Friday

In the morning Mark and Adam and I took another walk.  This time we went up the stairs of the nearby convention center and looked out over the bay and decided which yacht we would want.

photo credit:  Mark

It had rained earlier and I told Mark to stop splashing in puddles.  He said, "This isn't a phase, Mom.  It's who I am."

He's not wrong.

We gathered up the group eventually and headed to the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center.  It was Braeden and Anna's first time but we were all happy to visit.  We also saw some nearby beautiful houses and churches and I bought the turtle made of rocks I wanted to buy the last time we came to San Diego but didn't.  I don't have a picture of him because he is wrapped up and in the back of the van.

But Braeden named him Franklin and it has stuck.

We picked up Geri from the airport and went with her to lunch at The Tequila Factory which had been a recommendation from Anna's aunt.  It was REALLY good.  As in, I wish I could go back every day.

photo credit:  Adam

After that we went to the U.S.S. Midway museum.

photo credit:  Mark

We vacillated about spending the money on the entrance fee but finally decided to and I'm glad we did.  It was worth it.

I was fascinated to see the workings of the aircraft carrier and sure that I could never live like that.  The bunks of the enlisted sailors made me queasy they were packed in so tightly.  There were some retired pilots who were speaking about landing and taking off from the aircraft carrier and it was amazing to listen to.  I am grateful for the well oiled machine that is our military.  Their attention to detail and strong discipline are inspiring.

Mark also took this picture, from inside the U.S.S. Midway:

Mark was like a little boy inside the airplanes.

He hasn't quite forgiven diabetes for making it so he can't be a military pilot.

Adam took this shot right after we left the ship:

We went back to our hotel and Mark and I napped and Adam read, then we all assembled again and went to dinner at a New Haven style pizza restaurant Adam knew about.

photo credit:  Mark

Mark loved everything about the restaurant, down to the music.  I was just there for the margherita pizza.  It was truly New Haven style and it made me happy.

Memorable

We began our morning with a walk to Petco Park, where the San Diego Padres play.

I love a good baseball stadium.

Also, I love San Diego.  It is to Los Angelos what Boston is to New York.  I like it better.

We drove to Coronado Island.  It was windy and a little bit rainy, but still beautiful.

The Hotel del Coronado is beautiful.

Anna wanted to touch the water because the water touches Russia.  The boys are Davises so they had to get in the water.

All three kids got wet up to their knees.  Anna felt really bad and apologized over and over and promised she would clean the sand off her feet very well before she got back in the van.  I assured her that in the history of ever we always have sandy kids after the beach.  These kids can't look at water without getting wet + sandy.

We tried to find a good place to eat and everything was either waaaaaay more than we wanted to spend (Thanksgiving dinner at the Hotel del Coronado was $95 a plate.) or closed.  We finally settled on a Chinese buffet.  I don't like Chinese food but everyone else was excited.  Adam told me thank you over and over for being such a good sport about it.  I think in general I'm not a good sport so occasionally when I am, I get a lot of credit.

Also, the Chinese buffet was gross.

The restaurant was near the Mexican border so we drove along it and saw the sights.  If any of us had brought our passports, we may have traversed into Tijuana because there wasn't much traffic.

Our next stop was Balboa Park.  By then the rain had really ramped up.  We aren't made of brown sugar though, so we survived.

Balboa Park is lovely and it makes me want to live in a Spanish style house with terra cotta tile floor.

Adam's cousin Pam contacted us and they had some spots open in their reservation for Thanksgiving dinner at Marie Calendar's.  It was fun to see them and the dinner was delicious.

Clockwise from bottom:  Ashley and Branson--the bride and groom, Ashley's brother and parents, Braeden, Anna, Mark, me, Adam, Pam, Shane, Bridger, Braxton and Adam's aunt Jeri.

On the way back to the hotel, Braeden said, "I am still going to call the Chinese buffet our Thanksgiving dinner.  I want our first Thanksgiving together to have been at a Chinese buffet at the Mexican border."

Happy Thanksgiving

Lord of all, to thee we raise

This our hymn of grateful praise

Folliott S. Pierpoint

Happy Thanksgiving one and all.

I am writing from a dimly lit hotel room in downtown San Diego where I couldn't sleep as long as I wanted to.  My body doesn't know it's on vacation.

A vacation is truly what I needed though.

I have felt some anxiety about leaving everything behind, but at the same time, it feels like an enormous blessing to leave everything behind.  If I were home, I'd be spending lots of time preparing Thanksgiving dinner and then I'd spend lots of time getting ready for Christmas and I might even end up at my classroom.

Instead, I'm in San Diego and I can't do any of it.

We left early yesterday morning and apparently the two gingers decided to dress in uniform:

A few days ago, I was talking to Mark about girls and I asked him if he was going to marry as well as Braeden did.  He said, "I don't know if anyone can marry that well."

I said, "Well try!"

Surely Anna's not the last good girl out there.

We had really good weather the whole trip, considering the ominous forecast.  It was super windy which didn't bode well for our gas mileage but we had dry roads until, ironically, we hit the Mojave Desert and then we had rain.

Mark and Braeden kept us in music and we listened for a bit to The Shrink Next Door which is a crazy podcast Mark and I have already listened to but we're happy to go again.

We talked to Emma on the phone after she was done with work.  We miss that girl.  She'll be home in a few weeks which is something that makes me grin every time I think about it.

At "The Biggest Chevron in the World," just past Las Vegas, we stopped for a bathroom break.  Adam bought the boys White Castle burgers--do you call them burgers?--for the cultural experience.  So nasty.  Braeden and Anna danced a bit, like you do.

I taught them the game Marianne and I made up in a truck stop once where you have to pick what you would buy on each shelf.

Today we have plans to go and explore and it remains to be seen what Thanksgiving dinner will be.  Weirdly, I have zero relatives in San Diego and this is my third Thanksgiving here.  (The first two were with my extended Jaynes family on trips hosted by my wonderful grandma.)

I have a lot to be thankful for and I love Thanksgiving which reminds me to pause and remember.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My totem pole

The third grade has been studying Native American cultures and also poetry.  So we had them write an "I Am" poem and then create a totem pole about themselves.

It seemed like fun so I joined in.  I like a good craft project.

The apples resemble blobs and the people resemble I-don't-know-what.  But Adam recognized himself, so there's that.

And third graders are an easy crowd.  They thought it was AMAZING.  (Although a lot of them wondered why I couldn't make hearts better.  They're apples.  Apples.)

Monday morning list

1- We got Mark back.  I missed that kid.  I'm glad he's home.  He had a good time and came home exhausted which is what you do from high school trips.  He changed his insulin pump and took a nap.

2- I started feeling sick on Friday and I was a super cranky teacher by the afternoon.  I went home and took a nap.  I had a slow-ish weekend with breaks and rests here and there and I feel ready to conquer.

3- I needed a slower weekend because things are ramping up.  One month from today is Christmas day!  Can someone set the clocks to move at half speed please?  I could use the time.

4- I'm watching the weather like it's my job.  We're expecting winter storms this week.  If we can just make it past Cedar City, I'll think we'll be in the clear.

5- Emma texted me some questions about our family member who helped settle New Haven.  (My girl's doing a little family history research?)  I didn't know about him when we lived there!  For a long time I thought Adam had the pilgrims and I had the pioneers.  I could have visited their graves!  I could have joined the DAR!  They're from the Jaynes side of the family and I love that Emma Jayne has New Haven in common with them.

6-Sunday afternoon/evening when Adam and Mark were both napping, I read an entire book.  I haven't read actual books since I don't know when.  It felt marvelous.  I read a Cynthia Voigt, YA novel called Building Blocks.   Then, when Adam woke up, I told him about it.

7- We didn't have our regular Sunday dinner because we were going to visit my grandma after getting Mark.  Turned out Grandma was busy and it was a perfect excuse to rest.  (Also, Braeden and Anna came to church with us so we still got to hug them.)

8- Speaking of books, we hung up some new pictures.  I got a poster picturing every Newbery until 2018.  I hung it by the shelf where I keep my collection of Newbery books (except for the ones I took to my classroom).

9- I am also really happy with this picture.  Adam and I were looking for a picture of Christ to hang in a prominent place. We have similar tastes and didn't want anything overly sentimental or contrived.  This picture felt perfect:

10- In a confluence of events, it's going to snow today I have traffic duty and recess duty.  There's a big rotation and somehow it all ended up on the same day for me.  I will try to be brave.

Grateful Friday

Today I'm grateful for:

Adam

He lets me highjack almost every evening and weekend with my own plans.  "Let's wrap gifts!"  "Let's run errands!"  He's always game and always fun to be with.

He is also very...unconventional.  That's a gift he wrapped around an empty wrapping paper tube.  I told him he could faster if he would just wrap like a normal person.

He said, "This is what is keeping me going."

He's also way more generous and friendly than I am and he encourages me to be friendly when I get roped into things I don't want to do.

Our trip

I'm looking forward to our Thanksgiving trip to San Diego where we will have Thanksgiving dinner or not and have sunshine or not.  We'll be together (and missing Emma) and it will be a good time.  As long as we go to Balboa Park, I'll be satisfied.

(And as long as the roads are fine.)

Mark

I miss that kid.  Having him away makes that clear.  I miss him when he's home too though because I used to have way more time with him than I do now.

Sigh.

Emma's grand adventure

She is doing so many things, amazing and hard, and it makes me happy.  She's being stretched and she's being brave.

I work with the kindest possible people

They are all cheerful and complimentary and supportive and they make work a nice place.  (They're all tired too.)

Braeden and Anna

I'm glad they're going to San Diego with us.  We see them often but I'd still like to see them more.  Also, I think Mark will have more fun with Braeden along.  (And I might just need the girl support from Anna.)

My students

They are smart and funny and demanding and generous.  And unpredictable.  Always.

Nervous nellies

Yesterday I talked to Marianne.  She was nervous because Desi was going on a multi-day wilderness survival adventure for a wilderness survival class she is taken for no reason that makes any sense to me.

(I love not camping.)

A few weeks ago, after hearing about it from Marianne, I gave Desi a mini lecture about it (you know, like you do).  She said, "I never should have told my mom about it."

Here's the thing:  two people have died doing the BYU survival trip.  They've made changes to the program since then.

But still.

I was nervous because Mark left for Texas for his Thespian Convention.  He went last year and loved it and was excited to go again.

The Gaylord Texan is a far cry from wilderness survival, but diabetes is dangerous.

This is the first time Mark's been away from both Adam and me and I worry about him managing everything on his own.

Here's what it comes down to:  mommin' ain't easy.

DNA

Yesterday morning, Emma was having a crisis of confidence.  We were texting back and forth.  She was stressed because she had to go into a museum and talk to the director who she doesn't know and it was all going to be in French and she didn't feel like her French was up to the task.  I've tried to fill her head while she was growing up with stories of her pioneer ancestors and the feats of strength they accomplished.  "Their blood is in your veins!"

Yesterday, I texted her a reminder about ancestors on her dad's side.  I reminded her of the woman who lived in Massachusetts and was scalped by Indians so had a silver plate on her head.  Now that's a tough woman.  Also, I reminded her of her great great grandma, who in addition to raising Adam's very colorful Grandma Kate (who was a character), moved with her young family (Grandma Kate was 5) to America from Denmark.  They didn't speak much English and were swindled out of their money at a train station in Chicago.  They went on to live in Ogden, UT and Emma's great great grandma Simonsen was a strong and faithful woman. One time Adam's aunt Jeri told me all about her and what a bright light she had been in her life.

"Their blood is in your veins!"  I texted Emma.  "You are made of tough stuff!"

We also had a training at our school yesterday where we were hosting two other schools.  We provided breakfast and I had two big bags full of my contribution:  2 gallons of juice, paper products, utensils.  In addition to that I had my overstuffed bag:  grade book, notebooks, laptop, and my lunch and water bottle.

I staggered a little under the weight of it as I loaded myself up to go to my car.

Adam said, "Do you want help carrying that?"

"No,"  I said.  "It's an Egbert Load.  I've got it."

When I was growing up, my mom used to tease my dad when he loaded up something too much (usually his horse drawn wagon of firewood).  She'd call it an Egbert Load.  (My dad's mom was an Egbert and apparently a family trait was overestimating how much you could carry.)

I think my mom meant it in a cautionary way, as in, don't try to take an Egbert Load.

I take it more as a challenge I am accepting.

I guess it's in my DNA.

Invincible

Yesterday we had math right before lunch and lunch recess.  At the beginning of math, a student asked me if I could put air in his soccer ball.  (There's a small air compressor in the teacher work room.)  I said, "Sure.  I'll do it at lunchtime."

Then we had math which is fully hands on for me.  I feel pulled in a million directions.  Or at least 24.

After math, before lunch, the student said, "So, did you put air in my soccer ball?"

It was a little astounding.  I was there in front of him the whole time.  When did he think I had magically filled up his soccer ball?  It reminded me of my kids and how they used to think that no request was impossible.  They seemed to think I was invincible.

Then I wondered when that stopped.  It's weird with motherhood.  There's a last time you carried them, a last time you held them on your lap, a last time you took them out of sacrament meeting, a last diaper you changed, a last article of clothing you laundered, a last time they thought you could do anything.  You just don't remember when that last time was.  You didn't do anything to mark the occasion.

Weekend

We had a teacher movie night on Friday evening at Jamie's house.  She's the instructional coach but I call her my life coach.  She is awesome and kind and has good ideas.  Also, she always has cold drinks in her office fridge we are welcome to.

We started the movie at 6:30.  Because we're teachers and it was Friday and we were all yawning.  That didn't keep us from staying after a little while and chatting about our students/teaching/all the things.

I like my teacher friends.

***

Adam told me he had talked to Emma and she had said one of the things she missed was "mom's cooking."  I said, "Ha!"

Adam said, "I know.  I told her 'me too'."

I will actually cook meals during Christmas break.  If I remember how.

***

I went to Target.  I don't think I've gone there for months.  Walmart is on the way home from work and closer in general.  I don't like Walmart but Target in American Fork is maybe too close to Silicon Slopes.  The place was crawling with Utah County's version of hipsters.  You've never seen so many bearded men in skinny jeans (why?!?) and women with fake eyelashes and those thick eyebrows that resemble caterpillars.

Maybe I'm a Walmart sort of person now.

***

We talked on the phone with Braeden and Anna.  I told them I had an exciting gift for them.  I bought them those grocery store chocolate advent calendars.  (Are we calling that nasty waxy stuff chocolate?)  They both had them as children though so they were happy.  Nostalgia wins the day at Christmas time.

***

Adam and I went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant and since we were dressed up and it is Utah County, our waitress asked, "Were you just at the temple?"

We said yes and we chatted about which temple we'd gone to since "ours" is closed for a few weeks.  When she brought me back my credit card at the end of the meal, she said, "Have a nice night Sister Davis."

I asked Adam, "Did she say that to get a good tip?"

He said, "I don't know."

I said, "Well, it worked."  It sort of delighted me.  I love being a sister in Zion with the waitress at the Mexican restaurant.

***

I loved the Face to Face broadcast we watched Sunday night.  We invited a few friends over to watch and one brought a pumpkin pie.  These are the kind of friends you keep.

I remember my mom saying before that she wished she could start over with her kids.  I felt the same way last night.  I think the new children and youth program seems so great and here I am with all these grown and almost grown children.

I'm grateful for continuing revelation.  Everything--though harder to remember the correct way to say it--seems to be getting better and better.

Grateful Friday

Being a teacher makes me grateful.  I'm not handling it and I am handling it and it stresses me out and it delights me.  All the time.

The kids are everything.  They say the darnedest things.

I have a little guy who really struggles with anger and keeping his emotions in check.  We're working on it.  Daily.  He gives me lots of opportunities to try new strategies.

Yesterday, he didn't win a sight word game we were playing.  (Who knew sight words could be so fraught?)  He ran screaming from the room to the bathroom across the hall.

It's handy that the bathroom is across the hall because I know where he runs to and I can usually talk him down from the hall or send one of my sturdy, easy-going boys in to cajole him.  I have two boys that remind me of my brother Enoch.  They are the biggest boys in the class and grin easily and don't take themselves too seriously.  One is Samoan and one has bright red hair and freckles.  They're who you need at such times.

As he was running from the room, another student, a new-agey girl with feminist sensibilities (Why weren't women in the first mission to the moon?  Why hasn't there ever been a woman president?) who always has a few craft projects going at any given time and pilfers tape from my desk whenever she can, called after him in the most hopeful and encouraging tone you can imagine, "It's OK, when you don't win!  It's how you leeeaaaaaarn!"

***

We went on a field trip to Orem Junior High for a play.  Beforehand, one student said that his mom made him bring his warm coat.  I said, "Moms are smart."

He said, "Yeah, they are.  They don't look smart, but they are."

I wasn't sure how to take that.  (And I've met his mom.  She looked smart to me.)

***

Another day, I was mentioning the 13 original colonies and one student raised his hand and said, "Wait.  So what you're telling us is that the world used to be smaller?"

Um.

He continued in the face of my stunned silence, "Because there weren't all 50 states."

I walked to the map and showed them which were the 13 colonies.  "All this land was still there," I said.  "And people lived there.  Do you know who?"

After more guesses than there should have been, they finally landed on Native Americans.

***

One of my brilliant students who has only known English for a little while, needed help figuring out a word for something she was writing.  She told me the Spanish word but I came up empty.  I gathered three other kids that are really good at switching back and forth between languages.  They had a rapid fire conversation in Spanish, disagreeing and agreeing and finally said, "Knitting.  She's talking about knitting."

Then she had another word.  Lots more consultation.  One student said, "Planting and growing crops.  That's what she means."

I asked, "Farming?  Do you mean farming?"

"No, no," she said.  They talked some more.  I just waited and admired them so much.  Their seamless and competent bilingual ability just impresses me.

Finally a student said, "She means planting seeds and growing trees.  Like apple trees."

Everyone nodded and was satisfied.

***

The newly minted English speaker asked me how to spell mysterious the other day because she was writing something else.

How is she so smart in English and I can't pronounce words in French to make Emma even a tiny bit satisfied?

***

I was walking to the work room to make copies and another teacher was locking up her door and heading home.  "You're so together," I said.  "You always leave right at 4:00."

She said, "This is my fifth year.  My second year, I thought, 'this is so much easier than last year,' and then my third year was even easier."

It gave me so much hope.

Go team!

A few days ago, Mark came to me in the early morning with two problems:  1) his transmitter for his glucose monitor had given up the ghost in the middle of the night.  2) his iCloud account had been tampered with by someone in Beijing.

I called the technical support for the monitor and was involved in a lengthy conversation while trying to get ready for work.  I noticed the time and handed off the phone to Adam who finished the conversation.  Mark was at hand to supply things like the serial number and the date of the last transmitter.

Next, Adam texted everyone about the iCloud thing and said to reset passwords.  Emma responded immediately from France.

She was on it.

Mark was wearing his Sounders jersey because they had won and Adam and Mark excitedly told me about the Seahawks game the previous night while I quickly put dishes away in the kitchen.  I pulled a container out of the fridge and Adam said, "That's your lunch.  I made it last night.  Just heat it up."

I gratefully stashed it in my bag.  I gave Adam the medicine Emma needed sent to her along with her address.  I told him I didn't know if the address format was correct.  He said he'd go to the post office.

Adam had emptied the dishwasher the night before and Mark was putting some dishes in it.  Everywhere there was bustle with the backdrop of Russell Wilson heroics play by play.

I quickly packed my bag, Mark grabbed what he needed for school.  We headed off into the morning.

It was kind of a chaotic morning with a lot crammed in, but it was also a little bit exhilarating.  Sometimes we're a hot mess, but every once in awhile, we're a hot mess that works together pretty well.

Good weekend: Sunday

When I talked to Emma on Sunday, she said, "Send me some pictures.  I always send you pictures and you never send me any."

It isn't strictly true, but she sends me pictures like this:

The Louvre is free Friday afternoons if you are under 26 and Emma has been taking advantage of it!

I send her pictures like this:

So I guess she has a valid point.

I took a picture of the pie I made for Sunday dinner that overflowed.

I showed her the shirt I was wearing and said I had hoped it would help.

She sent back:

I love a girl who knows how to quote Paul Hollywood.

I took a picture of these autumnal looking kids:

Ever since Mark could reach it, he's kept a plastic cup on top of the fridge for drinks of water.  It is a better system than the piles of soda cans and water bottles and glasses in the basement.  The boy is hydrated is what I'm saying.

We had the elders over too which was nice.  I didn't get pictures of them (although I should have and I should have sent them to their mothers!) but we enjoyed having them.  I think they enjoyed being around a roomful of fairly recently returned missionaries who know what it's like.

They joined us for our Come Follow Me lesson and it was the first time they'd ever been involved in one.

Anna taught a wonderful lesson and I cried.  So pretty typical....

After the missionaries left, we went to the basement for Quiplash.

Braeden, Anna, Adam, Desi, Freja, Leif and Mark

Anna went and sat with Mark for awhile when Braeden made a quip about redheads.

I usually lose at Quiplash because my family is funnier than me in general.  My role is to laugh at all their jokes so I do bring that skill to Quiplash.

This is hard to read but it cracked me up.  The question was:  If you were allowed to name someone else's baby any weird name you wanted, what would you choose?

The answers that were provided were Deseret and Braeden.

I voted for Braeden because I already named my baby that and he turned out pretty well.

I'm glad Emma requested pictures.  Having pictures and then putting them on my blog causes me to pause a little and realize, hey, that was a fun night.

Good weekend: Saturday

Two nice things happened Saturday.

1) Adam and Mark and I had brunch with Marianne and Carolina.

I looked forward to it all week.  Marianne and I whined about how hungry we were while we waited for the food to come.  Sometimes I look at her and see a mirror.  Our temperaments are very similar.  She's a taller, more accomplished mirror, but she's a mirror.  We chatted long about all the things.  We enjoyed our two youngest children.   She gave me the good suggestion to send Robert a Marco Polo with my questions about behavior in my classroom.  Robert is a behavior specialist and I could send him hours of me asking for advice, but I just started with one student.

(And Robert sent me a Marco Polo back with lots of good advice.)

2) We had dinner with my parents and Braeden and Anna.

My parents came to watch Mark's play which meant a lot to him.  We enjoyed eating together beforehand and catching up a bit.  I warned my parents before the show that it was hard to understand and as many times as I'd seen it, I still didn't really understand all of it.

I just went for the redhead.

In the end, who cares about a lot of things that don't make sense.  What matters is that we're there for each other.

SMART

Mark and I had a pow wow and talked about goal setting.  We both feel out of control of certain aspects of our lives and decided that setting SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely) might be a start.

As a side note, it seems like attainable and realistic are about the same thing.  Mark said they are both in there so it's not smrt or smat.  I guess that makes sense.

We had different categories.  I couldn't come up with anything in the social/free time/emotional category.  Everything Mark suggested, I said, "I don't have time."

(I know how dreary this makes me seem.)

Finally Mark said, "For your goal, you should write on your blog every day, Monday through Friday like you used to."

Then he told me all the reasons why I should.  He included things like it's our family's history and reflecting on life is good and I like doing it.

He doesn't even read my blog so I don't know how he fancies himself an expert.  He is correct on every count though.

He said it doesn't have to be long.  Just write every day.  So I will.  After all, I have the same amount of time that everyone has and I'm in charge of how I spend it.

(Since I know how to motivate Mark, there may or may not be money riding on the accomplishing of our goals.  Also, he wanted Adam in on it so when he got back from his church meetings, we added his goals.  You won't even recognize us.  We'll be that improved.)

These are the days

These are the days of the groceries still on the counter (in shopping bags) from when I went shopping on Tuesday (the perishables were put away).

These are the days of spending very little time at home all week because I go to work and Mark's show.

These are the days of willing my eyes to stay open at the theater each night.

These are the days of going to bed and waking up thinking about teaching.  I had a smart idea while putting in my contacts this morning so that pondering isn't all wasted.

These are the days of being a cranky teacher the last hour or so of the day.  I think I'm just tired.

These are the days of looking forward to brunch with Marianne tomorrow.

These are the days of planning Christmas in bits and pieces in snatches of time.

These are the days of waking up too early every morning.  My body is not adjusting to the time change.  I wake up at 4:30 like it's my job.  I try to go back to sleep.  I probably should just get up and put the groceries away.

These are the days of brilliant sunny cool days that I am loving.

These are the days of missing Emma, but happy for her too.  I can't wait for her to come home.

These are the days of listening to General Conference talks on the way to work every morning.  They make a difference in my day.

These are the days of wishing I had more time for bookclub.  I've missed months of it with my busy life.  I have the next book downloaded on my phone to listen to but I haven't started it yet.




It's been a hard week.  It hasn't been a terrible week though.  I'm healthy and I have a family who loves me and I have food to eat (evidenced by the bags on the counter).  Yesterday about 10 people told me they liked my earrings and sweater.  Is this me, becoming a fashion icon?  (No.  The answer is no.  It was a fluke.)

The best job(s) in the world

Tonight it was a fundraising night at Culver's for my school.  The place was packed.  I had a rotation of Davis men to eat with.  Adam and I went first, then Braeden came (Anna had had a long day on campus and opted out) and Adam went to bishopric meeting, then Mark came from rehearsal.  So I was there awhile.  I saw lots of cute cute kids.  I only saw two of my own students but my heart melted when other little cuties recognized me and came up to talk to me or waved shyly at me or gave me a hug.  Sitting there laughing and talking (and arguing politics, because Braeden) with my two boys, I just felt happy.  

The lines between motherhood and teaching blur, maybe because I homeschooled.  It all feels like the same job.  Sometimes I have to remind myself that my third graders are going to move on to a new teacher next year.  I catch myself thinking about teaching them in years to come like I did my own children.

It is hard and unglamorous work, but how I love it.  Even when I fail at it (and I do!), it feels like time well spent.

Last night, I had a complete come apart when Mark told me that we'd missed the deadline to pay for his AP exam.  I felt like the worst neglectful mother alive.  I felt like it was all my fault because I was off teaching when I should be home diligently paying AP exam fees--even though Adam reminded me I'd missed deadlines before I started teaching--sad but true.

This morning Mark went to school early and the financial office gave him a break and he was able to pay the fee. 

(I'm very grateful it worked out.)

Clearly even though I've been at it for nearly 23 years (is that true?!?), motherhood still trips me up.  

Being a teacher is not all that fun every minute of every day either.  Sometimes I think if there is one more request for "teacher" I'm going to go screaming into the night.  They interrupt me for the craziest reasons.  (I was right in the middle of a lesson and a girl raised her hand to see if she could tell me a joke.  No.  No you can't.)  They wander around the room when they should be working.  They make messes and can't tear papers out of workbooks without needing major tape repairs (just let me rip out the pages for you!).  Three of them have stories to tell me all at once and they ignore the fact that all three of them are talking at the same time.

It all is quite possibly addling my brain.

But they are incredibly sweet and inspiring and oh, so funny.

Just today a student said, "Hey, is gelatin a skeleton made of jell-o?"  Then she grinned wickedly because she knew she was being clever.

In our small leveled reading groups, the third grades share students.  I had a student from another class with me.  He is, putting it mildly, a character.  He tries on different accents when he reads.  Last week we were reading a story about China and he read with this crazy nonsensical accent.  Another student complained that she couldn't understand him.  He said, as if it was totally beyond his control, "When I read about another country, I have to read in an accent."

Today he asked me if he could read the story about presidential elections with a "Barack Obama accent." 

I said sure; I was curious.

For the first time ever, he read in a completely normal voice.  From now on I'm going to request his best Barack Obama accent.

After dinner tonight, Braeden asked Mark if he wanted to continue their political discussion at Winco because Braeden needed to go grocery shopping.  Mark agreed.  They are on opposite ends of the political spectrum and I can just see them striding around Winco, arguing.

Each boy wrapped me up in a bear hug before we parted ways.  They kissed the top of my head and told me they loved me.

My mother/teacher job doesn't really pay too much, I'm very imperfect in both roles, and it mostly leaves me exhausted.  But I wouldn't trade it.  These kids delight me.  

The news

Both Emma and Mark asked me if this time change was, "the good one."

No time change is a good one when you have a wall of clocks, but I have only myself to blame for that.

***

My girl updated her blog.

In related news, her life is way more magical than mine.

***

Our weekend wasn't without a little mysticism though.  We met with a color expert from Sherwin Williams to advise us on paint color.  Adam referred to her as our color witch.

She did work some magic.  She guided us to some perfect paint colors and when we finally bite the bullet, I feel more confident than I did before.

***

Sunday I asked Braeden if he wanted his:  fur coat, leather coat with fur trim, powder blue suit, etc.  (The child has costumes.)

We decided to save them for dress ups for grandkids.  I imagine my weird kids will have weird kids that will like that sort of thing.

We showed Anna the music video at Glacier Peak that showed Braeden in the fur coat.  Then we had to show her T Bizzle and the Funks (the exercise video Braeden and his friends made for health class).  Braeden said, "Let's just have our Come Follow Me lesson."

I argued it would put us in the mood for Come Follow Me.

Mark said, "We should have showed it to Anna before she said yes."

Anna said, "Would it have changed my mind?"

Mark said, "It would have made you say yes sooner."

That is a loyal brother for you.

After watching I asked, "How did we get such weird kids?"

The boys said I was the one who home schooled them.

I said, "Desi was home schooled and she isn't weird."

Desi said, "Kind of."

***

Later when everyone had gone home, Mark texted this from the basement.

I wanted to talk to him about it but I didn't want to go find him or even walk to the top of the stairs and call down.

I'm not about that life.

It was exciting news though.  They were one of only four schools selected to perform and they will perform in front of 4,000 people.  Because he is "a legend" as Mark says, Mrs. Rhodes' husband is driving a big truck containing all their costumes and set for the show.  I wish we could go!

***

The final bit of good news was when I woke up this morning and realized my dream wasn't real.

I usually don't remember my dreams but after a fitful night, I woke up in the midst of a vivid one.  I was at school and I had a tiny African American baby that I was fostering.  He was adorable and so tiny and I was trying to get him to sleep before I had to start teaching and a lot of my cousins were there for no comprehensible reason.  I finally walked through this beautiful garden (that doesn't exist) and he started to fall asleep but I was super stressed about getting back to teach on time.

Remind me in case I forget that I don't have time for a foster baby right now....