It's True!

OnePlusYou Quizzes and Widgets


It is nearly 10:00 (AM) as I type this on a Saturday morning. DH is talking to his mom on the phone so I decided to check in with the bloggy world. So far this morning, I have already (a) done two loads of laundry and (b) finished up cutting the grass. I am only on my second cup of coffee so the little test, by my calculations, is pretty accurate. Thanks, Queen B, for sharing!

I was "moderate", chipper and perky. DH, however, was "high"...highly excitable. I could be a long day at the mayor's house today!

At Last!

Someone who says it better than I ever could...This Ain't New York has the perfect idea! Parents, both in my class and around town, ask what I, as a teacher, like to receive as a gift. And it has taken me a long time to learn to give an honest answer...if they didn't really want to know, they wouldn't have asked. So let me take this opportunity to chime in and give you some hints from a teacher on what we like and what we don't like.

First of all, back away from the apples and apple-related items. We have enough of everything apple-y. And along those lines, leave the "World's Greatest Teacher" everything. If your child thinks their teacher is, indeed, the world's greatest, have him/her make a card for the teacher.

Next, gift cards are always a plus. We can get what we want, when we want. Wal-Mart, Target, Borders...always a hit. Starbucks, Kohl's - who doesn't love 'em?? Gas cards...tacky? I think not! Be creative.

A plant or seeds, garden gloves, cute pot painted by the child, water bucket.

This year, Youngest Child gave her teacher a cute plastic pitcher (from WalMart!), matching glasses and Crystal Light drink mix.

A nice quick-read book and bookmark.

A beach towel and bottle of sunscreen and a current magazine - Good Housekeeping, People, etc.

Note cards or stamps to create cards and a book of stamps to mail them. Teachers still write thank you notes and what child doesn't love to get mail addressed to them?

A handwritten note from both the parent and child telling her/him how much they've meant to them. This year, one of my most precious gifts was a note from a mother of a struggling child thanking me for helping him score so high on his standardized test. Nothing monetary - but precious because I know it came from the heart.

When buying for a teacher, just remember it doesn't have to be expensive; it doesn't have to be big. Make it thoughtful and practical and you will go down in history as a parent every teacher wants to have!

My Calendar Says "Summer"

Once school is out for the year and the teacher workdays are finished, I start my summer reading list. And how accountable would I be if I didn't share my list with you. Last summer was my Karen Kingsbury summer. I totally loved reading her last three series' and some of her stand alone titles; you won't be sorry if you read them. This summer, however, I am switching gears. I realized there were two Jan Karon Mitford books I haven't read. I truly enjoyed visiting Mitford and would love to move there when I retire. I can hardly wait to escape there this summer.

Love Walked In is a book that came highly recommended by Oldest Child's Youth Minister. Haven't heard of the author before (Marisa DeLosSantos). If you've read this book, I'd love to hear your opinion, but don't spoil anything for me!

I will also catch up on the various and sundry magazines that have accumulated on my counter. I'll keep you posted!

Wii Twins!

Among the list of things to do this summer is loose some weight (ha ha!). I have an entire closet full of clothes I can't wear and I refuse to get rid of. Internets, I have just given you the unthinkable responsibility of holding me accountable! I also live with a high schooler (geez, that was hard to write!!) who wants to tone up. The simplest solution...Wii Fit. I pre-ordered it from Amazon way back when and forgot about it. Lucky for me it was waiting for me when I got home from school on Thursday. We had such a busy weekend I put it in the closet until tonight when I would have time to sit down and figure out how to hook it up...translated, my technical support would be able to walk me through step-by-step what to do.

So Oldest Child set it up...well, kinda. She got it out of the box and pieces were strung all over the living room. Then she gave up and went to her room. I called Technical Support and got to work. After a few colorful adjectives with explanations points after them, I was all set up and ready to go. Unfortunately, when I entered in all my information, I wasn't the cute, skinny Mii I had once been. Mr. Wii took all my pertinent information and made me...pleasingly plump. Oh, who am I kidding; Mr. Wii made me fat! It can weigh and figure BMI (body mass index) just by taking numbers you put in - amazing! The funny thing is, Lynne and I are in the exact same category with the exact same BMI and we weren't even trying.

Guess I know what that means...the challenge is on! Now we'll have to see who moves down the scale quicker.

Cats Really Do Have 9 Lives

And ours is on life number 6 or 7 at least. We rescued Reggie from our vet a few years ago; he was one of about twelve she adopted out, having saved them from an elderly lady who could no longer care for them. Reggie and his brothers and sisters were named after characters in To Kill a Mocking Bird. Scout, Boo and Atticus were also sent to good homes. When we got Reggie, he had just been in a cat fight; his head had stiches and he is now cross-eyed as a result. But you should see the other guy.

Since he's been with us, he was locked in a closet a whole week we were on vacation (lost a few pounds, but recovered nicely). He is normally a house cat, but around Thanksgiving he got out without us realizing it. We looked for him, sat food out for him, but no Reggie. Then, one Friday night at the end of January (yes, 2 1/2 months after he left the warmth of our humble abode) we got a call from a man DH is in the Lion's Club with. Reggie had taken up residence at his house, but was with a wild cat and wouldn't let Mr. Lion get close to him...until then. Once again, he was a few pounds lighter, but none the worse for the wear.

Last night, Youngest Child came running through the house carrying Reggie. She found a puncture wound in his side that looked like you had stuck a pencil in between his ribs. One of the nice things about living in a small town is my vet actually answers her phone when you call after-hours. Her "best-guess" phone diagnosis was that he had been in a fight while he was out being Hudini and there was a foreign object under his skin that had worked its way out. As long as he wasn't "acting" sick, it could wait until morning. I convinced her morning would be fine...he didn't let us know, YC just happened to be playing with him and found it.

So upon our visit at 8:00 this morning (don't you wish you could have been at your vet at 8:00 in the morning on a Saturday morning??), her phone diagnosis was confirmed. She even noted in his chart back in January that there was "something" exactly where the puncture is now. Lucky us...we get to give him antibiotics three times a day for 14 days. Unless the wound gets bigger or shows no sign of healing. Then we get to take him back for surgery. I'm guessing he's at the short end of his nine lives... better slow down a little, sweet Reggie.

Deja vu All Over Again

Let me just start by saying, "go ahead and send up prayers for me now." Followed by, "if you are a new reader, go back to August, September, and October reads to familiarize yourself with Oldest Child." The question that has been ever-present in my mind since 6:30 pm is "Why did I agree to this?" Whatever am I talking about, you ask?? You will be happy to know that Oldest Child is the newest member of the dance team at her NEW HIGH SCHOOL - OMG!! (applause, applause!). Do you remember the drama? Do you remember the cat fights? Do you remember the girls gone bad episodes that made up the middle school dance team? Do you remember the fact that she and Other Dancer were FIRED from being co-captains because of said drama?

dé·jà vu - n. 1. Psychology The illusion of having already experienced something actually being experienced for the first time. 2.a. An impression of having seen or experienced something before

There has already been enough drama involved with tryouts; I can only imagine what the actual season will bring. The directions said be at High School at 3:00; no sooner, no later all week for practice. That in and of itself was enough to send me over the edge. DH wouldn't be home, I wouldn't be home, The Dude wouldn't be home, Activity Bus would be late. Don't know how on earth she was going to get to practice all week. So I wrote a note for her to ride the activity bus, be late, I would explain it to the coach why she was late. Problem solved. Not good enough for OC. She rode with another girl's dad from her school on Monday. OK, she's what I always encourage my students to be - a problem solver. Can't fault her for that. Tuesday, I get this frantic e-mail from OC's assistant principal (who also just happens to be a personal friend of ours...) explaining that yesterday's ride can't be Tuesday's ride because word word word word yadda yadda. OC doesn't know what on earth she's going to do. In the most concerned voice I could muster, I responded to his e-mail. "Dear Mr. Assistant Principal; let me understand this. You are in charge of discipline for over 1,200 students, interviewing teachers for next year, monitoring halls and restrooms for said students. And you're worried about how MY CHILD is getting to dance team??" That's what I love about living in a small town. His response was priceless: Yes, but, I realize how important and pressing to the social life and the phenomenon of gaining peer acceptance is to future high schoolers. And I must add that I would never do anything to hinder the display of god given talent. At this point, all I can do is laugh. So I tell him to let OC know I will get in touch with The Dude and see if he can bail us out ('scuse me, I mean pick her up). You'd better sit down if you're not already...I get a reply from the AP asking me if The Dude isn't supposed to be in TN, so HE WON'T BE ABLE TO DO IT. Rest assured, dear AP, The Dude, indeed saved the day.

Fast forward to last night (Thursday with tryouts on Friday). When she shares with me that she has to have black shorts and a plain white top for tryouts. AND she has to have baby powder for her shoes because they are the WRONG shoes and she will totally mess up if she doesn't have baby powder. Sorry, not my problem, OC. Then this morning, her daddy, DH, was oh, so happy when I shared with him that OC really didn't need him to pick her up at school and take her to tryouts, she had it handled. And imagine his surprise when I shared this news somewhere in the neighborhood of 3:00 - 3:20 AM when he was ready to leave for work. You see, he had rearranged his normal 6:30 - 2:30 schedule so he would be at OC's beckandcall.

Can you see it? Isn't the excitement about dance team just oozing from my post? I know you will be waiting with baited breath to see if this year's drama can possibly top last year's (I don't even want to think about that right now...)...

...to be continued.

Update

OK...yes...I am still among the living. Quite boring, but among the living nonetheless. Didn't realize it had been nearly a month since my last post; things here have been pretty much status quo for the past month. We closed on our land up in the mountains last week. Getting ready to wind down the school year; only 10 more student days, 14 more work days. This time next month I will be lying on the beach with no worries in the world.

Staying strong in FPU; very difficult, but very worth it. I have never been much of a "bill" person. I like creating the bills, but not paying them once they arrive in the mail. I like using "plastic money" because it's not "real" money. Sitting down with Dear Husband to pay bills has been enough to cause more than one full-fledged panic attack. When I heard President Bush was going to give me $1,800 just for living, breathing and taking up space (and, of course, filing my tax return) I immediately went to work deciding how I could spend "my" money. See, with our last rebate check way back when, DH bought a trailer. One we could put dirt bikes or lawn mowers or stuff on and pull it behind the truck. So it was only fair that I should get to spend this one. I decided to buy wood blinds for my whole house. I had them picked out and priced, knew exactly which ones I wanted. Then, the more I got into FPU, the guiltier I felt. Then, when I actually saw the money sitting in my bank account, I couldn't do it. I could either buy the blinds or pay three bills off. So as of Monday, we will have paid off four credit cards since February; started the envelope system for buying groceries and fun monies (ask Oldest Child how much she likes Dave Ramsey...she'll be happy to tell you..NOT!) Plus we thought long and hard about whether to buy the land up in the mountains before we actually signed the papers. But it's hard to go wrong with something that appreciates in value as soon as the ink dries. So we had to say yes. Now saving money has turned into a game for me. Like paying cash for groceries and getting $7 in change back. Or taking a "thingy" back to Home Depot and getting a store credit worth more than the Mother's Day present I want from there costs. And our teacher gives chocolate to those who bring credit cards to cut up each week. I haven't been able to do that yet, because way back when, DH and I cut up our credit cards; all I have now are the gas cards and my emergency Mastercard and my American Express card. But Wednesday night I get to take a credit card to cut up because as I was going through the bill book this morning, I found a Kohl's card. I will proudly be walking up, cutting that sucker into itsy, bitsy, teensy, tiny pieces and enjoying every bit of chocolate in that candy bar (who cares if my beach vacation is less than a month away and I will look like a beached whale...)