Craptacular

Getty's Valentine box. A work o fart, wouldn't you agree? 

"Sit on the pot and let your Valentine drop." Won 87% of the 3rd grade votes and 76% of the 4th grade votes for best Valentine box.

We're so proud.

Hunk-a, Hunk-a Burnin' Love

"I don't want to go to school today, Mom."

"Why?"

"Because at rug time, this girl puts her head on my shoulder."

"Hmmm...what could you do about that?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe you could wait til *Sadie sits down and then find a different place to sit."

"It wasn't Sadie. It was Brooklyn."

"Oh.... 

"Sadie's the one that raises her hand after you do and answers exactly how you did."

"No, that's Hannah."

"Oh.... 

"Is Sadie the one that draws pictures for you?"

"No, that's Macey."

"Oh.... 

"What does Sadie do?"

"She blows me a kiss in the middle of class."

"Oh.... 

"Good luck at school today, Sweetie ;)"

*(Names have been changed to protect the innocent. Just following your lead, Linda =)

Happy Valentine's Day

Wow. A lot has happened in 18-plus years. Rob looks so young and red-headed. He's gotten so gray that people think he's blonde.

Love my bangs-to-heaven look. Hairspray, and lots of it.

Little Miss Kiss

An announcement is in order. Elle has lifted her ban on kisses.

It's true.

And to celebrate, after bestowing smothery kisses, she flings her arms above her head as if to say, "Yay, Me!"

We agree. And merci beaucoup. We love you, Cuppy Cake. 

Middle School Isn't Pretty

MK has decided that everyone is pretty but her. [Me cringing.] She even saw a wedding photo of me and said, "Wow. You used to be pretty, Mom. I wonder why you didn't have any friends." [Uh...thanks. And I had some.]

She doesn't go around with her head hanging down, she just accepts this as a fact and tries to make the best of it. 

Middle school is grizzly.

I've posted the evidence—three photos of our Beauty, which I submit as proof of her teenage insanity. 

I rest my case.

Mrs. B. Gets an A

Getty loves his 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. B. He mentioned the other day that he was sitting next to her, so I probed, thinking he'd gotten into trouble (wild assumption, I know), but he said, "I sat by her, because I like her. She's the only teacher I've had that smiles a lot and laughs at my jokes." 

What do you figure we owe that teacher?

Sunday Awards

I got this idea from Linda Eyre (author of "Teaching Children Values"). You make up your own awards for whatever positive values you want to reinforce (I used mostly Eyre's ideas, because boy can I copy creativity!). I have used wooden blocks, but the new felt ones are more user-friendly. We take a minute on Sunday to discuss who deserves which award for the week and then hang the award on the person's bedroom doorknob. The letters on these awards stand for:

 

LFR: Leader for the Right

PA: Positive Attitude ("Cheer up! Things will get worse!" [Pres. Packer said that, not me])

RAM: Respect and Manners (desperately seeking)

SA: Soft Answer (Holy crow! This award is rare.)

TF: True Friend

HUP: Honesty Under Pressure ("Tell me the truth, or you're grounded for a week!")

SS: Self-starter ("I did my chores after you told me 8 times.")

Always looking for ways to use positive reinforcement, because (NTB) I've got natural talent for crime and punishment :).