A Day in a Texas Heat Wave--by Jeff Haby

I found this poem and just had to share it.....Texas is used to HEAT!!!!  

A Day in a Texas Heat Wave After sunrise- The air feels sticky, Like honey drying and thick. Texas heat gradually builds As noontime approaches- Heat such as in a warming oven Or a roaring fire. The heat and humidity combine To a heat index of one-o-nine. Sweat drips from every brow. How a normal human can handle it- I don't know how. The sun is still only halfway Across the sky. Weak grass and bushes Begin to wilt and die. The temperature reaches 100 again. Only sunset gives relief From the red hot Sunburning thief. Praying tomorrow will be the day That there will be rain Because another 14 hours of the sun's ray Will send a few more people insane. Even with air conditioning A Texas heat wave can be so frustrating.

Jeff Haby

Rocking the Shedd!!!

Monday, July 2, was the 2nd annual 'Auntie Ann and kids' day (along with Grandpa).  I took my 5 precious lovelies to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.  *Last year we took the train to the Museum of Science and Industry.  This year we drove the van all the way.  Dad did the actual driving in Chicago as it's not my thing to drive a big vehicle with precious cargo.....the aquarium was awesome!!! It was fun to see and experience so much wonderful sealife with the kids.  The dolphin show was amazing and the 4-D movie was a bit intense.  My favorite area was the Jellies.  The music they played was so relaxing and the jellyfish are so mesmorizing to watch.  They just float and move ever so gracefully through the water; almost in time to the music.  I took a video of the jellyfish in the 'pink' tank and plan to watch it over and over to remind me of being there.  It was a long, hot, and exhausting day but I wouldn't trade it for anything.  Time with my 'kids' is PRICELESS!!!!  It's all about building memories and spending time together.  Never take anything for granted and embrace every day like the gift that it is.

 

Lost my friend, Summer...

I don't think this summer and I will ever be good friends!!!!.......the temperature has been well into the 90's for many days and not a drop of rain to be seen or felt. Once the temperature breaks the 90 degree mark, it' s much harder for me to spend time outside. It's either just tooooo hot in the sunshine or too humid for my breathing. So, this summer is going to pass without me spending endless hours at the pool. This year it's just not a part of my plan. My breathing and my skin are thanking me, that's for sure!!!! It's a summer for sorting, purging, and organizing the house instead. Maybe next year summer and I can be friends again....

The Case Against Assistive Technology

Love this video!!!! Just have to share it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNs88Ki1WSo

POHI -- Physically or Otherwise Health Impaired

What does it mean to be POHI? It means that an individual has a physical or other type of health impairment. Students in my program are identified with either a Physical Impairment (i.e.: cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, traumatic brain injury) or Other Health Impairment (i.e.: blood disorder, seizure disorder, ADD, ADHD). Many of my students also have Learning Disabilities or Cognitive Impairments. Combined all together, we have an eclectic group of students that love to learn but face many challenges.

*Don't let the POHI label fool you!!!!-----these are students that love to learn and are embracing the technology that is out there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj12efH8ULU

It's time...

Here it is, the day before the MACUL conference...the day before Liesha and I present to people what we're doing in our classrooms with Dragon, Symwriter and e-readers. It's been so much fun getting all of this ready, with the help of our students. Now, it's time to show it all off!

I'm excited about doing this but am also terrified! Technology is a wonderful thing but what if?......what if the powerpoint doesn't work? What if the sound system fails? What if I/we get tongue-tied?......what if? But, Liesha and I know the material and are passionate about what we do and the kids we work with. It's time to share what we do with others....

It snowed, again!

So it snowed again yesterday--another day with Lake Effect Snow Warnings and advisories from the police to stay off the road. But, it was the February birthday party day for Brian (February 14th), Dad (February 18th), and Emma (February 28th), so there was no choice about staying home and being cozy. It was a fun day filled with Calvin girl's basketball at the new sports venue (what a place!!!), eating pizza, and opening presents. A very busy but fun day but the drive home was oh so not much fun! I'm really hating winter and driving in this yucky stuff (unless the yucky stuff warrants me a day off from school so I could get tons of homework/paperwork done....) and am counting the days until Spring! On the up side, all this snow (we're only a few inches from an all-time snowfall amount record) is doing great things for the water table for the Great Lakes. I guess that's a good thing, in the long run.

The Puzzle

So I got this 1,000 piece Barack Obama puzzle from my paraprofessional, Luis, for Christmas. He thought it'd give me something to do in my spare time! It was quite a joke at the time but little did I realize it'd take me almost a month to get it done. I started it Christmas Eve, while staying at mom and dad'd house. They helped some with the border. The next day, Christmas, I worked on it off and on. I wasn't sure this puzzle was going to happen or not as it was quite the challenge. So many pieces that all looked like each other and all of those quotes from his speeches!!! I decided to stick with it but then getting it to my house was another challenge. *One of the drawbacks of starting it someplace besides the comfort of your own kitchen. I used a spatula and one of mom's trusty cookie sheets and was able to take it apart, in sections, place it on the cookie sheet, prop the cookie sheet in the back window, and drive it home. Once home, it was reassembled on my kitchen table.

I worked on the puzzle off and on during my holiday break and into January. Two weeks ago I made a real dent in it and got 2/3 of it complete. Last Sunday, my dear friend Heather, who was in from Atlanta, came over to spend the day. She loves puzzles and is true political friend so together we completed the puzzle, just in time for the inauguration of our 44th president, Barack Obama. It felt great to finally have it all put together! Such an accomplishment just like the accomplishment of our new President residing now in the White House.

I've now made up a puzzle glue and have applied 3 coats to it. I'd like to get it framed and eventurally bring it to school. I don't glue puzzles, to keep, very often, but this one I felt the need to preserve.....as a testiment to sticking with it and as a memory of the fantastic shift that is taking place in the government of my country. Plus, it was tons of fun having my dear friend around to help me finish it!

Christmas 2008

Wow! What a fun day with the family. We got together about 11am on Christmas Eve day (I arrived a little late as I'd gotten stuck at the end of mom and dad's road--ongoing saga all their years of living on Lenox Rd.----the city snowplowing!!! DON'T GET ME STARTED). Anyway, after a fabulous breakfast of made to order omlettes (orders taken by Kyle and made by Rick and Stacey) and fancy Belgium waffles made by Brian, it was time for the unwrapping of the gifts. The adults only do stocking gifts now but it was nice to get much needed socks as well as photo coasters and a note paper set for my desk at work. The kids still get gifts from grandpa and grandma as well as from aunts and uncles. I had purchased beach towels for all of the kids during one of Kohl's MASSIVE summer sales and these were a huge hit! Everyone has a different one, except Maddy and Emma who now have the same one but live in different houses. It was hilarious to see them open them up and then lay them on the floor as 'their space' to sit in for opening presents. It actually helped to contain the unwrappings. Other big gift hits were Kyle's walkie talkies, Maddy & Braden's fishing poles and tackle boxes, Emma's huge collection of chapter books, Celia's Polly Pocket, and Magic Reindeer food for all (this had to be put out right before going to bed and then get up to bed as quick as lightning or Santa may pass over your house---a call later in the night from Rick reported that Celia was almost too afraid to put it out because she didn't think she'd be able to get upstairs fast enough--she did. Santa came). The big highlight for me was FINALLY getting the game LIFE! I had this game on my Christmas list for more years than I can remember. I finally gave up putting it on my list and voila! when I least expected it, I got (a) LIFE! Thanks, Rick!!! (Brian took the picture of this event so I'll have to input it later).

One of the last gifts opened was my annual book gift, The Night Before Christmas. I've given a different version of this book to each family, starting with Kyle 10 years ago. This year's version was a coloring book. *Something to do on the next snow day?* Anyway, one of these days I need to write down all of the authors I've given because after 10 years of giving the same title, my memory isn't helping when it comes to buying another version--did I buy this one already or not? The kids now know that they get this book each year and seem to look forward to it--"Oh, it's to the 3 of us. It must be THE book from Auntie Ann".

After all of the gifts, there was some play time with the toys, grandpa reading to the kids, and then playing outside. The day had started with plain old rain, the precipitation changed to giant snowflakes, and then to small flakes before going to a freezing rain. At one point, the guys had to help the UPS driver get un-stuck from the end of the cul-du-sac. A giant snowball fight was played outside as well as a giant nest made in the front yard. Not sure who won the snowball fight as I was getting appetizers ready for the evening meal and chatting with mom, Stacey, and Jen while sipping some fabulous Cabernet Sauvingon and Port wines. Once everyone ate some 'healthier' food (lots of dutch pastries during the course of the afternoon), it was time to bundle up and head to church for some and home for others. Chezie and I were planning to stay overnight as the forecast was onimous and I was going to church with mom and dad on Christmas morning.

It was a crazy, fun-filled day filled with lots of memories and great pictures!!!

Peppermints--read @ Grandpa's funeral

Peppermints—a memory from December 1973 when I was 5 years old

A Sunday visit to Grandpa and Grandma’s house.
Time for evening church.
I’d heard that Grandpa gave out peppermints before church.
Would I get some? What color would they be? Pink? White?
Maybe they would be King or Wilhelminia?
A Wilhelmenia peppermint might last through a 3-point sermon,
if I was really careful; a King might last if I worked really hard
and fought the urge to chew it up.
If given the smaller, ‘squishier’ pink or white peppermints, I
wonder if I’d get at least 3 to hold me through.
Peppermints and grandpa.
A memory of a Sunday trip to church.
A memory of my grandpa.
And yes, I got three white peppermints just before church.


Ann Post
December 7, 2008

The Sunday at the end of Thanksgiving Break

Why is it we wait in such anticipation of an event and when the event is over, the letdown, or reality of return to the reality of life is so difficult? It is now Sunday morning, the day before the return to school and my list of things to accomplish this weekend has dwindled minimally. Attempts to get to work on the massive pile of paperwork that have been waiting all these days for me to work on have been started but as usually happens, something much more exciting to do comes along. Even 5 loads of laundry had more appeal yesterday than watching a video on yet another catastrophic eye disease! The christmas boxes made their way downstairs yesterday and the tree and kitchen lights are up but the decorations for the tree are still awaiting hanging (have to first figure out how to add extra lighting to my half-lit pre-lit Christmas tree, ugh). My cookie cutter collection is calling my name and I'm fighting the urge to make and decorate cookies. Like I really have time for this!!!!! But, I also have to finish making my gifts for my students, mod podging my sand dollars (that I worked hard to dig for when on Spring Break), empty the dishwasher, prepare meals for the week, walk the dog, watch 3 eye videos, do my Medicaid billing (this I really should do as it is the last day of the month), get an IEP invitation ready as well as start the IEP, clean out my school crate and try to figure out what I'm teaching this week, especially in regards to Writing which is the school's (and district's) major academic focus this year, oh and I don't feel the greateat. Woke up with no voice yesterday (Saturday) and while it's a little stronger today, the crud seems to be building and my body feels like lead. What a great way to end 5 glorious days off!

P.S. The forecast for later today and tonight is 5-7 inches of snow. Guess I'd better add finding my shovel in my outdoor shed and digging my snow boots out of my upstairs 'dump room' to the list as well as set my alarm for an earlier awake time as it'll take longer to get to school with crazy drivers not used to driving in the white stuff getting in my way.

**After reading this blog over, I really should get started doing something.....oh, a Hallmark movie I've never seen just started...........

Thankful Blessings Part 2

Thanksgiving. That time of year when family and friends can gather, eat great food, spend time together just 'being' and prepare for the holiday season. I've come to the conclusion that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It truly is a time to just be together with those that are most important and be thankful for all that we have. Mainly it's just being together and sharing a great meal together.
This year was the first time in a long while that we gathered later in the day. It was surprisingly delightful to spend much of the afternoon by myself, working on my blog, walking Chezie around a very quiet complex, and getting my stuff together for an exciting 24 hours of family fun. A very relaxing way to spend a holiday and one I recommend to anyone who has the chance to do this. We gathered at mom and dad's between 4:30 - 5:00. I think Rick and Stacey and clan were the first to arrive for the first time ever! We sat down to eat at 5:25 and by 5:55 we were done. Talk about an inhalation! But, as always, mom outdid herself with a phenomenal bird--very juicy. Cooked just right. Dad's contribution was a HUGE bowl of mashed potatoes. Jen, Stacey, and I added our own tasty dishes. And, like most years, there is and was an abundance of food on the table. The table length itself increased as we like to have enough room for all the food as well as sitting comfortably. Kyle likes to take his place sitting at the opposite end as grandpa.
After eating, the kids got ready for the annual showing of The Polar Express. We started this tradition 4 years ago, on Thanksgiving night, when we all went to the theater to see the movie. Celia was 5 months old at that time. Now, we show it on Thanksgiving night, with the kids getting all comfy and cozy on the floor while the adults 'do homework' by looking a the adds for the Black Friday onslaught. There's always some great deal that has to be had. As the family has cut down on gift-giving over the years, for me, going out is part of kicking off the season and getting some great deal for myself. Usually something that I've been looking at for a long time but wanted to wait until the price was right. This year the purchase was a short air purifier tower. My neighbor enjoys smoking in his house during the winter months and as a result, my bedroom often has a lingering smoke smell. Hopefully this will help with purifying the air during my sleep hours. Rick, Stacey, all 5 grandkids, and 2 dogs, stayed overnight. G & G were the sleeping babysitters as Brian/Jen and Rick/Stacey wanted to get a jump start on the gift buying for their kids. So, once the kids were all safely tucked into sleeping bags in the basement, a plan was made for the day. They were all heading to Kohl's for th 4am opening. Meijer is usually where I go as it's the easiest to get in and out of, and they have MANY quantities of items. There are also so many of these stores around that if you can't get it at one, there's always another.
The alarms went off at 3:15! Since we didn't get settled into bed until after midnight ourselves (Brian & Jen settled for sleeping at their own house, with their kids at G & G's), it made for a very short night!! *Wow, am I tired as I write this!!!! We were out of the house by 3:40 and I was in Meijer by 3:50. I ended up waiting in the GPS line for an hour as I had already grabbed my air thingy and was getting the GPS for mom and dad. It was quite enjoyable chatting with the 2 other people in line. Time went quickly and I was out the door by 5:20. Chezie was waiting in the car for me so we took a quick trip home, to our house, before heading out to a couple other stores. By 8am, I was enroute back to mom and dad's, hopefully for a few minutes of shut-eye before the kids got up. It was a few minutes allright! 3 whole minutes!!! But, once everyone was up and breakfast got started, I was awake.
It was a wonderful 24 hours of family fun and excitement. Great memories to last until next Thanksgiving. Wonderful pictures were taken and hopefully they upload like I want. I'm still new to this blogging thing and I'm finding that posting pics is the most challenging part.

Thankful Blessings Part 1

What a wonderful Thanksgiving Day service at Madison Square this morning! Laura Carpenter was the preacher and her message about our Anxiety List but also our Thankful List was very powerful. Made me re-think my anxieties for a little bit.

Maddy's dance group also danced to a wonderful song, Sanctuary. As always, Maddy puts her all into her dancing. Her dance group this year has many younger, smaller girls in it and you can see that Maddy has leadership potential. I'm attempted to upload her dancing video but I'm having trouble figuring out how to do this. Maybe over the weekend, when I have more time. **I used the movie function on my camera and didn't have my tripod to use so hopefully it's viewable. I zoomed in on Maddy at times so the picture is a little fuzzy at times but you get the idea of her dance. I hope you'll be able to see it.....

More Thankful Blessings this afternoon as the whole family, including 2 grand-dogs, invades Mom and Dad's house for dinner, the annual showing of the Polar Express, and then a giant slumber party with 5 grandkids, 2 dogs, 2 aunts, and 1 uncle (the three older adults are heading out shopping in the wee hours). The entire event will be topped off by a breakfast brunch following the early morning escapades by all.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sleep, sleep, I want more sleep....

Why is it that when you wake up in the middle of the night, toss around for a bit and then, just as you fall back to sleep, the stupid alarm starts to go off? Not a very restful night and I'd even gone to bed early (by my standards). Oh well, good thing I can sleep in tomorrow.

One tired pooch!

Boy, getting a haircut and hanging out all day at Posh Pet Doggie Salon was utterly exhausting! Time for bed, NOW.

My wonderful students

My class is just the best!!! Everyone gets along and helps each other out. On this beautiful fall day, we took a walk on the nature trail to use our 5 senses to experience the world around us. We'd just had a whopper of a weekend with tons of rain so everything was bright, green, and fresh. We could've stayed out there all day but we had to get back to class, where we promptly started writing about our walk on the trail. Don't we just look so happy to be in school, er....outside?

Grandpa's 90th birthday

Birthdays are a milestone. Every year they come whether we want them to or not. Some birthdays are eagerly anticipated while others are dreaded with every breath we take. Milestone birthdays are extra special. And while all birthdays should be celebrated, BIG birthdays deserve special recognition and even a party (or possibly 2). Such was the case with Grandpa Post turning 90 years old. It seems like just yesterday that we had a 75th surprise birthday party for him for him at Oakdale Park Church. His 80th birthday was celebrated at the now closed Mountain Jack's restaurant. All of the family came but the number was much smaller than it is now. The 85th birthday was a celebration with the children but included a dvd that had been made of his life and was set to music.

This past summer Grandpa started to go down hill, health-wise. When he entered the hospital on May 21, that was the last day he actually lived at his house. After discharge, he went to Raybrook Manor and in September was moved to Faith Hospice at Trillium Woods. During all this time, the thought about a birthday party started to grow in my mind. After all, birthdays are a big deal. I stuck to my guns about wanting this party for him (and the family), planned the birthday event (with some help from mom and dad as the event became bigger than I'd planned it to be) and even though he said he wouldn't be around to attend it, he made it to his party. What an event it was!!!! He stayed for the entire event, eating pizza, cake with ice cream, watching movies and slide shows about himself, visiting with children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, and others. The evening was topped off by celebrating communion together. It was such an warm and memorable night for all. Exactly what birthdays are supposed to be......

Retinopathy of Prematurity

What is it about having a deadline for a class and I can find 1,001 other things much more interesting to do? I guess I'll just have to turn the computer off and work on my laptop which doesn't have internet if I hope to get this 10 page paper cranked out today!!!

Halloween 2008

So, Halloween has arrived again. Unlike last year, which was cold, wet, and rainy, this year's was the perfect weather--slightly warm with a cool breeze and tons of sunshine. The time change hasn't occurred yet, so it will be plenty light for all of the trick-or-treaters. Trick-or-Treaters don't come to doors in Georgetown Condominiums so no fear of any tricks being played on me. Instead, some friends and I went to Mangiamo's for a quick Happy Hour. Nothing like a glass of Sangria to kick off a beautiful weekend!
At school, we had a Fall Festival afternoon event. I missed the entire last half of October last year due to my asthma flare-up so it was tons of fun spending the afternoon with my students, eating yummy (and somewhat healthy) food, doing a pumpkin magnet project, and watching Charlie Brown. Crazy, busy teacher that I am, I didn't even take a single picture.
Saturday, November 1, was the family big Halloween event. It's always so much fun to see the kids in their costumes and see them interact with each other. Its' been a few weeks since we were all together so it was fun to spend another beautiful weather afternoon with family. The kids just looked soooooo adorable!!!!! Kyle & Emma kicked the afternoon off with playing a trick on all of us---Kyle was 'home sick' but Emma had snuck (?) downstairs, yelled that there was a spider down there and Grandpa had to come kill it. When Grandpa finally made it downstairs, Kyle jumped out and scared him (and everyone else!) He is indeed growing up. What a perfect day.

Hanging out with Mom

Sometimes, at the end of a really long week, there's nothing better than hanging out with your mom for a day. Mom and I planned to 'do something fun' on Saturday, not really having a plan but doing something. After weighing in, at least for me (only up 3 lbs. since beginning of August--not too bad. Thought it'd be worse), mom and I decided to pack a lunch and head towards Holland and hang at the state park. We knew the weather was sunny and beautiful in Grand Rapids but weren't prepared for the absolutely perfect day for 'just hanging'. After stopping at Beaner's for our favorite skinny mocha lattes (love the BOGO coupons!), we parked our chairs in the sand along the channel from Lake Macatawa to Lake Michigan and proceeded to have a relaxing afternoon of conversation and resting. Turkey wraps and 100 calorie chips were lunch. After a few hours, the decision was made to head south to Saugatuck for dinner (we can eat at Russ' anytime). We did a quick detour into the Tabor Hill wine tasting room for some sampling and bottle purchases before heading to The Butler for patty melts, chicken sandwiches, and onion rings. The Chicago Cubs clinched the National League pennant while we were waiting. Go Cubbies! On the way home, we decided to make a quick stop for a Snickers fix (the newest addition to the Hudsonville Post family) and to see the kids. They were excited to see us and tell us all about the day. Finally we were enroute home. It was a wonderful day and long overdue. I can't wait to do it again!

P.S. Meet 'Snickers', the newest grand-dog. An addition to the Hudsonville Post family in August. She's a goldendoodle and a bundle of energy. A welcome addition to the family. Just waiting for Chezie to meet her....