PTO Today

Hmmm thankfuls:
-my hubby of almost 20 years who still makes my stomach flip and my temper boil...
-my wonderful, wonderful boys...each so different yet with a core sameness that thrills me...
-Christmas lights that twinkle on the staircase. They remind me of when I was a girl in my room watching the lights dance on the ceiling from my own homes staircase...
-All the memories of Christmas my mom gave me and those that I am giving my own children...
-All those amazing men and women serving our country. Their honor and their bravery is what keeps my family safe at home. I know their sacrifices especially this time of year and wish I could tell them that every Christmas after this, that they spend home with their families--will be all the more dear because of this one they spend alone.

Merry Christmas friends
d

Okay d, now I'm all teary-eyed. Cut it out! One of our local TV stations has a segment during each news broadcast where they show area soldiers sending holiday greetings back home to their families and friends and it always gets me. Special people.

Congrats CC on the great "report card"!!!

Thankful for:

A wonderful husband who is also a wonderful father

My great children who make me proud to be their mom and never cease to amaze me

The great blessing of having my parents as an important part of my childrens' lives and mine

People who still remember the real "reason for the season" and show it with their words and actions-may I be one of those people each day

Time with family and friends celebrating and enjoying each other's company



May everyone be blessed with joy this holiday season and throughout the New Year.

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Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat.

I will keep it simple ...
Today I am thankful for
A grande Starbucks coffee
the ability to wash my car ~ we have a day over freezing
at least one pair of clean jeans to wear
children's muddy footprints all over my floors
and a small group of parents who want to make a difference here.

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[I]We must overcome the notion that we must be regular...it robs you of the chance to be extraordinary and leads you to do the mediocre." (Uta Hagen)[/I]

[I]"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away." (Anonymous)[/I]

Oh, I forgot sugar cookies!! I am VERY thankful for fresh baked sugar cookies and a cup of hot tea.

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Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat.

Mmmmm, sugar cookies.... Yes!

We didn't get any baking done this year ~ too hectic. We're going to make homemade chocolate chip cookies on Christmas Eve. Yummy!

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“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same.”

I made some hazelnut truffles last night. Surprisingly easy. Also made some white hot chocolate but I don't really like it. Of course I don't really like white hot chocolate. It's the teachers gifts...not sure if I'll give the hot chocolate or not....d

I'm not a big fan of white chocolate either, unless it's covering a salty pretzel.

I'm way behind on my holiday baking too. It seems like every time I plan to do a little, someone comes home with some issue that throws all my plans right out the window. Last night was a lesson in creative writing and how to establish a setting. Seems the whole class isn't getting it. I wrote a paragraph and then read it to my daughter(and hubby and son), so she could hopefully have that "A-ha" moment, but she just got mad. Hubby and son were quite impressed though. We had a conversation with the teacher on Tuesday and I'm going to drop her a note today. If the whole class isn't getting this(that's from the teacher not just my daughter) then I think something needs to change. Maybe I'll start tutoring on the side....

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Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat.

I'm kind of disappointed in my 5th graders writing as well. Seems he cannot get to the point and writes these sentences that don't tie to anything nor are they self standing. It's so hard to read them and not change them or get confrontational as to "what the hell are you thinking". He went to bed frustrated and I was equally so. I cannot imagine when we get to "creative stuff".
d

The real problem for her is that they are expected to not only make up a story, but to use a list of specific vocabulary words within the story. They have to use the words correctly and in such a way that by reading the sentence/paragraph, someone who has never heard the word would know what it meant. They are also expected to focus their writing on setting a scene. This is an advanced literature class, but WOW! She is a great writer and has gotten nothing but positive comments from her language arts teachers, but I think there are so many constraints on the writing that she is basically just giving up and throwing junk down on the paper. She threw an absolute fit when I pointed out that one of the sentences needed to be completely redone because she had used a vocab word that was a noun as an adjective. I really blame it on elementary because they didn't do that much writing. There was "journaling" every year, but no writing like I remember from my school days.

In order to make sure I was on the right track I did the assignment myself and e-mailed it to the teacher. It should be interesting to hear her comments on MY writing!

Does this all mean that someday we will have no authors because no one is capable of writing a coherent sentence let alone an entire novel?!

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Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat.

My son, an excellent writer, was also struggling with his 8th grade writing assignments. The teacher put so many constraints and specific requirements on the assignments that it was impossible for Shorty to use his own voice. He finally decided that he would write with his own style, as close as possible to the rubric, and hope for the best.

Just last week he was walking down the hall with his teacher and he asked how it was that he got an 87 on a paper that didn't meet half of the official requirements. She told him that he's one of three of her students who are exceptional writers and she has to grade them on a different scale. She's trying to help her students find their voice but he and the other two already have theirs.

Sure there are rules to good writing but it's also an art form. Limiting self expression with too many constraints takes all of the fun out of it.

LUV ~ I bet you'll get an A+ on your work!

Mmmm, I just had a yummy snack. And healthy too. My friend told me about it. It's oh so yummy, low fat, low sugar and high in good complex carbs.

Just three ingredients: One sweet potato, three graham crackers, light whipped cream

Microwave the sweet potato, remove the peel and mash it in a bowl. Top with the whipped cream. Spoon bits of it onto the graham crackers.

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“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same.”