Glee Night

This morning was pretty busy. I had to go to William Carey for my advisement and other stuff and so I could have lunch with one of my BFFs. Me, Kaleb and Heather ate at Brownstone's for lunch. It was pretty good. I had the side caesar salad and half of a club sandwich (with no mayo thank you). After that I went to Haley's to print something off for my class and to drop Kaleb off so I wouldn't have to worry about him while I was at William Carey. I'm really glad I did because it took FOREVER. I've turned in my portfolio for EDU 636 (Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum), registered for my fall class (EDU 630 - History and Philosophies of Education), and paid for my class. I really needed to get some fabric for my door, but Kaleb was cranky and sleepy so I put it off. He hasn't had his naps today because of all the running around, but I put him in his bed and he eventually fell asleep.

Tomorrow is going to be busy, too. My OB-GYN moved to Birmingham (SO sad because she was AWESOME) so I have to go meet with my new one...in Meridian...at 10:00. Then I'll probably try to get that fabric again and go to the school to do some work. I don't know how much I'll get done since Kaleb will be with me, but I'll do what I can. Then I'm going to a visitation. My first class of Kindergarteners will always mean a lot to me. One of their mom's died yesterday and I almost cried. After the visitation I'm going to a girl's night - which is goini to be really fun.

Saturday I'll hopefully get to go to Hattiesburg with Eric for a date day. I'm thinking Olive Garden and Inception. I'm getting excited just thinking about it. Unfortunately, it's our last weekend of freedom before school starts.

Mainly A School Update

Today has been pretty unproductive. I haven't even taken a shower. I'm trying to take advantage of these unproductive, unshowered days because they are about to come to a rapid halt. School starts Monday for teachers and Wednesday for students. I really need to get up to my room to work but the power has been out all summer and I'm just not going to work in the heat. Once Eric can get my tables down I can really get busy. There's honestly not that much I can do. I know I eluded to my To Do List last blog, but all of that won't take me very long. I'm planning on working Thursday and Friday if the power is on.

I'm going to Hattiesburg tomorrow to turn in my portfolio for my class, talk to my advisor, change my address, and register for my next class. I would really like to take something that isn't so labor intensive since it's going to be during football season and I won't have much help from Eric. I talked to my friend Megan who is almost finished with the program and she said that most of the classes are pretty intense. Oh well. I'm sure I can deal with it. We might have to start putting Kaleb to bed at 7 or 7:30 instead of 8 so I can do some work.

I've decided to copy Denley and make a schedule for the school year. Actually a few different schedules. A work schedule, a cleaning schedule, and a betterment schedule. Fridays will probably be my busy day since that's the day I'll be by myself until either or 11 or 2 depending on if it's a home or away game.
WORK SCHEDULE:
Monday - Master's class
Tuesday - Off
Wednesday - Master's Class
Thursday - Off
Friday - Master's Class

CLEANING SCHEDULE:
Monday - Bathrooms
Tuesday - Dusting
Wednesday - Vacuuming
Thursday - Sweeping/Mopping
Friday - Organizing
Saturday - Laundry

BETTERMENT SCHEDULE:
Monday - Go for a walk
Tuesday - Read
Wednesday - Go to church
Thursday - Read
Friday - Do something nice for Eric
Saturday - Learn a new recipe

Life Update...Probably Too Much

So, some odd stuff has been happening around here. First there was a half-eaten watermelon sitting on our doorstep one morning. It was right after the Fourth of July so I guess I understand the fruit of choice, but why was it on our doorstep? Then, this morning a friend texted me to tell me there was a WalMart buggy in our front yard. I went to check and, sure enough there was. Now, I know that living in a small town where everyone knows where everyone else lives can be dangerous for teachers, but c'mon! I'm feeling a little harassed. It's not like either of these things hurt us, but it's still a nuisance to have to deal with. I feel a little paranoid. I'm staking out on the couch right now waiting to see if someone sticks forks or pink flamingos all around our house.

School starts next week. I have to get my room ready since Meet the Teacher is the first teacher workday afternoon. I need to:

1. Decorate my door

2. Take the tables down from the counter

3. Arrange my room

4. Make my copies

5. Prepare everything for my parents

6. Write names on nametags

7. Print labels off the computer

I'm really excited about school starting back. I usually am about this time. I LOVE hanging out with Kaleb during the summer, but I have to admit that I miss adult interaction. I like getting to know new students. I like schedules. I'm sure that about a month after school starts I'll be counting down the days to summer, but for the moment, I'm ready! I really wish Eric liked teaching as much as I do. I understand that his passion in life is music...specifically playing music...and that he doesn't get to do that right now. I want to support him in whatever he wants to do, but it's going to be hard to pick up and move again. I know that we'll have to wait another 2 years at least so I can finish my Masters program and so we can get the home buyers tax credit. I don't guess I would mind moving somewhere in Jackson or even Hattiesburg, but moving to a place where I don't know anyone and would have to start all over again makes me nervous. I want Kaleb to have friends. I want him to invite people to his birthday parties when he gets older. I want to have friends, too. I feel like I have that here now...for the most part anyway.

Kaleb is the best! He just loves on me and smiles at me. He loves being hugged and rocked and tickled and kissed. He's my favorite. I was thinking the other day that if even half of the mothers in the world loved their babies as much as I love Kaleb, how could the world be filled with anything but love? I guess that evil is twice as powerful, no, influential, as love. I don't believe that. Love is the most amazing thing in the world. I hope that my sisters and all of my friends get to experience the fullness that comes from having your own child. Kaleb's birthday is about 4 weeks away. I'm excited for this milestone in his life, but it also makes me sad to think that his first year is almost over. We're having a jungle birthday party in Jackson with just family and close friends. It's going to be great.

I've gotten to fulfill my quota of books for the summer. I decided to go easy since I hadn't finished Gone with the Wind yet. I chose 5 as my goal. I started a book today that I may or may not finish before school starts. I'll list them and give you my analysis. The 5 I read, I think in order, are:

1. Gone with the Wind - This is my favorite movie so I thought it was about time I read the book. It was actually very similar to the movie, which I liked. I knew what to expect but I also learned some things about the Civil War and Reconstruction. I think everyone should read this book because it is such an in-depth look at a major part of Southern history.

2. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - This was a surprisingly short book. I finished GWTW half way through our flight back to Jackson and decided I needed a short book to tie me over until I got back to Waynesboro and my book collection. I was expecting it to be a horror novel and that I would be scared stupid reading it (like I've heard about The Shining), but it wasn't. It was more a of a think-about-it horror novella. The dichotomy between good and evil was absolutely personified in these two characters.

3. Incarceron - A story of a prison come to life. This was a sci-fi book I picked up for Eric around the beginning of the year. It was interesting, but not my favorite. It's actually really difficult to explain so you should read it yourself. Even if it's not your style you can always learn from a book read.

4. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime - This book gave an amazing glimpse into the life of a boy with autism. While I was reading it I felt like it was perfectly natural for the main character to cover his ears, close his eyes, groan, and bark like a dog. It was a fantastic view of what he thinks and goes through every day. Every special education teacher or parent of a child with autism should read it.

5. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner - I'm obsessed with Twilight...more specifically Edward and Bella's relationship. I didn't think I would like this book because it didn't feature their love story. I'll admit it wasn't as compelling as the Twilight series, but I did think it added more depth to the entire vampiric persona.

The one I'm reading now is The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

Need. Sleep. Please.

Today was so tiring. I haven't been able to sleep for the past couple of nights because my brain won't shut up. I'm either thinking about Kaleb, starting a women's Bible study group, the $8000 the IRS didn't give us (but owe us), if I'll continue taking Masters classes, etc. Nothing that can get solved at 3:15 in the morning, but it's on my mind anyway. Eric started the first of three weeks of band camp this morning. He left the house at about 6:40 and Kaleb woke up at about 6:45. That was way too early. I decided that since he was just talking to himself in his crib, I'd let him and I'd snooze a little longer. I guess he got really hungry at 7:10 because he started fussing. I reluctantly got up, made a bottle, changed him, and fed him in the living room. After he ate I laid on the couch while he pulled out all of his toys...eventually settling on the drumsticks. He was acting sleepy so he took his morning nap a little early - 8:30. It was only an hour nap, but I laid down, too. Unfortunately, my insomnia problem happens during the day as well. He got up around 9:40 and we played until Eric got home for lunch at 12:30..then it was naptime. I love naptime! Especially long ones (3 hours) like he took today. Eric's parents were coming down for dinner so I had to clean up a little bit, take a shower, and try to have some "me" time. When Eric got home he watched Kaleb so I could finish the laundry, put up the dishes, and pick up all of the babe's strewn toys. We went to Las Fuentes where Kaleb pulled over my glass of water, emptying the ice in my (and his) lap. He cried because it was cold and scary and I went outside to warm up. When we got home I put Kaleb to bed and fell onto the couch unable to move...except I wanted ice cream. Caramel Kettle Crunch...yummy! Now I'm blogging in bed, preparing to read Twilight for the 100th time, and hoping I can fall asleep.

A Mommy's Super Scary Moment

Kaleb hasn't had a very good day today. He's got a couple of top teeth coming in so I know that's hurting him. Plus, he tried to pull up on Lucy and when she ran away he fell . Luckily Eric caught him (by the face) before he hit the tile floor. But, by far, his (and my) scariest moment today was after he threw up. He did a little bit too much playing after eating a biter biscuit and he threw up a little bit. I put him in his highchair while Eric was getting a wet paper towel to wipe up. All of what happened next happened in about 2 seconds. I look over and Kaleb is standing up in his highchair. He pushed on the tray, which was not all the way locked in, and it flew off of the highchair onto the floor. Because Kaleb was leaning on it, he went flying with the tray. The highchair was close enough to the table that I saw him fall face-first into the edge of the table and then go face-first for the tile floor. I went into mommy-spidey-sense mode and grabbed him by whatever I could. This happened to be the butt of his onesie. I grabbed his butt, flung him around, and held him tight. By this time he was screaming and crying and I was crying, too. It was awful. After about 5 minutes he was playing again, but he has a nice line-shaped bruise on his cheek. We were so lucky that he only hit his cheek on the table and that I was able to catch him before he cracked his head open on the floor. It was not my favorite mommy moment.

The Virgin Expedition Part 3: Wildlife Wonders

Iguanas run rampant, hermit crabs are tiny and huge, birds and fish think they're on National Geographic, and catepillars are shiny. People who've been to St. John told me that there are iguanas everywhere and that they just walk around. Well, it's true. You can see some in the pictures, but that wasn't all of them. On one of our last days on the island, an iguana was sunbathing on our pool deck. There was iguana road kill, which was sad. There were iguanas on rocks, in trees, and in flowerbeds. I saw more at the Westin than I did anywhere else. They were just walking on the lawn, eating flowers, and crossing the walking paths.

Hermit crabs showed up on our front porch one night. We saw a giant one and then after we looked around, we saw there were crabs of all sizes. Brad tried to pick one up and it "attacked" him so he dropped it, breaking it's little shell. Poor thing.

At the beaches I got to see a fish jump out of the water, wiggle around, then flop back in. I also got to see a pelican dive into the water to catch a fish. It was circling over the water so I knew something awesome was about to happen. Everyone else was drying off but, since I'd already been out of the water awhile, I was sitting in my beach chair watching it all unfold. The bird swooped down, dove underwater for about 2 seconds, then emerged with a big, fish-sized beak. He just zoomed off to a tree after that.

One day after it rained we went outside and saw these black and white and shiny red catepillars with hot yellow tails and heads. Apparently they turn into these huge moths called Sphinx Moths. Look em up.