Off to the Slammer

Everyday at preschool is another adventure. Thursday was especially fun because half the day I spent with the babies in the Nursery where two little ladies thought I was their next best option with Mom gone. Not that they were too terribly happy about option #2, but the way they clung to me anyways still made me smile. We did alot of "Here We Go Libby-Loo" for some reason. I guess I was in a Libby-Loo mood.

In the afternoon, I was back on the playground. And I guess it's a good thing for my shoulder, but I can only put 3 kids on it the tire swing (oops! editing) now, not the 6, or 7 I managed when it was a skinny crowd. Well, they're gonna fly with only 3, lemme tell ya! It'll be way more dangerous!! So, I was goofing around on the balance beam with a couple gals and brought back a favorite game from last year - the Jello Jiggler Monster. You start with 2 or 3 and in minutes have about 12 or 20. It's great. I think the other teachers enjoyed it too. Hey, why not, half the mutants were preoccupied! Basically, I put kids on the beam and tell them what kind of Jello Jiggler they are - usually it goes with whatever color they are wearing, or if I'm really bored, I start making up funny flavors to hear them giggle, which makes them fall off, which is the whole point of the game. If they jiggle off the balance beam, then I get to chase them and tickle 'em while making alot of munching noises. I got a good workout chasing kids all over. One little guy on our third lap around the playground, with about 10' between us as we were running, yelled "Please STOP!" What he said and how he said it made it so funny.

So we're chasing and having fun, and here comes a little short squirt who's been dressing up as a police officer all week. He comes up to me, shoots me and then arrests me. Up go my hands, even though I'm pretty sure I'm dead. He tells me "You're under arrest!" So I play along, because seriously, that's the best part of my job; this is where all the real fun happens. I go for the Innocent Look, "Hey! I didn't do nothin! Why are you arresting me?!" and he grabs my arms and pretends to cuffs me. Sound effects and all. I loved it! And as he is leading me to the car on the playground he says "You're a monster, and you chased kids, and you're going to the slammer!". He puts me in the car, just like real police do on TV - I tell ya, I was really impressed. I kept my hands behind my back the whole time just to see how he handled it. It was great! About a dozen kids came to accompany me to jail, taunting and shouting at me that I was going to jail forever. I complained loudly about police brutality. The other teachers were no help; I do believe I saw a camera come out and photos taken! Geez! Then I was taken one leg at a time out of the car, led by my cuffed arms to Lillie's Playhouse aka The Jail. I was thrown in the slammer, surrounded by bloodthirsty little demons. I demanded a lawyer. The answer was "you're not gonna get one!" So I said I was hungry and that little guy whose life I saved on the swings? He held out his hands and in a very mean little voice said "here's some broccoli" so I put up a fit about the broccoli and asked for pizza - NO! for gum? NO!!! for ice cream? NO!!!!! Then I promised to never do it again. Broccoli Boy who was wearing a spiderman shirt claimed to have special x-ray vision that could detect a lie - after some cool sound effects and a stare down with intense soul searching, he proclaimed "It's a FAKE PROMISE!" so I had to bust myself outta there. I was chased down and rejailed. After a while, they decided they liked being chased more and one crafty kid snapped my cuffs and opened the door - the picnic table they had drug across the opening to prevent another escape. And seriously, they PAY me to do this stuff!! Well, not alot.... :)

Hang On With Everything Ya Got!

So today at preschool, I was coming onto the playground to start giving the teachers a quick break so they could escape from the heat and just get away for a few minutes. As I reach the tire swing a teacher that was there said she didn't need to go, but one of the girls said, "No, we like Ms. Chrissie better!" and I'm all beaming and enjoying the feeling from the top of the world. Only to be cruelly cut back down when that comment was followed up with "She's heavier!". So we laughed and I told the teacher to move it so I could maneuver my HEFT and put some muscle into the tire swing. Actually, what the kids love is when I Under-Doggy the thing. Last week, two classes left and I only had 3 kids left on the swing, and I didn't think to use alot less strength, and accidentally got the swing so high, one kid's head almost hit the top bar! So I have to watch how high I send it aloft. Plus, it makes my shoulder hurt if I'm not careful. But today, it was loaded with as many kids as can fit...about 6 or 7.

So I get them swinging nice and high, and then we stopped because they always yell to stop, just so I will have to Under-Doggy them again. Like I don't have them figured them out! It's not my first time on the Preschool Block Missy! Anyway, we took on another rider and off we went. They requested no count down until lift-off so they wouldn't know when the Under-Doggy was coming. So up they go squealing with joy, and about two swings into it, the new kid on the swing yells, "Stop this thing! Stop! Stop!". Now, this kid is a rough & tumble guy, and nobody ever asks in full swing to stop, so I know something is wrong, so I jump in, grab the nearest chain I can get, and go thrashing left, thrashing right, my walkie-talkie flies one way and my sunglasses fly off my head the other, as the poor little boy is slowly melting into the hole in the middle!! I barely got the thing stopped as his little body fell thru the hole. It was quite funny! I had to ask, "What happened?! Why'd you let go?!" to which he indignantly replied, "I didn't let go! My butt let go!!!". That of course cracked me up (hahaha)! We got him back on, and before we Under-Doggied again, I just had to ask, "Does everyone have two hands on the chains? Is everyone's butt hanging on too?!" This was, of course, met with jubilant gales of laughter. Hopefully, I won't be called in for questioning!

This is what I love about 4 yr olds - they SAY what they mean, but they don't always MEAN what they say!!

Tullahoma Holiday

Indy and her friend Scott spent the holiday with his family and their boat on a lake near Tullahoma, AL. They had a great time! This is the two of them driving in the convertible Corvette. When Indy said they got to drive it since his folks were driving the truck and the boat, I told her to get a picture. I was using the car as an excuse to get a photo of the guy, but she (probably knowing ME) took a picture of just the guy anyways! We crack each other up. She said the Corvette was NICE (we'll never know, because she didn't take a picture of it!) and it FLEW down the back roads (something about 90 MPH feeling like 50?!).

I like this shot because you can see Indy in the reflection of Scott's sunglasses!

Some scenic shot on the way to the lake - it's nice when you

don't have windows in the way! The lake

Indy Tubing

What I want to know is why we don't have a picture of Scott skiing or tubing?!

The rest of us didn't do much. Mariah and Gib got their backpack cubbies cleaned out..whew! That was a chore that really needed to be done. I don't have to tip-toe through the laundry room now! Yay! And Mike & I went out to lunch together at a new place that was yummy. Taryn slept in (that always puts a smile on her face), and Mike put up her new wall art/bulletin board that I made her. It looks cool. While he was doing that, T and I scoped out Scott in the year book. T was very possessive of her yearbook, and didn't want me thumbing through those pages much. Oh really?! The rest of the day was spent doing laundry, some housecleaning and plant watering since Gustav isn't going to bring us any rain (drats).

And that was my holiday. Wish I was on the lake instead!

Mike is trying to get Indy to participate on the Blog and just walked by and said, "She should be writing that!". Indy is doing homework and then will be passing out from exhaustion. Plus her neck is really sore from skiing, and I knew ya'll would want to see that really nice 'Vette right away....lol!!

Opposition In All Things

So remember how yesterday was a great start at preschool? Yeah, today, not so much. I didn't follow my own advice and take the preventative ibuprofen, and boy do I regret it. I should have worn my pedometer too, because I do believe it was at least a 4 miler day, if not close to a 5. I was on the run like nobody's business. I used to wear it to preschool just to see what I was clocking, and I can tell by how sore my feet are, that it was close to that. I am about to crash and burn.

I had screamers for half the day and then I departed for the land of Pre-K. But I did learn a new trick today. One of our best and most experienced teachers had some advice that I hadn't learned before and I was astounded it worked. She said one particular child was throwing a fit based on a control issue, not mommy separation anxiety. And you could tell the difference - it was anger. You can take anything this teacher says about children to the bank, so I did it and lo and behold it worked! When the child was screeching as loudly as humanly possible, I said in a "I mean it voice" NO, No Screaming! If I said NO sharply and then turned away from the temper tantrum then the crying would stop. We could even discuss the reason for the tears. Then I praised, hugged, etc. Unfortunately, it seemed to be a never-ending cycle. I don't know if we could've made more headway if I didn't have other responsibilities and could have stayed with the child the whole day or not. There was a time when we sat together during recess and we hung out on the pillows, talked some, and there was no crying for a good 25 minutes. I even gained a one yr old who decided I had just enough room on my lap for her too. That was heaven.

It didn't last long because I had to go to music classes with each of the Pre-K's. An hour on the playground pushing kids in the tire swing simulating a rocket lift-off and outer space exploration, complete with asteroid belt collisions, in 90 degrees heat sealed my fate. I have such a huge headache now. I'm gonna keep myself awake long enough to go to the chiropractor and then I'm passing out. I'm so glad I don't have preschool tomorrow.

First Day of Pre-K

Today was the first day at preschool for the 3 Pre-K classes. I still don't know exactly what my days will be like (i.e. go here at this time, do that at that time), but I am good at making myself useful and I hate idle time, so it all works out. Today I, to use preschool technical-talk, "floated" from room to room, assisting the teachers and interacting with the kiddos which is good since I am a Teacher's Assistant. I love it when I can make kids giggle, and I got some good ones when I was teaching a class that only had 5 boys in it today how to walk in a straight line by showing them some funny, but true, examples of how their line was looking.

The highlights of the day: No injuries. There was a hamster nibble, but it was no biggie. The field trip to the kitchen for an ice pack was pure formality. And the cutest comment was when a little girl asked the Asst. Director who had been pushing them on the tire swing for quite some time if her hand was getting dizzy.

It was an awesome first day. Tomorrow the babies (3 & under) arrive...I hope I don't forget to take a preventative Excedrin and remember to bring my earplugs. Oh, and I need to load my pockets with kleenex for the snot factories those kids become when they cry and cry and cry and cry....But wait, the beauty of my job is I could just stay with the 4 and 5 yr olds, tease & laugh with them about who caught and plucked a rainbow colored peacock for their art project instead! Gotta say, I thought I'd never find the last of those feathers under the art table this afternoon!

One More Time!

Everything was orchestrated for our afternoon. Mom & Dad's flight was at a perfect time for me to go to the preschool Open House, and still be able to go with Mike to take them to the airport and get back before kids started arriving home from school. Then after dinner, Mike was going one way with Gib to Scouts and I was going another with Mariah to her first Volleyball practice. Taryn got called to cover a last minute babysitting need down the street and Indy had to go shopping for work clothes and shoes for the restaurant. Somewhere between Gib arriving home and the noodles boiling for dinner, Mike figured out that Mom & Dad's flight was not just late, but cancelled!

Thinking someone would have to pick them back up, I started making phone calls to get a ride for Mariah. We got that straightened out, but couldn't get ahold of Mom & Dad to make sure they even needed a ride. What if they got on another plane and re-routed to CA via SLC or Minneapolis or something? So off I went to take Mariah to the carpool friend, but we got stuck in too much traffic. Mike had to call the other mom and tell her to just continue on without us. I went to Volleyball; Mike went to Scouts and still nothing was heard from Mom & Dad. So naturally, I called Holly and said, "I can't find your parents. I think they're still here, but we haven't heard from them and they didn't answer the airport page". She hadn't heard from them either. Since I was driving, she called Cary but we still came up empty. At least Cary now knew not to go to the airport!

About halfway through Volleyball practice, Mike called and said Dad called him and they were indeed grounded overnight and would have to try again to leave for CA tomorrow. So he took off to go get them because I had time to take Mariah home after Volleyball and still get Gib from Scouts. I passed our barely-prodigal parents coming up our block with Mike as I was driving down.

After alot of work, Dad finally got a flight plan that will allow them to catch the Giants game with Cary's family tomorrow in SF. If all goes well.....hopefully, the FAA computer systems will be fixed, the flooding in Georgia will not affect landing and departures, hurricanes and tornadoes will be at a minimum and everything will be up and running bright and early so Mom & Dad can leave one more time! I bet Mom & Dad are praying for that right now! They just went to bed.

We enjoyed a freebie night with them though! They got to watch another episode of Big Brother, which I know is a real thrill for them. Mom just might get into it with one or two more episodes.

Anyway, it was a challenge logistically, but really a treat to see them again so soon after saying good-bye. Usually it's years, not hours!!

Red Lobster

Congratulations to Indy! She now has a job at the restaurant as a hostess. She hopes to start training as a server within a few months after her 18th bday. She's excited about working there. One of her former coworkers at the music store just started there too, and they liked working together (plus he owes her for a bunch of times she covered his shifts and she plans on stalking him until she collects - lol!). The managers already love her, and if all goes well, so will the customers and she'll be putting herself thru college on tips! I see Date Nights at Red Lobster coming up frequently. Maybe even a movie afterwards since I think we'll be getting a nice discount!

YAY INDY!!!