but certainly not too shabby either considering her mother would pass out after 1 lap in the pool. She is also singing in the district-wide choir on Tuesday. Hannah and her friend Lyndsey will also be performing a popular Hannah Montana tune at the school Talent Show in May. I have not been allowed in the rehearsal site due to secret stuff but I am very much looking forward to their debut performance. She is really looking forward to middle school and is taking advanced level classes, including 7th grade math or pre-algebra.

Knox is skateboarding more than ever. He loves going to the local skate park and hanging out with friends. He is also just started a cartooning class this past Saturday. I am looking forward to seeing what he can draw. They teach them how to create a storyline and also how to make things look 3.D. As much as Hannah is looking forward to middle school, Knox is dreading it. He has it in his head that someone is going to bully him. He is quite small for his age and more immature than the other boys so this is probably a realistic fear for him. I have tried to assure him that things will be okay but I am just an old person who doesn't remember or maybe never was a middle schooler at some point in her life.

Katy is still riding her horses. She now wants her own saddle (fat chance) but LOVES being at the barn. She recently wrote a biography at school that included her future--going to Clemson and becoming a vet. Her grades keep getting better & better so we are so proud of her hard work. I hope that she keeps her dream in mind all through high school. She has tons & tons of friends who all take their Webkinz to school and create a whole story to go with them. They all have names and characters and must see each other on the weekends. If they don't, they get cranky. The child really should be an actress :)

Macon was recently tested at school for reading. Turns out, he reads on a late second-grade level. He also surpassed all the kindergarten benchmark tests, getting 100's on all but one. When asked what we should do with him, his teacher's reply was "I am not sure". We are going to the instructional coach next to see what options we have. I think most of his behavior can be attributed to boredom but we also have rapant ADD in the Rushton men so we have started Macon on a small dose of Adderall. It seems to help some but I am not sure I like it. Only time will tell if this will do the trick. He is doing gymnastics too which he LOVES.

I am finishing up my last year on the PTA executive board. I'll run the school carnival next fall but that's it. I am planning to do my student teaching next Spring and have set it up to be able to do it with a 4th grade teacher at the kids' school.

David just came in with Macon so I must go. I'll do pictures next time!!

Katy's Birthday

Katy turned 10 last week! Yikes, time flies when you are having fun. Her birthday was on a Tuesday so we celebrated on Sunday night with the family. David's parents, my parents, my brother & fam came over for cake and presents. Katy got a shopping spree from us on Tuesday but everyone else brought gifts on Sunday. Jonathan & Marissa brought her a new Webkins (a pony, perfect for Katy), mom & dad brought lots of clothes to which my dad could genuienly act surprised when he saw them, and David's parents gave her sewing lessons & money. The really great :) gift came from Katy's dad, Lee and his new wife April. Katy got a hamster!! We did talk about it first but it has caused problems every night. We knew hamsters are nocturnal (Katy did lots of research in preparation) so we put it on the landing upstairs on a bookcase outside the girls room. I am listening to it run on its wheel right now. Katy woke up at 3am two nights ago, crying because it woke her up and she couldn't go back to sleep. Last night, we had to bring it downstairs because both girls came down complaining. I am not sure what we are going to do. Good news, though, it doesn't smell like I thought it might. Katy is taking VERY good care of it It is kinda cute but I haven't held it yet. You are supposed to leave it alone for the first week while it adjusts to its new digs. But, David keeps getting it out for the kids. Anyway, we have a new member of the house, Katy had a great birthday and we celebrated our blessings. Now, I think I have a birthday coming up next (yikes).

Lego League Video

If you have an extra 4 minutes and 30 seconds, take a look at my lego League video. These are kids I worked with over the past 7 weeks. We had our awards ceremony at last night's science fair. I'll start this week with the 5th graders!!

Science Fair

Don't know if I mentioned it before but I recently completed not one, not two but THREE science fair projects. Of course, Hannah, Knox & Katy actually won the prizes for all my hard work but there wasn't an over-30 category. (Tee-hee)

Anyway, Hannah had done her project on who would be more likely to pick up a dropped object, a boy or a girl?? (Girls)--although, this friend of Knox's admitted that he would pick up anything Hannah dropped. The admission came with lots of blushing.

Knox did his on who takes more steps in a day, boys or girls? (girls)

Katy did hers on who has more bacteria in their mouth, a dog or a human. (humans)

THEY ALL THREE WON!! Really, we had our science fair last night and they announced the winners. The projects had been judged over the past week by 8 different people, including parents of non-participating students, teachers from different grades, and even a district judge. No names were on the projects to ensure fairness. Of course, plastering your kid's picture all over the front was allowed. Hannah & Katy will both go on the district-wide competition and Knox received honorable mention for his. The girls have to go and stand with their projects so we are going to have to over exactly what "they" did in case the judges ask them any questions.

Macon Reading

This is a video of Macon on the morning news at school. We do a program called Reading Counts where kids earn points after reading a book and taking a comprehension test on it. Every ten points earned is rewarded.



Macon is the only Kindergartener with more than 10 points!! Yes, I am bragging :)

Macon's Kindergarten Project

Take a look at Macon's recent project for school. The requirements were for him to pick a topic and be able to creatively share three facts with his classmates. We did research online and through books. This was mostly Macon-generated but Mom-directed. He was soooo proud!! The day after he shared it with the class, he was called on the speaker to the principal's office. "Mom, I was shakin' cause I thought for sure I was in trouble!!" (For Macon, this is a realistic fear.) Anyway, she had heard about the video and wanted to watch it with him.

Exciting News!!

Yeah....I think?? David passed the Special Education portion of the Praxis (the education exam). Now he just needs to pass the Education portion to become Highly Qualified. Don't ask me what it means, just know that he needs it to finish his certification. He is applying for an open position at an Elementary school across town. If accepted, he would begin this fall which means a whole summer of working waaaay too many hours but also with a light at the end of the tunnel. Of course, he will still see clients to make up for the slight drop in pay but he wants to get his phD while doing this so I may not actually see him more. The "I think" comment is because this is unchartered terrority for us but exciting because it allows him to keep all the benefits of the state system while getting out of the craphole he is in now. He is nervous about the whole thing but putting on a very brave face. If you know David, you know that this is pretty much his approach to life anyway. But, still, it is a BIG step for us all and I am proud that he is even considering the change.

Meanwhile, I have put my teaching plans on hold (once again). Teaching would not be my first choice unless I could handpick my job, students, classroom, pay, etc. etc. which obviously isn't going to happen. I would never hate teaching, I just have other things that get me excited. I think I keep putting off the inevitable. Inevitable because of the flexibility teaching offers those of us who have children.

Anywho (as Katy says), we are steadily marching towards a career change. I'll let you know how it goes!

Puberty

Hannah and Knox just came back from the fifth grade field trip to our school district run science center. Topic: Human Growth and Development, otherwise known as Embarrassing Subject with Lots of Giggles. Hannah approached it like her normal self. A learning experience that she must get the most out of, she was very adament about everyone using the correct terminology. It's not an egg, it's an ova...that kind of thing. She had lots of questions, all of which sent Katy into fits of laughter. Hannah was indignant because Katy is only a fourth grader and didn't need to worry about it until next year. Mind you, I had already told both of them all the girl part information minus the sex. They knew all the names, all about monthly visits and how babies grow and get out, they just didn't know (from me anyway) how the babies got there in the first place. Hannah asked no questions about that!!

Knox and David had a man-to-man talk before the trip, none of which I know about. I was worried that Knox would freak out because, as far as I know, he was clueless. But, David gave him the low-down. The night they came back, Knox asked David if you could have sex without having babies. Uhhhh, was David's first response. But, he did tell him the truth along with the prudency of waiting until you are married.

Now that Hannah and Knox's innocence is gone, I am afraid that they will grow up much more quickly. This seems to be the last big secret of adulthood that they now know about. Santa is no longer magical, the tooth fairy is in the distant past, and middle school looms on the horizon. My beautiful first born will be 12 in 8 months and is asking about using tampons at swim practice. Knox has lived with me more than half his life (7 years now) and is asking if sex is fun. Just yesterday we took pictures of them in the bath tub with Katy doing the "see no evil" thing for the camera. Just yesterday, Hannah was calling Katy "Tay-tay" and frowning over reading workbooks. Just yesterday, Knox was learning how to pee standing up and letting his sisters dress him up in their dance costumes. Just yesterday, they were babies and now they are on the verge of teenage angst. I look forward to their growing but boy do I wonder where the time has gone!!

Snow Days

We had a double-dose of snow this past week. For months, we had planned to visit David's brother and his family in Maryland over Martin Luther King weekend. On Thursday (leaving day), Greenville got snow. School was cancelled and I freaked at the thought of driving at night through the snow covered mountains of Virginia. So, we left Friday instead. 10 hours in the car, two days at their house, 10 hours back led to one tired family. But, Maryland had just gotten six inches of snow so my kids were in heaven. They spent hours outside sledding. Inside, Macon got to play with his cousin who is only a few days older. It was a very nice time, just the getting there that was hard.

Hannah has her last short-course swim meet next weekend then we have to decide if she will continue once the pool switches over to long-course. I think she will stick with it. She has gotten much better and if she keeps going, the benefits of this exercise will stick with her for life.

Knox signs up for baseball on Saturday. He is excited about it, although I am not. I have never been a big fan of baseball anyway and he is not the greatest player. It makes for a long season. But, he really wants to and I think it is important for him to be involved on a team.

Katy is riding still after a haitus over Christmas break. She took her horse over the "jump" today for the first time by herself. Meaning, no lead from the instruction but keep in mind that the jump is just a 6-in pipe lying on the ground. Basically, as long as she steers towards it, the horse just steps over. Anyway, she was excited about being back but it was cold!!

Macon is still Macon. No sports for the spring but he wants to play tackle football this fall. I don't know if we can handle it but he needs a sport where he doesn't have to wait very long for his turn. He actually did the best in gymnastics so if I can get over the whole "this isn't really for boys" thing then maybe we will go back to that.

David and I are hosting a Wii party this weekend for our grownup friends. It ought to be interesting. My friend who conked her kid in the head asked if it was a BYOH party---Bring Your Own Helmet!

Prayers of Little Ones

Tonight, Macon asked God for money so that Macon could pay off his debt tomorrow. He said thank you for a dad who works hard and has to drive in the dark to get home. He hoped that God had made a lot of friends up there (maybe in case God was lonely??).

I guess we all have things to be thankful for....mine tonight is for an insightful, caring and empathetic child. My heart is filled up with love for this little boy!!

Happy New Year!!

It's 2008!! Lots of exciting things happen this year. Knox and Hannah start middle school in August, Hannah turns 12 (yikes!), Katy begins her last year of elementary school and David and I celebrate our seventh year of marriage. It will be neat to look back over this blog and see how life develops throughout the year.

We spent most of this morning playing around so right after lunch we kicked our cleaning into high gear. It's nice that the kids are old enough to really truly clean now. We take turns with who does what so no one can say "life's not fair" I still have to finish laundry and run a couple of errands but for the most part the house is clean!!

The big kids all have science fair projects due in March so we are beginning to work on those. Hannah is testing to see if girls or boys are more empathetic, Knox is testing to see if bigger wheels make a difference while skateboarding and Katy is testing to see if dogs or humans have more bacteria in their mouths. All exciting and all tailored to each kids interest. We'll have to post some pictures when we are all done.

Well, the momentary peace and quiet just ended when the kids came in from outside. I'll have to write more when they go to bed!