Flamebroiled Donuts

We went to Sunday School today with Hubster's family. His dad teaches the class, and today the lesson was on choosing to please God when it means displeasing men. Specifically, the lesson was applied to a work situation where an employee must go against his boss's wishes in order to please God. The text was taken from the book of Daniel, and it focused on Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who refused to worship the statue of their boss, King Nebuchadnezzar.

Later, after Sunday School, during the offering in the service, I wrote a little note to Hubster. "Where was Daniel when his friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, were all thrown into the furnace?" I scribbled it quickly onto the paper, before passing it over to Hubs. He glanced at the note, pulled out his pen and immediately began writing his answer. Now, I'd puzzled over this question by myself for twenty minutes, so I was a little miffed that he knew the answer so quickly. I chalked it up to his private Christian school education and leaned over to read what he was writing. He shielded his answer with his hand as he continued and cast me a devious grin.

So I waited. Eventually, he finished chicken scratching on my church bulletin and I was allowed to read what he wrote:

"Daniel had to run down to the Krispy Kreme to get breakfast for his Sunday School class. He got back just as the fire was starting to die down."

Two points for Christian school! Does anybody else have an answer?

Pomp and Circumstances

If you've wondered where I've been for the last two days, I've been cramming in as many ceremonies in forty eight hours as is humanly possible.

On Thursday, I went to the hooding ceremony for my medical school classmates. It's the pre-graduation ceremony where the graduates receive the hood that goes over their black velvet-striped gown. During the regular graduation, all of the other health care graduates are there too. That took place Friday. I didn't want to watch over 700 people graduate, I just wanted to see the hundred or so that I know personally, finish the marathon of medical school. So I went to the hooding ceremony.

It was a wonderful ceremony and I was overflowing with happiness. I have a rare, first-hand knowledge of just how much it costs to make it through medical school. Not only financially, but also emotionally, physically and mentally. And let me tell you, the financial costs are definitely the cheapest of those four expenses. Student doctors work their fingers to the bone and they get little to no respect. So I was filled with an honest joy for my friends who have conquered this mountain.

Did you feel a 'But' coming? There were a few brief minutes during the ceremony, when I saw the friend who would have stood next to me. As he approached the podium, I held my breath. They called his name and then the next guy stepped up. I wanted to tap the stranger in front of me on the shoulder and say, "I would have been next. That would have been me." I held my breath a little bit longer and then the moment passed. My friend Katherine stepped up and once again I was cheering wildly, while the people around me looked over curiously. I don't think they understood that I really did know everyone going across the stage. I started saying their names aloud before the announcer called them, just to prove to the people around me that I wasn't just screaming for everyone. Am I a dork, or what?

I spent most of the day Thursday celebrating with my friends. When I went to pick up Bri from daycare afterwards, the ladies commented that I looked really, really good. I told them that I knew I'd better look dang sexy for that ceremony or else everyone would feel sorry for me. I think I achieved my goal.

The next day, Friday, was my awards day for my students. I dressed up in a long black formal gown and gave out awards all day. My kids were eating out of the palm of my hand. Not literally. I knew that I was doing well, when after lunch almost all of my students came back EARLY. My strategy, was to keep the suspense going throughout the period. So I had students volunteer to sing popular commercial jingles. I would call out the nominees and ask for a drumroll. Then just as I pulled the name out of the envelope, I would say "The winner will be announced right after this commercial break!" And I would point to a student, who would jump up to sing the free credit report dot com song. Or the five dollar footlong song. It was hilarious! They loved it!

After a long day of hosting my award ceremony, over and over for each class, I came home, changed clothes, and took the family all the way across town for the band banquet. There I watched my flagline girls celebrate the end of the year. My senior girls gave shout outs to the rest of the class of '08 and they thanked their parents for everything. It was so sweet. I felt inspired to work harder with them next year. The evening ended and we came home exhausted.

So, if you've wondered what happened to me over the past few days, the answer is that I've been celebrating the end of the year with lots of the people that I love. And as much fun as it was to see a hundred of my peers graduate from medical school on Thursday, I have to say, it was much more meaningful to give away the 75 awards that I bought from the Dollar Tree for my kids. And the eighty dollar cocktail reception for the medical school graduates was wonderful, but I really felt at home eating macaroni and cheese at the fourteen dollar band banquet.

The truth is that I was a little nervous when I went to the medical school ceremony. Because, although I love my job as a teacher, I was worried that I would regret my decision. But even as I was holding my breath, I still had no regrets. And when I laid down to sleep that night, I was looking forward to going to the high school in the morning. It's where I know I belong. It's where I'm happy.

Messiness in Moderation

The lovely ladies at our daycare have passed on a few helpful tricks for keeping Bridoodle neat and clean. In fact, I believe that in their minds, on a perfect day, they wouldn't have any messes to clean up at all. Shocking, huh?

They would be dismayed to see how Bri has her dinner each night. It is quite normal to find her finger painting with mashed peas or putting gobs of squash in her hair. When I shared this thought, with one hand on the doorknob, as I was leaving the daycare, both of the ladies stopped what they were doing and stared at me. I could see the utter horror etched on their faces. It made me stop and think.

You see, I believe, although I've never voiced it until now, that babies learn a lot from messiness. I love watching Bri study the consistency of the food she eats. I let her explore warm, cold; smooth, mushy; and sticky or watery things all the time. She's absorbing the world. And I think it's natural to let her enjoy the messy sides of life too.

Now I don't just let her explore any old thing! Of course, I wouldn't let her play with something that would hurt her. But I figure, since I'm about to give her a bath anyway, it's okay if she grabs the spoon and flings peas into her hair. It's fun to watch her discover the way that feels. And it's okay if her clothes have a few stains on them. After all, she won't even be able to wear them anymore in a few weeks!

I've found that on the nights where I'm in a hurry and I don't want her to make a mess, we both end up unhappy and frustrated. The extra five minutes I spend cleaning up around the kitchen doesn't even compare to the fun I get from watching her squeal with laughter as she spreads cold pear mush all over her tray. What can I say? I just think it's fun!

Conversations with the Hubster

This afternoon, we had a few errands to run as a family. As a result, we spent a little longer than usual in the car, and had some interesting conversations.
This first one took place as we were driving out of the McDonald's parking lot. We'd swooped through the drive through to get beverages, since we were parched.

Hubs: I think McDonald's Coke tastes better than regular Coke. But I wonder if that's just because I associate it with their fries, which really are better than everybody else's fries.
Me: You really think that you can taste the difference between McDonald's Coke and Coke from somewhere else?
Hubs: Oh yeah! I mean, it's easy to tell the difference between canned Coke, 2 liter Coke and fountain drinks.
Me: Right, but could you tell the difference between, mmm... say ... a gas station's fountain drink and a McDonald's fountain drink?
Hubs: As long as it was Coke. Yeah. I think so.
Me: Hmm! We should do an experiment. We could drive around and get Cokes from three different gas stations and then go get Cokes from three different McDonald's and then we could test you to see if you could consistently tell the difference, while you were blindfolded or something.
Hubs:Yeah that would be fun.

(Short pause. Then we both looked at each other and started howling with laughter.)

Hubs: When would we ever have that much free time? We'd have to be bored out of our minds!
Me:I know, right?
Hubs:But if we'd thought of that back when we were kids, we probably would have done it. It would have been fun too!
Me: Well, at least we don't see any boring times up ahead in our future.

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Later on, after we'd run our errands, we headed over to have a nice dinner at one of the local chain restaurants with our recently engaged friends. As we pulled in the parking lot, we both noticed an unusual quietness coming from the back seat.

Me: I think the baby fell asleep.
Hubs: Oh no! She's going to cry when we wake her up!
Me: I know.
Hubs: Can we just eat out here? Please?
Me: In the parking lot?
Hubs: Yeah, why not? Hey, we can get take out!

Promised Quotes

I fully intended to post my favorite Anne Shirley quotes yesterday, but my fabulous Hubster was absolutely glued to the computer last night. Since that doesn't happen too terribly often, and since my sinuses were stuffed to the brim giving me a headache, I decided I would wait. Without any further ado, I bring you my favorite quotes from Anne of Green Gables.

"It was the truth; every word you said was true. My hair is red and I'm freckled and skinny and ugly. What I said to you was true, too, but I shouldn't have said it. Oh, Mrs. Lynde, please, please, forgive me. If you refuse it will be a lifelong sorrow to me. You wouldn't like to inflict a lifelong sorrow on a poor little orphan girl, would you..."

And then - Thwack! Anne had brought her slate down on Gilbert's head and cracked it - slate, not head - clear across.

"Marilla, isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?"
"I'll warrant you'll make plenty in it," said Marilla. "I never saw your beat for making mistakes, Anne."

"But mostly when I'm with Mrs. Lynde I feel desperately wicked and as if I wanted to go and do the very thing she tells me I oughtn't to do. I feel irresistibly tempted to do it..."

"We are rich," said Anne staunchly. "Why, we have sixteen years to our credit, and we're happy as queens, and we've all got imaginations, more or less..."

funness with a cherry on top

We double dated tonight with some close friends and brought Bri along as a fifth wheel. She had a blast! She kept swinging around to watch the wait staff bustling around her high chair. Hubster and I took turns feeding her and feeding ourselves. I think we gave our friends a little extra boost of birth control!

Then we all went out to a minor league baseball game. I had never been before. So much fun! Sleepy little Bri could not contain her excitement. She squealed with happiness. Eventually, though, she got too tired. We left during the fifth inning so that she could go to bed. (So much for that night time routine! ;o)

On the way home, I received an unexpected phone call. It was a fabulous friend calling to say she's ENGAGED! Suddenly, I was the one squealing with happiness! I'm so excited for both of them. He brings out all of her best qualities and I've never seen her so happy in a relationship before. I have high hopes for their marriage.

What a wonderful evening. Too bad I have to work tomorrow.

Hmmmm..... cough, cough. Maybe I'll be "sick," instead.

Bri's Words

For the last few months, Bri has been cooing and laughing. But recently she has repeated a few words over and over (and over.) Her favorite word, by far, is Hey. She says it with all sorts of intonations. Mostly, though, she sounds like Eeyore.
Her second favorite word is Dada. And the first time she said Dada her Daddy was actually in the room. She has not figured out that certain words apply to certain people/objects yet. But she can say Dada on cue if we prompt her.
Most recently, she said Gaga for the first time. It was last Thursday, when we went home for a visit with my in-laws. The amazing part of the story, is that she was sitting in Gaga's lap at the time. Now, for those of you who are not familiar with our family, Gaga is my Hubster's grandmother. And all of the grandkids, most of whom are older than we are, still call her Gaga to this day. Although, my Hubby was slightly embarrassed the first time he introduced me to her. Anyway, she was absolutely thrilled, as you can imagine, when Bri said Gaga while sitting in her lap! It was pretty neat!

Music and Lyrics

I'm sitting here in front of the computer typing while Bri uses my arms as armrests and gleefully plays with the mouse buttons. Forgive me if there are a few typos!

My life could honestly be a Broadway musical these days.

I've discovered that my students will behave if I threaten them with my singing. So I've been bursting out in random song throughout the day. (Picture cheesy melodramatic versions of "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic). They cover their ears while begging for forgiveness. I'm so mean!

After school this week I've been staying for flagline practice. We have over 80 girls lined up to audition at the end of the week. They've been working on their two routines. The captains chose the music so my musical week has a little R&B mixed in too!

And at home, I've taken to singing to the Brimeister when I need my hands free. She is quite content to sit in her bouncy seat and listen to my renditions of favorite hymns and the occasional country song. She gets really excited when I look her in the eye and sing to her. It's really sweet.

In my free time (insert sarcastic grin), I've been thinking about an idea for Bible Study curriculum. I want to write it myself. Each week would focus on the lyrics of a different song. Specifically, we would pull out the roots of contemporary Christian songs. I want to choose a different style each week. The main focus will be the words. Not so much the tune. I know certain songs will be preferred by each person and hopefully we will tackle at least one favorite for each person. I think I'll begin the Bible Study with a bowl of potato salad and a printout of this post from Jeana at Days to Come!

Wam-Lart

We're running low on diapers and cough drops around here, which means it's time to take a trip to the gigantic overflowing supercrazy packed with people store. I'm dreading it. I was going to go yesterday, but when I saw all of the cars in the parking lot I turned around and drove away. The parking lot could hold five football fields but it wouldn't hold one more car!
I've been thinking about how much I hate going to this particular store and I've come to the conclusion that they should sell 'front-of-the-line passes' like the ones that you find at theme parks. When you purchase a 'front-of-the-line pass' to Wally World you would get a front row parking spot and a buggy that does not veer to the left. You would get a little card that you swipe through a scanner when you go down an aisle and all the other customers would have to move out of your way quickly so you could get to the items you need. And there would be special bathrooms that are luxurious and not smelly at all. They would have an adorable baby changing area that was semi-private and not in anyone's way. But most importantly, after you'd spent all your time and energy finding your buggy full of purchases, you would be able to walk up to an empty register where a very polite person would happily ring you up and let you be on your way. Ahh! Wouldn't that be nice?

Christmas stories

My friend, Melissa, is posting Christmas stories over at her blog this week. And I've had so much fun reading them! It made me remember a few stories of my own. I would love to read your Christmas stories, too! Feel free to share them here or leave your blog address in the comments section.

favorite childhood Christmas memory: When we were little girls, my sister and I would spend hours putting together a train set that ran around the base of our Christmas tree. All of our Lego's would be puddled around the tree where we would build train stations and arches for the train to pass through. We would adjust the speed of the train so that it would zoom around the tree, causing Lego buildings to tumble which would usually send the train skidding off the track with tiny sparks flying.
We had a collection of Christmas movies that we loved to watch over and over. Our favorite was a collection of clay-mation animals singing Christmas songs.
Daddy would get a fire roaring in the fireplace and we would huddle around the tree watching movies and building Lego sets. Then on Christmas Eve we would gather around the fire in the living room and Daddy would read us the Christmas story from Luke.


favorite teen aged Christmas memory: Our church, back in the day, put on a huge dramatic production called The Singing Tree. The adult choir filled out a huge Christmas tree with all sorts of lights on it. And each year there was a new drama production to go along with the singing. The story changed each year but it always included the same nativity story. And there were lots of parts for teen aged girls! I remember dressing up as all sorts of roles and racing around back stage to get my costume changed before the next scene. Mary Kay was a huge seller in our church so the make-up room was full of Mary Kay samples that were brought in by the ladies. I remember trying on lipsticks and eye-shadows between shows. Usually we performed between 6 and 8 shows per weekend, two weekends in a row. And the tickets, which were released at the end of October would be sold out in a couple of days.


favorite adult Christmas memory: For the past few years, my favorite part of Christmas has been hosting our annual Christmas party. I love making yummy foods and setting out the Christmas serving trays. All of our guests bring gifts to swap. Gifts have ranged from steam-cookers, to toilet seat covers, to singing stuffed reindeer and everywhere in between. Then, after the gift swap, we play round after round of Mafia. So much fun! I'm almost always the first person to be killed. Sadly we weren't able to host the party this year. Maybe next year!

Gotta Silly Voice?

At the ghetto-fabulous high school where I teach, we have morning announcements every day followed by the pledge of allegiance. (Which has nothing to do with being ghetto-fabulous but it's my favorite description of our school.) Our students are required to stand up for the pledge because it's respectful but they don't have to say the words.

Now it just so happens that the students I teach in this particular class tend to be apathetic about everything. They're downright boring. They don't ask questions. They don't look at me while I give notes. In fact they seem a little glazed over all the time. You're probably thinking, 'They're just tired because it's so early in the morning.' But I will have you know that last year's class was incredibly talkative and engaging during the same time frame. So it's not that. They're just not enthusiastic about anything. Not even games. Not even working in groups! They'd rather work silently and independently when given the option.

I think they may have been invaded by aliens.

So in an effort to get them awake and responsive, I tend to do wacky things during the pledge of allegiance. Often I will shout the pledge as loudly as possible. But a few days ago I had a spontaneous burst of ingenuity. I said the pledge in my Bubble Voice.

To make a Bubble Voice, you simply take one of your index fingers (preferably the cleanest one) and point it horizontally across your lips. Then you jiggle your finger up and down wildly while speaking. Yes, you can try it. There's no one around. See? It's really fun!

And, I must say, it went over marvelously! They actually laughed!! So now I'm in search of new sound effects to employ during the pledge. What else can I do? Do you have any tricks up your sleeve?

I heart shoes!

In honor of NaBloShoeMo, a delightful festival of shoe posting during the month of November, I've decided to show off some of my favorite shoes. It was so unbelievably fun to take these pictures! These gold ballet shoes were a splurge but I wear them all the time! The red ones are currently my most favorite favorite shoes. They are so sassy! I wanted to wear them all during my pregnancy but I was afraid with my center of balance constantly changing that I would wipe out and possibly scuff them. So obviously I didn't risk it! Then these little white ones were super cheap on sale. I think they're adorable with jeans.

I must confess that I love shoes. When Hubs and I flew away for our four day honeymoon, I packed an entire bag of shoes. Needless to say, the poor man was shocked to discover that I'd brought more shoes on that trip than he owned!

Whew!

This week has flown by! I've crammed in my 36 week check up, flagline practice almost every day and a week's worth of teaching. I'm exhausted! My girls are going to our first game tonight without me. They'll be driving two hours away to a rainy game. It just seemed like too much for my poor pregnant body. The buses pulled out about an hour after school was over and they'll probably get back well after mid-night. I just can't pull a 17+ hour day anymore, not when I'm about to pop at any moment. It was really hard to get off the bus and let them go.
But it will be good in a way because my husband and I plan to spend the three day weekend with his family. We can leave tonight when he gets off work and wake up with everyone in the morning. The last time our nephews were in from out of town Uncle D (my hubby) made pancakes for breakfast on Saturday. I'm hoping that this becomes a family tradition :o) It would be really fun to wake up to pancakes in the morning! As for me this will be my last trip away from home for awhile. I'm a little nervous that I might give birth while we're gone. Ack! But my doctor assured me that I haven't dilated at all yet, so I have no need to worry. And she seemed to think that I'd have time to make it back home while still in early labor if I wanted to. I guess we shall see.
Just in case I'm packing the pretty hospital PJ's that I bought for the big event!