Parking Meter & Other Nonsense

Well, for all who know me well, and have been to my house, you know I've had that parking meter in my room for some time, filling it with coins... well, now it's pretty full, and I decided I'm gonna count it... who wants to guess how much is there?? Maybe there will be a prize for whoever is the closest guess... but the prize will not be the cash, sorry!!! That will be for my camera!!!
Anyway, today was the last day of school. It was my last day with those kids. I can't say I feel any different, but I think it's because it hasn't hit me yet. Wow! No more Class B this year, no more 8 to 5 schedule... whatever will I do with my time???? Hahaha... I'm sure I'll find something... sleep=first priority!! I'm really gonna miss some of those kids, and notice I said some!!! For one thing, I'll miss all that talking and all that lovin'...
I AM looking forward to my summer though. As a matter of fact, I can't wait!!

It was bound to happen...

Well, it finally happened... I lost my voice. I figured it would happen before the school year was over. I just found it ironic that it had to happen when I wasn't even with the kids!!! I think my voice missed talking to the kids this past week, and that's why I lost it--hahaha. Because of lack of use! Actually, I guess it was the weather change that got me...
The kids were so cute, as usual, though, when I went in yesterday. I got all sorts of great comments from them such as:

• "You're gonna talk different now, Ms. Raquel?"
  
• "You have to drink water so your voice will come back..."
• "You sound like a man now..."
• "We're gonna take care of you so that you can be better."
  

All that was great... except for when they weren't listening later, and made me "yell" (yeah right!) at them at nap time. I wanted to laugh as I was "yelling" because I sounded crazy. Oh well... I think that made me worse!!! So, today I'm home. If I'm there, I just can't not use my voice. A teacher without her voice is just useless!!! Especially for the preK class. It's just too much!!!
Anyway, I have to find a way of being productive here at home now. Let's see if I can work on my slide show for the end of the year. Maybe God is giving me this opportunity to really move forward with that!! I just don't want to get sick. I need my voice back!!! I talked to Ms. Lupe for a bit on the phone today and she said to me, "You must really be suffering. I know you love to talk." Hahaha... she's got it right! God knows this is pretty much one of the only ways to get me to shut up!! And even with no voice, it's difficult!!!!!

If they're not vacuums, what are they then??

Wow...

It's been a while since I've blogged. And Fab, no, I don't think they are a vacuum anymore... I've been meaning to post for a while already, but never did get around to it. Well, now my parents are in Brasil, I'm over a stomach virus, it's Saturday afternoon, it's raining outside, the boys are here next to me watching some weird cartoon thing, Glaucia's cooking in the kitchen... I think I've finished most of my errands and chores for the day, so here I go...

Well, let's see. A friend of mine asked me, "If your kids are not a vacuum anymore, what are they?" And I answered, almost without thinking, "They are leeches!" I'm serious! Can you believe it?? Actually, it's funny to think about how my year has gone. I started out not really happy with this class, missing my old one. That feeling sort of continued as the year went on... (Hey, what can I say?? I had a great class last year!!!) But now I can honestly say I really love these kids! Not only that. I love the class as a whole! I love the different combinations, I love being there with them at all times of the day, for all sorts of meals, for nap and all that. I mean, don't get me wrong--I still "hate" that time. But at the same time, it's an important time to be there for them, and I'm happy to experience that with them. Maybe the reason I'm loving them IS because I'm spending most of my time with them, who knows????

But, the reason (I think) I said that they have have become leeches is in the sense that they just have become sort of "obsessed" with me. I mean that in sort of a good way!? Let me try to explain. Well, I have this one little girl who tells me at least 2 or 3 times minimum that I'm her favorite person. She started with this a while ago, I don't remember the exact day. Well, she's not quiet about it--she says it nice and loud, and in front of anyone. She doesn't care. She says it even when she gets in trouble. This doesn't even include her telling me she wants me to live with her, visit her, sit next to her, etc., or asking about me when I leave the room for a second, when I'm absent, etc. Anyway, some time after she started saying that, several other kids have started up with that as well. Except, they say "You're my favorite teacher" or things of the like. I gotta say, it's a nice feeling most of the time, except when I feel sort of bad for Ms. Lupe or Anna, who they don't say that to. Oh well, what can I do, right? I think it's just from being with me all day long--I mean who wouldn't love me??? Hahahaha... I'm just kidding.

These kids have really won over my heart. I say they are leeches because they still require a lot of my energy. I guess with love comes responsibility, right? I actually love "hanging around" with the kids. This is the beauty of pre-k. This is why I'm a pre-k teacher, and I love what I do. It's a great feeling... I don't mind the kids loving me, wanting to hug me, wanting to talk to me, wanting me to pay attention to everything they're doing or saying, etc, but there are some kids who don't know limits. I don't like when they become hogs... not wanting to "share" me or my attention with anyone else, or when they just become mean to someone else because they want me to only play with, or look at or listen to them. As long as they are leeches who don't mind other leeches around, it's okay. Other than that, it really is a nice feeling to know that these kids have finally become "my class." I really feel that they are right now. I've broken them down--it only took what--6 months??? Better late than never, I guess. Now I've started looking forward to graduation, and I think I'm even beginning to think that I'm gonna miss these "little leeches"--go figure?!!!!

Vacuum=My kids

You know, this is weird. I felt like posting a few days ago, and I was going to post about how I'm loving my kids again, and I feel like I'm finally breaking through, and I might actually miss them, etc. Then, the days passed, and I wound up not blogging. Ironically enough, I feel like I've had it today!!! These kids, I just don't know... MAN!!!!! Especially the one, I don't want to write his name, but he is driving me crazy!!!!! I told a few people today that my kids are a vacuum this year, and not just an old, bad brand of a vacuum. (They're whatever brand is the best--I don't know what it is, since I'm not an expert on the subject.) They are just sucking every last ounce of energy out of me!!! I know it's long hours that I'm working, but it's not that. They are just too much. There is some improvement, of course, but I have to get at the root--cause the root of the problem is causing everyone else around, including me to go nuts!!!!!!! More prayer, more prayer--God, what are you trying to show me?????????????????

It's a New Year!!

Well, as it turned out, I never did get to blog about Christmas and the New Year before the new year started. So, here we are in 2008... No more 2007. So I guess what I want to write about is how blessed I've been feeling lately. I gotta say that 2007 was a year that I won't forget. I'm looking forward to 2008, and I'm looking forward to new things. I think that God has lots in store, and I'm excited to see what He's up to every day. I had a great Christmas with family and friends. Good vacation, with days off as well. New Year's was also lots of fun, again with family and friends. But through it all I gotta say that if God wasn't in the middle of it, then it wouldn't have been fun. The best part of all is that I know God is with me, always guiding me, leading me to the right people, the right friendships, the right decisions for my life. And that's why looking back I have to say that I am truly blessed. I'm so thankful for all He's done for me, and for all He's yet to do. So instead of sharing details about this or that, about what I ate, who I hung out with, where I went, who I talked to, what places I visited, etc... suffice it to say that God was in the middle of it all, and that's a true blessing, in fact, it's the most important thing I want to remember.

My B-Day

Well, here I am, back, trying to write one more time... amazingly I made it before the end of the year!! Well, I promised I'd try to write about my birthday. So as I'm here watching the Survivor finale, and thinking about all I have to do this week before I can enjoy my vacation, I'll try to remember all that happened on my birthday... Here goes!! I can't promise I'll write again before the end of the year! I'm gonna be busy enjoying life...


Well, my birthday celebrations started on Friday already, even though my birthday fell on a Sunday this year. It started with Ms. Lupe surprising me by cooking for me. The food was delicious--she made ribs and potato salad. There was also cake, of course, and my kids singing for me. So the party at school was real nice, and then the celebration continued at night as I celebrated at Stacey's house. We got together our GiGG group, and we ordered Spanish and Chinese foods. That was amazing, even though it sounds like a weird combination. You just gotta eat it one bite at a time!! When you have roast chicken, chicharron, beef chow fun, etc, it's all good!! Anyway, the night was really a great time, and included lava cakes and a Wii tournament. Pat and Stacey had just gotten the system, so we got to really enjoy it. It was so much fun!! Well, that was Friday, although I'm already leaving out amazing gifts, phone calls received, cards, and lots of words of love...

Moving right along... So, I got home really late, of course, on Friday night. Well, if there's one thing I don't like, it's getting up early, especially on Saturdays, my day to wake up late. Well, Glaucia was sleeping over that night. So, early on Saturday morning, when there was a knock on my door, I thought that it was the boys. I ignored the knock, thinking, "Why in the world are the boys knocking in my room at this hour????" Anyway, the knocking continued, and when I kept ignoring it, all of a sudden, Débora walks in and I'm like, "Huh?" Débora is my friend who lives in Ocean City, and she was not supposed to be here!!! She just came to NYC especially to see me, and surprise me. Took a bus and all--one on Friday night and one on Sunday!! And what a surprise it was. I felt so bad, cause all I could say was "What are you doing here??" I know what a sacrifice it was for her to come, and that's why I couldn't believe it. She left early the next morning, but we got to spend that Saturday together, which was so much fun. The best thing about it was that there were no plans. It was all about just having a good time together. Those are the best times!! I still can't believe she came!!

Anyway, I must continue on to Sunday. My mom brought a cake to church, everyone sang Happy Birthday, etc. It was nice. Of course, I thought that was the end. Well, we go home, and right after we get there, all the people from church show up. My mom had invited everyone to our house for a surprise. So that was loads of fun as well. My mom and my sister had a strogonoff competition. I had told my mom that I wanted to eat either gnocchi or strogonoff for my birthday when she asked me. So my mom made gnocchi for me on Saturday, which was great, and then on Sunday, her and my sister made a crazy amount of strogonoff to feed everyone. I really had a lot of fun, and the whole weekend was great.



It's hard to describe all the feelings I felt. I mean, I guess mostly I just felt really loved, which is always a nice feeling. I was thanking God for giving me so many wonderful people in my life, who made me feel so special. Between the surprises, the presents, the food, the cards, the phone calls, the e-mails, etc... it just made my birthday one of the most special ones I've ever had. I really will never forget it. So if you were a part of that somehow, thanks.

Not a blogger

Well, once again it's been forever since I've blogged. I guess I'm just not a blogger and I gotta live with that--hahaha. I mean, so much has happened, but the people who are closest to me already know about it! Then again, I have no idea who reads this, so it can be that people who are not talking to me all the time don't know all the stuff that's gone on.
Well, the everyday stuff, and even the not-so every day stuff I guess I'd just rather tell people. I mean, it's more fun when I can share, with hand motions, and feelings and facial expressions... I guess that's just me!! Well, anyway, let's see, let me try to describe it anyway... since I've blogged, relating to work, my kids have gotten better, surprisingly enough. When we got back from Thanksgiving break they seemed to have calmed down a bit. Lots of stories there, but, I just don't feel like writing about that right now. Let's see, speaking of Thanksgiving, right before Thanksgiving, I went to Ocean City again to visit Débora. We had a great weekend there, and also we got to go to Baltimore, and we went to the Aquarium there. After that, we had a great week, cause she came to NYC with me. It was cool, because we got to hang out a lot, have lots of great conversations, lots of shopping time, lots of time to just be, and also had a lot of NYC cultural time with some new friends from church. It feels weird, cause it was like a lot of stuff was crammed into the week. But what can I say? I guess we didn't waste any time! Also, I love NYC. Once again, I just gotta say that. There's just so much to do here. I can never get enough of it! Never a dull moment!
Well, besides all that good stuff last week, yesterday I went to a cookie exchange party at Stacey's, which was a lot of fun. I had never been to one, and of course, Stacey, being the perfect hostess, made sure we all had a blast. I can't believe I baked something, since I'm not really a baker... well, it was a savory thing after all, not sweet. That's more my style. The party was full of fun things to do besides eat, which we did, believe me!!
Anyway, whatever. This whole blog probably sounds boring, cause I think I tell a much better story than I write. Of course the people who lived the moments with me know what I'm talking about... Well, now I'm looking forward to my birthday, which is coming up in a week. I can't believe it!! Time is flying!!! And of course, now that my birthday's coming up... It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
Let's see if I'll actually blog after my birthday. I'm not making any promises, but I'll try... Until next time, whenever that is...