Blooming Trees

Damien found this tree for me to post. On our walks we see these trees but in a deep rasberry or vibrant pink-really beautiful but they flower quickly and then the beauty is gone.

A Dad

A dad can be hard where sometimes a mom isn't. Returning home from dance with Damien, Pax remembers his lacrosse stuff is at dance. The dance building is way down Rt. 50 now so Damien says that's where it will stay and sorry you won't be able to practise tonight and sorry you won't be playing at the game Fri. nite at the high school stadium under the lights. That simple. Pax is sobbing which is my cue to take a long walk-outathere. Pax has been forgetting stuff left and right and whereas I would reluctantly back track for him, Dame just says "Oh well, deal with the consequences." As Linnea would say, "Bam!"

Boy Howdy

So here he is...

Eli the wonderboy!

(click on pictures to enlarge)

Sunny and mild weather...

got me in the mood to get Damien on his long forgotten bike. I was biking by myself in all the beauty thinking two would be much more fun. He saw that I had a plan and off we went up to the Quick Shop to buy Mary Jane candy, swung around the Catholic Church and went home along the water. That was fun.

Slow-Churn

Have you seen the commercial? 2 girls and a guy sitting on a couch eating some Slow-Churn ice cream and then they jump up and start dancing to some fun music because it's low calorie or fat free or something and then they hop back on the couch and start eating again. It's so cute, always makes me smile and I can't wait to have my girls home and I would love for them to re-enact that commercial in our living room. Any 3 of them could totally copy that and it would be even funnier!
To see the commercial on YouTube click here.

Just as I feared....

I came home after teaching 7 groups of kids (each group a different grade) and did 3 hours...3 HOURS of lesson plans that will get me through tomorrow (one little day). My concentration with these kids will be in reading, writing, spelling and grammar. Right now I think I will be doing 3 hours of planning every night for several weeks-SCARY. There was so much I liked about today even though it was overwhelming. Somehow it is a scary but positive experience.

Calm before the Storm

A few months ago I was quick to tell a teacher that of course I would sub for her for the last 6 weeks of the school year while she gets some surgery done. Well, I have been spending some time with her and I cannot believe what is expected of me and how little time this person spent going over stuff with me. I will have 7 different groups of kids in many different grades. Each group has their own curriculum and I get a big fat teacher's manual for each group to figure out daily lesson plans. Hello? What? What the? (little joke between Damien and me. We walk around saying "What the?") I cannot afford to panic, my calm and steady sister tells me, so instead I have this little laugh going on today. I sub because I am spontaneous and don't plan much and just go and do it. This commitment is all about systems, organization, new materials every day, putting things back exactly where I got them , using these materials I have never even seen before, different closets I need to get familiar with...what the? Don't you love it when people look at you and say, "Oh it's easy-you won't have any problem." She has been teaching for 37 years!
I fall into this abyss bright and early tomorrow morning. See you in 6 weeks.