The two most amusing moments from teaching the third graders yesterday are as follows:

Me: And this is a crayfish found by a student a few weeks ago.

Girl: Who was it?

Me: I don't know. I don't even remember what school it was.

Girl: Well, was it a boy or a girl?

Me: It doesn't matter.

Girl: Oh, 'cause I was just gonna say if a girl found it, then that's cool, because girls are smart and cool.

Me: Boys are smart and cool, too. Boys and girls are smart and cool.

Girl: Boys and girls are smart. Girls are smart and cool.

Hee hee!

We then switched stations and I taught the same things to the next group of kids...

Me: And this is a crayfish exoskeleton. We humans have what's called an endoskeleton because our skeleton is inside our bodies. An exoskeleton is --

Boy (interrupting me): We know what an exoskeleton is. We're not second graders!

Oh my god! Can you believe that?! The second they left, I blurted out to the other teachers, "You'll never guess what this kid said today!"

That cracks my ass up...

Afterwards, I took my sticky, sweaty self on over to the wildlife museum. As I drove, I held the wheel with various fingers at a time, while saying, "Ah! Eeek! Ouch!" in an attempt not to burn my digits right off. It was hotter than hades, as my mom always used to say. And it sucked! Fun day, though. Sweet, well behaved, curious students. Crappy weather. I hate the heat. Seriously.

So I got to the wildlife museum and tried to concentrate enough to come up with lesson plans for my next two classes. Somehow, I actually did it. Nina helped a lot. I love her! And she had a class that afternoon, too. I asked if I could sit in, because I love seeing how other teachers teach. But more than that, I love our museum's desert tortoise, and she was part of Nina's class! Nina happily agreed, so after I got a few forms I needed to fill out, I came down and observed her class. The age range is 5-9 year olds, and the class is called Green Thumbs. Well, knowing nothing about flowers personally, I found the class not only enjoyable but educational, too! They talked about parts of the flower, and then she talked about edible flowers. The kids were all smiley and having fun drawing and answering questions. One little girl in particular, with pig tails, and a really endearing smile, just brightened my day. She was so cute! And nothing quite makes me want children more than seeing sweet little 5 year old girls. Part of me just sighs and says, "I want a daughter!" and then I tell myself to be quiet because that sure as heck ain't happening anytime soon! Maybe someday, though...

Nina said we could all eat the edible flowers she brought in, so I thought, "What the hell? Never done that before!" I ate a rose petal and a nasturtium. And dude, the nasturtium? Spicy! A spicy flower!! What is up with that? The rose petal was sweet at first, then immediately bitter. This helper girl who was assisting in Nina's class told me that you can apparently bake rose petals right into cakes, and if you add egg whites and sugar to them, they're quite tasty. I have honestly never, ever thought of putting flowers in cakes or in salads, for that matter, but according to these flower-savvy people, it's the thing to do. Well, okay then! Man. I learn something new every day!

Nina's students and I had fun watching the desert tortoise eat flowers, grapes, corn, carrots, and lettuce leaves. I love watching the way her muscles move and how fast she snaps food in her mouth, even though she moves her head around so slowly. Sometimes I look at how animals are built and am just awed by the variety of body types and structures all over the world. So many species, so many various styles of movement, vocalizations, defense mechanisms, colorations. It's... apparently, it's enough to render me speechless.

After Nina's class, I prepared for my own, wrote out my live animal requests and my class outlines, and turned them both in. Then I chatted with Nina about her guide dog puppy in training for a little while before heading home.

My allergies had gotten all crazy in the morning, so I took half a Zyrtec, and by the time I got home, I was wiped out! I felt very goofy and sleepy. Joe and I hung out for a while and watched some t.v. together. After we ate, it wasn't long before I crashed on the couch. Joe kept trying to wake me up, but in my super sleepy state, I kept trying to roll over on the couch and go back to sleep! I did eventually wake up enough to hear Joe's voice saying, "Meg, just go to bed." And that's just what I did!

Today I'm back to caring for Victor. He's napping as I type. He is so cute when he's sleeping! We just got back from the park, where he had lots of fun pushing various trucks and things around. It's weird to see kids of all ages, sizes, and activity levels. One little girl was six months older than Vic, about a head shorter than him, and still not walking. She crawls really fast, though! Her mom seemed kind of bummed out that she's a "late walker." I think it's cool each kid develops at his/her own pace. When Victor starts walking, I'm sure I'll have my hands even more full than they are now! He can crawl as long as he wants to!

It was fun talking to the other ladies there and enjoying the nice breeze. It's pretty overcast today, actually, and most everyone was in long sleeves because of the chill. One woman said sadly, "Yep, this is summer in Berkeley." I'm not sad, though. The sky is multiple shades of grey, and as the wind gently blows around us, it blows up above, too, allowing the sun to peek out at us before new clouds move over it again. Especially after the crazy heat from yesterday, I welcome the clouds and cool air with open arms. It's a beautiful day, really, and for that, I'm quite happy.