Friday, May 30, 2008
Man, am I going to be in trouble
Take a gander at this fella and tell me I won't be beating the girls off with sticks.....
Yet another one for the books...
School years, that is. Over and out, another school year done. I am now the proud momma to a 4th and 2nd grader. Don't ask, I have no idea how that happened, either. 4th grade? My students are 4th graders, and for the most part, they are 'big kids'. Guess that means my gargantuanly tall kiddo is technically a big kid, too! Don't know when it happened, and sure as heck don't know if I am ready for it!
I spent so much time lately in the mode of "and I need to do this, and this, and this, and this andthisandthisandthis.." that when I woke up yesterday morning, and it was all done, I didn't know what to do with myself. My paperwork is done, my room is not only packed up, but mostly moved, grades are in, goodbyes have been said.... what on earth am I to do with myself until Swim Team starts, and I have a few more "need to do this and this" to keep me busy? I am sure I will figure something out - give me a few days to get used to the idea of vacation, let alone the practice of it, and I'm sure I will be fine!
It was a strange couple of days, this last week. I've mentioned it before, but the group of 8th graders who just graduated have been with me since I started at my current school. They were 3rd graders when I started, and I have known a few of them rather well since they were in 5th grade. While certainly not as dramatic as the scene from "Grey's Anatomy" where Cristina and George have the conversation about not knowing how to exist in a world where their father is not,(this was part of the 2 parter from season 3 that had us all in tears) I feel a bit like that... It will be strange next year to not see J and N and L walking the halls. It will be odd to not field calls from all their parents, or teachers... I know there will be other kids to keep me busy (at last count, my case load for next year has 20 kids on it - which is HUGE for special ed) but still; those familiar faces will have moved on. I guess it is easier to leave than to be left. I know they will do fine (Ok, maybe not N because he will just think he can get by on his cute-ness, but will in fact be eaten alive in high school) and I know I will be fine, but it will be strange, that's all I'm saying...
The boys came home with glowing report cards. Scottsdale does not start using ABC's until 4th grade, but to translate, there was nothing lower than a B to be seen... Matthew basically had all A's and Parker had many A's and B+'s to show for all his hard work. There was a bit of a sticking point when Matthew had better grades (for 2 quarters in a row) than Parker, but I think it could be good motivation for P next year to step it up a bit as not to have his little bro show him up in the grade department.
So now, we relax. Or, we try to relax... I'll let you know how we do with that...
I spent so much time lately in the mode of "and I need to do this, and this, and this, and this andthisandthisandthis.." that when I woke up yesterday morning, and it was all done, I didn't know what to do with myself. My paperwork is done, my room is not only packed up, but mostly moved, grades are in, goodbyes have been said.... what on earth am I to do with myself until Swim Team starts, and I have a few more "need to do this and this" to keep me busy? I am sure I will figure something out - give me a few days to get used to the idea of vacation, let alone the practice of it, and I'm sure I will be fine!
It was a strange couple of days, this last week. I've mentioned it before, but the group of 8th graders who just graduated have been with me since I started at my current school. They were 3rd graders when I started, and I have known a few of them rather well since they were in 5th grade. While certainly not as dramatic as the scene from "Grey's Anatomy" where Cristina and George have the conversation about not knowing how to exist in a world where their father is not,(this was part of the 2 parter from season 3 that had us all in tears) I feel a bit like that... It will be strange next year to not see J and N and L walking the halls. It will be odd to not field calls from all their parents, or teachers... I know there will be other kids to keep me busy (at last count, my case load for next year has 20 kids on it - which is HUGE for special ed) but still; those familiar faces will have moved on. I guess it is easier to leave than to be left. I know they will do fine (Ok, maybe not N because he will just think he can get by on his cute-ness, but will in fact be eaten alive in high school) and I know I will be fine, but it will be strange, that's all I'm saying...
The boys came home with glowing report cards. Scottsdale does not start using ABC's until 4th grade, but to translate, there was nothing lower than a B to be seen... Matthew basically had all A's and Parker had many A's and B+'s to show for all his hard work. There was a bit of a sticking point when Matthew had better grades (for 2 quarters in a row) than Parker, but I think it could be good motivation for P next year to step it up a bit as not to have his little bro show him up in the grade department.
So now, we relax. Or, we try to relax... I'll let you know how we do with that...
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Holy freaking weird weather, batman!!
We broke a weather record on Monday (or was it Tuesday) for 110* in May. In fact we broke two records in a row - earliest 100* and earliest 110*, back to back. (So I think Monday was 100, and that meant 48 hours ago it was 110*) Today, the high was 68. WTF? We are not supposed to see highs out of the 70's through Memorial Day weekend, and then by Wednesday of next week we will be back above 100, where I am sure we will remain until it is time to don costumes and gorge on candy. It even r-a-i-n-e-d here today, breaking something like a 93 day dry-spell.
I am always amazed when the weather folks make such a big deal about how many days it has been since it rained. Really? Have they not figured out we live in a desert, which, by definition, means very-little-rainfall? Wasn't the fact that we get, on average, EIGHT measly inches of rain per year a good hint that we'd go for very long stretches between raindrops?
I guess not because our "unseasonal" rainfall today made the headlines on every evening news channel. Maybe it was an otherwise slow news day... we only have a president to elect, an economy to recover, global warming to reverse and a war to end, but let's start the news by spending 40% of the newscast talking about our .03" rainfall today, shall we? I get it - its WEIRD, but that's no longer newsworthy - everyone is having freaky weather. When everyone is doing it, it is no longer newsworthy, am I right?
I am always amazed when the weather folks make such a big deal about how many days it has been since it rained. Really? Have they not figured out we live in a desert, which, by definition, means very-little-rainfall? Wasn't the fact that we get, on average, EIGHT measly inches of rain per year a good hint that we'd go for very long stretches between raindrops?
I guess not because our "unseasonal" rainfall today made the headlines on every evening news channel. Maybe it was an otherwise slow news day... we only have a president to elect, an economy to recover, global warming to reverse and a war to end, but let's start the news by spending 40% of the newscast talking about our .03" rainfall today, shall we? I get it - its WEIRD, but that's no longer newsworthy - everyone is having freaky weather. When everyone is doing it, it is no longer newsworthy, am I right?
Monday, May 19, 2008
When did this happen?
Or, more to the point, how did this happen? There must have been some HGH-fairies at work during the winter when Parker's legs were hidden underneath denim and fleece, because I KNOW they did not look this long last summer.
Anyone else want to take bets as to when he will officially be taller than I am?
Anyone else want to take bets as to when he will officially be taller than I am?
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Franken-baby strikes again!
There is something rotten in the state of Denmark Scottsdale. Something that feeds upon little children in the middle of the night when they are helpless to defend themselves.
Christopher was a feast for something-or-another on Friday night. He woke up with obvious bites all over; his face, arms, legs, feet... anything that was exposed. (which backs up the mosquito theory) But the bites were more like welts with what looked like a pin prick in the middle (which backs up the spider theory). He had about a dozen bites, the most concerning to me was the one just off the eyebrow that was slowly but surely making him look like Frankenstein.
Poor little dude lived on Benedryl yesterday, which seemed to keep him from itching too badly, but the eye kept getting worse. This morning, as I expected, his poor eye was swollen shut. Doing his best Rocky Balboa impression, he staggered around the family room, very unaccustomed to NOT having either peripheral vision nor depth perception!
I called Urgent Care. Closed on Sunday.
I called my friend Angie, who is an RN. No answer.
I called my other friend Heather, also an RN. Also, no answer.
(seriously - you are all not just sitting around, waiting for my obscure medical-quesion phone call? And you call yourselves friends.....)
I called the after-hours line and spoke to the triage nurse. She told me to call Poison Control and informed me she would call the on-call doc because she didn't like the idea of the eye swollen shut.
Admittedly, neither did I, but really, all I wanted to know what how much Benedryl I could pump into a toddler before he blew up.
I never got my answer - we were, instead, told to go to the ER to rule out cellulitis of the eye.
65 minutes (easy day in the Scottsdale ER) and $150 later, we walked out with a scrip for Keflex and my son's eye beginning to open. The Benedryl is doing its thing, evidently.
And for those who need to know - you can max out a 43 lb toddler in 1 1/2 teaspoons of Benedryl every 6 hours before he explodes.
Christopher was a feast for something-or-another on Friday night. He woke up with obvious bites all over; his face, arms, legs, feet... anything that was exposed. (which backs up the mosquito theory) But the bites were more like welts with what looked like a pin prick in the middle (which backs up the spider theory). He had about a dozen bites, the most concerning to me was the one just off the eyebrow that was slowly but surely making him look like Frankenstein.
Poor little dude lived on Benedryl yesterday, which seemed to keep him from itching too badly, but the eye kept getting worse. This morning, as I expected, his poor eye was swollen shut. Doing his best Rocky Balboa impression, he staggered around the family room, very unaccustomed to NOT having either peripheral vision nor depth perception!
I called Urgent Care. Closed on Sunday.
I called my friend Angie, who is an RN. No answer.
I called my other friend Heather, also an RN. Also, no answer.
(seriously - you are all not just sitting around, waiting for my obscure medical-quesion phone call? And you call yourselves friends.....)
I called the after-hours line and spoke to the triage nurse. She told me to call Poison Control and informed me she would call the on-call doc because she didn't like the idea of the eye swollen shut.
Admittedly, neither did I, but really, all I wanted to know what how much Benedryl I could pump into a toddler before he blew up.
I never got my answer - we were, instead, told to go to the ER to rule out cellulitis of the eye.
65 minutes (easy day in the Scottsdale ER) and $150 later, we walked out with a scrip for Keflex and my son's eye beginning to open. The Benedryl is doing its thing, evidently.
And for those who need to know - you can max out a 43 lb toddler in 1 1/2 teaspoons of Benedryl every 6 hours before he explodes.
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