POLLEN

The Worst Spring on (My) Record
My Allergy app, where I record my shots and get instructions, has a pollen tracker for my area. This week was off the charts! We're talking in the red, where it reads extreme. If nasal passages could scream in terror...

I had some coughing, some congestion. But Analiese was hit the worst. (My theory is my allergy shots actually helped. Not 100%, but then, nothing's perfect). She would cough all day into the night. She wasn't sleeping well and couldn't taste anything when eating. At least she knows Mom sympathizes.

Ken gave her a blessing Monday and, that evening, I had her sleep propped on more pillows. Amazing what a difference that made. Just being able to sleep!

But I limited her contact with the outside. If I was smarter, I probably should have had her wear a mask when outside. Instead, we didn't walk this week...what, all those trees with pollen? And when Ken offered to open windows on a lovely day I emphatically said, "No!" Let's not encourage more pollen to come in! And, yes, the wind has been busy blowing, too. All very (NOT) helpful.

But, the good news is I'm done with shots. For now. I go back to the doctor the first of May to assess how well I've done and whether to continue or not. The downside is I have to go off all of my allergy meds (and some others) until then because my system needs to be clear for them to test. Please settle down, pollen!

Pest Control
It is embarrassing to admit, but the mouse wars continue on. I don't know why; in the spring they should have abandoned ship! And those suckers are so smart, they've left alone every single sticky trap I set!

Then, with spring comes the insects. Some ants have come into the house; I keep finding one or two in the shower. Don't forget the swarm that was all over my potting soil in the shed! There are wasps and muddaubers (a more benign type of wasp) that seem to congregate around the front door. Some would say spiders are also an issue, but I haven't seen that many and I consider them allies in my fight against bad bugs!

However, the situation with the rodents (BTW...rabbits are NOT part of the rodentia family. One of the first things we learned in 4H.) was becoming untenable. We went over our budget and decided that it was in the cards...hire an exterminator.

There's only one local exterminator in town, and I've not heard good things about them. So, I called the closest one outside of Chickasha and found that they serviced our town. Friday, the guy came over, set bait, sprayed around the house and outside (Yes, it's safe for pets. The guy himself has had rabbits and knew it would hurt as long as they didn't get into the bait, which was put in tiny, sheltered corners they - namely Alice - could not get at). He's supposed to come back every other month to check and spray and whatever as needed.

Full Steam Ahead
It's the middle of April and everything just seems to be speeding up. Take Seminary, next month is graduation (for High School, too) and I have to have my lessons done and the assessment taken before the 19th, which is the stake graduation. My seniors graduate from high school that Saturday, but the actual last day of school is the Friday after. I had planned my lessons for that because the rule is, for every day of high school, you have a day of Seminary.  Not in this case, mainly because the next weekend is Memorial Day weekend and - Poof! - people are gone.

Okay, okay. But I was behind already because of two "snow" days (there was NO snow) that the school district called and we didn't have seminary. So this weekend, I had to review everything and double up a couple of classes. I hate being pressured and I like to give ample time to discuss everything. Not gonna be the case for a couple of days. SIGH.

Analiese's school work with EPIC is speeding up, too. I met with her teacher this week if only to get things squared away. I want to use her remaining educational funds with EPIC for this school year to pay for her Driver's Ed. That's because next year's funds need to go to cover USAO classes this fall. In OK, the state will pay for high school seniors to take college classes, but junior year, they don't. Why? Who knows? She will be taking English and Algebra 2 in the fall. Gosh, this makes her feel so grown up!

And...on top of all that is VIPKid. I didn't have Seminary Friday morning because of the Easter weekend, so I opened up Friday morning. Cuz who wants to sleep in? I ended up with three classes that morning and two in the evening. Saturday, I had two in the morning, but then...oh my! I had FIVE in a row that evening! I've never done more than two back-to-back before. What had I gotten myself into?

It was CRAZY. The first two classes were with the same child, one right after the other. The nice thing was, the lessons were on similar topics and used similar props. At least I didn't have to prep as much.The last three were regulars. I have to tell you about one of them. This was my fourth lesson with her and, in the beginning, she frustrated me a lot. She was distracted by something else to the side of her computer and seemed listless. Of course, my Saturday night meant her Sunday morning and I'm sure she was tired. My third class went a little better; I got her to smile and look at me more. So, I hatched an idea for this one: this lesson was talking about speed, fast, slow, move, etc. I had Analiese sit beside me with the rabbits and when the student did a good job, she could see a rabbit (I swapped Pom and Alice from time to time) and ask a question about it. She LOVED it! She is a very pretty girl and her smiles just thrilled me. I think we are getting to know each other and be comfortable. And I'm pretty sure I just won her over!

Pom shares the hoodie with Analiese!

Pom is a climber, she likes to be up high where she can see!

Analiese is a sucker for Pom's antics!

But after it all, I still had to give feedback for all five classes, turn down two requests for early morning classes in the week, and put everything away before I could go to bed. It made for a very late night and a toothache didn't help either. This girl didn't make it to church...I still feel wobbly!

Oh, I got a sweet note from parent feedback this week. Apparently one of my new students "loved" his teacher and just had to rebook. This is the icing on the cake!

More Crazy...this week I certified to be a teacher for the Voice of VIPKid. I know, I just barely got my level 1 certification, but this was open and the other teachers in my FB groups (currently five), say it's a lot of fun. It's basically teaching them to sing and perform a song. When they get it down, they can record it, have it uploaded into a video with effects that their parents can post on social media. It's a big hit, apparently, plus it helps a lot with diction and pronunciation. It's for the level 1 and 2 students, primarily and often those kids can go on and book you for other classes. I'm just opening myself up for more opportunities to teach!

I may go on and get my Phonics certification, too, for the lower levels. Those are special classes to help struggling students booster their phonics skills. Carpe Diem!

Easter
You know my Easter Sunday was pretty much a bust because of my sleep/tooth problems. (Sad Face) But we had our "Easter" dinner Thursday with the sister missionaries. We had the traditional ham (but not sweet, the kids don't like that) with the funeral potatoes, green beans, and a jello salad that turned out very pretty as well as tasty!

Analiese insisted we make the bunny butt cupcakes again this year. I think she'd like it to be a tradition.

The funny thing was, that evening, with the sisters there, another ex-sister texted me from her home with a photo of a tray full of...bunny butt cupcakes! She had been here last year and remembered them and loved them! I had to laugh as I sent her a photo of mine this year.

Great minds think alike!

I took some to Seminary, too. Unfortunately, half of my class doesn't like coconut! Bummer. They were so cute, too!

MORE UPS THAN DOWNS

VK Report
Worst Class: It had to be my first attempt at teaching Level 1! It was a five yo boy who may have been fine on his own...but he wasn't. Fine. Or on his own. A friend/brother/cousin was with him and they were more interested in goofing off with each other. I expected wiggles and giggles and some distraction, but this was the worst! I made myself nearly hoarse trying to tempt him back to the lesson. My feedback included a very soft admonition that he should do his lessons alone, or with a parent, which is OK for VIPKid. But a two-for-one is not!

Best Class: I have to choose? Was it Billy, who played along with me and repeated my actions? Was it a regular, who giggled at my attempts to play "Angry Birds" with paper cut-outs and my pig puppet? Was it the new girl, so sweet, who loved my Google Slides My Little Pony reward and read like a champ? So hard! The best part is, I will see all of these students again. They have all booked me again!

This was a parent review from last week. This was the kid laughing so hard he fell off of his chair!

Soggy Bottoms
Okay, I'm sort of an Anglophile. At least, when it comes to watching programs on Netflix. Of course, I was a big Sherlock (Benedict & Martin) fan, but my family just had to endure me enjoying Father Brown Mysteries (based on GK Chesterton's novels). And now, they are suffering as I watch The Great British Bakeoff. Another season.

I sit there and wonder at terms, technique and flavors. I usually have a running commentary about what I could do...and what I could not. I definitely could not compete because, besides not being British, I am not that skilled and even with their courteous competition, I could not handle the stress of it!

But the most fun is some of the verbiage tossed around there. My favorite is "Soggy Bottoms" (think this in a British accent), which they refer to often, especially in regards to pies and tarts. I nearly giggle every time I hear it. If I was a drinking person (which I'm not), it would make a great drinking game. I maarveled at one episode, where they didn't say it once! Really, your American audience needs to hear it at least once every time!

Speaking of American, they had an "American" pie challenge to rework our overly-sweet pies. Apparently, they don't like all that sugar! (I know most of the world thinks we over sweeten things here.) Some of their comments were hilarious! And, of course, one of the hosts drummed up a cowboy twang for the occasion. Yes, I live in OK with lots of cowboys and country folk, but I know that's not the standard here. I guess they have stereotypes in Europe, too.

Speaking of Soggy...
The weather this week has been Bipolar, to say the least.We had temps in the 80s mid-week, after which the wind picked up - a lot - dropping temps down again to near freezing and then a storm blew in Saturday. Just rain, rain, rain all day long! Not sprinkles, either, we're talking serious water here!

Flooding? Of course. There are no storm drains to speak of here. The soil, too, is clay heavy, which means things don't drain. My yard was a swamp and my poor little sweet potato vine, the only baby plant I put in the actual ground, looked like it was drowning! Needless to say, everything got well watered!

Driving around was a hassle. I had to go back-and-forth several time to take kiddos to work. The trick was finding which streets to go down to avoid the majority of the flooding. Chickasha is a bit hilly in places, and those low valleys become ponds in a lot of rain. When possible, I tried to drive in the middle of the road (yes, both lanes!) to avoid the accumulation of water on the sides. Avoiding the wet was impossible.

Seminary
This Friday we had visitors to our class. The Dennis's are CES missionaries (almost at an end of their 2-year mission...sad!) that were assigned by Bro. Sturges, my CES director here to come observe my class and meet my two graduating seniors.

They were a lovely addition to the class! Not only did they share and testify to what we were learning often, they shared some of their personal experiences. Well, I asked them to. They are from Wyoming, and Bro. Dennis was part of the Stake High Council there when the handcart companies historical sites were constructed there in the 90's. Let's just say, there are still miracles happening because of the handcart companies...today! I'd heard some of his accounts before, but the two he shared Friday were new to me. What a Spirit it brought to our classroom!

It's hard to believe, but we're a little more than a month out from the end of school and Seminary. It's always so bittersweet. I enjoy summer break (though with VK I'll not be sleeping in much this summer!), but I miss the kids, teaching, and the amazing Spirit there. I find myself longing for it come the new school year.

SIMPLY BECAUSE IT'S SPRING

Spring Sneezes
By the end of this month, I will have completed by allergy shot regimen. I am supposed to return to the doctor and confer with him and the allergist to determine how well it has worked and if I should continue or not. I am of the opinion that the shots HAVE made a difference. My best example is this spring. I am not sneezing or coughing nearly as badly as my children. Usually, I have them beat and I'm full-blown sick for a week or so. I've had little bouts of sinus and chest congestion, but they aren't long-lived. I wasn't sure about a month ago that the shots had done much of anything. After the last few weeks of wind and spring pollen, I am pretty confident that they have!

It's a good thing, too, because I just LOVE Spring. The flowers, the cool sunshine, the leafing trees, the increase of animal activity. I just go gaga for any new flowering thing I see, which disturbs my children...if I'm driving. There are redbud and dogwood and Japanese magnolias and forsythia. Even Jonathan has commented on the riot of color - which for a colorblind person, is saying something!

Saturday morning, a local nursery had their annual garden sale. Ken & I got there as soon as we could (after my morning lessons) and found the place packed! We lucked out and got a parking spot fairly close, but the lines to look and check out were enormous! I stood in line to check out for forty-five minutes! (Analiese, who had to be at work by 11 a.m., was in a small panic) Just as we were leaving, it started to rain and got pretty hard pretty fast. I wonder what happened at the sale?

What did I get? Some herbs, some peppers, some tomatoes, and a few flowers. Oh, plus a mosquito deterrent we used last year in our yard effectively. I left my new baby plants on the back steps to enjoy the spring rain!

I won't get to planting them until next week.

Going into the garden sale, I encountered this bunch! Crowded much?

Growing with VIPKid
I'm sure this is getting tedious now: my constant talking about my experiences with this company. But there have been so many changes and new things to discover and fun kids to meet (and some not-so-fun). I'm trying to paint a developing picture here.

Monday evening I was a "substitute" teacher. I signed up and they assigned me a time at 8:00 p.m. Now, they didn't need me after all, but I did get paid! I would have got $2 more if I had taught. It would be spur-of-the-moment, but I have some plans in place.

I had planned to start trying to certify for level 4 this week, but then they invited me to certify for level 1 instead, throwing in an incentive if I did it by the end of April. This company is all about the incentives...there are constant new "carrots" to try and hook us into booking or doing more.  It's not bad...it always means more money! Level one is from age 3 y/10 m to 5 y/10 mo. This is the only level they do by age. Everyone else is doing by assessment. This level is more about making them comfortable with interacting and learning online with this foreign teacher. Less is expected of them: no full sentences and maybe not even much speaking. At their ages, they learn a lot more by observation and listening. My job is to get them moving and happy and prep them to go farther and do better than kids that come in later. The advantage is that their brains are still so malleable that the Chinese doesn't interfere with the English. Also, there is a lot of parent involvement at this stage. The whole first unit is supposed to be done with the parent at the child's side. Also, there is a prep video and activity for the parents to do with their child before class and the first slide of each lesson is in Chinese with instructions for the parents. Then comes...me! I passed this level off on Saturday evening. I am being "fast-passed" through it, which means I do not have to do a mock demo with a live person. I told Ken that they've seen my antics online (they record all of the classes) and figured I was a clown kids could enjoy.

Didn't want that bright red lipstick go to waste after my lessons!

The hardest thing for me so far is the priority bookings, where parents try to get in ahead of time with a favorite teacher. Mostly, I have to turn them down because they want it in the morning during Seminary time. But Saturday, I had three weekend requests for April. I was so happy to finally be able to say yes!

Worst lesson of the week: I had some toughies...I don't really like doing assessments and I had two this week with kids who really need holding back. Parents push, but it doesn't help if a kid just isn't getting it. One student had parent instructions: Be patient. I was, but this kid needs to go back a few lessons to restudy. But the absolute worst was on Friday night with a little girl who was just parroting back everything I said. She was more interested in picking her nose and stringing out boogers than listening to me. And I put in a lot of energy to try and draw her out!

Best lesson of the week: There are two: I can't really choose between them. They were both Saturday morning and repeat students. The first one came in with a playful attitude. I'm afraid we goofed a bit. He was laughing so hard, he fell off of his chair! It was pure joy to teach him. He does very well (he was the polite "thank you" student) and I look forward to another chance to teach him. The second was a girl I knew was having a birthday; she's turning 12. So, my reward included birthday things (revealing cake, presents, candles, balloons behind squares) and I sang Happy Birthday to her. She was so pleased! It was a struggle of a lesson for her, poor thing, because she was studying Britain and had to say "Elizabeth," "double-decker," and "Buckingham." Other than that, she was great. And, she's already rebooked!

Pom explores my "classroom." The Lit book is to prop up my laptop so I am not too low to see!

Droverstock
USAO, home of the Drovers (look it up), holds an annual event the first Thursday of April called Droverstock. You might remember the chalk art I posted last year. Apparently, that's only PART of the festival. There's also music, food trucks, vendors, and a scholastic competition.

Analiese and her friend from church decided they wanted to participate in the chalk art competition this year. They had to meet at the college at 8 a.m. to register, so no time for our walk. There was people everywhere! School buses swarmed from all over the state (yes, Altus was there, too!) and the line to register was LONG. Her friend's father is a professor on campus, so he was there to help keep an eye on them (I couldn't stay, too much to do!) as well as his wife, who is a high school teacher and was there with her students for the scholastic event. Two of my Seminary students participated in that.

The biggest concern was the huge thunderstorm the night before that dumped a bunch of rain. Analiese was stressed about that until she found out that the rain helped smooth the chalk over the bumpy asphalt. She and her friend bought ($5) "squares" next to each other and were moral support.

Analiese in action

Busy friend.

They didn't win, but I think they were there more for the experience. She learned a lot just by observing the other artists and had a great time exploring the options at the food trucks.

Favorite #1

Favorite #2

I liked getting photos of artists in action!

High school art class entry - cute!

Inspired, the next day at Seminary, I did my own chalk art!

GENERAL CONFERENCE!
Saturday was SO busy. I had two classes in the morning, then went to the garden sale. After that I had to prep the crockpot for dinner, get a shot, take a shower and get ready for the first session of Conference!

It started out beautifully. Sister Craven's talk really set the tone for me and I found myself pondering if I was being "casual" or "careful" with the other subjects in both sessions! (Especially Elder Holland's talk on the sacrament!)

The music was awesome, too! Every song was so appropriate and the Spirit was so strong! The afternoon choir's arrangement of "I Stand All Amazed" was particularly moving. I really appreciated the reverence all the music set.

Sunday was gray, but glorious. I know the speakers' talks aren't assigned, and I'm pretty sure they don't coordinate with Mack Wilbur and the Choir. But the Spirit does! It seemed like many speakers' talks were directly connected to the message in the hymn before it!

Our prophet, Russell M. Nelson, is just so amazing! His desires for our welfare is apparent in his pleas for our continued obedience and improvement. He sees what's on the horizon and is trying to shepherd us to a safe (read: covenant) path forward. Also, I have noticed an increasing emphasis on our return to reverencing sacred things. We are closer to God when we respect and reverence His goodness. As a joyful, jolly, happy people, we can get a little carried away. We need to remember what we need to keep in sacred bounds.

Yep, conference was worth every single minute!