The Adventures of Koziolster and his merry clan of meshugenah's

The Recent Going's On

2008-02-25T10:01:00.010-05:00

The bath monkeys are having a good time in the tub!

The monkey's also like hanging out in bed. Well, Jason might like it more than Wesley. Wesley was abruptly awoken from his nap by the Jason-ater! For those of you know don't know Jason that well....it is nearly impossible to sleep when he is in bed!

On the slopes....

The boy is so serious about his skiing!!!

Wesley Has Been Promoted To The "Advanced Group!"

2008-02-16T13:37:00.007-05:00

Today was a joyous day. Wesley got to ski on the "big run" with the good 4-6 year old skiers. This gives us lots of nachas!!

Otherwise, everyone is doing well on the home front. Jason has recently taken the snuggle approach with Fifi. From the looks of it she is still contemplating whether or not she enjoys this up close and personal attention. However, Jason, as you can see, is quite comfortable! As you can see, Fifi and Ar-fur have become best of buddies. In fact, we oftentimes find them snuggled up next to each other. Such a cute little feline couple. They had a nice Valentines Day! I think every day is Valentines day for them!

The Boy is skiing on his own!

2008-02-09T14:19:00.000-05:00

Yep folks mama and papa are very proud of our little skier man! I have been taking him to ski lessons at Cochran's ski hill in Richmond, VT. Today Wesley (The Shred-i Captain) graduated from skiing with a harness and edgie wedgie. He is now skiing on his own. We're quite proud. See for yourself!

On another note...I just received my diploma. I now hold a Masters in the Arts of Education with a focus in cross categorical special education. Check it out!

The Recent Goings On...

2008-01-30T21:57:00.000-05:00

And now some pictures of our turkey's! I was on my way to Smuggs when I saw a flock of turkey's! Kind of neat!

Here is a photo from our recent trip to the ECCO center in Burlington...

The dudes are chillin' on the couch with a frosty dairy beverage!!!

Lil' Skiiers!!!

2008-01-21T22:50:00.001-05:00

Howdy Everyone! The winter is going well. I have started my training regiment for the Burlington City Marathon. Oy Vey is right! So, this past Saturday, Sarah, Gracie, Theresa and Wesley journeyed up to SMUGGS for some skiing. Here are some photos of the two young rippers in the family. Someone has to carry on the legacy and wear a helmet!! Enjoy!

A random grouping of pictures from the past few months...

2008-01-06T22:21:00.001-05:00

The Kitties

2008-01-06T22:16:00.000-05:00

Today around, 10:15, we took Jason and Wesley for a snowshoe hike. Naturally, Rosie (our dog) joined the pack. However, today we were also accompanied by Fifi Kitty. She hiked around through the deep snow in the back of the house. I love this cat. She is a dog! Fifi has a buddy named Arfer. Here are some pictures of the kitties snuggling in various areas of the house (including Jason's crib!).

Sweet Skiing...

2008-01-06T22:08:00.000-05:00

Here is some footage of yours truly skiing down a back country run near Smuggler's Notch, VT. This was one of the finer early morning weekend father's ski adventure. I am extremely grateful for this time on skis early in the morning. Without these excursions, I would be freakin' out about right now!!!

Crocodile Done-die

2007-12-09T20:07:00.000-05:00

Yep Folks. I am now (almost) officially titled MaEd. So, I best be gettin' some damnnned respect, ok? Ok! After two plus long years, I am finished with my masters degree in special education!! I am about to brag a little bit! My GPA is 3.92. Hell Yeah!! Considering my past academic success, this is HUGE!

Completed Courses (click on the grades below to view your official grade card)

Course	Title	CR	Start	End	Instructor	Grade
COM/516	PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATIONS	1.00	11/15/2005	12/05/2005	JEFFERY OSHNOCK	A-
MAT/501	THE ART AND SCIENCE OF TEACHING	2.00	01/03/2006	01/30/2006	JAMES LOTHSCHUTZ	A-
MAT/505	CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT	3.00	01/31/2006	03/13/2006	ANGELA FOSTER	A-
MAT/509	MODELS, THEORIES, AND INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES	2.00	03/21/2006	04/17/2006	DENNIS VANASSE	A
MAT/561	ACTION RESEARCH	3.00	05/16/2006	06/26/2006	THADDEUS SKOWRON	A-
SPE/504	ORIENTATION TO THE EXCEPTIONAL CHILD	3.00	07/11/2006	08/21/2006	KATY ROUSSOS	A
SPE/506	SPECIAL EDUCATION METHODS	3.00	08/29/2006	10/09/2006	ANNETTE LAMBETH	A
SPE/512	SPECIAL EDUCATION ASSESSMENT AND INTERPRETATION	3.00	10/10/2006	11/20/2006	KELLY DAVIS	A
SPE/521	CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNING DISABILITIES	3.00	11/28/2006	01/22/2007	WENDY FARR	A
SPE/531	CHARACTERISTICS OF MR & DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES	3.00	02/13/2007	03/26/2007	LEAANN NASH	A
SPE/544	CHARACTERISTICS OF EMOTIONAL & BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS	3.00	03/27/2007	05/07/2007	SONJA NELSON	A
SPE/556	CHARACTERISTICS OF PHYSICAL & HEALTH DISABILITIES	3.00	05/08/2007	06/18/2007	PATRICIA AXTELL	A
SPE/579	INCLUSION STRATEGIES FOR THE SPECIAL EDUCATOR	3.00	06/19/2007	07/30/2007	JEAN BOUIE	A
SP-TED/582	SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENT TEACHING:CROSS CATEGORICAL, PART I	4.00	08/28/2007	10/08/2007	KATHY RICHEY	A

What Teacher's Make and other great poems on You Tube...(Taylor Mali)

2007-11-20T22:27:00.000-05:00

This poet named Taylor Mali came to literacy day @ Essex Middle School. He was funny, inspiring and a great poet. Check out his stuff on You Tube. I am not sure how to post these videos on my site...so, here is a link!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCNIBV87wV4&feature=related

Snow Rideeeeeeeeeeeee

2007-11-20T12:14:00.000-05:00

Great ride! I really need to seek out a 2.3-ish set of studded tires! Riding in the snow is such a slower different feel on a bike. I hope I was able to properly upload the vid. If not, here are a couple snaps I took during the ride.

Yiddish

2007-11-20T08:46:00.000-05:00

I grew up hearing the Yiddish language from my grandparents and father. So, many of the words and phrases are in my head. They are fun to say and use in context! Enjoy this list of fun Yiddish words commonly found in the English spoken and written language!

Common Yiddish Words…

	Definition	Sample Use
· bob(kes)	beans, nothing	He gave me babkes.
· bobe	a "tall" story	That story was no bobbe myse.
· farkatk(e)	lousy, ridiculous	That's a facacta idea.
· farklempt	bummed out, bad mood	She looks very ferklempt.
· farbisine	bitter	Don't be so forbissima.
· farblondzhet	all mixed up	I got all furblungit.
· gey shlofn	go to sleep	Gay schloffing!
· gelt	money	I got a lot of gelt for Hanukah.
· goyim	non-Jewish people	The place was full of goyim.
· glik	happiness	Glick in the office makes for glick in the home.
· golem	clumsy and sluggish	The guy I work with is a real golem.
· goyish(e)	mind of a goyim	He's got a real goyishke kup.
· handl	bargain (verb)	If you handel long enough, you'll get a good price.
· kakameyme	crazy	He's got cacamaimey ideas.
· khalishes	ugly	That tablecloth is chalcious.
· khazer	a pig	He eats like a chaza.
· khazeray	junk	The dollar store is full of chazarai.
· khutspe	unmitigated gall	Oy, you have got a lot of khutspe!
· khokhme	bright idea	That's a real good chochmeh.
· kholem	dream	That's a cholem of a house!
· khutspe	nerve	She has a lot of chutzpah to talk like that!
· kibitz	to meddle	She likes to kibbutz with everyone at the office
· kunts	an accomplishment	It was a real koontz to finally reach you on the phone.
· kreftik	hearty	That is some kreftig soup!
· kvel	to glow with pride	Oy, I could kvell watching those kids in the play
· kvetsh	complainer	Don't be such a kvetch.
· landtslayt	from your home town	They are luntslite.
· luftmentsh	dreamer	He's a real luftmensch when it comes to working hard!
· makheteyneste	in laws	My makatenista are coming.(male= mkhutn)
· mazl-tov	congratulations	Mazel tov on the new baby.
· mekhaye	particularly delicious	That dinner was a mechaya
· mentsh	a nice gentleman	He was such a mensch.
· meshugine	crazy person	He acts like a real meshungina.
· meyvin	connoisseur	She's quite the mavin when it comes to wine.
· miskayt	ugly	The daughter is a real meeskite.
· mishigas	craziness	What kind of mishigas is that?
· mishpokhe	family	Bring the whole mishpacha.
· mitsve	a good deed	That was a real mitzvah you did.
· mamzer	born out of wedlock	He's a mumza.
· megile	a long story	I had to sit and and listen to the whole megillah
· metsiye	bargain (noun)	That store has a great metziah onshoes.
· mezumen	cash	I have to borrow some mezuma from the bank.
· mishmash	hodge-podge	There's a whole mishmash of words here.
· nebekh	little nerd	He is such a nebish.
· nakhes	joy	I get such nachas from putting these words down.
· nosh	to eat a little something	I was noshing all morning.
· nosher	nibbler	I'm a nosher all morning long.
· nudnik	pest	Stop being a nudnick and leave me alone!
· ongepatsht	a little too much	That outfit is a little ongapatchka
· pisk	big mouth	Let's hope he doesn't open up that pisk.
· plats	burst	You'll laugh until you plotz.
· pupik	belly button	You could see her pupick.
· shlekht	bad	That restaurant is generally schlecht
· shlemil	dope, fool	He's a real schlemiel - always screwing up!
· shmendrik	fool	The kid is a real schmendrick
· shnorer	beggar	That guy is a real schnorrer.
· shiker	drunkard	That shicker has had too much to drink.
· shlep	to drag	I had to schlep it across town.
· shmendrek	jerk	He's a real schmendrick.
· shviger	mother in law	The schvigger is coming.
· shvitsn	sweating	Oy, am I schvitzing. (note: the ending"ing" is an English ending, in Yiddish: I shvits, you shvitst, he/sheshvitst, we/they shvitsn, you in plural shvitsn, you in polite versionshvitst
· sheygets	non-Jewish male	She married a shagitz.
· sheyner ponim	pretty face	Oh, shayna punim.
· shikse	non-Jewish female	He's going out with a shikse.
· shlemazl	unlucky person	The poor schlemazel had his car stolen.
· shmates	rags	Your cloths look like shmatas.
· shmuz	dirt	It's covered with schmootz.
· shpilkes	nervous energy	I had shpilkes before the interview.
· shtik	routine	So, that's his shtick.
· treyf	non-kosher	That food is trafe.
· tokhes	tush	I'll pinch your tuchis.
· tumul	noise, confusion	there's a lot of tuml coming from the kid's rooms
· tsures	troubles	That car gives me nothing but tzorress!
· tsibele	onion	It will taste better if you spice it up with some tzibeleh.
· utzing	needling, bothering	Stop utzing me.
· zay gezundt	bless you	(when you sneeze)

My Son The Future NHL Hopeful!

2007-11-20T08:04:00.000-05:00

Wesley has been taking hockey classes in Winooski. He has come a long way in his short career as a NHL hopeful. I have a lot of fun playing with him on the ice, The only problem with hockey is the complaints I hear about hockey parents. Apparently, hockey families are booked throughout hockey season with hockey games across the state and hockey tournaments. We have fun skating though. Wesley does, however, take some huge spills on his bottom. Well, actually, there is another problem. His last name doesn't quite fit the mold of an NHL star. I am considering changing his name to Wesley Kovales, Heyduke or Milichich.

Working backwards....Halloween was a lot of fun. Just in case you're not familiar with these two characters, we had Batman on the right and Robin on the left. They were cute.

...and finally, Friday marked my last day as a student teacher @ Essex Middle School. All I can say is that this is the school where I want to work! However, I need to go out into the big bad world and refine some of my skills. Mainly I need to get better with IEP goal writing, testing and interpretation and all the legal duties of a special educator. Nothing huge...Just some good ol' experience.