Haaaaallween 2023

Hooray for Halloween! I tried something new for the kids at school to celebrate Halloween. I got some pixel art kits to use on Microsoft Excel. The hardest part was figuring out how to share the same file with each class. Teaching 3rd-5th grades how to do a new task was quite frustrating. They do not listen, even when we did the tasks step-by-step as a class. I really admire teachers more and more! How they capture attention is an art form! Then I started a unit on coding using a fun website called Kodable. The students were buzzing all Monday, the current was palpable. One of my sweet students gave me a candy bar because it said, "whatchMACALLit." I'm Ma Call! Ha ha. 

I dressed up as Caroline Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie, mostly because I had the costume from trek! The bonnet made my head hurt all day long, but it was worth the effort! Ha ha. The students raised money to “slime the principal” before the Halloween parade. Mrs Shaw’s class raised like $600, she had quite the glitter in her eye as she got to pour two buckets of slime on Mr Obert. The kids were thrilled! After the sliming event each grade walked the track to show off their costumes. Evelyn was very upset Mrs Curtis missed school Monday and Tuesday with her sick toddler. Her sub is a very strict lady. Monday Evelyn was so upset she was not allowed to visit me for even a hug she cried for an hour after school. We snuggled on the couch while reading the American Girl Doll magazine. That was worth it to me! I asked the sub to allow Evelyn time to see me during the day, she gave me the nastiest look and snarkily clipped back, no way should a child miss recess to be in their mother’s classroom. I about grabbed my theoretical sword, then thought about it. She has a very hard class to manage, the way she reacted was upsetting to me, but in context I understand the situation. Still, a little grace goes a long way. After school the kids got costumed up ready for a fun evening. Sara got some help setting up tables for hot dogs, hot chocolate, and cider! I made a big pot of chili to contribute to the neighborhood party. We loved seeing all the folks stop for a snack and warm drink! Phillip’s friends Darrell, Ben, and Johvanni met up at our home for the evening. Everett disappeared to Kyran’s home, I did not see him except for a few minutes in my classroom! Phillip and friends had a blast trick or treating as a group. Amelia went around with Justin, Fergus, Evelyn, Josie, and I. We left a big bowl of candy folks could help themselves at while we were gone. Fergus was hyped up of goof balls! He does not bark at every little thing like Vader did. We met up with Melody and Jett (plus Heidi Ipsen) halfway around the circle. We ended up walking the circle twice for lots of candy. Amelia wanted to visit Mrs Sene so we drove out near NNU college especially for that. We sang a silly song at her door! Down the street from her home were two decked out houses we stopped at. Fergus and Josie were too scared to walk through the scary stuff.  

The kids postponed the annual candy exchange for the next day after school. This is a much anticipated event! Will you trade me a Snickers for an Almond Joy? School after Halloween was brutal. The students were on a sugar rush, cranky, and completely unmotivated…me too! Ha ha. We somehow made it through the day with a wish and a prayer. The best part was having Thursday AND Friday off for parent-teacher conferences. 

Thursday dawned with rain and heavy clouds that continued all day. Gratefully, the heater was fixed Wednesday afternoon so we stayed nice and cozy. I got up early to attend Parent-Teacher conferences. Evelyn was up first with Mrs Curtis. She is doing very well academically, her strength is math (but her least favorite subject). There are some strong girl cliques in her class, Mrs Curtis said she just loves how Evelyn and Sophia act like kids, none of the girl drama the other girls create. I loved hearing that! However, Evelyn and Sophia are on the odd end of the spectrum, still loving little girl things and completely oblivious to the girl drama. I am grateful to Mrs Curtis for helping those two form a better friendship. Sophia brought a BFF book to complete with Evelyn during breaks at school. It’s adorable. Josie is doing great. She is a bit behind in spelling and reading, she’d rather snuggle and play than read. Josie and Melody are quite silly friends! I love it. The girls love to throw “rat”coon at me every moment they can. Last week they held my squishmallow hostage under a desk. Josie’s happy demeanor is contagious. I rushed off the East Valley to meet with Phillip and Everett’s teachers. I stopped by Mr Burton first, he said Phillip is improving everyday. Everett needs to practice more at home. Robotics was next, Mr Gomez and I had a lengthy chat about the boys. Their robot is essentially a tank, if robotics was about looks they would win awards. However, the tank is not winning any awards because it cannot compete with the lighter robots. I heard that the boys are very hot-headed and unwilling to compromise. The result will be not competing because they are stuck arguing vs working. They finally decided that the traditional h-frame was the way to go, essentially they are rebuilding their robot from scratch. Sigh. A 3-person team is not easy to be on, Phillip and Johvanni are 8th grade buddies with 7th grade Everett flopping along the side. I hope the boys can work together better if they each have certain tasks assigned specifically to each boy. Mr Z (Zarate) calls Phillip, Philly Cheesesteak. I think Phillip relishes the attention. Mr Z said one class period Phillip slumped up to him, all hoodied up, to say, “uh, Mr Z there is an open fun-sized candy bar on the floor, can I throw it away…?” Unsaid? I want to eat the candy bar, the temptation is too much. I can just see that exchange perfectly in my mind. Another day Phillip got a new deskmate who is a renowned “knucklehead.” After only 5 minutes Phillip slowly inched over to Mr Z, “uh, Mr Z, I can’t sit next to ****, he is not a nice person, next time can I get my own desk?” It’s more presentation, knowing Phillip and how he talks makes these two interactions hilarious. Ms Call tattled on Everett, told me he was turning in sloppy work, fully completed, then spending the rest of class playing games on his laptop. Nipped that in the bud, rather fully bloomed flower. I told Everett, NO MORE! He can only play computer games if his teacher says, during lunch, or for special occasions. Cinnamon rolls on a rainy day sounded like perfection! Made some rolls before choir to eat for MCO dinner. The boys had a chance to go work on their robot for an hour or two before choir. Amelia took Everett over, Phillip broke down crying because he did not know if Johvanni would be there, he didn’t want to go alone. He and I went to Walmart instead to find a birthday gift for Ben’s party the next day. Phillip walked out with a toy shark and mini remote-controlled car. 

Friday and Saturday were boring. The Ostler’s were gone. Evelyn took good care of Ruby and Millie while the Ostler’s were away. She quite enjoyed alone time in their home! We cleaned bedrooms on Saturday. The little girl’s room was a disaster, I don’t know how it gets so bad that quickly. Evelyn berated me last week for having a messy desk drawer, spent 30 minutes organizing it. In my mind, I was thinking, “me messy? Evelyn your room?” Hello black pot, hello black kettle! I finished editing sweet Hadley’s newborn session and started edits on the bridal session. The girls went to DI, Ross, and JoAnn's for some fun shopping. Sunday we practiced for the Primary Program in the chapel. The program is next week already. 

Mom sent me an intriguing commentary called Antidote. Essentially, about COVID, that it was a manufactured “illness” using snake venoms injected in special DNA carriers and dispersed in our water systems. The cure? Nicotine! A recent Harvard study revealed that Nicotine is not addictive as previously taught, rather other chemicals in tobacco products are responsible. Another pandemic is in the wings, the cause? A violent snake venom causing bleeding from the eyes, nose, etc. The cure? Zinc and stopping magnesium intake. Blew my mind because it all made perfect medical sense. 

My mom’s breast cancer is back. She held off the inevitable for two years, long enough to care for Grandma Jean. Looks like she is opting for a double mastectomy instead of chemo. We are fasting and praying for her.