Now I know my ABC's

I've been tagged...here are my A,B,C's...

A - Attached or single? Happily attached
B - Best friend? Darin
C - Cake or pie? Both
D - Day of choice? Saturday
E - Essential item? My bed
F - Favorite clothing item? black p.j.s
G - Greatest ambition in life? Raise my kids to be responsible adults
H - Hometown? Provo, Utah
I - Indulgence? chocolate donettes (the waxy kind)
J - Jan. or July? July
K - Kids? 4 one girl, three boys
L - Life isn't complete without? my family, friends, and the Rec Center
M - Movie? Hairspray
N - Number of bros and sis? 6 brothers and 2 sisters
O - Oranges or apples? apples
P - Phobia or fear? Corn mazes
Q - Quote? "Have joy in your home. Have joy in your husband. Have joy in your children. Be grateful for the journey." Marjorie Hinckley
R - Reason to smile? Blue skies are just around the corner!
S - Season of choice? fall
T - TV show? The Biggest Loser
U - Unknown fact about me? I had four imaginary friends when I was a kid. There were two sets of twins. Shot and Reva (from California) and Teeny and Toonoo (from Canada). My heartless brother threw them out the window on a family vacation, and they never came back.
V - Vegetable? cucumbers
W - Worst habit? Blogging when I should be cleaning
X - ray or ultrasound? ultrasound
Y - Your favorite food? Sunday dinner--roast, potatoes & gravy.
Z - Zodiac sign? Taurus

Something new...

Thanks for all your jokes a few posts back. I have been sharing some of them with the 5th grade class I've been subbing for, and they have all been received with appreciation and giggles. I wanted to share some of our favorites with you.

What did the zero say to the eight?

Nice Belt!

Why shouldn't you do math in the jungle?

Because if you add four and four you'll get ATE!


I just want to take a minute to write my feelings about these 5th graders. I have the responsibility to take these kids from a teacher they adore to a permanant sub for the rest of the year. My time is the in between time. I was there when they only knew that she was sick, and obviously assumed she was coming back. I was also there when a letter was read stating that she has leukemia, and will not be returning this year. I was there to see the sobs...mostly sobs of grief that their teacher has to battle this, and also a few tears of guilt, knowing that a few of them had not treated her with the respect she deserves. I cannot imagine the emotions they must be dealing with. It was at the end of the day of bad news that I went from "the nicest sub ever" to an imposter. I think when they thought their teacher was coming back I was good enough to fill the space, but once they learned that I was it for the next few weeks, it changed. I think a few of them decided that it was going to be a structure-free few weeks. I had to draw my line in the sand, and let them know that we still have to move forward with their education. I am so grateful for this long weekend to evaluate how to make my last week and a half with them productive and positive. I need to make sure they are staying caught up with their school work, and at the same time figure out how to help them deal with their emotions before I pass the baton. At first I was feeling so overwhelmed and that "she has big shoes to fill". Then I realized that I cannot fill her shoes. (One example of this is the read aloud book. I obviously do NOT measure up as far as reading aloud goes. The kids laughed out loud when I tried to do an accent.) They are hers to fill. All I can do is fill my own shoes in her classroom. I have begun a classroom building exercise at the beginning of the day, and also for a few minutes at the end of class where we pass a little stuffed pig around the circle and the children each have a turn finishing a sentence. (My sister, who also teaches fifth grade, gave me this suggestion.) The goal is to get the kids talking in a productive way, and to build trust within the class. I'm feeling the weight of my responsibility, as I only have 6 more days with this class. I know that if I want to pull it off I need to have a plan in place. I am thinking about setting a goal as a class, and having the reward be a class party at the end of my time with them. I want each of the children to make a personal goal and figure out how they as individuals can make changes that will help the class to become united. If any of you have suggestions to add; either details about how to implement my plan, or other suggestions, they would be appreciated! Also, since you all seem to be so great in the prayer department, please direct your prayers to this amazing teacher that her treatments will be successful, and to her cute students who miss her terribly! (I seem to be asking for a lot lately! Thanks for being patient.)

Employed

...and feeling VERY grateful!

We were geared up for a marathon, and it turned out to be more of a sprint. We cannot say enough how grateful we are for such great family and friends, who made these last two weeks not scary at all.

He tells me how he's feeling in a song

My Sean is a bit of an emotional stuffer. He tries his best to place his feelings down deep, and tries to make do with what's going on in his little head and heart. There was a time a few months ago when he decided to sleep on the floor of his bedroom. His explanation was that he thought it was cool. This went on for a week or so. We wondered why in the world he would want to sleep on the floor. Then, after a week he asked a question about the smoke detector, and went on to tell us about a fire drill at school. As it turns out, he was terrified of sleeping on the top bunk because he learned that when there was a fire, he should "get low and go". I felt awful knowing that he had all these fears building inside him, and we were able to have a long conversation about his feelings. I am learning to ask subtle questions and look for clues about how he's feeling. I think he found a new outlet--singing. Last week while I was preparing dinner, Sean was in the kitchen with me. He proceeded to sing "I am a Child of God". As I listened to the words, my heart felt a little sad when he sang "....has given me an earthly home with parents kind and dear"--and then he stayed on the same note and quickly sang the words..."except for mom." We were able to have a conversation about what was bothering him, and I apologized. (I feel like I'm getting really good at apologizing as a mom!) Fast forward one week, and another song came. This time he began..."I know a name, a glorious name; dearer than any other. Listen, I'll whisper the name to you, it is the name of (I was bracing myself to hear the word 'father', but he continued)...MOTHER"!!! I listened for a few more seconds to make sure he wasn't going to add in his own negative words in place of the original ones, but it didn't come. My heart melted a little bit, and I had a warm fuzzy the rest of the afternoon. He even saved a seat for me in the van because he wanted to sit by me. It's amazing what we will hear if we are listening to it. I wonder how often his hints have gone un-noticed. Probably more often than I would like to know. But at the end of the day, I am grateful for the opportunity to apologize and "try a little harder to do a little better". I am more committed than ever to listening to his songs for the between the lines messages he sends.

Here he is with his faux-hawk. We had just cut his hair, and he wanted to look just like his ever stylish cousin, Kramer.