Field Trip to Springfield

Today started at 4:30am as the alarm woke me from my dark sleep into darkness. I drove to school as the sun rose and we were on the bus rolling out of Villa Park by 7am. Today was the annual 5th Grade Field Trip to Springfield to visit the Abraham Lincoln Museum.

While I can appreciate the potential for learning on this journey, the three six hours on a bus with 35 5th graders is a challenge. While I had the opportunity to go to Springfield last year also, it was still exciting to be headed south on I-55 again this year.

The museum itself is fascinating. So many original items all in one place. I know that is the basic definition of many museums, but there is something about this place that humbles me. I found myself in awe of the thought that a single life can impact so many others. Also, I continue to find the pictures and paintings of Lincoln with mussed hair and no beard quirky, as if he knows a sly joke but won't share it.

After the museum, we loaded on the bus and visited his tomb. This is always a very sobering experience. The quiet of the tomb combined with the historic significance of every single architectural detail overwhelmed me at times. While I know that history is important, it is often not taught properly and comes across as dry and irrelevant. Experiences like today renew my interest in the past and refresh my appreciation for the sacrifices of those that have come before me. I highly suggest that everyone take a couple hours and visit a museum. It is enlightening and exciting.

-a

Saturday Night

Here it is...another Saturday night!

Tonight is Daddy/Daughter night due to a nght out with the ladies for Kim. Audrey and I are watching the NFL draft and folding laundry currently, and then it will be movie time as she enjoys an evening bottle and possible nap!

Today has been foggy for me since I was up all last night at a school lock-in sleepover! I volunteered along with three other teachers to chaperon the event. Families bid against each other for tickets for their kids. The auction was a success, and I believe our overnight event raised nearly $900 alone for the PTA! We had a blast: playing basketball in the gym, whiffle ball outside before it got dark, hide-and-seek throughout the school, feeding Monty the Python, playing the Wii using our projector board! Add pizza and karaoke to the mix and you have a very memorable evening.

While the kiddos were asleep by 2:30am, I worked on sharpening my resume with my principal (who also spent the night just in case). Unfortunately, I have been releases due to district budget issues again. It is very frustrating building a sucessful classroom all year, only to be told I'm not returning. This has been my fifth school in as many years. Fortunately, I have managed to land an interview at a middle school in a nearby district. However, I hesitate at the thought of leaving District 45, as it means having to start over in terms of experience I hold towards tenure. The bottom line is that I have a responsibility to protect and provide for my family, and a job is a job is a job. I look forward to the interview next week and will keep everyone posted. I appreciate all of the love and support everyone is giving me.

For now, though, Audrey and I are due for a nap on the couch with the tv on mute. Later, after folding clothes and Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, we'll savor some quiet time with a movie or reading before bed! I hope this post finds you all well and in peace.

-a

Audrey @ 7months

Nice photo shoot today with Audrey. We're in South Bend for Aunt Shirley's birthday today. We were going to have this shoot at 6 months, but we're just now getting around to it and tomorrow is her 7 month birthday! Have a blessed Sunday.

-a

Happy Holidays

Greetings and Happy Easter & Passover!

It has been a quiet, happy time here at the Orelove household. Daily life is sweet and we are enjoying the simple things in life: laughter, smiles, naps, and hugs. With the start of baseball season comes a sense of spring and new life. The days are growing longer and lighter, and the rain and cold wind is vising us less and less.

It is a wonderful time at school, as the end of the year is in sight, and I am reminded of how much I want to do before the final day in June. It is such a privilege to work with young minds every day. There is truly not a moment that goes by where I am not thinking about teaching or a teaching-related subject. I am always looking at events or ideas and asking, "How can I bring this into my classroom?" I truly believe that the future of education lies in "real-world" experiences. Students need to reach outside of the classroom and learn the skills that will be needed when they leave school. This kind of everyday learning needs to start in the primary grades.

Speaking of students, a small group of my 4th grade students from last year invited me to see a production of "James and the Giant Peach". I read this book to my class last year, and we created a wonderful mural in our classroom that showed a chronological time line of the main events and character of the story. It literally took an entire classroom wall! Well, seeing my students from lsat year was such a treat and they brought gifts for Audrey and wore personalized t-shirts that said, "Mr. Orelove is #1"! It was a very special night to spend a few hours with my old students and get a chance to see how much they have grown in less than a year! Times like these are part of what makes teaching great.

What else....oh yes, Audrey got her first car! Yes, leave it to Grandma Flesher to spoil her granddaughter rotten! Dixie and Ann were up yesterday to deliver a treadmill to our house from South Bend, and also help move a table and chairs for our new dining room set. The table and chairs were sold out and won't be in stock for a few weeks, but we now have a treadmill to help get us back into shape! Well, if we get a present, then AUDREY needs something too, of course. Attached below are a few pictures of Audrey tooling around in her new walker car! (She also got a play cell phone, which I am even more nervous about than the car!)

--Audrey aka "Mustang Sally"

--Grandmother, Mother, Daughter: Driving in the Dining Room

--Phoebe wants a lift!

Next week we're headed back to South Bend for Aunt Shirley's birthday party. We're also going to help out around Dixie's garden. I am excited because her mother is getting ready to move in next door, which will be wonderful for everyone. If only I could find a way to get the other house for sale next door, we could have a little compound! Hmmmmm...... Also, I am really looking forward to hanging out with Cousin Gail and going to a movie. I haven't been to the movie theater since LAST July when we saw The Dark Knight! It will be nice to see a flick next weekend!

Finally, Easter Sunday. This morning I woke early and jetted out to school for a few hours to lesson plan and prepare for the upcoming week. I got home around noon to discover an absolutely georgous day before my family! A day where the sun was shining, a slight breeze kept any early bugs away, and the world seemed in a state of rest. We loaded-up Audrey in her super stroller and threw a leash on Phoebe and we took a leisurely stroll around the subdivision and ended at the small park near our house where a good time was had by all on the swings.

--Swinging in the Sun!

--Mom giving a push!

--Mom and Audrey, havin' fun!

While I have a little more grading to do today, I am mostly looking forward to a nice nap in a sunbeam followed by an evening Cubs game with my family surrounding me.

-A

Spring Break

Mom and Audrey in South Bend snuggle

I just returned from dropping my mom off at the airport. It has been a very nice Spring Break thus far for me. My mom arrived from Seattle on Friday. I had just enough time to bounce from school to home, get a quick snack and change Audrey, then zoom out to O'Hare International Airport to pick up mom.

It was truly a special moment when she first set her eyes upon her granddaughter for the first time. From that moment on there was rarely a word that came from mom's mouth that didn't involve a play-by-play on the movements and noises of Audrey.

Mom and Audrey playing around Wednesday morning

We headed to South Bend the next morning to attend the service for Kim's great uncle who passed a few days before. It has been a tough few weeks on the Flesher/Goheen sides of the family, but Audrey continues to be a shining star and a bright point on which everyone can focus during their times of difficulty. It is a blessing to see someone in tears walk by Audrey and then begin to laugh and smile because Audrey caught their eye and gave them a goofy grin.

Audrey being cute in her little green dress

We just spent Saturday and most of Sunday in South Bend. Mom and Dixie and Ann were the three muskateers and had many laughs. My mom just loves them and enjoyed every second of visiting the farm, talking gardening, and eating every available piece of Dixie's carrot cake!

The Ladies in my Life (From Left): Dixie, Kim, Me, Audrey, and Diane

Monday through Wednesday has been spend "chillaxing" around the house here in Illinois. Mom and Phoebe developed a very close relationship, as Phoebe became a trator and slept in mom's bed every night. We took trips to the hardware store and fabric store among other errands. My sister, Eden, made two knit coats and this awesome knit eggplant hat. I have taken several photographs and attached them here with Audrey in he new diggs. Also, Aunt Amy and Uncle Gary in Indy sent up a Cubs outfit just in time for the '09 season opener!

Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, whadda' ya' say? The Cubs are gonna WIN today!

We ended the trip by driving into the city onto Devon Ave. in Chicago and enjoying a warm Indian lunch with Uncle Stuart. It was also Uncle Stuart's first encounter with Audrey, and he had her on his knee for almost the entire meal! Audrey managed to grab a little bryani rice!

Uncle Stuart gets to know his Great Niece over a nice Indian meal!

So, now we are home, blogging and listening to some blues and contemplating a quick walk of the dog befor the sun sets on this windy spring day.

Audrey sporting her new clothes made by her Awesome Aunt, Eden.

It was really a treat to introduce my mom to the first grandchild on her ENTIRE side of the family. One of the last things she said before entering the terminal was, "I just need to remember that I am only a plane ticket away." I liked that thought.


-a