College tales and and update

This post is directed toward Chili and O'Mama. I have to take a Comp II class for my major. I decided I could do this class online. I don't have trouble forming sentences and know the difference between a noun and a verb. If we're being honest, I thought it would be an easy A. Sadly, this class sucks. We have to work on 2 different collaborative assignments. Yes, that's right. An online class with collaborative work. Maybe I'm just out of the loop, but this completely pisses me off. Why should my grade be directly tied to someone else's work? The group members live all over the area, one as far as 90 minutes away, so it's not like we can get together for coffee and work on the project. Grr. What's the point of collaborative work, especially for an online class?

An update about the choking incident. I spoke to Booger's teacher yesterday. She let me know that the other child was "sent home with red," meaning his parents were notified of the incident. We had a lengthy conversation about many things and I am pleased she is Booger's teacher. Booger and I talked about the boy in question and how to remove yourself from situations you don't wish to be in. For example, boy chases girl. Girl does not wish to be chased. Girl then stands still. It's hard to chase someone who's not running! :-)

Thanks for your kind words....they helped calm my nerves more than you might realize.

I did the right thing......right?

Last year Booger had some trouble with a boy in her class. He is very aggressive in nature. Last year I tried to blow it off a bit saying things like "sometimes kids just get carried away" or "maybe he likes you and doesn't know how to show it." Things like that.



Today, she came home for the (at least) sixth time today complaining that this boy choked her at recess. Now, she's not bruised or anything....but still. She is affected enough to mention it when she gets home.



I called the Dean of Students today and discussed it with him. He's new to our school, but already knew the kid I was talking about. He didn't know Booger but asked me to have her introduce herself so he could keep his eyes on her during recess. He was very supportive and understanding. I feel better telling the school, but still can't shake the feeling of "oh, great. I've turned into THAT mom."



I'm not THAT mom, am I?

Polar bears and puppy love

Booger's classmate had a birthday party at the zoo today. It was scheduled to last a bit under 2 hours. I was so excited about it because I was going to get to drop her off at the party and then walk around the zoo for a while. See some animals, get some exercise, have some alone time to clear my head. I had grand expectations for that time, I tell you. Except it was raining. Hard. So much for walking around the zoo and exercising. I did spend some time in the inside polar bear exhibit. It has a glass wall that shows both above and below the water. One of the babies (2 years old now, I think) was diving, swimming, and grabbing fish in the tank. It was really cool to watch. I forgot my camera, of course, but I took some cute pictures on my phone. But I don't know how to get them off of my phone. You'll just have to trust me - the pictures, they are cute. Oh, you can see the polar bears anytime here. Click on the animal cam link, you can see seals, polar bears, elephants and others.

Bedtime has never really been a huge deal here. We're big on the bedtime routine and always have been, so that helps. There's a system to bedtime. Bath, snack, snuggle/reading, brush teeth and go potty, then bed. She's usually asleep within 10 minutes and rarely fusses. (god, I'm totally jinxing myself saying that out loud.) During the last few weeks, this routine also includes lining up her stuffed animal friends along the side of her bed so they can sleep with her. Tonight there were 9 of them. The number varies nightly. I remember doing this, too, and find it incredibly sweet. Maybe she'll be a vet when she grows up.

Speaking of growing up, I think I'm changing my major. More on that as things develop.

One more thing, I am thinking of getting a Blackberry. We have Sprint and are locked into at least one more year of contract, so an i-phone's out. Anyone have a Blackberry? Do you love it? I'm planning on starting school full time instead of part time, so I figure this little toy would help kill time between classes.

Christmas cards

I'm still designing my Christmas cards. I'm making them instead of buying. The one problem is the working on the inside. None of my stamp sets have decent inside wording. They are all simply "happy holidays" or "have a merry Christmas."

This year, especially, I wanted to do something a little more personal. I am really not a fan of the Christmas letter, it just seems arrogant to me. But this year, of all years, needed something more. We survived this year. We are stronger and better and much more aware of how incredibly lucky we are to have this life together.

I pre-printed blank cards on the computer and will be designing/decorating the fronts. The inside will say this:

This year, we celebrate the peace and joy of Christmas with extra gratitude for those we hold dear. We look ahead with renewed faith and hope. Have a wonderfully Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Love, The Snob Family

(Act surprised when you receive it)

Lots to tell you about, friends. This weekend we celebrated Booger's sixth birthday. I'm still recovering from a weekend full of go go go but can't wait to tell you about it. I used to laugh when people complained about time flying. But, holy crap. She's 6!

Papa's gonna go to rehab.....

R goes to cardiac rehab every Thursday to keep up on his recovery. Booger keeps telling people "My papa's in rehab." Of course, I now have a complex that her classmates are going home saying things like "My friend Booger's daddy is in rehab." I keep thinking when we see anyone from her school, they're trying to figure out what he's addicted to.

School stuff

Hello there. It's raining and gloomy here. Instead of curling up with a book, which is my preferred mode of entertainment on days such as these, I'm cleaning. Can you please tell me how you deal with the mountains of crap that arrives home from school? My DNA has generations of pack rats and hoarders and can't throw anything awayers. I'm breaking that cycle but I still struggle with school stuff. How much artwork do you keep? Do you keep any homework or tests? Booger is just in Kindergarten and brings home at least 3 art things a week and homework/tests/worksheets in the dozens. HELP! Thanks for your ideas!

Friday, Booger asked to have a haircut. The salon squeezed us in and she instructed the stylist to cut her hair "just to my shoulders." At least 3 inches came off and she smiled the whole time. I stole a picture today while she was working on homework and watching High School Musical 2 for the 43,971st time. Do you like her desk? Me too. She has one, sitting about 8 feet behind her. Just for the record.

Catching Up

I missed National De-Lurking Day. If you happen to be the lurking, non-comment-leaving type reader, I guess you can wait until next year to comment. Lucky you!

Booger participated in her school's Track-a-Thon yesterday. It's the only all-school fund raiser of the year and I sent in my money pleased beyond belief that we don't have the angst of seventeen fund raisers. I know some children who arrived home from school the first day with fund raising sheets in hand. Magazines I won't read, overpriced little tiny whatevers that look amazing in the catalog. Hell, half the time I order stuff and never get it. I have been meaning to give them a fund raising budget at the beginning of the year. $20 per kid and they pick which fund raiser gets my cash. Or they keep the cash. I don't really care. I simply hate the fact that we make our kids do this crap. It sucks saying no to a kid. But, come on. Most of the stuff they have to peddle is crap. When I was in High School, our band sold 2 things a year. Chocolate bars and citrus. These were tradition and people actually came to you so they could order. The chocolate bars are still a nostalgic favorite for me. We didn't sell wrapping paper, magazines, candles, or other stuff. I would like to propose that schools/organizations only be allowed to sell the following things: chocolate and girl scout cookies. The end. The rest should all simply be cash donations. Don't you think you'd get a better net result if you were able to accept money? People don't want or need the crap you're selling. Besides, the stuff is usually at least fifteen bucks. If you could just take donations, a dollar here and there would add up faster. At least I think so. I could be completely wrong, I guess. Any thoughts?

The reason I started that story was to tell you that the kids run laps around the track. The class with the most laps wins. With each completed lap, they receive a rubber band to wear around their wrist. Booger ended the day with 10 rubber bands. TEN! That's 2.5 miles, can you believe it!

The Journey - Life 2.0 is progressing with a speed I really didn't expect. R went back to work today. 11 weeks ago today our old life ended and this new one began. I thought that old life was good. Great, even. But I've got to tell you....this new life? SO GOOD. We spent the last 11 weeks ago pretty much all together all the time. I thought for sure we'd be driving each other batshit crazy by now. Instead, we have a new sense of purpose. A rejuvenated sense of togetherness that I find so much comfort in. I am still a bit too over-protective and very leery of R doing many everyday things. Cutting the grass, for example. We've had many friends come by to help with it and I'm so grateful. He's playing tennis again, just at a slower pace for right now. With cooler weather coming, I'm anticipating evening walks as a family....I plan to cherish every moment of this gift. Please don't take your spouse or loved one for granted. Love them every minute of every day.

Operation job hunt is still sucking. I'm hoping something, anything comes up soon. I'm planning to meet with some agencies next week. That should help. Depending on what I find will depend on how many classes I enroll in. Regardless, I will be enrolling. I promise! Not sure what degree I'll end up with....one step at a time, right?

That mom

We all want our kids to be smart. We're not shy about that. We tend to not say the things out loud that we also want....please don't let her be ugly. Please let her teeth be relatively straight, her nose not too crooked, her feet not too flat, her eyebrows to be separate. Oh, laugh all you want, but Booger, at age 5, has a raging uni brow. So much so that I'm trying to figure out if Child Services would be called if I took her to get it waxed before she starts Kindergarten. I really don't want the other moms to look at the school composite photo and say, oh, who is that poor girl with the uni brow? Parents are brutal. Oh, she's a lovely girl, but that uni brow? Sheesh, you would think her mother would DO something about that. Maybe electrolysis would be a more efficient way to go.

I've had my nose stuck in a book pretty much my entire life. I don't ever remember a time when I wasn't reading for pleasure. My summers as a kid were not spent outside running around, instead up in my room reading everything I could get my hands on. I was at the library nearly every day in the summer. My mom is a reader as was her mom. Now, my mom and I are both only children, so I'm sure that explains some of it. But, I think, when raised to appreciate the written word, it rubs off on you. In this electronic age we live in, I make an extra effort to share the written word with Booger. We head to the bookstore at least once a month and Mr. Snob takes her to the library after he picks her up from preschool at least twice a month. She is already a born reader. I knew she knew many of her "sight words" as the teachers call them....a, an, the, good, dog, etc. But today, she picked up a book and just started reading it out loud. It wasn't Tolstoy or anything, but Green Eggs and Ham is sure as hell a good place to start. I was so proud of her I almost cried. I'm afraid I'm turning into that mom...you know the one - the one who never shuts the hell up about her kid. Being proud is one thing, and you know that I am...I'm just trying not to cross the line, you know? So, sure she's reading, but I can't teach her to somehow keep from using her knees as brakes - damn near every pair of jeans have holes in the knees.

On another note, Mr. Snob doesn't much dig his name here on the ol' blog. To be honest, I didn't really think he read it all that often, but seems like I was mistaken. I'll be working on another name for him, I guess - SuperHusband seems a bit much, no?