I am a horrible wife. I might as well admit it, because it is true. Sunday I had a horrible migraine and decided I would take Monday off to recuperate. I knew I'd have that headachy hangoverish feeling, and I really didn't want to go sit in some stupid inservice anyway so I'd just stay home. I'd already made arrangements for the boys since Trey didn't have school so I'd be home all by myself.
Yesterday, I woke up and Eddie was just getting back in bed. I asked him if he was ok and he said he'd been up most of the night with an upset stomach. "Are you going to work today?" "no." Oh great~~there goes my day off...if I stay home I'll have to deal w/ Mr. Poor-pitiful-me-I-feel-so-awful all day...giving him clean cool washcloths after he vomits, checking his fever all day, etc. So I decided to go on to work and suffer through the unbearable meetings because it was the lesser of two evils. My only "help" at home was to spray Lysol everywhere before I leave and tell him to ONLY use the bathroom in our room.
Then all day I felt guilty because he really was pretty sick. I even got sympathy diarrhea (I know--TMI!) because he was sick. By the time we all got home from school, Kyle also had diarrhea, Trey was complaining of an upset stomach and even my tummy was a little shaky.
He stayed home again today but finally sounds stronger over the phone. I sure hope the rest of us don't get this too.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Ramblings about Rita
Our lives, at least mine anyway, were turned upside down when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. I immediately went into help mode....I volunteered to help out at one of the local churches who was housing 100 evacuees, signed up to be a "Laundry Angel" and bought an unbelievable amount of supplies for all of the drives we had....The Boy Scout troop, neighborhood school, Kyle's school, Trey's school, *my* school, church, etc. My heart was breaking for all these poor people who lost everything. The thought that kept going thru my mind was "it could have been us!" I got some students who were Katrina evacuees in my classes, and they seemed shell-shocked. One young boy had lived through the horrors of the storm and aftermath at the Superdome.
Then last week it was our turn......Rita was heading into the Gulf, straight towards the Texas coast. At first it was towards Matagorda, which would have put us on the "dirty side" of the storm, with a HUGE storm surge (maybe 25 feet!) and the probability of several tornadoes. The mayor of Galveston and the governor of Texas decide to put mandatory evacuations in place. The mayor of Houston puts his orders in as well. Schools are canceled, businesses are closing and there is a HUGE run for supplies.
I went to Walmart to buy a few things (bananas for Kyle, milk, etc) on Tuesday night before we even know WHERE the storm was headed, and the place was PACKED. I had to drive around a bit before I could find a parking place and then it was utter CHAOS inside. I had Kyle w/ me, which may have helped because since I had a small child, I was able to get a shopping cart. The shelves were messy--a lot of food was gone, particularly soups, beef stews, etc. There was no water, no paper products (plates, cups, napkins, etc), only a few loaves of bread ( the expensive "gourmet" type breads). I was looking for the goldfish shaped noodle soup for Kyle and found ONE can towards the bottom of the shelves.....As I was reaching for it , someone grabbed it out of my hand. I grabbed a loaf of the gourmet bread and a woman actually had the nerve to ask me if I really needed that loaf of bread! Now, remember, I had my 3 year old son with me....And don't you think someone w/ a small child would NEED the bread???? I told her ," umm, yeah, unless I want to put my husband's sandwiches on Ritz crackers!" Stupid woman!! Then as we were heading towards the produce section, I mentioned needing bananas. The lady behind me hit me in the rear, and when I stopped to turn around and look at her, she went around me and grabbed the last bunch of bananas. I thought I was in a NASCAR race---it was the old "bump and run" move!!! LOL The bananas didn't look that good anyway, so she could have had them without crippling me! Since I'd gotten a prime parking place (first spot right in front of the door, ) I had several people fighting for my spot. I wasn't sure if they were even going to let me finish loading the groceries before they started crowding me...They certainly didn't give me much room to maneuver out of the spot! I was never so glad to get home!!!!!!
Wednesday we had school, and we were trying to go about business as usual---jr. high kids don't do well with change or new things. Obviously our principal doesn't know that because she kept coming on the intercom w/ updates about the hurricane! That left us w/ kids who had just studied about the 1900 hurricane that wiped out Galveston plus they'd just witnessed the devastation of Katrina. So they were scared and needed to be reassured that where we live, it will be ok. When the principal announced that the schools were going to be closed for 2 days, she should have gone ahead and ordered the buses to take them home right then and there. It was almost impossible to try to tech them after that point. By then we were thinking that Katrina maybe hitting closer to Freeport which would still put us on the dirty side of the eye, and for my house, it would have meant 125 mph winds. I was starting to get a bit more concerned.....
That night around 10 pm, I decided to make one more Walmart run to see if I could get anything else we may need. It wasn't as crazy as it had been the night before, but traffic was backed up on the freeway for MILES---all I could see were red tail lights. Good thing I lived close enough that I didn't have to get on the highway!!! I still couldn't get much food, but I was able to buy some pop tarts and of course my bananas! LOL I also got Kyle this cute little tiger flashlight that growls when you turn it on. :o)
Thursday, coordinates predict it's coming in to Galveston....We start looking for plywood to board up our windows, and of course there is none to be found. We taped them up as much as we can, but are not sure if it will be enough to sustain 120 mph winds. The good thing (if there is anything "good" ) about the storm hitting Galveston is now we will be on the west side of the storm, which doesn't get the storm surge, nor the tornadoes. We'll still have gale force winds but not as much rain. Later on, they say it's heading east of Houston, probably on the TX/LA border but it could still hit Houston if it turns back. AT this time they were worried about a possibility that it would stall out in Lufkin (East Texas) and turn around and come back to Houston like TS Allison did in 2001.
By noon on Friday, we started getting a breeze...At this point it felt good because it had been so dang hot all week. Trey and the kids rode their bikes and played outside until finally about 8:30 or 9 pm, I MADE him come in because the winds had picked up enough that the trees were whipping around pretty hard, and I was worried that something would break and blow around and hit him. He decided to sleep in our closet, because the other kids were sleeping in their parents' closets and he thought that was cool. We'd already decided he had to sleep in our room because we didn't want him upstairs, and the living room has a large window in the foyer that we were afraid might break. I didn't want him in the path of the glass.
Rita came ashore near Beaumont around 2;30 am....We started getting rain around the same time. It rained off and on all night long, and the wind came in gusts for most of the night as well. When we checked the rain gauge, though, it said we only got 3/4 in of rain. It was turned sideways by the wind so I doubt that was very accurate. We had a lot of wind all day Saturday as well, but we were very blessed and didn't lose power or water, like we'd been warned we might. So we watched the news and played games, talked with the neighbors, etc, and just had a nice relaxing weekend. The governor had asked the school districts to give everyone a couple of days to get back to town, so school was canceled for Monday and Tuesday as well.
Sunday night, just as the new premiere shows were getting ready to come on, cable went out all over the city. A generator had overheated. Now we'd been on news only mode since Wednesday and had missed many of the shows already--Martha Apprentice, Apprentice, ER, E Ring, 3 wishes, inconceivable, etc. And now we were going to miss Desperate housewives and Grey's anatomy as well! grrrr. How ironic that we survived the storm and THEN had problems w/ cable. I couldn't even get online since we have roadrunner!
Because of everyone's quick thinking and willingness to evacuate, the death toll w/ Rita was not as extensive as with Katrina. The last count is 7 storm related deaths plus probably about 30 maybe traffic related fatalities with evacuees. The bus that exploded in Dallas was one of the tragedies as well as who knows how many children, elderly and disabled died from dehydration or heat stroke on the highways as they tried to get out of town? I know it would have been much much worse if we hadn't had Katrina a month ago. Government officials learned from Katrina that we needed to make transportation available for those without the means to leave on their own, and we started the evacuation earlier even though we didn't know for sure where exactly it would hit.
For us, we didn't evacuate...But we did learn some lessons for the future: 1. We need plywood for all of our windows, and we will be buying some as soon as Home Depot has it back in stock. 2. duct tape does NOT work on windows and it leaves a yucky residue on the windows after you take it off, especially after the sun has hit the tape for a while. 3. We need to find back ways to stores, etc from our new house... There are side roads that we need to investigate. 4. We need to stock up on more C and D batteries....We had TONS of As and AAs because that 's what all the toys need but flashlights need the others. 5. We should evacuate if it looks like it will hit as a CAT4 or 5. This came in as a Cat 3 and we had some heavy wind gusts.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Countdown to Christmas.......
Adding a ticker to my blog----It's time to start looking aghead to Christmas....Normally, I at least have a few things purchased by now, and am at least starting to think of ideas.
Yesterday I started my Christmas shopping---I bought a couple of gifts for the boys. I know what I'd LOVE to get Eddie for Christmas but am not sure if we can afford it this year.
Friday, August 26, 2005
My Expelled Son
I'm a teacher. I've taken all kinds of courses in child development, learned various strategies in classroom management, etc. I even have a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership! Wouldn't you think that I could get one very small three year old child to do what I wanted him to do???? Of course not!
This has taken me a week to write about, because up until now, I couldn't even THINK about this without crying. Last Friday, just as I was walking into a meeting with the rest of my History team, my cell phone rings. Uh oh! Everyone knows I'm at school and to email if they need to get a hold of me. It must be an emergency--Trey's school will call my school number so it has to be Kyle. Hello? Hi Robin. This is Patrick at -----. I have your son in the office with me. He's throwing a fit and is hurting the other children. We feel you need to find another day care for him to attend, because he can't come back here....try a small home center, blah, blah, blah! Wait a minute! You're kicking my son out of PRESCHOOL?????? He's being kicked out of school at THREE YEARS OLD???? What did he do? He head butted a little girl because she wouldn't stop crying and it hurt his ears! OMGOSH! Where did he learn to do that??? I was so humiliated--all I could do all day was cry. To be fair, they had warned me the week before (his first week of school!) that he was having problems adjusting and that preschool may not be what's best for him. But we talked and I explained that he had never been in a day care situation and he needed to learn to share, and to play w/ other kids, etc., and he couldn't do that if I had him w/ a babysitter by himself. That's where he's been for the past three years and thaty's WHY he's so spoiled now. So they agreed to give him a chance. Well, the following week, he missed the first 2 days because he had strep, and then the next two days were good days, so I really wasn't expecting that call. So I spent the rest of that day trying to find a place for him to go starting this Monday.
Luckily I hit upon a WONDERFUL one on the first try....Kyle is HAPPY there---he waves good bye and skedaddles to his room before I can even get him checked in. The last one---he clung to my pant leg and I had to peel him off of me to leave. At the old one, he refused to do circle time, or any papers, or to sit down to listen to stories. Now, he takes books so his teacher can read them--SHARING them w/ the other kids!!!! I have pictures that he's colored all over my refrigerator and cabinets, and he's a totally different child!!!
When I try to talk to him about his first experience, he gets a closed off look on his face and changes the subject. If he talks about his new school, he's animated and tells me all about it!
This has taken me a week to write about, because up until now, I couldn't even THINK about this without crying. Last Friday, just as I was walking into a meeting with the rest of my History team, my cell phone rings. Uh oh! Everyone knows I'm at school and to email if they need to get a hold of me. It must be an emergency--Trey's school will call my school number so it has to be Kyle. Hello? Hi Robin. This is Patrick at -----. I have your son in the office with me. He's throwing a fit and is hurting the other children. We feel you need to find another day care for him to attend, because he can't come back here....try a small home center, blah, blah, blah! Wait a minute! You're kicking my son out of PRESCHOOL?????? He's being kicked out of school at THREE YEARS OLD???? What did he do? He head butted a little girl because she wouldn't stop crying and it hurt his ears! OMGOSH! Where did he learn to do that??? I was so humiliated--all I could do all day was cry. To be fair, they had warned me the week before (his first week of school!) that he was having problems adjusting and that preschool may not be what's best for him. But we talked and I explained that he had never been in a day care situation and he needed to learn to share, and to play w/ other kids, etc., and he couldn't do that if I had him w/ a babysitter by himself. That's where he's been for the past three years and thaty's WHY he's so spoiled now. So they agreed to give him a chance. Well, the following week, he missed the first 2 days because he had strep, and then the next two days were good days, so I really wasn't expecting that call. So I spent the rest of that day trying to find a place for him to go starting this Monday.
Luckily I hit upon a WONDERFUL one on the first try....Kyle is HAPPY there---he waves good bye and skedaddles to his room before I can even get him checked in. The last one---he clung to my pant leg and I had to peel him off of me to leave. At the old one, he refused to do circle time, or any papers, or to sit down to listen to stories. Now, he takes books so his teacher can read them--SHARING them w/ the other kids!!!! I have pictures that he's colored all over my refrigerator and cabinets, and he's a totally different child!!!
When I try to talk to him about his first experience, he gets a closed off look on his face and changes the subject. If he talks about his new school, he's animated and tells me all about it!
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Yesterday my baby started Preschool!!!
Wow! It's amazing that he's old enough to start school already! What a special little boy he is and so excited about going to his new "big-boy" school just like his big brother!
Yesterday, I woke him up and told him it was time to get ready for school---LOL he was out of that bed IMMEDIATELY! He got dressed and I fixed his breakfast (2 waffles and a glass of milk). After he finished (which took him a little while because he was so excited and kept getting down from the table to see what I was packing in his backpack), he went to wash his sticky hands and brush his teeth. He obviously looked in the mirror while he was cleaning up, because all of a sudden he came running through the house yelling "Mommmmmmmmm!!!" When he got back to the kitchen where I was, he said , "my hair is sticking up!" so off we went to my bathrrom where I put some no more tangtles spray on it to get it to lay down! LOL Everything had to be PERFECT for his first day. Before we left, he wanted his picture taken so I got a couple of pictures of him and then it was off to school.
When we got there, we went to his class, hung up his backpack and put his blankie and pillow in his cubby. He went straight for the Legos, but the rest of the kids were coloring and working on their letters, so I told him he needed to join the others. His teacher, Ms. Joanna, who had also been Trey's teacher, siad, "Kyle we're learning a new letter today..come join us." Kyle's answer: "Mom, I KNOW that's a U and it stands for umbrella. That's a picture of an umbrella. So now can I play with the trains?" I told himhe needed to color a picture to put on my new refrigerator, so he sat down and started working.
He apparently had a very good day, except he wouldn't eat any lunch. Wish he wasn't such a picky eater! I love how excited he is about school--it makes it so much easier to leave him in the morning.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Settling In
I LOVE my new house!!! The neighborhood is WONDERFUL and I feel so much better about letting the kids play outside. Trey is out much of the day riding his scooter, and he's already met 3 girls who are usually riding their bikes/scooters in our cul de sac too. This is the reason I wanted a new house---so that our house would be where all the kids hang out. If I'm the "cool mom" who lets kids play and get noisy, and have cool snacks, etc., then my kids will be here where I KNOW what's going on, get to know the other kids, etc.
I can't wait to finish up all the packing and cleaning of the old house so we can be here full time to really enjoy the amenities of the neighborhood as well as get to know our neighbors.
I can't wait to finish up all the packing and cleaning of the old house so we can be here full time to really enjoy the amenities of the neighborhood as well as get to know our neighbors.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
House Update #2 -- Our 1st Night!
Quick Update--I'm supposed to be packing more stuff to take out to the house! :o)
We closed yesterday. Everything went very smoothly. No problems or surprises. We'd rented a Uhaul truck the night before so had a load already to move in. Eddie & I went to the house, unloaded the truck and set up Kyle's room. He got Trey's red bunk bed ( well one of them for right now). and his road rug, so his room will probably be done in primary colors w/ a truck theme.
I put up the shower curtain in the boys' bath and it looks pretty cool! It's a racing theme, complete w/ shower curtain hooks that look like lug nuts ( and they really kinda do! LOL)
That's really about all we were able to complete before we turned the truck back in and got the boys. Trey had his first basketball game last night so we went to that before coming back and spending our first night in our NEW house!
The boys were WILD and took a LONG time to settle down. But it was so cool to listen to their reaction when they saw the bathroom and Kyle's room for the 1st time! Trey ended up sleeping on the Aerobed in his room, and we took the mattress off the futon we just bought and haven't put together yet, and slept on the floor in our room. We're getting a new BR set as soon as we find time to go shopping and Trey is getting our bed, but we haven't gotten it moved yet.
They finally settled down and we all went to bed. I was a little worried about Kyle getting up in the middle of the night in a strange hgouse, but he was tired and slept all night long. I woke up earlythis morning and couldn't go back to sleep so I got up and unpacked some boxes in the kitchen. Since I'd packed some on my white corning ware dishes in newpaper, I decided to do a load of dishes in my new dishwasher (something the old house didn't have--I'd been washing them by hand for the last 14 yrs!). I'd bought some jet dry but couldn't remember how much to put in and I must have over filled it. I was in another room unpacking and came back to see my kitchen floor COVERED in white bubbles! My dishwasher had overflowed! LOL Of course my mop was at the other house, so I grabbed some bath towels to clean it up. While I was doing that, a light bulb had burned out above the jacuzzi in our bathroom, so Eddie had taken it down ( it's recessed) and replaced the bulb but couldn't get it to go back up, so *that* is hanging down in my bathroom now! (pretty, eh??) what a comedy of errors!!
When I was getting Kyle to bed last night, I asked him if he liked his new room. He said , "yes mommy. I so happy in my new room and you did it all just for me!" (Awwwwww!)
I know I'm gushing, but I've waited a very LONG time to get this house and I too am"so happy". :o)
We closed yesterday. Everything went very smoothly. No problems or surprises. We'd rented a Uhaul truck the night before so had a load already to move in. Eddie & I went to the house, unloaded the truck and set up Kyle's room. He got Trey's red bunk bed ( well one of them for right now). and his road rug, so his room will probably be done in primary colors w/ a truck theme.
I put up the shower curtain in the boys' bath and it looks pretty cool! It's a racing theme, complete w/ shower curtain hooks that look like lug nuts ( and they really kinda do! LOL)
That's really about all we were able to complete before we turned the truck back in and got the boys. Trey had his first basketball game last night so we went to that before coming back and spending our first night in our NEW house!
The boys were WILD and took a LONG time to settle down. But it was so cool to listen to their reaction when they saw the bathroom and Kyle's room for the 1st time! Trey ended up sleeping on the Aerobed in his room, and we took the mattress off the futon we just bought and haven't put together yet, and slept on the floor in our room. We're getting a new BR set as soon as we find time to go shopping and Trey is getting our bed, but we haven't gotten it moved yet.
They finally settled down and we all went to bed. I was a little worried about Kyle getting up in the middle of the night in a strange hgouse, but he was tired and slept all night long. I woke up earlythis morning and couldn't go back to sleep so I got up and unpacked some boxes in the kitchen. Since I'd packed some on my white corning ware dishes in newpaper, I decided to do a load of dishes in my new dishwasher (something the old house didn't have--I'd been washing them by hand for the last 14 yrs!). I'd bought some jet dry but couldn't remember how much to put in and I must have over filled it. I was in another room unpacking and came back to see my kitchen floor COVERED in white bubbles! My dishwasher had overflowed! LOL Of course my mop was at the other house, so I grabbed some bath towels to clean it up. While I was doing that, a light bulb had burned out above the jacuzzi in our bathroom, so Eddie had taken it down ( it's recessed) and replaced the bulb but couldn't get it to go back up, so *that* is hanging down in my bathroom now! (pretty, eh??) what a comedy of errors!!
When I was getting Kyle to bed last night, I asked him if he liked his new room. He said , "yes mommy. I so happy in my new room and you did it all just for me!" (Awwwwww!)
I know I'm gushing, but I've waited a very LONG time to get this house and I too am"so happy". :o)
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Nine Years Ago Today....
I held my first miracle!!! Edward Raymond III (aka Trey) was born at 12:21 am. Since I lost my birth story when Ivillage stopped the website, I'm going to try to re-publish it here.....
We had tried for 3 very long, very emotional years to get pregnant. And I will NEVER forget when I FINALLY got that BFP!!! It was October 17, d32 of my cycle and I woke up early because I needed to go to the bathroom. I decided to POAS and when I first looked at it, the test window was all cloudy, so I only saw ONE line....of course I didnt' have my contacts in so that might have been the reason too. LOL I tossed it away and I was SO MAD! I went back to bed, E asked what it was , and of course I said another negative. I couldn't sleep so I got back up and decided to clean the bathroom from top to bottom. I was throwing something away and decided to look one more time at the test......was that another line I see??? I took it into E and asked him if he saw it and he's blinder than I am so he put his glasses on and looked...." I see 2 lines...what does that mean?" It means, darling, that you're gonna be a daddy! WAHOOOOOOO!!!!
I called my dr, and they scheduled my first appt---which was when I was 10w! I had NO bloodwork or anything done prior to that! The amazing thing is I thought that was NORMAL so I wasn't stressed about it. LOL
At my first visit, we scheduled an u/s because I'd had 2 follies when I ovulated and we wanted to check for twins. I saw my precious peanut the next day and fell in love w/ a teeny little bean! That was my baby!
We tried to find out in Jan. if it was a boy or girl, but the baby didn't cooperate, but there was a problem w/ the kidneys--one was larger than the other one, so I had another u/s the next month. Then we saw BOY parts and still there was the worry of his kidneys.
On May 1 my blood pressure was elevated to the point where the dr decided to put me on bedrest. I was already starting to dilate also, so I missed the last month of school (aww shucks! no junior high kids at the end of the year--I really missed that!) . I HATED being on bedrest, but the thought that kept me where I belonged, was that if he came early I'd come home but he'd stay in the NICU. I didn't want to come home w/o my precious baby.
On June 12, I was supposed to be induced, but every other pregnant woman in Houston went into labor, so I kept getting backed off the list. On the 13, the dr. stripped my membranes to get labor started and nothing happened. June 14...we tried again w/ inducement. I finally got a room this time!
I went in asking for my epidural. I was already dilated to a 4 and knew that was the magic number! LOL my nurse told me I had to be labor first! About 1 pm, the dr came in and broke my water. I'd already had pitocin for a couple of hours and was feeling the contractions. I got my epi, and contracted the rest of the afternoon and evening. Around 9 pm I told E I wanted beef fajitas after he was born, so he called and oredered them. His parents were in the waiting room so he went out to tell them..While he was out there the dr came in...let's try a couple of pushes to help him move down. UGH! The tv was blaring (The Bulls were in the NBA finals!) the phone was ringing and I'm trying to push w/o my coach! The pushing turned Trey around ( he was transverse) so the dr left so I could finish dilating before delivery. E walked back in & I yelled at him for not being in there when I needed him. The phone rang again and it was pappasitos saying they don't deliver to hospitals anymore. (boohoo --I really wanted those fajitas! ) E went back out to tell his parents about the food and In walks the dr to have me push again. I was dilated, but the baby was still too high. Again no coach, but the dr turned off my tv (which I was focusing on, thank you very much!) so it was quieter. the baby came down a little. He let me rest again and said he'd be back in about 30 min and we'd have a baby.
When E came back in I told him to NEVER walk out that door again! LOL I pushed and pushed, the baby started getting distresses, so around 11:30, the dr decided to wheel me into the OR for a c sxn. When I got in there we had to wait for the anesthesiologist (sp) who was busy in another room, so I said I wanted to try one more time to push him out. The dr was using forceps, E was holding one leg, a nurse had the other one, and I had a nurse and later the anesthetist at my head. She was the BEST coach! She kept me pushing, and at 12:21 am out he came! 8 pounds 4 ounces and 19 inches long!
E kept telling me how he loved me and we did it and & all I could think was "yeah, yeah, get over there and check on our son!" E carried him over to me and I held him as they wheeled me back to my room. He was so beautiful.
And now he's my big boy...going into 4th grade....playing soccer and basketball.....a true racing fanatic....a great big brother....the apple of my eye.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, darling son!
We had tried for 3 very long, very emotional years to get pregnant. And I will NEVER forget when I FINALLY got that BFP!!! It was October 17, d32 of my cycle and I woke up early because I needed to go to the bathroom. I decided to POAS and when I first looked at it, the test window was all cloudy, so I only saw ONE line....of course I didnt' have my contacts in so that might have been the reason too. LOL I tossed it away and I was SO MAD! I went back to bed, E asked what it was , and of course I said another negative. I couldn't sleep so I got back up and decided to clean the bathroom from top to bottom. I was throwing something away and decided to look one more time at the test......was that another line I see??? I took it into E and asked him if he saw it and he's blinder than I am so he put his glasses on and looked...." I see 2 lines...what does that mean?" It means, darling, that you're gonna be a daddy! WAHOOOOOOO!!!!
I called my dr, and they scheduled my first appt---which was when I was 10w! I had NO bloodwork or anything done prior to that! The amazing thing is I thought that was NORMAL so I wasn't stressed about it. LOL
At my first visit, we scheduled an u/s because I'd had 2 follies when I ovulated and we wanted to check for twins. I saw my precious peanut the next day and fell in love w/ a teeny little bean! That was my baby!
We tried to find out in Jan. if it was a boy or girl, but the baby didn't cooperate, but there was a problem w/ the kidneys--one was larger than the other one, so I had another u/s the next month. Then we saw BOY parts and still there was the worry of his kidneys.
On May 1 my blood pressure was elevated to the point where the dr decided to put me on bedrest. I was already starting to dilate also, so I missed the last month of school (aww shucks! no junior high kids at the end of the year--I really missed that!) . I HATED being on bedrest, but the thought that kept me where I belonged, was that if he came early I'd come home but he'd stay in the NICU. I didn't want to come home w/o my precious baby.
On June 12, I was supposed to be induced, but every other pregnant woman in Houston went into labor, so I kept getting backed off the list. On the 13, the dr. stripped my membranes to get labor started and nothing happened. June 14...we tried again w/ inducement. I finally got a room this time!
I went in asking for my epidural. I was already dilated to a 4 and knew that was the magic number! LOL my nurse told me I had to be labor first! About 1 pm, the dr came in and broke my water. I'd already had pitocin for a couple of hours and was feeling the contractions. I got my epi, and contracted the rest of the afternoon and evening. Around 9 pm I told E I wanted beef fajitas after he was born, so he called and oredered them. His parents were in the waiting room so he went out to tell them..While he was out there the dr came in...let's try a couple of pushes to help him move down. UGH! The tv was blaring (The Bulls were in the NBA finals!) the phone was ringing and I'm trying to push w/o my coach! The pushing turned Trey around ( he was transverse) so the dr left so I could finish dilating before delivery. E walked back in & I yelled at him for not being in there when I needed him. The phone rang again and it was pappasitos saying they don't deliver to hospitals anymore. (boohoo --I really wanted those fajitas! ) E went back out to tell his parents about the food and In walks the dr to have me push again. I was dilated, but the baby was still too high. Again no coach, but the dr turned off my tv (which I was focusing on, thank you very much!) so it was quieter. the baby came down a little. He let me rest again and said he'd be back in about 30 min and we'd have a baby.
When E came back in I told him to NEVER walk out that door again! LOL I pushed and pushed, the baby started getting distresses, so around 11:30, the dr decided to wheel me into the OR for a c sxn. When I got in there we had to wait for the anesthesiologist (sp) who was busy in another room, so I said I wanted to try one more time to push him out. The dr was using forceps, E was holding one leg, a nurse had the other one, and I had a nurse and later the anesthetist at my head. She was the BEST coach! She kept me pushing, and at 12:21 am out he came! 8 pounds 4 ounces and 19 inches long!
E kept telling me how he loved me and we did it and & all I could think was "yeah, yeah, get over there and check on our son!" E carried him over to me and I held him as they wheeled me back to my room. He was so beautiful.
And now he's my big boy...going into 4th grade....playing soccer and basketball.....a true racing fanatic....a great big brother....the apple of my eye.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, darling son!
Thursday, June 09, 2005
House Update #1
Well I wanted to post a picture but can't seem to figure out how to do it! :o( I guess I'll just post the link to share the pictures I have so far.
The loan officer FedExed our loan papers over for us to sign but there was a HUGE mistake on it. ( The officer's assistant filed the wrong set of papers and our loan was for much more and our closing costs were higher. Also for that loan we don't really qualify, so there was no way we could be approved. ) But we talked to her and got it all straightened out and she said it looked like the house will be ours!!!!!!!!
We close 2 weeks from tomorrow!!!!! I've packed 2 crates, and have 3 garbage bags of stuff to give away. I've got a L*O*N*G way to go!!!!!
We're taking E's parents out to see the house on Saturday, just to get their opinion and to do a preliminary walk through. I figure my FIL will find EVERYTHING that's wrong w/ the house! LOL That way we can get it fixed BEFORE we move in!!
Here's the link for pictures:
http://public.fotki.com/ournewhouse/house/
The loan officer FedExed our loan papers over for us to sign but there was a HUGE mistake on it. ( The officer's assistant filed the wrong set of papers and our loan was for much more and our closing costs were higher. Also for that loan we don't really qualify, so there was no way we could be approved. ) But we talked to her and got it all straightened out and she said it looked like the house will be ours!!!!!!!!
We close 2 weeks from tomorrow!!!!! I've packed 2 crates, and have 3 garbage bags of stuff to give away. I've got a L*O*N*G way to go!!!!!
We're taking E's parents out to see the house on Saturday, just to get their opinion and to do a preliminary walk through. I figure my FIL will find EVERYTHING that's wrong w/ the house! LOL That way we can get it fixed BEFORE we move in!!
Here's the link for pictures:
http://public.fotki.com/ournewhouse/house/
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Oh My goodness! What did we just do??????
We've been house hunting for almost a year now, and we've always said it will be a couple of years before we actually purchase, because we had some bills to pay off and then a down payment to save for. So even though we were looking, we weren't actually going to buy.
Well today we were out house hunting and came back to the very first place we started last summer. The builder told us he had a wonderful inventory home that sounded like what we wanted, and if we close by the end of this month, he'd take care of our down payment and closing costs! That meant all we'd need to get in the house was the cost of the gas to get out there and of course the ink to sign the hundreds of papers. :o)
So....... we looked at the house---3 bedrooms but I really wanted 4 so that I had a "ME" room. It didn't have the leaded glass door like I wanted either, but I could buy one at Home Depot for cheaper than what it would cost to have it added, and I'd have a better selection. No biggie. This builder included stove, refrigerator, washer, dryer, dishwasher, microwave, ceiling fans in all bedrooms, living room and gameroom, automatic garage door opener, and mini blinds on all windows. At no extra cost!!!
Before I knew what hit me, I was writing a check for the earnest money, and making an appointment to meet w/ the mortgage company tomorrow night! We have to move quickly because the deal is void if we don't close by June 29. YIKES!!!! So now we wait to make sure we are approved for our house loan and then start packing and tossing. We've lived in our current house for 14 years and have accumulated a LOT of stuff!!! Looks like it's garage sale time for me!!!
I'm so excited to be a first time home buyer! I have so many ideas of how I want to decorate my new house. Both boys will have their own bedrooms and I will finally have bedroom with a door with a working lock, and a bathtub that I don't have to clean out the boats and toys before I get in the tub! :o)
Here is the link to our house!
http://www.lennar.com/lennarhomes/homes/plan.asp?planID=6500&ComID=4934&PLANSEARCH=true&DIVID=HONLEN
Well today we were out house hunting and came back to the very first place we started last summer. The builder told us he had a wonderful inventory home that sounded like what we wanted, and if we close by the end of this month, he'd take care of our down payment and closing costs! That meant all we'd need to get in the house was the cost of the gas to get out there and of course the ink to sign the hundreds of papers. :o)
So....... we looked at the house---3 bedrooms but I really wanted 4 so that I had a "ME" room. It didn't have the leaded glass door like I wanted either, but I could buy one at Home Depot for cheaper than what it would cost to have it added, and I'd have a better selection. No biggie. This builder included stove, refrigerator, washer, dryer, dishwasher, microwave, ceiling fans in all bedrooms, living room and gameroom, automatic garage door opener, and mini blinds on all windows. At no extra cost!!!
Before I knew what hit me, I was writing a check for the earnest money, and making an appointment to meet w/ the mortgage company tomorrow night! We have to move quickly because the deal is void if we don't close by June 29. YIKES!!!! So now we wait to make sure we are approved for our house loan and then start packing and tossing. We've lived in our current house for 14 years and have accumulated a LOT of stuff!!! Looks like it's garage sale time for me!!!
I'm so excited to be a first time home buyer! I have so many ideas of how I want to decorate my new house. Both boys will have their own bedrooms and I will finally have bedroom with a door with a working lock, and a bathtub that I don't have to clean out the boats and toys before I get in the tub! :o)
Here is the link to our house!
http://www.lennar.com/lennarhomes/homes/plan.asp?planID=6500&ComID=4934&PLANSEARCH=true&DIVID=HONLEN
Thursday, June 02, 2005
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME......
Yesterday, I turned 42. No big deal...Turning 40 was hard, turning 41 was sad for some reason...this year it's just a number. Guess that means I'm finally coming to terms w/ growing old! LOL
Birthdays became soething I dreaded because I could hear my biological clock ticking so loudly it was a time bomb---and each birthday brought me closer to not having my dreams of a big family fulfilled. The miraculous births of my two fantastic boys helped me to be thankful for what I have and even though it took me a while to get to this place, I'm very very happy with the size of my family and have moved on to other dreams for us.
I have to share the wonderful cards my hubby and son picked out for me. Picking out the RIGHT card has been important in our relationship right from the start. We've both spent hours reading cards at Hallmark to find the perfect one. Here are the cards I got:
From the boys---
there's a mommy frog and a child frog on the front and it says,
" Open your present, Mommy," he said.
"Where is it?" asked his mother.
"here!" He wrapped his arms around her mother and squeezed. "I made it myself!"
Inside--Armfuls of birthday hugs for you Mom.
From my honey----
"It's just another day" you say. "It's no big deal" you say. But to me, the anniversary of the day YOU came into existence is about the biggest deal there is.
Until you came along I never thought it was possible that one person could so totally steal my heart away. But tha's what you've done. One look at you and all I want to do is be near you, touch you, hear your voice, and hold you so close that it's impossible to tell where you end and I begin.
I think you're incredible, and what I want, more than anything is to try to make you as happy as you've made me--if that's possible.
In a way, I feel guilty...I mean, here it is YOUR birthday, and yet I'm the one who gets to enjoy the gift...the gift of you and your love.
The cards made my cry---having hugs from my wonderful sons was gift enough, because I am so thankful for them. Hubby's card said it all. I am truly a very blessed woman.
Birthdays became soething I dreaded because I could hear my biological clock ticking so loudly it was a time bomb---and each birthday brought me closer to not having my dreams of a big family fulfilled. The miraculous births of my two fantastic boys helped me to be thankful for what I have and even though it took me a while to get to this place, I'm very very happy with the size of my family and have moved on to other dreams for us.
I have to share the wonderful cards my hubby and son picked out for me. Picking out the RIGHT card has been important in our relationship right from the start. We've both spent hours reading cards at Hallmark to find the perfect one. Here are the cards I got:
From the boys---
there's a mommy frog and a child frog on the front and it says,
" Open your present, Mommy," he said.
"Where is it?" asked his mother.
"here!" He wrapped his arms around her mother and squeezed. "I made it myself!"
Inside--Armfuls of birthday hugs for you Mom.
From my honey----
"It's just another day" you say. "It's no big deal" you say. But to me, the anniversary of the day YOU came into existence is about the biggest deal there is.
Until you came along I never thought it was possible that one person could so totally steal my heart away. But tha's what you've done. One look at you and all I want to do is be near you, touch you, hear your voice, and hold you so close that it's impossible to tell where you end and I begin.
I think you're incredible, and what I want, more than anything is to try to make you as happy as you've made me--if that's possible.
In a way, I feel guilty...I mean, here it is YOUR birthday, and yet I'm the one who gets to enjoy the gift...the gift of you and your love.
The cards made my cry---having hugs from my wonderful sons was gift enough, because I am so thankful for them. Hubby's card said it all. I am truly a very blessed woman.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Oh my goodness! What happened???
I was going to be so good about making sure I at least posted once a week. And then suddenly life got in the way! The end of the year is so busy with field trips, final exams, summative conferences, award nights, testing, etc., etc., etc......
Add soccer games and church and time just slips away....
But one highlight of my week HAS to be the time I spent cuddling w/ a brand spanking new baby girl! AWWWWWW!!! What a beauty! only hours old and quite a little snuggler!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
And now it's almost a month later AGAIN! and I'm still trying to get online to post! Well, summer is here so I hopefully can be a better writer! lol
Add soccer games and church and time just slips away....
But one highlight of my week HAS to be the time I spent cuddling w/ a brand spanking new baby girl! AWWWWWW!!! What a beauty! only hours old and quite a little snuggler!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
And now it's almost a month later AGAIN! and I'm still trying to get online to post! Well, summer is here so I hopefully can be a better writer! lol
Sunday, April 10, 2005
"There's a spirit can ne'er be told....."
Yesterday we decided to make our annual trek to the country in search of bluebonnets. These wildflowers are our state flower and yet in the Houston area are very hard to find. So we decided to take our one free Saturday (without a soccer game!) and just go for a drive. We grabbed the camera, dressed the boys in shirts that would look good w/ the background we were looking for, and took off. We hit all out usual spots to no avail....seems like this year all we saw were Indian paintbrush and while they are pretty, it just doesn't look the same. So on we drove....we found ourselves up near College Station and decided to forget the bluebonnets and just go to A&M to show the boys where Daddy went to school. And it just so happened that we ended up seeing a decent patch right near the campus so we still got our pictures! Go figure!
Our first top on campus was at George Bush Presidential Library. What a beautiful place. Behind the library is a beautiful pond with a walking path and little benches all around. A very romantic setting! There's a footbridge that leads to a winding path back to where the President and Barabara will be buried. Already there is the stone for their daughter Robin who died at the very young age of 4. Even the Bushes know the heartache of saying goodbye to a child too soon.
From there we decided to go see the memorial for the 1999 Bonfire victims since it had just been erected last fall and we hadn't been back for a while. We got in all this traffic and realized we'd come on Parent's Weekend! Yikes!
The Bonfire Memorial was so moving. Not being an Aggie myself, I don't totally understand all the traditions involved, but I have attended Bonfire and it was something I'll never forget. I thought I had school spirit but the Aggies reign supreme in that department. The Memorial is right where Bonfire was always held, and there are 12 archways in a circle...each one facing the direction of the student's hometown. On the inside of each archway is a bronze plaque with the likeness of the student, their name and hometown, and poems, letters and quotes by or about them. What was amazing is that most of the families said their sons and daughters died doing what made them happy...preparing for the Big Game by building Bonfire, a tradition that had been going on for many many years.
I kept thinking to myself, what would I have done if I had been one of the moms recieving the call at 3 am that my son had died in this horrific accident? And as I was thinking that, I moved to another memorial to see a grieving family, touching the face of their lost loved one, with tears streaming. part of me wanted to go up to one of them and say I'm so sorry for your loss, and yet I didn't want to disturb their time of grief and remembrance. Even though it had been 5 years, it was obvious that their son was still greatly missed.
http://bonfire.tamu.edu/
Our first top on campus was at George Bush Presidential Library. What a beautiful place. Behind the library is a beautiful pond with a walking path and little benches all around. A very romantic setting! There's a footbridge that leads to a winding path back to where the President and Barabara will be buried. Already there is the stone for their daughter Robin who died at the very young age of 4. Even the Bushes know the heartache of saying goodbye to a child too soon.
From there we decided to go see the memorial for the 1999 Bonfire victims since it had just been erected last fall and we hadn't been back for a while. We got in all this traffic and realized we'd come on Parent's Weekend! Yikes!
The Bonfire Memorial was so moving. Not being an Aggie myself, I don't totally understand all the traditions involved, but I have attended Bonfire and it was something I'll never forget. I thought I had school spirit but the Aggies reign supreme in that department. The Memorial is right where Bonfire was always held, and there are 12 archways in a circle...each one facing the direction of the student's hometown. On the inside of each archway is a bronze plaque with the likeness of the student, their name and hometown, and poems, letters and quotes by or about them. What was amazing is that most of the families said their sons and daughters died doing what made them happy...preparing for the Big Game by building Bonfire, a tradition that had been going on for many many years.
I kept thinking to myself, what would I have done if I had been one of the moms recieving the call at 3 am that my son had died in this horrific accident? And as I was thinking that, I moved to another memorial to see a grieving family, touching the face of their lost loved one, with tears streaming. part of me wanted to go up to one of them and say I'm so sorry for your loss, and yet I didn't want to disturb their time of grief and remembrance. Even though it had been 5 years, it was obvious that their son was still greatly missed.
http://bonfire.tamu.edu/
Friday, April 08, 2005
I Fell in Love Again Last NIght......
You keep doing everything just right
You're the reason my heart keeps beating
And every morning it keeps repeating...
I fell in love again last night.....
(Forester Sisters, 1984)
Now, the next line says "when you kissed me," but in my case, we weren't even in the same room. In fact, E was outside and I was standing at the kitchen window. It was a PERFECT spring afternoon. It was one of the rare occasions when T didn't have soccer practice, and we had nowhere to go, so I told the boys they could go out and play for an hour before dinner.
E decided to go outside with them so I stood at the kitchen window and watched them play....K immediately went for his little car and T grabbed his soccer ball to show Daddy what he's learning in his private training sessions. It wasn't long before all 3 of them were laughing and playing and that's what caught my attention.....
There's something about seeing a man playing with his sons, even if it's just pushing the little ones on the swing or kicking the ball back and forth that I find appealing....maybe it's just because my dad, who as a truckdriver, wasn't home much and when he was was always too tired to spend a lot of play time with us growing up, that being a hands-on dad was a requirement for my husband. Whatever it is, even when I'm upset or frustrated with my hubby, all it takes is seeing him interacting with the boys and I see why I fell in love with him in the first place. Maybe that's why that afternoon was so important to me....I needed to once again be reminded of the man I chose to marry and spend my life with.
then I decided that dinner could wait and I grabbed my trusty camera and joined them outside, so that not only could I savor the moment, but also save it . My boys won't be this age for long and soon they may not want to spend time kicking a ball or playing with cars in the back yard.
You're the reason my heart keeps beating
And every morning it keeps repeating...
I fell in love again last night.....
(Forester Sisters, 1984)
Now, the next line says "when you kissed me," but in my case, we weren't even in the same room. In fact, E was outside and I was standing at the kitchen window. It was a PERFECT spring afternoon. It was one of the rare occasions when T didn't have soccer practice, and we had nowhere to go, so I told the boys they could go out and play for an hour before dinner.
E decided to go outside with them so I stood at the kitchen window and watched them play....K immediately went for his little car and T grabbed his soccer ball to show Daddy what he's learning in his private training sessions. It wasn't long before all 3 of them were laughing and playing and that's what caught my attention.....
There's something about seeing a man playing with his sons, even if it's just pushing the little ones on the swing or kicking the ball back and forth that I find appealing....maybe it's just because my dad, who as a truckdriver, wasn't home much and when he was was always too tired to spend a lot of play time with us growing up, that being a hands-on dad was a requirement for my husband. Whatever it is, even when I'm upset or frustrated with my hubby, all it takes is seeing him interacting with the boys and I see why I fell in love with him in the first place. Maybe that's why that afternoon was so important to me....I needed to once again be reminded of the man I chose to marry and spend my life with.
then I decided that dinner could wait and I grabbed my trusty camera and joined them outside, so that not only could I savor the moment, but also save it . My boys won't be this age for long and soon they may not want to spend time kicking a ball or playing with cars in the back yard.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
The frustrations of a junior high teacher, part 2
Ok....it's the end of the six weeks and I'm grading unit tests. I teach Texas History and we've been studying Native Americans, and the Cattle Kingdom era. We've discussed the Trail of Tears, destruction of the buffalo, cattle drives, the invention of barbed wire and the difference between tenant farmers and sharecroppers to just name a few things. We've spent 4 weeks studying this and I really thought I'd done a pretty good job of sharing my vast knowledge about cowboy life. So naturally, I was quite perturbed when I read some of the following answers.....
- The purpose of a cattle drive is to help the cowboys stay in shape.
- The cattle drive is when we ride a cow from Texas to Louisiana so that the farmers can take their cotton to market. I'm not sure why they had to ride cows--what was wrong with their cars in the 1880's?
- The cowboys went on cattle drives so they could go somewhere fun and it was faster and cheaper.
- A cattle drive was the only type of transportation before railroads were invented.
What's really sad is these students are often pretty bright, and can "spit out" answers that I've given them, but when I asked them to think or to apply the knowledge, they can't do it.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
*K* isms
I'm the absolute worst mom when it come to writing in baby books, but I want to remember some of the cute things my boys say, so I think I'll just write a few of them here......
**K has just recently become potty-trained and when we were at a soccer game, we were nowhere near a bathroom so I told him to potty on the tree. Now he thinks he needs to potty on every tree around. :o) This weekend I was looking at some houses online and commented that the backyard had a lot of trees. K got excited -- he clapped his hands and said "I can go potty on all those trees!"
**Last week, E called and said he was stuck in traffic so K and I were going to have to take T to soccer practice and K did NOT want to go! He kept saying, "oh no! what am I going to do? what am I going to do???" LOL--can you tell he's been watching Vegie Tales a lot lately??
**K has just recently become potty-trained and when we were at a soccer game, we were nowhere near a bathroom so I told him to potty on the tree. Now he thinks he needs to potty on every tree around. :o) This weekend I was looking at some houses online and commented that the backyard had a lot of trees. K got excited -- he clapped his hands and said "I can go potty on all those trees!"
**Last week, E called and said he was stuck in traffic so K and I were going to have to take T to soccer practice and K did NOT want to go! He kept saying, "oh no! what am I going to do? what am I going to do???" LOL--can you tell he's been watching Vegie Tales a lot lately??
Thursday, March 31, 2005
What happened to my little boy?
Today I dropped my older son T off at school. This is something I do every weekday morning, but today I really looked at him as he walked in the school.....My mind drifted back to the day we came to meet his kindergarten teacher. He was so excited and I fought back the tears. I knew he was ready for this new step in his life, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to allow him to make that move.
We walked in the classroom--it was all decorated with Blue's Clues and paw prints. T held on to my hand like it was his lifeline, until he saw one of his buddies from church. As soon as he saw Andrew, he took off and they checked out everything in the room. I stood there watching him flit from one center to another and suddenly this woman came over and introduced herself to me. She was so sweet--I guess she could see the uncertainty on my face. I was so happy and excited about T starting school, but on the other hand, I knew that meant he was no longer my toddler... Would he still want to climb on my lap and cuddle while we read a book or watch tv together? She asked me which one was my child--I pointed to the adorable blue-eyed blonde haired little boy that was laughing at something Andrew had said. She then told me it would be ok...she'd take great care of him and he'd learn and grow so much that year. She handed me a little baggie with a poem about taking care of my child. It also had a kleenex, bandaid, tea bag and other little things in it that she said were the mom's survival kit instead of the students. LOL Then the tears started--I tried to attribute it to the fact that I was pregnant with K at the time, but I'm sure I would have cried anyway. And that was the day before school actually started! The next day, I dropped him off at school and cried all the way to my school. I couldn't wait for school to get out so that I could go pick him up. The first thing he said was, "Mom! they have a library inside the school!!" LOL Just what a teacher likes to hear--that her kid liked to read! :o)
Year after year, I've dreaded and anticipated the first day of school....I was excited for him, yet hated to admit that my little boy was growing up. Today, when I dropped him off, he stopped at my window, so I rolled it down. He leaned in and gave me a kiss, told me he loved me and then said, "mmmm you smell good today!" I laughed and asked him, " Ok, what do you want?" He just laughed and said "I just want you to know I'm glad you're my mom." Once again, I cried all the way to school. :o)
We walked in the classroom--it was all decorated with Blue's Clues and paw prints. T held on to my hand like it was his lifeline, until he saw one of his buddies from church. As soon as he saw Andrew, he took off and they checked out everything in the room. I stood there watching him flit from one center to another and suddenly this woman came over and introduced herself to me. She was so sweet--I guess she could see the uncertainty on my face. I was so happy and excited about T starting school, but on the other hand, I knew that meant he was no longer my toddler... Would he still want to climb on my lap and cuddle while we read a book or watch tv together? She asked me which one was my child--I pointed to the adorable blue-eyed blonde haired little boy that was laughing at something Andrew had said. She then told me it would be ok...she'd take great care of him and he'd learn and grow so much that year. She handed me a little baggie with a poem about taking care of my child. It also had a kleenex, bandaid, tea bag and other little things in it that she said were the mom's survival kit instead of the students. LOL Then the tears started--I tried to attribute it to the fact that I was pregnant with K at the time, but I'm sure I would have cried anyway. And that was the day before school actually started! The next day, I dropped him off at school and cried all the way to my school. I couldn't wait for school to get out so that I could go pick him up. The first thing he said was, "Mom! they have a library inside the school!!" LOL Just what a teacher likes to hear--that her kid liked to read! :o)
Year after year, I've dreaded and anticipated the first day of school....I was excited for him, yet hated to admit that my little boy was growing up. Today, when I dropped him off, he stopped at my window, so I rolled it down. He leaned in and gave me a kiss, told me he loved me and then said, "mmmm you smell good today!" I laughed and asked him, " Ok, what do you want?" He just laughed and said "I just want you to know I'm glad you're my mom." Once again, I cried all the way to school. :o)
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
The frustrations of a jr high teacher....
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! After school study hall is probably NOT the best time for me to decide to blog, because of course it's going to be about the frustrations of dealing with adolescents. Can I just say right here that something mysterious happens to children's brains between the years of 10 and 14? It DISAPPEARS! Gone...disintegrated into nothingness, leaving just a black hole in its place. Somehow, normal things like manners and common sense have gotten lost in the shuffle while rudeness, laziness and foolishness have taken over. A custodian was working on the water fountain today and left the cover off. Some "brainy" child decided to stick a cd case in the fan, causing it to stop the fan, which in turn led to overheating that caused it to start smoking and start a fire. Of course the kids weren't at fault (according to my students) -- it was the custodian's fault for leaving the lid off. Nothing is ever their fault---and that's what TERRIFIES me about this generation. What happens when they are adults and in charge????
Well study hall is over and I'm going home to my wonderful INTELLIGENT children that I am going to SOMEHOW keep from turning into adolescents......
Well study hall is over and I'm going home to my wonderful INTELLIGENT children that I am going to SOMEHOW keep from turning into adolescents......
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Our Day at the Rodeo...
You can't live in Texas without the annual trip to the rodeo......the one time all year to get out the old ropers and dust off the cowboy hat. Of course in our case, since none of us wear boots normally, the thought of walking around the carnival midway and all over the stadium grounds in tight-fitting, toe pinching boots is enough to make you want to run for the hills. So we get on our jeans and brightly colored cowboy shirts, dig out the bandanas & western jewelry...and then slip into our comfy nikes for the day.
For the boys, part of the attraction is riding on the "big bus" from the park&ride to the stadium. I don't think T was as impressed this year, especially since we got Metro buses insteqad of the fancy coaches that we normally get to ride. K, though, thought it was really something to ride on "Daddy's bus".
This year, since K is now potty trained (YAY!!!!), we had to make many stops to the outdoor potty houses. YUCK and DOUBLE YUCK! Even K was too grossed out to go in them after a while, so we ended up making several trips into the area where all the shopping was just so we could use a "clean potty." He was so funny---the first time we went inside to the potty, he yelled out very loudly, "mommy--this is a keen potty...there's no yucky poopys in here at all!" Ya gotta love a 3 year old---they tell it like it is!
We went to see Martina McBride. She did a great show, but I had never realized how many of her songs deal with domestic abuse. She's definitely a spokesperson for the downtrodden woman. I was disappointed that she didn't sing her new song "In My Daughter's Eyes." I love the song, even though I'll never have a daughter of my own. sigh
K HATED the fireworks...as soon as the first one went up, he hid his face in my elbow and never looked up for the entire concert. The funny thing is he didn't like the loud booms, but instead of covering his ears, he covered his eyes....
When we left the carnival, K looked like an abuse case himself...he climbed out of the stroller and scraped his belly on something on the side of the stroller. He has a scratch that's probably 4.5 or 5 inches long. I had to put a "bambaid" on it as soon as we got home. Luckliy one was sufficient, because if I'd had to cover the whole scratch, it would have taken several "bambaids". He also came home with a huge ropeburn around his eye that bruised and gave him a black eye. He was climbing on the rope ladder and somehow scraped his face. Good thing I'd gone the day before to get Easter pictures done! LOL
I always enjoy these days, where we get to just relax and have fun as a family. It seems like they are few and far between lately, so I always treasure the times we do get. I realize once the boys are older it will get even harder to schedule family days, so I'm trying to make the most of them now while they're young.
For the boys, part of the attraction is riding on the "big bus" from the park&ride to the stadium. I don't think T was as impressed this year, especially since we got Metro buses insteqad of the fancy coaches that we normally get to ride. K, though, thought it was really something to ride on "Daddy's bus".
This year, since K is now potty trained (YAY!!!!), we had to make many stops to the outdoor potty houses. YUCK and DOUBLE YUCK! Even K was too grossed out to go in them after a while, so we ended up making several trips into the area where all the shopping was just so we could use a "clean potty." He was so funny---the first time we went inside to the potty, he yelled out very loudly, "mommy--this is a keen potty...there's no yucky poopys in here at all!" Ya gotta love a 3 year old---they tell it like it is!
We went to see Martina McBride. She did a great show, but I had never realized how many of her songs deal with domestic abuse. She's definitely a spokesperson for the downtrodden woman. I was disappointed that she didn't sing her new song "In My Daughter's Eyes." I love the song, even though I'll never have a daughter of my own. sigh
K HATED the fireworks...as soon as the first one went up, he hid his face in my elbow and never looked up for the entire concert. The funny thing is he didn't like the loud booms, but instead of covering his ears, he covered his eyes....
When we left the carnival, K looked like an abuse case himself...he climbed out of the stroller and scraped his belly on something on the side of the stroller. He has a scratch that's probably 4.5 or 5 inches long. I had to put a "bambaid" on it as soon as we got home. Luckliy one was sufficient, because if I'd had to cover the whole scratch, it would have taken several "bambaids". He also came home with a huge ropeburn around his eye that bruised and gave him a black eye. He was climbing on the rope ladder and somehow scraped his face. Good thing I'd gone the day before to get Easter pictures done! LOL
I always enjoy these days, where we get to just relax and have fun as a family. It seems like they are few and far between lately, so I always treasure the times we do get. I realize once the boys are older it will get even harder to schedule family days, so I'm trying to make the most of them now while they're young.
My Safe Harbor...
This is my blog....a place where I can share......
* thoughts about my life
* cute things my boys say and do
* anecdotes about my students
* and a place where I can vent my frustrations whith whatever is ticking me off today! LOL
I think the harbor design is so appropriate, because in the midst of the storms of my life, I NEED a safe harbor to come home to. That harbor is often my family--my husband, sons, mother or sisters--but it is ALWAYS my God. If it wasn't for the everlasting presence of My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I really couldn't say what my life would be like today.
* thoughts about my life
* cute things my boys say and do
* anecdotes about my students
* and a place where I can vent my frustrations whith whatever is ticking me off today! LOL
I think the harbor design is so appropriate, because in the midst of the storms of my life, I NEED a safe harbor to come home to. That harbor is often my family--my husband, sons, mother or sisters--but it is ALWAYS my God. If it wasn't for the everlasting presence of My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I really couldn't say what my life would be like today.
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