Bitchy Mama: a Sunday at the homestead

Was is the sun? Barely recognizable to our drizzle addled brains.

Was it heat? True NW'ers start whining anywhere above 75 degrees.

Maybe it was just the pure freedom of a day with no "have to dos".

I was actually in a great mood. The garden thrives. The sun is shining. The birds are signing.

Yet, the kids managed to fight, argue, squabble about every little thing. Nothing was ok today.

I found myself mitigating and playing the serial facilitator all day with not many happy lasting outcomes.

Shea has gotten good at crying bloody murder whenever he doesn't get his way. I mean, really, like he has severed a limb. Jake and I come running and it's because Molly wants to climb the rope ladder even though Shea was doing something totally different, a good distance away. Or something equally eye-ball rolling.

About a dozen of those sitations and bitchy mommy comes for a stay.

I tried something different with Shea and his reluctant big boy pants issue. I took off a poopy dipe and thought ok, he is going au natural for the rest of the day.

He did not like that. Every other kid in the world would revel in the nakeness but not Shea. He misses the support or whatever. So, I told him he could wear big boy pants but he didn't like that idea either.

That is about when bitchy mommy walked away and left the whiney, pouty progidy by himself on the backporch to grump by himself. I sort of toss over my bitchy shoulder, "Ok. If you don't want to wear them, that is fine with me. See ya!"

I timed it. It took 3 more minutes of solo-grumping then he put the big boy pants on HIMSELF and trotted down to the backyard to receive my exuberant praise.

We are so pathetically behind the 8 ball as far as potty training goes so that little incident is actually a victory. I have had several open, planning discussions with Shea about how we are going to say bye-bye to dipes after school is out. We are saying hello to big boy pants for the summer. He seems skeptical.

Would Jesus shoot an abortion doctor?

I think not. And, in fact, I think Jesus would have some tough-talk for anyone who did!

How can someone be so "pro-life" that they think in there twisted little pointy head that it would be justifiable to take the life of anyone let alone this doctor. A person who has devoted his life to making sure woman could have a choice.

Just sickening.

You know all that hope we have been praying and wishing on? Well, I guess it is sending the bat-shit crazies over the edge!

My thoughts and prayers go out to George Tiller's family; a gentle man who provided safe and LEGAL abortions to woman who faced the excruciating choice of whether they could provide a healthy, stable, safe home for their child.

I would hope that we could all agree that we want and need to keep abortions safe, legal and rare. Let's make every child a wanted child.

You can donate to Planned Parenthood right here.

Bless you, Dr. Tiller. May you rest in peace.

From the Seattle Times:

WICHITA, Kan. —

Dr. George Tiller, one of the nation's few providers of late-term abortions despite decades of protests and attacks, was shot and killed Sunday in a church where he was serving as an usher.

The gunman fled, but a 51-year-old suspect was arrested some 170 miles away in suburban Kansas City three hours after the shooting, Wichita Deputy Police Chief Tom Stolz said.

Up: can Pixar do anything wrong?

Up. What a terrifically wonderful, touchingly poignant, entertainly scary movie. Those Pixar folks are literal geniuses!

That being said, if you have any fear of heights, no matter how small or scary dog phobia - be warned. This movie may send you over the edge.

There are enough vertigo provoking episodes in this movie to keep you off ladders for months. But, don't worry, it is a happy ending.

The dogs. The dogs? The dogs almost stole the show. Each outfitted with a transmitter that gives it the capability of human speech...priceless.

It was a full house at the old Vashon Theatre for opening night. Literally the entire theater was packed and howling with laughter.

Tons of kids, nice and cool and dark inside; a great outing for a Friday night.

Would I see the movie again? Absolutely. Would I buy it? Plan to.

A real summer day here in the NW

Summers in the Northwest is easily one of the most beautiful places on earth. Something about lots of water nearby, not too hot temps and no bugs is a real crowd please.

Hey! Come visit and spend your vacation dollars here!

Our summers almost make up for the 6-8 solid months of drizzle and gray bleh. Hard to even remember what it usually is like on a day like this.

Perfect. 75 degrees, cloudless blue sky, slight breeze and did I mention the no bugs part?

And, drum roll please...

The corn has actually emerged in my garden! I thought for sure I had screwed that up. Much to my surprise, they even look different from all the weeds. Now that I can tell the difference I guess I better do some weeding.

Pumpkins starting popping up yesterday with more happening today.

And, row after row of bush beans making their first appearance. Wow, they move fast once they are up.

I read somewhere that crows particularly like bean starts so to get some flashy tape or something to scare them away. GGF has some on order for us both. You know that metallic tape that you string around and it flashes light and is supposed to discombobulate the birds? Hope it works and we get it in time!

I might need an extra special strategy because my crows are pesky smart ones. They wait until we aren't around and snack on the cat kibble off the back porch and they have no qualms about snatching pretzels from Shea's lunch when he wanders off even for a brief moment.

In fact, one of two may be Ravens because they seem awful big for crows. I actually sort of like them but not well enough to feed them my bean babies.

Is it scarecrow time?

Suggestions?

Bountious basil

Just hit the hot weather plant start sale at the high school today. For those of you who missed my pro-vocational education rave and the previous plant sale for cool weather plants, by all means here it is.

First, it was roasting hot in that green house and I am sure the kids wanted to be squirting hoses around but, again, they were on their best behavior scuttling around, showing us where we could find the peppers, basil and tomatoes galore.

Wow! That was some turn out! Impressive, robust starts very reasonably priced.

I have never seen a more healthy crop of basil starts in my life. A buck each!!!! $1.00 for a plant I just spent $3 over the weekend for. Sheesh!

For those that know, Basil is notoriously hard to start from seed unless you have a greenhouse and perfectly stable conditions. Basil is not easily started in the window sill with the dogs, cats, kids, curtains messing up the conditions. I have long stopped trying and routinely buy them in starts each year.

My GGF was feeling all failure-ish because her basil didn't happen this year. I assured her that she is already super-human with the sheep, the garden, the kid, the chickens and the farmstand. And, if her basil starts worked out too I would have saddly had to feel even more inadequate!

No fear! None of hers came out and there was enough beautiful basil starts to make everyone happy today at the sale.

I brainstormed a little with the horticulture teacher. Her and the kids have planted up a huge victory garden and was wondering how to open it up for community events during the summer. I always found it ironic that the best months for the garden the kids were off from school. So, after all their hard work in the spring, they never really gets to be rewarded for it.

Maybe the summer kids YMCA program could come up and do some weeding and be able to harvest some of the veggies to eat? Maybe they could promote it for summer parties and weddings? Maybe they could offer produce for weekly garden help to folks who don't have a garden or live in apartments?

There are so many ways a garden can grow. And, watching those kids take it on just reminds me that it really should be a community activity.

I-pod volume limit controls

Wow! Now that is a good idea!

Password-protected volume limit controls

To help prevent hearing loss that may occur when listening to audio at high volume over long periods of time through earphones, all currently available iPod models include volume limit controls allowing you to easily set the maximum listening volume. You can protect the maximum volume with a password, so it cannot be changed without permission.

Hat tip to my excellent anonymous pal who happens to be an old high school sweet heart!

Thanks Mitch! XOX

My new I-pod or thank god my kid can figure it out for me

Ok. Molly's brand spanking new Nano arrived today complete with jumping and shouting and many thank you hugs.

To review: Molly earned money to buy this contraption by playing her violin or busking.

She has been plugged in ever since except for the "no I-pod at the dinner table" rule. She did take some time out to set up my new I-pod or her old Shuffle.

Am I excited? Yes. Am I jumping around hugging and shouting? Not yet. But, I am very thankful that she could set it up for me and teach me how to do it.

Volume...check.
On, Off...check.
Ok. Good to go. I think.

Now, how do you download a song? She was proud to teach me how and I was very thankful my kid can help me with this 21st century apparatus.

So, I downloaded my first song.

What was it?

Yellow by Coldplay

Nice.

The special bus

Because Shea has an IEP, he is offered door to door bus service for pre-school which is a really wonderful thing. And, because the bus picks him up at my door and I climb on to buckle him up 4 days a week, I have gotten to know all of Shea's fellow bus pals.

There are only 5 including Shea, so it is a lovely little grouping. And, it wouldn't be as lovely without the bus driver, Karen, who has a great attitude and is a calm, happy person to ride to school with.

Sometimes Karen has rock music cranked. She says the kids asked for something "fast" and then they will all be banging out to some classic rock tune. Sometimes the kids are blissing out to Bach or whatever happens to pop up on the local classic station.

I think it is sweet that she is so present with the kids each day. She isn't just the bus driver, she is their friend.

They are all boys except for one girl, Sophia, a little red head. She is the same age as Shea and we have known her since they were first identified back when they were 18 months old. Sophia is the girl who Shea bestowed the only hug of his birthday party on. He just couldn't help hugging Sophia. The best part is that she didn't mind and hugged back.

Sophia has been singing the same song for a good couple of months. "Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly" she peeps, almost not recognizable yet somehow...there it is. Is she watching The Wizard of Oz over and over again? Is she a Judy Garland fan? I don't know.

The kids, after seeing me all year, now include me in whatever happens to be going on. Will I pick up so-and-so's teddy bear. Where is your chicken? Can Shea have a play date?

After I buckle Shea in and climb off the bus, I have this delicious freshly dropped off feeling, I am particularly exuberant.

I stand and wave to all the kids and blow kisses to Shea (and whoever else will catch them) while jumping around like an idiot. The kids find this particularly hilarious and undoubtedly figure I am one of those "fun" moms.

I'm not really, just really glad to see the bus drive out of my driveway.

Shea is included and accepted on this bus. These are his peers, his friends. The years ahead will only get more complicated but the time on this bus makes me feel like they are a team and can take it on together.

GGF and her snazzy camera

Gal pal, Deirdre, came over with her sooper-cool, expensive, intimidates the heck out of me camera and took some pictures around the old homestead yesterday.

Darling kid shots and the near unveiling of Jake's newest little building: the garden shed/kid's playhouse/chicken closet intimately snuggled next to the gardn. Obviously we are packing a lot in a 6x12 space.

See that building? The top is a deck! Or it is going to be! We will be able to check out the garden and Mt. Rainier and the fireworks on the 4th (hopefully).

Welcome to King County, where you do not need any building permits for a structure 200 sq. ft. or under. Hence the continued perfecting of the science and art of small buildings.

That's Jake alright and he does a mean little building. Do you want one? That can be arranged.

And, wow! Look at how cool the garden looks from the heights! Sweet! Also, just to be clear, it is COMPLETELY deer fenced because nothing would survive without the 7 ft. fence to keep bambi and her relatives out.

Thanks for documenting it, gal pal.

Kid offers banned books from lending library in her locker

Hm. I guess the book ban back fired.

Chaucer? Orwell? Twain? Banned books? Yikes!

Smart kid. You gotta love her!

From Yahoo Ask:

"I go to a private school that is rather strict. Recently, the principal and school teacher council released a (very long) list of books we're not allowed to read. I was absolutely appalled, because a large number of the books were classics and others that are my favorites. One of my personal favorites, The Catcher in the Rye, was on the list, so I decided to bring it to school to see if I would really get in trouble. Well... I did but not too much.

Then (surprise!) a boy in my English class asked if he could borrow the book, because he heard it was very good AND it was banned! This happened a lot and my locker got to overflowing with the banned books, so I decided to put the unoccupied locker next to me to a good use. I now have 62 books in that locker, about half of what was on the list. I took care only to bring the books with literary quality. Some of these books are:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
His Dark Materials trilogy
Sabriel
The Canterbury Tales
Candide
The Divine Comedy
Paradise Lost
The Godfather
Mort
Interview with the Vampire
The Hunger Games
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Animal Farm
The Witches
Shade's Children
The Evolution of Man
the Holy Qu'ran
... and lots more.

Anyway, I now operate a little mini-library that no one has access to but myself. Practically a real library, because I keep an inventory log and give people due dates and everything. I would be in so much trouble if I got caught, but I think it's the right thing to do because before I started, almost no kid at school but myself took an active interest in reading! Now not only are all the kids reading the banned books, but go out of their way to read anything they can get their hands on. So I'm doing a good thing, right? Oh, and since you're probably wondering "Why can't you just go to a local library and check out the books?" most of the kids are too chicken or their parents won't let them but the books. I think that people should have open minds.

Most of the books were banned because they contained information that opposed Catholisism. I limit my 'library' to only the sophmores, juniors and seniors just in case so you can't say I'm exposing young people to materiel they're not mature enough for. But is what I'm doing wrong because parents and teachers don't know about it and might not like it, or is it a good thing because I am starting appreciation of the classics and truly good novels (Not just fad novels like Twilight) in my generation?

5,000+!

When I started this blog last fall, I never could imagine who, if anyone, would read it.

Yeah, my friends, my mom, people who know me, know Shea, you know, the insiders. I knew they would read it. And, it has been a really wonderful way to keep those folks in the loop.

But, I get a real kick out of all the different people from all over the country and world who just happen along and visit. Who knows how you find it but you visit and I thank you for it.

My hit counter just went over 5,000. Sure, about 4,878 hits are probably me just refreshing my screen but those other ones are you.

Thank you for visiting this blog and leaving your comments. Did I mention how much I love comments? Well, I do. So, don't be shy, leave a trace of yourself!

I have found a lot of solace, inspiration and fun during these months blogging about all sorts of things and it is all because of you...the folks that read it.

Hugs and kisses from,

Shea's mom

In memory of the fallen...

Poverty levels influence kid's learning

Another one for the "duh" category.

But, this also reaffirms why children in poverty do not test well. NCLB is a vicious cycle; underfunded schools who serve low income kids supposedly "failing" but only because of the standardized tests.

From the StatemansJournal.com:

Educators often point to poverty as a factor in sub-par student achievement. And there is research to back them up.

A landmark 1995 study showed that how fast children's vocabularies grow is greatly influenced by how often their parents talk to them — and that children from lower-income families hear significantly fewer words than their wealthier counterparts.

The study found that, in a year, children of professionals hear 11 million words on average, while children of working-class families hear 6 million words, and children of families on public assistance hear 3 million words.

Garden update: end of May

Salad, potatoes and Raspberries; oh my!

Harvested: only salad greens (wide variety) and radishes so far but peas, basil, onion, broccoli, caloflower, cabbage starts planted.

Corn, beans and pumpkins seeds planted although haven't broken through yet. I probably planted way too early but couldn't resist.

Best so far? Radishes and spicy mustard for zippy salads to chase the winter dull drums away!

I'm really happy!

Shea said today while playing on his favorite thing in the whole wide yard; the rope ladder. He has gotten quite adept at it and now tries to climb with only one hand.

I'm really (yilly) happy too, baby!

Take a look at those dirty summer time feet!

This is about all that is going on for for our Memorial Day weekend.

Bliss!

Abstinence only or teen pregnancy?

Is Bristol Palin promoting abstinence only or teen pregnancy with this cover shot? Darn good question. Really, REALLY hard to tell. Read more about it here.

Hey there girls? If there is any confusion...uh...don't do what she did ok? You know, the lack of birth control part!

Colorado 3rd grader organizes rally for Gay Marriage

From HuffingtonPost.com:



Ethan McNamee, a 3rd grader from Denver, CO arranged the rally as an independent class project.

He was concerned about the issue after hearing about anti-gay remarks on the playground and then learning about a same sex couple in his neighborhood that couldn't get married.

"Everybody is different in a good way," he said.

Ethan believes that if two people love each other that is the only issue to be considered.

Ethan took it upon himself to arrange the rally and line up the guest speakers. He admitted it was more work then he thought it would be, but adds it was fun.

Bridge building for 5th graders

I always find it interesting when teachers capture the kids attention and hold it. Good lessons plans, good ideas and good projects. And, perhaps most importantly, good attitudes. The kids genuinely like these teachers.

We are just finishing up the year with one of the best math teachers Molly has ever had; the beloved Mutant Math Teacher, Mr. L.

He teaches the advanced math class for the 5th graders and has managed all year to entertain yet teach, always a delicate balance.

The latest example is the bridge building lesson.

4 groups of 6 kids, each one with a job; Architect, Project Manager, 2 Construction Manager, Materials manager and Accountant.

They are given a budget to build a bridge from scratch. They have to purchase materials and record the costs; toothpicks (bundles of 10), glue, string and cardboard for a building surface. They can't go over budget and they get extra points for being under.

I had seen the design stage because Molly was the Architect and I saw her working her triangulation on the graph paper but I helped in the class last week and saw the construction phase. Very impressive indeed.

Ok. First, the 2 girl's teams were far better at working cooperatively together. And, they were way further along. They were supportive and kind about making suggestions and didn't seem to step on the other kids job descriptions. They chatted in a cluster around the bridge discussing improvements. Occasionally a boy would come by threatening flirtatiously about sabotaging the girl's bridge. Needless to say, the girls did not find this threat at all amusing. Much discussion about boys. Things like, "Boys say stuff like, you run like a girl and mean it as an insult."

I reminded them that their bridges were farther along, stronger and better designed. Let them think that they are insulting you. You girls know better.

They said that most real bridge builders were men. I said, "Not anymore. You are the bridge builders if you want to be."

Contrast; the boy's teams were a mess! Frustration. Anger. Panic? Screwing around while only one kid was working on the bridge.

Both boy's teams were no where near completion where both the 2 girl's were reinforcing and strengthening.

Yesterday was the big bridge competition. Weights were used to determine how much each bridge could hold. Molly's team ended up winning by being able to hold 8,345 grams for 12 seconds. The record. The second place came in at 6, 278 grams; another girl's team.

It got me thinking. How many of those girls will go on to do engineering? When I was in college there were just a handful of women in the engineering program with the majority, by far, men. It was sort of understood that men had those engineering brains. Although, I know plenty of women with brains like that.

Is that changing? So much focus has been made to encourage young girls to focus on math and science. Will it play out with this batch of kids? The graduating class of 2016?

Other brilliant crisis school fund raising ideas....

...other than just calling people and hassling them for a check!

Hat tip to gal pal, Deirdre.

- One day a week Granny's dedicates 50% of proceeds to the Teacher Fund. I recall about a year ago Granny's had a Too Much Money problem. Not sure if that is still the case, but certainly much of their clothing is donated by the Lost and Found at schools and the families that attend schools. Could they spare 1/6th of their proceeds for the next 3 months? A definite sunset date would ensure that this not become an ongoing embedded program that burdens that organization.

- A partnership with Thriftway like their breast cancer fundraiser. Cards and promotion at the checkout - Save Our Teachers! Again, who are TW's best customers? Do they want to lose families and teachers to the mainland? Maybe they will see such a drive in their own best interest...?

- Could Parks and the YMCA add a voluntary surcharge to their summer programs - ask parents signing kids up for summer classes and camps to check a $10 for Teachers box on all their forms? Or, would these agencies be willing to convert 1-5% of their program revenues to a teacher fund?

- We talked, briefly, about the state now allowing Districts to move to a 4-day week to save teacher positions - is that politically explosive? Why not give the teachers a chance to save their colleagues? I don't know the details of their contract, but am wondering if anyone's tapped into the teachers themselves for suggestions.

- I know librarians are also affected - maybe the Friends of the Library would be willing to donate their book sales revenues for the summer and spearhead a Save the Librarians drive?

- Also, no one cares more about the teachers than their students. Has anyone tapped the students for ideas? Car washes, bake sales, dances, festival - what could be more powerful for a teen than knowing they helped save their favorite teacher from a layoff? The Horticulture program is already doing this with their plant start sales - these monies go directly to fund a summer mentor for students in that program.

Guns in parks? Like fish need a bicycle?

Somehow, I just don't feel safer!