Just another fun week in kindergarten...

This has proven to be quite a week for the boys in my class.  Some days it makes me want to laugh, others it makes me want to hide under a rock because I know the emails will be filling my inbox by the end of the night.  This week had three lovely teaching moments that weren't on my lesson plan:

1.  We have been working hard on writing sentences in class.  I always remind them to think of the fab 5 things for their sentences - Start with a capital, use neat handwriting, use finger spacing, write sentences that make sense, and end with punctuation. This week however, I said end with a period instead of end with punctuation.  Without missing a beat one of my kindergarten boys shouted (why do they always have to say these things so LOUD?) "Boys don't get periods only girls do!!!"  Yes darling you are right but now we are teaching writing not science so go sit down please....

2.  I cannot tell you how many times I have had a student come to my desk eager to rat out one of their classmates.  Usually it is because they have heard them say a bad word, to which I usually respond "whisper to me what you think you heard" and it ranges anywhere from the new "S" word "stupid", or the new "D" word "dumb", and I try hard not to giggle and let them know that while those were not the best choices of words the student in question will not be hung out to dry.  Yet.  This week however, rather than coming to me quietly and whispering the "S" word in my ear, I had a student YELL across the room "MRS PATTERSON HE SAID S*&@" and of course it was the one time it was the actual S word.  Sigh.

3.  Today topped the cake.  Today one of my lovely boys decided to scratch his private area (on the outside at least, and yes I know boys will be boys) but then he stuck his hand in another students face and said HERE SMELL THIS!  Ugh.  Teachers do not get paid enough!

Despite all this craziness, I do still love my job ;)  The students definitely keep my on my toes!

Kindergarten Craft and Spring Break!

Spring Break!  I once heard someone say that Spring break is more for teachers than students, and now I fully agree.  March was such a whirlwind in  our class; we had Dr. Seuss Day, St. Patrick's Day, Open House, our school auction, report cards, and Easter.  Whew!  Now it's good to relax for a few days with my kiddos and enjoy fun field trips with them :)  One of our favorites is always the Santa Barbara Zoo, and I LOVE the giraffes there!!!

Also wanted to post a quick pic of one of the last projects my kindergarteners did before break.  Isn't it awesome???  It's times like this when I love working at a Christian school where we can do crafts that reflect the true meaning of our now overly secular holidays.  I love how they painted their sunsets!  I think I am going to mount them all on black paper when we return but we just didn't have time to add that step earlier,  either way I love how they turned out!  Hope you all had a great Easter!

It's a New Day

  I can't believe how long it's been since I visited my own blog!  Considering how many other blogs I spend hours on, it's rather shocking.  I couldn't bring myself to write after that last post 2plus years ago, I didn't want to turn my blog into a weep fest or complain-o-rama.  Let's face it, I was hurt and it has taken a while to move on.  However, now that I am in a better place, why not fresh start and start blogging again?
  I can't believe how little my monkeys look in these pictures!  I think it's time for an update, so here you go...

Yes, they are adorable and growing and amazing!  Blessed beyond measure by these three amazing creations!

  So, in the coming weeks I hope to start blogging again more frequently!  Sharing some teaching ideas (yes, I am teaching again), some yummy recipes (quick and easy, of course), and the occasional blog bragging about my awesome family.  Hope you find your way back and find something interesting!

Lasts

This has been a painful week of lasts. Last time helping in KJ's class at CCA, last home group, last awana, last jr. high/high school nights for Matt, last tearful playdates with Santa Barbara friends. It has been emotionally exhausting, and combined with packing up I am surprised I can still open my eyes. I am ready for some firsts. They sound a little more promising. First morning at the new church, first day of a new school (the kids are dreading that one), first night in the new house. It's coming, and I am praying it will be good. For now we have one more "last" to get through tomorrow. Last morning at Community Covenant. Already crying thinking about it. I knew I should have bought stock in kleenex a month ago.

I can't believe I am blogging about deodorant...

About a year ago I kept smelling random whiffs of stench around my house. First I blamed the hubby's feet, then I found myself constantly checking to see if my deodorant was working. I eventually found the culprit, my darling sweet little children. Who knew my little darlings could smell so ripe at such a young age? We quickly had the hygiene talk and purchased deodorant for both the older kiddos, and followed it up with almost daily reminders to actually use the product. I think they have finally gotten the hang of it. Unfortunately, my oldest dropped his and it crumbled into a million pieces this week, which meant I had the task of actually remembering to replenish it at the grocery store. Three trips later, I finally remembered it. Unfortunately, it took me forever to find it, I sat in the grocery store aisle (okay, not literally, that's just gross) staring at rows of men's deodorant trying desperately to find an unscented one. I am sorry, I do not want my nine year old smelling like a rotting pine forest or an old man who has been sitting at a black jack table all day. Who makes these scents? Not a mom, I will tell you that. Girls/women have so many options for scents, from fruity to flowery, powdery to plain, but men apparently all need to have deodorant that you can smell from a mile away. You would think some brilliant corporate mind would realize this and market to the millions of stinky young boys in this country. Lego scented deodorant, playdough for your pits, crayola's not just for coloring anymore. Most of the brands don't even offer an unscented option. I actually thought about just buying a girl one but didn't want to completely scar my son for life. I finally found one, on the bottom shelf, and it is a brand that I didn't recognize that was on sale for 99 cents so who knows what it is going to do to my sons armpits. I might be better off if I just pasted a couple of bars of soap under there.

Pictures

Here are a few recent pics. Yes, I know it is December and Halloween was a while ago but I just downloaded all my camera pics. The first one is from the American Girl Fashion show, Kendall was in a bitty baby outfit and posed with her friends who were Kit and Julie:
This one is from Halloween. Bennett was a Jawa (his helmet even had the red eye lights), KJ was Jessie and Camden was a green alien from Toy Story. Very fun!

I should be...

I should be packing right now. I should be packing, planning, cleaning, doing something productive. I should be helping kids with homework, playing games with Camden, wrapping Christmas presents, anything else besides sitting here completely mindlessly searching through blogs for crafts I will probably never make and lurking on facebook about people I could just as easily call to catch up with. Frustrated.
I tend to get this way when I have way too much going on. I don't know where to start, so I just don't do anything. Last week I broke my toe and was so angry that I was practically immobile and couldn't do anything I wanted to. Now that I am doing better, I can't get through this mental block. I think I need help. Or a HUGE margarita. Just kidding, I promise :)
I did finish my Christmas cards today, so I can say I did one productive thing. Now I just have to wait for the right time to mail it so my friends aren't annoyed with me. Christmas cards are a tricky business. You have to write enough to get out pertinent information, but not too much or you just seem braggy and annoying. Okay, I am just babbling now so I best get on to my projects. Or do some more online Christmas wish list making. Sigh.

Change

Wow, we were sick for awhile. Hoping things are on the mend now, although there are a couple in our family that have yet to come down with anything. I am guessing maybe Christmas Eve we will start another round, such an optimistic thought right?
So, the cat was officially out of the bag last week about our move and I have yet to blog about it because I have been so sick. And by the way, does anyone know where that phrase came from? It sounds like our news is going to pounce on you and scratch your eyes out. Can you tell I don't like cats? Anyway, we are officially packing up AGAIN and moving AGAIN but this time it is the biggest change we have ever made. It is so weird to think I am moving somewhere where I will have no friends, Matt will have no normal routine for a while, and we will basically just have each other. In some ways I am really excited about it, in other ways completely terrified. I just keep thinking to myself, what if this doesn't work out? Where will we go then? This will be our 7th move since we were married, I am hoping it lasts longer than 3 years. Hoping, praying, begging God. Our house is full of empty boxes right now, and I keep looking at them hoping that they will fill themselves. I feel like for every two boxes I pack I am also throwing away at least one bag of stuff, and I must admit I love that. My kids aren't so happy since it's mostly their stuff I am getting rid of, but I am feeling cleansed of clutter.
If you think about it, pray for my kiddos. They are anxious about this, as are we, and since I haven't ever really moved away from family and friends before it is hard to know how to comfort them. And if you live in the area and want to come pack a box feel free! We have three weeks until the big move and about 400 boxes to load up!

Sickies

I know I should be thankful that it is November and so far this school year my kids have been pretty healthy. I know I should remember than in the big picture I have amazingly healthy kids and am thankful for them each day. I know I should remember that God has always been faithful to provide for us in the past, and I need to trust that he will continue to do so in the future. These are things that I should know, but they are super hard to remember at 2:00 in the morning when my oldest walks in my bedroom door and can barely breathe. And it is depressing and scary that one of my first thoughts as I watch him struggling and realize we need to take him to the emergency room is "How on earth are we going to pay for this?"
This is not the way I wanted to start my week. Bennett is doing okay now, he has asthmatic bronchitis and a cool inhaler to use for the next couple of days. Which means, now that he is on the mend, I can start worrying about hospital bills. I just finished telling Matt that we got another bill from my surgery in June which we thought we had finally paid off, and now we get to add this ER visit to our debt tab. Do you ever feel like everything decides to crash in on you at the same time? Trying to keep a thankful heart, would appreciate your prayers.

Confession

Last year around this time I bought a pair of corduroy pants. It was a meager attempt to be somewhat fashionable, and they were super comfy and cheap because I had an Old Navy coupon. Skipping ahead to January, I started the year with the desire to lose some weight (along with most of America, gotta love resolutions) and much to my delight my pants were quickly too big for me. I thought about getting rid of them but didn't want to be wasteful. My point to all this back story is that I tried them on again this week and much to my dismay they fit again. Usually a good thing when pants fit, this time not so much. Last Spring they were falling off of me, now they sit comfortably. Ugh. So, I would like to blame my good fitting pants on the following:
1. Starbucks/Zizzo's. If your darn latte's didn't taste so good then maybe I wouldn't be forced to drink them all the time.
2. Matty. How is it possible that you can eat limitless ice cream and drink gallons of Dr. Pepper and not gain weight?
3. My doctors, who jointly prescribed random steroids and hormones this year in an attempt to get me healthy and figure out some issues. I'll take the issues back as I prefer loose pants.
4. My wallet. If it had more money in it then maybe I could buy healthier produce instead of a 79 cent taco.
I guess I should be thankful that at least I don't have to buy new pants this winter!

Trick or Treat

So, with Halloween just a couple of days away I figured it was about time that I finish making Kendall's costume. We originally bought her a Jessie costume but it looked so cheap and the hat barely fit her big noggin so we took it back. Poor Kendall, two years in a row now mommy has made her costume and the boys get a bought one. Just one more thing to add to the therapy checklist. Anyway, yesterday I finally got around to finishing it (and starting it for that matter) and it turned out super cute! I mean, I can't sew and it is all put together with tape but hopefully it can last a couple of nights, right? Honestly I didn't sew it because I wanted to be able to take it all apart later so she can still wear the individual pieces, the fact that I can't sew has little to do with it.
This year's theme didn't happen, I knew my days were numbered. Camden is going to be a green alien from Toy Story (SO cute!) and KJ will be Jessie, but Bennett refused to be Buzz or Woody. Wake up and smell the 9 year old, way to advanced for that sort of kiddie costume. Instead he is going to be a Jawa, the red-eyed cloaked things from Star Wars. Not exactly cute and cuddly, but he is excited. And mommy is excited because the kids are now old enough to know which are mommy's favorite candies so when they go to a door that they get a choice of treats they always pick ones I like. I have the best kids ever!

Hurting

I knew parenting would be rough. Matt & I didn't go into this blind, we knew there would be tough spots along the way and still decided 12 years ago that we wanted kids. We heard all the warnings that parenting is like wearing your heart on the outside, it's not for the faint of heart, blah blah blah. We knew. But knowing and experiencing are two totally different things.
We have endured sleepless nights, sick kids, cranky "phases" (aka ages 2-4), and learned a lot along the way. We learned that with every step there is a fall, and then you look back and learn from what you did and move forward. We have taught our kids how to walk, talk, use the bathroom, etc. and are continually working on teaching them to love, respect, and be helpful. We know that in order to learn these things they need to experience them, so we try to show them love, kindness, hospitality, etc. As a parent you think these are the tough things to teach, until something happens that you can't fix. As a parent you realize that in order to learn how to heal, a child must first learn what it means to hurt. In order to learn how to succeed, they must first taste failure. In order to learn how to move from mourning to peace they must first understand what it means to grieve. In order to learn to trust God and have faith, they must be stretched in ways we cannot understand. My son is hurting now, and I feel like it is my fault. I know there is no easy fix for his pain, and I know that he will grow from this and learn a ton about himself and God and family, but right now he hurts. As a parent I want nothing more than to take all his pain away but I know that instead I need to try to give him tools to help him move forward, this is the hardest thing I think I have faced as a parent. I want him to understand that his pain hurts me too, but I don't want him to feel guilty or feel like he needs to hide his pain from me so instead I sit silently and hold him while he cries. We are both broken. And I know from my life experiences that we will move on and things will get better, but he doesn't yet, and it kills me that his perfect little world is starting to crack.
I know you may be totally lost reading this, and it probably doesn't make sense at all, but I just needed to get it out.

Sales and Shows

I officially survived my last garage sale this weekend. Okay, I know I always say I will never do another garage sale but this time I really mean it! I started to think about the number of hours I put in sorting and pricing, and the number of hours I spent setting up and haggling with customers, only to discover that I think I averaged a negative amount of money per hour. I didn't even know that was possible. And despite the fact that we got rid of a ton of stuff we still have way to much leftover garbage. How I wish I could throw some invisible paint on it all and it would all disappear.
After our garage sale and before we left for a weekend trip (I know, I really pack a lot into my weekends) Kendall had her American Girl Fashion Show call-back. I couldn't believe how quickly my attitude changed from casual and supportive mom to total annoying stage mom. It was a crazy Jekyll and Hyde moment for me. I kept whispering to her to smile and stand straight, it was like a foreign language coming out of my mouth that I couldn't stop. I am hoping to squelch my inner stage mom as we attend the dress rehearsals and shows; I may need to invest in some duct tape before then. Definitely.

Wicked

Ever wonder what this stay at home mom does when she has time at home alone? At the moment, other than blogging, I am listening to the Wicked soundtrack which is being blasted through my ipod. LOVE it. It is my favorite thing to do when I am here alone; I sing along at the top of my lungs while cleaning up. I am also secretly going through all my kids toys to get ready for the garage sale on Saturday, my own little version of being wicked I suppose. My kids are pack rats, someone has to help them de-clutter their lives! I am also watching our fish closely, as there was yet another "accident" this morning which is far too crazy to get into but I have a feeling both Inspector Fishy and Shiny may be taking a ride down the porcelain throne today and I do not want my kids to find them floating. Again.
Doesn't my life sound thrilling?

A Fish Story

This crazy lady that I know decided that it would be a good idea to give away Beta fish at her son's Great Barrier Reef birthday party in May. I don't know what she was thinking. First of all, it was a good thing one party guest didn't show up because we ended up needing an extra fish when after an hour one of the fish who had already been chosen and named had to make a visit to the porcelain throne. Then she she spent weeks with her stomach tied in knots knowing that every time the phone rang it could be a child in tears because their fish friend was "sleeping". Fortunately that only happened to one other one, until recently.
KJ and Camden shared one fish, "Tiny", and Bennett has his own named "Inspector Fishy". A couple of weeks ago Kendall and Bennett found Tiny, eyes wide and floating sideways, in his bowl. And of course, it was right before bedtime. It took me a good hour to calm Kendall's sobs as she mourned the loss of her favorite fish. I tried the whole "God takes care of all creation and you will see Tiny in heaven" but it didn't help. The next day we had to make another trip to the pet store for a new friend, and named him "Shiny". They were all excited because he is kind of different looking, a shiny silver blue, which I thought was really cool until yesterday.
Because we are trying to make sure Shiny lives a long healthy life, I decided to clean his bowl yesterday. During the process I learned something about Shiny, he is feisty and apparently wants to find a way home. I poured him in a cup to clean his bowl and when I went to pour him back he jumped out of the water (must have been a fish gymnast in another land) and landed on the bathroom counter. I think I screamed. All I could think of was the fact that Shiny had this "special" look and there was no way I would be able to fool KJ with a duplicate if he didn't survive. Not to mention Camden was helping me and the last thing I wanted to do was to have to teach him how to lie to his sister. Fortunately I was able to flip him back into his bowl and I think he has recovered. I must admit I even said a little prayer for him, desperate times call for desperate measures you know! Hopefully she won't find him floating anytime soon. And you wonder why we don't have a dog ;)

Coffee

Growing up I wasn't fond of coffee. Cream and sugar, yes, but coffee not so much. My distaste of coffee grew when my junior high English teacher drank black coffee, and breathed in our face when we had questions leading me to want to hurl. That being said, one of the beautiful aspects about my relationship with Matt was that we both shared this uncommon dislike of coffee. Friends and family were shocked when we got married and didn't register for a coffee pot, which is probably why we ended up with 5 crock pots. All that to say our world was turned upside down when our besties encouraged us to try new things at Starbucks until we found what we could tolerate. Thus, my love affair with coffee took shape. My darling iced grande nonfat white mocha (sometimes with a shot of peppermint at Christmas) has become a new friend. We look forward every year to Fall when our birthdays roll around and Christmas is here because we hold our breath hoping for gift cards to feed our addiction. All this back story is written to explain a bizarre dream I had last night.
Last weekend I decided to cut out carbs/sugar for a while. Shocking, I know, but I need to cleanse out my system. I have resigned myself to the nonfat sugar free vanilla latte, which is not even close to my darling drinks taste. So last night I had a dream that we went to the movie theater and saw a Starbucks outside. We snuck out to get coffee and I ordered the SFV but they made a mistake and I found myself drinking my white mocha. It was like pure joy being poured down my throat. When I woke up I realized that even in my dreams I can't stay on a diet. Suck.

New Look

So what do you think of the new look? I figured it had been ages, and if I was going to start blogging again I should do something new. Not that I actually did anything but press a button, but it seems somewhat impressive doesn't it?
I am not going to even bother playing catch up, but there is a lot going on in the Patterfam life that I will post soon. I don't have a ton of time today because I am getting ready for our third brownie meeting this afternoon. If you had told me when I was 9 years old, walking home alone on a cold dark night because my girl scout leader had forgotten to tell me that our meeting was cancelled, that I would someday be a brownie leader I would have laughed in your face. Or cried, given the circumstances. I must admit I kind of went into this kicking and screaming but I am having a lot of fun. Nothing like living out your childhood dreams through your kiddos, just one more thing that they will have to talk about with their therapist later ;)
Hope you all are doing well! I promise to post again soon!

My Baby

My baby boy turned nine today. It seems absolutely impossible that nine years has passed since his birth! He is getting so tall and I love that he still wants to sit in my lap even though he is way too long for me :)
As part of his "birthday week extravaganza" his teacher asked me to put together a special birthday book for Bennett and come read it to the class. All of the parents have done it for their kids, and I had seen a few, but today was the first time I stayed for the whole "experience". Bennett sat next to me as I read his book and I could tell he was both proud and a little embarrassed, which is okay with me. After I finished reading it and showed everyone the pictures, his teacher asked if any of the students wanted to pray for Bennett. I was overwhelmed at the joyous response and then completely touched when I heard their prayers. It was sooooo sweet! They thanked God for Bennett's friendship and kindness and prayed blessings on his day. It took everything in me not to burst out in tears! As a mom there is no greater gift then seeing your kids showered with love and praise! It made me so thankful for our school and our friends. And not only was he blessed at school, but his day started out with finding a decorated car as he headed out the door to leave this morning. His best buddy came last night to decorate our car and Bennett was definitely surprised! My heart is so full of love not only for my baby boy, but our amazing circle of family and friends who do so much to show us that we are loved!
And since I am now completely balling as I write this I am going to end this post with a heart full of gratitude and thanks ;)

Just another day as a crazy mom

On Friday I almost wrecked my car. Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad, but it came close. You see, I had to go the bank and as I was leaving and my mind was in a thousand different places, I happened to see Taylor Lautner and almost crashed my car. Let me remind you that I am a happily married woman who really has no interest in young boys. That being said, when I saw him my mind and body simultaneously focused on finding my cell phone to call my besties and grab a picture instead of driving. Can you imagine what would have happened if I had actually hit a parked car? "I'm sorry officer but it wasn't all my fault, I was distracted by Jacob from Twilight...." To make matters worse, did I mention that the Taylor I saw turned out to be a cardboard cut-out deceptively placed to fool us poor women and cause us to crash our cars? You can stop laughing now, I know I am crazy.

Mammoth

I have been patiently waiting to blog anything until I could tell you all of our amazing Mammoth adventures (yes, I know it was like three weeks ago) and upload all of my beautiful pictures. Unfortunately, the technical gods have not been shining on me lately and I have officially lost all my pics and completely destroyed my memory card for my camera. I am trying really hard not to be overly bummed out by this. I am also trying really hard not to strangle the people at Sammy's camera or the makers of the SD picture card. Apparently what happened to my card is not unusual, because there are thousands of posts online by people who have had similar issues. I will not admit how many suggestions I read through, but sadly must confess that I did try three outrageous Macgyver moves to try to mend my card with no success. So even though I don't have pictures to show and it has been forever since our trip, I will still fill you in on the details.
First of all, I don't know why I was worried that there wasn't going to be any snow. I have never seen so much in my life! My kids were in snow heaven. Bennett has declared that he officially wants to move to Mammoth, and Kendall's favorite new food is snow. We had such a good time sledding and riding the Gondola. No skiing for us (major budget buster - how do people do that?) but we had a ton of fun. And one of the biggest highlights was the gorgeous place we stayed at that had 2 sets of stairs which of course meant free rides for my kids. It is amazing how much fun a staircase can be when you are in slippery snow gear and you are not old enough to feel/realize the damage you are causing to your tailbone. It was definitely a much needed vacay for our family, and I am hoping and praying that we are invited back to do it again someday. I have heard that they are predicting the ski runs will be open until July this year, can you imagine that?