weekly recap

Much has happened in the last week. First was the dessert that I would love to forget - Apple Crumble Bars. I don't know what went wrong, but the crust and the base were so flavorless I wouldn't eat them. I thought the apple-cinnamon mixture in the center was tasty, but that was the only redeeming quality about the bars. I fault myself, not the recipe. Perhaps one day in the very distant future I will try them again. Suffice it to say the bars were tasteless and messy enough that I didn't even take a photo of them at any stage. Bless my sweet family who suffered through every bite of those. I swear next time I bring dessert to a family dinner I will make it tasty!

After the apple crumble debacle at dinner, I returned home focused on creating a yummy dessert for Tuesday's dinner with friends. I set my sights on Oreo Cheesecake. I L-O-V-E cheesecake, oreos, and I loved the idea that I could make it on Sunday night and have it ready to go on Tuesday without any further preparation. This was especially important given, sigh, that I had to return to work on Monday morning. Second attempt ever at cheesecake and this is what my setup looked like. Addison fell asleep on the way home and we did not argue given that we all had to be up early the next morning. This, however, significantly cut down on my allowable time in the kitchen. She came out once and complained that the mixer was too loud. I picked up all my ingredients and headed into the only available room with a closeable door - the master bedroom. Unconventional, yes, but did not end up lacking any function. I spread out my ingredients on the dresser and went to work. Robert furiously chopped oreos for the crumb crust and to include in the cheesecake base. Without his help this would never have worked! In the end, the oreo cheesecake was a success. A vast improvement over my previous attempt of the day! Here's how they looked in the end.

Then on Monday all my world changed - I went back to work. How spoiled I had been by two weeks off. If I ever take an entire summer off I may never want to return. I have however decided to combine my new interest in dessert-making with my unavoidable return to work: I will bake/make dessert for each students' birthday. I will have to give them options since my skills are still extremely limited, but I hope it will keep me involved with cooking which I rather enjoy and it will provide an opportunity to connect on a personal level with my kids - let them know that I am not really all those horrible names they call me, there is some good in me. ;-)

This afternoon is Addison's playdate. We are supposed to play in the sprinkler, but rain may force us inside. If so, we are at the ready with craft projects and of course, tons of toys, games, and dress-up outfits. Addison crafted her own dinner menu. She quickly selected mac & cheese, but with some assistance added ham and cheese sandwiches to the menu. For dessert she wanted cupcakes that were - yep! you guessed it - pink. For the adults, I settled on shredded chicken (since I can use my handy-dandy crock-pot and have dinner ready and not be cooking while guests are here) to pair with the mac & cheese. I further encouraged fruit salad (yummy, yummy!) and finished with Oreo Madness Cupcakes. I clearly have obsessed over Oreos this week. I found a recipe online from my new favorite, Annie's Eats, and tweaked it by using boxed mixes (I know, I know...I wanted to do scratch cupcakes and icing, but didn't have baking powder last night, so I had no choice!) and just adding the oreo bits in. We haven't tried them yet, but I will shortly. Addison IMMEDIATELY scarfed down a pink cupcake. And when I say scarfed, I mean she ate the entire thing. She never eats the cake - only licks off the icing. So our Ode to Pinkalicious cupcakes must've been good. Wish us luck during the playdate and cross your fingers that the rain holds off!

Last but not least, as I walked through the nearly-defunct Blockbuster store that I frequented in my college years, I perused the overwhelming remaining selection, when suddenly out of the sea of black and white labels for case-less DVDs pops what my family has come to call "The Doodah Movie". It is, however, more commonly known as "Surviving Christmas" with James Gandolfini and Ben Affleck. This is the very movie that I watched when I was pregnant with Addison and fell in love with the name "Doodah" for a grandpa. I knew immediately that was the name for my dad - my parents told me they didn't want to be Grandma & Grandpa, but rather have a more unique name. Dad initially resisted, but over time has come to love his nickname. What better way to say goodbye to a store where I spent so much time - and money! - then to purchase a funny move with special meaning to me! It was meant to be.

deliciousness discovered

Heaven on earth. Today I discovered it. S'mores Cheesecake Bars, courtesy of Annie's Eats. The most scrumdiddillyumptious delight I've ever created. I'm no food photographer, nor am I an accomplished baker, but I satisfied am I with my first sincere effort tonight. Next time, I will drizzle a thinner line of chocolate across the top, but otherwise I have no complaints about the dessert. I am most impressed with the cheesecake center. I had reservation about my ability to successfully bake a cheesecake, but I pulled it off. The consistency is ideal, very rich and thick. I'm also pleased with browning of the marshmallows on top. The recipe called for a kitchen torch, which I have not, so I used the low broiler setting and watched for two and a half minutes straight. The mallows ended up with just the right amount of crisping if you ask me. Having written about these delicious treats, I'm off now to eat another one.

Today's food challenge is meatballs for meatball subs tonight. I've done meatballs in the past, but today I'm attempting a new recipe. Wish me luck!

rollin'

Thanks to a lucky craigslist.com find this weekend, Addison received her first big girl bike! And she pretty much didn't need our help. At all. Move over Mom & Dad, I've got this under control. Proud doesn't even begin to touch on the feeling I felt as Addison rolled down the street toward our neighborhood pond. I was completely overwhelmed and amazed. I assume she was equally thrilled by the bike and her progress, because she asked to go on two bike rides yesterday. Both rides ended with a popsicle break.

day trips, moving on up

This week has been a Mommy and Addy week, with the delightful exception of Wednesday when Robert stayed home with us. We've kept busy doing errands, cleaning house, watching movies, and running around the city having fun. On Wednesday with Daddy Bear, we joined Grandma Betty at Wakulla Springs for Addison's first-ever "jungle cruise". Intially she had some degree of reluctance: the heat, the crowd of people, the WAITING IN LINE. Ugh. A princess should never be expected to endure such things! Once the ride began, Addison perked up and scanned the riverside for animals. Her favorite creature was either the alligators or the manatee...she can't decide on one. We also splashed in the water to cool off. While splashing, we found Addy's friend from school and they played together for quite some time. To end our trip we ate dinner at the Lodge. The food was tasty, but the service was quite slow.

Today Addison and I raced around town all day. We spent time at the park this morning, then dashed across town to eat lunch with Papa and Nonnie and spend some quality time with Nonnie's dog, Poppy. We spent a short amount of time at home before leaving again to welcome my dad, Addison's Doodah, back from the BSA National Jamboree. She was ecstatic to see her Doodah again, but the scent of delicious Cake Shop cupcakes lured her attention eventually. We used the rest of the afternoon to build tents out of bedsheets, watched a little bit of TV and nursed my growing migraine. Addison as usual was outstanding in her compassion and understanding when my migraine hit. She softly rubbed my head and kissed my cheek while I attempted to sleep. She's not great at leaving me to rest, but waking to he smiling face, even when enduring a migraine, never upsets me. Robert arrived home and escorted Addison out for a walk to the park which allowed me to heal my pain in peace. We dined on a late dinner of pork chops, green beans and mashed potatoes and celebrated with a variety of cupcakes thanks to my mom and The Cake Shop. As has been the norm this week, Addison ended her day with a partial viewing of "Mary Poppins", read three books with her Daddy Bear and went promptly to sleep. I love days when she doesn't nap...bedtime without arguments!

Currently contemplating what fun Addison and I can have tomorrow!

BTW, when Addison returns to school next week, she will move up to Ms. Donna's 3-4 year old class! VERY exciting move!!

dress-up fun, new favorite movies

Betty recently crafted a Wendy Moira Angela Darling costume for little Miss Addy. Because of computer difficulties, I have only been able to post the photos of said costume to my facebook page. If you are not a facebook friend of mine, you can view the photos here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2887457&id=5247387&l=f90286dd05
I will be updating that facebook album to include other photos from the month of July.

We purchased new movies for our growing Disney collection last week. We added Robin Hood, Alice in Wonderland, Bed-knobs and Broomsticks, and Mary Poppins. Mary Poppins is by far Addison's favorite movie this week. She already has "Spoon Full of Sugar" memorized and sings it frequently while playing. We watched Alice in Wonderland once and will probably not watch it again for quite some time. The only part of that movie that she truly enjoyed was the caterpillar who smokes. She now pretends to smoke straws or sticks in imitation of that caterpillar. Of all the parts she could remember, why that one?! She enjoyed Robin Hood, but it's been overshadowed for the time being by Mary Poppins. Bed-knobs and Broomsticks has been another favorite, though the storyline is completely and totoally over her ability to comprehend. I don't really like the story at all myself. I would be OK if we never watched it again. Unfortunately, Addison really enjoys the flying bed scenes, so I am certain we'll watch it multiple times. I'm off now to watch this weekend's third and final showing of Mary Poppins.

yard sale

Today we had our summer yard sale. We were scheduled to start at 8am, but as usual shoppers arrived starting at 7:15. It's frustrating, but those early arrivals always buy things. The down-side for them is that they don't actually see the whole spread of items because they arrive when we only have one or two of our tables set up and full. Today's sale was extremely profitable for us, and we were thrilled to move all those unneeded items along.

my school made the news...

...too bad it was for something so negative. Just in case you saw this article on tallahassee.com or wctv.tv, know that the teacher describe was not me, nor was it one of my students.

Frustration consumes me now. For every one step forward we take as a school, we jump about three feet back in the opposite direction. I want nothing more than for my school's image to improve. Today it seems an impossible feat. I think I'm most frustrated that someone at my school felt compelled to share this story with the news media. I find that to be inappropriate and counterproductive to our purpose. The PACE school goal is to promote a positive, caring, academic environment for all students. How on earth is spreading this sort of negative news furthering our cause? I am embarrassed and disappointed today.

As for happier news, Robert and I had a fantastic weekend away in Apalachicola celebrating our anniversary.

summer, sleep habits, and sweet nothings

It's summer! I am relaxed, rejuvenated and refreshed. So far, I've only had two weeks off of work, but it has been enough. Teaching over the summer is idyllic: 9 - 1, Monday through Friday. Average of four students per class. Could it get any better? I do not think so. I have two weeks left of summer school, then two weeks off before the fall semester begins.

Addison's night terrors returned with full-force after our recent Disney World trip. She had three night terrors in six days. The night terrors have gotten much, much more intense with some unpleasant side effects that I will not describe here, but (knock on wood) we're at seven days without one! Let's hope for day eight!

Seven years of wedded bliss have passed for Robert and me, bringing our total of years together up to eleven. When I stop to think about all we've accomplished in those seven years, I'm impressed. We graduated from high school, college and grad school, bought a car and a house, began our professional careers, and most importantly created a life. Words really fail me when I attempt to describe just how lucky I feel to share my life with Robert. He supports me, guides me, challenges me, and loves me through any and every obstacle that has come our way. I love Robert for the wonderful husband and friend he is to me. I love him for the energetic, entertaining, loving father he is to Addison, and I know she adores and admires him, too. I would not change even one minute of the last eleven years. I love you, Robert!

recent happenings

Last night I awoke at 4am from one of those fantastic nightmares where I can't talk or scream by screaming out loud. Robert was reasonably startled by my outburst, as was I. Luckily, it didn't disturb Addison. I was awake for at least as hour after that happened though. The nightmare felt very real. It was too close to home for comfort and it took my mind and my racing heart a long while to forget.

I finally feel like I have a group of kids who are learning. I have one group of 6th and 7th graders that are making great progress with the Language Arts program I am using. It's a very non-standard approach to language arts that focuses largely on daily repetition of the most necessary language skills, rather than one at a time focus on all the individual skills. I am not yet working on compound/complex sentences structure with the kids, but that's because I don't think I was ever taught that concept. They have finally mastered calling an apostrophe by it's name rather than an "up high comma". And they know about adverbs, adjectives, pronous, verb, nouns. They are learning about prepositions slowly. They are comma-usage masters, even for introductory adverbs. It makes my heart happy. It's something I very much needed to see, so I am immensely thankful for my smart little students this year.

Speaking of smart students, some of my kids are extremely bright when it comes to technology. I consider myself fairly technology literate, however I have nothing on these kids. They can throw together a powerpoint presentation in 5 minutes, install and calibrate Interactive Whiteboards, and find proxies to access blocked websites. They are masters of their craft. I am awed by their abilities.

14 days of school left for Nicole. I get a 4 day break and then I go back for ESY (extended school year). Fun, fun.

Spring Break fun!!!

Disney World provided us with entertainment between Sunday and Wednesday. We hit Magic Kingdom twice, Epcot and Animal Kingdom. Epcot is fantastic this time of year because even with the insanely high volume of people that visited on Monday, the immense park dilutes the truth so you feel like the park is less crowded than it really is. The International Flower & Garden Festival was well worth the visit. Gorgeous flowers. I am now inspired to do more gardening in my yard. Coincidentally, Stacia & Steve visited Magic Kingdom on Tuesday, too, so we dined with them for lunch and dinner, and rode on a few rides together. After we left the park that day, Stacia & Steve got engaged! Very exciting! Stacia promises that Addison will get to be a flower girl! So thrilled! (See full photo recap of our trip here.) We came home Wednesday afternoon, exhausted but relieved to still have two days left of Spring Break. Robert went back to work, so Addison & I ran errands and hung out together. We spent some time yesterday dying Easter eggs with my mom and grandfather, Papa. We made 18 eggs, but two fell victim to falls and did not make the final basket count. Addison is eager to see where the Easter bunny hides her eggs tonight and optimistic that he will leave some goodies for her in the empty basket.

Today was a family beach day. It was windy when we arrived and quite chilly. The water was unbelievably cold but did not deter all swimmers, including my brother Hoyt. It quickly warmed up and we had a fantastically relaxing day. Addison ran, jumped, and splashed for hours. She built sandcastles with my dad, buried my brother and watched as his friend, Kat, sculpted a mermaid out of sand around his buried body. (Addison was given a choice of mermaid or princess. She chose mermaid.) We grilled chicken and ate lots of junk food. It was an ideal trip to the beach. You can see photos from our beach trip here. Sadly, I ended up with ZERO photos of my mom, but I want you all to know - she WAS there. :-)

quoteable Addy, Senators not making good choices

Addison: "Mommy, I'm so proud of you for putting on your shoes all by yourself! Good job!" Funny stuff.

This Senate Bill 6 stuff sucks. I may change careers. So far, I'm thinking of working at Hallmark. I've always loved Hallmark. With the variety of outside influences that overwhelm my students' each day, there is no way that I will show enough student gains (at least when measured by standardized testing) to be retained. I am so disappointed with the 21 Senators who think Senate Bill 6 is a fair and equitable way to manage teaching and student achievement/learning.

recent Addison-isms

1. Uses "from" instead of "when". Ex., "Can we go to Nonnie's house from we are done with dinner?"
2. Acutely aware of sounds and often says things incorrectly, but will correct you if you try to correct her: "Whistle Man" instead of "This Old Man". This causes us to be aware of our pronunciation.
3. Ability to replace words in songs with other rhyming words.
4. Enjoys replacing words in songs with silly words just to make us laugh. Particularly fond of using "booty" or "goose".

thoughts from my brain

First, I need to clarify - my sleepless night on Friday was not at all related to my caffiene overdose, but rather the steroids that were injected into my hip late that afternoon. The steroids were given to reduce my hives that I'd been battling for a week. I only just yesterday figured out what was causing the hives. My Snuggie. My cuddly, fuzzy, pink Snuggie. It now must be retired...to the garbage, unless someone claims it first. Any takers? Perhaps my brother Andrew is interested...

I love days like today. The weather was chilly but great. My students were cooperative and compliant, for the most part. I had a long-overdue and much needed parent meeting where the parent appreciated and praised us for our efforts with his child. (It was at this point in the day that I realized I was still wearing my "Belle" sticker that Addison adorned me with earlier this morning!) I got to give my intern an excellent evaluation (she really is going to be an awesome teacher). Then I got to go pick up Addison and Robert. We shopped at Kmart (Addison's first ever visit there), stopped in Toys-R-Us and bought Addison an adorable Princess castle alarm clock (yes, she really did need a clock for her room), and then headed off to eat yummy pizza at Barnaby's. We came home and have been lauging for the last hour. Now I'm stoked to play "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, thanks to Jason who shared an online version with us!). I absolutely adore days like this.

Looking forward to breakfast for dinner tomorrow with Uncle Patrick! Yum!

happy times

Thankfully, the last few weeks of school have been better, but not stellar. I blame any negativity at school on the fact that this "9 weeks" is actually 57 days long. For those of you who can't/don't like to do math in your free time, that adds up to an 11.5 week "9 weeks". 9 weeks my foot. Anyway, the extra weeks leading up to spring break have been trying on everyone at my school. We are now only 5 days away. Wish us luck.

HUGE yard sale at Betty & Phill's tomorrow. They sell their house in early April, so we're clearing out the clutter tomorrow from 8 - 1. Come say goodbye to the house that we all know & loved...and buy some stuff while you're there.

You will never believe this but, TWICE in the last seven days, I have voluntarily eaten broccoli! That has never, ever happened before in my lifetime. Robert is on this whole, "I'm going to eat vegetables now" kick, and I certainly can't let him best me there. Though so far he's ahead due to his eating zucchini and squash last week. Addison still can't handle broccoli, but she tries, bless her little heart.

Some of you may notice that I am posting this at 3am. Why, you ask? Because I had a gallon and a half (ish) of soda at Sonny's tonight (you know how humongous their glasses are!). Problem was that we ate dinner at about 8pm...so the caffeine continues to surge through me and gives me so much excess energy that I can't sleep. I got about two hours and have been awake since. Being ready for the yard sale may not be too much trouble for me, if I don't get to sleep soon.

Happy weekend everyone!

Show off!

Addison spends a great deal of her free time attempting to whistle. This video captured her best efforts to date. She beamed with pride afterwards, continually repeating, "I'm a big girl now that I can whistle! But I still can't snap." I guess we know what her next project will be.

thank heaven for weekends

While I may have endured an exceptionally horrible week (there were several events that transpired this week that I am choosing not to blog about), I intend to stay positive. Last night, I pulled a "Power Thought Card" that one of my fabulous Aunts (don't remember which one) gave to me many, many years ago and it read: "I turn every experience into an opportunity. Each problem has a solution. All experiences are opportunities to learn and grow. I am safe." Wow. I haven't looked at those cards in forever plus one day, and when I finally decide to open the box again the card is completely relevant to my current situation. Some (Read: Robert) will say that those cards are so generic that their 'meaning' could be made to fit any situation. I say that I can take it to mean whatever I want...and if that one little card is going to inspire me to keep going with my head held high, then so be it. If all else fails, at least the weekend is here now. All is well in your world when you're with the ones you love the most.

education perspective

After reading the front page of today's Tallahassee Democrat today, I found myself agitated. Charlie Crist was quoted as saying that Florida needs to maintain it's focus on education by holding schools accountable for student progress and having stricter teacher standards. Relief washed over me as I read Jackie Pons' response stating that he agreed stricter standards are important, but without adequate funding, little can be accomplished. AMEN, Mr. Pons!

Can I tell you how hard it is to teach with out-dated textbooks? And if you're lucky enough to get updated curriculum, it's highly likely that you won't receive all of the necessary at one time. For example, my co-worker who teaches high school English is still waiting for the Teacher's Guide that accompanies her students' textbooks which were delivered to her back in OCTOBER. Seriously. What good are scientifically-researched, organized, structured textbooks if the teacher doesn't have the teacher guide to go with it? Sure, teachers can "wing it" and improvise, but that process will not necessarily produce quality instruction. (This is NOT to say that I doubt my co-workers ability. She is a great English teacher!)

Can I tell you how hard it is to integrate technology into instruction when the computers we have are so out-dated that daily internal system failures occur? What about when you don't have enough desks - forget nice desks, just enough desks for all your students? What about a not having a music teacher, art teacher, drama teacher, or school nurse?

I could go on forever, but I won't. I'm not intending to complain, but rather make people aware at how hard it really is to teach these days. I really, really wish that the powerful political leaders knew what all this pressure and lack of support was doing to teachers AND students in schools. They seem so out of touch. I love my job, and would like to continue loving my job. Thanks.

The Querulous Day

You know how sometimes you plan something that you think is going to be awesome and it ends up setting an entirely different tone for the day? That happened today. I made up a "Word of the Day" list back in January. Today's word of the day happened to be "querulous", meaning argumentative, whiny, complaining, fretful. (See: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/querulous) I don't know if this being the word of the day today was a crazy coincidence, but the entire day was full of argument, unrest, and whining children of all ages. By 11:00, I was ready to head home. I was exhausted mentally. I can only be called a racist so many times before I'm ready to cry. I can only tolerate so much obscenity before I want to scream back. I can only handle so much anger, hate, and distrust before I want to go back home and start the day over again. Today I wanted to do all three. It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. (I think Judith Viorst is awesome for writing that book.) Some days I really love my job. Today was not one of them. My querulous students came and left, only to leave me facing querulous co-workers. I am ready to head back tomorrow and start fresh. THAT'S what I love about my job. Each day is a fresh, new start. Everyone who works there thinks that way, including the kids. It's a comforting idea.

My unceasingly-thoughtful spouse took Addison to the park after dinner so that I could get some Wii Fit time in. I managed about 30 minutes of exercise and felt much more relaxed. I also made a cinnamon crumb cake that we will be sharing with Patrick when he joins us tomorrow for dinner.

Here's to the end of another Monday. May Tuesday be far more productive and pleasant for us all.

my grown up little girl

Addison astounds me each and every day. Yesterday, her teacher mentioned that while she was playing Disney Princess songs in class, Addison would tune in to the first two or three notes of a song, and proudly declare, "THAT song is Aurora/Cinderella/Mulan/Pocahantas/etc." Miss Stacey says Addison was correct every, single time. Smarty pants little girl has an ear for music.

This week, Addison refused to sleep with a pull-up on at night, citing that they itch her skin. I can feasibly see that they are uncomfortable and chose not to argue with her much to Robert's dismay. All he could visualize was pee-soaked mattress, night after night. Luckily we found avoided the pee-soaked mattress the first few nights (we did not buy a mattress protector until today!). Addison ended up with a few accidents - two at most - which impressed me. Last night was night four of this effort, and I was beginning to feel pretty confident. I awoke around 11:30 and tried to get Addison to use the potty one more time. She refused. Robert tried again around 12:30. She again refused. We conceded. At 4:30, Addison appeared in our room at my bedside. She said she couldn't sleep. I picked her up, assuming that I would find urine-soaked clothes. When I realized her clothes were dry, I said, "Great job, Addison! Your clothes are still dry!" She pointedly responded, "Oh, Mom. I already changed my clothes and my blanket." When I questioned her further, she informed me that before walking to our room, she changed her wet clothes, put them in a dirty clothes pile, changed the protective blanket on her bed, and THEN came to our room. What three year old does that?! She's so grown up sometimes it baffles me.

I recently began a self-study. Largely, this is due to the excess time I have at school now that my fantastic intern is teaching all my classes. (Seriously, I hope my school administrators will hire her next year. She is a gifted teacher, and there aren't many people that are truly GOOD at what I do every day. Most people run as quickly as they can in the other direction!) Anyway, it's given me time to think about my teaching, my organization, me in general. So far, I've realized that:
1. I am a stuff-accumulator.
2. I have a minor addiction to online shopping.
3. I use up all my patience and energy at school and don't have much left to give to my family.
4. I really miss music in my life, singing and piano.

There are other things that I can't remember now, but it's been interesting. I hadn't taken the time to reflect on myself in quite a while...and I'm glad that I am able to know.

We have an exciting weekend planned. Tonight we have dinner to celebrate my mom's dad's birthday. He was actually born on February 29th, so today is his birthday observance. When I was little I would always write on Februrary 28th: "Papa's Birthday (Observed)". I have actually celebrated more birthdays than my grandfather. He's a mere 21 birthdays old! Happy Birthday, Papa!

music and more

The last two days at work have been rough. Yesterday I lost my cool during one class. I'm disappointed that I let the kids get the best of me, but every once ina while I need to use my teacher voice - just so the kids know that I have it.

Today my intern was out (she needed to finish her Master's Thesis which is due next week), so I got to teach again. It worked out well that today was a day off for Miriam, because it fell in line with my favorite lesson of the year: Poetry as Music, Music as Poetry. I illustrate how lyrical poetry is by sharing musical selections that vary by genre. My students always love it. This year's big hit was for a selection that Robert suggested: "Heartless" by Kanye West compared to "Heartless" by Kris Allen. Much to my surprise, most of the kids loved both versions! They were able to see how meaningful each version can be. The whole experience today was pretty powerful and exciting. Tomorrow I return to my role as observer in class. It's been a challenge, but has afforded me time to reflect on my own teaching practices and contemplate changes I want to make once I take my classes back over.

I attempted to gather suggestions for my above-described Music/Poetry lesson on Facebook and Google Buzz, but didn't get a lot of bites from people. Therefore, In preparation for next year's lesson, I ask you, my three loyal readers: What songs are meaningful/lyrical/poetic to you? Either from you youth or currently. I'll be waiting for your input...I know who you are!

We've done a lot of experimenting with crock-pot cooking lately. Tonight was made Maple Glazed Turkey breast with mashed potatoes and green beans. It was yummy. Patrick came to join us and also to watch this week's "Lost" episode. Addison loves it when Uncle Pat comes over. She dragged him to her playroom and they worked on a sticker book for what seemed like EVER. Pat is a great uncle!

Lost is on now, so I'm off. Happy week to you all!

coins, boots, shopping, V-Day song

That is the sum total of all the change in my wallet. I never use cash. Just debit or credit cards. I guess that's why I get so excited when I have coins. I love to scan them immediately after receiving them to see what dates are on them. Today I lucked out an got a 1965. The others were 1986 and 199-something. The older, the better in my book. I don't DO anything with the coins, other than spend them later. I just find it most interesting to see how old the coins are and imagine what exciting paths they have traveled before they reached my grubby little fingers. Today it dawned on me that soon enough 1986 will be an "old" coin, eventhough it doesn't seem old to me. I remember 1986 pretty clearly, so that coin can't be OLD yet...right?

Today we did a TON of shopping. Robert bought a VERY nice grey wool pea coat. Stylish, and on SALE! It was originally $300 and we bought it for $90. No such deals in the women's department at Dillards. We returned the rain boots that Robert originally bought me for my birthday. Before you think, "Why would Robert buy Nicole rain boots for her birthday?", consider where I work. My school is a series of 21 portable buildings. We have ZERO interior hallways. That means if it's a rainy day, anytime I need to go to the office or another classroom or the lunch building (it is NOT a cafeteria, we eat in our classrooms), I get soaking wet. There are small rivers that rush between buildings, following the slope of the land along our campus. In sum, YES, Nicole really did want rain boots for her birthday. The boots he picked were really cute, but did not fit over my massive calf muscles, which I was blessed with thanks to genetics. I did a lot of research (talking to my co-workers who also have rain boots), and decided to check out Dillard's stock. I got some super-cute black and white polka-dot ones. Addison also NEEDED some rain boots, so we found her some Hello Kitty ones, which also had polka-dots.
We also shopped at Pier 1, ate lunch at our favorite Chick-fil-A, and rounded out the morning at Marshall's. We stocked up on some new dress up clothes for Addy's class at school, she picked out a Tinkerbell outfit, a cute summer skirt set, and I bought two new tables for our living room. It was a great shopping morning. Addison got really mad at me in Dillards when Robert was shopping for coats, but she later said she was mad with me because she was hungry. Go figure.

Looking forward to our family dinner tonight for all the February birthdays! Yummy spaghetti, bread, salad, and birthday cake!

Here is Addison's Valentine's installment of rhyme and melody for you:

BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday to me! I don't feel old. Today I had several people ask me if I was 26, and one person even asked if I was 24. Those failed guesses were music to my ears and calming to my soul. I love life and and cannot believe how far I've come in these 28 years. It's pretty awesome what I've accomplished so far.

Recent Addison-isms:
1. (At dinner) "Hey, Daddy! Wanna see my BUTT?!" (as she gets out of her chair and pulls down her pants to show off her little booty.
2. "Mommy, did you learn you students at school today?" "I taught my students things today, yes." "Ok, but did you LEARN them something today?"
3. "Oh, my, Mommy! That's very clever!"
4. "Mommy, are you ready for your birthday surprise? (whispering) I got you a special Candyland game! We can BOTH go to Queen Frostine today!"
5. "Look at my sticker! Ms. Becky gave it to me because I was SO sweet today!"
6. "Look! I just got 45 on the Wii Penguin game!" Me: "WOW. Didn't know you could read the number 45, Addison!"

Last but not least, Addison drew me a birthday card that I will photograph later when my batteries are re-charged. She drew a spider in it's web (ironic choice for her arachnophobic mother, right?!) that was amazingly realistic for a three year old. Later she drew a cat, complete with whiskers! The card, like my cake, said "Happy Birthday Princess Mommy" and was covered in layers of pink marker and pink princess stickers. (The cake had pink balloons on it, too.)

I had a great birthday. No complaints. Robert cooked me a great dinner, we had yummy red velvet cake, and we even found time to play Wii, which has been a rarity lately. Very good day. Happy girl am I. I'll be even happier when I try out my new rain boots on Friday.

new friends

Tonight we had our neighbors over to watch the SuperBowl. Shea & Nicole are our garage side nieghbors, and have been since we moved in. Addison greets their cat Zeke and dog Maggie every chance she gets. Robert had a bold streak one day and invited them over. We're not really good a making new friends, so that was a huge step for him/us. We learned that Nicole & I have a lot of similarities: our name, we are both teachers, we both like the same kind of Sketchers shoes, and we wear the same size. They both love Disney World (they have annual passes like we do!) and they just found out that they're going to have a baby girl in August. I was impressed with their willingness to play along with Addison's tea party and her insistence for playing Candyland. Addison, of course, thought Shea & Nicole were here to entertain her, not us. I had fun, and I'm glad that Robert helped us make new friends. We really love our old friends, but you all live so far away. It's good to have fun people to hang out with here.

We bought the most amazing new mattress for Addison's "big girl" bed. I have slept on it twice for naps. I want to get the queen size version for our room now. This is the most comfortable bed I have EVER slept on. It's like laying on a cloud. I love it. And she refused to sleep on it tonight. She's in her toddler bed again. Don't really know why...but it's the second time this week. I guess she likes to keep her options open - to know that both beds are available for her use. What a princess!

My intern just called and said she's stuck in North Georgia. She & her fiance got a flat tire as they were leaving, and being that it's Sunday night, there are no tire stores open to buy a replacement. Bummer.

I'm inspired to redo my entry way. I plan to paint the walls blue (not sure what shade) and do a collage of photos from our travels in matching frames. I think I will use 7 (or 9) different images in various sizes. I hope it turns out like I see in my head. I typically have trouble bringing my visions to life...

I cannot believe how quickly the weekend went. It was a fun, busy weekend. Hopefully this will be a productive, fun week at school. I'm looking forward to my birthday! Addison said she's going to make me a card, which is exciting!

Looking forward to big February birthday celebrations on Saturday!

i'm a bad blogger...

because I don't post very often. I've got a list of reasons why, but I won't go into them. I'll just try to make up for it now.

Addison spent last week being sickly: virus for four days, ear infection, bronchitis. The day she returned to school we found out there was a chicken pox outbreak in her class. As of now, she does not have any indication of them yet. (knock on wood). I have never been so glad that she was absent from school for a week....though the incubation period for chicken pox is 10 to 21 days.

Addison watched the first two and a half seconds of LOST this week. The scene with Juliet buried at the bottom of the Swan sight, below the metal rubble has haunted her since. Addy continues to insist that "the girl at the bottom of that hole needs two band-aids on her checks, and wash her hands and take a shower because she's dirty." Addison is not yet ready for prime time TV. We learned our lesson.

Life with my intern is pretty sweet. I'm afraid now that it will make me lazy. I'm getting paid to work, but I don't really have to do much work anymore. My intern is awesome and I would love it if we could hire her to work at Pace once she is finished with college. She's organized, patient, positive, and not intimidated by my challenging babies.

Addison is reading lots of words, constantly asking "what does this word spell?" and remembering the next time she encounters the word. She loves writing her name. Here are some other things she's recently become accomplished at:
1. Candy Land: she ALWAYS wins, and we aren't just letting her.
2. Bossiness: "Get that for me, Mommy!"
3. Temper Tantrums: "But I WANT THAT BOUNCY BALLY, DADDY!!!!!" With respect to tantrums, age 3 is worse than 2 was.
4. Helping with meals: she loves to stir, mix, pour, carry items to the table. She also sets silverware out for us at most meals.
5. Blessings: We must say a blessing at each meal, per her training at school. She has different prayers for each meal of the day.
6. Imaginative Play: Stuffed animals are REAL, especially a lion puppet named, appropriately, Mr. Lion. They talk to each other, Addison, and us. Addison teaches them what life is all about.
7. Style: Every time we are out shopping, walking, anything, Addison notices what other people are wearing and comments on it. "Mommy, that lady has on pretty brown boots!" or "Mommy, I like that girl's necklace/earrings/purse/shirt/jacket/skirts/etc." She is a little stylista in training, no thanks to me and my blue jeans wearing self.
7a. She refuses to wear anything except cotton stretch pants. NO blue jeans, khakis. Only black or pink stretch pants.

I suppose I should comment on Christmas and New Year's celebrations. Both were awesome and exhausting. This was one of the most fun-packed winter vacations I ever remember having, but so tiring. We went non-stop for two weeks. Addison's birthday celebrations - count them - FOUR! One at school, two family parties, a giant friend party at home. Then Christmas. Then New Year's. Then Matt & Helen's wedding. All wonderful, all fun, all enjoyable. We are still trying to recuperate though! Back to Addison, we were astounded at the amount of STUFF she accumulated between birthday and Christmas. Next year, we will probably only give her one or two presents per event. It was over-whelming and excessive this year. She's a lucky (read: spoiled) little girl...but she totally deserves it. :-)

For kicks, here's a pic from Matt & Helen's wedding. I love my friends. They are the best friends a person could ask for. Wouldn't trade them for the world. Patrick, who I love most dearly, is hiding behind Matt's big head...but this was the only group shot I got all Christmas break, so it's being posted, even without Patrick's smiling face shining for all the world to see.