Friday, February 28, 2014

when 2=7

I have spent the last 2 weeks substitute teaching math.  I have been teaching conics, quadratic equations, and probability to the various classes so you'd think it would be easy for me to see that 2 does NOT equal 7.  However, to my way of thinking it does.

In the last 2 days, I have had 3 teachers come to my classroom and book me for an additional 7 days of subbing.  Thus, 2 really can equal 7.  (2 others asked me for an additional 3 days but we haven't completely firmed those up yet so maybe 2 days will end up equaling 10).

It's nice that they want me to sub but, at the same time, it is easier to turn down jobs when they don't ask in person.  It is impossible for me to say no when a teacher is standing in front of me, crying because her nephew committed suicide and asking me to cover her classes, even when I had planned to use that day to prep all the food to feed 150 faculty/staff the next day.  It's okay.  I can still get it all done.  I am pretty organized and efficient.

My dad always said that there's no rest for the wicked and the righteous don't need any.  I guess I fall into one of those two groups.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Need. Iron. Now.

An iron shortage has struck McKayla again!  It is fairly common for female runners to get low on iron.  This happened to McKayla during the cross-country season of her junior year.  We couldn't figure out why her race times were so slow when she was training so hard.  Luckily, my cousin's husband is a cross-country coach and suggested we have her iron checked.  Voila!  We got her on iron supplements and the problem was fixed!

Unfortunately,  she decided after cross-country this year that she could probably stop taking iron supplements.  She was worried about too much iron in her system since your body does not rid itself of excess.

We've just finished up the indoor track season and it is apparent she NEEDS those iron supplements.  Her first 2 indoor meets were disappointing but she brushed it off as "it's indoor" and "we haven't done any speed workouts".  Then, last weekend we went to Idaho for the Simplot Games - a huge indoor meet that even boasts athletes from Canada and Mexico.  We fully expected her to be in the fastest final for the 1600m.

Not so.

In fact, not only did she not make the fastest final, she didn't even make the 2 slower finals.  She ran a 5:36.  She hasn't run that slow since her freshman year.  Her coach just looked at me and said, "What is going on?  It's like she has iron problems again."  Then he asked me if she was still taking her iron.  When I told him she quit taking it in mid-October, he told me to get her back on it!  McKayla and I discussed it and knew he was right.

The bright spot of he Simplot Games?  Three RHS sprinters went and they asked McKayla to help them form a 4x400 team.  McKayla didn't know how that would go since she has never run it, she's not a sprinter, and they haven't done any speed workouts yet.  However, she gave it a go and truly held her own.  She helped her team qualify for the finals.  Then in the finals, she helped her team finish 6th overall!  Not too shabby!  Her time wasn't too bad - she ran a 1:03 which, while not fast, was respectable.  It was also fast enough that she wasn't passed by any other team.  It's kind of nice that low iron doesn't impact sprints!

Our boys' 4x400 team finished first despite Brandon not being there (he had his tonsils out).  They ran the 3rd fastest time in the country so far this year.  A representative from New Balance was there and invited them to the New Balance Invitational.  I was super proud of them for immediately saying no when he told them it's on a Sunday.  They just told him, "We don't run on Sundays."

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Valentine's

Time to do a bit of catching up...

I love holidays and Valentine's Day is no exception.  Last year I placed a heart on each of my children's bedroom doors for each day of the 14 days of Valentines.  I wrote on the heart what I loved about that child.  This was such a big hit that I did it again this year. 

This year I also did a treat for each of the 14 days of Valentine's.  The kids and my husband sure didn't mind that one bit!  Usually it was attached to a corny note (i.e. whale crackers - You're a "whale" of a "catch" or donut holes "DONuT you know I love you a HOLE bunch").

I also did boxes of God's conversations hearts for my extended family and for my young women.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Brandon's call

Brandon got his mission call!  He is going to the France Lyon mission!!!!!   Woo-hoo!  We are all so excited for him!

He invited our entire family over to witness him opening his call and it was so wonderful to be there!  He was so overcome and excited that he started crying when he read it and it was hard to even hear where he was going.

We've tried to counsel our children not to have steady boy/girlfriends in high school but we are doing a crappy job with McKayla and Brandon.  We just love Brandon so much!  He is truly such an awesome guy, he treats McKayla so well, and he just fits right in with our family. 

I was so pleased that he invited us to share this special moment with him.  I know he'll be a wonderful missionary!  He is so kind to others that I think the people he serves will immediately feel his love and concern for them.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

My life = math

Math all the time!

Starting this week, I am back to teaching math full-time at RHS for a week or two (or three or...).   One of the teachers has a mom back East who is dying so she may be back there with her until after the funeral. Since I taught math for them a few months last year, they felt pretty comfortable having me teach again.  This time it is only 2 different classes instead of 3 (yay! - less prep).  I'm teaching Secondary Math 2 and College Prep Math so my students are either sophomores or seniors.  My sophomores are doings conics: circles and parabolas. (Not my fave!)  Seniors are doing quadratic equations and factoring (super easy!).

Teaching these classes alone is more math than I usually do on a daily basis but for some reason, this week both of my girls have needed a lot of help on their math homework.  I have spent a couple hours EVERY night doing more math!  At least Shanley's is exactly what I am teaching my sophomores at school.  McKayla's, on the other hand, is statistics and that really taxes my brain.  I haven't done much statistics since college.  Loved it then but don't remember it too well.

Haven't had much time for anything but math this week.

Monday, February 10, 2014

ALL CAPS

Every blog title has been in all capitals lately. It makes me chuckle a bit but I can't help it - a lot of really exciting, fun stuff has happened in the past week or so. When it rains, it pours (if you consider rain a good thing!)

Sunday, February 9, 2014

CHANDLER IS 13!

My "baby" is definitely a baby no longer - he is officially a teenager. On Wednesday, he turned 13.

Chandler is a sensitive child. It really upsets him to be in trouble for anything. A cross word can bring him to tears. He is very curious. He loves to know how things work and why things are as they are. He takes things apart just to put them together again. He asks Kevin and I lots of questions and listens to the answers. He really analyzes things. He is a worrier. He has a hard time sitting still. His current love is computers - he is getting to be a whiz on them. He has created servers and is wanting to learn some programming. Chandler likes to play soccer and run distance races but dislikes watching sports. He is very goal-oriented and is quite competitive. He loves to play games. He has always been a helpful child - one willing to help neighbors haul off cement or unpack from a camping trip. Chandler is a doer. He doesn't have the most patience with people. He is a good student. One of my favorite things about Chandler is that he will still cuddle with me!

So, what did Chandler choose for his birthday meals? Strawberry crepes for breakfast, In-n-Out Burger for lunch, spaghetti noodles with mixed veggies and Mr. Yoshida's Savory Sauce for dinner. He didn't want a cake but really enjoyed Play-doh ice cream.

It was a crazy busy day. McKayla was at school b 6 sm. I was subbing math at the high school. Shanley had dance. McKayla had practice and then a CNA thing. I had a school community council meeting. Chandler had a soccer game. We didn't all get home together until after 7 pm and we were trying to get McKayla's letter of intent sent off because the UVU coach was getting a little anxious that she hadn't sent it yet and we were trying to keep up with Brakston and Whitney's news since they were in the hospital awaiting the birth of Mason. Also, Kevin needed to go give a Priesthood blessing. Poor Chandler - his ice cream and present were just kind of shoved into the day about 8 pm.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

GRANDMA!!!

My first grandchild:
Mason Parker Morgan was born on Thursday, February 6 at 1:08 pm. He weighed 7 lbs 10 oz and was 20 inches long. He is a cutie! I am excited and happy for Brakston and Whitney because they both love babies and are so excited! It is awesome to be a first-time parent (I remember that much). Everyone tells me I will LOVE being a grandparent. I am sure I will but I don't feel any major excitement for myself at this point. I am not a huge baby-person. I love teens! I will let Brakston, Whitney, and my girls enjoy holding Mason as a baby. However, when Mason is a teenager, if Brakston and Whitney need a break - I am totally their person!

Thursday, February 6, 2014

NATIONAL LETTER OF INTENT

Exciting stuff!
McKayla signed her NLI yesterday to run track/cross-country for UVU. She had already verbally committed but it was still a thrill to see all the formal paperwork!

Saturday, February 1, 2014

NEW CAR!

Kevin and I did something today that we have never done before in 26 years of marriage...

we bought a brand new car!!!

Seriously, it had 5 miles on it!  That is pretty dang new.

The repair bills on our Hyundai Sonata have gotten to the point where it was better to have a car payment.  Although, we are still going to drive the Sonata as long as possible.  The car we'd like to park is the Suburban.  It is such a gas hog!  We figure our gas savings alone will make about 1/2 to 2/3 of the car payment.

So, this morning it was off to go car shopping.  We did lots of research and narrowed it down to about 6 cars we were interested in.  Then, we went to CarMax and sat in and/or test drove those vehicles.  This led to my preferring the Ford Focus.  Then we did some more research and found a great deal!

Now we are the happy and pleased owners of a charcoal gray 2014 Ford Focus!