Missing my Book Group

Book group just hasn't been the same since the bookstore where we met for more than 10 years closed down. The owners couldn't find a buyer who met with the approval of the landlord so the lease was lost and the business folded. It was one of the last independent bookstores around. We started meeting in the food court area of a large grocery store. I went three times. It's too loud and distracting for good conversation. I'm still on the email list so I get updates, and I know what the group is reading. The group is supposed to move to the bookstore at the local community college when the major renovations of that space are complete, but that space probably won't be ready till after the first of the year. I've missed meetings because of my kids' activities, but I could have made other plans and gone to the meetings if I felt like I was going to enjoy it.

I'm reading an interesting book about Medieval Iran right now. It's called The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani. It's her first novel. It deals with the world of the Shah, his courtesans, the royal carpet designers, and a poor girl with amazing talents for design. I'm only 1/4 of the way through, but I know it's going to be a new favorite. An amazing book for a first novel.

Halloween Prep

Just a few photos of our pre-Halloween traditions. Enjoy!

Endings and Beginnings

Football is over. Noah's team lost their playoff game this evening. The coaches praised the boys and thanked them for a great season and Noah cried. He gets emotional when he loses, but this was more about saying good bye to some men he really respects. We'll have the end of season party on the 4th and turn in the gear. His head coach, a big teddy bear of a guy, gave Noah a big hug and said "I love you." That just made Noah cry more.

After the game Forrest and the kids went to a huge haunted house with the neighbor and his kids. I bet they're having a great time. I didn't feel like standing in line in the cold to get scared so I came straight home. It's so nice to have the house to myself. Neither of my kids are trick-or-treating this year, the haunted house is the more mature way to celebrate. This is the first year since 1993 that I don't have to buy or make a costume. We're getting pumpkins tomorrow because I refuse to give up that part of the Halloween celebration.

This past week Noah had basketball tryouts in addition to his football practices. He's exhausted. Basketball practice starts this week so we get no break between sports this year. It will be nice to be inside, warm and dry for a change. Football practices and games were getting very cold and wet.

Forrest and I will celebrate 18 years of wedded bliss tomorrow. Alyssa is babysitting for one of Noah's friends tomorrow night so they're staying overnight while Forrest and I go out to dinner. Forrest and the kids brought me home two dozen beautiful apricot roses today. What a lovely surprise. We're going to our favorite seafood restaurant at the marina. I can hardly wait.

Students

My teaching teammates and I have been wondering why this year's group of children seems to be so much more immature than the average class. They aren't all immature, but there is definitely a higher percentage than usual. I think I have the answer to at least part of this puzzle. In my class more than 3/4 of my students are the youngest in their family. Since I'm married to the baby of his family I do know quite a bit about them. They tend to be coddled, babied, and rescued by their parents.

I have to admit that I've rescued Noah from difficulties at school myself. But my oldest never needed rescuing. A couple of weeks ago I noticed that Noah had left his language arts book in my room after completing his homework the night before. Since I have a break at 9:30 I decided to run the book over to him. I was hoping to just slip in quietly and drop it off in his class. But Noah's teacher, Tom, who is a friend of mine wouldn't let that happen. When he saw me he said, "Look class, Noah's mom has come to rescue him. Our parents do that for us all the time and we need to appreciate them. Noah go give your mom a hug and thank her properly." So with bright red cheeks Noah walked across the room and grudgingly gave me a hug. I don't think he'll ever leave a book behind again.

Homecoming Dance

Alyssa had a great time at the Homecoming Dance last night. She went to dinner and then to the dance with two of her girl friends, Randi and Amanda. They had dinner at Jimmy's Pizza and Pasta at one table and Forrest, Noah, my folks, and I ate at a separate table. Then I drove the girls to the dance where they met up with the rest of their friends. I was shocked to see several limos, including a huge Hummer limo. It's only the Homecoming Dance, not the prom. That seemed a bit excessive. Most of the dancing was done barefoot, so she didn't need those fancy red shoes she bought after all. She danced her first slow dance with an old friend. In fact she's know that boy, Dain, since she was two years old in daycare. Here a couple of photos of the evening.

Homecoming Parade

Tonight was Alyssa's Homecoming Parade. This year all of the floats were great. I think either the seniors or juniors will win this year. The sophomore's vision of New Orleans was a bit complicated for a float which they could only spend six hours on. As you can see by the lighting in the photos the weather changed a lot during the course of the evening. By the end of the parade Alyssa was soaked and freezing. She came right home, showered, and went straight to bed. The past few days of float building, homework, and less sleep than she's used to have take their toll. She's the big sleeper in this house. Ten hours a night is what she runs best on. I'm lucky to get seven. Tomorrow is college dress up day so Alyssa is going to wear all WSU garb including her brother's WSU flip flops. I'll post later this week and include photos of Alyssa in her Homecoming Dance dress.

3:10 to Yuma

Forrest and I finally took ourselves out for a date night. We've been trying to get to the theatre to see this movie for weeks. We even went on a Friday night and paid full price. Usually we're too cheap and only go during economy hour. "3:10 to Yuma" is a gritty western with Russell Crowe at his charmingly evil best and Christina Bale as a heroic Civil War vet. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It's always been a pet peeve of mine to see a Western where the actors are dirty yet have dazzlingly white teeth. This movie is not one of those. The men are all dirty right down to their poor dental hygiene. It definitely makes the movie more realistic.

This week is all about Homecoming for Alyssa. She spent hours decorating Mardi Gras masks for the sophomore float last night and this morning, and later this afternoon she's meeting with the float committee to start construction. Last year she was part of the winning float committee as a freshman. It was the first time in memory that the freshmen won the contest. Wednesday night is the parade through town. Hopefully it will be warmer and drier than last year. Friday is the football game and Saturday night is the dance.

A Long, Long Week

It's hard to believe that it's only Thursday night, but I know that it is because I'm watching "Survivor" as I post this. This has been a crazy week. Monday was an inservice day, so this should have been and easier week because I only had four days with students. However, that's not how this week has shook out.

Tuesday we had a very long assembly, nine year olds don't sit well on the hard floor for an hour. I didn't get much work out of them the rest of the afternoon.

Wednesday was picture day. This year we tried out a new picture company. Everything that possibly could go wrong did go wrong. My scheduled time was originally 11:15, then we were moved to 12:50, and finally we were called down at 2:15 and we were still kept standing around waiting. The kids missed their last recess because we were waiting in line for photos. I tried to take the kids out for a few minutes of recess and then it started raining cats and dogs.

Today we had our first big writing assessment of the year. It is untimed and the kids get as much time as they need to plan, draft, edit, revise, and publish a five paragraph essay. I blocked out the whole morning for this endeavor. Half of my class was done by lunchtime, most of the others were done by 1:30. What a long, tedious time to monitor children. We spent the rest of the afternoon drawing still lifes of pumpkins and gourds, and helping our first grade buddies with math.

Tomorrow should be a fairly normal Friday with the exception of our fundraising assembly at the end of the day. It's time for our annual cookie dough sale. The sales rep will breeze into the school and rile the kids up into a frenzy. It's a bit like an old time medicine show. Thankfully it's at the end of the day so I can send them home to their parents right afterward.

Sorry if this sounds whiny. I really do love my job most weeks, just not this one.