Scrapbooking Hell

So Saturday night, my friend Sabrina and I met up at a "crop" and were all prepared to get some major scrapbooking done. At this particular place we go, each table seats four people, so chances are you will sit with one or two people you don't know, but it all works out fine because everyone is there to, you know, scrapbook.

Not Saturday, though.

Imagine the most talkative person you know. Then multiply that person by about 100. She was one of our table companions. Her friend was someone who was making engagement announcement even though she's not engaged yet.

Back to Talkative Girl. She talked the entire 6 hours we were there, and she was scrapbooking about a Disney trip, so she felt compelled to relive every single moment of the trip. And apparently she goes to Disney quite often because she is a Disney MANIAC. Now, I can appreciate Disney and I look very forward to taking Amelia there one day, but c'mon. This girl, who was college-age at least, still gets the Princess makeovers at the boutique and still gets the autographs of the characters. Every time.

At one point, both girls--who apparently have serious boyfriends (who must be INSANE)--were imagining what their marriage proposals would be like, and Talkative Disney Girl said, "Well, I just want Dave to take me to EPCOT Japan, get a pearl, and have it put in a ring." And then Sabrina and I tried (kind of unsuccessfully) not to laugh, and it was like those times you try not to laugh in inappropriate places like church, weddings, funerals, and so forth.

So I got only 3 pages done in my scrapbook, and two of those look terrible. I couldn't focus. Very frustrating.

Darryl said he would have just left, but A) I already had my scrapbook stuff spread out, and B) I was hoping the girl would have to shut up at some point just to catch her breath.

Not so.

What I'm Looking Forward To

Yes! I'm out for a week for Thanksgiving Break. For that, I am truly thankful.

Here are some things I'm so looking forward to, starting tomorrow:

1. Spending some time with my girl.
2. Having my family here for Thanksgiving. I'm cooking the meal for my parents this year for the first time. I've done the Thanksgiving meal before, but not for them. I love holiday cooking and baking.
3. Scrapbooking with my friend Sabrina tomorrow.
4. Using my spa gift certificates for a massage Sunday.
5. Shopping for Thanksgiving groceries. (That may sound weird, but I love shopping for the ingredients for T-giving dinner.)
6. Reading Twilight. I actually started it at the end of the summer, but realized I had to give it up when teaching took over and I couldn't finish a page of "fun" reading without nodding off. (Seriously, I fall asleep within 45 seconds of my head hitting the pillow. Is that normal?) Also, I feel I missed out by not being a Harry Potter reader. I'm getting on the Twilight bandwagon. Sue me.
7. Watching Good Morning America. I hope Robin and Diane aren't on vacation all week. I'll be sad.
8. Burning my Harvest- and Pumpkin Pie-scented Yankee Candles all day long. (I'm not a huge scented candle person, but I love these.)
9. Not getting up at 5:00 every morning.
10. Watching Food Network in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. This is my favorite time for Food Network.

I'll stop at 10. I don't want to get too giddy, you know?

Update

Well, I don't think I'll be on the evening news for race riots in my classroom, so that's good. There were actually two "gangsta" presentations (in two different classes--but one had already shown me a script to make sure they were not being offensive), and both were fine. They were pretty funny, actually, and everyone seemed to enjoy them.

As for the problem student, I've come to the conclusion after another email from the mother and from a conversation with another teacher who is having similar issues with him that I'm not the problem. This is extremely comforting to me because I so don't want to be one of "those" teachers.

I've mentioned my "dream" class--5th period--before, so here are a few pictures of this class from today. LOVE this class:

Someone make me feel better...

...especially if you are a teacher. I have two teaching situations right now that have me frustrated, worried, and down on myself.

Situation 1: I have kid in my Honors class who is very disruptive...not "mean disruptive," but "class-clown-no-self-awareness disruptive." The problem is that he doesn't know when to stop. I love funny students as much as anyone, but this kid constantly blurts out ridiculous things to get us off track, and what's more is that he is in a class with other extroverted, obnoxious personalities, so it doesn't take much to get everyone off track. I've talked with other teachers who have him, and they say that he hardly says a word in their classes and are shocked when I tell them these things. Well, I've just tried to deal with it as much as possible, but today I had enough and emailed the parents. The mother responded to my email, telling me how shocked she is and how she has never received any kind of notification like this (and I believe her, based on what other teachers have said). So here is my fear: is it me??? Have I done something to make this kid want to be this way in my classroom? Do I not exhibit any kind of authority to him? I am really, really down on myself about it. Has anyone been in this situation? I truly have a pretty good reputation of being liked by students (not to toot my own horn), but seriously...what's the deal here? Why me? Why my class? Is it possibly the combination of personalities in that class? Has anyone been in this situation?

Situation 2: In an attempt to be creative and different, I've assigned my honors students different parts of a Greek play to perform with costumes, props, etc. But the problem is that one of my classes (the same one the kid mentioned above is in) is made up of kids who can be very offensive and kids who are easily offended. So now one of the groups with several "offensive" kids in it has decided to do a "gangsta" interpretation of their play, and I overheard a couple of kids who are "easily offended" say that they are, indeed, offended. I have tried to reel in the offenders (I do think it is possible to do "gangsta" without crossing the line), but who knows what will happen. I'm just praying now that I don't get any parent complaints. That's the last thing I need. And this all just makes me mad because my intentions were to think outside the box and do something different. I've done similar projects before with no issues like these whatsoever. Now I feel dumb for trying something new and seriously hope I don't end up being on the evening news.

Why can't kids just, you know, BEHAVE??????

The cutest thing...and scrapbooking

My favorite thing Amelia is doing right now is this: when I pick her up (or when anyone picks her up, I guess), she'll rest her head on my shoulder and pat my back. Seriously, nothing makes me smile like that little hand giving me a light pat on the back. We all need a pat on the back sometimes, don't we?

I'm very much looking forward to plowing through this week to get to Thanksgiving Break. I'm going through a little scrapbooking withdrawal because I haven't really scrapbooked in almost a month. A friend and I are meeting up Saturday for a little scrappin' action.

Speaking of scrapbooking, I put a button/link to a site that is offering "The Best in Baby Scrapbooking." Jessica Turner--a person I don't actually know but who is a gifted scrapbooker--is showcasing some products and ideas specifically for baby-centered projects on her blog December 2-8. (I know you don't want to miss out on that, Tim!) Anyway, probably most of you are not interested, but if you know someone who might be....let her know. (I say "her" because I have yet to meet a male scrapbooker.) I'm also eligible for a drawing for free scrapbooking goodies by posting that button. :)

Happy 1st Birthday, Amelia!

I can't believe my sweet girl is a year old today.

This time last year...



And here she is today, 1 year later, after enjoying a VERY pink birthday cupcake...



We celebrated her birthday this past weekend with a small family party. My parents were here ("Nana" and "Papa") as well as my cousin Vicky and her husband Robert; and Darryl's sister, Ashley, came up for the weekend with her two girls, Madison and Avery.

Amelia seemed to have a good time, but she was a little on the tired side because the party was during the time she typically naps. (I know that all the books say not to schedule a party during nap time, but oh well.) She was pretty pleasant, though, until the end...she just wasn't extremely smiley or chatty. Here are a couple of pics from the occasion:

Here we are with our birthday girl.



Here she is with her oh-so-cute cake, not really sure why people are singing to her:


And here she is with her special "smash" cake. She really didn't eat much of it, but she enjoyed smearing the frosting on her face and squishing it between her fingers:


I can't even begin to describe the ways she has changed our lives. We love you, Amelia, and we're so thankful you are ours.

Happy 1st Birthday, sweet girl!

Let's just slow down for a minute...

I have probably composed about 15 blog posts in my head this week but haven't had time to post any of them. Here's a sample of what went on this week. Some of these deserve the attention of a full blog post when I get a chance...

--We have a new president!
--I saw an outstanding production of Big River performed by our high school's musical theatre class! (Great job, Kim!!)
--I got red highlights in my hair! (They have since "calmed down" a bit, but the day I got them, I was thinking "Lucille Ball" when I looked in the mirror.)
--Our high school won--after years of 1-point losses to our arch nemesis--the regional One Act Play Competition for that great production of Big River!
--One of my problem students is probably gone for the rest of the year!
--We celebrated Amelia's first birthday with a family party! (Her "real" birthday is this Wednesday.)
--Darryl and I went out on a date tonight!

And...we have reached yet another milestone. Drum roll, please...

After a year of mixing up hundreds of bottles of this...



...we can finally switch to this!

The day after 35

Thanks for the happy birthday wishes on my blog and on Facebook. I really appreciate it!

The day was pretty low-key. School was the same as usual, but when I went home, Amelia had a present for me (a spa gift certificate--yes!!), and the three of us went out to dinner. (D's present for me is supposed to be arriving in the mail today. I think it is a camera bag I wanted, but I guess I'll wait and see...) Originally my birthday wish was to lie on the couch and watch TV (something I don't really get to do any more), but I was so tired I was in bed by 9:00. Festive, yes?


Let me switch topics to something completely unrelated...as I was doing my morning internet surfing, I stumbled across this article from People about Jennifer Hudson's family's funeral. The part about Fantasia singing made me tear up a little. I can't imagine what Hudson must be feeling right now. Poor girl. Poor family.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY!!!!

As her husband I felt I needed to hijack her blog this morning to tell her - Happy Birthday!!!!

I hope you have a wonderful day.

This is a picture of Amy protecting her child during 1 of 2 tornado warnings in the Spring of 2008.

This time last year...

I had just ended my last day at school before my maternity leave and celebrated with a dinner with Tim and Max at Shorty's. It was my birthday weekend, and D and I spent the whole weekend just enjoying the last few days of it being just the two of us. We were excited about Amelia's upcoming arrival, and I watched TV and lay on the couch without even a touch of guilt about it.

Present day: I have that weekly "Sunday afternoon depression" that I get when I think about a full week of school ahead, and my birthday falls on a Monday. I'm sitting here with my lit textbook beside me, trying to figure out how I'm going to get my students to love Walt Whitman tomorrow.

Where is my time machine???

Happy Halloween!!!

And you absolutely must check out my favorite part of this costume...look at the stinger!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Happy Birthday, Darryl!

Happy Birthday to Darryl!

I'm not really a mushy person (and it would probably embarrass Darryl anyway if I laid on some thick sentiment in a blog post), but he is undoubtedly my best friend and a fabulous husband and father. We love you!

Random things

I'm so happy it's the weekend. Today Amelia and I are going to shop for some party supplies for her 1st birthday party in a couple of weeks. I've decided to just make this a family-only party rather than a huge extravaganza. I'm excited about it, though.

Amelia was too funny last night. She held her toy phone up to her ear and said, "O? O??" Seriously. It seems like she has a new trick every day now.

As far as non-Amelia-related stuff goes...this week felt crazy long. It was actually our first full week of school after several weeks of having a Friday off or a fall holiday or an early release. I cannot wait until the week we have off for Thanksgiving.

Have you heard Beyonce's new song, "If I Were a Boy?" LOVE it..the melody, the lyrics, good song.

Well, off to get some things done...

Wonderful weekend

This weekend was wonderful. I'm going to make a big ol' confession here: my school bag never left the backseat of my car. I was already prepared to teach tomorrow, but I didn't grade any papers or plan anything beyond tomorrow. I needed a break.

Yesterday, I went to a scrapbooking crop for 12 HOURS. First of all, I have to give a big thank you to Darryl for not only being willing to keep Amelia by himself all day, but also for saying, "I want you to have a good time. I think you need this." (I did promise him that I would take a month off--at least from "crops"--until the weekend before Thanksgiving.)

Y'all, this may sound cheesy and crazy, but I think I love this scrapbooking thing so much because it makes me truly grateful for who we are and what we have. As I'm trying to present memories on a page, I realize that what I'm compiling is a story of us. Our family. A story that I hope Amelia enjoys reading about one day. It also does my heart good to see ladies sitting all around me basically doing the same thing, telling their stories and their lives. As my scrapbook for 2008 is coming together, I realize that even though we may not vacation all over the globe or go to lots of parties or do anything really out of the ordinary, our lives are really full. Anyway...

Today was just a good day together as a family. We went to church, had Sunday dinner on the lawn at church (how Walnut Grove is that?), shopped a little, visited my cousin, hung around the house...it was truly relaxing.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to try to top off this fabulous weekend by going to bed before 9:00.

I dedicate this moment to "No Child Left Behind"

So yesterday, I made a couple of (required by administration) phone calls to parents of students who are failing.

Here is how one conversation went:

ME: I'm calling because ___________ has a 32 in my class. He doesn't turn in assignments. He tunes out. I've tried everything I can think of to motivate him, but nothing seems to be working.

MOTHER: He don't care. And if he don't care, I don't care. I can't make him care.


Thank you, NCLB, for holding me responsible when this child fails and/or drops out of school. Obviously I am the problem here.

11 Months (Well, last Sunday)

I can't believe Amelia is 11 months old. I took this quick pic on Sunday at a cookout on the lawn of our church. (It was SUPER windy.) All Amelia wanted to do was walk around...oh, and play in the ice bucket by splashing water everywhere. That girl loves water.

Anyway, I'm finding myself getting very nostalgic in this month leading up to her birthday. (Seriously, I actually mentioned to Darryl--in a very sad tone--that we probably just need to make one more "formula run" to Costco.) I can't believe that a year ago, we hadn't even officially met her yet (although we were already in love with the idea of her), and now it is hard to imagine our family without her. She makes us belly laugh at least a couple of times a day. She's such a joy!

Greetings from the Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we took Amelia to Burt's Pumpkin Patch in North Georgia. It was insane, y'all. People everywhere. My main objective, though, was to get a picture of Amelia with a pumpkin, so I guess that was achieved.

I love the picture below. I love the angle, the smallness of Amelia in a field of pumpkins. Good photography skills, Darryl!

Afterwards, we went to a nearby apple orchard to pick up some apples (and some apple cider doughnuts). Amelia did her part to help:

Pollyanna I'm not

My efforts to be positive are losing steam. Quickly.

I Kid You Not

I'm making a concerted effort to be positive this week, and here is a teacher story from today that I just have to share.

You know the PERFECT 5th period class I have? Well, this conversation actually took place in my classroom as we finished our discussion of Night:

K in the front row: I loved this book. Loved it. In fact, I've enjoyed every book we've read so far.

E in the back row: Me, too. I've loved them all. These books have been so good.

(Everyone chimes in with similar remarks. It's a freakin' lovefest.)

Me: Well, while I'm thrilled you've loved all the books so far, keep in mind that you may not love everything we read. Maybe you will, but don't be too disappointed if you don't. (I say this only because I know Julius Caesar--ugh--is on the horizon.)

K: Mrs. ___________, it doesn't matter. We trust your judgment. If you assign us a book to read, even if I don't like it, I'll read it anyway because obviously you think there is something I can gain from it.


Is this class for real? I'm not trying to toot my own horn here; I'd say the idyllic nature of this class is 100% because of the students. They read. They discuss. They care.

I love them.

Eyes on the Prize

This week is going to be a tough one, probably. We have midterms, and I have tons of grading to do in an effort to make midterm grades as accurate as possible. I also have lots of other teaching tasks to tend to as well. (How's that for alliteration?)

I'm not too dismayed, however, because I know what lies ahead next weekend:

1. It's a long weekend. We have Monday off for Fall Holiday, and the students are off this Friday as well. (It's a "work day" for teachers, but we all know that "work day" is a day spent in meetings, workshops, and such instead.)

2. Darryl and I are going to take Amelia to a pumpkin patch at some point in the weekend.

3. I should have the opportunity to scrapbook next weekend.

4. I have plans to meet up with my friend Casi Sunday...and we'll probably eat a sinful dessert.

5. I get to spend all day Monday with Amelia, just the two of us.

I can't wait!

This weekend has been good. While I've had to work on lots of school stuff, the three of us have enjoyed just hanging out at home. I made taco soup for dinner last night and baked cupcakes just because I was in a cupcake mood. I think this weekend has been just what I needed.

Here's Amelia in the middle of a good nap yesterday: