Looking for my quilts and creative posts? Visit www.kalicokate.blogspot.com

Sunday, October 28, 2007

School Daze

The first quarter of school is over! Everyone here is celebrating in their own special ways.

Rick is preparing for parent teacher conferences. I'm getting ready to take a couple of mid-term tests - I have to talk myself into liking theory before Wednesday. The kids are excited about having a couple of days off while their teachers conduct parent-teacher conferences.

School pictures arrived on Friday.

Rikard is in first grade and excelling at reading. It has taken him most of the quarter to adjust to being in school for the entire day, struggling in the beginning with paying attention and speaking at appropriate times. Luckily he has a very patient teacher. He brings home a different book almost every day to read to us.

He is a picky eater, a trait he inherited from his father. His favorite lunch is a peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread, apple slices or applesauce, a juice box and a piece of licorice or a mini candy bar.


Tatum is in third grade. She is doing well, coming home with good grades in reading and math. Her current favorite books include the entire collection of stories by Beatrix Potter and a novel titled Princess from Another Planet. She needs to focus some effort on her penmanship.
Each day she is wanting to express a bit more independence. Her latest venture is offering to make her own lunch for school because she "knows we are busy parents." Her favorite meal is bologna and mustard on white bread, a Yoo-Hoo, apple slices and Cheetos.

This past week she scored 100% on her spelling test. If the students get a perfect score on the pre-test they don't have to take the follow-up test on Friday.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

A Pair of Shoes

I am wearing a pair of shoes.
They are ugly shoes.
Uncomfortable shoes.
I hate my shoes.
Each day I wear them, and each day I wish I had another pair.
Some days my shoes hurt so bad that I do not think I can take another step.
Yet, I continue to wear them.
I get funny looks wearing these shoes.
They are looks of sympathy.
I can tell in others eyes that they are glad they are my shoes and not theirs.
They never talk about my shoes.
To learn how awful my shoes are might make them uncomfortable.
To truly understand these shoes you must walk in them.
But, once you put them on, you can never take them off.
I now realize that I am not the only one who wears these shoes.
There are many pairs in this world.
Some woman are like me and ache daily as they try and walk in them.
Some have learned how to walk in them so they don't hurt quite as much.
Some have worn the shoes so long that days will go by before they think about how much they hurt.
No woman deserves to wear these shoes.
Yet, because of these shoes I am a stronger woman.
These shoes have given me the strength to face anything.
They have made me who I am.
I will forever walk in the shoes of a woman who has lost a child.

Author unknown

Thanks to another mom with the same shoes for this poetic sentiment. Shared with you in memory of Audie, born Oct. 24, 1997.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Little Pumpkins

Our neighbor visited this weekend with a wagon-load of home grown pumpkins. Tatum, Keeli and our neighbor's daughter, Darby, took a little ride on the wagon in the driveway.

He had several GIANT pumpkins, each well over 50 pounds. He also had several unique varieties, shapes and sizes. We chose pumploms in several shades or orange and even a few with green stripes remaining (Rikard's favorite color is green).

He offered the girls any pumpkin they wanted. Tatum immediately tried to roll the big one (she's leaning on it) off the wagon. In addition to the big on, we have a few of the smaller ones for the kids to carve and roast the seeds.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Columbus Day - Rikard Style

As part of a classroom project, Rikard recently drew a picture and wrote a paragraph telling three interesting facts about Christopher Columbus. His paragraph reads: I no alot uBat Christopher Columbus. First, he went on advenerz. Next, he went on three ships. Last he found land. Christopher Columbus is best in the west.

Personally, I like the giant whale riding on the horizon and charging toward Columbus' ships in his artwork. It adds a touch of Rikard's own fictional interpretation to the adventure.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

How many of me, us, them, you?

How Many of Me? is a fun and interesting site to visit. Give it a try!

I quickly found that all three of our children have very unique names. Rikard and Keeli weren't in the database and there are only about 1,500 Tatums in the country.

Not so true for Rick and myself. There are more than 2 million people with the first name Richard and it is the 8th most popular first name for men. There are nearly a 1/2 million women with the first name Catherine in the U.S., it is the 92nd most popular first name.

Luckily, our last name is very unique and doesn't appear in their database.

HowManyOfMe.com
LogoThere are
0
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?