September 2012

10:20 on a school night. A guy on HGTV is showing off his glass house and bragging about the cost of each item. Good for him, but man, he's distracting.
I should record a few details about life right now before I forget them.

First of all, cute things my kids are saying. When you ask Jack, "Do you like this?" he'll say, "Yes, I am!" instead of "yes, I do!". It's cute.
Then there's Sophie's liberal use of the term "goddamnit". Like, "I don't want to take my goddamnit shoes off!!!" She knows it's slightly naughty, which makes it liberating for a stubborn little hothead like Soph.

Next, boring health stuff. I've been dealing with a weird muscle spasm in my lip for a month now. I also had a facial spasm and some left thumb spasms, but those didn't last. I hope it's nothing, but it could be lots of things. I saw the PA about it already...we'll see. Also, IBS still sucks, but maybe a little better now.

Work? It's okay so far. It's my first time having a window room in Maize, and the window is glorious. I seriously like staying late after work. Once it's dark early outside, we'll see--that might change--but for now, it's a great place to get things done without feeling boxed in. Finally! Also I'm trying to start with more fun stuff built into the curriculum, so we'll see if that backfires. Slightly worried about the state of the parachute that I have to return to PW...

Okay, its 10:30 now, and I want to read some before turning in. I did stay home today--weirdly dizzy and exhausted, like a wimp--but I'm tired, anyway. Getting up early will never be my thing.

Some stuff on my mind...

*Just watched Game of Thrones. Almost done with season 1. Pretty entertaining show, and lots of nice man eye candy. Nice to see Tonks make an appearance, too.
*Facebook pages of those who have passed away are fascinating and heart-wrenching. It's amazing how they provide one more way for words to keep people's spirits alive in the hearts of their loved ones.
*Jimmy Fallon's show should be on at like 10 so I could actually watch it during the week.
*I have taken a million sick days this year. A million=like 15, in case you were wondering. Three of them this week thanks to whatever plague our family has contracted. Ugh. Could be a lot worse, I know.
*Lottery is up really high and everyone's talking about it. If I won I would be more stressed out than I am now, but I still think it would be cool to win. Probably a huge headachey nightmare, but damn it I would finally get a pony.
*The weather is supposed to be awesome tomorrow. ZOO??? I love going to the zoo, what a nerd.
*I think I have eczema on my arm. I wonder why I have it now all of a sudden. Weird.
*Okay this is getting pretty boring, I think I'll stop now. G'night.

Sickness.

Well, spring break 2012 was officially a bust. Lauren and I thought we started out with just allergies going crazy (the week before spring break was full of sunny skies and beautiful weather--we opened windows and endured much pollen infiltration) BUT it quickly became apparent that we were sick. Lauren was just coughing, sneezing, hacking like crazy; I chimed in a bit. Once our actual spring break hit, the weather was gloomy and rainy. Our sinuses went crazy. On Wednesday, I went out for a great sushi lunch with friends, then as soon as I left the restaurant, my ear began throbbing. On Thursday I was able to see my doctor, and sure enough, ear infection. Plus a weird possible eye infection/eye virus, ick. I still wasn't feeling that bad, so we went out for supper together at Monterrey then to the store...where Sophie promptly threw up all over. Luckily, it was her only puke of the week, but at the time we were seriously taken aback. On Saturday, Lauren realized she had an ear infection, so we got her in to immediate care. By this point, the twins were starting to cough and sneeze.They ran high fevers Saturday night and kept me up all night.

We've been in this nasty little holding pattern for about four days now. Lauren, the twins, and I aren't really seeing much improvement. We're exhausted, coughing, sneezing, blowing noses, bleary-eyed...it's disgusting. Andy is probably coming down with it now. I can see us easily going through a solid two weeks of sickness in our house. We are SICK of being SICK. Lauren and I keep wondering how people with real, serious long-term illnesses ever keep going. We went to school/work Monday; Lauren toughed it out a whole day. I came home after 3 hours and stayed home today, too. I really need to just rest and get better, but missing work sucks, and frankly, being there is an awesome break from all of this. But going there and feeling like a drippy-nosed, hacking, feverish freak is no fun at all, either.

I really, really hope this is our last bout with sickness for a long time. :(

Stuffy stuff...

I kinda ditched/forgot about/thought I lost my blog, but here it is. Here are some things I've done since I last wrote:
*discovered Pinterest, a fabulous time waster that makes you think you're storing useful ideas for later.
*learned that cooking bacon in the oven really is the superior way to make bacon.
*did not lose weight. See bacon note above.
*did not start working out, sigh.
*greatly improved classroom discussion methods in my English class, yay!
*worried and thought a lot about putting our dog down, but didn't have to. Found renewed love of dog.
*realized that the terrible threes really are worse than the terrible twos.
*endured my daughter having a horrible boyfriend and breaking up with said boyfriend, whew.
*stopped watching almost every TV show I used to follow.
*cut my hair short and kept it pretty short; got highlights that went too blonde then darkened them up again.
*had a scare with my dad's health and learned to look at life, faith, and family differently.
*read several classic books that were on my list of shame.
*made a paper wig for Lauren's Andy Warhol project and realized how much I miss art.
*saw no great concerts, took no amazing trips...well, Minneapolis was alright. Anytime I get to visit a faraway spot I've never seen, it's pretty cool.
*Survived in my high-stress, no-money, kid-filled, sleep-deprived, crazy-but-loveable life.

Ah, poo.

So much for regular blogging. A few thoughts are better than nothing, so here's a quick run-down of what's up. I'll type til my battery dies, which may be any minute.

1. Haven't watched late nite tv for a while. Larry David and Entourage reruns, not bad for the basic basic cable package.
2. Husband out with brother-in-law's brother. Still. Too late for me! Missed him tonight but enjoyed time alone, too.
3. Kids were pretty damn cute today. Actually playing together.
4. Let teenage daughter go to Riverfest with just 3 other girlfriends. Kinda scary but she's home fine. Brought me a cherry limeade, delish. Love her!
5. I love finding and trying new recipes so hard. Awesome part of summer.
6. Money, shit. What is up? Must buckle down tight.
7. Finally reading again, thank God. Girl with Dragon Tattoo took way longer to get into than it should have, but intriguing now. How will it all come together?
8. Hermit tendancies kicking in wayyy too much already. Must...associate...with...others...beyond...immediate...family!!!
Okay, battery very low. Peace.

Back to the Blog

Funny how a little hiatus turns into a big ol' break. I stopped blogging because I got into a March slump, and boom, it's suddenly almost the end of April, and I still haven't written a thing! Thanks to Kathleen for reminding me to get back into it.

Realizing that there are only five more weeks of school is a pretty good slump buster, too. I never tire of looking forward to summer; it still has its magical wonder it held in my childhood. So here are some things I look forward to once summer arrives:

1. The smell of it. Fresh-cut grass, fragrant flowers, sweet summer rain. Beautiful natural smells that invoke all of summer's glory with one whiff.
2. Sleeping in a little bit. I can't go crazy and sleep all morning like I used to, but even sleeping 'til 7:30 or 8 will fine with me. Still haven't kicked the night owl habits, after all.
3. Spending some QT with the fam. Always nice...well, okay, we are bound to have some summer cabin fever during those 100-plus degree week-long streaks that inevitably happen, but besides that, we'll bond.
4. Feeling like my old self. Let's face it, being a teacher can make a person feel like an alien creature sometimes. Constantly being on guard takes its toll; policing teenagers all day is a drain, no matter how much you love the little squirts. A few days out of that routine, and I hit a level of relaxation that is unattainable during the school year. Aaahhh.
5. Traveling. It's getting better with toddlers--portable DVD players are amazing inventions that suck those kids right in and make the trip fly by. While I'd love to go somewhere exotic/exciting, even visiting family in KS is cool with no school pressure to face upon returning home.
So those are a few highlights, and I'm tired so I'm stopping there for now. Plus I have a bit of grading to do, if I can stay awake.

I've got the...Sundayyyy night blues (baby, baby), Sundayyyyy night blues...

Sundayyyyy, ni-i-i-ght blue-who-hooooos.
Yes, world, it's Sunday night again. How did it EVER get here so fast? Seriously. SERIOUSLY. Where did my weekend go? What on earth did I accomplish?  What DIDN'T I do that I really thought I would? Now that thought inspires list-worthy observations...
1. I did not finish grading the lame stack of papers that has been sitting here for nearly a month. I totally should have and could have. I graded some, but not all. Shame, shame on me. At this point in my life, I cram paper grading into obscure nooks and crannies of time. I go ahead and have a little TV time, but grade a couple, then a few days later, knock out a small stack (like three) at work, then a few days later, pick up a bigger pile with good intentions...but fall asleep. One of my quotes of the day on my desk calendar said something like "Work is love made visible" and it totally gave me a guilt complex for slacking on these papers. But then again, I have put some serious time/work into other areas of my life, like yearbook and my home life, these past few weeks, so maybe I should ease up on the guilt. Anyway, I vow to finish two more before I go to bed, and hit the rest tomorrow. They are starting to drive me nuts, hanging over my head for this long.
2. I did not go to Menards with Andy and the kids. Actually, I stayed in the house nearly all weekend. I did not apply make-up, and I did not wear a structured bra. I did not even shower today. Perhaps I took weekend mode too far, upon reflection.
3. I did not eat the rest of the Thin Mints. I still have a sleeve of them left. This should impress people.
4. I did not remember to take my work clothes out of the dryer while they were still warm. Damn it. I hope the wrinkles aren't too bad, because I did NOT iron. If I were to iron, I would suddenly gain about twice the wardrobe that I usually choose from, actually. I do this about twice per school year.
Okay, it's pretty late. I need to snap out of Sunday night denial and finish these two papers and go to bed.
:(   Oh well, once I'm at work and past first block I'll snap back into the routine...usually works...