Of Friends and Fairies

Well, my baby is now 10 years old.  Within the next few years we'll need to have many "talks."  Last week was one of them. 

I was tipped off by grandma that it was time to have one of those talks.  Mikayla came home from school and said that her friends said that the tooth fairy is... get this... your parents!

Sitting close together on the couch later that evening, the talk went like this...

Me: Your grandma said you were talking about the tooth fairy today.  What were you saying?
Mikayla: My friends say that the tooth fairy is your parents.
Me: Well what do you think?

With a twinkle in her eyes and a smile across her lips to match the twinkle in her eyes, she took her index finger and gently tapped my nose as she said these words in a hushed voice...

"That YOU'RE a LIAR."

I laughed so hard that I cried and then continued the conversation.

Me: So why do you think parents would lie about something like that?
Mikayla:  So kids can have fun.
Me: Yep.  That's pretty much it.  Do you want to keep pretending so you can still get money for your teeth?

I'm not sure I ever got a straight answer on that one.  Guess we'll find out the next time she loses a tooth!

The Power of "I"

Inservices - you've got to love them.  Okay, not really.  One particularly "fun" inservice was about the power of an "incomplete" over a "zero" grade in the grade book.  Without going into the entire six hour inservice, let's just say that I'm giving myself an "I" for this years mini-goal resolution thing I had going on from January through June.  That's so much better than giving myself an "F," right?  I know... I made goals for July too, but I completely and utterly failed at even getting remotely close to accomplishing either of them!

So I now have an "incomplete."  You know what?  I can live with that.  In fact, I HAVE to live with that.  Every day I will wake up with stuff to do and I will go to bed with stuff to do.  I will never be done.  Until I die.  Then I will have a "completed."

Of course I will still make goals.  Goals help drive us.  In fact, I do have a new goal.  It's a big, scary, and exciting goal.  And that's all I'm saying for now.

Vintage Post #6 - Blog, Blog, Blah!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Blog, Blog, Blah!
Current mood:  contemplative
Category: Blogging

If you want to read something funny or useful here, stop reading now.  You WILL be disappointed.
Blah.  That's how I feel.  There's more to it than that though.  It's not even really a blah feeling, but that's about the way I need to describe it right now.  Describing it more would not be useful.
So I blog about nothing.  Really it's not nothing though.  It is something.
That's the way it is.

July Mini-Goals

Okay, time for a couple of real goals this month.

My first goal is to walk for 20 minutes 3 times a week.  All the walking at the Minnesota Zoo, Science Center, and Mall of America count for July 1-10.  (I took a walk yesterday too!)

The second goal is to learn 31 American Sign Language signs.  I took a couple sign language classes at a church during college, but never stuck with it.

Sudden Deafness - Week 7

This is actually the beginning of week 9 of my sudden deafness, but I had a doctor's appointment in the middle of week 7.  A friend from work highly suggest that I see Dr. Lippy from the Lippy Group in Warren, OH to get a second opinion on my hearing loss.  I went through all the hearing tests again and his opinion was the same as my doctor in this area - sudden deafness, 50/50 chance of regaining hearing in my left ear.

My doctor in this area told me that if I didn't get my hearing back that hearing aids were not an option, but there were other things we could do to help me.  He didn't discuss it with me at that point because I'm pretty sure he wanted me to focus on the steroid treatments and having a positive attitude about all that.  Perhaps he didn't want to scare me.  Anyway, the chief of audiology at Dr. Lippy's told me what that option is - a bone anchored hearing aid (BAHA).

Simply put, a titanium piece would be drilled into my skull and then a sound processor would be attached to that.  The sounds from my right ear would be conducted through my skull to my left side.  I would still have problems telling where sound was coming from, but I could definitely hear better.  That way, when a waiter comes to my left side and starts talking to me, I don't have to have the person across the table tell me that someone is talking to me!  (That happened yesterday.  It was kind of funny.)

The chief of audiology also suggested that I may get used to just hearing from my right side.  I can see how that could happen, but with being a teacher I feel that the BAHA would help me out immensely.  At times with good hearing, it is difficult to understand students with speech problems and who like to talk softly.  I think a BAHA would help reduce frustration on my part, as well as for the students.

I know that it is possible for me to get my hearing back.  God is amazing and He will work in my life - if not in one way, then in another.  I appreciate the prayers that are being said for me!

June Mini-Goals

Half-way through June and I haven't posted my mini-goals yet.  Instead of making mini-goals, I'm going to make a list of things I've already accomplished.  I've been so busy and have lots of things I still need to do.  Making mini-goals seems pointless this month since I seem to be crossing things off my invisible to-do list everyday.

What I've accomplished in June so far...

1. Worked on decluttering my classroom for an extra day.
2. Helped at Mikayla's field day.
3. Met with someone to discuss hearing loss.
4. Planned and executed Mikayla's birthday party.
5. Took Girl Scouts to Haven of Rest and Children's Hospital to drop off donations.
6. Got a second opinion on my hearing loss.
7. Went to dentist appointments for myself and Mikayla.
8. Went for a medical check-up.
9. Volunteered for VBS snacks.
10. Scheduled and attended a ceramics class with the Girl Scouts.
11. Scheduled an overnighter at the zoo for the Girl Scouts.
12. Did some decluttering and preparation for a yard sale.
13. Started plans for our summer vacation.

Here's what I still need to do before the end of June...

1. Have a yard sale.
2. Take Mikayla to the orthodontist.
3. Have dental work done.
4. Finalize plans for the zoo trip.
5. Finalize vacation plans.

I have been so busy this month.  I wonder how I do everything I need to do during the school year when I'm working.  Somehow I get it done though.  Where's my summer vacation going already?!?!?

June Goals - Stick a fork in me... I'm done!

Peace and Frogs

Two of Mikayla's favorite things right now are peace signs and frogs.  In fact, she just chose a geocaching name and it is PeaceGreenFroggy.  That is also what she chose for the theme of her birthday party.

After making her a Barbie cake and a dog-shaped cake for two different birthdays, my first thought was, "Yeah!  Peace signs are round!

Here's what I came up with...

First I frosted the cake with white buttercream frosting.  Next I piped on the peace sign outline with store bought icing in a can that came with decorator tips.  That didn't go so well.  I like using the frosting bags and decorating tips a lot more.  Finally, I dropped drops of food coloring directly on the cake and used a fork to spread out the coloring.

Here's what I came up with for the frogs.  These were very easy!

Green frosting.  Cut marshmallow in half.  Put the sticky side of the marshmallows up and stick a chocolate chip to them.  (I think M&Ms would work better, but I used what we had.)  Pipe on red mouths.

I don't know what it is about decorating Mikayla's birthday cakes and cupcakes, but I really enjoy it.  It's turned out to be a nice tradition!