Talking to Mr. and Mrs. Clause this morning.  

"Santa Claus is comin' to town...� 

Halloween Fun!  

Ava's First Birthday Cake 

Birthday Girl!  

Adventures in Dentristy

So I finally went to the dentist for my check up and cleaning, only to be told my silver fillings were aging, and some to the point of "leaking." What this means is that some of them have to be replaced. Somehow, I made an appointment to have the work done, and filled with DREAD I went on Thursday am.
I didn't sleep much the night before, because I hate getting teeth drilled and in my mind, taking old fillings out didn't seem pleasant at all. On my way there, the sky was black, and it started to down pour. On the radio that song "SOS" was playing. Yeah, somebody please help me SOS. I get there, and am sitting in the chair, my stomach in a knot and the radio is now playing "The waiting is the hardest part." I look skyward, convinced somebody is reading my mind.
My new dentist is really good, and he has some cool high tech toys. One being a little wandy thing that takes a close up photo of each tooth to be viewed on the computer screen. Cool! He shows me that he is going to work on three teeth! I almost broke the arm off the chair. I was thinking one. THEN he tells me he isn't going to use any novicane. There goes the other chair arm. What in hell is this man thinking? Before I can react, he is drilling. And it doesn't hurt. In an hour, I have three fillings replaced. Out went the old silver and in went the new composite, which is actually teeth colored. My teeth look so much better. And it didn't hurt. Really. This man is goooood. I am telling everyone I know about him. Never in 35 years and about 5 different dentists has dental work been done so well in my mouth. Amazing.

My Hijacked Life

For at least the past year I feel my life has been hijacked. It has escalated to an almost depressing status as of late. Between 3 kids, a full time job, a Brownie troop, keeping my home, and a husband with Fibro, my me time? It is non-existant. Most nights I am asleep on the couch insanely early, or I have to stay up insanely late trying to get things done. I feel like each day I just hang on and hope everyone is fed, cleaned, and at the right school. I am really missing the parts of my life that used to be mine. I haven't scrapped in over a year. I haven't gotten on the treadmill in months. My eyebrows are even a mess. Yet, I try not to feel sorry for myself because at least I"m not in pain every day. Brian's disease management has all but failed in the past month. He's in rough shape, so I work harder doing all things house and kid related so he won't have to. I am feeling like something better give before my sanity does, but there really isn't anything that can give. I think the only thing I can currently do is to remember it's situational. Even my blog is all but dead. Sigh.

I Want to go BACK

I am so ready to go back to school! I love my job, and miss the "big kids". Really, I do. It must have been on my mind a lot lately, and of course in an OCD overdrive moment last night, I decided at 10:30 to write in all my fixed commintments in my schedule book last night. Needless to say, I went to bed with school on my mind, at 12:30 after having a glass of milk, and scheduling my year.
For some reason, dairy products give me bizarre dreams. I was dreaming about my new mentoring program, only for some reason people I WENT to school with were in my dream. Mrs. Morgan was there, and she was telling me some people that wanted to be mentors, only they weren't students that were selected. Strange. Hopefully, though my mentoring program will be that good and I WILL have students coming to me that want to do it. Maybe my dream was a clairvoyent look into the future.

So lets go!!!!!! Back to school!!!

I've Got a Crush on You

My neighbor girl is going into 10th grade, and she is quite stunning, only good for her Dad, the boys haven't noticed....YET. Or perhaps they are looking for the blond Brittney type and not the knockout red head type. She has long red hair, deep red, not carroty, and blue eyes. Her skin is fabulous, with just a sprinkle of freckles, and she is tall. Well, taller than me, does that count as tall? My kids love her and she can babysit 4-5 kids and make it look effortless. She is a great girl, and she has a crush on an "upperclassmen" that probally doesn't realize that she is going to be the girl the guys drool over in college. I have known who she likes for a while. Call it my business as a guidance counselor. Anyways, her MOM has found out and her entire sports team and of course it's the team HE is on. So her MOM invited the entire team over for a pool party today. She is caught between being mortified and being very excited, and don't you just remember that feeling?
I think our first crushes were people that weren't attainable to us, hence the excitement. For girls, anyways, we looked to "older men", you know, guys in 10th grade, not 9th. Half of the excitement was having the thought and realizing you thought this person was IT. I also think the notion of having the crush was much better until your friends became armed with the info, or an entire sports team. Then they tell people, then your MOM finds out, and people think it's all "cute and sweet". The secret gets out and it just takes something away, especially if the object of your desires isn't interested. Then everybody knows that he doesn't want anything to do with you. God, do you remember that? No amount of money would make me want to go through that again.
Of course I remember my first crush. He was TWO grades older than me. Jay Fenton. What a cute, sweet, nice kid. At least I didn't pick a jock. I have no idea what happened to him, or if he ever knew? I have a feeling he is married, a really good husband and father. And I still remember those feelings. Thank GOD my MOM never knew.
Neighbor girl, I feel your pain. I"ll try to distract your mom today during the pool party and if this boy doesn't realize the fabulousness that you are??? Wait till college. Wait till he sees you in the future.

I've Been Tagged

Traci just tagged me, so here goes:

Four jobs I've had in my life:
Guidance Counselor ( current), teaching assistant, radio personality, and your Friendly waitress

Four places I've lived:Here, Schenectady, Cobleskill, and Ilion ( Beautiful downtown Litchfield)Four TV shows I love to watch: Sex and the City, CSI ( all of them), Cold Case, and Who's Wedding is it Anyways? ( highly entertaining)

Four Places I've been on vacation: Disney Florida, Sanibel Florida, Atlanta ( HOTlanta) Georgia, and Cape Cod

Four Homemade Foods I love: Lasagna, Turkey dinner, calzone, and choclate cake

Four Places I'd Rather Be Right Now:Back in bed, work, actually, Sanible, or anywhere "up North".

Halloween Prep

I bet you didn't know there was such a thing as Halloween prep? It has to do with the planning and organizing of Halloween. I happen to LOVE Halloween. Call it the wanna be Witch in me. So, I start planning in the Spring. Really. I am always a Witch, as I have made myself a beautiful costume, like somethig out of that movie " Hocus Pocus". The girls usually choose their costume and I work the next few months either finding the costume or making it. Last year, I hit the summer pre-pre season sale at Party City completely on accident in July and found the Brat Doll costume and the witch costume for Anna for 5.00 EACH. They were great costumes, the kids looked so cute. I had the baby last fall, and it was nice actually not to have to sew or make anything. This year, I have happened onto pieces of costumes over the summer and the costumes are coming together nicely. Miranda found a lepard print skirt at salvation army and a plain black long sleeved shirt. We found a matching lepard print stole at the dollar store, and I purchased the matching fuzzy lepard material to make cuffs for the shirt and a tail. We are still on the look out for ears, and black go-go style boots. She is calling herself Cat Woman, and it's a nice compromise. She saw the sleek pleather cat woman costume in a magazine and wanted that for Halloween. Ummmmm, no. I sold her the idea of fake fingernails and the go-go boots for this costume to make it a little sassy. She is happy and won't look like a hoochie mama in training.
Anna decided last year to be Strawberry Shortcake. I found SS material and a cute pinafore style dress pattern. I am making the dress for her. I found the green and white striped knee socks at the dollar store, a SS trademark that I thought I wouldn't find. Now we need a hat, so I am thinking of getting a floopy straw type hat and will add the ribbon, strawberries, etc.....She has a white stuffed kitty to carry to complete the look and black buckle shoes. Two fabulous costumes, less then 10.00 each. Two girls that got to be part of the planning, creating and artistic process? Priceless.
My husband thinks I am crazy for planning in August, but hey, they don't call me OCD for nothing. I also have started buying candy ( a couple hundred kids come through here), and decorations and can be caught humming " It's the most wonderful time of the year...." He has mentioned going to Salem, Mass in October again this year. Pack my bags, grab the hat and broom and I am on my way!!

Home Sweet Home 2006. Happy 1 year Anniversary to us!  

Tiger Lilies by the carriage house.  

Fall is in the Air

It's the most wonderful time ofthe year! I love Autumn, it's my favorite season. Mostly for the colors, the beautiful days, the smells, the hanging on to the last days of summer, and for back to school. There, I said it. Back to school. :) I don't just love it as a mom wanting my kids to return to structure, I love it as an educator. I am really excited to get back to my job. I love what I do, love being surrounded by teens, and especially love being part of the process that helps them sort it all out. I love watching personal growth!
I have been getting my family ready for "re-entry" as I like to call it, checking off the school supply list ( which was a mile long this year), shopping for school clothes for them and me, and organizing my house and stocking up. I love the feeling of starting the school year off caught up on life.
So I have my own supplies to take up to my office. The girls and I walked up to the school on Tuesday. To my delight and surprise, I could not get into my office. The custodians were in the hall and they stopped to me to tell me the wax and the paint was drying.My office got painted!!!! Woo Hoo. Last year I felt like I was working out of someone else's office. Moving in August, and being very pregnant, I didn't have time to settle in. I have spent the year making the office mine, and now it is freshly painted! My carpets were also cleaned, and the main part of our guidance suite was freshly waxed and buffed. It all looks great and for some reason completely energizes me. A fresh start to the school year. OCD Girl likey.
Miranda is ready for 3rd grade, cursive writing and multiplication. Hopefully plenty of science too, she loves science. Anna is geared up for Pre-K. I have had her on the waiting list since last January, at the ONLY place around here that offers it. Sources say it is "excellent." She is ready! ( hopefully we are ready, the price was hefty!) I think she may be a little bored, as she knows all the usual colors, shapes, can id her numbers, most letters and has begun writing letters, the process of school, the socialization, and the friends will have her 100% ready for Kindergarten.
As for me, I am ready. I am running a girls group this year and am all ready to roll with it, have put together a peer mentoring program and will be ready when school opens, and am not pregnant this year, so my energy is limitless.
Raise your number 2 pencils and toast with me to a successful year of learning and growing, for the children, and for me.

Gimmie a G!

Give me a G for guilty. Pop Warner Cheerleading started last night. Miranda has wanted to do this since last year when we moved here. 3 girls from the Brownie troop are involved and she knows this information. Problem is, mom doesn't really support this. Don't get me wrong, I didn't just tell her no. I have given this so much thought. The first two strikes against it were the cost and time involved. The uniform is 100.00. It's not that we don't have the money, to me it's the idea that a little top and skirt is 100.00. Not everyone can afford this, so now it becomes an activity that only certain girls can participate in. Second is the time. Evenings three nights a week for 2 hours, games on Sunday. This is just for one of my girls. Running 4 times a week for one activity. 5-30-7:30 at night, after a busy day in school, an hours worth of home work, this leaves no time for anything else, and I am guessing one cranky girl. I told her if she did this, it meant no dance or girl scouts, because that would put us running everynight after school.
My final problem with cheerleading, is that it is just that. These are little girls, so the cheers really don't involve much, but even as high school girls our team isn't that athletic nor are they a serious dance team. Beyond that, there aren't really any benefits. It's not like there are cheer scholarships, or "professional cheerleaders". The Dallas Cowgirls only make 50.00 a game, it's pretty much volunteer. Beyond fun, what are you left with? I would rather her pursue dance. She is going into her 6th year if dance. She is really getting good, she loves it, and her studio does compete. Some of the older girls I know have taken it on to serious roles in local productions. If her creativity continues, I am guessing she will like theatre, and dance fits into that. It's a real form of fitness, and you can go on in life with it, either as just fitness as an adult, or it actually could evolve into career choices. Dance instructing can either be a great part time job or it can be your life. If she chooses a fine arts college someday, she can continue to study it. And did I mention she loves it? She has asked to take acrobatics this year and I have agreed. We can do both her dance classes and her acro on the same night, and if her quest to be a cheer leader continues, I would rather her learn the right way to tumble, flip, leap, and vault. After all, she is the tiny girl that would get tossed into the air. I don't want someone's mom teaching her that. Let her learn in the studio and let it take her where it may.
I would never force an activity on her, or rule things out just because. I really have given this much thought and even talked it out with her. More parents should actually do this because I have seen a lot of kids over committed to too many after school activities. It's ok to tell them no, to limit what they do. Some of the littlegirls I know in pop warner also dance, are in girl scouts, and do things with the church. When do their families spend time together? When do these little people just have time to play???
So although I am feeling a little guilty today, she is only 8. There will be plenty of time for her to talk me into it in the future. She would be good at it, just not this year. LEt dance takeher where it may first.

The Sweetest Thing

Last night, as the heat still sizzled, I needed to find a way to make my own breeze. All I could picture was that moment in Ya- Ya Sisterhood where the girls jumped into the convertible and went in search of their own relief from the heat. How free they were, riding on top of the seats, feeling the breeze blow their hair, and letting their shirts fall by the wayside. Just the thought of it made me feel cooler. However, I live in a small town, and am getting to be "known" both from the neighborhood and school, riding topless on a convertible really wasn't an option. Besides, where do I drum up a convertible at 9:30 pm at night? In a small town, no less???

I grabbed my mp3 player, sneaks, and stepped outside. It was cooler than it had been all day, the mercury checked in at about 86. The night sky was amazingly dark blue, with stars twinkling, knowing nothing of the heat. I started walking, in search of my own way to cool down. As I circled the block, I noticed I was a lone reed. The usual dog walkers, strolling moms, elderly walking couples nowhere to be found. It had to be the heat. It seemed as I had the village to myself and the radio played one favorite after another. I was feeling cooler as I strolled into the village green. If you have ever seen "Gilmore Girls" you know what our village green looks like. Lots of trees, benches, Gazebo, lamps, and my own breeze. I saw it before I even thought of it. I started walking towards it, feeling apprehensive. Could I do it here? What if people saw me, what would they think? Surely the little street lamps lit the park up so everyone could see that it was me?

None of this mattered to me. I found my breeze. I slid into the familiar seat, rubber between two chains, remembering all the times my girls enjoyed this very thing. I pumped my legs out as U-2's "Sweetest Thing" came onto my radio, as if just for me. I was now soaring through the night sky and as I suspected, the wind was now flowing through my hair. I soared as high as I dared, higher than my daughters were allowed to go. I closed my eyes, savored the music, opened them and savored the beautiful night. Cresent moon, deep deep blue sky, and now a breeze. " Oh-Oh O, the sweetest thing."

Going for a ride! We put Ava in with Anna for a ride, thinking she would sit on Anna's lap. No can do! Here she is STANDING, barefoot, holding the rollover bar like she has done this a million times. What you can't tell from the photo is that she was squealing with delight! Anna said: " Can we do it again tomorrow Mama???"  

Party Girl

Miranda, the social butterfly, is at a sleep over tonight. Daily, I get calls from her girl friends asking her to play. I am not sure how she decides, with so many offers. Anyways, last night, she was at a friend's house for her birthday. She called to say good night while we were outside and left a message on the machine that went like this: " Hi, it's Miranda ( like we didn't know). You know the sleepover party girl! I called to say good night."

I was in no way ready to hear her call herself a party girl at 8! They had great plans though. Pizza, the little chick flick "Aquamarine" and plenty of candy. She learned from the best, ha?

Screw You

Excuse me for I have sleep deprevation due to a 10 month old who likes to get up at 5:30am, but screw you. Screw you to the big 5 oil companies that all grossed somewhere between 30-40% last year as I was told by the governmental powers that be that the increase was due to sluggish output. Screw you. My parents are wondering if they will be able to afford oil for their SMALL home and Exxon made 11 Billion in profits. 11 Billion. I don't even know how much that is. I mean, I know what it looks like on paper, but what is the spending power of 11 Billion?? How many people up the corporate chain is that split amongst? Did everyone feel as depressed as I when you saw that number on the news?? 40%. And that is about how much more gas has gone up for us, 40%. My neighbor just said she paid about 40 % more in the 05-06 heating season. I can almost understand 10%, but the average person's yearly pay increase is only 4%. Then once gas goes up, the prices of food go up because they claim "shipping charges." Food and gas. These are not luxuries.

I support using methanol and corn based fuels. I would welcome it open arms even if it means extra equipment for my car. It would make sence. The farmers would have an additional source of income and we could fuel our cars on clean natural products made here, in the USA. It's a simple soulution, almost too simple. And maybe hard working folks like my mom and dad living on fixed incomes wouldn't have to wonder if they could afford to keep warm this year.

Screw you Exxon. 40%. I hardly even drive my car anymore. Take that.

Let's play mommy! 

Mom, take MY picture! Having an afternoon " movie and popcorn" date in the living room and taking a break from the heat. We are watching the movie "Bewitched" for the zillionith time. Good thing I love that movie.  

Camp Girl! With her duffle bag weighing more than her, here she is off to camp! I miss you little peeper girl! May you return with great stories, great songs, and plenty of bug bites.  

Blew Out a Flip Flop

You can see from my photos I have really been enjoying summer. It's my first summer in three years not taking classes and because I opted to get paid all year ( I work in a school), I am actually having the summer off and getting paid! Of course I love my job, love the kids, and really love this school system, having the summer off is just what I needed. My job is stressful, as I am a high school counselor, so I needed to get back to my fun self for a few months.
We have already done so much this summer: Camp, swimming daily, Enchanted Forest, road trips north, Delta Lake, a new slip and slide, our awesome 4th of July party with live music and fireworks, etc....And you know it's a good summer when you blow out a flip flop. Besides my flip flop that went down the sink hole ( see sink hole story), while frolicking at Enchanted Forest, I watched another pair of flops bite the dust. Oh, and I went down "Shadow" with my brave daughter ( that's the big green one you see from the road). I am renaming her "Thrill Seeker." A good time is being had by all. I just need to stock up on flip flops!

Line up for the slip n slide. Love the goggles?  

Sink Hole~ July 4, 2006 It actually looks worse in real life! While the girls were doing their slip and slide on teh fourth, Miranda says, casually, " There's a big hole over here mom." I take off running to see and as I am running to see this hole, I of course sink into the earth up to my knee into a new sink hole. All I could think of as I was going down was " Not now, not in these shoes." I had on new and very cute sequined butterfly flip flops. I sunk to my knee and left the above foot print in my lawn. Turns out the village removed a old well from my property before we bought the house last year and the dirt they packed in must have started to erode back to the leechfield. The village came to my house to see the sink hole and they filled in the hole with dirt. I was hoping they would dig it up, place in some heavy fill and much more dirt. I am really waiting for the lawn to sink again! I had all the neighborhood kids at the hole looking to see where Mrs. D sank into the lawn. I was cool for a day! Too bad my flip flops will never be the same.

What a Summer!!! 

Just Gorgous! Here's Ava in a dress Miranda wore 8 years ago.  

IRL

I can't believe I haven't updated my blog in over a month! I usually am a weekly poster, but I guess I have been enjoying my life IRL- in real life. School wound down, and I am offically off for the summer, short of a couple summer days I work and the time I need to spend getting a coupleof projects off the ground. I am working on my tan, and on some projects around my house as well. AND, baby Ava is a super model. I knew she was gorgous! Now, others will know it as well. I took the kids for portraits and the studio asked me to sign permission so they could use some of the baby's pictures for promotional use. I keep telling her she's a super model.

Enjoy your summer, IRL. Get out and enjoy! I know I am!!!!

Snow Day

I know what you're thinking, it's 60 degrees, the Lilacs are blooming, how can it be a snow day? Well, it is! We get back our unused snow day today as an extra vacation day. A bonus day. A unanticipated day to get things done! Woo Hoo! I am always wishing for extra time in my day and today, it's as if my fairy godmother granted my wish. Oh the things I will do today.

60 and Done!!

I finished up my last master's level class that I have to take. This completed my 60 credit hours, and did so with an overall 3.9. Smart, I know. I can continue to take classes to advance my pay level, but I don't have to take anymore. Ever. However, somewhere lurkingin the back of my mind is this really great research idea I have for an Ph. D. I am sure that amount of communication, pictures, images, etc.....children are exposed to since birth has something to do with the amount of kids that have ADHD, ADD, or just plain can't pay attention in school. Our teachers have to constantly keep things in motion in the classrooms to keep up with the inexistant attention spans. I have so many kids that have 504's for ADHD I have lost track of the number. I believe it's all related. I would love to do either a correlation or a longitudal study of this. But, I don't have to.

A Cure

Today I discovered an actual, yes actual cure for PMS. Eat one large, gooey Hemstrought's half moon cookie and drink one very large glass of milk. It was better than the half of bottle of asprin that really didn't do anything. I am cured! Praise Jesus......

She is a Comedian!

My little Anna, who is biologically not mine, has a sence of humor that is so much like mine. She is sarcastic, and quick with little zingers. Just the other day, we were walking to the post office. We passed a house and she said " Mom, who lives here?" I said " I am really not sure." She says " Maybe Allison." I say " Allison who?" " YOU KNOW mom, Allison in wonderland. " I am still chuckling.

Friday, we went out to dinner at Applebees. The girls love that place, I like the amboance and the obscure 80's music. The girls got balloons on the way out. I tell them to hold on tight to them. Anna says " Yeah or it will go up to God. He must have a lot of balloons." This is why her IQ is 115. She is one quick thinker. And funny as heck. I get her.

Pay it Forward

I have always lived my life like this, paying it forward, being nice and doing random good stuff. I guess thats why, in high school, I got the "Good Kid Award." My professors invited me back to St. Rose last week to help students still in grad school in their job search. They held a "Go for the Job Night." I was one of the lucky ones that got a job last year, but I like to think it was because I worked my butt off, and really had it in my heart to get a job working with kids everyday. So I hopped on the thruway and went. Sure, it wasn't easy taking time out of my schedule and leaving my kids for the night, but I am glad I did it. I was very upbeat for the students, even thought the job outlook is grim. I had a hand out with job search tips, and I worked the room, answering questions, giving advice, dishing out a little hope. In the end, I am glad I did it. There were certainly other counselors that helped me in my job search, and if I gave just one person a little piece of advice that helps them get hired, and in turn they help kids for years to come, that is really cool!

My Easter Chickies 

Happy Birthday Bunny Girl!  

Marthas Back!

Haven't had time much lately to be my usual Martha self. However, over break, I have had some time to tackle projects Martha style. First there was the family party for Miranda and the fabulous Bunny cake I made. Then, I harvested bulbs, chives, a bleeding heart bush, and flocks from my mom's house ( ok , she dug most of them up) and replanted them here. Martha would say the best way to garden! I "tagged saled" at Salvation Army and got a ton of really nice clothes for the girls, cleaned their closets and get them ready for warm weather. I also organized Peeps room. No easy task, as she is a pack rat!

Breath in. Do you sense the return of order and neatness?

I had a moment

As I was frantically trying to keep up with my " I work full time, am taking a class, have three kids" life, I had a moment today. I took the baby for her shots today ( oops, I was a couple months late. Bad mom), I went to get into the car and thought I had the wrong car. There were three car seats accross the back. Surely this was not my car. Three kids? Are you freaking kidding me? I have three kids??? WHAT AM I THINKING?

Had to stop on the way home and go shoe shopping to bring myself back.

Can I go to jail for this??

I stole this from Traci's blog. Wasn't that nice of me??

The Rules:1. I can only say YES or NO!2. I am NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone comments/messages me and asks!
Taken a picture naked? : yes ( ok, put the camera down my shirt and clicked it.)
Made out with a member of the same sex? : no
Danced in front of your mirror? : yes
Told a lie? : yes
Gotten in a car with people you just met?: no
Been in a fist fight? : no
Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back? : yes
Been arrested? : no
Slept in a bed with a member of the same sex? : yes
Seen someone die? : no
Kissed a picture? : yes
Slept in until 3? : yes
Laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by? : yes
Played dress up? : yes
Fallen asleep at work? : yes
Had sex at work? : no
Felt an earthquake? : yes
Touched a snake? : no
Ran a red light? : yes
Been in a car accident? : yes
Pole danced? : yes
Been lost? : yes
Sang karaoke? : yes
Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? : yes
Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? : yes
Caught a snowflake on your tongue? : yes
Kissed in the rain? : yes
Sang in the shower? : yes
Got your tongue stuck to a pole? : Yes, well the freezer
Sat on a roof top? : yes
Played chicken? : no
Raised chickens? : yes
Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? : yes
Been told you're hot by a complete stranger? : yes
Broken a bone? : no
Mooned/flashed someone? : yes
Forgotten someone's name? : yes
Slept naked? : yes
Blacked out from drinking? : yes
Played a prank on someone? : yes
Felt like killing someone? : yes
Made a parent cry? : yes
Cried over someone? : yes
Had sex more than 5 times in one day? : no
Had/Have a dog? : yes
Been in a band? : yes
Drank 25 sodas in a day? : no
Shot a gun? :yes

Life is a Cabaret

I went to my school last night to see our students in their yearly Cabaret. Let me first say that it was really good. I was impressed with the many numbers stage band did, as they accompanied the enitre thing. Costuming was good, and the dance moves were surprisingly alright. As I sat there and watched, however, I was transported back to my days in high school performing arts. I sat there realizing how much I miss music and theatre being a part of my life.
I came very close to being the play director this spring, as my school didn't have one. I have kicked around the idea of doing it next year and the idea both excites me, and scares me just a little. It's been a loooong time since I built a set, and outside of lighting for television ( college), I have not lit a stage for a play. I really think I could do it, and I know I would love to do it. Who knows, maybe next year will be my return to drama. The play is the thing!

Experiment

I purchased the new Jergins Natural Glow lotion. I have been intrigued that for 6 bucks you can moisturize your skin and look tan at the same time. As the original "whiter than white" girl, this seemed like a dream come true. I want to look tan, and I have gone tanning before to do so, but the whole cooking your skin part scares me. Not to leave out the fact that the more sun I get, the more freckles I get.
I am on my third day of this lotion and as the package says, I am starting to get that "sun kissed" look. I would actually say that I look a smidge darker. I look like I have been at the pool all day. The lotion has a nice, kind of tropical smell. If you have ever gone tanning and used the creams there, it smells like that, so I am tricking myself into believing that I have gone tanning. I am wearing a white jacket tomorrow and I just put it on to see how it looks. I do really look a little tan and the white off sets it nice.
So I will continue with my experiment. I am supposed to reach optimal color after using the product for 7 days. If it keeps going as planned, this is the last lotion I ever use. It was inexpensive, and as a bonus, it has a little shimmer in it. I like shimmer. Shimmer is fun, and very girly. Girly is good.

Poetry in Motion

Miranda wrote this Cinquin for her poetry unit. It's beautiful and graceful, just like her:

Snowflakes
falling beautiful
crystals
6 sided
none are the same
falling on your tongue


I can just see her sticking out her tongue to catch them.

Exercise Opportunist

In the book that I am reading Super Foods there is a section about exercise. It was an interesting read because it gave me the idea to be an exercise opportunist! In addition to trying to work exercise into your life, look for daily opportunities that arise naturally and exercise then. For instance, when we get home from school, my girls always want to go out to play, to take a walk, to go to the playground. I have been dropping everything to go outside and play with them. They like to get on their bikes, and I put the baby in the stroller and we all head out. When we do go to the playground, I like to zip around on the equipment as well.
My dog ligitimately also needs exercise. I have been getting into the habit of popping on my iPod, grabbing the dog and walking the bike path up to my school and walking around the school a few times. Daisy gets out, I get exercise.
I live pretty close to the school where I work. I would also like to make walking to and from work part of my day on nice days. Warm weather is about here, the walk is a brisk 10 min uphill, it would benefit me and the environment.
I even got my bike out, filled the tires with air and got it ready for Spring. When Miranda wants to go on a ride, I go to. We usually only take a short spin around the block, but I have been teaching her bike safety as we go. This again kind of fills double duty. I get exercise, she gets time with Mom. And she thinks it's so cool that I like to bike. We haven't seen any other mom's on bikes here.
In the end, I have decided instead of trying to get on my treadmill at 8pm everynight ( some nights I make it, some I am just too tired by 8) to find opportunities that arise each day that can be turned into exercise. It really makes sense. I can't possible say "I don't have time to play with my kids" I am looking forward to a Spring and Summer filled with opportunities to get out and get healthy. Ride on little girls, and wait for me!

Hooked on a Feeling

My quest for health has taken on a life of it's own. I had no idea it would be so easy. I am hooked on this feeling that I have right now. I feel satisfied. I have this feeling everyday and I think it's because I restructured my entire eating plan and now only eat food that has nutritional value. I have not had a slice of bread in a month, or potatoes, or pasta. I have also not had carb cravings in a month. I knew I had willpower, but even following weight watchers I was eating carbs and not learning how to deal with the cravings. I have replaced my old white starches with grains. I have Thomas Whole Grain English Muffins. 8 grams of fiber. I eat one at 6:30am, and an not hungry until my 11:30 salad. I have also added wheat germ to my life, in smoothies and on my whole grain cereal in the am. I even perfer soy milk now on my cereal.
I am mostly excited because I know I can keep going with this way of eating because it just makes sense to me and my body feels satisfied, healthy, and strong. Additionaly, the scale reads 10 pounds less now in a month. And did I mention that my hair, skin, and nails have never looked better? I wasn't planning on that.

You are my Sunshine 

Adventures in Biology

Friday we had an extreme sub shortage at my school. So extreme the principal came in and told the counselors we were the biology teacher for the day. We looked at each other and burst out laughing. I think there are reasons we are all counselors. We love working with kids, but had no intent of ever teaching a class, but what can you do? We were short staff, so time to rally!
I only wound up with 8th period, and didn't realize when I walked down to the room that it was AP Biology. Keep in mind the actual last time I set foot in a bio classroom was 10 grade. I was 15. I am 30something. That was actually 19 years ago. All I really remember was fiddling with Mr. Sos's computer and having network people have to come and fix it ( sorry) and the fetal pigs. Ours was fondly named stubby the pig and thank GOD for Steph. She had the cohonies to do the cut work. No way was I cutting into that pig.
Thankfully, the teacher left a quiz and lab work for the students to finish up on and the students I had were really good kids. Seniors taking the class because they wanted to. They were working with specimine jars identifying class, genomes, and genesis classifications. When one kid asked about a Genesis, I sais " Hey, I know this! It's a rock group and their front man was Phil Collins." Now it was their turn to laugh. I was amazed at the content they were studying and I had a lot of respect for them. I am a smart girl, I read a lot, and I know a lot about a lot of things, but the complexities that is Biology is foreign to me. And to the kid that opened the specimine jar with the frog in it to see how it smelled, well, whatever works for you. Keep that thing away from me.

Superlative!

So I have been adding so called "super foods" to my diet and I have to report back on this. I do actually feel super, although the intent was to be healthy not to achieve a feeling. I have been eating things like walnuts ( move over almonds, walnuts are now worthy), olives, oatmeal, cinnamon, and tomato juice daily. I have been taking a super B vitamin and Omega pill as part of my regimine, and drinking an ocean of water a day. I am moving into the 3 week zone, and there is no way I want to go back to the way I was eating. I no longer eat white bread, white potatoes, or pasta, and I have to say I thought I would be miserable, but it's not the case. My cravings for sugary, chocolately foods are gone. I find my appetite has pretty much gone south for the first time in my life. That's powerful stuff!
I have been out to dinner ( Zebbs of all places) and not tempted to deviate ( baked chicken, coleslaw, and onion soup), weathered a birthday and only had 1/2 of a small piece of cake as a 3 week reward for myself, and even had cookie dough in the house and didn't want to nosh on it. Amazing. I will continue onward with my quest for health. I know I have lost weight because pants that didn't fit after I had the baby now fit, but more importantly, I really do feel super.

Ch-Ch-ch-Changes

Visualization is a powerful tool. It's a technique I use when working with kids. If you want to make changes, if you want to things to be different, you need to be able to see it, to visualize it, if you are going to make it happen. If you can't see yourself changed, how can you even begin to think change is possible?
I myself want to make some changes this year. Last year, just about everything in my life changed and something I frequently did was to close my eyes, breath deep, palms up and visualize the change. I allowed myself to see the change in my head and to pretend I could feel the changes in my being. Deep, I know, but it worked. It was something that kept me focused on my goals and as I was interviewing for jobs, I imagined myself in those roles. So this year, I am using the same technique.
The changes I am visualizing this year are health and well being. I have struggled with my weight since I was in 8th grade. I have never been huge by any means, but the times I have been at my ideal weight I have not been able to stay there and it's not because I didn't follow a maintenance plan, it's because I never made PERMANENT changes to my eating. Lifestyle changes. I never visualized myself long term sticking to my plan and eating healthy long term.
In order to achieve my goal this year, and weightloss speaking it's only about 20-25 pounds that stands between me and my favorite weight. Nothing major, but this time, I would like to stay there, to eat healthfully long term not only for the number on the scale, but for the way I feel, for low blood pressure and low cholesterol. I have both of those things now, low blood pressure and cholesterol, but not really by anything I have done, so I would like to make changes that support this through my adult life.
Some thigs I have done to help me achieve this so far are again visualization. I can see long term health in my head, I can see myself at my favorite weight. A second thing I have done is more reading and research. I am a thinker. I like facts and I like reasons. I know I should eat fruits and veggies because they are healthy, but I needed more facts. I got a book called Super Foods that goes into detail about foods that really pack a healthy punch. I haven't gotten too far into the book, but now on a daily basis I eat a handful of walnuts, a cup of olives, and I found this greay blueberry tea at the health food store. Blueberries really pack an antioxident rich punch. Who knew? The tea I found, although not quite as good as the real deal, is almost as rich. Besides that it is delicious. I am eating salads once a day, and whole foods like chicken and tuna.
It's only been 2 weeks since I got really serious about this, and I can't say that it was too hard, because I have always been on the healthier side of life, kind of on the verge. In my two week quest, I have already dropped 6 pounds. Not the most important reason, but man does it feel good. And did I mention that I feel amazing???
So I am visualizing myself at the local beach this summer. I am not covered up with a beach cover up. I am running around with my girls, drinking water and eating fresh fruits as our beach snacks. I look good, I feel good. At the next site over is the family munching on chips and soda at the beach. They are overweight, the look tired, and sadly the children are large as well. I can visualize this because when we went to Glimmerglass last summer, quite a few families at the beach looked like this. I was appalled at the number of obese kids sitting on their beach towels eating chips. I vowed this would not be us. There were 2 French Canadian women at the beach. They looked awesome, in the mid 40's. I couldn't help but notice they were munching on grapes and had plenty of water to drink. Pass the water and pass the strawberries please. We want health, vitality, and strength. I can see it now!!!

That Was Awesome!

What a beautiful day yesterday was. After the snow fell, the sun came out for a while and the whole family went out to play. I keep hearing this song by U2 running through my head:
Beautiful Day The heart is a bloom, shoots up through stony ground
But there's no room, no space to rent in this town
You're out of luck and the reason that you had to care,
The traffic is stuck and you're not moving anywhere.
You thought you’d found a friend to take you out of this place
Someone you could lend a hand in return for grace
It's a beautiful day, the sky fallsAnd you feel like it's a beautiful day
It’s a beautiful dayDon’t let it get away
You’re on the road but you’ve got no destination
You’re in the mud, in the maze of her imagination
You love this town even if it doesn’t ring true
You’ve been all over and it’s been all over you
It's a beautiful dayDon’t let it get away
It's a beautiful dayDon’t let it get away
Touch me, take me to that other place
Teach me, I know I’m not a hopeless case
See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by cloud
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light
See the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colours came out
It was a beautiful day
A beautiful day
Don’t let it get away
Touch me, take me to that other place
Reach me, I know Iím not a hopeless case
What you don’t have you don’t need it now
What you don’t know you can feel it somehow
What you don’t have you don’t need it now
You don’t need it now, you don’t need it nowBeautiful day

( courtesy of lyrics.com)

Thrill Seeker 

Signs of Spring

Yesterday I had the best day with my girls. It appears we are the only ones in the entire town that didn't go to Florida this year ( or Maui, or Hawaii, or Colorado, destinations of students I work with). The good side of this is that things are pretty quiet around here. LOL.....things are always quiet here......
So, our day started with a promised trip to the Disney Store, or The Mothership, as I like to call it. I owed my girls a treat. Miranda had a fabulous report card, and Anna had worked on her toileting hygiene (sp). We spent a good chunk of time there, and at Limited too, and lunched at Friendly's The mall was surprisingly quiet. I expected to find the rest of my town there. The first sign of Spring in the air were really cute hot pink toe thong sandels at Payless. And little beach bags, and flip flops. A girl could really get excited!
After we played with the new Disney toys for a while, my girls wanted to go out side and play. It was 3pm, but I noticed very warm out and still very light. Hmmmmm.......light out later in the day. Hurray! A Mary Tyler Moore jump in the air moment.
We hit the playground at Miranda's school like a pack of monkeys. From accross the empty field I saw it for the first time. A zip line. Miranda's new playground at school has a zip line. This was information I didn't possess. Before I could think, I hit the ground running. I figured I needed momentum to make the thing zip. Actually, it was lubed up a little too well. My feet left the ground and boy did I zip! Before I could abandon ship the thing came to an abrupt end at the end of the line and I was thrown off. Note to self, skip the running start next time. We played hard and before I noticed it must be after 4pm, but the sun was still pretty high and the air warm. Ava snoozed in the stroller and the girls kept on playing. The shadows in the sun on the playground reminded me that Spring was really around the corner. On the way home, the last beautiful reminder. Water rushing down the road in the ditch. Water rushing means water melting. What a joyous day. Now, if only my back didn't hurt so much from that zip line.

The More Things Change

One of my favorite novels of all time I read while I was in high school, A Seperate Peace, by John Knowles. From this work comes one of my favorite quotes of all time " The more things change, the more things stay the same." I remember in high school, my group of girlfriends and I used to ponder this. We were, how do I say this, a little dramatic and considered ourselves artsy. When some students were disecting fetal pigs ( ewwww...) WE were disecting song lyrics and poetry by Rimbaugh. We were very deep, according to ourselves.
I went with my family last night to dinner at the New Hartford Shopping Center and this quote came to mind to me. Here I am, now 34 years old and that old shopping center has changed so much. The anchor stores I used to know are long since faded away, but there, among new unfamiliar stores, were some of my favorite old haunts. Thankfully it was after hours and closed, but there I stopped dead in my tracks in front of Fannie Farmer. I can remember Christmas shopping long ago with my parents and stopping in to pick one perfect chocolate from behind the glass to enjoy as a treat. There was Karaz shoes, again probally a good thing it was closed, home of the big talking bird and really great shoes ( mental note, GREAT sandals in their front window. They look my size). There was Accents of Ireland, Herb Phillipsons, and even Tracy's Hallmark. I haven't been to that shopping center since about 10 years ago. I was glad that with all that has changed in my life, and in the world, that some things are exactly as I remembered. I am looking forward to Christmas shopping there this year with my girls, and stopping in to Fannie Farmer for a chocolate covered lemon cream. You can keep Godiva and Lindt, I perfer things Fannie's way.

Life in a Northern Town 

Embrace the Day!

What a beautiful day in central NY. It's actually been kind of gloomy with the warm temps and no snow. Call me crazy, but I like the snow. It snowed a little last night, beautiful, fluffy flakes. It was the kind of snow you looked up into and almost got dizzy. So today has dawned sunny, frosty, and bright.
Today brings a trip back to where we used to live to attend Mardi Gras at Miranda's old school. Just her and I will be making the drive, and I am looking forward to this. While I was on maternity leave, the baby and Anna and I spent a lot of time together. Miranda and I need a girls night out, just the two of us.
So embrace the day! Exercise, eat healthy, take care of yourself, and hold your loved ones close.

Two Cuties! Brian would kill me if he knew I posted his photo! :) Guess he should start reading my blog.......

Cheater Cheater

What a wierd word: cheat. Have you ever really looked at it? It's one of those words you look up after you write it to make sure you spelled it right. I have had a couple kids on my case load caught cheating. What a difficult situation to be in, for everyone involved. In my school, it gets you a meeting with the principal to decide basically what becomes of you. In college, it's more cut and dry, they kick you out. In high school, it's more of a discipline and retraction of the grade. You also lose face. I mean, after a teacher has caught a "good" student cheating, all trust and credibility is out the window. Were all those "good grades" real? Or were they the product of cheating?
One of the students we caught was using her folder and opening it when the teacher was not looking. She claimed she was stressed out to get good grades and had 5 20 week tests all in the same day (that part of it was kind of wrong on the teachers part.). However, all the kids were in the same boat. They were all under pressure and the honest, rock solid kids did not waiver.
I felt bad for her. The principal had to phone home, and that was the part that got her the most. She was so embarassed for her parents to be getting the information that she cheated on a 20 week test. Then there was in-school. Again, this is they type of student that has never broken a school rule and now she will have to face her friends and explain why she is going to ISS. Hopefully, she learned a valuable lesson.
We know cheating goes on in school. The ante has been upped now that the internet is so user friendly. You can down load almost any paper you need written both for a fee and for free. With the use of cell phones and texting, one student can text another on the contents of a test if they have the subject two periods in a row. It has gotten much easier to cheat. Couple that with the amount of Regents, mid terms, finals, state tests, etc....and the need to cheat has also gone up.
With all that in mind, when I look at my own girls, there is really only a couple of things in life I expect of them. I want them to be kind to people. I want them to give their personal best, and I want them to be honest at all costs. I would rather they bring home a B they worked for than an A they plagerized or cheated for. When it's report card time, and my little daughter is asking "I wonder how many A's I got this time." I stop her. I tell her before we open it that I am proud of how hard she has worked in second grade and that I know her grades will reflect her hard work. I also tell her I will be proud of whatever grades are in there because I know she put time and effort into her work. Bottom line, that is golden. May my girls never feel the pressure to cheat. May I never dole out the expectation that A's are everything. An honest hard working person, true to themselves is everything.

Taking Stock

I like to take stock in my life from time to time. I think people forget to do this. They get caught up in their jobs, making money, and amassing "stuff" and forget to take stock in the important things. Take hapiness for instance. Are that many people really miserable? Do most people go through life just going through the motions? I ask this because I got a book club offer in the mail. It was a book club selling all kinds of self help books. To me, that is so hopeless. So many people think they need to change, and need so much help doing it that there is an entire book club dedicated to it. Just some of the offerings were "How to Find Happiness", "Karma Sutra" (which be the way is how to have better sex), "Eating right for Happiness", "Getting in touch with your inner spirit for Happiness", "Building a Better Family," and so on.
It just seems like a no-brainer to me. If you are unhappy, change! It's free and simple advice. Take a look at what is making you miserable and take the steps to change. Happiness does not come in a little pill, or a book, or magic gemstones, or crystals, or even in the foods you eat ( although I attribute some of my happiness to chocolate). Take stock and change. I have made a lot of changes in my life and I made them not necessairly because I was unhappy, but because I wanted to work towards my goals. I took stock and I wasn't completely where I wanted to be. I have this "life is short" philosophy that drives most things I do. I guess my point is, life is short, don't waste time reading about how to change in a book. Just go out and do it.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I am surely speaking of tax time. I love tax time. It's a time to take stock of the finances, and settle up with the government. Typically, due to our investments and us being pretty savy, we have a large refund. Last yeat it was over 10K. Really. I know, I know....it would be better to not have the refund, have the money back in the pay checks to invest it earning interest somewhere. However, our money came from us renting out our apartment and renovating it at the same time On the books, this equaled losing money. It really was, we totally renovated an apartment top to bottom. We also sold said renovated apartment and now are facing a capital gain this year. Two of them actually, we sold both properties. So I am not sure what tax time holds in store. We do get the adoption tax credit, and we get to add two children to the mix. I have 5K in college tuition from St. Rose, and there were renovations to the apartment before we sold it. PLUS, moving expenses ( totally legal to write off in a job related move) and because we itemize and had shitty insurance ( now we have mine, it is awesome baby), we have almost 5K in medical expenses. So, we either will come out even, or we may possible owe. Either way, I did the tax prep today and once the forms come in from year end earnings, I can send it onto our accountant to do the math. Even though I don't expect that big tax refund we have gotten used to, I am excited to get this last tax year behind us, settle up with the government and move fiscally forward.
2006 will bring a tax deduction for insulating the kitchen floor ( energy tax breaks for 2006-2007), tuition ( my last class for perm. certification), and child care deductions, in addition to the usual interest on the home loan and school loan. It's a start. Gone will be the rental write off and the medical write offs. My plan is really good now and there will hardly be any uncovered medical expenses. Nice to have that money back in our pockets!
Here's to a financially healthy 2006, may your mutual funds grow and your 401K's pop, and may we get closer to getting Bush out of office so better financial days loom on the horizon.

No Carrot Left Behind

This weekend was a blur of cleaning, vacuuming, and cooking! I had a bunch of odds and ends left over in the fridge, so couple that with my interest of taking care of our money, and I turned scraps into dinners! Also add to this the fact that my Magic Bullet has arrived. Can you believe it? I purchased something from an infomercial. Well.......actually, new in box half price from eBay. So, this is what I accomplished today:

• Threw the parm in the MB, now have fresh parm for pasta this week
• threw banannas and formula into MB, had lunch for Ava ( she loved it, kicked her little feet the entire time she was eating)
• Threw eggs, mayo, salt, celery salt and fresh ground balck pepper into it and made egg salad sandwiches for lunch, with left overs for the week
• Took the left over carrots from making stew last night and sliced them up for dinner on Thursday with the turkey.
• cooked up the left over bacon, crumbled it up and put it into a Quiche to sever tomorrow ( it's wrapped up tight in the fridge as we speak)
• made home made bread and used the left over potato buds in it to make Irish potato bread ( served it tonight with corned beef and kraut, and it rocked the house).
• made the corned beef in the crock pot with left overs for corned beef sandwiches later this week. ( will use the left over Russian dressing and make Rubens)
• used up the left over chocolate and butterscotch chips from Christmas baking and made 4 dozen cookies.

I now have no scraps of this and that left and entire dinners for later this week. How cool is that? And the house smelled so yummy.......

Hermiting

This weekend, I want nothing better than to be a hermit! The last 4 weekends, from Kayana's birthday, to Christmas, to New Years, to Anna's birthday, and holding Career Day at school in the mix, I have been one b-u-s-y girl. I need to play catch up this weekend and just hang around the house. The only things I have scheduled are taking Daisy to the groomer for an emergency bath ( the snow melted and she rolled in something that reeks!). I have a high tolerance for stinky smells, but she just smells nasty. I also am taking my car to Best Buy to have the remote car starter installed. Otherwise, I plan on seeing nobody, and I rather like it this way. I'd like to cook, clean, and I have a couple organizational projects on the horizon. Sounds great! Here's to a long productive weekend. A house filled with the smells of cleaners and home cooked meals. Perfect.......

Money Honey

Now that I am just working, and not working, going to grad school and doing internships, I have more time on my hands. In the past 3 years I have been way to busy to really keep track ofour money. Fortunately, Brian and I are careful with it, but I would like it working for me a little more this year. So, in the past week, I have taken the bull by the horns. I opened a life insurance account for the baby and Anna ( Miranda has one), I opened up a UPromise Credit card, both to transfer another credit card to it to enjoy 0% interest for the year and pay down a balance quicker, and to cash in on the college savings rewards ( think 3 girls bound for college someday). I am filing a past claim for the teaching assistant job in Schenectady for 9 months of credit into the teaching retirement system ( I almost completely forgot about this), and I just enrolled in this keep the change thing with my debit card where the bank rounds my purchases up and deposits the change into my savings account. Cool!

Other goals include investing into Brian's 401K ( available to him after March), and getting my own 401B going ( this in addition to my retirement system, Brian's IRA, and a whole life policy should make retirement everything we want it to be).

OH! And for the next 2 years, 2006 and 2007, you can get a tax credit on any energy efficent improvements you make on your home. We are puling up the kitchen floor to insulate under it and put in a new floor. This will qualify as our first tax credit of the year! Sweet.

Banner Year

2005 was a banner yea for me. For the first time in the history of me, I didn't want the year to end. I didn't want to count down at midnight and toast, I liked the year we had. Besides, we are leaving the year Ava was born in.

2005 looked like this for me:
January- started my elementary school counseling placement and my LAST semester of grad school

February- found out I was PREGNANT!

March-passed my counseling boards

April- Interviewed with HP and was asked back to a second interview

May- Second interview, job offer, Anna's adoption, put offer in on this house, budget passed here and I was offically a counselor!!! Had a job before I graduated, and finally, graduated from Grad school in May

June- put both houses on market, sold our house in 1 day, got my certification in the mail

July- A quite month! Packed and waited (not patientally) for our closing date

August-closed on one house we sold, and the house we bought, moved to HP, started my job

September- closed on our income property, started my first school year as a counselor, had Ava, Brian starts new job

October- Nice and quiet, home on maternity leave

November- returned to work after leave and settled into my job

December- First Holidays in our new old house. GREAT way to end 2005

So long 2005, you were a great year to my family. We have been so blessed this past year and I appreciate every moment of it. I can only hope to continue on with good health, and good luck in 2006. Happy New Year.