I don't know WHAT to think!

My daycare lost my 14 month old child on Friday.... and didn't tell me!

To be fair, it was only for seconds, and they told me today.

One of the teachers opened the outside/emergency door to empty a waste bin or something, and my son ran out. He is a runner, and he loves being outside, but somehow she didn't notice. She closed the door and then realized he wasn't where she left him. She opened the door again and he was right outside. They are launching a formal investigation.

I don't know what to think....

• I've always loved my sons teachers, they love him and are kind and gentle... but this was a hell of a first mistake to make!
• I know how quickly he can move when motivated, he's gotten away from me at a store once... but this door opens on the parking lot side and who knows what could have happened!
• I know that one of his teacher may be fired over this, and I would hate for that to happen to such a nice, friendly, lady.... but my baby was outside alone!

I guess it's good that it's out of my hands. I have no say in what happens, I could leave the center but it is only one mistake... am I under-reacting? I am at such a loss.... I think I'll go watch him sleep for a little while.

not enough words...

(This post was originally written Thursday, October 21 but I just couldn't hit "post" right away...)

As a parent, we know that time can pass so quickly! Most children think that everything takes "forever". If only they knew...

3 years ago today, I had a student in my class, A. She loved to talk to me in homeroom and tell me all about her life, her friends, and choir... she loved to sing! I tried not to let her see but as much as I liked hearing about A's life, I had other things I needed to get done and she always wanted to talk!

2 years ago today, A had moved on to 7th grade. She was moving on, growing up, doing all those 7th grade things. I had a new group of students but anytime I saw A in the hall, she was so excited to see her "old" teacher.

1 year ago today, A had started 8th grade. I never saw her anymore... the schedules just don't work out that way. I do know she was still singing in the choir and telling her current teachers all about her life! She just loved talking to the teachers!

Today, A was unrecognizable in her coffin. Leukemia and all it's nasty effects had changed her face, her body, her hands. If I had walked by her in the halls of school, I would never have known it was the gregarious young lady of 3 years before. But I wasn't walking by her in the halls at school. I was walking through the line at her wake. It was a devastating day.

Early this year, A's parents noticed that she'd been weak, tired, and was bruising easily. She was quickly diagnosed with a form of Childhood Leukemia. From that point forward, I don't know much. I do know that when she passed away last week, it was too soon. 8 short months of fighting the cancer in her body. I had no words when I tried to speak to her mother and father. I had no words to explain how my short time with their daughter had been memorable or special. I hope they knew.

I have been crying, a lot. I am a mom first and a teacher second. The teacher part of me just watched another mom say good bye to her only child. I can't help but be SO sad for her and at the same time, I feel SOOO lucky to be able to come home, hug my kids, be annoyed by them, know that they are safe, and healthy. So many parents are out there now, their children aren't healthy or safe. So many parents whose children right this minute are battling Leukemia and other forms of cancer. They don't know where they will be a year from now.

Hug your children. Be kind to those you don't know. Tell the people around you that you love or appreciate them. Today is a gift, tomorrow is a wish. Cherish the NOW in all it's ups and downs.

If you are able, help support a stranger who might not have until tomorrow.

Babies should just talk already!

I had a very scary moment a little while ago. The daycare called, and when I didn't pick up my cell phone, they called the school secretary to come find me. THAT, is never good.

I called right back and they told me that Chase had been crying for the better part of an hour. He didn't want his pacifier, wouldn't drink his milk, and only picked at his foods. AND, the clincher, he was pulling on his ears. SO, I found someone to cover my last class of the day and raced over to pick him up.

In the 30-35 minutes that took me, they had taken him on a buggy ride, which calmed him a little, and taken him outside to play, which he loves. Now we are at home together and he is eating, drinking, and happy.

We are still going to the 1:00 doctors appt. since I made hem squeeze him in based only on what the daycare center reported. They will think I am some kind of crazy but we're off....

Grrrr....

It is late, and I am tired, so I will give the short version...

I composed several posts this week and when I tried to post them, I found that Blogger is now blocked at work! Our new filter labels it "social networking"!

UGH! I'm not re-writing them from home!

Good night!

Ugh! and Wow!

I am pretty careful not to discuss work on here too much. Lately, I can't think about much else... Work just seems to be over powering my life right now!

I have been back at school for a mere 2 weeks and I have never felt like this before....

In more important news....

Chase had the most wonderful birthday! I can't believe my final baby is one, walking, eating, using sippy cups, working on words.... He doesn't really cuddle any more. He does give vampire kisses! (He goes in for a big sloppy baby kiss but then bites down with his newly found teeth!) He thinks this is VERY funny! Such an amazing little boy... so different than his brother and sister. He's bigger than they were, blond instead of red headed, prone to ear infections, and FAR more curious. We never had to secure the cabinets and drawers for the big kids, one or two warnings and they just left things alone. Chase heads straight for the pantry or the pots and pans and just looks at us with this little face that says.... are you going to come and get me! HA! I'm opening the cabinets now!!!!!! He's a challenge, and an adventure, and a treasure!

Don't blink!

Or things will change! Since last post;

- Chase walks EVERY minute he can... loves it! (FYI- he also climbs stairs faster than anyone else in the family!)

- Our computer crashed! Dead... something, something, motherboard, blah, blah... but the hard drive "appears" fine and 5 years of documents/pictures can be restored to new computer for a mere $100!

- Bought new computer... LOVE IT! Apple MacBook Pro... more expensive but we use these at school too so we know people who can fix it or help us when we screw it up!

- Been having a great summer... I can't believe July is half over and the new school year is actually closer than the old one. Ick... and OK too.

Still kickin...

After nearly a month, I feel obliged to tell you that I am in fact- still alive!

For a couple of you who have had the misfortune to know me in real life and/or have been following for a while realize that when summer hits, I don't blog much. It's not that I am more or less busy.... or have less to say, merely that I am lazy and that this doesn't provide the relief it seems to give me during the school year.

During the June hiatus:
- Brianna turned 7 and finished 1st grade. Be still my heart, my baby is not a baby!
- Chase has decided his favorite thing in the world is to stand up. Not quite walk yet but we are helping him in that direction.
- Grant has not taken to the "relaxed pace" of summer very well. We're learning that he does best with a schedule and the free-style of some of our summer days results in tantrums, pouting, and hitting. He's 4.... what can you do when he's tantruming one minute and ridiculously adorable the next. I love him like crazy, that's what!
- I have taken on working out as my summer "job". I have set goals, am actively working toward them, and seeing progress. I am even consulting with a personal trainer/friend who is helping me out.

In less happy news I feel at a loss some days. Perhaps if I were 4 I could have a tantrum and get over it quickly. Sadly, I am more than 8x4 and the tantrum can be thrown but it just doesn't seem to work anymore. I love summer and relaxing but find that I am missing my schedule and my social contacts at work. Other days I want nothing more than to be alone and suddenly find that I can't seem to get away from the 3 children and husband who is also home all summer!

My balance is gone. Some days it seems to have taken my sanity with it. Other days I think I was never sane but was too busy to notice. Now I notice.

I am old!

Last week at school, I showed the kids a movie called, "A Kid in King Arthur's Court". It is a great Disney flick and goes VERY well with our last topic of the year, the Middle Ages. I love that it is an entertaining fiction film but also close to historically accurate in the areas of clothing, homes, foods, customs, entertainment.

It is a little cheesy as it gets older, it was released in 1995. While I associate with so many of the jokes and background props, it is starting to get dated for my students.

• Some of them had never seen a personal CD player/Walkman and REALLY didn't understand why it has a little red laser/light inside it.
  
• These kids didn't recognize a Swiss-army knife.
• They didn't laugh at the "valley-speak" language when the main character tries to explain that "bad" and "cool"mean good.
• They kids have no idea why the main character explains something as a "Kill you for your Reebok's street life".

I wasn't a little kid when this movie was new, I was in college for Pete's sake! But I get it, and apparently that makes me old!

Surprising but True!

The voices in cartoons are sometimes so familiar to me! So I looked a few up...

- The lead sheep in "Jakers, The Adventures of Piggly Winks!".... Mel Brooks!
- Bob, in "Bob the Builder"... Greg Proops (also of "Whose Line?")
- Handy Manny.... Wilmer Valderrama
- Mermaid Man in "Sponge Bob"... Ernest Borgnine!
- Barnacle Boy in "Sponge Bob"... Tim Conway!
- Thomas the Tank Engine has been narrated by the likes of... Alec Baldwin, Ringo Star, and George Carlin

Anyone know of any more????
and is it strange that I think this is cool?

The bell of truth...

You know your a mom, and it's not funny anymore, if....

- You've sat in the bathroom to read/snack/rest/think not because you have to "go" but just because you can be alone!

- You hide the expensive or best tasting snacks at the back of the cabinet where the little eyes can't see them and ask for them.

- You say, "Yes, we're there." even though your not... just to get 2 minutes of stunned silence from the back seat.

- You can sing every episode/song of one of these: Dora, The Wiggles, Blues Clues, The Backyardigans, The Wonder Pets.

- You know the complete line-up and schedule of either Sprout, Nick Jr, or your local On Demand options.

- You have wasted precious alone minutes looking up the actor who does the voices on a cartoon because, Darn, that voice is SO familiar! (more on this tomorrow!)

.... Or is this just me?

It goes by so fast...

I was cleaning out some shelves at school, shelves I haven't used in about a year. I found a scrap of paper on which I'd written some of the important milestones of my children. It was written long before Chase was a glimmer of hope in my heart. I am amazed by some of the similarities and differences...

First Tooth:
Brianna- 10 mo.
Grant- 11 mo.
Chase 8 mo.

Out of the Infant/portable Car Seat:
B- 18 mo (such a tiny peanut!)
G- 9 mo
C- 9 mo

Forward Facing in the car:
B- 18 mo (still wasn't 20 lbs but I gave up!)
G- 12 mo
C- not yet- probably at 12 mo

Running:
B- 10 mo
G- 15 mo
C- we'll see!

First huge goose egg on head!:
B- 10 mo (see also running... in the driveway!)
G- 15 mo
C- a first I'm glad not to have seen yet!

Children are such an adventure!

It's all about Grant!

Many moons ago, another blogger I read did an "interview" with her kids. I wish I remembered who and I would give her credit! I found a similar list of questions and interviewed Grant... The responses are his verbatim! (I couldn't help but add some of my thoughts.)

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?
G- No! (So true, so true.)

2. What makes Mommy happy?
G- A kiss (Always!)

3. What makes Mommy sad?
G- I don't know

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
G- by making silly faces

5. What was Mommy like as a child?
G- I don't know (He's usually more creative...)

6. How old is Mommy?
G- 43 (for the record, he got one number right but not the important one!)

7. How tall is Mommy?
G- Huge! (Thanks G! I think you might be confusing tall and wide!)

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
G- I don't know... go on the computer? (What an observant little stinker!)

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?
G- Eat candy! (More than I should...)

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
G- Being cute (Awwww...)

11. What is Mommy really good at?
G- Cooking dinner... (funny, he never wants to eat it!)

12. What is Mommy not very good at?
G- playing a game (That's it little man! No more letting you win!)

13. What does Mommy do for her job?
G- be a school person

14. What is Mommy's favorite food?
G- Mac & Cheese (Geez Grant, I haven't had that in years! Where did you pull that from?)

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?
G- I love you so much! (Thanks honey-bunch!)

16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
G- Sponge Bob! (Huh??????)

17. What do you and Mommy do together?
G- Go on trips (Does the grocery store count?)

18. How are you and Mommy the same?
G- We're both wearing blue clothes! (HA- to be 4 again!)

19. How are you and Mommy different?
G- I don't have white stuff on my feet! (Way to point out that Mom needs a pedicure, Thanks G!)

20. How do you know Mommy loves you?
G- I don't know (Sad mommy...)

21. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?
G- Kids club! (That one was WAY out of left field since this is what we call the daycare at the health club!!!!)

TOO Much! HA!
I will try this with Brianna soon and see what I get...

Endless cycle

Am I more emotional because I am having a bad day or is it a bad day because I'm feeling more emotional?

Am I "the responsible one" or the "stick-in-the-mud"?

When is the right time to force the issue and when is it time to let it be?

Does anyone know where I can buy a "Chill Pill" ?

Life Lesson# 45893

Always check your child's homework before it gets to school!
(What follows is a clever email I received this week.)

When asked to draw a picture of what they wanted to be when they grew up, second-grader "Sarah" turned in the lovely drawing shown below. Needless to say, the teacher was a bit surprised -- Mrs. Smith had always seemed like such a conservative woman. So she sent a note home to the girl's mother asking for clarification as to the picture's meaning. (read Mom's reply below the picture)
(Here's the reply the teacher received the following day)
Dear Mrs. Jones,
I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I eve r been , an exotic dancer.
I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it. Her picture doesn't show me dancing around a pole. It's supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot.
From now on I will remember t o check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Smith

A 9 month old moose!

When Chase was born he was a tiny baby who needed so much. Somehow I blinked and now he's nine months old! He's 19.2 lbs and 28 inches long. In our family history, that's really big!

He crawls, fast. He will shovel Cheerios in his mouth for hours if you let him. He tolerates baby food but prefers anything he can feed himself. He talks to himself often and likes to pull himself up on furniture to see what everyone else is doing. He LOVES snuggling into my neck and giving big open mouth kisses while pulling my hair to get as close as he can. He has figured out that mommy can't resist him if he puts his arms up, whine's a little, and gives me puppy dog eyes. Thank goodness he started sleeping through the night and now sleeps for 10-12 hours at night.


He is still my precious little baby even as I see him turning into a little boy right in front of my eyes!

Sometimes simply surviving is enough

Like when my son repeats "Mommy, I'm cold" over and over for 30 minutes in the grocery store.

Or when I don't sleep well because of all the things going on in my life but then still manage to forget the 2 things I stayed awake all night trying to remember.

Or when I take 90 12-year-olds outside for "field day" and play games for 4 hours on a hot, humid, 80 degree day.

Or when other people at work make my life more complicated by flat out refusing to go with the flow, even when they are the minority and are outvoted 28-4, and the administration supports them by demanding consensus instead of majority rule.

... and when all those things happen in less than 24 hours. You just breathe and know that it could be worse...

Summer- go away for just 10 more days please!

Typically, my school is air conditioned to the point of chill. I have the option to keep my classroom as low as 67 degrees. So- today I dressed in full length khaki's and a 3/4 sleeve summer cardigan with a cami underneath. It is well over 80 outside but I always dress for the "work weather" vs. the outside weather.

Today, the air broke and I am stuck in a classroom that is 81 degrees with 25 smelly 12 year olds and no ability to take off my cardigan since my cami is not acceptable with out it...

I'm MELTING! Send Ice Cubes!

It's for the best

We broke off our long term relationship. I just can't stand around anymore. It's not healthy for me... sure it's what I thought I wanted but I need to put better things first. I've done a good job staying away for nearly 2 weeks now. It's hard sometimes, I just want to go back to what I know, what's comfortable. I can't, I won't.

Vending Machine, we're through. Quit looking at me like that. I know your jealous of the water machine and sometimes it's hard to push his buttons with you standing so close. You'll find someone else... Good Bye.

6 going on 17

Brianna HATES talking on the phone! Even to mommy, daddy or Grandma...she will only talk if the phone is on speaker phone. We apparently found an exception to the rule!

Last week, Brianna got a phone call from A BOY! One of her little friends from school called to talk about a computer game/website he likes and she talked to him for a couple minutes. I of course listened to her side of the "conversation" but it was a lot of ... yes, uh huh, yes, mom, can I go on the computer, nah, yes, bye!

When I asked her about it later, she said she wanted him to be her boyfriend because he was funny. Considering sense of humor is one of the reasons I married the perfect man, I had some scary flash backs at that moment. At least she has good taste!

I thought we would have a few more years before I was thinking about boys calling!
Yikes! ;-)

I am here!

and alive, and all is fine... and things have just been busy y'all!

And I have work to do, but instead am going home to...
BE ALONE!

For the next hour there is no one at my house who will need things, expect things, interrupt things... Gotta go, must maximize whole hour!

BYE!

Happy Mothers Day!

I recieved this via email this week and it made me laugh!

THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES
Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.

Each kid will play two sports and take either music or dance classes.

There is no fast food

Each man must take care of his 3 kids;
keep his assigned house clean,
correct all homework,
complete science projects,
cook,
do laundry,
and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money.

In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.

Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time--no emailing.

Each man must also take each child
to a doctor's appointment,
a dentist appointment
and a haircut appointment.

He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care.

He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.

Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside, and keeping it presentable at all times.

The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.

The men must shave their legs,
wear makeup daily,
adorn themselves with jewelry,
wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes,
keep fingernails polished,
and eyebrows groomed

During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, headaches, have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties.

They must attend weekly school meetings and church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.


They will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning,
feed them,
dress them,
brush their teeth and
comb their hair
by 7:00 am.


A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information:
each child's birthday,
height, weight,
shoe size, clothes size,
doctor's name,
the child's weight at birth,
length, time of birth,
and length of labor,
each child's favorite color,
middle name,
favorite snack,
favorite song,
favorite drink,
favorite toy,
biggest fear,
and what they want to be when they grow up

The kids vote them off the island based on performance.

The last man wins only if...
he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice..

If the last man does win,
he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years,
eventually earning the right to be called Mother!

After you get done laughing,
send this to as many females as you think will get a kick out of it and
as many men as you think can handle it.
Just don't send it back to me....
I'm going to bed

Gossip- you know you do it too!

Here is the question pondering in my mind today....
You hear a good piece of "unsubstantiated information" and know that other people would be very interested in hearing it... When is it ok to tell? Who can you tell? Do you do/say anything to make sure everyone knows it's not proven yet?

I heard a GOOD one this week... from a co-worker, who heard it from a friend "in the know". It was about one of our bosses leaving. This co-worker, she was telling multiple people at the same time, making no effort to stem the conversation.

If it was first heard from a supposedly reliable source, and the second person is telling multiple people, I figure it was ok to be the third person?!?!

I know, gossip is bad, blah, blah, blah... for the record, I only told 2 people and made it very clear that this was gossip, pure unproven speculation. One of those 2 is going to the boss to ask if it is true, she has that kind of relationship with him/her. I'm curious to see if she passes any actual FACT back to me. That I will keep to myself. She's the kind of friend who would tell ONLY me and I can want to be worthy of her trust. I do have standards!

UPDATE: This post was started on Wednesday and never posted. Since then, the boss has announced that he was offered a position in a different school and is leaving.

Geez... I don't know!

How did it get to be a week between blog posts?
You know... nothing happens, stuff happens, life happens.
I meant to post about...

- the day I was running late, hit every red light, AND the schmuck in front of me let 3 cars in front of him.

- the way I love when I can tell the person in the car next to me is listening to the same radio station because they are singing/drumming/dancing to the same beat as me.

- Chase is REALLY crawling now and has progressed to the slowly following us from room to room and getting frustrated that the big kids are faster than him.

- Brianna has the attitude and voice of a 14 year old! Seriously, her teen years may just kill me!

- Grant is, Grant. He is funny and vocal and still throws tantrum but they are usually about lack of candy. 4 is a great age!

- work is..... there? Whatever, 21 more days of this school year and then the "freedom" of summer in which I send my kids to camp occasionally just so I can have moments of silence.

Life- blog worthy or not, it happens.

UGH!

Can I please go back to bed now? I know it is only 8:15 am but I have had enough of this day already.

- Chase got up at 5:00 to eat. He only does this once in a while anymore. Most days he sleeps until I wake him at 6:30 and doesn't eat anything until 7:30/8:00.
- Thought I wouldn't fall back asleep so I turned off my alarm. (What a dummy!) Of course then I DID fall back asleep and ended up getting up at Adam's alarm which makes me officially late for the day.
- Did all the usual mom-morning things... got self ready, got Bri up and going, got Chase back up and dressed and medicined, got breakfast for Bri, packed my bag, packed Bri's bag, made lunch and snack for her, put own shoes on, Finally got around to putting Bri's shoes on her... (Yes, I know she's almost 7 and CAN do this on her own but that would take 5x as long!)
- Brianna, who still hasn't finished her breakfast, looked right in my eyes and said, "Are you ready for my shoes, What took you so long?"

People- I almost lost it right there. I have never considered slapping my child before but some little part of my hand itched in that moment. I had to walk away. We were already 5 minutes late but I had to go to another room and chill for a couple minutes before I could look at her little face. Thank God I have a wonderful husband who was dealing with the boys at the time. Although he wasn't nearly as helpful when I came out and Mr. I-think-I'm-soooo-funny said "You wanted to have kids!"

By the time I got to school I was more than 15 minutes late, my students were waiting for me, and of COURSE my principal happened to be hanging out in the hall I had to pass through. My lesson isn't long enough, I gained back the 2lbs I lost last week, and my throat hurts.

Calgon, Take me away!

Deluding myself as usual

What a nice quiet weekend!

My parents and sister took the big kids from Saturday lunch to Sunday lunch so Adam and I were left with just little Chaser!

We cleaned, we napped, we grocery shopped without someone pulling on our hand or running away every 3 seconds.

Very quiet... nothing big... no one started crawling or anything!
(I refuse to believe that he did and therefore it is true!)
(YIKES! Where did my baby go?)
(and where did the baby gates get stored?)

My little darling

Chase,

You are going to be 8 months old tomorrow. It amazes me all the things you do and how fast the time has gone. You would think, since your our third, that I would be used to the growth rate of babies and no longer be amazed. That couldn't be more wrong.

You roll yourself everywhere! You would really like to crawl but haven't quite figured that one out. However, you have figured how to get from your belly back up to sitting on your butt. From there, you throw yourself in whatever direction you'd like to go, roll a bit, and sit back up. You can move yourself a good foot that way. Do it over and over, you get to every little piece of paper, every sticker, every not-safe-for-children-under-3 toy we own.

You are so happy! It still amazes us that you just seem to go with the flow most of the time. That is, unless dinner is a minute late, then you become a crying pile of mush. You love Cheerios and fruit. You HATE veggies, we have to trick you into eating those. We will start meat dinners this weekend. I was going to start them earlier this week but we had to wait due to another first.

Your first ear infection, and therefore your first amoxicillin. Actually, this is the first ear infection our family has ever had. Brianna and Grant never, ever, had one. I was amazed when the doctor told me that was the problem. Even he didn't believe me when I said we'd never had one before. :-)

You are a great kid but you are different from the big kids. From the first moments of pregnancy, you just did different things. I don't know if it's because you are the third, or if I am different in how I deal with you. I wonder daily if you will continue to be different as you grow or if you will start to resemble the big kids more.

Every day is an adventure and I'm so glad your here!
Love,
Mommy

little things

There is still time to vote! I won't win but I like seeing my numbers go up!

I'm posting here about the honesty of my 4 year old. Yikes!

Bueller, Bueller?

Is anyone out there?
I know I have a whole 3-5 readers everyday! :-)

Why am I the only one voting for me?????

I like strange music

For reasons I decided not to explain*, I have been listening to a lot of Musicals/Show tunes today. I thought I wouldn't like it when I had to, but I actually like a LOT of show tunes! What does that say about me?

Given the free time now, I am listening to High School Musical 2, because I WANT to! I'm also downloading the complete soundtracks to Oklahoma, Annie, Sound of Music, Grease, and others. Later I think I'll find and download the other two HSM soundtracks.

Oddly enough, these cheesy songs from plays/movies with ridiculous stories are making me calmer and happier... something I really needed today. What music do you listen to that might surprise us?

*Has to do with a project I'm working on with the kids at school.... LONG story, you don't care.

Don't forget to VOTE FOR ME everyday!

Vote Early, Vote Often!

I completed an interview at Blog Interviewer!
See it HERE!

You can vote for me daily!
Look for the little "Vote Now" button near the top! On my computer, it is mixed in with the ad's at the top....


Thanks!
And welcome to any who've come here from the interview... I'm excited to have you here!

Hooked on a Feeling....

Oh, the productivity!!! Can you get high from productivity? Can you get addicted?

Last week, I had no choice but to get stuff done! Have to keep up with those new projects I took on and since one of them involves my daily lesson's for my students- no choice there! Felt good though, and a couple people complimented me on the speed at which I responded to their emails/requests! (Man, I must have been REALLY off in March!)

On Saturday- a lovely day in Chicago at the Start Early Run with the family! (Pictures to come) We walked, we talked, we relaxed, I got in WELL over my 10,000 steps for the day- Felt good!

Sunday, we slept in a bit and went out to breakfast. We had talked about taking the kids and hitting the gym but I felt like cleaning! If you know me and your heart just stopped, I'll wait for you to catch up! I cleaned all day Sunday. It felt SO good! I threw away 2 bags worth of crap, I pulled everything out of the boys dressers/closets and boxed up what didn't fit anymore. Some is ready to be donated, some is in storage for Chase. (Brianna's stuff got partially done and will need to be finished this weekend.) I did 7 loads of laundry. I don't even know what I did but somehow I got over 8000 steps not even leaving my house! (I sort of love the pedometer on my phone!)

Monday is here and I am still feeling the good vibes! Taught 4 good lessons, ready to grade papers and keep planning! Hitting the grocery store tonight for low-cal foods, fruits, veggies. Not going to cook tonight though... let's not get crazy! :-)

Easter 2010

First, the Easter Bunny came bringing stereotypical gender fun!









Later, we got dressed up and had an egg hunt in GG's yard!
Grant ran around seriously looking for eggs!








Brianna could not be bothered with her adorable headband due to the serious competitive streak!











Cooperation was often achieved too!










At the end, everyone had more eggs then they had basket space!








Chase stayed safely out of the way in the arms of Aunt Jamie with and blew raspberries at Grandpa Phil.


After the festivities were over, Silly mommy insisted on a picture with GG... clearly Grant was pleased over this interruption into the candy eating time!

Bits and Pieces

AT WORK things have really relaxed and my work load dropped significantly... SO I decided to take on 2 new projects! Yaha... I'm an idiot!

CHASE is either teething or starting separation anxiety. Either way, my gentle little, go with the flow guy, is cranky! But it's odd- he's fine as I leave the room, if he sees me come back he melts down! Its like he didn't really realize I was gone until he sees me enter the room.

GRANT is so aware of the things around him. It's like I can see his little brain growing everyday. He asks what words mean and why things work and a zillion other thoughtful questions. Then 5 minutes later he throws a temper tantrum because he can't have exactly what he wants, exactly when/where he wants it, and I know my baby is still in the big boy shell.

BRIANNA is 6 going on 17. She has friend issues and emotional breakdowns and wants to wear dresses/skirts everyday. Except that she's still a kid because the friend issues are short lived, the emotional breakdowns can still be healed with hugs, and the clothes never match the shoes.

ME... well, I blogged about weight over at Changing our Weighs. I desperately need to clean my house and organize things... probably should have done that over spring break instead of sitting on my hiney... but my hiney and I had a nice relaxing time.

ADAM- who cares about him! It's all about me, right? :-)

Heaven help me!

Yesterday was Easter. (Happy Easter to all of you who celebrate it!)

We drove up to my grandma's house to meet up with the whole family for a nice lunch. It was wonderful to see everyone, especially my spit-fire grandma who will be 97 this June!

On the way up in the car, we were listening to the radio ( country as usual!) and the kids wanted to know the title to every. single. song.... !!! But that is not the point right now. The song "God Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts came on. I LOVE Rascal Flatts and (after giving the title) starting singing lightly and off key as a usually do. I was interrupted by a thoughtful Grant who asked, "What does Bless mean mommy?" On Easter of all days, that question brought me to tears.
-----------------------------------------------------
You need to know about me... I was raised Protestant Christan but always questioned my own faith and the beliefs of the church. As a teacher of ancient history and religion, I find my questions even greater as an adult. To complicate matters further, my husband was raised Jewish. Although his family doesn't really practice their faith on a regular basis, his parents especially still have strong ties to the faith.

To this date, I have done nothing in the way of religious education for my children. We celebrate various holidays of both faiths with the appropriate family. We go to church at Christmas. We've talked about God and how he created all things. We've explained to the kids that our family who've died have gone to heaven.

I won't choose any faith that tells the children that other faiths are wrong. That biased view not only alienates part of our family but goes against one of the beliefs I feel strongly about. I also don't want to give up my Sunday mornings but I suppose I might have to bite that bullet. I have found a local Unitarian Church that seems to fit our needs but it's a bit loose even for me. Although I don't know if I have another option.
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So back to the point...
My 4 year old brought me to tears because he didn't know what Bless meant! And I couldn't explain it to him. I felt like the most awful mother in that moment. I want my children to have the freedom to question faith but first they need to know about it. I only hope its not too late, and I hope that the Sunday school teachers don't think I am awful when my kids finally do start religious education and know nothing! Oh the questions that will bring up...

It was totally for him...

Today, I took Grant on a play date to one of his best friend's house. There were 3 other little friends there and he had a BLAST!

Happy side benefits:
- Adult conversation with people who I like and have things in common with.
- People with whom I can gossip a bit.
- Nice people who admire the baby and tell me how cute he is.
- Fun for all!

Lets be honest, I have a great kid in Grant and I'm glad people want him to be friends with their kids...But I'm most happy that they want me to tag along! I think kids were invented to help adults socialize!

9 days of Freedom

AH, the light at the end of a horrible, no good, awful month! Spring Break has arrived!
At 1:30 today I am going drinking with my friends to celebrate. I will stumble home around 4:30 to have dinner with the most adorable 3 children on the planet and one very supportive husband.

Then... nothing.... for 9 days!

Well, nothing that requires too much work. We have a play date on Thursday and are visiting Grandma in the big city on Friday. I plan on buying the kids some spring/summer clothes, buying myself some clothes and shoes, sleeping in as much as the kids let me, it sounds like paradise!

(how do I type an extended sigh?)

I am being attacked at work. I can't really say much but I am being personally and professionally attacked.

This is my 10th year teaching. I've dealt with difficulties before. I've dealt with lots of things... This is a new area and I don't like it at all.

I am not happy.

Interrupting the silence

I suppose I should explain why I've been away so long... except that most of you who read this actually know me and probably weren't surprised... but for prosperity...

• I'm still working on this list, minus a few things but plus a few more things!
• I had my gallbladder out... as discussed here. That went fine but necessitated several days of sitting slightly reclined as to not anger incisions... which meant no sitting up at computer.
• This baby, who I really need more pictures of, turned 6 months old!! He's an amazing little man and we are so blessed to have him. He hates cereal but if you hide it in the baby food, he doesn't mind that. He loves eating little bits of bread but isn't a huge fan of Cheerios. He like the baby puff things but can't quite get them in his mouth with out some help. He is technically sleeping through the night since he goes 7-8 hours without food but when your last meal is around 7:30pm- that still means mommy or daddy is up between 2-4 to feed him again. We are looking forward to when we can make it 5am! Hear me Chaser... 5am?!?
  
• We bought this mini-van. OK- not that exact one but it looks like that if you add some salt/dirt and a tiny scratch on the passenger mirror that I got the first time I pulled it in to the garage.

I suppose in reality, each of those could be their own series of posts but I don't have time. By the end of this month, my work will let up and I hope to be back far more often... posting the usual drivel that no one really needs to know! All my best in the meantime-- Jo

Of course I had better things to do!

But this was more fun....

Yes, somewhere under all that, is my actual face!

Dear Mother Nature,

I thought this dumb snow was supposed to end by 10am! Don't you know yet... if it's going to snow hard, it has to be between 1 and 5 am. Dump all the snow on us as fast as possible so that school is cancelled! Then clear up by mid-morning so I can go have some fun with the kids!

This snow is falling while I'm at work, with ruins all the fun and makes my new shiny car look dirty! UNACCEPTABLE!

Sincerely,
The crazy lady with the beautiful new van!
(pictures to come)

9 months is enough!

When we decided to have a third baby, I knew that meant full nights of sleep were not going to be an option for a while. Starting with the last 2-3 months of the pregnancy- no sleep then due to comfort issues and need to pee! Then the baby is born and he needs feeding a couple times a night. Eventually that tapers off to once a night. And then, the child is supposed to grow enough to sleep through the night.

Opinions differ on when that glorious regular sleep pattern will occur. Maybe when he doubles his birth weight. Maybe when he is eating solid foods on a regular basis. Maybe when he stops napping so much during the day.

Check. CHECK. CHECK!

Why won't he sleep through the night????? He teased me with full nights of sleep around 2 months old but around 3 months old he started getting up again. No problem, I thought! I can handle this! Really, it's only once a night- he drinks his bottle and goes right back to sleep most of the time- I can do this.

I'm done! I don't want to do it anymore! He will be 6 months old soon and I want to sleep through the night! We have tried everything we could think of.... upping the amount he drinks during daytime feedings... waking him to feed him right before I go to bed... adding cereal to the bottle for more calories...

Still- up- every night-
Help me someone please!

Things that should have been done by now....

but just aren't:

• 90 research papers graded
• 90 worksheets graded
• 90 posters graded
• 180 assignments recorded
• 90 maps started
• copies for tomorrow made
• test for next week finalized and sent to print
• baby book updated
• hair cut and colored
• blog updated

At least I can now cross one off the list! I guess I better get my substantial tush in gear!

My darling...

Adam, My dearest, who left me at home last night with the 3 children so you could go play poker, and then needed to sleep in this morning because you were up so late... please do not volunteer to start the laundry, to give me a break, if you DO NOT KNOW HOW! Somehow my "break" is less than effective if I am constantly answering your questions about what goes in, what setting to put it on, and which is the detergent now that I've switched brands!

A special smile!

Written Friday, Jan. 15 and found in my drafts...

This week, Brianna is very focused on losing her first baby tooth! Her 2 front, bottom, teeth are quite loose and the adult teeth are already visible behind them. Wednesday, she came home from school and informed me that her friend said that if I used a washcloth and pulled on her tooth it would come out. (Why does EVERY comment lately start with "My friend said..."?) We tried to no avail. I must admit I wasn't pulling very hard. She has her regularly scheduled dentist appt on Monday so hopefully they will take care of it!

And now...

The dentist wouldn't pull it for us- with good reason. They said that if they start pulling teeth, the kids learn to rely on that and expect it for every tooth. Instead, she showed Brianna how to wiggle her tooth in different ways and gave her "homework" to wiggle the tooth after brushing her teeth 2x a day!

A few days later- It worked! The tooth finally came out after working on it for over 5 weeks.

The Tooth Fairy made her first nocturnal visit to our house Friday, January 29th! She brought Brianna a coloring page with a tiny little note in the corner, and left a $2 bill as well. Brianna was thrilled!

There are no excuses for me!

Obviously, I've missed a few days blogging lately. I honestly can't tell you what I've been doing.

It wasn't grading papers- I still have TONS of those to grade.
It wasn't cleaning- My classroom and house both look like a clutter volcano erupted!
I guess I did something.... clearly something memorable...

Today I'm blogging over at Changing our Weighs and answering stupid questions at school. Yes- there is such a thing as a stupid question- someone just asked me if the mountains should be placed on the land!

Maybe I'll be back tomorrow.

A Wild and Crazy Guy!

Grant is, at best, goofy. Someday, some teacher will tell me that he is the class clown and does things to make his friends laugh. If you've met his father, this won't come as a surprise.

Monday Night, he topped himself.

On a normal night, we put the kids to bed around 8 and after the routine is done, we're back downstairs by 8:30ish. Somewhere through the years, we've stopped going back up to check on them. They are good kids; they stay in their beds...even if they need something from us, they yell from their bed instead of getting out to come find us.

Monday was no different. Kids in bed by 8, adults watching TV and on computer by 8:30. Around 10:15 we stumbled upstairs to bed for ourselves. Here is where Monday took a detour!

Who do I find laying in my bed, eating my midnight snack? Grant!
We are still not sure if he had fallen asleep and got up thinking it was morning, or if he was just feeling mischievous. He certainly had been up for a while. He had:
- played in the tub (without water) as evidenced by the tub toys all lined up on the bottom of the tub
- Attempted to turn on the TV- he'd dragged in the step stool and left it sitting there. (He later reported that he wanted to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse- thus maybe thinking it was morning?)
- He was eating the dry cereal I keep by my bed (in case I get hungry when up feeding Chase in the middle of the night). He'd made quite a dent in that!
- Several of his favorite stuffed animals were all lined up on the bed resting with him...enough animals that he must have made several trips!

We could barely contain the laughter as we put all the pieces together! What a stinker.
When I asked him why he was in our room he said he'd "snuck in like a burglar".
When I wondered aloud how long he'd been there, he smugly announced "just 10 hours".

Silly man! I guess we'll have to go back to checking for a while, but I'll be checking with a smile!

Phoning it in...

Chase is still sickish but I am at work. There is nothing I can do to help him and they will call me if they really need me right...

I'm a bit tired from the whole sick baby-up all night- must be held thing... and I've exhausted myself with truth over at Changing our Weighs.

Tomorrow- a confusing and funny story about Grant. Today, hopefully a nap later.

I made it through the day!

Today, I was the stereotypical working mom who everyone doesn't want to be...

I sent my sick kids to school! I know, I shouldn't but it really couldn't be helped. (Daddy couldn't stay home either since he had been subpoenaed as a witness for court and Grandma was unavailable too.)

Chase has had a cold for almost a week and although it is winding down, he's still coughing. Sometimes the coughing triggers gagging and the gagging triggers vomit. I spent all day working as fast as I could just *knowing* that the call would come any minute... "Chase's mom, you have to come pick him up now..." But it didn't come.

Brianna was up until nearly 11:00 last night because she "just couldn't keep her eyes closed". I know- weird! But I think it had something to do with her cough, and her persistent fear of throwing up. She wouldn't admit it, but I'm sure she was laying there stressing over every little throat/stomach tickle.

If anyone is sick tomorrow, I can be a good mommy and stay home. SO- Murphy's law of parenting states that everyone will start improving tonight and be fine tomorrow.

Because thinking hurts my brain

Grant showing off a new sweatshirt!

The kids first "driving" lesson!

Brianna LOVES holding "baby Chase".

Cutie girl...

Big kids by the Christmas Tree.

Out of her mind!

Hello,

Jo is out of her mind today. She will be blogging over at Changing our Weighs. If you'd like to leave a message, please wait for the beep.


BEEEEEEPPPPPPPPP

From the mouths of babes!

Brianna doesn't really say funny things too often anymore but she definitely does funny things-

She has noticed that sometimes when I mix a bottle for the baby, after I've given it a good long shake, I hold it up above my head and stare at the bottom of the bottle. She has started doing this when she "feeds" her babies. It so cute how she mimics me. She walks around the house, bouncing the baby gently in one hand while shaking the bottle with the other. Finally, she lifts the bottle, stares at it, and finally pronounces it ready.

She's been doing this for several weeks and it never fails to make me smile. This week, I couldn't help but laugh with she finally asked me WHY I do that! :-) Sadly, now that she knows why, it doesn't seem as interesting to her anymore.

Grant is SUCH a character! When I picked him up from school Tuesday, his teacher couldn't wait to tell me this one-

While doing their "stations" that morning in preschool, the teachers had some music playing. They do that everyday... On this day, Ms. Mary had picked the latest album by Taylor Swift. Grant likes Taylor Swift, we listen to country on a regular basis in our house. Apparently, at one point, he just stopped coloring, looked up at his teacher, and said, "What's the big deal about being 15? I don't get it." Ms. Kim and Ms. Mary couldn't help themselves, they said they were crying from laughing so hard. Of course, with a reaction like that, now he repeats his famous statement every time the song comes on.

Chase... well, Chase doesn't say much of anything yet. But he laughs a lot! Especially when Brianna plays full body peekaboo with him. This basically means that Chase sits in someones lap on the couch, Brianna squats down in front of the couch so that she is almost out of site, and then pops up and says Peek-a-boo in a style slightly reminiscent of Molly Shannon's SNL- "Superstar!" character. Oh, the hysteria!!!! .... I should work on getting that one on video...

American Idol: Pants On The Ground

TOO, Too funny! Made my day....

The teacher side of me is screaming AMEN!

i-Tunes, Take me Away!

In an effort to escape to a happy place in the middle of the day... I turned on my i-Tunes and let it pick some songs for me.

The first 5 to show up were:
Spice Up Your Live- The Spice Girls
Speed of Life- Sugarland
The Right Kind of Wrong- LeAnn Rimes
Crazy Dreams- Carrie Underwood
Goodbye Earl- The Dixie Chicks

Other than the obvious pattern of country songs, I'm not sure what to think of these selections. Not bad at the concept of cheering me up, although the next few songs were all tear-jerkers!
Maybe some hidden message about my job or my life?

As usual, I'm probably over thinking things. :-)

Adventures in Accountability

I have been thinking about (knowing I should) lose weight for quite some time. That time is NOW! Why?

1. I am done having children so there won't be any more pregnant feasting.
2. We have a family wedding in Mexico this July and I'd like to feel slightly more comfortable in shorts and a bathing suit.
3. I want to live longer for my children.
4. I'm tired of being 2 people. (2 x's on the tops, digits starting with 2 on the pants).

I am lucky (and cursed) to have my husband along with me on the journey this time but I thought I needed more accountability. SOOOO, I volunteered to be a contributor on a new blog~ Changing our Weighs. You can see what I'm thinking every Tuesday over there.

Just Because

I feel my other blog entry for today was lame at best. Here are some pictures to help spice things up!



Chase at 4 months... he started "talking" that day and didn't stop for 2 weeks!













Chase on our faux-Christmas Morning. (Santa visited us a few days early so we could head on vacation).












Chase at my parents Christmas party/gathering. Every child MUST get a picture in this chair! :-)

The weekend of nothing!

This weekend, I barely ventured out of the house, Heck!, I barely ventured out of my house clothes! (You know, the ones that are warmer and less revealing than your pajamas but that you wouldn't actually wear in public.)

Friday- our school district had a SNOW DAY! That most glorious of all unplanned days off that does not involve a sick person or an emergency. And better still- it really was a fine day. The snow ended by 8ish and the roads were clear by mid-morning. I think they were just being "safe". On that day- I threw on some jeans to hit the grocery store mid-afternoon. Who knew that would be the last time I got dressed all weekend!

Saturday and Sunday- I don't know what I did all day! Cleaned, did laundry, fussed around the house, kept the family fed, watched a lot of NCIS and NCIS, LA that I was behind on. I think it was the perfect weekend!

Busy Days

Not that it is anything new, but I am unbelievably busy this week.

I am finishing up some committee projects this week while starting a new, HUGE, project with my students. And did I mention that I have a life, 3 kids, and a husband who expect things of me.

That being said, I have a new sticky note on my computer. It is my calming mantra for the new year....

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." -- Emerson

Bored, what's that?

When we were kids, we used to complain to my mom that we were "bored". She really hated that! Of course that was before home computers and video games and DVD players... but still.

Every once in a while, my kids tell me they are bored... that they have nothing to do. I think I may kill them the next time I hear that!

After this Christmas/Hanukkah they have between them:

• 2 personal DVD players
• A Nintendo DS
• 2 different Leapster/Leap pad reading systems
• More computer games than they can play in a year
• More movies than I've seen in a long time
• TOYS coming out the yahoo!
• Books, puzzles, games.
• OUTSIDE! (When it's not freezing)

Besides all that, I think I am jealous. I would love to have the luxury of being bored. Without laundry, cleaning, cooking, diapers, children to entertain, work to do, papers to grade... to sit in silence and genuinely say I have nothing to do. HA!