I Think I Can...

Warning there's a cuss word in this post. So if you are reading this in front of a child that can read, STOP and read it later.

This weekend we went to swimming lessons, per usual. The swimming program leader had me fill out an evaluation. I started marking it up. Most everything was good, not excellent, but not horrible or bad either. Then I got to the backside and it had a spot for comments.

So I wrote about:

• How Isaak is 4 and can't move up a level until he is 6. I find it annoying that he can't move up. If he's ready, he's ready. Two years in the same class I would think would get old. It prohibits growth in something he's good at. 
• I went on to say that I think all the kids would do better if they had the same coach for awhile; instead of switching coaches for each and every session. 
• Then I said that Mica's right on target. 
• I made a comment that Isaak's coach still pushes him even though he's in a lower class, which is good. 
• I like that everyone is happy when we go there. 
• My kids enjoy swimming lessons; for the most part.

As I'm writing the head coach comes to sit down beside me. She says, 

"I can see that you are writing a lot...can we talk about what is wrong?"

My face probably turned 3 shades of red because I was put on the spot. I simply told her what I wrote and explained that I'm a teacher, an artist and a blogger, I like to write. I said, "I have just as many good things on here as things to work on."

She mentioned, "Well we talked about how Isaak can't move up because he's only 4. Age wise he can't."

I said, "Yes we did. That doesn't make the problem go away though."

She took my evaluation and walked out of the room.

I was thinking, Hummm...did my evaluation really piss her off, or did she just have to go put the evaluations some place?

My positive, and happy mood went out the window. It was on my mind the rest of the weekend. At least I can look back at Mica's smiley face and smile myself.

This image that one of my students put up on Facebook came to mind:

Source

My face turned red not just because I was on the spot. Memories of me being cornered all came together. At one work place I was called into the bosses office because I wrote a lot on an evaluation. He questioned if I liked my job or not. I did. I just had a lot of things happen that year. Changes both good and bad. After that I wrote as little as possible.

My thoughts are this: If you are asking for an opinion I'm going to give you one. I'm going to think of the great things and the things that need to be worked on. I'm going to say them. I want places and people to get better. Nothing is perfect. I as a person need work. I have good qualities to. Everything and everyone is like that. 

I called Daddy as soon as I was out of there; and told him what had happened. He told me that his co-worker filled out an evaluation on a dental student. She marked average on just about everything. The girl was going to get kicked out of dental school. Why? Because she was marked average and not great or perfect. She was rightfully in tears. His co-worker had to call and talk to the school. Since when did average mean bad?! Isn't the purpose of going to school, is to get trained to get better?

Then I talked with a guy at work about this. He told me that he filled out an evaluation for Toyota's service. He was annoyed because he had it in to get an oil change at 11:30. It was 12:30 and they still didn't get to it. He went out and asked about it. He said, "If you wanted me to get it in at a certain time, you should be ready to work on it then. It doesn't take that long to change oil in a car. Give me the stuff and I'll do it in 10 minutes." The maintenance guy said, "We can't do that sir. All places are like this." My co-worker said, "They don't have to be. I have to be back to work, and you haven't even gotten to my car!" So when they gave him a evaluation to fill out  he tore the time issue apart. The manager called him and said, "I thought we had this worked out sir!" My co-worker said, "We talked about it, but didn't work it out." For the record, Honda maintenance is just as bad! I always felt that way, but just didn't say anything. Maybe I should have.

Why do people have you fill out an evaluation if they only want to hear good in things? Should people's jobs, schooling be effected based on one single bad evaluation? Seems kind of silly to me!

Then I wonder if I'm the only one that writes a lot in evaluations? Maybe I'm too critical. Maybe I'm not. Maybe they just need to put on their big girl panties and big boy underwear and take the criticism for what it's worth. How do we get better if no one says anything?

For the record if I absolutely did not like something or someone; I'd remove myself from the situation or the person. I really like the Y and I like Honda. If I didn't I wouldn't continue a membership to the Y and I wouldn't own 2 Honda's. That still doesn't make them perfect. Nothing is practically perfect in every way except for Mary Poppins. If I truly got to know her, I'm sure she could have improved herself as well.

Sing, Sing a Song Saturday

I started doing what I call Sing, Sing a Song Saturday.  I'm going to post one song on Saturdays that the boys or I like. 

The song may be part of a movie, a kid's video or just a song we like. It may or may not include words. I'll try and include why we like it and/or the history of the song/singer.

I'm a music flipper, kind of like the man that won't leave the remote alone. Although Daddy isn't like that. One day I was flipping though stations trying to find something to listen to. Something that was different. I'd rather listen to the Mexican channel over rap, churchy stations or hip hop. Maybe I'm a music snob. I just get sick of the same old stuff. I want to hear something different sometimes. I hit a station that had folk music playing and Mica said, "Let's listen to this Mom." I totally agreed.


I love listening to music on the radio when it's the weekend. There is one station here that plays different things during that time. Last week it was blues, then one other week it was folk and another time it was bluegrass.


The trouble is, is I forget names easily. Especially when I'm not visually seeing someone. To find the singer Julie Fowlis I just typed in Folk and listened until I heard something I wanted to feature. She's so pretty and sings in English and Gaelic.

Oh and what a pretty version of the Beatles Black Birds!

Does she sound familiar? She does a lot of the music for the movie Brave.

Visit her website here.

Date Night

I had a date night with Isaak tonight.

I asked him this morning, "What do you want to do tonight? It's going to be just you and me tonight. Mica and Daddy are going out. So you get me all to yourself. We can go to a toy store, out to eat, go swimming at the Y, whatever you want to do. So what do you want to do?

Isaak said, "I want to have a picnic in the living room, and then play games all night long."

I said, "Ok we can do that. Do you want me to make something, or do you want me to pick up something from somewhere to eat?"

Isaak said, "You can get something at MickerDonalds."

So I got a Southwestern salad for me and 4 piece nuggets happy meal for Isaak. Then chopped up some veggies for him at home. Then it was time for our picnic and games.

He had fun.

Daddy and Mica came home.

Daddy said, "Mica why don't you tell Mom what we had for dinner?"

Mica said, "We had sandwiches at Jimmy Johns." Jimmy John bought them."

Daddy said, "No I bought them."

I think Mica thought Jimmy Johns is a person, not a place.

Fun and Games Outside

Isaak's preschool invites the families out to play outdoor games. Cousin Elijah goes there to. We had a lot of fun.

Mica, Cousin Evan and Cousin Elijah Playing a ball rolling game

 Cousin Elijah and Isaak happy to be rolling balls

 Mica and Cousin Eljah Steeling balls

 Cousin Elijah zoned in on the game and Isaak Flirting with his teacher

 Mica on homemade stilts

WW: Mica's Circus {Linky}

Two weeks ago I came home to a circus. Mica built his own circus in his room.

There was a sign taped to the floor outside his bedroom door. It said the time of when the circus started. I came too late, but he let me see it anyhow.

The Fisher Price Little People that I stashed away, the boys got out once again. I put them away because they weren't playing with them; only to find out that they want to play with them once again.

Mica's bed was draped over like a circus tent. Isaak's toy tape measure was a tight rope. Little People and animals were lined up for the show. Then he had a Madagascar canon that went off.

Here's Mica's circus:

It reminded me of the artist Alexander Calder's Circus made in 1927. If you do not know who he is, he discovered the mobile. He had a miniature traveling circus that he'd perform in front of people. You can see it here if you'd like.

You Can Follow Me Here:

I just joined Pinterest. If you follow me, I'll follow back. :)

Betty Lukens Flannelboard - Ocean Scene and Animals Review

I am very happy with the Betty Lukens Flannelboard. Isaak got the chance to pick out of many Flannelboards. He went with the Ocean Scene and Animals set.

I think he chose this one because he loved the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, which we went to this summer.

We love that Betty Lukens contains the following:

• Learning
• Conversation
• Fun
• Doesn't require batteries
• Is a quiet toy

Here is the board he started out with:
 

Isaak asked a lot of questions when playing with the Ocean Scene and Animals set. He kept asking, "What's this?" I didn't mind answering. Learning is one of the goals in playing with toys like this.

One thing that Isaak did, which surprised me, is that he had to get every animal on the flannelboard. I told him that they didn't all have to be on there. He insisted that they were.

Betty Lukens Flannelboards are $19.95. The scene is 25 1/2"x36" with over 50 ocean animals.

I think it's a great toy to play with. Isaak can easily take it to Grandma and Grandpa's with it's carry case. It's a toy that is great to play with after visiting any aquarium! They are also an excellent toy for homeschooling kids.

Like BettyLukens on Facebook and Twitter to see future promotions, deals and learn more about their products.

Disclaimer: The opinions on the post are my personal take on the product. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. I am not compensated to provide my opinion except for receiving the products themselves to test out. Betty Lukens provided to me a free product to help with this review.

Kung Fu Panda Birthday Party Part 2

Last weekend Mica had a friend birthday party. This weekend Mica had a family birthday party. It's on my side; the Apel's live a ways away.

I think next year I'm going to limit the friend birthday party a bit. I didn't spend a lot, but it was a lot of work. It seems that birthday parties now a days are not just cake and ice cream. Nope...it's bounce houses and party favors. It's funny Mica sent thank you cards, when we gave just as much as they brought. We gave in form of entertainment, and wearing them out for their parents. I told Daddy that the thank you should be the favors we gave away. I usually think favors that are given away are toys that end up in the trash. That's why I went with the panda treats they can eat. Hopefully the boys enjoyed their little drums and the girls enjoyed their fans.

I'm thinking Mica and Isaak can choose a friend or two and we'll go out to dinner, or to a movie. We'll see. Maybe every other year the kids can have a birthday party of about 8 kids, and the next year they can tone it down to 1 or 2 friends.

I repeated everything pretty easily from the friend birthday party to the family one. I wanted the cousin's to have fun to.

Costco was my friend this weekend. I bought spring rolls (which weren't very good) and pot stickers (which were good). Daddy cooked everything. He made a few sauces to dip things in. We had snap peas. I had more Fruit Roll-Ups, so I made more candy sushi for each table. I bought Izzy to drink along with water. Aunt Terra brought a veggie tray and Grandma brought a fruit bowl. Aunt Angela offered to bring something, but it seemed we were covered.

Poor Terra's on a restricting diet. She found out she's allergic to milk and Emerson is allergic to wheat. Since she's still pumping for Emerson, she can't eat those things. They tested both of them, so that they can try and knock out Emerson's snotty nose. They still want her to breastfeed to try and keep him healthy.

After we ate our Asian food, the boy's had fun with another Water Balloon Piñata. More giggles and fun! They seem to enjoy this more than a Candy Piñata. It's cheaper and healthier to.

Cousin's Elijah and Evan up to bat. Elijah (the younger one) can really hit! 

Isaak and Mica up to bat.

I wanted to do the Movie Poster Slip N' Slide, but it was too cold. We had a cold front come through.

Then it was cake time:

The Panda Cake and Candy Sushi can be seen here. It's truly the easiest cake I've ever made. I loved using up the low fat Oreos that I never buy or eat. Same goes with the Fruit Roll Ups that were on the Candy Sushi. Never buy those either.

Then it was present time:

Mica got pjs from Aunt Terra, a model General Lee and Police car from the Dukes of Hazard from Grandma and Grandpa, Hulk boxing gloves from Aunt Angela, a Bounce You card from Great Aunt Becky and a card with money from Great Grandpa Kent.

On went the pjs and Hulk gloves. We had a wrestling match in our living room. Entertainment for all.

Cousin Kailey and Mica boxing.

Uncle Tyson and Cousin Evan (Father and Son) Boxing:

Evan cracks me up! He giggles the whole time he's boxing. He even giggled when he was watching Mica box. Mica's always so serious.

Is it bad I let them box in my living room? Grandpa Spiehs thought the Hulk gloves were a bad idea. I think it's good to wear them out. At least they are not kicking and slapping with their legs and hands. Boy's fight for fun. Everything ends up as swords from Melissa and Doug Ice Cream Cones to hangers. I kind of figure I might as well give them safer things to fight with to wear off energy.

Then the party was over.

Birthday Party, Cheese Cake, Jelly Bean, BOOM!

Whenever I go to birthday parties, or host birthday parties I think of the REM song It's the End of the World as We Know It. Birthday parties are not the end of the world, it's just that the lyrics "Birthday Party, Cheese Cake, Jelly Bean, BOOM!" are in the song. It used to be my goal to learn the words to that fast song; it didn't happen. I did learn those words though.

Mica and Isaak had a fun time bouncing and jumping in a foam pit at a birthday party.

Daddy picked out a loom for the little girl. She picked to open Mica's gift first. When the card sang, she got a huge smile on her face. Mica was glad she picked his present. Then he was jealous that someone got her a bigger package than we did. Silly kid!

My Children Look Like Which Celebrity?

Mica was told by a girl in Kindergarten that he looks like Justin Bieber. Mica only knew who he was because that same girl who said he looked like the pop singer was on her backpack. When he told us this story he called him, "Justin Bever." We try not to not listen to pop music.

Source

Well we went to a birthday party this weekend. One of Mica's school friends invited us to a gymnastic place to celebrate. The Dad said Isaak and I could come along, so we did.

One of the adults said, "Wow that kid really looks like a young Justin Bieber!" I didn't know he could get any younger. LOL She was pointing at Isaak. I actually went home to Google what he looked like as a kid. Sure enough, Isaak does look like him. I had a shot of him up on screen, Isaak said, "Mom what's my picture doing there?" It wasn't Isaak. It was Justin. Here's the shot I had of him up on screen:

Source

Isaak has eyes like that and he raises his eyebrows like that when he's grumpy. I had trouble finding a photo of Isaak playing the grumpy boy. He likes to hide when he's fussing. This is the closest I could find. He doesn't have the true eyebrow raise though.

Here's Justin as a kid again:

Source

Isaak:

If Isaak still had floppy hair, he'd really look like him.

Do you have a celebrity look alike?

Guess Who Picked Up the Backstroke This Weekend?

Mica did! He had the arms down and everything. Now it's practice, practice, practice.

Isaak's swimming coach wishes he could just move on up. He has to be 6 to do that. I'm still not sure what to do with him. I was thinking about semi private lessons, so they can push him to exceed. I hate having him stay at the same level until he's 6. He's only 4.