Good friend = Batesy

I have had several really good friends in my life. I would say the number is less than 10. Really good friends. To earn this title they must be non-judgemental, trustworthy, honest, loyal, embrace my children (this requirement came after I had the dynamic duo), love my kids, tolerate my moodiness, be funny, down to earth, someone I feel I can confide in and not have it spread to the outer limits of the world, fun to be around, and understand that my house is ALWAYS junky. Yes.....even the new one we just moved into.

Batesy is my friend. She is sooooo funny it's criminal. She is younger than me. 27. Batesy is single, smart, and a total band, science, and math dweeb. She's the most "gangster nerd" I know. She wanted to come to my kids' math and science night at their school because well....she's a math teacher and a gigantic nerd. So instead of just hanging out with us she ended up being our transportation for the evening which included taking me to pick the twins up from school. We only have one car right now (well for about the past 3 weeks) and I was in a bind and my friend Batesy helped me out and probably drove like 50-75 miles in the total process. Not only did Batesy attend the family night she was like totally into the event and was asking questions and stuff. Remember.....she is a math/science dweeb. The twins were excited and Mookie who totally looks up to Batesy (which I don't mind because Batesy has a Master's degree in biology, owns her own d*&m house by herself, faithfully attends the 7:45 AM service at her church on Sundays, is committed to being celibate until God sends her her husband, is a dedicated professional, super smart, and totally a strong, independent Christian woman) said "it's like she's a part of our family." We had fun. And no.......Baby Wade was not there because he would have totally wrecked shop on the school. :-)

Good friends are hard to come by. And Batesy is a good friend. Some of the presenters were from the district and not my kids' campus so they didn't know me from Jane and couldn't quite figure out who were the parents (me or Batesy) or if one of the kids belonged to me and one belonged to Batesy or what. Because I live in a small town the conversational topic the next day may have been "who was the lesbian couple with the two kids?" Funny.

Thanks for helping us Batesy. Hope the pizza didn't give you the bubble guts.

A letter to the other team

This is worth a click and a read. Click here to view.

An Open Letter to Barack Obama by Alice Walker

The literary genius Alice Walker has posted a phenomenal letter to President-Elect Obama. Check it out.

Yes we did!!

My heart is bubbling over. I am so proud of the accomplishment of President-Elect Obama and proud of my fellow countrymen who voted for change and did not let prejudice overcome a wise decision. This is only the beginning. Mr. Obama has a tough road ahead and it will take time to straighten out the dire state of our country. He is the president for ALL Americans. And it's going to take the support of ALL Americans to steer this boat around. Amen!

Nina

That is Wade's name for me when he really wants my attention or I guess to be really cute. He can not say "Trina" so he says "Nina." Gosh I love him. On last Friday, a 2 year old girl choked to death on a rock at her day care. My heart seized. That could have been my Waby or the twins when they were much younger. Why was no one paying attention to that angel? Her mom and family must be grief stricken.

What's the Bottom Line?

My colleagues and I were recently posed the following question: When you put a grade on student's paper or report card, what does it really mean?

Well...I have a question I'd like to ask parents "When you send your child to school, what do you want?" The generic answer will be something to the effect of "I want my child to get a good education." It's not that simple. Acquiring a good education will take some involvement on the part of the parent and those closest to the child's inner circle of acceptable authority figures.

For a child to get a good education, the following pieces must be connected in the puzzle:

• expectations from home for the child to adhere to the rules of the school/school district
• CONSISTENT consequences (not empty threats) at home for non-compliance with those rules
• working with the child's teachers on academic struggles or successes
• sending the child to school with the necessary supplies
• letting your child know that because you want him/her to get a good education, school will be before ALL things: extracurricular participation, family outings, the child's social calendar, etc.
• a safe school environment free from hindrances such as bullying
• highly qualified teachers
• quality instruction delivered daily
• assignments that are geared to make the child not only prepared for standardized testing,but also "college and career ready"
• clear and ongoing communication between the child's parents and the school staff
• If there is a philosophical difference between parent and teacher, the child should not be a part of the discussion and the child shouldn't hear either party talking despairingly about the other

Parents, this will require work on our part as parents, but at the end of the day, if you're really serious about your child "getting a good education" this is what's needed. So.....if this is too much for you to commit to doing, why are you sending your child to school?

What's the bottom line?

Reality Check

Today I am just plain tired. There are not enough hours in the day. So many needy children. Just finished walking 3 kids to class since I held them late. Trying to give them opportunities to raise their grade. Why is it I'm more concerned with their average than them? Saw a student in the hallways looking the opposite direction from his teacher. I heard her say "I'm trying to help you, but you've got to open your mouth and speak up. What is the problem?" She was calm. Voice smooth and soothing. Why do some students clam up? She was in the hallway speaking to him away from his peers. I could see her giving it her all. Could see his mind many miles away from here. I teach him as well. He tells me he wants to do better this year. Wants to go to college.

We have to be willing to work for what we want. Last time I checked the government wasn't giving billions away to anybody that didn't own a chunk of Wall Street.

Incompetent

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
in·com·pe·tent


Show Spelled Pronunciation[in-kom-pi-tuhnt] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
1.
not competent; lacking qualification or ability; incapable: an incompetent candidate.
2.
characterized by or showing incompetence: His incompetent acting ruined the play.
3.
Law.
a.
being unable or legally unqualified to perform specified acts or to be held legally responsible for such acts.
b.
inadmissible, as evidence. –noun
4.
an incompetent person; a mentally deficient person.
5.
Law. a person lacking power to act with legal effectiveness.

Why are incompetent people constantly promoted to positions for which they are so blaringly unqualified for?

The Breakup

Tonight hubby and I went to the Studio Movie Grill to catch Tyler Perry's latest movie, The Family That Preys. It was GREAT!!! That Tyler is awesome!! I loved Robin Givens in this movie: smart, articulate, classy, strong, faithful, etc. This is the best role I've seen her play. I usually can't stand her in the shows, but she was GREAT. I saw bits of myself in her. I loved her business savy and strength of conviction. I loved her first board meeting experience. William was such a weakling who was ill-equipped to make intellectual rounds with her. You go Abigail Dexter!!

Kathy Bates (remember her from Misery) and Alfre Woodard gave the picture timeless, class appeal. I love Kathy. Their friendship in the movie was endearing and heartfelt.

Now.....Sanaa's character was so scandalous that my husband (who's been crushing on her since Love and Basketball) said he could never see her the same way. So the breakup is official. September 12th is the day they are officially over. However,

Make Me Wanna Holla

I swear if Ashanti Blaze adds one more track on her head I am going to scream and then send in an e-mail. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against adding hair. But can it be more realistic? It's DRASTIC man and there's never a smooth transition. Just BAM!!

Mojo M.I.A.

2 times striking out. Two foul balls each time. One foul ball was hit so hard it went to another game in progress on another field. When he finds his Mojo again he will be unstoppable. Wore a baseball necklace. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

What happens to a dream deferred? Walking through Barnes and Noble Friday evening. Some good ones. Some bad ones. Aching heart. Inaction is insane.

Gustav not as bad as predicted. Thank God.

Two week summary:

• Great students
• Nosey co-workers
• BATESY HAD A BIRTHDAY!!!
• Open house. They need to get it together.
• Moving forward on house sale.
• Mookie's tapping into her inner fashion-ista.
• Kickboxing on Tuesdays. Low-high-low-kick!
• A series of distasteful one liners does not a classy lady/VP make.
• Waby might be ready to use a pot. Dare I say an end to buying my beloved Huggies?

Next Saturday is a another chance to seize the blessing.

Mind scramblings

New look.....It's the two year mark. Was time for a new haircut. Been feeling the need since Posh crossed the pond. Her hair is fierce. Had to make the style mine once again. Hadn't had the bob since 2006, now it's back.

H-town always feels like home. Kim Son. A gajillion Pappa's participants. Melting pot. Many languages.

Man...can the crescent city get a break? Coming back home last night, no traffic. I guess Nagin's message got through: "Get your butts out of town." That man is a mess.

Astros vs. Cardinals. Sitting in the Crawford box. First time to "the juice box." Downtown looks so different. Mojo commentating. Waby in awe. Husband enjoying life. Mookie MIA, "I need a break from baseball." Er?

Labor Day will be a work day. Let me get everyone up.

I am soooo blessed. Watching the terrific three run around the hotel lobby smiling, laughing, cheeks flushed. They make me happy. Don't want to screw up the responsibility. They are so precious. Sweet kids. They love life. They have a good life. Surrounded by love. So many other children are not.

The twins LOVE their new school. Thank the Lord!!! God answered our prayers. They are off to a fabulous start. As long as they remain "the salt" everything will be fine.

Hmmm.....so he picked a girl. A beauty queen with 5 kids. Desperate times equal desperate measures.

Obama '08 all the way!!

I had fainted unless I believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage. Wait I say on the Lord.

Bounceback

My last post was rather glum. That's because that is exactly how I was feeling at the time. Am I still disappointed my request wasn't granted? Sure. But I know enough to know that that must mean God has something better in store for me so I press forward.........

I made beef enchiladas Sunday - and not with my soybean substitute I've fallen in love with since January. No....I needed real fat.

To update about the move....the plumbing fixtures are still not in. They were ready last Thursday, but the plumber was out of town and so they should be installed this week. Today is Wednesday so we'll see. The driveway process has begun. I didn't know it would take this long. We finalized our back splash materials for the kitchen last Friday. I picked out carpet Monday. Yesterday the entire family (including Waby) worked to clean "gook" off the windows. It was hot. We're still waiting on electricity to be on so we could have at least used the ceiling fans. But it wasn't too bad. We took an ice cooler filled with bottled water and juice bottles. The windows at the back of the house were up and there was a nice breeze coming through.

Waby started out sleeping, but eventually woke up to be greeted with exclamations of "Put that down! Get out of that water! Come back! Don't put that in your mouth!"

We went to the post office yesterday to get keys for our "neighborhood mail box" as I call it. All of the mail gets delivered to central locations and residents have keys to their individual boxes. A rep from the post office brought the keys to the house after our visit. I don't know if that's standard post office operating procedure or just down-home, good customer service. At any rate....I was impressed and giddy. The keys held by the twins are the keys to our box and they were very excited as well!!!

Disappointment

One thing I've not shared in this blog is information about my career. Let's just say today finds me deeply disappointed, deflated, and disillusioned. There is an ache in my heart that is not easily going away with one of my quirky sayings. I'm sad. That's not an emotion I submit to easily or frequently. I need a faith boost.

Stumped?

So the tree removal process started yesterday. Didn't go too well. Husband and friend since 2nd grade tried to tackle the task, but faulty equipment proved a major obstacle. No one really wanted to deal with the old-school ax for too long after both the pole saw and chain saw proved to be inferior to the endurance, thickness, and perhaps stubbornness of the trees.

BTW - the plumbing fixtures did NOT arrive Wednesday. They are now being reported to arrive today. Hmmm......

Construction Update

My sister was asking for an update on our relocation. The exact questions were "What's the latest? When will it be done? What's left? Can I get a blog?" So for you sis.....here it is:

• The driveway will begin this week
  


• The dead/ugly trees in front will be removed



• The trash and debris that's in front of the house making it looked abandoned will be removed. I think some of the [nosy] neighbors believe the house has been abandoned because work has been taking place on the inside versus the outside lately. The dumpster is arriving today and there will be a crew coming to remove all said items.



• The plumbing fixtures should arrive Wednesday (they've been on back order)



• We are picking out back splash materials for the kitchen this week as well as the carpet for the bedrooms.

In other drama.........

Mojo just told me that his dad said he is only to use barrel bats in practice this evening (have I failed to mention that he is doing two-a-days?). Mookie just reported that their dad said he is going to shop for a new bat. My issue: HE JUST GOT A NEW BAT TO GO TO THE WORLD SERIES IN GRANBURY!!!!!!!!!!

I have to quote Scooby Doo: Roo-eer?

Caught!

It is 1:18 AM and I have just finished a session of online shopping. DANGER AHEAD!! I didn't do too badly. Just ordered some things for Mookie for school. She's been so very patient with us snatching up so much for Mojo and Lord knows Waby is always getting something new. It was just a little....well not much. De-nile....it isn't just a river in Egypt.

The twins and I traipsed to Bath and Body Works to pick me up some new products. I planned to go alone. I asked Mookie if she wanted to go because if I didn't she would have been pouting all evening. Of course she said yes (although I wanted her to say no). I guess the Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana concert on 3-D wasn't enough to keep her home. She was mad because the 3-D glasses I had to purchase (neither Walmart near us had the free ones, so I had to buy two TV Guide magazines because they included a pair) were useless and the concert wasn't in 3-D except for the beginning.

Mojo was quickly bored and went with his dad watching one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. And guess what? When he saw that his sister was going...he decided he wanted to go,too. Darn - trapped again!! But I put my foot down on Waby going. Although he sensed he was being ditched and followed us to the door clad in only a pamper, we still pressed on.

Can someone tell me how I can get away by myself without bickering offspring in tow?

The Rhythm is Gonna Getcha

Today was day 2 of my 24Dance class. I missed the Latin Spice class because the kids club was filled to capacity. I had to wait until they were allowing more kids so I could sing my 3 offspring in and head for 30 minutes of [torture] exercise. This time I did much better than last week BECAUSE I didn't kill myself doing 30 minutes of Latin Spice. And the music today was jumping. I had so much fun. As I was sweating and jiggling and going through all sorts of body issues struggles.....I spanned the room and observed my other classmates. Before you jump to judgements, I was still working it (or least trying to) while I was [being nosy] observing. This is my conclusion for today: true I may be [chubby] voluptuous and out of shape but thank GOD I have RHYTHM!!!!

Save Yourself

I'm not trying to be cruel, but some preachers who try to "Whoop" as they close out their sermon really shouldn't. They should just be themselves and do what's natural for them. I mean.....it's hard not to be critical after just attending a revival featuring Dr. John Guns, William Curtis, Lance Watson, and Rudolph McKissick. I'm just saying this to help others avoid embarrassment.

We made it to church....

....but we were indeed late. I can't say whose fault it was. I've been ditched this afternoon for my mother. Kennedy wanted to go with her Gram because "it is soooo boring at our house." That girl doesn't know boring. Note I am not in the picture taken before church as I am not in most photos. Wade wouldn't cooperate and kept swatting at his sister and brother whenever they attempted to bring him to the fire place so he could participate. No such luck.

First Time

Okay so I really was just tinkering with this. Didn't mean to actually post something so soon. It is 9:15 AM and I should be doing something to get ready for church. I've already showered. Woke up my older son, he's taken his shower and I don't know the status of his twin sister. I believe she's still in bed. That's okay. I just dispatched him to wake her and tell her to get up and take a shower. The baby is still asleep which means I better get a move on if I want to wear a sundress to church (me and my daughter are supposed to wear like-colors today) because I have stubble on my legs that is sooo unattractive and I need to shave my legs. I'm sure those with more organized lives or who have the luxury of being disciplined or taking the time to keep themselves up think that's really gross, but it is what it is. If my husband is not ready by 10:30 we are leaving him. He's on my list. He is the reason we are always late!!!!!!