Homework Solution

Like many schools, my school district is facing some tough financial times. Budgets have been cut and teachers are facing increasing demands every year. Our classrooms are crowded, and they just keep getting tighter and tighter.

In my classroom I have:

• 2 teacher desks so that my partner and I each have our own space.
• 1 student teacher desk for our student teacher who will be with us until the end of Oct.
• 29 5th graders, their desks, chairs, and supplies
• 10 additional desks and chairs that our principal is expecting each classroom to store
• 1 SmartBoard (an interactive white board...very cool, but bulky)

At home, I was finding that Ben and Matt were needing their own space to work on homework now that they each are getting consistent homework every night. I spoke to my principal and got the go ahead to bring home some student desks and chairs for the boys to use at home.

It was a simple way to lessen the load in the classroom, and give the boys some independence at home.

And now 7 additional desks and chairs have been passed out to neighbors! Shhh.....don't tell the Superintendent!

Matt diligently doing math homework!

Inside of Ben's desk all "baseballed" up

It's Coming....

Not my school, but my school district.

About 1/2 mile from where I teach.

A Fun Run!

No, I didn't do another race recently, but today was one of the best runs I've had!

I needed to get our for about a 6 mile run, and Matt, a relatively new bike rider, offered to ride along with me. I was a little nervous to have him come, assuming I'd have to stop several times as he navigated going up and down some of the larger hills. Much to my surprise, he was awesome on his bike and only had to stop a couple of times at very appropriate times due to steep hills.

He was pretty chatty while he was biking and at one point said, "Mom, I've never seen you run this fast! You should be proud of yourself!"

No, Matt, I'm proud of you!!

St. Croix Valley Tri

If you would have told me a year ago that by Labor Day of 2009 I would have completed two sprint triathlons, I would have told you that you were CRAZY! But, it's true, and I am loving this new hobby. I love the cross training of the three different sports, and I love the sense of accomplishment at the end of a race. It's such a festive atmosphere, and you know you've just done something good for yourself that pushed yourself to the limits.

My bundle of nerves this second time around was a little different because I knew what to expect. I knew the swim would leave me breathless. I knew there would be a monster hill to climb. I knew I'd be starting the run with very wobbly legs. Yet I knew that when I crossed the finish line, I would have an exhilarating feeling, and I did!

My swim and run times improved this second time around, and my average bike speed was just slightly slower. Overall, I was very happy with my results.

1/3 mile swim = 12:31

10 mile bike = 35:24

4 mile run = 34:17

Overall place: 191/511

Division place (women my age): 6/43

Gender place: 34/227

I've already started dreaming about what type of racing bike I'd like to have, and which races I'd like to compete in next year.

YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQVBl5F2sAQ

Cold Keys

Have you heard of the TV show Cold Case? How about the music group Cold Play? How about the new craze with toddlers called Cold Keys? Let me tell you how it works.

The Ground Rules:

1. Cold Keys only works during the first, most stressful week of the school year.

2. Cold Keys must only be used with toddlers who don't want to go to daycare.

3. It needs to be hot and humid in order for Cold Keys to be effective.

How to Play:

1. Stressed and tired mom needs to be running a good 5 minutes late for work.

2. Tired toddler needs to be having a tough week transitioning to daycare.

3. Mom frantically looks for keys around the house.

4. Mom calls job-share partner at school to inform her that mom will be late for school. Fortunately, job-share partner can cover for mom.

5. Mom calls daycare provider to see if she can borrow her van. Daycare provider says yes.

6. Mom walks with fussy toddler to daycare in hot and humid weather.

7. Mom drops off sad toddler and drives borrowed van to school, still hot and sweaty!

8. Husband calls wife after school and asks, "Why are there car keys and a harmonica in the freezer?"

End of game.

State Fair

I am not a big fan of the State Fair. I think it's overpriced, bad (but good!) food, and crowded. Brian on the other hand, enjoys going and likes to get there every year. This year, Brian's mom and brother Rob were in town during fair week, and they were willing to go with Brian and the boys, so I opted out and worked late at school one night.

The gang found the pronto pup, ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, and cotton candy stands and then worked their way to the MN Twins booth, the KFAN sports talk radio booth, machinery hill, and even wandered into the Republican Party booth. 3 hours later....they were ready to head home. Sure sounds like fun to me!

Make your own judgment...

Grandma and Uncle Rob were good sports for taking on the fair with the boys!

1st Day of School!

**Pictures Added**

It comes upon us faster and faster each year, and here we are again, starting a new school year.

Brian: starting his 11th year teaching in the Burnsville district

Hilary: starting my 12th year teaching in the Lakeville district

Ben: starting 3rd grade

Matt: starting 1st grade

Adam: starting another year of part-time daycare with our good friend, Kari

We know we'll have a busy year with lots of new things taking place, but before we know it, we'll be blogging about how fast the year went and what summer of 2010 will hold in store for us!

Overall, Day 1 went pretty well. Adam had the toughest time adjusting with the heart-wrenching, "Mommy, I will miss you if you go to school" line as I was dropping him off at daycare. Fortunately, Dora The Explorer saved the day and he was distracted so I could leave without having to pry him off my arms.

Ben and Matt both had good days, but as expected, came home pretty wiped out. Ben uncharacteristically LOST IT tonight when he found out we were having steak and chicken for dinner. He wanted Mickey Mouse shaped waffles and could not get a grip. Does that sound like a 3rd grader? Maybe a very tired 3rd grader. Matt held it together pretty well, but I tucked him in at 8:20, and when I checked on him at 8:25, he was out!

How I get organized the night before...

We're thrilled with the school the boys go to!



Even teachers get nervous on the 1st day!

We Went Camping!!!

..sort of.

Aleesha, one of my closest friends from high school, lives on ~100 acres in Wisconsin. She invited our family and another family from high school to come "camp" on their land. We used Aleesha and Randy's camper, while Tiffany and her family used their own RV and spent two nights "roughing" it. It gave us a little taste of what camping with our kids would feel like, yet offered the simple luxuries of running water, electricity, and oh yeah, a computer to check fantasy baseball scores, in Aleesha and Randy's house just 50 yards away.

I'll let the pictures tell the story of the weekend.

We had great accommodations!

We drove things










We rode things










We relaxed

We touched things






We pulled things

Adam fell sound asleep with his finger on the trigger!

We went places

Playing in a corn maze

BBQ at a friend's barn

We had a great time!

We can't wait to do it again next summer!