Ready, set, go!

It's back to the schoolhouse tomorrow, and time is going to start flying! My students will take their state writing test in just a few months, and the pressure is on. I don't worry too much about it as I have amazing students, but many 7th graders just don't have the maturity to write the kinds of narratives they're expected to write, so we have to hit it hard. The difficult part for teachers is to keep it interesting when we know the topics they'll receive on the test are anything but. I want the kids to LOVE writing...

On a personal note, Rachel and I went shopping yesterday and had Abram with us. Aden stayed home with Greg, taking a nap. We stopped and bought soft pretzels on our way out of the mall, and as we were driving home, Abram said, "I'm eating my pretzel; eating my pretzel..." and I said, "That sounds like a song, Abram," so he added a little tune and started to sing, "I'm eating my pretzel song, eating my pretzel sooooonnnnng." He is hilarious. And he's not even two years old yet!

I think I'll go have some leftover Thanksgiving pie and try to figure out what I'm going to do tomorrow...

Stuffed!

I read this morning that people in the U.S. gain an average of 9 lbs. between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I think I gained at least that much just today! Jordan outdid herself once again, and with everyone bringing something, we had enough food for each person to take leftovers home and then some. Even the dogs had a Thanksgiving dinner for which they were very happy. At the table, Abram said, "Get my mashed tatoes now, Mommy!" He's a little bossy boy. He also entertained us with the "Eencey Weencey Spider" song, while his big brother Aden, figured out a new puzzle Aunt Jorgie bought him- in record time. By the time everyone left, we were all high on pie and other desserts: chocolate pie, chocolate pecan pie, pumpkin pie, brownies, citrus squares, pumpkin spice cake, and more. If I see another pie, I'll.... probably eat it. :) And now, Alan is doing dishes and cleaning the kitchen. And I'm relaxing and wondering if I'll fit into my clothes any time soon. Maybe that was supposed to be 9 pounds for Thanksgiving and another 9 for Christmas. But, hey, we have 8 nights of Hanukkah. How will that add up??? Aiyiyi.

Thanks- giving

Thanksgiving is almost here, and I have so much for which to be thankful. Right now I'm sitting here at the computer with my 2 amazing dogs (Angus and Neptune) at my feet. Alan and Eli and our friend Karl from Alpine just left for the store to pick up a "few more things." Jordan is cooking all of the sides tomorrow, and she's an amazing cook. Big Bubbe is bringing pies, and I'll add a couple of my own plus some appetizers and other desserts. Rachel, Greg, Aden and Abram will be here. Sadly, I'll be missing Kristinn, Tim, Gabe, and Sofia, Ryan and Vicki , Alana and Jake. Alana was planning to come, but it didn't work out, and everyone else is too far away, but they'll all be here in spirit, I'm sure. Today, Rachel and family came over, and she and I took the boys to play at the park. We had another beautiful day and lots of fun. But the highlight of the day was when Abram followed me into the bathroom and said, "Where's your wienie, Bubbe?" Of course he was completely serious, but how can you keep a straight face on that one?
I ran into a former student earlier today, and that's always neat- especially when I remember his/her name, which is getting harder and harder to do. It's funny because I'll remember "kids" I had over 25 years ago, but I have difficulty remembering the names of ones I had just last year. I recognize them, but sometimes the names escape me. The guy who helps run the bowling alley where Eli bowls is a former student of mine, one former is now an Assistant Principal at another middle school in my district, and my own son-in-law once sat in my classroom. Isn't that just kinda cool?! Well, I've gone all over the place with this blog, but the bottom line is that I am lucky and very blessed and hope that all of you who read this have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

AARGH

I just started adding pictures, so my fabulous family, bear with me. It may take the next several months to upload pics of all of you. Just know that I love you all the same, and I'll get to everyone eventually. :) It seems easy, but I'm not very fast, and getting these few on the site took me over an hour. I will continue...but not right now. I'm heading for a nice long soak in the tub.

A Warm Weather Girl

My sister lives in Alaska (actually Unalaska in Dutch Harbor of the Aleutians) and once in awhile I'm a little jealous because she gets to play in the snow. But then, on days like today, I get a bit of "WHAT are you THINKING?" rattling through my head. For one- I don't like the cold, and for another, today in San Antonio, we had the most gorgeous day. Here we are in NOVEMBER, and it was up to about 80 degrees. The sun was shining, and the breeze was just enough to rustle the leaves in the trees. It was a perfect day for a picnic, so instead of meeting a friend for lunch at a restaurant as planned, I called her back and said, "How about I pick up lunch, and we go to the park instead?" And we did, and it was lovely. There were deer grazing nearby, and a few other people with the same idea picknicking with their kids. You know, I think we could have stayed there for hours eating and talking and enjoying the peacefulness of the outdoors. I definitely want to visit Jane in Alaska one of these days, but I am so lucky to live where I do. When July comes 'round, if you hear me complaining about the heat, please remind me of that...

A Whole Week Off!

In 28 years of teaching, I've noticed certain idiosyncrasies some of us have. We are so excited when a new school year begins. We can smell the school supplies when we walk into stores, and it's like perfume to us. We're meeting at the school to get ready before we have to, and we're making big plans for "this year." But then, after about a week with our new charges, we find ourselves walking down the hall, and the conversation goes something like this: Me- "How's it going?" Mr. G.- "Only 4 days until Labor Day!" Ms. P. "Really? I don't think I'll make it!" From then on, time is marked by the next holiday. Thanksgiving gives us a week off, Christmas and New Year's Day add up to two weeks. There's the week of Spring Break, and then summer is right behind it. Two and a half glorious months... And you know what? About two weeks into summer, we're going stir crazy. We're calling each other, making plans for another year. We miss our classrooms and our kids, and we can't wait to walk into Target in August and smell those school supplies. I LOVE my job!