10 Things Thursday

10 things you should not send to school with a kindergartner (or any kid, really)...

1. Full size candy bars for snack. Unless, of course, you send two and one of them is for me. Preferably 3 Musketeers or Snickers.
2. Soda...of any kind or size. Not even if you send an extra one for me. Not even if it's Diet Coke.
3. Money. They do not understand money. They play with money. It will get lost/torn/given away/"borrowed."
4. Anything fragile. It has about a 90% chance of getting broken.
5. Heirlooms. Please do not make me responsible for grandads antique watch in the hands of a 5 year old.
6. Books from public libraries. They will get mixed with our classroom library and I will not pay the fine when they are overdue.
7. Un-child friendly movies to watch at rest time. I will not show Grease. I love Grease. But I will not have a bunch of kindergartners singing Greased Lightening on the playground. Or "Look at me I'm Sandra Dee, lousy with virginity." Not good.
8. Jewelery. Beaded necklaces and bracelets will come home in a plastic baggie because the string will get broken. It will. Take my word for it.
9. Costco sized cupcakes for birthdays. Regular sized cupcakes are fine. Mini-cupcakes are perfect. But cupcakes the size of a kindergartners head? Not acceptable.
10. Black widows in mason jars for show and tell. Yes, I have had a black widow in a mason jar brought in for show and tell. DO NOT let your kid bring a black widow in a mason jar for show and tell.

Blue Skies

We were sitting in chapel this morning and two kids went up front to lead a song. (One happened to be Josh, but that doesn't have anything to do with the story.) They led us in Blue Skies and Rainbows. I've known that song forever. Well, at least since I was a fifth grader at the school where I now teach. Kids also went up front to lead songs way back then. And they often led Blue Skies and Rainbows. But today, as 60 voices were singing that song, I had this flashback. I was sitting in chapel as a student on a tiny little folding metal chair. I was in the first row for some reason. And Paul got up to lead his songs. He said "Blue Skies and Rainbows" and we all sang along. Then for his second song choice, he said, "Blue Skies and Rainbows." Everyone laughed because when you're 11 and someone tries to lead the same song twice without meaning to, it's really funny. And Paul laughed too, because that's the kind of kid he was. He laughed all the time. And loved to make other people laugh. Every time I think of him, I can't help but smile.

The next fall, a few days after school started, he was killed in a playground accident. It was terrible and sad and incredibly heartbreaking. I wonder sometimes, who he would be today. Would he still live here or back in his native Samoa? Would he be married and have kids with his amazing smile? Would he still be making me and so many others smile? I don't know. But one thing I do know. Today in heaven he could very possibly be leading the angels in a chorus of Blue Skies and Rainbows...twice.

Blue skies and rainbows and sunbeams from heaven

Are what I can see when the Lord is living in me

I know that Jesus is well and alive today

He makes his home in my heart

Never more will I be all alone since he

Promised me that he never will part.

Blessed Sunday

Yes, I am fully aware that it is Monday. But between sharing our home computer with 3 other people and having way too much to do at home to ever use said computer, I don't often get to blog from home. So here is Blessed Sunday, or Monday if you prefer.

My mom. She is a blessing. She is amazing and beautiful and wonderful and loving. She is the rock in our family. She is and has been for every day of my life, a constant beacon of light. She loves me like a mother should. She is my hero. And who I want to be someday. Of all the blessings in my life, she is at the top of the list.

And if that isn't enough, I get to be a mom, too. Motherhood is a blessing that I didn't even know I wanted until that day in 1999 when I joined the club. Ten and a half years later I can't remember the day when I didn't belong. My heart and mind and soul are so full of mommy-ness that sometimes I smile, or even laugh, simply because these three lovely little people, these sweet, funny, adorable, loud, sometimes stinky, little people are mine. Mine to hold and guide for a while, but love and treasure forever. What a blessing!

10 Things Thursday

10 things my students wrote about me in a little book they made to give me today as part of teacher appreciation week at our school...

1. She lets us have free time.
2. She teaches us to count to 100.
3. She teaches us our numbers.
4. She's very nice.
5. She has cool toys in her classroom.
6. She's a good teacher.
7. She teaches us good stuff.
8. She lets us bring toys for show and tell.
9. She doesn't yell.

(So that's only 9 things. But that's all there was. Someone must have been absent the day they did the project.)

4 weeks

It's still 4 weeks until Julianna turns 2. 28 more days. But you wouldn't have known it this morning. She has decided that she doesn't want to wait until then to hit the "terrible twos." This morning before we left the house she threw a multitude of fits. One when she didn't want to get dressed. One when I tried to change her diaper. One when I wouldn't let her pull the vacuum out of the hall closet. One when I tried to fix her hair. One when I wouldn't let her eat a sucker she found on the kitchen counter. One when I wouldn't let her eat the yogurt we were taking for her snack. One when I tried to put her shoes on. One when I tried to put her coat on. Phew. I think that's it. It was really weird because she's usually very agreeable and happy. But today she was trying out those "terrible twos" with gusto. (Her fits consisted of one or more of the following: crying, yelling, falling to the floor, kicking, pulling off her socks.) We finally made it out the door and she was back to her old self. But I guess we'll see what tomorrow holds.

Rambling

I totally missed Blessed Sunday yesterday because I was so busy enjoying my family and reading a great book. I didn't even think about it once. That is a blessing.

Our dog, who is a huge chocolate lab, is a great guard dog. He barks his big bark at moose and deer and horses and people walking by and any car that pulls in the driveway. But he is afraid of wind. And this morning at 4:00 he reminded us. He barked until we got up and turned on the light and then whined until Arrty went outside and checked on him. How can a 125 pound monster like him be afraid of the wind?

On my desk sits a pot of miniature roses. It's from my dad. I smile every time I look at it.

This week is teacher appreciation week. That means for the next five days, we will be spoiled by the PTO. Today was a breakfast of muffins and fresh fruit and free drinks at Dutch Bros. Be sure to say thank you to any teachers in your life.

Our auction Friday night was a big success. We surpassed our goal by over $3,000! And we won the bed we wanted for Julianna! And a pet package that came with a certificate for a free puppy adoption at the humane society. One stipulation on said puppy.* It must NOT be afraid of wind.

Have I mentioned lately how extremely adorable my daughter is? Well, she is!

And have I mentioned lately how quickly my sons are growing? Well, they are!

*We have not yet decided if and when we will adopt a puppy. I'm not much of a dog person, but my family is. And how cute would pictures of Jules and a puppy be?!

10 Things Thursday

10 things you can bid on if you come to our school auction tomorrow night...

1. a kayak
2. a cowboy cooking package complete with certificates for wild game
3. at least 3 beautiful quilts
4. trips and outings to several places around the country
5. a Kroc center birthday package
6. home improvement and auto packages
7. this lovely bed (but don't outbid me)
8. certificates for food and fun
9. yummy baked goods
10. a squirrel hunt! (Really.)

For a full list of live auction items go here. There will also be a silent auction with hundreds of items. Join us to have a great time and to support Christian education .

Blessed Sunday

Today is my dad's birthday. We had lunch with him and gave him cards and gifts and told him "happy birthday." But it just doesn't seem enough for someone who has loved me so very much my whole life. Someone who has spent his days from the time I was born when he was only 18, working to take care of me. He has loved me through childhood and the teen years and into adulthood. He has held me when I needed to be held and laughed with me more times than I can count. He has told stories and played music and let me play hooky. He has taken me fishing and on trips and given me priceless memories. He has sat with me in waiting rooms and sat in waiting rooms waiting for me. He has prayed with me and for me and over me. He has loved my children more than words can say from the moment he heard they were on the way and has shown them more love in their short lives than many people feel in a lifetime. He has encouraged me and guided me and helped me become who I am today. He is my dad. And that is such a wonderful blessing.

I love you, Dad.

Show and Tell

I guess I'm a hillbilly at heart. Here's why. This morning on the way to school, I saw a car with vanity plates that said HIMAINT. "HIM AINT?" Shouldn't it be "HE AINT?" And him ain't what? I just couldn't figure it out. Until I realized that it wasn't HIM AINT, but HI MAINT. Ooohhh. HI MAINT, like high maintanance. Now I get it. Kind of, anyways. Because HI MAINT, I ain't.

Now for Show and Tell...

My Little Pony and a Barbie fairy that can fly...all shared while P. was wearing her Hannah Montana wig that she had convinced all the preschoolers was real.

American Girl doll named Katelyn

stuffed anteater and a bottle (of milk, not ants) to feed said anteater...and a loose tooth.

two Lego cars from McDonald's that can come apart and "will come to pieces if you blast them"

a purple stuffed lamb

two more Barbies

and some other stuff. At this point in the year, I've pretty much seen it all and tend to lose interest after a while.

10 Things Thursday

10 new or soon to be released movies I want to see...

1. Oceans--3D underwater adventure. What's better than an underwater documentary? One in 3D of course!
2. The Bounty Hunter --Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston are exes who run into each other again. Hilarity ensues. Will they fall in love again? My guess is yes.
3. Babies --Documentarians follow the first year of life of 4 babies from around the world. So cute. And fascinating for the mommy in me.
4. Ironman 2 --Just because it's fun.
5. Letters to Juliet --A young woman helps two long lost loves reunite while finding love herself.
6. Robin Hood --Another remake of this classic story starring Russell Crowe.
7. Ondine --Colin Farrell. Ireland. That's enough for me.
8. The Karate Kid --Remake of the 80's favorite. Starring Jadan Smith and Jackie Chan as the wise karate sensei.
9. Ramona and Beezus --I read all of Beverly Cleary's books when I was little and can't wait to see what they do with two of my favorite characters.
10. Eclipse --In the last seconds of New Moon, Edward told Bella he'd change her into a vampire if she'd marry him. Will she or won't she?!?! Will she do the smart thing and go back to Jacob?!?! I'm dying to find out!

Newby

I have a new student in my class today. Yes, it is almost the end of the school year. 35 days left if you're wondering. But this family is enrolling their daughter in kindergarten next year and since I have half preschoolers this year they thought they'd get her used to the idea of school now. I have to admit that yesterday when the school secretary told me she would be starting today, I was a little concerned. I have a challenge already with teaching such a diverse group of students. Some are already beginning to read while some are still barely putting two sounds together. And now I would have another one who I knew nothing about. After I thought about it, though, it's not such a big deal. One more little body to line up and keep track of and pass papers to. And besides, whatever she learns these last few weeks will be helpful for next year. Then this morning she walked in with mom and dad close behind. I showed her where to sit and gave her a writing practice paper like the other students were working on. I could tell that both she and mom were a little nervous. But as I introduced her to the class, D., one of my most challenging boys, said, "Welcome to our class, A." How sweet is that? I think it really helped A. and her mom feel more comfortable. The other girls were really nice to her, too, and included her right away. And I can tell that she will do just fine in my class.

But what really got me was when she came over to me to ask a question about her paper and her little hands and voice were shaking from nerves. As soon as I saw that, I started staying close by her so that she felt more comfortable. I talked to her and told her what we would be doing next and patted her shoulder. Because all I could think about was Julianna in 3 years. What if it was Julianna walking into a classroom of strangers and me nervously leaving her there? What if it was Julianna whose hands and voice were shaking? What would I want that teacher to do? Well, I'd want her to stay close and talk to her and pat her shoulder. I'd want her to do whatever it took to make her feel welcome and comfortable. So that's what I did. And for the next 35 days, A. will be a part of our class. And I'm happy to have her.

Overheard...

...on the playground today.

"You can play four square with us, but if you get out you're OUT! It's prison rules!"

Blessed Sunday

Today's blessing: SUNSHINE!!!

10 Things Thursday

10 silly things that make me happy...

1. Glee (And when you read that, you must sing it!)--I love Glee. Laugh if you want, but I do. It's silly and fun. There's singing and dancing. And even though I do not yet have a tee shirt with "Gleek" bedazzled on it, Glee makes me happy. It's like a mini-musical every week.

2. And speaking of musicals, they make me happy, too. Grease, Hairspray, Mamma Mia, Oklahoma, The Phantom of the Opera, The Sound of Music... What's not to love? Great music. Cool costumes. Endearing characters. And did I mention the music?

3. Werewolves--Especially giant, hairy, vampire chasing werewolves.

4. Historical novels--I can't begin to count how many books I've read, but my favorites are historical. Castles, horses, knights in shining armor. And if it's based on actual people or events, I love it even more.

5. Julianna's songs--She loves to sing and dance and makes up songs all the time. This morning the title of her original composition was "Be the Yogurt." And yes, it was accompanied by a dance.

6. Clearance sales--Finding a great deal makes me happy. If it's on something I really need, it makes me really happy.

7. Coconut cream pie. Need I say more?

8. Music by Jason Mraz or Mandisa or Rascal Flatts or Hootie and the Blowfish.

9. Naps. On those very rare quiet afternoons when I can lay my head on the pillow and drift off to sleep without a care in the world and wake up refreshed and ready to take on the world.

10. And last but certainly not least, butterflies. Butterflies make me happy.

Reason #73...

...why I love teaching kindergarten.

They still fight over who gets to sit by "teacher" instead of over who has to.

10 Things Thursday (Plus one little Adam story)

Julianna has started taking her socks and shoes off every time we get in the car. I don't really blame her. I'd never wear shoes if I didn't have to. But yesterday on the way home, she took them off and Adam started saying, "This little piggy went to market. This little piggy stayed home..." "Aww," I thought, "How sweet." He continued, "This little piggy ate roast beef. This little piggy got eaten by a wolf." What?!?! "This little piggy got hit by a truck..." Umm, yeah. I'm pretty sure that's not how it goes.

Now on to 10 things...

10 words my kids know that I didn't know at their age.

1. DVD--I was a teenager before my parents even got a VCR. And nobody actually bought movies. They were rentals.
2. DVR--Are you kidding me? You watched it when it was on or you didn't watch it. And you had to sit through the commercials, too.
3. Cell phone--My family was on a party line when I was little. The thought of having your own phone in your pocket would have been very futuristic.
4. Computer--I took typing in high school. Typing. Not keyboarding. And I went through college without the internet. My research was done in the library with a stack of books in front of me.
5. Satellite TV/Cable--We had 4 channels. 4, not 400.
6. Cartoon Network--And on those four channels you could watch cartoons after school for an hour and on Saturday mornings. There were no 24 hour cartoon channels.
7. Gameboy--Our handheld games were paper and a pencil to play tic tac toe or hangman.
8. iPod--Ever heard of a boom box or a Walkman? And there were these little rectangular things called cassettes that you could put in them to listen to your music.
9. Google--There was no googling in the 70s and 80s and even part of the 90s. You can google it.
10. Playdate--Really? You didn't used to have to set up a date. You just played.

What words do your kids know that you didn't?

Peeped

As if coming back to school after spring break wasn't hard enough, it turns out that the day we came back is also the day after Easter. Less than 24 hours after a bunch of 5 year olds have hunted eggs in an adrenaline induced frenzy and consumed enormous amounts of candy. They showed up this morning still buzzing from Peeps and jelly beans. Have you ever seen an ant farm? That's what a kindergarten classroom looks like on a normal day. On a sugar high day, it's like the ants have been eating nothing but, well, Peeps and jelly beans. I'm exhausted. And on top of all that it rained. Now I fully admit that I love a rainy day now and then. Sitting in my rocking chair under a fuzzy blanket reading a good book drinking a cup of tea looking out the window at the rain falling. Nice. But inside recess where my Peeped-up kindergartners are intermingled with older kids who have eaten half their body weight in chocolate? Not nice. Not at all. But tomorrow is a new day. And maybe, just maybe, all the Peeps will be out of their systems.

For more on Peeps, check this out.

Blessed Sunday

Today, on this Easter Sunday, I must write about the greatest blessing of all...Jesus. I don't know how people live without him. Life is hard. Sometimes really hard. I don't know what I would do, how I could live this life, without the joy and peace and love and hope that comes from knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior. There have been days that I didn't think I would make it through with him. How could I survive without him? But blessing upon blessing, I don't have to. I am his, today and everyday, because on a Sunday over 2,000 years ago, he rose from the grave after dying for me. And some day, some sweet, sweet day, I will thank him face to face for that and so much more.

10 Things Thursday

10 things I will do on spring break...

1. travel a little (Montana)

2. read a lot

3. laugh with my kids

4. smile at my husband

5. watch movies

6. clean a little

7. sleep a lot

8. sing

9. wear pajamas all day (at least twice or three times or four)

10. enjoy every second

10 things I will NOT do on spring break...

1. set an alarm clock

2. make lunches the night before

3. grade papers

4. discipline kindergartners

5. wake the boys before they're ready

6. wish I was home with Jules (since I will be)

7. say things like, "Keep your hands to yourself*," or "What's the rule about walking in line," or "Criss cross applesauce."

8. worry about bed time

9. clean up spilled chocolate milk...EVERY DAY!

10. count the days to summer vacation**

*Okay, this one I may have to say.

**And I might do this one, too.

Field Trip Friday

Update: I was remiss in not mentioning the brave teachers who put their lives on the line for those of us who didn't ride the bus. They watched over our students who undoubtedly needed much attention during the trip. Especially those who rode in the back of the bus. (You know how those "back of the bus" kids are.) The bus riding teachers are heroes to us and to all who know them. Their sacrifice will not be forgotten. (Is that better, Marci?)

No show and tell today. We went on a field trip. We went to the IMAX theater in Riverfront Park. The kids rode the bus. I drove myself. I had to. Julianna was going and I wanted her to be in a car seat. So as sad as I was to not ride the bus, I did it for her. And in support of me, Kathy sacrificed her bus ride, too, and rode with us in our van. What a friend.*

Taking 10 kindergartners to Spokane and letting them loose in several acres of park is a little nerve wracking. Luckily I always have a few parents go with us and they are willing to be in charge of their own kids plus a couple more. It seems like I am continually counting kids. And every time I counted today I came up with 10. Always good. Pretty much getting back to school with the same number of kids you leave with is a successful kindergarten field trip.

The IMAX movie that we saw was Hubble. It was fascinating. They showed the whole process of getting the Hubble telescope 320 miles above us and what they've done to it in the years since. And they showed some of the pictures that they have gotten from Hubble. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. I found myself thinking how awesome our God is to have created such a thing as our galaxy and all the ones outside ours. It also made me wonder what view we'll have from Heaven. Will all our questions about the universe be answered? Will we be able to see things all of those light years away? Will we even care while in the presence of the Bright and Morning Star? Probably not.

After the movie we rode the carousel and then went to the giant wagon park to eat lunch and play for a while. The kids were all really well behaved and seemed to have a great time. Julianna had fun, too. She made friends with a squirrel in the park and chased it around trying to feed it a pretzel. It came really close to her and she had absolutely no fear. A few steps closer and she would have grabbed it like she tries to grab the cat at home. When the squirrel finally climbed a tree, she kept asking, "Where squirrel go?" So cute.

So another annual field trip come and gone. And it was a good one.

*Umm, that was all sarcastic. Riding the bus is NOT fun for adults. Kids love it. Teacher's don't.

10 Things Thursday

10 things on my grocery list*...

1. fruit (bananas, apples, mandarin oranges)
2. veggies (lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots)
3. sugar (to make lemonade and to put in tea)
4. cream cheese (to go on the bagels I bought at Costco)
5. frozen corn (because it's better than canned)
6. mayo (for sandwiches and french fry dip)
7. cookies (a huge box of Oreos to donate for the youth rally at church)
8. toilet paper (duh)
9. dryer sheets (I can never match my number of dryer sheets to my detergent.)
10. Lunchables (for the boys' field trip to Riverfront Park tomorrow)

*Obviously, it's been hard to come up with ideas for 10 Things Thursday. Any suggestions?

In the spirit of the Irish...

...some blessings and proverbs.

May the Irish hills caress you.
May her lakes and rivers bless you.
May the luck of the Irish enfold you.
May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.

A face without freckles is like a sky without stars.

Here's to your roof, may it be well thatched
And here's to all under it -May they be well matched.

If God sends you down a stony path, may he give you strong shoes.

A handful of skill is better than a bagful of gold.

A cabin with plenty of food is better than a hungry castle.

A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest.

Dance as if no one's watching, sing as if no one's listening, and live everyday as if it were your last.

It is easy to halve the potato where there is love.

Three best to have in plenty - sunshine, wisdom and generosity.

God is good, but never dance in a small boat.

Get down on your knees and thank God you're still on your feet.

You'll never plough a field by turning it over in your mind.

May you live long,
Die happy,
And rate a mansion in heaven.

Say little but say it well.

If wars were fought with words Ireland would be ruling the world.

And my favorite Irish blessing...

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you In the palm of his hand.

Words

Julianna has been talking up a storm lately. It seems like she says new words everyday. She says them on her own and she repeats what everybody else says. Whenever she sees writing, she says, "abc." And when we were doing Adam's math homework, she heard us saying numbers and she started counting. Then she was playing with some little people and started saying, "upside down, upside down." And when I looked, sure enough she was holding them upside down. She has also started saying, "I hungry, mama," instead of, "mmmhmmm, mama," like she's done for months. I'm not sure where she got her "I'm hungry" noise, but I've known what it meant for a long time and would ask her if she was hungry when she did it. I guess she finally decided to use the real word. Which helps when she's with other people, but I have to admit that I will miss her little hungry hum. In the last few days she's also said, "exactly," "I know George," "bagel," " bite, please," and "boots." She's said "thank you" for a while but now also says, "excuse me," "bless you," "sorry," and "you're welcome." But of all her new words, my favorite is "read." She will bring a book to one of us and say, "Read book." Or she will just say, "read," and "read" it herself. I've already seen in her my love of music and now I'm starting to see her inheriting my love of reading, too. I love it.


I spent a lot of time with my sweet little girl this past weekend and saw over and over how much she's growing everyday. Too fast. Just too fast. When she wants to snuggle, I snuggle. When she wants to read, we read. When she hands me the puzzle pieces and tells me where to put them, I oblige over and over and over. Because I know. I know how the days fly by and the years add up and these moments, these lovely baby moments, pass all too quickly. So for now I will hold on to this little girl with the twinkling blue eyes and contagious smile and growing vocabulary. And treasure these memories so that I can hold them in my heart forever.

Blessed Sunday

This lovely cake was made by Darcy for our Monday night Bible study group in celebration of my birthday. A few weeks ago, she brought her yummy chocolate covered pretzels and I told her that for my birthday I wanted them instead of cake. (She is the official birthday cake maker for the group since she makes such delicious, creative cakes.) So when Monday came along, she brought this log cabin cake covered with chocolate covered pretzels for the logs. What a treat! I can't even tell you how much I loved it! Not only did it look so cool, but it tasted good, too. It was a little tricky to cut and serve, but it was worth it to get to the chocolate and vanilla layered cake and frosting inside. And if cake wasn't enough, we got to eat the logs, too. It was such a special cake and I felt special that Darcy put so much work into it just for me. Thanks, Darcy.

But as much as I loved the cake, that isn't the blessing I'd like to write about today. The blessing that this cake represents is Darcy and her husband Andy. They are amazing people. Loving and generous and caring. They are funny and smart and encouraging. They bring to our group something that none of the rest of us could. They bring a perspective of our Lord that I so appreciate and am only able to see through them. Where they have been and where they are now is an amazing testament of God's grace and love. I am so thankful that I know them and that they are a part of our family's life.

And on top of all that, there's also the yummy cake!

Lord Have Mercy*

Remember this song by Mr. Mister?

Kyrie eleison, down the road that I must travel
Kyrie eleison, through the darkness of the night
Kyrie eleison, where I'm going will you follow
Kyrie eleison, on a highway in the light

I had the record in the 80's and practically wore it out listening to it. Whatever happened to them? Anyways, we heard that song on the way to school this morning and I just had to sing along. How can you not? And Josh, who loves music almost as much as I do, was listening, too. A few minutes later, when there was an ad on the radio, I heard him singing it in the back seat.

Carryin' a laser down the road that I must travel
Carryin' a laser through the darkness of the night
Carryin' a laser where I'm going will you follow
Carryin' a laser on a highway in the light

I turned the radio down to make sure that's really what I was hearing. Then I asked him if that's what he was saying and he said "yes." I laughed and laughed. Carryin' a laser? Makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

*The phrase "kyrie eleison" means "Lord, have mercy" in Greek. Just in case you were wondering.

10 Things Thursday

You know how in "Peter Pan," Wendy and John and Michael have to think happy thoughts to fly? Well, here are my 10 happy thoughts for the day...

1. having a clean, organized, simplified house with no clutter or dust bunnies or dirty dishes
2. opening the fridge and having dinner magically appear every night
3. having children who never argue or fight or get into trouble
4. teaching a class full of students who retain everything I teach and who are right on track in every subject
5. balancing my checkbook and finding enough and maybe even a little extra money
6. living a day in which I do everything I'm supposed to and nothing I'm not
7. lying on a beach somewhere with a good book and a constantly icy cold, fruity drink
8. typing the last period on the last page of the book I have in my head
9. having someone pay me for writing that book
10. hearing my children laugh those deep, sincere laughs that I love so much

Bonus: And, of course, my ultimate happy thought is heaven. The happiest of all.

Blessed Sunday

I have been blessed this past week by starting my 38th year of life. When you're little, birthdays are a big deal. It's your one day to be the center of attention. Your day and yours alone. But after you get to a certain age, birthdays aren't such a big deal. Dinner, a few presents, cake, and maybe a candle or two. If that. But the day comes and goes with little fanfare. I spent many years like that. But a few years ago, I decided to make a bigger deal of my birthday. It still might just be dinner and cake and a few presents, but in my mind it is my special day. A day to reflect on the past year and look forward to the next. I have begun to enjoy turning a year older, not at all worried that that number means I'm older, but enjoying that it means that I'm a year wiser. This year was like that. I went to work as usual. (Well, mostly as usual. I was dressed like a Star Bellied Sneetch*.) I taught phonics and numbers. I had recess duty. I was mom and wife just like any other day. We went out to dinner and I got a free birthday sundae complete with a candle on top. My sweet family softly sang "Happy Birthday" to me. Then I went home and got a bag of birthday goodies** from my husband and kids. Then I put kids to bed and made lunches and did all my nightly preparations for the next day. So besides the yummy steak and free sundae, and a little extra attention from my family, it was just any other Thursday. On the outside. But for me it was my birthday. And I felt special. Because I wanted to. I laughed a little more and sang a little louder and enjoyed the little things. It was my day.

*It was Dr. Seuss day at school and I decided to be a Star Bellied Sneetch. So if you ever see someone dressed strangely on a day that's not Halloween, just assume they're an elementary school teacher. We do that sometimes.
**My birthday bag included a stuffed flower, Peep flavored lip balm, Twilight bracelets, a pack of mini Twix bars, and the first season of Glee on dvd. Nice, huh?

And to make things even better, Friday my sister friends took me to dinner and a movie to celebrate. We had yummy hamburgers and fries at Red Robin and talked and laughed and drank glasses and glasses of Diet Coke. We discussed who we would be if we were movie characters. We had purse show and tell. And we laughed some more. Then we walked over to the theater and saw "Alice in Wonderland." It was sooo goooood. Even though we were the fourth oldest group of people there. There were a lot of teenagers. A lot. They were noisy and energetic and just a little scary. (Not because they were really scary, but the thought that I will soon have teenagers in my house was scary. Like panic attack inducing scary even.) Then to finish the night, we went to Baskin Robins (since Dairy Queen was closed) and I got a waffle cone with a scoop of my favorite ice cream ever, Nutty Coconut. And we laughed some more. It was a good night, a good, good night.

And to keep the birthday celebration going, Tuesday's family dinner night is my family birthday. We are going to my favorite Mexican restaurant and then to mom and dad's house for coconut cream pie. Yeah for birthdays!

Show and Tell

Today is "fill in the blanks" show and tell.

"This is my (choose item from section 1) and I like it a lot. It's very (choose adjective from section 2). I got it from (choose one from section 3). It can (choose one from section 4). And I like it a lot."

Section 1
doll
stuffed dog
Littlest Pet Shop animals
Batmobile, Batman and Robin action figures, Batman mask
stuffed Lorax and book
stuffed bunny
Bionicle

Section 2
special
cool
cute
fun

Section 3
grandma
my birthday
Target
my room

Section 4
move
cry
shoot
drive

10 Things Thursday--Birthday Edition

10 things about birthdays...

1. Today is mine.
2. The first birthday I remember was when I was turning 7. My dad was across the country working and there was a party at my grandparents house with lots of aunts and uncles and cousins. But I sat on my aunt Shirley's bed and sang It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To. Because the one person I wanted to be there wasn't. He was 1000 miles away.
3. But on my 13th birthday, he sent me cards from across the country even though he wasn't.
4. On my 16th birthday I was given a gift in every one of my classes at CDA High School. Just little things, but boy did I feel special. Everyone knew it was my birthday. And I just bet all the other kids, well, at least the girls, were jealous that their parents weren't as creative and loving as mine to send them presents in every class on their birthdays.
5. That was the same year that mom and dad picked me up from driver's ed and took me to a big surprise birthday party with all of my friends. (It's so weird that I remember what I was wearing that day. It was a light blue skirt with a pastel-ly colored animal print shirt. Very 80s.)
6. That was also the year that I got a car for my birthday. But I didn't get it until a few weeks after my birthday. Dad was looking for an El Camino to buy for me. I didn't realize until just a few years ago why he was looking for that specific car. It was because I would only be able to have one other person in the car with me at a time. Fewer distractions. I ended up getting a 1976 Dodge Aspen. It would hold four other people. (It would have been five, but dad cut the front middle seat belt out so that no one could sit right next to me. I understand now. Thanks, dad.)
7. My 21st birthday was the first I celebrated as a married woman.
8. And my 28th was the first I celebrated as a mom.
9. Thirty seven birthdays have come and gone with cake and candles and balloons and presents and family and friends. But only one thing has ever really lasted or mattered--the people who have made those days special.
10. And today, on my 38th birthday, those same people who have been there for so many other birthdays, will make this one wonderful, too.

Counting the Seconds

Adam: Mom, what's 60 X 15?
Me: I don't know. A lot....Well, 60 X 10 is 600 and 60 X 5 is 300 so 60 X 15 is 900.
Adam: So that means we have 900 seconds of recess.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay. I feel better now.

Blessed Sunday

Yesterday was Christmas. At least it was for us with Arrty's side of the family. Last year his grandma had just had surgery and wasn't home for the holidays and his mom lives a little ways away and with all the snow wasn't able to make it in December. So we got together in March for dinner and a few presents. Then this year at Thanksgiving, we all decided that we'd celebrate late again. It actually works out quite nicely for us. Those few days in December aren't so busy for our family and it gives the kids something to look forward to later in the winter. And besides, Jesus wasn't really born on December 25th anyways.

So for my blessing for today, I'd like to count that part of our family. It includes Arrty's mom, grandma, aunt, and brother and his girlfriend. They are talkative and funny and happy. They tell stories and tease each other and laugh together. And they love our kids. They just can't get enough of them when we're together. And the kids love them, too.

So last night we sat down to a delicious lasagna dinner (Aunt Cathy is an amazing cook!) and ate together and celebrated Jesus and being a family. We opened a few gifts. And we said, "Merry Christmas." And for that few hours it was.

10 Things Thursday

The 10 countries my kindergartners have learned about and that are part of our history fair project for tonight's History Fair/Talent Show...

1. Kenya
2. Australia
3. Israel
4. China
5. Mexico
6. The Netherlands
7. Japan
8. Brazil
9. Italy
10. England

Just A Note

When you teach kindergarten, you have many days when little kids come up to you and open little hands that are holding a tiny little tooth. This is the age when most kids start losing their baby teeth. It's very exciting. And sometimes a little scary. Some kids worry about it. Some kids look forward to it. And some kids just can't wait to have that first little pearly white tooth to put under their pillow to exchange with the tooth fairy for a new, shiny quarter. (Or dollar, or whatever she is delivering these days.) But today one of my youngest kindergartners came in and handed me a note that she wanted me to read. It said...

Dear H.,
Those are lovely rocks, but I am sorry I can't take them. I only take teeth. I am sure you will lose yours soon and I will be back for them. Try to be patient.
Your friend,
The Tooth Fairy

Yes, she tried to trick the tooth fairy into thinking that the little white rocks she found were teeth. But, as you can see, the tooth fairy wasn't born yesterday. She knows the difference between rocks and teeth. And I'm sure this isn't the first time she's found things under pillows that weren't teeth. But wasn't it nice of Miss Fairy to write H. a note explaining things. And strangely enough, her handwriting looks just like H.'s mom's handwriting.

Blessed Monday

Josh and Adam went to Oregon with my parents this past weekend to a horse sale. And came home with a new horse. They were so excited about "their" horse. It's a smaller horse than dad's others for the kids to learn to ride on. Out of the five grand kids, he's bound to get at least a few who are horse lovers like him.

They told me all about their trip. What they saw. The auction. Some of the horses. How exciting it was to bid on and win their horse. But what I remember most from their stories was when Josh said about the fun they'd had, "Spending three days with Pappy and Grandma and not laughing is impossible." Don't we all need those people in our lives. The "impossible not to laugh with" people. Those who we know we can count on to add some fun to our lives. Those who make our days and lives happier. Those with whom memories of good times will last a lifetime. My kids are blessed to have that with their beloved grandparents. And that is a blessing to me, too.

10 Things Thursday

10 things about my husband...


1. today is his birthday
2. he's not quite 40
3. he has blue eyes
4. he can identify song title, artist, and year of release of any song from the years 1975 to 1992
5. he makes cute kids (with a little help from me)
6. he's smart
7. he's a good dad
8. he makes the best homemade french fries
9. he is loyal to a fault
10. I love him.

Happy birthday, hon.

Treasures

I have this cowboy boot box that I got from my dad years and years ago when he bought new boots. Inside that box are treasures. Not treasures to anyone else, but treasures to me. There are letters and pictures and post cards and journals from high school. There are old newspaper articles and tiny trinkets from my childhood including a gown I wore as a newborn. And there are cards. I don't save cards normally. I put them on the fridge or book shelf for a few days then toss them. But in this box there are a few special birthday cards. And one valentine. I don't know how old I was when it was given to me, but the date on the back is 1974. When you open it, an alligator head pops out with mouth open wide. Alvin the alligator is agreeing that I should be the sender's valentine. And the sender was my dad. I don't really remember deciding to save this one valentine out of all the ones I've received. But I can guess why I saved it. I saved it because it was from my very first valentine. The one who loved me first and most. The one who I knew I could count on then and can count on now. The one who has told me in word and deed for as long as I can remember that he loves me.

And yesterday he gave me another valentine. A beautiful card with a beautiful message. To think that he went to the store and picked up card after card searching for just the right one for me is such a special thought. And the one he chose, just for me, is perfect. Just perfect. I love it and will treasure it. And after it sits on the book shelf for a few days, I will put it with the other one in my box of treasures.

Hail To The Chiefs

Thank you, George Washington, for crossing the Delaware, for loving our country, for being the first president of the United States of America going where no man had gone before.

Thank you, Abraham Lincoln, for beating the odds, for guiding our country through a civil war, for being honest, for being a leader we can be proud of.

And thank you both for the day off. Happy birthday.

Blessed Sunday

Since today is Valentine's Day, I'd like to tell you what a blessing my valentine is to me. We met when I was 11 and he was 12. We went to school together in middle school, but not in high school. We started officially dating when I was 16. And we got married when I was 20. This summer we will celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary. He is the only one I've ever kissed. I hardly remember life without him by my side.

I love a lot of things about him. That he loves the Lord. That he makes me laugh. That he loves our children. That he knows me better than anyone. The memories that we have made together. I love that he never complains about my cooking or when the sink is full of dishes. I love that he says thank you after dinner even if it's hot dogs or take and bake pizza. But what makes me love him most of all is that he loves me. He has loved me through all the things we have been through over the years. Good and bad. Up and down. Crazy and really, really crazy. He's loved me anyways. And that is a blessing.

Oh, yeah. He also gave me a dozen red roses today. I love that, too.

10 Things Thursday

10 things you would find in my class today...

1. cookies--humongous sugar cookies with sprinkles
2. pink cupcakes with pink frosting and decorated with hearts
3. 48 juice pouches, even though there are only 11 students in my class. Busy moms like to send juice pouches.
4. red plates and white and pink napkins which only got used to clean up spills, not wipe faces.
5. more cupcakes, red velvet with cream cheese frosting
6. more cookies, made from cake mix
7. rice crispy treats, pre-packaged, not homemade
8. tons of those little boxes of hearts that say things like "Be Mine" and "True Love" and "Hug Me", which have to be the world's worst candy
9. little valentine cards of all sorts--puppies, princesses, Batman, flowers, Spongebob, Power Rangers, Dora, and even one that was scratch and sniff
10. 11 sugar filled, card giving, candy eating, super excited children

And the 11th thing you would find in my class today is one exhausted teacher.

Dance It, Baby, Dance It!

Last week I recorded the Grammy Awards knowing that the rest of my family wouldn't be interested in watching. And besides, if it's recorded, I can fast forward through the commercials and boring parts. Since it was just Julianna and I home on Saturday morning, I decided to watch it. My music loving little girl was totally into it. She loved the performances and danced along to most of them. But when Beyonce came on the screen she was mesmerized. She stood and watched for a minute. Then began to move. She's got some skillz, let me tell ya! But when she started copying the moves of Beyonce, I was amazed. She swung her head around shaking her hair just like the singer. She moved her arms like she saw on the screen. She even sang some though it wasn't the actual song but in Julesese. I loved watching her and enjoyed her performance much more than the show. And I couldn't help but wonder if someday she might be there on that stage with little girls watching and copying her moves. And when she wins her first Grammy, I'm sure she'll thank her mommy first.

Blessed Sunday

Sunshine. Sunshine is a blessing. And we had some today. 48 degrees in February. No snow in my yard. And a sunshiny day. Thank you, Lord, for it all.

Show and Tell

This is my Bible and it's really special and my mom got it for Christmas and it's special and I like it a lot.

This is my catty and I got her for Christmas from my sister and she meows and purrs and she's like a dog and wags her tail or you can put her tail like this like she's in trouble or she can walk like this. She's white on this side and you can scratch her little belly and she purrs a lot of times and she meows a lot of times. That's what she does. And she's very special and I like her a lot and sometimes in my room I don't play with her. She's white on her nose and black on her head and on this side she has no white line and she has a little button but it doesn't work and it has a 'f' and a heart and a 'r' and she has cute little dark ears. They are kind of pink but they're light pink. And she has green eyes and a pink little nose but her mouth can't open up. And she's cute. And when she walks I do this or I do this and that's why she likes me and I like her. And on this side she's furry and on this side she's furry too. That's why I like her. And I want some quiet time. D. be quiet and give me your attention. And she's really cute and I love her and she's really cute. And I know you guys already know that. And you can read to her or she can climb on your shoulder. And she can put out her claws and she purrs a lot. And she thinks I'm her furry bed. D. I don't want to hear any noise from you. I'm trying to talk. No noise. (I then told her to leave poor D. alone, who wasn't making any noise by the way, and go on.) And you guys can see her whiskers don't you. (At this point, the rest of the class was getting restless so I told her she could tell us one more thing.) And I like to paint her nails and put a little dress on her. And that's all. The end. That's my whole story.

This is my friend dolly and I really love her. I sleep with her every night. I got her for my birthday. My friends for my birthday got me a sleeping bag and my friend Olivia gave me a baby doll. I forgot what my other friends gave me. And I really love her. And we got to play Cinderella and we got to wear a blindfold and stick something on her and we had a Barbie cake and on my next birthday at Disneyland we can see the diamond castle and I have the book of it that I got from my brother's school, but now my brother signed up for homeschool. But I really like my dolly.

These are my pom poms and they are very special and the strings always fall out and that's why I don't want to pull on them. They're blue and I have another pair that are red. And that's it.

Zippity zip. (He actually said zippity zip while unzipping his backpack to get his show and tell out.) It's red with tools in it! Oh and okay and this is Dusty and Turner and Phillipe and Squeeze and Rusty and a tape measure, I can't remember it's name, and this is a girl and this is a girl and this is a girl and this is a boy and there are four boys and three girls. (He pushed a button and the tools sing and dance. And he pushed the button again and nothing happened.) It ran out of batteries so I can't do it anymore. Yep, I'm done. Did anyone like it? You did and you did and you did and you did and you did and you did.

This is my puppy I mean my kitty and my kitty likes to chase dogs and dogs like to chase cats. She likes other people but only people she knows. And I really love her and her name is Gloria and I really like her and she has a friend named Ruff and she's a doggy and I brush her feet cuz I love her and I take good care of her and I want to come around and you can pet her.

These are my pom poms and I know everything about it and I like it and I use to have my M thing that goes with it. It's my M shirt with my dress but it doesn't fit me anymore and when I want to be a cheerleader I get them and I like dressing me up with them and that's it.

10 Things Thursday

10 book characters who are at school today for "Dress Up and Read" day...

1. the Grinch (How the Grinch Stole Christmas)

2. a Wild Thing (Where the Wild Things Are)

3. Princess Violante (Inkspell)

4. Alice the Fairy (Alice the Fairy)

5. Captain Underpants (Captain Underpants series) (my favorite, by the way)

6. Mary and Laura Ingalls (Little House on the Prairie series)

7. the wicked witch of the west (The Wizard of Oz)

8. the Queen of Hearts (Alice In Wonderland)

9. Pirate Pete (Pirate Pete)

10. the Cat in the Hat (The Cat in the Hat) (Umm, should we be concerned that when The Cat and I went through McDonald's drive through to get a Diet Coke, they didn't even flinch at serving a giant cat in a giant hat? It makes me wonder who was in the car before us.)

10 of my favorite book characters that I would have dressed up as if I had the makings of the costume...

1. Star Girl (Star Girl)

2. Clementine (Clementine series)

3. Miss Nelson (Miss Nelson is Missing)

4. Mama Bunny (Runaway Bunny)

5. Karana (Island of the Blue Dolphins)

6. Esther (The Bible)

7. Caroline Ingalls (Little House on the Prairie series)

8. Miri (Princess Academy)

9. Sarah (Sarah Plain and Tall)

10. Hadassah (A Voice in the Wind)

(Hmm!? What an interesting list. Each of these characters shows some trait that I hope I have in my life--integrity, love, courage, individuality, creativity, loyalty. I didn't even think of that until I was reading back over the list.)

Who is your favorite book character?

Two For Tuesday

Two reasons I love teaching kindergarten today.

One, some of the kids can't help but to call groundhogs "hedgehogs" even though it's GROUNDHOG Day. I tried to explain the difference, but to no avail. It just makes me smile.

And two, when you teach kindergarten, you get to spend all of Groundhog Day reading stories about groundhogs, watching cute videos about groundhogs, and making a cute little "groundhog popping out his burrow" craft with popcicle sticks and styrofoam cups.

What did you do today?

Blessed Sunday

I know today is Monday, but yesterday I was blessed with being able to spend the day with my family and unplugged. No computer time means no blogging.

But today I would just like to say that I am feeling blessed to be well. There have been times in the recent past when I wasn't well. And I have been hearing about so many who are going through the same kind of anxiety stuff that I've had to deal with, and still do on occasion. Here's what I would like to tell them. It's okay. You are not having a heart attack/brain tumor/going crazy even though it might feel like it. Google anxiety attack or panic attack. You will be surprised by the mile long list of physical symptoms that can come with one of these terribly scary times. You are not alone. Talk to others. You might find out that someone close to you feels the same way and you can help each other. Get help. Talk to your doctor. Seek counsel from professionals. They will understand and be able to give you answers. And believe me, answers help a lot. Don't be afraid of treatment. I fought and fought against counseling and medication. I hated the feeling that I couldn't control my own mind and body. But if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't hesitate for even a second to do whatever it takes to be well. Breathe. In through your nose for five counts, hold for five counts, out through your mouth for five counts. It helps.

And for those of you who have never experienced a panic attack but live or work with some one who does, please be patient with them. It is not all in their head. It isn't made up or exaggerated or just them being dramatic. It's serious and painful. Help them understand. And be understanding.

Okay, my public service announcement is now over.

Photo Shoot

I thought that when Julianna was in the bath, and her hair was wet and out of her eyes, would be the perfect time to take pictures of her little bump from her gymnastics down the stairs. She, on the other hand, didn't agree. She just wanted to see the picture on the screen of my camera.

I got this shot, then she wanted to see. Then she didn't want play along.And started to let me know.Louder... and louder...

and madder...

and madder. (I call this one "Dang Paparazzi!")But then I realized that when I showed her the picture of herself, she would crack up laughing. So I would turn the camera around as fast as I could to capture it.

Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't.

Right in between laughing and not.Totally laughing. Don't you just love her crooked, little mouth?

And mad again.

The shoot continued after the bath, too, in her puppy towel. She ran around and kept saying, "I a puppy! I a puppy!" Oh my goodness, it was cute.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love having a baby in the house? And not just a baby, but a baby girl? And not just a baby girl, but the cutest, sweetest, funniest baby girl ever? Well, I do.

Reporting

So there will be no show and tell today since there are no students here today. It is a teacher work day. I just finished my report cards, which are actually pretty easy to do for kindergartners since there aren't any grades to average. It's mostly just "yes, your child can recognize the letters of the alphabet" or "no, your child is not an attentive listener." The hardest part is the teacher comments on the back. I try to be creative, but sometimes I just want to write, "A pleasure to have in class." Or, "Really, you expect me to teach this kid?" But I don't. I write something about each child's progress and how they are doing in class. Even if I have something negative to say, I don't put it on the report card. Mostly because my sister still remembers when her kindergarten report card said that she talked too much in class. (Really? Ada?) I save those kinds of things for conferences. Not put them on something that will follow the kid around for the next 12 years.

I'm very happy to be finished with report cards for one more quarter and can hardly believe that we are halfway through the school year. Amazing. Now I just have to plan for the second half. Can you say weekly field trips?

10 Things Thursday

10 foods I wish I had right now. (I guess I should have eaten breakfast.)

1. Mom's chicken and dumplings (Or her biscuits and gravy. Or her lasagna.)
2. Toro Viejo appetizer sampler
3. Arrty's homemade french fries
4. Long John Silver's fish and chips
5. Dad's prime rib (Or his grilled salmon. Or his hamburgers cooked over an open fire.)
6. Aunt Cathy's loaded mashed potatoes
7. Ada's white cupcakes with white frosting (Or any of her yummy desserts. Or her poppers. Or her chicken ranch cheese ball.)
8. tomato basil soup and garlic bread from Tomato Street
9. chopped salad from Outback
10. homemade pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms, olives and lots of cheese

Hungry yet?

Overheard...

...in my kindergarten class.

"I care about everyone. Especially God."
"You don't care about the devil."
"No."
"Or Obama. He's bad."
"Yeah, he smokes."

Big Brother

This week in Bible class, I have been teaching the kids about the childhood of Jesus. We hear a lot about Jesus the baby and Jesus the man, but I told them that he was a child, too, just like they are now. He played and laughed and skinned his knees. I also told them that he had younger brothers and sisters. One little boy in the class asked me if his brothers and sisters were ever jealous of Jesus since he was perfect. Good question. Can you imagine? "Why can't you be more like your brother?" Really? That's a lot of pressure. But my answer to the question was this. I think that even though Jesus was perfect and he knew who he was, he didn't make his siblings feel anything but loved. Did they feel pressure? Maybe. But not from him. And even more so, can you imagine having Jesus as your big brother? The whole "my brother is stronger than your brother" thing would be brought to a whole nother level. He was there to protect and watch over them like no other big brother before or since. And do you want to know the great part? The wonderful, amazing, unbelievable part? He does that for me, too.

Yesterday

So here's what happened. Julianna was turning around to back down the stairs like she's been doing for a while now and was a little too close to the edge and rolled down instead of scooting down. Josh caught her about halfway down so she didn't fall far, but still ended up with a little bump on her head. I'm of the parenting thought "better safe than sorry," so I called the urgent care center to ask if there was anything I should be looking for. The nurse said that the doctor suggested that I take her into the emergency room for an evaluation because of her age and the fact that she couldn't really tell me what she was feeling. Okay, fine. Then the nurse freaked me out by asking a little frantically how far we were from the hospital. When I told her 30 minutes, she told me to make sure I had a cell phone and call 911 if anything happened. What!!! Julianna was eating and drinking and talking and dancing and putting her puzzle together faster than I could. But this nurse had me convinced that something terrible was happening. So I loaded her up and headed to town.

I couldn't believe how many people there were in the e.r. Zero. Yes. Zero. I checked in at the desk and before I could even have a seat in the waiting room, we were called back into the exam area. They asked a few questions about what had happened, weighed Julianna (22lb 6oz), took her temperature (normal), and blood pressure (which she did not like, but was normal), and took us back to a room. A few people were in and out to do paperwork and check on us, but mostly the staff of about a dozen stood in the nurses station and chatted. It was a slow night, after all. Finally after about 20 minutes, the doctor came in and shined a light around in Julianna's eyes, checked her ears, and felt around on her head. Then he said she was fine but that he was glad that I brought her in because so many parents don't when they should. And then he left. It took about a minute. Then a few minutes later I signed discharge papers and we were done. In and out of the emergency room in less than an hour. And with a perfectly clean bill of health for the little gymnast.

And they didn't even give me a certificate for being the world's worst mom...even though I felt like I deserved it. On the way home, I thought about what had happened and said a prayer of thanks. And I realized that although being an older mom this time has helped me be more relaxed, that maybe I'm a little too relaxed. We've lived in our house for 9 years, since Josh was 11 months old. And neither of the boys have ever fallen down the stairs. So maybe this little incident will help me be more diligent. And help me remember that my daughter, who wants to do everything herself, might not be ready to do everything. Next time, and for a thousand times after that, I will be there, holding her hand.

Blessed Sunday

I am blessed to have access to health care. More tomorrow.

Show and Tell

"This is my Barbie. I got her 30 days ago and I really love her and this is my other girl that I got for my birthday when I was 5 and I really love her. And this one can do the splits."

"A pirate teddy . He's a pirate because he has a sword and a pirate hat and a shirt and some pants. And he's a captain. And I got him a long, long, long time ago."

"This is my frog. I got him from my grandma on my birthday. I really like him. He's a Webkinz. And he's a tree frog. And my brother really likes him and he wants to trade but I don't want to trade because he's a cute little frog."

"This is my mouse and this is his book that goes with it. My grandma who lives in San Diego gave it to me and we read it every single night. And his name is Sparky."

"This is my other lion (it's actually a leopard) and I like her and I can dress her up whatever I want and she's the cutest lion (umm, leopard) in the whole world and her name is Mittens and yesterday was her birthday and she turned six."

"This is my puppy and I really like her and I got it from my birthday and I like to play with it and it's special and her name is..................Sarah."

"This is my Barbie and it's really special and I used to play with her a lot but I don't now and I like my other Barbies."

"This is my Bakugan and my Batman and that's all."

"This is my dolly. My mom put her in a ponytail and I think she looks really pretty that way. She's kind of a Barbie. And I have a really cool room. If you want to come to my house you can and if you want to play with my toys you can. I used to have a castle but I got rid of it but you could build a house of paper or if you want to pet my pet chicken at home you can. What I love about her is her house but I got rid of it because I had too much toys. I really saw a door that had animals on it too so we got rid of a lot of toys. She's really special. I got all of the brat dolls when I was a very little girl. And I have flowers on my walls too. And there was a big box with a lot of girls and boys in there. If you want to make them that way and you can play with this one or a boy one too or build them a house. And I love her so much and I got her as a present. And my mom got her as a present and they decorated my room and there was more girls than boys so she doesn't change her hair to another color but if you want her hair curly I can make her hair curly and if she wakes up that morning she'll have curly hair. She has curlers, pink curlers, and it curls your hair and you look pretty when you wake up in the morning. We don't have strawberries but we have a garden that will have watermelon and watermelon is this big and when it's little it gets this little in your garden and it grows and grows and grows and gets this big. I love her so much and she's my favorite Barbie in the whole entire world. And I put her in the bathtub with me today and my mom put her in a ponytail. And that is the end of the story."
(Seriously. This is pretty much word for word what she said. Seriously.)

10 Things Thursday

10 things Julianna has reminded me about being a mom...

1. My kids are cute. They are cute babies and toddlers and the boys are still cute at 8 and 10. At least most of the time, anyway.

2. My kids are smart. They have all amazed me at how quickly they learn and how much they know at such an early age. Miss Julianna is super smart. She understands everything I say and can say probably 100 words. Not that anyone outside the family knows that since she gets shy around people and won't even say "hi."

3. My kids hit the terrible twos at 18 months. All three of them have. Complete with a stubborn streak, tantrums, and "no."

4. My kids make me laugh. They are silly and sweet and hilarious. Like the other night when Julianna said, "Mama. Mama. Mama." And I answered, "What, Julianna." And she said, "Umm. Umm. Umm," like she was thinking of something to say. I just had to laugh. Which made her do it over and over and over.

5. My kids can drive me crazy. The big ones with their arguing with each other and me. And the little one when she doesn't get enough sleep and turns into a crabcake.

6. My kids are strong willed. They each have moments when they won't budge. Won't give up. Won't give in. I have no idea where they get it.

7. My kids are loved. There are so many people in our lives who adore them. They are never, ever lacking for love.

8. My kids make messes. Our floors and tables and couch are often covered with lightsabers, books, backpacks, and now dolls, blocks, and more books. Our house always looks lived in.

9. My kids are gifts. I thank God everyday for each one of them. They are an answer to prayers.

10. My kids are my purpose. They are why I'm here. Yes, I am a wife and daughter and sister and aunt and friend and teacher. But for now I am mom. And I'm glad.

Just So You Know

A, e, i, o, and u are VOWELS. Not BOWELS. I had to teach that lesson to my kindergartners today.

Confession

I have a confession. I hope that what I'm about to tell you doesn't affect the way you feel about me. It's something I've been doing for a while now and I did it again last night. So, here goes.

I watch awards show.

I know. I know. What kind of person sits through 3 hours (less than two if you dvr it and skip the boring parts) of silly one liners and weird dresses? I do. And I like it. Last night was the Golden Globes. It is my favorite (along with the SAG awards) because it covers tv and movies. And it's fun to see who is sitting with who at the tables (Julia Roberts was sitting by Paul McCartney). Here are some of my observations from last night's show.

How funny is Ricky Gervais? I think he did a great job (aside from a few off color jokes). He made just enough fun of the actors in the room and himself. He brought up the whole Conan/Leno thing, of course. He made fun of NBC's low ratings. He accused Steve Carrell of taking all the credit for the character he created. He shamelessly promoted his own work. He made jokes about Mel Gibson's drinking when he introduced him. Mel played right along, by the way. And he made fun of drinking, swearing Irishmen when he introduced Colin Farrell who had the best comeback of the night when he said, "I used to be such a cliche."

Then there were the winners and the speeches. Monique's speech was so sincere and real and lovely. Sandra Bullock was very gracious and well spoken. And she made Jesse James tear up, which seems like quite a feat. Robert Downey, Jr. was hilarious with his completely sarcastic speech. Drew Barrymore was funny and sweet and lovable as usual.

And there were losers. Why, oh why, do they show the losers as the winner is walking to the stage? Not only did they just lose, but now they have to act like they're happy for the winner. Some really might be. But some are not. And you can tell. Just look at their eyes.

Second only to the nominees themselves, were the dresses. Most of them were fine. A few were beautiful. And some were, well, not my taste. And since I prefer to spend my days in tee shirts and pajama pants, that's all I'll say about it.

Over the past year or so I've discovered for the first time, that I have a favorite actress. Meryl Streep. She is always entertaining and often brilliant in the roles she plays. She's funny and open and nice in interviews. But what I love most about her is that she's fearless. She seems to put her heart and soul in everything she does and makes no apologies about it. She won last night for Julie and Julia (and was nominated in the same category for It's Complicated). She was lovely and sincere and solidified her place on the top of my favorites list.

Oh, yeah. There were also a few movies mentioned. Of the ten nominees (five for comedy or musical and five for drama), I've only seen one. Julie and Julia. The winners were The Hangover and Avatar. But now I want to see them all. The clips made them all look good. I have, however, seen three of the five animated nominees, including the winner, Up.

I can't believe that I've written this much about an awards show. See. I told you I liked them. Please don't hold it against me.

Blessed Sunday

Right now, at this very moment I am blessed to be listening to music with my family who are all singing or dancing or clapping to the beat...or all three. Now I'm going to join them.

Sicky

I stayed home from school yesterday to take care of a sick baby. She was up in the middle of the night sick and still couldn't keep anything down yesterday morning. But she didn't act sick. She still giggled and played and bugged her brothers. She took two good naps and two baths and helped me clean her room. We snuggled and read books and sang songs. The only thing that would have made the day better would have been if she wasn't sick at all.

But today is a different story. She was up sick again last night, just when I thought it was over. And this morning she is just sitting on my lap or lying on her blanket. Not herself at all. Still no appetite, though she has kept her juice down so far. Poor little sick baby. Say a quick prayer for her if you would.

10 Things Thursday

10 movies I've seen multiple times...

1. Grease. Gotta love some Grease. T-birds, Pink Ladies, Greased Lightening, Summer Lovin'. Poodle skirts and white sneakers and bobby socks. I always wanted to be Sandy. Especially in those leather pants at the end.

2. The Outsiders. My favorite movie when I was a teenager. I loved it even when the cast was a bunch of unknowns--Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Ralph Macchio, C. Thomas Howell. Also, my copy of the book is falling apart from being read so many times.

3. Clueless. I don't own this one, but whenever it's on tv I watch it. It's just fun.

4. The Wedding Date. Another one I don't own, but love. Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney are really good together. She is just funny as the desperate older sister who hires him as her date for her little sister's wedding.

5. Top Gun. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I watched Top Gun in the late 80's. "I feel the need...the need for speed."

6. Ice Age, Madagascar, Over the Hedge, Hookwinked, Cars, The Incredibles. And pretty much every other kids movie out there. But the thing is, even though I've seen them all a hundred times, there are still scenes I've never seen because it's when I went to get juice or change a diaper or make lunch.

7. 13 Going on 30. Fun movie with a great soundtrack. And the Thriller dance scene is one of my favorites.

8. P.S. I Love You. Gerard Butler. Ireland. Great movie when I need a good cry.

9. Dirty Dancing. "Nobody puts Baby in a corner." Patrick Swayze was so good as the rebellious dance instructor. And I love Jennifer Grey before the nose job.

10. The Wizard of Oz. How do I not own this movie. I watch it whenever it's on tv though. And have to, just have to, sing along. "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."

Instead

So for the last two days I've been writing in my head this post about how my family's job situation stinks instead of being stable and secure. And how my house seems to always be a mess instead of the neat, orderly place I desire. And about how I'm tired of robbing Peter to pay Paul instead of having sufficient funds always at hand. And about how someone else is living the life I want instead of me living it.

Instead, I am going to send out to you these prayer requests...

The mother of one of my students (and two others at our school) is lying in a hospital bed and has just been told to get her affairs in order. Please pray for her healing if that's God's will and for her and her family's hearts through it all.

A dear sister in the Lord is awaiting test results that she shouldn't have to be waiting for. Please pray that all is well with her and that all her dreams will come true.

One of the ladies who is in our Bible study group has had a great loss this week. Her son's girlfriend died of a brain aneurysm when he was driving her home this weekend. She was 19. And her dad lost his mother last week. Please pray for that family.


Now you see why my Whiny Wednesday post isn't getting written. Who in the world am I to whine?

Monday Shmonday

This morning on the way to school Josh was telling me how much he doesn't like Mondays. Of course I asked him why. He said that he doesn't like to get up early after the weekend and that nothing special happens on Mondays like some of the other days of the week. He's right. Monday's just, well, Monday. So I told him that he should make Monday special somehow. When he asked how, I told him he could make someone else's Monday better and that would make his day better, too. Again he asked me how. I suggested that he give someone a card or note. Or say something nice to someone who wasn't expecting it. Or clean the house from top to bottom for his dear mother. (Okay, I didn't say that, but I wish I would have thought of it.) He didn't say anything more about it and I don't know if he'll do it, but it is a good idea don't you think? Not just for a 4th grader who didn't want to get up and get ready for school, but for all of us. Now I have to go put a note and treat in my kids' lunchboxes. Just because it's Monday.

Blessed Sunday

Today Julianna is 19 months and 8 days old. That is the exact age that Josh was when Adam was born. To think back to that time seems crazy now. Two babies. Tons of diapers. Very little sleep. You wouldn't think, with the ages of my children, that they were all planned. It seems wild even to me. But each one was not only planned, but prayed for. Yes, Adam came a little sooner than we expected. And Julianna a little later. But now I know that they all came at the perfect time. Any earlier or later and they wouldn't be who they are. And even with the challenges of strong wills, wild emotions, and, well, more strong wills, I wouldn't trade them for anything. I love each of my children more than I ever thought possible. I loved Josh when it was just him. I loved Josh and Adam when I had two babies. And I love Josh and Adam and Julianna today with one pre-adolescent, one littleish boy, and one toddler. Is it a challenge? Yes. Do they drive me crazy? Sometimes. Would I change a thing? Nope. Not one. Because even on the hardest mommy day, these three little people are my greatest blessing.

Happy Birthday, Abby Mae!

There are two little girls in this world that I love more than any others. Julianna and this one.

My sweet, sweet niece Abby.

She turns one today.

Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

Show and Tell

"This is my build-a-bear named Katie that I made at Build-A-Bear yesterday. She has a little purse and shoes. We play together."

"This is my puppy. I feed her really much and I give her a bed and take her for walks and she does that thing again and she barks and I take good care of her and if she bites you I'll just take care of that and if she gets around you she might bite your skin off so be careful around her. She hides in here (sweatshirt pocket) and takes her rest time and sometimes I put her in there to play and she's going to grow up to be a big wiener dog."

"This is my pet. This is my kitty. I can turn her on and her name is buttons and she likes to cuddle with me and sit in my own rocking chair and then she sleeps with me at night. She bites."

"This is my doggy named Meadow. She's very special and I found her yesterday. She was in my toy chest and she's very special."

"This is my stuffed kitty. I really like her and she likes to snuggle with me and I really like her and she's really special and I really really love her and she likes people she knows and people she doesn't know. And she bites."

A. is more of a show-er than a teller. He took his Etch-a-sketch and sat in the show and tell chair and said nothing. After asking some questions, we found out that he got if from the store, he found it when he went home, and he drew an octagon on it.

"This is my puppy and I really like her I play with her a lot."

"These are my transformers. I got them for Christmas aaaaaaand...that's all."

"This is my sister's teddy bear. When I brought her other toy somebody broke it so I brought this that cannot break."

"This is my Barbie. She's really special and I really like it and it's super pretty."

"This is my phone and I like to play with it and it's really cool and I like to play with it and I call my dad and mommy and I like to take pictures."

10 Things Thursday

10 things I love...

1. my family
2. my friends
3. sunshine
4. butterflies
5. hearing children laugh
6. making children laugh
7. books
8. good movies
9. hope
10. God

10 things I do not like one little bit...

1. icy roads
2. raw onions
3. asthma
4. confrontation
5. being cold
6. insecurity
7. bad dreams
8. losing
9. chaos
10. uncomfortable shoes

Smoocharama

Yesterday, the preschool teacher offered to take my class to give me the afternoon off. After about half a second, I agreed. I had some errands to run and the boys do not like to run errands. So I went to the post office and the bank and Costco and the grocery store while they were still at school. When I went to pick them up, they told me about some kissing that was going on during afternoon recess between a first grade boy and a girl from my kindergarten class. The first thing I thought was, "Great, I'll have to deal with an unhappy mom tomorrow when she finds out her little girl has been involved in kissing at school." I was very relieved to find out it was just on the cheek. And thankfully I haven't heard a peep about it from anyone except Josh and Adam. Later in the evening Adam brought it up again and said, "I can't believe Romeo* and Juliet* are in love." "Well," I explained, "they are too little to really be in love." "Mom," he exclaimed, "They KISSED! That's love!"

*names changed to protect the not so innocent

Blessed Sunday

What a blessing it was today to look at the bank thermometer and see 50 degrees. 50! On the third of January! I love God's amazing creation that can give us spring like days in the middle of winter. I'll take 75 more days just like today...until it's really spring.

Happy New Year!