The Turkey Game

I have always loved to play games and my son is no different. I've decided to take advantage of this and create our own board game. I call it the Turkey Game because the game pieces that I found lying around the house are the shape of turkeys.

In addition to my 4-year-old son, I have a 16-year-old step-daughter. I remember studying with her for tests and it was so boring. This is my solution to studying without the boring.

For our game we read a question and when we get it right, we roll the die and move that many spaces. You can send people home by landing on the same space. The first person to get all of their pieces home wins.

Of course you can make up your own rules.

You will need:

Cardboard to create the game board. If you want to get a little fancier you can buy a blank game board online. There are also sites where you can print a template to use.

Index Cards to write the questions on. The questions for my 4-year-old include simple addition, spelling, what street, town, state, and country he lives in, drawing simple geometric shapes, etc. This game could also be adapted for my 16-year-old when she is studying for, let's say Anatomy. And we can all play together at the same time!!

Game Pieces. I was lucky enough to have these 14 turkeys lying around the house, but you could use buttons, coins, or buy pieces online.

Paper and Pencil for the drawing questions for solving math problems.

Dice.



I was able to pull my son away from Wii for a few minutes to give this game a try. I will say that the game was successful. And the added success was that I used the same question cards as he did. So he was able to see/hear the answers to questions he may get the next time around.

2010 To-Do List

1) Have a baby - I suppose I'm doing this one whether I like it or not.
2) Redecorate the living room. That room is in need of carpeting, new windows, a little paint, and some wall art.
3) Increase Emergency Fund - Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
4) Lose the baby weight - I've done it before (twice) and I'll do it again!
5) Update scrapbooks and keep them updated. I guess it's about time to have another workshop.
6) Research local things to do this summer for our stay-cation. This will help with #3.
7) Update my curriculum. I will need a little help from the district on this one.
8) Fix up the back yard. Have trees cut down, pour patio, and remember to water plants.
9) Fix up bar room enough to have a party!!
10) Take advantage of the library more often.


What is on your to-do list for the next year?

For the Greater Good

There is a dangerous intersection in my community. The cost to make this deadly intersection safer is apparently $155,000 for a traffic light and 1 human life.


When the township decided to replace the blinking light that has been there for decades with a traffic light, they knew that things would get worse before they got better. Twelve days after the initial operation of the new traffic light, a woman was killed.


Of course I feel awful about the woman...but I have other thoughts too. The person driving the other vehicle...his life is ruined whether it was his fault or not. The woman's family will never enjoy a Christmas holiday without remembering these events. And worst of all is all the people that will be safe because of this woman's sacrifice and never know it or think about it.

Mom Was Right - Leg Cramps and Lip Pinching

I'll get right to the point. When you have a cramp in you calf, pinch your upper lip as hard as you can and the cramp will go away - so my mom says.

My mom read this somewhere, tried it, and it worked for her. Wow, did make a fool out of her when we were kids. We joked that of course you won't feel the leg cramp anymore, your lip hurts too much. Either your lip or your ego from looking like a fool....hopping around on one foot while pinching your lip.


I did some research online:


eHow suggests this...
1) Rub your leg and put your leg out straight and flex your foot.
2) Stretch before exercise.
3) Diet - Get plenty of water and calcium, avoid sodium.
4) Take a carnitine supplement


Articlebase.com says...
They also agree to rub your leg and watch your diet...then the very last paragraph of the article states:
One pressure point is between and to the front of the space between your big toe and the second toe. Firm pressure with one or two fingers at the onset of cramp will stop it instantly. The other pressure point is the Septum? Which is the lower bone between the nostrils? Firm pressure on this point with the inside of the forefinger at the first sign of lower leg cramp will stop it dead. This last one sounds silly I know but please try it as it nearly always works.


My Personal Research:

Since I'm in the second half of my pregnancy, I have the pleasure of almost nightly leg cramps and get do conduct my own research. Now, the pain usually makes me forget my mother's advice, but after a few seconds I remember and think, "Ah, what they hell, it can't hurt to try". Ladies and Gentlemen, she was right. Within a few seconds the pain slowly goes away and I am able to flex my foot and rub my leg. Thanks mom! You were right....sorry I laughed at you.

The Rabbit Died....Over 5 Months Ago

That's right...I'm pregnant. This is not exactly a planned pregnancy, but it certainly is a wanted one. Since I'm a teacher we usually try to time things so that I don't need to take time off of work. A due date of the end of May/beginning of June is ideal for us. However, this child is coming in the beginning of April. When I say that this was not exactly planned, the baby will be coming a little earlier than expected.

The day we found out I remember feeling a huge wave a relief in not having to try. Everything was done and we didn't have to feel the pressure of a deadline for our specific window. Whew!

It's another boy and we are beyond excited. No names yet, but I will keep you update...I promise.

Holy Flying Bats Batman!!

Just this past week I started reading the Harry Potter series and I am on the second book. Last night I was home alone reading in bed. In the book it is October and Harry and his friends walk into the great hall and start describing the Halloween decorations one of them being real bats flying around. Just as I read that I saw a shadow out of the corner of my eye.

Oh Ha Ha imagination - I'm not falling for it. You just want me to believe that there is a real bad flying around my bedroom. But the shadow was not relenting. So, against my better judgement I look....and scream! There is a bat flying around my bedroom...




I throw the quilt over my head and begin to wonder how I'm going to get my phone without the bat getting me.

I do get to my phone and call my husband who made it home in record time by the way.

I crawl down the steps (yes crawl) with a queen size quilt over me.

Dan comes home to find nothing. Nora, are you sure that you saw a bat?

Breakfast as a Class?

I have something to say. There has been something bugging me for a while - Public Education. I have been teaching for 9 years and I have often encountered the situation where I am blamed for a student's failing grade. And not only by the student, but by their parents. Many of these parents see no responsibility in their child's education. Honestly, by the time their children are in high school the parents shouldn't have to be too involved.

That isn't even the point of my post...I read an article in the paper this morning about public schools serving breakfast. Serving breakfast is not the issue either. It's breakfast counting as educational time for the students. The example the paper uses is about a 7th grade student who is too lazy to wake up early enough to eat breakfast. So then the poor child can't concentrate during his morning classes. One question - Where are his parents? Why don't they make sure his butt is out of bed? And now the responsibility falls on the schools again to raise their children. The article goes on to say that there are families struggling to feed their children due to the economy - and I get that. But there's no reason we have to give up instruction time to feed them. At our school we serve breakfast, but it's before the morning bell rings - no instruction time is lost.

Not only do we have the talk with them, and test their eye sight, and test their hearing, and teaching them how to interact with each other, and provide free sports activities, but now we will also give up our time to feed them. Why don't we just set up a few dormitories and have them live at school? Then the parents wouldn't have to pretend to do any parenting.

Whew! I feel better. Thanks. That won't happen again...for a while anyway. What do you think? Am I out of line here?

Looking Back

What do The Bucket List and The Last Lecture have in common?

They both refer to the to-do list that people make. The list of things to do before they die. For this post I've decided to work this idea backwards. I am going to look at what I have accomplished, both planned and unplanned, that I am proud of none-the-less.

If you remember I was rather upset about turning 30. Don't remember? Click here.

So, let's take a look back into my golden twenties in no particular order:

I suppose the biggest thing was buying my own house when I was 22. After one year of my 'real' job I wanted to move out of my parents' house. I had my mind set that I would not rent. My thought process was that I have to make a monthly payment regardless, why not pay myself? So, I did some research and the median age of first time home buyers is 32 (according to realtor.org). That's 10 years older than I was. That's 2 years older than I am right now. So, yes. I am pretty darn proud of that fact.

Second on my list is learning to drive stick shift. I know that this doesn't seem like a big deal, but when I was first learning it just seemed so impossible. So, that first year of teaching I needed to buy my own vehicle. There was no need to drive my parents' car any longer. My choice? A toyota tocoma - stick shift of course. Yup, I bought a truck that I couldn't drive. Sounds a little crazy, but I have this incredible father who totally understood and could drive standard. So until I learned, my dad and I swapped vehicles. And every evening my dad took me out driving until I was comfortable with my new skills. I'm happy to inform you that I now drive a little kia spectra - standard transmission - and this little car is SO much fun to drive. I will never regret the decision to buy that truck. THANKS DAD!!

Here's a good one...earning both my bachelors and masters degrees in my twenties. I graduated high school in 1996 when the graduation rate was 83% (http://www.epi.org/). And I graduated from college in 2000 with my bachelors degree, only about 24% of the national population has done that (http://www.census.gov/). I also earned my masters degree a few years ago (can't remember exactly when) and only 9% of the population has accomplished that (http://www.census.gov/). I've never been in the top ten of anything - least of all my high school graduating class - but when I look at these numbers, it appears as though I've finally made to the top ten percent in my education.

Getting married to the right person is next on my list. Have you ever fallen in love with your best friend? If you have then you know where I'm going with this. When I see my husband there is a weight that is lifted off my shoulders that I didn't even know was there. I see so many relationships around me fall apart and I can't help but wish they had what I do. I don't know that this is something to be proud of as much as grateful for. I'll word it this way...I'm proud that I was smart enough to marry him.

Becoming a mother. Being a mother is nothing to sneeze at. Warning! There is a cliche coming. Motherhood is the hardest yet most rewarding job I will ever have. I love being Jared's mom. Being given the opportunity to guide a human being in this world is so incredible. Being a mother makes he want to be a better person. I absolutely love my little buddy!!

Lastly, surviving a tragedy. I don't really want to go into detail on this one, but surviving this it is something I'm proud of. At the onset of this situation we were prepared to get professional help for me if there was a need. I wondered about how this would effect my mental health, my marriage, my relationship with everyone, and my ability to work. It seems as though I made it. Our marriage is stronger than ever and all other aspects of my life have strengthen, the ones that matter anyway. By surviving this, I feel strong and I have a new view of the world and how I fit in it. I'm proud that although I could have curled up in a ball and died (figuratively) I didn't. I allowed this to only strengthen me rather than weaken me.

If you haven't seen the movie The Bucket List or read the book The Last Lecture I do recommend that you do. Time is ticking...

7th Grade Geography

My 7th grade geography teacher, Mr. Beagle, use to tell us that he was so mean so that people would remember him after he died. In the school district where I grew up we had a junior high that contained the 7th and 8th grade students. We were only a few weeks into my 7th grade year when this story takes place.

As I'm walking to school one morning a friend of mine offers me a jaw breaker which I cannot turn down. Now, it's against the rules to eat candy or chew gum in school. But, this was okay because I wasn't at school yet. As you know, jaw breakers cannot be eaten too quickly and I was just finishing mine as I was entering the building. Mr. Beagle stops me and asks me to spit out my gum. I inform him (politely I might add) that I was eating candy and I swallowed it. He told me that I could sit in his room until I was ready to tell the truth and spit out my gum.

So there I sat...alone...in his room...panicking. I was panicking not because I was afraid of being late to homeroom, I was afraid of the attention that being late would bring upon me. So I gave in...I took a tissue from my purse, balled it up, and told him that the piece of gum was in there and threw it away. Every time I saw him after that he called me 'the liar'. Ah, there she is, the liar. Oh, look, the liar is in my study hall. This devastated me. Obviously, my reputation as a goody-two-shoes did not in fact follow me to the junior high school.

All 7th grade students were required to take one quarter of geography and there was only one 7th grade geography teacher....Mr. Beagle. I had my mind set on changing his opinion of me and showing him what a great student I was. One day Mr. Beagle sprang a pop quiz on us about States and Capitals. I started to freak. But, what's this? He left the map of the united states up in the front of the room. This is not a test about the states and capitals, it's a test to see which students are observant enough to look up! This is it! This is my chance to show him that I'm smart and have common sense, and to show him that he was dead wrong about me. I start to copy down the answer and I see him walking toward me with a big smile on his face. Yes, he is smiling because he is proud and I am the only student smart enough to look up. When he reaches my desk he takes my paper and throws it away. What the hell just happened? He then says to me, "Not only are you a liar but you are a cheater as well." And he quickly takes the map away before anyone else has a chance to see it.

I'm almost happy to report that Mr. Beagle is dead and I still remember him.

Yard Sale Season

One day when I went to pick up Jared from preschool he asked, no begged, to eat lunch at Burger King. I told him that we couldn't...I didn't have money for that. He cried and begged and my heart broke. Then I had an idea, "Jared, why don't we go home and pretend that we're at Burger King. I'll make a happy meal for you."

I was surprised when his eyes lit up and he said OK.

Once we got home I made a counter between our kitchen and dining room and asked him for his order.

"I would like a cup with juice, a straw, chicken nuggets, french fries, and napkins."

While his food was in the oven I got some card stock and made containers for the fries and nuggets just like they do at the fast food places. I made sure he had some juice with a straw and served it to him on tray. He ate everything! I was going to share pictures of our lunch with all of you but I couldn't find the camera. Dan took it to take picture of the garage clean-up.

Jared enjoyed playing 'fast food' so much that I was set on painting a large cardboard box to look like Burger King for him to play in. Until I went to a yard sale this morning. Here are all of our great finds from this morning...

A McDonald's play set - without the play food - cost $5. A pair of boots for $0.50. Four book that cost $0.80 all together.

Jared has been playing with the set all morning. I can't tear him away from it.

Mystery Reader

This month Jared's preschool had a different mystery reader come to each class and read a book to the children. The mystery readers are the parents of the kids, even the child of the mystery reader has no idea who would be reading. There was no way I was going to pass up this opportunity. I took a personal day from work and prepared myself for the reading. I knew one of two things was going to happen. Either Jared was going to be excited to see me there and yell, "Mommy!" or he was not going to be happy that I was at 'his' school and yell at me to "Get out!"

After he went into his classroom (never looking back mind you), I waited in the lobby for the teacher to come and get me. Now, I talk in front of over 100 teenagers everyday without a second thought. That's no problem at all. But, as I stood there waiting I started to get butterflies in my stomach about reading to a bunch of three- and four-year-olds.

Finally Miss Donna comes to get me and tells all the students to close their eyes. I walk into the middle of the circle and sit down. "Okay, everyone open your eyes!"

Jared looks up at me and yells, "Mommy!"

Whew! As soon as I started reading the butterflies flew away. I have to tell you , if you ever have the chance to read to preschoolers jump at it. They are so lovable.

My Husband's New Parakeet

Here's a story that my husband shared with me and I knew I had to pass this gem along....

My husband was about 10 years old and at that time his sister was 7 and his brother was 5. Their maternal grandmother had a parakeet that she no longer wanted. So, she asked Dan and his brother and sister if they wanted said parakeet. They were ecstatic. My husband remembers thinking that having a parakeet would be so cool. Just think about it, he would be the only kid he knew that owned a parakeet. All his other friends only had dogs or cats.

It was all set then. His grandmother would deliver the parakeet on her next trip to town and bring the parakeet. A few days later as promised she brought the parakeet. Dan went with her to her car to receive his new responsibility with much anticipation. However, instead of opening the back seat of the car as he assumed, his grandmother walked around to the rear of the car to the trunk. My husband thought this was unusual but didn't give it another thought. She unlocked the trunk to reveal... a dead parakeet. The poor thing died of heat exhaustion. Well, that's what they assumed, they didn't have a autopsy performed.

Me? Run?

I've never been a runner. I was even on the basketball team in high school and even then I didn't think I had any running skills - nothing that I could hold out for any length of time.

I started to get inspired last year while watching Invincible. I did blog about that movie earlier. You can read about that here. The movie isn't about running, it's about football. But there's this scene where Vince seems to be running away from the past and toward the future and I remember thinking...ah, that would be so nice...just to run.

So, I consulted with colleagues who are runners to get advice and tips. You know what I found out? Runners are the nicest people, the want to encourage you to run, they want you to succeed. I never got the impression when talking to them that we were in competition. I was further inspired to join the community of runners.

I started out on my treadmill and was doing well (for my standards anyway). So, I upgraded to the high school track that is about one block from my house. I ran about 2 or 3 days a week until I had company. I will admit this....I have trouble running in front of other people. Typing this I can see how stupid and childish I sound. When I went to the track and was met with stares of teenagers that I didn't even know, I lost my nerve and didn't go back. I'm a coward. But, I plan to be a coward no more. When I put myself outside the situation I realize that no one cares if I run or not.

Sooooo....I've started running again...on my treadmill. Once track season is over I will venture over to the track and not be afraid of a few imagined stares from teenagers.

Bella's Lullaby

As you know, I'm crazy about the Twilight Series. I've been trying to find sheet music for Bella's Lullaby. It's wasn't too difficult to find...for about $15 for a movie score. Then my husband lost his job and I had to improvise.

In the back of my head I heard a colleagues advice from a few months back, "You can learn songs from youtube". So I gave youtube a quick search and not only did I find a tutorial on Bella's Lullaby, I found sheet music. I've been playing the piano since I was in 2nd grade and I am not one to memorize. I need to see the music to get through piece. So, seeing someone else play a song on youtube didn't sound like something that would be easy for me. But, sheet music...oh, I can play if there's sheet music.

Check this out: