Seriously?

A few days ago we went to see the good lady who runs the ultrasound machine at Dr. M's office. I was, of course, expecting for her to say, "It's a girl"... in my family that's all that my generation seems to be capable of having. BUT, much to our surprise there were boy parts showing. loud and proud! I made her show me several different times, just to make sure. Completely shocked, I was! So the week of April 16 we'll have a son. His name will be Jackson Somthing or Other Hale and he'll be cuter than c-r-a-p. (I try not to say that word on a regular basis anymore since I'm a mom and all, but I'm sooo not above spelling it!)

Hmmm, in Hadlee land all is running, talking, laughing, putting together sentences ("I see Chico. What is that? I want that.) and taking apart anything that looks remotely put together. She is a force to reckon with! Anything red and white is "Danta". I thought she was a genius in her Santa sightings until she pointed to my dixie cup and said, "Danta, Danta, Danta." Then I picked up my seriously deflated mommy-ego and said, "Good job, Pud! Way to correlate red and white with an internationally adored symbol!" No, that's a lie. I couldn't say anything at all. I just stared and shook my head. She is incredibly into animals, esp. cows, ducks, dogs and horses... which just so happen to surround us in our rural life. When the cattle across the street come by to peek in our kitchen windows HAH just about goes into DT's mooing at them. It's super funny! When I ask the Pud if she's ready to be a big sister to baby Jack the answer is always the same. "NO!" At least she's not indecisive?

"Danta" is bringing big girl bedding to Hadlee. Which means an incredibly large amount of moving furniture and boxes for B and me. We're moving the nursery furniture into the current guest room and giving HAH what was my grandparents' first bedroom set as a married couple. Hadlee's big girl room and Jackson's nursery are going to exude Pottery Barn Kids. I also plan on adding some incredibly cute paint details to both rooms, but it'll have to wait for a few weeks. Christmas break is only 2 weeks long! Pictures may or may not be posted in the next millenium.

B is really enjoying being a real estate agent... anyone need a referral? We can hook you up in a millisecond! I'm doing well w/ my Arbonne business and am hoping, praying, and crossing every joint possible that I'll be able to stay at home or only teach part time next school year. I REALLY enjoy teaching, esp. 8th graders ~ we work well together on most occasions, but I can't imagine a greater gift than to be able to stay at home w/ my babies and soak up as many moments as possible.

My digits aren't exactly keeping up w/ my brain signals right now so I'm going to stop. Hopefully I'll be able to post again before next year. If not, Happy Holidays and many blessings to you all.

Life

Who knew that being an adult would require so many decisions... many of which are not fun in any way?

Brandon and I have been faced w/ so many life altering decisions in the past 5 months. When we went on the vacation from Hell in July to Pawley's Island (we'll never again go to SC by choice, bad things happen to us there) he was laid off ~ on a business trip! We've been through many different emotions since then and once again are faced w/ big decisions which will affect our lives and the babies for a very long time. Please keep us in your prayers. I'll update when we know what's going on for sure.

In baby land things are progressing. To be completly honest, I've not been at all excited about this pregnancy in any way... until last Monday. We went to my new OB for a regular check up. I had to see the nurse practioner (sp?) and she couldn't find the baby's heartbeat. I didn't get worried b/c I can feel her (yeah, I really think it's another her) moving around. After about 15 minutes she went to get another doctor, who in turn couldn't find a heartbeat either. We went to the ultrasound room and she turned on the machine and we really got to see the baby's features for the first time. No gender check, simply making sure there was a heartbeat. Her profile is identical to Hadlee's. It was really neat, and uplifting to finally get over feeling guilty about not being excited about the new baby.

WOW! Confession IS good for the soul!

I've been having horrible headaches over the past few days. So bad that they move down into my jaws and are nearly debilitating (can you tell I'm teaching vocabulary?). So today I called and scheduled a consultation w/ the local chiropractor in order to get in to see the massage therapist. My insurance pays for an hour massage a week. Can you imagine setting that much time aside for yourself?!?!?! Holy Moses ~ what an idea!

Just four more days until Thanksgiving Break ~ an entire week to be w/ HAH, sleep until 7:00 (hopefully), and try to get bedrooms ready to rearrange. We're putting HAH in a full sized bed and setting up the nursery around Christmas for #2.

I'l leave you w/ pictures of our ladybug. She was too cute!

Happy Pumkining

We've been quite busy lately... And it looks as if, w/ the holidays rolling in, it's only going to get busier. I just don't know where people get the energy to do so much!

Tomorrow night is the much awaited 8th grade Halloween Costume Dance. I'm going as Mrs. Goth America. Pink bridesmaid dress, black hair, lips, nails and eyes, tiarra (borrowed from a student who loves me!), and a sash to boot. Hadlee gets to join me as a chaperone (or however you spell that word). She'll be the cutest little ladybug on the dancefloor! I'll post pictures sometime before her wedding day.

The pregnancy is going ok. I was going to a doctor that I was less than thrilled w/. If only my wonderful Dr. Bullard wasn't two hours away... sigh. So I get to change doctors and am joining a group where I'll see someone different at every visit. I just hope that my doc is all about scheduling the c-section a week or two earlier than my due date. I think I'm 14 weeks along at thins point.

I guess that's all the ever-so-exciting news for now. Thank you for stopping by, all 3 1/2 of you who read this from time to time. L8r.

Music to my ears...

Two words: FALL BREAK!

Thank the good Lord above for time off to spend at home relaxing, cleaning, organizing and visiting w/ friends. The weather is beginning to change, as well as the leaves. I ordered HAH's Halloween costume (Thanks SG!) and it'll be here in a few days. We're heading to the local pumpkin patch, corn maize, and petting zoo on Friday w/ friends from our core group ~ it's going to be wonderful. I hope you get to enjoy time off soon too!

In the news: Brandon is now officially an affiliate real estate broker for Keller Williams in Murfreesboro!!! Yea Honey, we're so proud of you!!!

Baby Update

It's officially due April 26, and I'm 7 weeks along instead of 15 (YEA! I'm not one of THOSE women who didn't know that she was pregnant until the delivery!!!) We saw the little buuterbean, heard the heartbeat (which was 138 ~ my sister is already saying it's a boy.) and saw that all looks good. The timing is just wonderful. I'll teach up until mid April, right after TCAP testing is over and say GOODBYE! Hopefully finances will work out so that if I return to teaching it will only be on a part time basis. God is good, life is great, Hadlee is screaming.... gotta jet.

In the news...

Finally!

We had Hadlee's first birthday party this past Saturday. It was so much fun! Just a small gathering of close friends and family for a cookout, splish-splashing fun, a super cool butterfly pinata and a great ladybug and butterfly cake. HAH got some really neat gifts. One inparticular that her daddy and I are quite excited about....

Her last gift was a t-shirt that read: "FUTURE BIG SISTER, FEB. 2007!"

How 'bout them buscuits??!?!?!?! :)

Happy 1st Birthday Hadlee!!!

Happy birthday to my sweet little beach bunny!!! It's so odd to know that an entire year has gone by; each day bringing with it numerous joys, laughs, and even a few tears along the way. You are such a blessing to Daddy and me. We love you sweet Pud. You are my sunshine, my angel of the morning and my special gift.

Here.

Here, a word I heard a minimum of 56 times today. Our two hour registration day was this morning. I'm beat. Sitting in inservice meetings, anticipating an entirely new (THANK YOU GOD!) job, getting to know the little in's and out's of a different school, system, subject, prinicpal and fellow teachers. It's all a lot to take in... As well as trying to get my Arbonne clientelle and business builders up and running. (Seriously, anyone want some samples? I can SOOOO get them to you ASAP!!!)

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Things on the personal/ family end are looking up. We're adjusting to the new swing of things and waiting, hoping, praying, praying praying, hoping. It'll all come out in the wash I guess. Whatever is meant to happen will and we'll adjust and move on. Thank you for your prayers.

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My little Punkin Doodle is going to be one in exactly 11 days. I'm just not ready to saddle that horse yet. She's cutting teeth like crazy, 6 at a time for now. Poor baby. In between the pain she's as happy as can be. I'm so thankful that there is very little remembrance of life pre-kindergarten, esp. at times like this.

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I'll leave you w/ this last thought....

It's almost FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!!!!!!!

We're back, safe and sound from Pawleys Island, SC. It was both a wonderful and absolutely horrid trip. Hadlee LOVED the beach. We have fabulous pictures and video of her taking the sea by storm. After 3 days of sun I had to get some shade so we went to Myrtle Beach to the aquarium (which is identical to the one in Gatlinburg, but HAH loved seeing the fish) and Margaritaville. I let Hadlee choose anything in the gift shop as a souvineer... she's extatic over her beer coozie ~ I kid you not.
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We had a lllooonnnnngggg 13 hour drive back home. HAH faired better than B and I in many ways. As long as a movie was playing and one of us was sitting beside her all was well. We watched Finding Nemo, Madagascar and Annie 4 times each. Yeah, it's a little much. We're going to have to extend the dvd library.

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I recently became an Independent Consultant for Arbonne International. So if you want to help my family be debt free, have fabulous vacations, and for me to drive a Mercedes please let me know what I can hook you up w/ and if you'd like to join the Arbonne family! :)

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I have 10 more days until the school year officially begins. MAN, the past 2 months have flown by! While we were gone to cursed SC, my mom-in-law worked in my classroom gettting it ready for me ~ isn't that so sweet? Now all I have to do is get my bulletin boards ready and get my first couple of weeks of lessons planned!

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Isn't it crazy how one moment in time can completely change your life course? Sometimes it's absolutely wonderful ~ finding out you're expecting, the birth of your child, graduation... and other times it's just completely deflating. We're in the latter part right now. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers ~ nothing life threatening, but nothing life lifting either. Maybe I'll give more info later. Please, just lift us up if you get the chance.

I'm addicted, addicted, addicted tooo....

Moolatte's from the DQ. True confession. There isn't a DQ in our little town (though we ARE getting a Starbucks which should be opening SOOON) so I drive 25 minutes ONE WAY just to grab a caramel Moolatte. Yeah, it's pretty sad.

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We've had a super busy week so far...

• Shopping and brunch w/ the Gramma and Abuelita on Monday.
• Cleaning / Organizing my classroom (w/ Abuelita) and more shopping (w/ Gramma) on Tuesday.
• Huntsville for lunch w/ the Cox clan (It was GREAT to see you all!!!) and even MORE shopping on Wednesday, followed by VBS (HAH's 1st!) at our old church.
• Today we were supposed to do more classroom cleaning and organizing but HAH is once again teething, so she's coughing and dripping from her little nose. I decicded that since we were gone for 12 hours straight yesterday we'd just take a real "stay at home" day and relax. I called my favorite (& to be completely honest, only) sister who works at the peditrition's (did I spell that right?) office and called in more Zyrtec for the Pud.
• We may be heading back to Huntsville tomorrow to visit w/ my dear friedn Vette and her nieces ~ depending on the coughing and nasal drippidge.
• My friend Krysta had Carson on Tuesday ~ he was 5' 13", just like HAH!

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Brandon's been in Memphis on business and he's on his way home (hence, all the shopping).

I have "Failure to Launch" downstairs to watch.

My dear friend Tricia is coming home for a visit from the anti-daylight-savings-time-state. We've not seen her since Christmas ~ FRIGGIN' MOVE BACK ALREADY!!!!!

Vacation is only a WEEK AWAY!!!!! I cannot wait ~ we're more excited about this trip than any other we've been on... Hmmm, could it be in part b/c of the Pud????

I have MANY new updates for the links. Maybe I'll get them done before Christmas.

Happy Stay-At-Home Day!!!!

Pictures of the Pud...

Hadlee's 9 month pictures. Probably my favorites thus far. I'm sure that if you click on them to enlarge they'll be grainy ~ oh well. Hope you're having a blast (maybe even an oreo blast from Sonic, mmmmmm!)
Speaking of Sonic... we're hungry! Toodles.

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P.S. For the "passive no more" Gramma.... Hadlee can actually say "Amma" when referring to her Gramma. I was simply making a point that a 10 month old whose native tongue is English was speaking a very loooonnng Spanish word before she said "Momma". We love you, no matter the degree of passivity!

Signs of toddlerhood

We now have a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs. It's actually a good baby sitter. The walls of it are made of plexiglass so HAH can see herself in it as she stands there beating and talking in Swahili (or Ferangi, depending on her language choice of the day).

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Today HAH discovered the tiolet... need I say more?

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She's now begun sleeping through the night (well, we're going on 2 nights in a row) and waking up and playing in her crib for up to half and hour (that's long enough to shower and shave!).

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This just in... paying back the student loan mafia sucks.

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I got in my classroom today. This is so going to be a great job! I'll only have five classes, all on the same level, reading the same material, studying the same things... that equals ONLY ONE LESSON PLAN PER DAY!!!!!

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We got a couch for the bonus room last week. Microfiber suade, chocolate, along w/ a cherry end table for $10 (it has some damage on a corner that isn't visible under picutres of my oh-so-precious nieces). With those two additions the bonus room suddenly has a meaning and is one of my favorite places to hang out w/ Hadlee. The couch is like a bed of Godiva strait out of a very nicely wrapped box w/ a pretty bow in top ~ delicious!

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HAH's 9 month pictures are downstairs and I'm much too lazy to go down and come back up to load them into the computer. As soon as I get over the laziness I'll give you the gift of peeking on my little baby doll... You're welcome. :)

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Why is it that she can say "Abuelita" (which to the untrained ear may sound a bit more like "Abba bibba"), but refuses to say "Mama"?

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Neighbor Barb's son (we'll call him Barb, Jr.) is obsessed w/ Hadlee. He's around 2 years old, constantly has more dirt showing on his face than skin, rarely wears more than a diaper and has a 1,000 watt smile. The other day we were outside watering plants, I was turned around for a minute or two and when I looked back at the baby she was oohing and gooing at him WHILE HE WAS STANDING AT HER STROLLER!!! EEEEKKKKKKK!!! I kind of jumped asked him how he was doing, he answered in what I must only assume was Barbarian and took off running towards his house... Hadlee started whining when he left. I'm just not prepared to deal w/ such issues!

YEAH BABY!!!!

I'm in... the newest reading teacher at Coffee County Middle School! Woo~hoo!!!

When the principal called to offer me the job (while I was shopping in Nine West at Opry Mills) he said, "BUT you have to promise me that you'll be loud. We're concerned about you being too soft spoken." SERIOUSLY???? I just lauged and said, "I promise that I'm loud, just not in interviews." Too funny!

Did I ever tell you that B and I took our honeymoon to Prince Edward Island, Canada??? I fell in love w/ the place in a book... do you know which series I'm referring to?

Interview

I have an interview at 8:30 in the morning on my old stomping grounds. It's for a middle school Language Arts position. The prinicpal was my 8th grade history teacher ~ I have found that it seriously pays to be a good student (or what some may call a "teacher's pet")! So, wish me luck, say a prayer, find a penny, pick it up and then send it to me... whatever.

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Single mom-ing it this week while B makes his rounds to GA, SC, and NC. HAH and I will probably spend a lot of time at my parents' house "helping" Gramma recover from her surgery...

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I'm looking into getting bonus room furniture... probably microfiber suade. Any suggestions? I really want a sleeper sofa so that HAH has a great place to hang out and have sleepovers w/ her cousins and friends. That'll definitely be a delivery / set up for the store!

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We finished the patio... but I think the pictures are still on the other camera. They'll be posted soon, I know you're haniging on anxiously to see them!

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It's waaaaayyyy past my bedtime. Remember me in the morning!

Cheese!

< Standing at her noisy pulley-upey thingy and sending air zerberts.
< Doing what Mommy does't' do best... "cooking". We're (her gramma and I) are SOOOO excited we can finally get a bow in her hair!!! If you look very closely you can see her first curl abover her left ear!
< One of my favorite pictures EVER!!! Practicing her princess wave (wash the window, screw in the lightbulb, wash the window, screw in the light bulb...).
< HAH LOVES bath time. Her favorite toy is the red cup, which is the tower's top on the castle behind her.
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HAH is successfully crawling, pulling up, saying things [Today's term was "BABY, BABY, Baby, baby" when playing w/ her American girl doll from her great grandmother.] (not that I can understand them all...) and SHE HAS CURLS!!!!! They are so sweet and precious and cute and I think they are even going to be boingy curls!!! I'm just plum extatic over the whole thing!
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Note to self: When filling out an application to be an ENGLISH teacher, white out all grammatical errors!
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This past week B and I (but mostly just B) spent time, money and lots of sweat equity in putting down 3,000 pounds of flat rock for a patio off of the back porch. We lack about 5 rocks, a few bags of top soil and some grass seed before being finished (not to mention the adarondack chairs, bench, fire pit, and flowers that I want to add... and maybe a pergola too!) I'll post pictures in the next 10 - 20 years for you.
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I have tried 17 million times to post pics of HAH. hate blogger today... am removing the l and a g, adding an o, and calling it booger!!!

Mommy's girl...

This picture is from late March, right before we moved into the new house; it's probably one of my favorite snapshots of The Pud.

We had a fabulous Mother's Day weekend. The highlight was going on a shopping expedition at Green Hills Mall in West Nashville. We did a bit of damage at Janie & Jack, Restoration Hardware (where I was able to get my gift, new bedding), Davis Kidd and the Cheesecake Factory... it was WONDERFUL!!! It was our first trip to all of the above store, but most definitely not our last!

Only 5 1/2 days and one hour left and all will be FANTASTIC!!!!

HAH is working on crawling in a forward motion. She's go scooting, rolling and crawling backwards down pat... and this just in ~ tooth #3. Poor baby, they're coming in at the rate of one per week. I know she's got to be a bit on the miserable side ~ but she's a trooper, only a little grumpy at bedtime.

Speaking of bedtime... we're off for a night-night bah, songs and sweet dreams kisses.

Crazy ol' Loon

I've reached that point... the one that my father warned me about... the point where I am dangerously close to BEING HIM. Really, it's almost too funny for words. The past couple of weeks have been more than stressful around here. I decided that instead of being passive, I'd turn into a more aggressive type. In other words, I'm being a McCullough through and through. Read on for a few examples.

1. Have I told you that my students call me Mrs. Mayhem? (A side note from our friends at dictionary.com "The offense of willfully maiming or crippling a person. Infliction of violent injury on a person or thing; wanton destruction: A state of violent disorder or riotous confusion; havoc.") (I have a t-shirt and everything. If I can remember, I'll take a picture of it and post it for you.) You have to say it in a very gruff, wrestler announcer voice ~ that's how they do it. Sometimes I perform on demand for them and strike a pose. It's just a quirky little thing b/t my misfits and me... word has gotten out that I'm a crazy woman who'll pounce unexpectdly on a weakling. The kids are looking at me in a different light... and I kind of like it.

2. I've joined the Dark Side at work... it's a group of teacher's who've been wronged by the same man (see last post, btw... he lied). Tomorrow I'll be wearing black.

3. My neighbor is scary... she has barbed wire tatoos on BOTH arms and isn't a southerner (This is "Barb", not Hezekiah and Jedediah's mom, the rabid possum family). Monday as B, HAH and I were taking our usual evening stroll, two of the four neighbor children were playing in the road as we walked by. One of the girls (who I'd guess to be around 3) picked a flowering weed, took a wiff, looked at me and said, "Aren't the flowers just lovely?" I agreed and asked how she was doing when her older sister said, "Jayden, we aren't supposed to talk to the mean lady." [Enter high pitched sound of shock here!] WHAT??? MEAN LADY, HUH??? As we get up the drive way (and while I'm still recovering from the "mean lady" comment) B asks me if I'd heard what Barb said as we walked by. Um, no her kids just referred to me as Mean Lady, what did she say? Apparently in a booming, sarcastic tone to her mother she said, "Boy I sure wish I'd read the restrictions on this neighborhood before we moved in. Gotta have a 6 foot privacy fence around an above ground pool!" (Did I tell you that I not only have the road named after me, but that I also wrote the restrictions? I'm looking out for my property value and my daughter's life ~ call me a snob if you want to but don't bring in your PWT junk...) The great thing about this is... I don't have to worry about her four children coming over to play! Maybe they'll move soon.

4. When I talked to the CPA woman last week (her name is actually Melba, like the toast, no fitting nick name needed for this story) I was very proud of the fact that I 1. Did not threaten to kill anyone working for the company or close family members. 2. Didn't utter even the first curse word under my breath. I DID contemplate pulling the Expedition sideways in the road to block in all of the subcontractors who were at Barb's house, getting B's 357, pointing it in their general direction and asking them nicely to just finish up the work at my house before heading on home. However, due to the niceness with which I have handled the no-work-on-the-house-conflict my back steps are getting bricked. Now... if only I can figure out a way to get them to pay for HAH's diapers for the next year and a half...

5.I was talking to my co-teacher, mentor, man translator, Kenny last week and commented on the fact that I had made a metamorphosis of sorts lately. He just smiled and agreed with me... and then added, "It's great. This look of death comes on your face and people react. It makes life kind of exciting around here. I like it."

Happy day of darkness from the crazy loon in room 8.

harASSment

This is an e-mail I received today from a parent... and I must let you know that it's one of the nicest ones he's sent. I've never met this person face to face, but I can tell you that I'd rather share dinner w/ Charles Manson than him. He makes me want to hurt something and say not nice things...


I see very little improvement on his grade report. I saw it this morning5/3. Science, still an F. History no change. Math, too low. Language,I don't remember it. I am starting to think that this flight school was only to maintain state payments to the school system for the boys attendance.

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My principal called me today and said the Director of Schools hadn't received a letter of resignation from me and asked that I turn one in. I thought it was kind of odd, but I did as I was asked. I gave Mr. C the letter. He said, "Thanks, I'm going over to see him in a few mintues and I'll deliver this." Not five minutes later he's hollering (literally) for me down the hallway. (I must tell you that he has a way of talking to me like my dad does when he thinks I should do things "his" way... and I hate when they do that. Like I'm a four year old who's incapable of making decisions... but I digress...) He tells me that "In the business world" when you say something it's not set in stone, but when you put that something to paper it becomes irreversible. By turning in my letter I was saying that I would no longer be an employee at the end of the school year (Yep, we're all on the same page here.) He goes into his spill (have I told you that he's a former Navy man who always has an agenda and you MUST see things his way?) and I smile and nod as I learned to do years ago (Believe me, I've had lots of practice.) He preaches his sermon and I say, "I'd rather work at Starbucks than be in that room." (Still w/ me?) So he pulls out his ace... "Didn't I tell you that it was going to be different next year? No more zero tolerance, only behavior problems like [stundent]." No, you didn't tell me that Mr. C, Mrs. B (the SPED director) told me she was going to try to do that, but Dr. P (Director of Schools) said no, as of earlier this week. Did I tell you I'd rather work at Starbucks?

I'll spare you the rest of the conversation, basically what he said was hold on to the letter until you are absolutely sure that you will not take the job. You only have to give 30 days resignation and don't burn any bridges (meaning, if you quit we won't let you back in as a regular ed teacher).

So, WHY DID YOU ASK ME TO WRITE THE FRIGGIN' LETTER IN THE FIRST PLACE?????????!?!?!?!?!!

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Have I told you that I hate my job?

Bad Blogger

I'm just not motivated right now. It seems as if decades ago many of you out there (and myself included) changed urls... I'm going to other blogs in order to read the handful of posts that I do. Sad... I know.

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Still waiting on our house to get finished. It's really beginning to piss me off. And I don't mean that jokingly. I told the CPA of the company that from our end it seems that they are only out to get our $$$ and not finish the job as they should. As of Friday what is unfinished becomes warfare and I'm a general... I'll let the world know that this company doesn't finish what they begin. Six weeks is WAAAYYY to long to go w/out the house being finished.

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HAH officially has a tooth (bottom right) and is beginning to crawl. She's just too cute! We had to take her to the doctor yesterday. She's on Zyrtec for allergies ~ isn't that just sad???

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I told my bosses last week that I wouldn't return next year in my current teaching postition. Apparently both of them were shocked... but no one else in the entire world. Seriously, when I tell you that my job is HELL and I HATE IT, should you be surprised that I'm not returning???

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B has begun his travelling stint. For the next month he'll be on the road at least one night each week. This summer we'll get to join in on some mini vacations but until then it's just HAH and me.

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I've got some work to get done so I'll end. Just wanted to let my 3 faithful readers know the little tidbits. Ciao baby.

Here

(HAH in her car seat on the lllooonnnggggggg drive back home... after poop #2, but before poop #3,496.)









Here.
Tired.
Glad Friday is just a night's sleep away.
New Orleasn was Fab-u-lous!
Still hunting for things in and around the house.
Ready to plant.
Yard not complete.
HAH is so funny.
She laughs at almost anything.
It makes me smile.
TCAP and End of course tests this week and the following two.
Then I can actually have fun w/ my lessons.
Pictures are on camera... wires are... uh, somewhere.
Will post pics when wires are retrieved (the pic above is from phone ~ ohh at my technological genius).
Til then ~ Tah tah.

We've moved!!!

Finally... blog access, internet at home, and television... all the comforts of home! We've been in the house since 4/1. Just got internet today (via our friends the satelite people from Mars) and are getting into a nice routine again. I have pictures of things in their "furniture is arranged but I can't put holes in those oh-so-pretty-walls yet, so nothing is hanging up" state. We love it, it feels like home, and has a good bit of room for our family to grow.

We now live on the road named May Anne. I love living in a small town and knowing so many people! We're on "the old May farm" and originally it was going to be called May Lane ~ which I thought was really cute. Then someone at 911 was having a crotchety day and decided it couldn't be that b/c some road in town had a similar name. So it was going to be Earl May Road. (Can you hear the disgust in my typing???) I told my realtor that was horrid ~ I'm proud to be a Tennessean, but seriously, EARL MAY??? Hello, it sounds like we don't have shoes, teeth, or houses with permenant foundations!!! She asked what it should be, but that the word "May" had to be included, so my step mother said, "Why not May Anne?" Thus I live on my own lane. :)

More cattle live near and around us then humans. Our nearest neighbors have 7 children who are all home schooled. Last week they shot a rabid possum and brought us cookies. Interesting to say the least!

Summer is just around the corner. Only 31 1/2 days and 1 hour of school left. During that time I'll be busy trying to find another position. I WILL NOT do behavior mod again!!!! Give me a regular ed classroom where I can plan a regular day and be involved in regular activities ~ I'll be a very happy woman! {During Spring Break only 4 of my 11 students were in lock up ~ I'm so proud.}

Thrusday we leave for the Big Easy. Can't wait for the time away ~ our first trip since HAH was born... I'm sure it'll be fantastic. Happy Easter all!

My heart is breaking... as I am sorting, organizing and packing for the big move (ONLY 2 MORE DAYS!!!) and looking over HAH's clothes as I pack them to go in the attic. It's killing me. She'll never wear these items again. It feels like just yesterday that I was going from shower to shower opening these precious items, getting excited about washing and putting them away, wondering what this little girl would look like, what her personality traits would be... And now here I sit w/ tears on my face putting them in a box that will collect dust until another little soul is ready to wear them. It hurts... Just thought I'd let you know.

Found me, huh?

I'm glad you're here... as long as you are NOT one of my students!!! One of my little jr. high guys googled me today and asked if I had a webiste. I did what every self-respecting teacher would do... I lied and made him get off of the computer ~ and then headed home to change what I could to get my name off of google. I hope this works!

Must get ready for the last day before my busiest spring break ever! We're closing on the house next Firday morning and the movers are coming Friday afternoon. Lord willing everything will work well and the timing will be perfect. If not, then I guess I'll be doing more lifting than originally planned.

Toodles.

Still Kickin'

Just a note to say hi and that I'm still here. We're supposed to close on the house on the 31st. Thankfully Spring Break is from the 27th until April 9 so I'll have some extra time to pack, unpack and decorate a bit before heading back for the last six weeks before summer break.

Things are so hectic and busy right now. I'm tutoring in the afternoons for some extra decorating $$$ and not getting home until after 5:00. By the time we sit down to eat, talk a bit and bathe HAH it's 9:00 and time to hit the sack. No wonder moms are so tired!

We'll be spending Easter weekend in New Orleans with my college family for Kaleb's third birthday ~ I think we've spent all but 2 Easter's in N.O. since B and I have been married. It's a great tradition! We're going to have a crawfish boil, train party and eat at some mega cool place for Easter dinner. What a great way to spend q time w/ some of my dearest friends!!

When we get back from LA it TCAP testing for two weeks. So much pressure is put on us to teach to this stinkin' test... I'm ready for it to be over and done with! Then it's end of course testing for my freshmen... tests that must be passed in order to go on to the 10th grade ~ even more pressure.. and sometime in there I'm supposed to take my kids on a field trip to see a brain disection (and probably to the Spaghetti Factory just to be cruel and super gross!), laser tag and to Joe's Crab Shack. Yeah, summer couldn't come quickly enough.

B, HAH and I are planning a summer vacation to Santa Rosa, FL ~ one of our favorite spots to relax, and possibly a fall trip to Arizona to visit one of my best friends and her husband before they head off to China for a year... and THEN an Alaskan cruise for just the two of us in the summer of '07.

Plans, plans, plans... where would we be without them?

This may be my last post for a while. Busy packing, closing and moving... our new house is WAAAYY out in the c ountry where no cable, nor dsl lines exist so dial up it will be for a good while. Maybe I'll see you around. Til next time...

The pictures are in...

Hadlee Anne ~ 6 months old

Sorry that the pictures are so grainy. {For some unknow reason, the photographer puts them on a paper to make it difficult to get high quality reprints.} :)

Couldn't you just suck her little face off???

Ya heard???

I heard that the local school board members' perception of my class is that I have parties all the time and take my students on weekly field trips for pizza. In actuality, we've had one party (Christmas) and taken 4 field trips (which I don't consider to be many since we have a classroom van for such purposes!), two of which have been to our local retirement home (and Manchester's tallest building, coming in at a whopping 5 stories tall). I asked the person who told me this information why the board members just didn't call and ask ~ his reply was, "Mae Anne, that's not how things are done." (I could hear him adding "Rookie." to the end of that sentence in his head.) I just don't understand. I'm a very detail oriented person. I enjoy having the facts of a specific situation. While I love the small town atmosphere ~ I DETEST the small town politics!!!

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We should have HAH's six month pictures by early next week. I'll post them for you to oohh and ahhh over.

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One of my students got upset today. We went on a walk to help calm down. (And also had to go over the fact that all 7th graders are temporary idiots who learn by example, not by being told.) On our way back into the classroom I told him he had to make his classmates think that I'd just paddled him and that it hurt like the dickens... he pulled it off. They weren't too happy with me. Yep, just like it should be! I think he deserves at least a few points of extra credit on his third quarter science final, how 'bout you?

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13 days 'til our TWO WEEK spring break...

Attempted, but failed...

I have tried on more than one occasion to turn off word recognition. It didn't work. If you know how to do so let me know and sometime in the next 10 years when I have a spare moment I'll do my best to turn it off.

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Lights are up, walls are painted, cabinets are installed.... but things are in all the wrong places. Crap.

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This week and next week I'll be getting more students. At most 8 more... made up of eighth and ninth graders. I'll be teaching every subject in the entire school, including Spanish. Among the legal things I know is how to say, "Where is the bathroom?" Again, crap.

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B's heading out of town for a few days. HAH and I will be living it up while he's gone. We may do more than one load of laundry, even put it away and pack a box or two for the upcoming move. Yeah, I know ~ you wish you were here.

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Buffett's summer tour is coming as close as Hotlanta. The concert will take place on my 5th wedding anniversary. I'll have to take 1/2 day off of work in order to get tickets. You better believe I'll do it!

Can you read what my pj's say? Just for you Ms. Terri!!!


Throwing what is known as a "McCullough Fit." {I'm just not quite sure where in the world her lil' temper comes from.}


In my bouncey chair w/ my favorite doll ~ we call her "Squeaky Baby".



Spending time at home on Mommy's day off.

FYI

Subject: Harvard University

Harvard University announced over the weekend that from now onundergraduate students from low-income families will pay no tuition. In making the announcement, Harvard's president Lawrence H. Summers said,"When only 10 percent of the students in Elite higher education comefrom families in lower half of the income distribution, we are not doing enough. We are not doing enough in bringing elite higher education tothe lower half of the income distribution." If you know of a family earning less than $40,000 a year with an honorstudent graduating from high school soon, Harvard University wants topay the tuition. The prestigious university recently announced that from now on undergraduate students from low-income families can go to Harvard for free...no tuition and no student loans! To find out more about Harvard offering free tuition for families making less than $40,000 ayear visit Harvard's financial aid website at:http://adm-is.fas.harvard.edu/FAO/index.htm or call the school's financial aid office at (617) 495-1581.

Dream crushing...

Your Career Type: Social

You are helpful, friendly, and trustworthy.Your talents lie in teaching, nursing, giving information, and solving social problems. You would make an excellent: Counselor - Dental Hygienist - LibrarianNurse - Parole Officer - Personal TrainerPhysical Therapist - Social Worker - Teacher The worst career options for your are realistic careers, like truck driver or farmer.

What's" Your Ideal Career?

{Dang it... I always secretly wanted to be a truck driver.}

You're a true Tennessean if...

1. You can properly pronounce Ooltewah, La Vergne, Etowah and Maryville.
2. You think people who complain about the heat in their states are sissies.
3. A tornado warning siren is your signal to go out in the yard and look for a funnel.
4. You know that the true value of a parking space is not determined by the distance to the door, but by the availability of shade.
5. Stores don't have bags or shopping carts, they have sacks and buggys.
6. You've seen people wear bib overalls at weddings and funerals.
7. You think everyone from a bigger city has an accent.
8. You measure distance in minutes.
9. You go to the lake because you think it is like going to the ocean.
10. You listen to the weather forecast before picking out an outfit.
11. You know cowpies are not made of beef.
12. Someone you know has used a football schedule to plan their wedding date.
13. You know someone who has a belt buckle bigger than your fist.
14. You aren't surprised to find movie rental, ammunition, beer, and bait all in the same store.
15. A Mercedes Benz isn't a status symbol. A Chevy Silverado Extended Bed Crew Cab is.
16. You know everything goes better with Ranch.
17. You learned how to shoot a gun before you learned how to multiply.
18. You actually get these jokes and are "fixin'" to send them to your friends.
And finally: 19. You are 100% Tennessean if you have ever had this conversation: "You wanna coke?" "Yeah." "What kind?" "Dr Pepper."

Need to lose a few minutes of your life that you'll never regain?

Then take this quiz...

You are a Social Liberal (60% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (21% permissive) You are best described as a: Democrat Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Living at work.
Stressed out.
Missing time w/ HAH and B.
Stressed out.
Ready for spring break.
Stressed out.
Papers due for school.
Stressed out.
Slow progress on the house.
Stressed out.
Constant tension headaches.
Stressed out.
Glad that the teaching calendar is only 180 days.
Stressed out.
Needing to head to the beach.
Stressed out.
Wish I had a drink w/ salt on the rim...
Stressed out.
... And a cute pink umbrella.

How well do you know these lyrics???

Where's the church, who took the steeple
Religion's in the hands of some crazy a$$ people
Television preachers with bad hair and dimples
The God's honest truth is it's not that simple

It's the Buddhist in you, it's the pagan in me
It's the Muslim in him, she's Catholic ain't she?
It's that born again look, it's the wasp and the Jew
Tell me what's goin on, I ain't got a clue


...Tell me who wrote 'em, the title and album and I'll promise not to send you the funk that sent me home from work at 8:30 this morning.

Tidbits...

HAH is officially sitting up and rolling from her tummy to her back.

I am now "highly qualified" to teach LANGUAGE ARTS grades 7 - 12... isn't it ironic, don't ya think?

Question from one of my students (who may have violated a zero tolerance policy), "Mrs. Mae Anne, do you do drugs?" I'm not sure that he was worried about my health...

After he completed my summative report for my evaluations, my principal gave me a hug and said, "Welcome to the family." ~ He likes me! He really, really likes me!

My Christmas tree is still up... and decorated.

I have yet to begin a research paper which is due by 11:55 p.m. tonight.

I'm still buried under a mountain of paperwork... being in the SPED dept. will do that to a gal. After Feb. 17 a majority of it will be over and done with and (hopefully) I'll be able to relax a bit.

I'm going to be an "Aunt Mave" again!!! Congrats to my New Orleans sister and family for baby #2 ~ she'll be with us in September!!!!

There is nothing like talking out life's problems with a dear friend over the comfort of Cracker Barrel food... & looking around at the fullets (female mullets) and thanking God that our problems really aren't as bad as they seem.

It's bed time... Nighty nite.

All at once...

I guess it's just that time of year... when absolutely everything is up for renewal. At work I am preping for my evaluations (paper work out the bootwha), the grant monitoring and renewal (more paper work out the bootwha), my studnets' IEPs (yet even more paper work), court dates, probation violations, recommendations for high school, ACT prep, the list goes on and on.

At school I'm still working on papers.

At home we're still filling out paperwork for taxes and house stuff.

And not to be left out, Hadlee ~ well, she's not really all that into paper. She IS into sitting up, rolling over, reaching for people and standing ~ IT'S SO GREAT!!!

B and I are going this weekend to pick out paint colors and light fixtures, hitting the Gymboree clearance sale, and hopefully finding time to rest in there as well.

It's finally FRIDAY!!!

Humor me, would ya?

Simply b/c I have no other blogable thoughts in my head... I ask you to tell me who you are, where you are and how you found me. Due to statcounter, I know where many of you are located, just not exactly what you are reading or looking for.

Have a great weekend. I'm planning on working late tomorrow, doing a paper on Freud (yes, we must always begin w/ Siggy), and very much looking forward to B's homecoming.

SNOW DAY!!!!

I can not even begin to tell you all how wonderful this treat is to me!!! My school district doesn't have a busing system (except for the CDC students) so it is incredibly rare for us to have a snow day. Hadlee and I plan on enjoying it to the fullest! The only thing that could make our day better is having B here. Hope you are off too!

Going where I've never gone before...

I guess I knew the time would come, I just didn't really prepare myself for it ~ this week I'm single moming it. Brandon is in Cancun for the yearly world gathering of patting each other on the back and doing whatever the heck it is that these guys do ~ steaks, sun and golfing usually, with a little business thrown in for good measure. Thankfully it's a short week at work with lots to keep me busy... and there's always the cutest child in the world to keep me company!

My Christmas tree is still sitting in the living room, though the lights have been unplugged for a week or so. It's just kind of become a fixture in it's own little corner next to Artie, Jr. (our rubber treee that just refuses to die).

Once again classes have begun. I've got a 4 page paper due by midnight of each Saturday night throughout the semester... Mrs. Procrastination may have to turn and find another occupant! I took this class at FHU, but b/c I'm in a graduate program they only transferred 9 of the umpteen million hours I had. I've got notes on theorists coming out of my wazoo. I don't think 4 pages a week will take too much of my brain power to produce... I just need to make sure that I can find the notes from a year and a half ago!

I have the latest pictures of the house on my cell phone, I just don't have the know-how to get them from the cell to here. I may go by and take pictures w/ one of the other cameras so I can post them here. It's so exciting to see the progress... and frightening to know that mortgage payment is right around the corner!

Earlier today B, HAH and I were in Target. I was paroozing the Baby Einstien section b/c apparently I'm the world's worst mother who is taking away from my daughter's intelligence by not showing here these videos on a daily basis. What the heck??!?!?! I was so overwhelmed by the fact that she could be Einstien, Van Gough, Motzart, and Rimbaldi that I didn't get her any of them ~ help a sista out here! (I'm sure that I totally butchered the above names, obviously it's b/c my mother didn't show me the videos as an infant too. Oh well.)

I just finished reading Jennifer Weiner's latest book, Goodnight Nobody. It's her fourth novel and a great, fast paced read. She's one of my favorite authors, though the content is a bit racey at times. It's a nice escape from reality for a few minutes at a time!

Sleep is calling ~ have a great week. B is under strict orders to find exquisit gifts for his girls ~ I'll let you know the results when he returns Saturday. Til then, toodles.

Busy, busy, busy

I've been back at work for two weeks now. Things are getting into full swing w/ my four new students. Anger at life... Oh how I wish they could see far enough into their future to realize that it will improve!

The house is coming along at a great pace. If the weather stays spring-like we may get in a bit sooner than planned... We're not counting our chickens yet, though!

Yesterday my cousin's husband passed away. He fell asleep w/ chewing tobacco in his mouth, choked on it and couldn't be resuscitated. Pleas keep Erin and the girls in your prayers. Jeremy was only 26 ~ his wife 23 and his girls 6 and 2.

Hug the ones you love and don't sweat the small stuff.

Thank you for the awesome hat Ms. Terri! Momma says I look "stinkin' cute" in it ~ I can't argue w/ such an intelligent person!!!

Monday I am getting four new students... one of which is the former student council predsident... interesting days ahead, I'm sure.


B and I will be in the new house by April 1 or sooner. This week we are picking out light fixtures, cabinets, counter tops, pulls, carpet, tile and hardwood ~ I think that's it... then come the paint colors! Did I mention that we're actually going to have to budget to be able to live comfortably and credit card debt free in the new place??? Not something we're used to, but it'll be worth the effort and self-discipline. They are almost finished w/ the brick on the front of the house. I'll try to post pictures sometime next week.

We're looking forward to a relaxing, stay-at-home, no plans except house stuff weekend ~ hope you are too!