Father's Day Cards 2015

Here are the EXTREMELY fitting Father's Day cards Don received from the kids this year...

This first one is from Katelyn and Matt-

The card below, that WILL NOT OPEN, is from Casey...

and this more serious card is from Chase (aka Superman) and Talitha...

Real World Problem Solving

During math this morning, one little boy was having a particularly hard time following directions, so Mrs. B. asked him to sit next to me. When math time was over and the students were asked to put their worksheets away, I looked down to see him hurriedly adding this to his paper...

The worksheet (about 3D shapes) was meant to help students learn the difference between a cone and a cylinder, but this little boy observed more. In his "real world problem solving" he recognized a need for something that nobody else seemed to notice. I choked back tears as lyrics from the children's songbook from church came to my mind:

I'll Walk With You

Lyrics: Carol Lynn Pearson

Music: Reid N. Nibley

If you don't walk as most people do,

Some people walk away from you,

But I won't! I won't!

If you don't talk as most people do,

Some people talk and laugh at you,

But I won't! I won't!

I'll walk with you. I'll talk with you.

That's how I'll show my love for you.

Jesus walked away from none.

He gave his love to ev'ryone.

So I will! I will!

Jesus blessed all he could see,

Then turned and said, "Come, follow me."

And I will! I will!

I will! I will!

I'll walk with you. I'll talk with you.

That's how I'll show my love for you.

Kindergarten Science = Tasting and Spitting

Center time in Kindergarten last week revolved around the five senses theme. While I was teaching a group of students about taste at the science center, a couple of noteworthy things happened. The children were given a variety of salty, sweet and bitter food items to try (pickles, M&M's, salt, sugar, lemons, etc.). On the first day teaching this center, I must not have been clear instructing the children to spit any food out on their napkin that they didn't like. While passing out some dark chocolate, which was only about the size of a slivered almond, I explained about the word bitter and turned around to see one little girl's belly button exposed as she wadded up her shirt, trying to hide the awful mess she had created by spitting her "taste" into the pink fabric. One cannot possibly believe what a teeny tiny amount of chocolate mixed with a little saliva can do to the garment of a five year old. I tried to clean her up but to no avail. I've a feeling not even Heloise would succeed at getting that stain out.

Another day, while working with a different group of students, I proceeded to explain that we were going to taste a variety of foods, when one of the boys told me, "I can't have anything." Thinking maybe he was hesitant because he could smell the pickles, I explained that they could spit anything out that they didn't like onto their napkin. This little guy just looked at me and as serious as can be he said, "I can't eat anything. I'm dropping weight for a tournament." I could NOT believe my ears. Never, in all of my years working in Kindergarten, have I heard such a somber and troubling expression from a five year old. 

Now I could rant and rave and tell you all how I feel about a Kindergarten child being forced to lose weight for sports, but I won't. It is reasons like this that I am happy to be a teacher's assistant and not a teacher. I just pass information on to Mrs. B. and let her deal with it. 

My Kids May Be Wacky, but They're Mine

...and I love them to pieces!

Katelyn's Blog

My daughter has started a blog! It was actually an assignment in one of her college classes, but I hope she will keep it up. If you have a minute, click on the link below and take a look. Be sure to check out each of the pages and read some of her work. She's a very talented girl and I am so proud of her. 

Katelyn Lancaster Professional Blog

Do You Think They Are In Trouble?

This is my niece and nephew...



It's hard not to laugh because...

#1- They are so stinkin' cute!

#2- My brother (their dad) use to do the same thing when he was a little boy.

Chase and Talitha's Wedding

Slideshow design created with Smilebox

Special Friend of the Day

It was my turn to be "Special Friend of the Day" in Kindergarten this morning. The students asked me the following questions...

What's your favorite color?...blue
What's your favorite movie?...What About Bob?
What's your favorite vacation place?...Disneyland
What's your favorite game?...Yahtzee (Hey, I had to give them something. I couldn't very well say "Sneeki-Tiki Slot Machine".)
What's your favorite dessert?...Hot Fudge Sundae
What's your favorite shape?...uummm....Rectangle?
What's your favorite food?...Chinese
What's your favorite animal?...puppy

But the best part about being Special Friend of the Day was bringing home pictures that the kids drew of me. It's funny what each child perceives. Here are a few of my favorites:

Too bad I don't have a nose to take in the fragrance of this colossal flower.

Here I am in my cheerleader pose.

Apparently this student thinks I look more like a football player than a cheerleader.

This boy is oblivious to the fact that I have hair...

...while this girl sees me looking more like Frenchie from 'Grease'.

Again...more giant flowers with no means to smell them.
By the way, you would never catch me wearing red. :)

So what if my arms are fatter than my legs? I have got to give this
little guy credit for remembering the ID badge around my neck.

Do you detect a look of guilty surprise on my face, or is it just me,
and what do you suppose that thing is on top of my head?

Here I am inside my Nissan (complete with spoiler). This little artist is obsessed with vehicles.
He asked me a couple of weeks ago, "What kind of car do you drive and what color are your rims?"
What color are your rims! How many six year olds have asked you that question?



I have the best job in the world. Kindergarten is the shizz!

Are You Smarter than an Egg Layer?

Thanks to Chase's girlfriend's little boy, who happens to be obsessed with Elmo, I am getting reacquainted with Sesame Street.

When Chase and Cody were little, I loved watching Sesame Street with them. Not only was it educational, but Sesame Street had humor only grown ups could truly appreciate. I loved 'The Beetles' Muppets with their hit song 'Letter B' and Baba Wawa was another character that would crack me up as she impersonated Barbara Walters.

Maybe I'm easily amused, but I had Sesame Street on the Netflix Instant Queue today and watched, for the first time, this comical little skit...



Oh, come on! You've got to admit, that's funny shiz right there.

The Cost of Raising a Child

Chase is dating a girl with an adorable 18 month old baby and it has been a real eye opener for him. While shopping at Wal-Mart last night, he text me. Here is what was said...

Chase- : D Having a kid is expensive.  (as if I didn't already know)

Me- Try having four.

Chase- No thanks!

Our short conversation brought to memory a Court of Honor that I attended, where the Boy Scout's father read the following thought provoking piece:

The Cost of Raising a Child

 The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition. But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down..


It translates into:

$8,896.66 a year,


$741.38 a month, 

$171.08 a week.


That's a mere $24.24 a day, just over a dollar an hour.


Still, you might think the best financial advice is; "Don't have children if you want to be 'rich'."

Actually, it is just the opposite.


What do you get for your $160,140.00?


* Naming rights: first, middle, and last.


* Glimpses of God every day.


* Giggles under the covers every night.


* More love than your heart can hold.


* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.


* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.


* A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.


* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.


* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.


For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:


* finger-paint,


* carve pumpkins,


* play hide-and-seek,


* catch lightning bugs,


* never stop believing in Santa Claus.


You have an excuse to:


* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,


* watch Saturday morning cartoons,


* go to Disney movies, and


* wish on stars.


You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.


For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:


* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof


* taking the training wheels off a bike


* removing a splinter


* filling a wading pool


* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs and


* coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.


You get a front row seat in history to witness the:


* First step


* First word


* First joke


* First date


* First time behind the wheel


You get to be immortal.


You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.


In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!

Love and enjoy your children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.


It's the best investment you'll ever make.



If anyone knows who the author is, please let me know. I would like to give credit where it is due.

How Do You Esteem Your Mother?

I decided to post the following video for three reasons:

1) Cody was born without eyes.

2) I am a mother.

3) A great deal of my readers are parents of special needs children.


After watching the clip, please leave a comment. I would appreciate hearing your thoughts.

Kindergarten Kids are a Crack Up!

I found this on Pinterest and had to share...

Source: doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com via Erin on Pinterest

Mary Kiker would NOT want 100 Grandmas! Haha. And what is little Erica going to do with 100 trampolines...or Preston with 100 guns? :)

Our class will celebrate 100 Days of Kindergarten this coming week. If we do anything as entertaining as this, I promise to post it.

Kindergarten Art

One of the little girls in our Kindergarten class drew this picture of Mrs. B.

By looking at it, can you guess what Mrs. B’s ethnicity is?







She's Caucasian. :)

Shout Out for Cheesy Bloggers!

Thanks to my friend Lizbeth at Four Sea Stars, I discovered a blog last week called Cheesy Bloggers. Please head that way and read my post The Traumatized Tree. Who knows? You may even find yourself participating in the Cheesy Blogger Look Alike Game.

Hurry. Go!

Chase's Special Nativity Arrangement

I really don't have space in my living room to display a nativity, but I do have a large kitchen island, so I decided to place it there this year. I figure it's better than not displaying a nativity at all.

Anyway, Chase spent some time at the house this afternoon and when Chase is here, he usually does something to leave his mark. Today he chose to move my nativity pieces around.

He told me Mary, Joseph, the Wise Men and the Shepherds are giving the animals quality time with baby Jesus.

I swear, my children are weird.

Changing Priorities

One of my dearest friends Annie over at Adventures in Oz wrote a post that included a video by Steven Covey. As I watched the video, I realized that this is how I feel about blogging. I love, love, LOVE blogging, but sometimes I let it come before the important things in my life. I enjoy staying connected to my blogging friends all over the world, but realize that I have relationships right here around me that could use a little nurturing.

Annie asked me a thought provoking question yesterday. She said, "Have you thought about what you'd like to leave behind for your children and grandchildren when you're gone?" Then she got me thinking maybe, just maybe, I could make quilts and scrapbooks for them, both hobbies that I enjoy but have fallen by the wayside.

Since I'm on the morbid subject of dying, I definitely need to make exercise and eating healthy a higher priority (click here and here), or I might not even be around long enough to meet those future grandchildren.

My point is, I will keep reading your wonderful blogs and writing my own posts. I just may not be able to do it every day, because I have to take care of the big rocks first. No comprende? Watch the video...

Witches' Brew

Remember my post about Dr. Jeans Banana Dance? Well, here is the song that gets stuck in my head at this time of year...



Gotta love Kindergarten!

Deciphering Cody Jargon

Parents of children with ASD become very good at solving puzzles and interpreting conversations, whether we like it or not. In fact, I wonder if anyone has ever done a study to see if parents of autistic kids get Alzheimer's? I bet the numbers would be extremely low, due to the fact that our brains are working puzzles ALL THE DAMN TIME. Allow me to enlighten you.

Below are a few examples of my son's, shall we say, inarticulate sentences:

Cody said, "We can do double A after TURN."

What he really meant was... I want to listen to my iPod when I get home from TURN (his day program).

Get it? Double A = AA = AA batteries and iPods need to be charged! (If I was on Jeopardy and there was a category for crap brainteasers like this, I'd kick ass.)


Cody said, "That was the slowest girl I've ever heard."

What he meant was... That girl talked really slow.


Cody said, "I see what I was thinkin'. Do people see what they think?"

What he really meant...Oh! I get it.


Cody said, "I wish I could, but I don't have any money."

What he's trying to say, in a polite way is... NO! Now shut up about it and leave me alone.


and, my personal favorite ( He honestly said this. I can't make this stuff up.)...


"You smell like a bird dad. The kind you step on."


What he meant...You smell like bird sh#t dad."

Kindergarten Topic of the Day...

Cataracts.

I kid you not.

As the class was lining up for recess, one of the little girls near the back of the line asked Mrs. B., "How come you're wearing sunglasses?" Mrs. B. did not hear her but a cute little red headed boy did. He piped up and told his curious female classmate, "You gotta wear sunglasses or else you get cataracts." Then he said, "Do you know what cataracts are?"

(By this time, I am completely amused and trying not to crack up.)

Then, without waiting for a response from his new friend, he said, "If you get cataracts, the doctor will cut your eyes open." The little girl responded very seriously, "Oh! I don't want that to happen to me."

Then, not thinking twice about it, they went outside and played...without sunglasses. :)

Feeling Fortunate

Do you remember Caleb, the child from hell  that was in our Kindergarten class last year? He's the one that went to time out multiple times every day, spent more time in the Principal's office than any 5 year old I have ever known and had to sit in a desk away from the other children because he talked nonstop and stole from his classmates? (If you need to refresh your memory, read these posts: Oh Crap! and The Worth of Child .)


Anyway, I was working in the classroom today and looked up to see Caleb peeking in the door. He was holding an ice pack over his eye, so I asked him to come in and tell me what happened. (He said he fell off the monkey bars at recess.) I gave him a hug and told him I was happy he came to visit, but he needed to go back to his class, which, I'm sure, is exactly what the ladies in the office that gave him the ice pack had already told him.


After he left, I looked at Mrs. B., the teacher I work with, and said, "I'm actually glad Caleb came to visit us." She looked at me like I was crazy and I explained, "It just makes me feel soooo grateful that we don't have to deal with him this year."



His poor first grade teacher. Two days down, one hundred seventy eight to go. ....