The Kohlmans

I've been taking great comfort in this over the weekend... Sometimes smart people do stupid things. Like bang body parts on doorways and shelves. Hard. Like misplace a cookbook. Like lose a hubcap. Uh-huh, that's right, a hubcap like from the car. Like break a kitchen drawer. Just in case you're still unclear, yes, I have done all of these things in a matter of days. Well, the hubcap could be weeks ago. I don't pay that much attention to my tires... I'm not sure how I managed to get anything done this weekend. But I did. Of course there was the laundry. And cleaning up after the high school girls who took over our living room Friday night for the annual showing of Hoosiers. The Christmas decorations are up (minus the tree) and all presents are purchased and wrapped (purchased mainly thanks to Brad's patience and help). Four batches of peppernut dough are in the freezer. The kitchen is as close to spotless as my house ever gets. I guess I did alrigh...

It was tough to hear today that Grandma's cancer numbers (for lack of a better simple explanation) have gone back up - the cancer is active. I can't describe how I feel right now. So instead of dwelling or even processing... another: IV. "Meggie" Meet Meggie. She spent years in front of Grandma's porch, in the midst of mums and pansies and begonias. I still remember when they first bought her and put her out. She was unmistakably new. I immediately picked a few flowers and placed them in her basket, with the puppies. From then on, my daydreamed stories at Grandma's revolved around this girl and her puppies. Her "life" was at the mercy of my imagination. Her life stretched my imagination. I do not remember if it was that same day or one day later that week or even months later. But one day, Grandma told me, "I named the statue 'Meggie.' It's after you, but I couldn't use 'Megan' because the other grandkids would ...

Basketball has begun. Yesterday practice was over by 5:30 and Brad was home long before 6, ready to eat. Today, I made supper, anticipating another such day. Alas. I wait still.  Now, you know, I'm sure, that I'm definitely not complaining. I love basketball season. It's just an adjustment. And this year, I think, it will especially be an opportunity for - um - growth (especially in the patience category, for Coach K.). So while I wait... Blueberry Muffins 2 c. flour 1 c. sugar 1 tbs. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 2 eggs 1/4 c. vegetable oil 1/4 c. melted butter 3/4 c. milk 1 c. blueberries, fresh or frozen (I like to buy them when they're on sale in the summer and freeze some) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all dry ingredients; in a separate bowl combine all wet ingredients. (For muffins, it's important to combine the dry and wet ingredients separately to avoid over mixing and therefore tough or chewy muffins.) Fold wet into dry, careful not to...

One of the unheralded benefits of my job is being culturally enlightened by 11- and 12-year-olds. It must be time for the holidays when a student is singing " Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey ." Yes. It's true. The song exists. S. did not make it up as I had originally thought. I looked it up on You Tube during class and almost fell out of my chair laughing....... Check out that link and watch the video. It's funniest the first time. But it's pretty darn funny every time after that. (If you don't laugh, don't worry. It just means you should not work with sixth graders. And you are slightly less cool than I.)

I am not prepared for this weather. Snow?! Seriously... I'm not even allowed to put out the Christmas decorations yet - and we all know it should never snow before that happens! So for now, as I wallow in cold misery, some pictures of the first half of the weekend.                  

On a more joyful note... Kraft Foods is donating 10 meals to Feeding America for every single one of these e-cards that are sent during this holiday season. So click here to send away! Also.... if you are planning to buy gifts from Barnes and Noble for any event in the near future, go this Saturday (November 21). My school library, along with the other middle school library in town, is hosting a book fair, and a percentage of all proceeds goes to our library. The one catch is that you need a certain id number in order for that credit to benefit us, book fair id #10060523. You can use the number at any B&N in the country. If you live in the Wichita area, there will be some entertainment at the Bradley Fair B&N starting at 1 (there will be a puppet show, in case anyone with little kids actually reads this, along with some music and maybe something else).

Please don't misunderstand me. I teach in a public school because I believe in public education and what it provides to kids. All kids. Without exception. I go to work every single day knowing that my job is important. I matter. I make a difference. I care deeply about each of these children, and I know that these problems will affect them, as much as we try to avoid that. Please remember that about my post, if nothing else. Yesterday was rough. I had inservice. It included a faculty meeting. Our district principals met on Wednesday to talk about money. Those of you in public education can probably guess where I'm going with this. The state of Kansas has no more money. In fact, they have less money than they planned on having. All services are suffering. It's true. Everything the state provides is getting cut in some way, shape, or form. (I know that the state provides many, many services. But the one I do know is education. So that is what this post, for the most part,...