Helpful Penny
pamelamyers | December 18, 2016
Penny does love to squish herself into tiny little cozy places to sleep. Some gifts that Mark was trying to wrap sounded like a good place, apparently! Sam thought it was pretty darn cute, and so did I.
Sleepover
pamelamyers | December 18, 2016
We had had a futon in our basement pretty much since we bought the house. It never gets used (except by the cats – Zephyr slept on it constantly, and now Penny does occasionally). Sam never thought much of it until a year or so ago when I opened it up flat to clean the cushion or something. It just about blew her mind! She had no idea it turned into a bed. Ever since then, she has been obsessed with the idea of sleeping on it. Which I have no problem with. Except that she would never sleep there alone and I have no real desire to spend the night sleeping in my basement. Mark and I started seriously talking recently about getting rid of it. We have a small basement and the futon, however nice, is just too big. Sam kept insisting we had to keep it, and I finally promised her that before we got rid of it, she and I would sleep on it one night.
Some family friends recently said they’d love to have it so we made arrangements for them to come pick it up. Once I told Sam, she was thrilled because that meant we’d have our sleepover! I wanted it to be on a weekend because I was not sleeping there when any alarm clocks were involved. Last night was the night! It turned into an all girls sleepover when Penny decided to join us. She spent the whole night curled up at the bottom. Actually, we all slept pretty well. It took Sam a little while to finally go to sleep because she was so excited, but when she nodded off, we all slept the whole night through. At least until 5:15 a.m., when Sam decided it was time to get up. Geesh! But we had our night and Sam had a blast. She wanted to do it again and I told her once was enough and that futon is outta here! See ya, futon! It’s been a pleasure having you, but I will not be sorry when you are gone!
Are we sure it’s not winter?
pamelamyers | December 17, 2016
This fall is looking pretty scary. Winter is right around the corner, yes, but what the heck?! Snow? Again? Well, actually, it was more freezing rain and sleet than snow, but that really doesn’t help, does it? Sam had a birthday party to go to that afternoon and I needed to get the driveway cleaned and more importantly, my car. It didn’t take Sam long to come out and help. Any excuse to get out into the snowy mess. I gave her the snow broom and she went to town on my car! Yes, she is wearing an Elsa dress under her coat. And rainboots. That’s my girl!
Santa Sammy
pamelamyers | December 16, 2016
Sam spent all week being Santa at school. A few weeks ago, we had been discussing how I had to buy something for her teacher, Mrs. Hall, when she suddenly told me that she wanted to get something not only for Mrs. Hall, but for all her Specials teachers. All of them. All 8 of them. And not only did she want to buy them gifts, but she knew exactly what she wanted to buy. Charms. A charm of something that shows what they do. Now, yes. It is creative. It is sweet. It is thoughtful. But my first thought was, where the heck am I going to find charms of all the things she wanted? Ok, the real question is, where the heck am I going to find charms of all the things she wanted that also would not cost me a fortune?
I did some Internet digging and, voila! Exactly what she wanted, all from one store. And inexpensive to boot. Here is what she chose:
For Mr. Patella, her Nutrition teacher, an apple.
For Mr. Francis, her Gym teacher, a baseball.
For Mrs. Reilly, the Librarian, a book.
For Mrs. Kobylarz, her Art teacher, a box of crayons.
For Mrs. App, her Reading Workshop teacher (who always brings her guitar), a guitar.
For Mrs. Coover, her Guidance Counselor, a heart.
For Mrs. Matteo, her Music teacher, a music note.
For Mrs. Whittaker, her Writing Workshop teacher, a pencil.
She brought them this week and presented each teacher with his or her gift. We included this note, which Samantha signed:
I have a little present
to show you that you’re the best
I hope that you will wear it
or keep it by your desk.
I chose this especially for you.
Thank you for being a great teacher!
She told me about her teacher’s reactions, and what they did with their charms. A few either sent home or emailed her a thank you note, thanking her for being so incredibly thoughtful. Sam told me, “I think all of my Specials teachers are in love with me now.” Sammy, I don’t know how they can’t be.
First Snow!
pamelamyers | December 15, 2016
I woke up a bit before the alarm today and looked out the window. I knew as soon as I saw the white stuff that Sam was going to freak out when she saw snow, no matter how little was out there. Luckily, she got ready for school very quickly and we had about 15 minutes for her to run around before we had to leave for the bus. Sam loved every minute! It was so bitter cold, only in the 20s, but she ran and ate snow and just smiled from ear to ear. The joy on her face made bearing the cold worth every minute! From the way this fall has been going (hard to believe it’s not even winter yet), we are in for a heck of a cold winter. I know Sam hopes it’s a snowy one!
