Monday, January 30, 2006

Private Catholic School vs. Homeschool

I thought I would share our event from yesterday. We (Daddio, Bobcat, and I) went to the open house at the Highlands School in Irving. It is run by the Legionaries of Christ (the group that created Regnum Christi and Familia). Daddio and I were thinking that when the boys were older and thought they could benefit from institutionalized schooling... then we would put them in a place like that.... NOPE. First it is $8000 in tuition (not including all the other fees for all the other crap you have to pay for that they don't list on the website), but their curriculum is secular. Yep the only thing that is Catholic is the religious formation. No thank you, I can provide a wholey Catholic education at home for a fraction of the cost and I get to keep my little ducks close to the pond. We spent time with the kindergarten teacher and first grade teacher asking questions like are the priests and religious part of lower school religious formation... nope, they make appearances but are not primary. They only take the students to mass once a month. And we spent time talking with the lower school curriculum coordinator asking about how they feel about students that are homeschooled entering into their school. Basically her theory was that their school was a homeschoolers best dream, "because the more kids you have and the higher the grade level the reach you as a mom start to have to let things fall to the way side in their academic career"... I was like what the hell are you talking about. You moron the higher they get the easier to an extent it is because they become more independent learners... blah blah blah. So I don't like it and I won't put the boys in a Catholic school that isn't catholic except for the religion class. Oh and they start their reading program with Pre-K 3, and their kindergarteners are fluent readers and if yours isn't then they are put in a "no nothing" group with a remedial teacher... in kindergarten, poor kids will have a complex and they aren't even in high school yet.

Needless to say I am even more pleased with our decision to homeschool.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

New beginnings

Okay, so I haven't written in a while. And when I have written it has been random at best. I need to change that. I seem to have a lot to say, and no one to really tell it to... so out into cyberspace it should go.

FIrst I will start with a funny story. Last weekend we were at the mall, parking the beast when Bubba looks up at the building and starts reading out the letters: "F - O - L - E - Y - S, mommy that spells DVD", not quite honey, but thanks for playing. Serious, home schooling for him is going to be interesting (here we come kindergarten in September, yikes).

Boy it will be a trip when both Bobcat and Bubba are in home school. It can be frustrating to keep Bobcat's focus for just a short time, but both of them sitting there... looking at each other... I see beer in my future (of course after hubby is home in the evenings).

So life a year and half post adoption... life is crazy. Laundry is a never ending battle, especially when the machines that are to do the work are not always in the best working order... we never seem to have food... three boys can eat thru a grocery list in no time... and the things I have to consider everyday is a list that seems impossible to keep up with. And the boys moods, it is so hard to know if they are fussy because they don't feel good, tired, going thru a growth spurt, or just being a little pain in the bottom to get under my skin. And when they are happy, world look out because it is full steam ahead, especially with Austin. Man, that kid is just never ending sometimes.

On marriage, you know it is a great marriage getting better everyday. We really seem to be ironing out the kinks in this whole thing, but when a pebble is in the path it really frustrating and hard to get over. Why, I guess the better you get and the bigger things are behind you... that is the time you start having to work on the little things. All in all I know that this is a good sign, just sometimes it is a thorn in my side.

What is with all the staring. You know, every where I go with the boys I am always surround by eyes... they don't ever seem to just leave us alone. Sometimes I could just scream, there are times when you just want privacy and the looming eyes of every person you pass are just enough to send a person to the moon. Yes I get it, they don't look like me (or us when we are out as a whole family), but people... your kids don't always look like you. And for the last time, they are adopted! No they are not from some other country, born right here in the good old state of Texas... and since you keep staring, they are bi-racial that is why they have that beautiful brown skin. BUT STOP STARING... you aren't being inconspicuious... we all see you staring. OH and yes they are all brothers, no they are not triplets, and yes they are all mine! I'm starting to feel a little better.

Hmm, I really starting to feel better about life. So now I am going to promise to be more involved in this blog... because in the end I know that it will help me survive motherhood in a happier way... and there will be more material for my book (all mothers should write books, right).

Friday, January 6, 2006

Boys... 'nough said!

Most mornings Bobcat wakes up and when he greets me it is in jaguar speak. Yep, sweet roars!

Snookie knows that when he is told to go potty at 9:30 that first nap is around the corner... and the water works begin... all this at age 3!

And the creme de la creme... I was watching from an unseen mommy location when Bubba stood up and kicked (gently) Bubba in the face when he decided he wanted something Bobcat had... BOYS!

Thursday from HELL

Thank goodness it is Friday, and Thursday is a distance memory now! Yesterday morning when I woke I felt ill, but I thought I would just get up and get the day going. Unfortunately my body was not all that interested in going. I was violently ill most of the morning. And to add to all the fun, the kids decided that it was FUSSY morning. Anything and everything was worth fussing over, going potty, eating breakfast, taking a nap, doing homeschool, eating lunch...

By the time my body started to regain composer, the boys decided that life was worth living in a happier mood. So by the time my mother in law arrived to babysit for me, all seemed well. THANK GOODNESS. You always hate leaving the kids if you know that they are going to be a problem for someone else, especially a family member.

Then, the meeting that I thought was going to fail to do poor training turned out to be a nice evening with friends! And then I returned home to find out that the rules that we set for our children were followed well by my mother inlaw. To top things off we spent sometime talking and seemed to come to a place where it felt natural and normal and comfortable to be around her despite our differences lately.

So the prayers during the day yesterday were heard and answered, thank you hubby!!!