Wee Words Wednesday

Once again I have missed 'Tiny Talk Tuesday'.  Because all I have are very scattered thoughts and a pretty grumpy attitude, I'll share the one thing that always makes me smile...these things my students say. 

• Show and Tell is always a good time. We have it every Friday, and sadly, a lot of kids forget to bring something to 'show' us and 'tell' us about.  This past week one of my little guys came in with his coat. I asked him to hang it up. He said, "No...this IS my show and tell." Ok...points for creativity. He got up there and demonstrated how he can put on his own coat and zip it up himself (Bonus points for that!)  Then he says, "My coat is fat and squishy. That's good, 'cause if someone punches me, it don't hurt." 
  
• I have one student whose brain moves faster than her mouth can get the words out. I'm convinced this is the case because when Rebekah was younger she was the same way...and I'll admit, I'm this way a lot too.  The things I think often come out backwards or in ways other than what makes sense to most people. This little girl is hilarious to me, because I totally understand her the first time, every time!  Here are some of her best statements: "She found a baby hiding in a bucket." (Moses in the bulrushes)  "When you're in trouble you get intention." (detention)  "My shoe fell unloose."  (it came unbuckled) "It's piecing apart." (falling apart, broken)
• We've been learning about the Pilgrims and how they came to America. Every day this week I've reviewed the beginning of the story, asking them to remember three words: Pilgrim, England, and Mayflower.  They did pretty good today, except for remembering where they came from. Here were some of the answers I got: "Mexico", "Japan", and my personal favorite, "Earth." Technically that last one was correct, but I was laughing too hard to say so. 
• This next one requires a picture of what the kids saw on the board as they came in for lessons today. One of the little girls who has a voice similar to Minnie Mouse came in and said, "Are dare numbers under dat chicken's little wings?"  I didn't think my drawing was that bad.
• I've been trying to eat more bananas for the potassium, and I had one with me at snack time today.  As I was eating it, one of the little girls said to me, "Bananas are good for you because they have vitamin seed, like milk." I think she meant Vitamin C. I guess I better add a unit on different foods to my lesson plans too. 
• One of my little guys was rubbing his mouth, and I asked him what was wrong.  He told me, "My wips are dry. I need some wotion." Today he was struggling to write his name.  I asked him what was wrong and he said,, "I have a headache from Lesser-Day."  I asked what that meant. He said, "You know!  Like the other day...Lesser-Day!" (yesterday) No, I actually didn't know, but now I do.
• The best is one that I wish I had on video or recorded audio.  I've been teaching them "Mele Kalikimaka" for our Christmas program.  Oh my goodness. The variations they give to that phrase are hilarious!

That's all I've got for today.  Tonight I'm going to start working on the costumes for the Christmas program. I have to make 13 sheep, 3 donkeys, 3 cows, 2 doves, 6 shepherds, 30 berets, 30 leis, 5 grass skirts...and a partridge in a pear tree.

Counting Pizzas

I've wanted to make this game for my students for the past few years.  This year I had some help from the school secretary, Jen, and it finally happened.  I call it 'counting pizzas'.  Each child has a 'crust', some 'sauce', and some 'cheese' (I shredded paper and ran it through the laminating machine and cut out circles.)  The toppings are 'pepperoni', 'green peppers', and 'mushrooms' (also called "smushrooms" by one of my students :)

We play the game like this:

They put 3 pepperonis, 2 mushrooms, and 5 green peppers on their pizzas. We count the toppings as a class, then shout "order up!"  We clear the pizzas and play again.  This game is a big hit with my class!

NIKE knows what they're talking about

This blog post is hereby dedicated to those people who make me think. Those people who encourage me.  Those people who are my friends, in real life, or on the internet.  It's especially for two people who have made me think today, TJ and Kelly. Thank you, friends.

Nike does know what they're talking about as far as their slogan, "Just Do It" goes.  As far as their shoes are concerned...not so much.  I do like their Nike+ ipod. That thing is awesome! Just not their shoes. Anyway...back to the point.

This morning, this week really, has been extremely difficult for me.  I was in a pit all week.  It was hard to be motivated to do anything at all.  Not even the things I typically enjoy doing.  Sounds like depression...yeah, well it was.  It is.  I'm still fighting today.  Although today was a little different.  Kelly chatted with me on fb and let me cry on her shoulder (I was afraid I might short out my keyboard with my snot and tears) and encouraged me.  She is a dear!  Most days I haven't even had it in me to "Just Do It".  It just wasn't there.  Today I had just enough to "just" do something.  I managed to hold it together to help Alisha and Rebekah sort through and clean out their clothes and their closet.  I should have a taken a before pic so you could fully appreciate the cost involved in that statement.  It was not pretty.  One bag of garbage and two bags to Goodwill later, things are much better in their room.  Once I started, I got into it, and even vacuumed the floor.  Hard wood = never ending dust bunnies.  I was so glad it was done.  I even felt ok while I was doing it.  No one cried (including myself.)  Bonus! 

I'm so tired of being the person who always sees the negative. I'm tired of fighting to see the glass half full. I'm just tired of fighting.  Some days I just want to give up.  To quit.  To be done.  But, the Holy Spirit in me keeps fighting for me. He points out the positive.  He keeps me going.  Won't let me quit.  And HE will decide when I'm done, not I.  It's a quandary to be sure.  I wonder why God made me with such a negative bent to my nature.  I wonder why I have to spend a lifetime fighting depression.  I wonder why...why...why. Then comes the insecurity.  Did they not answer my text because they're just sick of me? Am I letting my negativity show through today?  Will they still want to be my friend if they know the "real" me? 

So...when you see my tweets or FB updates, and it seems like something is wrong.  It is.  I'm trying.  Not to keep who the real me is covered up and hidden.  Because I can't do that.  I tried once, and it almost killed me.  No, I'm trying to work out my own salvation.  "Just Doing It" is going to look different in your life than it is in mine.  We are different.  And that's ok.  I just hope you guys can stick with me while this area of my life is worked out.  And know this...if nothing else, I usually cycle back out of this pit in a week or so.  Things are definitely better if you just do something.  Anything.  So, I'm going to start dinner because that is something. 

The End of the Story

I'm going to try to finish telling you about the Mercy Me concert on Sunday, but just be forewarned...my brain feels like mush. I came home from work today and decided the best (and safest thing) for everyone was for me to take a nap. I only slept for and hour and a half, and woke up feeling worse than when I laid down.  I'm groggy and just plain out of it.  So much for a nap helping things.

Where was I? Oh yeah, right before the concert started (I had to go look at my last post- you actually think I remember anything I wrote yesterday??)  Jonny Diaz was the opening act.  He has a song called, "Opening Act."  It's pretty funny.  He has one other song that I'm familiar with called, "More Beautiful You."  It talks about how "there could never be a more beautiful you" and has a great message.  My problem is I have a really tough time believing it myself.  But that's just my insecurities talking.

Tenth Avenue North played next. I love those guys! Mike Donehey, the lead singer, has such an amazing heart for God.  He also has a great ability for being real about it, and saying things in a simple, humble way.  Their songs range from some rock (with Mike jumping around the stage) to an awesome time of worship.  Can't say enough good things about Tenth Avenue North. 

Since I've had front row seats at a number of different concerts, I'm now ruined for anything but.  Mercy Me is just a great band. What else to say?  Their songs speak to me.  The guys are funny, and real, and just fun to be around.  During this tour, they have a question and answer time in the middle of the concert.  Mike D. from Tenth Ave North went out into the audience with a mic and took questions from people, and the Mercy Me guys answered them.  Since this is a time when everyone is sitting down, I took out my laptop and joined in the chat that was going on with the livestream of the concert. I'm pretty sure the other people around me thought that was pretty weird, but Mike Scheuchzer thought it was funny.   One person asked what their favorite song (of their own) was, and Bart made up an answer for Jim (who plays the keyboard and didn't have a mic.) I, being in the front row, heard Jim's real answer, which was, "Whatever Barry sings."  They are always joking around, those guys. My laptop battery is not the best, so I didn't get to say too much in the chat.  I heard I was on camera once, but thankfully I didn't have to see that. 

After the concert I spent some time talking to the master of live broadcasts, Brody Harper.  Such a nice guy! I love reading his wife, Kristin's blog too. Someday I hope to meet her.  Jonny Diaz was hanging out at his merch table, so I introduced myself.  I'm pretty sure he was barely hanging on at that point. He'd been up very early that morning and flown from Merrillville (oddly enough) to Fort Wayne, IN, and then back to Valpo for the concert.  Brody had gone with him and they were both pretty wrecked by the end of the concert.  Jonny was sick too. Poor guy. He'd lost his voice and had to do two concerts that day. 

I also finally got to meet the guys from Tenth Avenue North!  Jeff was really nice, and I was so glad to meet Mike D.  I've spent quite a bit of time chatting with his parents during the livestream concerts, and on fb.  Such great people! I didn't get a picture with them, because they were in a signing line, and there was a table in the way.  I should have asked anyway, but I felt awkward doing so.  Because contrary to popular belief, I am not a groupie or a stalker!  Just someone who really, really loves the music (and the people behind the music) that help make life more pleasant.

Bekah and I made it home before midnight (barely) which made Monday hard.  I had every intention of starting back at the gym on Monday after work, but instead ended up taking a friend to the ER and sitting with her there, the whole day.  But that's another story for another time. 

Mercy Me...again!

It's been over a week since I've written anything new, and seeing as how it's Tuesday, I thought I'd do a 'Tiny Talk Tuesday'.  However, I've been voted down on that and 3 of my faithful readers are requesting details of the past weekend's happenings. So, this post is dedicated to my good friends, Shellie, Sarah, and Evan!

Sunday I had the chance to see my favorite band, Mercy Me, play a concert near my town.  It's pretty rare that a Christian band plays near here (near being under an hour's drive.)  Rarer still that it would be my favorite band! To say I was excited is an understatement. I had ordered gold circle tickets for Bekah and myself at a whopping $35 each the day they went on sale. Because I don't take chances! 

But...to keep you hanging, I have to tell you about the adventure we had getting to the concert first! (Haha...I know Sarah and Shellie are just wanting me to get on with the story, but Evan will enjoy this:)  On our way I was to drop Marissa off at a friend's house to help with a birthday party.  As I was leaving their house, their little chi uah uah followed my car.  They have a super long driveway and the kids were driving up and down in the golf cart. That little dog followed me all the way out to the busy road!  I stopped the car and yelled at Lilly to go back. She of course ignored me and ran across the busy road, causing me to have a minor heart attack!  I parked and got out of the car and when traffic had cleared, I ran across after her.  By this time the kids were behind me yelling, so I told them to stay behind my car well clear of the traffic.  The dog was no where to be seen.  I ran through a couple yards shouting for Lilly to come. Nothing.  Finally after about 5 minutes of walking on the side of a busy road, I spotted Lilly running around in someone's fenced back yard. I rang the doorbell, and just my luck, no one was home!  I followed the fence around praying the neighborhood watch peeps didn't call the cops on me.  After a few more minutes of calling to her, Lilly saw me and I faked her out by pretending I had a treat in my hand. I grabbed that stupid, little dog and marched her back to her owner.  Good thing I left super early for the concert!

We got to Valpo way early, just in case the Mercy Me guys did a tweet and greet.  For those of you unaware of what that is, it's where the guys go to a coffee shop sometime before the show and send out a twitter message letting people know where they are so they can come hang out and chat for awhile.  I even gave them a suggestion for a great coffee shop ahead of time!  I wanted to be close, so I stopped in to visit some friends who live a mere 5 minutes from the coffee shop and the venue.  We had a great time, but there ended up not being a tweet and greet. I was bummed about that. 

Rebekah and I got to the venue at around 5:00, which is still pretty early considering the doors didn't open till 6:30 and the show wasn't to start until 7pm.  And there were still 20 people in line ahead of me!  As soon as the ticket counter opened, I went to pick up our meet and greet passes. Those were thanks to a good (no, great) friend!  The ticket people sent us back to the line which seemed wrong to me, but as a rule follower, I obeyed.  At around 6:10 I started thinking I should be more pro-active about this! I grabbed an official looking guy with all kinds of tags and walkie talkies.  Sure enough, we were supposed to be waiting inside with the other meet and greet people.  I know the people in line around me were shooting daggers with their eyes as we were escorted in the building. 

While we were waiting for the meet and greet to start, one of the 'official' people asked if anyone had gold circle tickets. We did! Out of all the meet and greet people, Bekah and I were the only ones.  She led us into the main sanctuary where the concert would be and told us to go ahead and choose our seats. We were the first ones in the whole place. Only security was in there! Of course we picked front row!!  Even if we hadn't had the meet and greet passes (from my inside source who shall remain nameless) we would have been the first 20 people in the buidling and gotten those seats anyway. God was really good to us!!  The 'official' lady even had the security person make sure she stood by our coats so no one would move them.  Can you say favor? 

The meet and greet was pretty typical of meet and greets. They have you make a line, and then you file past the band getting autographs and pictures.  But see, I've done all that before.  Since everyone else hadn't had a chance to reserve a seat I opted to go to the end of the line. I was trying to be sneaky too.  I thought they might chat a bit if I was last.  Yeah, well...Bart thought he was funny and when Bekah and I walked up he turned as if he didn't see me and said, "Ok, I guess that's it."  He started walking out and all the guys started to follow him! Funny guy. He was joking (I think.)  They did say hi and we got the customary pics, but it wasn't like the first time I got to meet them and they were all chatty and stuff.  Again, a bit of a let-down, but who am I to complain?!? Out of hundreds of people who didn't get to say hi to them, I did. 

Here's the pic of the MM guys with Bekah. If you want to see the rest, you'll have to go here.  If you want to hear about the actual concert, you'll have to come back tomorrow when I hopefully have more brain cells firing.

Monday In Bullet Points

It's Monday, and all I have are random thoughts bouncing around in my head (and YES, their bouncing does hurt!)

• Today was my last visit with the physical therapist for my injured hip. It is feeling better, but it's such a fun place. I'm going to kind of miss it.  I was given some of those giant stretchy bands and a whole bunch of exercises to keep working on. No more putting it off. Time to get back to the gym!
• I had a new student start today. She's very cute and quiet (and has a really cute name I wish I could share, but can't.) The count is up to 10 girls and 2 boys, and rumor has it another parent was looking at signing their child up for our Pre-K program sometime this week. Oh yeah, it's another girl.  I feel so bad for my two boys.
• I'm trying to do better at cooking meals. I actually cooked 3 times last week, and I'm cooking tonight.  When I grocery shopped, it was with a plan! I have a list of meals to make this week, and I'm going to do my best to stick to it.  I really hate to cook though.
• The Christmas program is coming along. Now that the script is written, and the songs downloaded, it's time to start working on the media part (video clips) and costumes. We have 28 berets to sew, 17 sheep costumes, 3 donkeys, 3 cows, and 3 doves.  Besides that, there are props to make.  Add in all the practice time we have to fit in with teaching 27 preschoolers and Kindergartners 7 songs, and you have me counting down the days until Christmas break.  Two glorious weeks off!!
• Poor Marissa. I was supposed to take her and her friends for a day of shopping in Schaumburg, IL for her birthday...which was at the end of September. Between lack of funds, sickness, and conflicting schedules, it still hasn't happened.  
• Today my afternoon coffee is now my evening coffee.  It's just been that kind of day.
• Everyone in this family has an early bedtime tonight! It's for my sanity's sake.
• Stupid baseball! I was looking forward to Dr. House. Boo!
• I took all the leftover Halloween candy to school and actually let my students have some at snack time today.  Only because it was "Cc" day and c says "k" as in candy. It's a rare treat for me to give them any sugary substance, so for them it was a great day.
• The weather here was beautiful today! Sunny and a perfect fall day. Too bad it get's dark early, I missed out on going for a walk.  The whole cooking dinner thing wrecked that plan.
• Ooh! Exciting news. This Sunday is the Mercy Me concert!  I'm very much looking forward to seeing them and Tenth Avenue North.  I've never gotten to meet the Tenth Ave. guys and I really hope that can happen.
• We have card club this Saturday too.  That's always a good time!

Well, dinner is almost done and Monday is almost over. Can I get an amen for that?!?

Cheers!

Between the title of the last post and this one, you would think I'm a big drinker. Not unless you're referring to Arnold Palmer's, in which case I am. No, I'm talking about the place. You know, the tv show.  I was going to write a long post about the live Mercy Me concerts online and how all the folks who are in the chatroom during the show have become my friends and all that.

Unfortunately, and nice and kind and good thoughts I had about that have been pushed out of my head. By what you ask? Stress and Christmas carols.  The stress coming from the fact that we are 30 school days away from the Christmas program. That I'm still working on. This is a hard one. I wrote the dialogue and chose the songs and I'm just afraid it's going to be a big flop.  That and we're kind of getting a late start. It'll be ready to start teaching them by Monday.  At least that's what I'm promising myself. 

In year's past, we've had a larger group with older kids, and done a full-blown musical. This year with just the Pre-K and Kindergarten, things are different.  Our theme is "Christmas Around the World".  I am excited about the songs I've found. Did you know you can get "Jingle Bells" in ANY style you could ever want on itunes?!?  I've spent hours today listening to song clips to determine which is best for the 12 songs we need.  The daycare classes sing 2 songs each, and then the Pre-K and Kindergarten will do a mini-play with 6 songs throughout. 

The other issue is that this is the first time I've done anything like this. I'm trying to rest in the knowledge that I've put my all into this and done my best, and no matter what anyone says about it, it's a good thing.  That's hard.  I could never, ever be someone who constantly gets critiqued on what they do. My skin is not that thick!  Well, back to itunes.  I need one more Christmas song that fits in with our theme. It's not as easy as you might think.

Hangover

I'm not sure if you can get a hangover from cough syrup with codeine, but man, my head was fuzzy well into this morning.  I just didn't feel 'right' today.  Yet, I got up and went to work. Because I'm stupid like that.  If I'm honest about it, I'm just being selfish with my class. I don't want anyone else teaching them.  I'm afraid they'll mess it up...or mess them up.  It's Pre-K for Pete's sake! How bad could someone mess it up?  This group of kids this year is kind of struggling with hearing the letter sounds, and I don't know...I'm just being over...whatever. Tomorrow is parent teacher conferences too. I can't miss those!

Since I'm a glutton for punishment, and my throat is raw from coughing, I came right home and took some more cough syrup.  I was in my flannel jammies, and in bed by 12:30.  Didn't even eat lunch.  I'm feeling 'not right' again.  Kind of shaky and weak.  So, in my bed I shall stay with my laptop to keep me company.  At least until the medicine kicks in and I fall asleep. Oh how I pray for the oblivion of sweet sleep to come soon.  I'm not looking forward to the fuzzy feeling later though, or to the conferences tomorrow.

Stop Picking on Me!

Have you ever had a day where it feels like life is picking on you? It's not any one person, or any one thing. It's not necessarily a 'bad day' kind of thing either.  I actually had a pretty good attitude today, despite working and living my life with bronchitis.  But let me start at the beginning.

The day was actually going fairly well. Until we were in the middle of our handwriting lesson. I had the students bring their papers up to my desk one at a time and we would look at it together and determine if it was their "best work" (we've been having issues with rushing to get our work done;)  As one little girl was walking away from my desk, one little guy was walking up. He decided to slide his paper to me across the desk as he was also on his way to the tissue box with a very runny nose.  Unfortunately, he slid his paper right into my coffee which spilled all over me, my white shirt, my white scarf, and my shoes.  Poor little guy was horrified!  It was a simple accident, and I made sure he knew that.  I was feeling very sticky and had a Dr.'s appointment scheduled immediately after work.  Thankfully we live close and someone was available to cover my room for 15 minutes so I could run home and change.  The fate of my white clothing is yet to be determined.  

The doctor's appointment was fine except for the waiting room. There was a sign that said if you were coughing you would be given a mask to wear. I didn't want a mask, so I spent 15 min. trying NOT to cough. Not fun.  Turns out I have bronchitis. She gave me a script for an antibiotic and some cough syrup (woo hoo- the good kind with codeine in it:) After coughing all last night, sleeping propped on pillows and realizing that Nyquil doesn't do SQUAT for me, this was very good news!  I decided to kill two birds...you know, so I went to Meijer to fill the scripts and pick up some much needed groceries and toiletries. Like toothpaste. We were at the point where you scrape the inside of the tube trying to get some on your brush. I was told half an hour. I did my shopping, went and waited in line. It's now been an hour. Still waiting. Finally get my antibiotic.  Yeah, it's the free kind! Unfortunately, they had a run on cough syrup with codeine and were fresh out.  They told me Kmart's pharmacy had some.  I told her I would never, ever set foot in that store. I hate it! She looked at me strangely and told me she'd call Walgreens. Great, they have it.  Off to Walgreens.

Repeat the process. Drop off the script. Wait. There's only 6 people ahead of me. Walgreen's is NOT that big.  I decide to go sit in my car. At least I can sit and cough in peace without people glaring at me for coughing and not wearing a mask.  I wait the 'estimated' 15 min. and drive around to the drive-thru to see 5 cars ahead of me! Seriously?!?  And that script ended up costing me $10. 

I finally made it home with a plan to make grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner...because that's ALL I can manage.  I did buy bagged lettuce at the store, so I served a vegetable too (and fresh at that.) 

Dinner's over, homework has been started, and my husband is straightening the kitchen. I'm getting ready to load myself up with meds and go watch some Dr. House.  I just hope life doesn't bully me tomorrow.  Because I WILL cry like a baby. 

Unclean, Unclean

With the whole H1N1/Swine Flu thing going around, if you are in any way sick people look at you as if you should be quarantined or at least yelling "unclean" as you approach so they can run away in fear.  I'm not THAT kind of sick, but sick is sick I guess.

My sick was brought on by allergies. I'm positive of it. Every year, and I mean every year, at this time (late October) I start getting cold symptoms. It eventually moves into my sinuses, my throat (I lose my voice), and then go into my lungs.  I've been coughing for days now, and my husband finally made me take some cough medicine last night so HE could sleep.  Through the whole week I've been dealing with this stuff, I've had no fever at all.  If it was swine or some other type of flu bug, I'm pretty sure I'd have a temp. Besides, the fact that I had this same thing at the same time last year, kind of proves it.  I have 2 options at this point. The ENT (ear, nose, & throat dr) wants me to have sinus surgery. I don't! I'm going to look into allergy shots and see if that is something that would help. We shall see.

I got in bed Friday afternoon and have slept and watched movies until today. I'm finally feeling ok enough to be out of bed. Praise God the drummer in my head has stopped the incessant pounding!  My voice is back, and I think I'm on the mend.  Today I have to catch up on all the weekend stuff I missed by laying around in bed.  Laundry, school stuff...you know, the 'work' of the weekend.  I'm hoping my family pitches in without too much griping and complaining. 

I hope all of you, my faithful readers, are well and healthy!