Read a book. or even just one more chapter.
Unload the dishwasher.
Do laundry.
Paint toenails.
Clean the bathroom.
Make grocery lists.
Write thank you notes. Or any letters in general.
Organize desk drawers.
Rearrange the closet.
Shop for books on amazon.
Search through the cook book for good ideas.

And for this morning’s delay… I took a nap. Yep. A nap. 15 minutes after I woke up. From a 7 hour, restful sleep.

It’s not the first time that has happened, and I am not particularly embarrassed about it.
Just annoyed that I didn’t wake up earlier so that my nap would have felt a little more fulfilling.

It’s funny…
When I am around people who have young kids they are constantly telling stories about their kids. Because that is their life, it is what they know all day, every day. I obviously can not contribute any stories about my own kids, but I immediately begin telling stories about my kids.
Because that is my life, and it is what I know all day, every day.

The end of the school year is tomorrow, and as always, this becomes such a hard time for me. I don’t know if it is because I have such a small amount of kids that I work with. Or if it is because I get to work with my kids for 2 years instead of just 1. Or if it is because I get to be a part of their families, becoming friends with parents/guardians, taking the kids out after school, visiting them at home, or calling moms everyday. Or maybe it’s because the relationship becomes more of a family type one rather than a teacher-student one; complete with celebrations, meltdowns, arguments and an unconditional loyalty and love.
There are days that my job is just plain draining.
Days that I don’t sit down once until 3:45. Days that I can’t even pee without C. screaming my name in the bathroom door. Days where I don’t have lunch, planning or a single moment without the buzz of little boys. Days where I have been head butted, kicked and told that I am a “stupid ass.” Days where I spend hours under a desk trying to comfort little hearts. Days where I explain that H makes the “hhh-Hattie Horse” sound 527 times. Days that end in tears because I have spent all my energy fighting for kids that I know have the most amazing potential. Days that I call a mom 6 times to tell her about problems we are having… and 1 more call before I leave to let her know tomorrow is a new day, therefore it will be a better one.
But this year… it’s been good. Draining days and all. It has been, by far, the best. Those draining days are nothing in comparison to the days that we celebrate.
Days that we “shake what your momma gave ya!” because my math group wrote all their numbers to 100. Days that I pulled C. across the table just kiss his little forehead because he wrote 3 sentences on his own. Days that the C.’s bring me chocolate roses. Days that I get to take kids out to McDonald’s or the park after school. Days that we get to brag because we are on grade level. Days that A. uses coping skills and doesn’t have to spend time in the calming room. Days that another teacher says, “I can’t believe the progress that C. has made!” Days that we are known as “Brooks and her boys.” Days that I get to call a mom and tell her that I am so grateful that I have been able to work with her boys for the past 2 years, and I am so excited for their future.

And at the end of each year… the whole experience becomes a story to share with others. A collection of stories to tell about my kids. Only at this time of year, it should be a story told with glass of bubbly champagne, lots of laughs and Auld Lang Syne playing in the background.

my sister in law, bre’anna, tagged me in this little “seven things” post. the idea is that you write a list of seven things that people might not know about you. and then like a chain letter, you tell more people to make lists.
i am pretty certain when i say that most people who know me, know a lot about me. let’s face it, i don’t ever really shy away from talking about myself.
and, a list about myself? that’s so old news…. back in october… of 2006!!! i wrote a list of 100 things… all about me!
http://kari.broox.com/2006/10/24/in-case-you-are-bored/

ha! you all are so behind times.
but, who i am to turn down making a list? (see number 42 on aforementioned list… sad, but true.) so i have twisted the game little, and made seven lists.

seven things i can not live without in one day:
1. carmex
2. diet dewski
3. msnbc.com
4. vegetables (specifically green beans and tomatoes)
5. a book
6. my sunglasses
7. weather.com

seven of the best books i have read:
1. the red tent
2. atonement
3. birth of venus
4. educating esme
5. the story of edgar sawtelle
6. othello
7. pride and prejudice

seven talents i wish i had:
1. singing
2. speaking a foreign language fluently (preferably spanish)
3. drawing
4. skateboarding
5. cooking/baking
6. driving a stick shift car
7. high level mathematical skills

seven things to do before i die:
1. see mount rushmore
2. be involved with some sort of educational policy making process
3. ride a camel in the desert
5. get my PhD
6. ride in a helicopter
7. write/publish my own book

seven things i have learned from being a special education teacher:
1. one breakthrough is worth months of failed attempts.
2. my students are not my children.
3. kids really do hurt the ones they love the most.
4. kids are the most resilient human beings.
5. the most exhausting days are often the most rewarding.
6. you are never to professional to hug your students and tell them you love them.
7. no day is ever the same.

seven things i would do with crazy amounts of lottery won money:
1. pay off student debt (well… all debt!)
2. buy derek a fancy car
3. get my parents all situated with a nice home, no debt and a true retirement lifestyle
4. visit the seven wonders of the world
5. build a school (and fund the educational processes) in a third world country
6. donate money to autism research
7. visit all the baseball stadiums in the united states

seven things i love:
1. snuggling with ninja
2. traveling with derek
3. visiting family
4. club dancing
5. birthdays, weddings… big celebrations
6. working with naughty kids
7. being in school

so there you have it. 49 more things to know about me.
i bet your day is complete now.

and for the people i pick to make a list… nicole, tara, tia, drea, and becky. and if you don’t have a blog to write the list on, maybe you could just write a letter and mail it to me! make it really like a chain letter. who loved those? i did!
or you could just start a blog.

my mom has a hard time turning on her computer, let alone commenting on my blog,
i don’t have a grand dad or mom left,
i don’t know anyone named kent or janice,
and i do not know anyone who would threaten me with the bible, or the “truth,”
i am pretty sure the person writing this email has the wrong kari…

“For crying out loud, you had better pick up the Bible. You are so out there lost you have no idea. You are so into yourself, you should talk to people that have understanding regarding Jesus Christ as their only way to have a ever lasting life and believe even tho it is hard, sometimes to have faith, that this is the only way to live with your family, ever after. You, we love you, it is up to YOU. I will always be here for you and so will Grand Dad and Mom, Kent ant Janice…..It is the truth….I am not a SAINT, Kari, and no one else is. You have got to let it go, ask God, not me.
love you mom”

but for the kari this was intended to: look out sister! mom is pissed!

so…
ahem, going back to that previous post…
#1 in the book suggests writing about something that annoys you, something that if you were in charge of the world you would change.
easy enough… in fact, turns out i have many things that annoy me! so i decided to make a list. because, lists? they do not annoy me! i adore lists!

5 things to change if i were in charge of the world:

5. no men will wear sweat pants in public. barf.
4. there will be no more birthstone rings created. seriously? why?
3. babies on a plane? almost like snakes on a plane… not allowed unless samuel l. jackson is there to take care of business.
2. syrup is banned from all eating establishments. ranch dressing is as well. also, add jelly to that banned list. sick, sick and sick.
1. public restrooms will always have some sort of waterfall sound playing to make peeing with all sorts of strangers seem less awkward.

this is not news to anyone… but, i love to read.
it is one of my most favorite hobbies.
since i was a little girl, i have loved to read. (although a few of the book series that i was obsessed with during high school are a little embarrassing… ahem, v.c. andrews.) people have such a hard time with the idea that derek and i do not have a tv in our house. no one can comprehend what we must do with our time. i read.
by far, my most busy reading time is the summer. naturally this is because of teaching, i have a few more hours in the summer of my own time. because i teach at an extended year school i have about 5 weeks of “summer break.”
and it is fair to say that i spent about 90% of that time sitting in the back yard, with the dog, just reading. i love it.
in fact, i am pretty sure that in that 5 week time frame i read about 25 books. which is not an insane amount by any means, but is a considerably larger amount than the 13 measly books i have read in the past 24 weeks.
this past summer derek suggested that i create a google document, inventorying what books i have… kind of like my own little on line library.
(OASN: it would have been heaven if i could have just filled out a form, by hand, inventorying my books, with a fresh blue ballpoint bic pen… but i typing into google documents was slightly satisfying as well.)
in the process of that inventory i decided that my top 5 favorite books of all time are:
the red tent
atonement
the birth of venus
educating esme
the story of edgar sawtelle

also, in the process of that inventory, i came across a book i bought this summer, no one cares what you had for lunch: 100 ideas for your blog.
obviously i was too busy reading to actually do anything that book suggested…

here’s hoping for a new balance of the two.

three years ago i thought “it doesn’t get any better than this.”
but it turns out… it does-
everyday it gets better and better.

Derek: gah
i’m wearing your obama shirt on daniel’s birthday

me: that’s fine
i love to hear you say that

he might as well have said… “i am about to please you in a way that your girl parts have never known before.”

i did just watch michelle obama’s speech at the democratic national convention and i can’t lie…
i had tears in my eyes and goosebumps on my arms.

some might call it hired speech writers, “good political persuasion,” or even just saying what she knows america wants to hear…

i am impressed. again.
damn, i am excited for november.

about 3 and a half years ago, derek told me about an ad in the pioneer classifieds offering lab puppies for free.
this is how my love story with ninja began.
he was the biggest pup in the litter and rode curled up against my chest the whole way home.
i have loved him ever since.
fast forward to a few weeks ago… three and a half years later (and 80 more pounds) we have a dog who needed new knees. the first surgery was back in october. i won’t go into much detail… but, damn. it was a long healing process from that one. so when it came time to think about fixing the right knee i had my doubts.
four more months of recovery? four more months of trying to keep an otherwise active dog inactive?
i was leaning toward no.
but a few weeks back mother nature tricked us with a spring-like weekend. ninja was in heaven. he was outside all day… rolling, running, eating poop…
being a dog.
i was all excited thinking that his “bad” leg wasn’t even really that bad. he would be fine.
but the next day he could hardly walk on the right leg. and i figured that was my sign to schedule surgery.
we had the surgery planned for the time that we would be on vacation with the parents. it worked out nicely, actually. having (planned) extra care after the procedure this time.
with any good love story, i thought about him the whole time we were gone. it’s no lie when i say i had dreams about him giving me kisses.
(derek is cringing right now… but, i am not kidding!)
i freaking love that dog and could not wait to get him back home.
fast forward again to today.
ninja got to come home on tuesday and like good lovers would, we have spent the past 3 days on the couch, nuzzled in each others limbs.
i am convinced that my love missed me just as much.
his big 80 pound body has been either sitting/laying on me, drooling and snoring for hours on end.
and i wouldn’t have it any other way.
i adore this beast.