Happy Holidays!

What do teachers do on Spring Break? Some work. Not me. I Sleep in. A little travel. Read a book. A book.  Just for me.  Not to learn anything.  Have you heard of the Overdrive app?  Who knew?  Today though, I read my Christmas cards. As it turns out, I collected them in December, but didn't actually read them. So today I did. Every one of them. We have amazing friends and family.  And some of you had an amazing year.  A year of family and friends yourselves, Some had monumental joys and others, heartache.  Thank you for including us in your Christmas greetings and in your lives.  To those of you who don't send us a card.... get on it!  There is no rigid December deadline.  I'll give you 'till April next year.  You're welcome.

Headstrong Hundreds

If Peyton was upset when she was little she'd throw herself down and head butt the floor.  Even if the floor was a concrete slab.  Our pediatrician wasn't concerned when I asked her about it.  She told me, "She's not going to be anyone's doormat.  Count yourself lucky.  Some kids smear their feces." Ew.

Last week I was in Peyton's classroom and a classmate of hers told me that "she's a little bit mean." I asked her what Peyton had done.  She just repeated "she's a little bit mean."  I explained that if Peyton knew what she'd done maybe she should apologize.  Again, her classmate told me just that "she's a little bit mean."  Alrighty, then.  I asked Peyton.  Genuinely clueless.  So I asked Peytie's teacher if she's being mean to this particular kid and she answered, "Peyton isn't mean to anyone.  And she takes guff from no one." Ah. Okay.

Tonight, this:

"Mom, I have 100 and another 100.  How much is that?"

"200."

"No, you don't understand.  I have 100 plus 100.  How much is that?"

"200."

"Moooooommeeeeeeeeeey! You don't know what I meeeeeean. I have 100 and 100.  How much is that?"

"Babe.  I'm sorry.  It's 200."

"MOMMY! YOU DON'T GET WHAT I MEAN!  I DON'T MEAN 100 PLUS 2 MORE.  I MEAN 100 MORE!"

"Yeah.  I got that. 100 plus two more is actually 102.  100 plus another 100 is two hundred."  I went and got base ten pieces to show her. "See?"  100 and 100.  200.

(grabbing the pieces from me) "No!  Mommy!  Look! 1, 2, 3, 4..........(deep breathing from me)...........98, 99, 100.  See? And if I have both of these (holding two AT me in desperation) how much is that?

At this point I'm trying so hard to stifle my giggles because the only thing I know for sure is what she DOES NOT want to hear and frankly, I got nothin' else.  Also, I spent all day with 27 kids who were converting fractions to decimals and percents before putting them in order.  Many of them didn't try to understand fractions AT ALL so it's not lost on me that I should be ecstatic that Peyton wants so desperately to understand this. She's hungry for it.  She's going out-of-her-mind to try to get it. It's the sort of grit I beg my students to have.  And then, (again)

"200."

"Mommy!!! Look! 1, 2, 3, 4, ......(Oh. Em. Jee., not again).........97, 98, 99, 100."

"Yes."

"101, 102, 103, 104, .........(we're really doing this.  With a significant amount of help this time)................196, 197, 198, one hundred ninety-niiiiiiiiiine.............."

"200."

"MOMMY!"

"Alrighty. Bedtime."

(sobs) "I JUST WANT TO SNUGGLE WITH YOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUU!"

"That I can do."

Haunted....

Tonight I read this article on Buzzfeed with the girls about some hidden gems of Disneyland. Libby was a little weirded out that there are actual human remains inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

 

When we got in the car to go home I said, "Maybe when I die I'll donate my remains to Disney and I can live on forever as a pile of bones in the Pirates of the Caribbean."

Libby: Ew....No.

Me: Why? You don't like the idea of me reduced to pile of bones at Disneyland? 

Libby: No. I might want to open my own haunted house and I'll need your bones.

Amish?

This on the way to school this morning....

Libby:  Mom, tell me again how I'm French and Amish.

Me: K.......um....wait, what?

A Lot of Ones and Water

When Libby was little(r) she used to insist that after I tucked her in I'd come back in to check on her in her bed.  I always did.  I still do.  She'd say, "A lot of ones and water!" which meant, "Check on me a lot and bring water."  It started as her wanting to know exactly how long I was going to wait before coming in to check on her. I'd tell her ten minutes.  She'd try negotiating down to five, and eventually she understood that one minute goes by way faster than either five or ten.  From there she didn't want me to come back in just one minute, but "a lot of ones and water", which essentially meant, "Come in here every minute 'till you go to bed yourself".

I think agreeing to it was easier for my tired-and-done-with-this-day self rather than explaining exactly what sort of madness she was asking for.  So I'd always reply.  "Yep.  Got it.  A lot of ones and water. For sure.  I'm on it."  Eventually Peyton (from her bed) would yell the same.

It's been a while. I don't know how long since they've asked for a lot of ones and water, but long enough that a once so familiar bedtime mantra wasn't so familiar anymore.  Tonight at bedtime Peyton said, "Mom, what did we used to ask for at bedtime? Watermelon wishes and water?"  I couldn't figure out what she meant.

Watermelon wishes and water?

A lot of ones and water. Yep. Got it. For sure. On it.

N.O.

"No.  No scissors while wearing your roller skates.  Absolutely not."

Add this to the long list of things that I thought was just understood....

Frozen

My friends who have daughters are posting Frozen references on facebook one after another.  They're going to see the movie for the first time, or the fourth time.  They're singing the soundtrack, and planning themed birthday parties.  They're linking to Youtube covers of the songs and looking forward to Idina Menzel on tomorrow night's Oscars.

Us too.  I downloaded Let It Go and use it as the girls' morning alarm.  We sing it on the ride to school. Tonight the girls built an ice bridge out of pillows in the living room.  Then, while they danced together in the "snow" Peyton said, "Let's pretend our mom and dad died."

Awesome.