The SCE VIP

Despite all the drama that went down, the SCE VIP made their debut at the 2009 talent show. A few of my really good friends and myself decided that we wanted to do something fun for the kids in the talent show this year so we got together and came up with the idea to do "ICE ICE BABY". I knew all the words so I volunteered to be the "white girl rapper." My posse Melissa, Casey, Sandy, and Christy were the beautifully thugged out back up dancers. Melissa and I coriographed the dance. We ended up having to rewrite some of the lyrics 2 days before the talent show so it wasn't so contraversail, and we wouldn't lose our jobs. I was pretty nervous that I might slip up and sing the original lyrics, but things worked themselves out, and the kids and parents loved it! We said that we had to go through way too much to do something cool for the kids and to show them that teachers have a fun side too. We decided that we wouldn't ever do it again b/c of the drama, but after seeing the kids and parents rolling over our performance, I think will have to be back bigger and better next year! As my VIP would say, "We're just 2 legit..2legit to quit...hey!hey!" Check it out for yourself!
I

Sad Goodbyes

We had a truly great visit with Uncle David and Aunt Margret, our family from Texas. Usually, I'm a person who likes to go, go, go, but this weekend was a whole lot of staying at home. I was perfectly content sitting at our kitchen table just talking to them and my grandma. We usually get to see them at least once a year and sometimes two times a year. Everytime they have come I have always just enjoyed their company and stories. It's the strangest thing because if I'm sitting at home any other time, I'm probably sleeping. I did not take one nap this weekend.

They all stayed at my house. Grandma took the spare bedroom and David and Margret took our bed. We decided it would be a great idea if we just had a big weekend slumber party in Camryn's room so we got an air mattress from Brent's mom. We inflated it, but it was flat before we even went to bed so the couch was mine and Brent slept in the recliner on Friday. Well on Saturday my parents brought over an air mattress with a pump attached. We went to Dollar General and bought batteries to blow it up (note---I was being cheap and bought the Dollar General Brand). Well, as you probably guessed, they didn't even get it blown up half way. So it was either the floor or the couch again for us. I slept on the love seat and Brent slept on the couch. Finally, last night we had luck with a bed and Brent and I cuddled all night.

Back to the family...Yesterday we were talking about my grandama's and uncle's lives when they were children. They were true children of poverty. What amazes me the most is that they made the best out of their situation and took care of one another until all the children were raised. Their mom died 18 months after David was born from delivery complications with her last child. Their dad was an alcoholic and drank all the money away. Their dad left David when he was 14 and had to get a job and find somewhere to live. Despite all of these horrible situations, David still graduated high school, went to college, and received two master degrees. It's amazing what self-motivation can make you accomplish. I really admire my uncle, and with them being down it made me think a lot about them all getting older so you never know when it will be the last time I see them. I was especially sad to see them go this morning. Please pray that they have safe travels back home. Hopefully we're going to get to go to Texas this summer to visit!

Thank you Dwight!

My husband came home and told me something one of his old boss men shared with the staff at Caterpillar today. It made me feel good and appreciated. He told them that the government should definitely not take any money from the teachers to help with our economic situation in the U.S. He said that instead of taking money from us, they should take it from law enforcement. Now if your with law enforcement, CALM DOWN! You'll appreciate the rest. He said that if they paid teachers enough, there really wouldn't be a need for police officers. I know it was a joke, but it's mostly true. If they invested more money into education to reduce class size and student/teacher ratio, it would do wonders for these at-risk students. I'm in no way saying we should take money from law enforcement because they don't get paid nearly enough to risk their lives, but money should be taken from somewhere. If you don't keep your teachers happy, they're going to lose their passion, and the kids are going to be the ones to pay the price. So...go Dwight...your joke inspired me. You know...I think you should start blogging. The stuff Brent tells me is pretty good, and I would enjoy reading it (don't waste it on your CAT workers) :)

What's my hidden talent?

Well, the annual talent show is coming up on Feb. 20th at our school. All the first grade teachers wanted to do something last year, but we waited too late so we said we would do it this year. It was so hard to decide on something to do. Did we want to be serious or funny? If you know us, you can guess the answer. FUNNY...that way it's not embarrasing if you're trying to make yourself look like an idiot.
I told my students yesterday that we would be doing something, but we didn't know what. Well, after talking to my great PTA friends and my clever husband, I got an idea. My favorite song to sing with Brent around and of course when I'm alone is Vanilla Ice!!! Brent loved the idea, and said he can't wait to post it on Youtube. In order to get my students excited and to attend the talent show, I told them that some members from the PTA board and first grade teachers would be rapping. All of them began laughing and of course making all the rapping gestures. When suddenly out of nowhere, one of my sweet white students said, "Do you mean like with paper?" She looked very perplexed!!! Of course all the other kids were dying. I guess it was a GREAT teachable moment for homophones, but I'm just relieved that it was soooo FUNNY!
If you want to see me along with several of my school friends make COMPLETE idiots out of our self, come join us at the SCE Talent Show on February 20th. Be there or be square. WORD TO YOUR MOMTHER!