Time to whine

I'm at home today from school. I have had headaches for the past week that get so bad that all I can do is lay around in bed from about six or seven on. This morning I woke up with another headache, and called in a sub so I can get some tests done at my doctor. I'm praying it isn't gestational diabetes or high blood pressure. I have tried all sorts of things, but they haven't worked. And I feel horrible for missing another day of work.

Nothing is done around the house except for what Scott has done. I feel like such a whiner, and those who know me well know that the one thing I can't stand is whining! So what does that say about me? :) I'm miserable to say the least.

I have all sorts of things that I need to catch up on at home while I wait for the appt, but there is no way they will get done. I think I am going to lay in bed and watch the Today show and hope the throbbing goes away soon.

We have some great Thanksgiving pictures but I will have to post them later.

Family Pictures

I'm sure we will use one of these for our Christmas card, so don't be surprised when you see it again! My friend Mona did a great job this afternoon getting Emily to settle down so she could take some great pictures. We were at the Irmo town park.

Road Trip!

This may be our only chance in a long time to take a car trip, and with gas prices at $1.65/gallon we couldn't pass it up! So off to Arkansas we go for Thanksgiving! My grandparents moved there from CA about two years ago, and they just completed a major renovation of their house, so they are set for us to come visit!

We plan on leaving right after school is out on Tuesday, and driving through Atlanta for dinner, and crashing at a hotel for the night in Birmingham. Then we are off to drive another eight hours or so on Wednesday until we got to their house in Arkansas. We will stay Wed, Thurs, and Fri night and head home on Saturday morning.

Emily is a great traveler. We will load up the car with her leapster, DVD player, crayons, and I wrapped up some cheap dollar tree toys and let her open one every couple of hours when she gets restless. We did this for our Disneyworld trip last summer, and she was a champ!

I hope everybody has a great Thanksgiving, and if you are traveling, that you travel safe!

Things I sometimes replace with sleep!

I was thinking today of all the ways I used to spend my time in the evening before I was in bed by 8 pm. Here is my list:

* Grey's Anatomy Thursday- Ladies from my neighborhood get together to watch and drink some tasty adult beverages. Needless to say, I no longer am able to participate... 9pm is well past my new pregnancy bed time!

* Talking to Becky on the phone. She and I are both busy sleeping, so less catching up has been a result.

* Keeping my house clean. 'Nuf said.

* Bible Study- Even though I am still trying to rise from bed at 5:30 most mornings to actually do my study, I am not able to come to Tuesday night Bible Study.

* Reading... there are two books I have started, and I am not any closer to finishing them now than a month ago.

Some days I even am in bed before Emily, which means that I don't help bathe or put her to bed with a story. Thank goodness I have Scott who is awesome! Hopefully the tiredness will end soon!

Exhausted

I can't believe how tired I am! Monday I was in bed by seven, and slept through the night with no problem. Last night I think I was in bed by nine, and that wasn't soon enough!

Tonight we had Marie Calendar's chicken pot pies for dinner. I have not bought those since being in college, but tonight I was so glad to have them in the freezer! I popped them into the oven, then headed upstairs for a nice nap while they baked for an hour! I can't tell you how happy I was to have dinner be so easy tonight! But then after dinner, I was back in bed feeling nauseous until almost nine. The constant nausea and fatigue is really frustrating, and I can't wait for it to be over! (I hope it will be over!)

Of course my sleeping constantly has Scott on his toes. He has to pick up my slack with the chores, and taking care of Emily. And Emily! She is continually sweet! This evening when they woke me for dinner, she had colored a picture that she thought would make me feel better.

A new obsession

Having twins will obviously make an impact on our budget. I am already looking for ways to be frugal, and wanted to share my new find with you. It really has become a new obsession!

The site is called The Grocery Game and it lists all of the specials for multiple grocery stores. The founder has researched the sale cycles for the different markets, and has come up with a brilliant list for each grocery store. The idea is that you buy things when they are at the "rock-bottom prices" and stock up so you don't buy them during the times when they are not on a sale cycle.

After the new market sale circular comes out, the site posts a new list of everything on sale for that store. It is color coded- black is "okay price" blue is the "rock-bottom" price, and green is free! It lists the item with the sale price, and then tells you exactly what coupon to use. (Coupons from the Sunday paper)

Every Sunday after church I log on and bring up three different lists for my three grocery stores. I click on the items I want, print the list, and then find the appropriate coupon and clip them to the list.

Today I went to my three stores and spent a total of $90. I saved over $30 dollars in coupons, and over $75 in market specials. The amount of groceries I got for the money was astounding. And after my third week of doing this our pantry, fridge, and freezer are very full, so I am saving time by not needing to run to the grocery store because we aren't out of things! I am so proud of my savings that I put the receipts on the fridge! :)

If anybody wants to try it, email me and I will give you the information. It does cost $10 for eight weeks, but offers a trial period for $1. But obviously I think it is worth it if you are willing spend about 2 hrs. a week actually using it. Becky and Jay tried it today. I hope that others will find it useful as well! :)

Two favorite views

After Sarah and Justin took pictures of their workspaces, I thought maybe I would do the same. But I don't really have a desk in my classroom. (takes too much space!) So that won't work.

But this morning I thought of a place where I could take a picture and surely call it my "space." The back table on our patio. This is where I do my bible study in the summer, but with highs close to 80 the past couple days, I was able to enjoy it this morning too. The trees are gorgeous! We got lots of rain this year, which made the colors much more vivid than I remembered from last fall. This is my view from the table.
And of course I snapped this picture of Emily this morning. While sitting at the desk in the office she walked in and asked me to take her picture. So I guess you could say this is the view I get while blogging. Thanks to Miss Emily the Great. At your service to help with all your needs! (and she even can unload the flatware from the dishwasher!!)

** and yes, that is her fearsome dog Dakota at her toes... always ready to back her in danger! (or eat a fallen crumb!)

Bed time cuteness

Tonight after the normal bed time routine, Emily decided that she would read to me, rather than me read to her. She picked this book. She read the title, and then pointed to the author and said, "by... Mom, who is this guy again?" So I told her the author's name, and then she was off reading me the book! Of course she had much of it memorized, but the part about the "bees in the peas" she didn't remember, so she looked at the picture for a moment, and finally got that line too! I was seriously amazed at her. Just that she remembered the predictable text to get words like "rousted" and "figs" really surprised me.

Of course I had to get Daddy so she could read the book again for him, which she proudly did!

Then after we tucked her in bed we went in the other room for a few minutes before she got up and wandered in with us. "I really want my rooster" she said with a smirk. I had no clue what she was talking about, but Scott did. Apparently when they cleaned her room last week they removed "baby" toys. The stuffed rooster was one of them, and it was very apparent that Emily was using a prime stalling technique so that one of us would be compelled enough to get into the attic where it is stored and fish it out form the rest of the stuffed baby toys. No. Such. Luck. Scott laughed hard and told her to get back in her room. Stalling has become a regular pattern around here. Sometimes it is rather comical what she will try.

Halloween Costume Pic for Justin

Emily wasn't sure what she wanted to be this year for Halloween. She started off saying she wanted to be a sushi roll, but she later changed her mind and wanted to be Peter Pan, and later a cupcake, and then later still a banana.

Finally my mom called and said she found a cute unicorn costume. We went with it, and Emily loved it! Her back two feet were the unicorn's back legs, and the front legs hung down in front of her. On halloween night we went to the neighborhood party where she won most unique!

These pics were taken from Boo at the Zoo. My camera broke, so thanks to Lori for snapping these and passing them on! Emily is with Sara (Tinker Bell). By the way, Emily did have face paint on, and we quickly removed it after she couldn't keep her hands out of it. But the red you see on her face wouldn't come off!
Hope your Halloween was fun!

Time to VOTE!

I stood in line for about two hours before voting today. I was glad to see so many people taking advantage of their civic responsibility. I read that only 51% of all Americans voted in the 2000 election. Hopefully we will see much larger numbers come out to vote this year.

Scott stayed at home with Emily while I voted, and he left a few minutes ago to vote himself. I hope the lines aren't as long now for him. I am very thankful that we are both off today. I can't imagine what the lines will be like after five.

How long did you have to wait today?

Coming May 2009

Imagine our surprise at our ultrasound a few weeks ago when we saw more than one baby! Suddenly it all made sense that I was going to bed by 8 pm every night, and coming home for naps right after work. The nausea has been yucky at times, but for the most part these two babies have only made me tired.

Scott and I are thrilled at the idea of adding two more at once, and we just told Emily a few nights ago. She said she would like "a boy one and a girl one." Nice. They are fraternal twins (two separate eggs) so they could be two different sexes, or the same. Only time will tell.

Even though I have always said I would love to have twins, we never thought that we would actually be blessed with two additions at one time! God is good!

My hope and where it comes from

Today I feel like the fight is just too hard. The day is too long. And all will never get done.

I just want to go to sleep and start over fresh tomorrow.

Maybe I am just really tired, and can't get over it, but it seems like everywhere I look there is negativity. The economy is horrible. People can't make ends meet. The war continues. Schools didn't make AYP. California is on fire. Politicians lie. It just seems to go on and on and on. Not to mention the woods by my house that are now cut down to make way for houses, and the kid in my class who will never have a decent family life.

It is during these days of pure negativity that my only comfort comes from my God. And I wonder how does anybody make it through this negative earth without Him?

I sure do hope tomorrow is better.

I have a doctor appt. that could only be scheduled in the early afternoon, which means I have to take a 1/2 day off work. I am going to take advantage of using this 1/2 day and I think I will spend a good hour in the coffee shop by myself, sipping tea and reading. Ahhhh. That sounds nice, doesn't it?

Tomorrow WILL be better!

Fair Highlights

We went to the state fair yesterday. It was a little overcast, and the high was in the low seventies but it never rained, and was just cool enough to be comfortable. We got there right after it opened, and it wasn't crowded at all. Some things worth mentioning:

1. Fair Rides- Emily loves them, and they always seem like a good idea until she and/or one of us are locked in the ride. Then I begin to question the capability of a ride to be safe when it actually isn't bolted down to anything, and is transportable. Hmmm....

2. Exhibits- How awesome is it that our child still will fall asleep and take a 1.5 hr. nap right there in her stroller? It sure made looking at the exhibits much more enjoyable, as she would have been bored to death viewing the winning rose display, amateur cake decorating contests, and sand sculptures that Scott and I love.

3. Farm Animals- Thank you Clemson Univ. students who took time to allow our daughter to pet your very pregnant dairy cow, explain where milk comes from, and show your baby calf on a lead line. In addition to this, she saw a chicken in the process of hatching from its egg right before our eyes, petted a beautiful bunny rabbit, and watched the equestrian team jump their horses in competition. Surely a highlight for Emily Grace.

4. Political stickers- If the definition of being a minority is not being in the majority, then Scott and I were certainly in the minority with our Obama/Biden stickers that we sported through the fair. Not that I thought too much about it when I stuck it on my shirt when seeing the Obama display, but later when I went to find a table to eat my funnel cake (mmmmm.... funnel cakes!) I really did question whether or not I would be as welcomed to share a table as I would be with a McCain/Palin sticker like most of those around me. (the tables were very long, and required asking those sitting on the other end of they were using the entire table, or if we could sit on the other end.)

5. Fair food- Yes, I already mentioned the fair food. But there are a couple things that the SC fair has that we didn't have growing up, or at least I don't remember. THe first is Fiske Fries. Yum. They are sort of like In-and-out fries, but they have a full-size spray bottle at the display filled with malt vinegar to spray all over the fries. That with lots of salt makes them better than in-and -out, imo. Thanks to my friend Lori for turning us on to those last year! There are also these cinnamon sugar donuts that Scott loves. Thanks to Jimmy for turning him on to those last year too! And of course there are the double corndogs that I love with lots of mustard, and the funnel cakes. Seriously, enough fat grams to last me through the remaining days of October!

So yes, those are my fair highlights. We left our home shortly after nine, and didn't return until after four. We felt we got our money's worth. :) Anybody else go to the fair where you were?

Yeah, so we've been busy

Scott never posts, and I haven't posted lately just because of all the stuff going on. With both of us in the classroom at the same time, it is nearly impossible to go an entire week without some sort of school activity crammed in with everything else. All great things, but they keep us very busy!

Emily has started taking ballet and tap. She thinks it is fabulous. Scott is so busy with writing his first chapter (due next week) and teaching. And I have had a royally bad day at school. ANyhow, that is my brief update. Today's school day made me crave the back patio with Adam and a beer. I miss you guys!

Emily's First day of Preschool

Thursday was Em's first day. I took the morning off to take her out to breakfast and to walk her in to her class. She was so excited, she had this outfit picked out for weeks before. The entire way to breakfast she told me that she and I were both "stylish" in our clothes.

After breakfast we walked into the class and there was another girl absolutely screaming for her daddy. Emily turns to me and says, "You can go now mom. I think that girl needs my help."

So precious.

Of course when I picked her up she was thrilled to tell me that she is going to be the helper all next week. I loaded Em and her friend Landon into the van to bring them to Shari's before I returned to work. I got to listen in on their conversation about their first days. (Landon is in another class right beside Em's)

She is growing up so fast! I can't believe my baby is in preschool!

First day of school

I didn't get my first day of school picture like I thought I would have. Oh well. IT was a great day. I really love starting on Thursday because after two days I have the weekend to recover, re-evaluate my lesson plans, and reflect. I always seem to forget that the kids that come into my classroom don't necessarily have the idea of community that I wish they did. Either that or they certainly don't have the idea of a community together. I also forget the extreme energy that it takes to get twenty or more kids to all understand the basic concepts about the most simple tasks. They don't know the rituals and routine of the classroom yet, and how should they? They don't know the importance of not whispering to your friend when another classmate is talking. All of these are things to come in the next few weeks. Slowly, but surely. Boy did I forget.

This is a great group of kids and I can't wait for the things to come. I love my job!

Can we find some free parenting classes please?

First of all let me say that I am PRAYING that some baker at Vons was just joking around and eventually frosted in a neat little 2 or 3 in front of the 4. (Shoot, even a one for goodness sake!)

But good gracious, I remember sitting on the couch watching Woody play this game (not the fourth edition, but whatever) and I thought it was horrible for me to watch as a 20-something. But a four year old?
Poor boy!

New Pre-school hair cut

So after weeks of pleading to cut her hair, Scott and I finally gave in and let Emily cut her hair off. She loves it. I must say that it is darling. And most important of all, she loves it. This isn't the best picture, but it is the only one I have so far with her new do.

That time of year

Every year when I go back to work I struggle with emotion. I fight back tears when I drop Emily off at Shari's (though Em is can't wait to get there and see her friends) and I think about her all day, especially the first few weeks. When I am done at school for the day and I walk out to my car I get this overwhelming desire to get to her as fast as I can. Kind of like a horse who sees the barnyard I guess, but I just can't drive there fast enough.

On the other side is the sheer joy that I feel about my job. I lay in bed before school starts wondering about the new children, their families, and the community we will build together. I get nervous about their expectations, and I wonder about how the first impressions will go. When I am setting up my classroom I really love it.

Somewhere in that emotion is a battle of guilt. And every year I start out feeling guilty about loving my job. It is almost like somewhere deep down I hold this belief that if I was a good mother I would feel guilty and miserable all day without my child. And though I miss her, I am happy at work.

Eventually I get to the point where I am this evening. I am reminded that I am doing the work that God intended me to do. I am not miserable because I love what I do! I find confidence in knowing that God fully gave me a purpose in my life that involves being a great mom, but also involves being a great teacher. And because of Him I can balance both of those things out... eventually.

So next year at this time of year I will probably post something similar. Similar seasons, similar thoughts I guess.It just seems to take me a few weeks at the beginning of every year. But through that process I am again reminded of my purpose. And it makes me feel good all over again when I am reminded of it all over again.

Moving closer to domestic diva status

So i decided a few months ago that I wanted to learn to sew. I told Scott that I would like to get a machine, and he nicely replied, "uh... really?" Then he pointed out the half-finished other crafting things that I have never finished. (a crochet blanket, and a needle point pillow case for starters)

In comes neighbor Meesh. She has a machine that she is not currently using and has allowed me to borrow it for the time being. Scott said that if I can finish, actually COMPLETE a project or two, then we could talk about getting a sewing machine.

I have now completed two projects. (sort of) The first was the first of two valances for my classroom. How easy was that! One is already hanging in my room and looks great, so I plan on starting and finishing the second this afternoon during Emily's nap time.

The other project was a sun dress for Emily. It is this cute orange and yellow fabric, and the entire thing is really simple. My mother-in-law came over and was showing me how to work some basic things on the machine, which really helped. THen I was off to finish the dress.

Let's just say that it is something to be desired. When Emily tried it on she said (and I am not exaggerating, this is how my 3 year-old talks) "Mom, this looks foolish. It is really awful."

Nice. So my daughter now thinks that if she wears clothes that I sew that she will look foolish and awful. Oh well. I will try another, but this time with adorable princess fabric that she picked out. (Yes, that was sort of a bribe, but oh well! Maybe she will wear it!)

I will post picture later!
-Malisa