Buckeyes

Emily is in to buckeyes right now. Jay bought her a box of them off of eBay. She was thrilled. Em and Tara divided them up to share with classmates. Then I opened my BIG mouth and said that there were buckeyes that you could make and eat. Why didn't I just leave well enough alone?

Yeah. We made them. It was going to be perfect bonding time with the girls. How hard could they be to make? In theory they are very easy to make. But in practice with a double boiler for the chocolate and peanut butter all over our hands.... not so perfect. But we got a picture of them for posterity. They taste better than they look. :) Betty Crocker I'm not.

My favorites

I had fun with the kids today going out, dancing in, and being silly.

Emily: Mom, who is your favorite?

Me: You are, of course. That is until you leave the room and then it's Millie.

Emily: MOM!

Me: ha ha ha. Just kidding. Tara's my favorite.

Emily: Thanks a lot. ( She totally knows I'm kidding)

On Friday, Tara cried and cried at school. When asked what the problem was she said that she missed her mommy. That my friends is why she is my favorite. :)

No, just kidding. I really felt bad that she cried at school, so I spent today having fun and remembering that these days with them are short and precious.

I finally got the renewal of my English teacher's license in the mail today. I'm licensed till 2012. Now just a bit more and I'll have special ed, too. The classes are really starting to overlap in the info now. That makes studying for exams really quick!

Emily's having trouble at school. It's off to see the teacher at 8 am bright and early tomorrow. I'm nervous. I feel like the kid going to the principal but I'm the parent...It seems like I'm on both sides of my own profession right now.

IPAD

Tara came in with her typical after bedtime question de nuit.
Mommy?
Yes, Tara.
When you were little and you um got braces, is that when you got your Ipad? (Tara and Em steadfastly call the Ipod, Ipad.) (Em's orthodontist is offering a free Ipod with braces.) (Em can't wait to get braces for the Ipod.)
No, Tara I got it a few years ago at Christmas.
Oh.
Good Night Tara.
Night Mommy.
I didn't have the heart to tell her that when I was her age there were no Ipods. We didn't even have VCRs or touch tone phones. That would blow her little tech mind.

visiting Debi and her cats and cows and hay

Tara never wanted to leave the hay bails in the barn; it was a great adventure to climb way up and give me a scare! Emily wanted every cat she saw, but had a special affinity towards Louis. Oh, and Tara had a pet woolly bear for a while.

Debi also sent me pictures of a new calf that was born yesterday. One day old and already so darned cute. Debi took all these pictures.

We had the best time playing in the barn, cooking over a flame- that is until I grabbed the hot skewer with my bare hands. Ouch. We sat in a tent, played crochet and Velcro ball and watched the kids play with bubbles. In other words, kid heaven, adult heaven.

Visiting a nursing home

Our church decided that this Sunday there would be no services. Instead, we were to go out and serve the community in some way. We were to work in small groups if possible. Some painted, some did yardwork or visited orphanages to make repairs. Since our small group had more children than adults and about five babies, we decided we'd visit a nursing home in Cuyahoga Falls.

I have to say I was out of my comfort zone but when I got there I had fun. Isn't that the way things often go? Anyway, the children played with balloons and drew pictures or read to the residents. I and the other adults milled around and chatted. We gave them some lotion and other small things, which they liked. The ladies I met were interesting and kind. They REALLY liked all the kids. I bet if we had just dropped the kids off without us pesky adults they'd have been just as happy!

Tara was a big hit because she brought a purse with about 500 things in it. One lady was belly laughing as the amazing Tara-dini brought out a belt, book, crayons, stuffed animals, rings, jewelry and many other things from a little tiny purse. I was worried the kids would grate on their nerves but the kids were the ones the residents focused on. One lady said she missed seeing kids the most since being in the nursing home. At one point the kids were playing with the balloons and I almost stopped them. That was what the residents liked the best. It taught me that I have a lot to learn about serving others.

Done with the week dance

I'm very relieved this week is over, especially a presentation I had to make to my lecture class. There is still no resolution to my special ed placement. It would take too long to say all that has transpired.

Once someone said the cure for a fear is as simple as just doing what you fear until it is no longer threatening. There is some truth to that. But when it is as ingrained a fear as mine, it never truly leaves. It is managed. I envy those who speak in front of people with ease. Jay is like that. I asked him if he would be a guest speaker for my class, where I was to present on a topic yesterday. He literally jotted a few things down five minutes before speaking. The class ate him up. They loved him. I, on the other hand, practiced in the basement for days. I lumbered through. I want to be Jay. :)

Tante

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT DEE!

I hope you have a wonderful day. Keep your eye out for my belated card. You're the best aunt in the whole wide world. I hope your day is filled with Scrabble, dice, going out to eat, warm slippers, Butterfingers, candles, lots of presents and all your favorite shows (24, reruns of NYPD Blue and Survivor)!

Love,

Joann, Jay, Emily, Tara and Millie.

Lovely day with friends

We just got back from New Concord, Ohio where we met up with Derek and Sheri and their beautiful children. We ate at Denny's and the kids played. Then we went to a local playground where all four of the kids played for hours so sweetly together. There was tag, hide and seek and swinging.

I got to spend hours talking to one of my favorite people, Sheri. She is the kind of person that inspired others simply by her life and honesty. Love. Love Love her.

Then we were treated to Derek's concert. He plays and sings with an amazing voice and musical talent. The kids and Sheri, Jay and I played in the back pews so not to disturb the audience. Four kids 8 and younger were rather good considering they had to be quiet.

It was a great day. It was a day I needed to recharge for a particularly hard week coming up. Any prayers please pray for me. I have 2 quizzes, one paper, one huge powerpoint and presentation and online work ahead of me. I'm beginning to bite my nails as I type....

No more velcro shoes for her!

Tara has learned to tie her shoes. She does a mixture of what I taught her and her teacher's style. It is strange to watch her do it but hey, as long as the job gets done! She tells me to watch her. What seems like 10 hours later she finishes; all the while she is keeping an eagle eye on me so that my eyes don't stray from her while she ties. It's like that when she reads too. Sometimes I try to steal a look at the TV or something else, but she sees me and stops and starts over. That shapes me up, toute suite. :)

Deals

There is a business closing in our neighborhood. Jay and I went there today and got a big Christmas wreath to put on the house and some decorations for 4 dollars. Deals rock.

Grrrr.

Last night I told my prof, ever so nicely, that I don't have access to a student on an IEP to tutor for the class project. She told me with a hint of attitude that this course had a field experience aspect and I should sign up at the education college for a placement. Fine. Then a few others asked her the same question which made her irritated.

So today I called the college of ed's special office and was transferred and cut off three times. In mid sentence they transferred me! Then finally a woman explained to me that they were not responsible for this and the prof was wrong and needed to sign up our whole class way before now. She got really annoyed and totally killed the messenger- i.e. me.

This assignment calls for me to tutor a child on an IEP in reading for at least six weeks and make assessments, interventions and more. For legal reasons, many schools aren't going to just allow me in to tutor a kid on an IEP. Special Education is very strict about confidentiality.

I am in a bind.

Kids and Salsa= bad combo

Our church has small groups called Thrive groups. We get together in people's homes every couple of weeks. This past weekend our group got together at a new house. This young couple's house was built in 1920 and had a beautiful enclosed front porch where Emily and Tara were playing with other kids. A few minutes into the meeting Tara walked in and sheepishly said she spilled her salsa and chips. We go to investigate and see that there is salsa EVERYWHERE on the porch. It doesn't seem scientifically possible that it could have spilled that much. It's a good thing the floor was easily cleaned.

Apparently, one kid grabbed Tara by the neck causing her to "have to" put the paper plate full of salsa and chips in her mouth, thereby causing it to fly out of her mouth onto the floor. It sounds like she was a human salsa sprinkler. Ugh. I don't think we'll be invited back any time soon.

Emily got in trouble for being mouthy so I sent her to her room. She said some nasty things, which stung, and she knew it. I told her words are powerful and she needed to be careful how she used them. Later, she apologized. And later still, she looked at me and saw that I was still affected by the words. She told me to put the thoughts in an old popsicle wrapper and throw them away. I thought that was rather poetic for an 8 year-old.

Calling all teacher friends.

I have such respect for my professor teaching my Pharmacology class. She made the process of neurons talking to each other not only understandable but repeated the processes and had us draw the parts of neurons and label them. She told us exactly what she expected of us and stayed after class if we had questions. She was professional, on topic, gave us a break (2.5 hour class) and took questions as she worked. She had graphics, drawings, Powerpoints and clear teaching techniques. She is awesome.

My other professors, although not as effective as the aforementioned prof, are livable. I have research presentations in all the classes, numerous papers and oodles of book work. That's par for the course. One thing I have learned in graduate school is that they definitely don't hold your hand. They say things once. You better get it. If not, find out. Work with a child with a disability, interview teachers...but I am not teaching right now.... figure it out is the response. Find a way. I respect that and hate it all at the same time. I want some hand holding but I know that in my career I will have to figure out many things on my own. I better start now.

On a side note: The girls are doing well. They are liking school and coming home with all kinds of reading assignments. Tara has really impressed me with how well she picked up reading. Tonight the only word that tripped her up was the name Amy. After that, smooth sailing. I love watching them develop.

Be pre-warned: If you are a teacher and a friend of mine, I'm going to hit you up for interview questions this semester. I'll make it worth your while. I'll rent Jay out to rake your leaves or something. If Jay is reading this, I'm just kidding sweetie. If he isn't - it's on for his gutter, painting and leaf work. :) Seriously though, Jenny, Ben, Nancy, Kirk- I'll be in touch. Please still take my calls.... OK? buddies, ole pals and roommates?

Tara's About Me Poster

All weekend I was putting off Tara's homework. She had to create a poster about herself and her family. But when we got started, it was really fun. We looked on Google to find pictures of her favorite things- the toy store and brownies. Then we printed some family pictures and pictures of her. Finally, we colored it together. She colors better than I do. She reminded me to stay in the lines. :)

writing woes and remote destroyers

Jay's better. The girls are healthy. I take a relieved sigh.

Em's new teacher keeps sending notes home about how sloppy her handwriting is. Jay wrote back that she is on a 504 plan and is supposed to go to tutoring for her writing. I am going to give this teacher some time to read Em's accommodations because I know first week stuff is hard.

The kids have a remote control for the TV in their playroom. We have blocked all the channels but a couple of channels for kids. Once before we blocked the channels, I found Em in the living room watching a marathon of Dr. G Medical Examiner! You leave the room for five minutes and all hell breaks loose. Just recently, we taught them how to use the remote. In the span of a couple of months this remote has lost its backing twice and the front is all mangled. What are they doing with it to destroy it THAT much in two months? Jay just went to get a new one. If they want the old one in exchange, I would love to see their faces when Jay hands it over. It looks like lions attacked it. :)

Ok that's it. NOBODY is allowed to get sick in this house for a long, long time. Last week Tara, yesterday Emily, last night Jay.
Today Jay was so sick he stayed home from work, which he never does. There isn't much to do but sit around and suffer when you have the flu. Jay and I have been sitting around joking about the silliest things. If the transcript were played back later, nothing would be as funny as it was at the time. The state of slap happy is a fun state. Well, it is for me; I don't have the flu!