Teachingmommy: Hectic Chrismas Happenings

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Hectic Chrismas Happenings

I've been trying to post more, but between getting everything ready at work for the holiday break (thank god!!), finishing up xmas shopping, cleaning the house for my mom's arrival, wrapping presents, writing thank you and xmas cards, laundry, etc...well, I just haven't gotten to it much this week. I'm sure you understand. (oh, and I forgot to mention that MaeMae has another cold...)

Let's see...I probably won't have much time to post in the coming days either. Yesterday was my last day of work for a while!! My vacation is officially called "Sixteen Whole Days With Maelin." It's very exciting. Yesterday was also Ann's (my student teacher) last day. We had fun, but it was also sad. I think I'll be more sad on the first day the kids come back and it's just me in there by myself again. I have some great pictures of her last day and our party with the kids, but I have to wait for Ann to email them to me. I'll post them as soon as I get them.

My mom is coming for xmas today! She's coming in tonight and staying till Xmas night. I'm very excited to have her her but it's always a bit awkward when we have people stay with us because they have to sleep in Maelin's room and I always feel bad when she wakes up or I have to change her diaper because although I'm used to getting up at 6am on a Sunday morning, I know that the rest of the world is not...

However, it's going to be very nice to have Nana here. I can finish laundry and wrapping and she can play with the baby.

So if I don't have a chance to post much in the next few days, I hope all of you have a magical Christmas with your family and friends. Miss MaeMae says she hopes you celebrate responsibily like she is in this picture...

Merry Christmas!

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Spanish Steps: Rome, Italy

Must Read Books & Great Authors

"A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" is a novel by Betty Smith first published in 1943. It relates the coming-of-age story of its main character, Francie Nolan, and her Irish-American family struggling against poverty in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. The novel is set in the first and second decades of the 20th century. The book was an immense success, a nationwide best-seller that was distributed to servicemen overseas.
"Gone With the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell. This is my all-time favorite book and you MUST read this at least once in your lifetime. It has won the Pulitzer Prize, it is available in 31 different countries and it has been hearlded as "The Great Amercian Novel"
"My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult is a heart-wrenching novel about what it means to be a good parent, a good person and a good sister. Kate has had cancer since childhood and her younger sister Anna was concevied to be a perfect-match bone marrow donor for her. As Anna grows up, she struggles with how she and world will see the rights of her own body. This novel is the first book in years that had me crying. It was very well written and very enjoyable if you're in the mood for a tear-jerker.
"The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls is a memoir about a nomadic, deprived childhood told with the wonderment of a child who always wants to believe that Daddy will be a hero in the end and that Momma really does know best. You are enrapt reading about Walls and her siblings rifling through trash cans at school looking for food, doing the skedaddle in the middle of the night, or waiting for Dad to come home after another bender. It's a riveting story and a testament to Walls' desire to rise above a life that could have easily turned her into just another tragic headline. I really appreciated this story because of the very real probability that some of my students are living this very life.
One of my favorite authors (I have everything she's ever written) is Marian Keyes whose stories are set in Britian or Ireland. She is the internationally bestselling author of Watermelon (which is my favorite), Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married, Rachel's Holiday, The Last Chance Saloon, Angels, Sushi for Beginners, Under the Duvet, and her latest, The Other Side of the Story. Her books have touched readers around the world, and they are now published in 35 countries and in many different languages.