As if you can't tell...

I've been so, so busy.

Some evenings I don't even get on the computer. Yep, that busy.

I'm not in love with this school year so far. There's lots of stuff I probably shouldn't talk about on here (teaching "stuff" that really has nothing to do with teaching). Sometimes I feel like teaching has become about 30% of my job, and the rest is ridiculous nonsense.

I'm sort of in a crappy mood about it, but you couldn't tell that, could you?

I hope to post about happier things soon, but right now I have to make up a test on Early American Literature. Rock on.

The First Week Back

School started this week. Teachers went back Monday, and the students joined us Thursday.

I don't know enough yet to get a feel for how the year is going to go. I have a completely new crop of students this year (last year I taught many students for the second year in a row), and I hope it is an enjoyable year. I don't know what it is about that first week back, though, that is so completely draining. I feel completely and utterly worn out.

On Tuesday--because we were at school all day and had Open House that evening--The Varsity truck came to serve us lunch. I totally enjoyed my chili dogs and onion rings, and that evening, Amelia enjoyed this hat:

Amelia's Big Girl Room

Last Thursday (not two days ago, but the Thursday before that), we made Amelia's room into a "Big Girl Room" complete with the "Big Girl Bed." When we bought Amelia's bedding and decor for her nursery, I wanted something that could transition well into a room for when she got a little bigger. We kept the same "theme" (daisies) that we used for her nursery, and I absolutely love the result.

Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we? Here is her nursery. This photo was taken a little before Amelia made her appearance in the world, and the only thing missing is her name on the shelf (because we were keeping the name a secret...and somehow Tim got us into the practice of calling her Coretta):



And here is the Big Girl Room:
I think the glider will eventually be replaced with a pink bean bag for Amelia to sit and read her books. On the adjacent wall to the far right is Amelia's changing table, which is actually a "real" dresser that now has its mirror attached to it. It wasn't really exciting enough to take a photo of yet, but I plan to put a couple of things on that wall, so when I find what I'm looking for and get it up there, I'll take a photo of that, too.

The only snafu we had is that the place where we bought our crib gave us the wrong rails to convert to the full-sized bed. After a VERY heated phone call with the store (Georgia Baby, by the way...I'm totally going to call them out), Darryl finally managed to convince them that they should exchange our rails for the right ones, but they had to order them. (They wanted us to produce our receipt from three years ago to get the rails. I could understand that if we were wanting to exchange the whole crib, but seriously? For the rails? Are you kidding me? They also said WE should have caught the mistake three years ago...when we were getting the bed ready for an infant. Whatever.) So anyway...the boxsprings and mattress are just sitting on the floor right now. There will be a footboard when the rails come in.

Amelia has done really well with the transition, though. She was a little hesitant at first to get in the bed, and I could tell that she thought I was going to share the bed with her. (We shared a bed at the beach, so I think that is where that idea came from.) But she has stayed in her bed each night, so I think she really was ready for the change. She had been crawling out of her crib herself for the past two months, anyway.

So my goal this summer was to get Amelia off the paci completely (check, done!), get her transitioned to a big girl bed (check, done), and get her potty trained (um....). In the words of Meatloaf--and I suspect this will be the ONLY time I will quote Meatloaf, "Two out of three ain't bad..."

The Last Week of Summer, Part 2...A Little Late

A couple of posts ago, I detailed what we did the last week of summer, and I really dropped the ball on finishing up that week. I know...you have waited anxiously for the conclusion.

Thursday, Amelia and I went to the pool that morning and had a big time. Of course, I always seem to make it there just in time for the lifeguards to take a break, so about as soon as we got in the water, we had to get out. It's fun explaining to a two-year-old why she can't get in the water when it is only three feet away, but she handled it pretty well.

That evening, we picked up Amelia's big girl bed and rearranged her room so that it is a big girl room. That deserves a separate post, so I'll wait and discuss those details there.

Friday, Amelia and I rode the carousel at the mall once again. She absolutely loves it. Then we had lunch with Darryl and came home. We ended up going to the indoor "jump and bounce" for one last summer hurrah.

I also did a little shopping Friday night for some school clothes for me. I really need to lose about five pounds (yet again) for my pants to feel "right," but I typically do shave off a few when school starts back because I don't have round-the-clock access to yummy food. I did buy a few shirts, however, and have attempted to break out of my comfort zone by buying some more colorful shirts. I tend to go the black/gray route, but I think I need to change it up a bit.

See...wasn't that conclusion of the last week of summer riveting? I thought so!!

As you can probably tell...

School started back for teachers yesterday, and the weekend before school starts is always ridiculously busy. It's like I suddenly realize all I need to get accomplished before I go back and work, work, work to get it all done.

Anyway...all that to say that I realize I left you hanging on the events of The Last Week of Summer. I know you haven't been able to sleep because of the anticipation.

I hope to fill you in soon. Very soon. Maybe even tonight, if a full day of work (including meetings--yuck) and Open House doesn't get the best of me.

Until then...

Last Week of Summer 2010, Part 1--Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Monday
We went to a splash pad for about an hour. Apparently Amelia the Daredevil has moved beyond splash pads and was not very impressed. She kept asking, "Where's the slide?" I guess that's the danger of taking your kid to a water park when she is two. A slide is apparently now a requirement.

Anyway, after the splash pad, we had lunch on the road (kudos to Zaxby's for their awesome 1/2 grilled cheese kids' meal--it's the perfect size), and came home and began efforts to take a nap.

That's when our day took a nosedive for the worse.

Amelia has pretty much given up napping on her own, and now Darryl seems to be the only one who can lie down with her and get her to take a nap. After over an hour of trying to get her to lie down with me to nap, we were both cranky and frustrated. So to cheer us up, we decorated some cupcakes I had baked earlier that morning.
By the end of Monday, Amelia and I had butted heads about 483 times, and we were both exhausted at bedtime. Unfortunately for Darryl and me, she wandered into our room at 1:30 and slept in our bed the rest of the night because we couldn't get her to stay in her bed...and we were both too tired to care.

Tuesday
I had to go to school early that morning for a writing workshop, so Amelia spent about five hours at the sitter's house. (Am I a bad mother if confess that we both might have enjoyed that break a little?)

Afterward, I picked up Amelia and took her to get a haircut, where the stylist asked Amelia if she was going to be starting kindergarten. When I told her that Amelia was only two, her eyes bugged out of her head.

Amelia napped on the way home, and I made the unfortunate decision to try to get a sleeping Amelia out of the car when we got home. The only thing more ornery than an Amelia who hasn't napped at all is an Amelia who has been awakened mid-nap...so our afternoon after that point was pretty grim. (Should I stop here and clarify that I really DO love my daughter more than words can express? I'm just not sugarcoating the Terrible 2s, I guess.)

That evening, Darryl spent some daddy-daughter time with Amelia, and I went to my first kids' consignment sale with my friend Sabrina. It was fascinating! People were there with big laundry baskets for their loot. I bought just three things for Amelia; I was afraid to invest too much because I can never predict her growth pattern. Anyway, here's a photo from my phone:
I know you can't tell much, but that was the line--about 30 people long. Craziness.

Wednesday
Wednesday was a MUCH better day.

Amelia and I went to the aquarium. I liked it because it is easy to access and easy to find parking. It doesn't require a ton of walking, and it is also indoors. Amen.

I went to the aquarium with Darryl once the year it opened, but it was much more fun going with Amelia. (Sorry, Darryl.) She enjoyed it all. Here are a few pics. I don't think they really require any commentary.




Then, as if the aquarium weren't fun enough, we went to the mall and rode the carousel. Three times. Amelia was on a quest to ride the frog. She was much more excited about it than this photo suggests:
Then we went to The Disney Store (which Amelia calls "Mouseketools"...and that would make sense if you've ever watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) where we purchased some Tinkerbell figurines to entertain Amelia so I could walk around in peace because Amelia has really gotten into Tinkerbell lately. (You'll be happy to know they get along quite well with all of our Disney princesses.)

As I was walking around, I saw this:
Hello, Lover.

I have not really been much into purses since Amelia came along and I didn't like carrying a purse AND a diaper bag and went the way of the wristlet, but...BUT...I LOVED this purse. I'm not sure what it was about it...the color (deep plum)? The ruffle? Its total and complete combination of cute and sophisticated?

And then I saw the price, and our love affair ended rather abruptly.

But I'm still thinking about that bag. Obviously.

When I got home, we went to dinner (I was too exhausted to cook) and went shopping for Amelia's Big Girl Bed.

And now...
My goal is to do FREE stuff today and tomorrow. All this fun--not too mention all that comes with the Big Girl Bed effort--comes with a heavy pricetag.

The Weekend: Tennis, Spas...and Walmart

This past weekend was a really good one...the kind you don't want to end.

Friday night, Darryl and I actually had somewhat of a date night. Our next-door neighbors kept Amelia so we could watch Andy Roddick play at an ATP tournament here in Atlanta. Here he is:



After he won the match, I stalked him walked over to the ESPN2 tent and watched his post-game interview:

If you know me at all, and you are thinking, "Amy, I didn't know you were a big tennis fan"...the truth is, I'm really not. Darryl has gotten into watching it over the past year, but I do like some Roddick. He's hilarious on Twitter.

Saturday, Darryl and Amelia hung out for a while, and I used my Mother's Day spa gift certificate and had a massage. I got wild and crazy and added a 15-minute scalp massage. Let me tell you: It did NOT disappoint. I felt like a greasy pork chop afterward, but it was worth it.

Today, Darryl and Amelia went to the pool and I went to Walmart. It was the first time I had been there in months because I hate going to this Walmart. And in all seriousness, it isn't because I'm a snob and think I'm too good to shop there; it's the fact that when I do shop there, I have to go to all four corners of the store to get what I need, and then when I'm done, two lanes are open for checkout. But TODAY...today, my friends, the customer service was awesome. This Walmart is apparently undergoing a remodeling effort, and there were about 20 employees available just to answer questions about locations of items. And...AND there was only one person in front of me at the checkout. And to top all that off, I bought 55 composition books for 15 cents each! Score!

This afternoon, Amelia and I went to the mall. PTL she has warmed up to sitting in her stroller again! We picked up her "big girl bed" bedding (more on that later), went to the Disney store to purchase The Princess and the Frog figurines (Girlfriend likes some princess figurines), rode the carousel, and had frozen yogurt. And she was good. I praised her like all get out in hopes it would encourage some goodness this week.

And we finished the evening with a little mother-daughter movie/popcorn night, where we watched Sleeping Beauty, better known in this household as Princess Asleep. (This was right after she stripped down to a diaper. Given our pitiful potty training efforts this week, there is NO way she is sitting naked on our furniture.)

Potty Training and Everything Else

I'm not going to lie: this week has been a tough one in the motherhood department.

Potty Training
I have put some effort (admittedly, probably not enough) into trying to potty train Amelia. Oy.

I don't think she is quite ready. I don't know if that is the truth or something I'm telling myself as an excuse to put it off a little longer.

We tried "naked time"--a tried and true method of many of my friends--but she wasn't a fan of it after about 30 minutes.

So then we bought some princess underwear, and she was super excited about it.

Then she spent about 40 minutes deciding which character she wanted to wear--Princess Belle? No. Princess Water (Ariel)? No. Wait, maybe Princess Belle...

She wore panties for about 20 minutes, and then we had to leave to go somewhere, so the diaper went back on.

The next day, she sat on her potty for about 30 minutes with nothing to show for it.

She has yet to produce anything in the potty. (Can I also add that I absolutely detest the word "potty," and having to say it about 500 times a day is like nails down a chalkboard for me?)

Everything Else
Amelia has also spent a lot of time in "time out" this week.


She also has swimmer's ear, which means we haven't been able to go to the pool...which was pretty much what I was hoping to do this week. It's too hot to do anything else outside. And when we stay inside...we both get cranky.

Amelia has also lost interest in napping. I don't think I need to elaborate on why this isn't good.

Yesterday, I did go up to the school to start setting up my classroom. I took care of one task I hate: recovering my bulletin board with paper. If I were an elementary school teacher, I would stink. I cover my board once, and that is it. No change of the seasons for me!!

Afterward, I had lunch with my friends Max and Tim. I ate so much that I had to stop and buy Tums on the way home. I was soooo miserable, but the food was awesome and I enjoyed catching up and having some adult conversation.

Last night, even though it was 93 degrees at 7:00, we took Amelia to the playground. She loves to play outside.
But For the Record...
As trying as this week has been, I want to add that in between all the less-than-stellar times, my girl does gives some awesome hugs and kisses, and the more she talks, the funnier she is. One of my favorite moments this week occurred when she walked up to a mirror and said, "I need to see me." Ha!

Next week, though, the plan is to get out of the house as much as possible. That might not help much with the potty training effort, but it will definitely help out with our sanity!

Week at the Beach

Last week, our family was back together again and we spent a week at the beach. We had SUCH a great time.

First of all, here was the view from our condo. Pretty awesome, huh?



Part of what made this vacation so fun was that we were close enough to some friends and family that we were able to have some visitors throughout the week.

Amelia got to spend a lot of time with her cousin Mary Katherine, and we finally got to meet Mary Katherine's baby sister, Lauren:


We went to a nearby shopping area one evening with all three girls, and the pic of them riding in this stroller cracked me up!


We also were able to hang out with our nieces and nephews and had a blast with them. Can I tell you how difficult it is to get five kids all looking in the same direction for a photo?
My friend/colleague Rebecca and her family were also vacationing in the area, and Amelia was super-excited to see her friend Tanner!
My parents also came over one night and were able to watch Amelia swim in the pool and eat dinner with us. We enjoyed seeing them, too! (And we're still very grateful they kept Amelia for us the week before. One day this week, I'll have to post all we accomplished at the house while she was gone.)

Here's a rare family pic of the three of us. It isn't the greatest photo in the world, but these photos are so few and far between that I have to post it.
We also enjoyed some good seafood while we were there. Here is Darryl with some chargrilled oysters from ACME Oyster House. (Note: I am not an oyster person and enjoyed some delicious fried catfish instead.)

One evening, we took some obligatory beach photos. I love this photo of Amelia at the edge of the waves. (For my parents...Darryl was close enough to grab her if we needed to.)

Our schedule every day was pretty much get up, swim at the pool, eat lunch, take a nap, play, then go out to dinner. I could definitely get used to that!

Working on the To-Do List

Amelia is spending the week with the grandparents so I can chisel away at my ever-growing to-do list.

Our house, which has been in a state of chaos since the whole "house-sale" started mid-April, desperately needs to get back in order. Not only was it just messy and yuck, but it was also affecting my mood. I busted out with a big Oprah-type revelation a couple of weeks ago and told Darryl that I felt the chaos of our house was a physical representation of the chaos I was feeling inside. (Deep, huh?)

So this week, I've been working on getting things back in order. Almost all the boxes are unpacked and things are put away. We bought a new kitchen table, and I made room for a small desk.

I've also managed to get my hair cut and my eyebrows waxed. Priorities!!

Today, though, I'm having some fun and am meeting up with a friend to do a little scrapbooking. I'm looking forward to it.

So I'm very grateful to my parents for keeping Amelia this week so I could get this stuff done. I think they are having fun, but I also think Amelia might be giving them a run for their money!

The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Sandwiches

I don't know if you've ever seen the Food Network's show The Best Thing I Ever Ate, but if you haven't, or even if you have...basically it works like this: For each show, there is a "theme," like breakfast foods, or steak, or something like that. Various food-industry celebs then describe the best whatever they had ever eaten.

Anyway, the point is this: Sunday, I had the best sandwich I have ever eaten in my life. My friend Casi and I had lunch at a restaurant called West Egg Cafe. I had the Fried Green Tomato BLT, which consisted of fried green tomatoes (obviously), crisp bacon, field greens, and--to kick it up a notch--a spread of pimiento cheese on each slice of perfectly buttered and toasted challah bread.

Good grief.

Each bite was a little piece of heaven. I'm not exaggerating in the least.

It was that good. So good it deserved to be commemorated on my blog.

Fairy Princesses

Saturday, we went to Amelia's friend Tanner's house for Tanner's fairy princess birthday party. Amelia talks about Tanner A LOT, and she was very excited about this party.

First, look at this cake table. Tanner's mom (a fellow English teacher and friend) is an insanely talented baker/cake decorator. Don't you just want to pull up to this counter with a fork and dive in?


I wish I had gotten a better pic so you could see all the details, but I didn't want to be obnoxious and hold up the good eatin' so I could get food photos.

Amelia was obsessed with Tanner's play microwave oven, so much so that she had to take it to the table with her while she had cake and cheese puffs.
I took this cute pic of Tanner and Amelia playing with this baby stroller. How sweet.
But then, of course, in typical todder fashion...things got a little hairy when they BOTH wanted to push the stroller.
It ended well. They're still friends. :-)

It was a really cute party...and Amelia even received fairy wings that she put on as soon as we got home.

Book Thoughts: The Glass Castle

This past year, one of my AP students read this book for a non-fiction independent reading assignment. After she presented on it--and after claiming it was one of the best books she had ever read--I really wanted to read it.

It's the childhood/early adulthood memoir of author/news contributor Jeannette Walls. Her parents, though intelligent, were basically delusional, broke, and negligent, yet Walls and her siblings somehow persevered among the chaos and nomadic lifestyle they were forced to endure.

Although I really liked it and found it inspiring (I don't use that word lightly), I found it really disturbing at times. (One night I actually had bad dreams based on a scene from this book.)

This book has actually been assigned as a summer reading book choice for 9th grade (I think?), and I hope that if any kids read it, they see how they can still rise above their circumstances and become "something."

Impromptu Mini-Vacation

Last week, Darryl and I decided we needed a family getaway...as soon as possible. We decided to take Amelia to Dollywood and Dollywood's Splash Country so that our girl could have a blast.

We drove to Gatlinburg on Friday, checked in to our hotel, and strolled the tourist-packed streets. I had to make a stop at this place:

When I was a wee youngster and my family went to Gatlinburg, we always stopped here for fudge and divinity. Theirs is the best. Anyway, I picked up some peanut butter fudge and some milk chocolate fudge; I like to mix them together. :-)

Okay, enough about fudge.

So then we went to Bubba Gump's for dinner. We weren't really dying to go there, but it was close and didn't have much of a wait. I wasn't very impressed with Bubba Gump's.

Then we went back to the hotel and swam in the pool, and Amelia enjoyed sliding down the waterslide with Daddy:
Saturday we went to Dollywood. I know this might come as a shock to you, but it was HOT. (Later, it rained and cooled everything off just a bit.) I was very surprised by how uncrowded it was. We didn't really have to wait in any lines. Of course, we hung out in the kids' section most of the time, but we didn't have any waits in the restaurants or anywhere else. Here are just a few shots of the fun:




One thing that Amelia really enjoyed--that I couldn't take a photo of--was the children's theater productions. Because of the heat, and later the rain, we enjoyed the air-conditioning while we watched the stories The Little Engine that Could and Llama Llama Red Pajama come to life on stage. Amelia didn't really react very much, but her eyes were GLUED to the stage. On the way back to the hotel, she kept saying, "Wanna see Blue Engine TV again." (There was a TV over the stage the featured little guest appearances by Dolly herself. Seriously...can you look at Dolly Parton and not smile? It's impossible.)

Before I move on, let me also say that Dollywood really is a wonderful theme park. It is extremely clean and well-kept, and it is probably the only theme park I've been to where the food is really delicious. A good bit of it is country cooking, and it doesn't disappoint.

On Sunday--Father's Day--we went to Splash Country. Then we realized why Dollywood wasn't crowded...apparently everybody was at Splash Country. It was packed. PACKED. And after spending a day at Splash Country, I must pose this question:

Are Darryl and I the only two adults on this earth who do not have tattoos?

Anyway, Amelia loved this park as well because she loves anything that has to do with water. We again enjoyed seeing her have fun, but there were just too many people there.

(I didn't take any pics at Splash Country because I didn't want to risk damaging my camera.)

That evening, we went to dinner at a place called The Apple Barn in Pigeon Forge. We had eaten there three years ago and really liked it. We had a good dinner, then strolled around a bit outside. Here's a sweet daddy-daughter pic:
It was a good weekend, and the time away was just what we needed.

A Glee Clip for Your Viewing and Listening Pleasure

I just discovered it is NPH's birthday (and can I just add that I'm also happy to report that he is just a mite bit older than I am--that's happening less and less these days), so I'm sharing this clip to bring you some NPH joy. I've loved him since he was Doogie. Anyway...this is from one of my favorite episodes of the season for several reasons, this being one of them. I equate it to a vocal fistfight as they compete for the role of Jean Valjean (or, as one of Tim's students wrote once, "John Val John") in a community theatre production of Les Mis.

The last week...and an update

In my last post, I mentioned that Amelia and I went to Florida for a few days. Darryl found out rather last minute that he needed to go to London (and yes, I contemplated going with him, but the plane tickets were outrageous!), so rather than sit around amidst packed boxes at the house, Amelia and I went to Florida to visit family.

I must say that Amelia did VERY well in the car for the trip there and back. Thank goodness. We went down there on Saturday and came back on Wednesday.

Our plan Sunday morning was to go to the beach because goodness knows when we would get to enjoy it again. Even though it looked kind of cloudy, we went ahead with our plans because we could think of many times in the past that we had canceled beach trips because it looked rainy, and then it would brighten up again, making us wish we had gone anyway. So we packed up all the gear--an umbrella, beach chairs, beach toys, an icebox, the whole shebang. Once we were loaded in the car, I turned my key, and...NOTHING. My battery was dead. And then it started POURING rain. I love this pic--my dad laughing at the ridiculousness of it all and an unfazed Amelia eating raisins in the backseat:


On Tuesday, however, the weather was beautiful, so my mom, Amelia, and I went. This is more like it:

Nothing like eating Cheetos at the beach!

Anyway, while we were there, boats started patrolling in the distance, looking for evidence of oil. Official-looking people were also walking along the shore, examining the seaweed. It was kind of eerie:
That evening (Tuesday), my mom, Amelia, and I met my Aunt Winifred for dinner. My dad and his brothers (one of whom is Aunt Winifred's husband) had gone on a fishing trip, so we had a girls' night out. It was good to see her again!

And somewhere in there (Monday?), we visited some with Darryl's family. Amelia enjoyed playing with her cousins! (And forgetful me forgot the camera.)

When we returned Wednesday, Amelia and I went to a birthday party for my cousin Larson. We have some wacky age differences on my mom's side of the family; Larson is my first cousin, but he is only a year older than Amelia. Anyway, I forgot my real camera and had to resort to my iPhone one. Here's a pic of the birthday boy blowing out the candles:



Wednesday was indeed a long day and we both just collapsed when we got home.

Darryl finally returned on Friday and we were glad to have him back!

Saturday, we found out that our house wasn't going to sell after all. It was ultimately decided that the mortgage company has to go by the current FEMA flood map, and unfortunately that has us in a Grade A Flood Zone. Even though poor Darryl had fought it by getting an engineer and a surveyor out here to determine that we are 3.5 feet ABOVE the 100-year Flood Plain, it wasn't enough. (By the way, that was what we were instructed to do...we can only hope it will help us in avoiding having to pay an exorbitant price for flood insurance.) It stinks, and we're bummed, but we also realize that, as they say, "this too shall pass." And we are fortunate. We have jobs; we have a home. There are many people out there right now who can't say the same.

In an effort to have a little "me time" and get away from the packed boxes in the house, I went to the Princess Diana exhibit at the Atlanta Civic Center yesterday.
I was very impressed with it. I was able to see her wedding gown (with the 25 ft. train!) and some of her dresses. There were some other things there--drafts of speeches she made, childhood memorabilia, etc.--but my favorite was the dresses. I'm not sure why that is...I mean, I'm not really a fashionista myself...but I love the dresses. (When we went to the Smithsonian about 10 years ago, my favorite part was the Inauguration Ball gowns of the first ladies.) Anyway, I was very glad I went.

So...that was last week. On a side note, I currently am watching (while I blog, so is that really watching?) an old Grey's Anatomy episode on Lifetime. It has made me realize how much better this show used to be than it is now. :-(

The Summer Thus Far--List Version

1. We're still in limbo with the house. Sigh.
2. Darryl had an impromptu business trip, so Amelia and I are in Florida visiting the fam.
3. Last week, I caught up on Glee. While I have some issues with storyline continuity at times (what happened to make Jesse switch back to Vocal Adrenaline and smash an egg in Rachel's face?), the show still makes me smile. And that episode that had both Neil Patrick Harris and Idina Menzel? Awesomeness.
4. I have seen Beauty and the Beast more times than I care to mention in the past week.
5. You know how you can go and go and go and go, and then when you slow down, you feel like you've hit a wall? I think I've hit that wall.

Limbo

We've been living in limbo for the past few weeks with our house situation, and it stinks. Do we continue to pack? Do we stop packing? Do we remain optimistic? Do we prepare ourselves for the fact that we might not be moving after all?

First we had the appraisal issue. We braced ourselves for the fact that we very likely were not moving. Then, miracle of all miracles, a second appraisal was done that was in line with what we were asking for the house. Hooray! Jubilation! We were going to be moving into our house after all!

Now we have another issue regarding the flood zone, so we're trying to get that worked out. We're somewhat optimistic it will be worked out, but at the same time, we're trying to brace ourselves for the worst.

It's getting old, this living in limbo thing. I don't like feeling unsettled, and I feel very unsettled. Our house is in disarray because we're kind of halfway packed. I sometimes catch myself thinking about things I want to do with the "new" house, but then I have to remind myself that there might not be a new house.

Very frustrating, to say the least.

Cross your fingers for us!

Always on the go

I haven't posted any Amelia pics lately, so I figure it is about time...

I was trying to take some pictures of her in this dress that I love one Sunday afternoon, but she was really in no mood to be still...

Best Class EVER

This past year I had the chance to teach AP Language for the first time.

Because I taught 10th grade honors the year before, and AP Lang is an 11th grade class at our school, I taught these students for two years in a row.

I told Darryl that if I had a class like this every period of the day, I would practically skip into work whistling a happy tune. While it is easy to get frustrated by the students who don't care and are impossible to motivate, classes like this one instill my hope that the future of our country is very bright indeed.

I'm pretty confident that in the picture below, you see a glimpse of future doctors, teachers, lawyers, humanitarians, journalists, engineers, and actors. And even better? They are decent, good-hearted people. And they are HILARIOUS! (Look, sometimes some funny students can make a bad day instantly better.)

The past few weeks of school were a bit bittersweet for me because I will truly miss seeing this class every day next year. They are moving on to Tim's AP Lit class, and I know he will enjoy teaching them every bit as much as they will enjoy having him as their teacher.