Thank Goodness for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Vacay started Friday afternoon at 2:21. Big party Friday night; HP Sunday matinee.

Girls home.

Reindeer at the Home Depot.

Temps in the mid 70s.

Love it.

Merry ThanksNewYear!!

Thank goodness for Thanksgiving. We're about to pop:

• I've revised my lesson plan book for the third (or is it the fourth?) time
• I've got a parent who is ready to jump down my throat because I didn't recommend her son for the gifted program. I didn't rate his motivation or creativity high enough to make the grade - like I'm going to give those high marks to someone who doesn't write down assignments unless I personally tell him to, who doesn't turn in work unless I personally tell him to, who won't sit still, won't pay attention, dances in his seat, talks in my line, and hasn't got a creative bone in his body. The gifted program? You've got to be kidding.
• I've got a Varsity cheerleader who is cheering for a football team that is in the Sweet Sixteen. She would love for them to go to State. I want what makes her happy.
• We just finished her Senior Page. In.The.Nick.Of.Time.
• My 8th grader just bought footie pajamas.
• I need to sleep for days, but my Dad is coming on Monday, for a holiday I haven't cleaned or planned for.

WHEE!!! Let the holidays begin.

Walking In a Winter Wonderland

My word, people. I live in the deep South for a good many reasons, but this past week this was a deep freeze. It was colder than a brass monkey's... well, you get the idea. It was winter coat weather, people.

PrepGirl had to cheer Friday night - second round of the playoffs. The outcome of the game determined our Thanksgiving plans. A win meant we had to stay home because the boys would be playing the Friday after Thanksgiving. A loss meant we were free to travel, if you consider free to leave after cheering a basketball game Tuesday night and then we HAD to be home for the Holly Ball Sunday night.

Well, the boys won. Not just any kind of win, mind you, but a travel 80 miles north to an undefeated team and beat the crap out of them in 20 degree weather win. PrepGirl had on so many layers, she could have gone on the Ididerot. Now, mind you, they weren't just any layers, they were uniform layers - the only thing we had to buy were longjohns. The school has winter uniforms to wear over the regular uniforms. She had uniform mittens and headbands to keep her ears warm. She had a regulation turtleneck. She had to wear her regular uniform, but I don't even know why. She said that the only part of herself that was really cold was her ankles because the longjohns didn't go far enough and her socks didn't go high enough. Bummer. Because people, it was cold.

Next Friday, they have to go almost all the way to Florida. I'm not sure why the other team isn't coming here. I'm not sure they are going to have to worry about being cold.

One of the girls on the squad has sisters who are making their debut the Friday after Thanksgiving. The Coach told the girls that they wouldn't letter if they didn't complete the season. I believe I have an e-mail that says she owns them until the season is over. I haven't made any plans, believe you me. But when you plan a debutante ball, you certainly don't think that there is going to be a football ame you have to worry about.

So, for the first time in I can't tell you how many years, I am staying home for Thanksgiving and cooking dinner here. My children don't know what to make of it. And frankly, I am a little off kilter, too.

A Happy New Year!!

Best wishes for all those wonderful things a new year is to bring!!!

Happy New Year!!

What's Left to Be Done (or Undone)

My Christmas, for one, was surprisingly pleasant. After the initial shock of having the rug pulled out from under us, we ditched our traditional Christmas Eve family feast and headed to our local cowboy steakhouse with another family from church (PrepGirl's best friend, as luck would have it) and we had ourselves a Merry Margarita Christmas Eve.



Bed, Santa and Christmas Morning... and in waltzes the in-laws, the ShoeKing and Martha Stewart's own LawyerBoy. All was well. Dinner later that day with same in-laws and then, we went to the movies. PrincipalGirl doesn't like to do anything that encourages businesses to be open on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day. However, we enjoyed ourselves immensely at the new National Treasure movie, thank you, very much. LawyerBoy has declared that we have started some new traditions. Some that I find to be very welcome.

The news that I find to be, well, amazing, is that this newcomer isn't all that new at all. As a matter of fact, I think he has been around for quite some time. LawyerBoy and I have decided that his parents didn't mention him because they were afraid of LawyerBoy's reaction. Now, LawyerBoy is a conservative - trust me - but his conservatism runs toward the fiscal management of the country and its money supply. Socially, he is more liberal. Liberal enough to support his only brother in a lifestyle decision that everyone knew was true and no one was surprised to hear about. I mean, really. My own daughters were neither shocked nor alarmed.

Still, there's a lot of head shaking going on in my house; at my in-laws, mainly, for not trusting us to not be stupid.

Twas the Week Before Christmas

This week before Christmas is always a tough one for a teacher; being the mother of two upper school students makes it doubly stressful. At school, we have secret projects for parents, gifts to make for our book buddies, parties, and programs. They are already so off task they can't breathe - the next five days are the charming ones. (sarcasm, of course)

Bob Marley is so ADHD, he can't function. (That, of course, is my personal diagnosis. Perhaps wrong, but perhaps not.) He wandered off to the library last Friday and returned without the book he had asked to go get. He couldn't ( or wouldn't - can't figure this one out) tell me what he had been doing in the time he was gone and this isn't the first time this has happened. Stammered, stuttered, hemmed and hawed around my desk for forever. I still don't have an explanation. I don't know if he knows, either. He talks just fine when he isn't answering a question for me. He doesn't follow directions and after I give directions, he is the only person in my face, asking me what to do. Multi-step kills him.

A return e-mail from his home wanted to know if his mom could spend three days a week in the classroom with him, straightening him out. I need some parental help, but I don't know if this is it. Three days a week with him and his mom? In my room? I am a little territorial; this is bothersome to me. Must think hard on the return reply to this.


Back to exam week - I now have two getting ready for exams. The steady sixth grader and the hyper tenth grader. The Western Civ teacher (for PrepGirl) gave everyone a 90 on the only paper they have written this semester because he didn't have time to grade it. He said to talk to him if there was a problem. Prep said, "Party on!" I would have been irate. That is the difference between us.

Prep's and BrownBear's Varsity football team went to one of the state championship games this weekend. They had their hats handed to them. Their clocks cleaned. Oh, yes, and thank you for asking, it rained like it must have for Noah. I sent them on their way in thunder and lightning.

So, by Wednesday, we'll be all ready for this to be over. They get out Thursday and I still have to muddle through Friday.