An Odd Phenomon

I have nothing to say...


So here I am writing about having nothing to say, I know.  But I am rarely at a loss for words.  I always have some cause or vent or bragging that needs to be done.  Today...this week...nada.

Not sure if this  writer's block or peace.  Either way, I am sure it won't last long.  Enjoy the silence while it lasts.


Until we meet again, hug your kids, walk your dogs and love your firefighters.


Peace.

I know, I know...

I know he's busy.  I know he is at the 2nd busiest med house in the city.  I also know he is tired and so he needs his nap in the morning.  I get all of that. I really do.  

But, seeing as his med house is so busy, we don't get to talk for a few minutes at night.  My texts go unanswered, but that is how he always is!  And yet, we still have some last minute plans with the kids that need to be worked out.  

I just wish he'd answer his phone before I get called out of my meeting because my husband did not pick up the kids.  <sigh> I love firewife life most days, just not today.  Think a carrier pigeon could make its way into my bedroom window???  Just trying to think outside the box!  Any ideas on getting a hold of your FF hubby who probably has his phone on vibrate, down on the dining room table?

Happy almost Friday!

Think I May Have Dropped the Ball

We had a recent day of CRAZINESS with car crashes.  Shutting down two different sections of Interstate for hours.  Calls for Flight, multiple times.  Shots fired.

My FF sent me a text that asking if I had heard anything about the accident.  His questions were vague.  Since it was all texting and he could not chat, we both misinterpreted the discussion at hand.  It was not until last night, in bed, that all the pieces came together.  Brain matter, bloody uniform and all.

I dropped the ball.  I didn't understand what he was getting at with the questions.  At one point I didn't even know which of the multiple accidents he was talking about.  I think he needed to talk, but didn't want to force work on me yet again.  I was enjoying the fresh air with the kids.

And I totally missed it.

I feel horrible.

Spring Fever

Sad thing...I think
I own this book from
my youth.

I think I might be the only person in the state of Wisconsin that enjoys the delayed appearance of spring and summer.  It is not that I am particularly attached to the snow.  No, I love the snow...until end of February/ beginning of March,  Then - it gots to go!  But, we have had 2 weeks of sun and 70s.  Yeah...we don't get that around here until, like...mid June some years.  And now I have spring fever and I have it bad.  


Spring Break is two weeks away.  Summer vacation is 9 weeks away.  I am already as bad as the kids.  Quickly eating so I can sit outside on the porch and talk to my neighbors, enjoy the nice nights.  looking out my classroom window, longing to be out with the kids.  Coloring with the chalk, throwing the football, planting my flowers. <sigh> Do we HAVE to go to school??


I got it bad and it ain't good.


No worries, this is Wisconsin.  If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes.  It will change.  Well, lovely tease.  Your five minutes is up.  Please move along, but don't forget us.  Come back...in 6 weeks or so.  I would love an extended visit at that point.

Plague?

I think it has hit.  I am waiting for the CDC to quarantine us, drape the house...not a pretty sight here.


We had near 70s on Sunday ...yes...in March...in Wisconsin.  And I say, shivering, in a tanktop (silly girl you say, put on somethin' warmer), a turtleneck (still not done, yet), a hoody (keep going...) and a spare comforter.  Yup, SHIVERING.  We sat on the front porch, trying to study med cards, and I was shivering.  This from the gal that goes bare legged and as close to bare foot as possible once it hits 40s and sun.  I can't count on one hand how many days I have worn more that a light lambskin jacket in  the last 3 months, most days just my sweater will do.   Hubby got kind a cranky when I did not want to eat the dinner he made or help with the kids at bedtime. The 103.7 fever was rather uncomfortable, but was down by the time I wanted to go to work on Monday, so I did.


BIG MISTAKE.


Coughing, ribbiting like a frog as I spoke, the dang chills came back.  Wanna know the best part??  IT WAS A BLUE SHIFT!  Shocked?  Me neither.


Next AM, no way I was taking the kids to school.  I literally fell into the wall, going to the bathroom.  Don't you hate it when it jumps right out in front of you like that!!??    I was not going to drive 4 kids to school and my kids at school already expected me to stay home.  (Turns out they followed my lead...about 20% of my kids were missing, nearly 1/3 of one particular class.)  Hubby took them into school after he got home...but kept calling my phone, hard to sleep that way.  Whatever.


Next AM, still not good, but now...Yup, you guessed it...my FF and my little one...both burning up.  Sigh...just once...can't I be the ONLY sick one, that everyone else takes care of.  Just ONCE??? <sigh> Ah well, we are quite a team.

Next AM, finally back to work with the 3 oldest muppets, AFFA (Against Firefighter's Advice ).  I took O to bed with us that night (on my side of course), hoping to spare D from the virus, seeing as the girls choose to sleep in the SAME bed.  So, I got up with her at 2:36 in the FREAKIN' AM.  Her fever was so high, she just couldn't get comfortable. It was an early release day, by this point my high schoolers were sending me emails asking me to come back...no real choice.  I get in, still no voice, they are amazed that it is physically possible for me to speak quietly.  Kids are great, but fever returns, ears they are a-ringing and some cottonmouth just for fun.  Get a text before lunch, my kindergartener is the next victim, Daddy had to go get her. 
 

Fast forward to today, after getting up just after bartime yesterday, I have yet to sleep.  Yup, 1:56 in the PM and no sleep since yesterday, two-thirty-ish.  I ended up with both firegirls (in the most literal, as well as symbolic ways possible) in bed with me, while my hubby slept elsewhere.  (XY predisposition???) Yeah, still not near 70% much less 100%, having to work in the AM and I get custody of the girls...not that I am complaining.  (Truth and accuracy dept. requires I disclose the stomping and slamming of various objects at 0500, however).  Get my two remaining soldiers off to battle and teach a half day.  (Don't judge... it was a loooooooonnnnggggg half day). My Period A class and I sanitized my class when the lightbulb came on about how many of my students had been out all week.  (Medicine head makes me slow, what can I say.)  I am home now and I find myself trying to hide upstairs, only to have these creatures covered in snot, with various degrees of pallor, continually needing things.  You know...food...water... acetaminophen.  Not sure where they came from...but they truly don't look familiar.  They keep calling me "momma". Creepy, I know. (For the record, all while my hubby, who has slept all night and all morning, sleeps in the recliner.  just sayin'.)

It is all good.  I drank two Red Bulls by 9am.  I got my wings.  I am hoping to be able to turn the reins over to my firefighter tonight when the kids go to bed.  He should be able to handle the sleeping part now that the worst of it has passed.  And me..to sleep...perchance to dream...


Wash your hands, sneeze into your elbow, take your fever reducers...oh wait, maybe you escaped the plague.

One Test Down

My hubby passed his Paramedic Final this morning!!! YEAH!!  


So, we have his Practical Exam done, his final for the class done, that leaves us with the written for his National Boards next month.  Graduation is less than a month away.  Then, I get to hope that we are on the Red shift instead of the Blue, but I am not going to hold my breath.  He will be on the Red at Truck 1 until his results come in and then he is off to a Med Unit, still to be determined.


Happy Day!

I Just Don't Get It

As much as I'd like to think I am in touch with the teenagers I work with everyday, I am reminded more and more that I am now 20 years older than they are.  I am one of the "popular" teachers which is good and bad.  I never have an empty classroom.  I am on overload again this term, which means no prep periods for me.  So my 23 minute lunch break is sacred.  But, I still have kids in on a regular basis, which, really, is okay.  But it means there are kids in my classroom from 6:30 (mine) until we get out at 3pm.  I still have kids after school.  So, you would think I would have the pulse of the kids.  Um, yeah, not so much.


Being the Junior Class adviser, one of my biggest chores is prom.  After the drinking at Homecoming, there is a lot of pressure to have a Post-prom and the kids are fighting it tooth and nail.  Especially if it is mandatory.  


Let me paint the picture for you, prom gets out at 11pm.  From there, post-prom, which includes unlimited amounts of the following...

• Go-Karts
• Mini-golf
• Bumper boats
• Laser Tag
• Batting Cages
• Bumper Cars
• Ballocity (like a big kid play land)

These Bumper Boats at night, I'm in!

 It also includes pizza and breakfast.  And the kids are fussin'.  When I was in high school, I would have JUMPED at this.  These guys would rather go to a sleepover at someone's house.  YAWN!  Can you say BORING?  It is not mandatory, yet.  And that is their sticking point.

Ballocity

My sarcastic side comes out and says, "NO!  PLEASE don't MAKE me ride go-karts with my friends all night.  I would HATE to play Laser tag all night."  I just don't get it.  My thoughts?  Fine, don't come.  I will sell the tickets and then open it up to the sophomore class to fill up the remaining spots and you guys have fun at your sleepovers.





Thanks to Action Territory for being so awesome and accommodating!!

A Chance to Say Good-Bye

Flags at half mast, a two hour parade of fire trucks, police cars, SWAT tactical vehicles, Engines...all with lights a blazing. A packed gym.  Emergency personnel from the entire region.  Tears.  Laughter.

Laura Schmitt/Marshfield News-Herald

He was a husband, a daddy, a SWAT team member, a Sheriff's deputy (who received his detective's shield posthumously), a teacher and a firefighter.  Lt. Kampmeyer was truly one who simply wanted to help his community - giving back.  There is a family, a community and a department mourning the loss of one of their own.  His fellow firefighters are going through what they might of missed and why it had to be him.  I can only imagine what his wife is going through, and I truly try to push those thoughts from my mind.


Please take a moment to say a prayer for Lt./Det. Jamison Kampmeyer.  Say a prayer for his wife.  Say a prayer for their three boys, all still so little.  Say a prayer for the community.  Pray for peace and healing.  There is no easy journey to acceptance.  Say a prayer that all of our firefighters and emergency personnel come home safe.



R.I.P. Jamison Kampmeyer.  Peace to your loved ones.  And to the love of my life, come home safe.

Perspective, Reminders

I can't sleep.  I have been up since 3am.  I read the newspaper, created a powerpoint for class, checked my Facebook and here I am creating another post.  I don't often write ahead of time.  Usually, just as the spirit moves me, but this one I might just let cook a bit.


Wisconsin lost a firefighter, just a few hours away.  Another card I have to send, but this was little closer to home.  Details are still coming, we know it was a FF from Colby on a Mutual Aid call and three others were injured.  It sounds like he was on an interior crew when the roof, collapsed, but my hubby is still sleeping, so I can't bounce that theory off of him.


But, the questions...was he married, did he have kids, was he a he?  All popping through my head.


Most importantly, the reminder.  Being stuck doing the laundry, I am okay with it, as long as my FF comes home to me.  Appliances dying on me while he is on shift, well, he will eventually be home for me to fuss at.  Kids puking on the Blue shift, eventually the Red will come and he will take over for me.


But, for this firefighter's family, that is no longer the case.  One less firefighter walking through the door, needing to sleep all morning to recover from a long night of constant calls for minor things that could have waited.  One less firefighter walking through the door to joyous cries of happy children.  One less firefighter coming home to a cranky spouse because everything that could have gone wrong, did, while they were on shift.


One Less Firefighter...


Rest in Peace.  Please know that the rest of the fire community mourns your loss, along with your family, even though we don't even yet know your name.


I guess maybe I won't let this stew...

Creative Play

 I LOVE IT!  It is a huge part of our world!  I believe it helps kids figure out WHO they are, while they are having fun.   

I love it.  When we decided to have kids, one of my first "rules" was no video games.  Well, that lasted for a while.  We now have 3 Leapsters, 1 Diigo, 2 DSis and a Wii.  So you can see, I caved.  BUT, I control them with an iron fist and have no issues saying no when asked if someone can play video games.  


I much prefer creative play.  Which is why my boys' room bleeds Legos, why my girls' room have their very own version of Kindergarten "centers".  There are babies (complete with a nursery), dress up clothes, a princess vanity, Lincoln Logs, play food, several doctors' kits and a kitchen.  I just got rid of the the tool bench with the last move, and was sad to see it go.  I love pretend play.  O LOVES the plain old boring wooden blocks.  I would much rather have them play this way, than any other.  The play cops and robbers in the neighborhood with the rest of the local crew.  The swingset is used all year long.
 

Even Homework is completed in costume here.

 
I love technology, I am a self-proclaimed geek, but sometimes the old fashioned, non-battery powered, no power cord ways are the way to go.

But, it does sometimes lead to scenes like this: 
All you can do is clean up, and start again.  In the long run, it is so worth it.


Now, off to the sledding hill.

Gotta love my FireKids.

Taking Off My Teacher Hat

and putting on my mommy hat.  Not always easy to do when you work in the same building as your colleagues.  I now understand why I had to be the bad guy for all those years when there was something that we were unhappy with in the classrooms and J was teaching in the same building.  For the 3 stooges, our youngest three, it is actually okay.  Even though I teach for the same school as the their teachers, I am in a different building.  So I am seen as just the mommy.  With N, he has joined my school now that he is in 6th grade and I don't like this.  Treading lightly is what you have to do when you are criticizing a colleagues lessons or procedures.  Treading lightly is not something I do well, literally or figuratively.  

This school year, I have pretty much stayed out of things.  We are in our 3rd and final term for this school year and I sent an email to all N's teachers.  We are working to find out where the delay is for him.  He loses it somewhere between his head and the paper.  Orally, he can tell you anything you want to know.  He is a wealth of knowledge.  With that, we have found that he does better with his laptop, as opposed to with paper and pencil.  Well, you'd think, being at a 1:1 laptop school, this would be a perfect fit for N.  Unfortunately, not all of my co-workers have tapped into their inner-geek like I have, ahem, despite "encouragement" from above.  So, many classes teachers are still not allowing OneNote for notetaking or to copy down spelling words, etc.  Makes me crazy. Ummm, why do you think everyone of these kids has a computer bag over their shoulder?  But, I digress...  I have tried subtle hints in the mail room, I have offered one to one time helping set up various programs or ideas. And, well, ummm, how do I put this lightly?


IT 
IS
JUST 
NOT
WORKING
!


So, I sent off my first email, requesting that he be allowed to use OneNote and that they encourage the use of the assignment notebook tab.  We'll see. I also asked if they were using Moodle or Canvas for their assignments, maybe a touch passive aggressive, ah well. Loose papers or even regular notebooks don't work with N.  I can always ask my teacher turned firefighter to come in and have a meeting with the staff if there is too much of an issue.


Now, I am going to go back to watching the snowfall and starting my weekend.  Happy Friday!

Be Your Child's Advocate

Now, full disclosure, I am a teacher.  I have been for 15 years (dang, when did I get old?) But, I have been a mom for 12 of those years.  I am not saying that you should always take your child at full face value.  There are details that kids often hide to keep from getting into trouble.  But, you know how YOU know there is something wrong with your kids, but no one will listen to you, that is what I am talking about.  Be the squeaky wheel.


Our Kindgartener is in Speech.  That was quite a task to get to where we are.  In K3, they declined services and told us there was nothing wrong with her speech, she was young.  Ummm, yeah about that, I am her MOM and I was having a hard time understanding her, 50-60% of the time, out of context.  I should be able to translate FOR other people.  But, when she came running into the room, telling me about something that I could not look at to see what she was referring to, I struggled.  I needed a translator. I could understand her 2 year-old sister more clearly most times.  J and I both sat in that meeting with our jaws wide open.  Really?  He was an elementary teacher. <sigh> So, we switched her to Daddy's school for K4.  D had my childhood babysitter as her teacher and a wonderful speech teacher, she was receiving services by Thanksgiving.  That is AMAZING considering how long it takes to go from referral to services in the public schools.  And the difference was noted.


Come this year, she started at the private school I teach at.  We do not provide the services, they come from the public schools. I sent her IEP in on the 2nd day, hoping to avoid it getting lost in the first day of school chaos.  Six weeks later, several phone calls to the school (remember, I teacher in the other building) no speech services and you could hear her slipping back.  So, I took things in my own hands, contacted the head of Speech and Language, explained the situation, we had a quick meeting that following Friday and services began.  Now she is doing beautifully.  Squeak, squeak.

I have friends, in real life and in Facebook.  That have concerns about their kids and take everything at face value.  If you don't agree with the opinions you receive or your gut tells you otherwise, go for a 2nd, 3rd or 4th opinion. Be your child's biggest and best advocate.  If you have an IEP or 504 in place and you feel your child's needs have changed, all for a re-evaluation.  It is your right.  It is our responsibility to do whatever is in our power to give our kids the best start we can.