Was this really a month ago?

Here are some belated pictures from Thanksgiving. And yes, that's Mason in a pool. Hard to believe, since it's been bone chilling around here lately!!

Much waited, much anticipated...much invigorated??

Before you start thinking to yourself, "Finally! Princess Lionhead finally got off her dairy aire and wrote a blog!!", remember how busy things can get for you and then realize that it's about the same here. So, get over it. :)

Anyways, I know in my last blog I promised to write the next one about the genius things my lovely hormonal angels have said to me. And I still want to. So I'm going to attempt to conjure up the ones I can remember (my memory can normally be lacking, but having a baby sucking at my brain can make things even less likely to stay in my cranium). Here are a few:

1. Mrs. Lionhead, what if your baby is born Amish? (yes, like the guys with the sideburns, tophats and the horse and carriage)

2. Can illiterate people think? Breathe? See colors? Wouldn't they just shrivel up and die?

3. If I could correspond with someone from another country, it would be from Hawaii. (I told her that Hawaii was part of the United States, and she said, "but it's not connected?")

4. (I had written some instructions related to research papers on the board, specifically regarding using resources. I had written that they need to use at least 3 resources and 1 must be a book and a hand went up...) Why does it say "I must be a book on the board?" (I had to laugh--especially when another student admitted she had actually written "I must be a book" in her notes!)

5. (This one's not mine, but it's a story worth telling. The science teacher was having a discussion about how the brain sends signals to parts of the body. And one student asked how a newborn baby knows how to breathe for the first time. The teacher reminded them that they had learned about which part of the brain is responsible for body functions and he asked if anyone could remember the name of that part of the brain...) I know what part of the brain does that!! Isn't it the Uterus?

I think that's all I can remember right now. My hubby hears my anecdotes from teaching everyday and he gets a little worried of that generation. They could be one of his students in just a few short years!! They'll be serving our food at McDonald's soon!! And they'll be the ones administering our medications when we are old and rotting in a nursing home!! Isn't that a comforting feeling?

I love them, but I worry about their common sense. Or lack thereof.

Update on my sister

I talked to my dad this afternoon and my sister is doing well. They took 1/3 of her liver and a growth just about the size of a soccer ball!! The surgery went faster than expected, and they say she should be able to go home in a few days. The recovery will be the tricky part. Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts for her. I know they were felt and heard in her heart...

On a lighter note, you can look forward to my next blog that I plan to write this weekend: a continuation of the blog I wrote about a year ago: Things My Students Have Said Part Two or Teenagers Are Common Sense Deficient. I wish I had written down every little mind blowing anecdote in the past year, but alas, I'll have to devise a list from my memory. And you can look forward to that...

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Just a note to say that I hope all of my readers (my huge total of about 4) had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day, ate loads of fattening foods, enjoyed some laughs with friends and family, and then slept well. If you were crazy enough to go out on Black Friday today (which we actually were!!), hope you didn't get trampled by angry shoppers and you got what you went out for. Have a fantastic rest of your weekend and I will post pictures later.

Settling in

Our house looks like a real house now. We've unpacked most boxes and every room looks lived in. We're finding things in the drawers we put them in, and we've figured out which lightswitch goes to what. It feels good to be settling in. Eventually we'll actually have friends over and then it will feel like home.

We also went down to the little park near the house last weekend. It was fun, especially for Mason. He took LarryBoy and the Larry Mobile down the slide and he of course wanted Mommy and Daddy to take their turns going down the slide with him. I'm just getting around to posting the pictures, so here ya go.

Hooray for a Trash Can!!

I never thought I'd find myself delighting in the sight of a green plastic trash recepticle sitting outside of our house. But I am very happy.

Long story short (because it's too frustrating and too boring to retell), we have been trying to get a trash can from the new company that is required in our new subdivision, for 3 weeks now!! We are the first residents that have moved into our cul-de-sac (but certainly not the first residents to live in our neighborhood, by far), but the Trash Company basically said we didn't exist. They thought we were in a town that's a 4 hour drive from here!! After 5 phone calls to the Trash Company (and many aggravating moments where God tested Hubby's patience), a truck pulled up this morning with our can. It was a lovely sight. It means we don't have bags upon bags of trash that we have to lug to the nearest dumpster.

Hooray!!

Think Pink!!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen (but I think I just have Lady readers!), we're having a girl! She was showing all at the doctor's office, so there was no doubt!!

We can't wait to meet our little Grace Maureen in less than 20 weeks!!

Boo!

Yeah it's me. Yeah it's been over a week. Get over it. Things have been a teensy bit crazy hectic around here.

We got our keys to our new house today (supposed to happen yesterday, but that's another story). Hubby's been over putting up vertical blinds and he is currently still at the house installing our automatic garage opener. Yep, brand new house in a brand new subdivision and it didn't come with a garage door opener. Lame. Tomorrow he'll be putting in ceiling fans, finishing the blinds, along with many other things. I still don't think it's really hit me that we're moving first of all, and that we actually BOUGHT this house. It's so very exciting, but also so scary. It's a good thing, I know.

Next Thursday we find out if our baby lion cub will be a king or queen of the jungle. I had a teacher at school today predict that I'm having a boy. We'll just see. Maybe I should have a pool going?? If I'm having another boy, praise the Lord. Mason will have a playmate, and I'll know what to expect. And Lord knows we have boy crap up the wazoo (and trust me, that's a lot!!)!! We'll just see I guess.

Any boy name suggestions? We haven't really agreed on one yet. And maybe we won't have to...

I'm tired, but I will say that yes, yesterday was Halloween. And yes, my students were a little wired and talking about candy and costumes and trick-or-treating. And yes, today, I had about 5 or so kids absent in each class. Out too late? Candy hangover? Who knows?

Alright, tomorrow's our last day in our current house and I have work and the In-Laws are coming. And I have my state test Saturday morning. Lots to do. And not a lot of time to rest. Goodnight.

Blue tape, so many signatures, a fat check...and a dead snake??

We did our initial walk-through for our new house today. What a crazy event. It gets really hard to stare at white walls and find tiny cracks or nicks in the paint. The superintendant followed behind us, slapping blue tape on the mistakes and looking bored. Nice guy, but he looked bored out of his mind.

Then, there's all the signing. My goodness. So much signing. And I'm pretty sure by the 95th time I signed my name, it didn't look a darn thing like the first time I signed it. I guess they don't care as long as you signed it. We even signed a paper saying that our name with middle initial was the same person without the middle initial!

And the fat check: yeah, that's a little painful. I've never seen so many numbers on one check before. It's a good thing, but also a a little frightening.

And the dead snake, you ask? Well, we drove by our place the other night, and as we were pulling out, our headlights shone on one of the trees and we saw this thing that looked like a skinny rope hanging down. Taking a closer gander, my hubby realized that it was a little gardener snake and it was dead. Weird. I've never seen a dead snake that was coiled around a tree with its head hanging down, have you? Well, that was a week or so ago, and when we went for our walk-through, it was still there. But not as pretty. It was decomposing and smelled like rotting kitty litter. And when the superintendant attempted to yank it off the tree with a hammer, its insides dripped on the concrete. Yuck.

A lot goes on when you don't go to work on a Tuesday, eh?

Uhhh...what?

Here are some recent "what is going on here?" moments going on in my life, brought to you by Yours Truly:

1. Apparently the Everything bagel makes me throw up. Yeah. Last Sunday I had one for breakfast, and within 10 minutes, I was puking "everything but my toenails" (as my dad would say). And this morning, I had another one (not thinking it was at all related to the last time...silly me) and by the time I was well on my way to dropping Mason off at Ms. Cindy's, my stomach exploded. All I could do was snatch up a Target bag I had on my passenger seat, shake everything out of it and place it under my chin. I didn't even have time to stop the car. Mason was needless to say, a little confused.
Note to self: stay away from the Everything bagels.

2. Somehow, in some other dimension, a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, 2 weeks ago, I was able to be in a town about a 4 hour drive away from here at the same time I was here. We got a Traffic Violation Notice in the mail today, from the said town. They had blurry pictures of a license plate that looked vaguely like ours, a driver that looked sort of like my hubby, in a car that was a Toyota, but not the same model. Interesting. I gave them a call, and they laughed. I guess we just need to mail in our vehicle registration, and prove that it wasn't us, that drove 55 in a 40 mph zone. Weird.

3. I guess one week of Fall Break was not enough for most of my students. All day they were groggy and whiny and sloth-like. By 7th hour, they were a bunch of slugs that could barely keep their eyes open. I told them they were spoiled, as every other school I've worked in never had Fall Break, and furthermore, I NEVER had Fall Break when I was in school. The neighboring district gets 2 WEEKS off for Fall Break. I tried to explain to my distraught students that you are still in school the exact same amount of days as any other district, it's just how they break it up. They just don't see it that way.

Sometimes in life, I just have to stand there, with my eyes squinty, my mouth hanging open and say, "Ummm...what?"

Trick or Tater

We will be moving around Halloween this year, so sadly, no decorations will be put out. But, since Mason's been going through a lot of changes and disturbances in his everyday life (Ms. Cindy getting baby Joe, then they moved, then we're having a baby and we're moving), I found him a Halloween gift at Fry's. This is Mason and his new Trick or Tater Potatohead. Boo.

Ahhhh...

I have a new reason that I've been slacking on my blog the last few days: I'm on Fall Break this week. Ahh, glorious Fall Break...

The end of last week was pretty busy but not too stressful. I did, however, send a kid (whom we shall call Name Name, since he has the same first name and last name) to the office BEFORE the first bell on Thursday, for being rude to me and then flipping off two students. That was special. Friday was uneventful, as it was an Early Release and the kids were just finishing the movie "Hercules" (we just wrapped up a unit on Greek Mythology and they wrote Mythology Narratives of their own). Oh, and grades were due. No sweat. Saturday, I had some time to myself, as Hubby attempted to take Mason to an airshow (but it was too much of a hassle). I went to the Christian store to get the new Veggietales, "The Wizard of Ha's" (very funny parody of the original), got a smoothie nearby and went to Kohl's, since it just opened here last week. I managed to get brand new master bath towels and stuff for when we move. That was fun. Yesterday, I felt very drained and yucky, so we skipped church. Later, I felt better, so we ran some errands, then met Ms. Cindy's family for lunch. Today was my first official day of Fall Break. Mason and I have had a nice, restful day. I spent the morning playing with Mason, watching "Wizard of Ha's" (this is Time #3, by the way), packed a box and played outside a bit. We also went to Target and Costco. In a little bit, we're off to meet Hubby at my doc for my monthly prenatal visit. Nothing exciting planned for this appointment, as I am only 15 weeks along. But I think next visit (next month) should be my UltraSound. Yeah!!

Well, Mason's been left to his own devices in the living room long enough. Hope all is well with my faithful readers and Fall is finding you in a pleasant mood. See ya.

I made a funny

I actually originally wrote this blog over at my myspace, but I thought I'd share it with you all too. Hope you get a chuckle out of my lack of attention--look, something shiny!!

I saw a student in the halls today with a really funny shirt. And I have to say, it takes a lot for me to say that, as most of their shirts are either just dumb or insulting (like, "Genuis by birth, Slacker by choice" and crap like that). But here's the funny one: "9 out of 10 doctors say I have A.D.D.--look a butterfly!!" Now, that's funny. I know A.D.D. is overdiagnosed and a term that is overused and overemphasized, but it's still a funny--Wait, what was I saying? Oh yeah, A.D.D. Yeah, A.D.D. is funny. Wait, no it's not. I don't know what I'm saying. Hugs are nice. Especially ones that are warm and just the right amount of tightness and come from someone you love. Ahhh, love. Robots are cool. I want one that will clean my house. I hate cleaning my house. It's always messy and the bathrooms are my least favorite.Have you read the book "Everybody Poops"? That's a funny book. It's about how every animal poops and it's supposed to help kids go potty. It's funny.

You know what else is funny? This shirt I saw on a kid today. It said: "9 out of 10 doctors say I have A.D.D.--look a butterfly!!"

Isn't that special?

First thing first hour this morning, a kid throws up on my carpeted classroom. Nice. He wasn't looking too good beforehand, but said he was fine. Luckily, there wasn't any wretching noises and it wasn't chunky. The kids, of course, acted like they had just witnessed the most utterly disgusting event ever in the history of humankind. They were pulling their shirts up to their noses and flying out of their seats to get away from it. I told them to get over themselves. Yeah, it was gross, but I'm pregnant and I was standing right near it, and couldn't smell anything. Buncha babies...

Today, Mythology Narratives were due. I told them about the Final Drafts on Thursday. Thursday to Monday is how many days?? Apparently not enough days, I realize, as I glance over my puny pile of stories that made it in today. 36 were turned in today. Out of 77 students. Granted, about 10 kids total out of my 3 classes were out today, but still. Let's just say for the sake of being hopeful, that all of the absent kids would have brought their papers today had they been at school (which is doubtful, as I am assured that some were "out sick" for the very opposite reason), that's still a whopping 46 out of 77. That's shameful. In fact, I think that's the worst percentage I've had in my 6 year teaching career. Oh, and by the way, I gave them an extra 15-20 minutes at the beginning of class today to finish! Problem was, most that didn't turn in their assignment didn't even bother bringing it to class. I even had one, for now we'll call Complacent Boy Reincarnate (since Hormone Boy last year was the first Complacent Boy) that flat out admitted that he didn't do it, didn't plan on doing it and didn't care that he was getting a big fat 0 out of 100 for not doing it. I told him that he was a big boy and that I wasn't going to hold his hand, and that I was sorry that he didn't think he had to do the assignment, but he would be very unhappy when he saw his report card. He just shrugged his shoulders and said, "I know." Sigh...

What a day.

We got rid of our crap!!

We had a yard sale today. I hate yard sales. I really do. I hate scavenging through the house looking for items that we haven't used in decades but still manage to have a reason to keep around. I hate compiling all the crap to sell. I hate labeling and pulling it out into the driveway.

That being said, we needed to get rid of some crap. We're moving in like 5 weeks and I really don't want to pack up stuff that we don't need or use anymore. So, we had a yard sale. It went pretty well. We made about $36. That's not a lot, but it's something I guess. It's like 2 visits to fast food. We didn't really have any big ticket items, just a lot of odds and ends. Ms. Cindy and her crew brought over some furniture and baby gear to sell, which they did, for the most part. Luckily they had a trailer, so when the sale was said and done, we just loaded up the leftovers and dropped them off at a donation place.

Yeah for having less to pack!!

Whee!!

This weekend was fun. Friday night we went to the County Fair. We took Mason last year, but I don't think he cared too much about it. This year, he got a kick out of all the animals and the people and the lights and the food (we had nachos and an incredibly greasy corn dog--not to mention the deep fried Twinkie, deep fried Oreos, deep fried Nutter Butter and deep fried Snickers that we shared with Ms. Cindy's family!!) and the rides. This year we took him on his very first ride: the Merry Go Round. He looked a little scared at first, but after one or two rotations, his eyes lit up and he couldn't stop smiling. It was pure joy.

Saturday, we went to two parties: one for a friend at work (whose house will be just a few blocks from our new one!) and one from Ms. Cindy's middle child's 7th birthday. Both were fun, but parties with cake are always better!

Sunday was church and me helping out in the nursery.

Today I woke up feeling like doody (yes, AGAIN) and Mason was a bit sniffly. I called out and stayed home with my son. We both went to the doctor and she said we both just have a cold. So, she didn't prescribe any meds. I just hope it goes away on its own.

That's it. You now know everything there is to know in the history of everything.

And now, what you've all been waiting for...

(or at least the frequent visitors of this blog--not people that just happened upon my blog hitting the "Next Blog" button...)

A BLOG ENTRY FROM ME!!
I know it's been over a week. I'm sorry. Every night I get online to check me email and read other blogs and I come by here and think, "I should write something" and then guess what? I don't. Just don't feel like I've had much to say I guess. And I know you dedicated readers wouldn't admit it, but no one wants to read uneventful blogs. Who cares if I went to the store or took a shower or watched tv?

So yeah. I haven't been avoiding you, just my blog. :) Work's busy as it's been since August. Tomorrow's our first Fantastic Friday of the year, which should be interesting. For those who are actually able to go, there will be a teachers vs. students volleyball game and BINGO going on. Too bad I can't hang out to see how that turns out. I'm assigned one of the Retraining Rooms (where the kids who've been slacking on their grades get to go!) so, I'll just be sitting in my room with 15 students that have bad grades. And honestly, I'm going to take a guess and say less than half show up, because last year proved that kids that know they're not going to Fantastic Friday just don't come to school that day. Nice, huh?

I can't believe we have 2 weeks until Fall Break. That means 2 weeks until the Quarter's over! And 2 weeks before I'm 1/3 of the way through my time this school year! Yowza! And on top of that: 6 weeks until we move into our new house!! Our closing date is October 23, and we'll probably move the next weekend. That's unbelievable. It feels like there's so much to be done. I know it will all work out in the end, but right now, I feel like I'm at the bottom of Mt. St. Helens and someone's telling me to climb it in an hour! (thank goodness that's not the case, huh?)

Well, just wanted to check in and remind you that I'm busy and lazy. Not a good combo. Will write again when there's something interesting to say, I promise.

6 Years

This time 6 years ago, I was in the second or so week of my very first year teaching. I was teaching 6th graders in Virginia and didn't live all that far from D.C. and the Pentagon. It was a very scary day. I didn't know how to handle it or what to say to the kids. I remember my hubby being in Korea at the time. I remember living with PBAF and how it took her all day to evacuate from her job in D.C. I remember going to New York the following March and seeing wreckage and hearing the silence and feeling chills up my spine.

My current students were in 1st grade at the time. Some remember and some don't. We talked some today, because I think it's important that they know something.

And my story might be a little more hard hitting and personal than a teacher that was in the West at the time.

I will never forget.

Ba Bump Ba Bump Ba Bump...

We went to the doctor on Thursday. We heard a heartbeat. Everything's a-okay with the baby. :) I'm 11 weeks, due March 28, with a C-Section at about 38 or 29 weeks. No Ultra Sound until probably late October or early November, when we will hopefully find out the sex. Yippee. :)

Here's a couple of magic tricks for ya!!

Poof! A week just disappeared and it's now the next Tuesday and I am writing another blog!

Ta-Da! Our son accomplished extreme potty accomplishments this weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's house: he told Daddy he needed to go potty when we were at IHOP, he peed like a champ at their house (and preferred going WITHOUT the potty seat!!) AND pooped 2 times in the potty this weekend! We were so proud of him!! Hopefully that means underwear is around the corner. (as long it's around a corner that comes before Baby #2 arrives, I'll be happy!)

Abracadabra! Our son is growing up before our very eyes. Aside from the potty achievements, I realized sadly the other day that he has grown out of his cute orange shoes. If he's wearing thin socks he can get his feet in them, but his little toesies are at the very ends. So sad. So now he has all these orange clothes and boring white shoes to wear them with...

And the most powerful yet aggravating magic trick of them all...

Voila! I am down with the snotty junk!! Yee-haw!! It came around right before we headed down to see the in-laws this past weekend, and it just kept getting more and more debilitating. I napped everyday and tried to drink lots of fluids and administer the slim list of meds that I can take now that I'm pregnant (nose spray, Sudafed and Robitussin). Nothing worked for too long. Luckily I have my first OB appointment this Thursday, so I figure if I'm still a sickling, I'll have my doc prescribe me some antibiotics. I really don't want to take medication while I'm pregnant, but this sickness is taking its toll on me and I can't get proper rest or even spend quality time with Mason if I'm feeling lousy.

Hope you enjoyed the magnificent magic show. Don't forget to tip your waitress...