JJ's bday

JJ's birthday is coming up.  The big 2 - 8 this year.  He is being oh, so helpful.

Me: What do you want for your bday?
JJ: Nothing.  If I want something, I buy it.
Me: But I want to get you something special for your birthday.  Or I could make you something, like food?
JJ: You?  Cook?  That's ok. 
Me: Well, what would you like to DO for your birthday?
JJ: Nothing.
Me: Paradiso?  Game night? 
JJ: Nah.

Yeah, SO helpful.  Does anyone have any ideas?  A special present, homemade or otherwise?  Maybe YOU can be more helpful than the birthday boy himself!

What would Freud think of this??

I have terrible dreams.  Really freaky.  And then some are, well, just down right weird.  Nothing frightening just over-the-top odd.  Some are reoccurring, but most often I will have a really scary scenario and then in the same night (usually without waking up in between) I'll replay the dream over and over again with a different ending.  It's really annoying to have the same frightening thing happen again and again, but sometimes I finally work through the problem and it has a happy(ish) ending.

I blame Skeleton Creek in part for my lastest freak-fests.  That phantom has hold of my inner psyche apparently.  I am so suscentable to being scared as it is... but seriously?  Kiddie lit?  Keeping me up at night?  I have already had to give up watching Law & Order: SVU.  Too real.  Too possible.  Too scary for this chicky.

So here are just a few of the topics roaming around my brain the last few nights:

*JJ was driving a convertible.  When we were going over a bridge, he flipped the car and we dove into the water and drowned (scene 1); we dove into the water and JJ tugged me free of my seatbelt and we swam to safety (scene 2); JJ flipped the car but somehow gunned it enough to land us on the land past the water (scene 3); we dove into the water and I figured out how to free myself, JJ and I swam to safety and there was a reality TV show being taped on the land when we got to it.... wierd, huh??

*We got home from a vacation to find our door kicked in.  Oh, and it was at the last place we lived (WC).  And the police chief was NOT on the case.  And when I was in the middle of talking to him, we realized the robber guy was still IN OUR HOUSE.  Ack!

*Ok, that's all I can think of right now.  Lately I've been forgetting them quickly because JJ doesn't believe me when I tell him my wierd dreams.

The Weather...

A little while ago I had my students journal about how the weather affects their lives.  One student in particular really identified with this topic and ran with it.  He wrote all about how easy it is to be happy when the sun is shining and warmth is all around, and conversely when it's bitterly cold how easy it is to be grumpy.  Well, we've definitely had our share of bitterly cold.  It seems to have been a mild winter for the most part, however.  One of my coworkers commented that it must be about the middle of winter because she was walking outside with her coat unbuttoned and no mittens and thought it felt pretty warm out (at like 20 degrees!).   You just get to a point where any climb in temp feels like a heat wave!  We still have students, for example, wearing shorts.  Crazies.  Our school is cold, too, by the way.  It's not like the heater is on full blast making you feel like you need to break out the summer clothes. 

As a teacher, of course, we all do the bad weather dance whenever there is a hint of a storm warning in the air.  This is never more true that on a Monday.  Friday our principal placed a teaser in our mailbox: the 2-hour late start schedule *just in case*.  

Crock Pot Love

I heart my crock pot.  Seriously, best invention in the kitchen EVER.  In a big after Christmas sale, I bought myself a slow cooker page-a-day calendar.  It came with cookbook dividers for organizing the recipes when the date has passed.  Genius!  I think my fav. go-to crock pot recipe is chili, sans meat.  What is yours?  Please share your favorite recipe!

Thursday JJ made pot roast (with carrots, potatoes, onions and celery) in our crock pot.  DELICIOUS.  It's one of those things when I'm thrilled that there are leftovers after eating leftovers (twice)!

Miss Destruct-o

It is hilarious, but MVJ has a method to her destruct-o madness.  She methodically takes apart our living room/her bedroom, going back to the same places and taking the same things apart.

For example, in her bedroom, she will first move her big Buttercup doll and put her facedown on the floor.  Then she will put each CD (one at a time) on the floor --- not throwing, but delicately placing them on the floor.  After that she can come and sit by her toy bucket to play, although sometimes she tries to explore her diaper bin (yuck!).  She is also a big fan of unfolding any outfits found on the floor in her closet.  I put the ones that she has outgrown on the floor before I organize them into bins.  I may have to rethink that plan because I do a LOT of refolding!  

In the living room, she LOVES moving our Outburst! game from its shelf and propping it up on the floor.  Then she takes her board books off the shelf.  Next she stands by an end table and takes the mats off of the table.  After that she climbs INTO her toy rubbermaid to play, or stand up and attempt to play with the Blu-ray player.  She also is into our surround sound.  She loves changing the sound, and one of us is always in charge of the remote in the event that she blasts it!

Pancake Monster!

One more funny story from AZ!

We've found out that MVJ loves pancakes and scrambled eggs.  On Saturday morning, we went back to the pancake house my parents ate at on Thurs. because they enjoyed it so much.  What a good choice!  It was delicious!  I would pick it over a IHOP any day!  Shocking, right?!

Back to the story...  I ordered minipancakes, knowing I could easily share some with MVJ and I ordered her one scrambled egg.  MVJ was on the end in a little highchair while the rest of us were in a semi-circle booth.

The waiter brought out the food and before any of us could do anything, MVJ reached up, threw one pancake on the floor and had one in each hand!  It was so funny!  The startled waiter didn't quite know what to do besides asking me if he should bring some more out!

MVJ ate her two pancakes, her whole plate of eggs, and I think toast before we headed out!

Techno-queen!

I mentioned before that we would be getting a smartboard for our room, but I neglected to mention that we are ALSO getting Ipod touches!  I'm already feeling behind the times, because I'm feeling a little overwhelmed at all of the capabilities of these two technologies.  I'm glad to be getting training so I can actually use all this great stuff!  I am also thinking about having a classroom blog.  Our tech partner thought it would be easier and more effective and appropriate than a wiki for what we wanted to do.  I keep using "we" because my specialist co-worker and Resident Teacher all work closely together in projects.  Being honest, they have all the good ideas and I just go along with them!  I'm also going to be keeping a grade in my tutorial starting the second semester (Tuesday!).  I'm thinking this will help with classroom management and reduce the amount of times I'm asked, "Why are we doing this?" and "Is this even for a grade??"

Another COOL piece of technology in my classroom is the new book I'm reading aloud to my kiddos.  Book, you ask puzzled what that has to do with technology.  WELL, this particular book combines reading with watching movies!  It's great!  Have you heard of Skeleton Creek?  It's a "journal" by character Ryan.  He writes everything down while his bf Sarah takes different videos to go along with the story.  Every so often there will be a password.  You go to a website (sarahfincher.com) or iTunes to watch the videos and then Ryan continues on with the story in the book.  This first book was super spooky at parts but also left off with a MAJOR cliffhanger!  I'm hoping it's enough to spark my boys to read the second one ON THEIR OWN!  Novel idea, right?  A teacher can only hope...

MVJ: ELEVEN MONTHS

What?!  Where did the time go?!  I am loving my daughter more and more each day if that is even possible.  She is such a spunky little girl.  I AM a little worried that we are spoiling her to become a brat, but she's so darn irresistible.  I guess time will tell.  Here are some facts about my little girl:

*She is now eating all "toddler" Gerber foods.  Yum, yum.  She especially loves "pasta pickups " -- we have to cut them up because she barely chews them in her haste to get them in her belly!
*On occasion she says "Thank you".  It is the cutest thing!  At first JJ thought I was exaggerating her skills, but then he heard her and became a believer!  Generally the only time it comes out is during a "sharing session" - where she has something, gives it to one of us, takes it back, gives it to one of us, takes it back, repeat, repeat.
*My Mom came to hang out with us for a weekend and babysat MVJ one Monday (when JJ had an interview).  She taught her how to blow kissies!  It is the cutest thing!  It is also VERY inconsistent, but we are working hard to make it stick!
*MVJ is not a big fan of stuffed animals.  She is pretty indifferent to anything that does not make noise, in fact.  I'm trying desperately to make her be a big fan of her Baby Stella doll (as much as me, anyways!).
*She stands on her own, but only when she doesn't realize she is doing it.  She seems to be kind of slowing down with milestones, but does seem to be getting stronger walking with our help and cruising around the furniture.
*My baby girl is still going strong with nursing.  I'm a little nervous at the thought of weaning her.  Nursing has become such a ritual in our day and a time to bond before I leave for school, when I get home and before I put her to bed.  I know I can replace these times with other things that allow close-time, but it won't be the same for either of us!
*She has become such a good drinker from a sippy cup - but only when we hold it for her.  I've been trying to work on her doing it herself, but she isn't quite into it.  The little stinker has gone so far as to prop her sippy on the tray of her highchair and sink way down to drink without having to hold it.  Oh dear...  I've been taking her hands, putting them on the sippy, and letting go.  She will drink for a teeny little bit, then hand it to me and wait patiently with her mouth open.  My silly, stubborn, spoiled baby!
*MVJ totally knows when she's doing something wrong and tests the waters.  Her new fun thing is when she is finished eating, she starts dropping her food on the ground.  She will hang a cheerio over the edge, stare at us and slowly drop it.  What a naughty little thing!
*She's also the master of sneakiness.  She will stare us down, while doing something naughty with her hands in a different direction.  Like, "Hi Mom and Dad.  < whistle, whistle > nothing to see here..."
*Knock on wood, MVJ has been sleeping through the night for quite some time (7:15ish pm-7:00ish am).  She totally has A blankie.  At nap or night time, I only have to put the blankie on my shoulder, and she will snuggle into it as I lower her into bed.  She cuddles up to it and sleeps through the night.  Ahhhhh.  Love it.  We made the mistake of leaving it at home our last mini-trip to visit the AJ fam.  BIG mistake.  We're not sure if that was the sole reason, but she had a really crappy sleeping night.  Boo.
*The 1st bday invites have gone out!  My girl is soon to turn 1 and I can't believe it.  I often think about that big day and love sharing my story with other moms!

As I've told others and been thinking about a lot lately -- I vacillate between reminiscing about my baby girl and dreaming about my big girl.  She's definitely transitioning, growing and changing.  Enjoy each day, right?    

And here's the REST of the story...

alt. title: AZ, part deux

Oops, I think I forgot to mention that on Wednesday night (I think.... may have been Fri...) we headed to the Scottsdale Zoo to check out their Zoo Lights.  It was so cool!  They even did the thing where they set the lights to music.  It was quite an experience!  MVJ got her first ride on a carousel -- NOT her favorite.  She almost instantly climbed back into my arms and dug her head in my shoulder.  Baby CS was a champ, smiling the whole time!  

Thursday, New Year's Eve, my parents headed to meet some friends at a pancake house and we did laundry and hung out until a little after noon.  We did some more shopping - YAY - including Children's Place and Gymboree.  MVJ got some great first birthday presents!  Great Auntie SC bought MVJ a Baby Stella doll and my Mom and I bought her a few accessories.  I was planning on buying her her first cabbage patch, but since she already has this doll now, it just makes sense.  Plus, I am in love with her new "baby".  I love that she's all soft and squishy and her paci (and I'm guessing parts of her other accessories) are magnetic.  Supper was at a fabulous mexican restaurant: Los Olivos.  Yum-o.  Of course I didn't have much of a chance to savor my supper with very busy MVJ.  She loved the mariachi band, though, and was at least kept entertained!  She loved the tortillas and TRIED to eat Daddy and Mommy's meals.  We had a big pinochle tourney for fun with winners and losers tables.  Losers switched partners while the winners stayed with theirs.  My mom and aunt S dominated the evening.  We celebrated New Years on ND time because we were all so tired!  I fell asleep before then even - they had to wake me up for the toast!

On Friday, JJ and I were able to check out the campus of the med. school he would be interviewing at less than two weeks later.  We got there lickity-split, so that was nice and it was even somewhat outside "The City", which was a bonus.  Then JJ and I went to Sherlock Holmes with cousins C and T while the grandparents babysat!  We enjoyed it - JJ always knows the plot lines minutes into the movie and I am always caught up in every fake plot and non-right clues!  I am always thoroughly surprised and JJ is always thoroughly satisfied with himself!  Great for both of us!  We ate outdoors Friday evening and it was just beautiful.  My aunt and uncle have a little outdoor heater that makes it just perfect.  MVJ ate a ton of potatoes and more lefse and oranges/tangerines/whatever!  We had our official pinochle tourney this night where we kept score and had prizes!  My Dad won with the highest score and my uncle lost with the lowest.  It was a fun night either way!  We turned in early to get all packed up - and were slightly nervous at the bulkiness of our bags, sure that they were over 50 pounds!

Saturday was our departure day, but it wasn't until later in the evening.  We headed to a train park in Scottsdale that we knew would be a hit with my Grandpa.  It is run by a club interested in old trains.  They even had a mini train to ride around.  MVJ loved it - until the tunnel - then she just about flung me backwards trying to get as close as she could to me!  We got to try out the C's hiking backpack.  MVJ LOVED IT.  We WILL be buying one for ourselves or using theirs later.  JJ also said it was very comfortable and he felt like she was completely secure -- two definite plusses!  After some In-n-Out burger, we headed back to the airport.  The plane was a little late, but we made it back to the Bizzo in time to pretty much head right to bed.

We basically woke up, got dressed, and headed out.  We just needed to be HOME for a little bit before I had to return to work.  It was a fabulous trip, but we were gone from our house for 10 action-packed days.  Let's just say MVJ slept for 13 hours straight Sunday night!    

AZ... or half of it anyways...

Ok, like I said, we *tried* to head to AZ on the 26th.  I've written, deleted, written, deleted a few times and I can't quite get the wording right.  So here's the very short version of what happened:

We left three hours late, sat on the runway for another three hours and then they said, "We won't be leaving."  We deplaned, slept for a little bit, got up and did it all over again, but this time we left.  YAY!

Madeline was a champ through this whole experience.  I thought she would be screaming, restless, hungry, etc. but she was SO GOOD, along with the many other babies on this flight.  Grandma K helped walk her around and she took a nice nap (both ways).

Because of the whole coming a day later, we missed the AZ Cardinals game my uncle DC got us tickets for.  Boo.  We headed to the C house after landing and organizing vehicles.  We enjoyed delicious chili and cornbread.  MVJ ate a TON of cornbread!  She even got to open some early presents; great auntie SC was just too excited to wait!  : )  MVJ was spoiled a ton and LOVED spending time with Gma and Gpa K, Uncle W, his girlfriend S, and cousins T and C.  It was the first time she met T and C and she just loved them!  I was so happy because MVJ has been known to be quite clingy.

Monday the boys went golfing, some people went to tour Blood Systems, Inc (my Mom and aunt S both used to work for them and DC is the current pres.), and I got to go SHOPPING!  Woohoo!  Great auntie S bought a baby walker toy for her grandson CDS but MVJ took her turns in it too and loved it!  It was so funny to watch C in it because he would shake his shoulders and dance in it to get moving!  Then we had professional pics by a beautiful lake with lots of ducks.  After that we celebrated Christmas with a white elephant gift exchange.  Probably the most "memorable" gift was a bright pink bra signed and kissed by one of the Tempe Twelve that came along with a calendar of the Tempe Twelve, which my uncle DC opened and tried his darnedest to market for someone else to steal!

Tuesday we spent some more time shopping and hanging out.  We ate at this very fun place called Pinnacle Peak.  It has a cowboy-grill type theme and stuffy suits are NOT allowed.  Knowing this, D and S brought a bunch of ties for the boys to put on.  Our waiter came around and cut them all off!  Auntie S also ordered her steak "well done".  They brought out an old pair of cowboy boots for her.  : )  After eating, J went home with MVJ, C went home with C-baby and S went home with my grandparents while the rest of us hit up a AZ Coyotes game (vs. the Vancouver Canucks).  It was a great game to go to because it ended with a shootout where the Coyotes won with the last shooter!  So fun!  We also had fabulous seats - a few rows up at center ice!

Wednesday brought my brother and S's return to the Bizzo.  We were so thankful for the time we could all be together.  My fam (JJ, MVJ and my parents) and DC headed to Sedona.  We were glad we left early because after taking in some breathtaking views, a fog settled in and soon after lunch it began snowing!  We told D he went out of his way to make us feel at home!  It was a miniblizzard and there were tons of people in the ditch.  Again MVJ did such a good job - sleeping almost the whole way there and back!

The whole trip MVJ took great naps - most of them in the C's bedroom - and often winding up in odd positions.  I think she likes the boundaries of her crib or pack 'n play.  We will often find her scrunched along one of the sides or in a corner.  In her attempt to find boundaries, we'd peak in and find her by the dresser or even under the bed!  (I did wake her up to rescue her from that particular position!)  She also was a great eater.  She tried just about anything and everything enjoying fresh fruit (tangerines I think) picked off the neighbor's trees, Great Gma's lefse, cornbread, scrambled eggs, pancakes, etc.  She was not such a fan of her baby food.  Stinkerpants -- but again -- I'm so excited that she's moving from one phase to another.  There are definite plusses and minuses to her moving from baby food to big girl food!

Phew!  Only half the week and already I feel like you (and I) need a break... more to come!

Been...sooo...long!

Hey folks out there in internetland!  Sorry that it's been so long!  I have a variety of things to blame, namely: for some reason our wireless internet was not working, for some reason my husband feels like he has dibs on our desktop to play WOW, for some reason December was REALLY busy (but in a good way).  So.  Here is my first blog post in over a month.  I have lots to update on.  I'll TRY to separate them into different posts on different evenings so you don't get overwhelmed.  Deal?  Deal.  Because really, let's be honest, I don't read those SUPERlong posts any more than you do. 

Work: So in December I had a crazy number of meetings and I got through them, yay!  Now I've had a few no-shows and that's making me not so happy.  What can you do?  I do the best I can to help parents be prepared (send documents beforehand so parents can come with questions, call to remind about meetings, email about meetings (at times), send a "prior notice" in writing to officially remind them!, etc) and I don't *think* I'm too intimidating that parents want to stay away!  Ooooh!  And I'm getting a smartboard!  I'm very excited!  But I don't know much about them, so am looking forward to the (mandatory) training coming up once a month until the end of the school year.

Travel: We headed to Fargo the 22nd of Dec. to hang out with the Fargo J's and even meet up with the F's.  YAY!  Friend TAF is so beautiful as she prepares to have their first baby later THIS MONTH.... CRAZY!  I'M YELLING!  Ok, ok, back to my normal typing voice...  The J's are always awesome hosts and we love getting the chance to hang out with them, however busy our combined four kids make the visit!  Then, on the 23rd we headed to Bismarck to hang out with my family, my uncle DS and his kiddos (CS and TS) and grandkiddo (CS's son CS -- that could get confusing!  How about my cousin is CLS and her child is CDS plus hopefully you'll be able to distinguish between what a 20-something is doing vs. a 5 month old!), and my grandparents.  We had a white elephant exchange and ate tons of food!  THEN, on Dec. 26th we headed to AZ (or so we thought!).  More on that later. 

MVJ: You knew it was coming, I couldn't get through a post without talking about my beautiful baby girl.  Who's not such a baby anymore.  Single tear.  My baby is ELEVEN months old!  Gerber refers to her as a TODDLER.  She had EIGHT teeth.  Hooboy... this change stuff is tough on this momma!  But of course, I want her to grow and change and do new fun things.  More on HER later as well!

JJ: JJ has been very busy interviewing ('tis the season) for med. schools.  This is a big learning experience for both of us.  We are just trying to rest in God's peace and promise to be with us through this.  We (really I should be saying I at this point --- JJ would be saying, "Why do you keep saying "we", do you have a turd in your pocket?"  Yes, that is MY husband, future MD (or DO).) know that God's plan is SO MUCH BETTER than what we can imagine, I just have certain thoughts of what might be nice RIGHT NOW!  : )  So, pray for us.  Thanks!

What have YOU been up to?