And so it goes...

For some reason or another I am reminded of the Billy Joel song, "And So It Goes."  I am not sure why but the lyrics which go something or other like this...

"And every time I've held a rose

It seems I only felt the thorns

And so it goes, and so it goes

And so will you soon I suppose."

Perhaps the melancholy nature of the song it what has stuck with me through the years.  But for what ever reason, I've had this song in my head the last 24 hours.  I wasn't planning on feeling any sense of loss when leaving El Paso.  Indeed, this will be my last post from here.  They are packing today.  Yesterday, I was stunned and astonished at the reaction of the people I saw for the last time.  Tears were shed, hugs were given and I was left with the astonishing revelation that we have truly touched those around us.  I was left speechless, with no sarcastic comments to lighten the mood, every-time someone told me how much we were going to be missed. The teachers cried and told me what great kids we had.  The principal of the school told me that the school was suffering a great loss because our children no longer blessed the halls.  She said that we had been the topic of conversation in the teachers lounge for weeks.  We were told by teachers, who have yet to teach our children, that they wish they had gotten a chance to teach them.  The children were all given parties, many pictures were taken and notes passed.  Emma even came home with bags full of presents from friends she has grown to love.  So, it came as a huge surprise to me when I found tears in my eyes.  Despite my lack of love for the town, it seems I have come to love the people around me. We have made a greater impact here than we would have ever imagined.  We will be leaving on Sunday morning...

And so it goes, and so it goes.

And so will we soon I suppose.."

MAN-Wich

Since we are moving (only 5 more days) I decided it was "clean out the fridge and pantry night". So, it was man-wich for dinner.  I know one of my healthier fares.  Hey, we also had salad and fruit and they were on whole grain buns.  (Mommy guilt, happens all the time).  We all sat down and started eating.  In what seemed like the blink of an eye Mark said,"Can I have another man-wich?"   I looked at his plate to be sure he had started in on the other healthier aspects of dinner, and sure enough it was all gone.  Mark then helped himself to another sandwich, excuse me Man-wich, some more fruit and another handful of carrots.  We all talked, joked and laughed.  Before I knew it Mark was getting another sandwich!  I said, "Maybe you should take a half first?"  To which he replied, "But, I am hungry."  In the skeptical way moms have, I gave him a look that implied if he didn't eat it all for dinner he would be eating it all at another time.  He said, "What! I AM hungry"  Okay, three sandwiches down.  And wouldn't you know it he got up a forth time!  Four sandwiches!!  Amazed I said, "Are you really going to eat another sandwich?"  "Yes I am.  And Mom.  They are MAN-wiches.  For us growing men!"  It is clear that Mark's appetite will soon cost more than our monthly mortgage payment.  Wouldn't you know he still had room for a bag of popcorn only 2 hours later.

The three R's

Sometimes I think I am just too nice.  Tuesday I judged the 4 and 5th grade science fair.  It appears that teachers talk, and so Wednesday Mark came home with a message from Ms. Brito.

Which went something along the lines of...

Dear Mrs. Hoog, 

We are having the Middle School Book-Fest on Friday and I am looking for judges.  If  you are available it would be a great help if you could help judge this event.  Please email me if you have any questions.

Ms. Brito.

Dear Ms. Brito

I will be able to come in.  When do you need me?

Mrs. Hoog

Dear Mrs. Hoog,

The book-fest will begin at 8:30 in the Gym.  I will provide all of the materials you will need. 

Thanks for volunteering.

Ms. Brito.

I wasn't actually sure I "volunteered"  but I went anyway.  Let me preface this by explaining what a "Book-fest"  is.   In attempt to elevate Language Arts to a high level, with an importance such as science and math,  the book-fest was created.  It it very much like a science fair for books.  The kids are given an assignment to read a book.  Then after they have read the book they have a series of papers to write.  A summery, A critique, an author biography, Literary elements, The historical and social issues and a view of how this book relates to their life are the elements of the book that are to be displayed on their board.  Then the judge, that would be me, listens to their explanation of the the book and any other information they feel is necessary for us to understand the book.  

Ms. Brito, being one of my favorite teachers at St. Patricks,  really sets the kids up to succeed.  (so a teacher friend tells me)  She did everything in her power to help the kids with this assignment.  And to my amazement it was still difficult for them to have all required elements.  

I don't know if this is a gender, age-related or cultural discrepancy but at least one out of every 5 student didn't have all of the elements they needed!

As with the science fair I have complied my top ten list.

1. Somethings never change.  (Middle school girls are just as giggly as ever)

2. *WARNING* always question when a child does a book report on a book that has been made into a movie.

3.  Middle school girls LOVE  Twilight

4.  Just because you can speak English does not mean you can write in English.  You would be stunned at how many times the word when was spelled "wen"

5.  Schools need to teach kids how to use spell check. 

6.  Listen up KIDOS  a summery is not the re-telling of the book!  (I actually had a student tell me the entire story of The Wonderful Wizard of OZ. He was the only student I was able to judge in that thirty minute interval!)

7. One of the questions the judges were required to ask was, "Which character did you identify with most?"  at least 10 kids said, "NONE"  Hello?!?!  not one characteristic in all the characters had anything in common with you!

8.  The kids that love to read are obvious.  Their excitement radiates off of them.

9.  Some kids think they can get away with anything.  Despite the fact that I am not your teacher,  I do know you read that book, but it wasn't in 7th grade.

10.  Reading, Writing and Reason are not always present in the average middle schooler.

Stash Organization

I have been wanting to organize my fabric stash since we left Columbus.  I have had 3 bins of fabric, maybe 4 bins of fabric stuffed into 3 bins, for at least 3 years.  Every-time I need a particular color or print I dig out all 3 bins, dig and dig and dig until my entire bedroom is covered in scraps of fabric.  Once I even went to be to find a fat quarter had snuck under my pillow.  I have fabric everywhere,  I think it multiplies.  I am not an impulse buyer of fabric.  I buy what I need for a project, maybe a little more than I need "just in case." Seldom do I buy fabric or yarn just because I like it.  I need a purpose for said item. 

  Wednesday I set out to organize my fabric stash, yarn will just have to wait.  I pulled out the fabric bins and started sorting.  I sorted by colors with piles of  fabric mounding nicely.  After an hour I my piles were not looking so much like piles.  Perhaps they were once piles, now it looked more like a rainbow where the colors had run together.  I took a look at what I had and I had 2 garbage bags of unusable scraps. TWO.  Why did I continue to save piles of scraps no bigger than 2 inches!  I have no idea.  Maybe if I was into applique I could have justified this.  Since the applique process and I do not get along, I have no clue what I was doing with that many tiny scraps.  Ok, so those went out to the actual garbage and not back into the bins.  I felt so wasteful.  It was as if I would be taken into fabric police headquarters because I had wasted fabric.  "Surly that scrap there could be used for something?"  I found I had to keep telling myself, "you don't really need a scrap of black that is that small."  But, I might.  Right?  No.  No you don't.  So on went the sorting.

 I had remnants from every quilting project I have ever done.  WOW.  Now that surprised me.  I kept on task and managed to sort all 3 bins.  Now instead of 3 large bins I have 9 small bins.  I went to put them into my craft closet and they didn't fit!!  Hey, now.  I took 2 garbage bags out I should have the room.  I should have the room and enough room to add more fabric.  This was not the outcome I had envisioned.  This could be the reason I am not big on organization.  Did I truly organize, or did I just shuffle fabric in some random way?  Is stash organization just an illusion?  Is it an oxymoron? I am not sure.  The only thing I know is I should have never thrown out those scraps!  It seems as if I must have angered the fabric gods after all. 

The Things I've Learned.

Today I judged my first science fair and I have to say it was quite overwhelming.  I was given the fifth grade class a total of about 20 students.  I believe I may initially been as nervous as they were.  I asked a lot of question and got a lot of answers.  Some were logical and sincere others were wacky and down right insane. I believe I even may have learned a few things along the way and I thought I would share them with you.  

1. If you water a flower with coffee, tea or coke it will die.

2. Water can float on top of other water.

3. Fresh squeezed orange juice has more vitamin C than store bought.  

4. Humans have more bacteria in their mouths than do dogs or cats.

5. You can get charcoal to change colors.

6. You can make an electromagnet.

7. There is a huge difference between a research project and a science project. Apparently some fifth graders are still a little fuzzy on which is which.

8.  Having your parent help you with your science experiment does not guarantee you will understand it.

9.  Just because a report is 20% of your project doesn't mean you have to do it.

10.  After completing high school and/or college, parents can still write a fabulous fifth grade science report. 

Congratulations!

Back row from left to right: Coach Chava, Eloy, Pancho, Eugenio, Victor, Alejandro, Edwardo, Hector, Cristian, Joshua

Front row: Antonio, Sebastian, Giovanni, Jacobo, Brandon, Mark, Richardo, Andrew

Congratulations to Elite U-12 boys for winning the Copa Monarca Tournament.

This was Marks last tournament here in El Paso.  It was great to leave on such a positive memory.  Mark has had his ups and downs with the soccer teams in El Paso and was pleasantly surprised to be give the team trophy for their first place finish.  He received many well wishes and even some requests that he stay here and live until the end of the season.  Great Job Elite!

Advice

I was asked to judge the science fair for grades 4 and 5.  The science fair is tomorrow, so I decided to ask my kids for advice on judging.  Here is my list of do's and don'ts.

1. Pay attention to the kid speaking.

2. (Following the thought process of #1)  Don't ask dumb questions.  Apparently it annoys kids if you ask them questions about what they just so clearly explained to you.

3.  Dress nice. (to quote Emma, "Not like you usually do.")

4.  Ask them if they got help from the their mom and dad (This way you know if they cheated and had their parents do it for them)

5.  Make sure you have a clip board to write down notes so you know who has the coolest experiment.

6. If the kids stutter or stop don't try to finish their sentences or put words in their mouth.

7.  Give them time to think of the answer.

And finally.

8.  Be Patient.  Science fairs are Hard.