Rain Drops on Roses and Wiskers on Kittens...

As some of you know, I won my sister Carrie's favorite things contest. For those of you who don't know about this, my sister's friend Laura started this trend that is catching on like wildfire. Here are the basics, you blog some of your favorite things on your blog. For a week after your post, people comment on the things that like/want to try from your list. After a week, you put the name of everyone who comments into a hat a draw a name. Then you send that person what they wanted from your list and they have to repeat the whole cycle by posting their favorite things on their blog. Whew!

So here it goes:

1. Shout Color Catchers

These little guys are great if you are worried that the color from one thing in the wash will get on something else. You put in a little dryer-sheet sized thing and it soaks up and traps all the excess dye in the water. They also prevent your clothes from getting dingy as fast because the little tiny bits of color don't stay in the water.

2. Clorox Disinfecting Wipes

Ah, what did I do before these handy things? I love to use these easy-to-dispense wipes for pretty much everything. They are great for quickly wiping down and sanitizing the bathroom or kitchen counter between cleanings. I also like to wipe my phone, doorknobs, keyboard, etc. every once in a while just to kill all the germs.

3. Burt's Bees

This is the best chapstick ever. It is really natural and just works like a charm. Enough said.

4. i-Tunes

I really love i-Tunes. I love looking at the top best-selling songs, celebrity playlists, songs I love sung by other people, the little list they make of things they think you would like based on what you bought, and the free songs that you can download from new artists. If you choose this one and win, I will send you a little gift card as well as a list of songs that are on my own "celebrity playlist" right now.

5. Sharpies

When I moved to D.C. I was very limited to what I could bring. Nevertheless, I brought my Costco-sized million pack of Sharpies in every color and size. There are even retractable ones. I also have a sharpie that is about 2 inches long that I hook in my bag that I take to school so I always have one with me. My absolute favorite is this silver sort of shiny Sharpie. I have a deep love for all kinds of school/office supplies but Sharpies are towards the top of the list.

So that's it for my list. I would put more on here but I don't really know where to get anything in this city. Make a comment and I will draw a name a week from now!

Field Trip #1

I know I'm supposed to be posting my favorite things since I won Carrie's drawing, but I wanted to add a post while I'm thinking of what to include in my favorite things.

We (the three elementary student teachers) took a group of students on a field trip to the National Air and Space Museum. When we first told the teachers and the staff that we wanted to take field trips, they honestly laughed in our faces. We got a lot of, "Really? You want to take THESE kids OUT of the building?" I guess we really did, because we fought for it enough to get it off the ground. There were 8 fourth graders that went and 4 second graders. It was such a great experience! The kids loved the hands-on part of the museum where they just got to play with all sorts of cool stuff. None of these kids have ever been in an airplane, so walking through a model of one was really cool for them. The Air and Space Museum has a McDonalds attached to it, so we treated all the kids to lunch. They were in Heaven! They love McDonalds. They talk about it all the time and even have a little rap they sing all the time in class- "I need a double-cheeseburger hold the lettuce. I ain't playin'..." and then I usually cut them off so I don't know the rest. I also taught them how to make fry sauce because no one has heard of it out here. The kids really liked it. Jiheib said, "Wow, this is really a nice touch." It was like he was at a wine tasting or something. It is so great to see kids outside of class just being kids. We plan on taking most of the rest of our classes in two more field trips to different museums.


PS- I was looking on the Alpine School District website to work on an application, and there was a picture on the main page of a classroom full of white kids. I looked at it and the first thought that went through my head is, "How are you supposed to tell them apart? They all look the same!" It's so ironic because that was my first thought when I came out here!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered...

Today marks a monumental day for me. I mailed in my last assignment for school...ever! My Teacher Work Sample, as this historical document is known, ended up being about 65 pages long, so it was very good to have over with. To celebrate this occasion, a few of my roommates and I visited the National Postal Museum. It was really cool. Today was Black History Family Day, and so there were all these projects for the visitors to do. There was also a performance by these people called the Delta Players who read Langston Hughes poetry. Turns out, we were some of the only people who got the memo about this special day (only we didn't really get a memo- we just happened to go today). Because of this, there is a definite possibility our picture will be on the website. This lady asked us to fill out a paper that lets her use our picture and since no one else was there, she took a lot of pictures of us. Also, there was a raffle, so we have a good chance of winning some stuff.
In other news, I have some more funny school stories. I'm sorry if they are boring to you, but I think they are funny and I think there is a small population who agrees so I will continue to share them. First, I was walking around the class during math yesteray making sure everyone was doing okay. This boy Jiheib came up to me and innocently asked, "Ms. Buttars, what's a slut?" Wow! That one caught me off guard. I replied, "Who did you hear that word from?" He said, "I don't know, some kids just say, 'You're a slut,' and someone else says, 'Right back at you." I still didn't know what to say. I ended up just telling him it was a very offensive word and that he shouldn't say it.
I teach writing to both fourth grade classes. Right now, the students are just getting into writing realistic fiction stories. So far they have had to create a character, figure out what the character wants, and then create a problem that gets in the character's way. Last week we started by writing a scene from our story, and then we started writing the introduction. Darjanay raised her hand and I went to help her. She read her story which began like this (I'm making this up but it is pretty close to what it said, "Diamond was in the 9th grade, but only read at a 7th grade reading level. She was 14-years-old. Diamond and her mother walked outside the Rec center. The sun was really hot and all of the kids were playing in the pool..." So far so good in my opinion. I asked her what she needed help with. She said she needed help writing the conversation between Diamond and her mother. "Why," I asked, "what is their conversation about?" She replied, "Well, Diamond obviously needs to go to summer school to work on her reading but she just found out that she's pregnant and needs to tell her mother." Yikes! I'm still trying to figure out what to do with that one.
I absolutely love the funny little things the kids say. Aaliyah, in Ms. Appel's class, was being really snotty at the end of the day on Friday. She is a beautiful little girl with an ugly attitude. She had REACH all spelled out (which is the goal) and I erased her H with 20 minutes of school left. I told her that if she was good for the last 20 minutes, I would give it back. Her sincere response was, "Ms. Buttars! You know I can't be good for 20 minutes... I'm fussy!" I think that most of them are "fussy". I saw one of my student's little 1st grade sister by the office yesterday. I said, "Spring, are you in trouble again?" (she is ALWAYS in trouble). Her face got all sour and she growled, "NO! I just need to talk to Ms. Davis and tell her that Ms. Darlington (her teacher) should be fired!" She is only 6!
Everything is good out here. Student teaching out here is crazy, and will be a big relief to have done, but the thought of leaving these kids forever already makes me sad. They are disrespectful-needy-difficult-sassy-angry-unmotivated students, but I love them and they love me.

Out of the mouth of inner-city babes...

I have another funny story to share. This one involves a little 10-year-old hellion named Mikayla. Mikayla is really snotty and gets in trouble all of the time. One ordinary day last week, she got in trouble and I sent her to the "Quiet Cave" (time out) in the back of the room. It was almost recess, I went to give her the little teacher chat ("what is going on?","What could you have done differently", "There's a side of you I love and I wish I saw it more..." yada yada) Anyway, after I lectured her, we just got to talking. To really tell this story well, the next part has to come as dialouge:
Mikayla: Do you have a Valentine?
Me: Nope I don't.
Mikayla: Ooh! I could set you up with a handsome black man!
Me: Oh really?
Mikayla: Yeah and your kids would be half black.
Me: They would be really cute. It would be nice for them to not be sooo white like me.
Mikayla: You're not white! This is white (holding up a piece of paper). You are like brownish, with pretty green eyes and a white smile and long brown hair.
Me: Well thank you.
Mikayla: This is how it works. You will be sitting somewhere working on some papers and this handsome black man will be sitting next to you. You have to say, "excuse me. Could you help me with these papers?" Then he will ask you out to dinner. When he takes you home he will kiss you on the cheek or maybe even the lips.
Me: On the first date! I don't think so!
Mikayla: Yeah and then on the second date, he will get down on his knee and say, "Ms. Buttars- Will you marry me?"
Me: He's going to call me Ms. Buttars?!
Mikaya: I mean, "Tracie- will you marry me?"
Me: Wow! The second date huh? Can't I at least have a third?
Mikayla: Maybe a third. Then you will get married. But here's the thing. You have to use protection. Do you know what word I am talking about when I say protection? I'll just say the word...
Me: (choking on my spit and trying not to laugh) No, no. I know what you are talking about.
Mikayla: Well I won't say the word but you know. PROTECTION. My aunt tells me all the time that I have to use protection or I will get pregnant.
Me: Uh... Let's go see what everyone is doing for recess...

Here are some random pictures that don't fit anywhere else so I am just putting them on here...

On the longest escalator I have ever been on in my life at the Metro Center metro stop. You can't even tell in the picture unfortunately.


Getting eaten by a T-Rex at the Museum of Natural History.


I know this looks a lot like the previous picture but this time I was imitating the hippo.

Happy Birthday Mr. President...

We wanted to go to Ford's Theatre today for President's Day, but it is closed until next year! Instead we went to the National Zoo for a little while and then walked to the National Cathedral. The sign pointing to the Cathedral made it sound really close. Turns out it was about 2 miles away- uphill. Thy day started out sunny and 70 degrees but turned chilly and started raining while we were almost to the Cathedral... more than 2 miles away from the metro on foot! Talk about bad luck!

Ivory'esha

It's official. I've forgotten that I'm white. I know that sounds really strange, but when I first started student teaching, I was very aware of the fact that I was one of the four white people in school (3 being my roommates and myself) because I had never been such a minority before. Things have definitely changed! Sometimes I will be helping a student or sitting close to them on the carpet and all of the sudden I will glance down at my hand or arm next to my students' and it shocks me! For just a brief second the thought goes through my mind that I must be on the verge of death or something for my skin to look so translucent. Apparently this forgetfulness has spread to my students. Yesterday Darjanay drew a picture of her, Ms. Barber, and myself. Ms. Barber told her to go back to her seat and color it. A few minutes later she brought it back to show us. She had colored all three of us black. Nikki and I both looked at each other as we tried not to laugh. I said, "Whoa, I am tan!" Nikki's response (in an ominous tone): "No. You're one of us now!" Darjanay could not figure out what was so funny. She asked, "What?! Did I spell it wrong or something?" Nikki also told me that I need to get a name for my inner-black woman that is starting to come out. She told me that anything that ends in "esha" instantly makes it black and that random apostrophes help. We thought about it for a while and came up with a winner- Ivory'esha. The true indicator that Ivory'esha is moving in is that I was trying to tell my clas, "I was asking...". I know that sounds simple, but the first three times I tried it came out "I was axing". I actually had to slow down and think about it for it to come out right! Oh dear...!

A Chex Mix Update (aka... random stories all clumped together)

I decided to give a brief update because I figure if I want people to update their blogs so I can read them, I should update mine myself. Last Saturday we spent all afternoon in the Holocaust Museum. It was a really amazing place. Someone in the ward asked me the next day if it was "fun". My reply was, "Well... there was no ball pit..." The museum is actually really depressing but so interesting. One of my favorite quotes in the museum was in a section devoted to those who risked their lives to help the Jews. It is from a German preacher who summarized what happens when people don't take a stand, "They came for the trade union, but I was not a trade unionist, so I did not respond. They came for the Socialists, but I was not a Socialist, so I did not respond. They came for the Jews and since I was not a Jew, I didn't respond. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me."
Somehow from the time I went into the Holocaust Museum to the time I came out, I got sick. Weird I know. I've had a cold all this week though which wasn't fun at all. On Wednesday I was feeling really crappy but had to go to school because my teacher was going to be gone. This left me as the sub... without a voice... with a bunch of crazy kids. They surprisingly did better than I thought but talked a lot. Finally I chewed them all out about how I was sick, how I don't get to go to the nurse and stay home like them, how I plan lessons and all they do is talk and don't do their assignments... yadda yadda. I guess this really got to them because a bunch of kids wrote me apology/get well soon cards. Here is a sample of some of them (note- this is actual spelling and punctuation- or the lack there of):

From: Tyjzae
To: Ms. lovely Buttas
Dear Ms. Buttas I apologize for disrespecting you will just started to play to much Ms. Buttas it will not happend again we all love you.

From: Ny-Jae
I fill bad for you Ms. butters becuse I now what you are going throw becuse you are sick and I was to so I what you to now I love you and I am going to do a porm
Rose oer red vilites are blue I love you so much I what to be just like u. you are so great I just what to hug you so much I will cry. I love you ms. butter I hope you enjoy this note. (On the back)- rose are red vilites are blue I am sorry for disrpetting you. (Then there is a little heart and inside it says- I wish you were my mom).

From: Nikita (after she angrily yelled "slut" across the room and I kicked her out)
Dear Ms. Better
I am sorry for yelling out a bad word in the class because boy dominique (there is a "girl dominique" in the other class) going to call me a bad word so I call his back the same word he call me Do you asape my aglioue (apology?) I miss metake my words because I do not know how to spell them. Thats why I call it back at him. yes or no

They were all so cute and nice. Too bad they were all bad again after lunch...! haha.

Okay last thing- My roommates Kami and Liz and I all set out last night to get cheap Jazz vs. Wizards tickets. Even at the end of the first quarter, they were going for $60 a seat! Well this guy took it upon himself to go out on a mission to find us cheap tickets. He seriously spent like 10-15 minutes looking for us because he wanted to all party after the game together. Well he found us 3 tickets for $15 dollars each! There was even a bonus- my roomamates tickets were nosebleeds but my ticket was a suite ticket. Going in, the guy found out we were Utah fans, which led him to realizing we were Mormon, which led us to realizing we were all really young, which led him to saying "have fun" and parting ways with us once we got in. Well we just wanted to see the lower level box I was in, so we batted our eyes at the old guy checking tickets. He let us all in to the level. The guy at the actual suite couldn't be sweet talked unfortunately. He told us that only I could go in, so we walked around the corner and sat lower than the suite ticket! We didn't really feel that bad because there were a ton of empty seats and it was half-time. It was a blast. We had to cheer quietly to avoid getting jumped but the Jazz won 96-87!

Here is a picture of us after the game-