Me: So, do you think you might want to cut the chord this time?
Owen (repulsed): Oh my God no!
Me: Are you sure? Mom won't be there to do it this time...so the doctor or somebody will have do it.
Owen: Yeah, I know...that's fine. Can we talk about something else? I just had some bile come up my throat.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Monday, January 07, 2008
Proof that some of the worst drivers in the nation aim their crosshairs down the center line in Fayette-Nam
Today, as I was haded to the grocery, I actually saw somebody swerve to avoid and then honk at a PARKED ABANDONED CAR on the side of the road. Yeah! Take that!
Sunday, January 06, 2008
It's been a long time coming
Well...as I see from the date stamp on my last entry, I am woefully overdue. The truth is that things have been very busy, though not with anything worth mentioning. As can be expected, the life of a teacher brings with it several meetings each week along with paren issues to be addressed, lessons to be planned and, an especially big one in North Carolina, tests to prepare for. I don't make excuses for my lack of writing this time around because I don't think it could have been helped much.
I have had several requests to get on the MySpace bandwagon lately. Though I started a MySpace accound ages ago in an effort to track down old classmates, I am short on desire to do much with it. I find the website frusterating - I am not able to do any kind of updates or anything to my page, and I can't help feeling that it seems a lot like a singles ad. Perhaps if I shut it down completely and then start over again. The only problem is that I am already doing a piss-poor job of keeping this one updated - like I need another one to neglect.
Christmas was chaotic for us this year. We were at home in MI from 12/20 through 1/1. During that time we had to fit in the next 4-6 months' worth of visits and family time. We will be seeing some family when Pete is born in April but the rest we won't see until summer, if at all. Our future here in NC remains somewhat in the air. We vascillate on where we'd like to be and what we'd like to be doing. There is a big part of me that would move closer to home in any way possible, however, there is also the part of me that understands how completely broke we are and how unlikely it is that we can afford such a move this summer - espcially because we will be in financial recovery from my unpaid maternity leave.
Sam is growing like a weed and it wouldn't surprise me to see him ready to pack up and head for college next week. While we were home over vacation, his langage exploded and the constant gibberish we have enjoyed for months has begun to take on a much more functional/conversational quality. He has become pretty good at expressing his feelings, wants, needs and affection. Overall, he is a very happy, energetic kid.
I have to admit my eyes got a little damp last night as we packed up his crib and set up his new "big boy" bed. We wanted to begin that transition now in order to head off any potential resentment that could come along in April when Pete takes up residency in the crib. Also, Owen caught Sam in the process of climbing out of it yesterday morning. Since we had planned to make the switch soon, we figured yesterday might as well be the day. As it happened, he adores his new bed and when it was time to hit the sack last night, he walked right up to it and climbed in on his own. No fussing, no tears (except mine!). He went right to sleep and we didn't hear a peepe out of him until he woke himself up caughing at 4:30. We managed to hold him off until 5:30, when he decided it was time to face tha day. Owen, the love of my life, got up with him and let me continue to sleep, a passtime that has become both less enjoyable (due to physical discomfort) and less possible (doe to frequent visits to the restroom).
Though nothing particularly significant, I suppose that's it for now.
I have had several requests to get on the MySpace bandwagon lately. Though I started a MySpace accound ages ago in an effort to track down old classmates, I am short on desire to do much with it. I find the website frusterating - I am not able to do any kind of updates or anything to my page, and I can't help feeling that it seems a lot like a singles ad. Perhaps if I shut it down completely and then start over again. The only problem is that I am already doing a piss-poor job of keeping this one updated - like I need another one to neglect.
Christmas was chaotic for us this year. We were at home in MI from 12/20 through 1/1. During that time we had to fit in the next 4-6 months' worth of visits and family time. We will be seeing some family when Pete is born in April but the rest we won't see until summer, if at all. Our future here in NC remains somewhat in the air. We vascillate on where we'd like to be and what we'd like to be doing. There is a big part of me that would move closer to home in any way possible, however, there is also the part of me that understands how completely broke we are and how unlikely it is that we can afford such a move this summer - espcially because we will be in financial recovery from my unpaid maternity leave.
Sam is growing like a weed and it wouldn't surprise me to see him ready to pack up and head for college next week. While we were home over vacation, his langage exploded and the constant gibberish we have enjoyed for months has begun to take on a much more functional/conversational quality. He has become pretty good at expressing his feelings, wants, needs and affection. Overall, he is a very happy, energetic kid.
I have to admit my eyes got a little damp last night as we packed up his crib and set up his new "big boy" bed. We wanted to begin that transition now in order to head off any potential resentment that could come along in April when Pete takes up residency in the crib. Also, Owen caught Sam in the process of climbing out of it yesterday morning. Since we had planned to make the switch soon, we figured yesterday might as well be the day. As it happened, he adores his new bed and when it was time to hit the sack last night, he walked right up to it and climbed in on his own. No fussing, no tears (except mine!). He went right to sleep and we didn't hear a peepe out of him until he woke himself up caughing at 4:30. We managed to hold him off until 5:30, when he decided it was time to face tha day. Owen, the love of my life, got up with him and let me continue to sleep, a passtime that has become both less enjoyable (due to physical discomfort) and less possible (doe to frequent visits to the restroom).
Though nothing particularly significant, I suppose that's it for now.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Sammy the Hammy does Halloween
This weekend we went to Raleigh to see Owen's mom off back to Michigan. After we dropped her at the airport, we took some time to visit the Crabtree Valley Mall. Now, it is normal policy that we do not enter the Disney store, however, we were interested in pricing the Little Einstein videos. (Much cheaper to TiVo and then burn to disk). While we were there, we noticed that their Halloween costumes were on sale and that we could turn Sam into a fantastically cute Nemo for just over $20. So...we bought it. Owen is working on how to upload the video of him playing in his costume to the blogs. He absolutely loves to wear it and had a complete tantrum when I took it off so he could go to bed last night. Here are a couple of still photos. You will notice the quality is awful...this is because he wouldn't stand still for a second and I had to catch him on the move.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Hello, world!
Baby #2 has made a surprise appearance at the doctor's office. I went for my first appointment thinking they would just confirm I'm pregnant. They did that, took 6 vials of blood, showed me 2, 3 and 4 D images of the baby (we even saw him/her moving!) and told me that I'm almost 11 weeks along. I'm officially due on April 20. Once again we miss Grampy's birthday (4/21) by just a smidgen. More pictures as they become available.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Sammy the Hammy
Sam started his new daycare today and, already, he is doing much better. He loves Miss Cynthia and I'm sure that's due in no small part to the fact that she took him to MacDonald's today. Her comments to Owen when he picked him up:
"Your boy can eat!" (He ate a whole Big Mac for her. Never mind the fact that he won't eat ANY meat for Owen and I...at all...period.)
"Your boy can dance!" (He loves to dance all day, every day. Music optional. Clapping mandatory on all fronts.)
So Sam is officially out of a center-based daycare and back in the home and it is a welcome change for all of us. He has made a new friend with whom he is just about inseparable and, more importantly, he didn't cry all day like he did at his last place. Most importantly, they don't make him go 6 hours between diaper changes.
Tonight, we don't go to bed dreading the moment when we push the Center doors open and he becomes the human equivalent of a barnacle on our legs, at which point we would normally pick him up and carry him into his room (because he refused to walk) and then hand him, a now snotty mess of tears and screeches, to a woman who doesn't effectively communicate to any one of the three of us that this bothers her in the least. This also means that I will no longer begin my day wiping the tears from my eyes as the Center door closes behind me.
"Your boy can eat!" (He ate a whole Big Mac for her. Never mind the fact that he won't eat ANY meat for Owen and I...at all...period.)
"Your boy can dance!" (He loves to dance all day, every day. Music optional. Clapping mandatory on all fronts.)
So Sam is officially out of a center-based daycare and back in the home and it is a welcome change for all of us. He has made a new friend with whom he is just about inseparable and, more importantly, he didn't cry all day like he did at his last place. Most importantly, they don't make him go 6 hours between diaper changes.
Tonight, we don't go to bed dreading the moment when we push the Center doors open and he becomes the human equivalent of a barnacle on our legs, at which point we would normally pick him up and carry him into his room (because he refused to walk) and then hand him, a now snotty mess of tears and screeches, to a woman who doesn't effectively communicate to any one of the three of us that this bothers her in the least. This also means that I will no longer begin my day wiping the tears from my eyes as the Center door closes behind me.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Friday, August 31, 2007
Saturday, August 25, 2007
The #1 reason we keep asking my mom to help us move...
And...some pictures of the truck that tried to kill Owen's dad by first giving him a concussion which then led to heat stroke. Needless to say, it wasn't exactly a vacation.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Welcome to...um...your new home?
Well...after two days and many "adventures" (i.e. screw-ups) we are here. Our trip began with an "emergency" stop at Wal-Mart in Gaylord for an iPod car charger where upon we discovered that Sam had figured out how to escape his car seat. Man that kid has a devilish sense of timing. And that was the good part of our trip.
Stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic just north of Ann Arbor, the Nissan overheated and had to pull to the side of the road to cool down. As the traffic was not moving, we elected to "borrow" an illegal turn-around and head back to the first exit to follow an "alternate route" (i.e. short cut/get lost) and, while following a detour because the road we were supposed to follow was closed. discovered that the oil light in the Nissan was flashing. It burned up all its oil overheating. We are now 2 hours behind schedule, have not left MI yet, and I am sitting under a tree because I cannot have the car or the A/C on. Shit. (And...and honorable mention goes out to my brother, Matt, who not only risked trouble at work by taking my call to his cell, but who answered my questions about what had happened and who explained some things to watch for and some things to try, and who also called twice more that day to make sure we were running okay.)
We managed to make it as far as Charleston, WV, where we spent the night - all 6 of us in one room. It was snug!
Today, we began the day with a call to the trucking hub to find that our stuff would not be arriving at the house today, despite the 90% assurance of the delivery at the time the truck took off. If we had wanted to assure delivery today, it would have been an extra $400 - too much.
So, Owen and I took off with Sam because we had an appointment with the realtor at 3 and so were on a pretty brisk schedule. We arrived at 3:05 and signed the lease and then were at the house by 4 to meet with the cable installer. Unfortunately for Tom, who was driving the Nissan, it overheated again in the 105-degree heat and so he had to drive through Fayetteville with the heat on and the windows down to keep the engine cool. I swear, if Owen asks for any more repairs to that car, he's going to be buried in it sooner than he'd like! Anyway, Tom gets the platinum traveler award.
Sam gets the golden traveler award for being generally good-natured the entire trip and for never throwing one of his balls at the driver. He traveled exceptionally well. I also have to give an assist to Grammy's hand-held DVD player and the Wonder Pets, without whom/which we would have likely left Sam with the hitchhiker in Tobaccoville this afternoon (that is actually the name of a place - I did not make it up to be offensive. I don't have to make things up to do that.)
So...we are here, in a suite at the Comfort Inn because a.) we have no furniture at the house yet and b.) it was so hot today that even after running for close to 5 hours, it was still 85 degrees in the house. The low tonight is 80 - not exactly window weather.
The invitation is still open - come and visit! and don't forget to email me if you need my address.
Stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic just north of Ann Arbor, the Nissan overheated and had to pull to the side of the road to cool down. As the traffic was not moving, we elected to "borrow" an illegal turn-around and head back to the first exit to follow an "alternate route" (i.e. short cut/get lost) and, while following a detour because the road we were supposed to follow was closed. discovered that the oil light in the Nissan was flashing. It burned up all its oil overheating. We are now 2 hours behind schedule, have not left MI yet, and I am sitting under a tree because I cannot have the car or the A/C on. Shit. (And...and honorable mention goes out to my brother, Matt, who not only risked trouble at work by taking my call to his cell, but who answered my questions about what had happened and who explained some things to watch for and some things to try, and who also called twice more that day to make sure we were running okay.)
We managed to make it as far as Charleston, WV, where we spent the night - all 6 of us in one room. It was snug!
Today, we began the day with a call to the trucking hub to find that our stuff would not be arriving at the house today, despite the 90% assurance of the delivery at the time the truck took off. If we had wanted to assure delivery today, it would have been an extra $400 - too much.
So, Owen and I took off with Sam because we had an appointment with the realtor at 3 and so were on a pretty brisk schedule. We arrived at 3:05 and signed the lease and then were at the house by 4 to meet with the cable installer. Unfortunately for Tom, who was driving the Nissan, it overheated again in the 105-degree heat and so he had to drive through Fayetteville with the heat on and the windows down to keep the engine cool. I swear, if Owen asks for any more repairs to that car, he's going to be buried in it sooner than he'd like! Anyway, Tom gets the platinum traveler award.
Sam gets the golden traveler award for being generally good-natured the entire trip and for never throwing one of his balls at the driver. He traveled exceptionally well. I also have to give an assist to Grammy's hand-held DVD player and the Wonder Pets, without whom/which we would have likely left Sam with the hitchhiker in Tobaccoville this afternoon (that is actually the name of a place - I did not make it up to be offensive. I don't have to make things up to do that.)
So...we are here, in a suite at the Comfort Inn because a.) we have no furniture at the house yet and b.) it was so hot today that even after running for close to 5 hours, it was still 85 degrees in the house. The low tonight is 80 - not exactly window weather.
The invitation is still open - come and visit! and don't forget to email me if you need my address.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Sod off...I mean, shove off...
Our current plan is to peel out at apx. 8 tomorrow morning which, I'm not trying to pick or anything...but in my family, with Grandma Alice at the helm, it's about 2 hours to late from the getgo. But...I imagine we will still survive. We are a ragtag caravan: my Chevy (read: shitty) Cobalt; Owen's love of his life, the Nissan (I swear he will be buried in that car when he dies, so they can be together forever in the afterlife); and Tom and Cathy's zippy little blue Mazda. I don't know if I will be able to post updates every day but I will as it is possible.
We have just found out that we have been giving out the wrong zipcode for our forwarding address so, just FYI for you it's supposed to be 28314.
Please, my peeps, email me and ask me to send you my new address in whole. I don't want to post it here because who knows what kinds of unfortunate rifraf might stumble upon this paltry excuse for a blog.
Oh! Also! Flickr is coming! We will be posting oodles of pics as often as possible.
And now. sleeping pills have kicked in and are making it difficult for me to punch the correct key, and so I must skedattle. Send us good karma, positive energy, good chi, lotto tickets and whatever the hell else might seem appropriate.
Love to you all - each and every one. We will miss you but will keep a room lovingly decorated in shades of mauve and eyelet lace, awaiting your compulsory visits to chintz hell!
Houston: we are ready for takeoff!
We have just found out that we have been giving out the wrong zipcode for our forwarding address so, just FYI for you it's supposed to be 28314.
Please, my peeps, email me and ask me to send you my new address in whole. I don't want to post it here because who knows what kinds of unfortunate rifraf might stumble upon this paltry excuse for a blog.
Oh! Also! Flickr is coming! We will be posting oodles of pics as often as possible.
And now. sleeping pills have kicked in and are making it difficult for me to punch the correct key, and so I must skedattle. Send us good karma, positive energy, good chi, lotto tickets and whatever the hell else might seem appropriate.
Love to you all - each and every one. We will miss you but will keep a room lovingly decorated in shades of mauve and eyelet lace, awaiting your compulsory visits to chintz hell!
Houston: we are ready for takeoff!
Friday, August 03, 2007
And we're off...
The vast majority of our stuff is now on its way to Fayetteville, NC, our future home. The truck carrying apx. 1800 square feet of our furniture/junk/treasures took off this afternoon. We used a company called U-Pack that delivered a semi trailer to the house where we loaded it. Then, they picked it up and drove off with it. We will see it again next Wednesday when it is delivered to our new house in NC, ready to be unloaded and fashioned into a home.
Incidentally, anybody needing our new address should shoot me an email. For the time being, our cell numbers will remain the same.
Incidentally, anybody needing our new address should shoot me an email. For the time being, our cell numbers will remain the same.
What can I say? The kid loves veggies...
Our impending move has been more traumatic on Sam than I ever would have guessed. Who knew that a 16-month-old would wig out seeing all his things put into boxes? Anyway, it has been and )I think) will continue to be a rough next little while for him.
Perhaps this is the reason he has seemingly begun to attach himself to strange objects. He needs something to cling to. Literally. On Tuesday night, after a day of packing and hauling, we came to Owen's mom and dad's house for dinner. After dinner, while preparing to return home, Sam discovered a basket of veggies that had just been picked for the garden and, in true Sam fashion, began to unload the basket.
One zucchini in particular gave him a hard time, but upon throwing his entire body weight behind it, he pulled it out, and it became his new best friend. He carried it around with him, petting it and saying "niiiiiice" as he does with cats and dogs.
When it was time to leave, he began to get upset and so Cathy gave him the zucchini to take home. He snuggled it, talked to it and petted it almost all the way home. As he got a little more sleepy, it slipped from his arms and fell on the floor and into my purse. When we got home and I went to get my purse from the car, I found Sam's new best friend, seemingly cast aside and with a a few chipmunk-sized bites taken out of the top, the material from which I later found spit out in the car seat.
You know, sometimes the best way to get to know a new friend is to take a little nibble from his/her/it's head.
Perhaps this is the reason he has seemingly begun to attach himself to strange objects. He needs something to cling to. Literally. On Tuesday night, after a day of packing and hauling, we came to Owen's mom and dad's house for dinner. After dinner, while preparing to return home, Sam discovered a basket of veggies that had just been picked for the garden and, in true Sam fashion, began to unload the basket.
One zucchini in particular gave him a hard time, but upon throwing his entire body weight behind it, he pulled it out, and it became his new best friend. He carried it around with him, petting it and saying "niiiiiice" as he does with cats and dogs.
When it was time to leave, he began to get upset and so Cathy gave him the zucchini to take home. He snuggled it, talked to it and petted it almost all the way home. As he got a little more sleepy, it slipped from his arms and fell on the floor and into my purse. When we got home and I went to get my purse from the car, I found Sam's new best friend, seemingly cast aside and with a a few chipmunk-sized bites taken out of the top, the material from which I later found spit out in the car seat.
You know, sometimes the best way to get to know a new friend is to take a little nibble from his/her/it's head.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
It's official...
We have a destination. After months and months of anxiety, job fairs and interviewing, we have finally come to a conclusion about the fall. In a couple of weeks, Owen and I will be moving to Fayetteville, NC, and will both begin working in the neighboring schools. I will be teaching 5th grade and he will be a teacher assistant in a pre-k room. The tremendous upside to this is that we will both have the same breaks and, hopefully, will be able to come home for summer.
Of course, we are heartbroken to leave home and our families. Even the idea that we will be an hour and a half from the ocean all the time, though fantastic, is not enough to make us happy about going. We will dearly miss all our family and friends.
Of course, we are heartbroken to leave home and our families. Even the idea that we will be an hour and a half from the ocean all the time, though fantastic, is not enough to make us happy about going. We will dearly miss all our family and friends.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Classroom wish list
As you may imagine, I have begun to try to figure out what kinds of things I will need this fall as I set up my first classroom. To the best of my inexperienced ability to brainstorm, I have come up with the following list of things. If anybody has any of them lying around the house and would like a good cause upon which to dump them, I'm your gal. I'll even come get them if necessary (and reasonable). You can contact me via email to set that up. Items with an asterisk are more acute needs. Without further ado, here is the list:
Used printer cartridges*
Books of any sort whatsoever (preferably young adult reading level, but ANYTHING goes)*
Storage containers, any size (Rubbermaid, etc.)*
3-ring binders*
File folders*
Regular folders
Post-it notes*
Pens - especially colors other than black or blue
Pencils*
Erasers
Highlighters*
Gift cards (I can figure out how to use one for practically any store)
Paper - any weight and color
Crayons
Markers
Stickers/labels - any size and style
Magazines (home decor, family and/or science magazines are better - not as many risque ads)
Wrapping paper
Used greeting cards
A current desk calendar
Stacking trays (in-box type things)
Magazine organizer boxes
Page protectors
Clip boards
Index cards
Library book pockets
Hanging file folders
Some of you may be experienced teachers, in which case I would love any suggestions you may think of that I have not listed.
Used printer cartridges*
Books of any sort whatsoever (preferably young adult reading level, but ANYTHING goes)*
Storage containers, any size (Rubbermaid, etc.)*
3-ring binders*
File folders*
Regular folders
Post-it notes*
Pens - especially colors other than black or blue
Pencils*
Erasers
Highlighters*
Gift cards (I can figure out how to use one for practically any store)
Paper - any weight and color
Crayons
Markers
Stickers/labels - any size and style
Magazines (home decor, family and/or science magazines are better - not as many risque ads)
Wrapping paper
Used greeting cards
A current desk calendar
Stacking trays (in-box type things)
Magazine organizer boxes
Page protectors
Clip boards
Index cards
Library book pockets
Hanging file folders
Some of you may be experienced teachers, in which case I would love any suggestions you may think of that I have not listed.
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