N.C. Teenager Kills Himself After Threatening Fellow High School Students at Gunpoint

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — A teenager shot and killed himself Wednesday shortly after pointing a handgun at two other students in a high school parking lot, police said.





Schools in Huntersville were locked down after the 16-year-old, whose name wasn't released, made threatening gestures in a parking lot at North Mecklenburg High School, police said.





The student, who attended the school, turned the gun on himself when police confronted him at a gas station, said Capt. Michael Kee of the Huntersville Police Department. He later died, said Tahira Stalbert, a spokeswoman for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.





Police alerted four schools after the student left the high school's campus, Kee said.





"We put every school in the area on immediate lockdown in light of everything that's gone on in the world lately," Kee said, referring to the fatal shootings of 33 people at Virginia Tech. "We erred on the side of caution."





The student, who was shot in the head, was taken to Carolinas Medical Center, Kee said.





School officials planned to have counselors available to North Mecklenburg students Thursday, Stalbert said. The school also will have a larger security presence, she said.





Families in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district were to receive automated phone messages about the situation, Stalbert said.






Story courtesty of FoxNews.com

What Was Your 'Atta Girl' For Today?

"Atta girl!"



That's what my dear step-dad says as he pats you on the back of your shoulder when you've done something good. He's a very special person in my life, having helped raise me since I was 3 or 4 years old. I don't remember him ever NOT being in my life. He's 24 years older than my mom and they were married for 14 years, together for 19 total. Sadly, they have now been divorced for almost 8. But that's a story for another time, or maybe not.



Anyway, I am trying to make small, daily choices to help me lose the extra weight I've put on since having our last little one over 5 years ago. And yesterday I was tempted with McDonald's when I took two of my kidlets there after their doctor's appointment where one got a shot and the other had a 103.1 tempuature and was diagnosed with strep. Now, I know not everyone likes McDonald's, but this is one momma who does, and handling those cheeseburgers (to take off the pickles for the kids), seeing them, and smelling them was a huge temptation for me. There I stood at the counter with the girl asking me, "Is that all?" It would have been SO easy to say, "You know, let's add a #5 meal onto that order". Or maybe just an ice cream cone. They're not so bad for me. Or maybe a 7-Up.



But it's these 'little' daily choices that have gotten me to where I'm at today, a tight size 16 and little-to-no ability to play and keep up with my children. So it's time to make DIFFERENT daily choices.



You don't know what a major 'Atta Girl' it was for me to pass up McDonald's food. It wasn't the easiest thing to do, but you know what? I was so proud of myself afterwards that next time it shouldn't be as hard!



Being accountable to others is one of the best things we can do when we're trying to accomplish a goal like losing weight. Knowing that I would be able to come here and tell about my 'Atta Girl' was exciting to me! So now I am going to try to have a daily 'Atta Girl' to tell about and I would love it if others would join me! If we all support and encourage each other I know we can do this!



So what about you? Did you have an 'Atta Girl' moment today? Even if it didn't pertain to making healthier choices, I'd still love to hear about it.

What About Socialization? (from another angle)

Two women meet at a playground, where their children are swinging and
playing ball. The women are sitting on a bench watching.



Eventually, they begin to talk.





W1: Hi. My name is Maggie. My kids are the three in red shirts -- helps me keep track of them.



W2: (Smiles) I'm Terri. Mine are in the pink and yellow shirts. Do you come here a lot?



W1: Usually two or three times a week, after we go to the library.



W2: Wow. Where do you find the time?



W1: We home school, so we do it during the day most of the time.



W2: Some of my neighbours home school, but I send my kids to public school.



W1: How do you do it?



W2: It's not easy. I go to all the PTO meetings and work with the kids every day after school and stay real involved.



W1: But what about socialization? Aren't you worried about them being cooped up all day with kids their own ages, never getting the opportunity for
natural relationships?



W2: Well, yes. But I work hard to balance that. They have some friends who're home schooled, and we visit their grandparents almost every month.



W1: Sounds like you're a very dedicated mom. But don't you worry about all the opportunities they're missing out on? I mean they're so isolated from
real life -- how will they know what the world is like -- what people do to
make a living -- how to get along with all different kinds of people?



W2: Oh, we discussed that at PTO, and we started a fund to bring real people into the classrooms. Last month, we had a policeman and a doctor come in to talk to every class. And next month, we're having a woman from Japan and a
man from Kenya come to speak.



W1: Oh, we met a man from Japan in the grocery store the other week, and he
got to talking about his childhood in Tokyo. My kids were absolutely fascinated. We invited him to dinner and got to meet his wife and their three children.



W2: That's nice. Hmm. Maybe we should plan some Japanese food for the lunchroom on Multicultural Day.



W1: Maybe your Japanese guest could eat with the children.



W2: Oh, no. She's on a very tight schedule. She has two other schools to visit that day. It's a system-wide thing we're doing.



W1: Oh, I'm sorry. Well, maybe you'll meet someone interesting in the grocery store sometime and you'll end up having them over for dinner.



W2: I don't think so. I never talk to people in the store -- certainly not people who might not even speak my language. What if that Japanese man
hadn't spoken English?



W1: To tell you the truth, I never had time to think about it. Before I even saw him, my six-year-old had asked him what he was going to do with all the oranges he was buying.



W2: Your child talks to strangers?



W1: I was right there with him. He knows that as long as he's with me, he can talk to anyone he wishes.



W2: But you're developing dangerous habits in him. My children never talk to strangers.



W1: Not even when they're with you?



W2: They're never with me, except at home after school. So you see why it's
so important for them to understand that talking to strangers is a big no-no.



W1: Yes, I do. But if they were with you, they could get to meet interesting people and still be safe. They'd get a taste of the real world, in real
settings. They'd also get a real feel for how to tell when a situation is
dangerous or suspicious.



W2: They'll get that in the third and fifth grades in their health courses.



W1: Well, I can tell you're a very caring mom. Let me give you my number--if
you ever want to talk, give me call. It was good to meet you.



--Author unknown

Oh, Give Me A Break

I had to take two of my children to the doctor today, one for a shot and one has strep.



Our regular doctor was out so they were seen by his nurse practitioner. She's nice enough I guess, but ever since the first time one of us had to see her there was just something that didn't exactly mesh with me. I'm sure it's just a difference in personalities, hers being a bit more bold than mine, but none of my kids have seemed to feel very comfortable with her either.



So she comes in and after looking over our 5-year-old daughter's records, this is how the conversation went:



(NP) "Will she be going to school?"


(Me) "No, we homeschool." (Probably didn't need to tell her that, but I never think anything about it. I really don't care what other people think of our decision. I don't mean that in a snotty, holier-than-thou way, I'm just being honest. What other people think about our decision to homeschool really doesn't concern me at all. The only one we have to answer to is the Lord, and what HE thinks is the only thing that matters).


(NP) "Oh, ok. Then she won't need any kind of physical or anything like that."


(Me) "No."


(NP) (turning her attention to dd) "Hey sweetie, can you sing your ABC's for me?"


(DD) Silence, with her head cocked and a shy look on her face.


(NP) "No? Ok, how about your numbers. Can you count to ten for me?"


(DD) Silence.


(Me, in dd's ear) "I'll let you have TWO ice creams if you'll just do it." (Daddy had already promised her one if she was a big, brave girl at the dr's).


(DD) Silence.


(Me) "I think she's a little worried about that shot coming up."


(NP) "Can you tell me what color mommy's pants are?"


(DD) "Blue."


(NP) "What about Pooh? What color is Pooh?"


(DD) "White. Oh, I mean yellow (giggle)."


(NP) "How about Pooh's jacket. What color is it?"


(DD) "Red."


(NP) "Can you come here and draw a man for me?"


(DD) Shrugs her shoulders and looks at me as if to say, 'What's up with this chick?' She takes the paper and draws a very good person, if I must say so myself!


(Me, after thinking, 'Enough already! Get on with it.') "She can tell you most of the states and capitals too if you'd like her to."


(NP) "Really?!"


(Me) "Yep!" (while thinking, "Oh come on, ask her, ask her!")



She didn't ask.



Oh well. Whatever. Didn't bother me in the least, especially when the student nurse-in-training that had come in with her turned to me and asked, "So with homeschooling, how do you do it? We have a 9-year-old boy who we'd like to homeschool because we're worried about the kind of influence he's around every day."



(Me) "Well, as long as you can handle him being drilled every time he comes to the doctor you should be fine!"



No, I didn't really say that.

Great Science Experiement Resource

We have been receiving these weekly science experiements for several years now and I just wanted to pass this wonderful resource on to all of you in case you haven't had the priviledge of hearing about it...



Robert Krampf's Experiment of the Week

Bringing Over Archived Posts

Over the next... however long it takes... I'm going to be transferring posts from my old blog over to this one, so if you see some you've read before, well... read 'em again! LOL! I'm sure there's a nugget or two in there somewhere.

Google Reader

One of the reasons I left my old blog and came here to Blogger is the frustration over not being able to keep up with my 'Friends' blogs anymore. If I don't have a one-button, easy way to do this, I simply can't keep up. I don't have the time to visit individual blogs, and I really was missing keeping up with all of my on-line friends.



So, a very sweet lady introduced me to Google Reader and so far I like it. It definitely makes it easy to keep up with all the different blogs I have bookmarked, even though I don't like it nearly as much as when I could just click on 'Friends' at my old blog. But for now, it's better than nothing.



I know several others have been frustrated over losing the 'Friends' option as well, so I just wanted to pass this on. If anyone knows of any other easy options for keeping up on other blogs, please let me know so I can check it out!