Fun student pic

Isn't this cute?! Fun yearbook pic this year. :)

Taking Action

I've finally decided to take action and go back to school and obtain my Master's Degree. This decision came about around SuperBowl weekend when I was chatting w/ some friends who were also working on theirs. They were sharing with me a program they were working on online. It was affordable, done in 18 months, and all online. No outside meetings.

Earlier this month, I was contemplating trying for my National Certification, but a Master's Degree seems to make more sense right now, since they can cut budgeting for Nat'l Cert. at any time. I don't want to do all of that work and then not get the big raise. I am going to try and sign up to start taking classes around the end of April. I am really excited. I don't think I'm going the admin route, just a Master's in C & I.

Why am I doing this? I need to be more marketable. I need to prove that I can stretch and grow professionally and not just be a good teacher in the classroom. I think it will give me more opportunities outside of teaching, such as working in a district office, becoming a coaching specialist, or instruction/literacy specialist, a curriculum designer, etc. I want to make more money and not have to coach sports anymore. (Coaching is starting to wear me out and I am getting drained mostly b/c of the lack of funding for equipment and b/c I miss so much after school work time.)

I am looking forward to enrolling and getting started!

Zhu Zhu pets: better than the real thing

What is better than a real hamster? A pseudo hamster named Baby Cakes. These are the ever-so-popular Zhu Zhu pets. I thought we had a few years before these became a favorite of Brynn's but she had a gift card to spend from Christmas at Target and asked to buy the "hamster" when she saw the cute little baby hamster and a little baby seat that came with it. She was also able to buy her hamster a baby stroller and her daddy spoiled her by surprising her with a Momma hamster tonight to pull the stroller. The momma hamster actually can move on its own with the push of a button.

Anyway, Snow White would like to share with you her latest pet friend, Baby Cakes. :)

Aww friends...

Cammy and Brynn have devleoped quite a bond these past few months. Brynn gives her kisses and hugs and always talks sweet to her when petting her. Cammy curled up right beside her while B was napping this weekend and I thought it was the cutest thing. Brynn can't wait for the night Cammy curls up with her in her bed. I think it will be soon, as this cat loves this child.

Baylen, on the other hand, Cammy.....ahem....tolerates as he beats her up constantly--pulls her tail, steps on her, hits her, tackles her, etc. At least she lets him do a couple of things to her before she takes off. Zoey--when she sees Baylen coming, she takes off faster than the blink of an eye! LOL

New Undies...kinda sorta

Mister Mister loves his new undies he received from Papa and Grandma Fitz. Although he is not going potty very much on the potty chair, he insisted he wear his new Lightning McQueen's! We put them on over his pull-ups and he thinks he's pretty special. At this rate, if he thinks this is how you wear undies, we'll never get him potty trained!! LOL He has to wear them over his pull-ups when he goes to bed too. hahaha He's so proud of them.

Brynnisms Part VI

Brynn sniffs

"Daddy, you smell GREAT!"

thanks, G'ma and Papa!

for the cutest dress you sent to me for Valentine's Day! :)

Ahhhh gotta love middle schoolers

Today during my planning, I subbed for a friend's fitness class b/c she was still gone on mid-winter break vacation with her family in Idaho. On Fridays, the Fitness Dept. conducts Fitness Friday, which the kids run and/or walk on a big trail around our campus and part of the high school campus and track. Most of the kids hate it, but they do it. Anyway, I had to be stationed wayyyy out by the trees and make sure that the kids didn't cut through the big valley and run or walk all the way around and behind the trees. Here were my encounters today...(now, remind you, the kids I was subbing for were 7th graders and didn't realize I was a teacher in the school already so they were treating me like a real sub...)

Kid #1 totally cheats and makes a HUGE cut through the valley...I say to him, "HEY! No cutting! You need to go all the way around the trees!" Kid goes, "But I got a fuckin' sideache!!" I had no response other than, "Well if you have a sideache, then stop running and walk but don't cut b/c now I have to mark down that you did so!" He responded, "ok." This child I know and he's super impulsive, much like his older brother, who I had once upon a time. Once I talked to him about refraining from using the F-bomb in school, we had a nice chat about his brother. I would have made a bigger deal out of it had he yelled this in front of tons of kids, but he was all by himself and I got the impression this was not the kind of kid to engage negatively with, that he'd respond better to sarcasm or humor.

Kid #2: running through the trees...I yell, "Good job everyone, keep going! You're almost done!" While I'm saying this, I am taking a bunch of pictures for yearbook, newspaper, for our archive. Kid #2 yells out, "Hey, are you taping us?" I say back, "Nope, just taking pictures for the yearbook..." His response back? while flipping me off he yells, "How about you take a picture of this?!" Then he yells, "Or how about you take a picture of THIS?!" and he gives me the "shocker" sign. gross! I asked a bunch of kids behind him, "Hey, who is that kid up there with blonde hair?" A chubby little boy running by acting all clueless falsely claims, "Um I forgot!" Luckily, a smart little girl running behind him yells, "Oh that's KYLE!" 'Thanks, I say...I'll take 20 seconds off of your time just for that tip!" haha

So I go up to his teacher and ask her if Kyle likes to say naughty things. She claims he's NEVER acted up in her class EVER. Okay, cool. I told her what happened and she was appalled and urged me to write a referral. I told her I didn't really think a referral was necessary, but I thought we could just talk to him about not flipping off teachers even when he's joking. So, we go and talk to him and his teacher goes, "Why did you flip off Coach Fitz?" The look on his face was priceless. Suddenly he realized I wasn't a sub, but an actual teacher here at Cascade. I replied, "Yes, young man, it was rather rude that you flipped me off. Next time, think about things before you do them." He immediately apologized and it was very heartfelt. So, I forgave him and told him I hope he learned a valuable lesson today. LOL

I had to chuckle at my Fitness Friday experience as a sub. Funny how different kids act around their regular teachers vs. subs at times. Cracks me up. While these behaviors are not the norm from my students, they were lucky I was in a good mood today and didn't bust them up! haha They were just being immature and impulsive, as most 7th graders are...

Brynnisms Part V

Today at school:

Teacher: "Who would like some more cantaloupe?"

Brynnie: "Me!"

5 min. later...

Brynnie: "Can I have some more camouflage?"

Teacher: "hahaha Yes, definitely!"

LOL

princess 24-7

you rarely see a this child go a day without dressing up in a costume. her favorites are her princess and barbie dresses. the snow white one has been very popular. and of course, now that she has a huge selection of princess shoes thanks to her uncle and aunt kemily, the possibilities are endless. :)

Look, mom, we're matching!

here's little bee and her doll, kia, in matching jammies they received for christmas this year. i must admit that the american girl doll clothes are high quality and we have had good luck with most of them fitting fine. the girl clothes i'm not sold on yet. luckily, these were on sale and that's why i bought them, but, i don't know if it's this particular pair of pajamas or what, i just don't think they are that great of quality. regardless, she really enjoys being able to wear the same thing as her doll.

Mister Mister is almost 2!

In about a month, my Mister Mister will be two years old. Holy smokes! This funny guy is full of surprises. I have much to update on him, but on another day when I have less work to do. His molars are coming in and that has its moments of tantrums and crying/whining spells. The up side is he is talking talking talking. He is stringing words together and very often, has 3-4 word phrases. His enunciation of words is still not always clear, but he is really trying. He also has a bit of a lisp. His favorite multi-word phrases are, "Mommy, I want snack!" and "No, I don't want to!" He calls his sister Brynnie all of the time, which is super cute b/c one of our good friends, Tami calls her that more than anyone else. He picked up on it and that's what he calls her. Constantly. Now Brynn only wants to be called Brynnie. :) My favorite phrase this week was when I was tucking him in bed, he said, "Mommy, want kiss goodnight!" AWWWW!

I love his cute little voice. He is a stubborn as a bull and is bound and determined to have things HIS way. He is super funny and silly and loves people to laugh at him. He can recognize and point out Mickey Mouse, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and Daisy Duck. He likes Dora and Diego. He likes Sesame Street characters, specifically Elmo.

He is now sleeping in his big boy bed, which is still his crib but converted into a toddler bed w/ safety rails on the side. He likes to sleep it in upside down and that's fine for now. He loves his big boy bed and has been doing really well (slept 5 nights in a row in it without waking in the night) He is starting to have a few bad dreams at night, though, which means some nights he's in with us.

He loves to play with his trains, tractors, legos, and throw/kick balls. We bought him a Step 2 red motorcycle he can ride on/push with his feet for Valentine's Day. Best 20 bucks I've ever spent!

His facial expressions are so hilarious. He's really starting to figure out how to use his face in conjunction with his feelings or thoughts. Supppper funny!

He loves Chuck E Cheese b/c he can run wild in there! He loves reading books--looking at them himself, reading with his TAG Jr., reading with Brynn's TAG, and being read to.

His appetite has been REALLY good lately, which is new b/c he's generally a picky eater. He's eating a ton (including MEAT!) and growing so much. He is just a smidgen shorter than Brynn.

More on my Mister Mister later...

Happy Valentine's!

The kids were super excited about Valentine's Day this year b/c they both really understood their parties.

This is a pic from last year.

this is what happens when...part 675

your 3-year-old gets a hold of the camera

princess for a day

haha this kid loves to dress up w/ his sister. this was all his idea, crown and all. needless to say, he's getting some boy dress-up clothes for his birthday, such as a police costume.

First Pedi

I took Brynn to get her first salon experience today. She had her nails painted and her first pedi. It was really cute and she had a good time. The salon has 3 or 4 chairs that are "kid" friendly so that was nice. The kid chairs had DVD players on each one so they could watch while getting their nails done.

Ha Santa pic late

here's a pic of Baylen with Santa at Daycare. it's late but funny.

I spoke up

Tonight I spoke at the school board meeting. I asked them to put their foot down. To push back. To speak up. I have posted my speech below to share with those of you who are interested or who read my blog. It came from my heart. I'm a fighter and I refuse to stand back and watch state officials who have no freaking background in education try to come out and take over my school and get rid of those we need the most. It is not right! it's not okay. I know our school board heard what I had to say b/c two of them referenced my speech in their comments before voting. I just hope they don't back down and fight for us and our administration.

Here's my speech:
**I had to xx out some names and such for privacy, etc.

Hello, my name is Sarah F.E. and I have been a teacher at C. Middle School since 2001. C. is very close to my heart for so many reasons. The biggest reasons are the amazing students, dedicated staff, and our supportive, proactive administration team we have had the last three years. I have witnessed C. experience a variety of changes in the last nine years, some positive, some negative. I have witnessed our school receiving some useful resources, while other times, we’ve been forced to do without other opportunities. Despite the adversity we face, we continue to move forward.

After last Thursday’s meeting with Superintendant XX, I left in tears. As you all probably know, we work hard to ensure that our kids at CMS are reaching their full potential in the two short years we have them. When I heard that we could lose some of our best resources, I began to lose hope. If the board decides that it is in the school’s best interest to move forward on the voluntary track towards improvement, and receive the money to make changes, then I say you must also tell the state that there is a stipulation. That stipulation would include keeping the best resources we already have at C. in tact. Two big resources I am referring to are Mr. R., our Principal, and Mr. E., our Vice Principal. Without them in our school, I have a hard time envisioning major improvements taking place.

When Mr. E. came to Cascade almost four years ago, staff morale was at an all-time low. He made it his personal goal to raise our spirits and regain consistency in student discipline that was lacking. Within the first two years, Mr. E. helped create an environment among staff and students that felt more like a family. He established connections that were necessary between all of us: students, staff, and the community at large. He advocated for changes in our proactive approach to discipline, urging teachers to create a system where kids were being rewarded, celebrated, and praised for good behavior. He resurrected our honors assemblies. With his guidance, we created a wonderful plan to recognize students. And you know what? Students responded positively. Detentions, referrals and suspension numbers began to decrease. Students looked forward to our monthly activities and behaviors improved drastically. There were fewer fights, and fewer student issues. Kids were in class and on task. The other middle schools in the district started asking him for ideas and adopting some of our new policies.

Our diverse group of students adore J.. They trust him. They tell him things and help him solve issues. Not surprisingly, students have many positive comments about Mr. E. including, “He is nice but if a student gets out of line, he comes down on them HARD” or, “Mr. E. is a good V.P. because he has faith in us, he helps us accomplish things, and he’s funny.” “Mr. E. is like a father-figure to some of us—we need that.” Another student said, “Mr. E. pushes me to be better. To be the bigger person. To be someone important. CMS can’t lose him because he gives students who have lost hope something to hold onto.” All of this started with Mr. E.

Mr. R. came to our school almost three years ago. Staff morale was still low. When he walked into CMS, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of our shoulders. He was confident, personable, charismatic, and could see the big picture. He trusted his staff to do their jobs well and pushed them to do even better. He made it his mission to get to know every staff member for who they were and pushed us to try on new instructional methods. Since Mr. R. has come to CMS, staff morale is at an all-time high. Not only does he trust and respect staff, he goes out of his way to connect with the kids and make them feel special. I have never witnessed a principal who loves the kids as much as he does. Before Mr. R. became principal, every September, I would look around and half of the staff were new; the turnover was ridiculous. Since Colin took over, nearly every teacher has continued to stay and move our students forward because he’s been an integral part of that work. People listen to him. They want to work hard for him. They are willing to change for him. And students feel the same. When he speaks, they listen and then they do what he asks of them without complaint.

In fact, students have many nice things to say about our principal. “Mr. R. has faith in the students and wants them to do well.” “Mr. R. gets to know every student and something about them.” “He has earned the trust of every student.” “My old principal was never found wandering among the students, talking to them or asking how their day was like Mr. R. does.”

My fear is that if you decide to make some changes at CMS, we will lose two of our most valuable resources: our principal and vice principal. They have done everything to help improve CMS and put their heart and soul into all that occurs here. They are our foundation. If they had to leave CMS, I don’t want to think about what could happen. They know how to push us forward in tough times and how to get everyone on board. Staff members trust them and they make the best decisions for our school. How can we begin a year of change and hard work with leaders we don’t know and we have not built trust with? Don’t you think it would kill morale? How can we make changes occur with leaders who don’t know our kids and don’t know our school? I am asking you to think about how detrimental it would be to the entire CMS community by replacing our amazing administration. Let’s put our foot down together and tell the state officials, if you want to see reform in our school, we will move forward, but we refuse to lose ANY part of our staff.


I also had many students speak and here is one of my student's speeches. He did a GREAT job speaking and received a standing ovation from over 100 people.

People of the School Board Council, Lend me your ears! I am Jan Patrick C., 8th grade student at C. Middle School and one of the school’s most elite of honor roll students. I have attended this critical meeting to address my purpose, my directive…to prove that CMS is NOT a failing school!

You see, I happen to belong a great school, with fellow classmates on my side, teachers who are willing to teach us and prepare us for the challenges ahead in each and every one of our futures. And I refuse to stand and let our own state mark us as one of the failing schools in Washington.

Upon reading the letter that I have received that was sent home for the students here and our families, I have been informed about misconceptions the state had made about us kids, about our teachers, and how this school performs. I have heard that students here often are assumed of being “immature,” and “unable to learn.” The state also criticizes the performance of the school’s and faculty, wanting to replace OUR beloved principal, and half of the staff. AND, the state also might think that our learning environment is “poor” due to noisy conditions, bad-behaving students, etc. Keep in mind however, that some of these teachers are veterans, working in this school for years. And these teachers have exerted and contributed their hearts, souls, and their will in preparing us for the future and cutting them out will mean destroying all those years worth of effort!

I remember the first time I laid eyes on this school…My eyes fell witness to its beauty…I met old friends, and made new ones along the way..and through countless hardships and academic trials during my time, I have learned and grown a lot at this school.

In 7th grade, I had awards for perfect attendance, although my G.P.A. was only at 3.0 to 3.5. This year, I have been inducted into the honor roll twice in my current 8th grade year, and unlike my 7th grade classes, all my core 8th grade classes (LA, SS, Science and Math) I attend are all advanced classes. My MAP scores from Math have been steadily improving throughout this year and the last score so far was 242 (10th grade level). My reading MAP score was also quite high, with a current score of 230. All of these improvements show that Cascade is capable of teaching its students with great effectiveness, and that I am an example of the staff’s hard work and dedication to prepare for the trials ahead in high school…and beyond!

No only that, you cannot and will not replace our principal! Mr. R., who has been leading this school for almost three years now, is identified by his fellow faculty members as being one of the MOST excellent principals ever, and that no one has the qualities of a true principal like Mr. R. He is a charismatic person, and just about everyone looks up to him. When he and Mr. E. first came here, CMS was at an all time low. But when both principal and vice-principal came up to the mantle several years earlier, they allowed more discipline to take place, they pledged to make the learning environment better, and made changes to make this school better. And, Mr. Ryan connects with his students and staff, getting to know them better, making us feel special, as well as making us all be one big family.

So replacing him and Mr. E. will ONLY make matters worse for this school’s academic performance.
With all of this, I believe that the state has underestimated us! Before I entered the school on the first day of my 8th grade school year, I had watched President Obama’s speech the night before. His speech reminded me that we are the future, the key in thrusting our great nation into greater glory and success. Once we enter the outside world, we must be ready for the competition ahead set by other countries.

So, please, you mustn’t replace the staff with these new leaders. I cannot imagine awakening to my true academic potential with unknown leaders who don’t know us, the staff, or our school. And as President Obama had said during his speech…that if we fail at our education, he stated: “not only have you let yourself down, your friends and family down, but we have also let your country down.”

We are students united! CMS is not a failing school, and we can’t allow the state reform our school. Losing valuable resource, no matter who it is, will only worsen our predicament, instead of improving it. I am living, breathing proof, that CMS had made me a better student. We are the hope of the nation. Our principal and vice principal are the key to our future. And failing school or not…don’t change our school, because we, C. Middle School, represent the symbol of hope, and the vessel for the future.

Favorite new vid on youTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU&sns=em




This, my friends, is fabulous.

These two...

might break this shopping cart. I reminded them that it was not a stroller for anyone weighing in at 25 lbs. or more. Brynn could barely push Baylen and Baylen was just cruising along w/ Bee in tow. Funny stuff!

Things my Son has flushed down the toilet

1. 3 baby washcloths

*sigh* ahh the life of having a boy. thank God he doesn't have a twin brother! LOL

Brynn watched him do it I think just because she knew he was going to own that incident ALL by himself. haha

When I asked her why she didn't tell him to stop or tell him not to put them in the toilet and flush them, her response was, "But mom, the washcloths are already gone!"

Um yeah...you're right!!! I know! haha

Brynnisms Part IV

I pick up Brynn and Bay yesterday and she's upset.

B: "Mom, I got hurt today! Look at my bump on my head!"

M: "Oh my, lady, that IS a big bump..awww...what happened?"

B: "Torin and I went like this: kkkkkhhhhkk (her hands are in fists pounding each other) and we hit heads outside."

M: "Oh honey, that looks like it hurts. I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

B: "Yeah, but it still hurts, momma."

M: "We'll keep an eye on it, okay?"

***********LATER AT AZTECA********

We meet Dj there and sit in our booth.

D: "Bee, how was your day today?"
M: "She got hurt today, dad. Brynn, tell him what happened."
B: retells her story (same one she told me) "I'm having a rough day today!"

LATER in convo:

Yesterday she got in trouble at school for trying to choke her friend, Elsa. Elsa took a toy from her and she became angry so she decided choking her was a good option. Where she learned choking from, I am guessing is someone else she saw do it at school? Older child, perhaps? Anyway, we had a long talk on Thursday why choking is not okay even when you're angry at someone. We talked about other things we could do or say when someone upsets us, but choking was never okay. She promised me no more choking. So then at supper out last night she proudly announces to Dj and I:

B: "Mom, Dad, I didn't choke anyone today!"
;)

***************************************************************************************

Brynn playing with her horses and pretending they can talk: LOL
Horse 1: "but I wanna go to the park, mom (whiney voice)"

Horse 2: "Okay, you can go to the park."

Horse 1: "Yes! Thank you momma I am excited to go to the park."

We had to tell the kids yesterday...

our students were upset. They didn't quite understand. My students want to fight it. "What can we do, Mrs. Fitz?" they asked. "Can we go talk to the school board next week?" Yes you can. "Can we strike?" I can't answer that. "Can we do a walk out?" I can't answer that, either. "This is ridiculous, Mrs. Fitz!" "How can we keep Mr. Ryan?" "We need to do something!" "This isn't right! THis isn't fair!" and with that, they walked out upset, confused, with a letter in their hands to take home to their parents.

I am interested to see if this issue with our school will create some community concern and we can come together and work towards solving this problem. We have GOT to do something. It takes a village...

Today=Disappointment. BIG TIME

I walked out of a school meeting today at 5:00 p.m. Why so late? Because today our Supt. told us that the federal gov't wants to restructure our school. Our school has always had issues with passing tests. That's because our school has a group of students who have lots and lots of issues. 80% Free and Reduced Lunch. Many of our kids come to us reading several grades BELOW grade level. One of the most diverse schools in the state. Title I school. Kids with broken families. Kids with broken lives. But you know what? They show up to school to learn. And I am there to teach them. I am there to counsel them. I am there to parent them. I am there to guide them. I am there to help them. I am there to support them. And what do we get in return? A slap in the face.

This is all coming down from our State Board of Education per the federal government. The one I support. The one I voted for. I never thought education reform would mean this for ME. for MY school. like THIS. Option one: close our school. Option two: get rid of our principal and 50% of our staff. Option 3: become a charter school by hiring an outside agency to "run" it. Option four: agree to make some major changes which also involves losing staff and the admin. What option would YOU choose? NONE of them. They all suck. They are all unfair. Listening to the Supt. today felt like a punch in the gut. Everyone was upset. There were tears from some, anger from others. How can we lose our principal? our VP? They are the BEST in the district. We have the best teachers. How can we lose anyone. Who would they choose? How would they choose? it is all very upsetting. I cried. Words cannot explain how special Cascade is to me. I could have left that place a long time ago, but through thick and thin, I've stayed. There's just so much about those kids, the staff, and that school that has me so attached.

And I think the worst part of it all is that I feel like my hands are tied. There is very little wiggle room for boycotting this, for fighting this. And that makes it so frustrating. It doesn't matter that we face so many challenges teaching our kids. It doesn't matter to the government officials at all. We are just supposed to teach them and make them pass. No matter what. I WISH it was that easy. Hell, if that were the case, we'd have a lot more people signing up to become a teacher.

I have always been a big supporter of Obama. That's no lie. But this stuff--this education reform is super disappointing to me and it makes me feel like I can't breathe. :( I wrote a letter to him tonight and I really really hope he reads it. I know it's wishful thinking, but I hope someone important reads that letter and responds. I hope really hope the feds change their minds about what reform should REALLY look like. Because honestly, throwing money at the school and getting rid of teachers and admin won't change the kinds of kids we're teaching at CMS. But my job is not done. I have more people to email: our school board members. Members of the State Board of Ed., OPSI, Randy D., and even my local representatives. I'm not finished yet.

Here's the letter I sent to Obama tonight:

Dear President Obama,

Today, I was disappointed after I left a meeting held at my "failing" school. I was told we had 4 options to choose from in order to begin the “reform” process. All of them were options I didn’t want to choose. Why? Because none of them seemed fair. Our teachers are amazing. Our administration is the best we've had in the 10 years I've taught there. Our kids struggle with so many issues outside of school and come to us as middle schoolers mostly reading way below grade level. We all work so hard to support and teach our students and help them reach the highest level possible. We push our kids out of their learning comfort zones. I guess what I am most disappointed in is the fact that nothing is being taken into consideration. 80% of our students are part of the Free & Reduced Lunch program. We have one of the most diverse schools in the state of WA, including a large population of ELL and Special Ed, AND our kids live in poverty. Sadly, none of that matters to your administration. I sat listening to you, Mr. Obama speak in Jefferson, Iowa (we were visiting family during the holidays) when you were campaigning saying you wanted to reform education, but I didn’t think it would mean punishing my students and my colleagues. I didn’t think it would mean my school would have to go through massive, ridiculous changes like I heard today. I sat there, listening to you, 6.5 months pregnant, crying and praying for change, hoping you would be our next President. I have always been one of your biggest supporters. But today, I left that meeting feeling hopeless and extremely disappointed in the decisions your administration is making. What if my colleague next door is asked to leave? What if I am? I just wish you would have asked us first what we, the teachers thought. I feel like we are always blamed for not teaching our students, when, really, it is quite the opposite, especially at our inner city “failing” school. I love my students. I love teaching them. I love that school. And the fact that everything we’ve worked to build there is being ripped out from underneath of us is just heart-breaking. ☹ Please, I am begging you to generate some additional options to help our school. I know you are busy, Mr. Obama, but I hope to hear from you.

Sincerely,
Sarah Erdmann, a devoted but concerned educator


I only had 2500 characters so I had to scale it down. As angry as I was when I left school today, the anger turned into utter disappointment. For the first time in a long time, my hopes have been severely crushed.

Brynnisms Part III

Conversation on the way home today:

Brynn is "talking" on her pretend cell phone in the backseat on the way home from daycare.

Me: Brynnie, what'd you do in Spanish today?

Brynn: Mom, don't talk to me when I'm talkin' to Clara Bell on the phone!

Me: Oh sorry. I didn't realize you were still talking to her.

Brynn: Next time wait until I hang up.

Me: Sorry, honey.

Brynn: That's okayyyy (-kay part is high pitched and sweet), mom.


Music Lady came to daycare today (she does a music program w/ the kids every other week)

Brynn @ dinner table: (sings part of a song I don't know about squirrels) and then sings: and one, and two, and 3, and 4, and 5, and 6, and 7, and 8, and 9, and 10....NOW EVERYBODY All together!!! (and she makes the gesture like a conductor for everyone to sing together)

I'm starting to write poetry again ♥

and it feels good. Man that well was sure dry for awhile...