Saturday, February 28, 2009

like a moth to a flame

i like to write
but i have not done so
in a long time
i have a few ideas
but never seem to
get them onto paper
i struggle with where to start
how to develop ideas
and the funny thing is
i teach writing!
my students would love to hear this!
ugh!
so recently, i have been trying
to convince myself
to put pen to paper
may they join soon,
like a moth to a flame

Thursday, February 26, 2009

fishy friday

in honor of all things fish...
{clickity to biggify!}


these were taken on a recent trip
to the monterey aquarium











"swordfish"

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

the a-b-c's of my j-o-b

Art corps
Breaks from school
Cloverland...like a family
Desks...can they get any messier?
Eating outside on nice days
Family fun night and family movie night
Grade book...amen for computerized ones!
Hot lunch anyone?
I have eyes in the back of my head...really.
Jr. high...that's where my kiddos are headed next!
Kickball...love me a fierce game!
Library...ahhh, quiet time!
Meetings, meetings, meetings
No child left behind...hee hee hee. {the only thing you can do is laugh!}
Outdoor education, aka, 6th grade camp
Pink slips handed out soon...ugh
Quit doing that...if i had a penny for every time that's uttered
Reading...love reading to my students
Smart board...how did i teach without one?
Textbooks...can they make them heavier please?
Unique...all of them are their own selves
Voices...i hear voices...31 voices...
Weekends...i live for them!
Xtra credit...don't give it
Yakitty yak yak...that's what 6th graders do!
Zero patience for whining!

wordless wednesday

{dessert:past tense}

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

pay it forward

this is how it works...
the first three bloggers
to leave a comment on this post
will recieve a handmade gift from me during this year!
those three bloggers must post this challenge
on their own blog
meaning that they will pay it forward
to the first three bloggers
that comment on their post...
you get the idea!
the gift can be any price range
and
needs to be made and sent within 365 days.
remember, it is the spirit and the thought that counts!
when you recieve your gift, be sure to blog about!
so here it goes...who will the first 3 bloggers be???

who will i pay it forward to?

Monday, February 23, 2009

...and madness it was!

when a bloggers away
the blogees will play!
holy cow!
you ladies rocked it out
as i guest hosted
monday madness!

and ummm...it is late...
i counted
there will be no recount
and according to my math,
which may contain hanging chads...
Shari and Reeni
tied!
37 each!
followed VERY closely was Missy
with 32!

i will be in touch with all three of you
and to everyone who partook in the
goodness of monday madness
gracias!
and now i have some new bloggers to visit regularly!

i am sooooo off to bed right now!
tomorrow morning is going to kick my butt
i just feel it!

monday madness!

same game
same day
different blog

{debbie over at finding normal
is the hostess with the mostess,
but she needed a monday off
so here it goes...}

here's how Monday Madness works:
I'll post an either/or question.
The first commenter answers it, then asks a new question.
The second person answers the first person's question,
then she asks a new question.
and so on...
easy, right?

You can come back all day long and play,
and whoever comments the most
will be proclaimed
THE WINNER of Monday Madness
for the week
and the winner will get a prize.
'cause i like good mail!

let's get things rolling!

orange juice or coffee?
{remember to ask your question in the same comment after you answer!}

Sunday, February 22, 2009

what's a blogger to do with a monday off?

mondays
normally don't like them,
but when we have a monday off
well, what's not to like?!

and in celebrations of having the day off
i am hosting MONDAY MADNESS
for debbie over at Finding Normal
so be sure to come by and join in the
this or that fun!
and you know what?
there will be a winner
who just might win a prize!
okay, so that person will win a prize!
don't miss it!

in other news...
we joined the flat screen tv world
costco had a screamin' deal
we bought
we likey

we also bought tickets,
airline tickets that is!
to head back to ohio
in april
we can't wait!

on a funny note,
hubs, who swears off
facebook
and
any other
social networking device
has spent the last 30 minutes tweaking
his avatar on xbox live
strange.

so will i see ya tomorrow?
hope so! don't miss the fun!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

in case you care...

I live: the Cowboy capitol of the world...not lying, and not sure who designated it that!
I work: as a 6th grade teacher
I smell: popcorn
I listen: to the boy in his bed playing with legos
I hide: toys that annoy me. come on, you know you do too!
I walk: on legos all the time...ouch!
I write: lists until the cows come home
I see: only with my glasses or contacts
I sing: the silliest, made up songs to my kids...i hope it never gets old for them!
I can: multitask...well
I watch: too much reality tv...i am a people watcher!
I daydream: not as often as i used to!
I want: to go on the honeymoon that hubs and i never had!
I cry: during sappy movies! all.the.time.
I read: a lot, but since having kids, fall asleep too soon while reading at night
I love: my kids more than they know!
I rode: a horse that had bad gas. (wow, random)
I sometimes: wonder what i would do if i did not teach...
I fear: losing family
I hope: to travel more this year
I eat: food...need i expand on that?
I'm addicted: to facebook and blogging and twittering...help me! offer me intervention and i will go! (somewhere beachy please!)
I drink: water, oj, decaf white mochas and the occasional caffeine free coke
I play: games with my kids in the evening
I miss: family
I forgive: myself
I drive: everyday
I lost: playing sequence tonight
I dream: about weird stuff
I kiss: hubs a lot
I hug: often
I remember: all my old addresses
I don't: like to clean
I believe: i need a cleaning lady
I owe: on my student loan
I know: my abc's
I hate: cleaning
I wish: i could keep the weight off
I wear: clothes
My ex: will never change. thankfully that is no longer my problem!
Maybe I should: go to bed
People would say that I'm: heck,not sure...what would y'all say?
I don't understand: why we all just can't get along!
Life is full of: laughter and love
My past is: part of me...wouldn't change it for the world
I get annoyed when: parents don't take responsibility
Parties are: fun!
Tomorrow: never comes...
Never in my life have I: been arrested.
When I was younger, I: was thinner!
When I'm nervous: my belly hurts!
When I was 5: i learned to tie my shoe by watching sesame street
My life is not complete without: my kids
If you visit my hometown: you will see the famous y bridge!
The world could do without: commercials
If I ever go back to school: i'd love every minute of it!
And, by the way: if you are lurking...please let me know you are here! let me hear you!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

momma needs a new pair of shoes!

alternately titled:
my shoes now have a heel strap
i am in mourning
my well worn,
well loved shoes
need to be retired!

let's back up, i love shoes
i mean sensible but stylish shoes
i am on my feet in my classroom
all day
no time for discomfort
in the feet dept!
enter, these beauties:



they did it all
they got along well with
jeans
khakis
all the pants i wear to work
and they were elevated
they made many of my pants
have that just perfect length
you know, those shoes!
that was more than a few years ago!
they have served me well.
little did i know that today
would be the last time they
would hug my feet all day long!
mid morning, i feel something strange on my heel...
my poor clogs have come undone!



lordy...these poor shoes are worn!

but the bright side is this:
while looking on the internet for a before pic
i found them on DEEP discount!
gotta run...
momma needs a new pair of shoes!
do you have a pair of shoes you cannot live without?

Friday, February 13, 2009

friday foto fiesta!

my posts lately
have been severely
deficient
in the photo dept
for no other reason
than i just have not
taken many
until this week...
without further ado:

daddy returned this week
from a biz trip to his old
stomping grounds...
and of course brought back
some razorback lovin'!

fridays are all about kajukembo
they love it
and we love watching!









i got the most awesome surprise in the mail!
my bloggy friend tiff, who calls 4under3 home,
sent me these goodies!
the coffee cozy is a-dor-able and crafted by
her own two hands! gotta love a gift made with love!
and my local starbucks thanks her;
makes me want to drink their nectar more than i do now!
thanks tiff! you rock!
i knew she had something 'up her sleeve!'

and this...
our view from school today:

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

raising awareness

aware
 /əˈwɛər/ [uh-wair]
–adjective
1. having knowledge; conscious; cognizant
2. informed; alert; knowledgeable
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
being aware is important to me
i try to be aware of many things
my surroundings
like when i am driving
or pushing a shopping cart
or maneuvering a busy sidewalk
my words
like how they make people feel
or if my words are clear
or how something sounds
there are so many other things
to be aware of
but that is a different post

'cause i am here to talk about the
lack of awareness!
{before i spew my thoughts, let me start
by saying that i am not one to make
generalizations
don't like 'em
i am simply making an honest
evaluation of my observations}

am i the only one who notices
a severe lack of awareness in people
these days?
let's take the lady and her brood
who stepped off the curb without
paying any mind to the cars heading
in their direction
or the fact that there was a cross walk
40 yards away
and then proceeds to walk as slowly
as she possibly can while stopping said traffic
could she have been a little more unawares?
doubt it!

and then there is the
adolescent unawares syndrome
a.k.a. a.u.s.
now here is a troubling phenomenon!
and mind you, i will speak just to what i witness
in my own small town on certain days...
we have minimum days,
half days of school
today was such a day
and i was running an errand
at a shopping center situated just near
the schools
the teacher in me had to be restrained!
i thought of how embarrassed my kids would be
if i went all teacher on these kids!
here is the scene:
skateboards being ridden on sidewalk
of shopping center
kids rudely interrupting store employees,
running into, literally running into
people
businesses
cars!
walking out of restaurants with cups and plates,
and they weren't the paper kind
wth?
could these kids stop for one second and look
the hell around them?
when did it become okay to be this unaware?
i know, we were all their age once
but i guaran-damn-tee you we did not
act like this!
i was on the verge of an anxiety attack
sitting and watching all of this happen!
then, the opportunity came:
in the form of a school resource officer
he pulled up to the sandwich place
i approached him
he knows me as a teacher in the district
i express my level of anxiety over
the scene
he says something like...
kids these days...
WHAT????
i happen to think kids these days
act the way they do because of that attitude!
here is someone who could have said something
to the punks
trashing the parking lot with their lunch litter
or breaking the no skateboard rule
or heck, how about wrecking into the parked cars?
and all he says is
kids these days?
am i the only one bothered by this?
i am a busy parent like most others
but i find the time to teach my kids awareness
when did it become an option to skip this part of parenting????

{almost} wordless wednesday


being sick wears a boy out!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

attack of the toddler!

let me take you for a walk
down memory lane...
rewind to 2006,
and the little big guy
is 2
he likes to explore
he's a hands on kind of kid
and the face of an angel
don't forget that tidbit!
i am in the living room
performing the mundane
task of folding clothes
he is in the next room
just out of my line of sight
he is quiet
very quiet
i assume he is playing
i finished my folding
and as i go to put the clothes away
i see it
i drop the basket
and my jaw follows
i am frozen
not sure whether to
laugh
or
cry
and he sits
with his angelic face
frozen on mine
in the middle of the mess.
that mess was my
keyboard
to my laptop
picked apart
in 2 million pieces
not one key left in tact!
no lie
have you seen what is under your keys?
well, don't look!
he was busy playing alright!
playing surgeon
to my oh so healthy computer!
i gently picked him up
his eyes did not leave me
i set him in his room
i came back out and fell to my knees
wondering how in the world
i would fix this mess!
i performed surgery on my
keyboard
for a good hour
there are so many tiny parts
i shudder to recall the memory.
why do i tell you this?
because every time i type
on my laptop
i am reminded of the handiwork
of my angelic 2 year old
my space bar has never been the same
my ess likes to get an attitude with me
do you know how often those two
buttons are pushed?
well they push my buttons every day!
and the little big guy...
still angelic
still hands on
and yes
pushes my buttons from time to time

Sunday, February 8, 2009

not me monday


Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

~~


i was certainly not full of mixed
emotions
about staying home with the
little big guy today!
of course i want to be home with him...i love that,
but ummm, today was a different day at school
one that is easy peasy to make sub plans for,
but one that i also was looking forward to!
we have been working at break neck speed in our classroom
and today was a slower day.
oh well...i get the best slowest day!
cuddling with my buddy at home!
~
i did not just scarf down a bag of popcorn
all by myself
i do not have a serious addiction to popcorn.
i also don't add that sprinkle cheese...
and i did not pass this addiction on to my daughter!
~
i was not just a tiny bit jealous
when we sent hubs off on his biz trip this week
i did not have visions of myself
crawling in his bag to go with!
just the thought of traveling somewhere
does not make me green with envy!
~
i have not secretly wished
that some knuckle head would 'accidentally'
hit the neighbors boat currently parked in front of the house
that would be mean
and i have not called the police on several
occasions to report said annoyance
i am not that neighbor!
~
what did you not do?

Saturday, February 7, 2009

to a t

today
a full day
we were heading
to the city
hubs has a biz trip
leaves early tomorrow
so staying overnight there
we decided to
treat
ourselves
to a feast of fondue
the kids loved the
bread
apples
chicken
and of course
the chocolate
what's not to love?
we moved on to
the place daddy
would lay his head
traveling
for business
happens a few times
a year
and the kids take
it in stride
but not tonight
tears
flowed from the big girl
she was so sad
the little big guy
was so sweet
he kept reminding her
of what daddy said
"he'll be back before we know it"
and once she fell asleep
on the ride home
he whispers
"i miss daddy"
but he is right
he'll be back before we know it
and then there was
this cloud
hanging over hubs and i all day
the one we hoped would not return
but it is here
the dreaded
temperature
we have gone over two
maybe even three
months
nothing
then today
it all unfolded
like a flashback
all the signs
all the symptoms
they are here
and so we start
the watch
and the wait
to see what this
round brings
this i do know...
we miss daddy
hurry home!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

can i get a big bloggy welcome???

one of my most
awesome friends
from the OH
is blogging!
can ya'll do me a favor?
pop on over to her little
slice of blogdom
and give her a little
bloggy love and welcome!

welcome blogmama!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

pass the patience

i somehow avoided
what i thought would
be a nasty flu
not sure how
i'll take a pass though

i'll also take some
patience
for the whole fam,
a healthy dose!

give me patience
for the daughter
who ignores me 100
times or more in the
am
i get that she is not
a morning person
nor am i
but give a mom a break
just once?

give the little big guy
patience
perhaps more than all of us
he needs it lately
he gets p.o.'ed at
legos
the door
the toothpaste cap
his coat
you name it
and since there
is no reasoning with
a 4 year old...
bring on the patience

give the big girl
a dose as well
she does not deal
well with mistakes
she is a perfectionist
she does not know
patience with herself
like water and oil
they are

give the hubs
patience
although, he might
win
the award for the
most patience of the
household
'cause it can't be
easy dealing with
a stressed mom in the am
a daughter who is 'perfect'
and a son who, well, has no patience!

patience, getcha some!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

pass the bucket

there is nothing
like the dreaded
sub plans
to pull a
sick person
out of bed
and into work
i hope my students
have strong
stomachs
this could be
ugly...

Monday, February 2, 2009

it's a swap

she's at it again
the swap's about to begin!
check out her post
she's a fabulous host!


Sunday, February 1, 2009

not me monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.
~

i did not allow our son to stay in the same pajamas

for almost 48 hours

what mother would do that?
and what mother would joke with hubs
that if said son stepped out of the jammies,
the jammies would wander the house on their own?
who does that?
~
i, make that we, did not keep putting the kids off for breakfast
sat morning, just so we could sleep in
and i did not encourage them to go watch the movie
they watched the night before to buy more snooze time.
that would be neglectful!
~
i did not buy a chic red purse at the consignment shop sat
'cause lord knows, or should i say hubs knows,
i do not need another purse!
buying a purse would have been impulsive
even if i were to have gotten it on clearance for $4.50!
nope, not this purse obsessed gal!
~
i did not wait until sunday night
to enter grades online into my gradebook
only to find that i could not connect to the blasted thing!
that would be procrastinating
i know nothing of the sort!
~
i did not take a righteous nap saturday
which prevented me from making hubs dinner
before he left to watch the fight with the guys...
that would be lazy and selfish...and that is soooo not me!
well, maybe it was...
~
i did not get the laptop taken out of my lap
while watching the super bowl
as hubs thought i might give away the ending
since we were not caught up to live tv!
'cause this laptop is not an extension of my lap!
no way!
~
and lastly, i did not try to bribe the little big guy
into helping me pull the tooth
that is dangling from his sister's bottom gum line.
he was not promised ice cream if he successfully
helped me extract said tooth
we did not chase her around the house
and hold her down
and dig into her mouth
unsuccessfully
and i did not go on to have a gross dream
about my own teeth falling out
karma?
~
what did you not do?

the week in review

warning...lots of words...little content...

monday: a blur
tuesday: blurry still
wednesday: blurrier and busier
thursday: busy, but less blurry, family movie night at school
friday: the usual...kids had kajukembo, but with a twist:
instead of going to the usual friday dinner out
we splurged and went to out favorite japanese joint
the kids chowed and we savored the sushi and tempura
then, we did it, we walked across the parking lot
and we each ate a sinfully good donut from the best
little donut shop around.
saturday: errands on my own
...consignment...post office...starbucks...movie store...grocery...
chick flick movie night, and sadly i picked the two worst movies
sunday: cleaned, cleaned, and cleaned some more!
we planned on a small road trip today
cleaning got the best of us though

busy week ahead...hopefully not as blurry!

UPDATE: how could i forget?
the big girl was over the mooon friday...
she completed the first grade word list
halfway through the school year!
she got a certificate and applause from her class
i have never seen such a big smile,
she was so full of pride!
way to go liv!