How to Fix It

When you are having 'One of Those Days':

One of Those Days

You know those days, the ones where nothing on your list gets done. The ones where you cry at seemingly stupid and insignificant things, or nothing at all. The ones where your house is a mess and you just wallow in misery because of it instead of doing your dishes or folding the laundry so your husband can find his clothes in his drawers instead of having to hunt around the house in the many different baskets of assorted clean and unfolded clothes. You know those days? I'm having one.

And PS I made the cookies yesterday morning, I did burn the hole in the rug, less than 2 weeks after we bought it, and the picture of our family I've been meaning to hang? Claire is only 3 months old in it; she's now 7 months old.

All Put Back Together

or at least for the picture. There are few lingering boxes in Claire's room that need some attending to, but other than that the Great Makeover is complete!
PS. I hemmed those curtains myself.

Provoking

Can one sing along with elevator music?

My Fuare into Elfdome

Today Claire's walker came, it came in MANY more pieces than I expected it to. And the instructions well; less than helpful. (see below)
And in the end a box is much more fun.

Parental Training

Sleep Depervation Training
Course Description: Tape three fingers of each hand together and go about your daily routine. This will simulate the coordination and frustration you will feel on a daily basis. And will simulate the way your home will look about 4 months into child rearing.
Mind Reading
Course Description: Spend multiple hours alone each day with a person with many needs who can not talk to you. This will simulate the relationship you will have with you child. (Husbands are good people to try this with)
Toy Construction
Course Description: Construct elaborate, colorful contraptions which come in small pieces. For the final you will be required to construct said contraption using only rudimentary instructions in French and crude pictorial directions. The use of one hand will be restricted to simulate the child who will need constant attention as they try to get to the plastic bagS which hold the many small pieces.
Prerequisite: Toy Packaging Removal: how to get at the toy enclosed in homeland securities finest detainment packages.
Minimum of Engineering BS required
Diaper Changing
Course Description: Students will train using lifelike dolls who pee at will and most often when your back is turned or they are on someone else's carpet. Solid excrement is introduced in future higher level courses.
Feeding
Course Description: To prepare the parents for the trials of feeding, a green bean and pea mixture will be loaded into a baseball pitching machine and fired at random while parents try to pay bills, eat their own meal or maintain any semblance of normalcy.
The clothes worn for this trial will be used by the Laundry With an Infant class.

It Is Finished

YEAH! our room is done, after countless hours of cleaning off wallpaper and wallpaper paste (whoever invented wallpaper should be beaten with a wet noodle) Here are some highlights from our seemingly endless journey:

Cute Baby or Mean Mommy

You decide:

Through My Window

The Pope

Not only did GB and Pappy come to visit, the Pope was in NYC (do you have to capitalize his name? doesn't it seem like you should?). And I saw him. OK I saw his motorcade from about 2 miles away, but how many of you have been that close to the pope? The main reason that I am posting this is to make you all aware that the pope has a special car, called the popemobile. Who knew?! Ok everyone I have talked to knew, although Micah was quick to clear up that he has never actually ridden in the popemobile. But all that aside, doesn't it look like they put the pope in a cage in the back of a pickup truck? I wonder if the pope would ever say "Load up the pick-up, I'm going into town!"


news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/5020464.stm

GB and Pappy Come to Town

GB and Pappy came to visit us this past weekend. They loaded up the pick up and came into town! They brought Uncle Alex, Mommy's furniture and Claire's dresser. The dresser is beautiful and matches her room so wonderfully.
We just hung out and they got some good quality time with Claire, she is so blessed to have such wonderful grandparents.
We know they love us because they left some things behind, an old Havener trick to ensure that you see the other person again.

From All Fours to Sitting

This is the first time that Claire has done this!
I'm really considering just getting Claire a blog to mark all of these milestones.
But then I won't be able to compete.
Yeah for sitting up on her own!

I think she was really just looking for a way to get through the couch. (she even tried a password)

How Do You Do This?

.

Sorry I cried on you today. I'm better now, have a great day!

I'm a Freaking awesome Wife

Sometimes I questions weather I am actually a good wife. I mean I'm not as good as my mom, and better than others but really there should be a scale.
Today is not a day when I question. Today I am having Jimmy's mom and her boyfriend over for dinner. They invited themselves sort of, then called to say 'what are we doing?' an hour before our appointed dinner; but I didn't say anything. (ok, but I didn't say a lot) I also made Lasagna, which is awesome.



I put a 27 on it just in case the cake didn't turn out, then we could put candles in the lasagna and sing.

But the cake turned out freaking awesomely! Take a look.


I'm a GREAT WIFE! (and humble to boot)

Saucy

I'm making sauce. It may have something to do with the fact that my husband is accustomed to such treatment (no sauce in a jar for him), It may be because my husband is Italian. It may also have something to do with the fact that my husband's mother is coming to my house. Whatever the cause, my house smells great and I'm making sauce for my husband's birthday. (as a side: I drove to the store this morning to get the things to make the sauce. It was liberating.)
I'm making Lasagna. With the aromatic sauce cooking in my kitchen. I hope it's good since I've never done it before and I have my husband's mother coming for dinner. (I have stew in the freezer)
Last time I made sauce I told my dad about it and showed him over Skype and he told me not to serve it to anyone, without even tasting it. The nerve.

I served it anyway.

He was right.

Hopefully this sauce will be better, or at least serve-able.

Per Request

In this film, which was requested, Claire assaults a duck and burps and eats dirt. Enjoy

Claire in the Wild

Claire, She Crawls

Claire is on the move... she makes motorboat noises to help her move faster.

To Ponder

1. We are taking Claire to have her picture taken and there will be bunnies there. How do they keep the bunnies from peeing on the children as they take the picture?
2. The ice cream truck is out today (it's about 40 degrees). Who decides when the ice cream truck comes out?
3. What is truth?
Truth: a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like; actuality or actual existence; the true or actual state of a matter.

A Garden

Then the Lord God planted a garden...
That one phrase stuck out at me today during my devotions. That 'The Lord God' would humble himself so much to get dirty to create a spectacular place for man to live and thrive, it puts me in awe. But one the other hand maybe God just really wanted to feel what the dirt felt like, just imagine 'The Lord God' squishing mud between his toes :) I guess that one phrase encapsulated who my God is, He is 'The Lord God', creator of the universe, the ultimate Lover of me, and a God who enjoys his creations to their fullest. Enjoy His creations today.

More Laughing

Claire went to visit GB for Easter and she loved Dixi. For some reason when Dixi barked she thought is was hilarious.



Aunt Ami thinks it's funny too.

CO Alarm

About 2 weeks ago we bought fire detectors and a CO alarm. We never hung them, the batteries are in them but they sit, all three of them in our living room. And tonight during dinner our living room table went off. the CO alarm. So we called my father in law who is hazmat and would know about these things, and he said we should call 911, which seemed a bit extreme but since we had the alarm and it went off and we had Claire in the house, we thought we should call, cause it would be a shame for us to all die and then they all say that we had the alarm. So the fire department came and opened all our windows and told us that we have a 30 parts per million of CO. (which is low) Here they are, our first 911 call since our marriage. We took pictures:
So they left and we reset the alarm and it went off again... so we'll call 911 again... I'll keep you posted but for now we are sleeping with windows opened and that will keep the levels at 0. All is safe, we just need to find out where this CO is coming from.

Taxes are Fun

My taxes intimidate the accountant. This gives me a better appreciation for the headache that my mom went through to get my taxes done each year by herself. So thanks mom.

Her Own Woman

Claire is def. her own woman. I had a truck when I was little. My favorite toy, or at least one of them. My mom saved it for my children and I brought it home this past weekend.
Claire hates it. She just sits there and screams at it. Like it's about to attack her or she is frightened by it or just outraged. It's kinda fun to watch. But she is def. a little of Jimmy and a little of me but mostly she is her own woman.

Mother Note 1

Carrots are not a corduroy friendly food.

You lose

Sorry to have to tell you this but the nickle has been spoken for. My father will be receiving it in the mail shortly. Once I put it in the mail.
And for those of you who were stumped Jay and the American's sang the song COME a little bit closer.
I've never heard of Jay or the Americans but I like their music.

Free Nickle!

Claire and I love youtube... we like to youtube things and dance like crazy women to them. and then hit the replay button... repeatedly! it's great to stay at home. But today we have a song stuck in our head and we can't find it... cause we don't know the title.. it's a great dance number and we've been dancing to my rendition of it, which is REALLY weak. Claire is sick of it so we are offering a nickel to the first person who can tell me the title of this song. (seriously, I will waste the 49 cents or whatever it costs to mail a letter to send you a nickle) We are desperate! So

Name This Tune:
Move a little bit closer.. your my kind of girl.... so blah blah blah blah... move a little bit closer... blah blah blah blah blah... and the night is so young...

None of those words may be correct but you get the gist. so please help us.

Birthday

Another year, another birthday. I'm 23 now. That makes me closer to 'mid-twenties'. I'm almost in my mid-twenties and I am married and have a child who is half a year old. Wow... time does fly when you are having fun. Yesterday was def. fun. I made Jimmy do all the things we never do cause he's never 'in the mood'. We played dominoes and ate scones (ok, those things he likes) But then I talked him into taking me to see Horton Hears a Who. It was ok, def. not the type of movie you see in theaters but rent it if you are so inclined, but don't expect to be blown away. There were a couple really funny parts and some really random and weird parts like when Horton becomes and an anime character, that was weird and uncalled for. But overall I enjoyed myself very much. And I got flowers, big bright yellow lilies, so pretty. And we ate rollitini which is just so much fun to say that you should eat it at every celebration. It was a wonderful birthday!

I've got a big head and little muscles...

Someone didn't think this one through.









Peek-a-boo

Why is the fish moaning?

Claire's fish have begun to talk... mostly they share Claire's moods with me. Today they were moaning. And one was flying and the green one likes to hide.

Boxes

I know there has been very little about me lately, but I am well. And there isn't anything really exciting going on right now except raising Claire. SO, you will be subjected to more 'Claire Updates' today.
Her newest phase makes me smile ever so often. She has abandoned the toys of her childhood to pursue advertising and market research. She prefers to play with boxes... Blue boxes are her favorite but if you offer another she will take it. She loves the Rice Krispy box the best of all and stares at it on the table when she can't have it. She even cries if I take it away. It's kind of cute. And WAY cheaper than Dora this and Princess that. :) Everyone Wins!

Another First

Claire's first (real) snow came today! We are very excited and hope to go out again for a couple minuets later on. Here are some pictures...

Food in Solid Form

Claire ventured beyond her current horizon to tackle solid food today. Yesterday we cleared it with her Dr. and we couldn't wait to try some mighty tasty rice cereal. (pappi talks it up so much)






Bibs were a fun new accessory, we like them


Our first Bite!






A Success!

Cross it Off Baby

you will be glad to know that I have achieved some of my New Year's resolutions already! It kinda beats the feeling that I don't do anything all day.
So far I have :
Taken the wallpaper off the wall in our bedroom (the walls are now a vibrant blue from the 70's)
Gone to TWO restaurants with my husband that don't have paper napkins (by ourselves once(thank you mandi)!)

I have also discovered that I can not take a bath at my house, because my tub doesn't hold water, so I have to figure out what to do about that.

In general, it makes me feel good, I wish I could cross things out online, so I could get that satisfaction. Maybe I'll write them down and cross them off. Mailing them to myself and smashing them with a hammer is also appealing.

How are your New Year's resolutions coming?

Motherhood

Some days all you get done is changing diapers and you get to the end of the day and wonder where the other 10 hrs went.
And as an update: I made rice yesterday and nobody died or choked and it was good! Yeah for mastering rice.

Love to Laugh

Love to Laugh

I love to laugh
Loud and long and clear
I love to laugh
It's getting worse ev'ry year

The more I laugh
The more I fill with glee
And the more the glee
The more I'm a merrier me
It's embarrassing!
The more I'm a merrier me!

Some people laugh through their noses
Sounding something like this "Mmm..."
Some people laugh through their teeth goodness sake
Hissing and fizzing like snakes

Some laugh too fast
Some only blast - ha!
Others, they twitter like birds
Then there's the kind
What can't make up their mind

When things strike me as funny
I can't hide it inside
And squeak - as the squeakelers do
I've got to let go with a ho-ho-ho...
And a ha-ha-ha...too!

We love to laugh
Loud and long and clear
We love to laugh
So ev'rybody can hear
The more you laugh
The more you fill with glee
And the more the glee
The more we're a merrier we!

Don't forget to laugh and smile and laugh some more. Maybe you could host a tea party on the ceiling. What ever you do today, Do it with a smile on your face.

(we also love Mary Poppins)

My Crazy Daughter

My crazy daughter would rather play with a blanket than with the gym I bought her. It lights up and plays animal or Mozart music and it has a chime that chimes when you hit it with your feet or hands and is a VERY pleasant noise for a child's toy... but my daughter would rather cuddle and snuggle with her favorite blanket and play peek-a-boo with mommy than play with the gym. Go figure, I wish she could talk to tell me this so I didn't buy the gym :( But she can't talk so we will continue to guess.
Think she'll like a bath today?

Sick

Today I am sick. Chills and fever and nausea and weak and tired sick. This stinks.
On a lighter note; yesterday I ordered my groceries online. ALL of them. It was kinda strange but worked really well. And to think I thought my mom was strange for ordering produce offline...

Killer Rice

Not only can I not boil and egg. Which btw, the correct answer is to boil it for about 10-15 min. not any of the cleaver choices I came up with. (sad :( ) I also am incapable of rice. You know the chineese food staple and over all simple thing to make and eat. Well I can't make it or put it in anything apparently. I tried to make rice the first time and it was an oooy gooey mess. Then I tried to make it another time and it came out 'ok' but the lemon juice I put in with the wild rice bleached some of the color and made all the rice a weird pinky color (and it tasted like acid). Then last night I made stuffed peppers! They would have been sooo good if the rice inside wasn't hard as a rock. I'll tell you how bad it was, Jimmy tried to eat his and he choked trying to swallow. (again sad :( ) So rice and I don't get along but soon I will master it and then watch out! (I'm not sure what you should watch out for when I master it but right now you should watch out for my rice, next time it might kill someone.)

Hard Boiled

This is how an egg should NOT look when you are 'hard boiling' it. I have tried to call both sisters to discover if an egg is hard boiled when either:
A. It floats
B. It turns over
C. It changes color
D. It explodes

Obviously I chose D, because it was the most exciting choice.

I needed to know this because I'm making dinner. (yes it's kind of an event) I'm making potato ham salad stuff It tastes good, I had to try it so I knew weather to make a meatloaf in case it wasn't good enough to serve my husband.

What would you choose if you were hard boiling an egg?

Yeah for Omeletts

I never thought that omelettes could make a day so WONDERFUL! but they do. You should try it. Jimmy and I went 'out' for the first time since we got married yesterday. We took Claire, who slept through it (because it was the FIRST time I'm sure). It was sooo wonderful. I forget what else happened yesterday but it was good.

Stuffing Her Face

Claire has discovered her 'teeth'. She doesn't have any real ones but she chooses to chew on EVERYTHING! We really do need to baby-proof the house now.

A New Year

Things I plan to do in this new year:
1. Take the wallpaper off the wall in my bedroom (I started yesterday and this might indeed take me all year to achieve)
2. Take a bubble bath (sometime)
3. Go OUT to dinner with my husband (to somewhere that doesn't have paper napkins) (my husband and I don't go OUT, and he has never taken me anywhere that has paper napkins, except my mom's house) (he made me write that)
4. Travel to see my oldest, dearest sister before she leaves the country (I hope I have to do this soon)
5. Travel to see my younger, lovelyer (is that a word) sister (I hope I have some time to do this one)
6. Fly
7. Ride a pony at my Grandmother's house
8. Lose 20 lbs

Mobile (and not my phone)

I'm amused lately by the smallest things, probably because I never leave the house. But today I got a good look at Claire's newest form of movement. She can turn herself while lying on her back. I wasn't sure how she did it before but today I watched her do it. She kicks her feet up in the air so she's a 90 degree angle then she falls over to her side. Then she straightens her legs out.. don't ask me how it works but it does. It's slow going but it's just enough to make her 'mobile' for the first time... scary.

Naked in the Bathtub

You know those pictures your mom took of you 'naked in the bathtub'? and you said to yourself, 'why would she do something like that?' and 'isn't she supposed to be watching me so I don't drown, when does she have time to take pictures?' Well today I realized why my mom took those pictures. There is something about naked babies that makes you want to take their picture. I took Claire's first 'naked in the bathtub' pictures today. I  thought about posting them but I am close enough to those of you who ask all those questions that I will spare her the embarrassment of having naked pictures of herself posted on the internet. So smile, no one is taking 'naked in the bathtub pictures of you anymore!

In Awe

This Christmas was Claire's first. She really enjoyed it, more than I thought she would.
She also changed the 'Christmas experiance' for me. I was at the candle light service and the pastor said something about Mary knowing from the beginning that Jesus was purposed to die. It made me think back to something Alex said 'Claire really has no purpose yet but she sure is cute'. I can't imagine what Mary might have felt when she woke up on his first birthday and realized that he was going to die a horriable death for the freedom and salvation of the human race. Everyone dies, I know that one day Claire will die (unless Christ comes before that day) But I don't think about it constantly, Mary might have. I can't imagine what she felt. It made Christmas and the Christmas story so much more 'real' having had Claire this year.
I am in awe of my Savior and his sacrifices for me this Christams season.

Yawn

btw Claire went to her first Holiday party yesterday! she liked and it was one of her first 'firsts' she didn't sleep through.

She was happy about it

A Tree and Some Shots

We got a tree and five shots, the tree was mostly good, as were the shots actually. Let me tell you about them:

The Tree

Jimmy and I left Claire for the first time since we moved here and we got a tree (Oh, we left her with someone, someone reliable)(That was for GB who was wondering why we left her alone and was putting on her coat or calling her lawyer, or maybe both)Anyway, we got a tree, we picked it out all by ourselves (with the help of a nice boy scout)(that made me miss Greg). Then we tied it to Jimmy's car (OOOO I drove to the tree place, all by myself)(This is mainly the reason that Claire didn't come with us). And once it was on Jimmy's car, he drove us home and we brought our tree in and we lit it up (after stringing the lights ourselves, I don't understand the pre-strung ones) and we placed all my ornaments on it (even the new one from Miss Brenda)(Thank you!  :))(He he, he looks like he has a double chin) ANYWAY, it looks great and when my camera comes back to me (it's on vacation on LI) I will take pictures and post them. The mantle also got done up and it is my favorite part of the house.

The Shots

Claire went to the doctor today, he is Jewish, this is only important if you are waiting in the waiting room and you see a 'rag' on the floor and if you had known that the doctor and most of his cliental are Jewish you would have been able to identify the 'rag' as a jamica (Which I'm sure isn't spelled correctly b/c Steve (my computer) is telling me so)(but he speaks as much Hebrew as me so we aren't a great pair for fixing that problem). So we was the doctor who was very nice and Claire got FIVE shots. Well one was an oral vaccine so there were really only four shots but that's a lot when you are only 2 1/2 months and not even 13lbs yet. She did very well, I held her and she screamed but after the first two shots (during intermission) she calmed down and after the last two shots she fell asleep, in fact she is still asleep. (I should be doing something useful actually, like cleaning the bathroom or doing the dishes from the dinner we never ate last night)(but I'm not). 

So overall, our house is pretty and our baby is a good shot taker. Life is good here and we can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

My Amazing Sisters

My sisters are amazing. They came this weekend to visit me and they transformed this house... here are some before pictures of what the house looked like (well the one room we had time to tackle)

They scrubbed and taped and PAINTED!! like mad women and they love me so much! I can tell that they do because they did all this gross work. Here are some pictures of the process.

Then we finally finished after some sick and tired-ness with an amizing project finished and AMAZING results! take a look for yourself.

I love my sisters!

My First Married Post

This is My first married post. Lets see if it's any different. I don't feel that different, things aren't that different. I mean I'm married so Jimmy is around all the time, I like that. And I have help at night with Claire, I like that. And I am cooking for two not one or 5, I like that. And I have my own house, I like that too. So I guess some things are different, but better. Like the new that Beth was talking about.. if you want to know what I'm talking about, just ask miss brenda, she knows and my book somehow got lost in the move, but I'll unearth it soon, I can almost see the other side of the pile of my stuff. I think I'll conclude with a list of things I love about my new home.
1. washer & dryer
2. hot water
3. bathtub (to relax in)
4. Claire's own room
5. stove
6. Fireplace
7. my husband:)
8. internet in my house

My life is crazy

Just a quick "My life is crazy" update. I am getting married this weekend! Yeah! There will be pictures and I hope they are beautiful (I know they will be). I still don't have flowers and my bridesmaid dresses are full of pins cause they still need altered, and I don't really have an order of service yet. So all in all I still have about 4 days to pull it all together and with the help of those who love me I'm sure it will be a magical day!

After the wedding (like right after) we are moving Claire and Me to NY, and settling in there. Which will be an adventure for more than a few reasons.

Claire is 6 weeks and growing like crazy, yesterday I went to dress her and the outfit I had out for her didn't fit her... she's all growed up :( (see picture below)

Thankful, a month early

Thing you take for granted:

1. Taking a shower whenever you want

2. Eating a whole meal in a sitting (when it's hot)

3. Talking on the phone when you feel like it

4. Wearing only one outfit a day (the one you picked out in the morning)

5. Jeans (that fit)

More to come... Having a baby makes you thankful for all the little things in life

I'm thankful for this 'little thing' especially

Motherhood

So I am offically a mom, I coo over other babies and compare them to my own, I even cried at a huggies commercial the other day (they tell you this will happen but you put it up there with craving paint chips and metal shavings). And to top it all off I told my sisters that famous mother line "When you have kids of your own, you'll understand" WOW... It just happens, like your hair growing (mine needs cut btw) you do nothing to provoke it, but BAM it happens. Life seems to be happening at a faster pace these days.

What am I getting myself into

I was lamenting to my sister just today that I seem to have little to actually blog about and then BAM! I speak with a young Italian man and I have enough to blog about to take me into the new year.
I was speaking with the Italian man to set up our reception dinner and WOW...
so you have to call him on his cell phone and you would expect that you could be treated as a business call. but don't count on it here. In the course of our conversation while discussing menu options he says to me, would you like me to conference my mother into this, (she's the cook and could give very good insite) I was impressed, then he says to me, "hold on my mom's outside, she lives accross the street" and proceeds to yell across the street to his mother about our dinner selections. Then he runs across the street and I guess almost gets hit by a car (I heard the beep of a car) Then his dog almost gets hit trying to follow him and he interupts our conversation to yell at the dog to go home. After talking to his mother and then him again we worked out the dinner selections. THEN we had to talk about the other arrangements and I mentioned that we would most likely have place cards... he actually said to me "I am physically or mentally incapable..." of putting the place cards out for us. Although he did offer his wife's services. And then he tells me he's been doing this for seven years, SEVEN YEARS! and you still haven't figured out place cards.. oh my. By the end of the conversation he is helping his brother or father or someone change a tire on his truck, like giveing instructions inbetween talking to me. I asked for an estimate of how much we were looking at and how much of a deposit he needed and he told me how to figure it out and told me to send the check like he didn't have a pen and paper or a menu so if I could take care of figureing out how much it was going to cost that would be great... WOW I wouldn't beleive it if I hadn't actually had the conversation. And yet we will be having our reception at this Italian man's resturant. Hope to see you there.

I would like to say that the food at this man's resturant is very good and that he has a heart to help. This is not to say that he should be a party planner. He is a nice Italian man.

Quickest Update Ever

This is Claire Marie Iovino, Isn't she beautiful! I know I'm bias but all the nurses here say so too! (it's prolly cause they will be fired if they say otherwise, but that only applies to ugly babies, of which ours is not one) (as you can clearly see)

She was born at 7:29am on September 26 weighing in at 7lbs 15oz. and a whopping 20in in length! (everything will end in an exclaimation point for the next couple days, excuse me for my excitement)

What you've accomplished here is good

I'm still pregnant, at least for now, but I am 3 or 4cm dialated! I love how they phrase things to you when you are pregnant. Like when the doctor told me that I was 3 or 4cm dialated he used the phrase, "What you've accomplished here is good." which is supposed to make you feel good about where you are at, and it does. But really, I have done realitively nothing to get myself to dialate. I mean if sitting around eating everything in sight counts as accomplishing something, I understand why some women want to be pregnant all the time. I think everyone should use that phrase for everyday things, like telling you your cold has cleared up "What you've accomplished here is good." Or when you finish your dinner "What you've accomplished here is good." or when your hair grows an inch "What you've accomplished here is good" It's just ubsurd and I can't really convey how absurd it is. But I guess What I've accomplished here is good.

Blame your ankles

So last week I went to the doctor, when you are pregnant they still do the weigh in thing every time you go (and you go almost once a week). It's like their way of torturing you for some unknown reason. I mean, if I were an OB I would invent a scale where you don't have to watch them slide the little bars around, first they slide the little one all the way to the right (as if they can't already see that they are no way no how going to balance the bar by moving the little one) Then they move the big one, which makes that horrifying clunk noise when it locks into the groove, screaming to you that you have passes the 150 lb mark. And as if it's not all bad enough they do it about 5 inches in front of your face while you have nothing else to watch except the horrible sight in front of you, and even though you don't wanna look and do the math; you do. I'm telling you, scales where they do all the sliding and clunking behind your back would really be a big hit, add that to your book Miss Brenda.
So anyway, in one week I gained 5lbs.! Now granted when you are pregnant you are supposed to gain weight, but 5lbs in 7 days seems a bit excessive to me. And apparently it was to the doctor too. He noted that fact aloud (just in case I hadn't done the math in my head already). Then he asked me if my ankles were swollen... WHAT!?! I mean swollen ankles are part of being pregnant too, but 5 lbs in my ankles, I think we would have noticed that right off the bat; when I could no longer stand up. In my ankles indeed. So the next time you gain weight just blame it on your swollen ankles. Apparently that's a very medical thing to do.

ps. Everything is fine, we attribute the weight gain to a big baby... who is very healthy and active.

Maternity- a time of transition

Alex makes me think again, he's really good for that; from alternate hands (what would yours be?) to 'car seats' and growing a second spine. Today he made me think about maternity. A word he learned through this whole pregnancy. He's begun to think of maternity as more than just a certain type of pants or tops and more like a time of transition to motherhood. I guess that's what it is, I've never thought of it that way, I guess to me it's been pants and tops. But today I made maternity pancakes; not quite as good as 'mom pancakes' but definately better than 'sister pancakes'. Everything in your life transitions in 'maternity mode', even the type of food you make. Alex also had the idea to market paternity clothes, I'm not sure what the difference would be but I'm sure someone would buy them, or some hormone crazed woman would buy them for her husband just because she has to wear maternity wear. Good idea.

I Saw My Life Flash Before My Eyes

When you die people say that your life flashes before your eyes, they never say though if it makes them cry or laugh. Today I had my life flash before MY eyes (not cause I was dying though) and it made me laugh so hard I cried at times...
It all started with the bathroom remodel upstairs, my mom wanted to put pictures of us potty training above the toilet (how cute huh?). So I volunteered to find the pictures, thinking it wouldn't take TOO long. (How wrong I was) We have about 2000 slides that I went through and I only found pics of Stasi and I and none of Ami (sorry hun, we'll have to take an updated one for the wall :) Anyway... you would never belive the things that you find out about your childhood or relatives when you look through your life. For examples:
-My uncle Ronnie was a coach for the livestock judging team after he graduated with his masters degree
-If I'm ever strapped for cash I have several aunts or cousins who would pay top dollar to have control of some of the pictures I found, either of hair-do's or outfits or faces, or all three.
-My sister Stasi and I went snorkling (in the bathroom sink)
-There were indeed ponies in the backyard when I was growing up, I have seen the pictures and you can no longer make me second guess my memories. (I'm sure Grandma had a pony too even though I haven't found the evidence to back that up)
-My mother won a contest for making an outfit entirely out of wool (we have the newspaper clipping)
-My family has an entire roll of film devoted to shopping for groceries, because they were on vacation, complete with the smiling cashere. (although they are strange the fruit pictures are priceless)
-My sisters and I were very theatrical when we were younger, we have played many rolls including and not limited to: Prarie girl playing trombone, Wizard, Mary, Angle of the Lord, Indian all of which we made the costumes for.. we have been seen in such productions as the Havener/Hurst Christmas Pagent of '93 and The Little Engine that Could, staring Stasi as the little red fire engine.
-My sisters and I could also convince anyone to dress up in anything, we have the pictures to prove it, Alex inherited it because there are pictures of everyone and thier mother (literally) wearing his football Helmet at least, if not the entire get up.
And those are just the highlights... tons more where that came from. Come on over we'll have a gay old time, cause I am only halfway through all the pictures... also if you know anyone who would be able to scan all 3 million of these slides and make them digital, that would be great... The place I called said it would take a month for 500 slides and it would cost $.75 per slide. WOW, I'm glad we have these memories.

Lamaze

Mom and I went to our first "baby class" yesterday, Lamaze; which is a silly name now that I stop to look at it. It also seems like it will never work, think about it, you may have seen the 'miracle of life' movie in your health class, remember the look on that mother's face? Childbirth is difficult, at least that's what seems to be the accepted conception of the activity. Anyway, in lamaze you are controling that pain through rythmic breathing and focus on other things. (like the farming game) I'm just not sure about it... but Miss Brenda says it works, so we'll go with that. Overall it went well, I learned about rythmic breathing slowly, and paced and candle blowing and this one technique that is almost like a game of simon, mom and I think we'll use that one in labor, we had fun last night doing it.
Being pregnant is more than just carrying a baby, and having strange food cravings and getting grumpy all the time. Although it is all of that, which those who are blessed to be close to me know all too well. It also makes you do things that you would normally think are absurd. Like when you first get pregnant and you go to your doctor, they actually ask you if you are craving paint chips... like to eat them. If someone asked that of you any other time, you would look at them like they had 12 heads, but apparently paint chips and glue are favorites of pregnant women all around the world. (you should not partake of these substances, they are harmful to you and your unborn child) Also, besides the non-food cravings that make you strange, you develop a strong bond with your pillows. I have 6 on my bed right now and some women have more than that plus a husband. You wrap pillows around yourself, the other night in fact I covered myself with pillows instead of a blanket, don't ask me why unless you are ready to ask the paint chip lady why. There is no reason, you just do it naturally. And the sick thing about your obsessive bond with your pillows is that they encourage it. Every book you read will encourage you to 'surround yourself with pillows' and last night I was instructed to take my affair with my pillows out into the real world, I had to bring 'two bedsize pillows' to class. I guess they are getting your ready for a multiple birth where you have to choose your favorites sometimes, because I have 6 pillows and I'm only allowed to bring two?! But don't worry, there are three classes and I get to bring two each time, everyone will get a turn.

Famous Last Words

I'll tell you now what.... it's been so long since I wrote that to try to catch up on all that has been missed would be impossible... but here are the highlights:
1. Finished up my student teaching under much stress from Nyack
2. Graduated... complete with noise makers and my entire family
3. Took my family around NYC, we rode a city bus!
4. Came home
5. Found out I am 5 months pregnant (SUPRISE!) (i am now 8 months along)
6. Got a job taking pictures at a photography studio in Wal-Mart
7. Got engaged to Jimmy, the love of my life
8. Was Maid of Honor at my sister's wedding (which was a lovely affair)
9. Began family counciling
So there you have the highlights. That's what happens when you end a post with "what now?" not such a good idea.

Teaching is Wonderful

teaching is wonderful. I learn new things everyday. Like what hemisphere Jamaica is in. And that my Carribean students are frantic over jerk chicken. Also today I went to a staff development. It was wonderful!! Amazing and encouaging. I have seen some pretty scary things in this placement. Like the guy sitting next to me was the Asst. Principal at the other Middle School in our district and he had a clipboard and on the first page it said: " Frequently Called Phone Numbers For Disiplinary Problems" And under that it had like 13 names with phone numbers and times of day when it was best to call. It's crazy! But the speaker today was wonderful and I saw new vision for a non- business model school system which would be wonderful to experiance. I also talked about Interdisipinary Projects which are the way to go! I am so excited to say that I went to a school that had a sucessful interdis. program. I wonder if they still do it?
Well like I said teaching is wonderful. I am enjoying it, and it's almost over, then what? who knows?

Home, not alone

I'm home, for break and to see Stasi, But so is everyone else. Like Micah and Ami and Aunt Sara and all her boys. Our house hasn't been empty since Tues. If I had known that I would have gotten all my 'alone' stuff done. Like lesson plans that are difficult for me to get together when there are other things going on. And laundry, since everyone else needs to do laundry too. (none of us have clean trousers) I'm home, but not alone.

One Step at a Time

So here's the deal, today I was thinking about sending out some more resumes to try to find a job so I'm not still living at home at 23 years of age. And I started to think about where I would go... overseas, stateside; urban, rural, suburb; elementary, middle, high school; public, private, camp setting, Christian; to look for pay or experiance... the questions and possibiblities are endless. And then, because that became daunting too quickly I began to think about where I had been... stateside, urban, rural, suburb, elementary, middle school, public. And all the places I wish to go.
This past week has been a stretch as I began my second placement. Coming from Kindergarten in a very affluent community to a middle school in a very urban area has been quite a switch. I am hearing things like administrators saying "Well it was only a slashing, not a stabbing, thank goodness". I have had to gain a key to get into the bathroom (and it only works on the floor I teach on). I have had to lock up anything that wasn't bolted to the floor, so it doesn't walk away. I have fallen in love, yet again. It's nice to be here, I have more kids but I can remember some of the kids names which I have help with since some of them have thier name shaved into the side of thier heads, or tatooed on thier bodies.
Over all I will see where this road takes me, but for now, I'll live in the moment, I'm only 22 so I have a year (right mom *wink *wink). And I've painted my toes so no matter where I go I can put my prettiest foot forward.

Making a Dent

So today marks a full week since I began this saga of finding a student teaching placement. But for the school it marks a full year since they began this process. I still don't understand why they can't just do thier jobs and get me into a school. Today I called twice, emailed twice, and stopped by twice. I have yet to talk to the student teaching coordinator in person, or on the phone, or via email. This is frustrating! I did call the Middle School and I am very pleased to say that the principal I wasn't sure existed does in fact exist and she is very sweet sounding on the phone, very friendly and helpful. I begin Thursday although I'm not sure that the Middle School knows what I am to be doing there since when I spoke with the principal and she didn't even know that I was needing an ESL placement. At this point I am demanding from the school that they send me all the forms they sent to the Middle School, and I'm pretty sure it's a short stack. (or none at all based on the information that the Middle School had.) So I go in Thursday! yeah, for finally making some sort of headway. Thanks to all who prayed and thought well toward me. I appriciate it. Keep it up.

Bordom Reigns

This week has been boring and frustrating as I just sat around and did basically nothing all week. Next week doesn't look that promising either. Basically my school can't get thier act together enough to find me a placement for my student teaching. So I am at thier mercy till they figure it out. So.... bordom reigns! If you would like to send me mail that would give me something to read and maybe cause I'm bored I'll write back.

My Last Day of Elementary School

So today was my last day. In the beginning they told us that our first placement would be the hardest to leave. I didn't beleive them when I met S and the rest of my kids. But now I do. I was prepared to say goodbye to them one class at a time and instead the Alina and Lizane had planned a big party for the end of the day. The kids had made me cards and pictures with notes. They are so precious! I almost cried, but didn't. Then my teacher got me a starting teacher kit which includes an exacto knife. I'm not sure what that means about my first year of teaching but we'll go with it. In all it was a good day. And tomorrow will be a whole other story....

Mini Moments That Make Me Laugh

While sharing about healthy eating habits L shared with the class that she didn't drink soda. Trying to elicit more language from her I asked why. Fishing for the answer like 'it has too much sugar' or 'it's bad for your teeth' or 'it has too much caffene.' But I never would have been prepred for the answer I got. "Because I'm Russian". Who knew?

We have show and tell everyday in Kindergarten ESL, one to two kids a day. Today was Jo's turn. He forgot his show and tell in his classroom so he had to go back and get it. I think he forgot all together because he came back with his winter hat. 'a strange show and tell' I thought but oh well to each his own. Then to my delight he turned the hat inside out and showed us the real show and tell item. The Tag! who would have thought? So today's show and tell was the tag from Jo's hat. We looked at the washing instructions and what the hat was made of. (100% cotton in case you were wondering)

One of my students who is very cooperative most of the time crack me up sometimes with his uncanny way of connecting chicken nuggets to anything. JW can make anything about chicken nuggets and the funny thing is that he can explain it to you in a way that in the end you feel like his reasoning is perfectly logical. So here's to JW and his chicken nuggets. (His mom says he won't eat them.)

Not Valid

So it has been quite some time since I have posted anything and I'm not sure this is going to post anyway because I am not valid. (Which seems to be the story of my life lately.) Google has taken over my blog and I'm not sure why it won't let me post things such as comments on my sister's blog because I'm not valid. It is sad to not be valid.
At school today I was not valid. I am administering state tests for NJ (which are the devil in paper form). However because I have ESL students who don't know what you mean when you give directions like "Only write on the lines provided"
"What does provided mean?"
"What do you think it means?"
"You're the teacher don't you know?"
"Yeah doesn't it say in that book you are reading from?"
"As a matter of fact, it doesn't say in this book I'm reading from. But I do know what provided means. But I can't tell you because this is a test" (I'm only allowed to say what the books says.)
"I don't beleive you."
"Ok provided means only write on the lines on the page, don't make up lines of your own or write anywhere else on the page."
"I still don't believe you, can we have snack now."

And so goes my non valid testing strategies out the window. I didn't feel so bad when I heard that the ESL kids scores don't go into the overall scores of the school and that most of the time my cooperating teacher does more than just reexplain directions in plainer than plain English.

Today I also dressed up as the cat in the hat and I got to light the principal's hat on fire. Well not the hat itself, just the candles on his hat. That was not something every student teacher gets to do, I wonder if I can put that on my resume. They keep telling us to remember things we do in our placements that not every student teacher gets to do. I think that counts. although I don't think it will help me get in good with the principals I am applying with. but oh well.