Birthday Season

It's birthday season at our house.  It starts in September with Mike's sister Patti's birthday.  My brother used to come next in mid-October.  Mine is the 26th, then Lucas on the 27th.  Finally, Norma's birthday is November 6th.  I know we have a small family but it sure seems like the birthdays are squished up together rather than spread throughout the year.  Our other birthday season is mid-March to Mid-May.  I should really graph them to see if it's more random than it feels.  Anyway, if you're a fall baby or know one, happy birthday to you.

Natural Design

We took a trip up to Logan last weekend to participate in the charrette for the new Logan Nature Center.  The team of planners was finding a way to fit a new building into the natural space of Logan Canyon.  It was fascinating to see architects, city planners, Stokes Nature Center staff and members, and graduate design students all working toward a common goal of a beautiful and functional space for the site which is called "Second Dam."   Mike and I watched and mingled, then helped clean up. Since I have taught classes at the current nature center I had a vested interest in how the classrooms were designed.  Here's what I learned:  I am a detail person and I have trouble sticking to the big picture.  As they discussed their ideas it was all I could do not to cry out, "For God's sake don't put the outdoor classroom that far from the bathrooms!  Do you know how long it takes to get twelve four-year-olds up a set of stairs like that????"  I barely contained myself which was good because that was not the time to get into details, apparently.  They were interested only in how they were situating the different aspects of the center onto the landscape and how the outside would function "in tune with nature."  Not the detail of how to get a wheelchair and three dozen fifth graders across a busy parking lot and into a multi-level building.  Ah well, my turn will come.  I'll be the one crying from the sidelines, "I TOLD you those six-year-olds would need a place to leave their coats and lunches when they visited!"

Meanwhile, we enjoyed the changing leaves in Sardine canyon on the way up and a chance to get away for a night from our busy household.  Happy October.

Gettin' Beat Up

I had to go have my pacemaker repositioned.  It was sticking out in an uncomfortable manner and caught on various things including my bra strap.  The doc was afraid it would erode the skin.  I was afraid I'd just pull the dang thing out one day while reaching for a bowl in a cupboard.  So it had to be re-placed.  That's as opposed to "replaced."  So now it's under some muscle and much less apt to catch on things.  Unfortunately I'm a little bruised and battered.  I'll be off work until Monday.  I'm grateful for it to be over, but dang - I didn't want to do it over this quickly.  I knew I'd have to have the thing messed with after 5 or 7 years.  Ah well. Done now and I'm on the mend.

Model U.N.

So here's the official mix for my classroom this year:

Languages - 6
English
Spanish
Kirundi
Vietnamese
MaiMai
Farsi

Countries - 6
United States
Cuba
Mexico
Kenya
Iran
Burundi

Native American Tribes - 3
Ute
Paiute
Navajo

Students being pulled for special services - 5
Students in gifted program - 0  (students who should be there - 1)
Boys - 11   Girls - 14    Total so far  - 25

Teacher aides - 0   Assistants - 0   Clerical help - 0  
Cost of living increase this year:  -0.5%

Motivation to retire when Mike does - 98%

Cheers!

Back to it

I spent the morning at the school sorting through the stuff I've purchased or ordered.  Found out I double ordered colored pencils and red pens, but hey, those things are always useful.  I had some helpers put together the little boxes of pencils, crayons, scissors and so forth while I moved boxes of copy paper off the counter and into storage.  The books are in the reading center again and the kids' names are on the cubbies, though those will change when we get the move-ins and move-outs list.  I almost feel excited about starting again - almost.  It's hard to look forward to the new year when nothing's really new.  Of the three different jobs I could have moved to I got none.  I'm back where I was last year.  I just can't seem to get charged up by that.  Ah well, it will be a year of differences.  We have a new principal and vice principal and they are both very young.  And with Mike retiring in May and Kimmi working at the school with me it should be a different year in some fundamental ways.  Just not the ways I was hoping.  Well, welcome to 2010-11. 

Home again, home again

We pulled in around 5 pm yesterday.  Didn't hit the big caravans of SUVs and motor homes you sometimes get on Sunday afternoons pulling back into Utah.  That was a nice surprise.  Thanks to the kids we got the cars unloaded in record time and I put my feet up by 8.  I think one of the big reasons for travel is to come home.  It feels so darned good to sleep in your own bed and spelunk for food in your own fridge.  I remember coming home with tired, dirty children and thinking how nice it was when they were washed and in jammies.  Good to go, better to return.  Ahhhh.

Just Another Happy Day in Paradise

We're in Oceanside enjoying 70 degree days and 60 degree nights.  The beach is lovely and crowded (Well, that's to be expected!) and the sky is the most amazing color of blue.  The kids got here Saturday and we drove in from the band tour last night.  Bare feet, sand everywhere, sunscreen fragrance, beachy haze burning off by noon.  I love the beach.  Wish we could live here.