Feeling Like a Teenager

There's something about Thursday's...

It's so close to the weekend...and yet so far away...I have such a hard time getting out of bed on Thursday mornings. I hit the snooze button for almost a full hour this morning before I finally dragged myself out of bed. I even found myself scooting lower and lower beneath the covers this morning to "hide" from the morning. Of course this prevented me from actually being ready before I woke Haley up, but thankfully, she was a trooper and woke up in a good mood and didn't fight me getting dressed or doing her hair. Suprisingly, I managed to make it to school on time. Wahoo!

I had a visitor to my class this morning and my students said I was "flirting." Tooo funny! The guy is just a friend, but boy do my studnets like trying to play match-maker for me. The funny thing is that this "match" has been an attempt since the beginnig of the year...and yet...we're still just friends. I'll be honest and admit that it's fun to let them play their little game, and even play into it a little just to see their reaction.

We're into the final swing of the semester and my seniors are starting to either panic or completely slack depending on their mood of the day. My seniors have a major portfolio paper due at the end of the month and today was the due date for the outline. One of my students has a severe case of "senioritis" and brought me a Diet Pepsi on ice this morning as a bribe for a 12 hour extension on his outline. Smart kid!!

Easter Weekend

Life is truly a test of acceptance. It's taken me...well...forever to finally get to the point of just taking life as it comes and enjoying the beautiful memories each day creates. Haley has been the greatest gift I have ever received. I'm in awe of her exuberance.

The Saturday before Easter we attended a local Easter celebration. The event is organized by a long time Peoria family, the Sanchez's. I've had the opportunity to teach a few members of the family and they are a loving family who come together each year to carry on the tradition of their own Dolly Sanchez. What began as a simple neighborhood event has blossomed into an event that is shared by an entire city. We were late leaving the house (suprise, suprise) and when we got to the school parking was...well limited. I managed to maneuver my car into a space (I won't pretend it was a real parking spot) and we ran to the field just in time for the 3 year-olds to storm the field to "hunt" for their Easter candy. My darling daughter, being who she is, didn't want just any candy and only ended up with a few pieces for her basket, but for her, they were the PERFECT prizes. She looked so cute and was so proud of her treasures.

Along with the "hunt" they had some inflatables, crafts, food, and a small petting zoo. Haley had never been on inflatables before and she kind of chickened out. I managed to convince her to go through the obstacle course, but that was it...she wouldn't go into the Winnie the Pooh bounce house without me and since I couldn't go with her she wouldn't go. Outside of the candy, her favorite part of the event was the petting zoo...okay it was my favorite too. They had the cutest little bunnies, a baby duck, an alpaca, some chickens, a pig, some goats, and a goose. Haley's always had a thing for ducks so it was cute to see her actually hold a baby one. She was so excited, she kept saying how soft and yellow he was. It took a while but I convinced her to hold a bunny and she fell in love...I'll admit I'm suprised I didn't cave and go buy one on the way home. They were so soft and cute.

That evening we colored eggs. She didn't have much of a nap, so by the time the coloring festivities came about she was exhausted. She insisted on coloring the eggs herself and did a great job. However, she was SOOOO not in the mood for pictures so while they are priceless...I didn't get a good shot of her showing of her work with a smile.

I'm so grateful this time of year for memories and expriences. The spring is so beautiful and as the world comes to life it reminds me of how blessed we are for the sacrifice of Christ. Thanks to him we have the opportunity to change ourselves and live again. What an amazing gift.

Gatsby

Tuesday afternoon my students had the chance to throw a 1920s theme party. It was a success to say the least. I was so proud of how they assigned characters, decorated the classroom, and even "worked" their part. Not a single student came to class unprepared for the activities. They worked in their committees and pulled off a FABULOUS blow! Days like these always help me recommit to teaching. Thanks to my students for once again astounding me with your creativity...even if you did freak me out at one point!

Date Night

I love Thursday afternoons! Thursday is date night for Haley and me. I decided we needed an evening that was strickly reserved for something fun, and Thursday's seem to be the best day. We've never done something fancy, but whatever we do, we always have fun. Tonight Haley picked Peter Piper Pizza...a classic of course. It's my favorite too, because she loves to climb in the tunnels and go down the "shlide" and I get to sit back and read a few pages of whatever book I'm reading. We eat, play, tease, and always leave with a smile. Tonight when we got home Haley asked if we could play with the camera, so of course I agreed. She called the poses and for about 10 minutes before shower time, we just goofed around in my room with the camera. When we were done she gave me a giant squeeze hug and said, "Thank you for playing games with me. Can I keep you?" Talk about melting Mom's heart. I'm so truly blessed! Here are a few pictures from tonight's "photo shoot."

AIMS Testing

If there were an Oscar for procrastination, I'd be a shoe in! I'm sitting here blogging instead of grading the 80 or so essay type papers I have sitting on my desk. What can I say, it's the 2nd day of AIMS testing, my room is an ice box, and I know it's absolutely GORGEOUS outside. I'm in no mood to read about Beowulf, sod shanties, The Great Gatsby, or whatever else is in my "Stack O' Grading."

Last week, I took Haley to the zoo. I try to take her whenever I have a special day off from school. She was so excited! She talked all the way there about seeing the elephants, Simba (lions), monkeys, giant snake, and of course the "baby jaguar." Well "baby jaguar" isn't really a baby, in fact, she's 18 years old. However, when we finally found the jaguar pen, I discovered that "Missy" the jaguar had passed away a few weeks ago. Haley was so sad. I didn't really tell her that the jaguar had died, but that he wasn't there. That was not nearly enough of an explanation for her. She ended up accepting that "baby jaguar" and Diego were off on a special adventure together and so jaguar wasn't home. That was enough of an explanation to at least get away from the pen...then she saw the Safari Train. We ended up on the Safari Train trying to track down Diego and Baby Jaguar. Of course we never found them, but she sure had fun trying. She looked everywhere...she was so determined...I have some pictures of her looking in some very funny places.

This past weekend, I had the honor of attending the Boys and Girls Club of Metropolitan Phoenix Youth of the Year Celebration. What a spectacular event! It was such an amazing event to take part in. It was a formal affair, so everybody was dressed beautifully. I even had my nails done for the occasion (haha). The kids were dazzling in their dresses and tuxes. Kids, who without the club, might have easily chosen a different path instead of one that will offer so many opportunities. One of my students from last year (amazing girl) who was a finalist for the award last year, had the opportunity to emcee with Mark Grace (yes, he's even more gorgeous in person) and Darron Sutton. I always saw her as such a shy girl, but WOW she really held her own with these two goof balls! She was stunning, well spoken, witty, and absolutely perfect! I'm so proud of her, she's overcome so much to be where she is today. The auction items raised $2,000,000. Talk about people with serious CASH! WOW! I kept my hands folded in my lap just to make sure I didn't mistakenly bid on something. The food was amazing (post salad). The "salad" was a little odd...pretty, just not my thing. It seemed to be more about presentation than taste. However, the taste picked up after that :-) The dinner was spicy mashed potatoes, fillet Mignon, grilled jumbo prawns, and french beans...so tender, so tasty. The dessert was almost too pretty to eat...but it was chocolate so therefore had to be sacrificed. It was an individual shortbread cake bowl stripped with raspberry frosting, filled with chocolate mousse, topped with chocolate sauce and topped with a white chocolate baseball and a white chocolate wafer with the B&G club logo. The dessert was garnished with raspberry sauce, whipped cream, blueberries, raspberry, blackberry, and a dark chocolate baseball bat. TOO CUTE and SOOOOOO delicious. It was an experience to say the least. I'm so honored I was invited to attend. (Side note...Mark Grace will always be HOT).

Life is good, always full of change and new experiences that help us to grow.

I'm Entering the Blog World

Tonight I decided that I spend way to much time trying to catch people up on my life by phone. So...I'm becoming a blogger. :-) So, my dear family and friends if you want to catch up briefly here's a great place to start.



I had the best weekend rebound tonight. I picked up Haley at 3:30, promptly drove home, and we had a night that was all about us. Sure, I did text a few people...what can I say, I'm addicted, but for the most part we sat on the couch, watched TV, and read stories. It was perfect!



We struggle with transition every couple of weeks, and for the very first time, there were ZERO tears, only hugs, giggles, and fun. I'm so grateful! Haley decided that the fun needed to continue into dinner preparation. I'm tellin' you, she's a future chef. We made "pink juice" which she was adamant about making herself. We made stir-fry, rice, pot stickers, and soup. She helped pour, stir, mix, and serve it all. It was a great dinner.



Bedtime even went off without a hint of argument. We read one last story, sang her favorite songs, said prayers, and snuggled for a bit. Right now, she's dreaming of sugar plums dancing in her head.

Tomorrow morning, we hit the zoo...I love 3 day weekends!

The Sweet Life