SOCCER!!

I just love watching my kids play soccer!  I never played as a kid, but when I married Mike, he still played and I loved watching him play too.  I remember taking Juliet when she was only a few weeks old, all wrapped up in blankets, to his games and loving every minute of it!  Juliet has improved so much in the last few years.  She is an animal out there!  Mia is a natural soccer player.  She is a serious runner and loves to be the first to the ball!  Now Cal, on the other hand!  LOL  He's only 4, right?!  Wonder if he'll enjoy it as much as his sisters do...
For now...here are a few pics of the season that ends tomorrow :(

Notice most of Cal's pictures are of him standing.....hee hee

Teaching Schmeaching

"Teaching is not what it used to be".  It's an incredibly true statement.  I went in to teaching cause I enjoyed working with kids.  I had fun making learning new things fun. 

Now, it seems to have nothing to do with the kids and is more about numbers.  I don't understand why teachers are the only ones left who know that all kids learn differently.  It's that simple, but we are not allowed to teach that simply.  We are instructed to teach one way, and one way only.  It's sad that the majority of kids do not learn their best by that one way of teaching.

I used to think that I was a better teacher because I'm a mom.  And I used to think I'm a better mom because I'm a teacher.  But I don't think either is true anymore.  As I'm entrenched in my 10th year teaching, I am NOT a better mom because I'm a teacher.  I exert so much patience throughout the school day, sadly there is little left for my family.  I feel terrible when I realize that I have not allowed my kids to make kid sized mistakes just because I have dealt with similar behaviors all day already.  It's not their fault.  What I have been through in my day should not effect them the way it does.  I wish it was as easy as taking off the teacher hat, and putting on the mom hat.  I wish I didn't have all the emotional baggage that comes in the door with me every day.  But I don't know how to do that yet.  Maybe it's because my heart gets attached to my students, which wouldn't be a bad thing if it didn't have a negative effect on my own children. 

Thus the reasoning to be a stay at home mom.  I know how hard it is.  I do it every summer.  And remember, in the summer, they are not in school so they are with me 24/7.  It's tough stuff, but I'm a better mom in the summer for sure!  I'm sure my kids enjoy me more then. 

Mike and I have managed not to pay for child care.  Juliet is 10 years old and one of us has been at home with the kids each and every day in the last 10 years.  It's a sacrifice we've decided to make.  We don't have lot of extra cash to do many of the things we'd like to, but we don't have tremendous debt either, and we've never let anyone else raise our kids.  Mike is a single parent during the day and I am a single parent at night.  I come home from 20 children not my own, to a husband on his way out the door to work, only to start homework, dinner, piano lessons, soccer practice and 3 kids who need me just as much as I need me!  I'm not sure how to keep going with it.  Prayer and knowing that I can do all things with Him who gives me strength.  That's how I keep going and ONLY that. 

My kids are my joy and it's a choice for me to see that on a daily basis.  I could not be more proud of their academic success, their kind hearts and loving nature, but I'm starting to rethink my career choice because my eyes are often clouded by the time I get to see my joy...my children.

Sometimes it's just LOVE

There are times when I love being a Mom.  And there are times when I don't.  The times of discipline are the ones that I detest.  Teaching them right from wrong, good from bad, nice and mean, yadda yadda yadda gets so monotonous and so hard.  We've been in a tough stage for a bit now.  Cal is trying to learn more of his independence, while Mia just wants to help him.  Jules wants to be the mother and tell everyone what do to, but can't remember to put her shoes on even when walking in the rain!  Crazy kids, I tell ya.

At the moment, I'm in the stage of loving it.  We've been focusing on James 1:19.  "Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry."  We are all working on each part.  The kids on listening the first time, all of us slow to argue with one another, and each of us slow to become angry when we don't get what we want.  It has been working for the last 2 days.  Not a bad stretch when you have a 4, 7, and 10 year old.  And a Mom who's PMSing!   At least I don't think. 

I love listening and seeing them all playing in one room together.  They love to play in their little "Pretendville".  I love it at night when Cal wants to pray with the girls and when we're done he can't wait to give the girls kisses and hugs.  It makes me so incredibly happy when they show their love towards one another. The girls are definitely his best buds.  At least for now...

One of Mia's little friends on her soccer team has 3 sisters and 1 bother.  One day Mike said to Cal, "Geesh Cal, how'd you like that?!  Have THREE sisters!"  and Cal responded with, "YEAH Dad!  That'd be awesome!"  I don't think Mike was expecting that reply, and actually neither was I, but just shows, he loves his sisters.  I have a feeling as he gets older, one day, he'll love having his sisters because their friends will be around!  HA

Remember the box that we painted?

The Pink Note

I hate them.  We rarely see them, but when they come home....UGH.

Mia brought home TWO today! 

These Pink Notes are notes from the nurse.  One meant that someone in the class has pink eye!  OYE!  The other meant that someone in her class has Strep.  Two highly contagious "diseases"  Lovely!

Now to pray we all stay healthy and begin our overdosing of EmergenC.  ;)

The Whoopee Cushion

My kids find this tremendously funny!  And the laughter is extremely contagious!

Did you know there is a whoopee cushion app for the Droid?!  Yea, my kids found it.  And I must admit, I laugh pretty hard with them!

I want another squeeze!

Cal is having to adjust to me being back at work.  After spending weeks home with him all day, I'm missing him big time!  I miss the girls and Mike too, but they entertain themselves just fine when I'm gone. 

I leave the house in the mornings before anyone else is awake.  This morning Mia woke up, came to give me a squeeze and then went back to bed.  Such a sweetheart!  Tonight after praying with Cal, he gave me kisses and hugs and we said our usual love you's.  About 5 minutes later he calls me, "MOMMY!  I need another squeeze!"  How do I resist that?!  But when I went to hug him, he wouldn't let go.  He said, "Mommy, I just want you to sleep in my bed with me cause I'll miss you while I'm sleeping."  :'(

Yea, back to work is tough.  But being away from my kids is harder.  It's tougher on the heart.  I don't like that part.  I'm back to living for the weekends!

Fifth Grade....grrrrr

I'm all for homework.  I think it is great practice for kids to reinforce what they've learned that day in school.  It teaches them responsibility.  We all have homework in our lives.  It may not be math problems, but it's work done at home non-the-less.

What I don't like, is busy work.  Juliet has to write a paragraph every other week.  She's given a topic, writes a rough draft one week and a final draft the next week.  Something she needs extra practice at, so it's all good.  BUT she has to write the final draft in cursive and in PEN.  Seriously?  I mean, come on now, we all make mistakes but a student practicing her cursive in PEN?  UGH.  Jules has never been known for neatness.  Her cursive is pretty neat, but it takes many attempts to get a whole paragraph mistake free!  You ask her to make a 10 slide powerpoint and she can whip that out no prob!  But cursive in ink....makes for tough Thursday nights in the Honsal Home.

Transforming a box

I ordered a large piece of furniture for my classroom and brought the box home for some fun.  Cal was having a blast in his "Rocket ship".  So we decided to paint it.  It became a family affair.

The girls are in school

So we have some time to ourselves.  What do we like to do?

Play Army Men!