haphazard musings

water...

so, the school doesn't have water today.  

and yes, we are still having school.

we have 1600 students and faculty and one girls' room and one boys' room.  4 stalls. 

picture this

full of water from a hose from outside.

and these

 

next to every

 

you go.  you dump the bucket.  lots of water really fast and the toilet flushes.

then out of courtesy, you refill the bucket for the next poor soul that has to go.

i decided to go early in the day - like right after school started in hopes of better conditions...

the students are grossed out to the max.  

and while i admit it, it's not a pleasant experiences and it doesn't smell like roses.

i keep reminding my kids that at least they don't have to walk a mile to the pump and carry the water back.

they also have bottles of water for kids and staff.  and they are complaining about that too.  

i reminded them, at least it is clean, fresh and free.

not everyone has that luxury.

 

i will be showing this video the rest of the day...

hi ho, hi ho - for real this time.

so tomorrow is the actual big day.  the day i hit the road and get to see all my students again.  and i will say i am ready. 

thanks to the amazing snow days, we've had extra cuddles and extra fun. God seemed to know that i just needed a little more time with my family.  He's so good that way. 

i feel confident that tomorrow will be hard, but good at the same time.

plus snow just always puts me in a good mood!

It's just so lovely, even though it comes with a little hard work.

some really fun times have been happening around here.  little miss has started talking and mimicking the sounds mommy and daddy make.  it is the CUTEST thing!  and am so glad i was home to hear it for the first time!  the video i took doesn't seem to be working, so i am going to have to work on that for next week for our two month post. 

i also realized i forgot to post the pictures from month one.  next week will be our 2 month check up and we will have all new pictures and information.  until then, here we were at 1 month.

At one month you are eating a ton.  Seriously the nurse was shocked at the amount of weight you have gained since we went in for your two week check up.  you also have been drinking from a bottle really well and swallowing up 4 or 5 ounces at a time!

you don't cry very often - yay! but you certainly let us know when you need or want to eat!  you have started to be quite fussy between about 6 pm and 8 pm.  you just seem to be out of sorts and waiting for your bath - wichi you love!  it's your spcial time with daddy and you and he both love bathtime.  he even made up a little song about bathtime just for you.  you smile and kick your feet in happy anticipation of the water.

you don't have any cool tricks yet.  but you do really hold you head up and look all around you.  you want to know what's going on all the time, just like your mama did when she was little.  you have trouble taking naps.  you want to be held for your naps and it make it really hard for your mama to get anything done.  sometimes your dad asks what i did all day and i tell him, victoriously, "i brushed my teeth." 

at night you sleep really well.  you have been sleeping from about 10:00 to 6:00 since about 3 weeks.  we are so proud of you!!!  and so thankful.  the first night you slept that long, i woke up with the alarm clock in sheer terror that something horrible had happened.  it was so scary and then it turned out to be wonderful.  :)

and so now, i will say goodnight.  i have to get up early! :)

 

 

hi ho, hi ho

it's back to work i go.

monday...is looming dark and dismal over my head.  yesterday i bawled like a baby twice just thinking about returning to school.

yesterday (tuesday) was meant to be a test run morning.  get up early, get maelle ready and literally leave and drive to school.  however instead.

meltdown.

major.

i got up with the alarm and then it just came on.  it was rough.

now, let me clarify. 

i am choosing to go back to work. 

i am excited about seeing my kids.

i  feel like God is calling me to go to work - i feel like loving those kids is my ministry.

also i have a contract and am technically student teaching (so i have to finish the year), so this is necessary as well.

i am sad to leave this little cutie for the day.

but i know what's best for our family right now is for me to be at school. 

luckily there is a day care right outside the back door of my school and little miss will be right there with me all day!

so today, we tried the test run again.  it went much better - no tears.

i would have made it to school 10 minutes before the bell...that's a little late for my liking.  but i feel like it was successful because i got out the door without crying and i would have been there in time to teach.  victory.

however the trip back wasn't quite as pleasant.  i would pick a snow day for a test run. :)

i gave myself a little reward with a starbucks and headed home to beat the snow.

we will try again tomorrow.

 

 

six weeks: humor and humility

our little girl is six weeks old this week.  hard to believe.  but here she is...

all 10 pounds and 6.5 ounces of her.

in the last six weeks we have learned a lot about two things: humility and humor.

i feel like the two must go hand in hand, and i am sure they must be learned together in parenting.

first humility. 

ryan and i have learned that we know very little and have no ability to raise this little gal on our own.  thank goodness for family and friends who give wisdom and advice when asked. 

but mostly we are thankful for a God who will give us grace when we do it wrong.  thankful for a God who provides wisdom and guidance in His word.  thankful for a God who asks us and desires that we come to him with questions, doubts and fears as well as joys and plans.  thankful that we are working to raise a daughter who will know and follow Christ and who will hopefully forgive our mistakes and shortcomings as she begins to realize that we make them.

everyday we are overwhelmed by this little gal.  she is wonderful and amazing and totally perfect in our eyes.  but she is also totally unpredictable and stinky and desperately helpless (as she should be - she is a baby after all).  since she arrived, my prayer life has changed dramatically.  i find myself seeking grace, wisdom, patience and everything else under the sun.  it's pretty amazing this little girl is teaching me lessons already. i have truly learned how to pray - not just for her, but for everything.  i have prayed more for myself, for friends and family, and the future than i ever have before.  she has taught me about my desperate need for prayer.  it's pretty humbling to be taught lessons by a six week old baby, especially when i have been working on that lesson my whole life.

seriously, it's amazing how that little face will take me to my knees. 

second humor. 

now, i know that you guys all think i am so, so fun (which i totally am) but we've reached a whole new level of humor around here.  i have a couple stories for you...

last weekend we visited Limon with the little gal - road trip. 

lesson one...babies need to eat all the time and they will only eat on their time table - not mine.  a six hour drive turned into a 7.5 hour drive. but over all i would call it a huge success! 
lesson two...if you are going more than 30 minutes from home a mama should always bring a change of clothes.  you may be thinking i mean for the baby and you are right, but in this instance, i am also talk about for the mama.  so, we went to church with Nana and Papa Joe and it's around an hour from home in Castle Rock.  i took little miss into the nursing mothers' room and proceeded to do just that.  after a quick diaper change, she was eating away and next thing i know, i began to feel a strange sensation on my tummy.  it was all warm and damp and then it was very warm and very wet!  somehow this little chick proceeded to pee all over me.  her diaper wasn't even remotely wet.  i have no idea how that is possible, but it totally happened just that way.  i was totally grossed out and summoned my hubs who was in the church service.  he obviously sympathized with my plight, he informed me there wasn't much he could do to fix the problem.  he didn't have an extra shirt either...
lesson three...target is my new best friend.  luckily, target was just about 3 miles from church.  after the service was over we just popped right over and bought me a new shirt - bonus. and some bigger diapers.
lesson four...apparently one should bump up to a bigger diaper size slightly before the recommened weight change.  collection capacity is key. :)

 

funny story number two. church in hillsboro. (please note the white seater, the white blankets and the white burp rag.)

ryan was asked to help lead worship at the hillsboro campus of our church this past weekend.  so maelle and i decided to go along. 

we had to be there around 8 am but the service didn't start until 10:30.  so little miss fell asleep in the car on the way there and i just hung out with her in the truck until she woke up and was ready to eat.  then the plan was to change her into her church clothes and head into the service. things were going quite well.  she slept quite a while, i read a book, she woke up and scarfed down her breakfast like a champion and then did her business (diaper containment was successful). 

and then, as i was changing her diaper, she decided she needed to go a little more and out comes a very large and very orange amount of #2, quite forcefully, in the backseat of the pick-up (aka ryan's 2nd favorite thing).  i am sure that many would have paid good money to see the look of sheer panic that must have been on my face.  so like any normal person who doesn't want to wait for a 2 hour church service and a 30 minute drive to clean up a STINKY mess (and who couldn't bare telling her spouse that his daughter proceded to poop all over the backseat), i instinctively put out my bare hand and blocked the spray. 

i was proud and horrified and totally disgusted all at once.  and i managed to keep the seat, her clothes, my clothes and everything else totally clean.  however, i do believe i should revisit lesson two as noted above.  always bring a change of clothes - just in case.

these things just have to be funny.  it also has to be funny that she has projectile spit up sometimes (maybe we should measure her distance and we could be in the record books) and that she pees in the bathtub and that finley thinks he needs to eat her rubber ducky.  if it wasn't funny, i think we would just be angry and frustrated all the time.  luckily, ryan and i are both quick to point out the humor in nearly any situation, so this lesson has come pretty naturally for us.  but it can be pretty difficult to remember to laugh when you are wet and tired and smelly. :)

thank you maelle for the lessons.  i'm sure you will be teaching us many more.

 

 

 

4 weeks

well we can't believe it, can you?  our little gal will be four weeks old tomorrow.  she's been here almost a month already and we are still just in awe of this little gal.

she has been the best baby so far. here are some fast facts about maelle's first 4 weeks:

she sleeps like a champion.  most nights she averages 6 or 7 hours at a time, then eats and goes right back to sleep.  we are VERY thankful for her sleeping abilities.

she has started sucking on her thumb, her fingers, her fist, the blanket, my hair...whatever she can get close to her mouth.

she has rolled over twice from her tummy onto her back.  she is pretty opinionated and stubborn and just seems to decide how long tummy time should last and when she's done, she's done.  finley, however, loves tummy time.

she loves when it's time to eat.  and she really loves when her daddy gives her a bottle.

she has almost outgrown most of her newborn clothes already.  she is just too tall for them. luckily she is getting lots of new clothes from all her friends.

she falls asleep really well in the car after a few moments of really loud screaming.

she is still sleeping in our room in her cradle and rocks to her heart's content.

she is a great little snuggler.  her favorite thing is to cuddle up next to someone wrapped up in a blanket.

she has begun to like bath time and almost smiles when you pour water on her tummy.

but when it's time to get out of the bath...it's another story entirely.

that's maelle at four weeks old.  she's been a barrel of fun so far and we are so excited for the next four weeks at home together.

 

 

ugh...kids

luckily, i am not talking about my kid.  she's too cute to say "ugh" to.  don't you agree?

thanks ian for the wonderful pictures.  more to follow later. :)

this is about the kids at school.  even though i'm not there, i am still getting reports of their dumb-ness.

i get the occassional email from my long-term sub saying:

"lindsay, so-n-so has an f.  they apparently don't think they need to turn in their assignments." 

"lindsay, so-n-so turned in an exact copy of about.com for his research paper.  how do i deal with this problem?"

"oh man, so-n-so has such an attitude whenever i tell him that he can't sleep in class."

"and so-n-so, he totally creeps me out. he is strangely over-comfortable..."

seriously.

i don't even know how to deal with this.  exact copies off the internet.  really?

you didn't even change the font? or the paragraphs? or anything. 

you can't even cheat successfully. 

these kids are so, so frustrating.  i know they are smart.  i know they can do it.  i just don't understand what makes them think the choices they make are good ones. 

laziness abounds. 

ugh.

it's so annoying and really pretty embarrassing to have someone come into your classroom to teach your students and they are breaking laws, being rude and disrespectful, slacking off.  i guess i thought i had these kids "under-control" or at least, i felt like we had reached a mutual understanding that this is how you act in my classroom.

so annoying.

so embarrassing.

dumb kids.  for real.

thankfully, my sub is made of steal.  none of this seems to phase her and she just deals with the kids in the same way i would.  luckily, she is very comfortable dolling out F's if that is what the kid deserves and so am i. 

the kids don't know what's coming when i get back.  they thought i was cranky pregnant.  i would anticipate my first few weeks back will be rough.  they haven't seen cranky until they see a sleep depirved, new mama who misses her baby and has poop on her scarf and puke in her hair.  (totally possible my friends.)

look out kids, here comes mrs. frasier (but not for a few weeks).  we are going to throw-down. 

and i will win that battle friends. 

a NEW year

well it is a new year and over here at the Frasier's we have had several new experiences!

we will remember Dec. 31, 2012 forever as the day our first child joined our family!

little Maelle Rose said hello via c-section at 8:58 pm on New Year's Eve.  Hopefully this little chick likes to party since there will always be a worldwide party on her special day.

we had a GREAT staff at Newton Medical Center and really appreciated thier attention and dedication.  they even took some pictures for us in the c section room which was pretty awesome.

ryan's first cord cut.  he was excited that he still got to "cut" the cord even though he couldn't do the actual cut since the doctor had to do it.  the big blue arrow points to ryan.  his hands are he gloveless ones. :)

the anesthesiologist took a couple of pictures for us.  he was pretty funny.  mama meets baby for the first time.  I love that they let me wear  my glasses the whole time so that I could see what was going on and it helped me stay calm since without my glasses i can't see past the end of my nose.  :)  it was very kind of them!

our first family picture.  i wish i was looking at the camera, but as you can see the rest of me was still engaged in other work.  :)

ryan changed his first diaper!

maelle's first instagram.

her first binkie and wave.  (side note: now she hates the binkie - the love affair only lasted 2 days.)

one week old - her first week.

welcome to our family little miss.  it's hard to believe we've only known you two weeks since we love you to bits can't hardly imagine things without you.

 

closing thoughts

well friends, i know i am not a mother quite yet, but today i feel like a mom, who doesn't want to be a mom today.  or maybe it's just a teacher who doesn't want to be a teacher today.

i have answered the same 15 questions all day long.  and they are dumb questions.

you know how people tell you growing up that there are no dumb questions...well, whoever it was that told you that was lying.  there are dumb questions.  i get asked 15 or 20 a day.

for example:

can i use my study guide to answer the questions on this final exam?

    no, you may not, it is a study guide, for studying, not for testing, hence the name study guide.

* * * * * * * *

do i have to take the final?

    yep.

but i wasn't here the last 3 days.

    how is that my (lindsay's) fault?

well, i didn't get the work.  

    did you come ask for it? or did you let  me know where to send make up work?

no, but i still shouldn't have to take the final.  

    well, really your options are 1: take the final, 2: take a zero.

* * * * * * * *

ms. frasier, what's my grade?

    well, you know i have 110 students, i have no idea what your grade is.

well, if i fail this test how will it change my grade?

    i don't know.

how do you not know?

    i don't know your grade, i don't know how many total points are possible in this particular class and i can't do mental math.  

all my other teachers could tell me.

    that's pretty cool.  here's your test.  good luck.

* * * * * * * *

    me in the middle of a discussion, literally mid-sentence.

miss frasier, can i get a drink?

    no.

incredulous look from student completely unbelieving that i said no.

* * * * * * * * 

ms. frasier, that biology teacher down the hall, she's hot!

    that's nice of you to say, but this is not an appropriate conversation.  change topics.

do you think i should go tell her i think she's hot?

    NO!

but i'm 18, it would be ok, right? 

    no absolutely not.  again, this conversation is done.  

* * * * * * * *

do you understand how these are stupid questions?  seriously they are so frustrating.

the other reason i am done today, is that i am tired of the rudeness and lack of responsibility.  

ok...gripe fest over!

done.

i do have some absolutely wonderful kids!  today i received 5 hugs from sweet kids wishing me luck with the baby and a merry christmas.  so sweet and three of them were even after i spent 10 minutes lecturing on behavior with the sub for January. 

so apparently some of them love me!  yay!

and a final, final thought on my first semster teaching.

i do think i am making a difference with a few.  their faces light up and get excited when they understand something.  they get pumped when their grade has improved.  and those kids make it worth it all.

* * * * * * * * 

and if you are wondering my due date is the 27th of this month.  and so far it doesn't appear that this child will be joining us on the outside any time soon.  

he or she seems to be thinking and planning for himself or herself already...which really shouldn't be a surprise as he or she is a product of two of the world's most stubborn and opinion-filled people i know. :)

don't worry, we'll let you know when the time has come! 

december 1st

was yesterday.

can you believe it is already december?  we are having a hard time over here.  :)

well, i am.

i woke up saturday morning, then promptly woke up Ryan and told him the following:

"umm...so we are going to have a baby this month."

to which he replied, "i know.  i've been dealing with the crazy for a while now."

after reminding him that the worst is yet to come...we decided to brave the crowds and head to wichita for Christmas shopping and buying the last few things we "think" we might "need" for when this little tyke does arrive.  i guess now we just need to narrow down the list of names.  this is proving to be WAY more difficult that we thought possible.  we really want to make sure our kid has the perfect name, and will apparently not be compromising any time soon. but rest assured, you will all be informed of a name within a few hours after Baby Frasier decides to make an appearance.

now, for a brief tirade - prepare yourself...

i am afraid of and vow to visit it as infrequently as possible the store named Babies R Us.  luckily, i believe that rayn and i are in agreement on this issue.  that place was absolutely insane, and we were totally overwhelmed by the lines and the number of people buying GIANT items for their kids for Christmas. 

ugh...by the time we left we were both pretty much done with stores, people and gift giving in general. :) 

but we recouped with a nice quiet trip to Lowes.  it was calm and quiet, and the whole place smelled like a Christmas tree!  it was delightful.

that might very well be the first and last time i say that a trip to Lowes was delightful...weird.

before the week is out, i very much hope that we will be able to post some pictures of the nursery, my HUGE belly, and a basement that has a ceiling and walls!

until then, happy sunday night.  i hope you enjoy your advent season.

 

 

funny things students say

so, this is the best one in several days/weeks.  hopefully, i haven't already told you this one.

girl student:  miss fraiser, do white women get stretch marks?

me: um, wow, (insert girl name), that's a random question.  but yes we do. 

girl student: can i see them?

me: no.  absolutely not.

girl student: but, you would just have to lift your shirt a lit...

me: are you kidding?  no stinking way.  i wouldn't show you my stomach if i was a super model.

* * * * * * * * *

today, while we were playing a version of apples to apples the adjective to describe was "disgusting."  the students had to shout out nouns that started with the letter "w."   

girl student shouts: a weave. 

me: what?!?  how is that disgusting?

same student: some black girl weaves are nasty.  i saw one on the way to class.  the girl that...

me:  ok then. that's probably not where this game should go.

* * * * * * * * * *

in my freshmen classes we are working on reading some Romeo & Juliet - which is just interesting all by itself.  but we have been doing some mini research projects on the world and time when Shakespeare wrote his plays.

one group was assigned world history (1550-1650).  their basic task was to find some key events, key people and regular life in places like France, Spain, Italy, and the American Colonies.

student: miss frasier, is france in italy?

me: um, no.  france is a country. 

student: so, then italy is in france.

me (internally): seriously?  (outwardy): nope, not quite.  italy is also a country.  both countries are in europe. 

student: oh, so spain is in france. 

me: you know, i think this book has a map.  perhaps you should check this out...

* * * * * * * * *

student: miss frasier, i left my coffee mug in the lunch room in 5th hour.  can i go to the office to see if someone turned it in?

me: no, you need to go to class.

student: but it's my grandma's cup and i was specifically told not to lose it.

me: oh, well, you also have been told that you need to come to class.  you haven't been in my class for 2 weeks, you need to go to class.

student: but it's my cup.  and i know it's in the office.

me: well, good deal, i'm sure it will be there after school, you can go then.

student: i have to get the bus. 

me: the bus leaves at 3:20, that's plenty of time to get to the office and the bus. 

student: well, i walk really slowly. 

me: guess you'll have to hurry.

student: ugh.  this is ridculous.

me (internally): the fact that we are still having this conversation is ridiculous... (outwardly): have a seat.

* * * * * * * * *

student: i won't be able to get that homework done.

me: why not?

student: well i have to work from 4:00 to 7:30 every night this week.

me: oh, well that's not an excuse for not getting your work done.

student: yes, it is an excuse.

me:  yes, that's true, it is an excuse.  however, it's not an excuse that will get you an extension.

* * * * * * * * *

me: pull out a sheet of paper.

student: you're going to make us work today?

me: yeah...pull out some paper.

student: but it's the first day back after thanksgiving day.

me: oh, right.  i forgot about that.  pull out a sheet of paper.

* * * * * * * * *

i'm sure there are more.  i will keep thinking. :)  happy friday!!!