A Good Dido

I babysit on Wednesday nights with my friend Alicia. Typically, there are 11 kids there every Wednesday, but last night there were seven, so I let Alicia stay home. Case was among the little tots, and don't tell the others, but he and Siahna are my favorite :)

I noticed Case had gotten a haircut, so I asked him if his daddy had cut it.

"No, I got to go to the store to get it cut."

"You did? Is that the first time going to the store to get it cut?"

"Nope. This is my second time. I got to sit in a chair with a cape around my neck. And M was there, too. M is naughty. She pooped in her pants twice (see Shannon's story here for the full story). She's old enough that she shouldn't be pooping her pants, so that's why she's naughty."

I chuckled, and Case went on with his playing.

After Case got home, Shannon asked him if anyone noticed he got his hair cut.

Case replied, "Dido did. She's a good Dido."

Melt my heart!

My Friend

I have a friend.

He is a new friend.

He eats my food.

He visits when I'm not around.

He lives in my desk drawer.

He's a mouse.

And he's not really my friend.

I don't like mice.

I especially don't like mice that eat my food.

I am soon going to find my new friend dead in the mouse trap that has been set in my desk.

Perhaps he is already dead, but I'm not about to shake the trap to see if a dead body flops around.

I'll save that for the janitors.

I first noticed I had a visitor last week when my bag of cereal had been eaten through. There were no crumbs, however, so I didn't think anything of it.

Then I found my bag of M&Ms with a giant hole in the bag.

The next day I found my bag of pretzels eaten.

That's when I called for the trap.

And hid all my food.

I'm scared to death to open my desk drawer in fear he will come flying out at me.

I don't hear anything right now, so I think I'm safe.

Goodbye new friend. I hope you enjoyed the food while it was available.

Soon you will be dead.

Near Death

I almost lost my head today during class. I have never in my life been so angry, and I actually had to kick the kid out of class so I wouldn't kill him.

I have a pet fish named Cherry. The kids LOVE the fish. They sit there and watch him swim, ask to feed him every day, pet him (yes, pet him), and talk to him. Cherry sits on the front desk and happily swims around all day while I teach.

Also sitting on my desk today beside Cherry was over 1,000 copies of papers I need for the next week. I am presenting a huge project to my juniors, and I spent over an hour yesterday making copies, stapling, arranging, organizing, etc. I came into work today prepared for the next week (which rarely happens).

During third hour, two kids started pushing and shoving each other. I was distracted at my desk helping another student, so I didn't notice what was happening, but I suddenly heard:

"The fish, the fish!"

I looked over to see a student trying to scoop the fish up from the desk.

That's right. Cherry was no longer in his bowl; he was flopping around on the desk.

The two pushing and shoving students had knocked the fish bowl over. Cherry was dying on the desk, and all the water from the bowl had completely doused my 1,000 copies to a sopping, soaking mess.

The main culprit finally got Cherry into the bowl (which was now empty of water), so he went running to the bathroom to get water.

I could care less about the stupid fish. Let him die. He cost $2.50.

What I did care about, in fact, was the thousands of pieces of paper that are now completely ruined. They are dripping wet. They are soaked. The ink is running in every direction. They are destroyed. I was almost in tears.

I told my class, "You getter go tell S not to enter this room for about 10 more minutes or I will lose myself." A student went to warn S not to come back into the room.

Another student ran to get paper towels. Another student helped clear off the table. Everyone else sat in silence.

I have no idea who the other kid was who caused the mess. Not a single student spoke up to confess or apologize. I was so angry I had to leave the room for a few moments. I came back in and started the day's work, but I am nearly in tears right now over the mess of papers I have sitting on my floor. None are salvageable.

I guess I'll spend the next hour remaking copies for tomorrow.

At least the fish survived the trama.

Honesty

I did something this weekend I've NEVER done before.

I left my purse, fully loaded with money, credit cards, cell phone, Josh's phone, and all the other crap I carry in my purse, in a dressing room.

Hanging on the rack.

And I walked away.

Without my purse.

It took me 10 minutes! 10 minutes to realize my purse wasn't hanging from my shoulder.

Duh.

That's kind of important.

I rushed to the dressing room. There was a worker walking out of the stall with broom in hand.

"Sir, did you find a purse hanging in there?"

"No, ma'am. There wasn't a purse in there."

My heart dropped. I was sick to my stomach. Someone had stolen my purse, and it was all my fault.

And then I heard a faint voice coming from behind another dressing room door.

"Ma'am, did you say you lost your purse?"

"Yes! Did you see it?"

"I found it in this room, and I took it to the front check out counter."

Relief. Oh, relief!

I ran to the front. I found my purse. Everything was in it.

Thank you, dear sweet woman who found my purse and was honest.

Fourth Annual Ornament Exchange

Shan and I had our FOURTH Annual Ornament Party in early December. This has become one of our favorite holiday traditions, and our friends love it, too. I had people asking me in October and November when we were having our party, and I almost had a friend skip her own birthday dinner so she could attend the event.

I took the day off school the Friday before, and Shan and I spent a few hours in the kitchen making some delicious Christmas snacks.

These are Santa hats we made that we put in a Chocolate Pretzel Chex Mix. Yummo!

We had a great turnout of 17 people (next year we're going to have to rent a place), and everyone brought a wrapped ornament. We ate, drank, and mingled. Then it was time to exchange ornaments, which is always fun. In the end, we all ended up with an adorable ornament to add to the tree. From left to right: Vali, Britt, Karen, Linda, Lauren, Sarah, and Liz. All but Vali and Britt work at Chatfield, but I met Britt at Chatfield and Vali went to Chatfield, so they're ALL from Chatfield in my book.

Liz excited to open her ornament.

Alicia (whom I met at Enterprise), Shan, and Vali (Shannon's good friend).

One of my best friends, Katie, and her son, Gavin.

Kristen, who I also met at Enterprise.

Holly and Lucy (Shan worked with them at Goddard Middle School)

Kari and Sonya, two of my friends from church.

The entire group.

There were several people who couldn't come and we missed very much. Tiffany's birthday was that night, so she had plans with her family. My dear friend Abby now lives in Kansas. Megan is temporarily living in Seattle with her son, Rowan, who is at Children's Hospital fighting for his life. My aunt Lisa wasn't able to make it.

If we keep growing like we are (four years ago, our ornament party had four other people other than Shan and me), we really will need a larger place to host!

Not Dead Yet

As I was putting on my shoes the other morning, I had a thought that life would be slowing down in the next month. All the winter games at my high school will be over, therefore my game managing will be over. Then I won't be spending three or four times a night at my school. Then I can go home at 3 p.m. after work, hit the gym (which I haven't done in (gasp) over four months), and relax my night away catching up on shows I haven't been able to watch.

As I zipped up my boot, another thought hit me like a ton of bricks: Lacrosse season starts next month.

So no, life won't be slowing down next month. It will only get busier. Practice every night from 3-5. Games several times a week. Team dinners. Team sleepovers. Team bonding nights.

I realized, perhaps for the first time, that life never slows down. It never will. No matter what ends, something always begins. And dating long distance only adds to the busyness of it all. One weekend I'm home, the next I'm packing on Thursday to leave for Greeley right after work on Friday.

Home. Pack. Drive. Arrive. Drive home. Unpack.
Home. Pack. Drive. Arrive. Drive home. Unpack.
Home. Pack. Drive. Arrive. Drive home. Unpack.

But I love it all. I love game managing. I love coaching Lacrosse. I love going to Greeley. I love babysitting my nieces and nephews when I can. I love spending the weekend with my girlfriends. I love birthday parties. I love doing and being and living.

I love.

I dread the day when I have nothing to do. That will mean I'm dead.