Wish list update

I made a few additions to my wish list because there were complaints that there wasn't enough information. I haven't added anything to the kids lists because you are all going to get them what you want anyway. Loud, noisy things I'm sure.

3 days of finals, 2 sick kids, and a partridge...

You get the idea. E & J both got sick Sunday. E at least made it to school for half a day on Monday but J hasn't been to school all week. Needless to say, between school crap and a significant lack of sleep due to sick children (Jackson's been sleeping on my chest or Andy's stomach for the past 3 nights) posting has been way down the list. Sorry to report there's been no trip to have photos with Santa either. Deal people. Andy and I have been working in 3 hour shifts. Plus, Andy's stayed home with both of them all week. He's my hero. But, we appear to be on the mend. Emma's back to 100% and Jackson has actually been asleep since 8:00 with only one minor speed-bump. (He likes to sit up in his sleep and then he can't lie back down without lots of yelling (on his part) and help (on my part). Now I've cursed myself so I may post in the wee hours of the morning while J sleeps on my lap. BTW - did I mention Andy is amazing. ANDY IS AH-MAY-ZING. The end.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

He's pretty cute too, even if he tried to talk to Sissy during the entire Christmas play. You can't see it but he's standing in the laundry basket in E's room. Hilarious.

Biking madness

Here are Jackson and I taking a stroll around the neighborhood. Strangely, Emma was actually ASLEEP when this trip was taken so she's not in these shots. I'm sure we'll get some more. The whole family headed out this weekend but I forgot the camera (SHOCKER!). Now that Andy has his bike, we can all go. I'll put some other pictures up of all of us, but these should do for now.

Christmas Angel

So the original Christmas background didn't work as the blog didn't really fit in the borders of the background - regardless of how beautiful it was. It was distracting to me so I chose another. I like this one just as well. Be warned...the Twiling/Breaking Dawn background may come back after Christmas. Or perhaps I'll have found another obsession by then.

Here are a few pictures of our Christmas Angel from her school program. She knew ALL the lines: hers, the main characters, the teachers, the woman standing down in the front directing the singers... ALL OF THEM. I think we have a budding actress on our hands. But, of course, most of you already knew that. This is Emma's best friend at school, Ansley.

Clarification

The wishlists are working, or so I'm told. I'll probably add things to the lists as we get closer to the big day. Coordination about what everyone is buying the kiddos is up to you all. Also, the stuff on the wish lists is just suggested material. You don't have to buy from the listed site (as some of the items are out of stock) you can get that item or a similar item at any store of your choosing. Also, feel free to go out on a limb and get something yourself. The lists are just suggestions. Happy shopping!

Christmas Cometh Remix

OK - I played with the wish lists and they should be working now. There's nothing wrong with Andy's...he doesn't have anything on his wish list yet. Let me know, again, if they're not working. Love you all.

Christmas Cometh

On the navigation bar on the left, I've added a section that contains wish-lists for the kids. Let me know if you can't access them because I might have to reload them. I'll add a few things here and there. I might even put some things on there for me and Andy, too. Love to you all!

New background..

This is really cool...and shows how obsessed I really am. I will change it as soon as I've gone to the movie this weekend. Unless the movie really rocks, and then I might keep it up for a while longer. 4 days and counting!!!!

Blog Tagged!

I was checking out my cousin Gina's blog and discovered I have been blog tagged. This happened a year or so ago, but I'm game for it again. Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you (Gina's listed in my blog-list "The Childress Family")
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write six random thoughts about yourself
4. Tag six people at the end of your post
5. Let each person know he/she has been tagged
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is posted

Six random things about me:
1. I'd rather have a cold beer than a good glass of wine. (Stole this one from Gina, but it's so true.)
2. I have zero will power around sweets and have been known to eat chocolate for breakfast if it's in the house. (Remember, Gina and I are related so it's OK that we have a lot of the same tendencies.)
3. I am in love with several fictional characters: Edward from Twilight, Ron from the Harry Potter series, and Jamie from the Outlander series (there Andy, I said it out loud - metaphorically)
4. As much as I bitch about it, I love to teach!
5. It's not unusual for me to be wearing my pjs at 4:30 in the afternoon. School-clothes get irritating.
6. I miss the following people terribly on an almost daily basis (in no particular order):
MK, Mikey, Jay and Leanne, Izzie, Spears, Katie, the Thursday girls

Ok, so I blog tag:
Jess
Leanne
Scott/MK
Emily Ward (perhaps this will make her update)
Jay
Katie

Other bike stuff.

We actually get out of school for Veteran's Day so I was off yesterday. It's totally screwed up my mental calendar. I keep thinking today is Monday. Andy went to try to buy a bike yesterday and of course, they have to order his. They tried to get him to buy an upgrade for $600! Seriously? We just want to follow Emma - who is now afraid of hills and turns. So basically, unless it's a flat straightaway, she's walking her bike rather than riding it. After last night's screaming-freak-out-in-front-of-the-neighbor's-house, we're going to have to work on positive reinforcement to get her back on the bike full-time. I may start carrying treats like a dog-trainer. Sheesh. We also bought a trailer for Jackson to ride in. He screamed the entire time I was strapping him in but enjoyed the actual ride. Then he screamed the entire time I was taking him out of it. I think the screaming was because he was hungry though. A photo of the trailer including the little dude riding in it will be forthcoming.

Help

I am currently rereading Twilight to prepare for the upcoming movie. (See Countdown if you're confused.) But, when I finish (probably tomorrow) I need a new book. A good one. Any suggestions?

And finally...

I leave you with video of the dude. He can motor. Thus endeth the marathon-blog/picture post. Forgive the Emma-scolding toward the end. She was being grabby.

I can't believe tomorrow he'll be 9 months old. Here are some pics of his new favorite hobby - standing under the table. He's gonna walk early people, look out.

Andy lives.

Here's a fleeting glimpse at my adorable husband. He was serving as photo subject for Emma, our budding photog. She loves to take pictures but she's still learning about getting her subjects in the center of the frame.
May I just say that I am one of the luckiest women in the world. My husband is currently mopping the floor so that I can blog. He doesn't know I'm posting a picture of him or he'd probably brain me with the mop, but - people - he's mopping. In truth, Andy usually does the mopping. I do the vaccuuming beforehand, he does the mopping. He also does the laundry and I fold - most of the time. He cooks, he cleans the bathrooms. He's basically amazing. Now, he's probably embarrassed that I'm telling you all this but I just wanted you to know how much he takes care of us. In addition to all his "chores" he is also a great father and my best friend. After Drew's death last week, I took some time to evaluate and with Thanksgiving coming up, I have a multitude of blessings for which to give thanks. Andy's at the top of the list along with my 3 beautiful babies and my faith, my family and my great friends. It sounds sappy but it's true. I am blessed.

New Bike!

I've been talking about getting a bike since we moved to Tallahassee. I wanted to start riding since it's such nice weather here for most of the year. I was going to get one last summer but then we were pleasantly surprised with Jackson. Since it was too freakin' hot during my 1st trimester and not recommended after that, we put off the purchase. I think Andy thought it would be a passing fancy but sadly (for him) I remembered. Which was a good thing since Emma has become a speed-demon on her bike. We can't keep up with her anymore unless we jog or all-out run next to her so getting a bike was really the better choice than following her in the car. Andy plans to get one too and we've even purchased a trailer for Jackson. (We're going to try and put that together on our Veteran's Day holiday from school tomorrow.) But here's the bike I bought.
It's a TREK 3700 Mountainbike. Admittedly I was nervous when I went to the bike shop and they told me I had to ride one or two to check the fit. I hadn't ridden a bike since middle school - maybe once in high school. Fortunately, it's true what they say - you never forget how to ride a bike. Not that I was showing great form there in the parking lot doing laps around the building. Shaky? Yes. Terrified I would fall on my ass? You betcha. Horrified to find out the owner of the bike shop has a daughter at Lincoln? Need I say more... But, 6 laps on 3 different bikes and no falls later - I came home with a bike.

Inaugural ride: 4 house-lengths down our street. We didn't even make it to the stop sign at the far end. Some of our neighbors who also have a 4 year old boy were outside when we rode by and, of course, Emma insisted on stopping to play. But I did make it to the neighbor's house and back without embarrassing myself. It only gets better from here!

More Halloween Photos

Here are the promised pics of Sleeping Beauty, Casper and Fauna the Fairy Godmother. I had had enough of the killer-boots and wig so I ran the neighborhood as A Mom.

Halloween Craziness

We get to dress up at school for Halloween. It's a lot of fun and each year we pick a theme as a department. This year's theme was Rock n Roll Superstars. Not everyone followed the theme but these are the 11 of 18 who dressed up.

Top row: John Lennon, The B52s chicas (me and my friend, Kat), Cher, Kiss member (sorry, I'm not up on my Kiss facts)

Bottom row: zombie prom queen, Flava Flav, Pat Benetar, Kurt Cobain, Madonna, Napoleon Dynamite

Here's another shot of the B52s! Love you all! Stop laughing at my hair.

Pics of Emma and Jackson soon to follow.

Sad - just sad.

One of my students died this weekend. He committed suicide. I am overwhelmed with sadness for his loss. Not the loss for him alone but the loss of all that he could have become. He was such a genuine, sincere kid. You don't see that much any more. He had a great sense of humor and truly wanted to do the right thing. And he was a hard worker. Another quality one doesn't see in teenagers much anymore. I don't know what happened to make him think that was the only choice and that's the part that scares me. I can't imagine what his parents are going through.

His class period was a wreck today. One of his closest friends is in the class with him and he was almost inconsolable today. I just feel helpless and wish I could give them better guidance. I'll just start with prayer and an open door.

Mikey Update

For those of you who know Michael Hendren, his baby girl was born early Tuesday morning. She and Kelly are doing well. Michael sounded tired but happy. I'm thrilled for them.

Friendly Poll

So, I was "thumbing" through old posts today with a friend and I have a question.
Follow me here...
I was looking over my posts from the Fayetteville years and they seem much more balanced between me and Emma. Now most of my posts seem to be about the kids. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids and I love writing about my kids. I just feel like maybe I've gotten a little lost lately in the shuffle.
So this is my question: Should I begin another blog just for me and leave Controlled Chaos for the kiddos?
Yes, yes - all you non-comittals out there (read: Andy). I realize that ultimately it's my decision. I just wondered what you guys would have to say.
Be gentle.

New Twilight Trailer & Half-Blood Prince Trailer

The newest Twilight trailer is awesome. Check it out!

Also, the Twilight Soundtrack will be out Nov. 4. My friend Ellenbarger sent me a link to a youTube "video" of Bella's Lullaby. It's awesome too! The song, not the video.

Perhaps the Half-Blood Prince trailer isn't "new" but I hadn' t checked in a while. It's pretty cool too.

Behold: The Bruise

Emma whacked her head against our bed frame the other day when she and Jackson were playing on the floor. He tried to grab her hair and she dodged out of the way. She smacked the orbital bone on the outside of her eye right into the metal on the underside of our bed. It created a HUGE knot immediately and these photos were taken about 3 days later. The purple you see is not the shadow of the crease of her eye. It's the dark part of the bruise with the yellow/greenish extending all the way to her ear. It was a doozie!

Feeding and Crawling

Short post with some fun photos and footage. Mom is not the only one who enslaved her children early. Here's Emma doing her stint as nursemaid.
Now here's some footage of the "crawling". He's got the idea, we just need to work on follow through. The form is good though. I also like the video because it shows how the "ba-ba" factors into our day-to-day existence. I like the way he turns his head to the side to get the ba-ba in the right position. He gave up in favor of chewing on a marker. Apparently there unspeakable tastiness to be had in ColorWonder! markers. Who knew?

Right now he's chasing sweet potato puffs around his high-chair tray. Gotta run. Enjoy!

Sneezing, Kleenex, and sniffles.

Jackson and Emma were both sick last week with coughs. I ended up taking J to the after-hours clinic last Tues. night where he had to have a breathing treatment and x-rays. They determined that he had a viral-bacterial combination thingy and gave him an antibiotic and some Albutirol to help his wheezing. The breathing treatment was fun since they didn't give us a mask. The woman said, "Just hold the end of the nebulizer in front of his face so he'll breathe in the mist." Right. Um - have you seen him since we've been here in the last 15 minutes? Have you had an 8 month old, EVER? The next 5 minutes I frantically tried to balance the boy and the nebulizer tube on the paper-covered doctor's table, in heels (I hadn't changed from work), while keeping said tube in front of his face so he could breathe in the mist. Yeah. I'm proud to say the doctor did confirm the treatment had worked since his wheezing was lessened. Then came the, "Just hold his arms above his head, keep him sitting on this block of florist's putty (the green blocks they stick the arrangements in) and make sure to keep him still so I can take the x-ray," part of the evening. Surprisingly, it only took 3 shots to get 2 good x-rays. He was so confused having his arms above his head and pressed against his ears that he just looked around with wide eyes like I'd handed him over to alien experimentation. But, he's finally better and he passed out at 7:15 tonight after a huge dinner. He literally fell asleep on the changing table while I put on his PJs. How cute is that? Then I had to put him down in the really deep, not-a-baby-anymore crib. (More on that later.)

Emma had a pretty decent cough and hers has finally bid farewell after about 10 days. She's finally stopped waking up at 2:00 asking for a drink. School is going well for her: they're learning letter F this week. She was so pumped that letter E was for Emma! She and her friend Ella Grace were superstars all week last week. We went to the Dollar Tree today to buy some Halloween decorations. She of course wanted the huge window cling of the skeleton-playing-Grim-Reaper with a blood covered scythe to hang in the screen door. I convinced her a cartoon Dracula was much less scary for the "little kids" who will visit the house on Halloween.

I contracted some kind of hybrid virus from E and J. I never miss school. I'm usually good with some DayQuil and cough drops to power through. Any teacher will tell you it's easier to be there sick than to stay home. But, after Friday night through Sunday night of miserableness, I succumbed to the inevitable and stayed home, sort of. I had to go in on Monday because we have to get our own subs and my sub list was, of course, at school. I spent all of 1st period convincing my students I wasn't going to give them the Plague and praying our personnel director would find someone to come in before my 3rd period class started. Meanwhile one of my students kept saying things like, "You are breathing your germs all over me. That's what you get for putting me in the front row. Now you're gonna have to listen to it because I ain't trying to get sick. You just need to go on home." Thank you for your concern. Two days later with tons of sleep and hot tea, I'm feeling much better.

Now, to the sniffles. The boy is growing up. I know that it is inevitable as most children do tend to crawl, walk, speak, etc. but if Emma's babyhood flew by, Jackson's is a blur of mach-3 proportions. I cannot believe he is already 8 months old. He is mastering crawling day by day. It's amazing to me to see how much he progresses each afternoon. He can move both arms in tandem with his legs which he could not do this weekend. He's a genius! OK, ok - I won't get too carried away. He really wants to stand up more. He loves to stand up with me holding his arms. He's already starting to pull up on tables and chairs. he's been pulling up on his crib rails for about a week now and we finally (read: I) broke down and moved his mattress from the mid-level position for "sitters" to the lowest position for babies that can stand and walk. I almost cried. I can't believe it. I looked over at Andy and said, "He's not a baby anymore." Simultaneously we said
R - "I'm so sad."
A - "Thank God."
Hmmm... I guess that would explain why when my next comment was, "Let's have another one!" Andy looked at me in horror, made a cross with his fingers and said, "Stay away from me, woman!"

Promised pics and videos

Here are a few pics to whet your appetite. The J-man enjoying some splash time with Mama.
Here's me and Emma all ready for school one day. We matched. Blech. And no, Ben (one of my former students), I am not pregnant AGAIN no matter how this dress makes me look. For anyone wondering, I did not immediately rip Ben's head off with my bare hands and grind it into a grease spot on the floor outside my classroom. I wanted to, but I did not. See - I have self restraint.
Here is one of my many failed attempts at getting a pic of the chompers. I like this one because his eyes look so awesome. (It took a lot for me not to use the word "pretty" but I restrained myself - I mean, he is a dude.)
Click here for more fun photos. Some of them were taken by Emma and some were taken by me. I was trying valiantly to get a pic of the new teeth but Jackson wasn't so enthused. If you look really closely in the bathtub pic above you can barely see them hanging out there on the bottom.

I've got such cute kids. Sorry, I do. This first video is just Emma and Jackson playing around. Sorry it's so blurry and nauseating. I was trying to catch the action. Check out the CRAWL position at the end of the video. He's ready!


I had another video of Jackson, just sitting but it wouldn't load. He's getting really good at it. He wants to crawl in a major way. He's getting there.


And the last video gives Miss E some screen time. She's really into dresses these days. We can't get her to wear shorts at all. She's just got lots going on these days: 4 Kindergarten and learning letters and all. It's difficult stuff. Pardon Jackson's contribution from the peanut gallery. Who would've thought she'd be the class-clown? Hmmm...

Happy Birthday, Mom #2.

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday. Just wanted to note it since I'm spending some downtime here appreciating the silence in my living room. I have pics and video of the kids to load but I don't have the energy. The weekend was draining for reasons I won't go into to avoid embarrassing myself and others but suffice it to say it was not very restful. Now it's back to the daily routine. I will say that Janet (mom-in-law) would be proud of me for my actions, or lack thereof, this very afternoon. When I got home from work/school, there were dishes in the sink, clothes to be folded, beds to be made and a floor to be swept. I did none of it. I sat on the floor and played with my adorable little boy while I waited for his father and sister to get home. It was just lovely. He had a grand time smacking me in the face with a babywipe while I willingly took the abuse because it made him laugh so hard that I could see his two itty teeth while he was laughing and dripping blobs of drool on the floor. I gladly mopped up the drool-trail and eventually put him in the playpen so I could vacuum. (The floor was a bit gross.) Then we hung out banging on the window as Emma and Andy pulled up in the driveway. It was a great afternoon and the floor got vacuumed after all. All of that to say this: Janet always tells me to play with my babies and worry about the rest later. I'd say she's got the right idea. Hope you had a great day, Mom #2. Love you. (I really will post the pics and videos tomorrow.)

When did that happen?

We have 2 teeth people! One day he's got one little nubbin and now he's got two teeth busting through. And now he's yelling. Bye.

We are alive!

Yes, we're back in the house. We moved back in last Wednesday. My coworkers and my new principal were kind enough to cover my classes all day so that I could stay at home, clean, and move all our junk back in from the hotel. My parents were here to help with the cleaning and moving back in. Andy's dad cut his vacation short over Labor Day to help Andy clean out the garage. We have been so blessed! So many of our coworkers and friends here in Tallahassee have offered to watch the kids, help clean up and given us food, gifts and money. I can't imagine how difficult this would have been without all their support. A couple at Lincoln who also have a son at Trojan Tots even gave us a stroller since ours was in the back of my car and was ruined. The insurance company came through on the car last week - it was totaled. Yeah! (Never thought I'd say that.) We got the check on Wednesday and had until Monday of this week to make a purchase before we had to start paying for the rental care ourselves. So, we spent last weekend marathon-car-shopping. We ended up buying a Honda C-RV and here are the pics of the new car.



There have also been some major milestones in the world o' Jackson in the past few weeks. He can sit up on his own now and he has the beginnings of a tooth. It's a tiny little nubbin that's finally poked through. There was only a day or so of crankiness so all in all it worked out well. I'll take a photo of the tooth when it's a little more than a crack in his gums. He is exactly 7 months old today. Whoa. How does it go by so fast? He's healthy and loves Emma. He wants to chase her so badly. He can army-crawl and will probably be crawling before we know it. He already likes to stand up so he might even walk before he crawls!
Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement during the last few weeks. We never could have gotten through it without all the support. And as a bonus we have a new car and a clean garage!

Update

Still living in hotel - only different hotel because we were booted out of the 1st hotel since they were already booked for Labor Day weekend.
House still smells like poo. (raw sewage in flood waters. nice.)
Still waiting on decision about my car. (water in the dash and 6 inches of standing water in the floorboards, but let's make sure we consider every possibility)...and now, it's a holiday weekend. of course it is.
garage cleaned out. scavengers trolling neighborhood going through everyone's trash. classy.
flood policy doesn't cover paying for our hotel. right.
lost the will to capitalize.
must sleep.

Seriously?

And our house was broken into. Not kidding. Back door busted in, looks like an FBI search was conducted. Good news: only relatively minor items taken. Bad news: we have even MORE to clean up WHENEVER we get to live in our house again AFTER we have to buy a new car. So that's all I have to say about that.

Used Honda Accord for Sale: Recently Detailed

No reasonable offer will be refused. Must provide own watercraft to recover.

After 22 inches of rain in 24 hours, this is what our car and front yard looks like. We're not sure if we can salvage the car but ultimately, it's not our choice. Click here for the rest of the flood photos.

Tropical Storm Fay hit Friday night. It started raining in the middle of the night and stopped this morning around 8am. The heaviest rains came on Saturday. Everything seemed OK around lunchtime. Emma and Jackson went down for naps and since there was a lovely steady rain, Andy and I decided to lie down too. I went to sleep at 1:30. At 2:23 Andy came in to get me because he had fallen asleep on the couch for 40 minutes and during that time, 6 inches of water accumulated in the front yard. It took us 50 minutes to pack up and get the hell out. During that time, the water rose to knee level in the front yard. Yikes! Luckily, the house is still dry but the garage, as you can see from the photos, is under water. We're currently in a hotel (same hotel that we called home while waiting on this house last summer) until things dry out. We'll find out if the Honda is salvageable tomorrow and what drying out the underneath of the house will entail in the coming days. God be praised! We, the kids, and the cats made it out. We spent last night with some friends (who have a hole in their roof from a huge oak in their front yard) and have done a lot of thankful prayer that we and the house survived the rising waters. When water was splashing over the hood of the Explorer on the way out of the neighborhood, I wasn't so sure. God is certainly protecting us. The truck that tried it after we did got stuck. Take a look at other photos (including my car with the Hog on the trunk) at the Tallahasse Democrat Gazette website. Photo 5 of 33 is our friend Oscar's house on the corner of our street and 24 of 33 is my car. Andy took a boat (yep, a boat) to our house this morning with a friend to gather a few things and take the photos. They literally motored up to the front door and he unlocked the bolt while standing in the boat. We are well. Heading to work tomorrow in jeans and a Razorback t-shirt. At least I'm dry and my kids are OK. Enjoy the photos. Talk to you all soon.

What do you mean, "Back to work"?

So, we're not dead, we've just been gone almost all summer. The kids and I left Tallahassee on July 9 and were gone completely from home until July 31. We spent time all over the state of Arkansas and even spent a week in Aspen, CO with my parents. Then we took a shorter trip to our favorite place, Destin, FL with MK and Scott and my mom. There are a few things I learned from the longer trip. (1) I miss Arkansas and all of our friends and family. (2) 8 days is too long to spend in Colorado with 2 small children. While the weather was magnificent as well as the scenery, there wasn't enough that the kids could do because of their youth and size. Maybe a few years from now will be better. (3) 22 days is entirely too long to be gone from my husband, kitties, and home. I doubt our trip next summer will be as extensive. And some of you people are going to have to drive to see us next year! But Andy did get an incredible amount of work done around the house with us gone with the help of his dad. Our house is magnificent! My husband is a magician. And he now absolutely ABHORS wallpaper. Our next home will either not contain wallpaper or we will LOVE IT. We have renovated bathrooms, kitchen sink, and painted bedrooms complete with princess border for E. It all looks amazing.
The trip to Destin was a fantastic cap to our summer of travel. It was a close trip so the drive wasn't horrible for us or the kids. Mom came with us to act as "au pair" for the 4 days we were there. She loved it, we loved and the kids loved it. I'm not sure if there was a downside for any of us. Mom got some R&R and got full solo access to the grandkiddos. We had a great time with Scott and MK as well.
I'll post pics of the house and trips later. For now, it's back to work for me and back to school for E and J. Emma went to school Friday and was sent home from school today with a cold and fever. Typical. Happy working.

Caveat to previous rant

Geez people - I like hip-hop music. If I had know that so many people would get their dander up because I mentioned Jay-Z, I would have left it out. My point was that Jay-Z IS talented - even if his lyrics are inappropriate for little ones. I meant that all the people trying to BE Jay-Z are the ones who need to give it up. I realize it's hypocritical of me to slam it and still listen to it, but I agree with Jay. (Take a look at his blog for a musician's take on the current "pulse" of hip-hop music.) There's good MUSIC - the lyrics are just depraved and not even original. Stop saying that I don't like Jay-Z. I do, I really do!

Music needs therapy

I love music. I listen to music whenever I get a chance and I'm indoctrinating my children. Yes, Emma has Dora songs memorized and all the Disney Princess tunes ring through our rooms almost daily. But she is just as familiar with U2 and John Mayer and some songs on the radio as she is with the songs marketed to her age group. I believe that music can improve, release and heal any emotional state. I listen to music so often that it's not unusual for me to be oblivious of my students coming into the room when I've been grading with my iPod on. (Sorry Leanne, I'm showing my submission to the onslaught of Apple's monopolization of technology. Hold on, my iMicrowave just beeped: the popcorn's ready.) It is with this in mind that I have 2 comments to make:

#1 - What the hell is happening to popular radio and music. Have you listened to some of the crap they're broadcasting? "I wanna make love in da club"? REALLY? Why? This begs another question too, who is agreeing to produce this music and sell it? And why? Why is it OK to discuss "hittin' it from the back" on the radio at 2:00 in the afternoon? I suppose I'm showing my age (gasp) and the fact that I have kids but it bothers me - morally as well as musically. I know that I am a child of the Nirvana revolution but I'm pretty sure that Kurt Cobain didn't discuss "hittin' it" with the neighbor and worrying about what he would say if they were discovered ("it wasn't me", perhaps?). Drug use was discussed but that's been a topic in music since the 60s. I guess sex has been in music for a while now too, but never so blantantly and with XXX rating. I mean, The Turtles including sexual innuendo in a pop "ditty" is a far cry from Flo Rida talking about "getting low". I hate it. All the good music being played and written is overshadowed by the shock-jock, club-bumping crap that every Jay-Z wannabe cranks out to get his 4.25 minutes of fame. It's disgusting. Blech.

#2 (in a completely different vein) I am impressed, no floored, nay... AWED by my brother's musicianship. The longer he plays, writes, and composes (yep, you heard me - composes) the better he gets. I am mildly musical: I enjoy listening and playing music although I rarely do the latter lately. Jay is so talented. He can play multiple instruments (including guitar and piano) and is wicked fast on the drums. He is beginning to be "recruited", for lack of a better word, to work on albums with really talented artists. And all the while he's still writing and playing his own stuff.

I guess all this to say this...
Much "popular" music (I don't know who's listening to it) sucks. Jay is on his way to becoming a musical genius even though he already is in my book. And most importantly - if Jay recommends music to you, you know it's gonna be good. Check out his blog and myspace page for his ownnew creations.

Cute boy

So lots of stuff has been going on here lately. Namely, the boy being cute and looking a heck of a lot like Uncle Jay.
And eating cereal.


And finding his squeal. And exercising. And looking like Liberace after his bath. Have you ever heard a baby pant? Cute.


I realize I'm telling an infant to look at the camera - cut me some slack. Anyone with a baby will tell you that all logic flies out the window when you are filming your children.

All the new videos of E are pretty long. Here's one where she's doing her impression of Uncle Jay. She's obsessed with drums right now. She wants to know the name of every drummer on the radio. Jay, a little help, please? BUT NO DRUM SETS! Anyway - here's her make-shift drum kit and a little beating for your enjoyment.

Other pics taken by Emma

She's doing pretty good. She's got most of her brother in the shot. He was mid-roll during the photo shoot.
Here's a sighting of the illusive Andy-bear.
The new hair is straight here b/c the stylist dried it straight to make sure she hadn't made any huge errors in "alignment" as she termed it. She's a new friend and she is a roller derby girl along with one of my fellow teachers from Lincoln. The stylist's roller derby name is Bitchie Cunningham and my friend's name is The Tell-Tale Tart (a nod to Poe). And we thought Arkansas was white-trash. You should go to a Florida roller derby bout. Wow. Maybe I'll post some pics next time I go. It's good fun and there's beer, so not a bad time altogether. Nap time is almost over. Here's another gratuitous picture of Miss E. She's got a shorter "do" too. We had about 3 inches cut off of her hair as well.

New, Sexy Hair (OK, so it's just shorter - stop laughing)

In traditional Reagan fashion I got pissed off at my hair. In case I haven't mentioned it, it's really hot here in the summertime. I decided I was tired of my hair being long and heavy and hot and unmanageable. I agonized for about...1 day and then decided to chop it off. It's been wavy for some time now, since Izzie was born, I think. This is what happened when I cut it off. Who knew? This is Andy's version of a mug-shot.

Hot and stuff...

So I'm sitting in my kitchen waiting for THE phone call. You know. The one where you've called the ________ repairman and he's supposed to call you before he shows up. The receptionist (who usually has a name like Candy or Wanda) assures you that he'll call somewhere between 9 and 12. Great, that's helpful. BECAUSE I HAVE 3 HOURS TO SIT ON MY ASS AND WAIT FOR GERALD TO SHOW UP AND PICK HIS TEETH WHILE HE TELLS ME IT WILL COST $300 TO FIX MY AIR CONDITIONER. Let's review for those of you who just joined our show. Last night at kiddo bedtime (circa 8:30) Andy went for the extra toilet paper in the utility closet in the hall. (Not glamorous, the toilet paper bit, I know.) What should he find but water collected on the floor and dripping from our A/C unit. Have I mentioned that SATAN LIVES HERE!? It is so freakin' hot here. It's in the 90s by 10:00 every day and at least 75% humidity if not higher each day too. So, hanging out without A/C is not on my list of things to do. Plus, I'm supposed to take the cats to the vet this morning which, I'm sure, is when the repair-guy will magically appear. Either way - this is not fun. J and I are about to kittie-wrestle the felines into their carriers so we can head to the vet for their shots. After that, I plan on staying away from the house in air conditioned establishments like Target and Kohl's until said repair dude shows up. The cats may have to hang with us in the car. Who knows? We could all be sleeping at the La Quinta tonight. I'll let you know. But, do not despair - there are kid videos. Enjoy. Just like her Uncle Jay: quoting movies already. For those of you who don't speak Emma, here's the transcript.
"Look at this thing! Mom and Dad are gonna kill me! And I can tell you this, it's not gonna be done with mercy." The reason she's covering his face is because the character smacks himself in the forehead and drags his hands down his face while he's talking. If you haven't seen Meet the Robinsons it's worth a look. The second video is Emma and Jackson having tummy-time. Emma likes to lay with him on the play-gym. Pretty stinkin' cute.

Here's the tummy time video. Damn cat.

Divine Discussions

Yesterday, on our way home from the grocery store, we were crossing a major intersection here in Tallahassee when we encountered something Emma had never seen before: a sidewalk missionary. The man had multiple signs declaiming our utterly sinful nature and hopelessness without God as well as a sandwich board screaming, "REPENT NOW!" My favorite was one of the signs that said, "God doesn't owe you an explanation or an apology. Fear God and repent now." Needless to say, Emma was intrigued. Particularly because the man was gesticulating with his Bible and yelling at all the cars stopped at the stoplight. In an attitude of affront Emma said, "Mama, what is that man doing out there?" It took me a moment to gather my wits and I tried to explain. I told her that the man was trying to encourage people to think about God and have Him be a part of their lives. My little 4 year old daughter said, "Doesn't everyone talk to God, Mama?" How I wish they did, baby girl.
The teacher in me saw a "teachable moment" so I asked a few questions.
Me: When can we talk to God?"
E: All the time, Mama. (said in a tone one might use when explaining that we breathe all the time)
Me: Why do we love God, Emma?
E: Because he loves me and all the little children of the world and died to be our Savior. (this is the influence of our Baptist preschool)
Me: How do we talk to God?
E: We pray but you don't have to pray serious all the time. Sometimes you can just talk to Him like a friend. Does God live in the sky in Heaven with Isabelle, Mama?
(gulp) Me: Yes, baby, God lives in Heaven with Izzie.
E: My baby sister Izzie died, and lives in Heaven, right Mama?
Me: Yes, she does. (do not cry, do not cry)
E: Mama? (long pause) Will I die?
Me: Yes, one day you will die but that will be a long time from now.
E: Mama, I want to see God and see Isabelle but I don't want to die now. I want to stay with you.
Me: I want you to stay here with me too.
E: Will Daddy and Jackson die?
Me: Yes, one day they'll die too. But we'll all get to stay together for a long time before that happens. (Please Lord, let me be telling her the truth.)
E: silence
Me: Em, are you OK?
E: I'm thinking Mama. I want to pray real quick. Dear God, please protect me and Mama and Jackson and Daddy and don't let us die now because I want to stay with them for a long time. I will see you later. Love, Emma

Daily I marvel at the wisdom of children as glimpsed through the eyes of my daughter. Thank you Father God for giving me these little people who love me and teach me so much. I am so unworthy of such a gift.

Boy Booster

My mother has informed me that she needs periodic doses of the boy (like Jess's "Daily dose of Dude") to keep her going day-to-day, not unlike a booster shot. So, here's the Boy Booster for this week. He's trying to roll over, he loves his froggie (thanks Mike and Tricia!) and is determined to be a thumb-sucker like his Mama and his Uncle Jay. Enjoy.

Can you hear it?

The muted, celestial music you hear in the background is the sound of angels announcing yet another school year ended. Ahh, the Hallelujah Chorus - an oldie, but a goodie. A moment of silence, please.

We always knew golf balls were important

My friend Lisa had this posted on her blog and it really hit home with me. Hope all you guys who are my "golf balls" are doing OK. You know who you are.

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else---the small stuff. 'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.

The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

'Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.' The coffee just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

Remember, 'Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here, we should dance!'

Here's a couple of new movies for you. The first one is Jackson actually talking.



This video is long but really cute. Sorry about the lighting, again, I'm new at this. Next time I'll just put her in front of one of those spotlights they use to announce a GRAND OPENING at a car lot.


For those of you that don't speak "Emma" the words to the song are:
5 little monkies swinging in the tree
teasing Mr. Alligator, "Can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Alligator, sneaky as can be
And SNAPS that monkey right out of that tree...

And so on.

New hairdos, sleep teases, etc.

Emma and I have rediscovered the braid. Emma calls it "the braided". I have a feeling she will live in "the braided" or in dogears all summer long. She refused a head-shot for this photo. All I could willingly get was "the braided". If you look closely you can see that she is still covering her face, just in case I tried to be sneaky and whip around her hunched back to get her face in the picture.

So right after the boy rolled over in the middle of the night the next night, HE SLEPT ALL NIGHT LONG. This, apparently, was just ONE BIG SLEEP TEASE because he hasn't done it since. But, like my dad used to say when he finally saw you hit a good shot, "Now I know you can do it so there are no excuses!" This phrase has little to no effect on the boy because he is still calling for the milk wagon around 2 or 3 in the AM. Right now, as you can see, he is happily swinging away in dreamland. In fact, this photo was taken mid-swing; pretty darn good if I say so myself. I take back every mean thing I ever thought or said about people that have "swung" their babies to sleep. It's not a regular occurrence in our house but sometimes it must be done.

Doesn't your nephew look cute in his gorilla-wear, Tara!

And...

This is just cute. My boys.

Yes...He's advanced for his age.

Jackson rolled over last night! Granted no one actually saw him do this, and I'm not sure he was even aware that it had happened, but he did it nonetheless. At about 4am, I heard J yelling from his crib. I don't mean whimpering or fussing like he does when he's hungry - he was really yelling. (BTW - for those of you keeping score, he's still not sleeping through the night. He's going about 7 hours consistently from 8:00ish until 3am. I tried to adjust his sleep schedule so that he would do the 7 hours from 11 until 6am but it failed miserably. By waking him up at 11 to feed him again, I just lost the solid 7 hours. Then he woke up every 4 or so. Needless to say, we've gone back to the solid 7 hours beginning around 8 or so. I just have to make myself go to bed earlier. Which obviously I am NOT doing tonight. But I digress.) I padded down the hallway into his room and found him lying on his belly...with his face smushed into the bumper pads. I would have yelled too! I rolled him over onto his back and he immediately went back to sleep. So - milestone accomplished sans witnesses. Oh well, he still has to do it again while we're watching in order for it to be real.

In other news, as my friend Emily discovered at one point, our daughter is probably watching too much TV. Last night when she was asking for dessert, Andy said, "What's the Magic word?" Emma's response? "Arriba!" Thank you, Dora, for reminding us that censorship was invented by parents not to deprive children but to keep adults sane. That is all.

OK, so I realize that I was "in the light" for much of that video. Deal with it people. At least I'm taking the freakin' videos. Here's another video of Miss E working the Slip N' Slide with our neighbors across the street. Brycen is the little boy that Emma stalks every day. She spends much of her time looking out the front windows to see if Brycen's home, or if Brycen's leaving, or if Brycen's Mama's car is in the driveway - you get the idea. Today, it was close to 90 so we let the kiddos cool off in the front yard.

Who's REALLY in control here?

So, I realized/remembered that our digital camera (as old as it may be) does, in fact, take short videos. Here's one attempt from this evening. Basically, I do a lot of talking. This is not new.

Breaking news...

Teaching sophomores with 6 real school days left (finals don't count because there is minimal interaction on those days, thank God) before summer = an exercise in masochism like no other. I find myself thinking, "Please, skip English today!" with the fervency of Luke summoning the Force before he aimed for the Death Star. That is all.

Hide-n-seek.

Tonight at dinner we were having chicken fingers, macaroni and cheese, and green beans. As I had already finished my meal, I got out some dessert for myself. The Fudge Stripe cookies (with real fudge!) looked pretty darn delicious to little Miss E. So she asked if she could have one. I said she sure could, as soon as she finished her chicken. She only had about four pieces left so I felt sure this would be an agreeable arrangement. Emma replied, "Sure, Mama." She speared a piece of chicken, dipped it in the BBQ sauce and chomped on down. As she finished her bite, she reached across the table to, I thought, get a drink of milk. Her hand snaked out over her plate and stayed there covering her remaining pieces of chicken. Emma was hiding the rest of her chicken. Under her hand. In front of me. While I was watching. HIDING THE CHICKEN.

Um - news flash, Emma - I totally saw you do that. While I normally can be fooled easily these days due to my lack of sleep and that pesky infant who needs feeding and constant care, this time you're not getting anything by me. Not this time, sister. You may have been able to
wear hot pink shoes with your brown outfit, eat dry Frosted Flakes in a cup on the couch (I'm still picking rogue flakes between the cushions), and convince me to let you have a second cup of chocolate milk but this is going too far. You cannot hide the rest of your meal from me to get to dessert faster, particularly while I'm sitting right next to you. This type of behavior will lead to things like sneaking extra mints at restaurants, going 5 mph over the speed limit, and eventually you'll be strung out on samples at Sam's. This is your intervention. Part of life is cleaning your plate and part of my life is making sure you do it. But thanks for the laugh - it was hilarious. Hiding your food - really? And for those of you that just can't take it - yes, she ate the rest of the chicken and I gave her TWO cookies.

Happy May!

So, it's crazy to me that it's May. However, here are a few clues that only we teachers would notice that let us know the end of the year is approaching:
1) Spring Fever in the form of OVERACTIVE PDA infects all jr. high and high school campuses. This is disgusting on 2 levels: First, it's gross because no one should have to see to pubescent, pimply kids playing tonsil-hockey exactly 3 feet from adults, all the while oblivious of exactly how vomit-inducing their actions. Second, it's gross because you realize that at one time or another in your life you were just as oblivious; either in your own tenure on the tonsil-hockey team at your high school OR in the frat-party-alcohol-haze period that was most of our college days. Come on, you all remember that one time you made out with that one person in the middle of the room or in the hallway at that one party.
2) Complete lack of motivation. And here, of course, I'm talking about the teachers. (It's a given that all students, even the good ones, pretty much throw in the towel after mid-term reports in the 4th quarter.) I spent the entirety of my TWO planning periods today doing everything I could do NOT to work. I have poetry projects in a double stack on my floor, 5 sets of vocabulary and all my classes' Macbeth tests to grade, but what did I do this morning? I looked at John Mayer's upcoming concert dates and emailed friends. People, I actually scrolled through my Hotmail Contacts list to see who I hadn't talked to in a while so I could email them. This is the ultimate in educrastination (educator procrastination).
3) iPod usage and cell phone usage in the classroom is at an all-time high. I actually had a kid ANSWER his phone during 3rd period. The conversation went like this:
"Yo."
Kid listened for a second.
"I have to go man. I gotta give my phone to Mauk so she can write me up. Later."
Yeah - exactly.
Kids are also trying to conceal their earbuds in their hoodies. Sadly, for some of them, I let them get away with it because it's so much easier to let Alex listen to his iPod than it is to try and get him involved in the classwork. Or, I should say, involved appropriately. Yesterday when practicing personification, his contribution was, "The hotel rocked. You know, the hotel rocked?!?" Yes, Alex we all get the sexual innuendo. And your spoken italics really helped bring home the point. I appreciate that you understand personification, I would just like it more if it wasn't loaded with sexual euphemism, thank you.
4) Things like this are said on a daily basis: "So, if I get a D for 4th quarter and make a B or C on the semester exam, I still pass, right?" OR "Mrs. Mauk, what do I have to make on the final in order to pass?" My response: An effort.
Ah, education. But, I'm not in it for the pay or the accolades, I'm in it to touch kids' lives. For example, a female student pulled me aside the other day when we were talking about classes for next year. "Mrs. Mauk, I have a question and I would really value your advice." I anxiously awaited an opportunity to encourage the girl to challenge herself by taking an Honors or AP course next year. "Do you think I can handle the mental (wait for it) and physical parts of having a baby?" Me: speechless
Yes, it's these opportunities that really remind me why I got into teaching. And that was...
I'll get back to you next fall.

Tiger Lilies!

My sister is hilarious! Many of you know this already but, if you haven't had a dose of Leanne-isms lately check out her blog. It's brand new and she started things off right. Her 1st post is about John Mayer - so how could she possibly go wrong? Again - freakin' hilarious.

Pigs in Blankets quandry

This was the discussion between me & E while she helped me roll up wienies in crescent rolls.
Emma: Mama, what are we having for dinner tonight?
Me: We are having Pigs in Blankets.
Emma: Pigs in blankets?! (Said in the same tone one might say, "You have cancer?" OR "There's no chocolate?")
Me: Yes, pigs in blankets.
E: Well,where are the pigs?
Me: The pigs are the hotdogs. (I felt it was too early to explain that hotdogs come from pigs.)
E: Where are the blankets?
Me: The bread is the blanket. See how we roll the hotdog up in the bread? We're rolling the "pig" up in the "blanket". Get it?
Emma: Right. We're rolling the pig in the blanket. So, where's the pillow?
Indeed.

Twilight Update

Take a look at the videos on this MTV website. They will really whet your appetite for the movie.
http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1585900&vid=224215
Yeah! Make sure you watch all 4 videos. They have some really cool clips of shooting already.

S*&@! and Giggles and Snot

As the title implies, there was lots of all of that going on at our house last night. Including a wicked runny nose for me. BTW - Andy bought me the Puffs Plus with Vicks tissues. AH-MAZING, my friends. Also, a little bizarre feeling in the nose, but still - helps with the breathing, which I hear, is crucial.

Wanted to post the cutest picture of a baby boy I've ever seen. He was totally pumped about his first night in his own room. We moved the little man to his crib last night to see how long he would go between meals. After a discussion with the expert (my mom) we decided my mama-radar is too sensitive and I think I've been feeding the little guy too often. Turns out, my mama was right. J ate at 6:30 last night, fell asleep at 8:30 and didn't get up again until 1:30. Then he didn't get up again until 5:30. I can feel it - sleeping through the night is just around the corner. If I can get that 7 hour stretch to last from 11:00 to 6:00 - that would be fantastic! Here are some pics of the boy's room. Don't think I ever posted any. Hope you all have a great day! Notice the Arkansas basketball goal on the closet door. We're starting him out early. Go Hogs!Who can resist a picture of a sleeping baby? He's gorgeous, I think.

Happy Birthday baby girl.

Yesterday was Isabelle's birthday. She would have been 2. It seems incredible to me that it was 2 years ago. I never manage to post things on the day they actually happen but I was thinking about her all day. The good news is that my heart is healing. I think Jackson has helped with that a lot along with a lot of prayer. I still don't understand why we didn't get to keep her but God is working on me to accept it anyway. At least I know He's taking care of her and that yesterday the angels all had a huge blowout party in her honor. Thanks to all the family and friends who called and emailed to check on us.
The other thing that gives me strength is knowing that where she is, she's perfect. And that I'll get to see her again. Time is strange. I feel like that part of my life was a bad dream, almost as if it happened to someone else. But God is good and he comforts my broken heart and mends it a little each day with Emma's curiosity and Jackson's grin. And He has given me 2 beautiful, intelligent children - perfect children - to love and teach. And for all of that, including Isabelle's short life, I am grateful.
I Corinthians 10:13
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

As requested, new pics!

Just loaded some new pics. Trying to figure out how to use Picasa. It's slow going when you are trying to get a 3 year old down for a nap and keep an infant from screaming so he won' t keep said 3 year old awake. We're using the new computer now so that helps. It's a lot faster even if I'm not. For instance, I started working on loading these pics at 1:30. It is now 3:00. Click here to see new pics loaded in our web albums. But I love this pic so much I had to load it here too!

Eye Twitch

I have an under-eye twitch. I've had it since about the end of 5th period, which is around...hmmm...1:30. It won't go away. Are eye twitches a sign of stress? Company coming? A change in fortune? A lack of sleep? ALL OF THE ABOVE???? Emma is still vomitous but now we have anti-nausea medication so we could be OK. She's still really listless but secretly, I kind of like it. She's never this still and she hardly every wants to cuddle and be held like she does when she's sick. Strangely, she wants Andy when she's sick rather than me (I was always a Mama's girl, myself) but that's OK. I just hope she feels better soon. Andy's been AH-Mazing. He completely rearranged his schedule to stay home with her today and tomorrow. He's got a presentation tonight and had to email his professor to move his presentation back until the end of class. Andy is my hero.

In other news, Jackson did great today at his first day at Lincoln High School! I was a wreck after I dropped him off. He was asleep and I had visions of him waking up and being terrified b/c he didnt recognize anyone around him. After a tearful 10 minute phone call to Mom, I was back under control and ready to face my classroom. I had nothing planned which my kids seemed to enjoy and they mostly seemed genuinely happy to have me back. I put a note on the board reading, "I don't want to hear anything about Mrs. Campbell. It's in the past - get over it." That seemed to curb the complaining. Pumping went well (as well as it can in a portable building with no running water) and overall it was a good day. I can't say I am happy to be back at work but it is tolerable. After all, it's only 8 weeks. Eeek.

Exciting "materialistic" news. I just received my early, early, early birthday present from my sister. It's this fantastic clutch/wallet from Abas. Take a look if you're interested. She had one when she was visiting in February and I fell in love with it. I'm not much of a purse girl anymore (kiddos will do that to you) so I've been carrying an over-the-shoulder (OVTS) purse to keep my hands free. Now that I've got this beautiful thing, I can throw it in the diaper bag or my school bag or back into the OVTS purse if I'm by myself (right, when would that happen?). Leanne gave me the full-frame clutch in red croc leather. It's to-die-for. They have lots of fun colors and other fun items besides wallets as well. Thanks a heap, Leanne. I love it!

Currently Under "Deluge Warning"

You know the expression "When it rains, it pours"? Well that's true in several ways at our house.
#1 - It is actually raining and has been raining since early Saturday morning around 3:00 AM. I know this b/c I was up - feeding the baby.
#2 - Andy is in the last 2 weeks of his school with 3 presentations, 2 papers, 1 take-home final, and about 23 books to read. I'm not joking, the stack of books is 2 1/2 feet tall.
#3 - I go back to work tomorrow for the 1st time in 8 weeks. (Sob.)
#4 - Our home could be declared a FEMA emergency zone. Dishes in the sink, goup in the bathrooms, detretis on the hardwood floors, 2 loads of unfolded laundry in the closet, all the beds are unmade, etc.
NOW, let's add in the fun stuff.
Emma is running 102+ fever (again) AND throwing up! It was sticky and blue-ish b/c she had a package of Nemo fruit-snacks at 7:30 this morning. Yippee.
Zoey joined the vomit-parade about 30 minutes ago with a gigantic hairball. Where? On top of the fridge, of course. Picture me perched atop a kitchen chair with Lysol wipes. Humorous? - Yes, in about 2 weeks.
Jackson is eating every 2 1/2 hours - baby growth spurt - but otherwise perfect in every way.
Max is tracking in exorbitant amounts of litter and depositing them on the KITCHEN TABLE b/c it is 96% humidity today and his brain is the size of a large peanut M&M and he can't get it that the table is not his bed.
So, if I can get everything ready to go back to work tomorrow - it will be a medium sized miracle. Stay tuned - I'm sure thatAndy & I will have contracted whatever vomit-inducing bug Emma is carrying by mid-week. The fun continues b/c I have no more sick-leave so I'll be heading to work with a 2 month old infant and trying not to puke on my sophomores. Although, now that I think about it, it might make them behave better if there's the imminent threat of being horked on if they tick me off. Hmmm.

Mimi, Mile-stones, and such.

Mimi was here for almost her entire Spring Break to visit and help with the kiddos while Andy was gone for the last part of this week for his annual fantasy football draft. It was a fun week and it went by incredibly quickly. I can't believe she left this morning. I feel like she just got here. In addition, I have to go back to work one week from today and I'm dreading it. And I mean dreading it in a you-have-to-have-a-root-canal-while-landing-in-a-757-during-a-thunderstorm kind of dread. I DO NOT want to go back to work. I don't want to go for several reasons: (1) I'm in love with my son. He's perfect and cute and cuddly and just starting to smile and coo and I CANNOT LEAVE HIM WITH STRANGERS FOR 8+ HOURS A DAY. How did I ever do this with Emma? Was I insane? (Although many of you have met Emma so you are probably well aware of just how I could go back to work after she was born. So far Jackson seems a little more laid back that Big Sis. Thank God.) (2) I'm not sure I can deal with 15 year old imbeciles for 8+ hours a day after having the last 2 months imbecile-free. Granted, it is just 8 weeks. And there are a few days of inservice scattered in there as well but anyone who knows the current adolescent mind-set will agree with me that perhaps some of the notions about mandatory sterilization aren't all that bad. At the very least, the Europeans know what they're doing when they send their kids to boarding school when they turn 11. (3) I have no idea what I'm going to teach. My sub has done a bang-up job. So much so, that I have not really paid attention to my classes at all while I've been gone. Monday, my 1st day back could be a "So-what-have-you-guys-been-doing while I've been gone?" day.

On a personal note, my mother is the best. She was here for an entire week when Jackson was born and spent this week with us too. I don't know how I would be sane or functioning if she hadn't come this week. She let me sleep for 3 uninterrupted hours, not once but TWICE. That's amazing in and of itself. Not to mention the countless hours of entertaining Emma, watching "Enchanted" a bazillion times and being the best baby-burper in the world. (I still have "How Does She Know?" ringing in my mind. Those Disney Alan Menken songs are just catchy and that's all there is to it.) Why is it only now that I realize how amazing she is? Mamas are awesome and aren't we all so blessed to have one and (some of us) to be one. God is so generous.

In a continuation of the cat saga, we bombed the house again for fleas while Mom was here. At least this time we didn't all contract some heinous virus afterward. We were on fire that day: we got so much done. We took E to school, then I had to go up to school to enter grades before Spring Break. Then we took a stop in the in-school daycare to take over some of Jackson's things to get him ready (sob) for when I go back to work. Next we took Zoey to the vet. She's been coughing and hacking for a little over 3 weeks now. Clearly, it's not just a kitty-cold or it would have gone away by now. (No, MK, it's not kitty cancer!) The vet says she has mild asthma and probably a bronchial infection. So, now I'm administering 3 different types of medicine to Zoey in addition to the flea-tick ointment. Yea! It's SO EASY to give cats medicine too! Mostly I think the vet just wanted to give me medicine so that I would have to pay for it. My favorite of the 3 is the antihistimine that makes her foam at the mouth if she bites it. That's great. I get to follow her around for 10 minutes after I give her the pill wiping up cat-mouth-foam. Blech. I think we're going to discontinue the antihistimine. Although, I might give her one more just so I can take a photo. Yes, I'm that mean.

On a happier note, Andy is home from the fantasy football draft and I am glad of that. Mom was really helpful while she was here and I again realized just how much Andy does for us. Not only is he a phenomenal father and husband but he helps me so much around the house. It's amazing to me also that I don't just miss him because of what he does for us but I miss his friendship too. I get lonely not having him to talk to. Sappy, yes. Deal with it. He's a pretty cool guy. God gave me the better end of the bargain, that's for sure.

I COULD NOT be a single parent. At least not living this far from my parents. If I was alone with the kids for some reason, I would move back to AR. Even though I'm not alone now, I'm still scheming about ways to move back to AR. Or at least within one day's drive.

While Mom was here, we got Emma's haircut for the 1st time. I highly recommend waiting until your kids are almost 4. It was a very pleasant experience for all of us. After hearing Katie's horror stories about Nathan's haircut experiences, I was nervous. But she did great. I guess with Jackson, we won't be able to wait until he's 4 unless we want him to look like a member of VanHalen in the early 90s. Thank goodness his Grandma can cut hair. That will be a lot easier than some stranger coming at him with what he thinks are a giant pair of shears. Speaking of the boy, he's waking up and making the cutest little grunting noises. Love to all.


Before the haircut.



Lovely blonde locks. Did I remember to grab a few for her baby book? Of course not. At least I got the picture of them. They took off 3 inches!


During
After



P.S. I finally got my diaper bag that Katie bought for me. It looks so cute. There's a photo of it too. This comes from a website called Lovely Stitches. You can design your own bags: not just diaper bags either. Take a look. Cute, huh?