Our Last Week of May

Well, we have been pretty busy. We spent Memorial Day weekend with some friends from church camping. We had a blast. It rained Sunday night, but didn't sour the weekend. Maya loved being outdoors and getting her first chance to fish. Zeke just loved trying to run away and playing with the two boys from the other family that went with us. He just idolized the older of the two. So much that Zeke is still talking about him. This morning Kevan was asking Zeke who wanted tickles and Zeke said, "Duncan." It was nice to get a chance to talk to adults while having fun with our children.

Then we got back and returned to school. I got pushed into a door by an angry fourth grader, leaving my arm slightly bruised. But, I survived and the child has been reprimanded.

Yeterday Maya went to school and saw Mike Cameron, the Brewer's Center Fielder, and the racing sausages. She even got a free t-shirt out of the deal. The only things she remember about the talk was that Mike Cameron said that his mom was his role model. Then she began naming her role models. She named Zeke, but I am not sure he is the best role model. Yesterday at daycare there are two new twin boys in his class that cry a lot. Whenever they would start crying Zeke would point at them and say, "Stop it!" Nothing like a little tough love from Zeke.

Today we went out to eat at Vickie's Diner and Zeke was being his outgoing loud self. (I guess when my mother said, "I hope you have a child just like you." Zeke is what came about.) He was finished eating and the high chair's straps were broken. He stood up in his chair and started yelling, "Kooky!" (He learned it from a Nick Jr. show called Wow Wow Wubbzy.) Then he started roaring like a lion. It was pretty funny and luckily there were not many people left from the dinner crowd.

Well, I have to go and do a few loads of laundry and write some checks for bills. I hope everyone is doing well.

A Wonderful Whirlwind!

Well, we went to the wedding of my brother Mark and his new wife Mariella in Ohio this past weekend. It was a lot of fun. I love being able to visit with family and friends that I haven't seen for a while. We all had a great time. Maya loved being a flowergirl again. She looked beautiful. Zeke was a good boy for most of the wedding festivities and only bled a little when Maya and he were wrestling at the wedding. Maya loved being with the ladies in the wedding party. She loves to get dressed up and have her hair done and just hang out with older people. Kevan was wonderful and watched Zeke so that I could visit with people and read during the service. It was fun to spend time with my mom, Lisa, and my grandma getting our hair done. I don't think any of us pamper ourselves as much as we really should.

I hate being late. It feels like we were late for everything this weekend. Luckily we made it to the church on time for the ceremony. I felt horrible that Maya missed pictures with the wedding party. We got a late start to the reception and then got really lost finding the reception. Oh well! We had a wonderful time anyways and Maya got a special picture with Mariella at the reception.

We spent Sunday with Kevan's family which was very nice. I was very tired and was having a bit of a wardrobe malfunction and was late for brunch because I was shopping to repair the damage. But, oh well! We enjoyed our time with the Penvoses. Zeke is addicted to trains. When we were visiting Kevan's parents all we heard was, "Papa choo-choo! Papa choo-choo!" He loved sitting and running the electric train. He also enjoyed beating up their golden lab, Hunter. Luckily Hunter is a very good dog and took it playfully and Zeke returned home with all of his fingers.

Maya and Zeke were very sad to leave Ohio. Zeke kept yelling, "I-O!, I-O" throughout the trip home to Wisconsin. Maya had to have her window rolled down as we approached the border of every state that we traveled through and yell out the window at the top of her lungs, "Goodbye Ohio! (Or whatever state we were traveling through.) By the time we reached Wisconsin Zeke wanted to do it too and he yelled, "I-O" out the window. We had a great time traveling with our children. I honestly do not understand when people say that they need a DVD player to travel with their children, this may change as they get older. All we need to do is start singing or telling silly stories and everything is fine. With Zeke you just need to talk about the color of truck that you are passing and he is happy. When he is really tired, he just wants me to hold his hand or rub his ankle and he calms right down. For some strange reason this has always worked with him, from the time he was itt-bitty until now.

Well, now I need to approach doing all of the dirty laundry that I left in Wisconsin along with what I brought home with me. I hope everyone that is reading this is doing well!

UGH!

Okay, so I went out twice this past weekend looking for shoes for Mark's wedding. I am so tired of being discriminated against for having wide feet! It seems even the wide shoes are uncomfortable! Why can't they make stylish comfortable shoes in wide width? It is extremely frustrating!

This morning I had to have the debate with my 2nd graders that I am in fact white. They would not believe me! I guess it is a bit of an honor and sign that they love me. One child tattled on another student saying that he said that she "talked white." So I said, "What does a white person talk like?" He then replied, "Like totally!" in his best valley girl. I then asked, "Do I talk that way?" (Thinking, I used to. :) ) He said, "Well . . . no, but you're mixed!" I said, " I am as white as white can be. My dad is Polish and my mother is Bohemian." (Like they even understand what that means.) He and the rest of my class continued insisting that I am mixed, so I just walked away from the silly conversation.

We went out and celebrated Cinco de Mayo today. Maya insisted on going out to get Mexican. It was fun. They played fun Mexican music and the kids danced in their seats. This restaurant just christened its first Mongolian Fajita Barbecue. It is just like Mongolian Barbecure, but you can select fajita ingredients. We had a good time and ate a ton.

Masters Here I Come!

Okay, so I am not talking about golf. (I am a woman anyways and would not be allowed in Augusta. :) ) I filled out most of my paperwork to start my masters studies in September. I will be getting my masters at Concordia University. My spot is secure, I just need to fill out an essay saying why I want to get my masters. It was the easiest thing I have ever done. I didn't even need to take the dreaded GRE! :) I am going to be studying reading. It is one night a week at a high school about 10-15 minutes away from where we live. The classes are all 8 weeks, so it is a bit rigorous, but worth it to finish earlier. I am getting my Reading Specialist license in addition to my masters. (33 credits) I am very proud that I got all of the paperwork done and sent in in one day. (Excluding my resume and essay.) This summer I have to work to get the silly stipulations removed from my Wisconsin license. They feel that I need to learn how to teach in an Urban setting (my entire career has been in urban settings), learn about the American Indian tribes in Wisconsin, and learn some environmental education. The environmental education stipulation will be removed as soon as I provide documentation that I have taken the Project Learning Tree, WET, and WILD workshops. The others are just independent studies in which I look at some stuff online and write papers. It shouldn't be too bad. Then I am going to be spending two weeks teaching summer school to soon to be 2nd graders. We are doing it as enrichment education, so it will be like camp all over again. :) I'm kind of excited.

Not too much else is going on here. We are all excited and looking forward to Mark and Mariella's wedding next week. :)