Wow….I wrote this post on November 15th, just one day before Kojo turned a year old. And now look…it’s more than a month later and I’m JUST now posting it. WTH….I must get better at my personal blogging!
Here ya go:
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Tomorrow Kojo turns a year old!! This has literally been the fastest year that
I can remember. It seems like the older I get, the faster time goes. UGH….
Anyhow, yes, my baby turns ONE tomorrow! We were planning to have a little
party for him on Saturday, but I am in between on canceling it, because I sort
of don’t have the money. And I don’t even have a good head-count for who is
expected to come, really. We’re only had small get-togethers for the kids in
the past. But this one would be a bit bigger, with potentially maybe 25
people! Holy crap! I figured if we have it, I could just order cheap Little
Caeser’s pizza for $5.00 each (maybe 4 pizzas), get some sodas, and a couple
bottle of wine for those that like wine. I don’t even know if I have enough
seating for that many people, or what I would even do to offer entertainment
for all those people! We’re not big entertainers, but I really would like to
learn how to be one. In fact, I’m trying to get the basement together so that
we would be more able to have people over in a larger space. We shall see…..
Anyhow, if we decide to have it, it needs to be determined NOW instead of
waiting till the last minute. Let me check with people and see if they can
still come over.
Things are going well in the Appiah household, generally, although most days I
feel like I’m coming home to a war zone: kids running to me, Kwasi in a pissy
mood, sometimes no dinner prepared, and there I am walking in at 630 p.m. with
groceries full of frozen prepared food because no one has cooked anything
home-cooked. I usually feel like our life is so busy and so unstructured and
just all over the place. I seriously am terrible at planning meals and getting
affordable food and planning with coupons. And I hate cooking, although I know
it’s a necessary thing, during the times when Kwasi’s busy or just doesn’t
feel like cooking. I feel like I could be doing a much better job at managing
my family. Maybe that will be my goal for 2013….
Kwabena is doing well with school. We just had his parent-teacher conferred on
the 12th, and we met with his reading teacher, Mrs. Zarchin. I really love
her! She’s outgoing, but knows how to set boundaries with Kwabena. He’s doing
exceptionally well with his reading; now we just have to get his writing up to
par, to get him to go further in being able to answer “Why?” when he writes.
He got “P” (Proficient) for nearly everything on his report card, whereas (per
Mrs. Zarchin) many kids would have gotten “I” (In Progress). That’s excellent!
He got some “ES”s too, which means his exceptional. The only negative thing is
that he got “I”s for Physical Education. His PE teacher, Mr. Lyons, said via
email this when I emailed him:
WHAT I SAID:
“Good afternoon, Mr. Lyons,
I am Kwabena Appiah’s mom, Serena, and I just wanted to ask about the grading
of “I” (In Progress) that he got for PE. His reading teacher, Mrs. Zarchin,
with whom we had met, wasn’t sure on what criteria he was being graded. I was
hoping you could expand on the criteria and why Kwabena got a grading of “I”.
Feel free to reply by email, or if more explanation is needed (or if it’s
easier for you), you may call me. Thank you for your clarifications!”
WHAT HE SAID:
“Mrs. Appiah,
Thank you for your email, I am always happy to provide clarification on
grades, especially since grading in PE has changed with the implementation of
Curriculum 2.0. Looking over Kwabena’s PE grades, he scored an “I” on
locomotor movements, “P” on spatial awareness and an “I” on rules and safety.
Locomotor movements are a movement skills and concept assessment. Kwabena was
not able to proficiently demonstrate the various locomotor movements upon
verbal prompting i.e. skipping, galloping, hopping, jumping, sliding. He
consistently mixed up movements (skipping when asked to gallop, jumping when
asked to hop), or did not demonstrate parts of the movements to score
proficiency (would take several steps running in-between skips).
Spatial awareness is being able to identify self-space versus general space,
along with moving throughout the gym while maintaining self-space and general
space, levels, directions, and pathways.
Rules and safety included being able to identify the rules and expectations in
PE, safety cues that apply to PE, demonstrating safe behavior, and following
the rules in PE. Kwabena was continually off-task and demonstrating non-safe
behavior, even following corrections and quick conversations I had with him in
PE (i.e. chasing other students – including when expected to remain seated or
still, throwing objects at other students, wrestling other students).
In the 2nd marking period Kwabena will be assessed on throwing underhand
(while stepping with the opposite foot), catching an underhand thrown ball
(tracking through the air, reaching away from his body, and using the hands to
catch – not trapping against his chest), and relationships of body parts
(round, narrow, wide, twisted, symmetrical, nonsymmetrical), and the effects
of exercise on the heart, lungs, and skin (heart beats faster, lungs breathe
faster, skin sweats to cool body).
I hope this helps clarify the grading for the 1st marking period, and provides
an overview for grading in the 2nd marking period as well.
Regards,
Chris Lyons
Physical Education Teacher
Cloverly ES”
WHAT I REPLIED:
“Thank you for the feedback, Mr. Lyons,
I understand your grading now. Looks like Kwabena might be a bit
uncoordinated, as per your description of what he was being graded on (i.e.
skipping, hopping), and is getting confused about how to do these activities.
I haven’t had any knowledge that he was expected to be able to perform these
activities and that he wasn’t performing them proficiently; therefore, I was
surprised to see his grading of “I” for Physical Education. I also was unaware
that he had some issues with following the safety rules. He gets daily reports
sent home from his home room that (mostly) have stated he’s had “stars” (i.e.
a great day) for his behavior. There haven’t been any notes home to inform us
that he’s not following the rules in PE.
Now that we are aware of this, we will be sure to reinforce these activities
and safety rules at home. I would also request from you that if Kwabena is
having trouble performing basic movements and/or meeting behavioral
expectations (i.e. if you’re having to report yourself regarding rules),
please send home a note (or email me) to let me know that Kwabena is not on
target, so that they can be addressed before report time. Thanks!”
WHAT HE REPLIED:
“Mrs. Appiah,
Kwabena overall is doing fine in PE, an “I” is not a failing grade, it just
means Kwabena is “In-Progress” aka still working to develop proficiency in
those skills, an “N” would be “not yet making progress” which would not be a
passing grade. I know he will get to proficiency with time and reinforcement!
At Cloverly’s “Academic Night” myself along with the Art and Music teacher put
together a video that was shown to parents explaining how students in each
grade level are assessed. Unfortunately, students do not receive progress
reports from specials in school; we are unable to send weekly reports home for
each student as that would mean preparing approximately 500 reports each week.
Please keep in mind that PE is drastically different than the classroom in
terms of behavior, PE is a very dynamic and stimulating environment, involving
continuous movement which can easily cause a student’s behavior to change.
Kwabena’s behavior has not been severe enough to warrant contact home.
Typically verbal correction is enough to get him back on track. As stated in
my previous email rules and safety will not be assessed this marking period,
however if Kwabena demonstrates consistent unsafe behavior, I will be sure to
contact you. Please feel free to check in with me anytime about Kwabena if you
are interested in his grades throughout the marking period. Thank you for your
help in reinforcing rules and safety at home.”
WHAT I REPLIED LASTLY:
“Mr. Lyons,
I am aware that “I” isn’t a failing grade. I was just concerned because he’s
“P” and “ES” in all his other areas. Kwabena is a playful kid that, when in
highly stimulating environments (such as PE), it’s not unusual for him to
“forget” or ignore rules and such. We will definitely reinforce the rules at
home. 🙂
I’m glad that I contacted you for the clarification, and please, if there’s
any need to contact me, please feel free to do so. Thanks again!”
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So, anyhow, it was a good email exchange. I hope I don’t sound snarky, because
that isn’t how I was trying to come across. But I do want them to alert me if
there is anything I should be supporting Kwabena with at home, instead of
waiting until the marking period is over, you know?
Okay, on to Ohene….He’s doing very well, too! He’s such a spitfire, that
kid…. Maybe it has to do with being the middle child and trying to get
attention. Who knows. But he’s the one I’m going to have to watch. He’s sneaky
(with getting and doing things he knows he shouldn’t), and he’s got attitude
like you wouldn’t believe. I was just thinking of some funny things he’s said
to me, like the time I was in the bathroom after my shower and he was standing
there and said out of the blue: “Mommy, when you walk, your butt goes like
this [insert jiggle walk here].” OMG, hilarious!!
And the things he was saying at Halloween! We’d gone trick or treating that
night in the neighborhood, and he was so proud of himself for not being shy
when going up to knock on doors. Next thing you know, he’s asking people
questions when they answer the door, “Why your face look like that?” or “Why
you dressed like that [witch]?” and there was even a man with a Caribbean
accent, and because Ohene only hears me do fake accents while we’re driving,
he assumed the man was faking it, too. We walked up and the man asked him what
he was for Halloween. He replied, “I’m a tired ninja.” LOL. Then he proceeded
to tell the man, “Why you talk like that? Don’t talk like that!” HAHAHA. He
had no idea….. Funny! He’s my little spitfire, I tell ya….
And Kojo is starting to repeat words! The other day I recorded him saying
“ball” for the first time! And I was trying to teach him to call, “Brother!”
and he’s got the 2 syllables, but he’s not saying it yet. But oh my, he’s
soooo freakin’ cute. Too adorable! His obsession lately are peoples’ eyes. He
loves to touch eyes, and he knows the word, but can’t say it. I’m trying to
teach him hair and nose and ears, but that will come in time. Oh, and he’s
pointing, thank GOD! I’ve always heard about babies not pointing by a year old
can be a marker for autistm, so you know it’s one of the things I look for!
Thank God he points! 🙂
Kwasi is doing okay. He claims he doesn’t want to have the party this weekend,
because of whatever reason, that he doesn’t like people….doesn’t have the
money….etc. But I know that he will not regret it once he is in the midst of
socializing. He seriously doesn’t have enough socializing, and I think he
would appreciate it. It’s his birthday, too, on the Wednesday, Nov. 21st. So
the party would be a time for his friends to come together and have a few
drinks, too. Why not, right???? Just gotta make it affordable. Some pizza,
soda, and light snacks. And a few bottles of wine. That’s about it. Just gotta
figure out seating, too. And clean the house. Oh, DEFINITELY gotta do that!
Now for me….I’m doing well, overall. Just feeling overwhelmed at times with
trying to clean the house, take care of the kids, and TRY to get some projects
started. I know I want too much for myself, when I probably should just be
focusing on being a mom. But I can’t do that. I have to paint, I have to blog,
I love projects, and I want to be productive and create a beautiful, cozy home
for us. It is just much more time consuming than I ever imagined it would be.
The highlight of my being able to manage stuff is that I’m at least on top of
the laundry! Remember when I used to have piles and piles of it sitting around
in the laundry room? Well, thank GOD that I am able to stay on top of keeping
things folded and in the right pile. And–GASP!–I’m even able to get some of
it put away! Lol
I’ve been thinking about myself and how I do things, lately, and I realize
that I’m such a good self-started, but I lose steam fast and end up moving on
to the next project that gets me energized. I’ve decided that I no longer can
operate that way. I want to start something and finish it. For example, I was
reading the Game of Thrones series. I stopped on Book #4 because it lost my
interest and that’s right when I stopped nursing so I didn’t have much reading
time. And then there was a lag, and then I picked up 50 Shades of Grey! Same
thing with my TV watching– I am watching The Wire on HBO GO, and I almost
started watching Breaking Bad, which I stopped myself, because then I would
end up in another cycle of something I start (The Wire) but never finish. I
hate that about myself. I don’t know why I do that.
I’ve got so many projects around the house that I started but never fully
finished; there’s always SOMETHING that was left undone, and it’s hard to go
back and have the same motivation to get it done. But moving forward, I am
going to do my best to pull myself out of that trap of starting but not
finishing, so that I teach my kids valuable lessons about starting and
completing, you know? I don’t want to raise quitters….
And let’s talk career for a second. So you know I’m trying to do this blogging
thing, but I think I have been approaching it all wrong. I’ve been treating
what I WANT to be a business, as a HOBBY. My blogging has been sporadic at
times…..and then I feel like I can do everything by myself (design my blog,
etc.)….when, in fact, if I want Thrift Diving to operate as a business, I
need to treat Thrift Diving as a business. Last week I put together a list of
20 questions to ask myself before starting a business (via Small Business
Administration), and it was sort of like a business plan. It was eye-opening.
There are a lot of things I want to do with Thrift Diving: painting classes,
selling furniture and clothes, and even going to people’s homes to provide
consultations. But I never know how to take it to the next level. I guess one
thing I identified was that I need to get my skills up to par. I need to learn
painting techniques and different crafting tools, etc., so that I can become
an expert in my field. Right now, I’ve got the heart for it, but do I have the
skills? And if not, I need to get to learning them. Yesterday I learned about
brown paper floors! I think I am probably the last in the field to have heard
about something like this, but it looked COOL, and some people on my FB page
said that they’d tried it on furniture and walls. So that’s what I need to
do–experiment with different stuff, techniques, ideas, and then inspire
others to try them, as well.
So what do I need to do to become successful?
When I go home in the evening and get the kids to get, I’ve got from 9 p.m. to
whatever time. I can stay up. In fact, I enjoy staying up. But I also get
exhausted. And if I have no plan of what my evening activities are supposed to
be, I get easily distracted. Well, it’s time to buckle down. I love this
blogging thing. In fact, a guy I was talking to from a popular blog, Budgets
Are Sexy, said to me (in fact, he lives in this area), asked me, “If you
weren’t doing this [blogging], what else would you be doing that was better?”
And I realized, NOTHING. I’m not a corporate person. I’m not a
sit-at-your-desk-9-to-5 person (although that’s been my life for the past
God-knows-how-many-years….). But that’s not me. I want to be creating. I
want to be DOING. But I’ve gotten sucked into this research job for the
benefits and the fact that we have to pay the mortgage, etc. But this job is
just a job. Hell, some days it’s not even that–it’s a place I come to, to be
able to sit for 30 minutes and type a long blog post (like right now! Lol). In
some ways, I love this job for that–that extra time I get here at work that
allows me to work on personal stuff that otherwise I would have to do at home
that I just don’t have time to do–like pay bills, write a personal blog post,
research stuff, etc. It’s laid back and ZERO stress. And it’s a decent salary
for not a lot of work. And I can’t see myself leaving, because of these
benefits. But in the meantime, I need to be able to get my blog off the ground
and keep it moving in the profitable direction. I got to figure out how to do
that, because I see other girls/blogs doing it. I should be able to, too!!!!
Well, this post is long enough. Better try to do SOME work today. Oh, who
cares. I think I’ll research some more basement makeovers 😉
END
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