Busy, Busy, Busy!

So...yeah the last couple of days have been ridiculous. Isn't this supposed to be a "break"?

My aunt Pam was supposed to fly in from Virginia on Saturday, as is her custom, to spend the Christmas break with us. She hasn't seen Charlotte in like, forEVER, so we were super excited...until whoever is in charge of the weather decided to dump fifty thousand inches of snow on the Northeast. Even though WE knew the storm was coming by like, last Wednesday, the airlines apparently missed the memo and were woefully underprepared. When Pam's flight was canceled on Saturday, we were disappointed, though not especially surprised. No big, though, they rescheduled her for the same flight Sunday.

Sunday rolls around, we get up, get the baby ready, check the flights...and, about an hour before her flight was due to take off, it's canceled again. So we wait...and wait...and wait...poor Pam is stranded in Washington National Airport until like 10 pm that night, all to be told that she can basically wait until Wednesday for the next available flight or...wait until Wednesday for the next available flight.

So it's Tuesday, and we're crossing our fingers that nothing happens tomorrow!

In other news, we had new floors put down on Monday, thanks to my incredibly awesome in-laws! Here are a few pictures...please ignore the clutter; we're still moving things back into place.

Today, Tara and I went and got tattoos (we're klassy, ya'll). She mentioned a couple of weeks ago that she wanted a new one: 3 stars to represent her daughter and two step-children. I'd wanted on with Charlotte's name or initials for a while, despite my husband's inquiry about whether I was going to forget about her. Whatever. So after wanting this for over a year, I figured it was something I really wanted, and decided to go for it. The design is Charlotte's initials, CEW, in the shape of a heart. It takes a minute to see it, so it just kind of looks like a zig-zaggy heart until you see the letters. I pretty much drew the design myself, after seeing another intials/heart design, and then the tattoo guy tweaked it until it was the way I wanted it. I will admit that I had a totally different picture in mind when I went in there, but it just wasn't working. I must say, however, I am quite pleased with the final product!

Here are some pictures from our day!

Tara's stars:

Waiting for my turn:

My turn!

The outline:

All Done!

The finished product--the pic is small, but you get the idea.

Mommy's Little Helper

Well, with 13(ish) days until Christmas, I finally got my Christmas tree up! Charlotte was, as usual, lots of help:

The past week or so with her has been...interesting. I don't know if it's the teeth, or her attempting to assert herself and test her limitations, or what it is, but she has been one big ball of fussy baby. Crying, screeching, unhappy, fussy baby. The teeth are definitely part of the equation, that much I do know. I wish I could make it stop...none of the remedies that other moms have suggested seem to work with her. Poor baby.

On the other hand, she's like the cutest fussy child ever. Tonight she was playing in her room after her bath, and she found her shoes on the shelf of her dresser. She grabbed a sandal, plopped down on the floor, and tried to put it on her foot. A few minutes later, after I finally wrangled her into her pajamas, I decided that her feet were cold and she needed socks. So I got them out, and went to put one on...and she picked up the other one and tried to stick her foot in it! I have no idea if she's supposed to "know" that her shoes and socks go on her feet at 14 months, but I think it's adorable.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

OK, I know that was maximum cheese...but I can't help being a little cheesy. While Charlotte is far from old enough to really know what's going on around her, she's learning so much every day, and having lots of fun with the lights and sounds of Christmas that are going on around her. Tonight we took her to her very first Christmas parade--I'm not sure she had any idea what she was watching, but she was very intent on every float that went by. A couple of "floats" consisted of people walking dogs, and she lit up like the Christmas lights when she saw them--she's definitely Brian's daughter!

I've got some pictures, but first, in other news--we have not one but TWO new teeth! Molars this time, which probably explains why she's been a bit on the bratty side this week; I've heard that molars are particularly uncomfortable when they're coming in. Thankfully I don't remember my own experience.

Baf Time!

Everyone tells me to enjoy Charlotte while she is this age...and I agree, it's so neat to watch her grow and learn new things every day. Sometimes it's almost like you can see the light go on in her eyes when she "gets" something new. But let me tell you, it's not all cuteness and new learning--Charlotte is developing her own little personality, and she's QUITE independent. The last couple of days have been interesting, to say the least.

I think the worst part for her is that she has so much going on in her head, and she can't communicate it to me. You can tell in the way that she babbles--her tone of voice and facial expressions are quite intent. She knows exactly what she's saying, even if no one else does! I wish I knew what was going on in her head! I think the next couple of months (years???) will really test me as a parent. I hope I pass! In the meantime...it's bathtime Moo!

The Best Thing About Today...

Is that I finished my last ESOL class, and I am now DONE with my 300-hour endorsement!

That's about the only good thing I can say about today.

Oh....and it's over. Whee.

The End of an Era

So...after a dramatic roller-coaster ride of a season, Bobby Bowden has announced his retirement from the position of head football coach at Florida State University. He has been a fixture at the school for the 34 seasons he served as head coach, and it's a sad day for many of us to see him go.

To those of you out there running off at the mouth about "good riddance" and the like, I say to you that Bobby Bowden has done more for the game of college football than almost any other coach out there, certainly more than any University of Florida coach ever did. It's easy to come into a position as coach and ride out a winning season, it's easy to resign when the going gets tough, but it is NOT easy to build a championship program from the ground up and see it through for 34 seasons.

I know there are plenty of people out there ready to point fingers at some of the troubles that the team has faced in the last years, and I'll be the first to agree. To those members of the team who participated in the events that led to the loss of 13 (I think?) wins over the last few seasons, shame on you. I know it's only the most recent in a series of scandals and disappointments in FSU's football program, but still. It's bad enough to cheat, but then, when you get on the field and act like a second-rate team no on'e ever heard of, it really begs the question--what's the point here? Why strut around acting all big and bad like you're SO athletically talented that you can't be bothered with a simple music theory class if you're not going to prove it on the field? Who do you think you are, Deion Sanders? Let's be honest here, people--I took that very same Music Theory for Non-Majors class. If you showed up, you passed it. There is NO reason to cheat, and for anyone to do so is not just ridiculous, it's downright shameful. But don't just be ashamed at having so little self-respect that you cheat in a freshman-level cakewalk, be ashamed that you let down your supporters, those boosters who donate the millions of dollars that allow you to participate in the program you are in, and the fans who spend their hard-earned money to buy tickets and travel to watch you play. Be ashamed that you let down your teammates and your coaching staff. Be ashamed that you let down the head coach that built the program that you've snubbed, that gave you the opportunity to not just get an incredible education, but to play a sport you love for a team that has a tremendous history and legacy.

I say at this point, Bobby Bowden should be allowed to leave on his own terms, in his own time. Jimbo whatshisname can wait until bloody 2015 if he needs to; there wouldn't BE a Florida State football program for him to inherit without the man he's so eager to replace. If Bobby wants to give his critics the middle finger, or ride Renegade around the stadium in a loincloth and ceremonial headdress, or die on the damn field, I say that it's his prerogative. At this point, the man has earned the right to do any damn thing he pleases.

Don't get me wrong, Florida State is a beautiful university with hundreds of amazing academic programs, but let's face it: the school is on the map because of Bobby Bowden's contributions to its football program. It's often hard for us "academics" to accept that we owe much of our financial backing to the athletic programs, but there's really no denying it. In this case, I don't mind so much. For as long as I can remember, I have been a fan of Florida State football, and I never wanted to attend any other university. The two have always been linked for me, in a large part because of Bobby Bowden. I've never been ashamed to support the Florida State Seminoles, even in losing seasons, even when we lose to Florida or Miami, because no matter what we did, we always did it with class, and I felt like that meant something.

I suppose that's enough for now. I'm so sick and tired today of hearing crap from people--mostly Gator fans, and most of whom have never even set foot on the University of Florida campus--all the smack talk only goes to show that they will never in their lifetimes have the class that Bobby Bowden has in his little finger. Bobby...you will be missed.

New pics!

New Moo pics on Facebook!

She's into EVERYthing!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39876&id=1060500500&l=c9c76d76b2

I Am Thankful...I Am Thankful...

23. I am thankful for...getting to spend yesterday shopping with my mom and going to see New Moon with her and Tara.

24. I am thankful for...being on the phone with the people at my insurance company and dentist's office instead of in person, because if I'd been there they would have gotten the full-fledged LOOK, as it were, and more rude facial expressions and eye rolls than they would have known what to do with. Because LET ME TELL YOU...

I had my wisdom teeth out like two weeks ago. My regular dentist told me several months ago that I'd need to have them done by an oral surgeon because he didn't think he could just pull them out. So I have my x-rays sent over to the oral surgeon, and he agrees that they'll need to be surgically removed. Now, I wasn't looking forward to having them yanked out with only a little novocaine to numb the pain, but I would have done it if the dentist had said that was all I needed--I wasn't about to pay the $250 it cost to be put to sleep.

But I trusted both of my highly trained medical (dental?) professionals when they told me that I needed to have my teeth out surgically and needed the general anesthesia. Imagine my surprise this morning when I moseyed out to my mailbox and found the explanation of benefits from my dental insurance company, and after eagerly tearing it open and perusing the contents, reading that I was going to have to pay that $250 after all becuase they weren't going to cover the anesthesia. So I'm all, wtf and I call the insurance company, who is, of course, TONS of help, let me tell you.

When the insurance lady pulled up my claim on her handy dandy computer screen, she saw that the oral surgeon had submitted a claim for 2 simple extractions, and they don't cover simple extractions of 2 or fewer teeth because they feel that novocaine is sufficient unto the task. Which is all fine and good, lady,but let me remind you that I DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS, IT WAS RECOMMENDED BY MY DENTIST.

So I called my oral surgeon's office, again all wtf, and they really weren't much more help. They basically told me that the oral surgeon also thought that the teeth were going to need to be surgically removed, but when he got in there to take them out, he saw that they could just be pulled....so he just pulled them. Apparently they should have woken me up, then injected with me novocaine, and THEN pulled the teeth. Or at least, then insurance might have covered it then.

And now...I just feel like a deflated balloon. I"ve been so irritated about this all day, and I just don't have the energy to be mad about it anymore. Until tomorrow, at least.

Why Am I Up This Early?

19. I am thankful for...the last day before the last day before Thanksgiving break (I've been a little remiss in my updates the last few days ).

20. I am thankful for...Thanksgiving Break!!!

21. I am thankful for...my "second family!" So many people don't get along with their in-laws, but I've been so very lucky that my husband's family has welcomed and included me into the family!

22. I am thankful for...well, if I'm being honest, I wasn't very thankful yesterday, since I was on the couch with a migraine most of the day. I had some painkillers left over from my wisdom teeth surgery, but my husband's dog ate them...so it was pretty much me and some regular old Tylenol. I was thankful for my husband, who at least tried to call my doctor and see if they'd call me in some sort of pain medication, but they just told him to take me to the emergency room. Riiiiight. I was also thankful for the snuggle time I got with my baby Moo!

23. I am thankful for...my Moo and my Mommy! Off to Ann Taylor for me!

Humpity Hump

18. I am thankful for...my family, who is all pitching in to help Brian and me with Charlotte for the next couple of days. That's the worst thing about the small in-home daycare...when there's an emergency, she closes, and I have a 14-month-old with nowhere to go. We'd never make it without our awesome family!

And...in honor of the late great George Carlin...HSIOW??!?!?!?!? (Holy Shit It's Only Wednesday????) I really, really, really wish that tomorrow were Friday. Oh well. Hasta.

Nums

17. I am thankful for...well, 2 things, really. One, that my Mommy and Ron took Moo and me to dinner at...the Lob! (teehee I heart SNL.) And two, I may have found a way to incorporate some Monty Python and the Holy Grail into my teaching of The Crucible. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that makes it a good day in my book.



There are things I am NOT thankful for...but we'll save those for January. Love you all!

Monday Thankfulness

16. I am thankful for...only 4 more days until Thanksgiving Break!!!

I know what you're thinking, I just had a 5 day weekend, but really, that doesn't count. 3 of those days were spent having body parts forcibly removed and then recovering from the aforementioned assault on my person (for which I had the privilege, mind you, of paying $120). So again I submit to you that those days don't count.

So 4 days left. Moo sleeps, I'm watching Jeopardy and working ESOL stuff and trying to decide when it's ok for me to go to bed. I'm thinking soon.

I Am Thankful...

14. I am thankful for...good friends to have a great time with! I lubs you, India and Lee!

15. I am thankful for...the great day I had visiting with my Dad and Kim, then shopping with my Mom and mini-Moo!

Tomorrow I head back to work after 5 days. I'm not looking forward to it. Luckily, however, I have 5 days of work and then another week off! It's going to be a busy week though--my AP kids are starting on The Crucible, and most likely got lazy while I was gone so I have to whip them back into shape. Intensive Reading...I don't know what I'm going to do with them. You'd think since they're the group that makes the most difference in our school grade, that the most resources would be allotted to make sure they are successful, but that doesn't feel like the case sometimes.

Off to do ESOL. Yay.

I Am Thankful

There's been a thing going around Facebook that says that between now and Thanksgiving you're supposed to post one thing you're thankful for every day. I don't have that kind of attention span, so I thought I'd do it here...do I have enough things I'm thankful for to make it through a whole month of stuff? We shall see.

1. I am thankful for...my husband, who loves me--imperfections, quirks, annoying idiosyncracies, and all. I'm quite sure I would have left myself a long time ago.

2. I am thankful for...my most wonderful baby. If we could bottle her up and sell Essence of Moo, we'd be the richest people in the world.

3. I am thankful for...my family, without whom I quite simply wouldn't survive. Think it's weird all you want, but my family is the best part of my life, and I wouldn't trade them for anything (most of the time...)

4. I am thankful for...my husband's family. Lots of people don't get along with their in-laws, so I am incredibly lucky to have an in-law family that I love and get along with. I couldn't ask for a better 2nd Family!

5. I am thankful for...my friends. Not many people can say they still have the same friends they had 7, or at 13, or at 18, or even from two or three years ago. I have all of those, and more.

6. I am thankful for...having a job. So many people don't have jobs right now, and I am lucky to have one that allows me to have a home and clothes and food for my family. I complain about it more than I should, but I am thankful to have a job right now when so many don't.

7. I am thankful for...having a job that I love. I know, seems like I'm cheating here, but I don't think I am. Many people right now would be thankful for any job to pay the bills, and I'm lucky to have not just a job but a calling, and to be able to fulfill that calling. Yes, it sounds cheesy, but it's the closest thing I can think of to describe it. Those who don't feel it won't understand it, and that's ok. It's enough that I can recognize my calling for what it is, and I am thankful for the opportunity to do something that I love.

8. I am thankful for...my work friends. Most people go to work and go home and don't really get to know the people they spend the majority of their time with. I'm glad I didn't do that.

9. I am thankful for...my sense of humor. Sometimes you have to laugh or else you'll cry.

10. I am thankful for...Thanksgiving Break being a week away! I'm very much ready for it!

11. I am thankful for...beautiful weather the last couple of days.

12. I am thankful for...having a relatively easy time recovering from having my wisdom teeth out. I was really prepared for an awful experience, but it hasn't been all that bad.

13. I am thankful for...sweet tea, milkshakes, and coffee. I never would have made it through the last couple of days without them!

OK...that was harder than I thought it would be! Everything that pops into my head to be thankful for seems silly. I have thought of 13 things though, so that brings me up to date with 1 thing a day so far for this month. Let's see if I can keep it up...

9 Years

It was about this time of night, 9 years ago, that I got the voicemail from my dad that would change me for the rest of my life. That night was such a blur, and yet now, so many years later, I remember it with perfect clarity.

Everything I can think of to say about Dennis sounds so...maudlin. It sounds ridiculous to say that I think of him every day, but it's true. I miss him so much. Sometimes I dream that he's still alive, and then I wake up...and it's like I've heard my dad speaking those horrible words all over again and I can't breathe.

And that's more than I've said on it in many years, and likely more than I should have said.

I miss you, DK, and won't ever forget.

Something New...

A video! I don't know if it will work, so bear with me...

Charlotte has started to "help" Mommy with the laundry...it's rather hilarious. Every time I do laundry, she follows me into the laundry room and stands at the dryer and looks at me like, "OK, now what"? So just to be funny, I handed her some small piece of wet laundry...and she put it right into the dryer! I figured it was a fluke, so I gave her another one...and she did it again!

All of this of course took place when Brian was at work, and I figured there was no way she'd do it again when he got home, but a couple of hours later when I was changing the laundry again, I took her in there with me, and she put (almost) all of the wet laundry into the dryer. Of course neither of us knew where the cameras were...but this morning, we caught her on video! You can tell about where she realizes that Brian is recording her, and she becomes more interested in him than in helping me, but you get the idea. I also didn't think much about the fact that I was doing her laundry, but she takes exception to my trying to put her lovey in the dryer--she "rescues" it and then pretty much abandons me to my work. Sigh.

Anyway, it's cute, and she's silly.

Note: Brian is super loud, so you may want to turn down the volume a little.

A New Month...

And a new birthday! (For me. In case you were wondering.)

I'd really hoped that once marching season, or at least FBA Marching Festival, was over, I'd be less stressed, but I haven't seen it happen yet. Papers to grade, books to read, house to keep, husband and moo...it never seems to end. So with that, I bid you good night, and leave you with some most precious-est of Moo pics.

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween! Even though it was actually Charlotte's second Halloween, it was the first time she went Trick or Treating, and she had LOTS of fun! We went to Grandma's, then to Granny's, then to Tara's for Trick or Treating with Chacea and Kalle. Even though it was a long day, Charlotte was the cutest little ladybug ever! Here is a link to my album on Facebook; there are way too many pics to post here!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39488&id=1060500500&l=259115f20a

Enjoy!

It's Almost Halloween!

So how long has it been since I had time to write? Way too long. In fact, it's been so long that I can't seem to form coherent sentences. Maybe this whole teaching thing is rubbing off on me. Grading papers has fried my brain.

So...Charlotte. What's she up to? Lots! She has not two but FIVE teeth now--two on the bottom and three on the top.

She's not walking quite yet, but she has this little push and ride toy that her Uncle Josh and Aunt Jenny got her for her birthday, and she likes to push it around and practice her walking. She LOVES to sit on it and let mommy push her!

She's getting big enough to eat lots of new foods, which means lots of new messes--her new favorite foods are scrambled eggs and mini English muffin pizzas...but not at the same time! Whatever she eats, she wears it well.

Halloween is in a couple of days, and Charlotte will be going Trick-or-Treating for the first time! We're going over to Tara's and going around her neighborhood with her daughter and two stepkids. Tara and I made Charlotte and Chacea's costumes last weekend--Chacea is going to be an angel and Charlotte is going to be a ladybug. I tried her costume on her today and it's so cute!

Is It Wrong...

To blog from work? Well, technically it's not "work;" I'm sitting at the Jim Miles Professional Development Center in an ESOL class, waiting to watch a video on immigration that promises to put me right to sleep.

OK I got yelled at, so I had to close my computer. (I was right, by the way, the video was super-boring.)

So. I've missed you! The past several weeks of my life have been fiendishly devoted to the service of others, and I have literally had not a second to myself. Most nights I don't make it to bed until almost 11 pm, which for me is WAY too late.

Here's what we've been up to:

Charlotte is getting WAY too big WAY too fast. She's cruisin' all over the place now, and the general consensus is that she's going to be walking any minute now. I'm not so sure, because she generally shows no interest whatsoever in standing up properly--she always sticks her butt out so far that she falls over as soon as she lets go of whatever she's holding on to! If you hold her hands, she'll take steps, though usually she travels more sideways than forewardways...but she's not quite ready yet to walk by herself. And...I'm ok with that. She just cut a new tooth, which brings her grand total up to 3. We went to visit some friends last weekend who have 2 kids, and their 8-month old already has like 30 teeth, and Charlotte has...3. She's so special. Lack of teeth doesn't really stop her from eating though--anything and everything! She's also drinking real milk now! I was a little worried, because she never would drink formula if it was made with cold water, so I thought she wouldn't drink milk. My worries were unfounded, because she drinks the milk like it's going out of style. Somewhere, there is a poor, skinny little cow, working overtime to make milks for my Moo.

OK...I have to interrupt myself to say that I hate people. I realize that's a pretty general statement, but seriously...when you're in a class, and the teacher is trying to let you "get away" with things, just LET IT GO. For example, when your teacher says that he stops checking for assignments at 7:30 pm, even though the official deadline is 9:30 pm, he's telling you that if you turn in the assignment a little late, IT'S OK. Read between the lines, people. Don't ask 5 million questions about what he means.

Anyway. It's time to go home now...so I didn't get to write much, but a little is better than nothing, right?

Birthday Party!

Saturday was Charlotte's first birthday party, and we had so much fun! Even though Brian maintains that the party was more for me than for Charlotte, I think she enjoyed it, and we have lots of pictures and memories of all the people who came to share the day with us--and those who wanted to be there but couldn't! We missed you!

I was very pleased with how well the party turned out--I'm not much of a social coordinator, and I'm sure I forgot a zillion things, but all in all, everything went really smoothly. I'm sure that there's a lot I could write about it, but I am about to fall asleep on the keyboard, so I'll just put a nice little link to my Facebook album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=36835&id=1060500500&l=c1f2a63c96

I hope that works. There are a TON of pictures, so there's no way for me to post them all. We had a great time, and thank all of you for sharing our baby girl's most wonderful first birthday!

Birthday Moo!

Yes, it has indeed been a WHOLE YEAR since Charlotte was born. Well, minus about an hour and a half or so, but who's counting? This time last year, the epidural was kicking in, and I was feeling no pain...too bad it didn't last! It was totally worth it though, for this:

How tiny is she? That's Brian's hand next to her, and it fits her whole head. I can't believe a whole year has gone by already. I feel like it can't have been more than a day or two since Charlotte was born; at the same time, I feel like I've never lived a day of my life without her.

Before I begin to wax too sentimental, I present a pictorial journey through the life of Moo...12 short months and she's grown into the little person she is today!

One Month Old:

2 Months Old:

3 Months Old:

4 Months Old:

5 Months Old:

6 Months Old:

7 Months Old:

8 Months Old:

9 Months Old:

10 Months Old:

11 Months Old:

And Now....1 Year Old!

Miss Terri had a birthday party!

Presents!!!

What's this do?

Tomorrow is Charlotte's birthday party, so wish me luck, and check back for pics!