How I Spent My Birthday

The first day of being 50 started just like any other, but this was a special day.  Not just because it was my birthday, but because I had to go to another school to help with Kindergarten Screenings.  This is a time of year the Speech Pathologists (SLPs) actually look forward to because we get to spend a whole day with at least one other person with the same professional background.  It's also a nice break from the same ol', same ol'.  It's a time to catch up with each other between screening; there's some griping, but there's always some laughing.  Today was no different, especially when this one little guy came in.  I screened him, and I don't remember what he said that was so funny, but I got tickled and then he started laughing.  He had one of the most infectious laughs I've ever heard!  The other SLPs in the room started laughing, too, which just made him laugh more.  You've gotta love kids like that!

After I got home, I spent an uninterrupted hour or two with my flute.  I'm so glad that I decided to go ahead and buy it.  Then, I ran over to my see my beautician so she could get a look at what my hair's doing.  I'm going to someone new, and she hasn't quite learned how my hair curls and waves.  I think she was afraid to cut my hair too short, but I made sure she knew that she couldn't cut it too short (well, technically she could, but I know she wouldn't!).  She cut this one section of hair shorter to get rid of the hair bump, matched the other side, then shaped up my cut.

For birthdays, our family usually goes out to dinner as a family, but since YS had guard, MS had to work (so I thought, anyway), and OS is coming in on Saturday, we decided just to wait and do our family dinner on Sat.  CH & I went out for Chinese after he surprised me with a new charm:

Just in case you can't tell what it is:  it's a cell phone.  Of course there's a story behind it, and of course I'm going to tell you!  MS & I both were due for phone updates, and CH had gone by the cell store to see what kind of deal he could get.  They had a BOGO sale going on, and, after checking out the phones online, MS found a smartphone for free.  So, the original plan was that he would get that phone, and YS & I would split the BOGO.  We hit a snafu when we went into the store to get them, and found out that you had to use 2 upgrades for the BOGO, and YS isn't anywhere near to being eligible for one.  CH wanted YS to have a phone so that all of the boys would have Latitude and we can tell where they are.  So, MS & YS got the BOGO (YS used my upgrade), and I got CH's old droid (the first one that came out).  Did I play martyr?  Of course I did!  It's actually fine; I mainly wanted a smartphone for the navigation.  It's not the prettiest phone, but it is very functional!  So, he ended up getting a new cell phone (the charm).  He thinks he's funny that way.

And then CH had another surprise for me:

He did good, for sure.  I kept telling him I didn't want anything, but it sure made me happy!

I got the traditional phone call from my parents:  they sing "Happy Birthday".  You need to know this about my daddy:  He can't carry a tune.  Seriously.  It was a source of embarrassment when we were little, and I actually think it embarrassed him, too, but he's learned to embrace it and doesn't hold back during Mass.  It just makes it more special that he sucks it up and sings to us at least once a year!

I switched my shoes over from my winter shoes to spring/summer, and came across a box that has some memorabilia in it.  In the bottom was this:  One year  for Christmas, one of my sisters asked everybody to write something about each of our siblings and send them to here.  She compiled them all together, and each of us got a sheet with what our siblings said about us.  Our parents were included, too.  I had tears in my eyes as I read what my siblings thought of me.  A lot of my siblings (and both parents) mentioned my flute playing.  (I don't remember the year this was done, but all 3 of my boys had been born.)  After reading the sheet, I thought about how you just don't know what an impact you can have on someone else's life by just being you.  Both of my younger brothers mentioned something about me and how that helped them grow.  I think we all need to be reminded of that every now and then.  I need to remember to get that out every once in a while. 

All in all, not a bad way to start my 50's!  Oh!!!   I guess you're wondering about my Birthday Bandit!!!  For a finale, I got an Amazon giftcard, and they revealed who they were:  My oldest brother and his wife!  They knew what a tough time I had when I turned 40 (but that's a whole different story!), and wanted to "soften the blow" of turning 50!  I got my AARP invitation in the mail the other day, so I'm ready to get started on that!  Turning 50 does have its advantages!

Friday's Fave Five

Today, the grumpiness is gone.  Join in with Susanne over at Living to tell the Story and remember to link up!  Here's my latest installment of Friday's Fave Five:

1.  Cinco de Mayo dinner courtesy of YS.  He made Layered Black Bean Dip

       Refried Beans Supreme

      and Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

    YS did all of the cooking himself; I only had to do some "prep" for him.  He did a great job, and everything tasted wonderful!  We attempted empanadas.  We had this wonderful idea to deep fry (I'm from the south where we think everything tastes better fried, remember?) them, but they fell apart in the deep fryer.  This was completely my fault; I take the blame for it!  We did go ahead and put them over vanilla ice cream.  The falling apart didn't detract from the taste one bit.

2.  Summer clothes...I'll be much cooler now that I switched out my clothes from winter to summer!

3.  Flowers in the yard.  There aren't very many, but at least there are a few!

4.  Finishing "Mercy" by Jodi Picoult.  The book was okay, it just took me longer to finish than it usual does.

5.  Kindergarten Screenings.  Here's a picture of the team that screened Thursday at one of the schools:

  They are my best speech chickies.  I gave the one in the green jacket a hard time, because that's the shirt she wore last year:

  No M&M's this year (diet...remember?).   One of the items on the screen is to have the child name 6 foods, then 6 animals.  The girliest girl in the world was naming the animals when I got distracted, and I made a comment to one of the ladies.  Then, I turned back to her and told her to tell me a few more foods, and she said, "foods?"  I corrected myself, and then she said, "You get a little confused sometimes."  Oh, honey, if you only knew!  Then, I had a little boy who was suppose to repeat sentences after me.  I said, "Where is my new marker?" to which he replied, "I not have it."  So, I explained that he was to say exactly what I say, and I repeated the sentence.  He again replied (with just a hint of agitation):  "I not have it."  Okay then...mark that as a miss and move on!

Looking forward to reading FFF from everybody!

Last Friday's Fave 5 for April

Here are my Fave 5 for this week:

1.  Dinner at my parents' house: A cousin and her husband (who live in S. Tx.) are participating in the Rock & Roll 1/2 Marathons, and they went to Nashville to participate in the one there.  Since they weren't too far away and have friends that live nearby, they came in to have dinner with us.  We don't have cousins coming in a lot, so it was a real treat to see them.

 (This is a picture of the "older" cousins!)

2.  Screenings at one of my schools:  It's a nice break from the regular routine, and it means that school is almost out for the summer!

3.  My favorite comedian is coming to town.  Unfortunately, I won't be going to see him.  He is hilarious!  (Or, maybe it's just my warped sense of humor!)  Here's a clip:


If you've never heard of him, I bet that wasn't what you were expecting:  An Asian with a southern accent!  God Bless America!

4.  Here's another youtube clip from a new bloggy friend that found me this week!  I think I'm going to enjoy reading about what she's up to:


5.  The view as I was driving into work on Thursday morning:

I have to throw this picture in for my husband.  This was one of his Faves of the week:

New motorcycle  boots!  He wore them around all night to "break them in".

Have a great POETS Day!  (Pee On Everything, Tomorrow's Saturday!)

Tuesdays Unwrapped & Other Things

 
Tuesdays Unwrapped is a time to slow down, and think about the little things for which  you are  thankful.  It may be something unexpected, or something that you take for granted.  Join us over at Chatting at the Sky and share!  Don't forget to link up!

 Last night we had a Band Booster Meeting to go over next year's budget and elect officers.  I was secretary this past year, and, since I really didn't have to do anything except take notes at meetings, type them up, send them out, then revise when people let me know what I had wrong, I volunteered to continue this coming year.  The lady who has been President for the past 2 years is stepping down from the position.  Her husband wants her to slow down, so I guess I can't blame him.  I am so very thankful for people like her who are so incredibly organized and have the business sense to take a group from where we were to where we are now.  She has given us wonderful  direction and has given us a chance to grow, both as an organization and even personally.  I am so appreciative of her willingness to give up her own time with her family to make the band her extended family.  I know it couldn't be easy at times when some parents weren't happy with some decisions that had been made.  Over the past 2 years I've come to know her as a friend and confidant.    I am extremely fortunate to have her in my life.  She makes me laugh; she gives me advice; she listens.

Now for the Other Things:

Yesterday was the first day of my last bus duty of the year.  It wasn't too bad, although I did manage to get the week started off right by making a 1st Grader cry.  In all honesty, I did feel bad about it.  My last rotation of duty was in the gym, which, if you've read my earlier posts, is the worst place to be because that has the most kids.  The kids go into the gym when they're finished with their breakfast...sort of a holding place for them until the bell rings and they can go to their classroom.  I called Kindergarten to go to their classrooms, and off they went.  1st Grade started running to the door, so I told them that I hadn't called them; they needed to go sit down.  Then I called 2nd Grade (just for meanness!)...off they went.  Then I called 1st Grade, then the rest of the grades.  When I called 5th Grade, I noticed a 1st Grade girl "hanging out" with the 5th Graders.  I went ahead and walked her down to her room, and one of the 5th grade girls handed her bookbag to her, and let me know (very politely and not disrespectful at all) that she usually walked this girl down to the room.  I thanked her, and told her that I would walk her down today.  The little 1st Grade's eyes started watering and her face got all red.  I completely forgot that the 5th Grader walked her down in the morning...I think this is to make the older girl feel important...she doesn't have a wonderful home life.  So, we're off to a great start of Bus Duty (BD) week!

Sometimes I get so very lazy.  I don't want to sit down and figure out what we're going to have for dinner for 2 weeks; I get tired of fixing the same thing over and over.  I ran by the grocery store yesterday to get the fixings for tacos...who doesn't like tacos? They're easy, fast, and inexpensive.  I get home, and MS is getting ready to go to soccer practice.  I tell him what we're having for supper only to be told that they had tacos for lunch at school. How the heck am I suppose to know that?  YS is throwing up his hands and saying "yes" (apparently the school tacos aren't that great), and MS is groaning about having to eat tacos for 2 meals. I didn't, however, hear too much complaining while he was scarfing them down before heading out to Bio Lab!

The end of the year in my school  system means a break from the everyday routine:  Kindergarten Screenings.  The parents who have registered their little ones bring them to the school where they go through hearing, vision, speech, and readiness screenings.  We are assigned to do our own school, then get to go to another school to help out.  If we're real lucky, we get called to help out in additional schools.  When we start the screenings, they're fun: it's a nice break, and it's exciting to see those sweet little faces who will be Kindergartners in the school  in August.  By the time we're doing the last ones, we're tired, we're irritable, and we just want our routine back!  Here's a picture of me and 3 co-workers after a day of screening last year (notice the empty M&M's bag!):

See how one of my coworkers has some pictures in her hands?  That was in case the special ed. director saw this on FB and questioned whether or not we  were really working!
Today we have the screenings at one of my schools.  Today I get a look at the kids who may be in speech next year.  Today I get to talk to parents about their 5 year old not being able to say /r/ (which is completely appropriate until they are 7 years old) and assure them that it is completely normal and they shouldn't worry about it.  Today is going to be a great day!

Oh, and, we only have 3 more Mondays before Summer Break!