I'm Just the Giddy Big Sister

I am really excited for Jill and Sarah and their fabulous afternoon at the fair.

Good job to both. I can't stop watching the slideshow.

Good News!

I taught today and for the first time since the school year began (ok, just last week), I didn't come home with what felt like an ice pick driven into my forehead.

In other words, today wasn't too bad.

And even better, I'm official. My classes have been uploaded and I can do important things like take attendance.

But on the flip side, today was also picture day, and it required three takes before my happy little portrait was even presentable. Barf.

Happy Birthday, Grandma J!

Back home this weekend was birthdays, birthdays everywhere. I celebrated from afar.

Today is Grandma J's 96th birthday. Yes folks, 96. My 50-year-old dad still has his grandmother here.

She's amazing, and she's wonderful and I wish that we were in the same state.

Happy Birthday, Corbin!

Not Your Coleman Variety

I love that the tent-shirt is in. Love it. I love hiding under it.

Meet my new favorite shirt...

AND (and!) guess what! It's got just a wee bit of stretch.

It's the little things that keep me going.

Back to School, Part 2

I'm really trying to give you the RD Condensed version...

I answer to many people at work. Heck, I answer to many people when I'm not at work.

But at work I (ultimately) have two bosses. Lisa represents the program that funds my teaching, and John is one of the assistant principals. Both are wonderful.

After a very overwhelming 1st day, and a close-to overwhelming 2nd day, both bosses are working on getting my class to a normal size. It's very difficult to take the road of squeaky wheel. I want help and attention to the situation, but of course I don't want to seem wimpy, incapable and whiny.

Problem is that most of the other classes in the school are also jam-packed, and the school counselors are just dumping these extras in to my classes.

Some of these kids are angels, some full of personality, some charming, but some are down right obnoxious and I wouldn't mind if they never came back.

Tomorrow I get to make a phone call home to a parent in hopes that they will have a conversation with their daughter about what is appropriate to talk about in class. I opted to not hold this conversation while I was upset with daughter today. Let's hope that I can cool off enough between now and then.

Tomorrow is my day in special ed. Will it be easier? In some ways. Was yesterday in special ed easier? In some ways.

Either way, it's Friday. A much needed Friday.

Back To School (Only If I Have To)

These two grown kids and I headed back to school today; Maddie in 5th grade, Isaac in 3rd and me in hell.

Last year (my first) was maybe a little too sugar-coated. I worked in special ed with a great teacher, whom I learned A LOT from, I fell in love my little special ed students, and the regular ed students that I got to work with were absolute angels.

This year I will be dividing my time between special ed, and having my own classroom as a math and English tutor.

So far, the math and English students that I teach are making special ed look easy.

What was I thinking? AND Is it possible to hate someone after spending just one class period with them?

Of course, when I go to special ed tomorrow it could be horrible too. Last year's teacher moved and the new one has never taught before. I may been in for it. Again.

Just in case my plate wasn't full enough today, Aunt Flo showed up between 2nd and 3rd period. Seven minutes might be enough to get you from Geometry to P.E., but it's not quite enough time to deal with unexpected feminine issues. Lucky me.

If it hadn't been for the heart-warming start of my school day, I wouldn't have survived. On my way to my classroom, I stopped by special ed. Elisabeth and her wonderful mom were there, and that sweet girl, who I missed all summer long, was happy to see me, and even noticed my hair cut. I'm happy to report that her and I get to be together all day tomorrow, and even if she has a bad day, she'll still be more pleasant than a handful of my regular ed students that I had today.

(I hope I didn't just jinx tomorrow)

Wait, before I'm done barfing out today's events, the school's computer system had my class-size-limit at 32. There's only 15 desks in my room. Three out of my four classes are at 20 students. We're shoulder to shoulder in there. I shudder to think of how full classes would have gotten if my wheel hadn't squeaked. The system has been corrected, but not until we're full. Stuffed. Maxed out.

Okay. The verbal vomitting is stopping. For now.

We're All In This Together

Were you part of the record-setting audience that watched High School Musical 2 on Friday night?

I was, and I haven't even seen all of the first one yet.

With tons of popcorn and chocolate chip cookies on hand, we had quite the audience, which (I must point out) had more boys than girls. But the girls still did plenty of squealing and screaming at the end when the beloved HSM2 couple had their long-awaited first kiss.

And the kids have been singing ever since...this afternoon I was on the phone making adjustments to my cell phone service and the guy wanted to know what my kids were singing. He knew the movie. He knew the songs. Heck, you'd have to live under a rock to not know.

Happy Birthday, Paige!

Oh, how I wish we were there to celebrate with you. Tonight we'll be holding a HSM2 party in your honor.

I'm pretty sure that you're the most photogenic kid on the planet.

PS Your gift will be late because your lame aunt put said gift in the online cart but forgot to complete the transaction.

Start Your Engines

Tonight was our first Pine Wood Derby, and, with the talent that only I possess, open mouth - insert foot.

To my dear friend A'Donna, I commented that tonight's Pine Wood Derby seemed to be more organized than last year's. Before the sentence was all the way out of my mouth, I could feel my face turn red. A'Donna was in charge last year. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Other than that, it was a fun evening, in spite of technical difficulties. Isaac seemed to have broken the K. curse and, unlike my brothers, was able to keep his car out of last place. And thank goodness, because I'm just not sure if his poor, competitive heart could have taken it.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

You don't look a day over 39.

Maybe I Am Ready For School To Start

I didn't think I wanted the kids to get back to school, because when they go, I go. And there goes all of my wonderful laziness.

THIS is my kitchen table:

With all of their 10-year-old GIRL logic, they thought that this was the best way to hide from the boys. Well my 32-year-old logic thinks that Maddie's bedroom would have been a more appropriate place to hide.

They need to go back to school. I need them to go back to school.

I Need a Shower

A couple of my favorite childhood memories are watching the Perseid Meteor Shower with my cousin Derrick.

I don't know if I'd go so far to say it was a tradition, but at least twice him and I ended up together to watch "falling stars".

One night him and I laid out sleeping bags on their front lawn at their Orangevale house and, armed with flashlights, spent the night flat on our backs watching the lights in the sky.

But the best nighttime show was when we slept out on the deck next to the pond behind their house in Ophir, because without all the city lights the stars were so bright it seemed like we could reach out and grab them. Of course, EVERY time we slept on the deck the dogs would take off with one or both of my shoes.

As if to signal the end of my summer, Sunday night is this year's Perseid Meteor Shower. I'm trying to come up with some way the kids and I could safely watch. David is set to work overnight, and it just doesn't seem like a good idea for us to venture out in the the desert without him, especially late at night.

There is absolutely no hope of us seeing even one falling star from home (even though 60 per hour are expected) because of all the street lights. The best viewing conditions are going to require a pretty long drive. I hope I don't chicken out.

The Simple Life?

There are many things about this crazy state of Utah that I love. It's a funny, funny place.

I've mentioned some of these fun things before, like watching high school students carry scriptures around campus, or being able to find LDS literature in Wal*Mart. Even after a year (one year this week) I am still fascinated.

Tonight I walked Maddie down the street to a sleep over at nearly 10:00. Walk, not drive, because we're all right here in our cozy little subdivision that shares the same name as our ward.

I visited with the hosting mom for a few minutes, and then headed home alone, stopping to visit more, this time with the R.S. president and her counselor holding a little meeting in a parked car. We chatted as if we were old friends and also as if it wasn't unusual to meet each other on the street at 10pm.

I love this funny little lifestyle. Sure people drop in when the house might not be 100% presentable, but who cares if they see the toy guns and toy knives lying around the living room. All the neighborhood kids know that the cache is in my piano bench. A couple of them all but walk in and help themselves.

It's fun, more so than I expected.

(slight change of gears) I excused myself from my late night chat with my R.S. sisters because I dare not miss the Barry Bonds homerun. Alas, I did miss it. But thanks to the DVR gods, David was able to back it up and show me the much anticipated, highly scruntinized, controversial event: Homerun #756. I hope you and yours were able to enjoy it as well.

Thanks, Dear

I can't sleep.

Thank goodness I live in the land of DVR and I have my trusty ol' Jay Leno to help take my mind off of things. I'll be counting Zzz's in no time.

But no. Where's Jay? He's been skipped to make room for the Giants game. Because Heaven help us if Bonds hits homerun #756 and we miss it!

PS Not to mention tonight was Headlines.

What is the Fascination With Train Wrecks?

Really, I don't watch that much TV.

But every now and then, I must sink to some low. It's like I lose my mind and my better judgement.

I did take in a couple of episodes of Nick and Jessica. I watched more than a few episodes of Anna Nichole. I've even watched a bit of the Surreal Life. Who wouldn't want to see how Webster turned out?

I'm at it again. Is it just me, or will VH-1 and A&E give anyone a show?

First comes along this Scott Baio crap. Ooh. "Poor me. I slept with all the hot girls in Hollywood and my life sucks."

Am I watching? Duh. Just like the rest of the world, I was very obsessed with Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi, so of course I'm going to see how Scott Baio functions, or doesn't function.

But even worse than that - last night I watched the Coreys. It was horrible. Feldman, so far, seems to be okay. After all he's been through, he seems to have his head screwed on pretty straight. This could be due to the magic of editting, who knows. But Haim? Whatever drugs he did kept his brain from maturing beyond the age of 14. What a freak! The poor guys needs to buckle down and go get a job at the Gap or Hot Topic, because I don't think It is going to happen for him. Maybe he's just a regular guy that needs to figure out how to work the 9 to 5, even if it's not in front of a camera.

Sooo, what's worse, that I've watched these lunatics, or that I've put this much thought into it?

A&E should give me a show....