Protesting Lungs

I think I did too much today and my lungs are protesting a little. They say 'you're still sick so take a chill pill!' They first protested after I cleared off the patio. Niki keeps getting wrapped around things, but now there's nothing to get wrapped around. But I guess breathing in all that cold air is a problem for my lungs. I guess I didn't learn my lesson because I later went to walmart. That wasn't as bad, though, seeing as I was inside. Plus, we really need to eat...really.

About eating - Brandon bought a chick-fil-a party tray so that he could get a free gallon of tea. We're still eating this stupid chicken AND he hasn't even taken a sip of the tea! I love Chick-fil-a, but there is a limit to my love and the third day is about it.

Colby has been playing with his toys today. But, Colby has discovered that he can throw things behind the couch - blocks, cups, paper, anything - so we had to put our blocks away for a while today. He hasn't been eating well for dinner. I guess he hasn't been too hungry, though I'm not sure why...maybe too much juice...hmmm...there's a thought.

Pictures and Updates

Today I went to the urgent care office in Blacksburg to get my lungs checked out. I've been miserable for the last couple of days because I couldn't stop coughing and nothing was helping. After my muscles were completely sore and I thought I couldn't possibly cough another cough I was diagnosed with a lower respitory infection. The doc gave me antibiotics and a steroid to stop the coughing. I've felt SOOO much better since taking them about 8 hours ago.

I just want to say that there's something so interesting about the Blacksburg urgent care when it's full of locals.

Okay, so I found my camera cable, so here's some pictures!Here's Colby eating his first sucker. What a mess!

Colby playing with Christmas toys. Merry Christmas!

Colby playing in the snow. Check out the snowsuit!

Niki and Naps

Still not feeling well. I now have a nasty cough that just won't quit and I officially haven't done anything around the house yet. I haven't wrapped a single present or anything.

So a new development in the saga of Niki...she broke her collar and we had to purchase a new one. I swear that dog can break anything. Brandy was was never this much trouble.

Colby's doing well. We can't seem to get the nap thing down. I want him to take a nap right after lunch like he does at daycare, but we've not been successful at getting him down without a fight, which usually involves him throwing his juice cup over the side of the crib and us having to eventually go back in to get it. Right now I'm giving him two minutes of cry time every time he throws the cup over before I go get it. Today I had to go get it about 4 times. I'm hoping the routine will take hold if I stay consistent. Here's hoping, but he is an extremely willful child. He'll be one of those kids who when told to stay off the wet floor will put one toe on it just to see what the reaction is. Baby number two would have to be an angel compared to Colby....right?

I was going to post some pictures, but I can't find my cable :-( We bought Colby some adorable cowboy boots, put him in a snowsuit and gloves and took him out yesterday evening. He LOVED it! He especially liked slinging the snow around. He pretty much stayed on the sidewalk. He attempted to walk on the snow, but only managed to fall, which was fine because daddy was there to pick him up. It was great to hear him giggling and see him playing with his first real snow.

We decided on a course of action for our new wayward pup. She's been jumping the fence like there's no tomorrow and we're concerned that she will try to get at someones fresh deer kill and they'll decide they'd like to kill her too. Or that she'll mess with the chickens down the road. So we bought a stake and put her on a really long line (she can go pretty much anywhere in the back yard). It's pretty bad that in the middle of a fenced yard we still have to tie her up. We're hoping we can teach her not to jump the fence so we won't have to do that, but until then for her own safety that's what we have to do.

So I haven't been feeling well, so I went to the doctor. Official diagnosis...cold. Thanks doc.

Snow Bound

On Friday we didn't have any school due to the largest snowstorm I think I've ever seen. Which means we started break a day early, but since I didn't have the foresight to grab things out of my room or out of the fridge I had to drive over before it started snowing to get things. It was a good thing we didn't have school because it started snowing at 1:30 and within an hour everything including the roads were covered. I don't even want to imagine busses trying to take kids home under those conditions.

This morning we had over 13 inches of snow and as I type it's snowing again. Some places got thunder snow and because of that they had about 2 feet of snow. We were supposed to have the police party, but it got rescheduled for January due to the weather. And before you start wondering - no we didn't take Colby out in the snow - It's up to his waist and at the first step he would fall. Maybe if the next snowfall is not as much we'll get him some snow boots and take him out.

Speaking of Colby, he has not been a good napper the last couple of days. Yesterday it took me almost yelling at him to make him lay down and take a nap. Today we're still trying to get him down (it's now 3:30 and we started this process at 2:30).

Today I made cookies while we were snowbound...yum!

Snow, Snow, Snow

So it might snow tomorrow. Rumors are floating around that we might get out of school early. I'm down with that, but if I don't get to wear my pretty dress on Saturday, I'm going to be very sad.

So Colby slept last night from 6pm to 7am waking up only once around 5am because he was thirsty. He was all smiles this morning too. I didn't give him any toys to play with that he couldn't put in the car and I made sure he wasn't hungry by giving him grapes. He ran into daycare ready to go. Maybe he was all screwed up with the time change and it getting darker earlier...who knows...but I'm glad to have my happy baby back :-)

World Class Temper Tantrums

Colby has learned how to throw world class temper tantrums. This morning he was playing with the vaccum cleaner - fine whatever - but it was time to go to school and when I put it away he threw himself on the floor and screamed and kicked. I went to the other room and sat down and when he realized no one was paying attention, he followed me and threw himself on the floor again and kept screaming. This evening he was standing between the couch and the coffee table and when he went to throw himself onto the floor to cry he banged his head on the coffee table and cracked the wood on one of the leafs (sorry daddy). When Colby's teacher at daycare asked if I was ready for this week at school to be over, I had to weigh my options - crying, screaming, kicking baby or 9th Graders? It was a tough call. Lets just say that now I understand how a mom could lose it and scream at their child. It is certainly frustrating to deal with it, but thankfully Colby went to bed at 6p.m. so I was able to get a little peace and quiet and make my burritos for school tomorrow.

This weekend in the police officer banquet. I bought a new dress - it's a blue mock halter. I hope it looks smashing on me - I want to look as good as Brandon looks normally so that his officer buddies aren't like "whoa" in a bad, disapproving way. I'm looking forward to no screaming toddlers, a romantic slow dance and maybe some cheezy cop songs (think "Bad Boys") :-)

Sick Babies and Barking Dogs

For the last couple of days Colby has been sick. On Thursday and today we had to pick him up from daycare. Yesterday he was running a low grade fever, but he threw up twice and looked completely miserable. The doctor said he had a virus. He seemed better this morning, but daycare called and said he was running a fever and not eating well so we went and got him again. I think he'll be back to his old self tomorrow - at least I hope so since I'm attending an English teacher brunch at our department heads house. Cranky babies are not fun babies :-)

So the dogs are barking a lot. It's super annoying. I mean sometimes Brandy would wake me up at night barking, but the two of them together...they're barking at everything! And Niki is a bit mischevious. She's gotten into the food bin twice. We had to move it onto the porch and put rocks on it so that she wouldn't get into it. And she dug up the peach tree Brandon planted in the back yard. He replanted it, but I guess we'll see if it survived in the spring. And Brandy is certainly the ruler of the yard. I watched her take Niki by the throat and throw her down until she submitted to her authority. It's a good thing that I'm the pack leader. All I have to do is say one harsh word to Brandy and she's cowering, no smackdowns needed.

New Additon - Not a Baby!

We have a new addition to our family. Last week a student of mine said she was trying to get rid of her dog. Before I even thought about my words, an offer to take her dog popped out of my mouth. So yesterday her dad brought her to school and she got to meet Brandy. The new dog is named Niki and she's supposedly an Akita husky (don't think Alaskan husky - completely different), but I'm not sure. She's the same size as Brandy, but she's white and black with pointy ears like a german shepherd. Niki and Brandy got into a fight last night and I was concerned, but a teacher at school pointed out that dogs have to establish who's the boss. I think Brandy asserted herself as boss because Niki was definately bleeding more (not terrible or anything, but she got her paw torn up and got blood all over the house before I realized she was bleeding). After the fight Niki slept in the laundry room and all seemed better in the morning. I found out this morning that the student that gave me Niki was moving to Lousiana, which I'm assuming is why she was trying to find her a new home. We'll see how this adventure goes, but I'm not going to open my big mouth ever again!

Colby hasn't gotten any more bite log entries, but cross your fingers because that could definately change by tomorrow. He's been good this week except for not sleeping well on Monday night (it happens I suppose). He's been playing with his toys really well and eating well - he's an expert with a spoon and fork (at least he thinks so :-) ) He tried to pull some ornaments off the tree today, but I stopped him before there was any serious harm. All is well in Colbyland.

Christmasy Day

Today was a good day. We finished watching Romeo and Juliet in class which gave me time to finish grading papers that have stacked up over the course of a couple of weeks. Plus I love the Baz Luhrman Romeo and Juliet and not to mention Leonardo DiCaprio. It sounds juvenile but I "heart" Leonardo :-)

Colby went back to his old classroom because they needed his current room for an expanding group of 2-year-olds. All the excitement of moving meant that Colby didn't take a nap and he went to bed early tonight. When he started getting frustrated with his toys, that was the signal to go get the sippy cup and put the pj's on.

I think tonight I was getting in the Christmas mood. I decided to finish decorating the front porch and I even wrapped a few presents. I'm excited about Christmas this year for some reason. Maybe it's because Colby is getting older and he can do more about opening presents and such. Or maybe I'm just excited to give presents :-)

Eye Troubles

So, this week has been a little crazy. On Wednesday on the way home my eyes started to become sensitive to the outside light, which was crazy because it was cloudy and rainy and not at all bright. By the time I went to bed, I couldn't even look at the TV and every time my pupil adjusted to the light it felt really weird. In the morning I couldn't look at any light and it was crazy just trying to take a shower. I realized pretty quick that I couldn't drive anywhere muchless teach, so I called in sick and then I called Brandon to ask him to come home immediately (he had worked the night shift Wed. night and was still in Roanoke and was supposed to stay for court). Brandon took me my regular doctor who said there was something on my eye and gave me some numbing drops. I don't know what was in that drop, but it was heavenly and I was able to drive myself to the opthomologist. Now, at the opthomologist office I was the youngest patient by at least 40 years so everyone was kind of staring at me and unfortunately I was an emergancy appointment, so they made me wait for a long while. When I finally got seen, the opthomologist said I have an ulcer on my eye. He said my contacts dried my eyes out and made it possible for bacteria to get in my eye and cause an ulcer. He gave me antibiotic drops which I've been using ever since.

The next day at school all of my students were stunned by my still bloodshot eyes. I told them I got turned into a vampire :-) And some kids joked about what drugs I was on, which wasn't as funny. The good news is, I'm feeling 100 times better and am no longer sensitive to light. I went back to the opthomologist yesterday and again I was 50 years younger than everyone and I had to wait FOREVER. I'm a fast reader, but I shouldn't be able to read over 100 pages of a book while I'm waiting. The good news is, he said my eye was healing well, but if I ever want to stop taking drops for dry eyes, I may have to go back to glasses only. I attempted to explain to Brandon that my glasses make me feel ugly and that I might have to purchase some other glasses that I really LOVE, but I got no sympathy from him (of course he's never had glasses, so what can I expect?).

Anyway, today I still look a little like a vampire, but everything is good. It snowed today while we put up our Christmas tree. Just in case you're curious, the tree is behind the loveseat and a couple of plastic boxes so Colby isn't tempted to pull it down or play with the ornaments. He did a good job putting on candycanes today, though!

My Complaint

I don't know how many people actually read this blog because nobody ever comments, but if you're reading this you know that sometimes I get a little complaining on my blog. Lately I've been trying to post the good and the bad without coming off as complaining. Right now, however, I'm going to post a complaint, so if you don't want to read it, you should press the BACK button now...you're still here? OK....here it is...after Brandon finished police academy I wish that they'd told the spouses that being a police officer's wife can be extremely lonely. On the days when he works I am pretty much a single mom doing laundry, chasing Colby around, loading the dishwasher, making breakfast, lunch and dinner, etc, etc. Sometimes I see Brandon after he's been working for a couple of days and I'm like whoa, who is that handsome guy. So there you have it. My complaint.

Oh, and Colby bit me today when I took him to the rec center so we could get out of the house. Here I am trying to be mom of the year by taking him somewhere where he can run around and he bites me...awesome.

Watch Out for a Blizzard (Not the ice cream kind!)

Thanksgiving was great. We cooked, we ate, we chilled. I wish we'd eaten a little sooner, 5p.m. is a little late for eating all that food, but it was still good.

In my last post I said I wasn't going shopping today, but I lied. I went to exactly two places (Lowes and Walmart) and I was out for almost exactly an hour. I couldn't pass up 99cent poinesettias, which is what got me out in the first place, but I also needed some christmas lights and to return a movie.

The weather today is not great. It's so windy I had to take down my wind chime because it was getting annoying. And its so cold that the heat keeps coming on and I'm cold even after a hot, steamy shower. I think today is going to be an indication of how our winter is going to be. All I'm saying is - watch out for a blizzard.

Thanksgiving Break!

I think that yesterday was the fastest I've gotten out of school in a while. The bell rang, I turned off my computer, went upstairs for my purse and coat and then said bye to everyone. I think I was in the parking lot 8 minutes after the release bell for the students. I didn't have anything exciting to get home to, but I was just so ready for Thanksgiving break that I didn't want to linger at school. I had to sign the bite log again for Colby, but even that didn't bother me. All I could think of was "I don't have to be at school for five days!" After dinner we went to the rec center so that Colby could run around the track, but I think he was tired because he kept sitting down. Today I have nothing on my calander exept to clean up and tomorrow all I have to do is make two things and then I'm free to enjoy myself. My calander is clear on Friday (I'm not going shopping!), Saturday and Sunday, so if you're reading this and you're in town, give me a call and we'll meet up!

One damper on my holiday is that my step-grandmother died on Monday night (my biological grandmother died when my mom was a kid from breast cancer and my grandpa remarried). She hadn't been doing well for a while and my grandpa took the best care of her that he could, but it was just a matter of time. But I see it this way - she's not suffering anymore and Grandpa doesn't have to be stressed any more. However, I think he's going to be lonely, which makes me sad for him :-(

Bite Log

Today we had our annual Thanksgiving feast in the English pod. The food, which was of course delicious, is one of the many reasons I love my department. Plus, we know what we're doing and we do it damn well :-)

I did my Thanksgiving shopping today. Suprisingly enough, Walmart wasn't overcrowded and there were cashiers just standing around so I got in and out without a fussy Colby. Actually he was great tonight. He ate some veggies and fruit while I ate veggies and chicken, he played for a while (I can't make him understand that the VCR is not a toy, though), he took a bath and went right to bed. Lately at bedtime he's been walking straight to his bed with no problems.

However...there is the bite log. Last week I didn't have to sign the log at all, so I thought that maybe we were on the right track. Then today happened. I had to sign for three bites! She said it was right before nap time, so maybe he was just cranky, but I'm sure nobody has as many entries in the bite log as Colby and it's terribly embarressing to have to sign it! But, on a positive note he hasn't bitten Brandon and I in a long time.

My Saturday

This weekend we are hanging out with my parents. As we speak I am typing on my mom's brand new laptop. I guess we're just a laptop family because between me, Brandon, my parents and sister we have four laptops :-) Almost one for each person! Today we spent some time cleaning up my parents' back yard. During the storm a couple of weeks ago, all the trash and every single stinking pine needle from around my parents' house ended up in their yard. Their neighbors have a six foot privacy fence which stopped the debris right in my parents' yard. It smelled rotten and we made two huge piles at the road of pine needles and trash. My parents also have a boat that floated off the trailer which we had to put back on, but that was much easier than I expected. After cleaning the yard for a couple hours, I went to get my hair trimmed and then my mom, Michele and I went shopping. I discovered that I am offically getting old. I didn't like anything that was in the juniors section of JCPenny, which is where I used to live when I was in high school and early college. It all looks either grungy or ghetto-fabulous. Who really wears that stuff? I also noted that all the maniquins at those teen stores in the mall had some really skanky outfits for sale. But I wonder if they're really skanky or if I'm just old. Maybe both. I just know that if I have a daughter in the future, we will have differing thoughts on clothes. Maybe by then the trend will go toward covering everything up? Here's hoping.

Diaper Rash :-(

Colby has this crazy diaper rash that I'm not sure is diaper rash. It's in the diaper area, but a lot of it is on his leg, so I'm taking him to the doctor. Lets just say he's been super cranky lately and diaper changes are like I'm battling Conan the Barbarian, screams and all. I hope the doc can tell me whats wrong and more importantly tell me how to fix it.

In other news, I'm heading home this weekend to visit my parents. I don't know if they're heat will be on or not, though. Since all the ductwork got wet last week, they have to get it replaced, but I'm not sure if it will have been done by then. But that's okay. It's certianly not going to be as cold there as it is here in Radford. Lets just say in Radford, more often then not I have to scrape my car windows before I leave in the morning, which I'm sure is something my parents haven't done since the dead of last winter...maybe :-) I'm supposed to go shopping with my mom and sister, so I'm excited about that.

Also, halfway through Romeo and Juliet in class. We're right at Act III where crap hits the fan and all that lovey-dovey mush that my boys hate so much flies right out the window. Fun times!

Week in Review

I finally have time to leave a post...amazing! This week has been a bit of a whirlwind. I had class on Monday, bible study on Tuesday, parent/teacher conferences on Thursday and Friday. I only met with 8 parents, which is disappointing because I have about 55 students. But the parents I met were fantastic and very much in tune with what was going on. And because I didn't have many parents visiting me (the average was one an hour) I had plenty of time to make copies and organize my desk. You should have seen the massive craziness that was my desk. Now I can actually see my desk and not be overwhelmed when I look at it.

So this week we had the remnants of Hurrican Ida paying a visit. It rained for two days straight here. And I mean, there was no break in the rain. It only cause some minor flooding around here (but not at our house - we don't live anywhere near a flood plain), but my parents got flooded out. Everything they had to replace after Hurricane Isabell, they're going to have to replace again except for the carpet in their bedroom. Thankfully the water didn't get as high as it did during Isabell and they didn't get water IN the house, just under the house where they have insulation and duct work to replace.

This weekend looks like it's going to be beautiful. Today I'm going for a walk with Renee at the park and tomorrow I'll be teaching some ladies how to crochet. Which means I need to buckle down and clean the house. I'm taking a break to write this post because I just mowed the front yard. Brandon has known for weeks that I would like the yard mowed one last time before winter, but for some reason this has not led to action. He should know by now that if he doesn't want me to do what he SHOULD be doing, he should not procratinate forever because I'm stubborn.

My Week...

So this past week has been okay. By the grace of God I got my grades done. It's always amazing that I have a few students who act so clueless when they find out that they failed the class. They always wonder how that happened. They say 'Gee whiz, I didn't know that not doing my work would make me fail.' Most of my kids did okay, though. I only had five A's, which is sort of disappointing. We have a ten point spread for each letter grade, so you'd think it wouldn't be that hard to get an A. It's so frustrating when they're happy with a D. How do you get a student in this "whatever" generation to try and to be unsatisfied with barely passing? You probably don't have any answers for me, but these are the things that run through my mind on a weekly basis.

We started Romeo and Juliet this week. I have some students that are getting into it, but I have so many boys and they're like 'Why do you have to tourture us like this, Mrs. Gill!' I have the play on CD, so we listen to it a lot especially in the beginning. FYI, professional actors do not make great readers on CD. Joseph Feinnes is the voice of Romeo (he's the guy that plays Shakespeare in the movie Shakespeare in Love) and he's terrible! His sad, mopey, over-the-top emotional voice makes it really hard for my boys to relate, which makes it that much harder for me.

Last night we went to Roanoke for a going away party for a guy Brandon works with. He's in the navy researve and is being called up for a tour in Afganistan. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings and I got to meet a lot of the people Brandon works with. They are a really great group of men, but they are the drinkingest group of people I ever met. I think Brandon and I were the only two people that didn't have an alcholoic beverage. Colby was pretty good last night. He didn't like waiting around for a table, but once he was settled in a high chair, he was good. He stayed up way too late and this morning he was extra cranky. We made him take a nap around 9a.m., which is very early for him. Usually nap time is around 11a.m. or sometimes 1p.m. Oh well, I guess that means we can go do some chores outside a little earlier in the day, though as you might notice, I'm sitting here typing a blog entry instead :-)

BTW...GO HOKIES!!

Lions, Tigers, Vultures Oh My?

I have bad luck when it comes to birds and the Rav4. Several years ago I hit an osprey or vulture on my way to work and tonight a turkey vulture came running down the road and almost hit the Rav. Yeah I said running. It was sort of crazy!

Today I voted. And tomorrow I will rejoice in the fact that I will no longer see any more commercials!! I won't tell you how I voted - lets just say my father-in-law would be suprised.

Halloween

Halloween was pretty uneventful at my house. I only had three visitors and one was a really creepy kid with black fabric over his face who couldn't even bother to say trick or treat. I couldn't figure out how to our light on. It's one of those motion sensor lights that CAN stay on, but I don't know how to do that. So people passed the house even though I had a ton of candy to give out. And no, Colby and I didn't go trick or treating. He's too little and I sure don't need the candy.

Today at school the kids had a two hour early release so that the teachers could grade papers. I swear those research papers are going to be the death of me. Just reading them makes me want to tear my eyes out. I just hope that by grading these papers and returning them with some serious (and sometimes scathing) remarks will help them in the future, otherwise I don't know why I do this to myself. Today we also started in on Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet. I can't wait to start reading it again! I know I've taught it for six years now, but somehow it never seems to get old. Fun times!

Not Feeling Well, But the Show Goes On

I'm not feeling well at all. Yesterday my nose was so runny that I wanted to just put a cotton ball up there. Today I'm so clogged that I don't even feel like my head is connected to my body. But life goes on. This morning I got up and made some fudge to take to school. I was at school for two blocks plus lunch - I graded papers (caught two plaigarizers), I updated grades, I ate a delicious lunch (the English teachers had a Halloween potluck) and I got my 3rd Block started before leaving to take Colby to his doctors appointment in Roanoke. The doctors appointment was pretty uneventful. He got the flu shot (not the swine flu shot) and was sort of cranky about riding in the car for two hours, but not bad. We came home chilled for a little while before I put on his Halloween costume to head down the downtown Radford. They have a downtown trick-or-treat. My church had an entire parking lot of games and such, so we went down to say hi to everyone. We didn't get any treats mostly because Colby doesn't care and I don't want any candy around here. I just wanted to dress him up and take him out. If you can't tell in the picture, he was a dragon :-) We came home and just hung out after that. He was pretty peaceful and when it was time to go to bed, he went without a fuss. Not bad for not feeling well.

Whew...

Today was crazy from start to finish. Colby was really cranky this morning. He kept crying and wanting to be picked up and was like "I need to make my lunch!" I'm good, but I'm not that good - I can't put wheat thins in a bag with one hand. The day kept on like that. My kids had research papers due today so I heard "I'm not done!" and "How do I do a bibliography?" It's not like we haven't been working on them since the beginning of October and we've been over bibliography about 3 million times! When I started reading said research papers they were abismal. On one paper all I wrote was "What is this?!" because it clearly wasn't a research paper. On another paper after he explained for the second time where Jamaica is I wrote "I KNOW WHERE JAMAICA IS!!!!!" I also caught two official plaigarizers. Awesome. Then when Colby and I got home he continued to fuss and throw peas on the floor. We somehow made it to parenting class and he was okay there, but when we got home it was full on tantrum time. We had barely walked through the door and he was on the floor face down screaming. He didn't want to change his diaper, he didn't want to put on his pjs and he didn't want to stay still for either. As I speak, I'm glad to be on the couch not listening to anything but a rerun of NCIS.

Oh. I've started watching the HBO series TruBlood. One of the English teachers loaned it to me. Let me just say that HBO certainly operates by different rules and I don't think I'm missing anything by not having it. I like the show alright, but I could do without the graphic content.

Sleeping, Doctors and Cats

I did not sleep well last night. I kept dreaming about some really horrible things over and over again. Plus I couldn't breathe because my nose was all stuffy. I almost fell asleep during 4th Block today. Thank goodness for candy corn (otherwise known as a sugar shot).

I got annoyed today because I tried to move Colby to a pediatrician down here in Radford but they weren't taking any more patients. So I still have to haul him up to Roanoke for his 18 month appointment on the 30th :-(

Lately I've been seeing a lot of cats around our house. I need to call the humane society to see if I can get some traps. Apparently I can have them spayed or neutered and then re-released. I don't mind them being there, but I don't want any more cats, so maybe I'll try it out.

Bite Log Again

Well, I had to sign the bite log again today. Colby's been doing really good at him. He pressed his lips up against my arm a couple of times without biting this evening, but it seems at daycare he forgets that he's not supposed to bite. At least today's bite was over a book. I can deal with that :-)

So the new laptop is awesome, but I can't figure out how to get my iTunes songs off of my other laptop and onto the new one - I'm still working on it. I love how fast the new one is. It is astounding sometimes.

This week at school we've been doing the writing SOL's for the 11th Graders. Of course my 3rd block doesn't seem to understand that they need to be quiet while students are writing their essays. Even with six or seven absent students, I had to send out two students because they wouldn't stop talking. Sometimes it's really frustrating to deal with high schoolers, especially the ones I deal with regularly. At home they don't get taught manners, they don't have male role models and they don't have a lot of respect for women. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my job, especially when the light turns on or they're interested in what we're doing, but sometimes they just wear me out. I think we just all need a break. We haven't had a break since Labor day and won't get one until Nov. 2 when we have an early release. Students are getting on their teachers' nerves and each others' nerves. The other day it just felt like negative feelings were just building and today the dam just broke and we had two major fights (one involving lots of blood). You'd think that with all these kids out with swine flu it would be calmer, but you'd be wrong.

But...guess what? It's almost Friday, which means it's almost the weekend! Yay!

New Laptop!!

Guess what guys! I'm writing this post from a brand new laptop as I sit on my couch watching TV. I went to wake Brandon up yesterday so that he didn't sleep too much - I didn't want him to not be able to sleep that night - and discovered him playing with the new laptop. He'd told me it would be in in a couple of weeks, but that sneaker lied! At any rate, I'm really enjoying the new laptop...now if only we could rememeber the password for the wireless internet.

In other news, I had to sign the bite log at daycare not once but twice today. He'd been doing so good, but I guess today he decided to make up for lost time.

Discipline Adventures

The other day we pulled out the pack and play so that we could use it as our timeout spot for Colby. Since Friday, he's been in timeout about 10 times for climbing on the coffee table, but he's getting a little better about getting down when I tell him "no." Oh, and last week at daycare, I only had to sign the bite log once, but only because he got bitten, not be because he bit :-)

This morning I went out to JCPenny's to use my gift cards. Colby is now a handful to take shopping, but I still ended up buying one shirt, two sweaters, and a pair of pants with only one small meltdown. We also took a stroll through the mall and I now have some ideas on what to get people for Christmas, so that's good :-)

Oh, and if you're reading this and considering what to get Colby for Christmas - NO BIG TOYS. Our house is too small and too full for any more big toys. Oh, and he's wearing 24 months/2T if you want to buy clothes :-)

Almost forgot...Brandy went to doggy daycare at school yesterday. Apparently she just walked around and crawled in people's laps so that they would pet her. I didn't hear anything negative, only positive :-)

VT plays GT today. It's a big game and will determine if we stay #4 or not. GO HOKIES!!!

Birthday and Christmas

Well gang, I had a fabulous birthday. My parents arrived early on Saturday and we then went to the VT vs. Boston College game. It rained on the way over to Christiansburg to meet up with Brandon's dad, but once we pulled into Blacksburg we didn't get a single raindrop. The game was good, a little one-sided, but good. Brandon and I got our usual shaved ice (which was sort of odd because it wasn't warm outside) and my parents enjoyed themselves (well, at least my mom did :-) ). After the game we went home to spend some time together with Colby and then we went to Sal's to eat dinner. I finished eating those leftovers on Tuesday...yum :-) On Sunday we all got up, ate an awesome breakfast of bacon, egg, and cheese buiscuts. That afternoon Brandon took me to Coldstone and we spent some time with his family and continued the celebration.

This week at school hasn't been particularly noteworthy. My students were their usual rambunctious selves. I called a few more parents and whatnot. My muscular dystrophie (sp?) kid was finally healthy enough to return to school, so I go to meet him for the first time. He seems pretty cool and he has a pretty pimped out ride. It's not a van, it's like a smallish SUV that opens up on the side to let his wheelchair out. Our small animal class at school has a doggy daycare so Brandy is going to try that out tomorrow. I'm sure she's going to have fun :-)

Oh...and guess what Brandon did...he got us a "Chirstmas Present." It's going to be delivered to the Best Buy in Roanoke sometime soon! I can't wait to be blogging from my couch and not in the closet!

Weekend of Non-Research

I'm really excited this weekend! Tomorrow the teachers are providing cake for my birthday - we all sign up to bring in cake for someone's birthday so that everyone gets cake for their special day. And then on Saturday I'm going to the VT vs. Boston College game. I'm excited that I'm going, but not that excited about the possibility of rain, though they're saying that it will rain in the morning, so I'm hoping for a soggy kickoff that will give way to nice weather. Also my parents and possibly my sister are coming in for the weekend, which I'm really excited about. I enjoy it when they come into town. They have tickets for the game too, so hopefully if it doesn't rain I'll get to enjoy it with them. If not I'm sure they'll enjoy hanging with Colby!

I'm also glad that tomorrow is Friday and I don't have to deal with my students for a couple of days. We're starting our research papers, which is like pulling teeth because they have never done it before and they don't immediately understand the whole concept of using index cards to write bibliography and information from sources. I don't really mind answering their questions (that's what I'm there for), but they are constantly calling my name to get my attention instead of simply raising their hands. They also have a "really important" question right when I'm in the middle of talking to someone else. Its frustrating enough that I sometimes consider changing my name :-) Maybe I'm not so frustrated with the process of writing research papers as I am with the rudeness of my students.

Oh well, I'm going to watch Vampire Diaries followed by Supernatural tonight. That will be plenty to get me relaxed and ready for another fun day of research tomorrow!

Roanoke Visit

Today I took Colby to Roanoke to visit with his UVA doctors. They said he looked great and was growing properly. Barb said that his tyrozine level was low (that's what our body turns phenylalinine into), but she wouldn't worry about it until there were several consecutive blood tests that came back low. She assured me that it wasn't anything we were doing wrong, just that it was something to be taken care of if it comes to that. I took half a day off from school, but I ended up driving to Roanoke, seeing the doctor, going to Burlington Coat Factory and driving home before my students even packed up their stuff at school. But I got an excellent nap in :-)

Here's a little heads up on what's going on in our local news. A teacher in Roanoke County is being investigated for giving a student an "obscene" book. We were discussing this among the English teachers and I found out what was in the book - bad language, some sexual refrences and some violence. The parent objected to the book after he saw his son reading it, which was weird to the parent because the child never reads. My question for the parent - if your child who never reads was reading, shouldn't you be happy about it instead of trying to fire the teacher for giving him something interesting to read? Have you ever been to a high school? No matter how much supervision a school provides there will still be cussing in the hallways and cafeteria, bad behavior in and out of school, and violence in and out of school. Have you ever read To Kill a Mockingbird, or The Outsiders, or 1984, or The Catcher in the Rye? Those books draw the same types of objections, but we still teach them. Why not applaud the teacher for getting your child to read instead of trying to crusify her? If you wonder why this book appeals to your child maybe you should look at how you're parenting, what your child is watching on TV and what sorts of video games they're playing - not the schools, who do not condone those sorts of things, but know that they happen.

Working at Work

Lately I feel like I've been working my ass off at school. I'm not really complaining because normal people go to work and they...work...imagine that :-) It's possible I didn't take my job as seriously last year, but this year I'm really focused on getting these children to learn these skills that they'll need at higher levels. I think it's wearing me out because I care more about the area now that I've lived here for a year, but I also think God has been working on me to give my best in all areas, including my job. I also think that I've realized that these kids are the future. Eventually they are going to make decisions on my behalf so I better teach them how to string sentences together and weave them into paragraphs. I better teach them how a peice of literature can expose them to new ideas. I better teach them that to get respect you have to give respect. In previous years that knowledge didn't seem to touch me, but now it does and I'm taking it really seriously.

Lately Brandon has been doing a lot of reading about becoming self-sufficient. He bought a book called Five Acres and Independance. This has put a lot of interesting ideas in his head and I say interesting because I am also intrigued. Maybe one day after I have my master's degree we'll buy five acres. Then maybe one day we'll try raising chickens, growing a real garden, build our own house...the possibilities are endless. I mentioned this to one of my co-teachers and she laughed at the thought of me living on a farm. Is it really that unbelievable? Am I that much of a city girl? Maybe one day we'll find out.

Autumn! Fall! Whatever!

The weather has been awesome! The smell of fall is in the air and some of the trees are already starting to change into those beautiful fall colors. I could have done without the frost on my windsheild this morning, but I do love the way a fall sky is super blue and the way the mountains look like when they're covered with red, orange and yellow trees.

And it's October! Where does all the time go? Jonathan, if you're reading this, your birthday present will be in the mail tomorrow. I've had it for months, but have yet to send it to you, but it's coming! And then my birthday is coming up...27 sounds so grown up, don't you think? When you're 27 your not a spring chicken anymore.

And on my birthdy, Colby will be 18 months old. He's getting so big! He moved up to the next classroom at daycare, which means I have to let his new teachers know about his PKU and everything. It's sort of a hassle, but it's okay. I did REALLY like his last teacher, so I'm sort of sad that Colby has to leave her. His last PKU test came back good - a 4 (anything under 10 is good, under 5 is excellent). Next week Colby goes to Roanoke to meet with his nutritionist and UVA doctor. I'm sure we'll make adjustments to his diet and all that jazz.

Last week was homecoming week. I am the 10th grade sponsor, so I had to supervise my students as they decorate, which was why I didn't make any posts last week. Most nights we stayed until at least 7 and when I got home I was pooped. Unfortunately I didn't have enough students that came to help. That means the walls were unfinished and everything looked tossed together. Don't get me wrong, the students that came worked really hard, but there wasn't any way to get everything done with only 4 or 5 students working. I had one girl who was a talented artist that worked on our banner all week. Because of her dedicaiton, we won the banner competition. In the locker banks I ended up posting a sign that says "Dear Class of 2012, What you see for homecoming decorations was done by a few dedicated members of your class. We hope that next year you will find your school and class spirit and help make the locker banks reflect how truly great you are." I hope some feel guilty for not helping so that next year when they are helping decorate for prom, more people will come and help.

I have a secret to confess. I really enjoy the new show on the WB called "The Vampire Diaries." I'm sure this show is directed toward teenagers, but I really like it. And apparently I'm not the only one because at least two other English teachers have made a similar confession. Another new show I enjoy - "Mercy." Old guilty pleasure: "America's Next Top Model." (And this season for top model is for "short" models...I'm sorry but if you're 5'6" or 5'7", YOU'RE NOT SHORT!!)

My Wishlist

Today I made two loaves of zuchini bread - I think I'm obsessed with it. I still can't believe that something so tasty has vegetables in it, but it does!

I'm still trying to get Brandon to buy me a netbook. He's being a bit stubborn about it, but I'm also being stubborn about getting this netbook. It's not like they cost thousands of dollars. The one I was looking at was $300. And really, who uses a desktop bought in 2000? And what's compatible with a desktop built in 2000? Nothing! So we should get a netbook. E-mail Brandon and tell him that we need one, maybe he'll listen to someone other than me! :-)

Today I did nothing of interest except for clean out the utility room and organize our linens. Oh, and I made a Christmas Wishlist. I know it's early, but I was watching NFL football (that I don't care about) so I got bored and started thinking about upcoming holidays. I must have been REALLY bored with football because when I say it was a wishlist, it really was. I mean who's going to buy me a grill? Maybe if my relatives win the lottery or something I'll get a grill, but otherwise, it'll remain on my wishlist for a while.

GO HOKIES!!

Next week is Homecoming, which means as 10th Grade Sponsor, I am in charge of the decorating of the 10th grade locker banks, showcase and banner. I get $250 to buy things. Yesterday I went to Michael's just in time for a sweet sale and today I hit Walmart. My $250 has been spent. If they need anything else, that's just too bad :-) I think it'll look cute, but we'll see. It depends on how many students show up to help.

Today Virginia Tech won 16-15! It was a nail bitter. I decided to start treking to Walmart at the very end so naturally I was sitting at a stoplight with Tyrod through that beautiful pass to Danny Cole to put us on the 3 yard line. I was cheering and waving my hands - I think the people stopped at the stoplight thought I was crazy and needed to go back on my meds, but hey! They won! GO HOKIES!!

A quick thought on parenthood - I realized the other day while talking to my husband's family that I miss being able to do what I want to do when I want to do it. I wouldn't trade Colby for anything, but honestly I do miss the freedom. It made me think that all those teenagers out there who get pregnant have no idea what they're getting themselves into and how much they'll miss their freedom when it's gone. I say if you're young, have fun and don't tie yourself down to children until you're older and have done things in your life that you enjoy, because when that little tyke comes, you have to think about them first.

Lunch & Politics

I've been buying school lunch this week and I must say, I'm pleasantly suprised. Last year I didn't buy school lunch at all, but now I see I've been missing baked sweet potatoes, spiced apples and decently tastey lasagna (not all on the same day). I'm getting my school lunch in while I can - next week it'll be salad and more salad.

Many of you may be suprised to read this, but I'm thinking of voting for McDonnell in the governor election. I know this is probably a stupid reason for voting for someone, but I generally like his more positive commercials and the fact that he has a family with teenage as well as grown up children who seem to be very supportive of his endeavor to be Virginia's governor.

Oh, and I have to give props to President Obama for calling Kanye West a jackass. I know he's the president and all, but sometimes you have to call it as you see it.

No More Arrests

So far I haven't had any more students arrested - great!

If you didn't know, I'm taking a class at Radford to work on my Master's Degree in Educational Leadership. The class I'm taking is Ciriculum Development and I thought it was going to be a bore, but the professor is making it enjoyable. The only thing I don't particularly enjoy is having to actually GO to class. In the past, my professors have made my classes online, which makes it easy to have a toddler and take classes. I remember the days when taking a three hour night class was no big deal (think Law with Dr. Haga), but with a toddler and a husband that works night shift, it's no easy task. Thankfully I have a wonderful sister-in-law who is willing to watch Colby on those nights. I don't know how I'd do this without her. I think I mentioned this before, but it's still weird to walk across campus - I still feel old. Oh, and my professor made me feel really nervous about being a principal. He pointed out that principal's serve at the superintendants pleasure and can be fired for no reason at all. I guess that's how the real world works, but as someone who is used to tenure and has a family to support, that's a scary prospect. I still think that it's what I'm supposed to do, but it makes me a little nervous to know that little tidbit of information.

Tonight I went to parenting group at church. We're learning how to raise our children to be good, godly adults and I really like it. What we learned today: Your relationship with your spouse is more important than your relationship with your children. Of course you love your children, but your marriage should come first. Our homework is to have 15 minutes of couch time with our spouses as soon as we get home. I think Brandon and I do pretty good about talking when we get home versus throwing ourselves into playing with Colby, but this week we'll make it a point to see how we're actually doing and improve if we need to. The point is to show Colby that we really do care for each other so that he will be secure in the knowledge that he doesn't need to worry about mommy and daddy and their love for each other. I think he gets that, but it never hurts to make a point to show that our relationship is important to each other.

I'm starting my diet again this weekend. I need to lose the rest of the weight that I set out to lose so that when I look in the mirror I'm not dissatisfied. It's great to wear clothes that are too loose for me now, but I still have some progress to make. Wish me luck.

Crazy Week

Okay, so last week I got to add a first to the list of teaching firsts. On Thursday I had my first student arrested in my class. Here's the story. This kid was banging on a wall I share with another teacher. I asked him to stop and when he did it again I asked him to move up one seat. He refused to move up, so I asked him to come out into the hall with me. He refused to come out into the hall and started making some very insulting comments to me. I asked school security to come so they did and he asked the kid to come with him. The kid refused so the security guy called the School Resource Officer. The SRO came down and asked him to leave with him, but instead the student told the SRO that he hit's people like him. At this point I was like OMG! The SRO started back to get him and the student started to run! I'm like holy cow! The SRO grabs him, forcibly pulls him from the classroom and tackled him in the hallway while the student was screaming obsenities. They cuffed the kid and took him directly out to a squad car. Apparently he was charged with disorderly conduct and taken to lockup. It was totally crazy. I never want to experience that ever again!

On a lighter note there was a PKU picnic in Charlottesville this past weekend. It was pretty cool to see all the kids running around and having a good time and eating foods that they knew were safe for them to eat. There was a kid there that goes to UVA! I'm so glad that there are kids with PKU that are going to quality colleges (even if it is UVA) and more or less making it in a world that makes it hard to deal with PKU. We cleaned up on door prizes too, so that was cool. We also got to reconnect with the family that lives in Pulaski that has a daughter with PKU. It's nice to know that we live so close together and we made a commitment to get together and visit sometime soon. We also got to meet the family in Bluefield, Virginia. They were really nice and their son was sweet.

The Trip Home

So, the trip home was pretty horrendous. We started off stopping at JCPenny where he ran all over the place, which for the record, it's really easy to lose your child among the clothing racks, so put your kid in a stroller. I found some cute pants, so I guess that's my consolation prize for being stupid and not bringing in the stroller. Then he starting fussing around Richmond, but before I had a chance to stop he fell asleep, so I was like "whew" and kept driving. Around Charlottesville he really started screaming so I pulled off the interstate. I saw a sign for a park and I was like "sweet, we can go run around," but before we go to it, I heard a splash. He had thrown up all over himself. I pulled into the nearest empty parking lot and proceeded to clean everything up. I think I used like 50 wipes. Colby ended up wearing his gorrilla pajamas and a clean diaper. His car seat looked pretty good when I was done, all things considered, and since I used 50 wipes or so. We drove for a while longer and stopped at the Cracker Barrell in Waynesboro. Cracker Barrell actually has a lot of really awesome food options for Colby so it's a pretty good place to stop. Plus it's pretty tasty for adults too :-)

While I was there, I realized that some people are not nice people. Everyone who saw Colby seemed to enjoy his sticking up hair and pretty blue eyes even if he as banging his fork and wearing pajamas. But I could tell this one old woman was thinking about what a horrible mom and child we were. I don't know if she disapproved of the pajamas or if she thought I was some irresponsible single mom or if she disapproved of toddlers banging forks around, but she wasn't nice. I tried to smile, but I got nothing. If only she'd known the disaster that had happened 30 miles back, maybe she'd have been a bit more understanding. I was sort of mad about her behavior in Cracker Barrell, but I guess that just goes to show that people, including myself, should be less judgemental about other people that they don't even know or understand.

At any rate, I'm home and I'm enjoying my day off, but I still have class tonight so I'm not completely free. I guess I'll finish my homework this afternoon before I go. And I'm going to enjoy my day even though it's cloudy and dreary, so there mother nature!

Visiting Weekend

This weekend I traveled to visit my parents. One thing I know for certain is that I do not miss the SciFi Channel (or the SyFy Channel as it's now called). It has crappy programming that I find I no longer enjoy.

Driving to Hampton with Colby was an okay experience. He only fussed a couple of times, but I didn't need to stop except to get some juice for him. We spent time visiting my grandparents. Colby is certainly into anything and everything. It was all we could do to keep Colby contained and keep him from breaking things. He also spent a lot of time trying to get into trouble at my parent's house, but we managed to contain our tasmainian devil.

The weather has been beautiful lately. I hope it keeps up through Monday and my lovely day off.

Happy Hump Day!

This week has been a little hectic. On Monday we had all of our students at school. It was an early release day, but I didn't get to enjoy it because I had a little bit of a migraine when I was done with school. Once in a blue moon I get migraines and I have to sleep them off, but I didn't even get to do that for very long because I had to go get Colby and go grocery shopping. My students seem to be okay, but I have some VERY talkative students who don't know when to turn their mouths off. We're jumping right in with work, much to their dismay, but it'll be good for them to get used to the pace we keep in the English pod.

On Monday I also started a new class towards my master's degree. Unfortunately this class is not online so I actually have to go to the class once a week. It's going to be weird because I haven't gone to class weekly in five years! I think I'll like the class, though, so it will be okay. I just need to work out who will watch Colby when Brandon is working. Hopefully I can work something out with Katie, but we'll see. Also, I have to say that walking around Radford University feels weird. I feel like an old maid compared to all those younguns walking around. Also, I can't find anything on Radford's campus - I think I'm just too much of a Hokie :-)

I can't believe it's only Wednesday...it feels like the week had been forever long so far.

We Caved

We caved. It was getting to the point that neither of us wanted to mow the lawn, so I sent Brandon out to buy a gas powered push mower this morning. Our yard was getting really scary, so now I know it'll look good once more. I bet our neighbors will be like "thank god!" We also bought some blueberry, rasberry and blackberry bushes. I hope they'll give us some fruit. We also decided to plant a peach tree in the back yard and I think we're going to put two apple trees in the front yard. We're just turning into regular gardners huh?

Cutting Teeth Again

Colby is cutting teeth again. He woke up Wednesday night at 3am screaming. In the morning he just stood in the middle of the living room and screamed again. I don't really know how to help the little guy besides giving him some Tylenol and encouraging him to chew on things that are cool.

School starts for the ninth graders today. I already had a class. They seem interesting and only a few seem mildly annoying, which is good.

Fun times.

This Week

So, this week has been full of sucky parts and good parts. On Tuesday we had to work from 8:00a.m. until 7p.m. We had to be in our rooms from 1-7pm so that 9th graders could get the schedule and walk through it to meet all of their teachers. I really enjoyed getting to meet some of the 9th graders and their parents, they seem like a really good group of smart and pleasant children. The only thing I didn't really like was being at school for 11 hours minus lunch. Today was a day of meetings. We had to watch these videos and get into groups to discuss the main points and then present them to the entire faculty. We also had to go over the student and faculty handbooks today. We also had a presentation about dropout rates, which I'm proud to say has decreased a lot in my county since I've been working there. Tomorrow we get to spend some time actually working, which is exciting to me because I need to finish putting up a bulletin board, finish putting up posters and then work on typing some assignments sheets for the first few assignments that are coming up fast.

Brandon hung out with Colby a bunch yesterday. When I came home he'd been asleep for about an hour already. He fell asleep eating dinner because he was so pooped.

Brandy has been driving us crazy lately. This weekend she got out and ended up at animal control all weekend. Yesterday she got out twice and today some random little girl brought him back after I got home. She's been getting out of this teeny, tiny opening in the fence. We keep putting stuff in front of it, but she still manages to sneak through. I'm trying chicken wire tonight. See if you can get through those holes, Brandy.

School Crazed Zuchinie Bread

Today was my first full day back to school. Last week I worked a few flex days to get my room in order, but this week we have a ton of meeting and in-services scheduled. Today we had convocation in the hot gym on uncomfortable bleachers. I don't understand why they make bleachers curved as if anyone's butt could comfortably fit in the curve. Why not just make them flat so when we squirm around we don't end up on a point and therefore become REALLY uncomfortable. Today we also learned about our new gradebook system. It wasn't too bad. I'm actually excited that I can enter grades from home.

Over the weekend Colby was a little crazy. He pulled all of his wipes out of his container, threw a glass and shattered it all over the floor, and he opened the oven while it was on - thankfully he didn't touch anything hot, but I almost had a heart attack. And last night, he didn't sleep worth two cents!

I felt a little like Martha Stewart over the weekend. I made two loaves of zuchinnie (sp?) bread and they were delicious! I'll never understand how something with zuchinnie in it can taste so good, but it certainly does. I took a loaf to my next door neighbors as a thank you for bringing us corn last week. I felt very neighborly. Unfortunately I tried this recipe out of better homes and gardens too that didn't taste very good. Even more unfortunately, there was a lot leftover.

Food That's Not for Babies :-)

Today I kept thinking it was the middle of the week instead of Saturday. I don't know why, though. Maybe subconciously I don't want to go back to school so I start rewinding my week. As far as school goes, we finally got a schedule for next week. It's going to be crazy because we are learning a new software system to keep track of everything from attendance to grades. I think I'll catch on pretty quick, but I think it will be annoying at training. The people that read my blog are very computer literate - unfortunately a lot of the older teachers at my school aren't. We also have to go to this dumb thing on Monday so that our superintendant can talk about energy conservation. Now, energy conservation is really important, but I don't need my superintendant to talk to me for over an hour about how to do this. Really all I can do is turn of my lights and my computer - nothing else is within my control. And since I already do these things, what's the point in sitting in uncomfortable chairs for an hour learning about energy conservation! And some principals and superintendants wonder why their teachers are so frustrated. I have a bunch of things I need to do before students start wondering the halls, so I'd rather be doing those things.

Colby decided to try eating a baby wipe today. Apparently they don't taste good :-)

School Shoes

I spent Wednesday and Thursday at school cleaning up and moving things. Brandon came on Wednesday to move my filing cabinets and desk and stuff. While we were moving stuff I discovered that I do not have a CPU for my computer. If you're computer illiterate, that's the most important piece that contains the hard drive and software and stuff. I haven't heard back from anybody I've e-mailed about it, so I guess sometime next week it'll work itself out. If it doesn't work itself out next week, then maybe I'll get a new one by mid-semester. Yup, I'm really optimistic.

Today I went shoe shopping. I haven't bought very many really nice shoes lately, so I thought I was overdue for some. I bought two really beautiful pairs of shoes for school and a pair of slide on tennis-shoes (not for school). I'll look damn good even if I don't have a working computer. Ha! I thought Christiansburg would be crazy because of students moving in, but it wasn't too bad. I'm sure tomorrow will be crazier, so I'm glad I went today. Watching all the new students and their parents wander around Target was sort of nostalgic for me. I remember moving in back in the day. Sigh. That was like nine years ago! I'm getting old!

Coming School Year

Today I swung by school to talk to my department head about the coming year. Originially there wasn't supposed to be any co-teaching, but they changed their mind and I have three different co-teachers for the coming school year. One they apparently want to fire, but can't, so I'm stuck with her. The other two are really good people. I worked with one of them last school year so I'll know what to expect from her. Unfortunately I don't like how they did this. How am I really supposed to co-teach with three different co-teachers at the same time!? I know they all have their degrees in special ed, but by having three different co-teachers I'm going to be forced to treat them like glorified aides because I don't have time to plan adequately with each person.

I also took a peek in my classroom...it's a complete mess! I don't know how they could have possibly screwed it up more. I think I'll have to move every single piece of furniture because NOTHING is in the right place.

Colby had fun visiting school, though. He ran around the pod and visited with the few teachers that were there. At least it's a good place to visit right now because it's clean!

Extra Long Entry

Okay so my dad accused me of being lazy when it comes to my blog........ he's right! I haven't posted in forever! I've been too lazy to walk into the other room and get on my super ancient computer to type a blog entry for which I'm really sorry everyone! Now if you could talk Brandon into letting my buy a new laptop, I'd post all the time. So call Brandon and tell him I need a new laptop :-) And yes - I've tried to get the old one fixed, but it seems like that's a lost cause.

Oh, and the other reason I didn't blog for a while was because I was sick for a little while. I had a fever of over 101 for like two and a half days. I don't know what was wrong with me, but my fever broke on the Sunday before last, so I decided not to go to the doctor. What would I say? "Uh, I had a fever yesterday?" Lame. That weekend Brandon was working and Colby wen a little crazy while I was laying on the couch feeling pathetic. Colby shredded something made of paper all over the floor (who knows what!) and his toys were everywhere. Thank goodness he didn't get what I had, though. He would have been a really cranky baby if he had.

After I started feeling better I decided to read a book. Before I got sick I read The Skystone by Jack Whyte. If you like King Arthur legends, I highly recommend the Camulod Cronicles by Jack Whyte. It puts the Arthur legends into the realm of possibility by starting with Arthur's grandparents and the fall of Rome (which I also find interesting, so it's of double interest to me). After I was sick I decided to read Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. I think I'm pretty open-minded about books, but I didn't really like this novel. It was too intellectual. I know you're asking yourself how a vampire novel can be intellectual, but let me tell you, it can. And I'm sorry, but I don't really care about the philosophy surrounding being a vampire, I just want to read a good story. For a while in the story, nothing even happened! And I hated the ending. Right now I'm reading a book about all the lies I learned in American History class. It's super interesting to learn the truth about Christopher Columbus (came to the new world to get rich and ended up starting the slave trade), the Pilgrims (went to Plymoth on purpose and found the Indians decimated by the plague when they landed), the first Thanksgiving (wasn't created until the 1800's), American Indians and racism. It's a slow read, but really thought-provoking.

This past weekend was really good. Brandon and I went on our monthly date. We went to Olive Garden and then to see the Time Traveller's Wife. It was pretty good movie - It was what I expected. And Brandon was a trooper for going to see a chick flick with me. I didn't cry watching this movie (the director let us know what was going to happen long before it happened), but apparently some people took it hard. There was sobbing at the end from the back of the theater - Brandon looked at each other and laughed.

This week I'm going to school for a couple of days. I have to do two flex days before Monday, so I decided I'd go on the two days that Brandon is off. Monday is when we start back for real...sigh.

Up!

Colby is growing up so fast! He's doing new things every day like learning to say "up". Plus he has a new tooth, which brings us up to 8. I'm still trying to get him to say other words, but I'm pretty impressed that he learned "up" without too much trouble.

This past weekend was pretty lazy. We hung out on Friday, worked on mowing the lawn on Saturday and ate lunch with my parents on Sunday. My parents have gotten to see Colby every weekend for the last three weeks so they were pretty excited about it.

I didn't sleep too well last night so I was a bit lazy this morning, but I'll get back into the swing of things tomorrow I guess.

Today I got to walk by myself for once. Usually I go to Bisset Park, walk the big loop while pushing Colby in the stroller and when I'm done we take a break and cruise around the playground so that Colby can run around. Today Brandon took Colby to the playground and I walked the loop at Bisset Park with my iPod and myself. You may not think this is such a big deal, but when you spend your whole summer watching a toddler that requires a lot of attention, it's nice just to be able to walk the trail by yourself.

Today we also attempted to get a blood sample from Colby to check his phe levels. Unfortunately we poked him three times and barely got any blood out of him. I think I'm going to have to call Barbara on Monday to see what we're doing wrong. Before the summer started Brandon and I made a goal to get Brandon more involved in Colby's medical stuff, but I dislike trying to do blood samples with Brandon around. All he can think about when we do it is the first time they took blood from Colby in the hospital - apparently he cried A LOT when that happened - and Brandon was the only one there to comfort him and I think Brandon felt helpless to help his baby. Even though we do these blood tests for Colby's health, it's still hard for him to do it. He gets a grumpy look on his face and all of the sudden I can't do anything right. It's really hard to do it sometimes, but somehow we'll get through.

Weight level - down 16 pounds! Woo Hoo!!

Paint Project

Yesterday I decided to paint the kitchen. I decided that I would paint the walls that had cabinets on them (so above and below them). I decided to paint it yellow so that it would match our dishes and give the room some color other than white and blue. I wasn't fully thrilled last night, but with a good night's drying, it has dried to a slightly lighter shade of yellow and I'm very pleased. I'm not sure Brandon was pleased though when he got home and saw it. I think he was just grumpy from getting home late because all he asked was if I'd gotten a small can or a big can of paint. I don't know why I decided to paint. In my head I keep thinking that when I come home from school this year, I want to be able to enjoy my house and the way it looks and not say "ugh" when I walk in. And since we OWN our house, I want a pop of color on our walls because we can! Nothing too crazy, though, because I'm sure we're eventually going to sell it. I was thinking of going a little crazy in Colby's room, but now I think I'll just accessorize!! Not that he cares, but still...

My Poor Cell Phone!

Well, yesterday my cell phone died. Colby dropped it from a moving stroller and it broke into two pieces. Fortunately I had purchased a phone from a website that sells things confiscated by the police (propertyroom.com) and I had an extra cell phone sitting around. It probably belonged to some drug dealer or something, but now it belongs to me and is my new cell phone. Brandon also ended up getting a new phone since his keys were starting to stick and we were eligable to get a brand new one anyway. Needless to say, Colby will not be playing with our cell phones any time soon :-)

As far as my diet goes, I have to say that going to the beach didn't do anything to help it. I mean peach cobbler, fruit crisp, blue crabs and chocolate don't do a whole lot to help things, but I'm proud to say that I've now lost 14 pounds! That's right, your eyes are not deceiving you! By the time I go back to school I'll need a new wardrobe!

Will My House Ever Be in BH&G?

Okay, so one day I randomly started getting a subscription to Better Homes & Gardens. I love this magazine and I want my house to look like those in the magazines. I read the articles and look at all the pictures and then I look around at my messy house and feel deflated. I think I'll have to wait twenty years until my kids are older for me to even consider doing those things that are in the magazine. And my gardens will never look like those in the magazine, but I can still imagine!

Today I cooked the green beans - they were delicious. And I also cooked a pre-marinaded pork tenderloin from Walmart - it was excellent!! I would totally recommend this to anybody that is looking for something tasty to eat. I cooked the garlic and herb one for an hour and a half at 325.

Today I looked to see when I have to go back to school - August 24th for anybody that's curious. I feel pretty excited about this coming school year. I have some ideas floating in my head about how to make my class more interesting. The one I'm really excited about involves reading some classic/good short stories, determining why they are classic/good, and then having my students write their own short story. I'm also flirting with the idea of having my students start a blog so that we can do some journaling in class, but I'm not sure - the English computer lab is always taken up by teachers that don't even have a classroom in the English pod. We shall see on that. Plus I'm also thinking about painting my classroom and pale blue color, but I still have to ask for permission and all that jazz. At any rate, I'm looking forward to school. I hope I still feel the same way halfway into the new semester.

Beach & Veggies

Hey all! We just got back from the beach yesterday around 9p.m. We rented a house in Nags Head and it ended up perfect! You never know what you're going to get, but in this case we got a house that was a five minute walk to the beach. Plus Colby loved the beach! He wasn't scared at all of the waves, but he did get knocked over a few times. It's a good thing that my parents gave us a life jacket for him to wear just in case he fell. He liked playing with the sand also, but not as much as playing in the water. He was also very sociable. He went up to everyone and flashed his blue eyes and they were all in love.

We enjoyed the food to the max - I had crab cakes, I grilled tuna, another night we had blue crabs and on the Friday we came home I had fried oysters. On the Friday we left we decided to eat out for dinner instead of having leftovers. We didn't really know where we were going to stop, so by the time we ended up seeing something on the outer banks, we were already past it. So we ended up crossing the bridge to the mainland and by some fluke we saw a sign that said Coinjock Marina Restaurant. We decided to go and it was the best! It was a little marina on the intercostal waterway. We sat outside on their deck as the sun set next to a 75 foot yacht. I felt like we were living the high life :-)

So today Colby actually slept in until 9:00a.m., which is sort of funny because every day on our vacation he was up between 6 and 7a.m. EVERY DAY! But it was nice to sleep in even if it wasn't while we were on vacation. This evening I went to the garden and picked some veggies! I got some green beans and two green peppers. The tomatoes are still green, but when they turn red, we'll have a ton of them! Plus the squash and zuchinne actually bloomed, so I'm hopeful we'll have something there too. I apparently suck at growing onions...they all died. I'm thinking I didn't plant them deep enough. Oh well, there's always next year.

Sorry I've Been a Slacker!

Hey everyone! Sorry for not posting in a week! I needed to take a break from the computer for a little while and since I'm done with my class (yay!) I don't need to be on the internet as much.

So, I'm down 11 pounds so far on my diet. I kind of messed it up a little this past weekend. I went to visit Lindsey up in Northern Virginia and we ate out a lot - first at the Reston Festival (pita bread is not on the diet), then at Sweet Water (not too bad - got a salad), then we went to Red Robin on Sunday (not too bad here either - got a salad, but it had tortilla strips on it). I certainly wasn't as strict as I usually am, but oh well. I didn't gain weight at least! The Reston Festival was fun, I got Colby a jigsaw puzzle in the shape of a T-rex and I got two sundresses that I'm looking forward to busting out at the beach next week.

Visiting Lindsey was fun (Colby got to see a cat for the first time!), but I have determined that Northern Virginia is just not the place for me. I didn't realize how much I love the country until I rode around all those buildings and highways. It brings a whole new meaning to the term "concrete jungle". Plus, I want Colby to grow up in a place where he doesn't have to worry about being mowed down by a car fifteen feet from his house. Rural areas are dying out so I want Colby to experience them while he can. He can visit the city any time he wants, but once rural areas are gone, they're gone.

Well, my stomach is growling for lunch, but I'll post tomorrow! By the way, Daddy, if you're reading this, ask Mommy if I can get that family tree on Friday please. Thanks!

Endless Mischief

So far I'm down 8 pounds. Rockin!

I finished my chairs today, I'll take a picture tomorrow when the light is good and post it. I'm thinking of making some cushions for them - then they'll be just perfect.

I spent the day hanging out with Colby and Brandon. We put the coffee table in front of the tv, but he was undeterred from playing with the buttons. I'm using masking tape to keep the photo albums in place - I'm sure that won't last long. It's so funny that when you have a baby you encourage them to reach all those milestones, walking, exploring, eating, but then when they accomplish these things and use them for mischeif, you scratch your head and wonder why you encouraged them so much. I did teach Colby how to spin in circles today, which was highly entertaining! He looked cute spinning around and watching him discover that spinning makes you dizzy was funny too. Luckily, he didn't hit anything hard with his head. Maybe teaching him to spin wasn't such a good idea. Yesterday I made him little potato cakes to eat (think hash browns, but cakes). He really liked them, but I thought they were too greasy/unhealthy, so I don't think I'll make them again. Today I made him a strawberry salad. It looks yummy. We'll try it tomorrow and I'll let you know how it goes. I have supplies to make pancakes, maybe I'll try that tomorrow too. So far it's a no-go on the chocolate periflex. I might have to gradually add it to his formula so he has some variety, though he seems to enjoy the unflavored.

Discovery!

I have lost 7 pounds so far in my diet. I'm really proud of myself for somehow managing to stick to my diet even when confronted with temptation and drinking nearly a gallon of water every day since I've started. I know that things won't always be this good, but when the numbers on the scale are going down, my will-power goes up.

Colby has discovered the buttons on the TV and the photo albums on the shelf next to the TV. Still trying to think of a way to stop him from getting into things he should be getting into before a photo album weighing as much as he does falls on his head. He has been very mischevious lately, which one part of me is glad to have a curious child who investigates things, but on the other hand, I can't babyproof everything! Best part of today - hearing him laugh. I'm going to start experimenting with new foods for Colby - since I can't cook for myself, I'll cook for him!

The house smells like skunk. I don't know what's up with that. Brandon looked under the house and didn't find anything. Best guess - Brandy chased a skunk and it sprayed near our a/c unit. Great.

I Have A Confession to Make

I hope you won't think badly of me, but I'm really tired fo hearing about Michael Jackson's death. I mean, I know the guy did some awesome things for music and the black community before turing into this ultra-weird person and I certainly feel bad for his family, but come on. North Korea could have wiped South Korea off the map and we wouldn't even know about it because of this non-stop coverage!

On another note, I'm down 4 pounds since I started my diet on Thursday. I'm certain it's just water weight. I know it's probably not good manners to discuss your personal habits, but I've been in the bathroom like 20 times a day. I guess that gallon of water I have to drink has something to do with it. I did get hungry yesterday around 8 or 9, but I've been trying to stay busy so that I won't think about it. For example, yesterday I watered all the plants and then worked on my adirondak chairs some more. Those chairs are coming along, but they're so weirdly shaped that you have to stand and bend over a lot, so I'm taking my time on them so my back doesn't kill me. Tonight maybe I'll mow the front yard. Brandon already mowed it once on a high setting, so I'm going to drop it down and mow it again so that maybe we won't have weeds popping out so fast.

About the garden - everything looks good except the squash and zucchinie (sp?) They look really tiny and unlikely to have any vegetables on them any time soon. The carrots never came up, but the green beans, tomatoes, peppers and onions look really good. Question: How do you know when to pull up the onions?

Well, the diet is going okay. I've only been at it for about 24 hours and so far I've lost 2 pounds - but I guess when you're eating next to nothing that's definately possible. I've been doing pretty well on drinking my water - Brandon's always asking how much I had to drink, which is good because that will be the hardest part. But I can do it. This time I'm going to stick with it to the letter so that when school starts again the response will ooohs and ahhhs over my slimer figure and not simply "how was your summer?"

I bought an outdoor table - I'm super happy that our back yard is turning into something I am enjoying. The flower garden we started is sort of an eyesore, but we'll get to it eventually. I also started painting those adirondak chairs on the front porch. I'll post a picture when they're done!

Diet. Here I Come!

Well, I just got back from the Weight Station. I think I can do this diet - it's really specific so at least you don't have to wonder if this or that is part of the diet (the problem I had with WeightWatchers was not knowing how many points things were!) I think the hardest part I'll have is drinking the required amount of water. I'm supposed to drink a gallon a day! The nurse that saw me said that the more water you drink the more you lose, so I guess that will be some encouragement for me. I went to Wally world and stocked up on things that are part of the diet. It's so funny that when you can't have things they look so darn appealing! I was looking at things I hadn't eaten in months thinking "That would taste so good!" But I'm going to stick with this if it kills me - and I don't think it will, otherwise they'd be out of business.

Just a note on Colby - I don't know how those daycare ladies chase after whole classes of small children because sometimes I want to pull my hair out over one small child who can't even talk! Lets just say, my anger spiked when most of his dinner ended up on the floor. It's fun to play with him, but sometimes I just need to read for my class and I can't get it done because he wants to held and then when I hold him, he doesn't want to held. Go figure. At least I got some quality reading done during my 45 minute wait today (about the only thing I was really annoyed about).

Camping Weekend

Last weekend was pretty good. We left on Thursday to go camping in the National Forest outside of Staunton. This isn't like camping at a camp ground, there's no running water besides the creek, no electric hookups and no bath houses. If it wasn't for my parents bringing their camper up, we would have been stuck using mother nature for the bathroom. We bought a new tent before this trip - ours was too small for an air matress and a pack-and-play - so the one we got was gigantic. I think we could sleep at least six or seven people comfortably, although the bag says ten (where they would all sleep is a mystery to me). Colby did really well up there. He didn't eat too many bugs or too much dirt. He napped really well and slept well on all but one night. Everyone kept an eye on him and mommy made him extra special food that he loved. Brandon had fun playing in the creek where he spent a lot of time making a dam. I had fun just hanging out. And let me just say that I love camping food - smores, eclairs, ribs, steak, silver turles...yum!

After eating all that food, I'm going to be starting a diet this week at the Weight Station in Christiansburg. I go on Thursday to find out everything I need to know and get my first shot of B12. So far I haven't run into anyone that hasn't lost weight going there, so before we decide to have baby number two, I'm going to get these pounds off so my blood pressure won't be an issue. I plan to lose 75 pounds - we'll see how it goes. It's expensive to go there so Lord knows I won't waste money by not sticking to the diet.

Hi Daddy!

"You ain't seen nothing yet..."

I am super excited about going camping. Until then I'll be cleaning out my classroom and enjoying life with no students while listeing to 106.9 The Fox (classic rock station out of VA Beach) on my computer!

Graduation, Wedding, Baptism - All in a Weekends Work

This weekend was pretty good. I can't say I was totally thrilled about graduation on Friday night, but aside from uncomfortable seats, black harry pottere-esque robes, and fireworks going off while names were being called, it was okay. It was a really nice ceremony that lasted about an hour and forty-five minutes. For 360 grads, that's not too bad.

Saturday we went to a wedding in Appomatox. Brandon's cousin, Andrew, got married to his girl, Melissa (that's who we bought the house from). It was at this bed and breakfast in Appomatox. The ceremony and reception was outside, which I wasn't too excited about. It was hot. The ceremony was lovely, Melissa looked gorgeous. Wasn't too thrilled that they didn't have a single mention about God in their vows, but hey, it was what they wanted. The bed and breakfast was GORGEOUS. I have no idea how old the house was, but it was all antiquey and authentic looking. The bridal party spent a couple nights there and their rooms were awesome. All the food was prepared and served in the B & B so we go to run around and look at everything. Of course Colby wanted to touch, so we had to keep an eye on him. He had a good time running around the yards outside and playing in the ice water cup I gave him. He didn't eat super well, so I'm sure his phe is way low. Andrew and Melissa are going on a Carribbean cruise for they honeymoon and I have to say I wish I was going on a cruise! I'm jealous.

Today we went to church and their was a baptism afterwards at the river along with a huge cookout. We went and ate, talked to people, and when it got hot and Colby got tired, we left. I loved that wedding, but it was SO hot and we couldn't leave! It was almost like being trapped! But today was much better, we can spend the afternoon inside in the air conditioning!

School's Out for Summer - Almost

Colby cracks me up. He's much more interactive these days and if he's in a good mood he'll chase us around and run away when we chase him. And he just laughs! Brandon says that he's going to train him to be an astronaut - he holds him upside down and spins him around and makes him "fly" around the house. Wouldn't that be funny if he actually was an astronaut when he grew up!

School is almost over - thank God! We have exams tomorrow and Friday and then I don't have to see my kids anymore. I think I'll miss some of them - I did have some wonderful kids this semester. But for the most part I'll be glad to see them go. I think next year will be much better. I'm spending my summer with that mind-set at any rate. I've heard the next group of kids is a lot better than this group, but even if they're not, it's going to be my goal to get them motivated to learn and actually try to get a decent grade. I'm still working on the how part, but I have all summer to come up with that.

I've been slogging away at my educational leadership course. It's actually pretty interesting and challenges me to think about things - which is good.

Weekend Thoughts

I had a good weekend, but Colby was very fussy. I don't know what the problem was, but he slept horribly Friday night and he would act like he wanted to be held and then as soon as we picked him up he would want to be set down! It was frustrating. He's getting a lot of new teeth, which could be the problem. With just the few teeth he has, I can tell that boy will need braces. We'd better start saving up now!

I made an appointment to go to the Weigh Station. This a weight loss center, but when Brandon saw the program, he was less than enthused. It involves injections and an extreme diet restriction. Brandon asked if I would wait for a month and in the mean time try eating healthier and exercising. We both decided that our diet was less than stellar and we tried really hard this weekend to eat better. Plus for the first time ever, we planned out a healthy menu for this coming week. I'm willing to give it a shot, but I haven't cancelled my appointment at the Weigh Station. I don't think Brandon understands how hard it is for overweight people to lose the weight. Eating better is all fine and good theoretically, but unfortunately there is WAY to much temptation. I feel like I'll need someone to look me in the face and hold me accountable and it can't be my husband.

EXCITED - not - EXCITED

Super excited about the beach!

Super not excited about group projects with people who are bossy. And doubly not excited about doing group projects with people who change plans. And tripely not excited about doing group projects with people who get irritated that I don't check my e-mail every day - I have a job, a baby, and a husband...forgetting to check my e-mail is understandable (unless you're in my group).

Super excited that I only have seven more days of school with children!

Summer Project

So this summer I've decided that I'm going to put a book together of my family history. I got to thinking that Colby will never get to know my great-grandmother because she passed away last November. Then I got to thinking, "What if something happens to my grandparents? I should get the story of their life now while they're healthy and able to tell me lots of neat stories." So this summer I'm going to get pictures, do some interviews and get a book together. There's so much technology out there these days that it seems a shame not to. If you're family and you're reading this, expect an e-mail or phone call soon.

Weekend Highlights

Some awesome things from this weekend...

The veggies are planted!!

I caught up my old boss from the Blacksburg Aquatic Center on Saturday!!

I talked to my mom for like 2 hours today!!

I decided on a really awesome summer project (will discuss in later blogs)!!

I got Colby to go to bed with zero problem tonight!!

I cleaned off the dining room table - now it looks like a table and not a trash pile!!

I talked to Lindsey yesterday!!

I've read through chapter 3 in my summer class!!

Did I mention I got my veggies planted?

Two Front Teeth

Today, was a rainy, dreary day...just like the day before. I mean, rain is good, especially for the veggies I've planted, but I could use a little space between downpours. Plus my petunias look like crap with all these thunderstorms.

I'm excited that Brandon did the last box for the vegetable garden. It still needs to be filled up with dirt, but that can be done one night after Colby goes to bed. I'm going to get those other plants in there this weekend even if it kills me. I want fresh veggies this summer!!

Colby was really fussy today. I think his other front tooth is coming through. I think I'd be cranky too. He was pretty entertaining, though, when he wasn't fussing. He wanted to drink out of Brandon's water cup like a dog...it was cute :-)

Memorial Day Weekend

Awesome weekend! It was great to hang out with my family and not worry about school for three days! I got my shelves building the spare bedroom closet. I have a funny story about that - I went and took the measurements for the shelves and then I went and grabbed the circular saw so that I could cut the board. Brandon looked at me and was like "what - are - you - doing?" I told him I was going to cut the shelves. He said absolutely not and that he'd cut them later. Ah, I'm so good at getting him to do things without nagging him to death!

I got the dirt into the raised garden and I planted tomatos, red and green peppers, onions and a cantalope. I'm still waiting for Brandon to make the other box so that I can plant the other veggies. I haven't figured out how to get him to do it without nagging. He trusts me with a drill, so grabbing that won't work. I also did weed the front flower bed so not it doesn't look like weed central.

We celebrated Katie's birthday on Sunday. On Monday Colby and I went to the park where he swung on the swing for the first time. He seemed to have a good time. He was sort of fussy yesterday, so I'm uncertain how this summer is going to work. He seems to need a lot more attention now than when compared to last summer.

Excitement

I got the topsoil sometime yesterday, so I'm really excited to start planting veggies. I'm also really excited that I have a three day weekend. My goals are as follows: 1. Plant veggies, 2. weed the front flower bed, 3. plant flowers in the front and back, 4. clean the house, 5. do something fun. I'm also excited about starting the Odyssey with my students - they're teaching the Odyssey to each other.

Top Soil

Okay, so I didn't really think it would be that big of a deal to get a load of topsoil delivered to our house, but apparently it is. I called on Saturday and he said, "Well, we might be able to get it to you this afternoon." I said, "If not, Monday would be okay." Saturday came and went, no soil. Monday came and went, no soil. Called Tuesday, "Well, we might be able to bring it this afternoon." Left to go eat dinner and go to married's group, no soil. Sometime while we were eating dinner or at married's group, he swung by. I called first thing Wednesday morning. "Well I should be able to bring it this afternoon." I said, "Okay, I'll be home between 4 and 6:30." "Okay." Went to bible study at 7:00, no soil. Called on the way to bible study. He says, "Can I bring it in the morning?" "Sure, I leave at 7:30." "Okay, I'll bring it around 7:00." Leave for work, still no soil. I'm so ANNOYED because I REALLY needed to go grocery shopping yesterday, but I didn't to wait on this guy. So now, there's absolutely NOTHING to eat in our house AND I don't have topsoil! If it's not there by the time I get home, I'm calling someone else because I think I've been more than patient.

Goals for the Summer

Last night Brandon and I went to couples bible study and we came up with some goals for the summer. I'm going to publish them here so that people can look at them and maybe ask how they're going.

1. Communication - have more days when we just talk about random stuff (the other night we stayed up until midnight talking about this, that and the other and in the morning I felt closer to Brandon than I had in a while)

2. Activities - spend more time doing activities together like gardening, walking, date nights

3. Colby's Health - get Brandon more involved in blood testing, phe calculating and feeding Colby

I confess we should have added another goal - equal partnership on the house upkeep. I don't understand how someone could spend two whole days at home without a child and not do ANYTHING. He didn't even take out the trash yesterday to get picked up. It irritates me to no end that he can just sit around and watch Fantasia (an excellent movie, I know!) all day. Maybe he thinks Mickey will magically clean our house too!