It Figures

During the time I was student teaching, I never got sick. Well, there was a little stint at the beginning, but not anything to keep me home. And now, when I'm subbing and making money? I'm sick.

Monday I subbed in Linda's class, and yesterday I subbed in Matt's room. It was nice to be back in a school where everything was familiar, including the kids. Matt started coming down with a cold on Monday. He asked if I would sub for him the following day so he could stay home. I agreed and thought, I'm so lucky to be well. I hate being sick.

I should've known. We had five kids absent from our class on Monday. Everything from sore throats to stomach bugs, there were a lot of kids out. Linda told me that on Monday the school was at 23%. Oh yeah, there's a lot of stuff going around.

Mine started Monday night. You know, when your nose runs so much you don't know where it's all coming from? Then on Tuesday, I started getting the achy, hot one minute, cold the next feeling in my body. My eyes felt hot and my nose continued to run. I was like one of those kids on the Kleenex commercials with the red nose.

Luckily last night Stein suggested Sudafed which successfully dried me up. I was finally able to sleep for a few hours too. Today I'm still sneezing and blowing my nose, but not as bad as yesterday. I'm hoping that this is short-lived and I can sub tomorrow. I have a 1/2 day scheduled, so I think it will be okay.

Today it's all of 6 degrees outside, so I plan on taking advantage of inside time. Napping and TV watching, just what the doctor ordered.

Milwaukee via Chicago

This weekend we went to Milwaukee for a Marquette basketball game. We do this every year with Chris and Mike and our friends Sandy and Ryan who live in Appleton, WI. Sandy lived on my floor freshman year, and then was Chris' roommate senior year. Ryan also went to Marquette (where he met Sandy, of course) but I didn't get to know him until after college.

I love this trip because it means a lot of things: I get to see and catch up with old friends, I get to talk nostalgically about college, I get to see the campus, reminisce and see what's changed, and I get to see a Marquette game live.

Stein and I started our journey over Friday night after work. We were able to get out at a decent hour and had an uneventful trip most of the way. Wouldn't you know it, the part of the trip that we worry least about (in terms of weather) was the toughest? Just as we got over the Indiana border, the snow started. We didn't know it was supposed to snow. Stein navigated our way through the blowing stuff, and got us on the sky way. I breathed a sigh of relief as we got on the sky way knowing that we only had about a half hour to go. I realized I spoke too soon when I saw the brake lights in front of us. We spent over an hour on the sky way. Sometimes at a complete stop with the car in park.

We ended up meeting up with Rick for drinks (Stein and I had dinner) at 42 North Latitude. We had been there before with my family, and the food was really good. This time it didn't disappoint either. I had a crab cake sandwich, and Stein had a chicken pasta dish. We were both extremely tired, so we ended up calling it a night a short time later. We went back to Chris' and immediately went to bed.

Saturday morning, we headed north to Milwaukee. I suggested that we make a pit stop in Kenosha to go to Frank's Diner.

This diner was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network a few months ago. I thought it would be fun to check it out. They didn't disappoint either. The diner is a really small place, with a counter along one side, and booths along the other. People stand along the wall behind the customers at the counter to wait for a table. When we got in, the whole length of the diner was filled with people waiting! We were so glad when the opportunity came up for us to sit at the counter. We had front-row seats to the show that was going on behind the counter. This is where the 2 owners cook breakfast. What a scene that was!

Their specialty is the garbage plate which has hash browns, eggs, peppers, onions, jalapenos, eggs, and your choice of meat(s). The grill is constantly full with the makings for these garbage plates. And the 2 owners are really friendly. We had a good time chatting sporadically with them (after all, they were cooking!) Stein and I split a 1/2 garbage plate (which took up half of a dinner sized plate), and biscuits and gravy. We also split an order of french toast with Chris and Mike. Oh mama, was everything good. They make their own bread, so the toast and french toast is homemade. Yum. We all waddled out of there, ready for a nap! The only drawback to sitting at the counter? We reeked of grease when we got out of there. So much so, that I bought a bottle of Febreeze for all of us to use. We doused ourselves with it and the smell was a little more tolerable.

We met up with Sandy and Ryan at Marquette's bookstore. I wanted to see what was new there, but felt a bit overwhelmed at all the stuff. Oh well, I didn't need to spend the money anyway!

We usually go to afternoon games, but this year we decided to go to a night game. It had a completely different feel this time. Before the game, we hung out at Buck Bradley's, a restaurant that is right across the street from the Bradley Center. We had a great time catching up. We luckily got there ahead of the crowd, so we were guaranteed a table (and a seat) until we left for the game. On the way out before the game, Stein asked the waitress to reserve the table we had for when we returned from the game. After giving her $10, she quickly agreed.

The game itself was a good one (we won - hooray!) but a nail biter at the beginning. Marquette was really cold and behind DePaul for a while until they got it together. I don't know how far they'll go this year if they don't continue to keep it together!

After the game, we went back to Buck Bradley's and lo and behold, our table was reserved! We all thanked Stein for his good thinking and settled into our table for some after-game drinks and food. As the night went on, everyone got more tired. After everyone ate, that was pretty much the end of the night. (I think we're getting old. And I don't mind admitting it, either!)

Unfortunately, the flash on my camera didn't go off, nor did I feel like futzing with it. Here are 3 (blurry) pictures from Buck Bradley's:

Ryan and Stein yuck it up

The girls (from right: Chris, Sandy, and me)
The cool, ginormous wood bar (this was a small section of it!)

Sunday morning we all went to Miss Katie's diner, which is near Marquette's campus. It was fun to be there to rehash the night before and catch up a bit more before we had to get on the road. Stein and I had a five-hour ride ahead of us, so it was good to have a full belly before hitting the highway.

I like that this trip has become a tradition for us. It at least guarantees that we see Ryan and Sandy once a year. It would be nice if it were more often, but I'm grateful we have the time together. What a fun time it is.

Kids Will Be Kids

The past 2 days I subbed in a few different classrooms while the teachers went to meetings. Different in terms of grade levels, but kids being kids all the same.

Yesterday I subbed in a kindergarten class where sharing and counting to 70 are their biggest challenges, where tattling runs rampant, and where being honest about everything from what they like to how things are done is their way of life. I had a good time with them, in their innocent, naive world. I introduced them to "Quiet Coyote" which is a fictional character that you can make with your hand. (Mickey taught me this - you touch your middle and ring fingers to your thumb, and leave your pinkie and pointer fingers "perked" up). Quiet Coyote has his mouth closed and his ears perked up to listen, just like all good boys and girls should.

I then moved on to fourth grade later in the afternoon, where I was able to observe the whole scene. There was a student teacher on the class, so I was able to just do damage control while she taught the lesson. Sweet deal, I thought. What I did observe while I was there, was a whole lot of regressing in their behavior. When indoor recess came around, 5 girls crawled around the floor and acted like dogs. I'm not kidding, they were barking and whining like dogs. (I suddenly thought about the 4th graders in my student teaching class - they did some immature stuff, but would never do this!)

Today I was at the middle school. When the kids came in and assessed the situation, I could see it in their eyes: Sub here. Act up. So they tried. Fortunately, they still listen to authority figures, so when I needed their attention, I could get it. But there was a constant chatter when I wasn't teaching. So who did I call in for help? Quiet Coyote. Yep, he was helping me once again, this time in a more nostalgic way than anything. But I didn't care, the kids got quiet when I talked about him. I also pulled out the reserves when I had the kids do some body movements to tell me that they understood. At first I told them I was just kidding, but they actually wanted to continue. So there was a room full of 6th graders, with their hands on their heads. They all asked if they could sing the "goodbye friends" song when they left the class. Luckily, I left before the class let out.

Next week? Another 6th grade class, a 3rd grade class, and a special needs class. I have a feeling that Quiet Coyote may be pulled out once again. Doesn't matter what age or what level. Kids will be kids.

Happy Birthday to Shelly T. and Mike Z.!

Just wanted to give a shout-out (did I just say shout out?!) to Shelly, one of my roommates from college. Remember Shelly? I wrote about her here in the summer. Anyway, Happy Birthday Shelly! I hope you have a great day today that turns into a birthday weekend.

And more birthday wishes go to my brother-n-law Mike (Mickey's husband) who shares this day with Shelly. I also hope you have a great day today and have fun tonight on your "date"!

More Comfort

The temps continue to hang in the teens and single digits, so we've been craving comfort foods at every meal. This is one of my favorites, so I couldn't resist taking a picture of it. Grilled cheese by itself? Yum. But paired with a bowl of tomato soup (in this case, Trader Joe's tomato and roasted red pepper soup)? Oh mama.

I devoured this meal in about 5 minutes, cheese oozing as I pulled the sandwich apart and dunked it in the soup. Comforting, for sure.

Game Night

Linda (my cooperating teacher from student teaching) asked if I wanted to volunteer at the family math night tonight. I figured it was a good thing to do to see how it works, and also to see some familiar faces of students I haven't seen since December.

It was a really fun night. They had all kinds of games (mostly board games and puzzles) set up at the tables in the cafeteria. Kids and their families could play any of the games at the tables. There were also 2 raffles that were held where the families could win a board game.

I got to see a handful of kids from my class. It was so sweet to see their eyes light up and their arms reach out to give me hugs. I got to catch up with a few of them, hearing about a new baby sister, or a new puppy, or a new haircut. I'm glad that I got the chance to see them again. It's that hook, just pulling me in once again.

Linda and I always talked about the necessity of play in kids' lives. With video games being the norm in most houses, kids don't play board games anymore. And they should. Board games teach so much, including social skills (taking turns, losing gracefully). When I looked around and saw all the families playing games, working on puzzles, and having a good time, I said to Linda, "This is your dream." She laughed and agreed.

Growing up, we played games all the time. We were lucky enough to have a huge bookshelf full of board games to choose from. I loved these times spent with my family. There were Monopoly games that lasted into the wee hours of the night (10:00 pm!) or cut-throat games of the card game "spoons".

I can only hope that the kids tonight will ditch the video games every now and then to play some real games.

Wait 5 Minutes

And the weather will change. Here in Michigan, as in other places, people like to joke about this. The weather does change pretty quickly, but today, it was so true.


I took the first picture because I wanted to capture the feeling of being in a snow globe. Not even an hour later, I snapped the second picture from the same spot. I was more than happy to take the second picture since the sun was out. I didn't even mind waiting more than 5 minutes.