Am I Popular Yet?

I think if you have to ask, your not. Is that right? This is not one of those post though.

This is really about my daughter running for Student Body V. P. at her elementary school. What is a student body election really? Is it a popularity contest?  Is it about validation? Is it about picking the best person for the job? Picking the most responsible person? The one with the cutest slogan? The one with the best speech? The one who dresses the nicest? The one who is most athletic? The one who is friendliest? The best looking? The funniest? The teacher's pet? The smartest? What is the answer? Someone please tell me.

Growing up I think I ran for student body office every year from 6th grade on. I won a grand total of... never. I never even made it past the preliminary round. I was never in the top two for a position. I never made a poster. I never gave a speech. Yet, for some reason I ran every year. Two of my sisters were on the high school student council, so I think I just assumed that I would get elected as well. John Adams, John Quincy Adams, the Kennedy family, the Bush family. All electable families. I guess I assumed mine was as well. Turns out I am not a Kennedy. Who knew?

With Sophia running this year I thought for sure my losing streak was over. It's not like I gave birth to the child or made her posters or anything. I did both of those things so it's okay to say, "my losing streak." Her poster was adorable. Her slogan cute and catchy, "Mama Mia! Vote Sophia!" She even had a cute little helper during her speech, Dylan dressed as Mario. Sophia is cute, friendly, and smart. She knows a lot of people, most of the sixth grade and some of the fifth. Fifth and sixth were the ones voting for the positions. I honestly thought we had this thing in the bag. Again, it's okay for me to say, "we." I'm not living through my daughter, I'm just supporting her in her dreams!!!

She did make it through the primary election. It was her and a boy from the fifth grade for the final election for VP. Come on a little fifth grader against my tall amazing daughter? Of course she would win, no problem. You can imagine my surprise on Friday when she told me after school that she was not elected. What??!! My perfect (mostly) child not elected? How is that possible? We still don't know, but I am totally betting on a conspiracy. I don't know what it is yet, but I'm sure it's there. The boy conspiracy? The smaller kid conspiracy? The fifth grader conspiracy? The favorite of the administration conspiracy? I don't know. I'm just saying it goes against all logic. Now you may say that this other kid had just as much right to win as Sophia. That may be so, but I'm sticking with the conspiracy theory.

She took it very well. She acted very mature, not a tear shed. I don't know if she plans to run again. Congratulations to Miss Sophia for taking a chance and making it as far as she did.

I'm puzzled as to why kids do it at all. Now that I'm away from it all it just sounds like more work to me and why would I go looking for more work? Okay, really I think it's about being involved and making a difference. Most of us want that, right? We want to make our world a better place. I've decided my kind of race is the one where I'm the only one running. I'm pretty sure that I am the most popular and will totally be elected as the best Jennifer Lynn Pelo Rawlings the world has ever seen. I'm a winner!!

Here's a funny election speech from one of my favorite new shows, The Middle.

Student Ian 2009-2010

This post is about my decision to homeschool Ian this year.

First the back story. Ian is a smart kid. Through the lower grades of elementary he was always one of the top in his class. His teachers always loved him and he was happy, we were all happy. It was about 4th grade that his teachers started not being so happy with him, I started to not be happy with him, he started not being happy with school. This was the year when he was supposed to take on more responsibility in his education, more reports, more take home assignments and such. We continued with problems through 5th and 6th. I would try to give him the benefit of the doubt at the beginning of each year, that this time he would do his work and take care of his education himself. I've always been here after school and we have always had set homework times. I just expected that he would, as he got older, take on more of the responsibility himself. By the first parent/teacher conference of each year I would realize that I needed to be on top of it more. We had papers that had to be signed everyday from the teacher and every night by me to keep up on his homework. Even with this, he would lie about what was expected on assignments and he tried to get away with whatever he could. 6th grade was when we discovered that he had Inattentive ADD. That brought at least some insight into his behavior, but it didn't really help him do any better or change his attitude about school and assignments. In fact at times he would try to use it as an excuse, "I'm ADD, so I can't...," "I'm ADD, so I don't..." I hate excuses.

Then 7th grade came along. Now he had 8 classes with 8 different teachers. All that added up to bad stuff. I tried to equip him with the things he would need for success. At that time he was on medication for his ADD, I bought him a big binder to keep everything together, I had a paper for each day and class so he could write down what he had for homework everyday. He lied a lot that year. He never had homework according to him. Imagine my surprise when I went to parent/teacher conference and found out he was failing his classes. The classes he was acing were the ones where he didn't have homework. If he could do the work in class he had A's. In his English class where he had something due every week, he had an F. I would check the website to see his progress, but it was very rarely up to date. We fought all the time. It was not pretty. I hated that our relationship was basically me yelling at him, and him lying. He was grounded more than not through his 7th grade year, not my idea of fun having an angry teenager around the house.

It came to the time when we had to decide where Ian was going to school the next year. He was at a charter high school/jr. high for seventh. We knew we didn't want him to continue on there. We were trying to decide between another charter school and the regular overcrowded public school. We fasted and prayed about it and we decided on the regular school. I had considered homeschooling through the years as we had our troubles, but didn't know if I really wanted to do it and Kenneth was always against it. He said it was his concern for my sanity. We enrolled Ian in the regular jr. high and I just knew he wasn't going there. I thought we were going to move or something, because I just couldn't see him going there, but I proceeded as if. A few days later I received an email from his English teacher informing me that Ian had failed his final due to the fact that he chose not to do half of it. I was just so mad. I couldn't take it anymore. I turned to Kenneth and told him that I was done. That I was homeschooling Ian next year, because I was done with the fighting and being in the dark about what needed to be done. Kenneth wasn't convinced until I showed him k12, which is an online school. In our area it is free through the school district. I wouldn't need to figure out lesson plans or anything. Ian would also get to take a language through Rosetta Stone, of which Kenneth is a fan. I filled out the paperwork that night. When I submitted it I finally felt total peace. I knew that I had finally found where Ian was going to school, home. I thought we could take this year for him to come back to himself, figure out what was best for his ADD treatment, teach him some life skills, help him regain his love of learning. It's turned out to be that and a lot more.

Present day. He loves that most days he gets to sleep in, but two days a week he gets up at 5:30 to go to the Legacy Center to work out with me. So his day starts with exercise, he reads his scriptures, does his morning chore, starts on school, which usually takes him all of an hour, does his German, which is about 1/2 hour, practices piano and reads a lot. His biggest challenge is hygiene, he really hates taking a shower.:-) He's been a big help with Dylan. Dylan comes home from Kindergarten at 11 and Ian helps him with his homework sometimes and helps get him lunch. It's nice that they have some companionship in the afternoon. He helps me out around the house, he babysits for neighbors, and he runs errands with me.

Ian has also been going to talk therapy, which started in August. That has been so great. I think that has helped him a lot. From the kid that he was in August to the kid he is now has been a huge change. He is no longer on medication. I chose to treat his ADD with exercise and nutrition. I can't say that it's been any one thing:  prayer, therapy, being home, exercise, scriptures, homeschooling, growing up or what, but he is a completely different child. In fact I know that not one of those could have done it alone, but all together they have worked a miracle. He has his moments and his days, especially when it comes to his siblings, but I am happy to see him now, where before I hated having him around because it was all negative interaction. I'm so grateful that I have been in a position to be able to take this year with him. I'm actually really enjoying it myself. I see hope for his future and really pray that he will be ready in body, mind, and spirit to return to school next year and continue on successful through life.  

TMI Post

If you are of a sensitive constitution, someone who thinks it's not okay to speak publicly of "lady issues," or a man, you may want to stop reading now. Also, if you don't want to read this long saga.

I think I am ready now to discuss what happened to me in May. A little background is that we are finished having children, really finished. My cycle had become erratic, which was hard on my psyche. My sister had recommended a procedure to me that is called ablation. Technically called endometrial ablation. What it basically does is burn off the lining of the uterus meaning that you don't bleed at all or bleed less every month. It doesn't effect your hormones at all, so there's still PMS fun, but the bleeding does change.

I decided to go for this. So I went to my sister's doctor and I suggested it and he said it was a great idea and we should do it. So the doctor's office got it all pre-approved and it cost me about $200 out of pocket and was scheduled for two weeks later.  It was the day of Sophia's Hope of America concert. I asked if I would feel up to going and they assured me that I would be fine to go out the night of the procedure.

Now they tell you that there will be cramping with the procedure. I can handle cramping. I've had cramping since all this wonderful womanhood thing started. No problem, I thought. They did say some things that should have tipped me off to how painfuol it was going to be, but I birthed 5 children without drugs, I thought I could handle it. They said things like the fact that I would need drugs afterwards, Lortab or something along those lines. I told them I had something a little less powerful than codeine and that I would be fine. Now right there they should have told me that I would not be fine and that I really should take the harder drugs, but they didn't. They told me I would be given a Valium before the procedure, but I figured that was for people who are nervous, which I wasn't. They also said they would give me a shot to help with the cramping. I really hate shots, so I figured that was going to be the worst pain I would feel that day.

The night before I started with  a medication which helps the cervix dilate. That caused the kind of cramping that I thought would be the kind I would feel the next day. A few ibuprofen and I was fine. No problem. Kenneth had to take the day off because I was supposed to take drugs before I went, plus the Valium means I wasn't supposed to drive. I thought it was just a formality to have Kenneth there.

We go in, I pay the money, Kenneth and Dylan stay out front. I really thought this was not going to be a big deal. When I got back there the nurse gave me the Valium, the shot and then asked if I had someone who was going to be there with me during the procedure. That should have been a huge red flag, but I again thought there was no need for a little cramping. Let the pain begin. First there's the forcing open of the cervix that is super painful. I tried to relax and breathe, but I was quickly losing it. Then the burning started. They were using the NovaSure method for the ablation. It's high frequency radio waves for 90 seconds. I had thought previously that I could handle anything for 90 seconds. Now I thought I was going to die. It hurt so bad. I wanted to scream and if they hadn't told me how great I was doing I would have screamed. I really needed someone to hold my hand, but the doctor and nurse were both busy. When the doctor stopped burning, the burning didn't stop. I was very tingly also, because I don't think I was really breathing during the whole thing. After a few minutes I was taken to another room to lie down. Kenneth and Dylan came back and I lost it. I cried. It hurt sooooooooo bad. After a few minutes I was able to stand up and walk out under my own power. I wasn't feeling too horrible.  I thought the worst was over. I felt like I had been horribly violated, but it was over now. We headed for home and picked up smoothies. At about the time we reached the river the pain was kicking in. Of course there was construction so it was so slow and I was dieing. When we got home I threw up and got right into the bath. I won't bore you with MORE details but suffice it to say that for the next 5 hours I went through labor in reverse. The pain and contractions were constant. I was literally writhing in pain. There was no way to stop the pain and no way to get comfortable. I threw up some more, I cried, I writhed, I cussed. Kenneth was helpless as well, there was really nothing to be done. I just should have had drugs that knocked me out.

Kenneth ended up having to take the kids by himself to Sophia's program. The contractions slowed. I started to be able to relax between them. I could even fall asleep a little. I drank some Gatorade and was able to keep it down. The worst was over. By the next day I was to the mild cramping I expected from the whole thing. I did bleed for a few weeks, but I have not bled since. I was supposed to go back in for a follow-up after 4 weeks, but it was so traumatic that I just couldn't go back.

I think the only way it could have been different is if they had really told me how truly painful it would be. If they had told me it's not like childbirth, it's a different more intense pain. If they had said, "We understand you think you can handle the pain, but we would feel better if you would take the stronger drugs." If they had said, "I really think you are going to want someone here with you the whole time." They just downplayed it so much. My sister was under when she had hers done, because she was also having her tubes tied. So she had no idea what to expect. I talked to one of my friends a few months after and found that we had both had it done around the same time and it was so good to hear that it wasn't just me. She had a horrible painful experience as well.

I know the day after and probably for weeks after I would have told people not to do it. Now I would tell you to be prepared for how painful it will be, but not bleeding every month is pretty awesome. Just don't expect it to solve any of your PMS problems, there's still that fun bag of tricks every month.

Ingrid Michaelson

I love little Miss Ingrid Michaelson. I don't know if you are familiar with her. You can turn on my playlist to get a little taste. It doesn't have any songs from her most recent album, but you have probably heard some of the songs just not knowing it was her. Her songs are very chill, fun and singable with great lyrics. I have been cleaning my blinds and bathrooms to her new album this last week and I absolutely love it and highly recommend it. I listened to it on shuffle and repeat for hours and hours.

So tell me do what is your favorite new album? What is your favorite cleaning music?

*image courtesy of www.showclix.com/blog/?p=3001

Orion's Baptism

 

 Orion was baptized on Aug. 1st. It was so nice to have so many friends and family around for the day. Mom Rawlings and Hanah came from Oregon to celebrate with us. We had a luncheon afterward at our house and I thought, "Wow, I either need a bigger house or less family and friends." We'll shoot for a bigger house someday.

Fall Break 2009

Here's the thing, this post is not about the kids Fall Break, it's about me and Kenneth. We were able to go to Cedar City for a couple of nights over Fall Break.

We had free tickets to see The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged. It was definitely the funniest play I have ever seen. It was three guys acting out all the parts. It was laugh out loud funny.

The kids were able to spend time at their cousins this week. They were able to sleep over for two whole nights. They had so much fun. I'm glad that they were able to do that and so grateful to my sisters for watching my kids.


We stayed at The Stratford Court Hotel, which is right downtown. We were able to get a great deal from Priceline.

We ate at The Pastry Pub two times, I'm sure that place holds a lot of college nostalgia for people. It was better than fast food.

Friday we stayed in bed all morning, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, no really we read in bed all morning. Beautiful.

Later we went for a drive up the canyon.

We stopped at lava flows, drove to Navajo lake, and drove to the top of Brain Head. It was a lovely outing. Then we took a nap, went for takeout, ate in bed while watching Slumdog Millionaire. That bed was my friend for sure.

It was just such a wonderful weekend. So relaxing, rejuvenating and reconnecting. Thanks to Colleen for the link to the theater tickets, thanks to the families who took on my kids, thanks to Kenneth for running away with me, thanks to Vanessa for the food recommendation, and thanks to me for getting it done, it was soooooo worth it.

Orion's Birthday Party

This was the summer of Orion turning 8 and Harry Potter. As I was preparing for the 6th movie I was re-watching all the previous movies. Orion became obsessed with them. He decided that he wanted to have a Harry Potter birthday party. There were a ton of great resources online for amazing Harry Potter party ideas. I also had outside help from the Maroneys and the Morrisons. Thanks guys, you saved me.

The Maroneys cut out and colored all these candles for our floating candles in the eating area. I thought they looked awesome.

Our gathering game was a tasting of the Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and trying to guess the flavors. They were just jelly belly type ones, so they were safe.

We had a wand selection game. Kenneth made some great wands out of dowel. We had the kids pick a wand and then they took a party popper and pointed it at me, said an animal and "animagus transfigurus" and then pulled the string. It would go off and scare the crap out of me, and then I would act like the animal they said.

We had a sorting. This is the Morrison's cool sorting hat. I would hold the hat over the child's head and they would pick a card which would tell them what house they were in.

They then decorated their hats and made snitches. I can't believe I don't have a picture of the snitches. It was a lot of work and the kids totally did not appreciate them. Grrrrr.

We played Harry Potter charades. A child would act out something scary and the other kids would try to guess what it was and then say, "Riddikulus," after which the child acting out was supposed to do something silly. I don't have any picture of this because I had a new photographer, Ian, who liked to take artistic shots or only video.

We played "capture the snitch" outside. This was the only time that they were split into their houses.

When we came back inside we saw that the cupcakes had been stolen by Peeves, that silly poltergeist. He sent the kids on a treasure hunt to find the dessert.

The kids were able to make potions for their drinks. There was a love potion and a luck potion, pink lemonade and orange juice ice cubes and then they mixed them with lemon-lime soda.

Opened gifts, thank you very much and then out the door, b-bye. It was a lot of fun.