out of practice...

Feels like forever since I've done this blogging thing. I'm hoping that I'll finally be able to get back in the swing of things. Not that I care that much about posting myself, but I sure do miss reading all your posts!!!

Summer is finally approaching, and I could not be happier about it!!!! I finally managed to get everything done for Annie's school year. Hopefully she will finish up tomorrow, so I can write up the final quarterly report over the weekend. I tell you, my brain is just drained beyond drained. I am soooooo glad we decided to take the summer off from school this year!

The boys' field days are tomorrow. And then they just have Monday and Tuesday before their school year is over. That is if they don't come down with the swine flu before then. I really wish I was joking about that. But I got a call last night from my neighbor across the street. Her son, who plays with Gray and Max nearly every day after school and who Gray sits with most days on the bus, has it. Actually our health department has declared it's at epidemic levels in the county. Whatever that means. I know, I know, it's just the flu. But Annie and Max both have lung issues so we tend to worry more about them with things like this.

And I got a call from the school today. Seems there was an "incident" on the bus. I was told that Max got a cut under his eye when a 5th-grader stupidly opened an umbrella. I was told that Max's teacher and the assistant principal talked to Max, Gray, and this kid, and all assured them that it was not malicious, just bone-headed. However, when the boys got home, I got a totally different story. The boys both told me that the kid not only definitely aimed the umbrella right at Max's face, but then laughed when the umbrella hit Max and Max started crying. I also found out that this is the kid who has bullied Gray in the past. And the boys both said they told the assistant principal this. Needless to say, the school got a call from one very upset mommy! Max is fine, but this cut is seriously only about 3/4 of an inch from his eye...and I'm just so angry that they're just trying to sweep it under the rug. I was promised that they would speak to this boy again tomorrow and see if they could get him to admit that he did it on purpose. Otherwise, what can they do? Gee, I don't know...I guess wait until he "really" hurts someone. Sorry, I know I don't sound particularly forgiving here. But I wasn't angry when I believed it was just a kid not using his common sense...heck, that can happen to anyone. But when I found out that not only was it deliberate, but that the school lied to me about what my boys told them had happened, well...let's just say I'm not feeling particularly happy right now.

Geez...I'm just a rambling barrel of laughs here, aren't I? Perhaps I should go back into exile...

I promise if my attitude doesn't improve by tomorrow, I'll just extend my "blogging break" and spare you all, okay?

looking for a way to freak a parent out?

If so, I've got an idea for you. Call said parents and leave this message on their voice mail:

Hello. This is (fill in name), the social worker from (fill in name of school that their child attends). I'm calling because (fill in children's names) teachers each raised a concern about (again fill in children's names). Please give me a call. Thank you.

Be sure to make the message as cryptic as possible without giving any clue as to what said "concern" might be. Believe me, I speak from personal experience, this will leave the parent in an utterly complete state of panic and worry until they are able to find out what is going on.

Yep, that "utterly complete state of panic and worry" is what Rich and I were experiencing for a few hours last night. The phone rang during supper, but we ignored it because we tend to treat supper as sacred family time. But afterward, when we checked the message, that is what we heard. Of course, we immediately called her back, and of course, she had left for the day. As I'm sure you could imagine, every scary scenario possible was running through our minds. Looking back, I guess we shouldn't have been so upset, for if it had been some sort of real emergency or major problem, the social worker (which I didn't even know the school had up until this point) surely would have called earlier in the day.

Anyway, I immediately sent each of the boys' teachers an e-mail. I didn't really expect that either of them would check their work e-mail until this morning, but I figured it couldn't hurt to try. And I'm glad I did, because I got a call from Max's teacher two hours later. I could just tell how horrible she felt when I told her about the message we got. She couldn't believe that the social worker didn't just tell us what it was about instead of leaving us that extremely vague message.

So, what was it all about? She wanted to tell us that the boys were shy!!! Gee, ya think? We've only had that one figured out for several years now.

O.K., she also wanted to tell us about this program they have that is just for kids who are shy and have trouble speaking up, and offer this program to the boys if we agreed. So, while in the end, all was well, I think in the process she managed to take a few years off our lives.

*****

Totally unrelated:

Dewey has another great giveaway going on...this time boxes of holiday books. Head over here to find out how to win. (I'm not entering because I just won two fabulous boxes of books from Dewey during the read-a-thon, and there's certainly no call for being greedy, is there?)

odds 'n' ends of this 'n' that

*Need anymore proof that Carl's picture should be in the dictionary illustrating generosity? If so, take a look at the necklace Annie's wearing here, and then pop over here to read the story.



*Little boys are tough on the heart. If they're not causing you palpations with their daring antics, or bringing on chest pains with their trouble-making ways, then they're melting it to pieces with their sweetness.



*We've discovered a new species of shark inhabiting the upstate New York area. We've named it the kinder shark (short for kindergarten). Check out this specimen's lower teeth!



*Today's been a big day for Miss Annie, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to post about that later, because frankly it's been a bit tough on her old mom.

Emily's Runaway Imagination...random thoughts

Well, I've finally finished up a few books. I'm sure you'll be thankful that I'm sparing you reviews of The Endocrine and Reproductive Systems and The Human Lifecycle. However, if you ever are in the market for some middle school level books on the subject, I can definitely recommend both.

Okay, now on to Emily's Runaway Imagination. It seems hard to believe, but I'm pretty sure this is the first book I've ever read by Beverly Cleary. While I was a pretty avid reader as a kid, I do not remember ever reading any of her books. It's possible I may have, but if so, they didn't leave an impression. The impetus for trying her out now was Becky's Celebrate the Author Challenge. Each of my selections for this challenge was made with the boys in mind. But I must admit that Emily's Runaway Imagination was not the book I had originally chosen. I had planned on reading Ralph S. Mouse, as that sounded like a book both the boys and I would enjoy. Well, wouldn't you know it, the very day we were going to start reading it, Gray's teacher started reading it to the class. But as luck would have it, that very day, Annie brought me up a pile of books to post on Paperback Swap. They were books she'd outgrown and didn't think the boys would like. And right there in that pile was Emily's Runaway Imagination...a book by Beverly Cleary to fill in the gap.

I admit I was a bit worried that the boys wouldn't like it. They are both at a very girl-a-phobic stage, and I didn't think having a female for a main character was going to go over very well! But they gave it a chance, and they both ended up enjoying it a great deal (though neither will actually admit it). Tell-tale hints: asking me to read an extra chapter, laughing aloud, asking multitudes of questions...

And I also admit, I wasn't sure I would enjoy it either. Books written for this age are just generally not among my favorites. I love picture books. And I love books written for middle/high school age. But in general, these elementary level books just don't do a lot for me. This one surprised me. I didn't fall madly in love with it or anything, but it was enjoyable.

Emily is a girl with spunk, and as you can guess from the title, a very vivid imagination. Each chapter is somewhat of a story in itself, another antic from Emily's life. By far, our favorite chapter was the one in which Emily innocently fed the pigs fermented apples and the drunken pigs caused quite an uproar at her mother's fancy party. But Emily's other adventures were amusing as well. And running throughout the book is the story of the library. At the beginning of the book, Pitchfork has no library. But through one little girl's desire to read Black Beauty, and much work on her mother's part, their little town not only sees a library born, but watches it grow. And I suppose it will surprise no one, knowing what a total sap I can be, that I was left with a tear in my eye at the sweet, tender ending of the story.

Thanks again, Becky, for hosting this...it's really been a lot of fun so far!

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH...random thoughts

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Robert C. O'Brien, was my January selection for Becky's Celebrate the Author Reading Challenge. And since today is the last day of January, I guess I'd better get my "review" written...

The rats living under the rosebush at the Fitzgibbon farm are anything but ordinary. They are extremely intelligent escapees from a research lab. Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four small children, must turn to these rats to help save the life of her sick son, Timothy.

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure what to write about this book. I enjoyed it. I didn't fall madly in love with it. However, I think there's a very good chance that I would have fallen madly in love with it as a child...it really seems like the kind of book that would have captured me then.

All of my book choices for this particular challenge were made with "the boys" in mind. That is, I'm reading them aloud to my 5- and 7-year-old little monkeys. So, I thought maybe I should pass along their opinions of the book as well...

"It was good." Initial response from Gray. He is a man of few words. But upon further questioning, I did gather a couple more tidbits. He loved the adventurous nature of the book. He was very fond of one of the characters, a rat named Justin. But it bothered him that we didn't really know what happened to Justin at the end of the book ...was he one of the rats who died? (I admit that I really wanted to know as well, but would have to say that the way it was written was probably more effective and had a more realistic ring to it.)

Max enjoyed the book as well, though he did take issue with the fact that Dragon, the cat, was portrayed as a bad guy. In actuality, Dragon wasn't really the bad guy, but Max seems to think that every cat deserves to the hero.

The only other comment I could elicit: "How come every book we read has rats in it?" Of course, not every book we read has rats, but we have been on a roll lately, with Charlotte's Web, The Tale of Despereaux, and now Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.

Hmmm...so there you go. Really living up to the title "random thoughts" today, aren't I?

one down, thirteen to go

Survived day one of Rich's absence unscathed. Actually, I think the boys must have been feeling sorry for me or something...they couldn't possibly have been more delightful than they were for most of the day. By supper, the rowdiness level had surpassed comfortable levels. But that may have been my fault...we made monkey bread during the afternoon. And of course, it's a well known fact that massive doses of sugar lead to elevated rowdiness levels, right? The rowdiness continued through bathtime, but I have to admit it could have been worse...I didn't even have to change my clothes afterward. Finally, during our chapter of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM, they mellowed a bit.

Gray always feels the need to fight bedtime, partly out of habit and partly out of a true feeling of injustice, I think. But the battle wasn't too bad, especially after my sweet helper, Annie, agreed to go into my room to read. (Gray sleeps on a mattress in our room, because he is petrified of being alone, and of the dark, and of...) Of course, that's when Max reminded me that I said that "maybe" he could sleep in bed with me while Daddy was gone. "Maybe" turned to "yes"...surprise, surprise. So here's who's keeping Rich's side of the bed warm for him in his absence...




On a totally unrelated note:

I have decided to drop out of Becky's Jane Austen Challenge. I know, I know...what a quitter, huh? But I tried. Really I did. I got Sense and Sensibility out of the library last week, and started reading. But I just couldn't get into it. I feel like I really gave it a chance, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. I was not enjoying it at all, and figured that there are way too many books I do want to read to make myself suffer through something I didn't like. Not like Jane Austen...I suppose that makes me a heathen, huh?

a four-legged read

Finished up my first book for the Four-Legged Friends Reading Challenge last night. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. If ever the words "timeless classic" applied, huh?

Charlotte's Web is the touching story of friendship between an unlikely pair, Wilbur, a spring pig, and Charlotte, a big gray spider. When Wilbur finds that he will soon become the Zuckermans' meat supply for the coming winter, Charlotte steps up to the plate with an ingenious plan to save his life. Charlotte sums it up so well near the end of the book...

"Why did you do all this for me?" he asked. "I don't deserve it. I've never done anything for you."

"You have been my friend," replied Charlotte. "That in itself is a tremendous thing..."

But the book has more to offer as well. While Charlotte and Wilbur are endearing characters, Templeton, the gluttonous rat, most assuredly is not. Yet he was the favorite character of the boys and myself. The gut-busting laughter White brought through Templeton to the boys is a gift I shall long treasure. I swear they nearly had themselves rolling off the bed at times. And it probably goes without saying that their emotional old mom had tears rolling down her cheeks at least once during the story as well.

And you know, what more can you ask from a book?