Splish Splash

Splish

Splash

I was

Taking a bath

Long about a Wednesday Night

A Rub Dub relaxing in the tub

Thinking everything is alright!

...And It's Still Here!

Two words- PRIME RIB. It's what's for dinner.

The Albandias put on a great spread for us again this year. And then there were gifts...

We had some great Christmas Fun this year with family and friends and we are lucky to have our health, a home, our little AJ, and love among us.

I will pray for our loved ones who may be in pain or uncertainty this year and ask God for mercy and peace for them. Merry Christmas and God Bless!

Christmas FINALLY Came

Christmas Eve 2010

After what seemed like forever, it was finally time to leave for the Christmas Eve party at Uncle Fred and Aunt Nancy's house. I always like going over there for Christmas because that house is the "Old Family Homestead" sort of thing. My granny had Christmas there as a girl, and my mom and her siblings had Christmas there as kids, too. They have glass doorknobs over there, and you know someplace is old and comfortable when they have those.

Madeline and Emi were enjoying their first Christmas parties and Jason and Jessica were in from far and wide. Jody and Brenden were there, too and so was the Oyster Stew! I ate too many cookies and mint fudge. AJ played, ran, stole cookies and was wary of gifts.

Due to snow and a frightful cold, I did not make it to church last night and therefore feel like something is missing form this nice holiday, but seeing as I have spread germs all over already, I felt like getting to bed after a warm shower was a good idea.

Christmas Morning 2010

NORAD tracked Santa to Belize last I checked, so I figured I better get tucked in before he hit North America so as not to miss his visit. He came and left a few fun things for AJ. AJ, however, was not too into it this year, so Santa better get his act together for 2011!

Mike was very generous and I have a shopping trip in my future to 2 of my fave places for clothes. He also got me the latest Patricia Cornwell novel. AJ and I got him a SkyCaddie. Gramma Betty and Papa Rog came over for brunch and we opened more presents. GEARS!

Mom gave me a train calendar. It was a hit.

Sure AJ loved the "Big Bucket O'Gears Gears Gears!" ...

But some other boys liked them, too...

Christmas Eve 2010

When I was little I would make lists on Christmas Eve Day. You know, while I was waiting impatiently to go to the family party or for the family to arrive at our house. The lists had EVERYTHING on it so I could get crazy satisfaction in crossing off the little things. Brush teeth- check. Eat breakfast- check. Watch a show- check. Decorate doll house with paper tree- check. Eat snack- check.

Each little thing crossed off meant that the party was getting closer and Christmas was really here. I did not make a list today-which is odd because I make a list everyday, but there was not much to do except keep AJ happy and go to Target to get veggie tray items. So now he's napping and I am blogging and the dishes are washing and the laundry is drying and I am still impatiently waiting for Christmas to come.

OFGS Update

Here's a graph.

Since I teach, I like graphs.

I like how the line goes down.

Dapper Dude

Lola came over with bags.

The bags were from one of my favorite ever kids clothing stores.

AJ will be one well dressed toddler at Melba's, at church, and on Christmas.

"Look Mommy, a hairplane!"

"Doggy goin slide!"

Thanks Lola and Lolo!

I Elfed Them

My Job _ _ _ _ _!

There are lots of ways to fill in the blanks here. There are lots of four letter words a teacher could use to describe the job of teaching. Depending on the time of year, the class make-up, the administrator, the parents, the commute, the paperwork, the quality of the para (if you even HAVE a para) and the condition of the building/materials/technology/parking lot/food/phone system/climate/air quality/pencil sharpener/etc/etc/etc a teacher's attitude can shift 180 degrees.

Things have been a little hairy this year for me. So when "Winter Celebration" rolled around I thought, "Geez. Just add ONE MORE THING I have to squeeze into my jam packed day and how can I fit it in and where am I going to get 64 oz of apple juice on the cheap and what if the kids don't get it and where did I put my keys?" A little background please, you ask?

OK. Each class picks out a winter holiday celebrated by some culture somewhere and researches said holiday. Then we present a showcase of the 12 holidays in the gym. We have food, music, dance, info posters, crafts, and many more items of interest displayed during this time. The showcase is put on the day before school is out for Winter Break. And there you go. If you know any kid of any age EVER- you know that after December 1, a child's brain has 2 parts- the Santa part and the vacation part. (For most kids you would hope that those parts are filled with good thoughts about both items, but unfortunately educators know that for many there is worry about those 2 items, too. But that is a sad post for a sad day. This is not that day.) So the kids are crazy, the teachers are crazy and the gym is pretty crazy on Winter Celebration Day.

Now that you're up to speed, I must say that I decided this year to NOT let Winter Celebration make me nervous. We were going to enjoy the planning, creating and preparing a great Winter Solstice presentation (That was the holiday I picked out of the hat). And we did. I let go of all the "I have to get the reading done-where is the math homework-I have to get that lesson done by Thursday!" thoughts that consume me and we listened to music and made posters and really had a fun time. You can check it out HERE if you want.

My friend Kathy posted her status on Facebook last night telling the interloop how much she enjoys her job, and this made me realize how much I really did enjoy the Celebration this year and how valuable an event like that is for kids and teachers, even though none of it will be on any test or state assessment. These are the days that kids remember and talk about later.

So when things get hairy again after Winter Break, and it is inevitable that they will, maybe we will again put aside the Reading Workshop, Writer's Workshop, Math, ISAT coach, and Common Assessment Review, and do something creative and fun. As long as I get to page 168 by Wednesday....

Take a look at some of the fun of Winter Celebration 2010. BTW, I filled in my blanks in the title with R-O-C-K-S!

Randolph. Love her.

We made fake mead. Actually my para did, but I am still using the term "we".

Bartolo enjoying fake mead.

Temporary "henna" tatoos from room 103

Kathy celebrating Junkanoo. Google it.

I am one of the 3 kings for Three Kings Day. Google that too.

Holiday Jollies at the Risolvo's

Merry Merry from the Albandias!

Photos by Aldo Risolvo of Aldo Risolvo Photography

December 5, 2010