Let the Party Begin!

Poke is finally getting married.  'Bout time!  The first time we met his blushing bride was seven and a half years ago at Mitch's and my wedding.  Cari, we are so lucky to have you joining the Poke clan!

Momma's ready for a night out and to see all of her extended family, which she sees so rarely these days.  Can't wait!  (Look for the recap next week.)

I Don't Want Your Life

On an average day, you can probably hear 10+ movie quotes spoken in our house.  Some of the favorites we use regularly are:

• "I like to picture my Jesus wearing a tuxedo t-shirt, because it says I can be formal, but I like to party" (Talladega Nights)
• "I like to picture my Jesus with giant eagles wings, singing lead vocals for Lynyrd Skynyrd, and I'm in the front row and I'm HAMMERED drunk" (also Talladega Nights)
• "Baxter, I'll take you to foggy Londontown!" (Anchorman)
• "They're breakdance fighting!" (Zoolander)
• "My cousin Ray-Ray?  Boop - dead."  (Dodgeball)
  
• "Pretty nice little Saturday - goin' to Home Depot tomorrow, pick out some flooring, maybe go to Bed Bath and Beyond - I don't know if they'll be time."  (Old School)
• "You're so money, you don't even know it."  (Swingers)
• "Who's the big winner?  Mikey!  Mikey's the big winner!"  (Swingers)

In fact, Mitch and my fantasy football team in the One Carbon Hill League is named after Anchorman - "Sex Panther" - the "cologne" that smells like "pure gasoline".  "60% of the time, it works every time!"

However, no movie gets quoted more in our house than Varsity Blues.  I know, why would we quote this, when there are so many other movies that we could use?  This movie (which hit a little close to home when I was teaching at Morris, mind you) has some real gems.  Mitch had said once that I quoted this movie too much, to which I balked and told him he was making it up.  Not more than five minutes later, though, I was spouting off another quote from Varsity Blues.  He was right - 

• "Stud-Daddy Wilkerson.  Look at him dance, get 'em some mustard!"
• "Ice?  Get 'em a beer!"
• "That's not the formation, that's not the formation!"
• "You can do it!"
• "Dummy-o's, follow your dummy-0 quarterback to the mud for a scrimmage!"
• "Coach Lance, put me in!  We'll block it!"
• "Move, freak-o's!"
• "Shit, these boys is havin' the time of they lives out there!"  "No doubt about it."

And my all-time favorite:

• "Puke and rally!"

If only our long-term memory could be used for something useful.....

How are thee different? Oh, let me count the ways....

I have been teaching in an elementary building for over a month now, and to be honest, I'm finding the transition to the little ones a little difficult.  There are so many things that are different:

• in middle or high school, you rarely have to worry about your students peeing their pants.
• middle and high school students don't tattle; in fact, they do their very best to keep things hidden.  Not so much with little kids, who feel the need to tell you if little Johnny looked at them wrong.  (I can't stand this part of the job.)
• they are so damn squirrelly.  Do they ever sit still?  Lots of times middle and high school students sit comatose through the entire class.  (Wow, after writing that, it makes it sound like I might not be an engaging teacher.  We all know that's not true.  :)
• little ones must have VERY SPECIFIC instructions.  
• along those same lines, kids can't just be told to do something.  They have to take turns.  I made the mistake of giving the following instructions:  1) go pick up a book from the stack, and 2) return to their seats.  In five seconds, there were 15 2nd graders on top of each other, fighting to get the first book.  

Not only are the kids different, but the entire building has a different vibe.  For example, the other day in the teacher's lounge at lunch, one of the first grade teachers was showing off her latest book to help kids read, and she was essentially teaching a lesson at the table.  There were so many teachers who were into it!  Today the other music teacher was spouting off songs for the staff to sing at the Christmas program, and everyone starting singing along to each song.  

Really?

My question is this - where is the bitching?  Where is the cynicism?  Why are we talking about our jobs at lunch?  Why aren't we complaining about kids?  I just don't understand why things must be all sunshine and roses all the time.  I'm a happy person, don't get me wrong.  But it's a little over-the-top for even my taste. 

Some days, I really miss being in a high school....

Updated Gizmo Pics!

This is for the "anonymous" poster who wanted some new pictures:

This dress is a little big on her still, but is just so darn cute!

A happy girl on a Sunday morning!

Daddy and Gizmo playing.

She has figured out how to suck on her bottom lip.  She has this look a lot right now.

A happy baby!  I think she looks like a turtle, because when she sticks her head up and out, you can actually see this kid's neck.  Otherwise, it's hidden beneath lots of chins.  

She is talking, cooing, and is generally a happy baby.  So sweet!

The Silence Scares the Sh*t Out of Me

Do you have a movie that scares you so much that you can't watch it?  Or, even worse, one that is so scary that you HAVE to watch it?  Growing up on the farm around cornfields and darkness and a maximum-security women's prison right down the street, I have never been one for scary movies.  When I was a kid, I would watch them only because I didn't want anyone to think I was a wimp.  But man, did they scar me for life.

Take for example "The Children of the Corn".  Are you kidding me?  The years that corn surrounded our house were the worst ever.  I was convinced someone was coming out of the field to get me.  In fact, when I was in high school I would sprint from the shed (where my car was parked) to the front door every night so that no one could catch me.  Let's be honest, though - I wasn't the fastest around - my year of track proved that.  Had there been someone there, I would have been dead for sure. Even so, I ran like hell to get into the house because I was scared.  

I also don't go into the bathroom without immediately turning on the light, for fear that I would look into the mirror and accidentally say "Candy Man" three times.  

The worst for me, though, is "The Silence of the Lambs".  I watched that movie for the first time in 7th grade, when I stayed over at my friend Mere's house.  We watched it in the middle of the night in her very dark basement.  I was literally frozen with fear, scared to death that Hannibal Lecter would eat me, or Buffalo Bill would starve me and kill me for my skin.  I had nightmares for months after watching this movie.  I don't think I've ever been more afraid of anything ever in my life.  This movie has seriously traumatized me.  

I saw "The Silence of the Lambs" on TV the other night as I was flipping through the channels.  I stopped immediately on it, thinking that maybe I could now tolerate it and see it for the fictional movie that it is.  Nope.  Couldn't do it.  It wasn't even at a gross or scary part - Buffalo Bill had just taken one of his girls and put her in the back of the van.  That's it.  I had to change the channel.  I am literally getting chills just thinking about it.

To this day, I don't like scary movies.  Won't watch them.   I think the last one I watched was "The Blair Witch Project" in school to prove to a boy that I could handle it.  What a terrible idea - I had to stay in my apartment that night alone (it was over a holiday break), and I didn't sleep a wink.  I'm a wimp, what can I say.

What scares you?

My Favorite Part of the Day

Nothing is better than going into Gizmo's room in the morning and seeing her smile - that big, toothless grin that says she is so excited to see her mommy and daddy in the morning.  What a great day.

Neglecting the Blog to Do All Sorts of Things

Readers, I apologize for not blogging in almost an entire week.  Mitch and I have been busy living lives, if you can believe that.  What on earth could be so important that it drags us away from the blog, you ask?  Well, let me tell you.

Last weekend we had another round of visitors from Illinois - Gizmo's godfather, Martin, and his parents.  We have planned this weekend visit for over a year now, as Martin was in town not only to meet Gizmo, but to attend the Illinois-Minnesota football game in the new outdoor stadium at the U.  Normally, one would assume that a November football game would be cold and miserable, but we lucked out and had perfect 60+ degree weather (and an Illinois win!)

We "tailgated" at the house before the game - 

And true to form, Martin and Mitch broke out the letterman's jackets to wear. (Can you believe it was TOO WARM to wear them to the game?  I was broken-hearted.)

In other news, Gizmo is now holding her head high and proud during tummy time - 

The little kick of the foot just kills me.  

I'll have you know that Gizmo also said her first word this week - "mom".  She's figured out how to make the "mmm" sound, so when she opens her mouth to cry, "mom" comes out.  So sweet!

Finally, my blogging is at an all-time low because I just began reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.  I am neglecting Gizmo, Mitch, the housework, and my job to read this thing.  I can't put it down.  And with that, I'm going to go read....

More Kindergarten Adventures

The Scene:  my music class, middle of the afternoon on a Wednesday.

My kindergarten class was singing "Rudolph" in preparation for the upcoming holiday concert in December.  As I scan the class, I notice one little boy with his head down, and I walk closer to him to make sure he is OK.  

Oh, he's OK.  He's got his hands down his pants.  Wasn't ready for that one.

A while later, I have another little boy who takes off his sweatshirt (it was hot in my room), leaving him with a t-shirt on.  Third little boy next to him notices, then decides to take his shirt off, too.  Only he doesn't have another shirt on underneath.  And he announces very loudly, "I'm going to take my shirt off!", then pulls it over his head, exposing his chest.  I notice other kids are starting to get at their own shirts.....and quickly re-dress naked kindergartener.  

The Cutest Pumpkin This Side of the Mississippi

Ah, Gizmo's first Halloween.  She started the day bright and early, excited about all of the trick-or-treaters coming to the house.  (She, sadly, was not going trick-or-treating, as her Mommy thought it was silly.  Gizmo can't eat the candy, so it just looks like some sad adults asking for a handout.)  We dressed her in Outfit #1, which I think looks like a Halloween Jail Suit.

She didn't stay long in this outfit - one poop and this thing was toast.  But, before she blew it out, she modeled some of her scary faces she's been working on.  First, here's "I'm gonna get you!" - 

Then there's her Robert DeNiro "You talkin' to me?" impression - 

And of course, her scary ghost look.

This next one, well, it's just plain silly.

We got her dressed in her official costume around 5, because I was afraid she would either spit up or poop in it before she could get a good wear out of it.  Once on, I giggled like a schoolgirl, she was just so darn cute.

I don't know about you, but I think that she sure resembles my side of the family in these pictures.  Take away that dark hair, and this girl might just be pure Poke after all.  

Because she looks like such a large pumpkin, I had to put it into perspective - 

Yep.  Still a baby.

After a while, she got annoyed with the hood, or maybe just annoyed with all of the picture-taking, but she did NOT want her picture taken with Mommy.

I, by the way, went as a new mom - disheveled hair, baggy sweatshirt, and no makeup.  Or you could say I went as an excited Illinois fan, since they beat Michigan!  

This picture is just cute because of those chubby cheeks.  (Hers, not mine.)

Mitch also went in a costume this year - he dressed up as himself circa 1995.  This t-shirt was from high school, and he even put on his high school letterman's jacket.  Cool.

Yes, it was an exciting Halloween at our house.  Gizmo slept, we had very few trick-or-treaters, and Mitch and I (ok, I) ate all of the candy.