The end of an era

I attended my last grad school class on campus last night. I haven't allowed myself to think about it yet. So I decided to give myself a little time to reflect.

Will I be sad that it is over? A little. I fully enjoyed being a part of a large, research institution. There is energy on campus, and the feeling that exciting things are happening or about to happen is always present.

I also enjoyed the learning aspect. It made me think and question things about my philosophy, my classroom, and how I approach mathematics education. Even if the learning I did wasn't always immediately useful, isn't it the goal of education to make us think about new things or old things in new ways? And that, I certainly did.

But mostly I am relieved to be wrapping up grad school. While it was fun and engaging, it was also stressful. Like any other student, I, at various points of my education, had to sacrifice time with family and friends, set aside my work responsibilities, and sit in front of the computer or pour over books and articles for hours at a time. I will not miss that part AT ALL.

But before I get ahead of myself, I still have one action research project to complete and a four hour written test to take. I have five weeks to get this done. Let the count down begin.

Clutter

Clutter!
It's everywhere.

A 12 by 15 foot room that formerly acted as an office seemed like it would be a snap to clean out and transform into a nursery. But it's deceiving. The clutter grows and multiplies exponentially every day. And things that I wish would have disappeared and taken care of themselves have not. That beautiful SLR camera that I dropped in the beaches of Aruba several years ago...still hidden in the corner of the closet. The outdated, and therefore useless, printer that served me well for many years still lays idle on the bottom shelf of the bookcase. And the random pictures that date from babyhood to current day still remain in a neat stack waiting for me to decide where their permanent home will be. It's clutter, and yet, I have memories and stories for it all. Thank goodness for Fly Lady (never heard of her? Click here if you're a pack rat). Fly Lady brought the 27 fling boogie into my life. If it weren't for her I'd be frozen with indecision and the newest addition to our family would be sleeping inbetween my boxes of memorabilia and office supplies.

Chipot-Yummy

Excitement came today in the form of a "buy one burrito, get one free" Chipotle coupon.

YUM!

We decided to use it right away.

The burrito was so pakced full with goodness that it took me 45 minutes to eat it. That's heaven.

Observations of a Lunch Monitor

After a month and a half of lunch duty, I have come to a realization. It is IMPOSSIBLE for people to walk up to a trashcan with out literally "throwing" items into it. People either practice their free throw shoot from 4-5 feet away or their underhand pitch from 2-3 feet away. NOBODY (I'm including teenagers and adults alike) walks all the way to the trashcan.

I've also come to the realization that there are typical reactions when a person MISSES their trashcan shot. People either 1) Follow through and pick it up right away, 2) Look around first to see if anyone noticed they missed it before deciding their next move, or 3) Pretend they never threw anything to begin with.

I have heard horror stories about lunch duty. But really, it's not as bad as I thought. So far it's an interesting place to observe human behavior - again, I'm including adults and teenagers. However, having said this, I reserve my right to change my opinion and decide it stinks at any time during the year.

Saturday Circle Game

It's been a year since T and I bought our new TV and decided to join the world of cable. DVR is amazing. So I want to know:

If you had to narrow your TV viewing to TWO shows, which two would you pick?

The Prego Report - It's a...

BOY!

Yep, that's Bean above.

Several days ago we visited a business in the area that specializes in 3D/4D ultrasounds and was recommended by several friends. We were going in to have the normal 2D gender determination but the women at the front desk suckered T into getting the 3D/4D done. I'm so glad they did. I'm fascinated by these pictures. Yes, they are a little surreal...I'm the first to admit, the child needs to gain a few pounds. But, look!  Little feet!

Bean was camera shy at first; he kept rolling over so all we could see was his back side. But he eventually decided to cooperate and show his face and we had a great time watching him do his thing. His biggest form of entertainment - moving his arms - those things were all over the place.

So how sure was the techician about the gender? Very. Could I see what she saw? Um, no. But T says he could. We are aware, however, that the process is not 100% accurate. Our precious neice is living proof of that. Were we excited about Bean being a boy? Absolutely, but we would have been just as excited if Bean were a girl. It's just fun to find out more information about this little person that will join our family in a few months.

And now a note from T:

Hi everyone, it's T - I don't think I got suckered into it... I think I knew it was a special opportunity. It was like we got to spend 20 minutes with Bean, and it was great! I felt my second kick tonight while we were watching TV. Awesome.

And one last picture... Can you see T's bottom lip? It's definitely there.

Saturday Circle Game

Background: T and I are visiting our alma mater for Homecoming weekend and staying with our dear friend, K. We walked into her kitchen and were greeted with the smell of pumpkin cookies! Yum! It got me thinking: most people have traditions surrounding cookies. So...

Question: What cookie traditions (when, where, type) run in your family?

I'm in LOVE!

With Hostess' 100 Calorie Packs.

Chocolate cupcakes are my favorite.

100 calories

5 grams of FIBER!!

(Grams of fat and sugar are so not important.)

So You Think You Can Dance

This was the week T took me to see the live performance of So You Think You Can Dance...dance...dance. I loved it! Here are some thoughts.

1) Jeannine is great, but in my humble opinion Brandon should have won season 5.
2) Phillip is just cool.
3) They performed so many dances that I absolutely loved. My favorite...the addiction dance with Capuno and Kayla. Some more favorites...the Breast Cancer dance with Ade and Melissa and the Pick Dance with Ade and Jeanette.
4) I was disappointed they only performed one new dance.
5) The dancers MCed the performance. I'm trying to figure out how to say this nicely...Loved their dancing, would have been OK with less talking.
6) T was completely outnumbered at this performance. It must have been a ratio that was somewhere along the lines of 20 females to 1 male.

Saturday Circle Game

Sorry, this question is slightly indulgent. It was inspired by a recent inservice presenter that was excellent and the movie "The Freedom Writers". (We watched it last night, and it was excellent.)

Who were the three educators that impacted you the most? Why?

The Prego Report

We will be able to reveal Bean's gender in approximately a week in a half. So, I'm curious....what are your guesses? Is Bean a she-baby or a he-baby? Word on the street with Tim's co-workers: Beans a Boy. Word on the street with my co-worker's: Beans a Girl.

Saturday Circle Game

I want to know...

Have you ever been on TV? If so, for what?

The Prego Report

Here's the word on our third doctor's visit...


BEAN:
18 weeks and growing like a weed, apparently...and feisty. Gave the Doc's stethoscope a kick while she was trying to listen to the heartbeat. Heartbeat was good and steady...around 145 bpm. I haven't felt movement yet, but this is no surprise since the placenta is apparently providing a nice cushion between me and Bean.

ME:
Besides the random wisps of hair that are growing below my normal hairline (really, will I have any forehead left?), I have enjoyed pregnancy. It's been so easy that sometime I forget I'm pregnant (knock on wood). Although this is getting tougher as my stomach seems to be growing exponentially. I've been very fortunate, though, that I haven't experienced morning sickness, have had energy, and have enjoyed a break from an achy knee because of all the cool hormones flowing through my body.

A Note from T:
Hi everyone... it's T here. Yes, I think this is my first time that A has allowed me to write in Metacognitive Musings. Every doctor's appointment is fascinating and I am reminded that it's truly a miracle growing in there. Our doctor is very nice and A is doing such a good job. Experienced parents at my office say things like, "I bet her mood swings are interesting, huh?" or "how's the new little one in charge doing?" and I have to tell them that really nothing has changed yet.

Yet, anyway.

Can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl!

Back to A.

Our Biggest Decision for the Moment:
To vaccinate or not vaccinate. I'm fairly comfortable getting vaccinated for the seasonal flu; however, my doctor would like for me to get the H1N1 vaccination. T is all for this and was relieved this was the doctor's advice. Me? I kept wavering. Being a teacher I am around students ALL the time. Sometimes they forget to cover their mouths when they cough or decide they don't need a tissue when they really do. At these moments, I think the H1N1 vaccination is a good idea. But then I get nervous...is the vaccination really safe for me and the baby? It seems to be rushed to the public and this is what makes me nervous. I guess the good news is that I have until October to decide.

My Harry Potter Addiction

I'm in the midst of reading all seven Harry Potter books...it's my third time through, so I'm no stranger to the series. Currently I'm somewhere around page 400 in book 4 and loving every minute of it...again.

I've decided that to be a true Harry Potter fan, though, I need to watch all of the movies as well. I'm lacking in the silver screen rendition of the books; I've only seen the first three so I have some catching up to do. Has anybody seen the sixth? Any comments? I've heard rumors that book 7 will be divided into two movies. Anyone else heard the same?

Math, Science, and Technology Monday

I got this problem from http://www.theproblemsite.com/games/secretnumber2.asp. There are several games, so you could do this all day if you so desire. Here is an example of one of the problems.

I am thinking of a 3-digit numbers. Can you guess my number from the following information? 

1. The product of the first two digits is less than 20
2. The difference of the first two digits is greater than 3
3. The difference of the last two digits is less than 4
4. The difference of the first and last digits is less than 5
5. The product of the first and last digits is equal to 20

So You Think You Can Dance?

I LOVE this show!!

I LOVE that there is only three weeks between season 5 and season 6.

I LOVE that Mary Murphy talked about her inability to raise her eyebrowns because of BOTOX on national television.

I LOVE watching all the different types of choreography.

I LOVE hearing about the dancers' stories and seeing how they bring life to the choreography.

I LOVE that my husband HATES this show but bought us tickets to the live performance anyway. Thanks, T! I can't wait for our date!

Fall Tradition

For the fifth time in six years Labor Day weekend was filled with loved ones, games (ask BC friend, KD, about her new game, Pictionary Telephone. Very fun.), fireworks, a trip to one of our favorite breakfast nooks, and some shopping.

Now the weekend is officially over and the house seems very quiet. I don't like it.

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for hosting, and thanks, dear friends, for spending so much time in the car to join us.

I'm already looking forward to the 6th annual.

Photographer: Dad

Math, Science, and Technology Monday

I got this problem from http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/faq.doubling.pennies.html . It's a fantastic internet resource for math teachers or anyone interested in mathematics although you might need a password to access some of it. I am adjusting the problem just a bit, so if you go online it will be slightly different.

Which is more: being given ten million dollars, or one penny the first day, double that penny the next day, then double the previous day's pennies and so on for a month?

The solution will be in the comments if/when you're interested.

Saturday Circle Game

It's a lazy Saturday morning so far. So the following seems like a fitting question.

What's your favorite way to relax?

The techie teens

I taught with a new piece of technology today, and I was nervous. The picture above depicts what Texax Instruments is calling a hand-held computer.

I was uneasy as I started class today. What if I forgot how to do something? Or what if I screwed up and hit the wrong buttons and didn't know how to correct my mistake? I, myself, have just learned to operate this machine at a basic level only a few weeks ago.

The class was excited as soon as I started passing out the new technology, and we quickly began the lesson of finding solutions for a system of equations. First we graphed the quadratic equations and then we looked at the table. And then it happened...I forgot how to calculate the points of intersection using the calculator.

Ummmm...trouble.

Then one of my quiet, female students raised her hand. "You go to 'points and lines'." So I did, and behold, there was the command I needed.

I realized then that it took mere minutes for my students to acclimate to the machines. And in one quick moment, before I could even register it, I became the student in a room with 24 teachers, learning how to operate my hand-held computer.

Cool.