PKU Worries

So, I recently started letting Colby's daycare feed him the foods that they have with some guidelines. I was a little nervous about this, but for the most part, things worked out pretty well...until yesterday. The guidelines were: 2 fruits or one fruit and one vegetable while he's at daycare - no peas, creamed spinach or garden vegetables. Well yesterday, vanilla custard showed up on his little report card. My first reaction was "What is in the world is that?" My second reaction was "Vanilla custard isn't a fruit or vegetable so what's he doing eating it?" When I went home and looked it was 111 phe's (keep in mind that he's only supposed to have 150 max right now) and he had sweet potatoes too, which are 53 phe's. He was way over for yesterday, which didn't please me, so today I added a couple more things to the "do not eat" list. The vanilla custard is like a dessert anyway...what kind of baby needs dessert? I'm addicted to dessert, but that doesn't mean I want my child to be that way.

On a lighter note, it's Friday and I only have to be at school until noon for parent/teacher conferences. So I'll be able to get my car inspected. That's what I always wanted to do with my free Friday afternoon! :-(

Can YOU get my car inspected?

I'll be honest, my inspection sticker has been expired for almost a full month. The problem is, I don't get out of school until 4 most days and I have to go pick up Colby and I really don't want to take him to get the car inspected because he's cranky in the afternoons. I've asked Brandon to do it for me for me pretty much every day he's been off during the week since February started, but it's still not been inspected. I think I'm going to do it on Friday since we have a half day. I'll drop Colby off with Brandon and go get it done. Hopefully there won't be too much wrong with it, but at least I get paid on Thursday!

I've been reading Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer this week. I don't know what attracts me to these teen books, but they're good. I'm finding this one and the last one a bit melodramatic, but I guess it's perfect for teens! They don't have any problem with the melodramatic because their lives are melodramatic. As an adult, I find myself shaking my head at the characters and wondering why they don't do something more logical, but I do enjoy the books. I think the part of me that played vampire role playing games in high school is enjoying these books (oh, come on, don't think I'm too crazy - I know for a fact that Brandon did silly things like that too...which maybe means we're just meant for each other. But I did the roll playing thing before I discovered I could be cool...so it's okay.)

Magnificent Monday??

At school, the girl that does our announcements uses alliterative wishes. Today was "I hope you have a magnificent Monday." Tomorrow will me be "terrific Tuesday" followed by "wonderful Wednesdays", "tremendous Thursdays" and "fantastic Fridays." I know she means well, but after hearing it week after week you want to ask "What if I don't have a magnificent Monday, huh?"

Today was not magnificent...maybe it was monotonous, but not magnificent. It was pretty cool that we got a two hour delay, but that isn't as exciting as it used to be because Colby gets up around seven every morning anyway. He doesn't really care if I have a two hour delay or not. And this morning wasn't even a good morning to be up early because all the news was talking about was the Oscars...I'm with Jonathan on this one...who cares?! I mean I guess the actors and directors do, but who's even seen The Reader or whatever else movie won an academy award? And do people really care all that much about Oscar fashions? I don't mind looking at the pretty dresses, but I really don't care what Issac Mizrahi has to say about Milley Cyrus's ugly dress (it was, in fact, ugly).

I think I'm just annoyed as I write this post because, as it alway does, my "wild" college days came up. At this point I tell my students, when they ask, that I've never been drunk before and they don't believe me! Why is it so hard to believe that a responsible adult can act responsibly during college and even after college? I know that my students don't have a lot of responsible adults to look up to, but I never, ever get a student that believes me. Never. I think that it's sad that some students never have an opportunity to meet someone like me, which makes me think that I'm exactly where I need to be setting a good example for my students even when I don't want to be here.

TGIF!

One of our favorite sayings in the English department is "If only they knew what we encounter on a daily basis." Usually when we say it we're rolling our eyes and wondering what we're doing teaching, yet we know we'll be back the next day ready to roll. I do, however, wish that people did know...they probably wouldn't know whether to laugh or cry. Today for example - one student called my name so many times I thought about changing it, another student we've decided is trying to write my biography (my questions for the day were 1. how long have you been a teacher and 2. when did you know you wanted to be a teacher), several students wanted to know when they'd be getting their tests back, but the day before that and the day before that I'd already told them they'd get them back when everyone had taken it (obviously everyone hasn't taken it! Or maybe I'm keeping them to hang up on my refridgerator!), one student wondered aloud if I'd ever eaten at the waffle house (which apparently doesn't serve french toast) and another student commented that my abreviation GZ for General Zaroff sounded like a rappers name. Fun times!

Still Sick

Yesterday the daycare called and said that Colby had a fever of 102. Thank goodness that Brandon was off and was able to go over and get him and take him to the doctor. He ended up having to go to the hospital to get a chest x-ray to make sure he didn't have pnuemonia. He didn't have pnuemonia thankfully and his fever broke sometime during the night. He still can't go back to daycare today, so Brandon is watching him. Unfortunately Brandon is sick too. It looks like we're just passing this crap around the house. I'm feeling a little better...at least my nose isn't running like a faucet any more.

Of Hay and Hoses

Okay, so Brandy is a really good dog...but...when left to her own devices in the back yard, she causes a lot of trouble. Last night Brandon put a bale of hay under the back porch. This morning it is in the middle of the yard getting soaking wet in the rain. Another example - last time I checked, the hose was near the water spicket behind the house. This morning it was stretched out across the yard all the way to the back fence line. I'm sure that hose is unusable now. I guess we'll have to start taking her for walks or runs so she'll get some of her energy out. I don't regret taking her, but we'll have to make sure she has some toys that she can chew on and not our things. She also chewed an extension cord - that's pretty frustrating.

So, lately we've been trying to get this whole house assumption thing worked out. I find it pretty frustrating because we worked so hard to have a good credit score, we've saved our money and have been responsible with it, and we've paid the mortgage on time every month since we moved into the house. Yet, we have this merry-go-round of explanations and paperwork that needs to be turned in before we can get this house. I just don't think it should be this complicated.

On another note, I just got a phone call this morning from a guy who's four month old son has PKU too. I'm going to call him back soon, but I hope that I can help answer his questions and reassure him about his son's future.

Sick

It seems like lately I've stayed sick. If it's not one thing, it's another. Right now I have some sort of coughing runny nose crap. I blame my school - whoever designed it didn't realize how beneficial windows are. The air is stagnent and we can't get any fresh air in here, which is really bad when you have a bunch of germ-infested teenagers.

Yesterday I went and got some hay for Brandy's dog house. It's too cold to leave her outside without it. But I was sad that I got hay all over my nice clean vehicle. She's been really good so far. The only thing I got upset with her for is running out the front door yesterday when I went to start the RAV. It was easy to get her back, but I was frustrated. I'll have to teach her that going out the front door is bad. We also discovered that she digs - well, she can't be perfect. She also really likes our couch. I don't want her on the furniture so I'll have to teach her to stay down. I also bought a baby gate to keep her in the dinning room/kitchen. Unfortunately she crawled under it. Oh, the joys of having a dog.

A Valentine's Day Present for Ourselves

So we went to Galax to eat lunch with Brandon's cousin, Andrew, and his fiancee Melissa. We had some killer burgers and chocolate covered strawberries (mmm!!). We also got to meet Brandy. Brandy is a year and a half old mixed dog. I think she's part lab and part pit, but her face is all lab. She is the sweetest dog, she doesn't bark, she doesn't jump, and she's wants so badly to please people. Colby pulled on her fur and she didn't care. Colby has pushed her face away and she didn't care. Andrew had gone for a run one day and Brandy followed him home. They tried to find the owners or give her away, but it seemed like the only people that wanted her were people into dog fighting. With three dogs and a cat already, Andrew and Melissa wanted to see her go to a good home...so...we brought her home! She had to stay in the house last night, but she's house trained so it turned out fine. She minds her own business and doesn't get into mischief like some dogs are prone to do. I'm very pleased with her...I think we possibly found the best dog in the world.

We Have Teeth!!

Today I felt Colby's first teeth! I was feeding him and heard/felt an odd scrapping sound against the spoon. I felt around for a second and sure enough, those sharp little teeth are there on the front bottom. How exciting! And it makes me feel better about how fussy he's been lately. I'd be fussy too if I had teeth coming in! It also explains his crazy runny nose and cough that won't go away. Strangely enough, babies have weird, seemingly unrelated symptoms like that when they are cutting teeth.

Friday the 13th

Today is Friday the 13th. I assume my students will be a little crazy today, but that's okay - my kids have a test mwhahahahaha. And it's really okay because the English teachers are bringing in food today so lunch will be spectacular. "Any occasion is a good occasion for food" is the mantra around here...yay!

So I didn't end up making Valentines Day Cards for the little kiddies. But I was astounded by the activities going on in other classes for this fake holiday. Everyone had little mail boxes that they'd made so that all their little cards could go in it. I don't remember doing all this when I was younger...but then again maybe we did and I just don't remember. I think that there is much more importance to this holiday these days. Which is stupid. Why do you need a special day to give someone roses or to take them to dinner or tell them you love them? I think it's of much greater value to do those things randomly, not just when the commercials on TV tell you to.

Well, we might be getting a dog after all. Brandon's cousin had a dog follow him home one day and since they already have three dogs and a cat, they're trying to get rid of this stray. They say she's sweet, doesn't bark and doesn't jump, but we have to see how she acts around Colby and how Colby acts around her. We'll be seeing her tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.

Is It Spring?

So the last couple of days have been fantastic...who would've thought that it would be in the sixties and seventies in the middle of February! I took advantage of it yesterday and went for a walk on one of Radfords really nice trails. For such a small town, Radford has some great paved trails. I didn't feel very well after I went for my walk, though. I was cold and tired and I couldn't hardly eat anything for dinner or breakfast this morning. I hope I snap out of that soon.

Okay, so yesterday when I picked Colby up at daycare, they gave me a list of all the kids in his class so that I could make Valentines Day cards....Really? I asked around to see if parents actually do this and the response was yeah, some do. Really? Kids Colby's age are more likely to eat the card than appreciate it. What do you guys think I should do? Should I make cards or just wait until next year?

Wonderful Weekend

This weekend was pretty good - for me anyway. Colby has a nasty cough and he has a disgusting runny nose. He's been cranky and didn't eat hardly anything this weekend. He slept a lot too. Brandon didn't feel very well this weekend either. He had a bad headache on Saturday and slept the day away. I took an afternoon nap while Colby was sleeping...it was magical :-)

On Saturday I took advantage of the good weather and cleaned out the RAV. I didn't wash it, but at least the inside is dust free and vaccumed. I also went grocery shopping, which was a bad idea. I was pretty grouchy at Walmart and frustrated in general with everyones rude, less than considerate behavior toward the strangers around them...plus I couldn't find a good parking space.

On Sunday we went to Roanoke and helped out with the Crawlers down in the nursery. It was sort of fun, but I still feel weird around everyone elses kids. I know mine inside and out, but I'm not so sure about everyone elses. Brandon spend the afternoon playing Mr. Fix-It. He put insulation around the pipes under the house and put weather stripping on the bottom of the front door to keep the cold air out. Plus he finished the walkway he started in the fall (all he had to do was put some railroade stakes in the boards to keep them in place). I cleaned the house so that Brandon's family wouldn't be appalled when they came over for dinner. We had spaghetti for dinner (not too fancy), but at least Brandon's dad can stop complaining that we never have dinner at our place (which would be false anyway, because I busted my a$$ to have christmas eve dinner at our place and it was SCRUMPTIOUS). I hope everyone had a good weekend and has a fantastic week!

Now It's Friday

Today I overslept by 45 minutes...somehow I still managed to be early to school (and no, I wasn't speeding). I must waste a lot of time on a regular basis or something. Maybe I watch too much of the today show in the morning and neglect to do things as quickly as I could.

Brandon has decided to start tinkering with electronics. He's super obsessed with solar panels, so don't be suprised if we get a solar panel on our roof within the next couple of years. He bought supplies so he can solder things together and make small electronic devices. He seems to like it a lot...I hope his hobby doesn't get too expensive.

Well...I'm off to bible study with my Roanoke sunday school class. I hope that more people will be there. I'm sure they're tired of looking at me and Colby all the time :-)

It Feels Like Monday

All day I've been feeling like it's Monday. Clearly it' not, but I just have to keep reminding myself that tomorrow is Friday (yay!) and then I have two days off (yay!).

Today started off with a two hour delay, which means I got to watch the Today show for longer. I have to admit I cried over a story about a Down syndrome kid who got to play basketball for the last game of his high school career. I was impressed by the student who gave up his starting spot so that Patrick could play and I was impressed by the student body who chanted to have him put back in the game in the second half and stormed the court at the buzzer. I know my kids are a pain, but I am now convinced that every student that walks through my door is capable of doing so much good. It's my job to give them opportunities to do the good and see the good in themselves. I realized at school that making them see the good is a hard, hard task that most teachers don't try to tackle. I think that sticking to teaching your subject is easier, but what do they get out of that? Sure they'll know the grammar rules, vocabulary words and the stories you've taught, but what have they learned about life when they leave? What have they learned about contributing to their community? What have they learned about doing the right thing even when nobody is lookings? I'm sure that student who gave up his starting spot didn't know he was going to be on national television. I'm sure the student body didn't think they'd be in the national spotlight. But because they learned to do the right thing, they were.

Oh, and just in case you were wondering how these new tighter rules worked out at school - I think the kids were weirded out that so many teachers were watching them walk the locker banks. I think because we watched them like hawks, they moved faster. Some kids didn't seem to understand the reasons we were doing it, but maybe in time they will. My concern right now - what will happen when the kids get tired of it and decide to fight in the cafeteria where the have to stay in the morning until the bell rings?

It Feels Like the Weekend

Today was my second snow day in a row - I feel like I've just had a weekend. At this point I'm almost wondering if it's even worth it to have school tomorrow...why not just wait until next week and start with a fresh new week!? What do you say? No? :-(

We didn't have bible study tonight either, though I'm not sure why. We rode around Radford to get something to eat and didn't have the least bit of trouble. I guess I'm just disappointed because I was really looking forward to discussing the second chapter of Esther. It was so interesting and filled me with relief to know that God doesn't need me to look a certain way for him to love me.

We ate dinner at this place called Tuscana. We were served Italian food by a guy who sounded like an actor in Defiance and was named Amir. Go figure. I would describe it as a hole in the wall, but the food there is excellent. We've gotten calzones there before and they are amazing. And their huge! A small calzone takes up the whole plate! I think a large one could feed a small country!

Wow, I reread my post - must be a slow day in the lives of the Gills. At least Brandon gets excitement - low speed pursuits and foot pursuits are cool.

Snowy Tuesday

Today was a snow day :-) It snowed enough to cover the grass, trees and cars, but not enough to cover the roads. It was pretty, but not dangerous. I took Colby to daycare for a couple of hours so that I could go to school and work on some things. Then I decided that since he was already at daycare and I was already out to go to Walmart and do some grocery shopping. Not that I mind taking Colby - he loves Walmart! So much to look at! So many people that are always saying hi! I just feel bad taking him from somewhere warm and exposing him to the arctic weather. The best thing about my snow day is the fact that I got to see Brandon for a little while before he had to go to work. On power shift he usually has to leave before I get home so I don't get to see him, but not today! The other good thing about the snow day is that I got to work on my crochet project. I'm making a bag for all my crochet supplies then who knows what I'll do. Maybe I'll make a blanket or something. Or a scarf. You can never have too many scarves in weather like this.

Bumps and Bruises

For the first time I got a call from daycare saying that Colby fell and bumped his head. He has a light blue bruise on his forehead now. Apparently he was standing, decided to let go of what he was holding on to and try to walk, but he ended up falling instead. I was worried, but then they said he'd been fighting the ice pack they tried to put on it. I figured if he was okay enough to fight the ice pack that he was okay. He was standing up and seemed alert when I picked him up, so I'll just let him be. It won't be the last time he bumps his head. Plus, I'm proud of my fearless child trying to be independant :-)

Today we had a teacher work day before our new semester. We had an emergency meeting this morning to discuss the problems we've been having with fighting at our school. Apparently we had four times the amount of fights this past semester including fifteen or so in the last six days of the semester. And guess who's behind all these fights - my darling ninth graders - mostly. We're going to be more strict with them and monitor them closely throughout the day, which is a pain, but my opinion is this - if they're going to act like hoodlums, we'll monitor them like they're hoodlums. My thoughts keep going back to my eighth grade year when someone was killed in a fight at the high school I was supposed to be going to. If our new rules can prevent something like that from happening, then I'm all for it. I have zero sympathy for students who think it's unfair that they now only have four minutes to get to their next class, that they are being shooed out of the locker banks without getting to talk to their friends, and that they're being made to go inside the building instead of being allowed to congregate at the bus circle. One day they'll understand that school is for learning and the only thing they should be worried about is their grades - not whether they're going to die when they go to school.

Side note: It's snowing outside! Maybe we'll get a two hour delay tomorrow!

Political Know-it-alls

Do you know someone who "knows" everything about politics? No matter how much you've read or researched, you can never be right because they "know" everything? I know a person like that and they drive me crazy. Last night Brandon and I had a really good date - we went to the Roadhouse and had a baby cactus blossom and steak followed by a viewing of Defiance (pretty good by the way if you like to see family angst, love stories, and Nazi's getting killed) and Cold Stone. We were having a wonderful time joking about people and things we'd done lately only to be spoiled by the following conversation.

FIL: How would you rate Obama so far?
Me: Who knows, he's only been in office for less than two weeks.
FIL: What about the stimulus package?
Me: "shruggs"
FIL: What? You don't know what's in the stimulus package?
Me: Nope.
FIL: What?
Me: I got things to do.
FIL: Like what?
Me: Babies to take care of, papers to grade, food to cook, bible study to go to...
FIL: You don't care about all that pork?
Me: I didn't hear anything about pork.
FIL: Well maybe you should take some time to read.

>:-( Why should I take the time to read, no matter what my opinion is, it won't be good enough. I HATE it when people do this. Have you ever heard that you shouldn't discuss politics? Well I agree! Unless you're going to be open-minded, don't bring it up! If you want to look down your nose at me as someone too young to have an informed opinion, then don't bring it up! I hate that my perfect evening ended like that. Later when we were home and lying in bed, I was still mad. And now I'm mad because I feel like I should have an informed opinion, but guess what, I'm not going to go look at what's in that bill. We elect officials to make decision for us. They should read the bills and pass them as they see fit for the better good of thier constituents. If they don't do this, we'll fire them during the next election. And in the future, don't discuss politics with me unless you're going to be objective and not snotty about it.