Our county is on spring break this week. It's Sunday afternoon and instead of being in my usual mad-Sunday-afternoon-get-ready-for-school-rush, I just woke up from a nap, I'm catching up on my blog reading, not quite finished with the laundry, and not worried because I have two whole weeks to get it done.
Well, not quite. Tomorrow we leave for a week in the wilderness. Well, not quite. Not sure if you call Roosevelt State Park "wilderness". But it is "nature" and there are "animals". We will be taking our camper, complete with running water and heat/ac. We will spend all week doing a whole lot of nothing. Dear Husband and Youngest Child will fish (a lot!). Oldest Child will try to master her new unicycle (another post for another day but my bet is she'll have it mastered by this time next week). I will try to finish up the two books I'm reading plus the three magazines I've been saving for occasions such as this. We are supposed to hook up with my old assistant principal who is now a principal down by where we're going.
Not sure how much blog-checking I'll be able to do while I'm there (I may go into withdrawals), but rest assured I'll be back next weekend with stories a-plenty and hopefully some pictures to match.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Quiet on the Homefront
Just thought you'd like to know we have had a very quiet, uneventful Monday. Oldest Child celebrated her 14th birthday yesterday at MawMaw's up in the north Georgia Mountains. Youngest Child left this morning for a three-day field trip in the north Georgia Mountains. God bless the chaperones!
But with Youngest Child on a field trip and The Dude at a concert with his sherriff-department peeps, Oldest Child had noone to argue with. What, argue with me or Dear Husband? I think not! So what was accomplished during our quiet, uneventful Monday? Finished laundry. Unloaded and reloaded dishwasher. Fed dogs (before it was bedtime and remembered they hadn't eaten all day). Paid bills (boy, was that a fun one!). Ordered Oldest Child a giant unicycle for her birthday (yes, you read that right...she's mastered the regular unicycle and wanted the giraffe unicycle for her birthday. Call me crazy...). Googled and found out the Mountaineers play on Thursday night at 7:41. So see, I can be productive when everyone at my house is getting along. Who knows, maybe even tomorrow I'll actually get dinner cooked and papers graded. What a concept!
But with Youngest Child on a field trip and The Dude at a concert with his sherriff-department peeps, Oldest Child had noone to argue with. What, argue with me or Dear Husband? I think not! So what was accomplished during our quiet, uneventful Monday? Finished laundry. Unloaded and reloaded dishwasher. Fed dogs (before it was bedtime and remembered they hadn't eaten all day). Paid bills (boy, was that a fun one!). Ordered Oldest Child a giant unicycle for her birthday (yes, you read that right...she's mastered the regular unicycle and wanted the giraffe unicycle for her birthday. Call me crazy...). Googled and found out the Mountaineers play on Thursday night at 7:41. So see, I can be productive when everyone at my house is getting along. Who knows, maybe even tomorrow I'll actually get dinner cooked and papers graded. What a concept!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Still Dancin'
What about them Mountaineers?! Being from West Virginia and all, old Mountaineers die hard. Don't get me wrong; since moving to Georgia, my college ball loyalties have moved south of the Mason Dixon Line. Normally, I cheer for the Bulldogs or Yellow Jackets. Except when the Mountaineers are playing. Even little Tyler at And Babies Make Six is confused when it comes to college loyalties.
I follow Nascar more than I follow basketball. But when the Mountaineers are in the big dance, you can't help but watch. They won their first game by a big margin. My girlfriend and I even joked that their dancing days were over because their next opponent was the #2 seed in their division. Perhaps you've heard of them: the Duke Blue Devils. They're only known for being one of the top basketball powerhouses of all time. And West Virginia is...well...not.
Tomorrow is Oldest Child's birthday. Hard to believe my baby is 14 tomorrow. So since one of our birthday traditions is the birthday girl gets to pick where she wants to eat, and tomorrow we are going to MawMaw's to celebrate Easter, she got to go one day early. So we sat at Chili's eating our chips and salsa with our eyes glued to the TV. I think it is a safe bet that we were the only ones in the whole restaurant cheering against Duke.
But yes, they pulled out the upset; yes, they are in the sweet sixteen; yes, you know who I'm pulling for to make it to the final four. Let's go, Mountaineers!
I follow Nascar more than I follow basketball. But when the Mountaineers are in the big dance, you can't help but watch. They won their first game by a big margin. My girlfriend and I even joked that their dancing days were over because their next opponent was the #2 seed in their division. Perhaps you've heard of them: the Duke Blue Devils. They're only known for being one of the top basketball powerhouses of all time. And West Virginia is...well...not.
Tomorrow is Oldest Child's birthday. Hard to believe my baby is 14 tomorrow. So since one of our birthday traditions is the birthday girl gets to pick where she wants to eat, and tomorrow we are going to MawMaw's to celebrate Easter, she got to go one day early. So we sat at Chili's eating our chips and salsa with our eyes glued to the TV. I think it is a safe bet that we were the only ones in the whole restaurant cheering against Duke.
But yes, they pulled out the upset; yes, they are in the sweet sixteen; yes, you know who I'm pulling for to make it to the final four. Let's go, Mountaineers!
Friday, March 14, 2008
Patent Pending
Almost. This week, I may have mentioned, is early release at my school so we can have parent conferences. The kiddos go home at 12:15 and the rest of the day is spend conferencing with their parents. Although I have yet to figure out why kids get so uptight about us conferencing with their parents. They are always shocked to find out if I have bad news to share, I am going to tell said parents way ahead of time so they will have time to digest it, not when I am alone with them in my classroom when there may or may not be administrative back-up in the office. Kids...
But yesterday I woke up not feeling well. Since I have determined that my vertigo is stress-induced, I thought I was just getting another bout with the dreaded disease since parent conferences stress me out anyway. Either that, or the lasagna I ate at church on Wednesday night didn't settle so well on my stomach. I kept telling myself I was going to be fine. I was trying my best to be fine.
It wasn't until I had to go running out of my classroom carrying a trash can praying I would make it to the restroom, that I realized maybe I wasn't so fine. Luckily there was a parapro in my room who could take over for me. Because then I had to go lie in the clinic to see if it was just a one-time deal or if I had lost the battle and I was truly sick. Just as the kids were leaving for the day, I finally admitted to myself that I wasn't Superwoman and I really was sick and needed to go home. Just in time for all my kids to write notes in their agendas, "DO NOT come to parent conference, Teacher is SICK!" I was in my room after all the kids left getting phone numbers of today's conferences just in case I was sicker that I originally thought when my neighbor teacher and the nurse came and took everything away from me so they could handle it, and sent me home.
I was so sick, I even called my dear, sweet neighbors to come pick me up; I didn't even trust myself to drive the short 7 minutes it takes me to get home. So while I was trying to think of what kind of bowl I had in my classroom I could take home, just in case I got sick again, I couldn't find anything. As someone who threw up for six of the nine months it took to bring Oldest Child into the world. I definitely didn't want to throw up in my truck. So I got a gallon size Ziplock baggie, stuffed 3-4 paper towels in the bottom, and presto, a puke-bag-to-go. Now, if I could only find the number to the patent people
You will be happy to know that I dodged the flu; it was only a 24-hour bug. I didn't go teach today, but I did go in for conferences. The thought of rescheduling 20 conferences made me feel even sicker. Unfortunately, I did miss Youngest Child's birthday dinner at the local Mexican restaurant, but she forgave me; she even saved me a slice of the Bruster's Ice Cream Cake for when I feel like eating it!
But yesterday I woke up not feeling well. Since I have determined that my vertigo is stress-induced, I thought I was just getting another bout with the dreaded disease since parent conferences stress me out anyway. Either that, or the lasagna I ate at church on Wednesday night didn't settle so well on my stomach. I kept telling myself I was going to be fine. I was trying my best to be fine.
It wasn't until I had to go running out of my classroom carrying a trash can praying I would make it to the restroom, that I realized maybe I wasn't so fine. Luckily there was a parapro in my room who could take over for me. Because then I had to go lie in the clinic to see if it was just a one-time deal or if I had lost the battle and I was truly sick. Just as the kids were leaving for the day, I finally admitted to myself that I wasn't Superwoman and I really was sick and needed to go home. Just in time for all my kids to write notes in their agendas, "DO NOT come to parent conference, Teacher is SICK!" I was in my room after all the kids left getting phone numbers of today's conferences just in case I was sicker that I originally thought when my neighbor teacher and the nurse came and took everything away from me so they could handle it, and sent me home.
I was so sick, I even called my dear, sweet neighbors to come pick me up; I didn't even trust myself to drive the short 7 minutes it takes me to get home. So while I was trying to think of what kind of bowl I had in my classroom I could take home, just in case I got sick again, I couldn't find anything. As someone who threw up for six of the nine months it took to bring Oldest Child into the world. I definitely didn't want to throw up in my truck. So I got a gallon size Ziplock baggie, stuffed 3-4 paper towels in the bottom, and presto, a puke-bag-to-go. Now, if I could only find the number to the patent people
You will be happy to know that I dodged the flu; it was only a 24-hour bug. I didn't go teach today, but I did go in for conferences. The thought of rescheduling 20 conferences made me feel even sicker. Unfortunately, I did miss Youngest Child's birthday dinner at the local Mexican restaurant, but she forgave me; she even saved me a slice of the Bruster's Ice Cream Cake for when I feel like eating it!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Nothin' Much
DH is back from Daytona safe and sound. He came back early because the spring breakers were starting to arrive. You know you're getting old when you leave a city just when the party is arriving. Lucky for me, though, I was asleep when he called to tell me they were leaving...at 10:38 PM on the night the time changed. Had I heard the message or talked to him, I wouldn't have slept all night because I would have worried about them.
He came back with several stories of what they saw and where they ate; he got reacquainted with two high school buddies from oh-so-long ago. He relaxed and enjoyed his time off. Why do I keep mentioning that? On average, DH works 60-70 hours a week. Not counting the hour commute each way. Before this weekend, he had taken three days off since January 1. No, not three week days off. Three total days off. It was time for a break.
But he came home as we were leaving for church Sunday morning, slept, and spent Sunday afternoon with us. It was a very relaxing day. This weekend, however, is not shaping up so quiet or relaxing. I hate it when weekends don't shape up quiet or relaxing.
Friday night, YC has a function at church. It involves 24 Easter eggs filled with candy and a flashlight. A fun time should be had by all. I'm thinking DH and I can sneak in a date between drop off time and pick up time. Then Saturday is service day at our church. From 9-12 we are going to do a service project for the community. Then YC has a tennis match at 1. Then OC has a dance team party from 4-7. Then we're going to our dear friend, Ed's, birthday party Saturday night. He's going to be old...he's going to be 40. Oh, wait...that's not old, I passed that a couple of years ago!
Then I think I get to spend Sunday recuperating from Saturday. We are having a special church service on Sunday so I get to sleep in. Instead of being there at 8:30, it doesn't start until 10; I get to sleep in AND go to church. I am a happy camper!
And in the midst of all of that, YC turns 11 on Thursday. Thursday also happens to be the first of two parent conference days. I think after parent conferences, I will need a date with DH on Friday night. What ever happened to slow, ordinary and boring??
He came back with several stories of what they saw and where they ate; he got reacquainted with two high school buddies from oh-so-long ago. He relaxed and enjoyed his time off. Why do I keep mentioning that? On average, DH works 60-70 hours a week. Not counting the hour commute each way. Before this weekend, he had taken three days off since January 1. No, not three week days off. Three total days off. It was time for a break.
But he came home as we were leaving for church Sunday morning, slept, and spent Sunday afternoon with us. It was a very relaxing day. This weekend, however, is not shaping up so quiet or relaxing. I hate it when weekends don't shape up quiet or relaxing.
Friday night, YC has a function at church. It involves 24 Easter eggs filled with candy and a flashlight. A fun time should be had by all. I'm thinking DH and I can sneak in a date between drop off time and pick up time. Then Saturday is service day at our church. From 9-12 we are going to do a service project for the community. Then YC has a tennis match at 1. Then OC has a dance team party from 4-7. Then we're going to our dear friend, Ed's, birthday party Saturday night. He's going to be old...he's going to be 40. Oh, wait...that's not old, I passed that a couple of years ago!
Then I think I get to spend Sunday recuperating from Saturday. We are having a special church service on Sunday so I get to sleep in. Instead of being there at 8:30, it doesn't start until 10; I get to sleep in AND go to church. I am a happy camper!
And in the midst of all of that, YC turns 11 on Thursday. Thursday also happens to be the first of two parent conference days. I think after parent conferences, I will need a date with DH on Friday night. What ever happened to slow, ordinary and boring??
Friday, March 7, 2008
Fun with Friends
DH is having a great time in Daytona; they are staying at a hotel that is right across the street from a police station...not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. The weather is holding out for the most part and he is making the most of his much-deserved time off.
Youngest Child and I went to the teacher work day at my school; I actually got to work and didn't have to attend one single meeting. Got bunches and bunches accomplished; now I'm almost caught up! Then my girlfriend called to see if we wanted to meet them for dinner. Far be it from me to say no and sorely disappoint them!
I let them decide where to eat because they have four kids; YC and I were just happy to be dining out. They decided the babies would do good at the local Japanese resturant. Have I mentioned that I absolutely love the local Japanese resturant? And it was so much fun! We ended up sitting at a table with a family from their subdivision, so Austin sat by his "best friend" and Cassie had her pick of which baby she wanted to tend to ('scuse me, I meant to say "sat beside"). The babies loved it! They ate, they clapped, the laughed, and then they ate some more.
The best part of the whole evening? Clif told our waitress to put everything on one check. What an unexpected surprise! Now I can actually tell DH I went out to eat Japanese and his heart won't have palpatations because we didn't figure it in the budget.
Speaking of budget, on Wednesday night, we started Financial Peace University at our church. Even though it was DH's idea, I am very much on board and want to see how much money we can pay off/save by doing this program. So as I was digging through my kit on Wednesday, I found the little "card protectors" that you slip over credit card to protect the magnetic strip. Only on the outside they contain warnings about how using them can cause harm to your financial situation. Being the go-getter that I am, I immediately slipped my two credit cards in the sleeves. I did, afterall, want to show DH how determined I am to make this successful. So last night when I went grocery shopping (within the budget, nonetheless), I went to pull out my debit card and it was nowhere to be found. I immediately started thinking where it could be, when was the last time I used it, is it in a pants pocket at home somewhere, etc., etc. I then went to pull out my AmEx card...wasn't there! I am now almost in full-fledged panic mode. The Dude is at work; DH is in Daytona; the checkbook is at home.
Then the light bulb goes off. When I put the protectors on the cards, they wouldn't fit where I normally put them...I had to move them to a different place in my wallet. There they were, safe and sound, in their pocket protectors, right where I left them. I might be successful at this FPU thing afterall!
Youngest Child and I went to the teacher work day at my school; I actually got to work and didn't have to attend one single meeting. Got bunches and bunches accomplished; now I'm almost caught up! Then my girlfriend called to see if we wanted to meet them for dinner. Far be it from me to say no and sorely disappoint them!
I let them decide where to eat because they have four kids; YC and I were just happy to be dining out. They decided the babies would do good at the local Japanese resturant. Have I mentioned that I absolutely love the local Japanese resturant? And it was so much fun! We ended up sitting at a table with a family from their subdivision, so Austin sat by his "best friend" and Cassie had her pick of which baby she wanted to tend to ('scuse me, I meant to say "sat beside"). The babies loved it! They ate, they clapped, the laughed, and then they ate some more.
The best part of the whole evening? Clif told our waitress to put everything on one check. What an unexpected surprise! Now I can actually tell DH I went out to eat Japanese and his heart won't have palpatations because we didn't figure it in the budget.
Speaking of budget, on Wednesday night, we started Financial Peace University at our church. Even though it was DH's idea, I am very much on board and want to see how much money we can pay off/save by doing this program. So as I was digging through my kit on Wednesday, I found the little "card protectors" that you slip over credit card to protect the magnetic strip. Only on the outside they contain warnings about how using them can cause harm to your financial situation. Being the go-getter that I am, I immediately slipped my two credit cards in the sleeves. I did, afterall, want to show DH how determined I am to make this successful. So last night when I went grocery shopping (within the budget, nonetheless), I went to pull out my debit card and it was nowhere to be found. I immediately started thinking where it could be, when was the last time I used it, is it in a pants pocket at home somewhere, etc., etc. I then went to pull out my AmEx card...wasn't there! I am now almost in full-fledged panic mode. The Dude is at work; DH is in Daytona; the checkbook is at home.
Then the light bulb goes off. When I put the protectors on the cards, they wouldn't fit where I normally put them...I had to move them to a different place in my wallet. There they were, safe and sound, in their pocket protectors, right where I left them. I might be successful at this FPU thing afterall!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Daytona Bound
...almost. Every year about this time, Dear Husband gets Daytona-fever. Never heard of it? It's when all the great (or the great-wanna-be) Harley riders gather on the streets of Daytona on their bikes and have a great time. Only this year I was going to surprise Dear Husband and go with him. I was going arrange the babysitter, getting OC and YC to sitters and school, take off school, and throw caution to the wind. We've always talked about riding out to Sturgis, but that will have to wait until I retire because it always coincides with the start of Georgia schools. But I was going to arrange all this and let him know once it was all set.
Then I looked at the calendar and realized tomorrow is a teacher workday. Our board has a policy that you can't take those days (or the days before or after) as personal days. So being the supportive wife I am, I helped him pack his bag, wished him well, and went to school and moped around all day.
Personally, I think my county needs to check the Daytona Beach and Myrtle Beach Bike Weeks before they set the school calendars. So till then, I will be living vicariously through him and waiting for my present he brings me on Sunday! Maybe this fall I will actually get to go to a bike week!
Then I looked at the calendar and realized tomorrow is a teacher workday. Our board has a policy that you can't take those days (or the days before or after) as personal days. So being the supportive wife I am, I helped him pack his bag, wished him well, and went to school and moped around all day.
Personally, I think my county needs to check the Daytona Beach and Myrtle Beach Bike Weeks before they set the school calendars. So till then, I will be living vicariously through him and waiting for my present he brings me on Sunday! Maybe this fall I will actually get to go to a bike week!
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