Pet Name

Skittles. That's who gave Quinn the friendship bracelet.

It's not her real name, only the nickname given her by my son, who described her as "small with a colorful personality."

Aha!

Mr. Rellim & I were surprised to see our parenting mantra in such a lovely poster.

Zaccheus

Remember the song? Do you remember his profession?

Today in church, the kids were asked, "What was Zaccheus?" The adult leader was trying to elicit "tax collector." Instead, one of the boys shouted, "A wee little man!"

Bringin' Home the Bacon

Did I tell you that I've been working nearly full-time for about a month? It's kicking my butt and has convinced me to hold firm to my choice to work 32 hours only. Of course, since I'm covering for a portion of the caseload of a fellow SLP who resigned, I can't exactly just quit. And the school district doesn't seem to be in a big hurry to get someone hired. And the extra eight hours per week on my paycheck has really come in handy. We paid for the new washing machine "purchased" in December, for example.

But . . . working full time on an academic year is sorta like working 75% of the time for a 12 month job. So . . . I guess I should not complain.

Quinn is Fourteen

Add this to the "Awkward Family Photos" collection. Quinn is positioned here between my parents, who came to visit and wish him happy birthday. At the exact moment of the photo, my son goosed his grandmother. A birthday to remember, right?

Pronoun Pep-Talk

I was doing a lesson about personal pronouns with a primary classroom. At the end of the lesson I told them, "If you use the right words when you talk you will sound SMART! And if you use the right words when you write, you will sound SMART! And when people talk to you they will say, 'Wow! He is so . . . '"

One young child shouted, "FUNNY!"

Names

My friend's youngest child is named Matthew and he has a favorite Webkin that he named "Matt-Matt" (after himself). I thought that was cute. Then she told me that his other stuffed toys are named "Matt-Matt's Brother," "Matt-Matt's Sister," and "Matt-Matt's Cousin."

I laughed out loud!

Hungry

You've heard that teenage boys are hungry all the time and that they'd eat almost anything? Well, I had to make an appointment at the orthodontist because Quinn's top left bracket has fallen off. The receptionist asked me to bring the bracket with us to the appointment. "Unfortunately," I told her, "we can't. I'm afraid my son ate it."

Silver Lining

Overheard in a middle school cafeteria:

Girl 1:
My boyfriend is so lucky! He doesn't have to take (the standardized testing required for NCLB)!

Girl 2:
Why?

Girl 1:
See, he has this tumor . . . and . . .

Busy

My kids are on spring break this week. Quinn was so busy that he didn't even have time to get dressed today. At least, that's his story.

Game On!

I wonder if the super PAC will use this in its next ad?http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Do You Like Steve Martin?

Then you must, must read this book. Still laughing about some of the tweets

BTW

"By the way," asked my son one evening before bedtime, "I need to bring something to school tomorrow for a class project. Do we happen to have something like an owl cage around here?"

GPS

My parents bought a GPS device for me last Christmas. I like it, but I am wary of the possibility of it becoming sentient. I don't always follow its direction, but sometimes I'm talking to a passenger or listening to the radio, or just misjudging how far "800 yards" is until the next turn. I'm worried that I could be disappointing or angering the thing. Yesterday, my fear seemed to come true as the GPS said to me, "TURN RIGHT! TURN LEFT!" near the airport in St. Louis. Shocked, I pulled over until it recalculated.

Eggs

We are becoming an educated family regarding eggs.

Earlier in the year, we learned that Quinn is highly allergic to eggs, though he tolerates them in baked goods. This weekend, Mike learned that microwaving a hard-boiled egg can have surprising results. As he bit into the egg, it exploded, sending egg particles all over his face, steaming up his glasses, and burning his lips.

Maybe we oughta take a little break from eggs?