by Sarah | Dec 8, 2011 | All About Molly
[flickr id=”5984317283″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]For the first six weeks of school they had her in Remedial Reading. Said that her test scores were too low, she had to be in it.
State Law and a state-wide test and all that crap.
We protested. At every meeting we pointed out that she was reading ABOVE her level at home. That her being in Remedial Reading made absolutely no sense.
They kept saying that they test every few weeks when they’re in RR and if she didn’t really need it she’d test out.
Two weeks ago we got the letter. It said she’d tested out of RR and would no longer need to be in it. She would join her class and their daily reading lessons as always.
We both breathed out under our breath “Finally.” Left it at that.
Fast forward to yesterday. TWO WEEKS after testing out of RR…she comes home beaming and pulls out her homework notebook.
“Look, Mommy! I got a Chapter Book! It’s my new homework!”
There’s a note on her homework sheet from her teacher – “I have decided to move Riley up to the next level reading group.”
She went from reading books with constant repetitive words and sounds “Pat sat on a hat” to full on chapter books with words like “Reindeer”. Her reading assignments are chapters long instead of a few pages.
Riley is proud of herself. Riley is thrilled to have real books to read.
WE are proud of her.
*~*~*
And we’re NOT thumbing our noses at the school saying “I told you so.”
Really. We aren’t.
Really.
Believe me?
by Sarah | Dec 4, 2011 | Random
[flickr id=”6316612325″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]Day’s 2 and 3 of #Resound11 are Vices & Virtues respectively. I decided to go ahead and combine them into one post.
2. Did you slip back into any old habits that you wish you hadn’t? Did you gain any new habits that you wish you would have walked away from? Did you discover the evils of Nutella? ‘Fess up … we won’t tell.
Oh vices are the bane of my existence. I have a few. In 2011 I started smoking again…twice. I gave in to my fountain pop addiction and took it to new levels (at one point drinking close to 5/day). I was (alternately) slothful. Spent days wrapped up in TV or computer over….well, moving. I ignored my own writing in favor of doing absolutely nothing.
In short…me and the bad habits in 2011? Yeah, I indulged in far too many.
3. What good have you done in 2011? Where do you really shine? What have you done that makes you proud of yourself?
Believe it or not this is the harder question to answer. I am my own worst critic. I find it very hard to see what could I may have done.
I’ve gotten better about cleaning. I find myself actually wanting to get things cleaner. In the past few months I’ve gotten better at drinking more water over pop. I’ve started actually getting a life, meeting people off the computer. I’ve written close to 300,000 words in different novels.
That’s the best I can do for now…I’m not good at the whole half-full thing 🙂
by Sarah | Dec 1, 2011 | All About Me, All of Us
[flickr id=”6317132650″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”] What is one word to describe your 2011? Why does that word sum up your year?
I sat and pondered on this for over 24 hours. When all was said and done, I could only come up with one word consistently to describe 2011 for me.
Chaotic.
It started with CF testing for Brandon and the lingering effects of Angels Christmas-time hospital stay. PICC lines and genetic tests.
From there it was the up and down of whether or not Brandon did have CF. A positive test followed by a negative test. A negative test changed to a positive.
There were school events, track meets, cross country, Riley’s ups & downs in school, Angel’s entrance to school. Visits from dear friends when our house was filled to overflowing with people and love. Several times we dog sat for my parents. Many family members visited from out of town. I had a brief bout of working outside the home again. I’ve written 260k words, 4 books, sent out queries and manuscripts. I had a post featured on Band Back Together. I celebrated my 9th wedding anniversary.
It feels like I barely had time to breathe this year. There was always something going on and it passed faster than I ever could have imagined.
It was totally chaotic.
It was bad, it was good, it was all over the map.
I’m still trying to figure out how it’s almost over.
by Sarah | Nov 30, 2011 | All About Me
Last year I participated in #Reverb10, and even though I didn’t finish I loved the concept of it and was looking forward to doing it this year. But, the hosts of the event decided not to carry on this year, but encouraged participants to start their own. Through an easy quick search on twitter for the hashtag and found this website that is doing a new version of it called #resound11.
The prompts and theme of it is a wonderful way to end the year. I’m excited to start tomorrow and hope that you sign up too!
Just head on over to Jaemie’s site and sign up!
by Sarah | Nov 30, 2011 | All About Home, All of Us, Holidays
[flickr id=”6408227721″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]It’s that time again. In a few days I’ll be pulling out the decorations. Putting up the tree and adding ‘snow’ to our living room.
I’ve decided to not put so much pressure on myself with the cookies this year. I’m going to focus more on the candies and treats as they are easier, and more fitting to give away. If I feel like taking the extra step with more cookies I will. I won’t kill myself with five million cookies this year.
Presents are slowly being accounted for. A little here. A little there. Somehow there will be presents wrapped up and under the tree on the big day.
The girls saw Santa in the Macy’s Parade. In fact, they watched the whole parade with such excitement that I felt like I was once again that age watching with breathless anticipation. Smiling over familiar balloons, and enjoying their excitement over seeing Spongebob or the Smurf’s.
Every year their excitement and awareness of the holiday grows, and it’s a joy to watch.
It’s also great to be able to use the threat of Santa and his naughty list for almost anything.
It really is the most wonderful time of the year.
by Sarah | Nov 29, 2011 | All About Home, All of Us, DIY Cleaning Products
[flickr id=”6348905046″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]I claim all rights to Purposeness as a word. It is one because I say it is 😀 In all seriousness, I’d almost forgotten I promised to tell you about all of my cleaners. Today Ill get into my most frequently used cleaner.
I never was a neat freak. I’m a pack rat, I’m a clutterbug. In recent years that’s started to change. Maybe it’s the five people in a tiny cramped house, or maybe it’s my neat-freak OCD hubby (love you, Archie) rubbing off on me. Either way, I’ve started to be a bit more meticulous. I’m nt perfect by any means, but I’m getting better.
One of my favorite things I’ve found since I started making my own cleaners is my all-purpose antibacterial spray. I use it on everything. My kitchen counters and table receive the most frequent attention, but I’ve used it in the bathroom, in the living room – I’ve even used it to clean crayon off my girls wall (it works best on fresh crayons).
I call it my miracle spray since it’s removed all sorts of things from my counter tops, and managed to erase age old stains.
It cuts through grease and grime, and sticky messes left behind. The key is to let it sit on the heavier mess for just a few seconds to soak in and break it down.
P.S. with all of my cleaners – I use cotton cloths always. I never use sponges except on my sink or on the rare occasion I have something really stuck onto the counter – then I’ll use a scrubber, but rinse clean with my cotton cloth.
*~*~*
All Purpose Anti-bacterial Cleaner
*Lavendar is a natural antibacterial element. That is what makes this spray antibacterial. Also after much trial and error I’ve started making my cleaners in a large glass measuring cup first, then adding them to the sprayer once cool. It’s much easier.
2Tbs Vinegar
1tsp Borax
1/4c. Liquid Soap (Castile soap)
Hot water
10 drops Lavender Essential Oil
Mix vinegar & borax.
Add 16oz hot water
Stir until borax is dissolved – this is important. If Borax isn’t dissolved it will clump up when you add the soap.
Add Liquid Soap.
Add Lavender
