Read-a-thon
December 20, 2007 
I remember when I was in elementary school, occasionally we would have read-a-thons. Days when we did nothing but read. We got to sit on the anywhere–the floor, at our desk or wherever. We got to bring books to read and we got to read books from the school library. Sometimes we would get treats. I always loved these days and looked forward to them with great excitement.
Today, Oldest is having a read-all-day day. He is in first grade, and today is the last day before the Christmas break. They were encouraged to take slippers and blankets, and a mug. They need the mug because they are going to have hot cocoa (how fun!!). The teachers asked for volunteers to go in a read stories to the class. I went in this morning and read the book that Oldest was begging me to read. I caved and read the book I didn’t want to read. I read The Polar Express. It is a cute book, but in a big class, it is not a good book. And, another mother had read the book all ready. Oh, well. He was excited. And Youngest ran around the room making the kids laugh (and probably embarrassed Oldest.)
The whole thing has me thinking…. When was the last time that I took a day to just read? It has been years. Far too long. How about for you? Usually, when I have a chance to sit down and read it is right before bed and I am so tired that I just have a few minutes to devote before my eyelids droop too far. I know that it is good for kids to see their parents read too.
So, my goal now is to take a day this Christmas break and have a read-a-thon with my kids. We can spend the day silent-reading, reading aloud, and acting out stories. We can stay in jammies and have fun snacks. I’m going to challenge you to a read-a-thon with your kids too. What fun memories it will make!
Weight, Favorites and Other Stuff
December 17, 2007 
Weight Update: I continue to act like a yo-yo. Up and down, I go. Last week I was down 1.5 pounds, and this week I am back up. BUT, I popped a hole through the knee of my last jeans so I went to my favorite store to buy my favorite jeans and…guess what….I was able to get a size smaller! I have always been somewhere around 14-16 but I bought size 12! They probably added stretch or adjusted the size or something, but it still feels good.
Other Stuff: Bryan got a new calling at church yesterday. It is a doozy. Stake Young Mens Presidency – 1st Counselor. We aren’t really sure what all this entails (if you know, please enlighten me) or when he starts. I think that he is a little excited though. He is ready for a new challenge, I think. Finally got my Christmas out. I sent some of them last week and the rest today. Oh, what a wonderful feeling.
My parents arrive Saturday so there is much house cleaning and grocery shopping to be done this week. Also, going into Oldest’s classroom to read a story for their read-a-thon. Trying to decide between two books: Bear Stays Up For Christmas and The Polar Express. Any thoughts?
I am revamping my chore charts and house rules. I am condensing the 9 rules into 5, and adding chores. They are doing so good at it, so I thought, hey! Why not make them do more of my stuff?
We will be celebrating my parents arrival by watching the BYU football bowl game. Go cougars. (Anyone know who they are playing? Hmm. Probably ought to find out.)
And finally…..
Favorite Moments from the week:
*Taking Daughter and Youngest to the mall and having Daughter act perfectly.
*While I was building the Thomas the train track that Youngest was demanding that I build, he decided that I should stop immediately and hook the trains together. I told him: “Hold your little pants on!” and he threw down the train and grabbed as much of his little Gap sweat pants in his little fists as possible.
*Lunch out at Olive Garden with Bryan. And no kids.
*Finished Christmas shopping, and it is a wonderful feeling (just waiting for Amazon to send those last two gifts…).
*I knew the library had one book that I put on hold there, but when I got to the library, there was four books waiting for me!
*The young men and Bishopric came to our house caroling and brought us a box of Christmas treats (chocolates, oranges, nuts, etc…)
Thank you, thank you, thank you
October 26, 2007 
I got so much good advice and I am so grateful for it! As it turned out, T came home from school with a headache and fell asleep on the chair. And, J’s sister got an ear infection so the play date was cancelled. We are trying for today, but now a cough has descended on our house, so we will see. I think that I will have him go on this next play date and see what he is feeling then. After that I will invite a few kids from his class over and see how that goes. Thanks so much for all the helpful advice! You guys are great.
DH and I have to speak in sacrament meeting on Sunday so the rest of this day will be spent getting my talk finalized (I am speaking on humility and DH is speaking on repentance) and getting the finishing touches on my primary lesson. I am planning on making some cookies for the kids to decorate tomorrow and we will probably carve the pumpkins at some point this weekend too. I would really like to rent some movies too. That is a lot for one weekend though.
I went with N to her preschool field trip yesterday. They went to the pumpkin patch. I was able to take A, which was great. He has been so excited about all the pumpkins that we see and points them out everywhere we go. The kids got to do the dark hay maze (flashlights required!) and play in the corn box (like a sand box minus the sand) and ride a carousel. They had a few animals and a couple tractors on display as well. They each chose a pumpkin and back at the school we had soy and dairy free cupcakes (surprisingly delicious) and hot chocolate/apple cider. It was fun to see N interact with her preschool friends, and visit with some of the other moms.
I was so surprised to see frost on the ground and windows this morning. It is a cold morning, but promises to be a beautiful fall day!
Jane Doe
There is a great debate happening in Oregon. This teacher is going to court to get permission to take her gun to school. The district has a policy that no guns are allowed in the schools. She has a concealed weapons permit and has been through all the training. She knows the risks and concerns. The reason that she wants to carry a gun with her into her public school classroom is because of her ex-husband who abused her and has threatened to kill her. She feels that this is the only way that she has to protect herself and her daughter. She has a restraining order against him, but they don’t always work. After I read the opionion by her, I was convinced. She should be able to take her gun into her classroom. Then I read the against column. Then I wasn’t quite so sure. The writer gives a list of “what ifs”, such as: What if ex comes into the classroom, does teacher pull a gun? Does ex pull a gun? Does ex grab a student? Are shots fired? Are kids trained on what to do if something happened? etc, etc. I wouldn’t want one of the scenarios listed to happen in T’s classroom. That would be HORRIBLE. But, does not having guns in any classrooms prevent all the possible scenarios? Does it invite criminals in because they know that no one would be there to stop them? I then read the for column. It made several good points too like that in cases where there have been school shootings, if a teacher or administrator had a gun and used it, the predator was stopped sooner than they would have been otherwise. It points out that the district’s anti-gun policy goes against the state and federal constitution.
What do you think? I’m not sure where I stand, and it will be interesting to watch it all play out. I wish that we didn’t have to think about these things. I wish that these weren’t the problems that our kids are facing, that we are facing.
ADDITION:
For some reason, my links aren’t taking you to the actual opinion piece. If you want to see them, they are from the Sunday September 16 paper and are called “A LOADED QUESTION”, “BLACKBOARDS AND BULLETS”, and “ARMED TEACHERS? THINK ABOUT THE SCENARIOS.”
First Day of School
I had to wake T up at 6:45 this morning. I think it is torture to start school so early for these little kids! He had a really hard time waking up. A and N, of course, happily bounced out of bed, dressed and bounded down the stairs. We had laid out T’s clothes last night (a new Cars shirt & jeans) so he eventually dragged himself out of bed and dressed. He came down stairs and chose his cereal while I made his lunch. He wanted a turkey sandwich. I put in a little bag of Cheetos (N started crying-she wanted some too!), some grapes (A started crying-he wants some right now!), a mini water bottle and a mini Milky Way.
After much begging and pleading (Eat! Eat your cereal! Now!) we headed outside for back-to-school photos on the front porch. We all walked to the bus stop. I think T was a little embarrassed by that fact. I had to have pictures though! We had to wait a few minutes and then the bus came.
He climbed on. With out a problem. He was excited.
I was excited. Be brave, T!
When did he turn into such a…..boy? A young man really. We watched the bus drive away and headed home.
A screamed the whole way. “I want to ride the bus!” Three years, baby boy, and it will be your turn too.
