Bye Bye Boys

I'm sad. I recently found out that my favorite band EVER, Aerosmith (you can stop laughing now), has canceled the rest of their tour. Steve Tyler's voice gave out after 40+ years of screeching. I think Kenny and I have been to 4 Aerosmith concerts and I've met everyone except Tyler, and Kenny has met all including Tyler. I'm still getting over the fact that he went to their hotel in December WHILE I WAS STILL AT WORK. Ugh. I forgave him though because had he not gone while I was working, he never would have got to meet Steve Tyler, so I got over it quickly. Kenny pulled his truck up to the curb, got out with his camera and there was Tyler doing a photo shoot in the middle of a minor snow storm. Kenny snapped a shot of Tyler and then the real photographer yelled at him. Tyler told the photographer to shut up and invited Kenny to take a couple more shots. As if that wasn't enough, after the photo shoot, Tyler came up to Kenny's truck and knocked on the window (he touched MY window!) and asked him if he wanted to take more pictures of him. I think I will always be jealous of Kenny's experience. Anyway, th picture that Kenny took are the ones with snow, and the other two are just a couple of my favorite from their sites. Since Aerosmith may never tour again, I will treasure these pictures always. ***sigh***

Home + Clutter = Allergies

I hate clutter. I always have. That's not to say that it doesn't exist here where I live. It's here, but I still can't stand it. Since I've been feeling better, I've started to de-clutter my place. There are no longer things on top of things. And I plan on it staying that way. I accidentally came across this article and it made me feel very good about de-cluttering because the article says that clutter can lead to aggrivated allergies. That is the best reason I've ever heard to THROW THINGS AWAY!!! Read it for yourself at http://www.clickondetroit.com/seenon4/8489091/detail.html. GO SPRING CLEAN YOUR PLACE!

Waaaaahhhhh....

Today is the last week day of my spring break. And because of my sinus issues, I stayed home THE WHOLE TIME driving Kenny crazy. I had all these fun things planned for my break: spring cleaning, car cleaning, sewing, scrapbooking, spring clothes shopping, and lunching with friends. Since I didn't start feeling better until Wednesday, I didn't get a whole lot done. I know I shouldn't complain and just be grateful that I got the time off, I know, I know. But I can't help thinking that I GOT JIPT for this break. I'll get over it tomorrow. And of course, thank you Kenny for taking care of me. I love you.

Men and Women (the difference)

I found this picture today on another blog. I thought it was perfect.

This is SO TRUE.

Easter Memories

I have tons of fun Easter memories....the most vivid are the ones where Mark and I found our colored Easter eggs where the "Easter Bunny" hid them in the woods behind our house. It was always chilly in the morning, but Mark and I bundled up and walked with Dad out to the woods to find the eggs. Mom got to sleep in! Dad always seemed to know where the last few eggs were when Mark and I were sure we had them all. Hmmm, I wonder why:) And then there was the Easter when I was obsessed with New Kids on the Block, (aka NKOTB) and the Easter bunny knew just what NKOTB T-shirt I wanted in my Easter basket. I believe that T-shirt still exists in my mom's blanket chest. Once we went to Minnesota to my Aunt Charlotte's house for Easter and the night before, my cousins and I were getting ready to go to bed and my Dad told us to look out the window. We did, and we saw the real Easter bunny! A more recent memory was about 6 years ago when Dad and I left the Osborn Easter festivities early so he could drive me back to K-zoo to the dorms. Once there, we spent about 2 hours in a stuffy dorm room disassembling a loft that Amanda and I bought to use the next year. Dad is such a trooper! Anyway, there are many more stories I could tell, but I won't bore you. This year, Kenny and I are going to church and then spending the day with his brother. I hope you make special spring memories with your family. Happy Easter!

VERY Belated Party Pictures

My birthday was in December, but it's taken me this long to get my act together with downloading the pictures to this site! Bad bad me! Here are a couple fun ones! You won't see all these people in the pictures, but along for festivities were Bethy, Amanda, Danielle, Bryan, and of course, Kenny. We went to Lucky's which is like an adult Chucky Cheese place with slot machines and a dance floor. Thanks for the pictures Bethy!

Nano

April 9th marked six months that my aunt Nano has been gone. She passed away on October 9th, 2005, just a week after her 42nd birthday. She lived with and fought cancer for almost 10 years before deciding enough was enough. It was about this time last spring when she decided to stop the treatments and have hospice take care of her at her home. Through the spring and summer, she and Uncle JR graciously left their doors open constantly for family and friends to come and share stories, laugh, cry, and just BE with Nano. Along with a lifetime of memories with my Aunt Nano, those months were precious. So precious. (Thank you Uncle JR for the pictures)

VACATION?

As this week started, I was so EXCITED because we had kids until Wednesday, then an inservice (professional development) on Thursday, and then SPRING BREAK!! To me, spring break is more exciting than Christmas vacation. Why? Because there's only 1 holiday to worry about, it's time for spring cleaning and spring clothes shopping (which is another topic for another day in itself), and summer vacation is just around the corner. So, needless to say, I was looking forward to a short work week and beautiful weather! After sending the students packing on Wednesday with their VERY THICK homework packets ("Aw, Miss O, do we have to do it all?"), Thursday was sure to go by speedy quick. When I woke up, my throat hurt a little, but I figured it was because I slept with the window open. I dressed in my favorite "dress down day" joggin suit and drove the 25 miles to work on a natural high, along with a double-double from Tim Horton's. Yeah!

I spent 2 hours in my classroom getting things cleaned and ready for when we come back. I chatted happily (chirped, as Kenny would say) with co-workers, then we went upstairs to the meeting. As the day progressed, my throat got worse, and I started to ache. Not the ache that means you're just tired, the one that means you need to get to a doctor for antibiotics. I declined a lunch date with a couple other teachers and spent the hour and a half at my desk trying not to sleep. The rest of the afternoon I nodded off so many times during the meeting that I lost count. I felt miserable, worse with every hour. I went straight home and straight to the couch with Tylenol and water, and of course Kenny insisted on giving me tea too. I felt like it could be allergies, a bad cold, or a sinus infection. Friday morning, the first day of my VACATION, I felt 10 times worse and went to the doctor. By 3pm I was in Kenny's truck going to pick up my meds...it was a sinus infection. The rest of Friday was a blur between sleeping, sneezing, taking meds, kicking the covers off or complaining that I didn't have enough on. Poor Kenny, he didn't know whether my moods were coming or going. But he was awesome and got me through the worst part of it. I woke this morning feeling slightly better, less pressure on my head but still REALLY tired and congested. I hope to feel well enough for us to go to church tomorrow on Easter Sunday.

I've had a sinus infection before, and it's no trip down pleasant lane. At least this time I know what to expect. I'm just bummed that the first part of my vacation will be spent recooperating from a sickness, when I should be recooperating from the kids! Oh well, either way, I'm on the couch at home in my sweats. That's still a vacation, isn't it???

Early Easter

We celebrated Easter with my mom yesterday at her house and talk about beautiful weather!! It was sunny and kind of warm, the best spring day yet! My cousins, grandma, aunts, and Mark were all there. It was so nice outside that Mark got out the 4-wheeler and we tooled around the yard.

A day in the life of....

Just about every day something crazy happens in my classroom. Today, there were a few crazy things to say the least. One of my students (keep in mind they are 7 years old) was leading the class through the daily news routine. This particular student, we'll call him Mike, reminds me of PigPen, you know, Charlie Brown's buddy. Mike walks around all the time with his shirt mis-buttoned, fuzz in his hair, wader pants with holes in the knees, shoes untied, shirt dingy and untucked (they wear uniforms). So today I asked him to fix himself because "a leader needs to look like a leader." He takes a look at himself and just doesn't see the problem. Sitting on the floor in front of him is one of my naughtiest students, we'll call him Jason. Jason is very quiety leaning over his criss-crossed legs tying Mike's shoes for him. This actually took my breath away. None of us even noticed Jason tying Mike's shoes and then I noticed it and when Jason realized I saw what he was doing, he froze, like I was going to yell at him or something. Mike thanked Jason and the routine went on, but just that little act of kindness from Mike (this was a HUGE deal for him to do someone a favor) made me smile and remember why I do what I do.

This next paragraph will remind me why my job drives me nuts. I picked the kids up from music and when we entered our classroom, one of my girls puked all over her desk. Lovely. I quickly call maintenance and then as I'm trying to call her mother, I'm faintly aware of 2 other girls whining and tapping me and calling my name. Well, as all teachers know, I have learned to ignore this action. Not 2 seconds later both of these girls wet their pants. As if I don't already have enough drama for the moment. A puker and 2 pee-ers. What next?

Once again, never a dull moment.