Party of Five

Last week I was stretched further than I ever could have thought my life would lead.  I slept fewer hours, advocated for my kids more, and fought harder for my district this past week than I ever have before.   Tonight I'm exhausted and yet sleep is still not close by.  I have a full night ahead of me as I begin the initial stages of planning a Book Fair and a number of other odds and ends to finish up. Sometimes I begin to doubt myself.  Am I doing the right thing?  What motivates me to do what I'm doing? Why have I become so involved? I'm involved because this is my children's education.  I demand to be involved in the process, and it's my right as their parent.  I've said it before that I firmly believe I am their best advocate, and NO ONE will fight as hard for them for what is best for them.  We picked our home to buy because of the elementary school in the back yard.  I've written before on how much I love this village.  Safe t...

I've been nursing a migraine for about 20 hours.  It could be for a multitude of reasons.  It could be this crazy warm fall weather wreaking havoc on my sinuses.  More than likely it's not. It's no secret I fight for my kids.  I fight for the very best that is offered to them. I fight to make sure that their education is the very best opportunity for them.  If I don't stand up for them...who will? This morning I looked at my children with fresh eyes (maybe they were a little cloudy and groggy due to the early morning hours).  I looked at them and realized that despite the pain in my head and the nausea forming in my stomach, this fight is worth it.  My children are worth it. I continue to stand up for what I believe is the right thing to do for their education, and by placing myself in what could be seen as the minority, may very well affect any hopes I have a being a future school board member. Perhaps that wasn't in His plan after all? That r...

Test scores arrived today.  I wasn't dreading them, in fact you might say I was anxiously awaiting them.  I wanted to once and for all, put my daughter's testing experience to bed.  Last spring, she sat for her first experience with New York state's assessments.  If I have anything to say about it, I would like to say that last spring my daughter also sat for her LAST experience with New York state's assesments. I don't write because I'm upset with her scores.  I honestly don't care about them.  I won't tell her about them, she doesn't even know they arrived in the mail.  I am upset because these scores will not be useful for her education.  They will be used to score the teachers at her school in their Annual Professional Performance Review.   Yep...my 8 year old was used.    I'm told that the scores will be used to help "guide instruction."  I'm not sure how.  We're 3 weeks into the school year, the teachers know ...

Not the 1st day of school.  Not even the 1st day of a new job. Today was my 1st day at my 1st genealogy conference!!! It was also day #2 of our "Griswold Family Vacation" and day #2 that I had to wake up early enough to be on the road by 6:30 am.  Although not normally a bright and cheery morning person, I was awake, showered, dressed, and wondering if we REALLY had to stop and eat breakfast first, but apparently, feeding children is one of my responsibilities as "mom"...so just as soon as bellies were full, we were on the road from Sandusky to Ft. Wayne!  Not everyone shared my excitement of what today held in store... "Clark" (Griswold) pulled up in front of the Grand Wayne Convention Center, and I was off and running for my 1st experience surrounded by fellow genealogists!  I was prepared with my backpack and pre-registered, so I checked-in...and was handed a complimentary bag.  Hmmm...backpack AND bag?  Not a problem, I can carry both, fold ...

In case you've been living under a rock or hidden away in a cave, you may have missed the news that I'm attending my first genealogy conference. Although I registered for it weeks ago, it's still not too late to pre-register for yourself and in the process take advantage of some of the fantastic benefits that are being offered: Access the conference syllabus online prior to the conference. Guarantee a spot in the "extra" conference events (on-site tickets may be available to events if they have not sold out): 10 luncheons over the 4 conference days.  5 workshops over 3 days. There is still room in the Researching African Americans in University Libraries workshop. We have also added extra spaces and still have a few seats left Researching Midwestern American Indians and Using Griffith’s Valuation to Identify Your Ancestors' Origins. The other workshops are sold out.  FGS Opening Social on Wednesday, August 21  Friday Night at ACPL on August 23 with...

Have I mentioned that I'm going to a genealogy conference? I'm going to a genealogy conference! It's just a few weeks away...15 days actually, and I'm starting to scurry as I think on all of the things I need to get prepared for.  Okay..."panic" may be a better word.  And it may take many...MANY late nights, and A LOT of chocolate and Mt. Dew that I will pay dearly for with evil trainer Sean at the gym...but I feel confident that when we do finally head out of here in 2 weeks, I'll be ready to take on The Genealogy Center in Ft. Wayne. In the mean-time...they've released the conference syllabus. It's a mere 614 pages long. Good thing I have couple of Hershey bars to get me through tonight's reading material. ;) C.

What does one bring to a genealogical conference anyway?   I had this thought almost immediately after registering for this year's FGS Conference in Ft. Wayne.  I was too excited just knowing that I was actually going, but now I had to discern what to bring?  I mean, OTHER than my toothbrush and footie-pajamas?  This is my first conference and I have to admit, I'm feeling a little green with regards to conference protocol.  I'm the noob.  I may have been doing this genealogy gig for years, but to actually network with real, LIVE human beings and not just the dead ones from my family?  I'm feeling very...uncertain. The "problem" being that this trip to Indiana is at the tail-end of our family vacation time.  The last leg in our journey through Gettysburg, Washington D.C., a brief stop in Ohio for a day at Cedar Point to keep the monkey children from rebelling, and THEN I will finally be there. Yep...hubby and monkey children will be accompany...