A cup of good cheer

Yesterday we visited my grandma.  

The whole great great grandma thing is kind of astounding.  I can't imagine Eleanor bringing her granddaughter to visit me someday....

Sweet Ella was as good as gold.  She slept in the car, a shorter than usual nap, but she woke up happy just like her dad always did.  She was friendly and busy, but didn't touch all the things she was not supposed to touch, but wanted to.

Grace under pressure.

We hurried home to get ready for our dinner party.  Clarissa (Timeon had to work), Liberty and Nikki, Shuyan and Carolina came over for dinner.

Also, the most bizarre thing happened while we were scrambling to get ready.  I had just wrangled Mark to help me move furniture to set up the tables and there was a knock on the door.  It was a girl about Mark's age, wearing a dress and high heeled strappy sandals.  It was not exactly the weather for that outfit.  She was visibly shaken and said, "Is Mark here?  It is an emergency."

I got Mark and she said, "John was in a car accident and I can't drive."

Mark looked a little taken aback, but said, "OK," and left immediately with her.

Anna and Braeden and I puzzled about the whole situation.  Who was John and who was this girl and how did she get to our house in the first place?

Mark called a bit later.  He had as many questions as we did.  He met John a few weeks ago, playing Magic with his friends.  He had invited the whole gang to his birthday dinner so John and his girlfriend had come.  The girlfriend had the address of our house since Mark had texted the group the address.  He's known both of them for about two weeks.  He never got much more of the story.  He took the girl home and I'm glad he was ready and able to be a helper.

But it was bizarre.

Our guests arrived and it was so fun to see them all!

I regret that I didn't take a picture.

We had dinner and Braeden asked Clarissa all about the Tabernacle Choir, which that amazing girl is now a part of.  He talked German politics with Shuyan.  She delighted and charmed us like she does.  Liberty and I chatted a bit about school and Carolina and I a bit about The Home Edit, of which we're both fans.  After dinner, Eleanor went to bed and the rest of us went to the basement to visit.  We talked about books and the cosmos and lego sets and Braeden shared a brief FHE lesson (it included the cosmos).  I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Adult nieces and nephews are every bit as fun as adult children (Carolina is not quite an adult, but she's fabulous).

Weekend

To say I hightailed it out of school on Friday would not be an exaggeration.  We had a potluck lunch (except Miriam and her husband Nate catered the meat and it was amazing).  At the beginning of the lunch, Kristie said that no one would be watching the clock and we could leave whenever we wanted to.

I scarfed down my lunch and Kristie, as a grandmother herself, gave me her blessing to head on out.  (I posted my grades quickly while people were lined up for lunch.)

It is dreamy being with Eleanor.  She makes funny noises and funny faces and she is constantly in motion and she will pause briefly for a book to be read to her and I'm here for all of it!

Maybe nothing quite lives up to the hype like having a grandchild.  They are perfection.

She has stayed away from the tree so far.  We have strategically placed the basket of toys and the basket of books in the room to keep her busy.  

Those cheeks!

I don't have many pictures of her because she is mostly on the move.

Friday night and Saturday night, Adam and I had babysitting duties.  Separation anxiety is setting in a bit and she didn't love being left by her parents, but she is a great sleeper and she went to bed pretty easily both nights.

At church on Sunday, I proudly showed her off to all of my friends.  I loved after church when a handful of grandmothers gathered around me to tell me how adorable she was and we all talked about how great being a grandma is. 

My friend Bonnie looked across where Braeden was holding Eleanor and said, "She makes me so happy and I'm not even related!"

Sunday evening we celebrated Pikkujoulu.

Eleanor enjoyed all the food--in tiny pieces.

We love having the Davis Davises here.

After dinner, right before Eleanor went to bed, we opened ornaments.   Eleanor got an angel like I got when I was a little girl and like Emma got when she was little.

We went to the basement for our "program" so Eleanor could sleep (she's been sleeping upstairs in Emma's room).

Everyone shared something with the group.  Adam did a reading and I started to read Christmas Day in the Morning until I started to cry and Mark had to take over.

Emma and Braeden sang:

Mark read a bit of The Christmas Carol:

Anna created a graphic design that she gifted to everyone:

After that we watched President Nelson's Christmas message.  It is such a wonderful time of hope and love and President Nelson embodies that.

Adam and I had one more gift for the night.  I made a Snapfish book about our Christmas bears.

They loved it except for when they criticized that I'd referred to Alderwood as a "he".  Alderwood is a girl apparently.  I think whoever makes the Snapfish books makes that decision.

We had our treats, mostly gluten free and entirely from Trader Joe's.

This morning, I got up with Eleanor, hoping to give her parents a little time to sleep in.  Her diaper soaked her pajamas so we had to open a gift under the tree for a new outfit.  

Grandma's prerogative.

Grateful Friday

Yesterday there was a lot of snow.  I slid right through an intersection by our house on the way to school.  Luckily no one was around to crash into.  No lanes were visible on State Street and everyone was driving around 20 mph.  I don't know which thing was more unusual.

I also don't know what it takes to get a snow day around here.

It just kept snowing and snowing.  We had both recesses inside.  

We had both Christmas sing performances and despite the weather, both were packed houses.  The kids were nervous beforehand and then really happy when they saw their parents or grandparents.  I love that.

I didn't love how naughty all my students were all the live long day.  Christmas sing + inside recess + Christmas in general + their personalities in general.

It was a whole day.

One student got a really significant bloody nose.  Not the same student as last time.  What gives?!?  He was walking around in a panic, splattering blood all over the floor.  I told him to sit down while I grabbed kleenex.  I meant the nearest possible chair.  He walked back to his own chair, splattering more blood.  I pinched his nose and walked with him that way down to the office, while he was holding kleenex to his nose.  The secretary chided me for not putting on gloves.

It had not occurred to me.

I left him in her care and went back to the zoo that sort of looked like a crime scene until the custodians could get there.

As the bell was about to ring for the blessed end of the day, the announcement was made that the district "had not expected so much snow" (you think?) so they needed the teachers to leave as soon as the students did so that the district could plow all the parking lots.

I was hurrying around gathering up things and preparing hastily for the next day.  Braeden called.

He said that Anna's mom had tested positive for Covid.  Braeden, Anna and Eleanor all had Covid a few weeks ago, so they were not worried about getting it, but they wanted to come to our house early (they were going to come Sunday) so Amy could recover.

I'm sad for the Carlsons but happy for us, and also, I wasn't even a little bit ready.  Despite my proclivity to plan, I have 100% been living only day to day.

I was driving home and my mind was spinning about what I could make for dinner.  The day before, Clarissa and I had walked and I told her that I wanted to make good meals when they were visiting, but I wasn't all that great at that.

She said, "You know who is really good at that?  My mom."

Clarissa is not wrong.  I quickly called Marianne for help.  When you need to send a distress call, Marianne is a really good choice.

She said, "OK, will Mark be there?"  I said yes.  "So no gluten....it's too late for a slow cooker....how about a simmer sauce?  Cook chicken thighs and rice and get butter sauce or tikka masala."

I said, "We usually do chicken tikka masala on Christmas Eve.  What else have you got?"

She thought for a few seconds.  "Taco soup."

Yes!

I'm telling you, call Marianne.

I went to the grocery store for taco soup stuff and a whole cart full of other stuff.  I considered my cart looked like Braeden was visiting.  It made me happy.

I hurried home and changed sheets in the guest bedroom, pulled out the baby toys and baby books and high chair.  I cleaned the kitchen and made the soup and got everything ready.

I'm so grateful for have them with us.

This sweet little girl was very tired by the time they got there, but I am so looking forward to time with her!

I'm grateful to have Marianne to tell me what to do.

I'm grateful I had to leave school early (I needed the time!).

I'm grateful for this wonderful season of light.  I'm grateful that we take a little time off from regular life and enjoy each other and holly jolly music and treats.  Mostly, I'm grateful for the birth and life of Jesus Christ.  When I hold that little baby in my arms and know that she's mine forever, I feel such gratitude for our Savior and Heavenly Father.  They make everything that matters to me better.

The Christmas sing

Yesterday we performed The Christmas Sing for each other.  Today we are performing for the parents.  Twice.  We perform at 9:00 and again at 1:00.

May the odds be forever in our favor.

If you could have bottled up the energy in the gym yesterday, you could have powered a city.  Third grade went straight to recess after because we aren't crazy.

Despite how loud and chaotic it was, it was also really fun.

Here's the third grade, singing their Christmas Candy Calendar a.k.a. Six Pink Peppermints.

Janelle held up the words, I did the actions and Miriam led the singing.  

At the end, the teachers performed Santa Claus is Coming to Town.  We were all in.

That's me sitting down, awkwardly holding that knee drum, waiting for Janelle to pass the microphone to me.

It was ugly sweater day and we were looking...amazing, I guess is the only way to describe it.

During one of our rehearsals, Kristie said, "This is so good!  I feel like we will be chosen for something."

If we were going to be chosen for anything, it would be enthusiasm.

After we performed, the children screamed.  It was kind of awful.  Do rock stars constantly have head-aches?  Because we did.  Actually, Janelle said to me before it even started, "Is it bad that I already have a head-ache?"

Miriam came into my classroom during lunch.  She said, "Do you have any ibuprofen?"

She had come to the right place.  When my own kids ask if I have ibuprofen, I say, "What family were you raised in?  Of course I do."

In the afternoon, we did Christmas mad libs.  You'd be amazed how many times third graders can use toot in a mad libs.  Is it a noun? verb? adjective? Doesn't matter.

A day and a half left.

If we can do this, we can do anything!

Delighting me

I went to the chiropractor yesterday after school.  The ladies at the front desk (who are basically my BFFs because I see them so often), asked me if I was "hanging in there."  One of them has a son who is a teacher and they talk to all the teachers who come in.  They know school is crazy town right now.  Crazy town!

I am trying to alter my expectations.  I'm trying to find that sweet spot of enough structure and enough looseness so we all survive and thrive.

And, oh yeah, grades are due on Friday so I'm doing assessments and make-up assessments and this is not the time for assessments.

Yet here we go.

Here are some things delighting me all the same:

1. My team.  I appreciate them.  Sometimes, one of us is braindead (it was me yesterday) and we wander into each other's classroom after school.  Yesterday I went into Miriam's.  She was feverishly grading tests.  "What are you doing during literacy tomorrow?" I asked.  "Just. Tell. Me. What. To. Do."

She handed over a master of a main idea Christmas around the world assignment.  Janelle came in.  I said, "I'm making copies of this.  Do you want some?"

Janelle said yes.  

I hightailed it to the work room and left a stack of warm-from-the-copier papers on Janelle's desk.

Teamwork for the win!

2.  Every day, someone in the class puts an ornament on the tree and there is a number associated with the ornament and an activity or treat associated with the number.  (My mom gave me the idea.)  Yesterday we made snowflakes.

I hung them afterward.

Some of them cut them all alone and some of them needed help.  They all needed help with the folding, but I'm fast so I zipped around folding one at a time.

When I was hanging them up, this one caught my eye:

It is pretty amazing.  You never know what hidden talents someone is going to have and that makes humans just wonderful.

3. I was grading some vocabulary assessments.  They were supposed to write the meaning of the unknown word in the sentence.  The word was scared and a student wrote this as the definition.

Why are apostrophes so hard?!?

Scared means that you're just not ready yet.  That is about the loveliest thing I've heard.  Such a kind view.  Such a hopeful view!

Friends are the gift that keeps giving

Thirty one years ago, we slept a few feet away from each other in a cinder block dorm room.  A computer matched us up in college as roommates, but Erin and I will be friends forever. 

She reads my blog (Hi, Erin!) and texted me awhile ago, asking if she could send gloves to my students.  It was such a kind gesture and meant so much to me!

I said, "Yes!"  I was fully expecting black stretchy gloves, like you see everywhere, but in perfect Erin fashion, she got them very brightly colored gloves that they loved.  

Yesterday, we had a fresh layer of snow.  I assembled my class and I told them about Erin and I said, "She sent you a gift!"  

They were wide-eyed. "What did she send?  What is it?"

I opened the package and showed them the gloves and they cheered and started claiming which color they wanted.  Since it isn't my first rodeo, I picked sticks and they got to choose colors in the order their name was called.  They are used to that routine and everyone got gloves they were happy with.

A few of them switched a glove with friends so they had mismatched pairs, which was very exciting.  They wore them through math.  Here's a little friend skip counting on his fingers, with gloves on.

It delighted me and warmed my heart completely to have someone do something so kind for these students I love.

They are exhausting and maddening and try my patience to no end.

But I love them. And I love Erin for loving them too.

Weekend

Friday was a hard day at school.  They've all seemed really hard lately.

After school, an adult approached me.  She wondered about sending her child to the school.  Her first question was "Do you say the pledge?"

I said, "Um...yeah.  I forget sometimes, but we do."  (I'm terrible at remembering.  I love America as much as the next guy, but I get started with math and forget.)

She said, "My child has been going to a charter school where they say the pledge and sing the anthem."

(I am sure there are good charter schools around, but we get a lot of students from charter schools where the children aren't learning/progressing like they should.)

She told me her child was not progressing in school (surprise, surprise) and she was wondering about sending them to our school, but she had heard it wasn't a good school.

I said, "What do you mean?"  I was taken back.  I love our little school!

She said, "Well, I heard that the academics aren't good and the teachers are bad."

I said, "It is a good school and the teachers are good."  Then I ended the conversation.  

Sheesh.

Later is when I usually think of what I should have said.  "You should probably stay at your current school.  I mean, they say the pledge and sing the anthem after all."

In other news that makes me want to kick someone in the shins, my classroom has been in the upper 70s and Emily's classroom down the hall has been in the 50s.  We decided we should switch halfway through the day.  I was talking to Riley and he said that we were up for a new HVAC system because ours is shot, but since the bond didn't pass, never mind.

Thanks everyone who voted not to fund public education.  Now your tax dollars will keep my classroom a toasty 78 degrees.

So I was a cranky Thelma.  Adam and I went to the ward Christmas party even though I didn't want to (I was cranky).  We sat by some friends and saw people we love.  It was an ugly sweater party and awards were given and everyone laughed a lot.  Then they opened the curtains and on the stage there were about 30 different pictures of Christ.  A primary child, young woman, young man, lady and man all spoke briefly about the Savior.  

It changed my heart.  I saw my difficult students in a clearer way.  I always think that if Jesus came to my school, he would probably gravitate towards those hard cases.  It is my chance to practice being more like Him.

Saturday was Mark's twentieth birthday!  My little baby is twenty!

In my mind he will forever be my sidekick.

For twenty years, he has been melting my heart with his sweetness, stressing me out, being stubborn, and having opinions.

I heard recently that what parents become is the outcome of parenting, not what the children become.  If that is true, Mark has taught me to be patient (still trying), love wholeheartedly, and stay for the long hugs.

I'm grateful I am his mother.

We went to lunch with Emma (Via 313, they have good gluten free pizza).  We talked about things, including Mark's plans and future.  It is clear that I need to trust him more.  He comes up with good ideas. It's easy to think I'm in charge of my adult children, and I am really not.  It's freeing to realize that.

And stressful.

On repeat.

In the evening, Mark invited a bunch of his friends over.  We see a few of them often, but some friends came who hadn't been here before.  I opened the door several times because the group was in the basement and it was disarming how old they were.  One of them had a small beard!  I guess when your twenty year old son invites his friends over you don't need to preside over the gathering offering fruit snacks.

I stayed upstairs but their laughter made me happy.

Sunday was a busy one.  We had church like normal and then I hosted the Relief Society Kringle Mingle at our house.  We had cookies and hot chocolate and oranges and lots of chatting and laughing.  We pulled ladies aside and did ministering interviews.  We used both my office and Adam's office as interview spaces which was a good opportunity to tidy them up.

Both rooms needed a spruce.

I loved talking to my friends.  Some of them said encouraging words to me and I tried to say encouraging words as well.  We need each other.

Storm clouds were gathering and snow was predicted.  After the Kringle Mingle, we decided to drive to Salt Lake to get Mark's computer so he could work from home and they wouldn't have to battle the snarl that is traffic when it snows.  

I was ready for a quiet evening at home, but a quiet evening in the car was good too.  Being together is the thing.

When we got home, we had the birthday cake I had made earlier.  I am experimenting with gluten free cake and it was pretty good.  It was a busy weekend and in the baking aisle at the store, a tub of frosting had seemed like a good idea.

It wasn't.

It never is.

That stuff tastes terrible.

We sang happy birthday anyway.