Wednesday, May 25, 2011

That's a wrap...

Well folks, today marks the end of a new era.

That "era" being 3rd grade!

Today was the last day of school for J'Bear. And needless to say, she's not quite excited. Sure, she's happy that she won't have to get up at 6:15 in the morning. Sure, she's even happy that there's no more homework. SURE, she's happy that there are no more "yucky" lunches :-).

What she's NOT happy about is not being able to see her teacher and her school friends. Nor is she happy about the fact that she's not "formally " learning during the day. (Not to worry...I'm gonna take care of the latter for her, lol)

3rd grade is a pivotal point in a childs educational career. At least here in Georgia it is. 3rd graders are not quite "babies" anymore. And they're not quite "big kids" either. They are (supposed to be) learning to be more responsible human beings. They are learning to write their names in cursive. Learning the multiplication tables and how to divide. And learning to do REAL projects/reports. And now, 95% of the owness is on the student!  No more assignments where mom (or dad) have to do most of the work.

Also, 3rd grade was the year of STANDARDIZED TESTING! Good LAWD!!! This was NOT my idea of fun!  There were 2 standardized test in the month of September ALONE!  Both within a week of eachother. Then there is the CRCT test. The test students plan for all school year long. In fact, they are taught based on this one test. CRCT testing is a week long and it happens the week after returning from Spring Break, in April.

Nothing worse than seeing the kids all stressed out about this test. Reason being, there are a few grades where this test is more "important" than others. Here's how it works. For third graders to be promoted to the 4th grade, they have to pass the READING section of the CRCT. It helps if they do well in the other parts too. But being promoted is hinged on the reading portion. For 5th graders, they have to pass the reading AND math portions to be promoted to the 6th grade.

J'Bear struggles a little with reading. Well, not actually "reading" itself...she's actually an awesome reader and really enjoys it. The part she struggles with sometimes is comprehension. AND, she reads quickly. So by reading quickly, she's missing critical points like maybe, who said what. Kinda hard to explain.

ANYWAY, we she was really a little stressed by this upcoming test. In fact, her teacher even suggested some tutoring in the subject to help her S.L.O.W. down and take it all in, so to speak. So I she was on pins & needles waiting on test scores to come back.

When the scores came back, J'Bears teacher proudly told her that she in fact DID pass the reading portion. Boy, we were SOOO excited when we get that news.

Funny story; the day after Ms. C told J'Bear that she'd passed the reading portion, she told her that she'd also passed the math portion. To which J'Bear promptly announced, "YEAH BABY! I'm going to 6th grade!" LOL Uh, no sweetie, that's not how it works. Lol.

Anyhoo, that was a long way of saying that we can rest this summer break in knowing that J'Bear won't have to retest or possibly get kept back in 3rd grade. Come August, we'll have us a 4th grader. Yeah Baby!!

So in the meantime, I need to find a way to keep this 4th grader entertained over the summer. Hmmm, what to do? What to do? There won't be any family vacations this year (trying to pay off some debt). So me and J'Bear might have some short, not too long trips. We may try and head to Mobile to visit my mom. And we MAY try and hitch a ride to Nebraska with some of our friends. Then, there's the possibility of a extended weekend with the family to Savannah. We'll see!

What's everyone else up to this summer? Anything fun & exciting? Do tell...

Monday, May 16, 2011

Be careful of what you ask for...

...Ok, we've all heard this saying before, "Be careful what you ask for"...and it continues, "because you just may get it?" Well, I've been asking for some Spring/Summer like weather and we haven't gotten it!

I can only speak for myself. But I do NOT like cold weather! Alright, hot weather is not my favorite either.

But in the interest of time, let's stick to the subject of COOL/COLD weather.

Here it is, May 16th and it's in the low 60's/high 50's here in Georgia. I'm so tired of grabbing a jacket and wearing long sleeves, I could SPIT! :-P

I do, however, realize that warmer weather will be here before we know it. And I'll be right here, doing another post about how stinkin HOT it is!

I admit it...I'm never very seldom satisfied!  I don't like to be hot because it makes me sweat. And that's yet another thing I DON'T like. BUT, I don't like being cold either...especially when it's SUPPOSED to be hot! :-)

Now, is everyone as confused as I've made myself? Perfect! Sorry bout that! lol

Thursday, May 05, 2011

It is DONE!!!

Ok, so how long ago was it that I said I'd be working on that kitchen for my cute little friend? Oh, doesn't matter when I said it...cuz it's DONE!!!

YIPPY!!

And I still have an entire week before I have to deliver it to the little princess. Sad thing about that is, that gives me 7 more days to add more little girly details to it. :-)

So, wanna see it? Well, DO YA???

Okie dokie...Here it is....

The whole thing!
The Stove.
 (YEP! that's a real oven rack)


Up close of the stove top.
(YEP! that's real "pictures" of gas flames, lol)

The refrigerator/freezer.
(YEP! It has an ice maker & water dispenser)
And the hanging butterfly on the freezer is a chalkboard.

The Sink.
(NOTE: that sink is pink...not the coraly/orangey color that it appears to be.)

Up close of the sink.
(YEP! There's "water" dripping out of the faucet) :-)

The stackable washer/dryer.
(YOU GUESSED IT...there's a window to look inside the washer.
It's simply an acrylic plate with "bubbles" in it to look like water.

Up close of the washer/dryer controls.
Well, whatcha think? I really like it!  I love how girly & prissy it is.  My little friend, Megan, is turning 5 next week. And my hope is to have it set up for her when she gets home from school on Thursday. Her mom does embroidery, And she's gonna put Megans name or something on a cute piece of fabric that will hang in the opening under the sink. So once we get that installed, I'll share another picture.

Anyway, that's it for now. This was SO much fun to build. And SO much easier than the first one I did. NOW, I know what to do!! :-)

I'm out...