jennifer patel

I have never been in trouble at school. Ever. In 6th grade I wrote a note to my friend, Melissa, during reading class and passed it to her. As a teacher now, it's funny to think back and question why I would ever think I could get away with that. Everything about note writing and passing is so obvious. It was taken up and Mrs. Burns read it aloud. It said something to the effect of, "Hey Melissa, What's up? What are you doing this weekend? blah blah blah blah" I was so embarrassed and that was enough. That is the closest to trouble I ever made. Last Tuesday was a landmark day that changed the course of my spotless school/work record. I was sent home from school at 10:00 A.M. for insubordination and disrespect. The incident took place around 7:15 A.M. and lasted approximately 20-25 seconds. Obviously I cannot go into details or commentary on a public forum but I was defending my students. I know I was right. I handled it 98.99% appropriately. But regardless... ...

This is the first year in awhile that we didn't brave the crowds for the Rangers home opener. We waited until the next night to go and stayed the whole game! Alex, though he cheered for literally anyone batting, seemed more interested this year in what was happening. Maybe there is hope yet. We stayed for fireworks and the Rangers won. It might be one of the only times we witness a win this year. They are back to the old days where you could leave your house at 6:30, park, buy tickets, and make it to your seats by the National Anthem. I only know half the team, but we are still so happy it's finally baseball season!

Originally written 4/8/15 I sweat easily. And a lot. At A&M I would be so hot and sweaty by the time I got to class in Harrington, I would have to pretend like I was finishing up notes or looking for something in my backpack at the end of class while I waited for most people to leave because I knew that when I got out of that black, plastic chair, I was going to see my sweaty butt outline on the seat and the outline of my back on the backrest. We've now entered the phase of Spring I call, "Gosh, I'm hot" which is this constant state of me feeling too warm, lasting from mid April until I am used to it in June. I'm shinier, my hair is crazier, and I am constantly checking the temperature of the house wondering why how I feel doesn't match the number on the thermostat. I got my hair blown out last night by my new favorite stylist, Sarah. She really understood my needs and took in to account humidity using just the right amount of produc...

Am I robbing my kid of wonderful childhood experiences that other children are having in 2015? Is my laziness out of line? More importantly, is it affecting his future health both physical and emotional? I know the answer to all of these questions is maybe no, but these are the things that have made me feel bad for Alex recently. Then I moved on with my life. 1. Birthday Parties In addition to reading mostly celebrity trash, I also read blogs. Not blogs from credited news people/journalists that are keeping me up to date on worldly events and issues...just blogs. Like mine. They are of no consequence to anyone but themselves and a handful of close friends and family (and fangirls like myself). There are some wonderful parents out there doing really awesome stuff for their kids when it comes to their birthday bashes! May you bottle up a fraction of that energy and send it my way! Educational AND fun! This is what 3 should have looked like...' Thanks, Obama ' ...

Last week after I picked Alex up, I got pulled over by Dallas police. I can honestly say I didn't know why and thought maybe passing a bus was illegal. It wasn't a school bus...just a hospital shuttle and it hadn't quite stopped yet, but it was going to and I hurriedly passed it so I didn't have to look for "pedestrians." (yes, "I know") I've come up with a few easy steps that might get you out of a ticket: 1. When the policeman has his lights on to pull you over, pick the right spot. Obviously, you can't stop on the side of a busy street with no shoulder, so just drive up to the light. Instead of going straight at the light, after waiting forever for it to turn green, to a building and its parking lot, turn left and drive down the street half a mile before deciding that the building and parking lot you've chosen to be pulled over in is identical to the one half a mile back but definitely better. 2. Make sure Pandora stat...

Alex really doesn't ask for stuff at stores. When we're at Target, he'll ask to look at the toys, but when he says he wants something, I say, maybe at the next big celebration like Christmas or the Pope's birthday...or your next birthday. Right now, he seems okay with that. One day we were at Home Depot, and we went looking for birdseed to do a project. Next to the birdseed, there was a bird bell...this birdseed stuck together with some kind of sugar stuff in the shape of a bell that you could hang. Alex asked for it. I started to explain that we were already going to make bird feeders with the birdseed, but almost immediately I was also enamored with the idea of the bird bell, so I cut myself short of my long-winded explanation and said sure.     As we were driving home, I started thinking of the squirrels and how they were probably going to demolish this thing. After the ice melted from our snow days, I got the ladder out and hung the bell as far down f...

I am not very funny in person (maybe not even in writing) because I'm not quick witted and I easily succumb to "the pressure"; Take that however you will.  I'm shy and quiet, but not too quiet...like an awkward interjection of weird comments and then genuine laughing at my own comments and then eerie quiet. I emotionally flood(?) very quickly. I will think of a clever (or just really mean) comeback a week after a conversation.  I do, however, love to laugh. I try and surround myself with the funniest and most entertaining people in the room so that I can smile and laugh until my face and gut hurt.* I have the funniest friends on the planet.   *That's not actually entirely true. In groups of strangers, somehow I find the saddest, most talkative people who will immediately accept me and let me console them. As I pretend to listen to them talk, I watch the funny people and laugh from outside the circle. <insert pathetic emoji here> A fantas...

I told myself that I would not post about our snow day today, especially since we just had snow days last week (documentation in post: Snapshot(s): Winter ). But today was way more fun than our days off last week because it was sunny and there was no rain. I really showed some self-restraint and did not post hourly on Facebook. The day started out with a mystery...and a thankful prayer to God that we were not murdered in the night because I definitely left the garage door open last night WITH the light on. It was a beacon of temptation all night for anyone wandering around in the rain/sleet/wind/snow. Someone did pay us a visit though. After a thorough investigation of the evidence and a lot of thinking, V concluded that a small animal (he's hoping a baby fox...I'm hoping a tiny shoe maker) wandered in our garage sometime between the hours of 6 PM, when I made it home and walked in NOT closing the garage door, and whenever it stopped snowing. This is supported...

It was that magical week in February when we got to miss school because of weather. Some people dislike missing school because we lose our bad weather make-up days later in the spring. I used to be one of those people, but not anymore. I hope we have a surprise freeze in April and miss a whole week! Ironically, these photos were all taken on a day when we actually had school. We did not get out early in my district, but the other surrounding cities left at noon and the metroplex could not even handle themselves on the roads. It took V 3 hours to get Alex and bring him home. I will never understand how we are unprepared for this weather each year. It literally happens every February, and yet there still are reports of sand, truck and plow shortages. On the actual two days of school we missed, it was icy (kind of) in the mornings, but then cleared up nicely in the late morning. So even though we get zero breaks after spring break until the end, it's always nice to ha...

We made our own Angry Birds set up for Alex's family birthday party. I remember trying to spray paint a huge refrigerator box with spray paint for his 2nd birthday. It took way too much spray paint. So instead of spray paint, I bought reject wall paint from Home Depot. It was cheaper than the cost of spray paint, and while a little more time consuming, did the job with one coat. We found green and red balls at the 4th Wal-Mart we visited. I think even Alex realizes how thankful he should be that we always go to Target instead of Wal-Mart. Even in Southlake, Texas where the money floweth over, there were some weridos at Wal-Mart. I guess it's barely in Southlake, more in Colleyville, but whatever... "Can you believe this huge card is only $3.00?!" shouted a woman checking out before us as she grabbed a candy bar from the display and started eating it. The Valentine's Day card was the size of a folded poster board and yes, I judged the hell out of her. ...