I Love You Always Forever

(Martin in 2006)

You've got, the most unbelievable
blue eyes I've ever seen
You've got, me almost melt away
As we lay there, under a blue sky
with pure white stars
Exotic sweetness, a magical time 

                ~Donna Lewis

Raise Your Hand Please!

The honeymoon is definitely over.

All of my students are showing their true colors, some of them more vibrant than others if you get my drift.

Our days aren't bad...just tiring.

I don't know what I'll do if I have to say one more time, "Raise your hand for permission to speak."

But I'll keep saying that and all of our rules over and over and over until it sticks.

Sometimes I think maybe my expectations are too high?

I expect my students to sit on the rug quietly and be good listeners, not playing with their shoes or sticking their heads in their shirts like turtles.  I expect them to line up silently with a hug and a bubble without running into the line and bumping into the person next to them creating a domino affect. I expect them not to interrupt me shouting, "MRS. WOLFE! LOOK I'M RAISING MY HAND!" I expect them to participate at all times and not act like a limp fish on the carpet.   I expect them not to hit, punch, kick, pinch, or shove...and I expect parents to agree with me that these things are indeed very wrong. 

Creating a positive classroom environment is hard work.  I think people sometimes think the kids come into the classroom and just learn....but there's so much more to that.  We have to teach them everything we want them to do and it usually takes weeks and weeks.  You have to be on top of your game at all times.   You can't get upset when someone doesn't do it right the first time...you might be upset but you have to pretend that you're not and smile and use a kind voice.  You have to like your students. You have to like your job. 

Tomorrow I'll repeat myself a bajillion more times, but that's okay because slowly but surly they're learning how to be in school, how to be a student, and most importantly how to be good, kind, and caring people.

Most Adorable

Dear Wilson,

I'm thinking that you are the most adorable little boy on this earth.  

I love you SO much.

Love,

Your Mommy 

Race Across the Sky

As I'm typing, my dad has already been running for 5 hours.

He'll keep running and running and running until he crosses the finish line tomorrow morning with 100 miles behind him.

I can't even imagine what that will be like for him, I know it won't be easy by any means, I know he'll be exhausted physically and mentally, but I know that he can do it.

Keep him in your prayers today! 

A quote about the Leadville 100

"Running the Leadville is like running the Boston Marathon two times in a row with a sock in your mouth and then hiking up to the top of Pikes Peak and then repeating the whole thing again, this time in the dark.  The Leadville 100 boils down to: nearly 4 full marathons, half of them in the dark, with twin 2,600 foot climbs in the middle." 

(here)

Good luck daddy! I'll be thinking about you until I get that phone call that you made it! 

Summer Thunder

I love the sound of thunder.

I love listening to thunder as I fall asleep on a warm summer evening...like tonight. 

It's slow and rumbly. 

It reminds me of when I was little and would run and snuggle in with Kate when a thunderstorm hit late in the night. We would count 1 mississippi, 2 mississippi, 3 mississippi until the thunder boomed. 

I could listen to this forever.  

When I was younger I insisted on buying a nature CD called Summer Thunder.  I would listen to it until I fell asleep, while I did my homework, while I read.  It was so soothing and comforting.  

Martin even bought me an alarm clock that has a special thunder button.  

I wish we had more thunderstorms here in Colorado.  Since Kate moved to Florida she has experienced more thunder storms in a year than I have in my lifetime.  

Lucky. 

Problems of a Five Year Old: Part 2

Today as we were making sure we were sitting in our squares on the carpet...visualize it, look around you, ask yourself if you're in YOUR square...I noticed that a few sneaky sneakies were sitting in a square of their choice.  I quietly asked them to move to their designated square. The guilty parties got up and reluctantly moved to their squares. One particular student however, suddenly burst into tears. He began crying hysterically, tears, snot, drool and all.  

Student: "Buuut I don't waaant tooo siit in thaaaat sqqquaarre! WAAAAAAA!"

Me: "Sorry friend, but that's your special square"

Student: "I want to sit in the green square!"

Me: "Your square is the green square."  

Student: "Sniff, sniff"

*silence*

Me: Alright! Let's go over our colors together

Today

Today I...

Tied 15 pairs of shoes

Talked like a robot, a bear, a dragon, and with a southern accent

Wiped tears

Built a zoo, a castle, and a park out of blocks

Counted to 20

Said my colors

Sang about letter sounds

Wrote a story about splashing in a puddle 

Talked in a whisper voice

Marched

Walked with a hug and a bubble

Sat criss cross applesauce 


What did you do today? 

Tired is an understatement

(Wilson thought I was dead when I got home from school)

Martin and I are going to be Friday night party poopers.

We're both exhausted.

Martin headed off to Wyoming yesterday to see his musical idol Bob Dylan.

He drove and drove and drove through nowhere.

I didn't see him until this evening. He slept on the side of the road. Had breakfast at a truck stop.

It was so worth it...according to Martin :)

And I'm just a little bit tired from teaching 22 Kindergarteners.

Everything is so foreign to them...confusing.  You repeat yourself over and over and over ALL day long.  

Patience. 

It's exhausting.

But they're starting to catch on and the great news is, is that so many more of our students had been to preschool last year! It makes SUCH a difference! 

So we're going to go sit in front of the t.v. until we both can't keep our eyes open any longer and then off to bed it is.  

Goodnight!

Zoo

Last night I was invited to go to the Denver Zoo.

The last time I was at the zoo was for our 4th grade field trip and the lions began to mate right as we got to their habitat. 

Awesome. 

This time it was for a special event for my sister's work.

It was so different without all the crowds...school groups...hot sweltering heat. I wasn't counting 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, over and over to make sure I had all 8 kids still in my group with me. I could actually enjoy myself. 

It was the perfect way to spend a summer evening.

First Day

My legs are killing me.

My back is aching.

My throat is dry.

My feet hurt.

I must have started teaching again.

Don't ask me how my day went because I can't remember.

It was such a whirlwind of a day...crying, confusion, anxiety.

And that was just me, haha just kidding.

I'm always so glad when the first day is over.

Phew! 

This is me on my first day of Kindergarten...I would have liked having me as a kindergarten student :)

Here I am 20 years later...

Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go take a hot shower, put on my pajamas and call it a night because tomorrow I have to do it all over again. 

The Night Before Kindergarten

The first day jitters are starting to set in.

I always get really nervous for the first day of school...even when I was the student.

I know the day will go well.

If all else fails read a book, right? :)

I've met all 22 of my little friends.

Some have been very outgoing...some have only whispered or said nothing at all.

A few know their alphabet...most don't.

We have  a lot of work ahead of us, but that's what makes it exciting.

All the possibilities. 

Tonight I'll go to bed early.

Get my lunch packed, clothes laid out.

And tomorrow when I get up it will be the first day of school, it's sort of like Christmas morning :)

Wish me luck!

Death and a Toilet Funeral

Dear little fish,

I'm sorry you got sucked up into the water filter. 

You probably died a very hard death.

I tried to find you yesterday, but you were no where to be found.

I feel so sad for your little life that wasn't very long and for that fact that it was my fault that you're still not with us.  Maybe you'll be reincarnated as a shark...that would be pretty cool right? I promise I'll take good care of your two brothers.

Sorry again.

Sincerely,

Jessica  

A Conversation About Chicken and Myself As A Five Year Old

Last night I was invited...well I invited myself over for dinner at my sister's.

They were having a pasta dish and I've been deprived lately, plus I love spending time with my family :)

The meal was very very good...buuuttt it had some chicken in it.

I ate around it and apparently somebody noticed.

I had run upstairs to talk to my twin sister and soon enough my sister and brother-in-law come up the stairs with my dinner bowl.

Elizabeth: You didn't eat any of your chicken!

Me: I did so!

Elizabeth: You left it all and just ate the noodles.

Me: so

Don: Do you know why you need protein in your body?  It is essential for the structure and maintenance of your body.

Elizabeth: You need to eat three more bites.

Me: But they're big pieces!

Just then Elizabeth began to pull apart my leftover chicken into smaller pieces...FOUR smaller pieces.

Me: You said I only had to eat three pieces and there are 4 pieces here. Can I at least have some more noodles to eat the chicken with? 

Kate (on the phone): Ewww does the chicken have the grisly stuff on it?

In case you were wondering I ate all four pieces of chicken and I survived.

Now my body has some essential protein to make me healthy.

My poor family.

Most people grow out of their five year old taste buds, but my twin sister and I have not been fortunate enough to do so.  Maybe they're just delayed? Whatever the reason I think I'll just stick to my PB&J.

Remember?

Today was the first day of school.

When I walked outside to my car this morning it even smelled like the first day of school. Can you remember what that smells like?  My husband thinks I'm a little strange when out of the blue I'll say, "It smells like school outside."

The air was a little cooler...a little crisper.  Like fall wasn't too far away. (Even though it is :)

Everyone was in new clothes.

The kids shoes were bright with no scuff marks.

Their shirts and pants had newly bought creases in them still.

As the kids got off the bus it wasn't the usual yelling and screaming.

They were quieter, anticipating the new school year...if their teacher was going to be nice, if they would see their friends from last year.

Everyone is on their best behavior.

This may change tomorrow, but I love holding onto what the first day of school is..

It's so full of nostalgia, opportunity and promise.

Anything can happen.

We started screening our Kindergarteners today.  They will start next week.

They are so little and very excited about starting school.

Some of them even dressed up in their Sunday best to come to their screening today.

We don't get very much information out of our testing.  The students are nervous and shy.

Me: Can you tell me what letter this is?

Student: Huge Smile

Me: Is it the letter O?

Student: Huge Smile

Me: What letter is this?

Student: Oh! That's a stick with a head on ...and that one is a man with arms.

Me: Ooooh

Mostly they were concerned that there were no fish in the fish tank. 

"What happened to all the fish? Did they all DIE!? "

It's been a good day.  Tomorrow I will meet five more of my little friends.

And next Wednesday will be my first day of school. 

Can't wait!

Organizing My Life

Yesterday I tackled the CD bookshelf in our office.  I think it's ugly and it takes up a lot of space that could be used for something we actually like.   I took off all 200 CDs and sorted them into alphabetical piles.  I ran to Target and got a large CD travel case and began the huge undertaking of pulling each CD and label out of it's case.

My Kindergarten skills really soared yesterday.  "Hey! I can definitely do ABC order!" I thought to myself.  Ryan Adams, Fiona Apple, Cher (fyi this would be my CD not Martin's), Eric Clapton, Cheryl Crow, Coldplay....wait a minute...what are these? The Beetles? Beach Boys? Beethoven?

Wait, doesn't B come before C?

 oh...

whoops.

I tried to keep the rest in ABC order as much as I could...the Haydn CD is in the the Ls and the Liszt CD is in the the Rs, oh well I tried. At least they're all in one place.  By the way, if you ever need to borrow a Bob Dylan CD we have all of 1,987,987 of them. 

 Now...the fun part.  What can I replace the bookshelf with?  A pretty table?  A chair? 

One more thing organized=happiness