Nothing to Lose

My girls love music and art. They are constantly singing, dancing and creating. Boo especially loves art and is constantly crafting. She is forever getting out art supplies and cutting, gluing, drawing - you name it, she loves it. Boo couldn't wait for 1st grade so she could attend "specials," and finally be able to go to art class like her big sister. If you ask her what her favorite thing about school is, she will tell you without blinking an eye, "art." She enjoys music too, and will sing often, but art is definitely her favorite.

Kiki is definitely the more musical child. She sings nonstop and just about anywhere and everywhere. I am not exaggerating when I say everywhere - the child sings while using the bathroom! Her new favorite place to sing right now? In the shower! She loves music class at school and I can always tell you what they are doing in music because she will come home singing the songs she's learned in class. When they have a special event they learning songs for, such as the Veteran's Day assembly, she rehearses every chance she gets. By the time the event comes, I could practically sing the songs in my sleep, I've heard them so much. While Kiki enjoys art, she would tell you music is her favorite.

The art and music teachers at their school are wonderful. Both of them really know how to make their subject fun, but also teach the students valuable skills that relate to what they are learning in the regular classroom. They don't just sing and draw, but the learn all about technique, patterns, reading notes, art mediums, composers and artists. I could go on and on. Just recently Kiki told me her favorite classical music song was Beethoven's 5th Symphony and she knew and could pronounce the composer's name of The Nutcracker (Tchaikovsky, in case you didn't know). And she's only in third grade.

I can't imagine school without art and music class. These subjects, while enjoyable, also help make our children well rounded. They learn that math can be found in a song or a painting and not just in a textbook. Music makes learning those subjects more fun too - anyone learning to count or spell with a song can tell you that. And for a child who may struggle in math or reading, excelling at something such as art or music can really boost self esteem, which goes along way to helping them succeed in school.

Due to slowing economy and budget cuts, our school district, and many others across the state, may have to cut art and music in grades K-6. We may also lose our media specialists, nurses and clerical staff. Class sizes may increase from and average of 25 to 44 students. When I first heard of this last week, my heart sank. I felt sick to my stomach. And I am not even one of the teachers that may be affected by those cuts. Just the thought of my girls and all of the students missing out on such important education, makes me sad. I want to cry when I think of losing the loving and dedicated art, music and media teachers.

I have a college degree in Education. I've never been fortunate enough to have my own classroom, but I've subbed, was a teacher's aide for a student with special needs, and I now volunteer regularly in my daughters' classrooms. I know how hard these teachers work every day and that they often go above and beyond for their students. I see the passion these teachers have at our school for educating our youth. Despite the fact that they have 25-30 kids in their classrooms, they manage to help each student the best that they can. They do what they can to make sure students who are struggling get extra help, and challenge everyone to do their personal best.

I can't imagine how difficult teaching will be if there are 44 students to a classroom. How are they are going to be able to focus on making sure kids can read, write and add and also find time to teach art and music? If they manage to find a way to the media center, they will likely only be checking out books. There won't be anyone to teach them lessons on the computer or involve them in an author study.

I am not a politician and I don't particularly like politics. Part of my disdain is that politicians of all shapes and sizes say they are going to make education a priority in this country. Yet every single one of them seems to put it on the back burner the second they are elected into office. Our schools are losing money by the day and no one seems to care. Everything else takes a priority, and I just don't get it. When are people going to realize education is our future? That none of the rest of it would happen if we didn't have teachers and schools to help educate our children. Sure we could all home school. I know there are some really great parents who have had great experiences homeschooling their children. But not everyone has the means or ability to home school. Even with my background, I am not so confident that I could do so and be as successful as the classroom teachers are.

Our country is failing when it comes to education, and something has got to change. Education is becoming for the privileged, and everyone else is left to get by on whatever they can afford. Which for most means no special classes, no opportunities to learn about music, art and technology.

I hear so many people say they don't want tax increases, that they can't afford to spend money on schools and education. And of course not nearly enough people want to devote time to figuring out a solution. Politicians are too busy campaigning to really come up with a good education plan that they will implement past election day. I keep hearing "we can't afford it." My question is, can we afford to continue this way? Can we neglect our children and schools to the point that our country falls apart? By devoting our money and resources to improving education, we have everything to gain. As a country, we could only get better. Seriously, what is there to lose?

Politics Schmolitics

Anyone that knows me well, knows I am not normally one to get into politics. I usually despise politics and will avoid political discussions at all costs and so far have avoided blogging about it. As I sit here and listen to the debates, I am quickly reminded why I despise this topic so much.

As I listen to both McCain and Obama make their promises, I can't help but feel slightly annoyed. Every person running for office, whether it be a spot on the city council, school board, Mayor, Governor, PRESIDENT, makes promises they just can't keep. So as I listen to tonight's debate, I am hearing the same talking points over and over on both sides, and both candidates promising to fix the economy, education, health care, energy, etc. Well we all know no one can keep that many promises!

I can only hope that whomever is elected, does SOMETHING, ANYTHING, about the Health Care crisis in our country. Every four years a President has been elected into office, and every four years that person promised to fix health care. Yet I have seen little, if anything, done to fix this crisis.

I have two children, so this is an especially sensitive topic for me. Both of my girls have allergies and asthma. Both of them have seen their fair share of the pediatrician, specialists and the ER. I can't imagine not having insurance and having to pay for all of this out of pocket all of the time.

In January 2007, we switched our health care plan through Bill's work to a High Deductible Health Plan with a Health Savings Account. We set aside a certain amount each month and his employer also contributes money towards this account. Our family deductible is six thousand. Yes, you heard me right, SIX THOUSAND! Until we reach that deductible each year, we have to pay for all of our medical expenses out of pocket. And lo and behold wouldn't you know it, on January 1, 2007, Kiki injured her eye and had to go to the ER! So we were off to a great start that year!

One thing I learned being on this plan is the true cost of medications. Before this new plan we'd always just paid a co-pay, and rarely paid more than twenty or thirty dollars for a prescription. If we were lucky enough to get a generic we might have paid ten. Bill and the girls are all on allergy medications year round. Both girls are also on asthma medications daily. One of those asthma meds costs over four-hundred dollars for a sixty day prescription. FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS. And that is just ONE medicine for ONE child! That doesn't count the other medications they need monthly, which cost around one hundred per month each, nor does it include any other medications they might need throughout the year. Needless to say, we hit that six thousand dollar deductible that first year around October or November.

When I first realized how expensive the medicines were, I was shocked. I thought "how in the world to people without insurance afford this?" The more I thought, the more upset I became. Our family is fortunate enough that we have insurance. I can't imagine how anyone can pay for any medical expense without it. How does a person without insurance for their child pay for a four hundred dollar medicine for their child that they need!? This isn't a medication that children who need it can just go without and do okay. This medication is something vital to keep children with asthma healthy, and to allow them to live an active life. For some children, this medication is vital to keeping them alive. Yet many people cannot afford to put their child on this medication. How could they? For many people that amount of money buys their food, clothes, etc. Where is the average person without health care going to come up with that kind of money?

What if a person has cancer, diabetes, or one of many other diseases? How do they afford treatment - can they even get treatment - if they don't have insurance? And even if they do, what happens when the insurance company refuses to pay for a procedure or medication? Or if a person meets their maximum and the insurance company refuses to pay for anything more? This happened recently here locally. A nineteen year old with Leukemia needed a bone marrow transplant. His family did not have the money to pay for it, as he had hit the one million dollar cap on his insurance policy. When the local community here found out about his plight, they came together and raised nearly $900,000 to help him. Unfortunately for this teen, it was too late. Before he could get his transplant, he became sick again and passed away.

So basically, the way I see it, a teen DIED because an insurance company refused to help pay for his treatment. In my opinion, THAT SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN. No one should die because they can't afford to pay for medical treatment. And its not like just anyone has $900,000 floating around to pay for cancer treatments. The only good thing to come out of that whole situation, is that the money the community raised went into a fund for other patients that are unable to pay for their treaments. *SIGH*

So, as I continue to listen to this debate, I wonder if our next president is going to make this a priority, as both candidates claim they will. There is so much else going on right now, with an ongoing war in Iraq, an economy in crisis, and gas prices soaring, I worry that once again health care will take a back seat. I hope I am wrong, as something needs to be done to fix it. I don't know what the right solution is, but something has to change and health care reform needs to be a priority, not just a promise.

I'm a Blog Slacker

Could life get any busier? Seriously? Days are just flying by to the point I can barely get a breath. I told myself when I started blogging that I would keep up with it, and blog at least once a week, and hopefully more often than that. I have so much to write about, yet no time to do it. I keep a note pad by my computer and keep jotting down ideas, yet very few of those have actually made it onto the blog.

Why is life so busy? Well, for starters, school is back in session, which means homework (who would of thought second graders would get so much homework?), after school activities, etc. I also started working two days a week at the girls' dance studio, so there goes two days.

And of course I had this oh so great idea that we should get a puppy and now what little time I had for ME during the day is gone - POOF! What was I thinking? I wasn't thinking of course, not with my brain anyway! I was just smitten by a gorgeous, sweet little chocolate puppy and not using my brain what so ever. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE the dog, but I don't LOVE the added work to my already busy life. I finally had three hours a day to myself, when both girls were at school. Three hours to clean. Three hours for projects (can we say purge the ever-growing pile of crap?). Three hours to goof off on the computer, without sweet little girls wanting my attention. Three hours for whatever the hell I felt like doing that day. But no, I gave it all up to have a dog. What can I say, I am a sucker for punishment!

Here is a typical day for me now:

5:45 ish - wake up to hopefully shower
6:00 ish - go downstairs and let the puppy out, feed the puppy, play with the puppy, get chomped on by the puppy
7:00 - put puppy in crate and then wake up Kiki for school, feed Kiki, help her get dressed and ready to go. Maybe get a bite of breakfast.
7:45 - about the time Boo wakes up and wants breakfast
8:15 - get Kiki on the bus or drive her to school
8:30 - time for puppy to go out to potty and play outside some
9:00 or 9:30 until about 11 - maybe get a shower if I didn't get one earlier, play with Boo and keep puppy out of trouble, help Boo get dressed, etc.
11:00 - make Boo lunch
11:30 - Boo eats lunch while puppy in crate or outside again. I will eat a bite if I can.
12:30 - take Boo to school/puppy in crate
12:45 - 3:00 hopefully get some ME time, but usually puppy is ready to play play play and poop poop poop
3:00 - finally, puppy is asleep and I am wiped out. Not motivated whatsoever to clean, do projects, etc. I might empty/load dishwasher or fold laundry but usually end up goofing off on computer
3:45 - 6:00 - Get girls off the bus, feed them snack, help with homework, break up arguments, keep both girls and puppy entertained. Some days we have to go to an after school activity too.
6:00 - time to feed puppy, get dinner ready.
6:30 - puppy in crate, keep girls from killing each other, make dinner
7:00 ish - dinner if Bill is home from work. If he is late I will have usually fed girls earlier
7:30 ish - 8:45 - time to get ready for bed (or get girls shower or bath then bed)
9:00 - phew! Finally some "me" time, right? No. Wait. The puppy is wide awake now and needs to go out, wants to play. . .need I say more? Thankfully Bill is home and usually takes over puppy duty
10:00 - puppy bed time and now I can finally watch some T.V., but my body has other ideas. . .zzzzzzzz

Tired? Me too. I think I will go get some sleep now. . . .

Who could resist this sweet thing?

Winning Isn't Everything - Or Is It?

One of my favorite pastimes every four years is watching the Summer Olympics. I LOVE the Summer Olympics, mainly because of swimming and track and field, two sports I competed in while in HS. I swam from age eight through senior year, so that sport particularly hits home for me. It is amazing how watching swimming on t.v. brings back the excitement of the sport as if I just swam in a meet yesterday (oh how I wish I were in that good of shape today!).

However, as much as I love watching the Olympics, I hate all of the emphasis the media puts on winning. I get so frustrated when a favored athlete fails to win the gold, despite their best effort, and one of the reporters asks stupid questions like "What do you think went wrong?" "What could you have done differently?" "What emotion are you feeling right now?" Well, depending on the expectation the said athlete had before going into the race, that could be anywhere from extremely happy, proud, etc., or sad and disappointed.

I realize winning the gold is a great accomplishment, and that many of the athletes want to win. However, when they don't win the gold, why can't we just congratulate them and tell them "good job?" If they are disappointed, they certainly don't need overeager reporters grilling them!

I can still remember a reporter (I shall keep him nameless), grilling the USA men's track and field relay team after they WON the silver years ago. That nameless reporter kept saying stuff like "what if this person had ran instead of this person?" and kept going on and on about how they "lost" the gold. The USA team was CLEARLY proud to have WON the silver, yet this reporter kept saying they lost. I was so mad I wrote a letter to NBC (with no response of course) expressing my disappointment. I still shake my head to this day when I see that same nameless reporter covering this year's Olympic events.

The other night I was annoyed because one of the woman hurdlers tripped and fell and failed to win any medal at all. Again with the stupid questions. "What are you feeling right now?" "What do you think happened?" Sheesh. Can you imagine? I am sure she was thinking, "DUH! I tripped and fell!" Yet she gave a classy answer and then walked away, only later to be shown on camera crying under the stands. *Sigh*. Later, one of the men was disqualified because he accidentally stepped into another lane during his race. You can only imagine the questions he was asked. Need I say more?

Michael Phelps did something that doesn't happen often. He won eight gold medals in one Olympics. EIGHT. Last time someone won even close to that many was in 1976 when Mark Spitz won seven. I have to admit I was so proud of Phelps, knowing he worked hard and deserved every medal. But one of those races he almost came in second. He out touched another swimmer by one hundredth of a second. Truly unbelievable. Had he lost that race I can only imagine the comments: Reporter: "What went wrong?" Michael: "Ummm, I just won the silver? And I have already won seven other golds. " In other words, NOTHING would have been at all wrong with that. And in another race, an amazingly exciting 4x100 relay, the men came back from behind to win the gold. They could have easily just won the silver. Again, what would have been so wrong with that?

These athletes work their tails off. Just making the Olympics is something they should all be proud of, and we should be equally proud and just celebrate the fact that they are there in the first place. I know I am. . . USA! USA! USA!

***California wedding blog coming soon. . . I promise!***