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Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas Part 2

Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, it can.  Our oven is not cooperating at all.  The heat is fixed (thank you repairman for showing us something that we'd never thought of), but now the oven (that we thought Dad had fixed) is cooking/not cooking as it wishes and I can't even find out how old the stove is.  Of course it is Christmas Eve, and no repair man is even taking calls at this point.  Christmas dinner is going to be interesting.  I can only hope that a friend will let me cook the turkey on Boxing Day at their house, as it will go bad soon after. 

Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas

As I write this post I am struck with deja vu.  About 8 years ago I was opening presents while on the phone with my parents when the oil ran out in my tank.  I was in an old apartment in Korea and it was the responsibility of the tenant to make sure they had enough oil.  There was no gauge on the tank for you to be able to tell, so when you had no hot water you knew it was time to order some more.  Of course, I couldn't call myself because the people on the other end of the phone couldn't understand me.  I had to get a Korean friend to make the call.  I had no heat for 2 days.  Thankfully it didn't get to FSJ temps so I was okay. 
So fast forward to today, when I was informed by my husband to stay in bed as the furnace was not working.  It's pretty chilly in here now and the furnace guy won't be available until 1pm.  We are sitting at 13 degrees right now.  I am wearing my ski layers while Dad and Chris wander around with touques on their heads.  I did offer a Tim Horton's run, but noone took me up on it. 
So far our holiday has been pretty good.  We've had visitors, the kitchen is seeing alot of action with Mom baking almost non-stop.  There have been some technical issues.  We have gone through a hand mixer and the oven is acting a little funny.  The last batch of cookies were burnt on the bottom, but raw in the middle.  Tasted okay though.



Here are Mom and Dad trying to stay warm in the house.  My fingers are getting too cold to type.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

I should be

Wrapping presents, cleaning something, prepping for school or conversing with my family but instead I am typing this post.  The last few days have been tiring and there is one day left.  The weather is cold right now (about -23+ wind chill) and the kids haven't been outside all week.  Add to that the Christmas concert preparation and all the sweets they seem to bring with them everyday.  I received candles last week from one of my boys and today a cute scarf (handmade) and a box of chocolates.  The first tadpole had it all figured out: I could wear my scarf and eat chocolates by candle light with Mr Nowell.  I had a good chuckle over that one.  There is glitter and glue all over desks and half finished Santas awaiting me in the morning.  I have learned a few things this week.  Stick with what I know, don't get too technical and make the kids do the work.  Oh, and the Crazy Santa craft is one that is not being repeated. EVER.  Let's just say that the level of prep vs the amount of time it really takes the kids is not paying off.  They are pretty excited about the Crafty Extravaganza that I planned with two other classes for tomorrow.  We will start after recess and go until lunch.  Then they will eat and have treats and watch a movie or two with Mr Nowell's class.  All going well.  At this point I have two parents helping me (one of them is my own mom) and have only heard about 2 treats coming in.  For a micro manager like me, it's hard.  I know it will all go well and when I am sitting in my living room tomorrow night with an adult beverage, I will look back and smile.  I just have to get through it first.

Monday, December 13, 2010

It's beginning to look....

The countdown has definitely started for me.  Only 4 more days of work left before Christmas holidays.  I figured out this weekend that I am worn out, and looking forward to the break.  Mom and Dad come in Wednesday afternoon.  That will be a busy day as  we have to blast into town after work, pick them up and then head back out to school, grabbing dinner on the way.  It also happens to be Christmas concert night.  The night that parents delight in and teachers try to get through in one piece.  While parents are enjoying the show that has taken months to pull together, teachers are in their classrooms with the students putting in another few hours of child minding.  Hmmm and we don't earn our pay?  Our whole school is involved with a musical production which is interesting.  We'll see how it all turns out as tomorrow is the full dress rehearsal.  The Christmas crazies have started and I swear the kids have been calling each other to make plans of how they can "get me" at school.  There were a few times today when I wanted to put my head down hard on my desk (but I didn't), but smiled instead and repeated myself for the fourth time. 
Another thing that has been happening lately is farting.  I have a few farty kids and they make my eyes water at times.  I know who one of them was last week, although he swore up and down it wasn't, but there was one visiting from another class as well, making it even worse!  In the spirit of farts, I read an awesome book called " Fartsy Claus".  The book was not only hilarious, the art work was grand, and the problem solving the kids showed in the book was awesome.  I also found out that there are people that get offended by the word "fart" (which of course made me want to use it even more).  I had a talk with my kids after a particularly awful smell came from my little tadpoles on the carpet.  It's natural, it happens  blah blah, just please try to excuse yourself and if you have to use the bathroom, please do!  I don't know what their parents are feeding them, but I wish they'd stop.
I had a funny moment with one of my super stars today and it warmed my heart a little too.  Laurie looked at me and said " You know Mrs Nowell, I really like you"  I smiled and said that was good because I really liked him too.  Then he said "That's why I give you hugs all the time, I really like you!"  Then he cocked his head to one side and said "Even if we get mad sometimes"  and with that he threw his arms around my waist and squeezed.  That's a perk of being a teacher and sometimes it truly gets me through a day, especially around Christmas.
 
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