The adventures of Jack and Ellie

Ellie has a little stroller for her dolls. This weekend, Jack climbed into it and Ellie was pushing him around the house. She then came up with the brilliant plan to get a running start and then send Jack flying across the wood floor from the living room to the play room (formerly known as our dining room). Both kids were screeching with laughter and I jumped up to get my little video camera to capture the moment. I called Tom in to watch and he immediately voiced his concern, telling me that Jack was going to get catapulted from the stroller. I rolled my eyes because Tom is soooo overly-cautious and proceeded to record. Although they had done this several times by now, this time Ellie somehow sent Jack flying across the room…right into the corner of the wooden cradle. Oops. I have it on video, but for once I am not going to blog it because a.) it makes me look like a bad parent and b.) you can hear Tom yelling at me at the end of it.

Just in case you were wondering, Jack was totally fine once he stopped crying. And his new bump blended in with all the other ones.

Sunday Best: This will only make sense to about 1/2 of you edition

Ellie was asked to talk in Primary last Sunday. All week long, she has been a mixture of nerves and excitement. I think I am allergic to talking in front of a lot of people. I am a little shy of microphones. But when I would ask her if she didn't want to do it, she would emphatically say no. Ellie can never turn down the opportunity to be the center of attention. She was asked to share her favorite scripture story. We decided to tell the story of Lehi and the Liahona (using the model Liahona my dad made for Leilani for her baptism as a prop). She knew the story backward and forward, but when she got up there, she kept turning around for prompts from me. So I went to stand next to her and she loudly whispered, "I can do it myself!" Well, excuse me! I am pretty certain she dragged that short story out a few extra minutes just so she could be up on the stage a little longer.

Go Western Day

I love Go Western Day! Ellie has participated in it for the last 3 years. Last year I actually bought her an outfit specifically for that day. Well, that and the rodeo, but then I forgot to dress her in it for the rodeo. Oh well.
This year, I was not spending any money. She already had the hat from last year's trip to the rodeo and we borrowed some boots from Aidyn. As for Jack, I put him in a pair of hand-me-down boots from Kolby. I tried them on him yesterday and it was so funny. At first, he was scared to walk so he would hold onto the wall, but after a few seconds he was stomping around in them and threw a fit when I took them off him! The kid loves shoes. This morning he kept trying to walk around in Tom's running shoes. He would manage a step or two before tripping and then he would yell and throw the shoes a few feet. And, of course, he would then do the whole thing over again. I got tired of it after a few times so I took the shoes from him....which led to an even bigger fit until I found something bright and shiny to distract him with. Babies.

What I Did Over My Spring Break

Spring Break flew by so quickly! It seemed we were constantly on the go, but I find I only have a few, poor-quality pictures to show for it.

I enrolled Ellie in swim lessons over the break. She loved swim lessons and her instructor to death, but she did not make any progress. Part of the problem was the other boy in her class was terrified of the water so the instructor spent most of her time with him and when it was Ellie's turn, she didn't push her at all. But, Ellie had a blast so that makes spending all that money on lessons a little more bearable.

My favorite part of each Spring Break is taking the kids to the Rodeo. This year, Dianna and her kids joined us. Ellie was so thrilled to have her best friend, Kinleigh, to go on the rides with her!
The petting zoo portion is always a big favorite. This deer was so funny...it kept trying to eat Ellie's hat and Dianna's shirt. I bought food for the kids to feed the animals and Ellie went at it like a pro. My sister, however, freaked out and dropped the whole thing!
Jack loved the animals, as I knew he would. He wanted to feed them, too, so he kept picking up the bedding from the floor and shoving it into poor, unsuspecting animals' mouths. I put a stop to it when I caught him trying to sample it himself.
Other things we did over the break (for journaling purposes...super boring...feel free to skip):

Tom had a track meet Wednesday so Dianna and I took the kids to the park for a picnic. Dianna is a much better mom than I. She packed her kids sandwiches, sliced apples, and homemade cookies. I stopped at the store on my way over for Lunchables.

On Thursday, after I took Ellie to her last swim lesson, Tom and I left for a quick trip to San Antonio. My mom stayed with the kids and it was so nice to have a break from the daily routine of putting kids to bed, getting up at 5:30 with the kids, feeding the kids, listening to kids scream, etc. We returned on Friday and when we pulled up in the driveway, Ellie spotted us and burst into tears. She wanted nothing to do with us because she was so upset her grandma would be leaving. It's nice to know we were missed.
Friday was my nephew Brannon's birthday party. Ellie had so much fun that she informed me she wanted her family birthday party to be at the Little Gym instead of Chuck E Cheese's as she had previously requested. I told her I had already booked her Chuck E Cheese party. To which she responded, "I'll have to think on it."

Now I am back at school and that small taste of freedom has me anxiously awaiting summer.

Ramblings of the sleep deprived

I am officially on Spring Break and it is not going as planned. Friday was supposed to be an easy day at school. I was going to teach idioms to my ESL kids and then have them draw them while I sat on my butt and relaxed. But, my morning was just getting underway when I received that dreaded phone call from the daycare. Actually, they called our school's switchboard so I received the news via the intercom in my room. It is always a little scary when a voice comes unexpectedly through the ceiling. Especially when you have music playing while your kids draw and the Top 40 station you picked may or may not have been playing a slightly inappropriate song. But I digress. Apparently, Jack had a 102.3 fever and I needed to go get him immediately. So, once again I am running around trying to find a sub and then typing up a lesson plan for said sub. I walked into the daycare all indignant because I knew my kid was completely fine and ready to demand they check his temp with me present. Yeah, one look at the kid and a quick palm to his steaming, hot forehead and I slunk out of there in shame with both kids in tow. I called my little sis to cancel our plans for the night (hanging out eating brownies and pizza while our kids destroyed her house). Tom and her husband were going to the NCAA track meet together and we were looking forward to some girl-time. I think I must have jinxed her because she got a call from her daughter's elementary school a few minutes later saying to come get her because she was throwing up. So, for the third night in a row, I was home alone with the kiddos (Tom had track meets the previous two nights...have I mentioned how much I "love" track season?). Jack woke up crying every 30 minutes throughout the night. At 4:30 he decided he was up for good and was going to spend his day crying and demanding to be held. Of course, Tom is gone all day today at that darn NCAA track meet. Why do people run? Why?

I am so glad I have this blog so I can look back in my archives and reassure myself that Ellie was always sick, too, at this age and it does eventually get better. I just hope it gets better fast because I have all sorts of plans for Spring Break. Ellie is enrolled in swim lessons, we are going to the Rodeo, and my mom is coming to stay for a night so Tom and I can have a quick, romantic getaway to the exotic San Antonio Riverwalk.

Well, this is just going on and on and I am not sure it will make the cut when I turn 2011 into a blog book. I was going to write about Ellie's weird eating preferences and Jack answering no to everything, but I'll just save that super exciting post til next time.

I guess she doesn't like naps

"Mommy, guess what happens in kindergarten?"
"Um, you learn new things and have lots of fun?"
"No! There are no naps!"
"Oh. That's nice."
"I been waiting my whole life for no naps!"

On being a teacher

So much has been in the news lately about education and the budget crisis. This is my 4^th year of teaching and I can honestly say that I have never worked so hard at a job in my life. I come home from work each day emotionally and physically exhausted.

My first job was when I was 16. I worked for a year at a $1.25 dry cleaner that did not have air conditioning. I spent every day standing behind the counter in the sweltering heat of the Houston summer. My next job was at a pizza place where my main duties were washing dishes, cleaning bathrooms, and mopping the floor. And yet, those jobs were nothing compared to teaching.

I love my students. I find myself getting genuinely attached to them. So many nights, I will wake up in the middle of the night thinking about a certain student. Miguel was really quiet in class today. I need to make a point of talking to him tomorrow. In my classroom, I have had fights, drugs, pregnancies, loss of loved ones, drop outs, and much, much more. Yesterday, the teacher in the room next to mine (who also teaches the same subject) had a student with a gun in his back pack. And yet each year I feel more confident as a teacher and more able to enjoy my students.

I went downstairs a few minutes ago to make copies, only to return to my classroom empty handed because we are out of paper. “When will we get some more?” I asked. “I don’t know,” was the reply. “Whenever the next shipment comes in.”

All around me is talk of budget cuts, loss of jobs, higher class numbers, elimination of programs. And I worry. I don’t worry so much about my job, but about Ellie who is starting school for the first time next year. Will she be placed in a class of 40 students with a teacher who is overwhelmed by paperwork and numbers and who simply can’t keep up with everyone? What will high school be like by the time she and Jack are teenagers? What will education be like? Because from where I am standing, in my classroom every day, the future of education looks grim.

Sibling dynamics

Ellie and Jack are 3 1/2 years apart. When I was pregnant with Jack, I would worry that the age difference between him and Ellie was too great and they would not be close. But, as Jack grows, I see his relationship with Ellie evolving as well. He loves Ellie so much. When she walks into the room, he runs to her and presses his head into her (his form of hugs). He always lights up with a smile when he sees her and wants to follow her everywhere. He gets so frustrated when she can do things he can't. Ellie quickly picked up on Jack's proclivity to copy her so she will do the goofiest things and then laugh and laugh when Jack follows suit.

Now that Jack is able to follow her commands, Ellie also likes to play "school" with Jack. She is always the teacher and orders him to sit on the ground and do as she says. Some days he is a more willing pupil than others.

Ellie can also be counted on to protect Jack. The other day, Jack climbed up on the computer chair, then onto the desk, and then onto the printer (which had some papers and the Candyland game stacked on top). Ellie came running into the kitchen screaming that Jack was up high. I ran into the room to find him precariously perched on the Candlyland game and playing with Tom's bobblehead. Of course, I don't rely on Ellie to watch Jack for me, but he is pretty fast so it is nice to have an extra pair of eyes. When Ellie is leaving the room, she usually asks me to keep on eye on Jack for her.

Even though she gets jealous of all the attention Jack receives, that doesn't stop her from declaring over and over that Jack is her "one true love." I just hope they are always as close (though I am pretty sure she will no longer refer to him as her one true love when she is in high school).

Sunday Best: Spring is Here edition

I know I haven't been doing my Sunday Best pictures much lately, but not to worry, I am still going to church. Usually, I am just running too late to try to take pictures. Also, since I started teaching Sunday School, I have been leaving Jack at home with Tom every other Sunday. Oh my gosh, I get so much more out of church when I am not chasing Jack around or trying to keep him occupied. I would leave him every Sunday, but Tom really treasures his alone time. Now that Jack is (almost) 17 months, I thought I would try to put him in the nursery. He was having none of it. In fact, his melt down was so intense that he wouldn't even go to his beloved aunties. He eventually calmed down enough to spend the rest of church sleeping in Dianna's arms.

On a completely different note, check out Ellie's hair! She has been requesting specific 'dos as of late and her hair is finally long enough to meet her demands. I was pretty proud of myself because I am sadly lacking in the hair styling department.

One final unrelated thing...do I not have the palest children on the planet? It is almost like they have no skin pigmentation. I am already stocking up on the sunscreen for this summer.

Thinspiration

As I was walking down the hallway at school today, a teacher I don’t usually talk to asked me when my baby was due. I politely told her that I already had my baby. “Oh, you just had your baby?” “No, I had him last year.” She apologized and I quickly shrugged it off and told her I had been packing on the pounds since Thanksgiving. She told me that I need to take the baby and walk two miles every day and the weight would come off. Then, she told me to eat more fiber and recommended that I try Weight Watchers because it really worked for her daughter.

I know. So helpful. I was feeling really tempted to skip Zumba today, but I guess I will be hauling my pregnant-looking belly to the dance gym after school.