Elena 
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1. This week, we had the opportunity to hear Catholic youth speaker, Sarah Swafford. I thought this was going to be another chastity talk, but it was really more about doing the right things, for the right reasons, and not using another person to make yourself feel good, or look good.
Much of what she said was very pertinent to kids in a public or Catholic school setting, but it really didn’t have much to do with my girls. They don’t have smart phones, Rosie is too young for an e-mail account and I have to constantly nag Izzy to check her own e-mail.
As we were walking out to our car, Izzy thanked me for homeschooling her through high school and for putting her in the co-op we have been a part of for the past three years. It’s just enough socialization and comraderie without any of the drama or peer pressure.
It’s nice to get a little affirmation from the kids once in a while that they think we’re doing a good job parenting them!
2. Last summer, Izzy applied for the Akron Art Experience. She was called in for an interview and brought her very extensive portfolio – and then a few days later we got a rejection letter. Izzy was sad but pragmatic about it, and started working on her own work projects and helping Mr. Pete with our flip house. But a few days later she got a call that a few kids had dropped out of the project and they would like to have her back in the program. I wrote about that a little bit here. She did very well and contributed greatly to the team.
So when it was over, I asked the artist why he hadn’t picked her originally. He told me that he hadn’t been there the night of the interviews, but if he had seen her portfolio, he certainly would have chosen her. So then I asked the direct why she hadn’t been chosen originally and she told me, “Izzy didn’t really put herself out there. She didn’t talk much.”
So this fall, I put Izzy in a speech class in the co-op. I thought it would give her a chance to get over her jitters and get experience speaking in front of a large group. She loves it! Her teacher has given her good grades, her classmates like her, and I think she has gotten a lot of confidence in herself and her own natural abilities.
Her teacher told me, “Izzy is funny!” and she is. I have watched her practice her speeches and she does a nice job of drawing in her audience with humor. Hopefully next time she has an audition or interview, she will be able to draw on the skills she has learned in this class.
3. Izzy is getting more real-life experience in her field as well. Last week, she sold some of her jewelry pieces at a craft show. After expenses, she still cleared over $100 for the weekend. Mr. Pete gave her the cash for change, and then she worked the booth for two days by herself. We were very proud of her!
4. When Miss C. comes over, she likes to start out her day with a little bit of arts and crafts. I found these delightful Halloween crafts at Pat Catans. They were only a couple of bucks, and Miss C. and Rosie made tons of these cute little book marks!
5. Rosie heard Izzy and I discussing Rosie the Riveter during one of our history discussions. She was excited that there was such a thing!! So of course, for trick or treating this weekend, she is going to go as the World War II Icon. She’s been bugging me for days to go get the bright red lipstick she needs to pull off the part! I can’t wait to see how she looks! Pictures to follow.
SBT4Now via Flickr, licensed cc.
6.
After last week’s disappointing race, I wasn’t going to put Rosie in the upcoming parish 5K. I told her we were just going to take a break from running and that she wouldn’t have to worry about the race.
Rosie wouldn’t hear of it! She wants to race and she wants to train and she was pretty ticked at me for even suggesting such a thing! So I guess she’s racing again net week.
7. Last weekend, my family sat down to watch the season premier of The Walking Dead. It’s funny how we watch that show now. My Goddaughter is at college, so she sent me texts during the show. Mr. Pete can’t take it any more, but he wants to hear all about it when it’s over. Rosie can’t watch it either, but she comes in and out of the room and we all yell at her when it’s a bad part so she won’t see anything too gruesome. Noah said he’s not going to sit and watch any more, but he stood beside us during the whole show and watched everything. So basically it was just me and Izzy sitting on the couch watching the show. Last week, they got rid of Glenn, who was basically everyone’s idea of the perfect guy- brave, thoughtful, charming and self-sacrificing. Even his very last thoughts were for his wife. It was a real tear jerker.
So it was nice to find this from the actors we lost this week.
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