My Ordinary, Every Day, Happily Ever After

April

Courtney — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:20:18 +0000

Before we are banished to the East Coast for the next six years, Matt and I decided to take a month and make the rounds on the West Coast, visiting family, landmarks and making memories, which sufficiently accounts for my unexplained absence.

First stop, Grand Canyon. It is grand indeed. Matt and I have decided to add hiking from rim to rim to our bucket list.

The Grand Canyon is wonderful, but we had our fill with one afternoon (though I’m sure we could have easily spent several days there sans morning sickness and young children). The next day we took the long drive to the Salt Lake area to visit my sister. On the way we made sure to stop and let the kids run off some energy.

We spent a few days visiting with my sister and her family. Love the cousins! Unfortunately my comparatively mild morning sickness decided to kick into full gear while we were there. I don’t imagine I was much fun having to excuse myself to run and find the closest acceptable place to vomit. I swiped the pictures from my sisters blog since she is a much better photographer than I am (though I am impressed with the quality my pictures since they were all taken on our phones.)

After we left Utah, we hit a snowstorm that lasted pretty much the whole next day and put us a day behind in our travels.

But we managed to get to Washington OK the next day to spend a few days with my other sister and more cousins. While we were there we also got to visit with some friends from dental school. I didn’t get enough pictures (none, actually), but we had a blast seeing everyone just the same.

Easter Sunday

From my sister’s house we went on to Matt’s parents. On the way we stopped at the REI flagship store in our old stomping grounds. While there the kids got to play…

And we got a KILLER deal on a brand new Bob Double jogger. And by killer, I mean a $600 stroller marked down to $150, which we paid for with our dividend ($120 after a 20% off coupon). It was in the “bargain basement” because a bar on the suspension adjustment was slightly bent (which, Matt can easily bend back to normal), but honestly, how often do you have to adjust the suspension on your stroller?

We did manage to tear ourselves away from REI early enough to catch the ferry (hurry up and wait). The kids loved the ride.

Matt and I left the kids in the care of Grandma and Grandpa while we searched for a house in NJ. House hunting wasn’t the easiest process, since cost of living is pretty high there and anything we liked was quickly spoken for right after looking for it. We didn’t end up getting a house until we were in Chicago on our return flight. It was a good house with an amazing location and a perfect fenced in backyard. We signed the paperwork only to have the landlords back out a few days later. In the end we did get a great house with an amazing kitchen, a pretty good location but no back yard. At. All. It’s on over 1/2 an acre, but its all in the front and it’s all downhill. So no garden for me, no trampoline for the kids. I’m so sad about that, but it is on a dead end street, so the kids can ride bikes without worrying about traffic and it does have some sort of fruit bearing tree in the front. Not to mention the sledding in the winter. All things considered though, I would rather have a good house with a great backyard than a great house with no backyard. But beggars can’t be choosers right?

The kids had a blast with the grandparents and jumping on the trampoline. They were sad to leave but by this time we had been gone three weeks and we were all ready to be home.

On our return trip we decided to drive down the California coast. My favorite part was Emma asking us to stop and take pictures of the scenery and saying “I’m making memories in my mind!”

No. We didn’t fit

Had to stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory

Shortly after we hit San Francisco…

The beaches and the warmer weather collided.

Jack got tired pretty quickly

At some point a grandma tried to bring my child’s sand eating to my attention. Seriously? You’d think that a mom would know that there is no stopping a two year old from eating sand.

We had several days of driving and beaches and driving and beaches. Then we finally got to San Diego. FYI, we try and stay on military bases as often as possible. They are safer and much less expensive. In our experience Army posts are fine but a little more expensive (compared to the AF, still cheaper than a regular hotel), Air Force bases have nicer facilities for better prices and Navel bases have the absolute BEST locations! We stayed on base at Coronado and apparently we weren’t the only ones with that idea. There were two weddings and a huge family reunion going on at the same time. We got the LAST available room. You can NOT beat a room right on the beach.

As soon as we checked in the kids played on the beach while I laid down (fatigue and nauseousness courtesy of Speck).

The next day, we took advantage of Sea World’s amazing military perks and visited Sea World in San Diego. Armed with carrots, apples and gingersnaps we braved the morning sickness and had a pretty great time. The sun was out and while the sunscreen worked on the kids, it did not work on my pregnant skin. I got a pretty harsh burn, but boy did I look golden once it turned into a tan.

Jack loved Shamu

Our drive back home was uneventful. We stayed at the AFB in Tuscan and Matt got to go for a run with the PJ’s, which was super fun for him, though it did make him revisit the whole “if only” thing again, wishing that he could live long enough to do everything that he wants (like be a CRO). But while on the run, he was surprised that several of the PJ’s were leaving the job to pursue other careers. One was actually going to be a dentist. Hopefully being an oral surgeon and fixing cleft palates and performing face transplants will allow him to feel like he is making a difference in the world.

We had a really good trip, but I can honestly say that a month and 5000 miles driving with four children is WAY too long. The great parts are somewhat dampened by stress, anxiety, fatigue and morning sickness (serious morning sickness).

I know I totally checked out for more than a month, but I’m afraid the hiatus is going to have to continue for a little while longer. We are moving across the country in ten days and my house, while mostly packed, still leaves much to be desired.

Talk to you when I’ve unpacked my house in NJ!

Where have I been?

Courtney — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:23:13 +0000

Here and there.

I promise a more detailed explanation but here is a little taste in the mean time.

Things are not always what they seem

Courtney — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:04:24 +0000

Believe it or not, I don’t plan my trips onto the soap box. In fact every time I write something controversial, I vow I will never write another like it. It would really be much easier for me and probably more enjoyable for you if I could stick to family pictures and updates. It seems like my controversial posts do nothing but upset a handful of my friends and most of my extended family. Frankly, if this country is turning into what I think it is, I really should just shut up and keep my head down.

I don’t post on everything I feel passionately about. I have dozens of article ideas that never come to fruition. I write when I am prompted to write and this time is no different.

What does it mean to you when I say we are a nation of laws, not a nation of men?

That is a phrase that has been floating around in my head a lot the last year and especially the last few days. “Government of laws not of men” is a quote attributed to John Adams’s “Novanglus Papers,” no. 7 and was also used in the Massachusetts Constitution and Bill of Rights.

It means the most just and stable form of government is one where we are governed by the rule of law and that no one person, including those in authority, are above that law.

Aristotle wrote “Laws should govern men”. It’s not enough that the laws be there and that we follow them, the laws themselves must be just and easily understood. Plato, Aristotle’s mentor said:

“Where the law is subject to some other authority and has none of its own, the collapse of the state, in my view, is not far off; but if law is the master of the government and the government is its slave, then the situation is full of promise and men enjoy all the blessings that the gods shower on a state.”

Finally Cicero, in 30 BC said “We are all servants of the laws in order that we may be free.”

The “authority” that the law is subject to, according to Plato is nothing more than reason. If a law doesn’t make sense, then chances are it is not just. The government must bow itself down to reason and justice for all and only then can men truly be free.

About a month ago the alarm on my radio woke me up and started playing the news. I heard about a neighborhood watch member who had shot and killed a young man. That was pretty much all I heard about it until last week, when all of a sudden the story exploded to the forefront of the media.

Now for all intents and purposes, it appears that George Zimmerman is guilty of killing Trayvon Martin in cold blood. There are witnesses that say both that Trayvon attacked George and that George attacked Trayvon. There is evidence of a struggle and according to the police report, George was taken into custody with a broken nose, a head injury and grass stains on his clothing. There is also a surveillance video showing the police escorting George into the station and seemingly examining his clothing and head wound. There are reports of George being a disgruntled, wanna-be cop who had no business following this young man no matter how suspicious his activity. He was told by 911 not to follow Trayvon, but he did anyway. There is also speculation that George was shouting racial slurs as he followed Trayvon. What we know for sure is that George shot and killed Trayvon. Everything else is speculation at this point.

That is the extent of what I know about the case. My opinion is that if George shot Trayvon in cold blood than, since Florida has the death penalty, and being a supporter of the death penalty, I say let him fry. It is also my opinion that if he shot him in self defense, then he should be left alone to live the rest of his life in peace.

So what does this have to do with being a nation of laws not of men? I am disgusted at how people (left, right and center) have politicized this tragedy. A young man is dead and another man at the very least has to live the rest of his life with the knowledge that he has killed someone and at most will be put to death for his crime. That should be the end of it as far as politics and the media are concerned, but this whole event has turned into a circus. A crazy, scary, nightmare of a circus.

I have learned not to take anything at face value. I question with boldness everything, especially if it doesn’t seem quite right. And something about the Trayvon Martin case doesn’t seem quite right.

Before you get upset with me, let me reiterate, if George Zimmerman is guilty, he should fry.

I just have a few questions, why is it that this is only just now becoming headline news when the event took place a month ago? Why is it the only pictures we see of Trayvon are from when he was 12 and 14 years old? Is there not a more current picture of him? Why is it the only picture we see of George is a mug shot? Is there not a less incriminating picture of him? Why do we automatically assume this is a hate crime when we don’t even know for sure if a crime occurred at all?

I have no idea how long a murder investigation takes, however knowing that if the police are operating under the rule of law and due process, then there will not be an arrest until after they have enough evidence for a warrant. Since George hasn’t been arrested, clearly they don’t have said evidence. I don’t think that a month or longer is an unreasonably long amount of time to conduct an investigation. If any law enforcement officers are reading this, please feel free to enlighten me because I can’t find any stats on the internet. And considering George isn’t “on the lamb” or in any other way trying to impede or disrupt this ongoing investigation, I have little reason to suspect that either he, or the police are doing anything wrong.

What else really bothers me is the show the media and the politicians are putting on. It started with Geraldo and is asinine “hoodie” remark. Then it continued with celebrities and politicians trying to cash in on the hoodie remark and in other ways make a “statement” with it. Geraldo was an idiot. I have a green hoodie sweater that I wear nearly every day and it certainly doesn’t make me a hoodlum. Bringing so much attention to the hoodies gives credence to what Geraldo said and you are forcing a negative stereotype where none exists. People are now calling for the Skittles and Arizona Iced Tea companies to share their profits because of the increase in sales they have had since the shooting. So many people are trying to wring this for cash that his own parents are trying to trademark his name.

It is clear to me that there is an agenda being pushed here. I’ve seen articles and posters on Facebook calling for justice to be served, but instead of allowing justice take it’s proper course and following the rule of law, celebrities and politicians alike have encouraged vigilanteism and mob violence. I’ll give you just a few examples:

Spike Lee, a celebrated movie director, retweeted the supposed address of George Zimmerman. Following the twitter trail we see phrases like “let’s go smash this n***”, “let’s turn up the heat on his ***** ***” and “#DEAD”. What did Spike Lee expect to happen? Did he want people to send him flowers or a fruit bouquet? Why on earth would someone do that? To make this disgusting behavior even worse is it was the wrong address. He had retweeted the address of an elderly couple who now have to live out of a hotel and are afraid to go back to their home. They can’t even sell the house. Who would buy it now? Is this justice?
Rosanne Barr retweeted the address of George’s parents and other general nastiness. Is this justice?
This incident has been turned into a “cause”. I’m not exactly sure what the cause is supposed to be for, but someone please tell me how a mob of teens ransacking Walgreens is supposed to “honor” Trayvon’s memory.? It looks more like theft and destruction of property to me. If Trayvon was the great kid everyone says is he was, he wouldn’t want his good name anywhere near that kind of thing. Is this justice?
The New Black Panther Party put a hit out on George Zimmerman with a reward for $10,000. Dead or alive. I have heard the reward is over 35k now and the goal is for $1 million. The leader of the New Black Panther Party has also said that according to “street people’s law” George has already been charged with murder. I wonder if “street people’s law” will give him a trial by jury or will they go straight to the execution. Is this justice?

This is not justice. This is not the country we are supposed to be. Our country was founded on laws and principles of actual rights that are written down in the Constitution; including the right to a trial by jury and due process under the law, and like it or not, in this country we are innocent until proven guilty.

Let’s look at two different scenarios. First, pretend that George is found guilty in a court of law and executed according to Florida statute. Second, George is dragged out of his home in the dead of night and lynched by a mob. Does it stand to reason that because the end result for George is the same, that the two different scenarios are equal? No, of course not. Ends do not justify the means. I would argue quite the opposite. Ends do not justify the means, but means do justify the ends.

Our justice system is imperfect. It’s true. Being human, there is no way for any person or government to execute perfect justice. But the imperfection we have is not the kind where innocent people are routinely jailed or executed, in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Sometimes killers get off and sometimes the guilty go unpunished. But I would rather live in a country where 100 guilty men go free than where one innocent man doesn’t. It’s not a perfect system by any means, but it is the most perfect we have and I argue that it’s the most perfect system possible.

I can’t know for sure why the political elites and talking heads are treating this case they way that they are, but I have my theories.

Where is the outcry over the hate speech? Sarah Palin is blamed for the Gabrielle Gifford shooting because she used the word “target” and yet “let’s go smash this n***”, “let’s turn up the heat on his ***** ***” and “#DEAD” are perfectly ok? Why aren’t we hearing about how calling for vigilanteism isn’t the American way? Why is it, that our president can get up and condemn Rush Limbaugh for one stupid comment but can’t seem to condemn the New Black Panther party for putting a bounty on George Zimmerman’s head or Spike Lee for causing an innocent couple to flee their homes in fear for their lives? Instead our president got up and spoke about how Trayvon could have been his own son, then he asked us to look inside ourselves and see what part we had in Trayvon’s death. I can honestly say I had nothing to do with his death. I also have nothing to do with the riots and retweeting and threatening that came shortly thereafter.

Why this case? Why this shooting? Did you know that there 49 people gunned down on St. Patrick’s day weekend in Chicago? Ten of those 49 were killed. 10 people killed in one city during one weekend, including a six year old little girl caught in the crossfire of a gang war. Why aren’t we hearing about her? Five of those 49 people were shot in within one hour. Why aren’t we hearing about how dangerous Chicago is?

I believe in addition to encouraging chaos and sowing seeds of discrimination and hate in an election year, the reason why we are hearing all about Trayvon and nothing about Aliyah is because Florida has a “stand your ground” law and Illinois, along with DC, has the strictest gun control laws in the country. It doesn’t take much of an imagination to guess what the gun grabbers are saying about Florida’s gun laws; however a string of 49 shootings in one city during one weekend in the only state in the country where concealed or open carry is entirely prohibited just doesn’t fit the narrative. Don’t believe me? Let’s just wait and see how this plays out. In the coming weeks and months you will see exactly what they will use Trayvon’s murder for.

Trayvon Martin’s death is a tragedy, if he was shot in cold blood than Zimmerman should be punished to the full extent of the law, but please don’t let yourself be manipulated. The truth has no agenda and should be told regardless of how well it fits the story line.

Jack Jack

Courtney — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:27:43 +0000

Sometimes Jack will set himself up at the kitchen table with a couple of toys and play for an hour or so.

I love it when that happens!

“What are you doing, Mom?”

“Can I hold it?”

Reading Eggs

Courtney — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:23:33 +0000

I was able to review Reading Eggs for several weeks and I must say, I was very impressed!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have a reluctant reader, so any chance to use a program for review is fine by me!

I was impressed with Reading Eggs from the start. The animation is great, the characters are engaging and it wasn’t at all boring for the kids.

When we first logged on, Emma and Spencer each did an assessment of sorts to figure out where they should start. Spencer started on map one, Emma map three. Lucy skipped the reading eggs part all together and went straight to “Continue the Reading Journey”.

When you start your lessons you are greeted with a cute little duck that “walks” you through your lessons on the map (you can change the animal if you want). There was also an ant named Sam who gives your child the lessons. For each correct answer your child earns golden eggs.

Spencer (4): He did really well with this. At the start of our trial period, Spencer knew few letters and even fewer sounds and I hadn’t worked on him at all with recognizing numbers. By the end of our trial he had mastered nearly every lesson and could recognize the numbers too (even though it was just reading, no math).

My only hang up was since we are using a laptop, we have a touch pad and it was difficult for Spencer to figure out how to drag the letters and icons where they needed to be. On the part where he was supposed to match the word with the right picture it took so long with the touch pad that for some reason the program would not let him advance. Once he had gone through it I had to do over again so that it was fast enough to go to the next part.

The transition from letters to words is seamless and well thought out.

After his first “quiz” (every ten lessons) I got an email that said:

Emma (7): Emma did really well with this too. She really looked forward to her computer time and completed 75 lessons in the few weeks were able to use it! To be perfectly honest, however, I didn’t pay nearly as much attention to Emma’s experience as Spencer’s. She seems to be more confident though.

Lucy (9): Lucy was really excited at first. By the end of the trial period she was over it. She had basically done everything worth doing and since Lucy is not a “game” person on the computer, she got bored pretty quickly. Apparently real books are more fun than computer ones

I would say that Emma and Spencer thrived with the program until they found the game portion. After that they were more interested in playing the games than the lessons, then our trial was up.

I would say that Reading Eggs is by far, the best online reading program I have used! If I were to purchase any online reading program, it would be this one! I am definitely considering it for Spencer and maybe Emma. Not for Lucy though, she was bored with it.

Reading Eggs is $9.95 a month, $49.95 for six months or $75 a year. If you sign up additional children at the same time you get a 50% off discount off the price of your additional children.

The folks over at Reading Eggs should be pleased with the program they have put together. And it is the most cost-effective program I have seen to date.

The only improvements I would make would be:

less games and other “fluff” to distract the kiddos
I would LOVE an iPad app!!

New Winner!

Courtney — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:59:14 +0000

Since the winner for the Mercy River CD never claimed her prize our new winner is…

LYNDSEY!

Fair and square Email me or you don’t get it (no special treatment because we’re related )

A Day at the Park

Courtney — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:27:36 +0000

Just trying to take advantage of the sun while I still can. Thank you New Mexico Springs!

Hi Mom!!

“Eeeeee!”

Wook Mom!! I’m Cwimbing a tree!

Mercy River Winner

Courtney — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 19:17:24 +0000

And our winner is…

WENDY! Make sure you email me (use the “contact” link in my nav bar) within a week to claim your prize, otherwise I will pick someone new

K-5 Learning

Courtney — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 02:18:07 +0000

Some of you may or may not know that I am the mother of a reluctant reader.

Emma is funny, she is perfectly capable of reading, but when faced with the task of actually doing it, she hems and haws, looks around and then claims “But I CAN’T read!”. Even with an American Girl Doll carrot in front of her face, she has shown little more than a passing interest in refining her skills, while poor Elizabeth collects dust in the laundry room.

I went hunting for something that would excite her desire to practice her reading skills with a minimal amount of money and effort on my part (not because I’m lazy, but because I have a house to pack… maybe I’m a little lazy.)

I was more than willing when I was able to review K5 Learning! We were able to use it for five full weeks for each of my kids.

A little background:

What is K5?

K5 Learning is an online reading and math enrichment program for kids in kindergarten to grade 5. Watch your children master reading and math as they work at their own level and their own pace through a personalized program of over 3,000 interactive multimedia tutorials and activities.

Designed principally for after school study and summer study, K5 is also used by homeschoolers, special needs and gifted kids. K5 helps your children build good study habits and excel in school.

K5 Learning is intended as a supplement for reading, math and spelling curriculum, not a replacement for it. You can see several sample lessons on their website where you can also sign up for a 14 day free trial (no credit card required).

What did my kids think?

Spencer (4): He just clicked every which way and all over. Above his level. I wouldn’t suggest it for pre-readers since it seems to focus more on sight words than phonics for the pre-reader level.

Emma (7): She loved it! She thought it was a lot better than the previous program we had tried. I felt it was a little heavy on the game aspect but mostly my biggest problem with it was that Emma worked on her math (which she is a pro at) much more than her reading (which is what I wanted her to focus on) which, obviously, is not K5 Learning’s fault at all.

Lucy (9): Lucy seemed to do well and like it a lot. She really liked the math as well. Lucy didn’t seem to like the games though, she tolerated them to get through to the lessons.

What did I think? I liked it. The kiddos seemed to learn while enjoying it at the same time. I especially liked the assessments. The girls each took a 30 minute “tests”. One on reading skills and one on their math skills. Sometimes it was frustrating for them because it was intentionally pushing their limits, but they managed to get through it ok. A few hours later I was emailed their report which looked something like this:

Lucy has done very well, scoring at or above grade level in the majority of the skill areas. You may want to review the numbers and operations. The slightly lower score may have been one you expected or a lapse in concentration during the assessment. If she’s finding these lessons too easy, we can change the level of her numbers and operations.

For Lucy, her reading scores are:

Phonemic Awareness – exempt

Phonics – mid-grade 3

Sight Words – high grade 3

Vocabulary – low grade 4

Reading Comprehension – low grade 4

Sometimes I was a little frustrated when one of them wouldn’t read something carefully enough or try and speed through and they would make silly mistakes, but overall, I liked the program a lot and thought it was well done and kept the kids engaged.

K5 Learning is $25 a month for the first child or $199 a year. Each additional child is $15 a month or $129 a year. This includes unrestricted access to all grade levels in K5 Reading, K5 Math, K5 Math Facts and K5 Spelling.

Mercy River

Courtney — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 22:44:10 +0000

Here is the new video for one of the great songs on Mercy River’s new album, Higher. One more day to enter my giveaway!