Christmas Cards

Pretty much since we've been married we've taken a snowboarding trip for Christmas/New Years. We've taken a picture on the mountain and sent out New Years or late holiday cards. This year I have been begging JJ to let me get professional belly pictures. He finally conceded and we had an appointment scheduled for today. Had in past tense because the weather was craptastic this morning. Church was even cancelled! Our upstairs neighbor BB called at around 2:00 and miracle of miracles offered to take our pictures. She said her two kiddos were sleeping so to come up NOW! We quickly redressed in our picture attire and headed upstairs. She was ironing a white sheet. JJ tacked it up and the photoshoot began. It was so much fun! I had a few poses/props in mind and BB had a ton of great ideas as well. I was absolutely amazed at how well they turned out. BB should definitely consider a career in photography! She even took into consideration the lighting and wasn't afraid to tell us to move our heads or help with my hair, etc. It was fabulous! So I'll keep you waiting for the card in the mail. Which *should* be there before Christmas this year! Of course, that's if the Sam's Club photo printer gets fixed. Argh for my bad luck! But they said they should be back up and running Tuesday..... I suppose that's if the fix-it guy can get there. I'm still crossing my fingers for no school tomorrow!!

Tough week

I had a very tough week. Ick, I shudder just thinking about it. I felt like I was on a rollercoaster (but not in a good way) and am so. so. glad. to be off the ride! Here are just a few snippits from the week in no particular order:

*Got called a Bi@#^. Classic.
*Got all ready for a kid coming from DBR who reportedly got into a lot of trouble with another one of my students. Wonderful. Then, found out he's going to a different school in town. Elation.
*Prepared for four, count 'em four, IEP or Assessment meetings (for this coming week).
*Finished up Yu-Gi-Oh club. Single tear.
*Had chairs and garbages thrown down - not particularily at me, which was a good thing.
*Had principal observe me. Lesson bombed.
*Told I had made a huge mistake in a matter that occurred the week before. I had no idea. Oops. Big lesson learned. Check.
*Had a Character Ed. meeting where one of the ladies, the home ec teacher, had the audacity to say, "I'm sorry guys, I didn't get any of the things I was supposed to do for this meeting done. I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been swamped lately." I about jumped over the table. In my head: "Listen here, lady, I DID finish the things I needed to get done. And NO, I haven't noticed because I don't have time to GO TO THE BATHROOM during the day, much less poke my head into your room to check on you!" Ugh, just typing that made my blood get a little boily all over again. Deep breaths, deep breaths.
*One kid working in a self-contained classroom, who is supposed to be transitioning back into the general education curriculum, but is refusing. One kid on in school suspension. Not enough paras/teachers to cover all kids' needs.
*Had to bake THREE times for potlucks, parties and such.
*Had THREE parties, potlucks, and such! Woohoo!
*Didn't sleep well for at least three nights --- and for me that is VERY unusual.

Friday, last period of the day, I was scheduled to meet with my principal to go over her observation. I made a list of things I wanted to talk to her about. When I go in to talk to my principal, it's like when I go in to my see my doctor. I have to make a list otherwise, I get into the "Uh huh, uh huh, everything's fine." mode.

My principal assurred me that she is seeing great progress, that I shouldn't be so hard on myself, that I need to take time to collaborate with other specialists - even if that means checking out the I.P., and that she values me as a staff member and doesn't want me to get burned out.

She also said that this year is unique because a) the 7th grade class is the largest they've ever had, so obviously/statistically there are more needs, b) we have been working with a bare-bones staff -- we've had many people out, need for more para support, an 8th grade specialist who was never replaced at the beginnig of the year when the one we had got another job, etc., and c) we are the designated middle school for the ELL population -- even though those kiddos are not special education students, they still tax our teachers and paras. My principal mentioned that many specialists - veteran specialists - have come to her feeling overwhelmed. Phew, I thought I really was the only one and I thought it was because of my own incompetence.

I am so glad I had a chance to talk to her. It was an answer to prayer. We have been wrestling anyways with options for next year --> daycare, me stay home, JJ stay home, etc. At least I know that I have support from my principal in whatever happens.

What kind of baby will we have??

Before I was pregnant, I would eat a lot of something and tease that I had a [insert particular food I'd just eaten] baby in my belly. I.e. I have a sweet and sour chicken baby in my belly! Now I obviously have a real, human baby in my belly -- and she likes to remind us she's in there with a kick, kick, punch, twirl, twirl routine -- but my eating habits haven't altogether changed. For example, JJ is concerned we will have a mac and cheese baby. I could eat mac and cheese every meal for a week I think. I've tried to do the whole wheat mac and cheese now at least, but I know this is not the most healthy option for me. Thank goodness for that prenatal vitamin, I tell you what! Oh! And we finally got around to watching "Baby Mama" -- I really enjoyed it! I'm so thankful my prenatal vitamins are about half the size of the ones used in the film!

Ultrasound... the second...

So I went in today for our second ultrasound. The baby wasn't turning/cooperating the first time to get a good picture of the heart, thus a second one was scheduled. I've heard the heart docs where we live are superpicky and it is very common for them to request second ultrasounds. I was like, whatever, I g-u-e-s-s I'll come in and look at my beautiful baby again! : ) I get there (JJ has a crizazy week and couldn't attend this one) and she just does a few swoops to see where my girl's at. She verifies we are in fact expecting a girl. She takes a few profile shots; BGJ (Baby Girl J) is just hamming it up. She grabs her toes, waves, flutters about. Then on to the heart. BGJ is not having any of it. At one point she even put her hand to her face in a woe is me sort of way. Little stinker! I could see the heart fine. It looked just great to me... beating... four chambers... heart rate 150... the lady is not quite satisfied. She goes to look for backup. BGJ actually kicks the backup several tmes! I was like... uh... sorry about that. heehee Second ultrasoundist (??) or ultrasound tech takes a few shots but not without some struggle. I am on my left, then back to my back, then on my right side, then back. BGJ starts to turn and tech tries to encourage her, but to no avail. I guess I need to start reading the books on raising a stubborn child! The first lady comes back and says to not be surprised if they want me to come back. again.

Blaming Baby

There are times when I conveniently blame the baby for certain things. Oh, like, that extra cookie I need to have, or maybe even a toot here or there. But c'mon, basically my whole body IS being over taken by this dear little parasite we've already grown to love. JJ on the other hand doesn't have the baby in the belly, but he does still blame her for stuff. Just the other day he ate a pickle off my plate while I had stepped in the kitchen to grab something. He claimed the baby grabbed it and was now noshing on it! He's also been known to blame her for his own toots. Poor baby! I've heard niecey LJ and nephew BJ's toots and I'm a bit nervous for when our little bundle of joy makes her own since she's already been blamed for them her whole gestational life!

Never too late... right?

Our upstairs neighbor BB, who is pregnant with their third kiddo, lent me a preggo workout DVD for the weekend. I have been meaning to find a good preggo workout because I am way too concerned to stick with my old routines for fear I would do something to damage myself or the baby. So, now, at week 27, I have started my regimine. : ) I popped it in on Saturday and JJ just laughed as two very obviously pregnant women and one who I am suspicious if she was even preggers at all - she had a teeny-tiny little bump - bopped along to workout music. But, true to BB's words, my back felt oh so good and I just felt mentally good for doing some workouts and preparing my body for the big B-day.

Mastering the Middle-school Mind

In an effort to better understand (somewhat) the minds of the middle-schoolers I work with, I went to the movie Twilight. Oh, also, it was a girls night out with some of my coworkers at school. I went in with the mindset that it would be a teeny-bopper flick and didn't have high expectations. I wasn't disappointed. : ) I personally thought the acting was lame at times and there were lots of dramatic.... pauses.... (a la guy from CSI: Miami). But, I actually found myself getting into the plot and am interested to see the rest! A coworker lent me her copy of Twilight with the promise that the next three are just waiting after I finish the first one. Again, teeny-bopper book, not the best writing, but a fun, no-brainer read nonetheless. I'm not the best or fastest reader, so I need these every once in a while!

New Tricks!

The other day I found out that our baby is already a talented supergenious! I was laying on my left side watching TV and had the remote resting on my tummy. All of a sudden, the remote started bouncing and Baby Girl J (BGJ) kicked it right off! I put it back on, and same thing! She kicked it off! Isn't she cute? I told JJ to watch and you'll never believe it. She wouldn't do it again. Even later when I had given her some time to cool off. I guess she's not a performer. I read today that she is learning how to grasp things, like her umbilical cord. The umbilical cord is such an interesting thing. I worry about it, though. What if she gets it wrapped around herself? Oh jeez, it's already starting. I'm going to be the biggest worry wart Mommy!

Niecey LJisms

Oh niecey LJ. She has my heart. I love spending time with her (well, except for that time today she had a meltdown about not getting the Barbie Island Princess book with the lame story line she found at B&N). Today we were reading a story and she felt the baby kick her. She squealed with delight and every time I put my hand on my belly, she would too. If she couldn't feel anything she'd say, "Oops, it fell asleep." Later when I fell asleep on the floor, Uncle J (JJ) told her to wake me up, and she ran in and kissed me on the cheek. It was so sweet! When we were coloring in the evening, she kept asking me what color to color certain things. Most of the time I told her whatever she'd like to use would be the best. But, I got tired of that comment, so I started choosing colors for her and she commented, "I think you're finally becoming a great artist!" I told her a joke while we were coloring and doing a word search with all the words relating to movies. She was saying "moooovies" and I was reminded of a joke: "What do cows do on Friday nights?" "Go to the moooovies!" She thought this was hillarious and I told her to remember so she could tell Daddy later. At dinner, I brought up that she should share the joke she learned and she asked me to repeat it. I whispered the question in her head, and she yelled out the answer! We had a quick lesson in "humor"... She tried out some jokes on her own... followed by another lesson to quit if it comes to the point when you're the only one laughing. I explained that I had learned that the hard way multiple times! : )

Commercial

.....Hot chocolate at a gas station: $0.87.....

.....CUTE yellow fuzzy sleeper with ducky on bum-side: $7.19.....

.....Standing in line for an hour and a half starting at 5:00 am on Black Friday to purchase the FIRST store-bought outfit for our baby: priceless.....

Thanksgiving Rundown!

We had a fabulous day with tons of J's (and S's and C's). Here's a very quick recap.

*Woke up at about 7:00 am only to realize I didn't pack any underoos for JJ! (Who left my preggo brain to its own devices??) I called Walmart and surprise (!) they were open all day with normal hours. I was quite disappointed in this fact actually.

*Played with the kiddos while people did more constructive stuff like making the food!

*Ate a ton of delicious food at about 12:30.

*Lounged around until SIL LJ announced that she had a special desert. She brought out a diaper cake and they were all in on a secret baby shower for JJ and I!! It was so wonderful and thoughtful and very fun! We played fun games and opened great gifts!

*Played some guitar hero world tour (niecey LJ told cousin KC (another of our nieces) she's not a very good singer!). We found out that the red drum pad breaks easily and it happened to BIL AJ's! Boo!

*Got into some heated discussions but even more heated whist games! As nephew BJ would say "Yike!"

*Went to bed at around midnight.... only to get up and ready for Black Friday at oh, about 3:40 am.

Stampers' Paradise

This is my all time favorite stamping website. Many a minute has been spent (wasted?) here!

All Neil, All the Time

My best bud TAF and her hubby MEF came to visit this weekend. We have been having a fabulous time! So far we've:
*gone to the Green Mill
*gone shopping (woohoo!)
*had some Jimmy Johns (yum-o)
*stamped!!
*played a new game (Blokus) -- highly recommend it -- it's approved by Mensa people... : )
*went to Texas Roadhouse
*AND went to Neil Diamond!

TA's bday is coming up and MF bought her tickets to the show. He decided that we would maybe have more fun going (in a "I'd actually sing and dance along with her" kind of a thing). After hitting the bathroom for the second time in a row that night, it was time to sit down. We had awesome seats on the floor. After we found our spots, we decided it would be good to walk around a bit to kill the 20 or so minutes until Neil. I decided against any Neil paraphernalia, a decision I may regret later... : ) Then, back at our spots, and a few more drunk people stumbling in later, it was time for the show to start. The ladies behind us were hillarious in a "you are so annoying" kind of way... They kept bumping my friend TAF in the head with first themselves on their cellphone and then with their hands trying to clap. A lady in front of us was on her cellphone like the whole concert. Why would you even try to accomplish that feat? And a couple in front of us needed to get a room. Seriously. And they were older. They knew better. Neil came out and sang a few songs (obviously) and then said that the last time he was in our town it was something, something 1970. He was like, "Who was there with me??!" TAF and I were like... uh... not born yet...

He sang lots of classics and some from his new CD. He talked often about being a man of God and his family. He also said that all the proceeds from his "stuff" sales go to Hurricane Ike victims (ladies behind us must have been huge fans -- they cheered very loudly for this announcement). He also came into the crowd for two songs (ladies behind us: I will just die if he comes over. Oh my goodness. He's coming! He's walking around! No, no, he's turning. Should we follow him? Should we go out there?) TA did become a bit of a rule-breaker when she broke out our camera and took a few shots. We were close to the sound tech. booth thingy, so a guy came over and told her to put it away. Naughty TA! ; )

I can't remember the name of the second "floor" song he did, I think it was something about September nights or something? ? Anyhow, he took a lady's hand and walked with her for a while, and they danced for a little bit, and then he kissed her. On the mouth. It was wierd. Then, back on stage, he said, "Thank you beautiful lady for walking with me. Thank you nice man who was with beautiful lady for not hurting me while I walked with beautiful lady. Thank you beautiful lady for the delicious kiss. Thank you again nice man for not punching me in the face." It made me blush it was so awkward. He has this low, low, sultry voice that made it a bit creepy for me, and apparently made the over 40 crowd swoon.

TAF and I totally had dance moves to Sweet Caroline. It was great! And we thought he might leave without singing Coming to America, but he had saved it for his second encore song. The boys were super kind and dropped us off and picked us up from the concert! We were hyped up from the whole concert - hyped up enough to play three more rounds of Blokus. TAF kicked our cans, and then it was time for bed!

More "ONLY ok when pregnant..."

Jeez, I must have just popped again (it seems so gradual to me...). Because now not just at school, but at Bible Study last night I heard a comment about my "size". One of the guys, JPJ, who happens to be from India, and who happens to be a science geek, asks me and another chicky who is due the same day as me: "How big are your babies right now?" We go on to tell him that at about the 6th month the baby is about 8-10 inches and weighs in at about 1.5 lbs. He replies, "But, you guys are way bigger than 8-10 extra inches in there!"

His wife gave him a swift elbow to the side. JJ went on to defend me. He is so proud of the baby belly, too. JJ: Seriously, feel her belly! JPJ: No thanks! I'm not feeling your wife's stomach! JJ: No really! It's like hard and you can feel the baby! (He goes on to demonstrate, poking the baby until she gets fed up and kicks him back.)

ONLY ok when pregnant...

Kiddo quote for the day (after I answered his question when my baby is due):

"I knew it was coming soon because you're looking really big."


Thanks, thanks kiddo. Actually, to be totally honest, I love my baby bump. I can't wait to get BIG. I know, I know, be careful what you wish for...

Just a few of my favorite things...

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...

Here are a few of MY favorite things:

*Game shows! I'm totally addicted! Right now I'm watching Wheel of Fortune. When we lived in JJ's hometown, we had GSN. It is probably a good thing we don't anymore! I love yelling out answers and feeling smart! My favorites are/have been: Family Feud, Hollywood Squares, and Jeopardy (I feel better when it's the college edition and I know answers!). Oh, I know I'm forgetting some, but the list could go on and on!

*Crafting! I've been on a slight kick lately. Thanks to friend SV, I bought two new stamping sets: Nursery Necessities (to start making some baby cards/thank you cards) and Short and Sweet (for everything!). I've been *trying* to use up my collection - not just make a ton of cards, but actually give people birthday cards and write out thank-you notes. I'm so, so excited for my bff TAF to come visit this next weekend. I think we have a full craft day in our near future!

*Checking things off my "to do" list. Oh, also - making to do lists! Lately I've been going through practically all of my old magazines and tearing out things I'll actually use. Then I've been recycling the rest. It feels. so. good.

There will be more to come! : )

Hockey Night (Friday Night)

Friday night JJ, JJ's bro CPJ, JJ's hometown friend AM, and I went to the college hockey game. We seriously had the best seats I've probably ever had at this team's game. We were right up the center line and right behind the bench. It was fabulous! The only thing not so fabulous was the play in the first two periods. Our team stunk it up. And it wasn't for lack of chances. We had SEVERAL power plays and about even shots on goal. It just was not happening. Like the old men behind us commented, "These guys can't buy a goal." We enjoyed some Bavarian almonds (mmm... they smell so good!) and of course dippin' dots. With about five minutes left of the 3rd period (and a score of 3 [opposing team] - 0 [us]), everyone started leaving. It was kind of sad. AM even made a comment that maybe we should start heading out too. We were parked quite far away after all. But, no, no, we had paid for these great seats, we were going to stick it out. AND what a treat for those of us who stuck around. With about three minutes left in the game, our team decided, huh, maybe we should just go for it. They pulled the goalie and came out on fire. They scored not one, but two goals! It was crazy. The score was 3-2 with about 30 seconds left. They had a couple of intense face-offs on the other team's side, but couldn't come up with the tieing goal. All in all, it was a pretty sweet night and I guess the momentum from the last few minutes propelled to a victory the following night. GO [our team]!

One of the things they played between periods was this "show" where one of the defensemen interviewed freshmen on the team. It was pretty hilarious. Here's a link - check it out!

Book List

I totally stole this off of my SIL LJ's site... and aparently she stole it first. What is the saying? The best teachers are thieves? Maybe that applies to blog writing as well!

The Big Read, an initiative by the National Endowment for the Arts, has estimated that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they’ve printed. How did you do?

1) Look at the list and bold (or make blue in my case) those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Star the books you LOVE.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (watched the BBC version)
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (I did try...)
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling*
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible * (I've read MOST of it....)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (started...)
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (Wow... this would be quite the feat... I read quite a few in high school...)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (tried this one too...)
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (watched the movie...)
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (watched the movie... : ) )
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (haven't read ALL of them... yet...)
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (watched some episodes on TV ?)
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (watched the movie)
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon (enjoyed it)
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding (movie)
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince- Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

17/100... and most of them were for class... sad - but better than 6! There are some books on here that I haven't even heard of which is probably worse. I am so uncultured!

Rawwr! Attack of the Preggo Brain!

Lately I have been stoopid. Seriously. And I bump into things and am clumsy. It is so annoying because I normally work on about half a brain sometimes it seems. For example, our upstairs neighbor, BB, chatted about watching a movie with us for a while. We had a movie from Netflix and decided on a particular evening. When she came, I put in the wrong movie. Totally random. At work the other day, I was having a serious conversation with our VP and in a sarcastic tone stated that work was just way above this certain kiddo. He looked at me kind of strangely and told me that maybe I should modify it. I was like oooooh, yeah, meant to make a point about it being way below him... or that HE was way above the work. In any case, I'm just glad it's Friday. : )

I.P.

In college my friend KL would often (well, like once a month or so) take a "mental health day", where she would skip all classes and veg. out or go shopping or the like. Some of us call that the weekend, but I guess a day off during the week is what KL needed. I have been stressed to the max at work and finally took advantage of this person at work called the Instructional Para. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, specialists can check out this guy and have him cover classes. This allows specialists to get paperwork done, call parents, run reports, collect data, observe students, ETC. I seriously feel like a changed woman. I woke up this morning refreshed and ready for the day. This has not happened in quite some time! So, what did I do with my "free" afternoon??
*called two parents
*set up an IEP
*got paperwork ready for two IEPs
*(finally) responded to several emails
*filled out this report that lists all of my kiddos, along with their initial "special ed. date", latest IEP, latest 3-year eval, placement, and environment (served in classroom most of the time, pull-out, separate classroom, separate facility, etc.)
*FINISHED TYPING PROGRESS REPORTS! This was HUGE! (and should've been done a few weeks ago, but whatev)
*made a chart for CBMs (curriculum based measurements) so I can keep track of who I've gotten data from recently and just who has goals in what areas
*finished testing a kid who was gone like the whole week of state testing (phew!)
*cleared off my desk (a little)

Woohoo!! I love LOVE crossing things off my to-do list, but it seems like things in this job aren't quite that easy... they linger... forever... So, getting some things done was like glorious for my mental state! AND it doesn't hurt that we have an all-day field trip today! 1) Med. School 2) Pizza 3) Swimming at the Hyslop!

Cheaper by the Dozen

I have always been fascinated by big families. My mom is 1 of 13 and of course JJ is 1 of 9 -- and here's a fast fact: they are both #9 in their families. I find the dynamics so interesting. Not that one family is better than another one, they are just different.

So, apparently I'm not alone in my fascination. TLC has a few shows on now that showcase big families. My all time fav. is Jon and Kate Plus 8. (J&K+8). Yeah, I am that big of a dork. They may not have the hugest family, but just THAT many four year olds? C'mon. They are pretty much on a free pass to Heaven. They are so stinkin' cute too. Many people give Kate the shaft, but seriously, I totally respect her system. She has to be that organized people! All of the kiddos have definitely unique personalities and it is so fun to see them grow and change.

Just following J&K+8 on TLC Monday nights is 17 Kids and Counting. They are quickly finding a place in my heart. I love how Conservative they are. I've actually thought about writing in to them or the show and say how impressed I am with how they answer questions -- even the little kiddos seem to know why they do what they do. Their kids are so cute also! I can't imagine that many kiddos, but at least at this point the older ones help out the younger ones -- and the oldest is even getting married soon. My favorite is Jinger. She is so sarcastic it just cracks me up.

Susie Homemaker

So I'm not quite what I'd call a homemaker... yet... but I'm definitely on my way after today. I'm kind of boasting here a bit, so just a warning. I mended a pair of JJ's jeans today with my own sewing machine! I even picked out the right color thread and got my bobbin all ready to go with matching thread. I know! And I think they look half-ways decent. I mean, not like my mom, JJ's mom or SIL LJ's mom quality, but I'm still 9-ing from the whole experience.

[side note: My friend KL (soon to be KA) coined the term 9-ing to refer to the state of being on cloud nine!]

Stuck on the B's

No, I'm not stuck on bees, or even these B's. I woke up this morning at about 5:00 am (which I rationalized would've been 6:00 am just two days ago) with two songs in my head. These songs come from two of my wonderful nieces, but I don't really know why they were in my head, because I haven't heard my nieces sing them for quite some time.

Song #1 - from niecey LJ:

B-b-b-Billy
STOP!
B-b-b-bouncing
that ball!

Song #2 - from niecey AB (who I haven't even seen in quite some time...!)

B-b-b-B!
B-b-b-B!
B-b-B-l-a-s-t-e-r!

(and repeat)

This song came from a math blaster computer game aparently.

Happy Halloween

Or not...

At our school, it has been expressly stated that there are to be NO costumes, NO dyed hair, NO face paint, etc. The 8th graders are even doing some state testing in the morning! I know that kids will be riled up (thank goodness it falls on a Friday at least... coming back the day after is always horrid), so it's one of those days that I'm glad I'm not a classroom teacher. I am giving out fruit snacks. Yes, I'm one of those people. Last year I handed out stickers. One little kid was like, "Daddy what ARE these?" : )

Refusal

I have a kiddo with severe ED (emotional disturbance) who is quite the character. Tuesday he came to school a bit late and since we are in the middle of testing, was asked to wait in the Media Center (new term for library). He refused. The secretaries just weren't quite sure what to do, so they called me in. Duh duh duh duuuuh! (like trumpets, not doomsday) Like I'm some superhero or something. Ok, I roll up my sleeves.

Me: "What's up bud?"
Student: "Nothing."
Me: "Did you get here kind of late this morning?"
Student: "Yeah."
Me: "So, where are you supposed to go?"
S: "I don't know. I'm not going anywhere."
M: "Oh, Hmm, well, that's not really a choice. The testing is over for the morning, so now everyone's in period 1. Ready to head down there?"
S: "No. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not doing any work today."
M: "Again, not a choice we have in school."
S: "I can make my own choices. You're not the boss of me."
M: "I can tell that you are frustrated. Here are your two choices right now, Student. 1) You can take a minute to yourself and we can head down to 1st period. 2) We can go talk to Mr. S. (VP) about why you are choosing to be insubordinate."
S: "Mr. S."

Mr. S.: "What's up Student?"
S: "I want ISS." (in school suspension)
Mr. S.: "Kids don't get to choose that. And frankly I'm a bit surprised. Kids usually try to avoid ISS. What is it about class that you don't want to go?"
S: "I just don't want to go today."

This continues for quite some time. Then, Mr. S. in a stroke of pure brilliancy: "What is frustrating you?" S: "Nothing. I don't know." Mr. S.: "Well, I get frustrated some days too, but I can point to what's happening. For example, when the Vikings lose, I get really frustrated."

S: TOTAL CHANGE IN ALL POSTURE, WORDS, EVERYTHING! "I get frustrated then too! What's up with their QB?" and he was all chit-chatty and then said, "Well, I'm going to get to class."

NOTE TO SELF: TALK ABOUT VIKINGS!

No sleep till...!

Hmm, not really sure when I guess. Hopefully not Brooklyn because I don't plan on going there any time soon. I have really been struggling with sleep issues lately. Boo! I even try to go to bed a bit later so I am really tired. I usually fall asleep fine, but then I wake up in the middle of the night (this morning 3am) and can't get back to sleep. I hope this is a phase that will soooooon be over. There are a few factors (that I know of) that I can point to for this:

1) Baby kicking me (so sweet! I love it! But it's a new and different experience for me!)
2) Having to go to the bathroom (a necessary evil with my new drinking liquids needs)
3) A cold (I wake up with a raw throat and runny nose)
4) Job stress (we are in the midst of state testing [yuck!], I have IEPs coming up and Quarter 1 progress reports are due ASAP just to name a few things on my list of things to do with work)

I was a bit crabby this morning and hope I didn't project it onto any of my kiddos!

THE ULTRASOUND (Brief Version)!

And here's a short recap:

It's a girl! She's beautiful!

THE ULTRASOUND (Long Version)!

Words canNOT express how exciting that was! So here's a thorough recap:

I drank a ton of liquids all day (and had to go to the bathroom quite a bit!), and prepared my bladder for the big ordeal. I didn't "go" starting an hour until my appointment. We get there and get checked in and find the ultrasound area. We waited for maybe five minutes... it was great! Because seriously I had to go to the bathroom pretty badly. I told the ultrasound guy, "I'm so thankful you guys are running on schedule!" He was a pretty nice guy and asked us if we wanted to hear what was going on as he was doing it. I enthusiastically told him I wanted to know everything. He said some people don't, which I found interesting. He left the room to get something and I told JJ I was going to cry I was so excited. He was such a good husband and held my hand the whole time!

When tech guy got back, he asked before he did anything if we wanted to know the sex of the baby. He was also sure to inform us that he couldn't diagnose anything or give us any information on that side of things. Tech guy put towels above and below my tummy and put the gel on my tummy. It was very surprisingly warm. It actually felt pretty good! Then, we were off!

First some boring stuff, there's your bladder... oh, looking pretty full (yes, thankyouverymuch), there's some other stuff and blah blah blah oh! There's our baby! Oh my word! Our baby was sleeping and just floating around. It was so cute! The first things we saw were the baby's bum and legs. The way the baby was positioned, the baby was basically sitting on the ultrasound wand thingy. SOOOO next, he said, "I can clearly see the sex, are you sure you want to know?" Yes, yes please! "What do you think? Any guesses?" I said I had a wild guess it was a girl. He said I was right! D said, "Oh man!" (But he was so excited too!) Yup, our little girl is no shy cookie. He labeled one picture, "Looks like a girl!!" Then, we were on to the feeties and tootsies. So cute! Then, some organs. It is so cool how well we could see things. The tech guy was so great to go through things with us. We could see her heart beating, too. Then, he tried to get some other shots, but needed baby to move. So, he began kind of poking her with the ultrasound wand. All of a sudden - movement! Tons of it! She was touching her toes, and waving around and turning and twisting. I could feel it and see it! So amazing! Then, he tried turning her again so he could get a frontal picture of the heart. Baby was having none of it. He had me lay on my left side and was trying everything - was up in my ribs and around and all over, but he could not get a great shot of the heart. He said that it was nothing to be alarmed about, but the cardiologist would probably want to see better shots of the heart, so we would probably have to come back. Also, since our little one was all up and about, it was hard for him to keep it on the heart to get a good rhythm of the heartbeat, but I think he did accomplish that one. I kind of surprised myself in that I didn't cry! I was absolutely amazed and shocked and so in awe of this technology, but I was just so in the moment, I guess it just did not happen. The guy asked if we had any questions several times and the last time I did have one: "Where is the closest bathroom??!"

Yay for little B! We got to take home some great shots of her feet, hands, face (looks kind of like a creepy alien!), profile (my favorite! She's so cute already! It looks like she has chubby little cheeks!), and of course the "Looks like a girl!" shot.

I called quite a few people and JJ texted a whole bunch of people. He started getting incoming texts, so I looked at a few. Some were a bit weird and I got confused until JJ told me what he sent for a text: "We had our ultrasound today and we're having a baby girl monkey." Yup... that explains, for example, his sister S replying, "Jungletime! Yay!" So no more "its" for us -- it's all pink! : )

Can't sleep... so I'll blog...

JJ recently told me, "I sleep better when you're not there." Oh jeez honey, thanks! Up until, well lately, I've been a solid sleeper. I pride myself on being able to sleep anywhere and at any time. Some factors for not being able to sleep recently include being pregnant and having a head cold. I decided to come out to the living room since I don't have school tomorrow and JJ does. Last night I came out here at about 6:30ish because my head felt so stuffy and ouchy and I thought sitting up would help relieve some pressure. It did after roughly an hour and I woke up at 9:30 with a soreish back from sleeping in a chair. I just don't really have strategies if I can't sleep because I've ALWAYS been able to sleep. I'm pretty sure surfing the internet isn't a good idea because it gets my brain active. I should bring a boring book out in the living room with me. Hmmm...

So in my last post, I wrote about things I was hoping to accomplish on my two days off. Here's an update of what I've gotten done and what I have left to do:

*Finish a book I've been reading Check - now new item on to do list: go to library
*Do some stamping
*Finish a page or two of scrapbooking
*GO TO MY ULTRASOUND! Check - I'll blog more about this later!!
*Make some updates to our registry depending on results of above
*Meet with buddy LC who has three adorable kiddos and will be in town for a few days Check - oh! Her three kiddos are so, so cute! Little "Baby O" is even cuter in person! LC seems to be doing really well, too! So nice to catch up and get some inside stories on being a Mom!
*Meet with buddy MA who is going to be in town Fri. am
*Possibly meet with buddy LC who has one adorable kiddo and said I could borrow some preggo clothes! Check - they even had us over for supper! We got to hang out with the whole C crew. Oh my word, IC, their daughter, is so cute (and hillarious!). She was so entertaining with her animal noises and little chatter! She is going to be a chicken for Halloween, complete with the noises, flapping of her own little "wings" and of course a great costume! LC even let me take her whole tub of maternity clothes with me so I could go through it and try stuff on! We get to host next time and know we can lure NC over with our wii! : ) We also learned that SL and KL (known, as long as I've known him as "one of the twins") are expecting and are actually due in like November! Wow! I believe that brings our grand total to 16 preggers we personally know!

I probably should:
*Finish my "organizing" project I did some more, but well, I suppose, I'll never really be done with this one!!
*Do some laundry Check
*Sweep/Swiffer/Vacuum/Dust (but c'mon doing those things on a DAY OFF seem sooo much easier!) Check... oh wait! I haven't dusted yet. Boo...

Oh, and I do actually have SOME work related blah, blah, blah -- I stayed over two hours on Wednesday evening and still took some stuff home. Buuut, I haven't gotten to it yet... hmm... I don't know if I'll do my best CBM (Curriculum Based Measurement) data collecting at 1:30 am...

I Heart Teacher's Convention

No, no, I don't actually go to NDEA (Teacher's Convention) because I am not actually a part of NDEA. Wayyyy too liberal and political for me. Anyways, I love NDEA because TODAY we have kiddos until 1:00 and then Thursday AND Friday we have NO SCHOOL! Woohoo! I thought maybe that I'd just sit and do nothing for most of it, but it turns out I have a lot already planned.

*Finish a book I've been reading
*Do some stamping
*Finish a page or two of scrapbooking
*GO TO MY ULTRASOUND!
*Make some updates to our registry depending on results of above
*Meet with buddy LC who has three adorable kiddos and will be in town for a few days
*Meet with buddy MA who is going to be in town Fri. am
*Possibly meet with buddy LC who has one adorable kiddo and said I could borrow some preggo clothes!

I probably should:
*Finish my "organizing" project
*Do some laundry
*Sweep/Swiffer/Vacuum/Dust (but c'mon doing those things on a DAY OFF seem sooo much easier!)

Oh, and I do actually have SOME work related things that I really should get done. Boohoo. I'm going to try to stay late at school today and just finish them all... we'll see how far I get...

Oddities

I think we all know that I could spend just hours and hours going through all of my oddities, or personality quirks, but I'll just limit this post to two of them.

1) Sticker Anxiety

Ok. You know how you get a sheet of stickers, or maybe a pack of paper for crafting, or something of that type? I HONESTLY, SERIOUSLY have trouble using the last sticker or last sheet of a certain kind of paper. I used to just buy multiple sheets and save at least one of them. This is evidenced by the amount of crap I have stored. Now that my sticker sheets, namely Creative Memories used for scrapbooking, have gone up in price, I have tried not to continue this habit. Actually, lately I have tried to use everything I have. I have not bought new stuff in quite some time for this very reason. Wierd anxiety, right?

2) Taste of Water

I hate the taste of water. JJ thought this was like the oddest thing about me when we were getting to know eachother forever years ago. I think now he just chalks it up to one of the many, many wierd things about me. There are times that I drink plain water, but they are far and few between. Since I've been pregnant I've been really trying hard to get more pure water going through my system. The early weeks were especially hard for this to happen because it seemed that whenever I drank water, I threw up. I fell into a heavy habit of putting lemon (like Real Lemon in the bottles or TrueLemon packets) into my water. This seemed to help. Also, I have become quite addicted to popsicles. Mmmm. Even now, the thought of plain water makes my mouth water like I'm going to throw up. Seriously. I KNOW this is all in my head, but I haven't gotten over it. It doesn't help that the water out of our faucet tastes pretty icky (even with lemon). But, anyways, just another wierd thing about me.

Just an update...

Organizing Monster has struck again. And this time, I have boxes. Yeah, those great boxes that paper comes in at my school. Yeah. Lots of them. Good thing JJ is at a lecture right now!

T-bay is the best thing ever. (Well, maybe next to the two cinnamon rolls I just snarfed down.) I sold three things for my upstairs neighbor (you know, the B's) today -- and I posted them at about 7:30 am. By noon three items were claimed and the B's have $150 in their pockets.

The kiddos are wacko. Completely nuts. I guess that's why I almost had a mental breakdown Wednesday evening. Other teachers are noticing. We're not quite sure why, but THANK GOODNESS next week we have Thursday and Friday off. Because really, our sanity depends on it.

I broke out the preggo outfits. Today I only wore one item of preggo-fashion (a tank top.... many of my shirts are just pulled up a little too far by my belly) today but yesterday it was all maternity all the time. And I was like, "Why was I putting this off? It feels great. Let's do this again." Of course my limited maternity selection will get old after a while, but for now it's all new (to me) and exciting.

I watched another Jane Austin last night -- Sense and Sensability. Cute. I only fell asleep for about 10 minutes. C'mon it was getting past my bedtime! We're Netflixing some more later. Oh -- did you know that at Blockbuster all "favorites" are free -- 1 per night per member! Take advantage of that!

Autism is fascinating

We have an autism room at our school where all middle school-aged kiddos with autism go. It's a pretty busy place, let me tell you, and it seems to be growing. A doctoral chemist (adjust glasses on nose) friend of mine said there's a possible corrolary between immunizations and autism, but that's just one theory. I had two of the students in my foreign language class last year. One kiddo, in particular, (we'll call him A) was just so "interesting". I don't know if using that word is appropriate, he is a child for goodness sakes, but still... For example, he would recite the French alphabet every day at the beginning of class, and then go on to other pretty patternized routines. If he was having a bad day, he'd definitely be sure to let us know: "It's not ok to spit! It's not ok to spit!" (while he was spitting around the room and heading for the door). Or: "Bad day! Bad day!" (as he tipped over desks and chairs)

I saw him this summer at a bowling alley and he made a reference to having a picture. I must have in some way showed a positive reaction, because every. single. day. he asks me if I have a photo. It's such a cute, crisp voice, "Mrs. J, do you have a photo?" It would be easy if it was just any old picture, but he has certain kids he wants in this photo, and certain things they will wear, and certain eye color, and certain hairdos. I wish I was a miracle worker, because every single day, several times a day, it's: "Mrs. J, do you have a photo?" And if I happen to circulate around the room and he sees me several times, each and every time he sees me he says, "Mrs. J, do you have a photo?" You see how this is becoming a problem...

I tried being really firm. "No, A, I don't have a photo. And I never will. It won't happen. I can't take a photo of those children." I tried to redirect: "A, when you see me, you can say, 'Hi Mrs. J.'" The very next morning, when I saw him in the hallway, he said, "HiMrs.J,doyouhaveaphoto?" It was like, I know what I'm supposed to say, but I just want to make sure I get it all out! His autism teacher has tried to do a social story with him: "I like pictures. Photographs are nice to have. I can ask a teacher for a photo once. If a teacher does not have a photo, it is not ok to ask again." Or something to that effect. I thought all this would either help, or else, he maybe would even just get sick of asking. I have ignored, also, by the way, but he just keeps getting louder until it's, "MRS. J, DO YOU HAVE A PHOTO???"

Friday, on my way out of work, a van is going through the parking lot. All of a sudden the window rolls down, and I hear, "Do you have a photo?" from the passenger side. His mother (JJ is convinced she was teasing me/joking with me), backs up so he can more clearly ask me the question.

I could write about his patriotic song stint with Mrs. W, but I may just have to save that for another post.

Nesting

AKA "Organizing" -- my new fav. word.... AKA Finally getting rid of stuff.... AKA JJ: "Hey! What are you doing with my stuff?"


My new dreams are of how I can rearrange the whole apartment. Poor JJ because I'll get an idea, and explain it to him and he's like, "You lost me at put that couch there and that couch there and take out the cabinet and put it in the spare bedroom (baby's room)....." Before I was preggers I would've just maneuvered an item until I got it where I wanted it. Now I'm at least a bit more careful about how many pounds I lug around. These last few days I've attacked our clothes. My new rule (which I think is quite generous): If it hasn't been worn in three years, it goes to Goodwill. I've already taken three boxes of "stuff".

Right now I have the whole top shelf in the closet in our bedroom open. I'm just absolutely giddy with anticipation of what will go up there. I also cleaned out a whole big drawer that is now filled with maternity clothes. Who knew I had accumulated so much? I also bought four more pairs of pants (on t-bay) for $10 total! The bathroom cabinet has undertaken an overhaul as well. I finally threw away any makeup or cream or whatever that I haven't used --- ESPECIALLY the stuff that was only used for say, Halloween. I even organized the box I store my period supplies in (won't be needing those for a while!).

The next area under attack was the refrigerator. My grandma (bless her heart) volunteers at a thrift store in my hometown. Grocery stores give them all sorts of foods that are close to their expiration date. So, if things aren't bought right away, Grandma brings them home. And then goes on to complain that they'll never be able to eat all the (fill in the blank) -- yogurt, crescent rolls, butter, cookie dough, baked goods, you name it! I shouldn't tease her, because, really we have received some great food from Grandma. The only thing is, we have to eat it right away or it gets too old. Well, some things must've been shoved to the back of the fridge because I found a few things dating to 2007. Yikes! Oh, and a taco sauce from 2005 (but JJ's pretty sure that one came from his mother's fridge).

So, as I sit at the computer, I just have visions for where this baby (the computer this time) could be better placed. Oh! And JJ's selling his XBOX 360 -- any interested parties can just reply to this post and I will maybe even give you a viewer's discount! : ) It is priced to SELL people!

Totally random

We went to a wedding this weekend. The bride, a college (undergrad and grad) classmate of mine, looked absolutely stunning in a strapless dress with a loooong beaded veil. The wedding was beautiful, with all of the bridesmaids in different dresses with different fall hues. At the reception, which JJ deemed was the best wedding meal he's ever eaten, we somehow ended up sitting next to some teachers she taught with in the small town she did her resident teaching at. We struck up a conversation and came to find out that one of the gals is expecting her first granddaughter in December. Well, that just gave us even more to talk about, and she started talking about her son-in-law, R, and some of the names he was picking out. Also, she kept mentioning my hometown -- her daughter and SIL got married there and were living there. It was too, too random, but I had to ask if it was a certain R, a RH to be exact and she was stunned to find out that I went to senior prom with her SIL! : ) Such a small world!

Sweet, sweet slumber

I woke up at 9:00 this morning! Nine! Woah! Actually, I did wake up at about 6:30, wide awake, and forced myself to sleep just a little bit more. Then, when it seemed futile, I got up, went to the bathroom (because seriously, that's what I do all the time now) and brought a banana back to bed. I ate it and fell blissfully back to sleep. Then, check the clock, 9:00! I woke JJ up, because that's also what I do in the mornings, poor guy, and told him I had to go feed the baby. Yes, the baby is still in my belly, but I like referring to him/her like he/she is already with us, you know, in out-of-the-womb form.

Speaking of the baby, many, many people told me yesterday that they could finally tell I was pregnant. So, I have officially pooched out. TWO people went on to touch my belly. I'm not 100% sure how I feel about it. I mean, I touch my belly all the time. And JJ touches my belly all the time -- he likes to squish it around and tell the baby he/she is getting a carnival ride. But it was kinda wierd when other people touched my belly--especially now when it's still mostly my own fat and especially because they weren't close friends or relatives. And also one of the ladies kind of caressed my belly. Hmmmm... kinda wierd. I thought it was kind of special in a way, though, too. This is one of those things that just would never normally happen, except when someone is pregnant, so I'm trying to take it as one of those pregnancy milestones, and leave it at that.

Oh, also, I went on a maternity clothes buying rampage -- don't worry -- it is all second hand. A lady on t-bay was selling all of her maternity clothes, and they were all my size! I went to her classroom at a local high school and tried on a ton of stuff. The only thing is, the prices were not very hot. I have found some whole outfits for like $5 at rummage sales, and for example, a pair of black dress pants I bought from this lady were $10. It definitely made me scale back on my buying. But, the clothes really did look almost brand-new, and I do need some staple items, especially since I'm growing out of quite a few of my normal clothes.

Mmmm... Church Fall Supper

This Sunday we met my parents at the smalllll country Church my Mom's family attended for forever (actually my Mom's g'pa was a part of the building process). My Aunt A and Uncle L are huge parts of the Church. Every year they have a Fall Supper complete with tons of delicious food served up family style, good "catching up" time, and a fundraiser (my Mom has made a beautiful quilt to raffle off for quite a few years now).

I am so, so bad with directions that I have gotten lost several times on my way to "Grandma's house". I was a bit paranoid about getting lost again, so for one, I gave us plenty of time to get there, and two, I mapquested directions. Of course the Church is so small it was not on mapquest, but I did know the way once I could get to this other small town. I was quite proud of myself as I drove right up to the Church without any wrong turns!

We got there so early they were still setting up, but insisted everything was taken care of. We chatted with Aunt A and Uncle L until they had to get back to work. My parents showed up and we got to chat with some familiar faces -- mostly relatives of my Mom. Then, our name got called and we got to go downstairs for the fabulous meal. Mmm, mmm, mmm. There is nothing like a homecooked Church supper.

After supper we went to the farm -- the place my Mom grew up. It is such a beautiful area, chalk full of memories. It has been quite some time since I've been back and it was just wonderful to be there. Aunt A has done some absolutely wonderful things to the farm house and I am so glad they are making it their own.

Softball Tourney

We had our end-of-the-year tourney this morning for girls softball. So, arrrgh, I got my butt out of bed early on a Saturday so I could get out to the fields early to set up. The team I coached was a team that was seeded second only after a game to determine 1st and 2nd seeds went down to a tie with no more time left and there was a coin toss to determine the winner. Yeah, the team was pretty bitter about it. But, we won our first game of the tournament to put us in the winners bracket, and ultimately where they would've been if they'd have won that coin toss game.

Then, our next competitors were another South team. It's always tough playing against friends - but the game really came down to pitching. There was no score after the regulation five innings. We went into a sixth inning and the other team didn't score at the top of the inning. In come my girls to bat. We got two people on base all of a sudden -- it was pretty crazy considering there was hardly any batting action the whole game. THEN, NN cranks one in the outfield. As soon as one of our players crossed the bag, the game was over! Woohoo!

Our championship game was against that same team with the coin toss game. It was the grudge match. Our pitcher was on fire and they ended up scoring one the whole game. Their pitcher struggled at times and we were able to get some bases on balls, giving us more opportunities to score. My girls were aggressive base runners and it was fun to see the excitement. We even got an (unintended) bunt in there! In the end, we won 5-1 and it was sweet, sweet victory.

All in all, South ended up in 1st, 3rd and 5th - not too shabby!

JJ and the B's

JJ babysat the B's on Wednesday afternoon so their parents could run a much-needed errand. Together. Without kiddos. I have always been a babysitter and lover of children, so I was a bit jealous. Also, I was quite surprised that JJ was up for the challenge, but then I remembered how many nieces and nephews he has (I believe the count is at 15 -- of course some of them are his age, but I digress). He's been around kids his whole life!

So here's the run-down of events: JJ said both kids were up the whole time (I think they were supposed to be down for their afternoon naps). And EB didn't even cry once! In fact, when JJ left, EB was whining at his leg to be picked up rather than hang out with his parents who had been gone for ~2 hours. He did, however, keep trying to jump off the couches -- JJ even had to make a leg-grabbing save once! JB was up to all kinds of mischief. She was also jabbering the whole time. She kept commanding him to sleep and then she'd jump on him to wake him up. At one point she grabbed JJ's cellphone and ran into her parents bedroom and shut the door. (Thank goodness there was no lock on it!) JJ came in and JB screamed and scurried to a corner of the bed until JJ confiscated the phone. JB managed to call TB (her Dad), so they were worried that there was an emergency with the kids and JJ was calling to report.

Later, JJ (safely back at home) was making supper (Home-made perogies in fact! Mmmm!) when he started laughing out loud to a text by TB. It read something like this. JB is running around saying that you are her husband, that you slept with her on the couch, that you played in Mommy and Daddy's bed and that she saw your panties.


Note: JJ's boxers are constantly showing just a little bit and BB and TB got JB to try out wearing big girl undies again by saying that JJ and EJ wear panties. She's been wearing them ever since!

Update

We had a gorgeous day for the Walk-a-thon. AND guess what?? The kids totally made their goal! It was crazy! One kid commented, "Mrs. W I guess your speech paid off yesterday." (which sent her into ANOTHER tizzy about being worried if she had put too much pressure on them) Also, I made it half-way -- walking straight for about an hour and 15 minutes before I couldn't take it anymore. No, it wasn't my legs. It wasn't my heart or breathing or anything. It was my bladder. Darn you little B (current name for our baby)! Once I was safely back at school, the only event of the day happened, one of my severe kids with ED got pantsed. I don't think the kid who did it knew who he messed with, either that or he is masochistic because seriously, everyone walks on eggshells around this guy. I think this guy realized he was actually saved by being taken to the principal's office. So maybe I should actually be thanking little B because I was blissfully unaware any of this was going on.

Best. day. ever.

Right now I am sitting in a sweat-suit with my hair braided and no make-up on. One would think I'd be ready for a lazy Saturday morning. But nooooo. I am off to work! That's right folks, it's Walk-a-thon day! Yippee! Every year the 7th graders raise pledges and then walk for about two hours straight. The money goes to making food baskets for needy families in our community during Thanksgiving and making fleece blankets for kids going into foster care. Every year it seems that kids even surpass the goal and there is left over money for books for classrooms and even treats. This year, however, it seems that the economy has everyone tightening up. The kids have made it about half-way to their goal AND only about 50% have participated at all. The English teacher I work with hasn't been pushy (although she called me last night worried she had been pushy and was so worried she wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't reassure her that the kids wouldn't be traumatized for life and parents wouldn't be calling explaining that they had no extra money to give), but she has encouraged kids to raise the money by just even asking five people or offering to babysit or forego a pop, etc.

{Speaking of the English teacher I work with, have I told you about Mrs. W? She is HIllarious. Mr. B has seriously asked us to consider going in on bringing cameras into her house for a new reality show that quite frankly, would make us all rich. From stories about her son to new hunting purchases by her husband to some of her health issues that she shares quite candidly (many times to Mr. B's chagrin -- he's the only male on our team right now) -- whenever Mrs. W her mouth for a story, you know you're in for a treat.}

Anyhow, back to why I'm in my sweats. We seriously debated whether the kids deserved to all walk or not. It looks like fleece blankets may be out of the picture with the amount of money raised and really some of the kids don't get it. One kid even asked yesterday, something like, "So, we're raising money and walking for pledges, so do we get to keep half of the money since we're walking?" Nice try little entrepeneur.

It's ALIVE!

Confirmation at last! We have a baby in there! We totally got to hear the heartbeat for a long time today. And it kind of jumped around a bit - the doc said the baby was probably moving about. Ah fer cute! Our little baby! I about started crying on the table. And then the exciting news -- ultrasound is scheduled for the 23rd -- so only four more weeks until we know if it's pink or blue city. A guy at work (oh -- it's Mr. B! You know Mr. B!) whose baby is due Feb. 14th just found out his wife is having a boy brought in blueberry muffins to celebrate. He was making fun of how dorky his wife for needing to tell people in a creative way, but seriously, I'm totally going to be all over that. I just need to think of a clever way. . . hmmm... at least I have four more weeks.

Lunchtime with Mr. B

Do you remember Mr. B? Here's a refresher if you need it.

Every Friday some friends at school and I have decided to invade "boys club". Pretty much all the male teachers that eat "4c" lunch eat in Mr. B's room to avoid the dumb gossipy females. Seriously, some of the conversation is lame-o, even by my standards. Today I asked Mrs. D if she was eating there as I was on my way out of the cafetorium and she said, "No, the boys had ordered food and she didn't them to feel guilty about having to share with her." I headed that way anyways because I didn't want my friend Mrs. H to be the lone girl. I was quite proud of myself because I contributed to the conversation about the Twins (thank you JJ for debriefing me last night). Mr. B asked why no one else was crashing the club. I told the crew about Mrs. D and everyone started laughing because none of the boys had offered us any pizza or seemed concerned about it at all. I told them I would report back, "NO guilt. None whatsoever." heehee

Just what have we been studying??

Today in science I had made a quick review game so we were playing it. It's called "I have/Who has" and it is the greatest game ever. You dole out cards and the person with the "start card", well, starts by reading the "Who has . . . " message on his or her card. The player whose card matches that says "I have . . . " and then starts the next round by reading the rest of his or her card "Who has . . . " For example: Player One: "Who has the basic unit of all living things?" Player Two: "I have a cell. Who has a group of organs working together to perform a specific function?"

I happen to teach the "co-science" crew. This is the lowest of the low in 7th grade. It's a small class and I have a lot of fun! The other teacher, Mrs. S, and I have been kind of joking a bit that whenever she asks a question, we can hear the crickets. "Who remembers what CO2 is?" cricket. cricket. Anyways, so with this game, we had to be hustling around the room helping kids. Some gave guesses: "I have cells ?? Is that the answer??" and others just started blankly until we said, "Oops, it's your turn!" As the game was underway, one gal in the first category said, "I have orgasm ?? Is that it?" I just shook my head. Then again for another answer, she said, "I have orgasm." This time her card was correct, it just happened to be organism instead. I very carefully corrected her without making eye contact with Mrs. S. I just know we would've both lost it. The other kids didn't even blink. They just don't have a clue, and that is really nice. Because seriously, if this would've been any other class, we would've lost control for a good five minutes.

Fantasy Football

So. It all started when my BIL CPJ said I couldn't join his league. Let me backtrack. JJ has been playing fantasy football for as long as we've been married (almost five years people!) and it's always looked semi-interesting to me. Especially since at some point it just comes down to luck. So I asked CPJ if I could play. To his defense, there can only be a certain amount of people in a league, and his was pretty well established by this point. To my defense, c'mon hook a sista up! So, I decided to start my own. Called League Sunshine - just to rub it in a little. It's a just for fun FREE league that is even auto-drafted so we didn't have to do too much work. I invited a ton of my friends and family members to play and ended up with nine other dedicated (or at least semi-interested) participants. My first week I beat JJ. I was on cloud nine and even boasted just a little bit. Then, the downward spiral. I'm currently in last place! Boohoo! But it is quite enjoyable checking out the stats and figuring out who I want on my bench and who is up to the challenge of playing on my team. (ha!) And for your info, I've even learned a little bit. When I was first describing this whole fantasy concept to our upstairs neighbor BB, I was like, "Well, you get your own team -- a QB, a defense..... uh.... I can't think of any other players." heehee Now I can even name some specific players AND their teams! Go me! This is useful information when trying to connect with 7th grade boys - namely the kid with severe ED (emotional disturbance for those of you in the medical field (like my Mom) who always thinks I'm referring to erectile dysfunction) I was trying to get some work out of today.

Getting Organized

Yes, I do realize that it is almost the end of September, but I finally feel like I'm getting organized for the year. Most of my ability to feel this way comes from a colleague who helped me a ton by just showing me some of the things she does. And of course giving me free reign to photocopy all of her forms wasn't too shabby either. I have started documenting things that I should have started on the first day of school. I am giving my paras much more direction and involving them in documentation as well. Hopefully I will be all set by next week when we start Parent-Teacher Conferences. Duh duh duuuuh.

A quick softball update. Our rescheduled game tonight was cancelled due to rain again. The big controversy is that it rained hard last night but was clear all day, so the fields were ok (we practiced in the grass) AND city league IS still happening tonight. Thank goodness the adults can play but the kids have to stay out of the infield. Boo. We are done NEXT Saturday! Crazy!

More rummage sale finds!

On Saturday morning I had the good fortune and pleasure to go garage sale-ing with two guru garage salers: my SIL LJ and my good friend JP. After a quick stop at Starbucks, where I found a new hot drink to love (and I can even order it 1/2 caf.), we headed out. I was not very organized. The night before I had written down some rummage sale addresses that were posted in our paper. There were a few I knew I wanted to hit up and the rest just either mentioned low, low prices or specifically baby stuff. We hit the jackpot on stop #1. The seller had twins -- a boy and a girl -- and the things she was selling were definitely priced to sell. I got some cute clothes AND one of those little baby holders that vibrates and plays music. The lady said she had gotten three somehow, so this one was barely used -- and sure enough when I opened the box later at home it looked good as new. We hit some other sales and at another one with lots of baby clothes, it was pretty incredible to see the price difference. There were sleepers for $4 and $5! They were Gap, but c'mon, for a sleeper?? I did find some more reasonably priced (I'm thinking it was a multi-family sale). Then, later, I also found a canvas hanging thing for storage of diapers and things to go by the changing table. After regaling our husbands with our wonderful finds, we skipped town with AJ and LJ (they were headed home after a conference) to meet up with a friend. On the way, LJ called her mom, who said they had stopped a rummage sale earlier and there were supercute crib sets. We decided it was worth a quick stop (especially since BJ -- age 2 -- was sleeping soundly in the car). I ended up buying one of the crib sets for sale. The bumper has animals on it, with border of stars on a blue background and yellow stripes. The rest of the set is either the animals or stars. It was in excellent condition. It was the cheapest set, but it was definitely inexpensive compared with something brand new. And LJ reminded me I could get one cheaper, but then it would've been cheaper -- not as good of quality.

JJ is a little overwhelmed at my rummage sale purchases. I know he will thank me later, like once he realizes how much outfits cost and how quickly our "new" outfits will become used and abused. As a good wife, I will try not to say "I told you so" at that moment.

Water Park Fun

We got to go to a water park with SIL LJ and her two kiddos, LJ (4) and BJ (2). AJ, JJ's bro, was eating gourmet food (ahem, attending a conference). We had a fabulous time, once we got in the water. My poor swimming suit had to stretch a bit to accommodate my growing... well... body in general. The kiddos loved the slides -- especially LJ on the "toilet bowl" -- a big intertube slide that shoots riders into this big open bowl that spins them around until the end up at the bottom with the hole that shoots down into the main pool (connected to the lazy river).

BJ started getting Tired, and while he was dazing off, I told LJ she could take li'l LJ down the slide -- since previously BJ threw a fit if she tried to leave. On their second go-round, BJ wisened up to what the whole situation was, and started crying. He would cry harder if JJ or I tried to console him, so we tried to keep our distance. In fact, if he saw us looking at us, he started to cry. We did our best to be responsible caretakers (read: we didn't want people to think this was an abandoned child), while giving him his personal space. When he went back in the water, I caught up to him (it was supershallow, and he did have a life jacket, but I wanted to make sure he was safe). He let me pick him up and I pointed out where his mommy and sister were. LJ left to put him to bed, and told us to give her some time to put BJ to bed before bringing niecey LJ up to the room.

We played for a while in the water, and then I took LJ back up the big slide. On our first time back on the slide, she said, "Phew, I'm going to sleep well tonight!" We went two more times after that and on our third time being shot back into the big pool, we got going backwards. As we hit the water, the force of it threw me off the tube, which meant LJ went too! Thank goodness she had her life jacket on! I quickly got back to the surface and grabbed her bobbing body. I said, "I was kind of scared there!" She said, "Me too!" When we were getting out of the water, she said, "I'm too tired to do that again."

Tormenting a Two-year Old

We went to our upstairs neighbors' for supper on Saturday night. They are the ones with two adorable kiddos (EB and JB). JB had the crush on JJ. BB (mom) said that JB was crying because she missed me. BB was surprised at the change of favor -- it was always JJ before. So she asked, "Who do you like better? E or J?" --"E." "Who do you miss more? J or E?" --"E."

Anyways, we decided we better hang out with them, because obviously it has been awhile if JB is crying for us. We had a delicious (I would seriously recommend it) Papa Murphy's stuffed crust pizza. Yum, yum. They even got half without mushrooms for me! After dinner we were playing with the kiddos and JB showed us her babies' potty chair (a small ice cream bucket) -- (JB was potty trained and then an unfortunate bout of stomach flu made her regress, so the B's are trying to get her back on track.) TB (dad) decided to pretend that a "baby" had to go #2. He started making grunting noises and shaking the poor doll. JB got hysterical. She was crying and saying, "No T! No way!!" and clapping her hands and stomping her feet. It was hillarious, albeit a bit mean.

Also, side note: JB calls her dad by his first name. It is pretty funny. BB tries to correct her, but TB says that if she's ever lost it's more important that she knows his first name. Oh, ever so practical TB.

Stuff WE made!

My Mom, Grandma and I worked together to make these cute baby books. They are so special as THREE generations worked on them for our little one (and future little ones to come!).

AND I, with TONS of help and advice from my Mom, did most of the sewing on these overalls. Aren't they cute?? Those are cute little duckies on the fabric!

Garage Sale-ing

I heart garage sales. Especially now when I have something to look for. I also love the "For Sale" application on my work's email system. People list things they are looking for and things they want to sell. Starting in about May For Sale (affectionately called "t-bay") is loaded with garage sale advertisements. I have started checking out the ones that involve baby "stuff". Here are some pictures of recent purchases/hand-me-downs from our upstairs neighbors.

Oh, and I also bought some maternity clothes at one. It is so hard to buy maternity because I don't know how big I will get. It is hard to buy baby clothes because, as you can see, I'm *trying* to stay neutral. Also, with the mixture of JJ and my genes, anything really could happen with size. The skin, eye color, and even hair color are pretty much a given. As I'm browsing rack after rack, I also have to do the count -- what season will it be in the 6-9 month range (IF our baby is not a shrimp like me or a tall thing like JJ). Although, according to our moms, we were both pretty average as babies.

It was pretty funny, the other day I got home from work and asked JJ if he wanted to go to a sale with me (a whole block sale all with some mention of stuff for babies). He was wondering why I wanted him to go -- and the reason is the same any time I want JJ to shop with me -- so he can be my control. He can keep me from spending too much money! He laughed and said he wasn't worried at rummage sales. I decided that I'd only take my wallet (no checks) -- and I only had a $10. I came back and had bought $11 worth of stuff -- I had found some quarters! : )

First IEP (CHECK!)

Yay! I completed my first IEP meeting! Woohoo! Oh, I suppose I should clarify what an IEP is. It stands for Individualized Education Plan and it basically tells everything there is to know about a kiddo, what goals the kiddo has that we monitor the progress of, what accommodations the kiddo needs to be successful, if the kiddo can participate in state assessments and to what extent, how many minutes in the classroom/out of the classroom the kiddo needs and how many minutes (at least) the kiddo will be served during the year, ETC! Phew! It's a doozy, very legal and so, so important that we get the right stuff down.

The parents I worked with for my first one "on my own" were the best there could've been. They were awesome! They gave input, shared things from home ("we're seeing this in school" -- "yes, yes, we see this and this to back that up at home"), and gave a lot of personal information that would definitely be factors in this kiddo's life and learning experience. They were kind. They were friendly. They were talkers (it lasted a good hour and a half). And then, my principal, bless her heart, went over my strengths and weaknesses. She was like, oh, it was your first one? Let's talk about it. It was definitely nice to debrief, but it was 6:00 by the time I left. Softball was completely over (oops, sorry guys!) and it was time for this baby mama to get some FOOD! : )

Girl? Boy? Girl??

I had another dream last night where we had the baby. This has happened twice before. In the first dream, we had a girl. In the second one, a boy, and in this latest installment, it was a girl again. Of course, this one yet again involved me forgetting her at home. Oh, and llamas. Yeahhhh. My dreams are usually pretty whacked out. But, nevertheless, we certainly are wondering if this new little person is a girl or a boy. We'll find out in not tooooo long, which is getting exciting. Our upstairs neighbor is pretty certain it's a girl. My parents are hoping it's a girl because their neighbors across the street had a huge rummage sale and my mom just couldn't help picking up some cute girl things. But, she had to restrain herself, which I'm sure was hard. As my brother said, "You better have that kid soon - we're running out of room here." : )

First IEP call

I have an IEP due (my first one on my own!) at the end of next week, so I called the parent to see when she might be able to come in. I was a bit nervous about calling too late with the date looming ahead of me. She said, "How about tomorrow?" Woah! I guess this may be easier than I thought! Although I had to hold her off until Thursday so we could get some materials ready (not to mention figuring out this new computer system the district is using for special education).

I wish I had a cute anecdote of kids at school, but I have been so overwhelmed with getting organized at work that I am in and out of classrooms. One kiddo that I've been giving pipe cleaners to as a "fiddle" -- something he can put his energy into rather than distracting others -- had a great day today so that was awesome! I rewarded him by not spending every minute that I was in the classroom tapping on his back (ok, this is a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point). Another kiddo has a new baby sister, so that is superexciting in her life. She spends weekends with her dad where this new baby lives. I'm also organizing with an outside agency for a kiddo in a treatment facility. I feel like I haven't really had a chance to "settle into" this position. It is here and I don't always feel ready for it!

New Alarm Clock...

This morning I was minding my own business (sleeping!), when my hair got in my face. I brushed it away. It continued to tickle my chin. I swiped it again. A THIRD time it happened, and when I touched my face, I touched the culprit as well -- A BUG! A BUG was on my face! ICK! I threw it in a moment of panic and at the same time heard it being crushed by my frantic motions. JJ was up in a second wondering what was going on! It took a long time to fall back asleep. I kept feeling ticklies on the back of my neck, arms, face again, etc. Ewww!

Blah blah blah

blah blah blabbity blah. Did I catch you up on my life in the last couple of weeks? I have been pretty busy lately and it seems that something always has to go. Facebook definitely didn't go, so I guess blogging lost out. With this new job, I feel like I'm doing a ton more work. I think once I get into the swing of things it'll be better, but it's taking for-ever! There are meetings all the time and then trying to get ahold of parents to introduce myself as their child's new case manager and then responding to parents whose children are struggling already --- like five so far just in math. This math book sucks. The teacher doesn't even like it -- but yet she still uses it. I took the little guy home this weekend and we are going to spend some quality time together wherein I'm going to rewrite directions, give examples and include key terms. The little math book isn't going to know what hit him! In meeting with kiddos they feel this will help them be successful, so that's all I need -- I'm off to work! : )