A Visit from Santa

Two days ago we had a holiday fundraiser at my school. Notices were sent home to the parents... "Have your child's picture taken with Santa at school" $5 for a 5" X 7" or $10 for an 8" X 10"(much cheaper than photos at the mall). When Friday came all the kids in my class were very excited to have their pictures taken with Santa. The kids were on line in the cafeteria waiting patient for their turn. About half the the kids had already taken a picture when I noticed a little girl in my class was having a really in depth conversation with Santa. The rest of the kids were getting restless. As I approached I overheard my student telling Santa the following, " ... and if you don't have enough time to make all my toys, just go to Toys - R- Us or Walmart ."

Where was my camcorder when I needed it?

FAMILY

WELL FOLKS ITS THE HIGHWAY AGAIN, I GUESS THE SUBJECT OF TODAYS BLOG IS GONNA BE ,WELL FAMILY. AS THE HOLIDAYS APPROACH WE TEND TO FORGET THIS ONE SIMPLE THING. OUR LOVED ONES, WE JUST TEND TO FOCUS ON THE MATERIALISTIC END OF CHRISTMAS, AND NOT THE TRUE MEANING OF THE HOLIDAY. TO ME IT IS ABOUT OUR LOVE ,PAITENCE, UNDERSTANDING,FOR OTHERS . NOT BEING FIRST IN LINE AT BEST BUY ,OR NOT GETTING GUITAR HERO FIRST. OVER THE YEARS I HAVE WITNESSED FOLKS RUNNING AMOCK. GETTING RUDE .MEAN AND YES EVEN BEING VIOLENT. I THINK WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS ONE YEAR FORGET ABOUT THE PREENTS, FORGET ABOUT THE GLITZ .I THINK WE NEED TO REACH OUT TO ANOTHER LESS FOURTUNATE , AND HELP THAT PERSON . THAT TO ME IS REAL GIFT ,GIVING OF ONES SELF ,WITHOUT EXPECTING ANYTHING IN RETURN. IM FORTUNATE ,SUNFLOWERGRANDMA ,HAS SHOWN ME THAT HOW TO GIVE ,HOW TO HAVE HUMILITY, HOW TO HELP ANOTHER HUMANBEING WITHOUT EXPECTING A RETURN . SO FOLKS I ASK THAT THIS HOLIDAY SEASON DONT FALL INTO THE ABYSS OF COMMERCIALIZATION GIVE FROM YOUR HEART, I PROMISE THE GIFT IN RETURN IS MUCH BETTER THAN SOME TRINKET.
WELL ITS TIME FOR HIGHWAY TO RETURN TO HIS RIG CLIMB IN PUT HER IN GEAR AND GET ALITTLE FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD .

OH FOR I LEAVE I WANNA SAY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

LONG ROAD HOME

well folks its me ,the highwayman again. i guess as most of you now know ,i have been trying to finally get my life back in order.
i guess through alot of self searching, and guidance from my peeps. i have learned that the road home is long ,it does take time to get there. its funny i spent the better part of 20 years or so screwing myself into the ground. the lost jobs , the lost relationships. i cant really even say i have done much good. thanks to -k teacher-noah hardstep-sunflowergrandma -slickman-zman-shantyman .i have finally started down the long road home .i guess what im getting at is the love and support of those around us. its funny im 44 and i finally am getting a glimpse of what it means to be a responsible mature adult. i realized sometime back that being that drifting rodeo cowboy type ,well is no life . even this week i got stupid i was ready to walk away from the k teacher. i will admit i saw that k teacher is a responsible loving mature adult, thats what i guess triggered me to grow up . sometimes it takes alot to grow and realize our faults, well hehe it took me 20 years go figure. im fortunate though ,these last few months some great opportunities have come my way . i have to really say THANK YOU to my peeps for standing behind me. its truly amazing the human spirit . its funny how instead of running from someone we give them our love and support . well that lucky person was me ,i was very lost and hurting ,then finally alot of love came into my life. so as i now move on i am gonna settle down stop running the highways ,and yes spend time with my peeps most of all learn to love again -grow again -and learn to be a responsible adult
well happy campers ,im glad this blog is here it has helped tremendously so in closing

I LOVE YOU GUYS EACH AND EVERY ONE FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART

LESSONS LEARNED

well happy campers its highway guest blogging one last time. today i wanna just talk about lessons we learn in life, one in particular is how we need to wisely pick and choose our battles. i have a habit of running off at the mouth and not thinking, hence i then end up having to get myself out of trouble. funny this little character defect has gotten to where i have lost jobs, family ,freinds. as i reflect on theses things i also learned that it puts a large strain on my marriage. im fortunate i have an angel for a wife.how she puts up with my childish immature behaivor ,well i will never know .i guess what im getting at is that its best to ,pick your battles wisely and not be so quick to open your mouth . its sad though im 44 years old and finally getting this point.
now i realize what the wise and knowing old timers try to teach me in the past. well campers im gonna mosey on out its time to hit the dusty trail see you all soon
highway

Taken!

There's a small pet store several towns away that in addition to selling puppies & kittens also sells exotic animals as well. This place has been around for more than 25 years. A few years ago they had a horrible fire on a Friday night ... the fire fighters were still there the following Saturday morning.... so many animals were lost to smoke inhalation. The place was closed for several months, then reopened across the street in a smaller store front. I can remember taking my pre-schoolers there on a field trip... the guys who worked there were really nice to the kids & even let them touch a tarantula!

Yesterday there was an article in the local newspaper about this pet store. It seems that over the weekend someone had broken into the store and stolen a puppy & a python.... being a kindergarten teacher my mind just kept thinking: things that begin with the letter "P".... those PILFERING PUNKS ..... PRANKSTERS or PERPETRATORS?

THE FUNNIEST THING I EVER HEARD

hello there all this is the highway time well just the other day k teacher told me something really funny she was telling me how at a staff meeting the bossman we will not metion king dingalings name he will remain anonymous for now anyways this dingaling wants the kids in the kindergarten program to know what the district mission statement is plus know what the kindergarten mission statement is well long story short wifey challenged me to write a mission statement well im an educated fella i had a hard time myself so if an educated adult had a tough time how the hell is a 5 yr old going to comprehend what a mission statement is and its purpose so i pose this question to my audience i makes me wonder the more education some have the less common sense they posses so happy campers the saga goes on i was wondering what mr potatoe head is gonna come up with next he gonna make the kids write a disertation hmmm well happy campers tune into the highway for further update im gone

Plus One, Minus One

There was a kid in my class who was not adjusting well to school. There was a huge maturity gap between him and the rest of the students in my class (crying everyday after lunch , wanting his mama, not interacting well with his peers etc.). On a hunch I went to get a copy of his registration form. At the same time our school nurse was checking immunization records. She & I caught the error together.

Well, guess what? My little angel was only 4 yrs. old!!! Wasn't going to be 5 until way after the Dec. 1st cut off. Our district has registration for Pre-K and kindergarten in the same place... somehow he ended up in my classroom. The day after the 4 yr. old left I got another new student..... surprise!

LOVE OF A GOOD WOMAN

WELL HEY THERE ALL THIS WEEK WE HAVE A GUEST BLOGGER LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TOO HIM LETS ALL WELCOME HIGHWAY FOR THOSE OF YOU FANS OUT THERE HIGHWAY IS K TEACHERS OTHER HALF I THINK TODAY IM GONNA DEDICATE THIS TO MY LOVING BEAUTIFUL SEXY WIFE IM A LUCKY MAN THE K TEACHER IS AN ANGEL THATS WHY I BELIEVE IN ANGELS AND KINDRED SPIRITS CALL ME SILLY ANYWAYS AS I ONCE HEARD A MUSICIAN SAY (WAS I THE ONE YOU WERE SENT TO SAVE SHE CAME UPON ME WAVE ON WAVE) WELL YES SHE WAS THESE LAST 2 YEARS HAVE BEEN A GODSEND MY ANGEL APPEARED SAVED ME FROM ME
ITS FUNNY HOW WE TAKE FOLKS FOR GRANTED AND DONT REALIZE IT WELL IM GONNA SAY THIS TO MY LOVING ANGEL I LOVE YOU SWEETHEART AND THE WORLD IS LUCKY TO HAVE SUCH A WONDERFUL LOVING ANGEL LIKE YOU SO HIGHWAYS WORD OF ADVICE TO ALL REMEMBER YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER MAY NOT BE PERFECT BUT BE PATIENT NOENE IS PERFECT WELL ENOUGH SAID TIME FOR HIGHWAY TO CLIMB INTO HIS TRUCK PUT IT IN GEAR AND GET A LITTLE FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD

I LOVE YOU K TEACHER NOW AND FOREVER
HIGHWAY

ACHOO!

I took my first sick day of the school year today. When I woke up yesterday, I knew it was coming. My throat was scratchy & I was sneezing. This morning I could barely get out of bed to call the substitute service.

My husband states "the little germ factories" got you sick. I have to admit some of the kids have been coming to school sick. I'll have to mention that to parents when we have open house. On a positive note, I haven't gotten any new students in the past two days!

They're Here

The first week of school was exhausting. The 5 year olds are eager & cute, but there's so many of them! I was given a class list with 27 names but that lasted about 3 seconds. Every time I blinked a new student was arriving at my door. On Friday I took the little ones to art class... went to the ladies room and when I returned to pick up my kids another one had been added to my class. That happened last year too!

When I returned from lunch, yet another student. At the end of the day I was told another one would be starting on Monday. Forgot to mention only about 8 of them speak English... that's less than 1/3 of the class.... that night I fell asleep on the couch (sitting up)....... it's going to be a great school year!

Tornado in room 14

The first day of school is still a week away & I'm already in trouble with the "boss man". Like most of the teachers in my building (& across the country), I usually spend the last week of summer vacation in the classroom arranging the furniture, unpacking the closets and putting up bulletin boards.

When I got to school this morning there were tables stacked on top of each other, every piece of furniture was in a different place and my area rug was missing. Luckily my husband was off from work & just a phone call away. He moved furniture, boxes & carried my very heavy 9X12 rug from across the hall back to the classroom.

After almost 2 hours work, the boss paged me on the PA system... "Mrs. M. please come to the office". When I got there I got chewed out for not stopping in to say "Hi" when I arrived in the building! My new mantra for this school year will be...

Lord give me the strength to make the changes I deem necessary, grant me patience to accept the things I can not change and grant me the wisdom to hide the bodies of the idiots who piss me off between now & June.

This week the "teenaged one" left for his second year at college. It was a long, long summer! There were times that I wanted to smash him in the head with one of my non-stick fry pans ( I'm not really a violent person LOL). This time he took less "stuff" with him. Since my husband & I helped him move out of his old dorm in May, this trip to the new dorm building his dad (ex-husband) was assigned the moving in task.

The night after he left, the "Boy" sent me pics of his new dorm taken with his camera phone. It's a lot more spacious than the previous dwelling. At least he keeps the dorm room neater than his room at home. Of course his favorite non educational thing to do is jumping into Lake Ontario to cool off. It's going to be a great year.... miss him & his messines.

The Grizzwolds go to the Grand Canyon

Looks like the reluctant traveler (husband) had fun. After the Grand Canyon, we drove through the Navajo reservation and headed south to Tucson & Tombstone. Before our 9 day excursion was over the husband was already asking "Where should we go next year?" Can this be the same guy who didn't want to get on a plane just a week ago?

Vacation '09

Just before our first anniversary , my sweetie & I started planning our first vacation together. Prior to this we had taken road trips & long weekends. We wanted to go somewhere that neither of us had been to before. This was going to be a challenge since the hubby had a bad experience on a plane 7 or 8 years ago & had not flown since.

We finally decided to go to the Grand Canyon.... but the question was, "Could I get him on a plane again?" On the morning of our trip he was out of bed by 4 a.m. (the flight was at 8:30). Luckily the flight was smooth & we got to Arizona safely. August in the southwest is like sleeping on the surface of the sun! The drive from Phoenix to Sedona and later Flagstaff was the best part of our trip... spectacular scenery & the higher altitudes made for much cooler temperatures.

Nothing could have prepared me for the moment I saw the canyon up close. Breath taking, awesome , majestic... I was speechless (for a change LOL). The husband actually enjoyed himself (even though he let me know a million time s since we met that he hates flying).

Suburban Woodstock

If you were a girl growing up in the 1970"s , then you were probably a fan of David Cassidy & the Partridge Family. Last night at Burns Park on the south shore of Long Island, I got to relive my childhood. The parks dept. of my town has been sponsoring concert every Tues. & Sat. all summer long.

After dinner my friend Ellen, her husband & I ventured to the park to see our '70s idol David Cassidy. Besides his hits like "I'll Meet You Half Way" & "C'mon Get Happy" he wowed the crowd of more than 10,000 people with music from Cream, Hendrix & John Lennon. It was a magical night.... the perfect sunset, no humidity, very few mosquitos.... good friends & great music, what could be better?

The Cookin' Cowboy

The kitchen is my least favorite place in my house.... luckily I don't have to venture into that domain too often. When I found a man who enjoys cooking & does it well I tied him to the hood of my car and raced to city hall to marry him. I keep him hand cuffed to either the BBQ grill or the stove depending on the season. He still won't divulge the ingredients to his secret marinade, but that's OK. I am truly blessed!

Class of 2009

AH June! .... one of my favorite months of the year! Summer begins, school ends.

Yesterday was the kindergarten graduation at the school where I work. Some of the kids looked so cute... white button down shirts & bright ties, cute dresses with ribbons and bows. On the far end of the spectrum were the "children" who came to graduation in satin gowns wearing eye shadow and lip gloss . PARENTS WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? These kids looked like the popular "Bratz" dolls.

It causes me great concern when 5 year olds are made up to look like little floozies. Is this a growing fashion trend? Or am I just a bit conservative?

Moving Day

Freshman year for the “teenaged one” ended this week. At most colleges, the last week of the semester can be a hectic time… finishing term papers, taking final exams & preparing to move out of the dorm. It can also be a hectic time for the people who are transporting the college student from dorm to home.

The hubbie & I took a day off from work to prepare for our 6 hour road trip to the college. Since my Volkswagen is not spacious enough to accommodate all the “stuff” that a college student needs, we rented an SUV (3 actually) for the trip. Before we left the county the first SUV was returned because of tire issues, the second SUV had issues with the brakes, the third & smallest SUV finally made the journey from our home on Long Island to SUNY Oswego.

One of the lessons I learned this weekend is that even in an SUV the space is limited… we had to rent a small storage unit off campus to store the items that didn’t fit in the vehicle (fridge, TV etc.). The other lesson I learned is that my child A.K.A. “the teenaged one” has an interesting philosophy regarding happiness.

According to my offspring, “You don’t need money to enjoy life”.

Isn’t it great to be young & optimistic? Enough said, he’ll have to do the next posting.

Petland

Every year in the Spring the kindergarten classes in my school get newts. They're slimey & they smell bad. Plus they're boring (students & teachers agree). This year I told the curriculum coach (person in charge of newt distribution) that our class would not be participating , instead I went to the local pet store and picked out a new class pet.

I picked a cute yellow teddy bear hamster. She only cost .99cents, but then we needed a cage, cedar shavings for the bedding, hamster food & dish, exercise wheel, water bottle and plastic ball for hamster to roll around on the floor. When the whole shopping experience was completed I had spent close to $45!!!!

I took the hamster to school last Wednesday & the kids fell in love with her immediately. One little boy brought her a carrot stick the next day. They actually try to be quiet when she's asleep.

On the second day of being a class mascot, the hamster "Lolita" bit the teacher & she had to go get a tetanus shot.

St. Patrick's Day

Yes, I actually went to work like this. The kids thought it was hysterical.

My Buddy Oscar

I did it again .... stayed up too late on "Oscar Night"... can't help it, I love movies, old ones, new ones, mysteries, comedies & love stories. It doesn't matter if I watch them at home on a DVD, on HBO or at the local multiplex ... I'm addicted. I'll yell at the bad guys , cheer for the good guys and go through a box of kleenex if it's a tear jerker. For most of my favorites I can still remember where I saw it & who I was with that first time. Here are just a few of my favorites, with a few honorable mentions too.

1. The Godfather 2. Godfather Part 2
Great cast & few movies that are as good if not better than the book.... by the way Mario Puzo wrote both the screenplay & the book.

3. Gone With the Wind (I loved when Scarlett O'Hara makes herself a dress out of a pair of curtains when she was looking for a new man!)
4. A Few Good Men (while many will argue that 12 Angry Men was a better courtroom drama, I enjoyed Jack Nickelson's performance)
5. My Big Fat Greek Wedding ( ok, I know sappy, romantic comedy... but I never laughed so much in my life.
6. Casablanca ( oooh, black & white movies Bogie & Bergman... enough said! )
7. The Man Who Knew Too Much (Alfred Hitchcock was a genious!!! 8. Rear Window (another Hitchcock film... always watched these with mom)
9. Titanic ( before I ever saw this film my grandfather had taught me everything there was to know about the sinking of the real titanic... he would've found too many flaws in this film , but I enjoyed it anyway.)
10. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (this is a must see for anyone who must endure a house full of crazy relatives during the holidays... laugh 'til you cry)

Honorable Mentions:
11. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (a remarkable performance by my mom's favorite actor Jimmy Stewart)
12. Cat On a Hot Tin Roof ( the chemistry between Paul Newman & Elizabeth Taylor... outstanding)
13. American Graffitti ( cool cars and an awesome soundtrack)

To all the Steven Spielberg & George Lucas fans...sorry I didn't include any of your movies on my list.

More about winter

Ok, so winter isn't all bad... those mid-winter sales at the mall are terrific. While the sales people are setting up displays of cruise wear and bathing suits, I'm in the discount rack looking for sweaters that have been marked down by 60%. Now that's a bargain.

My biggest problem is getting from my nice warm house to the car. Today it was 11 degrees when I left for work. Than goodness for heated seats! The person that invented those was a life saver!!!!

In a slump

Everyone who knows me can attest to one thing... I HATE WINTER!!!! It bothers me that i have to wear so many layers of clothing in addition to a hat, gloves, scarf & boots every time I have to leave the house. Besides that, do you realize how long it takes to help a room full of 5 year olds get their coats zipped so they can make it to the bus on time.

Maybe I'm just getting cranky in my middle age (had a birthday this week), but I really think it's more than just the winter blues. It bothers me that I have 29 kids in my class.... I'm annoyed that my kindergarteners have to go up & down 3 flights of stairs every time I take my class to the cafeteria or to P.E.

OK enough of my whining! Most people would say "Be grateful you have a job when so many are unemployed"!

WTF?

At the beginning of this school year the staff received a memo stating that all electrical appliances were banned from the classrooms. Of course that meant my little fridge had to go.... so I hauled it down the hall to the "room" (oversized closet) where the teacher's eat lunch and set it up on a small table and plugged it in.

For the past 5 months I've been brown bagging lunch from Monday to Thursday , then eating out with my colleagues on Fridays. Every morning before going to my classroom I leave my lunch & 1 or 2 bottles of water in the fridge. Well at lunchtime yesterday I made a shocking discovery... my water bottles were in the fridge but my lunch was missing.... at first I started second guessing myself....did I forget it at home? or did I leave it in my car?....no, the bag I brought the lunch in was sitting on the table next to the fridge! No lunch in sight.....

I've lost faith in humanity.... who would take someone else's lunch?