The Buma's

Right Place, Right Time

2010-02-11T19:36:00.000-08:00

Tonight after Scouts I needed to run to the store for some things. I don't usually go to Von's, because it is more expensive. I only go when I know that something is on sale or Staters doesn't carry what I need. We were a little late, because one of the boys didn't get picked up right away. I was slightly irritated, because I was really tired and wanted to get home.

Anyway, as we were driving to the store an announcement came on the radio saying that a 12 year old boy was missing and had run away. He had left a note, but hadn't been seen since 2:30 when he left Friendly Hills Elementary. They gave his name, what he was wearing, what he looked like, etc.

So, for some unknown (to me) reason, I pulled into the Von's parking lot. As we were parking, a young boy, wearing exactly what the radio said, walked right by. I got out of the car and said, "Brandon?" He said, "That isn't my name." I said, " Oh, you look familiar, what is your name?" He said, "Brendan. Do you know me?" I said, "Oh, you look familiar to me. What's your last name?" "Surprise, " he answers. That was the kid's name on the radio. So I tore into Von's to get the sheriff's number. It was a Yucca number, so I thought I would get right to someone who could help. I didn't, I got the rudest lady. She was really snotty and acted like she had no clue what I was talking about. I kept trying to tell her that I had heard it on the radio and that the missing boy was in the Von's parking lot. She said, "What radio station, where are you?" I told her the name of the missing boy, the radio station name, the town name, etc. While I was talking to her I saw the boy going into Rite Aid and told her so. Very rudely she asked, "Which Rite Aid?" I told her that there was only one in Yucca Valley. She finally said, "I guess I'll call it in."
So I hung up, worried that nothing would happen. A box girl who was with me when I was making the call, came and found me in the store about 5 minutes later and told me that a police officer was there with the boy. I was so glad and relieved that he would be alright!

I'm so grateful Heavenly Father put me in the right place at the right time. I'm glad I had the radio on and that I listened to the Spirit whispering to me. At the time I didn't recognize the promptings as the Spirit, but I now know it was. It was almost 6 at night and really really cold outside. He was only wearing a thin t-shirt and hoodie. I don't want to think about what could have happened!

Alyssa's New Hair!

2010-02-10T19:14:00.000-08:00

I made haircut appointments for the kids. I figured we all were going to get trims. Our appointment was last night. Alyssa informed me that she wanted to get her hair cut into a bob. She was very specific about showing me what she wanted. When we went into Katie's and she told Katie what she wanted. Katie gave her a book with kids' hairstyles in it. I was trying to point out the longer bobs, but she knew what she wanted and picked this! When the first long strand of hair hit the ground I felt so sad and was just sick about it. She was so excited! The whole time Katie was cutting she kept saying, "It is so cute! I love it!"
She is so happy with her hair and loves it! She kept saying, "My teacher won't know who I am! Maybe she will think I am a new kid." Mrs. Potter maintained that the haircut changed her personality. She says she is so much more bubbly. She feels really good about herself and is so happy!

Her Last Birthday Ever!

2009-12-09T20:32:00.000-08:00

Christy celebrated her 39th birthday at our house on Friday. She asked for Spanish rice with tacos. We had a nice dinner and then had her favorite cake: cherry chip with almond butter cream frosting. She swears that this is her last birthday ever. She's not celebrating next year.

No Boys Allowed!

2009-12-08T21:28:00.000-08:00

On Sunday night I was walking down the hall and saw this note posted on Alyssa's door. Despite the spelling you can understand what she's saying! I thought it was funny, so I thought I'd share.

And now with the Sports....Here's Curtis

2009-12-07T20:15:00.000-08:00

This is what I saw walking into my classroom after school. His class is doing book reports. His group picked a book called, Running out of Time. They read it and now have to do a presentation. They are doing a newscast. Curtis' teacher told me that he has whipped up replicas of a cell phone, a laptop complete with a USB port and removable drive, microphone, etc....

Apparently he has also whipped up a mustache for his role as sportscaster and man on the street reporter. I always considered this kid shy and quiet. This special class has done extraordinary things for him. He is showing his real, creative, wonderful self. His teacher is fabulous and really gets wonderful things from him. I am thankful for her!

All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth

2009-12-06T10:21:00.000-08:00

My little late bloomer is finally losing teeth. He lost 2 bottom teeth about 8 months ago, but hadn't lost any more. Last week he lost one of his front teeth and the other is hanging by a thread. I hope he looses it fast! It so grosses me out to see him pushing his tooth back and forth.

The Fairy Party

2009-11-30T21:30:00.000-08:00

Alyssa chose to have a Tinker Bell birthday party. I thought maybe she would just want girls at her party, but she has some boys that she just loves so much and has to have them there too. Thanks to Aunt Jamie, who gave us a great idea for fairy wings and Aunt Christy for whipping up a Peter Pan hat prototype, we were in business. I borrowed some green butcher paper from school for the Peter Pan hats. They are a simple paper hat with some feathers tucked into the brim. The wings are made from tissue paper, gathered in the middle and tied with a pipe cleaner. The kids seemed to love them. From the pictures you'll see how great the kids looked.

We also had a treasure hunt. We found clues in Nana's doghouse and by the mermaid's pond. The treasure was a box painted gold. It was full of gift bags full of fun treasure.

We also ate fairy sandwiches, fairy wands (pretzels dipped in chocolate and rolled in sprinkles), fruit kabobs, potato chips, and cupcakes.

We had a fun Tinker Bell shaped pinata. I think a great time was had by all.

We also had a great family party. Alyssa picked lasagna, garlic bread, and jello for our family dinner. She wanted chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. She also wanted pink writing on her cake. She seemed thrilled with her cake. I was thankful that she picked a simple cake.

Alyssa got some fun stuff from everyone. Thanks to all our wonderful family who came and celebrated with us. We have been blessed with wonderful family and friends. We are lucky people.

Alyssa is six!

2009-11-29T22:14:00.000-08:00

Alyssa turned 6 on November 20th. She is told me the night before that she wanted a donut with a candle in it for breakfast. She loves donuts! She takes after her Grandma Carla in that! She could eat one every day. So I got the donuts and she was thrilled. I also gave her a new shirt to wear to school. She was the happiest little birthday girl there ever was!

Curtis

2009-11-10T22:04:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you a little about this cute little boy. He is usually the easiest kid in the world to parent. He is kind, thoughtful, sensitive, intelligent... The list truly could go on and on with all of his positive attributes.

One thing he isn't though is organized. If any of you have seen this child's bedroom, you could testify to this. Another problem is mornings. You would think that this child has never had a working mother, and that getting ready in the morning is a new thing.

Yesterday was particularly awful. It was well past our time to leave and he didn't have his shoes on, hadn't fed or watered Rory, hadn't combed his hair, or brushed his teeth. He was reading in his bedroom. When I called for us to get into the car and discovered that nothing had been done, I was upset. I was very calm though and we had a discussion in the car on the way to school. Now, this discussion has happened many times in the past, sometimes loudly, sometimes patiently. He always says, "Yes Mom, I will try and be better." I truly despaired of anything changing.

Fast forward to this morning: when I called he got right up. I asked him to lay out his clothes and he said it was already done. I looked over at the couch and sure enough there they were. He told me he'd laid them out last night so he could get ready on time. I still didn't think anything of it, although it was nice to not have to say it fifty times. Next he quickly ate breakfast, brushed his teeth, and got dressed. All with out me asking. I complimented him and he told me that he'd thought a lot about what I'd said and made a list last night of all he had to do and he was checking them off as he did them. Here' proof :

Here is the list. It is also more proof of what a truly wonderful kid he is.

Here's another reason I love this kid: For the culminating project for his class' study of Egypt they made death masks. Curtis' teacher told me his was the best. If you can't tell, it is a dog. When they brought the masks home he had made himself a tail and had drawn paw prints on the palms of his hands. I asked if everyone else had made tails, etc to go with their masks. He told me that he was the only one. I asked if anyone had laughed at him. He told me that some did, but he didn't care, because he was having fun. I am so glad he isn't like his mother. He didn't care what the other kids thought, because he was having fun.

Sweet!

2009-11-08T09:44:00.000-08:00

Before going to bed I always check on the kids.

I find myself standing and watching them for awhile, thinking how sweet they look. Last night I thought they were particularly cute. What do you think?

Poker Run

2009-11-06T17:10:00.000-08:00

About a month ago, Mike took both kids to the Poker Run. The poker run is where people take 4 wheel drive vehicles and drive from point to point gathering playing cards and then at the end, those with the best poker hand win prizes.

I was really excited because they were going out Friday evening and would be coming back Sunday morning. I was thrilled to have some alone time. Christy and I also planned to do some things together.

Late Friday night, just as I was going to go to bed, the phone rang and it was Mike telling me they were coming home because there

had been a little mishap. They got home and Mike explained that about 10:30, a guy was driving up a hill and hadn't secured his tailgate or his spare tire. It came rolling down the hill

and hit the truck with some force. I was really upset, but Mike said he was glad it had hit the tent instead of the tent. He said that it had hit with such force that had it hit the tent it would have seriously hurt or killed one of the kids.

The next morning when I got up, Alyssa was sitting on the couch and I hugged her and told her that I was glad she was home safe. She looked at me and said, "Mommy, we were protected and blessed." I got tears in my eyes and agreed with her. I am so glad my family was protected and that I had them home safe, rather than having a "free" weekend.

Old Fashioned

2009-11-05T20:00:00.000-08:00

We had pack meeting a couple of weeks ago. The boys had a great time. Sister Duhrmeir did a great job! She told the boys that they were going to bob for apples and asked if any of the boys knew what that was. My son piped up with, "Yea bobbing for apples is an old fashioned game." I looked at Mike and he looked at me and we both were thinking, "Where in the world did he get that?" It was really funny!

When Sister Duhrmeir asked who wanted to go first Curtis readily volunteered. He worked and worked at getting that apple. After awhile, he got it and in the process got thoroughly drenched.

Then they went outside to find ghosts in the trees (suckers wrapped in kleenex) tied up in the trees. The boys had a great time and Curtis talked about it the whole way home. Alyssa also had a great time. I wouldn't let her bob for apples, since she was just getting over a cold.

That disppointed her, but when she got to find ghosts, that cheered her up.

The cousins

2009-11-04T22:05:00.000-08:00

Margo and Clay brought Tyler and Joel to Trunk or Treat on Halloween. Joel was Buzz Lightyear and was thrilled about it. Right before he would start to run, he would punch buttons on his arm, just like Buzz. It was soooo funny! Tyler on the other hand was not exactly thrilled to be a mouse. As you can see. Curtis and Alyssa were thrilled to have them there.

October

2009-10-31T23:16:00.000-07:00

October is a blur, as was September. My class this year is difficult and it has taken awhile to get them under control. I can now say that I love my class and am glad they are mine. We are still working on getting some of the kinks out and unfortunately I got a new student with severe behavior problems a couple of weeks ago. I have already written a referral for shouting out during the math test, "Mrs. Buma is the worst teacher!" Needless to say I have not been very good about updating the blog. So basically I will update the month of October with a few pictures. So here are some Halloween pictures from tonight and some from the pumpkin patch last week. I'll try and add some pics from Curtis' birthday party (from September) at a later date.

Alyssa and one of her favorite people in the world, Chris Davis. She was so excited when he had dressed up as Batman.

Curtis dressed up as a Clone Trooper and Alyssa as Bat Girl. We also got some pictures of the kids with their little cousins, Joel and Tyler, but I will post them later, I can't get the computer to load more pics to this post.

Easy cheesey quiche bites

2009-09-22T00:45:00.000-07:00

My friend from work made these for a potluck. I modified them just a bit. But yum! Try them as soon as you can!

1 can of of the Grands butterflake biscuits (the ones that are in layers)
5 eggs (the original recipe called for 4, but I used 5 and I'd do it again)
2 cups of cheddar jack cheese
2 green onions chopped, fine

Separate the biscuits into 3 layers. I bought the staters brand and I could only separate them into 2 layers, so that's what I'd do again. Press the biscuit into the bottom and up sides of lightly greased muffin tins.

Mix eggs, onions, and cheese together. Fill the tins with egg mixture. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15 minutes or until they are golden on top. This made 12 quiche.

The original recipe called for regular butterflake biscuits and to put them into mini muffin tins. That would be great if you were making them for appetizers, rather than for breakfast like I did. My friend made them without the biscuits and they were still good, though I highly recommend the biscuit layer.

First Day of School

2009-08-24T20:51:00.000-07:00

Today was our first day of school. I wasn't ready for it. I was stressed in fact. The budget in California is horrible and as a result school funding is being cut right and left. Many, many teachers were pink slipped and didn't get rehired for the school year. Supply funds have been slashed as well.

A consequence of all this, is that the state and district no longer think that small classes in the lower grades are important. Kindergarten, first and second grade have in the past not had any more than twenty students. Supposedly, they were going to cap classes at 25. Bad news: I have 26. Good news: only 24 showed up. Bad news: I might be getting a new one tomorrow. More Bad news: They are the most ill mannered group of children I have ever met. Good news: I have four great students from last year and there are a couple of other nice kids, including Harrison, David and Starr's son, to help make me believe maybe there is a chance for this class.

Curtis and Alyssa were excited for school today. Curtis was a bit nervous, because he would be going into the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade Gifted and Talented Class. He thought he wouldn't have any friends, all the kids would be bigger than him, it would be too hard, etc. Alyssa was just excited. She has been telling anyone who would listen this summer that she is a first grader. So here are the official pictures of the first day of school:

Junior Rangers

2009-08-23T16:33:00.000-07:00

Curtis and Alyssa participated in the Jr. Ranger program while we were visiting Yellowstone Park. They had several tasks to do. Curtis had more to do than Alyssa because he is older. The morning we left, we stopped by the Visitor's Center by Fishing Bridge to turn in their assignments. The rangers asked them questions about the things they did and looked through their papers well. When they were finished, they made an announcement to the visitors that they had two special Jr. Rangers that would be getting their patches. The kids were thrilled. When they were finished with the presentation, the Ranger had them try on her hat. The program was good for both of them.

To be continued.....

More Summer Fun...

2009-08-23T15:59:00.000-07:00

When we left Yellowstone Park we drove through Idaho to Utah. We made a detour and stopped to visit the Bailey family. Monica and Lauren weren't there. They were doing a Pioneer Trek. Curtis and and Judd were so glad to see each other. Whenever they get together it seems like they have never been apart. Alyssa loved playing with Will, the youngest. I enjoyed catching up with Jeff and Grandma Judy. Here are some pictures from our visit.

As you can see there was lots of Star Wars playing involved. The kids also checked out the Bailey farm. They saw calves, horses, cats, dogs, and chickens. There was much sadness when it was time to leave.

To be continued....

Lemon Streusel Muffins

2009-08-18T22:09:00.000-07:00

I got this recipe from www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com a long time ago and finally made it for the secretaries and the custodian at school. It is always a good idea to keep them on your side. They deserve to be recognized for all they do, plus they do nice things for you if they like you.

I have to say it worked, because as a newbie at this school I kind of have crappy furniture in my classroom. Mr. Mike, the custodian brought me a brand new filing cabinet for me this afternoon and took away my old, rusted in places one.

So here's the recipe with the change I made:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup melted butter

1 Tbsp lemon zest (I have truly learned that lemon zest is important. It makes all the difference in the recipes I have used it in. I suggest using a microplane zester. )

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (the recipe called for 2 tsp, I liked it with 2 Tbsp)

For the streusel:

3 Tbs. flour

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. cold butter

For the glaze:

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon juice, melted butter, zest, and yogurt. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix just until combined. Let batter rest for 5 minutes. Grease or paper line muffin cups and fill cups 3/4 full. In a small bowl combine streusel ingredients, using a pastry blender or your hands, until it resembles course crumbs. Sprinkle over the batter. Bake muffins at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes and remove to a wire rack.

Mix together the powdered sugar and lemon juice to make a thin glaze. Drizzle over the warm muffins.

This makes 12 muffins.

These were great. I loved them. The secretaries loved them and raved about them. Mr. Mike (the custodian) loved them. My kids loved them too. Make these as soon as you have fresh lemons. You will be happy you did.

This Summer, Part 2

2009-08-16T21:42:00.000-07:00

I thought I would continue where I left off....

We went to Old Faithful. They are building a new visitor's center. When it is finished, it will be awesome! They said it will be done next summer. I would love to go back and see it. Alyssa was very impatient while we were waiting for the geyer to errupt. She couldn't understand why it wouldn't go off immediatly. There were also some people sitting by us who were very rude and pushy. She got pushed a couple of times by them and I thought she was going to lose it, but she didn't. So whew... Crisis averted.

When it did finally go off, she loved it. Curtis did too. I think they were amazed at the height the water and steam reached. As for me, I am always thrilled and amazed when I see a geyser erupt. They are so beautiful!

We saw many more examples of the geological wonder that is Yellowstone National Park.

We saw many different kinds of animals in the park. I think Alyssa's favorite was the pelican. We saw lots of those. Although I didn't get a picture of one. Curtis loved the bison. We saw lots of them. At one point we came upon a here crossing the road. Traffic was stopped as the mosied across the road. I think there were several hundred, including many calves. It was a neat experience. We also came upon about 5 elk lying in the shade near a picnic area by the Mammoth Hot Springs visitor center.

Summer fun to be continued...

Our Summer

2009-08-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

In the last post I told about the very beginning of our vacation. I fully intended on several other posts about our vacation. It didn't happen and now I have to go back to work officially on Thursday, but realistically tomorrow, so my room is ready. So I will just post a few pictures and give the highlights.

We went to the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, Wyoming. We spent part of two days there. We loved it. It is five museums. There is of course the Buffalo Bill Museum with lots of things from his career and life. Then there was the plain Indian museum. That was really great too. There was
also a natural history museum with exhibits about the region. I think that and the Buffalo Bill were my favorite. There was also a firearm museum. There were guns from the 1500's. It was interesting, but not my favorite. I got bored really easy. Guns are not my favorite thing. Finally there was a western art museum, which we skipped. The kids weren't interested and quite frankly, neither were Mike and I.

We went to Lovell, Wyoming on two different days to see my grandma. We only went for short periods of time and did other things around our visits. One of the things we did was to drive up to the Devil's Canyon overlook. I never get tired of that view. It is gorgeous. Wow! It makes me think of my Grandpa Cox. I don't know why, but it does.

After our 5 days in Cody, we headed to Yellowstone Park. We stayed in the park and had a great time. We saw lots of wildlife: deers, buffalo, pronghorns, marmots, etc. We also got to experience the beauty of this wonderful place. The kids did the Jr. Ranger program and got their badges. More on that later.

Alyssa did not like the stinky smells of the gases. In fact she complained about that a lot. All in all we had a great time.

To be continued later.....

Grandma Cox

2009-07-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our 2 week vacation. One of our stops was Cody, Wyoming. One of the reasons we went there was to visit my grandmother. She turned 100 years old in February. She is truly an amazing woman. I am so proud to be her granddaughter.

I was warned before going, that she wouldn't remember me and that it would be a difficult experience. I found it to be a very sweet experience. I loved being there with her. It was wonderful. The hard part was leaving that last afternoon, knowing that I may never see her again.

We talked and sang to her. She was so loving with Curtis and Alyssa. I hope they will always remember those days with her. I hope they can remember our experiences with her and how loving she was with them. I will always treasure those moments with her, holding her hand and talking to her, singing to her, and just watching her sleep.

Hair Stylist to the Stars

2009-05-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

Last night I found dark hair on Alyssa's bedroom floor. I knew it wasn't her's, because her hair is much lighter and Mike and Curtis were still on their fishing trip. My eyes fell on her two Dora dolls laying on the floor. I asked, "Alyssa, did you cut Dora's hair?" "No Mommy," was her answer. I said, "There's hair on the floor and Dora's hair looks like you cut it." She cast her eyes down shamefully and said, "I did it, I'm sorry." I said, "Where are the scissors?" "I don't know," was the answer. I again asked for the scissors and once again got the shameful look and she took them from where she had hidden them. I told her I was taking her scissor privileges away and that's when she started crying.

I guess I should be grateful that she only cut Dora's hair and not her own, her brother's, or a friend's. Hopefully this will be a lesson and no other helpless dolls will have to suffer needlessly.

Employee of the Year

2009-05-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

Last night Mike received the Maintenance Employee of the Year Award at the school board meeting last night. He didn't want to go, but his boss, who is also a good friend, was really nervous about it and would have had to talk about him anyway. So we went. I was really proud of him, because he truly hates things like this. They gave him a beautiful plaque and he'll get $100 extra in his next paycheck. Mike is a great guy and doesn't always get the recognition he truly deserves.

My New Goal

2009-05-06T18:57:00.000-07:00

Lately we have been in a rut. A dinner rut. So I decided that I would try at least one new recipe a week. Well I exceeded that goal and tried two new recipes. The first one I only liked a little, although Mike and the kids loved it. I probably won't make it again. The second one needed a little tweaking, but once tweaked.....YUMMY! I will make this again and again and I hope you will too. I will put what I did rather than the official recipe.

Mushroom Chicken with Zucchini

3 chicken breasts, cut into chunks

cornstarch for dusting

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp sesame oil

6 Tbsp soy sauce (I used low sodium)

3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 package mushrooms, sliced

4 small zucchini, cut into 1 inch chunks

1. Dust chicken with cornstarch, until lightly coated.

2. Put oils into a wok or large skillet and fry chicken until done. Take out of the pan and set aside.

3. You might need to add a little more oil to the pan. Then add mushrooms and zucchini and stirfry for a few minuets. Then add the rest of the ingredients and stirfry until the veggies are done.

4. Return chicken to pan and coat with sauce, heat thoroughly and serve over rice.

Try this soon, you'll be so glad you did. If you like it saucier, add 2 more Tbsp soy sauce and 1 more Tbsp balsamic vinegar.

Teaching: A study in contrasts

2009-04-28T11:27:00.000-07:00

I love being a teacher. There are so many wonderful things about this job. Usually this is where people laugh and say..."Yea, you never work weekends, you get summers and all major holidays off. Of course you love your job! What's not to love about your job?" Mostly I agree with all those people who say that.

Here's what I do love: I love my students and each class is different every year. All those personalities combine in a magical way. Sometimes that magic tends to be a bit black or maybe dark gray, but it can be magical. I love when the lights go on and they understand some new concept I've taught or we read a truly wonderful book that makes us laugh or cry together. I love discovering each of my students' strengths and cry sometimes over their weaknesses. I love being part of a classroom of learners. I love when we create poetry or art that is fabulous. I especially love when I find some new aspect of one of my students: perhaps they are the poorest reader in the class, but the art they create is beautiful. I do love not working weekends or holidays or during the summer, although summer is getting shorter and shorter as they extend the school year. I love being with my own children. Except for a few days here and there when they aren't in school, neither am I.

Here's what I don't love though.... I hate having to make CPS reports. I hate spending 30 minutes filling out the form and then spending 30 more minutes on the phone, recounting exactly what I put on the form, only to have them never to investigate what I report or find that the allegations of abuse, neglect, etc are unfounded because they waited too long to come out to see the bruises on the child's body. I hate the standardized testing. I can almost see these people in rooms maniacally rubbing their hands together cackling about how to fool 7 and 8 year olds. Approximately 6 hours of testing is far too much for children, even spreading it out over a six day period is insane. Another thing I hate having to deal with a system called, "No Child Left Behind". How can a child that has had severe brain trauma either at birth or born with some sort of problem be expected to pass a test so insanely hard that most "normal" kids struggle with.

So being a teacher isn't all its cracked up to be. There are wonderful aspects to this job, and like all jobs frustrating ones too.

The Thoughtful Men In My Life

2009-04-23T11:08:00.000-07:00

One of Mike's friends from work who is in one of the Twenty-nine Palms wards invited Mike and the kids to go camping. It is a camp out sponsored by the Cub Scouts for families. I was gearing up to go, not feeling very happy about it, because I love sleeping in a tent, on the ground, with a bunch of people I don't know, but I wanted to make my family happy so I was going to grin and bear it.

Last night, Mike, bless his heart said, "How about I take the kids and you get to be all by yourself for a night." So he and the kids started planning our their menu of the food they would eat and Alyssa was getting really excited about this. She has never been camping in the tent, unless you count our front yard.

A few minutes later I heard Curtis softly talking to her saying, "Alyssa I think you should stay home with Mom. She'll be all by herself." I overheard this and said that I would be fine. I told Curtis that it would be fine if they both went camping. Alyssa looked at me and said, "You can be in charge and you will be not scared. Right?" I assured her that I would be just fine and since she put me in charge I wouldn't be scared.

I appreciate Curtis for thinking of me, but think it is really interesting that while he was not ready to throw himself on the sword and stay home with me, he was willing to sacrifice his sister for the cause.

You Can't Be Afraid If You're In Charge!

2009-04-22T21:02:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago when Mike and I went away for our anniversary, Christy spent the night here with the kids. It was very windy and Alyssa is terrified of wind. The kids didn't want to sleep in their own beds, so at first they decided they would sleep in our bed. That lasted just a few minutes. It ended up with Christy sleeping on the couch, Curtis on the love seat, and Alyssa on a bean bag. When the lights were out and they were all laying there, with the wind blowing loudly, Alyssa asked, "Who's in charge?" Christy who was probably very tired said, "Why don't you be in charge Alyssa." Christy said it got very quiet and they all went to sleep. The next morning Christy complemented Alyssa on sleeping so well. Alyssa said, "You can't be afraid if you're in charge." I thought it was wonderful that she made that connection.

Happy Aniversary

2009-04-18T22:33:00.000-07:00

On April 8th, we celebrated 15 years of marriage. There have been wonderful experiences, two beautiful children and a wonderful new home. I am thankful for my husband and what a good man he is. He's a great dad and does so many great things for our family. I appreciate him.

The weekend before our anniversary my sisters, Christy and Maury watched the kids, so Mike and I could go away. We just went down to Palm Desert and stayed at a Marriott there. (Thank you Priceline! We got a hotel room for $65.) Mike took me to my favorite restaurant, Kobe's. It is a Japanese steak house that I love. It is kind of like Benihana where they cook the food in front of you. We also went to see, Monsters and Aliens in 3D. We had a fun night away and I know the kids enjoyed the spoiling they got from their beloved aunties!

Our actual anniversary was on a Wednesday. It was spring break for the kids and I, but not for Mike. So we decided to make it a family celebration. I made a special dinner of Mike's choosing: homemade egg rolls, vegetable fried rice, sparkling cider, and my special chocolate cake. Mike loves this cake more than anything else. I agree it is pretty good. You should make it as soon as possible and taste it!

Chocolate Brownie Torte

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 10 inch spring form pan and lightly coat pan with cocoa powder (you can also use the Pam spray for baking with flour in it.)

2. Combine 1 3/4 C. flour, 3/4 C. unsweetened cocoa, and 1/2 tsp salt in a bowl and set aside.

3. Beat 1 C. softened butter with 1 3/4 Cup sugar with the mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in 2/3 C. light corn syrup. Add 3 large eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

4. At low speed beat in dry ingredients, alternately with 1/2 C. milk.

5. If you want, at this point you can add 2 C. chopped pecans. I usually leave this out, because my kids hate nuts.

6. Spread batter into pan. Bake in a preheated oven for 55 -60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

7. For ganache bring 1 C heavy cream to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat and add 1 8 oz. package semi sweet chocolate squares, shopped. Stir until melted. Cool completely.

8. Remove ring from pan and remove cake from bottom. Place on cake platter and tuck strips of waxed paper under the cake. Pour ganache over tope and spread with a metal spatula to cover top and side of cake. Let stand until set. Serve cake with either whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

We had big, big plans for our Easter. We were going to have Mike's sister and her family over for a 9 A.M. Easter egg hunt and breakfast. I was going to make Norwegian waffles with strawberries, bacon and sausage. Then we were going to frost the Easter sugar cookies Alyssa and I had made Saturday afternoon. Then in the evening Mike's parents and my sister, Christy were coming over for Easter dinner. We have church in the afternoon, so we were going to eat at 6:00.

About 7:30 Saturday evening plans changed. We were just about to color eggs when Alyssa yelled, "Come quick the potty is filling up." Mike got the plunger and started plunging. Then he started pulling every single towel we own out of the closet and swearing like a sailor. Then he went and got some tools and took the toilet off the floor and swore some more. Then he went outside, still swearing and started messing with the septic tank valve thing. Then he went and got a shovel, informed us that we were not to turn on any water. He proceeded to dig until 9:30 that night. He said the septic tank was totally plugged. Yea! There went all of our Easter plans out the window. Luckily our showers are hooked up to a gray water system to water our trees, so we could shower. But that was all! We had to use our travel trailer to go to the bathroom. Thank goodness we had the travel trailer.

We called everyone in the morning to cancel and he kept digging. I was feeling really sorry for myself while I got ready for church. While I was drying my hair and feeling sorry for myself it hit me that Easter isn't about Easter egg hunts and Easter breakfasts or dinners. It is about the Savior and the great gift he gave us. I felt really bad that I had been thinking about me when I should have been thinking about Jesus's great sacrifice. I started going over in my mind the pains he had and the blood he shed on my behalf. I began to feel very grateful.

Right before the children and I left for church Mike told me that he had gotten the septic system unplugged. So at least Easter dinner was back on. Yea! The children and I were in the car on the way to church and Curtis expressed his displeasure. He told me that his Easter had been ruined. At that moment I felt grateful for the experience I had had earlier. I started recounting to Curtis the events that led up to the Savior's crucifixion. It was a very sweet experience to share with my children.

Yummy chicken minestrone soup

2009-04-10T22:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was thinking and thinking about what to make for dinner. Nothing sounded good. I started looking through this recipe book, Rotisserie Chickens to the Rescue. I bought it a few years ago and had never made anything from it. I looked through it and found this recipe for chicken minestrone soup. I had all the ingredients, except for the rotisserie chicken and it was cold outside. It felt like soup weather, so I thought what the heck, I'll improvise. I pulled two frozen chicken breasts out of the freezer, thawed them, cut them up and sauteed them in a frying pan.

Here's what I did:

In a soup pot I put in 2-3 Tbsp of olive oil. Heated it and added 1 chopped onion. I cooked it until it was limp and transparent. Then I added 1 cup of sliced baby carrots and cooked that for a couple of minutes. Then I added 1 sliced zucchini, 2 cloves of garlic, crushed, and 2 tsp. of Italian seasoning crushed with fingers. Stir fry for a few minutes. Next add 2 cans of chicken broth, 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes with Italian spices, 1 bay leaf, 1 can drained canalinni ( don't know how to spell this!)beans, the chicken, 2 Tbsp. tomato paste and 1 cup of water. Let cook for 5 minutes or so. Then add 1 tsp salt, 3 cups coleslaw mix with carrots (basically cut up cabbage and carrots. This is sold in the produce section) and 1 cup small pasta. Cover and cook until pasta is done. You might need to add more water. Season this to taste with salt and pepper.

I would have been really yummy served with french bread, but then I would have had to go to the store. My family loved this. It didn't take a ton of time. Curtis even asked for some for lunch today.

David

2009-04-01T22:09:00.000-07:00

I love my job, I love my job, I love my job. Most of the time. One unfortunate aspect of it is occasionally having to write referrals. I don't write them very often, but sometimes they are needed. They are for students who break the rules big time. Not talking in class rule breaking, but bigger issues. I have a young man who I will refer to as David, (as in Goliath). He has gotten 3 referrals in less than a month.

#1 March 10th - The yard duty lady brought him to me and informed me that he and another student had been throwing rocks at each other. David got hit in the head. The other student got hit in the leg. I asked, "Why shouldn't we throw rocks, David?" He looked at me and said, "Because it is nature." Really nature? What does that have to with anything? I calmly explained again (we had already had a discussion in class) why we shouldn't throw rocks and told the duty lady to write him up. He lost a couple days worth of recesses.

#2 March 25th - The class came in from P.E. and I was told that David was throwing rocks at a student from our class. Me: "David why did you throw rocks?" David: "I don't know. I forgot." Me: "Ok David I have to write another referral." He got in-house suspension for a day.

#3 March 31 - During our math test yesterday he was throwing crayons at another student. Me: "Why are you doing that?" David: "I don't know." I wrote a behavior report instead of a referral.

#4 April 1 - After P.E. (again) the class came in and someone told me that David was throwing rocks at a student from our class. I asked the victim if he got hit and yes he did. Right under the eye. So again I wrote another referral and took him to the principal. The VP had been dealing with this before and it keeps happening. So I took him to the Big Guy. My principal suspended him and really talked turkey to him. So I hope this will be our final incident, because I'm tired of writing referrals and being the mean one.

Dancing wth the Star!

2009-03-30T22:21:00.000-07:00

Alyssa loves her ballet class. She loves dressing up in her dance clothes and ballet shoes. She loves her teacher too. She is lots of fun to watch. She can get a little distracted by other kids in the class. There is this horrible little boy named Joey in her class and Joey distracts her a lot. He is always doing annoying things. The teacher seems like she is about done with him. I keep hoping they'll kick him out. I know that is mean of me and he probably has issues. Oh well.

Several weeks ago he went to sit by her before class. She was wearing this velour leotard. It is kind of soft and plush to the touch. Joey kept touching her all over. It was all I could do not to go over there and rip the little punk's head off. She had this funny uncomfortable look on her face the whole time. After class when we were in the car going home, I asked her how she felt about Joey. She told me that she didn't like him, because he kept touching her. I asked her if she had asked him to stop. She said no. I told her, "Alyssa, you have the right to tell him to stop touching you!" She said, "I do?" The whole way home, we practiced, "Joey, stop touching me!"

She wore the same leotard a couple of weeks later and again Joey sidled up to her. He started putting his hands on her again. She looked over at me and I nodded at her. Then she put her hands on her hips, stared him in the eye and said strongly, "Joey stop touching me!" He looked at her with this shocked look on his face and walked away from her. He has pretty much stayed away from her in class ever since. I don't think anyone has ever said no to that child before. Go Alyssa!

I Caught a Fish This Big

2009-03-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

After the Pinewood Derby a couple of weeks ago, Curtis went with his friend Matthew's family on an adventure. They were planning to go down to the Lego store at Ontario Mills, after what was to be a brief stop at the Bass Pro Shop.

Their stop at the Bass Pro shop turned into an adventure. The kids wanted to fish, so they waited in line for about an hour, and then fished I guess for a couple more. Curtis caught a fish after about 2 hours of fishing, but the other kids kept fishing for another half hour or so. The other kids never caught anything. It was reported to me that there was much crying about leaving. I am sure that stopped once they hit the doors of the Lego store.

Matthew and Curtis are crazy for Bionicles. They love them. Curtis has waaaaay too many in my opinion. Anyway, we had given him $20 and he came home with two new ones. Happy day. He got home really late, about 10:30 or so and then climbed in the shower. After he got out, he went to get dressed, but didn't make it that far, because I found him putting together a Bionicle naked. I guess it is all about priorities.

That's Not Appropriate!

2009-03-20T23:15:00.000-07:00

The other day we were walking into a store with the kids and Curtis started asking what Mince-meat Pie was. (I don't know where this came from!) I explained that it was meat cooked with raisins, sugar, and spices and then baked into a pie. Alyssa had been completely silent during this conversation, exclaimed, "That's not appropriate!" I have to agree with her opinion. Mince-meat really is inappropriate!

Pinewood Derby

2009-03-14T21:53:00.000-07:00

Today was the Pinewood Derby. Curtis and Mike have been working on their cars for several weeks. Mike let Curtis do as much as he possibly could. When I asked if he used the saw to cut the car, Mike told me that he had with his help. What a good Daddy! It was a fun day and the boys seemed to really have a good time. Mike had built a car too, but let Matthew, Curtis' friend who isn't old enough for Cubs yet, to race it.

There were some dads there who were very competitive. I hate that part of it. I am glad that Mike just wants Curtis to learn good sportsmanship and have joy in the experience.

They did this weird bracket elimination kind of like the final four stuff. Even though Curtis consistently had the second fastest car, he didn't even place.

Mike's car is the red one on the end. Curtis' car is the wider of the 2 dark blue cars. There are three cars in between Mike's and Curtis'.

All in all a good, successful day.

The Tractor Man

2009-03-05T21:41:00.000-08:00

What's that stupid song about a tractor being sexy? Well, I don't know if it is sexy, but it sure is cute, especially with these two on top!
Mike is grading off part of the yard (for those of you who know) where the travel trailer has been sitting. He wants to build a garage there. I think right now, it will just be a cement pad for now.

The Teacher

2009-03-04T22:17:00.000-08:00

After school today I was working on report cards in my classroom. Curtis was reading and I thought Alyssa was watching Animal Planet. Then I started hearing her talking, but Curtis wasn't answering. I didn't hear screaming, which she would normally do if Curtis didn't answer her, so I stopped what I was doing and looked over at her. She had pulled a chair to the front of the room and was sitting in it. I heard her say, "OK everyone, sit on the carpet. Brandon sit on your spot. We are going to go thought the alphabet now. A is for apple. B is for ball..." It continued like this through the whole alphabet. Then she went up to the board and started writing, "OK class what letter comes next?" She was writing "I see a zoo." I love that girl! She has such a vivid imagination. That is one of the things I love about her. I love being her mother. The older she gets the more I love her. I think it is going to be fun watching her grow up.

Yummy Stirfry

2009-02-25T20:55:00.000-08:00

I wish I had taken a picture of it, because it was good! I adapted a recipe I got off of the Pioneer Woman website. I'll tell you what I did:

4 carrots, scraped and cut into rounds
1 onion, sliced thin
2 large chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
2 garlic cloves , crushed
peanut oil
1/2 C low sodium chicken broth, divided
2 tsp. arrowroot
1/4 C. low sodium soy sauce
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 yellow squash, sliced
2 - 3 cups cut up broccoli
1 package mushrooms, sliced
Hot cooked rice
Heat large pan on high heat. Add peanut oil to pan, maybe a Tbsp and a little more. Add chicken and stirfry. When nearly done, add carrots and onion. Cook for awhile, then add garlic. Later add squash, broccoli and mushrooms. Wait a few minutes in between each new veggie addition. I really like my onions and carrots to carmelize. Meanwhile take soy sauce and add sugar to it. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Set aside. Add 2 tsps arrowroot to 1/4 Cup chicken broth. When veggies are done to your tastes, deglaze pan with 1/4 Cup chicken broth without the arrowroot. Then add soy sauce mixture. Then add the chicken broth with the arrowroot. You will have to stir it again quickly before you add it. Cook and stir until sauce it thickened. Serve with rice. Yummy!

Am I Going to Die?

2009-02-23T22:25:00.001-08:00

We put our kids to bed tonight at 8:30. The kids were in bed maybe 10 minutes or so, when Curtis came down the hall crying. We couldn't understand him very well, but I figured out he was saying, "I don't want to die. Am I going to die?" We tried to calm him down and asked what was going on. Well, here's the story:

I guess sometime Saturday night he pulled a hot dog out of the freezer and put it in a drawer in his room. Then I guess he ate it sometime Sunday. Sometime tonight he realized maybe that wasn't the brightest idea. Earlier tonight he was asking Mike questions about salmonella. Neither one of us picked up on anything being wrong.

Mike and I started laughing hysterically in between lecturing him. Both tactics didn't work in calming him down. Finally we calmed down and in return he calmed down and we sent him back to bed. My biggest question in all this is: Why? Why? Why would you do that? Answers anyone?

Blue and Gold Banquet

2009-02-19T21:28:00.000-08:00

Curtis had his first Blue and Gold Banquet last night. He was very excited about it. The theme was "The 50 States". The boys chose hamburgers and hot dogs for the main dish. Each boy brought an ingredient (pickles, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, etc.) and the moms supplied side dishes like pasta salad, green salad, and potato salad. For dessert there was apple pie and ice cream.

Each boy was also assigned to bring an item from a state of his choosing and do a report on that state. Curtis was given a buffalo hat from Wyoming when his Uncle Gary, Aunt Marguerite, and cousins: Ricky and Gabby went to Yellowstone Park a couple of years ago. We printed off some information from Wikipedia and took it home. He worked for an hour or so Tuesday night on his report. He did a great job. I was so proud of him. He was one of only three boys that remembered to do a report. Maybe it is just the proud Mom in me, but I think he did the very best out of all of them.

He also earned a bead for his bead thingie (I don't know what it is called). It was a very big, important night for him.

It's Not Working!

2009-02-17T20:08:00.000-08:00

Last Friday we went to The Living Desert and Alyssa was running and then all of a sudden she grabbed her behind and told me that she had to go potty. We hurried and found the closest bathroom. She climbed up and grunted and groaned and then informed me "It's not working!" So we left and continued on our way. About ten minutes later she again grabbed her behind and informed us that she needed to use the restroom. She again had difficulties and informed me that, "It's not working!" Again we went on our way, again she needed to use the bathroom. This time however. Success! Yea!!

More Living Desert Pics

2009-02-16T18:43:00.000-08:00

Curtis is petting a desert tortoise. Alyssa did too, I just didn't get a picture of that!

They have a really great set up of model trains. It is one of Alyssa's favorite things to see everytime we come here. They have it set up like the United States. Now that we've been to The Grand Canyon, the kids love to see that part of it. Alyssa can't get enough of watching the trains go round and round.

Once again, just an all around great day!

Lincoln's Birthday

2009-02-13T21:51:00.000-08:00

Every year we get Lincoln's Birthday and President's Day off. Most of the time (like this weekend) we get a four day weekend. Now that Mike also works for the school district, he gets these days off too. We decided to take the kids to In-N-Out Burger for lunch and then to The Living Desert.

Mike helped his brother this morning, so we didn't end of leaving until 10:30ish. We went to In-N-Out Burger first. I love that place sooooo much. I wish we had one closer, but then maybe I don't. I love those hamburgers so much. No other hamburger tastes as good and their french fries... mmmmmm perfection.

Then we went to The Living Desert. It is this great little zoo in Palm Desert, CA. They have African and North American desert animals. We love it. We have been there dozens and dozens of times. It never gets old. The kids love it.

The first thing we did was go to the Butterfly and Hummingbird pavilion. When we got there, there was a sign out front that said the butterfly viewing was poor. That was not the case at all. We saw more butterflies than we ever have before. One even landed on my arm, of course we didn't get a picture, because I was the one holding the camera. Here are some pictures I took of some of the butterflies I saw:

But the most beautiful butterfly and humming bird I saw were these two:

We saw so many beautiful animals today. It made me feel grateful for the wonderful world I live in. There is so much beauty and diversity. It makes me respect and love the Lord so much for his creations. Here are a few more animals we saw:

I'll post some more pictures of the kids tomorrow!

Grandma

2009-02-09T21:45:00.000-08:00

This is my Grandma Cox. She is one of the most amazing women I know. She is part of the reason my mother is also an amazing woman. She turned a century old on Saturday and what a century it has been. She has had a lot of sorrow in her life. Her father was murdered when she was 15 years old. She was a young widow with six children to raise. She lost three other children to death. All of her experiences have contributed to what kind of woman she became.

I think of all she gave to each of her children and grandchildren. Most of all she gave us her time. She spent countless hours with each of us. I think all of us thought we were her favorite.

She taught school for many years. She retired at the end of my first grade year. I still remember going to her classroom after school. I loved being in her classroom. I remember how it felt. It was warm and beautiful. I try to create that atmosphere in my own classroom.

I think of all the things she has taught her children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. She has taught us to be fearless, and to do things with our lives that maybe we didn't think were possible. She has taught us to love the gospel and to be faithful. She has taught us about selfless service. I hope to live my life so that she can be proud that I am her granddaughter.

Airplane Museum

2009-02-02T21:40:00.000-08:00

Since my mom was hear we decided to do something fun with the kids. Christy, Mom, the kids, and I went to Palm Springs to the Air Museum. It is such a great place. If you ever visit Palm Springs, you really should go. It is mainly in honor of World War II. There are all sorts of planes from that era, other vehicles, as well as other memorabilia.

Curtis loves this sort of stuff. He will watch the History Channel forever. In fact when we saw one plane he started explaining to us that something on the plane were called a "dumb bomb". It is a bomb that just drops, it isn't like a missile. There were times I had to drag him away from something, because we had been standing there forever! It was a good day!

More Ballet Pictures

2009-02-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

Here are some more ballet pictures! Enjoy!

My Beautiful Baby Girl!

2009-01-31T23:37:00.000-08:00

Alyssa had her ballet recital tonight. This photograph was taken last night at her dress rehearsal. Tonight she looked even prettier. She was so excited about tonight, she was almost jumping out of her skin. She did a beautiful job. I was a very proud mommy.

During part of the dance she and another little girl hold up their arms while the other little girls go underneath them. Last night at dress rehearsal this other little girl on Alyssa's other side kept lifting up her arm and confusing the girls who were supposed to go underneath. Alyssa and I talked about this, because she was a little mad. So I told her that if Abby tries to lift up her arm, she should just not lift it. During the dance Abby tried to lift her arm and I watched her shake her head no at Abby and forcibly keep her arm down.

After the dance was over she bowed and had the biggest smile on her face. She was so proud of herself and seemed to enjoy the experience so much. The teachers kept all the little girls in the back until the very end when all of the top class performed. Then they brought them out to watch. They had saved the front two rows for them. We were in the third row right behind her. Her teachers were the last to dance. She watched so quietly and clapped and clapped when they finished. It was cute.

After the recital was over, she recieved flowers from us, Grandma and Aunt Christy, and Elly Werner her primary teacher. She was thrilled. I took a few pictures of her. Tomorrow I will post more pictures.

I'm a Janitor

2009-01-24T21:47:00.000-08:00

Today I went to meet a friend for yogurt. Mike was working, doing a side job, so my mother-in-law took care of the kids. They love to go over there. She has toys from when my husband and his siblings were young and Curtis and Alyssa think those toys are the coolest! Of course Grandma spoils them rotten, so that helps too. Today Grandma gave Alyssa part of her Christmas present that hadn't arrived until after Christmas. Grandma told Alyssa that it was so she could help mommy. My daughter has a rich and vivid imagination. We often hear her talking to "friends" telling them what to do. This is the present. It is a little cleaning cart with a broom, bucket, dustpan, mop, and a toy vacuum. I thought she would want to pretend to be mom and clean stuff up. Nope. Using a deep voice, she announced that she was the janitor. She proceeded to go around the house "cleaning". At one point I asked her to pick something up and instead of just picking it up, she said, "Sure I'll get that done for you, because I'm the janitor." She went and got her cart and picked it up and then vacuumed and swept up the area. If only she would turn into the janitor when I ask her to clean her room. At dinner she announced that when she grew up, she was going to be a janitor. If this is true, please let it be just to put herself through college.

The Dentist

2009-01-21T20:30:00.000-08:00

Wouldn't it be great if we all loved going to the dentist? My kids do. They think it is a treat I take them twice a year. They go to a pediatric dentist in Palm Springs. We always take the day off from school and just make it a fun day. Christy decided to take the day off and go with us.

We left at 9:00 and went to Palm Desert first. We went to Kohl's and I couldn't find anything I liked, but left with some wooden lowercase letters that spell out buma, for Maury to help arrange into a nifty wall design when she comes up for Alyssa's ballet recital next week. (Hey Maury this serves as a please will you help me with this project when you come? I'll love you forever!) Then we went to our favorite store, Target. I spent way too much money and can't even tell you what I got. Then we went to the mall so Curtis could use his $25 Barnes and Noble gift card that he got from Grandma Buma. We decided to eat at the food court since we were short on time. I introduced my kids to the beauty that is Hotdog on a Stick. I love their lemonade and I knew that they would love love love the corndogs. They did. Christy got sushi (bleck!)

Then it was time to make our way to the dentist. As we were driving, on Highway 111, it suddenly went to one lane of traffic from three. We should have been early, but were late. Christy called and told them we would be about 5 minutes late and they were great about it. That is the best doctor/dentist's office I have ever been to. They always get you right in and the appointments never take a long time and if there is some time delay they have video games in the office which I'm sure you can guess makes Curtis ecstatic. Since he has mean parents who have been unwilling to buy any video games. (We just bought them a Wii this Christmas and that is it!)

When finished we made a hurried trip to Trader Joes. I love that place. I wish they would build one here in Yucca. Alas, not yet. Maybe someday. A girl can dream can't she?

Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T22:30:00.000-08:00

This morning I decided that my class would watch the Inauguration on television. I didn't think I would be affected by it all. I was very touched by the whole event. It was truly beautiful and it made me proud to be an American and live in this wonderful country where the opportunities are endless, if we but work for them. I was moved by the beautiful music. Can I just say, I love YoYo Ma.

I teach 1st and 2nd graders and I didn't know how they would react to it all. They were very quiet and respectful. They stood when we were asked to stand when the oath of office was given. They seemed very engrossed in the President's speech as well. I was thrilled that I could share it with this class.

My 2nd graders are learning how to write a friendly letter and after the Inauguration was over it was writing time. We were going to start a new letter and go through the whole brainstorm, planning, writing, editing cycle once again and I asked, "Who should we write a letter to?" I was hoping I would get some buy in, since I was planning that we write to the President. I had many students shout out, "the president, the president". So that is what we are doing. I think I will send them too. I think he needs to know what children think.

Thank you Dr, King!

2009-01-19T19:00:00.000-08:00

I admire Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for many reasons. His beautiful words, his bravery, and most of all because of him I get the day off. Now I hope you will picture all these fun activities in your mind, because yes, I forgot the camera.

Mike was going to take the kids camping this weekend, but because of the events of last week, they lost that opportunity. We decided that we would take them for a picnic. I got up early, (despite getting up with Alyssa at 2:00 and then again at 2:30. She had an earache.) and made egg salad and chocolate chip cookies, packed up the cooler, showered and got the kids ready. About 10:00 we left for Indian Cove in Joshua Tree National Park. We went to a picnicking area, climbed rocks, hiked around and ate our lunch of egg salad sandwiches (ham for Alyssa), chips, apples, and chocolate chip cookies.

When we finished, we drove into 29 Palms and went to the visitor's center. We came home and took naps. Again, Thank you Dr. King! I think Curtis was the only one who didn't sleep. Mike had a dentist appointment at 4:00 and Alyssa had a ballet class at 4:30. I could sure tell she didn't feel really well. I wouldn't have taken her, but the ballet recital is on January 31st and her class needs as much practice as possible. There are some really undisciplined children, who interrupt and don't listen well at all in this session.

Again I wish I had not forgotten the camera, because I tell you, there would have been great pictures.

That's Me the Wal-mart Greeter

2009-01-15T10:08:00.000-08:00

My extra duty this year is to watch the quad area of the school in the morning. The children come in through the cafeteria and either eat breakfast before heading out to the playground or just head out. I make sure no one runs, goes into activity centers 3 and 4, and no one walks on the upper sidewalk next to activity centers 3 and 4. I basically feel like a Wal-mart greeter. "Good morning and good morning to you."

One bright spot in my morning is seeing 3 former students who I adore. One is a sixth grader who I had as a second grader, one a 5th grader who I had for two years in a combo class first as a 1st grader and then a 2nd grader. The last student is a 3rd grader who I had last year. These 3 girls are probably all on my top ten favorite student list, so it really makes my day to get hugs from them. The other bright spot of my day is this cute little 1st grade boy. Everyday his clothing style changes. One day it is a neat little dapper vest, dress shirt and one of those newsboy type caps. Oh and he carries a soft briefcase instead of a backpack. He is adorable! That's what he wore yesterday. Today he was in full cowboy regale. Hat, shirt, boots, jeans. I wish I could stop him everyday and take a picture. That probably wouldn't be good though.

Two naughty children

2009-01-13T21:58:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you look at these two beautiful children and think, "Why they look almost perfect." I love them dearly, but they make me into a crazy person sometimes. Last night at Family Home Evening we had our lesson, then had a family discussion about our mornings. They are pretty horrible here at our house. We talked about how I had staff meeting in the morning and so we needed to be at school by 7:45. The children fully agreed to helping in the morning, so we could be on time. It didn't happen. There was running around naked, leisurely savoring of breakfast, pretending to be a horse with our shoes on our front feet, forgetting what we were supposed to brush our teeth, etc. As a result, I turned into crazy, insane mom in the car. I basically told them that I quit as their mom. I wasn't doing any body's laundry, making any one's meals, etc, etc. They started crying and saying, "You mean you don't want to be my mom anymore?"

We arrived about 5 -7 minutes late. Usually the kids go to my room and watch T. V. until I come in. I made them sit in the office at the round table during the staff meeting. Then we walked to the room, after the gloom and doom that was staff meeting, what with the California budget situation. When we got to the room, we had a little family meeting. I apologized for getting so angry and reassured them, that yes I did want to continue being their mom. Then I asked the what consequences should be. Curtis decided they should be grounded. I asked what he meant by that. He told me that he thought they shouldn't be able to play the Wii. I asked if he thought that was enough. He said no, that probably no t.v. either. I agreed and then asked how many days he thought it should be. He told me that 5 ought to do it. I said OK that was agreeable to me.

After school they were totally agreeable about not watching t.v. in the classroom. I got all my stuff done and left. On the way home, Alyssa asked me if I was still mad at them. We talked about mercy and I told them, that I was going to be merciful and knock their restriction down to 3 days. They were really grateful, until I told them they had to tell their dad what happened this morning. They got that over and all was better in the Buma house. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

What a week!

2009-01-10T23:17:00.000-08:00

This has been the longest week! Probably because I was unprepared to go back to work this past Monday. Having 3 snow days before Christmas break didn't help. So I used all recesses and all my lunches, plus a lot of time after school, to keep my head above water this week and prepare for next week. I was so glad I made it through the week! It was touch and go there for awhile. Alyssa had ballet on Monday night, Curtis' Cub Scouts meeting was cancelled for this week, so after school activities were not that bad.

I worried about the dogs during the day too, because they have gotten very used to being inside a lot of the day and it is still cold most of the time. Here is a picture of Belle one morning, looking really pitiful right before she went outside for the day. Don't you feel really bad for her?

Last weekend, Mike and Curtis built a doghouse for the dogs. They did a really good job. Alyssa got to help Dad and Curtis paint it. I will try and take a picture of it and post it later, because they did such a great job.

Sunday

2009-01-04T20:56:00.000-08:00

Today we had our first 1:00 church meeting for the year. How many does Sundays until we change back to 9:00? I hate church in the afternoon. No opportunity for a nap is the worst part.

Last night I reminded the children that they would be getting new teachers in primary. Alyssa has been very lucky and has had Sister Werner for two years. Last night the look on her face when I told her that she would be going to a new class with a new teacher was so sad. The bottom lip came out and she said, "Sista Wenew isn't going to be my teacher?" She was so sad. I felt so bad for her. I told her that she had been very lucky to have had Sister Werner for two years. Curtis, being the mature man of the world that he is, said, "That's ok, I'll miss Sister Prudholm, but it is ok."

We got to church early and saw Sister Werner and I told her that Alyssa was really sad about moving to a new class and a new teacher. She told me that she was moving with her class. You never saw a happier little girl! She was so excited!

Church was good, no weird testimonies. A cute little marine that just got out of basic training and arrived from Michigan at 12:00 noon today, bore a very sweet testimony. I swear he looked like he was about twelve years old. Also our new missionary bore his testimony and it was very sweet. After Sacrament meeting Bishop Mecham asked Mike and I to come into his office. He called us to be the Den leaders for Curtis' cub scout den. I think he is the only Wolf. It sounds fun.

Now I'm just trying to get ready for tomorrow. School starts again and I'm not ready as I lost my two prep periods to snow days. So good night for now!

Shopping with Alyssa

2009-01-03T22:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Alyssa and I decided to go to the outlet mall in Cabazon. Big mistake! For those of you who have been there, we had to park down past the McDonald's and like the pioneer children we walked and walked and walked and walked some more. People were so rude, too. You would have thought we weren't even there, the way people pushed and shoved us.

We bought Alyssa some cute clothes at Gymboree. Then we went to the kitchen store and bought oil for my new wonderful huge butcher block cutting board that I got from my parents for Christmas. Finally we went to Wilson Leather and got me a new purse, which I love!

We tried to stop at the little food courts to get something to eat, but couldn't even get in to either one. So we ended up walking back down to the car, putting our stuff in, and going to McDonald's. Yuck! I don't know about you, but when I go shopping, McDonald's for lunch doesn't cut it.

When we got home, Mike made the comment that we sure had been gone a long time for the little bit we bought. I explained that we had spent more time parking and walking than we had shopping. Even though we walked more than we shopped, I think we had fun. That little girl can talk and talk. Her observations are so cute and I truly enjoyed being with her.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T12:59:00.000-08:00

The kids and I celebrated New Year's Eve day by sleeping in, dressing up like Batman, (the kids, not me, although that would be interesting!) and going to see The Tale of Despereax. We loved the movie. It was a great movie. I have not read the book yet, but I would love to now. Curtis loved that the girl who plays Hermoine in Harry Potter was the voice of the princess. There were lots of great actors doing the voices for the different characters.

Our New Year's Eve consisted of us eating salsa chicken cooked in the crockpot in tacos and spanish rice. I made extra chicken so I could make enchiladas in a coupld of days. Christy came over, ate with us, and spoiled my kids. She brought them Christmas presents. Curtis got a couple of games for the Wii and Alyssa got a little sleeping bag for sleep overs. They both were very excited. We celebrated the New year a little before 10:00, as Alyssa was getting grouchy (I know you all are stunned that Alyssa would be getting grouchy). We had sparkling cider and rice krispie treats for our treat. I had bought a bag of poppers, hats, streamers and horns for the celebration. The kids blew their horns loudly, while I covered my ears, party pooper that I am. Then we popped all the poppers and threw the streamers. Then we cleaned up the mess. I think all of us were in bed before 12:00. Happy New Year!

Lowe Quality Christmas

2008-12-30T20:54:00.000-08:00

We had a great time at my mom and dad's house. All my siblings were there at one point or another. Jamie and her family didn't get there until Friday afternoon and we left Saturday morning, so there was a little overlap. When they arrived they doubled the number of grandkids, which increased the noise level exponentially!

My niece Cate fell in love with our little dog Belle. She carried her everywhere and would sit and hold her for hours. If any other dog would wrestle with her, Cate would take great offense on her behalf and tattle to someone about it.

Another cute picture is one of my brother Matthew and Curtis reading the paper. It is just too cute not to post. Curtis loves to read the comics whenever he can get his hands on them. Luckily Grandma's newspaper had them.

All in all it was a wonderful Christmas. It was great to be with all my siblings, their spouses, and children. It doesn't happen often enough. I wish we all lived nearer to each other.

More Christmas

2008-12-30T20:50:00.000-08:00

We returned home from Utah on Saturday and found that it had been very windy in our absence. The newspaper said that there were 60+ mile and hour winds. We found that the canopy on our travel trailer was broken as well as the top of our back fence. Fun.

We hadn't opened our Christmas presents here yet, so we did that on Saturday night. It was fun to watch the kids be so excited, even though the big stuff had already been opened. Mostly clothes, books and a couple of movies.

Now tonight it is New Year's Eve and another year is over. I hope we all have a wonderful new year full of happiness, love and kindness.

Christmas continues...

2008-12-29T20:04:00.000-08:00

We had a very full Christmas season. We left on Christmas Eve morning for Toquerville, Utah to stay with my parents. We had an uneventful trip. Which is the best kind. Before we left, we opened up a couple of presents. The kids got a Wii and Mike got a bike.

Christmas Eve was lots of fun. We went over to my brother Matthew and his wife Emily's house for our Christmas Eve festivities. Every person,including the children were supposed to bring something for a "potluck" dinner. So it was fun, and very eclectic. My children chose to bring Funyons and Cheeze its, if that gives you any idea of the offerings. After dinner we had a Christmas program about the birth of Christ and the children performed. It was lovely. Then we opened up our new Christmas jammies.

The next morning we opened presents and generally sat around as the weather was horrible! It poured all day and was very cold and windy. I felt bad that the dogs had to go out periodically. There were so many dogs there. Our two, Christy's two, Maury's one, David and Jenna's 2 and my Mom and Dad's dog. There was definitely a pack going on. Our little Bichon, Belle thought she was tough and tried to take on my parent's Rottweiler. It is a good thing Charlie is a sweet dog and doesn't know she is a Rottweiler.

Alyssa received a new big girl bike from Santa and Curtis a new fancy Bionicle. We left a letter for Santa, telling where we would be. I guess he found us.

To be continued.....

The Christmas season so far....

2008-12-22T18:37:00.003-08:00

We have had a wonderful Christmas season so far. We have been lucky enough to spend time with people we love, eat good things, and bake.

On Saturday we got to go to Lake Elsinore to spend the day with Mike's extended Buma family. We left at 9:30ish and did some last minute Christmas shopping before heading over to my in-laws to get a map, since we lost our old one. We then left for Lake Elsinore, making a detour in the middle to eat some lunch, so we didn't arrive starving. We had a great time catching up with relatives. Curtis enjoyed Great-Uncle Mark and the Wii that was set up. Many relatives informed us that if we didn't get that boy a Wii we were going to disappoint him. At one point Uncle Mark brought him to me and told him to tell me what he wanted more than anything! A Wii says the small, pleading boy. Uncle Mark asked him if he had been good enough to deserve one and I got a yes, accompanied by pleading eyes.

Alyssa enjoyed playing the Wii a little, but mostly just being with her big girl cousins. She loves them all so much. They are always so good to her, treating her like she is just one of the girls. I love those girls so much. They are such marvelous girls. They helped her play the Wii driving game, even though she just crashed over and over again.

Mike and I just enjoyed talking to everyone. Mike's Grandma made the kids beautiful crocheted blankets. I guess she has made them for all the Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren. She has really bad rheumatoid arthritis and I know doing that wasn't easy for her. Those blankets will be very special to the kids. She is a wonderful lady, always so happy and cheerful. The kids were also spoiled by the Aunts and Uncles with fun new toys.

Sunday afternoon we went to Mike's parents' house for our family Christmas, because Garry and Margurite were here. (It was so great to see them 2 days in a row!) Walt was sick, he looked like he felt horrible. At one point he needed to go lay down, but I am sure wasn't able to sleep because of all the noisy grandchildren. Curtis and Alyssa were again spoiled by their aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

On Wednesday we leave for my parents' house, where my children will once again be spoiled by loving granparents, aunts and uncles.

Another Snow Day

2008-12-19T10:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday (December 18th) we had our second snow day. This one was nice, because Mike didn't have to go to work either. I baked more cookies, did some laundry, Mike took the kids on a jeep ride, and then we took the 4 wheel drive truck to town to do some grocery shopping and pick up Starbuck's gift cards for the kids' teachers to go along with all the cookies I had baked them. While at Starbuck's I ran into my principal and his family. I asked if he thought we would have school tomorrow (today). He assured me that we would, because the district wouldn't let us have yet another day off.

The alarm went off at 6:25 this morning a.nd Mike and I lay there listening to the radio assure us that all schools in the district were open, except for Landers (my old school) hadn't been assessed yet. So I got up and into the shower. Mike wasn't going to work today as we only have one 4 wheel drive vehicle and he would drive us to school, run some errands and then pick us up at the end of the day. We were all ready to go, the last thing I had to do was put my shoes on.

The phone rang and it was our friend Candy. Her daughter is in my class. She told me that the High School was closed and did we know if Yucca Mesa El was open. Mike told her he'd check and then his cell phone rang. It was the secretary from the District asking him if he could come in to work, since the schools on the west end of our district were closed and he didn't have to take his wife and kids to school. I still didn't believe it, so turned on the radio and darned if it was true. Apparently they couldn't get buses out of the bus yard, due to all the ice. Maybe they should have checked that first thing this morning.

So here I sit typing with my little dog Belle sitting next to me on the couch, bored out of my gourd. My kids are hating life, since they have to clean their rooms before they can do anything fun. I can't go anywhere and enjoy this day off, because my car would get stuck.

Snow, Snow, and more Snow!

2008-12-17T16:09:00.000-08:00

I know I already posted today, but we never get snow, and if we do, not this much! This first picture was taken about 7:30 or 8:00 this morning.

This is a little later at about 10:00 or so.

This next one is around 11:30 or so.

This is about 2:30 this afternoon. It is now almost 5:oo and it is still snowing. Christy said she went outside and measured the accumulated snow on her picnic table and it was 11 inches deep. So, I guess we have a lot of snow. This is more snow than I have ever seen in my life. The kids have enjoyed playing in it. Belle doesn't really seem to like it. Rory seems to love it. I went out one time and she had some snow on top of her nose. It reminded me of Katie and Copy when I was a kid.

This is tonight at 5:00 and it is still snowing. Wish us luck on getting anywhere tomorrow.

Curtis

2008-12-17T11:16:00.000-08:00

I love this kid! He is so awesome. I can't say enough nice things about him. Let me tell you about a little experience I had with him last night. I put him to bed at 9:00 and about 9:30 he came to me crying and said, "Mom I don't want to die." I guess Belle peed on his floor and because he didn't want his Dad to get mad at Belle, he cleaned it up himself. I guess he didn't wash his hands and accidentally put his hand in his mouth and got Chem Dry carpet cleaning solution in his mouth. He had been spitting up and imagining himself dying for awhile before he came to me. I had him wash his hands and brush his teeth again and reassured him that he wasn't going to die. He got back in bed, still kind of crying and said, "Mom thanks for telling me what to do. I really appreciate it." I told him no problem, that's my job.

He is just a wonderful kid. So thoughtful, caring and kind. He genuinely wants to do the right thing. I am not saying he's perfect, but maybe pretty close!

Alyssa's Christmas Program

2008-12-16T21:01:00.000-08:00

Tonight we got to go back to the school to watch Alyssa's Christmas program. She wanted to wear her red dress to the program and she instructed me that she didn't want a pony tail. She wanted me to curl her hair. So I did. I made her wear tights with her dress, because it was so cold tonight. While she was getting dressed, she told me, "I don't think Mrs. Bowers likes tights." "Oh really?" I answered. "Yes, I don't think she likes tights." I told her that when we got to school I would ask. I told her teacher what she said, and Mrs. Bowers just laughed and laughed and said she didn't know what in the world had given her that idea. Who knows what goes through the mind of a kindergartner.

Her class sang "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer", "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and recited two poems. She did such a great job. She was very animated and we could hear her voice clear and sweet. We were really proud of her. About midway through her performance tonight I remembered my camera takes video. It is a little dark, but I will post it. (O.K. I can't get it to post, maybe I can get it to post tomorrow at school, using the schools's fast internet.) You can see her on the left side of it. I will also post a picture. It was lots of fun. I also will post some pictures of her after we got home by the Christmas tree.

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow

2008-12-15T19:37:00.000-08:00

It was really cold this morning when I got up. I turned on the shower and climbed back in bed, to wait for it to get warm. After a couple of minutes I knew it was warm and I had to hoist my behind out of bed and get in that shower before I fell back asleep. After the nice warm shower I hurried into some clothes and roused my kids. It was so cold in the house, even though Mike had turned on the pellet stove. (He's so good to us!) I realized that sweat shirt jackets were not going to do it. I searched and searched for both the kids' jackets and it occured to me that they were probably still out in the trailer. As I walked out there I realized it was snowing. Nothing was really sticking, but it was snowing. I found the jackets and returned to the house.

By the time we left the snow was sticking. I was wishing that I could just stay home with a good book and curl up on the couch by the pellet stove, but no, I had to go to work. I got to school and realized that it would be inclement weather. Not knowing what that meant at this school, I asked and found out that it meant pretty much not leaving my classroom all day. The duty guards came and spelled me for a couple of minutes to use the facilities.

These are the intrepid souls in my class who braved it to come to school today. I had four students who were absent today. Then 3 more went home early. We don't do snow well here in the desert.

It snowed all day today until at 2:30ish, it started raining slush.

Alyssa

2008-12-14T15:00:00.001-08:00

My daughter is very complex. Her smile can light up a room and her frown can bring the clouds. She has a zeal for life and experiencing new things. She loves Kindergarten and loves to learn. The other day her teacher told me that she wished she could clone her, because she is so sweet, kind, and well-behaved. I kept wondering if she was talking about my Alyssa. The one I know who screams at her brother for breathing or the one who bursts into tears because she was told to clean her room. Then I think about the Alyssa who sings sweetly and hugs me around my neck and says, "I love you Mama." What can I say, she is my baby girl and I love her.

Awards, Baths, and Christmas trees

2008-12-13T20:39:00.000-08:00

The month of December was been a very busy one for our family. It seems that we are always going. The kids and I are looking forward to two weeks off after this next busy week. We have Winter/Christmas programs at school on Tuesday and Thursday. Alyssa will sing Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer and recite the poem "Eight Little Reindeer" with her class. My class will be performing on Thursday night. Last year it was so crazy they decided to split it up and have the Kinders and 1st graders on one night and any other classes who perform do so on another night. I don't think Curtis' class will be performing.

Curtis recieved two awards on Friday. One was the Outstanding reader award. He is reading over 130 something words a minute with no mistakes. The other was an Outstanding Effort award. Luckily his award assembly was during my prep period and I was able to run over. We are really proud of him and all his efforts.

We bought our Christmas tree this year at Home Depot, rather than drive all the way down to the Christmas tree farm. We were short on time and decided to take a look at the trees at Home Depot, Tuesday night after going to our nephew Joel's 2nd birthday party. They had some really pretty ones and so we decided to get one there. We saved the trip down to Yucaipa and probably about $25. The kids were upset that we weren't following our family tradition, but we told them that sometimes we have to create new traditions. (Not that I really want a trip to Home Depot, being part of a new family tradition.) We decorated our Christmas tree on Thursday night and here are the results. I think it looks beautiful!

I took the dogs to the groomer today. They were both so dirty and Belle was matted. I try to brush her all the time, but she cries and makes it difficult. I realize I need to be the boss, but her cries her pitiful. Anyway, she got a really close haircut. She looks really cute, but it is so cold outside that I put her cute t-shirt that Maury got for her on. The groomer also put these cute Christmas bandanas on the dogs after they were groomed. Here is one final picture of Belle, before I post our first and hopefully not only post.