That one time when I was the music teacher

 Today when I dropped my students off at music, the music teacher met me at the door.  She said, I have to go make a report.  I was a little irritated.  I needed to go to the bathroom and make a few copies, but alrighty. 

She told my class to go sit in a circle and she would be right back. So in I went, to music class. I asked my students what songs they knew and one shouted out, Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer!  Another kid said All Star.  I sad, oh, let’s go with that one.  I pulled up the Kids Bop version because every song seems to have a curse word in it these days.  We were singing along and the music teacher came back.  I got up to leave and all my students screamed Noooooo. I’m a terrible singer and I was struggling to remember the words to the All Star song, but my 5 minutes of being the music teacher was kinda fun.  

At recess, the boys were talking about alligator weiners. The girls tattled.  I told the boys that I might have to tell the principal.  One kid was literally about to have a panic attack.  I told him to not talk about that stuff at school and he said ok. Alligator weiners.  That was a new one.  

It's September

 I'm teaching 4th grade this year.  Yep, I looped.  This class is fun and funny and the one kid that I was worried about all summer, he moved.  I may have thrown a little party when I heard the news.  Each year, I have my students cut out and tape rectangular prisms together to show which pod they are in.  I guess we don't have to call them pods anymore.  So the blue group is a group of crazy boys that I LOVE to pieces.  One of them was smacking the neatly hanging blue rectangular prisms and I said, hey!  knock it off.  He said, it's a cat toy and he just smiled ear to ear.  

Hardly anyone gets in trouble in my room anymore.  I just laugh it off.  Man, I'm getting old. Last week, we learned about upcycling.  The 4th graders have a challenge.  There is a birthday party coming up and your friend loves the Earth!  He or she only wants upcycled gifts.  I can't wait to see these!  I need to make one for my teaching partner, so they have an example.   She loves the Yankees.  Maybe I can make her a baseball gift.  Her birthday is in October.  

  I have triplets in my class this year.  They are pictured in the middle here.  I had the girls last year and now I have all of them!  super cute kids.  Named A,B, and C.  Ava, Bella, and super Cooper.   

I love 3 day weekends. I have everything done and I can write in my neglected blog.  

Long time

 I'm leaving for Oregon tomorrow.  My friend Stephanie and I are doing a two week camping tour of Oregon and Seattle. We have everything planned down to the minute. It's going to be epic.  I'll be kayaking and staying at a place called Frog Lake on my birthday.  Sounds perfect. 

I've spent the summer lounging by the pool, sleeping, going to baseball games, hiking, cleaning, and landscaping.  Well, I tried to go to a concert, but that didn't work out.  The Chicks' lead singer was having trouble with her allergies, so she had to stop singing after 3 songs.  They rescheduled it for September 30th.  Thank goodness!  I love their music.  Mom and I went to French Lick for a few days. She loves that place. They had advertisements everywhere for the So Cold the River book.  I started reading it while I was down there. It's written by a local author.  He went to Bloomington North and IU.  I bought the book for mom and she liked it.  They made a movie about the book and we watched it tonight.  It was very different from the book.  I like the book a lot better, but I think that is a typical response.  

Hayden and Kate are taking over the condo in August. We met up today and went over everything.  They are so excited.  Kate has talked Hayden into going back to school.  I'm so happy about this.  He's having a great time at the Dairy Queen, but I think he is ready to do something else. 

Henry is home for the summer. He's running, playing frisbee golf, and hanging out with friends.  He's also painting again, to make money.  Henry knows how to stay busy.  He was going to go to Amsterdam in the winter with Depauw, but he changed his mind. I wish he would go.  He made the Dean's list again.  Man that kid is smart.  So proud of him. 

Harrison asked me about my birthday in a text message today.  He never asks!   I put the date in his phone to remind him of it every year, because he never remembers.  EVER.  I think Alex, his girlfriend, has been good for him.  He's starting to think about other people more and their feelings.  He just got a new job at the Owlery.  I have to go eat there soon.   It's an all vegan menu.  Henry's a vegan, so when he is home, I eat a little differently.  He made Chipotle sofritas the other day and it was so good! 

I have to loop with my third graders this year.   It's looming in the back of my mind daily.  I try to ignore it, but it's hard.  I've done this twice before.  The first time was ok, the 2nd time, I resigned.  Crossing my fingers that I will make it through.  I have an amazing teaching partner, so that will help.  I have decided to do this 8 more times.  8 more years of getting a room ready, getting a class ready for their next big year, and then I'm done.  I will still have to work, but not be a full time teacher. This is hard work!  

My left thumb stopped working properly about 2 weeks ago.  It was getting progressively worse and I finally went to the doc yesterday.  I got a steroid shot in my thumb.  There's no fat in my thumb.  I'm pretty sure she stabbed my bone.  I was in tears. I can move my thumb a little today, but man, is it sore.  She said that I will have to have surgery on it in August. I hope I don't have another year of being sick and going to non stop doctor appointments, because last year was awful.  

Spring break

 So weird.  No boys running everywhere.  No kids needing me.  Kind of depressing, kinda freeing.  I don’t know what to make of this. Lots of memories, and lots of good times, but still sad that the boys aren’t here.  

It's December

 What a strange year.  It's a pandemic.  Some people care, some people don't.  Some people are super cautious, some people are carrying like nothing is different.  Two of my boys have had covid.  I suspect the third one will get it sometime soon. I hope to never get it, but that is a pipedream.  

My school has been in person most of this year.  We're on yellow right now.  I see half of my class on Monday, Tuesday and the other half on Thursday and Friday.  It's been weird, but we are getting used to it.  I have about 6 kids that can't keep up.  I tell them to be ready when they are with them because I'm going to have a lot to say.  

 I have a few presents for the twins.  Harrison is difficult to buy for.  Last year, I bolted and went to San Diego.  I decided to stay through Christmas this year, but I'm headed to Portland on the 27th.  I'm going to be at Cannon Beach for New Years and I can't wait. 

I'm currently searching for a warm tropical island that needs an english teacher.  Let me know if you hear of any openings.

car rides

I learn a lot about my mom during car rides.  Did you know that the FBI was following me one time?  What?  No.  Are you sure about this mom???  

We are hiking at the dunes for 4 days.  We are doing 5 miles each day and then on Saturday, we are kicking it up to 10.  25 miles in 4 days!  I've been sick and mom is just getting over pneumonia, but we are not letting this stop us!  We are supposed to be in Acadia National Park, but Maine has a 14 day quarantine policy.  I can't wait for this to all be over, but it seems to be getting worse.  We aren't even allowed into Chicago right now.  

Yesterday we hiked trail 9 and 10 in the Indiana State Dune park.  Henry told us that was his favorite trails from Dunes camp during his XC years at Bloomington North.  They did not disappoint.  I thought that the state park had been recognized as a National Park a few years ago, but there are 2 parks up here.  Today, we are hiking the Cowles Bog trail in the National Park.  It's so beautiful here. I've been here a few times, but this is mom's first time up here.  

We also went to Mount. Baldy and walked around it.  I remember bringing the boys up here when they were little.  They ran up and down Mt. Baldy all day.  It's closed down now.  They are trying to rebuild the habitat around it.  

Corona Summer

So, the chiropractor fixed my neck and the OT fixed my shoulder.  I'm feeling tons better.  Not 50 anymore.  More like 35ish.  Mom and I took a little trip to Chicago last weekend.  We stopped at all our favorite spots and visited a few new places.  I got a new tattoo while we were there.

The guy was great.  I'm definitely going back next year to get another one.  I already have it picked out.  Hayden calls it my Doritos tattoo. 

On Monday, I get to go into my classroom for the first time all summer.  I'm going to spend the day getting all of my personal items out of there.  I'm really sad that I have to take all my books home.  I'm not sure what this school year is going to be like.  I want to give my students every opportunity to talk to one another.  I miss people.  I miss talking to people in person.  This pandemic has not been good for me.  I think third graders can keep their masks on and we can do this school thing in person.  My district has already canceled Wednesday class until January.  Every Wednesday is an e learning day and the kids cannot take their devices home.  I can already hear the complaints rolling in.  I don't have any solutions to this madness.  I want everyone to be safe.  I don't want to get this.  I've heard so many people say, it's just like the flu.  Ok, fine.  Let's pretend it's just like the flu.  When Henry got the flu a few years ago, he lost 10 pounds and could barely move for 2 weeks.  And he's a completely healthy teen. 

Speaking of Henry, his XC season at DePauw was canceled.  Now he doesn't know what to do.  He might just go to IU.  And if classes are online for Hayden, he's in trouble.  He needs to sit in a classroom.  This is just wrecking everything. I'm going to try and stay positive.

50 years

About a month before I turned 50, I slept on my neck wrong and then my back seized up.  I went to the walk in clinic when it moved to the top of my head.  I had the worst headache in the back and top of my head.  4 weeks later and the weird headache is still there.  I go to occupational therapy once a week and the chiropractor twice a week now.  So, yeah, 50 feels like 50.  I feel like Humpty Dumpty.  I fell off the wall and they are trying to put me back together again.  I need them to finish the job by August 1.

I spent the day at the winery with some friends for my birthday.  It rained.  It was nice of them to come celebrate in the rain, in a pandemic.  I have some good friends.  

Little Bear was spayed yesterday.  She was all groggy and out of it for hours.  I just love that little dog to pieces.  Wrigley is sweet, but Bear is just awesome.  She hadn't eaten or had anything to drink for hours, so around 11pm I shared a grape with her.  For some reason, I sent a text to a friend saying, hey Bear likes grapes.  Guess what?  Grapes are toxic to dogs.  The internet literally says, your dog is probably going to die, and to rush them to the vet immediately even if they have eaten just one little grape.   I called 2 vets.  They both calmed me down because I was hysterical.  Henry was here with me.  I asked him if he knew anything about this and he said, Mom, I was giving all 3 of the dogs grapes on Monday.  We are puppy sitting right now.  I was like, WHATTTT??  Then I thought the puppy was going to die.  The puppy that belongs to former and future students.  Like future, being in one month student.  Can you imagine?  She would have to sit in the room with the woman who let her puppy die?  I was a wreck.  I called a bunch of people and they all calmed me down.  It was a job, let me tell you.  All the dogs are fine.  They are all still alive.  I will never buy grapes again, ever.

Life during a Pandemic

Today I napped.  I have no idea what time I fell asleep or what time I woke up.  I ate all day, except when I was sleeping.  My students were busy turning assignments in.  I made all the assignments super easy this week, so they wouldn't have many questions.

The one question that I got repeatedly was, My kid says he is done, Can you check?  sure.  I actually used to enjoy talking to parents.  Not anymore.  I can easily go the rest of my life without talking to another parent.


I asked my students to write a funny story about Earth Day using as many of our spelling words as they could.  I think I got about 10 stories out of 28 students.  I'll be talking to parents about this tomorrow.  ho hummm.

Some students turned in one sentence.  Most of the students wrote informational essays about Earth Day.  Nice, but not what I asked for.  One kid did a nice job.  one.

The dogs have stopped asking me why I am home all day.   Bear just wants to sit on my lap all day long.  She is ridiculous. 

Rainy Yucky day

We had our weekly staff meeting this morning on Zoom.  I spent about half the day working on lesson plans for next week.  I really wanted to finish today, but these plans take forever.  I really wanted to have the weekend off.

Mom and I have been walking all over Bloomington.  Yesterday, I took her to the Arboretum on campus.  She loved it.  I hope it starts to warm up soon.  I prefer walking on warm sun shiny days.

Well I started this yesterday and I am finishing today.  It's sunny out today, so I'm planning to walk later.  But first, I'm headed to the condo to clean and organize Henry's old room.  He just left it strewn everywhere last summer.  He has some fantastic lego sets that are up on shelves.  I'm going to box those up for him.  There are race ribbons everywhere.  The boy is a mess.

Day 33ish

I always thought being an online teacher sounded fun.  Not anymore.  I would give anything to be standing in my classroom right now.  I mean RIGHT NOW.  It's 12:10 on a Thursday and I'm fielding e-learning questions.  The questions are about how to log into McGraw Hill, how do I get to xtramath, what's my password, where can I find the story.  exhausting.  I'm not getting any real questions, like how do I tell the difference between perimeter and area?  Or how is this character like the character in the other story.  I want real questions.

Also everyone is magically get 100% on everything.  And one kid answered a question using text evidence with quotations and everything.  😳. Which is strange because this kid never used punctuation in her life before this all started.....


My mom is sewing me a Cubs mask.  I'm going to wear that thing everywhere.  I can't wait.  She seems to be dealing ok with all of this.  She said she wants to go to the casino as soon as it opens back up.  I told her no way, but knowing her, she will sneak down there in the middle of the night one night.

Hayden has started running this week.  He and his girlfriend have a challenge going.  Who can run the farthest this week.   I think Kate is winning!  Henry is running anywhere from 7-10 miles a day.  He's doing great.  Harrison tried to help Hayden with his running.  He was encouraging him on the last stretch.

I tried to pull my hair back like Hayden's but it fell out.  I just don't have enough hair yet.  It's growing like crazy though.

Day 20 of the new normal

Went to Kroger today.  They have new tape on the floor telling us where to stand.  6 feet.  How is this real life?  I spent about 15 hours getting e-learning lessons together for my third graders.  I made tons of videos for them to watch.  Hopefully, they will learn something from them.  We are also going to have a zoom meeting on Wednesday.  Zoom got their act together and made it so they do not violate COPPA. 

I made a video for my students the day that Gov. Holcomb announced that we will not be going back to school this year.  Several parents called and told me that their child was crying.  I cried on and off all day.  Henry and Hayden are so upset.  I know this is the right thing to do.  I also think that having only half of the country stay at home is a joke.  Someone needs to come up with a vaccine. 

I read an article about lupus and covid 19.  Those 2 are a deadly combination.  My mom was diagnosed with lupus about 20 some years ago.  She can not get this.  I need to keep her safe. 

Covid-19

This is a disaster.  The world has stopped.  I want to go back to work.  I have been trying to stay positive, but the gig is up.  I need normalcy.  I need to hug my friends and go to birthday parties and to be able to find toilet paper.  

Spring break just ended.  It wasn't the worst spring break that I've ever had, but it was weird.  I walked and hiked almost every day with my mom.  I've stopped hugging my mom.  I wave from a distance.  I hate it.  She better not get this.  I'm scared she won't survive it.   

The boys eat so much.  How do they eat this much?  Holy hell.  Every day the dishes are stacked to the ceiling.  I finally made a schedule.  We are going to take turns doing the damn dishes.  It's the very least they can do. Hayden did make cookies today and Harrison made some bread and Henry is currently making guacamole dip.  

We are supposed to go back to work on May 1, but that is the biggest joke on the planet.  There is no way that this virus will be gone by then.  It is just now starting to ramp up in this area.  The twins senior year is wrecked.  No track season, no prom, no graduation.  Ugh.  Tomorrow will be better.