Anatomy and Proper Names

Tonight as Ben was running naked after his bath he was paying a little too much attention to his special friend. Nate, wanting to teach his son good manners gently chided "Ben, stop playing with your thing." To which Ben matter a factly replied "Dad, it's not a thing," Nate and I waited patiently wondering how he had figured out the proper name for his little friend, but then Ben finished "it's a thingy." HAHAHAHAHA. It will be a sad day when he learns it's not really a thingy. Oh well.

Ben's Heading for the NFL

Ben started flag football this week. Of all the sports experiences he has had, I can see that this one is his favorite. He absolutely loves it. His first game he ran the ball. . . the wrong way. . . but he didn't give a hoot. He had the ball in his hands. Tonight was his second game. He chased someone down and got their flag. It was his first success at that and he was so proud. He ran up to Nate and described it in detail. Here is a little clip for you to enjoy.

I Couldn't Imagine Using It . . .

The time-out booth. The first time I saw it I couldn't imagine using it but then I was spit at, kicked, sworn at, hit, threatened with a ruler, threatened with teeth . . . and suddenly it became a lot easier to use. Three weeks into my career and despite the bad days I like it. Despite the children's somewhat erratic behavior I can't help but love them. And, despite my original cringing at the sight of the time-out booth, I find I am very grateful for it. Here are a couple other pics of my room just for fun.

Week Two and Counting!

Well, after a smashing start to my teaching career I have been running in to plentiful road blocks to my happiness. Children here and children there, driving me crazy everywhere. I can handle the hyper activity and the inability to focus. . . but I am struggling with the more severe anger management issues some of my students seem to have. Today was an especially frustrating day in which I spent over an hour with a student who was fighting on the playground. Following that incident the particular student continued to refuse to follow any instructions or take any responsibility. Instead he spent an hour pretending he was a wild animal. In the end, all I can do is get up in the morning and wipe the slate clean. Start over. 4 out of 5 days are manageable. I read the story "The Little Engine that Could" to my kids this morning. That's how I feel tonight. The hill is huge and the load is heavy but "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can". In the end I am doing this hoping that I will make some kids life better, even if it is only one. These kids need somewhere to go and be educated. They struggle in the regular classroom. I can handle them and love them and hopefully teach them something. I really believe that. It will just take getting through the occasional horrible day in the process.

Celebrating Six!

As I made this little album of Ben's first years I realized once again what a blessing he is to our family. He can be so crazy, but he has such a soft heart and is an amazing big brother. We have had such fun with him. And this year, especially, I am blessed to be near him at school. It has brought us closer together. He comes to see me a couple times a day at school to "check on" me. It is so sweet. We just love him so much. Happy Birthday Benny Boy!!!

I'm Here, I'm There, I'm Everywhere

That's how I have felt the last few weeks. My brain has been on major overload. At least the anxiety is letting up now that school has actually started. I have 6 kids in my class so far. All of them are manageable. . . except one girl who I am having trouble with. My class assistant is named Norma. She is great and worked in a behavior unit in the high school for about 8 years. She just does whatever. I never have to tell her that this or that needs to be done. I really like her and I am thankful to have her.
Anyway, give me a month and I will hopefully have the class working well. Until then I continue to arrive early and stay late. Poor Nate.

Speaking of the stay at home daddy Nathan. I have to say that he has been incredible. He has taken over a lot of my previous duties and the girls are loving being with their daddy. He takes them out everyday and makes sure they stay happy.

I did have to laugh today though. When I got home there was a bottle with milk in it on the counter. I called up to Nathan and asked what was up? His reply. "That's what Emily wanted today." The thing is, we took Emily's bottle away about 9 months ago. He seemed to think it was no big deal but to me, I simply couldn't believe he would give her a baba. In fact, she saw it and asked me for it just a few minutes later. When I said no she threw a tantrum and would have nothing to do with me for a while afterward. I promptly threw all the bottles in the garbage. She won't be getting one of those again.

Benjamin is liking the new school and it is a lot of fun to see him there. I try to keep my distance but I love it when I get to watch him on the playground. He comes to my classroom after school and helps me get ready to go home. I am really proud of him. He is just a good kid.

In other news, we changed around the kids sleeping situation. Benjamin now has his own bedroom upstairs and Emily has moved downstairs with Rachel. Everyone is struggling to adjust. Ben, who didn't worry at all about the dark downstairs, is suddenly afraid of it. Rachel also gets scared now that she is the biggest kid in the room. Emily simply can't get used to having someone in the room with her when she is going to bed. She just wants to play. Crazy days.

Last but not least, I had a mission reunion last weekend. It was really neat to see that once a close mission always a close mission. And, the old mission President was still amazing. Even Nate, who dreaded the whole event, was impressed. Juliet, one of my closest friends and old companions came to sleep over that night. We stayed up late talking. I enjoyed having her at my house so much. Thanks for coming Juliet. It was so much fun.

That's it for now. If you made it to the end of this novel then you must truly care about my life. Ciao!

Just for the "Twilight" Fans

Here is a little humor for you "Twilight" fans. I thought it was funny, but it's possible I am just really bored.