Things That Make Me Gag

Okay, so one of them is one-piece bathing suits. I don't believe that blogs are for only telling the GOOD things about yourself, so I'll be honest and say that I don't wear one-pieces. One-pieces make me feel fat, and enlarge my bad parts and shrink my decent parts. Okay, are you glad that monologue is over with?

I knew that because of my calling I would probably end up in the water this summer at girl's camp, so I would need a one-piece, MODEST bathing suit. And I had that sinking feeling, because I've heard that if you want a decent one-piece you kinda have to put down the money for it. Being a college family on a teacher's salary is not really conducive to lots of extra money.

Anyway, feeling as icky as I did about this, I dragged myself into Target to see if there was anything I could stand.

SIDE NOTE: What is UP with those monokini things? You know, those supposed "one-pieces" with all the holes cut out? Blech.

I must have done something good that week because I threw on the only bathing suit I thought would be suitable and...it worked! And I actually thought, "Hey, this is CUTE!" The only bad thing was that it wasn't on sale...I can't remember the last piece of clothing I bought that wasn't on sale.

However, I decided that if I thought it was cute, I better buy it NO MATTER WHAT. So $35 later, I arrived home happy knowing that I wouldn't damage my self-esteem this summer every time I put that thing on!

Okay, so I guess the next thing on the list is board shorts to cover up a little bit more :)

Sad News

Our school lost two positions this week. There are more cuts to come, especially in special education. Our government is doing these students such a huge disservice. Our school and district will be undergoing some huge changes next year...many changes that will NOT benefit our students.

It's sad.

Photography Blog

I LOVE looking at photography blogs. For some reason, Facebook suggested this page to me, and I thought, do I know this person? I don't, it turns out, but I LOVE HER PHOTOGRAPHY!

So, if you like photography blogs as well, head on over here. It will take you to page 4, so go back to the beginning and check it out, but I wasn't finished looking through when I posted the link :)

Makes me wish I was in the Provo area and was anywhere near photogenic :)

Singing Queen at School

One of my kid's chair pockets ripped today, and I said, "Another one bites the dust."

That prompted another student to begin singing Queen's "Another one bites the dust."

I joined in, and then the rest of kids caught on...dum dum dum...another bites the DUST! dum dum dum...

It was a hilarious 30 seconds.

I really enjoy moments like that with my students :)

More of KC

We went and took a tour of the Church of Christ while in Independence. All I have to say is, I was weirded out. I mean, people probably see Mormons as weird (okay, of course, most people who know nothing about us DO think we are weird), but I couldn't believe how far apart the Church of Christ had moved from the LDS church since the 1840's. Women can hold the priesthood (after they--and eligible men--take a "training course"), delegates "vote" on new laws (right now they are voting on whether new members should be baptized if they have already been baptized in another church...really?), and they don't believe in eternal families. This adorable older man took us around, and when Todd asked him about forever families, he said that they didn't believe they would be sealed to their families, but it was okay because they would be too busy doing God's work. I mean, it was a nice thought, but I just remember feeling so sad for him...and he looked sad too! It was depressing.

On a much lighter note, we then traveled to Oklahoma Joe's and nearly missed it because it is INSIDE a gas station. Yep, I guess that is "real" KC barbecue for ya! It was SOOOO GOOOOOD! It was melt in your mouth good! I want to go back. My parents are coming next month to visit and I think we will have to take them!

We loved KC and spent a whole day there, and we still didn't get to everything I want to see. Good thing we still have another two years!

Truman Library and Museum

We went to visit the Truman Library last week during spring break. I really enjoyed it and learned a LOT. I was almost on information overload! I learned a lot about Truman, not only about his personality and his presidency, but also about WWI, the Cold War, and nuclear warfare. We were also able to get a buy one, get one ticket which made it even better :)

Randoms from PA

my sis and I at the Hershey Theatre to see A Chorus Line

waiting for food at Red Robin. And no, Jacob doesn't smile for pictures. Like, ever.

A cute "Grampa and Ari" moment

...and another cute Ari moment, courtesy of Ari. We were at Five Guys Burgers, and our potatoes were from Shoshone!

On a side note, of the many chains I would like to open someday in Topeka, one of them is a Five Guys burgers. Soooo good. The fries are Ocean City/Thrasher's good!

And on that side note, the chains I would love to bring to Topeka are: Jamba Juice, Cafe Rio, Five Guys, Cheesecake Factory, Rita's Italian Ice, and a drive-thru Chickfila. Am I missing any?

The many faces of Ari

Ari has a knack for the Iphone. Seriously, he has his own apps that he can get in and out of, turning off the sound, etc. Our children are going to be so tech-savvy!

I told Todd we are not buying our children toys, when it seems like in many cases, a pot (or strainer), will do just as fine.

or pillows, for that matter!

This is his kissy face. It's so cute.

My brother Ian (going off to BYU-I soon!) and my sister. Jake is missing from the picture, he had school.

Break

This week I decided to take a break from everything but spending time with my family.

It has been AWESOME! I am getting a much-needed mental break. After almost making a kid cry in Primary** two weeks ago, I decided that spring break was coming at an AWESOME time. 

More pictures to post later, but for now, I'll leave one of the cutest little nephew on the planet!

**Short story: Seriously, this kid takes every question I ask and answers the complete opposite of what he SHOULD be answering, and thinks its hilarious. It's so irritating. I was already irritated, but then he called one of my sweet little girls a liar, and I snapped. I mean, I was nice, but I told him that he had to apologize to her. We had a staring contest after that, but I won. He apologized and then he wouldn't look at me. Hopefully he doesn't try that again. I guess this calling is somehow preparing me for a lifetime of children, but I sort of already feel like I am living that NOW (especially with a Primary and now a girl's camp calling. geez.) (Oh, and it wasn't your son, Rebecca. In case you were wondering!)

Airport

I saw a 40-something mom in the airport with her kids. It was one of those times you look at someone and you say to yourself, "Um, yeah, she is TOO OLD to wear THAT!" And then I looked at her kids and KNEW they were going to grow up to dress like a 12 year old when they were forty as well.

So when I got back, I had the following conversation with Todd.

Me: Hey, honey, please tell me when we are older if I dress too young. Let me know because I don't want to be one of THOSE people.

Todd: Okay, but I don't think you will have that problem.

Me: Oh, that's right. You think I dress old NOW.


Todd is so funny when it comes to his fashion choices. I had a good friend whose clothes I always admired, and Todd would say, "But she dresses so OLD! Like a grandma!"

I personally am glad sweaters and cardigans came back into style. I would wear a cardigan every day if could. But apparently, I am dressing plenty old now.

Dear Friends

You rock.

Todd read over my post last night, and he said, "Wow you were mad." Which is really funny because when I wrote I knew I SHOULDN'T read it when I was feelin' hot about the situation (I think a cool down period is always a good idea, verbally and blog-ally), so I tried to write  to not offend anyone, but at the same time, get my point across.

And you all got it, and you were SO NICE about it, and you gave me lots of food for thought.

The one theme I did see in the comments was that talking about kids gives common ground and its an easy way to find common ground. I totally agree! I am terrible at conversations and I completely get that. I usually end up talking about work because I feel comfortable about that. And many topics are considered more SAFE than others until you get to know someone better, and you learn how they will react to the silly/goofy/serious/sarcastic things that you say.

Plus you understood that I was in NO WAY trying to bash motherhood. It's totally something I want someday, and I will probably put people in that same position (by accident, I hope) in the future. But I was having this conversation with a friend at church last week, and I told her I admired her because even with two kids, I still knew WHO she was because she was still involved in other things in her life besides her children. I just know that I want Todd and I to have the kind of partnership where we can say, "Hey honey, I have volleyball tonight, can you watch the kids?" and that we can make having some time for our hobbies a priority.  And at the same time, I REALLY want those moments where I am so wrapped up in those children that I wouldn't wish to do be doing anything else but hanging out with them. But too much of either thing is not--what word did y'all use?--BALANCED.

Balance. I want that :)

So again, thanks. You reminded me of what wonderful, well-rounded friends I have.

Babyless in Mommydom, Part I

Disclaimer: One, I will probably perpetrate all of these faults in the future. Two, this is not about people whose families I know well. Just so ya know :)


I have this group of friends that I see on a regular basis, but don't know extremely well. They are great people, but we get together for one sole reason and our families don't really interact.

I  LIKE these women!

However, almost ALL they talk about is their children--from potty training to teething to diaper duty. I am generally the only one in the group who doesn't have children yet, but every once in a while there is another girl who is in the same boat.

Would that make you feel left out? As I see it, I have several options when the conversation turns to, "How long did it take you to potty train _________?"

a) Change the subject. This doesn't work because I am outnumbered. Plus, I don't know ANYTHING else about these women except for the occasional snippet because the conversation is almost always "the babies." Plus, they brought up the subject, so obviously its what they want to talk about. Right?

b)Interject with a tidbit about "someone I know" who potty trained a child, because that's all I've got. But no one cares.

a) Say nothing. Which is awkward. Because I WANT to be part of the group and the conversation, but really, I CAN'T.

I mean, are there other options? Am I wrong with being irritated?

Does it make me feel left out? Yes.
Does anyone like that feeling? I doubt it.
Do I want to know what they like to read? Yep.
                               what foods they like? Yep.
                               what reality TV they watch? Sure
                               the last movie they saw? I'd like the recommendations!
                               who they are without the kids? Yeah.

I mean, I KNOW people who have personalities outside of their mothering responsibilities. And I am a TOTAL believer in strong mothers and mothers who take their responsibilities seriously. But can't there be a balance? Can't we be someone who has more to their lives than potty training?

Please?





P.S. A big thank you to those people who find things to talk about with me, even though I am "babyless." Thanks for letting me share/sharing with me gripes about work, recipes, great movies and TV ideas, funny stories, and crafty ideas. Thank you for showing there IS a balance to life, and that I can have it too, even WITH children!

H Week

In theater, we had a week affectionately (or not) called "Hell Week." It was the week we moved onto the stage and all of the pieces came together--lights, sound, set pieces, acting, blocking, etc. It was always crazy and exhausting and FRUSTRATING!



I think I found its equivalent in teaching...except its two weeks long.




Hell Week will now be the TWO weeks before spring break.

Sometimes I Have Thoughts :)

I read somewhere the other day that many salaries are telling of the value society places on that job, especially because we have a capitalistic society. Now, I'm not complaining about my salary, because I feel that for my experience, I make a decent salary. Now, of course, there are many teachers at my school that are making the SAME amount as I am, and have been teaching longer. This I have a problem with, but thats a rant for another time.

However, I was thinking about how society sees the role of a teacher. And, if the above statement is true, I think I can generalize and say that society does NOT place very much value on our jobs. Which, if I take that leap, and say that its true society does not value the role of teaching, then people OBVIOUSLY don't know what we do. Here is a list of things I have done in the past two days, typical teacher duties.

The Not So Fun

• I've consoled a crying student who was recently moved to her father's home--her second move this school year, meaning she has lived in three different homes in 7 months. This has been almost DEVASTATING for her.
• I've explained to a guardian the test anxiety their student has and we brainstormed ways to improve it.
• I've graded some of my writing assessments, done quarterly grades for about 1/3 of my class, trained on a tutorial for the new attendance and grading system our district has adopted for next year, and filled out evaluation sheets for my observations.
• I've had to explain to the rest of my students why my autistic student has been acting so differently, without giving too much information away. He is off of his ADHD medication because of a cold, and has been really disruptive.
• I spent Monday evening searching for other resources to teach fractions, in addition to running to the store for items for an object lesson (spending my own money, of course).
• I've had to explain in no uncertain terms that crawling on the floor under tables is not something they were taught by me to do, and not behavior I expect out of third-almost fourth-graders.
• I spoke with another teacher about two students we have who are brothers, who have a father and jail and a mother in and out of jail, and just struggle with appropriate behavior.
• I started a new behavior plan with a student who simply can't focus...this is his fourth behavior plan this year. I am running out of ideas!

The Fun

• I had a triumphant student tell me his hockey team won their tournament and shared his picture with the class.
• We made a "Good Luck" photo collage for the two other third grade classes testing this week.
• We watched a reading video set to the music of "I Gotta Feeling" and loved hearing the kids sing along and dance to the song.
• As I went through grade cards, I was able to identify several students who had made improvements academically or behaviorally this semester.
• I had a student ask to hold my hand in line today. 

Of course, this is all in addition to the regular planning, grading, transitioning, teaching, and correcting that I, as a typical teacher, do. This is not a pity party, but I cannot believe that all of the roles I have at school are only worth so much to society. And I'm not trying to say that our job is worth THE MOST either. But seriously, when teachers start playing the roles that parents and the community in general SHOULD be first in line for, then I think we need to reevaluate the value of a teacher!