My Funny Little Friends pt. 2

This week I may or may not have laughed directly at my students...on several different occasions. Sometimes the moments come and they catch you so off guard that you can't hid it.

1. This here beauty I so skillfully captured. I still laugh at it and its been a week.

2. We have been studying American History this quarter. This last week we have focused on colonial times. Did you know that during this point in our cultural history people would "have celebrations. At these celebrations they would take tea out on boats and then put it into crates. Then at the end of the celebration they would smash the crates and throw them into the ocean." This comes after I had a group of kids read a section about the Boston Tea Party and then summarize it in their own words. Party=traditional celebration. 2 points to me for expertly teaching them synonyms, -3 points for doing the worst job ever at explaining the American Revolution.

3. One of the middle school aides walked into our class today to deliver some things I had laminated. One of my 2ND GRADE girls looks as he drops it of and goes "*Gasp* was that Trevor?" We were sitting on the floor and another girl was all "What, do you love him?" The guilty party did a little smirk and nod. Trevor was then the talk of the class for the next little while, apparently ALL of the girls 'love him'. I quickly reminded them that YOU ARE SEVEN! That and that he has a brother in first grade who is a little more age appropriate. Apparently it is okay to like a boy who is 7 years older than you but 1 year younger is unacceptable. The funniest part was that Trevor's mom was supposed to be subbing for me today. I just wish I could have seen her response.

4. "Once I was getting really angry because I was trying to use a brush to clean the ground and it just kept staying dirty. Then my sister told me, 'it's the ground'..." Probably a funny ending to this story by 2nd Graders are really good at not finishing thoughts or sentences.

Happiness is...

I am having a great day and I think the world should know about it.

First, two of my very great best-est of friends both decided to come into town this weekend. I enjoyed some delicious pizza with one yesterday and am about to go watch hockey with the other tonight. Also in general I have great friends. They feed my ego with endless compliments and never leave without doing the dishes. You all know who you are, and I think you're fabulous.

Second, my Cats gave Oregon a high-five in the face today. Oregon you are classy. Marcus I hope you didn't end up with a concussion... but how about them Cats. I did not expect that outcome. Pleasantly surprised doesn't really describe the joy I feel.And the interceptions, WOW.

Third, while delighting in our total domination I was multi-tasking and creating two delicious pumpkin rolls. One for anyone who joins us for choir tomorrow and one for an old team member at work. Later this week I will create one covered in toasted pecans for yours truly. hhmm. yum. Oh, and cream cheese was only a buck fifty a package, good deal!

Fourth, it has rained constantly for the past two days. I love rain and I also love that my kids didn't go crazy even though they couldn't go outside to play. Thank you Smudgy (instead of recess I let them hold our bearded dragon)

Number Five, I didn't do my hair. I walked through the rain, several times.I am long due for a hair cut, I think the last trim was July. Yet despite mentioned conditions, my hair looks fantastic.

Numero Sies, I get to spend next weekend with the cutest niephlings in the universe. I am so excited I can not wait.

The Need from my Knees

As many of you know I have a tendency to hurt myself, specifically my knees. I tore my right ACL my senior year of high school and have had a denial filled relationship with some of those same ligaments in my left knee for the past 3 years. Due to poor timing, and me simply being a wuss (I remember vividly the hassle it was to have the right one repaired) I have put of seeing a doctor about my knee. Last night I dressed up as Mary Poppins and attempted to do a little jump. Well when I landed, my knee collapsed. This caused a bit of pain, a rather long silence in the room, and a couple awkward explanations throughout the night. No big deal, it has happened many a time and I am pretty used to the drill. Here's the deal, it still hurts quite a bit. Which means I AM calling a doctor tomorrow and will submit to the reality that I am not Mary Poppins, I can not fly, and am not even theoretically perfect in every way-this last one was rough on my ego.

It also means I am presently avoiding long walks. Let it be known that I have a great many sets of many great friends. They were willing to help me get home and were concerned about how I would get to church. I assured them that my right knee still functioned and I had an automatic transmission. As I drove to church this morning I recognized an issue and immediately became concerned. I could drive, and I could park...but could I walk from where I was parked. The institute parking lot is not very big and our ward meets second. This means we are usually forced to park in the garage across the street. I drove down Mountain and looked at a packed lot, not an empty slot. I decided to pull into the lot anyway maybe I missed a space. I hadn't. I decided I would just have to head to the garage. Then at the very last second, the very last car in the parking lot pulled out and left. I am not usually a fan of people skipping out of church early but I was a fan today. I quickly pulled into the spot and looked up in gratefulness and said a little thank you.

I walked a short distance inside and began greeting people. that's right I am the equivalent to the old guy in Walmart who used to hand out smiley face stickers (question: where did this guy go, do any of them still exist). Fellow-shipping Committee Co-chair. As I shook hands I was talking to the Elders who were also greeting people. I mentioned how I was grateful to get my parking spot and said if I was Levi I would have built an alter and made a sacrifice. One missionary turned to me and said, well good, you get to in about 15 min. Wait, you are totally right. I am going to take the sacrament.

I have a deep appreciation for the sacrament and have often considered it a blessing. We talk about renewing our baptismal covenants and becoming clean again. Working towards perfection. Remembering our Savior. Today I realized it is more than that. It is also I way to say thank you not only for the atonement, but also for the small tender mercies that the atonement provides us every day.

When I took the sacrament I said a little thank you for the short walk from the parking lot. My Savior is well aware of the pain I am feeling in my knee, he has felt it. I could have walked from the garage, it would not have been comfortable, but I could have done it. However, our father hears our thoughts. He knows the desires of our hearts. And through the Atonement of Jesus Christ he is perfectly aware of all the pain that we feel. Because of this awareness I truly believe I was granted a closer parking spot. Cheesy, yes. Minuscule, absolutely. BUT important to me. How blessed I am that I have church to go to every week. That I can build that alter by spiritually preparing myself to take the sacrament. How blessed I am that my Lord has already made that sacrifice.      


I am also grateful that I don't have to do the kneeling at the alter, if that was the case my sacrifice would have to have been postponed.

My Funny Little Friends

School is officially in. We started last Thursday and I am back to teaching 2nd grade. My first day back went pretty well. Nobody all out cried, although I had two 'friends' who had really glossy looking eyes but we were able to nip that in the bud. I also realized really quickly that the way you talk to second graders is much different than third. For example in third you might say "Alright students, I would like you to take out your math books." In second it is "Do any of my friends need to use the restroom? There is still a long time until lunch and it might be hard to hold it."

Heres the deal. I sit in a class with 23 blossoming young minds and it is great. Seven year olds are quite anxious, their ability to sense and deliver sarcasm is reaching a critical point, and they struggle with logic resulting in a vast amount of non sequitur arguments. Plus they are really stinkin' cute. This combination leads itself to some of the best stories imaginable. I have already heard my share of sassy remarks and had to stifle a classroom of laughter that erupts when a kid farts during the middle of read-aloud and contain my own giggles when a girl fell out of her chair because she was leaning to far back in it during math. (In my defense, I had warned her.) The following are a few entertaining things that have been said.


**The first two require a preface. On Saturday I went shooting with a couple of friends. While taking aim at a clay pigeon I didn't quite get the shotgun mounted on shoulder blade. As a result there was a little bit of a recoil that landed on my upper inner bicep. This quickly manifested in a giant bruise. It is August in Arizona and I really haven't been in the mood to wear a sweater and cover it up.

1. During a read-aloud on Monday the students are sitting on the floor around me. It is an hour and a half into the morning and we are about 5 pages into the book. Students will sometimes raise their hand and make a comment about the story. Some still don't have the raising the hand thing down. I am reading one of the pages when 'Mickey' shouts out "What did you do to your arm?!" I calmly responded that I was wondering when someone was going to ask because it is kind of big and purple. Then the kid directly in front of me responds so cleverly "I really wanted to know too, but I thought it would be rude." After that it was just a matter of explaining how I got it without directly saying, I like to go shoot things with big guns for fun on the weekends.

What I think of every time I hear armpit hair.

2. Today I am sitting at the front giving dictation sentences when all of a sudden a cute little front-toothless little girl pipes up "Ms. Maroney it's really gross every time you raise your arm because your bruise looks like armpit hair." Oh thanks I will remember to cover it up for you tomorrow. In all honesty she has a point. The outside of the bruise is getting to the yellow-ish point while the hair follicles are still really bright purple.

3. I overheard 'Mickey' tell his table that he definitely got the answer to the math problem right because he is wearing glasses.

4. While we are getting ready for lunch and putting away our homework I hear a small voice going "Bee-do Bee-do Bee-do". Since I associate that sound from voice mails from Alison and James and search it out. I find the girl doing it and ask why she is making fire-alarm minion sounds. Happy that I recognize what she is doing she gets louder. At which point other friends hear, remark how they love that movie and join her in the "Bee-do-ing" Now I have 13 or so students in unison singing their Bee-dos and no fire house to spray them with to make them stop. I quietly relish in the hilarity because that was one of the best parts of the movie and then decide to stop it because I have some responsibility to maintain control, respect, and authority.

More to come. This year is gonna be good. Real good.

Mi Madre

Last Monday my mother had a summons for jury duty up in Tucson. Before she actually came up she was telling me about how she wouldn't get chosen because she really wanted an excuse to stay and visit with me. Well, she came and she was chosen. AND....the case was two weeks long. I am not sure how much her back enjoys sleeping on a air mattress on the floor in my bedroom but I am loving all the time I have with Mom. We made and ate breakfast and dinner with each other everyday, taking the time to pack the leftovers for our lunches the next morning and then we just talked, a lot. My mom is such an insightful and smart lady. During all the time we have spent together in the last week, as well as on a trip up and back from Phoenix a few weeks back, there was never a need to turn on a TV, a radio, or computer because we were so content and happy with our conversation. I substitute in an early morning seminary class occasionally, and got the chance to teach yesterday. It was so fun reading the lesson and talking with my mom about the gospel as I prepared for it. We also took one evening and just went browsing at Pier 1. It was nothing special, and we didn't buy anything, but I loved every minute of it. She went home for the weekend and I can't wait til she comes back on Monday, I've missed my friend. She's one of the great ones, and I love her.  

Productive Procrastination

Here's the deal. I HATE GRADES. I don't think they are usually an accurate reflection of the person's abilities. That and people (their parents) flip out when they get something other than an A. What am I supposed to give the person who excelled when others are getting A's. NOT and A+, that's insulting. Anyway we are in third grade, half of our things aren't graded based on a percentage and when they are the reside nicely on a bell curve. Let's just say elementary parents do not appreciate a true bell curve. I have actually found that most people in general don't appreciate a bell curve. I on the other hand LOVE them, to look at and compare intelligence and work ethic, not for parents who are bribing their children with $20 or $2,000 dollars. <-----Yeah that's right I said $2,000, for an 8 year old. Sheesh.

Moving on, I avoided doing grades as long as possible and ended up with and abundance of sweets. I made cheesecake cupcakes for Shelby. She came to Tucson two weeks ago for a reading conference and a single adult conference. I hadn't seen her in a while so we celebrated her birthday with cheesecake and also went out to Macayos.Then Saturday I was supposed to go in to my classroom and knock out all of my grades so that I was and done and didn't have to worry about them. Instead I made 10 dozen cookies. We had funfetti cookies, and ATK chocolate chip as well as peanut butter cookies. I made the peanut butter cookies into ice  cream sandwiches...tasty. I also made Sea Salt caramel ice cream, unfortunately this time I let the caramel get a little too dark. The ice cream was good but very strong with a slightly bitter after taste. I figure coffee lovers might like it that way but I preferred it mixed with a little vanilla. (I have made this ice cream before and it was perfect).

One of my good friends is now in charge of our ward FHE and asked if I could make snacks, which I do a lot. I couldn't tell her no so on Monday, instead of grading, I made two batches of chocolate drizzle kettle corn and two batches of peanut butter popcorn- a true Maroney FHE Snack classic. Then Thursday was pi  day so Wednesday night, the night my grades really needed to get done, I made a lemon meringue pie. It was my first time making that and it turned out really well, but I was impatient and cut it before it was completely finished cooling which made it quite weepy.

My grades got done in time although it as the last minute.

It is now spring break and I plan on cutting down on the sweet making. I am going to make a Cuban style pulled pork (which is sweet with a little tart kick) with rice, beans, and fried plantains tomorrow. Oh I am so excited. I am also going to head down to Sierra Vista and build myself a couple wood planters for a veggie garden on my apartment's back porch. I am also going to plant a little herb garden on my side porch. I am so excited for the warm weather and plan on enjoying as much as I can before it gets hot.

**I bought a butane torch today which means I will also be making a delicious White Chocolate Creme Brulee.

Life as I live it.

I was wishing that someone would blog because I like to virtually people watch. I also like to people watch in real life but right now I am just sitting alone in my apartment and it's not as much fun to people watch yourself. Pretty much this is a guilt trip to those who have not blogged in 3 or maybe even 8 months. You know who you are. Since you won't do it maybe my good example will motivate you. This is what has happened as of late.

Last weekend I celebrated MLK Jr. Day by going down to Sierra Vista and visiting my family. We talked a lot, made and ate some delicious food, and in general enjoyed each other. On Sunday we went to church with Morgan and she played piano. She has the cutest decreasingly non-existent baby belly (intentional use of a double negative). I also practiced a bunch of new music I am supposed to learn to play for my ward choir. I got to help select the songs this time around and am quite happy with the choices we made (if you are interested we are singing I Know that My Redeemer Lives, Have I Done Any Good, This is the Christ, and Praise to the Lord, the Almighty). My mother and I also worked on and fitted a practice dress. I love Lady Katherine and all of her gorgeous, super classy clothes and often pick out fabric and patterns in hopes that Mom will become my royal seamstress- it sort of works, most of the time.

For some reason it seems that short school weeks always drag on forever. This last week was not an exception.  I had a handful of students who made it a point to test my patience. One even decided to become his own personal, royal de-seamstress. Wait, what is a de-seamstress? That's when instead of doing your work you use a broken rat-tail comb and a pencil to spend the morning ripping out the inner seam of your jeans up almost to the crotch because a small hole in the knee was bothering you. (Run on sentence not purposeful, but since this is a fictitious job description, assume I used it as some imaginary literary device.) Needless to say, by lunchtime Friday I was almost as exhausted as you are after trying to say aforementioned run on sentence in a single breath. Thankfully during lunch a friend messaged me, asking if I wanted to go to the UA basketball game with her and some friends. Made. My. Day. After that I was able to make it through the afternoon and our introduction to Geology, as well as all the excitement that comes when you are 9 and get to study rocks during school. Side note: rocks are actually awe-fully awesome and it takes no effort to make 3rd graders interested in studying them. What is cooler than studying sparkly things and volcanoes? It addresses every target audience.

Saturday I was not excited to get up in the morning because it was raining and I had signed up for a math conference starting at 8. I did not want to get out of bed but I did and I am grateful I did not skip out. It was WAY FUN. Pretty much I had a bunch of short math lessons where we played fun math games and learned some sweet techniques. Including something called Exploding Dots (if you are awesome look here or here). It is a fun and easy way to count and perform basic operations using your regular numbers, as well as numbers in different bases. Also includes a super cool way to divide polynomials. Again. AWESOME. Caree, my old college roommate/really cool human being and math teacher, was also there. I hadn't seen her in while and got to eat lunch with her and chat it up a bit. I finished with the conference and the delicious food they served and then went and bought some new sneakers. My previous ones only cost $15 and I have worn them regularly for 2 years and the needed replaced. I then went to the basketball game. Funny story. My friend got the tickets from her childhood BFF who plays on the USC team. We all, including her, showed up in our Arizona best cheering wildly as UA beat them by 30 points. His parents and siblings sitting behind us didn't mind though and were really great. We made sure to cheer for USC every time #21 had the ball. Walking back from the game I broke in my new sneakers by jumping in and skipping through a giant puddle with Amber. My feet were a little cold for a while, but my not-so-inner child appreciated it. I then came home and studied a little bit for my lesson today.

This morning I got up, wore some really bright pink tights with my black dress, and rocked my Gospel Doctrine lesson. I LOVE teaching gospel doctrine, and really enjoy studying Doctrine and Covenants and Church History. If there has been one part of the gospel that has been hard for me to accept it is the prophet Joseph Smith. I never really loved church history. They were strong people and are inspirational but I was never interested. I will be honest I have feigned excitement about it for a long time. I would do my study, pray for a testimony, and even comment and affirm the importance of the principles and events recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants. When I bear testimony of Joseph Smith I often experience some amount of guilt because I don't feel the testimony and wrongfully assume I don't know it for myself. When I hear Gordan B. or Thomas S. I know and have felt they are prophets. I have never felt this for Joseph Smith. My testimony of the Restoration has always been based on the 'fruit of the works' if you will. One day I may encounter an opportunity for the Holy Ghost to testify to my mind and my heart, and I will feel the power of the Prophet Joseph. For now I am grateful for the chance to study and build upon my testimony of the mind. In today's lesson I really enjoyed Joseph's dialogue in JSH 1:28-29 and have decided to commit myself to better avoiding the 'levity' he admitted as well as work on more regularly checking my standing with my Heavenly Father. A real, unfeigned excitement for the restoration is building; for that I am excited.

Now I need to make a milkshake to celebrate the permanent return of Birthday Cake Oreo. Then I will fold and put away my laundry. #myapartmentiscleanbutthereisanimmenseamountofclothingstrewnacrossthedifferentroomsthatmakeitlookverymessy #someonemakeadryerthatfoldsandhangsaswellasaconveyorsystemthatsendsthemtotheirproperspot                   

My thought on hashtags: I don't use them because I find them kind of ridiculous but I also find them to be really addictive and often say "hashtag:blah blah blah (the blah's actually being a real thought/statement) as I talk to myself in my head. Instead you may notice I improperly use colons to pause and preface them with fragmented sentences, which are now frequently associated and used following hashtags.

Happy Happenings

If you are curious about my break read the following. If not know that life is grand and I am happy! There aren't any pictures so I understand if you can't make it through.


I go back to school tomorrow and I am ready to be back but not quite ready to get up in the morning again. Everyone talks about how lucky teachers are to get two weeks off. Guess what, we are lucky and I enjoyed every moment of it...and there were a lot of great moments. I would add some pictures but I didn't really get any good physical ones. May my poor writing schools clearly express the vision of some of the things that occurred. My break started on Friday the 21st. I drove up to Phoenix with my parents and Shelby. We boarded a plane and headed to Sacramento. Saturday we slept in a little and recovered from the late/early arrival at our hotel. It rained the entire time we were there but it was beautiful and green. Get this- grass grows in the cracks in the streets, ALL ON ITS OWN. We nurture and care for that stuff here and most of the time it still looks brown and sad. We headed over to Bev's house (Alison's MIL) and helped out with the preparations for the nights party. Alison and James showed up a little later in the morning and that is always good news. I love my twin sister. She, for the most part, understands me and knows how to make my day. I also love James-he understands me and will learn more about me as a person has he learns to live with his wife (I have some experience with that girl and some pointers about resolving disputes if ever you need them). After lunch I headed to the Sacramento Temple with my mother. She escorted me as I went through the temple and received my endowments. I was able to sit with my mother on my left and Alison on my right and was beaming with smiles the whole time. I love my family and am grateful to all that were there. We then headed over to Alison and James' open house. It was lovely and we even got the chance to meet the adorable Jeremy and chat with my cousin Lori. Shelby and I headed back to Tucson on Monday and had Christmas morning together. Then we drove down to Sierra Vista. I spent the day with Morgan and we had a tasty Christmas dinner at the Firehouse with Spencer. By no means did we have a traditional Christmas but  I was able to spend time with my family and that is really all I need.

I spent New Years in Tucson and fed the missionaries. I cleaned, caught up on laundry, and spent some much needed time with friends (I am sort of a recluse when school is in session). I also spent a good portion of time celebrating the union of a couple of my besties. On Friday I made the 7 hour drive from Tucson to Phoenix- WHAT it takes that long to get to Phoenix. It shouldn't, but there is a lot that can be accomplished sitting in traffic for 5 hours- I painted my nails (the guys in the car next to me had a bong- sort of unnerving). Thankfully I had a big lunch with Morgan and Spencer beforehand so I wasn't starving when I finally arrived. We had a fun little sleepover and then got up early and got ready. I was able to attend the sealing of my friend which was really neat, I may have teared up a little. I spent the rest of the morning wishing I had different shoes and holding my bridesmaid's bouquet like a baseball bat.

I purposely did not set my alarm for church this morning and was a little late, the missionaries asked if they need to give me a wake up call to make sure I got there next week. I love my life and consider myself very lucky to be living it. I am almost always happy. My Wildcats are currently 14-0. I have homemade salsa in my refrigerator and a giant bag of chips. I still have to take down my Christmas/NYE tree but it will come in time. Arizona Baseball starts in 40 days. Life is Grand.