Let's play a little game. All you girls who grew up in the 70s playing with Barbies will probably get this.

I'm thinking of a 12-inch doll.
She's a brunette one day
and a blonde the next.
This particular doll gets a groovy tan when she's under a light.
And she came with stickers so you could make little tan marks on her body.
She rocked.

Did you guess....


Yep. It's Suntan Tuesday Taylor.

She was my favorite of all the 12-inch dolls. She was Ideal's answer to Mattel's Barbie. And though she didn't last, she continues to be the icon of my Barbie days.

Don't you just wish you were cool enough to don this get-up?
I had this for my Suntan Tuesday Taylor. And she looked amazing in it!
Just as we would, I'm sure, if we had the (mis)fortune of owning this caftan today.
And just ogle those sunglasses for a bit! She had it going on WAY before Sally Jesse Raphael!

My STT also had this bikini with REAL FOIL trim.
Can YOU say that, ladies?

Here's a shot of the penthouse. Not my penthouse. Mine's long gone. But let me tell you that it came with the most amazing set of accessories. I felt like a real sophisticated chica living in New York City when I played with this high-society apartment.

I haven't felt like such a chica since I was about 10.

And here are the doodle stickers you could put on STT's bod to give her the most amazing sun tatoos. Don't tell me you're not even thinking that you could so do this when the sun comes out in June!

In the world of sports:

Today I punched Mr. Dreskler in the face while point sparring.

Yes, I know that's illegal.

And, yes, I had my helmet on right.



In other news:

Here's a conversation I overheard between Camden and Benjy last week. Both were tucked in bed, Benjy choosing to sleep on a cot in Camden's room. He said he missed his big brother who didn't go to school that day since he'd been sick.

Benjy: Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. May angels watch me through the night and keep me in their blessed sight. Dear Lord, please bless Mommy and Daddy and Camden and me and Emma. A-men.

Camden: Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. May angels watch me through the night and wake me in the morning light. Dear God, I want to ask you to bless Mom, Dad, Benjy, and me, and Emma.

Benjy: Camden, Carly was holding your work for you today for me to give to you. It was Carly.

Camden: OKAAAAAAAAAAY.

Benjy: Do you think Carly likes you?

Camden: No. She doesn't like me like that.

Benjy: Yeah, girls are stupid.

Camden: Yeah, girls are stupid.

Benjy: Except grown-up mommies. Grown-up mommies are not stupid.

Camden: Yeah, mommies aren't stupid.

Gee, thanks guys. This grown-up mommy sure loves you two.

Here's my Sunday post from the Simple Woman's Daybook.

FOR TODAY, Sunday, Feb. 22...
Outside my window...a fresh coating of snow with double footprints snaking through the backyard where Camden and Benjy enjoyed a few moments of freezing fun this morning.

I am thinking...how much I'm procrastinating on starting my National Boards renewal portfolio.

I am thankful for...a home, my family, my friends, my dog.

From the kitchen...the day's paint projects from me and the kids are drying.

I am wearing...penguin pajamas.

I am creating...a little house that I hated the color of, so I'm renovating it by giving it a happy whimsical touch of yellow, red, and pink.

I am going...to school tomorrow for the last week of February.

I am reading...a great spy novel that Mr. Dreskler gave me. Hopefully I'll finish it this week.

I am hoping...to accomplish ONE of my portfolio papers this week.........

I am hearing...M*A*S*H reruns 'cause, frankly, I just don't get awards shows.

Around the house...Benjy is snoring, Camden is reading, Curt is making a snack, I am blogging, Emma is thinking about Curt making a snack.

One of my favorite things...is Cornerstone on Saturday nights. The praise and worship songs are the best. And Aaron on guitar rocks.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
* Taekwondo on Monday and Friday, perhaps Saturday.
* We start Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at church this week.
* I have a teacher workshop to go to on Wednesday in Pittsburgh, so I have to get some sub plans ready.
* Church on Saturday night.
* Camden gets to take his splint off his finger - at last.
* Print some pictures out and get crafty. (ie, use up those scrapbook kits piling up in my grandmother's trunk)
* Lunch duty this week at school. Soooo glad recess duty is behind me.
* Track my weight watchers points - gotta keep it up.

Here are a few picture thoughts I am sharing...

Benjy was inspired by Camden's Little House in the Big Woods project. So he took control of the hot glue gun (he's a natural!) and crafted this with odds and ends. He gave it to his teacher. :)

Oh, to be Emma Louise Dawn for a day.

A stray missile.

Camden's project - the Little House, the woods, the barn. ..... He's so crafty.

See Laura's swing on the tree? Those sticks came from his "climbing tree" in the backyard. Every lick of this was hot glued together by my 9 year old architect. :)

Since Eaglescout won't hijack my blog, I'll do it for him. Here's 

the 

latest 

installment 

of

.

.

.

.

.

.

 _____ Needs.

1. Curt needs to tell it. And if he won't, then I will.

2. Curt needs some wax. Gross.

3. Curt needs some surgery to pitch. Perhaps a lobotomy?

4. Curt needs our support and sympathy. Yes, generally speaking, he does.

5. Curt needs our HELP. He's really lame, apparently.

6. Curt needs to handle new HKWD_KERN_INITP HOOK. This clearly involves his super top secret CIA operative spy work.

7. Curt needs our help right away! This linked to a page with scantily clad nurses with large mammaries holding hyperdermic needles big enough for Jabba the Hut. All the nurses looked happy. I wonder if they know Curt.

8. CURT needs and will take the time and effort to organize, facilitate and make the leadership and resources available to deliver this potential to the ... riders on his bus.

9. Calling all TFF fans: Curt needs your help! TFF = Taekwondo For Free

10. Curt NEEDS Roland. Should I be jealous???

You've simply got to take 8 or 9 minutes to watch this. I promise goosebumps.

Leslie sent this to me on Facebook. Which if you're not playing on, then you should quit reading this right now and go FB for a good bit. But, if you're inclined to stick around, then try this: Type your name into Google with the word needs in quotes. For example: "(your name here) needs". Write the first 10 results in a post.

1) Wendi needs to sort through boxes that are full of craft stuff. (I swear, I swear, I swear, I didn't make that one up. Somebody out there is masquerading as ME!)

2) Wendi needs a new tatoo!

3) Wendi needs to wait a few years to be a successful part of the WWE. (Is this a union of some sort???)

4) What Wendi needs now. The perfect client for me right now is someone who is in the preliminary stages of planning their wedding or event.

5) Wendi needs to get it all together. (That's something to consider.)

6) Wendi needs better writers, because she isn’t knowledgable enough on sports.  (True dat)

7) Wendi needs more sauce on her fishcakes, but Gregg doesn't object to the sweetness of her main dish. (Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww)

8) Wendi needs to fully feed all babies and then reach the level exit, depicted by a Big Sanguinite Deposit. (As titillating as this sounds, this actually came from a gamer's website.)

9) Wendi needs the services of a true psychic so she would have known you were going to say nasty things about her!

10) Wendi's aim is off, again. (direct quote from Chief Master)

Here's an easy blog for ya:

44 Odd Things About Me

1. Do you like blue cheese? 

N.O.

2. Have you ever been drunk? 

I don't remember. hehehe

3. Do you own a gun? 

Yes, a Nerf gun.

4. What flavor of Kool Aid was your favorite? 

tropical punch

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? 

No, I take a book and relax while the kids are elsewhere. It's like a tiny resort visit.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? 

They are gross. Like a roll of Spam.

7. Favorite Christmas movie? 

Christmas Story.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? 

Black coffee

9. Can you do push ups? 

yup, and not the girlie ones either

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry?

 My great grandmother's wedding band and tiny diamond that Great Grandaddy was gonna surprise her with, till Mom blabbed to Mamaw.

11. Favorite hobby? 

making stuff out of paper and fabric.

12. Do you have A.D.D.? 

Possibly. Certain sounds - like the buzz of flourescent lights - drive me bonkers and I can't concentrate on anything but the bothersome sounds.

13. What's your favorite shoes?

 my Dearfoam slippers my grandmomma gets me for Christmas every year

14. Middle name? 

Leighann

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? 

Where are my slippers???......Gotta get those wild boys in bed.......What am I gonna teach those Tiny Tigers at taekwondo tomorrow morning????

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? 

coffee, diet Pepsi, wine

18. Current hate right now? 

when people don't take responsibility for their life choices

20. How did you bring in the New Year? 

Asleep, duh.

21. Where would you like to go? 

south - home

22. Name three people who will complete this? 

Leslie, Mom, and Jodee

23. Do you own slippers? 

Yes. Many, many, many pairs.

24. What color shirt are you wearing right now? 

light blue

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? 

No. I like fine cotton sheets. But I'd never iron them. That's weird.

26. Can you whistle? 

Uh huh.

27. Favorite color?

 yellow

28. Would you be a pirate? 

Only if I can sing

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? 

I would rather take a bath, but not with a pirate

30. Favorite girl's Name? 

Emmalemmalimabean - my dog

31. Favorite boy's name? 

Michael Weston. Hey, do you watch Burn Notice???

32. What's in your pocket right now?

 I'm in my PJs. When I do wear pockets, I put my hands in them.

33. Last thing that made you laugh? 

Kickin' Curt's butt tonight in taekwondo, even if he did probably let me win.

34. Best bed sheets as a child? 

They were a happy cottony yellow.

35. Worst injury you've ever had as a child?

 I stubbed my pinky toe. Twice. It hurt.

38. Who is your loudest friend? 

I'm gonna have to go with Jodee. :) :) :)

39. How many dogs do you have?

 1 - Emmalemmalimabean, a beagle shepherd mix rescue mutt.

40. Does someone have a crush on you? 

Better be my husband

41. What is your favorite book? 

Oh this is sooooo hard. There's the entire Harry Potter series. There's Beach Music by Pat Conroy, my fave author. There's A Thousand Splendid Suns. I just can't narrow it down.

42. What is your favorite candy? 

Sugar Babies

43. Favorite Sports Team? 

Hokies and Steelers. Not quite in the same league.

44. What song do you want played at your funeral? 

Brick House. hahahaha. I crack me up. OK, John Denver's Take Me Home Country Roads. And you can throw in some Amazing Grace, too.

So I'm feeling the need to blog, but I have absolutely nothing to offer up. Except for a sinus infection which is better left undescribed. So, after searching around the web, I came up with this. It's sort of like a journal entry where I get to fill in the blanks. And I get to do it every week. That means I don't have to think for at least one blog every seven days. Not that I blog every day, but of course, who's counting?

This comes from The Simple Woman's Daybook. She describes it this way: are you content to linger on the simple things of life...then join me in taking a little look into the day plans and thoughts of those of us who are focusing on simplicity...the beauty of the everyday moments around us. That is my vision for this idea!

OK, here goes: 

Outside my window...
It's dark, as it's night time. The winds are calm compared to last night. 

I am thinking...
about Burn Notice starting in 7 minutes.

I am thankful for...
my family.

From the kitchen...
Valentine cookies dipped in white chocolate and covered with red and white and pink sprinkles are cooling. The boys will take these to their classmates with their Hoops and YoYo Valentines tomorrow.

I am wearing...
pajamas. No surprise there.

I am creating...
a blog entry.

I am going...
to watch Burn Notice tonight.

I am hearing...
30 Rock while I wait for Burn Notice to come on.

I am hoping...
that my dear friend finds peace soon. And that she knows how much we love her and her boys and that we know that while life sucks now, it won't always. She will survive. 

Around the house...
the boys are sleeping soundly. Emma is, too. And the carpets are clean.

One of my favorite things...
is eating out. Really.

A few plans for the rest of the week...
...taekwondo Friday and Saturday to make up for missing Wednesday when I was sick. 
...Valentine party at school tomorrow. Did I ever mention that I do not like school parties? I guess it's the change in routine. I don't like them. But I do them anyway. That's what teachers do.
...a special Valentine gift for Eaglescout is on its way here.
...finish reading 2nd Samuel and the latest thriller I Eaglescout gave me.
...weigh in at Weight Watchers. I missed last week, so I'm wondering how I'm doing. I've also neglected to track anything for the past two days. Woops.
...take my meds and get rid of this sinus infection.

Another picture to share...

I ate this today at TGI Fridays. It's the spinach artichoke dip with tortilla chips. Actually, I inhaled this dish. It was that good. I told you eating out was a fave for me. Eaglescout, the Eaglets, LL and I ate lunch here today on my surprise day off from school. I could get used to this.

Camden asked me today: 

Mom, were any of our relatives on the Titanic?

I told him I had no idea. But it made me wonder what urged our relatives to board a boat at some time in the past and make the move to America. I'm fairly certain they didn't use floo powder.

Why then? 

When it would have been easier to stay put. To not risk a dangerous voyage with no room service or poolside drinks or snorkeling excursions.

Why?

When it would have been expensive at best. Deadly at worst.

Why?

Was it a promise? Hope? God?

I wonder.

Because I daily find myself thanking God that I am here. 

In America. 

With the economy in a downward spiral.

With a morning newscast we call the Murder Report.

With drugged-up heroes and knocked-down politicians.

Yes, I am thankful to be here.

Because I think of where I could be.

Where I could be raising my kids. 

Where we could be struggling to merely survive.

And I'm humbled that God chose this place for me and my family.

This promised land.

Happy Birthday, 

Michelle.

I miss you.

A lot.

And your little dogs, too.

.

.

.

.

.

But not your cats. 

.

.

.

.

And now a message for all your dads out there. 

Isn't this the most precious thing you've ever seen?

I've been thinking about what I want to be when I grow up.

And I've decided to be a drummer.

A really good one who can flip a drumstick in the air and catch it without missing a beat and then go on to do a fantastic drum solo that leaves the audience spell-bound and yelling for more.

For now, though, I'm in the middle of a school year and it's just not convenient to switch jobs. 

Which begs the question that I'd like for us to explore today: If you had to pick a new job, what would it be and why would that job work out for you?

Here are my top 5 career choices, assuming the whole drum thing doesn't go as planned, and assuming that I am not a teacher, which I am, but for the blog's sake, let's just pretend.

I could be a: score keeper for taekwondo sparring matches. 

Why I'd be good at that: The score keeper holds up fingers or number cards to show the scores that the sparring opponents have earned. As a score keeper, I would just have to watch the judges and see who gets the point or two and then hold the correct number up. I can so do that. My number recognition and identification skills are quite strong. Now, you are possibly thinking, "But Wendi hates sparring. She can't even put her helmet on the right way." And that is slightly true. But as the score keeper, I would not have to know a darn thing about sparring, per se. I would just have to do the math. 

I could be a: the prop girl for HGTV 

Why I'd be good at that: I love HGTV. And I am really good at sitting down and watching HGTV. I may as well be there and log more activity points by bringing props to the designers. Plus also, I may just get to keep a few of them for myself. Start a little collection of props, you see. I would be very good at that.

I could be a: life guard on a cruise ship

Why I'd be good at that: I've been on two cruises before, and I never got sick. Not once. Well, not seasick. I like the cabins. Even the small ones. And I like the food. I've also been a life guard before and nobody drowned on my watch. Though I did get to yell at dumb twits for running around the pool. Everybody knows you WALK around a pool. Gosh. Idiots. As a cruise ship life guard I would stand at the top of the cool water slide and tell people when it's their turn to go down. I'd get a nice tan, enjoy the breeze while having a bit of shade to protect my delicate skin. If I'm super nice to people, I bet they'd even bring me snacks from the open-all-day-and-all-night snack stands. The best part: I could go down the slide when my shift is up, order a drink from a nice little bartender person, and go to my cabin for a siesta. 

I could be a: mystery shopper

Why I'd be good at that: As much as I hate shopping, spending somebody else's money and then rating how I was treated sounds like fun. I would be plenty nice, as is my nature. But if I was treated rudely, then I'd let them know about it. I just don't like rude people and I think we should boot them off the island. 

I could be a: storm chaser

Why I'd be good at that: I really love storms. Thunder storms. Snow storms. Hurricanes and tornadoes. Blizzards. Storms are my thing. I'm all about the weather forecast and I could watch the weather channel for DAYS and be content before turning to HGTV. I get so excited when storms are a'brewing. I'd rather chase a tornado than spar. I wouldn't mind getting stuck in a blizzard if I was in my big honking weather RV. And to think that I'd be working in the name of science gives me a charge. No pun intended. 

Need I say more?

Yeah, I guess I could. :)

Anatomy of a Reader

Here is Benjy reading one of his Bob Books. I love these little books from Scholastic. They were originally hand-written by a teacher for her own classroom kids with simple drawings, a handful of sight words, and easy-to-sound-out words for emerging readers. That's my Benjy, an emergent reader. Let's have a listen. 

As an emergent reader, Benjy needs a lot of support to make sense of his books. He needs strong picture clues, words he can sound out with reasonable control, brevity to hold concentration, and practice, practice, practice to build fluency. While the most important thing about reading is that it make sense, the primary purpose of an emergent level book is to support readers as they juggle phonics, meaning, and sentence structure. In short, if it doesn't sound right, it's probably not.

When Benjy read his first Bob book, he was over-the-moon happy. So was I. :)

Camden is my fluent reader. He's into chapter books (mostly about Star Wars ... no surprise there). He doesn't need pictures or short passages to get into a story. He needs background knowledge, a wide array of word patterns and parts to help with decoding new words, and an ability to construct meaning while orchestrating a variety of comprehension strategies. Fluent readers can infer what the author doesn't say. They can ask questions about their reading and answer them as they read. They visualize what they read, make connections to their books, determine important information from the unimportant, and synthesize their reading to form new understandings. Add to that: fluent readers know when their reading doesn't make sense, and they know how to fix it. 

Putting it all together is an exciting process for these readers. I never realized all the thinking that I did to understand a book until I studied literacy development. And yes, I'm just blown away to know that I do, indeed, think.  I always tell my kids: reading is thinking. 

Oh well. That's enough of that. I have no idea why I blogged this. I just found the little comparison of Camden and Benjy's reading development so fascinating, so right on, so real. 

Eaglescout earned a new badge tonight - his black belt badge. I'm just so darn proud of him. 

His Eaglets are proud of him, too. 

He claims he was "stunned" when he got his belt. I think it was my surprise kiss when he came up to get his belt. That was stunning, I know. The belt was a breeze. :)

Here is His Highness signing the Black Belt Book.

I was in charge of The Book tonight. You can imagine how special I was feeling.

Here's the Eagle NAILING his board break. You could hear those boards CRACK.

State Champ also got her black belt tonight. I have better pictures, but I really like how you can see the State Champ badges on her back here. I think I can replicate them and put some on my uniform if I just enlarge this a bit.

And check out Gimp. She had to hop all night because of that broken toe. Kidding, she passed her red-belt-forever-before-you-can-be-a-black-belt testing. Even with a broken toe.

Here's moi last night doing my form. I later got a purple belt. It's very royal. I think I look down right majestic with it on. Almost as majestic as Lady Leslie. :)

And here is my favorite little Tiny Tiger. Benjy got his first belt last night - orange. He looks like an honest to goodness tiger with it on. :)

Sadly, Camden had to take this testing off because of his broken finger. But he's excited to jump in next time. 

Lookie what Eaglescout did tonight. I peeked out the window when I saw movement in the driveway. "Oh, he's gonna shovel," I thought. Strange, since we usually just drive over the snow and let the sunshine do its magnificent job of melting it for us. No wasted energy here. And then he comes back in, motions me upstairs, and tells me to look out the window. 

Ah.

He wrote our code in the snow. How darn cute is that? Is Eaglescout flirting with me? Did he just love the Little Caesar's commercial or what? He gets the flirt badge, that's for true.


And now, for the hero of the night, the one who doesn't flirt with me.

Go Steelers!!!

You're asking yourself about now, "Is Wendi so hungry from counting points over in Casa de Weightloss that she's youtubing pizza commercials? Is she that far gone?" Well, you wouldn't be far off the mark, because, yes, I am a bit on the hungry side and I'm all outta points for today. 

But this commercial is special. 

Back when Eagle Scout and I were but wee grown-ups, fresh out of college with nothing but the future to our names, we met at the Roanoke Times newspaper in town. We both were editorial assistants in the newsroom. Don't be fooled. The name sounds lofty, but it basically means we ran around the newsroom assisting the editors and reporters who had the real jobs. And we typed the free obits and weather for the next day's paper. Really, though, it was a cool place to work, and to this day, I often dream of working in a fast-paced newsroom again. I just don't wanna do the obits.  

So, we had this primitive version of email there - this was in 1990 when the internet was on the edge of something, but not there. I guess Al Gore hadn't got the patent squared away yet. So, we could message each other at the paper. I was WGibson. He was CRichert. Everybody sat at these hulking big computers with green dot matrix screens and worked on news copy and messaged each other in four lines of text or less. We had a pre-texting language of abbreviations like "wen r we goin 2 eat?" We didn't know how advanced we were at the time, but I guarantee every employee there can text their butts off now. 

So, as the Eagle Scout and I fell in love (aaaahhhhhhhh), our messages were sometimes not about what we'd eat or who died or what the weather would be the next day. Sometimes we just wanted to say "You look good in those jeans." and "I love you." And that just didn't seem kosher because we knew that our messages traveled clear around the sun and back and were stored on the Giant Computer someplace in the building. We were trying to be appropriate and all. That's so Eagle Scout, huh? Clearly, we needed a code.

This Little Caesar's commercial was hot at the time, all over the TV. And though we worked at a newspaper and got a free subscription as a perk, we still watched television. Don't let that little irony escape you. And, to top it off, we actually did like Little Caesar's Pizza. So, we're watching this commercial and we're just blown away by the talents of the little dog who learned to say "I love you." It made us laugh. And so we began to bark like the little dog, barking "Arooooo" as our own secret code to "I love you." Clever, no? Like I said, we had nothing but the future....

To this day, we still sign our cards "aro" and say "aro" even though we no longer need to send secret messages to each other. Now, we're pretty much just creatures of habit. And we're lazy.  

Aro, Eagle Scout!

It was hard to narrow this post down to my top 13 all-time favorite children's books, but I did it. In spite of the bitter winds and blowing snow, I did it.

I read this book a thousand times to Camden and then ten thousand times more to Benjy. I have it memorized. Apparently, Maurice Sendak orignally wanted his Wild Things to be horses, but he said he couldn't draw horses so he turned them into monsters. I like the monsters better than I would have liked horses. 

The night Max wore his wolf suit

and made mischief of one kind and another

his mother called him Wild Thing.

And Max said

I'll eat you up!

So he was sent to bed

without eating anything.

That very night in Max's room

a forest grew and grew and grew

until the ceiling hung with vines

and the walls became the world all around him.

And an ocean tumbled by

with a private boat..........

Trixie Beldon was the chapter book series of choice for me when I was a kid. Nancy Drew wasn't for me. But I did have a crush on one of the Hardy boys from the TV show - Parker Stevenson. I think I read all the Trixie books. But I couldn't tell you one single thing about them now. 

Oh. My. Gosh. 

This author is my new favorite kids' book writer on the planet. 

He is understated, grown-up and kid-like at the same time. I have all his books. And my kids at school strive to write like Mo. And we draw pigeons all the time. Love this guy.

This author wrote his first book when he was 5. And on every page were the words "No, David." and a picture of him doing something that he wasn't supposed to do. I love how the book's happy ending reassures us that no matter what horrible, awful, terrible things we do, our moms still love us.

Junie B. Jones is my favorite first grader on the planet. She talks like a first grader, bad grammar and all. She acts like a first grader, self-centered much of time. And she cracks me up. Completely cracks me up. I love this whole series, and my first graders BEG me to read a new one between every other chapter book we share after recess. There's nothing like a roomful of kids relaxing on pillows, blankets, and carpets, giggling their heads off over Junie B.'s antics.

This was one of my earliest reads. Except for the "bureau drawer" page. That's a tricky word.

I read every single Harry Potter book and I wish Hogwarts lasted longer than seven years so I could read more. I was on pins and needles between every book. This is a perfect story for kids and grown-ups alike. Now, where's my broom? I've gotta run.

Another from a series by Mo Willems. These are so simple yet so perfectly wonderful to read aloud. And my firsties are eating these up, reading them fluently and with such expression. Mo would be so proud!

Cynthia Rylant. Love. Her. Books.

Doreen Cronin writes such funny stories. And she's been writing them since she was a first grader. Ahhhhh. AND, her favorite foods are grilled cheese sandwiches and chocolate shakes. (Wonder how many POINTS that is......)

Same author as the Diary of a Worm. Written in 20 minutes. It's HILARIOUS!

I cry every year when I read the part where Charlotte dies. This is powerful writing.

It's just fun to say "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day." Try it.

Leslie facebooked this, and I thought it'd make an easy post. So here goes:

16 random facts about me

1: I would rather drink my veggies than eat them.
2: I can remember the gas lines of the '70s and Cabbage Patch dolls. I used to have one named Bryant Nathan till Michael lost him.
3: One of my favorite things is telling kids they have jumped up in reading levels. They love to see how they've grown in their reading journey.
4: I take a nap most every single afternoon when I get home from school.
5: I am addicted to LOST.
6: I read The Report Card last night - a chapter book Camden's teacher is reading to his class. I just got hooked!
7: I will (hopefully) get my taekwondo purple belt on Tuesday night.
8: I have a sister who lives in the most desired resort in the universe - heaven.
9: I would rather get my news from The Colbert Report than CNN.
10: I make stuff up. Really. I have to create stuff to relax. And take naps, of course.
11: I love to surf the literacy education blogs. It's actually almost as relaxing as making stuff up.
12: I love disco and snow cream and Jesus.
13: I used to want to be a veterinarian. Now I want to be a drummer. Rock on.
14: I am applying to renew my National Board Certification in early childhood education. Because I will probably never be a drommer. Teach on.
15: I fondly remember my days at band camp.
16: I will read anything written by Mo Willems.

Coming tomorrow: Favorite children's books

Pray for SNOW AND SUBZERO TEMPS IF YOU'RE REALLY MY FRIEND!!!!!!!!!!!

Today at 1:27 I thought about where I was nine years ago at that very moment.

Far away in a hospital in Virginia, my eyes were straining to focus on a Diet Pepsi. My epidural was dripping into my happy-at-last back. I could feel nothing so I had to wait for the nurses to tell me when to push. They only had to tell me twice. 

And then there he was. Camden Neil. 

My own little Jedi was born. He was a little bundle of just under 7 pounds. He cried. I cried. He was hungry. So was I. I ate a hospital tray of cardboard food while he fussily tried for Mommy milk. That night he pooped while he was in the room with me. I thought I'd be a knowledgable new mom and change his diaper all by myself. Long story short: I had to call for the nurse who taught me the ins and outs of baby butt wiping and have clean sheets put on my bed. Camden's was my first diaper change. I don't count the time I had to ask for help doing one when I mistakenly signed up for nursery duty in church once. I never did that again. 

 

Today he is a 62 pound string bean who looks more and more like his father every day. He's blessed to have his dad's handsome good looks. I pray one day he'll have his dad's gentle, patient disposition. Right now he's saddled with my uptight impatient tendencies. 

Here's a shot of Camden's new broken finger. He got it slammed in a door after school on Thursday. They interrupted the faculty meeting to get me. He was crying so hard. The finger was blue and bloody and looked crushed. We wound up at Children's Hospital where a plastic surgeon had to reset the bone and put two sutures in the finger. 

And Camden was the bravest kid I know. It would have taken 10 nurses to hold me down when they numbed his finger. Not Camden. I know God's angels were right there with him because this child of mine, this amazing little boy who's also a big boy, started giggling as the doctor e-v-e-r so s-l-o-w-l-y injected the numbing medicine into the space between his pointer and middle fingers. The more the doctor wiggled the needle around, the more Camden laughed. What's up with that?  And when the doctor manipulated the bone back into place, my son just jabbered away. He wasn't necessarily quiet, in spite of the late hour. (We got to Children's at 7 p.m and left there around 12:45 a.m.) 

He goes back for a follow-up appointment tomorrow where new X-rays will be shot and the surgeon will determine if he needs surgery. If the bone's still right where it's supposed to be, then he's good to go. Of course, I've banned any sparring in this house for the immediate future. 

Happy birthday, my sweet boy. I love you to the moon and back and to infinity and beyond and back and more than that.