Snow Shmow

I was going to write complaints about the foot of new snow in my front yard, but have decided to instead embrace it and put up my Christmas tree and pretend that it's Christmas break instead of Spring break. Or maybe I'll just stay indoors all day and ignore it.

Or maybe I'll just write about something else altogether. Like the mean lady who took my blood on Thursday when I went in for an appointment with the hematologist. About six weeks ago, my doctor discovered that I was anemic (low iron and red blood count). He sent me to a specialist to make sure everything was okay. Well, after a week of anxiety and 2 1/2 hours in the cancer center, he told me to take more iron and come back in a month for another check. Well, Thursday was my follow up. There is a lab just across the hall from the doctor's office so I went in at 3:15 for the blood work before my 3:30 appointment. The last time I went, the guy who took my blood was super nice. He made small talk about the weather and noticed that I was a little nervous so was especially gentle. (I don't like the whole thing at all--the needle, the blood, the pain.) But Thursday, I knew I was in trouble as soon as the lady called my name. She never made eye contact and seemed a little irritated that it took me 3 seconds to get my 7 1/2 month pregnant body out of the chair and headed in her direction. She led me to her station and said nothing but, "Which arm? Make a fist." She didn't even warn me before she poked the needle into my arm like everyone else always has. And I'm pretty sure that she put the needle in especially far. Then when she told me to release my fist, I apparently didn't release enough because she reached down and flicked my fingers open more. Once she got the two tubes she needed, she said, "Okay. Have a nice day," and walked away leaving me sitting at her station a little stunned and positive that she didn't really want me to have a nice day.

Maybe she was having a bad day. Maybe she missed lunch. Maybe she's just mean and likes to cause pain to really nice, pregnant, kindergarten teachers. Whatever it was, I just hope she has the day off when I go in for my next appointment.

Ramblings

I just checked my calendar, and yes, it is in fact MARCH 27th and not January 27th. I will say this once and then leave it. I am so sick of snow. We still have a ton in the front yard and 4 foot piles along the driveway. I'm just so glad that all the new stuff melts before the end of the day. And that it's not on the road.

Today is parent/teacher conference day. I only have a few of my students that make this time challenging. It's always hard to tell parents that their child should repeat kindergarten. And I'm sure it's hard to hear. But honestly, now's the time to hold them back. The younger the better. They end up getting a much stronger foundation in the long run, are better prepared for the rest of their education, and aren't so affected by the social aspects that are present later on.

I got a phone call a few days ago from the hospital to set up a pre-admission appointment for the baby's delivery. The nurse laughed when I exclaimed, "Already?!?!" She must hear that a lot.

I officially start spring break tomorrow at 11:00 after my last conference. Woo hoo! I will be spending it converting the computer/playroom to a nursery and doing fun things with my family (Chuck E. Cheese, Triple Play, movies, bowling).

The people who work at McDonald's on Hanley Ave. are so nice. The morning lady that takes the money always calls me "sweetie" and speaks to the boys when we stop for breakfast. Even the teenagers that I deal with in the drive through are super polite and friendly. Either they are very well trained or just an extraordinarily nice bunch of people. Or maybe it's because they know that my french fry cravings pay half their salary.

Easter Sweets

Yesterday afternoon, the boys and I colored Easter eggs. It has become a tradition and until they tell me they no longer want to, we will do it every year. (I hope they never outgrow these kinds of things.) They like things simple, like me, so they just colored the eggs and left them. No stickers or anything. But this morning Adam came across the stickers and decided to distribute them. He gave his dad the "DAD" sticker and he gave me the "MOM" sticker and who knows where the others ended up. But he brought one and stuck it on the big polyester belly of my maternity pants. It was a picture of flowers that said, "Happy Easter, Sister." How sweet is that? I left it for as long as I could but it eventually lost its stickiness and so I took it off and saved it for my Easter scrapbook page.

Sweetness. Just one more reason I'm glad I'm a mommy.

Today

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.
Henry Van Dyke (1852–1933)
Fisherman's Luck (1899)

Today...A kindergartener declared herself 20 feet tall after measuring herself in what she considers feet.

Today...is the first day of spring and I had to drive through a blizzard to get to school.

Today...my youngest son discovered that he can no longer reach around me to give me a hug. At least he blamed it on the baby.

Today...I planned my 4th quarter lesson plans. Time flies.

Today...I made it through the day without eating fries (so far).

Today...I did not make it through the day without eating Oreos.

Today's quote...Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of. Benjamin Franklin (1706-90)

Today...I am blessed.

Famous Last Words

THOMAS HOBBES
‘I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark.’

LOUIS XIV
‘Why are you weeping? Did you imagine that I was immortal?’

ANNE BOLEYN (upon the scaffold)
‘It [my neck] is very small, very small.’

THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH
‘We are all going to Heaven, and Vandyke is of the company.’

PHINEAS BARNUM
‘How were the receipts today in Madison Square Garden?’

EDITH CAVELL
‘I realise that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.’

JOHN LE MESURIER
‘It’s all been rather lovely.’

ISADORA DUNCAN
‘Goodbye, my friends, I go on to glory.’

Dream A Little Dream

Saturday night I dreamt that I was pregnant with 13 babies. 13!! And the funny part was, I wasn't upset. I was only concerned that I wouldn't be able to carry them full term. And that I was going to have to come up with 13 names. I was slightly annoyed at my husband, though. His favorite number is 13 and I thought he did it on purpose.

I woke up rather relieved to know that there's only one in there. Thank goodness. One at a time I can handle. A litter is a whole different story!

School Days

• Last night we had our school's annual talent show. It's always a lot of fun to see what the kids put together for the show. The preschool classes did a traditional Hawaiian fishing dance called the Hukilau. They were so cute in their flip flops and leis. And I have to say that my nephew was the cutest and the best dancer and singer. My kindergarten class performed a collection of poems and songs from around the world since we just finished a social studies unit on "Children of the World." Their favorite was "Kookaburra," a song from Australia. The 1st and 2nd grade class, that both my sons are a part of, sang a song called "I Am A Promise." They were supposed to dress up like what they want to be when they grow up. It was easy for Adam to decide. He's wanted to be an entomologist for a while now. That's someone who studies bugs, in case you were wondering. But Josh couldn't decide. He tends to change his mind depending on what he's interested in at the moment. Since I had to get the costume ready, I suggested a baseball player. (I already had the jersey and hat.) He agreed and was actually pretty excited about it. They did a great job, too. The 3rd and 4th grade class performed to "The Battle Of New Orleans." It was very entertaining. The older kids performed in small groups or individually. There was keyboard playing, singing, poetry, karate, and dance. It was great fun. (But I'm glad it's over.)

• I must have been a little grouchy this week. This morning when I gave my class free time, one little girl declared, "Teacher is better today."

• Show and Tell
  *Build a Bear Workshop bear (white bear with green clover spots dressed in a red dress with a variety of bows to go around her ears)
  *an Idaho state flag, a picture of Mount Rushmore, a story about eating buffalo burgers and a story about a cowboy battle and a cowboy graveyard from L. who just got back from a cross country trip
  *binoculars, six Star Wars action figures, a ship and Chewbacca's gun
  *a Slinky with a very thorough demonstration of all the things you can do with it (headband, jump rope, telescope, stair climber, bracelet, jumping, rolling, stretching, throwing, and much, much more--It's fun for a girl or a boy!)
  *a ballerina jewelry box (pink, of course)
  *a miniature electric guitar (electronic, no strings)
  *a German short haired pointer named Heinz
  
  
• Today is National Pi Day. You know, pi, like the math thing that equals 3.14. But for my 7th graders it meant a short discussion on pi, and then real pie--chocolate and coconut cream. They were very grateful. For the pie and because they didn't have homework.

Ouch

Adam: "Dad, can you get this band-aid off my dog?"
Dad: "Sure, Adam, but why did you put a band-aid on your dog?"
Adam: "Because I cut him with my light saber."

Of course. Why else would a stuffed dog need a band-aid?

Oh, To Be A Gopher

This was on my online calendar this week. I found it interesting since I am on day 190 of the 280 day human gestation period. Do you think it means anything that our gestation period is closest in length to that of a yak? And just think, if I were a warthog, I'd already be done!

Some Gestation Periods
(approximate no. of days)

Aardvark..........210
Dingo.................60
Gazelle..............180
Hedgehog...........39
Leopard............100
Mink...................50
Orang-utan........240
Giant Panda.......140
Rabbit.................30
Gopher................15
Llama................350
Warthog............170
Yak...................260
Zorilla.................37
Shrew..................18
Tapir.................370
Skunk..................60

Today

Today...The sun is shining! Woohoo!

Today...After further tests and a visit to the hematologist, I know that all is okay with me and the baby. And I have been reminded once more of the power of prayer.

Today...I have discovered my new favorite cd--Boys and Girls by Ingrid Michaelson. (It was a birthday gift from my sister. She knows me so well. Thanks, Ada.)

Today...During reading groups I discovered that all my kindergarteners are finally starting to become readers. Some read fluently and some are just putting sounds together, but I can see improvement. What else can I ask for?

Today...My 7th grade math class called me a magician. All because I could show them exactly why x=4 in 3x-2=10. (On Tuesday I was the world's best teacher and math was the best class ever just because I gave them ice cream cups to celebrate my birthday.) I can't wait to see what they think when we celebrate "pi" day on March 14th with actual pie!

Today...My husband called me in the middle of the day to tell me he loves me and appreciates what I do. Awww. (This from the man who has done all the laundry and most of the dishes for the last few months.)

Today...Is Thursday which makes me happy. First because Lost is on tonight and secondly because tomorrow is Friday!

March

It's March...and it's snowing AGAIN.

March is a good month. And not just because it's my birthday month.

March 1st is my favorite (and only) nephew's birthday. We went to his birthday party on Saturday. It was a pirate party. He, of course, was Captain Jack Sparrow...even cuter than the original, I might add. And all of the kids were given pirate garb and pirate names. My sister did such a great job with the party. The cake was the cutest. It was a pirate ship complete with cannons. The kids all had such a great time and the adults had fun watching them. There was a scary moment when Josh was momentarily possessed by the pinata monster and almost got into a fight with a 5 year old girl over two tootsie rolls. He later apologized and gave her some of his pirate treasure.

Yesterday was March 2nd and I realized sometime during the day that it was exactly 3 months until my daughter will be born. A slight panic set in knowing that it will go so fast and her bedroom is still the computer/toy room. I have to get moving so that she doesn't have to sleep in a dresser drawer.

Today I had 4 students (out of 13) absent. And I'm sorry that they are sick. Really. But it was nice having a smaller class. Especially since two of the ones who were gone are what teachers call "challenges."

And tomorrow is my birthday. The big 3-6.

So March has already been good and there's lots more to look forward to. Most of all SPRING. That is if it ever stops snowing!

Show and Tell

*an 8 year old stuffed rabbit named Rosie who is on a leash because she runs away
*a ziploc baggie with coins and a piece of a broken flashlight
*a blue motorcycle that gets launched off a ramp "that powers it up" and a green motorcycle with a guy that does tricks
*Trixie the wiener dog who "is a little hyper and goes crazy" (and another 5 minutes about how Trixie jumps and barks and licks...)**
*three Barbies with full explanation of hairstyles and fashion
*a fairy statue with colorful wings
*a tooth in a bag that L. lost last night by wiggling it with his tongue. He's going to put it under his pillow tonight and hopes to get a quarter. (complete with explanations about the bag, his name written on the bag, how the tooth fell out, and how many teeth he has left--29)
*a little black purse from Target with a glow in the dark wallet (A glow in the dark purse! What a great idea. You never know when you might need chapstick or a mint during a movie or something.) K. also shared a story about going out to dinner at the "Red Crab" (umm, I think she meant Red Lobster) and having ice cream with chocolate syrup (ooh, ice cream sounds good)
*2 little plastic dinosaurs that T. "likes a lot and that's all"
*a baby doll in a carrier
*a miniature light house that's most fascinating feature is the door

**L. had to call her dad to bring her show and tell because she forgot it at home. She said she couldn't decide if she wanted to bring Trixie or Mrs. Potts. I thought it was two toys and was surprised when Trixie showed up and was alive. Later I asked L., "If that was Trixie, who is Mrs. Potts?" She answered, "Oh, she's the teapot on Beauty and the Beast." Of course she is.

You Never Know

There is a hammerhead shark in my bathroom sink.

He is 2 inches long and made of plastic, but that didn't make him any less startling when I turned on the light and went to wash my hands. He seemed quite happy in the 3 inches of water in his tiny pool. A little lonely, maybe, but that won't last long. I'm sure he'll soon be joined by other ocean dwellers. I couldn't bear to let out the water to wash my hands and I didn't want to poison him with soap, so I turned off the light and went to the kitchen sink instead. And so Mr. Hammerhead stayed there for the rest of the night and into the next morning, when sadly all the water had slowly drained out of the sink and he was left lying on the bottom.

Yes, I was a little startled by such a sight in the sink, but not surprised. You see, I live with two little boys and you never know what you might find and where you might find it. In pockets, under couch cushions, in tubs and sinks and toilets (don't ask). Even under pillows and rugs or at the bottom of the washer or dryer. I've found coins and rubber bands and candy and gum and animals (plastic and real) and tiny little pencils with no erasers. After trips to my parents' house I've found pockets full of nuts and bolts and wires and tools and creations made with such treasures. After trips to the beach I've found rocks and sticks and sand and UBOs (unidentified beach objects). In the spring and summer there seems to be a never ending jar or bug box full of creatures of some kind sitting on tables around the house. And don't get me started on rock collections and leaf collections and stick collections and candy wrapper collections.

After 8 1/2 years, I've pretty much gotten used to the unknown findings in my life. That is at least until the boys become teenagers. Then I'm afraid I'm in for a whole new set of unknowns. But until then not much can surprise me. Not even a hammerhead shark in the bathroom sink.

Roller Derby

No show and tell this week.

On Friday we packed up all the kids and went roller skating. The 7 1/2 minute bus ride seemed like an hour and a half. And it took a good 30 minutes to get all my kindergartners in skates and all the laces tied. But after that, they were off. Some of them had never skated before and it showed. But they are fearless and were soon scooting around the rink. Except for two. One chose to crawl around and one chose to crab walk around. Whatever works I guess. They all had a lot of fun and I got to sit back, drink a diet coke, and watch as they smiled and laughed and fell and learned all on their own.

My youngest son, Adam, asked me to play air hockey with him in the arcade at one point. That's kind of our thing. Whenever we go anywhere with an air hockey table, he issues a challenge. And of course, I couldn't pass it up. He was quickly ahead 3-1. Until he forgot that he was on skates and instantaneously disappeared under the table. Nothing was left but his little round handle spinning on the table. Luckily he wasn't injured and it was so funny how fast it all happened that I was glad I could laugh. He ended up beating me 5-4. I'd like to say I let him win, but I didn't. He completely out played me. Ahhh...the teacher has become the student I guess.

And I'm not quite sure how it happened, but one of my students ended up with only one skate. The other one he apparently took off and stashed somewhere. He eventually found it and was able to reclaim his shoes. I'm still not really sure where it was all that time.

After two and a half hours, we were loaded back on the bus and headed back to school. The kids were all exhausted (and therefore actually quiet for a minute). And now they are all better skaters and have another fun memory of their kindergarten year.

Pressing Answers

Yesterday Adam was watching old Tom and Jerry cartoons when he said, "Mom, did you see that? Jerry had a pie with one of those things that Grandma has at her house in it. You know the thing that she wiggles over the clothes after she sprays them with water. And he threw it at Tom." Spraying? Wiggling? Clothes? "Oh, you mean an iron." "Yeah, mom, that's what it's called."

(For the record, I do have an iron and am almost sure that I have used it in the last 6 1/2 years. It goes with that long surf-board shaped shelf in the laundry room that the detergent sits on.)

Happy Valentine's Day

I publish a monthly women's newsletter at church that has upcoming events, ministry notes, a "getting to know you" page, and an article that I write. The following is the article I wrote for February.

Jen’s Gems
From The Heart

I remember when I was in grade school and February meant valentines. Sure there was Groundhog Day and President’s Day, but only on Valentine’s Day could I give away little cards with cheap envelopes with glue that didn’t stick and candy hearts with sayings like “U R Cute.” And not much has changed for kids these days. My boys have already chosen the valentines they will give their class (Star Wars for Josh and Happy Feet for Adam). Not only that, they already have them filled out and sealed. Only nowadays, they come with little sticker hearts to seal them instead of little white envelopes. They carefully read each one and compared it to a list of their classmates to choose the perfect card for each person, just like I used to do. You have to be careful, you know. You have to be sure to give the boys a card meant for boys and the girls a card meant for girls. Only the girl’s cards can’t be too valentiney or they might think you like them. Unless that’s what you want, then it’s even more complicated. So after an evening of deliberation, they had chosen the right card for each person and had carefully filled out the to/from part and sealed them with a heart. Now they just have to wait until the 14th to put them in the construction paper containers on each desk at school.

The hardest and most important part of the whole process is choosing for each person a card that says just what you want to say to them on that day. I think God does that for us. His valentines don’t have cartoon characters on them and they aren’t sealed with little stickers. His valentines come in the form of book, chapter and verse. I can just see him each night looking at his list and finding my name. “Hmmm,” he thinks, “What do I need to say to Jen tomorrow?” Then the next day when I open my Bible, there it is. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 when I need to be reminded of his comfort. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” Or Proverbs 3:5-6 when I need a little faith strengthening. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Or 2 Timothy 1:7 if I need to be reassured of who I am in him. “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

So each day I have the opportunity to get a valentine from God. Sometimes they are the ones that say, “Have a Happy Feet Day” or “May the Force be with you, Valentine.” But sometimes they say, “Here I am” or “Remember me.” But what I have to remember and take to heart each day as I open his valentine, is that where I am is where he wants me to be…in my life and in his Word.

This Week

I have at least one idea every day for a blog post, but finding the time to actually sit down and write gets tricky. So here are a few "long stories short" from the last week that could have been their own posts.

Josh and Adam went to Katie's video game birthday party last Friday where awards were handed out at the end of the night. Adam got the award for "Good Sportsmanship"...and Josh got the award for "Most Uses of the Word 'Dude'." Ah, they make a mother proud.

Saturday I went to see "Juno." I loved it. Juno (the character) is a crack up and wonderfully smart, funny, and courageous. Ellen Page definitely deserves her Oscar nod.

I also found out the one downside to going to the movies alone. If you have left over popcorn, you have to take it into the bathroom with you after the show because there's no one to stand watch outside. At least I ate enough to be able to fold the top of the bag down. (And by the way, if you are walking in front of a pregnant women who just drank 32 ounces of diet coke, get out of the way!)

We watched the Superbowl on Sunday and it turned out just as I predicted...I napped through the game (well, the 2nd and 3rd quarters at least), and woke up for the commercials.

A miracle occurred at school this week. During chapel on Thursday, for the first time in 91 days of school, every kindergartener actually stood tall with the right hand on their heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance without me having to correct a single one. I was pleasantly surprised until the little girl two students to my right decided to very loudly speed things up and was 4 words ahead of everyone else. So I guess a miracle almost occurred.

I always thought the mood swings of pregnant women on tv were exaggerated. Until this week. Some kind of mutant hormones kicked in and I was a grouch for three days straight. Not even my nightly peanut butter and honey sandwich could fix it. (All better now, thanks.)

As a teacher, I sometimes have to teach things that are a little silly. Like how to read an electric meter. What are the odds that one of the five students in my 7th grade class will end up being a meter reader? Especially since they are determined to be professional baseball players and video game designers.

My mom called me two nights this week. One night at 7:00 pm and one at 7:15. We chatted casually, but the real reason she called was to tell me that she and dad were going to bed and not to call them. One of the perks of an empty nest I guess.

In the "you learn something new everyday" category: Kathy's friend list is completely full. Until one of us kicks the bucket, the rest of you are out of luck. And Katrina is in love with the semi-colon; she thinks it's the best of all punctuation.

Show and Tell

*a first grade reading book (C. goes to the first grade class for reading group since she is such an advanced reader. Yeah for her!)
*a princess cell phone (I think it was still in M.'s backpack from last week.)
*a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle book (Cowabunga, dude!)
*a completely empty wallet (kinda like mine) :)
*an orange toy motorcycle "with a kickstand"
*a Barbie laptop with learning games (very pink)
*a wallet from Walmart with two zippers holding 16 cents and a "credit card" (issued by the CDA library)
*a handheld Disney Princess game (again, very pink)
*a pink baby blanket
*a remote controlled airplane
*a silver football that can "go in mud, it can go in snow, dirt and water"
*N.'s bags o' show and tell which include a Toy Story car, Darci the rubber chicken (a blog all on her own), a spinosaurus, Woody from Toy Story, a dinosaur guy "that came with a T-Rex but it got broken", a stickosaurus skeleton with removable skin that can "glow up" in the dark, a velociraptor (N's favorite dinosaur) --and from bag #2--a T-Rex, a longneck, another T-Rex that is smaller, another type of T-Rex, another long neck, a brachiosaurus, and a triceratops (After show and tell each week, I give the kids time to play with all the things they have brought. N. informed me that he brought Woody for the velociraptor's lunch and Darci for his dessert! They are meat eaters, after all.)

One More Reason To Avoid Morning Radio

This morning one of the djs decided to discuss how she wants to take pole dancing lessons. And went into how pole dancing is not stripping. But how she has always been fascinated by strippers and blah blah blah strippers and yadda yadda yadda strippers. And before I could change the station, Adam said, "Mom, what's a stripper?" "Umm, it's not something you need to know about today," I hedged. "But mom, what is a stripper?" I thought for a second about telling him, but how do you describe a stripper to a six year old. It probably would have been okay because he would have thought it was extremely gross. But I decided to avoid it for now and told him to change the subject...to something easier to explain, like why the sky's blue or how to perform brain surgery.

Show and Tell

*a princess cell phone that talks, of course
*Sam, the stuffed puppy that great-grandma "made" (She apparently lives in China because that's what the tag says.)
*a care bear and a twisty thing that you can make anything with
*a Star Wars ship with "yanders" that help it "yand" when it's done flying
*two little silver hearts that belong to mommy and daddy that are special because they got them when they were kids
*a state quarter collection with only 5 left to get
*a baby doll with a button that only works when you shake her head (with full shaking demonstration) and a purse that contains a tiny pink teddy bear, a baby bottle, a pacifier, and a baby blanket
*a story about when L. lost a tooth and the tooth fairy came and left two dollars and then when she was at her house the tooth fairy went to her grammy's house and left another dollar and a toothbrush on grammy's porch. (L. told a much longer version of the story which also included an aside about a camping trip with grammy and how her papa hunts and killed a deer and about great grandma who lives at the hospital and needed a clock in her room and how her mom took her one and how great grandma comes to their house on holidays.)
*a teddy bear that records what you say and then plays it back
*two very pink My Little Ponies with all kinds of brushes and hair clips