Wow - a lot sure can happen in three months!  The biggest news is that I graduated from the University of Washington with my Master's of Education degree.  Here I am after the ceremony with my "hood" on.

Now I am job-hunting, teaching summer school two days a week, and REALLY enjoying a break from homework and studying.

Daughter also graduated - from high school - and is preparing to attend Cascadia Community College in the fall.  (I do not recommend two graduation ceremonies in a single weekend.)  She is working part time for Stepdan and Marvelous Mom, helping them get the mountains of paperwork organized at their law office.  The twins turned 16 and the next project is to get them driving.  They are also my gardeners - mowing, trimming, and weeding every day.  Along with all the animal care.

I have lots of funny stories and now I also have time to share them!

Cheers friends, I've missed you.

Busy, Busy, Busy

This quarter - the last one of my M.Ed. program and my second to last ever - is really going to be a doozy. I am student teaching full time in special education, but splitting my time between 2 schools. So on Mondays and Tuesdays I will be in a class with Juniors and Seniors in the same high school my kiddos go to, while the rest of the week I will be in an 8th grade class at the middle school where I completed my history, social studies, and middle level humanities student teaching.

Plus a class on Wednesday nights (FOUR HOURS!!!) and another one on Thursday nights - both with all the wonderful hours of reading and writing necessary to be successful. Joy.

Today was my first day at the high school and I can tell it is going to be wonderful. My cooperating teacher is amazing. She's super organized, positive, supportive, collaborative, and is having me start right in teaching a unit I will write beginning next week. High school is very very very different than middle school though. It's so...QUIET! In the halls between classes, in the lunchroom, and in the classroom the kids just seem so quiet - it's unnerving! But I dare say after a week or two I will be grateful for a couple of quiet days a week. Ha.

So needless to say, this will be it for awhile. I'm officially up to my eyeballs. Again.

Just the way I like it.

Reflection

The Master's program I am in is amazing...it has been an unbelievable amount of work but I feel prepared to teach diverse groups of students in a time of change and growth for my profession. One thing I have been asked to do over and over again is reflect. What did I learn? How does that learning relate to my pedagogy? How will it make me a better teacher? What have I learned from the mistakes I made? What will I change in the future? Why did I make the choices I did? Why do it that way? How did I accommodate my lessons so they were accessible to all of my students? Why? Why? Why?

Reflection has become almost a reflex. Why am I doing this? Why not do that instead? I find myself asking this question over and over again regarding my entire life...not just in my professional milieu. I am finding that it can be an unsettling and unnerving habit.

I am growing and changing and stretching beyond anything I thought myself capable of. It is exhilarating and frightening all at once...because I am scared of outgrowing the comfort zone I have lived in for so long.

If not this then what?

Snowpocalypse 2012

When it snows in the Seattle area, the whole town shuts down. The Oatmeal has a comic that pretty much sums up the conversation that everyone in Western Washington has been having lately. But I prefer the pictoral proof of Snowmaggedon descending upon Seattle...

And all my Facebook friends who were praying for snow, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

We have about 15 inches of snow at our place - well maybe 13 inches of snow and 2 inches of solid ice thanks to the ice-storm (WTF? That's a THING?) that rolled thru this morning around 4am. It's been snowing all day, we haven't had school - me or the kids - since last week, and the cabin fever is building. Husband - not used to forced rest and relaxation - is about as irritating as a toddler on crack. A toddler with ADHD on crack. The kids are better, they're alternating playing in the snow with reading and playing games online.

Actually I need to shut my trap - we are pretty lucky. We have not lost power (knock on every available wood surface) except for a couple of hours yesterday, and have plenty of food and drink (aka alcohol for Mama) in the house. Stupid Puppy and I have had some fun in the snow too...

However this - just happened this afternoon - is not so fun. I don't give a flying rats ass about the van, that is what car insurance is for. But that tree, that's the tree we planted the first spring we were in this house fourteen years ago. It is a star magnolia, has grown approximately twice as big as the people at the nursery told me it would, and sort of seems like a member of the family. I cried. I'm so dumb, people have died and lost their homes in this fucking storm. But I loved that tree.

I hate snow. I hate cold. I hate ice. I wonder if they need English teachers in Mexico?

Sucker Punched

Last Thursday my training wheels were removed and I got to sub for Superteacher ALL BY SELF! (After 1 quarter of student teaching we have the option of a conditional intern teaching certificate to sub for our master teacher during our 2nd quarter of student teaching and get paid. I took the option!) She was at a conference Thursday and Friday so I flew solo. It went very well, I tried something new that ended up not going super well purely because our classroom is too small, and the kids were great if a little chattier than usual.

At 3 Thursday afternoon Husband was en-route to Seatac Airport for a guys weekend in Vegas and I was on my way to the district office to meet with the HR lady and fill out EMPLOYMENT paperwork. (Woot Woot!) I called Husband to say goodbye and have fun and he filled me in on the Thing 2 drama that had transpired while I was wrangling seventh graders.

A boy had slammed Thing 2's head down on his desk during the first couple minutes of 5th period. It was a sucker punch, Thing 2's back was to the kid and he had no idea it was coming. The nurse called Husband to let him know that he seemed ok but they were checking him out just in case and an 'incident' form was coming home with him. Two seconds after Husband got off the phone with the school, Daughter called him and said all in one breath, "Thing 2 got beat up and I'm gonna go find the punk-ass snot that did it and kill him."

He was so proud of her. Just when we're afraid that our kids will never ever ever get along and be friends, they shock the shit out of us. However, he did tell her not to do that because then she would get in trouble. ("Wait until after school when you're off school grounds" may or may not have been what he said. Heh.)

The funniest thing of all were the facebook posts. I don't care what anyone says, I LOVE facebook and this is why:

THING 2: "Dumb Student punched me in he head while my back was turned in 5th period. He hits like an undernourished teletubby with a muscular disease. Last I saw of him, Mr. Math Teacher was tossing him out of the room like he would with a bag of marshmallows that just insulted his mother."

GOD I LOVE THAT KID! "Hits like an undernourished teletubby with a muscular disease"? That right there is a golden insult!!!

Ten minutes later on Facebook:

DAUGHTER: "So some punk sophomore thinks he can hit my little brother? I think I'd better have a talk with this kid."

Then her friends go on to tell her exactly how obnoxious this kid is, how his girlfriend - who loves to needle Thing 2 until she gets a reaction out of him - manipulated the whole thing and then taunted Thing 2 about it, and how they will all help her get revenge.

The rest of my afternoon was spent getting the entire story out of Thing 2 and Daughter's friends that witnessed the whole thing and emailing back and forth with the Dean of Students who initially was going to punish Thing 2 for calling the boys girlfriend an asshole which apparently started the whole thing. And watching Thing 2 to make sure he didn't have a concussion as per the nurse's instructions. Thing 2 said it really wasn't bad but apparently it LOOKED really bad because Mr. Math Teacher wanted to call an aid car. And Husband was on his way to Vegas so I got to deal with it ALL BY SELF. Well, with a little help from my good friend Red Wine.

Don't worry, the kid got suspended for 5 days and since the school is treating it as an assault may end up with further consequences, and I won't let my kids and their friends hurt him. Much.

My life - it is never boring.

Best. Dad. Ever.

Good Friend

I stole, er, BORROWED this from my blog-buddy ChiTown Girl. This is the kind of friend we all need. Heh.

The Haircut

At the beginning of the year, our "tough" class was 4th period. Whether it was that particular mix of kids, the fact that it was right before lunch and they were hungry, or the way the planets align between 10:04 and 11:51 over Madness Middle School, 4th period was usually a challenge. However, it slowly got better and better - while 5th period slowly devolved into the seventh circle of hell. By mid-November, 4th period was great and 5th period became barely controlled chaos.

We were doing an activity that required scissors and glue sticks. Superteacher was on the other side of the room and I had my back turned to Stylist Boy while I was answering another student's question.

I turned around when I heard the gasp. Stylist Boy was looking at his desk, upon which lay a not-insignificant amount of Girly Girl's hair. Hair that was no longer attached to her head. HOLY SHIT HE CUT HER HAIR!!! IN CLASS!!!

Keep in mind that I'm in a SEVENTH GRADE classroom. This student is twelve years old. And yet he could not refrain from cutting his classmate's hair just because it was in front of him and he had a pair of scissors in his hand.

Superteacher sent him to the office with a referral while I stood their opening and closing my mouth like a dying guppy. After she dealt with the miscreant and I recovered from my shock that a twelve year old kid chose to cut a classmate's hair "just because", we surveyed the damage. He cut a small chunk but only about an inch long so with a significant trim, Girly Girl would still have the same hairstyle. She was remarkably fine about the whole thing, brushing it off with "Don't worry, it's not a big deal." (Her best friend was practically hyperventilating - girl loves her hair.)

This kid is not special needs, he's remarkably bright - if unmotivated - and has caring parents at home. All I can think of to explain it is what Bill Cosby said oh so many years ago. Kids are BRAIN DAMAGED.

That was so not a possible scenario we covered in our teachers ed. program.

Another Year Gone

*Ahem* Yup, I'm still here. A little battered and bruised around the edges, it's been a rough fall, but I'M STILL STANDING Y'ALL! I made it through my first quarter of full-time student teaching, as did my family, and am looking forward to the rest of the year. Let me tell you, teaching is AWESOME! I knew I would enjoy it but I wasn't prepared for how much I would love it. I can't wait to get there in the morning, I'm loathe to leave in the afternoon - or evening, you teachers know how that is - and even the bad days are still pretty awesome.

Things at home have been let go quite a bit and I'm paying for it with some, er, interesting behaviors from my kids, but I think the adjustment period is finally past us and we are all settling in to our new normal.

Happy New Year from all of us and I promise to post more often, I've got some really funny teaching stories!!!

When did my kids get so damn tall?

Missed

Husband and I went to a wedding last night. It was beautiful and touching, like all weddings should be. When the bride walked up the aisle on the arm of her Grandfather and Mother I started to cry and I continued to fight back tears for the entire evening.

There was a little old lady at the buffet whose younger friend or relative was helping to get her food dished up. I had to walk away because it so reminded me of Nannie.

When the bride's Grandfather toasted the new couple I almost lost it completely.

All evening all I could think about was how sad I was that Nannie will not be here for my brother's wedding. She was so very proud of him, she really liked his best beloved, and would have been thrilled to see them say their vows to each other - to see him start off his new life with the woman he loves. Nannie loved Scientist Genius Brother so very much.

I know she will be with us in spirit but I am selfish, I want her there for real. I want her back. I miss her so so very much.

My heart hurts.

Whatevertober Parts 3, 4, & 5: Memento (2000)

Good evening, illusions! This is your host, Thing Two! I'd like to personally apologize for the late update(s). You see, we came down with a severe case of vagueish problemitis. Also, I was busy watching and rewatching Memento (sadly, without any guest commentators), which so happens to be tonight's film! I apologize in advance for the lack of spoilers. I know how much everybody loves spoilers to a really good recent movie that shouldn't be spoiled.

Memento isn't really a horror flick so much as it is an intellectual thriller (we can do thrillers as well as horror films, and this apparently even extends to Godzilla movies); the kind that demands your attention. And damn, but do you have to pay a lot of attention to this one!

The whole film is viewed from the perspective of the protagonist Leonard Shelby, who has memory problems and something to do with a murder or two. There are sequences filmed in color, which go in reverse chronological order, and sequences filmed in black and white, which go in regular chronological order. "Confusing" is an understatement. There was a mind-boggling number of mind-bogglers the first time I watched it through. I had so many questions that needed to be answered, I resolved to watch it a second time the next night. And so I did.

The second viewing absolutely floored me. It was like watching a different film. Now so much more made sense! So that's why *SPOILERS* was *SPOILERS* to *SPOILERS*! They were trying to *SPOILERS* the entire time! Well, almost the entire time. However, there were still a few things that I still did not understand, so, having never watched a movie thrice in a row, I decided to watch it for a third time! And that's what I did tonight. I think I get everything, but I may have to let it all sink in for a while.

Anyway, if you like psychological thrillers and repeated viewings (read: Inception), then you'll probably like Memento! Four out of five reverse-reverse-antireverse-rereverse plot twists!

Tomorrow night, we eat bullets! Or, y'know, watch Poltergeist. Whatever.
I truly am really, really sorry for the short update. I promise it'll be better tomorrow.

Octoberfest Part 2: The Exorcist (1973)

Good evening, children of God! This is your host, Thing Two! Welcome to the second spine-chilling sequence of Whatevertober, with guest commentators Thing One and Katy herself, who picked out tonight's movie! Speaking of which, let's get to that. Tonight's feature: The Exorcist!

THING TWO: I know I promised not to do summaries or recaps, but I couldn't pass this one up. All right, so tonight we watched The Exorcist, a touching yet bittersweet tale of a loving mother, her sweet little daughter, a down-on-his-luck priest who's offered a second chance, and an vengeful Iraqi spirit that hates friendly upper-class American families for some reason.

The movie starts off with an aging Indiana Jones on an archaeological dig in northern Iraq (sometimes called Kurdistan), where he eventually confronts an ancient statue. It is revealed to him through nonverbal psychic exchanges that the time-traveling ghost of Saddam Hussein is seeking revenge on the decadent and corrupt Americans. Naturally, Indy rushes back to the USA as fast as dotted red lines can carry him.

Back in America, we meet two more of the main characters: Julia Roberts and Reagan. Reagan complains about how that meanie Gorbachev won't put his book down during tests to let Reagan copy his answers. Oh, and there's something about a space cowboy, too. Captain Howdy, I think his name was. Then we get to meet the other protagonist, Rocky Balboa, who is undergoing a faith crisis.

The storyline is split between Julia Roberts and Rocky for a while. Julia Roberts finds that the vibrating massage bed isn't working out for Reagan, and she gets it replaced with a non-malfunctioning one. But tragedy strikes again, as Reagan listens to too much heavy metal and in the middle of the night starts headbanging a bit too enthusiastically. Then Reagan wets herself at a party, embarrassing poor Julia Roberts to no end. The montage is quite the comedy of errors. Reagan is taken to Asshole Psychiatry, Inc. where the doctors misdiagnose her in every imaginable way before admitting to their quackery and advising Roberts to seek out a professional archaeologist (preferably a WWII veteran) or a rookie boxer.

At this point, the storylines merge. Up until now, Rocky had been mourning the death of his personal trainer Mickey and questioning his faith. Indiana Jones had been battling clockwork Nazi golems offscreen. Julia Roberts asks Rocky for help, who in turn asks Indy for help. They all meet up at the Roberts household, where they find Reagan restrained, bruised, battered, and wearing hideous puke-green contact lenses. At first they have trouble figuring out what's wrong with Reagan. Initially, they dismiss the possibility of possession by an angry Middle Eastern dictator's spirit (since Reagan's room is like an icebox, and one would think that some like it hot over in Arabia), but the contact lenses give Saddam away (Hussein was famous for his terrible fashion sense).

To counter Hussein, Indy and Rocky read aloud Led Zeppelin lyrics and sprinkle Reagan's body with the tears of Kurdish children. It proves to be ineffective, as Saddam kills Indy with the constant mental image of Shia LaBeouf's face (this truly was his last crusade). Rocky, inspired by the memory of Mickey's training, grabs Saddam's ghost in a stranglehold and wrestles him out the window. Rocky's sheer willpower manages to banish Saddam Hussein back to Hell once and for all. Unfortunately, Rocky lands on a flight of stairs and breaks his own neck. Julia Roberts and Reagan live and move to Argentina (or possibly Connecticut). But what about Rocky and Indy? Oh, don't worry...Darth Vader resurrects them in The Exorcist II. No, really, James Earl Jones is in the sequel.

But seriously, I liked The Exorcist. It's not really a scary movie, but I like it as a thriller nonetheless. It's a story of faith and connection, and it works. As for everyone out there? Well, if you're old enough to get over Reagan's demonic makeup and distorted voices, then check it out! As long as you aren't expecting Ghostbusters, it won't disappoint! I give it five out of five pea soup regurgitations.

KATY: The scariest thing about the Exorcist is the idea of losing a child. Poor Regan is lost to her mother and that is the ultimate boogeyman...someone taking your baby. So very very scary...

Thing 2 is the Antichrist, I'm gonna have to become catholic now.

Whatevertober Part 1: Dracula (1931)

Good evening, counts and countesses! This is your host, Thing Two! Welcome to a new feature of Whatever that we like to call Whatevertober! Every night of October, I will be watching a horror or thriller movie and providing short afterthoughts with one or a few guests watching it with me and providing even shorter afterthoughts. So you now all have thirty-one entertaining blog posts to look forward to (thirty, if you don’t count this one)! If you are familiar with Cinemassacre's annual series, Monster Madness, then you should recognize the similarities. As in, this is exactly the same as Monster Madness, but in blog format. And it isn’t recaps, it’s afterthoughts on the viewing experience. With guest stars. But anyway, let us move on. Without further ado, here is the first entry of Whatevertober, with guest commentator Thing One! Tonight’s film: Dracula!



THING TWO: Several years ago, we purchased the two-disc 75th Anniversary DVD edition of Dracula. (Whew! There’s a technical mouthful for you!) Tonight, I finally got around to watching it. Really, it was actually Thing One’s idea to dust it off and give it a try. I think that he nailed it (pun intended) with Dracula. There couldn’t be a more appropriate choice for the first entry of Whatevertober. And here’s why.

Dracula, to put it bluntly, is a timeless classic. It’s a masterpiece, truly ahead of its time. Vampire movies are now a cornerstone of the horror genre. There are so many vampire movies nowadays. How many good vampire films that have come out in recent years can you think of? What vampire movies have you seen growing up? Thirty Days of Night? The Lost Boys? The 90s remake of Dracula? Everyone’s seen a few. But the original…is Nosferatu. The original with sound is Dracula, starring the master himself, Bela Lugosi. Oh man, Bela Lugosi…he’s awesome. Bela Lugosi is like the Chuck Norris of horror. (Boris Karloff is the Bruce Lee of horror.) That iconic cape, that spine-chilling stare, the etcetera etcetera. I really don’t feel like repeating what has been said a thousand times over. You all know how iconic Dracula is. Let’s skip ahead to my actual thoughts on the film.

It’s awesome. ‘Nuff said.

What, you want more?

Oh, fine. I’ll start with the music, or lack thereof. There is only one bit of soundtrack in the entire movie, and that’s at the opening credits. But that single snippet of score is more than enough to set the unnerving mood. The omnipresent silence that follows for the next hour and a quarter is downright disturbing. It’s…well, it’s creepy. What else can I say?

I can talk about other stuff. Like the performances. They’re a little cheesy sometimes, but what would you expect? Dracula was released in 1931. (That sentence sounds funny. For me, it just now conjured up a mental image of Dracula being let out of a cage after waiting since the 1800s.) The set pieces are absolutely fantastic, and do a wonderful job of setting the mood. Speaking of the mood, the atmosphere is so thick, you could slice it with a knife. (That’s a good thing.) The one special effect is the bats. I saw the string at one point. But again, it’s from 1931. It’s more than forgiven.

All in all, Dracula is a treasured gem of cinema. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out! I give it five out of five Lugosi creeper stares.

THING ONE: The grand daddy of horror. A must-see for any fan of anything ever. Five out of five delicious Hungarian accents.

See you tomorrow, when we tackle another thriller! Until then, counts and countesses, good night.

Thing 2 is doing this as an extra-credit project for his drama class, I'm not sure his teacher knows exactly what he has unleashed upon the world!

One of Husband's Favorites

FYI

I love student teaching! Every day when I walk in the classroom I think "this is where I belong".

But blogging is not gonna be happening much, if at all, for the foreseeable future. I need 36 hour days.

The First Week

After going to bed at 8 o'clock last night and sleeping for almost 12 hours, I am now almost coherent enough to put together a bullet list of notable observations from my first week of student teaching at a very large, urban middle school.

* Getting up at 5 am every day is a lot harder than I remember it being.

* Middle school kids are AWESOME. And very funny, I have a hard time not bursting out laughing at least six times a day.

* Teachers work their asses off. I always knew this but now I've seen it first hand.

* Kids love a routine and settle in to one very quickly. It takes us adults a little longer though.

* It is possible for jeans to stay at thigh level - with the help of a belt - but it makes the boy wearing them like that walk funny.

* I need to figure out a system of making sure everything at home gets taken care of. Until that happens it is going to be a little hectic around here.

* When I walk in the door at any time from 3:30 to 7:30 at night I am exhausted and I don't even have any homework from my own program to do yet - not sure how that is going to work.

* My kids are awesome. They're getting their chores done, getting themselves off to school, fixing dinner, daughter is a great shuttle driver for her brothers, and I'm very proud of them for taking care of business without me standing around telling them what they need to do.

Senior Pictures

These are two pics I snapped with my phone while daughter was having her Senior pictures taken. The first one was taken using the Hipstamatic Ap for iPhone and the second was the regular iPhone camera then edited with Picnik.

I cannot believe this beautiful creature is related to me - she is growing up so fast and we are unbelievably proud of her!

I Am

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.

~Anatole France

Reading this quote shook me up. I have spent years and years of juggling college with taking care of my home and family. During that time I took a year off of school because the boys needed me to be 100% available to them and, while I have never articulated it to myself or anyone else, school has always come second to what I need to take care of at home. Not in a my family comes first way - everyone I know feels that way - but in a 'I can quit school anytime because it is a hobby compared to taking care of things at home' sort of way. When people asked me what I did, my answer was always that I am a SAHM - although I hate that term and much prefer 'Home Executive' or 'Queen of my Domain'. My role as a student came second; "Oh yeah, I'm in school too."

But recently I was asked what I did and I answered "I'm a teacher". And immediately was overcome with sadness, or maybe more accurately, grief. My life has changed so much in the past year, changed in a deep, fundamental way, and my role has changed forever.

For almost fifteen years I cared for Grandmother. She also cared for me, especially at the beginning when my babies were small, but I took her shopping, to appointments, and at the end, made sure her medical needs were taken care of. Now she is gone and I spend a lot of time wandering around the house doing nothing while thinking about all the little things I miss doing for her.

Daughter getting her driver's license was another pivotal change for me, although I didn't realize it until a few days after the fact. She went to a friend's birthday party and came home without me having to drive her. She picked her brother up from tennis practice the next day because I was at work, learning more about being a teacher in the school I am student teaching at.

The boys do their own laundry, they took it over after Grandmother died without even asking me for help or to do it for them. She had done their laundry ever since they could remember; Thing 1 on Mondays and Thing 2 on Thursdays. As I watched Thing 2 fold his clothes the other day I had to go into my room because I started to cry thinking the completely ridiculous thought that he doesn't need me any more.

Don't get me wrong, I am glad my babies are growing up and becoming independent. After all, that is the whole goal of raising kids. And while I miss her desperately, I am glad that Grandmother is not in pain and suffering the indignities of old age anymore. But I need to allow myself to grieve the death of my old role, my identity as a SAHM, as I move ahead to my new identity as teacher, wife, and mother of increasingly independent teenagers - soon to be college students and adults.

I have floundered this summer, not getting a lot done and spending hours doing nothing but thinking about the past. Reading the quote from Anatole France made me realize what has been going on, one life has been dying as I prepare to step forward to my next life.

I am a teacher.

Oh Deer!

I have so many questions about the sign I took a picture of yesterday at an intersection outside of Shelton, Washington...

Who would steal a deer?

Who would miss a deer?

Who is it that expects a deer to be returned to them?

WTF is so special about THIS deer? On the same trip I got pictures of a Mama deer casually grazing in someone's front yard. Deer are EVERYWHERE in this area, why don't the missing their deer people just get a new deer? A younger deer? A better deer?

Deer me, I just don't understand.

FREEDOM!

I am slowly being unshackled from the bonds of teenage activities - DAUGHTER HAS HER DRIVER'S LICENSE!!! It took 4 shots at the written test and 3 at the driving test but she is now legally able to drive herself and, just as importantly, her brothers around.

The calendar on her phone now has several dates - with the alarm reminder set on LOUD - that she is responsible for picking up Thing 2 from driver's ed and taking Thing 1 to tennis practice because I will be student teaching full time starting on Thursday. Girl got driving just in the nick of time!

Here she is before her very first solo drive, to go shopping naturally.

Hey, wait a minute. She's driving away. WITHOUT ME! INTO THE COLD, CRUEL WORLD ALONE!!!!

Life will never be the same.