Leap year!

Seems appropriate that 2012 is a leap year, because it seems to be flying by! Of course between working, mothering, and my penchant for sleep, I have not been good about keeping up the blog. I have also been flummoxed of late about where exactly my pictures are- are they on the iPhone? on the camera? on the old laptop? on the new laptop? on the external drive? on the desktop? or on shutterfly? are they already on Facebook? are they on Picasa (where apparently all blogger pix are also kept)? The whole picture management thing completely overwhelms me so I just choose to ignore it. I've actually started ordering prints of pictures I really like so I can actually just look at them instead of trying to find where they are stored digitally. Any suggestions?

We have had a busy year so far. Laney turned one on January 25, and started walking Feb. 16. She is talking up a storm and echoing lots of new words all the time. Owen still enjoys his garbage trucks, but his enthusiasm seems to be waning a bit (in my opinion). He loves playing doctor and we brought him a dress up set when we went to san luis obispo last weekend which he has been enjoying a lot. It was timely because he and Laney caught a little bug last weekend and Laney ended up with croup. Owen has been completely potty trained since mid-January and that has been great. He is very logical and has a great memory. Lately he has been really into using mommy's cosmetics and toiletries; bottles and tubes are fascinating mysteries to him.

Grandma and Grandpa watched the kids overnight last weekend so momma and daddy could have a little Valentine's getaway.

The main focus right now is trying to come up with a way to prepare for the week ahead so we don't run out of cat food, milk, or some other necessity every other day. Hope to post again soon- and maybe even find some recent pictures!

bathing and brushing buddies-last week of August

Laney eats cereal!

Laney started solids this summer on July 8, around 5 1/2 months.

Superbowl!

Sunday we watched the Superbowl as a family. D. had some kind of food poisoning or stomach bug since Thursday afternoon, and his team wasn't playing, so for him it was more about being able to chill on the couch for a while. Owen watched the opening and then promptly announced "I eat." which is what he does when he's ready for a snack. It's such a fun age because he can follow directions. I told him to get his puffs and a bowl so he did! We thought it was funny that he knew the Superbowl was all about the munchies. Around five just before yhe halftime show went on, another "milestone" occurred. O. had his first hot dog, along with corn and fresh cantaloupe, for a Superbowl supper". He was so funny because after I showed him how to dip his hot dog pieces in ketchup, I saw him dipping melon pieces in his cream corn. He said "momma" to get my attention, made a face and shook his head no. So I showed him how to eat the corn by itself. Much better. We danced our way through the halftime show and finally turned it off only when we pretty much knew how it was going to end anyway.

Fun Family Friday night out!

Tonight we went for dinner at Chick-Fil-A. Derek had his first Chick-Fil-A back in college but I never discovered it until I moved to Davie, FL in 2002. He went to the one at Dadeland mall (I lived within walking distance for a couple of years!) and I went to the one at Broward Mall. It was one of the things we really missed when we moved to Los Angeles. They had some locations down in Orange County but we always ended up there on a Sunday, and one of the companies' tenets is that they are closed on Sundays. Finally one opened here in town last Fall. We've been a handful of times but usually just through the drive-thru window so it was fun going in and sitting there tonight. O. sits in the booth next to us mostly now. He loved his chicken and papas, preferring ketchup or bbq sauce over the ranch or honey mustard. After dinner we went across the street to a new baby superstore, Buy Buy Baby (affiliated with the Bed, Bath and Beyond chain) to look at mattresses for his toddler bed. He had fun test driving the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe and Cozy Coupe convertible and the Radio Flyer 'My First Scooter' (which daddy liked) before lying on one of the mattresses to test drive it as well. After using our 20% off coupon to save some bucks on the mattress we went next door to Sprouts Market to stock up on produce for the weekend. It was fun spending the evening doing errands with the family, and very quiet out. Lots of customer service on a Friday night too.

skyping Gramp Joe in Costa Rica

Got some cute shots of Owen and his daddy skyping with Gramp Joe in Costa Rica last Sunday. The funniest part was as animated as Owen looks in the first few shots, he literally fell asleep sitting in Derek's lap less than five minutes after the last shot. The couch shot is me sleeping with him after Derek finished up the call!

Chchch Change...

So this summer marks the longest I have lived at one address as an adult and the longest I have held the same job at the same school also...pretty big stuff! I have to admit my gypsy itch started coming on a bit toward the end of the school year. I like change. I thrive on it. So...

Change at Work:

1. We'll be getting a new principal this coming school year. That promises for some change, though maybe not right away.
2. We are revamping the intervention program a bit and targeting the mid-level "bubble" kids instead of the very low.
3. I am going to start using a new system for behavior, though I'm not sure what yet.

Change at home:

1. got rid of our old (8 yr. old? 10 yr. old?) couch and replaced it with a low, modern, streamlined sectional with built-in end tables.
2. removed my desk from the loft nook and made a reading nook with the blue chair that matched the old couch. It's cozy!
3.still working on decluttering. this is one of my major struggles. i can't even part with a soy sauce packet. (it's useful, or could be!)


The change feels good! There are some more in the works, I'll keep you posted! ha.

Media/Tech fast update

I went forward with a second fast starting Friday morning and ending now(ish). It was a two day fast this time, and was just great. Knowing that I wouldn't be distracted by the siren call of the iphone or laptop allowed me to really focus and enjoy the day. O. and I went to a great concert in the morning, spent time with my parents and their friends during the afternoon, and spent the evening with friends and their new five-week old baby. I will say that I woke up rather early this morning, itching to read some facebook updates and blogs. but overall the fast was a great success, and my plan is to pick a media/tech hour each day, and stick to that. It could be split into two half-hours (morning and evening) or all in one lump. Of course this doesn't include work emails, but I will only check those at work. Here's to more face to face interactions.

Media/Technology Fast

Double posted at my culture and modern American society blog, St. George Street.

My latest Facebook status, posted at 6:12 A.M. yesterday, reads something like this:

I am feeling the need for a media/technology fast. I am finding it a bit harder to kickstart than I expected. How about starting with a 24 hour fast? Ready, Set, Go!

I feel like the media are manipulative, and that my son is apt to grow up thinking his parents are attached to their iphones at the palm. I watch families out for dinner with children glued to small devices and zero interaction with their families. Sometimes even out with friends this happens. My mind balks at first; not believing this could actually be reality. Then my mind always goes next to the young adult novel "Feed", by M.T. Tobin, in which teenagers of a certain age are implanted with a direct internet feed in their brain. Creepy. Propaganda reaches a new high with pop-up ads that just appear in your mind and there is even M-chat, a form of telepathy where you can communicate with others on "closed channels" without actually speaking. In any case, I was viewing the three mothers of the prisoners in Iran (the young hikers have been held for quite a long time) and something snapped. I needed to break my habit. I decided to start small.

The rules:

The first fast would be 24 hours long, 6:12 A.M. Thursday, May 20, 2010 to 6:12 A.M. Friday, May 21, 2010.
No facebook, internet surfing, iphone apps, texting, email, tv, or unnceccessary phone calls.

The easy part:

I picked a day when I would be very busy with open house at school so I would be less likely to break the fast.

The Challenges:

I wanted to let my hubs know that the bike techs put air in my tires on the way to school, but decided I could just tell him when I saw him.
I needed one piece of information from an iphone app. It took 2 minutes to get it and that was it.
I wanted to research some information on toddler feeding and find some nutrition related charts but decided to wait until the fast was over.

What I did with all the extra time:

Biked to work instead of driving
went to bed early
got extra paperwork done at school
spent my break at school socializing


Breaking the rules:

I woke up in the middle of the night (4:30 A.M.) and wanted to compose this blog post. I decided that it was ok because I wouldn't be able to do it later (if Owen wakes up) and I could just set the post option for after 6:12 A,M. (cheating? probably
Was the fast still worth it? Definitely!)

I plan to break the fast around 6:15 A.M. with a facebook and email check and a dose of morning news. Then I will probably up the ante with a 48 hour fast from 7 am Friday to 7 am Sunday! whoo-hoo!

Bike to Work Day

I participated in Bike to Work Day this week and it felt great! There was a hospitality station set up on the bike trail along the way, so they pumped up my tires a bit and gave me a goodie bag too! That was lucky since it was a last minute decision to participate. It's only a 2.5 mile trip each way, so it gives you a good cardio workout and fresh air too. The kids at school had fun checking out my bike and ringing my new yellow electra bell with the pink lotus on it. :) yeah, I'm still seven inside.

The Wisdom of a Cat

For years, our cat Luna Bella has been waking us each day using a variety of feline strategies. First, it was scratching the side of the mattress. Then, clawing at the electrcial outlets (This got a quick response, thus became a favorite technique. Needless to say, we employed the use of outlet covers way before baby made his appearance.) Thus foiled, Luna began to jump on the nightstand and knock everything off one by one. Glasses, books, lamp. On the surface, she seems to be indicating she wants breakfast. However, in my heart of hearts, I think she is one of my gurus, telling me to take advantage of the early morning.

I am not a typical sleeper. My best schedule would be sleep by 10, up around 8. I need a little more shuteye than the average bear. So you can understand my fear of sleep loss when I became a mom. Luckily, we have a pretty great sleeper, and as long as I hit the hay soon after O, we do ok. Now the one area which is lacking is "quiet time". Whether it's for reading, blogging, meditating or whatever it just isn't happening. Until I started tuning in to Luna. Why not get up on her schedule? So, last night, I fell asleep around 8, right after putting O. down. And lo and behold, my eyes opened at 4 am. I would have two solid hours before Owen awoke. The gift of time!

Here is what I accomplished:

cleaned kitchen
packed a salad for lunch
coffee and blogging
shower and ready before O. wakes up!

The other advantage is that when O. does wake up, I can spend the time focusing on him since I'm already ready for work.
Of course we are blessed in that I don't have to dress him or pack him up for the day either. How do you manage the morning at your house?

Marketing

In my twenties, one of my favorite weekly activities was grocery shopping. Maybe it was the newfound feeling of power that I could take a cart and fill it up with whatever I wanted. I would add a bouquet of fresh gerber daisies or sunflowers and the latest issue of Instyle to my cart and feel "oh so modern". I spent about $60.00 a week. I did most of my shopping at Publix and more infrequently at Albertson's. I would go to Whole Foods Market once every couple of months as a fun splurge. It was an adventure.

Cut to today. I abhor marketing. I avoid it whenever possible. It is cold in there. And there are TOO many DECISIONS to make. Plus you have to:

1. remember your reusable bags (which I've been using since the days when you had to tell the cashier really fast so they wouldn't start bagging things.)
2. bring your club card.
3. remember what long lost phone number you registered for said club card with so you can use it if you (gasp) can't find your club card or brought the other keychain without the beloved club card.
4. bring your coupons.
5. have a meal plan or a semblance of one.
6. bring a baby.
a.this means going at the right time and avoiding nap and/or meal time.
b.this also means bringing extra diapers, clothes, food, and/or entertainment items for said (beautiful) baby

Up until about a year and a half ago, I was very very lucky. My husband likes (!) shopping. He takes his time, goes down every aisle, and generally makes an event out of it. His preferred marketing time is (was) Sunday night. I would go along for "together" time sometimes, except:

1. I don't go down every aisle.
2.It is cold.
3. I like to read and relax (preferable in a bubble bath with a glass of pinot grigio) on sunday night.

But he has been so busy with his side project that the chore is mine. Yesterday I had an amazing shopping experience with O.
We went after nap and lunch, primetime for babies. We had a weekly meal plan, a menu, a shopping list, and COUPONS! We even had the club card and the reusable bags. We had spare diapers. We were done in 75 minutes. It was great. How did I manage it? With all the extra energy I garnered by sleeping in til 8 for mother's day. YAY!

Winter break

Winter break this year has been such a joy. Owen has been doing so many new things, like sitting up and starting to scoot or do an army crawl. He started a chewing motion with his mouth a couple of days ago and is really singing a lot and doing syllables like baa, gaa, and daa daa. The first week we had his 6 month appt. with Dr. Diab. The rest of the week was mostly about Christmas preparations and viewing local holiday lights etc. Baby's first Christmas was so wonderful and we had a lovely couple of days. My parents flew to Naples on Sunday the 27th for a couple of weeks and we miss them already! This week Derek and I are both off so we are taking advantage to cross off a bunch of things on our list. Right now the electrician's are hard at work installing 4 can lights in the living room and two lights in our under the stairs storage closet. Unfortunately it seems I may have a sinus infection. What started off as a Christmas cold with an extraordinary amount of sneezing has morphed into a painful case of sinusitis. Of course it is self-diagnosed but my whole face hurts especially when I cough or blow or bend over. The bones under my eyes are painful. I have had post-nasal drip etc. before but never this facial pain. yuck! so I am going to rest while baby naps and later today we are heading to some friends for a short visit. Love these quiet final days of the year!

Garden!

I seem to be updating the Junebug street blog much more during these newborn halcyon days so if you're bored here jump over to Junebug Street for some fresh pix and stories! Today I spent some time out in the back garden after about a year! As Gretchen noted, it's hard to garden with a watermelon in your belly! I pruned and watered and planned and mulched a little. The baby was swinging peacefully just inside the sliding glass door screen and the temperature was an agreeable 67 degrees! A nice start to the day. And the back to work countdown begins: 12 days

Tomorrow Derek and I will celebrate our third (!) wedding anniversary and we have decided to use Jeanie's idea and make it a family birthday celebration from now on. yay!

Christmas Eve

It's been a lovely quiet day here at home. Luna is snoozing beside me with her head all curled up cute. I am watching General Hospital! I see it about twice a year, and I just can't get over how quick you can jump back into the characters and storyline. It seems like I've known many of the characters my whole life! The Quartermaines, Felicia, Bobbie, Luke...it's fun to go into their world bi-annually for just a bit. I worked on knitting a scarf today, finished writing thank yous to my students, sent a few online gifts, and had a surprise holiday visit from our realtor, who sweetly remembers us and stops by even a year and a half after moving in! Love it! D. had a half-day at work and decided to stop at Whole Foods on the way home since we are expecting a winter storm this afternoon/evening. We are having cinnamon rolls Christmas morning, and pot roast with carrots and potatoes for Christmas dinner. Little one is hanging out, shooting me adorable little bubble "kicks" every couple of hours. I've been having fun surfing the internet too. Here is just a sampling of the topics I've searched today:

1. Vail, Colorado rental homes (just for fun-no ski trips planned in the immediate future)
2. modern nursery photos (flickr has a nice set) for baby room ideas (check out my friends' adorable nursery at www.hijackd.blogspot.com)
3. wine cabinets
4. cat vaccinations
5. virtual tour of our labor and delivery unit (go to www.kp.org/ob/scal and click panorama city)
6. blogsurfing (including some of the 900+ virtual Christmas decorations tours at www.boomama.net from Dec. 15)
7. penguin thematic materials (I am teaching winter intersession to 2nd grade at my school Jan. 5-9 and we will be reading Mr. Popper's Penguins!)

Wishing everyone a happy holiday-love and quiet hugs from our chilly California valley!

digital dependency

we had rainstorms yesterday and nearby areas received lots of snow. As one result, our digital cable and internet was out all evening. I hadn't realized how dependent I had become on both...at the same time. So I napped, finished a book I had on the nightstand for several months, wrapped a few gifts, and realized I need to finish shopping AND HOW! D. baked cookies and got a little neck massage since there was nothing to distract me. Lesson learned: turn off the computer and TV after work. We plan to pick one hour for each and that's it. I hadn't realized how much time I spent surfing and facebooking. aacck!

whew-what a week!

Daisy meeting Tuesday-check
Daisy Investiture ceremony Wednesday-check
Daisy leader's meeting Thursday-check


D's work holiday party Friday- 24 hours to go!

A busy Monday

It feels wintry here today; cold and gray. Here is a taste of my day:

taught kinder from 8-3; we tasted gingerbread men cookies and brainstormed describing words about them. Here is a selection of what my kidlets came up with:

sweet
hard
sugary
tasty
delicious
brown

Each student started by taking one bite and putting the cookie down. Then I gave them a paper gingerbread man and they had to cut off the part they bit, either the head, the arm, or the leg. Then we made a pictograph of the parts bitten. 12 kids bit off the head, 3 an arm, and 3 a leg! We also learned about the letter C and made paper mitten wreaths today. At 3:30 I:

headed to the grocery store for supplies to make the Daisy cupcakes for our Investiture ceremony on Wednesday. Here is what I bought:

organic milk
3 thick and creamy yoplait yogurts
french bread pizza (deluxe)
cake mix
frosting
cupcake liners
2 frozen lunches (butternut squash ravioli and vegetarian masala)
food coloring (to make yellow center of daisy cake)

Then I stopped at the floral department and a florist shop searching for fresh Daisies to buy on Wednesday since we want to give each girl a real daisy with her pin at the ceremony. Found daisy mums at Bloomie's for $2.50 a bunch (3-5 blooms on a bunch) yay!

Next I stopped at the Union Bank branch to set up an appointment to open the non-profit fee-free checking account for the Daisy troop. Four of us need to go at once, so it took a bit of coordination. I haven't been inside a bank in a while. (our credit union is in Florida!) They had a weapon check entrance where you walk in one at a time and the interior door doesn't open til the outside door has shut. weird/wild!

Finally I got home, turned on our cheery garage Christmas lights (that D. put up on Saturday!), and came in to greet the Lu. I made a snack of a grilled cheese, tomato soup, and milk which I haven't had in ages! Now it's time to watch a netflix movie before D. gets home. Hope you had a productive Monday too!

A Day in the Life-24 hours

8 pm Wed. sit by roaring fire watching TV and filling out my student teacher's final grade report
8:30 Wed. adjust heat to a toasty 74 degrees and get in bed with a book -currently The Inheritance of Loss
9 pm Wed. totally asleep
5:30 Thur. awaken naturally...no cats or alarm clocks needed
6:30 Thur. drive to Corner Bakery for a pumpkin muffin...the first of the season
6:40 Thur. go to Starbucks next door to Corner Bakery since CB not open yet.
7:00 Thur. arrive at school 45 minutes early for a change...nice! ease into the day
8:10-11:40 teach AM K
11:50-12:30 lunch in room with colleague (I always eat in the lounge. nice change) 1/2 egg salad sandwich (from Starbucks!)
1:15-3:15 Professional Learning Community (PLC) meeting at school
3:15-4:05 sign card for ill colleague, help pick out flowers with team for ill colleague and more flowers for expectant colleague
print report cards and turn in
4:15-4:30 get mail, water plants in backyard, hug kitty
4:30 whole wheat with margarine, 1/2 glass milk and the winter parks and rec guide
4:40-5:45 hang out in lavender room, journal, blog, surf listen to Krishna Das -Live on Earth Disc One
predicted:
5:45-6:00 call DH and friend to make plans for dinner and Saturday, respectively
6-7 either prep dinner or stretch/meditate, depending on outcome of phone call to DH
7-8 eat dinner/watch a show
8 go to bed with a book!

24 hours-slice of life

Life of a teacher

14 boxes arrived in my classroom today. For the next few months (Nov. to early March) I will be piloting not one but two different math series as part of the committee to adopt our math curriculum for next year. The boxes need to be saved, and everything returned in them. Exciting and !!! at the same time.

In other school news, I have a student teacher (she is finishing up her 6th out of 8 weeks in our classroom) and it is a wonderful experience. She is so enthusiastic and with it! I will miss her when she finishes Nov. 7.

Lastly, I have been assigned emergency driver of the pregnant K team member if anything should happen that requires her to leave school and go to the hospital between now and her maternity leave. Wow!

A busy school life, and we haven't talked about a typical day.

Today is not typical. I will be in meetings all day. I like meetings, so it's all good. But I miss those little kidlets and their energy.

Have a great Thursday!