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Ryan, Jenaka, and Sara

Ryan, Jen, and Sara are the children of my very good friend. I always tell her wow much I love Jen but I thought I would give a little post for the others as well.

I remember when Ryan was born. I was in awe that my friends were staring to have children (especially because Melissa had a baby a day before or a day after Ryan as well. sorry guys I can't remember who is older). Not that he is seven it seems that there never was a day when he was a baby. The thing that impresses me the most about Ryan is that he is an innovator and an explorer. The kid is brilliant. He loves knowing how things work, why things are, and so forth. I think the reason why he can be defiant sometimes is because he just wants to know what will happen. That is the making of an amazing scientist, engineer, businessman, etc. Ryan loves his sisters. Though he may at times need to be the tough man he has a very soft heart for Jen and Sara. Whenever I babysit them (which hasn't been a lot) he always is making sure I am taking care of the girls correctly. When Jen was still in diapers and I was watching them, he did not think I knew how to change her diaper correctly so he was adamant that he do it. He wanted to make sure I put Sara in her bed correctly with her blanket and binky. He checked on Sara often during her nap and would report to me that she was still sleeping. Ryan is all boy. He will be a stellar athlete in more than one sport. He is an independent boy that also thrives on knowing he is loved. Love him.

Jen just cracks me right up. If you have been on Kelli's blog you know that she is just a character. I love it because she does such weird things and it reminds me of me (my roommates will attest to that). My favorite pic of Jen is her sitting on the arm of the couch with one Michael Jackson glove on, maybe a boa, and the remote balancing on the top of her head. She will shake her booty with the best of them. She doesn't care if the world is watching, she was born to entertain. She loves to be beautiful and girly and she loves shoes (that's my girl). She gives the best hugs and still likes to hold hands while walking. I'm sorry Kel but she is going to have boys coming around (like mother, like daughter). Watch out when she is in middle school. If you need to send her to whatever school I am at at that time I will keep an eye on her.

Sara is the girl I know the least. However, she is just as cute as can be. If Kelli or Teri are not around she will attach herself to me and never let go. She is very loving. She is very animated and I think she is going to be a helper when she grows up. I think she is going to be the peacemaker of the house. She will mediate the fights between big bro and big sis. Her eyes are blue as the waters of the carribbean. They will make you melt. As she grows older I will get to know her more and learn the little quirks that make her unique.

By the way... Kelli you need to bye the book "A Blue So Blue". It is a must have. I have a copy and so does Teri if you want to read it.

Those are the kids in a nutshell. I love them all. And I love that they love me.

Wow, what a couple of weeks

Let me start by apologizing for it being so long since I have posted.

It has been so crazy busy at work with the first week of school. I think I stayed late almost every day which is very rare for me. I don't usually stay late at work. Being the head counselor is a lot more anxiety then I expected. I feel like I am drowning almost everyday. I will pay someone to come and clean and organize my office for me. I am not kidding. I will really pay you. It is a mess and it makes me even more anxious.

However, the first week of school is always so fun. I love seeing the students excited to come back. They girls start their high pitched screams when they see their friends they haven't seen all summer. The boys have grown a couple of inches and have deeper voices. The boys going through puberty is one of my favorite things. It is so funny. Their voices crack, they are awkward in their skin, and they really start to want to impress the ladies. It is fun to see who got braces over the summer and who got them off. I love working in a school. It keeps me hip (that's for you Teri).

Because I have been so busy at work, I have been exhausted. I haven't posted my picks of the girls and I going to East High (thanks Teri for the idea) or Homestead weekend. I will try and do that this weekend.

I'm totally losing it!

I am totally losing it right now. I have had the worst week at work. I can't even handle it. Let me just give a little advice to you parents. I know that you want what is best for your child at school but do not go based on your neighbors opinions of teachers. Students success is rarely based on the teacher the child has. Their success is more determined by what is happening in the home in conjunction with the school. If a child learns that their parent will take them out of a class if they are not being successful because it is a bad teacher then the child doesn't realize the value of their responsibility in their learning. Plus, your neighbor doesn't always know which is the best teacher. Please think about this before you call to change your child's schedule. I had over 60 voicemails yesterday and probably another 30 today just for schedule changes.
Also, please really, really, really do your research before sending your child to a charter school. I know they have the reputation of being better because class sizes are smaller but there is no research out there that supports smaller class sizes equals better performance. What it does equal is better teacher retention and happier teachers. However, I would say about 70% of the students who come to my school from a charter school are behind in their English and math skills. If you would like more of my opinion on this let me know.
Don't even get me started on vouchers! :)

My ranting is over. I've just had a very bad day.

Useless Knowledge

If you read my previous post you read "Houston, we've had a problem." Many of you might have thought the correct quote is "Houston, we have a problem" as did I until a couple of weeks ago. I was watching some show in which they said that the crew on Apollo 13 actually said "Houston, we've had a problem." They changed it in the movie because it was a more theatrical the other way. Therefore, if you say it the first way you are quoting the astronauts. If you say it the second way you are quoting the movie.

I Hate to Complain but...

You I hate to be a complainer and it is something I don't want to make a habit of but I have to say that sometimes it is so annoying being a female. Any men reading this are forewarned. You might want to stop reading now if talking about the female body functioning is not for you.
Anyway...

It gets so annoying to wake up twenty minutes before your alarm in such terrible cramping. Can't it just wait twenty more minutes? At least give me that. You get up to realize that another pain of garments are ruined. You realize this is not going to be your favorite morning. If you are like me, you are impatient with medicine. I take 800 miligrams of IBProfen (spelling?) and within ten minutes it is not working quick enough so I take another 800 miligrams. I get tempted to take another 800 miligrams after another ten minutes but I usually get stopped by the nearest person. So after being woken up and realizing there is another pair of underwear ruined I then get to deal with the pain. (I haven't even mentioned the pain that comes before I start. My breasts get so tender I can't even run on the treadmill).

However, though this scenario is annoying, it is better than what the alternative could be. It could be that I am in Florida with a boy I am interested in and we are standing on the tarmack of the airport watching the air show. There is not a bathroom in site. I am wearing white shorts and I get the ever dreadful feeling of "I need to find a bathroom and stat." His house is an hour away and he is not with it enough to understand what it means when I tell him we need to find a bathroom. He says he will stop at one but then never does. I am just concentrating on keeping my legs crossed tightly (like that helps). Not only that, but he decides we need to stop at the grocery store to pick up some ice cream. An hour and a half later you finally get home and walk non chalantly to the bathroom. "Houston we've had a problem". I spend probably twenty minutes in the bathroom trying to get everything back to normal. That includes using fingernail clippers to cut your garments because they just need to be thrown away. I come out of the bathroom and am asked "Are you okay?'' I just nod my head because men just don't understand the constant fear of the unpredictable dear aunt that likes to visit at inopportune times.
Anyway, my complaining is now over. The IBProfen kicks in and we are semi back to normal. Give it a couple of days and we will be functioning without fear again.

Olympics

I love the olympics. I really, really do. There is just something about it that is so much more fun to watch than other sporting events. Right now they are showing President Bush leaving the basketball game and he has like twenty men in black suits trying to surround him. I could not imagine that. Kobe Bryant is being malled by Chinese fans. Scary. Anyway, I love the swimming, trampoline, table tennis, gymnastics... Actually, I love every sport but handball, equestrian, shooting, and archery. The rest I enjoy watching.
Stephanie and I decided that we are going to train for the olympics in rowing or curling. We think we are not too old for those. What event would you do?

It's Been Awhile

Okay, so I realize I have not posted anything for a couple of weeks now. Let me apologize. I simply just forget.

Anyway, for those of you that are wondering, the waiter never called me. I am totally okay with that. I was actually really worried that he would call because I was so embarrassed. Plus, I honestly think that he was no older than 24. I don't know that a girl heading towards twenty-ten is his style.

I started work again. It is good to have a schedule again but this first week was one of the most difficult and busiest weeks since I've started at this school. Those of you that don't know, Richard who has been the other counselor at my school left to go to a high school so I am not the head counselor. This doesn't really mean anything other than I feel like I have more responsibility to make sure things are getting done. Our new counselor is just graduated so he is still learning the system. Also, he came from interning at a high school and high schools and middle schools are so different. We also work and a trimester, modified block schedule. We are the only school in the state that has it. Therefore, it is difficult to understand. I won't even begin to explain. Anyway, our schedule was all messed up and we had like 47 students in one class and that is not acceptable. I have been working all week to fix it. I stayed late every day except for Friday and that is just unheard of on the first week back. Needless to say, I have it 80% fixed so by Monday it should be completed. So again, it has been good to be productive again but it was a rough week and I was not a pleasant girl to be around.
Also, I have had many people ask me this lately (not just you Kelli), my degree is a Master's in School Counseling. The department is Educational Psychology but the degree is School Counseling. Most people think it is social work but they would be wrong.