Oh, my.

Today we were discussing physical vs. emotional wounds during the Vietnam War, and one particularly talented student said:

"I wouldn't want to lose a leg during a war because then it would interfere with my favorite game--DDR. I couldn't do that anymore with only one leg."

Yep. That is what is important in life--not being able to play DDR.

I wasn't even sure what to say in answer to that comment.

Oh Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

Friday dawned bright and beautiful. After Bobby let me sleep in from my late night shopping, we headed up the tree farm to get our tree.

Bobby and Macy on the hayride up to get the tree.

Me and Kaylin on the hay ride...

Searching for the perfect tree. And searching, and searching, and searching....

We sometimes have a hard time finding the perfect tree. And by we I mean Bobby.

Macy grew tired of walking around and decided to lay down and rest. I love this picture!

While Macy rested, Kaylin wanted to help Daddy chop down the tree. Once again, he got the dullest saw known to man.

But he finally got it chopped down!

On the hayride back down.

The girls and Santa...

Almost done

This willl be short and sweet...I am very tired today

Wonderful day--slept in from our game night, then headed out ot to the football game. Down to the wire, winning field goal with four seconds left. Good times with good friends.

November is almost over, so I can stop forcing myself to post everyday with dumb little things.

Thanksgiving

You know I love taking pictures of Macy on Thanksgiving watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. I do it every year, even though all you see is the back of her head.

Still. It's tradition.

Another one...

Gotta love those Macy's balloons. I like this shot because I've never gotten one like this before. Then again, we always miss the beginning of the parade for some reason except for this year, and the balloons are at the beginning.

And another tradition (for two years, anyway) two friends and I have been shopping at midnight on Thanksgiving. We were more organized this year, more prepared....last year we were more shell shocked at the sheer number of people.

Here we are about 3:00 am at the indoor playground. I couldn't take my hat off for fear others would run in fear by the state of my hair.

Today, after majorly sleeping in, we got our Christmas tree (many pictures to come later) and are getting ready for a game night.

What a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Off for some midnight shopping...in the bitter cold...

So THAT's what it means...

As told to me by Kaylin just now:

"Some boy in Macy's class held up his middle finger, which means he hates God. And that means he's going to be with the Devil."

The Proof

I took this picture last night.

for proof on days like today, when they have fought non-stop, critized each other all day, stuck their tongues out, hit, flicked, kicked and punched each other all day.

Proof to remind myself that they really do care about each other.
that they really do love each other
that they really do like to spend time together

Maybe one day this will stop. Until then, I have this picture as proof.

Hannah's 9th birthday

Hannah and her present from Uncle Rod and Aunt Julie:

The Three Musketeers with our present--a Light Up Little Pet Shoppe barn.

The three girls at dinner. Hannah picked the menu--hot dogs, mac and cheese, and cherry pie.

Blowing out her candles.

Happy birthday Hannah! We are so blessed to have you as part of our lives!

A Life Of Thanksgiving

I'm stealing this idea from another blog because it's something I need in my life right now. And I'm really copying almost word for word what he wrote! (that was my disclaimer in case the Blog Police come after me)

The Thanksgiving holiday is one of my favorites...food, family, friends and lots of fun. But, originally, it was meant to be a day to pause and give authentic thanks to God. Unfortunately, for many, including myself, thanksgiving is more of a one-day holiday that a way of life. I don't know about you, but I've been blessed beyond comprehension, and even in the unwelcome moments of life, I have so much to be thankful for.

What would it look like if I ONLY spoke words of gratitude the entire week of Thanksgiving? If I went so far as to look at a pile of laundered clothes that awaits my folding and putting up, a task I almost flat out refuse to do, and instead think and speak out loud, “God, thank you for these clothes, for providing clothes to wear.” When my daughters voices their grumpiness, “God, thank you that she has a voice that works and you are shaping her own unique personality.” If every time next week I see a person, I tell them why I am thankful to God they are in my life. If every time a student frustrates me, I think "God, thank you for this job opportunity to work with young people."

So, starting this Monday morning and going through this Sunday evening, I'm challenging myself to live an entire week full of thanksgiving.

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

(Ephesians 5:4 ESV)

Anytime I'm tempted to think/say/do something negative (filthy, foolish, crude or otherwise unthankfull), I will instead choose, in that very moment, to give thanks to God for His blessing in my life.

If you'd like to join me, please leave a comment saying so  and challenge your friends to do the same. Even if you're not reading this until after Monday morning, it's never too late to take up a good challenge. And, keep in mind that nobody who takes this challenge is going to make it an entire week without missing the mark...so, when that happens to you, just pick yourself back up and start again!

Hard work

Boy, this posting every day is hard work. I don't have anything worthwhile or interesting that to write about since yesterday, and I didn't take any pictures to make it enjoyable for you to read.

I was a little more productive today. But not by much.

Macy is not sick--she had a minor accident on the trampoline yesterday, and she has a gigantic sore/cut on the side of her tongue, making it hurt when she smiles, tries to eat, tries to open her mouth wide, and makes it seem like her ears hurt. But I'm glad I figured all that out before I took her to Urgent Care.

Kaylin is calling her fish "Bluey", but don't hold your breath that the name will stick.

How 'bout them Chiefs today?

One week until MU/KU at Arrowhead!

A Lazy Saturday in which I did nothing

Dead tired today--went to a late showing of New Moon, and got home about 2 am. Macy of course decided to wake up earlier than normal, while Kaylin slept until 9:30. I'm just getting too old, I guess, to handle the late nights. Other than running a mile and a half today, I've done nothing productive. Laid around my parents house, then laid around our house. I have a million and one things to do, but laying around feels so much better. Maybe tomorrow I can get something accomplished.

I bought Kaylin a new fish today to replace Purplelicious, who went to Fish Heaven a few weeks ago. This one is a pretty blue green, and is not yet named. I've been calling him Fishy Fish, but she doesn't like that.

Macy possibly is coming down with something--says her ear and throat hurts, and she's been laying around all night too. She played outside all day at my parents next door neighbors house, so maybe the cold air just bothered her ear. We'll see.

Teenage sarcasm

Our Student Council does an Attitude of Gratitude right before Thanksgiving. Students are given slips of paper to thank people at the school for their hard work. They can thank teachers, adminstrators, custodians, lunch ladies, whoever makes the school function. We've done this for years. While the majority of students are genuine, I always have a few students who don't like being "told" to be thankful, and write sarcastic ones under the guise of being thankful. Two such ones:

This one was to me: Thanks for making me rewrite my article 10 times. It probably made me a better writer. Said student ignored 9 times my suggestions for revision, and finally changed them the tenth time.

This one is to a math teacher: Thanks for being so strict with texting, eating and drinking in your class. You are right: Texting has no place in your math class. Why should we text? Obviously everyone who I would text is already in our class. From a Random Student. Oh, gotta love the teenage sarcasm.

Bobby is working on weekend, so it is just me and the girls. Looking forward to tonight, though...girls night out with some friends, then we are going to see New Moon. Moderately excited about it--more excited about hanging out with friends!

Perfect

There are few things I enjoy more in life than a quiet house, a warm blanket, a dog by my feet, and a good book.

Excuse me, while I finish the last 100 pages.

Her name is Luse

Second (and third and fourth and so on) children sometimes get the shaft. At least at our house this happens, and I'm sure others as well. Macy is the first one to do everything, so she gets praised, etc. Then when Kaylin gets around to it, it's old hat. Kaylin gets all of Macy's old clothes, shoes, dresses, coats, you name it. And she rarely bats an eye.

I admit sometimes I don't pay much attention to her. She can go from happy-go-lucky to whiny-go-whiner in two seconds flat, and that annoys me. Macy has more homework usually, so that takes time. Kaylin doesn't have much homework, so I don't work with her as much as I do Macy.

So tonight I was working on something on the computer, and she was writing something next to me. I wasn't paying attention to what she was writing, just spelling what she asked me to. Then she shows me the paper and I see what she has written. 

go see my cusin
His name is Joshua
go to the prk
play wif their doggy
Her name is Luse.

I spelled Joshua, their, and told her cousin started with a c. That's it. She wrote the rest entirely on her own.

Wow.

No way could Macy have written that in November of her kindergarten year. While I wasn't looking, my second child has grown up, and is blazing her own trail.

Love/Hate relationship

I love my newspaper students...

they steal the Sunkist off my desk when I've been saving it
they make fun of me incessantly when I say stupid things
they leave the room a mess
they drive me crazy with their inappropriateness sometimes

But

they let me have bites of their ice cream
they go to the vending machine to get me a Coke
they make change upon change upon change that I ask of them
they buy me Christmas and birthday presents

Busy night!

My night tonight:

4:00--get girls off the bus, feed them dinner
5:00--drop Kaylin off at dance, work with Macy on homework
5:40--pick up Kaylin early from dance, go to basketball and cheerleading evaluations
6:30--arrive at fire station for Brownie first aid class and decorating the Christmas tree for the guys
8:15--Brownie stuff over, head home to put the girls to bed
8:45--girls asleep

I had nothing else to blog about today, so this is what you get. :)

PictureFest

Smorgasbord of pictures for you tonight... we are home safe and sound, although it was a bumpy flight.

Macy on her first flight on Wednesday. I love this picture!

The top of the rotunda of the US Capital. I loved the windows at the top, and the story of the painting around the edge.

The Capital...Macy loved looking at this, and would point it out to me wherever we were.

The two of us on the trolley--

Macy at the spot where Martin Luther King made his "I have a Dream speech". Of course, I wondered if this was also the spot where Forrest Gump made his speech and Jenny ran across the water. :)

Macy at the Lincoln Memorial. She loved this part, and we went three times at various trips over the days. The last time we walked to the back to see what was behind him (nothing) and saw that he was covered in cobwebs!

The two of us at the White House. I got chills looking at it! The Christmas tree is up and ready to go, but not decorated.

Waiting for our subway train. She LOVED riding the subway.

Graves at Arlington. What a neat place.

JFK and Jackie's grave. Macy was impressed that the fire never goes out.

Robert Kennedy's grave. A student actually asked who he was. :)

Ted Kennedy's grave. We couldn't get any closer than this.

Washington Monument and the WWII Memorial. It was pitch dark when I took this, but you really can't tell with my flash. :)

Macy at the zoo. It was pretty cool! And she got a free panda bear and a neat water bottle. They also gave me one for Kaylin too!

Surfing on the subway. The lady behind her looks amused, doesn't she?

Laying on the ground looking up at the Washington Monument.

Washington Monument at night, reflecting in the reflection pool. One of my brilliant students: "Oh, that's why it is called the Reflecting Pool." really? You think?

I was disappointed with how most of my pictures turned out.I had my little camera that doesn't zoom well, and coupled with the fact that it was rainy and damp, my pictures didn't turn out well.

Feels good to be home. I'm not ready to swing directly into newspaper deadline and newspaper drama, however. Only 7 days--I can handle that, right??

Some things Macy's learned on this trip...

A man dressed up with women's clothes is called a tranny.
"Throwing bows" is using your elbows to push your way onto a Metro train
How to negotiate a subway fare station
To let the people off the elevator before you get on
People died during the Holocaust in fireplaces
A hotel full of 6,000 high school students is crowded
When on trips like this, Mom lets you stay up until 11 pm
You sometimes don't eat lunch until 3:30, and dinner until 9:30
How to surf on the Metro
When you stop asking your mom for every little thing, she will buy you things

She has been a serious big-time trooper and a wonderful traveler. Today we left the hotel at 10:00, and we did not stop until 9:30, and she did not complain at all. She has soaked in every action and every word by these high school students, and luckily all of it was clean.

Ready to come home.

DC Day Three

A lazy morning at the hotel today. Macy and I went to the gym and "worked out"--I couldn't work up too much of a sweat with her there, but it still felt good.

Then some of us headed to Arlington. Saw the graves of JFK, and both brothers Robert and Ted. The kids had to be back by 4 for a contest, so we didn't have time to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We booked it back to the Metro, and at moment we realized we weren't going to make it back. We then headed over to the WWII Memorial  and Washington Monument that we missed the day before.

Best thing of the day: As we were getting ready to cross the street, we start to see motorcycles. And then police cars. Then some standard black cars. Then the armored black car flanked by two big black SUV's, followed by several more standard black cars. Macy flipped out. All the kids were yelling and taking pictures. I called Bobby, no answer. I called my dad, who informed me Obama was in Japan and there was no way it could have been him. But it HAD to be either Michelle or Joe Biden, b/c there is no way anyway else would be escorted like that. There were at least 15 black cars, and it was over in about 10 seconds. It was the coolest thing.

We walked all around the Washington Monument as the sun was going down, then headed down to the WWII Memorial and the reflection pool. Very, very neat. At this point it was just me and 13 kids, instead of all 23. I like a smaller group better.

Dinner was at a local DC hamburger joint called Ollie's Trollies, and it was good. Back to the hotel for some rest.

DC Day Two

From Macy's journal for Thursday, DC Day Two:

We woak up and I slept in very long.We went on a tooer of the Capital and it was boring. Then we got to see the wight hous. We saw the Lencin Mumorel. The stachu is hewmongs! We saw the reflecshin pool. It is longer than I thought.

Yep, that's it in a nutshell. Mom's additions--she really didn't sleep in all that long; 8 o'clock. We toured the Capital, and it was neat and boring at the same time. We got to go in the House gallery, and that was neat. Saw where the State of the Union is read, and lots of other new historical things. It was a long tour, but at least we were out of the rain.

Then we toured most of the monuments. Pretty cool stuff. It was rainy, but I had an umbrella and didn't get soaked like yesterday.

Had a nice night in the hotel getting ready for the convention and just hanging out.

Tomorrow we will go to Arlington. I'm pretty excited about that. Macy is having a good time, even if she has been bored a few times. She has only asked for things a million times, but I expected that. She knew one of the newspaper girls before, and has latched on to her. Several of the other kids have taken her under their wing, and she is loving that.

Off to bed.

DC Day One

We're here...we're exhausted.

Got up at 4. Macy loved the airplane ride. I have some cute pics of her, but that'll have to wait until another day. It was dark when we left, and once in the air, she said the lights looked like a ginourmous christmas tree that fell over. We got to see the sun come up, which was neat. Smooth flight.

Subway ride was next, and she likes those a lot.

Hotel is gorgeous...Macy has been in awe.

She was bored at the Holocaust Museum, but we found things to occupy ourselves, and I think she had a decent time.

We went next to the National Museum of American History. Neat things...Dorothy's shoes from Wizard of Oz, Kermit the Frog, Julia Child's kitchen, Abraham Lincoln's top hat. Macy did say "Why doesn't his hat have a hole in it if he was wearing it when he was shot?"

Hard Rock Cafe dinner for dinner. Our group of 28 stood on chairs and did the YMCA.

I'm mad at the weatherpeople for not forcasting better, and at Hurricane Ida for dropping bucketfuls of rain on DC. Macy and I did not bring proper coats or headgear or an umbrella because it wasn't supposed to rain, and I felt like a drowned rat all day. Tomorrow is not looking much better.

Many stories to share...but a little girl is wanting me to come to bed to snuggle, and I am tired.

Frantically packing...

No long profound thoughts tonight (as if I ever have any!) because I'm getting ready for D.C.

Bobby's at work, so the girls and I are heading to my parents in a little bit to spend the night, then Macy and I are arriving at the airport at 4:30 am (gulp!) before our flight leaves at 6:00 am (another gulp!) She has a window seat, but I'm not next to her, so we'll have to do some switching around.

Since I made a committment to blog everyday, I will blog every night from D.C. with our experiences. I'm sure there will be many. How can there not be, when you are traveling with 24 high school students, plus an almost eight-year-old?

Death in the Family

We lost Purplelicious today.

Well, technically, we may have lost him a couple days ago, as he has been "hiding" in his shell and we didn't realize it. This is Kaylin's second fish to be flushed, while Macy is still on her original for 2 1/2 years.

A new fish will be arriving in the next few days. I'm just hoping it can have an equally creative name as its precedessors Nemo and Purplelicious.


On our way to the zoo Saturday, we drove over the Missouri River bridge. Macy said, "Look, a toy factory!" I'm thinking--what??? I looked over, and it was a casino. Toy factory, casino, same thing. :)

Counting down the hours to D.C. Can't wait!!

Awesome weather!

What a beautiful November day! Can you believe it is so nice outside? Today's weather is what I would like 365 days a year.

Went for a nice 3.2 mile run-no pain! The last few times I've ran I have had pain almost every step, but this time was back to normal and perfect.

Bobby grilled hamburgers, and the girls played outside in the dark. Bobby's a smart dad--I overheard the following exchange outside:

Macy: Daddy, who is swinging higher, me or Kaylin?
Bobby: I think you are about even.

Smart man.

Oh, Kaylin.

How I love you...even though you are a serious goofball.

She can make friends with a light post, but it seems as though keeping and connecting with those friends is harder for her. Macy has a close group of friends at her school, and I really want that for Kaylin as well. She got involved in a Daisy group, but none are from her school. And there are only 6 other girls in her kindergarten class--that makes it difficult.

A couple weeks ago one of them attempted to spend the night. Attempted is the key word--she made it until 9:30 before I had to call her mom. Little Kaylin was bossy as all get out, and no amount of redirection would curb it. Little Girl cried and cried, and had no desire to spend the night anymore.

Kaylin cried her little heart out, and we've discussed at length the bossy personality.

Tonight we're trying it with another little girl. Macy is at a friends house around the corner, so it's just the two of them. Kaylin is just as bossy as ever, but this little girl is handling it better. She's dishing it out as much as Kaylin. Right now they are running circles around me playing freeze tag. I think this one might make it all night.

And now for the funny story that inspired me to call KK a goofball: Kaylin had two pieces of pizza left over from last night. One was half-eaten by her last night, the other a full piece. She took both pieces to her friend, and of course offered the half-eaten one to her. Her comment?

"My dogs ate off this, but it's okay. You can have what's left."

Update at 10:53--girls sacked out in the living room.

Brag Time

Paper in Macy's folder today:

**spelling not corrected on here, even though it was hard for me not to!

"I am talented at basketball. I love it because my dad loves it so he tot me how to. I am so glad I play basketball. I am so good at it."

Ahhhh....

Then....

"Yuli's talent is traning anamls. I am sher she loves trining anamls."

And a friend of ours worked in Kaylin's class last week as the WATCHDOG, and he told Bobby and I both later that Kaylin was by far the best reader in her class! She is rocking her list of sight words, and loves to read. De ja vu of another little girl two years ago!

Living on a prayer

I loved Bon Jovi growing up. It was the era of big bands, big hair, big music. I loved all their songs--Wanted Dead or Alive, Living on a Prayer, You Give Love a Bad Name--all my favorites. Never got to see them in concert, as my parents were not concert-goers, and frankly, I probably didn't realize they even came to town.

Fast forward to now. A couple friends and I decided to get tickets when their tour comes to the Sprint Center in March. One friend had nosebleed seats before, so we hatched a plan to get better seats.

Tickets went on sale at 10 am. I had three students in study hall lined up on computers, reading to hit refresh at 10 on the dot. 10 rolls around, they refresh, and we were off. It was a thrilling race to try to get the best tickets. One computer pulled up seats upstairs, so I ignored that computer and focused on the other two. Got three seats 11 rows back, right next to the stage. Sweet!

It was thrilling, but nerve wracking at the same time. I was so afraid I was going to mess something up, or lose the good seats. My students were laughing at me. "Calm down, calm down, you've got it" they kept repeating. And I did.

Now we have to wait until March!

Long day

It's been a long day.

During my planning period, I ran over to the health center to get my "offical" birth certificate. Unfortunately, today was the H1N1 clinic. Madness.

Then during lunch, a student got on my Facebook (because I left it open, my fault) and changed my picture to a big black guy, said I was interested in women, and changed my status to "i get monayyyyy i get papaaaa i get gurlllsss all different flavaaaa." I spent the afternoon fixing her many changes.

Towards the end of the day the fire alarm went off. Something about the pipes breaking in the locker room caused the sprinklers to go off. I have a class of kids with mental disabilties, and getting them outside was difficult, just to turn around and go back in.

After school I had a meeting to discuss ordering furniture for the new high school. I also had been told that we'd know before Christmas if we were going to the new school, and instead I'll know before Thanksgiving. Yikes. That makes me nervous.

Took 4 little girls to the park after school, and they played until it was getting dark. Jesse, I played with them until I got cold and then I sat in the car.

Finally, Macy was extremey snotty to Kaylin all night, and had to eat dinner alone in her room. Then as i was helping her figure out what to wear tomorrow, she said, "Wow, I didn't know Mom's could be so mean." walked out of her room and didn't help her after that.

I'm worn out tonight.

Countdown starts...

The countdown begins...in one week we'll be in DC. The questions are starting, from all our students. How much money to take? Will we have time to go shopping? How many classes do I have to take?

We'll be going to the Holocaust Musuem, and I want Macy to be able to understand a little about what is going on. I checked out a couple kid books about Anne Frank, and we started reading them tonight. After tonight's book, she knows that Anne Frank was Jewish, she hid in an attic, and the Nazi's killed people in concentration camps.

We're all getting excited to go. I looked ahead today to the conventions for the next few years, and there's some good ones: San Antonio, Boston, Minneapolis, Seattle, San Fran again. Of course, good old KC next year.

Socks, birth certificates, and NaBloPoMo

Today was my birthday! Overall it was a great day. I never understand why people call in sick or stay home on their birthday; I love having everyone tell me happy birthday and give me presents!

My newspaper kids held a surprise party for me during lunch, and they actually tricked me this year. To read about last year's party, click here . They also remembered my love for new socks, and hid 28 pairs of new socks around the classroom and our computer lab. Some of the boys obviously had never bought socks for a female, but that's okay. It's the thought that counts.

I remembered yesterday that my driver's license expires today. I'm a little sad about it--the last time I renewed my driver's license, I was pregnant with Kaylin 5 years ago, and I wrote in her pregnancy journal about it. You can click here to read about last year and how not renewing my license was almost a problem.

So I dug around yesterday and found my birth certificate. After school I ventured over to the license bureau. I was happy that there was only one person in front of me, and he was almost done. Yeah! My turn! The dry, humorless woman took one look at my birth certificate, and heaved a huge sigh before handing it back to me. Apparently my offical birth certificate is not offical enough. I have to go to the county health center, pay $15 and get an "offical" birth certificate that says the exact same thing as the one in my hand.

I couldn't help myself and I asked her "Seriously?" She sighed at me again and said, "Yes, seriously." She did grant me a 60-day extension, to "compensate for my trouble." Since I'm flying to DC next week, I will try to take care of before then.

On a final note, November is the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and a few of my students are doing it. I'm going to attempt to write a blog entry every day for the month of November, or NaBloPoMo. So far I'm 2/2. With the DC trip coming up, I'm sure I will not be lacking for material.

November leaves

Saturday was beautiful! I went for a nice run (still every step painful--I need new shoes!) and Bobby and the girls raked the yard. I left the camera with Bobby, and he got some great photos! Maybe he can be the family photographer now? Yeah right...

Macy... oh, dear Macy.

Kaylin...who has gotten in BIG trouble two days in a row for telling her sister "I hate you". Look at that sweet face...

Kaylin in mid-air

Macy flying through the air

I came home to two tired little girls, and one tired daddy. But trick or treating awaited...