Viva la Vida/Love Story - John Schmidt

Thought I posted this a while back - but I guess I didn't.  I love it.  He's an amazing pianist.  When I was an EFY counselor he would do the concerts for each session.  

All in a day's work!

After I told my Mom this story and she managed to compose her uncontrollable laughter - she made me promise to blog this story.  While many may find this story horrendous - it is a pretty tame one for our little world.  My conscience keeps me from telling the other ones.  I just couldn't tell some out of sheer human decency.  

But through it all we manage to find the humor in it and get over whatever happens pretty quickly.  In fact - I have wonderful TA's with a great sense of humor and we pretty much laughed our heads off on this story in disbelief and 'of-course-this-would-happen-to-us-ishness'.  I am so incredibly grateful to work with such amazing women who make every day seem like a pretty good day - no matter what happens!

Ok - so on with the story.  Names will not be used to protect the innocent.  heh heh heh.

We had a new little guy start recently and on his very first day we went out to the playground.  He was right at home and was having fun with the rest of the class going down the slide.  Perplexingly enough - as he was going down the slide he managed to pee all the way down it.  (perplexing - because he was wearing a diaper - but I do believe we figured that one out.)  So anyway - it took a moment to realize what had happened and why he was wet.  We were exclaiming as we realized what had happened - only to turn in slow motion (I swear!) and see the rest of our class lined up and rapidly sliding down the wet slide.  Get the picture?  Uh-huh!  They all slid right down through it.  Of course we were screaming, yelling, waving our arms - and they all just smiled and looked at us like the lunatics we appeared to be - as they slid down the slide and reached the bottom instantly growing a perplexed look on their face - like - wait a sec - whaaa????????  

Um yeah!  So the very last one reached the bottom - and quickly splashed his hands in the remaining 'puddle' as we were trying to keep all of them from touching anything.  Too late!  His hands went straight in his mouth.  You can imagine . . . we were dying.  It was unbelievable.  Luckily they all always have a change of clothes in their backpack - and needless to say - they all went home in different clothes that day.  It was a day that will not soon be forgotten.  We now laugh ourselves silly about it.  And we kind of half-laughed half-died that day too.  

So hopefully you're laughing now - but if you're thoroughly grossed out . . . thank my Mom!  ;o)

If You Know An Engineer . . .

and you want them to cook . . . try this site:

http://www.cookingforengineers.com/

I love the chart at the bottom of each recipe!  :o)

Genius!

Autism Spectrum Quotient Test

I found this Post on this site: http://ifonlyihadsuperpowers.blogspot.com/2008/04/take-autism-spectrum-quotient-test.html

I thought it was a Great education tool on Autism and wanted to share it.

Take The Autism-Spectrum Quotient Test (Edited)

Take the AQ Test it is interesting and may help you to get a perspective of things that are more difficult or easy for people with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Please note that this is NOT a diagnostic test. 

In the first major trial using the test, the average score in the control group was 16.4. Eighty percent of those diagnosed with autism or a related disorder scored 32 or higher.

There are 50 questions.

If you are willing, share your score. My new score (after glitch was discovered) is 8. The Professor scored 19.

Edited 7:37pm: The Professor figured out the glitch! Please do NOT try to score yourself on the html page that you get from the Wired website because you will ALWAYS get a 24 score. I created a table to make scoring accurate. If you check a box that has a number "1" in it, give yourself one point for that question.

Beautiful Minds

Stephen Wiltshire from London is a star among savants. Stephen is autistic. He did not speak his first words "pencil" and "paper" until he was 5. Yet, when he was 11 he drew a perfect aerial view of London after only one helicopter ride. For this film we're testing the "Living camera" in Rome. (ColourField production)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAfaM_CBvP8&feature=player_embedded

I LOVE Grover!

One of my students has these shoes!  I LOVE them!  They are in kid sizes but since my feet are so tiny I technically could actually get them in a kids size and they would fit!!!  hahaha!!! 

Down the Drain

If you ever drop something down the drain - watch this:

http://www.familyhack.com/2007/08/29/drain-tip/

This guy is a genius!!!!!!!!!!!

What a great idea!!!!

FAO Schwartz Piano

Check out You Tube for more songs on the piano.  Very cool!  :o)

Cowboy T AND Kbugs!!!

Strep Throat!  My Buddy - the King of Strep doesn't have it!!!!  How does that work?!?!?!  I'm glad he doesn't though.  Anyway.  Kbugs is disappointed.  She'll be missing Cici's pizza day tomorrow for being on the honor roll - her orchestra banquet - and a Young Women's activity.  She's quite upset.  T is so easy going - he's like - ok whatever!  Funny kid!  B is mad that they 'get' to stay home tomorrow and he doesn't.  

I could so use one of these!

Laptop pillow

POSTED BY DAVID PESCOVITZ, MAY 8, 2009 3:29 PM | PERMALINK

Over at Boing Boing Gadgets, Lisa Katayama beckons me to this "laptop pillow for sleepy workaholics."

Fun Times

It's been a while - but I still wanted to post about it.

Cowboy T had been very very diligent in earning a trip to Alley Cats.  I have to say - he really earned it and had worked for quite a long time.  Luckily we had a gift card - so the kids played a round of laser tag and then bowling.  Since it was just the three of them - the workers let Bob and I go in and watch the laser tag game.  It was utterly hysterical.  I think any frustrations, unsettled disputes and pent up emotions between them were released and cleared.  I'm going to remember that strategy in the future.  When the contention gets too bad . . . time for laser tag!  Hahahaha!  

Then it was bowling.  The kids did pretty good!  I was impressed.  We all had a fun time.  It was just a relaxing out of the ordinary excursion for us to spend some time together outside of the day to day stuff.  I'm proud of Cowboy T for earning it and grateful we had the chance to go.  I like our family.  We're a lot of fun together.  At least I think so!  ;o)

21 days!

21 days and I will begin my return to life as I knew it.  I will slowly begin to recall that there is a house I live in and hobbies I like to do.  My dedication to the gym will be stronger than ever and I will start to return all the many emails I have been silent on.  I may even begin to cook good meals again.  (Gasp!)  21 days and I will luxuriously sleep past 4:40am.  I will stay up late with no frantic dread.  I will frolic and laugh with my children until they can't stand me anymore.  (that may not take too long! hahaha)  I will laugh in the face of school zones and crossing guards.  I will shun the halls of the school.  I will turn my back on the never-ending paperwork and reports.  

And I will miss my students so very very much.

Kbug's Solo & Ensemble

So Kbugs had her solo and ensemble contest.  She had practiced her duet with her friend and they did a great job.  Her solo was great too!  Kbugs asked me to be her piano accompanist.  I was a bit nervous about this - because I'm not always the most consistent player and I really didn't want to be the one to mess her up.  She brought me the music in plenty of time.  I glanced over it and it looked like something I could play.  However, I waited pretty much until the night before to work on it.  Poor K!  I think I worried her quite a bit.  We actually had a Scout's den meeting that night so I took the music with me and marked it and finger practiced it while we sat there - and then finally went home to play it for the first time.  After going through it a few times we sounded pretty good!  Phewph!  I was so relieved.  The next morning we chugged our way over there and played it.  Kbugs was AMAZING!!!!!  She sounded so good.  I think I did a-ok accompanying her.  It was just really fun to get the chance to do it with her.  I love that mom daughter kind of stuff that we get to do.  She is such a wonderful person and I love being with her.  I wasn't surprised at all when she got her score.  She got a 1.  Good job Sweet Pea!  Ily!

I Killed Dinner

These were boiled hotdogs.  Except the water is gone.  Because I forgot about them.  It takes a special kind of talent to ruin hotdogs.  Apparently it appears it was a slow and painful death.

Don't worry.  Nobody starved.  We had nachos instead.

Clearly a cooking show is no longer an option.

;o)

What my husband does for fun . . .

He is such a man!  Hubba hubba!

Single handedly loading that huge stump.  Utterly amazing!

Quote of the Day

"Did you land in a capsule?"

At this very moment:

72 cupcakes are baking in the oven.  Yes I realize it is 12:16am Saturday morning - however - when I waited to start baking at 10:30 - this is what happens!  ;o)  Actually we're having a lot of fun.  Kbugs has a fundraiser for camp and they will be frosting cupcakes tomorrow morning to have ready for Mother's day.  So - thusly - we are currently baking.  (yes - I do know thusly is not a word - but I liked it!)  :o)  

So while y'all are most likely sleeping - I'm enjoying the deliciously lemonish smell of moist and tasty cupcakes!  Mmmmmmm!  (and I'll be sleeping in tomorrow too!)  Sweet dreams!

Who says musicals aren't realistic!?!?!?!

This video was made in the Antwerp, Belgium Central (Train) Station on March 23, 2009, with no warning to the passengers passing through the station. At 8:00 am a recording of Julie Andrews singing 'Do, Re, Mi' begins to play on the public address system. As the bemused passengers watch in amazement, some 200 dancers begin to appear from the crowd and station entrances. They created this amazing stunt with just two rehearsals! Enjoy!

Guess what my guys did yesterday?

It started out as a great day to do yard work.  As pretty as the tree in our front yard was - it was beginning to rot from the inside and was slowly dying.  Because it hung over the cars and house we needed to take it down before it came down by itself.  Don't worry - we'll plant another one.
This is us after church - looking over the aftermath.  You may ask - why didn't we finish the job?  Well - let me tell you - the silly little matter of a severe thunderstorm, threat of golf ball size hail and tornado watch.  Being in a tree at that point is not a good idea.  It was kind of funny.  Bob had cut the trunk quite a bit and then had the chain wrapped around the tree.  He hitched it to the truck and I drove it.  Right as we started that the storm hit and it started pouring buckets.  It was actually kind of fun.  We couldn't just leave that last part like that - unfinished.  After a bit of back and forth - and some sliding around in the truck - Bob hopped in and took it a different angle - and bam! - it came crashing down! (Along with the thunder and lightning!)  Then he unhitched it and drove me all the way up to the garage so I wouldn't get wet!  Such a gentleman!  :o)  We had fun!
This is just a fraction of the mess.  I couldn't even capture it.  People driving past were slowing down gawking.  They thought the storm had torn our tree apart.  Our neighbor came home and was really worried about us.  I don't know - maybe it was the branch that hit the roof - or maybe the twisted ladder below.  Thank goodness no one was on it when this happened:
Here you can see the trunk where it was starting to rot in the middle.  It was a great tree.  The kids had a great tire swing on it that we'll have to relocate.  All in all it was a fun day - and I can't wait for clean up day!  :o)

Ouch!

bad picture - but that's where I got bit.  on the arm.  Hard.  It hurt!  It didn't break skin but I have a big hard raised welt that is so tender.  Full blame lies on me.  In the past two years I've probably avoided 50-60 bite attempts but my luck ran out this week.  I had my arm where it shouldn't have been in an intense moment.  Lesson learned.  Hope it doesn't happen again!