Foto Friday - Mom and Sis with The Boys!
10 years ago
Monday, August 29, 2011
A quick update...almost a month late!
Well...school has started and we are (sort of) back into a routine! Noah is a playing machine! We spend every minute outside that we possibly can:) He loves saying, "outside" "drive car" "ride bike"--his trike. We also play a lot in the sprinkler, baby pool and now a slip'n'slide! We also love chalking...everything (the sidewalk, the stoop, the house...a no-no!!!). We are working back into the bed...but it is a slow move. We are going to make a real effort Labor Day weekend to get him back in his bed. Noah is back into puzzles...which is fun! We do a lot of matching in our household. Football is back in full swing and Noah also loves saying, "Daddy coach fooball..." and "Daddy teach kids"! A riot:) We went on a huge bike ride on Saturday night...all the way to Four Queens...which is farther that we thought, but we made it! Daddy is super tired and Mommy is tired from being back into everything (SAA and regular hours). Our weekends have become even more precious to us. So...don't be offended if we leave or ask you to b/c we want our time with our fam!!! Here are a few fun pics from the past few weeks:
Thursday, August 11, 2011
A quick update...
Well...we have had a busy few weeks! Scott started back up with football and has started getting his classroom back up and running. Noah started back in full-time day care. I had August visit days (over 900 people came through in three days) last M-W...needless to say the three of us are pooped! Our cousin moved in with us which has been super fun for us. Noah LOVES JJ and we have to make sure Noah leaves him alone:) Noah's favorite words this week have been, "Mommy's owie? On your foot?" I sprained my ankle Sunday...awesome way to end the weekend! UGGG!!!!! My friend Jamie and her hubby saved the day and stayed with Noah while we went to the hospital (Scott thought the area on my foot looked funny...I missed the stairs carrying in the recycling and went down hard! It is a pretty nasty sprain...and looks bad and funny colors...but getting better)! Noah is all about being Mr. INDEPENDENT and does not want any help with anything right now. Since Daddy has been gone at night with football...he really misses Daddy and instead acts up a lot! We are ready for a normal schedule to start:)
Another interesting event in life...my 10 year reunion! We went to the Dike Watermelon Days parade on Saturday night and my 10 year reunion was that night. Only one of the people I still talk to on a regular basis was going Saturday night...and surprisingly I was nervous! I'm not sure why...I loved high school, I had a great college life, married to an awesome guy, healthy child and my dream job. Weird...Scott didn't go to his and was not psyched to go to mine. But...being the trooper he is...we went. Everyone looked pretty much the same...bigger in some ways...but mostly the same. Some were successful...some weren't, but really...not much has changed. With Facebook...I'm not sure reunions still mean the same thing anymore. I did chat with some people that made the night super fun! Made me feel super comfortable and relax a bit. It will be interesting at our 20 year reunion...maybe more will have changed:)
Let the madness begin of school starting! A few fun pics:
Another interesting event in life...my 10 year reunion! We went to the Dike Watermelon Days parade on Saturday night and my 10 year reunion was that night. Only one of the people I still talk to on a regular basis was going Saturday night...and surprisingly I was nervous! I'm not sure why...I loved high school, I had a great college life, married to an awesome guy, healthy child and my dream job. Weird...Scott didn't go to his and was not psyched to go to mine. But...being the trooper he is...we went. Everyone looked pretty much the same...bigger in some ways...but mostly the same. Some were successful...some weren't, but really...not much has changed. With Facebook...I'm not sure reunions still mean the same thing anymore. I did chat with some people that made the night super fun! Made me feel super comfortable and relax a bit. It will be interesting at our 20 year reunion...maybe more will have changed:)
Let the madness begin of school starting! A few fun pics:
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Stuff...
So...vacation was amazing!!! My parents rented a house right outside Galena, IL. We had a RIOT! It was a great break and the time with the family was awesome. My brother and sister-in-law played a ton with Noah (he LOVED saying, "Uncle Matt"...but for some reason Aunt Jenna...he just liked saying "Yenna..") We went swimming which was the first in 4 years for my mom...it was a fantastic to see her in a pool since her surgery! We even took one of those old time photos! It was nice to be away from it all:) I will post some pics.
Scott started football camp yesterday and I started August summer visit days. Summer is over now...ugg:) My parents...thank goodness for close-by family...have Noah overnight tonight. Scott and I are dragging butt! I am incredibly blessed...Scott left me a voicemail telling to look at the to-do list on the door in the garage. At first...I thought...really? A to-do list? We are having a couple hundred students and families come through campus these three days...I am pooped from doing campus tours and directing people! But...catching up on the house is a constant battle...so oh well. My list...included taking a bubble bath, reading and going to bed early. REALLY!!!!!! I already know that I am one incredible lucky lady...but this is just another example of how great he is. The house is clean, dishes put away, clothes put away, etc. I am taking his advice and relaxing and going to bed early! I LOVE YOU:)
Being married to a teacher...having a mom as a teacher...teaching degree myself...sister-in-law as a teacher and other family members as teachers...I thought this piece of info from Matt Damon was interesting! With the election coming in 2012 and Gov. Branstad's education summit...everyone has education on the mind. I am SICK and TIRED of all of the bashing of teachers. I know there are crap ones are out there...but the vast majority are very passionate...step up parents...do your job. Enough ranting...here is the article. I don't know anything about the organization...but I really liked his words (website listed):
I flew overnight from Vancouver to be with you today. I landed in New York a few hours ago and caught a flight down here because I needed to tell you all in person that I think you're awesome.
I was raised by a teacher. My mother is a professor of early childhood education. And from the time I went to kindergarten through my senior year in high school, I went to public schools. I wouldn't trade that education and experience for anything.
I had incredible teachers. As I look at my life today, the things I value most about myself -- my imagination, my love of acting, my passion for writing, my love of learning, my curiosity -- all come from how I was parented and taught.
And none of these qualities that I've just mentioned -- none of these qualities that I prize so deeply, that have brought me so much joy, that have brought me so much professional success -- none of these qualities that make me who I am ... can be tested.
I said before that I had incredible teachers. And that's true. But it's more than that. My teachers were EMPOWERED to teach me. Their time wasn't taken up with a bunch of test prep -- this silly drill and kill nonsense that any serious person knows doesn't promote real learning. No, my teachers were free to approach me and every other kid in that classroom like an individual puzzle. They took so much care in figuring out who we were and how to best make the lessons resonate with each of us. They were empowered to unlock our potential. They were allowed to be teachers.
Now don't get me wrong. I did have a brush with standardized tests at one point. I remember because my mom went to the principal's office and said, 'My kid ain't taking that. It's stupid, it won't tell you anything and it'll just make him nervous.' That was in the '70s when you could talk like that.
I shudder to think that these tests are being used today to control where funding goes.
I don't know where I would be today if my teachers' job security was based on how I performed on some standardized test. If their very survival as teachers was based on whether I actually fell in love with the process of learning but rather if I could fill in the right bubble on a test. If they had to spend most of their time desperately drilling us and less time encouraging creativity and original ideas; less time knowing who we were, seeing our strengths and helping us realize our talents.
I honestly don't know where I'd be today if that was the type of education I had. I sure as hell wouldn't be here. I do know that.
This has been a horrible decade for teachers. I can't imagine how demoralized you must feel. But I came here today to deliver an important message to you: As I get older, I appreciate more and more the teachers that I had growing up. And I'm not alone. There are millions of people just like me.
So the next time you're feeling down, or exhausted, or unappreciated, or at the end of your rope; the next time you turn on the TV and see yourself called "overpaid;" the next time you encounter some simple-minded, punitive policy that's been driven into your life by some corporate reformer who has literally never taught anyone anything. ... Please know that there are millions of us behind you. You have an army of regular people standing right behind you, and our appreciation for what you do is so deeply felt. We love you, we thank you and we will always have your back.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-brown/matt-damons-powerful-educ_b_914420.html
Scott started football camp yesterday and I started August summer visit days. Summer is over now...ugg:) My parents...thank goodness for close-by family...have Noah overnight tonight. Scott and I are dragging butt! I am incredibly blessed...Scott left me a voicemail telling to look at the to-do list on the door in the garage. At first...I thought...really? A to-do list? We are having a couple hundred students and families come through campus these three days...I am pooped from doing campus tours and directing people! But...catching up on the house is a constant battle...so oh well. My list...included taking a bubble bath, reading and going to bed early. REALLY!!!!!! I already know that I am one incredible lucky lady...but this is just another example of how great he is. The house is clean, dishes put away, clothes put away, etc. I am taking his advice and relaxing and going to bed early! I LOVE YOU:)
Being married to a teacher...having a mom as a teacher...teaching degree myself...sister-in-law as a teacher and other family members as teachers...I thought this piece of info from Matt Damon was interesting! With the election coming in 2012 and Gov. Branstad's education summit...everyone has education on the mind. I am SICK and TIRED of all of the bashing of teachers. I know there are crap ones are out there...but the vast majority are very passionate...step up parents...do your job. Enough ranting...here is the article. I don't know anything about the organization...but I really liked his words (website listed):
I flew overnight from Vancouver to be with you today. I landed in New York a few hours ago and caught a flight down here because I needed to tell you all in person that I think you're awesome.
I was raised by a teacher. My mother is a professor of early childhood education. And from the time I went to kindergarten through my senior year in high school, I went to public schools. I wouldn't trade that education and experience for anything.
I had incredible teachers. As I look at my life today, the things I value most about myself -- my imagination, my love of acting, my passion for writing, my love of learning, my curiosity -- all come from how I was parented and taught.
And none of these qualities that I've just mentioned -- none of these qualities that I prize so deeply, that have brought me so much joy, that have brought me so much professional success -- none of these qualities that make me who I am ... can be tested.
I said before that I had incredible teachers. And that's true. But it's more than that. My teachers were EMPOWERED to teach me. Their time wasn't taken up with a bunch of test prep -- this silly drill and kill nonsense that any serious person knows doesn't promote real learning. No, my teachers were free to approach me and every other kid in that classroom like an individual puzzle. They took so much care in figuring out who we were and how to best make the lessons resonate with each of us. They were empowered to unlock our potential. They were allowed to be teachers.
Now don't get me wrong. I did have a brush with standardized tests at one point. I remember because my mom went to the principal's office and said, 'My kid ain't taking that. It's stupid, it won't tell you anything and it'll just make him nervous.' That was in the '70s when you could talk like that.
I shudder to think that these tests are being used today to control where funding goes.
I don't know where I would be today if my teachers' job security was based on how I performed on some standardized test. If their very survival as teachers was based on whether I actually fell in love with the process of learning but rather if I could fill in the right bubble on a test. If they had to spend most of their time desperately drilling us and less time encouraging creativity and original ideas; less time knowing who we were, seeing our strengths and helping us realize our talents.
I honestly don't know where I'd be today if that was the type of education I had. I sure as hell wouldn't be here. I do know that.
This has been a horrible decade for teachers. I can't imagine how demoralized you must feel. But I came here today to deliver an important message to you: As I get older, I appreciate more and more the teachers that I had growing up. And I'm not alone. There are millions of people just like me.
So the next time you're feeling down, or exhausted, or unappreciated, or at the end of your rope; the next time you turn on the TV and see yourself called "overpaid;" the next time you encounter some simple-minded, punitive policy that's been driven into your life by some corporate reformer who has literally never taught anyone anything. ... Please know that there are millions of us behind you. You have an army of regular people standing right behind you, and our appreciation for what you do is so deeply felt. We love you, we thank you and we will always have your back.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-brown/matt-damons-powerful-educ_b_914420.html
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