Hummmphhh! Grrrrrr! and WTF was he thinking!!!!

We got some bad news last night about some actions taken by a family member, and it made me wonder why families care so deeply about a monetary inheritance from their parents. Do people really think they are owed money when their parents are gone, or even before then??? Then I got mad and wondered how in God's name professed believers of Christ could possibly put money ahead of their family.  How can they live for over 40 years with grudges and hate and smile and say that they live for Christ? Two faced, double minded thinking that revolves solely around what I want and what I think I deserve is truly a mark of our Enemy. And he is rejoicing right now. That lead me to sigh inwardly in deep sadness at how right the world is about how wrong Christians are when they forget who they are living for. And how obvious it is to those who live around them that they are not just unkind, but selfish and mean and vengeful and hatefilled. And years of prayer and sharing and life lived to show the glory of God to unbelieving family can be wiped out by the selfish act of a fellow believer. By this time my brow was furrowed and I was in royal funk about the way people treat the elderly who are the parents that raised them or their spouse! And that got me all mad again. I was in bed by 9:30 because I was tired out.

Not gonna share the details here but sometimes family sucks and I can't wait to go and shine some light and spread some compassion on family who has been wronged.

Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and now...

A conversation after school.....

Mom: So Josh, where is your water bottle? (he constantly leaves it at school)

Josh: Well, um, Mom, ya know the desk fairy? (She visits neat desks in 1st grade and gives little treats. She has never visited Josh and he is taking it personally. He hasn't figured out that she only visits the neat desks) Well, I figured she'd be thirsty tonight so I left it on my desk for her to get a drink.


And here I thought he was just being careless again. Nope, he really was being thoughtful and considerate to that poor desk fairy.

Boys will be boys

This afternoon has been a real treat. While I am bone weary and ready for a nice glass of wine, I have enjoyed my time with the boys.

Son 1 has his friend over for an afterschool "play date". Well, his mom is a teacher and had a Parent Info Night, so the lucky guy has become a Willingham for about 5 hours. After an extra hour and a half at the school where they managed to play on the playground, make a mess in my classroom, annoy half of my team with their Loud Boy Ways, we headed home. Once there we did homework and the fun began.

Nerf War has been eagerly anticipated. For weeks. It's been all they can talk about. So, after "setting up" for 25 minutes, they shot each other for about 30 seconds before the first gun jammed. I learned a lot about my Son 1 in this process. He is a bossy boss. He has volume control issues. He wouldn't be my friend if I was a 3rd grade girl. But none of this is news to me. His true colors just shine through! And I love him for all he is. And he does make a great son.

We then went to a pizza buffet place. Nothing like all you can eat cheap pizza to make everyone happy.

AFter that, home for some X-Box Halo. Nothing says "Dude, you are such a friend" like blowing them away during a video game.

The MOM is coming to pick up soon. Then some peace and quiet.. But maybe one more round of Nerf War where Mommy plays....

My Days at the UN

My mind is full today with mulling over my classes this year. I have 2. My morning class is the GT group. They aren't all GT, but they are all supposed to be sufficiently functional to move at an accelerated rate and test well so that i can have fun and offer lots of enrichment opportunities. They mostly fill that bill. I have 2 or 3 who I wonder how they got in this class. At least there isn't just one lone slow wit in the crew. I'm sure having friends makes it easier to exist in a world that seems to pass you by. I know it helps me. This class is ethnically diverse in so many ways. Let's see.. of 22 students I have 3 Indian, 1 Pakistani, 2 black, 1 Chinese, and 1 Korean. My favorite names are Juhui, Armin, Arman, Prerit, and Riya. They are sweet and kind and are starting to show their personalities. I hope they continue to be that way. I would hate for the UN to not function in unison.

My afternoon crew is quite different. There are 3 special ed kids (2 on the autism spectrum), 2 for writing and 1 for behavior. I have 1 child who has petit mal seizures with frightening regularity. I have 5 black children, 3 Indian, and 2 latino in addition to 12 anglos. (Just for some base understanding, my school demographic is 60% white, 5 % asian, 20% hispanic, and 15% black, roughly speaking) I also have a student who will start in this class later this coming week. He is being moved from another class because he brought a gun to school and showed it on the bus. He was turned in by a fellow classmate. While home on suspension, he got appendicitis and had to have surgery. I wonder how he will affect the class. He has a reputation. It is warranted. sigh.

 I have recently started beginning of the year testing and have 11 of 22 who will be marked for additional small group reading instruction based on low fluency. And that's without checking reading comprehension levels.  For the last 2 weeks I've spent my afternoons juggling some very large personalities and trying to establish routine with frequent interruptions. The hardest part for them seems to be sitting and waiting for me to get there. Every one of the 22 seems to have to walk up to me to ask a question. It makes for a very mobile classroom. And makes me one grumpy teacher. I do have the help of an instructional aid for the last hour and a half of class. For that I am thankful. Without her help, I think I would have lost it by now. It's been a long time since I had a group that was this low with this many learning issues. By May I feel as if I will have earned every moment of Summer 2011.

That's what I am mulling over at the moment. I am thankful for a 3 day weekend. I hope to utilize it fully. So far, I am. In fact, I'm off to do.. not much.. maybe some laundry.. maybe some cooking. All things that relax me. I wish cleaning bathrooms and vacuuming relaxed me.

He was joking, right?

I hear the best stories on the way home from school. You'd thing the best ones would come from students in class, but no. The Tales from The Day that eminate from by backseat are, by far, the best. Take today, for example.

We are pulling out of the parking lot in my spiffy Green Machine sans AC and I get asked, "Hey Mom, would you get mad if I ate a gummy bear that a friend found on the playground if it was in a bag. And it hadn't been open?"  There are a few ways to respond, and I have only moments to pick the best course of action. In the split second while I am thinking I hear a whispered, "Well did you eat it?" And whispered "uh huh, but I want to see if she's mad."

So, I say " No honey, I wouldn't be mad if you at something a friend found on the playground in an unopened bag. I'd wonder why you thought that was a good idea." "So, you aren't mad?" "No, not mad. A little disgusted, but not mad. Don't do that again. If you ever did it." "Ok, I won't"

Then the back seat dialog takes over. In hushed Mommy-can't-hear-tone "So, you really ate it?" "Yeah, it was a little hard, and I kind of ate the whole bag. But they weren't really gummy bears. They were other animal shapes." So, if I am hearing and inferring rightly, my boy ate a bag of off brand gummy animals of an unknown age and origin after lunch on the playground. About this time I slapped my palm on my forehead in the international sign for "dummy" as I shook my head in wonder. I didn't know what else to do.

Then, I heard "Dude, you shouldn't do that. You get car sick really easy and you might puke in the car." "I don't think so, I feel fine and it was a long time ago. Like after lunch." Hmmm, time to revisit the appropriate time to accept treats from "friends".

A Tale of 2 Shoes (A Summer in Review)

Here is the story of our final summer. We had cheated death for over 6 months because our boy loved us so. We were comfortable. And familiar. And he loved us.

Here we are at the Blue Bell Creamery.

Then we traveled to New Braunfels.

See, don't we look happy?

We visited Natural Bridge Caverns.

We got a little nervous and hid, but had fun still. I promise we are standing right at the base of that rock.

Then there was the final trip to Kemah. Again, I was in the shade at the bottom of the picture.

We lived a long and happy life.Here we are in our final resting state.

Blown out and run ragged. What a wonderful life we had!

Quote of the day

Son 1: Man, you have hair on your back!

Son 2: Yep, it's cuz I'm MANLY! Take that!


Mom: Bwahahahaha!

Random quotes

Mom, why did God make fleas?

How do they make shoes?

Are we there yet?

And the best yet...







(Son 1 to Son 2 while waiting for The Hubby to finish talking with someone at church) Dude, ya just have to wait, it's his job to get laid by people.  (I had just mention that Daddy would be a few more minutes because he got waylaid by someone.)