Food, shopping, decorating, micro-brews, great wine, more food...

I love having family in town.

A man and his dog...

Our Dixie girl has been a handful, but we love her just the same. I was looking back at pictures of her taken right after she joined our family - and holy cow, has she grown! She's not a big dog, but definitely fits solidly in the medium-sized category. I have no idea how much she weighs, but I'd guess between 35 and 40 pounds. It's supposed to be sunny for the rest of the week (fingers crossed) and I can't wait to take her over to the park and let her run herself ragged. She's got some energy!

My mom and dad are coming, and "Grandma" is bringing the girls some treats. Dixie has not yet met my mom and dad, so she doesn't yet know the sheer joy of a visit from the grandparents. Let's just say the dogs never go hungry. I would love to see the look on the face of the airport security guard who inspects my mom's suitcase...

Thanksgiving at our place...

...is going to be a pretty small affair. My parents are coming up, and we've spread the word around Will's squadron that anyone who would otherwise be spending the holiday sans family is welcome to join our festivities.

I think I'm going to put up my Christmas tree tomorrow. I don't want to waste a whole day of my parent's visit doing that, and if I wait until after they leave, I know I won't get it done. Little by little, the holiday will creep up and then it will feel like it's too late. You see, I'm convincing myself, too.

Car buying..not fun. A stressful way to spend a day off of work. But we're close. Very close.

We may soon be the owners of a vehicle made in this century.

A couple of thoughts on my parent-student-teacher conferences...

-When your phone rings? Three times? Don't answer it. Even if you have a Bluetooth deal and it "will only take a couple of seconds." It's rude, and we only have 20 minutes. And most likely, I've been needing to talk to you for some time about your child...and when I called, you didn't answer, or call back. Irony?
-Leave your dog at home. Yep, your dog - your Yorkie. The one that shivers and whines like a Chihuahua. It's rude.
-Even if you are having trouble with your kid at home, when I praise your child for responsible behavior, at least smile or nod or something. This is time to hear about your kid at school - please understand that sometimes kids act differently in their different realms. And I love your kid, and it breaks my heart when you ignore what I say to tell me how terrible they are at home (especially when they are sitting there with us...).
-Thank you, thank you, thank you for finding something to tell your child that you are proud of - even the smallest thing - because that pride makes my job easier.
-To the mom who cried because I told you that your child has every single quality a parent could ever hope for in a kid - the whole package? You are blessed as can be, but obviously you had such a part in this and I am so thankful for you, too, even though I'm pretty sure I never said that. Thank you for coming to the conference even though you don't speak English (only understand it a bit) and even though I could see it was uncomfortable for you. What an amazing family you have.
-I cannot tell you how thankful I am for the books you bought for me at the book fair. I know that it was a clever marketing scheme for us to have a "wish list" at the book fair so strategically open during conference time, but I really do appreciate the books. Our class will surely enjoy listening to me read "The Teacher's Funeral" aloud.
-Thank you for making the time to come. I don't know why the schools do it this way, on weekdays, and I know you had to take off work to come. I appreciate the sacrifice and I hope you found it worthwhile. So many of you responded so positively and wanted to hear what I had to say. And I know your kids were excited to show you their work, whether they looked like it or not - we've been working hard and they've done a great job.
-One last thing...If you hear something that you've heard before, like, every year before, maybe you should not respond, "Oh, he/she has always been this way/had this problem." How about we try to fix it? Together? When you say that, it's like you accept and don't care if it continues down the line...And when it's something like the fact that they don't know their multiplication tables, I guarantee it will be a benefit to the kid if we help them fix it now. But really, I can't do everything alone. Help me out, okay?
-I lied about the one last thing...Here's one more. When you can't even pay attention for 20 minutes, it's really NO SURPRISE that your kid can't either. And that's called learned behavior not a disorder. Just sayin'.


All in all it was a totally new and rewarding experience to have these conferences (never having been in elementary before). Overwhelmingly positive, and only one unruly parent. It was very interesting, and at times hilarious, to see into the other life of my kids, the home part. They are a fantastic bunch and I hope their parents know it. Getting to know them is really the best part of my job.

The daily grind...Usually when I get to school there is only one other teacher there. It is so quiet and peaceful. I love the planning part of teaching and getting ready for the day. Researching lessons and finding new ideas is just so fulfilling to me. The part with the kids - not always so fulfilling. It's a job where you have to wait for the little glimmers of hope - and sometimes wait a long, long time - to keep you going.

A glimmer of hope made it's way into my classroom last week. Because of Halloween, I kept hinting to my kids that I like sour candy and Baby Ruth candy bars. You know, just throwing that out there. On Thursday, several kids dropped little pieces of candy on my desk, sharing their loot...all the sweet kids who turn in homework and smile and can walk in a line without being reminded how that particular task is done. But then, like a shining star, my not-so-sweet-tough-guy approaches my desk with a FULL-SIZED Baby Ruth bar in hand. "For me?" I asked. It sure was! Turns out my tough-guy was given a full-sized Snickers from a man (of course this kid went to the right neighborhood so that he would end up with the best stash) - and instead of taking the candy and heading off to the next house, he asked to trade it for a Baby Ruth if the man had any. Tough-guy proceeded to tell the man why he wanted to trade, and the sweet man let him keep the Snickers and gave him a candy bar for me. Two other boys in the class, both trick-or-treating with tough-guy, corroborated his story. So, on my desk sits a delectable treat, although I'm not sure I am ready to devour it just yet - it's a nice reminder that it's the little things, the ones no one else sees, that make this job warm my heart. A candy bar on my desk.

Sounds trite, but I'll bet teachers (and moms, too) will know just what I mean.

This place is definitely not rubbing off on me...

It's cold here, y'all. Really cold. So cold that I'm finding myself needing a second cup of coffee to keep warm in my frigid classroom. No one makes good coffee at school, so I bring a thermos. However, bringing a thermos for cups two (and three) AND carrying a travel mug is not only cumbersome, but provides for more things to wash. So I'm thinking about buying some of these (at Wal-Mart, of course - they're even made by Dixie, so it's like a piece of the South in my hand...don't think about the disposable part):


Maybe the coffee part is rubbing off on me. But the "environment first, at all costs" part - not so much. So, more trash...but less water, right? Maybe I'm becoming a conservationist after all.

Had a bad day again...

Earlier this week the local paper came to our school. They took pictures of my class using the computer lab. The article the picture was printed with had nothing to do with us, but with a technology levy our district is putting on the ballot in the Spring. No big deal, right? Well, this afternoon I found a card in my box at school. It was addressed to me (well, to they way the paper incorrectly spelled my name). Inside was the ugliest comment, a personal attack, about the way I was dressed.

Our district is very casual, which I think I've mentioned before. I was wearing a pair of blue khaki pants (which did look like jeans in the picture), a jean jacket, and Birkenstock clogs (which are pretty typical here in this part of the country, not surprisingly). The note basically said that the way I was dressed undermined the fact that teachers have had to work hard to be recognized as professionals. Excuse me! What century to we live in? Not to mention it's elementary school, full of glue, glitter, sitting on the floor and playing with kids at P.E. and recess! Just to make sure I wasn't breaking any sort of rules with my dress, I checked the dress code for teachers - nothing revealing, nothing with inappropriate logos or writing...we can wear sleeveless tops, jeans, and flip flops for goodness' sake!

I recognize that my job is a public job. I would welcome anyone into my classroom to see the quality of instruction and the way we conduct ourselves. With all of the stress surrounding our job as educators, the last thing I think we should be concerned with is dressing casually (especially when it is allowed!). Of course, the note was anonymous, because they commenter knew there was no merit in their malicious remark. I wish people would realize that if they would just become more involved in their local schools (especially if they have the time to sit around and write nasty notes all day) they might actually know what is going on and have something a little more substantial to talk about.

Grr. No wonder this guy wrote this and this.