Monday, March 31, 2008

Happy Monday

Good Morning. Hope it is nice and sunny where ever you are. It's not here - gloomy and cloudy - an Eeyore kind of day. These are Cole's favorite though - he loves cloudy days.

We had a really busy and fun weekend - lots of visiting and lots of accomplished at home. I got loads and loads of laundry done - not fun, but always feels good when it's done, right? Sadly, there's always more waiting around the corner - you never catch up on laundry.

All our visiting this weekend was great. We saw Jason's aunt and uncle and their five girls. The youngest is just over a year old and just adorable. She's the cutest thing - took lots of pictures of her too, but sadly none of anyone else while they were there. Shame on me. Speaking of picture taking, I can't find my charger or replacement battery for the camera. My battery is getting low and I have no idea where it got packed. I remember the last time I used it and what bag it was in, but have no clue where that bag actually is - well, that's not entirely true - it's in a box, I just don't know which one!! Hopefully I will locate that very soon. I need to take some pictures of Cole now that we're in a house that actually has windows and great natural light pouring in. Our dungeon of an apartment was not the place to take indoor pictures without a flash.

We also went to a cookout last night with our small group from church. A good time was had by all. Jason met some guys - which is a plus since he hasnt' met many people here yet. And he got to meet a few of the scrapping girls I know so that was cool. Cole got to hang out with his girlfriends - Alyssa and Alayna - and now he counts Marissa in the girlfriend role call. He's added an older women too - Savannah. She's in 7th grade and is really great with kids. She's also pretty great with adults - I really enjoyed talking to her and listening to her talk about school and DisneyWorld - she knows a lot of DisneyWorld. We were surrounded by Disney fans last night - and as much as we love it and know about it - we don't know much compared to them. It just made me more excited about our trip!! I cannot wait to go!!

We also talked with one couple there (Savannah's mom and dad) about Cole and St. Jude and our whole cancer experience. We really always enjoy talking about it - even though it was such an ordeal. I think we're far enough away from it that talking about it is easy. I'm not saying I could stand up and talk to loads of people about it, like some families we know, but having a conversation with people, I can handle. And the big thing is we have a happy ending - it's good stuff. Some stories aren't - some stories haven't ended yet as the kids are still fighting. But it's so good to talk about Cole and all he went through and what a great place St. Jude is. We can't talk about how wonderful they are enough.

I also got lots of boxes that were in the way put away or emptied. The empty boxes are piling up in the garage. We need to break them down, bundle them up and store them away. That's what we did in the apartment, so we're hoping to do the same thing again. We have company coming in less than two weeks, so I have lots to do. Jason's brother, his wife and our nephew are coming, along with another couple and possibly another friend. We're all planning on heading to Tuscaloosa for the A-Day game later in April. We cannot wait. I have NO Alabama shirt to wear though - I have a long sleeve, but I need a short sleeve shirt. Just can't go to a game without your game gear on. I also need to get my 'bama princess' sticker on my car!! So the houseful is coming and we'll have tons of fun while they are here, but I still have lots to do to get ready for them. I'm hoping this weekend I can actually get the kitchen unpacked. Then there wont' be much left at all!!

Alrighty - I've been typing this post forever, thank goodness for the autosave feature. It's almost time for lunch and a team meeting, so I've got to run! (This post started last night - should it take this long to blog?)

Lisa

Friday, March 28, 2008

Thank Goodness it's Friday

I am so ready for March to be over. It was a good month - don't get me wrong - but a busy one!! I'm really pooped and so ready for my house to be in order and it's still not there. Still lots to unpack but it's things that I just can't unpack yet.

I did get some quality scrapping time last night. I worked on my ATC's for the fairytale/children's story swap I'm in at SIStv. I'm doing the Poky Little Puppy. My cards are nothing fantastic - it seems like every swap I've been in - the cards are close to the same. Some patterned paper or a picture - some type of journaling - my name and info - and some ribbon and a button. I mean, I've done several of these - and they all have these things on them!! I need to try something new, huh?

I've got two layouts planned that I want to get done this weekend. Some cards I want to make too. More ATC's as well. I hope there is enough time to do it all!!!

I have a gajillion errands to run this afternoon. I need to check the mail at our apartment and pick up our satelite boxes, which we have to mail back because they expect you to sit around and wait for them to come by - one of those 12 to 6 things - and I just cannot do that - will not do that. So I'll being paying postage instead I guess. I have to go to Walmart - isn't that always on the to-do list. I have to go by the post office (but that may wait until tomorrow and I can mail it from home if I have stamps). I have to go by the scrapbook store and drop something off and hopefully swing picking something up - like the new Basic Grey paper - if it's there and in the system already!! Crossing my fingers for that!! I also have books to drop off at the library.

And Cole has been promised a trip to Toys 4 Us (that's what he calls it) to look for the Flyboat. The Easter Bunny couldn't locate one in time for Easter so we're still looking. The Wonderpets are really worried because they can't go on any rescues until they have their flyboat. This morning, the Wonderpets were hanging out on the couch (looking rather lost without the flyboat) hanging out with Uniqua, Tyrone and Pablo (from the Backyardigans) and they decided they would all be Rock Stars. It was rather entertaining listening to them ROCK OUT! I know I must have the funniest kid in the world!!

Yesterday he told me he really likes cloudy days. We were walking to the car after school and I was so excited that it was such a nice day - warm, sunny - perfect temperature and a nice breeze. He just said it was too bright and he likes it cloudy and that a cloudy day is the perfect day. I wish I'd had paper to write down exactly what he said so I could - of course - scrapbook it. Today is rather cloudy, so maybe he'll tell me why it's his favorite on our way to the car again.

Well, that's enough from me. I'm stalking the Scrap Etc. Blog today while they have some fun posting contests and giveaways in honor of the big event that is coming up. I can't wait for that. They are currently giving away a Bind It All - which I want so very badly. I could do so much with it - besides making mini albums - I'm thinking of all the things I could do with it in my classroom. The room I'm in now has this cool alphabet thing that has big triangles, that stand on their own. On the top of each one is this binding stuff just like the bind it all and it has vowels on two and consonants on two - so you can flip the letters over to spell different things. I would love to make one for home - Cole plays with it every single afternoon before we head home. There are tons of other flash card type things I could make too - so cool. This is just another thing on my list - things I need and want - it's a long list huh?

Ok - really that's enough!
lisa

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Is it Friday yet?

Nope - not yet. But I'm waiting, impatiently for it to arrive. I spent a little bit more time in my studio yesterday but not nearly enough. Too many other errands to deal with. I'll be back in there today though and hopefully will get it at least neat enough for me to work on some ATC's this weekend. I am currently in 5 swaps!! YES - 5. Not to mention the 10+ charm bracelets I need to have assembled by April 15th!! Good Grief. So as soon as the studio is livable and workable, I need to deal with the bracelets, then the cards? I don't know. I want to do it all. I'm doing a swap about Fairytales and Children's books - right up my alley!! I'm doing my favorite children's book ever - The Poky Little Puppy. I used to have this on a read along 45 - you know those vinyl things that you only find in thrift shops these days. I can't wait to get to work on this one. I love that little puppy!!! Then I'm doing two swaps where Kenny is involved, imagine that! And another is also a children's theme so my little puppy will get used for two swaps, too. Then the last one is a swap I started at SIStv and it started out as a teen crush thing because I'm obsessed with old school teen drama's - not Saved by the Bell drama but 90210 and Dawson's Creek and things like that - ok those are the only two. I do love Party of Five, but it isn't shown anywhere in reruns, sadly. And only two seasons have been released on DVD - which I have already. Anyway - I'm doing ATC's with Joshua Jackson. He played Pacey on Dawson's Creek. Not sure why I love him so - maybe it's just as simple as his good looks and how the younger Pacey reminds me of the younger Jason :) or maybe it's because he was always the under dog in the show but ends up with the girl in the end. The girl being Katie Holmes who was way more normal back in the Dawson days. I worry a bit about her now. Tom Cruise = Nutso!! Anyway, I have so many things I want to work on, so many layouts in my head that so need to be on paper. I have sketches on sticky notes - things that randomly come to mind during the day at work and I just have to write down before I forget - hence the sticky notes!! So maybe this weekend, I'll get some crafting time. Jason has to work Saturday morning for a few hours, so I'm hoping that will be MY time!! Then he'll have homework - again, more my time!!

We are hopefully going to a cookout Sunday evening for the small group I've been attending from church. If Jason gets enough homework done, we can make the cookout!! I'm hoping it happens - the people in the group are fun and I would love for Jason to get to meet them since he never gets to go with me to our meetings. I'm also counting down to summer for several reasons - first no school so me and Cole will have lots of time together at home. This means lots of scrapping time for me, lots of cartoons for him and a bit of summer school. Cole thinks we'll be 'playing school' every day!! :) fun stuff! And Jason won't be in school, so he'll be home at night all the time instead of just four nights a week. Cole misses him so much. I do too, of course, but I understand why he has to be gone. Cole just doesn't get it. Summer also means less homework for Jason since no school, which means more time he can spend with us, going to small group, church, etc - the things that are important to me.

I'm also hoping I can get Cole enrolled in something fun at the McWane Center or at the very least just spend a lot of time there. I would like to buy a membership and go A LOT. Cole loves it and it's really so big that we could go every day for a week before Cole actually got to everything.

Ok - that's about enough rambling from me. OH - Mandy asked if I finished my One Fine Day album that the wonderful Virginia taught at Scrap Etc. I haven't. I haven't done anything with my photos yet - but I want to so badly. It's on my list. I hate not having a completed album!!! So hopefully after the Scrap Etc. Event, I'll be able to get my wedding photos scanned and print a few and finish my album. I've already decided on a few pictures that I have to have in there - so that's an accomplishment. And Mandy - you mentioned a Kenny story - HELLO - spill it girl - you know I love him more than scrapbook supplies - and that's saying A LOT!!

Ok - one more thing - Cole watched a little of American Idol with me last night - he usually doesn't care about it until the end and I think really he just gives in at that point and still doesn't really care. Anyway, he watched last night and was actually moved to tears that Chikeze was sent home. He cried!!! He didn't want him to lose. Now, it's not because he's watched him everyweek and loves his voice - he just doesn't ever want anyone to lose - well, unless it means he wins. So I tried to explain to him that it was ok, it's like a game and the person with the fewest votes goes back home, but they are ok with it - since they get to see their family again. That just made him even more sad. Poor sweet thing. He's so sad for people when they don't get their way!! He fell asleep last night with tears in his eyes for Chikeze. Sad sad!! He loved American Idol last year because he thought Blake Lewis was awesome and loved to sing along with him - and he can beat box pretty well too!! :) I told him we could watch next week together and he could call and vote and hopefully he's pick won't get sent home. I would love for him to get more into this since there's no one else home with me to watch it - but if he cries for the loser each week - it's not worth it. I figure we'll give it another week with me encouraging him to watch and if it's too much for him, I'll just keep Spongebob on in his room and all will be happy again!!

Oh - and I'm hoping that Trace Adkins is THE man tonight and wins the Apprentice!!

lisa

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Happy Birthday Kenny Chesney!

Just have to get that out of the way - (you know, in case he stops by and reads my blog today) and tell Kenny Happy Birthday!!! He's forty today - can you believe it? He sure doesn't look it, or is it just because I'm older too and I don't see 'age' anymore unless your like really young and you have that hair cut where its all in your eyes and I just want to take scissors and cut your bangs? Well, Kenny doesn't have that problem at all - he has no hair! And he still looks just fine to me. I've talked about my Kenny obsession here many times and it's really not all about the looks - I promise, really it's not. I love his music - no matter how many times I play a cd over and over, it's still good - great actually. I love the music blaring in the car with the windows down. That rarely happens since Cole would get blown away in the back seat and tell me it's too loud. But I enjoy it anyway I can get it - love it!!!

Ok - enough gushing on and on about Kenny Chesney. Well, it's not enough for me, but I'm sure YOU'VE read enough.

So, spring break is over and school is back in. I was actually very glad to come back to school and rest!! :) No, I don't nap at my desk or anything like that. We just had a busy spring break. We moved. Yep - we moved into a big giant house that's much bigger than the apartment was. And we really thought the apartment was huge. Well, we were wrong!! :) We now how a larger playroom for Cole that also has a desk area for us with a tv for him to watch. He doesn't hang out in there much yet, but I think he will eventually. We have a seperate living room that has NO TOYS IN IT! Well, most of the time anyway. That was Jason's rule since Cole has a giant toy room and his own bedroom - why should there by toys in the living room. So before Jason comes home from school and work each day, we pick up any random toys that have found their way into the living room to watch Noggin.

The best part about moving, besides the nice big house and cheaper rent - I HAVE A STUDIO!!! One whole room dedicated to nothing except ME!! Scrapbooking, crafting - whatever I want to do is there in my STUDIO. It's full of furniture and has lots of shelving for me to store everything (although it isn't all unpacked yet) and I have a tv and stereo in there (with kenny cd's of course), too. All I need is about a million dollars to buy more supplies. Ok, not really, but $100 to get the new Bind It All would be nice, and then I'd need a bunch of chipboard to make albums and all that fun stuff.

Anyway, we had a very busy week and still don't have everything taken care of at home. Lots of things to unpack - my kitchen is still in boxes due to a little bug problem left behind from the previous tenants. THEN - I almost forgot this - the neighbors daughter backed into my car. My car was simply parked in the front of the house - not really in her way at all. But she was talking on her phone I think, and backed up - right into my van. The van that isn't even a year old! The van that doesn't even have a ding or scratch anywhere except a small chip in the window from a rock. They got our numbers, didn't want to fill a report because it seems she hits lots of things and they don't want her insurance to go up anymore. So they got our neighbors and the dad was going to call. This was Saturday and we haven't heard a word!! The dad walked over to the house Monday and looked at my van in the driveway - without knocking on the door or anything. He was on his cell phone talking to someone about the van and I heard 'about $200 worth of damage' but no knock on my door. Strange!!! Jason says that have until tomorrow and he'll be knocking on their door. They have our home number and Jason's cell number - good grief!! We should have filled a report!!

Anyway - back to school - the kids are on the way in. So i've got to run and go educate!! :) I love teaching!

lisa

Monday, March 17, 2008

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Just wanted to say Happy St. Patrick's Day. I wish I could tell you of all the Irish fun I'll be having today, but we're home, getting things done that have been neglected - I think I have four or five loads of laundry at least!! And Cole is sick - stuffy nose, coughing - poor thing. He napped twice yesterday which is rare for him. He feel asleep in his bad last night before Jason could lay down with him, which is also rare for him. We lay down with him every night to go to sleep. And then I woke up this morning with that can't breath out of my nose thing going on. Not fun. But, usually when he's sick, Jason and I will catch it. We're just always still loving on him and just being right in his face it seems - so we're bound to catch those germs.

Yesterday was our 11th Anniversary. Our first date was 11 years ago last night. It wasn't a fancy blow your socks off date, but it was a nice get to know you, hang out with you and your brother (yeah, he just wouldn't go away that night) and it was the beginning of something wonderful!! Tomorrow is our 8th wedding anniversary. I can't believe it's been 8 years - but Cole's seven, so that makes sense huh? :) I wish I could say we had big anniversary plans, but we don't. Maybe next weekend we'll get to go out to eat or something. We've been really busy and Jason's school work is crazy right now. He's had this huge project he's been working on - he turns it in Wednesday night I think. He spent about 4.5 hours at Kinko's yesterday with his group. He was so tired of them, of printing things, of redoing the things someone in the group didn't like. Anyway, we'll get to a celebration at some point I guess. I'll do good to get out today and buy a card!! Jason asked me last night "are we buying stuff for each other?" which means he hasn't even picked out a card yet, so I'm not feeling too bad about not having one either!!

This next weekend is Easter at my Mom's. Always one of my favorites. Cole has NOTHING new to wear for Easter. Which isn't a huge deal, but we do have a church to go to for Easter this year. And hopefully it'll be a nice warm day so I can wear a new springing outfit I have. But poor Cole - I don't know what he'll wear. He's usually in jeans at church. But it's Easter and he needs to be dressed nicer than that!! So I hope I'll find something this week - and I hope it nothing that needs to be hemmed!!

I hope ya'll have a wonderfully Irish day! OH WOW - I just remembered I have to go check out QVC - they do this all day St. Patrick's Day thing and it's wonderful - all this Irish goodness. I got a watch two years ago that is just beautiful - black leather band, blingy heart shaped face and the claddagh in the middle. One year I got a claddagh ring with Cole's birthstone. And I think my first QVC Irish purchase was earrings (that I'm now wondering what has happened to them) with a trinity knot (which I have a strong love for, and a tattoo of) with a claddagh - the best of both!! I have no money for shopping at QVC today but I just can't help but visit their website and see all the things I would love to order!

later, Lisa

Friday, March 14, 2008

Friday Funday is Upon Us

Yes, it's Friday Funday in my classroom today and right now - I'm alone. There's no one here. I have a little break in the mornings and it's going to end any moment now. But, I thought I would update quickly since it's been a week. I would love to be more blogger-ish and update every day but I just can't seem to make it a priority yet. Maybe next week during spring break, it'll be easier. And maybe I'll actually do the photo a day I've been planning for the whole year and still haven't really tackled with full force!!

So today we are coloring and playing math games and visiting cool educational sites on the computers. Fun stuff. I was so excited yesterday. I went upstairs to pick up some of my students. One said 'YEAH' when she saw me - that's wonderful - and hasn't happened until then. It's nice to be greated so wonderfully! Then she ran to me and hugged me! AWEsome! Then another mentioned to a teacher that she wanted to talk to the principal herself to tell her to hire me full time. Sounds good to me! I told the teacher to tell the student to go right ahead. :) It's so nice to be in a classroom again and being productive.

Now the downside is I'm slacking in so many other areas. Jason works full time and goes to school full time, so essentially he has two full time jobs. Well, I do too, really. I'm here teaching full time and then have to do everything at home. The bad things is everything at home tends to take up more hours than there are left in the day. Cole has homework, he has to eat dinner (most of the time) and have a bath (why is that) and a bedtime story and someone has to lay down with him too!! That someone is usually me during the week. So all those things take up more time and are really more fun that washing clothes and dishes. So dishes haven't really been done much lately and neither has the laundry. I'm hoping to get it all under control during spring break.

I've been working on pulling material, printing things online, etc. - getting ready to teach Cole this summer. We'll have an IEP meeting in late April and I'm hoping that will guide me to what I need to work on at home. In the meantime, I'm just looking for anything that will reinforce what he's learned so far and then build on that to get a head start on second grade. We're moving soon so he'll be zoned for a different school. I would love to just get hired here so it wouldn't be an issue, (that's what I'm hoping for) but just in case that doesn't happen, I've talked with the principal to make sure Cole can still attend here and he can. Some paper work is involved but she said it was not a problem. That's a relief. He's in a great school and I know he's getting the best here. We're already planning our summer - how we'll 'play' school each day. I think as it gets closer, I'm going to check around in some thrift stores, consignment shops and see if I can find on old school desk. How fun would that be?

Ok, the silence is scheduled to end soon, so I should run.

I'm hoping I'll have some fun pictures to post next week - a good productive spring break is right around the corner - just a few more hours!!!

Lisa

Thursday, March 6, 2008

My New Job

Yep - that's right - I have a job. Sort of. I'm filling in at Cole's school in a long term substitute position while a teacher is out on maternity leave. This isn't a 'regular' classroom - I have different kids all day - small groups at different times covering different material. It's very different than what I'm used to, but I really like it. It's been fun to get to know the kids this way. A few kids I've subbed with before so that was a nice welcome - to already know them!

It seems like the kids are a bit bored with what I've been doing though and that's a bad thing. It's not that they don't like the material, they do, it's just they get bored sitting still doing their work. I have a bunch of wiggle worms. I get this way too though and like to move around. I've rearranged the room a bit to have the kids together in their groups, but a little spread out so they aren't on top of each other - bugging each other. And I've planned a few artsy things to do on Friday's to let them have a little bit of fun and not just all hard work. I'm hoping they'll respond well to the little changes - nothing major, just a dash of fun!! I'm excited to be in a classroom again. The bad thing is this classroom is BARE - really BARE! Like no student work on the walls, no student work anywhere except their workbooks and binders. I had to beg for chalk from a few other teachers (and later someone found it locked in the file cabinet - it's THAT valuable I guess). I didn't have hand sanitizer which is a must personally! No paper towels, no paper period. Well, I found a few sheets of loose leaf paper, but not much. No paint, not many markers, one box of crayons. So sad. I've already decorated the door with flowers, shamrocks, bunnies and the kids names. This teacher I'm filling in for is a first year teacher, so I know it's hard to come up with everything you need - but I can't stand this naked-ness!! I did buy my own tape (there was none), scissors, and sticky notes (how do you live without them?) and I brought a tissue box from home, too.

Oh well, I have another small group coming in so I've got to run. Planning time is OVER!

L

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