Friday Five

1. Today is OPENING DAY!! Well, technically yesterday was Opening Day for MLB, but today is the big day for the Texas Rangers! The only way I would be more excited is if we actually got to go to the Ballpark like we did last year, but that is unfortunately not the case. We'll just have to experience the magic from home. Or someone else's home since we have stupid regular TV and can hardly get any games anymore.

2. I don't even know when we'll be able to make it out to the Ballpark for our first game this year. Before Avery was born we went at least once a week. We even made it out to quite a few games the season she was born. It was harder to go last year because she requires a little more entertainment, but we're hoping that this year she'll enjoy watching the game (haha, maybe?) or at least enjoy the atmosphere. Our half-price ticket connection (hehe) comes back from Costa Rica at the end of April, so hopefully we can go to a game in May before Landon gets here (and he'll get his first taste of the Rangers as soon as possible; Avery's first game was when she was 5 weeks old!).

3. Since I'm on a baseball kick in this post, I would also like to inform you that I have been suckered into recruited to play Fantasy Baseball this year. I may be the only girl in the league, and I may be clueless as to how the league actually works (I've only played Fantasy Football, which so far seems way easier), but I refuse to lose. I probably won't win, but I will not come in last. Especially since my brother is convinced that I will. :)

4. And now to switch gears completely. Budget cuts in education. That was a fragment (don't worry, I don't teach English anymore).

I get that the state (well, really the whole country) is out of money. I get that that means that budgets have to be cut. I get that that means that even the most worthwhile things like education will suffer. I actually don't have a problem with cutting education budgets in general because honestly I saw so much excessive, unnecessary spending in our district when I was teaching. (Keep in mind, I was in a great district, and I'm almost positive that kind of spending went on in most, if not all, Texas districts, simply because the money was there.)

What I do have a problem with is how districts (at least ours) are choosing to cut budgets, and that is in the way of teachers. I'm sure that because of the sheer amount of money that needed to be saved, the problem could only be solved by eliminating some positions. What makes me crazy is that seniority seems to be playing the biggest role in these cuts. There are positions in the administration building that seem absolutely worthless, and the teachers that they're cutting are overwhelmingly first-year or new-to-district teachers.

Whatever happened to rewarding actual job performance? In my observations, many first-year teachers, while completely clueless in that first year, figure it out (i.e. classroom management) and become fantastic educators by their second year (think tons of energy, passion for the profession, and a willingness to try new teaching techniques). Whereas many of the teachers who have been in the school system longer than I've been alive are completely burned out, negative, and doing just enough to get by.

I know it's just wishful thinking, but in a perfect world, the decision-makers would use this time to get rid of the teachers who have no business being in a classroom in order to keep the ones who actually care about their students and work their butts off to see them succeed. Actually, if we're talking perfect world here, we wouldn't be in this economic situation, but that's a story for another day.

**Please know that I do not think that all "seasoned" teachers are terrible. Nor do I think that all new teachers are good. I just wish that there could be a more fair way of making these decision, rather than just who's been at the school the longest.**

Okay, that topic really should've been its own post. I got a little carried away.

5. This weekend is another free one for us (two in a row?!?), so we're hoping to get some more stuff done around the house. Try not to get too envious of our super-exciting lives.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday=Awesome

Today's been a good day so far.

Before I forget to add it to the blog (thus forgetting for my "records" since I all but stopped updating her baby book), drumroll please, Avery is walking on her own initiative as of Tuesday. She's been cruising for forever it seems like, and she always wants to walk with us holding her hands, but this week she finally decided to head out on her own. It's so cute and wobbly, and of course we couldn't find our little video camera. We'll get some footage soon.

Little Miss was in a very good mood this morning. It's always a good sign when let's us know she's awake by yelling, "Book!" instead of just crying her little eyes out. So we read some all of her books this morning, all before breakfast.

We also took a trip over to the high school to have lunch with Matt and visit with some of the English teachers. I was pleasantly surprised to note that I wasn't even sad after seeing my room all, well, not my room anymore. (p.s. Beth, you did a GREAT job with it. I love it!) As stressed as I am right now with some stuff going on with my position at church, it was a nice reminder that it could be so much worse. Plus, it was good to say hi to everybody.

The day got even better when we got to eat lunch at Gimme Sugar with Matt and my two favorite English teachers, Sarah and Megan. Oh. my. goodness. I'd only had their cupcakes (which are to die for, btw), but their Minnie's sandwiches are super yummy.

Plus, Avery fell asleep in the car within 2 minutes of dropping Matt off at school, and she even stayed asleep when I dragged her out of her carseat, put her in bed, and took off her shoes.

I think somebody was a little tired.

Other fun things about today: Gap Groupon for 50% off, my new Cricut is being delivered today, and Matt is totally finished with the deck!

Happy Thursday!

Summer school, decks, rehearsal, and AT&T.

Well since I've been on the phone with AT&T tech support for over an HOUR now, I figured I might as well use my time wisely and update the ol' blog.

Summer is supposed to be RELAXING! Not this hectic, time-sucking, run-all-over-town, rehearsal-every-night season that it's been the past couple of weeks.

Matt and I both subbed for summer school this week. Matt worked four days and I worked three. The money will be more than welcome because it's going straight to the deck Matt will be tediously slaving over constructing in the very near future. But whew, let me just tell ya, there's a reason those kids are in summer school, bless their little hearts. I was exhausted after 4 hours with them each day! 

And in case you were worried (ha!), Avery got some good Grandma time in while we were at school in the mornings. The poor thing has had to be a super-trooper these past couple of weeks. She's had five different babysitters during that time period (between rehearsals, summer school, and the Idina concert). I'm just hoping she remembers who her mommy is after the show is over!

Only two more weeks to go! We're almost halfway through rehearsals, and things are actually starting to come together. After tonight, the entire show will be blocked, and next week we start running entire acts. Eek! I'm so excited. And nervous. And overwhelmed.

Allison and I could not get through our tear-jerker scene without bawling our eyes out, so Kendra (the director) made fun of us. 

And now I'm finally off the phone with tech non-support, but alas, my issue is not resolved, which means I am not a "very satisfied customer" as they keep telling me they want me to be. Please. So now I just get to wait until they call me back and this whole mess starts again. For the record, it's now been an hour and a half. Ugh, if it didn't mean I'd lose my email address, I'd totally be switching DSL providers right about now.

But Avery's still napping, which means I need to spend some quality time with my script. I'm out.

Playing Catch Up

The worst part of being a bad blogger is the catch-up post that seems necessary after going on a twelve day hiatus. Here's the rundown as summarized as I can make it:

School ended. After five years, three classrooms, two subjects, and roughly 1,000 students, my teaching career came to a halt. Maybe for now, maybe forever. People keep asking me how it feels to be a stay-at-home mom, but I honestly don't know yet. It just feels like summer right now. Ask me in August when my husband and friends are all going back to school and I'm at home with a cute little one-year-old.

We went to the drive-in with Carlos and Kendra. Nothing says summer like sitting outside on lawn chairs, eating buttery popcorn, and watching a movie. Well, except when you go on the only cool evening in June. We didn't even have blankets! I wussed out halfway through Shrek, sat in the car, and promptly fell asleep, which was a bummer because I actually enjoyed the movie. Kendra joined me for the second movie though because, really, was a sequel to Iron Man necessary? Snooze.

Avery got her eye fixed. We hope. The pediatric ophthalmologist's office was in North Dallas, so we made the 45-minute trek on Wednesday morning and arrived right at the appointment time (why can't we be early for anything?!?). There were so many people in the waiting room because one of the doctors was running two hours behind schedule. TWO HOURS. How does that even happen? Fortunately it wasn't ours, and we were in and out of the office in twenty minutes. Keep in mind that when I made the appointment they told me to expect a 1-2 hour visit. This was a nice surprise. And Avery did surprisingly well. She loved the toys in the exam room. "Loved" is actually not a strong enough word. She was so excited she didn't know what to do with herself. It was hilarious! She even let them put that yellow numbing junk in her eye and then went right back to playing. The only time she fussed was when they literally tied her town to do the actual procedure. I couldn't watch, but as soon as they were done she was back to her happy self. Success. We scheduled an appointment to go back in a month to make sure it worked. It has a 90-95% success rate, but I'm starting to think we're in the 5% bracket. If so, we'll have to have the procedure done again.

We celebrated the quick visit by having quesadillas at Cafe Brazil, one of my very favorite eateries. After we got home from the doctor, packed, and got the dogs settled, we got in the car for the four hour trip to...

...Baytown to see Matt's family. It was just a short visit this time, but we got to watch recording of their musical revue, play on the water slide, eat at a yummy hibachi/buffet place, and have a dance competition (I totally won. Just saying.). We were supposed to go to my college roommate Tiffany's house for the rest of the weekend to meet up with our other roommate and all our families for some beach time and Tiff's baby shower, but a family emergency for Tiff meant that the shower was postponed and so was our visit. We were sad that we couldn't see Tiff, but we went with Plan B and...

...drove to Austin to see Candie, Ricky and Jake. Jake is Avery's future husband, and we were very thankful to be able to spend some quality time with some of our favorite friends. We had fajitas, watched Avatar (and I have yet to understand why it was so acclaimed, but whatever), went to the pool, and shopped at the Round Rock Outlets. We left on Saturday night to make it back for church on Sunday...

...except Avery got sick. She started running a fever on Saturday and was just generally puny. She'd been having some symptoms for about a week and a half, but I attributed them all to teething (she has like four teeth about to break the gums any day now). Her fever was high and she wasn't eating or really sleeping, so I stayed home with her on Sunday while Matt took care of my duties in the children's wing. (Have I mentioned how amazing my husband is??) p.s. When I took Avery to the doctor on Monday, we found out she has strep and an ear infection. No wonder she was so miserable. In more positive news though, our dog Sadie's ear infection is totally gone!

My cousin Amy came over on Sunday afternoon because we hadn't seen each other since Easter. We seriously just chilled at the house and then took a little excursion to Charming Charlie since she'd never been. We finished off the lazy day by picking up pizza for dinner and halfway watching the Tony Awards.

Little Women rehearsals started Monday. Please someone tell me how I'm going to memorize lines, blocking, and songs in four weeks. The first blocking/music rehearsal was fantastic, but I'm a tad overwhelmed. Just a tad. It is, however, going to be a fantastic show, so mark your calendars for July 15-17!

Whew! That about does it for now. Now I'm off to work on lines. This could take awhile.

Well that was fun.

Passing periods are crazy at the high school. They're even crazier when the cool-as-a-cucumber associate principal frantically comes over the loudspeaker yelling for everyone to take cover because there's a tornado forming right above the school.

Naturally, I grabbed my kids who were right outside my door and already in the classroom and we huddled together on the inside wall.

Meanwhile, my idiot courageous husband was outside taking this picture:

Um, honey, next time please stay inside when there is a funnel cloud forming over your head.

Let me tell you how fun it is to try and keep yourself composed in front of your panicking students when all you can think of is your precious daughter who is a mile away in a very old building with 95 other helpless babes and this is outside their facility:

Okay, honestly, had I known then just how small the tornado actually was, I probably wouldn't have been quite as fearful, but come on. It was sunny outside and BAM. Duck and cover. Except apparently you're not supposed to duck and cover anymore. (I guess all those tornado drills in junior high were a waste of my precious awkward time.)

The tornado did eventually touch down, but it was in a field and only lasted for a little while, but holy chicken, I do not want to experience that ever. again.

Quiet.

I haven't really posted much lately, mostly because there's not much to say. Life has been more of the same: good, but really busy. Avery's been especially entertaining these days, and we've been enjoying lots of good family time.

But one of my students from last year was killed by an intoxicated driver on Saturday night. He was riding his bike with a friend when the guy hit him from behind and didn't stop. I don't think I've actually processed it yet because when the news update came on tonight I just started crying. It's impossible to grasp how and why these things happen, and I don't think I'm going to attempt to work through my thoughts/emotions using this forum. I can't even begin to imagine how his family must be feeling.

That's really all I've got tonight.

I'm bored.

Two more days and counting until I'm not relegated to my desk day in and day out. I'm ready to be a productive member of society the classroom.

I want to kick somebody. Although we usually play on Mondays, I'm so relieved that we have an indoor game tonight because I have some pent up aggression that's begging to be set free.

Have you ever checked out this blog? The Hostess With the Mostess is brilliant! And I've discovered her just in time to start planning for Avery's first birthday. Holy cow, it's hard to believe that this summer she'll be a whole year old. No need to fret: I will not be joining the ranks of parents who spend thousands of dollars on a party their kid won't even remember. I do, however, want to come up with a color scheme and some cute ideas for a small family party. I need an excuse to get creative. (Plus, the kid may not remember, but pictures last forever!)

I never thought I'd say this (ever), but I'm beginning to prefer Walmart to Target. Oh, it hurts to admit it. Most of our grocery shopping is done at Kroger or HEB, but when I do have to get food items at the superstores, Target hates me. Their produce is awful (and so expensive). Their frozen fruits are laden with sugar. Their frozen vegetables are pre-salted. Their baby food jars (that I have to buy for day care, but that's a whole other issue) are either Gerber or Earth's Best (both overpriced and where's the Beech Nut?!?). And they don't sell unfrosted strawberry Pop Tarts (so what if I shouldn't be eating them in the first place?). So boo, Target, I'm sad that our relationship has come to this point.

I was interrogated yesterday. TWICE. Once at school by our on-campus officer (crazy drama there, but it's off my back now-- whew! ) and once at home by a private investigator who was digging up some dirt on a loan company who had signed the papers on the mystery house across the street. Juicy! Or not. But it did add some intrigue to our evening.

I'm nearing my 100th blog post. That milestone calls for a list. I'd better get on that.

Ramblings

I literally squealed when I saw Idina Menzel's gorgeous face on Glee last night. Much to my dismay, she didn't even sing. How? Ugh. I know she will eventually because I think she'll be a regular this season, but I was so looking forward to it.

My American Idol top three: Crystal, Mike, Casey. Love them all. As for the rest of the group, I would be totally fine if I never had to hear them sing ever again. Ever. It reminds me why I stopped watching AI in the first place.

I want to go on a cruise.

We're finally getting to go to the Family Life Weekend to Remember! We've been trying to go since we got married, but the Dallas conference never works out with our schedule. So we're going to the San Antonio conference at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort with our friends Tiffany and Ross and (maybe, hopefully!) Candie and Ricky.

I start teaching again in a week and a half. My student teacher has taken over this six weeks, so I've been spoiled bored to death sitting at my computer all day. As excited as I am that we close out the year with To Kill a Mockingbird, I'm a little nervous to take over the entire load again. Talking all day, teaching the same lesson six times in a row, grading 150 papers, packing up my classroom...sounds fun, doesn't it?

We had TAKS training this morning (kill me), but they passed out free coffee coupons (to be redeemed at our on-campus coffee shop) for the people who were on time. Score!

Last night's dinner and my new favorite meal: BBQ salad. Yum. Barbeque chopped brisket + spinach leaves + baked beans + ranch dressing = LOVE. I know, it sounds disgusting. It wasn't.

This blog entry inspired me this morning. It's the coolest birthday gift ever; take a minute to check it out.

Auditions for our church/community production of Little Women are SATURDAY! We desperately need a Laurie (who is, in fact, a male, for you Joey Tribbianis out there). If you know of anybody in the DFW area who is a solid tenor and is available from June 15-July 17, let me know. Obviously we're casting the entire show, so if you can sing, act, dance (just a little), and are just plain awesome, come see us on Saturday from 7-9pm.

The end.

Today was definitely a Monday.

There's nothing like listening to genocide memorial projects all day long to get you in a swell mood. We had a fantastic research project assignment to close out our Night (Holocaust) unit, and there were some pretty amazing finished products turned in today. One student even admitted how unaware he was of these other genocides in the world because all he ever learned about in school was the Holocaust. Ah, it's nice when they understand "the point." Well, awareness isn't the whole point, but I love it when students have the "aha" moment that bursts their small-town bubble, even if it only is for a single moment.

Anyway, my original point was that it was a little bit of a downer (to say the least) to listen to stories about rape and massacres all day long. My relief tonight came in the form of baby laughter and even my own laughter at The Bachelor.

Matt had rehearsal until 8, so I was a good wife (hehe) and took him Sonic and a sweet baby girl while he wasn't directing. Yes, I was supposed to make spaghetti for dinner; no, I did not want to cook at all today (even spaghetti, aka the easiest thing in the world to make); yes, we had Sonic gift cards (thanks Uncle Vernon and Aunt Tina!). Needless to say, the decision was relatively easy to make.

I even got some precious Avery time when I got home. She even LAUGHED for me! Okay, I know babies are supposed to laugh all the time, so I shouldn't think this is a big deal. But if you've spent any time with Avery over the past couple of months, you'll know that she doesn't laugh anymore. Don't get me wrong; she's a very happy baby, but whenever she's excited about something and wants to laugh, she snorts. Like a pig. Sure it's cute and all, but sometimes it's just really fun to hear a sweet baby laugh.

And okay, okay, I caved. I swore off The Bachelor after Jason's fiasco of a season. But that (stupid) show is my guilty TV pleasure. I can't help it! Pardon the tired cliche, but watching these desperate drama queens fight over one (admittedly pretty cute) guy is like watching a train wreck. And tonight was drama-filled. Sigh. (I pick Alli, btw.)

Fortunately, my life is not fraught with such theatrics, and I think I will return to living it away from the computer screen.


p.s. I'm so beyond ready for the weather to warm up again. My puppies are total weenies when it comes to the cold, and they're driving me nuts inside the house.

p.p.s. I can't wait for Dear John to come out in theaters. If you haven't read it (yes, I know it's just a cheesy Nicholas Sparks novel, but don't be a literature snob; it is SO GOOD), go read it before the movie comes out. Seriously.

2010 pt. 1

New year, not-so-new busy schedule. Therefore, lack of consistent bloggage. Sigh. Even now I really need to be in bed. So here's the quick rundown...

• Avery turned 6 months old yesterday! I still haven't taken her cute little 6-month onesie picture, so keep your eyes peeled.
• I officially started my new position at the church as Children's Ministry Director. Things have already been interesting, and I'm not sure I'm ready for what I just got myself into. :)
  
• It is very cold outside. Like very cold.
• I won a prize on a blog today. It wasn't the one I worked my little booty off for, but it will suffice. And now I can't say I never win anything! Yippee!
  
• My student teacher started today, so to break him in, we took 200 sophomores to the Holocaust Museum. Okay, fine. Those two things weren't cause-and-effectual (yes, I just made up that phrase), but I'm sure it was an interesting way for him to start his teaching career. And just think, we get to take 200 more tomorrow.

If I'm going to have any energy at all for this week, this post must. end. now.

Night.

News flash!

Well, my blogging has been a tad inconsistent as of late, so see my previous entry for the reason. I do have some news though, so it's time to share it with the blogosphere. 

As many of you know, I've been wanting desperate to be a stay-at-home mom next year. I tried to do the working mom thing this year, fully expecting to enjoy being able to "do it all" and have the best of both worlds.

I didn't though. Enjoy it, that is. 

It's been so beyond frustrating having to "raise" other peoples' kids while I've sent mine off to someone else.  I want to be the one teaching her and facilitating her development. I want to be the one who's there when she starts crawling, pulling herself up, walking, and talking (ohmygoodness) for the first time. So as great as my students are this year and as much as I enjoy my profession, I'm happy to report that...

...this is my last year to do it. For awhile anyway. It's going to be a big adjustment (financially and emotionally), but we're ready for the challenge. I'm so thankful to have such a supportive husband who is willing to do whatever it takes to do what is best for our family during this season of our lives. I know not everyone who wants to be a stay-at-home-mom gets to, for whatever reason, so I consider myself very fortunate. 

(Please note that I don't look down on any of you moms who do work full-time; every one of you is doing what you feel is best for your family, and I applaud you for that.) 

Anyway, this brings me to my next announcement, and that is that I've accepted the Director of Children's Ministry position at our church, effective in January.  I'll still be teaching until June, so it's going to be a balancing act to do both for the first half of the year, but I know for sure that this is where God has me, and He has me here for a reason.

So it seems that's the next chapter in our adventure. We can't wait!

Some Days are Like That...

So this morning was a little bit hectic. After sleeping all night with Avery laying on top of me, her head on my shoulder because that was the only way the congested, sweet baby girl would sleep, I woke up with the most ridiculous crick in my neck, shoulders, and back. 

I arrived at day care with said baby girl in tow at 7:55 and needed to be at my school and in a 504 meeting by 8:00.  Nice one. As I walked in the door of my classroom, I heard the ever-embarrassing intercom page to get my booty in the main office for the meeting. Of course I wore my super-cute but horribly painful heeled knee-high boots today to make the 1/2 mile trek to the office in record time. (You should've seen the is-she-crazy? stares from the students as I ran past them while they asked, "Aren't those shoes uncomfortable?")

Meeting over, plenty of time to stop and get my free Happy-Thanksgiving-latte from the coffee shop on my way back to 1st period. Not so much. The tardy bell rang while I was still waiting for my coffee. Oops. So I frantically scramble in the devil-shoes to get to class before my classroom is demolished by unsupervised 15-year-olds. On my way I hear, "Man, even our teachers can't get to class on time!" I turned in the direction of the scolding voice to see my principal laughing at the scene of me trying to power walk with coffee in one hand and books in the other. Double oops.  When I finally arrived to class, I realized that my fear of the 15-year-olds was unfounded because there was someone supervising: a student observer who was waiting to take notes on good teaching practices. I introduced myself, explaining that this was his first lesson in what not to do. 

Fortunately, five years into my teaching career (which, by the way, does not make me an expert by any means), I am able to cover for my (sometimes) lack of preparation and made it through the class reading and discussion without a hitch. Whew. 

Some days are just like this, and I think it's actually a good thing. Being thrown for a loop is part of what keeps me on my toes and is God's way of reminding me that I'm not perfect (wait, WHAT?!?!) and need to depend on Him to sustain me in everything (not only in my imperfection). This seems to be on my life-lessons-list allthetime; maybe I'll actually learn the lesson someday.

Side note that my fellow teachers might appreciate: Last year I had a student in my class who, let me put it this way, was a little bit of a hellion. You know the kid, the one who you attempt to smile at when he walks in the door but secretly hope is absent. That's putting it nicely. Anyway, that kid was in the coffee shop while I was waiting for my own jolt of caffeine and he goes, "Uh, Mrs. _____, you know how we're reading about that Jewish stuff right now?" (he's repeating the class with another teacher and referring to Night, a holocaust novel) "Yep, I sure do," I responded. He continued, "Well, there are some kids in my class who are laughing at some of the scenes in the book, and it's really annoying. I did that last year."  I seriously had to hold back my tears of freaking joy because I believe that was his way of apologizing for his behavior last year. Maybe he wasn't totally beyond saving after all.

A Case of the Mondays

Dear Parents of English II Students,

No, your child may not do anything extra to earn extra credit for last six-weeks, unless that "anything extra" is to reverse time and put forth more effort on their "reasearch papper." Had they shown concern for their missing work while there was still time to complete it, they might be one of the 65% of my students who actually passed this six-weeks.

Yes, your precious darling can still receive a zero for their mechanics grade even though they "turned it in." They made enough mistakes to warrant a negative grade; the zero was generous. You're welcome.

No, I do not hate your student. In fact, I really do care about his or her success in and out of my classroom. We actually have a pretty good relationship, and your student will perform better in class (and in life) if you will let them learn these lessons, albeit the hard way, without making excuses for them and telling them that it's all the teacher's fault.

Mrs. !@#$%

It's been a bad day.

Weekend Update

I'm supposed to be grading papers right now, so shhhhhh. Because what I really want to be doing while grading said papers is lying on the ground banging my fists on the (still dirty because I haven't had time to clean) floor while screaming in my best toddler-temper-tantrum voice, "Did I not teach you anything for the past four weeks in which I figuratively held your hand and walked you through the entire process step-by-step?!?!"

But alas, I'm thinking this might be a better distraction outlet for my energy. Here's our weekend wrap-up in (mostly) pictures.

Matt had to work late at a choir fundraiser, so we were going to get a (very) late start to Austin. In the meantime, I went with the parents to celebrate Nick's birthday. Hey, they said Babe's. How do you say no to that?
Saturday we got to spend the WHOLE day with Candie, Ricky, and Jacob! We went to the Round Rock outlets, and I think I was a little too excited because we spent waaaay too much money. However, in all fairness (to myself of course), I hadn't been shopping in over a year (maternity clothes don't count). I did land three pairs of shoes, two cute Gap sweaters, four layering long-sleeved t-shirts from J. Crew, and some a-mazing J. Crew jeans (on sale for $18 thankyouverymuch). Okay, fine. I admit it. I bought more clothes for Avery. But The Children's Place had THE cutest dresses on ridiculous clearance, and then the Gap Baby outlet had a super sale, and they have a Carter's STORE, and well, let's just say I don't have enough willpower to go to outlets.

Avery and Jacob had fun though.I think we wore them out. I did get to snuggle with Jacob for a few minutes though, and he is itty bitty. He's smaller than Avery was even at birth, so it was a new experience for me to hold someone that small! He is a sweetheart though and I think I approve of this arranged marriage between him and Avery. (Although she's a major cougar right now seeing that she's 4x his age!)

We really enjoyed our time hanging out with Candie and Ricky. We only get to see them once every few months, so we're already looking forward to our next get together (New Years Eve with Tiff and Ross! Woohoo!). Friends like them are hard to find. We love you guys!

When we got home, I was so uninspired to grade papers that I did this:Kitchen is clean, Avery is sound asleep in bed, the blog is updated, and those papers are still waiting for me. This is one date I'd really like to stand up.

Friday Five.

I love...

1.  ...this blog. Go there. 

2. ...the fact that research papers are due today, and although that also means I now have to grade all of them, I don't even care as long as the end is officially in sight. Bonus: Up on my board I wrote the order that everything needed to be organized in their turn-in folder (obsessive compulsive much?), and I snuck in "chocolate so I'm in a good mood when I grade your paper" to see if they noticed (joking of course! or, uh, not joking so much; it's relative), so I now have a mini-fridge full of Kit Kats! Now when I'm done grading papers, I will also fit back into my post-pregnancy-still-a-little-fat jeans. Wait, that's not a good thing? Dangit.

3. ...that we're driving to Austin tonight to see Candace, Ricky, and Jacob! We've never met the little Jake-O-Lantern, and we're so excited to spend some time with some of our favorite people. Not to mention that they live very close to some amazing outlets. Score! 

4. ...Thanksgiving. It's coming up so fast, and I cannot WAIT. A whole week off= a wedding weekend, catching up with the in-laws, family pictures with Allison (she's amazing, check her out if you're looking for a photographer), Thanksgiving at Nana's (yum!), movies in an actual theater (vs. the good ol' RedBox standby), shopping, decorating for Christmas, and spending the whole week with Avery and Matt. Those moments truly are priceless.

5. ...Google Reader. It lets me continue my blog-reading obsession much more quickly than going to each individual blog.  Side note: If you only read my blog on Facebook, you're missing out on a super-cute layout (that I'm actually looking to change up a little once I get the hang out the poor man's version of Photoshop, aka Paint.net) and links to some awesome blogs (seriously, check 'em out on the left side of my blog).  Oh, and while you're there (or, uh, here), leave a comment. I like to know who my stalkers are. :)

Have a great weekend!

 

Sunday's Friday Five

My posts seem to be most effective (and regular) when I have a purpose (i.e. the Friday Five, Tuesday's Lists, etc.). I still need to come up with a few more, but you get the idea.

I missed Friday, but instead of just doing the usual weekend roundup (which will probably become Sunday's staple), here's my five:

1. I wore size 4 pants today. I probably shouldn't be bragging about this because I definitely muffin-topped in them, BUT they buttoned and that's all that matters, right? Okay, so maybe I still have some work to do, but this is progress!

2. This has been a busy busy week for Miss Avery. She has been blowing raspberries like nobody's business, and I'm pretty sure this is the only time in her life that it'll be cute, and it is pretty cute. Along those lines, she is also talking up a storm! She hasn't quite developed an extensive vocabulary yet, but she has become quite proficient at high-pitched squeals, and varying tones of "aaahhh" and "uuuhhhhh." And the most exciting milestone of this week is that she is ROLLING OVER! She's been kinda rocking back and forth for a couple of weeks, but she always seemed to get stuck on her side (that dang arm just gets in the way!). But on Thursday night, she finally did it. She rolled from her back aaalllll the way over to her tummy. That was about as far as she got because she HATES being on her tummy, so we'd flip her back over and she'd do it again. CUTENESS. Then today she surprised us by rolling from her back to her tummy and she just kept going on to her back again! If you're not a parent, you probably think I'm way too easily entertained, and I was going to defend myself, but I think you're right.

3. This Friday can't come fast enough. I'm teaching research right now, and papers are due on Friday. I don't even care that Friday means I'll have 150 papers to grade, I just can't spend another day answering the same question over and over (after I've already explained it 17 times). Argh! I should have some memorable quotes to post from them while I'm grading, so something to look forward to...

4. Friday is also the day that Avery will meet her future husband. :) Hehe! We're going to visit Candie and Ricky and Jacob. He's only a few weeks old (she will have to get over being the older woman), and we just can't wait to meet him. (Oh yeah, and we're excited about seeing his parents, too.)

5. Tonight is menu-planning and grocery-list-making night, so after our trip to the store on Tuesday evening, I should have some pretty spectacular deals to report.

I really need to find a hobby.