To Do List

If you are done with your shopping,
And bored stiff.
Come on over and give me a lift!

My "To Do" list is growing,
not an end in sight.
Too bad there is only 24 hours,
to get it all done with my powers.

To pack for our trip,
2 weeks for me and kiddo.
Daddy to join after a bit-
All the presents must go,
Don't know how they all fit.

On the house we must close,
Before I hang someone by their toes.
My sanity is long gone,
I want my mortgage broker long gone!

Add in the usual,
Laundry and stuff.
It is enough to make me gray,
or at least drive me nuts!

Hanging out with Daddy

Saturdays are for football and one must dress appropriately.   It's hard to tell but that is an orange turtleneck and there is a brown bow in our hair. 

Saturdays are for hanging out with Daddy.  We don't like it when he goes somewhere without us. 

And while all this Daddy and Mags time is going on, Mommy is doing this.

Remembering to cherish all the time with family- no matter what is going on!

The Getting Old Christmas List

You know you have aged when your Christmas wish list is no longer toys.  My Mom and Meme asked what I wanted- here is what they were told (in preferential order)

1.  A new closet (doors, organizor- the whole nine yards!)
2.  A new front door
3.  Fabric to recover my dining room chairs
4.  A rug to match the new dining room chairs
5.  New carpet

Hmm.... why do I have the feeling that I am going to get a Lowe's gift card?

Not ready

I was ready for sitting up. 

I was ready for walking.

I was ready for talking.

I was even ready for temper tantrums.

I was NOT ready for her to start climbing out of the crib. 

I am not ready for her to be in a regular bed. 

Why can't my baby stay in the baby bed?

Checkup News

Maggie has survived her 18 month checkup.  She is the 75th percentile for height  and 50th for weight.  Hopefully she'll stay that way- tall and skinny!  He said the runny nose and cough weren't anything to be concerned with and that it was on its' way out.   Kind of felt like I got a brush off so we'll see how the next week goes and then we may be back.

Mags didn't want anything to do with Doc.  We passed him in the hall on the way to the room and she started wailing!  Calmed down with the nurse and then when he came in went back to wailing!  Maybe she knew the vaccines were coming.

She is developing normally- has 10+ identifiable words (20+ if you count animal sounds) and is showing her temperment well.  Or should I say temper.  Stubborn would be one good way to put it.  My mom says they disciplined me with a 2x4, I have a feeling Maggie is going to need a 6x6. 

On a side note- my spell check button has disappeared.  How do I make it come back?

Time flies

Tomorrow is Maggie's 18 month checkup.  Yes, she is almost 18 1/2 months but hey- I work.  They don't do well child checkups after 3:30 most of the time so...

I just hope for two things:
- an answer to the ever present runny noses that is now attached to a cough and me getting no sleep

and

- a solution to the continual prescences of yeast diaper rash.  (They are probably tired of us calling and asking for refills too!)

Giveaway

Dana is giving away an amazing children's book!! 

Go check it out and enter for your chance to win. Contest ends on Wednesday!

Pitiful Blogger

Since meeting Dana and entering the world of blogging, I am continually amazed at what is out there.  Some nights, when I have a minute, I love checking out the people linked to those I know.  I have cried and laughed and fallen in love with people I have never met.  Sometimes I leave messages and comments, most of the time not.  I guess that makes me one of those voyer people.  However,  after reading so many of them I feel so inadequate to leave a comment. 

I am lucky.  My family is healthy, we have good jobs, and a terrific support system.  I am confident in who I am and where I want to go.  Sure there are things I want to improve about myself but I am fighting no major internal battles.  I read about people struggling with a variety of illnesses both themselves or their children, families that have lost jobs, and the such- I feel that I have no right to give advice.  I don't know what it is like to be them. 

I am not a good writer. I do not conjure up pictures with my words or evoke tears with my thoughts.  I put it simply with as many words as I can spell.  To read through posts, I am continually awed by what is out there.  Mandy who says so much with so few words.  Dana how can make you cry, laugh, and want to argue in a paragraph.  Kristy who cracks me up and makes me smile with every craft posted. Alas, I am not even in the same playing field as these ladies. 

So, thanks for reading my pitiful blog.  I will continue to post mudance, for the most part uninspiring items.  :)  Love you guys!

PS- I've lost my spell check button so please excuse any spelling errors- I am sure there are quite a few!

Halloween

Since our neighbor can be a little sketchy sometimes- we crashed Dana's and Maggie went Trick or Treating for the first time!  We did manage to get a few pics of the complete costume but for the most part we went sans hood.

Dana caught this pic before we started out...

My picture before we went to Dana's and Bucky pushing our crusin' Tiger.

We even had Trick-or-Treat PJ's for afterwards!  (Thanks Grandma!)

I just want you to look at the hair in this picture.  Those curls are not from me- mine is NO where near that- check out the ringlet at her neck.  Her hair probably reaches past her shoulders when it is wet and straight.  You would never know that looking at these.  Her hair has filled in tons in the past year but we still look like a little one because it has yet to cover her head and it appears as if there is next to none.

On a side note- anyone want to become the contact person for the future when I don't know what to do with that mass of curls?

On the road...

Aiken County was so kind to give me two days off, without pay of course, so Maggie and I loaded the car, picked up Grandma and drove up to the DC area to see Granddaddy.   Yes, 9 hours.  3 girls.  1 car with way to much stuff.  (I still can't figure out that part).

We played, we walked, we strolled, we forgot the camera.  No pictures.  :(

We screamed all the way home.  Well, maybe the last 2 hours.  Yes, I said we.  Mom and I were joining Maggie in her frustrational cries.

So guess what?!?!  We are doing it again in December!!  Want to join us?

Late like always

I grew up almost always being late.

Getting 4 girls (3 of us and Mom) out of the house to do anything was near impossible.

So once I was on my own, I vowed I would not be late. And then I had a baby. I did well when she was little. But this walking, wanting independence thing, is throwing a HUGE monkey wrench in my timeliness. I must fix. I can't stand not being early.

Condiment Kid

Maggie has been renamed Condiment Kid. We can't eat without condiments.

Fries must have ketchup.

Nuggets must have BBQ.

Chips must have salsa and/or sour cream.

Cookies must have milk.

And tonight's addition...

Hot dogs must have mustard AND chili!

Maggie's First Game

Bucky was determined Maggie go to a game this year. We decided Saturday looked good- not to hot, not to cold. Then I looked at the rain chances. 60-70%. Hmm... it has almost never rained during a game. We took our chances. It didn't rain, while we were in the stands that is. We came out at halftime to let Maggie run, then the heavens opened and the delays came. Here are some pics of our little cheerleader.

Matching paw prints with Aunt B!

Sharing

Maggie has this sharing thing down pat- she shares everything... including her dinner. She shared that with the cat... on the table... off of her plate! The whole time, she sat there smiling and giggling, saying Moo, Moo. Needless to say- the table has been Cloroxed and the plate is in the dishwasher with extra soap. We really are clean people, I promise!

Kid Says...

Due to a lack of textbooks at the beginning of the year, our reading teacher couldn't use the book because all my kids didn't have one. She decided to read novels with the classes. Her homeroom was given the novel How to Eat Fried Worms. One of their assignments was to create a restaurant menu using worms. Keeping that in mind, along with the fact that the special bunch of children attend our school and their world view is TOTALLY different that most, she sent me this message the other day: So... I'm grading the worm menus today and I get to John Doe, and it one of his food items is Fried Worm Balls. The description of fried worm balls is.... the worms balls. I start reading this, get to worm balls- am thinking hush puppy like objects, then continue reading... no... more like Rocky Mountain Oyster!

Giveaway

So by six degrees, I have met Lu- she is an amazing woman who can more done in a day than I can in a week! She was given the chance to review a thermometer- after Maggie fought me today trying to take her temp.- this thermometer sounds like a perfect solution! Go check out what she has to say at Hyperactive Lu!

Bunco

We have a group from school that gets together once a month to play Bunco. We start with dinner and adult beverages and then let the dice fly. This is year 4 of playing and Bucky has now labeled it my monthly contribution to my coworkers because I NEVER win! Once again tonight I lost out on being the biggest loser (which gets you money) by 1 loss. Ugh.... If you have never played you need to learn how- it takes NO skill whatsoever! You throw the dice and hope it lands on what you need. Bunco's happen when you get 3 of whatever you need. It is a great time and I look forward to my monthly free time. Google it and you will find a ton of stuff out there. It is great to play at family events/holidays.

Week in Review

I teach spelling... I misspelled multiple items this week, my kids corrected me. Hmmm.... We tried to make change in math. I am glad cash registers exist- otherwise we better all switch to a credit/debit card system. We can't count quarters and don't know what a nickel is worth. Uh Oh. I have never had to teach money before- google here I come for lesson plans! Maggie's ear is better I think. We'll find out Monday when she has her recheck. Mine on the other hand, sounds like a machine gun everytime I blow my nose. That is a new one to me. Bucky thinks he an ear infection now though. I swear they are contagious!! Good note- we have NOTHING to do this weekend! Yipee!!!

Kitty

Me: Maggie look at the birdie. Maggie: Kitty. Kitty. Me: No... birdie... tweet, tweet. Maggie: Kitty. This continues until I give up. So we go inside and play with the kitty. She knows his name- Moo. Sorry to anyone else that has a cat that Maggie meets, their name will be Moo also. Nestle, the cat at the babysitters is now Moo, so are her two dogs. I think we may have some confusion when it comes to learning animal sounds.

179 more...

I think I would rather teach 10 second days of school than 1 first day of school... I am pooped. Things I have learned already about 4th grade: 1- They are SO little! 2- My vocabulary needs to come down a level 3- I must repeat everything 10x more than the 10x I previously did 4- It is nice to be teaching kids not little adults 5- They wear me out! I have never tried to help so many people at the same time! Self-sufficiency will be a goal of our year. Tomorrow is Day 2 and I am cracking the books. I think it will make me feel better to be in "normal" mode. On a family note- Maggie had her 15 month checkup today. She has, yes, ANOTHER ear infection. We keep alternating ears. Hopefully like normal, a round of Augmentin will take care of it. I don't know how my child is supposed to be a swimmer with all these ear infections :) She is in the 50th% for weight and 90th% for height- hope she stays that way. Fingers crossed there is no reaction from the vaccines. Need to get some good pictures of her soon. She is growing sooo fast.

Excitement

I just can't get excited... I just can hide it. I am in control and I don't like it. I think I need a pep me up theme song to get excited about school for this year. Suggestions?

Isle of Palms 2009

Meme and Mr. B own a timeshare at Isle of Palms, SC. Loving her namesake, we were invited to join them for the week. We crammed our family, Meme and Mr. B, my sister Britt, and my parents into a 3 bedroom condo. Tight squeeze. It was great to be at the beach until we tried to play on the beach.

(Ignore me in this pic- I think Jenny, that is Jenny Craig called while we were on vacation)

Maggie HATED the sand! She doesn't like to get dirty- nothing on hands, arms, legs, and most of all feet! However I spent the greatest $5 on a pair of "water" shoes- problem solved. We never got her down on the sand without the shoes, but at least we didn't have to hold her the whole time.

Needless to say, we spent a lot of time at the pool.

Good for Everyone Products

Dana is doing another giveaway and this time it is for a $25 gift certificate for Ecostore USA. They asked her to do this giveaway because she is such an amazing blogger. They even sent her two products- a household cleaner and baby moisturizer. After testing both- Dana was thrilled with the results and raves about them. Check it out!

You must be kidding?

We are at the beach- one of the greatest, most amazing parts of our world if you ask me. So when I think of the beach, I often conjure up images of a clean place, healthy people, and a lot of untouched ecosystem (hint... we are NOT at Myrtle- hence the untouched land...). So imagine my shock this morning when I got to recycle my Diet Coke bottle and there is NO place to do so!!! No little green bin or blue bag, no recycle symbols, nothing! You must be kidding me...

If my little hometown and the many podunk towns I have visited can manage to recycle- why can't we here?

Hanging out with the youngins'

Chip's wedding was fantastic- we got to see lots of friends from college. Mostly Betas, so got lots of pics with Bucky and the boys.

Can't have a Clemson wedding without the cadence count- GO TIGERS!

It is tradition in Bucky's fraternity to serenade the bride with one of their songs. They have done it at every wedding we have been to but weren't going to do it to Courtney because they didn't know the words! Kids today! So- using their college degrees, they realized that they could look them up. Yes, they sang looking at the words on an I-Phone. Technology.

Busy, Busy

Our 3 weeks of nonstop have begun. Bucky and I went to Chip's wedding yesterday- CHILDLESS! Love my mom to pieces for this one! What is so exciting about that? Yeah the wedding was fabulous- great food, drinks, and friends but this was the FIRST time I had spent a night away from Maggie. Bucky has been away numerous nights, I do mean numerous, me none. We have another wedding this weekend and then leave for the beach on Sunday for a week so I have a busy week of laundry and prep ahead. Whew...

Remembering...

About 10 years ago, Bucky and I started dating. At that same time, Bucky's mom started dating someone. Mr. Teddy. She moves a whole lot faster than I do and they were married that same year. For all my "life" with Bucky, Mr. Teddy has been a part of it.

Yesterday, we said goodbye to Teddy under the same tree where he said "I Do" to Bucky's Mom 10 years ago. In the early morning of the 4th, Teddy took his Independence from the cancer and went to a pain free and loving home. I am so glad that Bucky got to be there for him mom during all of it. I know he has been her rock so many times before.

It is hard to imagine going to visit in Mullins and Teddy not being there. He always had a smile and kiss ready for me and unwavering patience with my fascination with horses. No matter how many times I visited, he would make sure I got to ride each time if possible (you would think I might be decent at it by now then). His hand amazed me. They could be so gentle with a horse in need, so handy to build a flower shop or addition to the house, so loving to help a bride into the carriage for her wedding, and so strong to weather the events that his family has endured. He had some of the longest fingers I have ever seen and his fingernails were really wide- they covered the whole width of the finger, with next to no skin around the edges that you saw from top. It is amazing the little things you think about when you remember someone.

I can only wait until the time that I can see Teddy again. For the day, he can play with Maggie once again but until I remind myself that he has gone home, to a better place where he can watch over all of us.

Giveaway!!

Nothing better than the chance to win free stuff.....

Amazing Dana has an amazing family. Her Aunt makes super cool jewelry and Dana is giving some way!! The prize is one of the chunky bracelets in the picture.

You can also check out her Aunt's other pieces at her etsy shop. I love the Recycled and Reloved Pendant!

Check out Dana's blog to enter and best of luck to you... but don't get too excited- I AM GOING TO WIN!!

It never ends

So being the list maker I am, I made a list of everything around the house I wanted done. We have managed to mark quite a few things off the list but in doing so, added twice as many! Poor Bucky... Two of the items on the list were to fix the Man House roof and get central AC/Heat in the "old" part of the house. I spent my entire morning on the phone arranging people to come out and give me an estimate. There are some interesting people out there, and some of them think rather highly of themselves and their businesses. I know you get what you pay for, but based on some of these estimates, either my house should feel like the Antarctic without raising my power bill or the Man House roof should withstand a category 5 hurricane. Too bad we don't own a bank. Hopefully tomorrow will bring some more estimates with more reasonable amounts on the bottom line. I get to install my fancy-schmancy trash can cabinet during nap time tomorrow- wish me luck! It will be one more item off the list. Only 42 more to go....

Adventures to DC... so far...

We made it here. All alive and in one piece. Not for a lack of trying to drive us nuts on Maggie's behalf. Leaving at the crack of dawn was the grand plan- Maggie sleeps- we drive... sounds great? Would have been if Maggie slept. Instead we fuss, we throw tantrums, we have diaper blow-outs in the middle of nowhere. The blow-outs were especially fun since Aunt B doesn't do stinky diapers well, or should I say at all?

But alas we arrive to find lots of fun things! My parents got Maggie the neatest chair from IKEA and one of the Pottery Barn chairs she loves too. The teddy bear chair works like one of those old lawn chairs, so you can bend the waist, arms, and head to all different angles. She loves it!

We are working on getting things for the house, however Mom and I have extremely different taste when it comes to color. I like it, she doesn't it. Resell beige all the way.

Got the camera charged and hopefully I'll get some decent pictures of Maggie playing- she loves the stairs here! However, she won't come down them... doesn't like the height, won't go near the railings either...smart kid.

On the Road

It just erased my post. Grrrrr.... We are driving to DC tomorrow. Fingers crossed all goes well and Maggie doesn't kill her carseat! I'm not typing it all again. Sorry, you got the abbreviated version this time.

Things... they are a changin'

Got some news the other day... I have been moved to 4th grade!! I have always taught 5th, variety of schedules and subjects, but always 5th graders. Going through school, I started with the intention of teaching middle school (back when an elementary certificate got you K-8) but by the time I finished I was only 3-5. I knew I didn't want 3rd, 4th was really not that appealing- I loved 5th! Well, I am going to have to learn to love 4th now... Thankful, I am going to only have to teach math and science. At least I won't have a chance to ruin another generations reading skills. So now I am off to plan new lessons, with a new math book and new standards, so much change! FYI- I usually don't do well with change... hmm....

To read...

Motherhood

Busy, Glorious

Cleaning, Running, Loving

Toddler, Home, Romance, Literature

Reading, Imagining, Pretending

Smutty, Thick

Novel

Oh glorious novel, how I miss your wordy, overly descriptive pages... if only things were quiet enough to find my way back to you... one day, I will once again find my way into your wonderful pretend world... oh romance novel, how I miss you!

On my knees again...

This time last year, I was on my knees praying that wonderful childcare would be found. My prayers were answered and then some. We were lead to Dana (Thanks Mandy!) and I have never thought twice about Maggie's care since then. It has been as wonderful, if not better, than me staying at home. Dana is the most wonderful mother. She is caring and loving, structured and healthy, everything a mother should be. She has taught Maggie and I so much... Maggie is such an amazing child because of the amazing family that takes care of her. Got to give props to the rest of the Ellis Family! However, it is time for Dana to return to school :( Yeah for her, sad for the loss of the greatest caregiver in the world! So once again, I am on my knees praying that he will lead us to another great caregiver. I was telling Bucky the problem is going to be that I have experienced excellence and won't accept anything less. I know, I am spoiled, I am rotten, I don't want to give her up. But I also know, she has to do what is best for her and her family. I am once again, ending and beginning each day with a prayer that his plan for us includes another person to love Maggie as much as we do and the Ellis family has. On a lighter note- we are WALKING! She has decided it is better than crawling and we are on the go. You know me and technology, I am trying to get video posted...

So much...

So much has happened....

We celebrated Maggie's first birthday last weekend. I am a horrible mother and didn't take any pictures so I am relying on other's to share theirs. It is taking a while to compile all of them but Dana got this one on her actual birthday (Friday, May 1). The party was great on Saturday- we are so blessed to have an amazing family and terrific friends!

It is hard to believe that a year has gone by. I didn't get teary eyed until I was uploading photos and came across Mother's Day last year. My first and Nana's last... she went to a better place after 98 years and hanging with us long enough to meet her great-great-granddaughter. 5 generations together for one of the last times. This is the last picture we have of everyone....

School is winding down and I have struck the jack-pot. We have "STAR Celebrations" each nine weeks for students with A's in conduct. Usually a committee determines what is going to happen but that is a whole another story. This nine weeks each grade level is on their own so I got in touch with one of my parents that is a manager at Cracker Barrel and.... wooo hooo! We are having grits, pancakes, and sausage breakfast for our kids!! Cost to us- $0! They are donating part of it and he is paying for the rest. Mad props to Cracker Barrel!

Dana has gotten wonderful pictures of Maggie lately- I am grateful for her presence in our life every day. I couldn't imagine a better caregiver for my child.

Whew...

I wish I could go to bed tonight and wake up and repeat today. Things were going really well until this afternoon. Bless Lindsey. Someone hits her car, she takes it to get fixed, she gets rental- guess what I do? Yes. I did. Big as day. Hit the rental. Joy. The worst part of it? It didn't do anything to my car- dented her bumper, well I should say Enterprise rent-a-car's bumper. Fantastic! Other than that, Maggie will be 1 on Friday. Her party is Saturday- I can't wait to see everything come together. I keep stressing over things and then have to remind myself- she won't remember it. A few good photos and that will last :) I hope that everyone else had a better start to their week-

We need an agent...

I know, I am partial. However.... Alltel should pay us to have phones with this cuteness advertising for them.

If you are wondering- she is looking at a picture of her. :)

She loves to chew on a phone. It makes it kind of hard to hear sometimes.

Random Thoughts

Technology is great. Until it doesn't work. My kids emailed me their conservation essays. Now I have to get savvy and grade them.... Bright pink dress + white skin = need for tan- ASAP! I am in a wedding this weekend, LOVE the color of the dress, don't love the color of my skin. Light bulb comes on- I can tan without the UV rays- I will try mystic tanning. Wow- it is expensive... ended up with a whole package. That sales girl was good. Bucky has lost 10% of his body weight since Jan. (that is almost 30 lbs.) Go him!! I wish I could say the same.... my goal is by July 26. We got to the beach on the 27th. :) Caught one of my kids writing notes about things they shouldn't know about. About things I didn't know about until the END of high school... where do they learn these things?! How do I prevent Maggie from learning them? I couldn't imagine explaining this item to a 10 year old!! Ahhh....

Engine trouble...

I have come to the realization that we will never be without a car payment. The check engine light came on, again, in the Rodeo. Hmmm.... I think this makes the 10th time. You name, we have done it to that car. We probably could have bought a nice used car for what we have put into it. But, we looked at it as if it was cheaper to fix it then to make a $$$ car payment every month. The truck is almost paid off and we didn't want to payments at the same time. I am sure GMAC wouldn't mind though. :) We are going to try and hold off as long as possible. If we can make it a couple more months, the truck will be done and we can just replace making that payment with a new payment. I had really wanted to have a couple months, maybe a year, with no payment but it seems as if there are other intentions out there. I do want something with more seats though...

Yet again

Maggie's been running a fever for a couple days now. She's had a cough for a couple weeks. So, I finally called the doctor and he saw her yesterday. My biggest concern was the fact that her cough is really loose- like she gags herself sometimes. I had thought that was a good thing- like it was clearing up until the fever came and then I wondered if it might be something else. Well, it's not. The doc said she just had a cold. No meds necessary, keep giving Tylenol for the fever. But we didn't get out without any prescriptions.... We have, for the 3rd time, an ear infection. Joy. We blow dry her hair after washing it. We clean out her ears. But yet they keep coming back. I do not know how I feel about tubes. I just really wonder what has changed in the world that more and more kids are getting ear infections. We didn't get them this often when we were little. What gives? Right now she has crashed, finally. She won't really sleep if she isn't cuddling. Understandable. When you don't feel good, you want to cuddle. Me too. I don't know who is snoring louder- Bucky or Maggie. :) Fingers crossed- one round of drugs will clear us up!

Maggie Pics

I was going to post the most recent Maggie pics but Dana just does such a better job- so check them out at her blog. You have to scroll past the most adorable baby- that is alright. His lips just make you want to kiss him!

Interview

I interviewed on Thursday. WOW. There is no other word to describe it. 5 questions judge how good of an Assistant Principal I would make. Hmmm... based on the answers I gave, I would give myself a not so hot shot at a new job. But, that is fine with me. They have seen my face and know my name. :)

I haven't interviewed for anything since I moved to Mossy. And then, that one was with just the principal. This time I got to sit on one side of a HUGE conference table with the 5 area superintendents and an assistant superintendent sitting across from me. Wasn't nervous until I sat down.

Either way it works out for me, we will know Tuesday night after the board meeting. Things are going to get interesting around here that is for sure. I am glad I have a job, assistant principal or not. I am glad my job lets me change the world, if only 1 student at a time. I am glad- I have turned over the outcome to a higher authority and I know that he will place me where it is best for myself, my family, and him.

On a side not- I was fussing at my kids today and checked my email to find this picture.... You can't help but smile. My Mom's reaction "She looks just like her mother did!" Thanks Mom!

Wow

I have been doing an incredibly poor job of posting. And of taking pictures of Maggie. The family is complaining :( In the fall, I was in school, teaching school, and Maggie was not as independent but yet I found more time to write. Maybe I needed the stress release more. Now that I have finished school and I finally feel like my feet are under me at school, I seem to have less time. But to catch anyone up... Maggie is pulling up and can stand very briefly on her own. Her favorite things are baths and meals. She loves to splash in the tub, anything within a 5 foot radius gets a bath when she does. Having Daddy's undivided attention during tub time might have something to do with it too. She isn't so fond of being fed these days by someone else. All she wants is big people food. Her favorite one is black eyed peas. Dana introduced her to these (had it been up to me- that wouldn't have happened- I dislike them). Put them on her tray with a bunch of other items, she is going straight for the black-eyed peas. On another note- school is crazy. Budget cuts stink. Government running education- ha! They are clueless. I'd like to see them do their jobs within the restrictions they place on us :) But hey- I love teaching, I love my kids, and I love education!

Fun Times...

Maggie had her 9 month check-up on Monday. We were glad that this was scheduled because we spent all weekend barking like a seal. Sleeping through the night was a thing of the past. Her cough was pretty bad so I stayed home with her Monday. Visit to Doc leaves us with 2 medications and a diagnosis of croup and an ear infection. Yes, ear infection number 2. A round of steroids down the hatch- the cough is minimal. The ear infection- who knows. She isn't pulling at it but, she wasn't pulling at it before we went to the Doc. Hmmm.... On the other hand... school is full of fun and exciting times these days. The BOE voted to not offer contracts to anyone that had been retired and rehired. That means 5 principals and 6 assistant principals won't be back next year. I completed my master's degree in educational leadership for a reason. I wanted to be able to change schools for the better. Well, here is my chance to put my name in the hat for a that possibility and I am not sure. I just don't know. This year is my 6th year teaching. I don't think I stand much of a chance against those that have been in the biz longer. I am going to talk to my principal tomorrow. I guess part of my fear is this- I am an overachiever. Yes I know, if I can acknowledge it- I should control it. Anyway- I have never applied for anything I really wanted and not gotten it. I am not sure how to handle that form of rejection. Such high expectations for myself! Ahhh... the internal pressure for excellence.

Little Personalities Emerge

Maggie celebrated her 9 month birthday on Sunday. She has now been outside longer than she was inside :) To ring in this special date- she has a runny nose. A very runny nose. We now know what the bulb syringe does too. Runny nose + bulb syringe = Unhappy Maggie. She has learned how to fight it- hands up pushing, turn head back and forth, arch back. I am so proud. She is getting pretty stubborn. Hmmm... I wonder who she gets that from?

Busy Week

I started this blog with the intention of posting regularly for the benefit of our families however when my mom asked me today what the address was so that she could finally go see it, I realized that I was doing this more for myself. I find blogging therapeutic. I get to celebrate, complain, whine to no one in particular. No one gets jealous or mad, no feelings get hurt, and I feel better!!! However, when life is norm- it leaves little to write about. There were a few small things worth mentioning this week.... On weigh-in day for team lean, Bucky has lost a total of 10lbs! :) I, on the other hand, have lost- just not as much (1.8). But hey- it is better than gaining. Maggie has decided that she likes to wake up once a night for a paci reinsertion and a back rub. Budget cuts stink. MAP test scores are overrated and overemphasized (that is for another day though). Science Fair Projects done at school have aged me AT LEAST a decade.

Cooking

Bucky and I both are doing Team Lean sponsored by the Family Y. We have signed up, had our initial weigh-ins, and are now on the road to lighter, healthier us. With Maggie watching EVERYTHING that goes in our mouths (and trying to grab it for that matter), we figured it was time to get some better eating habits. We have had grand discussions about what to and not to eat, what kind of foods to buy, how to cook things. I LOVE cookbooks, I have read every recipe, tallying up calories and fat grams in my head. We are ready. Full speed ahead. SPEED BUMP! Wait... to do this, someone actually has to cook these nice healthy meals. What?!?! Cook?!? Something other than tacos, spaghetti, meatloaf, and potatoes? Huh? I have spent today creating this weeks menu. After much thought and reading, I am no where. I have been to food network, facebook, and everywhere else I could think of looking for recipes. (Bucky is turning out to be a pickier eater than I would have thought.) Everything looks so daunting! Long list of recipes with soooo many steps. Have you ever tried to stir constantly or add something slowly while whisking with your toes being run over by a kid in a walker? Who has the time or the patience? Not I. But... GREEN LIGHT! I was led to the following blog crockpot365.blogspot.com ! She made a recipe in her crock pot everyday for a year. Jackpot! They don't have many ingredients and I am set. I am going to try a soup recipe tomorrow. I think that will battle the cold nicely. I have owned by crockpot since I got married and can probably count on one hand the number of times I have used it. But here goes... wish me luck!

Our First Illness

We can check off another 1st. Maggie had her first "illness". She woke up around 11:00 Thursday night sick. I do mean sick. She continued to be sick until the wee hours of the morning. Nothing has ever broken my heart more than to not be able to do anything to make her feel better. It was sooo pitiful! She ended up in the bed with us (which seems to be happening more and more these days) so that we could keep an eye on her. As pitiful as she was when she was getting sick, not 30 seconds later she would look at us and smile like nothing was wrong. After about 5 loads of laundry and Pedialyte later, she was back to her old self. But not before sharing her illness with me! Fun!