"Rhino"

Sometime in the course of Ryan's life, he picked up the nickname, "Rhino".  I want to say it was started by Roger Shumway, but I could be lying.  And there are a lot of you out there that may know the truth.  But since Ryan isn't around to ask, we are just going with it....

For me, it started off as pure laziness.  Sydney has become "Syd", Lauren becomes "Lou" and Ryan became "Ry".  But that "O" sound fits perfectly...  It certainly doesn't qualify as a term of endearment in my book, but dang, it does flow off the tongue so nicely.  "Hey Rhino, pass the milk,"  "What are you up to Rhino?" "See ya Rhino!"  Well, maybe you have to be there.

Anyway...my story...

You may recall the autistic boy that I'm teaching this year.  We'll call him "J".  Ryan had the pleasure of meeting him last week.  He came right up to Ryan and said in his little robotic voice, "What's your last name Ry-an?"  (Ryan had on his workshirt with the nametag).  So they proceeded to have a short conversation on makes and models of various cars.  I thought that was the ended of it.

But the next day, during class, I hear "Rhino!  Rhino!" accompanied by maniacal laughter.  I think, "Huh, J. must be currently fascinated by rhinoceros."  For the next few days I would hear "Rhino!" burst out in random discussion.  Finally it all clicked for me.

"J, are you talking about the animal, or did I call my husband Rhino when he was here?"

Maniacal laughter.

"Rhino, Rhino!"  "Yes, Rhino, your husband!"

I have learned two lessons from this:
A:  Watch what you say, kids will pick it up.  Thank goodness I hadn't said, "Dammit Ryan, what the hell?"  Not that I would have said that ;-)
B:  "Rhino" doesn't sound so good 100 times a day.  I'm a little sick of it.  I wonder if Ryan would answer if I started calling him "Cupcake"?

You've Got to Have this Recipe!

When I was a kid, Alice Traver was the gourmet cook of the neighborhood.  One of my first culinary memories is the day she brought over homemade eclairs.  Overused pun-but it was love at first "bite".  Since then, eclairs, cream puffs, and Bavarian Cream filled doughnuts have been near and dear to my heart/stomach.  Back in the day, when I had a little more time, I occasionally whipped up a batch of my own.  But with the discovery of this recipe...well, I'm going to have to work on my self-control.

You can find the recipe right here http://ashtonrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/09/eclair-dessert.html

Spoon Me Baby!

I seriously hate it when I can see myself (and Ryan) in the Fair animals....

Blogging in my Head

Oh, I am so witty.

WIIITTTTYYYY I tell you. All day long, I compose smart, sassy and/or thought provoking stories to add to my blog. Sometimes it's the only thing getting me through the day.

Unfortunately, I forget them by the time I get home from work.

Sorry.

But, I'm not kidding, I'm pretty funny. Maybe even clever. Occasionally hilarious. In my head, at least.

Where Have I Been?

This year, one of the students I am teaching is a boy with autism. He is a happy-go-lucky kid who loves school and all of the teachers. Yesterday, he bounded into my classroom unexpectedly, shrugged his arms up in the air and exuberantly shouted, "Where have I been?"

Well, as a matter of fact, he had been at the occupational therapist's room, and was supposed to be in his English class, so I sent him across the hall. Later at lunch as I relayed the story to my colleagues we all had a warm-hearted laugh.

"Where have I been?" Truthfully, I can't get those words out of my mind. I don't know him well enough to understand the nuances of his language. What did he mean? Was he simply confusing words, or was he truly lost? Was it a game and I was supposed to guess where he had been? Was it his way of looking for direction? I don't know.

What I do know is that those words (or ones very similar) could have come from me at one time or another.

They've been said in remorse, as in "Where have I been" as a friend, relative or child needed me and I was oblivious to the situation.

They've been said in frustration as in "Where have I been" while I see habits of my children that I should have put a stop to a long time ago.

They've been said with melancholy as in "Where have I been" as I've watched those same children mature into the near-grown people they are now. (Once again, thanks to little Lauren for being considerably younger).

How many times have I wanted to yell, "Where have I been!" Haven't you missed me? Haven't you noticed me? Please, tell me I am important to you! (Yeah, I'm really not the grown-up, "together" girl you may have assumed me to be...)

They've been said with regret as in "Where have I been" when I've lost my way in life. When my priorities have been clouded, or my anxiety has blocked out the light.


BUT, they have also been said with pride, as in "LOOK Where I have been!" Every bump, every scrape, every fall and every triumph has guided me to the place where I am now.

And hopefully I can add to the phrase....

"Where have I been...

...and look where I'm going!"

First Day Pictures

I just love first day of school pictures. Part anticipation, part anxiety and part excitement. It's all seen from the choice of clothes, hairstyle and half-smiles.

Sydney is a freshman this year. Her comments, as always were fairly brief, and involved statements like "Mawwwm, it's just school," and "It was OK I guess." (After a while, she did warm up and claim that it was good--high praise from her....)

Cade, a senior, didn't have much to complain about because he only goes to school until lunch, and then works for Ryan in the afternoons. His highlight was that his new cleats came in.

When I woke Lauren up, I got the roll around in her bed maneuver, while she exclaimed,"Mom! Just five more minutes!" (The true teenager in the house.) Things went better from there and she claims that she likes being a 3rd grader. (They are the "seniors" of the elementary school.)

I wore high heels to school (not a good idea on the first day), but otherwise, it seems that my allergy to work is slowly lifting.

More Alaska

Oops!

I almost forgot one of the more important "chapters" of our trip. Fishing. While we were there, Ryan and Mark went salmon fishing, and then halibut fishing.

Salmon fishing is a lot more fickle than most people would believe. The fish come into the streams in runs. While you can make a pretty good guess about when those runs will be, it is still that, a guess...an estimate. And even when you guess right, there are a bunch of other people with the same idea. It even has a name, "Combat fishing". The fishermen line up along the shore, virtually shoulder to shoulder and have to coordinate their casts. The woman next to Ryan wasn't very "seasoned" and she spent most of the time yanking her lure back out of the water and into Ryan's chest. Oh well, as they say, "A bad day fishing is better than a good day working."


Later in the week, they headed down to Ninilchik for halibut fishing. Isn't this little town so quaint. Although you can't see it clearly from this small picture, there is a Russian Orthodox Church sitting on the hill.

Out in the ocean...before everyone decided that they weren't feeling so good.... This is why I don't go halibut fishing (once was enough, thank you).

Mount Redoubt.

Dry land! And lots of fish!