12/25/2008

Yep. Christmas day wasn't quite as calm...

12/23/08 A Night at Home

Josh is away working on a video. Here is what a quiet night at my house looks like!





The dogs are being themselves. The puppy Dash was just locked up, otherwise you'd be looking at completely different photos. He likes to play... a lot! Night is busy with his (my old) ds. Keira is playing with her little ponies (she made me do a reshoot because the ponies weren't ready in the first photo). And what am I doing during all of this? I'm getting dinner ready, of course!

I'm Jealous

of my three year old daughter's coat.

and boots.

Cuddle Night

Every Friday night at my house is cuddle night. Sounds nice, doesn't it? Don't be fooled. Don't get me wrong-it can be nice, but it isn't always nice...

Cuddle night started when Josh was working 3rd shift on Thursday nights. I would let Night sleep in my bed-we'd watch a movie through once then fall asleep to it the second time through. Okay, he'd watch a movie once then force himself to fall asleep the next time. I'd be out like a light within the first 5 minutes...

When I started teaching and Night went to school, we moved cuddle night to Fridays since he was staying up later than usual. Then, Keira wanted cuddle night. Good-bye to those romantic weekend nights with Josh. Night had me Friday. Keira had me Saturday. Then, Night decided to share cuddle night with Keira,

At least I have my Saturday nights back! The main problem with cuddle night is that these tiny little people I sleep with in my Queen size bed turn into giants with the longest (and meanest) legs and arms in the world! I wake up on Saturdays with bruises! Seriously.

Football

Today I got to supervise a football game between Advanced Band and Beginner Band. Advanced Band won. I guess the name says it all... Plus, they had the only tall player--over 5'5". Now THATs an advantage!

Bombay Potatoes

I love to try new things. I love to buy things that are cheap and/or on clearance. Imagine my excitement when I saw this:

Bombay Potatoes. Listed as chick peas, potatoes, and spices slow cooked in a tomato sauce. INDIAN. All natural, vegetarian. AND, it is marked down from $3.09 to $1.25. Of course I snatched it up. We love Indian food-and from looking at the box, it looked healthy. There were about 3 of them in the little sale basket, so I scooped them up.

And, it was easy to cook--either pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes or boil it on the stove for five. Being the gourmet that I am, I chose the microwave.

Imagine my surprise when I tore open the pouch and it was GREEN. The picture shows a redish color, so I thought that maybe it would turn after being cooked. (Serious doubt, though-how can 2 minutes in the microwave make that much of a difference?)

Well, this is how it turned out:

Those chunks you see? Not chick peas at all. Tofu. Definitely tofu. Definitely NOT chick peas. Well, I like tofu, so I decided to dig in anyway.




Keira asked what I was eating. I showed her and asked if she wanted some (in all honesty, it looks like baby poop). She looked. She said, "What kind of food is it?" I said, "Indian food." As I brought the spoon to her mouth, she said, "I don't like that kind of food," in a very panicky voice. "You haven't even tried it." "Oh." I put a tiny bit in her tiny mouth. "mmm." Then she ran away.

Night asked for seconds, though, so I guess it is a good sign. I have no idea what we ate, but I'm fairly sure it is healthy, and it tasted yummy. I dipped a tortilla in it and pretended my tortilla was buttered naan. Yum.


I just wonder what are in the other boxes. Something green with tofu or bombay potatoes...

A Morning Person

You would think that getting up BEFORE 6:00 EVERYDAY FOR over TWO YEARS would make me a morning person. It hasn't.

I used to be a night person--I could stay up past 2am every night. Getting up that early has ruined my owl-tendencies. But I'm not a morning person either. I'd be happy if I could sleep from 9:30pm to 9:30-noon every day...

Halloween Pics

Now that it is almost Thanksgiving, I guess it is time to post the Halloween pictures. I have more lomography ones that need to be scanned into the computer, but these are the ones from the digital camera.

Maple Roses

I tried making these. It didn't turn out very well, but Keira likes them! I didn't read about the needing thread part until I already started, and I can't find the thread. Yes, I'm quite the home-maker. I can't even FIND my thread... Cute idea, though!!

Slowing Down

The purpose of my blog originated as a place to SLOW DOWN and reflect. I felt like my life was passing by so quickly. I wanted to take the time to record what was happening so that I could relish this time in my life.

I haven't been taking the time to slow down lately! I'm going to try to write at least 5 times this week. There is my goal; it might be boring, but it is my story!

So, this morning, I went to work at the restaurant.

It was a busy day, so the pay was good, and the time went quickly enough. I really enjoy my job as a waitress.

Then I went to Kroger and bought groceries. We used to make oatmeal pancakes 2-3 times a week, and we haven't had them in over 2 months. Night has been requesting them, so I got all the ingredients.

Then, I came home. Josh took a nap, I wrote lesson plans. Keira played on the computer, Night played on the Nintendo 64. We really strive for family togetherness on the weekends...

Josh woke up and started making the pancakes with the kids. I just finished my last lesson for the week (8th graders are learning negative exponents--tough) and sat down to play de Blob with Night while Josh finished up the pancakes. Then the blender broke. I ZOOMED to Target and bought a new one. I literally had 5 minutes to make my choice. I hate that! I walked out the door at 1 minute to closing. There were about 6 other customers after me, I didn't feel too guilty. I normally feel guilty for those kinds of things.

Then I came home. Josh finished making the pancakes. I'm waiting for mine.

That's my day.

I'm off to brush Keira's teeth (and probably get yelled at for something)!

I Shouldn't have Bought the Purse

Yesterday was a very weird day. So many weird things added up to what happened that I couldn't help but think of the book A Series of Unfortunate Events. It started off normal. I got up and went to work at the restaurant. We ended up being fairly slow, and one of the servers asked if I wanted to go home early. Now, I hardly ever give up a Sunday shift because they are quite profitable, so here lies event number one. I said, "Sure!" How nice to spend a weekend day with my family!
So, I went to MICHAELS and bought some fun Halloweeny type crafts to decorate the house, and I went home. Night and I had gone to the pumpkin patch on Friday with his school, so we had two pumpkins that needed baths. We then took our Mr. Potato Head parts and decorated the pumpkins for Halloween. As we were decorating, Night suggested that we all go to the YMCA. What a fantastic idea! (bad idea, event #2) Josh and I have been slacking in the exercise department, and this would be a perfect day to go. Since the Y's daycare closed soon, we decided to go to the Y then come back home and finish decorating.
The kids ran in and got their juice boxes while Josh and I got dressed to work out. We got in Betty (Ugly Betty is our Xterra). Night realized he left his juice box in the house, so I ran in to get it. I then remembered that we were out of dog food, so we should stop at Kroger on the way back; I grabbed my purse.
We had a fabulous work out at the Y, at least that is what we kept telling ourselves in between sets. My arms are killing me today, so I guess that is a sign of a good workout! We picked up the kids, about 2 minutes before the daycare closed, and walked out to Betty. Some stupid jerk had broken Betty's window and snatched my purse! We were only in the Y about an hour! We were parked in front of the windows where the cardio machines look out.
We filed a police report, and they took fingerprints. The Y pulled the video tapes; it seems the machines have been broken since Friday (did I mention a series of unfortunate events?). I am upset because my cash from the weekend was in the purse, but luckily I had taken all but our spending money out; I am annoyed because my cell phone (which I usually forget at home) was in my purse, but it was an old phone anyway; I am furious because two of my precious lomography cameras were in my purse and the photos from the pumpkin patch were on them. The bastard who stole my purse won't even know what to do with them! My phone wasn't worth much, so he (or she) is walking away with about $100, but it will cost us over $500 to recover. $500 is a lot of money right now!
We came home and finished decorating the house (after calling insurance etc). Josh is going to get me a phone today (btw, I don't have anyone's phone number, so if you have to call me so I'll have your number!), and they are coming to fix the window tomorrow. I guess everything will go back to normal then, but I can't help but wonder if I'd never bought the purse (Friday on clearance at Target for $11-it was big and green, so the thief probably saw it easier than my other purse)... or if I would have stayed at work... or if we would've gone for a walk instead of the Y... or if Night wouldn't have forgotten his juice... or if I would've gotten the dog food on the way home from work... or...

At least they didn't take this camera!

Keira Turns THREE

Who Needs Video Games?

We got a new FRONT LOADING washing machine. The kids love it. Today I tripped over Keira's juice cup that was lying beside the washing machine. Josh said she had her snack while she was watching the washing machine today...

OCD or Terrible Twos?

It seems that whenever I do...anything with Keira, she takes whatever I do, starts it over, and then does it all by herself. ("All myself" is how she pronounces it.)

Brushing teeth time? I open the drawer with the toothbrushes. She CLOSES the door and opens it herself. I pick up her toothbrush. She puts the toothbrush down and picks it back up. I turn the water on. She turns the water off then back on again. (you get the picture...)

It never changes. The thing is if I just wait for her to do it without my intervention, she argues and says she doesn't want to do it. (It being ANYTHING that I want her to do.) I just think she likes the process of being obstinate. You should see what she does if we skip the whole let her do it herself step. It gets pretty ugly.

So, tonight as I was watching Keira put the lid back on the vitamins so she could take it off, I began to wonder if this is how OCD starts? She gets so used to repeating everything that she does that it becomes habit then it becomes a need. Am I fostering OCD in my 2 year old because I don't want her to yell at me?

I'm hoping it is just the terrible twos. She turns three in a few weeks. It will all end then, right? We leave the terrible twos and go into the terrific threes, right? Her attitude changes completely, right???

Voicethread

I'm very new at this.  I only found voicethread this afternoon, but it so cool!  I can't wait to find out more about it!  Try it!  

New Shoes

On a superficial note, one of the things that I have been enjoying most about being a teacher rather than a waitress (well, I'm still waitressing on the weekends...) is that I don't have to wear that ugly uniform!

Since it had been so long since I'd worn anything but the uniform, my closet was pretty bare.

I went to Macy's one day after waitressing and picked out a butt-load of clothes. I am basically a clearance shopper, and I was lucky enough to find lots of deals. When I got to the cashier, she told me that if I donated $12 to a charity that buys books for kids, Macy's would give me $10 off my order. She did this the maximum number of times it was allowed for my purchase price, bringing my $160 total down to $75. I'm not sure how it worked out that way; it didn't seem right, so I practically ran out of the store before she realized she'd made a mistake! (actually, I don't think it was a mistake, but it really did seem like it was too good to be true!) Since all of the things I had purchased were on clearance, I got about $650 worth of clothes for $75.

Next, I went to Payless and got 4 new pairs of shoes with their BOGO sale. Target was also having clearance on shoes. Jackpot! I've enjoyed dressing up everyday! I've looked very cute, from my jewelry (I've already had a collection of cute jewelry since that is the only bit of personality that I've been able to wear with my uniforms) to my clothes, to my shoes!

Until Wednesday...Wednesday a huge blister showed up on my left pinky-toe. I had already had some blisters on my heels from the new shoes, but they weren't bad enough to really hurt me. The toe-blister, however, was not good. When I was getting dressed for school on Wednesday, I ended up changing my whole outfit so I could wear more comfortable shoes. Thursday, I picked out my outfit based on comfy shoes. By Friday, I had thought I was ready for heels again. My toe hurt, but not as badly as it had been. The heels I had picked out were comfy ones, so I didn't think much about it...

Then in my first class, I decided that I couldn't wear my shoes anymore because my pinky was all red and sore. No problem, I just took my shoes off. The problem came when I tried to put the shoes back on... My left foot was so swollen that I could hardly get it on! Since our school consists of two buildings, and I needed to take the kids to the other building (across the hot black-top parking lot), this really was a problem. I hobbled throughout the day this way, keeping my shoe off as much as possible.

By the end of the day, my foot was swollen and the whole foot was red rather than just the toe. There were red streaks all the way to my ankle bone. I decided I needed to stop at the clinic. I stopped at CVS's minute clinic, thinking she'd give me a prescription for an antibiotic and I'd be on my way. She looked at my foot and freaked out. She said it was too severe for her to take care of and that I needed to go to a different clinic right away.

Turns out that I needed an antibiotic shot. The doctor told me that if it got any worse by this morning, it meant that they hadn't given me the shot fast enough and that I needed to go to the emergency room. Whoa. It is better now, but I still can't walk on it. I have to keep it raised, and I obviously didn't go to work (waitressing) today. I kind of feel like a queen, making everyone bring me stuff and what-not. I should relish it today since tomorrow I'll be back to being the one being bossed.

Moral of the story-don't buy cute new shoes? Naw, that couldn't be it.

The First Week of School

Whew.  I feel like my week has consisted of waking up before dawn, running around like crazy, then sleeping (dreaming of running around like crazy) for 5 minutes, and then starting all over again by waking up before dawn!

I started my new teaching position last Monday with inservices, which also included reading a whole lot of books about Garner's Multiple Intelligences.  Then, this week was the first week that the kids came to school.  It has been a wonderful week.  I love my students.  I love only having 16 of them in a class!  I'm overwhelmed with trying to do all of my lesson plans MI style, but I'm sure I'll get it down... eventually. 

Night also started school for the first time this week!  Actually, he went for half a day one day the previous week, but the actual first day was the same as mine.  I was very sad that I couldn't be here, but such is life!  I do have the pictures to post, but they are on my phone, and I'm not sure how to get them onto the computer!  Night insisted on riding the school bus rather than being taken to school.  To me, riding the bus seems scary, but what do I know?

So, we've all been trying to adjust to our new schedules.  We all went for so long doing the same thing over and over that we had grown accustomed to our monotony.  Then all of the sudden, EVERYTHING CHANGED at once.  Josh is adjusting to waking up early and getting Night off to school.  The bus stop is at our corner, so luckily he doesn't have to wake up Keira.  I think she usually wakes up before the bus arrives, though.  I think the first day the two of them were alone in the house, they just sat and stared at each other!

Thursday night, Night had his open house, which just happened to be the same night of MY open house.  Great timing!  I got to Night's open house, though, with about 5 minutes to spare.  Josh was there for the whole thing, though.  I did get to see Night's classroom, which by the way is about 5 times bigger than my own classroom.  I have bigger kids with less space.

1 week of school down, about 40 to go!

Time for a New JOB

Well, I guess it is time to update my header! I'm a teacher...again.

A couple of months ago, I went through a little bit of financial stress, which in turn became panic. I told Josh that I wasn't making enough money at my 2 waitressing jobs (working a total of 5 days at the time) and that we would be poor forever and that life sucked. After feeling sorry for myself (ourselves), we came to the conclusion that I needed a little break, so Josh got a job.

Josh got a fairly good paying job as a security officer. He hated the job, and he was working horrible shifts. It didn't allow for me to quit work-it just allowed for us to both be tired from working all the time--he'd work work the midnight shift; come home; then I'd go to work; then I'd come home; then he'd work second shift etc. We didn't want to put the kids in daycare, but we weren't making it well watching them ourselves either.

It was at this point that I decided I should look for something more stable than waiting tables, something a little more...um, stable. Since I have a teaching degree, and it is summer, typically when teachers get hired, I filled out some applications and sent out some resumes. At first, it was a means to an end--not have to be a slave to those old hags who would just leave me a dollar tip after running my ass off for them, no I'm not bitter. The more I answered why I am a good teacher and why I enjoy teaching, the more adamant I became about getting a job. I discovered that I really miss teaching.

Well, I interviewed at a nearby middle school for a Math position. I love Math, so this would be perfect. I have to tell ya'll that I rocked that interview. The principal told me that she would be deciding by the end of the week. Whoo hoo! Then, she didn't call. And didn't call. In fact, she never called. She didn't even tell me that I didn't have the job! I left several messages, I just wanted closure.

When the principal never called, I decided that it wasn't meant to be this year. By this time, we had decided that both Josh and I working was NOT working, so I picked up more waitressing shifts and told Josh to quit his awful job. It was less stressful for both of us if I was working 7 days a week with him watching the kids full time than if we tried sharing both kid-duty and work-duty.

Then, I got a call from an AWESOME private school offering me an interview for a part-time position teaching Science. Well, Science is not my favorite, and part-time isn't ideal, but it would work-I'd still get to teach. I would be able to supplement my income with waiting tables, so the part-time position would get my foot in the door, and I could hope for full-time next year. So, I went to the interview; however, I had NO time to prepare myself. I had to go straight after work one day, and I didn't have time to get into "teacher mode."

I pretty much bombed this interview. I didn't even bother following up with a phone call for that one--I spent the whole drive home wondering why I answered some of the questions the way I did. I didn't lie in my interview or anything, but think I came across as a dolt.

I went back to waitressing, and I changed my attitude around. Tips have improved as of late, and by working 7 days a week, our income has gone up steadily. I truly believe that attitude is everything, because I was happily going to work 7 days a week whereas a few months before I could hardly survive my 5 days.

This brings us to this previous Monday. At the end of my shift, I checked my voicemail, and the second principal (awesome private school) called and asked if I would be interested in interviewing for a full-time Math position. WOULD I? I love Math! I love full-time! So, I called her on my way home, and she OFFERED ME THE POSITION RIGHT OVER THE PHONE!

Whoa! Talk about whirlwind! I drove home, and told my family that I had a new job--even though I had stopped trying to get one, and it was for a perfect school for the perfect position! (Yes, I realize I am insane because I love teaching middle schoolers!) After work on Tuesday, I stopped by the school and SIGNED MY CONTRACT. The principal asked me to start the next day because they were doing a technology-training inservice. Well, considering I hadn't quit my 7 day a week job yet, I couldn't. She said I could start this next Monday instead, and there you have it. I'm a teacher again.

My awesome private school is based on Howard Garner's Multiple Intelligences, which is amazing, but overwhelming because I have a lot of familiarizing to do before those kids show up next week! So if you need me, I'll be reading and lesson planning and studying. I am not giving up my weekend gig, either, so stop by the "other" restaurant and say howdy!

Night Wants to Go to Bed?

Last night, as I was lying in bed reading around 10:00ish. Night's bedtime is around 9:00, but Josh and Night were distracted by their video game, so time apparently got away from them.

Suddenly, Josh had an idea. From the bedroom, I hear, "Hey, let me pull out your tooth." Night's tooth has been loose for about a month.
"Ok.... Wait! It hurts!"
"I'll be done in a minute."
"Ouch! Ouch!"
"Hold on." Josh goes and gets pliers and a paper towel. (because that's not scary!)
A minute later, a panic-stricken Night says, "IT IS LATE. I SHOULD BE IN BED. I'M TIRED. "
Josh says, "Fine, but if you get out of bed tonight, I'm pulling that tooth!"

I guess Night stayed in bed, because all his teeth seem to be intact today!

A Ladies Man

Yesterday, Night told me that he had an idea for getting a girlfriend. He said that he needed to chew gum. It makes his cheeks go up and down. Apparently the girls really go for that.

Today, he told me he had another idea about getting a girl to like him-show them his manly muscles, the ones on his arms and under his shirt.

He starts Kindergarten in a few weeks. I think he's got big plans...