Gonna Start It Up Again

I've decided that I want to write a bit more, so I am going to start this blog up again. If anyone knows of a good app out there for my iPhone, I can blog while on the road this summer, too.

Finally!

I did it! Finally! I made doctor appointments for my physicals and a dentist appointment today! I can finally get Rob off my back! :)

Nevermind About Those Halloween Costumes

I wasn't too impressed with the Halloween costumes this year. Not a lot of creativity as far as coming up with something no one has done before, but quite a few good standard costumes. I know I will regret not listing them here, especially when next year rolls around and I need a good idea or two. I am the most uncreative person I know.

Halloween Costumes

Here are some clever and not-so-clever ideas for Halloween costumes, and where I heard about it or saw it. Feel free to borrow these ideas.

Facebook - write "book" on your face (Jim on The Office)
Dick-in-a-box - YouTube it, Mom. (Michael on The Office)
One Nightstand - wear a table around your waist with a lamp, alarm clock, and novel glued to it (Sarah M.)
Smarty Pants - tape or staple Smarties to your pants (various students)

More to come after tomorrow's Halloween parties...

Crock Pot Food

Rob has been making a new crock pot recipe every week for the past few weeks, and I really enjoy them. First, they are a hearty meal, filling me up so that I don't have the urge to snack later on in the evening. Second, it is one dish to clean, albeit a large one. Third, most of the dishes are made with beef. Mmmm...beef. Finally, when I walk in the door after school, there is a heavenly smell.

So far, Rob has made chicken pot pie, pork roast, turkey breast, spicy swiss steak, and ground turkey chili. Contact Rob if you want the recipes. I only eat it. :)

What is the best thing about Christmas?

Grace: Celebrating Jesus being born

Robby: Presents

Lily:

What is the best thing about Thanksgiving?

Grace: Being around with family

Robby: Making cards for people

Lily:

What is the best thing about Halloween?

Grace: Trick or treating and getting candy

Robby: Scaring people

Lily:

A Long Time Gone

It has been a while, hasn't it? Whoops. Oh well. We're busy. What else can I say?

Since I know everyone has probably given up hope on this blog, I know there won't be many readers at all. However, I hope to begin typing again. I really enjoy writing, and this is a good chance for me to do that.

So Rob and I are planning our trip out to the Northeast. We are looking at Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York. We may possible venture over to Nova Scotia and/or Prince Edward Island, but we'll see about that.

Anyone have any suggestions on what to do? We have requested the travel brochures from the state (except New York. That state is ridiculously hard to figure out.) and have glanced through them and noted what we would be interested in on this trip, but are always open to suggestions. We know that we are going to do a whale watching boat tour, the New England Aquarium, the Basketball Hall of Fame, the Freedom Trail, Dinosaur State Park, a minor league baseball game, Ben and Jerry's, and the Baseball Hall of Fame. There will also be a ton of sightseeing, both along the coast and more inland. We're pretty excited!

Lily is up sleeping right now for naptime, Robby and Grace are working on their gazillionth art project today, Rob is out with a friend watching a football game, and I am sitting here in my PJs. Not to shabby. I really enjoy a good lounging day once in a while. I know there are some things I should be doing, and I might, but nothing absolutely has to be done. Well, I take that back. I should really clean the bathrooms. That is a necessity, but can wait until I am more interested (Tuesday?).

Legos

For those of you who have been wondering and asking, I have an ongoing list of Legos that our family (primarily Robby) owns. Please consult the list for the most updated information. Scroll down, and it will be located on the lefthand column under the quotes.

Free Associations

This is Rob free associating with various song titles.

Alive (Pearl Jam) - lying in bed listening to it while in HS
Talk Dirty to Me (Poison) - Mark
Rockin' the Suburbs (Ben Folds) - yelling
If I Had $1,000,000 (BNL) - monkey
Going the Distance (Cake) - running
Longview (Green Day) - baseline
Sunday Bloody Sunday (U2) - flag
Plush (STP) - purple
Thunder Rolls (Garth Brooks) - Sarah
Song for the Dumped (Ben Folds Five) - piano bar
Thriller (Michael Jackson) - Whoo and a crotch grab
Jeremy (Pearl Jam) - kid shooting people
Buddy Holly (Weezer) - black rimmed glasses
Tell Me Whatcha Want (Spice Girls) - stupid video when we were in college
Free and Easy (Dierks Bently) - nothing. Rob's mind is blank.
Middle (Jimmy Eat World) - underwear
White Christmas (Bing Crosby) - Christmastime

This is Rob free associating with food.

dry roasted peanuts - salty
oranges - juice
gumdrops - sugar
potatoes - chips
roast beef - gravy
tortilla chips - salsa
monkey bread - chimpanzees
cotton candy - pink
kiwis - New Zealand
bananas - peel
gingerbread - man
pizza - cheese
licorice - black
broccoli - yucky

This is Rob free associating with random objects.

pillow - fight
Mickey Mouse - clubhouse
hairball - klchhech!
pizza - sauce
rain - bow
Mexico - Mexicans
fall - leaves
messy - Robby
hippopotamus - river horse
towel - dry
shopping - cart
Kleenex - snot
guitar - hero
eggs - Benedict

Forgotten and Outgrown

Have you ever gone looking for something and run across a toy that your youngest child would have loved to play with about 6 months ago, but now seems to old for? I have, and it makes me sad.

We're gonna make America skinny again, one slap at a time.

Slap Chop has the most entertaining infomercial I have ever seen. Vince has so many one-liners worth repeating, it's slightly overwhelming. Enjoy!

Large Personal Space

Sarah has a large personal space. Anyone who knows Sarah well understands and respects that. The last thing Sarah wants to do is spend any time with a "close talker", if you know what I mean.

Sarah was in science class a few weeks ago when something horrifying happened. She was turned in her swivel chair, typing away, while the parapro sat cutting out laminating at the desk, facing the students. This is when a student (let's call her "H"), snuck around the desk, ignoring the parapro competent of answering a question, and poked Sarah in the back of her right arm. Dear. God.

Preventing explosion, Sarah took a deep breath and slowly turned around. "H" was standing there, smiling and posing as if to appear cute, and misunderstood the turnaround as a cue to begin talking.

"Mrs. Spencer, I was wondering if we needed to do all of the diagram or just..." I believe she stopped talking because "H" saw Sarah's face. No one pokes Sarah and gets away with it.

"H" will not be poking Sarah again. Ever.

What to Blog About?

What should I blog about tonight? I know that when I started this blog, way back when, Amy emailed me a list of topics that I could possibly blog about, but I can't find it. Plus, it is all probably pretty irrelevant now. Or maybe not. I can't remember what was on the list.

Speaking of remembering stuff, why is it that I am able to remember who gave Grace, Robby, or Lily a baby toy or outfit and for what reason, but I can't remember why I go into the basement? Why is it that Rob can remember obscure sports facts, actors in movies we've only seen once, and the name of every "oldies" alternative band and every one of their songs and I can't remember what I wore to school the day before? It's sad when I have to look in the hamper in the morning and check.

I digress. What should I blog about? No one is really interested in what I do day to day. I would love to blog about my students at school and the lack of maturity, but I do want to keep my job in this economic crisis. Maybe once in awhile I could, but I can't be specific. I could make lists. I'm really darn good at lists (much to Rob's chagrin), but I don't think people would appreciate my lists as much as I would hope. I could blog about TV, but so many people are doing that already. Has anyone read Nikki Stafford's blog? I really like her writing, and she writes mostly about TV, including some shows that I watch like Lost, The Office, and Friday Night Lights. I highly recommend her blog. Actually, I visited that site just now and read the last couple entries. I forgot I was blogging. Oops.

So, if anyone would like to email me and give me suggestions of what I should blog about, I would be grateful. Plus, then I could postpone writing sub plans and working on stuff for school as long as humanly possible.

The Epic Music War

Rob and I are on a mildly competitive music war with our children.

Rob has been playing Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour in the evenings "occasionally". Lily has taken to dragging a chair over to the drum set, picking up the drumsticks, and letting loose. When she is not drumming, she is grabbing a microphone and singing "la la" into it. Robby likes to play the drums, but tends to get excited and speed up until he is at least two times faster than the beat. Grace likes to play the drums and the guitar, of which she is really pretty good on both. (Guitar Hero 2 has a beginner level that allows beginners to play on just the beat and not worry about the colors.) Because of all the rock they are playing, one can sometimes hear someone (typically Robby) singing "Livin' on a Prayer" and "Beat It". It used to be "I Am the Greatest Man Who Ever Lived" before Christmas. Pretty cute.

In addition to the rock influence, I am trying to expose the kids to other types of music. For example, on the way to and from school this past week, we experienced a '70s flashback, a showtunes extravaganza (Wicked, A Chorus Line, The Sound of Music, etc.), a High School Musical 3 concert, and a swashbuckling array of pirate tunes. It's great when Lily is wiggling in her seat to the music while sucking her thumb. Robby has been choreographing various routines for the various genres of music. Grace belts out a tune until someone looks at her in the mirror or from across the seat. Then it is whisper-singing.

I hope that our kids have my love of most every kind of music, but Rob's ability to remember song titles and lyrics. That would be awesome. If they could carry a tune, that would be even better.

6 More Wake-ups!

Only 6 more wake-ups until school is out for Christmas break! Yippee! Our break is cram-packed with fun, but there should be some time to relax. I hope to go outside to play with the kids, maybe to go sledding or build a snowman. We'll see, though, because I am not so keen on getting cold right now. It's so hard to warm up.

Speaking of being cold, Rob and I splurged on ourselves and got a heated mattress pad for our bed. It is so nice. I would highly recommend one, even if it does make getting out of bed in the morning incredibly difficult.

So besides going outside, I hope to take the kids to see The Tale of Despereaux, not get out of my PJs for at least one day, get some picture frames hung, and clear my Recorded TV list. That sounds like a pretty good To-Do list, doesn't it?

Changes in Matter

While at Matt and Erin's house on Sunday, Robby and Grace got to choose 4 coins from the coin jar. Grace managed to lose only one on the way home. With the remaining three coins, she asked to buy something off of the snack cart at school lunch. We don't normally let her buy treats off this snack cart since she gets healthy, nutritious, satisfying lunches packed from home. However, Sarah relented just this once and let Grace use her change to buy something.

Rob picked up Robby and Lily that afternoon from daycare and then Grace from school. While on the step inside, Robby exclaimed, "Ewwww! What's that?!?"

Hanging up Lily's coat, Rob notices the drips of something and asks the kids if any of them had juice in their bags.

"Oh no," Grace moans and runs to put her lunch bag in sink. "I bought ice cream today, and I didn't have enough time to eat it. It melted."

Rob cleaned the melted ice cream out of Grace's lunch bag and explained changes in the states of matter to our little scientist.

My Wiki

I have made a wiki for use as my class website. Could someone please proofread this before it is linked to my name on the school website? I am still working on the Coming Up Next page, so that will be ready for viewing later this week or weekend. I would also appreciate it if you email me any suggestions, whether it is about the content or aesthetic nature of the site. Thanks!

Funniest Preview to a Preview I Have Ever Seen

Have you heard of the upcoming movie Bolt? Before the preview was shown at tonight's HSM 3 viewing, there was a special preview to the preview that I found hilarious. Here it is: