Good-bye

The last 24 hours has been a complete and total bit of a mess here at the Jones house. As of right now we are about 15 hours from leaving, our refrigerator isn’t working and won’t be might not get fixed before we leave, the boy just fixed the garbage disposal which he broke by accidentally putting a screw down the drain, and we are almost done cleaning and packing. Our three weeks in China are going to fly and as we go to leave, despite the horrific awful 24 hour plane ride we will be dying to go back again next summer.

Only Four More Days

Therefore, we are in full China mode here at the Jones household. Every conversation is about China, all activities pertain to China in one way or another, and our house is somewhat a disaster area, thanks to packing for China. My two major concerns at the moment are that there is no coffee in China, therefore, my caffeine addiction might be a little problem (you don’t want to see me if I haven’t had my morning coffee, trust me), and that we have yet to practice with our chopsticks this year, which means that there will be some serious spillage of food for at least the first week that we are there, possibly longer, and lots of stains (thank goodness for Tide Pen). Other than that, we will hopefully be ready to go!

You Told Them What?

Being a teacher definitely doesn’t make me an expert on raising children, only an expert at controlling chaos in my classroom long enough to teach them something (hopefully). Therefore, it is interesting and often entertaining to watch my sister raise her three girls (ages 10, 8, & 6), which overall, I think she does a great job. However, was appalled shocked surprised to find out that she told, not just the oldest, but all three of them, about the birds and the bees…even the six year old! The best part, however, is how I found out about the adult whole conversation. The oldest of the three walked up to my other sister and announced that she knew why my sister and her husband had never had a baby. Then with the help of her two sisters began to retell everything that their mom had told them about how babies are born. Can you believe it? I know you should "never say never", but I don't see myself telling my six year old (one day). Would you?

Giving In...

It’s official! I have finally given into my urge to pack everything I can for China. It all started when I persuaded the boy to go to Target and start getting supplies for the trip (such as the previously mentioned toilet paper), then it was all down hill from there. I am not even sure you can walk into the guest room right now…it is a disaster area. On the bright side, I rarely go into the guest room; therefore, overall my house still seems clean (so it’s the best of both worlds). This week is going to fly and we’ll be leaving before we know it!

Reading Fun in a Bag

The mid-1990s were a funny time in my mother’s life where she readily shopped and hunted beanie babies, the result? A lot of Rubbermaid bins shoved into a closet somewhere in her house. So, being the workaholic teacher that I am, my newest idea is to take her beanie babies, match them with a book, make cloth bags to store them in, and then let my students take them home and read the book with the beanie baby. Therefore, my task this afternoon is to go to JoAnn’s and pick out some fun fabrics for the bags. I have a feeling that it is going to be a long afternoon with lots of decisions and a little self control.

Not so beachy...

It was a gray cloudy evening, with the threat of rain all around, so what did the boy and I decide to do? Go for a walk on the beach, of course! After assessing the weather radar maps (http://www.weather.com/) and deciding it was going to rain everywhere but the beach, we were off. We leisurely strolled down the beach, with cloudy blue skies ahead of us, enjoying the cool breeze; however, when we decided to turn around we realized that maybe the radar maps had let us down. With huge black clouds rolling in and the sight of rain in the distance we started to walk a little faster, the speed walking turned into a jog, then lightning started flashing and the jog turned into an all out sprint down the beach. So, the next time the boy suggests walking on the beach when there is even the slightest chance of rain my answer will definitely be “no”, no matter what the weather radar maps say.