8th Grade Awards

A. had her 8th grade Awards Day. She kept trying to convince me that I really didn't need to go.  I told her when my kiddos get awards, I go. It's seeing my offspring succeed that makes my mother's heart sing. I told her I'd be wearing my cheer outfit and pom poms. I even showed her my cheers and jumps...maybe that's why she kept telling me I REALLY didn't need to go.  I went.  (I don't have any cheerleading gear.)

She was awarded the Presidential Award for maintaining a 90% grade average for all of middle school. It's signed by President Obama. She was also one of 10 students from the 8th grade student body nominated by a team of 8th grade teachers for outstanding Citizenship and exhibiting the values of the school (I can't remember any of them--but in a nutshell "Be Nice.") HURRAY!  WAY TO GO!!  YAHOOOOOO!

When she walked across the stage, she scanned the audience to find me and smile. I mimed a tiny, silent cheer. As if I wouldn't go! My mother's heart sang.

One of the Young Women in our ward (congregation) designed the medal. I was so proud of her too.  So many talented, amazing youth today! 

A Beatnik, A Parade, and a Field Trip

L and his fellow second graders slipped on their berets and shared their amazing poetry talents like true beatniks with jazz music playing softly in the background and bongo drums beating in between each poetry reading.  It was a special Poetry Cafe for Moms for Mother's Day. To show our appreciation of their poetic skill, we snapped our fingers after each reading. L shared his Haiku poem about Pandas.

Pandas

In a cool forest

a panda chewing bamboo

near his dinner time.  

The second graders have been a busy bunch. They read the book Miss Alaineus: a Vocabulary Disaster and decided to have a word parade, dressing up as their words. L was the word inhabit, so he stuck a forest with animals inhabiting it on his shirt, then he and his classmates paraded around the school like one big walking dictionary.

X-man went with his class to a Science Center and discovered all kinds of fun facts. He worked simple machines, calculated how much his skin weighs, made gigantic bubbles, and watched a science show with FIRE.

His favorite exhibit was a Nano technology exhibit. He had to take these carbon atoms and build a carbon column. It took some thinking to get it to stand up as well as patience and kindness when other kiddos helped add to his existing structure, sometimes making it unstable and toppling it. He could have stayed here all day!

Hmph...Mother's Day

If there were a Scrooge of Mother's Day it would be me. Now I love honoring my own mother and the example she gives me of the beauty, selflessness, and nobility that is Motherhood. My Scrooge-hood for Mother's Day began when I became a Mother. Filling my head with unrealistic expectations of what should happen on THE day and squirming at the praises given to Mothers, which are meant to build, but leave me feeling less than I am, I forget what I've learned from Motherhood. 

SO...It's time to squash the Bah Humbug of Mother's Day. Time to remember the gift I've been given in being a woman and a mother.

I love being my children's Mother. 

Being a mother has taught me to be patient, to pray often, to laugh, to ask for help, to try again, to let it go, to breath deeply, to love deeply, to question, to smile, to run and skip, to snuggle, to forget myself, to forgive myself, to cry, to share, to roll my eyes, to help, to close my mouth, to pause, to forgive, to ask for forgiveness, to hug, to search, to find answers, to turn it over to God, to stretch, to ache, to grow, to be joyful, to become the woman I'm meant to be.

“You are doing God’s work. You are doing it wonderfully well. He is blessing you and He will bless you, even—no, especially—when your days and your nights may be the most challenging. Like the woman who anonymously, meekly, perhaps even with hesitation and some embarrassment, fought her way through the crowd just to touch the hem of the Master’s garment, so Christ will say to the women who worry and wonder and sometimes weep over their responsibility as mothers, 'Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.' And it will make your children whole as well.”  

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland,  apostle of  Jesus Christ

Happy Mother's Day to ALL women. May we continue to selflessly nurture and love.

Enjoy this wonderful tribute to Mothers. 

WatchD.O.G.S

T. got to be do WatchD.O.G.S (Dads Of Great Students) duty at the boys' awesome school. He had a BLAST!  His duties involved assisting students out of cars at student drop-off, running errands for the office staff, making sure the school is secure, stopping in to play learning games in the classrooms, reading with students, eating lunch with both his boys, playing at each recess with both boys, and helping bike-riding students at the end of the day. T was worn out by the end of the day. He played Progressive Tag (or Zombie Tag) at both recesses and almost had the whole grade chasing after him--both recesses. It's a good thing we only have 2 children in this school; I don't think T could have done another recess.

T is excited to go back for more WatchD.O.G.S duty. He's a big kid himself and loves to help children have fun and be happy.