A Visit (SOL19 #30)

I drove up the driveway and saw the blue bag sitting on the stoop. My Old Navy shipment had arrived just in time for spring break! I grabbed my work bag, got out of the car, and made my way toward my package. 

As I approached, I smiled, and bent down to pick up the bag. Just as I lifted the bag something flew into my face. I swatted it away. A moth.

Unbelievable. 

I’ve written about moths before. Since the day we buried my father, moths have come to visit me and I truly believe those ugly, flying insects are him coming to say hello. Though strange, I feel a sense of calm whenever I have a moth visitor because it reminds me of my Dad.

I haven’t seen a moth in a LONG time, but it did make sense that the moth would come when I ordered something I probably didn’t need from Old Navy. He always hated when we would buy something purely because we wanted it. Hence, my most recent encounter with the moth dive-bombing me in the face. 

Hi, Dad. Miss you, too.

"We could actually win this!" (SOL19 #29)

“We could actually win this!” A smile crept across her face as she intently looked at the scoreboard. "We sure can!" I replied, just as hopeful. 

My mind flashed back to just a couple months ago when we first began practicing. Dribbling was tough, and we were just learning how to pass. 

“This is too hard! I can’t shoot!” 

I heard it all. 

Yesterday while watching the Lady Tigers take on the other district teams in the tournament was a moment of immense pride for me. It was great to see how much our girls have grown and have become a team. They looked for the open girl, made the pass, and girls who had not scored a basket all season, made their first two pointer. Although we didn’t win, I could not be more proud of their accomplishments this season. They never gave up, learned about teamwork, and cheered each other on. 

I also am looking forward to co-coaching again next year. 

Credits Roll (SOL19 #26)

“Quick, we only have one dish left!”

“Put the lettuce on the plate, Katie!”

“Hold your horses, Steve-o!” 

“Just need to the tomato. Push! Push!”

“Annnnnnd we did it,” I said as I shoved the last dish in the giant, hungry meatball’s mouth. 

We all breathed a sigh of relief as the Onion King congratulated us. I watched the screen intently wondering how they would end the game. The meatball started to shake and then exploded into hundreds of meatballs.

Credits roll.

“That was it?” Disappointed doesn’t begin to cover it. Steve looked at me funny. “What’s your problem?” 

He had probably seen the end of hundreds of video games, but this was my first time beating a game. “It’s just not what I expected,” I added with a definite sound of glum in my voice. 

I don’t know what I expected, but the exploding meatball wasn’t it. Although, I don’t know what would have been worth all the hours of playing this silly game, shouting across the living room, and fear of the next insane cooking challenge. 

We did have fun though. 

Now, on to Overcooked 2. 

Pajama Day (SOL19 #25)

I grabbed my keys and headed up the stairs. So many are on break already. Not me. One more week. I say goodbye to Phil and he looks at me like I have three heads.

“You sure you’re ready?”

I looked down at my outfit and immediately understood what he meant.

Luckily for me it’s pajama day. 

“Yep. Jambo day!” 

Relief spread across his face. “Lucky you,” he said back. “Every day is pajama day at the Suomi house.” 

I rolled my eyes. This working from home thing really has it’s benefits. 

“Do you really think I would forget and just go to work in my pajamas on accident?”

“I don’t know. It is a Monday morning, and you look a little tired,” he replied.

Gee thanks. Happy Pajama Day Emerson teachers. Last Monday before break. We’ve got this. 

Puzzles (SOL19 #23)

I sat on the leather couch and watched the little boy spin in circles singing and dancing. I thought, if only I had half of that energy. The smile stretched across his face when he stopped and darted toward me. 

“Auntie?”

He climbed up and sat down next to me resting his head on my arm. His big, beautiful eyes peeked out from under the White Sox baseball hat. 

“Blake?” 

Giggle ensue. “Auntie, will you do puzzles with me? Yes?” 

His little head tilted as he gazed up at my face.

“Oh geez,” I replied. My face must have made a “oh my goodness how could I say no to that face?” look. 

“Don’t cry. Come with me.” 

I definitely wasn’t crying, and I was definitely wasn't turning down an invite for some puzzles with my 2 1/2 year old nephew. 

Claps for Units (SOL19 #22)

“Can we clap once for each unit earned?” 

“Sure!” 

This morning my co-teacher has each student stand up and calls off their names one by one sharing how many units they have gained in the app, Lexia Core 5, for the week. There have been many weeks that my students have dreaded using the research based app for reading skills, but not this week. 

One by one each scholar is recognized for their efforts for the previous week. The look of sheer pride on their faces as their classmates cheer on their progress was incredible. I am so proud of each of them, but am even more taken aback by the classroom climate that we have created that is focused on learning, growth, and community. Each intentional step that we have taken this year has made a difference.  I have the best job in the whole world. 

Check out all that pepperoni!
 Each week as the students meet their prescribed number of minutes on the app, they are able to place a piece of pepperoni on our Lexia Usage Challenge Pizza. Today we recognized their units gained in the program during Week 3. 

Exact-o-ly What I Feared (SOL19 #20)

I’m a self proclaimed worrier. I can make a mountain out of a mole hill and can come up with the worst case scenario quicker than most. 

“Where’s that exact-o knife?” She was on a mission. A mission to stop the old table from scratching the floor. 

“Over in the cabinet to the right in the black toolbox,” I called from across the room. She walked over and got quickly to work. I looked up and thought, “Oooh. That might end badly.” I thought back to my own anxiety as I tried, unsuccessfully I might add, to cut the same tennis ball a month before.

I heard the audible GASP and saw her immediately put the knife and the tennis ball down on my table. The red blood started to come as she looked at her thumb and sized up the situation.

“Just go,” I said calmly. Inside, I was not as calm. I was instantly queasy. The way you feel when you see someone get hurt and can just imagine how the injury feels. It seemed as though every hair on my body feel like it was standing on edge. Sympathy pain I guess. 

Luckily all was okay. She’s a trooper. It was not nearly as serious as the 8 pages of an accident report that needed to be filled out. Don’t worry, I got to fill out the witness page.

(To read her account of the incident, check out this blog) 

A Great New Store (SOL19 #19)

“Mrs. Suomi! I went to a great new store yesterday that I think you would really like!” 

Really? I love to shop. What store is it?” 

The student grinned with excitement. “It’s this store called Barnes & Noble?” The inflection at the end of his sentence let me know that he wasn’t completely sure of the name of the store. “It was GREAT! They have all sorts of books and other things too. I think you would really like it.” 

“Books you say? Oh wow! I will have to check it out.” I smiled back and thanked him for the recommendation. 

Now of course I have heard of Barnes and Noble, but it made my day that he was so excited about visiting a store that houses so many books. I told my husband about this exchange later on that evening and he was surprised that the student had never heard of Barnes & Noble. I had to point out to him that many of those brick and mortar stores that are so familiar to us have been closing over the course of his young life. It’s strange that those common experiences like browsing through a book store are changing to the swipe of a finger. 

Blinking cursor (SOL19 #18)

I’ve been watching this cursor blink for the last 15 minutes. I’ve got nothing.

The list of things that I need to get accomplished tonight is growing, but not the number of words in the doc.

Tomorrow I’ll be better. I’ll be more observant for that small moment. Today, I need to check some things off this insane to-do list. 

Mid-week shopping (SOL19 #15)

I hurried as I put each item on the conveyor belt. I don’t normally shop on a weeknight, but the big day is creeping up and I needed to get prepared. I lifted the cold packages out of the cart watching to see if the cashier gave me the look. She did, but it was accompanied by, “Wow! I want to come to your St. Patrick’s Day party.” 

“It’s going to be pretty epic. We’ll see you at two!” My Irish eyes were indeed smiling.  

15 pounds of corned beef

5 HUGE heads of cabbage

Big ol’ bag of carrots.

Fixings for my famous Dilly Corned Beef Dip

 a plethora of green, shamrock filled plates and napkins. 

This Irish lass is SO excited.

I should have known (SOL19 #14)

I should have known.

I drove to the local Dunkin' Donuts to get my morning vat of iced coffee. I rolled up to the window and saw my favorite barista. We always smile and exchange pleasantries, but today was different. She looked shocked to see me. I looked at the red numbers to tell me what my damage was. $7.10? Far too much for my iced coffee. She smiled and said, “Large iced, cream only.” Ahhh, my order. “I don’t know how we missed you.” To be honest, neither did I. This had never happened before. 

I should have known.

Driving away from the window, I took the wrapper off the straw and stuck it in the plastic Dunkin' Cup. I lifted my beloved energy juice out of the cup holder and took a big gulp as I drove toward the school. 

If I could have spit out the coffee, I would have. Instead of the creamy, refreshing coffee, I had overly sweet, hazelnut syrup. I couldn’t turn around at this point. I had to get to work. No coffee for me.

I should have known.

I wish I could say that the day turned around.

It didn’t. 

I should have known.

Today will be better.

Facetime Session (SOL19 #13)

I took out my phone and hit the FaceTime button to call my mom knowing full well she was not the person I was intending on talking to.

“So, where is he, Granny!?” 

Giggles erupt from the other side of the room. He runs full speed toward the screen. 

“Hello, handsome boy!” The smile exploded across his little face. 

“Where Uncle Bill?” (He can’t quite say the Phil yet.) 

Phil motioned to me on the other couch and mouthed I’m not here. He has no idea how lucky he is that this two year old WANTS to talk with him over FaceTime. 

“I don’t know? Where is he?” 

“He playing.” 

Huh, didn’t see that response coming. “Blake, what is he playing?” 

“Numbers.” (He answered so matter of factly that it made it seem like it was a ridiculous question.) 

“Where Maiden?” He loves our dog. I secretly wished that he wanted to see me on FaceTime as much as he wanted to see his uncle and my dog. 

“She’s right here.” I turned the camera to face my dog who was making groaning noises on the ground. “Maiiiiiiiiden!” 

Immediately the dog started to bark and lunged for her large stuffed hotdog. (She recently stopped pulling all the stuffing out of her MANY toys. We are elated.) 

“What that?” 

“It’s her hot dog, buddy!” 

“She need a fork.”

I love our FaceTime sessions. 

Sleep, glorious sleep! (SOL19 #12)

In the past few months I have been waking up pretty tired. This even happens after I go to bed early. Earlier than a lot of my students in fact. Still. So. Tired. Coffee wasn’t helping. It’s been rough.

I started to do some research about ways that I can improve my sleep. 

There was lots about using meditation and deep breathing. I downloaded the Calm App using their free premium subscription for teachers (try it out by clicking this link). I’m still working on shutting off my mind, but I’m sure that will come with some more practice. For the last two weeks I have I used a different mediation or breathing technique to unwind before bed. I’m still working on shutting off my mind, but I’m sure that will come with some more practice.

I also read about how weighted blankets can help with anxiety and getting a good night’s sleep. After a lot of back and forth along with hours reading countless reviews I decided to order one on Amazon. It has taken some getting used to, specifically not fighting the weight, but embracing it.  However I think I may have struck gold. The combination of meditation and my SUPER heavy blanket made such a difference. 

Turns out Maiden is enjoying the blanket as well.

This morning I awoke with the weight of the 20 pound blanket over me and realized that didn’t wake up once last night. No tossing and turning. No water breaks. No bathroom breaks. No pacing the house. My alarm went off, and I hit snooze. Not because I was still tired, but because I was so comfortable. I turned on the news, cozy under the slight pressure of the new blanket. The added weight helped me to feel this sense of calm that I have not felt in a while. Maybe a little too calm, but I’ll take that over feeling exhausted any day. 

We made it with a few minutes to spare! 

Now to figure out how to get out from under the blanket after a great night’s sleep. 

The Adventure (SOL19 #11)

“I’d like to get rowboat back on the water. We could take it to Horseshoe.” Year after year I heard those same two sentences. Phil and his dad scheme about all the projects and activities that they would like to do at the cabin. To him, rowboat was a thing of beauty. To me, it was the old boat that had been lying against a tree for the last twenty-ish years. It was full of spider webs, and lord knows the animals that were probably living under it. Lichen had begun to attach to the sides of the vessel and the once shiny aluminum had become dingy and unimpressive. Truly, I didn’t have much love for the old rowboat. 

Low and behold we made it up for our week at the cabin and there was the rowboat, gleaming in the bright Minnesota sun. Something he had dreamed about for years had happened, and he was determined to get me as excited about it as he was. 

“Let’s go on an adventure.” He attached a small motor on the back of the boat and declared that our boat was ready for a voyage to Horseshoe Lake. Long Lake, our lake, is attached to Horseshoe Lake by a small creek. We have never been able to get to the other lake because we never had a boat small enough to not get stuck in the mud. Enter, rowboat. 

We buzzed across the lake using the small motor until we made it to the shallow creek. He pulled the motor out of the water and said, “Now we row.” I wasn’t really expecting to get this exercise, but I obliged knowing how much this adventure meant to him. As we rowed the branches extended into our path, overgrown from the many years that it was not disturbed. “It’s like we’re going back in time,” he said excitedly. Bugs swarmed. The boat kept turning off course with the current beneath the hull. Apparently my poker face was broken that day and he could tell that I was getting irritated. “Let’s stop for a minute to look around.” We took a break pulling the old wooden oars from the water and tucking them inside the boat. 

“Take a picture!” 

I grabbed my phone and clicked to capture the shot. Though it wasn’t an adventure I would have taken without his encouragement. I’m so glad that I didn’t miss this view or our journey together.

Now the rowboat has a new life and makes a great subject for a picture. We had this one printed on canvas to remind of our the great, sturdy old boat and our adventure on that hot summer day.

The Day After (SOL19 #10)

We had company over last night to celebrate my husband's birthday. I spent any spare moment I had this week prepping, deep cleaning the house, and getting all of my other work done so I would not have to worry about it later. I love entertaining and spending time with friends and family, but more than that, I love the day after a night of entertaining.

The house house is super clean and there is a plentiful amount of snacks leftover from the night before. I love that the entire household “can’t even” and we spend the day together on the couch lounging snuggled up under blankets. That quality time makes all the prep work getting ready for a party worth it. Today was one of those lounge days and it was perfection. 

It also didn't hurt that it fell on the day that we switch our clocks and lose an hour. 

Honored (SOL19 #9)

Honored.

I watched my nephew sing and dance his little heart out on stage last night. This same kiddo who refused to walk down the aisle with our rings on my wedding day. He needed his mom to hold his hand. Now he’s a little older, wiser, and much more confident. Last night, all he needed was to have his people in the audience. 

I’m honored to be one of them. 

Honored that I got a personal invite. 

Honored that I was able to watch him practice in his living room. 

Honored that his face lit up when he saw he saw us in the crowd. 

I am so honored to be his aunt. 

I’m also pretty stoked that I got his autograph. 

iSWAT (SOL19 #8)

“We’re making a robot!” The excitement in her voice was contagious. The group picked up the tiny circuits and put them together to create a motor. “Look, Mrs. Suomi, we made it move! It’s alive!” They continued by assembling the body of the droid. Watching them work together to make sure that each piece was assembled just right made my heart swell.

I am so proud to be the leader of a techie group of students called iSWAT. iSWAT stands for I’m a Student Willing to Assist with Technology. I’ve been the teacher leader of this amazing club as long as it has been my school district. I love it.  These students choose to wake up early and come to school at 7:15 in the morning to be part of this club. They consider it an honor and a privilege. As I worked with the group this week I started thinking about all the things I love about iSWAT and being their teacher leader. 

-I love giving students an opportunity to create with their technology, not just consume.

-I love providing students with a chance to hone their leadership skills by teaching other students and teachers about technology.

-I love the looks on their faces as they explore with a robot or different tech tool. 

-I love teaching students about a new language through coding. 

-I love when my iSWAT leaders work together to debug a line of code that they took so long to write. 

-I love hearing them problem solve and think through each line of code to make sure that they are achieving their goal.

-I love watching them teach others about their passions by creating their own presentations and speaking at technology conferences. 

-I love when they take such pride in their work while they are creating. 

-I love hearing from coaches across the district how great our iSWAT kiddos are when they are representing our school.

I don’t love waking up early on Wednesday mornings, but the second I am with this incredible group of students, it makes it all worth it. 

If you want to watch our journey in our iSWAT club, please check out our website. We have presentations from each of our meetings, and examples of student work. 

I'm a wizard (SOL19 #6)

I’m not very handy. I don’t enjoy trying to fix things that are broken. I don't want to take things apart. I don’t tinker. I just don’t. Until now anyway.

I like a cold beverage. Ice water. Iced Coffee. Iced Tea. Diet Coke with ice. Icy cold LaCroix/Bubly/Spindrift. 

Are you noticing a trend? Ice! I love anything that I’m drinking to be icy cold and refreshing. 

Recently, something terrible happened at my house. I went to go and fill up my Hydroflask (another blog for another day) with some ice and water before bed. The ice came out of the dispenser, but much slower than usual. After that, each time I visited the ice maker, the same thing happened until… NOTHING. 

I informed the tinker-er of the problem. He said he’d get to it. I asked again. Kindly reminded. Nagged. Begged. Nothing. 

Apparently an ice cold beverage is not essential to his happiness. 

It is to mine though. Incredibly essential.

Enough was enough. I became desperate. I had to tinker. 

I would love to explain the steps to you that I tried… but I don’t have the technical freezer jargon down. I will tell you that it involved a metal kabob skewer, and hair dryer, and a can-do attitude. 

Not even an hour later. 

ICE! 

Beautiful ice. 

I am indeed a wizard. 

Poker Face (SOL19 #5)

Meet Maiden. She’s our sassy, full of personality pup. 

My husband recently started working for a company that allows him to work at home. I’m so jealous that he gets to spend the day in his pjs working alongside our pride and joy, Maiden. He calls her his supervisor. 

We were always curious what she was up to when we go to work, and now he gets to experience it first hand. We used put on the radio for her each day so she has something to listen to and to drown out any of the noises going on outside. If not for the radio she would bark all day long at any car door closing or passerby. Now we keep the radio on for her so she doesn’t disturb any of Phil’s phone calls. 

On this particular Wednesday I got a text message from Phil that made me laugh out loud. 

I had to replicate this. I went home and pulled up a YouTube video with Poker Face playing. Low and behold… 

This dog. 

New Soundtrack for Fortnite (SOL19 #4)

My husband has recently started playing Fortnite on the PS4 with my brother-in-law and 11 year old nephew. They have marathon gaming sessions together complete with headsets (microphone included), strategy planning, and lots of laughing. On this particular night the other players took a dinner break but Phil continued playing. He was doing pretty well, better than usual and was one of the last 12 people left in the battle. Since his teammates were on a dinner break, Phil took his headphones off until he saw or heard that they returned. 

All of a sudden we hear it. Singing coming through the speakers of the tv. It was pretty loud, but we couldn’t quite tell what he was being sung. I grabbed my phone and recorded the exchange and sent it to my sister in law on Snapchat with the caption “New soundtrack for Fortnite!”  My nephew continued to sing completely unaware that he was putting on a show for his amused aunt and uncle. 

In the background we heard his mom call for him and then uncontrollable laughter. 

“YOU COULD HEAR ME?!” The giggles continued and included more laughing from his little sister. 

“Yep. I was doing pretty well in the battle while listening to your beautiful singing voice.” 

I’m so glad I captured this and will always have the video evidence!