Crazy Mona and Hubba Bubba

Oh Ms. Mona and Mr. Bubba...Maybe they shouldn't even be in the same sentence since they do spend their day in separate halls...ummm...These two wonderful people are the Custodians of our school.  If there's one person you want to be your friend, it is the custodian of your school.  No matter what your relationship to the school is, those two KNOW what's going on all over the building and with everybody in the building.  They are not "busybodies"  even though believe me they are very BUSY.  They just know what's going on because they SEE everything.  For instance, if I think a child is trying to pull the wool over my eyes about being sick, Bubba can tell me exactly how many trips the kid has made to the bathroom and whether or not they made it.  Now I know that sounds bad, but this is helpful information...especially on test days.  Mona can tell me who's mad at who and who I better watch out for.  If they are after me, I can count on Mona...she's got my back like white on rice!  They are my FRIENDS.  I know Mona is my friend because as I said she watches out for me, she picks up pencils in the hall for me (or sweeps them by my door), she makes sure my room is ready to start the day EVERYDAY.  I think Bubba is my friend because he likes to pick on me.  Most times if you don't like someone you leave them alone.  Bubba may have issues, but he's MY friend!!!  All this leads me to my problem.  A week ago, late one evening, while I was putting grades in my computer, I saw a little brown furry (dare I say it) mouse run across my floor.  I almost...well you can imagine.  I HATE those things.  Anyway, next morning I quickly found Mona and told her.  Just as quickly to my rescue she put out a "sticky" thing.  Bubba laughed.  He said, "You won't catch it and if you do I've got plenty more where that one came from."  See I told you, he's my friend.  He's trying to imply he put it in there because he knows I'm TERRIFIED of those things.  Anyway, today I noticed there was something that looked like some fur on one corner of the "sticky" thing.  So I had one of my trusted students, a brave young lad, go to the back and investigate.  He reported that yes indeed it was fur.  I asked Mona if maybe she'd caught the rodent and trashed it.  But she said no, she had noticed that the fur was there but she guessed it got off.  OH NO!!!  To this remark Bubba just laughed, took off his hat revealing a bald streak running the full length of his round head and said, "So if you see a mouse again, take a good look and see if he looks like this."  That Bubba, he is my friend.  Mona's going to set a trap for him!!!

Mona is cool!!!

Bubba is a ummmm, now what rhymes with cool???

Just kidding Bubba, you are my FRIEND!!!

Understanding the Rules

A friend of mine and Ken's, much older in years and wisdom, use to say to us all the time when the children were very young, "Yes siree, before you get those youngins raised, you're going to know what a circus is all about!"  And he was right.  The good news is we're still on that circus ride, now we just get to ride it vicariously and sometimes straight up with the twelve grandchildren...and sometimes their parents...Today's story is about reflections I've made about my own way of doing things based on my granddaughter Anne-Claire. 
Anne-Claire and I both love the rules.  Doesn't matter what we're doing, we want to know what the rules are first.  How do we win?  How do we stay out of trouble?  How do you want the job done?  We want to make sure we understand on the ground floor.  What has amazed me in my personal life is how well I've been able to understand the rules, abide by the rules and stretttttchhhh the rules to fit me like a warm winter glove.  Anne-Claire can do this extremely well.  She truly desires to understand the rules and abide by them, and bless her heart has already learned to adapt them...
Anne-Claire is in Kindergarten; she is Ben and Ashley's second born.  They live in northwest Arkansas.
Everyone that lives in Fayetteville knows how COLD this winter has been.  Anne-Claire might have been born in Bentonville, Ark., but she's got a warm Louisiana heart.  She gets cold..She and her older sibling, Riggs, attend a private school that is pretty doggone prestigious...The school is touted as one of the best.  They are in school uniforms and each blouse, shirt, hoodie, sweater,etc. bears the school insignia proudly.  One freezing cold day this winter, some of the parents were visiting the K class for a short program.  One mother had brought a younger child still in his footed pajamas.  Anne-Claire and some of her little girl friends sat near the feet of this mother and young child.  She overheard their conversation.  It went something like this...
Anne-Claire's Friend:  "I wish I could wear footed pjs to school."  Others ooohed, ahhhed, ummmed and agreed.
Anne-Claire:  "We probably could, we just gotta get that patch sewed on!"
See there that's what I mean!  Understand the rule and STREEEETTTCH the rule.  That baby is brilliant and with footed pjs in the classroom her journey would be a lot snugglier and warmer!