Alana-isms

The Latest

2012-01-24T21:25:00.002-05:00

So here's a quick scoop of the latest after my OB appointment yesterday:

-Pregnancy test was negative. (Duh! Guess I should be grateful they're thorough.)

-Had to go to the lab for blood work this morning and will re-do blood work again on Thursday morning to check my beta levels.

-Ultrasound on Thursday morning----they suspect there is a cyst on my left ovary and want to do an ultrasound to confirm and determine the size. Interesting....in looking over my blog posts after my miscarriage in '09, I had forgotten that I also had an ovarian cyst (which ended up bursting on its' own) at that time.

-Follow up appointment with doc on 1/30 for "follow up" and discussing plans for the future.

-Had to meet with my principal yesterday...fortunately I have 1st period planning period this school year. She is allowing me to be "late" to school for all of my blood work and OB appointments---missing most of my planning class period---rather than having to take a 1/2 day or whole day off work. Whew! This is the same woman who required me to take a half day of personal leave in order to attend the Open House at Emma's school on a teacher PLANNING day (with no students present, thus no substitute required,) so I am pleased and appreciative of her support.

-I'll post as I learn more.

Long Time Gone...

2012-01-22T17:12:00.006-05:00

Thank you Dixie Chicks for my opening mantra:
"A longtime gone/ No I ain't hit the roof since I don't know when/longtime gone/and it ain't comin' back again."

My blog avoidance started with work stress. For those of you who have been around for awhile (if you're still there??? I know I've been away for literally months.) Anyway, those who've been around will recall that I've been teaching at my current school for 4 years. I've been the reading department chair all 4 years that I've worked here. At the end of the first year and beginning of my 2nd, we had a member of our department who left our school without notice. This puts a HUGE burden on my shoulders as I must help the long-term substitute with grades, attendance, lesson planning, etc. It is a lot of extra work. (Unpaid, might I add.)

This year we started the school year off strong. My 5 person reading department was united and working well together. Then, the 2nd week of school, our newest member ended up being hospitalized. It was literally 2 months of burden for me...she neglected to return ANY phone calls or emails. Not only did we have NO idea where she was hospitalized or what was even wrong with her health, we had NO idea if she planned to return to teaching at our school. Eventually, my principal was able to file a grievance (because the teacher also neglected to return any correspondence with our principal....don't get me started about the total lack of professionalism.) At this point, they were able to hire a long-term substitute teacher who was
able to teach for the last 3 weeks of 1st quarter, and beginning part of 2nd quarter. Though the substitute was eager and helpful, it still created a lot of extra work for me. We were finally able to officially terminate the teacher who'd only taught 2 weeks at our school prior to taking medical leave and never returning anyone's calls. The week before winter break a permanent teaching replacement was hired (bless her heart!) She is sticking with things thus far...though you can imagine how rowdy her classes are after literally a quarter and a half of substitute teachers. Our new teacher is brand new to both teaching in our county AND to using the reading program implemented in my school. So, while I'm thankful she's here it has again been a lot of work helping to train her on the reading software, lesson plan formats, etc. Not to mention, she also was unfamiliar with our county's email and attendance system.

SIF:
This takes me to the latest...The latter part of 2011 brought me peace with being a mom to an "only." Not that she wasn't previously, but Emma has been such a delight to spend time with. She is eager to learn, SO smart, enjoys playing fun pranks, and has really mellowed out. She has grown to the stage where she has MUCH independence and ability to do things on her own. I truly love spending time with my girl. Around the time of Emma's birthday last September I had started a new mantra for myself---STOP moping around about not having Child #2 and focus on being the best mommy I can be for Emma.

I was finally okay with the idea of not expanding our family. I was truly comfortable emotionally for the first time in years. (Meaning, no longer wallowing over only having 1 child. No longer hoping/planning/longing for Child #2.) Though we only had a few items left in storage after my major purging of Emma's leftover baby items in 2010, I finally got rid of the rest---the high chair, the baby swing, the Suzy's Zoo crib bedding and room decor, and the rest of the baby and toddler toys. I was content with my life and at a good place.

Then the second week of January 2012, I had another miscarriage. (#3.) It was extremely early. SO early that I didn't even know I was pregnant until I started bleeding 9 days before my period should have been. This lead to a FB post I created on January 10th: "Could use thoughts, prayers and well-wishes...going through some stuff. Thanks!"

Tomorrow is my OBGYN follow-up appointment to verify that all is "okay." I've had a few of you who are also my friends in real life and/or on FBook ask me if the OB plans to do a recurrent loss panel. I'm hoping to have some answers tomorrow.

My awful cramping and bleeding (sorry for TMI) stopped around a week ago. DH and I both took one day off work. I was able to lay and cuddle and mope with him in bed all day...it helped immensely.

My difficulty now is that my emotions are in a state of chaos. I feel like every time I come to some type of acceptance of being a mom to "just" one, something happens to swirl my emotions around again. Why does my body have to wreak havoc on my emotions? I was finally---after years---at a place of acceptance. Now I am playing the "What If?" game again. What if I am meant to have another child? Is my miscarriage the Universe's way of telling me that I shouldn't have given up on my dream of expanding our family? OR what if this is some sick way of confirming my thoughts---#2 is not meant to be. Sighs. I'm working toward finding the self-acceptance I reveled in the last few months of 2011.

That's the "big stuff." I will try to be more proactive about blogging. I had forgotten what a great emotional outlet this is. Just typing this post has helped me feel some relief.

I'd appreciate love and well wishes for my morning appointment tomorrow. <3

Celebrity SIF

2011-09-22T22:22:00.003-04:00

I promise I'll be back this weekend with life updates and a MUCH belated Sock-it-to-me posting.

But I wanted to share a link I came across about actress Emma Thompson discussing her issues with depression, some of which were related to her dealing with Secondary Infertility.

Click HERE to read the article.

It's rare for most celebrities to mention or discuss fertility issues...especially with regards to secondary infertility. I was glad to see the issue brought to the limelight, though of course saddened that Ms. Thompson had to endure SIF issues at all.

Friday Night "Leftovers" (Back-to-School Edition)

2011-09-02T19:47:00.010-04:00

Whew! The last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind of back-to-school busy-ness.

The amazing, wonderful Danifred over at Sippycups are Not for Starbucks often hosts "Friday Night Leftovers" in which bloggers can post random list-like updates that don't necessarily pertain to only one topic.... I thought I'd bounce out of my blogging lull by joining in the fun.

So now the "Leftovers..." The things I've been experiencing and mulling over the past few weeks.

Family:
-Emma:
--Em started first grade! And she turns 7 in 2 weeks....Such a beautiful young lady inside and out. I am grateful for her each day and can't believe how quickly she is growing up. Sighs.
--She seems to be adjusting to first grade pretty well. She was disappointed the first few days of school because only 2 of the 18 students from her kindergarten class are in her 1st grade class this year. (One is the class bully who always had a desk by himself while the other kindergartners sat in tables of 4....the kid who punched Emma in the arm when I was sitting right beside her on the bus ride for the zoo field trip last year....GRRRRR! The other is a sweet, super quiet girl whose primary language is Spanish...she and Emma get along, but Em tends to play with more "extroverted" kids.) Her other former classmates were dispersed to other 1st grade classes.
--Today marks the end of week #2 of school and Emma has made friends and shared stories of playing and interacting with her new classmates.
--She is excited to have her own desk and own books/notebooks/supplies (versus "community" markers, etc.) this year. While the desks are pushed together to form "tables," she still has a bit of independence, which is right up her alley.
--Her school opted to instate a uniform policy this year. (Yes, it's a public school.) Navy, white, or red polo shirt or plain t-shirt with khaki or navy pants/shorts/skirt/jumper. Emma has made me smile with her individuality as she wears socks and hair accessories that don't necessarily "coordinate" with her school attire. But I must say thus far getting ready in the morning has been SOOOOO much easier! No more battles and trying to re-negotiate on outfits chosen the night before.

Pics of Emma's first day:

Not sure what the kid in the background is so "surprised" about.

Notice the skull socks? A gift from my older sister, Michelle. If I remember correctly, Emma was wearing a pink hair bow in the back of her hair. I love my girl!

DH:
--Our 13th wedding anniversary is this weekend. (Which means we've been "together" for 16 years total---wow! Nearly half of my lifetime!) I am so fortunate to have him as a life partner. He helps me through highs and lows, cooks better and more frequently than I do, is a superb daddy for our Emma, and helps me to be a better person. Love ya, Aaron!
--Continues to keep on keepin' on with his writing. While still marketing his novel trying to obtain a literary agent, he has started writing yet another novel...amazing. I continue to be awed by his perseverance.

Parents:
--My parents are coming to visit for Emma's birthday and are going to visit Disney World with us for two days! I am SOOOOO excited about this! They haven't been to Disney since I was a baby in the baby-pack on my Dad's back. I'm stoked to watch them interact with Emma while we show them around the parks. Emma has been watching and re-watching the Disney vacation planning DVD (free from the park website!) and talking non-stop about the rides and activities she wants to do with Grandma and Grandpa. Of course I always look forward to visiting with my parents, but this particular visit will likely have a special kind of magic. :)

Me:
-Work:
--We have a new 6th grade administrator this year. He has helped to initiate amazing changes at my school. Though only the end of the 2nd week, we've had the smoothest opening-of-school since I started working at this school. There is a sense of calm and structure instead of the frenzied chaos of the last 2 years. Crossing my fingers that it lasts all school year...
--This Monday when I arrived at work there was a vase of carnations on my desk. The attached card was from my principal. The card thanked me for being the reading department head and stated that "children grow to love learning thanks to (me.)" I was amazed...SO nice to be acknowledged! I confirmed at lunchtime that flowers were placed on the desks of all subject area department heads. What a wonderful beginning of the year gesture to thank us for the time and effort we put in for NO extra pay!

-SIF:
--I had planned to post and question whether anyone else had felt "OUCH" this week when seeing multiple F.acebook posts "supporting breast cancer awareness" by playing a posting game....The following is cut/pasted from multiple messages in my FB inbox:
Ok pretty ladies, it's that time of year again, in support of breast cancer awareness!! Remember last year so many people took part that it made national news and, the constant updating of status reminded everyone why we're doing this and helped raise awareness!! Do NOT tell any males what the status' mean, keep them guessing!! And please copy and paste (in a message )this to all your female friends to see if we can make a bigger fuss this year than last year!!! I did my part... now YOUR turn! The idea is to choose the month you were born and the day you were born. Pass this on to the girls only and lets see how far it reaches around. The last one about the bra went round all over the world. So you'll write... I'm (your birth month) weeks and I'm craving (your birth date)!!! as your status.

Example: Feb 14th = I'm 2 weeks and craving Chocolate mints!!
January-1 week
Febuary-2 weeks July-10 weeks
March-3 weeks August-12 weeks
April-4 weeks September-13 weeks
May-6 weeks October-14 weeks
June-8 weeks November-16 weeks
December-18 weeks

(I'm not posting the super long 31 item list of candies and treats to "crave.")

If I had "played" along, I'd post: "I'm 4 weeks and craving Crunchies." First of all, I don't even know what the hell Crunchies are. Secondly, I was silently hurting a bit by reading about the multiple fake pregnancies of several FB friends. I fail to understand how posting and pretending to be PG is "supporting" breast cancer awareness. My 1st thought was that many cancer survivors are infertile due to the chemo and medications they endure to fight cancer. My 2nd thought was-- why are we are "NOT telling any males" about the "game?" How the heck can something promote awareness if you "hide" the purpose behind it? UGH. I had an internal rant (longer than this) ready to post. Then, I came across a blog, linked on FB by an old high school friend. I LOVE it. I completely agree with many of the author's points...

CGWardPhotography--Regarding the FB Breast Cancer Awareness Games

As much as we all hate to be part of the IF-world, it was nice to read that I am not the only person who found the "game" insensitive. What are your thoughts on the issue?

-Fun:
--Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll catch up....I have a cool "wax hand" post I need to write. I also need to update my books read list and postings.
--Off to start the 3 day weekend! :)

Edit: Upon blog-surfing this morning, I came across an entry today by the wonderful Mel over at Stirrup Queens. Another excellent post about how the cancer awareness games are hurtful to those experiencing infertility issues.

Back to School

2011-08-14T21:24:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow is the first day of teacher planning week. BOO!!!!!!! Hiss!!!! Drat! Summer has been wonderful this year...LOTS of visiting with family, extended family and friends. Lots of pool visits and swimming with Emma. I hate to see it end!

An Emma-ism from the pool today: While trying to float on her back, "Look! I'm making pool angels!" Yup...definitely the same motion to create snow or sand angles...just in a swimming pool instead. :)

Something to look forward to...the amazing Kym over at The Smartness is hosting Sock-It-To-Me week again! If you are a sock lover (or office supply lover) go sign up! :)

Maybe now that "summer" is over, I'll be back in a blogging groove???

Summer Vay-Cay--Mostly Photos Edition Part II

2011-07-30T12:18:00.012-04:00

Kicking myself for not taking photos of my parents, my older sister and her beau, or many pics with my younger sister....or pics of us with my friend Shannon and her family....sighs! But here's the rest of my favorites from what was captured on our camera:

Little Emma on the Prairie

We enjoyed our yearly visit to COSI, the amazing hands-on science museum in Columbus, OH. Auntie Laurel went with us.

(Excuse the fat rolls....but this pic was the best of the bunch.) :)

Em enjoyed playing in the "Kid Space" water area

Her water smock makes it look like she's going to Hogwarts. :)

Em thought it was cool to go inside this submarine.

My college friend Michelle hosted a cook-out at her house, where we were able to catch up with many of our friends from Ohio U.

Shannon (Michelle's daughter) and Emma

Molly's son Graham

Kasy with her youngest son, Trace.

Emma enjoyed playing on the Slip-0n-Slide--her first encounter using one.

Me and Michelle ("assigned" roommates at OU, but friends for life!)

Molly and I---pals since freshman year at OU

OU Girls: Sharon, Michelle, Shelly, Me, Molly, Kasy, Randie

I attended the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II" movie with my sister Laurel and DH. LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!

Emma, DH, and I went to the amazing Ohio Theater with my parents. Located in downtown Columbus, the theater shows old movies on weekends during the summer. Emma was fascinated with the organ player who played before the movie and during intermission. We saw "The Sound of Music." Neat to see one of my favs on the big screen! Pics below are of the gorgeous theater:

Grandpa took Emma to see the organist up close.

Emmaism: in the middle of the movie Emma leaned over, "Is that man STILL in the stage?" regarding the organist whose organ lowered into the stage before the movie started. I had to explain that he has a hallway underneath the stage to get out... too funny!

Fashion Show:
For many years, Emma has enjoyed playing with my parents' neighbors' children. This year she had multiple playdates with their 4-year-old neighbor, Rachel. A highlight of summer was when the girls created tickets and put on a "Fashion Show" for us using the play-clothes from Grandma's basement.

Emma---making pirate clothes look chique.

Rachel's princess attire.

Cracks me up...

Emma's Chinese/pirate/beaded necklace look

Edit: Per her request, I just "show(ed) our vacation pictures" to Emma. She was upset stating, "I. AM. NOT A PIRATE!" Duly noted.

Bring on the pink!

A bit of flair

The girls at the end of the show. :)

Em was excited to bike ride at my parents' house. The training wheels on this bike are a lot higher than those she is used to. With any luck, we'll be taking the training wheels off soon. (Though between high heat and lots of rainy afternoons, we haven't done much bike riding this summer!) (And YES we have a helmet at our house, but didn't have one for this bike at my parents....no bad parenting comments, please!)

Candid of me with my sister Laurel. We had many board-game nights while in Ohio. I <3 board games! :)

We bring our dog with us when we visit my parents. (Boarding large dogs costs nearly $100 a day!) He LOVES the fresh country air and playing with the dogs that belong to my parents' neighbors. Below: Viggo and Emma chillin' in Grandma and Grandpa's living room

We had a great trip!

Summer Vay-Cay--Mostly Photos Edition

2011-07-24T23:29:00.012-04:00

Today is my 3 year blogoversary. Thanks to those who continue to read and offer comments of love and support, I appreciate you!

June: At the end of June my sister Laurel visited for a few days. We attended Emma's end of the year dance recital. Photography and video weren't allowed inside the actual auditorium, but here are some cute pics that I captured before dress rehearsal (picture ballet shoes instead of C.rocs and before the recital)

And the marquee at the theater the night of the rehearsal:

The rest of the week was spent on adventures: paddle boating (check out our scary story in my last post,) going to the beach, and hanging out. Auntie Laurel also taught Emma how to blow a bubble-gum bubble:

July: Emma and I then traveled with Laurel to Wisconsin (with a one-night pit stop in Ohio) in order to visit with our extended family there. We had a fabulous time visiting our cousins, attending a large family reunion, and getting a "tour" of sites around the city where my dad grew up courtesy of our Aunt Nan who acted as an amazing tour guide.

While Laurel spent a day visiting a high school buddy who now lives in Green Bay, Emma and I were able to visit the Betty Brinn Children's Museum in Milwaukee with my 2 cousins, and 4 of my first-cousins-once removed (I think---that's what my first cousin's children would be, right?)

We spent much of our time at the museum exploring the "Home Town" area where the kiddos could try out a variety of careers...

News Casting (Kyle and Taylor)

Camera Crew (Ashley)

Weather Girls (Taylor and Brittany)

Bank Teller (Em)

Postal Workers (Em and Brittany)

Bus Riders (Driven by Taylor)

Kyle enjoyed "working" at the supermarket deli

Ashley and Emma worked as auto mechanics.

Brittany and Taylor worked at a construction site.

Ashely, Kyle, and Em in the "backyard playground" area

The girls really enjoyed the arts and crafts center at the museum.

Kyle and Em watched a movie and relaxed at my Aunt Nan's house.

The next day my cousin Nicole and Aunt Nan drove Laurel and I around to see local Racine sites:

The home my Dad and his sibling were raised in.

We also took Emma bowling--her first time!

Emma with 2nd cousins Kyle, Brittany, and Ashley

Em gets ready for a roll...

This pic cracks me up...they didn't pose. (Em and Kyle are both 6 and played together wonderfully during our visit!)

Emma at the July 4th parade

Our last day in WI we ate lunch at Kewpee's (one of only 2 Kewpee diners still existing in the U.S.)
Left: Laurel, Emma, Ashley Right: Kyle, Aimee, Brittany

The farm house my grandma (Dad's mom) grew up in.

Back: Nicole, Me, Rachel, Laurel
Front: Taylor, Emma

Laurel, Emma and I stayed at the home of my cousin Nicole and her husband. They are a doggie-shelter house and have 8 rescue dogs currently living with them. Emma LOVED playing with all the pups!

After Wisconsin, we returned for 2 weeks in Ohio (where DH joined us for our annual family vacation.)

My hometown had a "Chalk on the Walk" contest Emma participated in.

She won this ginormous cupcake in a game at the Chalk on the Walk event.

Whew! That's all for now....will finish posting in a day or so. Happy summer everyone!

The Paddle Boat Escapade

2011-06-26T19:11:00.008-04:00

Sorry this is long, but it was a scary, life-changing event that MUST be documented.

This post was co-written by my sister, Laurel (as written in italics). Alana's version is in this "normal" print.

A few weekends ago DH and I took Emma to a local kiddie water park. (Think sprinklers and cooling off, NOT giant slides and/or inner tubes.) Walking from the parking lot to the water park we passed a building located on the bank of a large lake. The building had signs stating you could rent kayaks, paddle boats, canoes, etc. by the hour. Emma was intrigued and asked if we could go. I promised I would take her boating this summer. Later en route from the water park back to the car, we saw a family docking a paddle boat. Em was adamant that we MUST paddle boat (versus the other types). Somehow it was decided that when my sister Laurel came to visit, we'd take her paddle boating with us.

Later that night Laurel received a phone call, in which Alana tipped her off that her dear, sweet niece might just want her to go paddle boating. Shortly after that Emma got on the phone. She asked in her sweetest voice (and with what Laurel assumed was the puppy dog of all puppy dog looks, complete with begging eyes, on her face; though Laurel couldn't actually see her), "Auntie Laurel, have YOU ever been paddle boating? Don't YOU want to go paddle boating with ME??? We could go when you're here this summer!!" Laurel assured her that they would do that together.

Flash forward almost one month, and Laurel is now visiting Florida from Ohio...

Picture a beautiful, sunny, 93 degree-ish (that's right, not 90ish, but 93ish!) bright-blue-sky kind of day. Picture 1 extremely excited 6 year old... today was finally THE day for paddle boating. Laurel, Em and I dressed in swimsuits under our shorts and t-shirts thinking we'd go to the beach or water park after paddle boating. We lathered up with sunscreen and headed to rent a boat. (If only Laurel knew then that we had probably just spent more time or at least equal time lathering up with 50 SPF than we would actually get to spend on the paddle boat...)

We paid the fee, signed the waiver (you know those things you always sign assuming you'll never really have to use it, doh!), donned life vests (luckily Auntie Laurel made extra sure that Emma's was on just right, even with the strap that went from her back through her legs and snapped at her stomach) and walked to the docking area waiting for the worker (who at that point seemed much more interested in speaking on the phone in Spanish than giving us much help or instruction) to bring a paddle boat around for us. As we waited for our boat, a family of 4 paddled up in another boat. We overheard them as they informed the boat worker that they had spotted 2 small alligators while they were boating (by "we", she means her sister Laurel understood more than Emma or Alana, as the family was mainly speaking in Spanish, but Laurel provided any needed translation.) When ~~the worker~~ Laurel asked in Spanish how large the gators were, the father laughed and said they were both "smaller than the boat."

First of all, we thought we were getting a nice big 4 person paddle boat, so that Emma could also share in the fun of paddling (her preference, not necessarily the adults' preference). Somehow we ended up on the smaller 2 person paddle boat, where Emma would have to sit in a seat in the back, which did not have extra feet peddles, much to her chagrin.

We got into our boat. As we boarded, we noted that there was some water on the floor of the boat, more on Alana's side than Laurel's. However, there wasn't so much water that we had any real concern. We were paddling in an area that was clearly marked no swimming, due to the filthiness of the water, probably as well as the neighboring alligators. (Signs warning park visitors NOT to feed the alligators, cats, raccoons, and/or opossums were posted in several places.) We started paddling and got just past the natural plant barrier, which blocked the rental building's view of our paddle boat. Emma asked if she could trade seats with Alana, which we said wasn't possible. However, we told her that she could turn around and sit with her feet and legs between us, just above the steering handle.

Alana noted a couple more times how her side was getting more water than Laurel's and wasn't sure why or how it was coming in the boat. Laurel didn't really bother to look at how much water we were taking on, thinking it was of no great concern. I believe her exact thoughts were something along the lines of, "So? Boats take on a little water in the bottom, it happens. What's the big deal?..." She was smart enough to keep her mouth shut and not voice those thoughts.

As we got farther and farther from the rental building and dock, and as we got into deeper water (we later learned it was about 12 feet), Alana continued to note that her side was starting to fill up much faster with water. Finally Laurel looked over and realized that we were taking on a great deal of water, and quite rapidly. Apparently at this point, Alana had a brief reprieve where she wanted to laugh herself silly at the finally shocked look on Laurel's face. However, there was no time for laughing! Water was now pulling the front of the paddle boat down into the water, so that water could rush directly over the front onto both sides of the paddle boat. It was evident that this boat was sinking, and fast.

Initially we thought the boat was going to continue to sink directly below us, and we'd float to the top of the water. Fortunately, very quickly, we realized this was not, in fact, the case. Laurel realized the front was going down faster, and it was actually pulling the back end up, tipping the boat forward, and possibly on top of all of us. So Laurel grabbed the small, movable overhead canopy cover, and pushed it to back of the boat, so as to not trap all of us between the canopy and the boat. Laurel then jumped and pushed herself forward off and away from the boat, just as the back of the boat was flipping over everyone's heads. She grabbed the back corner of the boat before it could completely fall into the water. Once she realized that Emma did not follow her out of the boat, she kept pushing the corner of the boat up out of the water, trying to find Emma underneath. Later Emma told us, she was scared to jump from the boat and didn't know what to do, so she held on to the handle that steered the boat. Apparently, she found a little air pocket to breathe while trapped under the boat screaming for help, "Mommy! Mommy!! Mommy!!!"

Laurel couldn't see Alana at this point because Alana was heading out the other side of the boat. Fortunately, Laurel then saw Emma's pink hat in the middle of the boat and realized it was still on Emma's head. So she continued to hold up the corner of the boat while pushing herself towards Emma at the same time. Emma's head popped above water, terrified and gasping for air, but still breathing and moving. Laurel kept calling to Emma to reach out and grab her free arm. Emma finally was able to move and reached out to grab Laurel's free hand. Once Laurel had Emma, she pushed them away from the boat and let the boat fall back in the water. Luckily both of their life vests kept them afloat so that Laurel had been able to hold up part of the boat out of the water, not trapping and pulling Emma underneath it. Laurel was silently praying prayers of thanks, as she had briefly feared the worst that her niece could have been pulled under the boat and been taking in water herself. Em helped break the tension by briefly smiling as she handed Laurel her sunglasses, which she'd managed not to lose but was still holding tightly to.

When I noted that the boat was definitely going under, my first thought was to take care of Emma. My left arm went out to grab her life vest as the boat was tipping, but we were torn apart. I had one of the worst scares of my life... after the boat tipped, my life jacket was somehow on top of my head. After getting it off and coming up for air, I found that I was in an air pocket under the overturned boat. I immediately panicked, as a greater scare set in---I couldn't see Emma or Laurel anywhere. I was treading water while kicking and grasping under water, yelling for Emma....but couldn't feel anything, nor see much other than murky water. I feared that if I left from under the boat I wouldn't have the arm strength to lift it if Emma and/or Laurel were still under it. Thus, I spent what seemed like a few minutes treading water and continuing to grasp for them and yell for them in the darkness. I finally decided I had better get out from under the boat (I remembered a quick "Titanic" image and freaked out that the boat would sink instead of continuing it's upside-down float.) I held my breath, swam under water and popped up on the other side of the boat. As I came up for air, I could hear Laurel telling Emma to grab her arm. THANK GOODNESS! They must both be okay!

Laurel turned to see that Alana was also out of the boat, which was now completely flipped and nearly completely submersed, except for part of the bottom and the paddles, which were floating at the top of the water. Prayers of thanksgiving that we were all safe were being silently offered. Alana started praying aloud for God to continue to keep us safe, which reminded Laurel that we'd just been told there were alligators in the area. Emma was holding tight to Laurel, as Laurel started to swim towards the rental building and dock, all while trying to keep Emma calm and keep an eye out for alligators. Emma was in tears but joined in Alana's prayers, "Please, God, help us. Keep us safe..." Laurel then kept thinking, let's get to the center of the water, away from any reeds and plants, and let's keep moving towards the dock.

At this point Alana started screaming, "HELP! HELP!! WE NEED HELP!!" Two men on a different dock just stood and looked at us, doing nothing but continuing to fish. We're not sure if they spoke any English; regardless, they just watched us capsize and didn't make any effort to move or assist us. Finally another man on the far shore opposite the rental building heard us and yelled back asking if we needed help. Alana asked him to run get the boat rental people to help, which he did.

We continued swimming slowly... fully dressed, Emma hanging onto Laurel, leaving Emma's hat and shoes who knows where. Alana had also left one of her shoes floating in the water and had lost her hat and sunglasses. At that point, we didn't care about much other than getting safely to the shore. Ultimately we saw the man from the boat rentals quickly paddling towards us in a large canoe. He was able to pull Emma into the boat with him, while Alana and Laurel hung on to the back of the canoe until we could get to a spot where we could also maneuver ourselves into the canoe. He kindly took us back to the paddle boat, where we were able to retrieve Alana's shoe and Emma's hat. There was no sign of Emma's shoes, Alana's hat, or sunglasses. So we turned and headed back to shore in the canoe.

The man continued to try to calm Emma as he paddled us to the dock. He encouraged her to consider boating again sometime, telling the story of how he had been thrown from a horse but finally rode again, although somewhat tentatively. Emma wanted nothing of it, and burst into tears again the moment we were on land.

The man and his wife (owners of the boat company) were extremely apologetic. They ensured us that the boat was "brand new--a 2011" and that the maximum weight capacity was WAY over the combined weight totals for Em, Laurel, and I. They were insistent on giving us a full refund and telling us if we ever come back, they'll give us a free ride on any boat of our choosing. (Yeah....I don't think that's going to happen again for a LONG while.) It was apparent that they felt badly about the entire situation, especially with regards to Emma. (And Laurel and DH think that, perhaps, they did their best also to avoid any lawsuits.)

After dropping us at shore, the man did go back out to retrieve Emma's shoes and the boat, which he got flipped back over the right way. Regarding her shoes, he told Emma, "They were right there under the boat like they were just waiting for a little girl to wear them again..." He was unable to find Alana's sunglasses or hat. He continued to help try to make Emma calm down and feel better by giving her Gatorade and a small package of cookies. Then she got to practice her Spanish with him, "Hola. Mucho gusto. Adiós." Em did calm down and play on the nearby playground for a few minutes but had no interest in going to the beach this afternoon or in a boat again anytime soon ("maybe when I'm 10 or something..."). She doesn't seem completely afraid of water though, as tomorrow she's at least interested in trying to swim at the swimming pool sans any boating equipment.

Before the conclusion, here are tid-bits from Emma--
It wasn't that bad of a deal... it was very scary when I was under the boat... I just kept grabbing the handle (the steering handle) and was going up and down and up and down under the water, but then when Auntie Laurel pulled me out I was freaking out, but thought I would be all right, but then not really... 'cuz I thought I'd be attacked by an alligator.

Despite the fear of the day, there were some hidden blessings, many of which seem so small and minor on their own. Laurel realized she forgot to bring (from Ohio) shoes/sandals that would stay on her feet if she got flipped out of the boat, and Alana (who has smaller feet) had one pair that fit for Laurel to borrow. Ironically, she's the only one who didn't lose them in the water. Luckily, Emma's real prescription glasses had gotten sunscreen smeared on them, so we left them in the car and gave her a pair of plastic sunglasses to wear instead. More importantly, at the swimming pool in the last couple of weeks, Alana had been practicing with Emma how to tread water, so Emma knew to keep kicking and trying to move her arms when holding on under the boat and trying to reach out to Laurel. Fortunately, from her time as a 4-H camp counselor taking kids canoeing and from her time boating on Lake Erie with one her her exes, Laurel felt comfortable in knowing how to respond and help Emma get to shore. Luckily all pop-up thunderstorms held off until at least an hour after we were safely out of the water. Even when I face challenges, such as this, I know I am blessed and taken care of. What's that quote?... "Something about you don't have to be so afraid when you know your Savior walks on water?"

Whew. So there you have it... our paddle boat escapade. My new sunglasses---lost. Cute new sun hat---will never be seen again. Right contact lens---somehow got washed into Hanna Park Lake... but none of these "losses" compares to the loss that might have been. Today I had a ~~scary,~~ terrifying 20 minutes that reminded me of the importance of family. I love them so.

Summer

2011-06-20T13:24:00.005-04:00

I've been keeping busy with ...

--Lots of puzzles, board games and indoor activities. The smoky air here last week (due to forest fires in both the Florida/Georgia border and in southern Florida) was awful! Local newscasts recommended that people go outside only if necessary and only for short bursts of time. I've been trying to keep Emma entertained as best I can...

--I am hooked on the"Gardens of Time" game on Facebook. It's a game where you both maintain a virtual garden, and go on missions to find hidden objects. I have spent WAY too much on the game. However, I find I enjoy the mental "escape" it provides---a wonderful school-is-out-and-I-don't-have-to-think type of reprieve.

--Emma's Ballet. This weekend Emma has her end of the year dance recital. Em's dance studio rents out a beautiful, enormous theater in downtown Jacksonville... (the theater where DH and I saw "Wicked" back in the day.) Because the studio teaches both dance and theater, the end of the year recital is more of a play/show format. I am excited to see how things turn out! Tonight is the 3rd night of full cast "tech rehearsals," which Em has enjoyed. (And as they require parents to drop their children off and pick up later, I've had 2 hours of HOME ALONE time for 2 different nights...which is an extreme rarity!)

--Swimming...we started our summer visits to the local swimming pool. I was surprised that after swimming independently last summer, Em was extremely clingy and requested a life jacket when we went last week...it's like we're re-training her. She was a little more independent by the end of our 1st visit...but I think it will be a gradual progression before she is truly "swimming" again.

--Books: I loved "Graceling" by Kristin Cashore, a young adult book about a girl who is born with the "grace" of being a strong fighter. She is forced (by her tyrant uncle) to kill others. She ends up on a mission to try to free a king and she finds love along the way. Fun, easy read that kept me interested from cover to cover.

-I read "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini... while I am glad I read the book, it took a lot for me to get through. The book is about a man who recounts much of his childhood in Afghanistan, moves to the United States, and then re-visits Afghanistan as an adult. Due to heavy content (war in Afghanistan, and personal issues in the main character's family) I had to trudge through in parts of the book... NOT a cover-to-cover in a few sittings kind of read. I also watched the film after reading the book and was disappointed that many points that I considered vital to the 2nd half of the book were completely omitted from the movie. Sighs.

-Our dryer died. My parents bought our washer/dryer set as a present for us when we moved into our house in 2002. The washer (knock-on-wood) is still working fine. The dryer died 3 years ago, so we purchased a new one. Now the "new" dryer is dead....repair man is coming tomorrow. I hope it can be fixed, as I don't want to for out $ for a brand new one (again.)

-My younger sis, Laurel, is coming to visit! She arrives this Thursday evening! YAY! Can't wait! She teaches high school Spanish, so on Friday night, she'll be joining me in eating dinner and going to see the "Bad Teacher" movie (with some of my teacher friends from school) for some summer comic relief. Should be fun!

-Then the craziness of summer-vacation begins...

Saturday 6/25--Emma's dance recital.

Sunday 6/26 - Tuesday 6/28---beach, zoo, find some fun things to do locally

Wednesday 6/29---Laurel leaves to return to Ohio. Em and I are going WITH her to visit extended relatives. (Approx. 13 hour drive)

Friday 7/1---Laurel, Emma, and I are traveling to Wisconsin (8 hour drive) in order to be there for the extended family reunion on July 4th. (I am SO excited about this! We attended yearly when I was a kid....I haven't attended since Emma was 2. SO thrilled to be able to visit with my cousins and extended relatives from my Dad's side of the family!)

Saturday 7/2 - Tuesday 7/5 we'll be visiting with family in Wisconsin having a grand time!

Wednesday 7/6 Laurel, Em, and I will return to Ohio (8 hour drive)

Thursday 7/7 - Sat 7/9 Em and I will be in Ohio sans DH (we stay at my parents' house)

Sat 7/9 DH will arrive from Florida for his 2 weeks of vacation...we'll see my parents, DH's bro and other relatives, many Ohio friends, etc.

Sat 7/23 DH, Em, and I will return to Florida. (13 hour drive)

WHEW! Did you follow all that?

Add to the to-do list that I MUST see the final Harry Potter film at some point (probably while still in Ohio with my sister.)

A crazy whirlwind of summer...but fun, fun, fun (excluding the 32 hours of travel time in the car.) At least the smoke hasn't been too bad the past few days, so we can venture outside now!

What have you been doing to keep busy?

Emmaisms

2011-06-08T15:41:00.006-04:00

School:
WHEWIE! This rough, tough school year is nearly over!
Two more days with students. Two "post-planning" days next week, and then I'm free for some Mama/Emma time, family vacation, playdates, and fun in the sun. WHHHHOPPEE! I am drained.... But leave you with the many Emmaisms I've saved on my Blackberry memo pad the past few months.

Emmaisms:

2/18/11 On Equality:
"Rosa Parks helped make SILVER rights for the United States!"

2/20/11 On spilling hot chocolate:
"It's a good thing to spill on black because black is a big, powerful color!"

3/1/11 On clothing tags:
"I couldn't reach my butt hookers." (I think she was talking about belt loops?? Not sure.)

3/2/11 On Snuggling with Mommy:
"I always love to cuddle with you. It's like I wish you were my mom, my sister, AND my cousin!"

3/10/11 On asking our cat to move out of her way:
"Abby, please move! I said, M-O-V, move!"

4/20/11 On puppies and gender:
"I knew the one I was holding was a girl because it didn't have a penis, a wiener, or nuts. HEY! How come boys have so many names for their stuff?"

5/13/11 On exhaustion:
"I'm so tired I could sleep on gravel!"

5/16/11 Philosophy:
"Do you hold your spoon to eat applesauce the same way you hold a pencil? I do usually. But sometimes I don't."

5/17/11 On Restroom Needs while on a Roadtrip:
"I have to go SO bad! I need a pee-hole right now!"

5/21/11 On Poetry:
"Wanna hear something funny I made up? The 3 little mice in a bucket full of ice." (Should I be worried about this?)

5/28/11 On Numbers:
"Don't 2 and 5 look good together? It's 'cause 2 is an upside-down 5!"

5/30/11 Misunderstood Music Lyrics: (Singing along with "Heartbreaker" by Pat Benatar)
"You're a heartbreaker. String maker. Team Jacob, don't you mess around with me." (Insert DH and I ROFL at this one!) :)

6/5/11 On Transportation:
"That's one sick motorcycle!" (When/where did my kid learn that "sick" can mean "sweet?" LOL.)

Books and School

2011-05-18T19:52:00.004-04:00

School:
Did I mention that this school year has been completely ridiculous with regards to student behavior? Two issues are currently driving me bonkers--
1. Our district county policy was amended this year to allow students SEVEN tardies PER quarter PER teacher. In other words, a student can be late to my class seven times EACH quarter before I am allowed to write a referral. In addition, since we have 7 periods a day, a student can be late TWENTY-EIGHT times total each quarter with no major repercussions. What the hell? Seriously? What message is this sending to our kids? What employer in the world allows a person to be late SEVEN times without major consequences? UNREAL!

2. There was another HUGE fight and near 'code yellow' status yesterday. The short version--a student was running through the hallways, broke a glass cabinet in a science classroom, hit 2 students, 1 teacher, and 1 police officer before being arrested. What the heck is happening at my school? It's like the inmates are running the asylum. Administration alleges they will be "cracking down" starting today....we'll see if change occurs. With only 14 school days left, I think it is too little, too late. Sighs.

Books:
(I HAVE been managing to read lots! It keeps me sane and helps me "escape" from the chaos at work!) :)

Invisible Id: Written by my hubby! He finally allowed me to read an entire novel from cover to cover. Such a great read! I hope, hope, hope he gets agent representation one of these days...

The Kingdom Keepers Series by Ridley Pearson. These cool books take place at Disney World! I received the 4th book "Power Play" for my birthday, so re-read the first 3 before delving into the newest book. Great book for younger readers! Premise is about teenagers who are recorded to be hologram tour guides at the Disney Parks. Turns out they can swap places with their holograms while sleeping. Disney villains from Disney film lore are trying to take over the parks.... I don't want to do any plot spoilers so will stop there. :)

Juliet by Anne Fortier LOVED this book! Premise: After her aunt dies, a woman follows her will on a treasure hunt of sorts...and ends up exploring Italy when she learns she is related to the "real" Juliet, upon whom Shakespeare based his play. Part romance; part Da Vinci code-ish in her clue seeking; part "Water for Elephants" in the chapters switching between past and present. Wonderful read!

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide by Stephenie Meyer. Another birthday gift which I read cover-to-cover. Fun read for any "Twilight" series fan. My favorite part was reading Meyer's descriptions of her writing process and her thoughts/ideas for the background history of her characters. I will say that the encyclopedia-type format made this a book I couldn't read in long intervals...I read bits and pieces between reading other books.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett. LOVED this book!!!! It is about racism in the 1960's. The neat part is it describes African American woman who worked as maids/nannies for white families. Talks about how they grow to love the children they care for and the children in turn love them...only to grow up and be expected to hire black folks as the laborers in their own households. Beautifully shares the perspective of 2 different maids and one white woman who tries to take a stand for equality.

What have you been reading? Anything you've really enjoyed that you recommend?

Checking In

2011-05-06T23:58:00.016-04:00

I've been away from Blogland for a while. The short version: I am struggling internally to figure out where I "fit" in both the Blog universe and the IF/SIF world...

...I hope that one of these days I'll be able to blog more details. For now I'm not ready to "share all" just yet. Thus, I'm just going to update on the basics:

March:

-First a WAY belated thank you to those who voted for me in the limerick contest! I was tickled to earn 2nd place in my round of voting. (And I loved the winning limerick, so can't complain a bit.) :)

-Emma turned 6 1/2 on St. Patrick's Day. I continue to be awed as a parent. Her growth and eagerness to explore and learn new things are wonderful . (And holy crap how can her kindergarten year be nearly over?!)

-My bro-in-law and his family visited Jacksonville during their spring break. It was great to see them. Em was especially thrilled to have an entire "cousin day" at the beach and Nana's house while our relatives kindly babysat Emma when I worked during a teacher's planning day. Kicking myself, because I didn't take any pics during their visit. Doh!

-For the first time in several years, my younger sister Laurel had the same spring break as Emma and I. She traveled from Ohio and spent the week with us. Unfortunately, we had rain everyday of her visit except for one. We still managed to have a great time, but with less fun-in-the-sun than we anticipated.

Here are some highlights from our adventures during her visit:

We visited the Jacksonville Fire Museum:

Em and Auntie Laurel pose on the antique fire truck.

Em and I "climbing" the fire pole.

We went to the Jacksonville Zoo to view the special "Dino Alive" exhibit. The exhibit was neat---we walked along a pathway in the forest looking at life-like dinosaur robotics.

Em enjoyed climbing on this bamboo hut structure we passed along the way...

Creepy!

Auntie Laurel and Emma

2 of my favorite gals on the bridge in the Asian section of the zoo:

Of course a zoo-day isn't complete without a carousel ride!

Self-portrait

The highlight of Laurel's visit was her last day....it was finally SUNNY and beautiful the entire day! DH was able to be off of work to spend the day with Laurel, Em, and I. We went to St. Augustine where we explored St. George Street, rode on a Sightseeing Train, and visited the Pirate and Treasure museum. It was a wonderful day!

--At the end of March, DH (finally) allowed me to read the 5th draft of his novel!! I thought it was super. Per his request I offered some editing suggestions. The story is creative and though sci-fi-ish which isn't my usual #1 choice, I think it has great selling-potential. DH has made revisions and is again seeking agent representation to be published. I SO hope for him that things work out. I admire him sticking with it... He has a co-worker who recently self-published a book. I applaud DH for following his instinct and seeking an agent, as he has seen how his co-worker's self-publishing is not the format he hopes to become published with.

April:
-The transmission in my car went ka-put. Argh. $3,000. My car is a 2002 Honda Civic and though we hated to fork out the $$$, I liked hearing confirmation from the mechanic that Hondas are "great cars" and there are still "plenty of good years" left in mine.

-DH and I celebrated our birthdays...my 36th and his 37th. I received some books from my reading wish list, a dinner out, and surprise cake from Em and DH. We didn't splurge much this year due to the previously mentioned car transmission.

-At the end of the month I chaperoned Em's class field trip to the zoo---SOOOO fun! All my pics were taken on my phone...and I am having difficulty getting them to post, so maybe another time??

-I was able to speak with Emma's teacher, Ms. H about a few things:
1. Ms. H is referring Em to the school psychologist to have her tested for "gifted" placement for next school year.
2. Ms. H spoke about how Emma and Bryce are a "great match" as friends. They are kind to one another, have supportive home lives, and play really well together. At the beginning of the year Em had a few play dates with a girl in her class, Vianna. DH and I noticed in mid-November that Em rarely mentioned Vianna anymore, but mentioned Bryce quite frequently. The teacher reported that Vianna tends to be wishy-washy with her friendships and a bit of a "drama queen" about things...said it was smart of Em to steer away from Vianna when she did. During our zoo field trip I was able to see Em and Bryce in action. I was particularly pleased to watch them when a class bully was saying rude things to them... Bryce leaned in, and whispered something to Emma. Then the 2 of them giggled and walked away from the bully. Priceless! :)

-Easter:
-Easter weekend I had a bit of a stomach bug. My in-laws kindly picked up Em so she could accompany them to the family feast at my sis-in-law's house. These blurry pics are the only pics I took this year.

May:
-The U.S. was finally able to locate Osama Bin Laden. I am grateful he was found. I have mixed emotions about my own feelings and those portrayed in the media---it seems so weird to be joyful over the death of someone. Nonetheless, I am thankful Bin Laden's reign over terrorists has ended. Though like many others I have concerns for the retaliation his followers might plan.

My extremely tough school year continues....
-On Thursday my school was in a "Code Yellow" emergency status for 4 1/2 hours. This means all classroom doors are locked and no one is permitted to enter or leave any rooms without receiving an "all clear" from the office. Short version: some students from a nearby high school threatened to bring a gun on campus to attack one of the 8th grade students at my school. After school, we ended up releasing bus-riders only 2 buses at a time. (Usually when the end of day bell rings, all students are dismissed. Then all busses are dismissed 10 minutes later.) We were still locked in our classrooms 45 minutes AFTER school was dismissed. Luckily, no weapons were discovered, all students were able to leave safely, and NO ONE was hurt. The letter sent home with students by our principal and the interview she gave on the local news report stated that we were in Code Yellow status due to "rumors."

-We are in the final stretch now. The last day of school for students is June 10th. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

-I've continued my pursuit of online masters degree programs. I think I have it narrowed down to 4 programs. My biggest issue is trying to decide which would be best long-term: a degree in educational leadership, or a masters in reading. It's difficult because with budget cuts and the havoc in the education system, I no longer "know" that I will retire in the education field. While I have no current plans to leave teaching, I no longer feel this is a "permanent" career. I guess only time will tell.

WHEW! I think that is the latest... I hope you've been well, Dear Readers.

Pretty please vote for me!!!

2011-03-08T20:06:00.003-05:00

Hi all...

The voting has begun! I am in "Round 3" of the Limerick contest initial voting. I just checked and at this time I'm tied for first in my round with 33.3% of the vote! How exciting!

I would LOVE to pull a lead and make it to the "final cut." If you feel so inclined, I would be MUCH obliged if you'd head over to Lori's blog and PLEASE VOTE FOR MY LIMERICK!

Here's the link:
Write Mind Open Heart

Thanks to those who have already voted!!! Hugs!

Random Ruminations

2011-03-06T20:18:00.005-05:00

Time for some Sunday ruminations...

Work:
--Work continues to be challenging. At our Leadership meeting this week (department heads, administrators and the principal) we were informed that there were more "Class 3" offenses at our school in the past week and a half than in the ENTIRE school year last year. Class 3's are considered "major offenses" and the recent occurrences include two students who had a knife on campus, assault of a teacher ("luckily" with fists not a weapon,) and stealing. We had a full-faculty meeting this week to discuss safety on school grounds. I am saddened that things got to this point. I fear our meeting was probably "too little too late."

--The Florida state legislature (similar to many states) is looking at several changes within the public education system. Those which currently frustrate me the most are: budget cuts and
connecting teacher pay to a "rating" given by parents. I believe I am a decent teacher who maintains frequent contact with the majority of my students' parents. However, I don't think it is fair to connect my paycheck to a rating given by people who do NOT observe me in the classroom, nor witness my work first hand. Phone calls, e-mail correspondence, conferences and open house are not an adequate portrayal of all that goes into being an educator. Seeing as MOST of a teacher's work occurs IN the classroom, I don't understand how we can be fairly evaluated by people who do not observe us there. Sighs.

--I am at the point I will give my current school one more year and then if things have not improved, I will look at transferring to a different school. This makes me sad, as my goal when I changed to this school 2 1/2 years ago was to stay here until Emma was finished with middle school. Remember, I have her on "special assignment" at the elementary school next door to where I teach. I am disappointed...if I transfer it will mean changing schools for her as well. Crossing all fingers that things get better next year. (This would require HUGE changes within our administration team.) Overall, teacher morale is very low this year. There are many people who are unhappy and who are looking to transfer schools at the end of this year.

Books:
--I recently read "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen. LOVED this book! It is narrated by an elderly man who is reminiscing about years he worked in a traveling circus in the 1930's. The book toggles between his present day life and his memories of the circus. Awesome, awesome story! DH actually read the book after I did and he enjoyed it as well. :)

--I'm currently reading "Home" an autobiography by Julie Andrews. Interesting read thus far, though it has been a bit slow going due to school work and our Disney vacation.

DH:
--Plugging away on his 4th book. Entered a contest for his 3rd book...with a 1-in-100 chance of getting to have his entire book read by a book agent. How wonderful would that be? I continue to admire his perseverance. I don't think I could stay dedicated at "keeping at it" without support from an agent by now.

Masters:
--Dear Readers, what is your opinion of on-line university programs? I took several online courses to obtain my teaching degree. I am highly interested in obtaining my masters degree, but would like to find a program that is 100% online. Due to DH's work schedule (he works 11-7 every weekday and 9-5 many Saturdays) evening courses at one of the local universities would be difficult for me to attend due to needing child care for Emma.
--Do you think employers think less of "virtual" degrees than they do of face-to-face degree programs? Or once I've obtained a diploma will it really matter?

I think that's all the latest...

One of those not-so-proud Parenting Moments

2011-03-03T19:57:00.005-05:00

Not-so proud parenting moment...

Emma got in trouble at school today (3/3/11) for "pretending to urinate on Bryce."

DH and I were trying not to chuckle when discussing the incident with Emma at dinner tonight. She has been mentioning for several weeks that she and her friends play "Werewolf " at recess. ("Twilight" inspired, perhaps?) Basically, one or two kids are "werewolves" who chase the others around.

Apparently today while Emma was in "werewolf form," she pretended to pee on a boy. As she explained it at dinner, this is partly because they were debating whether or not "girl werewolves" lift their legs up to pee. Oh my!

Can you really fault the kid for exploring science? (Kidding!)

Limerick Contest

2011-02-28T20:50:00.006-05:00

Hot off the presses...my limerick for this year's Limerick Contest as sponsored by Lori over at Write Mind, Open Heart

Whether using the bed, couch, or floor,

Sex should not feel like a chore.

Despite all the trying,

And pregnancy test buying,

We’re still wanting a family of four.

Be sure to check out Lori's blog to see the other entries for 2011! :)

Random Ruminations--Catching Up Version

2011-02-13T19:31:00.004-05:00

I can't believe February is nearly halfway gone...I've been managing to keep quite busy, here's the latest:

Vacation On My Mind:

Summer: Super stoked to be able to go to Wisconsin this summer! My Dad was raised there and we spent many July 4ths of my youth in Wisconsin for family reunions. After my grandmother died in '93, two things happened....

1. Myself and many cousins were officially "adults" and no longer had summers free to travel. Welcome to the working and/or college world! (My grandma died the summer after I graduated from high school and I had my first full-time job working to save $$ before starting college in the fall.)

2. The reunions no longer had a matriarch-focal-point, and thus sadly were no longer scheduled as frequently.

This year, my younger sister and I were able to coordinate our summer-schedules a bit. Emma and I will be able to travel from Florida to Ohio, and then on to Wisconsin with my sister! Yay! Cousin time and sister time....SO thrilled!

Spring Break: For the first time in several years my younger sis and I also have the same spring break schedule. She will be coming to Jacksonville to visit the last week of March. Hooray!

Disney: DH and I both put in for personal/vacation days on 2/25. We'll be heading to Disney World after school on Thursday the 24th for a mini-vacation with Emma. CAN'T WAIT!

Why all this vay-cay time on the brain???? Because WORK SUCKS!

School--The Bad: SO tired of administration at my school not buckling down and enforcing things...

-The same teachers (myself included) repeatedly do after school "bus duty" (wherein we go outside with the students and encourage them to get on the bus, try to distract from fights, monitor students in the cafeteria whose buses haven't arrived yet, etc. Despite having emailed and/or stated to the faculty several times that duty is "not optional," there are NO repercussions for teachers who do not help. Thus, you can guess what happens, right? Out of a faculty of 85...there are about 20-25 of us who help each day while the others don't bother. SO ANNOYING!

-The administration does not communicate with one another. The whole faculty was emailed a month ago by our principal with a schedule for a half day training at some point on 2/17 or 2/18. Most of us had already prepared lesson plans and substitute teachers as needed by the end of last week. On Thursday, we were all emailed a message from one of the assistant principals stating that our state-required benchmark testing would be held on the 17th and 18th. Of course there were a slew of emails sent back and forth---do you plan to have benchmark testing when half of the teachers are out at training, etc?---things were finally resolved by the end of the day on Friday. Benchmarks will now be held the week of the 21st. Again ANNOYING. How difficult is it to check with the master calendar before setting up testing dates?

-I've been teaching for 8 years. The team of teachers I am working with this year is leaps and bounds better than any team I've ever worked with as far as their "team" approach. We have a team disciplinary process....usually it is every-teacher-for-themself, but this team has agreed on a discipline procedure and we stick with it! Makes things WAY more effective when they are reinforced by all of the teachers a student sees each day. The pisser is that the house administrator assigned to our grade level is not supportive. Despite having a slew of documentation for the interventions we have done both individually and as a team for students, she is not processing behavior referrals in a manner that we feel is fair.

It is extremely frustrating when as a teacher I rarely write behavior referrals. When I do write a referral, I have a list of documented interventions I include with the referral so she can see what strategies I've tried (usually including multiple phone and/or email contact with the child's parent) prior to writing the referral. Sadly, the consequence given by the administrator usually includes thing like "silent lunch" or "conferenced with student." What the heck? Where is my back up? Kids are getting to the point that they don't think referrals are a "big deal," because the consequences are often lax. It is ridiculous.

-Student IDs: This is the 2nd year my current principal has been at our school. Last year she started a policy where students are "required" to wear IDs. I LOVE this idea and feel it was executed wonderfully at my prior school. However, here....again...NO consequences or follow up for students. They are supposed to be wearing their IDs at all times. Half of my students have lost their ID. At my prior school there were not-wearing-an-ID consequences such as: Students with no ID had to be last in the lunch line, weren't permitted to attend after school games, dances, or extra curricular activities, could be "written" up, etc. At my current school NOT A SINGLE DAMN CONSEQUENCE. Ridiculous! The kicker is that frequently during the morning announcements, the principal will say things like, "Just a reminder--all students should be wearing IDs at all times." Does she really think kids are going to pay $5 to replace a lost ID if there are no consequences for not wearing one?

-I have two students who were in ISSP (in school suspension) last week due to having received behavior referrals from multiple teachers. BOTH of them attended the Valentine's Day dance on Friday. Sorry, but allowing a child to attend a dance on the same day they had ISSP doesn't seem right to me.

-The contract my district had with S.cholast.ic for the reading program used daily in our reading classrooms expired last year. Thus, we no longer have "S.cholast.ic Consultants" who visit our school to provide support services. Things have really sucked district-wide, as the new worker in charge of the reading program for our county has NO experience teaching the program. (Remember me mentioning that we didn't get enough work books at our school until 2nd quarter?) Things continue to be disorganized and "last minute" with regards to testing our students and/or use of data specific to our program. Again, WAY annoying as it makes it difficult to plan things. Leaves me wondering why a county as large as mine would hire someone who isn't familiar with the ins and outs of the program. Duh??

School--The Good:
District Visit: We had a reading-department district visit on 2/8 and ROCKED IT! We finally received positive feedback department-wide, which is wonderful and helped deescalate a (little) bit of stress.

Yearly Evaluation: My yearly observation/evaluation was conducted by the 6th grade assistant principal I mentioned above. I was worried going into it that she might be a hard-ass and not evaluate me fairly. I was pleasantly surprised to have a positive evaluation. Comments included that I am a "positive influence for the teachers on my team" and that I talk to my students "in a calm manner" and "re-direct problem behavior positively. Yay, me!

Date Night: My in-laws watched Em for a few hours on Saturday night so DH and I were able to go out. We had dinner at J.Alexander's a restaurant that is new to Jacksonville...super yummy! After dinner we went to the bookstore and had time to "linger" sans Emma, which was awesome. :)

Blogging and Comments: Sorry I've been away...I've been scrambling to get things ready for our district visit and my yearly evaluation, and then trying to get WAY ahead on my lesson plans, as I won't be able to do plans the weekend we're at Disney, so need to have them finished ahead of time. Things are starting to calm down now, so I should be able to catch up soon.

Valentine's Day: I enjoyed watching Emma as for the first year she did everything independently with regards to the valentines for her class. Though she addressed her cards last year, this is the first year she was able to label/address the cards and fold/sticker them independently. Too cute! Happy v-day, everyone!

Emma's Dog Story

2011-02-01T22:29:00.005-05:00

One of the greatest joys of the past few years has been watching Emma learn to read and write. I am especially tickled with her ability to write a coherent paragraph...sadly I have many middle school students who are not able to do this.

Emma brought the story below home with her today. Though her spelling is still mostly phonetic, I love that she had a cohesive story from beginning to end:

Emma's Version:

I Fed MY Dog My dog is
Bllak I wet on A wokk his
KOLR is red
A hoz is on
he is FRte
He Gos OVR An
tak a dekk WOOO Hes' hot
the End

Translated By Mommy Version:
I feed my dog. My dog is black. I went on a walk. His collar is red. A hose is on. He is thirsty. He goes over and takes a drink. Whew! He's hot. The End

(And yes, Dear Readers, our dog often drinks water from the neighbors' sprinkler systems when we take him on walks.) :)

I'm grateful

2011-01-25T19:54:00.006-05:00

4 things I'm especially grateful for the past few days...

1. My team at school.
This year 2 of my 3 classes consist of students from the same team of "core" teachers. Thus, I am often part of parent-conferences and team meetings. In the past since reading is an "elective," I'm often not part of a "team." This year I am and the team ROCKS. While our administration is at times frustrating and not firm enough (in my humble opinion) the teachers I work with are supportive and have an amazing behavior intervention plan we all use. Though many things at my school continue to be difficult this year, I am thankful for the "Cosmic Wolf" team who has accepted me as one of their own.

2. DH
I can count on both hands the number of times I have to scrape ice off my car windows each year. Yesterday was Monday and of course Em and I were dragging a bit... I hadn't seen the weather report the night before and hadn't planned ahead. When Em and I prepared to load my car to drive to school, I was un-pleasantly surprised to encounter super cold weather. And pleasantly surprised to see that DH had already scraped my car windows for me.

3. Emma
Though she totally embarrassed me this weekend when we were at a restaurant...
Waitress: You can complete this card to join our dinner club, if you'd like. But if you don't I
won't cry or anything.
Emma: I'm not filling one out, cuz' I want to make you cry.

WHAT???? The waitress hadn't been rude or negligent. I still don't know what prompted Emma's rotten response. Geesh!

Anyway....let's focus on the positive here...
I am grateful for a little girl who FINALLY cleaned the entire living room herself without grumbling or complaining. There were pillows, coloring books, markers, L.incon Logs, and blankets scattered around from when Em was feeling sick over the weekend. Today she cleaned it all up on her own. How nice to have her pitching in without bribes and/or nagging.

4. DH---again. Yup, he's a keeper!
Yesterday and today DH was home sick from work. (He finally went to Urgent Care yesterday and received a slew of 4 prescriptions to help him kick the phlegmy yucks he's had the past few weeks.) When Em and I arrived home from school today he had dinner cooking for us. Now mind you, DH is always the primary chef in our house, as I hate cooking. However I found it very sweet that he cooked when I know he still wasn't feeling his best.

Random Ruminations

2011-01-21T19:22:00.006-05:00

Ending the week with some random ruminations...

Books: We're only 21 days into the year and I've already read 11 books! Yay!

The 39 Clues:
I highly recommend the 39 Clues book series to anyone with 8-14ish year old kiddos. The series is written by a variety of popular childrens' book authors and was a super fun read! The books are about a brother and sister team who go on an around the world clue hunt. They visit many historical places along the way. I also admit that I have thoroughly enjoyed the online activities and games that correlate with the books. (Each book comes with 6 cards that can be entered online to help lead the reader as a "clue hunter".) Fun!

The only downside---the cards that come in each book can only be entered online one time. This means that families with more than one child will have to share their online account, rather than having one for each child...unless they fork out $12 per book to buy a book for each child...NOT cool in my opinion!

The Hunger Games:
An amazing trilogy I finished at Thanksgiving time and never posted about... The teen-lit series by Suzanne Collins takes place in the future. The premise is that there is not enough food to feed the citizens of the country, so every year there is a contest where 2 representatives from each district must fight----to the death---to determine which district will get food from the government for the year. Offers much to think about and an AWESOME strong, female heroine as the main character.

The Missing Series:
Cool young adult series I finished during winter break... The premise is kind of tricky to discuss. But the books include time travel,adopted children finding out who they "really" are, and are written by Margaret Peterson Haddix an author whose works I love!

The Mockingbirds:
LOVED this book which was a Christmas gift. It is a young adult novel about a high school teen who was date raped. Most of the book is about her seeking justice for the crime with a secret student-run organization called the Mockingbirds.

----------------
School:
--Today was teacher planning day.... as always I didn't get nearly the amount of stuff done that I had hoped to.
--Principal met with me regarding the quarterly departmental reports I send her. Assured me that she knew I was not at fault for not sending them (as the vice principal had alluded to.) Whew!
--Yearly observation is coming up in February. Should be interesting, as I don't have a stellar class to use this year. (Usually I schedule my observation during my best class. This year, I sadly don't have a "best" to choose from.) Doh.

Home:
--DH and Em stayed home sick yesterday. DH with cough and sinus congestion, Emma with the pukes. My FIL kindly kept Emma today while I was at teacher planning day. Fortunately, she hasn't vomited again since mid-day yesterday. And her fever seems to have subsided as well.
-DH just got home with pizza for dinner, so I'm over and out... :)

2010 Book List

2011-01-21T18:17:00.005-05:00

Kicking myself for not keeping better track of the books I read last year, as I am pretty sure I read more than I wrote down.

Cutting/pasting the list of books I did manage to keep track of:

Total counted 65....not bad!

Can bump myself to 68 if you count TIMES read. (See #45 on list.)

65. Sabotaged (The Missing Book 3) by Margaret Peterson Haddix
64. Sent (The Missing Book 2) by Margaret Peterson Haddix
63. Found (The Missing Book 1) by Margaret Peterson Haddix
62. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
61. The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan
60. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (re-read)
59. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (re-read before seeing movie)
58. Pirates Past Noon by Mary Pope Osborne *
57. Dinosaurs Before Daybreak by Mary Pope Osborne *
56. High Tide in Hawaii by Mary Pope Osborne *
55. The Knight At Dawn by Mary Pope Osborne *
54. Stage Fright on a Summer's Night by Mary Pope Osborne *
53. Good Morning, Gorillas by Mary Pope Osborne *
52. Hour of the Olympics by Mary Pope Osborne *
51. Tonight on the Titanic by Mary Pope Osborne *
50. Green Angel by Alice Hoffman
49. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
48. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
47. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
46. Percy Jackson: The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan
45. Larger than Life Lara by Dandi Daley Mackall (read 4 times! Once to prep and then 3 times to read aloud to all 3 of my block classes!)
44. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
43. Kingdom Keepers: Disney after Dark by Ridley Pearson
42. Kingdom Keepers II: Disney at Dawn by Ridley Pearson
41. The Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson
40. Unsung Lullabies: Understanding and Coping with Infertility by Martha Diamond, et al
39. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
38. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
37. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
36. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (re-read)
35. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
34. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (re-read before seeing movie)
33. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (re-read)
32. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (re-read)
31. Like Gold Refined by Janette Oke
30. A Quiet Strength by Janette Oke
29. A Searching Heart by Janette Oke
28. The Tender Years by Janette Oke
27. Love Finds a Home by Janette Oke
26. Love Takes Wing by Janette Oke
25. Love's Unfolding Dream by Janette Oke
24. Love's Unending Legacy by Janette Oke
23. Love's Abiding Joy by Janette Oke
22. Love's Long Journey by Janette Oke
21. Love's Enduring Promise by Janette Oke
20. Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke
19. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
18. The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
17. Chicken Soup for the Teacher's Soul by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
16. The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
15. Mummies in the Morning by Mary Pope Osborne *
14. Peter and the Sword of Mercy by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
13. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
12. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
11. Doomed Queen Anne by Carolyn Meyer
10. Night World: Witchlight by L.J. Smith
9. Night World: Black Dawn by L.J. Smith
8. Night World: Huntress by L.J. Smith
7. Blizzard of the Blue Moon by Mary Pope Osborne *
6. Night World: The Chosen by L.J. Smith
5. Night World: Dark Angel by L.J. Smith
4. Night by Elie Wiesel
3. Night World: Daughters of Darkness by L.J. Smith
2. Night World: Secret Vampire by L.J. Smith
1. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

* = books in the Magic Tree House series I read aloud to Emma...yes they are kids' books, but they are over 50 pages, so I'm counting them on my list. :)

Lunch Grumblings

2011-01-19T21:15:00.003-05:00

Anyone else out there dislike packing lunches?

Due to:

a. The cost
b. Emma and I being finicky eaters
c. I only have a 30 minute lunch, part of which consists of escorting students to and from the cafeteria...thereby making it difficult to travel somewhere to purchase lunch

I pack lunches nearly each school night.

Sighs...... Why do I hate it so much? I don't know, but I do.

What "chore" do you hate to do, Dear Readers?

Keep On, Keep On, Keep On Movin'

2011-01-17T10:49:00.007-05:00

Remember the Brady Bunch episode where the kids sing on a talent show, trying to win money to purchase an anniversary gift for their parents? They called themselves "The Silver Platters" and one of the songs they sang was "Keep on Movin'." That has been my motto as of late...

School Stuff:
--I teach in the 3rd largest school district in the state of Florida. (I was also recently informed that we are the 15th largest district in the U.S. Wow.) Due to the large amount of schools, things like painting are done year-round rather than just during the summer.

Our school system re-paints the interior of all buildings every 7 years. This year my school is on the schedule to be re-painted. This means that classes have to be held in the Media Center, or auditorium or other creative areas while individual classrooms are being painted. I was fortunate because my entire hallway was painted during winter break. Thus, I didn't have to endure the hassle of teaching in an unusual place like many of my colleagues have.

However, when I returned to school after winter break my classroom was in disarray. Due to my building being painted over the break, all of my belongings were shoved on the window sill/counters and most furniture was shoved together in the middle of the room:

It took two mornings going in early and 2 evenings staying late to get my room re-organized and back the way I like it. I still don't have all of my posters re-hung....

--Our district also schedules two big "Walk Throughs" per year. These are days when district personnel from every department come to tour the school, observe in a variety of classrooms, and meet with the principal to provide feedback. Usually the Walk Throughs are held in October or November and then again in April or May.

My school had the first Walk Through this year the week after Thanksgiving. However, glitches occurred and the representatives for social studies, phys ed, and language arts were unable to attend for some reason. Thus, they bumped our 2nd visit from April to this past week. So in the midst of re-organizing after our classrooms were painted, we had to prep for visits from the big wigs.

Emma and I stayed late at my school 2 different evenings so I could get things "just so" in my classroom before the walk through. Murphy's Law of my life----for the first time ever no one came to my classroom during the Walk Through. (Usually since there are only 5 of us in the reading department we ALL get visited during district walk throughs.) Sighs...

School Reports: The 7th grade assistant principal came to me just after the visits were completed and said there was a "reading department emergency." I worried that one of my colleagues had been hurt. She then informed me that the principal was meeting with the district personnel who had finished the Walk Throughs and they were upset I had not sent her (the principal) any updated reading department reports. I explained that I usually only send reports once per quarter, and as 2nd quarter is still in session new reports hadn't been sent yet. It irked me a bit... I haven't done anything wrong or out of the norm, and didn't appreciate the insinuation that I had.

Books: I've been reading up a storm. One of my New Year's resolutions is to keep better track of my book reading this year. Last year I did not keep close track and I know I read things that did not get recorded on my "Books Read" list.

I received the 10 books in the "39 Clues" kids' series for Christmas and finished the last one this morning. What fun reads!

DH: Said I could read the last novel he finished. 90,000 words, wowsers! I am stoked---he's let me read a sentence or chapter before, but never a whole book. Yay! I will start it this afternoon. :)

Emma:

While cleaning our computer desk today, I found a few Emmaism's I haven't posted before.

9/18/10 While walking the dog with Grandpa:
"When it's hot outside, hot air comes out of your mouth."

11/11/10 On only wearing socks and underwear:
"Look, I'm a pattern: Naked, not naked, naked, not naked."

1/10/11: "I was just a little bit hot, so I took my shirt off while I was pretend cooking."
(See pics below.)

I think that's all the latest.

2 Years

2011-01-12T21:05:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is the 2nd year anniversary of my miscarriage.

I can't help but wonder if I'll ever have the 2nd child I'm hoping for?

I can't help but think how different things could be right now.

I can't help but hope.

The saga continues...

Perfect Moment-New Year's Eve

2011-01-04T20:15:00.003-05:00

As New Year's Eve approached this year, somewhere in the hubbub of the season Emma learned about "the ball dropping." She seemed fascinated by the idea and asked multiple times in the days leading up to New Year's if she could stay up to watch the ball drop on TV on New Year's night. I finally consented. (What Mom of a 6 year old DOESN'T let her child stay up until midnight the weekend before they return to school after winter break, right??) ;)

We stayed up watching movies, cuddled under a big blanket with our comfy PJ's on. At 11:30 we turned on the New Year's Rockin' Eve show. Still cozy...still cuddling. Still celebrating family togetherness.

The countdown occurred. The ball dropped....the confetti fell...the people on TV kissed (earning "eeeewwwws" from Emma.) All of the above was "perfect," but more was to come.

Just after midnight, neighbors down the street from us started shooting off fireworks. Emma and I grabbed slippers and went outside in our PJs, coats, and wrapped in blankets. We sat in our yard and watched the fireworks (nice show---lasted about 10 minutes!) During the fireworks, Em turned to me and said, "Aren't they beautiful, Mama?" My heart melted....my little girl doesn't call me "Mama" much anymore. The older she gets "Mommy" and "Mom" are the social norm. But when she was sleepy and happy and lost in the moment, it made a perfect moment for me.

(To read about other "perfect moments," check out Lori's blog at Write Mind, Open Heart.)

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T22:26:00.002-05:00

I'm stealing Danifred's idea and doing an end of the year countdown as a "wrap up" for 2010. (You can check out her blog for "Friday Night Leftovers" and other end-of-the year reviews.)

2010 in Review:

1-# of bedrooms we moved (we moved Emma from the baby wallpapered old bedroom to a new "big girl room" at the beginning of the year.)

1-# of new schools Emma has attended this year. We made the decision to pull Emma from the
private school she attended for daycare/pre-K and enroll her in the elementary school beside the middle school where I teach. Thus far, we're (mostly) happy with the way things are going.

1-#of "BFPs" I had this year...though it sadly turned out to just be a chemical pregnancy.

2-# of trips DH, Emma and I made to visit family and friends in Ohio.

3-# of books DH has written. (2 novels and 1 children's book---wow! He continues to seek agent representation in hopes of being published someday.)

6-the grade I am mostly teaching this school year.

6-the age Emma turned in September. How the time flies!

5feet-the depth of the pool in the area Em likes to swim best. She really took off as a swimmer this year!

12-# of boxes and bags of Emma's old infant-4T clothing and items we donated this month.

1-# of garages on our house we can now walk through and store items in (without fearing for our lives due to an avalanche of old stuff) due to the donation of Emma's old Baby stuff.

109,000-# of miles driven on my H.onda C.ivic as of last week.

2-# of date nights DH and I had at the M.elting Pot this year. Soooo yummy!

1-# of national reading teacher awards my principal nominated me for. (Though I didn't win, I was truly honored to be nominated.)

3-# of days I took off work to have "date days" with DH when he was off work too. :)

10-#of days the in-laws allowed DH, Em and I to stay with them at THEIR house due to the air conditioner at OUR house breaking and waiting on a replacement part.

3-#of trips DH, Em and I took to D.isneyWorld....ah how I love it there!

742-# of "points" I had accumulated from classes and trainings I took. The points go toward renewing my teaching certificate.

300-#of points I actually needed...yup, I can be a bit of a nerd sometimes.

12-#of years DH and have been married as of Sept. 5th

15-#of years DH and I have been "together." Smiles.

4-#of TVs with U.verse in our house (thanks to DH's work discount!)

3-# of TV/U.verse remotes that were missing in action at the beginning of this week. (Locations when found: 1-under Em's bed; 1-in Emma's art tray/table; 1-on Emma's dresser. )

1,247-#of conversations we had with Em regarding NOT moving remotes from one room to another.

Ending the year with an Irish toast I posted on F.acebook earlier:

Here's to the bright New Year
and a fond farewell to the old,
Here's to the things that are yet to come...
and to the memories that we hold.

Happy 2011!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T22:13:00.002-05:00

From my corner of the world to yours...

Wishing my loved ones near and far a joyous holiday!

My Quirky Girl

2010-12-13T19:06:00.004-05:00

Tidbits from my ray of sunshine, my quirky girl...

A dinner conversation with Emma:

Emma: I'm sad because Ms. H and my boyfriend both won't be at school tomorrow.
(DH and I exchange "huh?" glances.)
DH: Who is your boyfriend?
Emma: Bryce.
Me: When I spent time at your school, he seemed pretty nice.
Emma: Yeah, he is.
Me: What does it mean to 'have a boyfriend?'
Emma: It means you love someone.
DH: Indeed.
Me: Does Bryce call you his 'girlfriend?'
Emma: No, I haven't told him yet.
ROFL. Gotta love kindergarten romance.

-----------------------------------

A Laundry Conversation:

This weekend as the washing machine was filling with water and I was loading it with clothes...
Emma: Mommy, what are you doing?
Me: Honey, use your sense. What does it look like I'm doing?
Emma: Do you mean use my SENSE of humor?

-------------------------------------

Staying Warm:

When we went to Ohio for Thanksgiving we bought Emma the Cutest.Kermit.hat.EVER! (Of course we forgot to take it along. Doh!) However, it has been cold here recently, so Em has been able to wear her winter hat a lot. Turns out she LOVES it and has even been sleeping in the hat.

This weekend at T.arget I bought myself a sleeping mask in the $1 section. I thought it was cute and cheap and might come in handy on the occasional nights DH stays up watching TV while I try to sleep. As soon as Emma saw the sleeping mask, she coveted it.

Last night I checked on Em (who had been tucked in for over an hour) before I went to sleep. My child cracks me up....the pics below show my SOUND ASLEEP girl in both the HAT AND the MASK. HILARIOUS!!!!!!!!

How I love my little sweetie. :)

A Bit of Progress

2010-12-05T19:36:00.004-05:00

This weekend I made HUGE emotional progress. While I still want a 2nd child, I've been working myself up for a few months to try to accept that I may be "meant to be" the mother of a singleton. I am NOT by any means giving up on my dream of a 2nd child yet, but...

Rather than decking the house with Christmas decor as I intended when I awoke on Saturday morning, I instead cleaned the garage. Mind you, the majority of this "cleaning" consisted of loading hubby's mini van and my car until they were filled to the max with Emma's old baby clothing and items. I had large R.ubbermaid bins filled with infant clothes, 1 year clothes, 2 year clothes, etc. from each year of Emma's life. I included the baby Exersaucer, the crib mobile, the baby kick-and-play-station items, bedding, infant/toddler toys a whole R.ubbermaid of books, etc. With the exception of the wall hangings and crib set (which match the wallpaper border still in Em's old room) I got rid of everything except for:
--2 boxes of my ultimate "favorite" clothing I plan to gift to two of my girlfriends who recently had baby girls
--1 Baby swing I already offered to a PG friend.
--Em's old high chair (it perfectly matches our kitchen table, so we'll store it in the garage for a bit longer.)

I shed a few tears looking at some of the clothing before packing up our cars... But then I realized that the tears weren't really for the baby-who-isn't. They were tears of nostalgia as I remembered people giving me the outfits for Em, or times/places Baby-Emma wore particular clothing.

We tried to sell the items to a local consignment shop, but they were super busy and had specific requirements as to how they wanted clothing "delivered" before they would review it and provide an estimate. I decided it wasn't worth the hassle, so we took the rest of the things to the S.alvation.Army and donated them. The men working there were very gracious saying they would likely use some of the things "to give some families a really nice Christmas."

Obviously, as Emma is SIX, I had been hanging on to many of these items for a long while. I originally kept the items with hopes of saving $$ for Child #2...but as time went on, we were running out of storage space. (We don't have a basement or attic and our garage was getting to be out of control with floor-to-ceiling storage containers in many places.)

The best part... I know it has only been 24 hours, but I DON'T HURT. Even as recently as summer (4 months ago) it still tore at my heart to think of getting rid of the old baby items. It made me feel like I was giving up on my dream. Now I feel like I am moving on emotionally...

As I said, I still want Child #2, I just realize logically (for once) that keeping hand-me-downs for 6 years isn't going to work! Yay me! :)

Autumn Update

2010-11-29T17:23:00.007-05:00

It's been awhile again. I have been avoiding posting because I didn't want it to turn into a giant whining session. I'm going to try to stick to the basics...

School:

--This week marks the middle of 2nd quarter. And we still do NOT have all of the textbooks needed for the reading classes in my department. Ridiculous.

--The person responsible for overseeing the reading program for the entire county resigned at the end of Sept. (Perhaps this is why we don't have textbooks?)

--The 8th grade administrator is in hospital due to an intestinal rupture.

--There have been 10 fights thus far this school year, including one when a teacher was punched in the face and one where a girl had a huge gash on her forehead.

--Many teachers are feeling the administration doesn't seem to have a handle on discipline this year. (To put things in perspective we had less than 10 fights the entire school year last year.)

--The reading teachers do not have inclusion teachers assigned to our classes this year. In the past we had inclusion teachers to co-teach with us in classes with a large special ed population. This year we're on our own.
--It's making for a super difficult year!

Home:
--No TTC updates to report at this time...will update when I have new news. (Crossing fingers for re appointment during winter break, but I will probably have to wait until March.)
--We were able to drive to Ohio to spend Thanksgiving with my parents. It was wonderful to see them! I am grateful for a wonderful family and for an amazing husband who did WAY more driving than I did to/from Ohio.
--Emma continues to be my shining light. I appreciate her antics and learning discoveries.

Books/Movies:
--I read all of Suzanne Collins' "Hunger Games" books over the long weekend. LOVED them! Great read with interesting premise.
--I saw "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I" and "Tangled" and completely enjoyed both films.

I'll let my fall photos sum up the rest...

Emma's 6th Birthday

We went to the Magic Kingdom to celebrate Halloween at their "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween" party.

Jacksonville had a "Boat Day"
Em enjoyed touring and photographing some boats on the downtown Riverfront.

Emma at the "Spooktacular" event at the Jacksonville Zoo

For Halloween night trick-or-treating, Emma dressed as a witch.

DH, Em and I spent the day at the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum in St. Augustine 2 weeks ago...we had a great time!

House made of match sticks.

Em and I pose next to a statue/replica of the World's Tallest Man

DH looking disgruntled in a pirate torture device.

Em and her elephant pose outside.

Updates:
--As I mentioned, I just haven't felt like writing much as of late, due to not having a lot of "positive" things to blog about.
--I seem to be on Face.boo.k more often now that I have a Black.berry...if there are any readers who'd like to be FB friends, drop me a line at velmadinkley@aol.com and I'll search for you to friend you on FB.

Nothing Too New

2010-09-14T21:57:00.009-04:00

It's been awhile...

Emma:
The end of summer came and went. Emma and I spent our last day of summer vacation at the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine. We had a great time. She was especially thrilled to be able to pet and hold a small gator.

Her un-prompted pose on this one cracks me up.

The school year began with a whirlwind. Bringing Emma's 1st day of Kindergarten...

--Emma seems to be adjusting mostly well. Though, DH and I will likely schedule a parent conference in the next month. (Her Open House is on 9/23, so we're waiting until after then.) We have some concerns that she is getting in trouble behaviorally because she is bored and already knows all of the curriculum. (No major trouble, just talking and sometimes not following instructions.)

I am NOT trying to be a snotty Mom. But I have concerns. Daily work has consisted of counting to 10. (Em can count to 100+ by 1's, 5's, and 10's.) Daily work has consisted of learning the letters and their sounds. (Em has been reading Level 1 beginner readers and some Level 2's since last school year.) We've worried about this for a while...due to her age (she'll be 6 this week, the oldest in her class) she seems to be ahead of many of the students. I don't think they do "grade promotion" at such a young age, but I need to insure that the teacher is differentiating to help Emma make learning gains, rather than having an idle year.

Work:
--I'm hanging in there. 6th grade has been WAY tougher than I anticipated. (I have one 7th/8th grade mixed class, and then teach 6th graders the rest of the day.) Thus far, I am missing full-time 8th grade! Many of the 6th graders are super whiny and tattle ALL the time. Seriously! I can't believe the trivial stuff these kids feel the need to "tattle" about. We'll be in the middle of a class discussion, and kids will raise their hand to tell me someone stole their pencil. Kiddo, you need to HANDLE IT! I am donning my frigging Super Girl cape every day...and am hating that I need it so much. LOL. (My 5 year old knows to keep her hands off property that doesn't belong to her. It kills me I have to remind these 11-12 year olds daily.)

--There are also some really great kids. I've slowly been making phone calls home trying to introduce myself to parents and compliment the kiddos who are working hard...but it can be really difficult to find "phone call" time. One perk though....TONS of hugs. Wow, these kiddos are huggers. I get hugs nearly everyday when the kids leave my class. Too cute. :)

DH:
--We celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary on the 5th. I continue to be ever grateful to have such a wonderful person to share my life (and Emma's upbringing) with!

--He is nearly finished with novel #3! WOWIE! Still crossing my fingers for him that he'll get agent representation to get published one of these days... He has been pretty unhappy with his job and would love it if he could write full-time someday.

Secondary Infertility:
--Went to re-scheduled OB appointment. I think I need to find a new OB. Which really bums me out.....
--I told OB that I feel like I'm in a never-ending cycle:

try to get pregnant--->not pregnant--->get depressed--->eat my woes away--->gain weight

start all over again...

I've been a plus size gal all of my adult life. However, I gained 12 pounds between my OB appointment in February and my appointment this summer. I have been depressed and eating myself silly. It's quite ridiculous. (And YES, I am disgusted with myself.)

OB's advice:
a. Semen analysis for DH (makes sense to "cover our bases")
b. I need to lose weight (I agree there is a definite need)
c. There is no C. A and B are it. Sighs.

--I am frustrated because I asked what OB thinks about anti-depressants. I have NEVER been on these nor admitted "need" for them before. This took A LOT for me to discuss. She does not recommend that I go on the anti-depressants since I'm still trying to get PG.

SERIOUSLY???????? HELLO....I haven't gotten PG in 4 years of "trying." And while a Baby's health would definitely be my #1 priority, I swear I've read things about "safe" medications to take while PG. Or I could go off depression meds once I became PG. Does anyone have feedback on this?

(EDIT: In re-reading this tonight I realized with a gulp that I did not include my miscarriage in January 2009 when I WAS pregnant.)

--My other issue is this...Being an overweight gal makes me at a high pregnancy risk. I understand this. However, correct me if I'm wrong---as an overweight woman I should NOT have issues GETTING pregnant. Weight can cause difficulty KEEPING a pregnancy, but NOT ACHIEVING it. This is a summary of what I've read and read. Thus, I was hoping for Clomid or something similar to help regulate my cycles. (And to help ensure that I ovulate regularly, as I had 2 months of the last 8 with no ovulation, and 1 month with a chemical pregnancy.) However, my OB doesn't want me to go on medication because my cycles are "mostly regular." I don't know what to think anymore.

Feedback anyone?

Books:
--Sighs, I still don't have the booklist on my sidebar updated. But I have been continuing to read. I finished (and liked very much) all 3 books of the Steig Larrson "Girl with a Dragon Tattoo" series. I'm currently reading a great book (recommended by some of my readers) called, "The Middle Place" by Kelly Corrigan. It's about a 30-something gal who finds out she has cancer and must cope with dealing with her "new" family (hubby and 2 kids) and "old" family (parents and siblings.) It's been a really great read...and has had me both laughing or crying out loud at different points.

Blog:
--My 2 year blogoversary came and went this summer. Despite my infrequent posts, I continue to be grateful for the support and advice of my blog buddies.

--I fear I've been a crappy blog-friend lately. One of my co-workers is in the hospital (taken by ambulance from 1st period last week with chest pain---yikes!) I've been pulling her lesson plan load with substitutes along with dealing with all of the beginning-of-the year and back-to-school stuff I always conquer each August/September....thus I haven't had a lot of free time lately.

I HAVE been lurking and reading blogs...without commenting much. Please know I am thinking of you. And I've been FLOORED by the HUGE amount of PG blog buds lately. CONGRATS to all of you...and may your good luck rub off! ;) (Special shout out to Marie! And Happy Bday 9/18 to Mrs. Gamgee!)

<3 <3 <3

School Venting

2010-08-16T19:34:00.004-04:00

Today was the first day of teacher pre-planning week. It was full of highs and lows...

Low: We were not given a schedule/agenda for the week until this morning. Despite being scheduled to work daily from 8-3 this week, we actually have very little "classroom time" (meaning time to prepare our classrooms and create lesson plans.) It is frustrating...many teachers moved classrooms and have a TON to do to be "ready."

High: For the first time I was one of "those" teachers. The ones who have a child accompanying them to school. The previous school years Emma has attended private pre-school/daycare, and thus when I went back to work at the end of summer, she returned to school too. This year, since she'll be in public school and on the same school schedule as I am, she went to pre-planning with me today. She was SOOOO well behaved! We had a 2 1/2 hour faculty meeting, during which Emma played quietly and colored in the back of the room. There was another little girl there who Em was able to play with a bit, and they behaved together...whew! After the faculty meeting and some training sessions, Emma was able to play and do "arts and crafts" in my classroom while I did some classroom work. I can't wait until she's older and I can put her to work with classroom preparations... ;)

Low: The guy who had my classroom last year (and resigned last May) left a TON of crap. File cabinet drawers full of old worksheets. Storage cupboards full of stuff. Desk drawers full of junk. I had to spend a lot of time moving his crap to the trash pile in the hallway in order to have room to unpack my stuff. After cleaning and scrubbing first, of course! Argh.

High: I will still have 7th period (last period) planning this year. Sweet! I love it!

Low: I am the only person in my department with THREE lesson plan preparations...meaning I will be teaching 3 different courses. Two people in my department have one prep. One person has two preps. Why can't the schedule gurus spread the load a bit? Seriously.

High: The new hire in my department was the department chair at her previous school. I think she will be very helpful and will share the load with me a lot more than the department guy who left at the end of last year. We've already been idea swapping...I am glad to finally have a collaborator like I did at my previous school.

Low: Our reading, math, and science FCAT scores dropped school-wide.

High: We still scored high enough to be considered an "A" school.

High: After 2 years, I finally have "friends" not just "co-workers at school. It makes a huge difference!

High: Though irritated about my multiple lesson preps, I am still excited to work with the Sys.tem 44 program for the first time this year. This is a S.cholastic program that was new to my county last year and correlates with the Read180 program I've been teaching for 4 years (and love!)

High: Though disgruntled about my multiple lesson preps, I am excited that I will have 6th, 7th, and 8th graders this year. (Two classes of 6th, and one 7th/8th mixed class.) I'm glad not to lose complete contact with 8 graders.

2010-11 school year....bring it on!

A Playdate Gone Astray

2010-08-05T20:33:00.006-04:00

The post below was co-authored by Katie from Double the Blessings. Last spring, Katie was the first blog-friend I met in person. How fitting that she is also the first "guest author" on my blog! The events below are what happened yesterday when we tried to meet for our second playdate. I hope you enjoy reading about the circumstances that occurred, as much as I enjoyed the email correspondence we had in order to co-write this post. :)

A Playdate Gone Astray

Alana: It started with a wonderful plan. Katie had two free family passes for a really amazing indoor play center. We were stoked to see each other again, and were thrilled to have something air conditioned and fun to do, as the heat index here has surrounded us with temperatures feeling like 110 degrees. The plan was to meet at the mall at 9:30 a.m., in order to leave my car in the mall parking lot. Em and I would join Katie and her kiddos in their car to carpool to the play center. It was a sunny and beautiful day.

We arrived at the mall. Katie helped transfer Em's booster seat to the center of her car (which Em gets a kick out of, as she gets to sit BETWEEN Katie's 2 kiddos.) We buckled the kids in, popped a movie in the DVD player and Katie started the car.

Katie: So everyone's loaded in the car and we're ready to roll...fun times await! And I look down at the dashboard for some random reason. And my check engine light was on. Ugh. Between May and June I took my car into the shop a total of five (count 'em, FIVE) times because of the check engine light. The problem was fixed in the middle of June, but what could possibly be the issue now?

I looked at Alana and at first I said, "We can probably make it..." but then started thinking about it. If we got stranded 30 minutes away I would feel like a complete goof. Alana offered to follow me to the service shop, which is right down the street from the mall anyway. We could leave my car there for maintenance while we had our grand adventure, then pick my car back up on the way home later in the afternoon. Alana hopped back in her car, intending to follow me to the shop. Much to our surprise...

Alana: When I turned my key in the ignition, there was a clicking noise, but MY car would not start. My immediate thought was that something was wrong with the car battery. However, I was perplexed. As the car had been sitting idly for only 10 minutes, how could the battery have died? After a quick check of all gadgets (paying special attention to the interior dome light Emma sometimes plays with) indicated that nothing was amiss, I held my hands up in a "surrender" to Katie. How could we BOTH be having car problems at the same time? I proceeded to empty my trunk of the back-to-school crate and bags full of supplies, along with Emma's beach play-gear so that I could get out my jumper cables. Meanwhile, Katie sat in the car with three kiddos (Emma age 5 and twins Megan and Jeremy age 4) trying to entertain the kiddos and explain why we were sitting in a parking lot rather than going on the adventure we had promised. After clearing my trunk, I lifted the flap where my spare tire is stowed only to determine that the jumper cables and emergency kit my Dad purchased for me several years ago were not there. (Oops...I seem to remember moving them to the garage when I needed extra trunk space a while ago. Sorry Dad!) Doh! My thoughts of having Katie jump-start my car were dashed. Guess we'd have to move on to Plan C. Wait! What's Plan C?

Katie: Plan C? I was still trying to figure out why Plan B wasn't working out. I am a cop's wife, so you think I'd be smart enough to keep jumper cables in my car. Nope. I had taken them out a while back when we had the car in the shop for repairs. Oops.

We tried to find a mall security guard, then tried asking the maintenance people at Sears about how much a battery would cost for Alana's car. We wound up taking my car to the shop, since it was still in driving condition. They have a kids' playroom there, and we basically vegged out in the waiting room until the service rep came and told me (almost an hour later) that the check engine light was not caused by the same problem as before. It appeared to be the catalytic converter, which "lucky" (and I use this term loosely) for me is still covered under the warranty. Just one problem...the shop we were at used to be an official Saturn dealership, but Saturn went out of business early this year and the shop had become a used car lot with a maintenance bay. To get warranty repairs done, I'd have to take the car to a different dealership that was an "authorized maintenance location." But first, I had to pay $65 to the shop for the diagnostic fee. Ugh. Already out that much and haven't had any actual repair work done.

The bright side of this part of the story is that the service rep had checked into an issue with the rental car company down the street...they had rented a car for me for one day when my vehicle was being held overnight for service, and somehow the rental agency had charged my card twice the amount of a one-day rental when I wasn't supposed to be charged at all. The rep from the shop told me they had me listed as a three-day rental, not a one-day rental. We ran by the rental place after leaving the shop and Alana stayed in the car while I straightened that mess out. Yay for progress!

Alana: Two things to add before I forget. One: The guy working at the Sears car shop at the mall told me it would be "at least a four-hour wait" AND $120 - $140 to replace my car battery....NO WAY, buddy! Two: Cracked me up when Katie said her kids thought our "big surprise" (intended to be the indoor play center, of course) was just the small play area at the car shop. Are they sweeties, or what? Back to the story...

Next, we went back to the mall parking lot and met up with my AWESOME father-in-law, Craig, who had agreed via phone to come to my rescue. Katie kindly volunteered to take Emma with her and her kiddos to the car dealership so they could play together in the dealership playroom while she had the "check engine" light on her dashboard investigated.

This is where our story separates for a bit. Craig and I stayed in the parking area while I did my womanly best to hold his flashlight while he dug through his tool bags trying to find the correct-size wrench to loosen the cover on my car battery. Katie and the kids...

Katie: After dropping Alana off with Craig, the kids and I made our way to the "authorized maintenance location." I had talked to one of the service reps there about four or five months ago when I was getting quotes on tires for my car, so I felt pretty good since I at least had a name. The kids and I unloaded and walked into the service department to explain our story. I brought juice boxes to distract them (which worked for about 30 seconds before my kids started harassing the service rep and asking him where all the toys were). Long story short...the other service department had switched off the check engine light, clearing the error code, when they ran the diagnostic on my car. And this service place wouldn't even look at my car unless a) I had a check engine light on or b) I was willing to pay for another diagnostic, which wasn't even guaranteed to work since the error code had been cleared by the other guys. Even when the service rep who had helped me with tire pricing came to my rescue, it was obvious that they couldn't do anything to help. I decided to wait and see if the check engine light comes back on in the next week or so. Car maintenance is a necessary evil.

The kids and I piled back into the car and got on the road. We headed for Chick-fil-A near the mall because I figured it would be less crowded than another one close by (wow...I was so wrong). We ordered kids' meals (all four of us...because you get free ice cream if you trade your "toy" in at the counter without opening it) and settled in for our lunch. The kids ran around in the playground at the restaurant for a while, and when Alana called to say she was on her way with Craig we left the playground and went to get our ice cream so we would have a treat while they ate their lunch. It was probably about 2:30 when they got there...and I was anxious to hear how Alana's car was faring...

Alana: When Craig found the correct size wrench to undo the cap on my car battery, we discovered a lot of white/green corrosion. The Amazing Craigster was able to use a pocket knife and screwdriver to clean the majority of the corrosion off. We were then able to jump start my car. (By the way---the jumper cables Craig used were made by DH's Pappaw years ago. Cool, hey?) As with the jumper cables assistance my car started quickly, I was hopeful the battery had died due to age and corrosion, and we'd be able to replace it and my car would be fixed. However, as a precaution, Craig followed me to the mechanic to verify how much "juice" was left in the battery and to verify all was okay with my car.

After running a diagnostic test, the mechanic informed me that the battery appeared to be okay. It had most likely been drained due to the car needing a new alternator. Gulping at the $380 fee, but knowing it was necessary, I "approved" the work order.

Craig kindly drove me to meet Em, and the gang at Chick-fil-A in order to pick Emma up while my car was being repaired.

Katie: Alana and Craig got their lunches and sat with us so we could catch up. Megan and Jeremy took an instant shine to Craig, so now he's got two admirers. If I'd been thinking about it, I would have had a picture taken of the whole group of us to go with this blog post, but I wasn't exactly thinking clearly after such a long and drawn out day. We parted ways right around 3:30 to head home, and I felt pretty foolish driving home and wishing that my check engine light would click back on. It was definitely "the playdate that wasn't," but somehow we weren't too much worse for the wear, and the kids really enjoyed themselves and the time they spent with Emma. Although I feel pretty bad that Alana's car repairs were so expensive, since our intention for the day was to use the free passes I've been holding on to since June and then eat lunch at O'Charley's (since the kids' meals are free). It was such a great plan! We'll definitely have to attempt it on a different day. :)

Alana: Emma fell asleep in Craig's backseat as he drove us to pick up my car from the mechanic. Thus, I asked him if he would mind if I followed him to his house to allow Emma more "nap" time. He kindly agreed. I paid the mechanic, waved at Craig that my bill was taken care of, and walked to my car. Just as I saw Craig turn out of the parking lot, I tried turning the ignition on in my car. Guess what? It was the same clicking noise that had occurred at the mall. ACK! Though annoyed, I was relieved that if my car was not going to function, at least it "chose" to break at the car mechanic's.

I returned to the inside of the mechanic shop. The guy was aghast that the car wouldn't start. "We turned your car off and re-started it several times before calling you for pick-up." They had replaced the alternator, thinking that the battery would be fine with a new alternator. However, turns out the battery was also fried.

I called Craig...who I had inadvertently pawned Emma off on. He said I could just pick her up at his house whenever my car was done. $70 bucks (battery cost, no charge for labor) and 40 minutes later my car was finally "done."

What a day! Despite the financial and logistical burdens of my day, I had two HUGE blessings: Katie and Craig. Both stepped in, helping with my car woes and childcare without prior notice. I don't know what I would have done without them! And while car issues are always a hassle, I'm also grateful that the alternator/battery issues occurred during the summer instead of when I'm back to work in 2 weeks.

I have to smile at the odds....what is the likelihood of BOTH cars having issues at the exact same time? Katie reported that her check engine light did not come back on during her 20-minute drive home. As for me, I can't wait for our next playdate...maybe DH will let me borrow his car next time, just in case! :)

Life Updates

2010-08-02T17:48:00.017-04:00

Wow...I've been away for a month?? A busy summer it has been!

Vacation: We had a great time during our Ohio trip! We stayed at my parents' house and were able to spend lots of time with them and my sister Laurel. Photos below...

July Fourth:

Em as we headed to the July 4th fireworks. LOVED the headband (from $1 section of Tar.get.) TOO cute! :)

Em took this pic of my sis and I as we waited for fireworks.

Grandma and Grandpa (photo by Em)

Me and DH (another pic by Em)

My Dad took this pic of us at the July 4th parade. Dad rode on the Knights of Columbus float in the parade. Emmaism: "My Grandpa is in the parade! How cool is that?" Smiles.
BTW---This pic looks cute cropped and zoomed...but I couldn't get my "edited" pics to post. Sighs. :)

Laurel took this self-portrait of her and Emma

Beach Day:
We had a great time at the Alum Creek beach! (Though the thick, kitty-litter consistency sand wasn't as fun to play with as the sand on our Florida beaches.)

Em and Grandpa didn't seem to mind the rough sand.

DH spent time writing. He's working on his 3rd novel. The umbrella cracks me up...it's the only one we could find in my parents' garage.

Self-portrait of moi.

Em liked that the sandbar went out nearly 40 feet, so she could go farther out independently, than she does in FL.

Museum Day:
We spent a day at the COSI museum in Columbus. Not too many pics...I was having too much fun to stop and take photos!

Em on a ride in the "Progress" area of COSI. (Hallways with 1880's and hallway with 1960's store fronts.)

Em building a bridge in the "Gadgets" area of the museum.

Scientist Mouse Emma

Emma and Auntie Laurel pose as aliens.

McDonald's:
We met our friends the Palus Family in Richmond, IN for a playdate at Mickey D's. The Palus' are our buddies who moved from our neighborhood in FL and now live far away in IN. How I wish they still lived near us!

Me--acting silly with the wings from Em's "Airbender" toy.

Katie and Em

Left to Right: Zack, Katie, Nick, Emma

Me and DH

Cousins Time:
Em loved being able to play with her 3 year old cousins Summy and Jack. As the boys are no longer babies or young toddlers it was the first time the cousins could play independently. (We actually had grown-up conversations while the kiddos played...yay!) The kids had a great time in the playroom and on the swing set at the boys' house.

Jack, Emma, Summy

This was the 1st time Emma ever hung upside down on a moving object independently. She LOVED the trapeze and spent lots of time on it.

Summy enjoyed going down the slide on his back, but head-first.

Jack followed the upside-down-on-the slide action.

Young's Dairy Farm:
We met our friends' the Uptons at the Young's farm. We had a great time feeding the goats, viewing the animals, playing in the play yard, and eating the freshly-made-on-the-farm ice cream.

Me, Laurel, and Emma

Shannon and I have been friends since we were in the 3rd grade.

Baby Oliver (turned 6 months old the week of this pic.)

DH and Travis are buds too.

Spencer

Karly

Emma

Ice cream time!

Sights I've never seen in Florida:

This sign in my hometown cracks me up every time I read it. Anyone want to join me for some "joint recreation?" JOKE!

Hay in the field diagonally across the street from my parents' house.

Em flying a kite in my parents' amazing, ginormous back yard. (Note the corn fields in the rear of the photo.)

Family: --Shout-out to my sister Laurel who finished her Masters' in Ed degree while we were in Ohio. Woot-woot!
DH continues to plug away on his writing. He is nearing the completion of his 3rd novel and continues to seek representation for a publisher for his books. I'm so proud of him!
My bro-in-law and his family are in town this week. We had a nice dinner at my In-law's house last night. It was great to see everyone! Watching Em and her cousins play together is especially precious.

School: Only 2 weeks of summer left. It always passes so quickly!
I attended an awesome 2-day training last week. 3 other people who are on the "Data Committee" with me at school attended the training as well. It helped provide insight on what the Data Committee's role should be within our school. In addition, it helped us to set measurable and attainable goals for our committee for this year... WAY important as last year I don't feel we were effective. Now we just have to get the other committee members on board when we meet as a team after school starts.

Emma: Has been swimming up a storm! She has learned how to swim independently, but still needs to master the art of taking a breath while swimming. She tends to only swim to a ladder/person to grab on to/wall, come up for air, and then swim some more. I'm pleased with her progress though. :)
We went to the beach with bro-in-law and his family today and the new inner-tube Em got was a big hit. She loved to "ride the waves" and it was fun watching her enjoy herself.
We went this weekend and spent $85 buying all of the items on her school supply list. We just need to get a backpack and she's set to start school.
Orientation to meet Em's teacher and get acclimated with the school is on the 20th. I still can't believe my baby is going to be in Kindergarten. Wow.

IF Issues: I was SUPER angry and disappointed this morning. Remember back in January when I met with my OBGYN and agreed to use an Ovulation/Fertility Monitor for 6 months and then return for a follow-up visit if still not PG? My appointment was scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. It has been scheduled SINCE JANUARY. This morning the office called to cancel because my doc is "on vacation" this week. ARGH. I'm disappointed because I am ready to meet about my next steps. I am angry because I have been off work ALL SUMMER....and of course they couldn't re-schedule the appointment until the middle of the month when I'm back to work. GRRR.
I won a book-give away at the wonderful Sunny in Seattle's blog. Yay! I am halfway through "Understanding and Coping with Infertility: Unsung Lullabies" and am really liking it (as much as one can "like" a book about an issue they wish they didn't have.) The language is easy to understand and is written by 3 doctors who have all experienced IF issues (2 of the 3 are a married couple, it's been cool to have a male's perspective included.) I felt validated...and especially like this quote, "Infertility is a trauma because it attacks both the physical and emotional sense of self; it presents us with multiple, complicated losses, it affects our most important relationships, and it shifts our sense of belonging in the world."

Books: I have been reading TONS...one of my favorite things about summer! This week I finished the Kingdom Keepers III book and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I recommend both! The Tattoo Girl took nearly 100 pages for me to get into...a bit of a difficult beginning. However, once I was into the plot, it was great...and I want to read books 2 and 3 of the trilogy now. :) One of these days I'll get my list on the sidebar updated.

Blog: My 2 year blogoversary was last week. THANK YOU again to my sweet readers who lend an ear, offer support, share ideas, and give blog love. I heart you!!!

Emmaisms

2010-07-02T09:58:00.006-04:00

Ahhh...one of my favorite parts of summer break is that I get daily cuddle time with Emma. Nearly every morning, she comes staggering into my bed just after she has woken up. We lay together and cuddle for a while before getting up to start the day. On mornings when I arise before she does, she still finds me and sits in my lap for some cuddles before we get going to face the day. I love it! And the long limbs on my little girl remind me that she won't be sitting in my lap forever, I must cherish it while I can!

It's been a long while....below is a compilation of Emma-isms. A 5-year-old's perspective on things:

11/15/09 The ending of "The Star Spangled Banner:"
"...the land of the free...and the home of God's brain." (Why wouldn't God keep his "brain" in the U.S.A.?)

1/13/10 On the characters we've met at Disney World: "We met the REAL people at Disney. The actors are in the movie, but the REAL people are the ones we see at Disney."
(I wonder how long the "magic" will last...I love that she still doesn't think the Disney workers are also actors.)

1/15/10 Answering the Introduction Circle question at gymnastics--Where in the world do you want to go on vacation?
"Heaven or the North Pole." (I'm thinking God and Santa....definitely 2 cool chaps to visit.)

2/17/10 Making Inferences:
"Tinker Fairies are kind of like cars. They have to get dust everyday to have energy. And cars have to have gas for energy."

2/18/10 After looking at the ride status to prepare for our Disney trip and learning the Splash Mountain ride would be closed for renovations:
"Maybe it's closed so people don't get wet literally." ("Literally." Cracks me up.)

Caught awake at 10:40 p.m. the night before our Disney trip:
"I keep trying to sleep, but I'm excited, so I just look out the window."

3/2/10: Regarding male anatomy; to DH who turned to get dressed in the corner:
"How come you don't let me see your little weenie?" (ROFL! Poor DH!)

5/1/10 On playground wounds:
"Remember the boo-boos I got on my knees yesterday? They're ouchstanding." (I think "ouchstanding" is a wonderful way to describe boo-boos. I'm going to add this word to my vocabulary repertoire.)

5/5/10 On profanity:
Emma: "Oooooh! Daddy almost said the f-word!"
Me: "What's the 'f-word'?"
Emma: "Friggin'!"
(Huge sigh of relief...was wondering how in the world she could have learned the "real" f-word.)

5/27/10 On Jewelry: "Why don't boys get blow pop rings when they get married? Then they can suck it whenever they want to." (LOLOLOL...I know she didn't mean this like it sounded, but sooooo funny nonetheless!!!!!!!)

6/1/10 On killing Mommy's Ego:
"You should be on Biggest Loser, cuz' you're really huge."
(Ouch. Who needs Bobb and Jilian?)

6/28/10 On Literature:
"I know the names of two authors! Mary Pope Osbourne and Moby Dick!"

7/1/10 On Make-overs:
"People won't even neck-ig-rize me when we get to Ohio, since I have a new haircut AND new glasses!" (Neckigrize...recognize....heehee.)

Pics of my girl before we went to the pool yesterday. Tonight we're heading to Ohio for our 2 week vacation... Thanks, Emma for reminding me to take time to neckigrize the small stuff.

Life Update

2010-06-27T22:45:00.007-04:00

A.C.: YES, after 10 days of staying with the in-laws (thank goodness!) our A.C. was repaired. I believe it was just in time, as I think the weather has been in the 90's each day since the repair.

False Hope: The week before Father's Day I took a HPT and had a positive (2 line) result. I was ecstatic, but tried to remain cautious. As it was still extremely early, my plan was to take further tests closer to Father's Day in order to surprise DH. Sighs. Two days later when I took both a two-liner and digital a HPT they were both negative within a minute. Of course AF arrived within a few additional days. Drat.

--I recently saw a billboard that says, "Letting go and giving up are not the same thing." I've been really, really working on letting go...it isn't working yet.

School: Two former students helped me move all of my work belongings into my AWESOME new classroom. Nothing will be unpacked or settled until the end of summer, but I am relieved to not have to worry about my stuff over the summer.

--Still awaiting the FCAT scores from this spring's test. Anxious to see how my students fared.

Books: I've been reading up a storm. (How I love summer!) Current favorites include the "Kingdom Keepers" series by Ridley Pearson. These youth/teen books are up my alley as they are suspense novels which take place at the Disney World theme parks...WAY cool! Also the new Rick Riordan book, "The Red Pyramid" was a great read. I love how he incorporates history (ancient Egyptian in this case) into his plot development.

Vacation: We'll be leaving this week for a 2-week vacation in Ohio. I look forward to time with my family!

Eclipse: The latest "Twilight" film comes out this week! My father-in-law has graciously agreed to babysit Emma for 2 hours (until DH can pick her up after work.) This will enable me to attend a triple feature with 2 of my friends from work. We'll be seeing "Twilight," "New Moon," and then the midnight premiere of "Eclipse." My bum will be SO tired, but it will be SO worth it! :)

Playdates: Em and I have been keeping pretty busy this summer. A new teacher at my school has a daughter who is 6. We've been on 2 playdates with them...Em and her daughter get along great. In addition, we've been on 2 playdates with a friend we met via Emma's pre-school. The mom used to work at the front desk where parents sign in at the school. I made a new friend! Yay! We graduated from high school the same year, both majored in social work/psychology areas which we are no longer working in, both love movies, etc. Anyway, Em and the school gal's son play together wonderfully. (Though he is a year and 3 months older than Em, he is a sweetie whom Emma described as "gentle." Awww!)

Blog: It seems as though I've been on hiatus lately. I started this blog as an online scrapbook and journal for myself. Due to my TTC issues, it became more personal and baby-longing focused than I originally intended. Thus, sometimes I don't want to write because I feel like a downer. I feel like I am going in circles....like my heart's desires are going around and around a track, yet they continue to prefer to veer to a new path one day. It is such a conundrum. My heart longing for a second child. My mind trying to rationalize that I need to "let go" and move on and STOP STRESSING and see what happens. I don't write much, sadly...because there doesn't seem to be anything new to write.

Haircut Girls: Em and I both got haircuts. Short for summer. :)

End of the School Year Wrap-Up

2010-06-04T17:36:00.004-04:00

Family: First and foremost, a huge shout out to my DH's parents who have graciously allowed DH, Em, and I to crash at their place for a to-be-determined amount of time. The air conditioning at our house broke....which when the heat index is in the 100's is IMPOSSIBLE to survive in! A repair man was there on Tuesday, but needed to order a part which will take 3-10 days to arrive. My in-laws have fed us, let us mooch their guest room, office area ( Em sleeps on the couch in the office,) living room space in the evenings, etc. THANK GOODNESS! We spent only one night at our place post-A.C. breakage and it was hot and miserable and I couldn't sleep. Yikes! Thank you, thank you, thank you, C&C!

(--And WOOHOO for amazing Home Owner's insurance. The A.C. compressor would have cost around $5,000 if we had to pay out of pocket. Fortunately, all we have to pay is the $60 fee for the repair visit to our house. Whew!

Emma: Em's Pre-K graduation was last week. SOOOO bittersweet. I hope to eventually have a post (with photos) just about this event...if I can get back to blog land on a regular basis.

School: I'm typing this in my classroom as I am waiting to get dressed for the annual 8th Grade Dance. Can't wait to see my school kiddos gussied up....this is one of my favorite school events of the year!

--I spoke to my principal today. It is 100% definite that I will be moving to 6th grade next year. Part of me will miss my 8th graders.... However, I'm super excited about the reading program for ESOL students that I'll be heading. (Which could mean I'll also have one class of 7th and 8th graders.) Cool!

--Did I mention I get to move to a huge classroom with windows! WOOHOO! Out of my windowless hole...I'm loving it! I look forward to having a nice reading area, like I had at my prior school, since I'll finally have ample classroom space. (I've already spoken to a teacher who is retiring---she's going to sell the 2 comfy chairs in her classroom to me! $30. Sweet!)

--Part of why I've been away from the blogging world is because I've been swamped since a teacher in my department resigned last month. I'm stuck keying his grades and attendance into the computer system, because long-term subs aren't permitted to do "official" documentation. Bah hum bug!

--The field trip this week went well! Sadly, the new Harry Potter ride and HP area of the Islands of Adventure park doesn't open until mid-June. So other than a cool photo of the outside of the Hogwarts Castle, I wasn't able to have any Harry Potter time. Sighs. Most importantly, the students were well behaved and didn't drive us chaperones too nutty. I had a fun time!

--This year is my 7th year teaching. Through the years I've received some small cards and gifts from students and/or their parents as "thank yous" for a job well done. I always appreciate the acknowledgement! Generally these gifts are not expensive, and I certianly do NOT expect them to be. But holy WOWSERS. Guess what a student gave me yesterday? His mother even emailed me to make sure I received it. A $100.00 gift certificate to Starbucks. WOW! (And yes, that was one HUNDRED, not an error.) I still can't believe it! Entirely TOO much and TOO kind. I am gracious! And I totally got a Frappichino on the way to work this morning! :)

--I just finished an amazing book called Larger-Than-Life Lara. I used it as a read aloud with my students. The book teaches a lesson about bullying along with teaching story elements. For example, 3 of the last 4 chapters of the book are titled "Rising Action," "Climax," and "Resolution." My students loved the book overall. THANKS to my sister, Laurel for introducing me to this novel! :) A short, fun read I'd recommend to anyone who reads aloud to 3rd-8th graders. (Almost too young for my 8th graders, but I was able to tie it into some stories about bullying that were in our textbook.)

Questions: My friends, I leave you with 2 questions...

1st---Does anyone know what happened to Fishsticks and Fireflies?? (Is she ok? Did she go private? Is there a way I can email her and ask to be added to her new blog readers' list?)

2nd---What are your thoughts on PRIVATE versus PUBLIC education???
-I went to private school from Pre-K through 6th grade, and then attended public school for the rest of my schooling.
-Though I was raised in a small town (only 3 elementary schools and 1 high school) I believe there was a definite difference in the behavior and academic grades of my peers who attended private school (for elementary only) versus those who did not. In my particular class, the high school valedictorian and 2 co-salutatorians were 3 students who graduated from my 6th grade private school class with me. We all then attended public school from 7-12. And still out of 300+ students, the top 3 were all from a private school elementary background. Interesting.
-I am excited to have my daughter in a school nearby the school where I teach. When I enrolled her in Kindergarten for next year, it was at the "A" rated school across the street from mine, but it is public. My mama heartstrings have been tugging a TON recently wondering if DH and I made the right choice. Part of me worries about not having her in a private school setting. (She's already reading----will her new teacher differentiate instruction, or force Em to be bored and back to basic ABC's; will Em get in trouble for being "bored" if she's off task----her private school Pre-K teacher this year was dynamite about re-directing her and finding activities for her to do at HER level; Lastly, will Em miss the Christian atmosphere and learning Bible verses and songs that are at her private Pre-K? (When she recites and sings them now it reminds me of my own childhood.)
-I want the best for my girl. Am I over-reacting as I wonder if she will be able to obtain the "best" at a public school? I ask this as an educator at a public school.... It is such a difficult call to make. How much of the child's knowledge and behavior is based on the PARENTS and how much is based on the SCHOOL? As a teacher, I believe there is a definite difference between students who do and do not have parental support. Am I wrong in thinking that if DH and I continue to provide a loving, educational background that Em can achieve the best in life no matter what her school setting?

Thanks for letting me ramble, Dear Readers. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

By the Numbers

2010-05-21T19:06:00.003-04:00

Stealing this numbers post idea from some of my blog buds...

105,005: Total number of miles turned on my car speedometer when I arrived at work this morning.

$700: Amount we'll owe out of pocket for Emma's recommended dental work. (Including a cap for her chipped tooth and additional cavity fillings. Sighs. I feel like Mother of the Year. Not.)

100: Number of 8th graders I'm helping chaperone on the field trip to Universal Studios Islands of Adventures. (Crossing fingers that we have tickets to the park with the new Harry Potter stuff....but I think HP is in the other park.)

95: Degrees Fahrenheit when we were at Magic Kingdom last week. It was by far the hottest and most crowded time we've ever been to Disney before. I'm grateful we live close enough we can visit on off-season times, as it was super-duper hot. In the late afternoon, Em said, "Can we go back to the hotel and watch TV?" because she was super tired and overheated. We did end up leaving early and swimming at our hotel by 9 p.m. It was still a nice weekend getaway.

76: Number of times I've thought about blogging in the past few weeks. Sometimes I'm super busy. Other times I feel I have nothing worthy of blogging about....thus I consider posting and don't.

13: Number of school days left for students.

12: Number of classes I am now responsible for grades and attendance for. This tally is 6 higher than my number the rest of the year, due to one of my colleagues resigning from the county last week. A long-term sub has covered his position for the remainder of the school year, but Yours Truly is stuck with keying in grades and attendance.

6th: The grade I'll be teaching next year. (I'm switching to 6th from 8th...and am eager for the change!)

4: Total days left until the end of the year celebration at Em's pre-school.

2: Number of mini classroom libraries I won at an end of the year reading celebration yesterday. Sweet!

0: The amount of energy I have left after this week of end of the year reviews in preparation for next week's final exams for my students. Sighs.

Nearly Halfway Through May

2010-05-13T09:38:00.009-04:00

Whew! May has arrived with a whirlwind of events...

Kindergarten: Em is officially enrolled in Kindergarten classes at the school across the street from mine for next school year. Gulp.

Parents' Visit: My parents' visit was wonderful! They were able to have LOTS of grandparent time with Emma, and she continues to frequently mention things they did during their visit.

I'm not sure what happened last year, but classes at Em's school were not permitted to have any off-campus field trips requiring a bus this year. However, they have found amazing things to bring TO the school for "field trips" in the building or parking lot. (Not the same, but better than nothing.) My parents first day in Florida, they were able to chaperone Em and her classmates as they attended a petting zoo field day. Pics below were taken by my Dad...

Goats

Tired sheep

Pony ride

DH and I didn't take time off of work...which I felt badly about at first. However, it turns out my parents and Em were able to have some amazing times together. They went to the beach and the storytime and art classes at the library. On Saturday we all went to the zoo. We were able to meet up with DH's parents for dinner that night. It was nice to have time with both sets of "grands" together.

Grandpa, Emma, and Grandma at the Jacksonville Zoo

We loved having them here for a visit, and can't wait to see them again this summer!

Mother's Day: Last Friday, Emma's class hosted a wonderful Mother's Day luncheon. When I entered the hallway, Em's teacher was standing there. I saw her gesture to Emma who greeted me with a photograph and adorable book she had made. The book includes her handprints, a poem, a beautiful hand drawn picture of me, and the following survey (Em's responses are in purple):

My mother has blue eyes and blonde hair. (True.)
My mom is 45 years old. (Ack! She aged me by 10 years!)
My mom likes to go places with me. (Yup!)
My mom is prettiest when she goes to a fancy party. (I must not be at my "prettiest" that often, as I can't remember the last time I went to a fancy party. Lol.)
My mom is funniest when she tickles me. (What? My jokes aren't the funniest??)
I like when she cooks mac & cheese. (Sighs. We have it at least once a week, since it's Em's favorite.)
I don't like her to cook hashbrowns. (Noted.)
She likes me to help her clean the counter. (Sure, but how about your room?)
When I'm nice, she buys me presents. (Interesting perspective.)
When I'm naughty, she gives me a time out. (How old do you have to be before you can get grounded? Kidding...)

After reviewing the handmade book, Em escorted me to her classroom where I was seated at a lovely table complete with centerpiece and tablecloth. Em then brought me a rose, and we had time to mingle and talk with other students and their mothers.

Next, Ms. Tyson (Em's amazing teacher) led a prayer. Then the children performed a lovely song for us. They sung "The World" by Brad Paisley. However, they replaced "baby" with "mommy," so it went something like this...

To the waiter at the restaurant
You're just another tip;
To the guy at the ice cream shop
You're just another dip;
When you can't get reservations
'Cause you don't have the clout,
Or you didn't get an invitation
'Cause somebody left you out,
That's alright, that's OK.
When you don't feel important, Honey,
All I've got to say is
To the world
You may be just another girl
But to me
Mommy, you are the world!

Awww! What a lovely tribute! We then ate a nice lunch---completely served by Em and her classmates.

Em and I at the luncheon

Sandwich centerpieces

Close-up of my rose

Recital/Concert: That evening, was the end-of-year celebration for the Em's preschool. It included her first dance performance. SOOOOOO cute! (I'm not posting many pics because they have classmates faces in them....don't want to post without parental permission.)

Em is the ponytail blonde on the far left

Em's first roses...DH surprised her with them.

Ballet pose

Ice cream after the concert

A-Blizzard-eating-ballerina

Disney: This weekend we are Disney bound to use the 4th day of our Florida-4-Day passes before it expires at the end of the month.

Chip off the ole block: Em and I are home from school today because Em collided with a see-saw handle at school and chipped her tooth on Tuesday afternoon. We're headed to the dentist this afternoon to make sure she didn't suffer any major damage.

Note the chip in the middle of her upper teeth? (Chipped tooth is her left central incisor.)

Hopefully I can catch up on blog commenting this afternoon. Hope everyone else's May is off to a good start. I am in the final weeks of school...last day for students in June 11th and I am ready!

Random Monday-ness

2010-04-26T09:15:00.007-04:00

School Stuff: On Friday I picked Em up after school and brought her to my school where we watched the spring play, The Idi-Odyssey. The play is a comedy designed to explain to students why they have to read "old" works such as The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer. It was cute, and I was pleased with Emma's behavior as I am certain she didn't understand much of the humor.

--33 School days left. Whew!

--My students are still somewhat "checked out," but after reviewing their crappy grades with them last week, more of them are "on board" for work time now.

Emma: DH and I are at our wits' end.... Getting dressed/hair brushed/out the door on time in the mornings has become a HUGE ordeal. I hate yelling...DH hates yelling....but it seems we result to this at least 2-3 mornings per week as Emma lays in bed stalling.

--We've tried a sticker chart for "cooperative mornings" where she could go to the Dollar Tree if she filled up a week. (Em LOVES Dollar Tree.)
--We've taken away evening TV time based on morning behavior.
--I've refused to pack her lunch and forced her to eat the school lunch (she WAY prefers packing) if she didn't cooperate in the morning.
--We usually leave at the same time. There have been many mornings I've left without DH and Em (poor DH!) Em freaks out when I do this, but it still doesn't change her behavior.

Em is usually such a sweet girl....but the dawdling in the morning is driving us NUTS! Any parental ideas of what makes your kids get up and dressed independently in a TIMELY manner?

DH: Plugging away at another book. He texted me last week that he finished the 5th chapter of his 3rd book. He continues to seek agents. I'm so proud of him!

--Sick, sick, sick. DH was vomiting and in bed much of the weekend. He seems to have caught a stomach virus. Bleck. Poor guy.

Me: My parents arrive on Tuesday evening for a 4-day visit. SO excited to see them! One of the greatest pleasures of Mommyhood is watching Em interact with my parents. Hearing her on the phone with them this weekend was precious. She is SO thrilled they'll be here to attend a school field trip with her this week.

--I got all of the house cleaning done this weekend. (Drat! I shouldn't have put it off....sick DH couldn't help out like he usually does!) Tonight all I have to do is change the bedding and the house will be ready for visitors. Yay!

--I finished the Percy Jackson book series. LOVED them! And was tickled to see in the acknowledgements from the author that he considers this "the first of the Olympian series." YAY! I assume this means there will be more Olympians in the future---awesome!

--I've been hooked on the Showtime series The Tudors. I've watched all of seasons 1, and 2. I'm halfway through season 3. (Season 4 recently started and I have them recorded and waiting for me on our DVR.)

--Last weekend I was able to meet more blog pals!!! I met Lynn from Wistful Girl and Kym from I'm a Smart One. We met at the Applebee's in Waycross, Georgia. It was super! We had over 2 hours of conversation. Topics included: IF-issues, Teaching, Insurance, Husbands, Childhoods, etc. Even Leroy from the original Fame TV show. We had great conversation! We're planning to meet up again this summer...I look forward to it!

Kym, Lynn, and I

School, Home, and a Playdate

2010-04-23T06:41:00.006-04:00

I'm a little behind in the times again....

School: The good news: Our last district visit for the school year was this past Tuesday. We FINALLY had a positive review of our department. Guess my stress and work the past 2 weeks paid off. Whew!

The bad: Last week was the first week of 4th quarter. My students are already checking out. They are ready for summer... "Are we really doing lessons this week?" "FCAT is over, why are we starting a new unit?" Seriously??? We still have school until June 11th. It's going to be tough to maintain the kiddos these next few weeks. I truly don't remember having students feel "finished" quite this early before. Sighs.

More good: Em and I went to the last home Track Meet of the year this past Wednesday. 3 of my students are on the team----and I enjoyed cheering for them. Em loved standing in the grass beside the track, waiting for the gun to fire signaling the beginning of each race, and then she'd sprint down the length of the track and back. Needless to say, she slept GREAT that night!

Home:
The good: My parents are coming to visit and will arrive next Tuesday night! YAY! They will also be able to attend a school field trip with Em on Wednesday (petting zoo and picnic lunch,) which Em is very excited about. Then Em will stay out of school on Thursday and Friday to go on adventures with them while DH and I are at work.

The bad: There was a cat (in heat) making God-awful noises outside of Emma's room last night. Our dog woke Emma up with his barking just after 11. After I pounded on the window, the noises stopped. Em went back to sleep. Around 12:30 blast it if the whole thing didn't start again.... loud meowing/screeching outside and dog freaking out and barking inside. I have a feeling Little Miss will be dragging when I wake her up in a few minutes. Sighs.

Lastly for now....

On April 9th, Em and I were able to meet up with a blog friend and her Kiddos who live in St. Augustine. We met Katie and her 4 year old twins Megan and Jeremy at their house. Then we traveled together to a park. The kids played. The Moms visited. Next, we all had lunch and had MORE play time at their house. It was great! (Only one accident of the day---Emma and Megan were running full speed and ran into each other---Em had a large goose egg/bruise in the middle of her forehead, and Megan had a big bump on top of her eyebrow. Oops!) Overall, the kids got along together really well.

Katie is a freelance writer for a local newspaper. She made me giggle when she informed me that I had a type-o in the comment section of my blog. (I had written "Dear Reders" instead of "Dear Readers.") She was sweet saying she didn't want to embarrass me by telling me of the type-o in a comment where others could see it. People----I teach Language Arts for a living. I am a spell check Diva. If I have a type-o, I implore you to TELL ME.....because spelling inaccuracies drive me crazy! Thanks! :)

It was wonderful meeting another mom with Kiddos close in age to Em. It was nice getting to know someone I've only known for the most part via blog land. (Katie substitute teaches sometimes, so I had met her at my school before, but we weren't able to have much conversation time.)

I need to get ready for work, so must go. Pictures below were all taken by Katie. (K--THANKS for sharing your photography prowess!) We look forward to future playdates!

Megan and Emma

A smooch!

Em and Megan

Jeremy, Em, and Megan

Searching for red leaves

Friday Night Ruminations

2010-04-09T19:49:00.012-04:00

Tonight is probably the last time my blog-buddy Danifred is going to host Friday Night Leftovers wherein bloggers can blog whatever random "leftovers" they didn't blog about yet that week. Check out other blogger's leftovers HERE.

Birthday Stuff:
a. New sneakers. I nearly forgot how nice it feels to have arch support. My old N.ewbalances were much in need of a replacement. On Wednesday I went to the mall with Em and DH. I was able to purchase new sneakers AND new sandals for less $$$ than I had planned to spend on just sneakers. AWESOME! I wore my new sneakers all day today....ahhhhh sweet comfort!

b. DH surprised me with "Percy Jackson: The Demigod Files" by Rick Riordan. Super cool! I didn't know there were other Percy Jackson related books. I'm in the middle of book 4 (of 5) and am loving the series! Looking forward to another fun read!

c. Rockin' bracelet. Yesterday we received a package in the mail from my sister Laurel. Included were birthday gifts for DH and I and some cute things for Emma as well. As Laurel recently returned from a trip to Spain (with some of her high school students on an exchange program visit) all of our gifts were purchased in Spain. Check out my awesome GREEN (my favorite!) bracelet. LOVE IT!

Yearly Eye Exam:
The bad---at my eye exam yesterday I was informed that I have an astigmatism in my left (already "lazy") eye. I didn't know you could "get" an astigmatism...I thought it was something you're born with. However, according to the eye doc astigmatisms are common occurrences "as people age." Gee, Mother Nature...happy birthday to me. ;)

Overall it's not that big a deal. Though my thicker contact lens has taken some getting used to.

The good---I always use my prepaid prescription card to purchase a year supply of my contact lenses. (I wear the disposable type that need to be replaced every 2 weeks.) I like the convenience of having the year supply on hand. In addition, I like that with buying a year supply, I always get a rebate. This year in addition to my year supply and rebate, my doctor's office had the perk of a FREE pair of sunglasses.... Thus, with my year refill of contacts I got a free pair of Vera Bradley sunglasses with lovely case! Price tag said $139. This is a definite upgrade from my usual $12 T.arget shades. Sweet!

Me in new shades.

VB glasses and case.

I didn't get to choose my case, but I love this teal/brown print.

Blog Friends:
Today Em and I met my blog friend Katie and her cute-as-pie twins for a playdate. I'll give more details in a future post (including pictures---Katie is a wonderful photographer!) A great time was had by all, and I believe future playdates are in store.... yay!

In 1 week I am going to a girl's-day-out lunch in Georgia. I'll be meeting blog friends Lynn and Kym in person for the first time. SUPER COOL!

That concludes this session of Friday Night Leftovers. Thanks, Danifred for being a swell hostess!

35 Today

2010-04-06T09:41:00.008-04:00

Birthday: I turn 35 today. After re-reading last year's birthday post HERE, I find I am in the same place in many ways. Still hoping, still wanting Child #2, still wondering if I am "meant" to have another child, or if I should try to turn off my longings and be content as a mom of "an only."

What's new this year? I have been diligent about charting my cycles. I have borrowed a fertility monitor and have been using it to determine the ultimate "babydance" days. I met with my OB in January and reviewed the few charts I had. DH and I are to continue "getting busy" on my peak fertility days each month for 6 months. I have a follow-up OB appointment scheduled for early August. If I am not PG by that time, OB will refer us for further testing (she mentioned specifically semen analysis for DH...I don't know yet what I would be involved in.) I am a little frustrated at waiting 6 more months when it feels like we've been waiting forever (we've been trying to get PG for almost 3 years now.) However, as I wasn't actively charting, taking temperature, or consistently using the fertility monitor, I can't blame doc for encouraging that route of "trying" first.

What's similar to last year? Much of why I want a baby is because sibling relationships are important to me. I want Emma to have a sibling! She wants a sibling too, mentioning casual things now and then. For example, when she didn't want to wear her Easter hairclips this week, she told me I could "keep them for if I get a Baby Sister someday." Sighs.

Showers for Friends: Baby Shower #2 went mostly well. My expectant gal-pal is PG with a boy, so unlike Shower #1 where the girly items made me nostalgic, the boy clothes and toys were unfamiliar to me...and good God were the tiny baby clothes the cutest things EVER. I am in love with the teeny-tiny socks that look like sneakers! I was pleasantly surprised to see 2 co-workers from my old school, so I ended up sitting between the two of them. It was good to reminisce and catch up...and luckily for me, this helped keep my mind from dwelling/wandering. Whew!

Spring Break Fun:
Em and I visited Fort Clinch State Park yesterday. (Ft. Clinch was an active fort during the Civil War. It's located near Fernandina Beach...about 45 minutes north of Jacksonville.) Em loved walking around the large fort, through the brick tunnels, and then visiting the nearby beach. Pics below...

Em with cannon on the roof of the fort.

Larger view of roof/cannon area.

Dining Hall

Em in one of the fort tunnels.

Laundry area.

Where soldiers could get uniforms, shoes, and blankets.

Tool shed.

Em thought it was neat to see a U.S. flag without 50 stars.

The main bunker inside the fort.

Em found a shady bench.

Splish splash girl.

Em: "Look at the parking garage I made!"

My beach girl.

Mission accomplished! She-who-hates-naps was sacked out on the car ride home!

Lastly, me with Cannon #35 in honor of my b-day. Here's to the next 35!

Easter

2010-04-04T21:20:00.005-04:00

The sandals: "Too big, I wanna wear my Crocs."
The cute short-sleeve sweater: "Too itchy."
The Easter hair clips: "Those pull my hair, I wanna wear a headband."

Lovely weather. Gorgeous flowers blooming on our next door neighbor's tree. Little girl who loves to pose for pictures...priceless.

From our house to yours, Happy Easter 2010!

Spring Break and Award Essay

2010-04-03T09:11:00.009-04:00

Spring Break: Yesterday was the first day of Spring Break. Em and I stayed home and had a PJ day. I was able to get caught up on much blog reading and commenting--yay! Em played dress up, "soccer" (which involves kicking a ball around from our living room to kitchen and back,) "ballet" (dressing up and dancing to music,) and Barbies among other things. (I especially liked when she got out her High S.chool M.usical dolls and was acting out the movie with them---too funny!) We didn't bathe or get dressed until after 5 in the afternoon when DH called to ask if we wanted to go to dinner when he got home from work. After a quick dinner at Moe's we were back home to our PJs. Ahhhh, what a first day of break!

Today is shower #2. Shower #1 surprised me....rather than feeling baby longings and bump envy as I anticipated, I actually felt nostalgic and reminiscent.... The teacher/wife in Shower #1 are having a baby girl, so much of the clothing and blankets reminded me of items I used with Emma long ago. For shower #1 I was able to give $$ to a friend who purchased a gift from both of us. For today's shower I went to T.arget myself and felt like a punch in the gut as I walked through the baby aisles there. So thank you, dear friends, for the warm wishes...I hope today's shower goes as well as Tuesday's did.

Tomorrow is Easter! Wow! The year is flying by. Em seems to have a better understanding of the reason we celebrate Easter than she has in prior years. Her school set up neat stations that teachers escorted students to this week: Wine/water to discuss miracles, bowl of water w/ a towel and chair to discuss Jesus washing the disciple's feet, manger scene to celebrate Jesus' birth, footprints to discuss the disciples running away from God, a cross to discuss Jesus' death, etc. Really neat idea!

School Stuff: On my planning day this week I was able to get ALL of my lesson plans for the month of April finished. Woot woot! This includes copying/clipping worksheets and assignments I'll need. Awesome! It's hard to believe it will be the last quarter of the school year when we return.

--I'm tickled with a nice leather bag I found on sale at T.arget for just under $30....I bought it as an early birthday present for myself, as I've been wanting a new work bag. (Also, buying other non-shower items helped diffuse the shopping experience.) I love that it came with a removable zipper "sleeve" that my netbook will fit in if I need to take my computer anywhere. Double cool!

--Why is it that curse words are the first things people often learn in a new language? One of my newest students was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She's only been in the U.S. a few months, and speaks VERY minimal English. In the middle of class last week, she was trying to record on her computer, but the headphones/microphone wouldn't work. I was stunned when she said, "I hate this fucking computer" in the middle of my classroom. I had to speak with her one-on-one in the hallway. She was totally embarrassed...she knew she was saying a bad word, but to quote one of my favorite movies, she didn't realize it was "the mother of all curse words."

--My principal and I received an email message this week stating that my nomination form for the "All Star Teacher Award" is being reviewed. They asked us to submit growth reports showing the reading level gains in my classes. WOW! I'm excited to be considered....let's see what happens next...

--Lastly, I am attempting one more time to cut/paste the essay I wrote which was submitted as part of my nomination packet. (Thanks to Heather at Geek by Marriage and her DH Jase for helping me figure out how to get rid of all the "meta tags" crud!)

The Prompt: Using at least 150 words, please describe how your R180 classroom tells the story of truly turning students' lives around.

My Essay Response:
I began my post-college career as a Social Worker. Working as a case manager and advocate for Children's Services enabled me to witness many parents making positive life changes. After a few years, I felt that my once-a-month visits with the children on my caseload created limited relationship building. I wanted a profession where I could work with children on a daily basis! Thus, I completed the coursework necessary to become an educator. Seven years later, much of what keeps me in the teaching profession are not the academics, but rather the relationships I develop each year with my students. I believe that rapport and creating a safe learning environment are vital to helping students learn. A secure environment is especially essential when students have deficient reading skills. Students who are embarrassed because of their below grade level abilities MUST have a place where they can learn skills without being belittled by others. Thus, I strive to create a safe haven---making fun of others is OFF LIMITS in my classroom. Through encouragement and tangible goal setting, my students learn and grow.

Three years ago my district implemented the R180 program in all middle school reading classrooms. R180 has merged perfectly with my core beliefs. The reports and data available help me work together with students to set reachable goals. Resources that are a key part of the curriculum enable me to easily differentiate instruction to meet individual student needs, which is extremely important as my classes have a vast range of reading levels. The teacher-student conferencing which is an integral part of R180 assists in my rapport building. Learning students' interests helps me connect them with engaging books they find appealing. Most importantly, the R180 program allows me to have more time doing what is most important to me---getting to know my students...

This year I have worked with many teenagers who are coping with complicated situations in their home lives, including: two students who have an incarcerated parent; one student who along with his brother were the sole survivors of a car accident which claimed the lives of everyone else in their family; a student who witnessed the murder of his step-father; and another student whose family moved to the U.S. to escape war in her home country. I am humbled that as 8th graders, some of these children have endured horrendous heartache. I am excited when we work together to increase the student's comprehension skills, test taking strategies, and/or vocabulary proficiency.

One student I've worked with this school year is J.B., an English Language Learner whose family immigrated to the U.S. from Colombia. The first few weeks of the school year, J.B. seemed angry and upset. In conferencing with her, I learned that she was disappointed to be in R180 for a third year. I was able to show J.B. data indicating the HUGE amount of growth she has made since starting the R180 program. J.B. was particularly awed by the graphs which show an increase in her overall reading level. By getting to know J.B. and finding interesting books within her reading range, I was able to "hook" her and re-connect her with the positive aspects of R180. To date, she has taken the second highest amount of book quizzes of any 8th graders at our school this year! What a turn around!

The R180 program has assisted me in changing students' lives for the better. By enabling me to confer with students while teaching reading skills and strategies, I am able to show students that I don't just care about their academics, but about their well-being. On an almost daily basis I am able to witness the "180" my students are making within their own lives. I am thrilled with their reading gains, but my heart sings to think that I might have helped them to make a "turn around" within their personal lives as well.

-----------------------
--It's a national award, so I don't know how much of a shot I have. There are 4 awards given, but only 1 for the middle school level. My main concern is that they will want something that is more reading-focused. However, this essay is ME and why I teach. I love the R180 curriculum, but I don't want my essay to be just a commercial for their product.

--The weather here is gorgeous! Finally in the low 80's. We've had our house windows open the last several days....LOVE it! Happy Spring, everyone!

Who Cares About Baby Showers, Bring on the Twilight!

2010-03-30T08:55:00.004-04:00

Today after school is Baby Shower #1 for the week. I am as "ready" as I can be. I'm hoping for the best....and knowing that it is after school, so I can truly only stay an hour and a half before I have to leave to pick up Emma. And I'm looking forward to meeting the wife of my co-worker who has only been in the U.S. for 3 weeks after finally getting her Visa approved to move here from the Philippines.

Saturday is shower #2. It might be a little more tricky. The PG gal and her hubby are our only "couple" friends left in Jacksonville. They were WONDERFUL about inviting us over when I was newly PG with Emma and she was due to have their first child (K's bday is in May and Em's in Sept.) We talked baby products. She showed me an amazing nightgown with slits for breastfeeding, we talked "new parent" stuff. It was great. I am happy for them to have Kid #2. I am just longing for Kid #2 of my own....so it makes happiness about baby stuff difficult sometimes. We shall see how things go. I think I can put on my game face in the name of friendship and make it through.

But I just heard some REALLY SUPER FANTASTIC NEWS! DH texted me to say that on the cover of "USA Today" there is an article about a new Stephenie Meyer novella that will be released on June 5th! I am STOKED! My fellow Twilight fans can click this link to read the article yourselves.

Dreaming of Edward is helping my baby longings vanish for a little while....

Pity Party and Last Disney Update

2010-03-27T10:27:00.004-04:00

I've been in a Funk:
The past few days have been a bit difficult. Mainly due to "bump envy." I received 2 Baby Shower invitations this week. While I am truly happy for the friend and the co-worker I was invited to celebrate with, the invites were a reminder of what I don't have. Sighs. (For the record, I DO plan to attend the showers. I want to support my friends!)

Then Em and I met our friends Stacye and Adrian for dinner. Adrian quickly announced that he's going to "be a big brother." Stacye is 8 weeks PG and due the first week of November. Again---happy for her...but sad for me. And then I feel like a schmooze for feeling lousy. Sighs again.

Thus, my pity party began. I have only 3 girlfriends in Jacksonville who don't work in the school system. All 3 of them are currently PG. (Two of them have a child the same age as Em.)
Internal whining---why can't I be PG too?

My DH Rocks!:
DH was off work yesterday, as he is working today. So Thursday night I called in for a "mental health" day off. Friday after dropping Em off at school, DH and I went out for breakfast. I vented and explained my feelings. Have I mentioned lately that I am grateful to have a best friend like DH? He helped me to feel better. (And I appreciated his validating that I'm not a bitch or a raving lunatic...thanks, DH!)

Yesterday it was sunny and 80 degrees out! We finally had beautiful weather. So after breakfast and some Easter Bunny shopping, we headed home. We hung out for the day with open windows----fresh air blowing through the house. LOVED it. And I got hooked on a new show, "The Tudors" on Showtime....about Henry VIII. Cool show and correlates somewhat with the "Queen Anne is Doomed" book I recently read.

Anyway between DH and the lovely weather, I was able to pull myself out of my funk. (Thank goodness!)

Disney Trip--Day 3: Epcot:
I leave you with the last of our Disney pics (only a month late.) We spent the last day of our trip at Epcot. 5 out of 5 stars. We loved it---I love the "World Showcase" with buildings, shops, and restaurants themed from various countries. They've added a "Kidcot"area at each of the country locations----kids can obtain a diecut paper cutout which is different at each location. (A rocking horse from colonial America, a mask from Italy, a kite from Japan, etc.) Em loved collecting the items, and it made the Showcase area more fun for her. She also loved the aquarium, Nemo ride, and the ride inside of the ball (I can't remember its name). DH liked the roller coaster (can't remember its name either.)

Oops...I'm realizing some of these pics are actually from Hollywood Studios, not just Epcot. Anyway, here goes:

The giant Epcot Ball

Em and I with our rockstar wigs (in the shop outside the Rockin' Roller Coaster) (Hollywood Studios)

The Tower of Terror Ride (Em and DH went---I HATE this ride, as I'm afraid of heights and also feel claustrophobic.) (Hollywood Studios)

Another feature at Hollywood Studios Em loved was the Disney Playhouse show---included puppets with favorite characters from current Disney shows (Handy Manny, Mickey's Clubhouse, My Friends Tigger and Pooh.)

A long time fan of the "Singin' in the Rain" movie, I had to pose with this umbrella on a Hollywood Studios back lot.

Em also loved the Little Mermaid show at Hollywood Studios (sorry for blurry pic.)

A worker helped Em with a Chinese yo-yo in the Epcot World Showcase

Em with her mask and paper diecuts from the World Showcase (I love the eye lashes she drew on her mask.)

Em and I with viking helmets (gift shop in Norway area of World Showcase.)

Family pic outside of the Nemo ride with Epcot ball in the background

Em and DH on the Nemo ride

Happy weekend, all! I'm slowly catching up on blog reading and commenting and WILL be caught up by the end of the week----spring break time! Whew!

Sunday Ruminations

2010-03-21T21:11:00.006-04:00

School: Had my yearly evaluation signature meeting with my principal this week. She wrote that I'm "a joy to have on the faculty." She said that even if I don't win the award she nominated me for, she knows that I make a difference every day. She also said I need to keep the nomination in my professional portfolio.

--Due to the post-FCAT reduction in stress, and the recent positive feedback from my principal, I'm okay with staying at my current school next year. However, I will NOT be taking on as many roles within my department----at the very first meeting of the school year, departmental duties will be assigned if no one volunteers. (My principal okayed this---yay!)

Emma: --Spring break is right around the corner...I signed Em out from her school for her "vacation week." (She gets 2 vacation weeks per school year.) I'm hoping the weather warms up again, so that we can go on some fun outings. I'm longing to go to the beach for some shark-teeth and shell collecting, if we have a warm day.

--And we'll look into enrolling her in...GULP...Kindergarten. (One of the perks of teaching in my county is that our contract allows teachers to have their child/ren attend schools near where they teach (or at the school where the teach, if age-appropriate.) Therefore, next school year, Em will be attending the elementary school directly across the street from my school. I have colleagues whose children currently attend there, and haven't heard negative feedback from anyone I've talked to. We drove by the schools today, and Em seems pretty excited about being "right beside Mommy's big-kid school."

TTC: Had myself convinced I was PG this week. I had sensitive ta-tas, increased smell awareness, and was super-duper tired. When I made it to 12 DPO according to my ovulation monitor, I finally caved and bought a HPT. Yes, I know it was super early, but....AF wasn't timely and I was hopeful. My pink-line test was a negative right away. More expensive digital test showed an "error" sign, but I didn't bother re-testing. AF arrived the next day dashing my hopes of a baby-on-board birthday present for myself and DH. (Our bdays are April 6th and 16th.) Sighs. Totally disappointed. We purchased new ovulation monitor pee sticks today, so the TTC saga continues...

--One perk of TTC, is taking pre-natal vitamins. I've had amazing fingernails the past few months. I treated myself to a manicure today. Previously, the only mani I've ever had was for my wedding, and involved acrylic nails. Check out MY nails! (And the nail tech convinced me to get the cute flower drawing on my ring-finger. I was tickled with the look, and can't believe my whole total was only $12!)

This is a self-nail job I did last week. The wine color is darker than I usually use, but I received TONS of compliments on it. :)

TV: DH and I are stoked! We had the U-Verse system installed this weekend. Due to DH's work discount, we got an awesome deal. And our monthly bill is less than $5 more/month than we were already paying. Now we have TONS of channels. "Tru Blood" is recording right now, I can't wait to catch up...

Drat!: Have you ever had a scent that you really enjoy, but then the store that markets it discontinues the scent? When DH and I were first dating, I wore perfume and lotion called "Peach Hyacinth" marketed by V.ict.oria's S.ec.ret. I LOVED that scent soooo much! Shortly after we were married, they discontinued it. A few years ago, I found "Sparkling Peach" by Ba.th-n-body-works. It was similar enough to my original peach scent that I really liked it. After my manicure today, I went into BNBW to buy some more....they've discontinued their peach line too. Dag nab it! Guess I'll revert back to my non-scented Joh.nson's lotion.

Twilight: Anyone else purchase the "New Moon" movie this weekend? I didn't attend a midnight selling event, but I did buy the film yesterday. I enjoyed the accompanying behind-the-scenes documentary. :)

Books: One of these days I'll update my sidebar... I'm in the middle of book 3 of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. LOVE this series. The humor integrated by the author is superb. And the integration of Greek mythology within his novels is really neat.

Guess that's it for now. Hoping that the next few days I'll post the last of our Disney pics and will get caught up on blog-commenting.

Disney Trip--Round 2

2010-03-21T12:14:00.005-04:00

The 2nd day of our 3-day getaway we went to Hollywood Studios. Rating: 4 out of 5. Plenty to do, (including an amazing playground) many shows and rides. Em was entertained the whole day. Here are some pics...

The Sorcerer's Hat is to Hollywood Studios as the Castle is to Magic Kingdom and the giant ball is to Epcot. (A+ for analogies! ) :)

One of our favorites was the new Toy Story ride. A carnival style ride in which riders use a laser to pop balloons, break plates, knock over ducks, etc. The 3-D effects were superb, and the ride itself was lots of fun. We experienced something we had never encountered before----having to wait in line to obtain a Fastpass. But, we were still able to ride the ride 2X during our visit---score!

I loved the Barrel of Monkeys monkey-link toys outside of the ride.

Em and DH outside of the Star Wars ride.

Love this pic, it's my new computer background. :)

Em and I pose in a convertible on one of the Studio lots.

Though DH and I found it cheesy, Em enjoyed the HSM3 show.

The menu items outside of this restaurant cracked us up and led us to our choice of lunch place, The Commissary. We waited outside the door for them to open for lunch at 11. Just before opening, a worker came out and said we'd be treated to "red carpet lunch" because we were the first customers of the day. When we entered, they literally rolled out a red carpet for us! Employees surrounded the carpet and applauded as DH, Emma and I entered, as a worker shouted, "Introducing the A. family!" We were then led to nice table with table cloth, glass dishes, and silverware. (The restaurant has baskets/disposable cutlery ala fast-food style.) We were waited on, whereas all other customers had to stand in line to order at the counter and then take their food to their own non-fancy tables. It was awesome! We also received free desert!

Mickey shaped mustard cups on our table...

Emma's Kid's Meal plate...

Our nice table. See the megaphones? Em was tickled when the waiter told her she had to place her order using a megaphone.

Em and I LOVED the Beauty and the Beast show. We watched the show, while DH rode the Rockin' Roller Coaster. Beauty and the Beast is one of my all time favorite Disney movies. It was released when I was a senior in high school. I have fond memories of seeing the film in the theater with my Mom and sister, and going again to see the movie multiple times with some of my Show Choir buddies. Not to mention that Belle is a book lover and wasn't born to royalty....makes her a "princess" that is more realistic. Em was riveted by the show. It was great to see her so into something that I love as well. :)

Disney Trip--Round 1

2010-03-19T06:45:00.005-04:00

One month ago today, we were attending our 3-day get away at Disney World. How I'd love to go back! I'm finally posting pics....

The "Mickey" towels on our bed when we checked into our hotel (The "All Stars Music Resort.")

It was an amazing 2-room suite....here's a portion of DH's and my "room."

And the living room area/Em's room (The green coach, red chair, AND ottoman ALL could unfold into beds...Em found this amazing.)

The resort was divided into different areas. We stayed at "The Jazz Inn." This large drum set was outside our building.

Front side of drum set.

On Friday, we went to Animal Kingdom. Our overall rating: 2 on a 1-5 scale. DH said, "It's like they tried to do a Zoo and an Amusement Park and they didn't do either one well." I agree completely----minimal animals to look at; few rides/attractions; and not many shows. This was also Em's least favorite park, as there weren't many characters out-and-about like in the other parks. (She's still bummed she didn't get to meet Pocahontas...we waited and waited and they kept changing the time Pocahontas was going to "arrive," sending Jiminy Cricket instead. Until we finally got bored and left the area.) They did have a nice playground area. Verdict: If were could only visit one Disney park, this would NOT be the park of choice. It did have some lovely features...

The amazing "Tree of Life" is the focal point of the park. Close-up you can see intricate carvings of many different types of animals. (Though, my humorous DH pointed out that it is "totally ironic that the Tree of Life is the fakest thing in the park.")

Em had fun playing the drums in an African-themed area of the park.

DH and Em riding a train.

Em helped a worker unroll this giant snake skin, while we waited for the no-show Pocahontas.

We all enjoyed the Lion King show.

Happy St. Patty's Day

2010-03-17T17:00:00.003-04:00

Thanks to those who voted, I came in 2nd in Lori's annual limerick contest!
Big congrats to Erica at Parenthood for Me, the winner. She's won 2 years in a row...ROCKSTAR! :)

My Emma turns 5 1/2 today. Where does the time go?

FCAT testing is over and went really, really well.

My principal nominated me for a national reading teacher award! WOW! SOOOO excited. Don't know if I have a chance in Hades of winning....one of these days if I can get the meta-tag crap figured out (see prior post) I'll post the essay I wrote which she submitted with my nomination packet.

Finally starting to dig out of my March-is-very-busy hole. Whew! Think I can catch up on blogging by the end of the weekend. (At least that is my hope and goal!)

I leave you with a random St. Patty's Day limerick found via the Internet...

A lass one beautiful morn,
Fell in love with a male unicorn,
She purchased a spell,
Recited it well,
Now she's with him hooves, tail, and horn.

Happy Day, one and all! :)

Help: Meta Tags??

2010-03-12T22:01:00.002-05:00

Ack! Sooooo frustrated! Just wrote a post explaining some exciting things that have been going on with my job. However, when I try to post I get an error message which states,

Your HTML cannot be accepted: Tag is not allowed: META

Anyone know how the frack I can fix this?

A Foiled Attempt at Limerick #2

2010-03-01T21:50:00.005-05:00

First, my apologies for being behind on commenting. This is always the busiest time of year for me, as we are in "crunch time" in the final days before state FCAT testing. (My students test on March 9-11.) Additionally, we just finished 3rd quarter midterms and progress reports, which meant I had to keep my grades up-to-date. DH, Em and I did have a wonderful Disney get away last weekend....hopefully I'll get pictures and an update posted soon. I devoted my "spare time" last week to watching the Olympics. And did anyone catch the gold medal hockey game between the U.S. and Canada yesterday? Despite the U.S. losing, it was an AMAZING game!

I was hoping to create another Limerick for Weeble's Contest (see my prior post or the link in the left sidebar for further details.) My hope for Limerick #2 was to send a "shout out" to as many of my readers and blog buddies as I could as a "thank you" for the support I've felt since finding the ALI community. I'm still bummed I didn't find you sooner, but this is far surpassed by the gratitude I feel for the knowledge, insight, and love you've shared. I'm tickled with myself for being able to mention 12 of you and still maintain some type of rhyme scheme, even if I lost the Limerick schemata (which is why I'm not entering this in Weeble's contest.) If you aren't mentioned, I'll try to catch you another time...please don't feel less loved. Thank you, dear readers! I love ya!

(Note: I'm having difficulty linking the blog titles to the blogs....all names in caps below are listed in full on my blog roll.)

A Non-Limerick of Thanks
By: Alana Mar. 2010

I'm a WISTFUL GEEK, a SALVAGEABLE pregnancy is my quest,
I've "met" amazing online DREAMERS who support my ADVENTURE with zest!
SIPPYCUPS, SUNNY, CARRIE, and FISHSTICKS are other ANXIOUS MUMs,
They cheer me through my joys, and virtually hug me when I'm numb.
Though my EXPECTED END remains unseen, your blog comments are one reason I'm BLESSED!

Whew! I loved the limerick contest, but incorporating names of blogs was difficult. SOOOOO fun! Happy March, everyone. Xoxox

Limerick Contest

2010-02-25T09:27:00.006-05:00

Check out Weebles annual Limerick Contest HERE. This is a contest that is right up my alley! I'm over half Irish, have always longed to visit Ireland, love writing silly poems, and always look for opportunity to thank others who have helped provide friendship/support to me! So here goes...

A limerick for my Hobbit Pal
by: Alana Feb. 2010

In this world of IF I've been dumped,
Despite my husband having humped.
Gals like Mrs. Gamgee pull me through,
We still hope one day it will be true...
That our stomachs will be baby bumped.

Click the link on the left sidebar to VOTE FOR ME! :)

Sock It To Me, Baby!

2010-02-24T18:17:00.010-05:00

Yay! I was able to participate in the Sock-it-To-Me sock exchange this month. I received socks from the wonderful Mrs. Spock. I LOVE the argyle pattern...and I love that the socks are knee-high length. I actually did laundry mid-week last week (normally unheard of at my house!) so that I could wear the socks to BOTH my Tuesday OB appointment AND to my Thursday yearly evaluation/observation by my school principal.

For the record, I think the IF support/blog love/cool-socks worked! I was pleased with my OB appointment, and my principal wrote on my observation form that my "classroom was a joy to visit." YAY! Thank you, Mrs. Spock! :)

Check out my stylin' argyle...

What fun! Check out other Sock It To Me participants, as hosted by the wonderful Kym
at I'm a Smart One.

Edit: I sent socks to Jen. You can check them out at her post HERE.

Seriously?

2010-02-17T02:58:00.002-05:00

3 am-ish. Finally drifted off to sleep. Only to be awakened by the dog nudging the door knob in a not-so-subtle LET ME OUT TO POTTY NOW signal. Ack.

Quick Shout Out I forgot---to my awesome Mom who sent a wonderful package to Emma filled with books, Phonics workbooks, clothes and Valentines for Em. (We received the package prior to V-day, I'm just behind posting about it.) Thanks, MOM! The package rocked. Em loved her goodies and is especially fond of the denim jumper.

Dog is back. My pillow beckons... Can't believe it's 3 a.m. and I still haven't had fitful rest.

Late Night Update

2010-02-17T01:13:00.004-05:00

Sick:
Aack....Sinusitis was my diagnosis at the doctor today. I went to Urgent Care after my OB appointment, because I've had a non-stop runny nose alllllll day today. It's after freakin' one a.m. I am TIRED. My body is tired. My brain is tired. My stuffy, sore, Rudolph-red nose is tired...but the Flonase and antibiotic combo from the doc have me wired. So, I thought I would try to blog it out...

OB: I'm pleased with the way my appointment with my OB went today. She shared some personal information (ie: even though she has 4 kids, she had 3 miscarriages; and she believes "God has a sense of humor" because her youngest children are twins who were conceived while Doc was on birth control pills.) I love her for her honesty. She is an advocate for the Fertility Monitor (even recommending the particular brand my friend loaned me--yay!) Basically, we are at our last bout of "waiting" before semen analysis for DH and/or further testing for DH and I. Doc wants us to use the Fertility Monitor consistently for 5 months making sure to "get busy" during my times of peak fertility. If we still aren't PG, then we'll proceed from there. I have a follow up appointment set for August 3rd....of course with the hopes that I'll be PG before then and will be able to cancel the appointment.

TV:
--I enjoyed the amazing opening ceremony for the Olympics, and have caught as much of the coverage as I could the past few nights. SO saddened by the death of a young Georgian luge athlete. Mesmerized by couples figure skating. Enjoyed the speed skating (Go Apolo Anton Ono!)
--DH and I have been avid LOST fans since the first season. We're into the last season and are loving it...slightly frustrated by the "Where the heck is this going?" element, but intrigued and returning each week just the same. I hope the ending has closure and doesn't leave me disgruntled like the long ago finale of "Twin Peaks" did.
--I have had the blasted-ever-lovin' "Yum yum Bumblebee Tuna" commercial stuck in my head all day. ACCCCKK. Make it stop!

Books: I'm nearly done with the "Nightworld" series by L.J. Smith. When I finish completely, I'll post a few quotes I've noted remarkable similarities between from Smith's works and Meyer's "Twilight" series.

I also recently read "Doomed Queen Anne," which apparently is part of a "Young Royals" series I'll have to look into one of these days. I quite enjoyed the book, a teen version of Anne Boelyn's story.

February Shout Outs: Sending February birthday love to.... My older sis (Feb 10th,) my adorable nephews who turned 3 this month (Feb 15th,) and my cool FIL (Feb 23rd.)

Sleep: I'm gonna try to sleep again....I have my "pre-conference" with my principal tomorrow before my observation on Thursday...at this rate I won't be able to string together multiple coherent sentences. Nighty-oh.

Oops!

2010-02-16T08:59:00.002-05:00

Aaack! See what happens when I try to multi-task? It backfires....

My HUGE apologies to the sweet Wistful Girl who lives in Georgia and is hosting a Southeast Georgia blog love get together. And another apology to Anxious Mummy who was trying to figure out how I expected her to host an event in Georgia when she lives an ocean away Down Under. SORRY ladies! I cut/pasted the wrong name from my blogroll.

SEE----I really do need a mini vacation. DH even said this weekend, "Are all teachers brains this fried during FCAT" season? YES!

My OB appt is this weekend...and I'm wearing my new SITM socks today. :)

Random Ruminations

2010-02-13T20:18:00.018-05:00

Drat! It's only February and I've already broken my blog-resolution to post at least one time a week! Here's the latest...

School/Work: My students took the 8th grade Writing F.CAT test last week. Continuing with the crappy last-minute notice teachers have been given at my school this year, we were not given the rosters for the students scheduled to test with us until the day before the test. ACK! Fortunately all of the students who tested in my room were present the day before the test, so I was able to inform them where to go during test day. However, there were many students who were nearly late for testing in other classrooms, as they didn't know where to report until the morning of the test. (Don't get me started about how teachers are not assigned "homerooms," apparently that would be too logical...) Fortunately, the testing itself went well. I had purchased granola bars and bottled water to ensure all of the students who tested in my room had "breakfast" prior to testing. This seemed to help them focus, so I will definitely do something similar for the other F.CAT testing next month. It is my 7th year teaching, and only the 2nd time I've ever been able to "proctor" F.CAT for students whom I teach. (Usually I get stuck proctoring a room full of kiddos I don't know. I HATE it when that happens!) I truly believe knowing the students and having rapport with them made a difference in the testing experience for my students and I!

Blog Love: Two cool things: First, I received my SITM socks in the mail last week. WAY cool, I looooove argyle! I will be wearing them to my OB appointment this Tuesday. Pictures and more sock details will be posted next week.

Second: I might be able to meet a few fellow bloggers in person! The wonderful Anxious Mummy is sponsoring a Southeast Georgia blogging event, but was kind enough to invite me since Jacksonville is relatively close. Yay! :)

DH's Job: It's sounding like his job is secure for now. The "higher ups" at the company have assured workers that their center is NOT going to be bought out in April. Thus, DH is hanging in there. Meanwhile, he is plugging away at his 3rd novel, as he continues to try to get published. His ultimate goal is to one day make a living at writing, and quit his current day job altogether. Woot-woot! How wonderful would that be?? I'm so proud of his perseverance. :)

TTC: SOOOO glad I started using the fertility monitor my friend loaned me! Turns out I DID ovulate. (Whew!) However...it wasn't until day 21- 22 of my cycle. Thus, I will definitely continue monitoring...the expense of the "pee sticks" are worth the "knowing" at this point. (And of course I need more than one month of accurate data to determine the regularity (or lack thereof) of my cycle.) I will definitely discuss things with my OB at this week's appt. Also, THANK YOU to those who recommended the Fertility Friend website. I had been using "mymonthlycycles dot com" which is NOT nearly as user friendly!

Busy Week: This week I have my OB appointment on Tuesday. Thursday is my yearly formal evaluation conducted by my school principal. Then Friday--- DH, and EM and I are headed to 3 days at Disney World. (Ode to tax return $$ and great deals for Florida residents!) I'm looking forward to it, as we haven't been to any Disney parks other than Magic Kingdom for many years. We still haven't determined which 3 of the 4 parks we'll be visiting, but my brain is ready for a getaway!

SORRY blog buds....I've been negligent about commenting the past week, as I've been busy getting the paperwork for my yearly evaluation ready... I have Monday off, so am hoping to catch up. :)

I leave you with some Emmaisms:

2/3/10 On Toxic Gas:
"Know something funny that happened at school today? I had a whole bunch of really stinky farts. And know what else? Everyone thought it was Todd! He has stinky farts all the time. So they thought it was him and not me!"
(Cracks me up! And I love that at 5 she's already learned the female etiquette----the stinky ones are ALWAYS a guy's fault! Lol.)

2/4/10 On What DVD Mommy Would Like To Watch:
"I know what your favorite movie is! That one with the werewolf!" (A.K.A. Twilight New Moon)
(a. First of all, that movie is not even available on DVD yet! b. Second of all, I'm big time Team Edward, NOT Team Jacob.) :)

2/9/10 On Royalty:
Em: "I know how ladies become queen."
Me: "You do? How?"
Em: They are princesses and then when the queen gets old or dead, the princess is the queen."
Me: "Oh. How do girls become princesses?"
Em: They need to have a crown, some candy, a purse, and high heels."
(If only I had a crown...I could be a princess!) ;)

Perfect Moment Monday---Date Night

2010-02-01T18:26:00.004-05:00

To those who alleged that the Melting Pot would fondue all my worries away....you were SO right!

My "Perfect Moment" from the last week was enjoying a date night with DH. We haven't had a date night/overnight away from Emma since last spring when we went out for our birthdays. But last Saturday, Em spent the night with her friend, which gave DH and I time to....

Enjoy our first ever visit to the Melting Pot!

Course One: Cheese fondue with veggies, apples, and bread for dipping. Yum!

Course Two: Salad. The sweet & tangy house dressing was divine!

Course Three: Oil/wine/garlic base to dip our meat dishes: chicken, prime rib, shrimp, and brats. SO good!

Course Four: Worth the cost of dinner all on it's own...seriously, it was THAT good. We chose the milk chocolate with peanut butter dipping sauce. We dipped strawberries, bananas, brownie bits, marshmallows, cheesecake bits, and poundcake bites. HOLY DELICIOUS YUMMINESS!

I also enjoyed a mango margarita. Yum! Definite two thumbs up.

However, though the food and beverages were divine, they weren't the best part of date night.
The best part was partaking in a slow, leisurely meal with DH. No interruptions to cut up food, no menu coloring, diversions, or "I Spy" while we waited for our food to be served. I forgot what it's like to have a nice meal sans Emma. The meal took just over 2 hours...we had enjoyable ADULT conversation the entire time.

Date nights are gentle reminders as to why I chose DH as my partner for the long-haul of life... His patience is something I witness each day. His wit and humor still crack me up after nearly 15 years together.

Yes date night...definitely perfect moment worthy.

To see other blogger's Perfect Moments, check out Lori's blog at: Weebles Wobblog.

Frustrated

2010-01-30T16:16:00.006-05:00

Lots of "icks" the past few days...

DH: Rumor-mill at work says their office building might close at the end of next quarter. (April-ish.) He's trying to determine if he should job hunt, or wait it out for definite answers.

School/Work: I had a "training" day yesterday and was able to observe for a half day at KMS, the school I nearly worked at when I transferred schools 2 years ago. (I was hired there before the principal at my current school offered me a job. As no official paperwork had been done yet, I was able to "jump ship" for my current school as soon as the offer was made because I felt great about my former principal during our interview.) Yesterday was a neat experience! The reading department head, Katie, is encouraging me to transfer to their school if they have an opening (she anticipates they will) at the end of this year. LOTS to consider....the kids were great. The behavior issues are MUCH less than at my current school. Like my current school, KMS has an "A" rating. Most importantly, the reading department is tight-knit and works as a team----collaborating ideas, sharing the work load, etc.....all the things I miss from the department at my prior school. The con: None of the reading teachers have their own classroom. 2 share the former band room with small book cases "dividing" the room in half. The other 2 share the former choir room---NO dividers....just all 42 kids in one room with half belonging to Teacher A and the other half to Teacher B. I'm not a fan of not having my own space. I don't mind co-teaching. I love, love, love the inclusion teachers who help in my room each day....I just don't like the 2-classes-in-one-room scenario. But it is definite food for thought---giving up my own classroom to work as part of a team again. Hmmm.

The "ick" is that the 2nd half of the day, I hosted Katie and another local reading person at my school. We toured reading classes. When we observed one of the teachers on my team he was doing things in his classroom that are against the fidelity of the reading program we use. I was especially irritated to see he had his students doing WORD SEARCH puzzles when we were specifically told last year NOT to do word search or cross word puzzles in our classrooms, as they are not rigorous enough learning tools for our students. In addition, he had mobiles made by students that listed adjective synonyms. Out of a ceiling full of mobiles, my colleagues and I could only spot THREE words on the mobiles that were actual vocabulary words from the texts we use in our reading program. WHAT the HECK is this guy doing?? He is totally doing things that are NOT in our curriculum. Now I'm in a bit of a bind...as the department head, it is not my role to "tattle" on my peers....however, it is important that my principal be notified of the teachers' off model behaviors. Sighs.

TTC: My biggest "ick" is TTC related.

I am SOOOOO irritated with myself for not starting to use the fertility ovulation monitor my friend loaned me sooner. I tried it last year, but wasn't consistent therefore didn't have accurate results. I was determined with the new year, I'd jump on the band wagon. I was happy with myself for monitoring my cycle so I could discuss it with my OB next month.

Photo from the manual shows what my "high fertility" time should look like. Note the DAY12 in the upper corner.

This manual pic shows "peak fertility" time. Note the DAY15...

This photo shows MY fertility....DAY 16 and still in the "Low fertility" range.

AAAAACK! I'm wondering if I'm ovulating realllly late, or am not ovulating at all. Sighs.

Need to run....Em IS spending the night with Adrian tonight. DH and I again have reservations at the Melting Pot. Yay....here's to fondue-ing my worries away. And shaving my legs...because ridiculous as it is I am still hoping that my increased libido (sorry TMI) means I CAN get PG even if the monitor doesn't correlate.

Did I mention it's been an icky couple of days?