Cindy Jae's Latest Report Card

Cindy Jae got her third report card this week. I'm not sure if I ever published her second as it came while I was busy with Texas stuff last month, but here's her current progress.

TRAINING REPORT
DOG: Cindy Jae	Tattoo: 3R09	Date: March 8, 2011
Training Phase: Phase 1

++ - exceeding expectations + - meeting expectations W=working on

Accepts harness	+
Forward	+
Straight line concept	+
Left	+
Right	+
Down curbs	+
Up curbs	+
Clearances	+
Traffic	+
Indoor mall	+
Off curb Travel	+
Left, Left	+
Right, Right	+
Stairs	+
Escalators	+
Underfootings	+
Food scavenging	W
Obedience	+
Distractions:
Scent	W
People	+
Small animal	+
Dog	W
Children	+
Kennel behavior	+

COMMENTS: Cindy Jae is an enthusiastic, happy little worker but still needs to mature a little. We are still working on the barking for attention in the kennel.

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I love the comments they put on the report cards. "enthusiastic, happy little worker" describes Cindy Jae exactly and the "still needs to mature a little" doesn't surprise me at all. She always seemed a little behind her siblings in the growing-up department. She went from W to + back to W on the food scavenging, but she went from W on all the distractions to getting + on three of them. She only barked a handful of times while here, but she seems to have picked up that bad habit at school. You know those college kids. Gotta try what all the other kids are doing no matter how much they know better.

I'm so glad to see that Cindy Jae is doing well and I'm looking forward to going back to the school to see her again whenever she finishes her training, gets paired with a student, and she and her blind partner graduate.

I think I've gotten to the point where I miss having a dog around here. Hyper Cindy Jae all the time would be a bit too much for our already crazy life, but having spent time around my brother two small dogs, I would love to have one like them around. They're quiet and relaxed and like to just hang out without requiring constant supervision because they're going to eat stray socks. They're like cats except they actually *like* people.

Pictures from Mr. at Home

While the girls and I were out of town, one of our stops was in Natchez, MS, where we toured several antebellum homes. Outside of one home, a beautiful bush was in bloom and several of the large bright flowers had fallen to the ground. L was immediately in possession of these flowers, so I pulled out my hair clip and fastened a flower in her hair. She was de.light.ed. and I took a picture. I then used the clip to fasten a flower in K's hair for a picture, but L wasn't to be parted with her flower+clip for long and she wore it for the rest of the day.

I uploaded the pics when we got home and did just the most basic editing, but Mr. at Home started playing around with another photo editing program called the gimp. Using layers, masks, and wizardry, he turned a couple of cute photos into really neat photos.

Here's L with her flower.

And K with her lovely flower.

Life is full of stuff

1. Church stuff - This has been my biggest focus lately. There has been/is/will be lots to do there for the next few months. Thanks to some help from my sister about how she does her church's children's program, I've started a new large group program for our church with songs and video and slides all put into a keynote (that's powerpoint for the mac) presentation. We even dressed as cowgirls this morning and gave away shiny deputy stars. Week 1 was a success, so we shall see how it continues. I also selected and purchased the first installment of our VBS program and I have about 3 months to get it all ready to go. And there's a lot to do to get it ready. Did I mention that I was elected to the deaconess committee? I'm falling way down on the job there. Then there's smaller stuff like taking dinner to people this week and doing breakfast for the church next month. I just need to breath and take it one thing at a time.

2. School stuff - We just did our standardized testing. Yes, I know it's early, but it was less expensive and we used a test that's given by a proctor, one-on-one, and would test their knowledge as far as they could go. It seemed less intense and less testing-for-the-sake-of-testing to use this particular one. The girls both did well. I wasn't sure about the youngest as she can get antsy and goofy and dramatic and she's not terribly confident in her ability to read. She's smart enough, she just doesn't like to concentrate for long on all that boring school. But she held her own through most of it and came out above average. The oldest I had no worries as she's just really, really smart. She obviously inherited her dad's math genius as she scored 4-6 grade levels above her own in the math sections while only 2-4 grade levels above in the reading sections. Now I've got to figure out how to do the rest of our year. For K, I may dial back on the math and language worksheets and let her do more reading, history, and science. L did excellently in phonics, but she needs to *know* that she really can read.

3. Kid's stuff - K has started softball back up and she has rec league practices 2-3 times a week, plus she plays on a "travel light" team which practices Sunday afternoons. That team won't actually play until summer/fall and they'll only play 4-6 weekends total, but they've already started practicing. For L, competition season is starting this weekend with her very first dance competition in Durham. She's in 2 group dances and they perform Saturday morning. Next weekend will find us in central NC, then there's 2 more in April, and the Nationals in July. It will be a first for both of us and we're both excited. With both girls so involved, it's a big commitment right now. However, they love what they do, it keeps them active, they like the kids they play/dance with, and it's good for them to learn the effort and commitment of working with a team.

4. House stuff - My house is a wreck. No, really. The last couple of weeks have been so incredibly busy that I haven't had time to do much. I *finally* got the Christmas decorations put away in the attic last Monday (only because K's new mattress was being delivered and the hall was stacked with Christmas stuff so the guys wouldn't be able to even *get* to her room). The girls have even been doing dishes and laundry without me asking because they need clothes and cups. Thankfully, my to-do list for this week seems to be a little bit shorter, so I might be able to dig out from under this mess and get things a little cleaner around her. So while I love you, please don't come to my house for the next few days. Unless you come bringing bleach and scrub brushes and willing hands.

4. Family stuff - My parent's are unexpectedly moving. Did I tell you that? They've managed to sell *3* houses in the past 1 1/2 years (her mom's, his mom's, and their own) without ever calling a realtor or putting a sign in the yard. They're busy packing up 3+ buildings worth of stuff (house, cabin, garage/storage building, shed), dispersing or storing it all, and getting their RV fixed up to move into it for awhile. I've spent lots of time over the past couple of weeks on the phone with my mom and it's amazing seeing how God has worked in this situation.

5. Fun stuff - In the midst of the craziness, there has been fun. We've spent time with great friends (at their houses, not mine). I baked pound cakes and brownies. I got to hang out with my girls and I got to spend more time with the kids at church. Mr. at Home and I have been talking and catching up after being apart for a couple of weeks and we've been dreaming about our upcoming cruise. K's room is finished and awesome. I do promise a post on that soon, it's just that the pictures are on the computer upstairs and I'm currently on a laptop downstairs. And I'm too lazy to go clean up my desk area so I can actually get to the computer.

That's my stuff. If you don't "see" me for a few days, you might want to make sure I haven't been buried under a pile of laundry or overcome with fumes from the industrial strength cleaners it's going to take to tackle this house.

Where'd February go?

February is almost over. Where'd the month go?

Oh wait. I remember.

I got ready to go to Texas.

I went to Texas.

I got back from Texas and immediately got overwhelmed with life. Dance is ongoing with competitions starting soon. Softball has started. Schedule changes are starting at church and I got elected as team lead for kids (that's what I get for being out of town when leaders were chosen). I need to get to work on VBS. I have deaconess duties to do. I have catch-up work for Science Olympiad. Standardized testing is happening next Friday. Schoolwork must be gotten back on track. Major bedroom changes are happening for the girls - K's room is getting updated to double as a guest room. L's birthday party is Saturday. My house is a wreck and the laundry is piling up.

I make myself tired.

BUT

Mr. at Home and I just got back home from the travel agency and we booked a cruise for early June. I think I'm going to need it.

In a day or two maybe I'll actually upload some pictures and post a little bit about our trip, but right now I've got to disassemble a loft bed and move it across the hall.

T-shirt and Jeans: An Evolution

There's not a more basic wardrobe staple than a t-shirt and jeans. They're comfortable and easy. They can be dressed up or dressed down. They're just something everyone needs.

Yesterday, I took L to dance and K and I went shopping. We wandered into Ross and headed to the juniors department. Which made me wonder when the child got big enough to wear juniors? We flipped through the racks and found a couple of t-shirts she liked and then we found a pair of jeans. When she walked out of the dressing room, I was shocked to see how grown-up my little girl looked.

Today I offer you a series of photos. Photos that show her evolution in jeans and a t-shirt.

1:

She got this set for her first birthday. I love this age as you can dress them however you want.

2-years:

Overalls. She liked overalls and the pink flowered t-shirt. Look at those chubby little arms!

3.

I remember thinking how much older she looked in this picture.

4.

Overalls again. And she still let me put frilly, colorful bows in her hair. Doesn't she look sassy? I love her little dimpled knuckles.

5.

Okay, so she was actually 6 here. She went through a phase where she wore mostly track pants and shorts and it was hard to find good pictures of her in jeans.

6.

And the overalls make another appearance. Comfy, warm, great for coloring at the campsite. And she was still excited that Lydia wanted to be just like her. See?

7.

Jeans and t-shirt make a good Halloween costume.

8.

Now clothes are becoming a little more important. The jeans are *glittery* and the shirt is High School Musical, but still relaxed and sporty-looking.

9.

Yep, we're growing up and looking a little more put-together even with baggy jeans and denim jacket.

10.

Oh, look. A complete outfit. Comfy baggy jeans and a preppy shirt with a hat thrown on to complete the casual look.

11.

This is her look today. Fashionable dark-rimmed glasses, slim-cut jeans with requisite fading and heavily-detailed back packets, fitted t-shirt with a low round neck layered over a white tank with a bright scarf to finish off the ensemble.

Where did this mature, slim, tall, young woman come from? When did she start caring more about style and less about comfort? When did the track pants and overalls get replaced? We were even discussing flat irons for her hair today!

She's still just 10 and she still often wanders around in ripped jeans and an old hoodie, but the elegant girl pictured above is showing up a little more often these days.

Homeschool is awesome

Did you ever see the movie "Horton Hears a Who"? We did. I was a bit worried since I'd heard that the movie made some anti-homeschooling references, but it turned out to be kinda funny. The "pouch-schooled" kid was sequestered inside all the time with the same teacher and the same ideas. The "regular school" kids wandered through the forest exploring the things they saw and touched, learning from their teacher, each other, and the world around them.

I think the Horton writers had it backwards. The regular school kids are generally the ones stuck inside all day listening to the teacher lecture while homeschoolers are out in the world learning through experience.

Like right now we're studying the Civil War. Sure, we're doing all the reading and research at home that are pretty normal school activities. We've got a timeline started and we'll be looking up photos. But we also have more freedom. We can discuss sensitive topics like slavery without fear of saying something politically incorrect that might possibly offend someone. If the weather cooperates, I'm planning to do the walking tour uptown here in Charlotte to see where Confederate President Davis stayed and had his office after fleeing Richmond. We watched Gone With the Wind. Next week we're heading to Texas to visit family and on the way back, we'll be stopping in Vicksburg and Natchez to tour a battle field and some antebellum plantations.

Yep, there are times that I really love homeschooling.

L's Dance Show

Yesterday's dance debut show went off beautifully. I love how organized the shows are for our dance studio. Workers in the wings to make sure everyone was in their right place. Parents in the dressing rooms for the little ones to make sure all the costume pieces are on right. A well-dressed emcee announcing all the pieces.

I spent the pre-show time sewing snaps on the girls' ribbon chokers for their "Pirate" costume. I didn't realize that basic sewing is such a lost art, but I really enjoy being able to help. I like the other moms in our group. We're all new to the competitive dancing thing so we're all learning together what has to be done - like altering costumes, sharing make-up skills and double-sided tape, tying double-knots, and doing a frantic last minute repair for an anxious mama by sewing on a feather-thingy that popped off a hat.

The petites team's first dance was a tap routine to Jump, Shout. I brought my good camera, but I didn't have a spare minute to pull it out of my bag and, you know, use it. I snapped a quick shot in the dark backstage before the show began with my cell phone camera. So it's not a great shot, but it does show a little of the costume for those who are curious.

They did a great job, especially for their very first performance and they are so very cute.

The moms raced out of the audience and back to the dressing room to strip off the pouffy pink dresses and switch to a colorful pirate costume. (Well, actually a few are doing duets and they had an extra costume change, but I decided that L needed to ease into the whole competition thing, so, no duet this year.) I did a *little* better and remembered to get a picture in the well-lit dressing room, but it was still a quick thing with the cell phone.

She's a tough angry pirate. The petites (8 girls, 1 boy) did a very cute jazz routine to "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" and they played the part of grumpy pirates to the hilt. They stalked on stage, elbowed each other, glowered at the audience, one threw a fit, and just generally had so much fun. They were hilarious! At the end, they all whirled off stage and then, all alone, L skipped back to stage center, struck a pose, shook her finger at the laughing audience, and skipped back off. It was the perfect dance for a group of fun-loving, high-energy little kids.

We have a little over a month until our first competition. As smoothly as everything went Saturday, I think it'll be a good experience this year. And L had so much fun with the whole thing. She spent the last 2 weeks declaring that she couldn't wait for the Debut Show. Saturday morning, she was incredibly anxious to get to the auditorium, and she spent every minute before and after the show doing tap steps out of excitement. She tapped through the store, tapped down the halls, tapped up and down the sidewalk, tapped while waiting for the pizza. She's going to be sad to have to wait a whole month and more until the next performance. Oh well, she still has 5 classes a week to keep her toes busy and I'm sure they'll be tweaking the dances between now and then, so they'll be even better at the next show.