Class it up!

Okay, so I've been moaning and groaning all year about the tiny size of my classroom (a.k.a. cubicle) here are the pics I've been promising to post (for some of you). In hindsight, I guess I just didn't know how good I had it last year. Now I know I'll never any space for granted again. I've included a pictures of my first classroom and desk, just to see the contrast to this year's digs. It might be hard to appreciate the actual dimensions of each room, but imagine it full of kids and that it's about the size of a typical bedroom. The walls are the same you'd find in an office building full of cubicles, so it can get kind of loud at times. The moral of this story is like any situation you have no control over, you make the best of it and get creative.

Last year:

My first classroom.

Imagine 25 sixth graders filling this room.

My desk is hidden behind the many bins and trays.

This year:

Cute and cozy.
The flowers were a gift for Teacher Appreciation Day.

What you see is what you get.

This is our makeshift hallway.
We fit three classrooms into the overall space.

Spring Cleaning and Catch-Up

Not only did I spend most of my afternoon today cleaning half of my living room, but I found the elusive cord that allows me to upload pictures from my digital camera. Woohoo! It is like my lifeline to friends and family that look forward to pics of the kids and such. So consider this walk through pictures my recap of some of the highlights of the goings on in our life over the last couple of months.

The kids with their baskets on Easter morning.

Enjoying Easter brunch Grandma Jeanne at Embassy Suites.

Easter Bunny on ice.

K at her Kindergarten Celebration/Graduation.

K demonstrating some of her new skills.

She's a budding painter!

Riding the carousel at the Rose Festival down by the waterfront.

N and I holding on for dear life on the ferris wheel.

K kickin back on this ride. She's fearless!

Coincidences

Lately I've been thinking about the idea of coincidences and fate. I happened to catch Serendipity, one of my all-time favorite movies, this past weekend. It's a film about a man and a woman and how through series of fateful events, find true love. Is the universe at work or is it all merely coincidence? Here are some personal examples of things I found coincidental:

• When I was sixteen, I studied abroad over the summer in Japan. While I was sitting down trying to fix my hair, I accidentally set a hot curling iron down on my leg (thigh). The burn caused a scar. When I was seventeen, I returned to Japan. Once again, I accidentally set my curling down on my leg (other thigh) and caused another scar. What are the odds?!
  


• My two children were both born on a Friday, exactly six days past their due dates. A couple hours after giving birth to my son, I found myself watching a rerun of one of my favorite shows, Mad About You. Ironically, it was the one where Jamie gives birth to their child. After the birth of my daughter, I caught a rerun of one of my other favorite shows, Friends. Strangely enough, it was the one where Rachel gives birth.
  


• My cousin Terry and I share the same birthday, December 14th. We are several years apart in age as are our children. However, his firstborn son and my firstborn son also share the same birthday, September 29th. He also has a younger daughter, as do I.
  


• Just last week, we were getting ready to attend K's Kindergarten graduation. While were were waiting to leave, K sat on my lap as we watched a rerun of Beverly Hills 90210's high school graduation episode. I was already feeling mixed emotions about my baby girl growing up too fast and to add the nostalgia of a show I loved during my high school days (I was class of '92) was an interesting walk down memory lane and a little ironic.
  


• Also this past Saturday, I was hanging out at the park with a neighbor friend, while our daughters had a playdate. As it turns out, her 5 year old daughter shares a birthday with K. Both will turn six on June 6th!

It seems as though many of the coincidences that I come across are related to songs or shows that somehow parallel my reality somehow. It's kind of like when you are My best friend and I often joke about how we also live parallel lives in that we often experience similar things at the same time. As I go to thinking more about coincidences, I came across some online during my cyberspace travels. Here a just a few even more fascinating ones:

• On the 26th November, 1911, three men were hanged at Greenberry Hill in London after being convicted of the murder of Sir Edmund Berry. Their names were Green, Berry and Hill.
  


• Mark Twain was born on the day of the appearance of Halley's Comet in 1835, and died on the day of its next appearance in 1910. He himself predicted this in 1909, when he said: "I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it."
  


• The British actor Anthony Hopkins [who shot to fame as Hannibal Lecter] was delighted to hear that he had landed a leading role in a film based on the book The Girl From Petrovka by George Feifer. A few days after signing the contract, Hopkins travelled to London to buy a copy of the book. He tried several bookshops, but there wasn't one to be had. Waiting at Leicester Square underground for his train home, he noticed a book apparently discarded on a bench. Incredibly, it was The Girl From Petrovka. That in itself would have been coincidence enough but in fact it was merely the beginning of an extraordinary chain of events. Two years later, in the middle of filming in Vienna, Hopkins was visited by George Feifer, the author. Feifer mentioned that he did not have a copy of his own book. He had lent the last one - containing his own annotations - to a friend who had lost it somewhere in London. With mounting astonishment, Hopkins handed Feifer the book he had found. 'Is this the one?' he asked, 'with the notes scribbled in the margins?' It was the same book.

What Means the Most

Okay, I know I've been a terrible blogger as of late. I'm so incredibly busy with the school year winding down and life always seems to take over. In my downtime, my brain is so zapped that I have nothing left to say. What's more, I've been trying to find my cord that allows me to upload pictures from my digital camera! The little memory card doesn't work with this laptop either, so I am way behind on posting pics. The camera is rapidly filling up on memory space, so I gotta find that stinkin' cord soon so I can clear it up for K's upcoming birthday!

Anyway, on the bright side there are only three weeks to go until I am officially off for the summer with the kids! I work in a different school and district, so I am actually off a week and a half before them. Their school tacked on makeup days to make up for that huge snowstorm we had back in December. As soon as they finish, they'll start their swimming lessons, much to their delight. They'll also be taking art classes. N is signed up for a graphic novel/comic book/manga drawing class, while K will be in beginning drawing. N said to me the other day that he loves summer best, because we get to hang out together and do fun activities. He hit that nail on the head. You have know idea how much this time with them means to me. Work and academics are important, but so is quality time with family in my book. For example, my mom and I made time last year to attend an annual quilt show that she loves to go to. It wasn't so much the activity, it was just the time we had together that meant so much.

On similar note, I realized that one of the reasons my best gal pal and I have managed to keep our friendship strong, has been by making a concerted effort to visit each other whenever possible. Since finances are usually tight for both of us, it is a rare treat. Since I have that time before the kids get out of school, my best friend and I will be meeting up in Las Vegas for a few days to spend some quality BFF bonding time. She treated me to that amazing cruise to Cozumel last year to swim with the dolphins, so I figured it was high time I somehow return the favor. I can't afford to fly her, but at least I can provide snazzy roof over her head in Sin City.

Luckily, DH and I have a timeshare so that makes it easy. If you've ever thought about getting one, Monarch Grand Vacations are awesome! I'm not trying to plug anything here, I am just thrilled to get to share this amazing resort with her. She has blessed me with her friendship in so many ways.

Here's hoping we don't melt on the tarmac upon stepping off the plane from the heat!