I found it!!!

OMG!! I thought for the hell of it, I'd search the local NBC website for the video I missed last night of Stud and the gang. Well, whatta ya know? I FOUND IT! They're only on screen for about 2 seconds, literally, but still. They're the group of 4 fans holding up their tickets, at about :34.

Sunday Sketch

I don't know what it is about this drawing that makes me like it so much. For some reason, when I look at it, it makes me think of a kid skateboarding, even though there's obviously NO skateboard in this picture. Don't ask! Maybe it's the character's "clothes?"

Stud's not here to explain it to me because he's hanging out with one of his best friends. This particular friend's father actually took my baby to the Blackhawks game last night! I've been laughing about what a waste of a ticket is was because my son could not possibly care less about any and all sports. He's now gone to 2 Bulls games and 2 Hawks games with this friend, and has had a blast every time. But, it has nothing to do with the game. It has everything to do with the fact that this dad has skybox/penthouse seats (I wonder if it's a perk he gets from his job...) so Stud is all about the little luxuries of the skybox. Namely, the food!! The first thing he always tells me about is the dessert cart. He IS his mother's son!! And, last night, they really went first class, and took a limo to the United Center! I just saw a bunch of pictures that his friend posted on Facebook. They are too cute.

Stud went to a Hawks game about 2 weeks ago, when they were vying for a spot in the finals. Now, last night was a HUGE game, apparently, and he again was lucky enough to be there. As a matter of fact, Bestest Friend called last night after I was asleep to tell me she saw Stud on the news! Poop! I can't believe I missed it. The Dad, however, said he's getting a tape of it from a friend, and that he'll make me a copy. I can't wait to see it.

Don't know what to make for dinner?

I discovered a great new blog yesterday, thanks to my friend, Tiffany. This one is also written by a Tiffany, and it's called Eat at Home. I've added it to my blog list, so you'll always be able to find it.
This is a wonderful blog, chock-full of delicious and easy recipes, and helpful tips. Check it out!

The wrong way to start a Friday...

This was NOT what I should have read at 6am, before getting ready for work:

http://www.chicagoreader.com/gyrobase/ron-huberman-cps-chicago-public-schools-office-salaries/Content?oid=1888273&showFullText=true

Check this out...

I just totally stole this from Katy. It is SO COOL (to quote her!) and if you've been reading here for any length of time, you know I needed several tissues to get through it.


I always love me a great flash mob, and this one rocks!

What are YOU doing this summer?

I really wasn't feelin' the grass in our end-of-the-year display. As soon as I cut it, I realized it was NOT the way I usually cut the paper for grass, but I didn't want to waste the paper I already cut. (I HATE to waste paper!!) But, I couldn't take it anymore, so I cut it the "right" way, and put the "wrong" papers away until I can figure out what to do/make with it.

Here's the 'before'....

And, the 'after!' Looks much better, doesn't it?
Here's a close-up. I like how the fringe looks. Eventually, it will start to curl down and look fringier. (Is that even a word?)

I haven't posted about this yet, because I was afraid it would turn into a bitchy, complaining post (SO unusual, right!?) but now I've come to grips with it. I will be teaching summer school this summer. Some of you know that this year we switched to a year-round schedule at the Hell-Hole. That meant a VERY short 5 week summer vacation last summer, and this summer will be no different. Well, accept that summer school is also 5 weeks long. So, do the math, folks. 5 weeks of summer - 5 weeks of summer school=0 vacation for ChiTown Girl!!!

Ok, I said I wasn't going to gripe. I keep trying to focus on the money part of this. With all the budget cuts this year for CPS, you may recall that the after school program that I used to run was cut this year, which meant no after school money. On top of that, the bar has become so successful, that we now have a full staff, so that means I no longer spend my weekends there. Now, trust me, this is definitely a GOOD thing and I'm thrilled about that, but for me personally, that's another job I no longer have. I went from having 3 jobs to just 1, so financially, it's been a rough school year. Believe me, I know I'm better off than so many people who don't even have 1 job. However, those other two jobs are what paid the very high tuition at Stud's private school. With the elimination of my two extra jobs, I've had to dip into my savings all year to pay it. The main reason I agreed to do summer school is because I should be able to make enough to cover Stud's tuition for next year. (Let me just clarify, so CSJ doesn't seem like such a J - I pay the full tuition every month, then he pays me his half in drips and drabs throughout the month. It essentially feels like I'm paying the tuition by myself, since I don't have the luxury of paying it to the school bit by bit, but at the end of the day, CSJ does help. The problem is, once I pull the money out of savings to pay the full tuition every month, I don't replace it because I don't get it back in one lump sum, and it just ends up going toward other expenses.)

Because our salary is spread out over a full year, we always get paid while we're off in the summer. (It's money we already earned, they just take a certain amount out of every check during the school year, then pay us out of that for the summer. That means our checks are the same amount every pay period.) We are paid our regular rate of pay for summer school, so it'll seem like I'm getting double pay all summer, if that makes sense. I plan to stockpile my summer checks, and hopefully, combined with my tax refund, I'll be able to pay Stud's tuition in full at the beginning of the year, which will earn me a discount. It's not big, but it will be enough to pay for most of his books (which are usually around $300+).

There's one more little piece to this puzzle. Normally, summer school is only Mon-Thur. So, when I agreed to do it, I figured, "Ok, I won't get a summer vacation, but at least I'll have a bunch of 3-day weekends." Well, yeah....not so much.... I later found out that for the program I'll be doing, there are mandatory meetings every Friday at one of the CPS training facilities. Argh! But, I've been trying to focus on the positive. That's 5 more days of pay, which is essentially another week's pay, right? Focus on the bottom line, you big whiny baby!

I suppose I should just be grateful to have this summer position (which I am, seriously). Flattered, even, because New Principal came to me personally and asked me to do this program, which is new to the Hell-Hole. Normally, any teachers interested in teaching over the summer must fill out an application, and then there ends up being about 10 people vying for the limited number of positions available (usually just 3). So, the fact that I she hand-picked me for this says something, right?

Caution - Cuteness ahead....

Last week, I started putting together our end-of-the-year display in the hallway. This is what I came up with...

Just in case you can't read it (and Blogger won't let you enlarge it by clicking on it) it says, "We are almost ready to leave our Kinder-"garden"...And blossom into 1st Graders!"

This the beginning of our display. I traced and cut out each baby's hand, and glued a stem and leaves on to it. I printed their name on one leaf. I cut out some cheesy grass (which I think I might change this week, cuz look how part of it is already falling over) and "planted" my garden.How cute are these "flowers?"

Then, the next day, the babies colored and cut out butterflies and ladybugs. (We've been doing an Insects and Spiders unit in science, so they were really into it!) The ladybugs are WAY too big, in proportion to the rest of the scene. Plus, they took up so much room I had to kind of pile them together on the ends. I knew it was ok, though, when the babies saw it this morning, all finished, and one of them said, "They look like acrobats!" refering to the way they look like they're making a pyramid. If I had to do it over, I would have taken my pattern book to Kinkos, and reduced the size of the ladybugs. Actually, I just may do that this week.

Anyway, this was the finished product. Cute, right?

Everytime I walk down the hall to my room, this makes me smile. And, New Principal came in to tell me that she LOVES it. Woo hoo! It's always is good when you can impress the boss. ;-)

For the love of all that is holy...

...WHY is it almost 90 freakin' degrees at nearly 5pm!? This isn't friggin' California, it's Chicago, for Pete's sake!!! It's only supposed to get hotter this week, so take a wild guess who is going to be a great, big, giant FLAMING BITCH this week. G'head, take a guess!

In all my stupidity, I thought today would be a great day to do some planting in the yard. First, though, I had to spend about 30 minutes doing some clean-up type things, like removing the overgrowth of weeds and baby maple trees that were growing up through my chain link fence from the neighbor's house. I think I threw out my very bad back with all the pulling I was doing. I should have just called it a day after that, but I wanted to get the plants I bought into their planter boxes. So, I got busy cleaning out all my planter boxes, and I managed to get 4 different tomatoes (Big Boy, grape tomato, yellow teardrop, and Hardy Cherry), 3 separate basil plants, some mint and lemon balm all planted before I was sure I was gonna take a header off the deck.

I'm fairly certain I managed to give myself heat stroke or sun poisoning or something. I've been in the house for about an hour now. The first 30 minutes was spent on the couch in the basement (where it's about 20 degrees cooler than the rest of the house) in the dark, holding a cold cloth on my face, and guzzling water. I'm still drinking cold water now, but my face and chest are still beet red, and I'm still a bit light-headed.

I am so tempted to go back out and finish my planting (I have a couple of trays of petunias that are screaming to be planted!) but I'm afraid I'm going to end up in serious trouble. I tend to forget that I'm morbidly obese, and woefully out of shape. I guess I'd better not push it, lest I end up making myself sick, and then, God forbid, I'd miss the finale of LOST tonight! That settles it, I'm headed back down to the basement with my ice water.

Next time, I'm gonna fly Suz up here to be my personal gardener! She much better at it than I am, and she's in much better shape. Whatta ya say, Suz? You up for the job? ;-)

Sunday Sketch

Stud gave me permission to post another drawing. I realize that most of you don't really give a rat's ass about my child's drawings, so I've come up with a way for you to know which posts to just skip. I'm going to post my favorites on Sundays, under Sunday Sketch. It might not be every Sunday, but it will ONLY be on Sunday. You know, to give you all a "day of rest" from my blathering on and on about my boy.

This is one of the sketches I mentioned before that are his version of different Tarot cards. Here's the original card he found online:

And here's his version.

I've said before that I don't really understand all this "stuff" about The Game. Apparently, this has something to do with it (I think it's one of the characters?), and he said it's really supposed to be looked at like this:
I suppose I don't HAVE to understand it, I can just like it, right?

I just don't get it...

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've seen this bizarre infomercial, right?

The most ridiculous thing you've ever seen, wouldn't you agree? I know my mind is usually in the gutter, but I can't help thinking that your man would be happy to assist you in your workout for FREE, and you could save the cost of ordering this stupid thing. Plus, if you're in to that kind of thing, you could get a delightful facial after your workout. ;-)

(while I was sitting here, getting my blog fix, a different version of this popped up on my television, which obviously what prompted me to share with this post!)

Personality Test?

I received an email from a friend yesterday that contained a Power Point of a Tibetan Personality Test. Some of you have probably seen it. I've had it land in my inbox about 5 times over the past few years. And, like a dope, I take it every time. And, I'm always in awe of the answers. (One of the advantages of getting old is that you forget stuff, so I never remember what my answers where the last time, or what they mean!)

The email has that hokey, cheesy, annoying chain mail thing going on, so I'm going to spare you that part, and only share the parts that I found interesting.
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Tibeten Personality Test

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Take your time with this test and you'll be amazed.

Just 4 questions and the 4 answers will amaze you. (I edited out the 4th one, since that's the one that tells you how many people you have to forward this too, etc.)

Don't look ahead. Get a pencil and paper to write your answers down. (seriously, don't peek, or it won't work!)

The 1st thing that comes to mind is usually the best answer.

Remember, no one sees this but you.

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Questions

1. Put the following five animals in order of your preference:

Cow, Tiger, Sheep, Horse, Pig

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2. Write one word that describes each of the following:

Dog, Cat, Rat, Coffee, Sea

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3. Think of someone you know, who also knows you, and is important to you, whom you can relate to the following colors:

Yellow, Orange, White, Red, Green

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-

-

-

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Answers

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1. These answers define the priorities in your life:

Cow = career

Tiger = pride

Sheep = love

Horse = family

Pig = money

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2. Your description of Dog implies your own personality.

Your description of Cat implies your partner's personality.

Your description of Rat implies the personality of your enemies.

Your description of Coffee implies your interpretation of sex.

Your description of Sea implies how you see your own life.

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3. Yellow - someone you will never forget

Orange - someone who is a true friend

Red - someone who you really love

White - someone who is your soul twin

Green - someone you will remember the rest of your life

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I gotta tell ya, the answers were pretty darn accurate, especially the ones for the second set. Spooky!

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If, by some chance, you've never actually seen this, and want the whole power point, leave me your email, and I'll send it to you.

I've been forgiven...

I guess all the nice comments you guys have been leaving has softened Stud Muffin up a bit (especially yours, Suz! You made him laugh.) He liked that I said I would keep the rest of what I scanned (which actually was 30 drawings, not 20) in a file until he gave me permission to share. He said I could post them, with the condition that I give an accurate description of what it is, and why he drew it, etc.

I'm going to keep the ones I like best for last. Today's drawing is "just a mask." After his request, I wanted to get the story, but he insists it's just a mask. Hmmm...ok

I'm in trouble...

Stud is really pissed at me for posting his drawing of Mr. A. He was REALLY pissed when I was scanning more of his drawings, and forbade me from posting any more. I managed to scan about 20 of my favorite drawings from some old sketchbooks, but I'm going to just keep them safely tucked away in a file until I get permission to post them.

After reading the comments left on the last post, he softened up a bit, and said I could post this:

It just kind of a cool pair of headphones he designed and drew a while back. He usually draws characters that are more like the Mr. A. picture. I'm not really sure if they would be categorized at sci-fi, or fantasy, or what. I think fantasy would be the closest match.

Since literally the 1st grade, Stud has been developing a game, along with his two best friends. Most of the drawings he does are characters from this game. I can NOT believe these boys have been working on The Game for over 9 years!! I'm hoping that one day, The Game will allow Stud to support his dear, old Mom. :)

When they started, the game was a bit like Magic: The Gathering. (I don't fully understand this one, either, but the boys were obsessed!) Now that the boys are older, and have incredible skills with computers and the like, they have moved into making this a video game. I believe that's what Stud wants "to be when he grows up," a video game developer. It's probably a ridiculously difficult field to get into, but I bet he can make boatloads of money doing it.

One of the colleges on Stud's "list" is Columbia College, here in Chicago. I would LOVE for him to be able to go here. First of all, it would be a dream program/school for him. Second, he wouldn't have to move away. Yeah, I know, I gotta let him grow up sometime. But I'm not ready!!!

I hope he'll ease up a bit, and let me share some of the drawings I scanned. There are a few that I adore that are simply his version of some Tarot cards he found online. His version is so much cooler! Stay tuned...

Oh, and a couple of you had asked whether Stud has had any classes or training, and the answer to that is a big, fat NO. He's never taken any art classes, he's just self-taught. He was supposed to be in Honors Art this year, on the recommendation of one of his teachers from last year (who used to constantly take his sketchbook away because he would spend her whole class drawing, instead of doing what he was supposed to be doing! Ugh!), but there was a scheduling mix-up, and it didn't happen. We tried to get it on his schedule again for next year, and tentatively, he has Honors Art on his schedule. Keep your fingers crossed that nothing messes it up again!

The literary magazine came out today, by the way, and thankfully, Stud bought a copy. I'm so proud of him. He's now a published artist!

My Little Picasso

I don't think I've ever shared any of Stud Muffin's drawings before. That's a little surprising, since ALL this kid does is draw! That would explain his grades....but I'm not here to complain today...

This is a drawing he did in the beginning of the year, and submitted to his school's literary magazine. He just got it back, with a lovely little note, thanking him for his submission. I can't wait to get a copy of the magazine.

This is a drawing of his principal, Mr. A. I didn't know what the second line was until I asked. It says, "Level 99, Paladin" which has something to do with either a video game or a card game, I can't remember which, but it describes the "powers" this character has in the game. The last part is what made me laugh: "Crusader, Dragon Rider, Principal" (Their school mascot is the crusader.)

I had scanned this because I framed a copy of it to give to Mr. A., and I figured since it was already sitting here in my computer, I might as well share!

It's not one of his most sophisticated drawings, but I think it's pretty good, nonetheless. I may just try and sneak into his portfolio later and scan in some of his "good" drawings, just so I can brag a bit more....

Do you know about this...

...hilarious site? Shit My Kids Ruined

I've been laughing for 15 minutes!!

We went on a field trip today!

We went to see the legendary Ella Jenkins today! I had such a wonderful time, I almost missed how much fun the babies had. I take my class to see her every year, and every year I love her just as much as the year before.

I have a Barney video in which Miss Ella appears, and I always show it to my class in preparation of this field trip. They were SO excited when she sangs the songs they learned on the video. They learned a whole bunch of songs today. I think I may be checking out Amazon this weekend so I can order a few of her CDs. I have several of her albums on cassette, but these days, it's just too hard to even use these. Do you remember, back in the day, when you would try to find a specific song on a tape? Rewind....oops! Fast forward....ah, crap! Rewind....Ugh!!! How did we ever get by?

One of the songs she sang today was Jambo. They loved the way she sang almost all her songs in this call-and-response style. She calls kids up to the stage for nearly every song, and a couple of my babies were chosen to come up. But, they went ape shit when their TEACHER was called up to the stage (to count in sign language). It was just so cute how excited they were.

I tried to find some videos on YouTube to share with you, but Miss Ella must have some tight reins on her stuff. I did find this, though. (Blogger seems to be cutting off the right side of the video, so use the link to see it in full view.)

The only down side of our trip was that I ended up getting a horrific case of motion sickness. It's nearly 5pm, and I'm still feeling nauseous. I think I'm going to see if there's any of the ginger ale I had to pick up for Stud left in the fridge. (He was home with a tummy bug yesterday.) I just hope it's motion sickness and NOT whatever Stud had.

What the HELL is that smell!?

So, I moved a bag I had thrown on the floor in the backseat after the flood, and realized it was soaking wet underneath. But, I didn't think it was that big of a deal, since it was just a plastic grocery bag and it was on the rubber floor mat.

But, then, as I was driving to school, I was assaulted by a foul smell. It kinda smelled like spoiled milk? Anyway, when I got home, I figured I'd better get the bag off the floor and let the mat dry. I had planned to also Febreze the car from front to back, just for an added bonus.

Well, imagine my surprise when I moved the rubber mat and saw that the carpet mat under it was wet. Then, imagine my horror when I realized that the actual carpeting in the car was sopping wet! Holy crap!!!

I immediately removed both sets of car mats (the original carpet mats that came with the car, and the heavy-duty, super-thick, SUV mats my brother bought me as a 'car warming' gift, that I have over the originals) and then had Stud help me set up our elaborate drying system again.

I did Febreze the crap out of all the upholstery, so I hope that helps get rid of the foul odor. If it still smells tomorrow once it's dry, I plan to sprinkle a box of baking soda everywhere and then let that sit overnight before I vacuum it out.

When I first bought this car, there was a foul, icky smell going on, which I thought was in the vents. It did seem to improve a bit after I had an oil change done, and they switched out all the air filters. But, every once in a while, I'd get a whiff of something offensive. Again, it smelled a little like old milk. I'm basing this assessment on my memory of the smell in my old car after Stud dropped umpteen bottles of milk, not to mention a few sippy cups, which then dripped into the carpeting. Delightful, right?

Obviously, the car was detailed before I bought it. Now, I'm almost wondering if the carpet was still a bit damp when they put the floor mats back in it. The mats are rubber-backed, which would keep the carpet underneath from drying, right? Then, the day after I bought it, my brother brought over those heavy-duty mats and put them in for me. Is it possible that the carpet might not have ever fully dried? Seems a bit far-fetched, but any thing's possible, right?

If anyone has any other odor-removing suggestions, please pass them on. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that charcoal briquettes can be used to remove odor, so maybe I should place a few under the seats for a while. Leave me your tips, please!

When will I learn!?

You may remember when I was dumb enough to do this. Yeah, well, I was just as dumb Thursday night. Only this time, I didn't wake up mid-rain, and it STORMED all night!! Look at how many INCHES of water are in my cup holder!! AND, to top it all off, I had left my school bag on the front seat, which contained, among other important things, my reading and math teacher's guides, which looked like they had been thrown in a pool!

I'm really afraid I'll be driving around in a car that smells like an old kitchen sponge for the rest of my life, but I'm hoping that won't be the case. Last night, Stud helped me rig up a "drying system" in the garage. Oh, it's real sophisticated! I opened all four windows and the sunroof, then took a box fan, and laid it across the opening of the sunroof, and turned it on full blast. But, of course, because my garage looks like it needs an intervention from Niecy Nash, we had to rig up an extension cord from the messy side of the garage, where the outlet is, to the "clean" side, where the car is parked. No easy feat, let me tell ya!

When I went out this morning at about 7 to check on things, the seats felt dry, but I left the fan running for a little while longer just to be sure. I will NOT be able to drive in a car that smells moldy and mildewy. YUK! No amount of Febreeze in the world can take care of that problem, I'm sorry!

A little something to help you with your diet?

I just lifted this from my friend Tiffany's blog. Interesting....

Email of the Day

To Be 6 Again...

A man was sitting on the edge of the bed, observing his wife, looking at herself in the mirror. Since her birthday was not far off he asked what she'd like to have for her Birthday.

'I'd like to be six again', she replied, still looking in the mirror.

On the morning of her Birthday, he arose early, made her a nice big bowl of Lucky Charms, and then took her to Six Flags theme park. What a day!

He put her on every ride in the park; the Death Slide, the Wall of Fear, the Screaming Monster Roller Coaster, everything there was.

Five hours later they staggered out of the theme park. Her head was reeling and her stomach felt upside down.

He then took her to a McDonald's where he ordered her a Happy Meal with extra fries and a chocolate shake.

Then it was off to a movie, popcorn, a soda pop, and her favorite candy, M&M's. What a fabulous adventure! Finally she wobbled home with her husband and collapsed into bed exhausted. He leaned over his wife with a big smile and lovingly asked, 'Well, Dear, what was it like being six again?'

Her eyes slowly opened and her expression suddenly changed.

'I meant my dress size, you dummy!'

The moral of the story: Even when a man is listening, he is gonna get it wrong.

SEND THIS TO SMART WOMEN WHO NEED A LAUGH AND TO MEN YOU THINK CAN HANDLE IT

I found this in an old file I was going through this morning, and thought it might make you smile!

It's SHIT Day!*

I thought I'd show you how cute my new daisies look in their new home. Thanks, again, New Principal!
Last night, my mom had an Arbonne party at her house, and since it was Cinco de Mayo, I made my most-requested appetizer, Crispy Taco Bites. Yum!!

They look so fancy, but they are really the easiest thing to make. I love recipes like this, that make you look like a superstar, even if they only take a few minutes to make. Naturally, this is a Pampered Chef recipe!!

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Ok, ssshhhh.....don't tell anyone....but I just called sub-center and requested a sub for tomorrow. I'm playin' hooky!!!

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Saturday is my birthday, and I usually like to take a personal day (or in this case, a sick day) and just do whatever the hell I want all day. I wasn't so sure about doing it this week, especially because it's usually such a pain in the ass to prepare for a sub, and then the kids are usually nuts all day, etc. Last night, one of my good friends came to my mom's for the party, and told me that she, her mother, and another mutual friend (all teachers!) are all playing hooky tomorrow! Of course, she asked me to join them, so we could celebrate my birthday. I told her I'd have to think about it, but probably not, blah, blah, blah.

.

Well, after the week I've had at school, most especially today, I decided at 2:30 that I was going to just do it. The kids have been AWFUL all week. By noon today, I had a pounding headache (which hasn't yet subsided, and I'm afraid is about to become a full-blown migraine by tonight) and was ready to bite someone's head off. Instead, I dismissed the little beasts, I mean babies, and went right back to my room, and prepared a sub folder. It was well worth the hour and a half I stayed at school to do it. Too bad I have to drive Stud to school tomorrow, so I can't really sleep in, but I am meeting friends for lunch, so that'll be nice.

.

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*Sure Happy It's Thursday!

Who knew...

Lovers

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I Like Love

I do not Like Lovers

I would Like a Love

I would not Like a Lover

I feel Love is when you Like

I feel Lies are when you Love

The best way to kill is Love

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I feel Love is when you Like

I feel Lies are when you Love

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I Love Lies

I do not Love Liars

I would Love a Lie

I would not Love a Liar

The best way to kill is Lie

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If you truly love, don't

.

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Stud just wrote this for his English homework tonight. WTF? I'm totally torn between being damn proud of this deep poem, and feeling like I want to burst into tears because of the dark feelings he has about love. The best way to kill is Love. I mean, seriously, WTF?!

Flowers, flowers, everywhere!

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. I always made a point to do something for Stud Muffin's teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week, especially during those years that I served on the executive board of the Parents' Club. During his last two years, when I was co-president, my girlfriend and I really worked hard to make the whole week special for the staff. We did something different every day. One day, we catered in breakfast, and one day we did a catered lunch. The one day that was the most popular with the staff was the day we set up the teachers' lounge with an array of appetizers, dips and desserts, so they could wander in and out throughout the day and graze. One of the days (I'm pretty sure Monday) we presented each teacher with a beautiful vase of fresh flowers, and planted flowers in the two giant planters at the front door of the school. We always wrapped up the week by presenting them with some kind of personalized gift. One year we ordered custom picture frames, imprinted with their names, and then one of the moms, who was available during the day, went to school, and secretly took a class picture of each teacher's class, which we then put in the frame.

At other schools that I've worked at, there was usually something done for the teachers during this week. Since I've been at the Hell-Hole, I've come to expect nothing. CPS usually sends cheesy, generic certificates to us, which our principal is supposed to pass out. One year, The Big Cheese just gave us the blank certificate, and told us to write our own freakin' names on them!! Oh, what a piece of work he was!!

Yesterday, during our very brief staff meeting, New Principal mentioned that it was Teacher Appreciation Week, and said that a package would be coming to us later in the day. The day ended, and the packages never came. I really didn't give it a second thought, cuz like I said, I've come to expect nothing. Today, near the end of the day, there was a knock on my door, and when I opened it, there were the gym and art teachers, as well as one of our parent volunteers. The brought me this...
and this!!
These are already transplanted into a planter on my deck. So pretty!

When I pulled up to the house after picking Stud up from school, I immediately saw that my gate was closed, which told me someone had been at my house while I was at work. (Normally, the gate is open, so I can pull into the garage.) Stud thought it was his father, who had to drop off his dirty lunch containers from yesterday. Naturally, I started my (very mature!) ranting about CSJ, and the fact that the gate is closed, blah, blah, blah.

Well, as I started backing into the driveway, I turned my head, and immediately noticed...

Yep, my goddess of a mother-in-law came to do my annual birthday planting!! God bless her heart! My birthday is Saturday, and she always does this the week of my birthday. She does something different every year. This year, she planted mostly petunias, in only white and white-and-purple striped. So pretty! It's always such a wonderful surprise to come home on planting day, and see everything looking so pretty! And, yes, that IS a penguin on my porch. He's like my little sentry. I'm tempted to start dressing him up like those silly geese people keep on their porches, except that, I think those are silly! Besides, I like that he's always in formal wear. He used to have a little hat, but the squirrels kept pulling it off him, and I finally had to toss it. I'm thinking, now that I'm such a pro (haha!) I'll just make him a new hat myself!

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Buster was wondering what the hell I was doing out there with my camera. He's pretty cute for an old geezer, isn't he? Last Thursday, he turned 13!!!

Oops...

Today, right before dismissal, I sat my babies in the auditorium (where they wait to be picked up) when all of a sudden, my precious AP sneezed. However, the sneeze sounded a little more like someone sat on a duck. I LOUD duck. Yep, she sneezed a little wind out of her bottom! I was just going to pretend I didn't hear it. When I turned to say, "God bless you," I could see the mortified look on her face. For a minute, I thought she might cry. Then, one of the girls sitting next to her whispered, "She pooted!" I froze for just a second, not knowing if the tears were going to come, or if some teasing was going to start. Instead, AP broke out into an embarrassed grin, which then turned into a giggle. From there, it went into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, with her friends joining her. I had to turn around so they would see me giggling right along with them. Ah...they're so easily amused, aren't they? And, I'm glad they haven't reached that age where they get so easily embarrassed by bodily functions. They still think it's funny. I, on the other hand, think it's disgusting, but it's not about me, is it?