I'm watching the future leaders right now.

Right now, I'm subbing in an AP Calc class. Calculus is all Greek to me. There are 9 seniors, 2 of them I've coached, one of them is a neighbor and sits for my kids. They could have blown off today, it being a 2hr late start.

They had their books open before I had taken attendance, and all but shoved me out of the way, eager to get to the white board. Each of them took a problem and started explaining it to the class. The room is full of "You missed plugging in your D value." "No, look at your dA/dt, right here." "Is that right?" "Explain that again." "Can I borrow your brain next year?"

I love it. These guys get it! Self starters, motivated to do their best, understand, explain it to others, help out. And even though I've only had a small part in a few of their school careers, I feel proud of them!

These guys are going to be the 20% in the world that are the great leaders. Have faith that this generation is not lost!

Things that must be said.

This mostly has to do with random thoughts that pop up while I'm driving, that should be a tweet (twat? twat?) or a crackbook status, but since I'm not a texter, the thoughts go unsaid.

The first is that on my way to one of my sub jobs, on an old county country road, in the middle of nowhere, is an explosives manufacturing business. Really? They make explosives? I always wonder just how dangerous it is in there, because the building is relatively unassuming. And, I think, would this be a possible terrorist target? What if it's a cover for top secret government weapons? I mean, I pass it at least once a week, just what is it doing out there? By posting this, am I going to end up on a watch list? hmmmmmm.

The next is that sometimes I have a nearly uncontrollable urge to exit off the interstate while maintaining the same speed, blow past the stop sign, and shoot right back onto the on ramp. One of these days I may not be able to control it!

And finally, when I'm stressed out, I try to put a seat belt on, whether I'm in the car or not. I sit down, on the couch, at a desk, to supper, and I involuntarily reach for my seat belt. Not sure why.

I feel much better, now having said all that!

Recovering toddlers are crabs!

Last Wednesday, Addie hit a fever of 104.6 and threw up three times. I was gone to state dance competition, so my husband had to deal with her alone. Emily then got a fever and felt sick. The next day Emily was doing better, but Addie was still in the 103 to 104 range as soon as the Motrin wore off. She was a slug on the couch. She stayed that way until Monday morning, when it appeared that the fever was gone. It was a good thing too, because that evening was the Christmas Pageant she had been preparing for and talking about since the beginning of school. I called the school and said I'd keep her for the morning, just to make sure, and then she could come for lunch and finish out the day, and make her debut.

By 9:30 it was apparent that she was not doing better, and her temperature was back at around 101. She melted down at the slightest bit of resistance, and found herself in bed by 10am where she passed out until 1 when I woke her to drag her into the doctor.

It was one of those mommy-second-guessing moments. She's had a fever for 6 days, but it is lower, and really what are they going to do? But what sort of mother lets their kid have a fever for 6 days? I took her, and consequently felt stupid because he said whatever it was was on its way out and to call if it wasn't gone in two days.

So no pageant, and she stayed home the next day, where she spent the morning screaming at me anytime I told her something she didn't like. She could have moved into time-out she spent so much time there.

Finally, she was fever free for 24 hours and I shipped her butt off to school. It didn't go so well. Much to her aggravation, she learned that she had missed the pageant and was very upset the whole day. Her teachers sent a note explaining they "gave her a break" because of the trauma inflicted by her bad mommy not explaining she was going to miss it and didn't prepare her for her friends asking where she was.

Tonight, the class A melt down came at 6pm when she informed us she was not going to finish her supper, but would throw it on the floor, unless we stopped making the wrong kind of cookies! Screaming and kicking and crying ensued, quickly followed by a hosing off and chucking into bed, where she was passed out before her head hit the pillow.

I hope this is the last day! Her crabbiness has got to end!

I never do these things...

...because they take forever. But I thought it would be a fun blog post. There are some stupid questions that would be better replaced by something more meaningful, since it takes an eternity to complete anyway. But here is my "Getting to know you" crackbook chain activity:
You've been tagged (as have I), you have the honor of copying all these goofy questions, writing your own response, and tagging 25 other victims. You have to tag me so really you just need 24 more people. To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your title as "Getting to know each other!", tag 25 people including me (tagging is done in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish. (I actually tagged more people, just to spite them!)

1. What time did you get up this morning?
6AM (I wish it would have been later!)

2. How do you like your steak?
Mooing

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Eat, Pray, Love (sucked, IMHO) but loved the GNO

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Grey's/Desperate Housewives

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
I think I'm here! (except I could do without the cold and snow!)

6. What did you have for breakfast?
COFFEE!!!!

7. What is your favorite cuisine?
Anything my husband makes!

8. What foods do you dislike?
Lemon filled bismarks disguised as Boston Creme; that is just EVIL

9. Favorite place to eat?
Hu Hot... even the name is fun to say... go ahead, try it... HU HOT!

10. Favorite dressing?
Ranch

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive?
The Blue Eagle (AKA Town and Country short bus)

12. What are your favorite clothes?
My power suit with the pink cami and kitten heels!

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?
The middle east or Rome

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?
depends; if the coffee is 1/2 anything, it's bad. However, if the wine is 1/2 anything, someone is having a good time!

15. Where would you want to retire?
Someplace close to family, as long as I had money to travel

16. Favorite time of day?
10:09pm

17. Where were you born?
St. Joseph, Michigan

18. What is your favorite sport to watch?
Dance (IS TOTALLY A SPORT, MEL!)

19. Who do you think will not tag you back?
Well, I haven't tagged people yet, as I type this. And perhaps, by saying they will not tag me back, they actually will to prove a point, because if they are spiteful, like me, they will do it just to prove me wrong... so in that case...Jeremy, Heidi, Trinity, Levi, Adam... I apologize if I've forgotten anyone.

20. Person you expect to tag you back first?
Let's just see who has too much time on their hands... like me... right now.

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this?
Probably my neighbors!

22. Bird watcher?
Only at my MIL's because she puts out a ton of birdseed, and word gets around! Some of those birds are so huge they need to go on a diet!

23. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Really? All morning people should be shot...

24. Pets?
2 cats, 2 kids, and a husband. The shedding is the worst!

25. Any new and exciting news that you'd like to share?
Baby 3... no, just kidding. Talk to me next year...

26. What did you want to be when you were little? honestly?
A marine biologist. 10 years of getting thrown into freezing cold water before 7am for swim team killed that dream.

27. What is your best childhood memory?
Traveling everywhere in minivans with the McKees

28. Are you a cat or dog person?
cat

29. Are you married?
9 1/2 years

30. Always wear your seat belt?
Yes

31. Been in a car accident?
Yes

32. Any pet peeves?
See #8 and #23. Also silly bands, spam, and people who go slightly under the speed limit.

33. Favorite pizza topping?
The works

34. Favorite Flower?
Lavendar and Lilac for smell, but the first tulip in the spring is the best. Oh, and all kinds of tiger lilies.

35. Favorite ice cream?
B&J Creme Brulee

36. Favorite fast food restaurant?
Does subway count?

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? .
none

38. From whom did you get your last email?
The Scooter Store: I may be eligible to recieve a power chair or scooter at little to no cost... see #32...

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
Target, but how would that be different?

40. Do anything spontaneous lately?
Took an industrial tech class on a short, unauthorized, mini field trip to the back lot of the school to check out their progress on a shed they were building... I was impressed! Also, taught an Algebra class actual math!

41. Like your job?
Love teaching, want my own classroom sooooo bad!

42. Broccoli?
Yum

43. What was your favorite vacation?
The summer of continuous road trip: From MA to home in Iowa, to Colorado, to Devil's Tower, to Walldrug, to Badlands, to Mt. Rushmore, to Iowa, to Rock Island, to MA to Sweden, to MA. Fun!

44. Last person you went out to dinner with?
The Maquoketa Valley Dance Team!

45. What are you listening to right now?
Pachelbel Canon in d

46. What is your favorite color?
green

47. How many tattoos do you have?
none

48. Coffee drinker?
HELL YES!!!

49. What nicknames do you go by?
crudd, mom, mommy, coach, woman

Feeling down and looking for a pickmeup

Irritated by some news today, I went searching the net for some comfort. And here it was.

Trees that Wood

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty."
Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull."

Finally the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me."

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, "This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter" ... and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree a woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my tree so I'll take this one", and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.

Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time. Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said "Peace" and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.

Bucket Lists

Yesterday I subbed in a room where listed next to the teacher's desk was a bucket list. It was just out there in the open for anyone to see. The students even commented on it. But it wasn't what I would expect from a bucket list. Not a compilation of crazy feats or adventures, but expectations of a good life.

There was:
Stay married to my wife my whole life.
State a positive comment for every negative comment.
Coach a state champion.
Go to church every Sunday.
Give out 10 compliments a day.
See all my kids graduate college.
Retire between the ages of 55 and 65.


There were some high adventures too:
Run a half marathon.
See Niagara Falls.
Go on a cruise.

I was just so impressed with the simplicity of these goals, but as I thought about it, some of them were rather daunting. Could you really accomplish some of these? What a great and bold thing to even write them down and attempt them, I don't know that I'd have the guts to do even that. These are things that you just say, or take up as short term goals. His list was dated 1988, and some things were crossed off with dates next to them. Others, I imagine, his family will look at after he is gone, and finish the crossing off.
Pretty cool! What's on your bucket list?

Getting over disappointment

Yesterday was the dance team's first competition. It was districts, we competed against 6 teams, and we didn't place. First place went to Cascade, the team to beat. They were AMAZING! Not a finger out of place, great music, high energy choreography.

We took our state pom routine. The same one we will compete against these teams with at the state competition. Against Cascade.

I'm not a very eloquent coach, who knows what to say when their team is disappointed. It wasn't their best performance. Some were scared, there were plenty of mistakes, and their energy could be higher. Some even seem bored with it. They still can't get their turns in second, or triples.

I did not say they sucked. I did not say they were worthless or horrible. I also didn't say that the team that took third didn't deserve it, that it was simple and wasn't sharp. I also didn't give the excuse that Cascade has year round strenous practice with a fully mirrored dance studio and a feed-in program that trains them from toddlers.

I also didn't say what I fear they feel: what is the point, if we are going to take this same routine to state, how will we get good enough to beat Cascade in 2 weeks?

What I did say was that they did well, I was proud of them, and now we know what we need to work on. It's just that I don't know how to do it. What do I say to get them fired up, to do their best?

And we will continue to face challenges after State. They seem to think state is "graduation" and that things will get easier afterwards. Moving ahead in the season, I want them to choreograph new routines to perform at every other home game. They have been resistent to this and to practice every day for 2 hours. When I told them about performing at the US Cellular center, one said we could take our hip hop routine from state. I said no, they would be doing a new routine. The seniors balked. How do I get them past that?