Big Day!

The pictures speak for themselves....
*if you click on the collage, it will become larger

Pink Day

Yesterday was Pink Day. Standing up for schools. CA schools are are losing programs and teachers like crazy. March 15th is a land marker for teachers. It's the day that districts have to notify their teachers if they will be looking for another job the following year or not. I spent a few years in this predicament. Wondering if I'd have a job the next year. Dealing with CTA (California Teachers Association) and lawyers and paperwork just to get rehired for the following year. It's a frustrating place to be in.

I have not received a pink slip in about 5 years, and I'm so thankful. There have been many many years in a row where I have wished to get out of my current district. I have dreamed of working in a district closer to home, and being supported more by my administration. I have filled out applications, updated my resume, searched for that "perfect" school. The majority of the time, I have not followed through and turned these forms in to any district for fear of going the uncertainty. A few times, God told me to put it away and reminded me that I am working where he wants me to work and be content. A few times I have not heard an answer from him, and just stayed put.

This year, I am seeing it all as God's provision. He never gave me the green light to pursue another job. And I must say how happy I am. If I had walked down the path of a new district without his direction, I would undoubtedly not have a job for next year. I would be the "last hired, first fired" teacher. I would be mad at myself for walking out of God's plan for me. I am so incredibly thankful that I have a job that is secure. My pay may change due to cuts, but I have job security. I have been in my position for long enough that there are many people under me and I'm far enough away from the bottom of the list. All because God is good.

It's like he's saying to me, "See Jeni, I told you so. Just remain in me, and you're covered." I love that. It's hard while you're in the thick of it. But he is faithful to carry us and we endure with faith. Thank you Jesus!

Convo with Cal

Me: Calvin, are you a girl?
Cal: No!
Me: Are you a boy?
Cal: No!
Mia: Are you a dog?
Cal: *laughing* No!
Juliet: Are you a cat?
Cal *grumpy* No!
Me: Well, what are you then?
Cal: Nuffing. I'm just Calvin.

Diabetic Youth Foundation

DYF is an organization that is very near and dear to my good friend's heart, Carole. Her son, Tyler (9 years old), and more than likely her two year old son, Ryan, both have Type I Diabetes. Tyler has been to a camp for Diabetic kids for a couple of years and just loves it.

This year, Carole, is organizing Sacramento's first DYF fundraiser walk. It is new to the area, and I'm trying to help get the word out. If you're interesting in donating, click here and you'll be directed to Tyler's site. He is raising money so that he can go to camp, and help send as many other kids as he can to camp as well.

The mission of the Diabetic Youth Foundation is to improve the quality of life for children, teens and families affected by diabetes. The Foundation provides education and recreation within a supportive community, encouraging personal growth, knowledge and independence.

If you have any questions, let me know and I'll forward them to Carole.

Manly Mustache March

Yes, you heard me correctly. Mike and the guys at the store have declared this for the month. I have a very hard time taking him seriously. I had to walk away the other day when he was disciplining Juliet because I couldn't stop laughing! Can you blame me?

Sleeping peacefully

Calvin sleeping peacefully his first night without the pacifier.
He has done so well. Not a tear has fallen over this beloved "NaNa". So proud of him!

The fascinating qualitites of Juliet

1. She is an excellent reader. She has always been ahead in her reading level, but as all kids do, she is leveling out and finding the genre that she likes. She is just venturing into Daddy's Calvin & Hobbes books!
2. She has an incredible imagination. She loves to tell stories and play make believe with her brother & sister.
3. She loves the Lord. She has a unique relationship with Jesus. She trusts him completely and knows that relying on him with all that she is will always lead to good things. She loves to worship him!
4. She is an intercessor. She fully enjoys praying for other people. Especially her teachers. I love her heart here as I can relate to this passion.
5. She is passionate. No matter what she is doing, it is with gusto. She gets completely "into" whatever it is she's doing. Be it reading, singing, drawing, playing guitar hero, you name it, it's done with her heart.
6. She is stubborn. I wonder where she got this from? hmmm... It can be a good quality, we're just working on the training to make it work for the positive.
7. She cares deeply about her siblings. She like to play with both Mia and Calvin.
8. She is bossy. I think it's an oldest child thing. I just hope she doesn't want to become a teacher one day. You know they say that all teachers are bossy. hmmmmm....
9. She likes to keep certain things organized. You may not know this from the looks of the girls' room, but she does. Her animals are all set up a certain way. He things in her desk at school are all lined up for a purpose. When she does her homework, everything has to be just so.
10. She loves. Giving and getting loves. She loves hugs, cuddling, sitting, just being near you. I love that.
11. She hates surprises. If she knows something is going to happen, but she doesn't know what, she can't handle it. She will melt down if she doesn't know. We have to not tell her things until it's just about to happen. She's funny like that!
    

10 Things I love about Mia

1. "Lellow" I don't want that to change. I love that she says yellow that way!
2. She has a sweet spirit. She is kind and always looking to please others. She is quiet and just has a heart that is caring and expressive of love.
   
3. She is gentle. She will sneak up next to you and just lean. As if letting you just know she's there without wanting anything.
   
4. She has a crazy sense of style! She always dresses herself, and she is very purposeful with which outfits she puts together and why.
5. She is little. I love the little petite-ness about her. She is cuddly and fits perfectly in my lap. She can hang on like a monkey when I stand up and hold her. I just love that!
6. She is quiet. She is an observer. She likes to watch what's going on and see where she should slide in to situations.
7. She likes to do her school work and is very proud of the work she brings home. She is also very proud of her ability to read new things all the time.
   
8. She is very responsible. Even at 5, it is evident that she is aware of what she has to do in multiple situations and takes care of it.
9. She is sneaky. She sneaks sweets. She has her Daddy's sweet tooth and loves to sit and munch on M&M's with him.
10. She is a Daddy's Girl. Big time. She has him wrapped around her finger like glue. She loves to please him and loves to cuddle with him. They have a look that they can give each other as if they know exactly what each other is thinking. It's awesome!
11. She loves her blankie. She still sleeps with that thing, and it melts me to see it. She's still my little girl.

Ok, I said 10, but I had to throw that last one in!

Update on Cal

So he didn't nap today. I think it's going to be a couple of days before we get that back. He laid in bed for a good hour or more just whispering to himself. He's going to have to get used to putting himself to sleep without the pacifier.

He talks up a storm though. If you're around him much, you know what I mean. He's got diarrhea of the mouth. Seriously. So tonight at bedtime he just wouldn't stop talking. He asked for his pacifier once, but then he was on to something else. Insisting that he have an excessive amount of animals on his bed and then name them all. Then he had to tell me about the books he's going to read tomorrow with Daddy. I think I said good night a dozen times!

But he went to sleep without any tears. Again. He was definitely ready.

Amazed with Calvin!

He's done with this NaNa. I can't believe how smooth it was. I have heard/read/done a lot of different ways in which to tackle this milestone, but none of them seemed suited to Calvin. Turning them in for a toy wouldn't work because he is not "into" anything specifically and there's no way he would willingly give them up. Therefore, sending them off with balloons would be a nightmare of hysterics. I've mentioned these things to him in the past and the discussion is met with a blatant, "No Mommy." I snipped the ends off of two of them a couple of weeks ago and he replied with, "Mommy, it's broken. It doesn't work. I want the other one." He then threw those ones in the trash. I thought this was going to be the way to go. I just wasn't sure when I wanted to do it. I think part of this is me. Having him let go of the pacifier means he's a big kid now. I don't want to admit that. He'll always be my "baby" but this makes him much less of a baby.
Last night, I hadn't thought through this at all. It just came out of my mouth. It was obviously God. It went something like this:

ME: So Cal, we're going to bed with no NaNa tonight, ok?
CAL: No NaNa?
ME: Yea, because NaNa's are for babies and your a big boy now.
CAL: Babies like Baby Logan?
ME: Yep. Ya know Cal, if you go to sleep with no NaNa tonight, there might be a surprise waiting for you in the morning!
CAL: A surprise? Like a present? What could it be Mom?
ME: I don't know. Do you think you can do it though?
CAL: Ok Mom. Maybe it will be a rocket ship? or a Bob the Builder? or a tool belt?
ME: Maybe Bud. Let's go night nights.

He went to bed without a peep. It was late as we had taken the kids to a movie earlier. Within 5 minutes he was out. Could this really be it? Yep. So, Mike ran out to our local 24 hour Walmart to get a surprise! We wrapped it up and placed it on the floor by his bed. He slept through the night without one noise.

I really thought this was too good to be true. Like it's going to come back to bite me today at naptime, or bedtime. We went for a long bike ride and park stop today so he didn't have a nap, but he just went down a bit ago without a peep. He didn't mention his NaNa even once today. And at bedtime tonight, he said oh and my NaNa Mommy. I said, "No, no NaNa." and that was the end of it. He's out. Seriously, I'm still in shock. Like, what about tomorrow's nap? Surely there will be tears. We shall see...