hiatus

I think that I am taking a few days to read Harry Potter. Merilee, how do you post links to, say, yours and Boston's blogs?

Evie and the Apple

Photo by Elise Hird

Evie and the Apple Tree
By Monique Fullmer
Inspired by Grandma Jack


A long time ago, like about ninety years, in a far away place called Oklahoma, there lived a little girl named Evie. Evie lived in an unusual place called a farm, where plants grew and the stores and restaurants of the town were very far away.

On this particular day, Evie’s mother needed to go to the store. Before she left, Evie’s mother called her over to give her some instructions. You see, Evie’s mother knew that her daughter loved apples, any kind of apples; sweet or sour, red or green, juicy or dry, with sugar or salt. Evie loved apples. Evie’s mother also knew that the green apples on the tree outside of the kitchen were not ripe and they would give Evie a giant tummy-ache. And, she knew that Evie would eat them anyway.

So, the first thing on the list of Evie’s instructions (because, of course there was a list of chores to do on the farm) was
DO NOT PICK ANY APPLES!
After that, there were things like sweep the floor, milk the cow, bake a peach pie, don’t forget to feed your little brother, hoe some weeds, and feed the chickens. After all, this was a farm, a very long time ago in Oklahoma.

Well, Evie’s mother left for her long trip to the store and Evie decided that she better do the things her mother told her to do. She swept the floor and milked the cow without ever once thinking about that old apple tree outside the kitchen window.

But when Evie started to slice the peaches to bake the peach pie for dinner, (Evie’s Daddy loved pie) she couldn’t help but look out that window at the big, old apple tree loaded with apples. True, the apples weren’t ripe yet, but as peach juice dribbled down her fingers, she could almost taste the tart-sweet, sour juice of a crisp-green apple on the back of her tongue. Evie did love apples. Of course, she remembered her mother’s instructions before she left for the store,
DO NOT PICK ANY APPLES!
So Evie went on with her chores.

As Evie fed her little brother lunch, she imagined munching on a sour apple with salt. As she chopped down weeds in the cornfield, she tasted the cool trickle of sticky apple juice and oh, how she wanted an apple! By the time Evie fed the chickens, she was nearly desperate for one of those green apples hanging from the tree. Suddenly, it struck her. Mother had said,
“DO NOT PICK ANY APPLES!”
She would not disobey her mother, but she simply had to have an apple.

Evie slowly meandered over to the apple tree. She didn’t want to attract attention. At the base of the tree, she looked around to make sure no one was watching. Evie quickly climbed up into the tree. She already knew the perfect fork in the branch where she could sit. She looked around and spotted a plump, shiny, green apple and very carefully, so as not to pluck the apple from its stem, she began to sink her teeth into its firm green flesh. Oh, it was wonderful! It was sour and sweet and puckered her mouth and tasted like crunchy heaven. Evie continued to gnaw away at the apple until only a skinny, scrawny core hung from the limb above her head.

The apple tasted better than any she could ever remember. However, now that it was gone, Evie began to realize that even though she had followed her mother’s instructions, she might still be in trouble. She worried about what her mother would say when she got home. As Evie worried, she felt a little knot in her stomach start to grow.

The longer Evie waited, the more her tummy started to hurt. Soon, the pain in her stomach forced her to go to bed. It was there her mother found her when she got home from the store. Mother realized almost immediately what had happened. She started to tell Evie how disappointed she was that she had disobeyed. Evie quickly pointed out that she had not actually disobeyed her mother. She had not picked any apples. Mother looked out the window at the big apple tree. She saw the skinny, scrawny core still hanging, firmly attached to the tree. A slight smile stole across Mother’s face as she stifled a laugh deep inside.

Evie learned a lesson about life that day. She learned that her mother would often tell her things that didn’t seem to make sense. Yet, if she listened to her mother, she would save herself from tummy aches or headaches or even heartaches. Evie’s mother learned that her daughter was very intelligent and she needed to be careful and very specific when she gave her instructions.

When Evie grew up and had her own little girl, she told her this story. That little girl grew up and told her little girls and now I’m telling it to you. Pass it on.

AIMS

Ok, this is a letter I wrote Tom Horne our state superintendent of public schools at the beginning of June. He has never written me back. So, now I am posting it here in, what is it? the blogosphere. This problem really ticks me off.

Dear Tom Horne,

I am writing to express my concern to you about the timing of AIMS DPA testing. I am a parent of elementary age children as well as an elementary school teacher.
My concern is that the timing of AIMS DPA is causing difficulty for students and educators. As a result of early April testing dates, the entire set of standards for each grade must be taught by the end of March. As I work on my curriculum map, I feel strongly that it is a misuse of time to rush through challenging lessons with my students, not allowing them the necessary time to develop their understanding of standards and concepts. However, in order to teach all standards before AIMS, that is exactly what I must do.
Additionally, attempting to teach all standards before AIMS leaves the rest of the school year, the duration of April and May, to “fill in” rather than teach. Depending on the school that I have been at, I have been instructed to either begin teaching the next year’s curriculum, or go back and cover the “less important” standards that I had to bypass in order to ensure students achieved understanding of certain “power” standards that are covered more strenuously on AIMS. In each case, the students (I teach 6th grade.) seemed to believe that schoolwork was no longer important, because they had already completed their testing for the year.
Finally, I understand that it is important to have timely results of assessment. However, at this time, test results become available in June. While I’m sure that there is much going on that I am not aware of, it seems that the middle of summer is an odd time for test results. I have spent some amount of time researching on the Department of Education website to try to discover the relevance of the test schedule. I have been unsuccessful. It seems to me that if AIMS were completed either at the end of April or beginning of May, more time would be available to teach the standards, less of the school year would be wasted on teaching what will be re-taught the next year, or should have been taught earlier in the year, and students would not experience the level of “check-out” that they seem to at this time.
I greatly appreciate you taking your valuable time to read my concerns. I have spoken with many, many educators who feel similarly about this situation. I have yet to hear a convincing argument that negates my concerns. I would appreciate your input on this matter that deeply distresses me.

Sincerely,

Monique Fullmer
Jausten70@yahoo.com

Next project

Ok, I think I'm going to do a Mom thing for my next scrapbook project. I just came up with this, so we'll see how it goes. Anyway, I'll randomly brainstorm it here.

Things I got from my mom

The best potato salad ever
Chicken noodles
knowing how to cook without "having" to use campbell's cream of whatever soup
knowing that sometimes it's ok to use campbell's or top ramen or whatever
splotchy legs
lack of chin
sadly, not her body shape
a love of music
a love of family
some patience, but not to the same level
a soft heart - I've seen the woman give a dollar to a homeless man when I knew full well that was the only one she had, and not really sure when she would have more.
a tendency to clutter
if only I had her energy for cleaning
the knack of buying, writing, addressing, stamping, and never mailing thankyou notes
the inability to turn down a plea for help - oh wait- I may have gotten over that one - sort of.
a keen sense of the spirit - I should point out here that she is 25 years ahead of me in everything. Sometimes they seem like light years.
I can drive with my knee- she's better at the turns.
a love of asparagus, but not brussell sprouts, sorry mom
AWESOME GRANDPARENTS! I miss them so much.
a great working knowledge of how to give my kids a guilt trip when they need it
I can't believe I got this far down the list without getting to lemons and salt yet, mmmm
the smell of dirt and rain
a great childhood
I know how to sew
I love to read
I will forget whatever I read by the next day
walking barefoot through cool grass
cracked, gnarly heels
freckles
I know how to bake bread
I've seen her grind wheat
I know that I should be kind
A love for my Heavenly Father and Jesus (these are not in order of importance, obviously)
I did not get her love of gardening, but I do appreciate the fruits of her labors and will keep trying.
I fall asleep on the couch watching t.v.
I don't want to go to sleep, because I might miss some good conversation.
Solitaire
maybe someday I'll be able to forgive like her
we could talk and laugh and shop all day
we love color (yes, mom. Brown is a color.)
Candy
a little touch of 19th century
appreciation for quality
strong fingernails
a true sense of self
She always told me to finish college. It took 17 years, but I did.
speaking of, smarts
an awesome grandma for my kids
a puppy
the ability to look on the bright side
and stay calm
an understanding of others
manners (please and thankyou are the magic words)
lyrics stuck in my head - "I'm did, I'm didn't. I did obey. I didn't. I'm happy, hap, hap happy all the while. Not me"

Well, this list could continue, I'm sure. I hope that it is taken how it is meant, with all the love in my heart for the best mom possible.

summer vac-a

I love summer! Hot weather, not so much but the time, I love time. Today, I got to go to shops in Phoenix with my Mom, Elise, and Megan. Acouple of them were ok, but Rust and Roses had so much stuf that I wanted to take home. Paris Envy made me sneeze, but Megan was going to move in and I couldn't decide which quilt to buy, so I bought none. But I will definitely go back and get one. There were so many good ideas that I want to use in Emma's room (if she'll let me) The only lame thing about kids getting older is they get a mind of their own, dangit. There was a cute little round stool with curved metal legs that had an overstuffed polka-dotted seat on it with a tulle skirt. It would look so cute at a desk or vanity. It would also go so cute with the brown and blue tulle skirt that I want to put on a lamp shade in her room. So far, Lauren, Emma, and I have all picked out different shades of blue to paint our bedrooms. Mine is a very pale gray-blue. David is terrified of the blue, so we're easing it in. I'm also, probably going to antique that with some brown glaze. Lauren has a brighter light blue that she is going to have her cousin Misty paint a beach mural on one wall. Emma picked out bright sky blue. I'm so nervous to see her whole room in this kind of "wow" blue. But then pretty much the whole rest of the house will be beige. I can't believe that as of August 10th, we will be homeowners! They were laying tile today. Our fans and chandeliers are in, closet cupboards, all kinds of fun stuff. Wow!

#21 did I mention, do something that is not teaching school.
#22 have enough money not to worry about it (is that possible)

Oh, I did it - bike riding

Emma went up to Utah with her Grandma and Grandpa for about 3 weeks before we went up. While she was up there, her cousin Raquel taught her how to ride a bike. She was a little scared to learn on our sidewalk next to the street down here, but apparently dirt and grass in utah are softer. (Not really, because she is covered with scabs and bruises. But obviously, she doesn't care.) We kept using the excuse that she was too short, but David actually had to raise the seat for her when we got up there. We couldn't get her off the bike. She kept begging me to go on walks with her. Which, of course meant, I walk - she rides ahead of me. Luckily, Koosharem is the best place for that. We walked to the park and to the cafe. She could ride around the yard and loved to ride through her Daddy's backyard golf games. She seems to have gotten used to the occasionaly little tumbles and I love the look of pure joy on her face when she whizzes by. The first picture is with Riley on the way to the park. They had a blast together. We all hated to leave Utah. Emma, especially. She keeps talking about moving there. I wonder what she would think of living in that snow. She is anxious for a new bike, even though I think she had coated the pedal with hamburger before to get the dog to chew it off. Now, she has no fear.

These are a couple pics of Lauren in her exciting role in The Music Man this Spring. (I know you saw this Mer.) In the red dress, she is playing Zaneeta, the Mayor's daughter. She was adorable as the silly little flirt - scary. In the floral with gloves, she is a town's person. The teachers who do the play have 2 casts so that more kids get to participate. Even as a town's person, she had a solo part in the Wells Fargo Wagon song. It was so fun to see all the kids (since many of them are or were my students). However, I'm not sure that this topped Annie, where Lauren got to play Lily St. Regis. That was adorable. Btw, these are photos recovered from inside my hairspray melted camera. I was wondering where my camera was, until I cleaned out the back of the car and found it with the hairspray that had gotten pressed down. The chrome was totally melted off the front of the camera and all the buttons were stuck. So, we got to buy "another" new camera. Yay!

Ok, Mer, sometimes I may skip a day. Also, Happy Birthday to all those people crazy enough to be born in July. What were you thinking? Shoot, I have to look around and try to remember how to post pics.

Things I'd like to do:
Inspired by Darilyn

Oh, so many things, where to start.
Some things I want to do again, too.

1. Go to New Orleans and Baton Rouge
2. Spend time in Jamaica
3. Parasail
4. write my great-grandmother's story
5. visit England, France, Italy, Scotland, Ireland, Switzerland, etc.
6. Throw tomatoes at that festival in Spain
7. climb the steps at Chichen Itza (sp?)
8. See the pageant at Palmyra
9. Go to all the historic sites in Boston and Philadelphia
10. Go back to New York and Washington and take my family
11. watch whales
12. visit some family history sites North and South Carolina, Virginia
13. Shop in antique stores in Europe, where things are actually OLD
14. watch my children have happy lives
15. learn to play the piano well
16. learn other languages
17. have oodles of ribbons
18. have a house by a lake or on a beach with a wide wrap around porch and a big room with bunk beds where anyone who wants to can just come and stay with us a while.
19. to have a garden of lovely flowers that someone else takes care of for me
20. have a pet lamb

Ok, this is the first 20, subject to be revised, reordered and amended I'm just too tired to continue.

These are some of my favorite people in the world. I just love the unknown man in the cowboy hat. Ok, it's actually Lauren and Emma that I love. This is from our Spring Break trip through Southern AZ; Tucson for eegee's, Colossal Cave, Bisbee, Tombstone, etc. Some places I had never been in 37 years living in AZ. I want to take my kids lots of places. Of course, the draw of some places takes us back again and again. We just got back from Koosharem, UT. 80* in July, and not at 10pm, is quite a draw. Although this year, the big draw was that Emma had already been there with Grandma and Grandpa for three weeks. We wanted her back. The sky is so big there. I could sit outside at night forever, just staring at the stars. I love being able to actually see the Milky Way. I saw a shooting star. The kids love that they can just go... Emma learned to ride a bike. We have LOTS of pics of that. Btw, I love Merilee's slide show and am waiting for her to fill me in on how to do it here.

first time

Well, I'm not exactly sure why I wanted to create this area to run off at the fingers. It's probably because I like to talk and I'm concerned that people close to me may get tired of listening if I talk non-stop. There must be some sort of exhibitionist tendency that I'm trying to satisfy. It is a little intimidating to put my thoughts out there where anyone could see them if they so choose, but heck, I love myself right?
So, I realize that I am being typical "ugly american" but I absolutely love the open mike conversation between President Bush and Prime Minister Blair. What an insight into the relationship between these 2 guys. I just wish that Tony hadn't noticed and we could have heard more. I am far from believing that Bush is perfect or always makes the right decisions, but I am on his side.
I realize that I have gotten ahead of myself. If I'm doing this "dear diary" style, I need to tell the diary who I am.
I am a 36 year old woman, wife, and mother of 2. I recently started teaching school, 6th grade. My most important job is raising my 2 daughters, ages 7 and 11. I don't believe in spoiling them. I believe children need to know they are loved, they are valuable and they have a responsibility to be good citizens and good people. So far, I am very proud of them. They have huge hearts.
My husband is part of the driving force behind this page. I love him, he rocks. However, he has no interest in, shall we say, philosophical things. Rather, he has no interest in discussing them. He is a worrier and thinks things through, but does not care to discuss those types of issues. So, here I am having a conversation with myself. Oh, but don't feel sorry for me. I have plenty of people to talk to. I have so many people that I run out of time. I am the 3rd of 10 children, the oldest girl. Yes, that means I have 2 older brothers. One was killed about 6 years ago in a private plane crash. He was the only person on board. The other works in the pentagon and always has great stories to tell, like getting "knighted" by the French. After me came 3 more girls;(I'm a firm believer in semi-colons) the artist/photographer, the fun friendly one, then the crazy "I wish I was Native American"one with a heart so big that she will drive herself insane trying to solve other people's problems. Next, 2 more boys, the sk8ers, one has a marketing degree, a wife and 1 and 1/2 kids; the other is looking for himself in Oregon. Finally, the babies. My youngest sister is such a politician. This big sisters used to torment her by trying to get her to pick her favorite sister. She never would (or at least if she did, it wasn't me and I didn't know), she would always say that we were all her favorite. Sure enough, she did student government all through high school and she is a history major. Baby brother, what to say? What a kid, played football through high school, sweet, stubborn and very private. Well, those are the sibs, I love 'em all and definitely never lack for someone to talk to, but sort of look forward to the whole no-one answering back thing.
Okay, when the laptop starts burning my wrists, I think that's my signal to stop. See ya!