81 Days

My first graders and I are counting the days of school.  Yesterday was the 81st day.  I love this little class.  I'm having so much fun teaching them all how to read and solve math problems.  Speaking of math, I'm the Math Bowl Team coach!  So I get to work with the older students too.

We have fun rocking out to Go Noodle, making fun art projects, and reading, reading, reading!!!  I didn't realize how much I missed reading to students until the school year started.  We are in the middle of reading My Father's Dragon right now and the kids love it.

8 more days until Christmas Break.  I still have a little shopping to do, but nothing big this year.  I need to get motivated to put up my tree.  OHHH and at my school, every single classroom has to have a Christmas tree.  They are everywhere and the kids love it.

Hayden Scott

Hayden got his physical for soccer this week. They did not make him do the turn and cough test or whack his knee with the little hammer. I kept telling him that they were done and he didn't believe me. The lady brought the discharge papers in and told us that we could go and he said, no way!!  That wasn't even a real physical!!

It's good to see that he can make himself comfortable anywhere still.  

And entertain himself...

Waiting to hear from the new principal at Fairview. I hope I get this job. My friends are all talking about their classrooms and I feel like I'm missing out.  I'm going to think positive and hope for the best. 

The Job

I've worked 3 days at Target this week. That means that I've worked every day this week. I learned how to use the cash register on the first day.  I watched the girl check 4 or 5 people out and then she said, it's your turn!  I helped 3 people and she said, ok, it's time for me to go home.  I was like, whatttttt????  I haven't used a cash register since the 80's!!!  She cracked up.  I think she was around 12.  She said, oh you will be fine and if you need help, flip this light on. Everything was fine. Cash registers do everything now. I think I pushed 2 buttons for each customer. Oh. We can't call them customers, they are guests. The Be My Guest song always plays in my head when I hear someone say it. 

I have folded a lot of clothes this week.  More than I have in the past 5 years at home.  Maybe I should start folding my own clothes now. I'll think about it.  We organized the market tonight. The market is the food aisles. I couldn't reach anything on the top shelf and our trainer said, I know someone that's not going to make it out of seasonal employment.... Our trainer was pretty funny. He kept waking around telling us jokes.  Most of the jokes were not funny, but he was. His name is Addison, but his name tag says Red Bulll.  

The work is stress free and the people are all very nice, but back to school signs and supplies are everywhere. Stress is coming from a different angle. I'm sleeping like 4 or 5 hours a night right now and I need 8 or 9 or 15! 

Almost Home

We slept in Indy on Friday night.  It was nice to sleep in a real bed. I want to buy a bigger tent for the next trip. Harrison and I decided that we liked the drive through wild life park the most.  Next summer we are going to look for another drive through park and plan our camping trip around that place.

Top 5 Are you serious???.... Moments 

1.  Discovered a giant piece of the van missing 

2.  Always clean out the tent after a camping trip. Especially if it has rained 

3.  Do not spray deep woods off on the van. Unless you already need a new paint job 

4.  If you are low on gas, do not get off the interstate unless you can see a gas station with your own eyeballs. 

5.  Do NOT lock the door of the van with the remote while you are sitting in it and then open the door. Especially at 10pm in the middle of a pitch black campsite while people are sleeping. 

Henry was blocking me from taking his picture.

On Saturday, I met Allan somewhere on 37 to exchange kids. He took Harrison and I took Henry and Hayden to hockey camp.  5 more hours in the car to Kent, Ohio. We stayed in Kent on Saturday night and got the boys settled into their dorm on Sunday. 

My boys are playing the crazy popular  Pokemon Go game.  The twins don't have a data plan so they make me turn on my hotspot.  We were shopping for a suitcase with wheels on it and found this on Sunday. 

Beth and I stopped in Columbus to eat dinner on the way home. We ate at the Columbus Brewery.  It was a lot like Upland, but the food wasn't as good. I had a little bit of a nervous breakdown on the ride back to Indy last night.  I start my job at Target tonight in Bloomington. I guess I'm going to take a year off of teaching. 

Day 4

We visited the Reptile Gardens today.  They have some pretty amazing creatures at that place. The snake show was entertaining.  The guy was handling some pretty venomous snakes. The cobra was so venomous and crazy that he had to leave it in the container. That thing was striking like mad.

They also had giant tortoises, spiders, turtles, frogs, alligators, and prairie dogs. They had a huge alligator from Australia named Maniac!  

I also saw a turtle digging a nest for her babies. I really wanted to stay and watch her lay her eggs, but Harrison said it would take forever. 

We hit the road after the reptile gardens and are sleeping in Minnesota. We got here after dark, so we didn't really get to see the camp ground. I could see the lake though. It's huge. There are a TON of bugs here. Some are in the tent with me. Harrison is sleeping in the van. He's afraid that he will get eaten alive by mosquitos out here. 

We will be home tomorrow. I'm hoping for light traffic.  We have been very lucky so far. 

Lewis and Clark Memorial Bridge in Chamberlain, South Dakota 

Day 3

So the mountain closest to us is on fire.  Yep.  It's been burning for about 6 hours now.  They are going to bring in planes tomorrow to help put it out. The office staff told us that we are in no danger....  

Other than that, it's been a great day.  We visited Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. We watched a movie about the guy that started the Crazy Horse memorial, but our bus driver had some amazing facts about CH.  He really pissed the white people off and they stabbed him.  I'm going to read more about him later. 

We also went to a drive thru wildlife park. We got to see some pretty cute animals and they were walking around our car. I really wanted to get out and touch the bears.  We were there during feeding time.  There was a guy in the back of a pick up truck with a shovel slinging bread out. The bears took off running toward the truck. It was so cute. 

They also had a few exhibits of local wild life. badgers, river otters, skunks, porcupines, bobcats, baby bears, and a huge grizzly bear!   Bear country USA is awesome! 

We are going to reptile world tomorrow. 

Day 2

Made it to Rapid City, SD around 8.  We bought a few supplies, set up the tent, and walked around a little. We can see the mountains from our campgrounds. 

This place has a pool and free wifi. Very different from the camp that we stayed at last night. This place is packed, but quiet. 

The drive was exhausting.  I think we should only drive 4 hours a day, but it would take forever to get here.   We were allowed to drive 80mph in South Dakota and the van was whistling. I thought it was because we were going so fast, turns out, we lost part of the van today.  Not sure when or where... 

There is a farm with cows adjacent to the campsite. We could hear them mooing while we were setting up the tent.  We walked over to see them, but they were in the barn. 

Harrison played with the fire for an hour straight tonight. I remembered that he loved to do that when he was little too.  We always had to get onto him for it; some things never change.  

I'm exhausted.  I'm going to get a good nights sleep tonight and see some amazing things tomorrow. 

Day 1

Day 1 of fun road trip was challenging. We left later than I thought we would, 2 hours later.  The roads were great though.  There was hardly any traffic. We almost ran out of gas.   We took an exit that had one gas station and it was 2 miles off of the highway. I looked down for a minute and Harrison missed the turn. 30 minutes later we had gas and I took over the driving. 

Harrison went back to sleep. 

We got to Clear Lake, Iowa and I could not find the state park entrance.  It is beautiful here by the way. I didn't mind getting lost, but I was worried about getting the tent up before dark.  

Harrison did not get the tent ready like I asked him to do.  He was supposed to set it up at home before we left.  We set it up here and it was all moldy from him using it 2 years ago!!   I stomped around and raged a little and he said, "Mom, you have known me for almost 20 years.  What did you expect?"  I died laughing. We had to run to Walmart and buy a new one.  It was 11 pm....  We got it together and built a fire.  I think we sat down and relaxed for about 2 minutes and then the storm hit.  Can't wait for tomorrow!! 

Adventure Time

On Monday, Harrison and I are leaving for Mount Rushmore.  We're going to stop in Clear Lake State Park in Iowa and spend the night in a tent. On Tuesday, we're going to drive to Rapid City, South Dakota and camp for 2 nights. This is about 20 miles from the monument. 

34 hours in the car.  I need to download some books or go to the library. We are both very excited about this trip. We have been looking forward to it all summer. Some people are worried about the camping part. Some people have actually offered to pay for our hotels. We both laughed.  That's going to be the fun part.  I hope the wild animals stay away. 

I can't wait to be standing in front of this monument. 

It's 3am, I must be lonely...

Not really.  Just can't sleep.  We are leaving for Florida tomorrow, well today, and I can't wait.  I haven't packed one thing though. Typical me.  I'll deal with that tomorrow.  I did clean my bedroom today and I mopped my kitchen floor.  I have to finish cleaning my van out.  It was and is still pretty disgusting.  My boys are gross. They never clean up after themselves. 

 

Harrison lead us on a hike around Yellowwood Lake on Monday. It was beautiful, but there were ticks everywhere. I think we picked off 6 each. And Stormy had tons on her. 

We have one more soccer game left. This will probably be the last time that I coach my children. The twins are starting high school in the fall. I enjoyed coaching my boys over the years. We won a few championships along the way.  Made some memories.  Baseball was my favorite, but no one played it past 6th grade. There should be a law that kids should at least play one sport that their mom loves. 

Survived

I survived.  Dignity is a big deal.  Not sure I have that with me anymore.  I'm muddling through.  I was warned that this was about to happen.  I refused to believe it.  It did.  I have no idea what I'm doing next school year.  My brain is to busy to think that far into the future.  I'm honestly trying to not think at all.  I've been watching a ton of tv and sleeping as much as possible.

The pool is open.  I had fun watching the boys play in the water.  I'm glad that they still love the pool.  It makes me happy.  I have a sunburn.  That helped me sleep.  Soccer will be over soon and then we are leaving for Cocoa Beach Florida.

Easter Weekend

Had a really great weekend with the family.  It's warming up and I love it.  My mom rented a cabin at McCormick's Creek state park for Charlie's birthday.  I took the boys out there on Saturday.   We hiked around for hours and then I went home to my bed and watched some NCAA tournament basketball. The Hoosiers are out but I still like to watch.  Harrison's friend Griffin runs for Villanova, so they drove to Louisville to watch the Villanova-Kansas game.  Nova put #1 seed Kansas out.  It was a pretty exciting game.

I went back on Sunday for more hiking and fun. Hayden is terrified of heights but he finally climbed the fire tower.   I had to pay him $20 to go to the top. And then Uncle Scotty offered $10 to anyone that could stay under the freezing cold water for 5 minutes. 

Hayden and Sydney for the win!!

We also crawled through Wolf Cave. That place is so fun.  I got a little freaked out by all of the spiders though.  To exit the cave, you have to belly crawl through water to get out.  I didn't really enjoy that part, but I survived.  My mom took video of us all crawling out.   I haven't watched it yet, but I'm sure it's entertaining. 

My mom made a delicious carrot cake and Abby made cupcakes for all of us. It was such a great weekend. I hope Charlie had a fun birthday!  

The boys can't wait to go camping this summer. I'll probably take a bunch of boys again. I plan to sit by the fire with my feet up doing absolutely nothing!   2 more days until  my spring break!!! 

Day 3 of No Internet

We haven't had internet at work all week.  I almost walked out today.  This school is right in the middle of a major city in the United States of America.  It's not on a tropical island in the middle of a third world country.  How in the hell do we still not have internet?  I told the office staff that we better have internet tomorrow, or I'm quitting.  The one thing that I do like about this no internet thing is NO EMAIL.  HAAAAAA!!  But when the internet does start working again, my inbox is going to go crazy.

One student drew this instead of doing his Daily Math Spiral

The 6th graders have lost their damn minds this week.  I have another new student and let me tell you, these last 2 new students have put me over the edge.  I have NEVER met kids like these.  They will straight up tell you to shut the fuck up. Without even blinking.  I'm pretty sure these kids were kicked out of their other schools.  General insubordination seems to be the new norm in grade 6 this week.  One kid was jumping down flights of stairs on the way to electives yesterday.  I asked him to stop.  I begged him to stop.  He just laughed at me.  He jumped down the next flight and landed on his face.  He had to be taken to the hospital.  He has 5 stitches in his forehead now.  I have 48 days left with these kids.  

Skittles and ISTEP

I survived ISTEP.  Barely.   I planned a ton of fun activities for the week.  The kids were bonkers, so we only finished a few of them.   I think they enjoyed the graphing day with Skittles the most.  They also designed zoos and learned about biodiversity in Mexico.  That place is amazing.  It's considered to be megadiverse!  Of course, only 3 kids found this interesting.

On Wednesday, I forgot my Diet Coke.  So after ISTEP, I ran to the gas station next door.  I bought a ton of caffeine.  I also got flowers from one of my students that morning.  Super sweet kid.  It made my day.  Sometimes, kids are awesome.  

The internet was down all day today at work.  I had a ton of visuals to help introduce Energy Transformation to my class.  I projected a few of the pics off of my phone, but it didn't really get the job done. This job is exhausting.  I can't wait for Spring Break.  I don't have the same break as my boys, so I can't take them to Florida this year.  I think I've taken them every years since they were 2.  This is going to suck.  Henry is bummed, but we are planning a trip in June.  I'm hoping to drive down to the Keys.  

Hayden in Florida. 2003

I'm taking Henry to his first Blackhawks game in a few weeks and I got him tickets to the men's Big Ten tournament final game on Sunday.  I'm really hoping that Indiana makes it to that game!  

Hayden wanted a desk for his birthday.  I took him to Staples and he picked one out.  That kid put the entire thing together all by himself.  I helped hold things and handed him the screws, but he did it himself.  I was impressed!  

I've been thinking about all of the things that I need to teach these two before they get out of high school.  The list is long.  I have a few short years to make it all happen.

Henry Spring Break 2007

Harrison got a job at the Wayport Kennels. I69 forced the owner off of his property, so he built a brand new facility off of Vernal Pike. Harrison is really worried about managing his time and maintaining his GPA.  I can't believe how responsible he has become.  It's nice.  

Birthday Boys

The boys turned 14 on Sunday.  We spent almost 5 hours in the car on that day driving back from Ann Arbor.  It was sunny and 70 degrees.  Bummer that we had to spend it in a car.  It was a rough weekend for the Blades.  2 players stayed home and one kid got kicked out of the entire tournament.  We tied for 3rd place and there were only 4 teams.  Ouch.

I think the boys had fun though. They got to play 2 games at Yost arena where the Wolverines play.  It is amazing there.  Hayden scored a goal on his birthday.  He was super happy about that.  He also mentioned that he checked someone into the boards.  I didn't see it, but I believe him.  Hayden is still in denial that this is a contact sport.  He stays as far away from the other players as possible and Henry will just lay someone out.  He's fun to watch. 

Long week

I spent some time with this sexy beast and renewed my CPR certificate.  So if you are choking or not breathing, I can handle it. 

On Wednesday, I confiscated a 6th grader's phone and as a result, 3 kids got suspended.   When I took "little Johnny's" phone, he flipped out.  I told him that his mom would have to come and get it.  He didn't like that idea.  And then 2 other students went through my desk, found his phone and gave it back to him!!  I was livid.  Those boys will all be back on Monday. Can't wait. 

 

We are in Fort Wayne for the end of the season buckeye tournament.  One more weekend of hockey and then I'll be free for a month or so. 

The boys won both games yesterday.  The 2nd game ended in a shootout. Henry scored and Hayden did not. It was exciting that they both got a chance to shoot though. They are playing for the championship today in about an hour.  I hope they win. 

Art Elective

I wanted to incorporate the Indiana state science standards into my drawing elective somehow. So I got this really great idea to draw a mural of consumers, producers, and decomposers right onto my classroom wall and then we could all paint it!  I got the kids all excited about this idea and then I asked my principal. In the future, I'm going to ask the principal before I mention any "great ideas" to the children.  She said no. 

We decided to do a mural on paper and then just staple it to the wall. I had to use four separate pieces of paper, so the drawings don't exactly line up. Kind of boring. Kinda lame. But it turned out ok. 

Louisville

I spent my Saturday watching the boys play hockey in Louisville, Kentucky.  We lost the first game and tied the 2nd game.  We had a 4-1 lead in the first game and lost it.  We were in first place before the games started and after the loss and tie, we ended the season in 4th.  I took a walk between games, washed the van, and shopped a little to take my mind off of the first game.

The boys wanted a Redbox movie for the ride home, so I found a machine and let them pick a movie. They picked Ant-Man.  They put their headphones on and I didn't hear from them again until I pulled into the driveway.

I couldn't sleep when I got home.  I read a bunch of articles on-line, registered Hayden for soccer, signed up for a half marathon, and then got lost in Law and Order.   My spring is now booked with coaching soccer, and training.  I'm going to train for real for this half.  I might even try for a PR.   

Valentine's Day with 6th graders

I really, really, really didn't want to have a party with my 6th graders today, but my teaching partner wanted one.  I announced it yesterday. The kids were pissed and rightly so. I was giving them a 20 hour notice and they can't even drive yet. One of the boys asked if he could bring a date. I said, "this is exactly WHY I DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE A PARTY!!!"  

The party started at 1:55. It was complete insanity for 20 minutes. The kids were throwing candy across the room, barking like dogs, running in circles, and I'm pretty sure that 2 boys got married,  There was definitely a ceremony and I remember a flower boy.   

I was so glad when the bell rang. They all ran out of the room to their elective. I spent the next 20 minutes cleaning the room and swearing under my breath. Valentine's Day has always been my least favorite holiday and after today, it will always and forever be my least favorite. 

You know what sucks?

The twins have hockey practice at 6:30 in the morning.  That means I have to get up at 5:30. That means we have to leave the house at 6. I'm so thankful that I only live 2 minutes from the rink.  

Also, this snow and cold weather are on my last nerve. I'm growing more intolerant of cold weather. I hate everything about it. I spent about an hour searching for jobs in Miami tonight.  I looked at apartments to rent and tons of beach pictures. It's 17 degrees here and 60 in Miami. Sigh.  

Haircut

Henry and I got haircuts tonight.  We just go to Great Clips. Nothing fancy. I love the check in app that they have. We check in online, drive over there, get our hair cut and leave. Amazingly simple. Henry always makes me go back with him. He can't tell the lady how to cut his hair, yet.  He always makes me tell her. I told her 2 inches off all over. Henry wanted 2 1/2 but he was worried when she started talking about cutting his hair up and over the ear. So he stuck with 2. He was mad when she finished. I could see that he wanted that extra 1/2 inch. He complained about it on the way to the car. Live and learn kid!!   

When we got to the car, I snapped a few pictures of him and he knocked my phone out of hand. He said, "what are you doing?!?!!?  You can't just start taking random pictures of me!!"  I died laughing. I said, "well, I am your mother!  I like taking pictures of my children during their childhood!"  This is from the kid that was always begging me to take his picture when he was little. Teenagers. Ugh.  

When we got home, he was still complaining about his hair cut. He hates it. He wants it to be shorter and Hayden won't cut his hair at all anymore.  My boys will be 14 this month. I can't even handle this.