4th grade news and friends/food

So no video to post. We started on the video this past week but didn’t finish it. It’s going to be an on-going deal in which each kid – hopefully – gets a chance to work on it. They are so fired up about it.

In other 4th grade news, I’m now officially the teacher of just 23 kids. Whew. For the past two weeks, I’ve had 36 on my roster and in my class. It was exhausting work. I kept telling people, “I feel like I’m managing about 70% of the time and teaching about 30% of the time.” Oh, and there was the small matter of me getting burned out really quickly. But thankfully, another 4th grade teacher was hired and we’re all at about 23 per class. Yessss! Watch out Herzog 4th Graders, we’re about to take off and trust me, there’s no looking back.

I’ve got some ideas for what I want to ask for on Donors Choose. I might be asking for a projection unit of some sort that I can plug my computer into. I would love to start teaching using Mac’s equivalent to PowerPoint and would love to show kids websites, videos and play music. Hmm… But I’m also considering asking for just regular ol’ printing paper. That’s right, printing paper. We have to supply our own. Sigh. And do you know how much paper a teacher goes through each day? Yikes! I’m just two weeks in and I’ve spent way too much on printing paper. Still thinking how I can best use the incredible resource that is donorschoose.org.

And finally in school news, I really want to get a classroom pet of some sort. I’ve asked my Facebook friends what I should get and got all sorts of randomness. And while I welcome your smarta$$ comments here too, I would really like some practical wisdom here. This pet has to be low maintenance. I won’t be taking it home every weekend and neither will my students. Any ideas out there?

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A short list of what I’m missing about NYC:

1. Friends. I miss them dearly. I miss my CCFB family. I miss my neighborhood friends. I miss my friends from MCC. I miss my Y basketball buddies and my league teammates.

2. Food. I miss having great food around the corner; food that can be delivered to your front door at any hour of the day. I miss the Goat Cheese Pizza from Zaytoon’s, the burger from Bar Tabac and the Cheesesteak Sandwich from Cafe Luluc.

A short list of what I’m loving about The Lou:

1. Friends. There are some great people here that have welcomed us into their homes and showered us with their love. They’ve made this crazy transition seem not so crazy. I’m thankful for these folks and their hospitality.

2. Food. Okay, so I’m a sucker for a soft drink at Sonic, a sandwich at Chick Fil A and the crispers at Chili’s. Yeah, city friends, go ahead and roll your snobbish eyes. I can take it.

Filed under: Brooklyn, food, friends, teaching

i don’t know how

I just had the most amazing and profound conversation with Ira.

Ira – Dad, where Kay Kay and Pa Pa going?

Me – They’re going out to eat. And when they eat, they are going to chew their food and then swallow their food.

Ira – I don’t want to do that.

Me – Why?

[silence]

Me – Your friends do it.

Ira – Gavin?

Me – Yeah.

Ira – Dad, I need to tell you something.

Me – Yeah?

Ira – I don’t know how to do that.

Filed under: food, Ira

what's gonna become of this blog anyway?

That’s the question that I’ve been asked by two of my three readers. And the answer is, “I’m not sure.” My buddy, Kenny, is working on getting the scenary changed around here and it might (or might not) require me getting a new url but the question remains, Am I going to keep blogging after the move?

And that’s hard to answer because I haven’t really felt like blogging over the past couple of months. What blogs I have written are pretty sporadic and, if I’m honest with myself, uninteresting. And so we’ll have to wait and see if the move energizes me and gives me new material to write about. Another factor will be time.

This new Teach For America gig is pretty intense. The summer schedule alone is gonna knock my socks off so I’m guessing that with what free time I do have, I better give to Laura and the kids. I think they would appreciate that. That’s not to say that I won’t sneak in a blog or two late at night but it might get quiet around here for a while.

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I said a while back that I would blog about all the things I’m gonna miss about Brooklyn. That never really happened, did it? (See, I told you I wasn’t in the mood to blog.) But it’s happening now. And with pictures! Woo-hoo!

I’m gonna miss Broadway shows. Laura and I love musicals. We sing pretty much all the time around our house. For Ira’s fourth birthday, we used money that Glo/Gram gave us for Christmas and saw The Lion King. Thanks, Mom.

I’m gonna miss the Brooklyn Bridge. We drove over the bridge every day of our lives when Ira was in the hospital. And we’ve walked it countless times as well. I could dig pretty deep here and extrapolate some metaphors but I’ll refrain. (You’re welcome.) We walked the bridge a couple of weeks ago. Just a few tears were shed as we did.

I’m gonna miss going to games at Yankee Stadium. There’s nothing like it. Even in the new stadium, one can feel the ghosts of Mantle, Ruth, and others. This past weekend, Brian O’s dad treated us all to a game. We sat in some really sweet seats and ate all the free food we could get our hands on. The game was amazing as the Yanks rallied in the ninth and won the game. Yep, a few tears were shed as we all jumped up and down in hysterics over what we had witnessed. Brian and Tara, you guys will be missed. Mr. O, thanks for the game.

I’m gonna miss being at the center of it all. Whatever it is, it happens in NYC first. For example, Laura and I had the privilege of attending the premier of Loot, a documentary. Our friend, Anson, was the cinematographer for the film. HBO picked up the documentary and opened it at their headquarters this past weekend. Laura and I put on our NYC best (all black clothes) and headed to the HBO offices. It was a blast. And let me just say, the movie was incredible. Set your DVRs and record LOOT premiering on HBO2 on May 20 at 8 PM (ET).

And of course, there’s the people. There is our CCFB family who we will dearly miss. There are our literal, physical neighbors here on Hoyt St. that we will miss. There are our friends that we’ve made through Sophia and her peers who we will miss. There are my basketball buddies that I see and spend hours with several times a week who I will miss. There are the friends we’ve made through Ira and the hospital that we will miss. Of course, I don’t have a picture of all these people but you get the picture. More than places, things, or events, we will miss our friends.

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One last story to share with you. Tonight, I heard Ira tossing and turning in his bed. I went and laid by him. I never do this so he was taken by surprise. I put my arm around him and he suddenly became still. After a few seconds he laid his hand on my hand and whispered, “you my best friend.” I melted. He has my heart.

Filed under: basketball, Blogging, Brooklyn, CCfB, family, film, food, friends, Ira, Laura, moving, photos, relationships, Sophia, sports, Yankees

haven't you tried chocolate ice cream yet?

I’m sitting in the waiting room of the feeding clinic here in Paterson, NJ. I’m not sure which is more painful: sitting in a waiting room, trying to teach my son how to eat or the fact that I’m in Paterson, NJ. Paterson is the reason why NJ is unofficially known as The Armpit of the US. Yikes. Get me outta here.

When I tell people about Ira’s feeding issues and then explain to them how it is one learns to eat, I usually throw in some jokes so as to loosen up the conversation a bit. Jokes like, “Hey, I need to go to a feeding clinic where they’ll teach me how NOT to eat.” And the laughter ensues. But here’s the thing: in the end, it’s no joking matter.

At 9 a.m. mothers, fathers and caretakers converge upon the clinic with their kids in tow. The kids are not happy. Most of the time, they’re crying. Wailing, really. And we parents, we’re tough. We’re hardened by what life has thrown at us. And even then, we hard-nosed parents melt at the fearful tears that fall down the faces of our kids. We’re asking them to do something they want nothing to do with. This is a bit different than asking your kid to eat his broccoli; different than asking your kid to clean her room; different than telling your pre-teen to take out the trash. Those kids protest because, well, they’re kids and that’s what’s expected of them.

Ira and his feeding clinic peers don’t know how to eat. And they don’t want to know how. Some of them are scared of eating. Some of them don’t have the mental capacity to know how to eat. Some of them simply don’t want to bother with eating because they’re getting along just fine thanks to their g-tube. Okay, so maybe there is a measure of stubbornness at play for some of these kids but it’s a small part.

Today, I stood at the one way window watching Ira’s feeding session. There was much objecting on his part. He wasn’t alone in his protestations. From the other rooms I could hear crying, gagging, throwing up. Other parents (there are no nannies to be found in this scene) were watching their kids through one way windows. We all happened to look up and at each other at the same time. We all shared a common look that communicated the same thing: This is exhausting work but we are determined to do what we need to do for the sake of our children. Whatever it takes.

Filed under: food, Ira

time to eat

It was this time last year that we headed off to New Jersey to enroll Ira in, what we called, Eating School. (Laura blogged about our anticipation of the feeding clinic a year ago. You can find it here. I blogged about it here.) After four intensive weeks last May, Ira was able to eat pureed foods. We were overjoyed with Ira’s progress but that progress plateaued. Over the past year, Ira’s not moved beyond pureed foods. He still doesn’t know how to chew.

And so on Monday, we’ll head back over to lovely (please note that lovely is typed with sarcasm in mind) Paterson, New Jersey for another four intense weeks. My hope is that Ira can start to learn how to chew. However, our friend Jodi told Ira that if he started eating then I would take him to Disney World. Ira doesn’t easily forget promises made. Dang that Jodi!

Filed under: food, friends, Ira

is it bad?

Is it bad that Sophia was a little late to school this morning because she and I engaged in a dance-off to MIA’s Paper Planes?

Is it bad that I laughed very hard at the following 30 Rock dialog?

Jack: I’m sorry, what do you call yourself?
Elisa: Puerto Rican.
Jack. No, I know you can say that but what do I call you?
Elisa: Puerto Rican.
Jack: Wow. That does not sound right.

Is it bad that I like Vienna Sausage?

Is it bad that I want to stop getting David Plouffe’s e-mails?

Is it bad that I couldn’t wait for season three of FNL to play on NBC?

Is it bad that I’m already so over winter even though we’ve got at least two more months of cold weather?

Is it bad that I’m so over petty church arguments that expose just how far churches are in making a difference in this world?

Is it bad that I want to learn another language but know that I probably never will?

Is it bad that I like Kobe Bryant and want to see him do well?

Is it bad that I don’t yet have a Facebook account?

Is it bad that I sometimes wake up singing Get’Cha Head In The Game?

Filed under: church, comedy, faith, food, movies, sports, television, weather

trader who?

Okay my west coast friends, my Manhattan friends, and my midwest friends, someone explain to me the phenomenon that is Trader Joe’s. This Friday a Trader Joe’s will open up doors here in Brooklyn within a couple of blocks from where we live. Our neighbors are going crazy. People are leaving notes on the door of the soon to be grocer begging them to open sooner. You can’t help but overhear talk of it as parents wait to pick up their kids from school.

So what’s the deal? Low prices? Service? The selection? What?

Filed under: Brooklyn, food

my suburban daughter

It’s Sunday evening. Laura and I are both whipped from a long day. We start the dreaded, “What’s For Dinner?” conversation. It doesn’t take long to decide that we want someone else to prepare our food and clean up after we’re done. Sophia overhears the conversation and jumps in.

Sophia: Where are we going to eat?

Me: We don’t know yet.

Sophia: Um, how ’bout Chili’s?

I’m very confused at this point. I look at Laura. She, too, is completely confused.

Me: Sophia, you’ve never been to Chili’s. How is it that you know about Chili’s?

Sophia: Well in Lubbock, Jack said he wanted to eat at Chili’s. I want to eat at Chili’s.

Me: Sophia, I don’t even think NYC has a Chili’s.

Sophia: Oh. Okay.

Laura and I laugh. As I laugh, though, I start longing for those incredibly bad-for-you Chicken Crispers and the way over-salted and buttered corn on the cob. Like Sophia, I immediately want to go to Chili’s. However, it will have to wait. My hunch that there are no Chili’s restaurants in NYC is confirmed on their website, unless I want to drive out to JFK Airport. I don’t. And so we walk over to a neighborhood joint.

Filed under: Brooklyn, food, Laura, Sophia

hurry up already

I’ve been without Laura and the kids for over a week now. In their absence, I’ve stayed busy with work and social engagements of all sorts. I’ve eaten with someone every day since I got back from Texas on July 12. There’s nothing like sitting across a spread of food with someone breaking down the meaning of life. I, along with a couple of others from CCFB, took some steps toward concretizing our dream of a tutoring center. I stayed up way too late watching a movie (kiss kiss bang bang) with some guy friends I rarely get to see. And then got suckered by those guys into taking a 50 mile bike ride up to Nyack, NY and back. (Yes, my bottom still hurts. Ouch!) I met up with Laura’s younger brother in Times Square. And okay, I’ll admit it, I played a little XBox while the fam was away.

Mostly, I just missed Laura, Sophia and Ira. Even in the midst of the business, I was well aware that I was not my complete self without my family nearby. I’ll be glad when that plane touches down today. It can’t come soon enough.

Filed under: CCfB, church, education, family, film, food, friends, gaming, home, Ira, Laura, movies, Sophia, sports, travel

questions that make you go, hmm

Is throwing a banana peel or an apple’s core out the car window littering?

It’s not rhetorical people, bring it.

Filed under: ethics, food