January 18th - Ice Day

The public schools were closed yesterday due to ice. Well, technically it was 2 days ago, but since I have not been to bed yet, it still counts as yesterday. I felt rather lazy after reading on Facebook what all my friends did on their "ice day". I did not break up and shovel the ice on my driveway and sidewalk. They had called for a high of 41 later in the day so I felt there was no need. (I was right - it all melted on its own! Hehe!) I didn't bake anything. I didn't prep for dinner. I didn't do any laundry. I didn't even taken a shower until after I put B to bed!

But we did have school. B was given topics to draw pictures, then he had to write stories about the pictures. He has gotten SO much better at spelling new words by sounding them out thanks to that spelling bee DS game!

I am trying to learn to play Scrabble by myself. I tried playing online but opponents were so far above me and, I'm sure, frustrated they had such a stupid opponent. Plus, I had to wait on my opponent's schedule to play their turn and sometimes it was several hours or the next day. So my mom gave me her old Scrabble board and I have it on the coffee table. I am playing all 4 stands. Don't worry; I can't possibly cheat. My memory is so bad that when I move onto the next stand to play, I have no recollection of what letters are on the other 3 stands. :o)

Evidence I have become my mother #68 - I used a Barnes & Noble GC from my MIL to order myself an Official Scrabble Player's Dictionary. *blushes* On a positive note, B is learning while I play, as well. He likes forming words with the letters on each of the 3 stands I am not playing from at any given time. Plus, I make him add up my new score in his head after each turn I take and he is doing very well.

Speaking of finding the teaching moments in everyday life (like that transition?), I have to tell you a story from this afternoon. I stopped at a local drug store on the way home from work this afternoon to buy almonds. While in the store, the hubs called to ask me to pick him up a 2L of soda. Now, we were just in the grocery store on Saturday and I asked him if wanted some more soda b/c he only had 3 aluminum cans left of his kind. "No," he said, "I'll be fine. I can always drink some of your kind." *eye roll* So, I go to the soda aisle of the drugstore and the kind he likes is $2.19 for a 2L! As much as it KILLED me to pay that price, I told myself he wants it, I love him, and I am not running to another store to get it cheaper, so I take my 2L and almonds up the the register.

Behind the register is a teenage boy and a teenage girl. He scans the 2L and, instead of the price showing on the monitor, it asks him to enter the price. He turned to the girl and said in a surfer dude voice, "How much IS this?" She picked up the sales ad in front of her, looked at it and then asked me in a valley girl voice, with a grimace on her face, "Is that a PEPSI product?" I answered, "Yes." She looked back at the ad and said, "Well, they're 4 for 5 dollars so..........(her mouth is still formed in the shape of the "o" at the end of "so" and her eyes went up and to the right as she did the math in her head)....99 cents!" she exclaimed proudly.

Now, 3 years ago, I would have corrected her and said, "No, that's $1.25," without even thinking. However, over the last 2 years I have tried REALLY HARD to think before I speak to avoid putting my foot in my mouth or hurting someone's feelings. So the new me kept absolutely silent. I am so proud of me for being so mature! ;o) BTW, as I walked out with my 2L and almonds, the teacher in me did not feel guilty AT ALL for not taking advantage of THAT teachable moment. :o)