Happy Birthday Doll

Look at this sweet little butterball?

How is she already 12 years old!!!

Let me just tell you that you could not PAY me enough money to be a 12 year old girl today.  Sure there are a lot of things that have always been around for girls- catty behavior, pressure to be perfect, body image..... 

but when you throw technology into the mix, you have yourself a nightmare.  In my job alone, I can't get over the pressure girls face each and every day.  

In many ways I miss the younger days, but not for me, for Carlee.  There was once a sweet time when you could wear whatever you wanted and be whoever you wanted free of judgement! 

Society doesn't let our baby girls be babies for long. 

Carlee you still handle being 12 like a pro!  

 I've learned so much by watching myself.

In 12 years you have become:

-a deep thinker. You are a lot more observant than anyone realizes.

-humble.  

I see girls today bouncing around with so much confidence, which is great, but when that confidence causes one to be unkind to others the line is drawn. I am so thankful you don't take joy in the hurt of others. 

-an animal lover.  My house smells like Pet Smart as a result but I'm glad you want to take care of your guinea pigs and Mags.

-spiritual.  The music in church makes you cry.  You are so interested in God's word and always have the best questions.

-A cheerleader.  I could not believe you tried out for cheerleading! Even when you made the team you doubted yourself but I think you are one gifted performer.  You are also a great teammate, NEVER berating someone who didn't get it.   

-a dancer. This year you tried a new dance class- ACRO! 

-a stronger family. What is hard to navigate at school is easy at home.  You are close with mom, dad, and brother and WE will always have your back (and have fun too).  

Sorry girl but we will ALWAYS see you as Baby Sechrist.

-Swimmer.  You love to swim and could spend ALL day in the water.

-A TOTAL night owl. You catch your second wind at about 7pm and HATE mornings.

-Funny.  You have a wicked sense of humor.

Too Much Peopling for you Today

-A MAJOR Swiftie.

Carlee doesn't like cake but she loves cookies.  I made this cookie cake from scratch!! 

It is as lopsided as heck but I feel accomplished.

-A Sephora Junkie (even though I hate that overpriced place).

-HOME EC student.  You really enjoy baking and sewing. Middle school is all about discovery and I think it's awesome you love home economics.

Pillow by Carlee

-what you like: your perfect day is sleeping in, shopping, and getting your nails done

-Fashionista. Fashion is your jam.

-Roblox'er.  You still love to design things on Roblox

-Photographer.  You are definitely a nature girl & love to take photos

Happy 12th Birthday to our Sweet Doll

WE love you!! 

Moving

I've moved my blog!

See me here and follow @

http://lovingtheunbalancedchronicles.blogspot.com

Father's Day and Vitamin D

 


School is OUT!  
We had one of our most successful years in third grade. 
 It was just like childbirth, hard but worth it!  

I celebrated Connor's third grade year by taking him to a place he has always wanted to go....

He was very excited to eat here.  He named all the lobsters in the tank while we waited...

which came as quite a shock when he ordered a lobster for the first time and ate it all UP!

After we played a fun game of Putt- Putt Golf.

I totally dominated the whole game!

Meanwhile, we have been working very hard on a Paci Free Lifestyle, 

if your old enough to sport purple glitter shoes, your old enough to give up the paci.

All the rage on the playground.

Now that summer is here, 

we have been resting, spending time together, and soaking up as much Vitamin D. as possible!

 


Imagination, Play, and Laughter:  this is good for the mind, body, and spirit.  
It's sad we can't fit it in more during the school year.

 

Mudpie?

So you may have remembered my Mother's Day Gifts:

 


I made sure that I allowed the same creativity for Darren's Father's Day this year.  It's only fair to allow the children to pick out his gifts without my help.

Who doesn't love a Justin Bieber puzzle and Home Depot Tony Stewart drink cozy?

This was my favorite gift.  Connor picked it out.  A flashlight attached to headgear!

It was well received!

Next we headed on to visit MeMa.

She was eating lunch, so we played pool, checkers, and read a book while we waited.

Then we headed to the lake!

The last time we went to the lake, Carlee cried the ENTIRE time.  

The sand did not agree with her sensory issues.

This year was much better and she had a BIG time.

When I first met Darren, I  knew anyone who cared for his family and his dog like he did would make a great dad.

I hate to say, once again I was right (as usual)!

My kids have a great, involved, and loving dad.

Happy Father's Day

Love is a Battlefield

They say love is a battlefield…. and so is education.

Education is love AND a battlefield.

The equipment isn’t there, the numbers are great, the man power has been taken, and the missions seem to be changing if not impossible.

And if education is a battlefield,

then the End of Grade Testing is the American Revolution.

It can be the turning point for schools everywhere.

Never mind if schools have large numbers of students who have inadequate nutrition, missing attendance, and little home support.   Never mind, children who have learning and attention challenges.  Imagine every noise as a distraction.  Imagine words and letters reversing as you try to struggle through lines and lines of reading that don’t make sense.

One thing about war, it’s unfair.

I know the battle well.  I volunteered to serve.

How many times have I, as Commander and Chief, barked orders at my young soldiers:  'You better pay attention, or you won’t pass the EOG.  You could be sitting here next year’.

Fear makes us say stupid things.

What my heart was saying, ‘I know you are smart, but your whole year rides on one test, and I don’t want it to show anything other than OUR hard work’.

I privately cried for two days before Connor started third grade.

Plain and simple I was sending him into war with few weapons.

He wasn’t a fluent reader.   He couldn’t sit still.   The pace would be too quick.  His confidence was low.

I wasn’t sure his chosen Commander in Chief(s) were the right fit.

This had all the ingredients for a losing battle (ok... we were probably about to get a Liam Neeson butt kicking).

Forget the kids, I was the one with the belly ache on Open House.

I overheard one parent say to another ‘Third grade is hell’.

I thought it was pretty poetic.

Still, there is a saying… 

in battle the military is only as strong as the other institutions supporting it.  

With each passing day, that statement rang true.  

I came to appreciate the organization and the hard work of all of Connor’s educators.
They had to help me do what I couldn’t do alone.  

  

The battle started out pretty harsh, we took a few hits.  

My child froze the day before the beginning of the year EOG.  He didn’t answer ONE question on the 30 question practice.  ‘Why?’,  he said with big blue eyes filled with tears, ‘it looks like Chinese.’

Yep, that was a bullet to the heart.

The battle wounds were nursed by us all.  There were miscommunications, meetings, tears, calls, and more tears.

The state does not realize, some students need much more time and intervention before reaching specific benchmarks.

The thing about warriors is, they don’t give up.  

The teachers, the parents, the child… marched ahead.  

We were down but never out.

That is why it felt pretty darn good to finally realize, that we were winning the war.  

The day we achieved a grade level status was so exciting.  It was like we won The Battle at Galveston.  Who knew?  Everyone gave their very best, and there were some pretty incredible results.

So excuse my language but really, the EOG can bite me. 

I don’t care about it.  

I don’t even have to tell Connor ‘to do his best’.  He had teachers who have taught him to do his best, who have only taken his very best.

Dear teachers, 
THANK YOU for fighting for your students.

Thank you for giving children precious gifts they can never understand and that can never be measured by one score.

THANK you for being brave enough to go into the field without the support you need.

Thank you for helping my son be all that he can be.

I want to share my story because attention all teachers:  we need you.   

You really do make a difference.

Take a look at this growth in 16 months:

This is a video (a bit long) of Connor reading in second grade.  Although, this is a beginning first grade reader.  We were happy to see some more emerging skills getting stronger.

November 2013

This is a video of Connor reading the same reader and a grade level reader about the Everglades (fresh read in this video).  I had to pay him $5.00 to tape.  Hey, I wanted to record my fluent reader emerging!

April 2015

And we are proud.

You rock little man.