No time, you get this

Things are i.n.s.a.n.e. in the Rodgers household.

Mostly because I don't think I really grasped just how many meetings teachers are required to attend. There are even more your first year (although heaven forbid you become Dept Chair b/c you have a crazy # of meetings then). I literally have meetings twice a week. At least. Some at lunch, some afterschool. Today I had two. Tomorrow I have one. Tomorrow is also Back To School Night. Friday I have one. Oh! I forgot, I have two tomorrow since I have one before school AND at lunch.

Now, approx 25% of these meetings are my fault... i.e. I called them. And it's because I'm meeting with counselors/intervention specialists/SPED aids/students to work with those who are falling behind. I know, it's only week 3 (4?) but there are a few students who already need to play catch up. I want that to happen NOW instead of December 1st. So I bring a bit of this on myself.

The rest of the meetings are required but MOST of them are productive. So at least something is being accomplished or I'm discussing events/information that is relevant/directly impacts my teaching practice or my students. So thank goodness for those kinds of meetings... because I've been in useless meetings and they make me want to pull out my hair.

In kid-related news, I have decided that our children are geniuses. GENIUSES. Griffin can point to #s 1-9. He also has about 10 signs and 3 spoken words. And other than the fact that he's still not sleeping through the night and can throw a tantrum which can be seen from space, he's the sweetest boy child I have ever known. I'm totally unbiased.

I'm actually pretty impressed with his number recognition skills. I need to work on letters.

Penelope recites books from memory. Not joking. If she's NOT reading by her 4th birthday I'll be shocked. I wouldn't be surprised if she read much sooner than that. She can't throw a ball (she throws it behind her) but she'll read very early. Since she is my child, no one should be surprised. Bryan might argue that I still cannot throw a ball. (He'd be wrong. I can throw. Just not accurately or with any distance.)

Let's see... what else?

Poe has taken to saying "be careful with my body" when she is being roughhoused (is that a form of that word? Is it a verb or noun? Meh, whatever). It's pretty funny. I've taken to saying it as well, it's a good phrase.

Weaning is going ok. We nurse once a day - usually at 4am. I'm hoping that soon we'll give that one up (because hopefully he'll soon be sleeping at 4am). He's getting better with sleep as long as I'm NOT the one to put him to bed. Stinker.

Daycare is going well, the kids still like Stephanie and she's been teaching them Spanish and phonics. I'm glad it's working out... just one less thing to worry about.

Bryan is still working, the house is good, we're all ok. We had a fever scare last week that landed us in the ER but everyone is better. I turn 30 in 13-ish days (eep!) and will hopefully spend the weekend before my birthday on the beach.

More later. Maybe. Probably. I've been neglecting the blog and haven't been posting as often in some of my forums. I will be giving at least one up, I just don't have the time... and when I do have downtime I really need to spend it sleeping or spending as much time with B and the kids as I can. From what I have heard from many experienced teachers is that you need to find balance or else you burn out quickly. I'd like to retire as a teacher so I need to start pacing myself.

I'll start next week. Next week is better for that. M'kay?

11 months

Today marked Griffin's 11 month birthday (you see what I did there? No more pseudonyms).

I was going to measure him, but time got away from me. So maybe tomorrow I'll have official measurements.

We marked this momentous occasion with a trip to Kim & Orson's house for play group, a 2 hour nap (he slept on me, but at least he was asleep), and baked macaroni for dinner. G didn't actually eat much, he's been refusing table food lately. I think he's going to cut a molar or two soon - at least I hope it's soon. Poe refused solids when cutting molars as well. When he's not cutting teeth he eats like it's his job. That kid can pack it away - one day for lunch he ate a half a PB&J, a handful of craisins, a couple of strawberries, and some goldfish. Pack. It. Away.

He also stood up for 4 seconds on his own, which may or may not be a new record. I'm still hoping he'll be walking by 12 months, but we'll see. He loves to walk around the house while holding onto our hands and sometimes will walk with just one hand support.

He's also taken to pointing. All. the. time. He points at EVERYTHING and says "dat". So I guess we're adding "that" to the list of words, along with "dada".

Sleep isn't great while teething, but as I said in my last post, things are improving. I am reeeeeeaaaaalllllyyyyy looking forward to the day when he sleeps from 8-7 like Poe-poe. Maybe by my birthday? I hope.

In non-G-funk news, my mom & I will start bellydancing together next week. I'm looking forward to it, hopefully it will help my reach my goal of being back to my pre-Penny pregnancy size by the time I turn 30. I'm *almost* halfway there!

Spelling

Penelope loves to spell. She spells practically every word she sees. And everything spells "Pah-pooh-pea" (Penelope).

The other day in the grocery store she saw the word "beer". She said "B-E-E-R... Pah-pooh-pea!".

D-O-L-L-A-R... Pah-pooh-pea!
B-A-B-Y... Pah-pooh-pea!

The only word that doesn't spell Penelope is TOY.

T-O-Y spells "Woody"!

She's a goof.

Post Glut

Things Penny says that we find hilarious.

"I tickle YOU!"

"Oh son!" (in reference to Griffin)

"Daddy Bryan and Mommy Jeh-kuh"

"Oh Daddy!"

"Cut hair, haircut" (when we comb her hair)

"Tickle me" (when she wants to be tickled)

"Pah-poo-pea has food baby" (after eating)

"I'm fancy!" When she's dressed up

There's more. Lots more, but those are the ones I can think of right now.

Because I was curious

Bryan and I counted some of P's words today and estimated that she had about 100. So instead of working on my "reflection" for school I decided to type them up in Excel and see just how many she had.

100 exactly (of the ones I remember and that doesn't include the letters of the alphabet). Imagine that! Some of her more complex words include "stegosaurus" and "elephant"

It seems like she got them suddenly... one day she wasn't talking much and the next she's forming small sentences and has a 100+ word vocabulary.

As for recognizing letters and counting to ten, I'll credit a combo of books, toys, and Bryan. We have a leapfrog letter magnet toy that Poe LOVES. She plays with it constantly and it hasn't gotten annoying yet (thankfully). It's actually a really great teaching toy. It says the letter and then makes the sound associated with that letter. It also "sings" the alphabet. As for counting, she has a few counting books here and at my parents that she loves to read. Plus Bryan will recite the ABCs or count with her when they're doing their bath/bed routine. It's an educational way to get her to stop wiggling enough to get her PJs on and brush her teeth :)

I'm looking forward to G-man's first words. We have awhile though. Next month he'll be 5 month though, getting big fast!

Next month I'll be 29. Getting old fast! But since Bryan turns 37 this upcoming February I don't feel quite so ancient ;)

New new new!

Pen has some new words: two, whale, sea turtle, woah!, tree, chair, and more we can't seem to remember. New signs as well - and when I ask her a question using just sign she'll respond, which is neat :)

Griffin found his toes... and his penis. In one day, it was a big day for him ;)

He went to his first wedding today, Alan and Diana got married and we drove out to Oakland to celebrate! Here's some pictures:







So much else is going on and I have so many blogs planned, but I can't think of anything now that I have a moment to sit down and write. Incredibly frustrating! >:|