Things Kids Say #1

Things Kids Say:

Ms Annie: I brought in ice cream for a special treat! Guess what kind it is? It's vanilla with a chocolate swirl.

R [whispers]: A chocolate squirrel?!?

We have a class bear (Bailey) that the kids get turns taking home for a week and then writing in a journal and pasting in some pictures. The bear was handed off to the latest friend: "I can't wait to go home and put undies on him!" It was clear she had been plotting this for a long time.

Annie: My tummy hurts.

R: My mommy has a baby in her tummy.

Annie: I do not.

R: Well you should get one in there.

Annie: No thanks.

We talked about Insects yesterday (can you tell it was "I" week?) and we played a guessing game where I gave them clue so they could figure out what bug it was. "It has eight legs. And eight eyes. It is black. It is fuzzy and icky. It has a web." That's how many clues I had to give for spider. Then I let a student take a crack at giving me clues after several example rounds. "Cr. Crr. Crrrr. Crrrrrrr." Uhhh... cricket? "YOU GOT IT!"

"I love the Fresh Beat Band! [quietly to self] And bacon."

There is definitely one moment a day where I am doubled over in laughter from something that a kid says. That's all I have for now. Hopefully more later. :)

"You've got a friend in me"

I just read an article on Hellogiggles about how the author thought she could be best friends with Emma Watson. This prompted a conversation with my sister of the same topic. These are my top five answers:

Five Celebrities I Think I Could Be Best Friends With:

1. Emma Stone

2. Emma Watson.

3. Kate Middleton

4. Rachel McAdams

5. Taylor Swift

Who are yours?

"Hard to control when it begins"

Okay, okay. I'm trying to get back into this. I know. You've heard it before. It's like an abusive relationship. I keep lying to you and you keep coming back for more. I'm sorry. I'm trying. And I'm really boring these days.

So I am going to try to do a "write a certain type of post on certain days of the week" thing. So since today is Friday.... let's do a Friday Favorites!

1. Favorite Song: Young Blood by The Naked and Famous

Their album (Passive Me, Aggressive You) is $5 this month on Amazon. They have a Passion Pit sound to them. Check them out.

2. Favorite Site: HelloGiggles Why didn't I think of this? Can I be a part of it? I love it.

3. Favorite Article (that had me in tears): Friday Night Lights: Greatest Moments Only read this if you've finished the series. And if you haven't seen this show, drop everything and go watch it. NOW. I've been meaning to do a blog post professing my love for the show for a while now. During Snowpocalypse 2011 I was holed up in the house for a week and watched all four seasons. I CRIED IN EVERY SINGLE EPISODE. This is hands down my favorite show of all time. Because I blitzed through it, I almost want to go back through and blog about each episode but I don't know if I can be that dedicated. But... I'm thinking about it.

4. Favorite Person to Follow on Twitter: Humblebrag

5. Favorite Blog: Hyperbole and a Half Start with The Party in the sidebar and then read Spiders: They are Scary. I was laughing so hard I couldn't even keep my eyes open to keep reading. LOVE.

There! I did it! A blog post! That wasn't so hard.

"You keep on knocking/ But you can't come in"

A few weeks ago I babysat for E, the three year old boy I've been babysitting for about a year and half. Since it was so nice outside, we decided to go play in the background. As we walked out the door I thought to myself, I should take my phone with my outside. But they have bad reception so I opted against it. This, my friend, is called ironic foreshadowing. So we played outside for about thirty-five minutes, and ninty-nine bug bites later, I decided to call it a day and take him inside. E goes to open the door and tells me it is locked. I pray that he is just weak so I go and try myself. Definitely locked. And my phone is inside the house. I am also anal about the doors being locked so the front door and door leading in from the garage (provided we can get it open) are both locked as well, thanks to my doing. Score. So I flashforward, imaging us sitting on his front stoop shivering, waiting for his parents to get home at 10:00 in the pitch black (since the porch light wasn't turned on, natch).

But Super Babysitter Annie doesn’t sit and cry. I started making a plan. Since I had no phone, I really had no option but to go and knock on the neighbor’s door. Oh but if only it were that easy. The gate leading out of their backyard, yeah locked with a steel padlock that needs a combination. A combination that neither E or I know. So I hauled my hiney over the picket fence and then lugged the little boy over after me. Once we made it to the other side, he said we could just go in the garage. I get excited thinking all we have to do is pull it up. Hopes rise. Then I saw the keypad next to the garage. Hopes crash. E claims all you need to do is press Enter. I say a prayer and do so. Nothing. I even tried 1234 hoping they hadn’t changed the temporary one. No such luck. So we go over to the neighbor’s house next door. Of course it would have been too easy for them to actually be home. Plan B.

So we run across the street to another person’s house. Did I mention E was already in his pajamas and it was only 7:15? So we knock on a man’s door and he answers and we ask to use his phone. He was nice but things were a little... off in this house. I also had to navigate around two huge dog crates to get to the phone so the house did not smell pleasant. E was pinching his nose and not saying a word. Usually E does not stop talking so clearly he understood the strangeness of the situation. My mom was with E’s mom so I frantically dialed her number. My mom is also notorious for not answering calls from phone numbers she doesn’t know. So I dialed three times in rapid succession to no avail. I then took a deep breath and asked E if he knew his mom’s phone number. “Yes! I do!” My heart soars with hope. What is it? “9....1....1”. Foiled again. And like I said, things were a little off in this house, so we didn’t stick around. And I resigned to sitting on their stoop until his parents got home, whenever that may be.

So we sit and wait for a few minutes (not even in the backyard since there is no way to get back over the locked gate) on the driveway, but I can’t take it (read: had to go the bathroom) so we go to the neighbors on the other side of their house. E is already waiting, nose plugged because he is certain all neighbor’s houses must smell like the first, as we wait to see if they can be our rescuers. A man opened the door and his dog is absolutely freaking out. E has decided to cover his ears now instead of his nose. I explain our predicament and he lets me come in to use their phone. They did appear to know E and so they start talking to him and letting him play with their universal remote as I frantically dial my mom’s number approximately 14 times in the kitchen. I finally have to pause and ask to wait until she calls me back. So we sit (actually I stood awkwardly. I think I thought if I sat, I was admitting defeat) and talked while we waited for my mom to call back. This happened for about twenty minutes while E tries to sell me out saying I was the one who locked the door (it was neither of us. I have no idea how it happened).

Then I had the fear that the dad would get home and see no one was there (and worry we had been raptured... or kidnapped) so I told them we were just going to go back and hang out on their front steps until he got home. So we thanked them (profusely) and then left. We went and sat on the stoop for about two minutes before E announced he wanted to go inside. No can do, buddy. He continued to repeat this (as I tried to explain to him we didn’t just go on an adventure, we really couldn’t go inside) for fifteen minutes. Then the nice neighbor came out and told me my mom had called, I was transferred to E’s mom and got the combo for the keypad and we made it inside. Woo hoo! By this time about 45 minutes had passed and it was time for E to go to bed. So we went upstairs, brushed teeth and read a story. After some prompting from me, E’s prayers were as follows: “Thank you God for Annie. Annie’s mom. [whispered] What is your mom’s name? [normal voice] Joanne. And please don’t let us get locked out of the house ever again. Amen.” Amen!

Best part of the story? I came back downstairs after telling E goodnight and had just sat down on the couch when I heard the garage door go up. That’s right. E’s dad got home less than ten minutes after we finally made it inside. Seriously?! And as I walked out to my car, I saw the man from House #1 who called out, "I see you made it inside!" I did a victorious fist pump as I walked off into the sunset.

The story might be better told verbally but it was honestly a comedy of errors even though I was NOT laughing at the time. And considering I don't do well in times of stress, I handled this one well if I say so myself. I only almost cried twice. Almost! I’m growing up! And here’s to good people still existing in this world. Even if all my Dexter-watching sort of had me convinced I was going to get killed and never heard from again. But I lived to tell the tale. And lesson learned: Keep phone attached to hand at all times.

"There's a fire starting in my heart/ Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark"

Let's do a Television Recap Wrap Up. Yes, I know, why do it now when almost all shows are ending for the season? Because, friend, that way I can ease myself into the task. I do one, get a three month break, and then can start for real in the fall. It makes sense to me so let's run with it.

1. The Amazing Race-- Basically the order of who I wanted to win ended up being the opposite. I connected with Kisha and Jen the least. And props to the editors for not focusing on them since the beginning despite the fact they ended up winning (cough Survivor cough). I was pulling for a Zev/Justin win since they (read: Justin) dominated this season. When they got the heave-ho, somehow Mallory grew on me and I was pulling for them. Sucks that the cab driver really can make or break this race. And I'm happy the Globetrotters placed in the top three. So really, ho-hum season that had potential to be awesome. Just sucks when a team that didn't win first place any other leg ends up winning.

2. Make it or Break it. I'm a little over Emily's antics but I realize the pregnancy was written in since Chelsea Hobbs is/was pregnant in real life. Glad Sasha and Kaley are back at the Rock. Lauren is still obnoxious. Payson is hit or miss for me. I just wish these girls would actually change and develop as opposed to being consistently sucky-ish. And Summer needs to dump Steve and get over this "I need to be there for Lauren" business. Still love the show though.

3. Gossip Girl. Just when I was ready to give up, GG kicks it into gear. I still miss the contained drama of high school and could do without the parental issues. But with the addition of Crazy Cousin Charlie and the subtraction of Vanessa and Jenny, it's now on track. And loved Uncle Jack coming back. I have such a love/hate relationship with him (and every other character that actor plays). Looking forward to next week!

4. Glee. I liked this episode. Really the songs are what really determines it for me. And Jesse St James's return! I seriously hope Jonathan Groff pulls a Darren Criss and becomes a regular cast member. I LOVE him and Lea/Rachel together. I'm over Kurt and Santana's drama and wish there could be some more consistency in the writing so that plot lines ran smoothly and actually had resolution. But what can you do? I'm also embarrassed that I actually was enjoying the "Friday" song before I realized what it was. But hey they remixed it and it was almost unrecognizable. Almost. The shame.

5. Raising Hope. I think this show had potential to be in the vein of Arrested Development with the way all the little things add up in the episodes. Unfortunately, the past few episodes have been so-so. Here's to hoping next week's is better. It's still pretty funny though. And that baby is so cute.

6. Survivor. So freaking pumped about the finale tomorrow. I'm pulling for a Rob win. If another worthless, practically invisible Natalie wins because of a bitter jury, I'm going to be irked. I'd also be okay with a Grant/Mike win. I don't understand Phillip's logic of "playing crazy". It's one thing to be crazy and another to be annoying. He still annoyed his tribe on purpose even if it was just pretend. Like I tell my kids on the playground: Even if you're pretending, you still have to be nice. I'm hoping Rob ekes out the win (he's been playing for ten years trying to win. It took us ten years to find Bin Laden. I HAVE HOPE!) because he deserves it. I didn't understand why he didn't take Grant to the side after Ashley won and tell him, "Look man. Mike is dominating on Redemption Island. Since she can't go, one of us needs to and take this guy out or he is going to win it all. I can't do it. That stair immunity challenge really took it out of me. I know you can do it. You'll win, you'll get to come back, and we'll be in the final three." Maybe he didn't want to keep making promises he can't keep but that would have been flawless. If I wouldn't be miserable with no sleep, no shelter, and no food, I'd totally go on the show. But since I wouldn't get those things, I would quit three days (read: hours) in. GO ROB! Prediction for final three: Natalie, Phillip, and Rob.

7. American Idol. I can't believe James is out. I thought he had it in the bag. Sure he screeched but at least he was entertaining. I do think he started to slip these past two weeks. Lauren is still SO immature (evidence: when she was in the bottom two last week) and honestly not that great of a singer whether it is because of nerves or not (they praised her voice for cracking)! And Scotty McCreepy. I loathe thee. I know this means he is going to win but I LOATHE him and his flute playing-microphone. And how he totally pandered his vote to the southern, patriotic people. He was seven when 9/11 happened. If he was on Nashville Star, sure, win. But not American Idol. He also barely sings but rather sing/speaks. OVER HIM. The lesser of three evils is Hayley. While she has a horrible attitude (granted she is 19), she has the best voice and has actually grown as an artist while Scotty and Lauren have NOT even in the slightest. So go Hayley? I guess? My interest dropped when Casey got eliminated (for the second time). It still hurts.

8. Modern Family. This episode had some LOL moments but overall a weak episode. Season One was a lot stronger but the show is still very funny. I still laugh about the episode from a few weeks ago where Luke befriends the old neighbor: "We have oxygen in our house but we don't need to use tanks". *takes deep breathe before going inside* to paraphrase. I still chuckle.

9. The Office. It is struggling without Michael, that's for sure. I liked the antics of Dwight being manager but seriously, let's pick a boss and go with it. Glad Will Ferrell isn't permanent, wasn't feeling that.

10. The Vampire Diaries. Mock all you want, I honestly think it is one of the BEST shows on TV right now. It is SO addicting and consistently good. There are never s0-so episodes. While the final left me confused/ unsure of how I feel about several characters' fates, I still LOVE IT. I struggle with shipping Delena but I might come around just since Ian Somerhaulder is so darn attractive. Sad that Stefan has gone to the dark side. I actually screamed when Jeremy got shot. And I'm glad Bonnie loves/saved him. Totally shipping Caroline/Tyler. Matt can go. Totally want Ric to be Elena and Jeremy's new guardian. I was actually sad at the trifecta of deaths last week: Jenna, John, and Jules (apparently it was bad news bears if your name starts with a J) even though those were all characters I was only s0-so about all season. Glad Jeremy escaped the curse... or did he? I can't believe I have to wait all summer to find out. This show better get picked up for a third season.

Yeah... I watch a lot of tv. But it's really like one show a night... okay maybe two. That's how I feel. And you? You feel free to leave comments about how YOU feel! :)

"These words... from my heart flow/ I love you"

And since I'm already here....

In celebration of Easter I made the decision to teach my kids a string of six bible verses. My nieces learned it at their school when they were five. My kids are three or four. They remember bible verses from October. I thought, Let's give it a try. The first day was rough. They struggled with the world "Sabbath" and they didn't understand that "dawn" didn't mean the name of one of the girl's moms. And then I started handing out SweetTarts and Hershey's Kisses anytime the kids got a line right and the ball started rolling.

We learned the verse in two weeks. That means some of the kids learned it in FOUR days (the other kids in six... still impressive!). I was so proud. But that didn't mean we didn't have some stumbling blocks along the way. The last line in the verse is "He has risen!". Instead of risen, one kid said ribbons, another prison, and presents got mentioned a couple of times. It references Mary Magdalene and my assistant had a baby girl named Mary Ellen a few months ago. We talk about her a lot and all the kids think she's really cute. And apparently they always have her on the mind because one girl said "Mary Ellen and the other Mary Ellen went to look at the tomb". And if there was ever a tricky word, we would break it down syllable by syllable and say it over and over until it wasn't scary. This lead to us chanting/screaming "cru-ci-fied" for about twenty seconds until I realized how it must have sounded to passerbys in the hall and we moved on.

We really pounded this into the kids' heads. On Thursday, the last day of school before Easter, I was telling them about the "Angel Rolled Back the Stone" craft we were going to make later that day. And I asked them what the angel said to the women and they ALL automatically replied, "Do not be afraid. For I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, He has risen!" I said, "Wow. I kind of turned you guys into robots". And one little boy laughed and said, "No! If we were robots we would sound like this: "Do. Not. Be. A-Fraid" as he did the actual robot. It was AWESOME. And then we were done going over it for the morning so I started to tell them what I had planned for the day. I said "First we are going to have snack. Then you need to go potty before music. After...," and several of the kids jumped in and started with "After the sabbath." Like I said, robots.

But I am SO proud of them for learning SIX verses all together (Matthew 28: 1-6). They are little rockstars. I would totally post the video I spliced together of all nine kids saying it but I don't want to get fired for privacy issues. And if you want more kids stories (and I want a paycheck) let's not and say we did.

Happy Easter!

"Cause I just found someone special and that's really something special/ Nice to meet you anyway"

I got a new laptop! I am SO excited (I'm talking I danced as I waited for the FedEx lady to walk up to my door). And you can be a little excited too since maybe this will mean I will write more on here. I know. I abandon all the time. I keep telling you I'm going to come back and then I leave again. It's an abusive cycle. I'm sorry. And I really am trying to get better.

But seriously I had my iBook G4 since I was a senior in high school (the summer of 2004). I did get Mac a new hard drive circa 2008 and that solved the slowness/memory issues for about a year. And while it was hard to say goodbye, it was time. I couldn't even watch YouTube videos because the processor was SO slow. And now I can do all sorts of things! Like make movies and actually burn them (Mac lacked a DVD burner... so two-thousand-and-late). But productivity may go out the window cause I now have PhotoBooth and we all know how much fun that can be.

So now I have new inspiration/motivation to write on here and edit the book some more. I still have been working on the book but man, having a job really cuts into my free time. So I know I always say it but stayed tuned!

"Maybe I'm amazed at the way you're with me all the time"

True Story:

Me: Who.... *Girl #1 raises hand* You don't even know the question yet. *Girl #1 lowers hand* Who *Girl #1 raises hand again. I give up* Who can tell me one of the old bible verses we learned a long time ago?

Girl #1: Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Deuteronomy 31:6 [give her props. We learned this back in October]

Me: Nice. So I guess you did know the question before I even asked it. Good job!

Girl #2: Booyah.

It was so perfectly timed. Said so deadpanned yet with feeling. It was amazing. And yes shameful* since I have uttered this term in my classroom (five times at the most... okay six) but it's cause I watched a lot of Community in a short period of time.

Another little girl told me she liked my shoes (grey new balances) and asked if they were new. I told her they were approximately seven years old (but apparently are still in good shape) and she said "Wow. Wait. So are you seven years old too?" I wish.

* Whoops. I also then begged her not to repeat it at home or say it to her parents.

"Who are you?/ Who who who who"

A few months ago, my mom got an iPhone and she jumped on my plan so we could do the family plan and save some money. Apparently now when she calls from her phone, my name shows on caller ID since it is in my name. That's your background information.

I was sitting at home playing on my iPhone when the house phone started to ring. We have a phone where it will say the name on the caller ID out loud after two rings. So it started saying (in it's weird automated, accented voice) Call from Petrella Ansley. I looked down at my phone, still words with friends on the screen. I'm not making a call. But I keep hearing my name. HOW IS THIS HAPPENING?!

Mystery solved when my mom called my phone and we realized that my name shows up when she calls. Still, I was a little scared. It was like that Urban Legend where the killer is calling from inside the house. And it's like the killer was ME!

This could also be because I am currently knee deep in watching The Walking Dead. I'm a little paranoid. Zombies! Run!

"I just want somebody/ Need somebody/ Love somebody/ Need somebody/ Want someone/ Need someone/ I need someone to love, darling"

I'm going to try something new on the blog: As opposed to doing lengthy recaps of shows I'm watching, I'm going to do short thoughts about each show at the end of the week (either on Friday or Saturday). Cause I'm sure you want to know what I think!

Amazing Race: The Redheads are unbelievable. If the car crash situation had been reversed, she would have been absolute witch. If some foreigner hit her car and couldn't communicate with her and just kept trying to shove money in her face, she would probably tried to have him arrested for being an illegal immigrant. I can totally see the guy being interviewed with subtitles: "She keeps saying this F-word over and over. Is that the English word for police?" And while I liked Mike and Mel, you knew they weren't going to make it much longer. I loved the Cowboys the first time around but they are sloppy this season. I'm pulling for Zev and Justin and the Globetrotters. The rest are just ehhhh.

Pretty Little Liars: I think the finale is in two weeks. Ahh. I still obsessed even though this show is completely not following the books AT ALL. Loving the Spencer and Toby matchup and praying it isn't because Toby has ulterior motives. Also loved the Hanna/Caleb pairing and hope that comes back. I don't understand why the writers want me to root for the Aria/Ezra teacher/student affair. It's icky. And same goes for the Paige/Emily deal when Paige tried to drown (read: KILL!) Emily like three episodes ago. I honestly have no idea who "A" is but think that it still might be the same as in the book. Won't ruin that for any of you.

Glee: I am clearly in the minority (from what I've read) but I did not like this episode. I just don't buy the Santana thing. She went from being a skank to being in love with her best friend? I... just... don't know. I've heard rumblings that she is sleeping with some bigwig on the show and that is why her scenes and storyline are getting amped up and I am starting to think that might be true (come on. She went from a glorified backup dancer to one of the principal characters and singers. Something ain't right). She is getting more solos than Rachel at this point (and say what you will about Lea Michele but the girl can belt it out). Poor Tina and Mercedes. They got passed over and never even had a chance. But I did ADORE Blaine singing Neon Trees' "Animal" and for the love of all that is good, Darren Criss does NOT need to be autotuned. So stop. Okaythanksbye.

Survivor: Best. Episode. EVER. Russell finally faced the music and he is OUT of there! Second person to go of the season! Ah! That duel was nerve wracking and awesome. I almost felt bad when the little hobbit started to cry. Almost. And Rob finding the idol was awesome, I'm just a little worried he is drifting a little to far to the shady side. And while Rob doesn't really need the money, I'm pulling for him to win it all since he was cheated by a bitter jury (see: Lex and Tom) in the first All Stars season. But other than Rob, I'm liking Grant (his right-hand man which surely means he will be the first throat Rob slits) and Mike and Steven on the purple tribe. I like Sarita too or whatever her name is for the girls. And Phillip is surpassing Coach in the crazy factor. The season has made up for the snoozefest that was last season (Sorry Fabio) is three episodes. Score.

American Idol: I've already shared my thoughts on the performance episode. Still LOVING Casey (like I might be listening to his single as I type this. And I might sing it at the top of my lungs in my car...when the windows are down... and not care who can hear me). And I was on the money with Ashton's elimination. And 2/3 for bottom three ain't bad. Go me! I think Karen is out next week.

And I think that is all. A lot of shows were repeats this week: Gossip Girl, Modern Family, The Office, and The Vampire Diaries. And no I'm not embarrassed at the amount of tv I watch.

"I get by with a little help from my friends"

Okay, I'm trying to get back into this. I know, like you haven't heard that one before. But I'm trying, okay?

So I got sucked into American Idol. Honestly, I was a(n avid) viewer until college and I missed the Taylor Hicks and Jordin Sparks wins. But then I got a little sucked back in towards the end of the David vs David season and then Kris Allen captured my heart (and Adam Lambert earned my hatred. I already sees this season's finale being a Casey vs James showdown a la Kris vs Adam). Last season was BORING and with Simon's exit, I honestly thought the show wouldn't make it past this season.

But now several episodes in, dare I say, I like it more than previous seasons? I'm actually really liking Steven Tyler and JLo. Who would've thunk? I can't decide if the whole JLo is a diva thing is true because she seems SO nice. Maybe it is all for show but hey, I like it. And Steven won me over with how he treated Chris Medina's girlfriend during the audition round. I sobbed. I mean SOBBED (I was embarrassed). It was so touching. And it forever made my Rewind Moments List (more on that in a later post).

So now we are down to the Top 13. Here is my take on each in reflection of last night:

1. Lauren. What a snoozefest. Considering that is such a high energy song (or at least it was when I rocked out to it in front of my mirror with my hairbrush in the fourth grade), both she and the audience seemed bored the entire time. And I swear when Steven criticized her, she made this look like, Okay, audience you can start booing now...now? How about now? And she was shocked everyone wasn't immediately jumping to her defense. I like her but she failed last night.

2. Casey. I. LOVE. HIM. He is my favorite. He has such a great personality and I like how he sings. Sure he may be overindulgent but at least he is having fun up there and has the charisma to back it up. He was AMAZING last night. And bonus points because he is totally the lovechild of my friends Alec and Drew.

3. Ashthon. I think she is going home tonight unless she is the Vote for the Worst choice. She bombed and I haven't really liked her all along. And add that to the fact, I feel like anyone could sneak up on her because there is no way she would see them coming with that hair encompassing her like a cloud.

4. Paul. LOVE. HIM. His dancing needs work and let's hope he never has seizures on stage because no one will know to help him. And how no one has pointed out how he is the spitting image of Bradley Cooper, I don't understand. But he is the one that I can already hear on the radio. And I like how he is always happy and having a good time. I like him (Sidenote: How does JLo not know who Ryan Adams is? Fail)

5. Pia. She is definitely my favorite girl. Her song last week (I'll Stand by You) was amazing and the girl can belt it out and hold a note but what else can she sing besides ballads? Nonetheless, I definitely want to see more from her.

6. James. I...actually... it pains me to say (write?) this...like him. Even if I have PTSD flashbacks of Adam Lambert every time he squeals (seriously. I could NOT stand him. I voted for Kris Allen an embarrassing number of times just to stop Adam from winning). But I can't help but feel he is going to become a huge douchebag with all the fame going to his head. But the boy can sing/scream. Now if he would just lose the earring and haircut, I think I'd like him more. And thank goodness he got rid of the rooster/peacock tail. Improvement!

7. Haley. Snoozefest. I don't understand 95% of the words she sings. I loved "Blue" by LeAnne Rimes (even if my dad said it sounded like she sat on a thumbtack) and I have no idea what she was saying. She is in the middle for me but if you made me pick hate or love, I hate.

8. Jacob. I like him. Aside from the fact that I cannot figure out if he is gay or not, I like his jovial attitude. And he can sing. I'd like to see him do something other than the gospel/ choir deal but he can stick around a few more rounds.

9. Thia. I didn't care for the second half of "Smile" and barely tolerated the first. I know the producers are shoving a teenage winner down our throats this year but I predict bottom three for this one unless she goes to a mega(megia. pun!)-high school and all her friends are voting for her.

10. Stefano. I thought he did alright. He seems like a nice guy and does well when he gets in his groove but sometimes he has a hard time getting there. Considering America didn't vote for him the first time and he was a wild card, it will be interesting to see where he falls tonight.

11. Karen. I think she is adorable. However, I do not think she can sing. I knew she was going to sing Selena and that's great she has an idol, I just wanted to see something else (like A Bidi Bidi Bom Bom haha just kidding) from her. She might be going home tonight.

12. Scotty. UGH. I can't stand this kid. Besides the fact that I think he has spray on hair (admit it; something funky happened between Vegas and Hollywood. It looks like John Travolta's) I am SO OVER his schtick. I think he is going to be successful in the country world but he's another one I think is getting a big head. He also needs to get over his crooked stance singing. UGH. He just bothers me. I also think he reminds me of a guy I hated at UGA but I actually can't figure out who it is. But I see the skeeze oozing out of him. Now I'm sure he will make it to the top five. And for the love, lose the visor!

13. Naima. I will give the girl credit for dancing. She had some moves and it was entertaining. Sure she missed some notes but let's face it, so does Rihanna when she's not being autotuned (burn). But I hope she sticks around a little bit longer. And that she changes her lopsided hairstyle.

My prediction:

Bottom Three: Karen. Ashthon, and Naima/Thia

Going home: Ashthon

My top three: Casey, Paul, and James.

Pick to win it all: Casey!

ETA: I just downloaded Casey, Paul, and James's singles. Between this and Glee, I might as well just directly deposit my paycheck into iTunes.

"Sometimes it hits like a car crash/ And it's too late to reverse"

Sometimes I really stress out about the things I have to teach my kids every month. For example, teaching them how to call 911 was one of the more stressful days. I was convinced every parents was going to tell me the next day that the police came to their house because Sally and Bobby were practicing calling 911 cause Ms Annie taught them how. Luckily, that didn't happen. But how exactly do you explain to a kid why they might need to call 911? Well sweetie, you might have to call 911 if mommy or daddy is ever unconscious. I don't want to scar these kids for life. Luckily my mom helped me come up with the example of if their mom/dad fell off a ladder and couldn't get to the phone cause they hurt their leg.

And it's funny cause I try to avoid the overall topic of death because I don't want to have nine hysterical children but one of their favorite games to play is pretending someone is dead.

The thing that I worry about is teaching them stuff as a precaution that they shouldn't be worried about in the first place. Don't play with matches. They don't even know what matches are. My worry is when I explain the wooden stick that lights up that they are going to go home and seek them out and then try to make that happen cause it sounds cool. I also didn't want to explain about poison prevention so I just told them to stay out from under the sink in the kitchen and bathroom. All encompassing.

Little did I know the one lesson I was going to hammer home a little too hard was about brushing our teeth and eating healthy foods. We covered all the basics, foods that are good for you, how you should sing Happy Birthday to yourself as you brush , etc. I made the mistake of mentioning that fruit snacks aren't really good for your teeth because even though it does have the word "fruit" in it, they stick to your teeth and might make you get little holes in them (cavities). Well when lunchtime rolled around approximately 4 of my 9 children had horror-stricken faces when they opened their Spiderman and Tinkerbelle lunch boxes and saw they had * gasp * fruit snacks. Oh no! cried one child as he held it away from himself like a dead mouse. So then I had to explain it is okay to have them as a special treat every once in while. Pretty sure he packed them up and took them home unwilling to run the risk. Whoops.

Also a fun story: One of the little girls came out of the bathroom and told me there was pee on the floor. I expected a little trickle on the seat or floor because these kids freak out if one of them forgets to flush. Well I walked into the Yellow River. Literally. It was EVERYWHERE. I asked the ones that I remembered going recently. Then my eyes fell on the Guilty One. He wouldn't explain what happened so I took him out in the hallway under the promise that "I won't get mad".

Me: So what happened? (Never provide them with the potential excuse in your question such as were you sick, was it an accident)

Him: I wanted to see if I could go pee in the dark.

Needless to say I was not happy especially after the 40 paper towels it took to clean it up and the healthy dosing of cleaner the bathroom got. Oh my glorious job and life. Seriously any day I avoid the three Ps: puke, poop, and pee, I am a happy camper.

"You just gotta ignite the light/ And let it shine"

I gave up Facebook a few weeks ago cause I didn't do much on it. And it was kind of getting to the point where it could be renamed "DisappointmentBook" because of the never ending changes, privacy concerns, and just seeing stuff I could go without seeing (ignorance is bliss, after all). So when Facebook was forcing this new profile design onto me, I thought, hey, all I really do is check the newsfeed on my phone a few times a day and that's all. Why not deactivate my account and see if there is THAT much of a difference in my life. A month later, I'm still going strong. Twitter is now my social media of choice. I don't understand why more people don't use it. And it is so true how the people who denounce it are the ones who make the most status updates on FB. Don't hate.

Anyway, since I've cut FB out of my life, I have more time to read more of both the novel and blog variety. I have a few go-to-blogs but am always in search of more so if you have any you'd like to pass along, please do in the comments.

The top three I have frequented in the past few weeks are:

1. Enjoying the Small Things. If you're a first time visitor, click the tab that says "Start Here if You're New" and have some tissues nearby as you read Nella's birth Story. Don't skip ahead and look at the pictures, it will ruin the overall effect of the story. And Kelle's pictures are amazing and while sometimes her language is a little too flourished for me, I still like to read what she has to say about her family.

2. Tyler Stanton of TrippandTyler fame. I gotta admit, I always thought Tyler was the Bob to Tripp's Larry; the more serious (/less funny) of the two. And oh how I was wrong. After reading both their blogs, I am now borderline obsessed with Tyler's. He is hilarious. I follow him on Twitter (and he requested to follow me yesterday! Sure, he has a "you follow me, I follow you" policy but I'll take it) and I just ordered his book on Amazon.

3. Bryan Allain. I stumbled across him because of Tyler's name dropping and I'm glad I did. Some of his rants from his early blogging days are so funny because they are SO true. Check him out.

Okay, I've shared some of my favorites, now please share some of yours so I'm not bored at work (when the kids are taking their nap if anyone from work reads this :) ).

"And you told us to decide what we want today/ But I don't know"

Happy New Year! Okay, so I am a little late on that but hey, at least it is still January. I was going to write a post about how I suck at New Year's Resolutions. I think since I was eight years old it has been to stop biting my nails. This year, I lasted about a day. But then I watched a particularly intense episode of Dexter and all hope was lost. Then it was to write a blog post every day for a year. Then before I knew it, it was January 2nd. Fail. Maybe I can try again in February. And my other usual one is the cliched eat better/work out more. Then Snowpocalypse 2011 hit the DAY I was going to start so that meant I couldn't go outside and we only had nonperishables in the house so what can you do?

I worked on the book some today. Still editing. I know. It's a long, tedious process. As I've said, I work at a Preschool. And apparently I like trendy names because the two main characters I have in my book are the names of kids in my class. But that's okay, they are cute kids, I don't feel like I have to change them. But the name of the girl everyone hates in the book is unfortunately the name of one of my girls too. Oh no. At first I thought I would just power through it but now I really feel bad. So the hunt is on for a new name. It's hard picking a name you like but for a "bad" character. I've already said how I have strong connotations to names. Angelina-- Jolie (Did you know that was the 86th most popular name in 2010? Seriously?) Amelia--- Earhart. Mariah-- Carey. And those are just celebrity ones. Throw in the names of kids at work, friends of my nieces, cousins, and it gets tricky. And I can't pick a name I hate because I am still going to be using it. I care way too much about trivial stuff. But it's not trivial in the scheme of things. Or at least that is what I am going to tell myself. So the search continues. I'll let you know what I decide.... maybe.