My kids rarely miss school. They are both pretty healthy and almost never have anything worse than a cold. Even Nathan wants his orthodontist appointments scheduled after school hours. Xander missed the first day of school this year because he was diagnosed with Strep the day before. He was pretty disappointed.
But if they are sick, I call the school to let them know that they will be home for the day. And I call every day if they are sick enough to miss more than one day. (I think that happened once.)
My friend works at the middle school in the front office. She says they have to call up to 50 parents a day to let them know their kid isn't at the school. And for most of those calls the parents know it because they kept the kid home sick. Why didn't they just call the school and let them know?
Today I got an email from the middle school that says they will be going to an automated phone system to alert parents whose children aren't at school. That will save the secretary's tons of time from calling parents, but it gives me chills. The calls don't start until 4:00pm. After school hours.
I see my oldest off in the morning and then he gets home from school before I get home from work. He checks in with me by phone along the way and I wait for those check ins from him. He is almost 13 and I expect that he is safe enough, but you never know these days. If he doesn't make it to school I would expect to hear from the school, just as they expect me to call them if he isn't going to go. If that phone call doesn't come until 4:00pm that is over 8 hours since the last time I saw him in the morning.
Remember Jessica Ridgeway in Colorado? Her mom kissed her goodbye on her way to school and then went to sleep for the day (she works nights). While the school *did* call the mom to let her know Jessica wasn't there, she didn't get the message until 4:00 when she woke up. Jessica's story does not have a happy ending
Am I overreacting? I sent an email with my concerns to the principal and the superintendent already.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Friday, October 18, 2013
More Football
One of the parents has been filming and putting together these videos for us. I thought I'd share.
Xander is in White and Orange. His number is 38.
http://youtu.be/M_IY7eNHghg
http://youtu.be/NSRjapoHzg0
http://youtu.be/XvhlkJuYJ20
http://youtu.be/868HnQMXqDI
Xander is in White and Orange. His number is 38.
http://youtu.be/M_IY7eNHghg
http://youtu.be/NSRjapoHzg0
http://youtu.be/XvhlkJuYJ20
http://youtu.be/868HnQMXqDI
Football Season
I'm not a football fan. Even after 7 years of being required to be at games for marching band I still don't understand it well. But I do know when good things happen. I can tell whose on defense and whose on offense. I know how many points are scored. I know the good stuff and can cheer with the rest of the moms. It's a lot more fun when you are watching your own kid play.
Xander is playing football again this year. So far this year is way better than last year. The coaches are here for the KIDS. They are teaching them football, but they aren't concerned about winning or being better than other kids. They are making sure EVERY kid gets to play, which didn't necessarily happen last year (Z sat out a lot on game day. He'd rather go to practice than a game because he actually got to run and learn and play, rather than sit on the sidelines and watch his peers do it all). These coaches are great. And Xander will be with this team through 8th grade. These kids and coaches stick together for the next few years. So far, so good!
This is a new team this year. So they got to chose their team name. Unfortunately we have several outspoken Boise State fans. The kids voted to be Bronco's, after BSU, much to our dismay. The good news is that we stick with orange and black (Post Falls school colors), even if they are Broncos. They are Post Falls Jr. Tackle Broncos.
We won our first game, which was a nice change of pace! Our team didn't win a single game last year. Xander is a cornerback and is playing on both defense special teams, so he gets a lot of play time. Tomorrow is the last league game of the season. They might have one more game on Monday, but I'm not sure I'm counting on it. We were supposed to play them on Wednesday and when we arrived there were two teams warming up on the field already and we were sent home (there were some ticked off parents, since many people had to get off work early to make the 45 minute drive and be there by 4:00, only to have the game cancelled. I let it roll this time. Z got to play *for fun* touch with some of his teammates while we waited for everything to be sorted out. Being angry wouldn't have changed the outcome, so we just went home early. :) )
It's been a great season. But after so many weeks of 5 day a week practice and a game on every weekend, this family is ready for it to be over. It was a much better experience than last year. And I think Xander is looking forward to a break and then next years season. I think he might go to conditioning camp in the summer next year. :)
Xander is playing football again this year. So far this year is way better than last year. The coaches are here for the KIDS. They are teaching them football, but they aren't concerned about winning or being better than other kids. They are making sure EVERY kid gets to play, which didn't necessarily happen last year (Z sat out a lot on game day. He'd rather go to practice than a game because he actually got to run and learn and play, rather than sit on the sidelines and watch his peers do it all). These coaches are great. And Xander will be with this team through 8th grade. These kids and coaches stick together for the next few years. So far, so good!
This is a new team this year. So they got to chose their team name. Unfortunately we have several outspoken Boise State fans. The kids voted to be Bronco's, after BSU, much to our dismay. The good news is that we stick with orange and black (Post Falls school colors), even if they are Broncos. They are Post Falls Jr. Tackle Broncos.
We won our first game, which was a nice change of pace! Our team didn't win a single game last year. Xander is a cornerback and is playing on both defense special teams, so he gets a lot of play time. Tomorrow is the last league game of the season. They might have one more game on Monday, but I'm not sure I'm counting on it. We were supposed to play them on Wednesday and when we arrived there were two teams warming up on the field already and we were sent home (there were some ticked off parents, since many people had to get off work early to make the 45 minute drive and be there by 4:00, only to have the game cancelled. I let it roll this time. Z got to play *for fun* touch with some of his teammates while we waited for everything to be sorted out. Being angry wouldn't have changed the outcome, so we just went home early. :) )
It's been a great season. But after so many weeks of 5 day a week practice and a game on every weekend, this family is ready for it to be over. It was a much better experience than last year. And I think Xander is looking forward to a break and then next years season. I think he might go to conditioning camp in the summer next year. :)
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Project Me
I've been working our regularly for a few months now. Not just here and there workouts when I can, but scheduled and planned for and completed. I lost about 10 pounds right off the bat, but now I'm sort of maintaining. Everyone says "muscle weighs more than fat, so you're probably just replacing one for the other". But I'm not seeing a lot of change in my pants. The few inches I lost right away seem to be all that I'm losing. My tight pants aren't tight now, they fit me. But I do feel myself getting stronger, so that's a bonus. I have some non-scale victories, but I'm too fat to plateau so I'm not doing something right.
What I haven't changed yet is how I eat. I've been feeling like I'm already pulled in many directions and don't have a lot of spare time. And dieting takes some time and effort. I've been avoiding the restrictiveness of dieting.
But I'm ready to see some change. And I feel like it's a good time to make some changes to how I eat. I'm not ready to just dive in a go paleo, or vegetarian, but I do want to add some palo and vegetarian meals to my repertoire. Like I have a repertoire. My speciality is chili and I only make that once a year. The boys and I eat a lot of sandwiches, spaghetti, soup, and pot pies when we eat in. Those are pretty much the main things I make. I try new recipes occasionally, but tend to fall back on those few old standards.
So I've been looking for something easy. I want to be able to throw it in the crock pot and not have to spend a lot of time cooking. I want variety. I want healthy. I want leftovers to take to work (I eat out at work *way* to often).
I found a couple of websites that will be great for this project! They are both based on the paleo diet, which is something I'd like to try, but I'm not so focused that straying from it will be upsetting. The first is www.Paleopot.com. This is all crock pot recipes! I could use my crock pot everyday. I love that convenience and time saver. I have mine set to a timer so I can plan for it to be done cooking when I get home. The other site is called The Foodee Project, www.thefoodee.com. The very best part about this one is that you can chose the recipes you want to try that week and it will make a shopping list for you. And it sorts it into grocery store aisles. You can adjust the recipe for the number of portions you want to make it for. And you can save the recipes you like or want to try in a favorites list.
I'm going to start at The Foodee because of the shopping list. I love the planning tool. And having help planning is a good place for me to start. That is the time sink for me.
I'll write about my progress in the blog I share with my Aussie sister. www.canwin4losing.blogspot.com. (this is the site I complain about falling off the wagon and try to hop back on, and Shari motivates me with her success - she's lost over 220 pounds now).
What I haven't changed yet is how I eat. I've been feeling like I'm already pulled in many directions and don't have a lot of spare time. And dieting takes some time and effort. I've been avoiding the restrictiveness of dieting.
But I'm ready to see some change. And I feel like it's a good time to make some changes to how I eat. I'm not ready to just dive in a go paleo, or vegetarian, but I do want to add some palo and vegetarian meals to my repertoire. Like I have a repertoire. My speciality is chili and I only make that once a year. The boys and I eat a lot of sandwiches, spaghetti, soup, and pot pies when we eat in. Those are pretty much the main things I make. I try new recipes occasionally, but tend to fall back on those few old standards.
So I've been looking for something easy. I want to be able to throw it in the crock pot and not have to spend a lot of time cooking. I want variety. I want healthy. I want leftovers to take to work (I eat out at work *way* to often).
I found a couple of websites that will be great for this project! They are both based on the paleo diet, which is something I'd like to try, but I'm not so focused that straying from it will be upsetting. The first is www.Paleopot.com. This is all crock pot recipes! I could use my crock pot everyday. I love that convenience and time saver. I have mine set to a timer so I can plan for it to be done cooking when I get home. The other site is called The Foodee Project, www.thefoodee.com. The very best part about this one is that you can chose the recipes you want to try that week and it will make a shopping list for you. And it sorts it into grocery store aisles. You can adjust the recipe for the number of portions you want to make it for. And you can save the recipes you like or want to try in a favorites list.
I'm going to start at The Foodee because of the shopping list. I love the planning tool. And having help planning is a good place for me to start. That is the time sink for me.
I'll write about my progress in the blog I share with my Aussie sister. www.canwin4losing.blogspot.com. (this is the site I complain about falling off the wagon and try to hop back on, and Shari motivates me with her success - she's lost over 220 pounds now).
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
The Color Run
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| Everyone Starts out shiny and clean |
They had a big box of powder packs at registration. Everyone got to pick one to throw at the end. I got purple, Nate got orange, and Xander got Green.
I didn't run. I walked. It's only 5K. Xander really wanted me to run with him and he is my current motivation to get fit. That will be the only way I can keep up with him. We will be doing this race again next year. And next year we will jog it.
 |
| After the yellow color |
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| After the orange color |
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| After the Blue powder |
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| Xander really got hit with the pink! |
If The Color Run comes to your area sign up. It's a blast. Even the littlest kids were having a great time. And what a way to introduce kids to fitness being fun.
BTW, this was the 3rd race I did this year. I started out with the Hangover Handicap, then I did Bloomsday with the boys and a great friend. I considered trying to see if there is a local 5K in the fall to round out the year. If I do, that is great, if I don't find one, I'm still pretty proud to have done these 3. And next year I have plans for a 4th. The kids want to do the Dirty Dash, and I think that sounds like a blast.
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| After The Color Run |
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Did you know?
Did you know I have other blogs? They don't get enough attention either, but I'm working on it. :)
Quilt-therapy.blogspot.com
Christinabellclementine.blogspot.com
And I share a blog with my Aussie Sister.
Canwin4losing.blogspot.com
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