Cade

Cade came over tonight to hang out with Cameron after school.  Of all of Cameron's friends, he is the most lively.  He fits in the Heinisch family well as he loves to trash talk and he has no problem stating his opinion.  I just love that about him.  He also has a vast amount of energy, so he can keep up with Cam as they bounce from activity to activity.

Cade is the youngest of four as well, so he understands the role of a little brother.  He spent quite a bit of time this evening teasing Meg about who she likes.  She must not have minded it as she rode along with us to take him home.  She even posted a #Cadeselfie to her snapchat story.

When we decided to put Cameron in Milford for his first grade year, I was confident that it was the right academic choice for him.  I wasn't sure about the friendship part of it, however.  What a wonderful bonus that he met such great friends.  I hope he and Cade are lifers.  Can't wait to see them in high school.

Another Day, Another Dollar

Mr. Larson always says that to me when I leave for the night.  I always joke back, "I think it is more like another day, another quarter."  I realize that neither of us feel that way, but there are days at school that can be pretty long.  Yesterday and today were two of those.

Over the past two years I have really come to appreciate having him in the hallway with me during passing periods.  Mr. Larson works very hard, has a great sense of humor and always listens when I need to bounce an idea or two off of someone.   There have been so many mornings that he made Meg and I laugh and started the day off great.  I know that we could still get through the day without him being at Milford, but he sure makes it more fun.  I am thankful that we have developed a bond with him.  He is definitely quiet and keeps to himself, but those who do not take the time to get to know him are really missing out.  As I heard him yell "Zeggy Meggy" down the hall last Friday as she approached him, I realized that he will be a teacher that Meg talks about for years.

Busiest Time of the Year

December is definitely a busy month for the Heinisch family, but nothing compares to May.  I started to look ahead at our schedule for the next four weeks and panic set in.  With golf, piano, soccer, tennis, library board, county council, the Spring Arts festival, school, the primaries, Cal's birthday, our anniversary and Brett coming home it will be quite a month.  Doug and my parents are always ready to pitch in and that is a big help.  Without the support, our family would not be able to be as involved as we are.

During the next month we are also planning a couple of trips to DeKalb.  Not sure why we also decided to clean out the toy room, but it will be awesome once we are done.  Doug says, "One day at a time."  I will try to hold to that in the weeks ahead.

Work Day

Many times Sunday turns into a work day and today was no exception.  After lunch we all went down in the basement to sort through the multitude of toys in the toy room.  They clean it out once a year, and for the first time in a long time, we are starting to see some space in the room.  After they pulled out what they were ready to part with, I sorted and organized it for the garage sale.  Doug boxed it up and took it to Mom's.  I then spent several hours reorganizing the storage room.  I plan to work again on it tomorrow.  Once we get the room situated we plan to bring the bunk beds over from Mom's.  The Heinisch children will then be able to have their friends spend the night and they will actually have a place to sleep.

Meg and Cam also were able to take their AR test over Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  Both of them earned a 100% on the test.  Their favorite question had to do with Gilderoy Lockhart's quiz over his favorite color.  So glad they could share the experience together.

Super Saturday

Today was almost an exact mirror of last Saturday.  The four of us enjoyed a soccer morning.  Both Meg and Cam's game were extremely close going down to the wire.  Meg won 1-0 and Cam lost 2-1.  It was exciting to watch and they both played well.

Mom and Dad traveled to North Manchester to watch Cal play in his second golf tournament of the season.  It was definitely a slow afternoon, but it had an awesome outcome for Cal.  He once again shot a 79.  He finished 6th overall and the team was second.  We were extremely proud as this tournament had twice as many teams (12) with twice as many golfers (60).  After such a long basketball season his success has been a welcomed change.

Doug and I went to Target and dinner this evening.  It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed spending time together.  Meg and Cam finished reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets last night, so they watched the movie with my Dad tonight.  They both felt that the movie left a lot out from the book.  Many of their favorite scenes revolved around Fred and George.  The movie showed very little of them.  Doug and I love that they have really taken to the series.  I know that they will love Prisoner of Azkaban.

TGIF

It was definitely a great Friday in the Heinisch home.  At school I only had two classes as the rest were on field trips.  Thus, I was able to catch up on a lot of cleaning, grading and lesson plan writing.  It is rare that I am at school without students in my classroom, so I was very thankful to have this extra time.

After school Meg and I went to the hairdresser.  Meg was happy to cut an inch or so off her hair and buy a wet brush.  Hopefully, it will help as her hair is so incredibly thick!  Doug took Meg, Cam and I to Buffalo Wild Wings in Warsaw.  We had a really enjoyable evening with Meg sharing her favorite auto-corrects and the two of them discovering a funny chipmunk volleyball video game that we all got a kick out of.

Cal went with his golf team to North Manchester to play a practice round for tomorrow's tournament.  He said that he had a lot of fun.  I am really glad that they are doing that.  It helps prepare them for the tourney and creates a bond that they will always remember.

Brett checked in several times today.  He went to see Guys and Dolls tonight and absolutely loved it.  This is Little 500 weekend, so there is a lot of activity on campus.  TGIF definitely described today for all of us!

Volunteer Reception

A year ago my FACS classes were asked to prepare the food for this year's Volunteer Reception at our school.  At the time I didn't think much of it and agreed wholeheartedly.  Last night I lay in bed and wondered to myself what I was thinking when I made this commitment.  I was positive that I made a mistake.  I really didn't believe that we could pull it off. 

My students totally surprised me, however, and accepted the challenge with great enthusiasm.  My first block seventh graders started in on the fruit and vegetable trays and in no time were creating masterpieces.  Three of them decided that they wanted to stay for block two and help as well.  I was very impressed as they needed very little guidance from me.  They not only created the trays, they also made the fruit dip and cheese ball.  By the time third block started, there was not much for the sixth graders to do except put the cookies on trays and chips in bowls.  It was a great feeling to know that they were able to fulfill such a big request.  The reception went off without a hitch and all my worrying was for nothing.

I stayed for the reception and then made it to Cameron's scrimmage.  He participated in basketball camp all week and this was the accumulating activity.  Mr. Voirol asked Meg to help run the clock and ref part of the game.  It was great to see Cameron enjoy himself and fun to have Meg be part of it all.  Cam got off a couple of shots, just didn't get any to fall.  As soon as he finished we were off and ready for soccer practice.  It was a little chilly, but Cam and Meg enjoyed it.  Overall, it was a lot better day than the previous one.