Dec. 18, 2005 - Home again, home again...
My daddy is home! He had the pacemaker implanted on Friday, and he was able to go home last night. I am so relieved, and thankful!
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Dec. 16, 2005 - Christmas gifts
I forgot to add that I got my Christmas present yesterday! Sort of...
My husband stayed home yesterday with me, as I was just a bit emotionally unstable, and he likes to make sure I'm okay. (And I love him for that!) He took me for a little 'retail therapy', and we finished shopping for the kids' gifts. He asked me to help him pick out my gift from him, because he knew what I'd wanted, but he wanted to make sure I got the perfect thing... a sewing machine! I've been asking for one for months, and it's finally here! The kids are going to help dad wrap it up this weekend, so I have to sit and wait until after the holiday to actually use the machine... I guess that gives me time to decide what my first projects will be! I think we'll make something for my dad and mom... now, what to make?...
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Dec. 16, 2005 - Dad
Pat in Tenn (and everyone else, I s'pose): Dad is having the pacemaker implant because his heart isn't pumping properly; I wish I had more details, but English is not my mom's first language and though she speaks it fluently, it's hard for her to remember details of medical terms. What she did remember is that the top and bottom portions of his heart aren't pumping strongly enough. I think she said the bottom portion was pumping more weakly. This is what's caused the fluid to build up in his lungs, and for him to be so lethargic recently. I'm quite excited and encouraged by the comments I've received about the surgery, and how much better thos who've received the implant immediately feel! My biggest concern is the surgery itself, as his health is already poor, and going under anesthesia is a bit dodgy...
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Dec. 16, 2005 - Wild day
Yesterday the doctors went from 'Yes, he definitely needs the surgery now' to 'No, he can wait till January' and back to 'No, it has to be now'! So my father is having surgery to receive the pacemaker at noon today (Pacific time). Please pray that the hands of the doctors may be blessed! My poor mom is beside herself with anxiety. The good news is that if all goes well, Dad can go home this weekend! And that is fabulous...
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Dec. 15, 2005 - Pacemaker
My mom called this morning; they're waiting on a cardiologist to visit my dad, but the pacemaker is for sure. He's pretty scared, but I'm looking forward to knowing he'll feel better in the long run...
Dad is 70 years old, and he's really been put through the ringer. He has diabetes, has had cancer (and has to wear a colostomy bag), had a leg amputated at the knee, as well as having had a big toe amputated. He is in renal failure and heart failure. I just hope he's able to pull through this surgery, however minor it may actually be.
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Dec. 14, 2005 - Bad News
My mom called while we were at Tatiana's Girl Scout Christmas party, and she just finally called back again. My dad is sick. He's been in renal failure for some time now, but his heart is now failing too. He has to be hospitalized, so they're driving 220 miles to the VA hospital in Reno from their house in southern Oregon/northern California. (They live, literally, on the border of the two.) They went to the hospital where I used to work and were seen by the ER doctor, and he transferred them to the VA. My mom is driving, and she has night blindness. The sun is just going down there, so that's not so good.
Please keep my parents (Richard and Lydia) in your prayers...
~~ Lara
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Dec. 13, 2005 - Homer
I started reading to Kyle from The Children's Homer, and he just loves it. I think we read three or four chapters yesterday, and I finally had to rest my voice, but he would've loved if I could have read more to him. He's been interested in mythology for quite some time, and this was right up his alley. I've got to make a post office run this morning, but we're both looking forward to reading some more later!
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Dec. 11, 2005 - Teensy
A friend asked me tonight about Anastasia, and it was then that I realized just how small she really is. On November 30th (about 3 3/4 months of age) she was 11.69 pounds and 23.25 inches long; I have friends with 2 month olds who weigh more and are longer than that!
I guess she's going to take after the petite side of our families. (That would be my grandmother from Russia and Jose's mother in Puerto Rico.)
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Dec. 11, 2005 - Library trip
We discovered our local library about a month ago. Throughout the summer I was just too pregnant, hot and swollen to do much walking much less driving, but now we're really enjoying our trips there! It's the Nashville Public Library, and it's just gorgeous. Three stories of book heaven, and thus far I've been able to compile everything I need for Kyle's curriculum from there and the internet!
One of my favorite sites that has really been a life saver for me (curriculum wise) has been Mater Amabilis. It's a free, online Catholic Charlotte Mason curriculum for many different age groups, and it's amazing. I have a ton of bookmarks saved for homeschool resources and information, but this is the one I used to establish our first homeschool experience.
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Dec. 8, 2005 - Fun with math
My son is really thriving at home! I introduced dried beans to him to help visualize his math work and he immediately 'got' fractions, division, etc. Just seeing the numbers as something tangible really helped him. I can't remember where I saw that suggested, but it was on somebody's homeschool site, so THANK YOU!
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Dec. 7, 2005 - Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'...
I'm up to my eyeballs in things around the house today, but I just had to jump online really quickly to say that Anastasia learned to roll over this afternoon! After a few days of giving it her all, she finally figured out how to get her elbow out of the way and TA-DA! She rolled!
Here she is yesterday, giving it her all...
Her brother Kyle showing her what do...
And then SUCCESS!
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Dec. 6, 2005 - Christmas Card
I thought I'd share our Christmas Card picture with everyone!
This is Kyle (as Joseph), Tatiana (as Mary) and Anastasia (as the baby Jesus). That's our real Christmas tree in the background and Jose and myself hovering overhead. There's even a teeny tiny little coqui down on the palm fronds! (The coqui is a tiny frog native to Puerto Rico where my husband is from. It doesn't 'ribbit' like other frogs, but it makes a bird-like sound!)
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Dec. 5, 2005 - Reason # I-don't-know-what for home schooling
My 7 year old (who is still in public school, until the 16th) brought home a newsletter from the principal. It has the usual stuff about happenings at the school, and then there was one paragraph that caught my eye... (The following is unedited.)
Morning Classroom Visits:
Please allow your child to become a self-assured, independent person by going to class without a parent. Schools promote academic, social and emotional growth. Allowing your child to walk to their room or eat breakfast alone, h elps to promote this goal. Children who have been here one whole semester know where to go and what to do. They are proud of that knowledge. Parents may not enter the classroom in the mornings because there are no teacher/parent conferences before class starts unless scheduled by the teacher. If there is information you need to share with the teacher, please leave a message on the teacher's phone or send the teacher a note. The only parents in the building at 8:05 are volunteers or persons with needs in the office. Parents coming inside to purchase lunch tickets should do so between 7:45 and 8:00 a.m.
Please allow your child to become a self-assured, independent person by going to class without a parent. Schools promote academic, social and emotional growth. Allowing your child to walk to their room or eat breakfast alone, h elps to promote this goal. Children who have been here one whole semester know where to go and what to do. They are proud of that knowledge. Parents may not enter the classroom in the mornings because there are no teacher/parent conferences before class starts unless scheduled by the teacher. If there is information you need to share with the teacher, please leave a message on the teacher's phone or send the teacher a note. The only parents in the building at 8:05 are volunteers or persons with needs in the office. Parents coming inside to purchase lunch tickets should do so between 7:45 and 8:00 a.m.
I
was literally floored by the fact that they are not allowing parents to
walk their children to class, or have lunch with them in the
mornings. We were told numerous times that we were encouraged to
'drop by' and visit the classroom anytime, in order to check up on our
children's progress.
My husband is LESS than pleased.
My husband is LESS than pleased.
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Dec. 5, 2005 - Welcome!
What an exciting new adventure we've begun!
On November 17th, 2005 we became a home schooling family. My husband has wanted to home school since we first discussed marriage (we are each other's second marriage, and just had our first child together in August). I was hesitant, as I have never been exposed to home schooling in my life. I went to public school, and I just thought that was how it was supposed to be! I am happy to say I was WRONG.
My husband has lived in middle Tennessee since 1998. Originally from Puerto Rico, he has made a good life for himself here and loves the lifestyle of the Nashville area. Until March of this year my two children and I lived in southern Oregon (I am originally from southern California). I worked in nursing administration for a rural hospital, and was about to undertake the life of a homemaker for the first time; something I've always dreamed of! We decided to move to Tennessee instead of having my husband move to Oregon (an excellent decision), and enrolled our children in the Metro Nashville Public School district. We even waited 4 months after our marriage to move over Spring Break, just so the children wouldn't miss any school.
I wish I'd just listened to my husband from the beginning.
We took our son out of school in the middle of the day after numerous problems for our 10 year old. He's a very gentle, kind hearted child, yet he has had abdominal problems (acid reflux) and major attitude changes in the last year. His pediatrician believes the acid reflux is exclusively related to stress at school. The final straw was when we discovered he'd been beaten up in the boys bathroom at school. We confronted the principal (this was our THIRD call since school started in August), and were promised the situation would be handled. I received a call back from her telling me she'd called all the children in and made them 'promise' not to do it again. Then she dismissed the FIVE boys who attacked my son, leaving him in the office with her while she called me. She said she'd done everything in her power and she 'didn't know what I wanted from her'.
That was it. We were finished.
Our son came home with all his personal belongings and never returned. When we called the school to tell them he wouldn't be back (our state requires us to notify them by phone or letter), my husband merely said we would be 'private schooling' him. The secretary asked (in a very condescending tone), "Private schooling or HOME schooling?" He repeated, "Private schooling", as this is how we like to think of their education.
We still have a daughter (age 7) in public school. We made the decision to pull her out less dramatically and let her finish this semester, until Christmas break.
It thrills us to no end that our youngest child (age 4 months) will never see the inside of a public school.
~~ Lara
