End of school gifts....

I have been the lucky recipient of a variety of gifts over my years of teaching. Some have been interesting (a.k.a 3 foot tall wooden penguin from the dumpster), some have been thoughtful (can of Dr. Pepper that he took from his fridge at home because he knew I liked it) and some have been downright "special" (orange with toothpicks stuck in it). However interesting or thoughtful or "special" the gifts are they always mean a lot to me because they come from my students and they are important to them.

This years end of the year gifts were no exception.
1. Mixing bowls
2. Glass hot air balloon wind chime3. Muffin wrapped in a napkin tied with a hair rubber band
4. Tin foil wrapped mystery package that I thought was a loaf of bread. I left it sitting on the table for the entire day. When I opened it that afternoon I discovered that it was not a loaf of bread, but a sub sandwich...with mayonnaise.

Catch-up...

After 2 months I figured it was time to play a little catch up. Life is the same. Work, work and more work. Luckily the continuity of work is sometimes broken up by little snippets of fun.

Snippet #1: Liz graduated with her Master's degree and Mom, Parker, Karinda and Jaydin came down from Flagstaff so that we could meet Alex at the airport when he came back from a trip back east.

Snippet #2: We went to Flagstaff to visit our family and do a little celebration for Jaydin's 1st birthday which was the week before. While we were there Jaydin started walking more. He had already taken a few steps before, but it was so fun to see him walking around all by himself.

Snippet #3: We just spent the 1st part of Memorial Day weekend with our good friends at the Legacy Resort in Phoenix. We had a blast eating, swimming, playing games, eating, reading, eating, trying on random stuff at the mall and eating. It was a great weekend!

Regret....

Yesterday I went to Hobby Lobby in my continued attempt pretending that I know how to decorate my house. As I was standing in the checkout line a teenage girl and her mom got into the line across from me. Since the person in front of me was buying thousands of pieces of foam that had to be scanned individually, I had a lot of time to stand there and pretend that I wasn't eavesdropping on this girl and her mom. Since I missed the 1st half of the conversation all I could gather was that the mom wasn't going to let the daughter go and do something that was totally awesome and the mom was now totally lame and a jerk for not understanding her daughters need for doing said awesome thing and for "ruining her life forever". As the conversation continued the girl got more whiny, more mouthy, more disrespectful and I really did think that her eyes were going to get stuck in the back of her head for all the eye rolling she was doing.
As I stood there for what seemed like hours, I remembered that not that long ago, I was the whiny, mouthy, disrespectful daughter. I was the one with the bad attitude and the over exaggerated eye roll. I wanted to tell this girl that it wasn't worth it. Whatever totally awesome thing she wasn't being allowed to do was not worth it. It was not worth the distance it would put on her relationship with her mom. It was not worth hurting her mom's feelings. It was just not worth it. One day she is going to wake up and realize just how much she needs her mom and hopefully the distance and hurt feelings and pain won't be too much to overcome. I was lucky enough to have such a mom. The mom that forgave the attitude and the garbage and managed to love me anyways. The mom that is now one of my very best friends. I wanted to help the girl realize what I had to learn the hard way. I wanted to tell her what a good thing she has going and that one day she will regret this. I didn't tell her. Foam lady had finally finished and the checker was waiting impatiently for me to move my things forward. So hopefully she will realize it on her own.

Student-isms...

Students did a writing sample today. Here are some of their thoughts.

I'm going to chase butterflies and bee's, but don't worry I will let them all go.

I have a cunfy bed. It is cunfy. My blanket is cunfy. My pillow is cunfy. Everything on my bed is cunfy. (cunfy = comfy. Maybe we'll start learning some more synonyms)

I like to go swimming at the 'bich'
(took me a second...and a sigh of relief to realize he meant beach. Note to self: Don't just pick out single words. Read in context.)

I have a rooster. It pecked my hand. I do not like my rooster.

I am going to play my 'pee S pee'
(PlayStation Portable aka PSP. Note to self: Next week's lesson. Acronyms.)


One of my students informed me today that he could not go outside for recess. When I asked him why, he said that when the trees looked like wipers on the car from the wind, then he had asthma and couldn't play outside. I said that was fine and he continued to tell me that he learned that from his doctor and that his doctor also told him that he needs to watch his fats. Trying my hardest to hold in my laughter ( I didn't realize I was a teacher to a 50 year old man) I asked what he meant by that and he said that if you look at nutrition there are fats and he needs to watch them and eat healthy. I told him that yes, eating healthy was very important...then I walked into the next room and burst out laughing.

2-fer

Last week I was able to spend 3 days at an education conference in Phoenix. The couple days leading up to it were filled with a bit of stress and apprehension due to the fact that I would have to leave my class for 3 straight days, not to mention I'd have to make sub plans for those days. Any teacher knows the headache that comes with making sub plans. I was a little unsure about what to expect at this conference. Would it be a bunch sales people masquerading as educators just trying to push their literature and propaganda on us? Would it be a bunch of people telling us that they had the cure-all, but we'd have to buy their book to find out what it was?
Instead I spent 3 days listening to real educators with real experiences and stories and ideas. I was uplifted. I was motivated. I was told that the work I am doing does make a difference. It seems like everywhere you go these days all you hear about is the downfall in the education system. There's no money, no resources, teachers that make too much to do too little. One of the presenters touched upon the fact that when the economy is good, you never hear a thing about education...good or bad, but when the economy is bad, that's all you hear about.
Now I am not saying that there are not bad teachers out there or that the financial strains don't have a huge impact, but I do know that the majority of educators in the country are there doing the very best they can for the kids.
I can't even put into words all that I got out of this conference. The speakers were amazing and overall the feeling from the 2,300 attendees was extremely positive and uplifting. It helped me to remember why I wanted to do this job in the first place. One of the speakers talked about how teaching can be a thankless job. You might never know the impact or influence that you had on someone. Then they showed this video clip. Never have I heard 2,300+ people so quiet. I think as teachers we all secretly hope to have something like that one day.

In keeping with the theme of education I wanted to share a couple of student-isms from today.
#1
*one of my students came to school with a black eye today. Of course the students were curious as to how it happened. This is the conversation that followed.*

Student: How did he get that black eye?
Me: I don't know. Maybe he was fighting a monster or something.
Student: Um...monsters aren't allowed in the United States.
Me: Oh they're not?
Another student: No. They all belong in Canada.

#2
In P.E the teacher has been showing the students how to look at the nutrition information on food labels. Today for breakfast we had some dried apple slices in a little bag. One of the students picks it up and looks at it.

Student: I can't eat this.
Me: Why not?
Student: Look at the nutrition. There is too much sugar. How unhealthy.

Chuck

CHUCK NORRIS

Recently for some reason I have been finding Chuck Norris sayings and jokes and I just thought I would share some on this blog. Since I rarely add anything of significance to Sara's and my blog I thought I'd continue that with this.

1. Chuck Norris doesn't wear a watch... He decides what time it is.

2. Chuck Norris doesn't breathe he holds air hostage

3. There is no ctrl button on Chuck Norris' computer because Chuck Norris is always in control.

4. Chuck Norris destroyed the periodic table because he is the only person who recognizes the element of surprise.

5. Some people can burp the alphabet but Chuck Norris can fart out the dictionary.

6. Chuck Norris escaped a high speed police pursuit on a broken rocking horse.

7. Chuck Norris can stab you to death with a bubble.

8. Chuck Norris kicked a donkey in the chin. Its decedents are known as giraffes.

9. Chuck Norris doesn't do push ups he pushes the world down.

10. Chuck Norris' smile once brought a puppy back to life.

11. Chuck Norris uses a stunt double... for crying scenes.

12. The reason for Global Warming is Chuck Norris got cold and turned up the sun.

13. Some people wear superman pajamas, Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas.

14. Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding.

15. When the boogieman goes to sleep he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.

16. Chuck Norris can speak braille.

17. Chuck Norris can delete the Recycle bin.

18. Chuck Norris can run Windows 7 on his etch-a-sketch.

19. Chuck Norris can do a wheelie on a unicycle.

20. Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one bird.

21. Chuck Norris can strangle you with a cordless phone

22. Chuck Norris can build a snowman in the rain.

23. Voldemort refers to Chuck Norris as "You Know Who."

24. Chuck Norris can win a game of connect four in three moves.

25. Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door.

Catch-up...

Road Trip...

Andy and I have a goal to visit all 50 states together. We had a free weekend and decided now was as good a time as any to cross a couple more off our list. The border of New Mexico is not too far from where Andy's brother lives and then El Paso is only 3 hours from there. We left Friday afternoon, hit Burger House in Globe - Miami (which is where joy masquerading as a burrito lives) and then headed to Duncan. We spent the night with Paul and Lacy, ate a yummy breakfast at Ol' Joe's cafe and were off. We got to El Paso around noon. Saw the sights and headed back to Duncan around 3.
Yes...it only took 3 hours to see the sights of El Paso and that included driving aimlessly quite a bit because Mr. GPS doesn't know where the heck he's going.
All in all we decided that El Paso was not the place for us (except for some really good Mexican food), but we were able to get out, spend some time together, go on an adventure and cross 2 more states off our list.
Mission accomplished.

It's not too late...

...to blog about Christmas is it?
It hasn't even been a month. I think I'm still okay.
We spent Christmas in Mesa with the Ebert crew. Christmas eve consisted of lots of food, a white elephant gift exchange (including Grandma getting a book entitled Naked Conversations...whatever that means) and a slightly modified telling of The Nativity. Andy and I went home for our usual Christmas Eve tradition of watching It's A Wonderful Life. Christmas morning we went back to Andy's parents to open presents and hang out. We went to Gulliver's Travels, ate more, took naps and went shopping. All in all it was a nice Christmas!

Ah life....

365 days worth of pictures....fail....
365 days worth of pictures....fail...again
30 days of blogging....fail

Life gets in the way of the important things, like writing on a blog that is read by....my mom (hi mom). And Miranda and Stacey (hi). I think my grandma (hi Grandma). Maybe some others here and there (hi others).

I survived the last week of school before winter break, while sick with the best cold ever. We made tissue paper wreaths and hand painted Christmas/Holiday/Winter cards....with the random smiley face shaped blob thrown in.
Today the kids left with presents in hand and I jumped for joy felt very thankful for 2 weeks off!
The past few weeks have included lots of work (Andy has been working 7 days a week since after Thanksgiving), Christmas planning, Sara, Stacey and Miranda's Day of Fun and a White Elephant Party at our house.

I love this time of year and it reminds me again of all the things I have to be thankful for. We just found out that my brother and his wife are moving to Flagstaff and we are so excited to be a bit closer to them. I am thankful for my friends and their kindness in looking past my psycho laughing breakdowns and my ability to choke on Sixlets. I am so thankful for my family and all they do for me and of course I am thankful for Andy. He is amazing! Now bring on Christmas!

5/30

Day 5 - A picture of somewhere you've been

4/30

Day 4 - A habit that you wish you didn't have

I wish that I didn't bite my nails. I mean I'm 27. You'd think I'd stop!

3/30

Day 3 -A picture of you and your friends.

2/30

Day 2 - The meaning behind your Blog name.

Um....it's self explanatory. We are the Ebert family and we were married in 2003. Next!!

1/30

DAY 1: A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself...

Not sure any of these would be classified as interesting....but here it goes....

1. I am a homebody.

2. My favorite color is blue
3. I think breakfast for dinner is awesome
4. I keep thinking that none of the things I am writing are interesting
5. I wish I could dance without looking like an uncoordinated rag doll

6. I am scared of heights, but I want to para-sailing

7. I would love to write something really important/good/popular/funny/life-altering
8. I want to learn to play the guitar
9. I must own a 4-wheeler at some point in my life
10. I love the fall
11. Summers in Southern AZ are probably my least favorite thing...ever
12. Even though it does no good, I have regrets
13. I would love to live somewhere on the east coast
14. I wish I didn't question myself so much
15. I love the boxed Mac and Cheese....Kraft brand

For lack of anything better to blog I present.....

30 Days of Blogging

Here is the list:

Day 1- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself.
Day 2 - The meaning behind your Blog name.
Day 3 -A picture of you and your friends.
Day 4 - A habit that you wish you didn't have.
Day 5 - A picture of somewhere you've been.
Day 6 - Your favorite Superhero and why.
Day 7 - A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you.
Day 8 - Short term goals for this month and why.
Day 9 - Something you're proud of in the past few days.
Day 10 - Songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyper, mad.
Day 11 - Another picture of you and your friends.
Day 12 - How you found out about Blogs and why you made one.
Day 13 - A letter to someone from your past.
Day 14 - A picture of you and your family.
Day 15 - Put your iPod on shuffle; first 10 songs that play.
Day 16 - Another picture of yourself.
Day 17 - Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why.
Day 18 - Plans/Dreams/Goals you have.
Day 19 - Nicknames you have; why do you have them?
Day 20 - Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21 - A picture of something that makes you happy.
Day 22 - What makes you different from everyone else.
Day 23 - Something you crave a lot.
Day 24 - A letter to your parents.
Day 25 - What I would find in your purse.
Day 26 - What you think about your friends.
Day 27 - Why are you doing this 30 day challenge?
Day 28 - A picture of you in the last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29 - In this past month what have you learned?
Day 30 - Who are you?

Thanksgiving....

This year I was extremely thankful to have Thanksgiving in Flagstaff with my family. We haven't all been together since July, although it's seemed like much longer. We got to Flagstaff early Wednesday evening and played hard til Sunday. No Kilgrow family gathering is complete without card games, M&M's, music, movies and ping pong. We also did the Annual Turkey Trot at Buffalo Park, sewed lots of pajama pants, decorated my parents Christmas tree, saw the movie Tangled (way cute) and topped it all off with hours of watching, cuddling, holding and gushing over Jaydin.
We had a great time and are so thankful for our families.

For some reason Jaydin really liked Andy's head. I guess the fuzzy texture of it. :-) He would sit on Andy's shoulders and just beat away at his head. One night we were sitting around reading Christmas stories...I had Jaydin on my lap and Andy was sitting on the floor in front of us. Jaydin reached out and just rested his hand against the back of Andy's head. It was so cute!

Thankful - Day 24

I am thankful for a safe drive up the mountain and finally being able to see my family.

Thankful - Day 22

Today I am thankful for students that make me laugh and that there is only 2 days til I get to see my family!

Thankful catch-up - Day 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

I slacked off a bit this week, but I am determined to finish!

On the:
17th - A day off

18th - Hanging out with a friend and seeing a good show the night before
19th - See a GREAT movie with friends!


20th - Seeing my parents, going to a great musical and seeing the most amazing fountain drink dispenser in the world.
21st - Rainy, cold weather