Saturday Happenings

There was a small community expo at the baseball stadium near our house this morning, and we decided to give it a try after soccer. It wasn’t huge, but Logan found enough things to make him happy!

There was a cool race car. Not quite Lightning McQueen, but he still passed inspection.

There was a moon bounce – and really sweet older kids inside who reminded each other, “Be extra careful, there’s a little guy in here.”

Spiderman face painting. In true Logan form, he sat beautifully and quietly while the girl did it, but the second he was out of earshot he said, “Mommy please wipe it off, I do not like that.”

At the very end he found his true happiness…firefighters. There was this big firedog and I thought there was no way he was going to stand by him. He isn’t generally a fan of giant characters. But, apparently they just need to be decked out in fire gear!

Doesn’t this fire gear fit him perfectly?

And, to prove to you that Aubrey was in deed there, here’s a shot of her finding her happiness – black beans at Moe’s for lunch. It was a nice way to end the morning, though she came out covered in beans!

Pretty good first half of the weekend! Hope yours is going fabulously!

Thankful on Thursday

• I’m really glad I don’t want to be a principal. Because I sat in on some interviews today and oh my word, how nerve wracking (though, for my one reader who is an awesome AP, you would have been fab!).
• A wonderful talk with my sister-in-law tonight!
• Aubrey’s been in a better mood the past few days. Monday night she was so cranky between when I picked her up and when she went to bed that Peter and I were about to lose our minds.
• My mom got me some awesome dresses from Lands End (so random for me) and I kind of love them, a lot. That makes me feel so old and teachery.
• It is MAY people. Do we need to talk about what month comes after MAY????
• Uh, Logan had tummy issues at daycare today. Big time. Well, more like accident issues. But his wonderful teacher once again just took care of it and told him over and over again it was no big deal. Love. And he is once again telling me how much he loves the smell of her shampoo (don’t ask…).
• SLEEP. Sleep has been good. I give my kids a really bad rap as sleepers, but Aubrey’s done a great job since 10 months (until tonight, of course. I am so jinxed now).

All right, I have had a whirlwind of a day, time to go decompress. Happy almost Friday!

Wordless Wednesday: Big Bath Buddies

Teacher Talk

Sometimes I’m kind of amazed by how much kids learn, seemingly by osmosis. The teacher part of me is completely intrigued.

Take Aubrey and her shoes. Observe what happens on a random morning in our house (shoes and jackets placed in the chair the night before).

She gets the shoe. She knows it goes on her foot. She’s not trying to put it on her hand, she’s not trying to eat it (though she does that too). She is clearly putting it on her foot. Learning at it’s simplest form. Did we have to give her a test to make sure she knew it? Did we have to drill her to get her to learn it? Nope. She experienced it A LOT, watched other people do it, and got to try it herself, without fear of making a mistake. That’s why I became a teacher. Because I like to watch kids learn. I love those faces when they discover they can do something.

I just made a big decision to pursue my National Board Certification. It’s a BIG deal. As in, there are about what, 80,000 students in my county and about 12 teachers a year get their National Board Certification. It involves a LOT of self reflection, papers, video taping yourself, tests, a portfolio, and classes (2 nights a month). It’s hard core for about 9 months. That’s it. And, yes, there is a pay raise at the end, a fairly nice one. In a job where raises don’t always happen and aren’t based on performance, any raise is nice.

I’ve gone back and forth on the decision. We’ve got a lot going on in our life right now, the kids need a lot, school is…work. But Peter also pointed out that all that stuff is always going to be there. Always. I got my master’s degree 5 years ago, so this is really the next step in growing as a teacher.

And, as I said a few weeks ago, I’m still determined that teaching is a valuable and important profession. If I want to see things change, I have to do my small little part – doing the best I can in my classroom.

So, you know, things might get a little crazy around here. There will be stress, but when is there not? At least it’s all for a good cause, you know, future generations of children and all. Perhaps I’ll even teach a few how to put on their shoes – or even tie them!

Our New Buddy

We have a temporary new household member. Meet Sparky.

Awww, isn’t he cute? Or she? We are fish-sitting for our neighbors, and Logan is in heaven.

If he had his way Sparky would eat 10 times a day. 30 pellets a time.

Clearly Peter is equally fascinated. Well, fascinated and terrified. He’s convinced Abby is going to jump up onto the island and eat the fish. Hehe. It makes me giggle a lot. Abby has never jumped up on the island or the counters, she can’t propel herself up that high. And I’m pretty sure she has no idea the fish is there. But, just in case Peter has created an elaborate obstacle course to keep Abby away.

I am just a bit terrified that the fish is not going to make it through the week as well, but I’m just afraid of the circle of life and all that stuff. Our neighbors assured me it wouldn’t be a big deal, but I am all set to go out and buy another fish. Because really, I cannot be known as the bad fish-sitter! Hey, I can keep two kids growing, I have to be successful with fish.

But this is a one week deal only. Pets besides dogs and cats really kind of freak me out. Yep. I know I just keep getting more bizarre everyday. You had no idea, right?

Random Sunday Notes

Finally, finally, finally I think my children are feeling better. Logan was fine Friday night, but Aubrey still had a fever. Not just any fever, but 102 with Motrin. Because she’s awesome like that, and you know, go big or go home, all of that good stuff. Saturday we managed to stay just at 100 all morning, and were even down to 99 by bedtime!

See? She’s much better, thank you.

I am pretty much positive she had Roseola. If you have Baby 411 you have to look up the description they give, it’s hilarious. I mean, she had a double ear infection too, but today she had the roseola rash. Roseola is the virus where you have a high fever for no known reason, then after the fever breaks the rash comes. So yeah, I think that was it. Who knows?

Other than that, we had a very low key weekend. Which was needed because we went 1000 miles an hour this past week with sickness. Also needed because OMG the house needed to be disinfected. And needed because we didn’t want to infect anybody else, with our disease of unknown origin.

Logan was well enough on Saturday to get out to see our friends who were down from NYC! We didn’t get to stay long, but he was still quite excited by the results of the visit – a park! And we were quite happy to play in that nice open space, hoping not to infect anyone.

Logan also spent some of our time stuck inside drawing, check out this awesome new picture he made!

Guess who that is…his daddy! See, hair on his head and his face! Love it. And that was all by himself, I didn’t even know what he was doing until he was through.

And in a funny turn of events tonight, a true Loganism…

Aubrey was attempting to use Logan to stand up – he as already standing and she was pulling herself up using him. Logan said, “Daddy, help, Aubrey’s getting me.” And Peter said, “She’s just climbing up you buddy, it’s fine.” To which Logan replied, “I’m not a ladder!” Peter and I laughed so hard. Where do they come up with these things?

All right, here’s hoping this week is better than the last one. And that we stay GERM FREE!

Friday Night Leftovers

• This morning I thought the kids were doing better. Logan is, but Aubrey is still puny. She’s been on amoxicillin for 36 hours and she’s still at 102 without ibuprofen. Ugh. A call to the doc will be in order if it’s still high tomorrow morning.
• Let’s discuss for the 5,137 time on FNL how much I love the show Psych. Love. It’s the best show you’re not watching.
• Fun friends visiting this weekend! I mean, you are all fun, but I am so excited to spend time with the G’s!
• I totally stink at Words with Friends, but I did get 51 points in one turn yesterday, on the word “mega”. However to know how much I suck at it you have to know that Bestie is still winning, even after those 51 points.
• Do you know what happens when I contemplate having a third child (NOT really, honestly)? I think about the possibility of having TWINS and then having 4. Oh.My.Word.
• I got some super cute clothes at the consignment sale, especially for Aubrey. I want the weather to stay warm so she can actually wear them.
• Best deals at these sales might actually be sleep sacks. Those things are $20 in the store. I’ve gotten two now for like $3 each. In perfect condition. Love.
• How do kitchen floors get so dirty? It boggles my mind.

Boring…the sickness is sucking out my brain cells. For more leftovers, visit Danifred!