The last two days I have been trying to get some things accomplished around the house. Little things. Things that if not tended to that will turn into big things that usually everyone thinks fairies come and do in the middle of the night. Unfortunately these tasks, which would take very minimal time, are taking sometimes two and three times the time to complete because I am interrupted every few minutes by the kids. I feel completely spent and worn out by the end of the day because of it.

Monday morning I woke up and could not walk. Both feet were cramped up and were like that for hours. I have no idea what would have caused that.

I am starting to plan our family vacation to Walt Disney World. I would love to stay on site but it is not in my budget to do so. Now that we have five children it is very hard to get accommodations at the Disney Resorts without it costing us an arm and a leg. This makes me sad because we have really enjoyed staying on site in the past. We will be renting a house near the Disney area. This will be the most cost efficient not only for our accommodations but for eating as well. Have I mentioned that this vacation will be in eleven months? Did you know that I am a big planner when it comes to vacations? Now you do.

Check out this excellent post “Before the Oil Comes:Gulf Coast Oil Spill Week 5” over at Velveteen Mind.

Bristol Palin is going to be a paid speaker. I am not sure if I should laugh or cry. Guess what her speeches will be centered on? Abstinence. Insane I tell you. She is the poster child for why abstinence only education doesn’t work. Why would anyone listen to this girl about not having sex when she herself starting screwing around at fifteen? The fact people would pay for a speech on abstinence from her puzzles me.

In other news, Octomom is going to be telling the world per a banner in her front yard that you should spay and neuter your pets so they will not breed.

For more Random Tuesday Thoughts or to participate go check out The UnMom! The randomness there will not disappoint you

I have been very fortunate to have had some wonderful teachers when I was in school. If teachers were allowed to teach and be involved with students like they were when I was in school I doubt I would be a homeschooling parent today. It is hard to just pick one favorite teacher for this weeks Girl Talk Thursday topic so I will briefly touch on those who made not only a lasting impression but a lasting impact on my life.

Mrs. Hamilton was my fifth grade teacher. She came in as a replacement teacher at our school after a young, first year teeacher, Ms. Kroger, left us to go teach in the public school system. She was a stern teacher who set the bar high on what she expected of us. It was in her class that I learned good study habits and that even if you were smart it would take work on my part to maintain my good grades. While at times our class pushed her to the limits, often acting up because we as a whole were angry that she was our teacher instead of the young, hip Ms. Kroger she never gave up on us. She never failed to explain something in great detail if we didn’t understand and she was a great reader. In the afternoons she would often read aloud to us and her voice had a soothing tone that lulled you right into the story that she was reading. By the end of the year she was a much loved and cherished teacher whom I have never forgotten.

In middle school I began to show a rebellious side. My As and Bs sunk to Cs and Ds and I took every opportunity to skip class that I could. I got into a lot of mischief and even a few fights (and for note I won them too). While the headmaster, Mr. Powell, never was a teacher of mine I spent plenty of time in his presence as I sat across from him in his office. I am not sure what he saw in me, but he tended to let me off the hook for a lot for my pranks and skipping class. Of course I never left his office without a long lecture and how I was wasting my talents by acting a fool. I must have also made an impression upon him because years later when my sister sent her children to the same school and mentioned me to him he instantly remembered my shenanigans and followed up with “Does she have kids and is she planning to send them here?”

Highschool for me was a mixed bag. For a year I went to public school. I was out of my small, sheltered environment and thrust among many different kinds of people, students and teachers. Sadly, I can’t think of one teacher from there that gave me a feeling that I was important. There is no doubt as to why I failed, yes failed, the ninth grade. I had one teacher though that stood out. Her name was Mrs. Smith and she taught AP English. It was in her class that I learned the art of story telling on paper and a great love for literature. Might I also add that Mrs. Smith was an alcoholic and kept a bottle of booze in her desk. We were the last class of the day and often times she was three sheets to the wind by the time we got there. This made her tongue loose and she didn’t hold back on her literary opinions. She often would go into great details about the authors and allowed a lot of classroom discussion on what we read.

After failing the ninth grade I had to do some serious catch up work and soul searching. I also had to attend summer school and did so at one of my previous schools. It was Mr. Graham who taught me Algebra four hours a day, five days a week, for six weeks that summer. He never treated me like I was stupid and was confident I would “get it”. And I did. So much so that I actually enjoyed math. The next two years he taught me Geometry and Algebra 2 Trig. He was patient and kind with a great sense of humor. It is no wonder I married a math nerd after having had him for a teacher.

However it is probably Mrs. Mercer who was the yearbook sponsor, my history teacher, and family living teacher who was my absolute favorite. She tended to juggle a lot of responsibility in our school and I admired that in her. Mrs. Mercer was a teacher who listened. I mean really listened to her students. I felt I could go to her with anything. She made history interesting. She didn’t gloss over the bad parts or skirted around issues. We may have been in a Christian school but she did not hold back telling the sordid and immoral activities of the founding fathers or others involved in American history. In family living class she talked about abstinence but she covered birth control options as well which was a big deal back then. It was also in her class that we were given an assignment to write about our lives and where we would be in five, ten, fifteen, and twenty years. It was that project that I set out the goals for my life and all but one of them has been met. Luckily I have a few years left to get that last one accomplished.

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