Happy Birthday to ME!

Thank you to my children for the WONDERFUL handmade cards, to my dear, wonderful, husband for the generous spa gift card and very sweet card, and to all my family and friends who have called or emailed with nice birthday wishes!

I got everything I wanted!

Feedback Please

A group of coworkers all agree that they want to do something together, say, sponsor a needy family or two. Then, one person becomes the point person. That one person is always the point person, but has made a point of asking for more help on previous projects. This project, she doesn't ask for help specifically, but hints at needing it. She gets marginal assistance, more than usual, so clearly the coworkers got the hint. She ends up taking care of every detail and planning point her damn self! No one even checks to see if it's getting done. They just don't ever think about it, or let her know they've thought about it.

Can she be mad?

If you scream at a tree in the woods, will it fall down on your least favorite coworker?

What a day

Today, I have to attend a wake. I didn't ever meet the deceased, but I teach her son.

This week, 3 children ages 12, 7, and 1 lost a mother to cancer.

Tonight I will go home and hug my children until they scream and run away from me, just because I can.

Today, I strongly dislike my...

1. Job
2. Co-workers
3. Location
4. Sinuses
5. Pants
6. Boss

Brianna won't let me say hate because it's a "bad word". Which I suppose is something I taught her... because it's something my grandma taught me.

I am trying to find joy in...

1. The holiday season
2. My loving family
3. My work schedule
4. I am alive to be mad and feel pain.

Please enjoy the music while your party is reached...

There's no music, just a lack of "party" aka- Me- to be reached.

What if that silly cell phone music just played forever?

Flack Gobbler Palin

A blog I read, sent me to This, and I found out that if I were Sarah Palin's daughter, Flack would be my name!

Adam would be Ammo Canal Palin.
Brianna would be Crop Shooner Palin.
Grant would be Tape Boise Palin.

I thought it was pretty funny.
What is your "Palin Name"?

I'm not so sure...

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Doris!

You are a Doris -- "I must help others."

Dorises are warm, concerned, nurturing, and sensitive to other people's needs.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Tell me that you appreciate me. Be specific.


• * Share fun times with me.


• * Take an interest in my problems, though I will probably try to focus on yours.


• * Let me know that I am important and special to you.


• * Be gentle if you decide to criticize me.

In Intimate Relationships

• * Reassure me that I am interesting to you.


• * Reassure me often that you love me.


• * Tell me I'm attractive and that you're glad to be seen with me.

What I Like About Being a Doris

• * being able to relate easily to people and to make friends


• * knowing what people need and being able to make their lives better


• * being generous, caring, and warm


• * being sensitive to and perceptive about others' feelings


• * being enthusiastic and fun-loving, and having a good sense of humor

What's Hard About Being a Doris

• * not being able to say no


• * having low self-esteem


• * feeling drained from overdoing for others


• * not doing things I really like to do for myself for fear of being selfish


• * criticizing myself for not feeling as loving as I think I should


• * being upset that others don't tune in to me as much as I tume in to them


• * working so hard to be tactful and considerate that I suppress my real feelings

Dorises as Children Often

• * are very sensitive to disapproval and criticism


• * try hard to please their parents by being helpful and understanding


• * are outwardly compliant


• * are popular or try to be popular with other children


• * act coy, precocious, or dramatic in order to get attention


• * are clowns and jokers (the more extroverted Dorises), or quiet and shy (the more introverted Dorises)

Dorises as Parents

• * are good listeners, love their children unconditionally, and are warm and encouraging (or suffer guilt if they aren't)


• * are often playful with their children


• * wonder: "Am I doing it right?" "Am I giving enough?" "Have I caused irreparable damage?"


• * can become fiercely protective

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

Things families shouldn't share

But don't have a choice.... GERMS!

Brianna was sick...
Then I was sick...
Now Grant is sick...

But he is so cute with his hoarse little voice. He still doesn't stop talking, he just sounds cuter somehow.

Heaven forbid Adam get sick! He's the biggest baby of us all!

So, I am at work

And Brianna is at school... for now. Although she made it through the night with no problems, and was more or less herself this morning, I am waiting with one ear for a phone call to come pick her up.

SO- I do nothing at work! Except this:

1. YOUR REAL NAME: (Edited out)
2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first 3 letters of real name plus izzle) johizzle
3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color and favorite animal) red dog
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (your middle name and street you live on/or neighborhood if it's a number) Kate Summerfields (I like that!!!)
5. Star WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name) Oshjo
6. YOUR SUPERHERO/CRIMINAL NAME: (Your 2nd favorite color and favorite drink) blue diet coke
7. IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, 1st letter of your last name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of your dads name, 1st letter of siblings first name, and last letter of your moms first name). ohooije
8. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (parents middle names) Kay Charles (like that too!)
9. YOUR GOTH NAME: (black, and the name of one of your pets). Black Gretel
10. Your hood name: (first 3 of your first name and add -iqua) johiqua

Can you hear my heart cracking?

My baby, Brianna, is sick. :-(

I received a call from the day care today that she was complaining of a stomach ache and was teary eyed. When I picked her up, she still said she had a stomach ache and was just listless. No fever, but no appetite or energy either.

By dinner time, puke city. Now she is sleeping on a blanket, piled on a couple towels, on her bed which is now cleared of all the usual stuffed paraphernalia that normally graces every free space. We are hoping for a good night but planning for the worst.

It's times like these that my heart just breaks a little. I can't to anything to help her, she doesn't understand why. Baby- I love you and hope you wake up feeling better! Love, Hugs, and Prayers are all I can offer right now. Someday you'll be a mommy Bri- then you'll understand.

Funny!

Today, Adam and I were speculating on what Grant would be when he grew up, so I asked him...

ME: "Grant, what do you want to be when you grow up?'
GRANT: "Tall enough to reach the Cocoa Krispies!"

What to say?

Not much...

Halloween went well, spread over virtually the whole week so, we have candy EVERYWHERE!

Kids are good. They play nice, they fight, they gang up on us, they love us dearly.

House is good. Went to HOBO today. Bought a decent rug so no one is playing "tackle" on the hardwood in the family room. $50 for a 8x6 rug... pretty good really! That place is a little like a garage sale, or Marshalls, or something. Odd items, for clearance prices. Works though...

Work is still crazy, but not the "earth shattering, who has time to breathe" kind of crazy we were experiencing a week ago. Looking forward to 4 day week this week (Tuesday off for Veterans Day).

TOTALLY enjoying that we have absolutely ZERO commitments this weekend and next... not a single thing on the calendar!

I think that is all for now....

Happy Friday

Today- I am working from home! This is my fancy way of saying I called in sick so I could stay home, run errands, grade papers, and clean up.

The house is a disaster but I've never been so happy to see it a mess! Yesterday we had hardwood floors installed and they are beautiful! Dusty, but Beautiful! Well- actually- EVERYTHING is dusty! If you've never seen this done, they actually cut the wood to size on site, which means IN THE HOUSE, which means- sawdust, lots of it! They did what they could to clean it up but it gets in the house and settles over the next day or so. Which means that now- about 18 hours after completion- there is dust on every surface on the first floor of my house.

SO happy though!
:-)

Another successful birthday

Yesterday we had Grant's Birthday Party. It went very well! The family was all there, the food was delicious (Thanks Moe's!), and he loved his presents!

I was so funny to see him exclaim over each new gift. Even a bag of new clothes was met with genuine excitement and the comment, "Look, New Clothes, Wow!" I hope at 13 he accepts gifts as well as he does at 3!

I love my little boy to pieces! And this week, when he drives me crazy, I will try and remember how cool he was on his birthday.

Temper, Temper!

My children have each had a temper tantrum each of the past 3 mornings.
Over things like using the potty and how many donuts are to be eaten.
While getting ready for school.
When we are already late.
Because mommy can't find anything to wear.
And daddy is rushing her.
Because, oh yes, it would be such a good idea to drive together and drop off the kids together and work together and have to leave work at the same time together and spend time at home together.

I love my children, I love my husband, I need a drink!

Have I mentioned yet...

We are working on potty training Grant.

His teachers have been bugging me since August to just put him in underwear. WELL- since I'm the one who has to do all the laundry, I held off. Finally last week, with his 3rd birthday around the corner, I gave in and sent lots of underwear and dry pants to school.

Everyday I pick up Grant, and his zipper bag full of wet underwear.
Except for yesterday! GRANT HAD A DRY DAY! I've never felt so happy to see a cubby with no zipper baggie!

Yeah Baby! You go boy!
Let's keep it up!

Thought this was funny...

This has always been one of my favorite songs from the 80's and thanks to Jenny finding this on YouTube.... Too funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HE9OQ4FnkQ

Cutie Pie!

Grant's language has finally reached a point where not only is he clearly understandable, but he understands the context of phrases. I am constantly floored by his knack of using the right phase at the right time!

While tickling him last night, I stopped to cuddle him close for a minute and he breathlessly said, "Oh, I'm laughing so hard I can't breathe!" I laughed so hard- I couldn't either!

When picking him up from his bed this morning, he said "I love you mommy, but I'm too tired to get up." I made him repeat the "I love you" part at least 3 times!

When his sister did a new gymnastics trick in the family room, he clasped his little hands together and said, "That's so cool Bri- Good Job!".

Too cute Grant-man! I love you too!

And it got me thinking...

Jamie's comment on my last post made me think...

How did I feel about having two kids who were more independent and vocal? Why did I want another little one who couldn't talk or help themselves in anyway?

And I realized- I don't mind that they are helpless- I kind of like it. I like being the provider of all things good; food, dry diapers, cozy clothes, comfort, love.

I have no delusions- I'm sure I was frustrated from time to time when my kids were babies. Like the nights that Brianna would cry unless we bounced her; she especially liked going up and down the stairs around 2 am! Like the month I returned to work and Grant absolutely, flat out, refused any style of bottle we could find.

BUT- I never held it against them, they were babies, that is what they were supposed to do. Actually, now I think I hold things against them more, and get more frustrated. When Brianna waits until the last possible minute to tell me she has to go potty and we are running through the Target or Jewel. Or when Grant chooses to get angry and throw or hit rather than using his words, words I know he darn well has by now.

I am some sort of crazy person- I prefer the helpless little baby. At least I know what to expect!

Bittersweet

Today I mailed the invitations to Grant's 3rd birthday party! I can't believe that my "baby" is going to be 3 years old soon. I still look at pictures of him as a baby and I can remember exactly how he liked to be held. I can remember all the nights I slept with him on my stomach because it was the only way we could both be asleep at the same time.

It's been no secret that I'd like a 3rd baby. However, as Grant gets older, and the possibility of a 3rd baby seems less likely, I feel more nostalgic. I know that children get older, and I love the kids more everyday, but I L.O.V.E. babies! I love holding them and cuddling and how they snuggle up and fall asleep. 3 and 5 year olds don't do that...

I have a proposal...

When children have birthday's, where is the present for the mommy?!?

Who carried the child and nourished it for 9 months? Who gave birth to the screaming watermelon? Who nursed and stayed up more nights? Who's the first one the day care teachers call to pick up the puke-monster?

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't give up a minute of any of that... but give a girl some love!

Every child's birthday is also a Momday! It is the day we changed our lives to be a Mom, and we love you, but it's our special day too!

Help?

Oh Loyal readers who are few and far between...

How do I track my "business" on a blog?
How would I know if I am getting hits, etc, if people don't comment?

If you know me- e-mail me please!

www.yearbookyourself.com

This is totally what I WANTED to look like in 1990....

But I would have loved 1966 too....


Thanks to Jenny at Bloggess and Good Mom/Bad Mom for the link!
I've successfully wasted quite a bit of work time today thanks to you! :-)
LOVE IT!

Seriously rambling

I just noticed that in changing my background and updating my system with blogger... I've lost some of the things I liked about my blog. I lost my links to other blogs I read. I've lost my list of categories that my posts fall under. I lost my "about me" section.

I suppose I'll get around to fixing it... someday!
Until then- whatever is my new mantra.

I have increasingly noticed over the years that unless faced with a immediate need, I don't want to or can't make a decision. ESPECIALLY at home. As a teacher and team leader at school I make thousands of decisions on a daily basis. What to have for dinner or what errands to run just seems to difficult come evening time.

Is there some amateur psychologist who'd like to tell me why in more detail?

I don't like Ike

I just wanted to send a heartfelt hug and my prayers to all those in the path of Hurricane Ike. It's going to be nasty and I hope you are safely away from the danger zones.

Especially to my friends at Mama Drama and Good Mom/Bad Mom.
Stay safe with your babies of all ages!

I really have nothing to say

I am trying really hard to post more often. And today I have a little extra time but I'm not sure what to say...

Brianna is loving Kindergarten. Everyday she comes home with a folder full of little work and she talks about all the friends (but she doesn't know their names yet). It's great! Best side affect for our family- she sleeps GREAT! Between getting up early and go-go-going all day long, by bedtime, poor little dear is wiped out! Soon it will be dark outside earlier and we may even make her bedtime sooner.

Grant is a great kid too! He talks ALL THE FREAKING TIME! Even his "teachers" at daycare say that he just talks to them constantly. It can be really cute sometimes... SOMEtimes. He fell into a table the other day and really hurt his head. Like- we Googled the signs of a concussion- bad. He seemed fine pretty quickly but it was 2 days before he even let me move his hair around to see the spot on his head. However, he loved the children's Tylenol and now asks for it when he's hungry. Good thing mommy knows better! Silly boy!

Adam and I are just as crazy as always. Work is finally settling into routine after all the start of school nonsense. I still feel scattered about half the time but I'm not sure that will ever go away. We signed the kids up for Gymnastics this fall and that starts tonight so...

That's all I can think of right now. What do you want to see/hear?
I am working on a photo fashion show of all Brianna's new school clothes! Still a few more outfits to wear...

Huh?

So- I don't think I have yet commented on politics on this blog. I am perhaps the least political social studies teacher EVER. I care about politics and who represents me however, I am just a bit too practical about the exact size and scope of my single vote. I vote... I don't obsess over it.

I watched most of Sarah Palin's speech last night. Jamie had some reviews of it that I sort of agree with. But mostly, I just kept thinking of the same thing. I would want to be friends with her but I don't want her a breath away from control of the nation. She seems like fun and I admire her resolve and family confidence. I would love to have a conversation with her and share mom stories and hear more about her kids and life and argue with her about our ideals. I don't want her telling the world who can, or mostly can't get an abortion. I don't want her influencing the education world in which I work and in which my children are learning. Just because she seemed fun... it's not a reason to put her in control of anything!

Ahhh, the quiet!

I have just successfully dropped the 2 amazingly wonderful children with Grandma and Grandpa for the night. Adam is at his fantasy football draft. We have wonderful dinner plans later but for now the house is silent and I have a massage scheduled in 45 minutes.

Honestly it's a little too quiet. I love it but... I had to turn the radio up REALLY loud on the way home to fill the silence.

A couple day's from now I won't believe I even just said that!

This touched me today

Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock, did something not to be forgotten.

On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom.

When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.

'Ms. Cothren, where are our desks?'

She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me what you have done to earn the right to sit at a desk.'

They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.'

'No', she said

'Maybe it's our behavior.'

She told them, 'No, it's not even your behavior.'

And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom.

By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms.Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.

The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the deskless classroom, Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.'

At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it.

Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall.

By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned.

Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget that.'

By the way, this is a true story.


Please consider passing this along so others won't forget that the freedoms we have in this great country were earned by U S. Veterans.

I doth overreact a little...

Yesterday I received a phone call from the daycare center that another student had scratched Grant's neck during circle time. They applied ice and gave hugs and it was all good.

When I went to pick him up, I had to sign a copy of the "incident report".
I read it... the written version sounds like Grant was the one scratching others, not the victim.
Except...
I CAN SEE THE SCRATCH MARKS ON HIS NECK!

SO- I don't sign it. I ask that the teacher who witnessed the event rewrite it properly. She looks at me funny and agrees. WE SHALL SEE LATER TODAY....

They probably throw out the little form later but DUDE- Grant is the victim here... VICTIM!

So Cute!

This morning, rather than let the kids come in our room to watch cartoons, Brianna went in Grant's room to play. I wandered that way a little later to see what was up.

Brianna was sitting on the ottoman of the chair, Grant was in the chair, and she was telling him a story. He looked mesmerized so I hid around the corner to listen.

She was telling him a story about her dream from the night. She described a pink castle floating a blue sky riding on a cloud that was shaped like a fluffy white bunny. She said that her cousin Hannah lived there and she was just visiting for a party. She described her dress, Hannah's dress, the party food, and all the games.

Either she has a GREAT imagination or GREAT dreams!
WOW!

Thanks Brianna!

So, for Christmas last year, Brianna got a digital camera designed for kids. Today, I got around to downloading the pictures....

Here's a blurry one of Aunt Jamie showing off something....

Here's a decent one of Grant, just a LITTLE off center....

There were a LOT that looked like this....

"Baby Carole" showed up quite a few times....

As did lots of AWFUL pictures of mommy...

Just because...

It's been awhile.

I have been working 2 days a week on a new program for our school... Educators out there... PBIS? I'm a little stressed about work, but not really because of the new school year. I am NOT excited to start again, and that stresses me out. I know that boredom is a common problem in teaching... this is my 8th year doing EXACTLY the same thing. I am going to have to spice this up somehow!

Grant is doing pretty good in his new bed. We do have to check on him more because he has a tendancy to get out to play... then fall asleep somewhere else. Once we found him basically standing, but leaning on an ottoman for his rocker! If we don't catch his strange places, we get VERY short naps!




Brianna is getting excited about Kindergarten but is still cautious. We found out her teacher's name and next weekend we will get to go see the classroom. We meet the teacher for an "interview" on the 28th and she starts class on Sept. 3. I just know the time will FLY!



Adam ran his second triathalon this morning and everything went very well. We will have to wait to see if he beat his brother again but I'm just glad that he's happy with his performance. He's decided to keep training through the off season and try and do a longer triathalon next year. I am so proud of him! From couch potato to triathalete in 8 months!

I'm sure it will be a while again now... school next week.
And lets face it... I'm not good about updating anyway!
:-D

Monumental Day

Tonight, my baby is sleeping in his big-boy bed for the first time! (Hopefully pictures soon)

And my crib, which has cradled my 2 children for the last 5 years is in many pieces in the hall. Where it will end up is still a battle....

I vote for the basement.
Adam votes for the curb.

It's looking more and more like he's going to win the big argument.
And I'm going to be really sad for a while.

Assvice central!

Also known as... how to give advice about something you (thankfully) know nothing about!

Saturday, after enjoying a lovely evening with my mom, dad, and sister, I received a frantic phone call from a friend. She wasn't even making sense at first. She babbled about not knowing who to talk to and she thought of me and she couldn't tell her mom...

I finally got her to just tell me!

That evening she'd found out her husband of almost 5 years had been cheating on her. She found some inappropriate text messages and photos on his phone. Turns out he'd been fooling around in some form or another (including everything) with a co-worker for almost 6 months.

She kicked him out of course, and is desperate to figure out what to do. They have 2 little girls (2 and 9 mo). He of course had to give a lame-ass reason... their sex life at home just wasn't hot anymore, it was like a job.

HELLO. TOGETHER 12 YEARS. MARRIED 5. 2 KIDS. JOBS. WORK. LIFE. DUH!

So anyway...
What do I say to that? I found myself saying stupid things like;
"Take it one day at a time."
"Write down what your feeling to get it off your chest."
"Try and sleep, you need to stay healthy."

Well, really, I just listen a lot but...What the heck should I say?
Can anyone help me here?

And to think, last week I was going to complain about my husband. Thank God for my boring little issues!

plans change

I was going to post tonight about feeling sad, and having no one to talk to, but then I was skimming my "usual blogs" and following some links and I found this.

I never read this blog on a regular basis before tonight, but now I've read some of the archives, and cried a lot.

I still feel sad, and maybe sometime I'll feel like talking about it.
But I also feel SO DAMN LUCKY to have my children and my husband and my health.
So life's not perfect... I'll get over it.

Best Laid Plans...

Yeah.... so I said I was going to post more often this summer since I am home and have a much faster Internet connection... clearly, that was a pipe dream!

Updates since the last post:

1. Cleaned house like a mad fool for a week to prepare for Brianna's 5th Birthday party.
2. Successfully coordinated 2 birthday parties for Brianna. One for kids at a local bouncy place and one for family and close friends at our home. ALL IN THE SAME AFTERNOON!
3. Took a whopping 1 day off.
4. Attended major birthday party for cute niece who is actually one day older than Brianna.
5. Cleaned house some more... did some working out... threw surprise birthday party for mother-in-law (with help from all her kids, I just hosted), and had not one but 2 "girls nights" in the same week.
6. Took hideous wall paper down from Grant's room... which people... seriously, there should be a law! If you put up hideous wall paper, you must remove said paper PRIOR to new ownership! We spent large portions of 4 days on this and we still have to repair, prime, and paint!
7. Decided not to go for new job as assistant principal. The timing and situation just don't seem right. I'm taking it as a sign...
8. Prepared for big vacation of the summer!

When all is said and done, June FLEW BY! I can absolutely NOT believe that it is July. We leave on the big vac-a tomorrow. First time the kids will see Disney World, I am very excited, they think they are excited but really just don't know what to expect.

Maybe I'll get around to an update when we get back... Ya'll are used to waiting for me, right?
:-)

There has been a request from the peanut gallery...

to hear details about this little job interview (?) which I threw into my last post.

We found out on Wednesday that one of our assistant principals in our building is leaving for a principal job elsewhere. While I would very much like to move to administration, I had settled myself for another year of teaching and taken on some projects I would like to finish... maybe...

I don't know for sure if I will be pursuing the job but I might... or not... or I might....

My gut feeling is they will want someone from outside the district for this job. Besides the fact that this is the AP in charge of my husbands team so if I were seriously being considered, it would force some systematic changes at the school.

Or maybe I'm just rationalizing because I am scared. It would definitely be easier to stay with what I know and not rock the boat right now.

Or maybe rocking the boat is exactly what I need. When I didn't get that silly voted-on thing last week, a close friend told me it was because something better was in store for me. Is this it?

Lets just say I've started the application... but who knows....

FINALLY!!

School is out!

The students went home.
The classroom is all packed up.
The grades are final.
The files are backed-up.
I e-mailed myself all my favorite links from work.

Nothing ahead of me for 8 weeks but sun and summer.
Well, Except:

Unpacking
Working on committee work (14 half days, paid)
Painting
2 small needy children
A job interview?!?

I can't wait!!!

once again, just a nerd

So, last week some time I think I mentioned that I was running in an election at work for a new position. Maybe? I don't remember now and am too lazy to go back and check.

ANYWAY- I really wanted this new position because I already do a lot of the work, and I really care about the job, and it's more money. (It's one of those things I'd do on TOP of what I already do, not a new job). Unfortunately, our higher-ups felt that the staff should choose the person...

SO- an election! In which I had to submit lots of information about myself, in which I actually gave a "brief biography" when asked for it! My competitor, gave her whole stinkin' resume, so needless appeared more qualified than me! I didn't get it.

I feel like the prom queen runner up... just not quite good enough.

As a teacher...

And as a human being who cares about the world around us...

I find this to be amazing, and distressing!
What must they have thought? Just by simple picture taking, how much did we disorder their lives?

WOW!

Parenting Dilema

In the course of parenting, there are dilemma's to deal with and decisions to be made everyday. It can be tough but it is important to make the right decision for the future of the children.

Grant loves Dinosaurs.
He pronounces them DinoROARs.

I love it! I think it's cute and funny and it makes me giggle.
I call them DinoROARs too!

Will he be scarred for life? Will he be a teenager and still calling them DinoROARs? Like the friend of a friend who called butterflies "flutterby's" until she was 18!?!

Do I really care? ... Nah, too cute to care!

I hope my mom doesn't read this

No... it's not about THAT!

Can someone tell me when your biological clock STOPS ticking?
I was just sitting here in my (empty) classroom crying over how cute a friends new baby is... and wishing SO hard that I could have another beautiful baby.

I have 2 beautiful, wonderful (if rambunctious) children. God has blessed me more than I deserve. And I can list 20 very practical reasons why I probably shouldn't have a 3rd baby.
(Whining) BUT I WANT ONE!

This week it was announced that the Duggars are having #18. That's right, 18!!
I only want 3.

I'm willing to make some sacrifices. I'm willing to puke for 12 straight weeks and have back pain and be up all night for the next 6 months and eat nothing but pasta for a year. Whatever it takes to feel butterfly kicks and watch first smiles and hear first words again.

Adam is having none of it. And I can't fully say I blame him. 2 kids is a lot of work! It takes both of us to deal if they both decide to be horrible at the same time. But as Brianna grows, that is happening less and less. She is as reasonable and logical as any 5 year old I've ever seen. 90% of the time, she "gets it". And as Grant grows, he becomes more reasonable, for a 2 year old. I keep trying to convince Adam that by the time we have the baby, Grant will be 3 1/2! That is a huge change from now at 2 1/2! It won't be like this forever!

GOD, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Which is this?!?

When the obvious hits me over the head!

Today at work, I am applying for an additional leadership position for next school year. It is a position which is voted on by the school; someone to be like a lead-teacher in certain areas. While I have no doubt that I am qualified, I need my application to make that clear to the rest of the staff.

One of the questions asks me to select an "Area of Growth" for next year... ie... what is my weakness, or at what do I suck!? They give us the following list to choose from:

Group facilitation
Long range planning
oral communication
written communication
compromise
recognizing alternatives
decision-making
taking initiative
preparing an agenda
Attention to detail
task prioritization and delegation
sharing ideas in a positive manner
showing genuine interest in individuals
fostering organizational change
working toward consensus

I had to e-mail some coworkers who know me well to see what they think my weakness is.
AND THEN IT OCCURRED TO ME... If I can't even decide on my own weakness, then decision making must be the one to pick!

DUH!

This morning I took pictures...

Just because Brianna looked cute and Grant was mostly smiley... and it had been awhile!


He is asking for "Uppy!"

And the other 6 dwarfs hid under the beds!

I am GRUMPY.

It's a "up on the wrong side of the bed" and "don't even look at me like that" kind of a day.
I don't know why... The morning was crazy but no more so than usual.
The kids were sleepy and cranky but not much more than normal.
My co-worker is annoying but it's the same way she always is.

I just need a break.
I need Adam to go somewhere by himself and leave me alone for a few hours, or a day.
I need NOT to be reminded that there are 9000 boxes still to unpack.
I need to find a new babysitter.
I need a quiet day at work where I can surf the Internet and ignore my paperwork in peace.
I want a new purse. (I don't know how that will really help, and it might make Adam kill me, but I just know it's the answer to some of my stress!)
I want to finish my book without dirty looks from my husband or screaming children.
I want a massage! for a week!

If you see me coming today people, you'd better be able to provide something from the second list... or just run the hell away!

15 excuses for why I don't blog

1. Packing up old house
2. Cleaning new house
3. Crying about old house
4. Saying good bye to WORLDS BEST neighbors
5. Unpacking at new house
6. Helping 2 kid under 5 understand "new house" vs. "old house"
7. Drying tears of said kids
8. Crying some more
9. Taking multiple days off school to prepare for and move
10. Cleaning old house
11. I do sometimes work at work
12. Making 90 bazillion phone calls to cancel old services and set up new services
13. Sleeping a whopping 4 hours per night
14. New committee/team at work which needs lots of attention
15. Stressing about combining numbers 1-14

And 5 reasons why I hope to get better about it...
1. New house has upgraded Internet! (Dial-up house is dust!)
2. New house computer is right off family room so I don't have to isolate myself to use it.
3. Got new camera with phone for mommy's day so will have pictures to post!
4. Summer is coming and work is slowing down.
5. I miss my blog buddies!!!!!

During the silence...

Yes, I am well aware that long silences are more the norm for me and you probably weren't wondering what was going on but anyway...

Here is what has happened since the last post.

-Student didn't just leave for month, she left until August! More work, less accountability for me.
- Went to wonderful workshop with group that has now become implementation team for new initiative. Fun and challenging! I love it.
- Settled repairs on new house.
- CLOSED ON NEW HOUSE!!!!! WAHOOO!!!!!
- Assessed empty new house and noticed all the flaws we didn't see before. Started having flashbacks of the movie "Money Pit" but am trying not to stress.
- Took today off work to wait around new house for locksmith and carpet cleaners.
- Thanked God for neighbors unsecured wireless connection which I am borrowing.

Happy Friday Everyone!

S.T.R.E.S.S

I read somewhere recently that moving is the 2nd most stressful thing an adult can go through, second only to divorce.

STRESS.....

I have SO much to do this week before we close next week and my over-involved self volunteered for a workshop on Thursday and Friday so I will be totally out of touch for most of those 2 days and then I found out today that one of my students is leaving for Europe this weekend and will be gone A MONTH visiting a dying family member and I have to give her enough work to do to keep caught up for A MONTH and did I mention I won't be able to do anything productive on Thursday or Friday?!?

Rejuvinated... sort of.

Wednesday I decided that I think I felt a little spring fever coming on and that I (cough, cough) would need to take Thursday off to "recover". IE- I called in sick to work on Thursday so I could enjoy one entirely wonderful day to myself!

Now... I think I cursed myself...

I mean, my day was lovely. I got some much needed things done for the move, and I read for 3 consecutive hours without interruption or screaming in the background, I took myself to breakfast at Panera and played on the computer, thank you free wi-fi!

However, now I am sick. I mean actually might go to the doctor later sick. My left sinus feels like a rock and now my ears ache and I generally feel like I'm moving underwater. To top that... I am dizzy on and off if I try and look down and read. I look a little strange reading/grading papers with the paper held directly out from my face!

Oh Well, It was worth it!

Lessons from Elementary School

Boy and Girl, Sittin' in a tree.
K-I-S-S-I-N-G!
First comes love,
Then comes MARRIAGE,
THEN comes a baby in the baby carriage!

Someone, and someone else, and someone else, and someone else forgot to listen though!

Engaged, not engaged, Tomato, Tom(ah)to....It's just too much!
Am I officially old now?

But I might need it!

Adam wants me to start packing. Actually, he would even do the packing if I just tell him what to box up. (He's a GREAT guy!)

FYI- we can start moving things into the new house in just under 3 weeks. We have to be completely out of our current house in about 5 weeks.

I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO PACK! What can I live with out for 5 whole weeks (more like 8-10 by the time I actually unpack it again)? We packed up a bunch of mommy's kitchen toys... We packed up some kids toys (6 days ago and no one noticed yet... sad huh?). I could probably pack up linens or something.

I'm just convinced that whatever I pack, I will need it the next day. Yes- I know I haven't used in in months or years, but tomorrow I WILL! but only if I pack it today.

a link kind of day

Creepy!

I am sad

I admit, I have my own religious struggles but I can never, will never, understand faith that does not advocate for itself. God would not want this.

I need to go hug my kids!

quiet, lazy, day

One of the luxuries of teaching middle school, is that when directed properly, the children can work for extended periods of time on their own. IE- I can plan activities that are both educational and allow me to have a whole day "to myself".

The problem with this plan is when I plan a day like this... say for instance, TODAY... I very seldom actually use my time wisely. I get the kids started each class period, and then sit down to do my mountain of paperwork and grading, and then the strangest thing happens.

The Internet CALLS MY NAME! Literally, I can hear my computer calling out to me...
Come check your e-mail....
Search for furniture...
Check out summer vacations...
Send stupid chain e-mails...

So here it is 10:30... I've been at work for over 3 hours... and have gotten no work done.
Oh Well.

The battle is won, the war continues

I would like to document, for prosperity and the good of my brain, the events of the evening of Tuesday, April 1. And while this is a long frickin' story, it is no joke people!

The family was having "catch-as-catch-can" for dinner. AKA- when your hungry, eat what you want. At approximately 6:15 pm, Brianna decided it was time to pick her dinner. This is no easy feat when mommy won't let you have plain noodles (because it takes to long to cook). So Brianna stands in the door to the pantry. And she swings the pantry door. And she hangs on the pantry door. And she bangs the door into the refrigerator. And she accidentally bangs the door in to Grant. And she hangs on the door some more. All while muttering "hmmmm".

Mommy is getting annoyed so I calmly got down on one knee, held Brianna's shoulders gently to get her attention, and said "Please stop playing with the door".

Brianna says "OK Mommy."

Within 3 seconds flat, she is playing with the door. Now, rationally, I know she isn't doing it on purpose, she probably doesn't even realize. However, she knows better and I am getting really annoyed now.

I again took her by the shoulders and asked her to repeat after me. "I won't play with the door". She silently refused.

I tried to explain that mommy has already asked her once and she knew better. Silent refusal with some wiggling.

I explained that if she says the words I will know she heard me. I explain that I need her to be a "good listener" and say the words. Enter lots of wiggling and angry face. She says angrily, "I'll say it if you let go of me". I let go, she runs away silently.

Perhaps I will summarize a little here... I am pissed! I take her shoulders again, progressing to a baby like cradle hold when squirming becomes thrashing. For about 10 minutes I hold her and repeat calmly that she can get up when she says " I won't play with the door". She cries. She screams. She makes the angry grunting noise and shoots daggers with her eyes. (Meanwhile Grant thinks this is alternately fun and wants his turn, or he screams because I am not paying attention to him.)

From the kitchen floor we progressed to the "time-out" spot. I instruct a crying Brianna to think about being a good listener and I'll be back when she's ready to say the words. Every 2-3 minutes for the next 30 minutes, I check on her. She does some fake crying, she sneaks out of time out to see the TV, she says shes ready and then refuses to say it, she says it in her meanest voice and yells at me.

People, this was not fun. This was torture.

Eventually I won. She said the words nicely and around 7:15 settled in to some Cheerios for dinner. Holy *&%#.

I think I may start researching boarding schools. If this is 4, I am not looking forward to 14!

Still Kickin'

I just felt the need to post something to recognize that I was still alive.

Since my last post:
1. We had a nice spring break at home. Sure everyone was sick but we relaxed a lot.
2. We are officially under contract on both homes... the one we're buying and the one we're selling. A few hurdles remain but it might be time to buy some boxes!
3. We stopped cleaning our house. (see #2)
4. We drove 3+ hours to swim in a pool and do nothing. Well actually, we went to campaign for my aunt who was running for local political office. It was a long boring day and unfortunately it didn't seem to help much.
5. Back to work... enter frantic-ness.
6. Found out that THIS SATURDAY is kindergarten registration for the new school district; became more frantic because we NEED to get in to the extended day program and that is first come first serve and we aren't actually residents yet and can we even register at all and if we wait until we are resident's there is NO way we are getting into the program we moved for!
7. Made a few phone calls... We can register by showing our contract on the new house. AND we don't even have to wait our turn... as a district teacher I was able to bend the rules and we can register at 8am. (We were originally assigned by last name and couldn't register until 3:00pm- Exactly when we had planned to be 1 hour away!)
8. WHEW!
9........

Well actually that might be it. I'm sure there is more but now I'm tired from typing without ever pressing the period. Maybe tomorrow I will tell you about my 4 going on 15 year old and her 40 minute temper tantrum/stubborn streak!

Lucky 13

13 years ago today I went on a blind date with someone I met on the Internet. We squeezed in a quick first date at Subway before I had to report to play practice. Later that evening I told my best friend/college roommate that he was "OK" and that "I guess I'd go out with him again".

Tonight we will recreate that first date. This time we will have our 2 adorably rambunctious children in tow and will probably spend the entire time planning our big move into our new home.

13 years can go so fast... and so much can change.
Luckily the important things are the same... and everything else is so much better!

I hope I don't jinx it....

We sold the house!!!!!!!!

We have accepted an offer on our house... well actually we've been negotiating since Monday afternoon but late last night we left our emotions out of it (mostly) and decided to accept the offer.

I am feeling quite a few emotions today. I look at what has been MY house for 6 years and know that in about 2 months, it won't be MINE anymore. It will be some other family's home.

Some other family will put their children to bed in the nursery where my children first slept through the night. Someone else will bathe in the tub where my children had first baths and water fights and blew bubbles. No one will know that the flowering tree in the back yard was "The Brianna Tree" because we planted it to celebrate her first birthday. No one will remember when the living room/dining room was empty of furniture and Brianna used it learn to walk and run. No one will look out the bedroom window and remember all the nights I sat there and nursed the babies throughout the night.

I try to remind myself of all the memories we are about to make in our new house. It will be the place I take pictures of Brianna and Grant before taking them to the first day of school. They will learn and grow in this new house too... a new house we LOVE and can't wait to live in. But it won't be the house I brought my new babies to when we came home from the hospital. It won't be our first home, that home now belongs to someone else.

I can only hope they love it as much as we did.

Where did my pictures go?

Sorry about the below post, I don't know where my pictures went... they were there when I checked it earlier.... This is THE MOST adorable baby being hugged by a gigantic dog!

If you want to give me your e-mail, and I actually know you or can verify you exist, I will forward you the e-mail.

In an e-mail I received today

Instructions for properly hugging a baby:

1. First, find a baby.

2. Second, be sure that the object you found was
indeed a baby by employing classic sniffing techniques.

3. Next you will need to flatten the baby before actually beginning the
hugging process.

4. The 'paw slide'
Simply slide paws around baby and prepare for possible close-up.

5. Finally, if a camera is present, you will need to execute
the difficult and patented 'hug, smile, and lean' so as to
achieve the best photo quality.

Stress is my shadow

SO- I don't talk about work much. It's not a good idea to blog about work... I mean, you know I'm a teacher, but not where or who...

But I have to put this out there...

Yesterday, at school, in the middle of the school day, a child tried to hang himself from a stairwell/landing. Thanks to the quick actions of one of his friends, and some nearby teachers, he didn't succeed. The child was known as a little disturbed but no one knew it was like this. Even his friends didn't believe him as he started to put the thing around his neck. One friend reportedly helped him slip it around his neck thinking he was joking... that same friend who tried to save him by lifting him back up seconds later.

Some of this is rumor, some is validated but not yet public information, some is public. I didn't even know this boy but I am having a hard day. In 9 years of teaching, and as a future administrator, I've been brought in on some hard kids/cases. This beats all.

Why does this world have to be so hard?

When I went home, I told Brianna I was sad. She's 4... she doesn't ask questions, she just gives the world's best neck-breaking hugs!

Like sanity and time for myself...

Jamie's Tag will just have to wait!

Love you James!!!

The typical morning car ride

In this scene, the characters are:
Johanna: The harried mother who is trying to eat breakfast and drive.
Grant: The 2 1/2 year old boy who is learning to talk and like attention.
Brianna: The almost 5 year old girl who is part patient saint and part victim.

(For the sake of the script, the strange garbled language of the 2 year old will be translated into real English.)

G: Pancake, Pancake mommy.
J: Are you eating your pancakes Grant?
G: Pancake, eat pancake mommy.
G: Pancake in bag mommy.
G: Eat one pancake mommy.
J: Good Job Grant, Eat your pancakes.
G: Moon, Moon, Moon, Moon, Mommy.
G: Pancake moon mommy.
G: (progressively louder) Moon Pancake, Moon Pancake mommy.
B: Mom, he's trying to tell you he took a bite out of his pancake and it looks like a moon.
J: Oh, Thank's Bri. Did you make a moon pancake Grant?
G: Yeah, moon pancake.
G: (louder and louder) Moon, Moon, Moon, pancake, moon pancake mommy.
J: Eat the moon Grant.
G: Bite Moon Mommy?
G: I eat moon pancake mommy.
G: (still louder) Boat, Boat, Boat pancake mommy.
J: Is your pancake a boat now Grant?
G: Yes mommy.
G: Boat, Boat, Boat in water mommy.
G: Boat in water mommy, water, water, boat in water mommy.
J: OK Grant, you made a boat.
G: Boat water mommy.
J: Yes Grant, Boats go in the water, good honey, eat the boat.
J: How are you doing Brianna?
B: (answer overlapped and eventually drowned out by Grant's next line)
I want more pancakes mom; mine are gone already.
G: (LOUDER) I eat boat pancake mommy. Eat boat, Eat boat, Eat boat mommy.
J: (LOUDEST) OK Grant, you ate your boat.
Brianna, I'm sorry, I don't have any more. You can eat cereal at school.
- a few seconds of silence-
G: another pancake in bag mommy.
G: pancake, eat another pancake mommy, pancake, pancake
J: (rolls eyes) Yes Grant, you have another pancake, eat it.
G: pancake, eat mommy?
G: Moon pancake mommy!
- repeat for each of the next 5 pancakes!-

I felt like talking to no one in particular

I was looking at Amalah's site today and thinking how big Noah is getting... and pondering when it was between 2 and 3 that they stop looking like big babies and start looking like little children.

Grant is totally changing in that way. He doesn't really look like a baby anymore, and hasn't for some time, but especially recently he seems to look like a real live boy! Something about their faces and they way they carry themselves, and the way they look at you like "yeah right mom, I am so NOT doing whatever you just asked me, and HA!"

Grant has such a personality now, he talks A.L.L. THE FREAKIN' TIME. He never wants to do or eat what the rest of us have. His teacher told me the other day that he had "a severe case of the Two's". I think that's the nice way of saying my son is a holy terror one minute and a sweet little angel the next minute. Especially if you give in to what he wants!

Brianna has been trying so hard to help us because she's old enough to know when mommy and daddy are getting frustrated. She wants to be a good big sister but she's 4 1/2, she just can't sometimes. She tries to stop him from taking things out of the drawer, and ends up closing the drawer on his fingers. She comes to tell us he's making a mess and he throws hard plastic toys at her. She tries to get him food out of the pantry, but all she can reach is the chips and fruit snacks, and mommy said "no more".

I love my children very much. They are amazing little people who grow and change everyday.
They also annoy the heck out of me and does anyone want to borrow them for the weekend?

How can all these emotions happen simultaneously??????????

quickies

Go away perverts!

1. I made it to 31 without having braces. According to my fine dentist whom I trust, I will not be able to say the same thing at 32.

2. My children are SO annoying it's cute! The big one has a 13 year old sass mouth and the little one narrates his entire day! Maybe I will be bored enough later to bring you some of that.

3. I don't remember the last time I took pictures of my children. I am a horrible mother!

4. Work is settling a little, and I am counting down every day until spring break!

5. The new house is still up in the air because of attorney review issues.

6. The old house is not going anywhere. 4 months on the market and not a single showing. Looks like the price will be dropping yet again next week.

7. Without thinking, I just ate an entire box of Peanut Butter Patty Girl Scout Cookies! What was the last stupid thing you did?

8. I can't spell check my entries anymore because work internet is strange and moody.

Thrilled and Chilled

I have been reading Amalah for several years now, ever since Jamie got me hooked.

If you don't read Amalah, you should check her out. I connected right away because at the time she was pregnant with her son Noah. I was pregnant with Grant. CLICK. Noah is actually a scant 3 weeks older than Grant and I still read daily to see what he's doing and how she's holding up. She is funny and real.

Well, this week when her dream of a second pregnancy became a reality, I cried for her. And I cried for me. Because I don't think I will ever know that instant joy caused by a little pink line again. It is becoming more real that we can not afford, or should not afford, a third child. Beyond that, I think we are already outnumbered at 2-2. (The puppy dog face trumps reason every time!)

I will still read Amalah daily and live through her. I will pray for her and wish I lived closer so we could run into each other at the grocery store and I could confess that I'm stalking her.
Meanwhile, I will be a little sad that I'm not pregnant with her this time around.

But the kids are really good...

I was on a posting roll for a while there... and then....

-3 snow days out of 6 weekdays.
-A home inspection.
-My students turned in a research paper to be graded.
-I added that to the pile of homework and classwork.
(That wasn't getting graded due to house distractions.)
-Parent-Student-Teacher conferences.
-A major competition for the flag team I coach.
(Which was further complicated by said snow days.)
(However we got 1st so that was COOL!)

SO... I've been distracted and out of touch.
And as if that weren't enough, for the last 3 days our work e-mail system has been more down then not. When was the last time you went for more than a day with out comunicating via e-mail at work. I think this might be more detrimental then the snow days!

I feel buried alive.

Hurry up and wait!

So, it was a busy weekend.

Friday we had a "Snow Day" here in greater Chicagoland. Which was wonderful, except that I was already in the shower with shampoo in my hair when we got the call that school was cancelled... and we still had to get up sort of early because we had to be out of the house for the cleaning people, who never came because of the snow. But we had a nice breakfast out, and ran some errands, and went and worked out which was actually nice in the middle of the day when the machines were available.

Mid-day on Friday, we received yet another counter offer from the house sellers, we countered them... they came back asking us to come up $1000. Really people, $1000, is the "last word" that important to you... FINE! Take your $1000 and give me my house!

SO... if we can manage to find some sucker, I mean worthy family, to give us a contract our house within 60 days we will have our new house by summer. It took us only 3 days to hammer out a contract and now we wait 60 days to see if things will really work out.

In the meantime, this weekend was NUTS!
Saturday: Ballet class, Birthday party, Babysitting parents for Bill Engval performance ie Date night!
Sunday: SUPERBOWL!

I'm actually glad to be back at work!

Really and Truly, CRAZY- updated 2x

ORIGIONAL POST: 10:00am....
Soooooooo, Tuesday we put in a bid on a house! A beautiful home in a nice neighborhood with a park in easy walking distance and short drives to all the schools. We are in love with this house... a couple problems though....

1. WE HAVEN'T YET SOLD OUR CURRENT HOUSE!

2. The realtor representing the new house is dicking around with us. (Was supposed to have a respond to us last night and then claimed she didn't get the offer until 5:30 so we'd have to wait until tonight... we know they got it by 11am because it was time stamped! UGH)

3. Our own realtor is out of town and we are working with an associate of hers who just doesn't "get us".

4. I am PSYCHO about the whole thing and can't manage to get ANYTHING done at work or at home while waiting for a response.

I have SO much work to do today and just can NOT focus. I check my e-mail every 30 seconds and one ear is permanently applied to listening for faint cell phone ring from my purse. I will refrain from telling you more because I really can't focus on this and it has taken me 15 minutes to type this quick little post!

UPDATE 11:20 am... We got a counter offer! Thrilled but can't talk to realtor until next teaching break at 12:15... will update again!

UPDATE 1:15 pm... Decent counter offer, nothing too out of the ordinary except that as a home-sale contingency (meaning we have to sell our house by a certain date) they can make requirements for our current home... AND, they want us to drop our price by at least $10,000. Not sure about that part, lots of thinking to do....

Thanks Jamie!

39%

30% Geek

I couldn't get the other one to work.... Maybe I am not geeky enough!

The real me

I am considering getting a tattoo.

Several people whom I've told this too asked me if I'd been invaded by aliens or pod-people or something. Why is this so unbelievable?

Seriously, I am a fun person, I like spontaneous things, I have a sense of adventure!
I don't know why no one believes me but I DO!

I am thinking of a little solar system, planet, moon, stars kind of thing...
Or a heart/wings kind of thing...
Either way, It will have the initials A, B, G worked into it for Adam, Brianna, and Grant.
And I will leave room to add more initials but I'm 90% sure that is not going to happen.

I also know where... lower back/upper tush region. High enough that I could potentially show it if I choose too, low enough not to hurt too much. (I hear it hurts less on fleshy/fatty areas)

I think the strangest thing about all this is that it was my mom's idea. My over-60, church going, wait-until-your-married, not too many piercings please mom. My mom whom is lovingly and accurately described as "Sally Field" by my sister.

Adam is good with it, he'll even get one too.
Jamie is considering it.

An Interesting proposition to be sure!

The Frustration of the day is...

I joined a gym, a nice gym, a Health Club even! Adam and I are very proud of ourselves and have been going often (for the first 2 weeks). Said nice health club comes with exorbitant start up fee but said fee comes with "free" fitness testing including blood work, a cardio-stress test, 2 "free" personal training sessions, fitness counseling, a nutrition consultation, and some other cool stuff.

HOWEVER, they can't fit me in for this wonderful "free" testing for at least 4 weeks! People, why do I want my start up testing 6 weeks into my working out?!?! Why didn't they have more staff available if they have all these January Joiners? OR- Have the testing on a frickin' weekend already! I do work for a living and can't take off whenever the frick I feel like it!

UGH!

I want it bad...

First, a quick Hello to all the pervy Internet people... now go away, it's not about THAT.

I want to have a 3rd child. I want a third little person to love and grow and nurture. I want to watch another little person look more like Adam than me, and be deliriously happy.

I know that I should feel more than thrilled with the 2 beautiful children who already bless my life everyday. I know that a 3rd child is more work and more money and more headaches. All I can say to that is, bring it on! I was nauseous for months before, I can handle it again. Wake up for 6 months every night, multiple times, I can't think of anything I'd love more!

My loving husband thinks I am more nutso than a tree full of squirrels. He is SO DONE.
Before you even go there, I would never, n.e.v.e.r, knowingly try for a baby with out his knowledge and agreement. I need his full agreement, full patience, full happiness, full support. That being said, I still want one so badly I hurt a little.

I hurt to think that no other little person will get to be a sibling to the wonderful, beautiful, happy children we already have. I hurt to think that I will never feel those little kicks in the mornings, or watch my belly roll from side to side like a roller coaster, or again know what it's like to first hold that tiny little person who is part you and part the man you love more than anything.

I could go on and on, but I can't go on.
Lets keep this little emotional breakdown to ourselves okay?

Brianna

Brianna is a beautiful,


fearless (except for dogs),


Silly,


Monkey,


Princess!

Grant

Grant likes to play "hi-seek mama"
This means we spend much of our day seeking to find where he is hiding.
It's usually in the pantry!



Grant is a stinker and he knows it!




Hi-seek mama also has some fun perks.
(I swear people, this was his choice of a seat, not mine! Leave DCFS out of it, I have many witnesses!)

So many things to say

For once, I have a little free time today AND have enough brain cells to think and type! So much has been going on with our lives and I have had so little time or energy to talk about it.

1. Our home is on the market! YES, I know it's the worst possible time to sell a house, thank you for telling me the obvious. I could have proved that to you by the fact that in nearly 90 days on the market we have had exactly NO SHOWINGS! That's right, 3 months on the market, with a professional realtor, and we have had no one come see our home. YES- we have had open houses, those people weren't serious lookers, they were mostly our curious neighbors. YES- we have lowered our price, TWICE. We are trying to stay positive and look at this as a marathon. It's okay to start off a little slow as long as we finish the race within the time we'd hoped.

2. I've over committed myself at work, but that's not really new, just different on any given day. This year it's the program review committee, the internal community committee, the school improvement planning committee, team leader, flag coach, and 6th grade committee co-chair. Not to mention teaching my 100 or so kids and planning for them and grading all the work they do. Some people have said to my face that I need to slow down. They are mostly my co-workers who just complain about problems and then don't offer to help find solutions. I see myself as a go-getter who wants to be part of the solution. And the fact is, none of it will hurt when my resume looks fabulous in 2 years and I want an administrative position!

3. Oh yeah, did I mention I have two WONDERFUL children who are so amazing it's earth-shattering? The kids are growing so fast.
Brianna is curious about absolutely everything and does nothing but ask questions. I hate to stunt her curiosity, but I might muzzle her! :-) On the plus side she is learning so much and constantly astounds me with the things she picks up. Good and Bad things!
Grant has really found his voice too. Literally. He talks all the time. Sometimes to himself, sometimes to us, sometimes to the toys and TV. He can talk in short phrases and 3-4 word sentences now, it's amazing to hear him form questions and thoughts and actually understand what is going on inside that cute little head of his. On the other hand, I will be trying to find out if muzzles come in his size too. He actually figured out recently that "okay honey" is not the correct answer to whatever it is he's trying to tell me... Now he repeats his phrase over and over and over and over and over and over until I repeat back the right words and respond properly to the comment. Some favorites:

da da dat date mommy?--- Translation: Are we there yet mommy?
sis dack ot ide mommy.--- Translation: It's dark outside mommy.
ca bankie binkie ie ead mommy. Translation: Car blankie and binky are in bed mommy.

(Notice how they all end in mommy... you would think daddy was just a prop or a toy. He apparently is not to be asked questions of, even when he's in the same room or car!!!!!)

WELL- I guess I should go teach class now. Maybe I'll be back later with pictures...

Thanks for the idea Jamie!

You Belong in London

You belong in London, but you belong in many cities... Hong Kong, San Francisco, Sidney. You fit in almost anywhere. And London is diverse and international enough to satisfy many of your tastes. From curry to Shakespeare, London (almost) has it all!

What European City Do You Belong In?