Random Ruminations

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... :)

End of the School Year Wrap-Up

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!

Sunday Ruminations

Halloween: Em decided a few weeks ago she was going to trick-or-treat in the Supergirl costume my Mom sent for her birthday. She had a blast....and WOW what a TON of candy! I think we only went to 15 or so houses, but the amount she collected was enough to fill a large mixing bowl. Wowsers.

We went to DH's parents' house last night. We hadn't seen them since August! Due to us being out of town for Emma's birthday, DH's Mom working most weekends, and them being out of state for 2 weeks on vacation last month, we just hadn't been able to connect with them in person.

Em was thrilled with the B.arbie items and H.ighSchoolMus.ical dolls Nana and Papa gave her as a belated birthday present.

Paycheck Vacuum: Sighs. My car started making a loud noise on Thursday afternoon. We were able to get it into the repair shop...$957 for a broken air conditioning compressor. Yikes! Sucked my paycheck right out from under us. And while part of me was willing to go without A.C. for a bit, the mechanic advised against it, as it could lead to further belt and/or engine damage. Argh!

Emma "The Bad": I spoke with her teacher in person. Ms. T admitted that she DID show students "some" of the news on TV. She claims to have only shown a news clip from when Summer was still missing and her mother was crying and distraught saying that she missed her. The teacher said she wanted to reiterate to the students how sad their parents would be if they were ever lost or ran away. And to help remind students not to ever go somewhere with a stranger. I was extremely fired up by this...especially since the school director told me she had asked the teacher NOT to turn the news into a stranger-danger lesson... However, as time has gone on, I'm mostly over it now. I don't like the way things were handled, but I believe Ms. T really had the students' best interest at heart. Ms. T mentioned multiple times that like me, she was disappointed that students parents had allowed their 4/5 year olds to view the entire newscast. She said that students discussing the news had been going on the entire week---from when Summer was only missing, to when Summer was found dead, to news footage of her funeral. And while the way she "taught" students the importance of staying with their parents is NOT what I would have wanted for Em...the reality is that I cannot control what happens when Em is at school. Gulp!

Emma "The Good/Funny": DH was at work on Saturday while I was home with Em. I was in the shower and DH called. DH and I have specific ring tones attached to our cells, so when we are the ones making incoming "home" calls, we're able to identify the call by sound. Em can't reach our home phone when it is hanging in the receiver. So she got my cell phone off the table in our foyer and CALLED DH's CELL and left him a voicemail: "Hi Daddy. This is your little girl, Emma. Mommy is in the shower. You can call us back after lunch time, okay?" I didn't know she even knew HOW to dial my cell, let alone how to locate DH's number on it. Too, too funny!

Books: I've been updating my Books Read list on the left sidebar of my blog. However, it's been awhile since I posted about anything that I've read. Recently I read the first 4 books in L.J. Smith's The Vampire Diaries series. I found the books to be enjoyable, fast reads. However, I was stunned by how similar some of the vampire characteristics are to the vampires in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga. I was further surprised in researching the Internet and publishing dates to learn that the Vampire Diaries novels were released a decade before Meyer's books. And though I LOVE the Twilight books and think Edward and the Cullen family could kick the Salvatore family's vampire butts any day...it was a bit of an eye opener for me to see that some of Meyer's ideas weren't 100% original. What a bummer!

This weekend I've started a new young adult series: The Shadow Children by Margaret Peterson Haddix. I read the first two books (Among the Hidden and Among the Impostors) yesterday, and started on Among the Betrayed today. The books are about a society that only permits families to have 2 children or less. There is a "Population Police" that captures (and sometimes kills) any 3rd (or higher) children. The main character of the first 2 books is a 12-year-old boy named Luke, who is an illegal 3rd child. I don't want to give away plot details....but the books have been entertaining and suspenseful. I will definitely be recommending them to my 8th graders.

DH's Novel: He has promised to let me read the ENTIRE first draft over Thanksgiving weekend. Yay! Meanwhile, he toggles between editing his first book and working on writing his second. Super cool!

Emmaisms: Let's close with some Emmaisms. First, a conversation I jotted down from July 4th, regarding excellent teachers and bendable straws:

Em: These are called antignal straws.

Me: They are? Who taught you that?

Em: Let's just say that I have a really good teacher.

Me: Oh. Did Miss Stephanie teach you that?

Em: No.

Me: Then where did you learn it?

Em: I just taught myself.

(She may be a "really good teacher," but how about some modesty?)

10/13/09 On learning more about the world:

Daddy, did you know there's a place in this world called Duval County?

(Yup...and you've lived in it your whole life, Kid.)

10/17/09 On transportation:

"A long, long time ago people didn't have any cars....they only had taxis."

(Forget the camel, donkey, horse, or elephant...taxis have apparently been around for years.)

11/1/09 On elderly parents:

"I get to have 5 scoops of Mac&Cheese, since I'm 5. Sorry, Mommy. I know you're 101. But we don't have 101 scoops, so you'll have to just have 5 too."

(I'm aging quite nicely, if I do say so myself...)

You Asked, I Answer

Answering some recent blog-comment questions...

Nancy Drew: All hail the Nancy Drew lovers of the world! My blog post where I stated I loved reading the original Nancy Drew series when I was a girl, received many comments from others who also loved the books. Awesome!

Webster: Yes, I totally remember the freaky/scary "Webster" episode with the empty rocking chair. I had forgotten this episode... I just remember thinking the secret passage behind the clock was cool in general. I had forgotten the creepy, scary component. ACK!

"Up" Movie: Yes, Emma did like it, and she SAT through the entire movie. Movies are hit-and-miss with her. If she loses interest, she has "ants in her pants" and wants to stand up and move around much to her mother's irritation rather than sitting. But she watched the entire movie. "Up" moves at a decent pace, which helped, I think.

B.arbies:
--Does Em play independently for 2 1/2 hours? This is a tough one. She plays SOMEWHAT independently. It goes something like this:
Me: Able to read half a page of my book
Em: "Can you help me get this dress on?"
Me: Put down book. Help dress Barbie. Pick up book. Resume reading. A few words paragraphs later...
Em: "I can't get this Barbie's shoes on, can you get them?"
Me: Put down book. Help with shoes. Continue reading. A few paragraphs pages later...
Em: Plays for a little while. Then, "Did you see what I did? The baby was acting silly while the Mommy made dinner."
Me: "Ummhmm."
Em: Plays some more. Then, "Did you see how I set up the room? I don't like the pink bed, so I'm just using the purple bed."
Me: "O-kay."
Em: Plays a little more. Then, "I'm lonely. Will you play B.arbies with me?"
Me: "When I finish this chapter."
Then 10-20 minutes later, I'm playing B.arbies WITH Em. Though I do have to say, she played for 35 minutes ALONE yesterday. I was excited, and able to read a LOT! :)

--I guess I should also add this part of the conversation:
Em: "I didn't like this B.arbie's bangs, so I cut them off."
Me: (Thinking, at least it was the $1 clearance B.arbie) "WHAT? Why did you do that?"
Em: "They were prickly and I didn't like them, so I cut them."
(She's right, they were super glued hairsprayed so that the "bangs" would stay in their permanent B.arbie curl.)

--B.arbie DreamHouse: Yes, mine was the 3-story one with the elevator. (As an aside, I have a fond childhood memory of the Christmas morning when I was 6 or 7. Going downstairs and seeing the large B.arbie house with my stocking....pure bliss!) (Oops...according to g.oogle images, I had the "Town House," not the "Dream House.")

--B.arbie prices: I agree, I can't believe how expensive some of them are!! I've been meaning to ask my mom... Surely they weren't this expensive when I was younger? (I will say that "Santa" found a few at B.ig L.ots for $5 last year. Yea!)

--As I was nearing the end of my childhood B.arbie phase, I loved the Day-to-Night Barbie. Just found this pic on g.oogle:




The gist of this B.arbie is that she had a business suit for "daytime" work. Then you could remove the suit jacket and the skirt was reversible with a fancy "night time" party-type skirt. I SOOOO LOVED this B.arbie! The website I found this pic on said she is from 1985, which means I was 10. Ode to memories. (I still have the B.arbie, hat, purse, and briefcase...her suit was ruined when my parents' basement flooded a few years back. Sighs.)


If I recall correctly, I received the B.arbie for my birthday in April, and then this for Christmas:

The home/office. LOVED it. The "home" side had a bedroom for B.arbie, complete with bed, wardrobe, and vanity. I loved the B.arbie-sized brush, perfume, photo of Ken, etc. it came with.

The "office" side had a desk with computer, telephone, business-type newspaper, office chair, and other work-related items.

Yesterday when I was playing with Em, I decided to get my old B.arbie Home & Office out of the garage. She was tickled to see something "new" as I unveiled it. When we opened up the house, and Em unfolded the B.arbie's bed, the old foam mattress and pillow had disintegrated. There were teal "crumbs" all over my living room. As we have beige carpet, this was not good. I vacuumed today...not all of it came up. I think some of the pieces are down in my carpet fibers.

DH went and bought new vacuum bags, so I'm hoping when I re-vacuum tomorrow the rest will come up. If not, I'll have to post pictures...there are 9 teal blotches throughout our living room. (Why? Because I made the mistake of handing the leftover B.arbie mattress remnants to Em and asked her to put them in the trashcan. She meandered through the living room dropping pieces as she walked to the trash can. UGH!)

NOTE to anyone storing old 1980's toys: If they have FOAM parts, REMOVE the foam prior to storing. (For example, old F.isher P.rice hospital and/or house beds had foam pieces in them, my old F.isher P.rice Doctor's Kit had foam in the stethoscope---these foam things have also disintegrated over time. Maybe it's due to being stored in our garage in the Florida heat? I dunno...but I'm praying the teal foam B.arbie bed remnants come out of our carpet!)

Swimming: The town I grew up in has one large city pool. My parents always had a "family membership" for us to use each summer when we were growing up. I don't remember the $$, but I know there was also an admission fee for those without memberships. I've been in Jacksonville for 11 years now. And though the pools are smaller (and don't have concession stands) than the one in my hometown, they are FREE, clean, and nice. And like I said----we hit pay dirt this year. I've learned that 3-5 p.m. is the "golden ticket." The summer camp kiddos have left by then. Many of the evening crowd aren't home from work yet. When Em and I were at the pool yesterday, there were only 6 other people there. It was awesome!

Zoo: We're zoo members, because our local zoo is only 10 minutes from our house, so we go several times a year. With that being said, sometimes I take Em knowing that we may only go for a few hours if it is toooooo blazing hot out. I was VERY surprised yesterday. I thought it would be much more crowded, as it is summer time. It was NOT crowded at all. In fact, 2 different zoo workers mentioned that when it is in the 90's, there tends to be low attendance.

This worked out great for us, as we had close-up views of the jaguar and bonobo monkeys. Em was the ONLY person on the carousel when she rode it. We didn't have to wait in line for lunch. The water park area was a little crowded, but still not as congested as I've seen it before. We were very pleasantly surprised!

Crying at T.arget: Okay, so this wasn't a question, but I'm going to share anyway...

On Sunday DH, Em and I went to T.arget. As we were walking through the store, DH was pushing the cart, as Em and I walked behind him. For some reason, Em went up behind DH, stuck her hands in both of the "butt-pockets" on his shorts, jumped up in the air, and then HUNG on his POCKETS. You can imagine what happened next....Emma nearly fell over. DH's pants dropped to his knees. DH turned around and quickly pulled his pants up.

Being the kind-hearted wife that I am, I started laughing hysterically. Hunched over, side hurting, tears rolling down my face laughing. I still don't know why it seemed so funny to me. Maybe it was the "Oh shit!" look on DH's face?? Maybe it was seeing his entire butt in the middle of a somewhat crowded store? His bum wasn't exposed---he was wearing underwear, but his entire underwear-covered butt was OUT for a moment. Giggles. Truly....HILARIOUS!

Whew! I think that's all for now.

This post has been brought to you by the letter B and the number 10. :)

Random Ruminations

Nothing much going on...we've been house cleaning and "hanging out." (My sister arrives from Ohio this Thursday, so we're prepping for her visit. And when she leaves next week, Em and I are going with her---so I have to have our laundry and packing ready.)

Barbies: Today Em was super excited to set up a "Barbie Wedding."

The Bride and Groom (sorry picture isn't vertical.)

Glued to the TV---watching the DVD from my wedding with DH back in '98

(Cracked me up when she tried to replicate some of our wedding stuff into her Barbie wedding. Too sweet!)



Em's favorite part was dressing all of her Barbies and placing them in seats to
"watch" the wedding. The Barbie wedding and preparations lasted about 2 1/2 hours. (Just like her mama...I spent maaaaaany hours playing with Barbies when I was young.)

As an aside---I found two B.arbies on clearance at W.algreen's last week for only $1.00 each. Wow! And I thought my prior B.ig L.ots $5 deal was good. :)

Anybody out there play with B.arbies in the '80's? Do you recognize the furniture her B.arbies are sitting on? It's the furniture from my old 3-story B.arbie D.reamhouse which I passed down to Em at Christmas time last year.


Zoo: Yesterday we went to the Zoo...

On the carousel


Brushing the goats....Goat #1 (Can't get my pics to "rotate" horizontal today, sorry.)


With Goat #2

Thanks to the J.acksonville J.aguars NF.L team and its owners, the Jax Zoo has the largest collection of Jaguars at any U.S. zoo. A baby jag, Harry, was born at the Zoo this past January. Em and I were excited to see him up and active yesterday, as at prior zoo visits he was sleeping, or laying quietly beside his mother...

Just scratching...



Mama Jaguar on left, baby Harry on right



Isn't he gorgeous?

Swimming: I'm still amazed that the City Pools here are FREE! There are 20 or so pools throughout the city that have free admission. Em and I went again this afternoon. We found a nice local pool that isn't crowded. This is the second time we've gone from about 3-5 p.m. Had a great not toooo hot swim. It was super. Em is getting the knack of going under water by herself, and kicking/doggie paddling independently (with floaties.) She'll take her first ever swim lessons at the pool in my hometown when we're in Ohio in 2 weeks. (The same pool my younger sister and I learned to swim in. Ahhh, the circle of life.)

School: I've loved procrastinating and putting off doing any school work. I WILL work on somethings (lesson planning, vocabulary ideas, etc.) during the time we're at my parents' house. I've enjoyed my three weeks with NO school work though. :)

House: DH painted much of the outside house trim this past weekend, and the railings on our front porch. The house looks MUCH better! :)

Exercise: I'm pleased with myself right now. I've stuck with the W.ii A.ctive 30-day challenge program. I still find the exercise program motivating and I like the variety of exercise movements. I believe today I'm on day 12 of the program. Yea!

I think that is all the latest. :)

Ruminations

Does anyone ever read "Ruminations" by Aaron Karo? He started off by writing his humorous thoughts and sending them to family and friends. Now he sends monthly "Ruminations" to hundreds of people via email, and has published a book. Anyway, here is what I've been ruminating on lately...

--I spent several hours yesterday and today working in my new classroom trying to prep. After cleaning out the 2nd filing cabinet today, I think I have finally cleared out ALL of the prior teacher's stuff. Why she still had student work from 2004-05, I do not know. Why she kept 2003 FCAT test explanation guides, I have no idea. Why she did not take things with her (brand new rolls of leopard-print gift wrap, a $10 Barnes & Noble gift card still in the gift box addressed to her, a box full of bulletin board borders, etc.) I do not understand. Anyway, I am feeling like I truly made headway. It is finally just MY belongings in the classroom. I finally have room to organize. I think all teachers are pack-rats in a way because we hang on to supplies never knowing what we'll need from one year to the next. However, I have NEVER and will never leave a classroom in the condition she left it for me.

--I was the Reading Department Head at my school last year. I am wondering if I have unknowingly stepped into this role at my new school? The prior department head left (it is her classroom that I have moved into.) I do not mind being department head, but find it interesting no one has mentioned it to me. In the past few days: I received an email from our district Read180 coordinator. The email was addressed only to my principal and I. It explained that the book order for our school has been delayed, but that we will have them by the time our curriculum necessitates their use. I received another email from our school's Scholastic Consultant (Scholastic assigns consultants to all schools who use the Read180 program) asking me to coordinate a department wide meeting with the Scholastic consultant next week. In addition, I received an email stating that myself and my principal are the 2 Read180 contacts at my new school. Interesting, hey?

--I need to get my butt motivated to exercise. I was doing really well at using the Wii Fit regularly, and have totally slacked off this summer. My sister called this evening to say that she purchased a Wii console AND Wii Fit today. Go, Laurel! I must follow suit. I love the Wii Aerobics, and must get back in gear! And the balancing games are fun too...

--I got a new camera last month--a Canon PowerShot SX100 IS. Can I just say how much I LOVE this camera? No major delays between photos, 8.0 mega pixels, 10X optical zoom. This is SO much better than my old Kodak Easy Share. I also love that I can edit red eye right on the camera itself. Way cool!

--Also, I got my first Ipod back in April for my birthday. Can I ruminate on how much I LOVE my Ipod Nano? Aaron purchased an Itrip so I can listen to the Ipod in my car. The whole way from Florida to/from North Carolina, nothing but belting out my favorite tunes. Ode to technology!

--I had been wanting to re-upholster our 4 kitchen chairs since winter break. I acquired some pretty green fabric, but never got to fixing the chairs. Last week, I finally finished the chairs! Hooray! They look SO much better. The white chair below was the worst of the bunch. You can see the food, dirt, whatever stains from Emma. The green is a lot nicer. I also got an outdoor vinyl chair cushion to put on Emma's chair so the green does not get so soiled. This was the first time I had ever re-covered chairs. Overall I am very happy with the way they turned out. :)

--I must run. DH made lasagna for dinner...smells yummy! Tomorrow and Friday are the last 2 Emma/Mommy days of summer. I think we're going to the Zoo one day and to the beach the other.

Getting over the blues...

I'm getting out of my "blues" funk...

--I spent 6 hours at my school this week. Took a prior student with me. She was a SUPER help. She climbed up and down the step ladder and took down ALL of the posters the prior teacher left in my classroom. Amazing what kids are willing to do for lunch at the Olive Garden. :) I was able to clean out the desk and filing cabinet, as well as 2 of the 5 storage cabinets. Whew! I am feeling less overwhelmed now....still a lot of work to do, but at least there are places I can shove/hide MY stuff if I am not able to fully unpack everything before school starts. Now I am even beginning to think I may be able to finish setting up my classroom before school starts. Hooray!

(--On a weird note, I slept poorly that night and had a bad dream that my new principal called me and was angry because I had thrown out much of the prior teacher's personal items and she wanted to claim them. Ugh. In reality, I spoke to her via phone before I cleared out the room, to make sure she had gotten everything she wanted out if it.)

--DH's bro, wife and their twin boys are here in FL for their vacation. The boys are SO, SO sweet and we've enjoyed seeing them. J has recently learned to walk...it is adorable! I had forgotten how toddlers bobble back and forth in an almost waddle when they first learn to walk. And little S looks SOOO much like his Daddy. Makes me smile and think about what it might have been like when DH and bro were little ones. Emma and I were able to go to the beach with them yesterday---wonderful time. Today we went to the library for story time, followed by a monorail train ride (the monorail here in Jax only has 8 stops...but it is a $.50 air-conditioned ride and the kiddos all seemed to enjoy it.) We ended our outing with lunch in the park. It was a nice day! More family that I wished we lived closer to. I think DH and I are really going to have to think about which is more important: weather or family, when we consider moving again. (Bro-in-law and his family live in Ohio too.) (But did I mention that I hate the winters in the mid-west? Yowsers.)

--I leave tomorrow for a "Girl Power" OU reunion. There are a group of 10 girls from my college who have stayed in contact over the years. Every summer they have some type of GP weekend. I have been able to attend 2 GP weekends in the past. I usually miss the reunions because they are typically held in Ohio and I can't afford the travel expenses for an extra trip, not to mention babysitting for Emma. (And part of it is I have a hard time justifying the flying expense JUST FOR ME. Moms---you know how it is...you give your last $2 for your kid....$400 airfare is a lot of dough for a weekend get-away when the family isn't included.) This year, the reunion is the 10th year of GP. They are holding the reunion in Banner Elk, North Carolina. I AM GOING! SOOOOO excited. I leave tomorrow. It will be an 8 hour drive for me, a 6 hour drive for the gals from Ohio. There is one other OU alum who is flying in from NY. It will be soooo nice to see everyone and have some girlfriend bonding time! We have rented a cabin for the weekend. We'll spend a day in Asheville, NC sightseeing at the Biltmore. Another day we'll hang out with beers/drinks on the cabin deck, hike the mountain trails, and go see the Mamma Mia movie. Mostly, I am just glad to see my old college pals, many whom I haven't seen since 5 years ago at a wedding. Yea! (DH was able to get time off work, so he'll be staying with Em and they'll be able to spend time with his bro and bro's family as well, which is nice.)

--I've been looking into Master's of Education programs. Right now my biggest concern is cost. We're still paying off DH's loans from his bachelors and he graduated in '97. We're nearly done...but do I want to start new payments now? A year or two without any loans would be nice.
(And thank you, thank you, thank you Mom and Dad for paying for my college!!!!)

--Thinking of getting a big-wheel for Emma. We only have a tricycle and she struggles to pedal it. When in Ohio, my parents had a big-wheel in their basement which Em rode independently. I guess she can just reach it better? The tricycle is on the shortest setting, but she just can't seem to get the hang of it.

--Thanks to those who have left comments and/or sent emails regarding the blog. I started this blog venture for myself, but it is neat to know that others are reading it. :) I guess that is all the latest. More next week with GP pics. :)

Why I'm blue...

I have the blues. Sighs. Here's what's going on in my world...

--We just got back from 3 weeks in Ohio. My daughter, DH, and I were spoiled by an abundance of time with my parents and younger sister. Now we are back in Florida and I miss them all.

--It is BLAZING hot here. (Sign at Walgreen's today said 99 degrees...there's nothing like sweating just by walking to the mailbox. And NO, I don't have a long driveway.)

--I have baby longings. I've been off the pill for a year and 7 months. No baby. Am I too old? Too fat? Too out of shape? Is child #2 just not meant to be? My cycle was late when we left for Ohio. I was so excited to think that we might be pregnant and actually able to tell my parents about the pregnancy in person this time, instead of via the phone like when I was pregnant with my daughter. Confession: I even bought a hpt....and literally started my period the day after the blasted test was negative. I haven't been to the OB for a yearly check for almost 2 years, because I am afraid what she will tell me. Am I pathetic, or what??

--My younger sister and I are 4 years and 8 months apart...I don't want Emma and any future siblings to be much farther apart than that. Emma turns 4 in September. Sighs. This means I need to get pregnant soon.

--School starts in 3 weeks. While I am extremely excited to be teaching at a new school this year, I don't want the summer to end! I am enjoying Mommy-and-Emma time!

--I went yesterday to see my new classroom for the first time. The prior teacher did not take down anything! I stopped counting at 35 posters that are stapled into the wall. In addition, the desk drawers and cabinets are still full of stuff (including 30+ bottles of silly-string spray...sadly I'm NOT kidding.) I resent that I have to spend time clearing out her crap before I can begin to get my own stuff ready.

--Our yard looks like a mini jungle. We just got back from vacation...it is overgrown and our yard guy hasn't returned my phonecalls. Our lawn mower broke a few months ago, so even if I wanted to mow it myself, I can't.

--I was raised in Ohio. I lived there until just after I graduated from college, when I moved to Florida to live with DH (whom I met in college.) I am still in touch with one close friend I've known since 3rd grade. In addition, I still have some girlfriends from college who I am in contact with.
Since moving to Florida, I have struggled to make girlfriends. It is hard to find people with similar values and/or interests. Those who I have found: Alex---moved to North Carolina last September, MaryAnn---moved to Indiana last November, and now Teri---moved to Michigan last month. What the heck?? For some reason this is a very transient city. I am praying to make some new friends at my school this year.

--I don't know where I want to be. This time last year I was gung-ho on moving back to Ohio. Then in December, DH's grandmother passed away and we went to Ohio for her funeral services. It wasn't even a rough part of winter while we were there. But boy oh boy did I realize how much I hate the snow, dreary weather, and bitter cold. I hate being far from my family, but the 1 - 2 months of extreme heat here are much less than the 4 (sometimes 4+) months of winter they have there. Ugh.

Okay...enough wallowing...