The risks of the job

The setting: my classroom

The when: 2 days ago

The situation: A student, coming from another class, entered my room dancing and singing. I proceeded to say to him "stop acting a fool and get to work." I was not attempting to be funny or use slang to get his attention. It seems that phrase "acting a fool" has made it into my everyday, run-of-the-mill vocabulary.

Uh-oh, what other expressions do I use on a daily basis that make people look at me funny?

I hope nothing too terrible!

It's a little scary to think I might start sounding like my students. Shouldn't it be the other way around-they should start to sound like me! Although, I would be happy if I could just get them to stop sticking "be" in a sentence where it doesn't belong.

So, here's a request: If you see me around, please ignore any and all inappropriate language you might hear come out of my mouth, as I am surrounded by middle schoolers all day long, 5 days a week.

They were bound to rub off on me some time!

I promise you will laugh

You must check out this website!!


It is HILARIOUS and slightly disturbing.


http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/


Just check it out.


I might have to get me some free entertainment and take a trip to Wal-mart in the near future!

The T's have it and a REALLY good book

I have been meaning to post about 2 funny things the kids said and a really good book I finished about a week ago. So I thought I'll write about both in 1 post.

The first funny story:

My friend E wasn't feeling well a week ago. She lost her voice and sounded miserable. I told her 12x to go to the doctor-I thought she had a sinus infection. She thought she had bronchitis. She finally went to the doctor and guess what? She had a sinus infection (I shoulda been a doctor!) Anyway, I was reporting back to the husband when Big T says innocently "E has a science infection?" That was funny in and of itself but the funnier part it that E is a science teacher. We all got a big laugh.


The second funny story:

Little T was talking about being sick and told someone "I have the wine flu." No honey, that is what mommies and daddies get when they drink too much alcohol. You have the swine flu-not nearly as much fun. (No, I didn't really say that). I think I might need to get the wine flu after being cooped up in the house all week with sick kids.


Anyway. On to my good read.


It's called Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. You might have read some of her other books-Snow Flower and the Secret Fan or Peony in Love. Her newest book is about Shanghai during the 1930's leading into WWII and then immigrating to America during that time. It is about 2 sisters and their lives together and the choices they make to stick together to survive. Lisa See is a wonderful writer and I love learning about other cultures. She really makes the world of Shanghai come alive. A lot of the book takes place in LA during the time of the war and beyond. The persecution the Chinese felt from white people during that time was intense. Yet, without them much of America would not have changed for the better, they almost exclusively built the trans-continental railroad. Anyway, great book, I highly recommend it. She is a gifted writer.


I do have some other things going on involving the children but until they are set I will wait to divulge any more info. Trying to keep you guessing! Is it working?


Since I didn't sleep last night (and it wasn't because of the kids-I just couldn't stop thinking) I better go get some sleep.

Good Night!

A steal

Yikes, it seems I was too brutally honest in my last post and must have scared some people away. So I've decided to switch it up and share a funny/slightly bizarre story.


I work in an up and coming, part inner city/part yuppie area of Chi-town. It used to have a lot of homeless shelters. It has lots of gang activity (so I've heard) but I am not afraid to walk around the area-I've always felt safe.


Anyway, I don't want anyone to think this story is about safety or something dangerous happening because it's not. Just trying to give a little background so you can picture it in your head.


I pass a drugstore on the way to work and I often stop there in the morning to get any last minute items that I might need before I get to work. This is after I stop for coffee-which I MUST have. But that's a different story.


Okay, so I stopped at this store last Friday, chose my items (it's usually food if you must know) and got in line. There was one older lady in front of me and she had two items, one of them was a bar of soap-this will be important later I promise! I guess she told the cashier she didn't want the soap and put it down next to the counter. She paid for her other item with cash and received her change which she counted and asked for specific denominations. Next, the cashier gave her the item she purchased in a small bag. Which wasn't good enough for her because she asked for a bigger bag. She then proceeded to steal the bar of soap using the bigger bag. To be honest, I didn't really notice until the cashier said something.


Really?


She had plenty of money in her hand. Did she really need to steal the bar of soap? It probably cost less than a dollar. I mean, what was she thinking?


All I could think is that she could be someone's mother or grandmother. What a terrible role model. At least she'll be a clean terrible role model.

If moms ran the government

If moms ran the government things would be done a lot more efficiently. Why do I say this? Because we can multi-task. Because when we have only small amounts of time we make sure to use that time wisely.

Yesterday I had report card pick-up day at work. That meant that my hours changed, I didn't need to be at work until noon but I had to stay til 6:15. So I had the morning to either waste time or get some things done.

Here is a run-down of what I did yesterday BEFORE I even got to work:

1. Got my kids ready for the babysitter and school and drove carpool.

2. Cleaned a bathroom

3. Unloaded a dishwasher and reloaded it

4. Folded 3 loads of laundry

5. Pumped

6. Stopped at Jewel to get lunch.

Then I got myself to work on time and then did a full day's work. Now I am not writing this to show off although that would be nice. But my point is that I AM NOT a supermom. I am not any better than other moms-we all do things like this all the time. Moms multi-task and know how to get things done in the shortest amount of time possible. Because time is at a premium and should not be wasted! And if you don't do things that need doing then you are left with an overwhelming, crazy mess!

Which is what I keep trying to explain to my wonderful husband. Who after 10 years still doesn't understand fully. Which is not his fault-he's not a mom. He doesn't understand why I keep doing things around the house instead of relax. He doesn't understand why I do the dishes when there are only a few in the sink. He doesn't understand why I like to put things away where they belong instead of anywhere I feel like it. Because at the end of the day I am the one who is responsible for keeping our house in order. Now, I don't want to make it sound like I do everything and my husband does nothing. We both work full-time and we share the household responsibilities or we would not survive. He is immensely helpful in all areas pertaining to the house but he just doesn't feel the urgency the way that I do.

I am also making myself sound like a neat freak, which I am not (if you saw my house you would agree) but I do need some order. And that is why moms should run our gov't. Because we are all about order and efficiency. Imagine when something needs to be done-it gets done. Not in weeks, months, or years, but NOW when it needs to be done.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox. For now. Because you know I can be on my soapbox and do ten other things at the same time.

Tagged

I was tagged today by my lovely sister and as part of the game-playing process, I must find: 1 picture, 1 poem, 1 song, 1 quote, 1 item of clothing, 1 place and 1 disney princess. And then I must tag 6 more bloggers-in-crime. So here goes:

1. The picture(s) of my kids( I didn't have a pic of just one of all of them on the computer so you'll have to look at 3).
Here are the two oldest Big T and L enjoying posing for the camera.

Here is the baby M, the most laid back baby on the planet.

This is Little T, my red haired angel/devil.

2. A poem? This was a hard one but I chose to go down memory lane and pick a poem that I remembered from childhood. This is one of my favorite poems ever. In fact, anything by Shel Silverstein makes me smile.

3. I am really into Metallica right now. I would have to say that Hero of the Day is a fav. I never knew that their songs actually had such deep meaning.

4. Ok-I'm not sure if this a real quote but I have a poster saying it so someone said it sometime-"LISTEN and SILENT are spelled with the same letters." We don't listen enough!

5. Oh, I have a clothes problem-how can I choose just one item? Right now I would really like to wear sandals, flip flops or anything you can put on your feet in warm weather. I can't find a specific pair and the baby is crying so I'll leave you to imagine a pair.

6. The place? San Diego all the way! Lots of fun things to do, the greatest weather ever. Loooove it!

7. If I had to choose a Disney princess and I guess I have to or my sis might kill me, I would choose Sleeping Beauty. I can always use more sleep and she seems to have extra to go around. I also always liked her extra fairy helpers.

A little tongue stretching

Usually when my kids say cute, funny, or silly things I have a habit of forgetting them if I don't repeat them to another person right away. I have forgotten many cute expressions because of my faulty memory. But I did have 2 conversations with Big T that I do remember and I thought they were pretty hilarious.

Both these conversations took place during carpool in the morning on the way to school. I had just finished taking the baby inside the babysitter's house. When I got back into the car our conversation went a little something like this:

Big T: Mommy, I am sorry.

Me: Sorry for what?

Big T: Sorry for sticking my tongue out at you.

Me: When did you do this?

Big T: Just now when you were getting back in the car. You didn't see me?

Me: No, I didn't see you. Why did you stick your tongue out at me?

Big T: (after a moment's hesitation) Weeeeell, I was just stretching it.

It took all I had in me not to laugh out loud at this excuse. I guess I need to give her points for creativity!

The second conversation happened immediately after.

Big T: Mommy, can I run for President?

Me: President of what?

Big T: Of the country, of course.

Me: Of course you can but you have to be much older to be President.

(Then we proceeded to do the math to figure out how many years it would take until she was 35).

Me: Why do you want to be President?

Big T: Because then I can BOSS people around!

Well, there's her personality in a nutshell!

When your parents are old enough to be your grandparents. . .

My mom and dad are 15 years apart and my dad was born in 1926-you do the math. So, when your parents are old enough to be your grandparents. . .



You have to talk REALLY, REALLY loud. Loud because they (really just my dad) wears hearing aids. Loud because you have to talk over the tv that you could hear from 3 houses away. It makes for some pretty interesting conversations that seem to get repeated over and over again.

You are absolutely not allowed to drive at night. Or when it gets dark outside-whichever comes first. Other drivers who could drive perfectly well in the daylight somehow forget how to drive when night falls. It's really just better to wait and do everything during the day. Just to be safe.

You are also not allowed to go outside when the weather is bad. That includes rain and sometimes even wind. Certainly snow, ice, sleet, and any other weather you can think of that is cold or wet. You might get sick, or slip and fall. You can NEVER be too careful!

You get lots of old crap, whoops, I mean antiques that they don't want anymore. Things that have been around say since 1926. Maybe it will one day be useful again. Maybe it won't.

You get lots of important advice on how to live your life. Advice about every little thing. From what kind of car to drive to when to write thank-you notes.



All kidding aside, I really have wonderful, kind, loving, parents who support me and everything I do 150%. In fact, all they have only ever wanted for me was to be happy. Even if my idea of happiness was not their idea of happiness. Nothing shows that more than my choice to become frum (for anyone who doesn't know-orthodox Jewish). I have heard so many horror stories from others who have chosen this path; some people stop talking to their family, some people have to deal with constant criticism. My family is not at all like that.



When I married my husband after only dating him for only 6 weeks they accepted him with open arms and invited him into the family wholeheartedly (sometimes I think they like him more than me :)). When we visit them at their house they participate and keep Shabbos (the Sabbath) to the best of their ability (they even use torn toilet paper). They respect my needs regarding kosher food and go out of their way to make sure I have enough food to eat.



This weekend was a special opportunity for me to spend time with my family without any distractions. Over the past 10 years or so, the relationship with my parents has been slowly changing. I am relating to them as an adult instead of as a child. I can appreciate the sacrifices they make and the unconditional love they give me, because I am learning to give to do the same for my children. It is difficult to put aside your wants, your likes and desires, and your goals for another person and allow that person to be free to experience life in the way that they want. My parents have done that. I feel so blessed to have experienced my parents as role models, caregivers, and friends.

I would love to visit them more but I'd have to drive through the night to get there and maybe encounter some unfortunate weather. Guess I'll have to wait til summer!

Funny story

Something hilarious that happened lately:

My husband's birthday was Feb. 4. Wonderful day to be born. I made a point of writing on my shopping list-buy birthday card for Yitzy.

Because I made such a big deal about my birthday and wanting it recognized I had to do the same for him.

Because I never ever make him do things for me that I don't do for him! What kind of wife would I be?

Anyway, I made sure to buy the card and put it in place where I wouldn't forget about it.

Guess what-after remembering to actually buy the card, I forgot to give it to him.

So, I told myself it won't be a waste-I'll give him the card on his Hebrew birthday.

Guess what-today is his Hebrew birthday and the card is still in the exact same place it was when I bought it.

It's a good thing I actually said "Happy Birthday" cause I have a feeling he won't be seeing a card this year!