I'm happy I still have a couple days of Christmas Vacation

Most of our Christmas vacation has been sucked up already. We spent a good part of it driving to and attending funerals.

Move over Michael

Got Roller Skates?

Margaret Ann O'Rando

Margaret Ann O'Rando Feb. 21, 1920 - Dec. 17, 2009 Resident of Concord Beloved wife of the late Kenneth Balding; mother of Nancee Aboussie (Michael), Theresa Van Auken (Mike), and the late Patricia Ann Balding; grandmother of Michelle Aboussie Wolf, Michael Aboussie, Melinda Aboussie, Melissa Aboussie, Majeed Aboussie (Kristine), Tony Van Auken, Nicole Van Auken, David Christopher (Suzette), Johnnie Balding, Donald Moore (De Ann); and leaves behind twenty-four great-grandchildren and many friends. Margaret, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, enjoyed cooking Italian food and playing bocce ball and softball in her early years. She also cherished spending time with her family and she always looked forward to her large family gatherings. Family and friends are invited to a Memorial Mass on Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at 9:30am at St. Catherine of Sienna Church at 606 Mellus St. Martinez, CA 94553. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to the St. Jude Foundation. Ouimet Bros. Chapel (925) 682-4242

Visit to California

A day after Tracy died, Grandma Orando died. She is Don's biological grandma. Don's mother left him with her intending that she would raise him right before she died. Instead he ended up in a group home. But that is another story. I asked Don how long he lived with her. She came and lived with his family when Don's mom was still alive, several times. She had a huge impact on his life. I think he was closer to her than most grand children are to their grandparents. She distanced herself from him when he joined the church at 17. So I only met her twice. But Don has some great stories about her.

We drove straight from Las Vegas to San Diego on Sunday. The catholic funeral was held on Wednesday. Don's family was busy before the funeral so we just visited with them on Wednesday at the wake after the funeral. There is a lot going on with his family right now.

The highlight of the trip was when Don's aunt Nancy gave Don all the pictures his grandma had kept of Don's family. There were tons of them. Don has few pictures from his childhood. These pictures mean more to him than most anything. He has put them in a special place to keep them safe and calls them the "Arc of the Covenant". With the pictures was a little jewelry box with a couple of necklaces in it. Grandma had written, "Last gift from Patti" on it. I am so happy that Nancy gave all of these things to Don. We have been trying to get copies of these pictures for years.

My big mistake came when I wore a bright flowery skirt and white shirt to the Catholic funeral. It wasn't until we came out of the cathedral and I saw everyone dressed in black that I remembered that everyone wears black to a funeral. Whoops. I stood out like a sore thumb. It already puts strain of the family that we are Mormons. So, not good.

Tracy's Wake

Tracy died on Thursday after having a heart attack. She was about 47 years old. We went to her wake on Saturday in Las Vegas. There were a lot of people there. Don really wanted to be there for Christina, Evan, and Deanna. Christina is married. Evan lives in Las Vegas on his own. Deanna is seventeen and lives with her dad. Anytime is a hard time to lose your parents. Tracy was very young and her death was unexpected.

I shouldn't be laughing.

I started telling Don about my day today. As the stories kept coming to me I was laughing so hysterically that I couldn't even tell the stories. Kids are so funny.

We are talking about immigration in our second grade class. I gave my class the assignment of researching their ancestors and telling our class about one of them. I gave the class the example of my great-great Grandpa, John Devey, that built the first car in the west. They all thought that was very cool.

So today I had a child stand up and say that his family invented pink lemonade. Yes, pink lemonade. I asked him what the secret recipe was and he said that they add food coloring. I wasn't sure whether to believe him or not. I mean, it's possible. It made me so curious that I started searching the Internet for pink lemonade recipes. Amazingly enough, none of them call for food coloring.

Another student, not to be outdone, stood up and said that his grandma made the first watch. "Is she still alive?" I asked. He answered in the affirmative. "Hmm," I said, "Watches have been around for quite a long time. Are you sure it wasn't a great-great grandma?" "Oh yeah, he said. "It was my great-great grandma."

I was amazing how much more realistic the stories were once I clarified that the class needed to share real stories that they had found out about their ancestors. I had descendants from Brigham Young, the person that shot and killed President Abraham Lincoln, and war veterans. There were some really great stories.

After each presentation I opened it up to the class for questions. Without fail, a student always asked, "How old were they?" You would think that the question was always coming from the same student. I wasn't. It didn't matter if the presenter said their age in their presentation. It didn't matter if someone else had asked already. It seemed to be the popular question. I even stopped them at one point and said, "You can't ask them how old they were." Guess what the next question was?

The topper was the part of the day when one of my students choked on a piece of candy. This student actually isn't allowed to have sugar. I can only imagine the candy deal going on outside at recess. "I'll give you four pencils for that peppermint candy." "No way!" "Okay. Four pencils and TWO erasers." "Deal!" Anyways he managed some how to get a small round peppermint candy.

We were right in the middle of learning about friction, when he started screaming, "I'm choking!" His face turned red and the whole class looked in horror. I ran over to his side to assess the situation. I mean his face was red. But he was able to yell to the whole class that he was choking. Doesn't that mean that he was getting air? I sent another student to get a cup of water. I knelt by the student's side and watched as he started to gag. One gag, two gags, one great big gag and then the small candy came flying out and onto the floor. I grabbed it quickly with a Kleenex and threw it away before the class could see. Crazy. He was okay. I sent him to go get a drink from the water fountain so he could compose himself.

You would think I would have told his mom seeings how she works at the school. I totally forgot until she asked me about it during lunch. The hard part was trying to tell her the story without cracking a grin. I mean, he wasn't supposed to have candy in the first place.

Life is good when Don's around

The last 11 days have been amazing. Don has been off because the temple is closed. I come home to a husband and we are actually functioning as a family. We had a baby blessing on Sunday, Porter's Christmas program Monday, and the ward party on Tuesday. It was so different going as a family to these things. I didn't have to spread myself thin watching all four children at once and try to get something out of the activities as well. What a difference.

It is hard to imagine Don back at work. We will hardly see each other. It is when Don gets time off that I realize just how hard it is with our opposite schedules.

How Twillight Should Have Ended

I loved this.

Grateful

It is when you stop being grateful that you need to worry.

25 Disturbing Kids Songs

Sorry that I keep posting You Tube videos, but they just make me smile.

Tis the Season

A neighbor gave me her Christmas tree that was still new in the box. I was so excited I put it up today. I know. I know. Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Anyways, we were in the middle of decorating and Dresden was right behind us undecorating it.

Since I have had kids, I have yet to have a tree that stays decorated. I usually redecorate the tree every day. Well, a stroke of genius hit me. There must be a way to keep it decorated. Okay, most of you probably started doing this the day that your kids or cats or whatever started undecorating your tree. But I tend to catch on a little slow. I thought about keeping each ornament on with a twist tie. So now all the ornaments are secured on. We will see how long my tree stays decorated.

Donny Osmond you are my hero

Don showed me this today and I thought it was funny.

Many Thanks

Firstly, I want to give a big shout out to Brenda McMillian for seeing our car hood up and stopping to give me a ride to work. That was incredibly sweet. When I grow up, I want to be like Brenda.

Second, I want to thank Lydia for taking me to work and picking me up from work this week.

Last week Don was on his way home from work and his gas tank went from 1/4 a tank to zero. The truck stopped in the middle of the freeway right in a construction zone, 2 lanes no less. He jumped out of the truck and ran to the nearest gas station. A tow truck just happened to be there at the same time. The police had just called her over the radio about our truck that was blocking one of the two lanes. She offered to drive Don back to the car. The police were not happy when he got back to the truck. They had flares. They were diverting traffic. They let Don know that they were going to "have a little talk" as soon as they got him off the next exit.

Don took his little gas can and started putting in the gas. The gas went in the truck and right out the bottom. Everyone stared in amazement and a big puddle formed right under the truck. The cops decided that they didn't need the little talk with Don after all and they just did their best to stay out of the way of the tow truck driver. Don made it home and we parked the truck in the garage.

Luckily we still had the Galaxy for Don to drive. The transmission was going out, but it was still drivable. I use past tense here because on Saturday, the transmission on the Galaxy completely died. Don broke down on his way home from work. So we towed it home the next morning.

We are down to one car. I am not sure how we are going to work it out because we have two opposite schedules. But luckily Lydia has offered to drive me this week. Then we have a week off of school.

Why I like Chihuahuas

Ford Unveils New Car For Cash-Strapped Buyers: The 1993 Taurus

I Am A Member of An Elite Club

I am in a club that only so many mothers can join. In fact, I didn't really have a say whether I wanted to join the club, but I am in the club and am learning all sorts of new things. The club I am talking about is the three sons club, more specifically, the three sons in a row club.

We all know that there is a difference between boys and girls. I have heard that girls are easier when they are young and harder when they are older. I also heard that the opposite is true with boys...they are harder when they are young and easier when they are older. But there is something to be said about having three boys in a row. It is quite overwhelming.

My house in known for its chaos. There are always kids over here. It is not uncommon to see a rope or a chain contraption hanging from something in the yard. Even more common is seeing three boys running around the neighborhood in bare feet no matter the weather. The yard is full of freshly dug holes, clothes and play weapons of all kinds. It is a boy wonderland.

When we found out we were having another boy when I was pregnant with Zander, the first thing John Robbins (An old neighbor) said was, "Get them into wrestling." He kept saying that to me every chance he could get. One day I finally I asked him why he kept saying that. He explained that coming from a family with three boys in a row, he knew first hand the chaos that ensues. He described full out fist fights and a poor mother trying the best she could to control the boys. He told me that my boys are going to fight. I might as well teach them how to do it right.

I did not see his wisdom until tonight when we went to a "Little Vikings" wrestling practice. The gym was full of boys from 3 years old to probably 14 years old. I could just feel the testosterone in the air. There is a whole boy culture I am just learning about. Boys need to use their muscles. They need to explore their power. They love the feeling of pinning someone. It is all just so foreign to me.

Zander needed a drink and so we wandered out into the hall in pursuit of a water fountain. Around the corner from the fountain I heard girls giggling. What I found was a group of girls all holding hands standing on a stage waiting for the cue to jump off in time for a picture. It was such a dramatic change from the testosterone filled gym of pain. I pictured myself with three boy teenagers. It scared me.

It's About Time

I am glad I waited to post this till now, because if I would have posted it last week it would not have been nice. Sometimes it is good to wait a little bit.

Do you remember the document camera that you all donated toward with Donors Choose in April? I have been waiting for it since then. They had said that because it was close to the end of the year there was a possibility that I would not get it until October. They asked me to wait until October to contact them. Meanwhile, I spent everyday asking the front office if a package had come for me. I bugged the office clear until the end of school. But to no avail.

I didn't even bother to ask the office once school started because somehow I knew it wouldn't come. I was frustrated. I think what made me the most mad was that I couldn't tell all my friends that had donated towards it how much better it had made my life. I was still writing everything up on the board and using up precious time in the process.

I patently waited until October. Then I e-mailed them telling them that I still had not received it. I received and e-mail back telling me that it had indeed been shipped back in April. Let me repeat that...IT WAS SHIPPED BACK IN APRIL. So then the question was, where was it?

The front office advised me to check with Fed Ex and see who had signed for it. I checked into it and it was a name of someone that didn't work at my school. In my mind I could just see a person coming in, signing for it and taking it. I was losing all hope of ever getting my document camera back. I dug deeper and found out that they shipped it to some place in Clearfield.

I e-mailed Donors Choose again and told them that it was shipped to the wrong address. I asked them where we were supposed to go from there and how they were going to rectify the situation. I didn't hear back from them. I was not happy. Then two days later they e-mailed me and told me that the company School Outfitters did send it to the wrong address and they were sending out a replacement. I was so relieved. But disappointed that I still had to wait.

Well the happy ending came about on Friday. The office brought me a big package as soon as it was delivered. I think they were as excited about it as I was. I opened it up and found not only had School Outfitters sent out a document camera, but they had upgraded it to a real Elmo. An Elmo cost $400 more than what I had ordered. So needless to say I am very happy.

We used the Elmo for the first time today. The kids loved it. I can't believe what a difference it makes in the classroom. It makes a huge difference. I have a student that has really had a hard time keeping track of where we are in class. She has dyslexia. She always needs me to direct her exactly what part of an assignment we are on, even when she is following right with us. But today, she was able to look at the actual assignment and stay right with us. It was amazing. The entire class understood all the concepts that I taught better when we used the Elmo.

So I want to shout out a great big thank you. Thank you for helping my little girl that is struggling. Thank you for helping the entire class to learn more. I can't wait to see how much they learn tomorrow.

Calling all artists...

I am looking for someone that would like to work on a project with me. I am looking for someone that can draw cartoon like pictures. Anyone know anyone?

To Move or Not to Move

That is the question
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?

Yeah, there is only so much stress I can take. I cannot spend every free moment I have cleaning the house. I can try to keep it clean, but I can continue doing this deep cleaning every chance I get is too much for me.

So we spent Saturday moving everything that we had packed, back into the house. Yeah, good times. Now I have a basement full of boxes and I can't find a lot of the things I need.

Don is excited to work on getting our house fixed up. He said he was going to try to paint my room. Yeah, the one that is pink and yellow and hasn't been painted for 20 years, that room. Maybe something good will come of all of this after all.

Okay, where is the hidden camera?

Don and I put our house up for sale a week ago. Have you ever tried to sale a house with kids? Now think of how hard it is and consider my past week.

When the realtor listed our house, he just used pictures from when it was listed four years ago. He wanted to get it on the market quickly and we still had to get the house ready before we could take pictures. I was fine with that. Working full-time makes it hard to spend hours cleaning at the end of the day.

On Friday the first realtor called asking to see the house ten minutes from then. I had just walked in from work. The house needed a deep cleaning. I asked if they could wait an hour so I could clean it. He said that he didn't care if it was dirty because he was just looking at the layout of the house. I agreed as long as he took responsibility for insisting on viewing a dirty house.

On Saturday we had Josh's baptism out in Orem. We had to leave at 9:00 in the morning. There wasn't much time to clean the house before getting everyone ready and out the door. As far as I knew, no one was coming to see the house. When I came home, Ky told me that someone would be there in a few minutes to look. I was ready to die. The house was a disaster. I called Don to find out when the people were coming and he said that the people had already come. I laughed and told him that we wouldn't be getting an offer from them.

A couple of days passed. I still hadn't had time to get everything done. We had decluttered a little bit, but there was a long way to go. I was at work when Don called and said that someone was coming to look at the house. He said that someone would come at 4:00. According to him, the house was clean. I usually don't get home by then, so I knew I had no choice but to trust him.

The next day our realtor called trying to figure out why he was hearing such horrible things about our house. People had said that our house was dirty and that the carpet was beyond saving. I was embarrassed. I explained that we were still trying to get the house ready to show. It really put a fire under my butt to get the house completely clean.

I borrowed the carpet scrubber and carpet cleaner from my parents. I spent the entire night cleaning the carpet after work. It looked amazing. But, unfortunately, it stirred up old smells from the carpet.

I hired someone to clean our house. I knew I just didn't have time to clean the whole house in time for the next viewing. She came and spent two hours wiping our kitchen counters. (They were not that dirty, she was just incredibly slow.) Don't ask me how much I paid. I am still waiting for those wounds to heal. Don told her that we didn't need our house clean after all. I came home from work to dirty house. The counters didn't even look clean. I spent the night scrubbing walls, counters, floors and everything else I thought the house cleaner was going to clean.

I woke up this morning and the entire house stunk from the wet carpets. I spent the day trying to think of ways to get the smell out of the carpet. Then, an hour before I came home from work, I decided to just rip it out. I had one hour before a couple was coming to look at the house. Ky, Porter and I moved the sewing machine, piano, and T.V. and ripped out the living room and hallway carpet. There were still little staples all over and the nail strips, but the smell was finally gone. We grabbed some food and ran out the door.

Did I mention that it is parent teacher conferences at school? Today I taught school and then stayed late to meet with a ton of parents. Parent teacher conferences take a lot of energy. I barely had the strength to drag out the last of the wet disgusting carpet. What a day.

We left the house. We parked at the church just a few houses down, across the street. I shoved my mouth full of food as we watched to see if the people came. I wasn't planning on parking there and watching the people come. I was just too hungry and I had to eat right then. They came and spent a total of five minutes looking at the house. Disappointed, I drove back into our driveway. We were greeted by Lexi barking at out through the window. Somehow she was left in the house, to attack innocent victims. I can just see the couple walking nonchalantly through the house. When out of the clear blue a small, fat attack dog comes running at them. I can't wait to hear what my realtor has to say.

God Bless the Pharmaceutical Companies!

Years back when I suffered with depression with my first child, my doctor offered to put me on Prozac. I couldn't stop crying so I decided that I really had no choice. But I was not about to tell ANYONE that I was on Prozac. Oh, the embarrassment! I was an "in the closet" Prozac partaker. I took it daily. It made a difference. But, it was our little family secret. That was almost 11 years ago.

A year ago, I realized that the Prozac wasn't working anymore. I was in the worst depression I had ever been in. I went to counseling and I went to my doctor. She prescribed an additional anti-depressive. It took a month to make any difference, but what a difference it made. I realized that maybe Prozac had never completely solved my depression.

Wellbutrin has made my arthritis subside. I have tons more energy. I am able to work full-time. My one continuous headache went away. Oh, and I am nicer too. It has made a world of difference. I am thankful for how the pharmaceutical companies have improved my life.

I love Coke!

I can't say that I am a soft drink junkie. I don't go to the gas station everyday to get a soda. I don't even buy soda at the store. My preferred drink is usually water. But some days, Coke is the only thing that will ease my headaches. I have had this freaking headache for the last few days. I have taken Tylenol and Ibuprofen (At the same time) and not really felt like it has done anything. So I snuck off to the gas station and got my fix. Now I am hiding in the dining room drinking it as fast as I can. The last thing I need is for my kids to take a sip of Coke right before bedtime.

Dresden's Breakdown

Dresden brought a chewed up binkie to me today. Gina must of got a hold of it, because it was mangled. Dresden just kept holding it out like, "Fix it mommy." When she realized we just had to throw it away, she cried and cried. I knew we had more binkies around the house. I just couldn't find one at the moment. So Dresden just fell apart. I finally wrapped up one of her dolls in a blanket. She carried her for around and that helped her calm down. I felt so bad. Luckily we found another binkie and she is just fine.

Debbie came and took all the kids for a couple of hours. Have I written about my sister and how great she is? She just showed up and took all four. We took advantage of the time by going to visit my beautiful new niece Grace. Debbie brought them back and Dresden was wearing another cute new outfit. Her nails had been repainted pink. It is good that my sister takes so great care of my kids. I am lucky to have her as a sister.

As Good As It Gets

As I was doing dishes and after doing countless loads of laundry, the title of the movie "As Good As It Gets" came to mind. I know I didn't really like the movie all that much even though I am a Helen Hunt fan. But I started asking myself, "What if this is as good as it gets?" That would really suck.

Life in general

I am starting to feel healthier. I am dealing with work. Everything seems to be getting under control.

I even folded all my laundry stacked up on the table. This is more miraculous than most people will ever know. I usually wash a load and then put in on the laundry table. Then we spend the next week fishing through there for various outfits. It is completely ineffective and frustrating. Every time I get it under control I resolve to never let my laundry get like that again. Here is to big dreams!

Bishop Budd

Bishop Budd had a massive stroke on Thursday. He is still in ICU. We love Bishop Budd. He really has been the best bishop I have ever had. He knows my family and he just seems to be a part of it. Don goes to him for advice and Bishop Budd always says the right thing. Don stopped by the hospital last night on his way home from work and told me how hard it was to see him that way. Apparently, Don cried and cried. He told Jacob how much like a father Bishop Budd is to him. Today we are fasting and praying for him.

A great reminder

Last night I went to the adult session of stake conference. It was great. It was worth all the pain and suffering the children make me go through for leaving them home. There were a lot of great talks. The most important thing that I heard was more of reminder than anything. A mother in our stake talked about what she does when things are bad. She serves other people. What better way to stop focusing on my troubles and start focusing on all the blessings I have. I need to reach out to other people and help them more.

A stitch in time...

I wish I could say this was a blog about how my favorite shirt was saved by my crafty sewing ability. Actually, this blog has little to do with sewing. But a lot to do with stitches.

I was greeted at my children's preschool by a curious preschool teacher asking me what happened. I of course had no idea what she was talking about. She went on to ask about how Dresden cut her head open and about her stitches. I again had no clue what she was talking about.

Then she told me what she knew. Don dropped the kids off a little later than usual and he said that Dresden had just gotten stitches. At that point I just wanted to see my little girl.

She has three stitches in her forehead. When I got a hold of Don he told me he was just getting out of the shower and he heard her start to cry, followed by "sorry, sorry" from Zander. Zander told me that they were wrestling. If you have ever wrestled with Zander, you know how tough he is. She didn't even have a chance. But I can't quite get the story from him, so I am not sure.

All I know is my little girl has stitches and I had to find out from the pre-school. "I'm not happy Don, not happy at all." (This is a line from "The Incredibles" with Bob's name replaced with Don)

What a few days can do

I am amazed. A week ago today was the beginning of a terrible week. I would go into details, but it mostly deals with work and so I can't blog about it. But everyday another thing would just make everything just a little bit worse. Friday was the breaking point and I quit. I told them I was done. They told me to think about it over the weekend, because it's not good to make a decision based on emotions.

So I spent the weekend trying to sort through all my feelings. I went to the temple. I got really depressed. Then I sucked up my pride and begged for my job back on Monday.

It has been stressful. My instructor describes it as a big cloud that has come into our classroom. I am determined to find a way through this and become better because of it. Parents are coming tomorrow to celebrate Constitution Day, so I am trying to normalize everything before they come.

So I want to thank a bunch of people. I want to thank everyone that have been praying for me. I appreciate the people that have noticed I have been stressed and have brought dinner over. I want to thank two of my neighbors that invited me to their house just to chat on Saturday. You have no idea how much I needed that. I want to thank my sister for dressing Dresden up in cute clothes and painting her fingernails. She has helped with the kids so much. I want to thank my mom for sneaking some of my dirty clothes and washing them. Whether you knew that I was having a hard time or not, all of you really made a difference. Thank you.

Real Life

As a child I had all sorts of dreams. I had so much hope for the future and what I would become. It all seems so uncomplicated looking back. I would get married and have a family. We would buy a home and live happily ever after.

I have no idea what I am doing

I have had this one idea for a book for a long time. I haven't done anything about it because I kept trying to talk myself out of it. Everyone says they are going to write a book and it usually doesn't amount to anything. But my brother asked me a week ago if I would take the pictures for a book he is writing. He is a graphic artist and he is planning on altering them to fit his concept. It flattered me because my brother has written several books and I never thought he would consider working with me on a project. We are still working out the details.

But it got me to thinking about the book I want to write. So I outlined out the book and it just all made sense. I e-mailed my brother to see if he would illustrate the book. We met and he gave me a lot of advice and steered me in the right direction. One thing he said was to put up an ad on Craigslist to see if I could find any graphic artists willing to work for cheap. So I did. Here was my ad...

Illustrator wanted to illustrate a LDS book. Seventy-five specific pictures wanted. Illustrator must have portfolio to display.
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Compensation: Negotiable
This is a part-time job.
Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
Please, no phone calls about this job!
Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.
PostingID: 1446195379

Can someone just blog so I have something to read

I really need to get my mind on other things. Can someone just blog about their life today so I can read it and think about your life? I know, weird request, but I am begging you.

Waited too long

I think I wait too long to blog. I have things I can blog, but I don't because of this or that. I guess I just don't think it is good enough to blog. Then when I want to blog I am so busy weighing whether it is blog material that I just decide it doesn't meet my blog criteria. Crazy.

Dresden is doing much better at pre-school. My sister saved the day by going there and checking on her a few times. One of the times she went in an played with Dresden. That was just what she needed. Ever since then she is happy to go to school and happy when I pick her up. BIG IMPROVEMENT!

Things are going great at school. I was trying to teach my class what makes a sentence a declarative sentence. When it comes right down to it, they are sentences that end with a period. There were a few kids that just didn't get it. So I started drawing fireworks around the sentence whenever it was declarative. Now my class expects it. One of my students said, "No more declarative sentences for you." Another student asks why I haven't drawn any fireworks when I am trying to teach a different concept about grammar. It's really cute.

Stealing villian

I just realized I used the same title as Melanie. Sorry Mel. It must have just stuck in my head.

Stealing villian

I just realized I used the same title as Melanie. Sorry Mel. It must have just stuck in my head.

Pretty in pink

I went to my sister's house to pick up Dresden yesterday. She found out that Kyath was watching them and she ran to my house to rescue Dresden. When I picked her up she was clean, having just had a bath. Her hair had a cute little braid with a pink bow. She was wearing a new outfit. Debbie had bought her brand new shoes, and so Dresden was showing them off. But the first thing Dresden showed me were her painted fingernails. It was so cute. It is so fun to have a girl. Luckily I have a sister that takes care of her with so much love and dresses her up so cute.

Big sigh of relief

I have been obsessed about the whole professional thing. I think what I worry about the most was whether I was one of the ones that the principal was talking about yesterday. She came in my room today and I asked her to give me more info on what kind of professional dress she was talking about. Apparently I wasn't the only one worried. She said that there were many that were asking her about it. Apparently, she was wearing jeans yesterday. From a distance they just looked like dress pants. So I am not as stress about it as I was. I am still going to step it up a little bit though.

Great, just great

Today in our training the principal asked us to dress more professional. I agree with her. Teachers should dress professional. Then she pointed to her clothes and commented that she did not consider her clothes professional. Let me just describe what she was wearing. She had on a really cute blouse and tan pants. She looked really good. To me, she looked professional. So now I am really worried. When I was hired I bought a good pair of pants and a business suit. That is the extent to my professional clothes. I have two skirts that I mix in with that. Last year my collegues gave me a hard time because I tried to dress up. But now that I know what she considers professional, and I am worried. I look at my wardrobe and I realize that I am going to have to find a way to add professional clothes to my wardrobe. Even if I had five outfits that I could wear I would be happy. Like I said, I agree that teachers should dress professionally.

Back to school

While families are trying to fit in the last of their summer activities, I will be in trainings. Tomorrow the school year officially starts for me. I can not tell you how incredibily excited I am.

I still have a ton to do before the 19th, our first day of school. I have spent a little time each day all summer getting ready. I have spent more time recently.

I have really struggled with a theme for my classroom. Finally Porter helped me decided on "Wild for learning". I have made huge wild animals out of cardboard and covered them with material to look like the animal. So far I have an elephant, tiger, cougar, lion, and panther. I have to wait for my next paycheck to buy the material and glue sticks to finish the panther and the lion. I have also made two trees. I think it will look really cool in my room. I will have to post pictures.

I still have a lot to do. I have to make a ton of copies. I need to do my bulletin boards. I have to finish getting my room ready. But I am loving every minute of it.

Why I believe

I know there are those that read my blog that are not religious. Some are even agnostic. Most of you know that I am Mormon. My parents are members and their parents were members. Growing up in Utah there are many Mormons. So it is easy to live life believing while relying on someone else's testimony.

I have to admit that every Sunday I just look at the large gathering of people amazed that they believe and that they are strong members. Maybe that comes from serving a mission in Germany where there were many branches not big enough to be wards. How can so many people believe that there is a God? How can so many people believe in the atonement? How can so many people get their whining family ready every Sunday and try to keep them quiet during sacrament meeting? What keeps them coming back? The only answer I have is that they must get answers to their prayers.

I am one to lose things all the time. I am way to used to it. This last week I have had to find three important things. I lost my keys to my school and classroom, my cell phone and the keys to Kyath's locker. I have looked everywhere imaginable. I looked in the normal spots and then I spread out the search. Nothing.

I decided that I could have the school make another copy of the keys. I would just have to admit that I lost them. I could go without the cell phone. Without the key, Kyath would just have to quit football.

Okay, I wasn't okay about Ky quiting football. I was ready to get metal cutters and start ripping apart these great lockers we just bought just to get his football equipment. I had been searching three days for the key. Don calmed me down and offered a prayer asking that we would find Ky's locker key. Then we went off to search. I checked my pockets and woala! There was the key. I had searched all of Ky's pants, but neglected to search mine. We found the key 30 minutes before Ky's football practice.

The day before that I had prayed to find my keys. I mentioned in my prayer that I had been under a lot of stress and that finding the keys would relieve a great deal of that. That day I found my keys.

Today I finally found my phone. I am sure everyone knows just how useless you feel without a cell phone. I am so dependent on it. Of course I didn't realize that until I lost it. I have called the phone many times because I knew it was charged and that it was on. But I never did hear it ringing. Last night it occurred to me that I had searched all the cars except the Galaxy. We hardly drive the Galaxy and so I didn't think I needed to. When the thought came to me, it was dark. The car doesn't have a dome light. I waited till today to look. Guess what I found?

So when I think of all the people that choose to believe in a God, I think it is because God answers prayers. He answers them no matter how simple or stupid the prayer is. He answers every time. Sometimes the answer is no or not on your life. But he answers every time.

Richest Man in Babylon

Have you read Richest Man in Babylon? It was required reading in our house growing up. My dad made all kids read it before they left the house. On Sunday Dex was quoting the part in the book where the man gave his savings to a brick maker to buy some jewels and lost it all because the brick maker brought back glass jewels. Don somehow managed to bypass reading it when we first got married. So he asked Dex if he could borrow his copy. I sat down and started reading it again. The book really is good. I started to think about all the ways I could build up a savings and invest it. The book says to set aside 10% of your income and put it in savings. I was figuring 10% tithing and 10% savings. That is a lot of money. So my question is, what percentage of your earnings do you save from every pay check?

check-up

I took your advice and went to see a doctor. It was a very informative visit. We think I have fibromyalgia which just means I am in the "in" crowd with the rest of the world. I swear everyone I know has fibromyalgia. But my pain is triggered by stress and depression. After the doctor told me that I realized that I was feeling great when I was teaching school. I am feeling crappy because it is summer break. So the good news is that I will start feeling better when I am less stressed and not as bummed. Come on school year!

Looking Back

Right before my mission I started to feel this pain in my hand right by my thumb. I thought nothing of it. I figured it was tendinitis or something. I was going on a mission and that was what I was focusing on.

After a few months in Germany I became very sick. It didn't surprise me because we were on bikes all day in rain and snow. I was in bed for a week. I remember how hard it was to get out of bed just to eat. I went to see a doctor and he told me I was just having cramps. My German sucked at the time, so I knew I just didn't explain my symptoms right. I just started taking a lot of Ibuprofen and doing the mission work.

The pain in my thumb started to spread. I took over both my hands. I went to the doctor and she told me I must have been bitten by a tick. I explained that I hadn't seen signs of a tick. But that didn't get me anywhere.

Did I mention that I served in what once was East Germany? It was five years after the wall came down and the doctors were still forty years behind the rest of the world. I was beginning to understand that the doctors in East Germany wouldn't be able to help me.

I transferred to my next city. I had a German companion and my German improved dramatically.

The pain spread to my back and legs. Okay, so it was all over. But I was not about to be sent home. I tried not to let anyone know the extent to the pain I was in. My companion was able to communicate with a doctor. He started giving me cortisone shots in my back. That helped tremendously. My companion and I worked our tails off. I was so thankful I was able to keep working hard. I did not want to be known as one of the "sick sisters".

Fast forward a couple of months. My mission president heard that I was in a lot of pain. He knew I was still working hard and that I didn't want to go home. He decided to transfer me to a bigger city where I could see more specialized doctors. When he told me I would be transferred, he gave me a special blessing. The blessing stated that I would be out of pain and able to work until I was able to see a doctor in the new area. I had many blessing previously, but this one was a true miracle. The pain vanished. I had been to a point that I couldn't even touch things without a shock going through my body. I didn't know how I was possibly going to pack my bags and drag them on a train. But the pain vanished.

I really want to stop writing because I am afraid to share these things. I am afraid what people will think or how they will perceive me. It was a dark time in my life, but I was determined to stay on my mission and work hard. But if I stop here, I won't ever get to my main point.

When I saw the doctor in my new area, she looked at me with such immediate concern. She told me I was in bad shape and that I needed to be admitted to the hospital. I refused. I knew about East German medicine and the hospitals. She referred me a specialized doctor.

He was the final doctor I saw in Germany. He diagnosed me with Rheumatic Fever and gave me penicillin shots. He stocked me up on Prednizone and more Penicillin to take with me the rest of my mission. Then he sucked out all the fluid that had been building up in my knee. He truly made it possible for me to serve the rest of my mission.

Prednisone is a funny thing. It helped me manage the pain. But Prednisone is also a steroid. I would take it in the morning and I was unstoppable. We would do all the door-to-door in the morning and leave the visits till later in the day when my energy started to wear down.

By the end of my mission, I had thrashed my body. I was walking with a limp and my knees were swollen. I had gotten to a point where I couldn't jump. But after a year and a half of feeling like that and working anyway, I had accepted my fate. I knew I would never be normal again. I was damaged goods. I can't tell you how scared I was to come home and let everyone see how disfigured I had become.

Those that know me now probably think I am making this all up. That's a good thing. That tells you that I came home and recovered. I regained my movement. I minimized the pain. I married and had four children. I can tell you how thankful I am.

I write this all because the pain has come back in my hands. Two weeks ago it was just in my fingers. Each day it has spread a little more. I look back at what I have endured and I am not afraid to say that I am worried. I am worried that I will have to go through what I did before. I am afraid that I will be in the pain I was in before. I am afraid people will start looking at me with the pity that they did before. I am afraid I will loose my movement again. I am afraid.

I keep asking Don if I really should blog this. I don't want everyone to feel bad for me. It is really hard for me to share. I have started taking Glucosamine, Chondroitin, fish oil and every other natural thing I can get my hands on. I am still looking for the magic cure and am open to any advice.

All Alone and Ready to Play

We just came back from San Francisco on Friday. I still have motion sickness from the Blue and Gold boat tour. Even short distances are making me nauseous. Don still has a week off of work and he really wanted to go to Las Vegas to visit his nephew and see if he can find his brother. He has kept bringing this up and it really is the last thing I want to do. So, last night, he loaded up the truck with all the kids and went to Vegas.

May 3rd? Wow.

My sister left me a comment telling me it was time to update my blog. I just looked at the date and she is right.

School has been out for a week and I feel like I have done a lot. I spent two days cleaning carpets, one day cleaning the kitchen, and one day (Monday) just enjoying the day off. But today, I have done hardly anything and I am feeling like I have wasted the day. The frustrating thing is the kitchen is a mess again and there are toys all over my clean carpet. When does the house stay clean? I think one of my friends has a great idea. She cleans the house and then she leaves for the day. She hangs out at other people's houses. That could keep my house clean.

On a side note, I have to keep telling myself that it is okay to sit and just relax. So how do I do that without feeling lazy? Oh, and how do I stop eating?

Goodbye Sammy, Hello Millie and Cocoa

So we had to get rid of Sammy a week after we got him. Kyath was crushed. Sammy bit two of our neighbors. One child, they actually took the child to the doctor. He was just playing, but it broke through skin. Ky still hasn't gotten over losing Sammy. They were really close.

In Sammy's place we bought two Chihuahuas. They are both girls and they are really sweet. Millie is the smaller dog with white paws and Cocoa is the big dog. The kids love them. Lexi, our other dog, tolerates them.



"Dog Pile!"


We had to take Lexi in to the vet. She squealed every time someone went to pick her up. She had gone on a walk with Don. She likes to hop in the basket underneath and ride. Well, she went to get out and Don ran over her with the stroller. She limped for a few days after. We took her in yesterday. Her foot wasn't hurting anymore, but she was obviously in pain. Come to find out, Lexi has a slipped disk. They sent us home with some Prednisone and some pain reliever. We keep giving gave her some in some chicken and she is a happy camper.

We just found our small camera. I may be posting a lot in the next little while just to post all the pictures. Then again, maybe I won't.

Swine Flu Epidemic

I just came home from school after many e-mails to teachers about the Swine Flu. We sent out fliers to all the parents regarding the virus. I heard that they closed down a Park City school because of probable cases with five students. Even with all this media scare I've been thinking that everything will just be fine. I mean the child that died in Texas was from Mexico and just came here a month or so ago, right?

Well I went to pick up Zander and Dresden at Debbie's. She greeted me with a sickly daughter. She has a temperature and a runny nose. She just wants to be held. I try not to get too worked up about things in the media, but with Dresden just being sick, I get a little paranoid.

I thought this would be a good time for me to share an e-mail sent to me today from the Health Department on what teachers are to watch for:

Recommendations for Teachers and School Personnel

How do I know if a child might have swine flu?
A person can spread the swine influenza before symptoms begin. A person may be able to infect another person one day before symptoms start and up to seven or more days after becoming sick. People with swine influenza virus infection should be considered contagious as long as they show symptoms. Children, especially younger children, may be contagious for longer periods.

Symptoms of swine influenza are similar to those of the common flu.
o Fever and chills
o Sore throat
o Cough
o Headache, body aches, and fatigue
o Diarrhea and vomiting can also be present

Watch for these symptoms in children:
o Fever with a rash
o Dehydration
o Fast breathing
o Bluish skin coloration
o Slow to wake or sluggish interaction
o Flu-like symptoms improve, but then return and cough worsens
o Severe irritability
If a child in your class shows these symptoms, remove them from the classroom and take them to the school nurse or school office. The school nurse should refer the child for medical treatment with their primary care provider, or emergency room.

How can I help prevent the spread of swine flu in the classroom?
To prevent exposure to the flu virus in the classroom, teach the same precautions as those to prevent the regular influenza (commonly known as seasonal influenza):
o Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze and discard the tissue.
o Wash hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer when hand washing is not possible.
o Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth, as germs can more easily gain entrance into your body through those areas.
o Remind parents that if children are sick, they should remain at home.

Other Resources
For more information, please visit: www.health.utah.gov/swineflu

Dresden, starting early

I just came back from Smiths. I needed to pick up a few things at the store. Zander, Dresden, and I all went. Zander wanted the little shopping cart and so that is what we used. After we paid, Zander was tired of pushing the cart. I let Dresden push just to see if it was something she might want to do. Not only did she want to push it, but she insisted on pushing the shopping cart all the way to the car. I just kept thinking, here we go...

I believe in miracles

Do you believe in miracles?

I don't know how to start this blog except to say that there might be an opening for an assistant recorder at another temple. Don has wanted to be an assistant recorder since he first started working at Jordan River Temple as a clerk over five years ago. The position requires a degree and it is extremely difficult to get such a position in the church. Don spoke with HR about such a position a year ago and they let him know that he wouldn't be a candidate until he had his bachelors degree.

Now let me tell you why I still think he deserves it. Don has over five years experience of working in the temple office. He knows the policies and the procedures. He knows the rolls that volunteers and staff members play and how to keep both happy. He has the experience that a degree cannot give him. He has the social skills and the understanding needed to be an assistant recorder.

I think it takes more than all of that though to work in the temple. Don has the spirit needed to work in such a position. He works hard all of the time to keep his spirit pure. He listens to good music. He reads his scriptures daily. He holds Family Home Evening every Sunday. He doesn't watch very much T.V. and when he does, he turns it right off when there is something offensive. He is the only person I know of that has cried many nights because he had the desire to get set apart as a High Priest. Ky's primary teacher has told us many times that Ky is the one in his primary class that knows all the answers and that is because Don spends time daily teaching his children principles of the gospel.

It would be a miracle if Don were to actually be considered for the position. But I believe in miracles. I know that it was a miracle that my companion and I were protected in the park when that man was following us. It was a miracle when we sold our last house. It was a miracle that Don turned out great after being orphaned at 11 and growing up in group homes with rebellious teenagers. It was a miracle that Kyath's eyesight went from blind to not needing any glasses. It was a miracle that when Porter fell down the stairs and got a cut near his eye, that it was just near and did not effect his eyesight. It was a miracle that when Porter was doused in gasoline, he did not catch on fire. It was a miracle that Kyath did not cross that busy street when he wandered away from home at two years old. It was a miracle that Kyath didn't fall out of the car when he opened the door on the freeway. It was a miracle when Porter didn't drown when he fell into that pond at Fermont Park.

I believe that my family has experienced more miracles than I can number. I know that God loves everyone and is there to help anyone that reaches out to him. He is working miracles everyday. I cannot deny God's hand in me and my family's life. He has been leading the way and we have tried to follow. I am hoping that maybe, just maybe, he has been preparing a way for Don to get a position as an assistant recorder.

I found it

It's not like anyone really care, but I found the IPOD. I am so happy. I could not get anything else done until I found it. The good news is that I cleaned my bedroom in the process.

Where is it?

You know how you lose something and you just keep looking until you find it. I actually get anxiety until whatever I am looking for is found. I can not feel comfortable again until I know where it is.

Well right now I am looking for my class IPOD. I use it for all the transitions in class. We even listen to YMCA at the end of the day. I cannot, however, find it and I feel lost.

The last I saw it was when I was getting ready for work on Wednesday or Thursday. I had it in my hand when I was getting all my things together to go out the door. But somehow, I ended up at school without it. I thought I would find it at school. I thought I would find it at school. I thought I would find it in my car. So far, nothing. I am so frustrated.

I never knew how attached to that thing I would be. I put all the versus of the Book of Mormon on it. I listen to a chapter or two a day. Then I listen to Enya as I prepare my room for school. I use Mozart as "brain food" when they are working on test that really requires concentration. Then at the end of the day we use party music to get ready to go home. It really sets an amazing atmosphere in my class. I really hope that I find it before Monday.

My Class Blog

I wanted to share my other blogger site with you. This is one that I made up for my class. I try to blog daily just to give parents something to talk to their kids about and to let them know what is happening in class. I want my class to feel like a communinty and I hope this will help. I would appreciate it if you don't comment on this blog just because they don't know about my personal blog. I don't want them to follow your comment to your blog and then find my blog, if you know what I mean. But feel free to comment here or through e-mail. Here is the site-
www.wantingmoore.blogspot.com

Enjoy.

Praise, Praise

I cannot give enough praise to the people that donated toward a document camera for my classroom. It was neat to see donations come in. It was fun thinking of the people as they donated. I don't know if they want to be mentioned here, but I just have to thank them. My cousin and friend Melanie, my childhood friend Rachael, my friend and neighbor Maria, and anonymous donor and my friend from when Don and I were newlyweds, Dayna were all donors. Wells Fargo and The Eccles Foundation selected my project and matched all donations.

The document camera has been purchased and is on its way. I can't wait to see what a difference it makes in the classroom. I already know it is going to help in so many ways. It will be fun to see the impact that it has. I had already started typing out assignments so that I could project them on the board. My students learn so much better that way. Now I can save so much time in that I won't have to type anything out anymore.

I just wanted to share a story about one of the donors, Dayna. Dayna and Adam were our neighbors in the downtown ward. We lived in an apartment complex with a cross-dresser, a thief and a bunch of newly weds. There are so many stories from that time, I could write a book. Adam and Dayna were our "Phase 10" friends. I would knock on their door and tell them that we had corn or chicken or whatever and ask what they could make to complete the meal. We would get together to play games and listen to Don play the guitar.

We moved and they moved, but we still remained friends. They seemed to "get us" which is hard with our weirdness. We started having kids and Adam joined the army. They moved with the army. Adam was even deployed to Iraq a few times.

When he was deployed to Iraq I had a hard time staying in contact with Dayna. I was so afraid he had been killed in the war and I wouldn't know what to say. I don't think Dayna knew that. I would check on the military website that listed the deceased from the Iraq war and I never found his name. Then Dayna started a blog and I was happy to see that he was home and alright. Just recently he was released from the military because of a war injury and post traumatic stress disorder. We are just glad he was released! He was about to go to Iraq for a third time. So I was so touched when Dayna donated towards the camera. I was even more touched when I found out she donated again to cover the last $203.

I could mention stories about all of the amazing women that donated. I hope they don't feel left out in any way. They each mean so much to me. I remember all the family reunions with Melanie, camping in a tent and talking till the wee hours. I remember growing up with Rachael and playing Strawberry Shortcake and Barbies. I remember going to "Twilight" with Maria for the midnight showing when it first came out. I have some great memories.

These are hard times. There are so many people struggling. I had to get a full-time job to help us get back on our feet. I thought that the parents from my classroom would have been the ones to get this project funded. Instead, it was some of my friends. That means a lot to me.

I also want to thank everyone for spreading the word. Katrina put in a great plug for the project on her blog. Many people were reached because of everyones' efforts. Thank you. I even had people call after it was funded to ask how to donate, not knowing that we had the full amount. I am sure there are many people that planned on donating but hadn't had a chance yet.

I don't want to become one giant cause, always asking for help. I just wanted to let you know that anytime you are getting rid of games because they are missing pieces or other things that you think we could use, I will gladly accept them. Thanks for always supporting me. But above all, thanks for your friendship.

This is the Life!

I know on Monday I complained about being home all day and not having the "break" by teaching all day. But boy, this is the life. Yesterday, my neighbor had a luncheon with some of the women and their children. We sat and talked while the kids played. I didn't get anything done. It was such a great day. We sat out in the sun and just enjoyed the company.

Today I went in for a couple of hours and prepared for my unit on insects and my unit on Charlotte's Web. I made all my copies for the next four weeks. The children came with me. They insisted on bringing the dogs, so it was a little crazy.

Later in the day we went to my mom's. We had a nice visit. I wanted to go to Utah/Idaho Supply while I was in S.L.C. My parents offered to watch the kids while I went. Ky ended up coming. It was still nice to get some shopping done.

In short, I have forgotten how nice it is to have days like yesterday and today. I love those days when I have free time and the freedom to plan out my day.

Meet Sammy

I would like to introduce you to a new member of our family. This is Sammy. Many people are wondering what would make us get a second dog. The truth of the matter is that Lexi really is just Porter's dog. We gave her to Porter on his birthday years ago and they have a special relationship.

Kyath has been struggling with so things lately. We fight to get him to school. We fight to get him to church. We fight to get him to do his homework. Many would say it is because we are bad parents. Kyath has always been hard. He is struggling with his emotions.

He has been asking for a dog ever since we got rid of Sammy (the miniature pincher). I just felt like we had enough with one dog. Kyath was looking for free dogs on KSL. I started to think how much having his own dog would help him. I felt like we should look into it.

Then Ky found a lab mix on KSL that was already neutered, potty trained, kennel trained and one and a half years old. We looked at his picture and saw that he was not a full sized lab even though he was full grown. We just felt like he was the dog. Oddly enough, his name is Sammy.

So we picked him up last night. He fits in perfectly with our family. Lexi isn't all that excited. But she will just have to get used to the idea.

Spring Break

This week is spring break for all of us here at the Moore household. You would think I would be excited. But I am going nuts! It is so hard staying home, doing laundry, cleaning and all that other stuff.

I feel bad for Don because I have spent a lot of time just taking a break.

Yes, teaching full-time is hard. It is exhausting to work all day and then take care of my family and house at night. It is hard to burn my candle at both ends. But I think it is harder being home. Psychologically I start going insane. What am I going to do over summer break?

Happy Birthday Kyath

Kyath turned 10 a few days ago. It is hard to believe he is ten. It is even harder to believe that I have been a mom for ten years. His birthday caused me to reflect on being a mom and how I have changed from when he was born to today.

When I first became a mother I was so overwhelmed with all of the new emotions I was feeling. I had never felt so protective, so complete, and yet so inadequate all at the same time. I remember just holding Ky and crying. I was afraid someone would take him away because he was so beautiful. I wouldn't let Don even push the stroller on walks because I was sure someone was going to come from behind and take him.

I remember Kyath crying, and crying, and crying. I would walk the street at night to let the neighbors know that I wasn't beating my child. He cried so much. A baby crying had never broken my heart like it did when my own child cried.

I remember just wanting to hold Ky and watch his cute little moves all day. Who needed TV. I loved watching him make new faces. I loved watching him sleep.

Kyath changed my life. I am grateful to have him. He still makes my life complete. I could still just sit and watch him all day. It still breaks my heart when he cries. I could never be as proud as when I see him achieve and grow.

I love you Kyath.

How Do Teachers Do It?

Click Me- The Teacher 8 My Homework
When Mrs. Grant left, she warned me that I would have to spend a lot of money just to make my class run. She said, "When I first started teaching I thought that teachers made pretty good money. After seeing how much I have had to put in my class, I realize just how little teachers make." I thought it was a funny comment because teachers in Utah don't really get paid much in the first place.

I have seen the reality of her comment. There are so many things my class could use. There are so many things I need. But the reality is that I have to buy EVERYTHING my class needs. Right when I started, my school notified the teachers that any money set aside for teacher's classrooms was being taken away. They also told us they were limiting the amount of printing we could do and cancelling all field trips for the rest of the year. It's crazy.

I told my brother-in-law, who is also a junior high principal, that I have to buy a table for my classroom if I need one. He told me that couldn't be true. Schools are supposed to provide any furniture needed in the classroom. I thought I would listen to him and just request a kidney shaped table to work with small groups. The school told me to go ahead and put in a request, but that the chances of me ever getting one was slim.

I use music in my classroom for transitions throughout the day. It is an easy way to let students know it is time to turn in papers, get ready for recess, and clean up. RBH donated speakers to our classroom. I am so grateful. They are perfect for our classroom. The students love them too. The first day I brought them in, they danced with each transition. I was hoping to get an IPod for the classroom, but the chances of that are next to none.

There are a lot of parents at my school that make donations to their children's classroom. In fact, a first grade teacher at my school just received a donation to buy seven IPods for her class. I am amazed because I had a hard time getting parents to help pay for the Chinese New Year Party we had and that was $50 for the entire class.

Almost all the teachers at my school have ELMOs in their class. My class, of course does not have one. An ELMO is a document camera that allows the teacher to show papers, books and other items. They can be used to show science experiments, show and tell, and anything else a teacher might need for their lesson. It makes it so that teachers do not have to write everything on the board and helps them refer back to things that they covered without re-writing it all back out on the board. This is a big thing for me because I have arthritis and it is hard for me to write too much at a time. They can also be used to show science experiments and show student's work.

My brother-in-law pointed me to a site where teachers request school materials and donors help donate toward the needed supplies. I have put in a request for a document camera. They only allow one teacher request at a time, so I decided that I have greater need for a document camera than a table or Ipod. It is still in the approval process. Soon, hopefully, it will be on their website and can be found on www.donorschoose.org. The title of my request is "The Teacher 8 My Homework." If anyone would like to help meet the needs of our classroom, they can visit the site and make a donation.

Now I don't want people to donate because they feel like they have to. I mention it here to get the word out. I am hoping people will let others know about my request on this website. If you know anyone that would be willing to donate, or have the funds to help out, tell them about my class.
The Teacher 8 My Homework

Happy 50th Anniversary Mom and Dad

Today, Valentine's Day, is my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe that my parents have been married 50 years. These day it is not as common to reach the 50th anniversary with higher divorce rates and couples waiting much longer to get married. My parents, however, made it. Thanks Mom and Dad for showing me how it is done. We will be having a nice family dinner together on Monday.

February

Things have been crazy lately. This working full-time has really made it hard to do anything like write on my blog, clean the house, clean clothes or even just get things done. Today is teacher prep. day, thus time to do all of the above.

Kyath has changed back to his old school. He was miserable at my school. I thought it was worth the fight to keep him there. But then my sister-in-law called me and convinced me that it would be better for him to go back to his old school. I didn't want to believe her. I thought about it all night and realized that she had been inspired to call me. I really felt the spirit confirming that Denise was right. Thank goodness for family.

We celebrated Valentine's Day and had a Greek Olympics on Thursday. It was really fun. We had many Olympic events including: the shot put (throwing cotton balls), Javelin (throwing straws), Discus (Frisbee), long jump, relay races, and tug-of-war. It was fun cheering my students on as they competed against the other 2nd grade class. We made sure to include Eros (Cupid) in the festivities and had children hand out valentines. I, by the way, came home with tons of gifts from my kids. I was touched.

I went to bed at 9:00 last night and woke up at 8:00 this morning. Boy, was I tired.

Well, enough computer time for me. I have to get back to getting the house in order. My dear sister and mother snuck in this week and did some laundry for me. They are too good to me. Unfortunately, I still have a lot of housework to do.

Just between Us

I probably shouldn't have written the post yesterday. My oldest son was upset when he found out that someone knew. I really need to be better at keeping those kind of things to myself.

Don called me today as I was picking up Dresden and Zander to tell me that Zander had to get stitches today. I really thought he was kidding. I mean, didn't he just get stitches a couple of months ago? Didn't he just get his cast off from his broken arm. Then I stopped myself and thought, didn't he just get stitches a couple of months ago? Didn't he just get his cast off from his broken arm? Do I need any more sign that Zander is accident prone? One of my neighbors jokes that there is an emergency room with her daughter's name on it. I think I am getting to that point.

Anyways, Don was playing with Zander. He was running around the house with him on his back. Don put him down on a piece of furniture and stepped away before Zander was standing firmly. He slipped off and hit his head on the edge of the cabinet. He now has five staples in his head. Don feels terrible.

Visit to the Doctor

I know everyone has hard kids. Well except for Melanie, Katrina, Debbie and Tawnie. Okay, just kidding. But I think my kids are harder than most kids. My trip to our pediatrician confirmed my belief. I am trying to be careful what I say because I know this is on the net and could come back and haunt me some day, so bear with me.

My pediatrician began asking me questions like, "What time does your child go to bed. Where does he sleep. When does he wake up. What kind of behavior has he been displaying. How long has he been acting this way." They were all questions that I was expecting. What I wasn't expecting was his response. He said, "I had no idea that it had gotten this bad." Boy, one liners can really get ya.

My favorite part was when he asked me if we wanted to get the chickenpox vaccine and the flu shot. I would have loved to. But I also knew I was going to pay a big enough price just for making him see the doctor. It was hard enough just getting him to the appointment. He kept trying to leave before we saw the doctor. Afterwards he was angry with my for talking about him. He has made sure that the rest of my day has been really hard.

Life with a little tint of green

Something or someone happened to my monitor and now everything has a green tint. Don't get me wrong or anything, I like green. In fact, the green tint makes my desktop picture and everything else with green look even greener and beautiful. The problem is the rest of the time. Right now I am typing on a grey screen. Weird.

I love coming home to my kids and spending time with them. Dresden just spent ten minutes kissing me. Those are the moments I will always look back on with joy. I try to spend one on one time with all the kids. I am really working on making every moment count when I am with them.

TGIF

It has been a long week, which is funny considering we only had school Wed-Fri. I had an in-service meeting on Tuesday and then taught Wednesday-Friday. It is mostly because the teacher I am replacing turned over full control to me this week. She told me that she would help in the background, but I am now the main teacher. Up until now we have been team teaching. We split up the subjects and took turns teaching. So teaching all the subjects has been a new development.

It has been fun being able to prepare and teach all day. I am always thinking of new ways to reach the students and teach them new subject matter. It is nice finally feeling like it is my classroom.

To every positive there is a negative. With having full-control, I am dealing with 1st year teaching issues. I can get the children to be quiet. But sometimes it is hard. I have different students for reading, math and my second science hour. So I have to start all over again getting control with each class.

Today there was something in the air. Some of the children had behavior issues. I say something is in the air because I wasn't the only teacher struggling to get the students attention. The principal actually had to go into a third grade classroom today to remind them of the school rules and that teacher is one of the best in the school.

I only had one student giving me a hard time. He has always been a little hard. But yesterday his dad won full custody of him. We have always had a hard time getting a hold of his dad. So all of our communication has been with his mom. His attitude today was that he could do whatever he wanted because there was no way we would be able to reach his dad. It was frustrating.

The week is over and I am grateful. I am grateful to spend time with my kids and straighten up my house.

What do I know about hard?

I keep thinking about what I wrote and how pitiful I sound. I have it so easy compared to so many people. I am grateful that I don't have more difficult challenges. Sometimes it just makes me feel better to complain.

Switching Schools

I am really struggling with switching Kyath over to my school. He was throwing a tantrum two weeks ago. He refused to go to school and Don didn't know how to make him go. He missed two days of school that week. Ky told us that he wanted to go to my school and he would not go to school till they let him in my school.

My school did not have any openings. Kyath really should not have been let in till the start of next school year. I had a conversation with the administration and pleaded my case. I told them that my son was not going to school and my husband was not able to get him to obey. They told me they would see what they could do.

Then last week we had the flu. Kyath missed two more days of school. I missed two day as well because I was sick.

The administration went out of their way to make room for Kyath to come to my school. They had me bring him in to be tested to see what classes to place him in. They talked to the Utah Department of Education to meet all the requirements to allow Kyath in the school. They arranged everything for him to transfer over.

Today was his first day of school. I was excited to have him there. It was fun being able to check on him and see how he was doing. It was fun driving there together. Kyath was excited to go.

As the day went on, Ky decided that he was "going to go back to his old school." I explained that he had to stay at my school till the end of the year. One day was not going to be enough for him to get used to a new school. He told me he was going to be bad at my school so that he will be expelled and have to go to his old school. Needless to say, he misses his friends and his previous teacher.

So I get to fight with Ky till the end of the year to get him to school everyday. I am still just trying to adjust to teaching, working full-time, and still try to be a good mom when I am home. Sometimes I wonder why life is so hard.

Couplets

okay, so couplets are supposed to have the same syllables in each line. But it's my blog and I can write a poem however I want.

I just had to clarify that I really do know what couplets are.

Back to Reality

Christmas break is a wonderful time,
When all in life seems so sublime.

The future seems so easy and nice,
with food in the cupboard and Spanish rice.

The house and the laundry are finally in order,
the boys are all happy Ky, Zander and Porter.

My thoughts are filled with happily ever afters,
My memories have faded of children in the rafters.

I'm ready to send the kids back to school,
and teaching second grade is just so cool.

But then the children really go back,
I return to teaching and making Gak.

My pre-planning is put to the test,
the house, the children and the rest.

It is harder than thought even with good intentions,
I'm being spread so thin in all directions.

I will have to become Super Mom,
and keep it together so all is calm.

So I have just one thing to say,
PASS THE CHOCOLATE!


Side note- We are studying poetry right now. This is a couplet with an AA, BB, CC, DD, EE, FF, GG, HH, II, J, K pattern.

Just checking in...

I don't really have an update or a funny story. It has just been a while since I blogged. So I thought I would just post a short one.

Tomorrow the children and I go back to school. I can't wait. I can't wait to get the kids busy again. I can't wait to get the kids back to a sleeping schedule (Don't laugh Debbie or Mom). I can't wait to have something for me to do again. I love teaching.