I had goosebumps all over my arm...

Sometimes as a parent you wonder if you are doing anything right. They say inappropriate things, are rude, interrupt, cry, whine, hit their siblings, and make you question your decision to have children at all.

Then a moment comes like this.

On Saturday I was making two casseroles and batches of cookies. One was for my sister, who burned her foot badly and will have a minor surgery on it on Monday. The other was for a friend at church, who had a hysterectomy last week. Macy walked into the kitchen and asked me what I was doing.

Me: I am making food to take to Aunt Natalie because of her foot, and to Dawn
because of her surgery.

Macy: (looked at me for a minute) Treat others the way you want to be treated. They both brought you food when you broke your hand, and now you're taking food to them. It's nice to do things for other people, isn't it?

So maybe some things are sinking in.

Macy's a star!

I don't know how long this link will be active, but Macy is on the home page for the Kearney School District.

http://www.kearney.k12.mo.us

You've got to be kidding me...

Those of you in education will appreciate this story...

Last week during SSR (Silent Sustained Reading) a girl was talking on her cell phone. I was several rows behind her, so I reached over, tugged on her ponytail, and told her to put her phone away. She said, "ow', shot me a nasty look, and asked why. I replied she wasn't allowed to talk on her phone during SSR. She grumbled, but put the phone away. There are 92 students in study hall, so I have no idea who she is. End of story.

Then I find out today that her mom called and complained! Said that I "hurt" her daughter by pulling on her ponytail and that she yelled so loudly she embarrassed herself. My principal explained that he was sure I didn't mean to intentionally harm her daughter, but she wasn't to be talking on her cell phone during school.

What bothers me the most is the mom was more worried about me tugging on her ponytail than her daughter talking on her cell phone during school! It is situations like these that give high school students a bad rap--90% of them are good kids who do what they are supposed to, and that 10% brings them all down. And it is parents like these that teach their children that it is okay to put the blame on someone else, that it is okay to break the rules.

Guess who the daughter was talking to on her cell phone? Her mom.

Morning rituals

It continues to amaze me the difference in the girls in the morning.

For 2 1/2 years, I took Macy to Blue Jay Junction. 6:30 would come pretty early for her. I would wake her up, get her dressed while she was still asleep, and drive to school. She would not say a word the entire time...quiet as could be. Sometimes when she told me goodbye at BJJ was the first time she spoke to me. She'd either sleep or stare out the window on the way to school. But as soon as we'd get to school, the waterworks would start. It was never full out sobbing, but rather the whimpering and watery eyes. She never wanted me to leave, and I'd have to pry her off my neck. Most days she'd curl up on Ms. Sharon's lap, and Sharon would try to calm her down.

But now I'm taking Kaylin to school. 6:30 comes pretty early for her too. She starts whining as soon I wake her up...she doesn't want to wear what I've picked out, she doesn't want those shoes, she doesn't have to go to the bathroom, she wants Daddy to take her to schoool, and on and on. We get in the car, and she continues to whine. She's too cold, she wants to play outside, etc. Half the time I don't listen to her. But as soon as we get to BJJ, she's happy as a lark. She carries her backpack and lunchbox, and trots in. She runs to Ms. Sharon, blows me a kiss and gives me a hug, and that is that.

I can't decide which one I like better...the quiet morning or the easy drop-off.

Pictures

We had the girls pictures taken last night. Normally at this place they take about 80-90 pictures, them alone and them together, with many different props and a couple changes of clothes. I told the photographer I was going to be difficult because I was so simple: I only wanted pictures of the girls together, I only wanted pictures of them in Bobby's fire gear, and I didn't want any props. He wasn't very happy with that, because as a photographer he is trained to do much more than that. He almost seemed like he couldn't figure out what to without any props.

When we got ready to leave, I said something about Bobby taking the girls down to Borders for their book while I waited for the pictures. The photographer said, "You bribe your kids with books?" as if I had just given them poison. I said yes, we've always bribed them with books. He quickly backpedaled and said, "well, I guess that's better than candy!" Exactly.

How can she be old enough for kindergarten?

For those of you waiting anxiously for pictures of Macy's first day of kindergarten, here they are! Sorry for the wait...

She was pretty nervous this morning, but tried to hide it. She didn't eat much breakfast, because she said her tummy hurt. I took some pictures at home, then we headed off to school.

Right when we got to school, her good friend Emily (in first grade and in the class next door) pulled in right next to us. They hadn't seen each other much this summer, so there was much hugging. I think seeing Emily helped calm her down a lot.

We waited for Bobby to come over from the fire station, so we took more pictures out front. Several other kids she knew were coming in, and she was excited to see them. Except for two, the rest aren't in her class, but she will ride the bus with them and see them at recess.

Finally we made it down the hall to her room. At one point we got separated a little in the hall, and she got a freaked out a tad. Mrs. Fischer is her teacher, and is a wonderful lady. Her oldest is in first grade, and is actually in Emily's class next door. Nice for her!

As everyone is getting settled, Macy is getting nervous again. We put up her blanket for rest time, and hang up her backpack. She's starting to do the stiff upper lip, especially as another little boy is sobbing for his mom. But Bobby leans down and whispers to her: "Don't eat the glue!" She cracks up, and we take the opportunity to say goodbye and get out of there before the waterworks start.

I stayed in the hall way for a little bit, and poked my head around the corner twice to peek on her. She was fine; laughing and smiling with the other kids at her table. I choked back my own tears and got out of there.

Kaylin and I met her at the bus stop after school, and with much prodding, learned about her day. I need to learn the right way to form questions so she will answer better. She loved kindergarten though, and had a great time.

The real test will come in the morning. She sobbed at bedtime that I wouldn't be there to put her on the bus. So we'll see. She's not a morning person (like her dad), but will be fine once she gets to school. Hopefully I can get out of the house without waking her up.

My first day...

A couple funny things happened on our first day of school.

They changed our start time from 7:30 to 7:25. The bell rings at 7:25, and there's not a single student in my class. They are all seniors, so I thought maybe they forgot about the new start time. 7:30 rolls around, and still no students. I call the office at this point, and explain that 27 of my students are missing. After our secretary finishes laughing, she starts investigating, and finds out the kids have a different room number on their schedule! I looked at my schedule, and it listed the room I was in. So somewhere there was a huge problem. I leave Room 101, go to Room 603, and bring back all 27 kids to the correct room. They were sitting there wondering where their teacher was, and I was wondering where the kids were! The first day is always horrible because the kids stare at you with a blank expression and never smile or laugh. The ice was broken with this group, because when we got back to the room they were smiling and laughing!

A couple days a week I have to eat 4th lunch (at 12:30, yuck!) and today was one of those days. I went to the fridge in the faculty lounge and my lunch was gone! yep, another faculty member ate my lunch! I had to borrow money from another teacher because I didn't have cash. I get down to the cafeteria, and because it's so late, most of the food was gone. I was not a happy camper.

I did find out who the food-stealer was, and I don't feel so bad. She's another English teacher who is 9 months pregnant. Another English teacher had made her some pasta (same as mine) and told her it was in a white bag (same as mine). She didn't have a clue she was eating someone else's lunch; she thought it was the one Nicole had brought for her!! She felt horrible, and apologized about 100 times.

Nothing else too exciting happened, but I think that was the most exciting first day of school I've ever had. It's funny that I can already tell which kids are going to be troublemakers, just from the 45 minutes I saw them today. My 6th hour is going to be the death of me. I imagine I will have horror stories soon about them...