I am...

 

As I was getting ready for school yesterday morning, I got out my Starbucks tumbler, and filled with one of my favorite drinks... chocolate milk. I laughed to myself as I walked out the door. Most people fill their Starbucks cups with all the caffeine those walls can handle. Me, I do sometimes, but more often than not, I have chocolate milk in my cup. :)

I walked into school and passed by my boss and a group of highschoolers that beat me to school. My boss remarked, "Starbucks already?" I smiled to myself again, shrugged my shoulders, and replied, "Nope. It's chocolate milk." He got quite the laugh, and I realized that somedays, that's just who I am.

I am chocolate milk in a Starbucks cup.

I'm a "grown up." Some people refer to people in that category as "adults." I still haven't quite figured that one out. But somedays, I just feel like I'm a child in a grown up's body... chocolate milk in a Starbucks cup. And yesterday was one of those days.

easy peasy Broccoli Cheddar Soup

When I got the first glimpse of fall weather, it was all tights and soup for this girl!!! I was craving some broccoli cheddar soup and since my teacher paycheck doesn't allow daily trips to the place that holds my heart... Panera... I had to fend for myself. :)

With the help of pinterest, I found several (what looked like) good recipes for soup. I found a few crock pot recipes that will come in handy soon, but I just wanted something I could whip up after work. I stumbled across a blog that has three weeks of cheap meals that can be prepared in 15 minutes. :) There was a simple broccoli cheddar soup recipe, so I ran by Walmart, grabbed a couple ingredients, and was ready to go!

The recipe calls for:
1. Two cups of condensed cheddar cheese soup (Next time, I'd like to try one can of cheddar soup and one can of potato, but it was still way good!)
2. Three cups frozen chopped broccoli (I was lazy and didn't chop mine. I should've.)
3. Three cups of milk
4. One cup of frozen potatoes O'Brien in a pot (I cheated and just used frozen cubed hashbrowns. I have a TON left over!)

Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Done! Its delicious! I picked up a French Baguette too, and it was the perfect complement to this tasty, cool weather, dinner. 

batting .250 in the fish tank.

I left town for the weekend to visit my parents, and several people mentioned that they thought my post about my fish drama was just hilarious. So awesome. You take pleasure in my sorrow and stress. Great...

I was able to stay at my parents' until Monday morning since I only had parent/teacher conferences that day. I came back to my classroom hoping that my fish hadn't starved, so I went straight to the fish food, and sprinkled some in. Only Johnny was swimming around. I looked along the top of the water for Captain. No sign of him. Wonderful... I looked at the filter since the water looked kind of nasty, and Captain was plastered to the front.

 

Dead fish in tanks look just as gross as the ones at the river. So, I panicked (I'm getting pretty good at that...). My first parents was due to walk in the door in five minutes, and I'm terrified of swimming creatures... and many others, actually. I didn't want to stick my arm in there, so like a good teacher, I took a pencil, pried the little guy off the filter, and waited til he floated. I got out a cup that used to hold paperclips, and I got him out. By. Myself.

 

 I very carefully and dramatically took him to the women's restroom and was very careful not to flush him in my usual stall. I don't need any more nightmares. I said goodbye (in my head) and I flushed him. I threw away the pencil and cup, washed scrubbed my hands, and made it back to my classroom with a manner of seconds to spare. My batting average may not be that great when it comes to fish, but it's about that of most of my favorite Cardinals. I guess I should just join their club.

And I sure hope this is the last you have to hear about my fish tales.

Now to figure out how to tell my students...

 

a tale of my fish and their tails. a tragedy.

This story starts back in fifth grade when my teacher told our class that we were getting a gecko. That day never came. I told my students that I'd consider getting a fish this year since our classroom theme is "Under the Sea." I didn't want my kiddos to remember me as the teacher who didn't keep her word.

On Labor Day, I headed off to PetSmart to buy some fish. I decided on a red platy and a yellow platy. They were super cute (about as cute as fish can get) and they were a dollar. I also got two mollies. They were all black, and just neat looking fish. Sure enough, our tank looked fabulous!!!

The next morning, my students came into the classroom and were surprised to find four fish in our room!!! I was on cloud nine. :) Not even five minutes later, one of my new parents came in. She took a look in the tank and said to me, "Oh, are those black mollies?" I smiled and said, "Sure thing! I thought they were cute!" She then informed me that I had purchased two fish that were known for breeding. Great. But it gets worse. After they breed, they eat their babies. Winner. I hurried the kiddos off to their seats and tried to distract them from the tank. I checked the tank a few minutes later, and sure enough... There were about a half dozen fish babies swimming around. I had bought a pregnant fish. For the win.

I panicked and thought through all the options. Leave them and teach my students about the reproductive and life cycles of molly fish? No thanks. Get one out and flush him? Uhh... I don't do pets. There was NO way my arm was going in there. A friend of mine came in after school and took one of my molly fish up to a different classroom that has a bigger fish tank, so they would be separated.

I was down to three fish. And four babies. But we could cross that bridge when we came to it. If we came to it... But, alas, there are no babies left...

I decided that my class would vote on fish names. They were HILARIOUS. Our red fish was Captain America. Our yellow fish was Johnny on the Spot. And our black one was Mustang Sally (our mascot is the Mustang). I just thought my kids were the greatest!!!

About a week later, one of my kids came up to me and very calmly stated, "Captain's tail is all messed up." I told them that he was missing part of his tail when we got him, and that he would be okay. They seemed a little concerned still, so I looked closer. Sure enough. Most of his tail was missing. When teachers don't have the answers, they turn to google. So I did. Google (or possibly yahoo answers) let me know that sometimes mollies are very territorial and will attack other fish. Awesome. My first issue of severe bullying and injuries as a result. :(

The next day, I checked to see if the situation had gotten any worse. Indeed, Mustang was chasing Johnny around and nipping at his tail. I decided that was it. I got one of the junior high girls (with a prior history of animal control) out of class to come to my (and Captain's) rescue. I told her that she could either flush it or take it upstairs, but that I didn't want to know so I didn't have to tell the kids. So, during recess, Mustang joined Nemo... out at sea. And now I'm on the hunt for a nicer fish.

 
This concludes my episode of fishy drama in second grade... at least for now...