Dessert Theater

Election Day in Nampa…and across the country. Our city had a big education levy up for voting. Thank goodness it passed, the measure did not pass in Meridian or Boise. The levy pays for the extra curricular stuff in our schools like instruments, music, field trips, SROs, and even extra teachers. I had a dr appointment so left early with Josie. She is on a Nelf kick lately. She wrote down over 30 questions to ask the Nelves after Thanksgiving. Apparently, the Christmas season starts the moment Thanksgiving dinner is over, dessert is technically in Christmas territory. I had an image of Josie ripping off her Thanksgiving dress to reveal a Whoville style outfit underneath. She might be part elf. 

Thursday morning Justin and I drove the older kids to CHS in order to meet with Mrs Bussey, Mrs Duby, and the school psychologist. We hashed out with Phillip in the room some of the discrepancies in communication between himself, the teachers, support staff, and parents. He learned how to respectfully advocate for himself, now to practice this skills. I think we will have him take a TA class instead of cryptozoology just to have a credited class where he can work on homework at school and get focused support for math and ELA. 

I started reading the novel because I was bored and had the digital copy of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” The first chapter is nearly pornographic as it describes how she diagnoses her own cervical cancer. There is a lot of talk about incest, black repression, medical malpractice, ethics and race, and a bunch of woke crap. It is not suitable for 10th graders. I messaged with his ELA teacher who said the book would be read in reviewed and edited PDFs. Ok, that is better but what if I had no idea this book was woke and porno? What if I had Phillip listen to the book? What kinds of discussions are being led in class? Is the medical malpractice or the racism highlighted? Makes me upset that of all the books this one was selected. There are many other books that discuss the same types of topics without the graphic nature or political agendas. I am also upset that parents were not informed about the delicate topics this book discusses. Just stupid. How far is it worth fighting? By the time I realized what the book contained Phillip had already ready a few sections. 

This week Mr McGrath threw a baby tantrum. It was almost comical except it was over patriotism for our Veterans. Monday morning the third graders had their last practice for the Veterans Day program coming the next day. McGrath hates that he HAS to perform this show, if it was up to him there would not be a veterans program. He doesn’t want to work with the 3rd grade teachers because they are “mean.” So, we (not him) set up the risers and helped organize the students on the risers. Mrs Harp started to tell the students that the flag would be to the left and that students needed to put their hands over their heart when singing the Star Spangled Banner. McGrath blew up, he went red in the face and screamed that this was HIS program. Harp backed off, threw up her hands and said do whatever you think but it is the right way to teach students to be respectful in front of veterans. He stormed out of the gym and went straight to Obert, like a screaming toddler tattling on his coworkers. The students were shocked into silence (if you knew our 3rd graders this is a miracle). I went on to play piano while students sang the Star Spangled Banner with some covering their hearts and most not. We ran through all the songs and class poems. After about 20 minutes McGrath comes back, snidely asking if we had taken care of the poetry practice. Yep. My knee and feet are not in great shape lately, hurts like heck 80% of the time. I helped put away risers and push the piano back to the wall all practice days while McGrath watched me struggle. The students do not like him, he hates the students and treats them like garbage. He often tells students they will end up in prison if they continue to be disrespectful, they are just projecting back to him the example he sets in the classroom. Thankfully, the program went beautifully (sans hand over the heart) even with his turd attitude. I was happy to play piano and direct the students! 

That night Evelyn, Josie, and I went to watch Everett perform his pantomime skit with Faith Christenson and Allison. The theater students worked half the trimester coming up with original content or a part from musical theater. Everett’s pantomime was called “Not Today.” It was a story about a bully that roughs up an acquaintance. Later we see that Everett was bullied at home by his mother. They did a great job. I got a nice video from the side…I wish we could’ve seen it from the front. Oscar’s performance from Jekyll and Hyde was riveting. The girl’s and I enjoyed the pre-show music featuring sea shanties, like “Chicken on a Raft.” Go have a listen if you dare. We were served lovely desserts at our table. I chose a Biscoff creation that was absolutely fire. Josie went for an Oreo parfait and Evelyn enjoyed a peach cobbler. Everett got to perform Friday night because that night the top 12 performances out of 25 got to move on the finals. Those groups also went on to perform at the districts competition on Saturday. 

I was very tired when I finished my Walmart grocery order. It was late, very late at night when I finally got the week’s menu completed. I finished ordering our food while lying in bed. I could barely keep my eyes open! It was no real surprise when the kids discovered over 9 onions, 4 bags of bread, and multiples of various other food items. Ha ha! Don’t order food when one is half asleep

We had an impromptu family discussion about obedience, politeness, and respect in our family. I often feel caught in the middle translating between Justin and the kids. The kids don’t communicate their needs clearly and Justin often jumps to anger after asking once politely. Evelyn really stood up for herself asking Justin to use respectful language even when she is acting like an angry tornado. I think it was helpful to have an open conversation with a constructive setting to help change some family dynamics. I get how frustrating it is when Justin asks but doesn’t get results. I get how frustrating it is to be a kid and your parent is also not listening. A little grace can spread a long way. We followed up the cry session with some ice cream after Everett was done with Dessert Theater. Ice cream makes everything better, thanks Grandpa Baerwaldt for that life lesson. 

Saturday, Justin turned the BIG FIFTY years old. He did not want anything for his birthday, trust me I asked several times. Our ward carpooled to the Burley temple open house early, Justin was not keen on spending most of the day in the van so we did not go. I heard the line wait was over 3 hours to get in! Instead we went to Scheels and enjoyed a hour or so walking around while Justin perused the gun section. I felt bad because I got myself a pair of black Birkenstock mules, hoping my feet won’t ache so badly all the time. The shoes have not left my feet since buying them. I got a pair of Dansko clogs last week, those hurt my feet after just 10 minutes. No more cute shoes for me. We got an early dinner at Chik-fil-a to celebrate Justin. I made him Steak Fajitas for his birthday dinner on Sunday. Delicious. 

UPS delivered our not so secret Christmas gift. I got a 3-D printer set and lots of filament. Seth and Joseph helped me narrow down the options and get a good deal on a Bamboo printer set. There is a constant flow of jokes about the 3-de printer we “don’t” own yet. Pretty exciting. I used all the money I made hemming attire for CHS choirs. I hope the boys will enjoy making items I can sell at Reagan.