The past few days...and how teaching isn't always convenient

Here's what's been going on here lately...

Darryl left early Monday morning for a business trip to Milwaukee. (He said it was cold, y'all.) He returned last night.

Monday went by without a hitch for Amelia and me.

Tuesday went even more smoothly. Amelia was a bit irritable and had a runny nose (that she has had off and on since, oh, September) and a cough, but I was able to get her down to sleep about 30 minutes earlier than usual. I was feeling extra-ambitious, so I actually stayed up until after 11:00 to grade some things.

At 2 in the morning (Wednesday morning), Amelia woke up with all her coughing and runny nose. It was obvious she wasn't going to go back to bed easily. At 4:00, after trying to get her back down in her bed, after trying to get her to sleep in my bed, after letting her watch Sesame Street to try to make her mellow out, I realized that there was no way I was going to be able to go to work, so I had to make up lesson plans and an activity on a Faulkner short story (not an easy task for the sleep deprived), and emailed them to Tim to print out for me. (Thanks again, Tim!)

Here's where being a teacher isn't convenient. There's no just calling into the office to say you're not going to be in, that you'll catch up later. Nope. You've got to plan for someone to take your place.

Anyway...so yesterday I was off with Amelia all day. She was cranky all day, but she still played, and she didn't seem to be running a fever. Then last night around 7, I felt her and she seemed HOT. I checked her temp, and it was 103.4. I tried not to flip out, which is my tendency. I tried to call Darryl to help keep me from flipping out, and he was already on the plane to come back. I gave her some Motrin, read the chapter on fevers in my trusty go-to guide, Toddler 411, and was assured that she wasn't going to spontaneously combust . Her fever did come down some, and I felt a little better. Actually, I'm quite proud of myself for fighting the urge to rush her to the ER. (Darryl usually has to be the voice of reason in these instances.)

Darryl really had to be at work today, so I stayed home. However, this also meant that I had to trudge to the school at 4:30 this morning to make some photocopies and get some things together. And oh yeah, Amelia woke up at 2:00 this morning, too. Darryl got up with her this time, but I never really went back to sleep. Apparently she went to sleep right after I left the house for the school and woke up just before I got home.

We went to the doctor this morning, and apparently Amelia has a very mild case of pneumonia, and she is going to be fine. Today has actually gone more smoothly, but--and forgive my being graphic here--I feel covered in snot from head to toe. Seriously...how much of that stuff can one small child produce?? It baffles the mind, people.

That was probably way more than you wanted to know about these past few days, but I just needed to get it out. It hasn't been fun, but Amelia has been extra cuddly, and I must admit that even though I'm sorry she feels bad, I'm enjoying all the hugs and her lying with her head on my shoulder.

Even if it means that I have a big wet snot spot on my shoulder when she gets up.

My girl

I haven't posted any Amelia pics lately, so I thought I would post these because they pretty much capture the way Amelia has been lately--smiley, happy, and Miss Personality. She also seems more "little girl" to me than "baby," I think because her hair has gotten longer. In the above shot, we had just caught her dancing to the lullaby music playing on her old-school Ipod.

The one below is the bathtime ritual of running around the house naked before getting in the tub.

Perhaps I should clarify that Amelia is the only who participates in that ritual.

Christmas Present=Rejuvenation

Several months ago, my friend Blayne told me about a scrapbooking retreat she does every year at this place. She just happened to have an opening and asked if I was interested. Hmm....two days to scrapbook when I wanted, sleep when I wanted, read when I wanted? A private room? Awesome food? Was I interested????? Um, yes.

I convinced Darryl that this could be my (very generous) Christmas present, so I signed up. I'm so glad I did. This past weekend was just what I needed.

I drove up late Friday afternoon to this inn, which was practically in the middle of nowhere. Seriously, you take this winding road, which turns into a dirt road at some point, and then, out of nowhere, appears this inn.

When I arrived, I settled into my room, and then went to the conference room, which was our scrapbooking area. My project for the weekend was Amelia's "First Year" book, and I got a lot done over the two days, thanks to this kit and some baby girl supplies I had already bought.

Anyway, after everyone had arrived Friday, we went to dinner. This might be a place to transition into food talk. If you love food like I do, check out what I ate all weekend:

Friday night: salad, Macadamia Chicken with mashed potatoes and crisp green beans, and chocolate cheesecake for dessert.

Saturday morning/breakfast: Egg and cheese strata, out-of-this-world grits obviously made with cream, fried ham, fruit, biscuits with homemade grape/blueberry jam.

Saturday lunch: baked potato bar with all the fixings, homemade chili, and chocolate chocolate chip cookies for dessert. (Those cookies were probably the best cookies I've ever eaten.)

Saturday night: salad, beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes and green beans, and brownie sundae for dessert

Sunday morning: blueberry pancakes and apple cinnamon pancakes served straight from the griddle, bacon, and fruit.

Sunday lunch: salad, chicken pot pie, herb-ish buttered bread, and chocolate cake and chocolate fudge pie for dessert.

Good Lord. I ate it all. That might explain why I feel puffy this morning.

So basically, this weekend consisted of eating, scrapbooking, eating, scrapbooking, eating, scrapbooking...you get the idea. Oh, we slept in there somewhere.

It was awesome, and it far exceeded my expectations. I knew only Blayne when I went, but I met some other great ladies and had a wonderful time.

This inn was definitely the definition of "quaint." Is it a place I would go to for just a vacation? No. But it is definitely THE place to go if you just want to get away from everything.

Here is my room (excuse the unmade bed):

"Quaint" means you might see signs like this hanging over the toilet:

This was the view from my room.


Pretty nice, huh?

I came back Sunday afternoon, and while I had a good time, I was ready to see Darryl and Amelia. And I swear, when I walked through the door, Amelia started stomping her feet in excitement to see me, and then she gave me a HUGE hug when I picked her up. I think that was hands down the best welcome I've ever received!

I have to give a big thank you to Darryl. Obviously, my being away meant he was on 48-hour Amelia duty, and Amelia is quite the active little girl. Thanks, Babe! I truly enjoyed myself!

Amy is...

Too bad blogs don't have status updates like Facebook does. :)

Anyway, I'm still here and hope to blog soon. It's been a very chaotic week. It also seems like the longest week ever.

Later...

Ready for 2009 to get better

This has been a rough week for several reasons that I won't go into here. It feels, too, as though this week was really three weeks long.

And after just one week back with students, I'm ready for another break. Thank goodness for MLK Day.

And I have a horribly sore throat and have lost my voice. Otherwise, I feel fine.

I did get a chance to attend an AP Workshop today, and it was really beneficial. So far, I'm 2 for 2 on AP Workshops. I don't think Tim has been that lucky with the recent ones he has been to. (He went to a different session than I did today.)

I just had a funny thing happen through Facebook. I received this message from a former student (whom I can't remember at all, although the name looks familiar):

I think that you might be the same Amy _____ that taught Freshman English at ____. If you are not: disregard this e-mail and the errors contained within.
I found my first English paper from college tonight in a box. Spring 2000. You gave me a low "D." I deserved it. The reason I am telling you is to apologize for making you read that paper. It was horrible. I wrote it the morning before your class. Embarrassing. I hope all is well. Feel free to send corrections to this message in red type if necessary. I still need the help, apparently.

This made me LAUGH.

Two-Movie Date Night

Considering the fact that Darryl and I saw exactly ONE movie in 2008 and that was almost a year ago (Juno, which we both enjoyed), when we had another opportunity for a date night last night, we decided to get all wild and crazy and see TWO movies. We saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which was my choice, and Valkyrie, which was history buff Darryl's choice.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
If you get an opportunity to see this movie, go. It is excellent. And take a box of Kleenex.

Darryl and I both really enjoyed this movie. Now, it's long--almost 3 hours--but it is worth it. The basic premise, as you may already know, is that Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt's character) ages backwards while, of course, everyone else ages normally. It has the whole "life is what you make it" and "every moment counts" kind of themes, and there are parts of the movie that are just beautiful to look at.

And speaking of beautiful to look at, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the beauty of Brad Pitt in this movie. I've never been much of a Brad Pitt person...I mean sure, the guy is attractive and all that, but I gave him the boot over the whole Brangelina thing. HOWEVER, there are parts of this movie where he is just perfection to look at. He and Cate Blanchett are both wonderful in this movie. Loved it.


Valkyrie
Darryl wanted to see this because he is a big WWII history buff, and he had seen some special about this story on the History Channel.

This movie was so bad that Darryl asked me if I was ready to leave about 40 minutes from the end. We ended up staying because I figured that we paid for it, so we might as well stay for it.

I told Darryl that the suspense was kind of ruined for me in the beginning because we all know that the assassination plot against Hitler obviously was unsuccessful.

Darryl said the movie was also poorly done because it left out some key parts of the story. I'll just trust him on that.

Don't even bother renting Valkyrie.

New Year's: Resolutions and Such

I'm actually at my house by myself. I can't quite remember the last time that has happened. Darryl and my parents (who came up to visit because my mom has a long weekend off from work) and Amelia have gone to my cousin's house, and I thought I'd take a few minutes of uninterrupted time to blog.

It's been a good day so far. Darryl grilled a pork loin, and I fixed hashbrown casserole, black-eyed peas, cornbread, and brownies for lunch. It was all pretty good, if I do say so myself.

I'm looking forward to 2009 because frankly, 2008 wasn't my favorite. It seemed that 2008 was tough on a lot of people--many loved ones passed away not only in our family but in families of friends of ours as well; my passion for teaching has dwindled quite a bit; and overall, it's been a bit of a roller coaster. On the other hand, I've enjoyed Amelia so much, and Darryl continuously amazes me as a father to her (and he's a good husband, too!), and we've enjoyed celebrating her milestones and watching her grow. So when I think about those things, I feel like I can't complain too much.

That being said, here are my resolutions for 2009:

1. I want to lose 10 pounds by St. Patrick's Day. There's nothing significant about St. Patrick's Day for me, but I figure I'll give myself a goal.

2. I want to exercise a little more. Wait, make that "I want to exercise." Period. I'm doing zero right now. (I'd really like to get back into running, but baby steps here. Baby steps.)

3. I want to read more for enjoyment. I typically get caught up in books I need to read for school, but reading for fun--even if it is Twilight--is good for the soul.

4. I need to make better use of my time so I can fully enjoy my "down time."

5. And speaking of down time, I want to continue scrapbooking on a regular basis. This hobby is such a creative outlet for me, and it really does change my perspective on life...for the better.

I think that's enough for now. I don't want to go crazy or anything.

Happy New Year! Happy 2009!

The REAL New Year's Rockin' Eve

I cleaned out my closet New Year's Eve:


I purged eight (!) garbage bags of clothes and two hampers of shoes and handbags from my closet.

Basically, I was just brutally honest with myself. Am I going to lose 30 pounds and fit into the dress I wore in 2000? Um, no.

But check out how well my husband knows me. Here was our conversation yesterday after my closet cleaning:

ME: You know what I finally did, Darryl? I got real with myself. I said, "Amy, are you really going to fit into those pants again? You may lose 10 pounds, but you're not going to lose 30. Get real."

DARRYL: I know what else you said.

ME: What's that?

DARRYL: You said, "And Girlfriend, if you do lose 30 pounds, you deserve to go shopping and get some new clothes!"