Last Day!

So today was my last day with my students. It was really hard for me to say goodbye. They are such great kids! I am so proud of them! They rotated to each class today so each clown teacher got a chance to interact with my students. I had several come tell me that my class was the absolute best behavior wise, at having fun, at listening, lining up etc. That made me feel really good. I got positively spoiled with adorable cards, baby clothes, and hollywood video gift cards. It felt great to be so appreciated but I felt pretty guilty walking out with all that loot. The gifts were really nice but the pictures and notes the kids wrote made me cry (once the kids were out of sight since I didn't want to upset them). I had a couple nervous kids who didn't want to leave my class. The same couple of kids are nervous about kindergarten but we've been talking it up for the last little while and I'm sure they'll be fine. There have been such emotional moments this year. One of my pm students refuses to go to any community classes or even primary but her mom says she loves my class and always is excited to come. She started out the year very nervous but she and I spent some time coloring together those first couple of weeks and slowly built a trusting rapport and after a little bit she became very attached (okay me too). :-) She was very sad today and told me some very sweet things about me being the best teacher ever and that she didn't want to go. It very nearly broke my heart. Once the other students heard her they all started showering me with those wonderful words every teacher wants to hear "You are the best, I love you, etc etc" One of my am students has a very pronounced speech impediment and started the year with little confidence. Very few people could understand what she was saying but luckily for me I had enough experience to be able to understand her. It must have made her feel more confident to have someone know what she was saying. She began reading and I totally watered up the day she read a book to me cover to cover. Her speech when she reads is almost crystal clear. It must be something with processing or slowing down, or ? Anyway, I'm not sure why it happens but her speech is clear when she is reading and her confidence is sky high. Show and Tell in front of the class? No problem at all. There have been so many little successes as well as hard fought ones. I couldn't possibly begin to describe how much the kids have grown and how proud I am of each of them. I just know that they can do anything. It's so hard to let go. I just feel so privileged to have been a part of it. So that is the totally mushy part of the post.

Now on to the whole clown thing. I had warned that I would be grouchy since I don't think dressing up like a clown is part of my personality. Of course with the kids I played it up and we had a good time but the second the kids were gone? Yes I turned grouchy. I even told my boss the tape she was putting up outside looked tacky. OOPS! The truth just kind of slipped out. It was freezing outside and raining and she had asked me to help tape windmills to the posts with red duct tape. It wasn't working well and I was completely freezing in my thin clown costume! So, I repeated myself that we should have the windmills in the ground and not taped to the posts and that the tape looked tacky. Hmm....nice one Jen. So the tape came down and the windmills went in the ground. One small victory for Grumpy/Grouchy the clown. I got to go inside and warm up. I lost another battle though when my parachute got confiscated. I had it on the floor for the kids to sit on while we read circus stories and watched a video clip from the circus. We used to do this at pirate storytime in california and it made it more exciting for the kids for some reason. It looked so cute and I knew the kids would be excited. The ringmaster (boss) came in and asked to use it for one of the rotations. So my cute set up was destroyed for the greater good. The kids did tell me that they loved the rotation that had the parachute so I felt happy knowing that the kids still got to enjoy it. They are using it tomorrow too (tomorrow is the last day for the MWF kids) so I just hope it comes back still in good condition. You never know with preschool. We had a few criers and my little kiddo who doesn't go anywhere other than my class was incredible nervous. She kept her arms folded across her chest as she walked down the hall to the rotation but I told her I'd be right there in our classroom waiting and she got through all the rotations just fine. It gives me great hope that she'll adjust well to kindergarten. I sure want the best for all my cute little kiddos. Even my crier/shaker who hates clowns said my costume wasn't too bad so that was good. He likes spongebob and made a comparison. Thank heaven for bright yellow huh? So that's pretty much it about my last day of work. I feel happy to be done but sad to be saying goodbye to my students. I am really excited to not have to share my time so much now. Carter will have me all to himself this summer and he's really excited about being able to sleep in and not have to go to preschool now. In fact, the only thing I could do to get him out of bed this morning was to tell him it was the last time he had to go to my work. Once he heard that he was totally cooperative. Whew!

AI and other nonsense

So I wasn't really into AI this season. I didn't vote a single time. There just wasn't anyone that I was totally wowed by. There were a few memorable performances but yeah it just didn't really interest me much this year. Matt's favorites were David A and Brooke. I accused him of only liking them because they are members. He accused me of not liking them because they were members. It's an ongoing disagreement between us about every member on a reality show. I think he's too quick to support members and he thinks I am too quick to find reasons not to like them. Hmm. So anyway, my very favorite performance tonight? Renaldo Lapuz of course! We've been singing "I am your brother" to eachother since the audition. Mostly because it's so catchy and also because Carter absolutely loves it. He was singing it to cricket just the other day. He loves to sing it to her. The marching band was a wonderful touch and Carter had us rewind it so we could all sing it again. Very awesome.

I'm in a bit of a grouchy mood about tomorrow. Tomorrow is my last day of work. Well, I have to go back tuesday for classroom cleaning and end of the year certification etc but tomorrow is my last day with my students. The school has a tradition of the last day being "circus days." Yeah, circus. All the teachers are "required" to dress up like clowns. Can I just tell you how humiliating and ridiculous I find this? Yes I know I teach preschool but it's an academic preschool and I like maintaining some semblance of professionalism. I think I am a fun teacher. My students and I cut loose and dance around the room with colorful scarves during music time, I do silly things occasionally, and we have laughs everyday. However; I draw the line at dress up. I think it's absolutely degrading. Each time I've thought about it I've thrown up my hands and yelled why?! Today I've thought about it so much that it's made me grouchy. Carter has remembered. He's excited, and even more excited because he sees how grouchy it makes me when he mentions it. This evening when I snapped at him not to talk to me about it again he wrapped his arms around my tummy and started telling cricket over and over "mommy is being a clown tomorrow, mommy is being a clown tomorrow!" ARGH!!!!!

I'm also worried about a couple of the kids in my class. One in particular has a habit of crying and shaking whenever we have a change of routine (when there is a school wide practice, parade, etc). I told the kids yesterday that I would be dressed up as a clown the next time they saw me just to give them some time to adjust to the idea and not arrive all freaked out. I am worried though since the crier/shaker told me "But Mrs. Morrison, I don't like clowns." It was all I could do to restrain myself from saying "I don't either." But I didn't. Instead I just said that it would be okay, I would still be me, and I wouldn't wear silly hair or makeup. I just think it's so crazy to do this! I mean, hello, they have no point of reference for this! They may be jittery enough with it being the last day. Why throw a wrench in it and totally mess up the routine? Circus Day the kids go to each classroom for 10 minute activities so my class will only be with me for about 20 minutes tomorrow. Anyway, I'm totally irritated. I think I know how to have fun but when I am at work I am focused and in the zone so to speak. I am serious about preparing my students for kindergarten. In fact, all my students except 2 are reading. Some are even reading at 1st or 2nd grade level. The 2 who are not reading each missed 9 weeks of school but do have a good level of phonetic awareness at least. Anyway, we do have fun in my class and the kids are happy. Yesterday I almost started to cry because my kids all started telling me that they loved me and that they didn't want next time to be our last day of school and that they were going to miss me sooo much, and that I was the best teacher. You know, all that stuff that just makes your heart break because you get so attached to the kids. I am really going to miss them. They are great kids and a lot of fun. As much as I'll miss them I do admit that I am excited to have a new page in life as a purely at home mom again. I hope I'll get a lot more done now that I'll have more time. I'm really looking forward to the summer and having all day every day with my Carter. I choke up every time I think about how my Carter will be in school all day next year. Even eating lunch at school. He just seems so tiny to have to be such a big kid now. I just don't know how I'll handle having all those hours stolen from me each day. I'm glad I'll have the baby to keep me from spying in the school windows each day just to see how he is doing.

In other news, I just finished reading The Host, that new Stephenie Meyer book. I absolutely loved it. It's sci-fi and it's totally wonderful. It is incredibly creative and I loved the plot. It was highly emotional and I found myself choked up several times. I highly recommend reading it. Thanks so much to Jen and Amber for giving me the book. :-) Well, I better go get ready for bed. If I'm not rested for tomorow I am afraid I'll be the grumpiest clown my co-workers have ever seen. Sigh.....this clown thing is sooo not my personality. I just keep shaking my head in disbelief and disgust.

Tagged ABCs

A. Attached or Single- Attached for 8 years in November

B. Best Friend(s)- Nancy, Jen, Amber, Matt, my book club

C. Cake or Pie- cake

D. Day of Choice- Wednesday

E. Essential Item- pony tail holder and chapstick

F. Flavor of Ice Cream- chocolate peanut butter

G. Gummy Bears or Worms- gummy bears

H. Hometown- Irvine, CA WooHoo!

I. Indulgences- very dark chocolate (the more bitter the better)

J. January or July- July (July because I now hate winter)

K. Kids- 1 boy and 1 girl on the way

L. Last movie I saw in a theater- Horton Hears A Who

N. Number of siblings- 1

O. Orange or Apples- oranges

P. Phobias or Fears- seeing ghosts, and fear of heights

Q. Quote- "what the heck was grandma doing at the sand dunes?"-napoleon dynamite

R. Reasons to smile- flowers blooming, seeing the city lights across the lake, hearing crickets chirping, feeling my baby moving, seeing Carter happy.

S. Season- Spring!

T. Tag 4- Steven, Sara B., Mindy

U. Unknown fact about me- I was handball and tetherball champion on the playground for several years in elementary school. :-)

V. Vegetarian or oppressor of Animals-all things in moderation. Some meat not very much.

W. Worst Habit- scratching my scalp

X. X-rays or Ultrasounds- Ultrasound

Y. Your favorite Food- right now it's the grilled cheese tomato sandwich with a dill pickle on the side.

Z. Zodiac- Taurus

Forgot to include this in my post

Carter said the funniest thing during sacrament yesterday. It was so hard to contain myself. He was reading his church history book and read the story about the seagulls. He turned to Matt and I and said that the baby is going to hate seagulls. Why? Because her name is cricket and seagulls eat crickets. He struck me so funny that I started to laugh and had to try really hard to keep my composure! Besides, I personally hate seagulls anyway. They are so dirty. Ugh!

Short Post!

We are heading out to Matt's dad's birthday get together but I had to share some news. Matt was released today from his calling in nursery. He's been in for almost 2 years here and 2 years in California before we moved here so I can't tell you how fun it was to get to sit next to my husband in Sunday School today for pretty much the first time in about 4 years. It's great to have him back. I missed him. :-) He's so good with the kids and he'd been in nursery for so long that he even has nursery ties that I've bought him over the years (Mickey Mouse, Pooh Bear, Snoopy, etc). Carter was very sad that daddy doesn't teach "the babies" anymore, mostly because after church he loves to ask matt what the babies did. It's been cute. I'm so lucky to have a husband who is so good with kids. They naturally gravitate towards him. He still has kids from last year who recognize him and come up to him for attention. So cute. He's planning on asking to be put back in when Cricket is 18months. He was with Carter when Carter was in nursery and it worked out really well. Anyway, just wanted to share the news! Will post more later!

Field Trip to Hogle Zoo

Aren't sloths adorable? Today I was lucky enough to get to go with Carter's kindergarten class to the Hogle Zoo! I knew we were going on a bus and I was picturing those diesel smelling sticky vinyl seat school buses. Actually we rode in a fancy bus that had tv screens, comfy seats that even reclined and had footrests. It was an awesome ride. The kids were excited to get to the zoo and I was probably just as excited as they were. I had a group of 4-5 kids and another adult with me half the time. We had such a blast! I had asked the kids to each pick the animal that they wanted to see the most. That way I'd make sure they each got to see what they wanted to see. We kept a comfortable but determined pace and we ended up seeing everything at the zoo except the bird show so I was thrilled! I just didn't know if all the kids would ever visit there again so I wanted to make sure we made the most of the day. We definitely did. Their little legs were tired at the end and the pace slowed quite a bit but we still saw everyones' favorite things and a lot after that even. There were many primates, reptiles, and larger animals as well. The meerkats were a favorite for the kids and of course the cute tamarins were too. They also really enjoyed seeing the bigger animals like the giraffes, bears and zebras though my group wasn't all that impressed with the elephants for some reason. They LOVED the cougar which was actually scary! We got to the enclosure and the cougar (mountain lion) opened its mouth and made a threatening noise and came right on over. It obviously saw them as prey. I thought of those recent attacks in cali where little kids were literally dragged out of the park sand box by a mountain lion. So scary! In the reptile room there was a springtime lesson going on with the large tortoises so we detoured and saw all the snakes, lizards, porcupines, etc and then came back to see the tortoises later. While we were in the reptile building this sloth was hanging overhead. I got some great pictures of the kids right underneath it. So neat to be so close! I'm serious, it wasn't even behind glass or anything! It was just literally hanging out above the little bridge that you cross to go from one part of the reptile building to the other. So cute! Physically I held out pretty well! Of course, I had been a bit worried thinking what if I need to rest or something but actually I felt great while I was there! Now I feel tired but while I was there I was just too excited and too hyper-vigilant to feel it. I was hawk eyed the whole time to make sure I had everyone. I felt a huge responsibility since I knew if I hadn't been able to go on the field trip I would have been praying that the person watching over my kids was taking it that seriously. I'm just not the kind to let the kids run off at the playground and then count later. We stayed together and saw/did everything section by section. I even had my first aid kit and stuff. Luckily there was no need to use it. :-) The kids seemed to have a blast! It was a really fun day and I'm really thrilled that I got to experience it.

Somebody's Got the Gimmies

So....it's my turn to go read The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies to myself. It must be from being spoiled rotten this week with new clothes from my mom and being given birthday money. I've never liked clothes shopping and no one could ever accuse me of being a clothes horse. I have stuff in my closet that I still wear from years ago. In fact, my church shoes are the shoes I wore the day I met Matt. Yep! I pride myself in being frugal and not gathering/spending but I tried on my new outfits and I now say there is something to be said for having new clothes. It feels great doesn't it? So between my new clothes and birthday money I have a serious case of the gimmies. The $ is burning a hole in my pocket and I just am torn between all the different possibilities. I think it's ridiculously funny that when I don't have money to burn I don't want anything badly and when I do have money to spend I want everything and want it right away. Think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the first one) and the girl singing about "I want the world, I want the whole world, I want to lock it all up in my pocket, it's my bar of chocolate, give it to me....now, I want today, I want tomorrow, I want"....) Can you tell I've sung the song a few times? It's quite catchy and I like to sing it around Carter because he gets so mad about it. Yes, I want pretty much everything I see and in that terrible state of mind I did the unthinkable. I went online to gymboree.com and started looking at baby girl clothes! I have to try to keep a level head but I'm not kidding when I say that there must be something addictive about their clothes. I'm pretty good about not buying but I did buy Carter's swim suit, tank, and hat there last summer. The great news is that they still fit so I feel happy knowing I'm getting 2 years of wear out of them. I've actually done the "ohs and ahs" over a few of the outfits. Such cute stuff!

I also have the gimmies about couches. The sectional that we inherited from matt's parents has had some tears and worn spots for awhile and I've been waiting for the perfect timing to tell Matt it really needs to go. I just couldn't justify getting a new one when this one was still functional (and without stuffing pouring out). I had to smile the day before yesterday when a huge (and I mean huge) tear opened up on the front with stuffing poking out along an entire cushion. I wasn't happy about it but at the same time I smiled knowing that I was closer to the perfect timing to mention it. I was still waiting for the perfect moment and as luck would have it Matt actually noticed the enormous tear and said something to the effect of "wow this couch sure is starting to look bad." LOL "starting" is a huge understatement. So....last night we smelled smoke and couldn't figure out where it was coming from. It was a plasticy smell and way weird. We finally located the problem. Matt's 7 year old lap top had started to fry. Seriously, it was so overheated that the smell was of melted plastic. So the great compromise? He gets a new lap top which he needs for work/court etc and I get a new couch. :-) So, I'm waiting for the perfect deal (probably labor day sales+negotiation) and then I will snap up a set that I'll keep forever. I'll probably even institute the living room rule. Meaning everyone hangs out in the basement mostly and the living room is for guests/Sundays/and other limited functions. Anyway, I'm really going to try to snap out of the gimmies since I know it's not a great state of mind. Well, I have a book to go read. :-)