Well, here we go again, ONE down ONE to go for my son, ZERO down TWO to go for my daughter!

This time it is my son and daughter who are testing today.  I pray that they do well.  My son seemed to have a better attitude than my daughter today and I was happy to see that he was happy, but I had to perk her up just a bit before she got out of the car this morning.

Just to make them feel relaxed and loved, last night I ordered their favorite meal, YES... PIZZA, I gave them a PEP TALK, I then gave each of them a MASSAGE and we PRAYED as momma was spoiling them.  I wanted them to unwind as much as possible before today.  I worry about them and I want so badly for them to do well on these tests the first time, so that they don't have to go back and have to worry about doing it for a 2nd time.  Anyway, I will be spending my time today, every hour on the hour saying my affirmation in favor of my children.  Not only did I pray for my children last night, but I prayed for "your" children as well.  I want to see all of them press forward and succeed.  We all know how I feel about the TAKS test.  It's a pity that they let this test hold so much power.

Anyway, have a grand-old day!  And stay tuned for the outcome.

~AR

Well the semester is nearing the end.  I always like this time of year because it allows you to breath deep, in other words EXHALE.

This has really been a hectic semester.  I am in school, I have a 12 year old and an 8 year old in school, I work full-time, my husband works full-time, there are other extra curricular activities going on and we just have busy lives.  I know someone out there can relate to this.

Today was a very beautiful day and I actually took a break at work and went outside to enjoy it.  There is a wonderful breeze blowing and the temperature is just right... and why are we at work/school not enjoying this you say?  Go figure.  I would much rather be on someones beach relaxing.

Just wanted to drop a few words to all of you and I hope you enjoy this day as I have enjoyed 30 minutes of it (I know that is a long break considering I am at work, right?).  If you don't tell, I won't tell.

Have A Nice Day!

~AR

Hello All,

My baby walked through the door with his chest stuck out and very proud of himself.  His confidence was bigger than his head (and that is pretty big let me tell you).  :-))

Just joking.  He said mom (with such excitement) I passed my Reading TAKS test and so did the class.  The whole 3rd grade scored a 95% pass rate.  Ms. xx told us she was so proud of us (and you can see that this meant the world to him)!

Well of course since his mom promised to take him out to eat when he passes his test, he definitely did not forget to remind me.  So off to Chili's we went last night.  He was so happy, proud and energetic.  You could tell a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

I just loved seeing him this way.  Usually he is really reserved, but last night, he really let loose.  So I let him because he really deserved it.  Afterwards, the family took a late evening ride on the 610 loop, it was so refreshing.  We all had a good nights rest and woke up just as happy.  It really does feel good to be happy for a change.  With everything that goes on in our lives everyday, a little happiness sure goes a long way.

I wish you and yours as much happiness that we experienced in one evening.

~AR

Hello ALL,

Guess What?  I promised that I would keep all of you posted.  MY SON PASSED HIS TAKS TEST!  Isn't that fabulous?  I was so excited.

I received a call early this morning (7:18 AM) and his teacher told me she could not wait to tell me that, "Our Baby passed the test!!!"  She was so excited.  I was so happy to hear from her and more than that, I was happy that she was so excited and happy.  She sounded as if she needed to exhale as well.

I am so proud of him, I didn't tell him she called because she wanted to be the one to break the news to her class that they did such a great job on the test.  So I had to sit in silence all the way until I dropped him off at school this morning.  I was about to explode.  Well, now I have to act as if I still don't know when I get home so that he can give mama the good news!  I AM SO EXCITED I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!

Thanks to all of you for the wonderful words of advice, wisdom and more than that, thank you for all of the PRAYERS!

~AR

I always like this time of week.  It means I get to do more things.. other than work!  Isn't that exciting?

I think I will catch a movie, celebrate my nephew's birthday and go to the Houston Rodeo and go to the carnival to enjoy the rides.

I hope your weekend is full of fun and excitement.

Talk to you soon!

~AR

Richard supplied me with great information!  I think we should fight for our children and get these people "that probably don't have any experience in education" to see the light.

By the way, they gave the students an additional 2 hours to complete the test.  I begged my son to take his time and if he needed until 5PM to complete the test, then by all means do so.  I told him to please read over the passages several times if it took that in order for him to understand.  I think I was more stressed than he was.  Anyway, I emailed his teacher to find out how long it took him to complete his test and she said he stayed until 3:10 PM to finish his test.  I was happy to hear that and I hope that he did well.  I will keep you posted.

Also, he was sick by the time I picked him up yesterday and I just know in my heart it had everything to do with that STUPID test!  As a result, he is at home with my mother today still trying to get well.  I felt so sorry for him and now that I think about it, he was showing signs of "going under" the day before the test and he is usually such a perky and happy child always.

THANKS TAKS PEOPLE... YOU REALLY DID IT THIS TIME!

~AR

My son is pretty nervous about having to take this test.  I think it is simply ridiculous that the children's destiny is dependent upon a test.  No matter what you do during the year, if you don't pass this test, you don't go on to the next grade.

This is absolute absurd!  What if they decide to do nothing during the school year and make sure they pass the TAKS Test, then do they pass to next grade...?  NO, that's not happening!  Then and only then will what you do in class count as well.

I happen to think this is backwards and something needs to be done about this so that they do not stress our children out so much.  I really HATE this test. 

I think that I will put forth my energy in praying for him and believing in him rather than expressing my pure HATRED for this test... it takes tooooo much energy!

Anyway, I will let you all know the result when I get them.

~AR

There is some kind of terrible virus going around.  I had to pick-up my little boy from school this morning 45 minurtes after his arrival.  I already had a scheduled teacher conference (9AM) this morning and I couldn't get my foot out of the door soon enough before the school nurse called to say that he was running a temperature.

So, he slept in the nurses office until my meeting was over and I kept him at home.  So that means I missed a day of work.  Not that I'm all that broken up over it, but I do like to save as much time as possible for the summer vaction so that I don't have to rush back to work.  Anyway, one day lost for summer vacation.

He seems to be OK, but could use more medication, fluids, and sleep.  I may have to keep him home again tomorrow, but lets hope he feels better by then.  My nephew missed two days of school this week over the same illness.  He is much better now, but he so hurt that he was sick.  He talked to me and told me that he wasn't feeling good and he said he just wanted to rest... get that 5 years old and just want to rest!  Now you know he was sick (hahaha).  Five year olds don't rest!

Talk to you soon!

~AR

Hello All,

Yesterday was absolutely awesome!  My family and I power washed the outside of the house, played catch, shot hoops, went grocery shopping and washed the cars.  It was such a nice thing to actually spend some nice quality time with my family.  We don't usually do this too often, but yesterday we certainly took advantage of it.

I just can't get over what a wonderful time it was.  My husband put some boudin and sausages on the pit and we MUNCHED OUT!  It was good, too!  Can't wait to get home and eat more of it.

Anyway, have a great rest of the day and I will keep you all updated on "A Day In The Life of A!"  Peace-Out

I purchased prepaid film roll developing for the thousands of undeveloped film that I have stored in my closet, I purchased a gallon of "Garrett's Popcorn," and I helped sponsored my play brother, who lives in California, for participating in the American Stroke Association Marathon.  Ooooooohhhhhh, I am gonna get it!

My husband is going to think I have lost my mind.  Because I have just a little bit more to buy when I get off work.  I am so excited - SHOP TIL YOU DROP!!

By the way, here is the link to Garrett's Popcorn, "This is THE BEST POPCORN IN THE WORLD!!!"   http://www.garrettpopcorn.c...

Order some and tell me how you like it.

~AR,