The Year That Was

This year chewed me up, spit me out, and then said “Because I think you need it, here’s some good stuff.“

I went from a Pre-K classroom to an EMH classroom, then back to Pre-K where this year is MILES better than last if only because instead of teaching 36 kids in half-day sessions, we have 18. The kids last school year were awesome, and seeing them in the halls as Kindergarteners this year warms my heart as the big kids they are becoming.

The EMH classroom was the stage for some of the highest highs and some of the lowest lows. Nothing is more frustrating than seeing a child who needs more help than you can give them and knowing that there is nothing more you can do that what you already are. That said, the progress and the kids in that classroom was PHENOMINAL and I was so proud to be a part of it.

We celebrated much, and lost a lot too. We appreciated the fun we had as a family, and the smaller moments. We tasted what it was like to have an aged teenager in our home, and while we love her dearly, we cower in fear of what advanced teenagerdom will wreak in Spiff. We already know it requires copious amount of deodorant .

We are excited for what 2009 will bring. Fun, family, friends, challenges – we’re ready for it all.

These are some of the posts from this past year that made me laugh, smile, cringe, and cry:

January: The First in a Long Line of Lovelorn Rants

February: Six

March: Tennessee Traveling – Part One

April: Tennessee Travels – Part Two

May: The Sounds of Silence, but Still Screaming

June: Time to Accept Certain Realities

July: The Best Auntie EVAH!

August: The Worst Best Birthday Ever

September: We’ll Remember

October: Physical Education = Mommy Stress

November: And Now, Without Further Ado… and Signs of the Apocolypse

December: The Joy of Christmas

Hanukkah Lights

From My House to Yours

Dear Readers (and friends!!),

May your holiday be filled with joy, love, and peace. (and copious amounts of really good spiked egg-nog!)

What the holidays look like at Casa de Crazedmommy.

The tradition continues. Learn, little grasshopper…

The customary pajamas on Christmas Eve, circa 2008.
They have skulls and crossbones on them.

We’ll be unwrapping presents tomorrow morning and playing (or is that destroying?) with the gifts we receive. I’ll hopefully get a picture or two up if I can. I haven’t been straying too far from the bed since it is apparently my turn to be sick this holiday.

Tidings of comfort and joy, people. See you on the other side of Santa’s sleigh.

Love,

Shash

Only 190 Days Left Until I Get an iPhone

…unless someone wants to surprise me with one sooner. Seriously, I won’t mind. At all.

Yesterday while driving around doing some errands, we passed by the local AT&T store. I may have said something like “I could sure use a new phone, the one I have IS a bit waterlogged.”

To which my all-knowing husband replied: “Yes, but we needed a new air-conditioner this summer. Purchases like that will have to wait.”

I sighed. As usual, he was right.

He then said, “For your birthday, you can get an iPhone. The AC Unit will be paid off, and I’ll feel better about making that kind of purchase.“

So! Only 190 days left. While I wait, does anyone have any suggestions for applications I will NEED for the iPhone?

I can start saving up now…

________________________________________

Here are some other interesting facts I learned about my birthday:

Who Knew? Not me!

Data found here. You should give it a try!

The Joy of Christmas

Every day, at the end of school, I work the car rider line.

Mommies know this line, this snake of cars that moves ever so s-l-o-w-l-y up to the front of the school where you can pick up your over-tired child who is ready to go home. I’m in charge of the Pre-K and Kindergarten students, and it is not uncommon to have many of them come up to give me a hug or a high-five before they sit down to (not) patiently wait for their chariot to whisk them away from school.

Besides the errant child that just can’t sit still or keep his hands to himself, I like being there. I like getting this last moment with the kids. I like being able to tell them “Have a great weekend” or “See you tomorrow”. I like seeing their face light up when I call their name.

There’s a few kids who I’m kind of protective of. Even after all of my students are gone for the day and I can leave, I’ll linger and wait until their ride arrives to make sure they are okay. They are the quiet ones, the ones that don’t talk much, that watch me expectantly for their cars. The kids that look for me in a crowd, at specials, in the lunchroom. They hug me when they see me in the halls. I wave and smile when I see them.

I love these kids. They totally make my day.

Today as I put one of these kids in the car to go home for the long holiday break, his mother stopped me and put a small envelope in my hand. She really appreciated me, she said. She wanted to give me something, to thank me for taking such good care of her son. I thanked her and said it wasn’t necessary, but that I appreciated it, and to have a wonderful holiday.

I wasn’t expecting that. I was just doing my job.

Happy Holidays, everyone.

Whaddya Wanna Do With Your Life?

Have You? (what I have actually done is in bold)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Visited the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (on T.V.)
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie as an extra
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Made amends with someone who offended you
101. Flew in a small plane
102. Ran out of gas
103. Eaten fried okra
104. Swam in the ocean or a foreign sea
105. Peed in a swimming pool
106. Rented a beach house
107. Hosted an exchange student
108. Been a Secret Santa to a family in need
109. Worked on a political campaign
110. Coached a sports team
111. Gone kayaking in the ocean
112. Certified as an elementary teacher
113. Been the mother to twins!
114. Eaten sushi
115. Swam with sting rays
116. Married someone you met online
117. Lived in China
118. Ridden through the floating market in Thailand
119. Given your kids a big kiss and hug just because
120. Had your name in U.S.A. Today
121. Been to Mexico
122. Shot a gun (at a pumpkin)
123. Mountain Biked in Moab
124. Learned to Snowboard
125. Originate an idea and have it published
126. Tried out for a Reality T.V. or Game Show or Talk Show
127. Wasted lots of time on blogs and the internet
128. Made up an original recipe
129. Won a writing contest
130. Won a trip to Disneyland
131. Won something on the radio (movie tickets!)
132. Had too much time to do things like this
133. Thrown a surprise party for someone
134. Gone without sleep for 48 hours
135. Survived in the wilderness without matches or fresh water
136. Worked at a Ski Resort
137. Taught group fitness/aerobics classes
138. Visited all 50 states
139. Lived in NYC
140. Roller bladed in Central Park
141. Been a member of the New York Road Runners Club
142. Ran a marathon with your Grandma
143. Visited the grave of your Great, Great, Great Grandfather
144. Totalled more than two cars
145. Had a pet—– hamster, frog, mouse, rabbit-only for one day
146. Eaten a whole carton of ice cream at once
147. Gone tanning in a tanning booth
148. Had a ride in a limo
149. Driven a giant-front-end-loader
150. Served as a tour guide
151. Paid off a credit card in Full!

152. Given everything up to be a Stay-at-Home-Mom and hold the world in your hands!

This will make everyone clamor for an invite for dinner at my house

Him: Guess what I did with the pancakes tonight?

Me: Cooked them?

Him: Ha,Ha. Very funny.

Me: So, what did you do?

Him: I made plain pancakes for Spiff, chocolate chip pancakes for Scamp and for me…

Me: Uh-Huh (while head was in computer reading blogs)

Him: I made chocolate chip pancakes with pecans!

Me: Were they yummy?

Him: Yes, they were. Delicious even.

Me: (thinking) Um, the pecans were okay? They didn’t taste funny?

Him: Well, kind of. They expired last month.

Me: I thought so. I was afraid of that.

Him: They didn’t hurt the tasting any.

Me: Well, I’m glad I didn’t have the pancakes.

I Didn’t Win

But someone else did, and I couldn’t be happier!

Congratulations, Ya’all!!!

Merry HP and Microsoft Mooshmas (to me?)

So, the beautiful Casey at Moosh in Indy is one of the lucky bloggers to be giving away roughly $6000 worth of HP equipment and Microsoft software. I’m hoping to be one of the lucky bloggers to win it. Here is my submission. I hope you enjoy it. I had a lot of fun writing it.

Kinda, sorta, set to the poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas“

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the land,
Clan Keating was typing, on computers less than grand.

Trying to type out her lesson plans a teacher was at her wit’s end,
But, with no computer in her cozy home, she’d have to borrow a friend’s.

A husband who enjoys his strategy games oh so much,
If only his computer’s video could handle such.

To college a nephew would soon attend,
Without a computer, late nights writing papers by hand he would have to spend.

A Ballet instructor with performances to do,
Wished she could edit her music for their pas de deux.

The printers would delight the teachers I know,
Being able to print pictures and papers in color would make them all glow.

The movies the kids in our school would adore,
The boys will be practicing their Kung-Fu moves on the floor.

Of course, I would keep a laptop just for myself,
Because it’s hard work playing Santa’s Favorite Elf!

In a (probably very BIG) nutshell:

My husband has been in dire need of a better computer to play his video games on and it just hasn’t been in our budget. He does so much for us, travels almost non-stop throughout the year for work, and if we could we’d buy him the computer he needs to run his programs on. But we need to eat. And wear clothes. He doesn’t ask for anything, so this would be a great thing to be able to do for him.

My sister is a teacher who has student loans she’s still paying off, still going to school to get more education under her belt, all the while spending some of her hard-earned money for supplies for her classroom and for her students. She could really use a computer to work on her school stuff at home instead of staying later at school to do it there. You’d be also helping out the custodial staff at her school, whom I am certain stick around to lock up after she leaves.

My nephew is college bound on as many scholarships his family can get their hands on because money is really tight. Financial aid only goes so far, and books are expensive! This computer and software would be one less thing they would have to worry about. I would love to do this for my Aunt, Uncle and my Nephew.

My mother in law is awesome. Instead of retiring, she has opened up a ballet school and is teaching ballet to children in the Central Florida area. With her life’s savings, she has invested everything she and my father in law have to keep this school going. So extra money is hard to come by. Her school puts on performances for the local community and she usually has to go above and beyond and take pay cuts just to afford the important things she needs to make those performances perfect. Providing her with a computer and software to edit as well as promote her business would save her money that she can put back into the business and therefore the community.

The teachers at my school have just been told that budgets are so tight that color copies are now a luxury and not a necessity. Even the printers they have once the ink runs out they have to pay out of pocket to replenish the supply. To be able to walk in and present them with another option for printing worksheets and projects would give them a thrill that would lift their currently sagging spirits. The fact that it would be wireless would be incredible. They could definitely use this pick me up right now. It could make all the difference.

Our school library is always looking for new movies for Fun Fridays. Budgets have been slashed left, right, and center for things like this. These copies of Kung-Fu Panda would be well received. I’ll even take pictures to prove it.

I’m in need of a laptop to do photo editing, blogging, and use for school. Did I mention? I’m going to college myself for my teaching certification. This would help me as well. I’m using my husband’s work laptop right now when I travel, and he is afraid it might not come back to him each time I go. It would be nice to put his mind at ease.

Anyway, I have BIG plans to share how I will deliver these gifties. They involve me, a Santa’s Elf suit, a video feed, and many surprises!

Only if I win though. (I hope I win!!) No pressure, right?

This Used to be My Playground

When I was younger, this used to be my playground:

I’m totally not kidding. I used to spend the day running all over the place, traveling the world as I went around World Showcase.

I would spend all day, while my mother worked, exploring the countries. All day I’d eat, take in the shows, shop the shops, and pretend I was really there in England, Paris, Morocco, China, Germany. It was the best. That Walt Disney can sure build a theme park.

Yesterday, it was his turn. And we had a blast. I forgive him for not wanting to eat in the Japan Pavilion, but next time…sushi, you WILL be MINE!

What is your favorite meal that you have had at EPCOT?