Alright, here's a brag

Mom's try not to do it often, but I have to say, my baby girl is SO smart!  We've always thought each one was special in their own way for one thing or another.  Cole studied everything and, despite heart surgery at 8 1/2 months, still fully walked by 10.  Chase was a laid back, go with the flow, lover baby.  He was always smarter than he let on.  Kaelin was little miss independence...still is.  She walked at 10 months and has been going non-stop ever since.  She's the one who laughs a lot, but is pretty sensitive.

Chelsi seems to have pieces of all 3 of her siblings rolled into one.  She's got a sweet, loving personality.  She's funny and laughs a lot.  She is incredibly bright!  This baby born 10 weeks early at 3 lbs is doing so much!  She is terribly coordinated, dances and sings.  She has a memory like a recorder.  If she hears it a couple of times, she remembers it.  She just turned 3 a month ago and knows more than any of the other 3, maybe even combined, at this age.  This weekend she started saying our phone number as loud as she could in the middle of Target.  I had no idea she knew it.  Apparently, Brian's been quizzing Kaelin occassionally on the way home so she knows it for school and now Chelsi knows it too.  She knows all of her letter and number...I can't remember how far she can count anymore because she goes on and on.  She recognizes all of her number to 10 and 90% of her letters and can tell you what word is associated with the letter.  She knows her shapes and colors and can speak extremely clear and articulated.  She knows exactly, in perfect English, how to get across what she wants to say to anyone and she very clearly does that.  She tells you exactly what she's thinking and you don't have to guess at what she's saying.  She uses proper English better than most school-aged kids.  She can sing so many songs.  I've lost count of everything she knows.  Then, a couple of weeks ago, we were sitting on the floor and she started reciting the Hail Mary.  Apparently, they pray that at daycare, but mil didn't think she could do it on her own.  I recorded it, so I'll put it below.  The light is aweful and she wasn't really in the mood to do it, so it's not as clear as she usually is.  She's such a big girl is such a teensy, young body.  My baby girl!

Score card for parenting?

Don't you wish there was one?  I mean something just to let you know you're on the right path with each child.  One to let you know you did the right thing in this situation and that.  As they get older, you seem to get thrown into more and more situations and it feels aweful to punish them so often.  I feel like we have done nothing but punish Cole lately.  I finally told him tonight that, though he might think we enjoy it, it would be so much easier to not do a thing and he could watch tv or listen to his MP3, not be bored, etc.  But, instead, we have to do what we feel he might learn a lesson from which causes us to have to stay on top of him to make sure he's adhering to the discipline. 

So for like the 3rd time in 2 weeks he has no screen privileges (tv, gameboy, MP3, etc.).  We also made him stay home from a Halloween party he was supposed to go to.  I was actually looking forward to getting to know the kids he hangs out with and some of their parents, but I didn't want him to think his actions were okay.  We couldn't figure out why he was already getting a D- in a class and he didn't know why either.  Uh huh.  He tells us this morning that he needs to write a paper after soccer.  It finally hits me that this paper is in the class he's getting a D in and he NEVER has weekend homework.  So I asked him and sure enough this paper was due FRIDAY.  Well, A....he lied...didn't know why he was getting a D.  And B....he procastinated and didn't complete homework that he had 4 days to work on.

We worked on it all day today.  I asked him if all of his Saturday was worth working on something he could have done in a couple of nights.  The answers was a big "this sucks, no way".  How else did you expect an 11 year old to answer you.  :)

Hopefully this is a score for the parentals.

Lisa

Wish you could pick your child's friends sometimes?

I do.  But, I know that will not work.  I try hard to sway our child and give them things to think about, but watching things happen is hard.  I'm sure as the girls get older it will be worse, 'cause girls are so catty, but boys have their own set of issues.

Cole had his MP3 player at school for a project on Monday.  He left it in the classroom (hidden from plain view) so he could use it again Tuesday.  Tuesday he found it to be gone.   He told his teacher and they looked everywhere for it.  He was mostly upset because the data cable that he had brought to hook it up to her computer was his dad's.  We'd told him very explicitly not to lose it since Cole couldn't find his own.  Finally, another student told the teacher they'd seen someone with an MP3 player on the bus that morning.  That child "found it" on Monday.  The teacher called to explain to me what had happened because Cole was so upset.  The cable was not found.  Last night Cole realized there was additional music downloaded on it an some of his songs were corrupted.  Funny, 'cause you can't download songs without that cable.  Well, the same kid "happened" to find the cable today in another area of the school.  ;0)  Uh huh.

This is one of his friends.  Can I insert the devil face here?  He doesn't see the problem because he doesn't know for sure this friend did it.  How to explain that one to an 11 year old??

Lisa

She's going Pro!

This is Kaelin's 3rd year playing soccer and she's now the senior on her team.  She's doing quite well and has improved a lot!  It's fun to watch her really get in there and fight for that ball.

Great speech by Republican McCotter of the House

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=eb9_1222400775

Finally an unbiased political fact checker

at least that's the way it appears from what I've read so far.

EDUCATE YOURSELF BEFORE YOU VOTE!

http://www.factcheck.org/

Lisa

Where does "your" candidate stand

I found this pretty interesting. I can actually see what they've said.

http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm