Legos

So we have a new obsession at our house.  Some of us are more obsessed than others.  It all started a couple of months ago when I was shopping.  I was walking down the Lego isle when I saw a cute little house. It had a basketball hoop in the driveway and a satellite  dish, and I just thought it was cute.  But then next to it I noticed a cabin.  It was also cute, and I thought this would be the closest I would get to owning a real cabin for quite some time.  It ended up on my Christmas wish list.  I didn't end up getting it for Christmas, but Tristan did get several  sets of Duplos.  We had fun playing with them, but there wasn't enough of them for him and his sister to play together nicely.   I started keeping an eye out for Legos.  Being post Christmas, most of the stores had very little.  I even had a gift card for Toys R' Us that was expiring, but couldn't find anything.  We ended up getting some of the new Friends sets that I had seen on Legos web site.  I love them.  I think that they are adorable.  There is nothing that says that Legos are boy toys, but most of the sets are more boyish.  These new ones are designed for girls.  Isabelle got two of the small sets she is supposed to be earning by keeping her room clean.  About mid-January I was sick and a little out of sorts.  We had to get something at Wal-mart, I can't remember what, and we made a small detour down the Lego isle.  They happened to have my cabin, which I hadn't seen anywhere since before Christmas.  They also had a light house, which was perfect for Thomas.  He said it was the biggest set he had ever owned and probably doubled the number of Legos he possessed. We found a bucket of Duplos to give Tristan more variety, and Isabelle got another one of Friends sets, a stage with a grand piano.  We went home and had a family lego day.  It was really fun and not a bad way to spend a sick day. 

That was our new Legos, but I was also obsessing about my old ones.  I got them out to show Isabelle.  I also borrowed my sister's old 1970's sets, which remind me of the new Friends sets.  Isabelle really enjoyed playing with them.   There was a website I had come across a few years ago that had the instruction booklets for old sets.  I tried to find it again.  At first I couldn't find it. It had moved and had a new name, but I did find it. They have almost all the sets. It was a lot of fun looking at different sets.  I did have problems finding my set.  I didn't know what it was called.  It had animals instead of the regular Lego figures.   The series was called Fabuland.  It  was made from about 1979-1988.  I had the town hall. They did have the instruction manual, but it is in German.  The sets were really cute.  I wished I had gotten more of them when I was little, but then I realized that I played a lot with my brother's Legos, and getting more of my own would have meant getting less barbie stuff.  I guess at the time I liked the Barbies more.  I was able to build my set, but I am missing a few important parts.  Probably one of the biggest problems with Legos is missing parts. 

                                           This is the set Isabelle wants for her birthday.

Good-Bye Summer

I thought that today was the fall equinox. It turns out that it isn't until Friday the 23rd.  I guess that means that I get two more days of summer!  It wasn't a supper exciting summer, and we didn't get to do a lot (unless you counting Thomas' trip to Africa in that we.)  However, we still managed to have some fun just hanging around at home.  I thought as we say good by those warm laid back days I would share some of the random pictures I had of summer fun. 

 First off we have the day we picked apricots (yummy! Isabelle keeps asking when there will be more on the tree.)  The tree has gotten a little bit big and unmanageable.  I decided to try out an idea I had last year.  What if we held a sheet under the tree while some shook the tree.  That would work great wouldn't it...

 Well, it kind of worked.  We got some of the fruit we wouldn't have otherwise been able to get.  Us sheet holders, however, did sustain a few injuries from being pelted by falling fruit.

We also enjoyed piggybacks,

bubbles,

 and Popsicles.

Sometimes we just sat around playing video games and having snacks.  

                       

        

 Occasionally, we even dressed up.

Even though there are lots of things to look forward to in the fall, I will still miss the summer.  We wait for it all year, and then it is gone so quickly.  It is amazing how time flies.  Before you know it, Christmas will be here, then Valentines, and Easter with the return of  flowers and insects.  Then yes, once again, summer will be here.

Blog, Blog, Blog

I am surprised by how much I have enjoyed blogging.  Both the reading/following aspect and the writing of my own stuff.  I often read other blogs while I am feeding the baby.  At this point I usually feed him in the morning and at bedtime. Sometime when we get home in the afternoon as well.  I get irritated when there isn't anything new to read.  I am getting quiet a few that I am following now, and it seems like they miss posting on the same day.  Then when they do post everybody does.  It's that whole feast or famine things.  One of the blogs I follow wrote a post recently about finding the happiness in your current situation. Here Since I read it, I have been trying to have a better attitude.  I even made my students write in their journals about the good things in their lives.  Today their journal was a free-write, which means that they can write about whatever they want.  I have some students who love free-write, and others who hate it.  Those who don't like it usually can't think of what to write about.  I told them not be bloggers because when you blog every post is a free-write.  No one ever tells you what to write about.  I find that sometimes there are topics I am excited to write about and to share,sometimes I struggle to come up with a topic, and other times the posts just ramble with no real topic. When I start to write I usually end up with a lot more than I planned on.  The writing can go in a completely different direction than what I planned on.  There are also back stories that need to told before I can get to the point of what I wanted to share.  I used to write fairly often.  I enjoyed writing stories.  I think that I did pretty good with characters and settings, but struggled with coming up with the conflict, complications, and other plot elements.  I also enjoyed writing in my journal.  I always wrote with the idea of an audience, maybe a granddaughter or some other as yet unborn family member.  I like the idea of sharing what I write with others. I love it when someone says, "I saw that on your blog."   I hope that people will enjoy what I write, and I will continue to enjoy writing it.

One finial thought: Babies are so cute and sweet when they are sleeping.

Why must it be so late?

It is 11:30.  I just finished writing a quiz for Act 3 of Romeo and Juliet.  I have another worksheet I needed to retype for my other class.  I had swimming earlier, and then the kids were both fussy.  Actually, Isabelle fell asleep for most of the evening, but was very ornery when she woke up.  There just isn't enough time in the day to get everything done.  I am looking forward to spring break next week.  I need a little bit of R&R. I can't decide if I should do the worksheet, or just go to bed.  I am very tired. Since I am in the middle of a Shakespeare Unit, I have been having a lot of Shakespeare quotes running through my head.  There is a quote that I can't quite remember the ends with something about everyone going to bed. It is really bugging me that I can't place it.  It is more the cadence of the line and the voice of the actor.Maybe I should follow that advice. I am too tired to think. Now that I am thinking about it maybe the line was from a Dickens.

Why do I think that not going to bed will delay the coming of the morning?  All it does is make me more tired when it does arrive.

"Goodnight Sweet Prince and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."
        -Hamlet

Thursday Again

I can't believe it has been a whole week since I posted last.  It has been really busy plus I have had a nasty cold.  My students started doing research today and I thought I was going to die from a coughing fit in the middle of explaining how to use the encyclopedia.  I am not catching on to the swimming thing as quickly as I had hoped that I would.  I think that it is actually a difficult sport to learn because it can be hard to see exactly what the instructor is showing you and for them to see what you are doing.  Especially on things like breathing. I also think that twice a week is pretty intense.  I am half way through.  After today, I will only have two lessons left. 

My other class is reading Romeo and Juliet, which I am enjoying a lot more than I thought I would.  They have to memorize the prologue.  I never had to memorize it, and since I like memorizing things I am working on it too.

Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whose misadventur'd piteous overthrows
Doth, with their death, bury their parents’ strife.  
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents’ rage,
Which, but their children's end, naught could remove,
Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

I have most of it; I am just struggling with that third quatrain. I'm sure that I will get it down by tomorrow.

Random Tidbits

I don't like daylight savings time.  I have been tired all week.  I can't seem to get to be on time; I can't get up in the morning. I am dragging all day long.  I am looking forward to the weekend when I can sleep in.  Hopefully.  Lately the children have been getting up before we want them to. 

Today was my second swimming lesson.  I think that I did pretty good.  I can almost breathe, and I only choked on pool water about a dozen times.  She made us do laps, which I was mostly able to do, although not with out pausing to breathe or rest. 

This is a crazy week at work, and I am way behind on stuff.  I brought piles of stuff home, and amazingly I got a lot of it done.  Only because Thomas had the children.  Thank you so much!  I love you lots, and not just for the baby-sitting. 

Tristan has a bad cold.  He has been coughing and had a little crusty in his nose.  The last two days he has become very congested.  I have also not felt 100% this week.  I had a headache Sunday, which lasted until Monday night.  The glands in my throat also felt swollen, and it hurt to swallow.  Otherwise I felt fine.  Last night I also became very congested.  I can no longer breathe, and I am coughing.  I am hoping I feel better tomorrow.  I should load up on vitamin-C. 

The Help

Having a job where I work with teenagers, I have come to realize that they  have a very limited view of the world.  Pretty much it revolves around them.  If it doesn't directly impact their life it is unimportant.  Anything they don't remember happening was "forever ago."  Olden days means anything from the 70's to the middle ages. I was talking to a couple of girls about Bridge to Terabithia.  They told me it was a "really old book."   I didn't think that it is that old.  I remember when it came out,  in 1987.    It always surprises me when I talk about things I think they should know and they have never heard of it. Things like... Desert Storm.  That was only a couple of years ago, right.  Better yet... the Olympics being in Salt Lake. Most of them don't even remember that, and it really was just a couple of years ago.  About a month ago, I was driving home from work, when I had an epiphany.  Now we all know that the 60's were forever ago.  We are talking ancient times.  (We won't mention that my mom, who I don't think of as old remembers the 60's.) Anyway, I had this thought and I started doing some math in my head while I sat at a red light.  The amount of time from when I was in junior high to the 60's is the same as today's kids are from the 80's.  That just really freaked me out.  My childhood is as ancient history as I always thought the 60's were.  I find it interesting that I can look back now as an adult and say that the 60's really weren't all that long ago.  It is amazing how much has happened and how much our culture has changed in so relatively short a time. 

This ended up being a much longer preface than I intended it to be, but I thought that it went well with the book I just read, which happens to be about... the 60's.

The Help by: Kathryn Stockett.

I first heard about this book from my Mother-in-law.  I think that someone at her work had recommended it.  She told me that I would really like it.  I meant to read it, but just didn't get to it. Then in September, when my book club selects new books, someone suggested this book.  About a third of  the group had read it before, but they were still interested in doing it.  I was excited about reading it. I asked for it for Christmas, but no one got it for me.  I knew there was a waiting list at the library, but I never got around to putting my name down.  I finally ended up going to the store and just buying the book.  At thing point there was only about a week and a half until book club, so I stayed up late several nights to get it done on time.

The Help takes place in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962-1964.  It is about the black women who go into white homes as maids.   It is told in first person from the point of view of two black women and one white woman. The book deals with the different levels of society and what was expected of people in thier social realms.  I really enjoyed the book.  I thought is had some really believable characters, and I felt that she did a good job of incorporating the history into her story.  Some of the history I was familiar with, while other tidbits I didn't know and found very fascinating.  The book does not have many big events, but is more about the day to day life of the characters.  Despite this fact, it was still full of suspense.   I wanted to find out what happened, to know why characters were doing the things they were. At the same time I didn't want to read more because I knew the kinds of things that happened then and I didn't want them to happen to these characters I had come to care for. I found that I was often anxious while reading, with horrible predictions running though my head.  I am glad that I purchased this book.  

What does it mean to be unique?

We all think that we are unique, but when you set out to do anything on the internet- like set up a new blog - you find that someone has had most thoughts before you. I have been inspired lately by the thoughts of my friends and fellow bloggers. It seems like something that I would enjoy. I want to be able to record my thoughts as well as some of my life with those who care. That is why I set out to make my own blog. I thought this blog would have more of a beginning, but I was stumped by the first question they asked: Name of Blog? I then spent way too long trying to come up with something unique that fit me and reflected what I want this blog to be. I am tired and must hope that it will improve as it goes, and not become like many blogs I found...abandoned. (Why do people take good URLs and then do nothing with them?)

And so, the adventures begin.