Day Flippin’ Thirty of a Month-Long Post Fest

Oh halleluah! Praise ye Gods and cue the crickets. NaBloPoMo ends today, and with it ends this monthly post fest. I’m not done with posting though, and will still be posting about all kinds of stuff, just probably not everyday. Before NaBloPoMo, I would take the weekends off, and I’m actually looking forward to restarting that tradition.

Starting tomorrow, of course. All hail the weekend!

Some things I will take with me about this experience are:

• It’s not as easy as one thinks to do this every day, unless you write a gossip blog or are just really darn cool.

• I need to start carrying around pencil and paper to write down those moments that happened and I never blogged about; not because I didn’t want to, but because by the time I sat down at my keyboard, I had forgotten what I was going to say.

• That happened a lot.

• I want to become a better writer. Maggie Mason’s book should help in that endeavour, once I get to sit down and read it, of course. (Which now that this is over, should be sooner rather than never.)
• I’m really glad I did this, but at this moment I’m equally glad it is over.

So many things have happened in this one month, and November 2006 will always be remembered (for me) as the month I did NaBloPoMo and finally followed through on one of my passions, teaching. Not bad for thirty days, not bad at all.

Big thanks to M. Kennedy (who, coincidentally, rocks my socks) at Fussy for wranglin’ us all together to do this. See you next year!

Just Like Kudzu

Kudzu

n : fast-growing vine from eastern Asia having hairy trifoliate leaves and racemes of purple flowers followed by long many-seed hairy pods and tuberous starchy roots; grown for fodder and forage and root starch; widespread in the southern United States.

Just in case you didn’t know, It’ll help explain things (sort of).

I decided to take the job full-time at the local Elementary School. I really enjoy the job, the kids kinda grew on me (see:Kudzu), and Scamp loves that I’m only two doors away from him all day. I’m busy, I’m challenged, and I come home flippin’ exhausted. And, the best part is that after a few years, I’ll get a pension! And… I have to do more research, but the State of Florida really needs ESE teachers, and they might be willing to cough up some reimbursement college tuition if I choose and graduate with ESE classes under my belt. Swanky, eh? Me and the older one, going to college together.

Why did a scene from Back to School just flash before my eyes?

Yikes.

Anyhoo, this feels right. I’m a little worried because I won’t have time to run errands (like the one I need to run involving a grocery store, a shopping cart, and food! glorious food! before we all starve…or order pizza.), I’ll be running like crazy on Thursday to get my allergy shot after school 30 minutes away each week; oh, and this tired thing too. BUT! These kids will have stability again after much upheaval so far this year (with probably more to come that is actually a benefit for them) and I get to work with a great teacher who will share with me her gift and love of teaching…as well as her secrets to hide the burnout feelings that I’m sure will inevitably come over time. But best of all, all the stuff I’ve been able to implement while working with the kids will still continue, and like MasterCard says, that’s just priceless when you do the work of a teacher, but don’t get paid for it.

And the kids… are just wonderful. They really do inspire me each day; which if you can have that in your work life each day, I highly recommend it.

For the first time in two weeks after being asked to do this, and first turning them down, then reconsidering; I feel like a weight has lifted. I’m sure one will be added soon enough, but for now I’m going to enjoy this decision I made, and keep you regaled with stories of my (mis)adventures. Stay tuned!

Simple Elementary Math

1 sneezing, coughing child + 1 teacher (me) trying not to get sick = the new tickle in my throat as of this afternoon.

They really are petri dishes full of colds, aren’t they?

Oh, and no matter how much hand sanitizer YOU use to stay germ free, they will still use you as a kleenex.

Scientific fact.

Taking A Time Out

Last night should have been a regular Sunday night, a night where if you visited my home you would find people in various states of undress, or still in their pajamas.

The man of the house would be planted on the sofa, in front of the TV, watching football. He’d prefer it if his team was playing, but any football game will do in a pinch.

The kids would be playing some sort of video game system, possibly the GameBoy or the Game Cube – or both simultaneously. Hey, at least they know how to multitask. That will come in handy as they write their blog and work at their desks as grown ups. Not that I would know anything about that.

What about me, you ask? Aww, how sweet. They have me chained in the laundry room making sure they all don’t go off to work and school naked. That is how I usually spend my Sundays.

This Sunday was different.

This Sunday we went here:

and saw this:

and this:

I, however, got to enjoy this:

and this…

You, however, get to enjoy this:

more photos can be found here

It was definitely worth it to not make it a regular old Sunday. Thanks, Nan.

I Think He Got The Better Deal

So Friday night was game night, and that means movie night for the kids while we all sit around the dining room table and sacrifice small animals play D&D.

The movie the kids picked was Undercover Blues; and if you haven’t seen this little gem of a movie, I suggest you either rent it or get Showtime, because it is on ALL THE TIME. It is hilarious. Dennis Quaid is so sexy, and Kathleen Turner is, well, awesome. Stanley Tucci plays what I think is his best character ever, Muerte. Check it out, it’s wicked funny.

But I digress…sort of.

In the movie there is a kissing scene between Dennis and Kathleen that is how married people in love kiss. Mouths open, lots of tongue. It doesn’t last long, but apparently it made an impression on my 4 year old.

As he was getting into bed that night, he leaned up to give me a good night kiss. With his mouth wide open and his head cocked to the side, just like how he saw it in the movie. I had to stop him and kindly let him know that isn’t the way little boys kiss their mommies. It was quite a moment. Hee.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at my in-laws house, where my sister-in-law and her kids are visiting with their new puppy.

An Aside: My kids are frightened of dogs. Size doesn’t matter. They freak out when they see that there is any possibility of that dog coming in contact with them. People become tress and they scale them.

The Hubby decided to help break the cycle of fear by having the dog come and lick his face, thereby showing Scamp that dogs aren’t so scary. Scamp watched the dog lick Hubby’s face, and laughed right along with everyone else.

He’s still scared of the dog though, that didn’t change anything at all.

Apparently Scamp decided that this was the new way to kiss, and proceeded to give his daddy “puppy kisses” by licking his daddy’s face just like he saw the puppy do.

So I tell you this to ask this question to the internet; How can we help a 12 year old and a 4 year old get over their fear of dogs before we go to my sister-in-laws’ house for Christmas? By then the dog will be bigger, and I’m tired of doubling as a tree for them to climb when the dog comes near; 12 year olds can be rather heavy.

Because Blogger Keeps Eating My Post

If this gets posted (which: Murphy’s Law….HELLO!) it is because it is the only thing I can get Blogger to post today. I have a beautiful post ready, filled with prose and nudity and Blogger doesn’t want you to see it. Ever. It keeps freezing up and having me reboot so I can start over, only to have it happen again.

So I’m giving up.

The prose and nudity will have to wait.

Sorry.

When the Term Black Friday Takes on New and Different Meanings

Went shopping……..check
Got some great deals……..check
Kicked off the holiday season……..check
Caught whatever flu crap that is making the rounds……check and double check.

Ugh.

Oh, and sometimes? It’s easier to just let your child that is driving you up the wall go and spend the night at his friend’s house so you don’t kill him on the spot. Not that this is from personal experience or anything. I have angel kids….

…Who’s halos are held up by two tiny red horns. Just to keep it balanced. And keep me going insane.

Thankful Things

In no particular order here are a few things, as of 11:00am EST, that I am thankful for:

• I got to sleep in this morning, and I didn’t have to race around getting the kids ready for school. For a Thursday, that is a miracle.

• Thank you to the Wal-Mart open near my home. How on earth did you know I would wait until the last minute to buy black olives and wine? You knew, and I thank you for it.
• Also to Wal-Mart: Thank you for that large bottle of Pinot Noir. Thank you for the great price. It’ll come in handy. Very handy.
• Family (well, most of) that I was born into. You know who you are.
• Family that I married into. You guys rock.
• Family that I have created with The Hubby. Today I will try to forget that you kids drive me crazy; expecially the pre-teen as of late. The wine from #3 will help that today.
• My Hubby, who gets my jokes and makes me die laughing at his. What a team we are.
• Family that has been formed from long standing friendships. My brothers. Always.
• I’m thankful that all I am responsible for this year is the Olive Tray. And wine consumption.
• I’m thankful that people from my childhood take the time to try and find out where I am today, and remind me of the good times. (Thanks, Kim!)
• I’m thankful for all of you, who take time out of your days to check in on me and my crazy life. Thank you to those who have become my friends because of it.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone.

Listen Up, Hollywood…

Happy Feet wasn’t as cute in its entirety as the commercial was on television.

A few ground rules, Hollywood, when making kids movies:

1. Don’t completely rip off an entire movie* that was last year’s biggest hit. Really. More than once I heard someone in our group say “Didn’t we see this before? It was more realistic though.”

2. Don’t make the parents of the lead character be mean to their offspring. It makes the little ones cry, and I didn’t pay $9.00 to make my son cry. I can do that at home for free.
3. Just remember a simple formula: fun music + nostalgia = happy parents. This was the only thing right about this movie; the music was boss.
4. Too much Robin Williams can be overkill. I figured out which voices he was for the three characters he voiced in short order. So did my four-year-old. Not good when a child can figure out he’s voicing three of your characters. I’m just sayin’.
5. Unless there is some relatives of momma and poppa penguin who were fluffy (which I doubt) it wasn’t necessary to make him look COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from his parents. And everyone else. It was bad enough he “marched to a different tune” so to speak, so looking like no one else was kind of overkill.
6. Did you have to try and give him a bow tie in his fur? Who’s idea was that? Then, who’s idea was it to try and cover it up near the end of the movie. Was it some tie espionage or something? Or did someone notice that he STILL didn’t look like his species and was trying to make amends? Please, pretty please, explain that to me.
7. Oh….because he tap dances? Gotcha…. Nice touch….not.
8. The ending? Lame. We hope you didn’t add anything in during the credits because we bolted out of there just after the credits started rolling. So did everyone else, so I hope there was nothing important, or dare I say, funny.
9. Here’s a tip: You should really have five year olds and under screen test these types of movies. If, by chance, they say they are ready to leave 20 minutes into the movie, you need to rethink the story. My son asked to leave three times during the show. Not good Hollywood, not good.

Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. You got your money. But don’t expect me to come running for Happy Feet 2: The Return of the Funk. Even if you got George Clinton to share his talented voice, I still wouldn’t go. Which is sad, ’cause I love me some P-Funk.

* Isn’t it cute that they only have the french title? I found that to be absolutely adorable.

If you don’t stop by tomorrow, have a Happy Thanksgiving. If you do stop by, I’ll see you tomorrow, in my stuffing-induced haze. With photos! Wheeee!

A Public Service Announcement

Go read the latest Heroes Graphic Novel.

Sorry for the suckitude of the posts, it’s been busy. The kids are home from school for the holiday, and I may have to lock myself in the office just to get away from the arguing that has already begun over the GameCube.

And to think I was considering purchasing a Wii. What the hell was I thinking?!?