Christmas greetings to all of you

Christmas greetings to all my blogger friends. I hope the evening and tomorrow finds you with loved ones, joy, happiness and peace that carry you through the rest of the year.

Today's Goal

Today my goal is to frost the batch of sugar cookies so I can get the baked goods I made the last two days to the people I made them for. All this fudge, brownies, covered pretzels and cookies are just sitting here and I can't keep sampling something everytime I walk into the kitchen!

Take a moment

To say my work lately has been crazy is an understatement. My principal has been gone so I have been doing double duty as principal when needed, teacher in my classroom and finishing homework all in the last two week. I don't write alot about work, it is what I do and a part of me and everybody's work gets crazy sometimes, but sometime a "moment" comes along to remind me that the work I do is special, gratifying and a few, rare times just plain sad. I had one of those moments last week or should I say it should have been a "moment" but I have just been TOO BUSY to pay attention. So here is the story...
December is the time of year for the big school Christmas sings-always a big event for us grade school parents-we dress our kids up, charge our cameras-Heck I even take the whole day off and get a front row seat-it is just a tradition, a rite of passage we all do and don't even give a second thought.
So I am busy with my double duty job when I notice the ramp we use for the xmas program at my school is not up for one of my wheelchair students on the day of the program. I had been gone the day before so asked the custodian why, he says he heard the parents didn't want their child going up there. I go back to my assistants to find out what was going on. She explains to me that the mom really wants the daughter to be on the stage because she loves to be part of things and enjoys it, the dad on the other hand says no and everybody will just stare at her. They had a fight and the mom came to school crying about it. Mom says she will come early and pick her up to watch the program-maybe. So mom shows up the morning of the program-red eyed and with the little girl dressed in the most beautiful forest green velvet dress I have ever seen and watches the program with her before she takes her home. The day continues to be crazy, my weekend was crazy and I don't think alot about it-until tonight.
As I tuck Q in and we talk of Christmas I think of this mom-wanting her daughter to be like everyone else and showing her off like we all want to do with our kids. And the dad-still grieving and wanting to protect her from hurt and embarrassment-like we all want to do with our kids. And I think what would I do-NO REALLY-which road would I take-which choice would I make? Could I really see my child sitting there surrounded by 40 other walking, talking, dancing children? I don't know, I really don't.
I don't have to bathe my child every night, feed them through a tube, change them, dress them, hold them as they cry and not know why they are crying, never hear them say my name and to that I am humbled beyond belief. That I have an opportunity in my life to hopefully be a small part in the families lives I touch, to accept their child and at the same time remind myself of how LUCKY and BLESSEd I really am.

So this is my really small moment in a really big blog. I don't have these often, I don't think I could do my job well if I thought about all the sadness all the time, but sometimes I need to let it sink in and think about to remind me of what this life we live is really all about.

Done and with only a few casualties

SO I AM FINISHED!

with only a few casualties of homework:

Hours spent-10:00-4:00

3 Christmas cookies eaten

1 frappacino

Quick lunch break

Snarly remarks at the children-too many to count

And now on the way to 1 long hot soak in the tub, my lower limbs are killing me from sitting, and sore from boot camp after two weeks of absenteeism!

Today I will be FINISHED

TODAY is the day
My goal:
To write and complete the 2-5 page papers hanging over my head, ruining my holiday fun!!!
These will be done at all costs

Party bust..

3 hours spent cleaning-including hands and knees on the wood floor
1 hour last minute decorating
1 hour making awesome dip
1 great Hair day
$$$ spent on dip and wine

All for our school staff party at MY house which will have probably no people due to ICY roads. Oh well, maybe a "date" night in the making

Calgon, take me away

So today was one of those crazy days at work. I don't usually have them. My principal is gone so I am filling in as part of my internship. Right before a long break is always crazy, kids start to go off the wall, Holiday programs and less patient teachers starts to add.This is the week that the procrastinating element of Karen's blog comes into play-I could have been a prophet with that one (see her blog-I don't know how to do the cool link thing yet)

Of course a big issue occurred today so at work for 10 hours, came home to a kid who did his homework all wrong, every single problem- and didn't take us trying to help him very well. Among other "scenarios" that have come up:

The rest of my course work is due Friday, still have 3, five page papers to write before FRIDAY-asked for an extension

MISSING Boot camp tomorrow for boy scouts

Sub plans for the Thursday I will be missing due to the boys Christmas program WHICH Big A is worried about embarrassing himself between the singing and his first orchestra performance

New kiddo I will be getting SOON

And to top if off today was report card day-the usual "areas of improvement" for the older son-ummm lets see-"managing time wisely", "appropriate choices", "staying focused" and "listening" and the youngest who excessively talks.

I could go on and on, or maybe I should stay on facebook where it is all short and sweet!

Ok, there is my rambling for the night, will see you after I get my flippin homework done

The black hole we call Facebook

Now that all of my blogger buds are official facebook fanatics, I will just let you know I am still not a quality facebook participant and look forward much more to the postings here in bloggerville...so hopefully you all keep writing in "first" person here for some deeper conversation:)

Speaking of deep, Big A ran tried out to be a student rep from his class, three boys ran the winner got 22 votes, "A" got 3 and the other kid 2. A little blow to the ego, we really made a point of telling him that trying and taking a risk is what counts. I said "3 votes is better then 0" he says "2 actually, I voted for myself" Ohhhh life lessons sometimes just suck, no better way to put it.

After...

Ok, not only did I give up a little control over tree decorating I gave up ALL of it! I did the lights and snow and the boys, mostly the oldest did the rest. I only moved 2 or 3 (okay maybe 5 or 6) ornaments.

They went from green and blue to Rainbow, I am still sitting here deciding if I will warm up to it. With the lights off it helps

Giving up my artistic control was hard-I pouted a little-I don't have time in my daily life for creating ART-what I went to school for years ago, so my tree is like a one time a year big art project and I miss my THEME tree.

So this is how I will get over it with a few comments from the small frys in our house

"Ohhhhh look at all the colored ornaments, lets get them all out"

"This is the best tree ever"

"This is the best Christmas ever"

"Mom, it is so shiny, espcecially if you stand real close and put your eye up to the bulb"

And here is the number one quote: "It is just like a rainbow, we can call it our rainbow tree"

and as I remembered a small voice saying this in excitement and the exact moment I was blogging it came to me, what is a rainbow?

A hello from God of course

There it is....

...the perfect untouched xmas tree that BOTH boys went with me to pick out

Now I sit here and contemplate the blue/green creation I have promised

Waiting...

For inspiration

I can do this, I have created art, I know it can be done

For Karen

I am not a student of the Bible so hope this isn't out of context or inappropriate, but came across it and it made sense to me and I thought of you on this day...


I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.(John 14:18)