My plane ticket

My plane ticket is purchased – to the sorry tune of $658.50! 
I found a ticket for $520 but I would have had to fly into and out of
Dulles and that is a HUGE pain.  So I decided the extra money was
worth not having to lug all of my luggage on a train to DC, then a
couple Metros to get to the other side of DC, and then a bus to get to
the airport.

Here’s my schedule:

Leave Baltimore and arrive Anchorage – July 10th, 6:27 pm.

Leave Anchorage and arrive Portland – August 4th (Papa and Granny’s anniversary!) – 7:50 AM

Leave Portland and arrive Baltimore, August 14th, 6:41 pm

I’m looking forward to a great trip!

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Mom’s gone…

Boo hoo hoo.  It’s a good thing that Rachel is coming in two weeks!

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Our Adventures so Far

Hey everyone!  Mom and I are having a good time, other than the
fact that I got laryngitis and really couldn’t talk at all yesterday –
above a whisper.  So it’s made for some interesting conversations!

On Thursday, I had to work so Mom stayed home, slept off her flight and
tried to keep from being too bored.  That night, we went to the church to
practice our song that we’re singing tomorrow (should my voice recover
enough) and then to Sacred Harp shape note singing.  This is
something that I started doing in January.  It’s very cool and
hard to explain so go to the site if you’re interested and I’ll try to
blog about it some other time.

Yesterday, we drove to the Eastern Shore but we stayed on the
Chesapeake Bay side and didn’t go to the Atlantic.  (So no fries
Meggan!)  We went to St. Michaels and Oxford and even took a
little tiny ferry – the ride’s about 7 minutes long.  It was a fun
day of shopping in antique stores and being together.  And, on my
part, whispering.  Mom said that she was used to me initiating the
conversation so we often had some long pauses.  I think it was
good practice for both of us, me to listen more and her to talk more!

Today, we went to the Farmer’s Market, the Book Thing where we got 33
books (FOR FREE!!!!!!!!!), and to Mt. Vernon, where we climbed
228 steps to the top of the Washington Monument.  Our legs were
really shaky by the time we got to the top but the view was worth it!

This afternoon we went duckpin bowling with Kristen.  Or at least
we wanted to but all the lanes were full with birthday parties.
So we watched a bunch of little kids having the time of their
lives.  Duckpin bowling is bowling downsized – everything is
smaller, and in my opinion, much more fun!

So we’re home, and tired, and ready to watch a movie!  (Since I can’t really talk.)

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My Chalkboard Sentence

I couldn’t get the fancy code to work but here’s what the quiz (from
Meggan’s blog) said that I would have to write on the chalkboard:


I will not blame my farts on the dog

(Like on Jack?)

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Mom is Here!

She’s here and I have to go to school today and probably won’t be home
until around 3:45.  So if you think of it, call her to keep her
company! I’m taking tomorrow off and we’re going to the Eastern Shore
for a little sightseeing!

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If Mama Ain’t Happy, Ain’t Nobody Happy

We all know it to be true right?!  Well, now there’s evidence to
prove it!  And there’s evidence to prove that when Mama is happy
(or isn’t depressed), her kids are happier too.  (“New research
shows that treating the depression of mothers can significantly
alleviate children’s depression.”)

Listen to the interesting NPR story about it…

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I rested

I had a nice afternoon but unfortunately, now I seem to be coming down
with a cold.  So Mom, make sure to take some echinacea before you
get here!

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For Jon and Leah

(and the rest of you if you’re interested)

Here’s a link to what looks like the tourism website for the Giant’s
Causeway.  It’s gorgeous!  It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage
site.


http://www.northantrim.com/giantscauseway.htm

(It’s in Northern Ireland and was absolutely my favorite place that I visited in Irelend.)

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The MSA

The MSA is the Maryland State Assessment.  It’s the No Child Left Behind required test that all kids in the state of Maryland have to take.  (Every state has something equivalent to it).  This week and next are our testing weeks.  All the ESOL kids take it together.  I have administered one day of 6th grade math, one day of 8th grade math, and helped with another day of 8th grade math and 7th grade reading.  These tests are incredibly hard if you don’t know English.  My kids try SO hard to get the answers right.  They look up words in their dictionaries, they struggle, they furrow their brows, they apologize for not knowing.  I tell them, “It’s OK.  We understand.  No one will be mad at you if you don’t know what to put.”  But I want to yell, (at the state and federal governments) “IT’S NOT FAIR!!  DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE PUTTING THESE KIDS THROUGH?  DO YOU THINK YOU COULD PASS A TEST IN KOREAN (FARSI, ARABIC, TAGOLOG, CHINESE, SPANISH, FRENCH…) IF YOU’D ONLY LIVED THERE FOR ONE YEAR (OR LESS)????  HOW CAN WE EXPECT THESE KIDS TO PASS??”

One girl I teach is from Haiti.  R was adopted by an American woman, along with her three sisters.  She came here last year, at the age of 13, not knowing how to read or write or do math.  She has made amazing strides and is really, really trying to learn.  She is eligible (due to interrupted education) to have the test read to her and written for her.  So I spent yesterday and today, sitting by her, reading her impossible questions about slope of the line and probability and scalene angles and volume of a cylinder and tranversals.  All easy stuff if you speak English and have been learning math since kindergarten.  Impossible if you’re still proud of yourself for mastering the times tables.  She tried and tried and tried.   She apologized, she complained, she almost cried.  Finally I just told her that I was proud of her and that she was allowed to write, “I don’t know.”  And we finished.

And tonight I am exhausted with the struggle and unfairness of it all.  (And I haven’t even talked about how ridiculous the reading test is.)

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Rest

I really didn’t rest this Sunday.  I was at church for both
services and Sunday School in between (nursery at the 8:15 and I read
Scripture during the 11:00).  Then I rushed home, ate lunch, went
grocery shopping, and headed out at 3:15 to hear an amazing college choir who
I’ve been wanting to hear ever since I moved to Baltimore.  I went
to half of that concert (it was wonderful) and at intermission, went
over for Sacred Harp hymn singing (that’s a whole other blog topic in
itself.)  After singing and potluck, I was home by 7:15.

All good things, one especially necessary (so that I would eat this
busy week), but not rest.  And I have been SO TIRED this
week!  Even though I’m sleeping 8 hours a night, I get up feeling
exhausted.  So this Sunday, I am resting!  I’m going out for
brunch with some grad school teacher friends after church and then I’m
going to do nothing for the rest of the day.  There, I’ve put it
in writing.  Hold me to it!

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