Do I Have Strep?

As you know, Mac has strep.

At first, I thought that I was having psychosomatic strep symptoms because they started right after Mac got diagnosed. But now, I think I might actually have it.

But, in the meantime while the strep was potentially incubating, I went to Philadelphia for a conference.

I'm sure they have urgent care here in Philly, so I'll probably seek that out tomorrow if I wake up feeling like I have strep.

I'm kind of pissed about this situation, if you want to know the truth.

However, I'm pretty happy to be here overall. I'm going to have the best weekend ever.

Time Grabs You By the Wrist

It's the end of the quarter, which was always a stressful time even before I had that second child plus a full-time teaching load. The kids start to get panicky about their grades, and then they start to say things in an accusatory tone. Things like:

"But you never SAID we needed a works cited!"

"But my printer ran out of INK!"

and

"My thesis IS fully expanded!"

And then they turn around and start to mumble things about me. Things that, in my imagination, are not very polite. In order to deal with these interactions professionally and with patience, I've adopted a few strategies.

One of them is I say Hail Marys over and over again in my head. And then I throw in a Glory Be and a couple of St. Francis of Assisi prayers. "SPREAD JOY," I remind myself before beginning class. "SOW LOVE."

This can be really hard, especially when they say things like, "Who's Duena Alfonsa?" when Duena Alfonsa is a main character in the novel, and we're already on page 217.

My other strategy is to repeat the mantra, "Grace and courtesy, grace and courtesy, grace and courtesy." I got it from a book about The Montessori Way. It's important to explicitly teach those things, the book says. And I'm trying to be a model.

It's hard to do when they say things like, "I don't even know why we're analyzing McCarthy because he obviously doesn't know how to write."

But I want you to know I'm trying really, really hard.

You, You Got What I Need

Here's an update:



Mac says a few things now. Like "please," "thank you," "ball," and "I do!" Like, you'll say, Mac do you want some breakfast? And he'll say, "IdoIdoIdo!" And a few other cute little things.

Shef, of course, says tons of things, some of them cute and others not so much. Just today, his teachers sent the kindergarten feelings book home in the e-Friday Folder. I was having a great time scrolling through the photos. Kids saying things like, "I felt confident when I was the flower girl at my uncle's wedding," and "I was ecstatic when I built a tall tower." Those kids were beaming in their photos, looking totally adorable.

Shef was toward the end. Here's what he looked like:



The text said he felt disgusted because he ate tomatoes. The kid really doesn't care for produce.

Guest Post

Well, that title is a little misleading. It's still me. (Hi!!) But I planned to type up this story that Shef wrote last night:

I weint to a frm and bobd for applers.
I weint baek and the hoem was a tornado.
I had to goin the basmint.

God, I love that kid.

I've been having a little trouble blogging lately, and it's partly because, as I've previously mentioned, my life is insane; and also partly because I'm afraid to write the funny kid stories from work (For example: Me: Cara, are you dressing up for Halloween? Cara: Yes, I'm going to be an Indian. Me: Do you think your costume is culturally appropriate? Cara: Well, I'm doing the fringe and everything.)

The problem is I'm on Facebook and the link to this blog is on Facebook and I'm friends with some former students now.

Probably I should just take the link off of Facebook and keep writing. That sounds like a good idea.

Star Spangled Eyes

Dan and the kids came into the bathroom while I was using my neti pot.

"Oh, geez," Shef said. "That looks gross."

Well, no one invited you in here, Champ. That's what I was thinking.

I'm On the Bleachers

On the Thursday of MEA break, Shef and I took Mac to school, went for coffee and sweet rolls, dropped off a birthday present for Dan's dad, spent some time in my classroom, headed over to Kindergarten conferences, and then spent five hours at The Waterpark of America with my cousins and their kids.

On our first tube slide, Shef cracked me up by yelling, "SWEET! SWEET! YEAH, BABY, SWEET!" all the way down.

And then, Mac surprised me on the second day of break (take Mac to school, do the laundry, clean out the dresser drawers, donate too-small baby clothes, pick up Mac, and wait for Dan to get home) by busting out his first two sentences: "Yes I do," and "I do it."

Oh, Hey!

I think this has been my longest blog break in awhile. I feel like the reason is pretty simple:

WE FEEL LIKE OUR LIFE IS INSANE.

Still, we're trying our best. As I've mentioned, I'm having the BEST YEAR EVER at school, with nice kids and great colleagues. Shef is exhausting himself in Kindergarten and hates weekends because he loves school so much. Mac can make lots of animal sounds, identify his body parts, sing and dance, and he loves swimming. And of course, Dan works. A lot. All the time.

Did I mention our house is for sale?

Also, I get up every day at 5:15?

And, I look SO OLD? I seem to have no cheeks, but still have cellulite and saddlebags.

Finally, I've been using my neti pot for five days. It's making a difference. I recommend the neti.