So stinkin' tired

I wish I could just go to bed right now and sleep for two days.

Instead, this is what I get to do:

--plan what my juniors are doing tomorrow
--fix bottles for tomorrow
--finish a load of laundry so Amelia will have something to wear tomorrow
--pack my lunch

But I really just want to go to bed.

TV Thoughts

Last night I watched Lost and Grey's. It feels weird to have them back...almost like it is a new TV season, and then it is going to seem really weird when they disappear for summer in just a few weeks.

Lost--I can't decide who is creepier, Ben or the new mercenary dude with the weird teeth. I'm still liking the twists, and I think my jaw literally dropped in two different parts, but I'm going to be disappointed if this whole island business is connected to the rich guy. I want something better.

Grey's--I don't like Meredith, much for the same reason I didn't like Ally McBeal: the whole "woe is me" thing gets old. Quickly. In fact, I always preferred Addison to Meredith. (I have a friend who would think that everything I just said is complete sacrilege.) That being said, I did enjoy this episode, but was terribly depressed by the storyline with the family attacked by the bear.

Okay. I'm going now...I truly, truly, truly am going to get LOTS of grading done today. Bye.

It's Short, Y'all

I think I would be happier if it was just a hair longer (pardon the pun), but my hair grows quickly, so that shouldn't take long. I can still wear it curly, too, so the curl isn't really "gone." Anyway...

New Look?

I've really liked some of the non-Blogger templates that I've seen on some other people's blogs, and I happened to stumble across one site that offered them for free. I'm just trying this one out, but I'm kind of digging it. I tried a couple of her others, but they didn't really look good with the content of my blog...but I may try some other ones. I also like this 3-column format, except for the fact that the middle column is significantly longer...

I'm also considering changing the name of my blog. The ironic "Teachers Having It Easy" theme doesn't really apply much anymore...any other suggestions? (Well, the irony is still there, but that really isn't my focus anymore.)

Today (and I promise this is related) I became "that" mom and made a comment to Tim in which I compared Amelia to another baby of a similar age...and yes, I was pointing out how my baby can do something the other baby cannot. (Can I tell you how many times I swore I wouldn't do that?) So I immediately felt horrible told Tim I was a "mean mom," and he suggested I should make that a new title for my blog. Little did he know I really was thinking about a blog name switch, anyway. But how humorous would it be to have the festive/funky bluebird above with the title "Mean Mom"?

And for the record, I would like to say that I truly in my heart of hearts do not believe that babies who do things faster are necessarily "advanced." Now, if Amelia were already writing her name in cursive or something, then THAT might be a clue...

Oh, and if you have title suggestions, I'll take them. I'm trying to think of something clever or at least endearing, but I'm at a loss.

And yes, this whole blog renovation helped me procrastinate with grading even longer.

"Blech" and Bullets

--"Blech" because that's how I felt for the last three days because I had a stomach virus. I think it has been 10 years since I've had one. I'm fine if it is at least 10 years before the next one. I had to stay home two days from school. This was going to be my "get things done" week while my students watched Gatsby. (Another movie. Sue me. At least we read the book.) Not convenient. It made for easy sub plans, though.
--"Bullets" because my thoughts are so random that I'm not even attempting coherent paragraphs.
--I'm definitely getting my hair chopped off tomorrow. I just spent an hour at Barnes & Noble, looking through hair mags. I think I have enough pics to take to my hairdresser. I trust her. (Famous last words, huh?)
--I think perfume samples in magazines should be banned. I have a killer headache now. Seriously, don't some people have serious, life-threatening allergies to strong smells? The samples should at least be encased in some heavy-duty plastic.
--I'm all for marriages staying together, but I do have to confess that I snickered when I heard St@r Jones is getting a divorce. I'm not her biggest fan.
--While I was at Barnes & Nobles, I bought a book (from the clearance rack) about decorating sugar cookies. That may become a (fattening) summer hobby. On those days when I feel as though I never want to teach again (and let's face it, teachers...those days are pretty frequent this time of the year), I dream of being a pastry chef/cake decorator.
--Lost comes back tonight! Yay! (Or is the correct spelling really "Yea"?)
--Grey's Anatomy comes back tonight! Yea!
--I need to grade papers instead of watch TV. :(
--Two phrases I'm sick of: "Shawty" and "Boo" (as in my significant other, "my boo").
--I've procrastinated with the grading thing long enough. I better go.

4 Minutes to Save the World

While I haven't "actively" listened to the song (meaning that maybe it has been on in the car but I haven't really made a point of paying attention to the lyrics), I have the opening/repeated chord progression from JT and Madonna's "4 Minutes to Save the World" in my head and it won't go away.

Here are my questions:

Why do they have just four minutes to save the world?
Why are JT and Madonna saving our world? (Or is it a collective "we"?)

Anyone?

25 Days

We have 25 school days left. That's a fact that both thrills and terrifies me. If I were to list all the things I have to do I have to do between now and then, I might hyperventilate. You might ask yourself why I am blogging when I have a million things to do. The truth is that I'm completely unmotivated. I guess I can't really be mad at my students for being unmotivated these days when really, I feel the same way.

I must get some grading done AND finish my webquest-ish (but not really) assignment for my 10th graders this weekend. I'm saying it here and now so that I'll maybe feel some sense of accountability.

On a completely random note...I'm thinking of cutting my hair short. Not Jamie Lee Curtis short, but well-above-the-shoulders short. (If I could wear my hair like JLC, I so would. I've always thought she looked classy. Is it just me?) My hair has been "grown out" now for a few years, and I'm just getting tired of it. When I have a good hair day, I like it, but lately, most of my hair days have been bad. And Amelia likes to pull it, and y'all, that is quite painful. The other day I was sitting on the couch with her and she had a fistful in each hand, and then Abby the Dog came up and licked me in the face at the same time. They double-teamed me. Anyway, my hair appointment is next Friday, so I have until then to decide.

Anyway, that's about it.

It's Been a Stressful Day

And just like that...

...Spring Break is over. :(

This week has been good for the most part. Amelia and I went to Florida on Tuesday, and she pretty much slept the whole way. I had to wake her at one point to feed and change her, but then she went right back to sleep.

Once we arrived at my parents' house, I could tell she didn't feel great. The week before, she had been battling a cold and cough (and this first-time mom took her to the doctor TWICE with the same "she-has-to-ride-it-out" prognosis both times), but I was convinced she was on the mend. Apparently not. She had a fever for a couple of days while we were in Florida, and there were two nights that my mom and I had to take shifts holding her because that was the only way she would sleep. (Fortunately, to my relief, that did NOT start a bad habit of her needing to be held to sleep; she slept fine in her crib the next two nights.)

Even with Amelia's sickness, though, we were able to get out some when Amelia seemed to be feeling better. We went to my mom's workplace so my mom could show off her granddaughter, and then we went out to the beach to do a little shopping. Another highlight: Amelia is grasping the concept of a "jumperoo." She's hilarious when she's doing it.

I was hoping that by leaving Florida today, I would miss the mass exodus of people leaving the beach...I figured most people would maximize the full week and leave tomorrow. I was wrong. Every time I get caught in that traffic, I think of Moses leading the people out of Egypt. I'm not sure why. While Amelia didn't sleep the whole way, she was still pretty good, thank God.

I didn't really get much school stuff done...and that doesn't really surprise me.

Here are a couple of other things I want to mention:

1--My "diet" (although WW calls it a "lifestyle," not a diet) has gone way south. Monday, I resolve to get back on that wagon. I have a sundress I want to fit into in a month, so that's my motivation.

2--Is it pretty much teacher-suicide to teach this book to Honors 10th-Graders? When I planned to teach this, I was envisioning having a great group of academically motivated students like I had last year, not the ones I have this year who act surprised when I require them to read a book outside of class.

3--I want to give a big shout out to my Aunt Winifred, who keeps up with me through my blog and is considering leaving a comment one day! :) I think she should, don't you?

Aahhhh...Spring Break :)

Finally...Spring Break is here!

I'm really enjoying sitting here in my comfy clothes, not feeling the pressure to do all kinds of things and run all my errands in order to get ready for the school week to begin again on Monday. Amelia is napping and Darryl has gone to get some maintenance things done on my car, so it is quite peaceful.

Amelia and I are heading to Florida later this week to see Amelia's grandparents. We're looking forward to it. Cross your fingers that Amelia travels well. I'm hoping her more comfortable car seat will help a little. I've noticed that she really sprawls out in this seat and can see out the window better; she seemed really cramped in the infant seat we had.

There really isn't much more to report than that. I've really blown my diet out of the water the past couple of days; seriously, yesterday was a day of gluttony like I haven't experienced in some time, and my stomach literally ached last night. (I'll just say that the day's menu included a Krispy Kreme donut with icing AND sprinkles, a few bites of turtle cheesecake, and part of the Chocolate Stampede from Longhorn's. Just the name of that last dessert suggests lots of calories.)

Well, it looks like the peace and quiet is over for the moment...Amelia is awake from her nap.

Thoughts for This Evening

--I'm not sure why, but I have this inability to go to bed early when I have the opportunity. Like right now...I could be getting ready for bed, but I'm blogging. Why?

--Amelia is growing faster than I can believe. She is now a rolling-over queen who likes to play in an Exersaucer and grab her feet. (Not all at the same time.) How is that possible? Also, we just moved her to her next car seat, so no more lugging a heavy baby in an infant carrier. I was all gung-ho about it, but now I'm a little sad. It's like a phase of infancy is over. (Wow, I'm being too sentimental about that car seat.)

--I, the person who was probably a TV addict at one point, am watching two shows a week basically: The Biggest Loser (thanks to the writers' strike) and Lost. I have no time to commit to Dancing with the Stars this time around. (Yet I have time to blog.)

--We're doing graduation testing this week at school, so my classes are really out of whack. I'm so ready for the break.

--Here's another photo for you. I ran across it when I was downloading Easter pics from Darryl's camera. It's from our tornado scare a couple of weeks ago...I'm in the safest place in the house, the half-bath. This pic cracked me up. Good times!

Loooong Overdue Easter Post

Things have been crazy, crazy, crazy busy here, and I'm just now getting around to my Easter post.

Easter weekend was great. We went down to Florida to spend the weekend with both our families and had lots of fun, but we stayed very busy.

Saturday was fairly low-key until that afternoon, when Darryl's family met up at the beach for a family portrait session. It was quite cool and VERY windy, but we did get some good photos. This is quite an accomplishment when four children are involved (and one of them being Amelia, who doesn't yet understand "Look at the camera!")

After our photo session, we went to eat at Sunset Grill. Our wait for the food was long, but it was delicious when it arrived. They have some fried cheese grit cakes that are out of this world!

Darryl, Amelia, and I then paid a visit to Darryl's cousin Hayes and his wife, Brandy. They have a few-weeks-old daughter, Mary Katherine. I couldn't believe how TINY she was. She's 7-1/2 pounds, which is pretty average for a baby, but Amelia was over 8-1/2 pounds...so MK just seemed so small to me. (Also, I've been carrying around a currently-19-pound Amelia, so...MK felt like a feather.) MK was too, too precious! Here we are:



This is from Easter morning. There's nothing significant going on here; I just liked the pic.

Here's Miss Amelia showing off her Easter dress:

We went to church with Darryl's family. Amelia was very good through the service and apparently loved the choir. She was mesmerized by them!

After church, we all--Darryl's family included--went to my parents' house for a HUGE lunch: ham, chicken and dumplings, potato salad, creamed corn, collards, other veggies, coconut cake, banana pudding...the list goes on.

Here's our best family pic. When I asked Darryl why he doesn't smile in his pictures, he replied, "I am smiling."

And last, but not least, Amelia had her first visit from the Easter Bunny, who brought her a stuffed bunny, some books, some sunglasses, and a cute outfit. Here's Amelia sizing up her goodies:

"Thank you, Easter Bunny!!"

Happy Anniversary!

Happy 9th Anniversary to my best friend and husband, Darryl!

This past year will definitely be hard to top, won't it?

Love you!


Also, I have to tell everyone how sweet he was today...he sent a dozen roses to me at school. It made my day. :)

Two quick things

1--I know, I know...you thought the run for the Democratic Party's nominee was exciting, but let's face it, it just pales in comparison to my Diaper Bag Decision '08. Well, the decision has been made, and I'm going with....(drum roll)...the funky floral bag!!! (I think I really wanted that bag the whole time and just wanted validation for my choice. How pathetic is that? Oh, and Jess...if you decide you want kids, you'll be happy to know that the diaper bag will open up a whole new accessory world for you!)

2--We just came back from a long weekend in Florida that included family pics on the beach (with four young children, I might add), family dinners, meeting our newest addition to the family (sweet Mary Katherine), Easter services, and tons of other stuff. I'll do an official post later complete with some great pics, but I need to read about 40 more pages for school tomorrow.

Humor me

I'm in the market for another diaper bag. Kim gave me a great "every day" bag that I think I have used every single day since I first took Amelia on her first outing, and I also have a small tote that holds just a couple of diapers. (I'm not counting the tote you and Max gave me, Tim...I use it for all sorts of things...it's currently packed with clothes for this weekend.) I'm looking for a good "in between" bag that is good for some 2- to 3-hour outings.

I've found the bag I like, but I can't decide on a design. Please help! (You may think this is nonsense, but the diaper bag just opens up yet another branch of handbags for a mom!)

Here's a point to note: I don't like diaper bags that look too baby-ish...no Winnie the Pooh prints for me. (If you carry a Winnie the Pooh print bag, I'm not judging. Just not my style...like Vera Bradley bags are not my style.)

Here's choice A: Basic brown with Pink Lining:

Pros: muted; sleek; looks great with Amelia's brown/pink stroller; Darryl wouldn't object to carrying it in public
Cons: possibly boring; looks like every other brown purse I've bought (but maybe that's a good thing?); will clash with black...and I wear a lot of black; and if I ever take it to daycare, it will blend in with the other seven brown bags on the shelf

Here's choice B: funky floral

Pros: fun; Spring-y; has more colors to match what I'm wearing (does that matter?); a different look for me; will definitely not blend in with the other bags at daycare
Cons: Darryl probably wouldn't be caught dead with it; is it fun or babyish?; is it funky or tacky?

I can only keep one. Give me your thoughts. (If you really don't care...just pretend like you do.)

Crazy week

I'm glad it's Wednesday and this week is almost over. It' s been crazy busy over here.

This weekend with my parents was good except for the crazy weather. We actually had to get in the hallway twice because of tornadoes passing through. Fortunately, we didn't have any damage.

Saturday evening, Darryl and I celebrated an early anniversary dinner by going to Chops. We'd never been there before, and while it was okay, it was probably toward the bottom of the list of "better" eating places we've been to. It was nice just to go out together, though.

Yesterday was a big day for Amelia. She rolled over for the first time at daycare. I'm experiencing a bit of working mom sadness over that one, but I'll live. I'll probably be pressuring the poor girl to start walking in June so I can see her first steps by the end of the summer. :)

Yesterday was a long day for me. We had "Parent Night" last night at school, and leaving school at 7:15 in the evening just makes the day seem endless.

Today was also crazy because I had to help give two back-to-back Honor Roll pizza parties. They went well, but they stress me out.

On top of all that, I started new books in all my classes, and that always requires energy. Being the cheerleader for a new book in attempts to get ho-hum students interested in reading is tough work.

Is it Spring Break yet?

Stormy Saturday

I was awakened at 6:00 by loud crashes of thunder. (I've determined I'm never going to get to sleep past 6 a.m. again.) I'm watching news reports of the horrible weather that took place in downtown Atlanta last night. Crazy.

Here are some other ramblings...

--It looks as though we have some changes coming our way at school next year. I'm kind of excited about them.

--My juniors are starting Gatsby Monday. I'm in no way prepared. I want to do it justice because I love, love, love that novel. I found some interesting things online I may attempt. Jen, do you have anything good that has been successful when you've taught Gatsby? I'm planning to immerse myself in all things Gatsby tomorrow to get it all thought out.

--My mom and I watched Lost last night. I love that show. There were several moments where I just said, "WHAT???" I will say, though, that I had the "spy" on the boat figured out weeks ago, but everything else definitely threw me for a loop.

--I'm not watching Idol. I've given that show the boot.

--I will watch Dancing With the Stars, but I'm already dreading the big fuss everyone will make over Marlee Matlin's (sp?) deafness. A couple of seasons ago, I grew very weary of Heather Mills and her leg. I mean, yay for overcoming obstacles and handicaps, but can we just address it once and then leave it?

--Darryl and I might have a date night tonight!!

Four Months!

Amelia is four months old today. We've had a big afternoon...

I made Amelia sit in the chair for an official four months pic:




Then because of the nice weather, Amelia and I took a stroll around the neighborhood. The pediatrician said that Amelia is holding up her head well enough that she can ride in a forward-facing stroller. You know that has to be a nice change from facing backwards all the time. What a big girl!

After dinner, we had a little playtime with the Boppy gym. Amelia had a blast...she shrieked and squealed the entire time:


Let's hope that with all this activity, we can look forward to a full night's sleep! :)

Saturday Ramblings

I'm so glad it is Saturday. I'm also glad that this week is a "short" week in a way...Friday is a "work day" (and let's face it...we never really get the opportunity to work because we have to go to meetings and workshops all day long), but at least I don't have to deal with students.

In all honesty, this week hasn't been bad as far as school goes. Yesterday, though, I became a bit annoyed with my 10th graders, but I've since calmed down about it.

My parents are coming next weekend, too. They can't get enough of Amelia these days. I can't say I blame them...she is really in a cute phase where she's "talking" quite a bit and smiling and laughing. I'm loving it. Yesterday, she "talked" all the way to daycare and was still talking when I put her in a swing and left to go to work.

I went off my diet big time last night...we went to Cheeseburger in Paradise because I have been craving their mini-cheeseburgers and sweet potato chips for about two months now. We also had fried pickles for an appetizer. Delicious!

Amelia had her four-month check-up yesterday. She's 17 pounds (!) and 26-1/2 inches long (!). We actually had to buy her a bigger bathtub last night because her feet touch the end of the one we had been using and she can't kick her legs the way she likes to. The girl loves bath time.

I hope everyone doesn't mind my Amelia stories. :) (Tim, I guess I tell them all here instead of in the teachers' lounge.)

It is snowing right now. Two days ago, it was 70 degrees. Weird.

Not the same

I spent the past five days without Amelia.

Originally, Darryl, Amelia, and I were planning to go to Florida to visit our families. To make a long--and not very interesting--story much shorter, Darryl needed to tend to some business with his dad on Friday, and I really wasn't in a position to take time off from school that day, so Darryl decided to give me a bit of a break and let me catch up on some sleep by taking Amelia with him to Florida. They left Thursday afternoon. (Leaving her that morning at daycare was much worse than when I left her the first day of daycare.) Friday, Darryl called to tell me that they wouldn't come back until Monday because he and his dad had an appointment Monday afternoon. They finally came back around 11 last night.

I'm not going to lie--I greatly enjoyed my full nights of sleep...and I slept until at least 8 every morning.

But my awake time was not so fun. I missed my girl desperately. Up until this point, I had not spent a single night away from her. Going without her for four nights for our first separation venture was not pretty. I did get some projects done around the house and managed to look over rough drafts (does that sound like a good time or what?), but the house was too quiet.

I'm glad she's back. (Oh, yes, I missed Darryl too, but I have experienced being away from him before.)

Me time just wasn't the same, I guess.

In other news, I finally got a much-needed haircut today. This is big news, people. I hadn't had a haircut since THANKSGIVING. I didn't get anything too shocking done, but I did get a few inches cut off.

And that's about all that's going on here.