Silver or Gold

by Iteach

This day in history gold was discovered in the Yukon. While salmon fishing near the Klondike River in Canada's Yukon Territory on this day in 1896, George Carmack reportedly spots nuggets of gold in a creek bed. His lucky discovery sparks the last great gold rush in the American West. 

When I saw this it reminded me of a dilemma that I'm having right now.  I'm looking to buy a Mother's Ring, but I don't know if I should have the band be in silver, gold,etc.....  I don't have a preference.  So now here is a dumb question.  Should all the ring bands on your fingers be the same?  Can you have one be gold and the other white gold or is that a big no-no?  What kind of rings do you like on your fingers?  Also, what should I do with my wedding ring?

Classroom Theme

by Iteach

Yup, this is my back to school blog. I always get very excited about the new school year starting, well, except last year.  Due to the fact I had the summer from hell with you know who leaving me and then he goes to court and finalized our divorce on my first day of school. However, the kids and I had a great summer and we are off to a fresh start to a new school year.

Most primary teachers decorate their room in some type of theme.  The last two years it has been the Great Outdoors in my room and this year I'm starting off with a space theme.  I already have huge blow up planets hanging from my ceiling and I have great plans for the rest of them room.  The first day of school is Aug. 23rd just like last year, so that also means the one year anniversary of the divorce.  However, I feel very strong compared to last year and I have a feeling this school year is going to be "out of this world."

Ray of Light

by Iteach

Stop what you are doing and Listen Up!  I have some very, very exciting news to share with you.  I am scrapbooking again!!  Can you believe it?  Yes, that little black cloud moved over a bit and the creative rays are shining upon me once again. 

Okay, you can go back to sipping your coffee, eating your toast, or having your daily BM.

National Great Outdoors Month

by Iteach

Did you know that June is National Great Outdoors Month?  It sure is and I celebrated it with my family.  We went to White Pines Park last week in Mount Morris Illinois.  We stayed in a real long cabin that was made during the depression and it was just beautiful.  Surrounding the cabin was acres and acres of deep green forests with fun trails for us to walk.  The best part of the Great Outdoors was the indoor plumbing and the air conditioning inside the log cabins.  Seriously, I just don't think I'm the "roughin" type of girl who likes to sleep in tents and squats by a tree to relieve myself?  How about you?  What type of Great Outdoors person are you?

Black & White

by Iteach

Lately, I have been thinking about watching more black and white movies.  I feel that  there are so many good ones that I have not seen that I should make the time to watch.  It is always on my list to do when I get time to relax.  I have two black & white movies that are my absolute favorites that I have watched over an over. The first one is Arsenic and Old Lace.  Just by chance it was on TV about 15 years ago and I couldn't stop laughing.  I fell in love with Cary Grant and the two old ladies, wonderful acting.  The other Black & White movie is The Bells of St. Mary's.  I fall in love with that movie over and over again when I watch it.  Bing's singing is beautiful and Sister Mary Benedict's devoted faith makes me feel good inside.

Do you have a favorite Black & White movie to add to my list?

Perfume

by Iteach

Last month I read a very interesting article about the new royal couple and how Kate's wedding day perfume sold out completely. The article went on to tell how she spent a lot of time picking out just the right scent for everyone to remember her by. So then I started to think about my scent. Should I have a signature scent? A type of perfume that everyone will think, "Oh, that so reminds me of Jennifer". I usually wear whatever I get for a Christmas present, I am not loyal to any certain type of perfume.

But should I look for my signature scent? Do you have one? Are you loyal to any type of perfume?

A Day Made of Glass

by iteach

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Animal Lovers

by Jennifer

You darn animal lovers, you've started to turn me into worrying about those four legged creatures. Yes, I'm talking to all of you that visit the blog. In the past, I will admit, I usually skimmed past the comments that were in regard to anything with four legs. However, I will tell you what really turned me around was our dear friend Caryn. Every day on Facebook she shares her stories of healing dogs that were neglected. The dog's stories and all what they have been through has my heart singing a different tune in regards to caring for pets. I'm truly amazed at the dedication and love she pours into their healing process. I so admire her for it.

Yesterday, there was a homeless man on the street corner with a sign looking for work to help with gas & food. Along beside him was his trusty dog. For the first time ever I was more worried about the dog then the guy. All afternoon, I kept thinking about that dog and was wondering if he/she was up to date on its shots!

Even though I'm really now into supporting neglected animals, I still have not bonded with the cat. Cats still scare the heck out of me. They look kind of cute on a card or calender, but in person I feel like they are always giving me the evil eye. Maybe that will change one day, but I think it is going to take a while.

So now that I have turned the corner about pets, please tell me more about yours.

How Was Your Summer?

by Jennifer

Now that school is about to start, the same old question comes up in the hallway as all staff members walk past each other. "How was your summer?" I always had something fun to share when that ritual question came up, but now it is just a little awkard to answer. I pause and am not too sure how to answer. The co-workers that I'm close with don't even ask the old seasonal question, because they know. However, there are the co-workers that I really don't see during the summer and they have no idea what I have been through. I don't want to be phony and say "fine" and I also did not want to get into details, so I found my loophole to that answer. I say either interesting with a smile and quickly change the subject or talk about all the fun I had with my kids.

If I really wanted to get into details I would say "June was a bitter month for me, July was rebuilding, and August has been reflecting." Right now I have been reflecting about my new "status" in the world. It just dawned on me last week that I'm now a Ms. not Mrs. Masini. I cried at that realization. Then I started to reflect on how exactly ten years ago I was single, 8 1/2 years ago married, and now divorced. I feel a little lost in who "Jennifer" is right now, so I have decided to call September "finding Jennifer month." It is time to fall in love with myself again. I'm looking forward to getting to know "Jennifer" again.

Poo Goddess

by Jennifer

Yes, I'm the Poo Goddess. I flush more poo a day than I care to think about. :) We have 350 children at our school, and none of them seem to like to flush their poo. Every day we walk down the hall for our bathroom and drink break. We have three of those breaks every day and every day we go into the bathroom and there is poo floating in the toilet. None of the children will use the toilet until someone flushes it, which is usually me. I really didn't envision this when I dreamed of being a teacher, but Poo Goddess I am!

Now when I go to the movies or mall there is always a toilet full of poo. I never flush it. I just go to the next stall, because it makes me gag which, by the way, is why I totally try to avoid public bathrooms. However, flushing poo at school just comes second nature. I need to get the bathroom/drink break done quickly, so I just hurry up and flush.

This poo blog came to mind from little Alyssa. Little Alyssa is very petite and quiet. Well, on Monday she came running to me with a very panicked look on her face. "Mrs. Masini, Mrs. Masini my poo is too big to flush, I can't get it down. Please help me!" said little Alyssa. Well, like any caring teacher I ran down to the bathroom and it flushed for me. She was so relieved and thankful. I explained to her sometimes poo does that and you just have to wait and flush again.

So to sum it all up, some days, I feel like a Poo Goddess! :)

Where is the Sun?

by Jennifer

Dear Sun,

I am writing this letter to let you know how much I miss you. It has been ten days since the last time I saw you and it looks like you will not come back again for another nine days. Nineteen days without you just breaks my heart.

I remember the last time I saw you. It was nine days ago at recess time. You briefly came out to visit and it was such a joyous moment. I remember putting my face directly into your light soaking up your goodness. I felt like a welted flower that so desperately needed your light to grow.

I will be anxiously waiting for your next visit you are so important to me. Take care and godspeed!

Love,
Jennifer

When you Wish Upon a Star........

♪♪ When you wish upon a star, makes
no difference who you are anything your
heart desires will come to you ♪♪

by Jennifer

That is the intro to one of my favorite songs from Disney and I still get goose bumps every time I hear it. Today is Walt Disney's 108th birthday and I wanted to take a moment to remember his great accomplishments. I have always been in love with his movies and his theme parks. I also admire him for not giving up and not letting his dreams die. If you have time google his biography on wikipedia. He started off with nothing and worked hard all his life to succeed. During his life journey he had many set backs, but he still kept trying. I can't imagine what the world would be like with out all the great entertainment that he has provided for everyone. He was truly a genius.

My all time favorite movie has always been Snow White. It was interesting to read the history of that movie. It was his first full length movie film and he went bankrupt trying to make it. Hollywood joked about it and called it "Disney's Folly". He begged at banks to get more money to finish the film. He finally did and it became an instant success. I watched it with my mom at the theater and now my daughter watches it with me.

I just want to say "Happy Birthday " to Walt and thank him for enriching my life.

National Sandwich Day! (yesterday)

by Iteach

Can you believe Nov. 3rd was National Sandwich Day and we forgot to honor it? :) Geesh what is the world coming to! :)

When I read that Tues. was National Sandwich Day it had me thinking. I was thinking that I love sandwiches, but I'm really not good at making them. Mine always look lame and sad. However, I have seen people put a lot of love in their sandwiches and they look like a piece of art when they are done.

Then I started to think about sandwiches from my youth. I now know why my mom always made us PB & J , it is such a cheap meal! Unfortunately out of the four kids in our house only one likes PB & J. Two like just PB and the other kid doesn't like PB or J.

I think sandwiches have been getting a lot of heat lately. People can just about pick apart about anything you want to eat. "Watch out for the bread, it has too many carbs" or "Watch out for the deli meat, it has too much sodium". Sometimes, I just say poo to it all and eat my sandwich. I so love a grilled cheese sandwich with extra pickles on the side!

In case you were wondering it was John Montagu who invented the sandwich. He was an Englishmen from the 18th century. He was playing cards and he only wanted to eat with one hand, so he ordered his servants to put his meat between two slices of bread.

I'm so salivating at the mouth right now thinking about sandwiches, I'm off to enjoy one from Subway!

My Morning

by Iteach

Do you have a set morning routine? Are you a creature of habit like me and have to start your morning of a certain way every day? Is your morning hectic like mine or is it more leisurely? I often think of you guys in the morning as I drive to work and wonder how you start day off. Here is my mornings and they are pretty much set in stone.

I wake up at 5:30 without hitting the snooze button. We are cursed with only one bathroom, so I shower first. Then I make my cereal and go to the computer. I farm and read the news while munching on my cereal. Then I do the clothes, hair, and make-up routine.

At 6:45 the Mr. and I work at getting the children up. Only one likes to get up ready the other two take forever. Hubby makes their pancakes and waffles while I try to get their grumpiness away. Then Dean has time to help get one kid dressed and then he is off to work. I get the other two dressed and holler at them to brush their teeth. All backpacks are lined up at the door from the night before.

It is now 7:30 and the race starts. I have to take each kid to a different place. Philip is dropped off at his babysitter's house at 7:35. She takes him to school and picks him up. She is a wonderful elderly lady who loves Philip to pieces. Philip calls her grandma and she spoils him with marshmellows.

At about 7:45 I roll into Carolyn's babysitter's house. She doesn't like to be called a babysitter. She likes to be called a child educator. I still think she is a babysitter, but I just keep that in my head. She does a wonderful job with the group of 2-4 year olds that she watches.

Then at 7:52 I drop Matthew off at Grandma's house. Matthew goes to the special ed. preschool in the morning and the bus picks/drops him off at grandmas. When we searched for babysitters none of them wanted to mess with a bus. Grandma happily volunteered. In fact she wanted Carolyn too, but I declined. She is retired and I felt guilty about using all her time up with grandchildren. She has Matthew for half the day at that works out well. Matthew and Philip start school at the same exact time, so grandma couldn't watch Philip.

Finally, at 7:59 I roll into school. My contract states that I have to be there by 8:00, so it works out. Sometimes, I'm a few minutes late, but I always call the principal and tell him. He doesn't mind at all, because he knows I work late every night.

I'm very lucky that I live in a town that is easy to get to about everywhere in five minutes. So how does your morning roll?

Johnny Appleseed

by Jennifer (iteach)

Every year at this time I teach a whole week theme on apples. We discuss the growing cycle of the apple, products that come from apples, apple tasting graph, and apple art work. The children love to work with the apples and it is a lot of fun. My very favorite part of this unit is Johnny Appleseed.

Have you heard of him? Did you discuss him at school? He is personally a hero of mine and I so enjoy talking about him to the students. Here is a little background information about him. Johnny Appleseed is a popular folktale about the life of John Chapman, a man who lived from 1774-1845. Born in Leominster, Massachusetts, John loved apple trees and apples.

As John watched apples grow, he became very interested in all of nature. He often played in the nearby forest and made friends with animals.

As soon as he was old enough, John traveled west to Ohio, planting apple orchards for new settlers. Along the way, as an explorer and adventurer, he cleared forests, slept and played with animals, befriended Indians, and other strangers, and survived many dangers. Johnny was so well- loved and respected by all who knew him that over the years legends spread about the man whom everyone came to call Johnny Appleseed.

As you can tell Johnny was a peacemaker. I always incorporate his peacemaking skills into our classroom. When there is a conflict in the room, I always say , "What would Johnny do?" . I know very corny, but it works with the little ones. Happy Johnny Appleseed Day!!!!

My Other Children

by Iteach

Starting August 24th, I will have 28 children. Nope that wasn't a misprint, I will have 28 children. Three are biological, one is a stepdaughter, and the other 24 are my second graders. Here are the names of my newest family members:

Timothy, Elijah, Jurrian, Arleth, Breyman

Tyler F., Nadya, Abigail, Chris, Kyle

Tyler L., Daniel, Dillon, Richard, Daricka

Sammy, Summer, Marly, April, Macayleigh

Kamden, Hayleigh, Riley, Thomas,

I think of them as family from day one until to day number 175. I wipe away tears, laugh with them, and teach them all that I know. I constantly worry about them and they are always in my thoughts. Every morning I jump out of bed and I can't wait to see what the new day will bring for us.

I received my class list today and I have been writing their names all over the room. On their locker, desk, and mailbox. I daydream what the new year will bring. Every single year is full of surprises. Some are happy and some are sad. I have all there names memorized in my head and they are already tugging at my heart.

So with a Diet Pepsi in my hand, I'm toasting to a new school year full of learning, laughter, and hope!!

Good News!!!!!

by Iteach

Boy, do I have some great news to share with you.


However, I don't know how to say it?

Part of me wants to run naked up and down the street yelling "My husband has just been offered an awesome job."

Part of me wants to put a big tattoo on my forehead that says "My husband has accepted a job that he is proud of."

Part of me wants to cry, hug, and kiss everything that comes into my path without saying a word.

If you could see our smiles it would say it all.

This job is exactly what my husband, Dean loves to do and he is excited. I really don't feel comfortable, yet, saying the name of his company, due to this being a public blog. However, I will share with you that he will be one of the product managers of a company that produces such things as tools, hoses, and sprinklers.

The job is 1 1/2 hours away, but it is worth it. We already have a plan in motion for the commute. Some days he will drive there and home, some days he might stay at a hotel, or some days he might stay with my sister's family who lives real close to it.

I can't even begin to explain all what is running through our heads right now, but it is all good. We have so much to do in so little time to get organized and ready. The funny part is that he starts his new job, I go back to school, and the boys all go back to school on the same day, Aug. 24th. Isn't that funny !

It is very hard to organize my thoughts right now to make this blog flow. However, there is one important point that I for sure want to express and that is my gratitude to my fellow owl friends. Your e-mails, cyber hugs, and laughs have helped me keep my chin up. It is truly amazing how supportive you have been to us. Thank you so much, you will always have a special place in my heart.

Stepmother

by Iteach

Are you a stepmother? Do you have a stepmother? I'm a proud stepmother of a ten year old girl, Grace. Hubby and I started dating when she was 13 months old. It has been an incredible journey for the past nine years.

At first, it was easy being a stepmom because she was so young when we met. Her parents were never married and they had never lived together, so it made the transition in the beginning easy. At the age of three, Grace used to draw pictures of her mom, dad, herself, and me all sleeping in the same bed. Then by 3 1/2 she started to see that her friends had moms and dads that lived together. So then she started drawing pictures of her mom & dad in bed together and me in the next room.

Then came the age of four when I wasn't in her drawings anymore. She really wanted her mom and dad to live together. It hurt a little but I totally understood. It was a tough phase but we made it through together.

Stepmotherhood is similar to motherhood, but then different too. It is hard to explain the difference. Sometimes it feels more like I'm the Aunt. It is hard to define, but I do know I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I'm really proud of the relationship that we have and how we continue to work on it. There are bound to be more bumps in the road as she gets older, but I feel confident that we will be able to work through them.

My Team

by Iteach

Shhhhhhh, listen....do you hear it? Listen again..........It is the faint sound of the school bell going off to start a new school year. Now is the countdown for back to school which is Aug. 24th. Last May I was so excited for a summer break and now I'm excited to go back. I am very lucky that I have a job that makes me jump out of bed every morning with a smile on my face. There was only one summer that I was not looking forward to going back to school and that was five years ago. I still tremble when I think about it.

Five years ago our school district was in a big financial mess. Unfortunately the school board had to make some hard decisions. They decided to close down one of the schools. The teachers and students from that school were moved to our building. Let me tell you something, that did not go well at all. It was a nightmare. The teachers were very upset about moving to our school and they had a very hard time adjusting to the transition. So now there were four teachers teaching second grade and I was so nervous about working with them. They had a terrible reputation of being negative. I kept telling myself, no big deal, just stay in your room and worry about yourself. Well, that would have worked until my principal shot that idea out of the water.

My principal decided each grade level needs to work like a team. He set up grade level meetings each week and always had an agenda for us to work on together. It started off all on the wrong foot. It was so hard for all of us to agree and to work together comfortably. At that time I was on my 12th year of teaching and they were all on their 28th. I basically just sat at those meetings and nodded my head. Teaching 30 children was easier then trying to work my three co-workers. I honestly didn't think we were ever going to gel, but eventually we did.

I can't even tell you when it happened, but somewhere down the road we learned to work together as a team. It was a lot of hard work and it also took time. I'm so glad I didn't give up and stuck with it. We are certainly not "best buds", but there is not all that anxiety at the meetings. I'm very proud of the accomplishments that we made together as a team. In fact one of my team members will be retiring this year and I think I will miss her. lol

I have often heard that getting along with co-workers is a common theme everywhere. Is that true? How were/are you with your co-workers?

SMV, for my Mom!

Chosen by Iteach

A few weeks ago I dedicated a Sunday morning video to my dad. It was so easy to do, because my dad and I enjoy the same type of music. It was so much fun to write it and pick out the music. So now the catholic guilt has kicked and I feel guilty for not doing one for my mom. I know exactly why I've been dragging my heels to write this blog, because I know exactly which song I have to pick.

When I was growing up my parents always played the music they grew up with in the car. It didn't bother me at all, I loved most of that music. My mom and dad always took turns playing their favorite tape. I loved it when it was my dad's turn. I could expect the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, or Fats Domino. However, when it was my mom's turn I would totally cringe when she picked......Gene Pitney.

Oh man, did his music use to drive me crazy. I would close my eyes and try real hard to drown his music out. Boy, did my mom like his music. She would sit there with a slight smile on her face with a calm far away look. For the life of me I couldn't understand why she liked him. So now 30 years later, I still don't understand. However, through maturity and growing old, I have learned to appreciate how he makes my mom happy. So I have caught myself once or twice actually requesting it in the car with her, because I like to see her face light up.