Josie Quips

It's finally cloudy and a bit drizzly in Fresno today, which seems like a perfect excuse to do something cerebral instead of tackling the To DO List that hasn't been touched all weekend. Yesterday I blamed it on my barometric-pressure-induced-migraine (but I DID get a load of school work done while watching Scooby Doo with Josie). Somehow, fate or karma decided I needed this weekend to slow down.


I just wish Fate could convince Josie that we're slowing down. She's already written two songs & has plans for creating a cardboard village that she wants to make using mini-marshmallows & toothpicks & beads. I have a feeling I'll be teaching her how to use the attachments on the vacuum cleaner before the day is over.

Josie's only had a few sleepovers and so far, she hasn't made it through the night at a friends' house since Maya & Sage moved to Massachusets. As soon as night falls, she's pretty sure she needs her mom or dad & asks to go back home. She enjoys having friends sleep at our house but even the slight change in the routine makes her a little weepy at bedtime. I'm sure she'll eventually work it all out but I kind of like the fact that Sleepover Days are still pushed to the future. A few weeks ago, however, she and a friend had been playing all afternoon at our house and asked if they could have a sleepover so the fun wouldn't have to end. Jessie's mom agreed and we made a pact that if there were any tears or fears, we'd drive Jessie home, no matter what time of the night it became necessary.

To my delight, the tears & fears never happened and I slept pretty soundly. Second Grade Sleepovers are pretty mild. There was pizza for dinner, Scooby Doo on the DVD, and Speedy Whiskers, the rat, seemed to love the attention he received. At about 9 pm the girls started yawning and when I suggested it was time to get ready for bed, they were eager to crawl under the covers. The closet light had to stay on but they were soon asleep with only minimal giggles & fake snoring.

In the car the next day, they insisted on listening to Kidz Bop Christmas Music as loud as my car stereo would allow. They shouted loudly with the music in between giggles. At one point Josie said, "Jessie, we're just like twins! I know you have brown skin & black hair and brown eyes & I have peach skin and brown hair & green eyes but we both laugh at the same stuff so we're just like twins!" Without hesitating Jessie said, "Yup, we are twins. We laugh at the same stuff and we like the same pizza and that definitely means we're twins."

If only our nation could adopt that kind of logic!

Last week Saturday I got a call from Josie late in the evening. She was whimpering and in between deep sighs she asked, "Mom, can I stay at your house tonight?" I told her that her dad had been out of town for so many nights that he was missing her and really wanted her to stay at his house. "But Mom, I don't like what he's serving me." (insert whine & sobs) What is Daddy feeding you, Josie? "Oh, he's NOT feeding me anything. He's trying to serve me mushy carrots but I'm not eating them." Josie, you need to try the carrots, they're good for you and your body needs vegetables to grow strong & healthy. "But Mom, they are so squishy and I just can't put them in my mouth. And he says I have to eat two of them." If you put them way in the back of your mouth and chase it with water, you won't even taste them. Really, you're making a big deal out of this and if you just do it quickly, it'll be all over with. "Oh, Mom..." (add drama and crying and whimpering) "I'm going to put my dad on the phone and you tell him that you're coming over to pick me up, okay?" Before I could decline, she handed the phone to her dad and he and I both laughed.

The next day I called to see how the Carrot Drama was resolved. Turns out she told him she ate the carrots and when he glanced at her plate, they were indeed gone. The next morning when he was cleaning up the dishes in the sink, he discovered the carrots hidden under the rice on her plate. So when she asked if she could have a play date with her friend, David, his response was, "Did you really eat the carrots on your plate?" She sheepishly realized she'd been caught and said, "No." And her dad responded with, "Then there's your answer to whether or not you can have a play date."

Josie understood the lesson. On Monday after school she told me all about it and said that she should have just swallowed those carrots instead of lying about it. "Two whole days were ruined when I could have just swallowed them and then thrown them back up really fast."

On Friday, Josie's teacher had Arts in the Classroom Training to attend so their class had a substitute teacher. The substitute teacher was a very sweet, white-haired lady and when the other teacher on our wing & I spotted her, we were a little concerned about how she'd manage the more challenging 2nd graders that she'd be dealing with throughout the day. I went across the hall and assured her that if she had any problems, she could call me or send me students that needed some time out or an alternative place to work. She reassured me that she has a very commanding style & she uses her tone of voice to capture their attention and while I believed her, I had my doubts about how she'd capture the attention of a few particular students. I checked in on her throughout the morning to see how things were going and was pleasantly surprised to see that for the most part, the students were trying to be attentive.

When I asked Josie about the day, she gave me her critique honestly. "Well, Mom, she was this old lady like a grandma. She called some people 'Young Man' or 'Young Lady' and my feelings hurt for those people. But I was really trying to be good so that she wouldn't have to call me a 'Young Lady'. Only 3 kids were naughty because they were kind of mean to her because she was really old. I thinky they probably don't like grandmas or they thought she wasn't smart about the rules. But she was pretty smart about rules and I think she could hear pretty good, too. I kind of liked her."


It's time to wrap up the Josie Stories and drive her to the store to get more mini-marshmallows for the vacuum to "eat" later this afternoon. Afterall, we've been waiting for a rainy day since April...don't want to waste the opportunity to be slovenly!

Jumping Jacks are the Hardest Thing

We've been back at school for almost 2 weeks and summer already seems like a distant memory. Josie just started 2nd grade & I began my 23rd year of teaching and we're both loving it! We aren't thrilled about the early start to our routine or the August Heat but things are going well, especially since our classrooms have working AC at the moment! (Back to School Night was conducted in sweltering classrooms with NO AC that registered 98 degrees indoors--not very aromatic introduction for new parents.)

Josie's now seven (in legal terms, I've heard this referred to as the Age of Reason) but her logic & observations continue to delight me. Although, there are those brief moments when I wish for quiet and solitude instead of listening to her constant chatter. I quickly remind myself that it won't be long before she'll hit those pre-teen sullen/silent years so I put my Listening Ears back on so I don't miss out on Josie's Wisdom.

During the final weeks of summer we were busy with Play Dates & Water Park Visits & trips to the coast to escape Fresno's Summer Heat. She also spent a lot of time with her friend, David, swimming in his pool, hanging out with him at her Dad's house, & enjoying Game Night with his family. I tried several times to invite him to our house for a Play Date but each time I suggested it, Josie vetoed the idea. After several suggestions, I started wondering if she didn't want David to see our "old" house so I asked her directly, "Why is it that you don't want David to come to our house?" Her response was honest: "Mom, I have a lot of Girl Things at our house. I don't want David to know I have so many Girl Things so it's easier to play with him at Daddy's." I suggested that we could pack up the Girl Things and give them away or hide them in my bedroom. She pondered that for a moment and said, "Yes, that might work but we can't give away my Polly Pockets yet." (Darn it!)

Speaking of "Darn It", Josie has an ongoing fear of Flushing Toilets. She cringes at the sound at home every time a toilet is flushed. But, she's downright fearful of those Sensor Toilets in Public Restrooms because she has figured out that those are extremely LOUD & they often flush while she's still sitting on the toilet. I think she suffers PTSD due to Sensor Toilets. Needless to say, at home she rarely flushes the toilet and her bathroom visits are followed by these questions, "Did you wash your hands & flush the toilet?" These questions always result in an About Face Run to the bathroom to remedy whichever task she forgot. A few weeks ago, on one of those dreadfully hot Fresno days, I was putting laundry away and heard Bentley lapping up water out of the toilet. My mind flashed & I ran to the bathroom to find Bentley drinking out of an unflushed toilet and was completely grossed out. I yelled, "DARN IT! Josie---you have GOT to start flushing the toilet without any reminders!" Sensitive Josie sulked into the bathroom with tears in her eyes & whimpered, "Mom, I can't believe you just 'Darnded' at me. That hurts my feelings." After a calm discussion & a demonstration of what Poor (Disgusting) Bentley had just lapped out of the toilet, I think she remembered to Flush for at least 24 hours.

Now that I'm teaching the same grade that Josie attends, I get to see her quite a bit throughout the day. I love this & so far, she seems to think it's pretty neat that she can call me "Mom" while everyone else calls me "Ms. Severt" (although, I hear "Josie's Mom" just as often as I hear "Ms. Severt). I'm definitely NOT a model of Physical Education and it's laughable to think I'd know the first thing about teaching PE but in California, elementary teachers are the sole instructors of Art, Music & PE. (Scary to think I have to instruct/model any of these 3 subjects, huh?) Our Second Grade Team of Teachers has a system for PE. We begin the year teaching all of our 120 2nd graders to line up like the Football Team and we do exercise & warm up drills, counting off like drill sergeants. We follow that by a lap or two around the track, walking in the heat & jogging if the weather is tolerable. Once our kiddos have the Warm Up Routine under their belts, we'll begin teaching skills of popular recess games: soccer, basketball, hoola hoops & hopscotch. This is a much different routine than Josie's PE experience in first grade where they played things like Roller Ball or Jump Rope or parachute. After the first week of PE (Ed Code requires 100 minutes of PE per week), I asked Josie what she thought of 2nd Grade PE. She sighed heavily, "I'm not liking it so much. When do we get to do the fun things like throw balls at each other?" I promised her that we'd start the Fun Stuff soon but tried to focus on the positive aspects of Exercising. "Which Warm Up Exercise do you like best, Josie?" "I don't know, but I can tell you which one I DON'T like the most: Jumping Jacks! My arms are close to my brain so they seem to understand what to do but my legs are so far away from my brain that they don't do the right thing. Jumping Jacks are the hardest thing about 2nd grade, Mom."

Simplicity!

We've had one of the best summers---haven't felt this relaxed in a long time & as I look through our collection of digital photos, I'm amazed at the adventures we've had with family & friends!

I'm not sure why this summer felt less stressful: Is it because we had such mild temperatures for Fresno? Or maybe it's because the end of the school year seemed so dismal with lay-offs, goodbyes, and changes? Perhaps it's just a mind-set because I was determined to enjoy the days with Josie & settle into a state of calm. Whatever it was, it's been delightful & energizing!

I have a sneaking suspicion that part of the reason our summer was filled with so many adventures is due to the fact that we've had no television since sometime in May (converter box died). At first, I thought about replacing it and even checked into the least expensive cable plan but after a few weeks, Josie & I decided we didn't really miss television. We've played lots of games, read numerous books, had lots of play dates, camping trip, day trips to the coast, poker night with friends, water park outings, and lots of time to talk. And talking with Josie is always enlightening and interesting!
To top it off, a few weeks ago a transformer in our alley exploded loudly and after it was finally repaired and our AC was restored, I discovered that our computer modem had been fried. Took me a few days to explore my options and finally bought a new modem but still the connection was intermittent. Facebook, emails, and computer games came to a halt but it just added to the time we spent doing more interesting things. After a few lengthy phone calls to at&t I finally had a modem that 'sort of' worked but then the computer kept shutting down on it's own and frustration started seeping into my bliss. After a few attempts to defragment and clean up files, I finally had computer wizards check it out and it's been determined that the motherboard is fried.
Being without connections and reading updates from those I love and those I barely know, I realized that life without Facebook might be a good thing for me. I'll save for a new computer (or, do what Josie keeps suggesting: "Ask Santa for a laptop!") but in the meantime, our wonderfully generous friends, Robert & Nikki, have loaned us a laptop so that I can keep the world informed of the latest Josieisms.

I'll add this post to Facebook in case anyone wants to click on the link and save the blog in your favorites or become a follower. I'll miss updates from those I love & admire on facebook but I hope you'll keep in touch via phone & email or maybe even stop in and read my blog from time to time.

severt.lori@gmail.com
http://www.thoughtsfromtheseadblogspot.com/

And, of course, I have to leave you with a recent Josieism: "Summertime is great but I miss my friends and I really need to get back to school and work on my 'clalluses' on the monkey bars. I'm really out of shape, you know."

Time to get back to work, eh? I need to develop the calluses on my brain!

How does Life get so busy?

It seems as though I never quite accomplish all of the things on my To Do List but I remind myself frequently that Time is a precious gift. If I get too caught up in keeping a clean house, empty laundry baskets, and a tidy yard I will miss out on the most important things in life. I started this blog almost 2 years ago as a way to keep in touch & to record Josie's daily life but it's been months since I've posted so it's about time I share some more Josieisms. Many of these have already been shared via facebook (that great time waster aka 'a social network') but if I ever figure out how to print my blog I want to save these Josieisms so she can read them herself someday.

November 2009:

Our school used to hold a Multicultural Feast and all of our ethnically diverse families would bring food from their culture to share. Sadly, state law prohibits us from sharing anything home-cooked so we've adopted an annual Multicultural Fashion Show instead. Students are encouraged to dress up in traditional clothing to share with all of our students. Josie, being all about "fashion" really REALLY wanted to participate this year. I tried several times to explain the concept because she thought she could wear a pretty dress and be part of the show. She finally caught on when I showed her some photos from last year's show. She wasn't going down easily, though. "Well, Mom. Why can't I just wear my Old Navy cupcake shirt and jeans? I can be a United States of American, can't I?"

Walking down the hall at school, past the kindergarten classrooms: "Hmmm....(with a wrinkled up nose)...smells like kindergarteners down here." What does a kindergartener smell like? "Sweaty."

Weeping after school one day, I asked her what had made her so sad. "I really wanted to eat hot lunch today because it was cheese pizza, but you put 'pasghetti in my lunch instead. (insert whimper) I ate cheese anyways, because Mrs. Rail said you wouldn't care. I can't wait to be seven so my life won't be so hard."

December 2009:

Josie's Six Year Old Christmas Wish List: "I'm not a Girlie-Girl anymore, Mom. I like Boy-ie things now because I really like boys. I hope Santa brings me a Nerf gun and some Star War Legos. But, he can still put nail polish in my stocking if he wants."

First words on Christmas Morning after spying gifts under the tree: "Mom! Myriam was wrong!! She told me I was on Santa's Naughty List, but I can tell that Santa knows more than Myriam."

January 2010:

Mom: "Josie, do you want me to help you put Neosporin and band-aids on your injuries?"
Josie: "I've lost six teeth already, Mom. I can put band-aids & ointment on all by myself." (with an eye roll, of course)

"My stomach is having an earthquake today. I just want to go to sleep so it won't throw up on me."

One day when I had Yard Duty at morning recess she ran up to me, nearly bouncing with excitement. "Mom, we have a substitute today!" Really? Do you know her name? Look of concentration with a furrowed eyebrow, "Ummmm....I'm pretty sure it's Miss D but she's the one with the cute little nose."

February 2010:

Looking forlorn and speaking in a grumpy tone, "So, Mrs. Rail told us the groundhog saw his shadow this morning. Does this mean I won't feel warm until I'm in about 2nd grade, Mom? (big sigh) It's such a sad day. I don't think I like this holiday too much."

"I really hope Cupid doesn't shoot me tomorrow, Mom. I don't want to have to fall in love with someone I don't even like!"
Two days later, "Mom!! I survived Cupid! I'm not in love with anyone so I know he didn't shoot me. I'm a good hider!"

Getting ready to go to the park on one of the first spring-like days, "We need to hurry up. There are probably kids just waiting at the park to be my friend today."

March 2010:

"Mom, what does 'delicate' mean?"
Thinking I'd help her figure it out by using the context in which she heard the word, I asked her, "Where did you hear that word?"
Without a moment's hesitation she replied, "In the shower. I hear all kinds of things in my head when I take showers."

One morning at school I stopped to talk to a friend in the office. Josie was ever-so-anxious to get out on the playground and was trying her best to be patient. "Excuse me? Come on, Mom! You're moving like slug!"

"Mom, I love you to infinity. And that's forever. But I love fish to zero. 'Cause I don't even like it to 1. It's nasty!" (with a really wrinkled nose & pinched face)

"Hey, Mom? Don't I have an Aunt Lynne?"

You certainly do!

"McKenzie has an Aunt Lynne, too! Can you believe it? She doesn't have Jordyn or Brady cousins, though. Too bad for her."

One afternoon after trying to coax her into getting some homework done and then having her procrastinate and stall by watching her break & sharpen her pencil for the 5th time, I let out a big sigh. She turned to me in her innocent manner and responded, "Mom, I know how you feel. I'm going to feel the same way when you're old and I'm in college. I'll know so much more than you. I'll get tired out just trying to talk to you about everything you don't know."

When you drop in to visit, my house probably won't be picked up, and the laundry won't be folded and put away, and the yard is likely to appear abandoned. We're too busy enjoying our time together to worry about those things. Living in the moment is the best way to cherish the time we're given!

Travels with Josie

We are finally back into our routine after a THREE week winter vacation (heaven!) that was preceded by a windfall-surprise-visit from my niece, Kala, during the week of Thanksgiving break, followed by the 9 Sleep Holiday with Grandpa! It feels like we've had an entire month of celebrations, tours, and memory-making. We enjoyed every single moment and it just makes us miss our far away family & friends even more.

Whenever we have visitors it's only natural to take tours of this amazing & diverse state where we are fortunate to live. I made a promise to myself when I moved here that I would NOT take the proximity to the ocean & mountains for granted and I vowed to make a trip to one or the other at least once a month. So far, I've only missed 5 out of the 102 months I've lived here. Not too shabby. I've explored many amazing places and keep returning to our favorites while trying to have new experiences whenever possible.

In the last 4 years I've put about 45,000 miles on my car and Josie has been with me for nearly all of them. We have great conversations & share all kinds of personal secrets as we scoot along the highways and interstates.

"Are we almost there?" "This looks like a good place to pee in the grass, don't you think?" "Are we almost there?" I'm not pulling out until you buckle up." "I have to go, Mommy." "Can we sing something other than Hannah Montana?" "Oh gross! Bentley just frew up all over the seat! I want out!" "No, we don't need another Happy Meal." "Are we almost there?" "See if you can count 100 red cars!" "Mom, Bentley keeps wagging me with his tail!" "Ewwww...I smell skunk and I don't like it, Mom!" "Are we almost there?" "I spy with my little eye..."

I've listened to countless songs by Hannah Montana, Raffi, Jack Johnson, & endless High School Musical, longing for the day when I can get her an iPod with earphones. Still, the long car trips have been worth it so that we can explore, hike, camp & play in the beautiful places that surround our home, not to mention the opportunities to escape Fresno's intense heat or smothering fog. And I DO love my alone time with Josie. She's entertaining & full of spirit & she always makes me smile. Even when I'm annoyed with her whining.

Last week on the way home from our trip to Point Lobos State Reserve (just south of Carmel on Highway 1) Josie introduced me to a new car game she calls "If I...." We each took a turn coming up with a new "If I" sentence starter and then we listed our grand ideas.

Here are some of my favorites that Josie shared:

"If I could be an animal I'd be Pretty Bird because she is beautiful & sings so sweetly."

"If I could fly anywhere in the world, I'd go see my cousins and eat pickles and catch fireflies."

"If I had a piggy bank full of quarters, I'd go see Maya & Sage."

"If I could be anything in the world when I grow up I'd be your Josie, Mom."

"If I could live anywhere in the world, I'd live with Nikki & Robert and their whole zoo!"

"If I could be a fairy, I'd sprinkle everyone with Laughing Potion and then watch them laugh."

"If I could go on a train trip I would want Grandpa to go with me because he loves trains."

"If I could be anywhere right now, I'd be home snuggling Bentley."

I love that she has the ability to dream! I like this game far more than other Travel Games we've played and I know she liked it, too. She was pretty disappointed when we finally reached home and quietly asked, "When's our next trip, Mom?"