Had this been a real emergency...

I dreamt least night that our house was haunted by a ghost who kept opening the front sliding doors and letting in a lot of cold air.

How annoying.

So, my hubby and I initiated an exorcism. We said prayers, and I, in my most commanding voice, demanded that the spirit leave. I called down the power of the almighty and told that ghost to go in the name of God.

Then God spoke.

And God was like, "Mary, I can't believe you bothered me for this."

...

Oops. Sorry, God. I didn't actually think you were listening.

Oy, with the snow already.

Today? Today I hit the proverbial snowy ceiling. How do I know? I cleaned. That's how.

I cleaned the bathroom; like, scrubbed the grout cleaned. Like, washed the walls cleaned. Like, stir-crazy cabin fever cleaned.

I made my hubby help me with laundry.

I must confess that I'd fallen into a "wash what we need" rut recently (recently, like, forever). As a result, I was forced to admit today that stockpiling dirty clothes is not, in fact, the secret to surviving the coming apocalypse. No more socks doubling as insulation. No more "dry-clean only" dresses squirreled away for use as currency when the end times come. If the gold standard gives way to the well-seasoned cotton/poly blend standard, then the joke's on me.

Alright. Enough about my literal and figurative dirty laundry. Suffice it to say, we got a lot done.

I'm happy to have taken care of so many of the items lingering on my to-do list. But, I have to admit, the fact that there are less than 15 teaching days between my class and the start of the CMT season has me a little freaked out.

Things I'd like to mention to my kiddos before they take 'em:

fractions (equivalent fractions, adding and subtracting fractions with like denominators)

long division (two digits by one digit, but still, if you haven't seen it, you haven't seen it)

forming compound sentences (conjunction junction, what's your function?)

Things I'd like one or two more chances to cram down their cute little craws:

elaboration (if I hear, "I'm done," one more time during a writing lesson, I'll cry)

framing a written response to a question ("Yes, I would." is not a sufficient response. No, it's not.)

returning to the text for support before choosing an answer

reading a question carefully (Want to stump a fourth grader? Ask 'em to identify an idea that's NOT supported by the text)

Ugh. I'm going to quit writing that list. That one's too depressing.

Anyhoo, back to the triumphs of the day. The good news is, there's plenty of laundry left to wash tomorrow, when the snow that's currently blasting its way through the midwest arrives.