In the last week, I have been on the teacher end of 16 conferences and on the parent end of 3. I can honestly say that this year has been very calm, as far as parents go... actually, I have never had what some teachers would label as 'bad' parents, but this year I have really, really good parents, always willing to help out in all capacities. I so appreciate parents that take an interest in their child's education. I think kids feel valued when their parent is present in some way :)

As a parent, I apparently have the most loving, attentive, hard working children on earth... I am not sure if the teachers were truly talking about MY children... kind of hard to believe, but that's what they said, so I guess it's either true or my kids are really good at playing the role of 'good kids' at school... I wish they would practice more at home ;)

Seriously though, now that it is my 2nd year teaching the same grade, I feel like I am getting somewhere... last year was my 'getting my feet wet' year and now I am getting the chance to implement everything I learned by trial and error last year... and before you get too worried, my kids from last year survived and are thriving in 2nd grade... didn't mean to make them sound like guinea pigs...

The first week of school I was doing a little crying and a little drinking... or maybe a lot of both. I was ready to quit, but now, I am loving life and my job and my 22 sweet kids. Can someone PLEASE remind me of this about September 5 of next year.... ???

Dinner

I made the best thing today and, for the first time in a LONG time, not one of my kids complained they didn't like it!!!! Yay! Ok, I took regular Pilsbury crescent rolls. A can comes with 8, but I cut them so that instead of one big triangle, I have 2 smaller triangles. I grated medium cheddar cheese and, in this case I used turkey lunch meat and cut it into small pieces. I put a pinch of both cheese and turkey , then sealed the dough around it and put them, seam side down on a cookie sheet. They baked at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. The recipe made 16 small pot stickers and each child easily ate 4, with pears and peanut crackers (their combination, not mine!). Yum! (I am calling them pot stickers because I don't know what else to call them and they kind of look like pot stickers... )

For Stacey and me, I made personal chicken pot pies. I put chicken, cooked and cut, into a pot with cream of mushroom soup, onion, carrots, peas, green beans and peppers. I added salt, pepper and garlic salt and boiled for about 10 min. Then I buttered 4 personal bundt pans (that was the only small oven safe dish set I had) and put a Pilsbury crescent over it, brushed it with butter and baked it for 10 min. I also made Campbell's chicken noodle soup to go with it. The first pic is my real meal with pot pies and soup, the second is just a stock photo of pot stickers... forgot to take an actual pic of those :(

It was good!

Happy Wednesday!

Ryan...

Undisputably, one of the best candid kid pics ever taken, which means I must tell the story of Ryan and Lucas.



Andrew is very 'type a,' and Grace is one step bossier and more outgoing than that....



But Ryan and Lucas are a very different story. When Lu was born, Andrew wanted another girl and since he didn't get his way, he pouted. Grace was too young to care and I think was just happy that her diva status wasn't interfered with. Ryan wanted a little brother... soooooo bad. When he came out, he looked just like Ryan and that was all it took.. Ryan was in love. Ryan was 4 years old when Lu was born. He followed us around the house, was constantly fussing over him, watching him sleep, giving him his blanket, offering to get me diapers.... you get the point. I sometimes found Ryan asleep with a pillow and blanket on the floor next to Lucas's crib. It was precious.

Lucas must remember this, becuase anytime he needs anything (and 2 yr olds have needs... a lot of them) he goes to Ryan. When he gets hurt, he seeks out Ryan to kiss it. When he needs help getting his undies back on, he asks Ryan. I even remember once, when Ryan got a splat on the hand for something and was sent to his room, he called for Lucas to come kiss it. Ryan never leaves Lu out of anything, even offering for Lu to be on his 'team' when the kids play football, baseball or even Clue.

These are the brothers you read about in stories.... I can't wait to see them as adults. I so want to call one of my children, only to have them tell me they will have to call me back because they are on the other line with one of their siblings. I love watching the brotherhood between Lucas and Ryan... it makes me proud as a mother.

The story of Andrew and the teeth...

My son Andrew has the most beautiful teeth I have ever seen. I had braces from 5th to 8th grade and even then, I wondered if a few more years weren't needed. When he originally lost his teeth he was, of course, precious as all 5 yr olds are (You should SEE my little Junie B in my class that just lost her top front... adorable). Then the big ones started to grow in... and by 'big,' I mean humongous, ginormous, he-could-eat-the -ever-livin'-heck out of an apple goofy looking Bugs Bunny teeth! (It is proper to capitalize the names of cartoon characters, true?) Anyway, everyone told me he would grow into them... I was just wondering how big they expected him to get...

Fast forward 3 years and I swear the child has one of the mist beautiful smiles I have every seen. May be it's because he's mine, but daddies, it's time to start locking up your daughters, because he has moves, let me tell you... At recess (yes, Amy, I was inspired by your recess story), his friends play football and the girls play cheerleader. He recently informed us that his roll in all this is that of the cheerleader coach. After my dear husband recovered from choking on his steak he, not so tactfully, informed Andrew that he was NOT going to be assuming that roll any longer and needed to tap into more masculine (meaning less feminine) talents. Being the smart boy that he is, he came the next day to tell us that he was no longer the cheerleader coach, that another boy had taken that job (note to self, find out who this boy is and thank him), and is now a yell leader. Now, since my husband literally bleeds maroon (no, really, I have seen it), how could he argue? He couldn't, which is funny by itself, but the truly classic part came when I asked him why he'd rather be on the sidelines, than the field to which he replied...

"Um, Mom? That's where all the hot chicks are..." making a valid point, as usual!

Just a side note, he is in love with a precious little girl named Sarah and he even named a Webkinz after her... and I kind of told her, which he doesn't know... does that make me a bad mom?

Additional side note, I realize that the television show in the background looks like it might possibly appear to fall into the "adult film" category, but it is really the episode of One Tree Hill where Payton gets shot in the school library by Jimmy, the hefty guy that clearly needed therapy... just wanted to clear that up before folks jumped to wrong conclusions :)

I have a 5 1/2 yr old daughter. Her name is Grace. Her brothers, who were 3 and 1 1/2 when she was born, had a little trouble saying "Gracie", so they called her Gigi. It fits. She is diva-ish. (BTW, I had a professor in college that pronounced 'diva' with the long /i/ sound when reading "Lily and the Purple Plastic Purse" and it drove me NUTS) Anyway, she loves to have toe nails painted, loves make up and still has glitter stuck to her scalp from her dance recital in MAY... which is a good indicator of the quantity she thought necessary to be a ballerina. I love this child because she is quirky... she has a routine at night before she goes to bed: She gives me hug, kiss, kiss, hug. She gives her daddy hug, kiss, hug, kiss. DO NOT EVER try to sneak in an extra hug or kiss or she will fall to pieces adn then give you the look pictured above.... seriously.

Grace started Kindergarten this year. I teach at the best elementary school within 50 miles so naturally, she comes to school with me. Now, my co workers only knew me as mom to my two rough and tumble boys who went to school with me... boys who play soccer, rarely match and never comb their hair. I think people were a little shocked to meet Grace. She is at least a head shorter than 90% of the kindergarten class as a whole, the bottom of her backpack hits her in the back of the knees and it isn't abnormally large, but she has the biggest personality of anyone I know. I often find the women in the office or the kinder aides telling "Grace" stories.... my best friend teaches kinder this year and always has something to tell me.

I am glad I only have one girl, so we can go get mani/pedi's, go to lunch at the tea room (which CLOSED and I am not quite over that yet), and shop!!! (boy, does she love to shop). I think I was made to have just one goofy little girl. Have I mentioned that I predict raising her will be equally, if not more difficult than raising all three of my boys combined? I love Grace!

I wonder what the seeds would look like...

There is a waste water sewage plant on the edge of the Bryan/ College Station city line... Needless to say, when the weather is right, that area (and depending on the wind, others) stink!!!

Well, my kids are curious are EVERYTHING, so once, a while back one of them asked what the smell was. After a rousing roundabout of "you tooted, no you tooted, no it was dad, no, it was Lucas," Stacey finally told them it was a 'poop plant.'

Fast forward a few months (years, whatever) and I overhear a conversation between my sweet Grace and a friend of mine... they were discussing gardening and I hear my lovely fair haired, blue eyes like an angel child (with the mouth that I would liken to a 5 year old sailor) say:

" I really want a garden, but I will never EVER put poop plants in it"

Kids are so literal.... That was funny.

Lucas strikes again

Charly and I love TV. We DVR way to many shows and somehow, usually, get to them all. Usually it is by staying up late at night for me and waking up very early for her. Well, it was late and I had just finished watching today's DVR events and had to pop into the restroom. I was in the living room and everyone else was asleep, so I decided to go to Grace's bathroom since it was closest.

So... when I flushed the toilet, it gurgled and the water did not go down. This is a very familiar sound these days, as Lucas is now potty trained. Apparently, it is fun to watch a pencil, plastic knife, and now a plastic spoon go down the toilet.

The situation is now handled and sweet little Grace will have no problems in the morning.... the only question is, what little surprise will I find next?

Tortilla Soup

8 servings

1 tablespoon oil

1 onion, chopped fine

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can corn, drained

1 32 ounce box chicken stock

1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies, mild

1 can petite diced tomatoes

chicken breast, cooked and shredded

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon cumin

colby cheese, grated

monterrey jack cheese, grated

sour creamtabasco sauce

1 avocado, sliced

tortilla chips, crushed

Saute onion and peppers in oil until tender in large stock pot. Add all cans to pot. Add chicken and seasonings. Simmer until serving. Top with cheeses, sour cream, tabasco sauce, avocado and tortilla chips. Enjoy!

*** I STOLE this from my friend (who is actually my son's soccer coaches wife) and it looked so good, I am am about to start it for dinner tonight. Here is her amazing blog that will make your heart smile... www.heritageschoolhouse.blogspot.com

Insomnia

I suffer from insomnia. Why? I drop dead at night, barely able to brush my teeth or wash my face before falling into bed, and yet this morning for example, I was up bright eyed at 3am. I fought it, but then decided that it wasn't too productive lying in a dark room, thinking about all I had to do to get ready for the week, and got up. It is now 4:45am. I am showered, make up on, I have run a load of laundry, printed some things for school, made my bed, and obviously am now blogging.

I don't understand this at all. I think I am going to take something tonight, to ensure this doesn't happen two nights in a row.

On an unrelated note, I think if I can go all the way through October without having to take a sick day, I am going to schedule a day off with my husband in November to go to the new outlet mall just outside of Houston for a little Christmas shopping.... and now that I've typed this, I wonder what horrible virus will descend upon my family....

Lu and the sharpie

Lucas is my beloved 2 1/2 year old son. He is the 4th and last child, therefore he is a little strange. He has an unbelieveably large vocabulary and can articulate his ideas and opinions very clearly. That being said, he, on occasion, reminds us that he is in fact just a 2 year old. He chose to do this today by waking up before anyone else, sneaking in to the junk drawer and finding a bright blue sharpie marker. He then... wait for it....

drew all over

1. himself

2. the wood floor

3. the (fake) oriental rug in the living room

4. the couch

5. the loveseat

6. the outside of my new PINK laptop

7. his father (who fell asleep watching Sports Center the night before... and I left him there)

Well, I like to be a 'glass half full' type of gal, so I decided to pass along my newfound wisdom to my readers (or reader, as I am sure my mother is the only one reading this), so here it is:

1. Contrary to most websites I found on the subject, hairspray does not remove sharpie... from ANYTHING!

2. neither does fingernail polish remover

3. B&BW exfoliating scrub can fade sharpie off of a child, but he still looks like he has an abnormal number of blue veins on his legs, arms, stomach, back and tushie

4. my junk drawer needs to be cleaned out

So, that is how I started my Sunday.

Next post:

Charly's Christmas List

1. New living room furniture and rug :(