like mother, like son

We have conferences this Friday. They are student led meaning the student comes with his/her parents and lead each teacher through a conference handout that has been created by each teacher. Parents may opt to either have their conference at school with the teacher or at home.

The plan/schedule has been communicated to parents in a minimum of three ways so that there aren't any major questions. They've been emailed, sent a newsletter and been informed via our online grading system. I even sent them all an email on Friday explaining it a way that a preschooler could understand just in case there were any questions. (no offense to all my preschool aged readers)

Today I emailed a mom asking that she schedule a conference for her son. The primary reason I want to talk with this boy's parents is because he simply does not pay attention in class. This boy is the reason I repeat myself at least 10 times a class and it's starting to make me crazy. No matter how many times I have explained things, this students inevitably will ask a question that's been answered three times already. Bottom line, he's not paying attention.

In response to my email, the mom says "yes we are interested in a conference...but don't have any idea about them. when are they, what are they and how do we schedule one?"

while my response to her was helpful, what I really wanted to say was "well now I know where he gets it..."

School Starts Tomorrow...

I swear that just yesterday it was June and somehow I woke up this morning and it was the last day of August. That means that school starts tomorrow and I cannot wait! Given that it was not all that long ago that I was having my first day of school at King's as a student, I thought it would be fun to compare my first day of 6th grade with my first day tomorrow. here we go:

6th grade:

- first day of school outfit was picked three weeks prior and probably hanging on my closet for at least a week. it consisted of a one piece dress thing that had a floral top and a denim bottom. i also wore some very clunky white shoes that looks REALLY good with my white chicken legs.

- new backpack was my first Jansport. that was a BIG deal to me. in that Jansport was my cornucopia of new schools supplies which were still in their boxes b/c I wanted everyone to know they were fresh.

- lunch, as always, was WAY better than any other lunch I would receive throughout the year. pretty sure there was a squeezit and a dunk-a-roo in there.

-no friends yet. I was the new girl. one of the first people to say Hi to me is someone I still consider a close friend today, thanks Kristen.

-david h: back then he was just one of the cute rowdy boys in my class. if I had to guess, he probably had a girlfriend within the first 5 minutes of the first day.

flash forward.

first day of school 2009:

- i still don't know what I am going to wear because...well...i don't care. probably some classic khaki's and one of my TWO new sweaters. regardless my students will look better than me so why put in all that much effort right?

- lunch will consist of a diet coke, half a baguette (picture like 8 inches of bread) and some chicken soup left over from dinner since I'm a little under the weather. no squeezit or dunk-a-roo. shoot, serious downgrade.

- no backpack, just the same janky purse that needs to be replaced. but it's yellow and I love it.

- not only do i have a rather large following of now 8th grade girls who love me but i will also instantly become the buddy of all those sad looking terrified 7th graders. I love the first day b/c all of the students are still nice...

- david H is now my husband (upgrade!) but he is out of town so he misses all the first week of school stuff. lucky for him i'll have this blog so he won't miss any stories.

keep reading...i'm sure this years 7th graders are bound to be just as funny as last year's bunch!

god IS good

the past few days have been full of countless reminders that though He certainly has more important things to deal with, God loves even me and hears my prayers. Here are just a few examples of God's faithfulness over the last week:

-providing my sister with a grandmother willing to help out in a MAJOR way during a small financial crisis. bless you Jan Buck.

- seating Melissa next to a military girlfriend with an anxiety disorder on her flight to Texas. Given their similarities, Melissa talked to this girl the entire flight and didn't spend a minute worrying about her fear of flying.

- providing Melissa with a very nice lady from Texas who offered her a ride to the hotel so Melissa didn't have to take a creepy taxi

- rescuing the 17 year old cat from what seemed like a hopeless situation. <---- it is this particular instance that really made me smile b/c God cares enough about me to answer my prayer to get the freaking cat out from behind the tub

These are simple things, SO minor in the scheme of what other people are dealing with, and yet God is a loving, faithful God. What a blessing it is to know that I can call out on God no matter what the situation (including a tub trapped cat) and believing whole heartedly that He will hear my cry.

to Potter or not to Potter

at 12:00 tonight Harry Potter 5 is released. David is out of town so IF I want to see it asap, I'd have to go by myself. time to do some pros and cons:

Pros:

- i've been waiting forever for this movie to come out.

- i would be in a sea of other Harry fans where the chances of my getting recognized at a midnight showing would be pretty scarce

- i wouldn't have to sit by my hubby who would inevitably would do his best to embarrass me and my love of HP

Cons:

- people dressed up as characters. It might seem like I would enjoy this but even I, a super nerd, think this is beyond lame. The ONLY time I would ever dress up for anything Potter is on halloween. But I am too lame to go to parties and I teach at a Christian school where dressing up like a wizard is frowned upon so this is not really an option.

- when it comes to my bedtime, I'm like a ninety year old woman. I cannot stay up past midnight so I'd probably just fall asleep

- without David, I'd have to sit by myself. With my luck I'd end up by the stinky jr high boy who hasn't showered for a few weeks.

Whether or not I end up going, I do know this. I am SO lucky I got David on lockdown. If he knew I was seriously considering going to the first showing of HP 5 by myself, he might leave me if he didn't take our marriage vows so seriously.

moving day.

for all of you readers (aka Kristen), tomorrow is moving day.

I hate moving almost as much as I hate snow day lunch duty (see past blog for more info).

I live my life in constant and extreme organization and therefore, the chaos that comes with moving is almost too much to handle. This moving process is particularly bad because we are moving like 10 feet from our current apartment which gives my husband zero incentive to get it all done at once and therefore I will live in chaos for a few days. If I had a Harry Potter wand and I would point it at my current apartment and say something along the lines of "packus and moveus" and my problem would be solved. but I don't have a Harry Potter wand b/c apparently Harry Potter isn't real.

time out. (Zach Morris style) My precious hubby REALLY cannot stand my love/obsession with Harry Potter and makes fun of me constantly. One time he caught me reading Harry Potter whilst listening to the soundtrack and I thought he was going to die laughing. 

time in. the apartment we are moving to is smaller and therefore, we have to downsize. I am not thrilled about this particularly when it means I cannot proudly display all of my Celine stuff due to serious lack of space. I am really working to count my blessings on this one because I am not excited about moving into an apartment that is smaller than the small one I am in now. So in an effort to focus on the good and not the bad, here are the things I am looking forward to about moving next door:

• moving day means I get to spend some time with my mom since she's helping, this is maybe the best part.
• moving means we get new appliances that are stainless steel
• the new apartment promises to be "more soundproof" than the one we are currently in. i'm praying that's true.
• we get Verizon Fios cable/internet which is already working and apparently really cool. This means I can watch Jon and Kate's marriage fall apart on several channels.
  
• my sister is going to move into the apartment we currently live in because she can move quickly whenever the house sells. I don't think it will sell anytime soon so that means my sis will be my neighbor. I think that's fun.
• moving this week means that Jacky (my enormous cat and favorite feline) gets to come back home. he's been at my parents due to the moving chaos and my extreme paranoia about something happening to him. i miss my chubby boy. 

so...tomorrow begins and if i'm lucky, ends the moving process. can't wait to have you all over to show off the new place. but don't plan on eating, we don't have space for a kitchen table :)

Confessions of a First Year Teacher

Having taught for almost a year now, I consider myself wise in the ways of teaching and feel I should share some truths/debunk some myths for you non-teachers out there:

- Teachers who say they don't have favorites are lying. I absolutely have favorite students and even a few who I'd consider hanging out with if it weren't a little Mary Kay Letourneau-ish (don't worry, the one i'd like to hang out with are NOT boys)

- I am actually considering not failing a student who has absolutely earned their F because the thought of teaching them again makes me die a little inside

-I LOVE grading. I know that many teachers find grading a chore but I love it. Grading typically affirms that I've done a good job and always provides a good laugh. 7th graders have some pretty creative answers when they have no idea what else to say.

- Sometimes, secretly, I nap behind my desk. It should come as no surprise that I plan my lessons way ahead of time so I find myself frequently without things to do during my prep. I may or may not keep a small pillow and blanket in my file cabinet.

- There are days when I have no idea what I am going to do in class. And yet, I never have days when we have excessive down time. This is not because I am a super teacher...it's because I am a super great maker uper of activities.

- I really like that my students like me.

-I like even more when I get to put my "mean face" on and lay down the law. Today I kicked a student out for screaming "Mt Everest" at the top of his lungs.

Teaching has been the best experience of my life thus far. I really like junior high and feel incredibly blessed to be here. Thank goodness that I teach students who are always more awkward than I am.

God is Faithful

I've known for a long time that God is faithful. I've experienced it countless times and it never ceases to amaze me how God loves each of his children so passionately that He knows exactly what we need. Last night was the latest installment in the "God is Faithful" book of our lives.

After much prayer and advice, David decided to pursue a Masters of Divinity degree from Seattle Pacific University. Given that we are already WAY in debt from our undergrad and my Master's program, we agreed we would have to figure out how to finance this three year program without incurring any additional loans. It was with faith and confidence that we applied, believing that God would make it possible, even if that meant we had to make our money stretch more than humanly possible. In His first act of faithfulness to us (in this specific circumstance), God provided parents and grandparents who committed to covering David's school as much as possible so that we could try to avoid getting any loans.

Last night David received a letter from SPU informing him of the financial assistance SPU was offering. Through 4 difference scholarships (thank you Free Methodist church, Robert Hayes whoever you are and SPU) David's entire 1st year of grad school has been covered! We received more scholarship money than we actually need for tuition AND my grandma Janet (who we call David's girlfriend) has offered to pay for David's books every quarter. This means not only do we avoid getting any loans but we don't have to pay a single penny out of our own pockets!

I'm not sure what we have done to deserve this graciousness but God is good.