Marisa's is on the far left

Living Like a Foo

January 31, 2010

Cause I’m a Foo…

One day we were talking about how we were going to switch rooms around and rearrange. I told Kayla this was her chance to get her own room. She said she didn’t want her own room because someone may sneak in and kill her. She must think Alayna has some sweet Ninja skills and could protect her should any harm arise. When I asked why she is so worried she blurted out really fast, “Cause I’m a Foo!” She must have comedic timing because it was hilarious and we all just about died laughing (including her.) I’m still not exactly sure what a “foo” is, but she moved downstairs to share a room with Alayna. Now you know why we have see-through shower-liners too!

(Making Valentines)

Keep it secret that I am a teacher:

Apparently this whole month, I have been spelling “Lightning Thief’ wrong. How embarrassing. I should have realized my mistake, but lo, I was so caught up in the beauty and magic of the book, that looking up the correct spelling was impossible. Yep, that’s how it was…and I’m sticking to it!

Story of my life:

Way to go, Kayla (oh you frozen jello you!) on updating your blog! I would say I have to cease and desist with the teenager jokes, BUT one teen did not update her blog which makes her fair game this week (plus its fun cause she is such a good sport). Marisa’s new phrase is “Story of my life” followed by a massive eye roll. She can fit it into almost every situation. We made a secret game this week to see how many times she did it- way too many, so I lost count. The funniest one, though, was when we were at choir and sang this warm up called “Iknow…Iknow, I know, I know”. She looked right at me and said “Story of my life!” Goofball!

The sweet taste of success

Did anyone here my universal scream?? What a relief to have it all done. All my observations were a HUGE success! Unfortunately I didn’t have a camera with me when I did my jig of joy. Picture, if you will, a leprechaun doing an Irish jig while simultaneously doing the running man and cabbage patch and chanting “I’m done! I’m done! I’m done!!!”

There are still honest people left in the world?

To celebrate, we went as a family to Pancheros for dinner and Cold Stone for dessert (even though it was almost -15 with the wind-chill.) Apparently, while we were eating, a lady hit Bob’s car and almost ripped off the front bumper. (It looks like its hanging by a few threads!) Anyway, I guess she waited in her car for almost an hour trying to figure out who the driver was to give them her information! She could have very easily left and no one would have known. I was so impressed that she honest and actually stayed around to give us her information. Marisa was the one most devastated. It will be her car in a few months- you should have seen her face! (Picture the boy from Home Alone when he put aftershave on)

OCD on Steroids

Then we entered the next phase of our lives which can only be described as OCD on steroids. I am really thinking our kids will need therapy for years to come after living with me. We started on Tyler’s room. It took about 1 ½ days. We rearranged and cleaned every square inch. He is now rocking a pretty spectacular Bionicle display and is LOVING his new Avatar poster he got.

We spent the weekend changing the girls room, not just rearranging but actually exchanging rooms. (Yes, more proof that I am steadily losing it). It made sense to move Kayla and Alayna downstairs since the room is bigger and move Marisa upstairs to the warmer room since on most days she drags herself upstairs for seminary looking like Frosty the Snowman! Everyone is thrilled with the moves (except for my back.) You will HAVE To tune in next week for the great unveil of the girls rooms. For now, you can enjoy the totally awesome boys room.

(A wordle made for Tyler by Kayla)

Ever experienced the “awkward pause” in a situation?

Alayna had her open house at school this week. We had to stand in line to get our scrumptious spaghetti dinner. We were chatting and then there was that long awkward pause when no one has anything entertaining to say, when all of the sudden Marisa made this weird hand gesture and posed. We all stood there staring at her, wondering if we should claim her or pretend we had no idea what family she belonged to. She said that’s the new thing…if there’s an awkward pause, then you make one of the “awkward” signs and it gets the conversation rolling again. So, being the awesome mother that I am, I made them pose for the camera so you can learn what to do should this situation arise. You’re welcome!

(The awkward turtle)

(The awkward turkey)

(The awkward palm tree)

(The awkward snail)

(the awkward baby turtles)

(Last, but not least, my very favorite…the awkward starfish!)

Mom’s Brag Corner: (Although this could be a weekly feature, I will try to refrain from too much of that annoying motherly bragging. But I cant really help it when my kids are so cool!)

*Marisa was once again chosen for the High School Metro Orchestra. It is made up of the top kids from each high school in the CR metro area. They had an amazing concert last night which we taped and hope to get posted on the blog. Man is she getting good! The Brahms piece was my favorite! Her conductor looks exactly like that cartoon conductor with the huge grey curly hair and so animated it was like watching him dance. He was so cool!

*Kayla got the 2 most coveted pages of the year book! She is so excited and has put together some really cool stuff. When it comes out in June I will post them online.

*Tyler finished off the Lightning Thief series. (notice the correct spelling this time!) That kid reads so fast. It’s nice to know someone is inheriting some of my finer traits. I also bought him the “Demigod Files” and “Percy Jackson and The Olympians: the Official Guide”. And he is almost done with those too. Now if I could only made household chores as intriguing…

*As I mentioned earlier, we had Alayna’s open house this week. She is quite the story writer. I am sure her teacher thinks our family is full of psychos. She also auditioned for a singing part and speaking part in her upcoming school musical thingy. I was so proud of her for being so brave. We will let you know when she gets the results.

*Bob and Marisa were the lucky speakers at church today and both did a fantastic job! You need to get a hold of Bob to ask him about the funny joke he started his talk off with!

Raising Teenagers is Like Nailing Jello to a Tree!

Raising teenagers is like nailing Jello to a tree…

But I shall keep hammering away until I succeed. So, if you drive by our house and see a rainbow assortment of jello sliding down our tree, you will know its just me practicing. However, my analogy is ruined because in Iowa the Jello would be frozen and therefore, the difficulty would be obsolete.

You will never guess what we got this week…Ice storm!

I bet you all guessed snow, right? Well, haha, we ended up with an ice storm. School was cancelled and I slept forever. It was heaven (well, my idea of heaven without the chocolate). The kids, on the other hand, couldn’t wait to use the massively sloping ice rink that our driveway has become. I can’t tell you how many times the kids have slipped and fallen on the ice. I am surprised we don’t have any broken bones around here. I heard a great quote on Gilmore girls the other day: “Snow is nothing but annoying icy frozen water stuff that falls out of the sky at inconvenient times”. Amen! Have you ever seen ice covered raspberry bushes? Its quite stunning. If it hadn’t been 95 degrees below zero, I would have ventured outside to capture its beauty. Speaking of things that bedazzle…

Awards that Bedazzle and sparkle:

In staff meeting this week, I was awarded a “bedazzled” coffee mug for winning the staff NWEA tutorial competition. It even has sparkling crowns on it! I Know! I feel so special. I am also currently in 3^rd place in our school fitness challenge. First place is the PE teacher who is young, newly married, and no kids! I firmly believe that amount of children, age, and amount of “issues” people have should be calculated into our totals. I would be winning by a long shot!

Bitten by the “Lightening Thief” bug:

Ok, so here is how the conversation has gone the past 2 weeks. “Mom you HAVE to read Lightening Thief” “Ok, I will!”…Next Day: “Mom, what page are you on?” “I’m on page 1” “Mom! You HAVE to read this book!” Next Day: “Mom, what page are you on?” “I’m on page 2” “Mom! You HAVE to read this book!!” etc. I FINALLY gave in and started reading and now I am totally hooked! Its so exciting and well written and we are SO excited for the movie coming out! If you like an easy read and mythology, this series is totally for you! Should we have a contest to see who can read them all first?

Tyler and the Basketball magnet

I got to go to Tyler’s basketball game yesterday and was amazed at how much he has improved since last year. Getting rebounds is definitely his thing. I also discovered that I am indeed a basketball magnet. I got hit 3 times and had 3 serious near misses! One time the ref said that ball was mine and I should’ve taken it down the court. Now THAT would have been something to see. Those who were fortunate enough to see me in my basketball career are relieved that my camping chair sinks so low that popping out of it, and racing down the court like a lunatic, would have been impossible.

Pure awesomeness:

As I was trying to take a picture of Bob today, I commented that my camera wouldn’t focus correctly. Then Bob matter-of-factly stated, “That’s because cameras can’t capture awesomeness.” Enough said.

Don’t forget to listen for the universal scream of joy:

My pre-observation (along with the 7 page paper that accompanied it) went great on Friday. He will observe me M/T/W and the post-observation is Thursday. If you are lucky I will tape my jig of joy for you and post it. It will come in handy if you are ever sad and need something to mock.

PS-Apology:

I apologize that all newsletters are from my point of view and my point of view only. My descendants keep choosing not to update their blogs. So, I said maybe I will just have to keep doing silly jokes about the challenges of raising teenagers until they do. As you can see, the jokes are still coming your way.

The Lightening Thief with a Chance of Meatballs and Titans?

   

January 17, 2010

“How to tell if you are a real teacher”

Real teachers never sit down without first checking the seat of the chair.

Real teachers know the best end of semester lesson plans can come from Blockbuster.

Real teachers cheer when they hear April 1 does not fall on a school day.

Real teachers have never heard an original excuse.

Real teachers buy Excedrin and Advil at Sam's.

Real teachers hear the heartbeats of crisis; always have time to listen; know they teach students, not subjects; and they are absolutely non-expendable.

I wish people really knew how hard we teachers work. I literally spent 12 hours straight yesterday working on this 3 day observation. Make a point to listen very carefully on January 27 at 1:20 and you will hear my universal scream of relief. Tell me if you hear it!

Children know more than we think they do:

Lately Alayna has not wanted to go to school. I suspect it’s because her awesome teacher will be going on maternity leave soon. The other day I asked her why she doesn’t want to go and she said, “Well, you don’t like to go to school and I don’t ask you what the heck is wrong with you…” Touché my dear, touché!

(Alayna at “Great to be 8”)

Cosmic pinball:

Tyler had his school science musical this week and I got to see the whole thing. It was awesome! He was very animated and dramatic. I am REALLY hoping he tries show choir next year. Hopefully Bob can post some of it that I taped.

The Lightening Thief with a Chance of Meatballs and Titans?

We watched “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” and it was absolutely adorable!! I can’t wait to see it again. I think the kids movies lately have become so awesome! The movie “Up” was wonderful too! How do they keep coming up with such great stuff?

 

Tyler has been whizzing through the “Lightening Thief” series. He sent me to the store to get the rest of the series, but they didn’t have the last book. He is a few pages from finishing the 3^rd one and begs me on a daily basis to read the first one. We just saw the trailer for the movie today and we are TOTALLY stoked. We also saw the trailer for the new “Clash of the Titans” and we are so excited!! Anyone want to go with us?

Electric violin?

Marisa was asked to perform with the high school show choir this week. She got to stand on a box, on the risers, and play an electric violin! How cool is that?? She played for their concert on Thursday night and their big regional show choir competition on Saturday. I heard she was awesome! Wish we had gotten a picture to show you.

Now who’s hogging the art genes?

It’s no secret that I didn’t get any of the art genes. My brother, Jonathan, hogged them all. My students mock me on a daily basis because even my stick people are crooked. Kayla just finished up her art class at school and I was surprised by how awesome her artwork was. I have taken some pictures to show you. I see another emerging artist…

(Kaylas art)

Saturday is a “friend day”, it’s the day we “get out of moms hair” day!

As I said before, I worked 12 hours straight on work stuff. So, I let everyone have a friend or 2 over. Kayla had two friends over. They made brownie bites, “wordles”, and makeovers. Tyler had a friend over and they played computer games and wii. Alayna had a friend over to play barbies, dress up, and hide and go seek. The funniest thing was when Tyler was playing with them and he couldn’t find them anywhere. He was getting really frustrated and then Brie’s mom came over and we couldn’t find the girls anywhere!! After a good 10 minutes, we found them in the garage hiding in Bob’s car. How’s that for a first impression with a mom you have never met before. “Um, I think your kid is here somewhere but I cant find them…” Yikes!

(

(Kayla with friends Katie and Morgan)

(Wordle)

24 starts tonight!!! Woot woot!!!

2009 Year In Pictures

Our 2009 Year In Pictures slideshow is finished and ready to view.

http://www.photodex.com/sharing/viewalbum?bm=67415

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If a fairy died every time a teenager rolled their eyes…

then we would have fairies dropping like flies over here!  It’s almost comical.  I can get at least one teen to eye roll no matter what I say or do.  I told them if they keep it up, then their eyes will get stuck up there.  That launched into a giant discussion about all the “lies” we told them when they were younger like: “if you keep crossing your eyes, they will stay that way”, “if you swallow gum, it stays in your stomach for 7 years”, etc. 

You will never guess what we got this week…MORE SNOW!  Is anyone surprised??

Creative Boredom:

What happens when the temperature and wind-chill are so low, that it makes going out to build a snowman impossible.  So, you must become creative with your indoor activities.  Actually I would LOVE to try being bored again.  I have forgotten what it is like.  Anyway, here are pics of this weeks “creative boredom buster”!  They will make you totally wish you were here!

Other Happenins’:

 

I FINALLY OFFICIALLY completed my professional portfolio.  You would be shocked if I told you how many hours it took.  Once I finish my huge, scary, intense 3 day observation I will be in the home stretch.

Tyler’s musical (where he has a main part) will be this week.  I hope I can get some pics of it.  They have been working hard on it and he is so excited.  He also discovered the “lightening thief” and hasn’t been able to put the book down.  I had to go buy him the next book.  I hope to read it soon too. 

My school “required” that we all do the 10 tutorials over the NWEA testing.  To make it “fun” they made it into a contest: whoever did all 10 tutorials (took about 15 hours) and does it the fastest wins.  Apparently, I won.  I was supposed to be “crowned” on Thursday during the staff meeting, but it was cancelled due to the early release.  I hear the crown “sparkles and bedazzles”….

Marisa and I started a wellness challenge with her friend, Desi.  I also entered the wellness challenge at work.

Well, I guess that’s about it for this week of adventures.  What will next week bring?  More snow?

You might live in the Hart household if...

January 4, 2010

If you find 10 degrees 'a little chilly', you might live in Iowa
Who knew that I would actually find 10 degrees tolerable?? When we left to church this morning, the wind-chill was -28! There’s nothing quite like driving to church with the sun coming up and the snow glittering like sparkling diamonds…only those sparkles are screaming at you “We could TOTALLY freeze your butt and face off in a matter of minutes!” Granted I wouldn’t mind my butt disappearing, but I prefer that it not get frozen off in the Iowa wasteland I now call Siberia! (The heat never turned on in the chapel.) The other day temps got up enough to turn the snow into a little slush and I was loving it so much that I didn’t even wear a coat! That probably won’t happen again until May.

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you might live in Iowa
You might think that anyone who would wear an outfit like that in Iowa would be completely daft. However, I can’t tell you how many times Tyler has worn that to school. I finally had to hide his shorts so he would quit wearing them in the dead of winter.
Then this morning, Marisa walked out in a t-shirt and knee length skirt! Um, hello…its winter here people! She wore gold slip-on shoes. When I asked why she didn’t wear the warm, cozy boots she has for winter, she stated (while looking at me like I was an idiot) “They don’t match my outfit”. You should have seen the look on her face when I suggested she wear tights! I’d wear a fur-lined body suit if I could get away with it.

If you carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you might live in Iowa
I do have them, but I still don’t know how to use them. We almost had to today because Bob’s car froze to death, protested, and wouldn’t start. Bob had to open the hood and shake the cables to wake it up enough to start.
If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you might live in Iowa
Even though we are past Halloween, we still have to worry about what will fit under a snow suit. When I dressed Alayna on our first major snow day, she looked like the kid on “A Christmas Story”, I kid you not! When we got her in the car, with her backpack on, there was no way the seatbelt was going to go over her. She looks like a giant blue Michelin man!

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, you might live in Iowa.

If you are so bored that you have nothing better to do than to see which members of your family can fit in the dryer, you might live in the Hart house
Alayna somehow came up with the great idea to see if she could fit in the dryer. (Don’t worry, we covered safety procedures as well as shared the story of the dead cat) Soon, Kayla and Tyler decided they had to try. We took pictures to document and prove that they could do it.

In other news unrelated to our unrelenting weather:
We had a fantastic vacation but it passed way too quickly. I assume that’s it’s a bad sign that we are counting down the days until Spring Break?
Marisa had some friends down to visit from Fayette (you may have seen the picture of John on facebook in a pic with Marisa) John and his sister came over along with another friend named Alex (part of the snowman crew). They played games, watched movies and hung out. I wanted to get pics but I didn’t want Marisa to die of embarrassment, so I refrained.

The girls had several friends over for a slumber party (They didn’t go to bed until 7:00am!) They played all sorts of games and watched Night at the Museum 2 (which has some brilliant lines and interchanges in it!)
We watched the Bourne Trilogy, Gilmore Girls (All of season 4), and I found a new favorite show “Criminal Minds”. We also had several Phase 10 tournaments (I swear Kayla cheats), game nights and Tyler and Marisa went with me to see “2012” which is the most awesomest disaster movie EVER! What a way to start out the new year!