Happy Halloween, Grandma!

( Here's another good excuse for wearing pajamas during the day! As if we needed one...)

Thanks, Emily!

"This mask is perfect for my new superhero named...Isaac."

(Said Isaac.)

October in Iowa (Part 2)

Without fail! Every October since we've been in Iowa, we can count on a solid week (maybe two) of this:

(Note the infamous "throw-up bowl".)

This year there are two strains running rampant through the house: croup and the stomach flu (and for Noelle, a super-fun hybrid of both). Which makes for copious use of these indispensable life-savers:

Good times!!!

October in Iowa

* My apologies to all of our friends here in Iowa who are thinking, "Pictures at Wilson's Apple Orchard. Blah, blah, blah..."

Barstool Economics

(I saw this on my friend's private blog and copied it! Enjoy!)

Suppose that everyday, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth (and richest) would pay $59.

So that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar everyday and seemed quite happy with the arrangement. Until one day, the bar owner threw them a curve. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80."

The group still wanted to pay for the bill the way we pay our taxes, so the first four men were unaffected. they would still drink for free. But about the other six men--the paying customers? How could they divide the windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share'? They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing. (100% savings)
The sixth man now paid $2, instead of $3. (33% savings)
The seventh man now paid $5, instead of $7. (28% savings)
The eighth man now paid $9, instead of $12. (25% savings)
The ninth man now paid $14, instead of $18. (22% savings)
The tenth man now paid $49, instead of $59. (16% savings)

Each of the six was better off than before and the first four continued to get to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20!" declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got $10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair he got ten times more than I did!"

"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough between all of them for even half of the bill.

I loved this! It really opened my eyes! Steve and I have lived the poor life of students ever since we were married. Only one year in 11 have we ever had to pay taxes. It made me evaluate my attitude. Do I feel "entitled" to get all the resources available in this country (public education, libraries, parks) for free, just like the four poorest men with their free beers? How would I feel as the richest man? Would I be willing to part with an enormous percentage of my hard-earned money so that all the others could get those same benefits for free? Even if those free-loaders despised me, blamed me, and attacked me on a regular basis?

I thought it was a very interesting commentary on our tax system and the attitudes of those who either pay to keep it going or are the beneficiaries thereof.

No Stress, Little Kiddies

It's that time of year!
For those of you who have kids in grades three and higher, you know what I am talking about: The ITBS's.

No biggy, right? Well, it wouldn't be...except for this:
The No Child Left Behind Act. A wonderful government program! (It must be. Just look at the name. I mean, who wants to leave a child behind? Who's gonna dispute THAT?)

I admit it. Until this last year, I did not know much about this particular program.

Then, at the start of the school year, we received a letter in the mail stating that in accordance to the No Child Left Behind Act, my children's elementary school was put on probation. Too many of the students failed to score high enough on the ITBS's and/or failed to meet the attendance requirements. The parents were given permission (the one's who had children with low test scores) to move their children to a better school. Busing would be provided. We were informed that the school would have a designated time to get the test scores back up, and if it didn't, then the school would be closed--the teachers and staff let go.

This letter infuriated me for two reasons:

1) We have been at this school for five years and couldn't be happier with the staff and teachers. They have provided my children with a high-quality education. Proof? My daughter (who still could not read halfway through her first grade year) scored in the top 1% of the state on the ITBS in the reading catagory (and I give the credit to her teachers who worked tirelessly with her...I have been a lazy mom, scholastically speaking.) These teachers cannot work any harder than they currently are working! Their jobs should not be on the line here!

2) The sole reason for children performing sub-par on the ITBS at this particular school is this: the majority of them are coming from unstable homes. To put it mildly, they come from homes that do not put a priority on education. They do not care about getting their kids to school on time--or even at all--and they certainly don't care about the ITBS's. They don't care about their children's test results or future. Proof? At the most recent PTO, it was mentioned that NOT ONE of the families offered permission to transfer to a different school took up the opportunity. Not one. They just don't care.

So what happens when the school closes and all the kids are forced to go to a different school? The same thing! Over and over again, a vicious cycle!

No Child Left Behind does not improve our school system. It places the ENTIRE responsibility on the shoulders of the teachers. The truth: the only ones who have the power to impact the test scores are the parents. Unless we can find a way to improve the deterioration of families in this country, the problems in our schools (test scores included--though I predict they will not necessarily be the most urgent dilemma) will only increase!

So...no pressure, Laura and Lincoln, but the future job security of your beloved teachers rests on your test performance next week! Get working!

The End of Dredger

This week our beloved sucker fish "Dredger" died. Lincoln composed the following epitaph:

HERE LIES DREDGER.

HIS LIFE WAS SUCKY.

Baby on Broadway

This one is for my sister. I told her my girls were obsessed with the Wicked soundtrack and that Noelle liked to sing along. So here it is, Hayley.

I know this may be a case of a mother thinking her kid is cuter than she actually is. Keep in mind that Noelle is only 1 year old (she doesn't speak very much yet, so most of this is incoherant baby babble), but please suspend judgement until the finale. It's pretty good!

Enjoy!