Day by Day

In one day....Katie took her driving test and passed in the morning, while Connor went for senior pictures in the evening...wow-time flies.  When did they get to be a senior and junior in high school??? Brendan got a ticket in NYC for skating.  He wasn't even skating at the time. Katie is known as blueberry girl at the farm she works at because she eats them as she picks them...which is fine with the owners. Brendan had his wisdom teeth out and spent about five days at home hanging out with us...good times. What else do I want to remember about now......a hot, humid day ends with a jump in the cold, refreshing pool....the end of summer-warm days and cool pool water....great combination. Bob's boss gives him a handful of money (a lot) and tells him to buy school clothes for his kids.  There are good people in the world. Connor mentions that when he was out playing tennis with his tennis machine (a ball shooting machine that he bought for himself), a 70 year old...

UUUGGGGHHHHHH, UUUGGGGHHH, UUUGGGHHHH...just how I feel right now......

This is the title of a book I just picked up.  I Love it!  It is all about how academics may have very little to do with why kids are successful.  It is actually home experiences, personality, etc that guide how successful children can be.  The author provides lots of study results to prove his points.  I know data and studies can be manipulated to prove any point, but at the same time, I believe there is truth to what he is saying anyway and he has the studies to prove it.  It isn't just about pick yourself up by the boot straps and make a life for yourself, no matter what your past has been.  It is about how past experiences can really damage a person and that it is important to recognize this and care to it, in order to help kids succeed in school and life.  We are so consumed with test scores.  I just had one of my bosses say to me that he saw on the news where we are losing ground in the world...for example, years ago we would have been ...

So...I have been through a number of interviews this year for about five different districts, in an attempt to find a principal position.  Not sure what my drive is, but I seem to have an internal drive I can't shut off.  It is motivated by boredom of what I know do, my seven-eight year itch to move/have kids/be a coach/paint rooms/change jobs/etc..., frustration with the system I am in and how it works, a desire to try to change the world in some way, and maybe a slight desire to be in control (I think most admin's have that-although for an admin, I am pretty much not a controller at all, compared to others).  At any rate, I have run the gammit of applying to systems that are falling apart (one lost a superintendent, principal and assistant principal all within a few months because the BOE is so bad, I guess).  So that was a blessing in disguise.  Another one was just a complimentary interview because my superintendent made a phone call-waste of everyone's ti...

Can you believe....this is nuts...that in June, Connor complained that he thought his wisdom teeth were coming in and they hurt...sure enough they had to be removed in July.  Last week Brendan complained his tooth in the way back hurt and he thought it was his wisdom teeth...sure enough his have to be removed this week. Here is the kicker.....2,000 later, neither dental nor medical insurance (which, we have great insurance) will pay for it.  I am going to investigate it a little more.  I just accepted that from the doctor's office the first time but another one within a month...I am going to call insurance myself and make sure we aren't missing something here.  Can you believe two in one month of each other?  No one ever said having kids would be cheap.  I will have to see if I have pictures of Connor and then get a picture of Brendan and post.  It will be interesting to compare facial puffiness.

Keera really should have a filter in place, but it doesn't exist.  Here is her latest.  Connor and Katie had physicals at the same time (different doctors, obviously, but same office).  I don't go in anymore, but the doctor's like to have me in afterward to consult with.  I went in with Connor and his doctor and I brought Keera in so she wasn't in the waiting room alone.  She sits on the chair with me and the doctor says to me...."So, everything looks good but do you have any concerns or questions...how as the last year gone?"  I said, "Good and no".  And then Miss shares all the information said, "Well, he has annoyed me a lot."  The doctor (and I) didn't expect that and he started laughing.  Then the doctor said, "Well if it is only once a year, then it isn't bad."  Keera then proclaims (and I mean proclaims) that it is "consistently happening."  The doctor laughed even harder and I have to admit, it was good f...

Brendan's car is an old one with a lot of miles, but  Honda, so it will last forever, if he takes care of it.  It has been through one or two fender benders (not his fault and his fault), but overall he is a great driver.  Bob and I replaced a few panels for him.  I figured he would be saving for his next car.  But, he is a guy who enjoys the simple things (a lot like Bob).  He doesn't want fancy cars or fancy anything.  So, he decided to fix up his car.  My advice was save the money for a new one, but I realized as I was saying it that he was doing things his way and I needed to stay out of it.  So, I drove where he needed to do what he needed.  He had his car painted all shiny black.  It looks great.  Then he put the hub caps back on and on that looks great.  He made it look like it is a new car.  He told me that at the beginning of the summer he set a goal to fix it up and he did.  He has been stopped by p...

I have heard so many funny stories from Katie's experience on the farm.  She is so smart that I didn't think a job like this would amuse her, but it does.  She tells us everything that happens when she is there....how she had to do the lettuce and that involves going into the freezer when your arms are wet and makes you so cold....how the man wanted corn right at 5:57, when they close at 6 and she had to go back in and get the corn....how the bees they keep make honey naturally right there in the store....how the foreigners do not speak English and that is frustrating when you are trying to explain where to go for picking blueberries, etc......how one man was so incredibly rude to her that I would have put him in his place, had I been there :).  She talks about the owners with such care and appreciation.  It is family owned and run and they live right next to the little store.  She tells us all the details of what they are like and how they react to things....

Today is Bob's 50th birthday.  I know he thinks he is getting old, but he doesn't look old and he doesn't act old.  He has spent the last week organizing and reorganizing his baseball cards that he bought/traded for at the national baseball card show.  They are all on the counter until he gets them in their right spot.  I could picture him as a teenager doing the same thing (kind of like Connor who just started an ebay business).  Anyway...not old guy does that.  He is young in his hobby and young in his softball.  Maybe he doesn't run quite as fast but he is still fast.  Maybe he doesn't dive quite as much, but he still dives.  He is young in the way he keeps building away at the garage and any other house project. He only thinks he is getting old.  But, I find the older I get the more freeing it is.  Maybe that is a female thing.  You don't worry as much about the way you look or what you say.  You are living more for ...