My Friday Night

Church is having a dads and kids camp out night tonight on the green in front of the building. Scott brought Emily with the idea that they would try it, and just come home if she didn't get to bed, and go back in the morning to take down the tent. The women had a pizza get together at a house, and I just got home. I called Scott, and Emily is asleep in the tent, and all looks like it is going well.

I have never spent a night a night by myself since we moved into this house, and I think it is truly only the second time I have been in the house by myself since we moved in. (the first time was last mother's day... I kid you not.) Not to mention this is the first time that I have ever spent the night away from Emily.

And I'm not complaining. I like having a night all by myself. There is laundry to do, a dishwasher that needs to be unloaded, but I think I will go start reading the stack of magazines that I haven't even looked at from the past four months.
:) It's a one of a kind Friday night.

Harvest Brown

I had a project planned to start and complete over spring break. I go back to work Monday, and there's no way it will be done then.

I know I have mentioned before what a crappy paint job the previous owners did. The bedrooms aren't so bad, but the worst is the common areas like the upstairs hall, the stairwell, the living room, and the little inlet between the downstairs bath and closet. This was all the same color. Now their color choice I don't mind, it's just that the job was so bad, that you can see all sorts of brush strokes, places where they missed, and then on the white trim where they didn't tape and got the wall paint all goobered on the frames and base boards. It drives me nuts. Not to mention the job around the fire place mantel. Atrocious.

At first I thought that I would do the same color that they did which was more of a carmel latte', but then a friend talked me into doing something different... going to all the trouble, might as well have a new color. I agreed. So I went with "Harvest Brown," which is more a Frappacino brown base. This is very similar to what Scott and I (really what Adam) painted in our bedroom on Floradora. I love love LOVE the color now that we have gotten started, but it is taken for freaking ever! So far we have finished the upstairs hall and laundry area and put the first coat of white trim. I hope to finish the second coat today during Em's nap time. Seriously though, the entire project is going to take us forever. And also Scott had declared me the messiest painter ever. I get paint all over the plastic covering, the paint brush, myself... I changed out of my paint clothes and Scott was amazed that somehow I'd even gotten paint on my stomach under my shirt....? Who knows.

And then there's the problem with the stairwell. We have a two-story tall ceiling that goes from the bottom of the stairs all the way to the top. The guy at Lowe's said to get an extension latter and then put a cinder block under the one side that is on the lower stair to make them level, and then have at it at the top to do the line at the ceiling. That just seems crazy scary to me.
Any other ideas?

Happy Easter!

I hope your Easter is a little warmer than ours. Our low was in the low twenties last night... not normal at at all for this time of year. But a few flannel sheets over the vegetables and berry vines, and all is well.

This is Emily in the car after church. Everybody had their Easter dresses on, but with added long sleeve shirts, jackets, and leggings. Emily's dress wasn't nearly as cute as it would have been if the weather would have been above 80 like last weekend. To compare, I heard the weather man say that our low last night was twenty degrees lower for Easter than the low last December for Christmas.

It was just the three of us this year, which was okay. I asked Scott what he wanted for Easter dinner (thinking he would say something like a ham, turkey, or possibly even grilled steak) but all he said was the chipped beef cheese ball that Mary makes with Ritz crackers. Hmmm. Okay. Easy enough. I made that, but added a glazed ham and a few other things. Entirely too much food, but we have great leftovers.

This morning at church for the second Easter in a row, we watched a short clip from a sermon. The tag line through the entire thing is "But it's only Friday... Sunday's a'comin'. " Anybody else ever seen this? It apparently is famous, and part of a sermon. It took me a month last spring to get it out of my head (it's catchy) and now I've got it stuck in there again after this morning. I want to try to find the entire sermon. I bet it's good.

Happy Easter!

Weekend update

It was beautiful this weekend, and the pollen seems to have let up... some. Here are some of the highlights:

- Went to Kids Day on Friday evening. Ate fair-like food, watched Happy Feet on the lawn once the sun went down. Very fun. Emily got to play with her friends Sara and Noah, and I think she enjoyed dancing around before the movie started even more than the movie.

- Had a great time with friends last night at our our house. Scott grilled chicken and shrimp, and I made roasted red potatoes, green beans, and a salad. To add to that (Scott and my highlight of the evening) was some "Monterey Sourdough Bread." We were skeptical, but seriously, it was the real thing. It tasted soooooooo good! We also had stellar chocolate cake with coffee. WOnderful time with friends.

- Church Easter egg hunt was this afternoon. We almost didn't make it because EMily had a napping mishap today and only slept for twenty minutes, but luckily for her and her sweet tooth, we made it. She was so excited about all that candy.

And: Here is my question, speaking of napping mishaps... is it awful to scream at a kid who rides his little miniature scooter-like thing around the neighborhood? It runs on this loud motor that drives us crazy, and wakes Em up during nap time. I can understand the fun he has, but seriously, he was on it going around the neighborhood when we returned from church at noon, and was still on it at three when we left for the egg hunt. Twenty minutes was all she napped. Is it wrong to ask if he could give it a rest? I thought surely he MUST run out of gas sometime, but he must store a refill in his garage because he seriously didn't stop the entire three hours. Where's Bessie's potato gun when you need it?

Spring

Here are a few reasons why I know spring is here:

First off, it was 88 on Sunday. Quite warm and humid. Not too bad though. I love that in SC we have an actual spring and fall. That is probably my favorite thing about living here. I love to have all the windows and screen doors open so that breezes come in.

Then there is the pink blossom tree beside our house. It butts up to our bedroom window on the second floor, and I love the blossoms. They aren't those almond tree-like blossoms that make you sneeze though, so that is good. It's a beautiful tree, and they grow wild in the woods around our house as well.

And of course the yellow pollen. I have never in my life seen pollen that is actually a visible coating on vehicles. I washed the car Saturday, and the water that went down the driveway was literally yellow, and it stained the driveway yellow, just like yellow side walk chalk.

Finally... the deer. I went to the gym this morning (which in itself is a reason why I know it is spring... bathing suit time is getting close and I hit the gym) and I passed a "herd" of deer. Yes, I have learned they herd. I counted eight of them, though there were probably more. They came across the street right in front of me just around the corner from our house. It was great.

Now the bad thing about spring... the rabbits are in my garden eating my broccoli plants. Any suggestions about that one?

Reason 1001 why Scott is cool

If I have never mentioned the issue of ugly wallpaper in excessive amounts all over our house... ask and I will tell. But I think I have mentioned it to almost everybody.

So, in December one night while Scott was putting Emily to sleep, I was using the downstairs half bath. I hate the wallpaper in there, and was thinking I should just go ahead and pull it off. So when Scott walked downstairs and turned the corner, there I stood. Halfway out the door. Hands full of sheets of wallpaper. Grinning that "I'm so in trouble" grin. He merely says, "What did you do" with a stunned look.

It came off so easily. I am going to take care of it. Don't worry, I know you don't have time to mess with it. It's the smallest room in the house, how hard can it be?

Very, Very, Very, hard.

The paper was stuck with adhesive directly to the drywall with no sealant to protect the wall. So after I spent hours and hours of sanding to get the adhesive off, I painted and it went through the particle board, and bubbled. I was frustrated and very upset.

And this is where Scott is wonderful. He took over in there, and for the past few weeks has been sanding, and re-sealing, adding joint compound, sanding more, priming, and finally painting. The walls look like brand new. Beautiful. He puts in a new light fixture, toilet paper roll holder, towel holder, and all he has left to do is prime the base boards and paint them white. He tapes (very meticulously, Adam knows this about him) and primes all afternoon. I leave right after dinner for craft night at church and when I get home I expect that he probably would have gone ahead and painted the baseboards after Emily went to bed.

Oh no.

I walk in the house and he just points to the bathroom. I walk in and there is finger marks and brush marks in white, all over the beautiful green walls. He had taken off the door to get the door frame (meticulous, remember?) and Emily had gone in while he was doing the dinner dishes, which I left for him, and and painted the wall white.

Did he get mad? No. He was just worried that the scrubbing on Em's hands to get the paint off was going to hurt. He seriously had the patience of a saint. I wish I was cool like that.

Happy Birthday to Emily!

Last Wednesday (3/7) was Emily's birthday. She is already two! We had some of her friends over today for a birthday party. They topped their own pizzas, hit the pinata, and of course had cake and ice cream all decorated with Dora the Explorer of course!

She is just getting so big so fast! This was a favorite shot, actually taken this morning before church. I love that her tongue is out. I am chasing her when I took this. Too cute!

Happy Birthday to Emily!

Dailey Elementary Class Action Lawsuit?

Has anyone heard about a class action lawsuit against my old school site Dailey Elementary? My dad said I received a letter about some lawsuit and Dailey but thought it may have hit the news. If anyone of you may have heard anything can you post some information?

Scott

My Celebrity Look-alikes

In the spirit of playing along with Justin, I to, have added my profile to MyHeritage. Of course, all my suspicions have now been erased - Fabio eat your heart out! There's a new poster boy for the love novel on the horizon . . .

http://www.myheritage.com

Anybody else ever had strep throat?

Emily came home from church last Sunday saying she was tired and was ready for night night. We knew something was up, and sure enough she had a 103 fever.

I stayed home with her Monday, went to the doc, and yes she was positive for strep. She has never had that before, and neither had I. But just one more day home with some good antibiotics, and she was ready to go back to childcare on Wednesday, and I got to go back to work.

And then Wednesday night, in the stretch of one hour, I went from feeling fine, to feeling like I was dying. Of course Wednesday is the one evening class Scott takes this semester. Poor Emily. I got "sick" in the kitchen (TMI--sorry) and it was the first time I think I have ever witnessed Emily actually show fear of anything. She freaked.

Well, Thursday I got some antibiotics, was out Friday too, and still on Sunday I feel like I am nowhere near recovery. The poor kids in my classroom must think I have abandoned them. And it's not like I am going to be working at 100% when I see them tomorrow.

Anybody had strep before, or have any advice? I am on erythromycin (allergic to penicillin) and I think I should call the doc tomorrow to tell her nothing is getting better. And if you have your tonsils taken out, are you immune to strep? Thank goodness Scott seems to be skirting by this one. But his tonsils are out.

I can honestly say that with the exception of being on bed rest when I was pregnant with Emily, this is the most miserable I have ever been with a sickness. Blah!

Completed the First Hurdle

As of today I am an official doctoral candidate! Over the Christmas break I was working on my qualifying exam which was basically a paper discussing my theoretical journey past, present, and future. I had my interview with my doctoral committee who read my paper along with another paper I turned in. The interview went better than I thought and I left feeling very confident. They have been please with my work and notified me right away they wanted me to continue my studies in the program.

So what's ahead? I have a little more than a years worth of coursework left if I can get all my classes, which realistically, doesn't always happen. The next hurdle are my comprehensive exams. Luckily I have a while before I need to think about those.

Scott

I'm only 26 and I drive a mini-van

We bought a Kia Sodona late Thursday evening. We weren't really planning on getting one so soon, but just like when we bought the Honda, we felt like we were getting a good deal. I couldn't believe they agreed to buy the Honda at the price we needed them too. Then the payments for the Kia are almost exactly the same as the Honda.

The big selling point for a mini-van is that we have four groups of guests flying in to visit this summer, which was going to mean four different van rentals to fit everybody in a vehicle. That adds up. And if people are flying in, the least we can do is have transportation that fits everybody. The Honda and Toyata models were SOOO expensive, so we bought this. It had almost everything on it but a DVD player, which i'm okay with. I really like the dual power sliding doors. That's awesome. And the windows on the slider doors go down like normal windows, not like other vans that do that strange pop out thing.

So yes, I'm 26 and I drive a mini-van, but it's okay. I was bummed seeing my honda go not only because it is a GREAT car (I LOVED THAT CAR) but also because I know that a car won't be as practical for our livestyle for a long time. I may not get to drive a car for awhile. Oh well.

Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and & Rhymes

Tonight there is and interesting independent film on public television called Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and & Rhymes. The film takes a critical look at the masculinity, sexism, violence, homophobia, etc. that runs rampant through rap and hip hop lyrics and video. I think this film will offer up an interesting conversation. The film is on at 10 pm eastern time so I'm not sure when it runs on west coast time.

Scott

President's Day, Sodoku, and potty training

...yeah, not a whole lot going on here.

First of all, I bet I am the only one who has to work on President's Day. Oh well. Kids don't have school, but we have a professional development day. Not a big deal since we get to listen to Peter Johnston talk about his book, CHoice Words. Once again I am amazed at the great people who my school district get to come talk to us. (Brian Cambourne came to speak to the district in 5/2005) I loved this guy's book (about the language that we use with children, and how it impacts them) and we read it for staff development. Scott read it for one of his courses. It's great.

Second thing is my lack of reading. Fun or professional. I blame this solely on sodoku. I love playing those puzzles, and I found this great site www.counttonine.com where I can print out as many as I want at whatever degree of difficulty that I want. I sit half hazardly watching T.V. and working on the sodoku puzzles. Yes, I know I should be reading but these have me captivated. At least I hear they could prevent Alzheimer's.


ANd finally, Emily has decided that maybe it would be a good idea to potty in the toilet. This has been a very slow process, but one that i would call almost natural. She kind of goes through phases when she will tell us when she wants to go sit on the potty, and she immediately goes. Fabulous. But other times, she is too wrapped up in what she is doing to be bothered. I try not to push. She isn't even two, but hey, maybe she will get it sometime soon. More than any other reason, I just don't want to spend the money on diapers. I truly look forward to that.

Could snow late Saturday night (yeah right over eager weather man on the local news!) I shall let you know!

Anna Nicole Smith is dead?

That is weird. Anybody know any other details? Doesn't she have a little baby?

Our first snow!

We spent the morning glued to the window and watched the sleet and freezing rain (the weather man says there's a difference) turn into big beautiful snow flakes. The snow was coming down in very thick amounts, and I thought for awhile that we were really going to have a go at getting some inches on the ground. We played in it, and then I heard the school bus... huh? I was shocked. I thought for sure we would be having a cancelation (snow isn't too frequent, and people don't know how to drive) but i had to go in and hurry off to work. While I was getting ready for the delayed school day, the snow turned to rain, and eventually melted most of the snow. Oh well. Emily has now seen her first snow, and she didn't have to leave her own backyard!

Ramblings

So first of all, we have this major freezing rain storm that is to come through and drop some snow up a little higher from us, and drop freezing rain and sleet all over the roads where we live. Every school district in the entire state has a 2-hour delay already place. A couple of weeks ago a much smaller storm came through, and every school district in the entire state had a delay... except ours, which wasn't called until after 6am the next morning. Now I am all about not calling a delay until you KNOW it is needed, however, on this day we had a scheduled early release at 11:40. So the kids came to school at 10, and literally stayed for an hour and a half. During this time we had to feed them lunch, for a 25 minute period. What a waste.

Now tomorrow we don't have an early release or anything, so a delay would be fine... except for the fact that the weather men are calling for the sleet to be a 100% chance, and that it won't stop until the temp rises after 2pm. We get out at 2:40. It just doesn't make sense to wait for the inevitable. And basically I am just complaining because I would like to go to bed and not wake up to an alarm clock.

And the other thing I am doing: I have taken my flute out of the garage, polished it up, and have started practicing. I have this idea that it may be good to volunteer to play at church during the offertory. There is another gal who wants somebody to play with, and it has always bugged me that I played so long, and then just stopped. And I wasn't really that bad either. My flute needs the pads changed, and a hinge replaced, but I think that after that happens that it will be as good as new. I can't wait to get it in and out of the shop. ANyhow, that is what I am up to.

J.C. Penny "Pacesetter"

So Saturday we went out shopping at the mall. We were in J.C. Penny and meandered over the the children's department because of a huge sale they were having. We really didn't go to shop for Emily, but as we were looking through the sale items a worker approaches.

"Would you like to save 10% more today?"

We all have been in this situation before. Of course I don't want a credit card for J.C. Penny or any other place for that matter. Scott and I are glad to be free of credit card balances for the moment, and have no intention of putting anything on a card. I tell her no, and she says to me, "Oh, now everybody wants to save money."

I told her that the money I would save wouldn't be enough to cover the divorce that would occur if I opened a credit card. She didn't get the joke, and kept going, and as Scott and Emily approach she tells me that we could talk "him" into it.

Oh my gosh, I was really bugged. For the final time (at least what I thought was final) I told her we didn't want a credit card, no thank you.

Once we had picked out a couple of things we walked over the counter. Three sales associates were behind the counter, including the debt diva. She jumps over to the cash register to check us out and proceeds to tell me one more time about the money we could save by opening a credit card. I said no, and I wasn't so cheerful as before. Now I was really annoyed. Her name tag said, "Carol" and below that it said "pacesetter."

Am I wrong to think that this woman is evil? I think that America has a serious problem with debt. I am glad that my husband and I have sat down and discussed our financial responsibilities, and they they don't include credit cards for shopping trips to Pennies. Who is this woman to question me, Scott, and our decision. What if he wouldn't have been there? Does she try to persuade every customer to take out a card? Ugh. She really bugs me. ANd what is this "pacesetter" garbage? Do they have quotas to make sure employees sell the credit card? Ugh. Does anybody else think that is as wrong as I do?

Happy Birthday Scott!

Yes, you are loved. For the way you wear cargo shorts even in the middle of winter, for your necessity to use only .5mm bic needle point pens, for the way you grab the sale ads from the Sunday paper before reading anything else..you are loved.

Happy Birthday

howd y'all talk?

Irish Great-grandparents, Okie grandparents, california upbringing, and throw in a year or two of the South. Interesting. Though it did make me wonder if Emily will pronounce caramel with two syllables like her mother, or with three like her father.
**Side note for Justin. Remember that conversation we were having about calling each other "mommy" or "daddy" in front of Em? Well today she called Scott "honey." Just had to share.


***Your Linguistic Profile:***

70% General American English

20% Dixie

5% Yankee

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?
http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofamericanenglishdoyouspeakquiz/

Appl iPhone

Today Apple unveiled the Apple iPhone. It is a beautiful piece of technology. There is too much to share about this phone so go check it out. It is a combination iPod/cell phone/hand held computer.

Scott

Baby toe jam

Baby toe jam was something Scott discovered when Emily was very little. The idea that babies actually have toe jam was something that he found funny, and we always laughed at the lint between her tiny toes. Kinda gross we realize. But now that she is older, she takes off her socks and laughs as we say "ew... baby toe jam! Yuck!" Silly I guess, but she thinks it is funny.

Tonight the fascination with toe jam hit an all new level. Emily watched Scott pull of his socks before he got her bath ready (she likes to splash water everywhere) and she pulled apart his toes just as we have to her. She was amazed at all the lint to be found. ** seriously, Scott can pick up some lint!**

It amazes me all the little trivial things that Emily has fun with, and that we to have fun with because of her. Who knew toe jam could be such a form of entertainment?

Unethical teaching? Maybe. But I'm over it

I have this student who never does his homework. I know there is something bigger than homework going on at home, but the school psych and I can't figure out what it is though we know it is something, and I can't wait around and let him fall behind by not doing anything until we figure out what is making him so lacking in motivation.

Anyhow, I have tried everything to get this child to do his homework. I hate that it brings his grades down so much. We have tried motivational things, getting to visit the counselor, blah blah blah. Many of the things we tried I didn't even really agree with, but I felt I had to do something.

Well then I decided I would threaten him with retention. I even made up fake retention paperwork that he had to sign. It listed the reason for him being retained as failure to complete assignments, and he had to write up an explanation. I even pretended to have to take it into our assistant principal. I felt pretty deceitful about it, but I got over it when he brought in the entire week's worth of homework completed perfectly. I didn't even check on Friday, I just took the homework home to grade from all the students, and since school starts again on Wed. I thought I had better get to it. WHen I pulled his out I practically did a back flip. Hopefully this will happen again next week. Cross your fingers.

Malisa Johnson

My year end review

So when I sit and reflect on 2006 nothing really jumps up and bites me as all that important.

2004 we got married... pretty big deal.
2005 we had Emily, moved to the other side of the country, my grandpa past away. All big deals.

Then 2006 came and though we had a great year, nothing major happened. But I guess that is a good thing. I don't think that we are ready for many new changes. But then I think that maybe the reason why 2006 was so stable is because of what is to come in 2007. Hmmm. Scary, or exciting, I don't know.

I guess if I had to pick the biggest deal about 2006 it would be our three week trip to Ca to see Matt's wedding, David's graduation, and visit with friends and family, and again to visit in December. Oh, and I guess I did start a new school in 2006.

What is the biggest thing that happened to you (positive, negative, or neutral) in 2006?

Sadaam hanging

So does hanging Saddam Hussein make him a martyr? I hope not. They rushed to get the hanging finished before an Iraq holiday began 12/30. Now the news interupted the 20/20 special on about the top youtube videos of the year. Scott and I were enjoying that. Now they are showing all the different reasons why Sadaam was horrible. Did they just have that cuued up, waiting for the word that he is dead?

Meanwhile, 2996 confirmed US deaths as of right now. iCasualties.org keeps record.

Dinner on 12/27

Okay everybody. It looks like we aren't going to get to Fresno. However, my parents said they would love to see everybody too if you wouldn't mind making the drive to Bako. Then hopefully bako people could make it too... Dana julie jenny phil and the woody trio.

My mom even promised to make that roast or whatever that Woody liked so much. Let me know if that will work. Sorry that we can't make it up there like originally planned. The week with Scott just filled up so fast. And dad promised beer for all.

Teacher Fired Over Ass Art

I came across this post on one of my education blogs and I thought of all my artist friends out there. I wasn't sure how to post video so here is my Shared Items from Google Reader

California on Friday

Emily and I will fly out this Friday to Bakersfield. Scott is not coming until the next Thursday, 12/21 I believe, so that he can get some work done and actually enjoy a vacation rather than worrying about schoolwork.

Anyhow, we are looking at trying to come to Fresno either 12/26 or 12/27 before we fly back 12/28. THat is hopeful, but I don't know. Those days get so packed. We really want to see everybody though. Who will be in town? I'm finally getting excited to go. I miss friends and family.

Cupid

You Are Cupid

A total romantic, you're always crushing on a new reindeer. Why You're Naughty: You've caused so much drama, all the reindeers aren't speaking to each other. Why You're Nice: You have a knack for playing matchmaker. You even hooked Rudolph up!

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

Hmmm. I guess I am a good match maker. I thought Becky and Jay should get together long before they did... or long before they both figured it out at the same time. :)

Hmmm. I like to talk. Big surprise!

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well. An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly. You are also good at remembering information and convicing someone of your point of view. A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary. You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

Black Friday anyone?

Now we didn't go out and do the 5am thing. (did any of you?) But we did go out for pizza for dinner, and then hit up a couple of stores. I thought it was going to be crazy, but it wasn't that bad. We went to Toy's R Us, and got four different gifts for Emily, and spent only $25. Lovely jack pot. We got her the Fisher Price Doctor's kit, a kitchen clean set (for her new kitchen set my mom bought for her earlier this month) a string puzzle, and her first Barbie doll. Very exciting.

I plan to pack all of these things in the bottom of my suitcase when we fly out to Ca for Christmas, and then pack them up to fly them home once Emily opens them. Scott thinks I am nuts, but I want Emily to have presents under the tree, not have to open them two weeks before Christmas and leave them behind.

Then we went off to A.C. Moore. It is kinda like Michael's but has a much better scrapbooking selection. I had the token "60% off one non-sale item" so I got a tool kit that I have been wanting. (Sam's probably the only one who knows what I talking about) and also picked up some great paper, and some basic solid color packs. Also I got some storage filing systems for my paper. I have been waiting to get this organization stuff for a long time. Merry Christmas to me! I feel kinda bad that I spent so much, but most of it was all on sale!

The best thing... our state has made this "tax free weekend." Everything is tax free... from Christmas gifts, new cars, and cigaretts. As if we needed another reason to get people out shopping this weekend?

Rodeo Drive anyone?

So this would be my Sunday afternoon. Emily playing dress up, Scott calling from the airport saying his flight is delayed, again. Stupid Washington Dulles. I hate that airport. I'm ready for him to be home. I had big plans to make homemade calazones and watch a movie together tonight, but I guess that's not going to happen. (By the way, I am really into baking stuff lately using yeast. All of those recipes that called for yeast that I used to shy away from have now become mine to conquer. So far, so good. Nothing has been yucky yet. And calozones are my favorite.

To me this looks as close to Beverly Hills shopping as a toddler in SC can get. I think shopping was what she was doing. She kept taking things out of my closet and putting them in her purse. Too funny. Of course, Boots the monkey had to fit in the purse too.

Yes, I know she is a mess. The hair, the scabs all over her chin, the stained onesie. It all goes together to show how much fun we are having doing nothing today except playing. But we are reading for daddy to be home. The past couple of mornings we have had to look around the entire house as Emily wouldn't believe that he wasn't here.

But anyhow, back to the picture. I thought it was cute.

All by myself...and other rambles

My mom left today. She had been visiting all week. We had a great time... that's a whole additional post. However, she flew home today.

Also, Scott's NCTE conference is this weekend in Nashville. He missed his plane Thursday morning (after Wednesday night's storm) and finally was able to leave this morning. He's in Nashville now, but they lost his luggage... again that is a whole additional post.

But what I DO want to post about is how excited I am to have this weekend to myself! I know we all feel a little bit of relief when visitors end their stay, even visitors that make life easier when they are around, like my mom. But I am just glad to have this weekend with Emily to myself. Even Scott being gone doesn't really bother me. I'm sure after a couple of days I will want him to come home, but right now I am good! Emily and I made a big bowl of popcorn and watched a disney movie tonight until she fell asleep on me. Loved that. And really we have no plans besides grocery shopping for Thanksgiving dinner and cleaning some house. Maybe some scrapbooking.

Life is slowing down, and I am thankful.

On another note, we did get struck by the big storm on Wednesday night. This was the same storm that hit North Carolina, killing eight. Just about the entire state was under a tornado watch at some point, our county was under a watch for over ten hours. That didn't make for good sleeping. Besides the lightening and thunder was so loud and bright. Emily didn't sleep so well, so nobody slept well. My mom was here for that, and I don't think she liked it very well. The weather alarm radio goes off every time the NWS issues a warning or alert for our county. After the "tornado watch" went out (a watch means conditions are favorable, warning means an actual tornado has formed) we sat waiting to see if the alarm would go off again. At one point it did, and I started to race down the hall to get Emily, but it was a flood alert. My heart was racing a little bit, but other than that we didn't have any actual cells form around us. It was quite inconveniant to sleeing though.

Anyhow, I hope everybody has a great weekend!

Election Day...

I remember sitting in the Portela's livingroom during the 2004 Presidential election and thinking I really couldn't imagine what it would be like if Bush won again. He did, and I think I was in denial. I was really upset over it. Quite different from the 2000 election, when at 20 I really couldn't make up my mind about who I would vote for, partly because I was still so self-absorbed that I didn't pay attention. How sad is that?

Today in our lovely blue state, South Carolina's republican governor is ahead by 2%. What a bummer. I won't get into all the hairy details as to why this guy is a moron, but much of it has to do with his view of education. But another big deal to me, us I guess, is the school board race. Kinda of interesting in our school district. It sits in two counties, seven members, the majority of the population in Lexington county, so that county gets five seats on the board. The smaller population of the school district sits within Richland county (where we live) and gets two seats. What makes it interesting is that we can only vote for the seats within our own county. So there are people on my school board who i will never get to vote for or against.

Oh well. I guess I will be thankful that I can remove the school board election propaganda from my home and car. Hopefully those people will be voted in. In case you were wondering... Scott and I have huge magnets on our car for the school board candidate, bumper stickers, and signs in our front yard. We did our part I guess. Now I can take it all down.

So all of you Californians... my daddy tells me he is sick of the recorded phone calls. Sounds almost obscene how many phone calls they get (cel phones too). Anybody else been getting them?

I hate Rush

...and no I don't mean the band. Of all the things to talk about on his show, Limbaugh has to chose somebody with a disease whose drug makes them shake. Interesting choice their Rush. How are those prescription drugs working of you? Oh... they're not? Well that's too bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyODxggQpAw

And my dad listens to this guy daily. Ughh.

What are you watching this fall?

Each season there is always a big hit show that I didn't watch, and by the time everybody says it is good, I am too behind to start watching it. I guess I am too lazy to reinstate our Netflix account and order the past seasons. (Though the series that tempts me the most to do this with is Grey's Anatomy.)

Anyhoo, at the beginning of fall when all these new programs came out I felt I had to pick one to invest in, and I picked Heroes. Kinda freaky at first, but once I got over the Vegas stripper girl's slaughter scene, I really liked it. My favorite is the asian character who can teleport himself.

Anybody else watching this show? What are you watching?

**By the way, i used to be a mediocre Desperate Housewives fan, however last night's episode where Gabriel tricked Carlos into thinking he had a chance, but then slept with a random guy from a nightclub REALLY made me hate the show. I didn't even like the Carlos character so much, but that was just so evil and mean. Ughh. I think I'm done investing time into that show.

Lack of posts

First of all, this is us at the fair. Animals, stinky pig pens, rides, and yes... funnel cakes. It was a great day. I love going to the fair, and there was just something about the SC State fair that was much more wholesome than the fair I remember growing up with.
Speaking of wholesome... I have stopped using myspace. Not so much because I feel some sort of moral obligation to stop (I loved checking my myspace and running into old friends) but because I literally cannot log in anymore. My account through myspace was sending out rather vulgar adult sites and it got beyond my control. I tried to change my password, and now I can't log in at all. It was like the entire account was taken over beyond me. So... yeah, sorry. I won't be checking my myspace. Kinda bummed about that. I had all sorts of old high school people on my friends list, and I am surprised how much I enjoyed seeing how everybody was doing. I guess I just should have put up with the porn sites being posted. Oh well.

Other than that, sorry I haven't posted. Things are kinda busy. Scott is always running around (see below) and Emily keeps me on my toes. OH yeah, school is busy too. We just got our SMARTboards installed today and got to take home a new laptop. Awesome. I just have to figure out how to use the board now. So many new things!

A Quick Update

I thought I better do a quick update so that people won't forget about us. I know it's been almost a month since our last post but a lot has been going on in the Johnson household. I brief everyone on what's going on with me and that might force Malisa to begin updating our blog again since she was the one who was really good about posting.

This has been the semester from hell!!! It's not that the classes have been difficult but I have been inundated with a lot of work and little time to do it. I used to have several days a week where I could stay home and focus on nothing but work. Not any more. Here's the lowdown:

1) I supervise 13 student interns. at two different school each about 30 mintues away. This means I'm away from home at lease twice a week for about 3 hours. Doesn't seem like much but that's a big chunk out of a day. That also doesn't entail the paperwork that needs to be filled out on each intern which adds another 5 hours a week.

2) For two of my classes, I read an average of 400 pages a week. After I read, I either post messages to Blackboard or type of notes on all my reading. And of course, both of these courses have all their assingments due at the same time! Damn conspiracy agains me!!!

3) My research internship is going well but means I'm gone from home often either during the day or in the evening. The families I'm interviewing live about an hour away which means a two hour round trip sometimes 2-3 times a week. My interviews last between 20-30 minutes and conversations have to be transcribed for analysis, A 15 minuted conversation can take 6 hours to transcription.

4) And on top of the two projects that are due in two weeks, I also have my qualifying exams which are due. I'm not officially a doctoral student yet in case all are wondering. I'm just a doctoral candidate.

So all I do is pee, crap, read, type, and drive. I don't do a whole lot of anything else so I'm sorry for not posting more often. When I take a quick break, I read everyone's blogs so I try to keep up with how everyone is doing. Malisa, Emily, and I will be in Bakersfield/Fresno at Christmas for a week (have to finish that exam) so hopefully we'll see everyone.

I'm thinking three things

It was a big day in the Johnson household. Yes, Emily got her first pair of pigtails this morning. All of her hair made it up into the rubberbands, and she went from looking like a baby to a toddler in about three seconds. She is getting so big!

I know I haven't blogged in awhile. School started and I don't feel like life really every calmed down from that. Life is good though. Looks like we will be out for Christmas. Dad got a new job and can't take the time off to come here like originally planned, but that is okay. We look forward to seeing not only our family, but friends too!

I've been thinking a lot about work, and staying at home with kids. I always thought that I would stay home with Emily and any more children we may be blessed with once Scott finishes up school. However, I really love my job. Before loving my job made it bearable to be away from Em all day, but now loving my job means so much more. I really do know that is where I am supposed to be, and my adult life at work as a professional makes me a better mom because it makes me whole. Does that make sense? Who knows. If anything else it takes away the looming doom that before hung over us being able to afford or not afford me staying home in the future. I guess I have found a peace with the situation that will allow me to trust that whatever God has planned... it will be fine.

Kitler

I wasn't sure if the Heathers and Adams of the worlds had come across this site so I thought I'd post it anyway. Introducing a new breed of cat known as the Kitler.

http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/

Cruel.com

I love my daily posting from Cruel.com. I see some of the wackiest stuff. Here is the latest I had to post. Even us Christians like a little spice in bed a la Song of Solomon

http://www.book22.com/merchant2/

The Haps . . . .

My semester of classwork has finally began so I’m beginning to get into the swing of things. Instead of teaching I’m supervising 13 student interns. It’s a lot of emails and paperwork but I don’t have to prepare for teaching a class. I do have to drive out to schools a couple of times a week.

I’ve also started my course load. Once again I have an all day Saturday class which meets every other week. This one going to be lots of work. I also have my first Anthropology course which also a Woman’s study course on gender and migration. I also began my research internship. I’m trying to hash out my questions before I begin my interviews.

I also just bought a new MacBook. I’ve been toying around with the idea for a long time especially since the new Merom processors are coming out at some point. But Intel says you can swap the processor out and upgrade the software. Hopefully. I could always keep waiting for the next update but I could use the laptop so I can make better use of my time. Especially being out on the road so much. Yesterday I drove about 100 miles and was gone most of the day with several hours down time. I could have used that time to type up work. So I bought the middle of the road MacBook and I’m maxing out the memory from newegg.com, getting a bluetooth mouse, a wireless router so I can work outside the house, and hopefully begin being more productive.

Now I will have more time to blog.

America's Got Talent... apparently not

Yes, we have been watching this awful show off and on this summer. Tonight they are revealing the million dollar winner. I am upstairs reading all y'all's blogs, and Scott is really upset because "rappin' granny" made it to the top five. It really bugs him that she has made it so far. I think that is actually the only reason why he still watches it... because he can't believe that she could go on.

Anyhow, if she wins I think that he will be real mad. Maybe it will keep the both of us from watching stupid reality shows...maybe.

Also, today was my first day of school. It went really well. That is just about all I have to say because I am tired. I am sure in the next few days I will fill in more details.

Right now, it really seemed more important to blog about rappin' granny.

These are the good things:

... about starting a new school that I am loving right now

1. If I am lost as far as what is going on, it is okay! Everybody else is just as lost and confused as I am, and we will figure it out together!
2. There are no"last year we..." because there are no expectations of what was done at this school last year, because it didn't exist.
3. The kids can't wait to come in their new school and check everything out.
4. The teachers can't wait to come in their new school and check everything out.
5. There aren't any remnants of crap left in cupboards from previous teachers. Everything you put in your room is YOUR stuff.
6. All teacher's editions, math manipulatives, and science equipment are brand new. Complete sets= happy teacher! :)
7. The technology is crazy amazing. We are getting Smartboards installed in every classroom. (in case you don't know what that is, you will have to google smart board. Sorry, I don't know how to post a link yet, speaking of technology!)

School starts Thursday. I think that I a may actually take some pictures of my classroom before the kids come. I have to say that I am amazed at how great it looks, not because of how I put it together necessarily, but of how the room was designed. I love it!

Back to work

The school passed inspection yesterday, and we were in today. Wow. It was so exciting to actually get to walk in the building. Everything was new, and though it still looked very much like a construction site, it is obvious that this place is going to be a beautiful school. We had meetings all day except for an hour and a half that we got to work in our rooms. My stuff was delivered from my old school into my new classroom at the new school by district movers, so when I walked in my classroom, my boxes were already there. Talk about spoiled. It was nice not to have to move all that stuff. Tomorrow we get to spend just about the entire day putting together classrooms, which I am really looking forward to.

Now... the bad part. I still can't get over how I can be so excited, yet cry so much and be upset about leaving Emily. There were many times this summer when I second-guessed my ability to be a stay-at-home mom. However, leaving her was so hard today. Scott did it actually because I had to be at school so early, and I knew if there was a problem (Emily crying as I tried to leave or something) that I would be late. So I got up early and worked out at the gym, got ready there and drove straight to school. And yes, I called Scott to check in on how their morning was going. And yes, after I hung up the phone I cried the rest of the way to school. Emily was a champ, and just saw it as a big play day with her friends. She had a little trouble at nap time, but other than that, she was fine. And I got to be the one who picked her up, so she greeted me by yelling "mommy mommy!" which made me cry again. Ughh. I know this will get easier. But right now I am having a bit of a time getting over it.

Say a prayer please

I know I have told a lot of you about the new school that I will be teaching at this year. Well tomorrow morning is our first day back for meetings and such, and next Thursday (8/17) the kids come back.

The problem is that our school has not passed inspection. None of the teachers have been allowed inside ever, and our stuff is in storage at another elementary school where we can't get to it. It failed inspection 7/31 and this morning at 9 am the government inspector is scheduled to come again to come. Last time I don't even think the sewer lines had been finished, but this time I hear there is a problem with the fire alarm, something the electrician was working hard to finish.

Anyhow, just pray that it will be done, and the inspection will go well. I really don't feel like teaching fourth grade out of my garage! Just kidding. But in all seriousness, our district doesn't have a back-up plan lined up in case the school fails inspection again. Hmmm. Makes me nervous.

So that is all that is on my mind this morning. That and the fact that starting tomorrow morning I will be dropping Emily off at Miss Sheri's house all day, and I will probably cry a bit. It amazes me how much I can love my job so much and look forward to going back, but at the same time I absolutely dread being away from Em all day long. Weird how those two things can simultaneously exists in my heart at the same time.

Let me OUT!

Of the house please! It has been so hot the past week that Emily hasn't been outside to play much, and she is getting sick of her toys. So finally today it was supposed to cool down a bit, which it did, but not enough. We decided maybe this evening after dinner we would all go out and play in the yard and let Emily escape the walls of our home.

Well then the storm moved in. I swear the lightening and thunder and rain hasn't stopped since two thirty. This was also the time when Emily got put down for her afternoon nap. Fifteen minutes into napping and she is woken up by the loud thunder. Nice. After the third time of putting her back down, Scott gave up. Now we have Miss Cranky Pants.

Scott is so bored he is actually considering taking us to the mall so I can find a new top for a skirt I got. He must be desperate. I am trying desperately to get some school planning done, to no avail. I am just plum bored.

Oh well. Hope your Saturday isn't nearly as boring as ours.

Music for the seasons... yeah, I guess

Yeah, I don't really have a lot going on to talk about.

We came home from Bible study, put Emily to bed.
I finally remembered to plug in my ipod so it could charge the battery.
Oh, and I switched up the music (I have the shuffle, so it doesn't hold nearly the amount as y'alls, but it does the job)

Anyhow, that's basically it. I'm really excited to hit the gym tomorrow with my newly added J5 music on the shuffle to listen to while on the treadmill.

I haven't listened to them in a bit, and I realized that all of their music reminds me of summers in Fresno. Why? I dunno. Maybe it was all those great times on the back porch with the music playing out the outside speakers. But I was really excited to listen to it. That and some Fat boy slim. Also reminds me of summers in Fresno. Weird how music does that.

Okay, and while on the subject, Radiohead and travis remind me of winter, especially winters in Fresno. That's Jenny's influence I guess. Anybody else have a band that does that to you?

**and yes, I purposely meant to b put y'all. And no, I never say it out loud.

School starts when??

I don't know if I have said much about this, but I am moving to a new school this year. And when I mean new, I mean, being built. I got the choice to go, and am very excited, good opportunity, great administration, new technology...blah blah.

That being said, yesterday was our official "inspection" day. We all hoped it would be completed in time, but every day that I drove by on the way to the gym, I thought, "there's no way." Maybe it was the sewer lines that hadn't been buried, or maybe it was the large piles of dirt in the front, or rather still maybe it was the parking lot that had yet to be paved and was still a dirt lot. But for some reason, it didn't pass inspection. I can't figure it out.

So... we teachers were all excited to get our keys to our classrooms early this morning because just about every other teacher in our district has their entire classroom ready by now. (we go back on the tenth, and have professional development all day every day until the kids come on the seventeenth.) We are all anxious. And we get the email that we can't yet. Nobody is allowed in until it passes inspection, and they are coming back to re-inspect on the ninth.

Great. That means that if it passes we have maybe that afternoon and the weekend to move our stuff in and prepare for school to start.

I guess this is all the excitement that comes with starting a new school, but I am a little bummed. I am going to let this be the last that I complain about it though, because I am sure that it will be alright... as long as it is ready when the kids come in on the seventeenth. Please pray.

I'm loosing my mind

Today Scott has had a terrible headache that started early this morning, and has pretty much debilitated him all afternoon. Once we got home from church, he needed to lay down. This was fine of course, but it left me to deal with Emily the Ornery all afternoon by myself.

Let's just say that out of all the days for her to learn how to open the fridge, this was the one she picked. Great.

Normally Emily will play pretty well, and stay with one toy for a reasonably accurate time for a little one her age. Today, that is not the case. The child is everywhere, and into everything. She watched me sweep the floor, and just when my back was turned to grab the dust pan, she stood in the middle of my pile. I fluffed up and straightened up the couch cushions and pillows, only for her to realize that the cushions do in fact come off the couch, so she took them all off again. And today she remembered how to gargle her milk, only to get it all down her shirt an all over the carpet, and then toss her sippy cup over the fireplace screen. Wow.

I know that she is curious, and I hope she remains curious for her entire life, however, today her curiosity is driving me INSANE! Okay, thanks for the vent. She is now pounding on the bedroom door where Scott is desperately trying to nap to get rid of the headache.

Vagina Rejuvenation Surgery... huh?

Scott and I caught a bit of this on some news station, and I had to look up more about it on the web. Interesting. The news program was fairly vague about the actual procedure, and my curiosity was peeked.
I don't have a penis, so maybe I am out of line thinking that maybe I could understand the need for this, but is there really that big of a deal after the birth of a chid that a husband would subject his wife to this sort of surgery? The woman on the news program had five children, and was getting it done to improve her sex life with her husband. Hmmm.

What do you all think?

I think I planted too many tomatoes!

I am trying to find some information online about canning them, so maybe this fall and winter I won't have to buy stewed tomatoes. Until then, I think that we will be giving more to our neighbors, who I think are just as sick of them as we are going to be.

This picture is from this evening. Emily and I picked them all tonight, and there are many more that will be ready tomorrow and the next day. Emily loves to pick them, and I think that she finally figured out you only picked the red ones.

I know Adam will appreciate this

Yes, that is a lovely tomato. We were in the garden this afternoon and when I turned to find Emily, she had picked a tomato and starting eating it like an apple. So she went back to her lawn chair and enjoyed it, where I took this picture.
And again at dinner she saw the tomatoes and made her "Mmmmmm" sound, so we gave her another whole one. She ate the whole thing. Wouldn't eat her ice cream from Chic Filet at lunch, but will eat an entire tomato. Funny kid.

Scott's going to kill me... mwhahahaha

Scott has put in so much work into our backyard, it is crazy. It really looks like a different backyard. And there are constantly things that need to be fixed around the house. I have these really cute stickers that I bought of power tools, and I have a vellum quote book that contains a page that says, "isn't it nice to have a man around the house?" I thought, wouldn't it be great to do a page for our family album with different pictures of Scott doing work around the house?

That is when I started taking pictures of him doing odd jobs around the house like tightening cabinet screws, building shelves in the garage, or whatever.

I think I really annoyed him Sunday afternoon when I brought the camera out while he was mowing the lawn in the ninety-five degree heat with 90% humidity. The first picture describes that quite well. Then...




Isn't this better? Nothing says, "Get that camera out of here" better than this fat fake smile.

What to do with

So this evening I came home from my small group bible study feeling very frustrated and a little annoyed. I have this problem with not being able to help myself from saying when I disagree with something. This does not work well in my bible study where one member frequently tells the rest of us what is right.

I have a big problem with these absolutes, often because I don't necessarily agree with them, but sometimes even when I do agree, I feel that they AREN'T absolutes, but merely his interpretation of what is being read. At what point does a verse in the bible go from an absolute truth from an interpretation? Yes, the part about Jesus dying to pay for our sins... that would be an absolute. But when he says, "it is finished" before he dies on the cross... I thought that was a phrase of the time used to describe a payment in full, thus his death for our debt. Tonight I was told that this phrase "it is finished" has to do with God's plan for us being laid out in entirety.

Ughh. Not that I necessarily want to debate what this phrase specifically means, but I am annoyed that my bible study has become this place where somebody feels they understand exactly what these passages all say, and that I must be wrong. (or whoever disagrees with this person, though nobody else voices any disagreement.) This is the bigger issue. The above was simply a "for instance" from this evening. There have also been other "absolutes" about word meaning and other things that I find trivial to the purpose of our bible study.

Also, being the reading teacher that I am (and being married to Scott) I totally believe that there is a transactional process that occurs between any passage and a reader. This occurring with the Bible as well. I think that maybe one of the major disagreements between me and him (other person) is that it doesn't seem that he can entertain the idea of multiple interpretations of the same passage. Though I think there needs to be a point in which some truths are inarguable. But again, what is that point? What is left for the Holy Spirit to intercede and apply as needed? I don't know.

And finally, the big question: What do I do next? I really would like to take the easy road and just excuse myself from attendance, and find one of the many other studies in my church to attend. But I don't think this is exactly the right solution, at least not without some sort of explanation of why I won't be coming anymore. I do know that it isn't a good idea for me to go next week because I don't like the way that I feel about what is said, and I leave feeling frustrated. And I know that it won't work to sit back and absorb, never contributing to the conversation in case it means disagreeing, or simply asking a questions for clarification.

I can't believe how much I am bugged by this.

Suggestions? Ideas about what is an absolute, and what is left for question? Or maybe there is a right and wrong to every passage, and I just need to figure them out one at a time? Thoughts?

Crash and Burn

I'm sure this is the first of many more falls to come. Most kids have skinned or scraped knees to show for their first fall. Not our kid. She used her face. Emily was at a picnic or my softball team and she was coming down a step out of a gazebo onto the sidewalk. She isn't that great with steps in general, but I thought she could handle one step down. She was holding a ball, so when she fell she didn't let go of the ball to brace herself with her hands. Thus, we have the scraped face.

Now I must say that I was quite proud of Emily for how tough she was. She cried that "late reaction" type of cry for a moment, and then she was more concerned with finding her ball than anything else. We took her home and cleaned her all up, and thought about giving her some motrin before bed to make her feel more comfortable. We decided against it because she seemed to be fine.

She still doesn't seem to notice that there is anything wrong, so nobody show her a mirror!

Great Trip

Scott had yesterday off, so we went to Charleston for an overnighter. Yes, the hotel I booked once again confirms that I am cheap, and choose bad hotels. But other than that, we had a good time.

We decided not to go on the ghost tour (too late with Em) but we did go on a 2 hr. Revolutionary War walk around Charleston's Historic District. Awesome! Scott, Emily and I were the only ones signed up, so we had the very knowledgeable guide to ourselves. I learned a lot, and he even gave me his business card so that this year when I teach the Revolutionary war to my fourth graders, they can email him with questions. Fabulous! I think that Scott's love for history is really rubbing off on me. Poor Emily doesn't have a chance.

After some great food and a rest at the hotel, we were back down to Market street to go through the street vendors and wander the streets checking out old churches and graveyards. Another great dinner, some much to rich chocolate, and we went to bed.

This morning we went back to the market, had some coffee, and then went to visit Folly Beach on Folly Island. This is a place I really wanted to check out to see about a possible vacation rental with friends or family next summer. Great place. The houses sit right on the water's edge and are all built on what seem to be stilts, so the house sits a good thirty or more feet above ground, leaving the underneath to be an open garage for cars to park under. Different.

Add a visit to a plantation, and train around some swamp areas to see some alligators, and we had a marvelous trip. Seriously, people need to come visit us soon. I am finding there is a lot of cool stuff to see.

I finally did it

I raised my voice to somebody else's kid. I always knew that this was going to happen. I know that somebody else will one day raise their voice to Emily as well. But for some reason I am okay with that, but I have a hard time doing that with another kid. I guess if my child was misbehaving I would want somebody to stop her. However, some parents don't feel the same way. Sticky situation.

... back to today. We were at a play group with a lot of really great moms and kids. Emily was playing, and two different times she started screaming and when I looked she was at tug-of-war with this other child. I couldn't tell who had the toy first (though from prior experiences with the little boy I guessed probably Emily had it first.) but I gave the toy back to the boy, and gave something else to Emily to play with. She was fine with that. The third time I saw him take it away from her and push her to the ground. I sprang out of my chair with my finger pointing and in a raised voice told him " You do NOT get to take other children's toys, and do NOT get to push other children down." Well, he started to cry.

I really don't feel bad about it like I thought I might. I feel like I need Emily to know that it is okay to tell a child to bug off if he is being rude or taking things. If I continue to "be nice" and give the toy to him and give her something else I am sending the message that she should always give in, and I want her to learn how to (politely) stick up for herself.

Now I must also say as I eluded to earlier that this child often has a problem with sharing. And sometimes it seems to me that he is only interested in the toys that others are already playing with. I watched him take things and start arguments with three other children besides Emily.

I just hope that his mom doesn't get angry with me, and the hard part about that is sticking to what I know was the right thing to do by telling him no. Ick. I hate confrontation, and when it involves children it can be especially hairy.

The day ended well

Today started out kind of bad. Apparently there is something called adult on-set seafood allergies. Well, after eating grilled Tillapea last night for dinner, I found out all of the sudden I was allergic. I spent most of last night in the bathtub trying to relax my tense muscles and make the fever go away. So, this morning I am sure I wasn't the most pleasant person to be around.

However, I did have quite the highlight of my day when I sold the extra fridge in our garage. Why do we have a fridge in our garage? Well our realtor wrote it into the deal when we bought the house that they leave the fridge. Of course we brought ours, so we moved this one into the garage, thinking maybe I would use the freezer to store extra meats, and whatever. Scott always said this was a bad idea. He was right. After one month we unplugged it because it was empty, and just wasting electricity. And I have spent the past year trying not to hit it with my car when I pull it into the garage.

That said, I did sell it for $75. Then I went on-line to check out hotels for a possible stay in Charleston this weekend. Behold, I found a great deal with our Entertainment book (thanks to Scott's step-mom for that Christmas gift) for exactly $74.95. I was thrilled. Scott let me book the room, and now we are going for an over-night stay to the beach. We love Charleston. Maybe we can get Emily to sleep in her stroller one night and take one of those midnight tours of the church graveyards. Sounds fun!

I hope that everybody had a good fourth of July. Scott and I took Emily to the annual Lexington county peach festival. We saw the parade, and then we went through this craft booth area, and finally ended up with some wonderful peach ice cream. It was super hot, but a lot of fun. You wouldn't believe how many people came out for it. Emily thought the ice cream was fabulous!

This put a smile on my face

It amazes me how much Emily watches what we do. For instance, while we were at the Portela's a few weeks ago, Emily walked right over to Audrey's play kitchen, pulled out a pan put it on the stove, and then stirred with a spatula. Now that was not something that I had to teach her. She catches on to so much more than we give her credit.

Such an instance tonight. Emily and I always go into her room after bath time and we sit in her rocking chair cuddled under a blanket, and we read a story or two before bed. Well, tonight I guess things were a bit out of sorts since her bath came right after dinner (we gave her a popsicle... BIG MESS!!) so there was some play time after her bath that she normally doesn't have.

Emily decided she is going to rock in her chair with a book by herself. It was quite the system she had down!

She got many of her books and her blanket and put them in her chair.

Then she would climb in... still quite the task.

Then she would read each one, and drop it off the side of the chair each time saying "uh oh."

When all the books were on the floor, she would get down, and start the entire thing over again. This went on for about twenty minutes. The entire time I was snapping pictures from the hallway and giggling.

Dieting

After three weeks of eating out, mom's good food, and all that other crap we ate on vacation, we... no really just I have started to diet. Scott is just sort of appeasing me. Anyhow, I have tried a few things in the past with no avail, however this weight watchers "points" thing really seems like it is going to work. No, I don't go to meetings and stand on a scale to be weighed in while people call me a cow in the back of their minds. But I do go on-line to see that I get to eat 22 points of food daily with my weight, and I see how many points different foods are.


I have to say that it really hasn't been that bad. It has really just been a matter of choosing different foods at the grocery store and paying more attention to the foods that I buy. They really don't taste bad at all, maybe I can tell the difference with some, but not all. (Scott by the way will totally disagree with me. He watched me unpack the grocery bags a few nights ago and heaved big sighs every time he say the words "fat-free" on the food labels. )

So far I have lost 3 lbs in a week. That is what will keep me going. That and the "skinny cow" ice cream sandwiches that are only three points each.

The only drag is that after my successful weigh in this morning at home, we had a pizza dinner tonight with the fourth grade staff at the new school. I think I ate way over my 22 pts. Oh well. There is always tomorrow, right?

It's hot, so add water!

Today we came home from church during a rain storm. It wasn't one of those summer southern rain storms that comes in and dumps for twenty minutes, and then heads on. Today was pretty much wet all day. Finally the drizzle went away for a bit, and the sun even came out. I dashed for our shoes so that we could get Emily out of the house and on her tricycle that she points at each time we go in the garage to get in the car.

So, off the three of us go to walk around the neighborhood and push Emily on her tricycle. When we get to the furthest point on our walk, is starts to drizzle a bit. By the time we passed two houses, the flood gates opened from the clouds and we were wet.



You would think by the picture that we might have been pretty cold. Not at all. The rain cooled us down nicely. I'm sure to any neighbor that may have driven by we looked rather ridiculous. But it was one of those times when being ridiculous was kinda fun. I'm sure that Emily loved it, probably Scott loved it, though he may not admit it. I think it will make a fun scrap page.

Three weeks is long enough

It's Sunday night, and we have a little over twenty-four hours before our plane leaves back for SC. I can't wait. I love to see all of our friends and family, and I am grateful that we have fit in as much socializing as we have, but we are all pooped!

So far, we have gone from SC to Fresno, to bakersfield, to fresno, to arroyo grande, to bakersfield to fresno to bakersfield to san berardino to fresno. No, I am seriously not exaggerating. Today when we were coming back from San Berardino we had about an hour drive left and Emily started pumping her legs and screaming in protest of being in the car seat so long. Can't say I blame her. Scott, Emily, and I have really not had a space of our own for going on three weeks, and living out of suit cases is getting old.

This trip has made me realize how much I love my home with my own little family. I can't wait to get to cook dinner for Emily and Scott in our kitchen. I look forward to Sunday morning breakfast with coffee and newspaper around our little kitchen table with Emily in her own high chair. I love that our house will be completely baby-proofed and I will finally be able to sit down on the couch in peace knowing that Emily is safe, and nothing will be broken. I can't wait for some night next week once Emily is in bed so that I can get out all of my scrapbooking stuff and get to work on all of the pictures from this trip, and have everything I need right were it goes in my room, and spend some time alone... just with me.

Our home is sacred to me, I guess like everybody's home is sacred to them. I know that for the rest of the summer I will be more thankful to be home. I think that I will also be thankful to have just the three of us at home... at least for a little while that is! Now if only we survive the plane trip back!

I've always wanted to be a gangsta pimp

I got this from Jay's blog. I thought that it was a bit weird that he should score so high, but then I did as well. I don't think that it takes much!



Prevent (or Cause) Do You Know the Hip-Hop Lingo at LiquidGeneration!

Seven more hours...

... until the taxi comes to pick us all up. 3:45 am in the morning. It should be interesting. What is kind of funny and sad all at the same time is that this will be Emily's fifth time going back and forth from the east to west and west to east. I have to say though, this time I am more nervous than ever. Tonight we went to dinner, and she wasn't "bad" at all, but she was surely loud, and excited to see so many people. She talked, and yelled in a very happy tone, however, Scott and I couldn't help but think that if this was a precursor for tomorrow's flight, we may need to invest in Xanex. But maybe she was just getting it all out of her system. Yeah right.

But I have to say I don't really blame her. She is only fourteen months old, and to her everything is an exploration. The idea of being restrained in a high chair, shopping cart, or car seat just really aggravates her as it deprives her from "exploring" everything from the stray dog to the chewed piece of bubble gum on the side walk. Maybe she will find the back of the air plane seat in front of her thrilling, and it will make her want to stay seating in our arms the entire way. Or maybe she will "strong arm" us every time she wants to get down and walk on her new walking legs as she waves and "talks" to all the other passengers who are tying to sleep.

Either way, she is not the first baby who has flown at this age, and I guess what we need to really be hoping for is patience. We could use some prayer for patience please.

Tomorrow at this time, we will all be in California visiting family and friends. Woo hoo!

Historical "Stuff"

Last night Scott, Emily and I went out to a great Greek restaurant ( I even had a gift certificate from a student... nice!) After dinner we took one of our random car drives that we do when we don't know an area of town well. We ended up in downtown Columbia, which Scott knows rather well. We drove by the state house, or capitol building, and we decided to stop because we had never really walked around it before.

It was really wonderful. First of all, there were no thunderstorms, and the heat and humidity took an evening off, so the walk itself was great. The gardens around the buildings were immaculate, and that was great to look at in itself.

By the history. Oh, the history. There were so many different statues, and monuments, and plaques to read. Scott was in high-heaven. Eventually as it neared her bed time, Emily went off to sleep, and Scott and I were left to read everything at our leisure. Of course there were the statues that were unveiled in the late 1870's from groups like "women of the South" that spoke of the "tragedy" and the horrific outcome of the civil war. The pride of the south is so evident in those statues and plaques, and of course we all know the confederate flag still flies at the capitol, which is pride as well. And there is also an annoying large statue of Strom Thurman, and plaques all the way around making him out to be the savior of the world.

There were also markers of where the original state building stood before the Yankees burned it down. There is also an old grave of a Revolutionary war hero on the grounds with a fence around it. The original grave marker is there, with a modern marker going around it to explain what the worn marker said. There was also a great african-american bronze monument that went through the various changes for blacks in our history. It was beautiful.

I guess I felt kind of guilty living here almost a year and not ever really paying close attention to the history everywhere. Sure, I noticed the remains of the original bridge that was burned by Sherman, which now is part of the zoo, and I drive by neighborhoods where new houses have been built on old family land where family plots still mark the dead.

I hope that this next year I can find more time to look for more of the history that is everywhere, especially living here in South Carolina. I don't want to move away years from now and look back and think, "Why didn't I take better advantage of learning more of U.S. History while I was living right in the middle of where so many events took place."

Baby no-nap

Today I had planned to get all of the laundry going, most of our things packed, and also the house straightened up. Well, to do this I was COUNTING on Emily taking her normal 1 hr. morning nap, and then her 1.5 hr. afternoon nap. "Hah!" is just about what she said to me. She slept for a whopping forty minutes this morning, and has yet to fall asleep this afternoon.

Normally we read a story, lay her in bed, and she falls asleep in 2-3 minutes. I have been listening to her fuss for the past twenty minutes. I really feel like I am going to pull my hair out. And then there is Scott, who wants to go get her out of bed because "she just isn't tired." Yeah right. If I go get her up without napping, she is going to be MONSTER baby this evening, and trying to keep her up until bedtime is going to be disastrous.

Oh well. As we speak he is in getting her out of the crib. I can't really blame him. After two rounds of trying to put her to sleep this afternoon, it seems as though her screaming will never end. Oh well for the packing. Hopefully we can do it all tomorrow... that is IF she takes a nap.

The Family That Is Liberal Stays Together

Here is my crack at this:

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 35% Conservative, 65% Liberal

Social Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Ethics: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

Scott

Birthday Calendar

Here is an interesting website. Put in your birthdate and it will give you all sorts of interesting information about the day you were born.

http://www.paulsadowski.com/BirthData.asp

Hmmm... not too surprising!

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 40% Conservative, 60% Liberal

Social Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Ethics: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

Last Day of School!

Today was my last day of school. It was pretty much the hectic, emotional, quick-paced day that most last days are. However, this was really a special group of kids that I have, and I am really going to miss them! The entire year was great, the school was fabulous, and even though I volunteered to go to the new school (i have always wanted to start a new school) I couldn't have been happier where I was this year. The district is the country club of school districts, and they are the nicest people all the way around. They even provide district movers to come into our rooms after we have packed up and move our things to the new school. FABULOUS!

Now saying that, the past four days Scott and I have had more dealings with FUSD. Long story short, it was ANOTHER bill that never got paid, and we never got the bill in the mail since we moved, and we actually got sent to collections... all taken care of now thank goodness. However, in dealing with our stupid, lame, district that I HATE I found out that FUSD stopped paying our insurance company on my behalf. They told the insurance company that I had been terminated from employment as of 4-1-05, and thus stopped paying them for me to be covered. But they still took a few hundred out of my paycheck the entire time. Hmmmm. The insurance company lady said this was the fifth case of this from FUSD, and she things personally that it is some sort of fraud, because this had only happened to those families with both spouses working in the district. I guess they figure if most of the bill gets picked up by the primary holder, it won't matter if the secondary holder isn't covered... maybe they won't notice. What the heck? It all got handled, but not before I called the district benefits office and they looked me up only to say they had no record of my employment. ??????? HUH??? Ughhh!

I guess my point in all of that is I am so thankful to be where I am. I know that this move out here was for Scott and his program, but I really believe that God's plan included me being where I am just as much as Scott. Maybe this week's medical bill fiasco was sent to remind me not to forget how fortunate I am to be working in such a great place. And to get me out of FUSD before I burned down the District Office.

Sorry

Sorry if Malisa and I haven’t posted in a while but nothing has been going on. I’m a stay-at-home dad taking care of Emily most of the time. We go the library, the mall, the zoo, and feed the ducks. I have even been going to a mom’s group. Emily is very social and loves to be around other kids.

Other than taking Emily places, I have been reading the books I’m using for the course I’m teaching in July. I have a meeting with my supervisor Friday to go over my schedule for the research I’m conducting as well as what to study for the comp exams which I will most likely take this semester. When you begin a doctoral program, you are merely accepted into the program but not as a full fledged doctoral student. For that you have to pass your comp exams which is usually answering three questions over a period of three days. You’re basically summarizing what you have learned so far in your program and they want to see how well you write.

Malisa finishes school this week. Each day is a half day but she has to stay at school all day. After school has ended for Malisa, we begin getting ready for our trip back to CA.

Stop Sign Vandalism

A while back I was leaving for work and every stop sign that I passed (three in all) had "Bush" spray painted in white underneath the "stop."

Okay, so my first reaction was, "hee hee! Funny! This republican sleepy suburb is going to FLIP when they see these three signs. It will be the topic of all conversations. "

And it was. But the thing is, it wasn't just the three signs. Literally every stop sign has "bush" spray painted. Then a couple weeks passed by, and I was coming home from work when I noticed that now somebody spray painted in black "don't" ABOVE the stop. Woo, I feel a battle a-brewin! So now late at night, I am guessing these vandals go around and either spray out or re-spray on top of the other's marking. It is rather stupid, and I am sure they will eventually be caught either way, but still. What a bunch of cowards. "let's go out in the middle of the night when nobody can see us, and vandalize street signs to promote out view of the president."

But, I guess that the attention they were seeking was achieved, because every morning when I go to work, i make sure to look to see who is winning the battle of the stop signs, and I guess the presidency. It keeps me amused.

Confederate Memorial Day..... huh?

Yes, in the good 'ole south we celebrated Confederate Memorial Day. This apparently was only a holiday to counter Martin Luther King Jr. Day which was only celebrated in our state for the first time a couple of years ago. But today, on this great day, our state celebrated the loss of all who died in the civil war. Hmmm. We still had school because it wasn't a federally recognized holiday, but still all state offices were closed. We are right in the middle of standardized testing (aghhhhh) and though we tested Monday and Tuesday, we couldn't test today because the state office of education was closed. Here was the legal mumbo jumbo that I found when I at first didn't believe this possible:

LEGAL HOLIDAYS

SECTION 53510. Legal holidays enumerated; state employees.

The first day of JanuaryNew Year’s Day, the third Monday of JanuaryMartin Luther King, Jr. Day, the third Monday in FebruaryGeorge Washington’s birthday/President’s Day, the tenth day of MayConfederate Memorial Day, the last Monday of MayNational Memorial Day, the fourth day of JulyIndependence Day, the first Monday in SeptemberLabor Day, the eleventh day of NovemberVeterans Day, National Thanksgiving Day and the day after, and the twentyfifth and twentysixth days of December in each year are legal holidays.
The holiday schedules of public colleges and universities, including technical colleges, shall not be in violation of this section so long as the number of holidays provided for in this section are not exceeded.

The End of My First Year

At times the year was tumultuous; at time exciting! I finished my first year at USC. Thank goodness you only have one first year. I finished the year with 5 A’s and a B+. Regular grades and + / - mean quite a bit here since the difference adds or detracts from your grade point average. That B+ was in my Educational Statistics course. I’ve never had a math class above algebra II so I thought it was quite an accomplishment.

Next year I will begin my first full-fledged research of which I plan on having an article written up. I also begin working on my cognate in anthropology.

Well anyways I look forward to seeing everyone in 4 weeks.

The End of My First Year

At times the year was tumultuous; at time exciting! I finished my first year at USC. Thank goodness you only have one first year. I finished the year with 5 A’s and a B+. Regular grades and + / - mean quite a bit here since the difference adds or detracts from your grade point average. That B+ was in my Educational Statistics course. I’ve never had a math class above algebra II so I thought it was quite an accomplishment.

Next year I will begin my first full-fledged research of which I plan on having an article written up. I also begin working on my cognate in anthropology.

Well anyways I look forward to seeing everyone in 4 weeks.