This past week I interviewed at two preschools in the area. The first was at Primrose School, a private preschool (not sure I understand what that is supposed to mean), and Private Kindergarten. This school is awesome...classrooms are oversized, bright, cheery with plenty of play and work stations for the children. Each room has their own door leading to age appropriate playgrounds. The cirriculum was excellent and chock full of fun. They integrate sign language and Spanish at every age level, from babies to Kindergarten. Anyway, the interview went well, it mostly consisted of me observing a few rooms for about 30 minutes each. I was very impressed with the program and anxious to sit and chat with the director. "Interviewing" with the director was a bit surprising, she was really much more interested in finding out if my hours would work than finding out about how I teach, discipline and react to certain situations. I don't believe she asked me a single question pertaining to children. A bit of a let down. As we got further in to the "interview" I realized that this "competitive pay", "flexible schedule" (as stated in their ad) job was not for me. Number one, they were not flexible with the work schedule, not at all. And the pay, well, I did expect it to be low, but was amazed to find out that $8.50/hr is competitive. It makes me so sad to see the way our society views the important job of caring for and teaching children. It has to be one of the most important jobs, yet, even at a professional level, pays so, so poorly. Obviously, those that work with children do it for reasons other than pay, thank goodness, but really our priorities are so screwed up in this country in regards to educators. It's so disheartening.
Pros: Awesome cirriculum. Beautiful school.
Cons: Director not as "warm" as I would like, and not up to par as far as I'm concerned. I also forgot to mention that I did speak with an assistant teacher. I asked her about how she liked the job. She doesn't. I'm sure it's all relative, but I got a bad vibe about management from her.
On to the next school. The Goddard School, just blocks away from our old house. I was impressed with their entry system. They have a fingerprint scanner, and unless your fingerprint is on file, you cannot enter the facility. The director was wonderful. Very caring, good natured and welcoming. She was very different than the previous director I interviewed with. She gave me a tour of the facility, which was nice, clean, no "day care" smell, and the employees seemed to be happy and enjoying their jobs. Good sign. After the tour we sat down and talked a bit. She asked several questions relative to caring for children, and followed through with explaining their procedures. Very thoughrough. She was interested in hiring me, however, there was not a current opening for the hours that I am willing to work. She said she'd try and adjust some things and see what happens in the future.
Pros: I know I'd be happy with management. Willing to work with my schedule.
Cons: 15 minute drive, and low pay. Education philosophy is not entirely on board with my philosophy. They seem to be a bit Piaget based than I care for...but I don't know that for sure. They don't believe in timeout either, which I found a little strange.
So the search continues. This morning I did my regular job search and ran across an ad for an Admin. Assistant for the drafting department at a manufacturing company here in Georgetown. The job description and requirements could have been quoted from my resume. The position would be perfect for me AND it's right here in G-town. The pay is much, much better, however, this is an 8-5 job. Not so good. I went ahead and shot off my resume, how could I not. I'm sure they'll want to at least interview me for the position, since there's nothing on the ad that I don't have documented experience in. I figure if I get far enough to receive an offer, I can see about negotiating a little with the hours. If that's not possible, I have a lot of thinking to do.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Cell Phones
I just received this email from my mom, and thought I'd pass it along. Ironically, I have felt the same thing when using my phone.
Jamie,
I have been using the cell phone alot lately & have been complaining about it to Andy everyday. I kept saying that it gets really hot & feels weird, somewhat like a low voltage shock & actually hurts the side of my head & face. Just yesterday I told him that I don't want to use it at all anymore without an earpiece because it was bugging me so much. I checked online & found that our immediate neighborhood is in a low signal area. Just a few blocks East the signal is better.
Then today this news shows up on MSN.com. I copied it for you below.
It's a Bummer, but please read it.
Love ya,
Mom
When Vini Khurana, PhD, an Australian (and Mayo Clinic–trained) neurosurgeon, announced that the link between cell-phone use and cancer was irrefutable--the result of his analysis of more than 100 studies--it set off alarm bells around the world. Use a cell phone, he said, and you increase your risk of developing a malignant brain tumor by two to four times. Until recently, the majority of research indicated little or no link between cell phones and cancer (the World Health Organization and the American Cancer Society maintain that cell phones pose no threat), but several new long-term studies have cast doubt about their safety. Given that cell phones and PDAs serve as lifelines for so many people--24 percent of 10- and 11-year-olds carry them--it raises urgent questions. To find out what precautions you should take when using your cell phone, we dialed the nation's leading experts.
Do cell phones cause cancer?
Maybe…with extended use. Mobile-phone users are twice as likely to develop malignant, difficult-to-treat brain tumors called gilomas, according to a first-of-its-kind study that analyzed the effects of cell-phone use over 10 years or more and was published last year in the journal Occupational Environmental Medicine. The Bioinitiative Working Group, an international coalition of scientists and public-health experts, recently published a hefty report detailing the link between the nonionizing radiation caused by a cell phone's electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and cancer, DNA damage, Alzheimer's, and other diseases. "The cells in the body react to EMFs in cell phones just like they do to other environmental toxins, including heavy metals and chemicals," says Martin Blank, PhD, a professor in bioelectromagnetics at Columbia University and one of the report's authors. The study found that risk from cell-phone use starts at 260 lifetime hours.
Do cell phones emit radiation only when you are talking?
No. "Cell phones give off radiation any time they're turned on so that they can communicate with base stations," says Lou Bloomfield, PhD, professor of physics at the University of Virginia and author of How Everything Works: Making Physics Out of the Ordinary. "The radiation emitted, however, is stronger and more frequent when you're talking or messaging." Also, the greater distance you are from a base station, the more radiation your phone must emit in order to get a signal, which is why your phone feels hot when you have low reception. That heat you feel is radiation. The Bioinitiative study found that adverse effects to DNA can also occur before the phone heats up. To reduce your exposure, make calls only when you have strong reception, hang up before your phone heats up, and store your phone away from your body when it's not in use.
What is a phone's SAR value and why does it matter?
SAR stands for specific absorption rate, and it refers to the rate of radiation exposure from radio frequency and microwaves measured in watts per kilogram of tissue, says Bloomfield. The FCC limit on any cell phone sold in this country is 1.6 watts per kilogram. To find the SAR value for your phone, go to fcc.gov/cgb/sar/. At press time, the phone with the lowest radiation was the LG KG800, at 0.135 w/kg. The highest: Motorola V195s, at 1.6 w/kg. The Apple iPhone is in the middle, at 0.974 w/kg.
What is the range of the radiation?
Exposure to radiation from your cell phone drops off slowly for the first three to four inches from your body, and then it falls dramatically, says Bloomfield. To reduce your exposure, invest in a hands-free headset and limit the amount of time you spend talking on the phone. Khurana recommends using the speaker mode and holding the phone about eight inches away from you. Also, limit your use of Bluetooth devices. While it's true that they emit the least amount of radiation (one study found they can operate as low as 0.001 watts per kilogram), even that can add up fast.
Is it risky to carry a cell phone in your pants pocket?
Maybe. One 2006 study found no link to testicular cancer, but other researchers suspect a link to male infertility. Ashok Agarwal, PhD, director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, recently completed a study in which cell phones were set down for one hour in talk mode, next to sperm samples in test tubes. He found that the sperm's motility and viability were significantly reduced, and levels of harmful free radicals increased after exposure. Agarwal suggests storing the phone in your jacket pocket to reduce exposure to cell-phone radiation. Pregnant women need to take precautions too, because a recent study found that cell-phone use while pregnant is linked to behavioral problems in children.
Are kids more at risk?
"Yes, since children's nervous systems are still developing, and they have thinner scalps and skulls than adults, they should use cell phones only in emergencies," says Gene Barnett, MD, professor and director of the Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center at the Cleveland Clinic. The association between childhood leukemia and exposure to EMFs like those from cell phones has led the International Agency for Research on Cancer to classify them as a "possible human carcinogen." The medical establishments in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom all recommend severe restrictions on children's cell-phone use, with some experts going so far as to say that children under 16 shouldn't use cell phones at all. Make sure your kids opt for landlines when they're at home, and if you must buy them a cell phone for emergencies, get one with a low SAR number.
What about texting?
It's actually a safer way to communicate, says David O. Carpenter, MD, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany. Since kids hold phones away from their bodies when texting, they're exposed to less radiation than when they have the phones to their ears. "We are very concerned about teen cell-phone use, fearing that we face an epidemic of brain tumors 10 to 20 years from now, and there are so few who are raising warning flags," says Dr. Carpenter. Make sure your teen keeps his cell phone turned off and stored in his backpack when it isn't in use, which will dramatically reduce exposure.
The 10 worst cell phones according to their SAR numbers:
1. Motorola V195s 1.6
2. Motorola Slvr L6 1.58
3. Motorola Slvr L2 1.54
4. Motorola W385 1.54
5. Rim BlackBerry Curve 8330 (Sprint) 1.54 6. Rim BlackBerry Curve 8330 (Verizon) 1.54 7. Motorola Deluxe ic902 1.53 8. T-Mobile Shadow 1.53 9. Motorola i335 1.53 10. Samsung Sync SGH-C417 1.51
The 10 best cell phones according to their SAR numbers:
1. LG KG800 0.135
2. Motorola Razr V3x 0.14
3. Nokia 9300 0.21
4. Nokia N90 0.22
5. Samsung SGH-G800 0.23
6. Samsung Sync SGH-A707 0.236
7. Nokia 7390 0.26
8. Samsung SGH-T809 0.32
9. Bang & Olufsen Serene 0.33
10. Motorola Razr2 V8 0.36
Source: CNET.com, current as of May 22, 2008
Jamie,
I have been using the cell phone alot lately & have been complaining about it to Andy everyday. I kept saying that it gets really hot & feels weird, somewhat like a low voltage shock & actually hurts the side of my head & face. Just yesterday I told him that I don't want to use it at all anymore without an earpiece because it was bugging me so much. I checked online & found that our immediate neighborhood is in a low signal area. Just a few blocks East the signal is better.
Then today this news shows up on MSN.com. I copied it for you below.
It's a Bummer, but please read it.
Love ya,
Mom
When Vini Khurana, PhD, an Australian (and Mayo Clinic–trained) neurosurgeon, announced that the link between cell-phone use and cancer was irrefutable--the result of his analysis of more than 100 studies--it set off alarm bells around the world. Use a cell phone, he said, and you increase your risk of developing a malignant brain tumor by two to four times. Until recently, the majority of research indicated little or no link between cell phones and cancer (the World Health Organization and the American Cancer Society maintain that cell phones pose no threat), but several new long-term studies have cast doubt about their safety. Given that cell phones and PDAs serve as lifelines for so many people--24 percent of 10- and 11-year-olds carry them--it raises urgent questions. To find out what precautions you should take when using your cell phone, we dialed the nation's leading experts.
Do cell phones cause cancer?
Maybe…with extended use. Mobile-phone users are twice as likely to develop malignant, difficult-to-treat brain tumors called gilomas, according to a first-of-its-kind study that analyzed the effects of cell-phone use over 10 years or more and was published last year in the journal Occupational Environmental Medicine. The Bioinitiative Working Group, an international coalition of scientists and public-health experts, recently published a hefty report detailing the link between the nonionizing radiation caused by a cell phone's electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and cancer, DNA damage, Alzheimer's, and other diseases. "The cells in the body react to EMFs in cell phones just like they do to other environmental toxins, including heavy metals and chemicals," says Martin Blank, PhD, a professor in bioelectromagnetics at Columbia University and one of the report's authors. The study found that risk from cell-phone use starts at 260 lifetime hours.
Do cell phones emit radiation only when you are talking?
No. "Cell phones give off radiation any time they're turned on so that they can communicate with base stations," says Lou Bloomfield, PhD, professor of physics at the University of Virginia and author of How Everything Works: Making Physics Out of the Ordinary. "The radiation emitted, however, is stronger and more frequent when you're talking or messaging." Also, the greater distance you are from a base station, the more radiation your phone must emit in order to get a signal, which is why your phone feels hot when you have low reception. That heat you feel is radiation. The Bioinitiative study found that adverse effects to DNA can also occur before the phone heats up. To reduce your exposure, make calls only when you have strong reception, hang up before your phone heats up, and store your phone away from your body when it's not in use.
What is a phone's SAR value and why does it matter?
SAR stands for specific absorption rate, and it refers to the rate of radiation exposure from radio frequency and microwaves measured in watts per kilogram of tissue, says Bloomfield. The FCC limit on any cell phone sold in this country is 1.6 watts per kilogram. To find the SAR value for your phone, go to fcc.gov/cgb/sar/. At press time, the phone with the lowest radiation was the LG KG800, at 0.135 w/kg. The highest: Motorola V195s, at 1.6 w/kg. The Apple iPhone is in the middle, at 0.974 w/kg.
What is the range of the radiation?
Exposure to radiation from your cell phone drops off slowly for the first three to four inches from your body, and then it falls dramatically, says Bloomfield. To reduce your exposure, invest in a hands-free headset and limit the amount of time you spend talking on the phone. Khurana recommends using the speaker mode and holding the phone about eight inches away from you. Also, limit your use of Bluetooth devices. While it's true that they emit the least amount of radiation (one study found they can operate as low as 0.001 watts per kilogram), even that can add up fast.
Is it risky to carry a cell phone in your pants pocket?
Maybe. One 2006 study found no link to testicular cancer, but other researchers suspect a link to male infertility. Ashok Agarwal, PhD, director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, recently completed a study in which cell phones were set down for one hour in talk mode, next to sperm samples in test tubes. He found that the sperm's motility and viability were significantly reduced, and levels of harmful free radicals increased after exposure. Agarwal suggests storing the phone in your jacket pocket to reduce exposure to cell-phone radiation. Pregnant women need to take precautions too, because a recent study found that cell-phone use while pregnant is linked to behavioral problems in children.
Are kids more at risk?
"Yes, since children's nervous systems are still developing, and they have thinner scalps and skulls than adults, they should use cell phones only in emergencies," says Gene Barnett, MD, professor and director of the Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center at the Cleveland Clinic. The association between childhood leukemia and exposure to EMFs like those from cell phones has led the International Agency for Research on Cancer to classify them as a "possible human carcinogen." The medical establishments in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom all recommend severe restrictions on children's cell-phone use, with some experts going so far as to say that children under 16 shouldn't use cell phones at all. Make sure your kids opt for landlines when they're at home, and if you must buy them a cell phone for emergencies, get one with a low SAR number.
What about texting?
It's actually a safer way to communicate, says David O. Carpenter, MD, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany. Since kids hold phones away from their bodies when texting, they're exposed to less radiation than when they have the phones to their ears. "We are very concerned about teen cell-phone use, fearing that we face an epidemic of brain tumors 10 to 20 years from now, and there are so few who are raising warning flags," says Dr. Carpenter. Make sure your teen keeps his cell phone turned off and stored in his backpack when it isn't in use, which will dramatically reduce exposure.
The 10 worst cell phones according to their SAR numbers:
1. Motorola V195s 1.6
2. Motorola Slvr L6 1.58
3. Motorola Slvr L2 1.54
4. Motorola W385 1.54
5. Rim BlackBerry Curve 8330 (Sprint) 1.54 6. Rim BlackBerry Curve 8330 (Verizon) 1.54 7. Motorola Deluxe ic902 1.53 8. T-Mobile Shadow 1.53 9. Motorola i335 1.53 10. Samsung Sync SGH-C417 1.51
The 10 best cell phones according to their SAR numbers:
1. LG KG800 0.135
2. Motorola Razr V3x 0.14
3. Nokia 9300 0.21
4. Nokia N90 0.22
5. Samsung SGH-G800 0.23
6. Samsung Sync SGH-A707 0.236
7. Nokia 7390 0.26
8. Samsung SGH-T809 0.32
9. Bang & Olufsen Serene 0.33
10. Motorola Razr2 V8 0.36
Source: CNET.com, current as of May 22, 2008
Friday, August 01, 2008
Day 1 of Pool Construction
THEY'RE HERE, THEY'RE HERE!!!!
The machinery has arrived, and soon they'll be breaking ground on our swimmin hole!
Here are some before pics. I'll take some at the end of the day and post them later.
Update: End of Day 1
The boss man came out to the house today for the first time, and I have to say, he got me VERY nervous. He stared at the site for quite some time shaking his head, and finally when he spoke he said, "I think this is the toughest job we've ever had to do." Joy. Warm Fuzzies. NOT. After he was here for about half an hour the pin that connects the shovel thingymabopper broke. They had to cut their day short and order a new pin. Thankfully, this won't set them behind too much, since they didn't plan on working over the weekend anyway. They'll be here first thing Monday morning, and once again, I will probably get abosolutely nothing done, as I can't seem to pull my self away from watching and waiting to find out whether we'll hit rock or not. That's where the big bucks come in. So far so good, but there's no telling, one dig could be beautiful black dirt, and right underneath could be solid rock shelf.
Here are some pics of the progress:
The machinery has arrived, and soon they'll be breaking ground on our swimmin hole!
Here are some before pics. I'll take some at the end of the day and post them later.
Update: End of Day 1
The boss man came out to the house today for the first time, and I have to say, he got me VERY nervous. He stared at the site for quite some time shaking his head, and finally when he spoke he said, "I think this is the toughest job we've ever had to do." Joy. Warm Fuzzies. NOT. After he was here for about half an hour the pin that connects the shovel thingymabopper broke. They had to cut their day short and order a new pin. Thankfully, this won't set them behind too much, since they didn't plan on working over the weekend anyway. They'll be here first thing Monday morning, and once again, I will probably get abosolutely nothing done, as I can't seem to pull my self away from watching and waiting to find out whether we'll hit rock or not. That's where the big bucks come in. So far so good, but there's no telling, one dig could be beautiful black dirt, and right underneath could be solid rock shelf.
Here are some pics of the progress:
Thursday, July 31, 2008
400 posts! Plus one!
Post #401. So, I'm trying to come up with a funny way to include my latest endeavor of chopping down a tree (ie: POST)...but for some reason it's just not that funny. I'll 86 the atempt at humor and just cut to the chase.
The pool guy came out today and spray painted the shape of our pool in the precise location...which we are just exstatic about...so that the machinery and worker guys can come dig our swimmin hole tomorrow. It turns out that the edge of our pool came about 6 inches from a 8" diameter oak tree. Sad as it is, it had to go. After borrowing the "chainsaw-on-a-stick" from Grams' house and being lectured on making sure someone was watching me work (in case I chop off a limb or something, there has to be SOMEONE to acurately tell my story to the Darwin Award folks) I found myself on the second story deck, atop the ladder, reaching for the ridicuously high branches of this 20-ish foot tree. Once I figured out that I couldn't hold this thing up, AND pull the trigger unassisted, I employed my darling daughter to assist me in my attempted suicide. Picture me, on a second story deck, on ladder, holding the middle of the 10 foot chainsaw-on-a-stick, while I yell "NOW" and she pulls the triger. Yeah, probably not my most intelligent stunt, but hey, we got the branches down that we were after and managed to avoid injury.
But that was just the beginning.
We made our way down to the yard and pondered what we were about to embark upon...wondering if this is a job that maybe we should just leave for Mark...in fact those were my darling daughters exact words.
Nah, we can do it.
Up goes the chainsaw-on-a-stick, me in the front, child labor in the back...
"NOW!"
Slowly, the chainsaw-on-a-stick works its way through the "what appears to be a not so big limb, but is actually quite huge" limb, and eventually, a massive limb comes crashing down with an incredible thud! Mind you, this "limb" is probably ten times bigger than the TREES at our last house. Ashley and I look at each other with a look as if to say "HOLY CRAP"...although neither of us speaks a word. We just stand there with huge eyes wondering what on earth we've gotten ourselves in to.
We spend the next 15 minutes cutting it in to smaller managable pieces (once again me in the front, child labor on trigger duty), and wow, we're done with half the tree. At some point we realized that looking up in to flying shards of wood chips probably wasn't the best idea, so we dug up some protective eye gear and got back to work.
We went through two massive limbs, and an 8ish foot tall trunk in about 45 minutes, including clean up. I was so proud of my girl, never once complaining, even with her friend Ava staring in horror, shock, or possibly just complete pity.
What a good girl I have, she even helped drag off the logs without me even asking.
I think I'll reward her efforts with a pool. I think that sounds fair, don't you think?
Dad, I can see you shaking your head in horror as you read this. I promise, I won't do it again. ;)
The pool guy came out today and spray painted the shape of our pool in the precise location...which we are just exstatic about...so that the machinery and worker guys can come dig our swimmin hole tomorrow. It turns out that the edge of our pool came about 6 inches from a 8" diameter oak tree. Sad as it is, it had to go. After borrowing the "chainsaw-on-a-stick" from Grams' house and being lectured on making sure someone was watching me work (in case I chop off a limb or something, there has to be SOMEONE to acurately tell my story to the Darwin Award folks) I found myself on the second story deck, atop the ladder, reaching for the ridicuously high branches of this 20-ish foot tree. Once I figured out that I couldn't hold this thing up, AND pull the trigger unassisted, I employed my darling daughter to assist me in my attempted suicide. Picture me, on a second story deck, on ladder, holding the middle of the 10 foot chainsaw-on-a-stick, while I yell "NOW" and she pulls the triger. Yeah, probably not my most intelligent stunt, but hey, we got the branches down that we were after and managed to avoid injury.
But that was just the beginning.
We made our way down to the yard and pondered what we were about to embark upon...wondering if this is a job that maybe we should just leave for Mark...in fact those were my darling daughters exact words.
Nah, we can do it.
Up goes the chainsaw-on-a-stick, me in the front, child labor in the back...
"NOW!"
Slowly, the chainsaw-on-a-stick works its way through the "what appears to be a not so big limb, but is actually quite huge" limb, and eventually, a massive limb comes crashing down with an incredible thud! Mind you, this "limb" is probably ten times bigger than the TREES at our last house. Ashley and I look at each other with a look as if to say "HOLY CRAP"...although neither of us speaks a word. We just stand there with huge eyes wondering what on earth we've gotten ourselves in to.
We spend the next 15 minutes cutting it in to smaller managable pieces (once again me in the front, child labor on trigger duty), and wow, we're done with half the tree. At some point we realized that looking up in to flying shards of wood chips probably wasn't the best idea, so we dug up some protective eye gear and got back to work.
We went through two massive limbs, and an 8ish foot tall trunk in about 45 minutes, including clean up. I was so proud of my girl, never once complaining, even with her friend Ava staring in horror, shock, or possibly just complete pity.
What a good girl I have, she even helped drag off the logs without me even asking.
I think I'll reward her efforts with a pool. I think that sounds fair, don't you think?
Dad, I can see you shaking your head in horror as you read this. I promise, I won't do it again. ;)
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Easy come, Easy go
I can't believe I forgot to post this!
While the kids and I were visiting Nana's last week we spent a great deal of time swimming in the lake, lounging in the sun. All week the kids begged and begged for me to take them out on the boat for a tube ride. Fine. Lets do it. So I'm weaving all over the lake, submitting to their pleas for me to go faster, when suddenly both kids scream STOP! STOP! Frightened that I'd just injured a child I throw it in neutral, and turn around to see Alex screaming and blood flowing down his chin. All OVER his chin. As you might imagine, I was horrified at what I might find at the end of the rope once I finished pulling the kids in. About halfway through pulling them in, my adrenaline began to settle when I realized that they were LAUGHING, not screaming with fear.
They're finally at the back of the boat, where the blood is clearly visible, and clearly flowing and I can't for the life of me figure out why he's laughing and not crying! Finally, he yells, "I lost my tooth!!! I lost my tooth!" And proceeds to hand me his little sliver of a tooth, jump back in the float, bloody face and all, and yell, "lets go!".
And so I went.
While the kids and I were visiting Nana's last week we spent a great deal of time swimming in the lake, lounging in the sun. All week the kids begged and begged for me to take them out on the boat for a tube ride. Fine. Lets do it. So I'm weaving all over the lake, submitting to their pleas for me to go faster, when suddenly both kids scream STOP! STOP! Frightened that I'd just injured a child I throw it in neutral, and turn around to see Alex screaming and blood flowing down his chin. All OVER his chin. As you might imagine, I was horrified at what I might find at the end of the rope once I finished pulling the kids in. About halfway through pulling them in, my adrenaline began to settle when I realized that they were LAUGHING, not screaming with fear.
They're finally at the back of the boat, where the blood is clearly visible, and clearly flowing and I can't for the life of me figure out why he's laughing and not crying! Finally, he yells, "I lost my tooth!!! I lost my tooth!" And proceeds to hand me his little sliver of a tooth, jump back in the float, bloody face and all, and yell, "lets go!".
And so I went.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Mid Summer
I'm still trying to figure out how this summer has gone by so fast. It's late July, and already time to start school shopping. Good grief, where does the time go!
So here I am, once again, on an endless search for that perfect part time, close to home, no nights, no weekends, all school holidays off kind of job. In case you're wondering, NO, IT DOES NOT EXIST! Everyday, first thing in the morning I start my search, craigslist, Monster, Statesman, etc. And each morning, I end my search wondering if I'm just disillusioned by my hopes of finding that perfect job. The jobs that don't require weekends are the ones that run in to the evening hours, both of which I won't even consider. I've been applying for jobs through the school district for over a year now, with no luck. In fact, today, I applied for another Pre-K assistant position at a local elementary. This time I included a cover letter, all but begging for the chance to work with children. Problem is, (I'm assuming) I don't have any "formal" experience working with children. Nevermind the two amazing well adjusted children that sit in the next room. I've even resorted to searching for preschool jobs. I called up the private school down the street only to find out they're fully staffed. My other options are a bit frigtening. How can I work somewhere that I wouldn't even consider taking my children? And nevermind the pay.
I never imagined myself in this sort of predicament...unable to find a low paying job working with children. Huh?
Anyway, back to summer. The kids and I (plus Savannah and four dogs) just got home from Dads. In between the time I was lounging and playing in the lake, I painted their bathroom cabinets and installed new hinges and hanldes. They definitely look better, but I still need to do some fine tuning when we go back this weekend.
While we were gone, Mark spent a majority of his time building a privacy fence in order to bring the yard up to code for the pool. I'm amazed at what this man can do. I really don't think their is a single project he couldn't tackle on his own. Am I the only one who finds that extremely attractive?? I am so proud of this husband of mine.
As for the pool, just as we suspected, the 25th was too good to be true, and they've bumped it back a few weeks. Apparently, both crews have hit rock on their current digs, and this has put us behind schedule. We're not worried about it, in fact after our experience with contractors and their "estimated dates" we fully expected it.
That's it for now, we're off to the orthodontist.
So here I am, once again, on an endless search for that perfect part time, close to home, no nights, no weekends, all school holidays off kind of job. In case you're wondering, NO, IT DOES NOT EXIST! Everyday, first thing in the morning I start my search, craigslist, Monster, Statesman, etc. And each morning, I end my search wondering if I'm just disillusioned by my hopes of finding that perfect job. The jobs that don't require weekends are the ones that run in to the evening hours, both of which I won't even consider. I've been applying for jobs through the school district for over a year now, with no luck. In fact, today, I applied for another Pre-K assistant position at a local elementary. This time I included a cover letter, all but begging for the chance to work with children. Problem is, (I'm assuming) I don't have any "formal" experience working with children. Nevermind the two amazing well adjusted children that sit in the next room. I've even resorted to searching for preschool jobs. I called up the private school down the street only to find out they're fully staffed. My other options are a bit frigtening. How can I work somewhere that I wouldn't even consider taking my children? And nevermind the pay.
I never imagined myself in this sort of predicament...unable to find a low paying job working with children. Huh?
Anyway, back to summer. The kids and I (plus Savannah and four dogs) just got home from Dads. In between the time I was lounging and playing in the lake, I painted their bathroom cabinets and installed new hinges and hanldes. They definitely look better, but I still need to do some fine tuning when we go back this weekend.
While we were gone, Mark spent a majority of his time building a privacy fence in order to bring the yard up to code for the pool. I'm amazed at what this man can do. I really don't think their is a single project he couldn't tackle on his own. Am I the only one who finds that extremely attractive?? I am so proud of this husband of mine.
As for the pool, just as we suspected, the 25th was too good to be true, and they've bumped it back a few weeks. Apparently, both crews have hit rock on their current digs, and this has put us behind schedule. We're not worried about it, in fact after our experience with contractors and their "estimated dates" we fully expected it.
That's it for now, we're off to the orthodontist.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
le pool
Yesterday, I opened my email to find this:
I am just so giddy with excitement I can't stand it!
We have a lot of work to do once this puppy gets here... Mark and I will be installing a privacy fence on a large portion of our yard, and because we're on a hill we'll also have to build a retaining wall around the pool area. This will certainly be a challenge, but one I'm sure we can live up to. I'm planning on documenting the process from start to finish, so you guys can follow along and enjoy in our excitement.
On Tuesday, I took Miss Ash and three of her friends to Claire's and we all got second ear piercings. Yeah, I said *we*. And for the record, Nana started it. (Oh yes you did!) While she was visiting for the 4th she gave me a pair of diamond hoops and told me I should really get second holes. And that's when the wheels began a turnin'. I'm not sure why it had never occurred to me before then to get second piercings, it's just something I never thought about I suppose. Maybe somewhere in my subconscious I knew that this was something my 11 year old daughter and I could share someday. Ha! That's it!
So now imagine the four of us girls driving down the road, I reach for the radio and turn the blaring top 40 music all the way down to silence, which also silences the backseat full of pre-teen American Idol wannabes...what mom, whydja do that?
All right girls, it's time!
Everyone turn and jiggle!
And on cue, the four of us reach for our sensitive new additions and together we turn and jiggle our new jewelry.
Silly girls.
July 16, 2008
Dear Mr. & Mrs. Urben,
THE INSTALLATION DATE FOR YOUR POOL HAS BEEN SET FOR_____7/25/08______(approximately). DEPENDING ON WEATHER, WE WILL STAY ON SCHEDULE AND KEEP YOU UPDATED OF ANY CHANGES.
I am just so giddy with excitement I can't stand it!
We have a lot of work to do once this puppy gets here... Mark and I will be installing a privacy fence on a large portion of our yard, and because we're on a hill we'll also have to build a retaining wall around the pool area. This will certainly be a challenge, but one I'm sure we can live up to. I'm planning on documenting the process from start to finish, so you guys can follow along and enjoy in our excitement.
On Tuesday, I took Miss Ash and three of her friends to Claire's and we all got second ear piercings. Yeah, I said *we*. And for the record, Nana started it. (Oh yes you did!) While she was visiting for the 4th she gave me a pair of diamond hoops and told me I should really get second holes. And that's when the wheels began a turnin'. I'm not sure why it had never occurred to me before then to get second piercings, it's just something I never thought about I suppose. Maybe somewhere in my subconscious I knew that this was something my 11 year old daughter and I could share someday. Ha! That's it!
So now imagine the four of us girls driving down the road, I reach for the radio and turn the blaring top 40 music all the way down to silence, which also silences the backseat full of pre-teen American Idol wannabes...what mom, whydja do that?
All right girls, it's time!
Everyone turn and jiggle!
And on cue, the four of us reach for our sensitive new additions and together we turn and jiggle our new jewelry.
Silly girls.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Basketball Slideshow
Here's the slideshow I made for the end of season party for both of Ashley's teams. It's a joint party, since most of the players are on both teams.
Warning: It's long, but worth it!
Warning: It's long, but worth it!
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Happy 4th!
This was by far the most laid back 4th we've had. It was a little strange not having Miss Ash with us...she's off on a trip with her good friend Maddi and won't be home until Monday. Despite missing our girl, we had a fun time.
Nana showed up in the early afternoon, and by about 5:00 we were on the road to meet Carol (Nana's bestest friend) and the John's. We parked in Nana's building, which is right across the street from the Town Lake festivities...excuse me, the Lady Bird Lake festivities (I'll never get use to that change). We met up with the others at Spagetti Warehouse and had a remarkably pleasant dinner. How 5 small children were able to stay calm, QUIET and well behaved is beyond me, but I'm sure it has something to do with some awesome parenting, and smidge of luck. Renae's four kiddos range in age from 1 to 6, and are by far some of the most well behaved kiddos imaginable. My dinner was nothing to brag about, but the Sangria was muy delicioso.
After dinner we headed back over to the building and set up camp atop the roof of the parking garage. I was concerned about the amount of time we were going to have to wait with NO TOYS, but the kids managed to do an excellent job of entertaining themselves running around and scoping out the view. Another smidge of luck? I dunno, but two plus hours is quite a long time for kiddos this age to entertain themselves with no altercations or whine-fests. By the time dark set in, we'd passed out the glow sticks, Renae had passed out her special snack and the kids were anxiously awaiting the show. And the show, it was A-MAZING! We were close enough to hear the live band playing in unison to the fireworks, which was a MAJOR bonus that we hadn't counted on. And the grand finale, good greif, it was remarkable. The best and longest I've ever had the opportunity to see. By the time it was over, I realized that my cheeks were aching from the smile I hadn't noticed that had been plastered to my face for 23 straight minutes. Listening to the kids dialogue along with the itty bitty ooh's and ahhh's brings a sort of happiness that I can't quite put in to words. They loved it. WE loved it. I'm certain that had we been in a crowd of hundreds, as opposed to the maybe 30 that were up there with us, our enjoyment would not have been half of what it was.
Even with the political unrest, and trying times we're going through in this country, we are so fortunate to be able to call this place Home. Happy Independence Day!
Nana showed up in the early afternoon, and by about 5:00 we were on the road to meet Carol (Nana's bestest friend) and the John's. We parked in Nana's building, which is right across the street from the Town Lake festivities...excuse me, the Lady Bird Lake festivities (I'll never get use to that change). We met up with the others at Spagetti Warehouse and had a remarkably pleasant dinner. How 5 small children were able to stay calm, QUIET and well behaved is beyond me, but I'm sure it has something to do with some awesome parenting, and smidge of luck. Renae's four kiddos range in age from 1 to 6, and are by far some of the most well behaved kiddos imaginable. My dinner was nothing to brag about, but the Sangria was muy delicioso.
After dinner we headed back over to the building and set up camp atop the roof of the parking garage. I was concerned about the amount of time we were going to have to wait with NO TOYS, but the kids managed to do an excellent job of entertaining themselves running around and scoping out the view. Another smidge of luck? I dunno, but two plus hours is quite a long time for kiddos this age to entertain themselves with no altercations or whine-fests. By the time dark set in, we'd passed out the glow sticks, Renae had passed out her special snack and the kids were anxiously awaiting the show. And the show, it was A-MAZING! We were close enough to hear the live band playing in unison to the fireworks, which was a MAJOR bonus that we hadn't counted on. And the grand finale, good greif, it was remarkable. The best and longest I've ever had the opportunity to see. By the time it was over, I realized that my cheeks were aching from the smile I hadn't noticed that had been plastered to my face for 23 straight minutes. Listening to the kids dialogue along with the itty bitty ooh's and ahhh's brings a sort of happiness that I can't quite put in to words. They loved it. WE loved it. I'm certain that had we been in a crowd of hundreds, as opposed to the maybe 30 that were up there with us, our enjoyment would not have been half of what it was.
Even with the political unrest, and trying times we're going through in this country, we are so fortunate to be able to call this place Home. Happy Independence Day!
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Starting Over
Yesterday was Mark's first day at Apple. He left at 7:45, and was home a little after 6. As much as I missed him, I have to say, it was such a relief for me to get my routines back. Since he's been home, we've all been a little out of whack, with no real routine to speak of. No real defined roles...we just sort of flew by the seat of our pants. That was fun. For a while.
While he was home, we both did an incredible amount of nothing. With two of us responsible for keeping the household running, there was much more down time than either of us have ever had in our own home. If you know me, you know that when I'm at home, I'm typically on my feet. I don't sit back and relax, and really, I wanted to, I just didn't know how to let it all go and allow myself that luxury. Nothing a crash course in relaxation couldn't fix.
So, here we are, back to normal, and ever so thankful for the opportunity to have it all back. I broke out the Fly Lady checklist on Sunday. God I love checklists. This is my list of chores broke down in to daily, weekly, and monthly tasks. It's fail proof. I've had these checklists for about 3 years now and I've learned that with the checklists momma's happy. Anyway, breaking out the lists was like seeing an old friend again. That checklist and I have a lot of catching up to do, and strange as it may sound, I'm anxious to rekindle that relationship we use to have. Like a slice of normal pie.
Something I thought was pretty cute: Any guesses as to what Mark can get for free all day long everyday from the cafeteria at work?
While he was home, we both did an incredible amount of nothing. With two of us responsible for keeping the household running, there was much more down time than either of us have ever had in our own home. If you know me, you know that when I'm at home, I'm typically on my feet. I don't sit back and relax, and really, I wanted to, I just didn't know how to let it all go and allow myself that luxury. Nothing a crash course in relaxation couldn't fix.
So, here we are, back to normal, and ever so thankful for the opportunity to have it all back. I broke out the Fly Lady checklist on Sunday. God I love checklists. This is my list of chores broke down in to daily, weekly, and monthly tasks. It's fail proof. I've had these checklists for about 3 years now and I've learned that with the checklists momma's happy. Anyway, breaking out the lists was like seeing an old friend again. That checklist and I have a lot of catching up to do, and strange as it may sound, I'm anxious to rekindle that relationship we use to have. Like a slice of normal pie.
Something I thought was pretty cute: Any guesses as to what Mark can get for free all day long everyday from the cafeteria at work?
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Nationals...and other juice
Ashley and I made our way to Navasota, TX last Tuesday, along with 11 other teammates and numerous parents to watch our 6th graders play in the Dribblers National Tournament. We fully expected it to be a two day trip considering the talent pool that the tournament brings in, however, two days turned in to four, and four days in to a second place finish.
It was an excited four days that I'm sure the girls will talk about for most of their lives. The opportunity to play the in the Championship game is a rare one, and for Georgetown, it was a first. It was so, so exciting to be a part of.
I took about a thousand pictures that I will post as soon as I can. I'm still working on the photos from Tiesa's wedding that Mollie and I shot last weekend. I have SO much to do. This was my first time to use my new camera and lens for Basketball, and I'm anxious to see the improvements!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In other news...you know what they say about an Apple a day...well, for us, it will be keeping more than the doctor away, it will be keeping the bill collectors, psychiatrists and marriage counselors away. After 4 1/2 months of unemployment, Mark is on his way to becoming an Apple employee. We are all so relieved, excited, anxious and thankful that the wait is over.
They're running background checks and going through all the standard procedures right now, but barring any unforseen circumstances, he's in! I feel like I took a deep breath months ago and forgot to let it go. Finally, we can all exhale knowing that everything is going to be just fine.
It was an excited four days that I'm sure the girls will talk about for most of their lives. The opportunity to play the in the Championship game is a rare one, and for Georgetown, it was a first. It was so, so exciting to be a part of.
I took about a thousand pictures that I will post as soon as I can. I'm still working on the photos from Tiesa's wedding that Mollie and I shot last weekend. I have SO much to do. This was my first time to use my new camera and lens for Basketball, and I'm anxious to see the improvements!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In other news...you know what they say about an Apple a day...well, for us, it will be keeping more than the doctor away, it will be keeping the bill collectors, psychiatrists and marriage counselors away. After 4 1/2 months of unemployment, Mark is on his way to becoming an Apple employee. We are all so relieved, excited, anxious and thankful that the wait is over.
They're running background checks and going through all the standard procedures right now, but barring any unforseen circumstances, he's in! I feel like I took a deep breath months ago and forgot to let it go. Finally, we can all exhale knowing that everything is going to be just fine.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Sweet little nothings
Yesterday, Alex comes inside with a big grin on his face:
"Momma, I bet you don't know where I just was...
I was in the front yard pulling weeds." *Grin*
"You know, our Susans are falling over?" (Our flowers, the Black Eyed Susans, he calls them our Susans) "I think we need to figure out how to make them stand back up again."
With a proud momma grin, "Ok sweetie, lets go find a stake and see if we can do that."
And this morning he wakes up, makes his usual dash for the bathroom closest to me. (because this is just what he does, I suppose he likes to find me first, then run for the porcelin) Even first thing in the morning he's full of spunk and without fail he tells me something silly in his rough little morning boy voice. His wit never rests.
From the bathroom in the same sleepy voice:
Boy, men sure can pee a lot.
You know, the other morning I peed for like 2 minutes.
I'm sure it was at least a gallon or so.
And then he runs off in his Cars themed underwear to watch some morning cartoons.
"Momma, I bet you don't know where I just was...
I was in the front yard pulling weeds." *Grin*
"You know, our Susans are falling over?" (Our flowers, the Black Eyed Susans, he calls them our Susans) "I think we need to figure out how to make them stand back up again."
With a proud momma grin, "Ok sweetie, lets go find a stake and see if we can do that."
And this morning he wakes up, makes his usual dash for the bathroom closest to me. (because this is just what he does, I suppose he likes to find me first, then run for the porcelin) Even first thing in the morning he's full of spunk and without fail he tells me something silly in his rough little morning boy voice. His wit never rests.
From the bathroom in the same sleepy voice:
Boy, men sure can pee a lot.
You know, the other morning I peed for like 2 minutes.
I'm sure it was at least a gallon or so.
And then he runs off in his Cars themed underwear to watch some morning cartoons.
Friday, June 06, 2008
Pretty lil bama
More pics from Alabama. It's hard to take a bad photo with such georgeous landscape and colors. Make sure to click on the slideshow to get the full size, these colors are just gorgeous full size.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Finally, PICTURES!
It took me a while, but here they are; pictures from our Spring Break trip to Alabama.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Birthday, Summer and other schtuff
I'm officially in the 30 club...Now that I'm 31, I'm no longer just a newbie, I'm officially making my way to 35 err 40. I'm not sure how this happened so fast, one day you're in your 20's just getting along with all the new changes, marraige, babies, dreams coming to fruition and then BAM! Suddenly, you're the age your mom was when you remember thinking how OLD she was and how that was eons away and truly, you're invensible and that probably won't every happen to you anyway. So here I am, 31, with a soon to be first grader and a soon to be SEVENTH GRADER, going on 9 years of marraige. Wow. I remember being a kid wondering why it had to take sooo looong for that next birthday to arrive...now they just sneak up on me and before I know I'm ANOTHER year older. Time flies when you're having fun I suppose.
Well, the kids are on their first official day of summer break. Yesterday was an interesting experience. I drove Alex to his last day of Kindergarten, his last day with the most precious teacher on the face of the earth, and the last day for me to ever have a kindergartener. I was reflecting back to the first day of Kinder and remembering how uncertain I was that this was the right thing to do. It was probably the hardest day of school I had all year. I did so well, dropped him off virtually tear free...and then I hit the doors leading out of the school and BAM, the emotions took over like a storm and that was all she wrote. The floodgates opened and I felt like I'd just left my soul in that Kinder room with a bunch of complete strangers.
Ironically, the ride to school yesterday was quite similar. Emotions were in full swing, but this time it wasn't momma, it was my little pumpkin. He fought back tears the whole way to school and eventually he lost the battle and wept for his Kindergarten year coming to an end. It touched me to see how special this year has been to him, and to know that I did make the right choice by sending him to public school. He had an incredible kindergarten experience that I know has set the foundation for so much that is yet to come.
Miss Ash, well, as thankful as she is that she can temporarily shut off her alarm clock, she's as equally forlorn that she'll be missing her buddies...girls AND boys. She's changed so much this year, so much that sometimes it's hard to tell if this really is the same little girl I sent off to sixth grade some 9 months ago. I'm so proud of all she has accomplished, despite how hard it is to let go of this little girl. I went to her awards ceremony, where she received awards for all A honor roll, UIL Spelling, and UIL Math. She's an amazing growing girl and I'm still trying to figure out how to hold on to what I know I must begin to let go of. I would like to hold on to this time and refuse to let go, because I can clearly see what's on the horizon, and quite frankly, it scares me to think of what comes next. It feels like our grip is slowly releasing, and as normal as I know this is, it's much harder than I ever imagined it would be.
Since I started this post a day has passed, the kids are now in Florida with Nana ready for their Disney trip at the Animal Kingdom Resort. Mark and I have a week to ourselves. I think we've spent more time asking each other what we should do with ourselves than we have actually DOING something with ourselves. We went to Burger Tex, off Airport for lunch, the burgers were certainly not what I had anticipated, dehidrated beef is really what we ate, next time we'll go with what we know is good and just make the trip to Top Notch...but we were alone and that's what matters, right? We made a trip to Target to pick out a book, since the one I just started just wasn't working for me. I found a book on my "To Read" list, The Bell Jar, by Slyvia Plath. I've spent the last hour or so sipping a rita and reading my book out on the back porch in a lounge chair with the soothing sound of my dripping water fountain settting the mood. Mark's in the livingroom listening to Lyle Lovett and Bonnie Rait live. It's only 8:30 on our first of 7 nights alone.
That's all for now, I'll update with more of our kidless week soon.
Well, the kids are on their first official day of summer break. Yesterday was an interesting experience. I drove Alex to his last day of Kindergarten, his last day with the most precious teacher on the face of the earth, and the last day for me to ever have a kindergartener. I was reflecting back to the first day of Kinder and remembering how uncertain I was that this was the right thing to do. It was probably the hardest day of school I had all year. I did so well, dropped him off virtually tear free...and then I hit the doors leading out of the school and BAM, the emotions took over like a storm and that was all she wrote. The floodgates opened and I felt like I'd just left my soul in that Kinder room with a bunch of complete strangers.
Ironically, the ride to school yesterday was quite similar. Emotions were in full swing, but this time it wasn't momma, it was my little pumpkin. He fought back tears the whole way to school and eventually he lost the battle and wept for his Kindergarten year coming to an end. It touched me to see how special this year has been to him, and to know that I did make the right choice by sending him to public school. He had an incredible kindergarten experience that I know has set the foundation for so much that is yet to come.
Miss Ash, well, as thankful as she is that she can temporarily shut off her alarm clock, she's as equally forlorn that she'll be missing her buddies...girls AND boys. She's changed so much this year, so much that sometimes it's hard to tell if this really is the same little girl I sent off to sixth grade some 9 months ago. I'm so proud of all she has accomplished, despite how hard it is to let go of this little girl. I went to her awards ceremony, where she received awards for all A honor roll, UIL Spelling, and UIL Math. She's an amazing growing girl and I'm still trying to figure out how to hold on to what I know I must begin to let go of. I would like to hold on to this time and refuse to let go, because I can clearly see what's on the horizon, and quite frankly, it scares me to think of what comes next. It feels like our grip is slowly releasing, and as normal as I know this is, it's much harder than I ever imagined it would be.
Since I started this post a day has passed, the kids are now in Florida with Nana ready for their Disney trip at the Animal Kingdom Resort. Mark and I have a week to ourselves. I think we've spent more time asking each other what we should do with ourselves than we have actually DOING something with ourselves. We went to Burger Tex, off Airport for lunch, the burgers were certainly not what I had anticipated, dehidrated beef is really what we ate, next time we'll go with what we know is good and just make the trip to Top Notch...but we were alone and that's what matters, right? We made a trip to Target to pick out a book, since the one I just started just wasn't working for me. I found a book on my "To Read" list, The Bell Jar, by Slyvia Plath. I've spent the last hour or so sipping a rita and reading my book out on the back porch in a lounge chair with the soothing sound of my dripping water fountain settting the mood. Mark's in the livingroom listening to Lyle Lovett and Bonnie Rait live. It's only 8:30 on our first of 7 nights alone.
That's all for now, I'll update with more of our kidless week soon.
Friday, May 23, 2008
...The Brave.
This morning Alex woke up with a mission. He came to me and said that he wanted to learn the National Anthem. I'm not sure where this came from, despite all of my inqiries, and I suppose it doesn't really matter. He asked if I would print out the lyrics so he could practice. I did; he did; and therefore, we were a little late to school, but that's ok, because now my son has a new dream. He took the lyrics to school and is going to ask his Kindergarten teacher if he can sing it to the class, and then his plan is to convince the principal to let him sing it during the morning announcements. From there he plans to practice enough to be invited to sing at a baseball game.
Where did this child COME from? His genetic path has wandered off course a bit. For that, I am thankful.
Where did this child COME from? His genetic path has wandered off course a bit. For that, I am thankful.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Pitter Patter
After playing X-box, darts and pool alone with his daddy this afternoon, Alex was on cloud nine. Seriously. Later, I took him outside so he could ride his bike, and that happy twinkle in his eye was still present. While riding his bike he tells me "Wow, daddy and I haven't had this much boy time in a looong time!"
Nothing makes me more happy. Absolutely, nothing.
Nothing makes me more happy. Absolutely, nothing.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Therapy at my fingertips
To complete my incredibly exciting (sarcasm) semester of college Algebra I will now *DELETE* my most unfavorite favorites folder entitled "Jamie Algebra"...not to be confused with "Ashley Pre-Algebra".
For future reference, because really, I will probably need these links once again when Ashley develops a matching mommy bald spot from pulling her hair out with Algebra, here are the links that I'm tired of looking at in the left hand column of my screen:
Quadradic Solver...awesome site
I don't remember what was so good about this one, but it must be helpful since I did save it
Why Purple?
Lots of good stuff that I hope to never see again
For future reference, because really, I will probably need these links once again when Ashley develops a matching mommy bald spot from pulling her hair out with Algebra, here are the links that I'm tired of looking at in the left hand column of my screen:
Quadradic Solver...awesome site
I don't remember what was so good about this one, but it must be helpful since I did save it
Why Purple?
Lots of good stuff that I hope to never see again
Speechless once again
Last night we sat down to read, as we do most everynight. This night, Alex picked an Aurthur book to read to me. Aurthur and his buddy take a bus to swim lessons and end up getting lost after falling asleep and missing their stop. After realizing that they're lost, and don't have a clue where they are, the following dialogue went on between the 6 year old and I:
Mom: "Awww, Aurthur's poor momma...she must be so worried about her little boy! I would be so worried if that were you!"
Alex: "OH-COME-ON momma, it's obviously JUST a book...I mean they're talking dogs and rabbits dressed up in CLOTHES!"
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Ticky tacky
Recently, I had a conversation with an older child of mine about my choice to "thrift". You see, said older child of mine is growing up, and while she's enjoying the added bonuses of freedom, she's had a bit of a struggle lately. Confession: I BUY USED CLOTHES. Yeah, so it's out there whooptey doo. I don't see the hang up, and why it's so important that I buy a neatly hung, chemical filled garment, that will look just like the one down the street at the xxxx thrift shop in two washes. So, back to the struggle. It seems we have kiddos that are extremely fixated on "where" Ashley gets her clothes. Keep in mind, she goes to school each day looking just like everyone else, the name brands, the stylish outfits, the accessories, you name it. She's happy with her selection of some 60 shirts and countless pants, capris and shorts. The problem: she hates lying. When someone asks her where she gets a particular outfit, she gets uncomfortable. She doesn't want to lie, but she also doesn't want to confess. Sure there are ways around the questions, "my mom bought it", "it CAME from xxxx", whatever. But why oh why is it so imporant to these kids that she bought something at a particular overpriced store? What I would love is for her to respond truthfully and tell them to suck it if they don't like it, but that's not reality. Reality is that she's growing up in a time when stupid crap like this matters.
So how do you teach a child not care what everyone else thinks, and to do their own thing, without other little bratty children shafting their self esteem? I don't know. All I could do was tell her that what she's feeling is normal and that while she doesn't need to care what people might think, it's ok to feel the way she's feeling. And mind you, this is not a little girl that is struggling to make friends, in fact, I believe most of her friends look up to her. I also gently reminded her that I'd be happy to forego the used clothes if it mattered that much to her, but I did tell her to kiss the name brands goodbye. Get use to Wal Mart and Target, because this momma is not going to get sucked in paying top dollar for clothes, just so you can look like everyone else. She stopped me and said no, no, no, she doesn't want me to stop, she loves the things I buy, she's just torn between wanting to be that little girl with no worries, yet at the same time wanting to grow up...which brings on a whole new set of worries. She hates caring what everyone else thinks. And for that I am GLAD. I'm glad she's going through the process of sorting out what's really important to her and what's not. It sucks that she has to struggle, but really, if she wasn't uncomfortable caring what people think, I think we'd have a bigger problem.
My poor sweetie, how do you tell her that this is just the beginning, but that someday, all of this will seem so, so trivial. I hope it will, because that will mean she's grown in to a confident young woman whose comfortable in her own skin and take on anything that comes her way.
If anyone has any pre-teen words of wisdom on the subject, I'd love to hear it.
Adolescence is when girls experience social pressure to put aside their authentic selves and to display only a small portion of their gifts. -Mary Pipher
So how do you teach a child not care what everyone else thinks, and to do their own thing, without other little bratty children shafting their self esteem? I don't know. All I could do was tell her that what she's feeling is normal and that while she doesn't need to care what people might think, it's ok to feel the way she's feeling. And mind you, this is not a little girl that is struggling to make friends, in fact, I believe most of her friends look up to her. I also gently reminded her that I'd be happy to forego the used clothes if it mattered that much to her, but I did tell her to kiss the name brands goodbye. Get use to Wal Mart and Target, because this momma is not going to get sucked in paying top dollar for clothes, just so you can look like everyone else. She stopped me and said no, no, no, she doesn't want me to stop, she loves the things I buy, she's just torn between wanting to be that little girl with no worries, yet at the same time wanting to grow up...which brings on a whole new set of worries. She hates caring what everyone else thinks. And for that I am GLAD. I'm glad she's going through the process of sorting out what's really important to her and what's not. It sucks that she has to struggle, but really, if she wasn't uncomfortable caring what people think, I think we'd have a bigger problem. My poor sweetie, how do you tell her that this is just the beginning, but that someday, all of this will seem so, so trivial. I hope it will, because that will mean she's grown in to a confident young woman whose comfortable in her own skin and take on anything that comes her way.
If anyone has any pre-teen words of wisdom on the subject, I'd love to hear it.
Adolescence is when girls experience social pressure to put aside their authentic selves and to display only a small portion of their gifts. -Mary Pipher
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Happy Mother's Day to meee
And my gift to myself, this handy dandy wall fountain, that I just couldn't live without. $189.95 here....but for me, $35 on Craigslist. *brand new* teehee!
Back in Black
So, now that school is over, and I have time on my hands, I decided to tackle the master bath cabinets. It's funny, our bathroom remodel has been complete for quite some time now, but in our minds it hasn't been 'complete'. It's incredible what a little bit of paint can do. Our cabinets were all 80's and the rest of the bathroom up to date. Something had to be done. Sooo, after half a quart of Sherwin Williams Black, a nice little sanding block to antique a few edges here and there, and some bronzy spray paint to cover the ugly 1984 brassy handles, we have a kick ass bathroom. Next is the powder room cabinets and then I'm on to the kitchen. Somebody stop me!!!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Happy Mother's Day
I hope everyone had a fantastical-icious Mother's Day!
I wanted to share my special gifts from the kiddos.
Alex made me several masterpieces at school, one of which is a tie dyed butterfly magnet that reads:
Butterfly hover
near my mother.
Tell her that
I really LOVE her.
This already has a special place on the fridge and has done it's job of warming my heart time and time again.
Another handmade gift from my sweetness is hand print lilys with a sweet poem and a picture of the handsome little man himself.
And the most precious of all his hand made gifts, a card, written by Alex:
My mom does not have a job
but she still works hard.
Moms are special. I love you.
Moms are sweet because they give hugs.
I love my mom because you sometimes
let me sleep with you.
Love,
Alex
And sweet Ashley wrote me a letter that I have to share. This one had me completely choked up.
Mothers are a special gift.
When you're sad, moms let you cry
but make you feel better,
Moms will always laugh at your jokes even when they're bad.
Even though at times they don't like it,
moms watch you grow up.
Moms cook you wonderful meals.
Moms are there when you get home.
Sometimes moms hit a bump in the road
but moms NEVER give up.
Moms are your worst enemy,
and your best friend.
Moms have big jobs
and even bigger hearts.
But most importantly they'll always love you.
Love,
Sissy
These are the best mother's day gifts a mom could EVER ask for, and I feel so, so fortunate to have two of the best kids around to share my life with.
I wanted to share my special gifts from the kiddos.
Alex made me several masterpieces at school, one of which is a tie dyed butterfly magnet that reads:
Butterfly hover
near my mother.
Tell her that
I really LOVE her.
This already has a special place on the fridge and has done it's job of warming my heart time and time again.
Another handmade gift from my sweetness is hand print lilys with a sweet poem and a picture of the handsome little man himself.
And the most precious of all his hand made gifts, a card, written by Alex:
My mom does not have a job
but she still works hard.
Moms are special. I love you.
Moms are sweet because they give hugs.
I love my mom because you sometimes
let me sleep with you.
Love,
Alex
And sweet Ashley wrote me a letter that I have to share. This one had me completely choked up.
Mothers are a special gift.
When you're sad, moms let you cry
but make you feel better,
Moms will always laugh at your jokes even when they're bad.
Even though at times they don't like it,
moms watch you grow up.
Moms cook you wonderful meals.
Moms are there when you get home.
Sometimes moms hit a bump in the road
but moms NEVER give up.
Moms are your worst enemy,
and your best friend.
Moms have big jobs
and even bigger hearts.
But most importantly they'll always love you.
Love,
Sissy
These are the best mother's day gifts a mom could EVER ask for, and I feel so, so fortunate to have two of the best kids around to share my life with.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
How it's hangin
So, it's been a while. Not a lot has changed around here since my last "real" update. It's hard to update when, honestly, not a lot has changed. Mark is still job hunting, I'm still searching for that perfect part time, work from home job, and the kids are still rapidly growing and changing.
I've tried and tried to post a semi-interesting update, but really, I just don't have it in me. I'm feeling a little disconnected lately, not only from the world around me, but also from myself. I'm really counting on some positive changes over the summer with the kids and I being out of school and spending some quality time together. Things will turn around, I'm convinced....and when they do I know I'll get back in to the swing of things.
I've tried and tried to post a semi-interesting update, but really, I just don't have it in me. I'm feeling a little disconnected lately, not only from the world around me, but also from myself. I'm really counting on some positive changes over the summer with the kids and I being out of school and spending some quality time together. Things will turn around, I'm convinced....and when they do I know I'll get back in to the swing of things.
B is for DAMN IT
Just checked my grades...got a B on the final and a B for the class. Wah. I was really, really hoping to pull off an A, but hey, I did it, I didn't give up, and it's OVER!
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Alive and well...alive
Despite the fact that I haven't blogged in ages, we are all still alive and well.
Tonight is my LAST Algebra class, thank jebus. Today I'm cramming for my final in disjoint intervals. Ha ha. Waaayyy to much algebra on the mind.
My days of sitting in PJ's at the table diciphering algebra equations is AL..MOST OVER. At some point I'll actually be able to take the time to process pictures from the past 4 months and post them for the diminishing lurkers that check my blog. This school stuff really gets in the way of life, I gotta tell ya. My social life is suffering...severely!
Anywho, just wanted to check in with the ol' boggysphere and let everyone know that I haven't forgoten my blog, and will get back to my old ways soon.
Ciao
Tonight is my LAST Algebra class, thank jebus. Today I'm cramming for my final in disjoint intervals. Ha ha. Waaayyy to much algebra on the mind.
My days of sitting in PJ's at the table diciphering algebra equations is AL..MOST OVER. At some point I'll actually be able to take the time to process pictures from the past 4 months and post them for the diminishing lurkers that check my blog. This school stuff really gets in the way of life, I gotta tell ya. My social life is suffering...severely!
Anywho, just wanted to check in with the ol' boggysphere and let everyone know that I haven't forgoten my blog, and will get back to my old ways soon.
Ciao
Friday, April 04, 2008
Puppy meets Puddle
Mark, I'm saving this one for YOU to clean up. I don't care if I have to wait 3 days!
I left this little puddle jumper out to potty for 10 minutes! And this is what I get...can't you just see the look of "am I in trouble?" on her face??
These pictures don't even show the full extent of the damage.
I left this little puddle jumper out to potty for 10 minutes! And this is what I get...can't you just see the look of "am I in trouble?" on her face??
These pictures don't even show the full extent of the damage.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Little mathmatician
Alex is LOVE, LOVE LOVING his GT class, in fact on the mornings that he goes to GT he pops out of bed, gets ready for school as fast as he can and talks about how excited he is the rest of the morning. I'm so, so happy we had him tested. He's enjoying the reading GT class, but math is his favorite right now.
This week in his GT Math class, he's adding and subtracting 4 digit numbers like a pro! I'm just amazed that they're doing this at a kinder level. It really shows me that they're in tune with the kids on an individual level and progress accordingly. His love of math is really shining through.. On the way to school this morning he was multiplying numbers out loud just for the heck of it (no prompting by me) and out of no where he throws in "35 plus 35 is seventy". I asked him how he figured it out and he says "well, 30 plus 30 is 60, and 5 and 5 make 10, so that's 70, so that means 35 times 2 is seventy!" I'm just so proud of him and how much he's really grasping these math concepts, not to mention the FUN he's having figuring it all out.
This week in his GT Math class, he's adding and subtracting 4 digit numbers like a pro! I'm just amazed that they're doing this at a kinder level. It really shows me that they're in tune with the kids on an individual level and progress accordingly. His love of math is really shining through.. On the way to school this morning he was multiplying numbers out loud just for the heck of it (no prompting by me) and out of no where he throws in "35 plus 35 is seventy". I asked him how he figured it out and he says "well, 30 plus 30 is 60, and 5 and 5 make 10, so that's 70, so that means 35 times 2 is seventy!" I'm just so proud of him and how much he's really grasping these math concepts, not to mention the FUN he's having figuring it all out.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Mollie K. Photography
Ok, I can hardly believe it has taken me this long to post about my BFF and her incredible talent. Mollie's work continues to amaze me...just when I think I've seen her best, she throws another curve ball and does something even more amazing. If you haven't checked out her site, you're missing out. If you need a photographer, email her, you will certainly have no regrets. She spends an incredible amount of time with each photo perfecting what I believe to already BE perfection. You really couldn't ask for more in a photographer. Anywho, here's her site, check it out, have fun, and preserve some memories with her: Mollie K. Photography
This message is not approved by Mollie, but I don't give a rats patootie.
This message is not approved by Mollie, but I don't give a rats patootie.
One week down, one to go
I can hardly believe it has only been ONE week without the hubster, it certainly seems like it has been much longer.
Since flying solo we've had entirely way too much going on for it to have only been one week...Four basketball games, two basketball practices, one FIRST PLACE BASKETBALL TROPHY (woohooo), two basketball meetings, one softball game, one soccer practice, one massively successful Cooper's Troopers benefit, three College Algebra classes...and the list goes on. Mark and I have joked over the phone that with all that has gone on this past week, he is fully expecting to return only to find that Alex has grown chest hair.
We miss our Marky and can't wait to see him. ONE-MORE-WEEK!
Since flying solo we've had entirely way too much going on for it to have only been one week...Four basketball games, two basketball practices, one FIRST PLACE BASKETBALL TROPHY (woohooo), two basketball meetings, one softball game, one soccer practice, one massively successful Cooper's Troopers benefit, three College Algebra classes...and the list goes on. Mark and I have joked over the phone that with all that has gone on this past week, he is fully expecting to return only to find that Alex has grown chest hair.
We miss our Marky and can't wait to see him. ONE-MORE-WEEK!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Rains, pours
After being gone from work for a week, I came back to find that several people were let go. This is not a good time for the land surveying world. Fortunately, I didn't get "let go", however, I will no long have regular employment. They will be using me on an "as needed" basis. Who knows what that means. It's already Friday, and I haven't been needed yet, so really, this could mean anything. I'm still contemplating what to do...with Mark still being out of work, I'm feeling a little antsy about just waiting for them to call me. I've put word out to the environmental firm, but apparently they're fairly slow right now too. I feel like I'm at a crossroad right now, and I'm not exactly sure which way to go. On one hand, this timing is absolutely horrible, on the other hand, I had intended on taking the summer off to be with the kids anyway (providing Mark found a job). And with Mark being in Alabama for two weeks, I really wasn't quite sure how I was going to do it all, work, school, basketball, etc. on my own. So I'm a little uncertain as to what I'm feeling right now. My mind is ok, but sensitive tummy is reminding me that there are decisions to be made.
Yes, this is a rough time, and it when it rains, it does seem to pour. However, lets not forget what happens AFTER the rain. I remind myself that rain brings life, and blooms and helps to cleanse. The outcome will be positive, I am convinced, and can't wait to see where this road leads us.
Yes, this is a rough time, and it when it rains, it does seem to pour. However, lets not forget what happens AFTER the rain. I remind myself that rain brings life, and blooms and helps to cleanse. The outcome will be positive, I am convinced, and can't wait to see where this road leads us.
Bama 08
So, I typed up this long elaborate post updating about our trip to Alabama over Spring Break last week...but decided against posting it. I was having one of those "deep thoughts with Jamie" moments and later decided it was a little mushy. That bugs me a bit. I use to blog as if no one were watching (well, almost) but lately I'm a little hung up on whether or not some topics are too personal for the likes of the bloggosphere, which seems to be VERY counter-bloggy.
I'm still sorting this one out.
What a week this Urben family has had. We made the trip to Alabama for the kiddos spring break last Saturday. The drive was fairly uneventful. Dogs and children behaved, and once again we are dumbstruck trying to figure out how four dogs and two kids can travel 13 hours in such a small space and not drive our sanity completely out the window. Knock on wood.
We arrived in Alabama just in time to watch the magic of Spring unfold. As we left home, and headed North, it was as if we were winding back the clock and actually watching the progression of Spring occur. At home, the trees had already bloomed, and moved on to budding new leaves, however, by the time we arrived in Alabama, we discovered that the blooming had just occurred. Wild pear trees, with their full white blooms covered the rolling hills and decorated the path to Granny Frannies, almost as if they paved the trail just for us. They were gorgeous scattered amongst the deep green pines. Just gorgeous.
And the birds! They were JUST amazing! Grannie Frannie and Papa Jack love, love, love their birds. They have several different types of bird feeders, filled with all sorts of yummy bird treats. I'll tell ya, if I were a bird, this would be my heaven. Their feathers looked as though mother nature had painted an entirely new fresh coat of birdie feather paint just to compliment the growth of the new season. I don't know a lot about birds but I assume their bright feathers are new growth and somehow serve them during mating season. Speaking of mating season, the ducks were also in full swing, busy as ever, poor females! The males are RUTHLESS I tell ya, RUTHLESS! On more than one day, Papa Jack took the kiddos hunting for duck eggs throughout the property, where they found enough eggs to feed an army. This made for great Easter conversation on our drive home.
Despite our three trips to Urgent Care to treat a non-broken toe, two fractured ribs and upper respiratory virus, we all really, really enjoyed our time in Alabama. We were thankful to be able to spend a little time with Mark's grandma, who isn't doing well, and is showing signs of the end stages of Alzheimers. Watching Mark spend time with his grandma was so, so special to me, as I'm sure it was for him as well. And because of Mark's current work situation, we decided that he should stay behind to help his mom care for his grandma for a few weeks. She has her hands full, and could certainly use the help, not to mention the emotional support.
Our week in Alabama was incredibly relaxing and we were no where near ready to leave come Saturday morning.
I will update with pictures as soon as humany possible.
I'm still sorting this one out.
What a week this Urben family has had. We made the trip to Alabama for the kiddos spring break last Saturday. The drive was fairly uneventful. Dogs and children behaved, and once again we are dumbstruck trying to figure out how four dogs and two kids can travel 13 hours in such a small space and not drive our sanity completely out the window. Knock on wood.
We arrived in Alabama just in time to watch the magic of Spring unfold. As we left home, and headed North, it was as if we were winding back the clock and actually watching the progression of Spring occur. At home, the trees had already bloomed, and moved on to budding new leaves, however, by the time we arrived in Alabama, we discovered that the blooming had just occurred. Wild pear trees, with their full white blooms covered the rolling hills and decorated the path to Granny Frannies, almost as if they paved the trail just for us. They were gorgeous scattered amongst the deep green pines. Just gorgeous.
And the birds! They were JUST amazing! Grannie Frannie and Papa Jack love, love, love their birds. They have several different types of bird feeders, filled with all sorts of yummy bird treats. I'll tell ya, if I were a bird, this would be my heaven. Their feathers looked as though mother nature had painted an entirely new fresh coat of birdie feather paint just to compliment the growth of the new season. I don't know a lot about birds but I assume their bright feathers are new growth and somehow serve them during mating season. Speaking of mating season, the ducks were also in full swing, busy as ever, poor females! The males are RUTHLESS I tell ya, RUTHLESS! On more than one day, Papa Jack took the kiddos hunting for duck eggs throughout the property, where they found enough eggs to feed an army. This made for great Easter conversation on our drive home.
Despite our three trips to Urgent Care to treat a non-broken toe, two fractured ribs and upper respiratory virus, we all really, really enjoyed our time in Alabama. We were thankful to be able to spend a little time with Mark's grandma, who isn't doing well, and is showing signs of the end stages of Alzheimers. Watching Mark spend time with his grandma was so, so special to me, as I'm sure it was for him as well. And because of Mark's current work situation, we decided that he should stay behind to help his mom care for his grandma for a few weeks. She has her hands full, and could certainly use the help, not to mention the emotional support.
Our week in Alabama was incredibly relaxing and we were no where near ready to leave come Saturday morning.
I will update with pictures as soon as humany possible.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
She did it AGAIN
Holy cow, I really didn't expect that she would make BOTH theams, but she did! Not only will she be on the Club team, she will also be on the League All Star Team!!! There were at least 25 girls that tried out for the All Star team and Ashley was one of 12 to make it!!! She doesn't know yet, I can't wait for her to get home so I can tell her!!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
She did it!!!!
We just found out this afternoon that Ashley made the select team!!!! I can't even begin to describe how excited we all are...especially the Ash herself. I'll update when I know more, but for now all I know is that this is a club team that travels to different tournaments in central-ish Texas. I'm so EXCITED!!!!!!
Snippet from their website:
Snippet from their website:
Home to Georgetown, FURY Basketball is a non-Profit 501(c)3 Basketball Club. Our mission is to complement school programs by providing student athletes an affordable off-season competitive program designed to enhance and further their basketball careers. Check out the growing list of FURY Alumni who have taken their games to the college level.
FURY Basketball is able to offer players and parents an outstanding value in competitive club ball through the generosity of our sponsors, coaches and volunteers, as well as the club's extensive fundraising activities including annually hosting the FURY Invitational and FURY Golf Classic.
History
FURY started in 1999 as a single 13U team, earning their first trip to AAU Nationals in 2001.
2004 was a banner year as the 17U team advanced to the Sweet 16 at AAU Nationals in Orlando and Lindsay Fields, the first FURY player to graduate from the program, earned a D1 scholarship to play for the University of Missouri at Kansas City. The fall of 2004 also marked the creation of the FURY Basketball Club as it operates today, a program that has grown to a projected 16-teams ranging in age from 10U thru Varsity High School. Check out our prior years' results.
Rock on!
Some pictures of my latest project designed to prevent runoff from washing my beds away...and hopefully once I add plants will be asthetically appealing as well.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Algebra Update!
Yahoooo! I've been checking to see if my latest test score has posted everyday since Wednesday, and finally, it was just posted!
These are the two tests I've taken so far, and the average grade column is the average test score of the entire class.
It's so strange posting about MY school grades and not the kiddos, but as much time as I've put in to this, and as much as I've neglected just about everyone, I decided I have some braggin' rights! ;)
Click to see full view
These are the two tests I've taken so far, and the average grade column is the average test score of the entire class.
It's so strange posting about MY school grades and not the kiddos, but as much time as I've put in to this, and as much as I've neglected just about everyone, I decided I have some braggin' rights! ;)
Click to see full view
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Cooper's Troopers
Cooper's daddy, Tol, is in charge of the Dad's Club at Alex's elementary, which Mark is a member of. The first time Mark and I saw Tol at school on open house night back in August of last year, we knew this was a friendly face, but we just couldn't place him. After racking our brains for a short time, we recalled that he was the incredibly friendly man that helped us rent a Uhaul truck on more than one occasion since moving to Georgetown. After our experience with him, we swore we'd never go anywhere else. As silly as it may sound, he really made an impact on both Mark and I, and we discussed how happy we were to be in this amazing little town full of such happy-go-lucky people serving the public. To us, Tol was the perfect example of what a warm feeling Georgetown gives us. You know how it is when, on that rare occasion, you get outstanding customer service, the kind that feels genuine and real, as if the person actually CARED about people, well this guy was it. And after seeing him up at the school volunteering his time with Dad's Club, PTA, and so many other projects, we knew our assumptions about what a wonderful man he must be, were proven to be correct. Among the many moms walking the halls each day, you are almost certain to see Tol, baby in his arms, and Kindergartener in tow, on their way to class. You see him opening car doors on Friday mornings, helping with fundraisers, and talking with EVERYONE he sees walking down the halls. You'll see him making the rounds picking up teachers recycle bins, helping out in more ways than I probably even know. Everyone knows Tol, not because his baby is sick, but because he's an amazing dad, and human being that shines on all of us. I still remember him telling me how good it feels to walk down the halls and know the kids of the school, and how good it feels when they know you. Those were his words at the beginning of the year, to me, a new parent at Carver, who he knew might feel apprehensive about this new place with all these new faces. Here we are months later, and this precious family has received a major, major blow. Here is the flyer that's going around Georgetown right now. Please click on the image to read his family's, and Cooper's story. This is going to be a HUGE event, with some 275+ volunteers. Mark and I have signed up to work the event, and we would so, so appreciate it if all of our friends and family could help us spread the word. Come out, grab some BBQ, have some fun, and be a part of something amazing.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Gifted and Talented Boy
After days of testing and evaluation, Friday, were were given notice that Alex has qualified for the GT program. Testing was intense, in fact, Alex came home on more than one occasion telling us about how kids were crying during testing because it was so difficult. Thankfully, he wasn't nearly as stressed out as most of the kids; otherwise, we'd have skipped it all together. I must say, there were times when I had second thoughts about having him tested because of some of the stories I was hearing. However, now that I'm seeing the results, I feel much more comfortable about our decision. His scores are incredible. The kids were given a test called the Stanford Achievement Test where they're tested on a wide range of subjects, namely Reading, Mathmatics, Vocabulary, Comprehension, Geography, Political Science etc. The test included verbal and non-verbal elements. Out of the 220 possible correct answers, he answered 207 correct.
We are so proud of him!
We are so proud of him!
Basketball weekend
Wow, what an amazing weekend this was for the Ash. Their team finished the season in first place and had their end of season tournament this weekend. The Championship game was Sunday where so many wonderful friends and families crammed the bleachers to cheer on their amazing girls. We were honered to have our own little cheering section for Miss Ash...Ashley's best friend Kelly, and her dad Brian were there, along with our good friends and neighbors Peg and Dan, and of course Grams and Pops. The game was INTENSE, to say the least. Our girls played their hearts out and lead the game up until the last quarter, when in the last few minutes their opponents pulled ahead by 2. The last few minutes were loud and intense, exactly the way it should have been. Unfortunately, we weren't able to come back, and ended up loosing by 2 points, to place 2nd in the tournament. I have to say, this has been the best basketball season yet, and that's due to the amazing coaches and incredible group of girls we were so fortunate to have. We were so, so lucky to have been a part of such an amazing group of girls. They developed a very close bond, and we're all sad to see the season come to an end. Most of the girls on our team (including Ashley) will be trying out for All Stars, as well as a select team, so we're hoping they'll be able to stick together a little while longer.
Thanks to all of our wonderful friends for coming out to the game, your support means so much to us. We'll keep you updated on how the tryouts go.
Thanks to all of our wonderful friends for coming out to the game, your support means so much to us. We'll keep you updated on how the tryouts go.
Friday, February 29, 2008
I can finally laugh!
"I can finally laugh!" -Alex Urben
The sicko is finally on the mend. I knew yesterday was going to be different when he came in to our room at 4am, laid his head next to mine, and said,
"Momma, how was thread invented?" Yes, thread. As in fibers. Clothes. Blankets.
Dumbstruck momma, lay in complete silence contemplating the answer with a slight grin peeking out from the corners of her mouth. "uhhh...duhhhh...."
"Well momma, I think we should go check out a book from the library and find out tomorrow." Oh the wonder of that sweet boy.
Do I even need to take his temperature at this point? Nah! We have our boy back, no doubt about it.
And lastnight at dinner he discovered his laugh was back, and proceeded to giggle throughout the entire meal, at mostly nothing. :)
And here is a little You Tube that sums up how we're feeling today. (I LOVE this clip!)
The sicko is finally on the mend. I knew yesterday was going to be different when he came in to our room at 4am, laid his head next to mine, and said,
"Momma, how was thread invented?" Yes, thread. As in fibers. Clothes. Blankets.
Dumbstruck momma, lay in complete silence contemplating the answer with a slight grin peeking out from the corners of her mouth. "uhhh...duhhhh...."
"Well momma, I think we should go check out a book from the library and find out tomorrow." Oh the wonder of that sweet boy.
Do I even need to take his temperature at this point? Nah! We have our boy back, no doubt about it.
And lastnight at dinner he discovered his laugh was back, and proceeded to giggle throughout the entire meal, at mostly nothing. :)
And here is a little You Tube that sums up how we're feeling today. (I LOVE this clip!)
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Sicko
As of today, Alex has been sick for an entire week. I took him in Monday, and got him on antibiotics for 2 ear infections and some chesty stuff that could possibly be infection as well. The doctor seemed pretty convinced that he also has the flu, however, since we're paying out of pocket for this visit, I opted not to get the test. No point really. So here we are one week and three days of antibiotics later and he wakes up with a 103° fever, screaming with pain in his ears. I'm worried that one might have perforated, or ruptured, but according to everything I've read all that can be done is have him on antibiotics and pain meds. So, for now, I'm going to forego taking him back in and hold out until tomorrow. If the antibiotics haven't made a dent by then, we'll be on our way back to the dr. He recommended that we come back after a few days if the antibiotics don't seem to be doing the trick, for some chest x-rays.
Poor kiddo. There is a permanent impression of his little body on the couch. He is just a mess.
Poor kiddo. There is a permanent impression of his little body on the couch. He is just a mess.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Up to our eyeballs in dogs, life
New changes in the Urben household this week. For starters, we have "aquired" a new family member, Abby. Abby is a 5 month old, 30 pound Golden Retriever, White Lab mix. Abby and her sister Ally (formerly Lily and Lisa) were surrendered to a local shelter by their owner, who was moving in to an apartment and could no longer keep these two precious sisters. It just so happens that our good friends, the Fords, have been looking for a golden for quite some time and jumped at the chance to get these girls. However, their interest in a golden stopped at 1. They adopted them both, with the plan that they could convince the Urben suckers to take on one and the sisters would not be entirely separated afterall. And now we officially have "sucker" tatooed on our foreheads, and a sweet little-big Abby to prove it. ;) Do they know us well or WHAT?
She's gettig along well with the other dogs and making progress with crate training. She is just the sweetest most precious little pup. Now that I have found my battery charger for my camera, I can take some pictures of her to post.
Let the crazy dog people comments begin!
As far as the human Urbens go, we are all doing well; Mark is enjoying his freedom from the big "D" and keeping busy with laundry, housework, golf, lunches with friends and some occasional handyman work. He's done some work for Joe and Bill, and just this week he put up a mailbox for Nana and Big Daddy's rent house, which led to another neighbors request to fix theirs as well. So far, Mark seems to be enjoying his new found freedom and working with his hands has proved to be very theraputic.
My new job is going well; I just completed my first project, and look forward to more work next week. Finding the time to fit in the new job has gone fairly smooth so far. I feel much more at ease now that I've let the cat out of the bag and informed my other boss of my new job. He was very supportive and appreciated me letting him know.
I just took my first test at school, which I'm pretty positive about. Algebra is much more interesting this time around, I'm actually ENJOYING it. I suppose growing up has helped a bit.
We're hoping to make a trip out to Nana and Big Daddy's next weekend, since the kiddos have off from school the following Monday. (yes, we're inviting ourselves Dad and Ruthie!)
I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but that's all I have time for right now. I'll update with pictures at some point.
Grannie Franny....in case you're wondering and haven't spoke to Mark yet, Abby was named in memory of your sweet girl by Miss Ashley. The name fits her well.
She's gettig along well with the other dogs and making progress with crate training. She is just the sweetest most precious little pup. Now that I have found my battery charger for my camera, I can take some pictures of her to post.
Let the crazy dog people comments begin!
As far as the human Urbens go, we are all doing well; Mark is enjoying his freedom from the big "D" and keeping busy with laundry, housework, golf, lunches with friends and some occasional handyman work. He's done some work for Joe and Bill, and just this week he put up a mailbox for Nana and Big Daddy's rent house, which led to another neighbors request to fix theirs as well. So far, Mark seems to be enjoying his new found freedom and working with his hands has proved to be very theraputic.
My new job is going well; I just completed my first project, and look forward to more work next week. Finding the time to fit in the new job has gone fairly smooth so far. I feel much more at ease now that I've let the cat out of the bag and informed my other boss of my new job. He was very supportive and appreciated me letting him know.
I just took my first test at school, which I'm pretty positive about. Algebra is much more interesting this time around, I'm actually ENJOYING it. I suppose growing up has helped a bit.
We're hoping to make a trip out to Nana and Big Daddy's next weekend, since the kiddos have off from school the following Monday. (yes, we're inviting ourselves Dad and Ruthie!)
I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but that's all I have time for right now. I'll update with pictures at some point.
Grannie Franny....in case you're wondering and haven't spoke to Mark yet, Abby was named in memory of your sweet girl by Miss Ashley. The name fits her well.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Book Recommendation: If You Decide to Go to the Moon
Alex and I just finished reading one of our library books, If You Decide to Go to the Moon, By Faith McNulty. What an incredible book! We go through a LOT of library books each week, and it's very rare that I find one that I believe is worthy of purchase, but this one will most certainly be on the shelf soon.
It's official
Holy guacamole! Yesterday, the environmental firm that I mentioned previously, sent me job offer, which I oh so promptly accepted. I will continue working at my current job and squeeze in some time here and there for the new one. It's less than 10 hours a week, 100% from home. You just CAN'T pass up such an opportunity.
Less than 24 hours later I have already received my first assignment. I'm a little nervous about how well I can hold it all together, but I've already decided that if I get too overwhelmed with my schedule I will have to taper off the volunteering a little...JUST a little.
At some point I will find the time to post some pictures of Ashley and Mark from their special day this past Friday, which was spent playing around at a few museums in San Antonio. Soon. Very soon.
Less than 24 hours later I have already received my first assignment. I'm a little nervous about how well I can hold it all together, but I've already decided that if I get too overwhelmed with my schedule I will have to taper off the volunteering a little...JUST a little.
At some point I will find the time to post some pictures of Ashley and Mark from their special day this past Friday, which was spent playing around at a few museums in San Antonio. Soon. Very soon.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
A wee little bump in the road
Had I created this post four days ago, I'm sure the tone would have been much less positive; but here we are four days calmer, four days wiser.
On Tuesday, after being with Dell for over 10 years, Mark was laid off. While the initial shock of it was a tough blow in so many ways, each day since has been better than the last. In fact, this has been one of the best weeks in a very long time. Mark is consistently happier than I've seen him in so, so long. While he is obviously concerned about what the future holds, he is coming to accept this new road before him with an open mind.
I really believe that he has been given a gift. Mark is an amazingly dedicated man, and worked hard to provide for his family despite being completely unfulfilled at the end of each day. I know that this is EXACTLY what he needed. This is the kick in the toukus he desperatley needed to seek out more...from life and from his career. What may come of it, I don't know, but I do know that this experience will be nothing but positive for our family, and I have no doubts that we will be just fine. We have ALL learned so much from his hard work and dedication, and will in turn continue learning in the weeks and months ahead.
On Tuesday, after being with Dell for over 10 years, Mark was laid off. While the initial shock of it was a tough blow in so many ways, each day since has been better than the last. In fact, this has been one of the best weeks in a very long time. Mark is consistently happier than I've seen him in so, so long. While he is obviously concerned about what the future holds, he is coming to accept this new road before him with an open mind.
I really believe that he has been given a gift. Mark is an amazingly dedicated man, and worked hard to provide for his family despite being completely unfulfilled at the end of each day. I know that this is EXACTLY what he needed. This is the kick in the toukus he desperatley needed to seek out more...from life and from his career. What may come of it, I don't know, but I do know that this experience will be nothing but positive for our family, and I have no doubts that we will be just fine. We have ALL learned so much from his hard work and dedication, and will in turn continue learning in the weeks and months ahead.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Week in Review
This week has been a busy one. Each time I sit down to blog the happenings, another item on the "to do" list prevails. It's finally Sunday, the day when I allow myself to push that list out of my mind for a few hours in the morning and just BE.
I started the weekend off with this from my sweetie Alex (ALL by himself!):
A well balanced breakfast for mom, complete with can opener, knife AND spoon. Ok, maybe a little fruity, but healthy none the less. What a sweetheart I have.
Mark and I tag teamed and were able to get both kids to their basketball games. Ashley had a double header, and played better than I've ever seen her play AND she even scored 4 points in the second game.
Alex's allergies are doing a LOT better now that he have Alegra and Flonase. I can't believe it has taken me this long to learn that allergy medicine needs to be changed up every few months. I had no idea that the body worked up a resistance to the allergy meds. I've never had to worry about it because we only give Alex meds seasonally. This allergy season has just been an exceptionally long one.
The kids (and I!) were off on Monday thanks to MLK, Jr. We had a nice relaxing morning together, follwed by an afternoon at Mollie's house where we watched Ratatoullie with Alex's buddies.
Afterwards, we went to Targe' and bought our little mailboxes that I was SO excited about. (Thanks Renae!!!)
By the way, if you have kiddos and I haven't already talked your ear off about this precious idea.
See this post over at Planting Seeds . We bought 4 little mailboxes, decorated them with our names and have been actively sending letters (and goodies) back and forth all week. It has been so FUN!!!
School is going well for me. I'm feeling very confident that I can handle all that I have on my plate and will not have a problem tackling this class.
I was contacted by an Environmental firm (a PTA acquaintance's company) that is interested in me doing some overflow CAD work for them periodically.
They have one tech that needs to be able to take vacations and on occasion has more work than she can handle.
It is so, so hard to say no to such an offer even with the already full plate that I have.
And I didn't.
I sent them my qualifications along with details about how much time I can commit. I have to admit that because of my already hectic schedule, part of me was hoping they would make this an easy decision for me and just tell me that they need someone who can work more hours, however, after reading my requirements, they now want me to come in and talk.
We'll see.
I'm definitely going to hold my ground on the amount of time that I'm willing to commit, but I can't help but think that this might be a really good opportunity.
If I'm able to work from home, this would enable me to take the summer off of my current job, yet still keep a little money coming in.
The dynamics of me taking the summer off have been on my mind a lot lately, so this could possibly be the solution I was looking for.
And how exciting to work in an entirely new field of Geologists and Environmentalists!
Friday, Ashley attended the grand finale for Cotillion. The Ball. Good grief, the lengths that some of these parents went to, to get these girls ready is mind boggling to me. There were multiple girls that took off half the day of school to make it to hair and nail appointments. As you may guess this prompted Ashley's insistance on doing the same. Yeah RIGHT. After a LOT of not so convincing pre-pubescent conversation, I ended up rushing Ashley home from school throwing some curlers in her hair and giving her a french manicure (which I already had the supplies to do). She looked beautiful. We were in such a rush that I didn't have the time to take pictures of the "do" before the humidity got to it. I'm a little bummed about that, but she looked gorgeous and might have learned a little frugal lesson in the process. We met up with at least 10 other kiddos and their moms at Chili's, where we had dinner and piled the kids in to a handful of vehicles. Ashley had the pleasure of riding in Nicole's Hummer, major score. The ball was held way out at Austin Country Club and I was OH SO THANKFUL to Nicole for offering her chauffer services up. She ended up getting home after midnight full of chatter about the evening. Nicole took some pictures at the Ball that I will post as soon as I get ahold of them.
Last weekend Mark started his latest project: tiling window sills. He is doing a BEAUTIFUL job!
And why would he want to do that? Well, ourhorses dogs have little friends, or rather, friends they wouldn't mind eating (cats, squirels, armadillos etc.) that like to tantalize them from outside. Every window sill within reach looks similar to this:
I started the weekend off with this from my sweetie Alex (ALL by himself!):
A well balanced breakfast for mom, complete with can opener, knife AND spoon. Ok, maybe a little fruity, but healthy none the less. What a sweetheart I have. Mark and I tag teamed and were able to get both kids to their basketball games. Ashley had a double header, and played better than I've ever seen her play AND she even scored 4 points in the second game.
Alex's allergies are doing a LOT better now that he have Alegra and Flonase. I can't believe it has taken me this long to learn that allergy medicine needs to be changed up every few months. I had no idea that the body worked up a resistance to the allergy meds. I've never had to worry about it because we only give Alex meds seasonally. This allergy season has just been an exceptionally long one.
The kids (and I!) were off on Monday thanks to MLK, Jr. We had a nice relaxing morning together, follwed by an afternoon at Mollie's house where we watched Ratatoullie with Alex's buddies.
Afterwards, we went to Targe' and bought our little mailboxes that I was SO excited about. (Thanks Renae!!!)
By the way, if you have kiddos and I haven't already talked your ear off about this precious idea.
See this post over at Planting Seeds . We bought 4 little mailboxes, decorated them with our names and have been actively sending letters (and goodies) back and forth all week. It has been so FUN!!!
School is going well for me. I'm feeling very confident that I can handle all that I have on my plate and will not have a problem tackling this class.
I was contacted by an Environmental firm (a PTA acquaintance's company) that is interested in me doing some overflow CAD work for them periodically.
They have one tech that needs to be able to take vacations and on occasion has more work than she can handle.
It is so, so hard to say no to such an offer even with the already full plate that I have.
And I didn't.
I sent them my qualifications along with details about how much time I can commit. I have to admit that because of my already hectic schedule, part of me was hoping they would make this an easy decision for me and just tell me that they need someone who can work more hours, however, after reading my requirements, they now want me to come in and talk.
We'll see.
I'm definitely going to hold my ground on the amount of time that I'm willing to commit, but I can't help but think that this might be a really good opportunity.
If I'm able to work from home, this would enable me to take the summer off of my current job, yet still keep a little money coming in.
The dynamics of me taking the summer off have been on my mind a lot lately, so this could possibly be the solution I was looking for.
And how exciting to work in an entirely new field of Geologists and Environmentalists!
Friday, Ashley attended the grand finale for Cotillion. The Ball. Good grief, the lengths that some of these parents went to, to get these girls ready is mind boggling to me. There were multiple girls that took off half the day of school to make it to hair and nail appointments. As you may guess this prompted Ashley's insistance on doing the same. Yeah RIGHT. After a LOT of not so convincing pre-pubescent conversation, I ended up rushing Ashley home from school throwing some curlers in her hair and giving her a french manicure (which I already had the supplies to do). She looked beautiful. We were in such a rush that I didn't have the time to take pictures of the "do" before the humidity got to it. I'm a little bummed about that, but she looked gorgeous and might have learned a little frugal lesson in the process. We met up with at least 10 other kiddos and their moms at Chili's, where we had dinner and piled the kids in to a handful of vehicles. Ashley had the pleasure of riding in Nicole's Hummer, major score. The ball was held way out at Austin Country Club and I was OH SO THANKFUL to Nicole for offering her chauffer services up. She ended up getting home after midnight full of chatter about the evening. Nicole took some pictures at the Ball that I will post as soon as I get ahold of them.
Last weekend Mark started his latest project: tiling window sills. He is doing a BEAUTIFUL job!
And why would he want to do that? Well, our
Monday, January 21, 2008
Google has done it again!
If you haven't checked out Google Calendar, DO IT! I'm just amazed. You can export your info from Outlook Calendar, or your PDA (via GooSync) and set up a Google calendar. What's so special about that? Well, for one, you can give family and friends access so they can keep up with your schedule (kids games etc.) AND, if they create their own calendar, there is an option to view their calendar within yours and it's as easy as clicking theirs off and on. Another bonus that I just found is the ability to add other public calendars such as US Holidays, the Netflix new realse schedule, or a Obama's tour schedule. It's all fairly new, so I'm sure in the future we'll have access to all kinds of public calendars. How cool would it be if meetup had the option to put your "yes" rsvps on your google calendar. Now that would be sweet.
Ok, free advertisement for google is over. If any of my family or friends wants access to my calendar, let me know and I'll add you to the list.
Update: After emailing Chris (see comment below) I now have the upgraded version of GooSyc. SCORE! Can't wait to what other cool stuff I can do now! Thanks Chris!
Ok, free advertisement for google is over. If any of my family or friends wants access to my calendar, let me know and I'll add you to the list.
Update: After emailing Chris (see comment below) I now have the upgraded version of GooSyc. SCORE! Can't wait to what other cool stuff I can do now! Thanks Chris!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Sorry Folks
Momma always said...if it sounds too good to be true...
CBC Story
The makers of the Q-Ray Ionized Bracelet have been ordered to turn over $16 million US in profits, to be paid out in refunds to consumers for false advertising, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said Monday.
CBC Story
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Toof-less Grin
Alex lost his first toofer!
He was laying in my bed trying to get a few bonus minutes of sleep while I got ready for work when I hear his screetch from across the room. "Momma!! Momma!!!! It finally came out!!!!" Apparently he was sucking on his loose tooth when it unexpectedly popped out and in to his mouth. No blood, no pain. The perfect way to loose a first tooth. He was soooo anxious to go to bed so he could speed up the tooth fairy process. The next morning he woke up to a whopping $3 under his pillow, which he carried around ALLLL day long.
And here is the toof-less grin
He was laying in my bed trying to get a few bonus minutes of sleep while I got ready for work when I hear his screetch from across the room. "Momma!! Momma!!!! It finally came out!!!!" Apparently he was sucking on his loose tooth when it unexpectedly popped out and in to his mouth. No blood, no pain. The perfect way to loose a first tooth. He was soooo anxious to go to bed so he could speed up the tooth fairy process. The next morning he woke up to a whopping $3 under his pillow, which he carried around ALLLL day long.
And here is the toof-less grin
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