Community Service

Today I took 6 of my students, one counselor (thanks Jeff) and went to my church to get some work done. Our parking lot was in bad shape. It is surrounded by a fence and other properties, and over the years trash, leaves and "crud" has piled up against the fence. We were there for four hours raking, bagging and cleaning the property. I think we removed about 30+ lawn and garden bags full of stuff! We also cleaned up all of the landscaping around the church grounds. I wish I could post pictures, but since they are juveniles, I can't. I wish I could show pictures of T, who has one of those smiles that makes you smile. He spent most of the time chasing Alison and playing ball with her. And A, who grabbed the camera and took about 10 pictures of himself. The same A who was in class last week talking about how he feels like a loser because of where he is and what he has done. There was J, a talented artist who rips up all of his pictures as soon as he is done, a talented write who says "I hate to write" who did the work of 4 kids. D, who misses his year-old son, who worked the whole time while joking with the guys. Lastly there was E & E. EA was away from his "boy from the out" for once, and it was nice to see him not putting on a show, and EG who worked hard and even seemed to forget that he is always trying to fit in, he just fit in for once. I wish I could show the great pictures I took of them when we were done, but they pictures go to the school, no where else.

There was one thing that happened that I will always remember. We went inside the church to use the bathroom, and the boys asked if there was somewhere they could pray. I opened the church door, and they silently went in to the darkened church, knelt down at the alter and prayed. As I stood at the door, and watched them, I saw them for what they really are. Not juvenile deliquents, not at-risk teenagers, but children of God. It is an image I wish everyone could see when they see them. Not rough teenagers looking mean, but children who kneel at the alter and ask for forgiveness. It is an image I will always keep with me. As we walked back out to get back to work, T turned to me and said "Now that was some good praying", and flashed that grin.

It is days like these that I know why I love my job so much, and why God led me to it.

writing or Writing

I had a professional development day last week, and although I abhor driving all the way out to Worcester and back, I do tend to come back with lots to think about. One thing that out instructor brought up was that it is difficult to teach writing if you aren't a writer. We don't have to be Writers (people who submit and sell) but writers, people who write. It really got me thinking. Do I consider myself a writer? I would like to, but I just don't write enough. Everything I have read says that to be a Writer (or writer for that matter) you have to write every day. Goodness knows I don't. Sure I write lesson plans as needs be, and e-mails along the way, but I don't just write.

So how do I start? A lot of people have suggested a journal. My problem tends to be that I am too tired when I go to bed to write in a journal. Maybe I need to start going to bed earlier and write in it. I also get bored with a journal (that says a lot for my life), so maybe I need to start looking for writing prompts for myself. I sure do have a million for my kids, I make them journal every day, but maybe it is time for me to. I have also thought about taking a course. The problem is, it needs to be an online course. I am just not ready to give up more time with Alison just yet.

I just have to start writing...

Favorite Quote

One of my friends from college has a blog, and she always has these great questions to answer. A recent one is "What is one of your favorite quotes?" I have quite a few. I have this great calendar at work, it is a daily one, and it is "Fabulous Broads." I forget who the quote is by, but I have it above my desk, it says:

"I may be a bad girl, but I am damn good company."

Another of my all time favorites is from Alice Roosevelt:
"If you don't have anything nice to say, come and sit by me."

A favorite movie quote? This one reaches back to a movie from the 80s, "Real Genius":
"I am thinking of the immortal words of Socrates who said 'I drank what?'"

And my favorite faith based quote:
"God never gives us more than we can handle, but sometimes I wish He didn't have so much faith in me"

podcasts

I have recently joined the masses in subscribing to some podcasts. I am not sure what took me so long, but I am addicted. I have 4 subscriptions, and I listen to them in the car on my way to work (after Ali is dropped off.) They are:

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day. I love this because a) I can use most of these word in a sentence, but I can't define them and b) the give the etymology of the word, and I LOVE etymology! After I listen to it I make up some sentences so I will remember it.

Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty tips for better writing. I think this is pretty self-explanatory. Love it!

NPR Story of the day. I love these, I get smarter with each one I listen to!

NPR Pop Culture: Gotta stay hip and up with the times!

For your enjoyment, a picture of me, wearing one of Ali's wigs. I love those wigs, more than her I think!

Mommy Favs

I have been thinking of the things that make my life as a Mommy easier. What are the new things that I think are cool?

1. Pediacare decongestant strips. Ali hates medicine. Hates it. She will fight me to the end about taking it, usually crying herself into a frenzy. Without it she sleeps horribly (all stuffed up and snoring). The strips are perfect. Once she is asleep, I slip them on her tongue and the melt away in a few seconds, giving her the dose with no fighting! Does slipping her meds when she is asleep make me a bad mom?

2. ToothTunes toothbrushes. These are the new toothbrushes that play music when you brush your teeth with them. It transmits the music through your jawbone, so you hear it loud and clear when you are brushing, but no one else can really hear it. It plays for 2 minutes (which is the recommended time for brushing), but only when brushing. When you stop brushing, it stops playing. Ali loves this, she is excited about brushing her teeth and I know she is getting the full 2 minutes in.

3. Baby Oatmeal. Although not new, it is a lifesaver for me. Ali has eczema and her hands have been horrible this winter because of all of the bitter cold we have had (well that and swim lessons). Oatmeal baths are great for her, but it is so expensive! It is like $5.00 for a few packs of oatmeal bath. I heard somewhere that regular baby oatmeal works just as well, so I tried it. It works better! It is a lot less expensive, and it really helps her skin. The only change I had to make to her bathing routine is to rinse her hair with clean water, the oatmeal was getting stuck in her hair!

I can't think of anymore, so I guess that makes it my top three!

Ali dressed herself this morning, and she was a sight! She put on a gold dress-up skirt with gold sequins on, and begged me to let her wear it. Why not? She added a purple tee shirt, black tights and black cowgirl boots. She topped it off with an off white knitted cardigan that is about two sizes too small. We went for a nice walk, then headed out to run errands. While in my mom's car (mine is in the shop - ugh!) she found her Cat In the Hat hat she made in preschool Friday and put that on. People stopped and watched her as we walked through Target. The nicest thing was, everyone was smiling. Don't you with you could put everyone in a good mood, just by what you are wearing. At Target she saw a pink cowgirl hat she wanted. I said no, but then she put it on, and it was so darn cute on her that I changed my mind. I also got her a orange terry-cloth hoody to replace the too-small sweater. The total look was amazing. Ahh, to be 5 again.