Meet Baby Gonz...

Our family grew by one yesterday.

Meet Alejandro (aka Alex) James Gonzalez. He had a bit of a rough journey into this world after getting a bit stuck. I guess 8 lbs., 11 oz., and 23 1/2 inches might do that to you, especially when your mom is tiny.

After spending several hours in ICU, he was finally reunited with mom and dad.

I love this little man so deeply already. Welcome, baby Alex. The world is your canvas...

Lessons Learned

In January, Trevor and I made the decision to become foster parents. After two miscarriages and months of unsuccessful trying, it was time for some forward momentum. Thus began the tedious process of classes, paperwork, background checks, fingerprints, TB tests, First Aid/CPR/HIV training, and a home study. After countless hours of work and way too many hoops to jump through to count, by the end of April we had recieved our foster care license in the mail. We now reached the "waiting stage" of the process and surprisingly, we didn't have to wait long.

Last Monday we recieved a phone call from a social worker informing us that there were three kids who needed a place to stay - a 9-year-old girl, a 6-year-old girl, and a 3-year-old boy. We didn't hesitate for one second and said our home was more than open. As quickly as they came, they just as quickly went away, leaving behind a quiet that we no longer want. Yesterday they left us to live with their aunt and in turn have left us very contemplative, very sad, and yet nonetheless, very appreciative of the time we had with them.

The lessons we learned by having these children in our home for just 10 short days will remain with us for a lifetime. Here are just a few...

• Hide the licorice and the pop.
• Bath time requires rubber duckies and tupperware.
• You don't need lots of toys or other things to keep kids entertained - a big back yard with dirt to dig in and a ball to kick around can be enough.
• Teaching a 3-year-old how to use "please" and "thank you" can be the most intellectually challenging task you may ever face.
• Hearing a 3-year-old say "please" or "thank you" unprompted can be the most rewarding part of your entire day.
• Sparkly headbands and hot pink sandals can make any 6- and 9-year-old girls' dreams come true.
• Strep throat sucks and strep throat times three sucks even more.
• Taking three kids to a movie means you won't get to watch it. Period.
• Sometimes cereal is good for dinner...and never, ever, ever put garlic in scrambled eggs.
• Drawing and coloring and play dough are fun for everybody.
• Hearing "I love you" and "I will miss you" from the mouths of babes can bring you to your knees.
• Peace, quiet, and clean are completely and totally over rated.
• Ten days is not too short of a period to fall in love with someone, and in our case, with three someones.

To L and A and E...thank you for being you.

The baby is 30...

That's my little brother on the far left. I realize he's not so little anymore, and hasn't been for quite some time. In fact, he turned 30 this weekend, and in true form, he celebrated in style.

Of course this involved a little bit of beveraging, a little bit of dancing, and a little bit of gambling, all at the same time. As a witness of this foray, let me just note that my little brother can party with the best of them. I, on the other hand, was dead asleep by 11 p.m.

So, while he is able to do all of these things legally, and while in a matter of five or six weeks he is going to be a proud papa to an already-loved baby boy, he's still my little brother, and I'm stickin' to it. He's the one I used to stick in a stroller and push around while I played house, the one who I made play Barbies with me for countless hours, the one who I gave homework to so I could play teacher, the one who I created ice skating routines with in our very small living room, the one who I co-wrote and co-sang the song "Cute Little Lovers" (don't ask) with, the one who helped me secretly glue back together the broken pictures frames after our rousing games of knee-soccer, and the one who gracefully allowed me to carry him into my bed for literally years, just so I could get a good night's sleep.

In fact, while he is technically my little brother, he has often been the one to take care of me and he always had my back. When it comes to little brothers, I really did get the best of the best.

I love you, Gonzi!!!! Hopefully in your next 30 years you will eat a few more salads and not stay out so late. Happy Birthday!

Deep Thoughts Form Students, Entry 4:

I cannot stop laughing. I am sitting back at my computer with the giggles and I can't stop.

Let me set the scene...

In my Freshman English class, we are getting ready to begin our final unit of the year, which revolves around the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird." As students are finishing up their essays on poetry, I thought it would be good to show a movie called "Pride" - which deals with issues of racism and perseverance - as a sort of pre-reading activity.

As we were reviewing the part of the film we watched yesterday, my student Joyce noticed the picture of Trevor and I on my computer desktop, which was being projected onto our big screen before I started the movie. The picture was taken when we were on our trip to St. John, and the background shows the turquoise waters of the Carribbean.

Joyce says: Hey, I like that picture.

I say: Thank you!

Maria says: Look at that beach! Where was that taken?

I say: On a little island called St. John. It's in the Virgin Islands.

Joyce says (very seriously): The Virgin Islands? Maria, you can't ever go there.

The entire class - including me - bursts into laughter.

The thing is, the kids have let it go, and here I am - still giggling.

I love my job. I really, really love my job.

Good Ole Tennessee

I am just going to get straight to the point. When one of the first things you see while driving around Nashville is the sign below, you know you are in for a good time.


In short, this is what we did...

1) While Trevor filled his belly with whiskey, I filled mine with glasses and glasses of sweet tea. I love sweet tea. I want to fill up a baby pool with sweet tea and swim in it...let's just pretend that visual never happened.

2) We posed with every Elvis we could find. Enough said.
3) Candace hooked us up with NHL tickets, so we watched the Nashville Predators beat the St. Louis Blues. To make it even better, in between the first and second periods, Winona Judd appeared out of nowhere to sing a fews songs. I pretty much lived the childhood dream of Alissa all in the matter of a couple hours. It rocked. I loved it.
4) We visited the Jack Daniel's Distillery, which happens to be in a dry county. Nonetheless, we rocked in some rocking chairs, we posed with Jack's statue, and we smelled whiskey being made at every stage, which brought some of us back to our college days.

5) We met our friend Beverly for lunch. Beverly was with the Tennessee group on our honeymoon and spent most of the trip making us laugh and laugh and laugh. We loved meeting her husband and catching up over some pretty impressive Mexican food. Let me just say that in Tennesee, no matter what restaurant you go to, they feature "Cheese Dip" on their appetizer menus. Cheese Dip is delicious, and I have evry intention of bringing this trend to Washington.
6) And, of course, we went to the Grand Ole Opry. Trevor wore his new hat, I wore my new boots, and we all got the giggles after every single "Used-to-be a Country Music Singer 50 years Ago" graced the stage. Nonetheless, it was absolutely worth the experience.
In conclusion, I just have to say that I am not quite sure how our friendship with Candace and Kelly has become what it is, but when the four of us are together, it is like we have known each other for years. I love that, and cannot wait until next time.

Conversations with Teens

I am sure it goes without saying that I like teenagers. I do, I really do. As a matter of fact, I have always found it interesting that when I meet people for the first time and they ask me what I do, often times these people react with dismay.

Not me. I like 'em. I really do.

And last night only proved to me that teenagers are very, very funny.

Case in point:

Conversation #1:
Ariel: Mrs. Smith, does your flower need to be watered?
Mrs. Smith: Actually, it does.
Ariel: Can I water your flower?
Karla: That's dirty, Ariel.
Ariel: I mean, can I water that flower? (points at the flower)
Mrs. Smith: I think I am going to throw up.

Conversation #2:
Shelley: I really want to take a picture of my golf clubs.
Karla: Huh? Why?
Shelley: I think it would make a cool picture. One of my clubs has a big head on it.
Karla: (giggles)
Shelley: It's a big head that's black and you can see your reflection in it.
Karla and Mrs. Smith make eye contact...conversation ends in an uproar of laughter.

Yes, I know. Teenagers have dirty minds. This is exactly why I think they are so funny.

And then this happened:

http:www.youtube.com/user/traintrakka

They scared the living daylights out of me. And, of course, they made me laugh my butt off.

Funny, indeed.

Random Thoughts on Finals Day 1...

• Peanuts covered in maple glaze sometimes just hit the spot
• Telling 14-year-olds they can't talk until all the tests are turned in NEVER works...even if donuts are involved
• Politicians suck
• Politicians who preach about charter schools and merit-based pay for teachers suck the most
• Sears sucks sometimes, like when they send you a broken treadmill that you paid a big chunk of money for and then won't return your emails or your phone calls
• I really, really, really don't like pork chops
• Sending money to Haiti just doesn't seem like enough
• Suffering sucks
• Brand new, sharpened pencils bring me joy
• Tomorrow Melanikis turns the same age Jesus was when he was crucified...my mom likes to point this out anytime someone turns 33
• My mom is random, but she cooks a mean arroz con pollo
• Speaking of random, I must remind myself to explain to my SET students certain American colloquialisms because ever since I told them they were "driving me nuts," they have been telling each other "Stop driving MY nuts"...not good
• One final done today, two more to go