Day One

I should read the directions before I decide to do something.  :-) 

A short paragraph about me:

I was born on a cold winter day, not really sure if it was cold but it was winter, to an amazing family I often refer to as the Cleaver's.  My mom stayed home with my older sister, younger brother and I.  My dad worked and spent a lot of time with us kids.  My older sister, by 18 months and I are very close but spent much of our childhood fighting.  My younger brother is 5 years younger and I have great memories of dressing him up like a girl.  I grew up in the water.  I started swimming when I was 8 and swam on a year round team until I was 18.  I loved it and still do.  I graduated from high school and attended our state college where I attempted to step out of my sister's shadow by joining a sorority.  It was great for me.  I'm not naturally outgoing, but it gave me a push to talk to more people and come out of my shell.  I met my husband the same semester and I pledged my sorority, and no he is not a frat boy.  :-)  I graduated and got my teaching license and then got engaged, got married, bought a house and got a dog.  Then a year later finally go my first teaching job.  Six years later, after 4 years of infertility, we welcomed our twins, S and E.  This summer we will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary. 

Everyday in May?

Is it too late to start blogging every day in May?  I have been on a hiatus, for no real reason just don't feel like it when I have the time.  But this is my memory.  Most days I can't even remember if I have brushed my teeth much less the funny thing S or E said.  So let's start there...

• In the last couple of weeks S has been telling me, "No go to work Mommy."  Ugh, breaks my heart.  He has been super snugly and a little clingy lately.  He just wants me close.  "Sit right here Mommy."  And my returns from work have been met with a big smile and the cutest, "Hi, Mommy." 
• I know they have done it before but S and E really are having the greatest conversations together and SO funny.  They're starting to ask each other questions, which I think has been the biggest change.  E will ask if S is okay, "You okay Sam?" and give him a hug if he is sad.  Unfortunately he often replies with a push for some space.**Update: Conversation heard in the car today (5/3):  E-"Chicken" S- "No chicken" E- "Chicken" S- "No chicken" E- "Chicken" S-
  "No chicken I don't see them."  E- "Chicken"
• I'm starting to hear more of those phrases that I must use a lot.  E the other day exclaimed to her doll, "Oh   my   goodness!"  Ha!  I found myself saying that a few times the next day at work.  She really is mimicking lately too, but not whole phrases, really just the ends.  Sometimes Mr. P and I will talk slow so she can repeat and we can giggle at what she says.
• We are developing a routine for morning good-byes.  First we do knuckles, then fives, then hugs and kisses.  Then sometimes it is repeated.  Then there are some "Love yous" and sometimes I'm instructed to hug MiMi (our nanny) or to give her fives.  (I'm not a hugger, so it would be awkward to hug the nanny goodbye.)  Then I'm usually told, by S, "No take my car."  Which means he doesn't want me to take the minivan, which is "his" car.  Silly boy.
• E has begun negotiating, which is funny because normally it doesn't matter.  She has begun asking for, "Just one more."  With her finger up.  "Just one more Mommy."  I think sometimes she is just making sure this is the last time or the last one she gets.  Most of the time we  haven't told her she was done and she is asking for one more.  She will say just one more time as she goes the slide for the last one before we go home and before she eats the last jellybean I've given her.  It is pretty cute though.

Two is such an entertaining age.  The things they come up with just kill me some days. 

Testing, Testing...

It is testing season over in my neck of the woods.  We have spent the last 8 days testing and we still have two more to go.  I'm also reading Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech aloud to my kids so poems inspired by the poems in her book are being composed in my heard during my hours of active proctoring.  I don't normally think in poetry so it is kind of fun.

 

 

Wooden Graphite Based Number 2 Pencils

Inspired by William Carlos Williams

 

So much depends

upon

 

An empty plastic container

filled

 

With perfectly pointed

pencils

 

Sitting on the wood grained

desk

 

Straight Rows

Inspired by William Carlos Williams

 

So much depends

upon

 

Seventeen silent students

sitting

 

In straight

rows

 

I also began a poem inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's Bells poem, that describes the events that took place when I tried to take S and E to the store yesterday.  It is called Wails but I'm not done with it yet.  It is amazing the things you come up with when you are forced to wander silently for an hour or two a day.  I sure will be glad when Friday comes and we can get back to teaching!

Miscellany Monday

 

It seems as though these are the only posts I can get written lately.  I have all these thoughts and they fly out of my head as soon as I sit down to type. So here we go:

 

• The relationship between my two little people is quite amazing.  Whenever something happens to one of them the other is usually there to try to make the other happy.  Unless, of course, they caused the unhappiness.  Tonight S accidentally hit E with a plastic tub, you know they kind that held the cars that were dumped on the floor.  He immediately went up to hug her and asked, "Okay?"  It was pretty cute.  Later S was upset because E was sitting on the riding car that he wanted, so I convinced her to play with the stroller, then S was mad because he wanted the blocks in the stroller.  Oh to be a two year old!  Well, in an attempt to distract him I tried to give him some carrots that were ready to eat for dinner.  He wouldn't take them from me (there was a little scuffle between the two over the blocks which resulted in me taking them, so I became the enemy), but he took them when E, on her own, offered him some.
• I'm totally obsessed with Harlem Shake videos on YouTube.  I'm a little behind the times and just figured out what it was all about this week.  My current favorites are:

I could do without the swearing at the end of the second one, but I love the Gangnam Style too.  We are currently working on our own video.  Maybe I'll convince the play group on Saturday morning to join in.  There should be a toddler version!

• Last week I went to the doctor to get over my cold which turned into a sinus infection and to have the little blisters on my hand checked out.  I left with an antibiotic, nasal spray and a steroid cream for my hands.  I guess my overly dry skin caused the little blisters, which are not contagious.  While I was there I figured I get my cholesterol checked.  I have been avoiding this since July.  It was last checked the July before and was slightly elevated.  I attributed it to the fact I had babies in January and I was eating whatever I could find and I craved sweets the whole pregnancy.  Well, that and my sweets addiction.  I was convinced my cholesterol would still be high.  I got a call from my doctor's office today saying everything looks good and to keep up the good work.  Umm... I haven't really changed any of my eating habits and I can't say I worked on it.  So I guess that means my once a week donut habit is okay, right?
• Along with Harlem Shake videos I'm also obsessed with decorating my house with typography.  I love quotes, always have.  I used to, before Pinterest, have a binder full of my favorites.  I'm starting to try to make my own but I don't love my handwriting and I REALLY don't like my handwriting when I try to write with a paintbrush.  I'm wondering when my husband will realize he is surrounded by words.



To do list:

I occasionally make to do lists but I don't use them very well.  It seems as though lately I have way TOO much to do.

HAVE TOs:

1. laundry
2. clean the tile floor
3. get ready for conferences next week
1. organize data
2. organize printouts of data
3. finish grading last week's science tests
4. grade Friday's spelling assessment
5. grade Friday's reading responses
6. grade last week's narrative summaries
7. reflect on data
8. print out current grades
9. write down all thoughts so I don't forget what I need to say
10. update ILPs
11. figure out when state testing days are and make a schedule for parents
12. plan for the week so I won't have to do it after my 12+ hour days
4. put away laundry
5. get over my cold (It showed up on Friday, lucky me.  It seems to be the same cold I've had about 4 times since before winter break...sore throat, stuffy, headache, exhausted.)

NEED TOs:

1. clean the bathroom  (The master bathroom tub has been a great fun place to throw femine products for the kids.  I let them because it keeps them out of everything else.  BUT it is time to try to USE the tub.)
2. clean the other bathrooms
3. figure out what I'm going to eat the nights (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) that I work until 7 pm this week
4. send back shoes that are still too wide, although they are narrows, to Amazon
5. make a photobook on Shutterfly before the 28th so I don't lose my $20

WANT TOs:

1. hang my new air plants that my sister gave me for my birthday above the clean bath tub in our bathroom
2. hang S's Dr. Suess prints of his name that he got for Christmas
3. finish E's name for her wall
4. find and paint frames for the playroom
5. organize my craft room
6. sleep

Miscellany Monday

 

I wasn't sure I had anything for today but surely I can come up with some random stuff.

 

1. This morning as I was leaving for work I grabbed my scarf to put it on and E said, "Mommy's blanket."  Silly girl.
2. On a similar note we do gymnastics on Mondays and we alternate weeks with S and E.  It was S's turn this week but E came and Mr. P met us there.  On our walk into the rec center S pointed out doggy poop, although I never did see any.  Most of it was snow or leaves.
3. S can lock the dead bolt on the front door.  We need to find a place for a key just in case we get locked out.
4. I turned 33 yesterday.  I took about 5 videos of the kids singing Happy Birthday to me. 
5. My husband must have found my blog because he is on a roll with presents for the last two holidays.  Thank you Mr. P!  Yesterday he gave me a spa gift card (with instructions to NOT use it on my hair cut), an elliptical (not sure it this counts as a present), flowers and Starbucks when I got up. 
6. I took Friday off, for my birthday, and we went to breakfast at my favorite place with my parents.  S, who has always been a direction giver, has no started demanding you eat or drink more.  He decided I need more coffee and he needed to help.
7.  We had a snow sculpting contest in town over the weekend.  Once it was over we finally got winter weather.  The rest of the week was 60.  We drove by Friday and S wanted to see "more big snow."  On Saturday he just really wanted to throw the snow.  We always are looking for free things to see or do with the kids.

Toys

Even after Christmas AND a 2nd birthday my kids play with a lot of "non-toy" toys.  Lately their favorite has been canned food.  The cans are in our corner lazy Susan cabinet that I can't justify child locking.  The cabinet is routinely emptied, the cans lined up and moved around the house and then, thankfully, returned.  Yesterday S and E decided that the cans should be cooked on the grill and moved with the shopping cart.  I'm not sure they believed me when I told them that the cartons of vegetable broth were NOT milk and that they really won't like what was in their if they managed to open one.

It goes almost without saying that we like boxes at our house.  This lovely uncaptioned picture is of E after the "house" fell down.  It was really hard for me not to sing a Wizard of Oz song as I took this picture.  The silly girl was perfectly happy laying inside the house.  I guess she isn't claustrophobic.