Reasons I love November...

Oh, sweet November you have arrived again. You are a teacher's dream! Parent teacher conferences, while in and of themselves, are not exciting, the fact that it means that I get a break from teaching and have extra time to plan and organize between conferences means I get caught up on life. Then there is Veteran's Day. I am so grateful for those who have fought for my freedom. I'm also so grateful for a day off school. Next is Thanksgiving. What's not to love-- six days off school, lots of good food, time spent with my beautiful family....

Random Statmens and Questions

Statements:
1. This is the second cold I've had since school started. NOT a good start. Typically I get one a year, at the most two. I need to research immune boostings foods. I'll put that on my to do list along with making baby food, climbing Mt. Everest (just wanted to see if you were paying attention), and cutting out this week's coupons.
2. I am love, love, loving Amirah at this stage. Ysmaille and I spent all evening trying to get her to walk from one of us to the other. She is getting much better. It's a cycle of stand up, take a step, fall, crawl, crawl, crawl, stand up, fall, stand up, take a step, fall....
3. I made homemade calzones last night and they were a big hit! I love it when I make something Ysmaille loves. Too often our mealtimes consist of me trying to get him to eat broccoli.
4. I haven't had my hair cut since last November. Not even a trim. I think that might be a crime in some states. If not, it probably should be.

Questions:
1. How bad is it for my skin that I wash my face with bar soap and take showers so hot my skin turns red by the time I get out?
2. How do I respond when my student says someone called him the "ch" word? He meant the "sh" word, but he has a little trouble spelling. Should I laugh or cry?

My blog inspiration

I never know what to write until I read Sabrina's blog. She's my blogger inspiration. She is amazing. Did you know she actually takes a picture on the day of her children's birthday each month. I think what that means is that if her child was born on December 8, she takes a picture on January 8, February 8, etc. I, on the other hand, haven't even had Amirah's six month pictures taken and she is 8 months old. This is my first child. Shouldn't I have done this by now? I blame it on working outside the home, but really it's just my procrastination in overdrive.

Here's what's happening in our world:
1. Ysmaille is an official U.S. citizen as of October 8. Have you noticed how many times the numberal 8 appears in this blog so far? Count them. Six.
2. Amirah is almost walking. Our little peanut is moving along furniture and standing by herself (but only for a second or two at a time).
3. I made lots of applesauce, which means I feel totally domestic. I also have a 1/2 bushel of apples left over. I see lots of apple crisp and apple pie in my future.

Once a Month Freezing

So.....
I've been toying around with the idea of the once a month cooking plan. I want to modify to suit my own needs and tastes, because I really don't want a whole month of eating burritos and lasagna. My plan is to start small. Here's what I'd like to do tomorrow (if I can find a good deal on meat. I haven't researched that one yet.):

1. Brown five pounds of ground turkey and freeze it.
2. Marinate and freeze three pounds of chicken.
3. Cut up a bag of onions and freeze in individual baggies.
4. Cut up four peppers and freeze in indivdual bagges.

Baby steps. Eventually I would like to have multiple meals in the freezer that I can serve on those nights where I just don't have the energy to cook. Right now my freezer has really random things like Eggos (I got a great deal on them, but don't use them), corn, tilapia, strawberry jelly, banana chocolate chip muffins, etc. Nothing from which I can make much of a meal.

Well, Ysmaille is out watching a movie with the rest of my family members, but I knew I would just end up falling asleep so I opted to take Amirah home and put her in bed. She's been sleeping for over an hour. In that time I've managed to rearrange the living room furniture, check my e-mail, check facebook, check my friend's blogs, look for a good price on library card pockets for my classroom library, and dream about my potential freezer day tomorrow. Time for bed!

My Life

Things That Are Tough:
1. The fact that I just can't seem to muster enough strength and/or motivation to make dinner every night.
2. I can't quite figure out what I am doing at school. I feel like a first-year teacher all over again.
3. I am hungry because I haven't eaten dinner yet and it's 9:50, so it doesn't look like it is going to happen (see #1).
4. I want a pair of skinny jeans, but can't find a pair that isn't too tight on my calves.
5. My face is breaking out and I think it's the stress.
6. I think I might have to stop eating less because I am no longer pregnant and breastfeeding.

Thing I Really Like About My Life:
1. When my students eloquently explain how to solve a math problem, and I know they learned it from me.
2. Amirah is walking behind her push toy and I feel like such a proud momma.
3. Watching Parenthood. This is the best show since Gilmore Girls!
4. I am almost finished with my lesson plans from next week.

Things I Am Not Sure About:
1. Ysmaille is going to become a U.S. citizen on Wednesday. It's weird. I know nothing REALLY changes, but I kind of liked the fact that I was married to an islander.
2. I am done breastfeeding. My baby girl is growing up. I really wanted to continue until she was 1 year, but things didn't quite work out that way. I thought I would be so sad, but part of me feels relieved.

My Sister, My Hero

I babysat Natalie tonight. It started out well. And then it was dinner time. Angela had packed peas, rice, and applesauce. I put Natalie in the high chair and warmed up the rice and peas combo while I fed her the applesauce. Amirah was content playing in the living room until one ill-fated mood and then things fell apart.

With one slip of my hand peas and rice went everywhere! Have you ever tried sweeping up peas and rice? Let me just say it doesn't work very well. Amirah suddenly became interested in what was happening and headed toward the kitchen. I quickly moved her away and began sweeping Natalie's meal away. Natalie just looked at me with a look that said, "My mom NEVER sweeps my food off the floor and throws it away. What are you doing?" Natatlie ended up eating a turkey burger and bread.

How does Angela do this everyday? God bless her!

Making a Difference!

Six days in and things are going pretty well. I am determined that this year be different. I've always been a good teacher, but this year I want to make sure I am doing more than affecting their minds. I want to also affect their hearts.

It's going to be interesting. I have two students who can't spell their last names, a student who has been out performing third graders since first grade, a child who has peed his/her pants, several students with attention difficulties, etc.

In the midst of all the craziness their are 26 students who come to school everyday and whether or not they now it or not-- they need me!