I found this in an article I was reading on another blog. It was part of an article written by Diane LeBlue.
There is an Arabian proverb that states: a friend is one to whom one can pour out all the contents of one’s heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keeping what is worth keeping, and, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away.
Auntie Claus is a cute book about Santa's family and how they get one of their own to understand the spirit of giving and receiving.
We spent this Christmas Eve with my family on my dad's side and then went to Sean's mom and dad's house to celebrate with that side of the family. A few pics...
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| From December 2008 |
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| From December 2008 |
Pretend like you're fighting aliens
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| From December 2008 |
Our church hosted a Posada this evening. We did the traditional Posada walk and (tried) to sing the song that went with it even though it was in Spanish. There was TONS of food...everything from various types of tamales to chocolate chip cookies. The kids played games, made crafts and got their turn at whacking a pinata.
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Sean could always get a job repairing Ataris. (Yes, we have an Atari. We probably have more than one; I bet I could find another one if I dug through those tubs in the basement.) I hear there is a high demand nowadays for Atari repairmen. :)
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| From December 2008 |
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| From December 2008 |
Battle of the Books is a competition they have at the boys' school for the intermediate level kids. The kids have most of the school year to read a list of books (there's about 20 on the list), the kids are put in teams and then they have sort of a Quiz Bowl-type of competition over the content of all the books. The librarian has read most of the books, but she asked another mom and I to help her finish up because she was worried she was going to run out of time. (I think the "battles" are in February.) So, I have been assigned Finest Kind. My job is to read the book and to make up about 25-30 questions about the book for the kids to answer during the battle. I am not too worried about it except that the questions have to follow a certain format. I am sure I will get the hang of it once I get on a roll. Maybe she'll even let me do another one if I don't mess this one up too badly. :)
Sean and I have watched several good movies lately. Juno and Outsourced are very light movies that are easy to watch. Mongol was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It is not a movie I would have chosen on my own, but I am glad Sean got it because it was well worth it.
The Shack has been recommended to me by many people. It was not what I expected, but it did leave me with a lot of questions. I am not going to tell you what it is about, but I will tell you that I would recommend that you read it and get out of it what you can for yourself as I am sure everyone takes something different from it.
Liam had his Christmas concert last week. The first graders and kindergartners performed together and they did a great job. I will say, however, it is so funny to watch them because when little guys like that are up there performing, there is a whole lot more going on than just singing. They're looking for their relatives in the audience, waving, talking to the person next to them, looking around at all the lights...and that was just Liam. :)
Monday-Italian Sausage Soup and Salad
Tuesday-Chinese Salad and Egg Drop Soup
Wednesday-Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Potato Salad
Thursday-Taco Soup
Friday-Salmon, Asparagus, Bread and Butter
Saturday- Pasta
The Tub People's Christmas is Colm's new favorite book. It is a cute book and (if I may put on my reading teacher hat for a moment) is a great book for kids to practice predicting.
Today after Liam's Tae Kwon Do class, two kids tested for their yellow belts. I was glad we were there so Liam could see what a testing looked like so he would know what to expect when it's his turn. Now, back to the point of this post. One of the kids who tested today has been in Liam's class since we started. He is probably about 12 years old, very tall, very lanky and not the most coordinated kid in the world. The first time I saw him in class he was literally bouncing off the studio walls. Their teacher was very patient with him and was very good about redirecting him. My heart just ached for this kid. He just seemed like the kind of kid who is very sweet and loveable, but his body and his brain were just not cooperating with each other. I am not a person who thinks every kid who might have a hint of ADD/ADHD should be medicated, but this child's actions were just screaming for help. I have had kids like this in class. It is so hard to watch them. They struggle in so many areas: their school work, friendships, emotionally, and it is so painful to watch them in their daily struggles. Well, today this child tested for his yellow belt and got it. I started crying for him. I was sitting next to his parents and I just can't imagine all of the struggles they have had and to have this awesome moment just brought me to tears. I can't even put it into words, but it was awesome. Their teacher even commented on how far he has come. I know that many parents who have kids who struggle in school for various reasons put their kids in martial arts to help them. I don't know the whole story of this child, but whatever they are doing seems to be working. I hope and pray that he has many continued successes and I am sure both he and his parents deserve them all.
I like to read this blog from the New York Times while waiting for the boys in the carpool line after school. Enjoy!
Writing their letters to Santa
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| From December 2008 |
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| From December 2008 |
My book club has picked Middlesex as our next read. I have heard it is very good. I am just waiting for it to come in from the library so I can get started, but first I need to finish the book I am currently reading.
I have been subbing quite a bit this week. Yesterday I taught 8th grade English for three hours. They were fairly well-behaved, but I must say that 8th grade boys are the most immature species on this Earth. Liam is more mature than those boys and I am not exaggerating. I know there is research about teenagers' cerebellums not being fully developed or something, but holy cow! Now I know what I have to look forward to in about seven years. I also intercepted a note. The girl who was passing it was devastated that I read it (to myself-not to the class-that would have really been bad since it was about a boy and how she loves him) and she was even more traumatized that she received a pink slip for passing the note. Then today I was in Montessori which I really loved. It was so much fun, but I know I couldn't do it on my own. There are two teachers in that class for a reason. The kids were good for being as young as they are and being in school all day (that's a long day for those little guys) but when they are all doing their own work...you need two adults (three would have been nice, actually) to help them all get started, check their work, answer their questions, address those who are tattling, etc. Tomorrow I am back to 8th grade for a few hours in the afternoon. I am sure I will have more stories to tell...
Monday-Stir Fry
Tuesday-Crockpot Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy and Green Beans
Wednesday-Italian Sausage Soup and Salad
Thursday-Southwest Chicken Foil Dinner minus the veggies
Friday-Pasta with Italian Sausage and Salad
Saturday- MIL's Birthday Dinner?
This is the longest book I have read in a long time, but it was worth every second. The characters are amazing (some you will love, some you will pity, and there's at least one you won't like at all), the title is SO fitting and the last page affirms why Steinbeck is a literary legend.
Liam got his first stripe at Tae Kwon Do last night! He was so excited; you would have thought he had earned a new belt. He has definitely been bitten by the TKD bug. He wants the next stripe very badly and wants to test for it on Friday. I had to inform him that he has not even learned everything yet that he would be tested over. I have a feeling that if they teach it to him on Friday he will try and test over it after class. I don't think they let them do that though. Either way, I am very excited for him and glad that he has found something that he enjoys doing.
Saturday-Chicken, carrots and new potatoes with Greek dressing
Sunday-Autumn Casserole
Monday-Hamburgers, Potato Salad, Fruit
Tuesday-Bruschetta Chicken, Salad
Wednesday-Salmon, Bread and Butter, Asparagus
Thursday-Pizza, Salad
Friday-Out to dinner?
Decorating the outside trees
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| From November 2008 |
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I was talking to my brother this evening and he was telling me his wife (my SIL) had a dream recently where she was given the chance to go back in time and spend one day with their children when they were one. (They are now twelve.) It almost made me cry. Kids grow up so fast. I would love to go back in time and hold my babies for a day when they truly were babies. I would happily change their diapers, get up in the middle of the night and feed them and play peek-a-boo with them to their hearts content. As difficult as those days were at times, I am sad they are gone.
A little laughter for your holiday weekend. Make funny sentences for everyone in your family, just follow the instructions.
Make sure to leave a comment telling us what your sentence is!
Pick the month you were born:
January-------I kicked
February------I loved
March--------I karate chopped
April----------I licked
May----------I jumped on
June----------I smelled
July-----------I did the Macarena With
August--------I had lunch with
September----I danced with
October-------I sang to
November-----I yelled at
December-----I ran over
Pick the day (number) you were born on:
1-------a birdbath
2----- --a monster
3-------a phone
4-------a fork
5-------a snowman
6-------a gangster
7---- ---m y mobile phone
8-------my dog
9-------my best friends' boyfriend
10-------my neighbor
11-------my science teacher
12-------a banana
13-------a fireman
14-------a stuffed animal
15-------a goat
16-------a pickle
17-------your mom
18-------a spoon
19------ - a smurf
20-------a baseball bat
21-------a ninja
22-------Chuck Norris
23-------a noodle
24-------a squirrel
25-------a football player
26-------my sister
27-------my brother
28-------an iPod
29-------a surfer
30-------a homeless guy
31-------a llama
Pick the color of shirt you are wearing:
White----because I'm cool like that
Black-----because that's how I roll.
Pink-----because I'm NOT crazy.
Red------because the voices told me to.
Blue-----because I'm sexy and I do what I want
Green----because I think I need some serious help.
Purple----because I'm AWESOME!
Gray-----because Big Bird said to and he's my leader.
Yellow---because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars
Orange---because my family thinks I'm stupid anyway.
Brown----because I can.
Other-----because I'm a Ninja!
None------because I can't control myself!
I found this fun little activity at Some of This and Some of That! Enjoy!
Bolt is such a good movie!!! We took the boys today and they loved it and so did we. Would we have gone to see it if we didn't have kids? No, but it is a movie that both parents and kids can enjoy which doesn't always happen.
Just when I thought we had read every Halloween book written within the last thirty years...Colm found another one. We went to a different library this week and they have some books we haven't read. Joy! This is his favorite one from this week.
Sunday-Rotel Chicken and rice
Monday-Pasta with Italian Sausage
Tuesday-Tacos
Wednesday-Autumn Casserole
Thursday-Thanksgiving
Friday-Salmon, Bread and Butter, Asparagus
Saturday-Fajitas
We were in the car today and Colm told Liam that he wanted to marry him. Liam then informed Colm that they couldn't get married because two boys can't get married, it has to be a boy and a girl. Right, Dad? There was a pause and Sean and I looked at each other and gave each other that knowing grin and mumbled something about well...if you live in Vermont... We then told him he was right...it has to be a boy and a girl. He's six and I am not ready to go there, especially with Colm listening in.
I would do just about anything if it meant that Liam would no longer have to have asthma. I hate it!!! I hate that I have to worry about it. I hate that he has to worry about it. I hate that we have to make other people, like his teachers, worry about it. I hate that he has to take so much medicine. I hate that we have to go to the doctor all the time. I hate that he can't just get a simple cold and be over it...it always ends up being something much more complicated. I hate how all that coughing wipes him out and makes him look like a zombie he's so tired. I hate that he can't just be a kid sometimes. I hate that his asthma ostracizes him at times. I hate that he doesn't freak out about riding in an ambulance because he has done it so many times. I hate that he knows that he needs to bring a book with him when we go to the hospital because we're going to be there a long time. And I hate how I am still not always sure what to do when he gets asthma. I know there a lot worse things he could have, but I still hate that he has asthma.
It is so much fun to be a parent on the days when your kids are learning something new. To see their eyes light up with pride is enough to make any parent's day. Colm came home from school today reading. He was SO proud of himself and he read those same words over and over and over again to me in the car and then to Sean when he came home from work. It was great! There were high fives all around. Then to see Liam at Tae Kwon Do today. He is working really hard to get his first stripe. He is going to try and get it next week and I think he will. One more thing and then I will stop bragging about our children...Colm is a rock star ice skater. I am serious. He isn't going to be in the Olympics any time soon, but he is doing awesome. Even if he wasn't doing great, what makes me smile from ear to ear is that he is trying something new and he loves it. Being a parent can be the hardest job on the planet, but there are days like today when you get paid in smiles, hugs, high fives and accomplishments that make it all worth it.
I have taught in four different schools, in two different states and in two different grades and there are some things that you can be pretty certain of no matter where you teach or what grade you teach. I subbed again today in the same class I was in yesterday and I could see little bits of former students in these kids. Almost every year I taught there was someone who I lovingly referred to (only to myself and obviously never to the child) as pigpen. This is the poor, sweet dear child whose desk is a complete pit even though you JUST had them clean it out yesterday and whose shirt looks like they used it for a napkin during a very messy spaghetti dinner even though it is 10a.m. and you haven't even gone to lunch yet. Their shirt is always untucked and their fly is usually down. There is usually a student who has their own agenda...these are the ones that drive me BATTY because I also have an agenda and since the teacher (that would be me) is in charge, they should be following my agenda, not their own. There is the student that no matter what you do just doesn't seem to be able to get their work done. Sometimes they are really trying and just can't get it together and then there are the ones who aren't trying because they are either in la-la land or they are too busy messing around. There are usually a couple of girls whose mission it is to please the teacher at all costs...I would like a whole classroom of these please. :) There is the child, usually a boy, who feels it is his job to entertain the rest of the class. (If you can get this kid to come around and be your ally life is a lot easier.) Then there is at least one boy who is super smart, but not too cocky about it and usually very sweet. I'll take a couple of those, too, please. Obviously there are all kinds of children that make up a classroom, but I couldn't help but notice today that the kids in that class reminded me WAY TOO MUCH of kids I have seen before...it's like I never left.
I subbed for the first time yesterday in a second grade class. It was only for the afternoon and there were only twelve kids in the class and two of them were absent, so I can't complain. I miss teaching and having my own class in a lot of ways, but yesterday reminded me of why I am not going to jump back into my own classroom anytime soon unless I really have to or unless an opportunity I can't resist comes my way. Like I said, I miss teaching...it's all the other crud that goes along with teaching that I don't miss. I just can't imagine spending my whole day with other peoples' kids and then having enough energy to love on my own kids at the end of the day. At the end of each school day I would still have to get ready for the next school day, go to meetings, shuttle my kids wherever they need to go after school, grade papers, return parent phone calls/e-mails, cook dinner, clean up, get everyone ready for bed, pack lunches and on and on. There are only so many hours in the day! I am going back to the same classroom today for another two hour stint...wish me luck! :)
For part of his homework this weekend Liam had to make a list of about twelve things that he is thankful for. They are going to use this list for a project at school. Liam listed the cats, Colm, me, Sean, the dog and some other things. I would have assumed that some family member would have made the top spot. Nope, the first thing he was thankful for was the television. I came in a close second...at least I know where I stand.
We had a lot of firsts happen at our house this weekend. Liam had his first Tae Kwon Do lesson. He really liked it and he looks adorable in his outfit. Liam also was diagnosed with strep throat on Sunday; this is a first for him. Lastly, Colm had his first ice skating lesson on Sunday. I wasn't there for it (I was at the dr. with Liam) but from what I understand from Sean is that he was cold and wet by the end. He fell down a lot, but he did well enough that they didn't feel like he needed a walker thingy.
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| From November 2008 |
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Monday-Pasta with leftover chicken spedini
Tuesday-Chili and Cornbread
Wednesday-Birthday Party
Thursday-Oven Fried Chicken, Biscuits, Cole Slaw
Friday-Hot Italian Sausage and Peppers with Italian Diced Tomatoes
Saturday-Salmon, Bread and Butter, Asparagus
It is my dear hubby's birthday today and I am afraid to say it has probably not been his best. Not only did he have to deal with me still being sick, but Liam woke up in the middle of the night throwing up. For the past few days he has not only had to be him (which is more than a full-time job) he has also had to be me. He has been driving the kids to school, picking them up, doing the dishes, picking up the house, putting the kids to bed, feeding them, making their lunches, dealing with the pets and sitting with me in the hospital and at the doctor's. This is a man who works more than sixty hours a week and work does not stop just because I am sick. So, on top of all the stuff we have been dishing out as a family he has been trying to get some work accomplished, but I don't think we have been much help. So, sometime this weekend, hopefully, he is going to get a much deserved redo birthday with a cake, presents, a nice dinner and a healthy family. You deserve it, honey.
I will spare you the gory details, but let's just say I had some fairly serious complications from the surgery I had on Friday and this morning started with an ambulance and more blood than you ever want to see come out of one person all at the same time. I am fine now and am at home resting, but I never ever want to go to a hospital again. I never want a catheter. I never want a nurse to tell me that she blew my vein. I never want to hear a doctor tell me that I may have to have surgery again even though I just had that surgery four days ago. I never want to have two sonograms in a row after they have deliberately filled my bladder to capacity and then clamped my catheter so I can't pee. Oh, and I never want to have to hear that those sonograms, after all that trouble, were inconclusive. And yes, I have still spared you the gory details.
Monday-Pastina Soup, Salad
Tuesday-Turkey Rueben Sandwiches, Chips
Wednesday-Sean's Birthday...out to dinner
Thursday-Chicken Pot Pie, Salad
Friday-Pesto with Farfelle
Saturday-Baked Chicken, Roasted Potatoes, Green Beans
Our book club has chosen John Steinbeck's East of Eden as our next read. We decided we wanted to read something that might be considered an American classic, so we looked over some high school reading lists that we found on-line and decided on this one. I need to get going on it. We are meeting right after Thanksgiving and I haven't even started yet. It is not a short book.
Colm came home today from school and was a little upset that he had "unjustly" gotten in trouble today at school. Luke had cut in front of him in line, so Colm pushed him and Colm got in trouble. He couldn't understand why he got in trouble when Luke was the one that cut in front of him. We talked about it and how to better handle similar situations in the future, but it was just too cute. I could tell that he really felt an injustice had taken place. It's hard being four.
My blog has been quiet for the past week because we have been going through a lot here. About six weeks ago we found out we were expecting. I am not a good pregnant person. It involves a lot of throwing up, trying not to throw up, sleeping and then trying not to throw up some more. I am so glad the boys are at school all day because I would spend most of that time sleeping. Our house has been a wreck, the laundry is everywhere and don't even look at the kitchen. Two weeks ago we had a sonogram that was not good. At six weeks they could not see a baby. (Click here for more details.) They reassured us that it was early and sometimes you can't see a baby that early and we should come back in two weeks. So we went back on Wednesday and there was still no baby. It's hard to be so sick and have nothing to show for it. It's hard to get into the mindset of "we're going to have a baby" and then not. Your mind has already gone through some names, thought about how this new baby will fit into the family we already have and what we will have to do to make room for this new baby. Where will the baby sleep? How will the boys react? All that stuff. Technically, we did not lose a baby; we did lose a pregnancy though. So this morning we got up at the crack of dawn (while my dear mother came over to stay with the boys, get them ready for school and take them to school) and went to the hospital so I could have my surgery. The doctors and nurses were so kind and it was over in a flash. I don't remember anything...that sleepy stuff really works. I am under doctor's orders to pamper myself for the next week. I think I can do that.
Wolverine
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| From October 2008 |
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| From October 2008 |
Colm's Frankenstein
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| From October 2008 |
