My Jedi in Training Pants

Thought that would be a funny subject line, since I was at the mall today, and found Mason a shirt that says "Jedi in Training Pants". So funny...

Anyways, the week has been a bit hellish, mainly becuase I've been down with the crud AGAIN. Grrr...I've been taking DayQuil and NyQuil for a day or so, which seems to be helping. I spent most of the week miserable and very pissed off to be honest, that I was sick again. The last half of the week I developed a cough. How grand. I've been waiting it out though, because I really don't want to go to the doctor, for them to tell me it's a sinus infection or some crap and give me an antibiotic that doesn't work. I think I'm starting to feel better anyways. Knock on wood.

Wednesday was stressful, because I was put in charge of the 6th grade for the day, as the lead was out with her sick daughter. The kids were tyrants. I took away their recess and they still didn't listen. The odd thing was, there were bouts of quietness sprinkled throughout the day. It's just that overall, I dealt with so much attitude and talking that I just about lost it. But I take solace in the fact that the lead has the same problems. Sort of. At least when she's there they listen a larger part of the time.

The principal drew up an official offer for me for next year. The money wasn't as good as she had previously mentioned (big surprise). Plus, there's no guarantee they'll even take 2 year olds like she had also previously mentioned (another letdown but not surprise). It just all further proved to me that I am for sure out of there at the end of the year. In fact, I plan to turn in the district application on Monday. I hope getting it in early will help get my foot in the door for next year.

Other than that, not much to report. The weekend's been nice but uneventful so far. We ate Taco Bell and watched "The Heffalump Movie" last night, and today I got a long nap as Mason slept with me on the couch and then we went to the mall for awhile. Guess that's it. Ta ta.

I'm on top of things today

Today was a productive day. Since we had an extra day of the weekend, we took the opportunity to get some things done. I dusted the few pieces of wood furniture we have, swept and mopped the floors (kitchen and bathrooms), vacuumed and did laundry. My husband worked on my car all the while. We all managed to enjoy a nap in the middle of the day. Later, we took Mason and our dog Maxie to the nearby dogpark. It was fun for the first couple of minutes, until a truckload of people (maybe not a truckload, but probably 4 or 5 different families with multiple dogs) showed up and made Maxie nuts. He ran around, making this yippee bark at them and then running away. It was pathetic. Yeah, so anyways, it was a nice day.

And I even found time to write a blog. For the third consecutive day in a row. :)

Being a mom is like hard and stuff...

I love Mason. I love him like I've never loved before. But, that doesn't mean it's easy. Infanthood was hard because we had no idea what the hell we were doing, we didn't ever know what he wanted and breastfeeding didn't work out. Now, toddlerhood has already been challenging. He's frustrated about everything, he can't communicate his needs and has become much more clingy to us. Naptime and bedtime have been a trial of our patience lately. He was always the "easy baby" that went down to sleep like a charm and never gave us problems. But in recent months, he's decided that he needs to scream like we're beating him with sharp sticks everytime he's placed in his crib. Well, not everytime, but most of the time. He's never been the type that's wanted to be rocked or sang to or given a bottle to get to sleep. Until recently. Now, he's fine when you stand and hold him in his room, but the tantrum (and I mean TANTRUM) begins when you put him down. I hate to hear him cry. I feel myself getting angry and impatient with him, when I know it's not his fault. I hate that. I know it's just that I feel like I can't fix it and it makes me sad. People tell me "just let him cry if nothing's wrong". Sure, that was easy when he was an infant and the cry was softer and shorter lived. Now, he can belt it out with the best of them, and there isn't anyone who could stand that for too long. Fortunately, he does eventually fall asleep, but the moments that lead up to his collapse are heartbreaking. I'm sure it's just a stage, since he's beginning to realize when he's left alone and has become dependent on us, but I just wish it would be over. I guess just because you have an "easy baby" doesn't mean you'll have an "easy toddler". Maybe the teenage years will be good to us??

Two more days of the weekend! :)

I cannot tell you how nice it is to know that tomorrow is not the end of my weekend. Thank you Presidents! It makes next week short too, which will be nice. Yippee!

This weekend so far has been nice. Last night we went to this Sweetheart Dinner at church. It was a potluck for couples. We sat with our babysitter and her husband and two other couples. We ate Mexican food and talked about how God has helped strengthen our marriage. My husband mentioned how his deployments in the Army helped bring us together and we were blessed that he had the lesser of two deployments both times (he was in Korea when 9/11 happened and most of the troops were being sent to Afghanistan, and he was in Afghanistan when everyone was being sent to Iraq). I talked about how having Mason has been a blessing in our lives and how we are thankful to our babysitter and her family for bringing us to the church. It has strengthened our faith and broadened our social circle. The dinner was a nice time. Today, my husband worked most of the day and I went to Target. His employee discount is soon to run out, so I took advantage while I still could. Later, I talked to my parents and a friend in Virginia (PBAF, I love ya!).

Tomorrow, we plan to go to church and then he only works an hour. No other plans. Well, I guess some maintenance on my car maybe on Monday, but that's it. It'll just be nice to not be at work on Monday. Yippee Skippee.

Laziness is a virtue, right?

Yeah, I haven't written a few days, I know. I wouldn't blame it all on laziness. Time has gotten away from me, far, far away from me lately. So sorry about that. I do have other things to do, ya know!!

I really don't feel like getting into it, but let's just say that God answered my prayer on what to do next school year. My principal YET AGAIN lost my faith in her and all that she stands for. There was some problem with Mason coming to school with me to be dropped off with the babysitter, and the principal felt it was a liability. Fine. I understand. But then she questioned my parenting and that's when it gets personal. Let's just say it ended with me walking out of her office, holding back anger tears and saying in my head, "I hear you, God. I know what I'm supposed to do now, thank you." So, I will be back in public school next year, where at least the insanity mainly lies in the plethora of nutjob students.

I took a Personal Day today. It was kinda nice. My husband and I went into town and ate at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant and just walked around to all the little shops. Then we had TCBY ice cream, which is a rare treat. Yum. Then my parents called tonight and told us some good news: they still had a life insurance policy on me, and realized that they didn't need to keep it anymore since I have my own. So guess what? That money is ours, to use towards closing costs and down payment for a house!! That is so very much a blessing right now. We wanted to buy soon, but had no idea how we were going to come up with any of the costs.

And our other blessing is that my husband has been able to pull full 8-hour days at his job to make up for the fact that he's not returning to Target.

It's amazing what a little prayer can do.

Thank God it's Saturday

It's been a week since I've written and it feels like my mind has been occupied the whole time. First of all, I'm sick AGAIN. Grrr. Mason came down with an ear infection during the week, and is now on antibiotics. But, whatever crud he has draining from his nose 24-7 was passed on to me. Not a big surprise, but still not a pleasant one. I need to go to the store today and get some drugs. I can't breathe and my throat is all scratchy. Story of my life...okay, it's not THE story of my life, but it's certainly a chapter at least.

Anyways, work in general went much better than the week before. The other aide has returned in the 6th grade, so I'm only in there on Fridays again. I love those kids, but they exhaust me. The 3rd grade was okay, after I got some suggestions from the principal. I told them that it really hurts my feelings when I come in excited to teach and I have to spend so much time on behavior. I told them that I am a teacher too, and they need to respect that. At least it worked on Thursday. We'll see if I have to repeat myself Monday.

But work has been on my mind a lot in the past 24 hours. As you may have picked up on in many of my previous blogs, I have had my mind set on leaving the school I'm at in June at a running pace, and never looking back. But then, some new information got me thinking. The principal talked to me Thursday and said she wants to offer me a "competitive package" for next year, to teach 6th grade. She's mentioned it to me before, but she seems really set on offering it to me. I know I can make more there than in public school, but I had been telling myself that it wasn't worth it. The instability in that building can make anyone crazy. But then, she threw a zinger at me: they are planning on opening the school up to 2 year olds next year. That means that after Christmas Break, Mason could start coming for FREE. If I work there, I don't have to pay for Preschool. That would be so wonderful. And I know his current babysitter will be ready to have one less on her hands, if not sooner. She has two of her own, and now two foster kids at home. It makes for quite a houseful. And my other argument about not staying was that I didn't want to teach all subjects. But, the special ed teacher pointed out to me yesterday that I'll get two aides: I can have one teach math and the other can teach Science and Social Studies. Good point. She really wants me to stay too, so that I can prepare those kids for middle school. I love the lead in 6th this year, but she babies them WAAAY too much. They can turn work in months later, they have chances over and over to correct papers that have wrong answers, and they basically are treated like little kids. That's gonna be a serious shock for them that first day at the middle school as 7th graders, when they have 6 different teachers, lockers, homework every night and aren't allowed to turn assignments in late. Yikes.

I really don't know what to do. I'm praying on it and hoping that I am shown the way to go and soon. The principal where I'm working now would like an answer in the next month, and I have the public school district application sitting here waiting to be turned in after I get one more letter of recommendation. I'm in a pickle. And it smells like vinegar.

Forget yaks...

Llamas are my new favorite funny animal. Tonight, my husband and I were watching this VH1 show called, "WebJunk", where they show funny video clips found online. They had this one called "The Llama Song", made by this group called Burton Earny. It is the funniest thing ever! Check it out! http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/llama.php

I smell poop...

I think perhaps Mason has made me a present in his diaper, and it's not a toaster. :) But oh no, I must inform my avid readers first!! Actually, I don't know what to say. I'm sure things have happened in the past few days.

Work's been exhausting, being in the 6th in the mornings and 3rd in the afternoons. Even though I normally prefer 6th grade, they are even getting on my nerves. They just won't shut up already! I feel like a babysitter a lot of the time. Trying to teach a lesson is a bit challenging, to say the least. There's a handful of kids that consume my energy. I would be interested to know how many times a day I say, "put that away and pay attention" or "stop talking!" or "get to work!" or "I'm not arguing with you about it" or '"why are you up out of your seat AGAIN?" or "Good lord in heaven, stop talking!!!" I feel bad for the ones who are angels. They really are. They sit in their seats unless they have permission to be up, they work dilligently on whatever you ask them to do, they read silently or draw by themselves when they're done, they don't argue, and they keep their mouths shut!! They just don't get enough credit. They must get sick and tired of hearing the other kids get harped on all the time. One of these days, maybe one of the angelic children will haul off and whack one of the troublemakers. I think I would have to just "not see anything", if that happened...

Mason has decided that milk in a cup is the devil. He'll drink water or juice out of a sippy cup no problem. But milk, no way, no how. We've tried different types of cups, heating it, having it cold, you name it. But all he does is pick it up, look at it, and throw it as far as he can. It's frustrating. He can't be on the bottle forever. That would be great..."Hey Mom, can I borrow the car tonight? I have a date. And oh yeah, all my bottles are dirty, and I want some milk with dinner. Waaaaaahhh!!!" Anyone out there in cyberspace have some suggestions??

Yep, I've confirmed it. We have a CODE BROWN in the Mason presinct. Gotta go. Catchya on the flip side. (whatever that means)

Busy, busy, busy...

This weekend was a lot of fun. On Saturday, we went down to visit family. First, we hung out with my parents for awhile, and showed off Mason's circus trick of walking around. He gets so excited when he walks. He toddles, hands up near his face, giggling and heading towards some destination like it's the most interesting thing ever. Of course the cheers from his audience just encourage his happiness. It's so darned cute. Anyways, then we went over to my husband's sister's house for a surprise party for his aunt. She left today for Uganda, Africa for like 2 or 3 years, for a Christian mission through the Salvation Army. It was a good yet bittersweet time. His aunt was very surprised and so happy to see everyone. We all helped make a scrapbook for her, each of us making a page of sentiments and pictures for her to read when she's homesick. We put Mason's hand and footprints on a page along with some pictures of him. If that doesn't melt her heart, nothing will. Then yesterday we spent some more time with my parents before heading back home. It was a nice trip.

Today was not so relaxing and joyful. The other aide in the 6th grade had an aunt pass away last week, so she'll be out until next Monday. The Powers That Be knew this on Friday of last week. I asked TWICE what the plan was. I was told there wasn't a plan. Big surprise. This morning, I asked again. Again, I was given an unsure answer, but they said they thought one of the preschool teachers was supposed to cover in there. The next thing I know, I run into the principal in the hall, and she is informing me that it's my job to cover in there when the other aide isn't there. That's funny, since no one told me that. Big surprise again. That really pissed off the special ed teacher, because that means I can't do Resource. How frustrating. And I have no clue how we're going to do our lunches tomorrow, since it mixes up the plan. I guess we'll figure it out when it happens, as everything else goes at that place.

Oh well. The school year's almost over, right?

Just like the weather around here...

If you don't like the way things are going at the school I'm at, wait 5 minutes and it will change. Yesterday was crazy. And I mean insane. A little lightbulb finally went off inside our lovely principal's head and she realized that perhaps the 6th graders shouldn't be in the smallest room in the school. Gee, she's a genius! How come no one else thought of that? Oh wait, they did. So yeah, even though those kids were moved in and stuffed into the smallest room in the building just a few short months ago, they were uprooted once again and moved back into their original room. Although I think this was a long overdue, well deserved move, I certainly think it could have been planned a teensy bit better. The plan was that were wasn't a plan. Deja vu of when they moved out of that room. Just like the first move, there were people scattered and wandering all over the place, trying to figure out what to do with everything and who should do what. Not to mention, yesterday the 6th graders were wound up like it was the last day of school. Luckily because most of them are just dying for an opportunity to help and feel important, a lot of them were recruited to carry stuff back and forth to the 2 rooms. That sure helped. I just about fainted when I heard the principal had actually hired two real movers to relocate all the big furniture. That was a huge burden off the staff's shoulders, including mine. I had assumed I would have to help with this move as I had the first time, but thank the Lord I was wrong. So it was fun being an observer during this whole fiasco. Today though, you wouldn't even know they just moved back in yesterday. It looks like a classroom and the kids are at work. Pretty impressive.

Also yesterday, I found out I'm getting backpay for the Learn and Serve Grant, since we hadn't seen a cent since it started months ago. That will be nice. And on another note, I get to be with the 3rd grader for an hour and a half every day, BY MYSELF, while the other aide is off working one-on-one with some of the slower learners. Yeah, that's not good news. Some of those kids are such tyrants. I am really not looking forward to that. And the other interesting event from yesterday: one of the 6th graders turned in a report on Iraq to me (two weeks late, mind you), which was WORD FOR WORD from his internet resources. The weird thing was that his Rough Draft was only partially like that. But when he typed up his Final, he decided to just copy his resources. Did he really think I wouldn't notice? I'm pretty sure a 6th grader wouldn't have near the vocabulary of the intellect that typed up that website. After much debate with the principal, the student is getting an opportunity to rewrite it. It was suggested that he get a "C" for effort, which I completely disagree with. I had some "A" papers that were turned in almost as late, and they got a "D". I don't think he should get a "C" for a late paper that wasn't even in his own writing!! The special ed teacher is going to work with him until it gets done.

Mason fingerpainted last night. We did his handprints and footprints for his great Aunt that is moving to Africa for 2 or 3 years in just a few weeks, and then we let him have at the paint. At first, he didn't know what to do. Then, he reveled in the gooeyness and smeared it all over the place. Thank God it's non-toxic, because he of course had to taste test it.

What a day.

Sunday nights are always a bummer

When Sunday evenings come along, I always get that "uggh" feeling. You know, when you realize that your weekend is just about over and you didn't get to have as much fun or rest as much as you had wanted. It just goes too quickly. Especially when you're sick. Well, I have felt better today, but still. I took some Nighttime Sinus stuff last night, which worked like a charm. Today, I'm still a little stuffy, but not as bad as yesterday. In fact, I even managed to take Mason on a stroller trip through the mall. The stores obviously conspired together and had grand sales today. I walked out of the Gap Outlet store with two shirts and two pairs of socks for Mason, even though he didn't really need them. I also got some cute stuff for my cousin who's having a baby in July. While there, I saw two of my 6th graders (who just adore Mason, so they oohhed and aahhed at him), one of the fellow aides at my school, and the aide that left early on in the year because she was pregnant (remember her? she was the one who just stopped coming and we were worried for awhile). She had the baby like a week ago, and had the little guy already out and about at the mall. I just don't get that. I mean, maybe I've become a paranoid germaphobe since becoming a mom, but I just don't see a reason to expose a newborn baby to the nasty germs and bacteria, especially during RSV season. I see mothers with babies that couldn't be more than a week or two old out at Target or Walmart or the grocery store and I just don't get it. It's one thing if you're a single mom who has no one else to get you diapers or formula, so you have to go. But, to just go sauntering around the mall or store because you want to go shopping with a 10 day old, just isn't right. That poor thing has a weak immune system as it is. Why would you want to jeopardize their health? Maybe that's just me.

On another note, I didn't tell you: Mason's trying to walk!! He's taken like 5 steps at a time, before he gets overly excited and leaps face forward towards you. We're so proud. I don't think it will be long before he is running at full speed.

P.S. Mason likes yogurt. A lot. And he likes to wear it.

All right germies, you've had your fun...

Just when I think, "hey, I actually feel pretty healthy," BAM!! there goes another nasty bug, invading my immune system. I had a scratchy throat yesterday and was a little congested. Today though, yowza. I'm as down for the count as I can be with a toddler (that's still weird to say. I want to call him a baby, but he's trying to walk, and he eat real people food, so I guess he's not) in the house. I'm sneezing like I'm allergic to air, my face feels like some WWF guy punched me, my teeth and ears ache, I have no energy, kinda feverish and basically feel like doody. Yippee. Luckily, Mason took a decent nap this morning, which gave me some time to bury myself in blankets on the couch and nap a little myself. My husband should be home from work soon, so that's a good thing. Anyways, Mason is not having the fact that I'm sitting here typing and he's ALL the way down there on the floor, trying to entertain himself. So, bye.

Is it winter or spring? I'm confused...

So it started out not too cold but grey out this morning. Then it cleared up and the sky was, well, sky blue. Then, clouds rushed in and it snowed. Yes, snowed. And it snowed like it was the beginning of a blizzard. The wind blew, the sky was a blanket of white-grey and it was freakin' freezing, Mr. Bigglesworth! The 3rd graders were nutjobs. They kept leaping out of their seats and shouting, "It's snowing!! Do you see the snow? Oh my gosh, look at the snow! Can we go play in the snow?" It was a bit crazy. And the classroom doesn't have blinds, so you can't hide the snow from the loopy children. Yeah, so then it cleared up and the clouds drifted and it was clear as a summer day out there. No summer temperatures, but still clear. The kids relaxed and somewhat returned to work. Then, as they were being released at the end of the day, guess what? The snow was back!! They were ecstatic! Of course there were excited comments and predictions of a Snow Day tomorrow. Yeah right. None of the on-again-off-again snow was sticking. And to cap off the day, by the time I was heading home at 4:15, the snow was gone and the sun was out and there were no signs of winter. Good lord, what in the tarnation is going on around here? If it's gonna snow, just snow!! We get excited that it finally snowed around here and then it stops. Mother Nature is such a tease...

Whee!!!

So, this past weekend we were very brave and took Mason on a 4 hour trip to see his grandparents. It went rather smoothly, considering. He lost his patience about 2/2.5 hours into it, but we were able to keep him pretty distracted and entertained with snacks, a sippee cup of juice, toys, books and making funny faces at him. And of course, there's the beloved binky. Without it, I think our lives would cease to exist. Or at least our sanity.

It was a nice time, relaxing and visiting with my husband's parents. They of course love to have us visit, since it pretty much never happens. And Mason was doted on and loved on like there's no tomorrow. The house was filled with fun, new temptations and things to grab at. A baby's playground. We went to a local park (where the picture was taken), went to lunch, played video poker at their house, played Cranium, and my husband and I were even able to sneak in a date night. We went to the movie theater and saw "Hoodwinked", which was cute, but not worth $8.50 a piece!! We also ate at one of my favorite restaurants, Romano's Macaroni Grill. I just love that they give you crayons and a paper tablecloth to draw. And their bread is pretty addicting too. Anyways, a very good, relaxing, fun weekend overall. We were kinda melancholy to leave yesterday, but it had to happen. Now, it's back to our regular lives and Mason only has us to give him attention!! Poor baby!!

Ugghh...

I hate being sick. It seems to be a common occurence around here. If I'm not sick, then my husband is. He's been pretty yucky the last couple of days, and last night I started feeling like doody. This morning, I woke up with achy legs, stuffed up nose and a sore throat. Yippee. Now, I'm still somewhat congested, achy and just generally drained. Gotta love it. My husband's on his way home from Safeway, bringing me some soup. So, hopefully it will help regenerate me to some degree and I can tackle the last few hours of work.

Speaking of work, my boss now knows that I may not be there next year. I'm not trying to deceive her, I'm just afraid to burn bridges. I told her I'm getting my certification and may return to middle school, where I can teach only English and to older kids. She offered me the 6th grade for next year (the teacher is moving), with a decent pay package. It's tempting, but it's really not much more than what I can make in public school. I'm not for sure about what I'm doing, but I'm still leaning towards returning to what I know.

Well, the dog needs to go out and I don't feel like typing anymore. Ta ta.

Changes

We went to this special church service last night. They only hold it once a month, and it's quite different than the regular Sunday morning service. They have it at this other building and it's much more youth-oriented. There's live (very loud) music, this little movie (a mini-series of sorts, very modern. Basically about how easily people can be deceived and get off the right path) and then the youth pastor speaks. The funny thing is, I went to high school with the guy. He was a bad boy then--into drugs, parties, drinking and hanging with the wrong kids. I guess somewhere between then and now, he found God, married his high school sweetheart, had two kids (another funny thing--his daughter is in 1st grade at the school I work at) and now ministers at the church. His sermon was about how Adam and Eve lost their way and were deceived, and how easily people can think they're making the right decisions, when really they are being blinded by false pleasures. I was rather moved by the whole thing. I've considered myself a Christian my entire life, but it hasn't been until my later adult years that I have really established a relationship with God. Then, Mason's babysitter invited us to her church and we've been trying to go as much as possible. Their entire family is such a wonderful influence in our lives. But the service last night just got through to me on a whole new level. I even got a bit teary-eyed. It was a nice feeling--a wake up call to remind me that I need to strengthen that relationship with God. So, that's my newfound goal...

Another (much less major) change: I got my haircut today. I needed to at least get a trim, but I decided to refresh myself and get some inches off. It's pretty short, but much healthier. It's just long enough to get most of it pulled up.

And change #3: Today is my husband's last day (hopefully forever) from Target. He has 2.5 hours to go, and I'm sure he's chomping at the bit. It will be so nice to have him home every night and hopefully less disgruntled. If he can make up the extra hours at his main job, he won't have to return at all. I think that shall be on my prayer list...

So, a new year and new changes. I think they will all be for the better. If only I can stick with the watching what I eat thing, we'll be all set...

It's Friday, right?

My boss really thinks I'm returning next year. I never said I was, because she's never asked my plan. She's just assuming I want to work in that nuthouse past May. Yeah, I don't think so. Even if she could promise me 6th grade, I wouldn't stay. I've listed the reasons before, so I shall not repeat myself. But apparently there really isn't anyone else to take over the Special Education department of the school next year, because the current head of the department is pregnant and due in August and the main aide will only be part time next year. So guess who's in line to take over? That would be me. I've heard "Princess Lionhead will do it" more than once come out of my principal's mouth, when talking to someone besides myself. She has never cleared that with me. I suppose she just thinks because I have the education, training and experience that I absolutely love working there and would have no problem taking over those responsibilities. I know I should be upfront with her, and just admit that I have plans to pursue "other endeavors", but I'm real afraid to burn bridges. What if I can't get a middle school English teaching position next year? That's definitely possible, especially in such a small town. I'm hopeful though, since I should be applying sometime in the spring. That should help me keep my options open. Or at least I hope so. This is why I am fearful of giving my principal a definite letter of resignation this early on. As scary as it sounds, I'd rather teach there than take a 2nd grade job somewhere else. At least where I'm at now, I'd have 2 aides if I took a regular ed position. I don't know. I just wish I already had a job lined up in a public school, so I could go ahead and tell her, "yeah, I'm not coming back next year. So, if you could just give me a good reference, that'd be great..."

Back to the grind

It was back to work today. Blah. I dragged my feet waking up this morning, and I continued to drag all day. I just couldn't get back into the swing of things. When I get off of a schedule, it's really hard for me to get back on. Especially when my routine for the past two weeks only consisted of Mason's routine. I didn't have appointments or a certain plan to follow. That's why today was hard. I really could have used another week off, but then again, at the end of that week, I would have been even more resistant to go back.

My husband and I got rid of the Christmas goodies, junk food, desserts and crap that was laying around the house as of last night. I took some to work and the rest went in the trash. No more fudge, cookies, rice krispy treats, M & M's, Hershey's Kisses, chocolate covered pretzels, among other things. It's all gone. We allowed ourselves the weakness of the holidays (pretty much since Halloween), but knew we had to put a stop to it before our jeans wouldn't button. So, it's back to no junk and actually eating the serving size. And no soda. That's a biggie. Not so much for me, but my husband. And hopefully it will be semi decent outside, and I can start walking again like I did last spring and summer. If not, chasing after Mason should help. He's faster than a monkey on crack with the crawling and cruising all over the house!! Sitting down around him is a luxury. I guess he's doing his part to help us lose those holiday pounds.

Woo, Woo, Party, Party!!

I tell ya, my painting of the town will be so outrageous and memorable that it will be published in newspapers all over the world and will be talked about for decades to come!! Or maybe not.

We have no parties or social gatherings to go to. We weren't even invited anywhere. It's a little depressing. I know having a baby means that you can't exactly go gallavanting off till the wee hours of the morning, but still. We weren't even asked to come over for dinner by anyone. I guess it's really not that big of a deal. I'm not a college girl anymore, who went out every weekend and stayed out til 3 or 4 in the morning. And I don't want to be like that again, trust me. I've lived the drunken haze and lazy weekends, and I filled that part of my life. I just wish we had somewhat of a social circle to get together with for New Year's.

Instead, we're staying home, ordering Papa John's and planning on playing Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture Edition. We might catch some of the "New Year's Rockin' Eve" show on tv, but if it doesn't start until 11, that's highly unlikely. Besides, I don't even know most of the bands and performers that they would have on there.

I guess I'm growing up and have different priorities. I don't need to be out at the bars and clubs to have a good time. But it would be nice to have at least a social half circle to hang out with tonight.

Is it already the 29th??

I can't believe Christmas and Mason's first birthday have come and gone. What a whirlwind! To catch you up, after my last post, we headed down to my parents' house. On the way, we hit some bad traffic, near an area where there had been a nasty accident. Of course everyone has to stop and rubber neck. Here it was Christmas Eve, and while we're sitting still in traffic, a guy walks by, apparently to check out how far down the traffic is stopped. I notice he has a cigarette in his hand. On his way back, I read his t-shirt: "I smoke, so F--- off!" Nice, huh? What a festive and appropriate shirt for Christmas!! Anyways, we finally made it to their house, in time to eat a nice dinner of roast beast and lots of other good stuff and then go to church. We went to my parents' church, which is very contemporary. So much so, that the first half of the service was a skit put on by adult members of the church. Not your typical Jesus' birth, either. It was cute but very much not the traditional thing you expect. We opened presents that night from my sister and her family. Real nice stuff. Mason got these tunnels that hook onto each other and then fold up when you're not using them. Cute. The next morning we opened presents from my parents and relaxed. Mason got a stuffed pony that whinnies and neighs, but he's not real enthused about it quite yet. Later, we went over to my sister-in-law's house, and met up with the whole famiy from my husband's side. It was nice, but very, very overwhelming. There were lots of people, Mason was tired (because he refused to nap, for fear he might miss something, I suppose) and there were presents and wrapping everywhere!! He made out like a bandit. There was so much stuff that we had a heck of a time stuffing it all into the car on our way back home the next day! Mason ate his birthday cake too, of course! What a mess! I'm kinda glad the first birthday only comes once! The next morning was Mason's actual birthday, and he opened presents at my parent's house and had MORE cake. That boy was so filled with goodies that now he's not real interested in real food. Ah well, he had a good time. Yeah, so my parents got him a tricycle. It is supposedly age appropriate for 1 1/2 years and up, but we'll see. Either way, he's not ready for it yet. When we were ready to head back home, my husband started feeling lousy. His stomach was churning and he had chills. By the time we were home, he was in bed and very much a sickling. I unloaded the car, entertained Mason and tried to nurse my hubby back to health. He really didn't feel 100% better until yesterday. I woke up a little yucky this morning, but it has passed.

So overall, a very pleasant Holiday, but exhausting. Mason's toy collection has probably quadrupled and our apartment is getting smaller by the day!! Oh well, we didn't need furniture anyways, right?

'Tis the season to be jolly...

Fa la la la la la la la la! Merry Christmas to all!! We are heading down to see all the family in a few hours (when my husband gets off work--Target is mean like that). We've got presents wrapped and packed in the car and we're as mentally prepared as we can be for Family Time. :) Hope everyone has a fantastic holiday and takes lots of pictures. We always do! Now, if it's still Christmas and you're reading this, get off the gosh darn computer and enjoy your friends and family!! Happy Holidays!!

I'm dreaming of a WHITE Christmas...

It's not going to snow here for Christmas. Not even close. It won't even be jacket weather. Grrr. It's currently 65 freaking degrees, and it will be 80 when we get to my parents' house tomorrow!! That is not okay. I don't expect snow on Christmas, but shouldn't it at least feel like it's December, for Pete's sake?! Mason has a cute Christmas sweater with a snowman on it (you can kinda see it in the picture) and he can't even wear it!! He'll be roasting!! My husband even plans on wearing shorts while we're visiting the family!! In December--the end of December, it feels like spring!! This is not cool. Actually, it's unseasonably warm. Eh heh heh.

In the jungle, the lion sleeps tonight...

We bought a new bed!! I can't contain my excitement, because the only bed we've had during our married life has been a hand-me-down many times over. Long story short, the bed we currently have has been my parents', my sister and brother-in-law's and his parents. Yeah, kinda gross, huh? Not to mention the fact that Max has "christened" it many times over. Yuck. When we bought new sheets about a month or so ago we decided that Max was prohibited from our room. I was so tired of finding pee stains on the comforter and washing it over and over again. That was enough to want a new bed, and also the fact that since the mattress is so old, the support and comfort ain't what it used to be. We deserve a new bed. Most of our furniture has been passed down to us. And we certainly aren't complaining or ungrateful, but it's nice to own something and know that you're the first to use it. Oh yeah, and we've been sleeping on a Full size and it's a wee bit cramped. So, today we found ourselves a nice, pretty, pillowtop Queen for a reasonable price and decided not to shop around. We laid down on it in the showroom and were sold. They're delivering it Friday and we're psyched!

And the other reference to the subject line of this blog entry: we saw "Chronicles of Narnia" today. We'd heard a lot of great things about it, but you don't get the concept until you see it yourself. It's pretty moving. If you haven't heard, there's a very strong biblical reference to the story. I won't give away the details, but the basic idea is that these kids find this magical world and the "king" Aslan (the lion) is the Jesus figure. Go see it, and you'll see. Just remember to bring tissues, or you'll end up wiping away your tears with a buttered popcorn covered napkin like we did.

Well, I'm in the midst of mopping the floor (I was letting it dry so I can scrub it some more), so I should skedaddle. Merry Christmas!!

5 days till Christmas!!

I still can't believe it. Every day it gets a day closer to Mason's first Christmas and the next day his FIRST BIRTHDAY. That's inconceivable to me. This time last year I was very, very, very uncomfortable, fat, anxious, without a bladder and did I mention uncomfortable? This past year has zoomed by in a bit of a blur. I have forgotten what it's like to not be a mommy. It consumes so much of my life now (not that it's a bad thing, I'm just saying) that I can't remember life before.

He has grown so much and changed so much in the past 12 months. I remember when we carried him and passed him off to people like he was going to break or explode--"be careful of his head", "don't wake him", "careful!!" I remember when he rolled over and we celebrated like he had just won the Pulitzer Prize. I remember when he got his first tooth and we thought it was the cutest thing (now he has three on the bottom, and it's still adorable). I remember when he didn't fit in 0-3 month clothes anymore, and I almost cried. I remember when I refused to believe he didn't fit in his first pair of overalls anymore, and tried to cram him in them when he was 8 months old, even though they were size 3-6 months. Thank God for digital cameras, because we haven't missed a moment or memory (and if you are on my email list, you're well aware of that fact!).

I am so excited for his first Christmas. He's gonna be so excited to play with the bows and ribbons and he always loves all the lovin' he gets from family. And between the two families and the two holidays, he'll be set. I just have no freaking clue how we're going to get everything in the car and bring it back home. Oh well. We'll just take out our bed, couch, tv, dresser and kitchen table and fill the entire house with books, toys and gadgets. Such fun...

What is this "sleep in" you speak of?

I try not to laugh when friends or famiy call me at 8 or 9 or 10 in the morning and say, "Did I wake you?" I realize there was a time in my life when I was capable of sleeping well into late day and sometimes even afternoon!! But those days are long, long gone, my friend! "Sleeping in" nowadays means that I'm awake after the sun is up. If I'm still in bed after 7, I count my blessings. Babies do that to you. When Mason was an infant and I was up with him every couple of hours, I used to sit in the glider in his room, struggling to breastfeed, and hating the rest of the world. Although I know that there are millions of mothers around the world and there were probably half that were up at the same time I was, I couldn't see that. I was the only one up at midnight, 2, 4 and 6 with a screaming banshee. So, these days, I thank my lucky stars that Mason sleeps through the night, and has since he was about 2 months old. (Other mothers scowl viciously at me when I tell them that little tidbit) I am very much appreciative of that. But, he is normally wide awake somewhere between 5:30 and 6:30 every morning. He goes down for a nap a few hours later, which is nice. I have to say that I get more accomplished before 10 on a weekend than most people do all day (or at least those who do not have kids). Take this morning for example: it's barely reaching 10 a.m., and already today I have fed Mason a bottle, played on the floor with him for awhile, gave him breakfast, changed his diaper (3 times, I might add!!), wrapped 3 Christmas and 1 birthday present, did 3 loads of laundry, put the sheets on Mason's bed (and if you have children, you know how tricky a fitted sheet for a crib can be!!), somewhere in there snuck in some breakfast for myself and put Mason down for his morning nap. Now would be a good time to take a shower, now that I think about it. I have to scatter those throughout the week, whenever I have 15 minutes or so to spare. Now, I know most families have more than 1 child (and in a few years, we will too), but I still take pride in my accomplishments. So, to those of you who just rolled out of bed, are still in your pj's at 10 and may plan to just lay around all day, I say you don't know what you're missing. :)

Stir Crazy

If you don't know me that well, then you may not know that I can't stand things staying the same too long. Sooooo, that's why my blog looks different, AGAIN. I wanted one that was wintry or Christmasy, but no such luck. So, this one was white and the little blue pine cone looking thing in the upper right corner was as good as I could get.

Have I mentioned that tomrrow's the last day that I have to forge the insanity at work for 2 whole weeks??? (this is the part where angels from the heavens would be singing their delightful "Hallelujah" song...) YIPPEEE!!!

A Blessing in Disguise

Today started out okay and normal--worked with my two groups in Resource (and actually everyone worked and got done early, which was just fine with me). Then I went with the Special Ed teacher to pick up the pizzas and other junk for their party today. I started feeling a headache and even though I know better and have plenty of experience with life-altering migraines, I didn't take anything. I helped out with the pizza party and my head started throbbing. Afterwards, I went back to 3rd grade, took a Motrin, and by that point my head was aching like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it and my patience and tolerance was paper thin. Everything the kids said or did grated on my nerves. After feeling hot, dizzy and overtaken by the headache, I decided to go home 2 hours early. I took a well needed nap, then picked up Mason from the babysitter. I made an executive decision to stay home tomorrow. I may feel better by then, but I don't want to risk it and I need a day off. I know Christmas Break is just 3 days away, but oh well. Besides, tomorrow is my husband's day off, so I can get help with Mason. So, even though I wanted my mommy when my head was ready to propel into space today, at least I get tomorrow off. It all works out in the end...

One More Day Down...

Sorry about my last post. I was tired and just wanted to vent, short and sweetly. Things aren't THAT bad I guess. I am just tired of being treated like a doormat and being pulled in a million directions all the time. I just try to keep in mind that this job is not at all permanent and that I only have to make it until May. I have no idea what I'm going to do for the summer, but that's a whole other stress altogether. So, I'm taking it one day at a time, praying and trying to make the best of it. We'll see how that works out for me...

Yes, that's my cutie in the picture, checking out the candy canes on the tree. He spends a lot of time examining the tree, and the other day he noticed these really cool red and white hooked thingies that crinkle when you grab them. Thankfully, he hasn't realized that they're edible yet. He just takes the candy cane off the tree, shakes it, switches hands, shakes it again, then puts it back on the tree. Eventually though, our dog Max snatches the candy cane and chomps down on it. So much for Mason's toy. Ah well, there are plenty more where they come from.

Back to the work situation, this week is going by in a flash already. Today was a normal schedule for me, but the rest of the week will be filled with movies, candy, cookies and two pizza parties. Being in 3 different rooms means I get 3 different parties, and they're all on different days!! Woo-Hoo!! Tomorrow after Resource, we're having a party with them. We're having pizza and watching a movie. Wednesday, well, I don't know what the plan is for Wednesday. Thursday is the party in the 3rd grade. We're eating pizza and having cookies. Yum!! THEN, Friday I'll be with the 6th graders (YEAH!!!!!) , and they're having a party. Goodies, movies, candy, oh my!! I am psyched!! I am so glad the day before Christmas Break I will be in the 6th grade not 3rd. Those 3rd graders are out of control and so rowdy, I cannot even begin to imagine what that day is going to look like (loads of 8 year olds passed out from a sugar high, food wrappers all over the floor, lights hanging desperately from their fixtures, sticky, chocolate handprints smeared down the walls...)!! Granted, I'm sure the 6th graders won't be angels or even close, at least they're controllable.

By the way, Mason's getting more and more independent. He loves walking around the room, hanging on to furniture and trying to reach things and eat them. His favorite cuisine is cat and dog food, which keeps me and my husband always up, chasing him down and fishing it out of his mouth. Needless to say, he makes a pouty face and whimpers a little. How horrible of a mother I am for taking away his snack!! He also waves, high 5's, holds his own bottle, feeds himself finger foods, drinks from a sippy cup and fusses when he doesn't get his way. Overall rewarding, but very frustrating at times.

Speaking of which, he's standing underneath my chair wanting up, so I should go for now. Merry Christmas, Ramadan, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Rosh Hoshonnah, Arbor Day, Tuba Day, whatever!!!

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat...

What a nice song--the goose is getting nice and fat so we can kill it and eat it!!

I cannot express how freaking happy I am that there's only one more week of school until Christmas Break! I am so ready to not go into work for 2 weeks. I am so burnt out, frustrated, overworked, taken advantage of and just downright sick of being at work. I don't feel like getting into all the details, but it's a bunch of crap, mainly the same theme as it has been for some time now. I am just so ready to go back to public school, where it's normal...

You don't see me, I was never here...

So, I'm currently playing Hookie from work. Well, technically I'm on my lunch break, but I've been here a half an hour longer than I should have. I was finished with my things in the Resource Room and didn't have anything to do until after my lunch, so I kind of sort of disappeared and went home. But you didn't hear that, okay?

So yeah, here I am. I don't know what to write in this blog, but I thought being that I'm in the house and it's quiet (seeing as though Mason is at the babysitter's, probably bouncing around happily in the Exersaucer or chasing her dog around the living room, or scarfing down his lunch) and I'm bored, so I should write.

I don't really remember last week. I worked. And I tended to my little dumpling. And I cleaned. Woo-Hoo, break out the disco ball and streamers, I'm the party animal!! Anyways, the weekend was good, that I remember. Friday I didn't feel good. I've had a headache off and on the past week or so. I'm not sure what it is and what to do about it. I really don't want to go to the doctor, because that's just a pain in the tushy and they may not even know what's wrong. But, I have that underlying fear that I'm gonna ignore it until it's excrutiating, then get tests done and find out it's a brain tumor or something. I'm freakishly fearful of nothing, I know. So, that was Friday. Saturday, I went to the grocery store with Masonpants and fiddled around the house till my husband came home. Then, we caught up on some tv shows we've missed lately (we have one of the DV-R's--like Tivo so we can record hours and hours of tv without a vcr. It's great!), then went over to visit some friends of ours. We watched "Christmas with the Kranks" and ate Chinese food. Nothing like a goofy movie and some greasy food to make an evening complete. It was a nice time. Yesterday, we dragged our lazy butts out of bed and went to church. It's been a few weeks--mainly because Mason has slept in or not felt his best. So yesterday I gathered my crew and off we went. Mason always has a good time because he plays in the Nursery with other babies and toddlers. The girls working in there always say how happy and smiley he is and what a good baby he is. That makes my day. I take pride in the fact that he's such a good, happy baby. I probably can't really take credit for the fact that he's an easy baby, but I do. So yeah, then I came home and cleaned a little and my husband went to work. I also went to Ross (what a madhouse!!) and Target. I took a soothing bath last night, which NEVER happens. That was nice, even though I could hear the tv going in the living room, and Mason fussing. Maybe I need earplugs or at the least soft music to drown out the noises. I'll look into that...

Work is okay. I know for a fact that the principal wants me to take a lead position there next year, but I am pretty set on other plans. I want to go back to public school. I want to only teach English and only see a group of kids for an hour at a time. I know she can't arrange that or promise it to me, so see ya. It's kinda funny how people who've either always worked in a Montessori school or always had their children in Montessori react to me saying I want to go back to working in a public school. You can almost hear a gasp as they ask why. Public school isn't that scary, people!! Sure, I've had students that had parents in prison, kids on birth control in 7th grade and kids get arrested for hiding pot in their Science book, but so what? Like Montessri doesn't have their share of kids with loads and loads of baggage!! Anyway, I will miss certain aspects of the school that I'm at (having 2 aides per room!!), but it's not worth the unpredictablity and the fact that I'd have to teach all subjects. No thank you.

Well, I suppose I should saunter back to work now, eh? Ta ta.

Things My Son Has Taught Me

So, as I've watched, observed and admired Mason, I've realized that although I'm teaching and guiding him everyday, he's teaching me too. Here's what I've learned so far:

1. Crying is the most effective way to get your point across
2. Sitting still is boring
3. Cat and dog food can be a tasty, forbidden treat (if you can get your hands on it, eat like it's your last meal!!)
4. Everything is meant to be touched and/or eaten
5. Watching a dog run after his ball is freaking hilarious and can be hours of fun!!
6. Screw "Baby Einstein"! The shows to watch are "Dr. Phil" and "King of the Hill"
7. "Uh-Oh!" can be said a billion trillion times and never get old
8. A diaper can hold WAY more bulk than advertised
9. No matter what you eat, it comes up orange
10. Being quiet is overrated
11. The best game in the world is called Take Off Sock Throw On Floor Make Mom Put On Over And Over Again
12. Being cute pays off
13. Every moment with a baby is a "Kodak Moment"
14. The "Baby steps" are actually very, very big steps worth reveling in, remembering and taking pictures of
15. Strangers will talk to other strangers with babies
16. Germs are something to be aware of and avoid at all costs (grocery carts and restaurant high chairs are breeding grounds for nastiness!!)
17. Binkies are a mom's best friend
18. Poop is not that big of a deal--unless it's on the baby's shirt, the baby's pants, the baby's hair, your hands, your clothes and all over the diaper table, then it's time for a Biohazard hosedown
19. It really is the little things that matter
20. It's cliche' I know, but your capability to love is much more expansive and unfaltering than can ever be imagined or described

Gobble Gobble

So we survived a holiday with my family, and in fact enjoyed ourselves. That should come as quite a shock, if you know me and you know the family I have to work with. Any get-together in the past (which is very much few and far between these days) has usually ended or at least involved some sort of drama, yelling, sometimes crying and some slamming of doors. It has come to be a twisted sort of tradition. I expect it. So, I was very much pleasantly surprised that this Thanksgiving went off WITHOUT a bang. We went down to my parents' house on Wednesday, where we were met by brother too, which I haven't seen since I was just a few hours post Mason's birth. So, needless to say, the last time he saw me I was 50 pounds heavier, past tired, just a bit sore, hobbling around like a 90 year old woman and I was pretty much in a drugged stupor. I was a bit more coherent and vibrant this time around. It was neat for everyone to see Mason, some for the first time. My sister and 9 year old nephew live in California and even though that's not far at all from our home state, she had not yet seen Mason. I'm more than a little bitter about that, but I did a great job overlooking that, for the holidays. In fact, her son just adored Mason while we were visiting. He wanted to pick him up and play with him all the time, which surprised us all. How many 9 year old boys give a flip about a baby? But he did, very much. It was nice. It was a great time. Mason of course celebrated in the festivities and feasted on my plate. He ate everything I ate: turkey, ham, rolls, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, watergate (my mom's specialty--pistachio pudding mixed with whipped cram pineapples, maraschino cherries, marshmallows and nuts. so good!) and even peppermint ice cream. Nana (my mom) weakened under his gaze and gave in to feeding him from her dessert plate and he ate and ate and ate. I had to finally say, "Mother! That's enough!" But it was okay, he didn't get a tummy ache or even fussier than normal, so it's all good.

We got back yesterday morning, because my husband had to work last night. But before he left, I had him drag out all the Christmas stuff so that we could get to decorating. Mason has had a good time watching it all be unpacked and put up (mostly far from his reach), and he of course gets a kick out of grabbing the pretties that he's not allowed to have, and then chucking them across the room. Good times...

Anyhow, he's currently in his playpen and downright pissed about it. Must go.

I'm a slacker, I know...

So I was informed by one of my avid readers (probably the only person who reads it religiously. You know who you are, PBAF!!) that I haven't written since Monday. Yeah, sorry about that. This past week was crazy. I've been busy, physically and mentally. I'll try to get you up to speed.

Somewhere in the beginning of the week, we had a traumatic event with Mason. Thank God he won't remember it, but I will. Probably forever. It was his first official injury. In the past, he's rolled off our bed, rammed his head into numerous items in the house, fallen from standing position, among other minor boo-boos. But, this one was a doozy. I had him on his dresser/changing table, getting ready to dress him in his pajamas for the night. I leaned down to the middle dresser drawer below where he was laying and suddenly my heart stopped. Literally, I think it did. He decided at the moment I was reaching into the drawer, to roll OFF the table. Believe it or not, I caught him in midair before he landed on the floor, but on his way down, he scraped himself on the corner of the drawer. He had little scratches above and below his left eye, and a nice goose egg above his left eyebrow. I panicked for a second, thinking he would need to go the hospital or something. I attempted to keep an icepack on his face so he didn't end up with black eye and also to help with the swelling mountain on his forehead, but he was not having it. He was screaming, I was crying, tensions were high, let me tell you. The story ends with Mason just having some nasty looking scrapes and me having to explain what happened about 20 times the next day, when I took him with me to work. He's okay now, in fact you wouldn't even know anything happened to him. He came away from the event with nothing to show for it anymore, yet I have to live with the memory and scene of my baby boy tumbling off the dresser. Didn't I tell you motherhood was insane??

Work was pretty stressful this week, with many days being short-handed and I was expected to march on like an obedient soldier, even though the kids were crazy and I was ready to pull my hair out. By Friday, I had such a headache and stomachache that I believe was brought on by stress. Ya think?

This weekend was nice. Yesterday my husband and I went on a little date. We saw "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and went to dinner at a hot wings place. It was so nice to get out and go to the movies. I've always liked going to the movie theater, but it wasn't a luxury as it is now. When we go sans baby, I revel in the feeling of being out and about and not worrying about my motherly duties. A friend from work watched Mason and he had a blast. She has a 3 year old little girl, so they played and took a nap. Today, I mainly ran errands and cleaned the house--which is a pointless activity, I'm beginning to think. It seems every time I pick up the baby toys and jackets we leave strewn around the house and the dishes and the mail and blankets and the other various baby stuff, I blink and it's all a mess again. Oh well, at least for a day--er, I mean a couple of hours the house looks decent.

Okay, it's time for bed. Work is near, but thank God only two school days this week!! Woo-Hoo!! If not before, I shall write again after Thanksgiving at my parents' house.

"Get up, stand up..."

My baby is pulling up and standing!!! Mason's been able to be propped on furniture for quite awhile, happy as can be reaching for anything in sight and sometimes tossing it and going for some kind of world record. But yesterday, we reached another milestone: I went in to check on him during his nap, and there he was, standing proudly, gripping onto the railing of his crib and looking around the room. I'm sure it's an exciting new view from that angle. I know at that moment I should have been a proud mama and running to get the camera or documenting it somehow, but all I could think was "Oh God, what if he had leaned over and fallen out??" These are the things that make me crazy and keep me up at night. Now, I can look back and feel glee that he's finally pulling up (since all the books that attribute to my craziness say he should have been doing this for at least a month) and making strides. Daddy had to lower the crib mattress last night though, because I refused to put Mason to bed for the night knowing that he could hurl himself out. Ah, motherhood can be so delightful and yet so frustratingly insane...

Home Sweet Home

This is the first day I have been sitting in my house, not really doing anything since Tuesday. I went to that Learn and Serve Camp I mentioned, from Wednesday to Friday. It was pretty overwhelming, but actually a lot of fun. Going into it, I thought, "oh, it's just a camp to get you pumped up to serve in your community." Wrong. Apparently this is a statewide grant that had to be approved and put in to place by the hoitey toitey government officials. It's much more involved than I had ever thought. A Learn and Serve Grant is based on the learning aspect more than anything--learning how we can improve our community, learning what it takes to get a service project going, learning how to be a leader, learning the effects of the service project and learning how to improve it. There are actually STATE STANDARDS for this. The other teacher from my school and I had a lot of moments where we looked at each other, as if to say, "What have we gotten ourselves into?" But after many sessions of education and training on this grant, I feel much more equipped to tackle it. I'm just afraid of the responses of our fellow teachers when we conduct a staff meeting and they hear that the whole school must be involved. I hope to not be plummetted with blunt objects...Anyways, it was a whole lot of fun to hang out with a 5th and a 6th grader for 3 days. We spent a lot of the down time talking about stupid stuff and laughing about stupid stuff. (Somewhere in the midst of the insanity, our 6th grader Anthony became "Pantsony" and the 5th grader Bailey was "Hailey". Why is that freaking hilarious and had me laughing myself to tears? I told you I have the sense of humor of a 6th grader, plus you just had to be there...) That's always a good time. There were kids ranging from 4th grade all the way up to high school second year seniors at the camp, which made an interesting experience. I feared for our little kiddos when they had to participate in "team building " and "icebreaking" activities, with 18 year olds that were the size of Godzilla and their arms were blanketed with tattoos. But, it turned out okay. We brought Anthony and Bailey back to their parents unharmed and with lots of great memories, so that's what matters.

Yesterday I took my state certification tests about an hour and a half drive from here, where I attended college. I took two tests: one Professional Knowledge and one Subject Knowledge. The Professional one wasn't too bad. They were mainly situational questions pertaining to teaching approaches. It was made up of 100 mulitiple choice and 3 essays. I don't remember what the essay questions were, but I think I B.S.'d my way through them. As for the Subject Knowledge test, I just don't know. It covered Math, Science, History, Geography, Reading, Writing and even Music. I wasn't real confident on some of the answers, but I did my best. I am quite ashamed of the essay question for that test, that's for sure. I pride myself on my Language Arts expertise, so you think an English question would be a piece of cake for me. But, the question came at the end of 6 hours of testing and my brain was a deep fried Twinkie at that point. The question was: "List two irregular sight words. Explain how they are irregular. Describe an activity that a teacher could use to help 2nd graders remember how the sight words are spelled and explain how this activity would benefit them." AHHHH!!!! I couldn't for the life of me even remember a regular sight word, more less an irregular one. I took a shot in the dark and wrote the essay about words with silent letters, like could and would. I just pray that my B.S.ing skills came through for me. We'll see when I get the results...

Well, I have loads of crap to do, since it's Sunday and it's back to the grind tomorrow. It's good to be home.

Is it Sunday already??

It's amazing how much faster the two days of the weekend fly by, compared to two days during the week...

So, my weekend was good. Friday I was of course with my 6th graders, which is always a treat. I introduced their next writing assignment with me: a report on something related to Asia. I wrote a huge list of choices on the white board and told them that they only had to choose one and write a report about it. They would have a month to do it, and I will be explaining each step as we get to it. These kids have had 6 years of education and I'm assuming they've all had teachers that are reliable at explaining every assignment. So you would assume they would know I wasn't going to keep them guessing. Yet, I still had many of them ask me as I'm writing the items on the board, "What are we doing?" "What's Origami?" "What's Ho Chi Minh Trail?" "I don't know what we're doing!" "Do we have to write about ALL of that?" (to that one, I replied in my sarcastic teacher voice, "Yes, you have to write about ALL of this and it's due next week. And I'm not explaining anything, so good luck." If you ask a stupid question...) Needless to say, they had a lot of questions and we haven't even started really WRITING anything yet. My goal Friday was to get their subjects assigned and get them to start researching, and all they kept asking was how long it had to be and when it was due. After the storm subsided, the rest of the day went well.

Yesterday, Mason and I went with a friend of mine and her baby girl to an outlet mall. That was fun. I always love to shop (as you probably know) and outlet stores are fun because they're different and usually cheap! We went for baby clothes, since neither of them were really prepared for winter. Between Osh Kosh B'Gosh and Carter's, I did some damage and made out with a good majority of Mason's winter attire. Not too shabby. It was nice to get out and spend money we don't have...

Today, I cleaned. And I went to the mall. (no pretzel, but Starbucks. My new favorite frappucino is the Pumpkin Spice with Cream. Double Yum!) And then I went to Target. Busy day and now I'm ready for bed. Monday is so near so I should get to bed. This will be a crazy week, with the Learn and Serve camp and my teacher certification tests. If I make it through, I'll be sure to write. Hasta.

Ah, irony...

So, if you recall my advice from yesterday, I said don't call in sick to work today. And guess what? Yep, I called in sick to work today. Well, actually my husband had to call in for me, due to the fact that I was "worshipping the porcelain god" this morning. It had nothing to do with candy, I am sure of that, since I only ate two pieces yesterday (honestly!). I wasn't really sure what caused it at the time, but I was miserable. I also had a vicious headache that felt like someone was pushing my left eye in with a sharp stick. So, graciously, my loving husband stayed home from work also, so he could nurse me back to health and tend to our little one. Nice hubby. I ended up getting in to see my doctor to find out what in the tarnation was wrong with me (including the consistent congestion I've had since the beginning of time--or at least a month or more). Here's the kicker that almost brought on a heart attack: So, I tell the doctor that I am feeling sick to my stomach and she asks, "is there a chance you could be pregnant?" I say that I guess there's a chance, so she sends me on my way to the bathroom to pee in a little plastic cup and put it in the special door (I am familiar. Apparenty doctor's offices worldwide or at least nationwide all use the same system) and then she tells me to go back to the room and wait. I'm thinking she'll take the urine specimen (what a weird word for it), test it and get back to me in a couple of minutes. So, I'm sitting there on the exam table and I am waiting. And waiting. And good god, waiting some more. Would you believe I waited for 20 minutes for her to come back?? I thought I was gonna die right there on the table. I thought, "well, jeez, maybe she's trying to figure out a way to tell me that I'll be pregnant for the second year in a row". My mind started racing and my heart was beating like a hummingbird. FINALLY, she returns and nonchalantly says to me, "sorry that took so long. I got sidetracked. The pregnancy test was negative." Holy moly, man!! Couldn't she have popped her head in and said, "Nope, you're not knocked up," then gone to do whatever she had been sidetracked with?!? So anyways, that was fun. Long story short (or at least not as long), I have a sinus infection, which is causing the sneezing, dry coughing, congestion, headache and nausea. I was given a prescription for antibiotics and sent on my way. She should have added a Valium to that, to calm my nerves after the fiasco about the urine specimen, dontchya think?? And that was my day.

Side note: (I should have added this to yesterday's blog, because it relates to Halloween) Did you know that 92% of children in America go trick-or-treating? So, that means when we ban Halloween costumes in school and don't allow parties or even the mention of Halloween in schools, we are pleasing and perhaps pacifying 8% of the population? That just irks me. Sorry, but it does. I come from a generation that was not just allowed but encouraged to dress up in costumes for school. We had a parade, a costume contest and a party, every year when I was in elementary school. Hell, I even dressed up senior year in high school!! I feel bad for kids these days. Parties are practically banned in a lot of schools. It "takes away from learning" and offends 1 student in a school of 200. I stick my tongue out at the whole thing. Okay, I'm off my soapbox and off to bed.

Halloween was Tiggerific!

Happy Halloween, everyone!! It has been one heck of a day, I can tell ya that. I am too tired to get into all the details, but let's just say that my day involved making 60 "stained glass" butterflies out of wax paper and melted crayon shavings, serving food to 3rd graders at a Pot Luck, cleaning up after 3rd graders at a Pot Luck, eating loads of crap, taking Mason to visit various friends in his unfathomably adorable Tigger costume and of course taking lots of pictures in the interim. The End. I'm tired and I'll tell more later. For now, hope everyone ate enough candy to give your dentist a run for their money but not enough to call in sick from work or school tomorrow. As Tigger would say, "Ta ta for now..."

If it's still dark out, is it considered morning??

For some reason lately, Mason has decided that 5:30 is a good time to greet the day (and when I say "greet the day", I mean start screaming like a Howler Monkey and make it known to the entire neighborhood that he is ready to get out of his crib). I'm used to him being up early, around 6, 6:30, but 5:30 is where I draw the line. Especially on work days when I then have two hours before I have to be to work, and not all that much to do. But then again, it's pretty rough on a Saturday morning, when all I want to do at 5:30 in the morning is snuggle deeper in my covers and stay peacefully in LaLa Land for awhile longer. Ah well, such is the life of a mother, I suppose. I can sleep when I'm dead, right?

This past week has gone by in a bit of a blur. I can't recall most of the musings that made up the past 7 days, but I'll see what I can do. Working in the 3rd grade has been fun to a degree, but the noise level and crowd control is a bit of a problem. For some reason, when the lead teacher leaves in the middle of the day to teach music, the class gets riled up and refuses to be attentive and quiet. I am not sure if it's me and the lack of strict blood running through me or the fact that these kids are still testing the waters and still aren't sure if they really have to listen to me and the other aide. Maybe it's a little of both. Either way, I feel bad for the teacher, because each day he returns from music to discover that his little angels have been unruly, yet again. Besides that, it's going okay. Resource is chugging along as usual. It's not too hard to teach and control 3 kids at a time, so it normally goes off without a hitch. Friday was nice in the 6th grade. Unfortunately, it always zooms by, being that Fridays are early days. But I still enjoy the day with the pack of crazies. And it always inflates my ego, because the moment I walk in I am greeted with "Yeah, you're here!" and "You're staying all day, right?" It makes me feel special. Aww nice...I stayed home from work Thursday, due to the dreaded Allergy Monster. I woke up with my head ready to explode all over the bedroom walls and I had more mucus built up than you would think is physically possible. The babysitter was kind enough to come to the house and pick up Mason, so I could rest. That was surreal. I took some meds and took a long nap in the morning. When I woke up, I walked around the house in a daze--not because of the drugs, but because I didn't know what do with myself home alone all day. I got through it though and was thankful for the time to rest and be baby-free, just for a short while. Now now, don't read into that and think I wish I wasn't a mother or that I want to leave my son on someone's doorstep, but you fellow parents understand that it can be overwhelming and exhausting to be needed and depended on for every whim all the time. It's nice to get a little break. I'm not explaining myself any further.

Speaking of my little man, he is in my lap and being a squirmy wormy, probably because he's ready for his breakfast. I shall write later. When I have time.

My son is the smartest boy alive!!

So I was giving Mason a bath tonight and he has this big rubber ducky and three little duckies. I showed him that he can put the little duckies on the big ducky and they'll float around. I did it a few times, making a "Whee!" sound. He laughed and studied the procedure. Then, he grabbed one of the little duckies, sucked on it for a second and then put it back where it was. He did that a few times. He's learning! I am a proud mama. Just wanted to share...

My week at work became progessively better each day. The third graders are growing on me (not literally, of course. That would be a serious medical condition!) and I've got a plan to keep my days as smooth and organized as possible. We'll see how Monday goes. Anyways, I was so happy to be back with the 6th graders on Friday. And since it was early release, the day was easy and uneventful. We made a craft of either a fall themed bracelet or a dream catcher. Surprisingly, most of the boys chose the bracelet. I think it was because they saw how complicated the dream catcher was, and they knew that lacing beads and charms on a string was less complicated than most of their video games.

I'm going camping with a 5th and 6th grader. (Do you truly believe I'm absolutely certifiably insane yet?) I agreed to participate in this Learn and Serve Grant, where I am the representative for our school in a city wide community service program. The camp jumpstarts the program, where they inspire, pep you up and generally get you really excited to help out your town. There are skits, meetings, presentations and activities involving teachers and students. And it's for 2 nights/three days at a youth camp nearby. Another aide from the school is going too, which alleviates my concern of taking two kids overnight. I picked the 6th grader, who's a really energetic, outgoing, friendly, and generally crazy boy that I predict will thrive in such an environment. It should be fun. It's in a couple of weeks, so if I survive, I'm sure I'll inform you all of my adventure.

Today Mason and I went to my friend's house (the one who has the little girl) and took lots of fall pictures of him and some with her. Perhaps I will get off my lazy butt and add one to my next blog. If you're lucky. Okay, it's Saturday night and although I don't have more thrilling plans than this, I'm going to go pretend that we have exciting plans. Ta ta.

"Tut tut, it looks like rain..."

Lots of rain in fact. It rained and thundered like crazy last night, which I just love. It continued today, which would be all right, except rainy weather prevents children from going outside during a school day. Indoor recess just isn't the same. I love being at home and hearing the rain on the rooftop and smelling that after-rain smell. But any teacher will tell you that a rainy day is a bit glum. But at least today was a better day overall for me than yesterday. I have an insanely bad headache right now, but I don't think it was caused by my day. I felt it went smoother than expected and I feel like I'm starting to get the 3rd grade names' down and get into my groove. I did, however, stare longingly across the hall as the 5th and 6th graders had a "Read-a-thon" day (laid around with pillows and blankets and read their favorite book for most of the day). I spotted some of the 6th graders in the hall or in passing and their faces lit up and they waved or said hi and that's when I missed them. I will see them on Fridays, and I have to keep remembering that. For now, I'm with the 3rd graders and it's going okay. I just need to get rid of this headache and a slight stomachache. Not a lot of down time and rest with a 9 month old that is clearly getting a mouthful of teeth all at the same time. Good times...

Can we say chaos, boys and girls?

I'm tired, hungry, have things to do and frankly don't feel like writing, but I do not want to keep you dedicated readers on hold any longer. I feel like a lot has happened since I last wrote and I should fill you in. Let's see, where do we begin? (that rhymed!! "It's so sad how they hopped on pop...")

Well, this past week was Fall Break at school, which was REALLY nice. It was a little strange to be home in the middle of the day again. I watched a bunch of crappy tv, read People magazine, took naps, went on walks with Mason in tow, ran some errands and tried to fill the day with the things I seem to never have time for anymore. Honestly, I was a little bored but also dreading the return to work. I used to like my job, but it's taking it's toll on me. But I'll get to that in a minute. Anywho, this past weekend we went down to visit Nana and Papa (my parents), which went as expected--lots of talking (which translates as my parents rambling on about family drama that usually involves my sister and her kids, with me trying to get a story in edgewise and my husband tuning it out by reading the newspaper and watching whatever is on tv), lots of snacking on foods we don't buy and the lucsious sleep I always get on their queen-sized guest bed. My parents babysat Mason while my husband and I took a little jaunt to the state fair, which was a lot of fun. There's nothing like being tossed around like a sock in a clothes dryer and eating fried foods on a stick!! (you haven't lived until you've eaten deep fried garlic mashed potatoes on a stick and a deep friend Twinkie on a stick!) Good, clean fun...

So on to my job. The craziness and lack of direction and organization began last Friday. A select few of us were required to move furniture, books, and all other school crap from two classrooms(the 4th/5th grade and our 6th grade) into a new building that wasn't even finished. No one knew what was going on or where anything should go. The new building didn't even have stairs yet, so we had to climb up into the room like hikers on Mt. Everest every time we had to drop off a load. The time frame in which we had to get everything done changed on us a half dozen times and after all our blood, sweat and tears we were told that no student could set foot into the building until at least Tuesday, due to wet cement and tests that needed to be done on the water. So why again were we in such a rush?? The Powers that Be stood firm on the decision of moving EVERYTHING, even though that meant we would be empty handed on Monday morning, when we'd still have to entertain kids, without desks and materials. I was so exhausted and frustrated, needless to say. So, when today came, why should it have surprised me that the plan had changed and then changed again and then changed some more?!? I was under the assumption that I would be in the 6th grade today, to help them maintain a certain level of sanity and to explain to them my new schedule, but noooooo, they had to go and send me to the 3rd grade already!! Patooey! That was great fun. The teacher hasn't really worked out the kinks or set up his room completely and I'm expected to teach them for an hour and a half in the middle of the day without him. He also teaches music to the whole school, so off he went and I was clueless. Did I mention that I do not do well under chaos?

Moral of the story...I'm not sure which is a more frightening and crazy ride: being strapped into some caged contraption and catapulting 75 feet in the air on an amusement park ride, or working at a charter school, for a dimwitted principal.

We got a bleeder here!!

So Mason had to get a hemoglobin test for anemia. I guess it's pretty standard, once a baby starts eating solid foods and there's a chance they might not be getting enough iron in their diet. He had the test done when he was a newborn, and it was done with a poke of his heel. Today, he had to do it again. The medical staff decided that they would poke his finger instead, since his heel has hardened as he has gotten older and it would be more difficult. Well, apparently they didn't anticipate that he would spurt blood like a geyser. At first, the nurse had a hard time getting blood into the little vile, but then once she was done, and I was holding the cotton on his finger, blood starting spilling out onto his clothes and my hands and all over the chair. You wouldn't think a little prick of the finger would produce so much blood, but it can. I sat there, squeezing his finger, and trying to get the bleeding to stop. They bandaged it once, but he just yanked it off. After much wiping and sopping up pools of blood, the nurse came up with a plan--wrap the finger, then wrap the whole hand. So, he had a mitten made of blue bandage tape. It immediately went into his mouth, but at least it stopped the bleeding. He sucked on his mitten all the way home, and seemed a bit disappointed that I unwrapped it.

But now we know. Don't take his blood unless you are prepared for a downpour.

Tip of the Day: Don't take a mitten made out of bandages off too soon. As I was writing this blog, I assume either Mason put his finger in his mouth or the dog Max started licking it. Either way, it triggered the wound and out came the blood for another go-round!! I turn around to check on Mason, and there's blood on the carpet, on his outfit and all over him. Upward went my stress level. As I am battling my 9 month old to keep his finger out of his mouth, while at the same time attempting to clean him up and put a bandaid on his gushing finger, I am also trying to comfort him. An impossible feat, I will tell you that. THEN, after reigning victorious over the blood spatter, Mason decides to snack on his bandaid, and to battle we go yet again!! I clean him up, put another bandaid (2 actually) on his finger, and I decide to win this fight. I strap a mitten to his hand with surgical tape. I AM THE SMARTEST MOM ALIVE!! So, he is now napping peacefully in his crib, looking partially prepared for snowy weather...

"And now, the Yak mating call..."

"Yaaaaaak!!" We went to a farm today, and no, there aren't any yaks anywhere near where I live, but I just felt like having that as the subject, as a random reference to Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.

The farm has an annual pumpkin festival, where they have craft booths, lots of homegrown foods, games for the kiddos and of course a huge pumpkin patch where you can pick your own pumpkin. Normally, it's pretty simple and painless to find a perfect pumpkin and be outta the insanity of billions of others trying to do the same thing. But for some reason, this year wasn't as easy. Most of the pumpkins were either still green, too huge or very, very rotten. After much searching and wandering around, we found one. I wanted one that Mason could sit with and we could take pictures (of course!), but not cost us an arm and a leg (it would be hard to carry a pumpkin back to the car with only one arm and leg)! It was really neat to see Mason taking it all in. We went by the petting zoo and let him peek in on the chickens, ducks, pigs, bunnies, goats, sheep, llamas, ostrich and deer. He cocked his head to one side and viewed them with a quizzical look, as if to say, "Those are some strange looking puppies and kitties!" We didn't let him take some grain to feed the animals, because without a blink of an eye, the grain would be in his mouth and all over the place. We had some oh-so-yummy homemade ice cream and of course Mason had to taste it too. He just loves ice cream. He's definitely my son. So overall, a nice, memorable day. Hope you all had the same...Well, it is very unlikely that you also went to a farm today and bought a pumpkin, but you know what I mean.

People watching should be a sport...

Don't I have just the cutest baby ever?? Kay, anyways. So, yesterday Mason and I took a little trip to the mall for something to do (and let's face it, I needed my soft pretzel fix!). I found him the blue hooded jacket (pictured) at Gap on clearance for $7.99!! Couldn't resist, because it's velour, it's adorable and it's getting a bit chilly willy around here, especially at night. So, back to my story. We were at the mall, and my favorite thing to do there (besides eating, of course!) is watch all the people that come out of the woodworks to shop at the mall. All I can think, is "it takes all kinds." There's nothing more entertaining than sitting in the food court and watching the happenings of other people. I saw two "tween (middle school agers)" girls giggling as they climbed into the little photo booth and took silly pictures of themselves. I remember doing that. It was so cool when the tiny sliver of smaller-than-wallet-size pictures slid out of the slot. I recall the big debate on which one of us would get which picture. Then there was the high schooler that walked by, wearing an attire that almost convinced me of time travel. Seriously, he looked like had been snatched out of the punk rock era of the 80's. He had a nice spiked 'do going, a leather jacket with the sleeves ripped off, covering a metal band t-shirt, skin tight black jeans and lace up army boots. Should I dig out my charm necklace and jelly bracelets? Weird. I saw some old men sitting in the food court drinking coffee and shooting the shit. Not a real surprise, knowing the demographic of this community. On my way in to the mall, I saw more Cadillacs, Buicks and Oldsmobiles than any other type of vehicle (aside from the gigantasaurus SUVs) . I saw the pimple-faced mid-puberty kid working at the Orange Julius, just trying to earn some extra cash on the weekends, to buy himself a sweet ride. And then there's the crew of the fast food Chinese place, in which not a single employee was Chinese or of Chinese decent. There was the humorous scene of a mother and daughter in Claire's, near the ear piercing station, where the daughter's ears were already pierced and she's dancing around near the necklace rack, and her mother is nervously discussing with one of the employess, where she should place the hole in her ear. And the most touching moment was when I was getting ready to head home, and I was sitting at a picnic table outside, enjoying the sunshine with Mason asleep in the stroller. A family was walking up to the doors and I noticed the little girl in the stroller had Down's Syndrome. Her mother was pushing the stroller, Grandma was opening the door, and what I can only assume was the aunt, was talking to the little girl and taking her hand as they went into the mall. They just made me smile. Those little moments where people think that no one is watching and they are just kind to each other without a hidden motive are the times when I greatly enjoy observing others. I guess that's what makes the world go round. How boring it would be if we were all the same. I certainly wouldn't frequent the mall as much as I do...

When did we get to Disneyland??

I didn't fall off the face of the earth. I I didn't have a life threatening disease or have traumatic surgery. I didn't go on an exotic vacation or attend a work related convention. I didn't get lost and not find my way home. I did, however, lose a week's worth of time, somewhere between my parents visiting, working, tending to my little dumpling, maintaining my idea of a clean and organized house and running errands. So deal with it.

My head's been on the Tilt-A-Whirl this week and I'm just now being able to slow the ride down and view the scenery for what it is. Work, as always has kept me on my toes. For you dedicated readers, you remember awhile back when there was some grand confusion regarding my position at the school. There was talk of me leaving the resource room and being in the 6th grade all day. When I had confronted the principal about it, she looked at me like I was speaking Slavik. Then yesterday, she says casually, "So you will continue doing the resource room and then after lunch you'll be in the third grade. " WHAT?!?! Needless to say I didn't see that freight train coming. There is some musical classroom action going on at work, and one of the aides in the 4th/5th grade class will be taking a 3rd grade class after next week and will need an aide. And guess who was nominated? Yeah, without my approval or input. Apparently they wanted me in there because I was a strong and experienced teacher. I say ptooey to that! I was outraged when I heard this tidbit of news yesterday, being that I had no warning. I didn't want to leave my 6th graders. I love my 6th graders. They make me crazy and want to bash my head into a wall at times, but regardless, I love them. And I was crushed to think I wouldn't be in there anymore. Plus, what about Disneyland? I was promised a fun-filled day of weaving through a chaotic crowd of strangers with other people's children and I demand that promise be fulfilled!

After much deliberation (and a bit of pouting on my part, I am not ashamed to add), there was a compromise. Monday thru Thursday I will be in the resource room in the mornings and 3rd grade in the afternoons. Then Fridays, I will be in 6th all day. I feel like a human yo-yo, but at least I get to see my teenage basketcases at least once a week. I will be focusing on writing and Language, which is my passion. So I have that going for me. Plus, because there will be a 2 hour block in the middle of Mon-Fri where I am teaching without the lead teacher, I am getting a slight pay raise. That's something. We could use any moola possible at this point. It's a step closer to my husband not having to pull two jobs every day. So, now that I've had some time to reflect and evaluate, I am warming up to the idea of the change. I despise change as you may already know, so it's still hard for me to let go of my current situation. But, I do really like the guy who's gonna be teaching 3rd grade and I'm getting extra money out of the deal. So, I guess I'll survive.

On a side note, my parents' visit went well. My aunt got to meet Mason for the first time, so that was nice. I of course could not go a single visit with them without the criticism or "I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but..."speech, so this visit's topic was the fact that I don't heat up Mason's baby food. I took it out of the kitchen cabinet (gasp!) and fed it to him just like that, as I always have and my dad almost had a coronary. "Shouldn't you heat it up in a pan?" A pan? Yeah, I'm gonna pour a teeny 4 ounce jar of baby food into a huge pan and wait for it to heat up, as Mason screams bloody murder, flailing around in his highchair. I think not. He eat is at room temperature, so I don't see what the problem is. Plus, it elminates the problem of being out somewhere and not having a pan to heat up his food. Whatever. They're from the old school and it's hard for them to see that sometimes there are easier approaches to parenting.

So yeah, we'll see them again next weekend when we go down for a weekend visit and they have a chance to babysit. I love them and love every chance they have to be with Mason, but it still makes me tense. Ah well, you can't pick 'em, eh?

Lions don't always rule the jungle...

So the lead teacher was out yesterday for an out-of-town conference. I thought, no big deal. I've taught before ALL ON MY OWN and besides, the kids know me and know the rules. All I have to do is follow the lesson plan and get them out the door at 2. Simple. Uh, not so much. Apparently they were under the impression that because the teacher wasn't there, they were allowed mass mayhem. Okay, maybe not that extreme, but it didn't run quite as smoothly as expected. Let's see if I can't paint a picture of my "smooth" day: we had two fire drills; one little girl was jumping rope during recess and her skirt fell to the floor (she then ran off in hysterics, hollering down the hall and into the bathroom, where another teacher heard her and sent her and her two partners-in-crime to the office. A lot of good that did. They got to "stay in the office and work as long as they wanted"); I had to collect fundraiser money and permission slips for an upcoming field trip; I had to take in a 5th grader because of behavior (he was expected to work dilligently, as a punishment. But it turned out that he thought it was pretty darn cool to be hanging out in the 6th grade class); and on top of all that, the overall behavior of the class was atrocious. They were talking when I was talking, refusing to work in some cases and being particularly loud all day. I was at my wit's end. I told them, threatened them, that their teacher would be hearing about the way they were acting and that she would be very upset to hear it. It didn't phase them. We'll see what she thinks on Monday, when she reads the note I left.

My parents are coming to visit today. They haven't seen Mason in awhile, so that's always fun. I love seeing them, but I have become invisible to them since Mason was born. It used to be that when I'd ring their doorbell or they'd come up to visit, they'd greet me with big hugs and bright faces. Now, I answer the door, and they're peering behind me, searching for their grandson. I see how it is. So the whole point of having children is so that someday they can have children of their own and you can spoil them and not have to do all the dirty work. I hope to reap from this theory someday. It's strange to think of Mason getting married and having children. It better be MANY MANY years, in fact DECADES from now, but still. I often wonder what type of man he will become. Will he be an intellect? Will he be an athlete? Will he be a teacher? An astronaut? A pilot (my husband's dream)? A lawyer (please God, if he is, let him be one with morals--not the "If you were arrested for a DUI, call Mason and Associates and we'll FIGHT FOR YOU!")? A doctor? Or perhaps a soldier? Only time will tell I suppose.

That's it from here. I'm sure my next entry will have a picture from the grandparents' visit. Ta ta.