The lone boy

Owen just came to me and said,

"You know the two girls in the house?"

Hmmm... let me see. Yep, I know them. Gave birth to them. I've seen them around.

"They made a mess in my room, and they won't clean it up".

He is highly concerned about the state of the house now that Santa will be coming soon. One night he went to bed and looked around and told me I'd better clean the place up. I'm working on it. I'm working on it.....

Oh, these kids are funny.

Phoebe stays with my Mom while I work. Today she was telling me about a craft she made with Nana. I said it sounded like fun. She said, "It was. You should drop by sometime."




Yesterday evening dinner was pretty loud and crazy. Finally, Chloe and Owen left the table. Phoebe was hopping down from her chair, and she shook her head and said, "Those kids. I swear."

Owen made an ornament at school today. It had a very long string around it. I thought he made me a necklace, so I put it on as soon as he showed it to me from his backpack. He said "Actually, that gets put on the tree". I also messed up when I asked him if it was a mosaic, because it had small red, green, and white squares glued on it. He then said, "What's a mosaic?"

I can't think of any recent funnies from Chloe, although a little while ago, for some reason, I was thinking about her right before Owen was born. We told her we were naming him Owen Daniel. She thought about it for a second and asked, "What will his last name be?".

Good things come in pairs.....

Phoebe found a pair of Christmas socks from last year. She was so excited and put one on, then held up the other one and gasped and said "Another one!". I'm so glad socks come in a pair for her delight.

Today she wore her new Christmas dress to go get pictures taken. She pranced around it and said it was "Sassy!".

We saw Santa at the mall on Monday. Mom was looking at the picture and Phoebe pointed to Santa and said, "That's the guy who will bring the gifts". Sadly, she was terrified of the guy and wouldn't get off my lap.



Phoebe loves to play with her alphabet flashcards. This evening we were playing with them and she got to the K with the king. She said it was the "K for the Queen Daddy". (The Q card has a Queen.)

She didn't have a nap today and was tired this evening. About 5:00 she wanted to go to sleep. I told her it was too late for a nap. She said she wanted a drink and she would just "take a little rest".

I'd love a little rest now, but there is still lots to do, like go match up all those pairs of socks......

Turkey time

Phoebe and I made some turkeys today with some of our pumpkins we have. I had some craft feathers and felt that we glued on. Just glue the feathers on the back, we used buttons for eyes, and cut the beak and waddle out of felt. She had a great time making them. I think they would be cute centerpieces for Thanksgiving dinner.




Another idea for Thanksgiving is this turkey cheeseball I made. Use any cheeseball recipe and add feathers of cheesecubes, olives, and cherry tomatoes. Use skewers or sucker sticks to stick them on. I used pecan halves for more feathers and cut a piece from a red pepper for the mouth/beak/waddle. (Is it called a waddle? I don't know.)



My cheeseball recipe is: 2 packages of softened cream cheese, a package of shredded cheddar cheese, and a package of ranch dip mix. I usually roll it in chopped pecans.

Miserable or Joyous?

I love this quote by Haim Ginott. It is so moving to me. It applies to me as a teacher, and also as a mother.

"I've come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It's my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or de-humanized.” ~Haim Ginott

I hope and pray I'm the teacher who makes children's lives joyous (at least when they are with me). I want to inspire, humor, and heal.

I know at our home that how I react to something is how my children react to it. If I am freaked out by something, the whole house is in a frenzy. If I am in a bad mood, so is everyone else. If I am happy and joyful, so are they.

I'd much rather be joyous than miserable anyway!

My girl

Finally got Phoebe's birthday pictures back. I really love them.




She is doing well with my Mom (and Daddy) while I'm at work. She likes to go every day and says she goes "by herself". She feels like a big girl to go without Chloe and Owen. I miss her, but I'm glad she's having fun. She is always glad to see me when I get home, and I get lots of extra lovings from her. She tells me often, "You are a good girl, Mama".

I like my job, but it's busy and a lot to get used to. I'm forever tired. I enjoy my students. They are so cute. Yesterday one Kindergarten girl came back after being absent. I told her I missed her and was glad she was back. I asked if she was sick and she said, "No. I had bugs". That made my head itch the rest of the day. One day I was holding up pictures and we were naming the picture and the letter and sound it started with. One picture was a vase. I asked what it was and a boy said, "A flower holder". In one group we were working on the "th" sound. We were making a list of th words. One girl said "thong". Another asked what that was and the girl explained. The girl then said "Oh yeah. I've seen those at Walmart". All my groups are great. I have a group from every grade K-6. I run all over the school picking up my groups every 30 minutes. At least I get some exercise. Then I come home and run around. I don't sit down because I may never get back up. It's a non stop day from 5:30-9:30 or 10:00.

Last week brought the lovely swine flu to our house. Both Chloe and Phoebe had it, but are well now. Still a lingering cough and runny nose, but doing fine. Owen somehow escaped getting sick. I have a cold I can't get rid of. Danny is well so far. He's working lots of overtime, and most Saturdays. Life is busy, but we're well and happy, and that's what matters.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to Work I Go....

My gig is up. After being a stay-at-home Mom for eleven (!) years, I have gone back to work. I am a tutorial teacher at Chloe and Owen's school. It's pretty great to be at their school; I see them during the day, I can be involved with their school things still, I drive them to and from school, and I can have lunch with Owen sometimes (Chloe's lunch is at a different time than mine, not that she would want me to have lunch with her - that would be embarassing).

My Mom is watching Phoebe for me. I don't know who is happier, Mom or Phoebe. Phoebe was so excited to go there. Mom thanked me for letting her watch Phoebe. Danny picks her up around 1:30, so she gets to spend the rest of the day with Daddy. Chloe, Owen, and I are home from school a little after 3:00. Not bad.

I hope I can settle into a routine and not be too overwhelmed with work, school, home, and kids. I am grateful for this job, and grateful that I was able to stay home while my kids were little. Our baby days are over, so it's time. I'm sad that I can't stay home with Phoebe for as long as I did with Chloe and Owen, and I'll miss her like crazy, but in reality, 3 kids are expensive. Life is expensive. So, hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go....