Football and Homecoming

October 10, 2010

Football

The weather this week was amazing! It was so gorgeous and warm-even hot some days. Bob and the kids went out to play football in the back yard several evenings. Kayla is a force to be reckoned with. I think she should petition to play with the high school team! The girls also went to the LINN-Mar Homecoming football and we won at the end of a very intense game- the 1^st time in like 20 years.

I didn’t even know it still existed

This has been the longest, worst week I have had in a long time. I had a horrible week at work, but I won’t go into that now. But something else weird happened…

So, Tuesday night Alayna said she wasn’t feeling well and a rash had started on her chest. By the morning the rash spread from Alayna’s head all the way to her toes. Her stomach hurt and she felt like she was going to throw up. So, I frantically tried to find a sub for my classes. I had to drag her with me to my classroom to set stuff up for the sub and leave sub notes. She started feeling worse and the rash started spreading across her face, so I called the dr and they told me I should bring her in. They did a strep test (where she gagged and started crying) and sure enough, not only does she have strep but she has scarlet fever!! Scarlet fever??? I didn’t even know it still existed! So, I had to go get her some meds, and she almost threw up in the car. We got her on the medication and then her fever spiked. It took me 3 hours to rock her to sleep that night because she was so miserable and her stomach was in so much pain.

The next morning she was even sicker. We couldn’t get the fever down, she wouldn’t eat, and her stomach hurt. I rocked her 3 hours again that night. By morning, I knew something was seriously wrong. I called the doctor on call and we came to the conclusion that Alayna was allergic to the amoxicillin. Once we got her on the new meds, she started doing better. Her fever FINALLY went down and the severe stomach cramps subsided, until the next day. Yesterday, she laid down again all day. Stomach hurt, fever kept spiking and now her bum is all chapped. She has finally started to eat a little but its hard getting anything down her.

Last night she and I were up all night again. So, I missed my 1^st 5k (which I was so sad about) and I slept until 1:00 because I feel and look like death. She still has the fever today and still laying down. I hope she feels better soon- bless her heart, this hasn’t been a good week for her.

Homecoming

The big day finally arrived. Marisa and friends got together at 1:00 to start doing their makeup and hair. I guarantee the boys didn’t take that long to get ready. She went with David Kaiser and they went with a huge group of youth from our ward and 2^nd ward. All the girls looked so beautiful. Almost every dress had to be altered to make it modest, but I was so proud of the girls for doing it. Thanks to Grandma Hart for the amazing job on Marisa’s dress!

They had a homemade dinner at Alissa’s house. Then they went to the dance and then came back to the house and played games. It sounds like they all had a wonderful evening.

Pink Hair, Poems, and Partying Saturday

October 3, 2010

Pink Hair

So, we had pink day on Friday. My hair is so dark that it came out more red than pink. I added glitter too. My students were very impressed that I actually did it, although some were disappointed it wasn’t bright “fluorescent” pink. I took pics of all the teachers but you cant see them very well. Our blonder teachers wore wigs.

(Sara and I- but the pic doesnt capture the pink very well)

(Alayna wanted hers done too)

Saturday

I need a vacation from Saturdays!! This Saturday, Bob and I actually went on a lunch date! Then we went grocery shopping. We have been working hard to plan out meals and NOT take the kids shopping with us. You would be amazed by how much we save.

Kayla and Justine babysat Rory (Beth’s daughter. Beth works on my team at school). They came over here in the afternoon and played.

We made 4 apple pies and 4 loaves of banana bread. I am here to say that the apple peeler machine is the most amazing invention in the whole wide world!! It was 10 times easier making apple pies when I didn’t have to cut and peel all 24 apples by hand!! We also picked all the rest of our tomatoes and made homemade pizza sauce and put it on our homemade pizza. We also watched “Prince of Persia” while I folded all the laundry. Marisa had a Symphony All State clinic at UNI. Then she and her quartet came here to practice for the wedding they are playing for in a few weeks. It’s pretty cool cooking in the kitchen while being serenaded by beautiful classical quartet music! Sara (who I work with) also came over with her daughter, Lanie,  to take a break from work, hang out, and help me with the pies.

(The peel from the apple machine)

(Alayna and Lanie making pies)

(Justine holding Rory while she wakes up from her nap)

(Kayla using the most amazing invention ever)

(Lanie, Alayna, and Rory playing Spongebob operation)

(Quartet practice)

(Playing on the playground)

(Getting the extra cinnamon apples)

(Rory, Alayna, Lanie)

(In the giant cardboard stove box they made into a fort)

(Playing football)

(Playing football- Tyler got tackled when Kayla jumped on his back and took him down)

(Alayna reading to Rory)

New stove

Bob got the new stove put in!! I was so excited! Tyler and Alayna wanted to make ramen for lunch. I threatened their lives if they made even one iota of a mess on the new stove. Well, I guess the ramen overflowed, Alayna got scared (knowing her very existence was in danger) so she used a washcloth to start cleaning it while it was still on. It burnt the washcloth, stained the stove, and scared her to death. So, we are still trying to scrub it off and she felt awful. I felt worse than she actually thought I was serious. Poor thing. I guess this is how we learn.

Poem Alayna wrote about herself using the letters of her name (in red)

Amazing

I Like pizza

A girl

Yo mama

Likes kNock knock jokes

HAs never been stung by a bee

Hungry

HAs friends

Rabbit lover

smarT

Hawks, Hail, and Helicopters!

Hawks, Hail, and Helicopters!

It was a really weird week. One day when I was taking Alayna to school, a huge helicopter flew right over our house. It looked like it was mere feet from our roof! It was super loud and we both stood there with our jaws dropped, staring at the sky. Right after the helicopter passed, a huge hawk with a giant wing span came soaring into our yard and landed on the tree house. Alayna and I were looking at each wondering what the heck was going on. I raced in the house to get the camera, but by the time I came out again, it was gone. Also, this week, a freak storm hit with golf ball size hail. I would have gotten a picture, but I was too busy trying to convince a room full of 6^th graders that we weren’t in the middle of Armageddon! My poor van has dimples all over it.

Apple pies

We made 4 apple pies this week and we got pretty creative with the top part. We baked one of them in the toaster oven (our oven has been broken since Alaynas baptism) and it was so yummy! We have another huge crop coming in so this weekend we are declaring “Apple Day” and will bake til we drop.

Things that make me go “huh?”

Here are some school funnies that happened this week:

One of the questions on the Daily Geography test this week was “What two countries border Mongolia?” Now, mind you, this exact question was covered in class and we even showed it on the class map and their atlases. One of my students wrote “Salt Lake City and Provo!” Bet you didn’t know those are countries that border Mongolia!

Same test, same explanation as above. The question was “What continent does Central America belong to? One kid said “Denver”.

Another day, while working on Daily Geography, I saw that a student was getting frustrated.

Student: Mrs. Hart, I cant find North Dakota for the life of me!

Me: Ok, where are you looking?

Student: I’m trying to find a close up map of Iowa because I KNOW its in Iowa but I just don’t see it.

Yep- my job is SO not boring.

Things I have learned this week:

~Tyler woke up on Tuesday morning running around like a loon saying he was late for jazz band. Um, you are in jazz band? Apparently he had auditioned and made it and “forgot” to tell us. So, congrats to Tyler on this cool new activity to participate in.

~Do any of you know what “jeggings” are? Apparently it’s this new type of pants- they are skin tight (like Leggings) but made out of jeans- hence the “jeggings” name. Weird, right?

~Did you know that the only type of pink hair dye spray they make here is “fluorescent”? Just what I need-hair streaks you can see from space! Big day is this Friday.

~I’m going to suggest to Congress that they pass a law which says in order to be a parent you must spend an entire week with a teenage girl trying to find an appropriate Homecoming dress that is “the one”. I think people would think twice about having kids.

Ok, so I won’t go into the details about how many stores and how many hours we spent looking for a dress. You wouldn’t believe me even if I did. Apparently the new “style” of homecoming dress is to make sure it as low cut as possible, no sleeves, and as short as your undies are. After several huge failed attempts, I got a brilliant idea (it was either this or I become a homicidal maniac). I said we should look for long dresses and cut them off. So, that opened up many more possibilities. So, this week we went to David’s bridal again (the 3^rd time) and she tried on every dress her size, that was long on the clearance rack. (That is not an exaggerated statement-trust me!) After 2 ½ hours, we got it narrowed down to 3. She loved the yellow one, I hated it. I loved the red one, she wasn’t excited about it. FINALLY, one of the ladies that worked there said, “Do you mind if I give my opinion? You guys have been here longer than I have!” So, thank heavens she liked the red one more. Marisa looks so stunning in it. (I just think she doesn’t like how it shows she has a figure). So, we bought it (a $200 dress for $40!!) and Grandma Hart, the amazing magician that she is, cut it and fixed it! So, I will include the original dress picture and you can see the fixed one at Homecoming.

Misc Extras:

Tyler and his partner won their match again this week. 4-0

I finished Al Capone does my Shirts this week. It’s a Newbery Honor book and I loved it. It’s about a boy whose family moves to Alcatraz because his father gets a job as a guard there (during 1935). His sister is autistic and how that affects him and his family. A really sweet book. (Based on the true history of Alcatraz).

Raspberries, pink hair, and a squishy helmet

Raspberry heaven

I keep forgetting to share our raspberry success. We have had them coming out of our ears and absolutely love it! We make this amazing chocolate raspberry pie, raspberry syrup (for crepes), and we freeze the rest to have with cereal or chocolate ice cream. The crop is almost done and I didn’t take any pictures, but I’m already looking forward to the spring crop in April.

Pink Hair

Was anyone “dyeing” to know why I am dying my hair pink? Well…our school had a magazine fundraiser to raise money for all the clubs and sports we have. Several of us teachers agreed that we would dye our hair pink if the 6^th graders made their goal of $7000. We knew they wouldn’t make it since they haven’t the past few years. Not only did they make their goal, but they tripled it!! So, we are dying our hair pink (although I only agreed to streak mine). We are using the stuff that should wash out in a week. I’m gonna look like a geek this week, but whatever…(will include pics next week)

Book Review

Dairy Queen- I just finished this week and it was awesome! The author is brilliant and it is such a funny book. So, if you are looking for an easy read, this is a great one.

I’m almost done with Life as we knew it which is also a great book. Its about what life would be like if the moon was knocked out of its orbit. Very thought provoking.

Busy Saturday

We went out to a trail to go bike riding while the girls went up for the Stake Activity all day in Cedar Falls. The trail was so fun and the weather couldn’t have been lovelier. As we were backing out to go home, we heard this loud crashing sound. I thought Bob ran over a bike. Instead, we found out that Bob had run over his helmet with the car! Here it is….

Misc

Marisa auditioned and made 6th chair in the 1st violins of the symphony orchestra. She is very excited. She also made chamber again. She also qualified to attend all state auditions (you have to pre-qualify at your school 1^st) and will audition Oct 23.

Kayla auditioned on her clarinet and made 9^th chair. She was very happy. I think her 1^st concert for concert band is next month.

Tyler had a tennis meet on Tuesday. They play til a team wins 6 games. It was 0-5 and then they made an AMAZING comeback. Soon, I was 5-5 and then went to a tiebreaker. The other team won by 2 points! It was so close!! Then, they won their meet Thursday 4-0!

We found out how Marisa feels about buttering waffles.

Alayna also made a “train house” out of the dominoes and trains.  So cute!

How to ask someone to Homecoming…

Marisa asked David Kaiser (in another ward) to Homecoming. He couldn’t make the big teen hangout we had here, so she got everyone to help participate to make pictures that spell out homecoming. Then she printed the photos and put cardstock on the back. She put them in a shoe box and dropped it off to his house when he was gone to a fireside. He called the minute she walked back in the door to say yes! She was so excited! Anyway, here are the pics…..

How do YOU exercise?

“Life is like a game of tennis; the player who serves well seldom loses”

Tyler made the Team 1 tennis team for doubles! He and his partner won their 1^st match on Thursday. Tyler is thinking tennis is pretty dang cool. He also starts jazz band at the end of this month.

Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape. ~Author Unknown

One day Marisa decided to do yoga to one of my old tapes. Tyler said he would just sit there and watch her. She said “No way! You are doing this WITH me!” I snuck downstairs and this is what I saw…

When he saw that I took the picture, his response was, “Mom! You stink!”

"You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can't know what's coming." - Frank Shorter

We went to the track yesterday as a family to practice for the 5k coming up. I shaved almost 7 minutes off my time since the last time we went to the track. I thought that was pretty impressive. Bob spends most of his time running backwards, but whatever works, right? The one we are running as a family is 1 month away and I doing another one the week before that. My goal is to not come in last!

Dancing and kick the can

It was our turn to host the teen hangout night. So, we set up the stereo and they danced for a while, played kick ball, and had fun out back. When it got dark, they played kick-the-can for about 2 hours or so. Then they came inside, had s’mores and played games downstairs until midnight. I think/hope everyone had a great time. I, for one, know I must be getting old since staying up that late is getting more and more difficult!

Misc. Stuff

I’m the proud new sponsor of the school monopoly club. I had a student approach me and ask if I would sponsor it. Maybe it’s because I’m so cool?

We had TONS of apples, so we made homemade applesauce and apple crisp with Corey on Monday. It all turned out amazingly good! We have more apples coming- I smell an apple pie on the way….(I forgot to take pictures!)

Kayla made Alayna a pillow for her birthday!

Tyler and Bob were supposed to go on the Father/Son Campout, but it rained, and they were chickens, so they stayed home.  Tyler was trying to help out to make the foil dinners (which we decided obviously to cook here instead)  Anyway, I came to check on things and this is what I found.  I wonder if Tyler should go on one of those chef shows??

Book Reviews:

My favorite new books are National Geographic photobiographies. I would say they are “fascinating” but then Marisa would make fun of me for using that word (she says I use it too much). Anyway, I have read Triumph on Everest: a photobiography of Sir Edmund Hillary and Dragon Bones and Dinosaur Eggs: a photobiography of explorer Roy Chapman Andrews. Both easy reads, but very super cool! If you love forensic anthropology like I do, then you would really like this award winner called Written in Bone : buried lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland. If you are looking for a fiction book, I just finished another book by Jordan Sonnenblick called Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, which was excellent as usual. Such a gifted writer!

*Special Note: Tune in next week to see why I am dying my hair pink…