I am not a big fan of football and do not watch any games during the season. That being said I do enjoy Super Bowl Sunday. Our family starts the afternoon at the Knights hall for tacos and wings. They always have a lot of activity going on and everyone enjoys the food. Afterward we hang out at home getting as much as possible done before the game starts. This year that included Cal and HM watching The Shining.
My favorite part of the game is always the commercials, although this year I did not seem to like as many as in years past. Meg watched with us until the halftime show was over. It was very good this year. All of us like Cold Play and they were great. Doug and Cal are in it for the game and Cam just enjoys the entire festivities of the day that included homemade guacamole. Cal informed us all that over 71 million avocados were estimated to be sold this weekend.
The game turned out to be a good one and not the blowout that everyone was predicting. I know a lot of people in this area were cheering for the Broncos as it is rumored to be Peyton Manning's last year. They should not be disappointed if he retires now with his second Super Bowl ring. I enjoyed the pregame show with the parade of former MVP's, but my favorite part of the day was just hanging out with the Heinisch family. That's what makes the day special for me.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Saturday, February 6, 2016
Saturdays
In general Saturdays have become the days that the Heinisch children get to hang out with their friends. Today was no exception. Cam and I started the morning at the library. Yesterday he went in to check out some books on magic card tricks. While he was there they asked to see several of his tricks and then told him that Saturday was "Take Your Child to the Library" day. Cam wanted to try guessing the number of gummy bears in the jar they showed him, so we made sure to stop in before tennis. We also spent time looking for a new book series and even got to see the Blue Tongued Lizard and an albino Hedgehog before we left. Once tennis was over Ryden came over to spend the day with Cam. They entertained each other with more magic tricks and a Nerf gun war before we got home.
When I dropped Cam off to Mom I picked up Meg for her tennis matches. She only played doubles today, so we were able to leave early. She and I wanted to go to the visitation for Gabby's grandmother. We were there for almost an hour before we had to leave to meet Meg's friends that were coming over. Meg agreed to take Cam and Ryden to Kung Fu Panda 3 for us. Everyone said the movie was better than the second, but not as good as the first. We picked up Kaitlin and Pizza King after the movie. Kaitlin liked her Nerf cross bow that Meg gave her for an early birthday present. They all played Five Nights at Freddy's before Doug had to run everyone home. Kaitlin decided to spend the night and they spent the rest of the evening catching up on their favorite television series.
Cal spent the day with Jayce. They had tickets to the Notre Dame game. The game was at 7 p.m., but they decided to leave early as it was the ESPN Game Day game. Unfortunately, for the boys their UNC shirts did not help them as Notre Dame upset #2 North Carolina in the end.
Doug and I also caught up with friends today as well, although neither were planned. I saw Kristina at Paula's mother's visitation and spent quite a bit of time talking to her. Doug went to a visitation as well as his former boss and friend's mother also died this week. He spent time with them before meeting us at tennis. It may have not been the most pleasant of circumstances to see friends from long ago, but it was nice to share memories of long ago.
When I dropped Cam off to Mom I picked up Meg for her tennis matches. She only played doubles today, so we were able to leave early. She and I wanted to go to the visitation for Gabby's grandmother. We were there for almost an hour before we had to leave to meet Meg's friends that were coming over. Meg agreed to take Cam and Ryden to Kung Fu Panda 3 for us. Everyone said the movie was better than the second, but not as good as the first. We picked up Kaitlin and Pizza King after the movie. Kaitlin liked her Nerf cross bow that Meg gave her for an early birthday present. They all played Five Nights at Freddy's before Doug had to run everyone home. Kaitlin decided to spend the night and they spent the rest of the evening catching up on their favorite television series.
Cal spent the day with Jayce. They had tickets to the Notre Dame game. The game was at 7 p.m., but they decided to leave early as it was the ESPN Game Day game. Unfortunately, for the boys their UNC shirts did not help them as Notre Dame upset #2 North Carolina in the end.
Doug and I also caught up with friends today as well, although neither were planned. I saw Kristina at Paula's mother's visitation and spent quite a bit of time talking to her. Doug went to a visitation as well as his former boss and friend's mother also died this week. He spent time with them before meeting us at tennis. It may have not been the most pleasant of circumstances to see friends from long ago, but it was nice to share memories of long ago.
Friday, February 5, 2016
First Run of the Year
This year has not been the year for skiing. The winter has been much more mild than previous years and Bittersweet opened late and had to close a few days recently. We made it, however, and Doug, Cam and Meg had a lot of fun. It was icier than usual, so they stayed away from the more challenging hills. Meg was afraid Cam would wipe out. He was able to negotiate the Creeping Myrtle, however, once he got off of the ski lift. That proved to be the biggest challenge of the night for him.
While they were skiing I had dinner with Mary. It was nice to visit with her without a lot of distractions. She was ready to go out when Doug, Cam and Meg came in for a break. After they had a snack and were back on the slopes I took some time to read Anna Karenina. I had planned to get far ahead in it this evening, but once I finished my daily pages Meg came back in and I spent the rest of the evening with her.
We left close to 9 p.m. and stopped to eat on the way home. Everyone had a great time and we made it back before Cal got home from Buffalo Wild Wings with Jayce and Cameron. There is one more ski trip scheduled for us on February 20th. As of right now it looks like we will have snow. Cam and Meg are already looking forward to it.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Another Doctor . . . More Tests
Today I was finally able to see my regular family physician. I have had multiple tests done over the past few weeks, but Dr. Mulry has been gone and I haven't been able to talk through them all with him. We spent about a half hour going through the eye doctor and gynecologists opinion and their lab results. Dr. Mulry disagrees with them. He believes that I am having problems with my blood sugar and carbohydrates, but not enough to cause the vision issues. With my history of migraines he feels that they are the chief cause of my blurred/double vision. After the eye test he did today and the fact that I almost fell off the table when he spun the light in my eyesight I would tend to believe he is correct.
Thus, they took three tubes of blood and scheduled an MRI for my head. At first I was frustrated as I thought maybe we could alter my diet or try medicine and it would help. The more I thought about it, however, his approach makes more sense. Until we get all of the results back I will continue to watch the carbohydrates that I eat and try medication for my headaches. Of all the symptoms the vision is the worst and that is what I would like to correct. I have always had a problem with migraines and maybe now we will find out what is causing them or at least a way to prevent them.
Thus, they took three tubes of blood and scheduled an MRI for my head. At first I was frustrated as I thought maybe we could alter my diet or try medicine and it would help. The more I thought about it, however, his approach makes more sense. Until we get all of the results back I will continue to watch the carbohydrates that I eat and try medication for my headaches. Of all the symptoms the vision is the worst and that is what I would like to correct. I have always had a problem with migraines and maybe now we will find out what is causing them or at least a way to prevent them.
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
The Island of Misfits
Last year I noticed I had more and more students stay in from recess to hang out in my room. Two years ago it was mostly just Meg and her friends, but it grew the next year considerably. One day last year Roger stopped me and said that he noticed I had become the room where all of the "misfits" hang out. He didn't mean it in a negative way and after that I always thought of my room as "The Island of Misfit Toys" from Rudolph.
No one rides an ostrich or shoots jelly from a squirt gun, but we definitely have our Charlie in the Box and the train with square wheels. My room isn't really for the "misfits" but instead has become the safe haven for those who just need a break from the world. I have my regulars, but on any given day a new face or two will show up. Some become regulars and some are just there for a couple of days before they are ready to face middle school again. I have games that they can play, a quiet place to do homework and for those who want to feel productive I even have copies they can make or crafts to do. Sometimes they just need an ear and reassurance that they will make it through.
Since Cal has been coming to Milford I have noticed him in my Island of Misfits more and more adding to my theory that we are all just "misfits" trying to negotiate life. They enjoy having him there and spend quite a bit of time helping him complete his project of the day or asking him questions. One didn't know a lot about football and wanted his opinion on who would win the Super Bowl. She listened to all of the information he had to say and helped him finish the circles he was cutting out for Mrs. Blauvelt.
My favorite moment with Cal joining our group happened today. I had him take down my bulletin board in the hallway while I was getting some items ready to laminate. As I left for the teacher's lounge one of my 6th graders had decided to help him. When I got back I noticed the board wasn't quite done and they were gone. I looked in my room and there they were discussing the art of making paper airplanes and how to get one to fly as far as possible. After a few attempts and some tweaking to their project they were both back out in the hallway working on the bulletin board.
They finished before the bell rang and both were off to writing lab. As Cal arrived to the cheers of "Shaggy" you're here, the 6th grader came back to tell me he had hidden his airplanes in the secret spot in my desk where he hides all of his treasurers. That made my heart smile.
No one rides an ostrich or shoots jelly from a squirt gun, but we definitely have our Charlie in the Box and the train with square wheels. My room isn't really for the "misfits" but instead has become the safe haven for those who just need a break from the world. I have my regulars, but on any given day a new face or two will show up. Some become regulars and some are just there for a couple of days before they are ready to face middle school again. I have games that they can play, a quiet place to do homework and for those who want to feel productive I even have copies they can make or crafts to do. Sometimes they just need an ear and reassurance that they will make it through.
Since Cal has been coming to Milford I have noticed him in my Island of Misfits more and more adding to my theory that we are all just "misfits" trying to negotiate life. They enjoy having him there and spend quite a bit of time helping him complete his project of the day or asking him questions. One didn't know a lot about football and wanted his opinion on who would win the Super Bowl. She listened to all of the information he had to say and helped him finish the circles he was cutting out for Mrs. Blauvelt.
My favorite moment with Cal joining our group happened today. I had him take down my bulletin board in the hallway while I was getting some items ready to laminate. As I left for the teacher's lounge one of my 6th graders had decided to help him. When I got back I noticed the board wasn't quite done and they were gone. I looked in my room and there they were discussing the art of making paper airplanes and how to get one to fly as far as possible. After a few attempts and some tweaking to their project they were both back out in the hallway working on the bulletin board.
They finished before the bell rang and both were off to writing lab. As Cal arrived to the cheers of "Shaggy" you're here, the 6th grader came back to tell me he had hidden his airplanes in the secret spot in my desk where he hides all of his treasurers. That made my heart smile.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Groundhog's Day
Today we celebrated Groundhog's Day. I have to laugh every year as we listen to the report from Puxatony Phil. I am not sure that most people realize that whether he sees his shadow or not he predicts the same thing. Legend has it that if he sees his shadow he runs back into his home and we have six more weeks of winter. Thus, winter will end around March 14th. If he doesn't see his shadow, then supposedly he stays out and we will have an early Spring. I can't remember many Springs starting before March 14th, so either way we still start Spring at the same time.
It is a fun legend, however, and my students enjoy learning about it every year. I do not mind the winter this year as it has been fairly mild. Hopefully, it stays that way. Several other states have had blizzards. Glad that Indiana was not on that list this year.
It is a fun legend, however, and my students enjoy learning about it every year. I do not mind the winter this year as it has been fairly mild. Hopefully, it stays that way. Several other states have had blizzards. Glad that Indiana was not on that list this year.
Monday, February 1, 2016
Tennis Conditioning
Tennis Conditioning started this evening for Meg. She will have it every Monday and Wednesday from 3:30 to 5:00 until the season starts in mid-March. She said that it went well and overall she did not feel that it was too challenging. Soccer is a lot of running and indoor without subs this winter prepared her for the challenge.
I have been used to her riding with me to pick up Cameron, so it was strange to go by myself. He had a good day and was glad to share it with me. They are having a read-a-thon at school for the month of February to raise money for the library and playground equipment. He plans to read 65 minutes a day for the month, which will be great. He already clocked in 80 minutes today.
I have been used to her riding with me to pick up Cameron, so it was strange to go by myself. He had a good day and was glad to share it with me. They are having a read-a-thon at school for the month of February to raise money for the library and playground equipment. He plans to read 65 minutes a day for the month, which will be great. He already clocked in 80 minutes today.
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