button poppin' proud

i have been visiting our youngest,
the new second grade teacher. 
lucky lucky me even got to go to class
with her and help a bit.

she had told them a surprise visitor was coming.
someone guessed Batman.
someone was wrong.

since i came with gifts,
i was warmly welcomed
and Batman was forgotten.
***

she has 20 students.
40 eyes of wonder,
20 mouths of chattering questions.
and one teacher who keeps them...
on task,
learning,
and having fun.

she says to them
"friends. i need your voice 
to be on level 0. "
or
"friends. it's time for reading centers."
or a hundred other different commands/suggestions.
and they do it!


and boy howdy does she have the eagle eyes!!!
i thought as a seasoned mom of 30 + years
i was good at noticing things.
not as good as she is!

she was teaching along one time
then quietly picks up some small piece of paper
and while still teaching lays this paper on the
desk of a few "friends."

what? 
why did they get something?
what is it?

later i had a chance to discover what it was.
they had gotten a stop sign that said
"stop. think about what you are doing."

so basically the "friend" was not paying 
attention and this was her quiet way
to bring them in line.  
it was effective.
***
sadly enough this class of unending energy
has only one 10 minute recess a day.
yes, only 1.
personally i think that is criminal
because kids have energy that needs to be expressed.
and brains need a break.

well they get it.
when she sees the wigglys taking over
they stop
and stand up.
and then they will do
some yoga stretches,
but usually they will dance.
yes.
DANCE!!!

they started the year doing the 
cha cha slide.
and now have added 
"penguin attention,
penguin salute!"
a verbal and action thing.

yesterday we did the macarena.
one little girl was doing great
until it came time for the hip wiggle.
then she hunches her shoulders,
ducks her head, 
covers her face
and giggles.
she was too embarrassed to
hip wiggle.
(ahhh.. i know.)

regardless of what physical song or 
dance routine they do,
it accomplishes what it needs to.
and the students can go back
to focusing and learning.

they really like her.
even students not in her class greet her.
(she said she didn't know them.)
***

the adjustment of learning a new job, 
in a totally new place
has sometimes been a bit challenging.
but she's getting it nailed down.

she leaves at 7:15 in the morning,
has students by 8:50 until 2:30 with 
only 25 minutes to grab a bite to eat
and bathroom break.
at 3:30 she has another batch of kids
to tutor, 
and then she teaches a small cooking class with
a few more different kids.
we didn't leave the school grounds
until 5:45.
whew!

and she mentioned she is tired!
often.

like ALL educators she works hard.
but she's making a difference.
and it's worth it.
yes daughter-roo, it is. 
otherwise you wouldn't 
be doing it.
***

she told the kids 
"put your name on the paper
and the date at the top."
and has turned it into a chant.

they love it.
and were repeating it often,
sometimes randomly.
you know like when you
sometimes burst into song
for no apparent reason.

you don't?
well try it.
it's good for the soul.

anyway....
we are PROUD of this new teacher.
all the staff told me how much they like
her.

it's a wonder i'll be able to get/fit my swollen
head and heart on the plane today to go home. 

a pie "thief"

bird and some punkins

we grew pumpkins on the farm this summer.
it really was a joint effort
verses like the little-red hens-bread story.

my nephew hooked up the tiller to the tractor.
brown-eyed-handsome man tilled the garden.
i raked the weeds and bought the seeds.
sister-bird and i planted the seeds.
dad watered the seeds...
kind of.
he used more force than necessary 
so the seeds washed out.
repeatedly.
sigh
so sister bird and i replanted the
pumpkin seeds repeatedly.
eventually some "took"
and plants began to grow.

eureka!!!

dad watered them until 
bird and her retired-hunter-hubby
lived at the farm this summer.
then she became the official weeder and 
waterer.  

now that it's fall the harvest has begun.
recently dad and i picked a few pumpkins.
this last thursday i baked one at the farm
and then made 2 pies with it. 

friday dad had a luncheon at the church
and i suggested he go and take a pie.
" why should i share my pies?" 
he asked. 

silly man.
but..
he did go and he did share a pie.
it was a big hit.

imagine my amazement though  
on saturday when several of those 
luncheon attenders told me about the pie 
my dad made and shared with them all!

WHAT!!!
dad made the pie? 

i suggested to one sweet lady she 
ask dad for his recipe.
eventually i understood
dad indicated he grew
the pumpkin but left the 
rest up to others imagination. 






 


 

whatcha readin' ?

i come from a family of readers.
my folks both read a lot.
i remember my grammie reading books.
i like to read.
our 3 kids enjoy a good book too.

brown-eyed-handsome-man only reads
non fiction. 
he's a big history buff.
i can read fiction or not. 
just depends on if a book interests me.

well....
this summer in my local library 
i found a new book  Grounded by
some of my favorite authors..
Neta and Dave Jackson. 
i devoured it.
then i liked them on facebook.

one day i got really really lucky.
they were asking for 40 people to read 
their latest book  Derailed and review it.
so... i got a free book.

when it came i devoured it too.
and could hardly wait to write my review.
since the book is not being released until
Oct. 8th
i thought i had to wait until then to 
do so.
nope, not according to the email today from 
the Jacksons.

so.... i quickly posted some reviews. 
and now i'm writing one here.

if you enjoy christian fiction
that is uplifting, encouraging,
not namby-pamby-butterflies-and-rainbows-ish,
but a bit of a mystery....
this book is for you. 
you'll be encouraged in your faith 
and prayer life, plus enjoy some adventure
as the characters become your friends. 

 http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_8?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=derailed+windy+city&sprefix=derailed%2Cstripbooks%2C296

and when you get finished with those two,
read the Yada Yada Prayer Group series.

the end. 
 

First Day of School

yup, we have a first-day-of-school-er.
our youngest is starting today.
and we couldn't be prouder. 

here's her preschool graduation photo.
doesn't seem that long ago.
only 1995.

today in a state far away from her home
she will be in a class of 21 kids.
i know there is some nervous energy for all of them.
first days can be scarey.
it's uncharted territory,
a thing you've never done before.
will they like me? 

that ole' fear of the unknown.
especially for the teacher.
i reminded her she just needs to be kind.
besides that....
she does know more than they do!

happy first day of teaching darling daughter.
 



 

"he was born at a very early age"

today another good man in my life has a birthday.
i don't talk about him much,
but he does exist.

he lived across the hall from me for many years
and we shared many grand adventures.
*we scrambled up mountains with no fear,
he always went the highest. 
*we took turns on family vacations
waiting for the car's a/c to drop frigid
ice water on our feet... then leaping
and yelping with glee.
*many times we stood in front of the lilac
bush for Easter pictures, dodging
and darting the bees, wondering who 
would get stung that year.
* he would let me up in the tree house,
but only if the boy cousins weren't there.  
*we "boxed" as kids...
he was on his knees,
giving me a great advantage.
:-)
*we watched sumo-wrestling
on grandmas tv. 
then skipped home to giggle
through our version of those
gentle giants. 
*we played wagon train in the pastures.
he always had the gun of course. 
and yes you can "circle" two wagons,
but cats do not make good cattle nor
stay in that circle.
*when neither of us was
legal driving age we explored 
the hills and two-track roads in
an old white  ford pick up.
anxious to see what was over the hill,
and just how high we could 
bounce off the seat if we went 
fast enough.
*i learned to drive with my 
knees watching him on the way to school.
*he was my protector as a young teen
when i might have been  was 'dragging main'
with some questionable characters,
or dancing with some non-english speaking guy
at the first dance mom ever let me go to. 
*i spent several summer nights hollering
"stay down! don't let him get around you.. punch it!" 
as he drove around and around and around
the dirt race track.
zipping in and out of cars passing them, 
finishing often in the top 3 places.
* we dined and hooted till tears ran down 
with in-numberable games 
of spoons or animal at the big 
farm table stretched to the max. 
* i can still see him dressed to the nines
for his daughters wedding. looking 
so handsome. 
* i have sweet memories of watching him
dance at my daughters wedding, 
with his daughter. 
* he recommended the surgeon who 
fixed my shoulder. 
*we even shared the same thoughts
and a few giggles when making the
arrangements for mom's funeral and 
later the headstone.
"mickey mouse ears are not for us." 
*we shake our heads in wonder
at our sweet but sometimes confusing
dad. thankful he's still around.

my lifetime of memories with 
the brother God and our parents gave me
are good.
happy birthday big brother.
i hope it's a good one.





 

her independence day

our community shoots off the fireworks on july 3rd.
i really like fireworks.

so this evening we heard the signal boom
and headed outside to watch them.
i'm lucky enough to have our youngest with me.
she's been here for about 6 weeks.
she and her cat.
they have been at the in-between stage of life
again.
she graduated from college in may
and got a job.
however didn't need to be at the job
immediately, so hung out at home.
 
tomorrow we head west with this
teacher-daughter-child-woman.

she's got a job in a big city about 15 hours away.
sigh.
really i am happy for her.
it's what she wants.
to teach second grade in a city.
she will do a really good job.
such a heart for kids she has.
and such energy she has.
:-)

as i watched the sparkling lights tonight,
i thought of why we shoot them off.
independence.
we wanted it.
we needed it.
and we got it.
it wasn't easy, but worth the struggles.

and i thought of my youngest child.
she's worked hard for her college degree.
it wasn't easy, but...
she wanted it.
she needed it.
and she got it.
and now...starting tomorrow
she begins the journey towards
her independence day.

gonna be on her own,
new place,
new people,
new adventures. 

and this is a good thing.
 

 
 

the golden rule of fueling

no matter where i go it seems
some people just don't use their manners.
or maybe they are just ignorant,
and i mean un-informed actually.

so todays topic is
how to politely put gas in your car.

1. when you pull up to the pump
be sure to go to the most forward
one if it's available.
don't just stop at the back one.
that causes blocks, traffic issues,
and grumblings.
and even dangerous situations as others
must wiggle waggle into the spot you
could have easily pulled up to.  

2. also, after you've filled up,
if you need to go inside the store,
MOVE YOUR CAR.
do not let it set there whilst you
cavort amongst the candy...
or peruse which bag of chips 
is calling your name. 

MOVE YOUR CAR up to the store. 
PLEASE.
then you can dance among the candy
and sodas as much as you fancy.
and the next thirsty car can get
a tankful. 

whew..
at least i've told someone
something useful today.