hot for teacher

And students.

We have no air conditioning. Late September doesn't seem like a bad time for that, but we live in Florida where cold doesn't come home to roost until late November at the earliest. Making it worse is the fact that we have a very cold classroom normally so we all come dressed pretty warm (I had on long sleeves and a sweater.) Have you ever tried to teach a group of 20 sweaty children with already low attention spans? It's like herding cats (an expression I never fully understood until now.) And the air will be out "for the foreseeable future." Tomorrow we will be the school nomads, traveling across campus in search of cool spaces. Wish us luck in our journey.

Did I mention that I have the beginning of a sinus infection and therefore have a fever and chills intermittently? On the bright side, I get to wear shorts to work tomorrow.

they're there?

When I got home from Clearwater last night I found a package waiting for me by my back door. One of my friends left me this:

I have no idea how he knew my kids have been studying these words on our word wall or how he knew they had struggled so much I kept them up for an unprecedented second week. Of course I wore it to school today.

I love when the world comes together in a quick burst of synchronicity. Thanks tw.

birthday blur

Tim's 30th birthday was last week. We planned on catching a couple of Rays/Red Sox series games to celebrate. Instead, while at a game during the Yankees series the week before, Tim won tickets to the last game of the season. And not just any tickets, mind you. Tickets for the exclusive Whitney Bank Club, which include a brunch and lunch buffet throughout the game along with beer and wine. The above picture was taken by the waiter for our section (about 40 people), who was wonderful about keeping up with anything we wanted/needed (despite not being steady with a camera.) We even had the Bucs game on at the bar, which was nice since the Rays were still a bit sluggish and hung over from Saturday's post-season-clinching win. Sadly, the Rays lost both their opening and closing home games for the season. Let's hope their post-season record is better.

Also, five minutes after arriving at the Whitney Bank Club, I ran into a teacher from my school and her twin sister. How crazy is that?

There are lots of changes on the horizon for us in the next few weeks, so it was wonderful to spend the weekend visiting some of our favorite St. Pete haunts. I left feeling sad that I haven't sold my house yet. I love it down there.

P.S. You can't tell from the blurry pic and the hat, but Tim finally got the hair cut he's been talking about for months. It's super short (maybe 1/2 inch?) and completely adorable. He, of course, hates it.

whose choice is it?

I try to keep politics off this blog as much as possible, but this is something that really frightens me. While the rest of the country is consumed by the economy and the Obama/Palin dramas, W is attempting to quietly pass a few last pieces of legislation to solidify his legacy as the worst president for women that this country has seen in decades.

His latest attempt to push women out of the workforce and back into the kitchen comes in the form of proposed regulations from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that could cripple women's access to basic reproductive health services. The rule would allow health care providers -- both individuals and institutions -- to deny women access to birth control based on the provider's personal religious beliefs. It allows these providers to REFUSE to provide information about basic reproductive health care. Simply because of their religious beliefs. The rights of the patient to become informed and weigh her own options will be completely thrown out the window.

While most of the people reading this blog have access to reproductive health care choices via other avenues, many American women today have limited choices. Unfortunately, some women ONLY learn about their reproductive options from a limited number of sources (mainly government-run health departments or free clinics.)

Can you imagine what would happen if police officers only had to enforce laws they personally thought were okay? Or if lawyers didn't have to give their clients information that could change their cases just because they thought their client was guilty and deserved punishment? This rule would turn every health care provider into a vulnerable woman's judge, jury, and executioner.

Regardless of your personal belief on reproductive care, you must agree that other people making decisions about your health without your input is a BAD IDEA. Tell the HHS to keep their rules to themselves. Go here and make sure your voice is heard. And tell all your friends. But hurry. Public comment is only open on this issue until September 25th.

rock on

These are the remains of our final rock experiment. The gumdrops were part of our sedimentary rock experiment from yesterday (complete with SweetTart fossils.) The chocolate chips in the corner are left over from the melted-chocolate igneous rock experiment earlier today. Obviously, this is the metamorphic rock experiment, which combines both igneous and sedimentary rocks (chocolate chips and gumdrops) with heat and pressure (melted marshmallows and puffed rice.) The kids were pumped. And sugared up. Thank goodness science class is at the end of the day.

More from the fourth-grade front:

The new computers showed up two weeks into the school year. I decided to keep all five, putting my computer in the office. The new giant screens are awesome for showing off all sorts of graphics for the kids, most recently helping us track Hurricane Ike (who conveniently made his way through the Gulf just as we started the hurricane section of our weather unit.) Unfortunately, the computers are still lacking all of the necessary programs that would make them actually useful in the classroom, but I suppose you can't have everything. At least my network is finally not dropping offline three times a day anymore.

Yes, this is a new rug. My kids finally told me the rug I purchased just for our classroom and thought was so cute was also prone to shedding. Red fibers. All over their clothing. *ugh* I went groveling to the custodial staff, who found a dirty, stained rug with the binding coming apart hiding in storage. I claimed it sight unseen, and it made its way into our room that very day. The new rug has completely transformed the focus problem in my room. My kids now believe I can do anything. I am Superteacher.

six weeks

Today is the first day in six weeks that I haven't done anything related to children. Even when I went out of town, I took kid work with me (boxes of it -- literally.)

I spent this glorious free day catching up on books and magazines, working in the yard, and watching my fantasy players tackle the first week of the NFL season (note to self: Atlanta's Michael Turner should be in my line-up every week!) Let's hope this is a sign of better things to come. Maybe I'll finally have enough energy to get to those craft projects dancing in my head?

lol

I opened the mailbox yesterday and saw this. I thought it was a joke or maybe a letter trying to get me to convert my vote because of McCain's VP pick. It turns out that, unbeknownst to me, I am a valued member of the Republican Party whose help is needed to thwart a Democratic takeover. Wow. If they're wasting postage on me, they must really be desperate.