Aidan Officially Becomes a White Belt

I would assume a 3 year-old would need to be a beginner. Tonight, Aidan is officially a beginner.

In many martial arts, the white belt is worn by beginners. Keikogi often will come with a white belt packaged inside. Symbolically, a white belt is sometimes said to represent a tabula rasa, ready to acquire understanding of the art. In some styles, students wear white belts until they receive their first rank of black belt, while in others a range of color is used for different kyu grades (grades before black belt).

In Japanese arts, white belt-wearers are referred to as "mudansha". (according to wikipedia.org)

He had a really good night. Listened to his Master well and was very happy afterward tonight. Very happy because he got his uniform. He did not get his top yet though. They are going to stitch in his name. So for next class he'll wear his black t-shirt and pants with his white belt. He looks awesome.

Master put blue tape on the floor tonight to help the kids step and punch. Aidan struggles with that a little because the same hand and leg go at the same time. So we practiced a little tonight.



Won't be long and my boy will be a black belt! :)

New Phone - LG EnV2

I finally have found a phone for me. (I hope) Ordered it tonight and it should be here by the end of the week: Review from LaptopWorld One of the biggest problems I am having with my phone is a terrible keypad that makes instant messaging a mess for me. I am not a mad 'skillz' texter. So the clam shell Env2 really helps me. It has a full sized and easy to use keyboard inside.

Oh yeah, and it was free... after a $100 preferred customer rebate (been with Verizon forever) and $50 mail in rebate. So if it's free... it's for me!

According to the PCMag Review Hey parents: want to get hip and keep in touch with the kids in a way they'll appreciate? Head over to Verizon and pick up an LG enV2 VX9100. This cell combines solid call quality with big buttons and has a knack for SMS texting that might actually help the calls-only generation make the move to text messaging.

Sweet. One of my biggest things that I do with my phone is to message and send pictures to family and friends. Can't wait to give it a whirl later this week.

Teacher Banned for Using Book - Freedom Writers

CNN VIDEO: Teacher Banned for Using Book

Should this teacher have been given a year and a 1/2 suspension?

Wall-E

Great movie. Aidan = thumb's up. Norma = thumb's up. Me = big thumbs up.



Run, don't walk. Go see it. Very good.

Happy Birthday Grandma Fran!

Happy Birthday Grandma Fran 2008 from fordee on Vimeo.

Back from Dallas

I am back. What a week in Dallas. 4,000 people and I met in Dallas for the AVID Summer Institute. It was a great success for me. I met so many wonderful people. Our AVID Site Team at our school is off to a great start. I can honestly say that I am a better teacher after having attended.

That's really all you can ask of a conference, institute, or training. Did you learn a few new tricks? Did you leave there better than before you went? I definitely am lucky to be an AVID elective teacher.

This week I will be trying to pull everything together that I learned and do some planning for the new school year. It is going to be awesome to have a new freshman group and also my freshman group from last year will now be sophomores. Two classes of AVID is going to be a lot of fun.

It was also wonderful to see Norma and Aidan after being away for five days. Aidan was so happy to see me. It was great to hug, hug, hug. Tomorrow we are heading to see Wall-e. He is very excited.

George Carlin 1937-2008

A comedic great passes. A few lightning fast words of wisdom from Carlin:

"I've been uplinked and downloaded. I've been inputted and outsourced, I know the upside of downsizing, I know the downside of upgrading. I'm a high-tech lowlife. A cutting-edge, state-of-the-art, bicoastal multitasker, and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond..."

Genius. He will be missed.

Dallas Until Friday

Well, tomorrow at 4:30am I wake up and hit the road. I am driving two ladies up to Dallas and we should arrive around lunch to check into the hotel and then the AVID Summer Institute.

I am really, really going to miss Aidan. He is just amazing right now. So much activity, learning a bunch everyday. But, that's what a cell phone, chat program and webcam are for! :) Hopefully he'll talk with me some. He knows if he's good - he gets presents!

I am hopeful the Summer Institute is good. I love AVID and spending a week thinking about it will be great. It will be fun to get up to speed with some people about how their summers are going. It will be wonderful to work with our new AVID teacher and see her excitement. It will also be great to spend time with my AVID "pard-ner" from last year and plan this next year.

No one will believe me, but I really miss my AVID kids. Some of them are pretty fragile and I just hope they have good productive summers and come back to me safe and sound. When they do, I'll be ready.

Workin' at the Car Wash

Last night we took advantage of the sun setting and washed the car. It is so oppressively hot here in the summer. As Aidan says, "It's too hot to do ANYTHING!" And it usually is. The afternoon is great for napping with the A/C on. :)

Aidan had a ball washing the car. And I had a massive stomach ache. So I took pictures while my 'thirds' (my 2 other thirds of the family) did the wet work.







Aidan couldn't help himself. We would say - "Don't shoot that water... Don't shoot that..." and it would be too late. Water everywhere.

But, he had a great time.





Until it was time to go inside... then he wasn't so happy.

The cars are now washed and ready for my trip to Dallas. I just have to vacum out the inside and do a little inside detailing work. It desperately needs done, even though the main reason is that I am going to be driving two ladies up to Dallas with me for the Summer Institute. The work inside the car has needed done for months. It's so filthy. It will be awesome to have a nice clean car tonight when we finish the inside.

Over the Rainbow

Today on our way back from karate practice, it started drizzling. The hot Houston summer sun was still shining. So Norma said, "I'm surprised there isn't a rainbow." So we started looking. Then we saw it. A big double rainbow right across the sky as we headed home on North Park.

I pulled the car into a church parking lot and pulled Aidan out to see it. He had never seen one in person before. I held him up and he had a lot of trouble seeing it at first. Then I could see his eyes pop open as he recognized it. And he started giggling and looking into the car, "Momma, I see it, a rainbow."

Later we got home and had dinner and I watched some of the news coverage of the memorial service for Tim Russert. I was amazed to see that the service was ended on the song "Over the Rainbow" and as they walked out of the Kennedy Center - there it was - A Big Double Rainbow. Awesome.

Here is Keith Olbermann's tribute from Countdown tonight. And you have to see the end where they show that rainbow Keith's reaction to it. Amazing.


I know I am over 1,000 miles away. I know there is no connection to the rainbow I shared with my son and that Russert rainbow. I do know that right? But, what made me stop the car, take my son out, and show him his first rainbow? Amazing.

Why Do I Pay So Much For Gas?

I had an argument with someone near the end of the school year. The topic was, "What could a President do about the price of a gallon of gas?" I believe a lot. For one, there is the "Enron Loophole." This should be required viewing of anyone who complains about the high price of gas:

So what's the deal? No BIG deal, you say? Liberal media making this up?

CloseTheEnronLoophole.com
A Pitfall Called the Enron Loophole:

The exempt-commercial-markets provision in the Commodity Futures Modernization Act -- also called the "Enron loophole" -- has turned out to be the Achilles' heel of the law. It was inserted at the eleventh hour at the behest of Enron's attorneys. There was never a hearing or any open discussion of this provision. The good thing it did was increase competition; for example, it helped foster the incredible growth of the Intercontinental Exchange. But the provision has resulted in some significant unintended consequences that need to be addressed now.

USAToday: Senators: Close 'Enron loophole, increase regulation'

The original idea was to create competition in the energy sector. That has backfired. Now the only competition is how much $$$ these oil/gas companies are going to make. WashPost: Exon Profits for 2007: $40 Billion

NYTimes: Exxon Mobil Profit Sets Record Again

The Karate Kid

Today we took Aidan to karate practice for the first time. As parents we were sweating bullets. Aidan has been home with us for a few weeks and not around kids very much. And the only adults he's ever followed directions from have been Norma and I and his daycare sitter Mimi. So we were nervous... did I mention we were nervous.

[Aidan is the kid in the back row, 2nd from the end, in the grey shorts and dark shirt. He doesn't have a uniform yet. He has his arm raised in the photo below.]


He did very well though. During setup of their Master putting tape on the floor for the 3-5 year old "Little Dragons", Aidan wandered off a bit and ran across the floor. There is a mirror that runs the entire length of the practice floor and he was pretty enamored with looking at himself run in it. And Aidan kept wanting to do forward rolls on the floor. But, finally he took his place and they began.

The kids all started with stretching, jumping jacks (one of Aidan's favorites), lots of toe touching, and situps. Aidan really struggled with the situps because he was lying on his back and couldn't see the Master. But, he worked very, very hard. I was proud of him.



At one point the master dismisses them and lets them go to get a drink after they have completed a task. Aidan didn't get this figured out at all. He just wanted to run all over the floor. So I brought him over and explained that he could get a drink if he needed one. "No dad! I don't need a drink." So he finally went over and sat with the kids against the wall.



I really liked how their Master made them help each other carry mats and then return them when they were finished. They also had some older kids help Aidan with a throw at the end. He really didn't get it... but, he tried. By that time our little guy was pretty spent.

Aftwards Master Peavy took us into his office and explained the program. He said that the first two weeks are free. Then there is a payment for his uniform (right now he doesn't need one - but, boy does he want one!). They are pretty cute with little purple and green dragons on the back. Their names are stitched into the front of their uniforms.

Master Peavy said that every black belt that he has is either in college or has been accepted into college. He said it with a lot of pride and explained how the dedication it takes to succeed in this sport directly relates to the classroom. As teachers, we totally understand that helping kids to be disciplined and to be focused is a very important part of getting and appreciating an education. The cost is $89 a month. And we think that is a small price to pay for the lessons a 3 to 5 year old will learn. He has two classes each week - Monday and Wednesday.

I am very depressed that I will be gone next week in Dallas for the AVID Summer Institute (did I really just type that? I have been looking forward to it for so long.) But, I am going to miss his next two classes. I am really down about it. Because I want to help him prepare for each class by working with him a little bit each day.

Tonight we practiced forward rolls, our left from right, and jumping jacks. Aidan is learning and he does it with a real eagerness and a smile on his face. My Dad would have just been ecstatic to see these pictures. I can hear his voice right now, "The coordination he is learning is going to help him so much when he starts baseball (or basketball... or football... or chasing after girls!)."

I miss my Dad so much. It is days like this after watching the Tim Russert Memorial on TV and spending so much wonderful and fulfilling time with Aidan that I realize why they called him "Dad" at work and why he loved being a dad so much. It is really the best job in the world.