The Secret is in the Sauce

Being new to blogging I was excited to find this link on Mandy's page. If you post a link to their page on your blog, you can get access to all kinds of contest and stuff! (The cheetah pic to the left) I like the idea that they encourage meeting others through commenting on other peoples post. It is nice to know what those that read your page are thinking. Check it out- they explain things way better than I ever could!

A Better Mother

This week has been rough. After many breakdowns, I have come to terms with many things and think that I can make it another couple days at least. My mom said something the other day that surprised me. She told me she didn't know how I was doing it- working, going to school, Maggie, etc. This came from the lady that was a teacher with 3 kids involved in 3 very different lives. My response to her was that I wasn't doing it all- I was surviving it all. I was being a crummy teacher, student, mother, and wife. (Note- a flood of tears occurred at this point) But, I think I have a handle on that now.

To the title of the post- I got pictures developed the other day. After a month of trying to pick them up- that is a whole other story- I finally sat down to work on Maggie's baby book. Thinking it would only take me a minute to fill in the 4 month page, I was sadly mistaken. I hadn't done anything in her book since her 2 month birthday. I was three months, a whole bunch of first, and a family vacation behind! Now after my hour and half adventure, I feel like a better mother. I have caught the baby book up, up-dated the first year calendar, and fill in the photo album. The little things I don't want to look back on and feel like I missed out because I was too busy doing school work.

After much hassle with Walgreen's- I have some new pictures to post. Dana has gotten so good that Walgreen's accused us of printing professional photos and we had to get a release! Props to Dana- not happy Bucky. Anyway- it is a small price to pay to have a FABULOUS photographer watching our darling.

You can tell the difference in photographer- really good for the above pic (Dana) and OK for this one- me. Ha!

You can tell Maggie is the child of a teacher. 5 months- and got her nose in a book!

We have started baby foods and found that Maggie is not the only one that likes them!

I know- why is the cat on the table? Because I get tired of trying to dead lift 25lbs. of hair off the table while keeping gooey baby hands from touching everything in sight- including the cat. The table gets cleaned afterwards- I promise :)

Master's degree = busy work

I have reached the conclusion that a Master's degree in educational field just means you can survive tons of busy work, poor teaching methods, and horrible disorganization on the part of the university. I can't believe a school that is attended by such a large number of South Carolina teachers would be clueless as to the South Carolina certification requirements. While I am trying to finish up all my course work, I know have the joy of finding out what I need for that! Honestly... Other than that... Maggie still has an ear infection. She went back to the doc today and now has a new type of medicine. Bucky and I had great b-days. It is hard to believe that he is 30! As my sister would say, that is like halfway to dirt! We are headed to Bucky's moms this weekend for an engagment shower friend, so she gets to babysit Saturday night. It is hard to believe the last time she saw Maggie she was only a little over a month old! I promise to do a better job of posting things....

Giving Thanks

Such a little word that is never used enough... Growing up we don't like our parents "parenting" us, we don't like the work the teachers give us, or many of the life lessons sent our way. But the older I get, the more I wish I could go back and say "thank you" to all those people. Mom and I didn't get along well during the teenage years, but now I can't thank her enough for everything she did then and now. I have to say I have the best support system a mom, daughter, person could ask for. It is the amazing the power of a thank you. One of my former students sent me an email yesterday saying thank you and they missed me. This little 2 sentence blurb in my day made the rest of my day worthwhile. I can only imagine how much nicer the world would be if we all said thank you a little more. It really should become a habit for more people. I am going to try and say more "thank you's" starting with these: Thank you to... Mom and Dad for taking Maggie to the doc today for me in the middle of their packing, Bucky for taking over Maggie duty many evenings so I can work done, Dana for being the best, most caring, concerned babysitter ever, Brittany for keeping me grounded and laughing even if you are almost 30! according to the student section, Lee Ann for being my back up babysitter and, Kay for sharing her wisdom.

Politics

One of the things my mother told me never to discuss in public... I got an email today that made a very interesting point. The president gets a "pension" sum every year until they are 80. It pointed out that if McCain won and served 2 terms, we would never have to pay him this sum (he'd be over 80 by the end). On the other hand, if Obama won we would be paying the amount for the next 20something years. The total cost would be almost $5 million. Not that in the grand scheme of things that is a ton of money. (But to my little salary it seems like a lot) This does not impact my decision- I have yet to make one and really need to spend some more time researching the candidates but my point in all this is- when my hubby got home today and asked about my day I shared this email with him. Not in the interest of starting a discussion (I know we don't see eye to eye on very many political things) but just to share my day. It really was the only truly out of the ordinary thing that happened today. Anyway- it started a great debate. Like Mom said- shouldn't talk about politics in public. It amazes me every time this happens that someone I feel so in tune with so much of the time can differ so greatly in our opinions. Don't think that I am staunch in my ways and unwilling to move- I am more than happy to listen to his opinions and often find his point of view very eye opening. In fact, the more opinions and thoughts that are shared with me, the better I feel when I sit down the make a decision. Just wasn't in the mood for the grand presidential debate today. All I wanted was a nap. :)

I love my job...

I'm on my soapbox today. It has been one of those weeks and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. So, I am going to vent, bury it, and get over it (or at least try). Don't get me wrong, I love my job but there are just some days where I wonder where the education system is headed. Too many people that have been out of the classroom way too long are making decisions that impact those of us in the classroom. And bless their hearts, the kids are the ones effected and they have NO control over any of it. I would love nothing more than to go in my classroom, close my door, and just teach- fill their minds with knowledge on anything and everything... follow what path our hearts and minds take. It is shame that decisions and mandates take the fun and passion out of teaching. Anywho- GO TIGERS! Beat NC State!

Best Babysitter Ever

Nothing makes the school day better than opening my email and seeing an email from Dana. I got these super cute pictures of Maggie today and once again said a little thank you to the man upstairs for getting me in touch with her.