Schoolwork

School has been in session for 3 weeks now. I'm glad I check my kids' work, because it makes me laugh.

Samuel showed me a returned test he did really well on, scoring 27/30. One of the points he missed answered this question:
"How might a geographer divide up the earth to study and why?"
He wrote, "A geographer might divide the earth into longitude and latitude to study because he has a test on it."

He made a snarky comment on a test!


Lisy waited too long to do homework. Her Ritalin had worn off. She asked me to help her focus, which I cannot do for her but wish I could. I did try to encourage her while I folded towels and then made dinner. Her assignment was to put her spelling words in sentences. Let's say I began to feel a little frustrated after awhile:

She'd better finish her homework.
You haven't finished your homework?!
Shouldn't you be doing your homework?

It's like she took the words right out of my mouth and placed them on the paper. Sigh.


Benjamin's spelling sentences were more amusing (and less embarrassing for me):

Eating cacti is very unpleasant.
Having superpowers can enable you to break your feet.
Because of your long and boring speech, I'm uninspired.
You kissing a warthog is unlikely and disturbing.
People that are spoiled are always unsatisfied.
            (Dominic and I find this last one very profound.)

Parents Are Scary

The boys are old enough (10 and 11) to think they are big enough to take down their father. What they don't realize is that Dominic wrestled in high school, took Akido lessons on his mission, and is practiced in take-down procedures for work. They didn't stand a chance.

The three of them started wrestling. Dominic used some of his incapacitating moves on his sons. Benjamin wouldn't give up, or tap out, for a long time. Samuel, on the other hand, tapped out quickly. He ran and hid behind me saying, "I never knew Dad was so scary!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When my alarm goes off on a weekday morning, I am not in a good mood. I tend to have very negative thoughts about daytime, school, etc. One morning I was making breakfast for Dominic and Samuel after the elementary school kids (Rachel, Elisa, and Benjamin) had left for the bus. I realized that I felt much better, kinder, and happier once I fully woke up. It was a stark contrast to my initial thoughts of the day. I voiced my observations aloud. 

Dominic said, "Whoa, really?"

Samuel's laugh sounded surprised and nervous. "Note to self," he chuckled, "never wake Mom up. Send someone else in, wait 10 minutes, then talk to her!"