When the weather outside is frightful . . .

Right at this very moment, my kiddos are getting shipped home on the bus early from school because there is SNOW outside!!!!! Yayyyyy!!!!! Deep inside this raised Southern girl is a great excitement of snow. As a child, snow meant: no school, mom's hot cocoa, making snow angels outside until your undies were frozen, then stripping and getting in warm flannel PJ's, trying (usually unsuccessfully) to make a snow man, everyone freaking out and going to the store to buy milk and bread, and one of my most humorous memories--the Blizzard of '93. In 1993 I was 11 and it was three days before the first day of spring when a freak Blizzard, and I do mean Blizzard hit Atlanta. Lily and I went to play outside in it, and the snow was blowing so hard that we couldn't even see each other only a few feet away. Mom made us come inside when she saw on the news that little children were getting lost right outside the back door and freezing to death. Bummer! All of those snow memories are surfacing, and I realize that little Max is making some snow memories of his own. Which reminds me that I've been a slacker blogger and haven't posted pictures of Max playing in our first snowstorm of the year, the week of Halloween. I'll just whet your appitite for said pictures by saying that he's running around the back yard in "Yellow" (the new sweater that Mom made him) trying to stomp all of the powder into submission and yelling "Now, Now, Now!!!!" (as in Snow, snow snow--without the S). Love you all. I promise to post them soon, or you can take my first born child (for the night, so I can sleep).

Being Max's Mom

I've been thinking alot lately about my journey so far as Max's mom. Just like other mothers, I started out loving him unconditionaly and willing to sacrifice anything to help him grow, learn, and be happy. The three years that I've been blessed with him have been at times joyful, difficult, agonizing, fun, sorrowful, and always full of surprise. I don't know why the Lord chose us to be his parents, but as always His infinite wisdom always guides us to the things that make us happy. Max has already surpassed many expectations that we had for him, and sometimes I think that his little stubborn spirit and uncanny ability to make people love him will get him through any trial. He is a special boy, with sparkling glad eyes that melt my heart in one minute, then in the next flash with rage and frustration. I cannot comprehend what his strong mind endures in that little brain of his. I have no doubt that every phase of his life will be interesting. I just hope that I'm up for it!!!!!

Good Music

http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/Sean+Lennon/Dead+Meat--35553929

As I was checking my e-mail yesterday, I followed a link on Yahoo to a story about the Beatles. Apparently, the song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is not really a reference to LSD, but is based on a picture that John's son Julian drew at 4 of one of his classmates, a girl named Lucy. Lucy just died from Lupus (a disease near to my heart), and I was touched to realize that during her entire life, no one believed her claim to fame. Later on as her sickness progressed, Julian got back in contact with her and they became friends again. Maybe one day I'll get back in touch with my friend Jenny from Oakland. I still have a picture of her as a preschooler. Well, I guess that that was a confusing way to lead up to my latest find, a link to Julian's formerly estranged half brother (from Yoko--if you're wondering) Sean Lennon. I saw a video for his latest song, and it was quite shocking to see how much he looks like his dad (Thank Goodness he got his genes from the paternal side!) He actually is a pretty good singer, too. In my humble opinion. I liked this song so much that I made myself a station on Pandora of similar music. So maybe I will share other great music finds with you. Love it love it love it. Warning: You have to be in a mellow mood to appreciate the following music!

The Freaks Come Out at Walmart

I just had to share this picture with you. For the other pictures in the series, let me know and I can share. I believe that I've seen people like this at the WalMart on Hwy 49 in Hattiesburg.

So Sad . .

It is the end of an era . . . sniff. Max has stopped taking mid day naps, and I am very dissapointed about it. If you have ever been around my son for 24 hours, you know that mid way you need a rest, and cuddling with my little/big boy has been one of the sweetest pleasures of my life. I have many many pictures of me and Max napping. From those first few exhausted weeks to just last week. I'm sure that if we do something exceptionally wearing (like swimming, or hiking, or running mommy ragged) he might doze, but the routine is gone. Sigh. I'd like to quote my uncle Doug here. He says, "A day without a nap is a day wasted". How wise!

Why The Wiggles are Good For Hyper 3 Year Olds...

Last night, I think I might patent a new exercise regimen: Dance to the Wiggles with your Child. Don't steal my idea, or I will be very upset. Of course, you have to have a willing child to participate with you, otherwise you'll look a little psychotic doing the "cold spaghetti" by yourself. Max was in a dancing mood yesterday. So I popped our only Wiggles tape into the player (our DVD player having gone kaput), and it was 35 minutes of sheer madness. When Jack came in from outside, I don't know who looked funnier: me with my fat butt pretending to be a ballerina, or Max copying every move, even the finger poses at the end! I captured a bit to share with you from my cell phone, but Max's motions are all a blur. Hope this inspires you all to "do the monkey"!

A kareoke quiz!

Hmmmmm. For some reason, I'm in the mood to sing Kareoke. And according to this quiz, I should be singing "Baby Got Back". Awesome!!!!!!


Your Karaoke Theme Song is "Baby Got Back"
You're a total show off who is willing to risk looking like a fool to get a few laughs.In fact, you'll go for the cheap laugh if you need to... because it's better than no reaction!Your friends can count on you to get a party started, and you'll party hard until you can't remember their names.You're charismatic, charming, and a total character. With or without a few drinks in you.You might also sing: "I Touch Myself," "Oops I Did it Again," or "My Humps"Stay away from people who sing: "Candle in the Wind"

Here's the link if you are curious about your "Theme song"
http://www.blogthings.com/whatsyourkaraokethemesongquiz/

Our berry picking excursion!!!! la la la

A couple of weekends ago we had a really great experience, and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it. whew!!!! A guy that Jack works with showed us where the motherload of raspberry bushes are up on the rim, and we spent all morning picking berries. I have never actually picked WILD berries before, and it was a blast. The coolest thing, though, was watching Max. He fell asleep in the car on the way up there, then when he woke up, he realized that he was in the woods. Now, if you didn't already know this, Max is really really really an outside boy, and he started stomping around, swinging his arms (hiking stance I guess) with his red boots on. Then he realized what daddy was doing and he started helping us pick berries. At first he just mushed them in his newly purple fingers, but then he finally tried one. "Yummmm!" he said, and I agreed with him later on in the day when I ate some on my vanilla ice cream!

I'M BACK FROM THE DEAD!!!!!!

I can't even begin to fill in the blanks of what has happened in the past month or so. Here's the abridged version:

Jack, Max, the puppies and I are living in a cute rental house in Pine, AZ.

We rented out our house in Huachuca City to really awesome people.

I started my first day of school here and I LOVE IT!!!!!

Max is going to start Pre-School on the 11th of Aug (He already has a Buzz Lightyear backback)

Jack has started working as a painter here in Pine.

I'm getting reaquainted with mosquitos.

I have my first marching parade for the HUGE 125th anniversary Payson Rodeo on the 15th of Aug. EEEEEK!!!!

I've gained all of the weight that I lost this summer during the move and subsequent stress. Sigh. Don't worry, I've got lots of shaded hilly roads to walk on here.

My principal is awesome!

I guess that pretty much covers it. My blog will be kinda sketchy because our computer has bit the dust, but I'll try to update it when I can. I love you all and I'm demanding that you come and visit me up here (as soon as I get my boxes unpacked). There's lots to love here: fishing, hiking, sightseeing, shopping, eating, playing in the snow (in the winter), looking at the beautiful views. . . .

Long Overdue

Okay, so these past couple of weeks have been pretty life changing. As predicted by myself, usually the Lord lets me stress and stress for months before showing me the light at the end of the tunnel right before I explode. I have accepted a job in Pine, AZ. GORGEOUS!!!!!!!! It's a really tiny small town and district, with only 120 kids K-8. (Massive sigh of relief!) It's going to be a hard road, because we have to move in about three weeks, but I'm going to love it!!! I'll give you more details later, but here are some pictures of Pine/Strawberry (or Scrawberry if you're from the south).

You Are a Mint Chocolate Cupcake
You are whimsical and quite quirky. You are unlike any other person you know.You are drawn to similarly offbeat people from all walks of life.You are like a cupcake because you're unique and expressive.You have a refreshing take on the world. You're often surprising... even to yourself.

I stole this quiz from Lynley's blog. Take a few minutes and see what kind of cupcake you are.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatflavorcupcakeareyouquiz/

Goodbye, Farewell . . .

This is a tribute to my mom and sister. Why is it that every time my family comes to visit, I spend the days leading up to it counting down, but when they finally arrive the time flies by so fast that I don't get to really soak them in until they leave? I feel like my grandma standing at the end of the driveway when family leaves, crying. I had so much fun with them!!!! My sis is so amazing. She's like a snake charmer with Max. I don't know what kind of Voodoo she pulled last night, but she flipped Max's mood from terror to ADORABLE at my band concert. He is so cute I could eat him for dinner!!!! You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to spending the summer with him. I've already looked up games and lessons and crafts that we can do to get out of the pre-monsoon heat. He's also going to be my Rocky coach this summer. Okay, so he's not going to be screaming "Ya Bum!" and make me punch frozen meat haunches, but I'm going to put him in the stoller and walk with him every morning. If I'm feeling really ambitious, maybe I'll jog! To get myself pumped up, I'm going to put some Moby songs on Jack's ipod, and maybe a little "eye of the tiger" action. (Cue work out sequence in slow mo) Okay, before I go to pick up my pumpkin head at day care, I'm going to say something true: no matter old you are or how many children you have, you still need your mommy. True Story.

I'm Walking on Sunshine

Okay, so it's an omen. I just read my best friend's blog and she's inspired me!!!!!!! Here she is, emerging from years of self doubt and taking life by the unmentionables and LIVING IT! I don't care if I'm working at McDonalds next year. My life is great. I have a great husband (who makes homeade noodles for goodness sake!), a goofy and adorable son (who reminds me alot of the young Tarzan), two beautiful dogs, people who love me, and CHOCOLATE!!!!!! Who cares if I've been given the sack, gained all of my pregnancy weight back and then some, bounced my mortgage payment, and not shaved my legs in weeks! I'M AWESOME!!!!!! Max doesn't care, Bruce and Darby don't care, okay so Jack wishes that I shaved my legs, but he still loves me. Here I go with today's theme song in my head "I'm Walkin on Sunshine, Ohhhh Ohhhhh, and Don't it feel GOOOD!"

QUOTE OF THE DAY!

Okay,
So today has been really busy and fun at the same time. I had my dress rehersal for my 3rd graders who have a concert IN ONE WEEK (gasp!). But they sang fantastically! And the best part was that my kindergarten class was there to be a good audience, and they got so excited by the music that they started dancing around the cafeteria. (Too Cute!) After our rehersal, I stopped by the Kinder babies to tell them that I'm glad that they had fun, and one of the little darlings came up to me and said,

"Ms. Fleming, I danced and I pranced."

It doesn't get much better than that! I hope that you all have a great day where you wanted to "dance and prance".

Love you all,

The Bigger the Figure . . .

I heard this Louis Prima song on a movie, and I just about DIED laughing. I had to share the love. Just listen to this beauty, and think of an inspired compilation of "chunky" songs. ("I like big butts", "Chunky", "The Bigger the Figure", "I'm Fat" (wierd Al), "Fat Bottomed Girls", "I really love you Fatty Fat" (Bad Manners), "Fat Sally" (Bad Brains) . . . ) Now why does that make me smile????

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00138BBRE/ref=dm_dp_trk5?ie=UTF8&qid=1239996939&sr=301%5F1

I'm officially fired!

Okay,
So I just spent ten minutes steaming about my non-pink pink slip, and it was lost when I tried to add a picture, arrrghhhh. Now I'm too emotionally drained to rehash it, so I'll give you the abridged version. I finally officially recieved my notice of "job termination" and it's not even a pretty pink, it's white, ugly, and depressing. I'm sad/relieved/mad/depressed, and I'm going to go home and cry for a couple of hours until I have to pick up Max! I don't even have Dove chocolate in the house, damnit! I promise that the next post won't have as much angst. . . sigh.

Here's a song that expresses my mood right now.

http://www.amazon.com/These-Boots-Are-Made-Walkin/dp/B000QOEN6W/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1239311493&sr=1-10

scaling the ten foot fence

I love teaching, I really do. There are days, like today, when a situation is really stressful at the time, and later on you can laugh about it. This morning, I did an activity with my 3rd graders where I wrote music notes on easter eggs and had two kids from each class hide the eggs outside for the rest of the class to find. I guess that it didn't occur to me to tell them NOT to hide the eggs inside the 10 foot chain link fence surrounding the electrical box. That's LOCKED! I keep forgetting that kids don't have common sense, though. So out comes my class, I tell them to go find the eggs, and the next thing I know, I hear a thud and one of my kids is clutching his ankle FROM INSIDE THE LOCKED FENCE. One of the boys climbed the fence to get the eggs, then JUMPED into the electrical area, spraining his foot in the landing. He's locked in, and can't get out because his foot hurts too bad to climb. I had to send two kids to the office to get someone to unlock him so that we could take him to the nurse. Geez. Does it even sound like I have a valid excuse for the principal?

Give me some chocolate.

I need a Mommy hug!

I will never get over how even though I'm almost 27 years old and have my own baby, I still need a hug and loves from my own mommy. She just had surgery this past week to get her galbladder taken out and I have been worried about her. I would love to be there to wait on her hand and foot like she used to do for me when I was sick as a little girl. She always used to make me some hot tea, rub Vicks on my chest, and tuck me into the couch to watch AMC. Sometimes, she would even make me some chicken soup to soothe my sore throat. I'll never forget when I was in high school and I had my wisdom teeth taken out. She fed me frostys, and taped frozen peas to my head so that I would feel better. I hope that I help Max as much as mom helped me. Sometimes it's really hard to be so far away from my family. Maybe someday we will be close enough so that I can take care of her when she is sick, and she can give me a good mom hug when I have a rough day and want to sell my 5th graders to the circus. . . sigh.

Check out this song

Okay, if you haven't seen "Madagascar 2" yet, you are missing a great thing. My new theme some is sung by the hippo Moto Moto. Here it is . . .

http://www.amazon.com/Big-And-Chunky/dp/B001NRXWYU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1236894074&sr=8-3

AAAAHHHHH, SPRING BREAK!!!!!

No news is good news, right? Next week, I promise not to stress!!!!!! I'm going to play with my little man, read a good book, clean house, make comfort food, and . . . rest. (Cue William Tell Overture beginning) Last night, I was so proud of Max! He said my favorite color PURPLE, but it came out more like "pupa". I am seriously grateful that my job pays me to be home for a week right now. It's about the only thing that I love my job for right now . . . maybe I can move to Utah and help Lulu dress manniquins.

A mother's outrage

I wanted to share with you a letter that I wrote late last night and shared with all of my collegues and school today. Everytime I read it, it makes me so mad that I cry, and then I get mad because I'm crying . . .


Dear Carmichael Family,
I wanted to share with you something that affects me personally and also affects you professionally. Yesterday, my husband and I attended a transition meeting to help my two and a half year old son transition to special education preschool. Some of you may know that he was born with microcephaly, a condition where his head and brain are significantly small and he consequently has motor, speech, and other developmental delays. What you might not know is that he has been receiving early intervention services since he was three months old. At the time that he began this process, the doctors did not know how severe his delays would be, or if he would even be able to be in a regular classroom. It soon was very clear that although his personality was sharp, his motor skills were very delayed. With the help of a physical therapist, he was able to roll over at 11 months old, crawl at 12 months, and walk at 16 months old. We then learned that he also has significant speech delays. At this point, after over two years of visits from Physical, Occupational, and Speech therapists, he is doing much better than we had anticipated, but still has far to come. My husband and I discovered yesterday that because of the severe budget cuts coming from the state, my son will no longer be receiving any of these services after next week. If he is able to successfully transition to Special Education Pre-School, he can once again have all of his services reinstated next school year. To my outrage, not only does this affect my son, but all children who are covered by the Blake Foundation with AZIP who do not have "severe" handicaps. Do I need to stress how important early intervention services are to our children? Max’s neurologist has told us time and time again that the most important years of a child’s brain development are before he even starts school. I am willing to take shots at my own personal career with the already devastating budget "solutions" coming from the state, but I REFUSE to allow my son to suffer because the legislators feel that these essential services can be cut! I am willing to stand and fight these problems until my fingers are sore from typing, or my voice is gone from speaking, alone, if I have to. But I am asking you to support me, and all of the children that need this help more than I can express. Please contact our representatives (again) and fight for what is right for our children.

Thanks for being my shoulder to cry on (and my ear to complain to),
Giuliana Fleming

I have recieved comments, all positive, from my fellow teachers, and I plan on sending this letter to my legeslators. I thought about taking out all of the strong language, but I really think that these decision makers in Arizona need to feel the wrath of a mother, because I'm sure that I'm not the only one who is fuming right now.

Here is the link to the Blake Foundation's webpage:

http://www.easterseals.com/site/PageServer?pagename=AZTU_homepage

weeeoooo weeeeoooo, here comes the Waaaambulance!

Okay, this is going to be a little bit of a whine fest. As I tell my kids, "Let me call the waaaambulance". Jack is in Mississippi, eating po-boys and steak, and playing with his best friends, while I am sitting here, jealous, and watching Toy Story for the millionth time. My computer has finally given up the ghost, so I can only post here from school. Max is truly the sweetest little pumpkin in the world this week, but he has given me a head cold and I wish that I was home curled up on the couch, doped up on Nyquil. I miss my friends. WAAAAAAA. Education here is Arizona is going to hell in a handbasket. WAAAAAAAA. I have to take care of my mother in law's dogs. WAAAAAAA. The kids at school are driving me crazy. WAAAAAAAA. I need chocolate. WAAAAAAAAAA. Okay, I feel slightly better. snif.

Snow Recorder fight

Here's my snow/recorder experiment: take one class of really crazy 3rd graders, add plastic whistling devices, shove snow into them, and try to see who could melt the snow out of them the fastest with their "Darth Vader" breath. Result--one broken recorder, lots of melted snow in the room, children that swear they have frostbitten fingers, and the highlight of the experience is watching Mrs. Fleming's recorder "poop" snow. I wish that you could have been there. But then again, maybe you're glad.

Begrudgingly going to work in a winter wonterland . . .

Here's a link to our weather story. And the picture above is what the mountains looked like yesterday. I'll give you an update as to what they look like today!!!!!

http://www.svherald.com/articles/2009/02/10/news/doc499118fa97a02371453771.txt

Okay, last night when we went to bed, Max and I prayed for a snow day, because we've had a winter storm warning. When we woke up this morning to let the dogs out, there was a serene blanket of white snow and there were snowflakes swirling around. Bruce took one look and backed up into the house, and Max just went "Woooow". He was trying to go play in the snow in his pyjamas, so we bundled him up and he went outside with Jack to check it out. Jack said he just kept saying over and over, "Oh Man!" and he laughed his head off when daddy threw snowballs at Mama behind the window. The good and really cool news, we had about 5 inches in our yard. The really depressing news, I still had to go to school today. Our superintendant is from Alaska, so chances of a snow day were pretty slim. Snif. Our kids today (the ones that showed up anyway) are just itching to play in it, so I am going to do a science experiment with snow inside of recorders. I'll give you an update later. And post the pictures. I heard that it even snowed in Tucson! CRAZY!!!!! I'm just southern enough to get all giddy when it snows, and right now, I wish that I was having a snowball fight and making snow angels!!!!

Okay, so the only reason that Lulu should forgive me for not posting this is that my computer is the devil. I literally tried to post this one three times and my internet kept kicking me off!!!!! Curses to dial up!!!!! Anyway, here is my poem, and Ode to Lynley--to a tiger lily on her birthday:

Listens to me, even when I'm whiny
Yellowstone park is no feat for her
Never tells me how stupid I'm acting when I'm hormonal
Loves me enough to rush me to the ER in the middle of the night
Every moment with her watching P&P is never boring
Yells like Red from Fraggle Rock, only with angry piggy eyes
Saves me with ice cream therapy
The only person who can get me to throw away my junk
Has seen me looking like butt and still likes me
Elementary teacher librarian in the making
Bread from the Hinton's makes her swoon
Only my bestest bud in the entire world!!!!!!
Mistress of Giuli's wardrobe
Brusque, brazen, red-headed Bombshell.

I hope that you liked that last bit of alliteration!!!! If I was anywhere near you on this birthday, we would be eating Baskin Robbins ice cream cake and watching a glorious girl movie. I finally did catch on to "Mamma Mia" and I wish that I had watched it with you first :) Love you Lulu!