A tale of 2 Mann births...

On Thursday I was walking my students to computer class, when my co-worker came up to me and asked if I had heard the news-Mr. Chapman, another colleague of mine, was a father. Now, do understand that I do not know him very well. Sure, we exchange pleasantries, but we have never really sat down and had a real conversation. The next thing that came out of the first co-workers mouth just about shocked me-his wife did not know she was pregnant. Huh? Apparently, she was at home when she felt waves of immense pain and pressure. She pushed-and boom-out came a 6-pound baby boy. Mr. Chapman was an instant father.

Tale number two happened today. I was in my classroom commencing the procedures to end our day. As I was closing the door to settle down 23 crazy Kindergartners, my assistant came into the room and said that some parent was in the lounge having major contractions. She had come in to get her child because the labor had started didn't quite make it out. EMS was called and hopefully she made it in time.

Strange week, huh?

Tuesday Tidbits

My mind is racing tonight, baby!

1. We have found several dead "fuzzy" bees on our porch. Ben pondered the question-why do the bees have to die?

2. The leaves are thinning out-I can see my first squirrels nest in the woods behind us.

3. One of my students is a mute cryer-what I mean by that is he cries and won't tell me what is bugging him. Eventually he stops-still trying to figure him out.

4. I am just about done with the late summer days in the 80s. I can not enjoy in my classroom. I have no ac and if I open the windows the bees swarm in and sting the little people.

5. And speaking of Detroit-so... we get a new reading series that is suppose to be "supplemental" but the materials kept arriving, box after box. We have had no notice, no training and no direction-All I can say is that famous DPS slogan-"I'm in!"

6. I have blogged half as many blogs as I did for the whole year last year. I got some catching up to do, huh?

OH well....

Enough whining for ton

911 revisited

Eight years ago American life changed forever. I remember it oh too well...

It was my first year at Mann Elementary teaching kindergarten. It was a Tuesday morning and my children were gone for that hour. I was in the teacher's lounge making copies when one of my colleagues came in muttering something about an airplane colliding with something. I went over to my friend Julie's room and told her. She called her husband and that is how we found out. We put on the TV-and there-before our eyes-we saw the plume of smoke coming from the first tower. What freaked us out more was what happened next, a second airplane flew into the second tower. We just looked at each other and words wouldn't come out. We put the sound on and it was there before our eyes that we saw the first tower go down.

I remember that as a staff we all came together and just watched over and over again the same images of those towers being hit and disappearing from the New York skyline in a dark cloud of rubble and dust. Everyone of us wanted to go home to our families. Ben was only 2 at the time. He was safe in the home of his Auntie Pam, but I still touched base with her to make sure everything was ok.

I remember talking to Julie about how we, as teachers, were going to explain to our very young children what had happened. They were so young and we had to tread carefully as to not frighten them. But we knew we had to say something. We knew it was going to be the topic of conversation everywhere.

I remember the horror of learning about flight 93 that had crashed in PA and how these now- deceased heroes had stopped the third plane from attacking a target in Washington. And I remember the attack on the pentagon.

Now, eight years later, Americans have somewhat healed and memories of this day have faded. I don't want to forget so I dedicate this blog to all the victims of 911. I must say that my life has resumed normalcy since 9-11-09, like most Americans. But-we must never forget!

The itchy truth

It has been a long week for Ben Ten. Last Friday we were enjoy our last summer bonfire when Ben got eaten up alive by 50 thousand mosquitoes. To compound this itchy problem, he spent Saturday in the sun and by the time he arrived home his mosquito bites had turned themselves into a raging, pussy, blistery infection. We paid homage to our favorite hospital Sunday AM. The ER doctor prescribed a 5 day course of the steroid prednisone.

The end result and the itchy truth of the matter is that Ben and steroids do not mix. We have had bouts of crying over the littlest of things every night since Monday. One of the side effects of prednisone, is mood swings. And let me just say, Ben is swinging pretty high. I hope he comes back to his normal Ben Ten self soon.