Stuck in "Groundhog Day"

It's snowing again. As much as I love "snow days", I could do without so much snow. The temp's have been so cold here that I haven't let the boys go outside and play in it...until today. I think we hit a balmy 20 degrees today, and there isn't any wind yet, so they were anxious to get outside in it.

Two Week Vacation

One of the great advantages of being a teacher is vacation time. (Snow days are the other great advantage, but that topic is for another post.)  Semester break usually gives us a two-week vacation, as it did this year. I had great plans to accomplish all sorts of things (as I do every semester break).  Here are my Top 5 Big Accomplishments and my Top 5 Should’ve-Gotten-Done.

Top Five Accomplishments

5. Two trips to Nebraska. (This was quite an accomplishment, thanks to the fantastic weather.  The blizzard wasn’t as much fun as it would be if you’re stuck in your own home.)

4. Semester Finals. (I graded all my Senior finals and hope to finish grading the 10th grade finals tonight and tomorrow.  We still have our teacher workday on Monday, but it’s always filled with meetings and training, and I really need to do some serious planning.)

3. Reading. (I got to read two books and start a third. It’s really hard to find reading time for pleasure.  However, I had a little bit of extra time…see #5 on list as to why.)

2. Holiday Decorating. (I got the tree up. This is something I dread every year, but I know it’s something the boys would really miss if we didn’t put it up. I even got a few other things put out this year, including a wreath on my front door!)

1. Cleaning. (This is on both lists because I got more done than I normally would while working, but I didn’t get as much done as I’d like to have accomplished. It sure helped that Mom and Dad got me a new vacuum for Christmas. Thanks!)

Top 5 Should’ve-Gotten-Done

5. Cleaning. (I might as well start with this one since I’ve already mentioned it. As much as I feel a sense of accomplishment with SOME of the cleaning, I still look around to a messy house which needs some deep cleaning.)

4. Taking Down Holiday Decorations. (Yep. They’re still up, and they’re probably going to remain up until March.  The tree is especially difficult to take down, as it’s too heavy, and it’s hard to find a good storage place for it.)

3. Planning for School. (I just dread this. I should’ve taken care of planning for the first part of second semester while on break, but I just couldn’t get myself to do it. I have a teacher workday on Monday, but I know it’s not going to be enough time. Planning for the seniors is especially challenging, mainly because there aren’t any resources for them.)

2. Laundry. (It’s so cold right now and I don’t want to go into the even colder garage. My laundry room is in my garage, so if I want to get this accomplished, I have to be willing to go in and out of the garage. I’ll do what I can tomorrow, but it’s just too COLD.)

1. Sleep. (Breaks are for sleeping in and taking naps. I don’t feel very rested.  Due to travelling, boys getting up early, me staying up late, watching scary movies…etc, etc…I’m feeling a little sleep deprived right now. Maybe I can get more sleep when I’m back to work, getting up at 4:45 a.m.)

One Frozen Bunny

I traveled to Nebraska on Wednesday to pick the boys up from Grandma and Grandpa's house. They stayed a couple of days so Mom could get a few things done without them hanging around. While driving to Schuyler, I snapped this picture of the sunset. I was at a stop sign, so it was easy to take this picture, but what I really wanted was pictures of the giant snow drifts. Unfortunately, every place that had the giant drifts also had no place to pull over and take pictures. So, I decided this picture would be my one and only for the trip back to Schuyler.

While we were leaving, Grandpa noticed something strange at the bottom of the steps. As you can see from the pictures, a bunny tried to climb its way into the bottom of the panneling. Poor bunny. It didn't make it.

I sure hope that wasn't the Easter bunny!

When You’re Snowed In…

Here are a couple of pictures from our snowed-in days at the Broekers’ house. 

 

Evan decided he’d like to learn Origami while at Amy’s house.  We actually made it out to the public library one night and this is an origami dog.  With Madison’s help, Evan made this origami dog for Mom.

 

I think this picture speaks for itself. Hmmmm…I know a few boys who need to get out of the house!

A Very Snowy Christmas

Happy Snowy Christmas! Wow! Christmas 2009 is one to remember! The boys and I went to Lincoln, Nebraska to spend Christmas with the family. We left a couple of days early because of all the projected bad weather. Well, this was one winter storm that the weathermen didn't exaggerate. The Blizzard of 2009 (as I'm sure it'll be remembered) kept us stranded at Amy's house for a couple of extra days. After the roads opened up a bit, the boys went to visit with Grandma and Grandpa while I came back to KC for some kid-free time. The above picture is what I came home to. More snow. Hrrummph!

I thought this was a cute picture of Xander with the presents. The bow on top of his head makes him all the more adorable!

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without Dad's prime rib. It was yummy. And despite the near-coronary attack I give Dad every year, I still put ketchup on it.

Santa brought Dylan a Nintendo DS Bakugan game. (Evan got the same. Santa sure knows how to avoid brotherly fighting in my house!)

Grant was very good at helping everyone open presents this year. :)

Despite the yucky weather, we went to the Broekers' church for Christmas Eve. These family pictures were taken after church services at St. Mark's. (The Broekers - Grant, Andy, Madison, Tyler and Amy)

The Carters (Evan, Jill, and Dylan)

The Vests (Xander, Sarah, and Todd)

The Vests (Betty and Doug)

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Harvesters

Recently, a group of students approached me with the idea for starting a book club. As an English teacher, I was so excited to get this started. (Who wouldn't want to work with a bunch of motivated teenagers?) Anyway, the group (23 students) decided to read one book a month, but they wanted to do more than just reading; when the opportunity is there, they also want to give back to our community. So, our book club is also about volunteering and contributions. Our first book Pay It Forward was donated by the Pay It Forward Foundation; they sent us signed copies of the book. It was a very fitting book to get us started, as we decided to start our community contributions right away, too.

My group, along with the Read 180 and ELL classes, went to Harvesters last week to take a tour and volunteer our time. Our group spent the day sorting donated goods. They had a lot of fun in the process, and they definitely want to go back.

I'm very fortunate to work with such a great group of teenagers! (The pictures aren't great because I took them with my camera. By the way, I don't think BlackBerrys have very good camera phones.)

A Winter Program

These last few weeks sure have been busy ones! I'm glad we're home today (snow day) so I can catch up on a few things. While I have a minute, I thought I'd post a couple of pictures from Evan's winter program last night.

"Christmas at the Okay Corral" was last night, despite the incoming yucky weather. They still had a good turnout for the program. Evan's favorite song was "Sticky Situation" because of the "sticky strings" they attached to their pockets and pulled on during the program. (Amy - That reminds me of the kid I had in class a few years ago who sang 'Sticky Notes' all throughout my class.)

Anyway, it was very cute! They all had a great time.