A Long Overdue Update…

August 10, 2008 · Filed under Just plain random THINKS

Wow, i remembered my wordpress password. I have been meaning to come back to update in th elast two months, but I havent really known what to say…not even sure if what I have to say is worth blogging about.  Lets see if I can recap the last two months -

-I survived another school year, the one with the class from H-E-Double Hockey Sticks. They were just so tiring, challenging, mean. They didn’t like one another - and it was a constant battle to keep them from fighting with one another. New year is coming up, a new group of students, some changes to our program, we will see how we do this year - I am looking forward to a fresh start.

~Our first week of vacation was spent relaxing and prepping for Connor P’s Third Birthday! He’s so big and soooo funny - totally the light of our lives! We got him his precious, much longed for scooter!  Its a Red Three wheeled one. Too funy to watch him ride it! They have changed wordpress around and i havent figured how to put pics in yet!

~We spent a long weekend camping with connor and our group of friends on our first family camping trip - loved it! We bought all new camping equipment and a huge tent(”The Lodge”) and I even have a sleeping bag! Fun times - and we are supposed to leave on our next camping trip this coming week.

~Brian has been teaching summer school - a prep program for incoming freshman - this is his last week.  He enjoyed it as usual but is glad for a few weeks off.

~Connor has been taking swim lessons at the local gym - too bad the weather hasn’t cooperated enough for us to go swimming in any other pools(besides the lake when camping!) this summer!

~I spent a week at a Summer Science Institute for Teachers and had a ball with my coworkers.  Got paid for it too(umm, well, Im supposed to….one of these days!) and learned quite alot.

~I finally go t a new washing machine - apparently “We”(umm, that means Brian) were waiting for it to completely flood my feet and the basement floor before it was truly broken!  Its quite fabulous, I must say. Just a regular top loading machine, Maytag, originally $499, purchased by moi for $265.00 because it had a slight dent in the corner and the people who ordered it didn’t want a dented machine. I personally dont mind a cosmetic dent on a machine sitting in my basement!

~And sadly -WHat mainly explains my blogging absence - We spend alot of time everyday helping my mom with my father. We got the news that my dad only has a few weeks left, his body just isnt respomding to dialysis treatment anymore, and he is considering ending treatment completely. He can’t move his body by himself, we have to lift him and help him do almost everything - everything. He is having some serious bouts of dementia, and it is just not any type of life - let alone a quality one. Friends of my sister and brother in law have arranged  (due to the serious expense and the fact that my parents insurances will not cover it - but if they were on Public Assistance they would - go figure!) for a local company that they do business with to transport my father in his wheelchair to dialysis each time he goes - its a medical transport company and i can not say enough about the generosity of the people involved. This prevents Brian and I from lifting my father into the car for my mom to drive to dialysis - - Brian still goes over every day to help him in and out of the wheelchair to and from treatment. But the service is a Godsend, and the help from people that my parents don’t actually know is just amazing.

And I will leave it there for now - hopefully in the few weeks left of vacation I will have a moment or two to update here and there - when I go back to school and get in a better routine, I will be much better at blogging - I promise!

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sad day for us…

June 11, 2008 · Filed under Just plain random THINKS

Some of our friends and family know that we brought home a new puppy(marley, a teeny tiny pug puppy) last month. He was fabulous - just a great dog. Unfortunately yesterday, our sweet marley died right before we left for work. He was eating his food and brian was sitting next to him, since he had a tendency to eat to fast, so we talked to our vet and she made several suggestions that we had implemented. Unfortunately, his food either got lodged in his throat or in his windpipe(we are unsure) and he choked to death.  brian and I tried everything we could to save him and help him but our efforts were not enough and sadly we lost him - we had had him home with us for exactly one month. Our vet said that he may have had a problem like a soft palatte that we didnt know about. We are sure he is in a better place now and is probably up in heaven chewing on more shoes. :) He will be greatly missed by us and Rhyli, our other pug, who so enjoyed having a playmate. I am very sad - my pugs are like extra kids to me and I just adored having two of them, if only for a brief time.

Updates to come - I have been very busy the last few weeks and my blog is one of several things that have been neglected.

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Its almost over…

June 6, 2008 · Filed under Just plain random THINKS, School · Tagged

and in 14 business days(err, school days?) it will be! yep, thats right, my scond year as a fifth grae teacher will; be done. Im not sure if I am happy or sad…relieved, maybe? It was a really challenging year - ewe went to departmentalized instruction vs a standard classroom, so that was challenging, not always fun, and quite honestly, at times, incredibly boring!  I will miss most of my kids…but I am really ready for this year to be over with!

In the next three-ish weeks, we have a ton going on - a magic show, a field trip to the public library, a fiel trip to the middle school the kids are going to next year, field days, a class picnic at the local park, moving up day, and various other smaller end of the year activities.  Add in the staff picnics and retirement parties, a work wedding shower for my TA, and a baby shower for another teacher, report cards, final meetings and room cleanouts, we have alot going on!  And thats just at school! I am going to need a vacation after this month is over!

In other news, Brian and i have a staff picnic to go to for his school tonight, and we promised connor a trip to the playground and ice cream tonights o we have a busy night. I am home today catching up on a few things this am and I have several appointments this afternoon that neede to be taken care of. Tomorrow B is golfing with his dad and then he has an eye appointment, and we have to finish getting the rest of the stuff we are planting. Mind you, its planning on being in the 90’s for the next three to five days, so we have to get the ac in too. Sunday we have a family picnic - its shaping up to be a busy weekend and we have barely gotten started!! I also realized that I desparately need shorts and tank tops because all of my old ones are actually old and they just dont fit me as well anymore. better get themnow before the paychecks stop for the summer! ?LOL!

ok, off to clean up the destroyed living room! There are waaaaay too many toys in there and it nees to be cleaned out while little man is out. :) fewer tears that way!

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a few of my favorites.

May 23, 2008 · Filed under Just plain random THINKS

HOME

Favorite art - Vintage Advertisements on canvas
Sheets - clean ones. I like fresh sheets. Preferably boldly patterned.
Coffee-maker - I dont know what kind it is but it has a dispenser, not a carafe.
Pets - Pugs - 2 of them.
Favorite cocktail? - eh. I don’t really drink, but I do love a nice glass of white wine on occasion.
Blackberry or a Treo? - None - I had a palm and I killed it. went back to a paper planner. Now we are considering the Iphone.
Favorite Charity? - Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the National Kidney Foundation.

CLOTHES

Jeans - DKNY. Best I have found so far.
Underwear - Ambrielle Low Rise briefs - from JCPenney.
Sneakers - I dont really wear them, but I have a few pairs. I guess my favorites are Nikes, but they are girls. They fit though!
T-Shirt - jcrew. Slightly pricey but they wear like steel and fit perfectly. No shrinking, no fading and tons of colors!
Day bag - Vera Bradley.
Evening bag - Vera Bradley…why would I need two?!
Favorite discovery -  Burts Bees Lip Balm. brian and I go through that stuff like crazy.
Who inspires you - Connor - he is so creative and imaginative.
Necessary extravagance? - A great haircut(from someone who knows my hair and has the same stuff on her head) and highlights every two months.
BEAUTY PRODUCTS

Lipstick - burts bees. I dont wear lipstick otherwise.
Mascara -  That new Orange tube stuff from Covergirl- the one with drew barrymore.
Shampoo - Vive.
Moisturizer - Cetaphil Lotion - the only thing I can use now.
Hair product - Biosilk Gloss.
Perfume - Ralph Lauren
Toothpaste - colgate whitening
Soap - Dove Shower Cream - no bar soap.
Nail Polish Color - OPI’s Pompeii Purple - I ve been wearing it fior about 4 years now!
Brows waxed? - yes - every two months and then I do maintenance every other day.

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weekend update…(um, monthly update, yet again?!?!)

May 18, 2008 · Filed under Uncategorized

So one of these days  I will get back to regularly updating - like on a daily basis! But in my defense, ive had a lot of stuff going on. Like, this guy came to live with us…

Thats Marley - he’s 11 weeks old. He’s a bit on the punk side, but Rhyli is getting him onto her program(the one where she is the ruler of our house) and he is settling in nicely now. We were thinking about getting another dog, but he was a little spur of the moment…talk about impulse purchase. But we love him already and he’s fitting in quite well. Plus, he makes me get up and walk around the neighborhood, which is doing wonders for me.

I am now on the maintenance phase of WW. I hit my goal weight and maintained for four weeks, so we decided it would be best to start maintenance now so I could make lifetime by the end of the school year and go to WW for free this summer/fall. Thats where I fall apart, when I dont have the weekly structure of someone checking up on me. Plus, quite honestly I like the WW leaders out here better, vs the one who does our ww at work program. But since i have been officially on maintenance(1 week) Ive actually lost a pound. I’d love to lose a few more just to give me some wiggle room.

We only have about 25 days left of school(which means I better find some kids to tutor this summer quickly!) and the kids are finally feeling it. They have been crazy all year but now the craziness is picking up. We had the PTO 5th grade luau friday night and they were seriously so inappropriate I couldnt believe it. Ran around the gym, knocked over decorations purposely, jumped up on the stage behind the dj and were messing around - it was pretty ridiculous. Last years kids were totally different  - appreciative of the things they were given and had done for them - it was just chaos. Im glad its over. I hate giving up my family time for things like that. Not to mention the extra 40 miles in gas roundtrip to  go back to school that evening. I love my job, I do, but this years class is just so difficult.

So brian is golfing now, and connor is at his grandma P’s for a little morning visit while I had some quiet time to catch up on school work, laundry and house work. I am going to try to get all of that done so that I can pop dinner in the oven(Beef burgundy today - its going to be a chilly, rainy day) and scrapbook this afternoon while watching some old movie on Lifetime.  So I guss that means i should go get some things done before they come home!

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Weekly(umm, monthly??) Update

April 24, 2008 · Filed under House!, Scrapbooking, The Babyman · Tagged

Oh my gravy, where are the days going? I am thinking I need about 32 hours in the day these days! The nice weather really doees help though! I feel like iM getting more done and am being more active. So…whats new with us??

-Connor has his very first dentist appointment today - we’ve been telling him about it, but as of right now, he’s not thrilled. even with the bribe of stickers. and a new toothbrush. hmmm, wonder where he gets that from? Brian and I just *LOVE* the dentist! LOL!

~Operation family room renovation is almost done. I have a few more accessories to find, my sb armoire to fill, and we have to caulk the molding where it joins, and paint the interior doors. Those things should be done by this weekend. (Mission Locate Decorative Item #469 is still underway(a piece for on top of the armoire, which brian insists should be long, wide and low…no baskets. No iron things. No fun. I say he should just move on to the next house project and let me do what I do well…shop and decorate.) By the way, he did a super job and it looks awesome already. I think we may need a bigger tv, but Im not saying anything about that to Brian. :)

~My dad is doing better. He is mobile. Still forgetful, but is actually moving himself. I wonder if it wasnt the blood infection or the low blood sugar that was making him lose his mobility. Whatever the reason for improvement, I am thankfull for it. And he doesn’t really remember the incident, so i guess thats good…ambulance sirens still make me shake though. No one should ever have to call 911 for their parents…it sucks.

~My flower garden is coming along. My front and side beds are currently greening up - in the process of growing are tulips(they survived the squirrel attacks!), hosta(all from my MIL’s house) Irises(all from my sister’s house), Tiger Lillies(all from my teaching partner’s house) some weird red leafy thing that flowers in summer(from my brother’s Garden) and the tree we killed last year, that we actually bought. My dogwood is blooming as well. I think its a dogwood anyways. It looks like the others in the neighborhood. This year we are adding a few more shrubs. ANd more mulch on the sides. And as soon as we have time, Im filing permits with the town and getting that fence redone. Its ugly. UGLY!

~Tomorrow night is crop night. Can’t wait. Im all packed, just need to add some new photos. I have to go get them printed first.

Ok, I think thats it. Im offf to vacuum and then contemplate the task of sorting out my sb supplies. Oy. :) anyone want to come help?? Pretty Please?

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a quick fun post for reading material…

April 20, 2008 · Filed under House!, Just plain random THINKS · Tagged ,

1.) When you walk in your front door, which room do you enter?
Living Room
2.)Do you have a dishwasher?
Yes. I hate it though.
3.) Is your living room carpeted or does it have hardwood floors?
Hardwoods with an area rug over the area by the couches.
4.) Do you keep your kitchen knives on the counter or in a drawer?
In a knife block on my counter.
5.) House, apartment, duplex or trailer?
House.
6.) How many bedrooms does it have?
3
7.) Gas stove or electric?
Electric. Plug and Play, baby!
8.) Do you have a yard?
Yes. We are on a corner lot, so its nice and large!
9.) What size TV is in the living room?

I think its a 36″.
10.) Are your plates in the same cupboard as your glasses?
Ha! No.
11.) Is there a coffee maker sitting on your kitchen counter?
But of course! It has a dispenser! No carafe! But I need a new one. Im bored with this one.
13.) What room is your computer in?
Ummm, well, my desktop is in the spare bedroom. My laptop is on the dining room table when its not in my bag or on my desk at school. But this summer when I am home, it will be in the armoire in the family room.
14.) Are there pictures hanging in your living room?
Yes, a collage of wedding photos, and two large prints of a car and a taxi. they are by an artist we like.
15.) Are there any themes found in your home?
I will have to go with pottery barnesque - on a target budget. can target be a theme?
16.) What kind of laundry detergent do you use?
all free and clear. I am allergic to just about everything else.
17.) Do you use dryer sheets?
Bounce. or the store brand equivalent. Im not picky as long as they are in there!
18.)) Do you have any curtains in your home?
Yes. and dont tell my allergy specialist!
19.) What color is your fridge?
Black. The inside is white.
20.) Is your house clean?
Sort of, we are in the middle of a reno project so I am frantically trying to keep on top of the dust and clutter in the rest of the house!
21.) What room is the most neglected?
Our spare bedroom. Its a catchall.
22.) Are the dishes in your sink/dishwasher clean or dirty?
There are none in my sink. it bothers me when they are in there, so i constantly wash them. Dishwasher is dirty
23.) How long have you lived in your home?
It will be 2 years in June. and we are finally learning how to fix things ourselves. If we keep going we will have it perfect by the time we are 97. But we like it, and love our neighborhood.
24.) Where did you live before?
In an apartment. and some days I still miss it.
25.) Do you have one of those fluffy toilet lid covers on your toilet?
Uh, yes, I do. why do you ask??
26.) Do you have a scale anywhere in your house?
yes, and i use it every day at the same time. sue me. it works for me.
27.) How many mirrors are in your house?
5?

28.) Look up. What do you see?

my dining room ceiling where it was not painted well by the last owner, and my dusty chandelier.
29.) Do you have a garage?
Yes. it has furniture in it right now.
30.) Are you planning on moving anytime soon?
hell no. i hate moving.

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Weekly Wrap up …#3

April 6, 2008 · Filed under House!, Just plain random THINKS, School

ah, yes, Its sunday again, isn’t it?

1. We spent a good part of last night picking out our new French door, flooring and paint colors for our little home reno project next week. While the rest of our family and friends are going on vacation, we are sinking a comparable amount into our family room in order to make it usable. livable. and above all, no longer carpeted. My brother will be supplying the manual labor on the door installation. Brian and I are getting to be quite the experts on the flooring installation, and I wield a mean paint brush. i can’t wait. the coolest feature? The door opens up on both sides….making for a very large opening in my wall at my whim! cool!

2. in keeping with the home reno theme, i desperately need to find some wall decorations for the room. so far, i have a large shelf(think pottery barn style shelf) and a star. I need some photo inspiration to work from. I dont know that I have a theme in mind, just a sort of eclectic style…vintage y/country primitive/cozy and warm…is that a style?? help.

3. We got the deal of a lifetime yesterday at TheChildrensPlace.com - my sweet husband got a little carried away with the buy now button -he just kept adding things to the cart -  basically a 30% off sale price and free shipping - we got about 20 items for 70$ - and yet, the boy still needs a few more items of clothing for spring, seeing as how we just had a major growth spurt. at least he will be well dressed. :)

4. I  am having my spring observation this week by my principal - and im a nervous wreck.

5. I have 5 work days until vacation and I can’t wait. it doesn’t help that the weather is supposed to be fabulously beautiful this week. I think i may get a pedicure today!

6. Oh, and we are going golfing today. if i get all of my work done. awesome. i better get going!

happy week!

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2 year old logic…

March 31, 2008 · Filed under Uncategorized

yes, I know I owe y’all an update - but literally am sitting at my computer and this conversation just happened and had brian and I in tears laughing. I had to get it written down.

Setting: Brian and Connor on the couch with Blankie and Bottle, Connor is mellowing out and ready to fall asleep. Rhyli the WonderPug is sitting on the couch with them.

Connor: Why does doggie have such a little butt?

Brian: Because doggie is a little…

Connor, interupting: And where is his doodle?

Brian: Doggie is a girl, girls don’t have doodles.

Connor: Doggie isn’t a  girl, Doggie is a doggie.

Brian: Doggie is a Girl Doggie.

Connor: No. No. Doggie is a PUG.

Brian: yes, Connor, Doggie is a Pug. Now close your eyes and go to sleep, ok?

Connor: No Daddy. If I close my eyes, I won’t be able to see anyone.

Im sorry its not as funny in typing as it was in person, but you can use your imagination!

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Weekly WrapUp…#2

March 22, 2008 · Filed under Uncategorized

Yet another week has flown by with me not blogging….its beginning to become a habit!  I think spring fever is definitely approaching with my students and myself. Give me another two weeks and its going to be full blown! The kids - totally off the wall!!  Me….itching to go outside, too bad its been, ahem, freezing cold and rainy…welcome spring 2008! :) Seriously….Warmer weather can roll in any time now!

~This was another 4 day workweek. I feel as though I taught NOTHING….just crammed what I could in there.  Sigh. SO much for effective teaching.

~Next week, yet another 4 day workweek - better yet, though, is the fact that i have special education meetings all day on thursday - which is also the day we have our Math and Science fair, for which our classroom project/presentation must be completed and set up. We are doing biomes - each 5th grade classroom picked a different biome and we are decorating the room in some way. Ours involves two 8′ tall by 12′ wide panels of cardboard and a lot of paint so far. We still need to make and stuff the animals and cacti this week….plus make the tumbleweed….ai yi yi. :)

~We did our CVS Trip yesterday - we had 60$ in ECB’s to spend…they expired tomorrow so figured we should use them up. We usually try to roll them, but the deals havent been that great this last couple of weeks. So, we used a few coupons and ended up with 81$ worth of merchandise for $4.38 after all of our ecb’s, cvs and manufacture coupons. (and can I say its a good thing for ecb’s, because CVS really has some jacked up prices!!)(FYI, we got some soda, a bag of chips, 2 Vive shampoos, Nivea Shaving gel for Brian, 2 Big packs of pampers diapers, 2 Hand Sanitizers, A bag of Easter Candy, A Fisher Price Dora and Swiper Soccer figurine Set(for Connor’s basket - he is gonna love those!), 2 bags of DD coffee, and a few other things) I normally would have spent free money on more practical things, but even I could not bring myself to pay 6.49 for a small bottle of ALL laundry detergent - free in the end or not. I can get it with coupons at wegmans or target for much cheaper. So we just bought some fun things….and we will start over fresh with the ECB’s when they start having good deals again.

~We also did a little shopping(ok, maybe more than a little) at old Navy. We dont generally go into Old Navy except for basics for Connor, because we generally don’t like much in there, and we are of the Gap Generation, so our allegiance is still very much with them…not the new fangled Old Navy!LOL! Plus,we much prefer quality over quantity these days, so we dont go there much based on the quality of the adult clothes in our experience.  But, Connor has apparently had a growth spurt and his sweatpants no longer fit him….lets just call them capri length! So, we went to the big Old Navy and for some reason, they were actually sellingf a few items we liked…I found more than brian did, but mainly because Im sick of my winter sweaters and need some transitional pieces until it actually warms up…and for 5$ a sweater…well, why not?!?!?  I did pick up a few tops too - i will have to see how the quality is - I pretty much swore off the Old Navy Tee’s because they are such random quality…some are good…some stretch, some shrink, some fade horribly after one wash…all the same size and style from the same season…just weird….But, since i like pictures, heres what I found…

this sweater in yellow - $5.99!!!!  Its not available for sale on the website but its on the model…cute.


Loved this - $9.00 - and in a shade i dont already have in my closet - i was excited about it.

Bought this in white, (it didnt show up too well here) the crocheted trim is really cute.

and a few other pieces not on the website….oh, and i did find some sweatpants for connor - and brian found a few shirts and a sweater for himself. we will have to see how  well we do with our new clothes quality wise. :)

~And, in an effort to keep talking about shopping - i picked up my spring vera bradley bag yesterday - the raspberry fizz bucket tote, with a matching wallet thing(brian picked it out - so i can just carry my keys, phone and credit cards separately, which ive been doing alot lately) and then I got the free gift - a coin purse with a funky clasp to match.

It was my easter gift. brian got a new pair of shoes he’s been eyeballing for a while now.

Yes. we did do a lot of shopping yesterday!  (and still have more to do today - target and groceries)

~We tried a new thai restaurant last night - my friends and i are so not adventurous, food wise, but we have been trying to be. LOL. So last night, we went with Loran and Jill to a new restaurant on the hill and had our first Thai food - excellent!!  Marcia - have you been there? Appethaizing?? (the best part about it for us was the fact that it used to be an old bar brian and i went to in college - ahhhhh, memories! They got shut down a ton of times for serving to minors! not us….)

~brian’s macbook is broken, or something. and he’s mad at it. so it needsto get fixed pronto…because he’s been using my laptop. and i dont dig that. :)

~today we have a ton of stuff to do - hair cuts for the boys, my nails done, groceries, target, dinner with my parents, library, a few other stores, and then dye the eggs, make the basket, and hide it - oh and I need to clean my house. Lots to do. more later!

Happy Easter!!!

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