Shelley Lake

BEFORE I TYPE THE REAL POST--If you've commented recently and I've totally ignored you I apologize...I just noticed that my comments are being diverted to my Spam folder. I don't know why, but it's kind of annoying. UGH. Sorry!

On Memorial Day, we decided to go to a nearby park/lake and walk around. Shelley Lake is about 15 minutes from our house and although it is located on a busy road, it is nicely hidden....in fact, from the road you would never even know it was there! I don't think we started out with anything more ambitious than a plan to walk around a bit, look at the ducks, etc....but somehow it turned into a brisk two-mile hike around the lake. It was a little warm but felt great to get out! I took a bunch of pictures with my new camera (and threw in a few of Ava at home as well) so enjoy... :o) Other than that, not much is happening....I am just about going crazy waiting for summer break! Some of these students are making me insane, and the getting up at 5am to start the day? It's getting old. Very old. At least when I'm on break if Ava wakes up that early, I don't have to get dressed and she'll most likely go back to bed. Four more school days...

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Brothers and Sisters

Our brother-in-law's younger brother passed away this weekend so if you are the praying type, please say a prayer for his family as they are just beginning what is going to be a very difficult time. I have been fortunate to have not lost many family members, and especially fortunate to have not lost someone close like a sibling or a parent. If you have siblings, just take a moment to be grateful to have them in your life....I'm especially thankful today for my brothers and the fact that I still have both of them....I don't know how a family survives the loss of one of its younger members like that. :-(

Happy Memorial Day!

Like I tell the students, today's day off of work "isn't for our health!" Happy Memorial Day to everyone, especially the people serving our country and their families.


Ava decided to go into Bad Baby mode last night and fussed every few hours...bad enough at 3am that I had to go get her and feed her. I thought maybe, after a 3am feeding, she'd sleep in but no....up again by 7:00. Oh well, no work today so it isn't that big of a deal. (I'm kind of wondering how I got early morning baby duty AND middle of the night baby duty....Craig is upstairs, sound asleep.) Ava and I sat out on the front porch for awhile and enjoyed the gorgeous weather, now she's playing/dozing on her mat while I have an English muffin and some morning coffee. Funny how a baby can change you in the most random ways: I used to only drink coffee as a snack/with dessert....NEVER in the morning. Now I rarely miss my morning cup. I'm not hardcore like some people, it's just one big mug in the morning and it's got to be loaded with cream and sugar, but it does give me an extra little kick in the rear. (I don't have a major addiction, I can skip it without getting a headache and usually don't bother on the weekends.) I should probably go back to herbal tea with honey, but that'll have to wait until I get more sleep on a regular basis.

ANYHOW--I hope everyone is having a safe and fun holiday, either alone or with your family and friends. Our family is far away and our friends all have family around here, so the little Haynor clan will just be hanging out with each other again. :o)

the dreaded swimsuit shopping trip

Okay, so the purpose of shopping today wasn't entirely for a new swimsuit (it was actually so I could get Craig a father's day gift), but that kind of happened anyhow. MJ and I went to Loft so I could check out their really awesome summer clothing, and she could check out their ever-growing maternity section (no pun intended...and where the heck was this when I was pregnant?!) Anyhow, I saw a really cute swimsuit in there last time I went shopping: a navy blue tankini with little white polka-dots. I tried it on again, and besides the fact that it was about $65, it really didn't fit that well. Not the swimsuit's fault....I just happen to have a mushy post-baby stomach. Which, honestly, is fine...I don't care. I had a baby four months ago for heaven's sake, nobody should really expect me to have Abs of Steel at this point. Eventually I will break down and do some exercises to tighten things up but between working full-time and baby wrangling, I haven't really had the desire to spend my precious few free moments each day doing crunches.

So, it was really time for me to admit that, okay, I no longer have a teenager's body so cute little bikinis might not be an option anymore. Nothing is scarier than an adult woman, especially someone's mom, who tries to dress like she's in middle school. (I do have one really cute bikini I bought two years ago--also at Loft--that's actually pretty flattering and is made for women, not teenagers, but I'll still probably save that for when I just want to lay out in the backyard or whatever.) ANYHOW...to get to the point...I did something I can't remember doing since childhood: I tried on a one-piece. Very pretty, extremely flattering....and it doesn't look "old." Actually, it almost reminds me of those suits they used to wear back in the 1940s, and I really like that. Here is a picture of the suit, but the model is all slouchy; it looks much better in person. Oh yeah...and it was less than half the price of the other suit! ;o)



Anyways....I'm very much enjoying the fact that tomorrow there is no school....woohoo!!! We have no plans...probably just sticking around the house and relaxing. And that makes me happy.

3-day weekend

After a week of end-of-grades testing, I am so ready for the weekend! The testing itself isn't horrible because the kids have to be quiet the whole time and I really enjoy the silence. ;o) But, it gets to be pretty tedious so a few days is enough...on the upside, the kids said that the review I did with them prior to the testing was VERY helpful, and also harder than the test itself! So that's a relief.

Anyhow, it appears that today is going to be overcast, rainy, and cool; so we're going to be relaxing and cleaning the house--we didn't do it last weekend (we always clean on weekends) and the house is awful. I'm exhausted but put myself on baby duty this morning so that Craig can sleep in....Ava woke up at 5am and I fed her, she went back down for about 1 1/2 hours, I brought her back to bed and fed her again (don't know if she needed it but I was too tired to do anything else) and she slept for about an hour in our bed before deciding she'd had enough and wanted entertainment. So, we came downstairs and played, I put her in the swing for awhile hoping she'd fall asleep (no luck) and now the play mat....started cleaning while she played and now she's napping! I'll get a little bit more done while I can.

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Okay....I just spent so much time on the photo album that Ava is now awake. ARGH!!! But she's playing quietly with her toys so maybe I can still get some cleaning taken care of.... ;o)

Get caught reading!

One of my team members at school--our 7th grade Language Arts teacher--is doing a "Get Caught Reading!" thing and has asked everyone to give her a picture of themselves reading. This is the one I'm using:




A lot of people with new babies are using similar pictures so the aforementioned Language Arts teacher is using a picture of herself reading with her son sitting on her lap...funny thing is, he's a junior in high school! It was really cute. :o)

Anyhow, that's about it! I AM looking forward to the days when I can read to Ava and she'll actually pay attention to the story and not just try to eat the book. (Her preferred chew toy these days seems to be my face....she usually reaches up and grabs my cheek or my bottom lip and then yanks my face towards her mouth. It's funny but would probably be much funnier if she didn't have sharp little nails and a kung-fu grip!)

need some mom advice....

Any tips on weaning the baby? Because breasts are not teething rings. A bite here or there was bad....the actual gnawing of the boob that happened an hour ago? NOT SO MUCH. Between Ava doing more playing than nursing and then chomping on me with her evil little raptor teeth, I think it's time to stop. How do I do this in a way that's good for her (I think the greatest benefit of nursing at this point is more the comfort factor than anything else) and in a way that will also cause me minimal pain? Advice is welcome! :o)

Wake County is Run by a Bunch of Tools

Why? Because we've been in a drought for the past two years and the powers that be have imposed all kinds of water restrictions on us (that's not the problem)...we couldn't water our lawns or wash our cars, and were strongly urged to use indoor water restricting devices and make a conscientious effort to reduce our water use. We were also threatened with crazy water bill charges if our water usage exceeded X number of gallons a month, etc. Well, the people of Wake County--being the generally good citizens that they are--really took this to heart and cut down significantly on water use. Go Wake County! We've had a decent amount of rain in the past couple of months but are still seven inches below our normal rainfall since last year, however, Falls Lake--the local water source--is up one foot more than normal due to our conservation efforts! Even though we're back on level one restrictions (we can water the lawn once a week and wash the cars), people are still being mindful of the drought and the environment and watching their water usage. So much, in fact, that the powers that be are now mad that they're losing money because people are using less water--AND THEY ARE INCREASING OUR WATER BILLS. To punish us for conserving TOO MUCH and depriving them of revenue. So, if we use too much water...we get charged. If we don't use enough...we get charged.

I am convinced that there is no way to win, and that People In Charge all suck.

Tagged!

Tagged by Erin! Here ya go....

Four Jobs I've had:
1. Grocery store bagger (awful, only lasted a month)
2. Lifeguard
3. Restaurant hostess
4. Math teacher

Four Movies I've Watched More Than Once:
1. Zoolander
2. The Count of Monte Cristo
3. Star Wars (trilogy, but I'll count it as one! ;o)
4. Office Space

Four Places I Have Lived:
1. Elgin, IL (outside Chicago)
2. West Palm Beach, FL
3. Altamonte Springs, FL (outside Orlando)
4. Raleigh, NC

Four Shows I Watch(ed):
1. Desperate Housewives
2. CSI: Las Vegas
3. Lost
4. Beauty and the Geek (except the last season when they did a stupid Beauty vs. Geek thing)

Four Places I Have Been:
1. Virgin Islands
2. Australia
3. Ireland
4. Scotland

Four People Who Email Me Regularly:
1. Mary-Jo
2. Mom
3. Anna
4. The Cousin Almost Formerly Known as Shirley

Four of my Favorite Foods
1. Saganaki (flaming goat cheese....yummmm....)
2. Tamales
3. Portillo's Chili Cheese dogs
4. Swiss cheese fondue

Four Places I would Like to Visit:
1. Greece
2. Italy
3. St. John (again)
4. Ireland (again)

Four Things I'm Looking Forward to this Year:
1. Visiting family in Chicago
2. Our five year anniversary! Woohoo! Go us! ;o)
3. Watching Ava as she grows during her first year
4. Tom Petty Concert(s)!!!! WOOHOO!


Jen and Christie, consider yourselves TAGGED. ;o)

SPOILER ALERT-CSI

WARNING: IF YOU DON'T WATCH CSI, THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH WILL MAKE NO SENSE WHATSOEVER. We don't have time to watch TV shows during the week so we just collect them and save them up for the weekend. It appears that this week they decided to kill off one of the coolest characters on one of my favorite shows, CSI Las Vegas. Agent Warrick Brown was killed by a bigwig in the police department. I knew it was coming before it happened, things just weren't right....I started saying to Craig, "Someone is going to kill him. He's going to die. NO! DON'T GO IN THE ALLEY BY YOURSELF IDIOT! DON'T ROLL DOWN YOUR WINDOW! HE'S GONNA KILL HIM!" (I'm *so* much fun to watch TV with! Then I burst into tears and cried. I always get choked up at sad TV shows and movies, but I guess I still have some crazy hormones happening because I was way too upset about this. Oh well....) Anyhow, justice will be served...I think Nick will find the killer since Warrick was his best friend but if all else fails, Grissom will get the guy.


R.I.P., Warrick.... :o(

Anyhow...we had a pretty good day today. Ava slept okay last night and actually cuddled in our bed for a little while this morning which I loved. I'm trying to enjoy every moment I can with her, because she's growing so fast! Oh, and if you weren't already convinced that I'm a complete nerd, I have more proof: after she was too awake to cuddle anymore, I used my iPhone to look up Baby Einstein video clips on YouTube to show her. Ava's Aunt Charlene came for dinner so that was fun, and she went down for bed without the slightest fuss at about 8:40. I'm headed that way as well so I can take advantage of her sleeping to catch some of my own, and I fully intend to go down without a fuss as well. ;o)

Oh, side note: as a result of the ridiculously stupid gas prices, groceries have become ridiculously expensive as well. You probably know that. But for some reason, the baby formula we use was about $5 cheaper...I don't get it but hey, whatever! Hope it stays that way! (I'm thinking maybe it was mislabeled and I should just stock up while it's cheap!)

TGIF

It's been a very long, very exhausting week of working full-time and parenting by myself--which unfortunately this week meant dealing with a baby who suddenly refused to sleep through the night four nights in a row. I can't actually survive and remain sane on 4-5 hours of sleep for four nights. Luckily, last night she did fine but I woke up on my own around 4:45, which turned out to be a good thing because the power had gone out earlier in the evening and my alarm clock was no longer operating. (I have my phone set for backup, but still...I have to keep it in the bathroom or it interferes with the baby monitor.)

Anyhow....there are only 13 more school days before track-out (and then one workday) so I'm trying to hang in there until I can return to the days of staying in pajamas and taking naps if the kid doesn't sleep at night. ;o) Since we still have to pay for day care over my vacation whether Ava is there or not, I will be taking her in for a couple days a week, probably just four or five hours or so at a time. That way she stays used to it and I can use the time to run errands, clean the house, and maybe even get in a little time to myself and go to the pool or to lunch or something. Why not?

That's all....I'm still really tired since, even with Ava sleeping, I only got about 7 hours of sleep at best and what I really need is a good, solid 8-9. Switched to herbal tea instead of coffee this morning, hopefully less caffeine will improve my mental state. I may not be as awake but at least I should be a little less psycho....

My First Mother's Day

It was very, very weird taking part in Mother's Day as an actual mother this year. I feel so...old. ;o) The day started with Ava waking up around 7:15am to eat. (Oh, and our breastfeeding days may be coming to an end in the near future, she bit me and that was so not fun.) We tried to get her to just hang out and snuggle in our bed afterwards but she wouldn't so Craig got up with her and let me sleep...woohoo! He and Ava also gave me a new camera for Mother's Day, since our old one was literally falling apart. We just went to the deli for lunch (no sense in going anywhere else, restaurants are mobbed on Mother's Day) and then stopped by Fresh Market, and I got to run to Michael's while Craig watched the kid. The best part of the day by far has just been hanging out, talking to Ava and trying to get her to smile, make her new funny face, or make "monster" noises. That's been pretty much the best part of any day for the past four months....I can't get over how crazy I am about her. Having kids was definitely one of the best decisions we have ever made, Ava is such an indescribable joy in our lives. She's been here with us for 124 days and not a day has gone by--not even the hard days--that I haven't thanked God for her. There is very little I regret in my life because even the bad things have been learning experiences, but if there is one thing I DO regret it's telling my parents I hated them when I was a teenager. Sure, I didn't mean it and was just an angry adolescent, but I feel awful whenever I think about it. If I'd had any idea how much parents really love their kids, I never would have said it.

Okay on a lighter note....here are some pictures taken this past week. This is the last batch on the old camera....enjoy!

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My other life

Naturally, the vast majority of my posts are centered around Ava: she's definitely the biggest piece of news from day to day--but I do have other things going on, believe it or not! ;o) But first, somebody said something to me (I believe in the comment section of this blog) about being a working mom and how it actually makes her a better mother. That has turned out to be so true for me...I am much more patient with Ava and I thoroughly enjoy and appreciate every moment I have with her! Taking care of her isn't a chore, which is how it sometimes felt while I was at home with her 24/7. Anyhow, I just thought I'd mention that--thanks, Mary! ;o) (I don't mean anything negative towards stay-at-home moms, like they don't appreciate their kids or something, I'm just saying how it is for me.)


So, those other things going on: teaching middle school. Never a dull moment. The most amusing things that have happened this week?

1.) A student wore a musical Christmas tie to school. Accidentally set it off in class. He then informed me that he has a hunting tie that makes a gunshot noise and a dying deer noise. Another student told him he should get a Confederate flag tie (okay, she said "rebel" flag, but I'm a Yankee, people...we say "Confederate" ;o) that made a "YEEEEEEHAAAAWWWW" noise. I'm sure they probably exist, and I'm scared. I want a tie that tells people off.

2.) I need a haircut very badly, as my hair is starting to resemble a shrub. Yesterday I used a giant curling iron on it in an attempt to keep it smooth and tame (as opposed to just letting the natural curls take over). One of my students told me that my hair looked "very well-contained." HA HA HA!

3.) I have an ongoing issue with a parent. As this is a public blog, I will say no more because I don't want to give away the identity. Email me if you want to know. However, the issue has gone from being upsetting to highly entertaining as I'm pretty sure this parent is completely mental and/or on crack.

4.) Emily finds notes on her classroom floor that say things about hookers. I 'm finding notes on my classroom floor that say things like "poop." Either these kids are sheltered or they are really big kindergarteners.

5.) My first period students have informed me that next year, I will be teaching a girl who thinks she's a hamster. Ohhhhhh boy. Maybe I shouldn't show her this...


That's about it for now. I slept like a baby last night--meaning, I woke up every few hours. For no reason. Ava, on the other hand, slept like a lumberjack. Ahhhh well.

WHY?????

Yesterday, I went to lunch with a friend....after lunch we sat on a bench and talked and as we sat there, an elementary school age girl walked by, wearing a tank top reading, "Mommy's Beauty...Daddy's Brains"

Wow.

Seriously....wow. What on earth would possess you to allow your child to wear something like that? Do people actually find that cute???? I'm not one to scream "SEXIST!" but yeah, it was pretty bad. I half expected the mother (who was not that attractive, as her daughter's shirt would lead you to believe) to be wearing a shirt reading, "I'm Dumb as a Rock, but I'm Pretty Good Trophy Wife" YEEEEESH!!! Have some pride already, people! And pass it on to your kid while you're at it, or she's going to grow up thinking all she has to bring to the table is a pretty face. UGH. I will never let Ava wear that crap...or the crap that says things like SPOILED, or PRINCESS, or what have you. There are no princesses under this roof, and no one is going to be spoiled.

Okay, rant aside, I had fun at lunch yesterday...the friend I was with is currently pregnant, and it was so neat talking to her and seeing how excited she is and knowing that she and her husband are in for something pretty awesome in the near future. :o) I know having kids isn't for everyone and that's cool, but it's made me pretty ridiculously happy.

Oh, and I also found a scrapbooking store...I managed to get out of there without having to take out another mortgage on the house to pay for my purchases, but holy crap, that's going to be dangerous....