Back in Winnipeg and...

I got bit by a mosquito the minute I crossed the border.
I had a wood tick on me yesterday.

Schools out for Summer

Thursday was my last day!!! I thought I would cry, I didn't. My students annoyed me and I was sort of glad to say bon voyage. Cleaned my classroom, went for a mani and a pedi, packed my house, packed my car, and hit the road. I threw the cats in the car and proceeded to drive the 14 hours up to Dutchville, Montana. That's where I am now. I am in culture shock. Lots of white people, not so used to that. Oh and there is grass. I haven't seen grass in 10 months.

Do animals have belly buttons?

Stella (the cat) jumps from the couch to the floor, trots over to where Erin is and rubs herself on Erin's leg. Erin, down on her haunches, starts to pet Stella, and Stella rolls on to her back. Erin is stroking Stella's belly and gazing at her lovely fur. She out of no where poses the question - "do cats have belly buttons?" My mind starts to race, comparing the 50 cats I have had in my life, then I jump to dogs, then to calves. No belly buttons my memory is telling me. I pretty much freak out imagining all these animals with belly buttons, its just a creepy thought, and then think - how could I never have noticed this. "It has to be true," Erin says, "they have umbilical cords. How else do they get nutrients from their mother?" Cara says cats have inverted nipples - easy access inside the womb. We all chuckle. Erin is convinced they do, and starts to probe Stella's belly. We argue back and forth, Erin throwing out all her big biology major words. I say there is no fricken way they have a belly button - who cuts the umbilical cord. Erin gets her DNA studying, John Hopkins student, boyfriend, future husband, Dr. Nick on the phone. Dr. Nick says they have umbilical cords and he belives belly buttons too. I again get a visual of umbilical cords hanging out of a cat to her litter of kittens. I ask Dr. Nick, now on speaker phone, "so its like 6 tentacles just hanging out of the va-j-j?" Dr. Nick says yah. Erin says that the mother eats the cord. I am getting sicked out. In the mean time Kim (the computer addic) has pulled up a web site and is reading... It turns out cats are placental animals (as well as whales, elephants, armadillos, cats, dogs, sheep...), and do have a belly button. It is in the same area as humans, and is only just a slight scar, covered by fur. They are born in a sac, and have an umbilical cord. Go figure.

The week at a glance...

That is a recent picture of Banks, Stella, and I. They are so huge.

Thing around here are pretty good. I took my class on a field trip to the zoo in Albuquerque on Tuesday. That was an interesting experience. Its a two hour bus ride and the little ones did pretty well considering. We saw some sweet animals, their favorites were the komodo dragon, baby giraffe, hippo (only cause he "toots and poops"), and the green tree python. I have never seen kids so excited.

As I was changing our class calendar to May, my students ask why is there a special day sticker on that day. I proceeded to tell them that that is the last day of school. Then they would get the whole month of June and July off and then come back to school in August. They were thoroughly disgusted that they wouldn't be allowed to come to school all summer, but were happy that they would get to come back again in August. Then I pissed them off even more when I told them well they would be going to second grade and have a new teacher. The whines and groans were deafening. " We don't want another teacher, we don't want to go to second grade..." Nice to know I am wanted! They are pretty cute little buggers and I don't really want them to leave either.

I am supposed to be arriving in Denver right about now to visit some friends. I was on my way last night when my gas pedal broke. That's right just stopped working while I am flying down the interstate. Thank goodness I was only 30 miles outta Gallup. Got a tow truck and am now safe and sound. They can't get the part in till next week. Poo. Very disappointing. So I took today off for nothing. Well at least I went for a manicure and a pedicure. It made me feel a little bit better.