Life Update

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. :)

Who Cares About Baby Showers, Bring on the Twilight!

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....

Sunday Ruminations

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.

Zoo Moments and Flu Moments

Zoo Moment 1: Two weeks ago, Em and I went to the Jacksonville Zoo with one of my teacher friends, his wife, and son. KPB turned 5 in May. Em turned 5 in September. The two played together wonderfully...


On the Panda sculptures.


Walking along one of the zoo pathways. (Too cute!)


Counting the Koi fish in the pond.


Posing on a carousel zebra. (The morning attire, before it warmed up enough that the kiddos could wear short sleeves.)

Travel Moments: Em and I left Florida on Saturday 11/21 at around 7:30 a.m. We drove all day until we arrived at my parents' home in Ohio. Em was a SUPER traveler. I was very pleased with her behavior. And though I was grateful for the L.eapster2 we had purchased, she actually kept busy with drawing and "arts and crafts" projects just as much as she played with the L2.

Sunday 11/22 was a take-it-easy day. Since DH was unable to travel with us, Em and I shared the guest bed. I thought I would dislike this, as Em tends to be a squirm-worm when she sleeps. However, sleeping with Em was a treat...I enjoyed our cuddle time in the mornings, and our end of the day conversations in the evenings. And she didn't move around nearly as much as she used to.

Sunday night we were able to go to the Colu.mbus Z.oo with my parents. Each December they display lights there in the evening time. I hadn't attended the light show event since my freshman year of college. It's come a long way! From just white lights in the front part of the zoo to colored lights and animal lights throughout the entire zoo. We had a super time!

Zoo Moment 2:


Grandma and Emma inside the zoo entrance


Pretty light display


The pond near the main entrance of the zoo. So pretty to view the lights and their reflections in the water.


Cool giraffe lights


I LOVED this baby monkey. Super cute!



Em petting a sea urchin inside the zoo's aquarium.


Emma and Grandpa


Paying homage to our friends and family who were in Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday.


Unfortunately, my pics of the reindeer didn't turn out.
Em was thrilled: "Oooh! Look! REAL reindeer! Their antlers are sooooo long! Hey, where's Rudolph? I don't see a reindeer with a red nose? Huh."


Em was able to hug Santa and tell him what she'd like for Christmas ("A big kitchen for my Barbies.")


Em and Santa converse.

I have a SUPER cute pic of Em and Santa I'm saving for later....it will be our Christmas card pic this year. :)


Em was tickled to be able to decorate her own sugar cookie with Mrs. Claus.

Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday: We were able to hang out and have family time with my parents and sister, Laurel.

Monday night Laurel and I went to see the New Moon movie. LOVED it! This book is my least favorite of the 4 in the Twilight saga, but I thought the film was super. (I'm longing to see it again however, as the couple we sat in front of "whispered" loudly the entire movie. And the girl in front of us kept texting and the light from her phone was shining right at me. SOOO annoying!)

Wednesday night Laurel and I were able to attend the "In the Heights" musical production showing in the lovely Ohio Theater in downtown Columbus. We had a fun girls night out. The musical was really well done---they incorporated rap and Latin music into the storyline. It was very unique. And though not my favorite type of music, I enjoyed the show. Our tickets were an early Christmas present from our parents who also kindly babysat Emma while we attended the show. (Thanks, Mom and Dad!)

Thursday Brought: Board games, cookie decorating, family time, the aroma of Thanksgiving dinner, and Emma's first meal in my parents' formal dining room. (My mom reminded me that Emma has asked every summer if we could "eat in there sometime" while pointing to the dining room.)


Some of the crazy turkey/pilgrim/candy hodgepodge cookies that we decorated.


Em's cookie "Don't eat this one. It's for me, cuz' I already licked it." LOL!


3 of my favorite ladies on the planet---My mom, daughter, and younger sister.

Flu Moments: I woke up around 2 a.m. Emma was hot to the touch. She had stripped down to just her underwear, but was still extremely hot. (Meanwhile, I was in pants/longsleeve shirt PJs with socks and was "just right" temperature wise.) I re-covered Em with a sheet and light blanket, which she promptly kicked off.

I woke my Mom to ask if they had a thermometer. They didn't. However, Mom felt Em and agreed she definitely had a high fever. My Mom then woke my Dad who quickly dressed and went to find a 24-hour store to purchase T.ylenol for Em. (Windy, rainy weather of course---Thanks, Dad for trooping through it for us!)

While my Dad was gone, Emma woke up, ran to the toilet, and vomited. I held her hair and rubbed her back as she whimpered. We found a "barf bucket" to place by our bed, and headed back to bed. Em fell asleep in my arms. A few minutes later, Emma woke up, jumped out of bed, threw up, got a sip of water, and groggily climbed back into bed. She repeated this process SIX times before my Dad got home with medicine. Wow. That's a lot of vomit for her little stomach. (And NO, she didn't eat her chocolate covered cookie...this definitely wasn't over indulgence.)

Dad got home around 3 a.m. He had also purchased a thermometer. Em's temp was 102.8. Poor baby! We coaxed her as best we could to take the T.ylenol. (Dad couldn't find any chewables and Em hates the liquid kind.) After she finally took some medicine, we returned to bed. Em slept for 2 hours before waking and vomiting again.

When we woke in the morning on Friday, Em was listless and still not feeling well. Though her temp was down to 99.3, I was concerned. First and foremost I was worried about Em's illness. Secondly, I was freaking out---we were scheduled to drive all day on Saturday to return to Florida. What if she was still sick?

We ended up taking Em to an Urgent Care center. (Thank goodness we took the "barf bucket" with us, as Em threw up again in the car on the way to the doctor.) We quickly learned that both urgent care centers in my hometown were closed due to the holiday. Dad drove us to an urgent care center in a neighboring town. Meanwhile, Em was dozing on and off against my arm.

They tried to complete a strep throat culture, but Em wouldn't cooperate. She kept closing her mouth and refusing to open wide. (Little booger!) The doctor ended up prescribing an antibiotic.
By Friday evening, Em was starting to perk up again. Whew!

Saturday we were able to leave as scheduled. Em was fabulous in the car again! (Thank God we've had NO vomiting since we were on the way to the doctor on Friday.) We drove all day again and arrived home in Jacksonville last night at around 10:30 p.m.

Em finished her antibiotic today. She seems to be back to normal....so it's back to school and work for all tomorrow.

Thanks: What I'm thankful for this year...

--A DH who cleaned the house while Em and I were away.
--A DH who has stuck to his guns with his writing project...I hope you get published, my Sweet! And either way, I'm proud of you for finishing your first novel!
--A daughter who travels loooong distances without excessive whining or complaining.
--A daughter who has a great musical ear. I love hearing her sing from the backseat. "Hit me with your best shot...fire away!"
--Parents who are so loving and caring towards Emma. I love watching you interact with my girl!
--A sister who is fun to hang out with...wish you lived closer, Lal!
--A job I care about. Though at times overwhelming, I am glad to have a job that I enjoy.
--Blog buddies. Since I began this blog, it has been an emotional outlet. However, I never anticipated the love and encouragement I've encountered from others...from people whom I've never met in real life, yet feel close to. Thank you, dear readers!

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving to all. Two and a half weeks until winter break....I can't wait! I am looking forward to catching up with all my blog friends. I feel like work has been kicking my butt this quarter, so I've been negligent about blogging as much as I'd like to.

Thanksgiving

Grandpa helps Em learn to steer a tractor


Tractor Girl


My parents and Laurel arrived around 6 a.m. the day before Thanksgiving. (After driving ALL night to be with us. Thank you, family!) Em slept through their arrival. DH and I gave hugs and then we all went to sleep for a few short hours before "morning." Em was thrilled that Auntie Laurel escorted her and Daddy to school.

After dropping Em at school, DH and Lal got bagels and doughnuts for the adults to eat while we were hanging out before going to Em's school luncheon. At 11:30, we all attended the "Thanksgiving Feast" at Em's school. (Continuing the LaFrance family's inability to arrive ON TIME anywhere when more than 2 of us are together, we arrived late and missed the blessing...oops.) The potluck meal was fine. It was nice to see Em interacting with her teachers and other kiddos. I think my parents and sis enjoyed seeing her school environment. My Mom seemed to really like meeting Em's teachers.

We took Em home with us after lunch. We all hung out at the house the rest of the day. Em was able to have some outside time with my Dad. My parents brought us an AWESOME peddle-tractor that both my sisters and I used when we were young. The tractor also went to my cousins Barette and Brandon in Wisconsin for a while. And now it's here in Florida. A 3 state 2 1/2 generation toy. (Why 2 1/2 ? Because the age range from my older sister to cousins to Em is a 30+ year gap!) Kinda neat! I have fond memories of riding the tractor up and down the sidewalk at the house I grew up in. It's awesome seeing Em enjoy the tractor too.

That night we all went to MyGym for Em's Weds night class. She and Adrian were 2 of only 3 kids who were present for the class. Thus, they had lots of individual attention. My parents would clap when Em completed her balancing or gymnastic activities appropriately---too cute. And of course Em loved showing off for them. Afterwards, we all ate dinner at the St. John's Seafood restaurant located in the same strip mall as the gym. Then went home to have some hangout time before bed.

The next day we all went to my in-laws house. The house was lovely! Cindy always decorates SO nicely...some of her holiday decor looks like it is right out of a magazine. Amie & Burke were able to join us. It was a nice day of hanging out and WAAAAAY yummy food. Craig's turkey was divine, the side dishes were great and he made 3 homemade pies this year---wow! It was a nice day, I think relaxing for everyone...and I hope C&C didn't stress too much about having everyone over. My favorite Emmaism of the day, was when we pulled into C&C's driveway. Amie & Burke had parked behind Craig's car so that we'd have room to park my Dad's van on the driveway. Emma said, "It sure was nice of Amie and Burke to hang up their car there so we'd have room!" Who needs to park when you can just "hang up" your car?

Friday was a hanging out at home day. Poor DH felt sick most of Thanksgiving and all through my family's visit. (He thinks he either had a stomach virus or food poisoning from some dip at the Seafood restaurant...ugh!) Bless his heart, DH still made an amazing pot of chili which we had for dinner that night. I was able to get ALL of our Christmas decor up---the tree, the decorations, the outside lights, etc. Hooray! (Otherwise, I likely would've waited until winter break.) My Dad generously took Em to the park and Ft. Caroline for 3 1/2 hours while I prepared the house. (Thanks, Grandpa!) When they returned she enjoyed helping to put ornaments on the tree.

Laurel read, read, read the "Twilight" book by Stephanie Meyer that DH and I had already finished, so that the book would be finished before we all saw the movie together. (I recently read all 4 books in the Twilight saga and LOVE them, so had asked her if she'd like to read the book and see the movie with us during her visit to FL.) Friday night my parents babysat Em while DH, Lal and I saw the "Twilight" film. I enjoyed it. I would see it again. However, the book is sooooo much better!

Saturday, DH had to work. Em and I took my parents and Lal to the Jacksonville Zoo. (A tradition that started when Em was really young---now she expects that if Grandma and Grandpa are here, we WILL be going to the zoo together at some point.) The weather was gorgeous---in the high 60s. It was a really nice day! That night we ate dinner at Moe's and then drove around looking at Christmas lights. We had a little bit of hangout time at home before bed. My Mom and sister met my expectation----I laughed so hard that I cried---this usually happens at least once whenever my sisters and I are able to visit. This time it was because we were giggling about Christmas limericks... :)

Sunday morning, the Ohioans left promptly at 6 a.m. We woke up a lethargic Em to give tearful hugs good-bye. Then she, DH, and I went back to bed for a few hours while my Ohio family drove 12+ hours to return safely to their homes that night.

What I am thankful for this year...
--A fence! LOVE having backyard access for Em and Viggo
--A husband who cooks even when he's feeling lousy
--A family who traveled far and wide to be with us for the holiday
--In-laws who welcomed my family into their home
--Finishing my reading endorsement Comp 6 class! I finished the "Video Reflection" paper on Sunday and submitted it this week. As long as there are not any corrections (which I do not anticipate) then I am done and can officially add "Reading K-12" to my teaching certificate in January!!
--A little girl who is SO excited about the season. Loves her nativity playset. Loves the idea of Santa. Loves giving presents and surprises to others.
--Emmaism: Emma: "Mommy, do you know what I'm thankful for?"
Me: "What sweetie?"
Emma: "You!" Awwww. I love my little sweetie.