The Latta Family

#1. I sold tickets at the baseball games on Friday night.  I know they won . . . but I don't know much more than that, because another teacher showed up just to chat.  She was on her way home, remembered I was selling tickets, and decided to stop by and visit.  I love that!  She's super fun, and I had an enjoyable time with her.   #2.  My 4th period.  They're so cute.  Sneaky McSneakersons weren't present, so I could focus on the cuties, and not Beavis and Butthead plotting World Domination- or whatever.   #3.  Technically this wasn't on Friday . . . but I dropped by Prom on Saturday night.  I love seeing them all snazzed up.  They're so pretty/handsome and proud of themselves for looking so good.  Plus I got some extra visiting in with teachers I don't visit with often enough.   I feel this will be a good time to tell you . . . my prom story. I went only 1 time.  It was 10th grade and it was enough ...

Doug has been preparing for a "Plant I.D" Contest, with some of his Horticulture students the last couple of weeks. Sometimes in the afternoon, I will stop by his building before I leave for the day, and make sure the afternoon plan didn't change.  I amazed the kids by my non-expert ability to identify most of the plants he was testing them on.  They were like, "How do you know this?!"  And I said, "Oh- this is what we do on dates.  We'll go to Lowes, and then as we walk around the store, he'll quiz me on the plants."  There was silence and blank looks, as they tried to decided if I was joking or for real.  I assured them I was joking.  We don't actually do that!  For real- we don't.  That would be so lame! Yesterday, both kids went to play laser tag with a group from church.  What do I do, when it's a Saturday and both kids are gone?!!  I go to the grocery store.  Whew . . . I am a wild one.  Although- I went to the sto...

Parenting is just a super long experience of eating crow.  If you haven't heard that phrase, basically it's a long experience of saying, "Oh.  I'll never do/be/think/act that . . . "and then when faced with the situation- it turns out . . . you did what you said you'd never do. I had an abrupt and shocking realization today. I won't lie, when friends with older children have talked about interfering in their children's social lives, I have pompously thought, "I won't do that!"  Well- when the situation presented itself, I did interfere.  I was cold and calculating, too.  And I will continue to do so.  I drank the Kool-Aid, I joined the club, and I am an official, card-carrying, "Interfering Mom." This morning, I was gathering up the kids technology to put up until this evening.  (If I don't put it out of sight, they sneak on it ALL DAY!).  As I grabbed Andrew's phone, his home screen lit up, and I saw SEVERAL texts...

1. I got behind with my first group- and gave them more independent work than I typically do- they did it without complaining, and almost all of them finished it!!!! 2. I am an idiot (that doesn't sound like a positive), and thought I had a meeting at 10am . . . turns out it was at 9am!!!!!!!!!!!!  Thankfully the group I was meeting with, were understanding, and didn't seem to hold a grudge. or think I was a complete idiot. 3.  Hahahaha!!!!! I got the scheduling for my department's students completed and TURNED in!!!! It's not even May 1.  Come at me, bro!  (hahahaha- that's a middle school "thing"). Now . . . off to a kindergarten/1st grade chorus concert!!!

1.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPni755-Krg  This is a link to study music.  EVERY time I turn this music on for my second class . . . they become totally and completely silent.  It's crazy!  I've tried it with other groups, but it's not the same.  They were sooooo totally talkative, and to get them to settle down, and focus, I played this music.  They instantly calmed down,  Became silent.  And focused.  (sometimes I play this for my kids, when they need to work on homework, so it won't take forever.) 2. One of my most talkative students, seemed to feel that she had laryngitis.  I don't know . . . as she was using a small white board to communicate. 3. I sent an email in response to a question my principal asked me and another teacher.  I emailed back quickly.  Later, I asked the other teacher about my response and she was impressed that I was so demanding of MY BOSS.  I was like, "What?"  I went back a...

1. I work with my spouse.  Some people say, "Oh I could NEVER work with my spouse."  I like working with Doug.  We aren't a house divided; we support the same team on Friday nights.  Some times he brings me treats (like today).  On the rare, truly horrific day- I can go vent.  When we talk about work stuff, we don't have to explain it or give background information.  It's comforting knowing he's there; even if we don't sit with each other at faculty meetings or lunches. 2. Yesterday I was pretty sure research papers with my juniors was a totally hopeless endeavor.  They were NEVER going to get it.  Today- I felt a lot better.  Yesterday I was jumping from one kid to another, in a panic.  I heard, "Mrs. Latta . . . "  "Hey, Latta . . . " "When you get a chance . . . "  "Latta, I neeeeddd heeelllppp!"   Today was much less frenetic.  Plus, I got to see pictures of prom dresses.  ;-) 3.  One of my stud...

Gah- what a yucky, rainy day!  Well . . . I mean yes.  It was rainy and cool, and even though I have 2 classes outside in trailers- which meant I walked through the rain, I still liked the rain.  In a way- I'm glad I wasn't at home, because I would have been totally unproductive! Anyway- today's positives: 1. My first group was super chatty today.  Normally people would not be glad for that, but I'll take what I can get- even if it's more chatty than I want. 2. My department.  Oddly- my entire department is female and yet . . . we don't have nit picky drama with each other.  We get along and are supportive of each other, without being judgmental and overbearing. 3. My assistant principals.  I like all of the administrative staff, but there is one assistant principal in particular.  I got to know her better this past January, when we were both dealing with a stressful situation.  I really admired how she handled the stress.  We share...

Hah!  I didn't forget.  Friday night went like this: boys did their thing, girls did theirs.  Alexa and I went to Chick Fil A and to finally see "Beauty and the Beast."  We got home around 8:45pm.  The boys were going to be gone for awhile longer, and my porch was calling to me.  As a result- I skipped everything to chill on my porch.  Doggone I LOVE a screened-in porch.  It's the bomb.com.  For rizzle. So what were the positives from Friday: 1. I tell you I teach with some amaze-balls co-teachers.  One brought me the most amazing trail mix. Like a-maze-ing!!!!  It has walnuts, pisachios, almonds, dried cranberries, mango, and pineapple. I LOVE it!!!!!!!!!!!! 2. One of my juniors totally cracked me up.  It's a long, convoluted story, but his witty comments are still cracking me up, two days later. 3. We finished "Othello" on Friday.  I am sad that I can't read it with them anymore.  They were hilarious.  I n...

1. I had a parent bring me Double Stuffed Oreos.  That really touched me.  I mean- she took the time to think of it, and went to the effort of getting them, but she also brought me my absolute favorite treat, simply because she remembered something I said.  Today was a good day- but that made it a great day. 2. My administration doesn't have a particularly strict dress code.  Today I wore trouser jeans, a grey t-shirt, and my Birkenstocks.  That hardly qualifies as professional attire, but I wore it, and no one yelled at me. 3. I have a student that is technically not supposed to be with me, but he needed to be separated from his usual class.  The thought, when the change was made, if he was with different students, his behavior may improve.  It was a rough few months, to begin with.  There were a few days that I sent him to the ISS teacher (who after a few days- I sent Bojangles for breakfast because . . . he really does have a sucky job), a ...

The first week back from Spring Break.  I won't lie . . . this week has been challenging.  When I left school today, I was disgruntled, frustrated, and dismayed that there are 7 weeks left!!!!!  How???!!!! Someone tell me how I will go 7 more weeks with these teenagers???!!!!  I thought of my first class and what a bunch of duds they are.  They NEVER talk.  Like seriously.  They are the quietest group of kids.  I think they're engaged in the stories we read, because they do their work, albeit silently- but they're doing it.   But no matter how many hilarious jokes, anecdotes, or weird things I do . . . they never react.  However, my second class never stops talking. Ever.  For real.  I seriously know: who got in trouble, who's mom won't shop for Navy Ball dresses, who's mom took their phone away, what awesome K-Pop "thing" happened today (fyi: K-Pop is Korean Pop music.  It's a thing. I have students obsessed with it.). ...

For whatever reason, I have been doing a lot of cooking this weekend- more than usual. Did you know there are like a bazillion different ways to make hard boiled eggs?!  There are.  I can't ever remember how I do it either.  Do I put the eggs in water, boil the water, and then let the eggs sit in there for 3 minutes?  7 minutes? Do I let it come to boil, then turn the stove off?!  I don't know.  I look it up every time.  Because there are a bazillion websites . . . I do it different every time. Regardless- today's method seemed to work.  I put the eggs in water, boiled them for 10 minutes and took them off the stove.  They were fine. About a year ago, when we were moving for the first time, I got sick and tired of packing up the kitchen.  Good grief I had a TON of stuff.  I needed to throw it out.  So I threw out my: bundt cake pan, and my round cake pans.  WHY??????  I have needed them a few times now.  Dumb...