Say a little prayer.

I know I should be boycotting the Internet today or something, but I keep scouring it for news of Susan, Toddler Planet. She’s been through so much this year and we all need for her to get better. For a million reasons. The most important being a couple kiddos she calls Widget and Bear. So if you have a moment and are of prayerful nature, could you send one her way?

Babybels wear pajamas

So yesterday the boy and I went to Costco and bought some of those babybel cheeses. As he is taking off the waxy part he says, “Mama, it’s like the cheese is wearing red pajamas!”

There are so many blog posts that I’ve had in my head, unfortunately I haven’t gotten around to writing them down. So I’m kind of going backwards.

Earlier this week, the girl decided to attach her homework together with spray cheese. Yep. Needless to say that was a redo.

On Thursday, I had a complete freak out before class. The poor librarian must have thought I was insane. I’m doing an Orff unit with the middle schoolers (that i plan to write about later) and there were no mallets in my class room. Couldn’t find them anywhere. And since I had just read what happened to Sophanne, I feared the worst. The class coming to music that day was the group I was a little worried about in terms of buy in and to not be prepared is asking for trouble. As it turned out, one of those students saved the day. The day before, if you've been following Colorado weather, it dumped snow and many of our teachers were stuck, including one of my teammates. When this happens, we often double up the classes in my room and have a movie fest. 60 kindergartners at once. That's all I'm going to say about that. Anyway, I had asked one of my choir students to help clean up the room before they came and put away anything that she thought would be distracting. Thankfully, she was in that class coming down the hall, saw my distress and quickly showed me where she had hidden the mallets. I <3 my students. Heh.

Over break, I actually knit! Ear flap hat and mittens for my friend and soon to be sister in law, 1940s watch cap for my brother and mittens for my nephew, the most happiest toddler.

Can't find any pictures so I'll leave you with a cool sunrise shot I got the other morning in the way to school.

2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Christmas 2011

Dear family and friends,

Once again, I did not come even close to getting cards out this year.

Struggling to find that balance between work, school, extra curriculars and family, I count myself lucky to have such problems.

I have a job that I love, as hard as it is somedays. This year, in addition to teaching general music, I am the district middle school choir director. As weird as it sounds, I had forgotten that I like choral music and this has been a wonderful opportunity to rekindle that. John’s been an amazing help with the new schedule. Did I mention that the choir is at 7 am? He juggled his work schedule so he can take the kids to daycare in the morning. Love that guy.

Both kids are in school! The boy is loving kindergarten. If you ask him what he’s learned this year he will tell you, I am very good at being quiet. Heh. It amazes me how fast they grow once they start school. He’s reading now. He doesn’t love that as much as his sister, but I bet that will come with time. The girl is a third grader, 9 going on 35 somedays. She reads all the time now, even holing up in the bathroom sometimes. (Mom, Dad, sound like anybody you know?). She is such a hybrid between John and I. It’s so strange seeing yourself in your children. It’s like they are a fun house mirror of who they are and what we’d like them to be.

The girl is still in Children’s Chorale. It is very weird being the mom waiting in line at drop off. I think I’ve been in all the roles now. Singer, grad, assisstant, and now mom. It’s so cool to see her up on stage at Boettcher Hall. The boy spends most of his afternoons playing with the cousins and the neighbors. Again, we are fortunate for the kids to have such wonderful playmates!

And if 2011 has been anything, it’s been a year for family. I often tell my children how wonderful it is that they have gotten to spend so much time with their cousins, but truthfully, its been wonderful for me too. I love having my sister and her family nearby. We are a weirdly wacky bunch and I will miss them when they move back south.

We’ve been preparing for Christmas round our house. We’ve got Christmas lights up, half of which quit working after the first freeze, but amusingly enough, the light tree dad built twenty years ago is still going strong. The kids have been to their grandparents to make cookies with them and their cousin. My sister has made probably two batches fudge and I don’t know how many cookies. With everyone else making cookies I made a lot of Sprucehill’s pumpkin gingerbread and some homemade limoncello. We may or may not have tasted it this morning. At 9 am. After making apple fritters. Heh.

Anyway, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Love, Nicole

PS. Did you know you can follow Santa on google maps? Crazy world we live in!

Cards

Me and the kids are hanging out and making cards for their teachers. They are reminding me that my handwriting does not pass kindergarten muster. The boy is objecting to the Christmas wish story on the John Denver and the muppets album. It’s just talking, Mom. Where’s the singing? Oh. There. Most happiest nephew is cracking me up, because he wants to color with the big kids but can’t get around the table. So each time he needs a new color, he ducks under the table, and grabs another crayon from the box, emerging victorious on the other side. From a teacher’s perspective, handmade cards are my favorite gift from students. And hugs. And the occasional Starbucks card. Heh. But mostly the other kind of cards. I have a notebook filled with letters students have written me over the years. If they only knew how much those mean to me. Especially on days where I don’t feel like the most awesome teacher on the planet. So the kids are writing their teachers. In between marker wars.

10 Things I Know To Be True

I was very inspired by a talk by Sarah Kay on Ted.com.  She’s a spoken word poet who encourages us to write a list and then discuss it.  It can be anything and you need to not think about it too hard.  So here goes.

1. When your child/student tells you you’re the best mom/teacher ever, it probably means that you said or did something that you didn’t think through.  Yeah, go ahead and have that soda.  Before bed time.

2.Most kids don’t learn to like something.  They learn to dislike something.  And they learn that from us.

3.Kids will almost always do what we do and never what we say.  Grown ups are the same way.

4.Being part of a musical performance/event is something all humans should experience.  It’s part of what makes us human.  As I tell my students, ants can build cities but they can’t sing the blues when they’re sad.  (or maybe they do, I just don’t speak ant.)

5.Life is about learning.  And evolving.  I am not the same person I was last year.  Or the year before that.  Hopefully I am  better.  (Seriously, who wants to be worse?)

6.No man is an island. Or an archipelago.

7.With experience comes wisdom, but being old does not mean you are always right.  And yet, the simple realization that we are not always right shows wisdom.  (Sounds like a fortune cookie.)

8.Fortune cookie’s do not always have your best interests at heart.  Really?  A cat?

9.Thai Basil Eggplant at Thai Chili is really the most amazing dish I’ve ever eaten.

10.You can buy your children the smartest, most educationally sound, creative toys, but their favorite will always be the annoying Donkey Shrek toy from a Happy Meal that yells at you.  Until you shut it off.

Here’s the original video.

http://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_kay_if_i_should_have_a_daughter.html

I look forward to reading your 10.

Picture day 2011

Miss? Why are your lips blue? Are you ok?

Um. That would be makeup. But thanks for asking.

So I’ve started to have the kids sign out when they use the restroom. Don’t judge. I need to know where they are.

I checked the log today and saw (names changed)

Jim. 9/27/11
Bob. Poop

I love teaching! Where else would this stuff happen?!

Penne with roasted tomato sauce

So my friend Lindsey gave me a bunch of tomatoes that have spent a lonely week on my counter. Today I decided to do something about it, so I perused my cookbooks and found a simple roasted tomato sauce in “The Best of the Best” by Food and Wine magazine. I adapted it to what I had lying around and am very pleased by the results.

Basically, you stick your your tomatoes (the recipe calls for 3 lbs. I used as many as would fit on my toaster oven pan, adding two cooked chicken sausages I found in the meat drawer.) under the broiler with a drizzle of olive oil until the tomatoes are cracked open, hot, and even blackened a bit. Meanwhile, cook a pound of pasta. I had penne, the recipe called for orrechiete. When the tomatoes are done, smash them in a bowl with a ton of fresh basil (i used about 40 leaves), the chicken sausage, and a spoonful of chopped garlic (I used the jar kind). The hot tomatoes will wilt the basil. Stir in the pasta and serve with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. I do think I added about a teaspoon of salt and a couple cranks of pepper to the sauce. It was very yummy. You should serve it with garlic bread. I served it with bagel thins, because that’s how I roll. And that’s what I could find on the counter.

Facebook BC Awareness Games and the 31 Day Project

It’s getting near October again and so the Facebook Breast Cancer Awareness games are afoot.  I’ve written before how I feel about awareness things.  Many companies make money off Breast Cancer Awareness by slapping a Pink Ribbon on their product while actually donating very little to the search for a cure.  Yes. A Cure.  There isn’t one, by the way.

But I digress.

So here’s Breast Cancer in a nutshell.

1.You’re diagnosed.  You’re scared.  You have disfiguring surgery.  This makes you somewhat sensitive about your own body.

2.You have chemo.  It makes you sick.  It creates lasting issues with your reproductive system.  For many women, getting pregnant post-cancer treatment is impossible or ill-advised.

So here’s where I’m going with this.  The last two Facebook Awareness games have been somewhat distressing for many of my cancer friends.  When we were asked to post our bra strap last year, we didn’t know what to put.  Many of us could no longer wear them.  Back to issue #1.  Now this year, the game makes it look like you are pregnant.  Enter issue #2.  Part of my grieving process post treatment was the realization that I shouldn’t have any more children.  So grateful for the ones I have, but I wanted to make that decision.  I really hate being told I can’t do something.

Also, an awareness game where you’re not allowed to tell anybody about it except by message isn’t really awareness, is it?  And finally, awareness only goes so far.  It doesn’t lead us to a cure.  Does it make women go get mammograms?  Maybe.  That would be good.

I think if you ask most women who have had cancer, it’s not a fun game for us.  It’s sort of like parading in front of us  the things that we no longer have in the name of awareness. And to add insult to injury, many of my friends who have spoken up have been accused as “not having a sense of humor” or “spoiling the fun”.

I’m sure who ever started it had the best of intentions.   But there’s no real information.  1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the course of their lifetime.  Also, men can get breast cancer.  And although the mortality rate for women in general is declining, that doesn’t actually apply to younger women with breast cancer.  Our stats have basically stayed the same.  Breast Cancer in young women tends to be more aggressive.  And the number of young women diagnosed is increasing.  Prevention is awesome but it’s not a cure.  And for those of us that have been through it, or live with it, we’d like to see a viral Facebook game that truly makes a difference.  Donate time.  Donate money.  One of my friends is putting together something for the month of October that will do those things and I will be posting it on Facebook.

I am asking you to help make THAT go viral.

Or at the very least, when you receive a Facebook Awareness Game, add some of the statistics.  Encourage women to know their bodies so if there is a change, they know to go get it checked.   Here are some links to get you going:

U.S. Breast Cancer Statistics

Breast Cancer in Young Women  Lastly, please know that if you did forward a game to me, I do know it was because you care. And I appreciate it! I just think we can make it better!

Edited to add:

The 31 day project is up and running!  Check it out!

Snapshots

Well let’s see.  There was swimming.

Check out those goggles!

 

Diving.

 

She may never forgive me for posting this one. Heh.

Skateboarding.

Skateboarding girl spent the week at the cabin with her grandparents.  Supercute niece says, “Aunt Nicole?  When is she coming back from the cabinet?”  Love.

Dancing.

So Most Cheerful Toddler wakes me up every morning.  In a myriad of ways.  Today, I hear him toddle in the room, exclaim “Cole!” and handed me a Diet Coke.  Another morning he brought me the TV remote.  Both days were much more pleasant than the day he woke me up with the fly swatter.

They all start school next week.  (Except Most Cheerful Toddler.)  And so do I.  Must.  Go.  Plan.  Now.