Happy New Year!

And a belated Merry Christmas too! I hope your Christmas was as great as mine. The above picture is my Mom's beautiful Christmas tree---I didn't even put one up this year. Yep I know it makes me a scrooge. I didn't need any more Junie B. messes to clean up! See previous post for more on that...

I was able to spend several days at my parents with the 007's from TN. I love spending time with my nieces Addison and Alivia (and my brother and SIL). They make everything better!!! My favorite part was watching them open the gifts and seeing their eyes light up! I do have to admit I was probably more excited about the Easy Bake Oven than Addie was! Unfortunately the Easy Bake cake didn't taste quite as good as I remember it tasting back in 1983---maybe they changed the recipe???

Today is the last day of 2008. I hope 2009 brings everyone health and happiness!

It's been a long time...

So I have been busy for the past few months. I can't believe it is already December. There are 10 days till Christmas break and only 103 days of school left! Where has the time gone? Junie B. Jones and Gracie Lou have been keeping me busy. I am happy to report they are getting along better, but still not "friends". Junie likes to jump on Gracie and wrestle with her. Gracie isn't fond of "wrestling" though. Gracie does enjoy the chasing game. They take turns chasing each other up and down the hallway and up and down the stairs. I'm not sure what all happens during the day, but here is a look at what I have come home to a few times.

Junie has an affinity for toilet paper. I have to keep bathroom doors closed and all things shred-worthy hidden away. I have forgotten a few times to hide the toilet paper and have come home to the above pictures more than once. Junie B. is lucky she is so darn cute!

TiVo

So tonight I am sitting at home with nothing to do, and I decide to scroll through my TiVo list. This list would be the "suggestions" list. Normally there are some good things to watch here. But for some reason tonight, my lonely and boring Friday night I might add, there are some odd suggestions: Cheaters, Judge David Young, Family Court with Judge Penny (who is this?), THS Investigates: Serial Killers on the Loose (just what a single girl living alone wants to think about), Judge Karen, Crimes That Shook the World, Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (WTF?), Amarte Es Mi Pecado (I don't speak, read, or listen in Spanish), Judge Alex, Jury Duty, Amarte Es Mi Pecado...again, and The FBI Files.





Do you see the pattern here? Who are all these Judges and why do they have shows??? I know TiVo tries to recognize patterns and find shows that might interest you but come on!!! What exactly does this say about my TV show watching habits? Where is Will & Grace, Friends, Seinfeld, Little House on the Prairie (yep I said..Little House on the Prairie!), Flip This House, The Office!, Flipping Out, Law and Order??? What I would give to see an episode of The Facts of Life, Silver Spoons, Punky Brewster,.....oh those were the days! Maybe this is God's way of telling me to turn the darn TV off and do some school work????

On a lighter note....today we had our "Solids, Liquids, and Gases" celebration to end the unit. This involved ice cream, sprinkles, whip cream, sprite, skittles, and chocolate syrup. The kiddos had to eat first and then tell me what category each item went into right down to the bowls, spoons, cups, and napkins. They did pretty well. The best part was when "Jose" told his reading teacher about our party and said "And we didn't even have to tell her to do it! She thought it up all by herself!" I love my 2nd grade kiddos.

The View

I have this group of fine ladies (and a gentleman too!) that I dine with every morning during the school year. There is always coffee, sometimes cereal,sometimes bagels, occasionally pancakes (we need another silent auction!) and always, always there are laughs to be had. Everyone is welcome at the view....we never discriminate or refuse entry. We share our stories every morning and even every afternoon. Somehow we became labeled "The View". I'm not really sure where the name came from or who first said it, but it has stuck for the past 3 years. We even have our own seats around the table. And shame on you if you take a "regular's" chair or spot. You might get the evil eye from more than one person. The ladies and gent of the view keep me on track, they make me laugh, smile, cry, determined, and overall happy to be a teacher. Equally they also tell me when to shut up, not to worry, to lick a Xanex, and when to get over things. The topics are always interesting, sometimes perverse, sometimes crazy (thanks T.J.) and mostly just normal. You can be diagnosed by a "doctor" during the view, you can learn new slang at the view, and you can watch YouTube at the view. At the end of the year there is a top 10 list of our funnies....I think this year's list might have a few more than 10 from the way it looks right now....Oh and the most important item you can get from the view--chocolate! The chocolate is usually found in the form of M&M's--peanut and plain....and sometimes dark chocolate! This is just a short list, but you get the idea. We never know what each day is going to bring in our classrooms. Thank goodness we have each other to lean on, laugh with, and even sometimes make fun of (to your face of course)!!! Thanks "view" for every laugh and tear for the past 3 years....I hope we all have many, many more together!

New funnies from 2nd grade

My school year has started out ok I guess. It has been a little unorganized (a little my fault and a lot not my fault). My kids are doing ok too. I have one kid who is pushing me to my limits some days, but nothing I can't handle. I recently got a new kid and he speaks no English. That part has been interesting to say the least. I know minimal Spanish but we are surviving together!

Yesterday "Rose" asked me if she could buy ice cream with a credit card. Sadly I had to tell her no. She was very disappointed. I later asked her if she had a credit card and she whipped it out. It was a visa gift card. She told me her mom told her she could have it because there was only $1.75 left on it.

Today when "Rose" came in she asked me if I like Roly Poly's. I said yes. I do remember catching them when I was little and watching them roll up. I would wait patiently until they felt safe enough to unroll and move around again. About an hour or so later "Rose" again asked me if I like Roly Poly's. I again said yes. She then asked me if I liked a lot of Roly Poly's. I thought for a minute and said no, I don't like a lot of Roly Poly's. The she asked me if I liked Roly Poly's in my classroom. That really got my attention. I said "Rose, are there Roly Poly's in our classroom?" and she smiled.....

Rose spent a lot of time at home on Monday afternoon collecting about 2 dozen Roly Poly's. They were tucked neatly into her pencil box. Some were all rolled up and others were walking about. We immediately went outside and set the poor Roly Poly's free. Ahhhhh kids do the darnedest things......

Pics to make you smile

Ughh to Monday

My weekend has been spent working on a meaningless paper. The paper in question has absolutely nothing to do with my research. Nonetheless it is an assignment that was due tonight. All day Saturday and Sunday were spent writing this paper. I am pretty sure my professor will rip it to shreds just like he has done to the previous 2 papers. Luckily I still have an A and only 5 weeks left.

Junie destroyed yet another roll of toilet paper. I have pics but haven't uploaded the evidence yet. And to make things worse I just broke my new coffee pot. I was getting ready to fill it and iI dropped it in the sink and it shattered! Now if you know me you know I need my coffee in the morning. I usually drink it on the way to work. So watch out all you I-85 commuters in the morning....TeacherApril is coming through and it won't be pretty if you get in my way!!!! Thanks goodness for Dunkin' Donuts and the wonderful "barista" (haha) at the drive thru.... Oh my poor 2nd grade kiddos better hope the coffee kicks in by 8 a.m.

New Obsession

A friend at work showed me this site the yesterday. I hate to admit it, but it facinates me! Check it out for yourself. You can view all the smart people who were arrested in Gwinnett County yesterday. Is it bad that by looking at this (and watching COPS) makes me feel like a better person and extremely thankful for my upbringing?

http://www.scangwinnett.com/mugshots/


Happy looking! Maybe you will see someone you know.....

I'm a bad kitty mom...

I was getting ready this morning and didn't know Junie was behind me. I stepped on her paw. Normally this would only make me feel bad for a few minutes, but she was declawed last Wednesday. She made a loud squeal and ran off. Now her paw is bleeding and we are waiting for the vet to open...

Poor Me

Tomorrow is the day. I have to go back to work. I have mixed feelings about this. I am sad that my summer break is over. I am going to miss laying by the pool and reading a good book. I will miss sleeping in and rolling out of bed whenever I felt like getting up....or had to pee...whichever came first (usually the pee...I'm getting old!). I am going to miss sitting on the couch, surfing the net while Junie B. cuddles up next to me for one of her 18 daily naps. I will miss all the TV shows that I can watch live because there is no bedtime in the summer. Thank goodness for TIVO. I'm going to miss my summer clothes. Missed matched tshirts and shorts, paint covered tshirts, flip flops, and of course spending the day in my PJ's. Oh these were the days...

Now, I said I have mixed feelings. These are the things I am looking forward to. Next week there will be 20 little 7 year olds waiting for my every move and word. We will get to discover lots of new things together---and you will wait in anticipation of those hilarious stories! Along with those little darlings comes new pencils, crayons, notebooks, and bookbags. I love school supplies! I have a boatload of new supplies in my car just waiting to be unwrapped and put in its place in my classroom. Along with a new school year comes a schedule. This means going to bed early and getting up early. It will be hard to wake up at 5 tomorrow. I have a lot to do to get my room ready for the little darlings.

Overall it was a great summer. I spent a week at the beach with some great ladies. I spent a week in TN with my brother and his family. I wouldn't trade those moments with Addie and Livie for anything. I know I am biased, but those little girls are the prettiest and sweetest kids I know. Addie came home and spent two weeks with me-more special time I won't forget. My pool time was wonderful and relaxing. I made a lot of progress with my dissertation. I just got my first approval yesterday from 1 of my committee chairs. I can see a little light at the end of the tunnel with my doctorate degree...now for the research itself....with the little darlings I mentioned above!

P.S.

I found my bra. It seems that I am the burglar---I found it in the wrong drawer...

I can't find my bra!

It's true! I can't find my freaking bra! I know I wore it on Sunday. I took it off when I was getting ready for bed and put it in my bra drawer-obviously I left if out. On Monday when I was getting dressed I began to look for this particular bra (yes I have more than one bra) and Icouldn't find my bra! There is a bra thief among us (meaning me, Gracie, and Junie). I occasionally loose a sock or two in the dryer. It eventually finds its way back to me a month or two later. But a bra---those are pretty big items-in my case at least!

This morning I woke up to Gracie growling and Junie B. instigating the growling-which I love by the way. Gracie is such a diva! Junie has been up for a little while running in circles around my bedroom. When I finally got out of bed and put my glasses on I noticed my kitchen sponge was on my bedroom floor. Now let me give you an idea about my house. My kitchen and bedroom are nowhere near each other. My bedroom is upstairs and the kitchen is downstairs. So this means I now have a kitchen burglar.

I have my ideas of who is causing all of this (see picture above). I can survive without my kitchen sponge, but I would really like my bra to reappear.

Cool Gadget

So my new Flip Ultra Video camera (thanks Carrie!)came today and I love it! I have taken a few videos today. I hope to make a few more this weekend with my family. Addie is overcoming her video shyness a little. I can't wait to get some of Alivia on this thing! Enjoy!

3 weeks? That's it?

I can't believe I have to go back to work in 3 weeks. I know...poor me. I feel like I just got used to sleeping in, sitting on the couch drinking coffee as long as I want to, maybe taking a shower-maybe not, reading by the pool, staying up past 9 p.m., and just overall relaxing with nothing much to do. This summer was a little better than last summer though....I am glad I was able to take care of my mom and watch her learn to walk again, but I am glad I was able to spend most of my time in my own home. I have found that I am a homebody. I love being at home whether it is by myself or with company.

This week Addie is here. She keeps me busy! Last week she was here for 3 days and then left for a few days with my parents. I was glad to have a little peace and quiet but I did miss her. Gracie didn't though....a whole other story! We have gone to the pool, Target x 3, Chili's, eaten Mexican food, waited out thunderstorms, and watched Facts of Life over and over and over.... Addie has made 2 new friends with Skippyjon and Junie B. They love her and she is obsessed with them. She cuddles with Skippy and he just falls asleep in her arms. Junie on the other hand will not cuddle at all. She only wants to be in your lap on her own terms. Skippy might be making a new home in TN. Addison has (finally) stopped sucking her thumb and as a possible reward she might be taking Skippy home with her. I will miss Skippy but I know that he will be well taken care of---and of course I will get to see him often.

I guess that's it for now....the pool is calling my name!

Air conditioning-It's a good thing.

I never realized how much I appreciated my air conditioning-until I didn't have it in the middle of June! I spent a week at the beach and then a weekend in TN visiting my family. I was so excited to come back home and sleep in my own bed on Sunday night. I picked up the kittens at Megan's house(thank goodness for kitten sitters!) and headed home. I got all my stuff inside and was sweating. I took a look at the thermostat--it was on 79 and I had left it at 76. I could also hear a loud sound out by the unit outside. I turned it off and opened the windows. I knew it was going to be a long, hot night.

I woke up early on Monday so I could schedule an appointment with the air guys. When I called I was told they couldn't come until FRIDAY!!!! OMG!!!! It was a very long and very hot week. I pretty much sat on the couch under the fan. The kittens were even hot and lazy. Nights were a little better but still hot. I am happy to say the air guy came today and fixed it---luckily the repair was under warranty. The only bad news now is I have no excuses to not vacuum and mop and the other cleaning that needs to be done.

Beach Blues

I just returned from the beach. I went to Panama City Beach with a couple of teacher friends. It is the same place we went last year. We had planned on staying 7 days. We got down there on Saturday and found out the pool wasn't working. Arghhhh!!! I love my pool time! The beach is just across the street so we went there a few times. It was ok, but the red flag was up and there was a lot of seaweed. The condo owner said the pool would be ready Tuesday. Ok...not too bad I guess but still disappointing. On Sunday (probably the best day weather wise) we sat on the back porch in the sun with the water hose....quite a sight I am sure. On Monday the condo owner ( a teacher friend) said we could use her neighbor's pool and knocked $25 off the daily rate. We were good with that---it certainly beat using the water hose!!! By Tuesday the pool was no closer to being ready, and we decided we would just head home on Thursday morning. I have a pool in my neighborhood and it won't cost me $50 a night to sleep in my own bed. Over all the beach getaway was nice and relaxing. We missed the easy pool access--thank goodness for the neighbor's pool! I have some new memories, t-shirt, freckles, and a little tan going. And the condo pool...still not open at last check.

Tales from a 2nd grade classroom...

Kevin came back from the bathroom and had a wet spot on his pants. When I asked him what happened he said “The pee got on me”. I asked how did the pee get on you and he said “It folded.” It folded?


Lucy was working on a math sheet and asked me “Is this when we steal?” We had recently learned how to do two digit subtraction with regrouping. I use the term “borrow”. She uses “steal”.


Marco came in one morning and asked “Ms. Bond when are we going to do some potions?”


Peter, a student from a visiting classroom, came in one day and saw my Ipod. He said “Ms. Bond-uh is that a MP3-uh?” Peter has a speech problem and puts “uh” on the end of most words. He has a twin brother Paul who does the same thing. They make me smile every day when I hear “Good morning Ms. Bond-uh.”

Lucy asked me if my parents moved to Texas would I be an orphan? We had just finished watching the movie “Pollyanna” with Hayley Mills in which she played an orphan. I’m not sure what Lucy was really talking about, but I thought it was sweet that she was worried that I might become an orphan.


I overheard Olsen telling Steven “They (adults) know everything. God tells them when we do stuff.” I thought this was so funny. A few hours later Steven did something and I caught him without him knowing he’d been caught and Olsen turned to him and said “See I told you God tells them when we do something wrong.” I love these moments!

*All names have been changed*

Crazy Cat Lady

So I started out with one cat (Gracie) about 7 years ago. I have always been a cat lover and decided I wanted another cat. I got an email from a friend that had 9 kittens from 2 different litters. I saw #6 and knew I wanted her. I went on a Friday night to look at all the kittens. On the way there my SIL started saying "you should get two kittens so they will have each other". I was positive that I only wanted one. Imagine my surprise when I ended up with two kittens! Now I have 3 cats and can be officially called the crazy cat lady! The new kittens (Junie B. Jones and Skippyjon Jones) are doing well. I have had a few nervous breakdowns since they came home. First I was not ready for the cost of taking care of two kittens. Oh well on that one though....at least after the first year the cost shouldn't be too bad.

One cause of my nervousness is Gracie. She is not the most friendly cat. She loves me and that's all that mattered for awhile. She really is a sweet and loving cat...but only with me. She pretty much hates everyone. My sweet niece Addie loves her so much and all Gracie does is growl and hiss at her. Poor Livie hasn't had the pleasure of Gracie as of yet. I have kept the kittens segregated for awhile from Gracie, but I can't do that forever. They have had a couple of "run-ins". Gracie just tends to growl, hiss, and eventually run away. Luckily she sleeps most of the day and doesn't really care. I don't know what will happen at the end of the summer when I go back to work. I guess time will tell....