The Good Stuff

Rusty is in first grade and this week, homework started. We had our first day at the table this afternoon...working on math, going over sight words, working on handwriting. None of this is anything we haven't done together before but it was the first time we did it as "homework." And, I really liked it! Good stuff...

You might be a redneck if...

Ruthie has been faced with some challenges over the past few weeks...nothing academic, or athletic but personal challenges. She was excluded recently at a party and was bullied out of some food at lunch...she didn't like it too much. We had a little talk about not giving people the "power" to hurt us....recognizing a bully or someone who thrives on hurting others and looking them in the eye or staying away...the next day, she had a workout at the gym and I had the chance to talk with one of her coaches about her progress and low and behold, the only thing her coach wanted her to work on was her communication with her teammates. It seems that she was occasionally and without malice taking on the roll of coach in critiquing the other girls rather than taking the role of encourager. So, we had another little talk about "not being that person." You know, the corrector, the know it all or the girl who excludes others from the fold. We talked about the impossible task of getting rid of a bad reputation and although sometimes our motives are not to hurt, we can easily do so with words. Sometimes, we can keep our thoughts to ourselves. Over the past week, I have seen her take the high road many times with her brothers...I know that having been put into those positions herself so recently, it made her see how her own words and actions may have been seen as "mean." Growing pains...good stuff...

Brace yourself...

Flip is obsessed with all things "poop." Pooter, poop face, poop bottom, pooter face, diarrhea head...you get the picture. Now, having had a daughter first and a somewhat quiet second child, I was completely unprepared for what Flip would bring to our world. But this past weekend we had a road trip up to Adam's parents place and the car ride left a little to be desired in terms of conversation. The child is never quiet unless he is unconscious and frankly, if sound effects are not coming from his mouth, "potty-talk" is. I just want to know...when will he be finished with it? I ask that completely understanding that the answer is of course, never...since he is male and all things bodily are hilarious to this version of the human race...good stuff.

Ellie had a very busy weekend...she learned how to watch TV...no, I am not kidding...the child has never sat down long enough to pay attention to an entire show but alas, in the car, there is no where else to go...so, with head phones on, she was forced to sit and watch a movie on the way. She also got to see the horses and meet her cousins, Karen and Greg for the first time...and see the nine 2 day old puppies...check out Karen's blog to see pics (Keepin' up with the Kasjaniuk's). She's started to seek out her own entertainments over the past few days and she is talking so well. But my favorite...she is tattling! The best is when she tattles on Daddy...Good stuff...

Adam had a birthday yesterday...32...we always celebrate it with the opening of college football season. He looks forward to this weekend from the last second of the national championship game...when the polls start coming out toward the end of summer, he starts talking about who is saying what about the Tigers...where we are ranked and in which polls, which games are on TV, "Should we get tickets to a game?" "If we beat them and they beat them, yada, yada, yada..." So, it is that time again...WAR EAGLE!!!Good stuff.

My life is filled with the good stuff...