Charlotte tells herself "good girl" all the time now. Good self-esteem...CHECK._____________________________________________________________________________
First day of break: Today I vacuumed, scrubbed the bathroom, cleaned the kitchen, did 4 loads of laundry, had a playdate with friends, showered AND shaved, made 18 cups of brown rice, 10 cups of black beans, colored with the girls, read books with the girls, helped Sam put decals of the Nativity up on the window and dropped off a Christmas gift. I think that's enough productivity for the rest of the year, no?
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I offered Charlotte some brown rice that I was eating and TWICE she refused with a resounding "NO!" and running off. I offered it to Sam and Charlotte came running and is now finishing off the bowl. HOW did I ever raise Samantha without a Samantha???
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"Samantha, get up- out of bed."
Pause. "And...what happens if I don't?"
"Not an option, get out of bed!"
"But what happens if I don't?"
Lord Help Me
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I swear, if I hear the phrase, "So...I didn't read the instructions....how many points off is it if I didn't __________" one more time..
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I came downstairs this morning and heard "CRINKLE CRINKLE CRINKLE". When I turned the corner I saw the last ditch effort from Sam to "shove" the box of cookies back onto the shelf. She spun around as quick as possible and tried to close her mouth over the stuffed-in cookie. I just looked at her and she looked at me. Slowly her eyes changed from surprise to guilt as she knew she'd been caught.
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Yesterday I was teaching “Cantar” and I sing, “LALALALALA!” into a
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Charlotte was put into time-out for the first time the other night. Of course, it wasn't a real time-out, just putting out of screeching range while we ate dinner. Samantha sat at the table while Charlotte was in "time-out" grinning from ear to ear, watching her sister intently. I laughed and she looked at me, eyes sparkling,
"You're glad it's her and not you, aren't you?"
giggling she replied, "YEP!"
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I teared up last night watching Samantha play WITH her baby sister and the nativity scene. Charlotte was all over the place, knocking down stuff and picking up random pieces and Sam didn't blink an eye and calmly traded pieces with her whenever she wanted what Charlotte had. She has come so far- from lining up her toys and forbidding anyone from touching them to graciously playing with a careless toddler. As Sam said the other night, "Before Charlotte I never had anyone to play with at home, but now I do! We need more babies, mom."
Siblings really are the best gift ever :
November
A tale of two tired sisters. One yells and complains, indicating that she's tired. We give her the binky, she cuddles like the sweetest cuddle-bug and we can lay her down AWAKE and she passes out, waking 2 hours later as happy as can be.
The other yells and complains and SPITS, indicating that she's tired. We give her her puppies and she SCREAMS and stomps and flings herself to the ground because, well, she's tired. Then she SCREAMS and demands to be cuddled. With a heavy sigh we have to decline, which, of course, just perpetuates the tantrum. After 10 more minutes of fake-crying she finally passes out, waking 2 ours later as grumpy as she was when she went to sleep.
I'd like to think the eldest is just going through a phase, but she's been doing that routine since she was born, so I'm pretty sure any future husband will need some major sleep-routine warning...
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Question on a test, "¿De qué tienes miedo?"
Student answer, "Tengo miedo de Ood."
^^^New teacher's pet
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"No! nonononoNO!"
-Charlotte as she does something she's not supposed to do
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I was so relieved that my ears perked up to Sam and her "great idea" that she whispered aloud. I turned around to stop the toothpaste going on a q-tip just in the nick of time!
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Charlotte was very intensely studying me and the signing books as we read them over and over and over. About the 5th time through she got "cat", "dog", "baby", "book" and "hat" down perfectly. The best part was showing Samantha and watching HER excitement and aw! Unfortunately taking out the camera shuts off the performance and turns on the screeching and pawning for the camera :(
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I've got my students trained well. When someone says something like, "Los maestros son inteligente" the rest of the class helps them out by starting a chorus of "SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS".
October
tricker-treater count- 1. Come on, kiddos, I've got TWO bags of candy to give away!
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There are two very distinct kinds of exhausting. One is after working all day and coming home to do the night-time routine. The other is after taking care of (sick) kids all day. Every time I'm in the routine of one type and switch gears to the other I'm reminded of how equally exhausting the other routine is
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Staying home with a sick baby and an older sister who I THINK is playing hookie. She's quarantined to reading on the couch all day...we'll see how long it is before she's begging to go to school!
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Me, "How many demerits do you have from me now?"
Student, "Three."
Me, "Well, it doesn't seem like the demerits are working for you, so next time this happens, I'll try talking to your coach."
Student, "NO! The demerits are working!!!!"
Ah, there you are, Leverage.
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Talking about our "date" this weekend to get Samantha her own bible, I told her there are some that are much prettier than mine, with gold and ribbons. Her eyes got real big and she asked, "Do you think they have a FROZEN bible?"
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Tess ate Charlotte's poop for lunch. Her food bowl was full. Just let that thought settle for a moment...
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September
Sam bathes herself now. Jer and I have more down time and Sam struts around the house after getting herself ready, beaming with pride. WIN-WIN.
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Me, "You look confused. Where did I lose you?"
Student, "You said mascotas
Me *pointing to the vocab sheet* "Did you get it down? Yep! Right here."
Student, "No, that says mascotA
Right, then. Baby steps it is.
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Charlotte can say, "Sm-ah-ta" and "noooooooooooooo!"...I'm guessing her first sentence is not too far around the corner...
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student waiting for me outside my room: "Maestra, is the homework due today?"
Me "What did the board say?"
"Friday"
"What day is it today?"
"Not Friday. Ok, thanks!"
August
after a rougher day than we've had in over a year, Sam confessed at 6pm that she'd gotten up in the middle of the night and hung out in the basement for a bit...how do I even-where is this coming from?? What is so wrong with SLEEP that both my husband and child fight it like it's kryptonite?
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Apparently Sam's main topic of conversation after her first day of kindergarten was the "Man who walked me to my pick-up spot. He wore some SHARP pants. He was sooooooooooo handsome. Even more handsomer than my daddy." Mr. Medna better watch out, someone's got their eye on him! Hopefully the crush will calm down by the time she reaches 6th grade :)
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July
Sam this morning, "*SIGH*...I miss Arkansawl."
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Samantha today, "Does Emma live in a house made of wood?"
"No."
"Then why is it called Emma Woodhouse?"
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Sam just woke up very upset. After lots of mumbling I finally understood the sentence,
"I don't have a hog-suit!"
"It's ok, I'll get you one tomorrow."
"Ok."
and she went back to sleep.
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I was making dinner and Samantha walked in:
"Is Daddy home?"
"No, he's still at work."
"Oh...YOU'RE making dinner?"
"Yep."
"Did daddy say that was ok?"
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Just taught Samantha how to read commas. She was reading, "Rabbit, Pooh and Piglet." I told her to take a breath between the first two words otherwise it sounded like something else. :)
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S "That's how you say pretty in Spanish."
Me "How do you say it?"
S *shrugs* "Something..."
