Catching the Moment(s)

Titan is a real sweetie with a smile a mile wide.

But like any baby, he has some fussy times, too. So, when Jessica was rocking and singing to him, I grabbed my phone to catch the moment.

However, lots of other "moments" were going on as you can clearly hear!

I love that you can hear Titan cooing, too.

Ornaments for Granny Slash

Saturday afternoon we went to Granny Slash's to deliver our handmade ornaments. Look at the joy on her face!

Julie delivers her all-seeing gingerbread man.

Cambria gave her a white snowflake that she colored.

And Ian gave her the Christmas tree with the ladybugs and stars on it.

We tried to get a picture of Granny Slash with the three great grandchildren...

... but for whatever reason, Julie wasn't having it.

She felt a little more comfortable with her mama.

But she soon warmed up...

... and showed us her spinning skills.

Imagination Station

Saturday we spent the morning at Lafayette's science museum for kids, Imagination Station. We stayed two hours, and could have remained even longer!

The fire engine was a huge hit, with kids and parents. (That was the refrain for just about every exhibit!)

The wind machine was popular.

We cycled many bits of paper through it!

Aiming the laser through a series of mirrors was more for older kids.

But Cambria and Ian still enjoyed themselves.

Upstairs, Ian spotted the train set right away. He played with it for over an hour!

Harking back to memories of JC's, "Stuck, stuck, STUCK!!" days...

...Ian had a similar fate! He did not want to let go of that train! Uncle O came to the rescue.

Getting stuck didn't deter Ian - he continued playing (and got stuck twice more!)

Cambria driving a school bus.

Craig and I took turns pushing Titan around in his stroller. He dropped off to sleep for a while.

And woke up later happy to coo at Aunt Emily.

More driving for Cambria.

We finally dragged the kids away for lunch and naps at noon. Definitely we will return!

Black Friday

Black Friday shopping? Rarely at our home. Since people have to drive or fly to get here, packing space is limited, and so we usually just spend time together as a family.

This Black Friday began with breakfast at Aunt Lisa's. She was excited to welcome us to her new home and let us all take a tour.

Julie (top) and Cambria (bottom) enjoyed playing with the cushions of her new couch.

Uncle O (Ian can't say "Cole" and calls him "O") also found those couches a fun place to play.

We stayed at Lisa's until noon and then came home and put the babies (and me) down for naps. When everyone awoke, it was craft time!

I brought home the tub I keep at Hershey that is full of foam pieces, googly eyes, pony beads, felt, glue, and all kinds of crafting materials.

With help from their parents, the three little kids made Christmas ornaments for Granny Slash, Gigi, and me.

I love the expression on Cambria's face as she looks to see what else she can put on her foam Christmas tree!

Adjusting a felt strip.

I wish I had gotten pictures of it, but Julie was fascinated by the googly eyes. Her gingerbread man had eyes everywhere as she kept sticking them on and sticking them on.

Ian was partial to the red ladybug foam pieces and the stars.

Like Julie, he put the google eyes in unusual spots, too!

Selecting a foam piece to add to his ornaments.

We pieced all afternoon for lunch since we'd had such a late breakfast while Craig and Lisa drove down to Indianapolis to watch West Lafayette play for the state football championship. (Sadly, they lost.)

Everyone pitched in to help care for Julie, Ian, Cambria, and Titan. I love seeing my own children be parents, aunts, and uncles. They're good ones!

Just before dinner, Julie taught us how to spin and do it right!

We waited on dinner for Craig and Lisa to get home and then called out for chinese.

Lisa started a tradition three years ago where we eat chinese for dinner and then watch the movie, A Christmas Story. 

Ian got some to eat, too!

You'd think that, the day after Thanksgiving we'd have enough food left in the house for dinner (and we did) that we would not need to order out. (We didn't.)  But you have to have chinese when you watch that movie! Cramming the chinese leftovers into the fridge next to the Thanksgiving leftovers was a challenge, but we made it!

Thanksgiving Dinner

We had seventeen people this year for Thanksgiving, a smaller number than usual, but super fun nonetheless.

There was family, food, and fun in abundance.

 Emily made homemade rolls while the torn bread for the oyster dressing and stuffing dried.

 Julie helped her mama make the rolls.

At 11:00, I put out the appetizers.

 Cheese balls, pickles, olives, nuts, candied apples, and trail mix.

 It helps to have that out in case we get behind in the kitchen and our family has to wait.

 As you can tell, it is a popular place!

 Mr brother stopped by with a cheesecake and Christmas cookies.

 I was able to persuade him to take some pictures. (I got teary - he looks so much like our dad!)

 Jessica and Emily helped their daughters make necklaces from Apple Jacks.

 One for the necklace, fifteen for the mouth...

Despite all the nibbling, Julie and Cambria finished their necklaces and then made some for Granny Slash and Gigi.

And then we had a prayer and served Thanksgiving dinner. What a spread!

(Counter clockwise from top left.) Roast turkey, fried turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, Christmas Jello, tossed salad with egg and bacon, cranberry sauce, roasted brussel sprouts, dressing, green bean casserole, oyster dressing, sweet potato casserole, and corn casserole. (That's Julie's head peeking out on the right from under the table!)

After a food coma (and sorting through my mother's and grandmother's Christmas ornaments) we laid out the desserts. Once again, we had plenty!

 (Counter clockwise from top left.) Pumpkin pie (there were three of those!) sugar cream pies, pumpkin spice cheesecake, homemade whipped cream, pecan pie, Christmas cookies, brownies, cherry pie (there were two of those), and apple pie.

Leslie cuts into a pie.

While the food was clearly abundant, best of all was just being together. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Two Peas in a Pod

Tuesday RP presented his classic paper and project on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I was preparing pictures for our class Facebook site and this photo, taken as he shared a PowerPoint on Cairn Terriers, made me pause and smile.

Why? Because it is like looking at two peas in a pod!  If RP were a dog, the Cairn Terrier would be it. Happy, friendly, interested in all that life has to give, that's RP!

The juxtaposition of the slide and RP, both smiling, both leaning toward each other, warms my heart.

Rub a Dub Dub!

Rub a dub dub! Three babes in a tub!

 And who do you think they be?

Two princesses, a train lover, all mischief makers!

Hug them quick; sweeties, all three!

Taking It Personally

Recently, Indiana Governor Mike Pence told teachers to not "take personally" the fact that test scores have dropped - after all, we knew the test was flawed and expected this to happen. (And Indiana has now TWICE lowered the cut-off scores on last year's tests - whose results STILL are not out - because the results were so dismal and so many children failed.)

Not take it personally? When so many things are tied to those scores, and the way that test has negatively affected curriculum and children? I don't think so.

I am not the only teacher who feels that way. Donna Roof, a veteran teacher from northwest Indiana, fired off an open letter to Governor Pence and The Washington Post published it.

Roof has articulated my own thoughts on high stakes testing and why I DO take the scores personally.

So, Governor Pence, you recently told a teacher not to take the ISTEP results personally.

Well, actually, Governor…

When I see developmentally inappropriate education curriculum, I take it personally.

When I see students suffer from anxiety and other health issues due to pressure to pass high stakes tests, I take it personally.

When I see students subjected to an abundance of test prep, I take it personally.

When I see recess being cut to allow for more test prep time, I take it personally.

When I see children fearing they’ll be held back if they don’t pass a high stakes test, I take it personally.

When I see neighborhood schools being closed, I take it personally.

When I see fine arts classes and programs being cut to allow more time for test prep, I take it personally.

When I see students walking great distances on unsafe roads because there are no buses due to transportation cuts, I take it personally.

When I see no joy in learning and teaching due to the demands of tests, tests, and more tests, I take it personally.

When I see teachers with 40+ students in their classes, I take it personally.

When I see teachers without sufficient resources for their classroom, I take it personally.

When I see less funding for public schools, I take it personally.

When I see the outrageous amount of money being wasted on high stakes testing, I take it personally.

When I see children, teachers, schools, and districts labeled as failing due to test scores, I take it personally.

When I see more and more punitive measures assigned to public schools, I take it personally.

When I see highly effective teachers labeled otherwise due to test results tied to their evaluations, I take it personally.

When I see my Superintendent of Public Instruction being undermined, I take it personally.

When I see the lack of respect for public school teachers, I take it personally.

When I see individuals with no educational or teaching experience making decisions that affect students and teachers, I take it personally.

When I see teachers not being viewed as the experts of the classroom, I take it personally.

When I see all the harm being done to the teaching profession, I take it personally.

When you see that I am doing all that I can to ensure you are not re-elected, don’t take it personally.

Grammy's Handprint Garden

I have seventeen stepping stones with handprints of my grandchildren (and Zeus!) in the garden that lines my front walkway. It is one of my favorite things of all.

Cambria and I took advantage of the late afternoon sunshine and went outside this afternoon for some fresh air.

 She immediately skipped over to see the stones, stopping first at her own.

 She squatted down and ran her mittened hand over the letters and the sparkly rocks and decorations embedded in the concrete.

 She closely examined quite a few of them.

 Including one Trinity made just a few years ago.

Trying on Trinity's handprints for size.

We didn't stay out too long because it was getting chillier and chillier as the sun set.