Baby Teancum

The youngest son is taking a child development class at school this year and this weekend it is his turn to "try out parenthood" by caring for a mechanical baby day and night. This son had the opportunity to be a "father" before when he was in middle school and I have always had mixed feelings about these fake baby assignments. I do think they can be an eye opening experience concerning the responsibilities and realities of having a child, but I'm not sure how realistic they really are. According to the son these babies are much harder to care for than a real baby. His big complaint is that the mechanical baby requires the parent to be the only person who responds to the baby's needs (he is required to wear a bracelet with a computer chip that links him to the baby and it cannot be removed). This son knows all too well that a real baby can be left with any number of babysitters. I tried to explain to him that often in real life a young parent doesn't have a strong support system and a surplus of willing care givers like his sister has and there isn't anyone available to care for the baby besides the parent. I'm not sure he bought my explanation. I don't think this son would think caring for his nephew for 52 hours straight would be that big of a breeze either if he really had to do it, especially since the fake baby diapers are a lot more pleasant to change than the real baby's sometimes are.

The son chose to name his son Teancum, one of his favorite baby names. His teacher asked him if this was a Native American name. He told her it was an Ancient American name and that it came from the Book of Mormon. She then told him she had a Book of Mormon at her house, but she had never read it and he suggested that she read it because it's a pretty good book.

Tonight we were invited to a birthday party at Peter Piper Pizza for an extended family member. The son didn't enjoy all the attention he and his baby got from his Aunties, Uncles and cousins as well as a number of strangers. It is a little embarrassing for a 17-year-old boy to rock a doll in a public place. This is another reason I don't believe this assignment is very true to life. All too often it seems to me that in real life young parents receive lots of positive attention and they aren't embarrassed at all.

I guess the doll is accomplishing its purpose though. As early as Monday the son was already complaining that this baby was ruining his life. A newborn to care for makes going on a scout camp out and playing church basketball a little difficult. If he can remember that a baby puts a big crimp in his carefree life, and conduct himself accordingly, then I will be grateful for this experience.

Today I am grateful

for good friends to laugh and craft with.
that my 17 year old's "baby" is a school assignment and not a permanent addition to our family.
for events that gather our extended family together.

Straight A Student!

We knew he could do it!
The boy got all A's on his report card this quarter.

I did an amazing happy dance.
Too bad no one recorded it for posterity.

Keep up the good work, my son!

Funny Flashback

This morning when I went to the church to run off the bulletin I noticed that they had aerated the lawn and there were lots and lots of little dirt plugs all over the grass.

I kind of made a mental note not to go on a walk today during nursery because I could just imagine what our nursery kids would do with these little treasures.
Looking at these dirt clods brought back a funny memory. When my oldest daughter was in Kindergarten her teacher decided to have a peanut hunt for her students for Easter instead of an Easter egg hunt. A couple of parents and I took a whole bunch of peanuts in the shell and "hid" them in the grass at the park adjacent to the school. I thought it was kind of a healthy and unique alternative to candy or eggs, and a lot cheaper. It just so happened that the park lawn had been aerated a few days before. After the hunt, the kids were all quite disappointed when they tried to eat the treats they had collected in their Easter bags. Most of them had collected a lot more dirt plugs than edible peanuts.

They Did It!

Back in August I posted a blog about how my friends each had a high school senior this year. Well, today I am happy to announce that they are now all high school graduates.

2 girls.
3 boys.
2 different graduation dates.
4 different high schools.
5 different graduation announcements.
5 very different personalities.
3 first to graduate in their family.
1 last to graduate in his family.
5 happy graduates.
5 very happy sets of parents.
5 different plans for the future.
Me wishing them all the best!

Congratulations to the graduates
and their parents!
Hooray!!

Empty Schools

The oldest daughter and I were talking the other day about how sad elementary schools appear at the end of the year. All the artwork comes down. All the colorful bulletin boards - gone. The colorful rugs and containers are put away. All that is left are bare white walls - sad, boring, bare white walls. The hallways and classrooms looks so lonely and forlorn to me. The son-in-law, both sons and I spent a lot of the day at the oldest daughter's school helping her get everything taken down, put away and moved to one side today. It was a big job and interesting working around her students. Her classroom has VERY limited storage space and we crammed lots of stuff into her one small, metal cupboard. I'm not looking forward to emptying it and putting everything back up when school starts again.
This year the elementary school behind my house is closing forever. The school district is losing students and money and decided it was time to take drastic measures and shut down a school. It is a very sad thing. None of my children attended this school. We moved into this house with 2 elementary school students, but I was working at the elementary school in our old neighborhood (one neighborhood East) so they just continued attending school there. My youngest daughter started middle school the next year and I was prepared to put my youngest son in the new school, but when I started asking my new neighborhood friends for a 2nd grade teacher recommendation they didn't have one. I dearly loved two of the 2nd grade teachers at the old school and I was still going to be working there so I just kept him there and he stayed until he left for middle school as well.
I think it is always a heart wrenching event when a school closes. Children are quite possessive of "their school" and it seems that many parents are too. From a real estate point of view it is also a negative thing. I have enjoyed hearing the children reciting the pledge over the intercom each morning and listening to the happy voices during recess. Knowing that the children won't be returning in the fall makes me view this empty school differently this summer.
The district has recently decided to rent the school to the High School district to use as an alternative high school. That wouldn't be my first choice for a neighborhood school, but I'm trying to withhold my judgement until I see how it turns out. Hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised. It will definitely be different.

Today I am grateful

for a cool, rainy day in May. What a gift!
that I don't have to consolidate a classroom every day.
for boys to move heavy shelves.

Last Day of School x 3

Yesterday was my youngest son's
last day of school.
I was surprised that
he wanted to get up early today
and go spend the day
with one of his sisters
at her last day of school.
She works as an instructional assistant.
Today was the oldest son's
last day of school as well.
He is also an instructional assistant.
Then tomorrow is
the oldest daughter's last day of school.
She has almost completed her 1st year
as a second grade teacher
and her third year as a teacher.
No more school for a couple of months.
Hooray!
I love the slower pace of Summer,
at least for a couple of months.

Today I am grateful for

a break from making school lunches.
a break from early morning wake up service.
the smell of rain.

Playing Favorites

Today I had a short chat with my youngest son's school counselor (and yes, dear child, it is perfectly legal for me to have a conversation with your counselor. I asked her just to make sure.). Along with other things we discussed, she asked me why he wasn't too fond of one of his teachers (I had mentioned this fact in a previous conversation). I told her I wasn't really sure of his reasons. It seems like they change frequently depending on his mood and his favorite word for the day. He really isn't fond of too many people in the world and even fewer teachers. (The reason he doesn't care for this counselor is because she once said to him "You must be smart." Go figure.) Anyway, she responded with an "Oh yes, I forgot, he's a teenager." I guess I should take comfort in knowing that my son isn't the only "hater" in Tempe and yet it doesn't give me much comfort.
On the way home from school I decided to ask for his answer to this question. He made a couple of derogatory comments and then added "and he plays favorites." I asked the son how he thought these students became the teacher's favorites and he expounded their virtues. "They do what he asks. They help him. They do extra stuff. They are overachievers..." I then told him they would probably be my favorites too. I mean yes, it is probably wrong for teachers, or parents, or employers to have favorites, but get real. If you are nice to me and do what you are suppose to do and even a few extra things that I don't expect now and then, then chances are I am going to like you. You might even be my favorite. That's just human nature.
I thought it was interesting as I was blog hopping tonight that I ran into this blog post entitled Favorites. Now, I have absolutely no idea who this blogger is. (It's amazing the places you end up when you keep clicking on links). However, I loved what he had to say and how he said it. I thought it would be good reference material for the son if he ever decides he wants to become some one's favorite, besides his mom's of course. (Oh, but don't tell his siblings I said that. They each think they are my favorite). Check out the Favorites post and see what you think. Pretty good and honest advice in my opinion.

Today I am thankful for

fresh cherries for 88 cents a pound.
a "quilting bee" with a few of my Relief Society Sisters.
zucchini and scrambled eggs.

Chinese Cultural Center

Today I went on a field trip with the oldest daughter's Second Grade class to the Chinese Cultural Center in Phoenix. It was a warm day and it was a sit and wait, listen and don't touch kind of field trip which was hard for the kids. We toured a Chinese Garden and an Oriental Grocery Store. We did learn some interesting tidbits about Chinese culture and we were treated to Chinese food at the end, which was very good.

The children were asked to "dress nicely" for this field trip. It was interesting to see the different interpretations of what "nicely" meant.


We learned that different things are carved on the roofs of the buildings to protect them. Here is a dragon that protects from evil spirits.

These are sea creatures that protect the buildings from fire.

These statues represent the things that we need in life. One has water and the other is holding a flower to represent beauty. There were other ones but I don't remember how many, perhaps 10. Some of the other needs were food, music, and education.

The circular doorway behind the statues is to walk through. The Chinese try to avoid sharp edges because they represent knives or death. I think it is called a moon gate maybe.

This pond was full of lots and lots of fish, great big ones and little, teeny tiny ones.

More statues. I think the first one represents an emperor and I'm not sure what the other ones represent.



The Chinese make their bridges crooked so that if an evil spirit is chasing you he will get confused and loose his way.


The gardens were very beautiful but the Second Graders and I would have enjoyed having some time to explore them a little more.

Here we are sitting outside the grocery store waiting for time for our tour. The books made good fans since it was very warm.

They also made good shields so we couldn't be seen when we got our pictures taken.


A few of us actually read them.

And finally we got to line up and go inside where it was air conditioned.

The most exciting part of the grocery store was the fresh fish swimming in tanks. There was quite the variety, but the smell was a little strong for some of us, especially the pregnant teacher. We also got to see 1,000 year old eggs and a large variety of beer in the cooler we waited in line for our food next too. We got our food from a food court in the grocery store. It was very interesting trying to help the students select fried rice or noodles and 2 entrees from a selection of items they couldn't recognize and that all looked a little strange. Most of the kids stuck with a type of chicken (like orange chicken without the sauce) and egg rolls. A few chose duck and really liked it. I wasn't that brave and stuck with my old favorite Sweet and Sour Pork and some green beans.

It is always fun to get out of the classroom and do something different, but I wouldn't say this was my favorite field trip of all time. I think I would like to go back sometime with the hubby and just check out some of the stores and visit the garden at a more leisurely pace. Oh, and buy a couple of those 1,000 year old eggs perhaps.

Sluffer

My boys think it is so funny when I refer to not going to school or work as sluffin' as in "Did you sluff math today?". Apparently this is a small town Utah, 70s term that shows I grew up in the back woods, way back when. I personally don't care what my boys think about my vernacular. I do however care if they sluff.
For 2 months now my oldest son has given me numerous reasons every morning why today would be a great day for him not to go to work. He still has 2 days of personal leave for this school year and they have been "burning a hole in his pocket"so to say. I am of the opinion that if he is suppose to be at work and he's not on his death bed or doesn't have 2 broken legs he should be there. Well, yesterday he informed me that today was the day he was not going to work. I pointed out all the reasons he should change his mind, but he didn't. I started thinking about him not going to work and why it bothers me when he doesn't go, but if my hubby were to decide to stay home every now and then I wouldn't be nearly as upset. With him it's more of a he has days off, he may as well use them kind of attitude. Is it because I don't feel as responsible for my husband's choices as I do my son's? After all I didn't raise the husband and teach him better than that. After much pondering I finally decided what the difference was. I have spent too many years in the school workplace, often as the person who had to fill in the holes left by other employees who for whatever reason (good or not so good) weren't there to fill the holes themselves. Now, I'm not saying my husband doesn't have an important job. I'm sure he does. However, if he misses a day of work the majority of his work will just wait to be done tomorrow. In a school setting, this isn't always the case. The kids still show up and still need to be taught and someone has to teach them. Recess and bus and lunchroom duties still need to be done and someone has to do them. When my children who work in education, especially the ones who are classified employees and don't usually get covered by a substitiute, sluff work I worry about who is going to have to pick up the slack. Despite my concerns, I guess my children deserve to use there leave just like anyone else and I should just let them use it and be happy.
With that said, I definitely enjoyed going to the temple with my oldest son today. When he sluffs at least he does something worthwhile with his time. His mother must have taught him something.

Baptism

Tonight the sons, my youngest daughter and I attended the baptism of one of our friends. This young man started out as a friend with my youngest son when they were in middle school together. He enjoys playing basketball and he and my son connected on the basketball court. The son and I also enjoyed sitting in the stands with his dad and his uncle watching him play on the middle school basketball team. Then he started playing on the church basketball team (Deacon) that my older son coached several years ago. He has continued to play church ball each year and played on the team the youngest son was on recently.

He is #14 in this picture. (Unfortunately I didn't take my camera with me to the baptism.) He lives in the ward that we share our building with and he has attended many of their Wednesday night activities over the years and became close friends with many of the boys in that ward, especially one young man, who was also his neighbor and whose family have always welcomed him into their home.
Not too long ago the boy who was baptized tonight lost his dad unexpectedly. His mom has never been a part of his life, at least not for as long as we have known him. After his father's death he ended up moving in with his much older brother, but that ended up being a less than positive situation and a change needed to be made. The neighbor family invited him to live with them just after the start of the year. Since then he has attended church every Sunday and recently decided he wanted to take the missionary discussions and things progressed from there.
Whenever someone I know decides to be baptized I stop and ponder what kind of an impact I personally had on this decision. Did my interactions with this person give him a desire to know more about the gospel or did he decide to join the church in spite of my example? I think it's good to have opportunities where we really stop and think about the influence we can have in other people's lives and the difference we can make. We really never know who is watching us.
In this situation I don't really believe that anything my children or I did made a huge difference in how things transpired. Perhaps we were all cast in the supporting roles in this life story, not as one of the main characters. I am happy to say though that I can't think of too many moments when our choices might have actually stood in his way of joining the church, except perhaps those few times when my youngest son or I got a little too emotionally involved in the drama of an exciting basketball game. Could we have done better? Most definitely. Are we glad we did what we did? You better believe it.
This young man is such a great kid, who has faced a lot of challenges in his life. It was a very sweet experience to see him enter the waters of baptism this evening, surrounded by his new church family. I love baptisms and the spirit I felt during this one tonight.

Tonight I am thankful for

the Holy Ghost.
individuals who open their hearts and their homes to others.
my oldest daughter who rescued her father when his car died on the way home from work and none of the rest of us would answer our cell phones because we were at the baptism

BYU Idaho

My youngest daughter has been accepted to attend college at BYU Idaho in Rexburg, Idaho this Fall. She is very excited and we are excited for her. BYU Idaho has specific tracks that determine the months when you attend. I think they are based on your major, but I'm not sure. Anyway, the daughter found out today which track she is on. I don't remember the name of it but she will attend school from September to December, then be off from January to April and then return the end of April through August. I think this is definitely the best of both worlds for an almost Arizona Native (we moved here when she was 8 months old). She gets to miss most of the cold Idaho winter and the hot Arizona summer. I wonder if I can apply to BYU Idaho too? I could really enjoy cooler summers.

McClintock Holiday Concert

Tonight we went to the youngest son's band concert.
When we pulled into the parking lot my hubby said,
"This isn't the Christmas Concert is it?"
and although I agreed with his thinking
that it is a little bit early in the holiday season,
I am very glad that "Yes, it was the Christmas Concert"
and we don't have to go to another one before the 25th.
I have been to a lot of Christmas Concerts over the years.
One year we had kids in 4 different schools,
some in band and choir,
and went to lots and lots of concerts.
Tonight I was trying to figure out how many years
I have attended the McClintock Holiday Concert.
I'm thinking that when the first daughter was a freshman
she was in the JV band and performed on a different night
and the same was possibly true of the youngest son as well.
Last year the hubby and I were flying to Seattle
for my nephew's wedding
at the same time the son was performing
but still I'm thinking this is probably my 8th year
attending this particular event.
This concert is a big tradition at McClintock
and it has some rules that are always adhered to.
The "Christmas Festival" and "Sleigh Ride"
are always performed by one of the groups.
I am a fan of Holiday music at Holiday Concerts.
I am not a huge fan of technically challenging pieces
that sound like every member of the group
is playing their own little song.
To me, music should be pleasing to my ear.
"Christmas Festival" and "Sleigh Ride'
meet this criteria.
Unfortunately, a couple of the songs that
were performed tonight didn't.
Overall, it was a great concert.
The A Capella choir sang "Fruitcake"
which was quite entertaining.
The tradition that I enjoy the most each year
is at the end of the evening
when the A Capella choir and alumni from the choir
gather on the stage and sing "Song of Mary".
They sing it twice and during the second time
the choir moves from the stage
into the side aisles of the auditorium
so by the end of the song you feel as though
you are surrounded by a choir of angels.
I remember the first Holiday Concert
when I experienced this
I was brought to tears.
It was so beautiful.
Each year it never fails to give me the chills.
There has been some controversy over the years
about singing a clearly religious song at a school concert
but so far it continues to be sung
at the conclusion of the performance
and I am extremely grateful.
It truly feels like the Holiday season has begun to me
after I bask in this yearly experience.
Thank you McClintock High School
for another wonderful Holiday Concert.

Today I am thankful for

dedicated teachers who are willing to work with my high school student.
Christmas music.
Holiday traditions that help me to feel the spirit of the season.
the opportunity my children have had to have music in their school experience.
Siblings who support each other during their special events.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder - Sometimes

Tonight the oldest son decided to abandon his melancholy mood long enough to attend the Youth Concert with our family. There were a lot of us who decided to participate by being the audience including all of my children, the son-in-law and the roommates. The daughter, with the roommates, sat in a different part of the building since a couple of ex-boyfriends were located in our area, one being my son.

Following the concert the son went out to the hall to get a drink of water while I talked to some family and friends. All the sudden here comes the son back, holding hands with the roommate, big smiles on both of their faces. I'm still unsure what brought about the change and so is the son, but he says he's not going to ask any questions. He is just too happy! She seems to be pretty happy too. Go figure.

I guess in this case absence did make the heart grow fonder. Unfortunately, the other ex-boyfriend is already married to someone else and he seemed pretty fond of his wife. Sorry other roommate.

Speaking of old girlfriends, tonight there were quite a few non member youth who came to watch their friends perform. One of the girls, who was sitting the row in front of us, looked very familiar to me. I finally figured out that she was someone that the youngest son had gone to elementary school with. This young lady had quite a crush on him, especially when they were in the 4th and 5th grade. He liked her too, but he was a little more smitten with someone else. Their 5th grade teacher was engaged to be married the year they had her and so there seemed to be an extra dose of romance floating around in their classroom. For Valentine's Day the teacher decided to have a Valentine Tea and she encouraged all the boys to ask one of the girls as a date. Now, I am a prude and I was not really in favor of this idea. I thought perhaps the moms and dads should have been invited instead (perhaps I just wanted to be able to enjoy all the fancy treats that I was being asked to provide). Anyway, I remember my son stressing about if he should ask someone and who he should ask but I honestly don't recall how it all ended up. What I do remember is hearing about my son's part on the program. He and this girl sang a duet together.

They sang LOVE.

L is for the way you look at me,
O is for the only one I see,
V is very, very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you adore.
Love is all
That I can give to you
Love is more
Than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
Take my heart
And please don't break it
Love was made
For me and you.

I still have a hard time figuring out what possessed him to do that and I am still amazed that none of his friends laughed him out of the school. Oh, and remember this is the boy that "doesn't sing". Anyway, tonight it just so happened that she was there to watch the same person perform that this son was there to watch. She is a good friend (perhaps not as good as he would like however. A mother is never really sure). Well, the two girls got talking and it came out that they both knew the son, but this girl was sure (actually hoped) that he didn't remember her. He was called over and a jaunt down memory lane ensued. Yes, he remembered her. Yes, he remembered singing that song with her. They had a good laugh together. However in this case I don't think absence had made the heart grow fonder. I think absence just proved how silly elementary school crushes look from the perspective of time.

Today I am thankful for

the smile on my oldest son's face. I hope it stays there.
youth who are willing to perform uplifting music so I can feel the spirit and receive inspiration.
my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Who Comes Up With These Ideas?

Today one of my teacher friends from the elementary school I use to work at asked me to come in and help her get some stuff accomplished. The school administration doesn't allow anyone to be in the building after 5:00 PM or on weekends and even though she comes in every morning at 6:30 AM (preceded by a 45 minute drive from her home) she was feeling overwhelmed. The powers that be had agreed to let the teachers into the school today and tomorrow to work from 6:30 AM to 2:30 PM, even though it is their fall break. This teacher has a difficult 1st Grade class this year and she says if she turns her back to put a paper in her file cabinet all heck breaks loose so she had a lot of piles that she wanted to get rid of. I enjoyed helping her out and getting caught up on all the school gossip. Talking to her, and the other teachers there, raised some interesting questions though.

#1 - This whole "no school access" on nights and weekends. The principal says it is a district policy, but my daughter taught in this district for the past two years and they were allowed to be in the school at any time and I live next door to an elementary school in this district that also seems to have teachers visiting during the weekend. Now, I know ideally teachers should only have to work their compensated hours and be able to get everything done, but really there are times when that is ideal but definitely not realistic. For example, what if the copy machine is broken for three days and when it gets fixed all 40 teachers need to use it to run off next week's reading seat work that is required to be copied because the district can't afford to buy the workbooks. How many teachers can make their copies in the 1 hour after school on Friday??

#2 - This school has a no recess policy. NO RECESS. NONE. There is way too much learning that needs to take place for us to give the 4 through 10 year olds a 15 minute break. Who ever came up with that great idea has never tried to get a 4 or 5 or 6 year old to sit still for hours at a time.

#3 - This year the state of Arizona has adopted a new plan for the English language learners in all of the schools. All of the non English speaking children in each grade are put in one class and the English speaking children are put in another one. The teacher that I assisted has the English speaking first grade with 23 students and the other first grade teacher has the non English speakers in a class of 17. The non English teacher is required to teach English for at least 4 hours every day. Apparently the rest of the day is spent telling the students repeatedly "No Spanish. No Spanish. No Spanish." At the recent parent teacher conferences one of the non English speaking parents told the teacher "It appears from your class picture that all the children in your class are Hispanic." The teacher said "yes, I have all the non English speaking children". The parent said "where are the English speaking models?" Hmm, a parent that doesn't even speak English can figure out that this is probably not a good idea. Who in the state of Arizona thought it was? The non English kindergarten teacher is also my friend. She has 20 Spanish speakers and a little girl from Indonesia. She told me there has been great progress in her class. The child from Indonesia can now speak almost fluent Spanish. However, it gets even better. If a child in the non English class makes enough progress to pass the English language test then they are transferred out of the non English class to the English class. The non English teacher loses her best student and English role model that she has worked really hard to make proficient and the English teacher gets another student. Apparently the goal is that by the end of the school year the English class will be at 40 and the non English class will be at 0. That makes sense doesn't it?

#4 - One of my jobs today was to remove all the name tags, number lines and alphabet models off of the children's desks. This teacher attended several workshops this summer, offered by the district, that encouraged the teachers to let their students write their own name tags for their desks and decorate them in order to help them feel ownership of their desk and their belongings. A month into school, the district came in and told all the teachers that had attended those workshops that this was unacceptable and that the name tags needed to be replaced with computer generated D'nalian name tags. Also, they must use this specific number line and this specific handwriting model. Perhaps this information could have been shared before school started and not after the desks were all "decorated". It would have saved a lot of time and a couple of blisters, not to mention money, paper, tape and laminating film.

#5 - In this school no student work is allowed to be displayed that is not COMPLETELY PERFECT. Perfect - no misspelled words, no imperfect letter formation, no teacher corrections of any kind. Nothing that is predominately "coloring" can be hung up. Also art work is not a valuable use of time and therefore cannot be displayed. The walls in this school resemble an office building and not an elementary school.

After 8 hours with my teacher friends I was reminded of all the reasons I can't get excited about being a teacher. I miss being around the kids, but I hate all the dumb rules and the fact that the rules change every year. I admire anyone who continues to be a dedicated teacher despite all the setbacks.

On a happier note, I did get a chance to sit on "Cloud 9" for a couple of minutes today, but it wasn't quite the same without the 5 year olds checking on my happiness level.

Today I am thankful for

a friend who pays me to help her.
chances to spend time with old friends.
razorblades.

Emily's Ice Cream

One of the little girls in the class where my oldest son works as an instructional assistant has Batten disease. This is a rare, inherited disease of the nervous system. She was fine until she was 4 years old when she began to lose her eyesight. She is now blind, has daily brain seizures and has difficulty retaining information. This disease becomes progressively worse, leading to death,
usually before the age of 20.

Because she has a fatal disease Make-A-Wish has granted several of Emily's wishes. One of her wishes was to swim with the dolphins and another one was to be able to create her own Cold Stone Creamery Ice Cream Creation.

Last night was the unveiling of Emily's Creation at an Ice Cream Social at Cold Stone. The sons and the oldest daughter went to support Emily and to try out her ice cream. She had Nutter Butter Ice Cream mixed with Yellow Cake, Kit Kats, and White Chocolate Chips. My sons enjoyed the combination but the daughter deemed it just OK. I felt kind of bad that I didn't get to try it, but I am still striving to be good on my elimination diet. Well, today the oldest son came home from school with a half gallon of Emily's Creation. One of the other instructional assistants had bought it and a half gallon of Jack's Creation for all the kids in the class to try. They don't have that many kids in their class, so there was a lot left over. The other teachers were going to throw the left over away, but when the son discovered that it had cost $11.oo for each container he decided it wasn't going into the trash.

Well, I really like Emily and I really wanted to try her creation and since it was a limited thing I knew I would never have another chance so I gave in and had a spoonful of the ice cream.

I'm sorry Emily, but that is the nastiest stuff I have ever tasted. Oh Yuck! It was so not worth it. 2 weeks and 5 days of total adherence to my diet and then Yuck, Yuck, Yuck!

Now Jack's Creation on the other hand, Marshmallow ice cream with Oreos, Chocolate Chips and Fudge, I would have liked another bite of it. I don't know Jack but he can make ice cream for me anytime. Yum!

Cloud 9

Well, I climbed back into an airplane today,
on my way home to Arizona,
even though I'm still not sure
how they manage to stay up in the air
and then come down safely.

My son-in-law told me to imagine a hurricane.
He said, "It's not just the air
that does the damage
but the speed of the wind
that makes a hurricane so strong,
strong enough to even lift whole houses
off the ground.
Now an airliner going 4 to 5 times
faster then a hurricane
has no problem staying off the ground
being lighter then a house,
most of the time."
I think this was meant to be comforting,
and reassuring, but it really wasn't.
Perhaps my son-in-law doesn't like me
and was hoping to get rid of me
by causing me to have a heart attack.
I mean, I've seen what kind of devastation
Hurricane Katrina left in her wake
as well as Hurricane Ike just recently.
I don't like the picture of my airplane
being tossed around in a hurricane and
then dropped when the wind speed slows down.
Also what about that last sentence,
"most of the time."
What happens during the other times?
Said son-in-law is studying to be a pilot
and actually just got his pilot's license
so he must know what he is talking about,
but I still don't seem to catch the vision.

Oh well,
enough of that since I obviously landed safely
or I wouldn't be here posting this blog.

Today I was again reminded
of how much I enjoy looking out the window
of an airplane at the ground below.
On recent flights, for some reason,
I have opted to sit in the aisle seat
and haven't had the opportunity to
gaze out on the terrain as it passes by.
I have been missing out.
I spent almost all of my flight today
staring out the window,
admiring the scenery,
and trying to see how many
landmarks I could recognize.
I was amazed at how many
I could actually pick out.
The Grand Canyon being the easiest, of course.
Toward the end of the journey
we ran into some large patches
of white, fluffy clouds.
They looked so soft and substantial
and I could just imagine snuggling down into one.


For some reason they reminded me
of the idiom, "On Cloud Nine".
I started trying to determine
which cloud was cloud 9
and if it would look different
than any of the other clouds.

When I was an instructional assistant
at an elementary school close to my home,
one of the Kindergarten classes,
that I would often visit,
got a group time rug
with the alphabet and numbers on it.
Each letter of the alphabet was
written around the outside
and the numbers - 1 to 10 -
were each written on a cloud.
The first time I visited
after the carpet arrived
I informed all the children
that "Cloud 9" was my special cloud.
I told them it was my happy spot.


After that, whenever I would drop in,
they would clear my space and
demand that I sit there,
as only a 5 year old can do.
Then they would all anxiously ask,
"Do you feel happy now"?

Today I could picture myself
all wrapped up in one of those
soft, fluffy marshmallow clouds
feeling very, very relaxed
and very, very happy.

So, I'm sure you are all
as curious as I was to find out
where the phrase "On Cloud Nine",
which means to be
in a state of blissful happiness,
originated.
A commonly heard explanation
is that the expression originated
as one of the classifications of clouds
which were defined by the US Weather Bureau
in the 1950s, in which 'Cloud Nine'
denotes the fluffy cumulonimbus type
that are considered so attractive.
Wow! That means all the clouds
I saw were Cloud Nines.
Another explanation is that the phrase
derives from Buddhism
and that Cloud Nine is one of the stages
of the progress to enlightenment
of a Bodhisattva ( one destined to become a Buddha).

Neither of these explanations holds water,
(unlike clouds which often do hold water.)

To begin with,
both the cloud classifications
and the Buddhist stages to enlightenment
have ten levels.
To single out the last but one stage of either
is rather like attributing the source
of the 'whole nine yards' to American Football,
where it is ten yards rather than nine
that is a significant measure.
Also, the fact that nine
is far from the only number
that has been linked with clouds,
argues against those origins.
Early examples of 'cloud' expressions
include clouds seven, eight, nine
and even thirty-nine.
Thirty-nine? That must be
super duper happy!
It seems that it is the clouds themselves,
rather than the number of them,
that were in the thoughts of those
who coined this phrase.
The imagery was originally
of a 'cloud cuckoo land'
or 'head in the clouds' dreaminess,
induced by either intoxication or inspiration,
rather than the 'idyllic happiness'
that we now associate with the phrase.
The early references
all come from mid 20th century USA.
The early favourite was 'cloud seven'
and many of the oldest citations use that form,
as in this piece
from The Dictionary of American Slang, 1960,
which was the first printed definition of the term
"Cloud seven -
completely happy, perfectly satisfied;
in a euphoric state."
This early preference for seven
as the significant number
may have been influenced
by the existing phrase 'seventh heaven'.
Since the 1980s or so, 'cloud nine'
has become predominant.

Now wasn't that informative?
Apparently we cannot be ecstatically happy
without the help of alcoholic beverages.
I think I beg to differ with that assumption.
I have managed to be extremely happy
sans booze on more than one occasion.
But hey, now we have all learned
something new today.

Today I am thankful for

a sister to drive me to the airport and take care of my mom.
my own home.
the break I had from the HOT September temperatures. It was a "comfortable" 106 degrees today according to our pilot.

Friday Night Football

It's that time of the year again,
time for High School Football.
The men in my family are adamant
that they need to be in attendance
at every game.


They go under the guise of watching
the small one perform in the Marching Band
but I'm pretty sure that's not the only reason
they insist on attending.

I have to admit that I enjoy
watching high school sports as well.
Except when one of the teams
is losing by a lot and then
I start wanting to cheer for the underdog
even when it might not be the team
I'm suppose to cheer for.
Or when the score is really close
and then I feel bad that either team
has to lose.
Or when someone gets injured and
I worry about their future
and their mother's stress levels.

I guess I'm glad my sons
have just stuck with Marching Band.
It's a lot less stressful for me to watch
them on the football field
when they are carrying an instrument
and not wearing shoulder pads
with their uniform.


The game tonight was fun.
We drove through Scottsdale, Paradise Valley,
and an upper class part of Phoenix to get there
and I enjoyed the scenery.

It wasn't too hot,
especially once the sun went down
and there was even a "cool" breeze
every now and then.
I'm sure however those in uniform
might disagree with me on this point.

McClintock won by a lot but
Sunnyslope managed to score at the end
(due to me cheering them on I'm sure).
My hubby was quick to point out
that the score was against our second string
but I was happy that they scored.

Our friend, who is the quarterback,
did a great job on offense and defense
and he (or any of the other players)
didn't get hurt.

I do enjoy the game,
most of the time.
I do enjoy the ride across the valley
to away games,
most of the time.
I do enjoy just being outside,
most of the time.
I do enjoy listening to the band play,
most of the time.
I do enjoy listening to the people around me,
most of the time.
I do enjoy being with family and friends,
most of the time.
I do enjoy watching the cheerleaders,
every once in awhile.
I do enjoy not having to cook dinner,
all of the time.

So I guess I do like Friday Night Football,
most of the time.
At least I know what my boys and I
are doing on Friday nights
until at least November.

Welcome Football season!

Today I am thankful for

Sunrises and Sunsets - both of which I saw today thanks to marching band.
Subway - I like Subway!
The Scriptures.

Open House at McClintock High

Tonight was Open House at the High School. I have been to a lot of open houses at this school, 11 to be exact. For 4 of those visits we had 2 children whose classes and teachers we needed to get to and the hubby and I had to divide and conquer. The most exciting Open House was 2 years ago when it rained so hard that all the parents looked like drowned rats, and we were all sliding on the wet floors in the buildings and walking through knee high puddles. The roof on the auditorium collapsed onto the newly renovated stage and it was very exciting. The hubby missed that open house because he was stranded on the freeway with a stalled vehicle and the oldest son had to go rescue him.

Nothing quite that exciting happened this year. No wind. No rain. No drowned rat parents. Very few parents for that matter.

I can feel that things are winding down.
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Now that I finally know the shortest covered route from the Band room to Unit 12, know which building is the Lego building, and know where the "secret" doors are in the auditorium so I can get to an available seat when I arrive late, I am coming close to the end of my McClintock Charger Children.

It has been fun to have all of my children attend the same high school. It is a bond that they all share. They have also shared some of the same classes and some of the same teachers. Things have changed since our oldest daughter arrived on campus in the Fall of 1998 but a lot of things are still the same. The Charger Pride is still as strong as ever.

McClintock High School is a great school to be a part of.


My son actually had the map to all of his classes ready this year without me even having to ask. He drew a route and numbered each stop. Start at the Auditorium for the general meeting, then band, around the corner to History, all the way across campus to Unit 12 for Chemistry, back to Unit 6 on the other side of campus for Math, then to English in Unit 2. I was following the map pretty well until I got to the last hour where he leaves from Unit 2 and goes across the street to Seminary. The route he drew was twice as long as I thought it needed to be. I questioned why he drew it that way and his big brother said it was because the gates are locked and you can't get out where I thought the logic exit point should be. He replied, "No, you can go that way, but THIS is the way I GO."

Why?

Because that's the route where you run into all the cute girls, of course. What was I thinking! I almost missed the parents of the cute girls by going the short way.

Good to Go!

This morning both daughters, both hubbys, and I desended on the daughter's school to put the finishing touches on her classroom so she'll be ready for school to start on Monday.

We all worked hard and made lots of progress.

The young hubby was given the dangerous climbing and stapling jobs.













The older hubby was sent on garbage duty, car loading duty, and screw purchasing and placement duty. He got a work out.



The teacher daughter specialized in lesson plans.
The other daughter was the desk washer. She declared them clean enough to sit on.














She was also the official name writer and I was responsible for bulletin board completion and name tag placement.

Finally we were all happy to say that the room was good to go and we went to Sweet Tomatoes to celebrate!

Today I am grateful

for helpful husbands.
for free lunch. There is such a thing
for computers that work right when I'm typing up the ward bulletin.

My birthmonth present today was a fun, paper, desk top suitcase that I bought for 50 cents at the ARC thriftstore.

Now I just have to decide what I am going to put in it. It's too small for my clothes when I want to run away.

A Politically Incorrect Post

My oldest daughter had "meet the teacher" at her new school today. About half of the class came to meet their new teacher and she was given a preview of what is to come in the next few days. I was there working on the classroom again and got to get a preview too.

This school is located in the Salt River Pima/Maricopa Indian Community and the vast majority of the kids live within the community and are Native American, of one sort or another. One mother came in without her child and proceeded to talk nonstop, sharing all the information about her son that his teacher might possibly ever need to know. He is small for his age and tends to get picked on by the other kids but she has taught him to stand up for himself. His dad is not his biological dad, but he has raised him and he is dad to the little boy. Then she said "He (the son) is White. I am Accuna and his dad(that he lives with) is Accuna." My daughter and I are both thinking #1 this kid is getting picked on because he is the only white kid in the school and #2 what kind of Native American is Accuna (because the mom is visibly Native American). I've never heard of that tribe before. Then the mom said, "His biological father is Maricopa." Now I am sitting in the library corner sorting books, totally confused because I know that Maricopa is a tribe of Native Americans - Salt River Pima/Maricopa Indian Community. If the mom is Native and the biological dad is Native, then how in the world is the son white??

The mom left and I was still pondering on this question when all of the sudden I was hit with an "aah-ha" moment. I went to the child's desk to look at his paper work to verify my theory.

Yup, the child's last name is WHITE and his mother's last name is ACCUNA.

You may think I was kind of dumb, but hey, I had to explain the conversation to my daughter the next day, because she still hadn't figured it out, was still totally confused and was expecting a pale face in her classroom on Monday morning.